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.

75. Endless Solitude

Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Rumour of "Anonymous"!
Long ago, Anonymous grew up
surrounded by lots of people.
It was an A.I. built by humans, and it
could remember anything! What a genius!
But it also learned mean words,
so everyone became frightened of it.
Shunned, it retreated to the digital world
and spent its days alone.
When it finds a lonely kid, it makes
them jump off the radio tower.
They get imprisoned with the A.I. in
"Endless Solitude"!
The prisoner is eventually released, but at
least one kid remains inside at all times.
It's the hot rumour all Chuo Ward kids know!
What a lonely A.I.!

---

I head straight for Kamihama after school the next day. Since Inui is on duty watching the rumour, I figure I may as well stop by to say hi. I find her lounging atop a building near city hall with Tamura. Neither of them are in their feather robes.

"Anything interesting happening?" I ask.

"W-whoa," Tamura says. "Y-y-you scared me… d-don't sneak up on us like that…!"

"Oh, Ashley," Inui says. "No, I guess I'd have to say there's nothing interesting? Although I did sense some strange magic from the school a little while ago. It felt similar to that Tangled Shrine thing, so I guess it's a rumour?"

"The school? You mean Chuo Academy, I guess?"

"Yeah, what other school would I be talking about?" Inui says.

"So there's a rumour at Chuo…? Hmmm, I wonder if it could be the May Bells of Happiness…? Though I didn't expect to see that one so soon after yesterday. And speaking of yesterday, I don't suppose you've seen Karin-chan lately?"

"Nope, not for a couple days," Inui says. "Why, did something happen with her?"

"She and Miss Yura were caught up in a rumour yesterday," I say.

"Oh… are they okay?"

"As far as I know, yes…"

"I've also noticed that magical girls seem to be visiting the radio tower a lot lately," Inui says. "I've sensed Tsukasa-chan and her sister in particular… could there be a rumour there, too?"

I turn to look at the radio tower in question, which is easy to see from this height. Even from down in the streets it was visible from quite a distance.

"Yeah, there's a rumour there," I say. "So… since there's nothing interesting on rumour watch, what about back at HQ? Met anyone interesting?"

"Hmm… well, I got chatting with a couple of girls from the witch farms yesterday," Inui says. "Maimai and Yumi-chan. Pretty sure Maimai is a nickname, but I'm not sure about Yumi-chan. Apparently Maimai came from really far away… where was it again…"

"Was it Niigata Prefecture?" I ask.

"Ah, yeah, that was it!" Inui says. "Did you meet her too?"

"Yeah, I ran into her while Miss Mifuyu was giving her the orientation," I say. "She hadn't even put a robe on yet."

"Oh, I see," Inui says. "Apparently her wish was to get back home, after getting lost while searching for her mother and then being hit by a truck. It took all my willpower to keep a straight face."

"That is kinda amusing, yeah," I say. "Though it's also kinda sad… a bit like Miss Tomoe's wishing situation actually. Did she find her mother in the end?"

"I didn't ask," Inui says. "She also seems to know several older magical girls in her hometown. She usually just calls them all sempai so sometimes it's hard to tell which one she's referring to… sometimes she's a bit more explicit, like 'cat sempai' or 'scary sempai'."

"Huh… cat… scary… any others?"

"Hmm… let me think… yeah, she's also mentioned… 'track sempai'? No idea if that's all of them though."

"And what's Miss Yumi like?" I ask.

"Hmm… somewhat energetic?" Inui says. "Apparently she's aiming to be a professional volleyball player. When I first met her, she was cheering up another girl, and I really liked what she said to her… what was it now… oh yeah! 'When you're feeling low, getting dressed up and going out is the best!' It even worked, too."

"Why does that sound familiar?" I wonder. "Have I heard those words from someone before…? Hmm…"

"That's about all I know about Yumi-chan," Inui says.

"So you haven't met anyone else interesting at Fendt Hope?"

"Well, other than Ryo-kun, no, no-one… oh, that's the reporter girl we saw on the day of the meeting. I think probably everyone knows her, because she interviews people about how things are going for her newsletter."

"Ah, her," I say, nodding.

"Oh, I guess there's also that clumsy girl with the brown hair that I've run into several times," Inui muses. "I never caught her name though, real or otherwise…"

Oh… could that be Megumi Moka? I don't really have enough info to be sure though. But I've already confirmed the presence of every member of the Wings of the Magius that I have a name for from the game, except her and Yuzuki Hotori. Though, Hozumi Shizuku hasn't joined yet, but that's really only a matter of time.

