You looped...
Another Failure for the nth time. You couldn't even count anymore. So as the ravaged landscape of the golden wasteland Mitakihara had become disappeared from view, as the looming black mass that was once Madoka Kaname arced its back to strike at you, as that White Demonic Incubator stared in silence while you walked away, you let out a tired sigh escape your lips.
You would need to revise your strategy, apparently forceful methods only pushed disaster to descend upon you faster than that truck could hit Amy. You would have to keep this line of thought in mind for future loops so it doesn't happen again... But knowing you and your luck, it may just happen for another seven repetitions despite your best efforts.
You walked through the tunnel of time, feeling the warm breeze of timeless wind caressing your face and letting your costume billow behind you as forged on. You've been here countless of times already. Apparently, there was no need to walk but you soon found that walking through the glass tunnel allowed you to reflect upon your actions.
To evaluate yourself and your mistakes.
Your goddamned mistakes.
You could swear that this moment of brief introspection was doing your Gem no good. You were just thinking about your regrets, the errors that you could have easily avoided and the people you have either hurt or... Ended.
Butterflies began to flutter within you at the thought of blood's smell. You've done the world a whole lot of wrong. You're not sure that you were going to stop any time soon... But you may as well try to. You didn't want to hurt anyone if you could avoid it.
Gritting your teeth, you came to a halt and slammed your shield into the glass wall. Just when was this torture going to end? All you wanted was to save her, to save Madoka! To save everyone! Was that too much to ask! Why..? WHY WAS EVERYTHING SO UNFAIR!
"Damn it!" you snarled as you smashed your shield into the wall once more.
.....
Crack...
Craaackk...
You blinked and turned your gaze to the wall you had abused. Hairline cracks began to form networks along the wall snapping noises began to emanate from the wall. As the seconds ticked by, the number of cracks have become immeasurable and you were sure that the wall was going to give way at the slightest of touch.
This wasn't supposed to happen. What did you do?! This was the tunnel of time, your shortcut to loop again! If this place was broken then will you be stuck in an endless limbo between time and space?! No! This can't be happening! You turned to the side to make a desperate dash yet the wall had already collapsed.
You turned back and... found a massive purple hand reaching in and wrapping its twisted fingers around your waist before pulling you into the void.
......
"Strange, you're not supposed to be here."
You woke up at the sound of a voice. A familiar voice. In fact, you recognized it as your own. You sat up yet the feeling of your entire body being battered and bruised for some unfathomable reason suddenly assaulted your already weary mind. The first thing that came into view was the marble floor of a ruined mausoleum.
The next... Was a vast wide desert.
Just sand and buried ruins everywhere, there really wasn't much to see other than that. The sky was gray, blanketed by a bank of clouds that seemed to stretch in all direction, making the whole place seem lonely.
You then turned your head to your right and found your twin. Your at least... two twins.
One sat on a fallen pillar, her face exactly like yours down to the perpetual frown you would sometimes glance at in the mirror. But even so, there was something else about her that you didn't have. It was her eyes. the sharp, observant, and perceptive gaze she was giving you was enough to make your muscles clench and paralyze you for a brief moment.
Yet you thought none of it and stared right back, giving her your own stare and frown. If she was amused by your silly excuse of a retort she merely tilted her head to the side in confusion while keeping her gaze upon you.
A few feet away from her, lying on the floor looking almost dead was another you. However this version of you was different in the sense that she had Madoka's ribbon tied to her wrist and that she was missing her Shield. She seemed to be badly hurt but her breathing was otherwise stable.
"Don't worry about her. She will live. But you will die if you stay here." warned the you on top of the fallen pillar. Pushing herself off, she jumped right down and walked towards you.
"Why? What is this place? Who are you and who is she?" you questioned as you prepared to summon a gun. You felt your blood run cold as the cold biting sensation of a Desert Eagle's barrel kissing your forehead stung you.
"You're from an earlier loop, it seems. The ones to get past a certain point usually greet strangers in this manner. At least you have the decency to ask before shooting," observed the other you, staring at your stiff form before chopping your side. You felt your muscles relax as you fell on to your knees.
What...
