This story takes place as an alternative ending of the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It is highly recommended, if not mandatory, to have finished the anime, as my story is based on the outcomes of the last few episodes. If you did not watch the anime, please refrain from reading this fanfiction until you do.

Here is the first chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

Puella Magi Kiseki Magica

Chapter 1: A Wish of Hope

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Homura Akemi was doing her best. Thousands of rocket launchers fired simultaneously, all aimed at the humongous monster floating above the city's ruins. In vain. She then dropped a dozen of bombs right in the huge screw of Walpurgis Night. In vain. Two more explosions made the twin electric towers collapse on the witch. In vain. A truck full of fuel blew directly to its face. In vain. As she dropped in the water below, three more battle ships levitate out of the river, and shot point blank guided missiles. In vain. Another three hundred thousand landmines were added to the count. In vain.

Walpurgis simply rose again, laughing of its maddened voice, unscratched. It was its turn to attack.

"Homura-chan!"

"It's too much for her alone." Kyubey stood next to Madoka, both watching the fight from afar, or more precisely: the massacre. Madoka was trembling. There was no way for her friend to win, she would only get killed.

"You know I can make a contract at anytime."

Yes, there was that possibility; that one thing that caused Homura to loop back history so many times. She could become a Puella Magi, but if she failed, she would then become a witch even more fearsome than the Walpurgis Night. She had one move; there wasn't any room for mistakes.

"I will!" Kyubey shook its ears, malicious satisfaction hidden under his cat smile. "Kyubey, I want to make a contract."

"What is your wish?"

"I wish to have the power to change any witch back to the girl she was before, to give her a second chance, and a third if necessary. I want to be able to shelter her and any other from the grief and give her the normal life she deserves."

"That wish would break the rules of the existence of witches!"

"I don't care what rule it breaks. This is my wish, so make it happen Incubator!"

There was a flash of pink light as Madoka's soul was extract from her body and placed in a soul gem, her soul gem. The process caught Homura's attention off the fight.

"Madoka! Don't do it!" She screamed, but as everything she did before, it was all in vain. Kyubey had already granted her wish.

"Your wish has reverse entropy. You are now a Puella Magi."

Madoka in her new pink dress of a magical girl didn't look back. She was focused on her target, determined to save all three of them. Slowly, as if testing her own power, she took her wand, which transformed into a bow of light, aimed and shot. A ray of pure energy hit Walpurgis, completely engulfing it in a pink beam. When the ray vanished, Walpurgis had too. A small falling black dot in the sky was all that was left of the witch.

As the reality warp started to dissipate, Madoka flew and caught the falling girl softly in her arms. She was naked, had long purple hair and seemed peacefully asleep. But something was off. Really off. Her appearance was a huge shock to Madoka.

Kyubey had also seen the girl from afar. Homura was standing next to him, bloody from a building Walpurgis threw at her earlier. "It's you."

"What do you mean?" said Homura.

Kyubey sounded fascinated. He continued, keeping his eyes on the duo of pink and purple, down in the city: "You were the Walpurgis Night. And now Madoka changed you back as the girl you were before."

"Wait, are you saying..."

"Yes. Now, there are two Homura Akemis."

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"What should we do?" Madoka had taken the second Homura Akemi out of sight in a small alley, quickly followed by the other Puella Magi and Kyubey.

"Maybe we should bring her clothes first." Kyubey came closer the sleeping girl, watching carefully any details that could prove him wrong on its first impression. There was no mistaking it; she was Homura's perfect twin.

The real one — or would it be better to says the one of this world? — simply stood there, shocked. She couldn't take her eyes off her solid reflection, refusing to admit the truth. The truth that she herself was the cause of her own misfortune. She was/had been/will be the Walpurgis Night she fought for so long. All that time, she was fighting herself, her own demons, without knowing it. It made the revelation even more painful.

"Homura-chan?"

Startled, she remembered Madoka existed — you know, the pink girl currently holding your other self? — and made visible effort to look in her direction more than a few seconds at a time.

"What."

"Clothes. Yours, maybe."

She instantly vanished, only to reappear a few meters away the next second, holding a purple dress she had never worn in her arms. With both working together, they were able to dress Homura2, still with some difficulties. Probably toying around with her body wake her up, or maybe she had just recovered from the past events, but as soon as she had a bit of consciousness, she kicked both girls and started screaming.

"Where am I? Who are you? Please help me! Somebody! I'm being attacked by two girls!"

Madoka was trying to get close to her, gently. "Homura-chan, calm down!"

