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.

81. The Hidden Rumour

Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Rumour of the Eternal Sakura Tree.
In a field so wide and broad
that everyone could run around it at once,
and everyone could sit comfortably to watch the blossoms,
there stood a grand sakura tree.
One day, three little girls taken into hospital care
will get healthy enough to leave the hospital and go there.
There they'll reunite with the last girl,
who always came to visit them.
And when that happens,
the huge tree will burst into full bloom
to celebrate the four girls' reunion.
How heartwarming!

---

Standing in front of Homura's place, I knock on the door, but there's no answer.

"You weren't actually expecting her to answer, now were you?" Inui says.

"Well… given what happened…" I say. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting much. However…"

I switch to telepathy.

«Miss Homura, if you don't open up this door, I'm going to break it down, okay? I'll give you a count of five. One… two… three… four…»

Suddenly Homura yanks the door open and glares at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" she shouts. "Can't you leave a girl to mourn!?"

"What are you talking about?" I ask. "There's no time to mourn. Sure, we may have failed this time, but we can't just give up. If we want to ensure success next time, we need to go around and try to determine what went wrong."

"That's impossible," Homura said flatly.

"It's not," I say. "All you have to do is talk to everyone. I won't make you say anything if you really don't want to… but you should at least come along to listen. That said, there are details I'd like to hear from you as well."

Homura sighs. "Well… I suppose you have a point," she mutters. "Fine… I'll come."

"Excellent!" I say. "Well then… we've got plenty of time before we're supposed to meet Miss Tomoe, so what shall we do? We could talk to some people in Mitakihara first or something."

"I couldn't care less," Homura retorts. "Do whatever you want."

"Hmm," Inui says. "I think Miss Miki's a little shell-shocked right now… and we literally left the Pierrot twins five minutes ago… Tamu-chan said she'd be doing something with her friends… but we could have a chat with Oriko though?"

"Sounds good," I say. "Let's go, then."

So we head for Oriko's place.

"Oh my," she says as she opens the door. "I was wondering what was taking you so long… I suppose Miss Homura was dragging her feet, am I right?"

"Shut up," Homura says.

"So you want my view on the events of the other day, correct?" Oriko says. "Although, I am afraid I have little to tell you. As you know, I arrived at the Coordinator's before you did, and then I helped to hold back the familiars once Walpurgisnacht began to draw near."

"I see, so nothing unusual happened, I guess," I say. "That's still good to know, though…"

"I will say one thing, however," Oriko says. "That woman… she never appeared in any of my predictions."

"Huh… interesting," I say. "Not very useful, but interesting… do you by any chance have other useful information for me? Maybe you've seen some new predictions?"

Oriko nods. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have…" She closes her eyes for a moment. "Hmm… I see a girl in pale green with a lotus crown. I sense that she will be important in cementing the automatic purification system."

"Ohh, Miss Satori," I say. "I actually ran into her yesterday, too… can you believe she was out and about during that weather? As an ordinary human?"

"That is indeed… quite the feat," Oriko says. "Also… I believe you may have an interesting encounter upon your return to Mitakihara tonight… but I will not spoil the surprise."

An interesting encounter…? I decide to let that slide, since I'm sure I'll find out soon enough anyway.

"But anyway, it's not all that useful, but thanks for the information nonetheless."

"It is my pleasure," Oriko says. "And, Miss Akemi… though it is a good thing for the safety of the world as a whole, I am nonetheless saddened by your loss."

"O-okay…" Homura mutters.

"Ah yes, come to think of it, you too suffered a loss," I say.

"Indeed," Oriko says. "It saddens me greatly that I will never have tea with her again. Truly, I never quite understood how much I relied on her until she was gone… but I will not keep you on her account. I am sure you have much to do before you turn back time again in a couple of days."

"You're right about that," I say.

We leave Oriko's place and head for Mami's apartment, where we find her and Nagisa waiting, together with some surprise extras – Kyouko and Yuma.

"Oh, you actually managed to convince her to come?" I say. "I was thinking I'd have to make do with just you, Miss Tomoe…"

"Miss Sakura is easy to convince if you know how," Mami says, smiling.

I blink. "Ohhhh, I get it… you offered to cook for her, didn't you?"

"Shut up," Kyouko retorts. "I'm not that easy a mark…"

"Indeed, it is not quite as simple as that," Mami says, smiling. "But enough of that… let us be off. Nagisa-chan, Yuma-chan, what will you do?"

"I don't want to go," Nagisa says. "I want to play video games."

"Well, in that case, I'll leave you in charge of the house while I'm gone," Mami says.

"Actually, while I'm here, I have something for you, Nagisa-chan," I say.

Nagisa blinks at me. "I don't want it… whatever it is, I don't want it."

"Oh, don't be like that," I say. "It's not a gift, really. Just think of it as something I forgot."

I take out my sword and set it down on the coffee table. Nagisa blinks, staring at it.

"…what are you doing?" she asks.

"I won't be needing this anymore," I say. "It's more compatible with your magic than that of Miss Tomoe or Miss Miki, so I'm going to let you have it. If you don't want it, you can give it to someone else with darkness magic. Ask Miss Naomi or Pernelle if you need help finding someone who qualifies."

"Darkness magic…?" Nagisa says. "Is my magic like that? It doesn't feel like darkness…"

I shrug. "I don't know how or why, but it's certainly of the darkness element," I say. "Miss Tomoe and Yuma-chan have forest magic, Miss Sakura is fire, and Miss Miki is water."

"Huh. No wonder they snap at each other all the time," Nagisa says.

"We do not!" Kyouko protests.

"Do too!" Nagisa says.

"And what'll you do, Yuma-chan?" Mami asks as Kyouko and Yuma start going back and forth.

"Um… Yuma will stay with Nagisa," Yuma says. "Yuma wants to see this… vi… vidjy game… for herself."

That slip-up is enough to distract Nagisa from the pointless back-and-forth.

"It's video game," she says primly. "Video game. Vi-de-o game."

"Yeah!" Yuma says. "Yuma wants to see it! So Yuma will stay here!"

"Alright then," Mami says. "Let's get going."

We turn and head for the station to catch a train to Kamihama, where I make my way to Crescent Moon Villa and knock on the door. It's opened by an uncharacteristically sullen Tsuruno.

"Ah… it's you," she says. "I guess you can come in…"

She ushers the five of us into the living area, where the occupants of the villa have been joined by the Momoko trio. From the dishes on the low table, it would appear that they just finished breakfast not too long ago, although the numbers suggest that the Momoko trio wasn't there for breakfast. The Tamaki sisters are sitting on one couch, Ui leaning on Iroha's shoulder, and Felicia is flopped down with her head on Iroha's lap. Iroha strokes Felicia's hair a little as she looks up at the new arrivals. Kaede and Rena flank Momoko on the other couch, while Yachiyo and Tsuruno have apparently been sitting on the floor.

"Miss Taylor," Yachiyo says. "I didn't expect you to stop by here first… and you're quite early as well…"

"Well, I suddenly realized I didn't know the way to Miss Tatsuki's dojo," I say. "I tried googling her name, but that didn't help. I'm sure if I'd remembered the name of the dojo I would've been able to find it, but…"

"I see," Yachiyo says. "Well, we can certainly show you the way… but why so early?"

"Well, there was one thing I wanted to say to just you," I say. "That is, the people here… or mostly Miss Nanami. May we take a seat?"

"Ah, yes, I'll fetch some more cushions," Yachiyo says, getting to her feet.

She disappears into the next room for a moment and returns with a few cushions, which she sets out on the ground for us to sit on. I take a seat on one of them and look around at the table. Inui and Homura also sit down. Mami and Kyouko remain standing.

"I'm also a little surprised to see you with Miss Akemi," Yachiyo says. "Were you that close with her…?"

"Well, I'll get into that when everyone's together later," I say. "But basically she's the reason I'm able to be here at all."

"And Miss Sakura and Miss Tomoe too?"

"I'm not that close with them… they're just here for the meeting."

"So… what was it you wanted to say to us?" Yachiyo asks.

I take out the Mirror Witch's grief seed and set it on the table in front of me.

"Think of this as a peace offering of sorts," I say. "It's the Mirror Witch's grief seed that I took from you earlier. I can't take it, or anything else, where I'll be going next… so I'll leave it in your care."

"I see," Yachiyo says. "Would you be willing to share what you had intended to do with it?"

I nod. "I intended to let it hatch near my home in California, in the hopes that it would form a conduit connecting Kamihama and Santa Cruz together – much like how it linked the Mirror Mansion to Swindler's Road. If it worked, it would've allowed me to come here at a moment's notice whenever I wanted to, even after my exchange period ends. That's why it had to be the Mirror Witch's grief seed, not any other grief seed… but there's no need for that anymore."

Yachiyo blinks. "That's a surprisingly dangerous declaration," she says. "What would you do about all the people it lures in?"

"I would've kept an eye on it, of course," I say. "If it tried to lure anyone in, I would save them. But… the impression I get of the Mirror Witch is that it's only interested in luring magical girls in. Of course, I can't guarantee its offshoot would be the same in that respect…"

"I don't like it," Iroha mutters. "It's a lot like what Alina and Touka-chan were doing, isn't it? Using witches that kill people…"

"You could say that," I say. "But I don't think what they were doing with witches wasn't all that bad… at least at first. It's like keeping a caged tiger… it can't kill anyone if there's no-one within reach to kill. It's certainly not the first time humanity has attempted to tame dangerous beings. When I first joined, they were essentially treating the witches like livestock… simply a source of grief seeds, kept in captivity."

"B-but… they used to be people!" Iroha exclaims. "To treat them like… like livestock…"

"You have half a point," I say. "But… they used to be people. They aren't people anymore… even if they somehow came back to life, they won't remember their time as a witch."

"How would you know that?" Iroha asks.

"Because I've spoken to several magical girls who've come back to life," I reply. "After all, a wish can do anything, right?"

Iroha blinks. "Ohhh… I see what you mean… but I still don't like it…"

"Fine," I say. "I acknowledge that you don't like it."

"So that was the only reason you're so early?" Yachiyo says.

"Well, those two reasons, yes," I say. "Oh, and I overestimated how long it would take to wake Miss Akemi."

"Well, you're not that early," Momoko speaks up. "We were just getting ready to head out ourselves, actually. If you were about ten minutes later, you would've missed us."

"Oh, there's no chance of that," I say. "If I saw you leaving the house, I would've met up with you along the way instead."

"Oh… your clairvoyance," Yachiyo says. "That really is a surprisingly useful power…"

"Yeah, let's head out," Iroha says. "Oh, but we can't all go, right? Someone needs to stay here…"

"I kind of need you all there," I say. "You split up at one point yesterday, right? I can't follow that many people at once with my clairvoyance."

"Um, what about me?" Ui speaks up. "I wasn't there, right? I was trapped inside that crystal the whole time… so it would be okay if I stay here, right?"

"Ah, you're right," I say. "But is that really okay with you?"

"It's fine!" Ui says. "Onee-chan can just tell me all about it when she gets back, right? And someone needs to stay behind, in case, um… you know… in case they wake up… and I can take care of the dishes for you as well."

She looks at Iroha, who nods.

"Yeah, that'll work," she says. "Alright then… let's go!"

Everyone except Ui gets up, and we head to the station together. Yachiyo leads the way. After several stops we get off and follow her to a traditional Japanese building, where she raps on the door. It slides open to reveal Tatsuki Asuka in a yukata.

"You're here!" she says. "Miss Tokiwa's already here too! Who else are we waiting for?"

"Um… I think there was… Miss Izumi… Miss Yakumo… and the Hinata twins?" I say. "Oh, is Miss Miyako coming?"

"I think she said she'd stop by," Asuka says. "But I don't really remember too clearly…"

"Well, we can start without her," I say. "But Miss Izumi at least is essential, so we'll have to wait until she gets here."

We head inside to find that a great number of cushions have been placed on the floor. Everyone picks a cushion and settles down. Felicia even grabs two cushions and flops down on her back. As Asuka said a moment ago, Nanaka is already there, sipping from a cup of tea. All of her teammates are present too – Kako, Akira, and Meiyui.

"Actually, if it's okay, there's another thing I'd like to discuss at this meeting," Iroha says. "That is, if there's time… we could reschedule it if necessary…"

"Wouldn't you want Miss Makino and Miss Midori for that though?" I ask.

"Well… yes, I was talking about it with them," Iroha says. "But I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I bring it up at this meeting…"

"Well, I think it's likely there won't be time," I say.

"But if there is, I do not mind covering another topic," Nanaka says. "It could be interesting."

"Um… wait a second," Iroha says. "How did you know what I wanted to talk about, Miss Taylor…?"

"If I answered that question now I'd probably have to explain myself all over again once everyone's here," I say. "So please, be patient."

"Alright," Iroha says.

There's another rap on the door, and Asuka leaps up to answer it. It's Miyako Hinano.

"I came as promised," Hinano says.

She enters the dojo and finds a seat on a cushion before speaking up again.

"So what's going on, exactly?"

"I don't believe we've formally introduced ourselves, have we?" I say. "My name is Ashley Taylor."

"I think you're right," Hinano says. "We did meet when Miss Nanami and Miss Tamaki were fighting that rumour though, if you remember? And of course, I saw you at the battle yesterday… anyway, I'm Miyako Hinano, although something tells me you already knew that…"

"Yes," I say. "You're one of the veterans of Kamihama, right?"

"I suppose you could say that," Hinano says. "Though I'm curious, who else do you count as veterans?"

"Well, the cut-off is pretty arbitrary," I say. "But at minimum… Miss Nanami, Miss Mifuyu, Miss Izumi, and you. Oh, and also Irina Kusch would have counted too. She died in yesterday's battle, though…"

"Irina Kusch…?" Hinano says. "That's strange… I've never heard of her. How long has she been around?"

"Four years, apparently," I say. "Well, that was the definition Miss Nemu used to decide who's a veteran, but personally, I think anyone who's been at this for over a year would qualify."

"So that would mean I'm a veteran…?" Momoko says. "Geez, I don't feel like one…"

"Me too!" Asuka says. "It's really been such a long time, hasn't it? Time sure flies by…"

"That would make me a veteran too," Meiyui muses. "It really does not feel like I have been at this for three whole years…"

"So, you're saying that this Irina Kusch managed to fight witches for four years without ever running into me?" Hinano says.

"I guess so," I say. "She lived in Hokuyo Ward and only came out at night, so maybe that's why? Oh, and I think she said her first two years were spent in another city."

"Most magical girls go out at night, so that's not really a reason," Hinano says.

"No, I don't mean it like that," I say. "I mean she literally only came out at night. You'd never spot her during the day. She slept through it."

"Seriously!?" Iroha says. "H-how did she go to school?"

"She had a special arrangement," I say. "Because she literally couldn't stay up during the day, the school allowed her to take her lessons in the evening."

"Huh… that's some amazing school," Iroha says. "Which one was it?"

"The same school Miss Satomi attends," I say. "St Lilliana's Academy."

"Oh, that's even more surprising," Iroha says.

There's another rap on the door. This time when Asuka slides the door open, three people step in. I blink in surprise. It's the Hinata twins, back in separate bodies once more, easily distinguished by their hairstyles. With them is Hijiri, who gives me a wave.

"Oh, I didn't know you were coming, Kanna-chi!" I say.

"Well, I ran across these two in Asunaro, so I figured I may as well drop in," Hijiri says. "They also needed some help finding the place… so it's probably a good thing I came."

I guess they must have been in Asunaro to retrieve Kagari's body.

"You really are two people…" Nanaka says. "I almost did not believe it…"

"Of course we are," Kagari retorts.

Two more people step in behind them – Mitama and Kanagi.

"My, my," Mitama says. "There sure are a lot of people here…"

"Perfect," I say. "Now that everyone's here, let's get started. As promised, I've come to tell you the truth, and ask for information."

"Truth…?" Kako says. "About… what?"

"You… were a member of the Wings of the Magius, weren't you?" Iroha says. "Is there something else that Touka-chan hasn't told us…?"

I shake my head. "It's not about them, though it does concern why I joined them in the first place," I say. "Miss Homura and I have redone the past month and a half over and over and over again. However… the Wings of the Magius are an anomalous existence. I joined them to figure out what was going on there… to infiltrate them and determine if perhaps they might find a way for us to escape this endless loop."

"Um… I don't quite understand," Kaede says. "You're saying… you've been going back in time? You can—"

"There's no way that's possible!" Rena says.

