As I leave the Shiina house together with Kazumi, I pull out my phone to check Yuuri's message.
"Do you know the shopping mall near Asunaro Dome? There's a great Chinese restaurant there, as well as a cinema and a bowling alley. Let's meet there, in the food court. Oh, and don't worry about a place to stay! You can crash at our place for the night."
"What a coincidence," I say. "It seems we're headed towards Asunaro Dome."
I start heading in that general direction, and she walks alongside me.
"Why is that a coincidence?"
"That's where Moe-chan was going to take you tonight," I reply. "If you don't return to the Pleiades Saints before then, they'll go there looking for you."
"I… I see," Kazumi says.
"It's a bit far away…" I muse. "But I have three hours, so there's no rush."
I compose a reply to Yuuri's email.
"Sounds good! I'll see you there at four o'clock… and thanks for the offer."
Then I turn to Kazumi.
"So, Miss Kazumi–"
"Please call me Kazumi-chan," Kazumi says. "Or even just Kazumi."
I nod. "Okay… so, Kazumi-chan, you wanted to talk, didn't you?"
Kazumi nods. "Yeah… there was one thing in particular about that conversation that really bugged me," she says. "You know, about how to tell that someone else is a magical girl?"
"Yeah, I can imagine," I reply. "Since you have neither a fingernail mark, nor a ring."
"But I do have a soul gem," she says. "That's enough, right?"
"Who knows," I say. "I certainly can't deny that you're able to use magic, though."
"So you don't know why I'm different, then?" Kazumi asks.
I consider a moment… if I tell her everything now, will it negatively affect her later actions?
"Well… it's not that I don't know," I admit. "I just think it would be better for you to hear it from the Pleiades Saints."
"Huh? You're saying the others know why I'm different?"
I nod. "Yeah… the Pleiades Saints should be able to answer most of your questions. Even so… if you just can't wait, I can explain it all to you to the best of my understanding."
Kazumi falls silent for a few moments, then shakes her head.
"No… I'll ask my friends first," she says. "I trust them… I'm sure they'll tell me everything if I ask."
"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" I ask.
"Is it really true that magical girls turn into witches?" Kazumi asks.
"That's right," I say. "If a magical girl's soul gem becomes too clouded, it transforms into a grief seed, and she turns into a witch."
"So… that witch we fought last night…" Kazumi says. "Was she a magical girl?"
"You mean Alexandra?" I ask. "The bookmobile witch?"
Kazumi nods. "Y-yeah… is that her name? How'd you know?"
"I actually watched you fight that witch," I say. "You can usually see a witch's name somewhere in their labyrinth, written in strange runic letters. See?" I show her my ring. "Letters like these."
"I can't read those…" Kazumi says. "What do they say?"
"These ones spell out my name, Ashley Taylor," I say.
"I don't remember seeing those while fighting the witch though," Kazumi says. "But I could've missed them…"
"Anyway, yeah, she was a magical girl at some point," I say. "I can't say any more than that, though. I have no idea who she used to be."
"What about the other witches I've been fighting?" she asks. "Those ones seemed different…"
"Those weren't true witches," I say. "They were pseudo-witches… Moe-chan and a few others have the ability to turn ordinary humans into pseudo-witches. I'm not quite sure why the others couldn't sense them though…"
"I see… say, Miss Taylor… actually, can I call you Ashley-chan?"
"Please do," I say. "It makes me feel old if you call me Miss Taylor."
"Um, Ashley-chan, didn't you say you had things to do?"
"That was a little white lie," I say. "I thought I should give those sisters some time alone."
"O-oh… I see. In that case… do you mind doing something with me?"
"Did you have something in mind?"
"Yeah… I wanted to see if I can hunt a witch by myself," Kazumi says.
"Then… what do you need me for?" I ask.
"W-well… just in case… as backup?"
I chuckle a little. "Alright… sure, as long as you can do it in under three hours."
After Kazumi has successfully obtained a grief seed, we head to the mall near Asunaro Dome, and after a couple of minutes, I spot Yuuri and Airi waiting for us. The two of them run over.
"Hello Ashley-chan!" Yuuri says. "Wait… huh? Is that you, Miss Kazusa!?"
"Huh?" Kazumi says. "Who?"
"You're not Miss Kazusa?" Yuuri asks, confused now.
"U-um, my name is Kazumi," Kazumi replies.
"But… isn't that just a shortening of Kazusa Michiru?" Yuuri asks.
"U-um… maybe? I don't remember anything like that…"
"Kazumi-chan, these are Asuka Yuuri and Anri Airi," I say. "As I mentioned earlier, they're probably the strongest magical girl team in town."
"D-do you really think so?" Airi asks nervously. "I don't really feel all that strong…"
"Well, you are pretty strong, Airi-chan," I say. "Especially in a team… your abilities are very well-suited to protecting others."
Airi shuffles her feet and looks down bashfully, not sure how to respond, so Yuuri speaks up instead.
"So, what are we doing?" she asks. "A movie? Bowling? Something else?" She looks at Kazumi. "Will you be joining us, Miss Kazumi? We're also having dinner afterwards, and we'd be happy to have you."
"Well… I haven't eaten all day, so if you don't mind," Kazumi says. "O-oh, and I'd prefer if you call me Kazumi-chan."
"Hey, come to think of it, Kazumi-chan," Airi says. "You don't have a ring…"
"E-eh?" Yuuri says, startled. "You're right… so you really aren't Miss Kazusa…"
"Eh? So Kazusa Michiru was a magical girl?" Kazumi says. "But I am a magical girl… my soul gem is my earring."