The other Homura twitched at the sound of her name being used to call somebody else. Weird feeling she was sure she disliked.

"How do you know my name? Are you stalkers?"

Kyubey walked right in the middle of the two, preventing Madoka from coming closer. "You still don't get who that girl at the back is?"

There was no reaction whatsoever from Homura2.

"Kyubey, does she not see you?" asked Madoka.

"Who's Kyubey?" the poor girl was as afraid as she was confused

"Seems like so. Let me arrange that."

There was a small startle cry as the now completely awaken girl stared Kyubey.

"Let me ask again. Did you not realize yet who the second girl behind Madoka is?"

She gave one long look to the small being at her feet, frozen at the facts that he simply popped from nowhere and could talk, and then she understood the question and gave another long, good look at both girls, especially the one in purple. There was something familiar with her, but she couldn't grasp it.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Homura Akemi."

"Eh? How is that possible? I'm Homura Akemi too!"

They took a long time to fully analyse the other. It was hard to admit the facts. The silence being really unpleasant, Madoka started to talk. "Hum, Homu... Argh! This is so confusing. From now on, YOU" pointing at the girl with the shield "are Homura and YOU" this time pointing at the casually dressed one "are Akemi. With this out of the way, Akemi-chan, what is the last thing you remember?"

Akemi was able to calm down a bit; those girls were not aggressive at all and heck, one of them was her. So she thought a bit over her last memories.

"It's all blurry, as if I had been in a maelstrom of colors. It's hard to concentrate."

"Does 'Walpurgis Night' rings any bells?"

"Homura!"

It did. As soon as she had pronounced the words, Akemi's face changed back to fear. "...Madoka? It's really you! I remember! But why are you a Puella Magi? Why are you alive? The last time I left you, I had shot your Soul gem!"

"Why YOU!" Homura was visibly angry for unknown reasons. She took an aggressive step forward, threatening Akemi.

"Homura-chan, stop it! Akemi-chan, why did you shoot my Soul gem?"

"We had defeated the Walpurgis Night together, and both our gems were pitch black, so I shot yours before you turned into a witch."

"And after? Did you shot yours?" Madoka asked.

Akemi blinked twice. "I don't remember anything after that."

"So you transformed into another Walpurgis Night from the shock of killing your friend."

"Homura-chan, please stop being rude!"

Akemi became many shades paler. "I... I... I became Walpurgis?" She was on the verge of crying.

It was at that time that Kyubey decided to kick in. "Absolutely. You became a magnificent witch, probably started a rampage across many universes, and when you showed up here, Madoka made the wish to bring you back to your former self. This is very intriguing, I must say."

Akemi started to sob, trying to stop from outright crying in from of Madoka. She was supposed to save her, not the other way around, and certainly not become a monster and threaten her world. And then it hit her. Hard. How many times had she failed, leaving behind a doomed world? Now how many of those did she, as a witch, completely erased from existence? This time, she wasn't able to stop crying.

"You don't help at all, Incubator." Homura said.

"Akemi, it's all right." Madoka took her by the hand and pulled her gently out of the alley, reverting back to normal clothes. "You're in shock, and we are too. But everything is over now, so let's just go somewhere more comfortable than an alley, and let's think over it calmly, shall we?"

"Okay, *sob*, but don't let go of my hand. I'm half blind without my glasses."

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They finally decided to go to Homura's house, the other choice being Madoka's. The house was a huge ultramodern living room with white digital walls, filled with two pendulums, a bunch of sofas, a bed, a single table and a ton of sheets, photos, drawing and math equations, all about witches, displayed on the walls. There was also a small fridge and a microwave, which Homura put to good use by preparing instant diner. All three sat at the table, not talking, not looking at each other. The awkwardness of the unreel resemblance between Homura and Akemi was only amplified because both sat in the exact same position, mirror image of each other.

At one point, Akemi shyly asked for a hairbrush to arrange her hair into two large braids, the way she liked it the most — but really, it was first and for all to feel distinct from her doppelganger.

"Here," says Homura, giving Akemi her glasses. "I don't need them, but you do, and they fit."

"Thanks, H... Homura-c...chan." Wow, that was awkward! And why does she get the intimate name and I, the formal one in the first place?

" 'Nothing."

"So, Akemi, you remember being a Puella Magi?" Asked Madoka.

"Most of it yes. And I remember having left my home to be on my own. Oh, what date is it?"

