Chapter Text

Fire Emblem: House of Witches

By Kallista_Dragonsoul

Arc One: Homulily

Prologue: The Hourglass Turns

*May 1st, 2022*

"Walpurgisnacht is dead," three words that Akemi Homura had long dreamed would be a statement of fact, yet feared would never see the light of truth. And yet now, after all those long, long loops, it was a reality. It had been reality for exactly two years, in fact, though Homura still barely believed the circumstances under which it had come to pass.

And yet, here she stood, waiting in front of the coffee shop that had become her friends' go-to hangout, as she waited for the rest of the Quintet to arrive. A certain burgundy-haired lancer had suggested calling them the Septet, since Mikuni Oriko and Kure Kirika had both contributed greatly to the defeat of Walpurgisnacht, but the name had been rejected when the Oracle and her shadow had politely declined the offer to include them in the group, and subsequently vanished.

The rest of the Quintet still kept in touch with the duo, but Homura couldn't just set aside all of the bad blood between them and herself, not after all the times they'd killed Madoka and forced an early reset. It was why she was secretly glad they'd rejected the invitation to join in the two year anniversary of Walpurgisnacht's defeat, Homura was certain having them would-

"Heeeeeey, what's got you so frowny?" asked a familiar voice, and Homura turned to meet the cyan eyes of one Miki Sayaka, which were currently not even thirty centimeters away from her face.

"Miki Sayaka. Not so close, please?" Homura responded, earning herself a pout of disappointment as Sayaka leaned back, revealing that she'd been followed by her now-girlfriend Sakura Kyoko. The relationship between the two had been rocky for some time, but when they'd announced it three months ago, Homura hadn't been surprised. The number of times Kyoko killed herself to bring down Oktavia had long since erased any doubts she might've had about their feelings for each other.

"Awww… You're no fun." grumbled Sayaka, holding her pout for just a moment longer before her usual smile returned. Homura had to admit, she hadn't expected Sayaka to ever like her, much less call her anything nicer then 'transfer student'. Yet, somehow, the two had become friends in the aftermath of Walpurgisnacht, bonding over an appreciation for theater arts, classical music, and a shared affection for Madoka.

"Naaaah, Eggplant's plenty of fun, sweetie!" Kyoko chimed in, throwing an arm around her girlfriend's neck. Homura didn't know where she'd gotten that nickname from, or why Kyoko felt it fit her of all people, but she despised it. She could at least call her Aubergine, it sounded a lot better the Eggplant! Besides, Homura had cracked her egg years ago now!

"Sakura Kyoko, I have asked you before, and I'll ask you again: please do not call me 'Eggplant'," Homura chided. For all that the nickname annoyed and infuriated her, she did still care about Kyoko, in all her annoying brilliance. Homura didn't know how she did it, but whenever the Quintet needed something, Kyoko would find a way to get it for them. It would've been scary if Homura didn't know how trustworthy and reliable Kyoko was.

"I must agree with Homura-San. 'Eggplant' sounds rather undignified," came a familiar voice, and the trio turned to see Tomoe Mami walking up to them, her parasol held gracefully in one hand as she walked with practiced elegance. It was rare in the extreme for Homura to acknowledge her own flaws or weaknesses, to the point where many thought she simply didn't, but in the aftermath of Walpurgisnacht, Mami had become one of the privileged few individuals to whom Homura felt she could confide in. It was a return to the dynamic they'd had back in those early loops, which Homura could scarcely remember now. She just wished that Mami would drop the honorific….

"Thank you, Mami. I'm glad you agree," replied Homura, smiling as the four Puella Magi formed a loose square arrangement, and began chatting back and forth about Kyoko's nicknaming skills. It was nice to finally be able to just be friends with them for once. The loops had dragged on for so long, and worn on Homura so much that she couldn't remember anything that had happened before them, much less remember ever being able to just hang out and be friends with the rest of the Quintet. Her relationships with them always ended up being so fragile and fleeting.