"Well, that's probably still enough to show you're not Miss Kazusa," I say. "Anyway… I've never tried bowling, so it sounds intriguing."
Airi chuckles. "In that case, let's go! But I'm gonna win, okay?"
As they previously mentioned, there's a bowling alley right there in the mall, so we go in and play two games in a row. I decide to leave the more serious matters for dinner. Despite Airi's bravado, she utterly flops the first game, which instead goes to Yuuri, but she makes a comeback in the second game, tying for first place with Kazumi. Afterwards, we head to the Chinese restaurant Yuuri mentioned.
Over the meal, I give Yuuri and Airi an overview of what I told Kazumi and the Shiina sisters, without getting into the truth behind the magical girl system. After that, the conversation turns to less serious matters, like how we met. I make a point to mention the bucket of parfait from Bistro Tachibana. Once the meal is finished, we split the bill, but Kazumi doesn't have enough money on her, so I pay her portion, with her promising to pay me back.
Then Kazumi heads for the Asunaro Dome to meet her friends, while I accompany Yuuri back to her home. To my surprise, it turns out she lives in an apartment with Airi. I really shouldn't be surprised that those two are living together, mind you… Airi is quite attached to Yuuri, and Yuuri seems to return the affection too. But even so, they're only around sixteen years old, right? Normally you'd still be living at home.
"Hey, what happened to your family, Yuuri-chan?" I ask. "Why are you living alone?"
"Huh? Nothing, they're fine," Yuuri says. "I just moved out to relieve some of the financial burden… we're pretty poor, and I have three younger siblings."
"Oh… so that's how it is," I say.
"And I just moved out so we could be together," Airi says.
"When did you move out?" I ask, curious.
"Right after I made my contract with Kyuubey!" Airi says. "She really was living alone before that, and I just couldn't stand it!"
That gets a chuckle from me.
"You're sure it's okay for me to stay here, though?" I ask. "I don't want to get between you two…"
"Don't be silly, it's only for one night," Airi says. "And you're a friend. It's fine."
"Yeah, you're welcome here anytime," Yuuri adds.
"Say, if you're poor, can you afford to eat out like that?" I ask.
"Eh, probably not," Yuuri says. "But as long as it's only once in awhile, we can manage somehow. It helps that there's two of us. Airi-chan has a part-time job now, plus she gets an allowance from her family, so we now have three sources of income."
"Is the job anything interesting?" I ask.
"N-no, just a convenience store," Airi says. "Nothing notable."
"I guess you have a job too, Yuuri-chan?"
Yuuri nods. "After almost winning Slice Akiyama's contest, I got hired at a local family restaurant. I get to do what I love, so I'm really glad Airi-chan convinced me to participate in that contest."
"So you're a cook, huh?" I say. "That definitely suits you."
Yuuri nods. "Yeah… not the head cook or anything, but still…"
Midnight. Kazumi waits for the Pleiades Saints outside the Asunaro Dome. They appear a few minutes later, startled to see her unhurt and unbound.
"Kazumi… what happened?" Saki calls.
"Lots of stuff happened," Kazumi says. "That girl, Moe-chan… her older sister let me go, and we chatted a little. Say… do you recognize the name Mura Fumiko?"
"Mura Fumiko…" Umika muses. "I think it does sound familiar…"
"I think I remember meeting her," Nico says. "It was probably… about a month ago?"
"Who is this?" Saki asks.
"You weren't there, so it's not surprising if you don't remember," Nico says. "I think it was just me, Umika and… Satomi?"
"M-maybe… but I don't remember," Satomi says.
"They said you guys killed her," Kazumi says. "But that's not true… right?"
"O-of course not!" Kaoru says. "We're not murderers!"
"Ashley-chan… Miss Taylor… she said the same thing," Kazumi says. "I'm glad that's true, at least…"
Saki gasps. "Ashley Taylor!? That's the girl we met that day in the game witch's labyrinth… the one with the teddy bear mecha. What does she have to do with this? How could she know anything?"
"She was also talking to that other magical girl, Asuka Yuuri," Nico says. "Maybe they're working together?"
"But she said she was from out of town," Saki says.
"Say, how are witches born?" Kazumi asks.
"Huh? We explained that before," Umika says. "When a familiar eats enough humans–"
"Is that really all?" Kazumi asks. "That girl's older sister… her name is Remi-chan… she said something strange… she said she turned into a witch eight years ago."
Umika blinks. "E-eh? That… that's not… possible?"
"What's not possible?" Kazumi asks.
"If she turned into a witch, how could she speak to you?" Umika asks.
"Um… so turning into a witch is possible, then?" Kazumi asks.
"Y-yeah," Umika admits. "Sometimes a girl's magic goes out of control and she becomes a witch… but it's not possible to turn her back when that happens. No matter how much magic you use, you can't reverse the process."
"Not even if you make a wish?" Kazumi asks.
"That… I'm not sure," Umika admits. "It might be possible…"
"I see," Kazumi murmurs. "Everyone… why did you never tell me? You're my friends… we should bear the burden together…"
"We didn't want to burden you with this," Saki admits. "I don't think anyone should have to bear the burden of this truth…"
"But Ashley-chan didn't seem all that burdened by it," Kazumi points out.
"Huh? She knows?" Nico asks, surprised.
Kazumi turns away. "I need… I need to think things over for awhile," she says. "I'll see you tomorrow or something."
As she walks off, Kaoru and Umika follow her.
"Kazumi…" Kaoru says. "Are you sure?"
