I'm suddenly roused from my sleep by a strange high keening. I sit up in bed and… huh? I'm not in bed at all. I'm… in a witch's labyrinth? How the heck did I get here!?

«A-ashley! What's going on!?»

That's Komachi's voice in my head.

«I have no idea! Where are we?» I ask.

«I just woke up here… I definitely went to sleep in my bed last night, though… but I can't contact Hiyori!»

A sudden dread rises within me. If we suddenly woke up in a labyrinth, and Hiyori's not here… then does that mean… this witch is the remains of Hiyori?"

"Oh my god… what'll happen to her parents!?" I gasp. "They were both here too… I've gotta find them!"

I close my eyes and use my clairvoyance to attempt to locate them, but for some reason, it just won't work. My vision remains black. Then I check for Komachi, who appears to be in the next room over, so I transform and hack my way through the wall.

"Ashley… I'm so glad you're okay," Komachi says, sobbing. "But Hiyori… Hiyori… she's gone, isn't she?"

"Huh? How do you know?"

"W-well… I just realized, this labyrinth… it's full of strings and musical scores, and can't you hear the sound of a distant harp?"

She's right, there is a distant sound of a harp, full of dissonances.

"Yeah… I think you're right," I say. "We've gotta find her."

"Y-yeah… Hiyori wouldn't want to spread curses," Komachi says. "But still… I swear her soul gem was completely clean last night…"

"Maybe she had a nightmare," I muse. "I would've never expected it to happen so fast, though… I thought there'd be time to purify you if something like that happened…"

"U-um… what about Mom and Dad?" Komachi asks. "C-can you use your clairvoyance to find them?"

"Sorry… I already tried," I say. "But I couldn't see anything at all. I think Hiyori must've already swallowed them up."

"I can't believe it," Komachi mutters. "Hiyori really loved Mom and Dad… to think she'd end up being the one who ends their lives… it's too horrible!"

"Yeah… it's horrible," I say. "But if we don't end her here, she'll kill many more people. Will you help me?"

"I… I'll try," Komachi says. "I don't know if I'll be able to hurt her… but I'll try."

"Good… now transform and follow me."

She does exactly that as I use clairvoyance to map out the path ahead of me, slowly working my way deeper into the labyrinth. Finally we arrive at a door, with pink runes emblazoned above it.

"Euphrosyne? That's her witch name, apparently," I say.

"A-are you sure it's her, then?" Komachi asks.

"Well, a witch's name is always different from the girl she came from," I say. "So yeah, I don't think this is evidence against your theory."

"I… I see," Komachi says.

I check her soul gem quickly. It's clear that this has hit her hard, but it's not clouding as quickly as I would've expected. It's probably around ten percent corrupted. At this rate, I don't think I'll need to worry about her turning into a witch during the upcoming fight.

Then I smash the door down and hop into the room. Komachi, however, suddenly snaps and runs past me, shouting at the top of her voice and brandishing her naginata.

"How could you, Hiyori! How could you swallow Mom and Dad when you loved them so much! If you were feeling down, why didn't you talk to Ashley-chan and me!?"

Euphrosyne appears to be a towering cloaked form with an exposed ribcage, except instead of ribs, she has harp strings. The cloak is garishly coloured, and the way she moves makes me think of a dancer and somehow makes it hard to look at her… is that her bewitch ability? Then she strums on the harp with a claw-like hand, producing a dissonant sound that blasts Komachi back, but it doesn't deter the older sister at all.

"Don't worry, Hiyori, I'll save you!" Komachi shouts. "I'll save you, so please wait for me!"

Since she's clearly occupied, I decide to help by charging my ultimate. I summon Teddy Mk II and hold onto him while the Teddy Drones spin up a charge.

"I won't let you spread curses!" Komachi shouts. "I'll save you from yourself!"

She's practically gone berserk at this point, swinging her naginata with abandon and landing blow after blow on the witch, only momentarily set back whenever a blast of dissonance hits her. I can see she's also recklessly using her drain ability, which is probably the only reason those sonic blasts are as infrequent as they are. Maybe it's also the only reason we haven't been faced by any other kinds of attacks.

"Let me help you!" Komachi shouts. "Let me hold you! I just want to be with you! I can't bear living without you!"

Um… is it just me or is her shouting starting to turn suicidal? Still… I'm afraid there's not much I can do about it now. I don't think she'd listen even if I tried to talk to her at this point. From the way she's building up power, I suspect she really is going for a suicidal attack, like Kyouko did in the anime against Oktavia von Seckendorff, the witch of Miki Sayaka. I decide to let loose my ultimate attack to support her.

