Magia: A New Hope

by Pentalithia

A Madoka / Magia Record fan suddenly wakes up in the world of magical girls, as a side character. Features Ashley Taylor. Note: In case it's not obvious, you should expect massive spoilers here for nearly everything in the franchise.

80. Awakening to Paradise

Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Rumour of Chelation Land!
A stress-free amusement park where you can
relax to your heart's content and be happy!
And it's the grand opening!
You won't wanna leave! No way!
And you don't have to!
You can stay as long as you want!
Oh, but, attention please!
If it reaches max capacity,
you'll be removed from this world.
It's a hot rumour rolling through Kamihama!
Ah, but that's okaaay!

---

April twenty-fourth. Kanagi is currently just across the river from the discontinued amusement park, a grassy field completely empty except for a half-finished ferris wheel. Or perhaps it was finished and later broken? It's hard to tell. Either way, she's facing a pair of black feathers who appear to be Hagumu and Shigure, to judge from their hair colour. Kanagi sort of stares at them, expressionlessly.

"F-further resistance… is futile," Shigure says. "Y-you will not… achieve anything by… by eliminating more rumours."

"Ha! That's funny," Kanagi says. "I'm not looking to achieve anything. I'm just venting my frustration."

"Please… try to see reason, Miss Kanagi," Hagumu says. "We're asking you to, um, join us in the Wings of the Magius, um, just like Miss Tsukasa did."

"You're a riot," Kanagi says. "I'm honestly livid that you would even dare to suggest such a thing."

Despite her claim, her voice remains free of emotion. Or… no, that's not quite accurate. There is a subtle undertone that seems to support her words.

"Especially considering you're the ones who abandoned me," Kanagi continues.

"So you… you aren't going to… come with us," Hagumu says.

"Beg all you want," Kanagi says. "It won't happen. Actually, I think you ought to be taught a lesson for your impudence. I hope you are fully prepared for what's about to happen!"

At that moment, her phone rings.

"Oh?" Kanagi says. "Apologies. I must take this call."

She answers the phone, and her tone of voice changes a little, becoming less… hard.

"It's been awhile, Nanami," she says. "It's exciting to receive a call from an old rival."

"If you w-won't join us," Shigure says. "T-then we'll just have… to d-destroy y-you!"

Several more black feathers show up to support them.

"S-sorry about this, Miss Kanagi," Hagumu says.

"Hmph," Kanagi says. "Nanami, bear with me. I'm afraid it may get a little difficult to hear me. This will only take a moment."

While listening to Yachiyo's explanation, Kanagi brandishes her riding crop and fights off the attacking feathers. They only attack with their chains, but she dodges easily and knocks them down one by one. Finally she rests her foot on the the head of one of the fallen feathers. That unfortunate feather groans as her face is pressed into the dirt. It's neither Shigure nor Hagumu, who are both sprawled on the ground nearby, unconscious.

"Urgh… but we had her outnumbered!"

"Ah, I see," Kanagi says. "I've not been paying attention to what was going on in the west. You seem to be quite busy as well."

"That's putting it lightly," Yachiyo says. "Would it be okay for us to meet up, perhaps share information on the Wings of the Magius? Say tomorrow after school, same place as always?"

"Yes," Kanagi says. "There's plenty of witches now so there's no need for us to fight like we once did. I wouldn't mind sharing what I know with you… even collaborate."

"You'd even go that far?" Yachiyo says.

"Why not? Joining forces with my former rival… hmm, this is like a TV drama! I'll look forward to tomorrow!"

With that, she hangs up.

"So Nanami's taking action as well," she muses. "Those Wings of the Magius… they must be an even bigger nuisance than I thought."

At that point, the Amane twins show up in their white feather robes.

"Miss Kanagi," Tsukasa says.

"That voice… it's been awhile, Tsukasa-kun," Kanagi says. "What do you want? If your business is the same as those black feathers, we have nothing more to discuss. I won't join you."

"No, not that," Tsukasa says. "I just wanted to warn you about something."

"Warn me?" Kanagi says. "Well then, go ahead."

"It's about Miss Nanami," Tsukasa says. "The truth is, she's after your territory."

"So, you mean that Nanami wants to take advantage of the chaos in the east and steal our territory?" Kanagi says.

"Yes," Tsukasa says. "And we can't allow them to destroy this new rumour."

"I see," Kanagi says. "So that means keeping those fools from the west in check would benefit us both. Makes sense, but will they really show up?"

"They investigated the hospital, so certainly they'll go to the old railway yard next," Tsukasa says. "There's no doubt about it…"

---

"Well, it's happening," I say. "Miss Nanami and Miss Izumi are teaming up."

"Oh good," Inui says as I terminate the vision. "Just in time, I'd say… so, what should we do tomorrow? We're down to the final week now, right? Anything I can do to help?"

"Well… you know Yuki Maria, right?" I ask. "And how about the girl known as Sue?"

"I've run into both of them before," Inui says. "Sue more often than Miss Yuki. I think Miss Yuki's a bit like you – I've only ever seen her on weekends, and only a few times. She must be living in town somewhere."

"Probably at home," she says. "She's from Kamihama, after all. In fact, I imagine a number of girls from Kamihama still live at home rather than here at Fendt Hope. Maybe some of them go straight from home to rumour watch and back without even stopping by the base most days.l"

"Yeah, that's probably it," Inui says. "Anyway, why'd you bring those two up?"

"Well, let's say it'd be nice to have a few more people I can trust when everything goes awry here at Fendt Hope," I say. "Based on Miss Midori's information, those two and Chiyoko-chan are the most likely to be receptive."

"So, you want me to recruit them," Inui says. "This is for a rebellion, right? To overthrow the Magius?"

"Essentially," I say. "Though our main goal is, of course, the defeat of Walpurgisnacht."

"Okay, then I'll get on that first thing tomorrow," Inui says. "And what'll you be up to?"

"Keeping tabs on Miss Nanami and Miss Izumi," I say. "Getting all caught up with Madoka and friends. Planning things out with Kanna-chi. As you said, I'm expecting everything to go down next week… and thanks to Oriko, we now know the exact date, which is the last day of school before Golden Week."

"Alright," Inui says. "What about my things? I've gotten it all packed up, but where should I move it to?"

"That's a good question," I muse. "I wonder if there's any chance Riko-chan or Rui-chan could look after it for a few days… but no, we don't want to dump it on someone when you're going back in time anyway…"

Inui blinks. "Come to think of it, that's a good point," she says. "Hmm… so, I actually have no need for any of it myself… then I just need to think about whether it's worth passing any of it along to others… alright, I'll figure it out over the next day or two. Maybe I can give some of it away to Karin-chan or Rui-chan, or even Riko-chan… but I need to do it without cluing them onto the fact that I'll be disappearing…"

"Sure," I say. "One last thing before we get to bed, in case I forget about it by morning… sometime next week, Alina's probably going to take time to interview every member to determine their loyalty."

"So I just have to say I'm loyal, right?" Inui says.

I shake my head. "No," I say. "I don't really get it myself, but it seems they're more ready to trust those who aren't loyal to them… those who wish to pursue the goal of liberation regardless of the Magius. So, whatever you say, don't profess loyalty to the Magius."

Inui nods slowly. "Okay… I understand," she says. "Should I pass that on to the others?"

"No, let's not," I say. "I'm pretty sure Kirika and Chiyoko-chan need no warning, anyway. Oh, but you can mention it to Miss Yuki or Sue if you think they might otherwise profess their loyalty."

"And what about Tamu-chan and her friends?" Inui asks. "And Tomo-chan?"

"I don't think it's important to warn them," I say. "But I'll leave it up to your judgement. It's not as though the Magius are going to kill everyone loyal to them. No-one will die as a direct result of that interview."

"I see," Inui says. "Okay… I won't seek them out, but if I see them, I might say something. Was that all, then? Shall we get to bed?"

"Oh yeah, I was gonna ask… have you been going around saying we're girlfriends?" I ask.

"No way," Inui says. "I wouldn't say something like that without your consent! That said… I've been hearing the rumours, and I admit I haven't made any attempt to stem them…"

"Any idea where the rumours came from?"

Inui shrugs. "It's hard to be sure, but… I suspect Nemu-chi is the source," she says. "They started around when I asked her to change the bed in this room, so… it fits."

"Huh, they've been going that long…?" I say. "I never noticed…"

"Well, you're almost never here, so that's to be expected," Inui says.

"Well, as long as you're not the source, I don't care all that much," I say. "Though I wish you'd deny it at least a little when it comes up…"

"I don't want to," Inui retorts.

"Well, whatever."

I quickly get changed into my pyjamas and flop down on the bed. Inui does the same.

"Good night, Ashley."

"Good night, Inui."

---

I wake up early and slip out of bed without waking Inui. At the cafeteria, I unexpectedly run into Tamura and her friends.

"Good morning," I say. "Are you heading back to Mitakihara too?"

"Y-yeah," Tamura says.

"We can't get away with missing too much school," Chihana says. "And we've got a test coming up, so now's the time to be there."

"I see…"

We have a quick breakfast together in silence, and then leave the cafeteria together. As we're entering the entrance hall, Alina of all people waves us over. Mifuyu is with her too, looking a tad anxious, and to my surprise, Mami is even there too.

"You there!" she says. "You're from Mitakihara, aren't you?"

"Y-y-yes…" Tamura stammers.

"All four of us are," Hikari says.

"Perfect!" Alina says. "Then I, Alina, have a special mission for you!"

"W-w-whaaat!?" Tamura gasps. "I… I don't know if… if we can h-handle a s-s-special m-mission…"

"Don't worry, it's easy," Alina says. "The only thing that I, Alina, need you to do is make sure that those girls in Mitakihara stay right there."

"Which girls?" Hikari asks. "There are a bunch of girls in Mitakihara…"

"The ones that keep messing up our plans," Alina says. "The pink one, and the black one… what were their names, Mifuyu?"

Mifuyu turns to Miss Tomoe, who answers in her stead.

"Miss Kaname, and Homura-chan," Mami says. "And Miss Miki as well."

"B-b-but we're not very strong!" Tamura protests.

"She's right," Chihana says. "I'd really like to help ya out, but any one of those three could wipe the floor with the three of us just by themselves…"

"Don't worry!" Alina repeats. "You won't even need to show your faces. Plus, Mami will be there to command you in case something goes wrong. Here…"

She takes out a handful of small green cubes. The trio blink at them.

"Huh? Are those…?" Hikari asks.

"Witches," Alina says. "They may only be my cast-offs, but they should keep those three nicely engaged."

"Um… how long are we supposed to…?" Chihana says.

"About two to three days," Alina says. "Just hold them there for as long as you can."

"If you're discovered, alert me right away," Mami adds. "I will come as fast as I am able."

"Got it," Chihana says.

Alina hands out the cubes, four to each of the trio, and three to me – she just happened to be one short, I suppose. Her job done, she stalks off, leaving Mifuyu and Mami behind.

"Um… how exactly do we… release them?" Hikari asks nervously.

"Just squeeze it really hard," Mifuyu says. "And then vacate the area so you don't get sucked in. You should have about thirty seconds to get clear of the newly-released witch before you're in any danger."

"O-okay, I got it," Hikari says. "W-we'll… do our best…"

"Don't push yourselves too hard," Mifuyu says. "I won't blame you if anything goes wrong, okay? So just be careful."

"Okay," Chihana says.

"I will meet up with you after school," Mami says. "Let me think… how does the big bridge over the main road sound as a meeting point?"

"That… that'll do," Chihana says. "I know the one you mean…"

It sounds like the place where Sayaka and Kyouko once confronted each other.

"Then, I'll see you all then!" Mami says.

"Yeah," Chihaha says.

"Okay, we'll be there," Hikari says.

The four of us leave the base together, and after getting a good distance away, we banish our robes.

"Holding onto these things make me kinda nervous," Hikari says. "Are they really safe…?"

"Miss Mifuyu may have said all you need to do is squeeze it," I say. "But I think it needs to be done with intent. It won't open up if you accidentally sit on it… I think. I did have one myself at one point, though I don't recall putting that to the test…"

"Well… if you're right, it makes me feel a little better," Hikari says. "But I'm still gonna treat them like they're fragile, just in case you're wrong…"

We catch the train to Mitakihara. Since they're heading for the school in the industrial district, they get off a couple of stops before me, leaving me alone for the final stretch of the journey. I decide to take that time to give Hijiri a call.

"Good morning, Ashley-chan," she says. "I was wondering when I'd get a call from you… it's been awhile, somehow."

"Right, it's been kinda too long, honestly," I say. "I've just been so busy keeping tabs on things… but it's almost time for Walpurgisnacht to appear again."

"It sure is," Hijiri says. "I'm all prepared over here, though. Kazumi-chan's ready to go as well, and so are Yuuri-chan and Airi-chan…"

"Yeah, so, um, I don't remember if I mentioned this before," I say. "I've been mulling it over for weeks now, but I might've forgotten to bring it up with you."

"Stop beating around the bush," Hijiri says.

"Alright. I need something that we can use to communicate," I say. "If possible, something that'll work in the middle of a storm, with the power out and the cellular towers down. Obviously it needs to have a range much greater than telepathy – ideally covering all of Kamihama, or at least Minaminagi Ward."

"Oh, I was all prepared for you to request something difficult, but I can handle that no problem," Hijiri says. "You want a short-wave radio, right? Perhaps a citizen's-band model, as they're easier to use. But how many do you want? I can definitely get you some, but I'm not sure how many I can obtain on such short notice."

"Let me think," I say. "If I give two to the Hohzuki girls… one to each of the Mitakihara teams… probably three or four to the Asunaro teams… one for myself, one for my friends from abroad… oh, one for Inui… and one for each of the key Kamihama girls… what does that come to…?"

"I don't have enough info to add that all up," Hijiri says. "How many Mitakihara teams are you envisioning, for example?"

"There are four teams in Mitakihara," I say. "The western team with Elise-chan and the others… the southern team led by Oriko… the central team, which is Madoka and Miss Homura… and the northeast team, which means Masuyo Mari, Kohaku Koharu, and Naomi Noriko. Oh, hold on… there's also the Kazamino team, so make that five."

"Okay, so two to Hohzuku, four to Mitakihara, one to Kazamino," Hijiro says. "That's seven so far. Let's say four here in Asunaro – Miss Remi is one, Yuuri-chan and Airi-chan is two, the Pleaides Saints is three, and I'll take the fourth one to myself. That makes eleven…"

"What about Miss Sumire?" I ask.

"She didn't agree to join us, I'm afraid," Hijiri says. "She'll be staying in Asunaro."

"Oh, that's too bad…"

"Then you said one for yourself, one for your friends, one for Inui… eleven plus three makes fourteen. How many girls need them in Kamihama?"

"Um… five from Crescent Moon Villa… Miss Togame's trio… and Miss Izumi," I say. "They need one each so they can keep in contact when they split up."

"So that's nine, right?" Hijiri says. "Then we need… twenty-three in total. I'll add on a couple extra just to be on the safe side, so let's say twenty-five… maybe even thirty if I can find that many. It can't hurt to have extras, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," I agree. "Thanks… when can you have them by?"

"Well… given the quantity, I can't be certain," Hijiri says. "If you need a portion of them by tomorrow though, I could deliver them to you."

"About how many?"

"Say… half of them?"

"Okay… you did mention it was fourteen before we added the Kamihama girls," I say. "No, wait… I should probably handle the Mitakihara girls… so nine plus five… oh, that's also fourteen. Okay, then yes, half of them by tomorrow would be great. Could I also rely on you to distribute them to the girls in Hohzuki and Asunaro? As for the extras, you can bring them to the Coordinator's. We may find others who'll need them once we're there."

"Sure," Hijiri says. "I'll see you soon then."

"See you."

Disembarking from the train, I check the time. There's still plenty of time before school starts, so I head for Mami's place, hoping to run into Madoka and the others. I arrive as everyone is leaving.

"Huh? Ashley-chan?" Madoka says.

"Ah…" Sayaka says. "Um…"

"Teddy!" Nagisa exclaims.

"Good morning… huh?" I say. "I'm not a teddy…"

"Nagisa-chan, that was a bit mean," Madoka says.

