Nearly all the occupants in the bedroom were frozen (Save for the wriggling baby in Mami's arms, who was still happily giggling away.). Both Sabrina and Mami were processing that singular word over and over again, trying to process the full weight of that word and what it meant and failing repeatedly. Eventually, they were able to reboot their brains enough to process the word and come to a conclusion that they simultaneously arrived at. Mami and Sabrina looked at each other, astonishment showing on both their faces. Mami spoke first.
"S-Sabrina. She called me… mommy"
Sabrina finally was able to find her voice as well.
"Y-yeah. A-and she called me mommy too… "
Mami's breath finally returned to her.
"T-that means that this child is…"
Both eyes, one Golden and one Deep Blue, looked at the baby in wonder.
"…ours."
Both of them stood there, letting that statement sink in. Sabrina spoke first this time.
"W-wait a minute, how is that even possible?! The last I checked, both of us were girls!"
Mami bit her lip and looked down at the child. (who was busying herself with playing with Mami's ringlets) "W-well, magic HAS done some pretty amazing things…"
Sabrina looked over at Mami, a thoughtful expression on her face. "well, that IS true… But I don't know if it's capable of creating an infant from thin air… besides, what could we have done to create her?" Sabrina then shook her head "wait, wait, wait…aren't we overreacting a bit? I mean, the only proof we have is that the baby called us both 'mommy'. What if it just called us that because we're the first people to find it, or it just likes saying that word?"
"Mommy!" the baby said, seemingly proving Sabrina's point. It happily began twirling around one of the ringlets it was playing with.
Mami suddenly had a deflated look about her. "O-oh… That's a good point." She said, sadly.
Sabrina immediately noticed Mami's change in demeanor and went over to her. "Mami? I'm sorry, I didn't mean- "
Mami shook her head slightly and raised her head to look at Sabrina (The baby made a sad noise as its new toy was pulled out of her reach, before finding interest in the frills on Mami's outfit), and showed a sad smile. "I-it's ok, you make a good point. It's just…" A small hiccup came from Mami, as the beginnings of a few tears began forming in her eyes. "Ever since the accident where I lost my family, I had always wanted a little girl of my own, to give it the love and care that I have been missing since that accident. The life of a magical girl got in the way of that, but I still had hope that..." she trailed off as a few tears fell from her eyes and onto her shirt (The baby, sensing Mami's distress, also began to sniffle a little).
Sabrina immediately pulled Mami into a hug, being mindful of the small third person in the hug (who squeaked a little from the sudden pressure). "Mami, we can still take care of her as our own. We don't know who her parents are, or where she came from, but we can raise her like a proper family, give her the love you've always wanted to give your own daughter."
Mami looked at Sabrina, then down at the child, who was still sniffling from Mami's sadness. Mami looked around the room, then went and grabbed a small plushie she had (A cat plushie, Sabrina noted) and started playing with the child in her arms with it, a smile on her face as she did so. Sabrina watched the scene unfold and she saw for a brief moment a world in the future that never was realized, a world where Mami was a happy mother, playing with her beautiful daughter, both in a happy, wonderful home and with a wonderful family.
Mami turned to look at Sabrina with a happy smile, a now giggling baby in her arms. "Yes, I would like that very much. I… Thank you, Sabrina. Thank you so much."
Sabrina beamed widely at Mami. "Of course, Mami! ". Sabrina then looked at the clothing the baby was wearing. Namely, the lack thereof. "Um, I don't know what we're gonna do clothing-wise though. She can stay in the shirt tonight, but tomorrow we'll need to go to the store and get some."
Mami shook her head slightly." Oh, no need, I already have some old baby clothes in my closet from when I was her age. I know they're old, but I was keeping them for in case…" Mami suddenly looked sad again, before shaking her head and continuing on. "A-anyways, I can change her into those, then we'll cook dinner together?"
Sabrina replied happily "Yep! We'll have to go by the grocery store first, though. I don't think she can eat what we- "
"Well, this is an interesting development!"
Both Mami and Sabrina looked at the window, fully aware of who said that sentence. There was no mistaking that cutesy, too high-pitched voice.
Kyuubey stood in the window, tail waving lazily in the air behind him.
Sabrina felt an incandescent rage fill her being at the sight of the incubator. She could still feel the presence of a magical girl from the infant, meaning it was more than likely that the thing in front of her had decided to bring an infant into this system of his, apparently with the purpose of simply having it witch out because it's a baby, and magical girl or not, babies can't fight witches. He had also gone and made a happy moment into a sour one with his mere presence and would probably make the rest of today worse.
