Chapter 171 - One More Wish
The Adult Who Tells Lies breaks apart, leaving only a glowing Sapling poking up from the warm stone to just below your knee. The six of you stare warily at the luminous plant like it's going to attack you. After everything that's happened today, it's hard to believe that it's done. You've had days like this before. Core Suppressions, or challenging the strongest Abnormalities. Confronting Abel, Abram, and Adam. Making it out the other end without casualties on the first attempt leaves you uneasy, wondering if there's something more that you've yet to do.
You reach down and poke at the Sapling. It-
THRONE/CRUELTY/DISTRUST
-doesn't disappear, and you find yourself breathing a sigh of relief. Meeting one out of three points feels dirty as is and you'd be insulted if you could actually wield the Adult Who Tells Lies' EGO without any trouble. No matter how useful it might be, you don't want to be the sort of person who could actually use it to its fullest. At least you can confirm that it really finally done. You don't think it would even be possible to fake a Sapling connection.
"We're done here." you announce. "All that's left is the cleanup."
The tension still held taught over the group finally falls away with those words. It's over. Mami's transformation finally dissipates, leaving her standing in her nightwear along with Kyoko and Sayaka. The exhaustion looming over the children finally collapses over them. Now that the adrenaline of battle is gone, there's nothing to hold back the weariness that's been pushed aside again and again and again in the name of necessity. Sadly for them you still need everyone awake for a little while longer.
"Before anything else, there's something I need to address." you say. You would be making sure Homura was fully wound now under normal circumstances. It's been about ten minutes since you last spoke, leaving her very little of her reserves remaining before her time runs out. If Homura were still running on the time you had left her with, rewinding her would be an urgent priority. Except she clearly isn't running on such low time now, judging by how comparatively animated the former Magical Girl is. It's Homura, so she still looks like you two could be related with how emotive she is, but the mechanical smoothness in her movements has faded. She looks more like she did when you first met, really. Not a perfect, unfeeling machine driven only towards a single goal. Just somebody who really wishes that they were. There'll be time to celebrate later and there will be celebration because Homura deserves it, but for now you have to deal with the matter of how it happened. First, though, you need to address the fact that Homura rewound herself. She must have gotten that time from somewhere, and there are only three people who were in contact with her between your separation and reunion. Your stare falls on Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka, and the easy smile you chose since the Adult's defeat thins. "Which of you was it that rewound Homura?"
As it turns out, the kids are not completely drained of adrenaline by now. The first disapproving word has them glancing nervously at one another in some silent conversation about what to say to you.
"I insisted on it." Homura lies blatantly. Her tone is perfectly level, enough that it might sound believable if you didn't know the girl as well as you do. "I needed more time to return to combat and prioritized my own-"
"Bullshit." Kyoko interrupts. She doesn't have enough energy to inject any bite into it. "Could you quit being so self-sacrificing for five seconds?"
Madoka tilts her head to the side, puzzled. "Homura? What is everyone talking about?"
Homura has nothing more to say, but Sayaka is another story. "Hey, she's just trying to keep us out of trouble! Show some appreciation!" she snaps. Immediately after her face scrunches up like she just realized what she said and found it unpleasant.
"No, Homura didn't do that." you affirm calmly. You do appreciate that she tried though. "As much as it warms my heart to see you trying to protecting your friends, I really do need to know exactly who did what."
"We all helped in winding Homura." Mami answers you. Unlike the others, her fear of your scolding left as quickly as it arrived. "She was seriously wounded, and we couldn't leave her like that for any longer than we had to."
"I still don't think I know exactly what happened," Madoka begins. She steps between you and the other children with a sheepish smile on her face. "but I'm sure everyone really was just trying to help!"
"I don't doubt that, and I'm not upset. But I need you all to promise not to do that again. There's a good reason I always make sure to do the winding myself." you say. There's nothing lost for you to turn Homura's key. Compared to the infinite time you have left, a couple decades here and there changes nothing. But for an actual person? Even split between the three of them, twenty-six years divided three ways is still nearly nine years of life gone like that. And for an active combatant, nine years is a lot of life to lose. Kali only made it to her thirties. Most of Carmen's research team ended up the same way or less. You don't expect to live for much longer, and you don't want to have to watch anyone else you care about die before the end. That's not what you say, though. "It's risky for you to just give away parts of your life like that, especially when I can do so more safely."
"I promise, mom."
"Yeah, me too. Sorry about that."
"Sure, I'll do that." Kyoko squawks as she's elbowed from either side by Sayaka and Mami. "What? It's not like we didn't know what it was gonna cost us. We made a choice, and I'd do it again."
Homura looks away, and you sigh. "I'm not saying it was the wrong decision, but I wish you'd told me beforehand. I could have worked something out." Probably? Depending on the exact timing, you would have been occupied battling the Adult. You could have hurried things, at least, if Homura's condition were deteriorating.
You shake your head. "Enough about that. We have more immediate things to worry about. Where are the captured Magical Girls?"
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The Route Leonie made to carry Sena's incapacitated body is still mostly empty. Most of the cots are unoccupied, adding an eerie feeling to the Route only repressed by the satisfaction of victory. To one side of you, Kyoko lies back in one of the bed and idly kicks her feet. To the other, Homura leans against Madoka sitting on another bed. Mami and Sayaka are out with Kyubey, scouring Kamihama for pockets of hostages. Ashley Taylor, the Magical Girl Argalia defeated, sits at her comrade's bedside across from you in civilian clothes. At least, you think she is. Her current outfit is really just a simplified version of her actual Magical Girl uniform. Notably, the Magical Girl who Mami defeated is nowhere to be found.
