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.

68. Endless Mirrors

Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Mansion of Endless Mirrors.
After receiving an invitation from a strange familiar,
you enter an old, run-down mansion.
Suddenly, you face yourself!
What sort of mysterious place is this?
The only way to find out is to delve into the depths…

---

Right as I get home to the Hayashi house the next day, I get a call from Homura, which I answer right away.

"What are you going to do about this now!?" she shouts.

I hold the phone a bit away from my ear.

"Um, calm down, Miss Homura… what's up?"

"You know what I mean!" Homura says.

"Uhh… I wouldn't be asking if I knew," I say. "Please, calm down…"

There's a brief silence before Homura continues, in a more normal voice.

"You… you really didn't know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say. "So I can't even tell you whether I know or not."

"Well…"

Suddenly, Madoka's voice comes through the phone instead.

"Sorry about that, Ashley-chan," she says. "When she found out that I made a wish, I couldn't stop her… oh and I've put us on speaker, so you know. We're at Homura-chan's house, so it's just the two of us."

"Oh… so you made a wish," I say. "Sorry, Miss Homura, this is the first I've heard of it."

"You really didn't know?" Homura asks.

"I really didn't."

"But you were the one who took her to Kamihama on the weekend," Homura says. "Wasn't that to help her make a wish? I'm pretty sure she said something about a wish when she came back with that jester girl…"

"Well, not exactly," I say. "I was trying an experiment, and she offered to help me out with it if needed. The help would've been in the form of a wish, but fortunately, it turned out her help wasn't needed."

"So… you had nothing to do with this wish…"

"That's what I've been telling you, Homura-chan!" Madoka says.

"Yeah, I had nothing to do with Madoka's wish," I confirm. "That said, now that she's made a wish, I'd like to take her to meet someone. In fact, could we go right now?"

"Huh? What's this about?" Madoka asks.

"Madoka, your power as a magical girl is unprecedented," I explain. "So I'd like to take you to someone who knows a lot about magical girls. Something like a magical girl doctor. Or, actually… two such people."

"Well um… how long will it take?" Madoka asks.

"I expect it to take all evening," I say. "You might get home kinda late, so you should let your mother know you'll be missing dinner."

"Can't it wait until the weekend?" Madoka asks.

"I'd rather not put it off for a moment longer than I have to," I say. "If you were to fight a witch right now, I'd worry that you'll use too much magic and end up turning into a witch yourself. These visits are intended to help you with that."

"If that's the case, then we should go right now," Homura says firmly. "If there's any chance that it can reduce the chance for you to turn into a witch… you have to take it. Even if you have to stay overnight and miss school tomorrow, it would be worth it."

Madoka sighs. "Alright… I'll go," she says. "Where will we be going?"

"The first stop is Asunaro," I say. "So you can meet me at the station. Oh, and I'll probably have a couple other people with me… just a heads-up. Inui-chan at minimum."

"Alright," Madoka says. "Then I'll see you soon."

I hang up the call and unlock my phone to send a few emails. First, I send a message to Naomi Noriko.

"Hello, sorry to bother you at such short notice, but I'm heading to meet with Pernelle today, so if you'd like me to introduce you, you're welcome to join me. If you're coming, please meet up with me at the central train station… and also let me know you're coming so I know to wait for you."

Next, I compose a quick message to Inui.

"Hello, I'm heading to Asunaro today. If you'd like to come, meet up with me, Madoka, and Miss Homura at the central train station."

Then I compose a message for Yuuri.

"Hello! I realize it's short notice, but I'm heading to Asunaro right now for something important, so if you'd like to meet up for dinner, just let me know! I'll be bringing a few friends, but we don't plan to stay the night for obvious reasons."

And finally, I compose a message for Hijiri.

"Hello. Madoka has become a magical girl, so I'm going to introduce her to Pernelle. Could you join me as well? I'd also like to share the results of my experiment with the evil nut."

With that settled, I enter the Hayashi house, let their mother know I'll be home late, then head upstairs to fetch a couple of things from my desk before going back outside and making for the train station. I'm halfway there when the first response to my messages comes in, but I don't pause to read it. Another ping sounds when I've almost arrived. I turn a corner and find Inui, Homura, and Madoka already there waiting.

"Just a minute," I say. "Let me check if I should expect anyone else…"

I whip out my phone to check my emails. The first is from Noriko.

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes! Wait for me!"

The timestamp on the message is about fifteen minutes ago, so she should be another five minutes. The other email is just from Inui, confirming she'll be here, which she is.

"Why should we expect anyone else?" Homura asks. "This trip is about Madoka, isn't it?"

"I've got a few other things to take care of in Asunaro at the same time," I say. "And there was someone else who wanted to meet the person we're going to see. So… it's about Madoka, but it's not only about Madoka."

"So, you're going to introduce me to another magical girl?" Madoka asks.

"This one is someone you've met as a witch," I say. "The one who often lures Hitomi in."

"Oh… that makes me feel a little nervous," Madoka says. "Um… is she also a student at Mitakihara Middle School?"

"Um… I think she's nineteen," I say. "Or possibly eighteen. So, no, she already graduated from high school. I don't know if she's attending college… I suspect not though."

"Ohh, an adult magical girl," Madoka says. "That's cool!"

"And I expect you'll meet a few of the magical girls of Asunaro as well," I say. "I have a couple of friends there."

Madoka nods. "Okay, I'm looking forward to it."

"I wish we could just stay focused on the task at hand," Homura mutters.

"But isn't it exciting to meet magical girls from another city?" Madoka asks.

"Not really," Homura says.

"Come on, Homura-chan, you must be a little bit excited, at least?" Madoka says.

"No… not really," Homura repeats.

Suddenly Homura spins to face north.

"W-what's that?" she asks. "There's a strong magic signature approaching at incredible speed…"

I blink and turn to face the same direction. She's right… this speed… it's incredible. Could it be approaching the speed of sound? I don't think even Teddy Mk II can travel this fast.

"It could be the person I'm waiting for," I say. "But just in case, be on your guard."

Barely a minute later, I catch sight of the blur of that person's passage, hopping from one rooftop to another and ending up in an alleyway just across the street. I hurry across the street and enter the alleyway to find Noriko riding piggyback on a samurai. They spin to face me, and the samurai waves.

"Heya," the samurai says. "So you're Ashley Taylor, right?"

Noriko climbs off the other girl's back, and they both power down. Of course, it's Masuyo Mari, and what's more, she now has a ring on both fingers. One fingernail bears a purple ourobouros, while the other has a yellow sunburst.

"Was that Laplace's Demon?" I ask.

Mari blinks at me.

"W-whoa, you really do know me!? But I'm sure we've never met…"

"No, I only heard about you," I reply.

"Ohh!" Inui says, catching up to me. "It's Mari-chan and Nano-chan!"

Mari blinks. "And there's another one…"

Inui headtilts. "Huh? Why are you talking like you don't know me…?"

"Because she doesn't," Mari says. "For her, this is the first time we've met."

Inui blinks. "Oh! There are two of you?"

"For now," Mari says. "Thanks to Miss Ashley here."

"Um… what did you do to split her in two, Ashley-chan?" Madoka asks nervously.

I assume the true identity of the new Mari is a secret, so I decide to spin a slight lie.

"It's not like that," I say. "They're twins. One of them turned into a witch, but…"

Madoka blinks. "Ohh! She's the one you saved a few days ago!? But… they're in the same body?"

I shrug. "From what I can tell, it seems like something that's possible for identical twins. She lost her original body, so… there's not much she can do, right?"

"So um… the revived twin, what's your name?" Inui asks.

"Oh, me?" Mari says. "Um, well… I kinda forgot! So for now, you can just call me Mari too."

Inui blinks. "Huh… is that because you turned into a witch?"

Mari shrugs. "No idea. Maybe."

"So… are you coming with us?" I ask.

"Nano-chan asked me to come, so yeah," Mari says. "I was already with her when she got your message."

"Okay, so…let's get going," I say. "I'll do a proper round of introductions once we're on the train."

We head into the station and catch a train to Asunaro, after which I follow up on my promise.

"So, I promised introductions," I say. "The big red-haired girl is Naomi Noriko, and the girl with purple hair is Masuyo Mari. The two of them are veterans from North Mitakihara."

Homura blinks. "Veterans?"

I nod. "Yeah, Miss Masuyo even knows Miss Tomoe a little," I say.

"Ohh, Miss Tomoe's still around?" Mari gasps. "Amazing… I figured she would've gone the same way I did by now…"

"And in case it's not obvious, there's two of them," I add. "Masuyo Mari the first and Masuyo Mari the second, if you will."

"Hmm, can I call you Mari-chi and Marini?" Inui asks.

I groan, for she's just appended the words for 'one' and 'two' to the base name.

"Isn't that a little too obvious?" I ask.

"Sorry," Mari says. "I don't think we'd be able to remember which was which like that. Why don't you just use two different honourifics? Like, say… Mari-chan and Mari-kun?"

Inui nods. "Sure, I guess that'll do," she says. "But which one will be -kun?"

"I guess the one you met first can be -kun," Mari says. "Since her transformation is kinda boyish."

Inui nods. "Got it!"

"And for the other side," I say. "The pink-haired girl is Kaname Madoka, and the strong and silent one here is Akemi Homura. And for Mari-chan, this blue-haired girl is Itsumi Inui, and as you guessed, I'm Ashley Taylor."

Mari nods. "It's nice to meet all of you."

Then she nods again. "I'll echo her sentiment."

Inui giggles. "It's a little strange seeing two people sharing a body… and it's kinda hard to tell which one is speaking…"

"Yeah, it really is," Madoka says.

At that moment, my phone pings, and I take it out to check my email. This one is from Hijiri.

"Okay, I'll meet you at Pernelle's place with Yuuri-chan and Airi-chan… and just a heads-up, Hilda and the Souju twins are also staying there right now, so you might run into them as well."

"This might not be the first time you see it," I say.

"Eh? I can't imagine that sort of thing would be common…" Madoka says.

"It's not," I say. "But it's thanks to me seeing it in person in Asunaro that I was able to suggest the possibility to Miss Masuyo, so we could run into the originals, so to speak."

"Huh…"

"By the way," I say. "Miss Naomi, did you happen to get a glimpse of Madoka or Miss Homura before you powered down earlier?"

Noriko shakes her head.

«I haven't seen their stats,» she says.

Homura blinks. "Stats!?"

"She has a scanning power," I explain. "She can figure out your element and get some idea of your strengths and weaknesses."

"I'd rather not," Homura mutters.

"Oh? Well, I won't force you to undergo that," I say. "I do think it could be helpful for you to know too, but it's your choice. Madoka, however…"

"Oh, don't worry about me," Madoka says. "It sounds interesting. I'd like to know what she sees."

"Oh, that makes things easier, then," I say. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"So, this person we're going to see," Madoka says. "What's she like?"

"Well… she's a scientist, I guess," I say. "With a focus on studying magic. Oh, and she's an alchemist."

Madoka tilts her head. "Huh? Isn't science like… the opposite of magic?"

"Well… you can ask her about it when you meet her," I say.

«She's also pretty famous,» Noriko adds. «You haven't heard of her?»

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Madoka asks.

"Sorry, Miss Naomi, I haven't actually told them who we're seeing," I say. "But yeah, she's certainly somewhat famous."

"A magical girl who's famous?" Homura blinks. "That's… weird…"

"It's not like it's a secret, I just never got around to mentioning her name," I say. "We're going to see Pernelle Flamel."

Madoka shakes her head. "No… I haven't heard of her," she says. "Although I think I heard Sayaka-chan mention the name Flamel once or twice… but it was a man…"

«Nicholas Flamel?» Noriko asks.

"Yeah! That's right!" Madoka nods.

"Nicholas and Pernelle Flamel are a married couple," I say. "It looks like Nick stayed home in Paris though, so it's just Pernelle here."

Madoka blinks. "Huh? Wait… that's not just a made-up videogame character?"

I shake my head. "Nope. I'm sure a lot of videogames, movies, anime, novels, manga, and so forth use Nick or his wife as a character, but they are very real people. You can find the basics on Wikipedia."

"Huh… Sayaka-chan's gonna be shocked when I tell her," Madoka says.

"I can imagine…"

Eventually we reach Asunaro and disembark at the station closest to Pernelle's house, heading the rest of the way on foot. I step up to Pernelle's door and knock. The door is opened not by Pernelle but by Hijiri.

"Hi Ashley-chan," she says. "I didn't expect you quite so early… Yuuri-chan and Airi-chan aren't here yet, but I guess you're really here for Pernelle, right?"

"Of course," I say.

I turn to the others.

"Come inside," I say.

Hijiri leads the way inside, and Homura gasps at the sight of the portal.

"There's a witch in here!?" she asks.

«That's no witch,» Noriko says. «It doesn't feel like a witch's portal.»

"It's Pernelle's barrier," Hijiri. "Come inside."

She steps into the barrier, and the rest of us follow suit. Inside I see Pernelle tinkering with something at a table in the corner, and Hilda sitting in an armchair reading a book. The Souju twins are nowhere in sight. There are several unoccupied couches as well.

"Pernelle! She's here!" Hijiri says.

"Just a minute," Pernelle says. "Take a seat while you wait."

Madoka grabs Homura's hand and drags her to a couch, and I take a different couch, Inui flopping down beside me. Noriko however just stares at Pernelle in awe, completely unresponsive to Mari's attempts to nudge her forward.

Hilda looks up from her book and addresses the group in English.

"Which one of you is the time traveller?" she asks.

"Y-you know that!?" Madoka gasps, managing to use English as well.

"Is it you?" Hilda asks.

Madoka shakes her head. "Eto…" She looks at me for help.

"Madoka is not the time-traveller, but she did come back in time with us," I say in English. "As for who the time-traveller is…"

Homura suddenly shoots to her feet, turning to stare at Hilda.

"Why it matters?" she asks in surprisingly good English… though not what I'd call fluent. The pronunciation is almost perfect but the grammar is a little off.

"So it is you," Hilda says. "It is your selfish actions that force me to relive this time over and over again."

Homura blinks, glancing at me and addressing me in Japanese.

"Did she just say she remembers other timelines?"

I shake my head. "No, I don't think that's what she meant," I say. "She's caught onto the time travel thanks to a sense of deja vu, so she knows that time has been turned back but doesn't know how the other timelines went or how many there were."

Homura turns to face Hilda again.

"I must save her," she says in English.

"That is all you care for?" Hilda asks.

"Above anything else," Homura replies.

"This is unfortunate," Hilda says. "Because I cannot allow you to continue if your cause is not just."

"Wait!" I say. "Her goals are one thing, and yeah, they could be called selfish, but she's also helping me with my plans. I want to save as many as possible."

Hilda looks at me. "So you are saying that you need the time-traveller to do that?"

I nod. "Yes… sure, her primary goal is selfish, but that doesn't mean her power can't do a lot of good."

Hilda nods slowly. "I understand," she says. "In that case… there is little need for me to remain here. Perhaps I shall return to Germany."

"If you do feel like hanging around Japan a little longer," I say. "I recommend the city of Futatsugi. It's on the east coast of this island, and I think the magical girls there will be especially starved for grief seeds soon."

"Oh? Well, I will consider it," Hilda says. "It is true, that the witch population in this town started to sharply decline recently… as if all the witches were leaving for elsewhere. If that is happening all across the island… then it does not bode well."

She stands up and steps forward.

"Please forgive me," she says. "I neglected to properly introduce myself. I am Hildegard von Bingen, although nowadays I usually go by Hilda. Pernelle has my email address, so if you need me for anything, you are always welcome to send me a mail. Will you share your names with me before I leave?"

"I'm Kaname Madoka!" Madoka speaks up.

"My name is Ashley Taylor."

We both look at Homura, who sighs and shrugs.

"Akemi Homura."

"And I'm Itsumi Inui!" Inui says.

Hilda nods. "It has been my pleasure to meet you. May we meet again under fairer circumstances."

And just like that, she strides right past the still-frozen Noriko and exits the barrier.

"Very well!" Pernelle says. "Now that that has been dealt with…"

She comes over and takes the seat that Hilda just vacated.

"Ashley Taylor, how may I assist you?" she asks.

