.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

III. The Devil and the Angel

When first she woke again and arrived in Mitakihara to meet the other four puella magi, she couldn't shake a niggling doubt that something was out of place. She couldn't say why, except that wearing her hair in braids like this felt wrong. But Mitakihara was overrun with nightmares, and she was thrilled to be out of the hospital and have friends for the first time in her life. So she ignored the feeling that her life could never be this blessed, and got to work alongside Madoka, Kyouko, Mami, and Sayaka.

Kyouko loved to drag her off to get a burger and hit the arcades. Homura destroyed her at any shooting games, but could only fumble and trip herself up on the DDR machines. Loud, energetic, and unrestrained, Kyouko laughed herself out of breath at Homura's stumbling baby deer impression and tried to get her back on the machines for another round, but after the first time Homura just watched with a smile while her friend danced. This life was a blessing to Kyouko; she deserved to be able to play around like a child without fear.

They spent long hours at Mami's apartment. It was the de facto home for their entire group, and they gathered around her table to make their way through an endless supply of desserts and happy idle chatter. More than any other time, when Mami smiled graciously at her and leaned down to put a cup of warm tea in front of Homura, she felt like everything was really going to be alright, for both her and Mami. But why did she doubt that in the first place? Why did she need to be reassured that everything was safe?

And Madoka. If she was friends with the others, between her and Madoka was a friendship set ablaze. Homura's apartment went nearly unused because if they weren't all gathered at Mami's house, then Homura was studying with Madoka, eating dinner with Madoka's family, wandering Mitakihara's parks with Madoka, talking with Madoka. Before she came to Mitakihara, Homura hadn't even thought to ask where she wanted to spend the rest of her life; with her weakened heart, she hadn't even been sure how long that would be. But now as a puella magi she knew the answer as surely as the half-moon hung above the city.

And yet, even though she took to all these girls as easily as water following well-worn riverbeds, she still hung back from Sayaka. She watched. She watched the other girl laughing and playfighting with Kyouko, charging about the grass on the way to school until one managed to tackle the other to the ground. She went with Madoka and Sayaka to the music store and dutifully listened to everything Sayaka shoved at the two of them. She giggled as Sayaka snuck Bebe too many bits of cheese when Mami wasn't looking, which always ended with their little friend overstuffed but content. And who in the world responds to an offer of tea and cake by saluting, of all things?

She watched and nurtured a little flame of joy in her heart. It was about time Sayaka had comrades to stand with, comrades who would never let her fall alone. But, she still hung back.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Discrepancies and doubts piled up, and her memory began to return. A moment in a group planning session where even the word "nightmare" seemed strange and foreign. A sweet conversation with Madoka ruined by a panic attack brought on by sudden conviction that this should be impossible. Seeing Mami cuddling Bebe, and instinctively reaching for a gun.

They were in a witch's labyrinth. How could they let themselves be tricked so easily?

She was almost impressed with herself for approaching the other girls correctly even though she hadn't been able to remember a thing about them at the start. Mami was safe enough; she was always so polite and cordial that it wasn't difficult to remain friendly while hiding any weaknesses or secrets. Kyouko was also safe, but for different reasons. She was the least likely of their group to shatter, and the two of them worked well together. With her broken faith and shoplifted food, Kyouko had always understood Homura more easily than the others. And Madoka…

…well, if she couldn't be with Madoka, then what was the point?

Sayaka, though. Sayaka wouldn't be gracefully cordial like Mami or understanding like Kyouko. Sayaka tore her friend's shields away and pulled out their darkest bits for the sun to see. Sayaka spat on what she couldn't understand. Sayaka broke under the weight of her own despair. Sayaka was just as wounded as any of them, and seeing her happy made Homura smile because heaven knew she deserved it. But, Homura was still right to keep her distance.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

"Then I suppose I shall deign to be your enemy when the time is ready."

Sayaka stood defiant; waves of water surged up from the river just as Sayaka's magic surged about her; Homura could taste its sea salt tang on the air. Sayaka's second self, the armored leviathan Oktavia, hung behind her with valorous blade at the ready. A torrent of power and dedication, a soul that had sunk to the depths and been raised up again. Before the power washing off of the knight errant of heaven, even the sun itself seemed dimmer as though submerged beneath the great waters, and the sakura petals that filled the air seemed to drift on a river current rather than a breeze.