"It's the middle of the night," Umika protests. "What are you going to do, walk around the city all night?"
Kazumi shrugs. "I guess you can come with me for a bit, but… I don't want to talk right now."
"O-okay," Kaoru says.
Some time later, she walks past Café Lepa Macha just as Mr Tachibana is closing up for the night, and he invites her in. Kaoru and Umika leave her there, presumably heading home, and as in the last timeline, Kazumi requests a bucket of parfait. However, unlike the last timeline, eating it doesn't bring her to tears.
I wake up extra early, around three in the morning, and check on what the Pleiades Saints are doing. I see them capture a girl named Akane Sumire and stuff her into a bell jar. After that, it seems they notice that someone was watching them from a nearby radio tower, and they disperse to chase her while Nico heads for the Freezer. That means things are still on track for the Souju encounter, despite me derailing the Moe event.
After dozing off for another hour or so, I check in on Kazumi, and find her eating breakfast at Café Lepa Macha. A few minutes later, she spots Nico walking by and goes out to greet her. So, that part of the plot is on track too. Then I stretch and check if Yuuri or Airi are awake. As it happens, they're just stirring. I'm not sure if it was caused by me moving around, but Yuuri opens her eyes and spots me.
"Morning, Ashley-chan," she says, yawning. "Airi-chan… can you get off of me…"
"Five more minutes," Airi mutters.
"Good morning," I say.
"How are you so chipper at this time of the morning?" Yuuri wonders.
"I really want to know that myself," I admit. "I'm not sure if it's since I became a magical girl, or since…"
I trail off, unwilling to reveal my deepest secret just yet. As Chelsea, I was never an early riser, and on a non-school or non-work day I would've typically slept in past noon. However… ever since being transported here, I seem to be waking up earlier. I wonder if it could be Ashley's influence somehow? I don't really understand how it works, but Mary did say I have a "composite soul", so that might mean Ashley is still somewhere inside me… though I have no idea if Mary actually knows what she's talking about.
"Hmm?" Yuuri says. "I don't think becoming a magical girl affects that kind of thing, does it?"
I shrug. "Like I said, I'm not sure."
"Is it time to meet up with the others?" Yuuri asks.
I check the time on my phone.
"Well, yes and no," I say. "The time I gave the others is about half an hour away, but things have started happening already…"
"I'm not sure where Café Lepa Macha is, so I can't say how long it would take to get there," Yuuri muses. "We should probably get moving…"
"I was also thinking I should change the meeting place," I say. "Kanna Nico and Kazumi-chan are headed towards La Vie Land."
"Well, that amusement park is probably ten to fifteen minutes from here by bus, not counting waiting time," Yuuri says. "But it's not open until… I think next week?"
"That's okay, we can just hop over the fences," I say. "Is there a good place to meet there? Maybe on a roof…"
"If you want a good roof," Yuuri muses. "Probably the mirror house would be best… it's towards the centre."
"Alright… then can I ask the two of you to head there?" I say. "I'll fly to Lepa Macha and meet the Shiina sisters there."
Yuuri nods. "Alright… as soon as I can get Airi-chan off me, I'll head for the mirror house in La Vie Land." She blinks. "Wait, Ashley-chan, you can fly?"
"Sure can!" I say. "Then, I'll see you there."
I leave their apartment and head up to the roof, where I transform and summon Teddy Mk II. Hopping on his head, I zoom up into the air and make for Lepa Macha. Along the way, I check on Kazumi, who is still en route to La Vie Land with Nico, and Remi, who appears to be en route to Lepa Macha with her sister. Then I switch to watching Yuuri and Airi. If things go as they did in the previous timeline… they should meet Pernelle at some point. I just hope they don't miss her.
Yuuri and Airi leave the house together and head towards the amusement park, but on the way there, they have an unexpected encounter.
"Pardon me," an unfamiliar voice accosts them.
The two of them turn to see Pernelle in her disguise.
"Ye are Asuka Yuuri and Anri Airi?" Pernelle says. "The esteemed magical girl duo in this area?"
The girls exchange glances, then turn to Pernelle.
"Who's asking?" Airi asks suspiciously. "I've never met you before, that's for sure!"
Pernelle smiles. "I do beg your pardon," she says. "My name is Pernelle. I too am a magical girl."
Yuuri blinks. "Huh? But you're clearly a fully-grown woman…"
Pernelle briefly withdraws her soul gem ring from her purse and shows it to the girls.
"No rule states that a magical girl cannot survive until adulthood," Pernelle says with a smile. "Rare though it may be, ye see a living example here before you… or must I transform in order to convince you?"
"Okay, fine," Airi says. "Next question… what do you want with us? We're kinda busy right now…"
"Is that so?" Pernelle says. "My intention is nothing sinister. I judged your combined strength to be greater than that of the Pleiades Saints. Therefore, I beseech a boon from the two of you."
"A boon? Oh… do you mean a favour? What sort of favour?" Yuuri asks.
"I happened yesterday upon a powerful witch," Pernelle explains. "Even for me, she proved too much to handle alone. If left unchecked, she will surely claim the lives of many new magical girls. I thereby beseech your assistance in defeating this witch."
"Yuuri-chan… I think she really is a magical girl," Airi says. "I mean, no-one could come up with that much detail otherwise, right? And you saw that ring…"
Yuuri nods. "You say it'll claim the lives of new magical girls… what about ordinary humans?"
Pernelle shrugs. "Naturally, it will also consume many more humans, but I beg your understanding. My concern for the magical girls who will likely fall to her outweighs that for ordinary humans."