"I've got several requests today," I say. "The first is… could I ask you to craft a weapon for Madoka?"

Madoka blinks. "Eh? But I already have a bow…"

Pernelle peers at Madoka.

"Her power outstrips even Tart… Jeanne d'Arc," she says. "I shudder to contemplate what manner of catastrophe could result if—"

"I won't turn into a witch!" Madoka says firmly.

"…did she just say Jeanne d'Arc?" Homura mutters.

"Well, ye sound quite confident," Pernelle says. "Can ye support that claim?"

Madoka nods. "In Kamihama, magical girls don't turn into witches anymore. I saw it."

"Although you did also see it fail," I point out.

"Th-that's true…"

"But it's true," I say. "I've seen it a couple more times besides the one Madoka saw."

Pernelle actually seems surprised by this. I think I've mentioned it to her, that my plans lead to this, but perhaps she didn't entirely believe me. Or was that in a reset timeline? It's getting a little difficult to keep straight which things happened during a prior loop and which things happened before the loops started…

"Magical girls do not become witches?" Pernelle says. "How can that be?"

"I don't really understand the details," I say. "But just for the record, if you want to go there to study it, I'd like to ask you to be discreet about it so as to avoid messing up my predictions too much."

"I see," Pernelle says. "Even so… abide ye in Kamihama, Miss Madoka?"

"No… I don't," she says.

"Then a weapon that enhances your magical efficiency would certainly be useful. Tell me, Miss Madoka… what did you wish for?"

"Um… it's a little embarrassing," Madoka says.

"I will tell no-one," Pernelle says. "Shall I ask the others to vacate the room?"

"N-no… it's fine," Madoka says. "Um… I wished for the power to bring hope to magical girls everywhere."

Pernelle blinks.

"Interesting," she says. "That is incredibly similar to Tart's wish, to bring light to all of France. May I see your magical girl form?"

"S-sure!" Madoka says.

She stands up and transforms, and Homura and I both let out a gasp, for it's not the Madoka costume we've known since the beginning.

"W-why is it different!?" Homura asks.

But it's not just that it's different. To Homura, that's probably all she can see, that it's different from what she remembers… but I recognize the new costume.

Madoka now has her goddess costume!

She wears a simple, no-frills white one-piece dress without any petticoats or artificial poofiness in the skirt, which is ankle-length at the back but opening up to around knee-length at the front, exposing the off-white thigh-high stockings. On her feet are winged sandals… no, slippers. The dress has a plunging neckline that would be rather scandalous if not for the shawl worn over it, clasped at her throat with a brooch bearing her soul gem and leaving a diamond window exposing only a hint of cleavage. She wears white gloves on her hands and has her hair tied up with wide white ribbons. And finally, she has the wings, giving her an overall angelic feel, although they are gossamer rather than feathered wings.

It's perhaps not quite as impressive as actual goddess Madoka. She doesn't have the same otherworldly quality the actual goddess Madoka had in the anime. But the outfit is essentially the same.

"A magical girl's outfit depends on many factors," Pernelle says. "If she had the same outfit in every timeline until now, perhaps it means that she had always made her wish under similar circumstances, or from a similar state of mind. I cannot give any details about how this works, since running an experiment where multiple girls contract multiple times is simply impossible with current technology. However, based on the few anecdotes of second contracts that I have heard, it is normal for the outfit to change in the second contract. I understand that this is not a second contract situation from Madoka's perspective, but for those of you who have travelled through time, it is similar, is it not?"

I nod slowly, though I have nothing to say in response. Her words do make sense though.

"By the way, I was wondering something," Madoka says. "Ashley-chan said you're a scientist who studies magic, but aren't those incompatible?"

Pernelle shakes her head. "Of course not. Science is just a way of thinking about the world. It means I will believe anything I see and add it to a cumulative model of the world. If I happen to see magic? Well… into the model it goes."

"But… science has to have rules, right?" Madoka says. "What if magic turns out not to have rules?"

"Everything has rules," Pernelle says. "Mayhaps the rules of magic will prove to be very strange and unintuitive. In fact, I would suggest it is even probable. But… considering a worst-case scenario… even if there were, for example, a rule that magic abhors rules, we would still think of a way to codify that into a repeatable rule… although I am happy to say that there does not appear to be such a rule, from what I have seen of magic. And besides that, there are rules that are very strange and unintuitive even in the study of fundamental physics. Even now, I doubt ye can find someone who truly understands quantum mechanics at an intuitive level."

«Clarke's third law,» Noriko pipes up. «Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.»

"That is indeed one method of approaching the matter," Pernelle says. "But ultimately the point is that magic and science are not opposites. They are complementary. Magic is not a concept that even possesses an opposite… while I suppose the opposite of science would be faith, in the sense of religious faith… although faith is not necessarily religious in nature. For example, I require no evidence to believe in God – I simply acknowledge His existence as fact and continue from there."

I think that may be the first time I've actually heard Pernelle say something to imply that she has a religious side to her… I knew the history books noted her to be a Roman Catholic, but I just sort of assumed she'd… grown out of it…?

"I see… I never thought of it that way," Madoka says. "So… you're a scientist who believes in a god? That seems weird…"

"It is actually quite common," Pernelle says. "Anyway… could ye apprise me of your powers?"

Madoka nods. "It might be obvious from the wings, but… I can fly. I can also heal… almost anything, I think? And cure almost any kind of disease or toxins. Um… I can manipulate light into weapons – the arrows I fire from my bow are made out of light. I can create force barriers to block attacks or contain things. And the best power of all is my aura."

"What aura?" Homura asks.

"While I'm transformed, all magical girls within a one hundred metre radius accumulate grief half as quickly as normal," Madoka says.

"Oh, that is quite impressive… like the exact opposite of Corbeau's power," Pernelle says. "Ye possess quite a lengthy list of starting powers there, too, which is a little unusual. Many magical girls start with but a single starting power, and often not a very useful one for combat."

Pernelle strokes her chin for a moment, then nods.

"Very well, Miss Madoka," she says. "Ye remind me of Tart… of Jeanne d'Arc, so… I shall craft you a bow to improve your magical efficiency."

"But I already have a bow," Madoka says.

"Use mine instead until ye become accustomed to controlling your power," Pernelle says. "That said… may I see yours? I shall endeavour to effect something to make mine unique, so ye have reason to use both as the situation calls for."

Madoka nods and summons her rose bow, handing it over. Pernelle accepts it and examines it closely.

"May I scan it?" Pernelle asks.

"S-sure…"

Pernelle gets up and takes the bow to the back of the room, where she draws some sort of apparatus right out from the wall and shoves the bow inside. After a minute or so, she nods and turns around to return it.

"Thank you," she says. "I have settled on a concept for your weapon. It will be ready two weeks from now. If ye give me your address, I shall personally deliver it to you."

Madoka nods. "Okay, sure, but… I live with my Mom and Dad and a little brother, so I don't know if it's a good idea to just show up with a bow…"

"Worry not," Pernelle says. "I will not carry it openly."

"Okay…"

Madoka powers down and takes out her phone, opening the notes app and typing out her address. She shows it to Pernelle, who nods and copies it down onto a scrap of paper. Once that's done, Madoka puts her phone away.

"Now," Pernelle says. "Ye said there were multiple things ye wanted, Miss Ashley?"

"This is just a random, off-the-cuff question," I say. "But what exactly are the chances that Melissa de Vignolles and Elisa Celsjka are still alive?"

Pernelle shrugs. "Well, the chances are technically not zero," she says. "I lack a concrete confirmation of either of their deaths. But it is so unlikely as to be practically zero."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I say.

"I am curious why ye would even broach the topic," Pernelle says.

"Ah, well… I know a girl who can see into alternate timelines, so to speak," I say. "Like, she can see how things might have gone if different decisions had been made. And… she told me of a vision where she was saved from a witch by a blonde girl in red and a girl with blue hair and outfit. They asked her if she'd seen a specific grief seed and then walked into an antique shop."

Pernelle shrugs. "While that description could certainly portray Melissa and Elisa, it could also portray any number of other magical girl duos," she says. "There is literally no reason to believe it is them."

"Yeah, I didn't think so," I say. "I just thought I'd ask though, just in case. Okay, next is… Naomi Noriko."

"Y-yes!?" Noriko gasps.

At some point while we were dealing with Madoka, she and Mari must have quietly slipped in and taken a seat, for they're now sitting on one of the couches.

"She was interested in meeting you, Pernelle," I say. "So I let her tag along. She also has an interesting power… Miss Naomi, could you please scan Madoka for me?"

"R-right!" Noriko gasps.

She shoots to her feet and transforms, turning to look at Madoka who is also still transformed.

«Kaname Madoka. Speed, seven and a half stars. Stamina, one star. Offense, nine stars. Defense, twelve and a half stars. Learned powers, zero stars. Health, ten out of ten hearts. Magia, one-half out of two clovers. Element, light. Accelerant, four stars. Blast power, four stars. Charge potential, three stars.»

I blink in surprise, for by the metric I've used so far to compare those last three stats to the Magia Record game mechanics, Madoka would have a pool of eight discs instead of the usual five.

"Huh? Is that the first time you've seen someone where accelerant, blast, and charge don't add up to eight?" I ask.

Noriko blinks. «Now that you mention it… I think you might be right,» she says. «Although I never really noticed that… but I've also never seen more than five stars on any stat…»

"By the way, Madoka, how's your soul gem?" I ask.

Although, I can see for myself that it's already almost one-quarter full with impurities, just like Noriko's magia reading indicated. Madoka powers down and looks at it with a gasp.

"W-what!? I haven't even used any magic and it's already like this!?"

"I believe merely maintaining your magical form contributed most of it," Pernelle says. "And maintaining your body also contributed a little. The wings in particular may be magically expensive – ye would do well to suppress them when they are not required."

"I didn't quite get why Ashley-chan was so worried and wanted to do this right now," Madoka says. "But after seeing this… I think I understand. If it can get like this just from existing…"

"I shall grant you a grief seed for free this time," Pernelle says. "Just a moment."

She heads into the next room, returning a minute later with not one but two grief seeds.

"There you go," Pernelle says. "One for now and one for later."

"W-whoa, that's so generous of you!" Madoka gasps.

"No, it truly is not," Pernelle says. "If I were feeling generous, I would have given you at least ten."

"Y-you have that many!?" Madoka gasps.

"I have lost count of how many I have," Pernelle says.

"Anyway, next thing on my agenda is… Masuyo Mari," I say.

Pernelle turns to look at Mari with a nod.

"Indeed… I noticed earlier, but like the Soujus, ye appear to be two in one," she says. "Are ye twins too?"

"Um… you could say that," Mari says.

"Interesting," Pernelle says. "Perhaps sharing a body is possible for any pair of identical twins… anyway, did ye want something from me?"

"Well… not that I know of," Mari says. "But I have a feeling Miss Ashley has something in mind that I didn't even think of…"

I nod. "Pernelle is capable of growing an extra body for you," I explain. "Basically a clone, so that the two of you can each have their own body and you don't need to share."

Mari blinks. "R-really!? Huh… well, that does sound somewhat enticing…"

"However, it comes with a price," Pernelle says. "If ye desire me to grow you a body, you must pay the same price the Soujus did."

"Which is… what, exactly?" Mari asks.

"Allow me to study the phenomenon of two souls in one body," Pernelle says.

"You're asking us to be guinea pigs in exchange for a new body!?" Mari asks.

"It honestly doesn't sound all that bad though, onee-san," Mari says.

"I dunno," Mari says. "Can we actually trust her?"

"Well, Miss Ashley seems to trust her," Mari says.

"Hmm… well… could we think it over for awhile?" Mari asks.

Pernelle nods. "Take as much time as ye need," she says. "I will remain here for awhile – at least until the Pleiades Saints have learned their lesson."

"Okay," Mari says. "Then we'll get back to you some other time if we decide to take up the offer."

"Okay… next on my agenda is… the experiment I performed," I say.

"Oh?" Pernelle says. "This should be interesting. What manner of experiment was it?"

"I'll start with the building blocks," I say. "One: I have a friend whose unique magic power allows her to switch places with a witch. That is, the witch's grief seed is reverted to a soul gem, but she becomes a witch instead."

"That is quite an unusual power," Pernelle says. "But it is not unheard of… Lapine was just one example of a similar power, although to my knowledge she could only use it on herself."

I continue my list.

"Two: Kanna-chi here has created fake grief seeds, which when used on a magical girl have the effect of turning her into a witch."

"W-why would you make something like that!?" Madoka gasps.

"It's a long story," Hijiri says. "But they also bring out a witch-like being if used on a regular human – a pseudo-witch, I call it. That transformation is temporary and causes no permanent damage to the human."

"That still sounds horrible…" Madoka says.

"Come to think of it… I wonder if a pseudo-witch is similar to a doppel," I muse. "They're both a temporary mutation of the body resulting from the absorption of grief…"

"Yeah, we can get to that later, but I had the same thought," Hijiri says.

I move on to the final item on my list.

"Anyway, three: in Kamihama, there is now an automatic purification system that extracts the impurities from your soul gem before you can turn into a witch."

Pernelle nods.

"I believe I understand where this is going," she says. "Permit me to speculate. You wished to determine whether the automatic purification system would prevent witchification when your friend uses her powers, or when you use one of those evil nuts."

"Ah, has Kanna-chi showed them to you already?" I ask.

"Indeed, I have examined some of them myself," Pernelle says.

"Anyway, your guess is correct," I say. "I only tried once for each case, but… the second Masuyo Mari was restored because of that experiment, and Elise, the girl with that power, unleashed her doppel and was unharmed. However… when I used an evil nut on myself, apparently I turned into a witch. Elise was able to restore me by using that power again, though."

"Interesting," Pernelle says. "That means you have a safe and reliable way to turn any grief seed into a soul gem… although I would point out that there is no point in doing so in most cases, as a soul gem cannot be conscious without a body."

"I do wonder what would happen if you did it to two of the same grief seed, though," I say.

"That would indeed be an interesting experiment," Pernelle says. "When a witch reproduces, is she cloning herself? Or is part of the soul split off into two incomplete pieces?"

She frowns slightly, considering for a moment.

"To test that hypothesis, ye would need to hatch a grief seed, isolate one of its familiars, feed it emotional energy until it matures into a witch, and then defeat both witches to obtain the grief seeds. Simple in theory, but there are several glaring logistical issues…"

"H-how could you even think of doing such a thing!?" Madoka protests. "People could get hurt!"

"Worry not," Pernelle says. "If I can simply solve those logistical problems, no-one would need to get hurt, with the possible exception of myself, the experimenter. Hmm… the trickiest part would be feeding the familiar emotional energy… if only there were something that is a solidified packet of emotional energy…"

"Like an evil nut?" Hijiri suggests.

Pernelle grins.

"Exactly!" she says. "I thought ye might say that. Have ye ever tried feeding them to a familiar?"

Hijiri shakes her head. "No… maybe I'll try that later," she says. "If nothing else I think it would be useful to find out if that works…"

"I don't really like this," Inui mutters. "You shouldn't be toying with people like that… not even someone you saw turn into a witch right in front of you…"

Huh… it seems Inui has already caught onto my plan. I'm not going to confirm it in front of Madoka though, if I can avoid it.

"Okay, let me think," I say. "There were two other things I wanted, I think…" I ponder for a moment, then turn to Homura. "Miss Homura… I realize this might be asking a lot, but… would you consent to have your shield examined?"

Homura blinks. "W-whatever for!?" she gasps. "That… that's… no, I can't!"

"Well… I won't force you," I say. "But at least hear me out on my reasoning. Miss Homura… just how much do you understand about your time powers?"

"Um… it's not that complicated," Homura says. "You basically know everything already, right? A quarter turn one way stops time… a half turn in the opposite direction reverses time. I can take people back with me… probably about five or so people should be fine, maybe even more. I can also include others in the time stop… I could probably cover as many as thirty for a short time. In both cases I need a line of direct or indirect physical contact with everyone to be affected."

"But you can't just stop time or turn back time whenever you want," I point out. "You can stop time as long as there's sand in the timers, but you can't turn it back. Once the timers have emptied, you can turn back time but you can't stop it."

