User blog:SPARTAN 119/Akemi Homura (Madoka Magica) vs The Krolp (Harry Turtledove's Vilcabamba)

Akemi Homura, the dark deconstruction of the anime magical girl, who fights for the soul of her friend with time manipulation magic and stolen military hardware

VS

The Krolp, the advanced race of centauroid (four legs and two arms) aliens who invaded Earth with technology centuries ahead of humanity

Magic and technology clash to determine...

WHO IS DEADLIEST?! =Akemi Homura= Akemi Homura appears in the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a dark reconstruction of the typical "magical girl". Akemi Homura was a girl from the fictional Japanese city of Mitakigahara, who became a magical girl after making a contract with a mysterious creature called "Kyuubey," to become a magical girl and fight monsters known as "witches" in exchange for a single wish of hers granted.

Homura is actually a close friend of a girl named Madoka Kaname, who made her wish to save her from an enormously powerful Witch called Walpurgisnaucht. Homura used to be a shy, crippled girl with a heart condition, who was later saved by Madoka and Mami Tomoe, another magical girl from a Witch. When she made her contract and ripped out her soul, it was to be able to go back in time and save her friend Madoka. She was...really taken with Madoka, and the reason why she goes through all those timelines is to save her.

Homura later, however, discovers a darker side to the contract both she and Madoka made with Kyubey. Kyubey is actually an extremely advanced alien, and his creation of magical girls is part of a plot to delay the inevitable heat death of the universe using a source of energy that does not obey the laws of thermodynamics: human emotions. Kyubey targets teenage girls as he believes they are the most emotionally unstable, and thus the best source of energy. Unfortunately this requires the transformation of the "magical girl" into a witch, and the subsequent death of the witch at the hands of another magical girl. After discovering this, Homura becomes determined to save Madoka from his schemes.

While Homura has the power to manipulate and travel through time, she her only offensive magic is a comparatively weak energy blast. For this reason, Homura uses her time manipulation powers to steal weapons from the Yakuza, Japanese Self-Defense Force, and US Military, using weapons ranging from small arms to rocket launchers to anti-ship missiles.

Homura has gained a large fanbase and became something of a meme among fans of the series, both for her weapon stealing and her constant "guarding" of Madoka, which sometimes results in stalker-like behavior. Thus, Homura has several fan nicknames, including Homu, HomuHomu, Homerun-chan, Hommando (for her weapon use), and fans referring to her implied lesbian interest in Madoka as "HomuLust" and her apartment as "HomuHome". Some even refer the show as, "Commando Girl Homura Magica."

Homura is also sometimes compared to another character created by Madoka writer Gen Urobuchi, Kiritsugu Emiya of Fate/Zero. Both Homura and Kiritsugu supplement their magic with conventional weapons, and both use time manipulation magic.

Magic Attack
A small, purple ball of energy that can cause living beings to literally explode from within, however, it is implied not to work on more powerful targets.

"Hammerspace"
Homura has an apparently infinitely large space inside her shield in which she store large amounts of stolen munitions. This ordnance can be pulled out of the shield, or for larger or large numbers of weapons, instantly materialize in front of Homura with a press of the shield.

Makarov PM
The Makarov pistol is a Russian sidearm developed and produced in the Soviet Union. The Makarov was the standard sidearm for Soviet troops all the way until the collapse of the communist regime. Nikolai Makarov designed the weapon to replace the TT-33 pistol. Firing the 9x18mm Makarov, the pistol had a magazine capacity of eight rounds. The weapon was selected because of its simplicity and decent stopping power. Since 2003, the Makarov has been replaced by the MP-443 Grach. However, there are still a high amount of these Soviet pistols on the market and are used by Russian law enforcement. More than a dozen countries still use the pistol as their side-arm of choice.

Desert Eagle
The IMI Desert Eagle is a handgun famous for firing a .50 caliber bullet, known for its stopping power. Although the Desert Eagle can deliver severe damage, it is inaccurate as heavy recoil will force the user to reacquire the target and because it is meant to be used at a close range, this inaccuracy is only increased at a distance. The weapon has a range of 50 meters, and for the purposes of this match, will fire a .50 AE round from a seven-round magazine.

