No future
Under the faded and broken mantle of a sky that was once glittering and vivid, the charred debris that was present gave no indication that belonged to a large tower, as if there was once life.
For both, it would be a mistake to think otherwise, although, in the case of life, should be used in a more figurative form.
In a pile of rubble, a piece of a wall fell, pushed by strong bare arms of white wax. Nimbly leaving the hole where she was, thanks mainly to her short, tight black dress that allowed greater freedom of movement, Ibari stood on the pile in a gallant pose, as if just climbed the highest of all mountains.
However, she soon found that the greatest mountain was far, far away... with its black and undulating cliffs, crossing the crystal sky.
After shaking well her head to get off any dust on her short blond hair, Ibari looked back at the gap where her blue eyes met others similar. She then motioned for them to come to her.
But, from the hole, only emerged the head of Okubyou. She looked at the great black mountain and then back to the other doll.
Ibari, snapping the mechanical joints of her body, again called to come.
Okubyou shook her head, in a expression of fear and returned back to the hole.
Ibari put her hands on her hips and showed her sharp jaw, not happy at all with that.
Suddenly, Okubyou left the gap in a jump.
Ibari was bewildered when the other ran to stand behind her.
From the hole, Reiketsu leave quietly, with a black pin in hand. Approaching the other two, she threw her long blond hair back.
Okubyou was restless, dividing her attention between the mountain and the tip of that pin.
Until she took a strong elbow in her face.
More satisfied, Ibari saw her bother roll through the pile of debris to the ground of ash. Then she turned her attention to Reiketsu, who just nodded.
There was much work to be done, it was necessary to form the troupe again.
After descending the pile, the two kicked Okubyou for her to get up. What a crybaby! Then they walked between the tower debris until they encountered a curious scene.
In a vain effort, Ganko struck repeatedly with the head of a pin on a fallen wall buried in under a pile of rubble. Pinned beneath, with only her head and arms out, Warukuchi was fisting the ground furiously.
Beside Ganko, Nekura was head down, shooking it, not at all convinced by what the other was doing.
Much less Namake, who was sitting cross-legged watching it. She was the first to sight the others coming. However, even with Ibari stopping in front of her with a questioning look, the most she raised was her own shoulders.
Meanwhile, Reiketsu reached Ganko, but the other did not stop hitting the wall with her pin. Without any more patience, Reiketsu tried to hold it.
Ganko reacted in the worst possible way, pushing Reiketsu with body of her pin.
Reiketsu responded in kind and a dispute occurred under the startled look of Nekura and Okubyou.
The blue and white of Ganko's eyes gave way to red and green, expressing her anger. That was when she felt her leg being pulled by Warukuchi.
Taking advantage of the distraction of her opponent, Reiketsu pushed with all her might and knocked her down.
Fallen, Ganko showed her sharp teeth as she adjusted her big black cap.
But Reiketsu had already turned her attention to the other one who was trapped under the rubble.
Warukuchi then saw the doll pointing the pin at her. Widening her inhuman eyes, she put her hands on her head.
How she was wrong! Reiketsu stuck the tip of the pin between the ground and the debris. Straining, she used the pin as a lever and tried to lift the fallen wall.
Ganko was already up when she realized what the other was doing. She then looked at her own pin.
The two then exchanged glances, Reiketsu nodded.
With eyes returning to the bluish colors, Ganko did the same.
Okubyou witnessed the two working together until Ibari came to her. The blonde pointed to Warukuchi. The two went to the pinned one and each took one arm.
In response to the action of the others, Ganko and Reiketsu redoubled their efforts, managing to move a little the debris. Ibari and Okubyou then began to pull Warukuchi.
Until the arms were ripped off.
Ibari and Okubyou fell with arms of wax flailing over them.
Warukuchi, even more furious, now beat her head against the ground.
Namake, now lying, yawned.
While Nekura just shook her head sadly. That was when a pin was thrown against her.
Ibari was on her feet with another pin, and pointed to the rubble.
Although reluctant, Nekura obeyed and together they went to help Ganko and Reiketsu, while Okubyou pull Warukuchi again, now by the head.
This time, the debris were erected enough to take her out. Even being helped by others to get up, Warukuchi was not the least bit grateful. Her arms climbed by her pants and found a way through her clothes to be able to reconnect to their places of origin. She then took her little hat on the floor and straightened in her red hair.
When it seemed that the situation was less tense, explosions were heard.