"So, when exactly did you want to fight this witch?" Yuuri asks.
"At the earliest possible convenience," Pernelle replies.
"Well… it just so happens that we're currently doing a favour for a friend," Yuuri says. "And I'm afraid friends take priority over someone we just met…"
"Oh, worry not, I understand," Pernelle says. "You may take your time in helping your friend. I beg forgiveness for my curiosity, however. Would the friend in question by chance be Miss Ashley Taylor?"
Yuuri and Airi blink at her in surprise.
"H-huh!? You know Ashley-chan?" Airi asks.
"We are indeed acquainted," Pernelle replies.
"It is from Ashley, but… how'd you know?" Yuuri asks.
"You may consider it… a lucky guess," Pernelle says. "May I inquire as to the nature of the favour?"
"Well, to sum it up," Yuuri says. "She said the Pleiades Saints are up to something disturbing… so we're going to bust their operation. She also said they might be in danger or something."
Pernelle nods. "Indeed… then what she told me must be true. I am certain ye have felt it too, that feeling like we have met before – deja vu."
Yuuri and Airi exchange glances.
"Well… I did think there was something vaguely familiar about you for a second…" Yuuri admits.
"But I'm certain we've never met before…" Airi says.
"But set that aside for the moment," Pernelle says. "Certainly the Pleiades Saints are engaged in a curious experiment, which from some perspectives may be viewed as disturbing, but I am disinclined to interfere. On the other hand… if Miss Taylor claims the Pleiades Saints are in danger, then in my opinion we should trust her information. Therefore, would you mind if I too aid you in this request?"
"Eh? I don't really mind, I guess," Yuuri says.
"Well, if you want, sure," Airi says.
"Then, whither shall we go?" Pernelle asks.
"Ashley-chan said we'd meet at the amusement park," Yuuri says. "On top of the mirror house."
Pernelle transforms, and in a grand display of magical diagrams, they are suddenly there, on the roof of La Vie Land's mirror house. Yuuri and Airi both gasp.
"W-what just happened!?" Airi asks, looking around wildly.
"Please fear not," Pernelle says. "That was but one of my magical abilities."
"O-oh…" Airi says. "We are in the amusement park, it looks like… so you can teleport? That's amazing… I wish I could teleport…"
"I see her," Yuuri says. "Kanna Nico and… huh? What's Kazumi-chan doing here… or is that Kazusa Michiru?"
"Kazusa Michiru?" Pernelle says. "I believe you should put that girl out of your mind. The one you see here is a different sort of being."
Yuuri looks at her in confusion.
"What do you mean? So it is Kazumi-chan, then?" She blinks. "Oh right, Ashley-chan mentioned they were together…"
Pernelle nods, and Airi speaks up.
"Look, someone else has showed up… looks like a grade-schooler… huh? She's a magical girl too… but why is she attacking!?"
I land on the roof of Lepa Macha and wait for the Shiina sisters to come into direct visual range. Once I finally spot them turning a corner down in the street, I transmit a message.
«Hello, Miss Remi. There's a change of plans… instead of meeting in the café, we're heading to the amusement park. Can you hop up onto the café's roof?»
«Sure,» Remi says.
A minute or two later, the two of them turn into an alleyway, and then they transform and join me on the roof.
"W-whoa, what's with the giant teddy bear?" Remi asks.
"That's our ride," I say. "Hop on."
"Our… ride?" Moe says hesitantly.
"Yeah, that's right," I say.
By way of demonstration, I hop onto Teddy's head.
"Is it… safe?" Remi asks.
"Perfectly safe," I reply. "It can easily carry the three of us, too. Don't worry, I've done this before."
The two of them clamber onto the arms, and once I'm sure they're secure, I zoom off to meet the others at the amusement park. Along the way, I check on Kazumi again and find that she and Nico have now arrived there. As I draw near, I see Souju from a distance approaching the two of them, and then I land Teddy quietly on the roof behind the others.
"She's a magical girl too… but why is she attacking!?" Airi asks.
"Souju is… a strange one," I say. "I'm not sure she's sane…"
"Oh, you're here, Ashley-chan," Yuuri says.
"How long have you been there?" Airi asks.
"I literally just got here," I say. Turning to Remi and Moe, I introduce the others. "These two are Asuka Yuuri and Anri Airi, the friends I mentioned," I say. Turning back to Yuuri and Airi, I reverse the introduction. "These two are the Shiina sisters, Remi and Moe." Then I turn to the final person present. "And this is–"
"I can introduce myself," Pernelle says. "My name is Pernelle."
"Right, what she said," I say. "She's an ancient magical girl I met in Paris."
"…ancient? What's that supposed to mean?" Yuuri asks.
"Interesting," Pernelle muses. "I sense five different magic power signatures down below… there is a faint anomalous power signature from Nico…"
"That must be the girl called Akane Sumire," I say. "I saw them capture her early this morning."
"And that new girl, Souju, appears to possess two distinct…" Suddenly she blinks. "Oh my! I thought it to be impossible, but to think they have found a way…"
"What are you mumbling about?" Yuuri asks. "You've figured something out about that girl, right?"
"Allow me to correct you," Pernelle says. "I have indeed figured something out about those girls. They are two girls, in one body."
Yuuri blinks. "H-huh!? Is that even possible!?"
"I once theorized that it may be," Pernelle says. "But after thrice seeing the attempt, I concluded it was most likely impossible to attain a stable two-soul state in a single body."