The only relationship that had persisted between loops had been her friendship with Kaname Madoka. Oh Madoka, her dear, sweet Madoka. Homura felt a giddy energy fill her as she thought about Madoka. Her Madoka. Her girlfriend, Madoka. Madoka, her girlfriend! The thought filled Homura with a sense of euphoria stronger than anything else, crushing her gender dysphoria like a hammer crushes glass. She still remembered how she'd ultimately confessed to Madoka, how she'd been so overcome with relief in the aftermath of destroying Walpurgisnacht that, upon finding Madoka alive, unharmed, and un-contracted, Homura had swept her off her feet and kissed her directly on the lips, right in front of Oriko, Kirika, and the entire rest of the Quintet.

"Thinking about your confession again, Homura?" the playfully jabbing voice of Sayaka cut through Homura's shameful recollection of her embarrassing mess of a confession.

"N-No!" Homura replied far too quickly, her guilt only compounded by the brilliant crimson blush that covered her face. "No, I wasn't, I swear I wasn't!"

"Oh come now, Homura-San, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Mami chimed in, smiling serenely as she stepped over to put an arm around Homura's shoulder. "The two of you are very cute together, and you've been working through your communication issues quite well!"

Homura's blush deepened. While it was true that she'd gotten much better at communicating since her admittedly rather creepy confession, she still felt that she had a long way to go. After all, just because Madoka had kissed her back didn't mean that what she'd done had been alright.

"Homura-chaaaan!" as the sound of the most beautiful voice Homura had ever heard hit her ears, she felt all the tension leave her body, and she turned to grin at Madoka. The pinkette hadn't quite reached the end of the other block, but evidently that hadn't dissuaded her from shouting Homura's name as she ran towards her.

The next few moments were some of the most horrifying that Homura had ever experienced: As Madoka came towards them, she ran heedlessly into the street. As she did so, there was the sound of breaking tires, and a loud honking. And then a truck slammed into Madoka, screeching to a stop as she was flung sideways, her body hitting the pavement with a sickening sound.

Time seemed to stand still around Homura, as she stared at Madoka, and the pool of blood forming around her. Then she charged forwards, a scream ripping itself from her throat as she fell to her knees beside her girlfriend, the rest of the Quintet hot on her heels. Gingerly, Homura reached out and felt for a pulse. It was barely there, and getting fainter by the second.

"Madoka?! Madoka, hang in there! Madoka!" Homura shouted, gently holding Madoka's cheek, wanting to hold her close but also being terrified of making her fragile state worse. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the many terminals of the Incubator, watching the situation unfold. Fortunately, the thing seemed to be keeping its distance, though perhaps it was taking some kind of sick satisfaction in watching Homura despair as Madoka lay dying. After all the times Homura had ruined it's plans, it wouldn't surprise her.

"Sayaka, heal her!" Homura shouted, shaking Sayaka out of the disbelieving stupor that she'd been in since kneeling beside Homura. But as the blue haired fencer stretched out her hand, something strange happened. The purple Soul Gem on Homura's hand flashed, then started glowing. Then, a trickle of magic flowed freely from the gem, spreading out over Homura's hand and flowing up her body, leaving her in her Puella Magi outfit as it did.

"Uhhh… Homura? What's-" before Kyoko could finish her question, Homura felt Madoka's pulse stop. At the same time, her shield made a horrendous groaning sound as it tried to reset a long established timeline, one which it no longer had the power to fully change.

So, this is the consequence of defying fate to such a great degree. came the sing-song voice of the Incubator, sending chills up Homura's spine as she grabbed desperately at her shield, trying to somehow buy time for Sayaka to revive Madoka, a feat they both knew was well beyond her capabilities. To Homura's surprise, however, it was as though some other force was attempting to force the shield to trigger the reset, her own desperate grip on it being fought in equal measure by the shield itself as it strained to against her.

But then, it was bound to wind up like this sooner or later, the Incubator continued, its white, cat-like form walking up to Homura as it put a single paw on the hand holding her shield, You can't escape Karma, Akemi Homura. It's time to pay what's due.

With a strength that a creature so small should not have possessed, the Incubator shoved Homura's hand off of her shield. In an instant, white light exploded from the shield as an unrelenting flow of magic spun the shield much further then it was meant to, it's outer shell bursting off of it, before imploding back on itself in a vortex of energy, metal, and sand, dragging in not just Homura, but the rest of the Quintet as well. Homura couldn't see anything clearly anymore, light and shadow swirling around her, all sound consumed by a cacophony of screeching metal, unearthly singing, and a familiar, mocking, laugh.