They looked at each other, Ganko was the first to point where the sound had come. All agreed on the need to check.
Almost.
Namake, her head leaning on a rubble, was sleeping peacefully until she was pulled by the legs and dragged across the floor. When she awoke, she saw Reiketsu holding her and the others with a look of disapproval. She replied with a smile and a shrug.
Together, all went to where the explosions continued to occur. On top of a large pile of rubble, they found Noroma sitting, who seemed to be cheering for something.
As they approached her, they came across a great battle. Wagamama, Yakimochi, Mie, Higami, Usotsuki... each on their own in a fight with explosive flying pins.
Ibari was taking satisfaction with Noroma about what was going on. Who was sitting pointed excited to the big flower on her own head.
Now everything made sense.
Looking better, Wagamama was not just with her white flower in her ostentatious hat, but also a charred black flower. Yakimochi, Mie and certainly Higami wanted it for them, while Usotsuki... well... she would feign if it would put more fire in the circus.
Ibari scratched her head, thinking about how to solve that, when Warukuchi took the initiative and threw a pin.
Wagamama was concentrated dodging the others. It could not be anything else but unexpected the direction that attack came. The explosion threw her away, causing her to separate from her hat as well as the flower.
Before the black flower fell to the ground, Reiketsu caught it in a big jump. Upon landing, the others who were fighting were already in front of her. She reached out and revealed what she had taken.
They opened their mouths in joy.
Reiketsu then closed her hand, crushing the flower, letting out the ashes between her hard, cold fingers.
They made a pout, sad, except Usotsuki, who laughed.
Wagamama got up and dusted off her black dress. Furious, she advanced toward Ibari, who had her hat in hand. She snatched it and kept staring, her hands on her hips.
Ibari did the same pose, lifting her chin slightly.
There were a few seconds of tension between the two until Wagamama relaxed and offered a hug, in which Ibari returned. The troupe was almost complete, missing only three.
The next one they did not even need to take the trouble to find because Manuke appeared with her tranquil and awkward way of being. Probably attracted by the sound of explosions, she was carrying a wreath of violet flowers.
Mie's eyes grew. With all the colors of death around her, she sure would stand out with them. Much better than those ashes in which they were disputing! But before she could take the first step, she ended up being run over by the others that soon surrounded Manuke.
They all wanted to touch the wreath, those flowers, all except Reiketsu, who was more interested in Manuke herself. Manuke then pointed out where she came from.
The place where she found the wreath.
Once they arrived, they soon realized that this place was different. There was not just rubble, the soil was also turned up and there were many scattered white feathers, besides the existence of a source of magic.
Manuke climbed over the rubble where the magic originated and soon others began to remove them. How would they not recognize?
The weirdest of the troupe.
Ganko was the first to lift her pin with the finding. Nagisa was dirty and unconscious but still breathing. Even if she could survive such crushing weight, one could say that she was lucky to be in a safety gap.
All dolls gathered around her. Ibari stepped on the head of Nagisa a few times, but she did not wake up. Usotsuki sat up and her fingers pulled the lips of the girl with long white hair as much as she could, opening a broad 'smile'. Reiketsu knocked over Usotsuki with a precise stroke of her pin. She faced the others while throwing her hair back, then she turned her attention to Nagisa and aimed her pin straight to the girl's heart, ready to puncture it.
Higami intervened, holding the pin. Reiketsu looked at her threateningly, but she did not back down, instead she pointed to her sharp teeth and then to the fallen girl.
Reiketsu pondered for a moment and then looked back at Higami, nodding and moving away. Higami took off her hat and cast a smaller pin compared to the others. She knocked on the edge of her hat a few times with the pin and emerged from inside, in a jump, a large piece of parmesan cheese.
Noroma eagerly took the piece of cheese and put it in her mouth. Happily, she chewed cheese, until she realized the discontent expression of the others. She then stopped and pulled out a good piece of it between her teeth and offered to Higami. Nothing more fair. However, the blows that the others started giving on her said the opposite.
Higami just shook her head in disappointment and brought about a new piece of cheese on her hat. She put it at the tip of her pin, which gained size and length, and approached to Nagisa's face.
At first nothing happened, but as soon as the piece was rubbed on her lips, passing beneath her nostrils, the nose of Nagisa began working fiercely.
Higami smiled at the result.