"Wait a second here… is it even possible to move a soul from one body to another?" Yuuri asks.
"Of course," Pernelle says. "Switching to a new body is relatively simple for a magical girl – ye need merely transfer your fingernail mark onto the new body. But keep in mind that there is a high chance of rejection, so I advise you against frivolous attempts. Sharing a body, however… I wonder how they did it…"
As we watch, Nico defeats Souju Ayase and takes her soul gem, only to be caught off guard when Luca takes over, knocking Nico down and causing Kazumi to step up to defend her.
"I feel like you dropped a bombshell there," Airi remarks. "If you can easily switch bodies… I could try swapping with Yuuri-chan, right?"
Yuuri blinks at her. "W-what are you talking about!?" she protests. "Why should we do something so crazy as that? Didn't you hear what Pernelle said about doing it frivolously?"
"Eh? But I thought it might be fun," Airi says. "You don't think so?"
"W-well… I… I'm not sure," Yuuri admits.
"This is just a feeling I have, but I think it should be safe if it's for a short time," I say.
I can't say that I saw it happen in one of the non-canon manga spin-offs… between Mami and Homura, of all people.
"I now understand the reason for your concern, Miss Ashley," Pernelle muses. "These girls are quite strong, so Kanna Nico must use much magic power to defeat them."
"Don't forget Miss Kazumi too," Yuuri says.
"Ah, you need not worry about Miss Kazumi," Pernelle says. "She is a different sort of being."
"She's not a magical girl," I say. "Even if she uses too much magic, she won't turn into a witch… though I'm not confident she'll be totally safe either."
"Indeed, this is treading new ground," Pernelle says. "Even I cannot be certain of the outcome."
"She can use magic without being a magical girl?" Airi asks. "Is that even possible?"
"Of course," Pernelle says. "Why not? I have never witnessed it nor heard tell of it, but ordinary humans still possess a soul, so they should in theory be able to use magic."
"But Kazumi-chan isn't an ordinary human either," I add. "She's a special case."
"Y-yeah, she's physically as strong as I am," Moe nods.
As we discuss her, Kazumi is just hopping around, taking blast after blast from the combined Souju twins.
"She seems to be in trouble right now, though," Yuuri points out.
"Hey, why don't we help them?" Airi suggests. "Isn't that why we came here?"
"It's not precisely why," I say. "But if you want to, then sure, go ahead. I'm going to hold back and watch."
"Yeah, alright," Yuuri says. "Airi-chan, let's go!"
Yuuri and Airi transform and jump off the roof, and Airi draws a pistol and aims. Just as Souju is about to fire another blast of 'Picchi Gemellati', they seem to sense the shot and dodge at the last possible second, the bullet grazing their skull.
"Eh?" Kazumi says, looking at them. "Who the heck is it now!?"
"Kazumi, let's get out of here!" Nico says.
"H-huh?" Kazumi blinks.
"As if I'd let you!" Souju shouts.
But then Airi fires again.
"Haven't you forgotten about us?" she asks.
"Who the hell are you!?" Souju asks. "I didn't think there were any magical girls in the area…"
"Well, we teleported here," Yuuri says. "So yeah, it's no wonder you didn't see us coming… anyway, if you promise to back down, we'll let you go, but if not…"
"Whatever," Souju says. "We'll just take your gems too."
Airi blinks. "Huh? You mean our soul gems?"
"Enough talking!" Souju shouts. "Picchi Gemellati!"
She fires off her beam, but Airi plants herself in front of Yuuri to protect her, adding a fiery barrier as a second level of defence. The beam breaks through the barrier however, but Airi still weathers the hit. While she's protecting her, Yuuri shoulders her syringe gun and fires off a few shots, although none of them hit Souju.
"Th-that barely hurt at all!" Airi says defiantly.
"Y-you… you took a full blast and are still standing!?" Souju gasps.
"That's what I'm good at!" Airi replies.
"Ugh! I don't have time for you right now!"
And with that, Souju just turns and runs off.
"As if we'd let you!" Airi shouts.
But this time Souju manages to dodge her bullets, zigzagging over the the rollercoaster that Nico and Kazumi had boarded earlier. It just so happens that the cart emerges from the tunnel at the same moment she lands on the track,
"You fools!" Souju shouts. "Picchi Gemellati!"
"Limiti Esterni!" "Rendere o Rompere!"
The impact of the beams sends the cart careening off the track, and Kazumi and Nico free themselves from the wreckage in midair.
"Okay Kazumi, time for the hot and cold plan!" Nico says.
"Right!" Kazumi says.
They land on one of the support struts of the roller coaster and fire off a beam similar to Souju's. However, Souju does the same thing, and the beams cancel each other out… mostly. The leftover from Souju's beam knocks the duo off the strut, and they fall back to the ground.
"Eat this!" Souju shouts.
But this time, Airi jumps in, projecting a barrier… no, three levels of barrier.
"It's you again…" Kazumi says.
"You're the one from that time," Nico gasps. "H-how did you become a magical girl?"
"Let us help you out here, Kazumi-chan, Miss Kanna," Airi says.
"I may not know you, but you're a friend of Kazusa Michiru after all," Yuuri adds.
Nico blinks at her. "Huh? You… you knew Kazusa Michiru?"
"Y-yeah, she's the reason I became a magical girl," Yuuri says.
Then a blast makes it through Airi's barrier, throwing her to the ground.
"What's with you guys, chatting in the middle of a fight!?" Souju shouts.
"What's her deal, anyway?" Yuuri asks, turning to fire off some shots from her syringe gun.
