“Human Resources” Shouldn’t Be This Literal: A PMMM/ProjectMoon Quest

Chapter 79 - Clearing The Stage

Your work is never truly over.

The rain continues to pour as you pocket the scattered Soul Gems one by one. Your conversations with Kyubey have indicated that reconnecting with a body is effortless as long as the Soul Gem is intact, regardless of where the body came from. You'll try to give each of the children a body as close to their old one as possible, but that's a matter for the future. Of more immediate concern is the mental states of Nothing There's victims. You've left them asleep for now to prevent any further damage, but there's a likely possibility that they've already been harmed by Nothing There's intrusion. Your earlier scans showed most of the Magical Girls' consciousnesses fully intact, but Nothing There has been in combat since then and may have exacerbated things. Worse, Kyoko's Soul Gem in particular had already begun showing signs of strain. You reach-

-and suddenly fall back to a knee, violently expelling more preservative fluid from your lungs. The sickly green chemicals mix with the rain.

"X! Are you alright!"

Mami rushes forward to support you, her footsteps loud and clear even in the pouring rain. Despite being nearly twice her size, she still does her best to help you up. It's unnecessary; you don't need help, but it still feels nice.

"It's fine." you respond, bracing against your rifle and pushing yourself back to standing position. You can't put anything more on her. On anyone. They'll have enough to deal with. You can handle a bit of pain. "I'm fine. I just need to take it easy for awhile until I've recovered." How long that'll be isn't totally clear, but you were able to regrow a whole arm in a single night. With Mimicry now acquired, this should be a temporary issue. In the meantime, you have other resources to pull from.

"Kyubey."

"Is there something you need me for?" the alien answers in its fake, syrupy voice, appearing from nowhere.

"I need you to perform an in-depth scan of the Soul Gems I've recovered. Report any possible damages to the stored consciousnesses."

Mami gasps beside you, her grip on your arm tightening. The fate of somebody she thought of as family, who she might never get a chance to reconnect with, will be decided by Kyubey's verdict. Thankfully, you don't have to leave her in suspense for very long. Almost immediately, Kyubey gives you your answer.

"For the majority of Soul Gems, only superficial damage has been detected. The Magical Girls will be able to make a full recovery, assuming they can be reconnected with a body." You don't feel any relief just yet. Millennia's worth of disasters have given you a sense for when something isn't over yet. "However, the Soul Gem of Kyoko Sakura has sustained extensive damage. It is unlikely she will survive any attempt to reawaken. It's a completely new occurrence for me."

Mami freezes, her hands digging tightly into your arm. If looks could kill, your glare would have atomized the little white chimera as it sits calmly before you, completely dry despite the downpour. "Can you fix her?" you grind out.

"That would be very unlikely."

It's being evasive again. You're not going to let those half-answers go any longer. Not for this. "Because you can't or because you won't?"

"What do you mean?" The despair in Mami's voice is blunted by confusion.

"While technically possible, the expenditure of energy required to repair Kyoko Sakura's Soul Gem would not be justified. That's without factoring in that this sort of damage has never been seen before. Of course, if you were to make a Contract with me, it would be-"

You force away the mental link as violently as you can. It's not a diplomatic move, and despite how inherently problematic Kyubey is they're still useful. But right now, you're choosing not to care about that. You're injured, you're tired, your kids are afraid, and you've just about had it with the Incubators and their shit.

"It's going to be alright," you assure Mami, taking her hand and guiding her towards where the other children are huddled around Homura. "I have other resources to access that can repair this sort of damage. If it comes to it, my sister will have more options."

"Your sister?" Mami asks, distracted from her sorrow by a rare mention of your life before arriving to Mitakihara. It's not the healthiest way to cope, but for now keeping her mind off of Kyoko will have to do.

"We have a… complicated relationship, but she'll be willing to help." Complicated is quite an understatement, but it works for now. You turn your attention to the others, Sayaka frantically trying to heal Homura of some injury you can't see. "What's the situation with Homura?"

"She- something happened to her after you disappeared!" Madoka stammers. "She did something to get you back and then just collapsed!"

You limp to where the fallen Magical Girl lies. Her simple clothes have become a black-and-white soldier's outfit, dull purple accents the only trace of color. It's old and damaged, showing wear and tear from the years of battle Homura endured in her quest. The oddly familiar ribbon tied around her waist seems almost out of place in comparison, faded pink and weathered but undamaged and clearly cared for. You could almost mistake the massive bow it forms for a pair of wings. While the rest of Homura's body is completely still, the ribbon shifts and twitches as though it has a life of its own.

Whatever she's wearing, it's not EGO despite the similar sensation. Looking closer, it seems as though her clothing is actually attached to her body. More notable are the open wounds, through which you can see intricate machinery ticking away instead of raw flesh. The injuries remain even as Sayaka pours wave after wave of healing magic into them. EGO gear shouldn't have such a profound effect on a person's body outside of severe Corrosion, and that can't have happened in the short time you were absent. Not to mention that there's nothing foreign that you can sense. The transformation is overwhelmingly characteristic of Homura, to the point that calling it a transformation at all feels incorrect.

You are shaken out of your thoughts by something in front of you. One end of the ribbon has moved to present a small silver key with a purple diamond set into the head. While it could be mistaken for her Soul Gem, the telltale concentration of consciousness is completely absent.

Hesitantly, you take the key. It's only then that you take notice of the similarly-sized keyhole on the back of Homura's neck. Without much else to do, you place the key in and turn. A tightness overcomes you, like something clawing at your soul, but it passes without incident. You withdraw the key, the ribbon once again grasping it, and wait.

Homura rises slowly, though still abruptly enough to send Sayaka crashing backwards with a yelp. She scans the area, face completely unmoving. If you weren't looking for it, you'd probably miss the mechanical artificiality of the action. Homura was always… stoic, to say the least, but it seems she's gotten worse since you were gone.

"The Abnormality was defeated."

It's a statement, not a question. Her voice is surprising unchanged although her mouth doesn't move to speak. Something has gone horribly wrong.

"Hey, transfer student. Are you… alright? What… happened to you?" Sayaka asks tentatively, picking herself up off the floor.

"I am no longer a Magical Girl." the time-traveller announces flatly. "That aside, I do not feel all that different to how I was before." She stands completely unmoving amidst the shock and sorrow all around her. Uncaring, Homura continues. "I will head home for now. Expect me to return soon." And with those words and a chorus of mechanical sounds, she disappears.

The remaining five of you stand silently in the ruins and rain.

"There's something wrong with her." Sayaka says, although lacking any bite or derision. If anything, she sounds pitying. It's a shame Homura left before she could hear it. It would've been good for her, you think, to hear somebody new expressing care for her. Sayaka's next words are even more despondent. "What are we gonna do now?"

"Mom's gonna fix everything."

All eyes fall on Yuma, who had been perfectly silent up until now. She stands with more confidence than any of you, undeterred by the cold and the rain.

"Cuz' she said everything is gonna be alright. And I believe her. Don't you?"

You can't help but smile. You know the feeling of having faith placed in you. Of somebody believing in you. Of being trusted so absolutely you could order a person to die on the spot if you wished. It's a burden, a responsibility. But it's a burden you welcome gladly. Because if you don't, who will have to carry it in your place?

You never expected a life beyond your purpose. You still don't. But while you're still needed, you'll protect your family. No matter what it takes.

"Alright then," you say, dismissing your weapons and forcing yourself to stand on your own. "First things first: We should all get out of the rain."

"Let's head home."