Armageddon Part 3

A Confession of Love

The atmosphere was poisoned with darkness with the wind carrying a heavy miasma that could corrupt the hearts of iron willed men. A chilling air froze and shattered everything that came into contact with it.

Those who inhaled the drenched oxygen mutated and transformed into creatures beyond human understanding, and became maddened with an intense hunger for flesh and bone.

A winged figure erratically flapped her wings through the witch's vortex. Her eyes dulled with an unfocused stare, unable to manifest her true power completely.

She gazed into the witch's true face and for a moment felt a fear so devastating she felt her soul being torn apart in two. Forcefully stabilizing her breath, The Demon looked at the fallen Madoka, and snapped the terror out of her heart.

Taking a deep breath, the demonized temptress screamed out an order, "Lotte Soldiers!" with a voice so commanding it could paralyze opponents, "Protect Madoka! No matter what you have to do!"

From The Demon's own diminished shadows, several dozen Lotte familiars emerged and surrounded the unconscious pink ballerina. The leader of the Lotte Soldiers princess-carried her, with the subordinates clearly jealous of this act.

"No you don't!" An aggravatingly familiar distorted voice charged through the witch's shadows, and headed straight to Madoka.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The Demon warped straight in front of the speeding figure, and noticed it was Oktavia, with Homura riding right on top of it. She attempted to grab the mermaid witch, but Oktavia locked hold against the demonized creature, resulting in a battle of strength.

The Demon pushed forward in an attempt to overpower Oktavia, but felt her power zap much quicker than before. She glanced at her floating Dark Orb, and noticed it was about twenty-five percent corrupted.

Kriemhild's presence severely drained the fallen angel's strength. She felt herself lose in a battle of power against Oktavia, as her wings slowly started to corrode and descend, losing her place in the warped sky.

The time traveler quickly took this chance to summon a rifle, and aimed close range against her demonized doppelganger. "I'm going to get Madoka back."

The sound of a bullet echoed through the stenched atmosphere. Straight through the corrupted angel's temple was a gust of wind that permeated through her skull.

She was shot straight through the temple, and the bullet traveled from her head to the back of her skull like water. "G-gahh!"

"Let's go!" Homura pointed at the sleeping pinkette, but before they managed to dive straight into the Lotte Soldiers, a small gloved hand grabbed the back of Oktavia's shoulder, and pulled them back with an overwhelming fierceness.

"I will not abide by your rudeness!" The eldritch deity screamed. Black matter started to swell up into existence right above the palm of her left hand. It was drenched in a dark power, easily capable of destroying both Oktavia and the human Homura with ease. "You should've just let it all go," She whispered.

"Goodby-" A ginormous miasma-clouded claw struck The Demon, easily overpowering her. She felt the pressure of despair quickly engulfing her spiritual body. Her current form was too full of weaknesses. Darkness could easily cloud her.

Blotches of black infected her once-beautiful skin. A black ooze escaped from The Demon's lips. She was being poisoned.

Right before she was about to escape, her wings were smashed together by Gretchen's claws. She felt her body move up, her eyes directly staring into the abyss known as Kriemhild's face.

A massive gaping eye gazed back at The Demon. The Witch, even through her madness and insanity, looked at the demonic angel with a very slight and ghostly kindness.

"HOMURA-CHAN,"Its voice was nothing short of madness.

Scrutinizing insanity.

"WE…"

Twisted happiness.

"...MEET AGAIN."

Damnable salvation.

Her violet-red amethyst eyes shot wide open, her mouth held agape with surprise as The Witch spoke to her. A sudden pressure squeezed the angel's bones together. The immense power nearly crushed her.

"...NO…" It suddenly said.

"YOU'RE NOT HER….WHO ARE YOU?!"

"...Wha-"

Without warning, without a chance to respond, The Demon's body came crashing into the cold cement of Mitakihara City. The demonic labyrinth that had imprisoned Kriemhild Gretchen had now shattered completely.

Gretchen's form escaped, and with rapid speed she engulfed the entire world in a maze of her own. Her voice screamed for her idealized version of Homura, constantly screaming and screeching out the raven-haired girl's name.

Billions of familiars from both demonic and witch origin battled one another, shedding magical blood as the shadows of Kriemhild Gretchen and the dolls of The Demon continued to cut each other down with spears, swords, and claws.

