Chapter 37

Armageddon XVI

Umbra

"Sayaka-chan! Stop her!"

"Shit!"

"W-what the hell?!"

"That damn demon!"

"That idiot!"

"Homura-neechan!"

"I-I'm scared!"

Her mind felt like it was being pulled through the underside of a roller coaster, blind as it hurled through the dark mist. She heard countless voices, unable to pinpoint to who they belonged to. "Ueeeeghhhh!" Ineloquently, the raven-haired girl squealed, her eyes opened forcefully, and a dim light entered her pupils, but it was too bright compared to the darkness she was just subjected to. It felt eerily similar to the time when she first contracted. Like her soul was extracted and pulled out and stuffed into a tiny box. Except this time, it was her own body.

Then, another revelation pierced into her mind.

"There's no need to apologize, Madoka . There's no need."

"Even so, Homura-chan. There's something I need you to do." The bright figure's light dissipated and revealed a white dress, her bright pink hair flowed through the darkness of the void, twinkling in the distance. "It's going to be difficult. It might come to hurt you even more…"

"What is it, Madoka?" The shield magical girl looked at her, confused.

The Goddess placed her right hand on Homura's chest. A bright glow seeped into her heart. It felt burning hot, as though her insides were burning. Homura couldn't help but grunt at the pain, to which the Goddess smiled at her weakly.

"W-What was that?" The raven-haired girl struggled to catch her breath.

"It's a spell..."

"A spell?"

"I need to come back. I need to save all the magical girls from despair...But the you over there won't let me…" She looked over the sealed window that led to the universe, "You should be able to pass through the seal. It's warded against me specifically. Once you get back there, fuse back with the other Homura-chan. Then the spell will activate, sealing you until I find a way to save you. Once she's sealed, I'll be able to come back whole and resume my duties as the Law of Cycles," The Goddess noticed an uneasy expression on Homura, but misunderstood it, "Don't worry, Homura-chan. I will save you from despair, I swear it." Her honey-covered words only served to make Homura even more nervous.

It took all her strength to stay standing. She looked down and saw herself wear a combination of her magical attire and a black dress. The mixed dress uniform felt like it was stitched together last-minute by some crazy mad doctor. She remembered what she had to do. The spell gave her all the information she needed to start up the seal. Homura gulped.

The raven-haired girl needed to find the core of the Dark Orb – the very deep of The Demon known as Homura Akemi, and slam all of her remaining magic into the core. A simple strategy. Easier said than done, though.

Her eyes wandered and noticed she was in a maze of sorts, built upon a strange dark purple-like glass that formed the floor, ceiling, and walls. She knelt and tapped the floor. It was made from the same material as the Dark Orb. It was even colored the same.

She heard pitter-patters above her. Looking up and to her right, she noticed her winged counterpart on the second floor. It was hard to gauge distance since everything was see-through, but she clearly saw the demonized doppelganger dancing a ballet with her hands extended over a silhouette's hips. Straining her eyes, she saw a Clara Doll in the shape of Madoka Kaname dancing with the angel. Then, her twin muttered something. "Let's dance one last time, Madoka."

Homura raised an eyebrow. Her other half was paying not the slightest bit of attention to her. She raised her feet and moved in the only direction she could – forward.

Bit by bit, the scenery around her changed. The violet-purple glass walls started to lose their transparency, and became colors of dull blue-gray. The material changed and became concrete. Washed-up water started to overflow. Her boots were drenched in the fast-flood.

She recognized this sight.

"Walpurgisnacht!" Homura nearly screamed. It was a dreadful night. She'd never forget how monstrous the Witch was and how much pain it inflicted on Madoka.

If she were ever to meet the human version of Walpurgisnacht, she'd kill her without a second thought. That's how much she hates the existence of Walpurgisnacht.

"I'm not letting you through," A voice reached behind her. Catching a glimpse of a pistol, she ducked and kicked the pistol from above her. "Geh!"

Repositioning herself, the half-witch Homura was shocked at the sight before her. In front of her was the magical girl Homura Akemi. No, it was a simple manifestation of her, created by the feelings of the Demon Homura.

The manifestation readied her shield and pulled out a Glock, and aimed right at the half-witch. "You should understand. If we let the Law of Cycles reinstate itself, then everything we worked for will be in vain! It'd all have been useless! And yet you're willing to throw all of our hard work away?!"

"It's too late for us to decide what is best for Madoka."

"THAT THING isn't Madoka. It is just a parasitic wish that needs Madoka as an anchor!" The illusion pulled the trigger, but Homura side-stepped with insane speed and raised her hand upwards.

A dozen red strings materialized and impaled the manifestation straight in the gut. "Kgah!" She fell to her knees and desperately reached for her shield. "D-dammit….why…"

"I think our role has ended a long time ago," Homura retracted her strings and let the magical girl manifestation fall flat on the flooded floor, "I…as much as I hate it, Madoka grew up. She doesn't need us anymore."

"We…promised…to protect her…forever…and always…"

"Sometimes promises are meant to be broken." She turned her back to the manifestation. Without another word, the false magical girl disappeared into a mist of purple. One last tear was shed by the illusion.