"Apparently she collects soul gems," Kazumi says.
"Whoa, are you serious?" Airi gasps. "I thought magical girls were supposed to be the good guys…"
"Th-that's what I thought too!" Kazumi says. "But I don't know what to think anymore!"
"Alright, it's time for me to stop holding back!" Airi says. "Come, Cole!"
The bull appears out of nowhere, charging straight for Souju and sending them flying into the air. They recover even in mid-air, however, firing their twin blast at Airi, who projects a series of barriers to intercept it.
"She should be focused on me now!" Airi says. "You three, do something about her!"
"R-right!" Kazumi says. "Nico-chan, let's try it again?"
"You sure?" Nico says. "It wasn't all that effective."
"But that's because she cancelled it out, right?" Kazumi says.
"Well, you do have a point," Nico says. "Alright, let's try it again."
Souju keeps pummelling Airi with that beam, but Airi stubbornly holds out. Even as her barriers crumble, she erects new ones in their place, her soul gem slowly growing more and more clouded. Nico and Kazumi take hands and fire their own beam at Souju.
"Hot and cold!" they shout in unison.
The impact sends Souju flying into the air, and this time, it seems to be very effective… but they're still conscious.
"Ugh," Souju says. "I'll protect Luca's gem… I won't let you have Ayase's gem…"
"Luca, Ayase!" Kazumi says, standing over them. "You've lost!"
"Not yet!" Souju says. "It's not over yet!"
She pulls out a box of evil nuts and throws them at each of the magical girls present.
"Now the tables have turned!" Souju says confidently.
"Huh? What the heck are those?" Airi says. "They look like grief… seeds…"
Pernelle suddenly teleports into the fray, catching the evil nuts aimed at Airi and Yuuri. At the same time, Saki leaps in to snatch the evil nuts aimed for Kazumi and Nico. The rest of the Pleiades Saints show up moments later – Satomi, Mirai, Umika, and Kaoru. Then I do a double-take as I realize that Pernelle is still standing right beside me… she didn't teleport, she created a clone!
"Saki, everyone!" Kazumi gasps. "And… a lady I don't know…"
"Where did you get these?" Saki asks, turning to Souju.
"Ugh, fine," Souju says. "We lose. Go ahead and kill us, you magical girl hunters."
Kazumi gasps. "Magical girl… hunters…?"
Airi and Yuuri seem to be equally astonished.
"W-what do you mean, hunters!?" Yuuri asks. "Is… is this what Ashley-chan meant…?"
"Just how much does Ashley Taylor know…?" Umika wonders. "It almost seems like she knows everything… but how is that possible?"
"Is it true?" Airi asks. "Are you really…?"
"We're not murderers," Kaoru says. "We just can't let demons like you go, so we'll be holding onto your soul gems."
"Permit me to contradict you," Pernelle says, stepping in. "I shall be the one to take charge of Misses Souju."
Everyone looks at her in surprise.
"Huh!? Who the hell are you?" Satomi asks.
Pernelle smiles. "Merely a passing alchemist." Turning to Souju, she adds. "I promise that no harm shall come to you. Will ye come willingly, Misses Souju?"
Souju looks between her and the Pleiades Saints.
"Why should we trust you any more than them?" Souju asks. "What do you want with us?"
"Scientific curiosity," Pernelle replies. "Ye have achieved something that until now I have only theorized. I wish to learn how ye did it."
"S-so you're going to dissect us!?" Souju gasps. "No way!"
Pernelle blinks. "Now why would I do such a thing?" she asks. "How would that even help me? Although, even if it were my intention, it is not as if it would kill you. After all, ye are magical girls. Should ye not know this? Ye must have once had two separate bodies… or are you like this because of your wish?"
"Hold it," Saki says. "I can't let you just walk off with her. This girl is dangerous!"
"How is she any different from you?" Pernelle asks. "Both of you separate magical girls from their bodies, do ye not?"
"Th-that's…"
Saki glances nervously at Kazumi.
"Hey, Pernelle," Yuuri says. "Can you explain what's going on in simple terms so we can all understand? Stop with all the cryptic nonsense."
"I think I have been clear enough," Pernelle says. "But there is another important matter at hand here. Allow me to offer a grief seed to your pet, Juubey."
She produces one from somewhere and tosses it at the creature, who catches it in the hole on his head. Then she tosses a second one, with the same result.
"There's not a lot in these grief seeds," Juubey complains. "Don't you have any more?"
"Of course, but it would be a waste to share them with you," Pernelle says.
"Um… am I the only one who's confused about why he's black and actually friendly?" Airi says.
"Right, you haven't met Juubey before," Yuuri says. "He's usually with the Pleiades Saints, I think… I've only seen him a few times myself…"
"Eh? How'd you become a magical girl if you haven't met him?" Kazumi asks.
Nico just shrugs. "There's gotta be other fairies out there making magical girls, right?"
"Oh, I guess that makes sense."
"Juubey, is there not something you should do right now?" Pernelle asks. "Kanna Nico used a lot of magic recently."
"Oh, sure, push all the work on me," Juubey grumbles.
But it still does its spinning thing, drawing grief out of everyone's soul gems and absorbing it into himself. Everyone except Pernelle, that is – her soul gem can't be seen anywhere, so presumably Juubey just can't reach it.
"Eh? He can purify soul gems too?" Airi asks.
"Yeah," Yuuri says. "I relied on him for awhile, until I met Ashley-chan…"
The Pleiades Saints blink at them.
"There's another way to purify a soul gem?" Umika asks. "Please tell us!"