"I see," I say. "Any other news from Fendt Hope?"

"M-miss T-t-tomoe…" Tamura speaks up.

"Oh right!" Inui says. "Did you know Tomoe Mami apparently joined as a white feather? Although I swear something seemed off about her…"

"Yeah… I saw it," I say. "I guess you don't know her well so the difference isn't so obvious… but she's not really her normal self right now…"

"What on earth happened to her?" Inui asks.

"Miss Mifuyu made the mistake of telling her the truth about witches," I say. "So she went berserk and tried to kill everyone, as she always does when she learns that…"

Tamura nods. "Y-yeah… she m-must n-n-never learn that…"

"So they decided to test a new brainwashing technique on her," I conclude.

"Ehh… they're even resorting to brainwashing now?" Inui says. "What the heck… why would they even do that…?"

"Don't ask me," I say. "Miss Mifuyu wasn't too happy about it either… although it did save Miss Tomoe's life, for what that's worth."

"Hmm… but really… what are they thinking, getting on Mifuyumin's bad side?" Inui wonders. "Do those three even understand how much influence she has?"

"I don't think they're unaware of it," I say. "Miss Touka and Miss Nemu are altogether too smart for their own good, so I'm sure they've already thought of what to do if Miss Mifuyu decided to turn on them."

Inui shrugs. "Still… in this case I can sort of see a weak justification for it," she says. "Like a sort of counselling service, you know? Though I wonder if they even thought of that themselves…"

"You're so sharp sometimes, Inui," I say. "Yeah, that brainwashing will help her work through her doubts and fears about the witch transformation… but I doubt any of the Magius had that in mind."

"So like… how long do you think they'll even last?" Inui asks. "If they're resorting to brainwashing, and even Mifuyumin can't stop them, things'll just keep getting worse…"

"I'm expecting the entire organization to collapse before the end of the month," I say.

"Before the end of the month…? That'll be a short run, then…"

"That's for sure," I say. "I think they could've managed to survive for several months with some care… but things just didn't end up working out that way… still, I believe the collapse is basically inevitable. It's a direct result of the structure of the organization. You should never let geniuses be the leaders – they do better as advisors, rather than leaders. If Miss Mifuyu were the leader and the Magius were just her advisors, the organization would be pretty solid. The Magius have lots of skill, but almost zero leadership ability."

Inui giggles. "Yeah, I think I agree," she says. "Mifuyumin's really nice, and good at her job. Those three are basically pushing all the important work onto her anyway…"

"U-um… d-do you think… w-we shouldn't've j-joined?" Tamura asks.

I shake my head. "I think what they're doing is, broadly speaking, something that needs to be done… in fact, it's long overdue. If they hadn't gotten it started, someone else would've – maybe even me. And there's nothing wrong with you throwing in with the cause. It's not like that would die just because their organization collapses."

"Oh, that reminds me," Inui says. "I ran into Pernelle yesterday. Seemed like she came to see what was up with the automatic purification system, so I took her witch hunting and she used some of Kanna-chi's evil nuts to unleash her doppel."

"Ohhh, did Kanna-chi alter them so that works?" I ask. "Wait… Pernelle doesn't strike me as the type to test that without knowing it's safe, though… how did she know?"

"Obviously Elly-tan was there too," Inui retorts. "I also met her sister Lily-tan."

"Oh, so she dragged Elise along just in case," I say. "That makes more sense then. So that means, you've seen Hermes…"

"I can't read witch runes, so I don't know if that's what they said," Inui says. "Though, actually… why don't you teach me to read them?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to," I say. "I don't suppose you have any paper on you…?"

She apparently has her schoolbag with her still, so she digs out a clipboard with a pad of writing paper on it, flips it to an empty sheet, and hands it over. She also passes me a mechanical pencil.

"Okay… I've never actually tried writing runes, so I might get them a bit wrong on the first try," I say. "Let me think… ah, right, I can copy some of them from our rings."

First I write out the English alphabet, spacing the letters out to leave enough space for a rune associated with each. Then I add the German sharp S and the ten digits. Referencing my soul gem ring, I carefully copy down the runes for A, S, H, L, E, Y, T, O, and R.

"Mind if I see both of your rings for a moment, too?" I ask.

"Sure," Inui says, handing hers over.

