Renascence: A Homura Quest

You nod, agreeing, "I'll do it. It sounds promising."

Kayaba smiles slightly, while your father perks up, eyes almost sparkling as he gives an excited shout, "YES!" He coughs, "Ah, I mean, yes, I'll get everything in order. I'm sure you won't regret this. Since you're in classes, you'll only get called in on weekends, generally--Sundays, most likely, like today. Your workspace and team are already prepared, but processing your paperwork will take a couple of days, so you can start next week." He pulls several documents from the drawer in front of him, "Speaking of the paperwork, this is it. Sign where appropriate. It's mostly security documents."

You take the papers and set to work reading and signing it all. It's exactly as you'd expect--safety wavers, non-disclosure agreements, and general terms of employment. Nothing in it concerns you at all, so you quickly sign each before returning them to your father.

He reviews them briefly, nodding to himself, "Yes, all of these seem to be in order. Thank you, Homura--I think this will be very good for you."

You nod your agreement, "I believe it might be. I will also be accepting that RPG invitation, as well. Even if it ends up just being for one session, I'm curious what it will be like."

He smiles warmly, "Good. I know you'll have a wonderful time."

That's when Kayaba speaks up, "Ah, Takeshi? I'm afraid our time's up. Those investors will be here in ten minutes."

Your father grimaces, glancing over at Kayaba, "Fine, fine." Looking back to you, he sighs sadly, "Well, I'm afraid it's time for me to get back to work. Daisuke will drive you back, assuming you want to return?"

You nod, having more to do today, and the three of you exit the hidden room and your father's office--Daisuke is waiting in the waiting room. He perks up as the two of you enter the room, "Oh, you're back! Everything go well?"

Your father nods, "Yes. You will probably be playing chauffeur again in the future, in fact."

Daisuke has the nerve to seem pleased by this, straightening up and sketching a salute, "Will do, boss! I won't let you down!"

Your father chuckles a bit, then looks over to you, "Thank you for joining me here today, Homura-chan. I look forward to seeing you again soon."

You force a small smile for his sake, "Me too. Good luck with your meeting."

He nods, waves, and departs, Kayaba walking alongside him, and you turn to Daisuke.

"So, time to go?"

...

To be continued.

He smiles, "Yeah, time to go, Miss Akemi. This way." He waves you over, and the two of you make the walk out of ATLUS.

"So, did everything go okay with the boss?" Daisuke asks, apparently wanting a second opinion on the issue.

You think it over. You did not accomplish anything important here--you have, at best, found a new point to search for others of the 15 from, you have not acquired weapons or knowledge useful for battling Walpurgisnacht, and you have not developed relationships with any of the 15. You also didn't do anything to protect your friends during this time. It's been a worthless trip.

In spite of that, you find yourself satisfied with knowing that Takeshi Akemi, while a failure as a clockmaker, is not a failure as a father. You should have given him a chance a long, long time ago.

You're glad you did it now. There are not many loops left. If your end arrives soon, you will be glad to go knowing your father isn't your enemy, even if you're still a bit unsure about him.

"It went well, I think." You say no more on the matter.

Daisuke nods, smiling, "I'm glad. Well, let's get you home." He leads you to his car and holds the passenger-side door for you. You take your seat and buckle the belt, allowing him to close the door before walking around the car. He takes the seat beside you with cheer. "Seat buckled?" He asks, apparently ignoring the obviously buckled seat belt crossing your chest.

You kind of want to put a bullet in his brain.

"Yes."

He puts the car in gear, and begins driving.

...

Soon enough, the two of you reach the Mikis', and you disembark. Daisuke waves at you briefly before departing, and you return the favor half-heartedly.

You flick the lock open, and step inside, "I'm back!" There's no one there to answer, of course--the Mikis will both be playing SAO right now, so you're alone.

"Welcome back!"

Or so you thought. Instead, the entire room seems to brighten in an instant as you step into the kitchen and find an unexpected guest.

Sitting at the kitchen table, working on her laptop, is one Madoka Kaname.

She turns to you as you enter, smiling brightly, "Hey there, Homura-chan! I came over to visit, but found those two logged into SAO. I guess I should have guessed that, wehihi! It's okay, though--I've had a key for years, and I know they won't mind me hanging around for a while, so I thought I'd stick around until you got back."

You find yourself smiling as you take a seat across from her, "It's good to see you again."

Her smile softens, "You too, Homura-chan. I've been doing a lot of thinking since I saw you last time. I...I'm not sure how much I can do to help, like this."

You know. She won't be able to wait forever. Sooner or later, she will Wish--because that's the kind of person she is.

She's not passive. You've tried to force her to be, before, but it always failed in the end. In the face of Walpurgisnacht, she will always return to being that girl you met the first time.

