Chapter One:
"Akemi Homura: Time Traveler"
There stares bore into my face like lasers through butter, each with a different emotion to them. Mami looked on with suspicion, as if I had been lying to her the whole time, while Sayaka seemed interested to see where this conversation would go. Madoka, on the other hand, kept smiling.
"If you must know, Kyuubey..." I started slowly, thinking my words over carefully. "It wasn't a wish of revival. It was a wish for a second chance." Vague, at best, but the ablino cat from hell picked up on it in an instant.
"Time travel, you mean." He leapt up onto the table and stared me bland in the face. "You're a time traveler." I shook my head, the title not completely true.
"Not exactly. I can go backwards, but not forwards... and I can stop and restart it. That's it." He continued to stare at me, his unblinking stare disturbing me now more then in previous iterations.
"Oh-ho, this I have GOT to see!" Sayaka chimed in, sitting up straight on her knees, now more interested then the other two combined.
"So this person you had saved. They are alive then?" Kyuubey continued, uninterrupted by Sayaka's outburst. I simply nodded, not wanting to go into to many details. "What is their name?"
"Not important." I answered instantly, wanting to end this line of conversation once and for all. With another tic of his head, Kyuubey continued to study me with his unblinking eyes. It was like he was sizing me up for a response.
"Very well." He finally answered, walking away. I sighed inwardly so none could see. "But take me to heart, Akemi Homura. You will be called to answer this question in the future."
"And that's alright with me. Just not now." I continued, taking a sip from my tea.
"Enough interrogations for now, Kyuubey. Homura-chan's our guest, and she'll be treated with respect." Mami turned to me with a sorrowful grimace as Kyuubey leapt out the open window . "I must apologize for Kyuubey. He... doesn't understand us."
"I know. And I forgive." I gritted out, the words of forgiveness like poison to my tongue.
"Enough of the apologizing! I wanna see her stop time!" Oh, Sayaka, always the simple-minded one.
"You know you wouldn't be able to pick up on it. From your point of view, things would happen instantly, with no manipulation on anyone's part." Sayaka seemed unaffected by this statement, her excitement only grew.
"I don't care! I wanna see you do it!"
"Sayaka-chan... a Puella Magi's powers are not for personal gain..." Mami muttered like a motherly figure. As a side note, she continued through her tea: "Otherwise I'd've shot a few people already." Sayaka seemed burned from that statement, but her enthusiasm never dulled.
"I know... but it's so cool!" Turning back, she almost pleaded. "Please? Just one?" I gave a little smile and stood.
"One. And only one. It shouldn't hurt." Clutching a fist, my school uniform vanished in a flash of purple light, the light purple garments that made up my suit replaced them, the small silver disk fixed fast on my left arm. Giving it a twist, everything went to gray-scale for me, time freezing in it's place. Provided I move little, I could stay like this for a good long while, about half an hour to me. Picking up the tea cup I continued to sip the tea as I thought of how I could use this little window of opportunity, to prove to Sayaka and the others I could really freeze time.
I took my time with the tea, sipping it slowly as I thought. My gaze turned to Madoka, then to Mami, both frozen in place like statues, Madoka looking at Sayaka's eager face, while Mami raised a bit of cake to her mouth, ready for consumption. A sly smile came to my face as I thought of a way to get a chuckle, as well as prove my power. Taking my time, I stood Mami, Sayaka and Madoka up, positioning them in a triangle around the table, arms out-stretched to one-another, an arm pointing at each girl. From behind the disk on my arm, I drew portions of my vast arsenal, six pistols to be exact, and place a pistol in each girl's hand, the whole seen looking of a Mexican Stand-Off in old western movies. Taking another plate of cake, I situated myself on the nearby couch, fork at a ready, and resumed time. Madoka was the first to react, releasing an ear-splitting screech, dropping the guns to the ground. Sayaka seemed too petrified to move, while Mami only laughed, setting them lightly on the table.
"Should really start carrying a camera on me, ya know. The looks on your faces." I muttered, taking a bite from the cake.
"Guns are scary!" I heard Madoka chime, brushing her hands on her chest, trying to get the metal smell off them.
"How'd you do that?" Mami asked, still in disbelief.
"I told you. Time stop." I moved over to the discarded firearms and collected the ones Madoka dropped. "As for the guns well..." Slipping them back behind the disk they vanished back into the nether, ready for use should I ever need them again. "I keep a few handy. Just in case." Prying the guns from Sayaka's hands, I returned them as well, Mami gladly handing hers to me.
"Guns and time control?" Mami mused, thinking to herself, she sat back down and started at her cake again. "You could do a sizable chunk of damage with that combination."
"Aren't Witches... I dunno? Immune to guns?"
"No more then you are, Sayaka-chan." Mami responded, lifting the cup to her lips. "It's true they're not as effective as more magical means, but they work. Otherwise, I'd have been dead a long time ago." An image of Madoka shattering Mami's Soul Gem with an arrow flashed in my mind for a moment, retreating as fast as it came. I winced a little, but showed no overt outward discomfort. "Speaking of which, Homura-chan, you should come with us on our next Witch-Hunt. Sayaka's still a bit green, so she could learn from the example of someone as seasoned as you."
