Prologue
Lightning flashed over the horizon, brightening the dark skies of Mitakihara City for a brief moment. This momentary lapse of light illuminated the face of Homura Akemi as she walked through the city that evening. That flicker of light, though, was fleeting and disappeared in but an instant. The thunderclap then followed, reverberating through the streets to reach Homura's ears, but the girl barely paid it any heed. Her mind was elsewhere as she walked alone.
Homura's eyes looked out to the distance as she walked, but at nothing in particular. The rings etched beneath her eyes were thick and her face was pale, bordering on sickly. With Madoka Kaname skipping out on school, Homura had no reason to stay cooped up in the classroom. Instead, she spent her days and nights following the journey of the three girls responsible for the birth of Walpurgisnacht. Her search for truth, however, only revealed to her that she was damned.
Homura pursed her lips and lightning flashed again. The silhouette of that dead, swaying cherry blossom tree beyond the river was outlined in fleeting light.
Homura had sought truth, but still she knew not what to do with it. She did not know how to wield this truth or what good it would do in her situation. Whatever certainty that Homura had gained only served to compound her fears and doubts. To defeat Walpurgisnacht would mean becoming yet another puppet to the Incubators' game – the next Dreadnaught Witch. It was a fate she would be unable to escape, no matter how many times she repeated this fateful month.
She sought a way to overcome the darkness, but she found none in the vast, white expanse of her room. The grand pendulum that swung eternally back and forth reminded her that her time grew short. The floating, formless screens that showed Homura the past and the notebooks filled with battle plans and observations showed her no means of escape or victory. Dazed by the damning truth, Homura now sought hope – any hope. Homura sought any tangible sign that her efforts thus far have not gone to waste.
Thus, Homura walked aimlessly through the city. The dark clouds above her hung heavily in the skies and droplets of rain fell on Homura's face. The pitter-patter of rain soon strengthened and the light drizzle became torrential rain. Homura stopped walking and closed her eyes to face upwards. She could feel the heavens pour down on her. Was even the sky itself feeling pity for her?
Homura then shielded her eyes from the rain and opened them. She found herself facing the residential apartment complex where Mami Tomoe once lived. Homura lowered her head then walked towards the complex, her feet drawn towards the doorstep of the Puella Magi she once admired.
As she walked, Homura remembered the golden-haired girl welcoming her into her home with a happy smile. She remembered how Mami would eagerly pour her a cup of tea and serve her some cake. Back then, Mami threw her weight behind Homura without any hesitation and vowed to fight alongside her against Walpurgisnacht. The memory brought a frown to Homura's face.
Truly, Mami knew nothing about the consequences of fighting and defeating a Dreadnaught Witch. She did not even fully understand the full breadth of the truth about being a Puella Magi. Still, innocent and foolish as she may have been, Mami confidently looked forward to the unknown future. This innocence and foolishness of hers may very well have been why Homura admired the late gunner.
How Homura wished she could be an innocent fool too.
Before she knew it, Homura reached the locked doorway of Mami's apartment. She took out her Soul Gem and focused into its mild purple light. In the next moment, Homura appeared in the anteroom. She slipped off her wet shoes and hung her dripping coat by the door. Even if she had broken into the apartment, she remembered her manners out of respect. Now in drier layer of clothes, she stepped into the apartment and took a quick look around.
Not a thing had changed since she last saw it, save for the broom and dustpan lying by the wall and the stack of cleaned cups, dishes and utensils sitting at the sink. Madoka must have cleaned up the room on the last time that she was over. Homura then noticed some dried marks of water on the glass of the triangular coffee table at the center of the room – Madoka's tears. Homura shook her head then went straight to the far end of the room.
There was nothing but a bare wall there at the end of the room, as if it were a space that had been earmarked for some furniture in the future. Homura, though, knew better. She extended her hand forward towards the wall and the wall responded with a beep. Mami's digital Mercator map then appeared, projecting out from the wall.
A large windowed screen blocked Homura's view and read, 'Password Required'.
A password?
Homura pondered a moment before typing on the digital keyboard to try and search for Mami's password. Surely, it was something to do with what Mami cherished. Homura typed in word after word, but none of them seemed to be working. What exactly could have been on the gunner's mind days… or even hours before she died? After Homura's third attempt, a small message appeared beneath the input box. It was a hint that read, 'tomodachi'. An idea then came to Homura's mind.
She hesitated for a moment, but then started to key in a name. "Ho-mu-ra."
She hit the enter key and the window that blocked her view disappeared. She had been granted access. A sharp pang of guilt then swept over her.
Even after the rift that had brought the two girls on their separate ways, Mami still believed in Homura somehow. As a matter of fact, the Mercator map's defensive outline still bore those two dots of color on the field – purple and yellow. In the end, Mami was still planning to come and lend Homura a hand against Walpurgisnacht.
Was that indifferent attitude that Mami wore in Charlotte's barrier only a front? Was she trying to show Homura that she too was strong?
As Homura pondered about this, a multitude of windows started appearing alongside the Mercator map. These windows showed a whole host of records and references that Mami had gathered as well as notes she had made about them. During the brief moment of enmity between them, Mami compiled her work with such diligence that even Homura was impressed. Just skimming through Mami's notes alone, Homura was able to make sense of Kyuubey's tale a little bit more.
Homura realized this then hung her head low. She quickly turned her eyes away from the map and the windows of Mami's notes. This gunner who died at the hands of a Witch didn't have to prove her strength to Homura. That evening, as doubt, fear and hopelessness swirled around in Homura's heart, Mami was stronger than her. Had their circumstances been different… had fate been kinder to them, she and Mami would have been great friends.
That, however, was wishful thinking.
Walpurgisnacht was coming to Mitakihara whether Homura was prepared or not. The fate of Madoka Kaname still rested in her hands. No matter what happened, Madoka must not make a contract with the Incubator. Madoka must stay out of this cruel game that had claimed the lives of so many. Madoka didn't deserve to join the pantheon of cursed girls who have been betrayed by their prayers. Homura would do everything she can to make sure of it.
The young girl then took out a flash drive card from her pocket and attached it to the Mercator map to download it as well as Mami's notes. On her own, she would continue to plan for the defense of Mitakihara. She would find a way to defeat Walpurgisnacht.
If only Homura could be as strong as Mami believed her to be.
Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum
Nothing Else Matters
Act XLVII – Sanguinem Fuderit
Heaviness gripped onto Michi Hideyoshi's heart as she knelt down on the chessboard floor. Her dazed eyes were turned up to the monochrome world that stretched out before her into space and the specter of Lorelei Sankt who had spawned it. Michi found it terribly hard to breathe.
Tears filled the Japanese girl's eyes – shameful tears and tears of disgust. She felt so disgusted with herself and the weakness that pinned her to the ground. She hated herself so much.
Audrey and Ligaya watched the tearful Michi with worried looks. The Michi they had known to be strong and resolute knelt there, utterly shattered. Then, the Edificio Gumamela shook violently as more Witches and Grand Witches slammed onto the monochrome world. The impact nearly forced Audrey and Ligaya to stumble.
The stressed moaning of the building's frames and columns reminded them that this building was on the verge of collapse. They had to get out.
"Oy!" Audrey called out to Michi, "What do you think you're doing? We gotta get out of here!"
"… what's the point?" Michi's reply was nothing more than a defeated whisper, but it rang clear amidst the din, "Don't you see that there's nothing we can do?"
The way Michi spoke displeased Audrey. The Japanese girl refused to get up from the floor.
"Are you saying you just want to collapse with this building?" Ligaya then spoke up. Even she refused to accept Michi's response. "Get up on your feet!"
Michi shook her head weakly like the branch of a dead tree swaying in the wind. She then lowered her eyes to the floor.
Seeing this, Audrey clicked her tongue.
"Ligaya." The American said, "Lend me a hand."
Ligaya turned to Audrey then nodded eagerly. She and Audrey then suddenly grabbed Michi's hands.
"What the…?" Michi protested
Before Michi could resist, the two of them had hauled her up to her feet.
Still, Michi resisted. She planted her feet on the floor and forced her weight downwards.
"I don't want to hear this coming from you!" Audrey lashed as she and Ligaya tugged Michi along. "It isn't like you to be doing this!"
"Isn't like me, huh?" Michi suddenly spoke, her tone frigid. "Do you even have the faintest idea of who I am?"
Her words caused the two girls pulling her to hesitate for a moment. It was enough of an opening for Michi to finally break free from their grasps. The Japanese girl then turned her back to the two.
"Neither of you know who I am or what I've done." Michi's heart sank as she felt Audrey and Ligaya's eyes on her back. "I'm not the kind of person who deserves to live."
Audrey stepped forward, ready with a sharp reply. However, the American girl saw that Michi was shivering.
"Both you and Ligaya are still young." Michi spoke wearily, her words directed towards Audrey. "You've only been a Puella Magi for almost five years, while Ligaya has barely been one for three."
Michi clenched her fists as memories flooded her mind.
"Try living forty years with this curse we call 'magic'. You will see things that will shatter your faith in the world… and do things that you will never be proud of. They will haunt you for the rest of your wretched life!"
The memories that now filled Michi's mind came alive once more, breaking through the wall she had erected to keep them out long ago. She remembered them clearly now, torturing her very soul with guilt and regret. She could hold them back no longer.
"I'm a murderer." Michi said in a defeated tone, "I have killed people in cold blood."
"I had just saved my village from a Witch attack - became a Puella Magi for their sake. And what was my reward? Curses. Curses and hatred."
"The villagers saw me wearing this blue kimono of mine… watched me use the magic I wielded as I fought off the Witch. At the end of the ordeal, they wanted me dead. Only my mother and younger sister protected me in those trying times – my beloved mother and sister. They would not give me up to the villagers to be killed."
Michi's head then lowered and her lips started to tremble.
"T-then, that very night, my neighbors came and surrounded our house as we slept. With torches in their hands, they set our house ablaze. I awoke to thick smoke and hot flames and saw my mother and sister trapped in a wall of flame. I could not help them – it was too late."
She shook her head weakly as tears rolled down her eyes.
"The house collapsed on us and the villagers cheered, chanting 'Death to the Witch! Death to the Witch! Their chanting was so earnest… and foolish… and cruel."
Michi's clenched fists shivered angrily at her sides.
"It was at that time that I arose from the ashes, feeling nothing but fury and the weight of the naginata I wielded. The villagers were surprised, fear gripping at their hearts as they saw a demon arise from the ashes and flames. Somehow, I really did feel like a demon then. I wanted to make them pay."
"I dashed forward and whirled my naginata at the villagers, tearing through one of them easily and spilling his blood on the earth. That wicked man fell to the ground with a dull thud, horror clear in his open eyes."
"The villagers screamed in fright and scrambled off away from me. They begged me for mercy. I gave them none. Instead, I gave them chase."
Michi's heart was pounding and her eyes were bloodshot as she harbored those very same murderous thoughts once again. She started to speak with gusto.
"I wanted to hear those villagers, those heartless scoundrels scream. I wanted to hear their hysterical cries as I chased after them one by one, slashing at them and impaling them with my naginata's blade. I wanted to hear their dying screams more and more with every villager I slaughtered in the fields! It was exhilarating – I wanted to make them suffer for what they had done to me and my family! My naginata thirsted for blood!"
Michi then suddenly fell silent. A remorseful sniff resounded in the room.
"Then, before I realized it… my entire village was in flames. Every villager who had lived there now lay dead on the fields. There was blood everywhere… a river of blood. The exhilaration I first felt was gone. All that was left was a horrifying question that haunts me even today – what had I done?"
Michi then covered her face in shame.
"You don't know who the hell I am, or what I have done. I'm a terrible person! There is a lot of blood on my hands… "
Audrey and Ligaya stood there silently as Michi sobbed, overwhelmed by those visions of the past. The two of them were a taken aback by Michi's story, maybe even a little bit shocked. However, they stood there and listened to her words to try and understand them. Once Michi fell silent again, Audrey spoke out calmly.
"Have you said everything you wanted to say, then? If not, then carry on till you're satisfied."
"H-huh?" Michi turned her head around to face the girls behind her, surprised by Audrey's mild words.
"All of us have had things happen to us in the past." Audrey continued, "It's tough to look back at them, and we know. However, living in the past isn't going to get you anywhere. If you choose to brood over things like that, then you'll stay in the same spot. You'll never be able to stand up to the present, or grasp the future that awaits us!"