Nagisa opened her lips a little, timidly proving that piece... entirely snapping it, including a portion of the pin, with her big teeth! Barely chewed and swallowed it already licking her lips with her big purple tongue, which contrasted with the completely white skin of her face. Then she opened her multicolored eyes, replacing her ecstatic expression by dread. "Rawr? RAAAWWRRR?!"
Nagisa quickly stood up, her hands on her face, on the yellow circles in her cheeks. "Owr nouwwr! I ate Mawrmi!" When searching for blood, she noted she was wearing a dirty pink dress. "Ewr?" She rubbed her head, but found nothing beyond her hair and red ribbons tied to it. "Huwr? W-What happened to me?"
Confused, but more calm, Nagisa realized the dolls around looking at her, except one who was looking scared at the broken pin in its own hand. "Y-You did something?" She did not even wait for an answer, because she noted that everything was very strange. There were piles of debris, yes, but the scene was different from her memories. Then she looked at the cracked crystal ceiling, or if it would be a ceiling... "This isn't Homura-chan's home."
As she wandered with her gaze, she came across something that made her big mouth open in amazement. Distant, a big black mountain had gone through that ceiling and its foot was rising. At the base, numerous black tentacles were struggling. Nagisa continued to watch until the mountain disappear altogether in a large hole formed in the crystal.
"What was that?" Nagisa again turned her attention to the dolls and found that they were leaving, giving great leaps toward where the mountain was. "Will you go there?"
A doll approached her, carrying a wreath.
Nagisa recognized the color of the flowers. "Homura-chan..."
The doll made a somewhat gawky smile.
Still, Nagisa returned it. "Let's go!"
／人◕‿‿◕人＼
First came the pain.
Mami put her hand on her head and soon felt that she was lying. When she opened her eyes, she found that her vision was blurry, like inside a fog.
A mistake.
When she rose, she concluded she really was in the midst of a thick fog. She could barely see the short wall.
A short wall?
Yes, it was a short wall of rock as red as the rest of the footbridge where she was on.
Surprised, Mami tried to locate herself, seeking to remember where in the gallery she might have seen something similar. Meanwhile, her vision got used to the fog and she noticed the silhouette of a footbridge above, passing on where she was. She went to the stone short wall, deciding to investigate what lay beyond. What she found was an apparent endless drop into the fog and a footbridge passing beneath, that branched further in a bizarre architectural demonstration.
Where?
There was activity in the fog, bright flashes that earned shapes that Mami could distinguish: musical notes, crosses and flowers. A quick colorful movement was sensed by the corner of her eye and she turned startled. Before her, a beautiful school of fish swam quietly through the mist.
Where am I?
With so many surprises, Mami took some time to realize that she was not wearing her magical girl uniform, and that her hands were empty. "My gem... it can't have fallen too far." She extended her hand with the ring and focused.
A faint yellow glow, though distinguishable, stood out in the mist. It should not be more than a dozen meters.
Mami sighed relieved, but then heard the sound of a march. The footbridge vibrated with every step. Looking back, she saw the flicker of countless torches in the fog approaching.
Not believing that this could be a good thing, Mami went fast to where her gem was. Giving a cartwheel, she picked up the object on the ground and before the foot hits the same, she already transformed. More confident, she pointed her musket to the horde of flames.
Despite nothing in her imagination could compare with it.
Soldiers appeared in the fog, all wearing beautiful colored kimonos, with prints of flowers. But they sure were not human, because their bodies were made of paper, including their heads. Each did not carry a torch, but a long candle, which they carried like spears.
Even before that, Mami tried to talk. "Stop! I don't want to fight you."
The army stopped.
The heart of Mami calmed down a bit, but she kept her posture, waiting for an answer.
It came. The heads of soldiers unfolded as an origami, their necks lengthened. The end product of all this was the head of dragon that they now possessed. They then put the flame of the candles in front of them.
Already aware of the intention of them, Mami took a big jump and escape the fireball which they blew. In the air, she conjured dozens of muskets around her and ordered them to fire.
The hail of bullets was so devastating that not only brought down the soldiers but also part of the stone walkway.
"They're numerous, but aren't strong." Mami thought aloud as she returned to step on something firm. "But what is this? It looks like with what happened to Akemi-san..." She then swallowed hard. "Kyouko..." Wasting no time, she concentrated, trying to find any source of magic in the vicinity.
Finally she found something. It was hard to trust with all that mist, but did not seem so far away and moved quickly toward another source, but this one was weaker and oscillating, almost imperceptible.