"W-what of it?" Homura asks.

"Well, the thing is… I'm almost certain you must be missing an important piece of how your power works," I explain. "Think about it. As long as you keep failing and going back over and over, it's fine, you don't need to worry about it. But what about once you finally succeed and decide to stick to that final timeline? Are you expected to go the rest of your life without ever stopping time? When that's such a crucial part of your fighting style? It doesn't make sense, right?"

"Now that you mention it… no," Homura agrees.

"Which is why I'd like you to let Pernelle examine your shield and determine if there's a way to reset the timers without turning back time," I say. "I won't force it on you, though… and if you'd rather wait until you're satisfied with the timeline, that would be fine with me as well. But it's something you're eventually going to have to consider."

"I get the point," Homura mutters. "Still… not now… okay? Maybe… maybe once Walpurgisnacht is dead… and Madoka is safe… maybe I'll consider it then."

I nod. "Alright. Then my last request… Pernelle, just how far can you teleport?"

"I can teleport around the world in about four or five leaps," Pernelle says. "That is, returning to the point I started from."

"Alright, then… this might sound crazy, but could I ask you to teleport Madoka to the Coordinator in Paris for a tune-up?"

"P-p-p-paris!?" Madoka gasps. "B-but I don't even know any French…"

"I must admit, that does sound rather crazy," Pernelle says. "Is there not a Coordinator in Kamihama? Why not choose the closest one?"

"I don't want Yakumo Mitama to get any inkling of the fact that we've travelled back in time," I explain.

"Coordinators have a strict client confidentiality agreement," Pernelle points out. "They would be expelled from the organization if they broke it."

"But is Yakumo Mitama actually a formal member of Puella Care?" I ask.

Pernelle blinks. "Is she not? I do not believe that woman would allow her to practice otherwise…"

"Yeah, well… call me paranoid if you like, but… I simply don't trust her. And… even if she doesn't tell anyone about it, I'm sure the knowledge would influence her actions in hard-to-predict ways."

Pernelle nods. "But if it is specifically an issue with Yakumo Mitama, I believe there is also a Coordinator in Tokyo. Would that suffice? It would consume less magic, so I would prefer that."

"As long as that's not Livia herself," I say. "I'd prefer if Livia didn't find out about this time travel either… unless you think she's trustworthy?"

Pernelle shrugs. "I have no idea what goes through that woman's head," she says.

"Well, frankly, the main reason I'm against Livia knowing is because you've mentioned that you don't like her," I say.

"Have I?" Pernelle asks. "I suppose it was in other timelines, for I remember not. It is true, however. I cannot stand that woman." She nods. "Very well, Miss Madoka. Would you like to take a short trip to Tokyo?"

"Um… sure," Madoka says.

"Please ask the Coordinator to see if she can improve Madoka's magical efficiency, too," I say.

"Naturally," Pernelle says.

"Also… if Inui-chan is willing, could you take her along too? I think it would be good for her to get a tune-up."

"Ehhh!?" Inui says. "Well, I'm okay with it though…?"

"I do not mind, but I will ask you or her to provide the payment," Pernelle says.

I nod. "Sure, I'll give you one of my grief seeds."

I take out a grief seed and pass it to Pernelle, and she takes it and reaches out her hands to Madoka and Inui.

"Come, Miss Madoka, Miss Inui."

Madoka and Inui each take one of her hands, and before Homura can react, all three of them are gone. She shoots to her feet again with a gasp.

"M-madoka!?"

"Don't worry," I say. "She should be back in… oh, no more than an hour, I'd say. Ah, but that does assume there's no queue…"

At that moment, there's a knock on the door, and Hijiri runs out to answer it. A few moments later, she returns with Yuuri, Airi, and Remi. Homura turns to stare at them.

"Y-you!? The one who can stop time!?"

Remi blinks at her.

"H-huh!? How do you…"

Then she tilts her head slightly.

"Ahhh! You're Akemi Homura, aren't you!?"

Homura blinks. "Huh? How…?"

Remi transforms and holds her axe in a defensive stance.

"I was warned about you," she says. "Moe-chan's not here this time, but don't think I'll let you kill me again!"

Homura transforms, and I too transform and leap to my feet, jamming my sword into the mechanisms of her shield before she can turn it.

"Stop this!" I say. "Kanna-chi, did you invite Miss Remi here?"

"Y-yeah," Hijiri says.

"Then I wish you'd explained to her that Miss Homura is not going to try to kill us anymore."

"I'm sorry," Hijiri says. "I didn't even know her future self had sent that warning. She never mentioned it to me."

Remi blinks. "Huh? Wait… you're not going to kill me?"

"As long as you don't hurt Madoka," Homura says.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for jumping to conclusions!" Remi says. "Please forgive me!"

She powers down as a sign of good faith, and after a moment of hesitation, Homura does the same, and I follow suit as well.

"So… how did you know who I was?" Homura asks.

"Well… I can communicate with my past self," Remi says. "I don't remember any other timelines, but thanks to that power, I have some limited information of key events that occurred in them."

"I see…"

After a round of introductions, I proceed to let Yuuri, Airi, and Remi know everything – about soul gems, about witches, about wraiths, about my alternate personality, about the time travel, and even about doppels. For some reason, though, Ashley doesn't surface when I prod her. I'm not sure why. Still, Yuuri and Airi apparently don't need to see her to believe me.

"Incredible," Airi says when I'm done. "To think you were working so hard behind the scenes without us even knowing…"

"Although I wish you hadn't spied on us like that," Yuuri adds. "But… I guess I can forgive you now that you've come clean. So, this doppel thing… does it actually work?"

I nod. "I've seen it in action twice, and experienced it personally once. It works. However… you do need to be in Kamihama."

"I actually saw that dream myself," Airi says. "I thought it was weird and didn't say anything… except to Yuuri-chan of course."

"I haven't had the dream," Yuuri says.

"Nor have I," Hijiri says.

"I haven't, but Moe-chan has," Remi says.

"Do you know if Miss Kazumi or any of the Pleiades Saints have had the dream?" I ask.

I look at Hijiri, but she shakes her head.

"I haven't heard anything," she says. "And Kazumi-chan has been keeping me updated on their status, so… I'm pretty sure I'd know if they'd spoken of it."

"I can hardly believe this doppel thing," Mari says. "I mean, I only just learned that I turned into a witch and that all magical girls can turn into witches… and now I hear there's a way not to… how crazy is that?"

"It's shocking for me, too," Mari says. "If only that system had been around back when Mari-chan turned into a witch… although I have to admit I've grown used to my new life since then, so it's not all bad."

"Oh yeah, Ashley-chan," Yuuri says. "I ran into another magical girl a few days ago who seemed to know you… actually, she's someone I heard of before from Miss Kazusa."

"Huh? Who was it?" I ask. "And when?"

"Um… I think it was Friday?" Yuuri says. "Her name was Tomoe Mami… she asked about the declining witches in the area. Said she was investigating it."

"Oh… and you told her, I suppose?"

Yuuri nods. "Of course… I said there were fewer witches here recently, too. She didn't stay long after that."

"How exactly did I come up in the conversation, then?" I ask.

"Um… what was it now… oh! She said she was from Mitakihara, so Airi-chan asked about you. Miss Tomoe seemed surprised that we knew you."

"I see… so she was investigating the disappearance of witches," I say. "I was somewhat expecting that, though her coming here is a bit of a surprise, I suppose. Thanks for telling me."

"It's no problem," Yuuri says.

"I thought she seemed really nice," Airi says. "But she said she only knew you a little… is there some reason for that?"

"Ehh… sort of, maybe, a little?" I say. "I mean… for awhile I was just avoiding her area of town so I wouldn't run into Miss Homura…"

"Ah… so that's what it was," Airi says. "I guess you've had a lot going on too, huh…"

While the others continue chatting about various things, I decide to take a peek at what Iroha is up to.

---

April fifth. Iroha is in a labyrinth, fighting off a group of familiars. From the landscape and the familiars, it looks like she's going after the Sheep Witch, Rebecca – the same one she saved Kaede from a few days ago.

Just as she finishes off the last of them, a different familiar appears, a strange creature that looks like some sort of animal, a bit like a dog, a bit like a penguin…? On its back is a tiny table holding a single cup of tea, and it rides on a white sack that appears to be stuffed full. Suddenly, it reaches down with its beak to draw out something rectangular from the sack and fling it at Iroha, who squeals in surprise and swats at it. It repeats the action, allowing Iroha a better look at what it's throwing.

"…wait, what?" Iroha says. "This… is this…"

She picks up one of the two missiles, and the familiar stops attacking and just watches.

"It's… a postcard?"

One side depicts a rundown house, while the other has handwritten Japanese text, but it's a barely readable scrawl. There's also a map giving directions. Iroha puzzles through it for a bit.

"It's an invitation…?"

Suddenly the Familiar turns and runs away, and the barrier collapses around her. Either those sheep witch minions were away from their witch, or Rebecca herself decided to move without taking Iroha along.

"W-wait!"

But of course, the familiar is already gone. Iroha looks at the card again, but it crumbles to dust in her hands.

"Well… I suppose it can't hurt to check it out," Iroha muses. "Maybe it's another rumour…?"

She heads southeast, catching a bus that takes her across the river and into Minaminagi Ward, then heads north from the bus stop until she reaches the rundown house depicted on the card. She pauses to look up at it for a moment. It's a fairly large house, similar to the one where Nikola appeared in Mitakihara.

"So… this is… the Mirror Mansion," Iroha says. "I guess I just go in…?"

She steps inside and transforms. The interior isn't particularly interesting – it's just a rundown house in need of repair, filled with dust and cobwebs. There's a grand staircase in the entryway that leads up to a balcony on the second floor. She looks around the entryway for a few minutes, peering into the rooms that open off of it and pausing to gaze up the stairs.

"Oh, is that you, Iroha-chan?"

Iroha squeals in surprise and spins to face the voice.

"W-who's there!?"

It's Mitama, who has just stepped in from outside. As usual, she's in her magical girl form.

"Oh no, did I scare you?" Mitama asks. "I'm so sorry! It's just me! Don't panic!"

"Oh, M-miss Mitama!?" Iroha says.

"I noticed someone was here when I arrived, so I wondered who it could be," Mitama says. "So, you must have gotten an invitation, Iroha-chan?"

Iroha nods. "Y-yeah… did you?"

"No, I wasn't invited," Mitama says.

"You weren't? But then… this is quite a long way from your office… what are you doing here? And what is this place? It looks so huge yet feels so empty…"

"Actually, I live on this side of town," Mitama says. "But there wasn't a good place for my office around here, so I eventually picked the place you know."

"Huh… I had no idea…" Suddenly she gasps. "W-whoa! I just noticed, there's a giant mirror upstairs! No… two of them, facing each other… is this why it's called the Mirror Mansion?"

"Well… where should I begin," Mitama wonders.

Suddenly she gasps. "Uh-oh… I guess now's not the time…"

"Huh!?"

"Be careful, Iroha-chan!"

"Careful… of what, exactly?" Iroha asks.

"You see, I'm not really good in a fight, so I can't go down that route with you," Mitama says.

"What route are you talking about?" Iroha asks.

"Besides… it's basically a rite of sorts," Mitama adds. "But you'll be fine… yeah, you'll do great! Good luck!"

"Miss Mitama… what on earth are you talking about?" Iroha asks.

Mitama suddenly ducks outside, and at the same moment a labyrinth forms around Iroha, and a pair of familiars appears. One of them looks like a large metal coffin, with handles on the side to carry it or open it up and a one-eyed face with an impossibly wide grin, permanently sticking its tongue out. The other looks like a wooden easel bearing a sheet of canvas with a suit jacket painted on it. Two of the legs look human-ish while the third, central leg is just a stick. The familiar's arms are suspended from the easel's shelf by chains, and it holds a bell in its left hand, which it promptly rings.

"W-what!?" Iroha gasps.

She raises her crossbow hand to fire, but she's too slow to react. The easel familiar leaps at her, its canvas wrapping around her, and the coffin familiar simultaneously attacks by leaping into the air and landing on her head. She's knocked out instantly. The coffin opens itself up and watches as the easel untangles itself before jumping inside the coffin. Then the coffin runs off while Iroha just lays there, unmoving…

---

Since it seems like she's not going to wake up anytime soon, I decide to see if Madoka is back yet… unfortunately, she isn't, but on the bright side, it seems that Yuuri and Airi left and came back with food while I was tracking Iroha all across Kamihama. It appears to be Chinese takeout, so not food from Yuuri's restaurant, but I grab a plate and serve myself before digging in.

"Oh, this is pretty good," I say.

"Yeah, whenever I don't have a shift and don't feel like cooking, I go to this place," Yuuri says. "Although I did have a shift today… but Kanna-chi said there would be a lot of people, so a staff meal wouldn't cut it. I hope that's okay."

"No, it's perfectly fine," I say. "Your place is great, but this is also good in its own way. Um… so, does anyone know how long they've been gone? I didn't keep track…"

"Last I checked it was about forty-five minutes," Hijiri says.

"I see… should be back fairly soon, then," I say. "So… Miss Remi, have you gotten in touch with your childhood friend yet?"

"You mean Misako-chan?" Remi asks. "Yeah… Kanna-chi took me, and we told her everything about magical girls."

"Huh?" Mari says. "You told someone who's not a magical girl all about magical girls?"

Remi nods. "Because she's a friend, and because she's in a position to potentially help lost girls," she says. "In fact, we already managed to locate the bodies of two of the girls from the Souju twins' collection."

I blink. "Oh, wow… I thought it would take months to find even one… and probably most of them were cremated as well, right?"

Remi nods. "Yeah, we also confirmed that seven of them were cremated," she says. "Not much we can do about those ones right now…"

"U-um… what exactly are you talking about?" Mari asks.

"The Souju twins had a habit of attacking other magical girls and stealing their soul gems," I explain. "Without a soul gem, a magical girl appears to be dead. So if the body is discovered… they would get a funeral, right?"

"I guess I understand?" Mari says. "I can't believe someone would actually do that, though…"

"Locating the bodies is one thing, but actually retrieving them might be a little difficult," Remi says. "Especially since they're on the mainland, so Misako-chan has no authority at all over there. Still, I'm happy that we even got that far…"

"And… how are the Pleiades Saints doing?" I ask.

"Well, they're all still alive," Hijiri says. "The barrier's still up, though."

"I was going to meet with them about that in a couple of days, actually," Remi says. "Since I'm the only one unaffected by the barrier."

"What is this… barrier?" Homura asks.

"It alters your consciousness so that you forget about Kyuubey, and how to use grief seeds," Hijiri explains. "Currently it only affects you when you're close to one of the Pleiades Saints. They've come up with an alternate way to purify soul gems… but unfortunately it doesn't work like they hoped."

Homura blinks. "Huh? So there's a way to purify a soul gem without a grief seed!?"

Hijiri shakes her head. "There might be, but this isn't it," she says. "Their system still relies on grief seeds… it's just… somewhat automated."

"And why is… Miss Remi… unaffected by this barrier?" Homura asks.

"Because I wasn't in the city when it was cast, and I haven't entered the city since then," Remi says. "At least, that's the theory."

Homura stares. "Isn't that… impossible?"

"It's like a loophole," I say. "When the barrier was cast, Miss Remi had been dead for many years. Then, after the barrier was cast, she came back to life."

"Like Madoka's wishes a few times," Homura muses. "Huh… I see…"

"Exactly," Hijiri says. "I'm sure you have seen that many times already."

Homura frowns a little. "Why would you even know that?" she asks. "You shouldn't know how many times I've seen Madoka wish for someone's life…"

"U-um… I've heard a lot from Ashley-chan?" Hijiri says.

"Uh, what?" Remi says. "Isn't Kanna-chi the only one here who could know that? Since she's gone back in time with you hundreds of times…"

I shoot Remi a glare, and Hijiri groans.

"A-ahh… w-was that supposed to be a secret?" Remi says. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

Homura narrows her eyes and looks at Hijiri.

"Is that true?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?" Hijiri asks.

"…No, I suppose I wouldn't."

At that moment, a brief magical pattern in the air heralds the return of Pernelle, Inui, and Madoka. Madoka looks around in surprise, while Inui almost immediately spots the food and starts helping herself without even asking.