"Yeah, Miss Rena has a point," I reply. "It's pretty far-fetched, right? To think that it would be possible to actually turn back time… oh, but you know, it's also pretty far-fetched for someone to be able to turn into any other person at will, don't you think?"

"She's got a point there, Rena," Momoko says. "It's magic, so I suppose even time travel could be possible…"

"U-ugh…" Rena grumbles. "There's nothing I can say to that…"

"But it's still quite a tall story… do you have any way to prove it?" Momoko asks.

"Hmm," I say. "That's a tough one… I only met a few of you in previous timelines… and besides, I'm not sure I can prove anything I know about you is from the time travel rather than my clairvoyance…"

"I can vouch for you," Kanagi says.

I blink at her. "Huh?"

"After all, I met you last year and even peered inside your mind a little," she says. "Combined with the fact that you don't remember that meeting, it is clear that time travel likely occurred."

Wait, so she already read my mind? So much for keeping Pernelle's key from her…?

"Uhh… what exactly did you see inside my mind…?" I ask.

"Not much," Kanagi says. "Only that you have two personalities within you."

Oh, so it seems she didn't pick up on the key. That's a relief.

"That's impossible," Homura says.

Everyone looks at her.

"What's impossible…?" Iroha says.

"I can't go back in time that far," she says.

"That may be so," Kanagi says. "But it illustrates that time travel is possible. There is no reason to assume Akemi-kun is the only one who can do it."

"But we still only have your word for it," Meiyui says. "Even though I can trust Miss Izumi's word further than Miss Taylor's, it is still just a word. I would like more concrete proof, if possible."

"Speaking of time travel…" I say. "Maybe there is a more concrete proof that it's possible… let me check something quickly…"

I whip out my phone and do a web search for Jeanne d'Arc. After some poking around and adding a couple extra keywords, I finally find the image I'm looking for. It's a bit of a relief, since I wasn't even sure it would exist. It's a painting from just after the battle of Orléans.

"How about this? This should be enough to prove that time travel is possible, though it has nothing to do with me time-travelling."

I pass the phone to Meiyui, who blinks at it in surprise, then glances towards Iroha and Yachiyo.

"T-this is…?"

"Read the caption," I say.

Meiyui apparently decides to read it out loud.

"Portrait of Jeanne d'Arc at Orléans, together with the two mysterious strangers who she claimed came to help her in a dream," Meiyui says. "But… how is this possible…?"

"D-don't keep us in suspense!" Iroha says. "Let us see too!"

Meiyui turns my phone to show the image, and everyone gasps and looks from the phone to Iroha and Yachiyo… for the two mysterious strangers are unmistakably those two in magical girl form. Their faces don't quite match, but the outfits are unmistakable – the inaccuracies could be forgiven as someone drawing from a physical description rather than actually seeing them. They do at least look Japanese in the portrait.

Silence reigns for a few seconds.

"T-that… that's me!?" Iroha finally says. "And Miss Yachiyo!? B-but I don't remember anything like that…"

"Huh, really?" I say. "I actually thought it would've happened already… but I guess I was wrong and it's still in your future."

"Well, between this and Miss Izumi's claim, I think it is reasonable to accept the possibility of time travel," Meiyui says, passing my phone back.

"I agree, although seeing myself in an ancient painting is… startling, to say the least," Yachiyo says. "But that's not what we're here for. You said you've gone back in time many times over. Maybe you can tell us a little about what happened in the other timelines?"

"In most of them, Madoka turned into the worst witch the world has ever seen," I say. "Even more powerful than that Walpurgisnacht we fought… she had grown much stronger than she was in the past timelines thanks to feeding on the remains of Eve, but the witch of Madoka was at least ten times more powerful still… and large enough to swallow the whole world. As for the Magius… Touka, Nemu, and Ui-chan never became magical girls in the first place. Alina did become a magical girl in at least one timeline though – she even helped us fight Walpurgisnacht. I think Miss Iroha became a magical girl in most of the other timelines as well."

"Is that so…" Yachiyo says. "It's true that Miss Kaname was exceptionally powerful… we probably won against Walpurgisnacht only because of her and Miss Kazumi. I'm sure even that woman wouldn't have been able to beat her if she hadn't already been weakened…"

I nod. "So, averting the disaster of Madoka's witch was one of the reasons for travelling back in time," I say. "However… we also wish to save Madoka herself, so you can understand why we're a little put out by the current situation…"

"T-then… what about Sana-chan?" Iroha asks. "Can you save Sana-chan too?"

"A-and maybe even Mel?" Tsuruno asks.

"I can certainly save Miss Futaba Sana," I say. "And… there may be a chance to save Anna Mel, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. However, as Miss Homura herself just said, her time travel is quite limited… so I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for Yukino Kanae. Besides, even if I could save Anna Mel, that would be in another timeline, so you'll never experience that yourself."

"C-can I… go back with you?" Iroha asks.

"We're limited to at most six travellers," I say. "Obviously Miss Homura needs to be one of them, and Inui and I will be going too… and I've already agreed to let three others join us too, so… I'm sorry, Miss Tamaki. That said… would you really be prepared to abandon your little sister like that?"

Iroha blinks. "A-ah… right," she says. "I guess there's no way we could both go back…"

"Anyone who goes back will vanish from this world," I say. "Unless… I think there's a way to have both… to stay, and go back at the same time… but first you'd need to turn into a witch…"

"That sounds way too dangerous," Yachiyo says firmly.

"Y-yeah… I agree," Iroha says. "Please forget I asked."

"And there's also a different reason I can't take Miss Ui back," I say. "We won't be able to repeat the same things if Miss Ui returns with us. As I understand it, Miss Homura's magic sends the soul back and substitutes it into our past body. That means Ui would still be a magical girl if she returned with us, so that would mess up the event where the three of them all contract together."

I guess I haven't actually confirmed that that's the case, but I don't have any particular reason to doubt it, given that it's what happened to Homura, plus the fact that we vanish from the world when going back yet don't retain anything we had with us when we left.

"Oh, I see," Iroha says.

"So… what did you actually come here for?" Yachiyo asks. "You said something about information, right?"

I nod. "Yes… basically, I want to hear everything about what happened yesterday, from the beginning… anything you can tell me… anything anyone can tell me… it could be helpful in my next trial."

"I see," Yachiyo says. "Well, I for one don't see a problem with that…"

"Alright… so if you don't mind, could we move on to the main topic?" I say. "If I can nudge things in a better direction when I go back in time, that would make this all worthwhile."

"R-right," Iroha says. "Umm… hmm… but where should we even start…?"

"If I recall correctly… you met up with Miss Izumi right after school yesterday, right?" I say. "That seems like a good place to start. And then… I heard you headed for the mountains…?"

Iroha nods.

"Okay… sure," she says. "I'll start around there."

---

"Geez, snap out of it, Iroha!"

"Oww!"

Iroha was jolted from her thoughts by a painful flick to the forehead. She blinked at the blue-haired girl assaulting her.

"Huh!? What!? Rena-chan!?" Iroha said. "What did you do that for!?"

"Don't act all cute when you're mad at me!" Rena retorted, arms crossed. "You've been spacing out way too much today. Everyone's already gone home, y'know?"

"Huh?"

Iroha looked around, and sure enough, the classroom was empty but for the two of them.

"Oh, you're right," she said.

"Come on," Rena said. "Let's get to that strategy meeting. If you space out any harder, your brain'll rot right out of your ears."

"O-okay, sorry," Iroha said.

She followed Rena outside, where they joined up with Kaede and Momoko.

"So, uh… why are we having our strategy meeting at a maid café?" Momoko asked.

"You say that, but you look really excited, Momoko-chan," Kaede said.

"She loves cutesy stuff like idols, doesn't she?" Rena said.

"S-so what if I do?" Momoko said, going red a little.

"You like those things too, Rena-chan," Kaede pointed out. "I don't see what's so fun about waving around glow sticks, though…"

"Kaede, you really just rain on people's parades without even trying!" Rena protested, crossing her arms again.

"W-what?" Kaede gasped. "N-no I don't!"

Iroha giggled a bit. "You seem to be doing a lot better, Kaede-chan," she said.

"Y-yeah," Kaede said. "Well… Momoko-chan and Rena-chan gave me a pep talk. I'm still afraid of becoming a witch… even with the doppel system… but I'm not as worried anymore."

"How's Crescent Moon Villa doing?" Momoko asked. "I know it's barely been a day since that incident, but…"

"Actually… I think it's pretty much back to normal already," Iroha said. "When I woke up this morning, everyone was as energetic as usual… we were talking about the Wings of the Magius and how we have to stop them."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Momoko said.

"It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Since we don't agree with what the Wings of the Magius are doing… we'll have to come up with a solution ourselves. About how magical girls can find happiness… I do think freeing them is ultimately the right thing to do…"

"Yeah, you're right," Momoko agreed. "It's not as if we're solving the problem at the heart of everything if we stop them… we'll still effectively be killing magical girls, living in fear of becoming witches."

"Yeah…"

"Iroha-chan, how did you manage to accept all of it?" Kaede asked.

"I… well… a part of me didn't want to, but I also realized we can't avoid it," Iroha said. "I made that wish to save Ui, who would've died if I hadn't. I felt like any penalty would be a small price to pay if she could be saved…"

"What about killing witches?" Rena asked. "It's really no different from killing other magical girls, right?"

"Yeah, since that day, I've thought about that every time I faced a witch," Iroha said. "I think, this person used to be a magical girl. But that's actually why I want to defeat them… I don't think they wanted to hurt anyone when they were magical girls. But once they became witches, they only caused despair or even death."

"I see," Rena said. "You might be right… if something happens to me, Momoko promised to kill me before I turn into a witch. It made me feel a bit better about the whole thing. If nobody wants to become a witch, then we should defeat them out of mercy."

"I'm just not sure that answer applies to all magical girls, though," Iroha said. "We need to carefully think it over some more."

"So how we can accept our fate, and how we can prevent it," Momoko said. "Those are the big issues."

"Yeah," Iroha said.

"I see," Momoko said. "In that case, once this is all over, make sure we're included. Let us be part of your meeting about how magical girls can find happiness."

"Of course, we'd love to have you!" Iroha said. "I want us to think it over together, since it's such an important subject."

---

I interrupt the story there, because it reminds me of something else I've been meaning to say.

"Speaking of the whole fate of magical girls thing, there's something I think you should know," I say. "Actually, I would've preferred if Miss Satomi were here to hear it, but I suppose you can pass it on to her, Miss Tamaki."

"Um… sure," Iroha says. "It has something to do with the fate of magical girls? A way to not turn into witches?"

"Not exactly," I say. "But it's something that Kyuubey never told Miss Satomi, and it could be important."

I take out a grief cube and set it down on the floor. Everyone stares at it in confusion, other than Inui, Homura, and Hijiri, who have seen one before.

"Huh? What on earth is that?" Tsuruno asks.

"Why don't you make a guess?" Inui suggests.

"Um, well… other than the shape… it looks a bit like a grief seed," Iroha says.

"I must say, Miss Tamaki has a point," Nanaka says. "It even has the same sensation as a grief seed…"

"It's a grief seed," I say.

"R-really!?" Iroha gasps.

"I've fought many witches in my time, but I've never seen a grief seed like that before," Yachiyo says. "How did you come by this?"

"It's not from a witch," I say. "I obtained it on the hill behind Mitakihara Middle School. For complicated reasons, if you leave a few of these cubes there, monsters will eventually spawn that can be defeated to produce more cubes. They do hurt people, and I've heard that they even killed people in the past, but it seems they can't leave the hill. I think Miss Satomi would be very interested to see this."

"Colour me intrigued too," Hinano says. "I thought I knew just about everything there was to know about magical girls, but this… this is a shocker."

"I think you're right," Iroha says. "Touka-chan also thought she'd figured out everything there was to know about magical girls… but who would've thought Kyuubey was still holding something back?"

"Honestly, she should've expected it," I say. "Kyuubey only shares the minimum that it feels is relevant to your question. According to its logic, these are a primitive type of grief seed that should not exist anymore, so there should be no reason to talk about them."

"If that's the case… why do they exist?" Yachiyo asks.

"This island is special," I say. "Have you heard of the Tokime clan?"

Iroha shakes her head. "No… I can't say it sounds familiar," she says.

"I've heard of them!" Tsuruno says. "We covered them recently in history class… they were the ones who discovered this island, right?"

"No," I say. "They didn't discover it…"

"Huh?" Tsuruno says. "Then what they taught is… wrong…?"

"It's half right – the clan founder wished the island into existence," I say. "A completely new landmass, free of any humans or witches."

"But once they moved in, witches should have started to spawn, right?" Yachiyo says. "Ah… but if there were no witches to begin with, the only possible source would be from a magical girl…"

"Right," I say.

"But without witches to provide grief seeds, I'm sure that founder didn't last very long," Yachiyo says.

"Well, from what I've heard, you'd be wrong," I say. "Think about it for a moment… have you ever wondered how magical girls first came to be? Witches come from magical girls, but magical girls make wishes to defeat witches, so which came first?"

"Now that you mention it, you have a good point," Momoko says. "It's the classic chicken problem…"

"Did the chicken come first… or the egg…" Kako muses.

"But the only reason that seems like a paradox is because you're thinking about it the wrong way," Hinano says. "At some point in the past, something that wasn't quite a chicken must have laid an egg that hatched into a chicken… and if you trace back, there's a clear line of effect. On that basis, I suppose you could say the egg came first."

"Right," I say. "These kinds of problems always have a solution… in the case of magical girls, it's a bit different. It seems it was the magical girls that came first. Back then, they had different monsters to fight… monsters that I've taken to calling wraiths, which drop these cube-shaped grief seeds when defeated. You can even get several seeds from a single wraith, too. Apparently, wraiths spawn naturally as curses build up over time in populated areas. The first magical girls fought them, and the Tokime clan founder did as well."

"T-that sounds amazing!" Kaede gasps. "But… why don't those wraiths exist anymore?"

"Well… turns out that witches like to snack on them," I say. "So where there's witches, you won't find wraiths."

"Or, it would be more accurate to say that witches absorb the curses that build up before they can spawn wraiths," Hijiri adds. "Though I'm sure a witch would snack on a wraith if it got an opportunity…"

"Ah, I think I understand," Yachiyo says. "That hill you mentioned… for one reason or other, witches can't enter it, right? So that means, it's possible for wraiths to exist there."

"Correct," I say. "Actually, someone affiliated with the Tokime clan is even buried there, and is haunting the place as a ghost… so if you ever meet a magical girl of the Tokime clan, you should show her that place."

"T-there's a g-g-ghost there!?" Iroha gasps.

"There is," Homura says, startling me.

"Ah… you did mention you'd seen a ghost before," Yachiyo says. "So that's where you saw one…?"

"That's right," I say. "The only place I've seen one, actually… Kyuubey claims that ghosts are a rather rare phenomenon. Also, ordinary people can't see or hear them."

"So you need special sight, like a priestess?" Iroha asks.

"Um… no, as far as I know you just need really good hearing, or really good eyesight," I say. "I think a good camera or microphone could probably detect them… and magical girls have enhanced hearing and eyesight, so we can perceive them."

"Well… I'll show it to Touka-chan," Iroha says. "I'm sure you're right… she'd love to study it."

"Anyway, I'll let you continue your story, Miss Tamaki," I say. "Sorry for the interruption."

---

They had been at the café for a few minutes, experiencing Kanagi's skill at drawing with ketchup on rice omelettes, when Yachiyo stepped in to join them.

"Looks like you're having fun," she said.

"Hi, Miss Yachiyo," Iroha said.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Yachiyo said.

"You're usually so punctual," Momoko said. "Did something happen?"

"I stopped by the Coordinator's," Yachiyo said.

"The Coordinator's? Why?" Momoko said.

"I asked her to take care of an injured girl," Yachiyo said.

Iroha gasped. "What happened?"

"The Wings of the Magius are on the move," Yachiyo said. "They even attacked someone who has nothing to do with us…"

"Ah, I get what's going on, but why target magical girls who aren't involved?" Momoko asked.

"I have no idea," Yachiyo said.

"Hmm," Tsuruno said. "Aha! Maybe they're after their magic power! They seemed to want more energy…"

"Um… will we be turned into food for Eve?" Kaede asked.

"Relax, it's just a theory!" Rena said.

"But now that there are victims, there's a chance that others will be targeted, too," Yachiyo said.