"Ultimate Teddy Glittering Gunk!"

As soon as my glitter beam strikes Euphrosyne, Komachi immediately takes advantage of it to get in close and snap the harp strings with a few well-placed slashes. Then my prediction comes true, as she tears her soul gem out of her hair and holds it above her head. Even from here I can see as its glow grows brighter and brighter until it explodes into a cloud of shards, flying in all directions and embedding themselves into the witch. I don't even have time to call out before she's done the deed, her lifeless body then falling to the ground, and I hurry forward to land the finishing blow to the witch. Just a single swing of my sword, and Euphrosyne suddenly collapses into a pile of pink slime that rapidly evaporates, leaving behind only her grief seed which I immediately snatch up. I glance sadly at Komachi's body as the barrier collapses, swallowing it up forever.

I'm now the only person left alive in this house. It's a strange feeling… the host family I ended up staying with has been completely wiped out. Is this my fault, for enabling Komachi and Hiyori to survive their fight with Itzli? Or maybe I didn't pay enough attention to her as she was struggling through her grief? Maybe I should've offered to sleep in her room to keep her company… or suggested that Komachi do the same.

But it's too late to think about that now. What's done is done, and unless Homura makes her contract as I've predicted, there's nothing I can do to change it. So, that's reason enough to make sure Homura becomes a magical girl… not that I expect there'll be any difficulties in that respect. I've been checking in with Mami and Madoka every now and then, and Homura continues to accompany them as an observer while waffling over whether to make a wish and what to wish for. She's a lot like Madoka in the anime, only more scared about the process.

I check my phone. It's three in the morning on April thirtieth, and I also notice an email from Kuroe that I must have missed the day before. Eagerly opening it, I find that she has sent me a photo. My heart leaps into my mouth. There's no doubt about it – that's undeniably Tamaki Iroha. The pink hair with crown braids and a long whip-like ponytail, the school uniform, even her general demeanour – it all matches. So she does exist in this world! I read the accompanying brief message from Kuroe.

"I found her. She goes to Takarazaki Municipal First Middle School, but she's definitely not a magical girl. I hope this helps."

Even though Kuroe will never remember how she helped me with this once time has been reversed, I still compose a quick message of thanks and send it. It just doesn't feel right to leave her hanging. Then I head downstairs and turn on the TV to the news channel. Since there's no-one else here, I don't bother to power down, leaving my sword on my lap and Teddy Mk II just standing in the corner of the living room.

Now I just have to wait for the news to hit.

I'm woken with a start by the sound of the TV, which has suddenly gained a more urgent tone. I quickly check my phone… it's now six in the morning. The TV is announcing the detection of a sudden supercell moving towards Kazamino and Mitakihara. Apparently the edge of the storm is even expected to touch Takarazaki, across the bay. This is it. Walpurgisnacht is about to arrive. They predict it will make landfall about eight hours from now, so that means I still have a lot of time to burn. I decide to check in on the magical girls in the other cities, something I severely neglected earlier.

In Asunaro, I discover to my chagrin that the only survivors of the Pleiades Saints are Umika and Kaoru, which means that, unlike in the manga, even Kazumi perished. Based on what I can infer from their conversation, it seems that Hijiri successfully created the artificial super-witch Hyades Daybreak, just like in the manga, and Kazumi gave her life to destroy it. On the other hand, I find that Asuka Yuuri and Anri Airi are amazingly unhurt. So at least there's one good thing in Asunaro.

In Hohzuki, I find things in disarray with only Matsuri surviving, just like in the manga. I see her go to school, but she's alone, hasn't braided her hair, and wears a bell-pouch as a hair ornament. All of these are signs that the other characters from Suzune Magica have all died in one way or another. As for Honoka… it seems like she's miraculously unhurt. So she managed to put my warning to good use… I'm happy about that. Or, I suppose it's possible that things just went differently and she never ran into Suzune. Either way, it's a good thing. It suggests keeping her alive in future loops might not be too difficult.

Finally, I check up on Kamihama, but it seems like it's just business as usual there, which is a bit of a relief. At least one city out of four hasn't been subjected to terrible tragedies… at least not ones I can see…

The waiting is killing me, but I can't leave the house until I know where the evacuation shelters are, because it's almost certain that Madoka and Homura will be at one of them. I periodically check on other magical girls in the city, including Mami, Madoka, Oriko, and Komaki, but there's nothing interesting going on with any of them. I even check up on Kyouko and find her standing on top of her father's run-down church, fully transformed and holding her spear as if waiting for something.