"That's right." Ligaya added with a determined smile on her face, "You were the one who gave us the courage to fight, Michi! You saved us in Mariveles and watched over us in Manila when we met with the Hukbalahap and even during our time with Salvae. That is the Michi that Audrey and I remember!"
"B-but…" Michi tried to protest
"We need you now more than ever, Michi." Audrey tenderly smiled at the Japanese girl as well. "Ligaya and I believe in you and the strength you have within. Serafina too looked up to you as well."
The American then took out her amber Soul Gem.
"As a matter of fact, when Serafina and I were planning the Edificio Gumamela raid, we came up with a contingency plan of sorts – a last resort." Audrey raised her gem up for Michi to see. "If worse came to worst, Ligaya and I would bind our gems to yours to give us an edge in battle. She believed that with you leading us, anything could be possible."
"Bind your gems to mine…?" Michi didn't know what to think of it. "Did you know about this too, Ligaya?"
"Yeah." Ligaya nodded, "I'm fine with it. The three of us are friends, after all – sisters in magic! We will share those times, the good and the bad! We will follow you wherever you choose to go."
"But performing the binding would mean sharing my fate!" Michi argued one last time, turning away from her friends with a sour face. "If you follow me, then our path will certainly lead to death!"
Audrey and Ligaya, however, still smiled.
"Do you really expect us to say 'no' that much?" Audrey smirked, "We're staying with you no matter what. Serafina would have said the same."
The tearful Michi could not believe her ears. Powerful emotions welled up inside of her, casting away the shadows of the village she had left in flames. Before long, these emotions took hold of her. She turned around with her teary eyes and sprung forward, catching Audrey and Ligaya in a tight embrace. The coldness she had felt from those visions of Hokkaido was replaced with her friends' warmth.
"Thank you." Michi whispered softly, the desperation eroding from her voice. As composed as she tried to sound, Audrey and Ligaya could hear wisps of happiness budding in Michi's words. The Japanese girl then closed her eyes and let the tears she had held back flow freely.
Audrey and Ligaya returned the embrace wholeheartedly, patting the sobbing Michi's back to comfort her. Despite her tears, Michi smiled, listening as Audrey and Ligaya tenderly reassured her. Once she had gotten a hold of herself, Michi let go of the two and wiped her tears.
Her two friends then extended their hands out to Michi and held onto them tightly. Together, the three of them walked out to the windows from where the world of black and white branched out. Hand in hand, they stepped out of the Edificio Gumamela and onto this strange world.
Act XLVIII - Verum Amici
The three of them looked out to this strange, vast world of monochrome that lay before them. From where they stood, it looked like a grand chessboard sprawling out over the skies. Thirty or so Witches in the form of chess officers and pawns took their place in defensive arrays scattered all over the board, having clawed out of and descended from the tapestry discs from which they were borne. Then, at the far end of this world was that specter of Lorelei Sankt, miasma forming all around her.
She was waiting for the three of them to make their move. Michi looked right back at Lorelei Sankt with sharp eyes. The turquoise blue Soul Gem sat in the Japanese girl's hands, more than half of its light consumed in darkness. In that moment, though, the gem seemed bright, emanating a strange sheen that flowed from within.
"Shall we do it, then?" Michi turned to Audrey and Ligaya who stood at her sides. "There's no turning back now."
The Americana and Filipina nodded, drawing out their own Soul Gems as well. The amber and olive green gems also seemed to glow in the midst of Michi's turquoise blue, responding to her energy.
"We're ready." Audrey and Ligaya said together.
They then held their gems out forward towards Michi's. Close together, the three gems resonated with each other. A strong wind then blew by them, combing their hair and making their clothes flutter. Still, the three girls stood strong.
"Ligaya." Audrey then said firmly, "Repeat after me."
The two of them faced Michi with determined hearts.
…
At the banks of the River Somme, Elise de Lamarliere knelt before Lorelei Sankt.
The German girl's bright white gem lay there, consumed in that eerie checkerboard pattern.
Elise, however, kept calm and raised her new lilac Soul Gem up to Lorelei's.
Her lips were trembling, but her heart was resolute.
With that, she opened her mouth and spoke.
"Ducere me in bellum, o fortes anima."
…
"Lead me into battle, o valiant soul."
…
"Salva me ex desperatione uget nos."
…
"Save me from the despair that assails us."
…
"Tibi commendo spiritum meum."
…
"To thee, I commend my spirit."
…
"Voveo defenderet simper protegere, Lorelei Sankt."
…
"Defend me always as I vow to protect you, Michi Hideyoshi."
As Audrey and Ligaya spoke these words, the gems they held suddenly started to glow brighter. The tendrils of darkness that had taken root within them faded away from the sheer strength of the light that now flowed from the gems.
…
A bitter smile grew on Elise's face as she watched this darkness disappear.
Lorelei Sankt stopped thrashing around as the bright white Soul Gem stabilized.
Elise gently stroked the tears away from Lorelei's eyes and whispered.
"It's okay now, Lorelei. Everything will be alright."
…
The wind finally calmed down and the three girls looked at their gems. Audrey's amber gem shone many times brighter, almost as if her very soul was brimming with strength. Ligaya's olive green gem pulsated with energy, emanating an air of earnest resolve. Then, Michi's gem of turquoise blue was the most brilliant of the three, calm as it cast out its bright splendor.
"Okay then." Michi turned to her two friends, "Let's not keep Lorelei Sankt waiting."
Side by side, the three girls marched forward through the chessboard plane. Behind them, the beams and pillars of the Edificio Gumamela finally gave way and crumbled. The bodies of Serafina Larivenko and Elise de Lamarliere, along with those who had been their allies and foes alike were buried in that mass of debris. The only path left for them was forward – this was their only chance.
First Interlude
At the outskirts of the city of Manila, units of the Sixth United States Army consolidated their lines. Here they were again, many of them thought – the city they had given up to the Japanese only a few short years ago. That city that had been the pride of the United States in the South Pacific was also a symbol of the great nation's shame. No one knew this more clearly than General Douglas MacArthur himself.
The general looked out to the city with a pipe in his mouth. As he gazed upon this city of pride and shame, MacArthur smoked a wad of Mariveles tobacco. He took a savory puff then exhaled, letting the smoke rise to the skies. Mariveles tobacco had been his favorite, as well as the late Philippine President's – Manuel Luis Quezon.