It was clear that Mami and the baby were having similar reactions, with the set frown and hardened gaze Mami had and the way she clutched the baby tighter to herself. The Baby, however, had a look of fear on its face as it somehow instinctively knew that whatever that white animal was, it was very dangerous. Sabrina responded to the incubator's statement first.
"Kyuubey. Interesting development? As in, interesting that we found the result of you turning an infant into a magical girl?"
Mami showed a quick look of fear at the statement but steeled her face again a split second later.
Kyuubey tilted his head, as if in a questioning look. "Infant magical girls? I have tried, but I cannot make human infants into magical girls, they do not have the potential necessary to do so"
Sabrina had conflicted thoughts. On one hand, the status of the child was not the result of Kyuubey. On the other hand, he's confirmed that if he could turn infants into magical girls, he would, so that brings him down a few hundred points in her book. "So then what is this interesting development?"
Kyuubey hopped onto Mami's bed, trying to get a better look at the babe currently in Mami's arms (who did not like the way he was staring at her at all.) "you two appear to have done something I had long thought impossible."
Sabrina and Mami shared a look, before turning to Kyuubey again. Remorseless ultracapitalist or no, Kyuubey was the best option they had for some answers right now. Mami replied, "And that would be…?"
"The creation of a naturally-born magical girl, of course!"
Both Sabrina and Mami froze at this statement and stood there for a few moments, all the while Kyuubey was staring intently at the infant (Who was very uncomfortable right now and starting to voice her displeasure with a few scared noises, clutching the cat plushie Mami had let go of as a safety device.). Sabrina spoke first, quiet trepidation in her voice.
"Wait… So that means… She's our daughter?"
Kyuubey broke his staring contest with the infant (who visibly relaxed with the incubators attention now off of her, and the death grip she had on the plushie lessened) and turned towards Sabrina. "While the mechanism for her birth is not normal for members of your species, she is indeed biologically both you and Mami Tomoe's offspring. Congratulations!" He said in a tone that was entirely too cheerful to be genuine.
Mami spoke next, tone full of hope of a thing she had long thought impossible and the daze of someone hearing they had just won a billion dollars. "She… She's my daughter? I… I-I'm a mother?"
"It appears so!" kyuubey replied.
While Mami had a look of freshly renewed hope growing across her face as she looked in wonder at the infant (who was now making little noises as she began to play with the cat plushie a bit), Sabrina had a small frown. "Wait… you said the mechanism for her birth was abnormal. How was she born? How can a baby be born to a magical girl couple?"
Kyuubey looked Sabrina in the eyes. "When a male human feels the need to mate-"
"NOT THAT KIND OF COUPLE!" Sabrina shouted, a blush growing on her face that she knew would pale in comparison the one Mami was almost certainly sporting. "I mean the ones between two magical girls!"
Kyuubey had the same look he always had, yet still had an air of false apology to it. "Apologies, that was an attempt at a joke. Normally a romantic relationship between two female members of a species will result in no offspring. This holds true for magical girls as well. However, what it appears that you two have done is connect both of your souls together and broke off a small part of each, which then cpmbined together and became its own separate entity. This appears to have happened when the both of you had your magic intertwine with each other."
Both girls' blushes grew brighter when they remembered the event that Kyuubey was talking about. When Sabrina had inserted her magic into one of Mami's ribbons, and she had done the same to Sabrina in return, both of them could feel the essence of the other. Their thoughts, personalities, feelings, all of it, was open for the other to see, to hear, to feel. At that moment, it had felt like their souls were touching.
If what the incubator said was true, then that would be a more literal statement then either of them had previously thought.
Sabrina then said, "but surely other girls have done the same thing in the past? Shouldn't they have had children, to?"
Kyuubey shook his head. "While you are correct that you are not the first magical girls to intertwine your souls, none of the others had parts of their souls break off to form a new being."
Sabrina frowned" Then what makes us so different? And how did she seem to pop out of thin air?"
"I don't know!" Kyuubey responded entirely too cheerfully. "That's why I'm here, to study the child and answer these questions" Kyuubey then looked intently at the child again, who stiffened at the sight of the thing staring at her again.
