Chapter Text
She was never persuasive enough or fast enough to stop the never-ending tragedies. Taking a rocket launcher from her shield, she desperately shot a missile into the side of the Sweet Witch's face. She drew its attention, causing its snakelike form to twist towards her with child-like glee on its clown-like face.
It lunged towards her opening its mouth to devour her, but with the click of her shield, time slowed to a stop allowing her to throw explosive after explosive down the Witch's throat. It was a strategy she had mastered over the unending repeating days to deal with this particular Witch.
A simple matter that made Mami Tomoe's death all the more tragic as she was sure the girl was more than capable of bringing out the firepower necessary to kill it. In fact, she was sure that in many timelines, Mami had slain the Witch on her lonesome through pure firepower…
The body of the Witch exploded over and over again even as it futilely tried to shed its previous body and emerge anew from its mouth, only for Homura to repeat the process of luring it to bite at her to swallow another bomb. The monster’s body swelled grotesquely one final time before a cluster of bombs erupted from within it, annihilating it in its entirety.
With the fight concluded, Homura quickly walked over to where she knew Sayaka and Madoka would have been to the strangely silent pair… The world around them, an arena comprised of a landscape of desserts and candy, started to crack before, finally, the Witch Labyrinth was undone.
The two survivors were displaced in an alleyway not too far off from the hospital. Homura immediately felt the biting feeling of failure in her heart. Sayaka stood there, slightly covered in gore that made Homura glad just for a moment that bodies disappeared when left in a labyrinth… She wasn’t sure if she could have handled the sight.
The girl she had rescued wasn't Madoka but rather her best friend, Sayaka. The girl was still shell-shocked for a moment before her voice came out in sobs, "M...Madoka!" The grief held in her voice was enough to twist even Homura's heart. How could she not sympathize with the girl? How many times had she cried out in the same manner?
Homura felt her mouth go dry, the timeline was already ruined, and she was going to be forced to live through the next month, already preparing for the next attempt. “Sayaka Miki,” Homura began unintentionally, her conscience not allowing her to abandon her…
Sayaka looked at her with a wild look in her eyes, and she snarled, “You! Why… Why did it take you so long to show up?! Because of you… Because of you…” She ascended and marched towards her in a grief-stricken rage. Her voice choked up, cutting off the expected accusation…
The girl stumbled, and Homura stepped forward, catching her, and suddenly the girl embraced her strongly as she began to cry… In response, Homura subtly set up a magical barrier to stop anyone from interrupting or asking questions.
For a moment, Homura felt a swell of indignity towards the accusation itself before it was extinguished… If she had just been a bit more convincing, if he had tried at all to warn Mami about the Witch if she had just dodged the ribbons… Then the both of them would still be alive…
“I’m sorry.” Homura sincerely apologized to the girl, the girl that she was aware was doomed and that she couldn’t save. A girl who made the same mistake over and over, and then died in her own misery… “I’m sorry.” She repeated, this time for her inability to save Sayaka for what is to come.
Sayaka eventually stopped crying, her breath ragged and hard, pulling herself away and holding onto her shoulders in a vice grip, “Why weren’t you there… If you’re such a big superhero that you could swoop in and save me in the last moment…” Homura hesitated for just a moment, and Sayaka snapped, “Answer me!”
Homura averted her eyes, “...I came to warn Mami Tomoe about the Witch. I wasn’t convincing enough for her; instead, she left me tied up at the entrance.” Saying it so plainly made her sick, and she shoved Sayaka off of her, causing Sayaka to stumble backwards and onto the ground…
“Do you understand yet, Sayaka Miki? There’s no such thing as a ‘Hero,’ even a veteran like Mami Tomoe can slip up and lead her friends to their deaths. So you should understand that you shouldn’t become a Magical Girl.” It was cruel to blame Mami, to make her out to be a cautionary tale to try and dissuade the inevitable, but she had to try…
Sayaka looked up at her with gritted teeth, “But you saved me, didn’t you? Even right now, you’re trying to shove me away from being a Magical Girl!” Sayaka scrambled back up on her feet, “Explain that then! What could you possibly gain from- from saving me!”
“Do you think I’m like Mami Tomoe?” Homura’s voice clearly reflected the incredulity she felt, a not insignificant amount of frustration bubbled in her, “I’m not like that at all. In the end, you saw my failure firsthand; I didn’t save Madoka. Even if you delude yourself into thinking I’m a hero, you should at least see that. Heroes don’t exist in this world.”
Sayaka flinched, the reminder of Madoka’s death making her go pale, and her face twisted as if she was going to continue crying, “Fine! Then I wish you could be in a world where Heroes do exist!” Sayaka turned, and started to run as Homura’s eyes widened in panic…
“You-” Homura vanished from the spot she was standing like she never existed, causing Sayaka to turn sharply back, looking for her with a pale expression on her face…Confused and scared, she called out, “Akemi-san?”
“Your wish has surpassed entropy; congratulations Sayaka Miki!” Kyubey appeared, skulking out from the shadows. Sayaka just collapsed to the floor…
She never saw Homura Akemi again.