Memories of a Broken Timeline

Beginnings

Homura sighed, last wisps of the labyrinth fading around her into the garage yet again. She spun around, toward the exit. She walked out, a purple flash rippling over her body, morphing her magical girl uniform back into her school one. Waving her hand gently over her soul gem, turning it into a ring once more. Madoka should be meeting Sayaka and Hitomi is the café right about now. She ran a hand through her hair, throwing it back over her shoulder as she strode through the mall. She passed the girls sitting in the café, passionately involved in a conversation about some irrelevant topic, unaware of the horror she was desperately trying to hide from them. She passed the music shop, the bookstore, and other places she'd never returned to, filled with memories of failed timelines, places where it had all gone wrong, failures that had technically never happened. Homura pushed against the doors and burst out of the mall into the sunlight, reflected off the windows of the buildings towering around her.

She broke out into a run, racing through the town, for no reason other than that she wanted to. She flew past buildings and people she'd known in half-remembered timelines: people who looked vaguely familiar, places she'd fought other magical girls she'd never seen again, who had never reappeared. She likewise passed things and people she knew well. She passed Saotome-san and a man who was probably her boyfriend drinking tea is a small café Mami had repeatedly taken her to. They made wonderful strawberry crepes. She saw Madoka's father and little brother eating ice cream and walking toward the park. Tatsuya reached out for her as she ran by as though he knew her, despite the fact he couldn't possibly, given that, in this timeline, they had never met. He looked as though he was going to call her name, yet couldn't remember it. Homura just kept running, ignoring them all.

She didn't stop until she reached the bridge where she had first been saved by Madoka, hundreds of timelines ago, and where she'd lost countless battles to Walpurgisnacht. As she looked at the structure that bore no evidence of the struggle that would one day take place there, she restated her vow. She would do whatever it took to save Madoka, no matter the price, no matter how many tries it took.

"Homura Akemi," a man's voice behind her said. She froze. Who was he? How did he know her name? What did he want? She turned around to face him. He looked like some kind of cosplayer, wearing a blue tunic with a high collared red cloak. He must be very dedicated to his cosplay go out onto public streets dressed like that. "Homura Akemi," he repeated as he grabbed her arm, and pulled her back. She noticed too late that behind him was a fiery circle within which was another place entirely, a room with two chairs surrounded by books and other objects she didn't recognize. He pulled her through the circle and forced her into one of the chairs. The circle closed behind him. She tried to stand up, to transform, to flee, yet she couldn't. She shook and struggled, pushing against the force keeping her trapped in this strange man's chair. "Homura Akemi. You have been haphazardly playing with time itself. You have repeatedly torn it apart and sloppily stitched it back together. As a guardian of the natural order, I cannot allow you to continue." Homura didn't respond; she just continued pushing against the chair. "Either you stop, or I will be forced to stop you."

"I have to save Madoka. I have to prevent her from getting killed, whatever it takes." It was the first time in all her tries she'd admitted her quest to anyone besides Madoka. He looked at her, eyes locking with hers.

"Why is Madoka so important that you would willfully destroy everything for her?"

"She's my best friend. She saved me. I am returning the favor."

"I don't know who Madoka is, or what she saved you from, but whoever she is, she's not worth all of reality."

"But she is," Homura hissed. She ducked her hand behind her back in an effort to hide what she was doing. She morphed her ring back into her Soul Gem. She sent the thought to trigger her transformation. Purple light flowed over her body, replacing her school uniform with her magical girl costume and manifesting her shield. The man gave her a once-over.

"That's not going to help you," he sighed, "whatever you just did." She reached into her shield, and began fishing around, trying to choose her weapon. He continued watching her, curiosity still piqued by her magical girl form. He watched in confusion and something bordering surprise as she pulled a loaded gun out of her shield and aimed it squarely at his chest. He spun his hands, generating a large orange shield around himself. She turned the gun towards the bookshelf and fired a single bullet into the books, leaving them charred and sizzling. The man turned to her angrily. "Those books are irreplaceable records from millennia ago," he hissed as he raced over the shelf, shield still up as he attempted to put out the fire. As his attention shifted away from her, the force holding her down dissolved. She pushed to her feet through the swiftly-fading barrier and took off running. The man turned toward her in alarm and flicked his hand, summoning another orange circle, this one small and clearly meant as a weapon. She fired another shot toward him, which dissolved upon hitting his raised weapons. He began to run toward her, prepared to defend himself. As she ran, she turned her shield and watched the world slow to a halt around her. She darted from room to room, seeking an exit from the strange building he had brought her to, until she finally came to a door. She bolted out into the frozen streets of a city she did not recognize.

Homura just kept running. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know where she was going. As she ducked around frozen people, she tried to get her bearings. Looking up at the unfamiliar skyline, she caught sight of an oddly-shaped building standing out among the array of identical skyscrapers. On the side of the building was emblazoned a large letter A with a circle. It looked familiar, like something with she might have seen in a past timeline or two. She'd been through so many, she couldn't remember. She spotted another unique building protruded from the skyline. This one she definitely recognized: The Empire State Building. She was in New York, halfway around the world. How was she going to get home? She had to get back to Madoka, stop the Incubator from getting to her. She just kept going, although she still did not know where to. She just knew she had to keep moving. Her hair flew behind her. She ducked behind a building, catching a glimpse of its occupants through the window: two boys, one with wavy brown hair and the other, who had black hair and glasses, suspended in place, leaning over a pile of Legos on a table. Homura bolted around the corner, eyes scanning for some indication of her location.

She slowed back to walk as everything resumed motion, her power spent. This was bad. This was very bad. She was alone, being chased by a strange man on what was presumably his home turf, with little power left. She ducked around yet another corner and resumed running, still desperate to get away. She stumbled over something, sending her careening forward onto her knees. She looked back to see what had tripped her up. Wrapped around her legs were burning red bands, crackling and sparking.

"Well, Miss Akemi, while that was rather impressive, I'm afraid it was likewise rather futile."