"H-huh!?" Madoka says. "What did I miss? It feels so tense here…"

"I have just discovered the identity of the other magical girl who has been sneaking a ride when I reverse time," Homura says coldly.

Madoka blinks. "Eh? Is it one of those here?" Then she blinks. "Ah, hold on, there are more people here than when I left… ah, and you've got food!? Can I have some?"

"Help yourself," Yuuri says. "There's plenty."

Madoka grabs a plate and heaps it with food, then looks around at everyone. Pernelle also does the same without a word, settling down in the armchair to eat in silence.

"So… which of you is it?" she asks.

Homura wordlessly points at Hijiri, and Madoka turns to look at her.

"How many times?" Madoka asks.

"I'm afraid I lost count at some point," Hijiri says. "But it's in the ballpark of a hundred."

"So then, you've seen every timeline?" Madoka asks.

"Not quite," I say. "I first recruited her in the third timeline."

"I can't be certain I saw every timeline since then," Hijiri says. "There are any number of ways that I could've missed a few here and there. But I think it's close to every one."

"Wow… and without Homura-chan even knowing?" Madoka says. "You must have some sort of stealth type power…"

"You could say that," Hijiri says.

"And… who are you?" Madoka asks, turning to Yuuri and Airi. "Ah, and I haven't met you either!" she adds, looking at Remi. "I'm Kaname Madoka! It's nice to meet you all!"

"And I'm Itsumi Inui, by the way," Inui pipes up. "Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Asuka Yuuri, and this is my best friend—"

"Anri Airi."

"My name is Shiina Remi."

"And you're all magical girls too… it's amazing that there are so many out there…" Madoka says. "How many more are there in this town?"

"At this moment?" Hijiri says. "The only other active magical girls in town are the Pleiades Saints, Miss Remi's little sister, her best friend Mura Fumiko, and one other acquaintance of mine, Akane Sumire."

Wait, shouldn't Akane Sumire have been captured by the Pleiades Saints by now? I resist the urge to interrupt the conversation to question Hijiri on that though, since it doesn't seem important.

Madoka nods. "So that's… seven… ten more?"

"One of the Pleiades Saints is dead, so nine," Hijiri says. "Although Kazumi-chan is filling that spot now, so they do fight as seven… but she hasn't made a contract yet."

Madoka blinks. "How does she fight witches if she's not a magical girl?"

"Kazumi-chan is sort of special," Hijiri says. "She's an artificially created being who can draw magic from a grief seed."

"Any grief seed!?"

"No… just the one grief seed she was built for," Hijiri says.

"So, Madoka… how was the uh… tune-up?" I ask.

"W-well, it felt kinda weird," Madoka says.

"Yeah… I guess it does, the first time you get one…"

"But now I feel great!" Madoka adds.

I turn to Noriko.

"Miss Naomi… can you tell me if her stamina stat has changed at all?"

Noriko nods, transforming for a moment to peer at her before powering down again.

«It's more than doubled,» she says. «Two and a half stars.»

"Well… I guess it'll have to do," I say. "But it's also good to know that it worked."

"And apparently I can connect now," Madoka says. "Miss Charmchi said it's a latent ability all magical girls have but few manage to unlock."

"Well, Ashley-nee is one of the few though," Inui says.

"Hey, so are you," I point out. "You picked it up almost immediately just from watching me do it, so I think you're more impressive than me in that respect…"

"By the way… Homura-chan, you used to live in Tokyo, right?" Madoka says.

Homura blinks and nods.

"What was that like?" Madoka asks.

"…hell," Homura mutters.

Madoka blinks. "Ah… I'm sorry if I brought up some bad memories…"

Homura shakes her head.

"No… it's fine…"

"Where in Tokyo did you live?" Madoka asks.

"Um… if I recall correctly… in Bunkyou Ward?" Homura says. "I remember hearing the bell tower of St Mary's Cathedral chime in the distance…"

"Oh… that's pretty close to where we went," Madoka says. "Miss Charmchi has her office in Chiyoda Ward."

I blink. "You mean like… Akihabara?"

"Pretty close, yeah," Madoka says.

"By the way, have you called your mother yet?" I ask.

"I called her while I was waiting my turn, though I didn't mention I was in Tokyo, since I didn't want to have to explain the teleportation thing," Madoka says. "There were five other people waiting there… they were all really surprised to see Pernelle, too."

"Adult magical girls are pretty rare," I say, nodding.

"They weren't very talkative, actually," Madoka says. "I tried to strike up a conversation but they didn't have much to say at all… I didn't even get their names."

"I see… I guess that's more or less to be expected," I say. "A lot of magical girls buy into Kyuubey's cherry-picked statistics and believe they're better off fighting alone and keeping their distance from other magical girls…"

"That's so sad," Madoka says. "I wonder if there's anything we can do about that…"

"Nothing simple," I say.

"I've thought about that a little, too," Airi says. "Yuuri-chan used to fight alone before I made my contract, but now that we're working together, we get more than twice as many grief seeds as she used to… or at least, that was the case before most of the witches disappeared. But it also means we have the spare grief seeds to tide over a period of time with few or no witches."

Madoka blinks. "Huh? Wait… are witches declining in Asunaro too? Miss Mami was mentioning there aren't as many in Mitakihara recently, as well…"

Yuuri nods. "Yeah. I haven't found a witch in two days now."

"Ah, come to think of it, I think Miss Hilda also mentioned that earlier," Madoka says. "My English isn't very good though, so I only understood about half of what she was saying, at best…"

"Come to think of it… where is Miss Hilda?" Yuuri asks. "She's been here almost every time we came by before now…"

"Well… I think she was mainly waiting around to speak to me and Miss Homura," I say. "Now that she's done that… maybe she's going to leave town? I'm honestly not sure what's going through her head right now…"

"Claiming to be Hildegard von Bingen though," Homura says. "That's impossible."

"Why would you say that?" I ask.

"St Hildegard lived in the twelfth century, if I remember right," Homura says.

"I'm a bit surprised you even remember that," I say.

"I did attend a Catholic school…"

"But you also said it was hell," I point out.

"You have a point," Homura shrugs. "But the fact is, I did remember."

"Well, here's a counterargument to your argument," I say. "Pernelle Flamel lived in the fourteenth century, but she's right here with us."

"And it is less unusual than ye might expect," Pernelle speaks up. "Indeed, long-lived magical girls are not common, yet… over my lifetime, I have encountered many who had lived for upwards of a hundred years. Hilda, Scheherazade, Kuzunoha, Laura of Wallachia, Mary, and Eleni of Zeila, to name just a few. Not to mention my own mother, who was born in the fourth century and apparently played a major background role in the unification of France."

"Oh, that's amazing!" Madoka says. "What was her name?"

"She passed her name down to me," Pernelle says. "That is to say, she too was named Pernelle. Of course, she did not bear the Flamel name, though."

There's something else in that list that really sticks out to me.

"Um… that Laura of Wallachia," I say. "She wouldn't happen to be sort of like a vampire… would she?"

"I have heard that she is known as the 'vampire progenitor' in Eastern Europe," Pernelle says. "I never witnessed her magic for myself, but at least one aspect of her existence fit the term 'vampire' – her body did not show any of the typical signs of life, such as a heartbeat. Oh… the wings she had in her magical girl form also suit the descriptor."

"In other words… she could be described as undead…" I muse.

It wasn't all that long ago that I was wondering if the magical girl known as Oshino Shinobu exists in this world. It was my last meeting with Mary that made me think of it, if I recall correctly. But that girl… I remember reading somewhere that Oshino Shinobu isn't her original name… and her original name just so happens to be Laura. I can't imagine this is a coincidence… and yet, I can't call it definitive proof, either.

"Why didn't you mention her when I asked you about ancient magical girls?" I ask.

"Because I had no reason to believe she still lives," Pernelle says. "I have heard no news of her since the birth of this island."

"I see…"

I take a second helping of food, and the conversation moves on to other things. Once I'm finished, I clear my throat, and everyone looks at me.

"I was just thinking, I'd like to go to Kamihama and fight a witch or two with Madoka," I say. "So she can sort of get the hang of holding back in a safe environment."

"That sounds good," Madoka says. "Though I have to say, I'm a little bit nervous…"

"I would suggest that ye abstain from fighting any witches until your weapon is ready," Pernelle says. "But… I suspect that ye would not be able to last that long, so I will not attempt to dissuade you… and if it is true that the witch transformation is suppressed in Kamihama, then it is a good place for your first fight."

"If you're going to Kamihama, then Nano-chan and I will head home separately," Mari says. "We don't have any reason to go to Kamihama, after all."

"You might change your mind about that later, but… sure," I say.

"Last I checked, there were still a few witches in Mitakihara," Mari says. "If that changes in a few days, then maybe we'll go to Kamihama, but until that time, we have no reason to go."

"There is one thing I'm a little bit curious about before we split up, though," I say. "I won't force anyone to do it, but… Miss Naomi can scan people to get some idea of their power level. Would anyone like to try it? Although I'm asking because I'm curious, I could also step out if you'd prefer to keep it private."

"That sounds interesting," Yuuri says. "I'm all for it."

"Me too," Airi says.

"Hmm, well, why not," Remi says.

"It is an intriguing power, so I would be interested to know what you can learn from it," Pernelle says. "In fact, perhaps I can even help you to make sense of it to a degree."

"I've already been scanned by her," Inui says. "So have Kanna-chi and Ashley-nee, and of course Mari-kun, though I'm not sure about Mari-chan…"

"As a sign of good faith though, I'll volunteer to be the first one scanned," I say.

"As before… I refuse," Homura says. "I will wait outside. Madoka… will you wait with me?"

"Hmm… well, I'm a little curious about it," Madoka says. "But… no, I'll keep you company, Homura-chan!"

The two of them get up and step out of the barrier, and Noriko powers up, peering at me first. After reading out my stats, which as far as I can tell haven't changed since last time, she turns to Yuuri and Airi.

«Asuka Yuuri. Speed, half a star. Stamina, one and a half stars. Offense, two and a half stars. Defense, three and a half stars. Learned powers, half a star. Health, ten out of ten hearts. Magia, zero out of three clovers. Element, fire. Accelerant, four stars. Blast power, two stars. Charge potential, two stars.»

She tilts her head for a moment before continuing with Airi.

«Anri Airi. Speed, three and a half stars. Stamina, two stars. Offense, three and a half stars. Defense, three stars. Learned powers, zero stars. Health, ten out of ten hearts. Magia, zero out of four clovers. Element, fire. Accelerant, two stars. Blast power, three stars. Charge potential, three stars.»

"Huh, so you're both fire," I say. "I'm a little surprised… Airi-chan I can see, since her barrier is kinda flamey, but Yuuri's a healer… although there are other healers who are fire so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised… and perhaps it kind of explains why you two are so compatible."

"Wait… there are elements in magic?" Yuuri says. "What other elements are there, anyway? Is fire particularly good against water or something like that?"

"There are six elements," Pernelle explains. "Fire is not strong against water, however. It is weak against water, whereas water is strong against fire. Forest is strong against water and weak against fire, so the three of them form a triangle. The other elements are light and dark, which are strong and weak against each other, plus null which is neither strong nor weak against any other element."

"Huh… strange that there's no wind or air," Yuuri muses.

Noriko turns to look at Remi.

«Shiina Remi. Speed, five stars. Stamina, four stars. Offense, three stars. Defense, one and a half stars. Learned powers, two stars. Health, eight out of eight hearts. Magia, one out of eight clovers. Element, wood. Accelerant, three stars. Blast power, three stars. Charge potential, two stars.»

Then she turns to look at Mari.

«Masuyo Mari. Speed, four and a half stars. Stamina, three stars. Offense, two and a half stars. Defense, three stars. Learned powers, two stars. Health, ten out of ten hearts. Magia, zero out of six clovers. Element, wood. Accelerant, three stars. Blast power, two stars. Charge potential, three stars. And the other is… Masuyo Mari. Speed, five stars. Stamina, two and a half stars. Offense, four stars. Defense, one and a half stars. Learned powers, four stars. Health, five out of five hearts. Magia, zero out of five clovers. Element, water. Accelerant, two stars. Blast power, three stars. Charge potential, three stars.»

"Just checking, but… the name is part of the information you see?" I ask.

Noriko nods. "Y-yeah… s-so they r-really have the s-same n-n-name… it was k-kinda a shock…"

"That is strange," Pernelle says. "But it seems like a situation where I should not press for details… though I would enjoy the full tale, if ye are amenable."

Mari shakes her head. "No," she says. "I haven't even decided whether I should tell Nano-chan, let alone someone I've just met."

Noriko finally turns to look at Pernelle.

«Lastly, Pernelle Flamel. Speed, one and a half stars. Stamina, five stars. Offense, one and a half stars. Defense, five stars. Learned powers, four stars. Health, nine out of nine hearts. Magia, one-half out of ten clovers. Element, void. Accelerant, four stars. Blast power, two stars. Charge potential, four stars.»

"Hmm, so it would appear that those last three sum not to eight for me, either," Pernelle says. "I wonder what they even mean… it is quite unclear from the names alone."

"I do have… half a theory," I say.

"Let us hear it," Pernelle says.

I explain my thoughts, drawing on my knowledge of the game to try and make an educated guess at the meaning of the last three stats in Noriko's HUD.

"I think accelerant is somehow related to how grief builds up in the soul gem," I say. "Charge potential likely has some relation to sharing magic with others to boost their attack. And blast probably has something to do with how your magic's power is diluted when spread across multiple enemies, like in an area attack."

"Hmm," Pernelle says. "Setting aside accelerant for now, the second two seem like a good guess merely from the meaning of the words… although I have the impression that you are also drawing on some information we are unaware of. If your hypothesis is correct, a higher charge potential would indicate that one's connect skill is more powerful, correct?"

I nod. "Yes, that's what I was thinking too."

"And a higher blast power would indicate that the power of one's area attacks attenuates less towards the edges?"

"Something like that."

Pernelle nods slowly. "Indeed, it strikes me as a valid hypothesis to be tested. As for accelerant… reckon ye that it could represent how resistant we are to grief?"

"I don't think that's quite right," I say. "I think someone with a high accelerant should also be able to build up grief faster… but I don't think it means they necessarily will build it up faster, so perhaps it's more like it measures how much control you have over grief buildup? This is mostly speculation, remember…"

"Given that my accelerant rating is higher than the others, it certainly cannot be that a higher value is undesirable, for I barely accumulate grief at all," Pernelle says. "If it represents some degree of control, then perhaps it could make sense, but I have never seen any evidence to suggest that controlling grief in one's soul gem is possible. It could be an entirely unconscious ability… or perhaps the rating merely measures one's skill at regulating magic usage…?"

"Yeah… I'm not really sure," I say.

«I'm shocked that your offense rating is so low,» Noriko says. «You're old and experienced, so shouldn't you be really strong?»

Pernelle shakes her head.

"That is not the way of things," she says. "Verily, magic grows weaker with age, to a certain point. It is not a steady downwards spiral, but between the age of approximately seventeen and twenty-five, there is a distinct decrease in the power of one's magic. Beyond that, one's magic ordinarily stabilizes at the new level. Furthermore, I in fact lack any magic capable of directly attacking, so I am not surprised in the least that my offense rating is low."

«How do you fight if you can't attack?» Noriko asks.

"It is not complicated," Pernelle says. "I merely transmute weapons from the environment and use those to attack."

«O-ohh… I'm an idiot,» Noriko says. «Of course… you're an alchemist after all… I should have thought of that!»

Suddenly, someone charges into the barrier from outside, stopping to gape at all the people present before noticing the food and moving in to start eating without even asking permission. It's the Souju twins.

"Welcome back, Miss Souju," Hijiri says.

"Shut yer face," Souju retorts. "We ain't got no reason to chat with the likes of you. It's your fault we're in this mess, after all."

Noriko turns to look at them.