／人◕‿‿◕人＼
The energy blades tore the paper soldier.
"Shit... ah... what happened?" Kirika's blood was almost indistinguishable in relation of the walkway rocks. She dragged on, using the short wall for support. "Damn... where did I go wrong?"
There was no more magic or cubes, blood poured faster and faster. The walkway began to spin.
"T-This is bad... uhh..." Without strength, Kirika surrendered to the floor. "Big love... I was an incompetent again." The cold took hold, her body shivered. "Ah... I... have to apologize... ah... saying I love you a thousand times..." In addition to trembling. "... or maybe a hundred."
Her only companion in her act of forgiveness at the time was some fish that were swimming there.
"I love... uh... love... l... love..."
It was hard to tell how many there were, for her vision was losing focus.
"... ve... ve... lo... ve..."
It became even more difficult when a figure hovered over her, with vivid blue eyes.
Igniting a spark in Kirika. "Oh... my prayers have been answered... I... could not see you... uh... one last time... big love... but at least I'm having... ahh... a vision of our little one..."
A strong green light blinded her and with it the cold was gone, as well as the shaking. A sense of relief and welfare filled her body, where just before was only distress and suffocation. The pain Kirika was still blocking, but she knew it should have gone too. She even recorded the exact time the heart started pounding strongly again.
"PAPA! PAPA!" Yuma was kneeling, holding the head of Kirika. "Are you alright?"
"Are you?" Kirika breath deeply, joy taking her being when her two lungs inflated. "Are really you little love?"
"Mama sent me." Said Yuma. "She didn't anticipate this and told me that you would be in danger."
Kirika suddenly rose. "She didn't foresee this? So I must have made a veeery big mistake!"
"Mistake?"
"Oh... hmmm..." Kirika glanced at Yuma. "T-That I have to see with big love."
That answer had not satisfied the curiosity Yuma, but her attention was diverted to something more urgent. "Your gem!"
"Oh... Yeah! Yeah! It must be very dark." Kirika turned. "Do you have cubes?"
"Uh-huh." Yuma was already with grief cubes in hand. "She had left a lot with me."
"She's always overprotective, isn't she?" Kirika was almost taking the cubes when stopped. "Wait! Let me see yours."
"Okay." Yuma turned and bowed her head.
Kirika's eyes widened. The gem on Yuma's nape was dull, with more than two thirds taken by complete darkness. No wonder, it had been almost a resurrection, the girl had gone to great lengths to save her. "Little love, your gem became a bit dirty, I'll take care of it." She was using cubes one by one to harness them to the fullest, throwing those who had already been widely used off the footbridge.
"It's over?"
"Almost, it's hard to hold all of them, I'm being careful to not drop any." Kirika broke into a cold sweat. Big Love would never forgive me for letting Yuma use almost all her magic. Thankfully, she was wary of leaving so many cubes.
Fourteen cubes were used in total.
After purifying Yuma, Kirika took her hand with several cubes to her back in order to clean her own gem. She even felt the body becoming lighter with the process. "Done."
Yuma turned back and saw Kirika to throw a handful of cubes, which disappeared in the fog. There were cubes only enough to cover the palm of the other hand of the girl.
"These here are the left over."
"O-Only that?!"
"Yeah... my gem was very corrupted..." Kirika said, as she closed her hand. "I'll keep them now."
"Uh-huh... hmmm..." Yuma looked at the fish in midair. "Papa, what happened?"
Kirika shook her head. "I dunno."
"Where me and Mama were, we saw this fog form in the tunnel, and when I entered, I found myself here." Yuma continued. "This place is very strange. I think I saw people carrying torches through the mist."
"Stay away from them!" Kirika warned. "They're dangerous monsters."
"Monsters?! Like demons?" Yuma was scared. "Were they the ones who did this to you?"
Kirika lowered her head. "Yes, they're... but... just because they caught me by surprise."
"Yes... all happened so suddenly." Yuma looked around. "But do you know where are..."
An unmistakable sound of a step on the rock had been heard. Attracted to that sound, Kirika and Yuma encountered a magical girl balancing on the short wall, carrying with her a musket.
"Mami-senpai!" Yuma ran.
"Little love..." Distracted by the sudden appearance, Kirika had been unable to stop the little girl.