"We need to let everyone know!" Iroha said. Suddenly she gasped. "Wait… is this…"

"I'm sensing a witch," Kaede said.

"There's more than one of them!" Rena said.

"That's odd," Kanagi said. "We never saw them coming, plus several of them appeared at once."

"Alina…" Sana said.

"It could be her, since she captures witches and uses them," Yachiyo said.

"We need to hurry!" Iroha said. "I don't know if this is related to that girl who got hurt. But we can't just ignore it!"

"Yeah!" Felicia said. "Let's go kick some witch ass!"

At that moment, Ashley Taylor burst into the café, in her magical girl outfit. The girls spun to face her with a gasp.

"You… what are you doing here!?" Yachiyo asked. "Have you come to…?"

Ashley shook her head and smiled. "No, no, nothing like that. I'm ditching the Wings of the Magius. I'm actually relieved I managed to catch you before she did."

She stepped into the café and placed a box on the table.

"I brought these for you," she said. "You'll find them to be really useful before long."

She reached into the box and took out a small device that seemed to have a microphone and a few buttons.

"What on earth is it?" Iroha asked.

"Communicators," Ashley said. "Short-band radios, to be precise. They've all been tuned to the same channel, so you can communicate at will. I've also distributed them to my allies too, but out of respect for your privacy, we're using a different channel. In case you want to contact me for some reason, just turn the channel dial up by one."

"I don't get it," Yachiyo said. "What's the point of this? We all have smartphones."

"I know, so do I," Ashley said. "But those won't be any use when the cellular network goes down. I'm not gonna force you to use them. Even if you do use them, you can change the channel if you don't trust me."

"There's no way the cellular networks would ever go down," Momoko said.

"I don't have time to argue," Ashley said. "I need to drop by the airport and get everyone in position before Walpurgisnacht gets here. Do keep in mind that technically anyone with a similar device tuned to the same channel would also be able to hear you… I don't think it's very likely that person exists, but don't talk about dark secrets or anything using these, just in case. See you later!"

With that, she turned and exited the café, leaving the box behind.

"Well… what do you think?" Iroha asked. "Miss Kanagi… you know her better than anyone else here, right? Should we trust her?"

"Taylor-kun…" Kanagi mused. "She spoke like she knew the future… I don't think she is the type of person to lie about that. I will take one, just in case."

She reached into the box and took out a communicator, tucking it into a pocket.

"Then I'll take one too," Iroha said. "Why don't we all take one?"

She took one out too.

"I suppose it can't hurt," Yachiyo said. "However… let's turn the channel down by one on all of them, just to be on the safe side."

"How do I do that…?" Iroha asked. "Oh… I guess this dial here…?"

Iroha twisted the dial so that it pointed at twenty-three instead of twenty-four. Then Kanagi started handing them out to everyone, adjusting the channels on each as she did so. There was one extra, which she pocketed herself after adjusting it, leaving the first one she took unchanged. That meant she actually had two communicators on different channels.

"Is Walpurgisnacht really coming?" Yachiyo asked. "From what I've heard, isn't it usually foreshadowed by bad weather?"

"It's hard to say," Kanagi said. "I've never seen it myself, nor have I known anyone who saw it."

"W-well… let's get out there and hunt those witches!" Iroha said.

"Right!" Felicia said.

They all stepped outside, except for Kanagi who headed into the back room, presumably to get changed out of her maid outfit.

"I think we should split up," Iroha said. "Witches might've shown up in other places. If magical girls are being targeted, we have to let everyone know."

"Right!" Tsuruno said. "Let's split up and get this over with quickly!"

But then she gasped as Mami landed in front of them, having leapt off a nearby roof. She wasn't even powered up. Summoning a musket, she pointed it at Iroha as she stepped forward with a giggle.

"I knew you'd come," Mami said. "It's just as the Magius predicted – you'd show up if a magical girl got hurt. I'm sorry we had to meet like this, but would you mind terribly if we have a little chat?"

"Miss Tomoe…" Iroha said.

"She's still brainwashed," Yachiyo said. "So, let me guess… looks like you're the one behind what's going on with the witches and magical girls."

"That's right," Mami said. "I came all this way to inform you of that."

"How bold of you," Yachiyo said.

"But why?" Iroha asked. "The other magical girls have nothing to do with this."

"So you still don't understand," Mami said. "Didn't you get the message from the Magius? We're not going to play nice anymore."

Iroha gasped.

"And I agree," Mami added. "We can no longer delay the miracle of freedom. Which is why we made a decision. We will remove the magical girls of this city before they become heretics."

"Remove…?" Iroha said. "You mean you're going to kill—"

"Yes," Mami interrupted. "We will annihilate any non-believers who try to keep us from freeing magical girls. We'll only save devout followers who believe in me and the Magius."

"That will only lead to more suffering!" Iroha protested.

"Only for those who deserve to suffer," Mami retorted. "Many magical girls will find happiness once our wish has been granted."

She giggled again.

"Miss Kaname and the others didn't understand, either," she said regretfully. "But you'll see soon enough. The work of the Wings of the Magius is the righteous path."

"That can't be," Iroha said. "Is that why we couldn't get ahold of Madoka-chan?"

"Don't worry, we haven't eliminated them," Mami said. "We just made sure they can't leave Mitakihara. They deserve all the benefits from freeing magical girls."

Kanagi stepped out from the café to join them as Mami said that.

"How convenient for you, to only protect those you really care about," she said.

"That is irrelevant," Mami said, giggling again. "They are magical girls from Mitakihara, not Kamihama."

"Try to justify it however you want," Yachiyo said. "Like Iroha said, you're just causing magical girls to suffer. What you're doing? That won't save us."

Yachiyo transformed and brandished her halberd, pointing it at Mami's face.

"Stop this insanity at once!" she said.

"Oh, so you want to fight?" Mami said.

She transformed too, donning not her magical girl outfit but the robe of her rumour.

"Alright, let's do it then," she said. "Come, Florence!"

With those words, she unleashed her doppel and summoned a wide array of guns, pointing at everyone.

"I'm no different from before," Mami said. "I still take pride in saving people. We're getting closer to our glorious goal of saving all magical girls. Can you see how I can hardly contain my excitement?"

As the other magical girls transformed, Mami fired off all of her muskets at the same time. It was only thanks to Sana's quick thinking that they avoided excess damage – she duplicated her shield and deployed them in four directions, giving everyone a place to shelter.

But she didn't even give them a chance to properly counterattack. After the gunfire died off, Mami apparently decided to back off.

"Any more fighting here would attract too much attention," she said. "Well then, good luck everyone."

She turned to walk away.

"Wait, Miss Tomoe!" Iroha called.

"If any magical girls disappear… whether they're from your group or from this city, don't blame us," Mami said, glancing back. "If anyone is to blame, it's you and the choices you've made."

"Miss Tomoe!" Iroha called.

Mami giggled and just ignored her as she walked off.

"I haven't seen her since the Séance Shrine," Momoko said. "I can't believe she's like this now."

"Maybe she's been affected by the rumour more than I was," Tsuruno said.

"Is it really a rumour that's causing it?" Momoko wondered. "She doesn't even need a labyrinth to move around."

"I dunno," Tsuruno said. "But if that costume is the rumour itself, then maybe…"

"I see," Momoko said. "I wish we could do something, but it doesn't seem like we can…"

"Only Madoka-chan and her friends really understand Miss Tomoe," Iroha said. "I don't think we'd be able to remove the rumour from her…"

"I agree," Momoko said.

"I get the feeling she too is a victim," Kanagi said. "But we'll have to deal with that later."

"Right," Yachiyo said. "I wanted to ask her about their base, but our agenda will have to wait. Today, we must prioritize protecting other magical girls."

"Do we really have to rush?" Rena asked. "It's not like the black feathers are all that strong…"

"Some of them are, though," Yachiyo said. "Although you're right, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule…"

"Those are their only soldiers and yet she essentially declared war on us," Kanagi mused.

"Do you think they have some sort of advantage?" Kaede asked.

"It's possible," Kanagi said.

"The girl I protected had been chased down by the black feathers," Yachiyo said. "We need to be careful."

"Plus, the other magical girls might not know about the Wings of the Magius," Tsuruno said.

"It'd be bad if they were caught off guard," Sana said.

"Real bad!" Felicia said.

"Speaking of which," Momoko said. "We need a safe place for everyone we help. Maybe we should follow Miss Yachiyo's lead and leave them with the Coordinator?"

"Huh? Why?" Felicia asked.

"It's neutral territory," Momoko said. "A no-combat zone."

"Plus, we can explain things to them all together in one place!" Tsuruno said.

"Um, what are we explaining?" Sana asked. "Do we tell them about liberation… and the reason behind it?"

"If she's threatening us with annihilation, then we have no other choice," Yachiyo said. "If they're being targeted, they'll want to know what's going on. We might have to tell them everything."

"Well, we now have a plan," Kanagi said.

"Yes," Yachiyo said. "Let's gather the magical girls at the Coordinator's while we handle the witches. Alright then, let's spread out!"

"Wait!" Iroha said.

"Whoa, what is it, Iroha-chan!?" Momoko gasped.

"What's wrong?" Yachiyo asked.

"Um, I wanted to talk to you about something, Miss Yachiyo," Iroha said.

"Me?"

"Yes, do you have a minute?"

Yachiyo nodded. "What's on your mind, Iroha?"

"Um… I want to search for the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura," Iroha said.

"The Rumour of the Eternal Sakura…?"

"Yes… it should be in the mountains of Hokuyo Ward. Miss Yachiyo…"

"I'm not doubting you," Yachiyo said. "A rumour would be hard to find if it's in the mountains. And if it isn't being spread intentionally, then of course we wouldn't know about it. What's your plan? The Magius said they will eliminate every rumour."

"But the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura was special," Iroha said. "I don't think Nemu-chan will be able to destroy it. Which is why I'm asking, Miss Yachiyo. Can I go and investigate it? Nobody knows about the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura. If it's really there, then it would be the perfect hiding place for their base."

"A hidden base, and a hidden rumour," Yachiyo said. "I see… you may be onto something, Iroha."

"You believe me?"

"What do you mean?" Yachiyo said. "You fully accepted all of my doubts. Because you did that, I can fully accept all of you, too. Of course I believe you. Even the part about you being there when the rumours were made. I believe it all."

"Thank you!" Iroha said.

"Leave protecting the magical girls to us," Yachiyo said. "We might not have our leader, but our team is the best of the best. We'll be fine."

"Okay!" Iroha said. "Then I'll go and investigate the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura!"

"But you shouldn't go alone, in case it really is their home base," Yachiyo said. "Take Miss Futaba with you."

"Good idea," Iroha said. "She'd be a big help since she can hide us and our magic."

"M-me!?" Sana gasped, taking a nervous step forward.

"Yes, you," Yachiyo said. "You're the only one who can cloak both yourself and your magic, Miss Futaba. Protect Iroha for us. Also, since it's a stealth mission, the two of you should switch your communicators off."

"I'm… the only one who can protect Miss Iroha…" Sana said. "O-okay! I'll d-do whatever I can to keep Miss Iroha shay… ah! O-ow, I bit my tongue…"

Yachiyo chuckled. "Anyway, we're counting on you, Miss Futaba," Yachiyo said. "So, other than Iroha and Miss Futaba, let's split up and take one ward each. Kanagi, you know it best, so you take Daito Ward."

As she spoke, Iroha and Sana took out their communicators and flicked the switch to the off position.

"Understood," Kanagi said.

"I'll take Kosho Ward, because any girls there are more likely to recognize me, and I can easily hold my own if there's a misunderstanding. Momoko, could you cover Sakae Ward? You probably know it better than most of us."

Momoko nodded. "You can count on me!"

"Rena, please check out Mizuna Ward. Kaede, you can check Shinsei Ward."

"G-got it!" Kaede said.

"Mizuna… ugh, that's where the most annoying girls are," Rena muttered. "Well, whatever, guess someone has to take it…"

"Tsuruno, could you see if you can find anyone in Minaminagi Ward?"

"You got it! The mightiest magical girl will do her best!"

"And Felicia… how about you check out Sankyo Ward?" Yachiyo said.

"I'll hammer any feathers I come across like bam!" Felicia said.

"That leaves no-one to cover Chuo Ward or Hokuyo Ward," Momoko said. "What'll we do about that?"

"Well, perhaps I can move to Chuo Ward after I've finished in Kosho Ward," Yachiyo said. "As for Hokuyo Ward… I don't know of any magical girls in that region. It's where all the rich people live, after all. Even if there are magical girls there, it's likely they can hide at home to avoid the feathers. Plus, Iroha is heading that way, so if she happens across anyone, she can let them know."

"Okay!" Iroha said. "Then if I see anyone, I'll tell them to go to the Coordinator!"

They all split up, and Iroha and Sana headed north into Hokuyo Ward, following the road leading up to St Lilliana's Academy. Twice they ran into groups of black and white feathers, which they defeated without too much effort, though they were behaving strangely.

"What on earth is going on…?" Iroha wondered. "They won't even talk to us now…"

"Could it be… they're also affected by a rumour?" Sana suggested.

"That's awful… to use a rumour on all those girls!" Iroha said.

As they passed by the gate of the school, someone came running up and slammed into Iroha, knocking her to the ground.

"Ugh!" the culprit said. "I need to… tell her…"

"Huh?" Iroha said. "That voice…"

Sana joined in, and they said the girl's name in unison.

"Shizuku-chan!?"

Shizuku picked herself up, blinking at the two of them.

"Miss Iroha… Miss Futaba…? What are you doing here?"

"Um… we're looking for the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura," Iroha said. "What are you doing here?"

"Running away," Shizuku said. "They're probably already on my tail…"

She looked around frantically, but there was no-one else in sight.

"Who's on your tail?" Iroha asked.

"The other feathers," Shizuku said. "They've all gone mad… or most of them have."

"Oh, we ran into some a few minutes ago," Iroha says. "They were acting strangely… what happened?"

"There was an assembly," Shizuku said. "The Magius were there… they said… we were to kill everyone… that they'd grant us the power to do so… and that was when… everyone went crazy…"

"Huh? Wait, you were there, Shizuku-chan!?" Iroha gasped. "Then why weren't you affected? And why are they attacking you if you were one of them?"

"I'm… I'm not quite sure," Shizuku said.

"Well, you should get to the Coordinator's," Iroha said.

"First… I need to call…"

At that moment, a group of black and white feathers appeared from out of the forest.

"We'll hold them off!" Iroha said, getting to her feet. "You should run away!"

But as Iroha and Sana stepped forward to face the feathers, Shizuku didn't run. Instead she pulled out her phone to make a call. For some reason, she set it to speaker… perhaps because she was already low on magic and somewhat injured, so it was easier.

"Shizuku!" a voice issued from the phone.

"Ayaka…"

"Um… is this really Shizuku?" Ayaka asked.

"Isn't my number saved in your phone?"

"Yeah, it said it was you when I got the call, but I thought you might be the kidnapper!"

"To be honest, you're not far off the mark about the kidnapping thing," Shizuku said.

"Whaaat!?"

"But that doesn't matter right now. Listen… there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh! Me too!"

Both Shizuku and Ayaka then spoke at the same time.

"I'm sorry!" they said.

"Huh?" Ayaka said.

"You must've been worried," Shizuku said. "I got so dramatic, and pushed you away like an idiot… I'm really sorry…"

"But… I'm the one who should be sorry!" Ayaka said, her voice wavering. "I knew that you were being serious… but I still kept clowning around…"

"No, it's okay," Shizuku said. "But look, I have to tell you something even more important."

"W-what's that?"

"If you're outside right now, run! I'm serious. There are some magical girls coming who want us all dead! Evacuate to some place that's safe… maybe your house, or the Coordinator's."

"Whaaaaat!? H-h-hang on a second, are you for real right now!?"

"I would never joke about something like this," Shizuku said.

"That's true," Ayaka said. "Okay! I'll evacuate! How about you? Will you be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Shizuku said. "I'll see you later."

"Got it! La—"

Ayaka's last words were cut off midway, and Shizuku leaned forward, blinking in surprise.

"Huh? There's no signal all of a sudden…?"

"Alright!" Iroha said. "We managed to defeat them somehow… did you finish with your call, Shizuku-chan?"

"Yes, but… I suddenly lost signal," Shizuku said.

Iroha checked her own phone and blinked.