"Eh? I didn't mean it like that…" Nagisa mutters.

"Anyway… what do you want, Miss Taylor?" Homura asks.

"Mostly I wanted to check that you're all okay," I say.

"As you can see, we're fine," Homura says. "Is that all?"

"Well, not all," I say. "By the way, do you guys need grief seeds?"

"Actually, I'm all out," Madoka says. "I was a little worried…"

"I have two," Homura says.

"I don't have any," Nagisa says. "Yuma-chan…"

"Yuma doesn't have any either!" Yuma pipes up.

"Nor do I," Sayaka says.

I fish out one of Alina's cubes. Madoka blinks at it.

"Huh? That's not…"

"Is that…?" Homura says.

"A witch?" Nagisa says.

"Yes, there's a witch trapped inside this cube," I say. "It's one of Alina's cast-offs, apparently."

"Alina… are you telling me she gave it to you?" Madoka asks.

"Yeah… she had something specific she wanted me to do with it, but I don't feel obligated to follow her orders," I say.

"Do you know… is it a really powerful one…?" Madoka asks. "Like the one at the heliport…"

"It's kinda hard to tell when it's in here," I say. "Since it's a cast-off though, I'd imagine it to be weaker than that witch. Although I wasn't there, so I didn't feel its power."

"I see," Madoka says. "Well… I don't much like it, but… in a certain sense I suppose it's not much different from sharing a grief seed… thank you, Ashley-chan."

"Would you like to fight it right now?" I ask. "I could even help out, if you want."

Madoka checks her phone, and also her soul gem.

"Well… as much as I'd prefer not to fight a witch this early in the morning… I think it's probably safer," Madoka says. "Because right now, we have everyone here, right? My soul gem's kinda muddy, and Sayaka-chan's is too… and Yuma-chan's as well. Nagisa-chan…"

"Mine's fine," Nagisa says. "See?"

She turns hers into gem form. It's maybe about ten percent corrupted.

"I'm fine too," Homura says. "But we don't need to do it now… if you use one of my grief seeds…"

"That's true," Madoka says. "But even so, I think it's better to act sooner rather than later."

"Alright," I say. "Are you ready?"

All of them transform, and I follow suit before squeezing the cube and bursting it open. The witch pops out, forming a barrier and sucking us in. It's an instance of Zenobia, the Sand Witch.

"Oh!" Nagisa says. "We're already in the witch's chamber!"

"That is one of the advantages of being right there when a witch first forms her barrier," I say.

"It seems to be a pretty strong one," Sayaka says.

"It's not as strong as the helipad witch though," Madoka says. "We can do this!"

Yuma slams the ground with her hammer, stunning the witch, while Sayaka leaps in to attack it directly. Nagisa blows her horn and emits some bubbles, which appear to be the basic type that just obscures the enemy's view. Madoka and Homura stay back and fire missiles at the witch. Madoka is using her leaf bow while Homura is just using a simple hand gun.

As the witch raises her hands to attack, Yuma jumps in to smack the witch with her hammer, interrupting the attack and apparently stunning the witch a second time. The witch restarts her attack, but thanks to the bubble field, only Sayaka and Yuma are in the line of fire. Sayaka dodges easily, but Yuma's a bit slow and catches the edge of the attack. A swing of her hammer repairs the damage, however, and both of them get right back to attacking.

After a couple of rounds of this, Nagisa apparently gets impatient.

«I'm going to blow it up!» she says.

«Wait a second!» Sayaka says.

«No! I don't want to!»

With a groan, Sayaka hops back as Nagisa toots her horn, releasing several larger bubbles. Yuma hops back a beat behind Sayaka, just in time as the bubbles strike Zenobia and explode. Once the explosion has died down, Madoka finishes the witch off with a carefully-aimed arrow, and Nagisa leaps in to claim the grief seed.

The witch defeated, Madoka turns to me again as she powers down.

"Thank you, Ashley-chan."

"I got the grief seed!" Nagisa announces.

"So, I was just wondering, but… is Yuma-chan even enrolled in school?" I say. "What're you planning to do all day?"

"Yuma doesn't have anything else to do," Yuma says. "So Yuma thought she'd try going to school for once."

"So you are enrolled?"

Unlike Nagisa, she's not wearing a uniform, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. While uniforms in middle school and high school are nearly universal in Japan, elementary schools are more of a mixed bag. Perhaps hers doesn't require a uniform.

"Yuma has been absent for awhile, so they might be shocked to see her," Yuma says. "Yuma did miss the start of the new term, but the classes don't change between grades five and six… they only change between grades two and three."

"Are you sure you can get there on your own though, Yuma-chan?" Madoka asks. "It's in Kazamino, right?"

"Yuma won't get lost!" Yuma says. "Yuma has been to lots of places in Mitakihara and Kazamino with Kyouko! Yuma is certain she can find her way!"

"Well, good luck," I say.

I continue on, making for Mitakihara High School, where I greet Elise, Liliane, Komachi, and Sachie before school starts.

---

April twenty-fifth. Yachiyo meets up with Momoko and Iroha as they leave school together. Yachiyo and Iroha look tired, and Iroha in particular is struggling not to yawn.

"Hey, c'mon you two," Momoko says. "How come you're so tired?"

"We had a battle already this morning," Yachiyo says.

"Yeah, it was really rough," Iroha says.

"Wait, was it the Wings of the Magius!?" Momoko gasps.

"No, it was Felicia and Miss Futaba," Yachiyo says.

"Huh?" Momoko says.

"Well… they really wanted to come with us," Iroha says. "And it took everything we had to convince them to stay behind… so yeah, that's what happened…"

"Man, that sounds like a lotta work," Momoko says. "I mean, you guys don't know for sure if they're still influenced by the brainwashing, right?"

"Right, exactly," Yachiyo says. "Though we did say we'd call them if it was necessary."

The three of them catch a train into Kosho Ward, where they get off and make their way through a shopping district.

"So who are we meeting today?" Iroha asks.

"Izumi Kanagi," Yachiyo says. "She's a magical girl."

"What's she like?" Iroha asks.

"Well, she's very powerful," Yachiyo says.

"And kinda odd, I guess?" Momoko says.

"Huh, odd?" Iroha says.

"Back in the old days when they were fighting over our territory, she'd take Yachiyo on," Momoko says. "They fought over control of Chuo Ward, located right between the east and west."

"It got really brutal back then," Yachiyo says. "But we didn't seriously want to hurt each other. That's why we started contacting each other to occasionally negotiate. But we haven't been in touch since more witches started appearing. And now here we are, trying to work together."

"Oh, speaking of Kanagi… is that her?" Momoko asks.

Sure enough, Kanagi is just ahead, waiting outside a café. She spots them and approaches.

"Ah, there you are," she says. "Nanami! It's been far too long. Oh, and Togame's here too! Just like the old days. What a treat. And…"

She looks at Iroha.

"Who are you?" she gasps.

"Oh! I'm Tamaki Iroha!"

"Nice to meet you, Tamaki-kun," Kanagi says. "Shall we go inside?"

They go inside the café, and Yachiyo summarizes the current state of affairs.

"So Yui-kun was taken," Kanagi says. "I'm sure that was tough on you, Nanami."

"It was," Yachiyo says. "And while it's our problem to handle, we did wonder… would you mind helping us get her back?"

"Oh, I'd be honoured," Kanagi says. "I'll freely offer my services every time if it's to take down the Wings of the Magius."

"That's great!" Momoko says. "Right, Miss Yachiyo?"

"It is a bit of a relief, yes," Yachiyo says.

"But you sound so eager to fight them," Momoko says. "Did they hurt you too, Miss Kanagi?"

"They've been quite the thorn in my side," Kanagi says. "They've stolen quite a few of my friends, starting with the ones in Kosho Ward. I was running out of ideas on how to tackle this issue all by myself. I'm lucky that you called me, Nanami. I'll gladly lend a hand."

"Wait, they recruited that many girls here?" Momoko says.

"Yes," Kanagi says. "In fact, most of the magical girls in the east are black or white feathers now."

"I see," Yachiyo says.

"Sorry to cut to the chase," Kanagi says. "But how exactly would you like me to assist you? I'll tell you all I know."

"Thank you," Yachiyo says. "Have you been investigating rumours by any chance, Kanagi?"

"Of course," Kanagi says. "Rumours are their greatest weakness. It would be unwise to leave them unexamined."

"Then please, tell us all you've learned," Yachiyo says.

"Of course, but why?" Kanagi asks.

Iroha takes out the map they've annotated with the locations of rumours and spreads it out on the table.

"Um, could you look at this?" she says. "It shows all the rumours we know about."

"Interesting," Kanagi says. "There is a vacant spot in Kosho Ward."

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "We wanted to add your information to the map, to check if it really forms a circle."

"If you could, we'd be grateful," Iroha says.

"Hmm… there aren't many," Kanagi says. "But I did note some. Let me check. Do the different colours mean anything?"

Iroha explains the colour coding, and Kanagi digs into her schoolbag for some felt tip markers and starts adding her own marks. She adds one or two in Chuo Ward, but the vast majority spread out into Kosho and Daito Wards. Contrary to her words, there are quite a few, almost as many as there are in the west – the eastern rumours seem to be a little more densely packed. And, as they had suspected, there is a large area around the old railway yard that is completely free of any rumours.

"Ah, incredible," Kanagi says.

"Yes, just as we thought," Yachiyo says.

"Um, Miss Kanagi?" Iroha says. "Do you think the Wings of the Magius's base might lie in the middle of this circle?"

"Excellent deduction, Tamaki-kun," Kanagi says. "I believe it should be around there, yes."

"Miss Yachiyo!" Iroha says.

"Mm, it's too early to tell if this is a location they're protecting or hiding," Yachiyo says. "But we may have caught a lead of some kind."

"Maybe that's where Tsuruno-chan is," Iroha says. "Oh, by the way, Miss Kanagi. What is in the middle of this circle?"

"My guess is it's the old railway yard," Kanagi says. "People warn their children not to go there since it's dangerous. This is perfect."

"How so?" Yachiyo asks.

"Even if I had found their base, there's no way I'd have been able to take them myself," Kanagi says. "Us joining forces is a stroke of luck. It should be no problem at all for us."

"Then we should get going!" Iroha says.

"No, we should wait," Yachiyo says.

"I agree with Nanami," Kanagi says.

"Huh?" Iroha says.

"It's generally accepted that magical girls are most active in the twilight hours," Kanagi says. "Moving now might result in us missing our chance to encounter the higher ranks."

"Exactly," Yachiyo says. "We'll need a new source of information if it turns out Tsuruno isn't there."

"Still worried we're running out of time, though," Momoko says.

"Relax, Togame," Kanagi says. "It's always better to be calm and collected."

"Yeah, you're right," Momoko says.

"Then how about we take a tea break?" Yachiyo suggests. "We can leave once we're finished."

They order drinks and snacks from the café and sip at them while discussing the plan. Kanagi gives an outline of the railway yard's structure which the others find very helpful.

"By the way, Miss Kanagi," Momoko eventually says.

"What is it, Togame?" Kanagi asks.

"You used to always be super-busy doing those part-time jobs of yours," Momoko says. "You okay?"

"Ah, a good question," Kanagi says. "I've obtained a wonderful job recently, and it suits my needs. My hourly wage is decent so I can take time off as I need it."

"So you aren't working at that deli counter anymore?" Yachiyo asks.

"No, now I work at a maid café… as a maid," Kanagi says.

"Whoa, that's way out of left field!" Momoko gasps.

"Watch it, Togame," Kanagi says. "I have my ways of making it work."

"Seriously?" Momoko says.

Kanagi clears her throat and does her best maid impression, but her normal emotionless tone of voice barely changes at all, though the baseline pitch rises a little.

"Hey there, master!" she says. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Wait… okay, fine, I'll play along," Momoko says. "I'll have a parfait."

"Yes, our parfait is our pride and joy," Kanagi says. "Come on! Eat it with wild abandon!"

"Huh?" Momoko says. "Aren't you going to serve it with love?"

"Why would I waste love on a customer?" Kanagi asks. "Plus, 980 yen's worth of love is in it already."

"Ugh, that's not what a maid says!" Momoko says.

"Um, Miss Kanagi?" Iroha interrupts.

She has been lost in thought for some time now and likely wasn't paying attention to the whole maid thing.

"Yes, Tamaki-kun?" Kanagi says.

Iroha points to an area somewhat north of the railway yard, tracing a circle that just touches St Lilliana's to the west.

"This area over here, in the mountains. Are there any rumours around there?"

"Hm?" Kanagi says. "Not that I know of."

"I see," Iroha says.

A little after that, they gather everything up and head outside. Kanagi leads the way through the streets, heading in the direction of the old railway yard.

"Miss Kanagi," Momoko says. "I know you said before that kids are told not to play in the railway yard. But are you sure there won't be any of them wandering around?"

"When the clock chimes at five o'clock, all the children return to their homes," Kanagi says. "Come nightfall, there used to be hooligans hanging around the railway yard… but I haven't seen them around ever since the Wings of the Magius showed up."

"So now's the time when they would usually gather?" Yachiyo says.

"Yes," Kanagi says.

Iroha sighs, and Kanagi looks at her.

"Tamaki-kun, you don't need to be so nervous," she says.

"Huh!?" Iroha gasps. "I-I'm really not nervous, though…"

"Be on your guard," Yachiyo says. "She'll use her unique power to peek into your mind."

"Nanami!" Kanagi protests. "It's rude to frame me as some kind of mind-reading monster. I can't read thoughts from this far away and I need to be in magical girl form. So you really don't need to be nervous. We can be friends."

"R-right," Iroha says.

"We're working as a team now," Kanagi says. "It saddens me to see you look so frightened."

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about some things," Iroha says.

"Ah, I see," Kanagi says. "Apologies for jumping to conclusions. I suppose it is only natural to be a little suspicious, as we only just met. But still, Tamaki-kun."

"Y-yes?"

"It's always better to smile."

"You're right!"

"Now, let's get to it," Kanagi says. "I have friends I want to win back, too… a great deal of them…"

"You mentioned that Tsukasa-chan was taken from you," Iroha says.

"Yes, and many more followed Tsukasa-kun," Kanagi says. "Really, to manipulate people's weakness to gather followers… it's despicable. I won't forgive them."

"I won't, either," Iroha says. "For what happened at the Memory Museum and what they're doing to Tsuruno-chan…"

"You must miss Yui-kun a lot," Kanagi says.

"We do," Iroha says.

"She has a way of brightening a room just with her presence, doesn't she?" Kanagi says.

"Yeah," Iroha nods. "Yeah, you're right…"

They round a corner, and the railway yard comes into sight, though they're approaching from a different direction than I do when entering Fendt Hope.

"So here's the railway yard," Iroha says.

"They only keep the old, worn-out train cars here these days," Kanagi says.

Iroha took out her soul gem and closed her eyes to sense for magic traces.

"I don't sense anything here," she says.

"No sign of regular people or magical girls," Yachiyo says.

"Maybe we messed something up with the map?" Momoko suggests.

"So this isn't their base?" Iroha asks. "We have no time until that amusement park is due to open."

"Yeah, time's ticking away," Momoko says.

"Do you think they were on to our plan?" Yachiyo asks.

"Hmph," Kanagi says. "Not very likely, but they could be in the new railway yard."

"So they might have relocated then?" Yachiyo asks.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility," Kanagi says. "I'll go look into it myself. I know the area, so it makes more sense for me to check."

"If you wouldn't mind," Yachiyo says.

"Very well," Kanagi says. "I'll be back soon."

She heads off, and Iroha offers another idea.

"Maybe they're being cautious because we went around destroying all those rumours," she suggests.

"We did go from ward to ward quickly," Yachiyo says. "Plus we took out a number of them. It makes sense for them to be cautious."

"What do we do now?" Iroha asks.

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises, and Iroha nods.

"Yeah, we should look around here really thoroughly before we do anything else," she says.

"Yes, there's still a chance they might've found some way to hide here," Momoko says.

"Let's search as best we can," Yachiyo says.