Stopping in front of Mami, Yuma burst in jubilation. "Good! Papa was wounded, so I was very worried thinking about what could have happened to you, but now I know that everything is... fine..." But she stopped.
Mami's face was tense, her breath holding in a pained expression. Her whole body shuddered, especially the hands that held the musket, sliding her finger on the trigger.
"Mami-senpai..." Yuma stammered, feeling a familiar uneasiness spreading through her body, which always occurred when her old mother screamed for her name through the house. She waited in that eternal moment for a response from Mami, but what came was a hand on her shoulder and Kirika taking her front.
In addition to the footbridge vibrating, followed by strong clatter of hooves. It immediately caught the attention of the three to a great flame rapidly approaching through the fog.
With a neighing, a sinister figure appeared. Giant, with ten meters high, was a rider who wore an opulent red kimono adorned by flowers and algae. Its body, so to speak, consisted of a large candle that was lit. The horse was so peculiar as its owner. Without a saddle, it was made of composite ash glaze, forming a detailed pattern in black and white. Its neck, too long in contrast with its short legs to such an animal, carried a large red medallion. If such a view were not threatening enough, the rider still had in hand a massive double sided spear, decorated with the painting of a rose bush.
"Ah!" Yuma was terrified. "So those are the monsters?"
"No." Kirika gaped. "T-This one is much worse!"
The fact of Kirika, so used to fighting alone against hordes of demons, being fearful made Yuma shake further. Still, she joined the will and the sense of duty to cast her furry wand. "Papa, W-We must fight. If this monster reach the surface, people may die, we have to destroy it!"
"NO!"
Yuma saw Mami jump from the short wall, landing between them and the rider. Even now seeing from her back, the gun trembling continued to show the tension of the girl.
"Leave it with me..."
"Huh?" Yuma had become confused, the calm and low voice of the blonde did not correspond with the previous cry. "But... we can help, no, we must!"
"I've faced one of these, it's very dangerous for both of you." Mami turned her head, smiling. "Trust your senpai, okay?"
That expression also did not correspond with what she had just witnessed before. "But..."
Mami again turned her attention to the rider. "Go! Please..."
"Little love." Kirika started pulling Yuma. "She wants to be alone, just like I do, you see? Let's look for mama."
Yuma did not actually resist, somewhat stunned, but did let out a sigh when seeing Mami and the rider disappear through the fog.
She would not witness Mami bring her hand to mouth, with the lips strained. "I couldn't... couldn't..."
The rider reared up the horse and pointed its spear.
"You know I wouldn't be capable of such barbarity." Mami revealed a sad smile to the rider. "Didn't you? Kyouko."
The flame of the candle flickered.
"Now it's just me and you, can see me? Hear me?"
The rider began to ride with her spear raised.
"No... wait!" Mami reached out and sprouted dozens of ribbons from the footbridge to hold the giant coming towards her. It was necessary to stop her before she gained momentum and so the ribbons lifted her off the ground. "Calm down... calm down..."
Using the flame of her candle, and her spear, the rider struggled to break free, but more ties appeared.
"Like Akemi-san, you must be suffering so much." Mami said. "But you must remember that she recovered with our help. I'm here for this, for you. Please."
The rider stopped moving and then disappeared, making the ribbons that held her fall to the ground.
"Eh?!" Mami was completely confused by what had happened until she heard a neigh that came above her. She barely had time to see and avoid the spear from the rider who came falling through the mist, but the footbridge was not so lucky. "AAAHHH!"
Everything collapsed and both began to fall. Even in this situation, the rider brandished her spear in an attempt to reach the magic girl.
Guided by her instinct, Mami threw a ribbon that curled on a footbridge. Holding tight to it, the girl moved away from the rider who was still in free fall. Like a vine, she shook and bounced, finally stepping on solid ground.
She took a deep breath, feeling the effect of adrenaline passing away. "An... illusion?" A twinge of pain alerted her to a deeper cut in her abdomen, she could only think that come out from the spearhead.
"Why... did this happen? Where is the Law of Cycles?" After tying a ribbon to stop the bleeding, she conjured a new musket. Head high, staring at the mist in front of her, Mami returned to her solitary walk through the bridges.
／人◕‿‿◕人＼
"Wait! Wait!"
Following the dolls was not an easy task, especially in the middle of a great desert of sand and rocks. Nagisa had lost count of how many cliffs she had climbed as well as she had given up to understand how she was there. The only hope left to her was to find Homura.