"Huh… me too," she said. "I wonder what happened…"

"Um, anyway… you said you were looking for the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura, right, Miss Iroha?" Shizuku said.

"Yeah…?"

"I'm not sure, but I think… that might be where I just came from," Shizuku said. "If I'm right, it should be… over in that direction."

She pointed away from St Lilliana's, into the woods to the north.

"But be careful," she added. "There are probably going to be a lot of feathers coming out right around now…"

"Okay, thank you for the help, Shizuku-chan," Iroha said. "What will you be doing now?"

"I suppose I'll make my way towards the Coordinator's," Shizuku said.

"Will you be okay?" Iroha said. "You look like you're in bad shape… at least let me heal you!"

"Um… okay, sure," Shizuku said. "Thank you…"

Iroha knelt by her for about a minute, using her healing magic, then stood up with a sigh.

"Okay… you should be almost good as new now," she said.

Shizuku stood up and put her phone away, then did a few quick stretches.

"Yes… I feel a lot better," she said. "I'll be going now."

Without further ado, she headed along the road leading back into town. Sana and Iroha then moved off the road in the direction she had indicated. Just like Shizuku had said, they passed by a lot of feathers roaming through the forest, but they did their best to avoid them. The two of them worked their way through the forest for quite some time, perhaps ten to twenty minutes, their progress slowed by the need to avoid the feathers.

"The Rumour of the Eternal Sakura must be here," Iroha said. "And we've seen a lot of feathers coming and going… so it must be linked to their base, somehow. If we can take control of the area while the feathers are gone… then we can meet with Miss Yachiyo and the rest of the gang here. Please, Sana-chan…"

Sana didn't say anything for a minute or two more, but then she blinked. There didn't seem to be as many feathers around as there were a few minutes ago.

"Huh?" she said. "The feathers have stopped coming out. Maybe they all left…? Wait here, I'll check ahead!"

"Okay, I'm counting on you, Sana-chan!"

"Yes! Miss Iroha!"

Iroha hid in the shelter of a large tree while Sana hid herself with her magic and moved forward. A few minutes later, she returned, beaming.

"How does it look, Sana-chan?" Iroha asked.

"I think everyone's gone!" Sana said. "And I found the barrier! Let's go inside!"

"Alright, thanks," Iroha said. "I hope everyone's alright…"

"Yes, we haven't been able to contact them for awhile now," Sana said.

"But it's times like these that having faith in them is important," Iroha said.

"Yes… let's get inside and secure the area so we can wait for them there," Sana said.

"Okay!"

"Alright then… will you hold my hand?" Sana said.

"Your hand?" Iroha said.

"I can hide both our magic that way," Sana said. "If someone's still inside the rumour, they might notice us."

"Good point!" Iroha said. "Thanks!"

They stepped inside the rumour's barrier together, entering what looked like an infinite grassy plain with a single massive cherry tree on a hill in the middle, completely bare of leaves or blossoms. There were four chairs lined up at the base of the tree, and not a soul in sight.

"Looks like no-one's here," Iroha said.

"Yeah," Sana said. "Miss Iroha… is this the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura?"

"I've never seen it, so I can't say for sure," Iroha said. "But, maybe?"

"Oh, that big tree over there," Sana said. "It isn't blooming right now, but I think it is a sakura tree…"

"Then this must be the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura," Iroha said. "So Touka-chan and Nemu-chan really couldn't get rid of it." She closed her eyes for a second to sense for magic. "Okay. It looks like no-one's here. There may be a way to get into their base somewhere around here. Let's search the area!"

"Okay!" Sana said.

They released hands, intending to split up again for the search, but then Sana seemed to sense something.

"Wait, did I just sense some magic? Miss Iroha!" she said.

"Someone's here," Iroha said. "This magic…"

Touka and Nemu stepped in behind them and stopped, staring at the two of them. Iroha and Sana both turned to face them.

"Tamaki Iroha," Touka said.

"Touka-chan… and Nemu-chan," Iroha said.

"What are you doing here?" Nemu asked.

"Ugh!" Touka said. "Why? Why!? Why? Why are you here!? This makes no sense! Argh! I'm so angry! So so so angry! Nyaaaaagh! We never spread this rumour! How could you know about it!? W-wait… don't tell me… Nemu!?"

"Calm yourself, Touka," Nemu said. "You're completely misunderstanding the situation. I had no reason to instruct this rumour to spread itself. We are the only ones who use it for transportation. I am certain of that."

Touka groaned. "Then why is she here!?" she asked. "And now, of all times, when no-one is around!?" Suddenly Touka gasped. "The invisible girl's with you!"

"Yes… I came inside too," Sana said.

"As for why we know that this rumour exists, I remembered it," Iroha said.

"Those nonsensical memories of yours again!?" Touka said.

"That's right," Iroha said. "It was right there, in my nonsensical memories. The Rumour of the Eternal Sakura. You should know… I'm the one… who thought it up."

"What!?" Touka said.

"Yet more indigestible nonsense," Nemu said. "All rumours are my creations."

"But I know why you can't bring yourself to get rid of this one," Iroha said. "You may want to keep using it to hide your base. But I don't think that's the only reason."

"Shut up!" Touka shouted.

"You couldn't get rid of it even if you wanted to, could you?" Iroha said.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Touka shouted. "There's no point in talking about this anymore! Zip it! If we just wiped you out of existence here, no-one would know, right!? Okay, then I'm gonna erase you! I'll do you a favour and obliterate that invisible brat along with you! Not a single strand of your DNA will be left when I'm done!"

Sana transformed and stepped between them. "Miss Iroha!"

Iroha transformed too. "Alright…"

Touka bombarded them with lasers, which Sana did her best to block, but quite a few curved around the shield to hit either her or Iroha. Iroha screamed a little.

"Miss Iroha!" Sana said.

She glanced back to see how Iroha was, but Nemu took advantage of that distraction to smack her in the face with a cloud of glowing, sparkly pages, shoving her sideways. She screamed a little too.

"Looking away, I see," Nemu said. "You must be pretty sure of yourself. Don't forget you are also our target, invisible girl."

"Stop it, Touka-chan!" Iroha said. "I remembered this place! I remembered something that only the two of you should know! So my memories may seem strange to you, but… they have to be true! My little sister, Ui, is real! She's your best friend! And she's somewhere in your base!"

"Let's say we did forget," Touka said, starting to charge up her magic. "That has nothing to do with liberating all magical girls! Even if we did have some best friend back then, it doesn't change how I feel."

There was light gathering in between Touka's hands, a sphere that grew larger and larger as she spoke,

"What is it you're trying to do?" Iroha asked.

"We've gathered a huge amount of energy here in Kamihama," Touka said. "I'm going to use it to exterminate you! You made it this far but I won't let you ruin our plans any further!"

The sphere of light grew still larger.

"Stop it!" Iroha said.

"I'll drag you from the Big Crunch…" Touka said.

"Touka-chan!"

"…to give you the Big Baaaaaaang!" Touka shouted.

Then she released all that energy she'd been building up in one massive blast aimed at Iroha and Sana. Iroha closed her eyes and flinched, preparing for the impact, but it never came. Then Sana's quiet voice reached her ears.

"Are you… alright… Miss Iroha?"

Iroha opened her eyes to see Sana standing shakily right in front of her. Her shield was gone – it must have been completely obliterated by the attack. Sana herself looked battered and beaten, her costume scorched with holes through even some of the metal parts.

"Sana-chan…" Iroha said.

And at the same moment, Sana collapsed to her knees, then fell over onto her side. A moment later, she powered down.

"Sana-chaaan!" Iroha gasped.

"I-I'm fine," Sana said.

"No, you're not fine at all!" Iroha said.

"Amazing," Touka said. "The invisible girl's shield sure is sturdy."

"It's no small feat to withstand one of Touka's ultimate attacks," Nemu said. "I think you can feel good about that."

"Still, it looks like there's no way she'll last if I hit her again," Touka said. "My unique magic lets me convert energy. So as long as we're in Kamihama, there's no-one who can stand against me."

She giggled.

"Ugh… I'm sorry, Miss Iroha," Sana said.

"You don't need to be sorry for anything, Sana-chan!" Iroha said. "You protected me. Please listen, Touka-chan, Nemu-chan! It's my memories that are confusing you so much. Don't bring Sana-chan into this."

"You don't get it at all, do you?" Touka said. "Is your brain even connected to your body? If she's going to throw herself in the way for someone we want to erase… then it's only natural we'd need to get rid of her too."

"Regardless, I doubt she'll be moving that shield of hers anytime soon," Nemu said. "So now Tamaki Iroha is all that stands in our way."

"Yup!" Touka said. "We can collect the invisible girl later, and feed her to Eve. Now, shall we be done with Tamaki Iroha and her endless insane ramblings?"

"Yes, let's," Nemu said. "It's such a pain having her act like all these coincidences are fate. I can't stand that kind of unrealistic fantasizing either."

"You still doubt me?" Iroha asked. "This is a rumour I made up. I know all of the details."

"Go ahead then," Touka said. "Tell us."

"The Rumour of the Eternal Sakura goes like this, doesn't it?" Iroha said.

She proceeded to recite the entire text of the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura, omitting the framing typically added by rumour spreaders.

"That's how it goes, right?" Iroha said. "Two of those girls are you, Touka-chan and Nemu-chan. But you have no idea who the other two girls are, do you? That's why you can't get rid of it… the last two girls… you've forgotten them. They're me and my little sister, Ui!"

"Hmmm," Touka said.

"Huh? Touka-chan?" Iroha said.

"Well, do you have any evidence?" Touka asked haughtily. "Any evidence at all that your memories are correct?"

"Huh?" Iroha said.

"The contents of the rumour match up, yes," Nemu said. "But I'm afraid it will take more than that. There's a chance that you may have heard the story from the rumour somewhere. The boss of the east might even have read our minds during our last battle. Besides, all the stories I create are fictional. Those four characters don't exist, I didn't even give them names."

"But…" Iroha said. "Then how am I supposed to convince you?"

Suddenly she gasped.

"Maybe Mokyu can do it," she muttered. "Maybe the same thing will happen to them… what do you think, Mokyu?"

Mokyu made a cute noise from her shoulder. She clearly wanted Iroha to give it a shot.

"Yes! If it makes them remember Ui and the real story behind this rumour…"

Mokyu made some more cute noises. She thought it might work.

"Then they might know where Ui is," Iroha said.

Mokyu made another cute noise. She agreed.

"If they both get their memories back, then they'd put a stop to all of this," Iroha said. "We need to at least try it!"

Mokyu made another cute noise. She was saying that now's the best chance to try it.

"So you don't have any evidence to present?" Touka said. "Then it's all over for you."

"Wait!" Iroha said. "If that photo from before didn't convince you, I can't show you any other evidence. But I might just be able to make you and Nemu-chan remember! So please! Take this little Kyuubey, Mokyu, and hug it tight!"

Mokyu made a cute noise and leapt for Touka's arms.

"Please, Touka-chan!"

Touka let out a tiny yelp, then brandished her parasol and smacked Mokyu away with enough force to send it flying quite some distance. Mokyu smacked into one of the branches of the bare tree, falling to the ground with one of its cute noises, now sounding more like a painful whine.

"Ugh… enough! Get away from me! My clothes will get dirty!"

"Mokyu!" Iroha gasped.

Nemu walked over to the fallen Mokyu and looked down at her.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't get your filthy little paws on us," Nemu said. "Go on… back to your master."

She gave Mokyu a kick, sending her back towards Iroha, who managed to catch her.

"Mokyu! Are you okay?" Iroha asked.

Mokyu managed one of her cute noises, indicating she was fine.

"Ugh, nothing's going to come of us touching that thing," Touka said.

"But, why?" Iroha wondered. "When I touched this Kyuubey, and held her in my arms, I remembered everything…"

"That Kyuubey has been in Kamihama for awhile now," Nemu said. "We'd already touched it long before it took a liking to you, Tamaki Iroha. It wasn't a bad idea, but unfortunately for you, it amounted to nothing."

"Yep. Too bad!" Touka said. "Neither of us believes a word of what you say, Tamaki Iroha."

"It's time to get rid of them, Touka," Nemu said. "Both Tamaki Iroha and her Kyuubey."

"Yeah, you've run out of time," Touka said.

Sana struggled to get up, but she didn't have enough strength.

"Please!" she said. "Please, don't do this!"

Touka giggled. "Sooooorry, but nope!"

Once again she started charging up her attack. There was nowhere to hide except maybe behind the big tree, but Iroha didn't think she could make it in time, and besides, she couldn't just leave Sana there on the ground.

"Touka-chan…" Iroha said.

"Bye-bye, Tamaki Iroha," Nemu said.

"Nemu-chan…" Iroha said. "Please remember… I managed to remember so much… I thought I'd finally gotten closer to finding Ui… how could this happen now…"

"Miss Iroha!" Sana called.

She finally managed to get up to her knees and threw herself at Touka, knocking her to the ground. Unfortunately, that didn't do anything to interrupt Touka's energy buildup, and she released all that energy at the same moment in one massive blast aimed at Iroha. For the second time, Iroha closed her eyes and flinched, preparing for the impact, but again it never came.

"W-what are you doing!?" Touka asked.

"Huh?" Sana said. "I… I didn't…"

When Iroha opened her eyes again, there was someone else standing there. She stood about a head taller than Iroha, with long, pinkish-white hair that fell to her waist and also appeared to form two horns on her head, like a devil. She was barefoot and wore a simple one-piece sleeveless turtleneck dress, white at the top and fading into pink at the skirt, with flower patterns based on cherry blossoms. Her arms were also white, with similar flower patterns around the shoulders. It was hard to tell whether that was just the colour of her skin or if she wore semi-transparent gloves. The skirt swayed a little in the breeze.

"The rumour protected Tamaki Iroha…" Nemu said.

As the rumour turned to face Iroha, she saw that the underside of her hair was dark purple, with strange digital patterns, and the light glinting off her hair almost made her look like she had a halo, like an angel. There was also a hole in the dress at her throat in the shape of cherry blossoms, and her eyes were pure pink, a darker shade than cherry blossoms but not quite dark enough to call purple.

"Are you alright?" the Eternal Sakura asked.

"Are you… the rumour?" Iroha asked. "Did you just save me? I see… then you're my proof that my memories are correct."

"If one opposes the rules of the rumour, then the rumour will emerge," Nemu said. "If the rumour is protecting Tamaki Iroha, that means…"

"It proves I'm one of the four girls," Iroha said. "You believe me now, don't you? This proves my memories are right!"

"Everything is as Iroha says," the Eternal Sakura said. "I must uphold the story of the rumour, so that Touka, Nemu, Ui, and Iroha may one day reunite."

"I don't believe this," Touka said. "Tamaki Iroha's half-baked memories contain the real identities of the four girls? No, I won't accept it."

"This story should be my original work," Nemu said. "I never wrote about the four in detail… I never developed them fully."

"But the rumour here just proved that I was telling the truth," Iroha said. "And it's not just the Eternal Sakura! There are other things you forgot!"

"Are you still jerking us around!?" Touka asked.

"No!" Iroha said. "I'm just trying to tell you something. I want you to know the truth. Because the rumours that are spreading throughout Kamihama… most of them were thought up by the three of you, Touka-chan, Nemu-chan, and Ui. You all made them up together while you were in the hospital."

"That's a lie!" Touka said. "We have no memory of you or that little sister you keep talking about! I can't remember clearly, but I know the other two girls were different!"

"No!" Iroha said. "Those girls were Ui and me!"

"Shut up!" Touka shouted. "I'll stitch your mouth shut!"

"I understand why you're angry, Touka," Nemu said. "But let's calm down now."

"Nemu!?" Touka gasped.

"Tamaki Iroha's logic is sound," Nemu said. "She provided evidence to verify her own memories, as we asked of her. We cannot deny it now that the rumour has emerged to confirm her story."

"You believe her!?" Touka gasped.

"My memories differ from hers," Nemu said. "That much is true. Even if she has proven herself, I have not the slightest intention of trusting her. But still, we must consider the rumour. We should also consider that she participated in our lectures. Let's allow her to speak her piece. We can digest her words, then come to our own conclusions."

Touka groaned. "Fine! Fine. Say whatever you like. I'm not going to believe you, so who cares?"

"Alright then," Nemu said. "Please, Tamaki Iroha. Would you kindly enlighten us? Tell us about the memories we allegedly lost."

"Miss Iroha…" Sana said.

"Sana-chan… would you listen too?" Iroha said. "About the rumour I remember?"