Eventually, the news reports give me the information I need, so I grab the reel of ribbon I've been practicing with and leave the house, leaving the TV on so that I can peek at it via clairvoyance later, just in case I need that. Hopping up on Teddy's head, I soar up into the air. The discovery that I can fly using Teddy Mk II was perhaps the most useful thing I learned from fighting Itzli and Doki Yatsura. I can see the storm in the distance already, and I can hear the distant cackle of Walkpurgisnacht, though I still can't see her from this distance; but it won't be long before the leading edge of the rain reaches here.

I check on Kyouko again and find her now in the middle of the storm. She seems to have erected a barrier over the church to protect it. She kneels atop the church, seemingly just waiting for the storm to pass. Every so often she takes a potshot at the procession of circus familiars walking through the streets, but it doesn't make any dent on their numbers – one hit isn't enough to bring these down. The familiars don't fight back, either – they just plod steadily forward, dragging Walpurgisnacht along like a massive kite.

When I see that the familiars are gone and the storm appears to be letting up, I switch my focus to Oriko. She's already locked in deadly combat with Walpurgisnacht together with Kirika and Komaki, but I can tell at a glance that she's not having much of an effect. That said, their attacks seem to be far more effective than anything Homura ever used in the anime. This is likely because all of them are specifically targeting the gear, rather than the human-like body. I suppose it makes sense that Oriko would know its weakness… Unfortunately, it's not enough, and I watch them fall in battle, one by one. Oriko then tries to go out in a last-ditch attack, but even that isn't enough to end it.

Finally, I switch my focus to Mami. She stands tall with Madoka at her side, and Homura cowering a short distance away. The circus familiars stride past, and it seems like she has enough sense to ignore them when they're not hurting anyone. The two of them put in a good effort, but Mami is eventually taken down by an unlucky hit to her head, piercing right through and also shattering her soul gem at the same time. This produces a lull in the battle as Homura and Madoka rush to her side.

"M-miss T-tomoe," Homura sobs. "I… I can't believe she's…"

"Miss Mami," Madoka sobs. "You were such a great mentor… I'll never forget how much you helped me!"

After a minute or two, though, Madoka wipes her tears – not that it does much with the rain pelting down – and stands up.

"Well, I'm going now," she says calmly.

"H-how… how can you…" Homura sobs. "Miss Tomoe is already dead…"

"That's why I have to go," Madoka says resolutely, turning to face Walpurgisnacht. "I'm the only one left who can stop Walpurgisnacht."

"Y-you can't!" Homura protests. "You'll die! How can you defeat that thing all by yourself!? Even you will die!"

"But I'm a magical girl," Madoka responds. "It's my duty to fight witches in order to protect everyone. I can't back down now."

"Please… please just run away!" Homura pleads. "What else can you even do against that monster!? No-one would hate you for running away when you can't win!"

Madoka turns back to look at Homura with a smile.

"Homura-chan, I'm really happy we became friends," she says. "Saving you when you were attacked was my proudest moment as a magical girl. That's what's so great about being a magical girl. Yeah… I really think it's great. I loved being a magical girl."

"Miss Kaname…" Homura sobs.

"But you see… I would hate myself if I ran away now," Madoka says. "That's why I have to fight."

As they discuss the matter, I've been flying from the evacuation shelter towards them, and now, I can finally see them on the ground with my eyes, not just in my clairvoyant vision. Mami lying still, her transformation undone. Homura kneeling by Mami's body, and Madoka standing firmly and proudly. This is what Madoka should be like, honestly. The Madoka who made a wish to become a god… that was the twisted Madoka. I hope I can preserve this Madoka somehow… but at the same time, the resolve of that Madoka was commendable. If only I could elicit the best of both… I glide in to land on the ground and take up a station out of sight, still monitoring with my clairvoyance. Since Teddy Mk II is no longer needed, I desummon him.

"Farewell, Homura-chan," Madoka says with a smile. "And take care of yourself."

And with that, Madoka leaps high into the air to resume the attack on Walpurgisnacht.

"Nooo! Don't go!" Homura shouts. "Miss Kaname! Don't leave me here alone…"

I watch the fierce battle between Madoka and Walpurgisnacht, a rapid exchange of projectiles flying back and forth so fast it's hard for even my magical girl vision to make sense of it. But then, it abruptly stops, Madoka's body falling back to the ground, her transformation undone, and Homura leaps up and runs over to her. I follow her at a distance, starting to unreel the ribbon I brought along. This will be the moment of truth… can I pull it off, or will I have to do everything all over again with no memory of the previous run? I follow the end of the ribbon with my clairvoyance, guiding it carefully towards Homura. As she kneels by Madoka's body, I carefully hook the ribbon around the toe of one of her shoes. I'm hiding a good hundred yards away, behind a pile of rubble, and the movement of the ribbon itself should be hard to pick out amidst the rain even if she wasn't distracted by her grief.