Arriving at the top of another mountain, Nagisa had not found what she were looking, but what she saw left her puzzled. Down the mountain, the ground was completely taken by red spider lilies. She looked up and noticed she was almost under the big hole in the ceiling. "We're close..."
The dolls had already reached the flowery field.
"Awr! I said to wawrt!"
Once she stepped in middle of those flowers, Nagisa felt the sand under her feet. "They... are growing in the desert?" She kept going, aware that those flowered hills ahead were actually dunes.
In that sea of red, anything of another color stood out easily, this included a small diamond-shaped rock where the dolls were crowding around. When Nagisa approached, she found it had runes inscribed.
Here lies
HOMULILLY
Our beloved mortal world
"We will be together again someday"
The colorful eyes of Nagisa widened, it was not just a rock, but a tombstone. Seeking to consult the dolls about it, she realized that they were pulling the spider lilies. The dolls rubbed their cold, hard cheekbones as if they were crying, but their mouths were still open in the form of a smile. They began to throw the lilies on the grave. The doll carrying the wreath placed it carefully on the base of the stone.
Then Nagisa saw: in the middle of the wreath had an object that was leaning against the tombstone, which she recognized immediately and quickly caught. "A grief seed..."
The seed pulsated a faint white light.
"... where a witch can be reborn from it." Nagisa has raised in her left hand her own seed. "But how do you do that?" Her seed then vibrated and tilted toward the another seed. "Oh..."
Allowing the attraction to take its course, Nagisa made the two seeds touch. A black substance came out of her seed, and was absorbed by the other one. During the process, she felt relief, her concerns appeared to be smaller now. "Wow...! Wait... my voice." She realized that it sounded softer, she opened her mouth as much she could and did not manage much. Running her tongue over her teeth, she confirmed that they were not sharp and neither her tongue was big. "I came back to normal!"
The seed pulsed a stronger light and started jumping on the palm of Nagisa. "Ouch!" Unable to hold more, she let it fall.
When the sharp edge of the seed planted in the soil, the sand around began to change to a violet color.
The dolls stopped rubbing their faces.
Suddenly, the sand took the form of a hand, holding the seed.
To the admiration of Nagisa. "Did it worked?"
Even more suddenly, giant hands made of sand rose.
Nagisa observed the hands going up more and more. "Yeah... I guess it worked."
The hands turned around and plunged toward where was the seed. The impact raised a large column of sand and flowers.
"Aahhh!" Nagisa fell back, but without taking her eyes of what she was witnessing.
The dolls, once so smiling, closed their mouths.
When the column came down, the seed was not there anymore but something much darker. With a black dress for funeral, it had the shape and stature of a person, but nothing more to corroborate to this conclusion. The body was covered with black leather straps sewn together by thick white strings. Arms, hands, legs, feet... including the head, where the seam covered its mouth.
Nagisa rose slowly in front of what looked more like a scarecrow, completely still. She examined the mask that it wore, white with a long pointed nose, the holes where the eyes would be nothing could be seen beyond a dark void. Above its head was a curious pointed hat, where its base was like a vinyl record and the tip bent toward it. Representing a 'hair', white strands were glued at the hat, forming two long braids tied with violet ribbons at the tip.
Nagisa then saw that there was something just below the hat, more specifically on the forehead of the mask. It was a symbol, the mark of the Law of Cycles. "Homura-chan..."
Homulilly finally moved. Her head lowered toward Nagisa.
The little girl felt that those holes in the mask could swallow her at any time. "Ehh... Hi. Are you ok?"
There was no reaction.
"Maybe not... hehe... hmmm." Nagisa grimaced, thinking about what to do. Then she realized and removed the red ribbons attached to her hair. "I think this might help you remember." She then held out to the witch.
Homulilly again made a move, receiving the ribbons in one of her hands.
Nagisa was pleased with that. "I don't think they look good on me. I don't know who put this, but I believe they're from Madoka."
The hand of Homulilly closed on the ribbons with a crushing force. All the dolls have set their eyes on Nagisa and stood motionless like... dolls.
"Erm... maybe they aren't." Nagisa smiled nervously. "Actually I'm quite lost with what is happeni..."
Homulilly moved the other arm. On the palm of her hand a dark energy coalesced with flashes of images of random objects with no apparent connection.
Nagisa was even more nervous.