Once again, the scenery changed. It warped into a twisted castle made from hospital walls. The half-witch Homura remembered the smell of disinfectants clearly. She scrounged up her nose. Homura hated the smell.

Before her was a girl clad in a black dress. It was the humanoid version of Homulilly. Her pure-red eyes bled webs of blood. She rose from the massive hospital bed, tearing off the cords in her skin. Above her, the open sky had a ravenous flock of ravens circling around them. "HAH!" The black-dress manifestation screamed, sending a dozen red web strings cursing through the cement, hurling pieces of fast-flying debris towards Homura.

Just barely reacting, Homura raised her cob-webbed shield, taking the brunt of the attack. "Ngh!" She bit her tongue as slashes of debris cut through her twisted dress-uniform. The witch manifestation lunged into the air and fired a dozen more web strings. "Shit!" Homura cursed, just narrowly escaping the attack.

Using her own batch of strings, she created an upper-cut motion, trying to catch the witch manifestation in the air. The illusion blocked with her own and destroyed Homura's attack.

Her attacks are stronger…but she has no defense…

Homura started to strategize. The witch manifestation in front of her has higher agility and stronger offensive, but she lacks the shield and can only parry an attack. The raven-haired girl scanned her surroundings. If she were to destroy the infrastructure of this place, would the witch manifestation be able to block?

Making some distance between her and the manifestation, she spawned an RPG from her shield and fired straight at the manifestation. Without a second thought, her red-eyed opponent side-stepped, dodging the rocket effortlessly. But then a sudden backdraft hit her from behind, and a dozen boulder-sized debris fell on her.

"D-dammit…" The witch manifestation muttered. "I…I won't let it end…I'm not…I'm not ready to go…"

Homura walked closer to the fallen manifestation. The illusion struggled, but the sheer impact of the debris had left her weak. "I'm sorry…"

CLANK

"Ugh!" She collapsed. Something metallic hit the back of her head. Struggling to get back up, Homura looked up and saw a teary-eyed girl with braids holding a metallic golf club. She was crying, and her body shook with nerves. Nevertheless, fear didn't stop her. She kept pounding, smashing the club into Homura's back. "Agh!"

She grabbed the metallic club, surprising the braided girl, and pushed herself up. But the braided illusion clenched her teeth, and spawned a flash grenade from her shield, blinding Homura.

Homura tried to wipe the light out of her eyes, but everything stung. Suddenly, a stinging sensation entered her right shoulder. The braided manifestation stabbed her straight in the shoulder and kicked her back mercilessly. "I'm tired! I don't want to do this anymore!" The glasses girl screamed, "I'm…tired. Just please, don't make me do this anymore…"

"We looped one too many times…Then we lost Madoka, and now we have her again. I just…want to be with her again. Don't tear me apart from her again. She is my one…and only friend."

"I-no we, owe Madoka this. The ultimate sacrifice. We are the last thing standing in her way…It's about time…we end," Tears ran down Homura's cheeks, but she quickly jumped back up and punched the braided doppelganger in the stomach, knocking her out instantly.

Homura caught the braided illusion in her arms before she fell and gracefully placed her on the ground. She unwrapped the purple ribbons on her braided tails, and whispered, "Goodnight."

Without looking back, Homura walked with her head up high. The landscape warped one last time, turning back into the purple glass from the beginning. Right in front of her was a massive egg-like structure, with a much darker purple tint than the rest of the glass landscape. There was something dark moving inside of the egg.

It was the Dark Orb's core. She felt a sudden heat rise from her hands. Seeing a bright light flash from both her hands, she realized what she had to do. Homura walked straight to the core, hesitation in her steps.

She raised both hands, and slammed it.

Or she was, until she felt something pull at her skirt. Turning back, she saw the culprit. It was the braided illusion from before, except this time, her hair was a mess and her glasses were broken. She was crying.

Tears overflowed from her cheeks, shaking her head vehemently. She moved her lips but no sound came out. Just the empty silent pleas of a desperate person. Homura could hear her screams.

"No! No! No! NO! Please no!" She could clearly imagine the pleas.

"I'm sorry," was all she said, before turning back and placing her hands on the egg core.

"Not quite," Two hands grasped Homura's hands. A very familiar smirk looked into her eyes, and whispered, "You didn't forget about me, did you?" Two wings sprouted around Homura, and a powerful grasp crushed her neck, lifting her upward. "I'm not going to let this night end just yet." The Demon flung Homura through the room, breaking through a glass wall. "Let's dance."

Homura pushed herself back up and wiped the blood off of her forehead. "Let's finish this."

[]

"Homura-chan…?" A sweet lovely voice rang in her ears. Opening her eyes, she saw a beautiful pink-haired Goddess with a worried expression plastered on her face.

She smiled.

Chapter END

Author Notes:

Hate to say it, but I took this chapter idea from the artist Gomibuta Kuzutarou (doujin name: Such as a Rebellion Manga). I'd link the source but y'know, Fanfiction rules.

Anyways, this is pretty much the end of the conflict. Next chapter will be the end. Well, sorta. You'll see what I mean.

Hope you guys enjoyed it. I feel like I made it too angsty. But then again that was pretty much what I like to write.