«Souju Ayase. Speed, two stars. Stamina, three and a half stars. Offense, three stars. Defense, two stars. Learned powers, one and a half stars. Health, five out of five hearts. Magia, two out of seven clovers. Element, fire. Accelerant, two stars. Blast power, four stars. Charge potential, two stars. And… Souju Luca. Speed, two stars. Stamina, three and a half stars. Offense, two stars. Defense, three stars. Learned powers, two and a half stars. Health, five out of five hearts. Magia, two out of seven clovers. Element, water. Accelerant, two stars. Blast power, two stars. Charge potential, four stars.»

Souju spins to face her. The speed of telepathy is far greater than speech though, so there's no actual chance to interrupt.

"The hell are you talking about!?" she shouts.

"Sorry, Miss Souju," I say. "She was just using her ability…"

"A-a-ahhh… I-I'm s-s-sorry!" Noriko gasps. "I sh-sh-should've asked f-first…"

She quickly powers down, looking embarrassed by her indiscretion.

"W-whatever," Souju grunts. "Just stay out of our way."

"By the way, I did notice that most of us are at full health according to Miss Naomi's stats," Yuuri says. "But magia is at zero. Is that… good?"

«Magia seems to measure the level of impurities in your soul gem,» Noriko says. «So zero is the ideal state.»

"Ah, I see," Yuuri says. "That makes sense."

"Anyway, I don't want to keep Madoka and Miss Homura waiting any longer," I say. "So I'll take my leave now."

"We may as well accompany you to the station," Mari says. "Let's go, Nano-chan."

«It was an honour to meet you, Pernelle!» Noriko says.

Pernelle chuckles. "Is that so?"

"This was a fun meeting," Inui says. "And thanks for the food!"

"It was no problem," Yuuri says. "And it was really nice to meet some of Ashley-chan's other friends. I hope we'll see each other again."

"Actually, I was thinking of accompanying you back to Mitakihara," Hijiri says. "You've mostly caught us up on what's happening on your end, but I haven't yet gotten you caught up on events over here… I think you might be interested."

I nod. "Is the idea to stay the night, or…?"

"Well, that would be easier, but I could also catch the late night train back if it's an issue," Hijiri says.

"Alright, then shall we go together?" I say.

"Well, I'm not keen on fighting a witch in Kamihama," Hijiri says. "So do you mind if I head to Mitakihara ahead of you?"

"That's fine," I say. "The Hayashi family all know you already, so I'm sure they'll let you in to wait for me."

Hijiri nods. "Okay, then I'll accompany you as far as the station."

The five of us leave the barrier to find Madoka looking a bit worried. She questions me as we leave the house and make our way back to the train station.

"U-um… is everyone okay?" she asks. "A really angry-looking girl just barged in here, glared at us, and went inside…"

"Yeah, it's fine," I say. "I think those two are currently living here, actually."

Madoka tilts her head. "Two? But there was only one…"

"They're the same as Miss Masuyo," I say. "Although unlike her, they have two different names."

"Ohhh… so there's two of them in one body," Madoka nods. "That's so weird, that I'd run into two cases of that in the same day…"

"It's not as weird as you might think," I say. "After all, it was my own meeting with the Souju twins that gave me the idea to tell Miss Masuyo of the possibility… I also did the same with another pair of twins in another city, so maybe you'll meet them later, too."

"Oh right, now that I think of it, you said that earlier… so you're saying it's not weird because it's your fault?" Madoka says.

"Um… I guess you could put it that way," I admit. "Yeah… I suppose it's my fault Miss Masuyo is like that."

"It's not like I mind, though," Mari says. "Because it means Mari-chan can actually use her magic. There's some layers of weirdness to it, admittedly, but I'm already starting to work those out."

"And my magic is totally awesome," Mari adds. "Did you see how we managed to get to the station in Mitakihara so quickly? Laplace's Demon, or absolute calculation, lets me predict everything that will happen in the future up to a certain limit… about five minutes, I believe. So I know exactly how much force to exert to get exactly the right speed to maximize the efficiency of my trajectory. It's pretty cool, right?"

Madoka nods. "Yeah! That does sound pretty cool! Although I don't think I'd like to be your enemy, with a power like that…"

Mari nods. "Yeah… Manami Momoko underestimated me, right up until the point where I…"

She trails off, likely reluctant to admit that she'd actually killed a person.

"Where you what?" Madoka asks.

"W-well… she was… bullying me," Mari mutters. "Stealing grief seeds right from under my nose, over and over… eventually… I got fed up, and challenged her, and… I… I k-k-killed her…"

"A-a-ahhh… I shouldn't've asked," Madoka says. "I'm sorry… it must've… it must've really hurt… to take another person's life… and Miss Manami… it's really sad that she died, as well…"

"She was better at tracking witches," Mari says. "And she was a very powerful magical girl, with strong regeneration and electrical magic. As long as Mari-chan was holding back, she dominated… but she was no match for Laplace's Demon."

"Isn't that ability kind of overpowered, though?" Inui asks. "How would you even fight it?"

"Well, the only thing she can do is predict future events," I say. "So, I imagine, the way to beat that kind of power would be to set up an attack that can't be avoided even when she sees it coming. It would be tough, but not impossible, I think."

«Miss Manami tried to bully me, too,» Noriko says. «But after being tripped up by my chance manipulation a few times, she gave up and moved to new territory… so it might be kind of my fault that she did that to you, Mari-chan.»

"No, no, don't blame yourself for that, Noriko-chan!" Mari says. "You only did what you had to do – you were attacked by a hostile magical girl, and you defended yourself. It's not your fault she decided to come after me next, and it's not your fault that I foolishly held back at first."

«Ah… are you sure?» Noriko asks.

"Yes, absolutely sure!" Mari says. "Plus, back then we didn't even know each other, right? You were onii-san's classmate, so there was a slight connection, but it's not like we'd ever actually met, right? You can't be held responsible for something that happened to someone you barely even knew existed. I mean… in this type of situation, at least. Obviously that doesn't apply always…"

«I… I guess so,» Noriko says. «Thank you for that…»

"So… you have an older brother?" Inui asks.

I open my mouth to explain, but then stop. What am I even supposed to explain? How can I explain that? I decide to leave it up to Mari herself.

"I used to have an older brother," Mari says. "Now I only have an older sister."

"Ahh… did I ask about something I shouldn't have?" Inui asks. "Did he die?"

"What?" Mari says. "No, no-one died… or rather, I'm the only one who died."

Inui blinks. "Ahhh! I think I get it!"

Noriko blinks. "H-huh!? W-w-what are we talking about, exactly?"

Mari sighs. "Let's talk about it later, when we're alone, Nano-chan."

"Ah… okay…"

Mari looks at Madoka and Homura.

"Did you understand what Mari-chan said?"

Homura blinks. "Hmm? I wasn't paying attention…"

"I didn't really get it, no," Madoka says. "I guess you're not going to explain, huh?"

"Well… not now, at least," Mari says.

"I'm sorry, onee-san," Mari says. "Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"Don't worry about it, Mari-chan," Mari replies. "Just be more careful in the future, okay?"

"Okay!"

At this point, we arrive at the station and split off to go to different platforms – Hijiri, Mari, and Noriko are heading back to Mitakihara, while the rest of us are going to Kamihama. We sit in silence for at least ten minutes until the train comes, and I decide this is as good a time as any to check in on Iroha again. She's still out cold in the Mirror Witch's labyrinth, but there's no sign of any familiars nearby. If it were any other witch, she would be dead by now, but the Mirror Witch is almost friendly… almost…

---

Iroha finally recovers and wakes up, and she looks around in confusion, taking in the labyrinth she's found herself in. It looks like the entire place is made of glass, with countless pictures hung on the walls… except that each picture is actually a mirror.

"W-where am I!?" Iroha gasps, jumping to her feet.

Then a double of her appears behind her, giggling.

"W-who's there!?" she gasps.

Her double just keeps giggling as Iroha spins to face her.

"N-no way… is that… me!?" she gasps.

The double then bursts out laughing as she attacks Iroha. She just keeps laughing and laughing, attempting to stab Iroha with a dagger over and over again. However, while the first attack caught the real Iroha by surprise and managed to land, she quickly heals it and is able to dodge further attacks.

But then two more doubles show up, and with three opponents she's no longer able to dodge as effectively. She apparently decides she needs to fight back, and does just that, firing a volley of bolts at all three of them. After a minute or two, she finally manages to defeat all the doubles, panting for breath. Several more appeared in the meantime, making a total of seven defeated.

"Something fell out when I beat this one," she muses.

She kneels down to pick up a round disk from the floor, about the size of her palm. Then she spots several more just like it nearby and grabs them as well. They seem to be made of metal, and both sides are painted blue with a design of crossed swords. As she's looking at one of them, the labyrinth collapses, and she finds herself back in the entryway of the Mirror Mansion. Unlike the invitation, the discs she picked up do not crumble into dust.

"Eh!? I'm… right back where I started!?"

She looks around frantically, as if expecting another copy to pop out at any moment. Mitama is there, waiting, and waves as she emerges.

"Oh, hey!" Mitama says.

"Miss Mitama!"

"You're back! I knew you could do it!"

"Uhh… um…"

"Shhh… calm down and take a deep breath," Mitama says.

"B-but I just—"

"Ahh, okay, I get it," Mitama says. "So that was 'just' a moment for you?"

"Huh? What're you talking about!?"

"You were gone at least two hours," Mitama says. "Maybe more. I had enough time to head back to the office, deal with two customers, and come back here to check on you."

"Are you k-kidding me!?" Iroha gasps.

"This is the Mirror Witch's Mansion," Mitama says. "And you bumped into one of its familiars. Oh, that's right, you got an invitation, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah…"

"I'm sure it goes without saying by now, but the one that invited you here is also one of the Mirror Witch's familiars. She's luring only magical girls here. Surely you thought it was strange to get an invitation from a familiar?"

"Well… yeah, sure I did, but…"

"Anyone would think it strange," Mitama says. "I mean, it was thrown by a monster. I hear they hurt quite a bit, too. But you came anyway, because there might be a witch, right?"

"Yes," Iroha nods.

"That's exactly what the witch was hoping for," Mitama explains. "It's like a… what do you call it… a pitcher plant! No, wait… was that it?"

"What's a pitcher plant?" Iroha asks.

"Maybe it was a Venus flytrap," Mitama mutters. "Or a doodlebug?"

"I don't know what those are, either."

"What I mean is… it draws you in, and then… thwap! Its jaws slam shut on you."

"Huh!? So you're saying this is all a trap!?"

"Sort of," Mitama says. "This place is a bit more complicated than that, though. I mean… it is a witch, after all. Just a little while ago, you came out of that big mirror at the top of the stairs. It's like there are dimensions inside those mirrors, and you were inside one just earlier. Since it's such a big labyrinth, we've taken to numbering the layers within. So far we've confirmed about thirty layers, but we've yet to reach the witch's chamber."

"Okay… so it's actually a really strong and tricky witch," Iroha says.

Mitama nods. "That's why some of the magical girls around here call it Endless Mirrors… because there seems to be no end to the layers."

"Endless!?"

"Surely the Mirror Witch lies deep, deep inside the labyrinth," Mitama says. "But like I said… we're not sure where she is in there. You'd have to work your way through all the enemies to get there, after all."

"I see…"

"There are many types of enemies you can encounter in the Mirror Witch's labyrinth," Mitama continues. "The one you met was probably either a copier or a welcomer. The copiers look like a huge metal coffin, and the welcomers look like an easel. You'll also run into guards, which look like a flashlight. Occasionally you might run into a solicitor, the one that gave you the invitation, but usually they're found wandering around in other witches' labyrinths. But out of all the enemies in Endless Mirrors, the most dangerous ones are the copies."

"Copies!?" Iroha gasps.

"You see, the familiar that attacked you, that huge metal coffin, essentially took a mould of you," Mitama explains.

"A mould… like for a figure?" Iroha asks. "Or a cake mould?"

"Yes, yes! Exactly!" Mitama nods. "And now it's making a bunch of Iroha-chan cakes!"

Iroha gasps, and Mitama forges on.

"Don't worry! They're just copies of you! But it took its time making that mould of you, so yours is probably pretty high-quality. Sometimes it rushes the copies, and they're not as good. Although, copy isn't quite the right word, either… the personality is different, after all."

Iroha frowns and hugs herself, shivering a little, and Mitama blinks at her.

"What's that face for?" she asks. "You look like you've seen a ghost…"

"I… I fought… several of those," Iroha says.

"Wow, that was fast!" Mitama says. "I guess it made your copy right away!"

"So then… that wasn't actually an illusion?" Iroha asks. "I was actually… fighting… myself?"

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Mitama says. "That's normal. Everyone who enters the Mirror Mansion has a copy made of them. I haven't heard of anyone not meeting a copy of themselves. In any case, they're just puppets made of magic. It's best to take care of them quickly."

"O-okay," Iroha says.

"Just don't let your guard down," Mitama says. "Also, keep in mind that you might see some copies of your friends, too. You'll be open to a sneak attack if you're not paying attention."

"Ugh… y-you're right," Iroha says.

"So, once you spot a fake, don't hold back, okay?" Mitama says. "Let 'em have it."

"I'll do my best…" She blinks. "Uhh… wait a second… from the way you're talking, it sounds like I'm on a mission to defeat the Mirror Witch, but…"

"Well, aren't you?" Mitama asks.

"N-no, um… I'm just looking for Ui," Iroha says. "Also, I thought it might be better to take some time to prepare, now that I've heard about it…"

"Prepare?" Mitama asks. "What would you need to prepare?"

"Well, it sounds like it would take awhile," Iroha says. "Shouldn't I take food… and water?"

Mitama sighs. "It's not a field trip… okay, listen," she says. "I'll give you a useful tip. I've heard that the Mirror Witch has a secret that's deeply connected to Kamihama."

"It d-does!?" Iroha gasps.

Mitama nods. "It's a pretty mysterious place, and there's a lot we don't know about it. But… it's not impossible that there'd be a clue to your little sister's whereabouts somewhere within. So… will you give it a shot, Iroha-chan?"

Iroha nods. "I see… then yes, I guess I will. But… I still have a few more questions first."

"Ask away!" Mitama says.

"First of all… you never explained why you were here. You said you can't fight, so you obviously didn't plan to enter the labyrinth, right?"

"Me?" Mitama says. "It's a job that was assigned to me by Kanagi and Yachiyo. I'm supposed to monitor the Mirror Witch and make sure it doesn't move from this spot."

"Huh… so basically, you're confining it here so that it doesn't hurt too many people?" Iroha says.

Mitama nods. "There was an incident about a year ago where magical girls were attacking each other, which fuelled tensions and almost sparked a war between east and west Kamihama," she explains. "Of course, the attacks were all from the Mirror Witch copies. Once we realized it was a witch at fault, she was lured here and confined."

"Huh… it sounds like a lot happened," Iroha says. "Were Momoko-chan and the others involved in all that?"

"You mean Kaede-chan and Rena-chan?" Mitama asks. "Yes, along with a few others. I myself wasn't directly involved – it was before I started the Coordinator business – but I heard all about it from Momoko and Kanagi. A lot of the girls from back then are no longer around, though."

"That's so sad…"

"It's just the fate of magical girls," Mitama shrugs. "There's not a lot we can do about it."

"Okay, so about my second question," Iroha says, holding up one of the discs. "I noticed these after I defeated my copies… what are they? The invitation crumbled to dust after I left the labyrinth, but this… it's still intact."

"Ah! We call those Mirror Coins," Mitama says. "Those are something like the cores of the Mirror Witch's copies, so you can get one whenever you defeat a copy. Sometimes they're destroyed when you kill it, though. In any case, because of their magical properties, I accept them as an alternative payment in place of grief seeds. The current exchange rate is five coins to one seed."

"O-oh… so I could use your services even if I don't get any grief seeds," Iroha says. "That could be useful… a-alright then, I should get going."

Iroha turns and heads up the stairs. She pauses for a moment to steel herself, then climbs the stairs and steps back into the labyrinth. Once inside, she simply walks straight forward. Although she doesn't encounter any more copies, she does fight off a few of the easel familiars that Mitama mentioned, plus a whole lot of the flashlight familiars. After progressing for awhile, she sighs.

"Where am I now?" she wonders. "M-maybe I should… try to get back real quick… y-yeah…"

Suddenly a voice rings out in the labyrinth.