Indeed, Manuel Quezon, a man of bravado and class that MacArthur got along with, was not the one standing there with him to see the Liberation of Manila. Instead, beside him was the kindlier yet more timid President Sergio Osmeña. The new Philippine President looked a little worried as he watched his occupied capital.
"The Japanese are really bunkering down in Manila." Osmeña voiced out his concerns to the General. "We left Manila an Open City back in 1942 to reduce collateral damages. I thought they were going to do the same."
All of the sudden, the sound of a powerful explosion reached their ears, followed by many more rocking blasts. They all came from Manila. MacArthur and Osmeña turned to the source of the sound to see the tallest buildings of Manila crumble into clouds of smoke and debris.
"T-the Finance building! They blew up the Finance building!" Osmeña gasped as he watched the buildings fall from where he stood, "And the Agriculture building!"
The new President couldn't believe his eyes as more and more buildings toppled to the earth. "And... the Edificio Gumamela."
Douglas MacArthur seemed unfazed as he puffed his pipe. He just slapped a fly that had landed on the back of his neck.
"Bah, they're going Scorched Earth, huh?"
The general then grinned. He turned around to one of his trusted officers then barked out his orders.
"Authorize the usage of heavy artillery. We need to take Manila as quickly and as easily as possible! Burn those Japs where they stand! We have to take Manila and Corregidor Island as quickly as possible!"
Osmeña's eyes widened in shock. He did not expect an order like this. His American counterpart, President Roosevelt, had already warned MacArthur not to give rash orders.
"Hey!" The President protested, "If you do that, then Manila will..."
The general, looking forward to his inevitable victory, wouldn't listen to Osmeña at all. MacArthur's orders were transmitted by radio to the men of the Sixth United States Army and Osmeña could only watch. The matter was out of the Philippine President's hands now. This was MacArthur's operation after all, not his.
At the back of MacArthur's neck, a strange, intricate symbol was imprinted. Osmeña could not see it, but that symbol looked vaguely like a queen's crown – a Witch's kiss.
Thus, the 'liberation' of Manila began.
Act XLIX – Liberior Corda, Libera Animas
The chessboard floor trembled as the army of Witches fell from the tapestry discs in the skies. Their bodies were made of white marble, shimmering elegantly as if stars were adorned on the stone. Twenty-seven Witches in the shape of pawns stood together at the vanguard, growling and roaring as they thirsted for battle. Behind them were the three Grand Witches in the shape of officers, a knight, rook and bishop, who drummed up their pawns' vigor with frightening and shrill screams that pierced the skies.
Those fearsome cries competed with the sound of the collapsing Edificio Gumamela, challenging the three Puella Magi to come out and face them. A cloud of grey dust and debris rose up from the crumbling building and blocked the Witches' view for a moment. The setback irritated them, especially the Bishop.
Beneath the fur headdress that adorned her head, the Bishop Witch's brow crumbled. Her sharp eyes were unable to see through the cloud of dust. Half a dozen hand grenades appeared at her sides. She caught them all and started to juggle them, unpinning each and every one of them as they reached her dexterous hands. Once unpinned, she threw the grenades into the heart of the cloud with immense force. The grenades sailed through the sky at incredible speed and whistled as they flew.
Just before they could reach the clouds, though, six loud shots rang out. Six 57mm anti-tank shells came zooming from the clouds, striking the grenades mid-air and detonating them. They had been shot out of the air. Then, all of the sudden, mortar shells zipped upwards from the clouds and over the mass of Witches. The 'toffee apple' mortar shells cast many small shadows over the Witches – there were about a hundred and twenty shells. All of the Witches hastily broke their formation and ducked for cover.
Blasts rocked the floor, filling the Bishop Witch's ears with the sound of whistling, explosions and cracking marble. The Bishop Witch picked herself up from the floor and raised her head, urging her allies to rise with a shrill, rousing cry. The noise of the blasts soon subsided, but only to be replaced with the roar of B-17G Flying Fortresses. An entire squadron of twenty-four heavy bombers appeared flying on the deck at just over three-thousand feet, parting the clouds of dust and smoke with their powerful engines. Aboard the bomber at the center of the formation were the three Puella Magi they had hoped to fight. They were going to be flown over.
Audrey, Michi and Ligaya watched the Witches down below them from the wide-windowed cockpit. They could see the Witches looking skywards, taken aback by the low-flying planes. It was an attack run.
At the Filipina's command, the bristling batteries of forward-mounted M2 Browning machineguns of the B-17G squadron fired. They fired an overwhelming hail of bullets that tore into the unprepared ranks of the Witches on their approach, pinning a handful of the pawns to the chessboard floor.
As those pawns struggled to rise back up to their feet again, those twenty-four B-17G bombers finally flew overhead with their bomb hatches opened. The downed pawns looked up to see thousand-pound bombs falling from the hatches and into their battered ranks. A sea of fire promptly consumed those pawns and incinerated them where they lay.
"We're making good progress!" An encouraged Audrey cheered, looking back to the formation of chess pieces that lay in waste behind them. "We just need to get to those staircases over there and…"
All of the sudden of long jagged lines of bullets whizzed by past their plane and barely missed the tip of their left wing. Instead, one of the lines ripped through the hull of the B-17G flying in front of them and cut the rear from the rest of the plane. The front end of the plane dove broken in a long arc down to the masses of Witches below while the tail spun sharply out of control.
Those lines of rapid gunfire came from the Rook Witch who carried four Gatling Guns. Two guns were cradled in her arms and two sat resting on her shoulders, all of them firing simultaneously as the hand-cranks turned on their own. Anger painted the Rook Witch's face as she sought to return Ligaya's surprise twofold.
Her heavy machinegun fire was inaccurate but caught the bomber planes with her sheer volume of shots. The Bishop Witch too did her fair share of damage as she joined the Rook Witch in her assault. She tossed her grenades at the squadron of planes with that same amazing velocity. Her grenades exploded into clouds of shrapnel and flame that rivaled heavy flak guns. Together, the two Grand Witches cut Ligaya's squadron down to ten planes in less than a minute. All the while, the rest of the Witches were dashing forward too at incredible speed, growing faster and faster with every step they took.
"This isn't good!" Ligaya gasped, seeing the Witches they had just attacked start to catch up to them. "The Fortress' rear batteries won't do us much good here!"