"This afternoon was Walpurgis Night"

"Oh yeah. So it's really not another time loop. I don't have a home for now. It would have been here," she made a wide gesture to show the room "but Homura already lives here, and I would only get in the way."

Homura, taking a bite off from her plate: "Agreed."

"You can come to my place." Said Madoka. "It's big and we have a guest room too. And I'm sure my little brother will be super happy to have another onee-chan in the house."

She smiled. "I would love to!"

"But if I may be allowed a word of advice..." Kyubey stepped out of the shadows under the window, meeting the death glare of Homura.

"We don't want you here, you monster."

"Maybe you would like to consider the next girls." said Kyubey, not taking her previous comment into account.

"The next girls?" asked Madoka.

"Yes. I suppose you will try to inverse the process of other witches, am I right?"

"I... guess so. Now that I can save them, I don't want to kill them." Madoka looked at the two Homuras for some advice on this matter.

"So for those next witches, or girls if you prefer, will you take them all in your house? Many, if not all of them won't have anywhere to go back to. What will you do?"

"Kyouko lived on the street fine," started Akemi, "but I can't see myself ask that to any girl we... save."

"And my house can only take so much people." Replied Madoka.

"Orphanage?" Proposed Homura.

"In the same category than living on the street." Akemi answered.

"And then what about school?" Asked Madoka.

"I suppose that would be easier, transferred students are always welcomed."

Kyubey spoke again: "Or they could become Puella Magi again."

This instantly made Homura angry. "If you're going to make such comments, please leave my house."

"Homura, as alien as Kyubey is, he doesn't wish any harm. At least for now." Madoka said, not wanting a new fight to start.

"What, you would allow newly saved girls to make another contract with him?"

"I didn't say that, and I don't think I would, but this possibility does exist and Kyubey just stated that, no more."

Seeing Madoka taking his defense only encouraged him to continue. "This possibility also comes with free wishes, which could solve your problems."

"Oh right, I'm not a Puella Magi anymore." With a blink of regret, Akemi briefly considered that she too was allowed another wish.

"Do you want to become one again?" He asked in his most innocent voice.

Frustrated, Homura stood up and took a handgun from her pocket dimension. "That's it! Leave!"

Kyubey turned around and jumped on the window. "Akemi, you know how to find me." And he disappeared in the night.

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Later that night, Madoka and Akemi left for the former's house. It had been decided that Akemi will stay there for the time being, and that she won't go to school because of the confusion it would create with Homura. It had also been decided that they will consider what to do about other girls when the next one will appear, and get her opinion in the process. Overall, it was procrastination, and that wouldn't make the problem disappear.

Homura was left alone, alone as she had always been in years. But now history had changed. She finally got her happy ending. Madoka was alive, she herself was too and Walpurgis was not. Hurray! So why did she feel so gloomy about it?

She turned off the lights and let herself fall loudly on her hypermodern bed. She hadn't had a full night sleep in ages, literally. Up until now, all her nights had been spent to steal the army's machinery, grenades and every other thing that blew up, or making plans to kill witches with more efficiency. But now she didn't have to worry about any of that. Walpurgis was — no not dead — no longer a threat, meaning that she could easily kill any witch she would happen to stumble upon. And even though her fight with Walpurgis required her to expend quite a bit of her arsenal, she still had too many guns to count in her shield. So no stress.

But she still was stressed. Flipping on a side, then on the other, she couldn't find any comfortable position on her bed. Under the sheet, then over, then under again. What was wrong with her?

Was it that she had spent so much time feeling nothing but loneliness and sadness that she was now unable to feel anything else beside grief? That for the rest of her life, happiness, joy and innocence will be completely impossible to attain? Nonsense! She had her right to be happy. She had a right to enjoy her time free of deaths with Madoka: to laugh together, to cry together, to worry about mundane things like high school, a scrapped knee or not enough clothes. But no! It wasn't over. It never will, for they were Puella Magis, and couldn't revert back to such a normal life.

But Akemi had such a chance. She, the Homura Akemi that succumb to despair and turned into a witch, won the life that she, the Homura Akemi that fought without showing a shred of weakness and that never gave up, had worked so long to achieve. Why? Why was the world so unfair?

Homura held her pillow tightly close to her. Was she mad at Akemi? Was she mad at herself? How low had she fallen to hold such a grudge against someone she knew so well. Herself. Akemi was her, and she was Akemi. So in a way, she too had won that prize through Akemi.

But it didn't make her heart less hollow to think so. And it didn't stop the tears from falling silently on her pillow.

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