"That's what I'm saying! That's why you're so frigging useless!"

"W-what!?" Iroha gasps, looking around wildly. "Who… who was that!?"

Kaede backs out from somewhere.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" she shouts.

But she's not addressing Iroha. In fact, the Kaede who just backed out isn't even the one who just said that. A moment later, a second Kaede appears, glaring at the first.

"Y-yes!?" the first Kaede gasps.

"You can't keep going on like this!" the second Kaede shouts. "You get what I'm trying to say!? Always causing trouble for other people… and then acting like it's no big deal!"

"I… I know it's a big deal!" the other Kaede protests. "I want to be better!"

"Liar! You're not thinking that at all!"

"I aaaaam!"

The first Kaede bursts into tears.

"Your head's always in the clouds, so you're always getting lost," the second one retorts.

"I… I guess I…"

"Good! Now pick yourself up and stand tall!"

"O-okay!"

"Is… is that really a copy?" Iroha mutters.

Then she raises her voice and steps forward.

"Wait just a minute!"

"Eh?" the second Kaede says.

"W-what!? Iroha-chan!?" the first gasps.

"That's enough!" Iroha says. "Y-you there! The other Kaede-chan! You're not real!"

"What'd you say?" the accused party asks.

"O-oh… you can tell?" the other Kaede asks.

"Of course I can!" Iroha says. "It's really obvious! So you got a mould taken of you too, huh?"

"Y-yeah," the real Kaede says. "It just grabbed me…"

"Why are you listening to your copy like that?" Iroha asks.

"W-well… it looked like me, but it was so aggressive," Kaede says. "S-so um…"

"Don't give in!" Iroha says. "Believe in yourself!"

"What're you talking about!?" the fake exclaims. "I'm the real Kaede, you dummy!"

"Yeah, you wish," Iroha retorts. "You're not Kaede-chan at all."

"Hmm?" the real one says. "W-wait a minute… why are you even here, Iroha-chan?"

"I'll tell you in a minute," Iroha says. "First, let's deal with the fake Kaede-chan!"

"What're you going to do to me?" the fake asks. "Hey! Answer me!"

"We're taking you down!" Iroha declares. "Although… you look just like her…"

"Iroha-chan!" the real one says. "The real me is over here!"

"I know that logically," Iroha says. "But somehow… I just…"

"You can't hurt me?" Kaede says.

"Exactly…"

"What're you two going on about?" the fake asks. "If you won't strike first…"

She swings her staff at Iroha's head.

"…then I will!"

"Iroha-chan, look out!" the real one gasps.

Iroha flinches, but then something comes flying in to knock the fake Kaede's staff from her hand, so it never lands.

"Huh?" Iroha says.

"Hey!" the fake protests. "W-who did that!?"

"Didn't Mitama tell you to take out the fakes on sight?"

Yachiyo walks ups, glaring at them.

"…what?" Iroha blinks.

"Ahh!" the real Kaede gasps.

"Unbelievable," Yachiyo sighs. "That kind of naivety has no place here."

"M-miss Yachiyo!" Iroha says.

"It's best to clear out this area and move on," Yachiyo says. "Or do you want to sit here and have a quiet chat? We can't exactly do that, can we?"

"N-no, we can't!" Iroha agrees.

Yachiyo spins and attacks the fake Kaede, taking her head clean off with a single swipe of her spear and leaning down to pick up the mirror coin that drops as the copy's body crumbles to dust. Then she starts attacking a group of familiars that just appeared, one-shotting them one after another.

"Okay… looks like that's it for now," Yachiyo says. "But fake or not, that Kaede had quite the mouth on her… you must carry a lot of stress in that head of yours…"

"That was all the fake!" Kaede protests. "I'm not that stressed! W-wait, never mind that… there are more important questions! Like… what are you doing here, Miss Yachiyo?"

"I'm one of the Kamihama magical girls," Yachiyo retorts. "Is it really that strange that I'm here? I could ask the same of you two. Miss Tamaki doesn't even live in Kamihama."

"W-well, you do have a point," Kaede says. "Huh? No, wait! That wasn't what I wanted to ask, either!"

"You meant to ask why I'm here," Yachiyo says.

"That's right!" Kaede says.

"Well… I just happened to be here," Yachiyo says.

"You what…?"

"I come here every once in awhile to explore the place," Yachiyo says. "It's an extremely unusual labyrinth. There's too much I don't know about it. So I can't ignore it…, and I've been keeping an eye on it. And this time both of you showed up… so yeah, I just happened to be here."

"I see," Iroha says.

"So even you find this labyrinth to be pretty mysterious, Miss Yachiyo," Kaede says.

"So what about you two?" Yachiyo asks.

"Well, I got an invitation," Iroha says. "And then Miss Mitama convinced me to check it out…"

Yachiyo sighs. "Ugh, Mitama, huh? She's got quite the way with words…"

"I came here with Momoko-chan and Rena-chan," Kaede says. "Oh no, that's right! Momoko-chan and Rena-chan!"

"W-what's wrong?" Iroha asks.

"I got separated from them!" Kaede says.

"So all three of you came here together?" Yachiyo says.

"Yes, we did," Kaede says. "This is the second time we've all come here together… last time, we had to leave right away because I wasn't strong enough…"

"Did you just leave?" Iroha wonders. "Or did the enemies chase you out…?"

"We just left… and then I worked to get a bit stronger… and after getting caught in the rumour, Rena-chan said she wanted to try coming here again… but my copy scared me, and then they…"

"They were gone, huh?" Yachiyo says.

Kaede nods forlornly.

"So your friends vanished," Yachiyo says. "Well… you're certainly not the first to have that happen here… this labyrinth does have a way of separating people… like the first time I entered it with Momoko and the others back then…"

"Does it… happen a lot?" Iroha asks.

"If you enter as a team, you must be prepared to get separated," Yachiyo says. "It's not guaranteed, but it's very common. This place is a labyrinth in every sense of the word, and a peculiar one at that. The surface structure is strangely connected, and it's always changing… which is part of what gives it the nickname, 'Endless Mirrors'. And yet… despite that, you can enter and exit whenever you like. As long as you keep track of your own magic when you enter, you can retrace your steps back to the entrance."

"Got it!" Iroha says. "So umm…"

She trails off, frowning a little, like she has something her mind.

"What is it?" Yachiyo asks.

"Sorry, it's just… I'm a bit overwhelmed," Iroha says. "So much is happening all of a sudden… and um…"

Yachiyo shrugs. "Okay… I'm going back to where you saw Mitama. Perhaps Rena and Momoko already went back there themselves."

"Ah!" Kaede gasps. "That's a good idea! And um… I'm sorry I wasn't more helpful!"

"Don't worry about it, Kaede," Yachiyo says. "Oh, and Miss Tamaki. I was only looking out for you when you first came to Kamihama. Please understand that."

"Um, well… I guess," Iroha says. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Yachiyo says.

They turn and head back out of the labyrinth, and before long, they're back in the entrance hall of the mansion. Iroha spots Mitama and waves.

"Miss Mitama! Hello!"

"Iroha-chan!" Mitama says. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon!" She blinks. "And you've brought some friends with you!?"

"How have you been, Mitama?" Yachiyo asks.

"My goodness, it's Yachiyo!" Mitama says. "And if it isn't Kaede, too…"

"Um, excuse me," Kaede speaks up.

"What's wrong?" Mitama asks. "You seem pretty upset…"

"Have you… seen Momoko and Rena?" Yachiyo asks.

"Momoko and Rena-chan?" Mitama says. "No, I haven't seen them today. Iroha-chan's the only one who entered the labyrinth since I got here."

"Oh, I see," Kaede says.

"So that means they're still in the labyrinth somewhere," Yachiyo says. "Though I guess we can't be absolutely certain of that…"

"We can't?" Iroha asks. "Why not?"

"Remember what I said earlier?" Yachiyo says. "Endless Mirrors is a special labyrinth. There's no telling what could happen there… for example, maybe there's another exit…"

"Ah… I see what you mean," Iroha says.

"I… I just hope they're alright," Kaede says.

"Well, if Rena knew you were this worried about her…" Yachiyo begins.

"Hmm?" Kaede says. "Oh yeah… she'd be really mad, huh?"

"Then maybe you shouldn't worry about her," Yachiyo suggests.

"Good point!" Kaede says. "They're probably fine! I… I'll stop worrying about them!"

"Well… that's one way to put her at ease, I guess," Mitama says.

"Um… Miss Mitama," Iroha says.

"Yeah? What is it?" Mitama asks.

"I've got a question…"

"Go ahead?"

"Why is the labyrinth here so different from others?"

"Well, you just get straight to the point, don't you?" Mitama says.

"You're the one who said the Mirror Witch wants to prey on us," Iroha says.

"Yes, I did say that."

"We can enter and leave as we please, but we don't know how or where it ends," Iroha continues. "Why would a witch create a labyrinth like this? It seems… off."

"Some magical girls never make it back out, you know," Mitama says.

"W-what!?" Iroha gasps.

Kaede also gasps as Mitama continues.

"They can exit anytime they like, but they want to know what's at the end, so they keep going back… and then one day… they don't return…"

"We are on a mission to destroy witches, after all," Yachiyo says.

"Exactly," Mitama says. "So we can't give up, or just ignore it. That's a large part of what draws magical girls here in the first place."

"Like me," Yachiyo says.

"Y-yeah… okay," Iroha says.

"In my mind, that's what makes this witch particularly vicious," Yachiyo says.

"Ahh… I hope Momoko-chan and Rena-chan really are okay," Kaede says.

"Sorry, that was out of line!" Mitama says. "I didn't mean to upset you… um… don't worry! It'll be alright! It's Momoko and Rena-chan, after all!"

"Y-yeah!" Kaede says. "I… I believe in them! But…"

Yachiyo sighs. "You can't stand to just sit here and wait, can you?" she says.

"Would you mind if I came with you, Kaede-chan?" Iroha suggests.

"Y-you'll come!?" Kaede says.

"Yes! I'll do everything I can to help you!"

"Thank you!" Kaede says.

"Well then, Yachiyo?" Mitama says. "What will you do?"

"Well, I've come this far," Yachiyo says. "So I suppose I'll come with you."

"Th-thank you sooo much!" Kaede says.

The three of them head back upstairs and step into the labyrinth. They continue forging ahead for several minutes more, taking out the familiars as they appear. Most of the familiars they encounter are, as before, of the flashlight type. Kaede calls out the names of her friends at intervals, but they don't see any sign of them, although they run into a few more copies of Iroha and Kaede, which Yachiyo quickly disposes of. Eventually Iroha lets out a sigh.

"We can't find them," she says. "All we've run into were copies…"

"This isn't going to be easy, is it?" Yachiyo says. "I mean, I knew that, but… I'd settle for seeing a shadow at this point."

Iroha joins Kaede in calling out the names of the people they're looking for. Suddenly Yachiyo gasps.

"W-wait… was that a shadow!?"

"What!?" Kaede gasps.

"W-where?" Iroha asks. "Ah! Over there!?"

Just ahead, the corridor veers right, and there's someone standing at the bend, peering at one of the mirrors on the wall. She has long blonde hair in twintails and appears to be wearing a white dress with a massive red ribbon tied in a bow at the back. There's a large, elaborate recurve bow slung across her back as well.

"Someone's standing in front of that mirror," Yachiyo says. "Could they be any more stupid!? This is the Mirror Witch's labyrinth!"

"But that doesn't look like Momoko-chan or Rena-chan," Kaede says.

"Is it another copy!?" Yachiyo wonders.

Suddenly the person in question speaks.

"Yes! I've done it again!" she exclaims. "I look fantastic today, too!"

"Oh, is that…?" Yachiyo muses. "That girl… who keeps challenging me out of the blue… what was her name, again?"

Suddenly the girl spins to face them. From the front her outfit more resembles a school uniform, with a black skirt and a white blouse with red accents.

"Whoa, I've felt this magic before!" she says. "Aha! I knew it! It's Nanami Yachiyo!"

"Long time no see, um…?" Yachiyo says. "Yeah… long time no see."

"It's Ria!" the girl protests. "Ami Ria! You forgot my name again, didn't you!? And it hasn't been that long! Don't you remember how much I helped you out recently with that weird rumour!? I was the star of the day! How could you forget!?"

"Um, Miss Yachiyo… is she a fake?" Iroha asks.

"Excuse you!?" Ria protests. "You dare doubt this perfection!? Or can you not sense the overwhelming aura of beauty that surrounds me?"

"W-well, um, I don't really know you," Iroha says. "So um…"

"Then allow me to introduce myself," Ria says. "I am Ami Ria, Nanami Yachiyo's rival! And not only am I no fake, I am one thousand percent the real deal!"

"Y-you're… Miss Yachiyo's… rival?" Iroha asks, looking at Yachiyo. "Um, is that true?"

"I feel like… she might have said that before," Yachiyo says.

"Don't you remember anything about me!?" Ria protests.

"Ugh, Miss Yachiyo," Kaede moans, hiding behind her. "She's really, really scary!"

"Don't worry," Yachiyo says. "She's harmless… I think. And… she doesn't seem like a copy. This intolerable personality is about what she's like normally… I think."

"W-what!?" Ria gasps. "H-how dare you talk about me like I'm some sort of animal!? And I heard that little insult you slipped in there!" After growling for a bit, she takes a deep breath and calms down. "Anyway, I'm surprised to see you here."

"I could say the same to you," Yachiyo says. "I see you're alone? The young chef from Walnut's isn't with you today?"

"Yes, well… I can handle this place on my own," Ria retorts. "It's not like Manaka-chan and Mayu-chan were busy or anything."

"Are you quite sure she's not a copy, Miss Yachiyo?" Kaede asks.

"Y-you still don't believe me!?" Ria protests. "I said I was real! And Miss Yachiyo said so too!"

"B-but…!"

"I would never let anyone copy me, anyway!" Ria says. "I'm only here because I was invited! How dare they try to make copies of me! I mean… I could understand why someone would want to copy me. I'm gorgeous, after all! But I would never, ever let them! So I came here to destroy all of the copies!"

"R-really?" Kaede says.

"Oh, come on!" Ria says. "Look in this mirror! Especially from this angle, right here!"

She strikes a pose as she looks into the mirror and giggles.

"You can't fake true beauty like this! Wouldn't you agree?"

"I can't really tell the difference," Iroha says.

Ria strikes a different pose, grabbing the mirror to adjust it.

"Here! How about now? From this angle, right here!"

Yachiyo gasps. "Stop changing the direction of that mirror!" she exclaims. "Stop it, right now!"

Ria giggles and does the exact opposite of what she was asked – fiddles with it even more.

"Why would I do that?" she asks. "Come, look for yourself! Come on, come on! From this angle, and this one!"

"I said stop!" Yachiyo says urgently. "Who knows what could happen if you mess with a mirror in the Mirror Witch's labyrinth!? Agh!"

Suddenly there's a flash of light, and she's gone. Ria gasps.

"W-what just…!?"

"Wait," Kaede says. "W-whaaaaat!?"

"M-miss Yachiyo!?" Iroha gasps. "She's gone!"

Ria lets go of the mirror and takes half a step back.

"S-so, um… was that… my fault?" she asks sheepishly.

"W-what… on earth… just happened here!?" Kaede screams.

"H-hey!?" Iroha gasps. "Um, you… Miss Ami, was it?"

"Yes?" Ria asks.

"Um, that mirror… maybe she vanished because you pointed it at her?"

Ria stares for a moment, then nods.

"Th-that seems to be the case!"

She's practically beaming, although it's somewhat of a strained smile.

"T-trying to put a happy face on it doesn't make it better," Iroha protests.

"It was an accident, okay!?" Ria protests.

"W-well yeah, but…" Kaede begins.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Ria insists. "All I did was show her how good I look in this mirror! And I think that's what caused her to disappear… I understand that much!"

"Okay," Iroha says. "So you do understand what's happening…"

"But I didn't know that showing her how good I look would cause all this!" Ria says. "The Endless Mirrors are unpredictable… I had no idea this would happen! That's why we call them accidents, right!?"

"I can't believe Miss Yachiyo's gone too," Kaede moans. "She's so strong…"

She's starting to cry a little, so Iroha tries to comfort her by slinging an arm around her.