Indeed, the rear-mounted machine guns of the Flying Fortresses fired at the advancing Witches but could do little more than pester them. The Witches had quickly learned and were handily avoiding the thinner, more cumbersome machinegun fire.
"Take us higher, then!" Audrey said, unsettled by the sight as well. "We have to shake them off!"
"I-I'll try!" Ligaya said, closing her eyes as she focused on her planes, "Hold on!"
Gesturing her planes upwards, the remnants of the squadron adjusted their elevators and flaps at once and quickly picked up their altitude. Slowly but surely, they came out of range of the wrath of the Bishop and Rook Witches.
As the squadron climbed up to seven-thousand feet, Ligaya caught sight of masses of warplanes flying overhead. Stamped on their frames was a familiar symbol that Ligaya easily recognized.
"It's the USAF!" A smile grew on Ligaya's face.
There were a handful of P-51 Mustangs of the United States Air Force flying by, performing an aerial sweep to fend off the Imperial Japanese Air Force. This sight quickly reminded the Ligaya and company that this world of black and white was not like the barriers they have fought in before. They were fighting over the city of Manila and its airspace. Thousands of feet below them, the battle for the occupied capital was raging on.
"Those planes can't see us." Michi then said, watching those planes pass them by at dangerous angles, "We ought to steer clear of them."
"Roger that." Ligaya said, adjusting their flight path a little bit to avoid the fighter squadron.
This strange interference of the US Air Force, though, did not change the Witches' plans in the slightest. With their eyes trained on Ligaya's planes and the US Mustangs alike, the Witches gave chase.
Led by the Knight Witch who rode a mighty horse, the Pawn Witches launched themselves skywards with mighty bounds. With their arms raised, the pawns caught and held onto both the bomber planes and hopped onto the US interceptors as they tried to catch a ride on them. The high-jumping pawns smashed onto the Mustangs, damaging them and throwing them wildly off course. Desperately, the fighter pilots tried to regain control of their aircraft, but ethereal weights seemed to push down on their planes mercilessly, threatening to split them in half. None of the US Pilots knew what had hit them, but those weights suddenly lifted as the Pawn Witches leapt off the interceptors and clung onto the bombers.
Thus, the first batch of pawns had mounted the rear-most B-17G and growled ferociously. They angrily tore the machinegun barrels off their mantles with their powerful marble hands and smashed the bomber's engines to force the plane to descend. Done with one plane, the pawns prepared themselves to hop onto the next one they could catch.
Many more of the planes were mounted by the pawns in quick succession, crushing down Ligaya's squadron in a heartbeat. The Filipina was displeased.
"Show some respect!" Ligaya cried. With a wave of her hand, the B-17G's that the pawns had held onto disappeared in a flash of green light, sending the pawns tumbling to the ground. The Witches fell to the chessboard floor with loud, dull thuds as marble smashed against marble. Once Ligaya had shaken off the pawns, there were only three bombers left in her formation.
"They're persistent." Michi noted, seeing the fallen pawns rise up again to repeat their assault as if nothing had happened. Even as the planes climbed further and further upwards, the pawns would only double their efforts and jump harder.
"We need just a little more time." Audrey said, eyeing the staircases over the horizon. However, something about them seemed off. "… what the?"
What had seemed like a straight staircase before was twisting itself into a winding spiral, with curves too narrow and jagged for a Flying Fortress to land on. Small, flat, marble platforms also started to appear, swirling around that spiral staircase, blockading Ligaya's flight path with a complex, moving mass of obstacles.
"This place is reacting to our progress!" Ligaya cried, watching in shock as the platforms seemed to multiply. "We can't fly though here in heavy bombers – even the Mustangs would have trouble getting through this!"
"We ought to change our plans, then." Michi said firmly. "We'll cross those platforms to the staircase and proceed on foot."
"On foot?" Audrey gasped, "Those damned Witches are gonna catch up to us and…!"
Before Audrey could finish, a platform slammed into the tail of the B-17G they rode, causing the plane to shake violently.
"T-the controls aren't responding!" Ligaya panicked as she watched her altitude meter start to drop. "Our rudder and elevator are gone! We're going to crash!"
"Get us out of here!" Michi grabbed Ligaya's shoulder, urging her to act.
"Hang on!" Ligaya then warned.
The Filipina waved her hand and the three B-17G's started to disappear in a bright flash of olive green light. In an instant, the girls felt their bodies go light and numb. Headwind that they had been flying against quickly battered them, pushing them backwards forcefully as gravity slowly pulled them back to the earth.
Michi easily balanced herself and landed gracefully atop one of the flat platforms. Audrey and Ligaya, however, fared much, much worse. Unlike Michi, neither of the two had practiced dropping off from a bomber plane before, or dropping down from high altitudes for that matter. They helplessly plummeted down, headed for a twenty-thousand foot drop to the marble floor without the least bit of control.
"Audrey! Ligaya!" Michi cried out. She shook her head to push away her second thoughts and jumped off the platform after the two of them.
The Japanese girl straightened her body with practiced calm as she fell, speeding up her fall to catch up to her friends. She caught them in her arms one by one then skillfully landed on another one of the platforms. The landing was so smooth and precise that it was almost as if she had simply floated down to the platform.
Absolutely dazed, Audrey and Ligaya groaned as their senses returned to them. The last few seconds had been nothing more than a wild blur to them. Neither of them could believe they were still alive and how Michi was able to save them. They wanted to ask Michi how she did it, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
"How far did we fall?" Audrey asked as her numbed feet returned to life.
"I can't tell for sure." Michi said, looking up to the platform that she had jumped off. "But the staircase isn't far off from here. We can still make it."
"We have to hurry too." Ligaya added, turning back to see the mass of Witches scrambling to the staircase as well.
Audrey and Michi nodded and the three of them started to climb that blockade of platforms, jumping from one platform to another. Though the platforms were relatively far from each other, the trio ran at full stride and they inched closer and closer to the spiral staircases. Robbed of their wings, though, the girls moved much slower than before and the Witches started to catch up.
The Knight Witch along with the pawns clambered onto the low-lying platforms and started to chase after the three girls, rattling and displacing platforms as they slammed into them. Their powerful leaps and bounds easily launched them to the higher platforms. All the while, the Bishop and Rook Witches caught up as well and prepared to barrage Michi and company once more.