Homura's lips parted and crept into a smile.

"But do you really think you can stand against me, Miki Sayaka?"

She clapped once, and reached out with her Will. Oktavia vanished, the spray dissolving back into the river behind her.

You must have mastered that manifestation of the witch through the darkest trials of your own heart, Sayaka, but you won't turn it against me.

She laid her Spirit upon Sayaka's connection to the Law of Cycles and tore it asunder.

She is mine, Sayaka. You and all her friends may enjoy her too, but I won't let you take her from me.

She wrapped her Mind around Sayaka's, and plucked up the out-of-place memories of the worlds before this one.

And now that you won't even remember what I've done and what direction you should take to challenge me, I have already won.

Flail about and struggle against me all you wish. That is the only choice someone with the will and spirit of Miki Sayaka could possibly make. You will never win, for now the Devil is on the throne of the Goddess. I will bear the sin that you could never forgive, Sayaka. I will bear the sin, and make from it the foundation of my paradise.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

The sun hung in the distance, tingeing the sky with the first shadings of red and orange as it sank into evening. It was possible, if one knew what to search for, to look up and find something hanging in the sky above the city. A tomb, a prison, a monument, the graven image of a goddess bound in silence to watch over Mitakihara.

Homura too kept watch, seated at her table perched on the grassy cliffs above the city. The light sparkled as it caught the ice in her purple drink; the grass behind her rippled in a soft breeze. It was a beautiful world she'd made to enjoy with Madoka. Yet, just a little while ago, she'd felt the lovingly woven lies and false comforts that wrapped about this world suddenly stretch and shudder and tremble as something came loose. Homura had her guesses whose fault this was.

Somewhere behind her, a cheerful voice was humming "Ode to Joy" as it drew closer.

Sayaka came bouncing up the path. From her jean shorts and loose blue tee shirt, she looked like she was out for a pleasant hike instead of marching to face the devil. She stepped on a shuddering Kyubey with absent-minded deliberateness, reached the top of the trail, and waved with an enormous grin. "Hey Homura! You don't make yourself easy to find, do you? The view from here's worth it, though! Oh, and the Incubators left lying around are kind of weird trail markers."

A line of Clara dolls stepped into existence to bar Sayaka's way, pale skin glinting and smiles too wide and sharp. Homura half-turned in her seat and peered at Sayaka, reading the tang of the ocean and the light of divinity in her magic once again. "Miki Sayaka. I see you've been reinstated as a herald of the Law of Cycles."

"Been reinstated? Ha! Come on, that just makes it sound like I had to submit the right form and wait for the celestial bureaucrats. Give me some credit here!" She kept walking forward, right up to the line of Clara dolls, then picked one out. She was a short blonde-haired doll in a sundress with zigzags along the bottom and a hat that wouldn't be out of place at a Sunday stroll through the park, except that it was all in mourning black. "Hey there, think you could grab me a chair if your mistress doesn't mind?"

The Clara doll blinked for a moment, working her way through the question, before turning to Homura. "Do you wish it, Good-for-nothing?"

"It doesn't matter. Do what you will, Blockhead."

Blockhead replied with a military-crisp curtsy, then grabbed Sayaka's hand and tugged her through the line of Clara dolls. She spun around and was suddenly holding a second chair, which she set down, and politely helped Sayaka be seated. Sayaka cheerfully nodded her thanks and winked at Homura, who remained stony-faced. Blockhead dipped another curtsy, this one to the guest, before vanishing once again.

The others followed suit and also vanished, except for one grinning vacantly and wearing a childish hood with an orange knit bobble on top. The last Clara doll set a cup of tea in front of Sayaka and dove in to hug her shoulders from the side. "Welcome back, Goddess's angel!"

A fist hit the table; Homura glared at her last mourner. "Enough, Stupid-looking! Leave us!"

Stupid-looking threw her arms in front of her face and vanished with a tiny shriek; Sayaka shook her head. "Shouldn't be so mean to them, Homura. They're cute." She paused and sipped her drink. "Good tea, too."