They hop over the fence and split up, spending some time looking through every nook and cranny in the old railway yard, but of course, by this time Fendt Hope's entrance has already been moved, so they don't find anything. Perhaps there's even someone in the Wings of the Magius who's capable of scrubbing magical traces? Eventually, they meet back up by the entrance.

"They aren't here," Yachiyo says.

"Damn, we struck out again," Iroha says. "And Miss Kanagi still hasn't returned."

"I'd like to know how things are going on her end," Yachiyo says.

Suddenly Iroha transforms.

"Is that a witch!?" she gasps.

Yachiyo transforms too.

"I've never felt anything like this before," she says. "It couldn't be! Are there two witches!?"

Momoko transforms too.

"No!" she says. "There're three!"

"If witches are showing up, does that mean Miss Alina's here?" Iroha wonders.

"The flame of magic quietly burns as noisy little bugs leap into it. If you refuse to burn, at least scatter when you hear our timbre."

That voice belongs not to Alina but to Tsukuyo. They spin to see both the twins there, already powered up. There are several black feathers with them as well, and I scan them for any familiar features. I recognize Hagumu and Shigure immediately. There is also one with blonde hair and a white scarf beneath her hood, as well as white boots and red stockings. That is probably Yuzuki Hotori. And that one with pink stockings could be Kuroe. I haven't heard from her since she first introduced us to the organization, so I wonder what she's been up to all this time…

"They fell down into the depths, Tsukuyo-chan," Tsukasa says.

"Indeed they have, Tsukasa-chan," Tsukuyo says. "This is our chance to at last succeed and redeem our honour!"

"For sure!" the two of them say in unison.

"Tsukuyo-chan! Tsukasa-chan!" Iroha says.

"It seems they were given minions to command when they were sent here," Yachiyo says.

"Welcome to our death trap, where those who learn too many rumours are flushed away," Tsukasa says.

"Your fates were decided the minute you headed towards the hospital," Tsukuyo says.

"We knew you would come here right away," Tsukasa says.

"For sure!" Tsukuyo says.

"You were probably hoping to learn the location of our base," Tsukasa says. "Unfortunately, that was not the correct move."

"We will not allow you to obstruct our liberation any longer," Tsukuyo says. "Quietly follow the path to the underworld!"

"They deceived you at the Memory Museum too," Momoko says. "Those Wings of the Magius gals sure like setting traps."

"And we sure are pathetic falling for them over and over," Yachiyo says.

"Anyway, we have to defeat these witches!" Iroha says. "T-they're coming from over there!"

Iroha points back into the railway yard. Yachiyo and Momoko join her as she turns to face the approaching witch. A moment later, the labyrinth has sucked them in. From the surroundings, it appears to be Shin, which I think of as the Octopus Witch, though that's not the official title.

"Even though this isn't the base," Iroha says. "Tsukuyo-chan and Tsukasa-chan may know something. They could have information about Tsuruno-chan and the rumours."

As a familiar appears in front of her, Iroha shouts at it and fires an arrow.

"Move!"

"Iroha, you take down this witch," Yachiyo says. "Momoko and I will go after the other two. They're close enough now that the barriers have probably merged together."

"Alright!" Iroha says.

Momoko and Yachiyo run off in one direction while Iroha faces down the familiars, bombarding them with arrows and forging a way forward as fast as she can. After almost getting lost twice, she finally reaches the witch's chamber, only to find that the witch herself is incredibly strong.

"O-oh no," Iroha mutters. "Can I really beat her all by myself…?"

It takes all she has just to dodge and weave around those tentacles. She fires arrows at the witch whenever she gets a chance, but a single arrow seems to have no noticeable effect whatsoever. After a few minutes of that, she stops firing arrows, simply building up energy in her crossbow as she continues to dodge. Once it's ready, she dives underneath the witch and aims upwards as she shouts the attack.

"Strada Futuro!"

The swarm of arrows all tear through the witch, and Iroha rolls out of the way as it attempts to stab at the source of the pain. Of course, that's only the beginning, for those arrows of light then merge together above the witch and turn back, slamming down upon her from above.

But even that isn't enough to finish her off. Iroha stares for a moment in shock that the witch is still standing, then rolls out of the way of its attack and resumes dodging.

"I can't… believe… it took that… attack," she mutters.

Even so, it doesn't look like Shin is entirely unscathed, so Iroha repeats the strategy, building up energy as she dodges and unleashing her ultimate attack a second time. But it's still not enough, and this time Shin manages to stab her in the side as it flails in pain. She rolls over, doing her best to heal the wound, but thanks to that she's unable to dodge when another tentacle whips out and coils around her waist. It lifts her up into the air, as if examining her.

"N-no!" she gasps. "I won't… let you…!"

She glares at the witch, summoning all the power she can muster and sheathing her body in that magic. The light magic burns through the cloth tentacle that's grasping her, allowing her to fall to the floor. Her wound appears to be closed up too, though it looks like too much exertion might reopen it. The witch looks at its mangled tentacle, almost as if it's confused.

"I'll… take you down… now!" Iroha shouts. "Strada… Futuro!"

For the third time in the fight, she unleashes the swarm of homing arrows that constitute her ultimate attack. This time, though, they behave a little differently from usual. Instead of merging together for a final thrust, they simply weave back and forth, striking the witch over and over and over and over again. Shin tries to cut them out of the air with her tentacles, but in vain. After several seconds of that, she finally bursts, leaving Iroha to grab the grief seed, panting heavily from the effort as the barrier disintegrates.

"Iroha!" Yachiyo calls out.

"Iroha-chan!" Momoko calls out.

"Miss Yachiyo! Momoko-chan!" Iroha gasps.

Iroha applies another round of healing to her wound and purifies her soul gem as the others run up to her.

"I think that's all of them," Yachiyo says.

"I barely needed any magic against those scrubs!" Momoko says.

"Y-yeah!" Iroha says. "Now let's ask those two about Tsuruno-chan and the rumours!"

"Yes, we can tie them up and make them tell us everything!" Yachiyo says.

The twins are of course there, having waited outside the labyrinth for them to finish.

"That is not how this is going to go," Tsukuyo says.

"The main event starts now!" Tsukasa says.

"What…?" Yachiyo says.

"Flute Blossom Resonance!"

The twins chant in unison and raise their flutes to their lips. The spell takes hold, freezing them in place.

"Ahh!" Yachiyo gasps. "Just like… before…"

Momoko squeals. "What the heck!? The sound keeps echoing in my head."

"If we can defeat all of them and protect the Magius's plans," Tsukasa says. "Freedom will be ours!"

"The only thing left in our way now is Miss Tamaki," Tsukuyo says.

"I have to fight this many on my own?" Iroha says. "Well… I have to try. I can't run away!"

There are eight opponents in total, including the twins. However, the twins are kept busy maintaining the spell on Yachiyo and Momoko, so it looks like Iroha will only be facing off against the black feathers. They step forward to confront her, some of them seeming a little nervous.

"Hn, an admirable attitude," Kanagi says, stepping out from around a corner, now transformed.

"Miss Kanagi!" Iroha says. "Please help me!"

"Hmm," Kanagi says. "Sorry, Tamaki-kun."

"Huh?"

"I think I'll just watch for a bit."

"W-why!?" Iroha gasps.

The black feathers swing their chains, and the fight begins. Iroha barely manages to hold her own against them, but she's clearly overwhelmed by the numbers.

"We will be the ones to bring you to your knees!" one of the feathers exclaims.

That voice… it's definitely Kuroe's voice. Iroha blinks, perhaps also recognizing the voice.

"Huh? Are you—?"

But another black feather interrupts before she can finish her query. This time the speaker is one of the ones I don't recognize, a girl with dark green hair.

"Everyone at once!" she shouts.

Iroha squeals as all six black feathers strike at the same time with their chains.

"Iroha…" Yachiyo says. "Agh… it's just noise, but…"

"I feel like it's clinging to my ears," Momoko says. "I can't get away from it…"

"Mitsuki Felicia and Futaba Sana," Tsukuyo says. "It's a shame that the two who escaped aren't here. But capturing these three will suffice."

"For sure!" Tsukasa says.

"Seize her," the green-haired black feather says.

But that's the point when Kanagi chooses to step in.

"I see," she says. "So those are Tamaki-kun's true feelings."

She smacks the green-haired girl with her riding crop, forcing her back, and then rounds on the other feathers to give them similar treatment. Within seconds, all six are on the ground, whimpering.

"Huh, Miss Kanagi?" Iroha says.

"It seems rescuing Yui-kun was your true intention all along," Kanagi says.

"Why, Miss Kanagi!?" Tsukasa asks.

"I suspected it was a lie," Kanagi says. "But you chose the wrong person to lie to, Tsukasa-kun. I found it strange that Nanami would be after my territory with everything that's going on. So with that said, I'll have you release those two!"

She leaps at the twins, smacking them with her riding crop and forcing them to the ground as well, and sending their flutes flying.

"Ah! Our flutes!" Tsukuyo gasps.

"If you're going to try to lie to me, you had better lie from the bottom of your heart!" Kanagi says. "All your underhanded ways make me ashamed to call myself your mentor!"

Her voice isn't any louder than usual, but it's more intense.

"Thank you, Kanagi," Yachiyo says, panting a little.

"I'm really sorry about all of this, Nanami," Kanagi says. "Your intentions became clear to me after I heard that cry in Tamaki-kun's heart."

"So then…?" Iroha says.

"Yes," Kanagi says. "I will make it up to you. I, Izumi Kanagi, officially agree to work with you."

"Then, we'll take care of the black feathers," Yachiyo says.

"Ugh, o-okay!" Momoko says.

"Miss Kanagi, please take care of those two!" Iroha says.

"Yes, leave them to me!" Kanagi says.

The black feathers were only knocked down and stunned a little, so by this time most of them have regained their feet and are ready for another round. Kanagi steps forward to face the twins, while the black feathers eye the others warily for a few moments before that green-haired girl orders the attack. Yachiyo, Iroha, and Momoko hold them back easily, though.

"You have a few options," Kanagi says. "One. Suffer a swift defeat. Two. Tell us what we want to know, and get everything off your chests. Three. Humbly submit yourself to punishment by my hand and all will be forgiven. So, which will it be?"

"We choose option four!" Tsukuyo says.

"We'll defeat you along with the others for an even greater accomplishment!" Tsukasa says.

However, their big words don't pan out. They put up a decent fight, though. At the same time, the black feathers do their best against the others, but once Yachiyo knocks the belligerent green-haired girl out cold, it seems to give the others pause. That hesitation is their undoing, as it gives Momoko the opportunity to sweep in and knock them all off their feet.

"That's all of them," Yachiyo says.

"Are they okay?" Iroha asks.

"None of their wounds are fatal," Yachiyo says. "So they should be able to get back up soon."

"There really were a lot of them," Momoko says.

"Yeah," Iroha says. "Now we're just waiting on Miss Kanagi."

Iroha turns to look at Kanagi just as she lands a blow on Tsukuyo. Both the twins look pretty beaten up already.

"She looks about done too," Momoko says.

"N-not yet!" Tsukasa says, playing her flute.

"So predictable," Kanagi says, smacking the flute out of her hands. "Defeating you sisters was child's play. I thought you would've improved a bit, but the way you think is still too naïve. Let me give you a fifth option. Return to my side, and maybe I can go a little easier on you."

"We can't," Tsukasa says.

"Fine, then at least tell us Yui-kun's whereabouts. You don't have to use your mouth to tell me. Your heart will do it just as well." She closes her eyes for a moment. "Hmm, you're throwing in a lot of extra thoughts. I guess I'll have to do this by force."

"I'll never tell you!" Tsukasa exclaims. "I cannot fail again!"

"Take my life if you so desire!" Tsukuyo says. "Even if we cannot attain what we yearn for beyond all else… if other magical girls can be saved, that will be enough…"

"I see," Kanagi says. "Your determination is commendable. I'll stop now."

"You peeked enough though, right?" Momoko says.

"They clouded their thoughts, so it certainly wasn't easy," Kanagi says. "But their resistance was meaningless."

"What?" Tsukuyo says, startled.

"They don't know anything," Kanagi says. "They were nothing more than pawns ordered to wait for us here."

"No way," Iroha says.

"I did learn a few things though," Kanagi says.

"J-just what did you learn!?" Tsukuyo asks.

"I know you swapped uniforms once," Kanagi says. "But they didn't fit because of the size of your chests…"

"What!?" the twins gasp in unison.

"S-such a private matter!" Tsukuyo says. "How could you!?"

"You would be the ones to talk, you lying little villains," Kanagi says. "I'm no longer playing nice with you."

The twins gasp in unison.

"Good night," Kanagi says.

With that, she smacks them both with her riding crop and knocks them to the ground.

"Hmm," she says. "Let us return to the café."

They head back to where they first met her and pile into the same café, ordering another round of drinks. Yachiyo takes out her phone to call Sana.

"Yes, hello, Miss Futaba," she says. "Are you still at home? Come and meet us – we're currently in Kosho Ward."

"Oh! Perfect timing, Miss Yachiyo!" Sana says from the other end. "Felicia was just getting impatient… she was about to run out after you. We'll be there right away!"

"Then, I'll see you soon," Yachiyo says.

She hangs up with a sigh.

"The Magius really have the upper hand when it comes to rumours," she says.

"The minute you all headed for the hospital… they figured out our situation," Momoko says.

"Yes," Iroha says. "There's not much time left before the amusement park from the rumour opens. Tsuruno-chan might end up killing a lot of people."

"Yeah, if what Felicia and Miss Futaba said was correct," Yachiyo says.

"So we're right back to where we started," Iroha says.

"Hold on now," Kanagi says.

"Huh?"

"I couldn't mention this in front of the twins, but… I did get some information from them," Kanagi says.

"Does that mean…?" Yachiyo asks.

"Precisely," Kanagi says. "Those two didn't seem to know anything about the rumour, but… they did know Yui-kun's condition and location."

"Where is she!?" Iroha gasps. "What did they do to her!?"

"I hate to have to tell you this, but Yui-kun is still completely brainwashed," Kanagi says. "And in order to protect the rumour, she became part of it."

"A part of the rumour!?" Iroha gasps.

"What the hell does that even mean!?" Momoko asks. "Tsuruno became part of the rumour… to protect it?"

"What about her location?" Yachiyo asks.

"She's in my home ward… at Ferris Wheel Field in Daito Ward," Kanagi says. "The ruins of an old, abandoned government project."

"That's…" Iroha says.

"Damn," Momoko says. "If the amusement park rumour is Tsuruno…"

"Everyone will be killed by her," Yachiyo says.

"Then we should get going," Iroha says. "If we can destroy it before the park opens, everything should be fine, right? Miss Kanagi, will you show us the way?"

"I would be happy to, Tamaki-kun."

Momoko composes an email to Rena explaining the situation. Then they finish their drinks and head out again, Kanagi leading the way east to the river. After crossing, they turn north to follow the river.

"So, this is the way to Ferris Wheel Field?" Iroha says.

"Yes, this should be the right way," Kanagi says. "Let your friends know too."

"Okay!" Iroha says. "I'm going to call Sana-chan and Felicia-chan then."

"Yes, please do," Yachiyo says. "All things considered, I'm glad you're helping us, Kanagi. I haven't been to that ferris wheel since I was a child."

"Is that right?" Kanagi says. "I must say, this does feel somewhat weird."

"Do you feel someone's magic?" Yachiyo asks.

"No, it's not that," Kanagi says. "You were in a pretty precarious situation back there when I was testing you. But now you're all friendly with me."

"I mean, it did surprise me," Yachiyo says.

"But that's kinda what we expect from you, Miss Kanagi," Momoko says.

"Hm, I see," Kanagi says. "That's just how you see me, I guess. I'll stop being concerned over it, then."

"Well, you could be a little concerned," Momoko says.

"It's a delicate balance," Kanagi says.

Iroha takes out her phone and calls Sana, who picks up almost immediately.

"Sana-chan, where are you right now?" she asks.

"Um… we're just out of Chuo Ward," Sana replies.

"We just crossed the river into Daito Ward, heading towards Ferris Wheel Field," Iroha says. "I'll send you where to go on the map. Could you check it when you get it?"