Beretta Model 92
The Beretta 92 is a series of 9x19 Parabellum firing pistols developed by the Italian company, Beretta. Based around older Beretta pistols, the 92 was first produced in 1975. The pistol has been modified to accompany larger rounds like the .40 S&W and fire in three round bursts, featured in the Beretta 93R. Dozens of countries have adopted the pistol and have been used by their police departments and armies. The M9 was specifically designed for the United States military and is popularly used because of its light weight, low recoil, accuracy, and fast rate of fire. For the purposes of this match, the weapon will have a 15-round magazine. The Beretta has a range of 50 meters.

Remington Model 870
The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide. For the purposes of this match, Homura's 870 will be a 12 gauge, with an 8-round magazine, firing buckshot.

Skorpion
The '''Skorpion vz. 61''' (referred to as the Skorpion) is a Czechoslovak submachine gun developed in the late 1950's for special forces and security units. It fires the .32 ACP round at rates of fire of up to 850 rounds per minute.

Heckler and Koch MP5
The Heckler and Koch MP5 is a submachine gun chambered for the 9mm round. Since the 1960s, the weapon has been popular around the world and is currently a popular weapon used by law-enforcement agencies, special forces groups, and terrorists. Through the success of the G3 battle rifle, the MP5 war created and the design of the submachine gun was based upon the rifle. The weapon was immediately was adopted by 40 countries several years after it was manufactured and by numerous law enforcement and security organizations. The rate of fire, accuracy, and light-weight of the gun was what made it successful. Their are currently 22 variants of the MP5, the two most popular being the MP5A4 and the MP5K. The weapon has a range of 200 meters and a rate of fire of 900 rpm.

Howa Type 89
The Howa Type 89 is a Japanese assault rifle designed in 1989 for the Japanese Self-Defense Force to replace the Howa Type 64. The weapon is based off the AR-18 assault rifle, which was produced in Japan for a time until laws prohibiting the export of military hardware from Japan were passed. As such, the Howa Type 89 has never been exported. The weapon fires a 5.56mm round from, for the purposes of this match, a 30-round magazine, with a range of up to 500 meters. The weapon has a rate of fire of 700 RPM

M249 SAW
The Fabrique Nationale Minimi short for "Mini Mitrailleuse" (French: mini machine gun), is a Belgian 5.56mm NATO light machine gun designed as a squad-level fire support weapon. A variant of the weapon is used by the United States Armed Forces under the designation M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. The weapon has a rate of fire of 700-1150 rounds per minute depending on model and a range of up to about a kilometer. The weapon is fed from 200-round linked ammuntion belts or, in an emergency, 30-round STANAG magazine.

Rheinmetall MG3
The MG3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 universal machine gun. The weapon has a rate of fire of between 1000 and 1200 rpm, and can be fed from a 50 or 100-round belt.

AT-4
Akemi Homura is capable of summoning and rapidly firing dozens of AT4s and RPG-7s. The AT4 is a Swedish-made 84mm disposible anti-tank rocket launcher made by Saab Bofors Dynamics. The AT4 used by the U.S. and other military forces. The weapon is equipped with a HEAT shaped charge warhead. A variant called the AT4 CS, capable of being fired confined areas such as the interior of a structure without causing injury or death due to the backblast, exists. The weapon has a maximum range of 2100 meters, but an effective range of only 500 meters.

RPG-7
Akemi Homura is capable of summoning and rapidly firing dozens of AT4s and RPG-7s. The RPG-7 is a Soviet-made 85mm anti-tank rocket launcher. The weapon was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and, like the AK-47 has since been widely exported during the Cold War era, and is still in the arsenal of many countries and paramilitary organization. The weapon is known for low cost, ease of use, durability and reliability. To some, it's the very symbol of guerrilla warfare. The RPG has a maximum range of 920 meters, but is only effective at a maximum of 200 meters (beyond that it has less than a 50 percent chance of hitting a tank-sized target).

M26 Grenade
The M26 is a fragmentation grenade developed by the United States military. It entered service around 1952 and was used in combat during the Korean War. Its distinct lemon shape led it to being nicknamed the "lemon grenade".

Fragmentation is enhanced by a special pre-notched fragmentation coil that lies along the inside of the grenade's body. This coil had a circular cross-section in the M26 grenade and an improved square cross-section in the M26A1 and later designs.

