MK-S: Homubey and Klarissa Halloween chat in the multiverse bar. Though it actually ends up being a more Homubey and a Bar Homura story. Enjoy.
“Oh come on, please?” Klarissa pleaded towards Homubey.
I said no. Homubey repeated with telepathy.
“Why not? What’s the harm in it?” The witch girl questioned the alternative version of her mother-turned-Incubator.
I’m not going to a Halloween party as your black cat, surrounded by magical girls and witches, while I’m still one of the damn things that put everyone into this mess! Homubey shot back, scowling as best as she could with her Incubator face. (The resulting look would have disappointed Homubey and would have made several of the other Homuras in the Akemi-Ya multiverse bar burst into laughter. Klarissa did her best to keep a straight face.)
“Hey, language!” Bar Homura shouted from further down the counter where she was serving another customer/Homura.
We’re all adults mentally here!
“Um, I’m still in my teens.” Klarissa stated.
Homubey growled, both in the minds of everyone within a few meters, and physically through her small mouth. Several Homuras turned to look towards the audible sound. Real Incubators never had an emotional drive to growl, nor desire to make physical noise, so the sound that was produced was a rarity; something they were all grateful for, as it sounded akin to glass both shattering and grinding at once.
I need some air. Homubey growled as she hopped off the bar counter. She hated how much other versions of her had to tilt their heads down to see her leave. It should have been eye level, the same eye level as her. But no, one version of Sayaka Miki just had to see what would happen if she dropped a soul gem in an Incubator. She finally crawled out the front door and went around to the back of Akemi-Ya. She hopped up a few of the nearby pipes and window ledges until she was perched on a small pipe.
Homubey closed her purple eyes and breathed deeply. At least that was something she could still do that functioned just like her old body. She could feel some sort of interior sack filling with air when she breathed in, as well as said sack shrinking when she breathed out. She was still hesitant to call whatever it was “lungs” (or singular “lung”) though; some early experiments on Kyubey had taught her that Incubators had no biological need to breath oxygen, or any sort of gas in the air. They could survive indefinitely in a vacuum.
And I guess I can too… Homubey thought to herself. She didn’t know what to make of that fact: It could have its uses, but it was just one more thing to remind her of her new circumstances.
Her ears perked up (Ugh) as she heard footsteps approaching her. Bar Homura (the only Homura here who was actually starting to look her mental age,) was walking over to her.
What do you want? Homubey thought at her-what would have been her older self.
“I figured it’s about time we talked.” Bar Homura answered.
Talked about what? Homubey did her best to convey a feeling of annoyance with the message.
“You, obviously,” The older and still human woman stated. “But I have a feeling you already knew that.”
Yeah, what else is there to talk about? Homubey sarcastically responded, pointing an ear…feeler? Ringed tentacle appendage towards the non-sky. The freaking weather? Bar Homura chuckled.
“I think that’s the first time you’ve made a joke since you got here.”
“I don’t expect to.” Bar Homura leaned against a wall, head tilted upward to look at the black cat-like body resting on the pipework. “And that’s sort of the problem.”
Homubey raised an eyebrow…or she tried to, before she recalled she no longer had them anymore. She growled in frustration.
“You don’t really do much more than just sit around and sulk in my bar.” Bar Homura continued.
I’m stuck in the body of an Incubator. Homubey huffed inside the elder Homura’s head. There’s not much more I can do like this.
“You could go to that Halloween party.” Bar Homura countered and then waited for a response to her suggestion.
“…Made me wait quite a bit for a one word answer.” Bar Homura observed. “That makes me wonder…”
I wasn’t considering it. Bar Homura raised up her palms defensively.
“No, no, I wasn’t implying you were.” She stated, setting one hand down and raised the other to cup her chin. “But I can’t help but wonder if you were going over reasons why you don’t want to go.”
Aside from it being a pointless waste of time? Homubey asked sarcastically.
“Would it be any more wasteful than sitting around here?” Homubey was silent. Bar Homura sighed. “Take your time, I know it can be hard to put our emotions into words.”
They two stood together in silence for a few minutes before Homubey resumed the conversation.
I just…I don’t want them seeing me like this.