Pernelle just smiles at her. "There is no need to tell you," she says. "If ye want to know, then ye should reflect on your actions and search your memories." Then she shoots a glare at Souju, who is attempting to sneak away. "Who said ye could leave, Misses Souju?"
Souju suddenly smacks into a barrier, and tries another direction, but it's also blocked. In fact, she's surrounded in a barrier.
"W-what are you going to do to me!?" Souju says nervously. "Let me go!"
"Did I not make a promise?" Pernelle says. "I promised that no harm would come to you." She turns to Yuuri and Airi. "Forgive me, but may I postpone your favour to me until the afternoon?"
"U-um… sure," Yuuri says.
"Thank you for the consideration," Pernelle says. "Let us meet at the observation tower at around three o'clock."
Yuuri nods. "Okay, got it."
And then she and Souju simply vanish from sight, accompanied by a brief display of magical diagrams in the air. Souju reappears beside me, entrapped by a new barrier, startling Remi and Moe. The Pleiades Saints stare at the space Pernelle's clone occupied for a minute, then turn to Yuuri and Airi.
"Who the heck was that woman!?" Satomi asks.
"Don't ask us, we don't know any more than you do," Yuuri says. "We literally just met her today. She said her name is Pernelle, but that's as much as I know. Oh, and she knows Ashley-chan."
"This Ashley person keeps coming up recently… just checking, but is that the magical girl from that day?" Nico asks. "You know, some sort of cooking competition or something… you were talking to her afterwards…"
Yuuri nods. "Yeah, that's Ashley-chan."
"Um, excuse me!" Kazumi says.
Everyone turns to her as she powers down.
"What was all that about?" she asks. "What did that girl mean by 'magical girl hunters'? Why were you going to take their soul gems? Didn't I say that we'd bear the burden together!?" She bows. "Please tell me… we're friends, right?"
"Okay," Umika says.
"No, Umika!" Saki protests.
"We can't hide it from her anymore, Saki," Umika says. "We'll tell you the entire truth behind the Pleiades Saints…" Then she looks at Yuuri and Airi. "But as for you two… you're probably better off not knowing."
"Hey, that's not fair," Airi protests. "We were the ones who helped you out, right? Pernelle even gave you two grief seeds!"
"I'm sorry, but this isn't something we can share with someone we just met," Umika says. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you were here to help, but I'm also thinking of your own well-being."
"It's definitely not a good idea to let them in on this," Saki agrees. "There are too many things that could go wrong."
"Unless you plan to resort to force?" Nico suggests. "You seem to be pretty strong… if you want to test your strength against us, we'll take you on anytime."
Yuuri shakes her head. "No… that's alright," she says. "We'll let this go for now."
"Sorry," Kaoru says. "But I really do think it's for the best. Don't worry, we won't target you until your gems become tainted."
"You say that as if it's inevitable," Airi mutters.
The Pleiades Saints and Kazumi head off together, while Yuuri and Airi hop back up onto the roof of the mirror house.
"If that is all ye require of me, I will take my leave now," Pernelle says.
"Hold on a moment," I say. "I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask you while you're here."
"I think your questions would be better left for the afternoon," Pernelle says. "If you meet me at the observation tower around two o'clock, we can discuss whatever you please."
"Alright… fine," I say. "Then I'll hold my questions until then. But I do have one other request… can you spare a few grief seeds?"
"How many do you need?" Pernelle asks.
"Well, let me think… if each grief seed is enough for three girls, then I suppose twenty would be ideal," I muse. "But asking for that many is probably a bit much… how about ten?"
Pernelle shrugs. "Sure."
Without ceremony, she pulls out ten grief seeds and hands them to me. Then she and Souju vanish in yet another display of magical diagrams.
"T-ten grief seeds!?" Remi gasps. "I've never seen so many in the same place before… how many does she have!?"
"No idea," I say.
"From her reaction, I bet she could've given you the twenty you wanted," Yuuri says.
"Maybe, but it wouldn't feel right to ask for that many," I say. "Alright, everyone, let's follow them."
"R-right…" Moe says. "Um… are you really sure Fumiko-chan will be there?"
We start roof-hopping as we follow the Pleiades Saints.
"One hundred percent," I reply. "But… keep alert, okay? I don't know where that other girl is… the one who recruited you, Hijiri Kanna. She's probably watching us from somewhere, though."
"Really?" Remi asks, looking around. "But I don't sense any other magical girls around here…"
"She's stealthy," I reply. "You won't be able to sense her. It's possible she can even hear what we're saying, and we'd have no way of knowing. We should act as though she saw and heard the whole thing just now. It wouldn't surprise me if she can even eavesdrop on telepathy… though I may just be getting a little paranoid…"
"W-what about yesterday?" Remi asks nervously.
"That's harder to say," I say. "In this case she has a reason to be in the area… yesterday, I'm not sure. It's possible she heard it, but it's possible she didn't."
With Kazumi in tow, the Pleiades Saints arrive at a lavish building with the name Angelica Bears emblazoned over the big double doors.
"What is this place?" Kazumi wonders.
"This is my teddy bear museum," Mirai says.
"It's yours!?" Kazumi gasps. "But it's huuuge…"
"You were the one who named it though, Kazumi," Mirai says. "This museum was born because you met us."
"Huh… is that really true?" Kazumi wonders.