The energy solidified in an hourglass with a polished ebony frame. The upper compartment contained a violet sand that, when it moved to the lower compartment, each grain grew and turned into black pins.
Nagisa was admiring the object, hearing the tinkling of the fallen pins, until the owner turned it in a horizontal position. "Oh... ouch..." Sharp pains manifested through her body and soon discovered that she was completely pierced by hundreds of those pins. When turned her attention to her aggressor, the witch was already holding back the hourglass upright.
The pins then sank into her flesh.
"AHH! AAAIIIEEEE!" Nagisa fell, such was the pain. "Homu... AHH!"
Homulilly was unresponsive. The pins tinkling in the hourglass.
"AAAH! AAAAWWWRRR!" The agonizing face of Nagisa returned to turn in her witch's one. From her mouth, the great serpent Charlotte came out so frightened that in a jump, went through all the flowery field and the mountain on which she had previously climbed.
Landing in the desert sands, she snaked as quickly as possible. When she won a great distance, reaching to another mountain range, she decided to stop and look back.
Homulilly was not as far as she would like, flying with butterfly wings made of the same dark energy from earlier.
Charlotte gritted her big sharp teeth in dread. Those pins were not edible at all! She could never escape or even hide... at least not in that form. The serpent opened her mouth and let her tongue out, where a rag doll came out rolling. "bbbrrriiii!" Falling on a group of Pyotr that were waiting.
While the snake deflated and crumbled, Charlotte was being carried by her familiars among the mountain rocks. On the way, they found a crack in a cliff large enough. Tumbling, the doll left her minions and entered the crack, crawling to go as deep as possible.
Everything was cold and dark, with a little light coming through the crack which she had entered. Charlotte curled up in her long brown sleeves and stood huddled.
The light dimmed, indicating that something was in the entrance.
"bbbrrriiii..." Charlotte started shaking. Does she had found her? In that case, she would be able to reach her there? There was no escape route.
".ereht era uoy wonk I"
"bbbrrriiii?" The witch was talking to her?
".tuo emoC .em si tI"
She could not understand what was being said, but did recognize the voice. "bbbrrriiiiHomura-chanii..." Crawling again and carefully, she peeked.
Homulilly was standing motionless in front of the crack, it was as if the previous scene was repeating itself, except for the red ribbons in her fingers.
".ereH"
As well as a salamander on her left shoulder, which gave off a strong violet glow all over its body. It crawled to the mask's eye sockets, where then entered.
When Charlotte discovered that it was really hollow, the holes in the mask issued an even stronger light than the salamander.
The witch took her black leather hand to the mask and removed it. Behind the cold violet eyes and pale skin, but alive, of a girl were revealed.
"bbbrrriiiiHomura-chanii!" The rag doll grinned and left the crack.
Homura ripped the leather straps that covered half of her face and breathed again. She then removed her hat, letting her real hair that was stuck in it fall, and tossed to the wind. "I don't need it to remind me of what I am." Feeling a familiar weight, she examined her hair and frowned when she saw that they were her old braids.
The doll opened her mouth and within first came out an arm and right behind the head of Nagisa, wearing her magical girl uniform. She rose, getting rid of the doll like a tight trousers. "I'm glad you recovered!"
"Madoka showed me the way out of this maze once." Homura examined the ribbons in her hand. "Although that was unexpectedly easy... so I needed to make sure it was you. I knew you could survive that."
Nagisa hugged herself and looked away. "Hehe... it's a good thing I managed to prove, right?"
Homura smiled. "It's been a long time since the last time we talked."
"Yeah?" Nagisa frowned.
Homura too. "Don't you remember of anything?"
"I... I was helping Mami, but I started to turn into... and..." Nagisa was getting apprehensive.
"Tomoe-san was fine the last time I saw her." Homura affirmed.
"Good..." Nagisa narrowed her eyes, trying to remember. "Then I think I blacked out, the rest is like a dream after we wake up. I can't..."
"Some things are better not to remember." Homura took one of her braids and, near the violet ribbon that bound it, tied a red one.
"But what happened?"
"It would be a long story." Then she did the same with the other braid. "I don't have time to tell it, Madoka needs us."
"She needs us?!" Nagisa said, confused.
"Let's say that a certain witch lied to me." Homura answered with a more mischievous smile. "We need to go... hmm... Momoe-..."
Nagisa was more confused. "You can continue to call me Charlotte."
"Really?"