Grenades that flew at high velocity and devastating hails of Gatling gunfire ripped through the blockade of platforms, heading straight towards the three running Puella Magi. Audrey, Ligaya and Michi quickly dove for cover, sliding through the platforms as the shots and bombs whizzed by so dangerously close to them. They then quickly sprung back up to their feet and continued their desperate run.
"Just a little more!" Michi said, seeing the railings of the staircase about a dozen platforms away.
Their path, jagged and treacherous as it may have been, was clear. The platforms that lay before them would definitely lead them to that staircase where they would once again be on the safety of solid ground. Urged onwards by that thought, the girls leapt forward with all their might. Just as they were about to land on the next platform, though, the grenades of the Bishop Witch struck the platform and shattered it with a series of crisp blasts. The girls soon found themselves without a platform to land on and the path they saw quickly disappeared from their sights.
Cruel gravity took hold of the girls ever so slowly as the girls started to descend. The bullets of the Gatling Guns of the Rook Witch flew around them in all directions, threatening to pierce them in that defenseless position. Also, the pawns finally reached the girls, their marble hands twitching with excitement as they itched to rip the girls apart.
Time seemed to slow for Audrey as she tried to fathom everything that was going around her. Neither Michi nor Ligaya were prepared to defend themselves as the pawns all flew towards them in a marble swarm. The Filipina had no weapons to defend herself in such close encounters while the Japanese girl had no time to prepare herself and her naginata.
Falling upside down like that, the pendant that bore Audrey's bright amber gem flew up to the level of the American's eyes. She stared at it for a split second and her life seemed to flash before her eyes. Was this the end?
"No. Not yet…" Audrey thought as her hand tugged her neckerchief off her shoulders. She then whipped it around her and cried, "You're going to have to do better than that!"
Two dozen 105mm howitzers appeared with a flash of amber light, forming a circle around her and her allies. These guns that Audrey summoned had no platforms to deploy on and would have tumbled pathetically to the ground. However, the American was able to hold those guns midair at will, trained at the pawns that were closing in to pounce on them. Michi and Ligaya saw what Audrey had done and were amazed.
"Take this!" Audrey growled
The first dozen guns fired their volley and the 105mm shells slammed into the Pawn Witches midflight, stopping them in their tracks. The second dozen then fired as well, sending the Pawn Witches flying away. The sight returned the American's confidence tenfold, allowing her to finally balance herself.
"Michi!" Audrey then called as she caught Ligaya in her arms. "Get cracking!"
Following what she recalled from the Japanese girl's smooth landing a minute ago, Audrey gained control of her fall somewhat and carried Ligaya down to a platform safely with her. It was much less graceful than Michi's landing, but it was close enough for her.
A smirk formed on Michi's face as she saw this and she too found her bearings, preparing herself to strike. She adjusted herself to glide towards the stunned pawns then summoned her naginata with a flash of turquoise blue light. Michi then whirled her naginata in a grand motion and cleaved three of the pawns in half. A mild scent hung in the air as a line of blue energy traced Michi's killing swipe – the scent of cherry blossoms.
The Japanese girl then floated down onto a platform gracefully, holding her naginata behind her back. She then turned around and climbed up the platforms again to regroup with her friends. Seeing all three of their prey escape their ambush unscathed infuriated the Witches, especially the Knight Witch.
The Knight Witch's horse gave a ferocious whinny as its master cracked its reins. At that command, the horse galloped up the platforms then leapt in one incredible bound. The Knight Witch and her horse shot up skyward. She twirled the marbled Aztec spear in her hand with maddened delight as she closed in on the isolated Michi.
The Japanese girl stood at the edge of a platform and watched the horse and its rider ascend at breakneck speed. Michi, however, was not threatened in the slightest. She just raised her naginata up with composed strength and held onto it like a javelin. With a small grunt, Michi hurled her naginata downwards to meet the Witch.
A long clean line of blue energy was drawn as the naginata's curved blade pierced through the Knight Witch in the chest, throwing her off her horse. As its master wailed in pain, the horse lost its momentum and panicked. Both horse and rider then plummeted down until they were out of sight.
Michi summoned a new naginata then continued her upward climb to where her friends waited for her. Together, the three of them dashed forward and made it to the curved staircases. Back on solid ground, the girls finally took a breath of relief. This relief would be short-lived, though, as the rumbling sound of heavy footsteps en masse rumbled like thunder from down below. The Witches were hot on their trail yet again.
"It's not much further now." Michi pointed up to a doorway at the top of the spiral staircase, "Let's go!"
With every ounce of strength they had, the girls ran up that spiral staircase. Every step they took brought them closer and closer to that doorway, but each step grew more and more difficult to make. Once again, the staircase started to shift. The steps became frighteningly steep and uneven, doing its best to prevent the Puella Magi from advancing. The rumbling footsteps from below grew loud as well.
About fifteen Witches were coming to fight the girls in that cramped space, so the girls had no time to rest. Just one storey away from the doorway, the girls were panting heavily, struggling to catch their breaths. The increasingly jagged steps of the staircase and the thinness of the air at that altitude didn't help either. Audrey, Michi and Ligaya, though, never gave up – not even for a moment. Against the tremendous odds stacked against them, they finally reached the doorway – a wooden double door that strangely resembled the entryway of the Edificio Gumamela.
The girls reached for the handles and pulled open the door with forceful tugs. Once it was slightly opened, the three of them scrambled into the threshold and closed the doors behind them. As they were closing the doors, the Witches made it to the doorway as well.
"Come on!" Audrey cried, pulling on the doors as hard as she could. She and her friends felt as if their arms were going to break off from the sheer weight of the doors.
The doors finally shut in the nick of time, blocking the Witches' path. They clawed on the door and tackled it, trying their best to force the door open, but the door would no longer budge. The complex locking mechanism that had reinforced the actual entryway of the Edificio Gumamela made sure of it. The sturdy series of metal screens, bars and locks supported the door and finally shut the Witches out. Thus, Audrey, Ligaya and Michi found themselves alone.
"W-we made it…" Ligaya said as she heaved a sigh of relief, "We made it…"
The Filipina leaned against the frames of the locked door as she fought to catch her breath. Audrey panted heavily as well, wiping the beads of sweat that peppered her face.
"Having any second thoughts, Ligaya?" the panting Audrey asked the Filipina, "That was hell of a lot rougher than USAFFE basic training, for damn sure."