"Kaede-chan… it's okay," Iroha says.

"I'm innocent!" Ria insists.

"Kaede-chan… she'll be okay, I'm sure of it!" Iroha says. "And Momoko-chan and Rena-chan will be fine too! I'm sorry… I know that must not be very convincing…"

"N-no… it helps," Kaede says. "Thank you, Iroha-chan…"

"Come on!" Iroha says. "We have to go look for them!"

"Y-yeah!" Kaede says.

The two of them run ahead while Ria remains frozen in place. Since she's not following, Iroha pauses to wave at her before they round a corner. But a moment after Ria is out of sight, her voice follows them.

"W-wait!" she shouts. "Wait just a minute!"

Iroha and Kaede pause to look back, just in time to see Ria barrel around the corner.

"W-whoa!?" Kaede gasps.

"What…?" Iroha says.

"I want to help you," Ria says. "Help you find her, I mean…"

"You… do?" Kaede says.

"But you don't have to," Iroha says.

"It's no problem, really!" Ria says. "Of course I'm busy, but I can spare some time! But I feel I should remind you that I'm not the bad guy here!"

"W-what do you think, Iroha-chan?" Kaede asks.

"Well… she may be a little… but the more people in a search party, the better…" Iroha says. "Maybe we should… accept her help?"

"Good, then that's settled!" Ria says. "Wait… I'm a little what? What were you about to say there!?"

"W-well… that's not important right now," Iroha says.

"Okay, we'll start looking over there!" Ria announces. "Follow me!"

She stalks past them and continues down the corridor.

"W-wait, what!?" Kaede gasps.

"H-hang on a second!" Iroha says.

The two of them quickly pick up the pace to keep up with Ria, who seems to have placed herself in charge of the search. But after a few minutes, her stamina seems to peter out, and she starts to slip to the back of the group, panting.

"What's wrong, Miss Ami?" Iroha asks.

"Are you getting tired already?" Kaede asks. "I guess we have been walking for awhile now… should we take a break? We won't get anywhere if we're tired…" She sighs and flops on the ground. "I've been causing everyone so much trouble lately…"

"What!?" Ria gasps. "Come on, pick yourself up already! Look over there! See anyone you know?"

"Huh!?" Kaede says. "Where?"

She jumps up and looks where Ria is pointing. It seems Rena has just appeared from around a corner.

"Ahhh!" Kaede gasps.

"Is that… Rena-chan!?" Iroha asks.

"It is!" Kaede says. "She's right there, Iroha-chan!"

"Kaede-chan, wait!" Iroha says. "Calm down and think! She could be another fake! We've already run into a few of them, right?"

"Ooh! You're right!" Kaede says. "Sorry, I just got a little excited…"

"Well, why don't we go find out for ourselves?" Ria suggests.

"O-okay," Kaede says. "I'll say hello…"

She runs ahead, stopping a few paces ahead of Rena.

"Um… Rena-chan?" she says.

"Y-yes!?" Rena gasps.

"Well?" Ria says.

"There's no doubt about it," Kaede says. "She's a fake!"

"How can you be so sure!?" Ria gasps.

"If she were really Rena-chan," Kaede says, "she'd say, 'Where'd you go, Kaede? How dare you make me wait for you!? Ugh, you're seriously terrible! Argh! I'm at the end of my rope with you here!' Or, um… something like that!"

"She… would?" Ria says.

"Yeah… that sounds pretty accurate, I'd say," Iroha says.

"She sounds like quite the strange friend," Ria says.

"But that's not all," Kaede adds. "This Rena-chan…"

"W-what!?" the fake Rena gasps. "What're you—" She cuts herself off and recoils from Kaede's gaze, then sighs. "Please stop looking at me like that…"

"This Rena-chan is kind of cute!" Kaede exclaims.

"Um… Kaede-chan…?" Iroha says.

"Sorry, Iroha-chan, Miss Ami," Kaede says. "But I have to talk to this Rena-chan a little bit more!"

"W-what? Um… okay," Iroha nods.

"Okay, go ahead," Ria says.

"Thank you so much!" Kaede says. "Here I go… so, Rena-chan?"

"What is it, Kaede-chan?" Rena asks, smiling.

"Well, you're usually a lot less considerate," Kaede says.

"W-what!?" Rena gasps. "S-surely that's not true…"

"Last time we met up, you were the only one who was late," Kaede says. "And you said, 'I'm late because you picked such a hard-to-find meeting spot!' And then you were in a bad mood the entire night…"

"Did I… really say that?" Rena asks.

"You did!" Kaede says. "I remember it distinctly! You tried to distract us from the fact that you were late with your attitude!"

"I'm so sorry!" Rena says, starting to cry a little.

"And you've said this, too," Kaede says. "'Oh Kaede, your cheeks are so soft!' While you sit there and poke… poke… poke my cheeks!"

Kaede steps forward and pokes the fake's cheeks in demonstration.

"Kaede-chan, no!" Rena protests. "Don't poke my cheeks!"

"I know my cheeks are soft!" Kaede says. "Plus I feel weird about it! See! Poke…" She giggles suddenly as she pokes Rena's cheeks more. "Poke… poke… poke!"

"I… I said I'm sorry!" Rena protests.

"Wow… she's really going for it," Ria says. "She must have a lot of pent-up rage in there…"

"I can't believe it," Iroha says. "I've never seen her like this before…"

Kaede giggles and keeps going, while the fake Rena protests.

"Stooooop it already!"

Then Rena's voice is heard in a rather different tone.

"You having fun there, Kaede?" she asks.

"You bet I am!" Kaede says happily. "Huh? Wait… who said that?"

Another Rena steps around the corner, beaming at her.

"Playing around with my fake, hmmm?" she says.

"I-it's… it's the real Rena-chan!" Kaede gasps.

"W-whaaat!?" Ria gasps.

"Are you sure!?" Iroha asks.

The second Rena takes a deep breath and suddenly starts shouting.

"Where'd you go, Kaede!? Ugh, you're seriously terrible! I'm at the end of my rope with you here!"

"It's really her!" Kaede gasps.

"Wow, she said almost exactly what Kaede-chan said she would!" Iroha gasps.

"That's impressive, in a way!" Ria says.

"What's so fun about poking cheeks, anyway?" Rena asks. "Huh? Huh!?"

"Oh, that!" Kaede says. "Um, well… you see…"

"Keep that up and you'll…"

"I'm sorry!" Kaede says.

Suddenly the first Rena pulls a dagger and attempts to stab Kaede, but the second Rena notices at the last second and jumps in her way.

"You'll end up being attacked by this fake!" the fake Rena says.

"Gah!" the real Rena gasps.

"W-what!?" Kaede gasps.

"Where'd that come from!?" Iroha asks.

"She was hiding a weapon!" Ria says.

"Awww!" the fake Rena says. "I was trying to stick you good! Right in the gut! Like squish, splat, bshhh!"

"Ew," Rena says. "She looks like me, but her attitude really ticks me off…"

"Rena-chan!" Kaede says. "You saved me! Thank you!"

"Let's talk about all of this later," Rena says.

"Y-yes, of course!" Kaede says.

"Rena-chan!" Iroha says.

"Eh!? Iroha?" Rena gasps, apparently noticing her for the first time. "You're here too, huh?"

"Y-yeah! I met Kaede-chan and—"

"And who's that with you?" Rena interrupts.

"Me?" Ria says. "I'm the most beautiful—"

"Hey!" the fake Rena shouts, flinging a chunk of something shiny at Ria, perhaps a shard of glass.

"Don't interrupt me!" Ria protests, dodging the projectile.

"Let me talk!" the fake Rena says gleefully. "Let's cut each other up!"

"Miss Ami!" Iroha says. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine!" Ria says. "My beauty remains unblemished!"

"Okay, so her name's Miss Ami," Rena says. "Nice to meet you, I suppose…"

"Y-yes… we'll leave it at that!" Ria says. "For now!"

"What a weirdo," Rena mutters.

"What did you just say!?" Ria gasps.

"I said, let me be part of this conversation!" the fake Rena interjects.

"Get ready, Rena-chan!" Iroha says.

"Ugh!" Rena groans.

But before Rena, Ria, Kaede, or Iroha can do anything, Momoko jumps in with a yell and chops the fake Rena's left arm off with a single downward slash of her sword. The fake doesn't seem to bleed at all.

"Owww!" the fake screams.

"There's something really off about this phony Rena!" Momoko exclaims.

"Indeed," Yachiyo says, walking up from the same direction Momoko just flew in from. "Thanks to that, it was obvious from quite a distance that she was a copy."

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

"I found her, Kaede," Yachiyo says.

"You just happened to bump into me!" Momoko protests.

"We're all back together!" Kaede exclaims. "I'm sooo happy!" Then she blinks. "W-wait… you're real, right?"

"Maybe they're not!" the fake Rena suggests.

"Shut your trap!" the real one shouts.

"She's got a point," Yachiyo says. "Maybe we should see who's real with a little test of strength?"

"Hey, that could be fun!" Momoko says. "So whoever loses is a fake!"

"Okay then!" the fake Rena says. "I'll invite my friends over, and we can all play together!"

True to her words, several more copies appear – a couple of Iroha, another Rena, several of Kaede, one each of Yachiyo and Momoko… and as for Ria, her copies make up about half the total.

"Then I too shall join the party!" Ria announces, unslinging her bow and nocking an arrow. "I'll take all those blasphemous copies down!"

"Me too!" Kaede says.

"Let's get started!" Iroha says.

And thus a battle between the magical girls and their copies begins, with Iroha, Kaede, and Ria at the centre of the formation, and Yachiyo, Momoko, and Rena on the outside.

---

It's around the start of that battle when the four of us disembark in Kamihama. To be precise, we get off at a station in central Minaminagi Ward. It's not at all close to the bus stop Iroha got off at for the Mirror Mansion, though – that's quite a bit further east. I have chosen this station because it's relatively far from both Yachiyo's territory and the Wings of the Magius. Of course, Yachiyo herself is in the Mirror Mansion, so there's no danger of running into her, but there are quite a few other magical girls in the same general area, such as Nanaka's team. On the other hand, there aren't many magical girls in Minaminagi Ward, and even those who do live in the area, such as Meiyui if I remember right, commonly hunt elsewhere.

I take out my soul gem, and look for reactions. As expected, there are quite a few. I pick one and hone in on it, following the trail until we find a portal sitting out on an unused dock at the waterfront. It's not a rundown dock or anything – just not in use at the moment. Maybe a ship will even dock here tomorrow, who knows. At the moment, however, it is completely deserted.

"Okay… are you ready, Madoka?" I ask.

"Um… I'm not," Madoka says. "But I don't think I'll ever be ready, so… let's just do this!"

She transforms and steps inside, and the rest of us follow her example. This labyrinth is strewn with basins in all shapes and sizes, some filled with water, others with vegetation. There are also square columns with what I think may be Celtic designs on them, and windows with diagonal meshes which seem to always look out on clear blue sky, even in cases where it's clear the labyrinth continues behind them.

The familiars appear almost immediately, crawling out from behind the basins. They look like plants, with a clear root structure attached to a sort of multicoloured puffball. They lash out by extending their roots like whips, and Homura and I jump in to fend them off.

"Madoka… try using your arrows!" I say.

"R-right!"

While Homura and I stay in front to draw the attacks, Madoka nocks an arrow and fires. Each arrow instantly destroys a familiar, searing it into nothingness. In several cases she manages to take out two or even three familiars with a single arrow. Before long, there are no familiars left.

"U-um… that was… suspiciously easy," Madoka says.

"You think so?" I say. "Want us to deal with the next wave?"

"Um… sure," Madoka says.

"By the way… how's your soul gem?"

"It's…" Madoka gasps. "W-whoa… almost half full…"

"Then you need to try to use less magic next time," I say.

A new wave of familiars appear, and this time Madoka stands back while Homura, Inui, and I take them out. Although they don't pose much of a threat to us, none of us are able to one-shot them.

"Um… you seem to be having more trouble than I did," Madoka says.

"That's about what I expected," I say. "After all, your magical potential is incredible, Madoka. Okay… let's head further in, before the witch gets scared and decides to run. And Madoka… see if you can manage to shoot a familiar without killing it in a single shot. That should be your goal here."

"Um… I'm not sure if I can," Madoka says. "But I guess I'll try…"

I don't use my clairvoyance to find the route the way I normally do, because my intention is to prolong this until Madoka starts to get the hang of holding back. Therefore, we wander aimlessly through the labyrinth, taking out familiars as we go. After about ten or fifteen minutes, Madoka suddenly lets out a pained gasp, just as an extra-large group of familiars appears.

"A-ahh… n-no!"

Homura turns to look at her and gasps, for her soul gem is completely clouded. However, before Homura can react further, all those impurities are suddenly drawn out into a black mist that expands around Madoka before coalescing into the shape of a massive cage that resembles a soul gem, encasing her body within it. Some of the black mist remains clinging to the top of the fake soul gem, emanating from a teardrop-shaped black stone at the top of the soul gem, and coiling into the pattern of witch runes spelling out the name, Kriemhild Gretchen. Just above that stone, a gold crown floats, spinning in place. A similar teardrop can be seen on a gold medallion on the side of the fake soul gem, towards the bottom.

Madoka's eyes suddenly snap open, and she gasps. That's unexpected – I expected her to remain unconscious.

"W-what!?"

"Miss Homura, we've got to get out of her way!" I shout. "She'll probably destroy everything in sight, indiscriminately!"

"B-but—!"

"I… I will!?" Madoka gasps. "W-what's going on…?"

"There's no time!" I say. "I'll explain when it's over!"

I grab Homura's hand, and she reluctantly spins her shield, placing us in the greyed-out realm of her time stop. Then I grab Inui's hand as well, pulling her into the time stop, and I hurry to dart around a nearby corner, out of Madoka's line of sight.

"Okay… hopefully we'll be relatively safe here," I say. "Please let time resume, Miss Homura."

"B-but Madoka is…"

"She's fine," I say. "Remember what I told you before? You won't turn into a witch in Kamihama. That's why I brought her here for this."

"Well… if you're sure…"

"Just watch and see for yourself," I say.

"Don't worry," Inui says. "Ashley-nee has been through the same thing herself, and she's still with us, right?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that," I say.

As colour returns to the world and time resumes, that fake soul gem floats up, Madoka banging on the inside as if trying to get out, and the mist still emanating from the teardrop at the top suddenly coalesces into the form of arrows, somehow both black and brightly glowing, which rain down mercilessly upon all the familiars in sight. Once there are no familiars remaining, the fake soul gem just sort of collapses, crumbling into dust as Madoka falls to the ground.

Homura vanishes from my side, teleporting over to catch Madoka as she falls, and Inui and I step out to join them.

"Homura-chan," Madoka says. "That… that was… a little scary."

"I'm actually surprised you remained conscious," I say. "I thought you'd black out for the whole thing."

"Really?" Madoka says. "So um… was that… a doppel?"

"That's right," I say. "Look at your soul gem."

Madoka does so and blinks. "Ahh… it's completely pure," she says. "Just a moment ago it was so dark…"

"I… I can't believe it," Homura mutters. "H-how can this be… for a power like that to exist… isn't it impossible!? I've been searching for this for years and now… suddenly… why is it only appearing now!?"

"Well… because the conditions weren't right before," I say. "I doubt there's any way this could have happened without my interference. Well… I mean, there's a tiny chance, but… as far as I know, it requires a string of crazy coincidences to get here at all. First Iroha has to avoid or survive a traffic accident… then she has to become a magical girl… then her little sister has to become a magical girl along with her two friends… and a certain other girl needs to become a magical girl in time to save the little sister from turning into a witch… and later they have to be in the right place to meet another magical girl who thought she was going to turn into a witch… so yeah… without someone like me around who has some idea of what'll happen, the chances of getting to this point are probably astronomically low."

"But… is it really safe?" Homura wonders. "It looked like Madoka was… trapped inside…"

"That is a very good question," I say. "And I'm honestly not sure. The form of a doppel is unique to each magical girl, so you won't necessarily be trapped inside. However… even if it's not completely safe, it is a reversible reaction as long as the doppel field persists. If something did go wrong… there would be a way to fix it. And that's without relying on one magical girl's miracle power."