"I'm not as seasoned as I look. I think you're the veteran of the group still, Mami-san." Mami took the compliment to heart and nodded.
"Ah, true, true. Even though, you should still come. I've been hunting a specific Witch since last Thursday, the sly devil getting away from me each time. The back-up would be greatly appreciated." I considered the alternatives and, given my condition, could use a little warm-up exercise.
"Sure, I'll go with you." Mami smiled and took hold of one of the nearby napkins, producing a pen from one of her pockets.
"Excellent. Here..." She jotted down a phone number on the napkin and handed it to me. "This is my number, if you need help, call me."
"Ooh! Oh, here, take mine too!" Madoka continued, writing hers next to Mami's. "In case Mami-san's not available, I can probably find her." I took the napkin as I changed back to my school uniform in another purple flash. Retrieving my cell phone from my pocket, I put in the numbers well... Madoka's anyway. I already had Mami's from the last six times I've tried this month.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to give you a call if I need help." Mami was satisfied with my response and nodded.
"Now, don't you kids have somewhere to be shortly?" Mami continued, addressing Sayaka and Madoka, hinting they needed to be back with their families. Sayaka finally managed to shake herself from her shock, nodding.
"Yea... yea, I gotta get home... thank you for – eh... the tea, Mami-san..." She finished the cup and stood, bowing to everyone. "I'll see you all at school, I guess." Madoka followed suit, standing, bowing, and following Sayaka out the door. I was left alone with Mami as she poured herself another cup, offering me one as she calmed herself. I refused the offered cup politely, having some things I needed to do myself.
"So, Homura-chan..." She began as the door shut behind Madoka and Sayaka. "I hate to stoop to Kyuubey's level but... who did you want to come back? You can tell me. I don't kiss and tell." I laughed a little at her last sentence and placed the saucer on the glass table top, stood and gave a curt bow.
"That's good to hear, Mami-san. You'll be happy to know I don't either." As I walked out of the small apartment, I could hear Mami give me a satisfactory chuckle. I was out the door and down the stairs before I was confronted again by Kyuubey.
"I can honestly say, Akemi Homura..." He began, his face smiling eternally at me. "I have no idea what your goals are." I ignored the thing, continuing to walk in whatever direction kept me going the longest.
"No, of course you don't." I answered, a sliver of my old self rearing it's head once more. Kyuubey, regardless of what I did, always had some ability to make me just... angry. "You don't understand anything about us humans, do you? Emotions, the value of life, love, friendship. It's just a battery to you, isn't it?"
"You know so much about me, yet I know little of you." He answered, keeping pace with me. Admittedly, it's how I would have preferred it, keep him in the dark as long as humanly possible. I kept walking, towards the old abandoned hospital on the edge of town, where our conflict with Gertrud happened so many times. I chose my answers and actions carefully, even knowing full well whatever I told or did to Kyuubey he would keep to himself, I felt it was useless to attack him.
"I'm a Puella Magi." I answered slowly. "I fight Witches." I continued, turning the ring on my finger into my Soul Gem, holding it in the palm of my hand, watching as it glowed bright. "What more do you need to know?" A rippled before me caught my attention, a Witch's barrier was here. It might have been the Witch Mami was referring to, but if it was, why would she allow it to fester here, when it's so close I could practically smell it. Literally. With a flash of purple, I transformed, pulling a pistol from behind my disk.
"And yet you know exactly where to go for this particular Witch." He paused for a moment before continuing. "How many times have you killed this one?"
"Personally?" I asked more sarcastically then not. "Five." He ticked his head to the right some as I stepped through the barrier into her maze. He wasn't far behind as I made my way through the Cotton-Ball Barber creatures that were her Familiars. Most avoided me, fear present on their near-invisible faces, but a few stood up, only to get gunned down in the process.
The path to the Witch was one I had burned into my memory, the journey being nothing more then simply retracing my steps from my last visits. The journey was long, uneventful, and boring, consisting of no more then twelve of her Familiars possessing a spine to attack, all of which figured out cotton was not a good protector from bullets. Kicking the exit doors open, I came into the massive expanse that was the arena-like structure where the Witch herself resided. "Hello, Ugly." I droned, dropping from the overlook into the arena, landing on my toes, giving my hair a flourish as I landed. Flashy and fancy, just the way I liked it. "I've got somewhere to be soon, so I'll make this quick. For both of us." Discarding the empty pistol, I retrieved the M60 from within the confines of the nether, drawing the bolt back on the heavy machine gun. "Nice and quick..." Steady hands and a practiced aim was one of the many things I had acquired in all my tries and fails of this month.
I've gone from a gun-shy girl with pig tails and glasses to a gun-toting mean bitch with more fire-power then the entire world's military combined. The disk on my arm made it's tell-tale click as the world froze around me, the Witch frozen like a painting in time, a sitting duck. The ammo belt on the M60 emptied quickly, all 200 rounds leaving the gun in the span of about a minute, a barrage of bullets suspended before me, just ready for time to resume so they could wreak havoc. Discarding the empty weapon, I dove back into the nether behind my disk and retrieved another, fully-loaded M60, pulled the bolt back on this one as well, and emptied it as well.
