[X] Talk to her now. You can't let it go. You can't let everything just go like that.
You raise your hand. "Let's just...clear the air first. How long can you stop time for?"
She raises her hand as well. "How much do you need?"
You bring them together and a shield materializes in her free hand, and the world turning a dull grey around the both of you. The air, once frigid, turns lukewarm. And in front of you Homura smiles.
"I failed you."
"Goddamn right you did," you say. "You know I believed in you, right?"
"I know. I know you did. You suggested the therapists I tried. And that was my problem; I didn't feel like I needed the help." Her smile stands firm, but her eyes are a bit listless. "I'm...well, I was about to say I'm better now, but that's a lie. I'd say I'm 'less awful'."
"Yeah," you sigh, "I'd say that too. Homura...first question. What the fuck."
"A reasonable one. I'd say it was an unwillingness to seek help for problems that, in retrospect, I should have had a therapist for. I've been in contact with one for the past five years as I've traveled. Did you know that New Mexico is lovely this time of year? One of my girlfriends still lives there. Though I would always prefer to sleep under the stars."
"You've been
everywhere?"
"I've been very busy since I left, Sayaka. I think it was mostly to find myself."
"Because what you were was..."
"I wasn't a
person, Sayaka. Not really."
That makes you wince. "Homura..."
"I was a shell of a person that spent a decade in the same month trying to save one girl that I had a crush on. And when I succeeded, I spent eight years trying not to undo it. It took me ten more years to
heal, and I'm
still not done.
"I'm not about to pretend that justifies anything that I put you and Kyouko through. Because I know it doesn't. There is no undoing that, however much I'd like to; and let's be completely honest, I've been rehearsing this speech throughout the train ride here." She rubs her cheek. "I expected you to punch me and it still hurt. You have a
mean left hook."
You keep your eyes locked on her. You almost pity her. You're still pissed at her, but you can't help but wonder how much of that is because you let your own feelings fester. You swallow.
"Well, let's list everything, because I'm still not okay. You still sabotaged your own therapy. You still betrayed our trust when we found you those therapists and you actively avoided them. I believed you when you told us you just didn't click, only to find out later that you hadn't even gone. I believed you when you said that you and Madoka were going through a rough patch, when Kyouko fucking
covered for you. She covered for you because she believed in you too! Because she thought that you just needed a little bit of time.
"We didn't know that 'a little bit of time' meant a
decade." You frown. "I don't even know if you remember Minako. They were wondering where you went after you fucked off and did whatever. And apparently you stole a
battleship?"
"The Americans weren't using it. I feel no remorse."
You sigh. It's kind of hard for you to feel that much sympathy. "Just...one last thing."
"Oh, and I also go by 'she/they' now." Homura shrugs. "I am mostly a woman. Mostly."
You blink twice. You weren't expecting that, but then again, Tatsuya
also goes by he/they, so it isn't as though you're new to the concept. You nod and look her in the eye. "But that wasn't the last thing. At least promise me that when we get through this-"
"Still the optimist, are you?"
You ignore her. "-that you don't just cut off ties again."
She stares at you all over again. "I can't guarantee that. But I can try. I won't fuck us over."
And with that, time resumes. You take a deep breath. You're still not done talking to her, but honestly? It'll have to do. You take a look to the rest of the group. "Okay...so...we have very little time to figure out what to do."
[=]
Your name is Kyouko Miki-Sakura. And you're watching your wife and an old friend dip out of timestop. You wait until your wife walks past you, visibly calmer, but she's still glancing back every few seconds.
As for you, you clap your hand on her shoulder.
"Welcome back, Homu."
She rolls her shoulder and gives you a smirk. "Yeah. Welcome back, me." She looks across the bay. "I just wish I was here sooner. I do have some idea of what we can start with."
"Are you thinking of launching an entire battleship at Langstenacht?"
"Probably." She glances back to you. "As an opener. If it's like Walpurgisnacht, then mundane weaponry will do very little against it. I would still personally use it as a start."
"Do you think we'd survive the cold? I don't know how a witch of entropy would interact with our gems but I can't imagine it's good."
Yuki stalks up beside you, his arms crossed. "I wouldn't know. I had us evacuate before we could see what it did to our gems. I'm guessing it either sucks the life out of them or just eats power. I'm especially curious as to how it would interact with a gem with seemingly unlimited power."
"A lot of unknowns and half-understood witch powers. We're off to a rollicking start." Homura rolls her head. "But it's still
something."
OPEN THE ASSAULT ON LANGSTENACHT WITH...
[] A full-on battleship projectile that is thrown at high-speed at Langstenacht's face.
[] Your magi riding the battleship through the frozen water.
[] The ship opening with a salvo of gunfire of questionable effectiveness.
[] Write-in some other brilliant plan.