"Yes, okay!" Sana says. "And, um, Miss Iroha…"

"What is it?"

"It seems like people are starting to move," Sana says.

"Starting to move?" Iroha says.

"People who heard the rumour are heading towards the amusement park," Sana says.

"Huh, already!?" Iroha gasps.

"Yes," Sana says. "I think we need to hurry."

"Got it!" Iroha says. "I'll let the others know!"

She hangs up and turns to the others, repeating what she just head.

"People who heard the rumour are already heading to the park!"

"What!? Already!?" Momoko gasps. "Wait. Damn, were they gonna wait there all night!? We have even less time than I thought."

"Let's hurry!" Yachiyo says.

"Yes!" Iroha says.

She pauses to send Sana the location as promised, and they continue heading north along the river. Eventually the road they're following comes to an end at a field. Here the river is joined by another river, and there's a small foot bridge spanning the river. Felicia and Sana appear from across this bridge.

"Finally caught up!" Felicia shouts.

"I'm sorry it took us so long!" Sana says.

"Felicia-chan! Sana-chan!" Iroha says. "Thank you both for coming."

"Now let's hurry and save Tsuruno!" Felicia says. "We're all better now!"

"Yes, we're feeling great!" Sana says.

Yachiyo giggles. "Everyone is here then. I'm glad you could make it. If this rumour is as important as the Amane sisters say… we're likely to have a fierce battle ahead."

Kanagi leads the way east, following the road away from the river until it curves north again.

"Just wait!" Felicia says. "I'm gonna be like wham, bang, boom!"

"Is it really that dangerous?" Sana asks.

"They probably weren't expecting me to fight alongside Nanami," Kanagi says. "So there is a possibility that the Magius will gather all their forces there."

"That would put us at a huge disadvantage," Sana says.

"If they focus all of their power on us, I don't think we stand a chance," Kanagi says. "Many of the feathers may be weak, but if many come, we may be overwhelmed."

"However, if we go now, it should be okay," Yachiyo says.

"The feathers won't have time to gather," Iroha says.

"Exactly," Yachiyo says. "They each have their own lives, plus many of the girls live out of town."

"Like Ashley Taylor," Iroha muses.

Kanagi blinks. "Have you met Taylor-kun?" she asks.

"Yeah, we ran into her yesterday," Iroha says.

"And I also ran into her a few weeks ago," Yachiyo says. "How well do you know her, Kanagi?"

"It's difficult to say," Kanagi says. "I once peered into her mind, so I can vouch for her character, but then I discovered she had joined the Wings of the Magius…"

"When did you read her mind?" Yachiyo asks, surprised.

"It was quite some time ago," Kanagi says. "Let me think… ah yes, it was just before Mel-kun died. I am certain of that, because Mel-kun also met her at the same time."

"That long ago!?" Yachiyo gasps.

"Speaking of… were you aware of the truth of what happened to Mel-chan, Miss Kanagi?" Iroha asks.

"I have my suspicions," Kanagi says. "When a magical girl suddenly goes missing, there are only so many things that could have come to pass – I am well aware of the dark secret behind the soul gems. But I don't know anything for certain."

"I never talked to anyone about it, after all," Yachiyo says.

"So to get back on topic," Momoko speaks up. "We have to go hard and fast, right? Either way, we probably only have until dawn."

"Right, that's enough about Mel and Miss Taylor," Yachiyo says. "Let's discuss who should do what. I was thinking four of us should take on Mifuyu, Touka, Alina, and the feathers. Then the other two can deal with the amusement park rumour."

"Who wants to go inside the rumour?" Momoko asks.

"Yachiyo and I can do it," Iroha says. "But I don't know how we're going to save Tsuruno-chan…"

"The only thing I can think to do is destroy the main rumour," Yachiyo says.

"Yeah," Iroha says.

"Hey, what about me!?" Felicia asks.

"A-and me!" Sana says.

"Felicia, Miss Futaba, Alina probably really resents you, huh?" Yachiyo says.

"Well," Sana says.

"I can't stand her," Felicia mutters.

"You'll have to push through it," Kanagi says. "Try your best."

"I mean, of course I'll do my best, but— wait, who are you again?" Felicia says.

"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet," Kanagi says. "Izumi Kanagi. An old friend of Nanami's… well, sort of. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, same," Felicia says. Suddenly she blinks. "Oh, that's gotta be another magical girl."

"Bingo!" Momoko says.

"We're at the field," Kanagi says.

Everyone transforms. Directly ahead is a large grassy field, empty of anything except for a large ferris wheel towards the middle that appears to be incomplete, with about a quarter slice missing from the circle. Whether it's broken or unfinished, it's hard to say.

"So Tsuruno-chan is here somewhere," Iroha says.

"I'd figured we'd find a way into the amusement park rumour once we arrived," Yachiyo says. "But the entrance seems to be somewhere else… where could it be?"

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises, startling Kanagi a bit.

"Yeah, I think so too," Iroha says. "That ferris wheel off in the distance is the only thing that stands out in this field. Since it's an amusement park rumour, the ferris wheel might be worth examining. Don't you think it looks a bit off?"

"You're right, let's go check it out," Momoko says.

But as they step out into the field, several black and white feathers stand up from where they were hiding amidst the long grass.

"Sorry," one of the white feathers says. "But we can't let you to go any further."

Based on how she holds herself, that white feather must be the leader of this group. She's not anyone I recognize. I can see hints of light brown hair peaking out from under her hood, though. Actually, I think she might be the same one who was passing on work orders to Shizuku… though it's hard to tell for sure with that robe on. For now, I'll assume it really is her… as I recall, she went by the name Fuu, though it's probably an alias.

"White feathers," Iroha says.

"Whoa, and all these black feathers," Momoko says.

There are more here than I have ever been in one place before, outside of the assembly hall – at least five white feathers and maybe around thirty black feathers. Scanning the crowd of black feathers, I recognize Shigure and Hagumu, as well as Hotori, Yukika, and Kuroe… and even Ikumi. And one of the other white feathers appears to be Sorashi, the one who was arguing with Mifuyu the other day.

"I know we were expecting them," Momoko continues. "But there sure are a lot…"

"Are they serious?" Iroha asks. "Do they even know what's going to happen to all these people who've been gathered here?"

"These girls wish so badly for freedom that they've abandoned all reason," Kanagi says. "They wouldn't know anything."

"Are you done talking?" Fuu asks. "If you're turning back, now is the time."

"Do you really think that we would turn back just because you told us to?" Kanagi asks.

"If these guys are here, the Magius have gotta be waiting for us," Momoko says.

"So that scary chick is here after all?" Felicia says.

"If they're not going to turn back," Fuu says. "Then let's get them!"

"Yes," Kuroe says.

"M-Miss Kuroe… is that you?" Iroha asks.

"I d-don't know… who you're talking about," Kuroe says. "You must have be mistaken for someone else."

"Hm, I sense a lot of familiar magic," Kanagi notes. "Miyabi-kun… Azumi-kun… it's not too late to turn back."

The two girls she addresses, Shigure and Hagumu, manage to avoid reacting to their names. Kanagi shrugs at their lack of response and turns to Momoko and the others.

"We shouldn't waste time here," she says. "A few of my old friends are probably among them too. I'll handle this."

"Are you sure?" Momoko asks.

"Someone will have to stop them either way," Kanagi says.

"Alright," Iroha says. "We'll leave this to you then!"

"Thank you, Kanagi!" Yachiyo says.

"Mhm," Kanagi says. "You can count on me."

"We won't let you get away!" another black-haired black feather shouts, one I don't recognize.

But when she leaps in to attack Yachiyo with her chain, Kanagi intercepts the blow and counters it, sending her flying back with a flick of her riding crop.

"You should listen when others speak," Kanagi says. "Did I not say I'm the one you're fighting?"

Thanks to Kanagi getting in the way, the others are able to skirt the group of feathers and make for the ferris wheel out in the middle of the field.

"The rumour's somewhere around here," Iroha muses. "I can sense it…"

"So can I," Yachiyo says. "But that's not all…"

"Touka-chan and the others are here," Iroha says.

"They'll be right in front of our eyes soon," Yachiyo says.

At that suggestion, Alina's voice drifts down from above, laughing.

"Right in front of your eyes?" she says. "Try right above your heads!"

She summons one of her green cubes and fires green beams down at them, causing everyone to flinch.

"Ugh, I know this attack," Yachiyo says.

"It's that crazy chick!" Felicia exclaims.

"Alina!" Sana gasps.

She and Touka are floating together up in the air, both of them clinging to Touka's open parasol as they drift downwards.

"So the annoying blondie is back," Alina says. "And you too, invisible girl. Even though you destroyed my work, when I brainwashed you I was able to forgive you. But then you escaped from us. I, Alina, cannot forgive that."

"And here I thought everything could end quietly for once," Touka says. "Miss mighty's work is almost done too."

As the two of them land on the ground and Touka folds up her parasol, Mifuyu steps out from the shadows of the ferris wheel to join them. She must have been watching them all this time.

"It's all my fault," she says. "I'm sorry."

"It's that lady in white," Felicia says.

Mifuyu glares at her, and Felicia gasps.

"I'm not sure how they managed to escape," Touka says. "But you were in charge when it happened, so make sure to reflect on your actions."

"Yes," Mifuyu says.

"Well, unlike those pied piper sisters, it was your first offense," Alina says. "It'd be a bit harsh to condemn you as guilty."

"Yes, you're right," Touka says. "She deserves a second chance. I'm glad that we considered the extremely low possibility that they'd find us here. Because of that, our plan to use miss mighty won't go to waste."

She giggles, beaming at them.

"So that's it," Momoko says. "You thought that we wouldn't be able to fight if you used her against us."

"Maaaaaybe?" Touka says.

"Stop this, Touka-chan!" Iroha says. "Don't make Tsuruno-chan do horrible things… please!"

"Hmm," Touka says. "Nooope! Too bad!"

"Touka-chan!"

"We need everyone to have lots of fun at the amusement park," Touka says. "So much fun that they won't want to go home. But because so many people want to enter, they'll be forced to leave… by leaving this world! You can agree that everyone's emotions are just going to explode, right!? Don't you think we're going to get sooo much energy from this!?"

She giggles again.

"You're really going to kill all those people!?" Iroha asks.

"We have to," Touka says. "Otherwise, there won't be enough energy."

"Energy for what?" Iroha asks. "This isn't right… you drag people into your schemes and brainwash them and threaten them. Even now, Tsuruno-chan is part of a rumour because of you. People like you could never make magical girls, make everyone happy!"

"Then, could you make everyone happy, Tamaki Iroha?" Touka asks.

"I don't have the answer to that," Iroha says. "But I do know what you're doing is wrong."

"Yes, we get it," Alina says. "You will never agree with us. Enough already. Now you'll have to go through us."

"Come onnn, really?" Touka complains. "I was trying to stall for time."

Alina ignores her. "Blondie and invisible girl are mine," she says.

"Bring it on!" Felicia exclaims. "I'm not afraid of you anymore!"

"I remember now," Sana says. "My promise to Ai-chan… my promise to Miss Iroha… I will stop the Wings of the Magius!"

"Hmm," Alina says. "Well, the only thing I, Alina, care about is acquiring all of your hair."

"What the hell is she saying?" Felicia asks.

"Even when we're nothing but bone, our hair remains," Alina says. "It's a symbol of eternity. It's proof of our existence. I suppose you could say it's like a human's soul. So I want to shear it all off and burn it."

"Huh!?" Felicia gasps.

"I'm saying that I would like to delete you from the face of the world, forever," Alina says, laughing.

"S-sana!" Felicia gasps. "I'm still scared of her!'

"Y-you're not alone!" Sana says. "I'm scared too!"

Felicia backs off nervously as Alina steps forward.

"What aren't you your usual wild self?" Alina taunts. "Are you getting cold feet? What kind of mercenary are you?"

"S-shut up!" Felicia says.

"Hmm," Alina says.

She grips that cube floating in her hand and fires a beam at Felicia, eliciting a squeal from her. She fires one at Sana too, but she blocks it with her shield.

"Are you okay!?" Sana asks.

"S-sorry," Felicia says.

"Hang in there, Miss Felicia!" Sana says.

"Yeah, I can't give up," Felicia says. "I have to save her… I have to save Tsuruno!"

"Yes!"

"Okay, alright!" Felicia exclaims. "I'm not scared anymore!"

"Yeah!"

"Ready to get serious?" Alina asks. "Magnificent. I, Alina, am very excited. Life is meaningless without passion after all."

"Tsuruno saved me before," Felicia says. "But… this time, I'm gonna save Tsuruno! Just like how Myoto saved Kushinsai-sensei!"

"What are you talking about?" Alina asks. "Manga? What a fool. Don't make me laugh."

While Alina is terrorizing Sana and Felicia, Touka and Iroha have also been fighting.

"Come ooooooon," Touka says. "Go home already. Stop getting in our way."

Similar to Alina, Touka attacks with laser beams, and Iroha lets out a small scream as she fails to avoid one. The only difference is that Touka's beams are bright white instead of green.

"No, we can't let you get away with this!" she says. "You want to save all the magical girls, right, Touka-chan!? Then you shouldn't be getting Tsuruno-chan involved like this! And if the black feathers knew exactly what you were planning to do… do you really think they'd be okay with it!?"

"Look, this plan to free magical girls… it can only be accomplished right now, while us three Magius members are together," Touka says irritably. "The lives of all magical girls, the amount of time we have left… this universe we live in… those are all important, right? And for a happy future, those things become even more important, right? We're trying to save all of those important things. If you weigh all that against a few thousand lives, the scale doesn't even budge. See, it's simple. Get it!?"

"No!" Iroha says.

"You dummy!" Touka shouts.

She fires off a barrage of lasers, bombarding Iroha.

"Iroha-chan!" Momoko says.

Momoko jumps in with her sword to block a fraction of the lasers.

"Are you okay!?" Momoko asks.

"I'm sorry, Momoko-chan," Iroha says.

"She's using her magic left and right," Momoko says. "Is she ever gonna run out?"

While the two fights are going on, Yachiyo and Mifuyu are essentially in a staring contest, but at this point Yachiyo glances over to see how the others are doing, and Mifuyu finally breaks the silence.

"Ya-chan, please don't look away," Mifuyu says. "I am your opponent right now."

"Move, Mifuyu!" Yachiyo says. "I'm grateful that you helped Felicia and Miss Futaba. But this is a different matter, I won't go easy on you."

"I feel the same way," Mifuyu says.

"I see," Yachiyo says. "I never imagined I would have to fight you"

"Our values are too different, so there's no other choice!" Mifuyu says.

"That's not true!" Yachiyo protests.

But Mifuyu summons her hand-held chakrams and attacks. Yachiyo raises her shield to block, then strikes back.

"Mifuyu, I know it's not your weakening magic… you're not even trying, are you?" Yachiyo mutters.

"Ya-chan, please," Mifuyu says softly.

"Mifuyu?"

"If you destroy the main rumour, Miss Tsuruno will also die," she says.

"What?"

"Please tear out the rumour that is possessing her first," Mifuyu whispers. "If you can connect with Miss Tsuruno's heart, the rumour alone should disappear."

"Mifuyu, you're—"

"But it's also being boosted by Miss Tsuruno's magic," Mifuyu continues. "Don't face her alone! Get in the ferris wheel car!"

"Thank you," Yachiyo says.

Then she takes a deep breath and strikes again, knocking Mifuyu down. Mifuyu attempts to counter, or at least looks like she's trying, but to no avail.

"Go, Ya-chan," she whispers.

"I'm sorry, Mifuyu," Yachiyo says. She sighs for a moment, then turns to the others. "Iroha, over here!"

Iroha and Momoko are still fending off Touka as before, who seems to have an unending supply of magic power.

"O-okay!" Iroha says.

Iroha moves to join Yachiyo.

"No, wait, not over there!" Touka says. "Argh!"

As Touka moves to stop her, Kanagi steps in her way. By this time, all the black and white feathers are on the ground, with the sole exception of the one with diamond-pattern stockings – Nanase Yukika. Even she seems to be injured and unable to move quickly, however.