"Sure…"

"I saw it," Iroha said. "I saw three girls making up stories about Kamihama in their hospital room. They played cards, read the stories Nemu-chan wrote, and watched television together. Sometimes their chats turned into arguments. That was just everyday life for them.

"But everything changed one day, when Touka-chan, Nemu-chan, and Ui all began to take an interest in the city in which they lived – Kamihama. That was how the three of them started their map project. The girls spent every day like this, asking visitor after visitor for recommendations. They asked the hospital staff too. The map gradually filled up with the places they heard about.

"And then… they started to receive photos of the places they heard about. And so, their collection of photos grew. Before I knew it, the map was loaded with pins and photos. I remember it clearly… the three of them were looking forward to the future with such excitement.

"But as time wore on, the information they got from asking others slowed to a trickle. It was no longer enough to satisfy them. It wasn't too long after the first map got buried in pins and photos that the way they made their map changed. This sudden development was surprising, but their faces were shining so brightly! Once their imaginations had been sparked, it was like they would never run out of ideas. So their stories started inside the walls of the hospital. Slowly they began to spread out to the city. The new map filled up once more with pins and illustrations.

"Then, one day, it was my turn to come up with a story. My story was 'The Eternal Sakura'. One day, everyone will get better, and they'll be able to play outside. When that happens, and we all get together… I wanted us to be able to do all of the things we hadn't been able to do. That's why I thought up that story. That's what I remember. I remember making up stories that would eventually serve as the basis for rumours… and I remember Touka-chan, and Nemu-chan, and Ui there with me."

"Touka and I remember it differently," Nemu said.

"Maybe you do," Iroha said. "But you really should be able to remember the truth. About Ui and me… please try to remember, and then stop all of this."

"I understand your claims and version of events," Nemu said. "But unfortunately we cannot stop."

"Nemu-chan!" Iroha protested.

"The sole reason we left this rumour is because it conveniently concealed our base," Nemu said. "It had nothing to do with any sentiments we had towards people we do not remember. I thank you for explaining your memories, but it changes nothing. It won't influence my or Touka's goals, nor will it influence our plan for freedom."

"Yeah, that's right," Touka said. "Even if everything you said just now did turn out to be true… it doesn't feel like it has anything to do with me. It doesn't spark a thing in me. There aren't any neurons firing off about any of this, anywhere in my brain."

"No way…" Iroha said.

"But anyway!" Touka said. "I'm ready to erase this rumour."

"Right," Nemu said. "We know all the details now, but there was nothing in it worth keeping."

"Then you wish to engage me in combat?" the Eternal Sakura asked.

"Yes, Rumour of the Eternal Sakura," Nemu said. "Your role ends here."

"It's not like you're even able to attack either of us at full power, right?" Touka said.

"I'm still able to offer protection," the Eternal Sakura said.

"You're going to protect me?" Iroha asked.

"That is my role as a rumour," the Eternal Sakura replied. "It is a difficult situation to be caught between those I must protect, but…"

"I… I can, too," Sana said, transforming.

"Sana-chan!" Iroha gasped.

"I am a shield after all," Sana said. "If there's one thing I'm confident about, it's my sturdiness."

"Alright," Nemu said. "We'll erase all of you together!

She giggled, the most emotive thing she had done yet.

"Yes, let's take them apart!"" Touka said.

She too giggled.

"You are one of the four I must protect," the Eternal Sakura said. "Please yield. I don't want to hurt you."

"Your role here is finished, as I decreed," Nemu said. "So I'm going to go ahead and hurt you."

She attacked with a flurry of pages, smacking the Eternal Sakura in the face and leaving small gashes in her clothes. If she were human, there would no doubt have been minor cuts all over her body, but it seemed that rumours didn't have blood.

"I am the one who brought you into being," Nemu said. "So I will be the one to destroy you. Sorry your creator had to be such a selfish person. Curse me all you want. I'll listen."

"All I have to say is that it is a shame to be destroyed by my creator," the Eternal Sakura replied calmly.

"I won't let you act like this has nothing to do with you!" Iroha said. "Touka-chan, Nemu-chan… you'll both regret this if you go through with it!"

Touka giggled, charging up her power again.

"The only regret I'll have is if I allow my plans for liberation to fail," she said. "That's far more worthy of regret than not obeying Tamaki Iroha's senseless drivel!"

Then Sana suddenly jumped between them.

"Miss Iroha!" Sana exclaimed.

"Get out of the way!" Touka shouted.

She smacked Sana in the side with her closed parasol, causing her to collapse to the ground with a squeal.

"You're already injured!" Touka said. "There's no way you can stand against us! Now take this! Game over!"

Iroha gasped as Touka unleashed her energy attack yet again… and yet again, she flinched in anticipation of an attack that never landed.

"Huh? I'm okay…?" Iroha said.

There was a shimmering green barrier between her and Touka, which must have blocked the attack.

"What are you doing!?" Touka shouted.

Alina stalked forward from the entrance.

"'What are you doing?' I believe I, Alina, should be the one asking that."

"Miss Alina?" Iroha said.

"I was finally about to rid the world of Tamaki Iroha!" Touka said. "Don't get in the way! Why in the world are you helping her!?"

"Well, that's simple," Alina said.

And then, without any further discussion, she summoned her labyrinth, and it sucked Iroha inside. Iroha looked around wildly, but she couldn't see an exit anywhere. At least there didn't seem to be any witches nearby, though. She started wandering through the crystalline environment, hoping she might find an exit somewhere. She'd been wandering for probably ten or fifteen minutes before Alina stepped out from around a corner. Iroha blinked, turning to run away, but a shimmering green barrier encased her. Alina stepped through it like it wasn't even there, then reached out and seized the soul gem at Iroha's throat, tearing it away from her costume.

"N-no! That's… you can't take that!" Iroha protested. "Give it back!"

But Alina ignored her and just walked off. After a moment, Iroha found herself unable to maintain her transformation, and ended up powering down. Another few moments, and Alina's labyrinth collapsed.

Iroha found herself in a prison cell somewhere and sighed. She saw Alina just disappearing around a corner, while Mokyu slipped in between the cell bars, making one of her cute noises in greeting. Touka was also there, glaring at her. Nemu was nowhere to be seen.

"Mokyu! Thank goodness you're alright!" Iroha said.

Mokyu made another cute noise, apologizing for failing to restore their memories.

"Yeah, they didn't remember even after they touched you," Iroha said.

Mokyu made another cute noise.

"Don't be sad," Iroha said. "I'm not giving up. Thanks to the Rumour of the Eternal Sakura, I know my memories are real."

"You should just give up already," Touka said.

"Touka-chan…"

Touka giggled.

"What are you even doing here?" Iroha asked.

"I thought I'd introduce you," Touka said.

"To who?"

"Listen, can you hear it?" Touka said. "We're connected to the observatory, so you should be able to hear it."

Iroha listened closely. At first there was nothing, but then, suddenly, she heard a peel of eerie laughter.

"Laughter?" Iroha said. "Who is that, Touka-chan?"

"Why, it's a witch, of course," Touka said.

"A witch!?" Iroha gasped.

"Yeah," Touka said. "It's a legend amongst us magical girls. The greatest calamity of our time! Today, we summon Walpurgisnacht."

She giggled.

"Walpurgisnacht?" Iroha said. "You summoned a witch? Is that even possible?"

"Oh, I see," Touka said. "You already know about it then, Tamaki Iroha? Yes – Walpurgisnacht, as it is known to magical girls, is an incredibly powerful witch! Haven't you noticed all the witches and magical girls gathering in this city?" She giggled. "We've put in a lot of work stealing radio waves and electricity."

"Does that mean you were behind everything that happened today!?" Iroha gasped.

"We sure were!" Touka said. "You get one hundred points! It was all necessary to summon Walpurgisnacht."

"Horrible things will happen here in Kamihama if you summon such a dangerous witch!" Iroha said.

"But that's got nothing to do with you, does it, Tamaki Iroha?" Touka said. "I mean, you're gonna be witch food soon. You should look forward to it!" She giggled. "I sure do!"

With that, she turned and left, and Iroha sighed.

"Alina took my soul gem, so I can't even transform… how am I supposed to escape?"

Just in case, she tried kicking one of the bars, but they didn't budge even a centimetre.

---

"Ahh, yes," I say, nodding. "That confrontation must have started sometime around the climax of the helipad battle, around when the power went out. When we left the helipad together to head into the hills for Fendt Hope, I thought I'd check on how Miss Tamaki was doing, and saw the end of that confrontation… starting roughly when Alina showed up. I suppose it's a stroke of luck for me… since Miss Futaba is no longer able to tell us what happened after Miss Iroha was knocked out…"

"Y-yeah, you're right," Iroha says. "In that case, do you want to tell us what you saw then?"

"Hmm… well, my goal here is to gather as much information as I can myself, so it's not really necessary, but… sure, I can tell you," I say.

"And what about how Miss Sakura ended up at Fendt Hope?" Inui suggests.

"Oh right, I forgot to ask you two about that," I say. "Sure… but I'll talk about Futaba Sana first, even though that chronologically happened later."

---

"Miss Iroha!" Sana gasped.

Sana barely had a chance to react as Iroha was sucked into Alina's labyrinth, but being next to Touka as she was, she did at least manage to avoid being sucked in herself. Mokyu also avoided it somehow, but apparently decided to stay with Alina.

"She has been a constant thorn in our sides," Alina said. "It would be far more exciting to feed her to Eve than to eliminate her ourselves. Besides, I think this girl's memories are quite curious. I, Alina, met Touka and Nemu in a hospital. This girl's memories are set in a hospital. She seems to dredge up memories in emergency situations. She may say some amusing things right as she's about to be fed to Eve."

Alina burst out laughing. Sana was too frightened to do anything other than hide herself with her magic and slowly back away.

"Ugh, but I wanted to snuff her out now!" Touka said. "And I don't care one bit about any of Tamaki Iroha's stupid memories."

"Now isn't the time to quarrel," Nemu said. "As long as she ends up dead, it matters not how we get there. Moreover, Tamaki Iroha may indeed experience some changes in her memory. I admit, I'm quite interested to hear what she might say. Let's hear her last words before she becomes food for Eve."

"Ugh… fiiiiine," Touka said. "Okay then, let's use the leftover feathers to get Eve closer to hatching too."

"After all, our true goal has already been achieved," Nemu said.

"Oh, there's one little pest left," Alina said. "We may as well toss them in Eve's trough together. The invisible girl…?"

She looked around, even staring directly at Sana for nearly thirty seconds, but apparently was unable to see her.

"Shit! She got away!" Alina said.

"Hey, hey, hey, Miss Rumour of the Eternal Sakura?" Touka said. "We aren't going to kill Tamaki Iroha, we're just going to take her somewhere. That shouldn't be an issue, correct?"

"My goal is to watch over the four girls until they see the cherry blossoms bloom," the Eternal Sakura said. "As long as you are neither trying to destroy the rumour itself, nor the girls… I'm unable to interfere."

"That wasn't even worth asking," Nemu said. "We wouldn't be going against the rumour's story, so there's no need for it to attack. Alright, shall we return to Fendt Hope?"

"It really pains me that we didn't kill her," Touka said. "Still, miss veteran and her friends will be in a tough spot without Tamaki Iroha around."

She giggled.

"Bye-bye!" Alina said.

The three of them walked away and stepped through what seemed to be a fold of space, disappearing from sight. The rumour looked around for a few moments before settling her gaze on Sana… or at least, her approximate location. Then Sana cancelled her stealth magic and took out a grief seed..

"Miss Iroha…" she said. "Don't worry, I'm going to come save you…"

She used the grief seed to purify her soul gem, then turned to the rumour.

"Um…"

"You…" the Eternal Sakura said.

"I'm sure Miss Iroha will come back here with our other friends soon," Sana said. "So would you mind staying like this for a little while?"

"Is it necessary for me to do that, as a rumour?" the Eternal Sakura asked.

"Yes!" Sana said. "Please show my friends the way when they show up! I need you to help me save Miss Iroha, and Ui-chan too. And I need you to help me make Touka-chan and Nemu-chan remember. I think that's how you'll be able to fulfill your role as a rumour. We'll make sure the four girls are reunited!"

"I see," the Eternal Sakura said.

"Thank you," Sana said.

As she turned to leave, the rumour spoke up again.

"Wait," she said.

"Huh?" Sana said.

The Eternal Sakura leapt up into the air, landing in the branches of the tree. She broke off a small twig, then hopped down and presented it to Sana.

"Please, take this," the Eternal Sakura said. "If it blooms while in the presence of the other three girls… then it will mean you have found Ui."

"Thank you very much!" Sana said.

She took the twig, hid her magic again, and followed the Magius inside.

---

"After that, she entered Fendt Hope, but found the feathers were able to detect her," I say. "Though not well enough to locate her. She ended up overpowering Miss Makino and stealing her black feather robe, and I think you know the rest."

"So that's how Sana-chan found me," Iroha says. "She did really well… even though she was all alone, she managed to overpower Miss Makino to blend in…"

"Yes, her stealth magic is quite powerful," I say. "Even the Magius's wards in Fendt Hope weren't enough to fully penetrate it."

"But wait, when I ran into Miss Makino, she was in a white feather robe," Iroha says.

"Yeah, I don't know why that was, exactly," I say. "Sorry."

"So, next we should probably hear from Miss Sakura," Inui says.

"Eh… well, whatever," Kyouko says, "What do ya wanna know?"

"Maybe starting around when you got off the train in Kamihama?" Inui suggests.

"After speaking with Miss Miki," I add.

"That far back!?" Kyouko gasps. "There's not much ta tell, honestly… I tracked down some of those feather chicks and said I wanna join, so they started taking me along… I turned down the robes, though."

"So you just worked with them for a few days," Inui says. "I suppose that makes sense… given how things were going back then, it's not surprising they'd be more cautious with new recruits…"

"Anyway, after a day or so, one of those white feather chicks took me back to the base…"

---

"Alrighty, I'm out too," Kyouko said.

"You, stay," the lead white feather said.

"Huh? Why?"

"We'll take you to headquarters," the white feather said. "You seem capable and reliable."

Kyouko blinked in surprise.

"Huh…"

It seemed to be going a little too well, which made her a bit uncomfortable. It seemed like a safe bet that they were planning something… though maybe they really were shorthanded? But, nah, if anything they were short on competence – most of those girls couldn't even fight alone. They probably just wanted to hang onto any magical girl who seemed skilled.

"Come with me," the white feather said.

"Yeah, alright," Kyouko said.

The white feather led her south into the waterfront area of town, known as Minaminagi Ward. As they walked, Kyouko pondered what she knew about them. Could they really free magical girls like this? But in any case, she'd be the judge of that. It's why she went to all this trouble, after all.

They arrived in a park by the waterfront, and the white feather turned to her.

"I understand that you don't wish to wear the robes," she said. "However, you'll at least require the pendant. It's the key to enter Fendt Hope."

She dug out another of those tacky pendants from a pocket and handed it over, then turned and stepped into the park. Suddenly, a labyrinth portal appeared before her, and she stepped inside without hesitation. Kyouko blinked at it in surprise, but the portal vanished before she could get in. But, remembering what she'd been told, she held up the pendant, and sure enough – the portal appeared once more. This time, she stepped through, joining the white feather in the garden before a giant hotel-like building.

"Good god, it's huge," Kyouko said. "Are there really that many girls in this joint…?"

"Not all of the rooms are occupied," the white feather said. "But there are a great many of us, yes. We come from all across Japan, though the majority of members are from this island."

"Incredible," Kyouko said. "So… where do we go from here?"

"Follow me," the white feather said.

She led Kyouko inside the building and took the stairs up to the sixth or seventh floor, then headed down a hallway and knocked on a door labelled 'Captain'. Just across from that door was another labelled 'Vice-Captain'.

"Come in!" a familiar voice said.

Kyouko blinked. That didn't bode well… she knew that voice. She'd been hoping not to run into anyone she knew… but there was nothing for it. She couldn't just back out now, right? It'd be far too suspicious. But she couldn't help thinking that she should've just taken the stupid robe when they offered it.

"Quit looking around," the white feather said. "Come into the office."

She stepped inside the room.

"Here she is, Miss Mifuyu."

Mifuyu was sitting behind a desk at the far side of the room. Though she wore white feather robes, the hood was thrust back, leaving her face fully exposed. She looked up, blinking once at the sight of Kyouko, then nodded.