"Why!?" Homura sobs. "You knew you were going to die! Rather than saving someone like me, I wish… I wish you could keep on living!"

That's when the white devil makes its appearance, fading into existence atop a piece of rubble. Wait… can it actually teleport or something? Or make itself invisible? I've never actually seen it appear like that before…

"Is that true?" Kyuubey asks. "Akemi Homura, can you bet your soul on your wish? If you have a wish that must be fulfilled, even if you must battle destiny… then I will help you."

Homura turns to look up at it, her face streaked with both tears and rain in equal measure.

"As long as I make a contract with you," she says. "Miss Kaname can be saved… right? Can any wish come true?"

"I believe so," Kyuubey replies. "You seem to qualify. Your potential is quite high at this moment. Tell me, Akemi Homura. What wish will light up your soul gem?"

"I…"

Homura takes her glasses off for a moment, trying in vain to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, then puts them back on and stands up to look at Kyuubey.

"I want to meet Miss Kaname all over again," she says. "I don't want to be the girl who's always protected. I want to be someone who can protect her!"

Then Kyuubey's ear appendages reach out to draw her soul out of her body. To her credit, she barely emits even a squeak from that pain.

"Contract established," it says. "Your wish has surpassed entropy. Let it out. Take this new strength."

As Homura transforms and activates her shield, I swear Kyuubey turns to look directly at me. That's the second time it has indicated that it can tell when I'm watching it. However, before it can say anything, time goes into reverse, and I lose consciousness.

I sit up in bed suddenly and look around wildly. I'm back in my room at the Hayashi household. Jumping out of bed, I check my phone. It's the morning of March sixteenth, just a few minutes past six in the morning. I rush out of the room and barge into Hiyori's room. She sits up with a start, rubbing her eyes and staring at me.

"W-what's wrong, Ashley-chan? It's pretty early, isn't it?"

"N-nothing," I say. "Sorry… I just had a nightmare where you died, so I wanted to reassure myself that it wasn't real…"

Hiyori blinks at me. "W-well, as you can see, Ashley-chan… I'm right here."

"Yeah… I'm glad it was just a dream," I say. "Good morning, Hiyori-chan."

Okay. So, I'm now in the second timeline, presumably. At least, I don't have a sense of deja vu, so I'm taking that as a good sign. The second timeline should be where Homura starts to learn about her time stop ability. Then in the third timeline, Sayaka joins the team. After that is where it gets murky, because in the fourth timeline, Homura prevents Madoka from making her contract, which from my understanding means Oriko can potentially foresee Madoka becoming a witch. Because of this, I suspect the fourth timeline shown in the anime is not actually the fourth timeline.

But I can deal with that when I get there. For now, my priority in this timeline will be to monitor things in Asunaro. I need to get a handle on when key events happen if I'm going to manipulate them in later iterations.

I decide to go back to my room and note down what I learned in the previous timeline. Of course, it'll probably be reset again in the end, but if I write it down now so I don't forget, and review it just before the timeline resets, I think that should work. I create a new document on my computer and note down everything I can think of.

As I leave the house with the Hayashi sisters, I decide to make an attempt to stave off the death of their friends in this timeline.

"By the way, I found a strange witch yesterday," I say. "I just stumbled into it by accident… it didn't seem to be sending out familiars or anything. However, it's a very strong witch, so… if you run into it, don't fight it alone, okay?"

"S-sure… but how will we identify it?" Komachi asks.

"The labyrinth looks like a theatre," I say.

"Okay… that should be easy enough," Komachi says. "Thanks for the warning. If we find that witch, we'll call you in for backup."

That makes me feel a bit better. Rationally, it's kinda a waste of time when I plan to abandon this timeline anyway… but I doubt seeing them die over and over again is going to help my own state of mind. It's bad enough that I can't help Inui and Nagisa yet in this timeline, because it's essential to have all the info about Asunaro if I want to save Kazumi and her friends… but I've gotta at least save the people who are right in front of me.

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.

Akemi Homura
暁美ほむら

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Purple four-pointed starburst
Soul Gem: Diamond purple gem on the back of her left hand
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Clockwork time shield
Powers: Time stop, time reversal, dimensional pocket
Wish: "I want to meet Miss Kaname all over again. I don't want to be the girl who's always protected. I want to be someone who can protect her!"

Speed: 0
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 0
Defensive Power: 3
Initial Power Usability: 14
Learned Powers: 1+