Homura stared at Sayaka for a few seconds, running her finger along the rim of her own glass. "I suppose I should congratulate you, Miki Sayaka. In only a month and a half, you've done what should have been impossible. I don't recall allowing you permission to regain your memories and your connection to the Law of Cycles in my world. I don't suppose you'd care to tell me how you did it?"

"So you can seal the leak and wipe my mind again? Ha! It was hard enough figuring out how to dodge you and your little minions long enough to pull it off once." Sayaka paused. "What's with your drink, anyway? That goblet's gotta be as big as your head, and it's half ice balls. Is it like… wine? Grape juice? Water dyed purple?"

"Incubator tears."

Sayaka's eyes popped wide open. "Really?"

"No."

"Damn. I'd try that." Sayaka scooted her chair around the table to be a little closer to Homura, then leaned up close to her face with a smirk. "So you're not doing your devil space invader thing like you were last time. Are you afraid I might not get freaked out and run away this time?"

Homura responded with a supremely unimpressed frown and, one fingertip on Sayaka's forehead, slowly pushed her back into her seat. "If you're quite done taunting the mistress of this realm, Miki Sayaka…."

Sayaka laughed, and tilted her chair back to balance on its legs. "Heh, sorry. I think if I don't joke around a little, I'm going to start shouting again like last time. I was kind of surprised, though. When you goddessknapped Madoka and sprouted wings, I was afraid you'd gone all crazy omnicidal thanks to how Kyubey was messing with your gem or something. But we've been here a month and a half, and practically all we've done is hunt wraiths where they pop up and run around having normal lives. Oh, and you've been smirking at me behind Madoka's back like a bastard every chance you got, that too. I was going crazy trying to figure out what you were up to, but now I've got my memories back it's pretty obvious." Sayaka let her chair hit the ground again and leaned forward. "It's just like back in your labyrinth's false Mitakihara, other than you won't let Madoka do jack and you're being insufferable. This really is all you want, isn't it? A world where Madoka and all your friends are safe."

"A paradise built on my sins and selfish desires, a paradise you could never accept. And now here we are; you, the rogue angel loose in the devil's realm." Homura, hands folded in front of her mouth, watched her opponent. She wished the other girl would scowl and shout and rant; she knew how to force that Sayaka away. But this girl who smiled and joked even while they were at odds and looked at her with compassion as if she could understand…. This girl was treating her almost like they were friends as they had been years ago, but the Sayaka she knew back then could never have been so calm in the face of an enemy. The girl now sitting with her at the table and sipping tea was the Sayaka who had come as a herald of the Law of Cycles to rescue her from the Incubator's ploy. Inside the labyrinth of the nutcracker witch, Sayaka had calmly kept up a façade so complete that Homura hadn't even realized she wasn't what she seemed until the herald chose to tip her hand. "What will you do now, Miki Sayaka?"

"You know, you can drop the cold shoulder routine. Just call me Sayaka! I'd certainly be happier if you did. Let me tell you something you should've figured out already, then. When Madoka takes up a puella magi, they're almost in the same place she is outside time. I couldn't see as much as she could, of course, but I remember my own lives well enough, Homs."

Homura's composure cracked and her eyes shot open. "You mean—you really remember…"

"Milkshakes, sleepovers, braids. And a cold ice queen who does anything she can to keep everyone out. I remember all my old lives. Man, I really got killed off a lot of stupid ways, didn't I?"

Homura's breath became shallow, hands trembling as she clutched at the table to steady herself, her goblet rattling from the tremors. Sharp purple light lanced from the gem dangling from her ear, a hiss of panic ran through the world around them.

All levity, natural or deliberate, fell from Sayaka as she realized Homura was going to pieces right in front of her. "Homura! Calm down! What are you doing?"

"You're going to fight me again! Even though you remember it all, you're set on being my enemy!" Accusing, bitter, knife-sharp.

"Why are you so sure about that?" Sayaka's hands were up, placating, almost reaching out to Homura, but pulled back at her flinch.

"You always do, you're always my enemy, if you remember everything then you know how many times we've done this!"

"Homura, please, just calm down! I'm not going to hurt you! "

"You'll try!" But Homura stood, knocking her chair over from the speed, and walked a few long strides away from the table. Sayaka watched her as she took to pacing back and forth, trying to breathe slower and get herself under control. She stopped to send Kyubey flying with a vicious punt, and turned back to Sayaka. "I know you always hate me, but coming here to be my enemy even though now you remember how many times you've destroyed yourself to hurt me is a new low for you."

