For once, Top Speed wasn't in a cheery mood. Nemurin's dropout was still fresh in her mind, despite it having happened a few nights ago.

"And this way, when you leave this town, you can say that you made a few friends, right?"

Nemurin's last words still hung in the back of Top Speed's mind. But thankfully, she wouldn't have to think about that for long as her phone began ringing.

"Hm? Swim Swim?" She said to nobody in particular (she had yet to meet up with Ripple), and answered. "What's up, buttercup?"

"I need your help."

"Ehh, with what?"

"I need a ride, so I'd like for you to come pick me up and take me over to Mount Masho."

"Now!?"

Yunael: Ruler's mad!

Minael: I can't believe you got the date wrong!

Tama: Swim-chan...

Swim Swim: I'll hurry there.

This was the conversation on Swim Swim's phone when she heard her ride arrive.

"Heya!" Top Speed called, descending to be close enough to the roof of the convenience store Swim Swim was waiting on. "Call me Top Speed, okay?"

"...My name is Swim Swim."

"What's happenin' cap'n?" Top Speed asked, landing in front of Swim Swim. "Why the sudden rush to get to the mountains?"

"I thought we were supposed to be meeting tomorrow, but it's actually today."

"So you turned to me and Rapid Swallow, huh? That's a wise choice. I'm sure that princess would hang you out to dry if you're late."

"Ruler once told me..."

"Hm?"

"...'Use everything you can.' That's why I called you."

"Ha ha ha! You're saying that right to my face!? You and I are gonna get along famously!" Top Speed cackled.

"Ruler also said, 'while a leader may have followers and subordinates, they do not have weak relationships such as friends.'"

"Man, I like your honesty! Okay, I'll take you to the mountains!" Top Speed said, still laughing. It was then she climbed back onto her broom, and patted a spot behind her. Swim Swim climbed on in the spot provided, and quickly found herself slightly off the ground. "We're gonna take this beast at full speed, okay? Don't fall off~"

And they shot towards the mountains, flying over the city at record pace in silence until they reached the woods outside of town.

"So, what are you guys planning on doing in the mountains?" Top Speed asked. Precisely a question Swim Swim did not want to hear. Ruler had said that the reason for this meeting was supposed to be a secret, so she had to think up of something.

"...Leaf-viewing."

"Woah! Talk about major chill! Meanwhile the rest of us are stressing out about Magical Candies!" However, when she looked down to see if she could spot Ruler and her group, she noticed something. "Weird... They're green."

"There." Swim Swim muttered, pointing to a clearing that held the rest of her group.

"It's Swim Swim!"

"What's she doing with her?"

"We're here~!" Top Speed sang as she descended towards the group, letting Swim Swim off of Rapid Swallow.

"Ridiculous..." Ruler scoffed.

"What are you doing, Swimmy...?"

"I-"

"You're late!" Ruler shouted. "Truly, you are such an imbecile! And what's worse-" She stopped briefly as Top Speed put her arm over her shoulder. "-You brought along this bumbling buffoon as well!"

"Aw, that's a mean thing to say! We go way back and everything!"

"Remove your hand, peasant!"

"Come on, Ruler! I thought we were friends!"

"Highly unlikely."

"But it's me! Your buddy!"

"Ew!"

A bit of laughter from the treeline caught their attention. For Top Speed, it signaled a friend, for Ruler, a foe. Especially once those red shoes and white gloves caught the moonlight.

"Well, if this group doesn't put the 'fun' in dysfunctional, I don't know what does!" Sonic quipped, hands behind his head.

"You again?!"

"Yep. I was just going on a nightly run when I happened to see Top Speed over there heading this way. Say, what're you all doing all the way out here?"

"I was told leaf-viewing." Top Speed responded.

"Pardon?" Ruler asked, and Swim Swim simply nodded as if to say 'go along with it.'

"Woah, talk about major chill."

"That's what I said! Oh, that's right! Here!" Top Speed said, pulling out a white plastic bag.

"What's this?" Ruler questioned.

"Just some snacks in case you guys get hungry!"

"How kind of you." Ruler said, and Sonic could detect the sarcasm immediately.

"Well, that's what friends do! Just because we're a member short nowadays doesn't mean we can't all have fun together!" Top Speed called, taking off with Rapid Swallow again. "Hey, Sonic! Race you back to town!"

"You're on!"

"Away with you!" Ruler demanded, throwing the back of snacks over to Sonic, who caught it, lightly tossed it over to Tama, and blasted off after Top Speed. "What was that all about?" Was all Ruler had to say after the two speedsters were gone.

"I didn't want to be late, and she was the fastest method to get here, and Sonic finding us was pure chance. When Top Speed asked why I needed to be here, you said it was a secret. So I lied to her."

"And you couldn't think of a better excuse than that?"

When Sonic shot up the side of the building Ripple was standing on, the latter couldn't help but groan. Recently, it seemed, wherever Sonic was, Top Speed wasn't far behind. And sure enough, she wasn't.