Away from the battle, and away from the chaos, was a young pink-haired girl carried and protected by an army of Lotte soldiers, who fiercely punished any stray Witch familiar that got too close. Their formation was self-sacrificial, taking any and all kinds of damage from both the Witch and her servants.

Even without The Demon's guidance, the Lotte soldiers faithfully protected Madoka Kaname. They will not fail.

Luiselottes were dispatched to clear the road, and used guerrilla tactics against the overpowered servants.

Without the Clara Dolls, the other demon familiars had to become much more active. They coordinated much more than before.

In the background, The Witch started to decimate The Demon. As the demonized angel maneuvered through Kriemhild's city-sized arms, she summoned her corroded bow, and began to aim directly at Gretchen's face.

She felt a sharp pain in her back, and started to swiggle clumsily in the air. The Demon glanced at her back, and noticed her right wing was torn right from under her.

Anger.

Rage.

Despair.

Sadness.

Self-antipathy.

But not one of them was hatred against the witch, for hating the witch is tantamount to hating a part of Madoka Kaname.

She accepted ALL of Madoka, even the ugliest parts of the Pink Goddess.

The fallen angel found herself against a pile of rubble, with dozens of boulders pinning her feet down in the ground. She looked upward, and saw the massive witch covering the sky. Skyscrapers flew into the air like torn pieces of paper being carried by a violent wind.

She laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.

She laughed uncontrollably. Tears of blood flowed out of her tear ducts as she smiled a grin too wide for her small, delicate features.

"THIS!" She screamed

"THIS IS!" She continued to scream to the top of her lungs.

"THIS IS JUST LIKE WALPURGISNACHT!" She waved her hands up, and hugged the miasma-thickened air. "THIS IS SO NOSTALGIC!"

"REMEMBER, MADOKA?! THAT FAITHFUL DAY, WHEN IT ALL WENT TO PIECES!"

[]

"U-ugh…." Her heavy eyelids struggled to open. A massive muscle-ache coursed through her entire body, making it near-impossible to move.

The room she was in was built in a specified labyrinth, shaped exactly like Madoka's house.

"W-what...happened…" As she fully opened her eyes, dozens if not hundreds of Lotte soldiers turned their heads to her, and, in one knee, kneeled to her, admiring her Godliness.

They didn't speak, but they communicated their wishes clearly.

The demonized familiars wished no harm on Madoka Kaname, in fact, they desires the exact opposite. They wished to protect her, even if it meant their sacrifice.

She stood up, and noticed their features were similar to Homura's. Their facial structure, their red-rimmed glasses that she once saw in Homura's apartment, and their braided hair was just like when Madoka braided Homura's hair.

"You're...Homura-chan's familiars, aren't you?" The pinkette asked, hesitantly.

They nodded.

"Where's everyone else?"

"..."

Shuffling through the house, a few Lotte soldiers carried three silhouettes on their backs.

Junko Kaname.

Tomohisa Kaname.

Tatsuya Kaname.

They were all safe.

A tear dropped from Madoka's cheek.

[]

"She's insane…" Sayaka's voice echoed through Oktavia's helmet, as she glanced at the fallen devil who kept laughing despite receiving fatal injuries.

A tinge of bitterness stabbed the time traveler's heart as she watched her demonized twin struggling in the ground. The floating debris, the chaotic scenery - it was all too much like Walpurgisnacht.

Her stomach churned. She felt sick. Her eyes glazed over the thousands of people who were crushed under the rubble mercilessly. The lucky ones died quickly, the others ran for their lives, trying to delay the inevitable.

Some citizens started to mutate and turn into Gretchen's familiars. Children would bloat, dripping hot acid from their lips as they clumsily pushed their fat chubby feet to innocent people.

Police officers could only delay the demonized familiars and mutated witch servants, quickly killed by Lotte soldiers and Gretchen's mind-controlled human-esque beasts.

They screamed.

Some desperately clung for life, abandoning their children to the monsters.

Others shielded their children, but it was futile.

Everyone was going to die.

"I've always hated this scene…"

"Did you say something, Homura?" Oktavia glanced at the perturbed Homura, who simply shook her head in silence.

"Let's go. We still need to find Madoka. Let's do it before that witch finds us."