After a very uncomfortable silence that lasted 10 seconds (It felt like 10 minutes to those who weren't Kyuubey), Kyuubey did a mock sigh. "It seems that I won't be able to gather any more information from this child. Although it seems to have a greater understanding of human emotions and speech than regular infants of its age, all I can gather is that it is a magical infant. Perhaps if I observed the other instances- "Kyuubey then stopped himself and looked at the child with more intensity (who by now was starting to cry). He then said in his all-too-happy tone, "How peculiar! Even though this infant sems to be a magical girl already, it seems she still has enough potential to make a contract! Mami, Sabrina, if you wanted to- "
Kyuubey was stopped by a hand gripping the top of its skull with enough force to fracture it. The hand then brought kyuubey up to meet the level gaze of-
Mami Tomoe. Not Mami, The punctual schoolgirl and senpai to her peers. Not Mami, the girlfriend of Sabrina Vee and a person who was no longer alone. Not even Mami, the veteran magical girl who held Mitakihara single handedly for years.
This was Mami Tomoe the Mother. This was a Mami that wanted to share her love with her daughter, to care for her and see her grow up and accomplish great things. To give her the love that she had been missing since the death of her parents.
And she was pissed. The fuck. Off.
Mami's grip on Kyuubey tightened, feeling the breaking of its skull, and brought it closer to her face. She spoke five words, each said with the intensity of a hurricane.
"Stay. Away. From. my. Daughter."
And with that, Mami reeled her hand back, aimed at the window, and blasted Kyuubey out the window, a sonic boom following his body as it rocketed into the distance.
Sabrina stood stalk still from the scene. She had never in her few weeks of living ever seen Mami that angry before. She had known of the steel that Mami had shown in battle against witches, but this was different. This was raw, instinctual anger that thousands before her had felt, an anger born of total and complete love for another. The anger of a mother protecting her child.
And Sabrina knew this because she felt exactly the same. Had Mami not beaten her to the punch, she would have literally disintegrated the incubator, throw so much raw grief at it that it would drown in it. A thing she was still planning to do if she ever saw it again.
Mami now stood in front of the window, slightly hunched over the child, anger quickly leaving her. She stood still, not an inch moving. The baby had by now stopped crying and was silent as well.
Sabrina, now filled with worry, moved over to Mami. "M-Mami? What's wrong?"
"…Daughter...". Mami's body now started to shake.
Sabrina was now more worried and slightly confused. "I-I'm sorry, what was- "
"…Have…daughter..." Mami's shaking was more pronounced now.
"I-I still couldn't hear- "
"We have a daughter."
Mami's head lifted to meet Sabrina's eyes. Her eyes now had an expression of pure, unaltered Joy that was quickly spreading to her face.
"We have a daughter, we have a daughter, we have a daughter!!!"
Mami leaped into Sabrina's arms and wrapped her free arm around her in a tight hug, Both Mami and the baby laughing with glee. Sabrina staggered back from the love-tackle, before regaining her balance and embracing both Mami and the baby- no, her daughter- in a loving hug. Mami held Sabrina and the baby tight, tears of joy streaming down her face at the miracle that had happened. Mami kept speaking to Sabrina through the hug, voice high with the emotion of joy and love.
"Oh Sabrina! Oh, you wonderful, wonderful girl Sabrina! Thank you, thank you, thank you!". Sabrina could feel the love and joy that Mami was feeling through the hug and was please in the realization that she was feeling the same. Sabrina had never actually thought about having a family of her own, she was too busy trying to break the system the incubators put in place. She had simply assumed that she would settle in with Mami, and be together and love each other, but she had never imagined that a child she could call her own would be part of that.
Now however… looking down at her daughter, she could feel a warm feeling building in her core at the sight of the child, which grew at the giggling happiness the child was showing with the contact with her two mothers. The cat plushie long forgotten about, the child began playing with Sabrina and Mami's hair, seeming to try and compare both to her own and giggling all the while. Sabrina then began to lightly tickle the child, who emitted a gleeful squeal at the contact.
Yeah, Sabrina thought, this is much better than anything I had planned.
The three stayed like that for a while, the only sounds in the room being Mami's laughter and the baby's giggling. Eventually, Mami calmed down from her high, though joy still showed in every movement she made. Separating from Sabrina a bit, she beamed at Sabrina with one of the most joyful smiles Sabrina had ever seen.
"Sabrina, I… This is the most amazing thing that could have ever happened to us!". Mami then looked at her daughter in wonder, who was still giggling from the Sabrina tickles. "A family… I have a family again!"