"Thank you," she said.

"Um, is everything alright?" the white feather asked.

"Quite," Mifuyu said. "Thank you for bringing her here. I'll handle the rest."

"Yes, ma'am," the white feather said. "Excuse me."

She left the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Mifuyu and Kyouko alone in the office. Kyouko stared at her for several seconds before breaking the silence.

"You okay with me being here?" Kyouko asked. "Ain't no way you've forgotten my face, is there?"

"I'm… actually rather relieved," Mifuyu said.

But before she could explain what she meant, the door opened and Tomoe Mami of all people walked in. She stopped in surprise at the sight of Kyouko standing there.

"Oh? Is that Miss Sakura?" she said.

"Mami!" Kyouko gasped. "So you really were with these guys…"

"What are you doing here?" Mami asked.

"Miss Tomoe, she's our latest recruit," Mifuyu said.

"Is that so!" Mami said. "I'm so very glad that you appreciate our cause! The others don't…"

"Huh? Who the heck are ya talking about?" Kyouko asked.

"I never did manage to get through to Miss Kaname and the others," Mami said. "About salvation… about the miraculous glory of liberating magical girls. So I'm absolutely thrilled! I'm incredibly glad that you came. Now we can save the pious magical girls who believe in the Magius and myself. And we can do it together!"

It was a speech so unlike the Mami she knew that Kyouko was left dumbfounded, wondering if she'd encountered a fake of some kind. The 'saving people' bit was nothing new, but…

"Miss Sakura?" Mami said.

"By the way, what happened with the other Mitakihara magical girls?" Mifuyu asked. "You didn't simply leave them, did you?"

"Of course not," Mami said. "I locked them up so they wouldn't be able to leave Mitakihara."

It was very obvious to Kyouko that something was not right here.

"Locked them up?" Mifuyu said. "Oh, did you use Alina's labyrinth?"

"Yes," Mami said. "If they interfere with our plans, we won't be able to save them. I had no other choice once they caught on to the feathers under my command… ah, speaking of which, Miss Taylor never reported for duty. I fear that she may have betrayed us."

"It's too soon to conclude that," Mifuyu said. "She might have simply had something more important to attend to. So your friends from Mitakihara are safely out of the way?"

There was definitely something wrong. That was clearly not the Mami that she knew.

"Yes, I mean, they deserve to be saved too!" Mami continued. "I'm sure that when we are all saved they will understand. We must accomplish our goal, no matter what sacrifices we must make along the way."

That was the final straw. Kyouko couldn't hold it in any longer.

"No!" she shouted. "This isn't the Mami I know!"

"Sorry?" Mami said.

"You'd sacrifice someone to save something!?" Kyouko shouted. "Don't gimme that crap!"

She couldn't believe she was hearing words like that from the girl she'd once admired, the girl she'd looked up to back then.

"Fighting for others!" Kyouko shouted. "Saving everybody! That's you… that's Mami's biggest point of pride, ain't it!?"

Mami blinked at her in surprise.

"I…"

"How could you… get so twisted!?" Kyouko asked.

"I'm not!" Mami protested. "I haven't changed at all! I will… I will save everyone, no matter what I need to sacrifice… no, that's not right… not sacrifice… but we do need to save everyone…"

"Wake up, Mami!" Kyouko shouted. "That pride you had, it's yours, you know! No-one else's! Don't let anyone take advantage of it!"

"I… I… am I wrong?" Mami asked. "Kyouko…"

At that moment, the door opened once again, and a younger girl stepped in with a giggle. She wore a dull green school uniform with a white collar and a red ribbon.

"Now what's going on here, I wonder?" she asked.

She was followed by a girl about the same age, wearing a maroon uniform with a black collar and ribbon. Her hair was also brown, but in a lighter shade and tied into pigtails.

"Certainly an unwelcome situation, by any measure," the second girl said.

"Who're you?" Kyouko asked, annoyed. "I got a bone to pick with—"

"This is a new feather," Mifuyu interrupted.

"Hey!" Kyouko protested.

Mifuyu responded with a telepathic message.

«Can you tell whether you would win against those two if a fight broke out?» she asked. «I'm sure you can tell, considering your level of experience. I'll make sure the situation doesn't turn sour. Follow my lead.»

Kyouko blinked. She'd missed it in her anger, but Mifuyu was right. Just one of those girls alone probably had the strength to trounce her and Mami combined. With her Rosso Fantasma working again, she might be able to beat one of them, but the two of them together? Fat chance of that. It seemed she'd have to rely on Mifuyu, though she still didn't understand what was going through that girl's head right now.

«Fine, whatever,» she said. «Take it away.»

"A feather?" the dark-haired girl said. "Oh, a new black feather?"

"Yes," Mifuyu said. "We can trust her. However, it appears she's an acquaintance of Miss Tomoe, and Miss Tomoe's behaviour puzzled her. I was about to explain to her how Miss Tomoe is serving as our saint of liberation."

"Sorry for kicking up a fuss," Kyouko said. "It was just a big shock to me, cause she's so different now."

"Ooooh?" the dark-haired girl said. "Are you suuuuure? Very well, so long as you don't interfere."

"Miss Tomoe is the more pressing issue here," the pigtailed girl said, looking annoyed. "Fixing her will be no small matter…"

Indeed, Mami seemed to be stuck in a strange feedback loop, muttering to herself.

"I… was wrong…? Then who… who's right? Wrong… right… wrong… right…"

"We'll be on our way now," Mifuyu said.

But though her words implied they were going to leave the office, Mifuyu didn't move at all. Instead, she used her magic. Kyouko blinked at her, confused, but she put a finger to her lips.

«You can leave if you want, or stay and watch what happens next,» Mifuyu said.

Unsure what that meant exactly, or what sort of magic Mifuyu had used, Kyouko decided to hide behind one of the curtains.

"Now she's really done it," the pigtailed girl muttered. "The rumour is starting to uncouple from Miss Tomoe."

"Awww, that's so mean!" the other girl said. "She seems to know Miss Tomoe, so do you think she came here to take her back? Could she perhaps be our enemy?"

"That is an undeniable possibility," the pigtailed girl said. "But it is also likely that she felt uneasy with Miss Tomoe's current state, sparking distrust. Either way, we were lucky."

The other girl chuckled. "That's true. It seems like she's indeed highly skilled! Maybe she'll be able to crush the veterans, once and for all!"

"But for now, we need to focus on Miss Tomoe," the pigtailed girl said.

She laid a hand on Mami's shoulder, and the older girl gasped.

"Please!" Mami said. "Lady Touka, Lady Nemu… tell me, was I wrong this whole time?"

Based on how she looked at one girl, then the other, Kyouko was able to determine that the pigtailed girl was called Nemu and the dark-haired girl was called Touka.

"Yes, we had better do something about this, and fast," Touka said.

Nemu transformed, donning an academic-like uniform.

"Let me deal with it," she said. "Miss Tomoe, you didn't do anything wrong. I'll erase the pain for you. All you need to think about is salvation."

It wasn't clear exactly what she did, but she did use some magic of some sort.

"How do you feel now?" Nemu asked.

Mami chuckled. "I feel like I have just awoken," she said. "How could I ever doubt…? Even the act of sacrifice is made noble by a lofty goal such as ours."

With that, all three of them left the room. Mifuyu waited a good minute or so, then spoke up.

"They're gone," she said. "You can come out now."

"What the hell was that just now!?" Kyouko shouted.

"They strengthened her brainwashing using a rumour… is how I'd put it," Mifuyu said.

"Brainwashing," Kyouko said.

"I'm so sorry," Mifuyu said. "I'm sure it feels awful to see a friend go through something like that. But that's how the Wings of the Magius operates, I'm afraid."

"We aren't friends," Kyouko retorted.

She was starting to regret losing her cool like that… it wasn't like her. Had looking after Yuma caused her to become soft or something?

"Ah, I see," Mifuyu said.

"Anyway, why'd you even show me something like that?" Kyouko asked. "You'd scare off lesser girls doing that kinda thing."

"I want to scare you off," Mifuyu said. "The Magius have gone too far now. I can't let any more girls get dragged into this. You though… it doesn't seem like you came to us for solace."

Kyouko frowned a little, wondering if she was being interrogated… but it didn't quite feel like an interrogation.

"Well, ya know, I came here planning to feel out what you guys were up to," Kyouko said.

"And how did it go?" Mifuyu asked.

"Well, having just seen that little scene… I'd have to be a total nutjob to wanna join up with the Wings of the Magius," Kyouko said. "So I'll pass."

"In that case, I have one more thing I'd like to show you," Mifuyu said. "Come with me."

Mifuyu led her out of the office and down to the ground floor, but they didn't stop there – she took another flight even further down, spiralling deep into the ground. As they went, a strange feeling came over Kyouko, as if something was pressing down on her. She started to have difficulty breathing. Mifuyu however seemed just fine, so Kyouko thought she shouldn't say anything. It wasn't so bad she couldn't handle it, at least.

Once they'd reached the end of that long staircase, they emerged into an underground garden. At first, Kyouko wondered if the garden was what she was being shown, but then she caught sight of a gigantic moth-like form looming above the whole place.

"Is this… a witch?" she asked.

"I don't know, exactly," Mifuyu said. "The Magius call it Eve. They claim it's proof that magical girls will be freed. It does appear to be the cause of the doppel phenomenon here in Kamihama… so I can't say they're wrong in their claims. And now, in order to 'hatch' Eve… they are summoning Walpurgisnacht to Kamihama."

"Seriously!?" Kyouko gasped. "Are they nuts!?"

"I think they lost sight of what matters most… all in pursuit of their goals."

"Well that's a load of crap," Kyouko said. "What're you gonna do now?"

"Hm?" Mifuyu said.

"You just showed me this Eve thing," Kyouko said. "That must mean you're not super keen on the Magius, right?"

Mifuyu sighed but remained silent.

"If you're gonna turn tail and run, mind if I stick with you until we get out?" Kyouko asked. "I don't know this area so well."

"I can't run," Mifuyu said. "I need to pay penance for everything that I've done. I'm going to stay here and make the Magius mend their ways."

"Oh yeah?" Kyouko said. "So you're the kinda chick who cleans up after her own mess. I can respect that."

"I'll help you get outside," Mifuyu said. "It's easy to get lost if you don't know the layout."

She led Kyouko back upstairs and out the front door. However, once outside, she seemed to choose a different route than the way Kyouko had come in, heading around to the side of the building.

"Huh? Isn't the exit over there?" Kyouko asked, pointing. "That's where I came in…"

"That's the front entrance, yes," Mifuyu said. "You need a pendant to get in that way, and you're very likely to be seen. The back entrance I'm about to show you is used only by a few people – myself, the Magius, Miss Tomoe, and one or two others. It's the best option if you want to leave unnoticed."

"And I s'pose you don't need the key to get in the back," Kyouko said.

"No, since it's so well hidden," Mifuyu said.

She stepped through a sort of fold in space and disappeared from sight. Kyouko blinked, then followed her, finding herself in a completely different labyrinth. This one looked like an infinite hilly meadow, with a single leafless cherry tree at the top of the hill.

"Now, just make your way out of the forest and you'll arrive in Kamihama," Mifuyu said, pointing.

"I owe ya one," Kyouko said. "Thanks."

"No… this is the very least I could do," Mifuyu said.

"Seeya," Kyouko said.

"Goodbye… and stay safe," Mifuyu said.

Kyouko headed in the direction Mifuyu had pointed, moving downhill from the massive cherry tree. After just a few steps, she emerged from the labyrinth into a real forest, and continued in the same direction until she found herself back in a built-up area. A little investigation revealed that she was now in Hokuyo Ward.

"Wow," she muttered. "They got some sort of teleportation or something…? I went in at Kamihama's south side, and came out on the north side…"

As Kyouko wandered through town, she pondered what to do next. Since it would be a pain to have them looking for her, she decided to leave Kamihama. That brought back to mind what Mami had said earlier. She'd mentioned trapping Sayaka and the others in a labyrinth.

"Suppose I could drop by Mitakihara," she muttered. "I did tell those guys we would share intel, after all."

So she caught a train back to Mitakihara and started searching for signs of Mami's magic. Along the way, she took out a witch or two as well. She stopped for a catnap around midnight, resuming her search around five in the morning, roaming across the city centre for most of the day. Eventually, she found a flowery portal, sealed with Mami's ribbons.

"Dammit!" Kyouko shouted. "That makes me so mad…!"

She transformed, kicking and slashing at the ribbons until they broke free. As she did so, faint voices seemed to issue from within. It was hard to tell, but she thought she recognized Sayaka's voice among them.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Anyone home!? If you're in there, head this way!"

A minute or so later, Madoka, Homura, and Sayaka emerged from the labyrinth. The four of them powered down, and Madoka let out a sigh of relief.

"We made it!" she said. "Thanks so much, Kyouko-chan."

"Yes… I suppose I should thank you as well," Homura said.

"You really saved us back there!" Sayaka said. "Though I gotta say, I never expected you to be the one to come help us out."

"Who said I came to help you out?" Kyouko retorted. "You gave me info before. I figured I'd come pay ya back with something I heard in Kamihama. On my way, I saw a labyrinth that was sealed with a certain someone's ribbons… so I pulverized it. That's all. By the way, where are the brats? Not with ya?"

"Ah, okay," Madoka said. "I'm not sure where Yuma-chan and Nagisa-chan are, but they weren't with us when we were trapped, so maybe they're at Miss Mami's place? Anyway, you did help us. We were really having a rough time getting out of there."

"So what'd you find out, Kyouko?" Sayaka asked.

"It ain't a pretty story," Kyouko said. "Brace yourselves, okay?"

"Okay," Madoka said. "I'm ready!"

"Yeah, go on," Sayaka said.

"Well, I joined up with the Wings of the Magius for a bit, to infiltrate them and figure out what they were up to," Kyouko explained. "But I just can't wrap my head around them. They brainwashed Mami… she's like a different person. And they're raising some strange, witch-like creature in the basement which they call their 'proof of liberation'. But what really turned me off about them is what they're planning to do next. You'll never believe this… they're gonna try and summon Walpurgisnacht to Kamihama!"

Madoka gasped. "W-what!? No way…"

"And that's about everything I found out," Kyouko concluded.

"Miss Mami…" Sayaka said.

"So she really was brainwashed," Madoka said.

"I can't believe that they'd actually summon Walpurgisnacht," Homura muttered. "If they'd ever seen her in person, they'd immediately realize that's not something to do so lightly… I can only conclude that they're foolish and overconfident…"

"Hey, I hate to throw a wrench in the works here," Sayaka said. "But what even is Walpurgisnacht? You've been mentioning that name for awhile now…"

"It's a witch," Kyouko said.

"Oh," Sayaka said.

"It's a really powerful witch," Madoka said. "If it came to Mitakihara, it could easily level a large chunk of the city… maybe even the entire city, if there was no-one to challenge it…"

"A whole city?" Sayaka said. "Don't you think that's kinda crazy-sounding?"

"But it's true," Madoka said. "That's the kind of incredibly strong witch it is."

"She's not exaggerating," Kyouko said. "Those're the facts."

"So Miss Mami's caught up in something that dangerous?" Sayaka said. "This… this can't be happening…"

"I don't think she's in her right mind," Kyouko said. "But she's serious about seeing it through."

"We gotta stop her!" Sayaka said. "I won't let Miss Mami be responsible for this!"

"Yeah!" Madoka said. "We need to go to Kamihama!"

"Wait!" Homura said.

"Homura-chan, don't even try to stop me this time!" Madoka said.

"But it's already late," Homura said. "We should at least go back home first."

"But!" Sayaka began.

"Look at your phones," Homura said.

Madoka took hers out and looked at it, blinking. Sayaka followed her example, gawking at what she saw.

"Oh…" Madoka said.

"No way," Sayaka said.

"It's been a whole day since we got locked up in that labyrinth," Homura said. "No-one was able to contact us, right? Your families are probably worried sick… and Yuma-chan and Nagisa-chan too."

"You're right," Madoka admitted. "We should at least go home first… oh, I also have a message from Ashley-chan."

"Thank you," Homura said, letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Yeah, okay," Sayaka agreed.

"Well, my business is done here," Kyouko said.

"Wait a sec!" Sayaka said. "What are you gonna do now?"

"Huh? That's for me to know, not you," Kyouko retorted. "We traded info, like we agreed on. Now I'm free to do whatever I want."