"Sorry, you're going to let her pass," Kanagi says.

Thanks to Kanagi's intervention, Iroha and Yachiyo link up and head for the ferris wheel.

"Get out of my way!" Touka says.

"How did it go, Miss Kanagi!?" Momoko asks.

Of course, she wasn't able to pay attention to Kanagi's fight, not when she was so focused on Touka.

"They've been taken care of," Kanagi says. "But I can't say I'm enough of an opportunist to relax just yet."

"Grrr…" Touka mutters.

"Okay, now it is my turn, miss brat," Kanagi says.

"I'm not a brat," Touka says. "C'mon…" Then she giggles. "Actually, whatever. If you defeat her the wrong way, you'll just end up killing her anyway."

Although she seems to have accepted that Yachiyo and Iroha have gotten through, she doesn't back down entirely. She resumes her attacks on Kanagi and Momoko, holding them back from the ferris wheel.

Then Yachiyo and Iroha reach the ferris wheel and, as Mifuyu said, find the entrance to the rumour's barrier in the interior of the lowest car. The portal bears an emblem of a bear's head emblazoned on a jagged starburst, like a comic book effect. They step inside, entering a barrier that looks exactly like a amusement park, plus the normal rumour aesthetic of all the floating kanji and such.

"It really is like an amusement park in here," Iroha says.

"Well, we safely made it inside the rumour," Yachiyo says.

"Miss Yachiyo, how did you know it was inside the ferris wheel car?" Iroha asks.

"Mifuyu told me," Yachiyo says.

"Miss Mifuyu did!?" Iroha gasp.

"Yes, just like with Felicia and Miss Futaba," Yachiyo says. "She must not have agreed with this plan… and that's why she told me everything she knew."

"Did she tell you how to get Tsuruno-chan back to normal?" Iroha asks.

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "We'll need a considerable amount of magic to tear her away from the rumour. And with the number of people already heading this way, there's not much time. With just our magic, I think we'll only have one chance."

"Just one," Iroha says.

Both of them close their eyes for a moment, then snap them open again.

"Huh?" Iroha gasps. "Oh no!"

"I guess we really are inside of a rumour," Yachiyo says. "My mind's beginning to go all hazy."

"We have to keep focused," Iroha says. "Otherwise it'll take over our minds."

"Yes," Yachiyo says.

"Hey, Iroha-chan, shishou!"

It's Tsuruno's voice. They both spin around in surprise and see her standing there, but there's something off about her. Though she's nominally in her magical girl form, it's been turned all green and blue, her eyes have turned pink, and her skin is pale like a ghost. It's almost like the digital corruption artifacts that the rumour Anonymous fought with. Her hair ornament tying her ponytail in place has become a bear head emblem matching the rumour's portal emblem.

"Tsuruno-chan!?" Iroha gasps.

"Tsuruno?" Yachiyo gasps. "I can't believe it. You really have turned into a rumour…"

"Both of you, welcome to Chelation Land!" Tsuruno says.

Although she's cheerful as always, it lacks the energy she normally has, almost like Yura Hotaru, though not quite that extreme.

"But you shouldn't sneak in before it opens!" Tsuruno continues. "You two are always so impatient!"

"Tsuruno-chan!" Iroha says. "Listen!"

Tsuruno ignores her and continues speaking. "Ya know, this place here? It's more of a place where you can chill, rather than scream your lungs out. You can just let all your worries float away by thinking about nothing. It'll make you so happy! You guys are a special case, so you can kick back and unwind before it even opens!"

"Then that sensation back there… that was the rumour's influence," Iroha says. "If a regular person was subjected to that…"

"I don't think they'd last a day before losing all will to live," Yachiyo says.

"Tsuruno-chan!" Iroha says.

"Yup?" Tsuruno says. "What's up? Hey, you can start relaxing any time now, ya know? We're still setting up the attractions so just pull up a bench or something! I can also vouch for rolling around on the lawns!"

"No, Tsuruno-chan, that's not it!" Iroha says. "We have to get out of here, now!"

"Yes, come back home with us!" Yachiyo says.

"Nah, I'm good," Tsuruno says.

"But what about your real home?" Yachiyo asks. "Banbanzai?"

"Plus you're a member of our team, too," Iroha says.

"Nope, I'm not going," Tsuruno says. "See… this place right here? I can relax and have as much fun as I want."

"But if you stay, Tsuruno-chan, everyone is going to die!" Iroha says.

"We'll bring you back home even if we have to drag you out!" Yachiyo says.

"Yachiyo… Iroha-chan… okay, I get it… I get it," Tsuruno says.

"Thank goodness!" Iroha says. "Okay, let's go."

"You two are getting in the way of the amusement park," Tsuruno says. "You're going to ruin it."

"What…?" Iroha says.

"I can't just sit by while you do that," Tsuruno says. "Iroha-chan, shishou… I guess I'm just gonna have to force you both to behave!"

As she says that, several familiars show up. They take on the form of carousel horses, with the same bear-head emblem that's present in Tsuruno's hair and on the portal.

"So you really are a rumour," Yachiyo says.

The horses attack the pair, and they start to fight back while Tsuruno just wanders away. Iroha takes the first blow with a gasp, and wavers for a moment before recovering.

"Miss Yachiyo, look out!" Iroha says. "When it lands an attack, it makes your mind go all woozy!"

"It's not like we can avoid all its attacks while fighting it though!" Yachiyo says.

She's not exaggerating. There are too many of the horses to avoid every attack, and each time one of them is hit, they stagger and can't move at all for a moment. After taking three or four such hits, Iroha manages to back off a little.

"This isn't working, Miss Yachiyo," she says. "My mind's just too foggy to think…"

"It's really difficult to focus when your will is being eaten away like this," Yachiyo agrees.

"Hey now, you two!" Tsuruno calls. "Pipe it down! Just relax and make yourself comfortable. You don't need to think about anything!"

"Tsuruno-chan…" Iroha says.

"We can just sit and chat until the park opens," Tsuruno says.

The horses back off, but don't go away.

"Tsuruno, no," Yachiyo says.

"Oh, don't gimme that look, Yachiyo," Tsuruno says. "Ah, I know!"

She runs over to them and whips out a sheet of paper.

"Here's the menu I'm thinking of offering once the park opens," she says. "There's drinks you can order, and food too! Go ahead! I want you both to order something. Bring it on, guys!"

However, she doesn't actually wait for them to look at the menu and order. Instead she claps her hands, and two horses dance forward carrying a table between them. On the table is a hot pot and five mugs filled with various liquids. Iroha blinks at it, for the mugs are those of the Crescent Moon Villa girls.

"Ah, there we go!" Tsuruno says. "How's this!?"

"It's… my mug," Iroha says.

"Mine too," Yachiyo says. "And also… you're serving hot pot at an amusement park?"

"I mean, hot pots are like, the most relaxing food there is, right?" Tsuruno says.

Yachiyo chuckles. "That's strange. It feels just like…"

"Crescent Moon Villa, right?" Iroha finishes with a sigh. "Miss Yachiyo… there's no way we can relax now. Tsuruno-chan wants to come home, too."

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "And the people outside won't last much longer."

"So let's do this," Iroha says.

"Yes, you're right," Yachiyo says.

"We won't let you use Tsuruno to spread curses around!" they both shout in unison. "She's coming home with us!"

"N-no!" Tsuruno protests. "Stop it, both of you! That goes against the rumour!"

"Does it matter?" Yachiyo retorts. "That's what we came here to do. What are you, Tsuruno!? You're the mightiest magical girl, right!? You can't keep doing this! You'll never become truly mighty this way! You won't master any great feats!"

"If turning into a witch is what's scaring you… then we'll all think it over, together!" Iroha says. "All of us at Crescent Moon Villa will work together with you to come up with something! The Wings of the Magius can't be the only ones with the answer to happiness!"

"I won't," Tsuruno says stubbornly. "I won't go back. I won't let you get rid of it… I finally found it! Somewhere I can feel safe! Here, I can feel at ease!"

The horses jump forward, placing themselves between Tsuruno and the others.

"I won't give up on saving you Tsuruno-chan, no matter what you try!" Iroha shouts.

"We'll pull it out of you," Yachiyo says. "That horrible rumour that's taken root inside you!" She glances at Iroha. "If we can get through to her heart, the rumour should release her," she says. "That's what Mifuyu told me. Iroha, on three! Let's unleash all our magic, and pull the rumour out in one go!"

"Okay, Miss Yachiyo!" Iroha says.

The two of them start to charge up their magic.

"One… two… three… gooooooooooooooo!"

"Absolute Rain!"

"Strada Futuro!"

Spears and light rain down around them, obliterating all the familiars and beating Tsuruno to the ground. The attack throws up a cloud of steam and leaves the two of them breathing heavily.

"We pushed ourselves to the limits there," Yachiyo says.

As the mist clears, it reveals Tsuruno lying battered and beaten on the ground, unconscious, and still in rumour form.

"Tsuruno-chan… what…"

"No, it can't be," Yachiyo says. "It can't be… why? Mifuyu… Mifuyu, she said that…"

They run over and kneel beside Tsuruno to check up on her.

"Miss Yachiyo," Iroha says.

"It's okay," Yachiyo says. "Tsuruno isn't dead. But I don't think we can try the same thing again. I can't rule out the possibility that Mifuyu lied to me."

"But she helped save Felicia-chan and Sana-chan!" Iroha says.

"I know," Yachiyo says. "I want to trust her. I want to believe what she told me. But if she told the truth, then there's only one thing that could've gone wrong."

Iroha nods. "We didn't manage to get through to Tsuruno-chan's heart… her true feelings…"

"Exactly," Yachiyo says. "Which means… we don't understand what is hurting her… not in the slightest…"

At that moment, Tsuruno opens one eye, twitching a little, and sits up.

"Ow, ow, ow," she says. "I'm really gonna get mad, you guys. You guys don't need to push yourselves so hard. And you definitely don't need to drag me back home. Just leave me alone… this place is so relaxing for me… I'm happy here. I don't have to worry or get anxious. This is a utopia where I can truly be at peace."

"But Tsuruno, you—"

"Plus, I realized something just now," Tsuruno says, her face relaxing and draining of all emotion. "I don't belong at Crescent Moon Villa. I belong here."

Yachiyo gasps. "That face! She made that face last year…" She sighs. "If this is your utopia, where you can be at peace… then that day, you weren't tired… you were actually feeling relieved?"

She frowns a little, pondering something for a bit, then speaks up again.

"I got it all wrong," Yachiyo says. "Tsuruno, it's been so hard for you. I should've understood that you weren't just trying to be the mightiest. You were hurting secretly inside, while you feigned your bright smile through it all. That's how you felt, isn't it?"

"I see," Iroha says. "I didn't understand a thing about you, either. I thought it was just a given that you were so kind, ever since I met you. Then, without realizing it, I was taking that kindness for granted…"

"I did the same, even though I've known her all this time," Yachiyo says.

"This whole time… we've all been relying on Tsuruno-chan's kindness and warmth," Iroha says. "I'm so sorry, Tsuruno-chan. I relied on you far too much. Ever since I met you during the Séance Shrine rumour… up until now!"

"I didn't take the time to understand you either!" Yachiyo says. "I thought I did, but really I didn't understand a single thing! But Tsuruno, please, I want you to come back home."

"I know it's selfish," Iroha says. "But I want you to come back too, Tsuruno-chan. We might even end up relying on you like we did before… but! But this time, you can depend on us too! You don't have to bear it all alone. You don't have to be the strong one. You don't have to pretend to be happy. I promise I'll help you! So please, let's start over… you won't have to haul everyone along, support everyone, and endure it all alone. We'll all take each other by the hand and make it as a team! You kept us feeling safe, Tsuruno-chan, so now it's our turn to make you feel safe!"

"Iroha-chan… Yachiyo… thank you," Tsuruno says, starting to cry a bit. "But you can't save me anymore. I've turned into part of this rumour. Even if I think, 'I wanna go home', I think, 'I wanna stay here', at the same time. No matter how much I feel your words in my heart, Iroha-chan, Yachiyo. I have a duty to carry out as a rumour. I can't run away from it now."

More horse familiars show up around them, and Tsuruno gestures to them.

"See? No matter how sad I get about it, I just summon up more rumours…"

"Then, let's try to pull the rumour out from inside you, Tsuruno-chan!" Iroha says.

At that exact moment, one of the horses leaps forward and kicks Iroha in the stomach, eliciting a squeal from her.

"Tsuruno, stop!" Yachiyo says. "I'm the one who made you suffer so much… with Mel, and the team… I have no right to call myself a leader, I know… but I still want you to come back to us. And I want to apologize to you again."

"Thank you, shishou," Tsuruno says. "Thank you for everything. You're both so precious to me… I'll give you a proper send-off. You'll both make great fuel for the effort to save all magical girls."

"Tsuruno…" Yachiyo gasps.

"You're not getting away with that!"

Felicia suddenly shows up and shouts, accompanied by Sana.

"Right!" Sana says. "You're going to come home with us, Miss Tsuruno!"

"You two!" Yachiyo says.

"Felicia-chan! Sana-chan!" Iroha says.

"We heard the whole thing!" Felicia says.

"But weren't you with Alina!?" Yachiyo asks.

"Miss Rena and Miss Kaede are handling her now!" Sana says.

"So you guys made it…" Yachiyo says.

"Yo, Tsuruno!" Felicia shouts. "This time it's gonna be me helping you out, ya got that!?"

"You can't, Felicia!" Tsuruno moans. "Iroha-chan and shishou tried but failed. How could you save me?"

"I can!" Felicia shouts. "I can save you… I can definitely do it! I understand you, Tsuruno! And I won't get in your way anymore! So hurry up and get back here!"

Tsuruno sort of stares at her.

"What the hell?" Felicia shouts. "Say something! I get it, okay!? I won't ask you to look at my homework anymore either! I'll look over yours if that's whatcha want! Come back already, Tsuruno!"

Tsuruno chuckles weakly. "I can't."

"Yeah, you can," Felicia says. "Why would you say you can't… I'm fed up with people leaving me! I'm sick of it, ya hear me!?"

Felicia brandishes her hammer and tries to pounce on Tsuruno, but Sana stops her.

"Felicia, calm down!" Sana says.

"Don't try to stop me, Sana!" Felicia shouts. "I'm gonna go bam and snap her outta this!"

"All four of us should put our strength together," Sana says. "I'll lend you my magic too, Miss Felicia…"

Sana presses her hand against Felicia's, producing the telltale flash of a connect skill.

"Yes, if all four of us try, just maybe," Yachiyo says. "I'll give you my magic as well, Felicia."

Yachiyo seizes Felicia's other hand, producing another connect flash.

"Me too, Felicia-chan," Iroha says.

She seizes that hand from Yachiyo, producing a third flash as magic is transferred between them,

"So do it, Felicia-chan," Iroha says. "Wake Tsuruno-chan up for all of us!"

"Alright, I'll do it," Felicia says. "Just watch!"

"Miss Tsuruno!" Sana says. "Please, open your eyes!"

Felicia steps forward, brandishing her hammer again. Thanks to all the borrowed power, the hammer is now glowing in kaleidoscopic colours – blue, pink, yellow, and green are all visible.

"I got the power of four in this hammer here, and it's gonna knock sense into you!" Felicia shouts. "Just like how if we smack the TV at Banbanzai it works… I'm gonna fix you too, Tsuruno!"

"That's mean, Felicia," Tsuruno says. "But fine, go ahead. Give me a big whack, as hard as you can! This is kinda funny… it's like Myoto saving Kushinsai-sensei!"

"Yeah!" Felicia shouts. "Apprentices can save their masters too, ya know!"

Felicia swings her hammer at Tsuruno with a yell.

"You better count on us from here on out, Tsurunooooooooo!" she screams.

The hammer impacts Tsuruno with a bang and seems to sort of bounce right off.

"She's completely unharmed," Yachiyo gasps.

Then, as the horse familiars start to surround them, Iroha spots something.