The grenades were stored inside two-part cylindrical fiberboard shipping tubes (Container M289) and were packed 25 or 30 to a crate.

(From Wikipedia).

Pipe Bomb
A pipe bomb is a crude type of improvised explosive device used by terrorists and criminals, consisting of a metal pipe with two endcaps filled with some sort of explosives, often black powder or ammonium nitrate, with some kind of fusing mechanism attached. The device is typically targeted at a human target, as opposed to a building or vehicle, either as an improvised hand grenade or as a component to a mail bomb. Nails or other loose objects may be added to act as shrapnel.

L-16 Mortar
The L-16 is a joint US-Canadian 81mm infantry mortar. The weapon is a muzzle-loaded mortar capable of being fired at ranges of up to 5650 meters, with rate of fire of up to 20 rounds per minute for short periods of time with a sustained rate of fire of 1-12 rounds per minute. For the purposes of this match, Homura will have several of these mortars in her "hammerspace", and can used them in combination with time manipulation to bombard a target with multiple high-explosive rounds in rapid succession.

C-4
C-4 (or Composition C-4) is a plastic explosive. By itself, C-4 is harmless. You could shoot it, set it on fire, etc and it won't go off. But once blasting cap is placed on it, all the user needs to do is press a detonator and it goes off. Homura uses hundreds of C-4 charges placed with time manipulation to create a massive explosion in the 11th episode of the anime.

Type-88 Anti-Ship Missile
The Type-88 is a JSDF land-based anti-ship battery, with a 150-200 kilometer range and radar guidance system. Each launcher holds six missiles. Homura has access to two of these launchers, which she summons from her "Hammerspace", and seems to be able to control them without touching the controls. The missile has a 496 pound warhead.

Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). In 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th Harpoon unit since the weapon's introduction in 1977. The missile system has also been further developed into a land-strike weapon, the Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM).

The regular Harpoon uses active radar homing, and a low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory to improve survivability and lethality. The weapon has a range of over 124 kilometers and carries a 488 pound warhead.

Time Manipulation Magic
Akemi Homura's primary magical ability is that of time manipulation. Specifically, in addition to resetting time to just before the point where she met Madoka Kaname, Homura is also able to pause time and use it for offensive purposes detailed below.

Time Pausing
Akemi Homura's time pausing ability allows her to stop the movement of any object except Homura herself and anyone she is physical contact with. Projectiles such as bullets and rockets fired by Homura will behave normally during this period until they are within a few centimeters of the target, at which point they will seem to hover in mid-air. When Homura deactivates the time stop, the projectiles will immediately impact the target. This can allow Homura hit a target with multiple projectiles simultaneously, and makes its impossible to avoid or counter the attack.

"Rocket Spamming
One of Homura's signature time manipulation techniques is "rocket spamming". During her battle with Walpurgisnacht in Episode 11, Homura pauses time and fires off several dozen AT4 and RPG-7 rockets, causing them to impact simultaneously. Homura also uses a similar trick to quickly plant hundreds of C-4 charges.

Soul Gem/Invulnerability
As a Puella Magi, Akemi Homura's soul has literally been transferred to her Soul Gem. This means her mortality is also transferred to the gem. Because of this, she will not die even if her body sustains normally fatal damage. Homura uses this fact to catch Mami Tomoe by surprise in the Rebellion movie by literally shooting herself in the head. Any injuries can be recovered from very quickly, in the movie, the bullet hole in her head disappeared within seconds, and the blood stains lasting a few minutes. Any damage, save perhaps total annihilation, to a Puella Magi's body is repaired with magic, though it will "darken" their soul gem, and damage to limbs etc will temporarily disable them. When a Puella Magi uses magic, including Homura's time manipulation, it will slowly become darker in shade. Unless a Puella Magi cleanses her gem with a Grief Seed, the remains of witch, she will eventually turn into a witch herself, the witch form losing all sense of its former self and creating a pocket dimension, which it tries to lure human victim into. After a Puella Magi becomes a witch, the transformation cannot be reversed, and the girl she once was is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Homura appears to be limited in her time manipulation by this, as she can use it enough for a tactical advantage, but not manipulate time constantly in battle. If a Puella Magi moves more than 100 meters from her soul gem, she will enter a coma until a Soul Gem is returned to within range of her body. Because of this most Puella Magi wear their soul gem on their person, leaving it susceptible to destruction by attackers, which will instantly kill the Puella Magi. For the purposes of this match, the Krolp will NOT know about the Soul Gem, but if Homura is directly with a nuclear force manipulation or gravity manipulation weapon, it is likely the Soul Gem will be destroyed.