Ligaya chuckled but shook her head, albeit weakly. "I… have no regrets."
"That's good." Audrey took a deep breath, "Neither do I."
The two of them looked like they were about to die from fatigue, but they both wore satisfied smiles on their lips. Michi found it to be a heartening sight.
"Let's cleanse our gems and rest a while." Michi then suggested, pulling out the hairpin encrusted with her Paulownia-shaped gem that adorned her hair. "This may be the last bit of peace we will ever have."
Act L – Viam Lucis et Tenebris
Solemn silence filled the topmost chessboard plane. Audrey, Ligaya and Michi sat together on that chessboard floor as they rested their tired, tired feet. From where they sat, they could see grand pillars reaching up to space lined up to form a sort of corridor. A grey carpet was spread out through this corridor while grand chandeliers hung from the stars, giving off an air of stellar majesty. Those chandeliers were lit by bright white lights, their splendor reminiscent of the brightness Lorelei Sankt's gem once beheld.
"This place feels like the Edificio Gumamela, doesn't it?" Ligaya said looking down that corridor, "Lorelei Sankt must have really loved that building."
Audrey nodded in agreement, remembering the first time Serafina had shown her and Ligaya around in the Edificio Gumamela. This second chessboard plane had that same aura of hominess and grandeur of that place she and Ligaya once called home. The Americana and Filipina quickly felt a tinge of nostalgia tugging at their hearts. Michi, however, did not share this nostalgia. This entire plane was foreign to her, its hominess and grandeur wholly unfamiliar.
Instead, Michi's attention was focused on the Soul Gem she cradled in her hands and the Grief Seeds she and her friends had spent. Almost a dozen spent Grief Seeds were littered around them, filled to the brim with the darkness they had purged from their powerful gems. The satchel of Grief Seeds that Ligaya had passed around felt dishearteningly light once they were done. They did not have a lot of Grief Seeds left.
"The final battle lies ahead." Michi then said, calling Audrey and Ligaya's attention. She then stood up and turned to the vast, dark storm cloud that spread out at the end of the welcoming hallways that Audrey and Ligaya admired. "Lorelei Sankt awaits behind that darkness – are the two of you prepared?"
"Yeah." Audrey said, picking herself up from the floor then helping Ligaya up to her feet. "Lead the way."
Ligaya nodded as well. "Let's bring an end to this fighting."
Michi gave them an appreciative smile and gestured them to her side. The three of them then walked through that corridor together. Their footsteps resounded in the hall, muffled as they bounced off the columns or disappeared into the vast expanse of nothingness beyond them. Further down the open corridor, they started to see statues of girls standing tall and proud amongst the columns. All of them held onto what appeared to be Soul Gems, sitting in their open hands as if they were offering it up. The gems they held onto, though, all shared a similar color – bright, pearl white.
These were the statues of the Carissimas of Salvae, Terrae Magicae who have served Lorelei Sankt and fought for her. These were the girls who Lorelei Sankt cherished as her own family. Amongst this pantheon of lost souls were the three Carissimas of North America, valiant figures who looked ready for battle even in their lifeless state.
Then, at the furthest end of the corridor stood the statues of two familiar figures – Serafina Larivenko and Elise de Lamarliere. Unlike the rest of the girls in the pantheon, though, the nearly uniform zealousness was absent from their faces. The two of them held their Soul Gems with lowered arms and looked down to their gems with somber gazes. Michi watched them with sympathy. Somehow, the Japanese girl could tell what those two girls must have thought. They wanted to win a battle, but they did not know how.
Michi shook her head and turned her eyes to the cloud of darkness she and her friends approached. The sound of a haunting, howling wind then reached the girl's ears along with the frightening rumble of thunder, growing louder with every step they took. This storm cloud before them then seemed to grow thicker and darker by the second, looming over the girls with pure, unbridled darkness. This miasma that separated them from Lorelei Sankt seemed to have a life of its own.
"Stay close!" Michi then warned as the howling grew shrill, "Don't stray from the path!"
As Michi shouted this, the darkness suddenly wedged in between the three girls and separated them.
"Audrey! Michi!" Ligaya cried out to her friends as she felt herself losing track of them, "Where did you go?"
"I'm right here, Ligaya!" Michi's voice was muffled by the howling wind, "Just keep moving forward!"
Audrey and Ligaya called back to the Japanese girl and tried their best to follow Michi's voice. However, the thunder and wind overpowered their voices. The darkness of the cloud quickly surrounded them and even their telepathy couldn't cut through the miasma. None of the girls could tell one direction from another in that darkness, leading them further and further away from each other.
"Ligaya! Michi!" Audrey called out at the top of her lungs as she was wrapped in that suffocating darkness. "Where are you guys?"
The American's heart beat nervously as the darkness swirled around her. She had lost sight of her friends and lost track of their voices. In that darkness, she was all alone. Then, lightning flashed before Audrey's eyes, nearly blinding the American girl. As Audrey winced from the bright light, visions started to flood Audrey's mind – visions of the times she had spent with Lorelei Sankt.
"… what the?"
They were happy visions, images of the carefree Magni Domina who wore a smile as bright as day. Both Audrey and Ligaya saw that smile that Lorelei wore as they tried to navigate through the darkness. They remembered the Magni Domina's request to join them in their Witch hunt during their early days in the Edificio Gumamela. They then recalled the Magni Domina calling them 'Discipulas' before inviting them to become honorary Carissimas of Salvae. The Lorelei they recalled was a happy girl who was brimming with life.
Michi, however, saw an entirely different vision of Lorelei. She saw a Magni Domina who wept bitterly, her somber face and regretful heart darker than night. Wrapped tightly in this darkness, Michi crept forward, letting this darkness guide her feet. Michi recalled seeing the Magni Domina's pale face as she recounted her battle at the River Somme, overwhelmed by her fear. In that moment, Lorelei earnestly believed she was better off dead. She was wondering why she was even alive.
Hounded by these differing thoughts, the girls trod on, hoping to see the light at the end of this darkness. At this moment, though, their gems wore an odd sheen. Even though the miasma broke off their telepathy, Audrey, Michi and Ligaya could suddenly feel each others' presence again. They even started hearing each other's voices through the howls of the darkness. Rather than from their minds, though, those voices resonated from their gems. Michi could hear her friends calling out to her – was this due to the binding was well?