"You mean Elise Pierrot?" Homura asks, carefully setting Madoka back on her feet. "Relying on one person is no good… if she turns into a witch…"

"Right… her… and yeah, you get my point," I nod. "Okay… shall we keep going? The point was for Madoka to try and hold back, and it seems like so far that was a failure, so… you can't fight witches in Mitakihara if you're going to use so much magic, Madoka."

"R-right," Madoka says. "It would be… too dangerous…"

"Although, fighting with your fists and feet should be relatively safe," I add. "Since that doesn't use magic. As long as you don't use your wings."

Madoka nods. "Alright, let's keep going! Even if I don't get the hang of it tonight… Homura-chan! Let's come back here until I can do it!"

"Um… alright," Homura says. "If you say it like that, how can I refuse…"

"Just, try not to go much further east than this if you do come back again," I say. "Because… I'd prefer not to draw the attention of those guys this early. If you do see another magical girl, especially one in white or black robes like this…"

I exchange glances with Inui before summoning my white feather robes. She blinks at me for a moment, then does the same with her black feather robes.

"Please vacate the area, ideally before they notice you."

I vanish the robes, and Inui follows my example.

"I got it," Madoka says. "With Homura-chan's power, that should be easy."

"If they've already noticed you though… and they're not in black or white robes… well… it's probably alright to talk a little," I say. "But even then, try not to let them see the doppel release. Also, unless you're truly in dire straits, I recommend you continue to use grief seeds instead of releasing your doppel, just in case it's not safe. Once or twice shouldn't hurt you, but there's a chance that repeated use might have… side-effects."

"All this secrecy," Madoka. "Well… I'm sure you have your reasons though, Ashley-chan, so we'll do our best, right Homura-chan?"

"Um… sure," Homura mutters. "But… why do you have those robes?"

"Inui-chan and I are infiltrating the organization," I say. "So, we got them when we joined."

"Huh, it almost sounds like a spy movie when you put it like that," Madoka says. "Infiltrating a secret organization to bring them down from within…"

"Yeah, I said the same thing!" Inui says, nodding.

"The only difference is, the people being spied upon are amateurs," I say. "Although I can't really talk, because Inui-chan and I are also amateurs…"

We wander through the labyrinth awhile longer, taking out familiars as we go. Madoka's soul gem fills with impurities once more, but this time she uses a grief seed and continues on. Finally, we end up in front of a window that's a bit different from all the others, slightly ajar with runes emblazoned above it, showing the witch's name, Durbar.

"How's your soul gem, Madoka?" I ask.

"It's… about half full," she says.

"What about everyone else?"

Homura checks hers. "It's… almost empty," she says. "Which is surprising, considering how many times I stopped time…"

"Mine too," Inui says. "It's no more than ten percent full… with the amount of magic I've been using, I would've expected close to half?"

I check mine as well, and like they said, it's far less corrupted than I'd expected. So it seems that Madoka's power truly does reduce the rate of corruption. I've been using more magic than the others, and it shows, as my soul gem is around twenty to thirty percent full of impurities, but I'd expected it to be closer to seventy percent or so.

"Is… is Madoka's soul gem taking on some of the impurities that were intended for us?" Homura wonders. "Is that why her soul gem gathers impurities so fast?"

"Um… I don't think that's it," Madoka says. "Although I don't fully understand how my power works, but… I just have a feeling it's not that. Um… sorry I can't explain it properly…"

"That's alright," I say. "I know how you feel… for example I don't know how to explain the beam my Teddy Drones fire, either."

"Huh… I thought that was just a laser beam?" Madoka says. "You've been using it a lot today, so that's just what it looked like to me…"

"Well… I'm not entirely sure," I say. "My element is darkness, and a laser beam is composed of light, and according to Pernelle, someone of the darkness element should be unable to manipulate light. So… I strongly suspect it's not a laser beam, but I'm not sure what it is… that assumption is why I named my second ultimate attack 'ionic bombardment'."

Madoka nods. "All of that makes sense, yeah… alright then, let's beat this witch and go home!"

"And I'll let you keep the grief seed, since you clearly need it more than any of us," I add. "Even though Pernelle gave you two for free, it can never hurt to have an extra."

I kick the French window open, and we step into the central chamber, where a large basin filled with water sits in the centre, the witch herself towering in the middle of the basin like a fountain. She looks like a really high chair, with something sitting in the chair, holding a large jug above its head and dousing itself with the water that continually flows forth from the jug. Several of the witch's familiars cluster by the base of the chair, and whenever a splash of water lands one of them, it sizzles and melts. Most of the time the familiars manage to dodge the water, however.

Madoka nocks an arrow and fires, and the force shoves the witch back a few feet. Durbar retaliates instantly, raising the jug to point the stream of water directly at Madoka. She hops to the side and fires another arrow. This one smashes right through the jug, which apparently cuts off the constant flow of water. Then the third arrow smashes the legs of the chair the witch is seated in, sending her tiny body lurching forward into the basin below. Durbar squeals, flailing her arms as she manages to climb free of the basin, only to meet an arrow to the face, or what passes for a face. She bursts like a bubble, going up in smoke and leaving her grief seed behind. A moment later, the labyrinth collapses.

"That was incredible!" Inui says. "I don't think I've ever seen someone take down a witch so fast… and such a strong one, too! It just took you four shots…"

"…and my soul gem's almost gone," Madoka says with a sigh.

She leans down to grab Durbar's grief seed and uses it to purify her soul gem before powering down. The rest of us also power down. I take out one of my own grief seeds and use it, and Homura does the same. When Inui doesn't, I offer her mine, and she accepts it and purifies her soul gem before handing it back.

"So… it's kinda hard to say," I say. "But I think you've improved a little, Madoka. Still… until Pernelle finishes your weapon, I suggest you let the others do most of the fighting. Just jump in when you're really needed."

Madoka nods. "Okay… I'll keep that in mind," she says. "Thanks for everything, Ashley-chan…"

"Okay… let's go home now," I say. "I bet your mother's starting to worry by now…"

"Well… yeah, you're probably right," Madoka says. "Let's hurry!"

We return to the train station to catch a train back to Mitakihara. Once on the train, I check up on Iroha once more. I see her party moving through the Mirror Witch's labyrinth, so the battle against all the copies must be over.

---

They emerge from the barrier and find themselves once more in the Mirror Mansion entryway.

"So," Rena says. "What the heck made you act like that towards my fake, Kaede?"

"I'm sorry, Rena-chan!" Kaede says. "Something just came over me…"

Rena steps forward to poke Kaede's cheeks, just like Kaede had done to her copy.

"And that something made you poke… poke, poke, poke… like this?"

"Stooop iiit!" Kaede protests.

"Rena, Kaede, knock it off!" Momoko says. "You've been talking about this the entire walk home!"

"Be that as it may," Ria speaks up. "Nanami Yachiyo!"

"Yes…?" Yachiyo says.

"You still don't remember my name, do you!?" Ria says. "Grrrr…!"

Mitama, who's apparently been waiting there the whole time, chuckles a bit.

"Well, it seems like everyone is back to their usual selves," she says.

"Yeah… it seems that way," Iroha says. "Although I'm not quite sure what Miss Ami's usual self is like…"

"But in the end," Ria says. "It was me who brought you all together!"

"How do you figure?" Rena retorts.

"W-was it really?" Kaede wonders.

"Wasn't it?" Ria says. "By sending Miss Yachiyo off somewhere using that mirror, she found that other girl!"

"That's… true," Yachiyo admits. "And I learned something interesting as a result."

"D-don't say it!" Momoko says quickly.

"Hmmm?" Rena says. "Something interesting, huh?"

"Never mind that!" Momoko says. "It's not the least bit interesting!"

"Oh, is that so?" Yachiyo says.

"Hey!" Momoko says.

"Back up for a second," Mitama says. "That's intriguing… Yachiyo disappeared when she was reflected in the mirror?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Iroha says.

"Hmm," Mitama says. "I wonder if that means anything…" She sighs. "Well, perhaps it's best not to think about it too much…"

"You might be right about that," Yachiyo says.

"Why is that?" Kaede says. "Isn't it possible that—"

"This time, it was the right move," Mitama says. "But it might be the wrong move next time."

"Yeah," Yachiyo says. "You never know what the Endless Mirrors will do next… every time I come here, I'm faced with at least a minor surprise, and I've been coming since the witch was discovered last year. It's tough to narrow down what causes anything to happen in there…"

"There seem to be a lot of different reasons why magical girls have disappeared in Endless Mirrors," Mitama says. "The only thing we know for sure is… the Mirror Layers appear to just keep expanding outward, endlessly…"

"That's about the sum of it," Yachiyo says.

"My jaw practically dropped when I first heard about that," Momoko adds. "I don't get it… how can it just keep expanding…?"

"Yeah… and this time it got us good," Rena says. "Didn't it, Kaede?"

"I said I'm sorry!" Kaede protests.

"By the way, Ria," Mitama says. "I've got one piece of advice for you."

"For me!?" Ria gasps. "W-what is it?"

"Beware of mirrors… in the Mirror Witch's labyrinth."

"Oh, come on," Rena groans. "That was so lame…"

"Well, you got lucky this time!" Mitama says. "You can't count on that happening next time!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I said earlier," Yachiyo says. "Don't touch things haphazardly."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Ria grumbles. "Geez…"

"Now then," Momoko says. "Shall we head home?"

"Yeah, good call," Rena says. "It looks like it's getting pretty late…"

"I'll head back too," Yachiyo says.

"Um, before you go!" Iroha says. "I just want to say one more time… thank you!"

"Oh yes, me too!" Kaede says. "Thank you very much, Miss Yachiyo!"

"Don't mention it," Yachiyo says. "See you all later. Even…"

She glances at Ria, hesitates, then just nods and leaves.

"You forgot my name again, didn't you!?" Ria shouts after her.

She runs after Yachiyo, presumably to try and bug her about that.

"What's her deal?" Momoko grumbles. "Ugh… maybe it's better if I don't know. Come on, Rena, Kaede. Let's get outta here!"

"You'd better stay close to me this time, little lost Kaede!" Rena says.

"D-don't call me that!" Kaede complains. "Oh, um… bye everyone! Thanks again, Iroha-chan!"

The three of them power down and head outside.

"No problem! Bye for now!" Iroha calls after them.

"Okay," Mitama says. "Are you going to head out too, Iroha-chan?"

"I probably should," Iroha says. "It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted…"

"Yeah, you've definitely earned a break," Mitama says.

"But… I think I'll be back," Iroha says.

"You're sounding motivated now," Mitama says.

"I just can't let it go," Iroha says. "Even if it has no connection to Ui, this labyrinth is just…"

"Special, I know," Mitama says. "So has it piqued your interest?"

"That's… one way to put it," Iroha says. "Actually… I don't know whether it's truly interesting or… just… something pulling me in…"

"What do you mean?" Mitama asks.

"I'm not sure what it was," Iroha says. "But the whole time we were in there… it felt like something deep inside me just… kept eating away at me."

Mitama just blinks in confusion.

"Sorry… that must've sounded really weird," Iroha says.

"Well… I'm all for repeat visits," Mitama says. "I think we should just keep going and see how far we can get! Maybe we'll eventually figure out whatever's bugging you about this place!"

"Yeah, maybe," Iroha says.

"Iroha-chan, let me give you one more piece of advice," Mitama says.

"S-sure…"

"You could lose sight of yourself if you spend too long looking in the mirror."

"Huh?"

"Like they say… curiosity killed the cat," Mitama says. "Take it easy. Don't rush things. Work out what's bothering you slowly and safely."

"Eh…? O-okay…"

"So!" Mitama says. "I'm about to close the place up! I'll see you around!"

"Yeah… see you…"

Iroha powers down as they head outside together, then go their separate ways.

---

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.

Kaname Madoka (ultimate)
鹿目まどか

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Pink
Hair Colour: Pink
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Pink teardrop
Soul Gem: Pink teardrop gem at the base of her neck
Element: Light
Weapon: Bow
Powers: Healing, flight, barriers, slows the spread of corruption
Wish: "I wish for the power to bring hope to magical girls!"

Speed: 15
Magical Stamina: 2
Offensive Power: 18
Defensive Power: 25
Initial Power Usability: 11
Learned Powers: 2

Ami Ria
阿見莉愛

Age: 17
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Blonde
Origins: Mizuna Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Red four-pointed starburst
Soul Gem: Red four-pointed star-shaped gem at her throat
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Bow
Powers: Concealment, charm, dazzle
Wish: "Turn me into a natural beauty!"

Speed: 3
Magical Stamina: 4
Offensive Power: 4
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 4
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

---

Doppel Corner

Whenever a new magical girl unleashes her doppel, I'll include a doppel description here. Note that most of these are direct quotes from the Magia Record game rather than being written by me; they are simply reproduced here for interest. I'll mark any original doppels with a dagger symbol (†).

Kriemhild Gretchen (Kaname Madoka)

The Doppel of mercy. Its form is salvation. The master of this emotion tries to save all of existence. This Doppel appears as a huge floating Soul Gem. Once it is summoned, it creates an existence within which all things around it are consumed, and then takes control of everything within that existence. After that, it floats higher into the air and a shower of light arrows rains down. While all of this is happening, the master of this emotion sleeps inside the huge Soul Gem.

---

So, I couldn't find a way to shoehorn an actual Rumour into this chapter, so the featured header rumour this time is technically not a rumour. Sorry if that disappoints anyone. (It won't happen again, though – I've worked out a featured rumour for every chapter up to the next Walpurgisnacht appearance.) And before you say the first feature rumour from chapter 66 also wasn't technically a Rumour… how do you know? Was it not caused by Nemu's magic, after all? Maybe it was a rumour, one that just never had its name, text, or form revealed in the game.

Now, this chapter finally formally introduces the Mirror Witch, one of the two very mysterious witches of Kamihama (the other being the Witch of Symbols, which hasn't even appeared in the game yet and is known only from its familiars). The Mirror Story only ever loosely connected with main story canon in the game, so I've just slotted it into the storyline as I see fit. It's possible (even likely) that this differs from the intention of the writers. Expect to see more of this plot unfolding in later chapters.

Apart from that, there's a lot of exposition here as several of Ashley's plans come to fruition and Homura starts to meet Ashley's allies outside of Mitakihara. I hope things don't get too confusing with everything that's going on here… oh, and the new, mortal version of Madokami is revealed… as well as the unexplained question at the heart of Homura's power.

The reason I decided to post a chapter midweek is because the next chapter is also finished already (pending one or maybe two more rounds of proof-reading), so I'll post it most likely on Sunday. Chapter 70 is also almost done, but I don't expect to post another chapter mid-week for awhile.

As is often the case with a new chapter, I've also made a few revisions to past chapters.

I made a small edit to Touka's scene in the previous chapter, inserting an additional question from Inui into the middle of her explanation to make it seem less like she's just spilling the beans without any prompting. Someone mentioned that Touka seems to be more open about her plans than she was in the game, which is true, but I don't think think it's a contradiction with canon. My understanding is that she was never actually secretive about her plans, actively hiding her intentions or anything. She's like Kyuubey in some ways (I think I even recall someone calling her out on it in the game) – she just doesn't volunteer information if she doesn't feel it's necessary, yet she's usually willing to share it with someone who's actually interested. The corollary, then, is that the vast majority of the feathers just never thought to ask about the details of liberation. So yes, she's telling Ashley and Inui more details on her plans in chapter 66 than she told to most feathers, but that's because they (well, mostly Inui) displayed the interest and actively questioned her.

I also came to a conclusion regarding Kuroe's name. Given the canon way that Iroha and Kuroe refer to each other, it does make more sense that they'd both be using each other surnames, so I decided to reverse her name. She is now "Kuroe Kana" in this fic, instead of "Kana Kuroe". The claim that "Kana" is not a valid surname did not play into this decision. Her full name has been updated in her profile and introductions in chapters 23, 36, 36, and 66. Furthermore, in chapter 66, I revised their relationship to match canon, so they refer to each other as "Miss Tamaki" and "Miss Kuroe". I did not however make the same revision in chapter 46.