Wrist Shield
Akemi Homura's wrist shield is primarily used to access her "Hammerspace" and activate her time manipulation, however, it can be used as a shield. The shield is very small, but can block a magical fireball, and for the purpose of this match, a Krolp energy weapon (but not a black hole generator or de-atomizer blast).

Other Abilities
Akemi Homura appears to possess other magical abilities. For instance, she seems to be able to have at least a limited ability to hover and fly, as seen in the first episodes of the anime, and briefly in the final battle. It is also suggested that she may have limited telekinetic abilities, as she proves herself able operate missile launchers and drive vehicles without touching the controls. Finally, Homura may have at least a limited ability to understand the use of a weapon simply by touching it.

Krolpish Weapons
In Vilcabamba, it is stated that humans can use Krolp infantry weapons, but cannot replicate them with their technology. For the purposes of this match, Homura will be able to pick up and use any Krolp weapons she captures from her enemies.

=The Krolp= FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS MATCH, HOMURA WILL BE FACING A SQUAD OF SIX KROLP The Krolp are a race of "centauroid" aliens appearing Harry Turtledove's short story "Vilcabamba". The Krolp are larger than a horse, with gray skin and heads similar in appearance to a jack-o-lantern and mouths lined with a sharp edge, but no true teeth, and large, glowing, cat-like eyes. The Krolp also have been described by humans as smelling like Limburger cheese.

The Krolp invaded Earth in the 22nd century, and quickly overwhelmed humanity's defense, easily shooting down or disarming the nuclear weapons used against their initial invasion forces. The US and Canada joined together to fight the Krolp, but their efforts were for not. The Krolp were not invincible, but it took large amounts of human resource to kill just one of them, to the point that two division of men and materiel were lost for every Krolp soldier killed. The Krolp quickly took control of most of Earth. After the Krolp conquest, the Russians, Chinese, and Americans joined forces and rose up. However, only about 50 Krolp were killed before the rebellion was crushed. After the uprising, the then U.S. president escaped to the Rocky Mountains, and, after negotiating with the Krolp, the US (now reduced to the area around the Rockies and Wasatch, were allowed to exist as an independent enclave The joint-US-Canadian nation persisted for another 50 years, until the Krolp discovered silver deposits under Utah, and demanded they be allowed to mine them. Knowing how destructive Krolp mining techniques were, as they had wiped out all of Spain, the US president, Harris Moffat III, launched one final uprising, which failed and was crushed in three days.

Krolp technology is centuries, perhaps millenia beyond that of humanity. Humans can use their weapons, but have no idea how they work. The best guess is that the Krolp are capable of manipulating gravity and strong and weak nuclear forces as easily as humans can manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum. They also carry highly destructive weapons of an unknown nature, possibly some sort of energy weapon.

The situation of humanity and the Krolp was intended as a reference to the Inca city of Vilcabamba, the last independent enclave of Incan resistance, which was crushed in 1572 by Spanish Conquistadors.

Directed Energy Weapons
The Krolp's smaller weapons are of an unknown nature, but possibly some form of directed energy weapon. Even their infantry weapons are described as cutting through tank armor "as if it wasn't their".

Gravity Manipulation Weapons
The Krolp are stated to be able to manipulate gravity as easily as humans can manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum. This would presumably mean they have weaponized this technology, for the purposes of this match, this will include increasing gravitational forces to crush an object, using anti-gravity fields to throw and object, and creating very short-lived micro-black holes. (The infantry-held weapons will be relatively small, but still easily capable of destroying a tank, for instance). For the purpose of this match the weapon will have a low rate of fire, and the black holes will be escapable using Homura's time manipulation.