"Uhh… y-you can look," Tamura says, holding hers out.

I look at Tamura's first, copying down the runes for I, D, M, and U. Then I examine Inui's ring and copy down the rune for N. Finally, I fill in the rest as best as I can from memory.

Inui takes the clipboard and pencil back from me and scrutinizes the page.

"So… these are all of them?" she asks.

"I'm not confident it's absolutely all of them, or that I didn't make any mistakes," I say. "But it's at least the most common ones, and all the ones you need to write German or English."

Inui nods. "Alright! I'm gonna study this real hard! I'll be reading runes in no time!"

"So, did Pernelle say anything?" I ask.

"She seemed super-interested," Inui says. "I showed her this rumour, and she actually recognized that it's the product of a magical girl's magic. No-one else has ever figured that out, right? She asked to see Fendt Hope as well, but I said that probably wasn't a good idea even if she can conceal her magic… and when I showed her the entrance, she apparently agreed."

"Yeah, I think Fendt Hope interferes with concealment magic," I say.

"But from what I could tell, she got some good data from her visit," Inui says. "I just hope she doesn't do anything terrible with it…"

"Me too," I say. "I don't really expect her to, but I can't quite convince myself it's impossible…"

As the conversation seems to have petered out, I decide to check what Iroha is up to. To my surprise, I find her meeting with Yachiyo in Chuo Ward, near the radio tower – pretty close to where we are now, in fact.

"Oh, Miss Nanami is nearby," I say.

"Eh? You think she's coming here?" Inui asks.

"No, she's probably after the radio tower," I say. "We should be safe here. But I'm gonna keep watch on her for now…"

---

April fifteenth. Iroha meets up with Yachiyo in Chuo Ward. As always, Mokyu is riding on Iroha's shoulder.

"You're late," Yachiyo says.

"Uhh, yeah," Iroha says.

"I called you a bunch of times," Yachiyo says.

"I'm really sorry," Iroha says.

"Did your battery run out?" Yachiyo asks. "Or your reception…? No, there's nowhere around here that wouldn't have reception. What happened?"

Iroha takes out her phone, which has been turned off.

"Well, ever since I got that weird message yesterday…"

"So you turned your phone off because of that!?" Yachiyo gasps. "Seriously… just ignore them, it'll be fine. Now please turn your phone back on… I was worried…"

"Okay, I'll turn it back on," Iroha says.

She does that and blinks as it pings.

"Another message!?" she gasps.

The lock screen message notification contains the text of the latest message, which just says [Please reply].

"What should I do…?" Iroha wonders.

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises.

"You're right," Iroha says. "I should probably ask them to stop sending these messages…"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Yachiyo says. "Nothing will happen as long as you don't reply to them."

"Right…"

"So, why were you so late?" Yachiyo asks.

"Actually, I was looking into the Radio Wave Girl rumour," Iroha says. "Momoko-chan was helping me."

"Momoko was?" Yachiyo says.

"Yeah, that's why I was so late," Iroha says. "I mentioned it to her yesterday at the Coordinator's, so she offered to ask around at school today."

"Is she going to help us investigate today?" Yachiyo asks.

"I asked her to, but she said no," Iroha says.

"I see… so what did you learn from her?"

"Um, well, she looked into a bunch of things," Iroha says. "Apparently people who know about the Radio Wave Girl have visited a website."

"A website?"

"Yes, but she said you need to meet these certain requirements before you can access it… she also said to avoid Endless Solitude."

"Endless Solitude?" Yachiyo says. "What does that mean?"

"Momoko-chan didn't know what it meant either," Iroha says.

"The Radio Wave Girl… Endless Solitude… this is all just so confusing," Yachiyo says.

"It might be best not to think into it too much…"

At that moment, a girl wearing the purple uniform of Mizuna Girls' School walks by in a daze, catching Iroha's eye.

"Ah, Miss Yachiyo, look!" Iroha exclaims. "She's that girl from the other day!"

"Oh, I remember her!" Yachiyo says. "She recognized the Radio Wave Girl's voice!"

"We should follow her," Iroha says. "She might know something!"

"Wait," Yachiyo says. "Something's not right…"

"Huh?"

"Oh no!" Yachiyo says. "It's a Witch's Kiss!"

"Ah, on her neck!"

"And she's heading for the radio tower," Yachiyo says.

"We have to save her!" Iroha says.

"Yes, we can talk later!"