“Them?” Bar Homura inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Madoka naturally. Homubey answered. But also their version of me. I think we called her “The Victor” or something like that. And their version of Sayaka, I don’t know…The iteration who did this to me has come and gone. I can’t be mad at every version of her, but I…
“You know,” Bar Homura began after Homubey’s voice fell silent in her head. “Klarissa’s talked about that sort of thing before.”
I bet she would. Must be strange, seeing so many copies of her mother-
“That’s the thing though,” Bar Homura interrupted. “She doesn’t view us as copies of her Homura, her mother.”
Then are we what her Homura could-
“The closest comparison involving family would have us being her aunts,” Bar Homura explained. “Or many, many of her mother’s twin sisters. And that’s if she’s viewing as as family at all.”
…I could follow along with the notion of viewing us as aunts and siblings of her mother, but now you’ve lost me.
“Apparently…Phil,” Bar Homura said the name quickly, quietly, and with a shutter, as if she was violating some taboo by uttering the simple name. “enables her to explore other universes. A bit like alternative time flows, but with no limits of any kind.”
What limits? Homubey inquired.
“That there are Magical Girls at all.” Bar Homura explained. “Or that it’s Madoka that needs saving. Or even if there’s a Madoka to save. And sometimes a lack of a Homura as well.”
A world without Kyubey? It was a surprise to Bar Homura that could her the disbelief through telepathy. Must be paradise.
“She told me she doesn’t like to hang out at those worlds too much.”
That surprised Homubey. Why not?
“Because it’s the opposite of her very existence.” Bar Homura explained. “She told me she was born by means of familiars and magic.”
Well, that explains a lot.
“It’s also probably not the real reason she doesn’t like those places. She said that was her best guess as to why, but it could be that, while she finds those worlds quiet, she may also find them boring.”
…I feel that we’ve digressed from whatever point you were trying to make.
“True. But this is the most conversation you’ve had since you showed up in my bar. But with that said…what’s another reason you think you’re turning down the offer and just staying here?”
It may be… Homubey sighed, feeling like she giving a confession. Someone else seeing me…It would just make this too real. Here…I can at least pretend that I’m looking in a mirror.
“Klarissa’s seen you.” Homubey tilted her head to shoot Bar Homura an agitated glance, but instead looked down to the face of a woman in the middle of reconsidering her perspective. “Then again, you weren’t really expecting her to be here. I suppose that makes a difference.”
…It does. Homubey responds to what wasn’t actually a question. She heard Bar Homura let out a sigh.
“Look, I’m just going to start cutting to the chase. You’ve been here, on this plane, for months now. Without leaving it once.” At this, Homubey’s head jerked to look at Bar Homura directly. The older woman looked back up at her. “Don’t look so surprised. You don’t think I recognized that you’ve been headed off in the direction of my old restaurant? You haven’t claimed it, but you’ve been acting like you leave to try your loops again, when you’re still hanging around here. So, I feel I need to ask…why haven’t you gone back?”
Homubey was silent for a while. Given her expressionless Incubator face, Bar Homura assumed the younger, alternative version of herself was growing angry with her. The tone she heard in her head, however, was anything but mad.
I…I-I’m afraid. Bar Homura looked taken aback. That was not the response she expected. Homubey started to shiver slightly as the next batch of words left her mind. I-I’m still in this body in this…place. I don’t…I can’t…if I do go back, am I going to be waking up on my own corpse each time?
A-And how could I make Madoka believe me? It was different when she was there to see it happen, but to just take my word for it? Kyubey is a master at deception, he’d have every magical girl after my head the moment he finds out about me! Her feline-like body was now shaking so much the pipe she rested on began to rattle.
“Homu-“ Bar Homura tried to interject, but Homubey continued spilling her heart.
I’m not even remotely human anymore! Homubey all but cried out, frustration and fury seeping into the transmitted thought as she cursed her inability to cry. I crawl on the ground like an animal. I’m unable to hold or grab anything with these worthless paws. I can’t even hold a knife in my mouth, I got desperate enough to try, just so I could do something, anything! I just, just-
Homubey was interrupted as she felt a pair of hands wrap around her, removing her from her perch on the pipes. She felt herself be embraced in a warm hug.
“It’s okay to cry.” Bar Homura said, cradling the poor black body in her arms.
I can’t…th-this body c-can’t. Bar Homura felt her heart break.
“Then just let it all out any way you can.”