"Quick question," Oktavia said, with a hint of curiosity in her voice, "Did you know the witch was in your shield?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"She told me," The raven-haired girl pointed at The Demon, "She was trying to force me to destroy it. I couldn't, though. We would've lost without The Witch."

"Yeah, but we have two massive problems now. How are we going to clean this mess up?" Oktavia's urgent voice made Homura uncomfortable.

"Let's hope they kill each other, and if one survives, we'll destroy them. They are bound to be weak by that time."

"Cruel and calculating as always, aren't you, Homura?"

Homura turned away, hiding her face from the mermaid witch. A pang hit her chest. Uncertainty clouded her eyes. "Maybe."

[]

"It really is a shame, Madoka's Witch," The fallen angel's voice had an underbelly of sadness to it, but was also tinged with hidden empathy, "But I can't stick around. If I do, I'll be pulverized and destroyed by you. Even as a demon, my powers are inferior to yours, ultimate witch. It's only natural considering you are the greatest. The best, and truly special, even as an abomination. I love you." She declared her love for the gigantic monster above her, who towered over her in both strength, power, and madness. "I love you, and love just caaaaaan't stop. You are so beautiful, but alas, it really is a shame," Her tone started to deviate from Homura's original way of talking, as The Demon started to form into her own personality, her own person, her own self. "I can't stick around. I have a human Madoka to protect."

With one last wide grin, the eldritch deity laughed. Before Kriemhild managed to pulverize The Demon with her skyscraper-sized claws, the angel warped away in a torrent of black feathers, completely disappearing from sight.

"WHERE IS THE REAL...HOMURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAN?! TEEELL MEEEE!"

[]

A familiar blue-haired knight carried an unconscious Kyouko on her back, with a semi-healed Mami carrying both Yuma and Nagisa with her ribbons. Sweat dropped from their necks from the lack of water and the lack of magic.

Their soul gems were darkening at a frightening rate. It was truly the start of an Armageddon. "How are we going to survive this, Miki-san?" A panicked Mami created a warden out of ribbons, acting as a shield from the corrupted air and from any stray monsters.

"It's all going to be with luck. As long as Homura and my Oktavia can find Madoka, we'll be sure to win. And at this rate, The Witch and The Demon will end up killing each other."

"What a morbid plan…."

"I know, but I'm sure Homura already thought of that before releasing Kriemhild Gretchen."

"That's the name of the witch?" The blonde veteran couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah...once Madoka remembers, she's going to be really sad…."

They took one last look at the shadow-infested sky. Sayaka tore a hole through space, and started to create her own labyrinth. Mami was surprised, as she blinked a dozen times. "H-how did you do that?"

"A couple of tricks I learned from the Law of Cycles. Really useful stuff. This'll be our safe haven for now. Dunno how long it'll last though…" She shook her head, pushing out the negative thoughts in her mind, "Com'on, get inside."

"Right, Miki-san."

[]

"I must escape from here, lest Homura Akemi's familiars find me," Everyone's cute and loveable white rat scurried its tiny paws through the cracked cement beneath its androgynous body. "I finally managed to collect enough data to destroy the irregularity and finally capture the Law of Cycles-"

"Where do you think you're going, Incubator?" A seductive voice echoed through the ruptured Mitakihara streets. "Are you just going to up and leave us now?" A gloved hand covered Kyubey's entire body, and crushed it underneath its grasp. Without a hint of mercy, the hand pulled the incubator to the source of the voice - the demonized Homura Akemi.

"...homura akemi…" It said in a low voice. The genderless creature looked over a bruised and battered demon, but she maintained her posture, not allowing a single weakness to be shown. Even with a missing wing, the angel had complete control over the alien.

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning, rat. I know very well that you still desire to trap Madoka, but with that you'll have to go through me, and whatever weapon you throw at me, it won't work. I'm ready for you, Incubator."

She pulverized Kyubey. Drops of blood splattered everywhere, tainting The Demon's raven-dress attire. Immediately, she grasped the next Kyubey that spawned, and with haste, she warped back into a gust of raven feathers, disappearing.

The wind carried her final words.

"You have yourself to blame, incubator. You created me, and now, take responsibility for your actions."

Chapter End

Author Notes:

Things are getting really heated up now. Wow. It's complete chaos.

That's all I gotta say for now.