Michi focused her thoughts into her gem and called out to her two friends.
"Michi!" The both of them responded. Neither of them knew where they stood or where they were headed in this black abyss, but they were happy to hear Michi's voice.
"I'm not sure how long this link will last." Michi then said, hearing distortion growing even in this channel, "But no matter what happens, please keep going forward! Never give up the fight!"
"The same goes for you, Michi!" Ligaya spoke to the gem that encrusted her bracelet "Even if we get separated now, we know what has to be done!"
"She's right." Audrey agreed, holding onto her pendant dearly. "So promise us we'll see each other again when all of this is through! Got it?"
"It's a promise." Michi then said, happiness and sadness twisting together in her heart, "We have to watch the sunrise at the river together again!"
Audrey and Ligaya agreed, just before that final channel between them was severed. Prodded by that thought, the girls were heartened and pushed back against the darkness with all their might.
Audrey gritted her teeth as she forced her feet forward. She closed her eyes and covered her face, shielding her mind from those blinding visions that filled her mind, and pressed on. Then, she found light.
Encouraged, Audrey hastened her steps and reached that light. She felt the hold of the darkness around her weaken as she ran and the visions faded into nothingness. She reached that light and was absorbed into it. Her feet once again touched solid ground, and Audrey opened her eyes.
She found herself on a chessboard floor, littered with shattered marble. The scene was frighteningly familiar.
Terrified, Audrey turned around and saw the spiral staircase she and her friends had risked their lives to climb standing there before her. A long, wide crack ran through the core of the staircase as the entire towering structure crumbled, severing the first chessboard plane from the second one up above. Waiting there for her on that plane were the fifteen Witches they had only narrowly escaped from. On top of that, hundreds if not thousands of tapestry discs loomed over the horizon, each one housing a Witch that was clawing its way out to the chessboard plane.
"No way…" the American's heart sank as reality settled in.
She was right back where they started.
"Audrey!" a voice suddenly called out to her
"Ligaya!" cried Audrey, turning to see Ligaya running towards her. The American caught Ligaya in a tight embrace, glad to see her alive and well. "You're here too?"
"Yeah…" Audrey said somewhat relieved. However, another matter quickly rose to her mind. "Have you seen Michi?"
"Not since we entered the cloud, no." Ligaya shook her head woefully. The Japanese girl was nowhere to be found. "Where do you think she is?"
Ligaya's worried question then struck a chord in Audrey's heart.
"She must have made it through." Audrey then said, her confidence slowly coming back to her voice. "I'd bet my bottom dollar that she made it through."
"I hope she did." Ligaya said weakly at first, watching the Witches and their reinforcements surround them in the distance. The Filipina then clenched her fist and mustered up a more resolute voice. "I know she did!"
The Witches and the Grand Witches that led them then roared at the two Puella Magi stranded there on the chessboard plane, trying to frighten them into submission. Neither Audrey nor Ligaya, though, were shaken by their roars.
"We just have to believe in her, huh?" Audrey said, digging her hand into her pocket. She pulled out her tin of cigars and opened it. There was only one cigar left sitting inside. With a bitter smile, Audrey took the cigar and bit it.
"Yeah." Ligaya agreed, cheerfulness budding once again in her heart. "Everything is in Michi's hands now – it's all up to her."
Audrey then nodded as she lit her last cigar with a match. After a short but savory puff, the American spoke in a fond tone.
"We still have a sunrise to watch, after all."
The overwhelming mass of Witches that surrounded them started to rush forward to pounce on them. Audrey whipped out her golden neckerchief while Ligaya laid a hand on her metal bracelet. The American then grinned.
"But don't you Witches think we're going to go easy on you lot!"
The entire space around Audrey and Ligaya was suddenly filled in amber and olive green light. High-caliber guns, tanks and airplanes appeared en masse around the two Puella Magi as they prepared to make their stand.
To Be Continued
Episode 17 Preview
The darkness that surrounded Michi in the miasma was thick and swarmed over the lone Japanese girl relentlessly. Every step she took drained her of her strength, but Michi carried on through sheer force of will. Audrey and Ligaya were counting on her, after all. She could not afford to be weak. She could not afford to stop. Michi did not want to let her friends down.
Michi's feet moved forward to the rhythm of her racing heart. Soon enough, the miasma around her loosened and its resistance waned. As Michi pressed on forward, she heard a gentle voice calling out to her from beyond the darkness.
"Kommst du zu mir, hast du Angst nicht!"
The Japanese girl turned to the direction of the voice and saw a green-lighted sign, its light piercing through the darkness. The sign hung over a metallic screen door – the final threshold. Michi gritted her teeth and poured more strength into her legs, propelling herself forward with every ounce of strength she had. Then, she emerged from the darkness and reached the door.
"Du bist angekommen! Kommst du und verbindest du mich hier."
As the voice spoke with happy excitement, the darkness and the miasma behind Michi disappeared. The Japanese girl took a moment to catch her breath, but quickly faced the door with a straight, prepared stance. She reached for the screen door and opened it, pulling the screen door aside with both hands. Then, an ethereal force took hold of her and pulled her into the threshold. The sweet voice then started to count in delight.
"Fünf… vier… drei…"
Michi opened her eyes and found herself floating over a strange cityscape – a breathtaking cityscape. Towering buildings of concrete and glass reached up many stories high to kiss the sky, but even the highest of these towers were below Michi's feet. Wide, green parks dotted the city, boasting spacious promenades, fountains and lights that were as beautiful at night as they were at day. What was this place?
"Zwei… eins…"
Then, Michi's heart skipped a beat. This grand city was built around a familiar river that Michi easily recognized. She had seen this river before, once with her own two eyes and once in a dream – the dream she saw when she became a Puella Magi. The specter of Lorelei Sankt appeared before Michi and flashed her a bright, kind smile.
"Begrüßt du Mitakihara, meinen lieben Freund. Aufenthalt mit mir auf immer."
This was the city of Lorelei Sankt's dreams – the place where no Puella Magi was hungry, homeless or lonely. Over this brilliant city, Michi would fight Lorelei Sankt. Michi told herself this, but persistent doubt crept back from the corners of her heart.
Michi extended her hand and summoned her naginata with a flash of blue light. She held onto the naginata tightly then asked herself,
Will the future be kind?
…