So, you clicks this one story expecting a story about the Devil and her naughty minions' shenanigans in the world she had created by separating the Goddess from her mortal self?
This chapter is not that kind of story.
Let us diverge our attention from the infamous movie and its flame war-ridden ending into the technically unconnected world for sake of the author's convenience.
There's a kingdom that mostly led by its Queen, the princess is kidnapped by a witch. Who is also her best friend. Maybe it's not as much a kidnapping, and more like the witch wants to have a sleepover with the princess.
It's a kidnapping? Oh, well... let's go with the kidnapping.
Thus, the knighthood of the kingdom is tasked with the retrieval of the princess. The mermaid knight slammed her gauntlet fist on the table. The table then, appropriately, breaks into two.
"So!" Sayaka shouts to the assembling soldier, "What is our mission?"
"Rescue the Princess!" the soldiers (they're technically gardeners under the head gardener's command; but since they lack soldiers, they have to make with everything they have) boisterously shouts back.
Mami smiles that serene smile of hers, though from the way her eyes twitched she's not that sure spirit is enough to do with what is basically a war.
"Tch! Brave amateur..." Kyouko grumbles, "At least they're useful for distraction."
"That's too bad, but it's the plan. Let the soldiers distract the main force of the tin can army, slip inside the castle, save the Princess and get out before Homura get her hands on us." Sayak elbowed her partner on her ribs.
"Don't forget with the personal guards. I heard each of their strength is equal of a hundred men." Mami the sighs on her tea cup. "If anything, I'm more concerned with our part."
"Don't worry. Homura might not stupid, but she's very easy to lull into thinking she has control of the situation. As long as we make her concentrate with the siege, we can get inside without her knowing." The blue knight then laughs (somewhat evilly). "Sayaka-chan is such a genius!"
"See? She's still as idioic as when she was still a squire and got eaten by the giant bird."
"I can see your concern, Sakura-san."
"Oi, Kyouko! Are you doubting my ability?" said 'idiot' indignantly huffs. Kyouko only snorts.
"Didn't ya hear what Mami said? The most dangerous is the personal guards; those creepy dolls that often lead the tin soldiers. The last time we fought them, one of them kicked you so hard into that giant bird."
"Not to mention the army itself is quite formidable. Most might be mindless, but their sheer number makes Akemi-san pretty confident with her fortification. She definitely will see this attack as mere distraction, we're lacking personnel after all."
Sayaka wilts at her senior's deconstruction of her tactic. Mami awkwardly smiles in apology.
"But it's not like we have any other choice. Get in, then get out. That sounds easy enough."
"Mami-saaan!" the mermaid knight now has her eyes full of stars as she fawns on her senior. Kyouko clicks her tongue in annoyance.
"You spoil her too much, Mami..."
She then sees their bugler walks from the middle of their soldiers lines. Nagisa watches Sayaka, still starry-eyed, and purposefully blows her horn right on the mermaid's ear. The result is as expected. Nagisa ignores her angry rant and salutes both Kyouko and Mami.
"The men are ready to start marching. Order?"
"Yes." Mami stands from her chair, which then folded by her personal handmaiden, "March in tight formation, archers right behind the shield-bearers. Determine the range of the enemy's ballistae before start pressing against the enemy's line. Make sure the shield-bearers are doing the job."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Nagisa salutes once before turning to the army.
Mami clasps her cape by its brooch.
"Let's go."
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Nekura looks out of the tower's many window, already seeing the dust cloud flying of the marching army since morning. She turns to Ibari, who only picking meat from the between of her sharp teeth with its bone.
(For readers' convenience, the author provides the translation for the Children's dialogue. Please note that the characters in-universe are not necessarily understand it unless they have extensive knowledge of Germanic language, which as far as the author knows, they have nada.)
"The Princess' army is coming..." the melancholic daughter says, her eyes unblinking. Her older sister only let out a dismissive sound similar to growl and yawn. Nekura sighs, "Are you listening, Sister?"
"Yeah..." again, Nekura sighs.
"You're not worried?"
"Not at all. Those guys won't even scratch our walls, much less breaking in our gate." Ibari throws the bone out of the window, where an unfortunate tin soldier gets nailed by it. She stretches her arms above her head.
"Just put the Lilia in some tall places, and watch the invasion bursts to flame. It's easy, no?"
"But the knights-"
"We'll handle the knights. Don't worry, Mother is safe. So is the Princess."
Ibari flicks her sister's forehead mischievously. Nekura, though still a little unsure, grows a little more confident from Ibari's infectious charm. She puts her finger in her outh and whistles loud. A Liese flies to the window's mouth, answering her call. Nekura gives it an instruction to put the Lilia along the walls and the Lotte to march in their usual formation. She watches it flies away before turning to follow Ibari to the war council.
Cut to when these armies clash, the knights successfully slip through the small opening when the drawn bridge closed. Sayaka pants, weighted down by her armors.
"Where do you think the Princess is?" Kyouko shouts, ensnaring the patroling tin soldier with her chain spear and breaking its head.
"Shouldn't she in the highest tower?" Sayaka inquires, "That's the usual hiding place for the hostages, right?"
"Isn't that the underground dungeon?"
"Knowing Akemi-san, I'm guessing the private quarter."
"Why would she- oh..."
"No use of speculating now! We have no time to worry about that!"
"Sorry..."
Behind a pillar, several figures are stalking the running knights.
"... Turn the alarm. We have stranglers in the castle." A figure speaks into a small radio pinned on her collar. The radio speaks back
"... Warukuchi, don't tell you're going to engage them?"
"Don't worry. Reiketsu and Noroma are with me."