"You're not even going to try talking me down?" Sayaka watched her, wary and doing a bad job of hiding it. "You could appeal to my friendship with Madoka. You could remind me how much danger she's in and how many times you failed because protecting her was so hard. Huh. I really thought you'd try to recruit me. I think you even stand a decent chance! I told you back in your labyrinth I could sympathize with a witch who made a paradise for her friends. I said that knowing full well what you'd been through. Well, my part in it anyway, but that's more than enough to piece the outline together."

Homura jerked her head side to side, still breathing hard. "It wouldn't work. You're determined to oppose me. Even if you remember the wretchedness of being a witch, even if you know how much suffering Madoka is taking on by bearing that grief for every puella magi, you'll still lash that weight onto her shoulders!"

"I'm not making Madoka do anything! She made that decision herself because she couldn't stand us suffering!" Sayaka herself was getting heated at that accusation, and took her own advice to try to calm down. "Look. I don't hate you, Homura, I wouldn't kill you even if I could, and I don't want to fight you. But I'm the kind of idiot who only learns from screwing up, and those mistakes killed me everytime until Madoka gave me a second chance. I'd be a hypocrite if I tried to keep that to myself. Madoka's not just here for you, me, Mami, and Kyouko. She wanted to help all puella magi."

Homura scowled at the other girl. "Why are you even trying to justify yourself to me? We both know where this ends."

"Because… because I'm sorry. Because I've got this notion like I might talk you into letting her go, even though I know you won't. Because I feel like you might forgive me if you understand why I'm doing this." Sayaka heaved a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "Because I am going to fight you. Standing alongside Madoka is all I can do to repay her."

"Not true. You could help her set her burden down."

"That's not our call, transfer student. It's hers."

Homura twirled about on the grass, laughing, and thrust her arms outward to encompass the sky, the city, and the whole world around them. "And so here we are, stuck again, a devil and an angel eternally butting heads. A strange place for a princess and a knight to end up, wouldn't you say, Sayaka?"

"I'm sorry." Sayaka nudged her chair out and stood slowly, but lingered near the table.

"Understand that I'll protect Madoka with my dying breath." Homura gave Sayaka a level stare. "That includes protecting her from you, should you encourage her to put herself in danger again."

Sayaka tossed her head in frustration. She didn't say it, but Homura could tell what she was thinking. Having people you care about doesn't just mean protecting them, Homura. You have to let them into your heart even if they'll hurt you. It wasn't telepathy; she just knew.

Just like she knew what her own irritated scowl told Sayaka. You think I don't remember that, Miki? I know it better than anyone.

Sayaka replied with smile that was at once determined and gentle. But you don't believe it anymore. I have hope that I'll convince you again, though.

She began to walk away down the trail, but then paused and tilted her head back to Homura. "Hey. I'm meeting up with Kyouko so we can go out for dinner. There's this ramen place in Kasamino she's been craving. You want to come too?"

Homura blinked, caught off guard. "You still think we can play at being friends, even knowing we'll be fighting as enemies soon enough?"

"Of course! It's only natural. After all, isn't being a little selfish the whole point of this world you made? Even if you have to fight them, why not be a little greedy and have some fun with your friends anyway?"

Homura stared at Sayaka for a long moment, stony face hiding her thoughts. Finally she turned her back and stared off over the city. "You should be going."

"Well. Open invitation if you feel like it later, Homs. And if you ever you want to unload, well, I'm the only other person here who remembers everything." She got no other reply, so Sayaka turned and continued down the path again.

A memory came to mind as Homura made herself stand still until she could no longer hear Sayaka's retreat. Almost as if it was before her eyes again, she saw a princess in a deep purple dress and a knight in a sea-blue cape, hands clasped as they danced together.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

fin.

A/N: If that seems like a strange place to end it... yes, yes it is. I did this fic as a character study to help me get a grasp on Sayaka and Homura's relationship for a much longer post-Rebellion fic I'm working on. So if you're screaming "BUT WHERE DOES THE PLOT GO?" at your monitor right now, just hang tight. Another story is coming.