The Pleiades Saints head inside, followed by Kazumi, stepping into a dim room filled with glass cases, each showcasing a different teddy bear. I follow them with my clairvoyance as they make their way to the back of the room, where Umika activates a magical diagram on the floor that teleports them into a grand hall with a door at the far end. The door is adorned with a pattern of gears, one of which bears the same magical diagram that teleported them here. Once more, it's Umika who activates the diagram, allowing the door to swing open.
The room beyond is huge, filled with tanks containing teenage girls. Kazumi gasps at the sight, looking thoroughly startled.
"W-what is this?" Kazumi asks.
"These are the empty shells of the magical girls who have stopped functioning because we took their soul gems," Umika says. "We keep them dormant, here in the Freezer."
"It's easier to demonstrate than to explain," Kaoru says, looking at Kazumi.
She brings out her soul gem and hands it to Umika, who turns and walks towards the centre of the room. She places the soul gem in the barrier with all the rest, and Kaoru suddenly collapses. Kazumi gasps and steps towards her.
"K-kaoru!? What's wrong?"
Upon kneeling beside her, Kazumi blinks in confusion.
"H-huh!? She… she seems to be… dead?"
Indeed, Kaoru isn't breathing. In addition to that, the mark on her fingernail, a circle divided into hexagons, appears to be ever so slightly fainter than usual.
"That's not Kaoru," Saki says. "Kaoru is over there."
She turns and points to Umika, who walks over to join them, holding out Kaoru's soul gem. Once it's placed next to Kaoru's body, she suddenly starts to breathe again, gasping and sitting up.
"G-geez, that was a lot worse than I thought it'd be," Kaoru says.
"Y-you're not dead…?" Kazumi says.
"Of course not," Kaoru says. "Umika kept my soul safe for me, you see? Normally you'd have to separate us by at least a hundred metres to see this, but the barrier around those soul gems also does the trick."
"So in other words… Ayase-chan was telling the truth," Kazumi says. "We really were hunting magical girls!? Why are we doing this!?"
Umika turns to look at Juubey as she responds, then turns to the glowing barrier in the centre of the room that holds a large number of soul gems.
"Rejection," she says. "This is our response to the magical girl system and its contradictions. We reject our fate of turning into witches, which is why we enshrine these soul gems here in this case, until we can find a way to purify all of them. They're all clouded for a reason. By encasing them here, we've saved them from the fate of becoming a witch."
"Witches born from magical girls…" Kazumi says. "Are they different from witches that grew from familiars?"
"No," Umika says. "A witch's familiars prey upon humans and grow in strength until they mature into a copy of the witch that birthed them. There's no real difference between the copy and the original."
"So soul gems… are actually the soul of a magical girl?" Kazumi asks.
"Yes, the true form of a magical girl," Juubey speaks up. "The soul is the source of magic. In order to use it efficiently, we extract it from your body and crystallize it into a gem."
"Then the soulless bodies are…"
"Shells," Umika says. "No different from weapons. As long as the soul gem is intact, we're pretty much immortal."
"I get why you're shocked," Kaoru says. "It's sort of like we're zombies, right? But it's also better than dying to a witch in one shot, isn't it?"
"Y-you do have a point there," Kazumi admits.
"If you really wanted, you could even stop feeling pain," Kaoru muses. "But if we did that, we'd really cease to be human, so we don't."
"This barrier keeps the soul gems separate from their bodies, so they remain unconscious and don't accumulate any more grief," Umika explains. "That way, at least these girls can continue to be human…"
"We decided to take on their burden and fight by ourselves," Kaoru says.
Nico pulls Akane Sumire's body out of her bell jar and stuffs her into one of the empty tanks, then adds her gem to the ones gathered within the barrier.
"I have a question," Kazumi says. "When did everyone find out about the connection between magical girls and witches? You didn't know when you made your contract, right? So what–"
Umika strides over to her and presses her forehead to Kazumi's.
"I can't answer that directly," Umika says as she does this. "So let me return your missing memories."
Kazumi blinks.
"Ah… so that's how it is… we started hunting magical girls after seeing that poor girl turn into a witch…"
She stumbles a little, and Umika catches her.
"Kazumi… let's go home," Umika says.
Kaoru joins as well, and the five of them head back out of the museum. There they find Yuuri and Airi waiting for them, which startles me. I didn't even notice them jump down.
"Kazumi-chan," Yuuri says. "Is it really true you've been hunting magical girls?"
"I don't remember doing it," Kazumi says. "But I guess so?"
"Well, the reason I waited for you here is because I remembered something," Yuuri says. "Something that Pernelle said that didn't quite make sense… she said… she said that I should forget about Kazusa Michiru. She said that the person in front of me… Kazumi-chan… was… was… a different… sort of being? D-do either of you know what she meant? And Ashley-chan also seemed to think you're different…"
Umika and Kaoru look startled.
"W-what? That old woman told you something like that!?" Kaoru says. "Just who is she? From the way she talked, it seemed like she knew the whole truth, too…"
Kazumi glares at the pair. "You two are still hiding something from me, aren't you?" she accuses them.
Umika and Kaoru look at each other and sigh.
"It's true, we haven't told you everything yet, but… can we talk it over tomorrow?" Kaoru says.
"We've just finished explaining our rebellion to you, and I'm feeling rather exhausted," Umika says.
Yuuri blinks and exchanges glances with Airi.
"I promise, we'll tell you the rest tomorrow, okay?" Kaoru says.
"A-alright," Kazumi says. "I'll hold you to that."
"Well, I guess we'll head home too now," Yuuri says. "See you later, I guess."
They split up and go in opposite directions, but Yuuri and Airi only go as far as the next corner. It's now time for the next step of our operation!