Author's Note: I went back and divide the final chapter into two separate parts. I feel it reads a bit easier.
Quickly, Homura opened her eyes. She tumbled off the couch, her tea mug clattering to ground, the cold liquid sticking to the floor and her hands. She looked around: the rain had stopped, and indeed, she was in her apartment. She quickly stumbled to her feet and dashed towards the door. She threw it open, sucking in deep gulps of night air. She crouched down, head between her knees, trying to control her breathing.
"I'm… back," she said. She looked around. Indeed she was home, the bright streetlights of her suburban home welcoming her. "I'm back," she repeated, grounding herself in her own reality.
She stood after a few minutes and sighed, walking back into her house. She walked over to the couch and flopped down. "Ow!" she screamed, rising up. She turned around and looked down. An envelope, along with a flat, rectangular box, rested beneath her. She knew that it hadn't been there previously, but opened it nonetheless, starting with the envelope:
Dear Homura,
Homura's breath caught. She knew that cutesy, loopy handwriting anywhere. Madoka, she thought. She continued to read:
Here's a little something for my best fighter. Best wishes, Madoka.
Homura sat the letter down gingerly and reached for the box. She sat it in her lap and tore open the end. She reached inside and nearly fainted at what she pulled out.
Small and circular, it was a shield, similar to her old one. It lacked the old design: gone were the orbs of sand. In there place was gilt and bronze, beaten to shining regalia of a set of wings identical to Madoka's. She shook the shield and felt a smile appear on her face: it was clearly laden with addition weapons. She reached into it and was glad to be proven right as she hefted a pineapple grenade in her hand. She stuck it back inside carefully.
She glanced back at the letter and smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks, but as soon as they came, laughter bubbled out of her. She should have know that Madoka would rearrange even time and space to make sure that she was okay. That very thought ate away at the sadness in her belly until the pain from laughing replaced it.
Within minutes, Homura was up, a smile still on her face. She grabbed her shield and transformed her Soul Gem to its native form, locking the door behind her as she left. In a matter of steps, she had transformed, a set of black, asymmetrical wings blossoming from her shoulders. She ran for a few moments and pressed off from the ground, shield on her wrist, and a beautiful black bow in her hands.
She would be Madoka's Champion.
At least until they saw each other again.