The one who, faced with disaster, used herself up to stop it.

She will pierce through you if you're in the way. She'll surpass the walls you raise before her. You've seen her at the limit, and you've seen her walk right through it.

There's no changing her nature, when it shows itself.

Pink Steel.

You can remember those eyes, now. You don't know what that memory was, before, but you can see it, and it's only natural, you think.

What else would she become, if she had all those years to grow?

The girl across the table from you doesn't look so different from that other Madoka right now. You hadn't wanted to see it before--the way she had changed, since you're first loop. What used to be lurking somewhere deep has been rising, ever so slowly, and now it's just a hairsbreadth from the surface.

As she looks at you, smiling that warm smile, you know that reversal of time was not enough to stifle her, in the end.

"I'm doing what I can, though. I stopped by your Apartment, earlier--Mami-san tried to convince me not to Wish, but she eventually actually started talking to me. She's very proud, but I think I understand her, a bit. She really seems to want to hide from herself, and something took that away from her."

You nod, a bit unnerved by the openness. This kind of honesty is not something you were entirely ready for, and you were certainly not ready for the same from Madoka.

"Yes, that's right. Mami doesn't fight for others, like she wants to think. She fights for herself--to justify her survival, to win friends by saving them, to convince herself she's a better person than she is. If we want to stabilize her, even until Walpurgisnacht, our only options are to keep her from losing her illusions, or keep her alive long enough that she can make peace with herself."

Madoka listens, frowning, "But what about after? Even if we keep her from Witching until Walpurgisnacht, there's no way she'll hold it off forever. She knows who she is, after all--she'll either deny that until it's taken from her, then Witch, or she'll eventually break under the truth. Those...aren't solutions."

You grimace, shaking your head, "I think there's a real chance she'll eventually be able to accept herself as she is."

Madoka gives you a sad look, almost pitying, "I don't think so, Homura. She's too good a person, for that."

"She's not as good as she wants to be. She should--"

"But she is!!!" Madoka stands up violently, hands on the table, "She's got a flaw she doesn't like, she's got feelings she hates, but she wouldn't want to fix them if she weren't a good person! If we want to help her, we should help her!"

This. This is why Madoka is hard to work with. Even when she's confused and scared, she's stubborn, but when she's resolved? It's like fighting the tide.

Luckily, you've made a life of doing that kind of thing.

"It's not that simple, Madoka. Even if people want to change, sometimes they just can't. Or just don't. I'm not even sure if it's poss--

'The Magician.' Kyouko interrupts, reminding you of your words to Igor, before.

You cut off with a sigh, palming your face as you lean back, "It's not easy, Madoka. It takes years of struggle and sacrifice. It's not something you can just do for someone over the course of a few weeks."

She frowns and crosses her arms, sitting down and thinking for a few moments, "...But it could be. If people really have such a hard time changing for the better, then I could--"

Dammit, Madoka. "I'm not sure Wishing to change an aspect of human nature is the solution to Mami's problem. The rest of the human race might take issue."

She shrugs, "I think it would be okay, as long as I worded it right. Making it easier to become better than it is to become worse would be better for the entire world."

"You only get one Wish, Madoka. Is that the hill you want to die on?"

She sits quietly for a bit longer than you'd like, and you begin to worry she might actually do it, but eventually she shakes her head, "No. It should be up to them, shouldn't it?"

She sighs heavily, pulling out a notebook and jotting something in it. You look at her quizzically, and she explains, "Wishes, and what's wrong with them. Just to keep track." She closes it and puts it back away, "I still think you're wrong about Mami, though. She doesn't need to really change before Walpurgisnacht, she just needs to believe she can. I can do that."

You...you don't really know what to do against her.

"...I can't stop you, can I?"

She shakes her head, and you sigh, "I won't try to stop you, Madoka, but everything might fall apart if you mess up. You're playing with fire here."

She nods, smiling weakly, "I know...but, if I'm going to help you, I need to try to do the things you can't, and you can't believe in Mami anymore, can you?"

You kind of miss your hallucination, sometimes. She's...simpler. More reasonable.

She can't compare to the real thing, though.

"Alright, then. You help Mami. I've got a lot to do anyway." You concede. Even if you might have to step in, eventually, you can give her a chance.

You're supposed to be working together, this time. If you're going to do that, you should tell her everything, like you said you would before. Even the craziness with Kyouko and Igor.

You can't be sure what she'll do with that, or how she'll react, but...you already told her about the loops. What's a little more?


[ ] Trust her. Tell her everything. You know she'll do her best, but it's hard to predict more.
[ ] Try to keep some control. Give her partial information. She might not realize.
-[ ] Write-In what to withhold.
[ ] Don't trust her. Tell the very minimum. She'll probably realize.