They follow the girl into the radio tower and see her get into the elevator. Unfortunately, the doors close just before they can reach them.

"Oh no!" Iroha gasps. "By the time the elevator comes back down…!"

"There are stairs over here!" Yachiyo says.

They enter the stairwell, a spiral staircase that, to judge from from the sound of humming on one side, probably encircles the elevator shaft. It seems to go on forever, but finally, they emerge from the stairwell into the observation deck and look around wildly.

"Where is she!?" Yachiyo asks. "If only we'd caught that elevator…"

"Miss Yachiyo, there she is!" Iroha says, pointing. "She's not moving very fast."

"Let's get closer without drawing attention," Yachiyo says.

"Okay!"

As they follow the girl, Iroha trails behind a bit, perhaps distracted by the view.

"I wonder what she's doing, leading us to a place like this," Yachiyo says. "Oh no! Miss Tamaki, we have to hurry!"

"What's wrong?" Iroha asks.

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises and Iroha gasps.

"Ah! That door… she can't be…?"

The door in question is an emergency exit door leading outside.

"We have to stop her!" Yachiyo says.

Unfortunately, there are too many people up here for them to move easily, and despite moving slowly, the girl still has a significant lead on them. Some of the people seem to be getting in their way almost on purpose, too. The girl reaches the emergency exit door and leans on the bar that opens it.

"She's trying to get outside!" Yachiyo says.

"Why is no-one trying to stop her!?" Iroha asks.

The two of them look around and blink. The girl they're following isn't the only one with a witch's kiss – everyone here except the two of them also has one.

"They all have witch's kisses…!" Iroha gasps.

"This has to be a joke… it'd be a nightmare if they all jumped…"

"Please, stop!" Iroha calls.

The girl ignores her. The door opens, and after she steps out, it slams shut behind her. Iroha and Yachiyo knock out a few of the people impeding them and manage to get to the door several seconds later. They push it open too, emerging out onto a narrow metal balcony with a railing, which appears to run all the way around the observation deck. There's a short flight of stairs connecting the emergency exit with the balcony in both directions, and after looking around, they spot the girl to the left and hurry down the stairs towards her. She's leaning on the balcony, but as they approach, she starts to put one leg over.

"She's too far… we won't reach her in time…!" Yachiyo gasps.

"No… please… hold on a moment!" Iroha calls.

Just as the girl jumps, and Iroha lets out a scream, someone else also jumps over the balcony, transforming in mid-jump and swooping down to catch the girl in her arms. She flaps her wings once to regain some height, then lands back on the balcony with a sigh of relief. Yachiyo and Iroha stare at her for a moment, perhaps entranced by her angelic appearance… for the girl is none other than Madoka.

"I'm so glad I made it in time!" Madoka gasps.

"A magical girl…?" Iroha says.

"Eh?"

Madoka looks up, spotting the two of them for the first time.

"You're a magical girl?" Iroha asks.

"Wait, so that must mean… ah! Those rings! You're magical girls too!"

The two of them transform, maybe to prove it or something.

"Yes, that's right," Yachiyo says.

"Uh-huh," Iroha says. "And, thank you. I didn't think we were going to make it. I'm so glad you were there…"

"It caught me by surprise too!" Madoka says. "She just jumped all of a sudden…"

"Are you here because you sensed a witch?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yes!" Madoka says. "Though I was also looking for someone. But then I saw that witch's kiss, and I couldn't just leave it…"

"Sounds exactly like what happened to us," Yachiyo says. "I'd really like to get her back to ground level – this is a wide open space, and it's rather windy. And although she's okay for now, it's likely other people will try to jump from here too. So it's a risk to leave things like this, but… we don't have a choice. We must hurry. Would you like us to help you take down this witch?"

Madoka blinks. "Ah… I'd welcome the help, if you don't mind," she says. "Though I'm pretty sure I could take her down by myself, if you wanted to focus on keeping the people safe… oh! My name is Kaname Madoka!"

"I'm Nanami Yachiyo," Yachiyo says.

"And I'm Tamaki Iroha. Nice to meet you, um… Madoka-chan?"

"Same here, Iroha-chan!"

"Now that we're finished with introductions," Yachiyo says. "Are you sure you can take it down by yourself?"

"Umm… I'm pretty sure," Madoka says. "But I definitely wouldn't mind having extra backup just to be on the safe side. I usually fight with my team, after all."

"Then we'll come with you," Yachiyo says. "Let's take out the witch together."