Sabrina smiled at Mami. "Yeah. A daughter. This is… really big. "Sabrina stuck her hand out to her daughter, still not believing that the baby in Mami's arm that was theirs, could even be possible, but there it was. The baby grabbed hold of Sabrina's fingers and started playing with them with a surprisingly strong grip for a baby of her age. The baby looked at Sabrina and said again, "Mommy!"
Sabrina smiled down at the child and bent over a little to play with her. "Yes, I'm your mommy! "Sabrina sweetly said. She then leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek, which she giggled with delight at receiving. Sabrina then looked at Mami. "And here's your other mommy! Mami!"
Mami giggled at the pun. "Oh, Sabrina…" she said fondly. They sat like that for a few moments, drinking in the warmth of the new revelation in their lives. From now on, it would no longer just be the two of them. From now on, there would be days where the apartment was filled with the laughter of a happy child, and the laughter of her loving parents. They knew that the future would be bright, and that all would be right in the world. No matter what happened, no matter what witch, magical girl, or evil little white creatures went after them, they would see it through. For as long as the light of their child's smile existed, they would fight on.
Sabrina suddenly had a thought. "hmmm… Since she's new and all, I don't think she has a name."
Mami pondered a bit as well. "well, should we give her one now?"
Sabrina smiled. "Sure! Umm… do you have any suggestions? Since this has been a dream for you for a while, I think you should have the honor of naming her."
Mami pondered a bit, before saying. "Well… I haven't ever given it much thought because I thought it would never happen…"
They both sat there a bit, contemplating, before they noticed that the afternoon sun was shining through the window and blinding them a bit. Sabrina went to close the blinds, taking a quick look back at Mami as she did so.
That's when she saw it. The sun reflected off the baby's hair in such a way that it practically glowed. Bright electrum gave way to deep golden yellows and brilliant hues of white , all flowing and coexisting together, before coming to a point at the end of her ponytail, where it glowed the brightest color of silvery-yellow she had ever seen. Mami had noticed what Sabrina was looking at and was mesmerized at the colors flowing through her daughter's hair. The child herself seemed ignorant of this, and continued to entertain herself by playing with Mami's hair again (which seemed lackluster compared to the literally shining gold the child had)
Sabrina went and closed the window and the blinds, and with the lack of sunlight the Baby's hair reverted to its normal colors. Sabrina then turned and said "Well that was… Beautiful and weird. Wonder what that was- "
"Yoko."
Sabrina stopped talking to process that Mami had just spoke. "Huh?"
Mami smiled at Sabrina before turning back to the child. "Her name is Yoko."
Sabrina processed the meaning of the word. Sunlight. Appropriate, she thought. The baby was a ray of sunshine shining directly into their lives now, making it brighter just with her very presence. "I think that's a wonderful name, Mami!" Sabrina went over to Mami and started playing with the newly named Yoko again. "Yoko. Our little Yoko."
Sabrina continued the moment for a bit, but it ended when Sabrina started to remember what they were about to do before kyuubey interrupted. "Umm, Mami? We still need to go to the store to get some baby food for her, I'm sure she's going to get hungry soon.". Yoko's stomach seemed to agree with Sabrina's statement, and Yoko voiced her displeasure at the noise and started crying. Mami picked up the plushie and started playing with her, calming her down a bit. Mami looked at Sabrina with an apologetic smile. "Umm, would you mind going without me? I think bringing a fussy baby into a store might be a bit rude. I'll go ahead and dress her while you're gone.".
Sabrina nodded and gave a V-for-Victory sign. "Of course! I'll be back before you know it!". Before heading for the bedroom door. She had nearly gotten through the door when she remembered an important detail that made her pause. "Hold on… I just noticed something."
Mami became slightly concerned at Sabrina's pause. "What is it?"
"Before Kyuubey got blasted into Hokkaido (Mami blushed at this) , He mentioned something about 'seeing the other instances'. What could that mean?"
Mami thought about it for a bit "well, If he was here to investigate Yoko, then that would mean- "Mami suddenly had a mixed expression of "eureka!" and "Oh, crap!"
Sabrina caught on and had a similar expression "Wait, does that mean there are other-?!"
'Just so you know, I blame you entirely for this'
'SABRINA WHAT IN THE NAME OF CHRIST HAVE YOU DONE?!'
'Sabrina, Madoka has a second sibling.'
Sabrina jumped at the inclusion of three voices, one calm and collected, one screaming like an angry elephant, and the last one a spectacular mix of forced apathy and pure panic. After calming her heart, she responded. 'Oriko? Kyouko? Homera? What's going on?'