"Ugh...You..." you were about to stop time when a bayonet jammed your Shield's gears, preventing it from freezing time. This was absurd.
"Predictable. But not unexpected. Earlier versions tended to abuse Time Stop when cornered. But sooner or later you will realize that it's not your instant win button," lectured the other you, "If you were fighting Sayaka, you would have already lost your head."
Why would you be fighting Sayaka Miki? For all intents and purposes any battle you would engage her in-
"Would result into you winning, was it? Sadly, it doesn't work that way. Sooner or later new variables will pop up and have a perfect counter for our magic. You're still in a phase but if you were to learn now then you would get an edge for the horrible future that's before you..."
......
"Parallel worlds?"
"Reached my one thousandth five hundred and seven loop before I 'died'. You?"
She ignored your question... Then you would just have to answer hers, "I'm about to reach my thousandth..." To the side, you then pointed at the unconscious you on the ground, "What about her?"
"Ninety nine. She's more inexperienced but she has the most potential out of us all," sighed your parallel self as she knelt down the unconscious you, "Her nature is Acceptance. The one who will eventually bring us all together and make us whole."
Make you... whole?
"What do you mean?"
"Something horrible happening in the future that will require all of us to converge into one being. Similar to a Magical Girl show using the power of friendship."
You've come to the conclusion that the multiple loops drove this version of you insane.
She placed her hand under her chin with a thoughtful look as she tapped her cheek, "But you're different. Maybe you're 'not' from a parallel world. Maybe an isolated Timeline?"
"What?"
"I can't discern your Nature. Your true self. What makes you 'Homura Akemi'. You're a blank, hence my deduction of you not being a part of our Parallel worlds. Perhaps... You are still whole?"
You didn't really understand.
"So what is this place?" you asked once more as you gestured at your surroundings, "Why am I here? All I know of is that I was traversing the tunnel when the walls collapsed and a hand spirited me away."
Your Parallel self raised her eyebrows before shaking her head. Did you do something wrong?
"So that's how it is... Then you will have to leave soon. I believe that this fool will wake up soon and tangle herself in an even graver situation..."
You frowned and took a look at the you with the ribbon on her wrist, "Will... She be fine? What happened to her? Am I also..."
"This child's young yet she's faced greater threats than all of us have. In our loops, this fool was the closest to achieving happiness. Her nature made sure of that... And it all had to come crashing down. Like all of us, she will probably fight to the bitter end."
Your otherself looked right into your eyes and said, "You won't become like her but there's always a chance. You still hold your identity unlike us whom have been all but shattered. We're broken..."
Somewhere behind your parallel self was another you... Or at least you thought it was except it looked more like a sinister doll dressed as you. It was leaning on a broken pedestal, immobile and staring into blank space.
You then noticed another you, gasping for breath whether from exhaustion or frustration you didn't know... A great black coat covered her body as her red glasses were cracked and askew, her face lined with scars as she stared into the desert. A golden gun lying by her side.
At the far corner you found another you, huddled into a sobbing wreck. You recognized your old braided hair and the broken knife lying in front of her.
"You can still get your happy ending.We'll fight for our own through her," the Parallel you seemed to smile lightly as she said that before you noticed the one with Madoka's ribbon stir from her slumber.
"Do us a favor, will you?" requested the Paradox as she raised her gun at you once more, "Don't give up. When you find yourself with your last sets of cards. Don't throw away your humanity and don a slutty dress."
... Yet this time you didn't flinch. Even with a gun pointed at you, you simply fixed your eyes into hers while you replied, "I won't give up. Not until I save Madoka. I don't exactly understand but-"
BANG
You blacked out.
.....
....
...
You woke up to the familiar scent of your sterile private ward. Ah... What... You can't remember. Were you just dreaming awhile ago? Impossible... Unless you fell asleep in that tunnel. But you didn't. You were here.
And you were going to try again.
You took off your glasses and set them aside. You rubbed your forehead and winced.
It almost felt like someone flicked their finger on your forehead.
.....
....
...
Within the Desert, the Cage of the Angels, the Border of Reality... Acceptance woke up.
Regret was there to greet her, murmuring her first words to her otherself, "You're awake.