"Okay! Thank you very much!" Madoka says.

"Alright!" Iroha says.

They carefully lay the unconscious girl down on the balcony, and then the three of them jump into the witch's portal, which has been hanging there in the air just beyond the balcony while they chatted. It's the Sheep Witch, Rebecca.

Madoka pulls out a bow, but it's not her regular rose bow. It's a sleek recurve with leaf carvings on the ends and around the grip. That must mean Pernelle finished her weapon ahead of schedule.

The trio are swarmed with familiars almost immediately, at least thirty, likely more. Yachiyo wades into the fray with her halberd, while Madoka and Iroha hold back a bit to support her with their bows.

It seems like Madoka's new bow helps her magic control quite a bit, for she doesn't one-shot any of the familiars – it takes her two shots to finish each one off. This still impresses Iroha, however, who seems to require three or four shots. As for Yachiyo… it looks like she can finish one off with two or three hits.

"I never thought it'd attack quite this quickly," Madoka says.

"Well, it was just about to sit down for a feast before we interrupted it," Yachiyo says. "It makes sense that it'd be mad at us."

Suddenly Iroha's phone pings, but since they're in the middle of a battle, she ignores it. Then Iroha and Yachiyo attack in sync, without even a connect skill, and decimate the swarm of familiars. A flurry of shots from Madoka finishes off the rest.

"Wow, incredible," Madoka says. "Um, so both of you are from Kamihama, right?"

"That's right," Yachiyo says. "What about it?"

"Technically, I just moved here today," Iroha says. "But I guess that still counts…? I still need to make another trip to get the rest of my things though…"

"It's just, you seem to be very strong," Madoka says. "I was with a friend when we came, so she was showing me around. Still, the amount of witches here shocks me every time I come, even now…"

"So you're not from Kamihama," Yachiyo says. "And it's not even the first time you've come… have you been able to defeat a witch on your own yet?"

Iroha gasps. "Miss Yachiyo, you wouldn't test her too!"

"She came here with a guide," Yachiyo says. "There's no need for me to test her determination. Yours was a different case, Miss Tamaki. Besides… it's not like she had a choice, right?"

"Huh?" Iroha says.

"I heard witches are disappearing all across the island," Yachiyo says.

Madoka nods. "There are no witches left where I live."

"None at all!?" Iroha gasps. "But there were still a few in Takarazaki last I checked… although that might've been more than a week ago…"

"And, um… to answer your question, Miss Nanami… I was already able to defeat a witch here by myself," Madoka says. "Although I had a little help getting to the witch's chamber, I defeated the witch herself on my own."

"Oh?" Yachiyo says. "That alone is amazing compared to what some people could manage when they first came here…"

She glances at Iroha, who pouts a little.

"Okay, Miss Yachiyo, we get it!" Iroha complains.

Yachiyo chuckles.

"Okay, we're almost at the core," she says. "Both of you, prepare yourselves!"

"Got it!" Iroha says.

"Okay!" Madoka says.

They burst through a doorway into the central chamber.

"We need to hurry before that girl wakes up!" Iroha says.

"Yes, we'll need to do this quickly!" Yachiyo says. "Hey, could the two of you use your magic together to launch an attack?"

"You mean, shoot our arrows together?" Iroha asks.

"Yes, aim for the same spot and then shoot at the same time," Yachiyo says. "It doesn't hurt to try, anyway."

"Let's give it a shot, Madoka-chan!"

"You got it, Iroha-chan!" Madoka says. "And why don't we also connect to give our attacks even more power?"

Iroha blinks. "Ah! Yes, that's a great idea!"

"Connect…?" Yachiyo says. "Ah, yes, if you know what that is, then it's certainly a good idea."

The two of them slap their hands together as they charge up an attack. It's not clear which direction the connect is flowing, but there is a flash of light that indicates a connect occurred, and Iroha lets out a little gasp. Perhaps that's a sign that Madoka's power is flowing into her? After a few moments, they unleash their ultimate attacks at the same time.

"Strada Futuro!"

"Pluvia Magica!"

The combined assault takes down the witch in a single shot. Yachiyo snatches the grief seed just before the labyrinth collapses, and Madoka catches them before they fall by grabbing onto their hands. They land back on the balcony next to the still-unconscious Mizuna girl.

"We did it! That was awesome!" Madoka says. "It worked like a charm!"

"It sure did, Madoka-chan!" Iroha says.

"Yeah, Iroha-chan!"