Nuclear Force Manipulation
The Krolp are also able to manipulate the strong and weak nuclear forces, shown in the short story when they managed to remotely disarm most of the nuclear weapons deployed against them, presumably by preventing a fusion reaction from occurring. The Krolp also destroyed the free-US capital of Grand Junction, Colorado with a weapon with power rivaling that of nuclear weapon, possibly some sort of device that literally triggers a nuclear reaction in the atomic structure of an object. Finally, on a smaller scale, the weapon could literally disintegrate a target on an atomic level- reducing them to a cloud of sub-atomic particles. For the purposes of this match, the infantry held-version of this weapon will not be able to create nuclear explosions, but will still be able to de-atomize a target. Like the gravity manipulator, it will be assumed to have a lower rate of fire than the energy rifles, requiring a short charge up time.

Krolp Armor
The Krolp possess a form of body armor capable of defending them from threats far greater than any manmade armor. It is not know whether the armor is equipped with some sort of energy shield, or is simply made of exceedingly durably materials. Krolpish body armor has proven itself capable of surviving practically any form of small arms fire, and even provides limited defense against heavier weapons. For the purposes of this match, it will survive a single rocket, but not a "rocket spam" attack like the ones Homura uses with her time manipulation. It will also not be able to survive against hits from anti-ship missiles and other heavy weapons. The armor will only protect the areas it covers, so bullets to unprotected areas will still harm the Krolp.

Krolp squad
=X-Factors=
 * Four Energy Riflemen (err... Rifle-Krolp?)
 * One Gravity Manipulation Weapon operator
 * One De-Atomizer Gunner.

Explanations
Normally, I would give combat experience to the Krolp, however, in spite of their being professional soldiers, their experience on Earth was fighting against a vastly inferior foe. Homura on the other hand, has fought through repeated timelines, fighting repeatedly for years, engaging in combat powerful adversaries. Homura has no real training, unlike the highly trained Krolp soldiers, however, its not clear how much of an impact this will have, given her combat experience. Homura also takes a slight edge in tactics, with her out-of-the-box thinking, exemplified in her fight with Walpurgisnacht, where she cleverly placed C-4 in cunningly disguised traps, dropping entire buildings and even creating a "chain attack" using Type 88 anti-ship missiles to blast Walpurgisnacht into a stadium filled with C-4. In terms of weapons, however, the Krolp take the definite edge with their far superior firepower. However, so long as her soul gem does not give out, Homura will be able to counter this with her time manipulation. Both are probably about even in skill with their own weapons. Homura, however, takes surprise, as she can literally attack out of nowhere with her time manipulation powers. This also gives her a slight edge in psychological warfare, trumping even the physics-breaking weapons of the Krolp. Homura is also more agile, with her superhuman agility and even limited hovering powers. Homura scores about even in marksmanship, however, this is in part because she usually takes the shot while time is paused. In terms of morale, the Krolp believe they are invincible, their technology proving far superior to that of humanity. Homura, on the other hand, has suffered a series of tragedies in her life. That said, Homura has an indomitable will, and an unmatched dedication to save Madoka from her tragic fate.

=Battle=

Intro
In the voice of Akemi Homura:

From the depths of space they came, armed with a lust for conquest, and a boundless greed. Humanity had hoped that when we finally met the aliens, that they would be friendly. They weren't. We tried to destroy them with nuclear weapons. They shot down most of them, most of the the rest of the warheads failed to detonate, those that did barely chipped the paint of their ships. Their forces crushed the world's militaries in days, while they sustained only a handful of losses. And so it was that the Earth fell under the domination of the Krolp.

Even after the surrender of the human race, there were those who tried to fight back. One such man was right here in Mitakigahara. He actually managed to steal a Krolpish weapon and kill one of them. The Krolp retaliated without mercy. They rounded up two hundred citizens at random, and now they are threatening to execute them all unless the perpetrator surrenders.

One of their number was a girl I know quite well: Madoka Kaname, my only friend. I girl I have fought for what must have been decades now, perhaps centuries, turning time back again and again, through an eternal maze, in search for the one way out, the one way to save her from a different alien horror. The Krolp are just one more obstacle, and like all I have faced before them, I will keep fighting. They may have the power to manipulate gravity, and even the strong and weak nuclear forces. But I have two things they do not: First, the power to manipulate time itself, to stop even their deadliest weapons in their tracks, and unleash an army's worth of firepower in a fraction of a second. Second, I have my burning, all consuming desire to save the life of the one I love. The Krolp... and the Incubator... I will keep fighting until I put a stop to both of their plans.