And so Homubey did, wailing wordless cries in Bar Homura’s head. Instead of saying anything, she simply held Homubey tighter, cradling her like one might a small child. After several minutes of the misplaced soul crying out in the only way she could, Bar Homura noticed that Homubey seemed to be calming down. After a moment, Homubey squirmed out of the adult’s arms, and landed gracefully on the ground.
Thank you…for just holding me. Not trying to pet me like a cat. Bar Homura nodded as she also sat down, legs outstretched, and back against the building wall.
“No problem. I have to ask though, are you feeling any better?”
…I think so. It felt good to put those thoughts into words, then get them off my chest. Thank you.
Not sure how comfortable I am with the name Homubey.
“We never exactly asked Tamura either. And remember, my name is Bar Homura.”
Homubey made some sort of high pitched vocalization, which Bar Homura could only confirm as a laugh by the chuckle that played in her head.
“So what are your thoughts now that we’ve had this heart to heart?”
You and I both know that Incubator bodies don’t have hearts. Homubey sent the lighthearted thought. I’m pretty sure we’ve all checked at one point or another.
“I thought you said not to get used to you making jokes.”
I also said I wasn’t considering the party. I seem to say a lot of things.
“So you plan on accepting Klarissa’s offer?”
I didn’t say that; just that I’m considering it. I still don’t think I’m ready to start another loop, let alone someone else’s loop. Bar Homura just gave her a confused stare. What? Homubey blinked.
“I think there’s been some sort of miscommunication regarding Klarissa’s means of transport.” Bar Homura explained. “Klarissa doesn’t enter here via time travel…I think. I’m shaky on the specifics. She uses…that thing as some sort of taxi, portal maker, I don’t know, I refuse to ask. The point is that you don’t need to find out what will happen to you, at least not yet.”
Well, I don’t know if I could take six weeks of-
“It’s more likely six hours at most.” Bar Homura could have sworn Homubey’s eyes widened. “What? When it comes to that girl, it’s not exactly starting a new loop.”
Then it’s basically tourism?
“Sort of. If I may offer a different perspective,” Bar Homura proposed. “Maybe think of it as a possible trial run of ‘The best case, in the worst case’. You don’t need to find out what a new loop will bring, but you can get an idea on what your best outcome would be if you don’t get your body back.”
The older Homura stood up and started walking towards the entrance.
“Besides,” Bar Homura said, with a sly smile growing on her face as she looked back over her shoulder. “You said you needed some fresh air? Well, I can’t think of anything fresher for a Homura than air from October.”
Homubey was alone now as Bar Homura turned the corner to head back into her restaurant. She looked up at the not-sky.
Yes, she thought, some fresh October air would do her some good.
And a link back to that Homubey table of contents, because that’s how I roll…
I kinda rushed some parts of the ending a little, as I mainly want to finally publish this. Actually “post” this…technically “ask”; these have been: “the thoughts that went through my head.”
Fun fact, I was actually split on what to make for Homubey’s reason for staying in the bar. I had two possibilities: the one you’ve seen, in which Homubey’s loop failed, and she ended up in this time warp zone, still as an incubator. The other possibility I considered was that her loop was actually successful, but now she’s torn between living an inhuman life with Madoka (and maybe the others) and wondering if she could try a reset to restore her body, but risk that endless loop again. No idea since I don’t know what vicsep’s plan was, but if our two versions don’t match up, then it could be justified as “multiverse”.
While writing this story, I had an idea for a not 100% ideal outcome for Homubey, but one that I think could lead to interesting situations: Homubey wakes up and sees that she still has her Incubator body. She starts to panic, but then hears heavy breathing nearby, she looks and there’s her body staring back at her; then she’s in her human body, looking at her Incubator body. Her soul gem is now an Incubator, while also now being an extension of herself. One soul, manipulating two bodies. This leads to a constant image of Homura with a black incubator perched on her shoulder. Unable to transform or Dispel her magical uniform without direct contact with her incubator body. Homubey would likely think this is not the best, but at least she’s human; plus, now she gets to keep the telepathy as well.
Have a good day everyone! Hope this was enjoyable!
IM SORRY ABOUT HOW LATE IM SEEIG THIS BUT HECK YEAH!!!! SOMETHING THAT ISNT VIOLENCE!!!