My feet never moved as weapon after weapon was removed from the nether, loaded and ready, then promptly emptied into the Witch as she stared uselessly at me as a still-frame picture smiles as you toss it into the fire. Pistols, machine guns, grenades, pipe bombs, hell, even a couple of rockets were frozen as they prepared to lay waste to the Witch. The last bullet leaving the pistol in my hand, I heard my disk start to chime an end to the time stop. In short seconds, all that lead would find it's way to Gurtrud's heart, killing her.
Discarding the last pistol, I took an aggressive stance, my fingers in the shape of a gun, and waited for the time stop to end, resuming. "Bang." I mused as time started, the Witch erupting into a shower of fire and sparks as the munitions found their marks all at once, a blitzkrieg that would have made world leaders jealous. It was over quite literally before it began, the barrier dispersing to the hospital wing, showing the Witch was dead. From the rafters of the decrepit ceiling came the small image of the source of all that Witch's hate, anger and suffering, a Grief Seed. The heels of my boots tapped on the moss-covered tile as I took a few steps forward towards the small black object lodged in the ground. Pulling it from the ground, I stared at it for a moment.
"You certainly do know your way around a Witch, Akemi Homura..." Kyuubey chimed in again as I slipped the Grief Seed into the nether. I didn't bother giving this statement any credence, pretending that I didn't even hear him as I walked away from the hospital. It was already dark, and I was starting to feel very fatigued from the day in general, so towards home I started, my footsteps serving as a gentle reminder that I was still alive. "So, is this how you plan on going about your life, then? Ignoring my very presence?" As he continued to speak, images of Sayaka turning into a Witch filled my head, causing me to come to a stop and close my eyes, fighting the images off.
"If I can get away with it, yes. You've cost me enough as is." I droned, turning to face the white cat. "I've watched my friends die horrible deaths because of you, and I don't plan on seeing it anymore. As it stands, Incubator, I want nothing to do with you, regardless of how interesting you find me." Kyuubey continued to stare at me with those eyes and that smile, stupidly unawares of what I was saying.
"You are a most interesting subject, Akemi Homura..." He started to walk past me towards god knows where. "Most interesting indeed..." I don't want to be interesting. I don't care about you, or Mami, or anyone else... I only care about Madoka... That's all I've ever cared about, and that's all I'll ever care about. I shook my head, putting a hand to my forehead. Ah, what was I saying? No one could hear my well-placed retort, nor would anyone really care to do so. Stepping out of the derelict building, I took a look around the dying sunlight, my brain searching itself for something to do with the remainder of the day.
"Homura!" Came a voice from my front-left, the blue-haired figure of Sayaka sprinting towards me, the most ridiculous getup on her. She looked like a bad movie hero with that silly cap flapping behind her. Sliding to a stop before me, she inhaled once to catch her breath, then continued. "I sensed a Witch around here... but now it's gone... did you-?"
"Yes." I answered plainly, the girl's face draining. She looked about, trying to find some response to what I had done.
"Mami doesn't want us fighting alone! It's too-"
"Dangerous? You're right. You and Mami should stay together. I've been doing this... for a while. I know what I'm doing." She flushed an angered red.
"Arrogance, that's what it is!" I reached into the nether and retrieved the Grief Seed I had claimed, holding it to her. "What's this?" She muttered, taking it.
"A peace offering. Take it, and be sure to use it."
"A Grief Seed? But-"
"Trust me, Sayaka. You need it." Her eyes bounced from my face to the Grief Seed, then back to my face, almost as if she couldn't quite comprehend what exactly I was saying. "I don't want you to hate me, Sayaka. I don't want anyone to hate me... I'm... complicated. As both a Puella Magi, and a person. Please... just bear with me... and take what you see at face value. I know it looks like arrogance, I know you may not like it... but with my abilities... I don't have to take risks." She nodded, seeming to understand what I was saying now.
"I don't hate you, Homura..." She muttered, looking me over. "You're... strange, maybe a little scary at first... but I don't hate you." She loosened some, smiling. "Besides, how long would we last in our line of work if we spent the whole time looking over our shoulders?" I cracked a smile at this, and even chuckled.
"You're right... We wouldn't get very far at all, would we?"
"No. No, we certainly wouldn't. Listen, Madoka and I are going to meet Mami back at her apartment tomorrow night. Just wanted to make sure you knew the when and where." I gave her a smile and a nod, the suit disappearing off my body as my uniform returned. Sayaka clutched the grief seed and nodded, her ridiculous suit vanishing into a blue flash. "Tomorrow at six. Don't be late Lady Time Stop." Lady Time Stop... I liked it. I gave her a loose salute as I turned around.
"See you tomorrow, Sayaka-chan."
"See you tomorrow."
The pair of us parted ways for a time, Sayaka returning to her home, and I returned to my apartment for some quiet contemplation.