"I swear I didn't do anything! She just disappeared!" Ashley claims. Her eyes keep flitting between you and the soldier holding Argalia's unconscious body.
"Yeah? All on her own, without any help?" Kyoko says, raising an eyebrow at the foreign Magical Girl. Clearly she isn't sold on that story.
"It's not impossible, depending on what sort of magic she had access to." you point out. What's more, Ashley is genuinely terrified of you and Argalia. Partly because of all the work the Wizard did to paint you as a monster, partly because of whatever Argalia did when they met. Since news of the Adult's defeat, she just looks burnt-out. You doubt she has the strength left to try and deceive you at this point. On top of that, Mami's ribbons still bind her arms and legs. If Ashley really had facilitated an escape, you can't see what advantage there would be in remaining behind. "We'll find her eventually. In the meantime, there's still someone unaccounted for, isn't there?"
Insider information says that there should have been four Magical Girls working with the Adult Who Tells Lies, not counting Isabeau and her children. You have two here, plus one escapee. That leaves one that you haven't encountered yet.
"There were two girls who brought me food when I was locked up." Madoka mentions. Her voice hitches at the mention of her imprisonment. "Their names were Sarasa Hanna and Futaba Sana. They seemed like good people."
"They helped imprison you." Homura says flatly. Her tired eyes have turned to Ashley, who squirms under the intensity of the mechanical girl's glowering. Homura would be doing more than just glaring at the Wizard's former servant were it not for the fact that she's currently draped over Madoka's side like a blanket. The arrangement can't possibly be comfortable for either of them, considering Homura's body is mostly made of clockwork and ceramic and Madoka is still wearing her EGO gear, but they manage to look cozy regardless.
"They were just trying to help." Madoka whispers. In contrast to Homura, her gaze upon Ashley is pitying. It's not hard to see why, with how uncomfortable and afraid the captive looks.
Kyoko snorts. "Yeah, and they sure did a great job of that. Don't you feel so helped?"
Madoka doesn't have a good answer to that, but chooses to stare in disapproval at Kyoko.
You return your full attention to Ashley. "So, do you know where your missing teammate might be? Either of them, for that matter?"
"I'm not going to tell you anything." Ashley replies, surprising free of fear. She's been saving the last of her bravery just to deny you any useful information, it seems. In her imitation costume, sitting on a medical bed and staring you down without blinking, she truly looks like a real Magical Girl facing down an evil villain who's captured her. You have no intention of playing into that role, but it's worth appreciating nonetheless.
"I know we were enemies," you begin, shaking your head and letting your expression soften. "but I don't have any evil plans or whatever you're imagining. I just want to make sure this is all really over. Not to mention the possibility that they could have been injured." you add, allowing some genuine worry to seep through. "The Emerald City's collapse wasn't peaceful. It's possible that anyone not found could be injured. I would at least provide medical attention beyond what a Magical Girl can do for themself."
Ashley holds your gaze. A moment of silence passes.
"Well, guess we've just gotta hope she wasn't near the Observation Tower, 'cause I pretty much roasted the whole place." Kyoko says offhandedly. When Madoka shoots her a concerned glance, she throws her hands up in the air defensively. "Hey' I wasn't tryin' to. It just sorta happened. Besides, it was full of creepy puppets!"
Ashley doesn't manage to repress her flinch at Kyoko's declaration. That's not quite confirmation, but a reaction isn't nothing. You'll have to search there first.
"Whatever you decide," you say, easing the weight of your attention from the defeated Magical Girl, "I'll be going now to oversee the recovery of the survivors. But if there's anything you'd like to tell me- or ask me, for that matter- I'll always be willing to listen."
"You three," you indicate to Madoka, Homura, and Kyoko. "Stay here and look after them. I'll be back with Mami and Sayaka soon."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Madoka offers, still looking nervous. Her concerned, apprehensive expression looks out of place in contrast to the gleaming armor still encasing her body and the branching fractal wings extending from her back. Despite how intimidating her EGO gear appears, Ashley's attention hasn't been on her since she first appeared. You suppose it's rather difficult for Madoka to look frightening after all.
"That won't be necessary. You've had a long day, you deserve some rest." you say. She hesitates for a moment before relaxing back into her seat and putting an arm around Homura. Kyoko smirks at the scene, then looks away when Ashley stares at her questioningly.
"Before I go, two things." you say suddenly as your teleportation spell crackles to life. You'll leave Argalia with the soldier you made to carry him so it's not in the way later. "One, Madoka, Kyoko- Consider Homura on medical leave until I say so. No action from her until I get back, and I mean it." The order comes out colder and flatter than you had expected, but it's necessary to impress the importance of the time traveler not straining herself any more today. Coughing up blood is worrying even when the person doing it is supposed to have blood, let alone someone with a body like Homura's.
The girl in question sits up like she's going to argue. She slumps back into Madoka's embrace when she sees the young girl's earnest nod and smile alongside Kyoko's lazy grin and mock salute. What she doesn't notice is the flicker of concern that flashes across Ashley's face.
"Second," you continue as rings of glowing blue magic rise up around you, casting the tight Route in a mystifying cool light, "Get to know each other. The battle is over, so I'd rather nobody here think of each other as enemies anymore."
You can practically see those words sinking in through Ashley's doubtful expression. The last sight you see before you teleport away is Kyoko shrugging and exchanging a look with a smiling Madoka. One of her wings has curled around Homura, who leans into it.
This battle is over, but your work is never done. And for now, you're optimistic about the future.
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Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
The Adult Who Tells Lies' Sapling - Observation Level 1/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
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