"Wait!" Sayaka said. "If you're planning to go to Kamihama… we should all go together!"

"She's right!" Madoka said. "It's really dangerous to go by yourself, Kyouko-chan!"

"How many times do I gotta tell you guys… I'm not playing buddy-buddy with you," Kyouko retorted. "Later."

As she turned and stalked off, Sayaka called after her.

"Kyouko!"

But Kyouko ignored her and kept walking. It wasn't long before they were out of earshot.

"So… what'll I do now," she muttered. "Do I wanna go back to Kamihama…? Dammit… this really pisses me off! I should be over the whole 'friends' and 'feelings' junk by now… I swore I'd use my power only for my own sake! Dang… it really must be Yuma-chan's fault… I shoulda dumped her ages ago… cause here I am thinking about… about her… and Momo… and… and even Mami… I just can't get that scene out of my mind…"

She shook her head, trying to clear it – as if doing so would knock the unpleasant memory from her brain.

"Dammit… should I grab some grub in Kazamino…?"

And then what? Go back to Kamihama? But she could decide that after she'd eaten. With a sigh, she made her way south into Kazamino, stopping by a small ramen stand that she often frequented. The guy running it didn't seem to mind when she walked off without paying, though she'd never exchanged a single word with him. Before, she'd never given it a second thought, but now she found herself wondering why that was. It wasn't exactly normal behaviour, right?

It was quite late when she arrived – in fact, the man was already starting to pack up, though he stopped upon spotting her. There weren't any other customers.

"Gimme a soy ramen, with lotsa onions," she said.

"Coming right up," the man said.

"Hey, what's your deal?" she asked as he started making it.

"I ain't sure what ya mean," he said.

"Don't be smart with me," she retorted. "How many times have I been here, and yet you always keep making that ramen of yours no matter what?"

"Well, I figure if ya can't pay, ya must have a good reason," the man said. "Everyone's gotta eat, right? Long's I can make people happy with good food, that's enough for me."

"Hmph," Kyouko said. "I don't need your pity."

"Who said anything about pity?" the man asked. "I just said everyone's gotta eat. It's that simple. Still, I'd be grateful if ya could pay for your meals here sometimes. I've gotta eat too, ya know. Even just a small tip would be great – pay what ya want, ya know?"

"Whatever," Kyouko muttered.

But she did dig out a ten yen coin from her pocket and set it on the counter. It was nowhere near the price of a bowl of ramen, though. The man pocketed it with a sigh.

"Much obliged, ma'am," he said.

The man slammed the bowl down, and Kyouko slurped it down with gusto. It was just as good as it always was. Why'd she struck up a conversation like that, anyway? It wasn't like her… geez…

"Miss Sakura…? Is that you?"

She was almost finished eating when an unexpected voice addressed her. She ignored it long enough to devour the last of the ramen and lift the bowl to her lips, gulping down the remaining broth. Then she turned to the speaker, a girl with lavender hair and a mean look.

"Ain't ya one of Lina's gang?" she asked. "The hell're ya doing in my territory?"

"I thought you'd moved to Mitakihara," the girl said. "So we had to spread out to cover your old territory. By the way, I'm Akane Mai."

"I don't give a crap what your name is," Kyouko retorted. "But ya do have a point, I guess. Can't really blame ya for taking on the territory I abandoned."

"You gonna take over this territory again?" Mai asked. "If so, I can tell the others."

"I ain't sure yet," Kyouko said. "For now, I just came back for some grub."

She indicated the man who was now packing up his stand.

"Ah… I see," Mai said. "Are you going to join the battle against Walpurgisnacht tomorrow in Kamihama, by the way? We'd be glad to have someone as experienced as yourself."

Kyouko blinked at her. "Huh? How'd ya know about that?"

"We heard from Ashley Taylor and Mikuni Oriko," Mai said.

"Huh… well, what I plan to do ain't got nothing to do with ya," Kyouko retorted. "Sides, I ain't sure myself yet."

"I see," Mai said. "Well, please do let me know if you wish to retake this territory. We're already stretching ourselves to cover it, so we'd actually be grateful if you returned… although, with the witch shortage, it did help to have a larger territory, but I don't expect that shortage will last forever."

"Is that so…" Kyouko said. "Well, I'll think about it. Seeya."

With that, she turned and stalked off again. She was feeling strangely… frazzled, and she couldn't stand it. Something about her encounter with the Magius had gotten under her skin in a way she couldn't quite identify.

"I don't know jack about 'noble goals' or what-the-hell-ever," she muttered. "But what they're doing sucks. I hate it so much. That's why… I gotta crush those guys. The Magius."

She blinked, coming to a stop,

"Huh!" she exclaimed out loud. "Well, how bout that? Turns out it's pretty simple. I hate those guys. So I'll take that noble goal they're working towards… and crush it! That'll do just fine. Gotta say though… me refusing to hear out a buncha people preaching the road to salvation. Ain't that just ironic?"

So, she headed back to Kamihama, making for the mountains and locating the cherry tree rumour she'd used to sneak out.

---

"And you more or less know the rest," Kyouko concludes. "So that's what happened. Happy now?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Miss Sakura," I say. "I must say, I did not expect you to run into Miss Akane… though I suppose it didn't change anything, did it?"

"Nah, that was just a little side diversion," Kyouko retorts. "I almost just skipped over it…"

"Something tells me it was more important than you realize," Mami says.

"It wasn't!" Kyouko protests.

"I was also impressed to hear you were able to so easily disrupt the rumour's hold on Miss Tomoe," Yachiyo says. "It took me all I had to get through to her, but you knew exactly the words to say to smash the rumour's influence in an instant. You must be really close with her."

"I toldja, we ain't close at all," Kyouko retorts. "Sure, we teamed up for a little while back in the day, but that was just training, nothing more."

"Really?" Yachiyo says.

"You're really not being honest, are you, Kyouko-chan?" Mitama says with a giggle.

"Shut it!" Kyouko shouts. "That's enough about me!"

While they're teasing her, I take a few moments to ponder my side of the events discussed so far – everything that happened between receiving that email from Mifuyu and meeting up with my friends at the airport.

---

After school on Wednesday, I made straight for the station to catch a train to Kamihama. I now had two communicators in my bag, both set to channel twenty-five. I disembarked from the train and made for the new entrance in Minaminagi Seaside Park. When I arrived at Fendt Hope, I found a slightly tense atmosphere, with quite a few feathers gathered in the main lounge on the ground floor. Two of them jumped up and ran over as I entered – the white feather named Sue, and the black feather known as Maimai. Over by the stairs leading to the chapel, the Instructor, Kagura San, was standing like a guardian.

"Miss Lita!" Maimai said. "Do you have any idea what this is all about?"

"Well… I have my theory," I say. "But I'm not sure if I should say it…"

"Well, there were a couple girls who came out crying," Sue said.

"So that's where this tense atmosphere is coming from," I say.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sue said.

«I already had mine though,» Sue added telepathically. «It seemed fine… like Miss Inui suggested, when they asked where my loyalties lie, I said I was only interested in the goal of liberation. Then Miss Alina told me not to wear my pendant tomorrow.»

«Nice,» I said. «That's the response we were going for, after all.»

"Have you had your interview yet, Maimai?" I asked.

"No, mine's at exactly five o'clock," she said.

"So you're just before me, then," I said. "I'm at ten after five… I wonder where the others are? I don't see Inui anywhere…"

"I believe she said her interview was scheduled for six o'clock," Sue said. "She's eating in the cafeteria with a few other girls."

«They include Miss Chiyoko and Miss Maria,» Sue added. «Both of them have interviews after six o'clock as well.»

"What about Miss Mifuyu and the Instructor?" I asked.

"From what I hear, the Instructor was the first to be interviewed, in yesterday's batch," Sue said. "I haven't heard from Miss Mifuyu all day…"

I couldn't help wondering what the total number of feathers was right now. I suspected that Alina wasn't the only one handling interviews – Touka and Nemu were quite likely helping out as well – but assuming that to be the case, they could interview at most eighteen people per hour, which meant, um… if they started at four and worked until midnight… that's eight hours, and um… less than two hundred people… I think? Math was never my strongest subject…

«Well, that's not ominous at all,» I said. «What are the chances she's already been locked up for defying them…?»

«I couldn't say,» Sue said. «But it's not zero. You know… Miss Mifuyu was the only reason I joined the Wings of the Magius… because she was so kind to me, a stranger, when she was visiting my hometown. Oh, I suppose I've never said this before, but… I'm from Kushimoto, on the southern coast of the mainland – the town where all the ferries from Asunaro end up. I'm not sure why Miss Mifuyu was there back then, but… because she was so kind to me that one time, when I followed the mysterious dream here to Kamihama and ran into her, I agreed almost instantly to her invitation to join this group.»

«But at some point, you started to question the leadership?»

«Well… yeah. I could see they were running Miss Mifuyu ragged… I had no idea they'd resorted to brainwashing people until Miss Inui told me, though. The point of all this rambling is… Miss Mifuyu is such a kind person, but the Magius are all borderline psychopathic. So the chance that she's been locked up is definitely not zero.»

«Yeah… the Magius are missing their heart, Tamaki Ui,» I said. «So it's no wonder they spiralled out of control… plus, Alina's come under the influence of the Mirror Witch, I think. From what I hear, she's supposed to be a kind-hearted person too, though of the type who tries to feign indifference… but now…»

«Interesting… where did you hear that from?» Sue asked.

«One of my friends shares a clubroom with Alina at school,» I said. «I think they've known each other for quite awhile… I don't know exactly how long, but long enough that I believe her when she says Alina's kind at heart.»

«Do you think the other two are influenced by this Mirror Witch too?» Sue asked.

«I don't have any reason to believe they are,» I said. «But I don't have a reason to rule it out, either.»

At that moment, a black feather stalked in behind me. It's Kirika.

"Oh… it's you," she said. "What's this stupid interview about, anyway…?"

"When's yours at?" I ask.

"Ten to five," Kirika said.

"Oh, that means you're up next," Sue said. "Just wait for them to call you… should be any minute now."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Instructor raised her voice, calling for the girl scheduled at ten to five. Kirika headed over, and was ushered down the stairs to the chapel. I followed her progress with my clairvoyance. She passed another girl halfway down, climbing the stairs. Once she reached the chapel, she found Alina waiting for her there.

"Oh, another one I don't know," Alina said. "Well… have you gotten used to this place?"

Kirika tilted her head.

"Which place, exactly?"

"The chapel, right here," Alina said. "The thick impurities."

"Oh… that," Kirika said. "That was a piece of cake."

"Really… that's great," Alina said. "Okay… since I haven't heard of you, I presume you haven't caused any trouble or anything. Then, the only other thing I want to ask is… where do your loyalties lie with this organization?"

"Oh, my loyalties?" Kirika said. "I'm only loyal to Oriko."

Alina blinked. "Is that another member…? What about liberation?"

"Oriko wanted to know if your plan for liberation would be able to save magical girls," Kirika explained. "So she sent me to see what you were up to."

"And your conclusion is?"

"It seems fine to me," Kirika said. "It'll save Oriko too, so I'm all for it. I'll do anything to save Oriko."

"I see, thank you," Alina said. "Then you can wait for further instructions in the headquarters. We should have new instructions for you by tomorrow. Make sure that you leave your pendant off, okay?"

Kirika lifted the gaudy gold pendant that all feathers wore.

"You mean, I should take this thing off?" she asked. "But keep the robe on?"

"That's right," Alina said.

"And that'll help me save Oriko?"

"I should think so."

"Okay, got it!" Kirika said.

"You may go now," Alina said.

As she left the chapel, I saw the Instructor ushering Maimai to head down. I switched my vision over to Maimai as the two of them passed each other on the stairs, watching Maimai descend. Though there isn't really any need to watch her, I'm a little curious what she'll say.

"Ah, it's you, the other portal girl," Alina said. "Have you gotten used to this place?"

"Um… you mean the chapel here?" Maimai asked. "I don't think I'll ever get used to it, but… I'm able to bear with it now, thanks to coming down here frequently."

"That's good," Alina said. "Thanks to your powers, we've been able to gather witches from other cities… you haven't gotten us as many as the purple girl, but it has still been a great help. So that means that I, Alina, consider your status to be quite good."

"Oh, um… is that a good thing?" Maimai asked. "I don't quite get what you're saying…"

"No matter," Alina said. "There is just one other thing I would like to ask you."

"Oh, then go ahead!" Maimai said.

"Where do your loyalties lie in this organization?"

"Oh, my loyalties?" Maimai said. "Um, well… that's a tough question really… but I guess I have to answer, right?"

"Naturally," Alina said. "This is the most important question of the interview."

"I see," Maimai said. "So I suppose the right answer would be to say I'm loyal to you three, right?"

"Is that your answer?" Alina asked. "Or is that just what you believe you're expected to say? I give you permission to speak honestly."

"Well, to tell the truth, I don't really like you," Maimai said. "And I don't like those two spoiled brats, either… but I can't deny that you're doing a good thing here, working for the liberation of magical girls. So I guess I'd say that I'm mainly here to see that through?"

"I see, thank you," Alina said. "Then you can wait for further instructions in the headquarters. We should have new instructions for you by tomorrow. Make sure that you leave your pendant off, okay?"

"Oh, but I thought it was a key to get in?" Maimai said.

"You don't need to wear it for that purpose," Alina said. "If you need to leave the base, you can keep it in your pocket."

"Okay, got it," Maimai said. "I'll take it off, then."

"You may go now."

As Maimai left the chapel, the Instructor ushered me down. I closed off my vision at this point, since there really wasn't any reason to have a vision open when I was the one being interviewed. I passed Maimai on the way down, but she didn't say anything, so I just continued all the way to the bottom, where Alina was waiting.

"Oh, it's you," Alina said. "The one who's a friend of the idiot."

"I still don't appreciate you calling Karin-chan an idiot," I retorted. "Please stop."

"Well, that's not what you're here for anyway," Alina said. "Have you gotten used to this place?"

"I can't say I'm quite used to it," I said. "But I think I can bear it well enough now. I haven't come here as often as some of the feathers, so I guess that's to be expected."

"That's… okay," Alina said. "You've failed to protect a rumour twice… but that's not as bad a record as the flute sisters, so I think I can barely give you a pass for that. Then there's just one more thing I'd like to ask."

She paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, or perhaps to give me a chance to prompt her to continue, but I chose to remain silent. After a few seconds, she continued.

"Where do your loyalties lie in this organization?" Alina asked.

"I don't have any loyalties to this organization," I replied. "But I do share a common goal of saving magical girls. That is the only reason I joined."

"I see, thank you," Alina said. "Then you can wait for further instructions in the headquarters. We should have new instructions for you by tomorrow. Make sure that you leave your pendant off, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

"You may go now."

I turned and headed back upstairs. On my way up, I passed Yukika headed down, and opened up a vision to see how her interview went. As Yukika reached the chapel, Alina blinked at her.

"Ah… you're the weirdly strong one," Alina said. "The girl who powers up when she's beaten up."

"Um… it sounds really bad when you describe it like that," Yukika protested. "Please at least let me retain my dignity!"

"Have you gotten used to this place?" Alina asked.

"Do you mean the chapel?" Yukika asked. "I do not think I shall ever truly become accustomed to it, but I have become able to bear it. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that will do," Alina said. "My only other question is… where do your loyalties lie in this organization?"

"If I had to pick, I would say my loyalties lie with Miss Mifuyu and Miss Aka— I mean, the Amane sisters… and by extension, to the three of you Magius," Yukika said.

"I see, thank you," Alina said. "Alright. Come here to the chapel again tomorrow. The other feathers will be here too. And be sure to wear your robe and pendant."

"Of course," Yukika said, sounding puzzled. "I am not sure why you would feel the need to remind me."

"You may go now," Alina said.

By the time Yukika's interview was finished, I'd already returned to the ground floor. As the instructor was ushering over the next person, who appeared to be Hikari, I moved over to rejoin Maimai and Sue.

«So, how'd it go?» Sue asked.

«Pretty similar to yours,» I said. «Alina told me not to wear my pendant. I spied on Kirika's interview too, and though it went rather differently, it did have the same end result. More surprising to me was that Maimai was also told to remove her pendant… I didn't expect her to say outright that she disliked the Magius.»

«Interesting,» Sue said. «Do you think we should include her in our plans, then?»

«I'm not sure,» I said. «It's not as though everyone who's told to remove their pendant would be interested in what we're up to here. Some of them are probably quite devoted to the idea of liberation. So let's play it safe for now and see how things go. We can always draw her in once things are happening, if she seems receptive.»