"Miss Yachiyo, something's seeping out of Tsuruno-chan…"

It's like a bunch of arcane characters in bright green – not witch runes, nor kanji, but katakana, the syllabic characters typically used for foreign words. I recognize u, wa, and sa, which spell out the word for 'rumour'. As the characters seep out, the corruption-like effect on Tsuruno's outfit slowly fades away too.

Iroha and the others blink suddenly, as if they've been granted some sort of revelation. Based on what I remember of the game, they should probably be seeing some of Tsuruno's memories around now, so I guess that explains it.

"What is this…" Iroha muses.

They all fall silent for a minute or two, and then Yachiyo speaks up.

"Tsuruno, are you alright?" she asks.

"Tsuruno-chan!" Iroha says.

"Miss Tsuruno!" Sana says.

"Get up!" Felicia shouts. "Wakey-wakey!"

Felicia pounces on Tsuruno and shakes her.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Tsuruno protests. "You're shaking my head all over, Felicia!"

"Yeah!" Felicia says. "She's up!"

"I'm really sorry, everyone," Tsuruno says. "I caused a whole bunch of trouble."

"No, it's fine," Yachiyo says. "We finally learned how you were really feeling."

"Aw, geez," Tsuruno says. "This is kinda embarrassing, knowing everyone saw inside my mind. I can feel my face turning red… oh, but, we better hurry. This place opens at dawn!"

"But once we beat the main rumour…" Iroha says.

"Right!" Felicia says. "Everything'll be fine!"

"But how do we get the main rumour to come out?" Sana wonders.

"Do something that goes against the rumour?" Iroha muses.

"Ah, I don't think that will be necessary," Yachiyo says.

True to her prediction, the main rumour shows up moments later, taking on the form of a ferris wheel. Like everything else related to the rumour, it has that bear's head emblem, this time in the centre where all the spokes intersect. Each of the ferris wheel cars looks almost like a strange, alien eye, with eyelids that meet in the centre as they blink at random. Whenever the lids are open, gears are visible within the car.

"We're trying to take Tsuruno, who is part of the rumour, away from it," Yachiyo says. "It won't let that happen without a fight."

"You sure had your fun with the mightiest magical girl, Yui Tsuruno, huh!" Tsuruno shouts. "Now it's my turn to pay you back for everything you diiiii—" She blinks. "W-whoa, wait, where'd my power go?"

The ferris wheel sort of roars and rolls up to her, opening one of the cars like a claw and grabbing her, then rotating until she's way up in the air..

"Whoa!" Tsuruno gasps.

"Tsuruno-chan!" Iroha says.

"Hey, it grabbed her!" Felicia shouts. "Why the heck's she so drained all of a sudden!?"

"Well, Miss Yachiyo and I did attack her with everything we had…" Iroha says.

"I'm fine, really everyone!" Tsuruno shouts from way up in the air. "I can take this rumour on by myself! No biggie!"

"She's back to saying the same stuff she always does," Sana says.

"We told ya to count on us, ya dummy!" Felicia shouts.

"Right…" Tsuruno says. "Okay then! Everyone please save me!"

"Right!" Iroha says. "All of us are coming to save you!"

"Yes, we'll take out this rumour and then get out of here!" Yachiyo says.

A short but fierce battle follows. Sana locks the rumour in place with her chains, and Felicia smacks it over and over with her hammer. Yachiyo methodically stabs each car one by one, mangling them beyond recognition, and Iroha backs her up with her arrows. Of course, the rumour fights back, too. It emits a pink sparkly mist that makes them drowsy for a few seconds, but it only slows them down a bit. It also fires lasers from the bear emblem in the centre, but the attack is well-telegraphed and Sana usually manages to get her shield up in time to block them.

Finally, the rumour crumbles, and Tsuruno yelps as the support keeping her up in the air vanishes.

"I'm falling!" she squeals.

Felicia races over, holding her hands out as she gazes up. A few moments later, Tsuruno lands directly in her arms.

"Gotcha!"

The impact knocks Felicia to the ground as well with gasp.

"Y-you're heavy!"

"Hey, rude!" Tsuruno complains.

"It's over… right?" Sana says.

"Yeah, now all that's left is for the labyrinth to disappear," Iroha says.

"Hey, guys," Tsuruno says. "I'm really sorry about all that. It must've been a huge pain in the butt."

"What are you apologizing for?" Yachiyo says. "I'm the one who needs to say sorry."

"But I got myself brainwashed, and ditched the team," Tsuruno says. "I was even about to murder a whole bunch of people…"

"But, for better or worse, we ended up learning about your real feelings, Tsuruno," Yachiyo says. "I think that was a good thing. And I also got the chance to re-evaluate myself."

"It was a strange way to go about it, but I'm glad I got to know you better, Tsuruno-chan," Iroha says. "Besides, it's all the Magius's fault that things took this turn."

"Yeah," Tsuruno says.

"The five of us are going to keep supporting each other as we move forward," Iroha says. "I also want us to think about the fate we're tied to as magical girls… becoming witches. And I want us to come up with a way to do something about it, as a team. We'll think of a better answer than the one the Wings of the Magius found…"

"Yes," Yachiyo says.

"You betcha," Tsuruno says.

"Alright, now let's do that thing!" Felicia says.

"What thing?" Sana asks.

"That thing where we stack our hands up!" Felicia says. "Like before a big sports game, ya know!?"

"Oh, that would make it feel like a reunion!" Tsuruno says.

"Right!?" Felicia says.

"Alright, everyone!" Tsuruno says. "Hands in!"

They all huddle up and stretch out their dominant hands.

"Iroha-chan, you start us off!" Tsuruno says.

"Me!?" Iroha gasps.

"You're the leader, right?" Tsuruno says.

"W-well I am but…"

"Yep, yep!" Tsuruno says.

"O-okay then!" Iroha says. "Team Crescent Moon Villa! L-let's, uhhh… let's do thiiiiiis!"

"Woohoooooooo!" Tsuruno shouts, and the others all join in.

At that moment, the labyrinth finally collapses, just as Touka is responding to something Momoko or Kanagi said.

"Hmph. What happened with miss mighty remains to be—"

"No need to worry!" Tsuruno exclaims. "I'm only at about twenty percent of my good mood, but my willpower's always maxed out! The mightiest magical girl, Yui Tsuruno, is back in action!"

Touka gasps, and Iroha steps forward to face her.

"All the people who were drawn in by the rumour are safe, Touka-chan," she says.

"I can see that," Touka says, pouting a little. "It makes my blood boil. I'm in such a foul mood, you know. I want to use all the energy we did gather to tear you apart into atoms. But I won't! Because then we'd have to wait even longer to free everyone."

"You had better put a stop to the way you're doing things," Yachiyo says.

"Yes, Touka-chan, please stop it now," Iroha says.

"If you don't like our methods, then stay out of our way!" Touka shouts. She sighs. "If it had gone how we planned, we'd be done. All of us Magius could be celebrating our victory together."

"All of the Magius?" Iroha says. "Wait, does that mean that the last one is here?"

As if in answer to her question, the voice of a rumour spreader reaches them, spouting the full text of the Rumour of Chelation Land. As it comes to an end, someone sighs from up above.

"Rumour dear, that rumour has already disappeared."

"Ah, but that's okaaay!" the rumour spreader repeats.

"That voice just now," Yachiyo says. "It sounded like those familiar-like things."

"And…" Iroha says.

"Oh Nemu, you're here," Touka says. "Is it alright for you to be up and about already?"

Iroha hesitantly turns around and casts her gaze upward, spotting Nemu and a rumour spreader sitting atop the incomplete ferris wheel. Nemu is in her magical girl form, with the academic hat and black cape. Her soul gem, at the base of the tassel on her hat, is at least eighty percent corrupted.

"It'd be a lie to say I am completely fine," Nemu says. "But I came to see the celebrations. And yet it seems I only came to see how everything went horribly wrong. It's shocking to learn that yet another one of my creations has been destroyed."

She and the rumour spreader hop down and land softly in the long grass at the ferris wheel's base.

"Nemu…chan…?" Iroha says.

"Greetings to you, Tamaki Iroha," Nemu says. "My name is Hiiragi Nemu. You've been pursuing me for some time now, I hear. I'm sorry to meet under such circumstances. I essentially have to use some of my life force in order to create a rumour, so… it exerts stress upon my body, such that I can hardly move. Thus we had yet to meet."

"No… then the final Magius is Nemu-chan," Iroha says. "So you don't remember me, or Ui."

"It's as Touka already described to you," Nemu says. "Your memories are quite the paradox, and are at odds to our own. But leaving that aside for now… I believe you have destroyed countless worlds that I granted physical form. Words cannot describe the fury and regret that lie festering within my breast."

"You mean you made every rumour here?" Yachiyo asks.

"Correct," Nemu says. "I am the creator."

"Nemu-chan was one of the Magius," Iroha muses. "She created the rumours."

Touka and Alina step over to flank Nemu.

"They're all so mean," Touka pouts. "We don't have much time, plus she's cutting away her life force. And yet you just keep getting in the way!"

"Enough of this already," Alina says. "If you were to ask me, Alina, there should be no need to hold back anymore. We can free all of them by crushing them."

"We planned to have all the necessary energy secured by now, but alas," Nemu says. "If operating secretly will not work, and working in broad daylight is no use… then we have no other option but to do this as we please—"

Suddenly she gasps, hunching over as if in pain, and her knees buckle.

"Nemu!" Touka gasps, catching her. "Your soul gem is nowhere near stable! You need to rest!"

"I needed to at least introduce myself to Tamaki Iroha after all this time," Nemu says.

"Nemu-chan… are you alright?" Iroha asks.

"This is our problem, not yours, Tamaki Iroha!" Touka says. "Please shut it."

"I am well enough," Nemu says. "I just got slightly dizzy, that's all."

"Nemu-chan," Iroha says.

"What is it, Tamaki Iroha?" Nemu asks.

"I know about the rumours you created," Iroha says.

"And what do you mean by that?" Nemu asks. "Did you read it in the veteran's files?"

"No, I didn't," Iroha says. "You thought up the rumours in the hospital, didn't you? It was you, Touka-chan, and Ui too."

"Yeah, there's something wrong with you, Tamaki Iroha," Touka says.

"There really is," Nemu says. "I'm afraid your memories are incorrect. Or rather, I should say they're made up. The rumours are my own personal works. There exists no evidence to disprove that fact."

"Iroha-chan," Tsuruno says. "Is what you just said true?"

"Yes, I remember all three of them making the rumours together," Iroha says.

"So it's another case of losing memories of Ui-chan?" Momoko says.

"How strange," Kanagi says.

"The only strange thing here is Tamaki Iroha herself," Touka retorts. "Why would you believe her inane ramblings?"

"We're her friends," Yachiyo says.

"Yeah!" Felicia says. "That's what friends do, we look out for each other! Support each other and stuff!"

"Right," Sana says. "We believe Miss Iroha. And… I also believe Ai-chan, when she said she knew about Ui-chan…"

"Hmm," Touka says. "Your way of thinking seems rather pedestrian. So unremarkable. Well, whatever."

"Plus, I have evidence that she exists!" Iroha says.

She whips out her phone to call up the photo of Ui that I sent her.

"Look! That's her!"

Nemu and Touka glance at the photo.

"And? What of it?" Touka says. "That proves nothing about those memories of yours. There's no proof that girl even is your little sister."

"She is!" Iroha says. "I'd know her anywhere! And this photo was taken inside your base!"

Touka blinks. "Impossible," she says. "We don't have anyone like that in the Wings of the Magius. We don't, right, Mifuyu?"

Mifuyu steps over to look, and Iroha shows her the photo. She shakes her head.

"I haven't seen her anywhere," Mifuyu says. "If she were a member, I think I would know about it…"

"She looks like she's imprisoned somewhere," Iroha says. "You're sure you haven't seen her?"

"I'm sorry… I really haven't," Mifuyu says.

"How would you even get a photo inside our base, anyway?" Touka asks. "When you don't even know where it is."

"W-well, that's… that's something I think I shouldn't say," Iroha says. "But I'm sure she's in there somewhere…"

"Let us discuss something more productive," Nemu says.

"Then you want to compromise again?" Alina asks.

"No, I don't want to compromise with them," Nemu says. "I want us to understand one another. If we can achieve that much, we should be able to avoid unnecessary fighting. We can at least share our knowledge about freedom and the method we chose to obtain it. It shouldn't hurt to share that much with them."

"Well, alright," Touka says. "So, let's ignore the weird memories and fake photo for now. I'll tell you how we, the Magius, plan to achieve our goals. Then perhaps you'll approve of what we've been doing up until now."

"I don't think that's likely, but we'll hear what you have to say," Yachiyo says.

"Our goal is to liberate all magical girls," Touka says. "To free them from the curse of becoming witches. But then, you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Yes, we were aware of that," Yachiyo says.

"The foundation for this freedom has already been laid here in Kamihama," Touka says. "There's no sign of that little pest Kyuubey, and no-one turns into witches, right? That's already a dream come true, don't you think? Now, as long as your soul gem stays intact, you have nothing to worry about. So what I want to do is share this gift with the rest of the world."

"So you want to make it so no-one in the world turns into witches?" Yachiyo asks. "Just like in Kamihama?"

"That's correct!" Touka says.

"I understand your goal," Yachiyo says. "But that doesn't explain anything."

"Yeah!" Tsuruno says. "Where's the part where you explain why you gotta use witches and rumours?"

"Don't rush me!" Touka says. "Now, where was I… ah, yes. The reason we use the witches and rumours is because we need energy. The people of Kamihama feel joy and sorrow from the effects of the rumours. That in turn produces energy. It is also produced whenever witches grow in strength, and when magical girls become witches. We use that energy to help us liberate everyone."

"Understand?" Alina chimes in. "We use the energy we collect to stimulate our masterpiece, Embryo Eve, to hatch."

"Then, if all three of the Magius are present at the moment Embryo Eve hatches, we can spark a miracle originating here in Kamihama that will eventually span the world," Nemu says. "This miracle would bring an end to the old era and earn us our independence."

"Yes!" Touka says. "Humanity could cut its umbilical cord to Kyuubey, and prove itself to the universe. And if we succeed, I could learn all the galaxy's secrets. Secrets which might have taken eons upon eons to learn otherwise."

"And I need not be satisfied with just Kamihama," Nemu says. "I can use the world as my parchment and make all manner of stories come to life."

"I, Alina, will have my artwork live on as an eternal testament to life itself," Alina says. "Then, I'll abandon my very soul to the pursuit of art on a universal scale!"

"Of course, all the magical girls will be happier than happy to be saved, as well," Touka says.

"Prove ourselves to the universe?" Momoko says. "That's a drastic leap, there."

"And what's this Embryo Eve thing?" Rena asks.

"C-could it be… t-that terrible thing we saw in the basement…?" Sana wonders.

"This is giving me a headache," Rena mutters.

Felicia blinks and stares at them, her mouth open just a little.

"Felicia-chan's stopped functioning altogether," Kaede says.

Yachiyo sighs. "I have all sorts of questions, but I'll only ask the one that matters," she says.

"Which is?" Touka says.

"Why did you use humans to achieve these noble goals of yours?"

"Oh, did I not mention that part?" Touka asks. "We should use people who matter less than magical girls first, right? There's always a degree of risk involved in these matters, so you do what you can."

"I should have asked you that from the start," Yachiyo says.

"Iroha-chan," Tsuruno says.

"Even if I ignore all my memories of you," Iroha says. "Even if you were the same Touka-chan and Nemu-chan whom I loved so much… I can't agree with what you're doing. Even if you thought this through carefully… even if you really want to save everyone… there are some things you just shouldn't do. Would you be just as fine with killing all these people if they were your own family?"

"Mmmm… hmph!" Touka says. "Do you all agree with her?"

Everyone nods – the Crescent Moon Villa team, the Momoko trio, and Kanagi.

"Well, fine," Touka says. "Guess it was a waste of all of our time to explain it. Come on Nemu, Alina! That settles it, we're not going to play nice anymore."

"You're quite right," Nemu says. "I will endeavour to eliminate all rumours so they will not be used against us."

"Weren't you protecting them?" Yachiyo asks.

"Their role is virtually over," Nemu says. "We are already close to our goal. I look forward to making history in the coming days."