"Heh, looks like I win this one!" Sonic said as Top Speed skidded to a halt just behind Ripple.

"Maybe, but next time, you won't be so lucky!"

"We'll see about that." Sonic chuckled. "That aside, you good, Ripple? You look even more ticked off than usual. Did one of your buddies get arrested?"

"It's just something I saw on the news."

"And I'm afraid I've come to you foodless on this beautiful night." Top Speed sighed.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm just glad I don't have to stomach your unwanted dinner."

"So you say, yet you always eat every bite! Hey, I promise I'll make you more tomorrow, how's that sound?"

"Terrible."

"Your attitude's terrible." Sonic quipped.

"Well, maybe your mind will be taken off of things for a while once we start patrolling."

"Maybe..." Ripple scoffed.

"I guess if you're going out on patrol, I should leave you to it, huh?"

"Please do." Ripple muttered.

"Oh, don't mind her! Hopefully I can find out what's up with her soon. See ya!"

"Later!" Sonic waved as the two Magical Girls took off, and he was about to leave himself when his phone went off.

Sister Nana has requested to meet with you!

Location: Chatroom

Time: Now

"Nana, huh? Well, this'll be fun." He thought to himself, and he entered the Chatroom.

Magicaloid 44. From the outside, she looked like a robotic Magical Girl, which wasn't unheard of. However, she was not actually a real person. Instead, she was a spy-drone created by Dr. Eggman for the express purpose of making sure his plan went off without a hitch. Since the Magical Girl Raising Project databases already had a design for such a thing, it was perfect for Eggman's schemes, and saved him the time of having to come up with a design himself. But when Sister Nana called Magicaloid to the Chatroom for a meeting, it had to oblige.

"Okay, who all is in this meeting..." Eggman muttered to himself, surveying the Chatroom. Nana and Winterprison, obviously. Eggman (controlling Magicaloid), Snow White and La Pucelle (who had just been called here), and...

"Of course, him."

Sonic the hedgehog. Once again the rodent was in a position to jeopardize the entire operation. But it wasn't beyond salvaging just yet. All Eggman had to do was play his cards right.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Sister Nana said, skipping the introductions.

"Did you only call us?" La Pucelle asked.

"For now. I thought it would be wise to consult those who are closest to me first."

"That doesn't explain the rodent..." Eggman muttered, making sure that the nearby speaker was off.

"That's strange, you never mentioned you and Sister Nana were friends." Snow White pointed out.

"Uh-! Sister Nana was my mentor when I became a Magical Girl! That's all she is to me, I promise!"

Eggman was aware of the hedgehog, who seemed to find the situation almost funny. Until he turned directly to Magicaloid. "I don't think you and I have met. You're Magicaloid, right?"

"You are accurate. I rarely have a need to come here, and my district is rather small. Although I have seen you passing by a few times." That was a lie that Sonic didn't have a reason not to trust. The Magicaloid drone was only ever active at night, keeping up its act under Eggman's control. "However, Sister Nana is a special customer."

"What a strange thing to say..." Snow White muttered.

"Anyway." Magicaloid said in an attempt to get Sonic off of its tail. "What is it you wish to discuss? Something profitable, I hope."

"Well, no. I'm afraid its rather frightening and unbelievable. I can't say it, Winterprison..."

"The other day-after Nemurin dropped out-I was trying to gather her conversation logs..."

"She was downloading them at my request. I wanted to... Have something to remember her by."

"You can do that?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, but I found something unusual..."

"Are you just going to leave us hanging?"

While he may have been playing it cool as Magicaloid, Eggman was starting to panic a bit. This could be anything. Best case scenario, the best case scenario was that it was something Nemurin or someone else not associated with the operation did that still needed attention, but wasn't terrible. In the worst case, Winterprison and Nana exposed Eggman's presence to Sonic right then and there, which would essentially bring down the entire part of this plan.

However, what would come might have been just as bad.

The entire Chatroom turned grey, with the exception of its inhabitants. Cranberry's violin music faded in, and sure enough, monochrome versions of both the Musician of the Forest and the talking ball Fav were there.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, if that's okay." Cranberry stated.

"Ask away, pon!"

"What exactly happens to a Magical Girl, afters she's stripped of all her qualifications, that is?"

"Magical Girls die when they lose their qualifications, pon!"

Shock naturally blew through the room after that, but the real dread hadn't set in yet.

"Pardon?" Cranberry asked. "Are you speaking metaphorically, perhaps? Like they die as Magical Girls?"

"No, I mean they cease to function as living human beings, pon!"

The log faded after that, returning color to the room and dispelling Cranberry and Fav.

"That was a video log I found between Cranberry and Fav." Winterprison revealed.

"Seriously...? They die...?" La Pucelle muttered.

"There's no way that can be right..." Sonic whispered, all pretense of his joking matter gone. Such a mood for the hedgehog felt uncanny for Eggman. "Then what about Nemurin!? If it's true, then-"

"Yes, if it's true..." Magicaloid stated, Eggman deciding to begin dropping bread-crumbs. "Then she's already dead."