"Yes." Nagisa shrugged. "Mami already calls me Bebe. Charlotte isn't so affectionate, but I think it's even more beautiful."
"Then so be it, witch." Homura nodded before approaching the other girl, dark energy slowly forming on her back.
Nagisa hugged her. "Do you know where she is?"
"Out there."
Nagisa was considering the possibilities of that response while being wrapped by the magic.
／人◕‿‿◕人＼
"... whatever it takes, must be done." Oriko did not know to where she should look, and what exactly to say, it seemed easier from her visions. Perhaps the main difference was in the fact she had company.
[Will not tell me with who you are talking to? By the way you are speaking, I do not think it is anyone but yourself.] The voices of Kyuubeys resounded. [It would be a message to a version of you in the past, that may have a vision of that moment.]
"Well elaborated your statements." Said Oriko. "However, they are only hypotheses, no?"
[The evidences are strong, but there is not a definitive confirmation.]
"I see..." Oriko glanced at some of Kyuubeys watching her. "Normally, I would not help you with this, because I had lost confidence in you. However, our last conversation in my house opened my eyes."
[You had not agreed. What made you change your mind?]
"Incubators, you say you do not understand us. The fact is that you are apparently unaware of that you all are beyond our comprehension as well. Fortunately, humans have a feature that can solve this issue."
[And what would be?]
"Empathy." Oriko smiled. "I may not know the scale of your mission, but I can imagine it. What will happen here will save the universe and, in short, will bring hope to this world. So I must say, your assumptions are correct."
[If all magical girls were like you, Oriko Mikuni, we would have fewer problems.] Said the creatures.
"Indeed." Oriko looked back at the prism and the black abomination clung on it. The smaller prism remains on the ground no longer gave off the dark essence that fed it and it began to lose size and strength, being absorbed by the large dark globe above.
It made her ask a question. "Incubators tell me. How long to reach the quota?"
The response was swift. [We only had estimates to base the amount of energy that would be obtained. Now, with more accurate data, we know that is soon.]
"Soon..." Oriko stammered, feeling the blood rushing to her head.
[Yes, we are absorbing a huge amount of energy, but we can handle it. Not only does the universe escape the current entropic crisis as the surplus will be very significant.]
Greed.
As the men who played at the table with her father, as those who betrayed him, all motivated by the same purpose. Corrupting the country, the world, and, now she knew, the universe was the same case.
Oriko observed Madoka within the prism, remembering the white and pure clothes she wear behind the amber crystal. What did he do to put you there?
One day Yuma would no longer be a child and know the whole truth, but for that the future had to continue to exist. Oriko knew what needed to be done.
Hope. Hope for this world.
A decisive strike. She could not leave space for any reaction.
Madoka Kaname. I heard a lot about you, even that you were the embodiment of a law. Deep down, I know you are a magical girl like me and so I am here to save you from all evil.
Oriko felt the weight of her pocket full of cubes in her dress.
I will cleanse your gem of all darkness that affect you. The Incubators have obtained their fair share, they do not know when to stop. It was a long and costly journey, but finally the time has come...
"... to protect my world." Oriko opened her arms and various spheres began to emerge above her.
[Oriko Mikuni?]
There were no more words to say, only she could see what will happen, only she could step in. Those spheres were the crowning act, the legacy of her gift.
A aura of dark energy began to manifest where it was the lower prism's fragments.
Thus, the determination of Oriko had been interrupted. "What?! More of that essence?"
[No.]
Oriko paid attention to the voice of Kyuubey.
[This is different. I feel this magic is coming from another source that appeared suddenly. It seems familiar.]
"Familiar?" Oriko saw the aura gain size, occupying the front area of the large prism. Images without nexus formed as fast as they fell apart amid it.
When the energy was fading, Nagisa yearned to find out where they had arrived. What she saw amazed her. "Kyuubeys! Many of them!" More disturbing were the metal pipes connected on their backs. All tubes were going to a black orb that was above a... "Huh?! W-WHAT IS THAT?!" A chaotic and viscous body with numerous black tentacles was being absorbed by the orb. The monster was clinging to a prism where an unconscious girl was inside. "THAT'S..."
"Yes..." Homura said, observing everything in a stoic expression, until she turned around. There was another legion of Kyuubeys and, leading them, a white magic girl and her floating spheres.
Such a person she could not help but recognize. The voice of Homura, before impassive, did not hide her displeasure. "YOU?!"
Next chapter: Nemesis