"More reason to worry about you, then."
"Heh! We're just going to delay them before reinforcement comes and dogpiles them. Don't tell Mother, this day should not be disturbed with this kind of thing..."
"...Just don't die. I'll chase after you in the afterlife if you dare dying on me..."
"Haha, I'm a big girl, Sis! I can take care of myself."
"... Fine. If things go hairy, retreat immediately."
"Roger." She then turns to her teammates. "Prepare to engage the target."
Her companions nod.
Mami shoots her target with incredible accuracy. The tin soldiers' head are heavy and large; when they're shot, they burst into metal scraps that are ringing against the stone floor and warning more soldiers to come swarming. She shoots from a safe distance, where the soldier are not aware of the location before it's too late. The tin soldiers come running into her sight like meat to grinder.
Sayaka pulls her swords and slashes the soldiers Mami missed in the between her reloading. Her opponents are heavy, her slashes are not as clean as she like it. Chains rattle behind her like a snake hissing, warping around her protectively. She sends a smile of gratitude, but then in the middle of battle, with her heightened sense, she hears a sound of clothes rustling that wasn't theirs.
The air whistles, and Sayaka barely parries a spear thrust that was aiming the back of her neck. The one who attacks her was a terrible construct of magic, blue-skinned and mouth as wide as its face. Its short red hair bristles slightly when the knight's sword stops its descend and its entire weight, the creature snarls with its shark-like teeth.
Sayaka widens her eyes; she parrying the attack makes her noticing other two are jumping on her, spear first. The red haired doll, the tallest of the three, put its entire weight into the thrust, pushing Sayaka down on the floor. Her armor and swords make a loud clank on the stone, her body stradled by a murderous doll. The doll raises its spear over its head, its smile widens even more.
"Für Mutti!"
Sayaka punches the doll right on its face. The doll is distracted, but the other two jump on her, pinning her arms to the stone floor with their spears.
"Sayaka!"
Kyouko's chain spear rattles and whips the dolls' body, sending them away from Sayaka. Mami takes the chance and shoots at the white-haired doll. The smaller blond doll slams its entire body to it, making the shot miss just barely.
'They're supporting each other!' Mami watches the entire thing. 'So the dolls really have intelligence to pull those stunts...'
But she has no time to be awed. She already reloads her rifle as Kyouko tries to driven off the trio, her left eye closes in preparation to take aim at the smallest one.
The white-haired doll sees her attempt, throwing its spear right at where her muzzle is aiming to. The bullet collides with the spears, protecting her target and sending the spear whirling in the air. The doll runs to her with its hands outstretched. Mami put a hasty resistence, her greaved leg swinging at the doll's torso.
The doll catches her leg, bracing its own feet on the ground, and throws Mami into the floor. It pins her leg under its right elbow, before it's slamming its entire weight into Mami's back with its left elbow. The blond knight feels air leaving her lungs.
"Pick someone your own size!"
Warukuchi hears Reiketsu screaming at the twindrills lady. Or she thinks she heard it. She's too busy with the two knights' aggressive attacks to be bothered.
'Noroma is still recovering her spear... Looks like I'm the only one.'
The red warrior is very fierce. Her spear leaves no space for her to get inside her defense, but if she can get inside, decisive strike is not impossible. Warukuchi then ducks to avoid a wide arc of sword slash. Its blade seems to leave a glinting line on its wake. But it's not as fast as the spearwoman's attacks. Warukuchi laughs at the mermaid knight's attempt.
"You fight like my baby sister! You'll waller on the ground before you can hit me!"
She has to take down the mermaid first.
But it's easier said than done. Even though she's slower, her dual wield makes her defense tight. Her spear thrusts are lightly parried by the red spearwoman, just to not be too dangerous, as the mermaid presses her offense.
Noroma jumps in and pins the sword strike aiming for Warukuchi's head to the floor, enough to distract the mermaid. She jumps over her sister's head to deliver a harsh kick to the mermaid's head. The blue knight topples to a puddle while she's cheering in her head.
Suddenly, a large shadow swallows her.
She looks up, only seeing three gigantic eyes. Empty like Rat King's eyes.
Oktavia von Seckendorff swings down her sword, ripping the red-haired doll into two. It bleeds black sludge from its wounds and its mouth. It's choking, laying helplessly on the stone floor of its mistress's castle.
The other dolls stop their assault, immediately jumping to their fallen comrade.
Sound of steps, then a united horrified gasp.
The knights look up, seeing what might be the shortest of dolls they had ever seen followed by an entire legion of tin soldiers and tooth ballistae. The doll, with its large hat and messy black hair, stutters when it sees its kins.
"W-Was...? Was ist da los...?" then its eyes cross with its bleeding kin, "Entschuldigen, Mutti ist-"
A purple flame bursts in front of the essambling legion.
Homura Akemi walks out of the flame, her tired eyes wrinkle even deeper. She then turns to the offending party, frown twisted into snarl.
"What have you done to my daughter?"
To be Continued?
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I know it's a little cruel, but Happy Mother's Day, Homu.
Yeah, this short is mostly inspired by a 4chan anon's remark that if Madoka and the others want to save Homura from her suicide and the ascension to demonhood, they should kill her dolls. Because if they're really the personification of anything bad of her, then killing them is essentially purifying her. This concept started whirling in my head after what I think an implication of them being future bosses that are fighting in groups, or even all fourteen of them in pack. Kinda reminds me of the Jobmasters from Bravely Devault.
I should go to hell for writing this for sake of torturing Homura, but the irony is like the time with Fate/Zero. I just can't let this one go forgotten.