Puella Magi Madoka Magica: After The Tragedy

Chapter 9: "Tiro... FINALE!"

Nagisa

The curtains open.
What her eyes are seeing, is something otherworldly.
A wide and green landscape, but with a dark sky.
The landscape looks as if painted. One feels like as if they were trapped in a painting.
The horizon is filled with drawn animals, easily recognizable as they contrast the water-painted landscape.
Snakes, cats and owls. All oversized. Why these animals, she wonders. Even though the sketches of the animals seem like they were drawn by a skillful artist, they were also very cutely drawn, as if a child had drawn them.

Though, they are not friendly.
The mentor could be seen standing in front of the student.
"Stay behind me. These are familiars."
Both go into a battle stance, with Nagisa pulling out her megaphone and Mami pulling out a large rifle, and pointing it in front of it.
She couldn't help but notice the white rifle with the golden ornamentation.
The mentor shoots one at a snake, before pulling out another one and shooting more of the animals.

The animals go down one by one and crumbling to dust after being shot.
Even then, Mami always seems to fight with a smile on her face, defeating the monsters like a true hero. If she could only fight like that...

As Nagisa is still focused on Mami fighting the onslaught of familiars, one snake had managed to come close to Nagisa.

She only realizes this as the snake started wrapping itself around her body.
The fear had never been more real than at this very moment. She feels her limbs being squished by the long scaly body of the snake.
Even though the snake chokes her, she lets out her last breath as a scream.
"...AH!"

"Nagi-"
Mami turns around the instant she heard the scream.
She quickly releases a yellow ribbon from her hand and grabs the head of the familiar. She pulls it off Nagisa and throws it to the ground.
Nagisa falls to the ground, recollecting her breath. She is alive.
With fury in her eyes, Mami aims at the head and shoots the familiar, making its attempt to end Nagisas life unsuccessful.
She looks around the horizon. It seems so the wave of familiars had been held back, at least for now.
She then runs to Nagisa, wearing a disturbed expression.
"Are you alright?"
Nagisa coughs twice before answering.
"I am. It should be fine."
Mami smiles again.
"I am relieved. Shall we go look for the witch then?"
"...Yeah."
The girl stands up again and follows Mami closely.
"The witch should not be to hard to spot here. And there it already is!"
In the horizon, an even larger animal could be seen.

"A rabbit...?", Nagisa says while staring at the witch in the distance.
Even though it is drawn as cute as the other animals, if not cuter, it also seemed to give off a menacing aura.
With each step they take towards it, Nagisas level of fear rises, as if it was the oceans sea level rising to flood the land.
Mami walks right in front of her, which calms the storm in her mind. After all, she had just saved her life right now.
After coming close enough to the brown rabbit, Mami halts and turns around.
She kneels and lays her right hand on the grass of the drawn landscape. Around the two, a barrier made out of pure ribbons emerges.
"This should keep you safe for a moment. This barrier protects from the familiars and the witch outside.
After speaking, she runs out of the barrier and starts fighting again.
Nagisa sits down, still feeling scared. The barrier is there, but not the cheese.
But she observes the battle.

Mami shoots down another few familiars, before aiming at the witch and unleashing a flying swarm of gunfire onto its body.
The big rabbit hops towards her, which she gracefully dodges.
Giant ribbons emerge from the ground, limiting the movement of the rabbit and allowing her to shoot safely.
Now standing in front of the rabbit, she fends off the remaining familiars and prepares her last move.
She looks back to Nagisa, who is still safely encased in the barrier, and smiles.
"I mustn't keep you waiting, isn't that right?"
Her boots lift from the ground, making her leap superhuman heights.
At the peak of the jump, a giant cannon manifests in front of her arms.
She holds the oversized cannon and aims at the head of the witch.