"Bye-bye!" Alina says.

"Oh, Mifuyu, do take care of the feathers for us, would you?" Touka says.

Mifuyu nods, and the three Magius turn around and head northwest, towards the river. Once they're gone, Mifuyu powers down, and everyone else follows her example.

"Let's head back, everyone," she says.

Those who were still conscious nod and voice confirmation, and then start to help the ones who aren't conscious.

"Mifuyu," Yachiyo says.

"Ya-chan?" Mifuyu says.

They stare at each other for almost a minute, and then Mifuyu sighs.

"Sorry, girls," she says. "Please go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."

"Understood…"

The white and black feathers nod, most of them heading southwest, also towards the river yet in the almost the opposite direction the Magius went. Once they're all out of sight, Yachiyo finally speaks her mind.

"Thank you for what you did," she says. "It was because of you that my friends are all okay."

"I need to thank you too," Iroha says.

"I just felt like it, that was all," Mifuyu says. "If you don't have anything else to say, I'll be on my way."

"Come on now," Yachiyo says. "Why don't you just come back with us?"

Mifuyu sighs. "I recognize… their methods are… well, problematic to say the least," she says. "But all I want from the future is a world without witches. Plus, I have a responsibility of my own. All the black feathers and white feathers I led into this mess… I can't just leave them behind. They're counting on me to make their dreams come true. I'm sorry."

As she turns to leave, Iroha calls out her name.

"Miss Mifuyu!"

"Yes, what is it, Miss Tamaki?" Mifuyu asks.

"Um, about the photo… you really haven't seen anything about it?" she says. "It was sent to me by a white feather…"

"Is that so?" Mifuyu says. "I have a couple of guesses as to who that might be…? Ah, but don't tell me who. It's probably better if I don't know. Did she mention where she saw that girl?"

"Only that it was inside your base somewhere," Iroha says. "It looks like she's imprisoned in glass or crystal or something, doesn't it?"

"There's not a lot at the base that could match that description," Mifuyu says. "The only thing that comes to mind… but no, if she were there, I'm sure I would have seen her… I'm sorry, Miss Tamaki. There really isn't anything I can do to help you find your lost little sister. Please excuse me."

With that, she turns and follows everyone else to the northwest. Yachiyo sighs.

"We're finally back together," Iroha says. "But everything feels so gloomy…"

"Yes…" Sana says.

"Hell no!" Felicia says. "I feel amazing!"

"I'm in a great mood too!" Tsuruno says. "At the very least, we know now that Mifuyu's still her same old self!"

"That is the one small relief, yes," Yachiyo says, sighing. "Shall we head back?"

"Yes, let's," Iroha says. "Thanks for showing up to help us, Rena-chan and Kaede-chan. You really came through when we needed to save Tsuruno-chan."

"You don't need to thank us for that," Rena says. "All this helped Kaede get back to normal, anyway."

"But still, at least let me treat you to something," Iroha says. "Would you accept that?"

"I-I guess that'd be fine," Rena says.

"I've always wanted to try making my own granola," Kaede says.

"Oh, that could be fun," Iroha says. "Something hands-on that you can make yourself."

"Hey, Kaede!" Rena protests. "Don't just decide it on your own!"

"Hey now, guys," Momoko says. "Don't cause a ruckus just after things settled down!"

"Nanami, Tamaki-kun," Kanagi says.

"Miss Kanagi?" Iroha says.

"The Magius are sure to be quite agitated now," Kanagi says. "You can never be certain what a wild beast will resort to when it's cornered. We ought to have another meeting soon."

"Yes, I agree," Yachiyo says. "Though I wouldn't call them wild beasts. More like crazed geniuses."

"All humans are animals, you know," Kanagi says. "I'll contact you later."

"Alright," Yachiyo says. "I owe you one for this."

"In that case, you should come visit me at the café sometime," Kanagi says. "I'll wait on you hand and foot, master."

With that parting remark, delivered in a perfect monotone, she turns and heads southeast out of the field.

"Alright then," Yachiyo says. "Time to head home."

"Yes, let's go back home to Crescent Moon Villa," Iroha says.

"It hasn't been that long since we left, but it feels like we've been gone for ages," Sana says.

"Yeah, it hasn't been long at all, but I sure do miss the place!" Tsuruno says.

"Ugh, I'm sooo hungry," Felicia complains.

"We can't rest just yet," Yachiyo says. "We should summarize what we learned from the Magius while it's fresh in our minds."

"Good idea," Iroha says.

"Ugh, more talk that makes no sense?" Felicia complains.

By the time they arrive back to Crescent Moon Villa, catching the first train of the morning across the city, the sun has risen. They settle down in the living room to discuss everything.

"So, you think you may have seen Embryo Eve in the basement of their base, Sana-chan?" Iroha asks.

"Y-yes, it seems possible," Sana says. "It looked a lot like a witch… but it wasn't moving… Miss Taylor thought it might be someone's doppel, but she didn't seem to know for sure either…"

"It was creepy as hell!" Felicia says.

"I don't even remember anything like that," Tsuruno says. "All I remember is that the place we were had a western-style feel to it. I do remember that there was a basement… I was only down there for a few minutes though. I never saw anything like a witch down there…"

"Right, but we were shown down there by Ashley Taylor," Sana says. "I turned invisible, and Miss Taylor led the way… and when we got back, I searched the room we were kept in, but I didn't find anything of interest… I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize," Iroha says. "There wasn't much you could do, and knowing about the basement seems like it should help a lot."

"Hmm, but it's strange, isn't it?" Tsuruno says. "In order to hatch Eve, they're protecting and raising witches?"

"They probably feed them to Eve, right?" Felicia suggests.

"They've surprised us time and time again," Yachiyo says. "Even if I wanted to deny it, I can't say that's not a possibility."

"I can't even imagine that," Iroha says. "I mean, what even is Eve? A witch… a doppel… something else entirely…?"

"Indeed," Yachiyo says. "We also don't know for sure that the thing in the basement is Eve. For now, let's just continue to summarize what we know. In order to free magical girls from the curse of becoming witches, the Magius are raising something called Embryo Eve. By hatching Eve, the phenomenon that prevents magical girls in Kamihama from becoming witches will spread worldwide. However, hatching Eve requires an immense amount of energy, so they're using witches and rumours in Kamihama to get it. In other words, Kamihama is… an incubator for Eve, which can free magical girls. That about sums it up, right?"

"My brain's telling me the same thing!" Tsuruno says. "When I was brainwashed, I didn't think much of it. But now that I'm putting everything together, it just doesn't add up!"

"You mean what the Magius are doing to achieve the happy future they envision?" Yachiyo says.

"Right," Tsuruno says. "Because they're using witches to create a world with no witches."

"There'll still be curses all over!" Felicia says. "Gah, I'm sick of those twerps! Let's go bash their faces in already!"

"It's not that simple," Sana says.

"No, she's right," Yachiyo says. "Touka said, 'We're not going to play nice anymore'… in which case, we have no choice but to stop them. Their arrogant plan for freedom requires too many sacrifices."

"You're right," Iroha says. "And… I'm not sure, but maybe we should talk to Ashley Taylor a bit more… she seems to know more than most of the feathers… she even took that photo…"

Suddenly Sana's stomach grumbles loudly, and she gasps.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry!"

Yachiyo giggles. "Why are you apologizing?" she asks. "Of course you're hungry. Especially after all the worrying and fighting and talking we've been doing."

"Well, we never went to sleep, but it doesn't matter, let's make some breakfast!" Iroha says.

"Sounds good," Yachiyo says.

"Finally!" Felicia exclaims. "Time to eat!"

Iroha giggles as she heads for the kitchen to see what's available.

"Hey, Iroha-chan," Tsuruno says.

"What is it, Tsuruno-chan?" Iroha asks.

"You know how I was part of the rumour?" Tsuruno says. "I think we should tell the Mitakihara girls about that. I'm not totally sure, but I think Mami might be going through the same thing."

"I think you're right," Yachiyo says. "I felt the same strange shift in Miss Tomoe's magic as I did with yours. But unlike you, who became part of a rumour… I think Miss Tomoe is one hundred percent entwined with it. Her current magic is likely beyond the level of the magic you were given."

"Okay," Iroha says. "I'll let Madoka-chan know."

She gets to work on cooking, and Yachiyo joins her. Between them they whip up a miso soup with pork. Once it's ready, Sana approaches Iroha with a question.

"Also, um…"

"Hmm?"

"Should we give them to her now?" Sana asks. "Before we eat?"

"Good idea," Iroha says. "Since we're finally all together. Let's do it."

"Okay!"

So, once everything is set out on the table, and they're all seated around the table, ready to eat, Iroha brings it up.

"There's something we wanted to do first, Miss Yachiyo," she says. "Isn't that right, Tsuruno-chan? Felicia-chan? Right?"

"Oh?" Tsuruno says. "Whoa, the time has finally come!"

"Freaking finally!" Felicia says.

"W-wait, what's going on?" Yachiyo asks. "Everyone else knows?"

"Bring them over, Sana-chan!" Iroha says.

"W-what?" Yachiyo says. "Bring what over?"

Sana jumps up to fetch the coasters and hands them over to Yachiyo.

"Um… here you go," she says.

"Are these… coasters?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yes, we went shopping together and bought them for you," Iroha says.

"We actually wanted to give them to you awhile ago," Sana says.

"Cherry blossoms…?" Yachiyo says.

"That's right!" Felicia says. "The five of us together are a team!"

"It's proof that we're Team Crescent Moon Villa!" Tsuruno says.

"I can't believe you went and bought these," Yachiyo says. "Thank you so much. Let's start using them right now. Since you were kind enough to buy them."

"Yeah!" Iroha says.

Yachiyo unwraps the coasters and hands them out – the pink one to Iroha, the orange one to Tsuruno, the green one to Sana, and the purple one to Felicia, keeping the blue one for herself.

"Well, this may be forward of me," Tsuruno says. "But as the mightiest magical girl, Yui Tsuruno, I'd like to say—"

"Cheers!" Felicia shouts.

"Whaaaa!?" Tsuruno protests.

Iroha giggles. "Cheers!" Suddenly she blinks. "Huh…?"

"What's wrong, Iroha?" Yachiyo asks.

"Oh, it's nothing," Iroha says. "I just… started to remember something…"

---

I'm interrupted by Hiyori calling me down for breakfast, so I get up and join them downstairs.

«By the way, how are you guys doing for grief seeds?» I ask.

«Oh, about that!» Komachi replies. «The mountain finally spawned more wraiths, so we got a ton more cubes.»

Well, that's sort of good news. I think that means it takes about a month for spent cubes to respawn in that place? Maybe it would be faster in a place people frequent, but of course that has its own issues. For starters, witches would probably eat them before they had a chance to spawn, and even if they didn't, it would be dangerous if they spawned when people were around. At least this confirms that infinitely recycling grief cubes is possible, if not very efficient. Well… I guess it doesn't confirm that it's infinitely possible. Maybe they'd wear out or something eventually. But it's close enough for now.

«So the six of you are all good then?» I ask.

«Yeah, we could even spare a few for you, if you want,» Komachi says.

«Sure, one or two extra grief cubes would be nice to have,» I say.

«Also, Miss Hijiri stopped by last night,» Hiyori says. «We were going to tell you, but she said not to disturb you and just left that box with us… what's inside it?»

Hiyori points to a box sitting just outside, in the hallway.

«Oh, those are communicators for the day after tomorrow,» I say. «Make sure you take one as well. I'll hand them out to the others here in town, but the rest in that box are going to the girls of Kamihama. Kanna-chi will be handing them out to girls in Asunaro and Hohzuki, too.»

«I see,» Hiyori says. «Got it… we'll make sure to take one!»

After breakfast is over and we've gathered all the things needed for school, I extract one of the communicators from the box and examine it. It seems to be easier to use than I was anticipating – I don't have to select a frequency, but instead just turn a dial that switches between forty different channels. There's also a push to talk button, and a power switch. In other words, they're much like a walky-talky. Currently, they're switched off. I set the one I took out to channel twenty-five and do the same with three more, which I stow in my bag. Why twenty-five? No real reason… I just have a feeling that most people would tend to use the lower channels, so I've picked something around the middle.

«Make sure you set the channel on the one you're using to channel twenty-five,» I say, transmitting to Hiyori and Komachi.

«Understood,» Komachi says. «I might as well do it right now…»

She grabs one, setting it to channel twenty-five before stowing it in her bag. Then we slip on our shoes, and as promised, Komachi hands me two grief cubes once we've left the house and are on our way to school.

---

After school, I decide to head south to visit Oriko. Using my clairvoyance to ascertain her location, I meet up with her at a park not far from her school. She's with her team – Kirika and the Asako sisters. This is actually the first time I've met either of them in this timeline, which of course means that Koito has no idea who I am. She looks at me curiously.

"Good afternoon, Miss Taylor," Oriko says. "I had a feeling you might come by."

"Well, after you gave such sparse information in your message… how could I not?" I say.

"There is little else for me to say," Oriko says. "The vision I saw concluded in the defeat of Walpurgisnacht, but not without some losses."

"Um… about how many?" I ask.

"I am sorry," Oriko says. "I did not count all the magical girls who appeared to be killed, nor did I have a means to verify that they were in fact dead. I did see Miss Kaname and a magical girl in white fall."

"That's not good," I say. "Any idea how to avert Madoka's death? And the magical girl in white… who could that be…?"

"If it helps, she bore a crossed staff and fought with beams of light," Oriko says.

"Oh… Kazumi-chan?" I say. "That seems the most likely match… but any idea how to avert those deaths?"

Oriko shakes her head. "Unless merely knowing of the possibility is sufficient. I have not had another vision of Walpurgisnacht since then, so I cannot be certain."

Hmm… well, certainly there's no guarantee that what Oriko sees will come to pass exactly how she saw it. It's a bit too early to be concerned just because she saw Madoka die. I'm sure we can still prevent it.

"So, um… you're a friend of Miss Mikuni, I gather," Koito says. "I'm Asako Koito! It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Ashley Taylor. Nice to meet you, Miss Koito," I say. "I hope you don't mind me calling you that… it would be confusing if I called you Miss Asako, right?"

"Yeah, it… wait, have you met onee-san already?"

"Just barely," Komaki says. "I wouldn't say we know each other or nothing."

"What she said," I say. "We ran into each other briefly about a month or two ago."

"So, didja just come by to yap about Walpurgisnacht?" Komaki says. "Cause we gotta chase down some witches, so if you're quite done with the chatter…"

"Actually, there is one more reason I came," I say. "You'd like to take down a witch, right?"

"Well, not like I got a choice," Komaki says. "I need grief seeds, and I can't just let them go hurting people, now can I?"

I take out one of Alina's green cubes.

"There is a witch trapped inside this cube," I say. "I'll let you have the grief seed if you can kill it for me… I can help out too, if needed."

Komaki blinks at it. "Huh? You nuts? Trapping a witch…?"

"Don't pin it all on me," I say. "It was someone else who trapped it…"

"Either way, if we can get a grief seed, it sounds like a good enough deal, right?" Koito says.

"I have been gathering grief seeds in Kamihama whenever I can," Oriko says. "But even with that, I would say we are barely scraping by…"

"This is a Kamihama witch, so it might be a bit on the tough side," I say. "But that's why I offered to help out if you need it."

"Well… we gotta kill witches one way or another, so this works out, in a weird way," Komaki says. "Sure… I guess I'm down with it."

"Yeah, I think we should accept the offer," Koito says.

"Very well," Oriko says. "Do you have a means of releasing the witch?"

"Yeah… get ready to fight," I say.

I transform, and the four of them follow my example. Koito's uniform is the same one I saw the last two times, with the feathery headdress, so I guess her wish must have been somehow similar again. The only thing I don't understand is how that's possible when Komaki hasn't died and Oriko isn't going on a rampage.

"Okay… here I go," I say.

I squeeze the cube, and the witch pops out. This one appears to be another instance of Shin, which I like to think of as the Octopus Witch, though her official title is the Babysitter Witch. I also sort of think of Oshiti as an octopus, and really, both of them do have a vague resemblance in their structure.