«Okay,» Sue said.

I continued to spy on each girl's interview as they went down. Hikari failed hers and was reminded to keep her pendant. After that was Chihana, who also failed the test. Then, as I was watching Tamura head down the stairs, Inui entered the hall, spotted me, and waved. She was with Chiyoko, Tomomi, and Maria.

«Ashley! Why didn't you tell me you were here!?»

«Sorry, I was only here for the interview,» I replied, waving back. «I was planning to go right back to Mitakihara, but I thought I'd at least stay and see how your interview went first.»

«Oh, that makes me really happy! Thank you very much!»

Apparently Tamura also failed the interview… and then it was Inui's turn. I watched as she descended the steps to the chapel. Alina blinked at her as she entered.

"Oh… you're the other friend of the idiot," she said.

"Don't you dare call Karin-chan an idiot ever again," Inui said menacingly.

Alina laughed. "You're quite strange, to say something like that to me," she said. "It's as if you have no fear of me."

"Why should I fear you?" Inui retorted, clenching her right fist.

"Well, never mind that," Alina said. "Have you gotten used to this place?"

"You mean the chapel?" Inui said. "Gods no, I hate this place. I guess I can sorta bear with it by now, though. I mean, I have been dropping by almost every day…"

"I see," Alina said. "And where do your loyalties lie in this organization?"

"Um… my loyalty is first to Ashley, and second to Mifuyumin," Inui said. "You Magius don't factor into the equation at all. Touka-chan and Nemu-chi are such spoiled brats, it sometimes takes all my willpower to stop myself from…" Inui gritted her teeth. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't say any more."

"I am curious though," Alina said. "You mentioned Touka and Nemu, but skipped over me."

"You?" Inui said. "You're… I don't even know how to put this. Um… let me think… irrelevant… outdated… no, those aren't quite right… oblivious…? That's not quite right either… well, let's just say that between you and Karin-chan, the real idiot is you."

Alina blinked. "How dare you compare me to… to…"

"If you're about to call her an idiot again, I'm prepared to fight you," Inui said angrily. "Even if it just ends with you beating me up, at least I'll have tried to defend my friend's honour."

Alina glared at her, but then took a few deep breaths and managed to calm down a little.

"I see… so in the end, you cannot stand the Magius themselves," she said. "But I notice you did not mention the goal of liberation."

"Oh, of course I want to save magical girls from their fate," Inui retorted. "I'd have to be a fool to not want that."

"I see… thank you," Alina said, though she sounded a little reluctant. "Then you can wait for further instructions in the headquarters. We should have new instructions for you by tomorrow. Make sure that you leave your pendant off, okay?"

"Okay, will do!" Inui said.

"You may go now," Alina said.

Inui passed Chiyoko on the way up, so I switched the vision over to her.

"Ah, another one I don't know," Alina said as Chiyoko entered the chapel. "I suppose that means your record is clean. Have you gotten used to this place?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," Chiyoko said. "I've been coming here almost every day, after all."

"Then I only have one more question for you," Alina said. "Where do your loyalties lie in this organization?"

"That's an odd question," Chiyoko said. "I don't really have any loyalties in this organization… but if I had to pick one thing, it would be the liberation of magical girls."

"I see," Alina said. "Then you can wait for further instructions in the headquarters. We should have new instructions for you by tomorrow. Make sure that you leave your pendant off, okay?"

"Got it," Chiyoko said.

It was around then that Inui returned to the main hall and contacted me again. The next interview was with Yuki Maria, apparently.

«So, how'd I do, Ashley?» Inui asked.

«Honestly, I think you were playing a really dangerous game there,» I replied. «You didn't have to go quite so far to insult the Magius.»

«I thought she'd appreciate it more if I said it like it is,» Inui said. «But I suppose I can play it safer next time… that is, if there is a next time.»

«Yeah, well… in the end she told you to take your pendant off, so it was basically a success,» I said.

A bit after that, Maria stepped in for her interview.

"Oh, another one I don't know," Alina said. "But that means your record is probably clean, so it's a good thing, I suppose. Have you gotten used to this place?"

Maria actually seemed to be shaking a bit from the feeling of impurities.

"N-not really," she said. "I've… I've only been down here… a few times… so… I haven't really gotten used to it… but… as you can see… I can bear with it a little…"

"I see," Alina said. "That's unfortunate, but we can work with it, I believe. My other question is… where do your loyalties lie within this organization?"

"Um… I don't really know," Maria said. "I almost feel like I'm not a real member… and yet… I do keep coming back. I suppose it's just the thought that, maybe, we can actually save magical girls from their fate…"

"I see, thank you," Alina said. "Then you can wait for further instructions in the headquarters. We should have new instructions for you by tomorrow. Make sure that you leave your pendant off, okay?"

"Okay," Maria said.

The next interview was a white feather I didn't recognize, so I didn't bother to see how it went. Instead, I contacted Inui to say goodbye.

«I'll be heading back now, Inui,» I said. «But of course, I'll see you tomorrow… though I can't say exactly when, since I have to drop off the communicators with the Crescent Moon Villa team and meet my friends at the airport.»

«That's fine,» Inui said. «But speaking of the communicators, you have one for me, right?»

«Oh right, in the excitement of seeing how your interviews went, I almost forgot,» I said. «In that case… why don't you come see me off to the station? I'll give it to you there.»

«Okay!» Inui said. «I like that idea!»

So, she joined me as we headed outside, stepping out into Minaminagi Seaside Park. We banished our robes, made our way out of the park, and headed for the nearest train station.

"You know, I think I like this entrance better," Inui said. "It's a nice sunny park, instead of a dark and gloomy railway yard."

"Sure," I said. "Neither of them is the true location, though… I wonder if Nemu did this magic doorway on her own, or if Shizuku and Maimai helped out somehow… ah, but I guess neither of them joined early enough to have helped with that…"

"Yeah, it must've been Nemu-chi by herself," Inui said. "I get the feeling that there isn't really any limit on what she can do… except that she can't do anything directly. She can only craft a rumour that does whatever she needs."

"Yeah, you might be right," I said. "You know… this is pretty close to the Mirror Witch… I wonder if this entrance has been viable right from the start? Maybe Alina has used it to get there sometimes…"

"Maybe," Inui said. "Did you want to challenge the Mirror Witch?"

I shook my head. "No… it's too early for that," I said. "The Mirror Witch is too powerful. We need a large party to challenge her. She's probably stronger than any other witch I've ever fought, excluding Walpurgisnacht. For example, the original Lucy witch who lives in the mountains near the Tokime village, incredibly strong though she is, probably isn't as strong as the Mirror Witch… and that witch is hundreds of years old, while the Mirror Witch is only two years old."

"That's kind of crazy," Inui said. "How could the Mirror Witch get so powerful in such a short time?"

"Much the same way Alina's witches have gotten so powerful," I say. "Someone was intentionally feeding the Mirror Witch."

"Oh… that actually makes sense," Inui said. "But that wasn't Alina, right?"

"No… her name is Sarasa Hanna," I said. "Actually, in this timeline she died not long before the Wings of the Magius was formed… though if we go back in time, I intend to try saving her."

"That's one of the things I like about you, Ashley," Inui said. "The fact that you'd try to save even someone who's an enemy, if you can see a way… I mean, I know you didn't try to save Yu, but that's because you couldn't see a way, right? She's simply incapable of listening to reason, and there's no point in putting her in stasis if you have no eventual plan that can allow for her to be released."

"Yeah, that's pretty much how things are with Yu," I agreed. "Though I have this strange feeling that there's something I'm missing about her situation… but it probably doesn't matter."

"You can't be blamed for not acting on something you can't even remember," Inui said. "Oh, by the way, I was chatting with Tomo-chan earlier, and she happened to reveal what her magic was!"

"Huh? Is it something amazing?" I asked.

Inui nodded. "It's time magic!"

I blinked at her. "Time magic!? Like Remi-chan and Miss Homura!? Can she stop time, or slow it down, or what?"

"It's slowing time down," Inui said. "But different from Remi-chan, she isn't limited to using it on herself. So it's also a bit like Kiika-tan's magic."

Oh, right, I'd almost forgotten that Kirika's magic is like that. I don't think it's quite time magic, but she slows down her enemy's perception, making it seem as though she's moving faster than she really is.

"Huh… that's good to know," I said. "Anyway… here we are at the station."

I fished out one of the communicators from my bag and handed it to her.

"Of course, don't use this for private communications," I said. "Anyone who has their communicator turned on will be able to hear what you say."

"Got it," Inui said. "I'll take really good care of this… and good luck for tomorrow, Ashley."

"Good luck to you, too."

I turned away and headed into the station, catching a train back to Mitakihara. While on the train, a sudden thought occurred to me, and I sent an email to Komachi asking if I could meet up with the six of them. By the time I had gotten off the train, I had a response in the affirmative, inviting me to Elise's place, so I headed there. Komachi answered the door when I knocked, and ushered me into the living room, where Elise and Sachie were busy glaring daggers at each other as usual.

"Oh, Ashley-chan!" Hiyori said. "I heard you had something you wanted to say to all of us… and we had something we wanted to say to you too, so it works out."

"It's been awhile, Miss Ashley," Liliane said. "Other than those routine hellos at school, we've barely talked to each other since I was revived, right?"

"Yeah, that's true," I said. "How have things been going on your end? I guess you managed to obtain enough grief seeds somehow."

"The wraiths respawned just in time," Liliane said. "If not for that, we would have all turned into witches by now. I haven't seen a witch for several days, and I'm sure the others are the same."

"Enough of the pleasantries," Elise said. "Look, about the upcoming battle, I don't like just standing around until that witch shows up, okay? I'd like to do something while I wait."

Hiyori nodded. "We've discussed it amongst ourselves, and if possible we'd like to help you, Ashley-chan… and Miss Tomoe as well. I heard she's in a bad state?"

"Did you hear that from Madoka…?"

"And Kirika-chan too," Hiyori said.

"I'm surprised Kirika even remembered Miss Tomoe's name," I said. "But that's pretty funny, because that was the whole reason I came here."

"Huh?" Hiyori said.

"Well, you know how I was saying that everyone should first gather at the Coordinator's tomorrow?" I said.

"Yeah, what of it?" Elise said. "That's what I'm saying… I don't wanna do something so boring!"

"I take it you have something different in mind for us," Claire said.

"Yeah, since you're willing," I said. "If my predictions pan out, there'll be a big battle at the helipad in Chuo Ward… I'm not sure if that's easy to find, but… if you could help out the people fighting there, even just a little, that would give the reinforcements more time to make it there."

"I see," Liliane said. "So the key of this mission is to buy time until further reinforcements arrive. I think we should be able to manage that…"

"What about doppels?" Elise said. "Should we feel free to use them? Or would you prefer we didn't?"

"I'd say, try not to use them," I said. "From what I saw the last time Miss Tamaki used one, I think they're not entirely safe to use indiscriminately. If you find the situation is too desperate to not use one, then only use one. Don't have everyone unleash at once."

"Okay," Elise said. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Is everyone on board with this plan though?" I asked. "I know Miss Liliane said you could do it, but does everyone agree?"

"Yeah, seems easy enough," Elise said.

"Keep in mind that you'll be fighting a large number of black and white feathers," I say. "Probably at least fifty, maybe even more."

"Ah, I see," Liliane said. "Still… it's not like we need to win, right? We just need to keep them busy long enough for others to arrive."

"Yeah… I think I can handle that much," Claire said.

"It sounds like a challenge," Komachi said. "But I guess I'm up for it."

"Indeed," Sachie said. "Perhaps I could test my powers on humans for a change…"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Hiyori retorted. "That aside, I'll do it. The alternative would be to sit around and wait at the Coordinator's, right? So this has got to be the more interesting job… even if it's really tough."

"Thank you very much," I said. "Also, the girls you'll be helping out are called Nanami Yachiyo and Izumi Kanagi. The enemy will be led by Miss Tomoe, who's been brainwashed."

"Oh, two people against fifty?" Liliane said. "No wonder you're asking for some extra help… that's terrible odds, even if they're really strong…"

"And Miss Tomoe too… that's another reason to do this, then," Hiyori said. "We can help save her from the people who did that to her, right?"

"That's part of the reason why I thought to ask you of all people," I said. "Instead of, say, Lina's team, or Oriko. Okay, so… should I also give you a grief seed or something?"

"Well, we do have a fair amount of cubes," Liliane said. "But an extra grief seed would certainly be welcome."

"Let me check if I can even spare one…"

I took out my grief seed stash. There were two regular seeds, and three cubes.

"Hmm… I could probably spare one," I said. "But I'm not really sure how many I'll need tomorrow…"

"Then don't worry about it," Liliane said. "We can make do with the cubes."

"Alright then… but try not to reveal to anyone else that your grief seeds are… unusual," I said. "I don't think I'm quite ready for that information to spread."

"Sure," Liliane said.

I stashed mine away again, then took my leave and headed back to the Hayashi house, where I spent some time perusing my info document and browsing the internet.

---

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.

Suou Mikan (Sue)
周防蜜柑（スー）

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Green
Origins: Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green ourobouros
Soul Gem: Green oval gemstone on her left hip
Element: Forest
Weapon: Pointed staff with a chakram suspended around each end
Powers: Healing
Wish: "I want the power to heal people, just like Mom!"
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 1
Defensive Power: 9
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 3

---

So, we're now in the final stretch of Magia Record's first arc. I'll try to post at least once a week until we hit the end of this timeline at chapter 87. After that it will depend on if I still have a buffer.

I've made several revisions to past chapters this time.

[1] In chapter 67, Tomomi's story was self-contradictory. She said that Suzune was in her class, a grade 6 class, but she also said that she was attending the same school as Alexandra Cruz, which is a high school. I didn't want to remove either reference, so it took a little thinking to resolve the contradiction. In the end though, the key point was that she had a connection to Alexandra – the fact that it was through school wasn't important. So, I chose to make Alexandra's choir a community choir rather than a school choir, thus allowing Tomomi to still have a connection to her through the choir. I'm not sure if this contradicts anything revealed in Ash Grey Revolution, but even if it does, I doubt the plot of that event depends on it being a school choir either.

[2] In the last chapter (chapter 80) there was a passage that contradicted the attitude Ashley's had towards the current timeline so far, where she assumed she'd be going back in time. I've adjusted that passage to fit with the other cases where the possibility of going back has been raised in this timeline.

[3] Someone pointed out that the ages given in the official profiles are inconsistent with the school year that the characters are noted to be in. Therefore, as of now I'm declaring that the age in the profile is not necessarily the character's age when they first appear in the fic, but instead the age they will turn at some point in the current year. So, if their birthday is before March, they are already that age, but if their birthday is after April, they're one year younger in the current time period of the fic, That said, I'm assuming everyone's birthday is after April, because otherwise the age to grade mapping breaks down, which creates complications that I just don't want to deal with in this fic.

However, that means I needed to adjust the age noted for Honoka, as it was worked out using a different methodology. Therefore, I've updated her profile to bump the age up by one – she's the same age as Matsuri, entering grade 7.

I've also updated some places that reference what grade various girls are in.

In chapter 53, Mami notes that she's a third-year student and the others are second-years, which is accurate to the anime but doesn't fit the timeline of the fic – that chapter occurs in March, so Mami's still a second-year student. Therefore, I updated these two references.

I also updated Yuma's comment in chapter 80 – if she'll be turning 11 this year, that means she's entering grade 5, not grade 6. This also fits with canon, where she's confirmed to be in grade 5, after taking into account this fic's approach that the girls are each entering their canonical grade in April of the present timeline, right in the middle of the time loop.

Finally, I updated the one place where Inui states her age in chapter 67. Although her profile still states fourteen, that means she has her fourteenth birthday coming up soon, not that she is currently fourteen, so I changed her line to claim that she's thirteen instead.

If anyone knows of any other references to girls' ages or school year that seem potentially inaccurate under this approach, please let me know so I can update them too. It's not something that's easy to search for.

[4] I also updated more character profiles to include the Japanese spelling of their name (from chapters 41 to 65).

[5] Finally, I changed the weapon noted in Sena Mikoto's profile to match recently-revealed canon, but without changing her appearance in the text – the glass guns are simply a creative use of mirrors, much like Mami's muskets are a creative use of ribbons. Other differences from canon, such as her element, have not been changed, as I had an important reason for them.