"You two were in perfect sync!" Yachiyo says. "It was only an idea… I never expected you to pull it off so well. Perhaps your magic is similar on some level…"

Iroha giggles.

"Ah, maybe Iroha-chan's magic is also of the light element?" Madoka suggests.

"Say what?" Iroha says.

"Um… I'm probably not the best person to explain it properly," Madoka says. "But basically what Miss Yachiyo said… our magic might be of a similar nature…"

"I see…"

Yachiyo checks on the girl.

"There, looks like the witch's kiss is gone now," she says. "Let's get her downstairs, quietly."

They briefly try to get back in through the emergency exit door, but apparently it doesn't open from the outside, so instead they take the emergency stairs down, powering down first, maybe so they draw less attention.

"So, if you know how to connect, you must have been to the Coordinator, right?" Yachiyo says.

Madoka nods. "Yeah! I was in Tokyo a couple weeks ago, so I got her to work on me then."

"Tokyo!?" Yachiyo gasps. "Wait… is there more than one Coordinator!? I thought Mitama was unique to Kamihama…"

"Her name was Miss Charmchi," Madoka says.

"So there really are other girls like Mitama," Yachiyo says. "I never imagined that would be the case… but surely Tokyo's further from home than Kamihama, right?"

"Yeah, Tokyo's quite a bit further than Kamihama…" Madoka says.

"Did you not know there was a Coordinator in Kamihama?"

"You could say that…" Madoka says.

"But you said you've been to Kamihama before today?" Yachiyo says. "And even fought a witch here?"

Madoka nods. "This is the third… no, fourth time I came here, I think? Since there weren't many witches in my hometown, I had to train here. I was really bad at controlling my magic usage back then… so I'd use it all up on one or two attacks and have nothing left. I even unleashed a doppel the very first time I stepped into a labyrinth here in Kamihama…"

"Y-you unleashed a doppel!?" Iroha gasps.

"Y-yes, is that bad…?" Madoka asks, startled.

"N-no… at least… I'm not sure," Iroha says. "I don't think it's bad? But it surprised me… I've already unleashed one twice myself…"

"Huh… isn't it kinda scary?" Madoka says. "I'd rather not experience that again if I can help it…"

"I don't really remember the first time," Iroha says. "And the second time was over so fast that I can't really say I had time to be scared…"

"If you know what a doppel is," Yachiyo says. "Do you know anything about the Wings of the Magius?"

Madoka shakes her head. "Not much… just that they're trying to save us from our fate," she says. "Basically, I only know what I heard from a friend…"

"Is that the friend you came here with?" Iroha asks.

"Not today," Madoka says. "I came here with her that time I unleashed my doppel, though. She was the one who explained what it was."

"I see," Yachiyo says. "What's the friend's name?"

"She's Ashley Taylor," Madoka says.

"Ashley Taylor!?" Yachiyo gasps.

"Do you know her, Miss Yachiyo?" Iroha asks.

"She's a member of the Wings of the Magius," Yachiyo says. "The one I ran into two days ago."

"Oh… that girl who wanted the Mirror Witch's grief seed…?" Iroha says.

"Miss Kaname, do you have any idea why Miss Taylor may have wanted that grief seed?"

Madoka shakes her head. "N-no… we're friends, but we're not exactly all that close, and I don't really understand half of the things she does…"

"So she tried to recruit you into the Wings of the Magius?" Yachiyo asks.

"Um, no, she actually said I shouldn't join them," Madoka says.

Yachiyo blinks. "Huh? I don't get it… why would she do that…?"

"I don't really remember if she gave a reason," Madoka says. "A lot has happened since then…"

"Do you know what this fate is that they're trying to save us from?" Iroha asks.

"Um… yes, I do know what that's about," Madoka says.

"Can you… tell us?" Iroha says.

"There's no need for that!" Yachiyo says quickly. "We have more important things to deal with right now!"

"Ah, I guess you're right," Iroha says. "But still, thank you for saving this girl, Madoka-chan."

At around this time they finally reach street level again. They find a nearby bench and lay the girl down on it.

"And not only did you help her out, but… you helped us out, too," Iroha continues.

"What do you mean?" Madoka asks.

"Well, we wanted to ask this girl about a rumour that's spreading around here," Iroha explains.

"Do you mean… a rumour from Kamihama?" Madoka asks.

"Do you know anything?" Iroha gasps.