"Alright, do your thing, Koito," Komaki says.

"This witch… she'll attack with those tentacles and attempt to bind us to her," Koito says. "She sees anything that moves as a baby that needs to be cared for… so we could distract her by throwing things."

"Oh… impressive," I say. "What power was that…?"

"I can read the witch's mind," Koito says. "A witch's mind isn't very complex, so it's easy to read… people are much trickier."

As I suspected, she has the same powers as she did in the timeline where Oriko self-destructed. That time, she wished to understand Oriko's actions and motivations. I suppose if her wish in this timeline was to understand something else, that could explain her powers being so similar.

"Hmm… if I'm not mistaken, we conveniently have two light magic users here, and two dark magic users," I say. "Have any of you learned how to connect?"

"Connect…?" Koito says.

"It's a way of combining your powers with another magical girl," I say.

"Huh… that's possible?" Koito says.

"We ain't got time to discuss that now," Komaki says. "The witch is attacking."

I summon Teddy Mk II and have it throw itself at the witch as a distraction. Just as Koito predicted, it works like a charm – the witch chases Teddy and seemingly forgets about us.

"You were saying, Miss Komaki?"

"Ugh, that's cheating," she mutters.

"I only applied the information that your little sister kindly obtained," I retort. "Kirika, Miss Oriko, can either of you connect?"

"Although I am aware of the ability, I have not managed to pull it off before," Oriko says. "However…"

"It's actually pretty easy!" Kirika says. "Who should I connect with, huh?"

"I'd like you to connect with me," I say.

"Okey-dokey!" Kirika says.

She hops over to me and slaps my hand, transferring magic to me, and I summon a trio of Teddy Drones, firing all three of them at once at the witch. Almost instantly it turns on me and attacks with its tentacles – that's probably Kirika's provocation magic at work. I desummon and resummon Teddy Mk II to use as a shield, because that's faster than getting it to fly back over to me.

"Okay!" I say. "Now bring her down while she's focused on me!"

"Well, guess I'd better not hold back then," Komaki says.

As she leaps into the air, Oriko and Koito take up opposing positions and fire upon the witch with laser beams. They stop once Komaki enters the line of fire, at which point Kirika also slips in to join her, slashing the witch to pieces.

After a few seconds, the witch stops attempting to entangle me and turns upon the pair that are attacking her – the taunt must have worn off. But Komaki and Kirika hop back, and Koito emits a swarm of feathers to obscure the witch's view while Oriko unleashes another barrage of lasers. I join in the attack too, with my Teddy Drones.

The witch spins to face me again, lashing out with its tentacles, and as I block them with Teddy Mk II, Komaki and Kirika charge it from behind, slashing it up even more. This time, the witch seems to react in pain, letting out a long, keening wail. So, I draw my sword, leap off of Teddy Mk II's head, and stab right down into the witch from the air. That seems to be the blow needed to finish her off, for she disintegrates into a cloud of dust, leaving behind a grief seed which I grab and offer to Komaki as the labyrinth collapses.

"Well, weird as this was, it was helpful," Komaki says, accepting it. "So I guess I gotta thank you."

"Yes, thank you very much, Miss Taylor!" Koito says.

"Thank you very much," Oriko says.

Seeing Oriko's look, even Kirika chimes in.

"Thanks."

"It's no problem," I say. "Now then, that was all I came by for, so if you'll excuse me, I still have more errands to run today."

"Very well," Oriko says. "I will see you at the battle in two days."

"Oh, right, about that," I say.

I take out one of the communicators that Hijiri gave me and hand it to Oriko.

"You should have one of these for that day, because I'm expecting a power and cellular outage," I say. "I'm going to use channel twenty-five for communications."

Oriko nods. "Yes, that will be very helpful," she says.

"You're really expecting a cellular outage?" Koito says. "That's almost unheard of these days… there's so many cellular towers everywhere that pretty much every inch of the surface is within range of at least three…"

"Yeah, it's an exceptional circumstance," I say. "See you later."

With that, I head even further south, crossing the border into Kazamino. After searching for about half an hour, I finally happen upon Lina's team as they emerge from the labyrinth of a defeated witch. She blinks on seeing me.

"Huh? Did you need something else, Miss Ashley?" she asks. "We already agreed to join you in battle the day after tomorrow…"

"I just needed to drop something off," I say. "I'm expecting a cellular outage on that day, so we need an alternate means of communication. Therefore, I've procured one of these for each team."

I take out one of the communicators and hand it to her.

"Oh… I see," Lina says.

"W-wait a second!" Mio pipes up. "You really think there would be a cellular outage…!? How on earth… how could that possibly happen!?"

"All the cellular towers across Kamihama will be shut down on that day," I say. "It's actually part of the plan – they'll be repurposed to broadcast a signal that will attract Walpurgisnacht… but that means they won't be able to relay cellular signals. So, as I said, an alternate means of communication is needed so we can coordinate our battle across the city."

"Um… isn't it a witch we're fighting?" Futaba says. "We'll be in a labyrinth, right…?"

"No… that's not the case," Mai says. "Walpurgisnacht is an unusual witch. From what I've heard, it doesn't hide inside a labyrinth. Its very presence disturbs the air, bringing typhoons and other natural disasters wherever it goes."

"And its arrival is preceded by the carnival," I say. "A procession of mostly-docile familiars that do nothing but march straight forward. They won't hurt you unless you get in the way or try to attack, so under normal circumstances you'd just ignore them and go after the witch herself. Unfortunately… Kamihama is currently filled with witches, many of whom are quite strong. If they're able to feed on Walpurgisnacht's familiars, there's no telling how much stronger they might become. Therefore, until the witch herself makes landfall, we'll need to spread out across the waterfront and take down as many familiars as possible. That's why we need the communicators."

Lina nods. "I understand your reasoning," she says. "Although, the idea that you'd actually find a way to summon her is… I'm not sure whether to call you reckless or genius. Still… if the end result is her death… I suppose it all works out. We will see you again the day after tomorrow."

As they walk off, I pause to compose an email to my next destination. Once it's sent, I head northeast across town, continuing until I arrive at Noriko's place. When I ring the doorbell, she opens it almost immediately and invites me in.

«Hello!» she says. «You caught me at a good time… I was actually eating a proper dinner for once, because I have a shoot tomorrow.»

She leads me to the sitting room, where we both take a seat on couches, facing each other.

"Oh… you'll be free the next day, right?" I say.

«Yes… is this about Walpurgisnacht? Miss Oriko emailed me about it… I'll be there with Mari-chan, Mari-kun, and Koha-chan. But… what brings you here now?»

"I have two things to take care of," I say. "First of all, I wanted to give you a communicator for the battle. I'm expecting a power and cellular outage, so we need an alternate means of communication."

I hand her one of the radio units that Hijiri left me.

«Are you serious? That's crazy, if it's really true… how would there be a cellular outage?»

"Well, if someone hacks into the cellular towers so they stop relaying signals… anyway, the second thing was about your power. You can create labyrinths, much like a witch can, right?"

«Yes… though it's a bit different from a witch's labyrinth,» Noriko says.

I take out the final cube that Alina gave me, and Noriko gasps.

«Huuuh!? That… that's… there's a witch… trapped inside that tiny cube!?»

"Huh? Wait, you can tell just by looking at it?" I say.

«It's faint, but I can sense it,» Noriko says. «The witch's magic, from that cube.»

"Well, you're correct," I say. "This was created by another magical girl capable of manifesting a labyrinth, like you can. I wondered if you might be able to do something similar – trapping a witch in order to transport it."

«Hmm… well, I don't think that's a labyrinth,» Noriko says. «It's some kind of barrier, right? A witch has no substance, so you can squeeze her even into such a small space. But I don't think I could do that… I can't create barriers.»

"I see… that's too bad," I say.

«Oh, but, you didn't say it had to be barriers, right?» Noriko says,

"Huh?"

«If you just want to be able to trap and transport a witch… I think I could do that much,» Noriko says. «I've experimented a lot with my labyrinth, you know. I can move it while it's active, seal off all the exits, even step out of it without dispelling it. I can move it from within or without. So, if I wanted to transport a witch for some reason, all I'd need to do is trap it in the labyrinth, step out, seal the exits, and then move the labyrinth.»

"Oh, I see," I say. "In other words, you really can do what I'm looking for. That's good to know… though I won't have need of your services anytime soon, but it's still nice to know that's available."

«I do have one question, though,» Noriko says. «Why would you even want to transport a witch…? I know I said I could do it, but… I can't agree to it without knowing your reasons.»

"Actually, although I talked about witches this entire time, I'd been thinking of transporting something a bit different," I say. "Have you heard of… rumours? Or as I sometimes call them, rumour witches… they're a distinct type of magical being, different from a witch or a magical girl."

«Mari-chan or Mari-kun might've mentioned them,» Noriko says. «You'd want to transport one of those things…?»

"Hmm, how should I put this," I muse. "Let's just say I'm curious what Kyuubey would think of them… but Kyuubey can't enter Kamihama, so to show one off, I'd have to somehow transport it."

«Well… if they're similar enough to witches, I should be able to do that,» Noriko says, nodding. «Just… let me know, if you ever need it…»

"Alright, the third reason for my visit was to let you have this," I say.

«Huh? You mean the witch…?»

"Yes," I say. "You can kill it and get a grief seed. It may be a little on the strong side, so I'd recommend fighting it with all four of you."

«But wait… is it even possible to just free it without the help of the magical girl who trapped it?» Noriko asks.

"Yes," I say. "If you just squeeze the cube with the intent of opening it, the barrier will pop and the witch will come out."

«I see,» Noriko says. «Okay… I'll let the others know, then. Um… thank you.»

"It's no problem at all," I say. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow."

«Yes… I hope it goes well.»

"Me too."

I leave Noriko's house and head back towards the city centre, heading for Mami's place this time. When I arrive, however, I find the only ones there are the two kids. Yuma seems like she's been crying, while Nagisa looks vaguely annoyed.

"Oh, it's you," Nagisa says when she answers the door. "Did you do something to the others?"

"Why would I do that?" I ask. "Is Madoka missing…?"

"They said they'd be back right after school!" Yuma wails. "Yuma waited and waited, and they never came!"

"Well, they could've just gotten held up by a witch," I point out.

"I already tried to tell her that," Nagisa says testily. "She wouldn't listen… hey, actually… can't you use your magic to find them?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I suppose I can."

I use my clairvoyance to see where Madoka is. She's with Homura and Sayaka, wandering through what looks like an infinite hall of mirrors. It looks like they're lost in Alina's labyrinth.

"Well, I found them," I say. "They're safe. But I'm afraid I'm unable to identify their location."

"Will they be okay!?" Yuma asks.

"Well… they seem fine for now," I say. "I think they're trapped in Alina's labyrinth, so if you wanted to search for traces of her magic, maybe you'd be able to find them that way… but there's no need to hurry. Their soul gems are all clean."

"Yuma doesn't know what Alina's magic feels like," Yuma says.

"I'm not sure how well I could recognize it either," Nagisa says. "I guess we could try searching a little… but… they have all the grief seeds, so…"

"Oh… I could lend you one if that's the only problem," I say.

"No! I don't want to owe you again!" Nagisa says. "And it's not like we need one urgently right now…"

"Well, fine," I say. "Either way, even if you can't find them, I'm sure Miss Sakura will be able to when she returns."

"Do you think Kyouko will return!?" Yuma asks. "When? When!?"

"Well… I can't be certain when," I say. "Maybe tomorrow? That's really just a guess though…"

"Oh… what if that's too late…?" Yuma asks.

"Like I said, their soul gems are clean," I say. "I think they should be able to last a day or two, easy."

"I see," Nagisa says. "Then we should just look for witches like usual… and if we're lucky, maybe we'll find Alina's labyrinth."

"Sounds good to me," I say. "But before you go, I have something I wanted to give all of you."

Nagisa frowns. "What is it? I said I don't want to owe you anything."

"Well, this is technically for Madoka and Miss Homura, not you," I say. "I'd give it to them directly, but as you've said, they don't seem to be around right now, so I'd like you to pass it on when you see them next."

"Oh… I suppose I can do that much," Nagisa says reluctantly. "So? What is it?"

I take out one of the communicators and hand it over.

"This will help us keep in touch the day after tomorrow," I say.

"Oh, that Walpurgisnacht thing," Nagisa says.

"So they've told you already?" I say. "Yeah, that's it."

Nagisa takes it and sets it down on a table in the living room.

"Don't forget to tell them about it," I say.

"There's no way I'd forget that," Nagisa says. "Well then… Yuma-chan, come on. We need a grief seed if we want to even try to search for them."

"R-right," Yuma says. "Yuma will come too… wait for me!"

I follow the two of them outside. Nagisa locks the door behind her, and we leave the apartment complex together.

"I guess I'll see you the day after tomorrow," Nagisa says. "Bye."

And with that, we both go our separate ways. I've done everything I needed to do, so I'm headed back to the Hayashi house. I'm almost back when my phone pings, indicating I've received an email, but I decide to wait until I'm inside to read it. As I arrive at the house, I can hear the muted sound of a harp from within.

"Welcome back, Ashley-chan!" Hiyori greets me as I step inside.

"I'm back," I say. "Everything okay? Are Miss Sachie and Elise-chan still fighting?"

Hiyori giggles as I enter the living room, where she has her harp out for practice.

"They never stop!" she says. "We've all gotten used to it by now…"

"Well, don't let me disturb your practice," I say.

I take a seat in a corner and pull out my phone, while Hiyori starts to play her harp. She's playing Magia, the closing theme song of the original anime… though I can't exactly call it playing. It's practice, after all – she stops and starts, restarts, plays a single passage over and over, and so forth.

The message I received a short while ago is apparently from Mifuyu.

[Hello… I'm sending this message to all feathers. The Magius would like an interview tomorrow with every feather, one-on-one. The time for your interview is indicated below. Please be sure to attend. If you miss the interview, they may consider it a betrayal. I'm afraid there's not much room for me to reschedule interviews, but you're welcome to swap with another feather if the specified time is bad for you.]

The time given is ten after five, tomorrow. Looks like we're finally at the interview… but it shouldn't be a problem. Even if I do botch it somehow, I already know the way to avoid being zombified.

---

Magical Girl Corner

Whenever a new magical girl is introduced, I'll include a brief profile of her here. Some details may be redacted, or contain minor spoilers. You have been warned! The numeric ranking values are on a scale of 1 to 10.

Miyabi Shigure
宮尾時雨

Age: 13
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Green
Origins: Kosho Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Yellow four-pointed starburst
Soul Gem: Amber lozenge-shaped gemstone at her throat
Element: Forest
Weapon: Slingshot
Powers: Combat insight, anti-magic, mental defence
Wish: "I want to ensure that my mother won't get caught up with any bad people or schemes."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 3
Magical Stamina: 4
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 8
Initial Power Usability: 3
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Azumi Hagumu
安積はぐむ

Age: 15
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Brown
Origins: Daito Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Red butterfly
Soul Gem: Circular red gemstone at her throat
Element: Fire
Weapon: Sword
Powers: Anti-curse, purifying flames
Wish: "Erase the witch that's controlling this person!"
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 7
Defensive Power: 2
Initial Power Usability: 11
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

---

So in addition to resolving the Chelation Land arc, we have Ashley setting up things in the background for the final battle. Next time, you'll find out whether or not Oriko's prediction comes true… but I'm not sure if that'll be next week or the week after. There's some interdependency between the next few chapters, and I want to make sure that they're all fully drafted out before I start getting ready to post one.

It's probably incorrect for Kanagi to refer to Mel as "Mel-kun" – her usual pattern suggests the proper form would be either "Anna-kun" or "Anna". But given that Iroha recognizes the name, I thought it seemed less confusing for both of them to use the given name. It's hard to say whether Iroha even knows Mel's surname.

I've started updating the profile sections for characters to include the Japanese spelling of their name (ie, the kanji and such), where appropriate, and will include this information in future profiles from now on. So far, I've updated profiles up to chapter 40. Characters with non-Japanese names (such as Ashley, Elise, Alina, Irina, etc) will not include a Japanese spelling.