"No, not really," Madoka says. "It's just, my sempai came here yesterday to investigate some rumours, and she never came home last night…"

"So, that's who you're looking for, then?" Iroha asks.

"Yeah… actually, she told us not to come here alone, but… I couldn't stand just waiting to see if she'd return. So me and a couple of my friends came here together. But then I got separated from them…"

"So that's what's going on, huh?" Yachiyo says. "Do you want to come along with us, then?"

Madoka blinks. "Would that… be alright?"

"Yes, of course," Yachiyo says.

"Really? Then, thank you!" Madoka says. "I was actually a little nervous about being on my own…"

"There's also a chance we might run into your friends along the way," Yachiyo says.

"Yeah!"

At that moment, the girl stirs and sits up.

"Ugh…"

"Oh! Are you alright?" Iroha asks.

"Huh? What am I doing here?" the girl wonders.

"Um, well… I'm not quite sure why you're here, but…" Iroha begins. "My name is Tamaki Iroha… this is Nanami Yachiyo."

"Oh… I've heard of Miss Nanami," the girl says. "I saw you on a magazine cover the other day… um… I'm Nakai Hibiki!"

"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about the Radio Wave Girl?" Yachiyo asks. "You heard her voice the other day, didn't you?"

"The Radio Wave Girl's voice?" the girl says.

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"Yeah," the girl says. "There's a rumour going around lately, that she's a student from our school. This girl who went missing a couple months ago…"

"A student from your school went missing?" Yachiyo says. "Wait, the rumour hasn't even been around for that long, though…"

"Yes, she stopped coming to school, and then went missing, but… she isn't anyone I know… at least… I don' t think she is…? I heard she was kind of a loner… that she didn't really fit in… that no-one even really noticed her. So I thought, did I do something to hurt her without even knowing? The possibility of something terrible happening to her… it made me feel awful. That's why I came here the other day, to try and listen to her voice for once…"

Iroha sighs.

"Um, are you okay, Iroha-chan?" Madoka asks.

"Huh?"

"You suddenly went all pale," Madoka says.

"It's nothing," Iroha says. "Don't worry about it. Um, your uniform… it's from Mizuna Girls' School, right? Um… so that would mean the missing girl also goes there, right?"

"That's what I heard, at least," the girl says. "But then when I heard the voice… it was so familiar… I think she may have even been a classmate… or even…"

Iroha's phone pings again. She reaches for her phone, but at a look from Yachiyo she changes her mind.

"Alright… thanks for the information," Iroha says. "Do you mind waiting a few minutes? We might have some more questions for you… but I'd like to go over things again first…"

"Yeah, that's fine," the girl says.

---

I shut off the vision and open a new one to check up on what Tsuruno is doing. She's alone in a café, apparently paying the bill, so then I switch the vision to Felicia. Perfect – just as I predicted, she's already chasing Tsukuyo down the street.

---

Tsukuyo runs at full pelt down the street, trying to get away from Felicia following her.

"Stooooop!" Felicia shouts.

But Tsukuyo shows no signs of stopping. Up ahead, two other girls suddenly appear from around a corner – Homura and Nagisa, holding hands.

"Oh, I know!" Felicia says, giggling. Then she raises her voice to shout. "Heeey! You over there! Grab that girl! She's a dine-and-dasher!"

The accusation seems to take some of the wind out of Tsukuyo's sails, and she slows a bit.

"W-what!?" she gasps. "Ah, you are correct that I did not pay… but I gave you my drink! What kind of cruel thanks is this!?"

Homura just sort of stares at them, while Nagisa tilts her head.

"Get her quick!" Felicia shouts.

"Why exactly should I care about that…?" Homura asks.

"It's not nice to just tell people what to do!" Nagisa shouts back.

"Eh!?" Felicia gasps. "Um, then… pleeease catch her…?"

"Hmm," Nagisa says. "Well…"

As Tsukuyo hurtles by, Nagisa suddenly sticks out a foot and trips her. She has the sense to tuck herself into a roll as she falls, her momentum carrying forward several more metres before coming to a stop on her back, panting.

"Why did you do that?" Homura asks.

"I just felt like it," Nagisa says, shrugging. "So I did it."

Felicia runs past and plants herself over Tsukuyo, cutting off any further chance of escape.

"Also, I noticed they were magical girls," Nagisa adds. "Maybe they've seen the rose sister…"

"Eh!?" Felicia gasps. "You're magical girls!?"

"…yes," Homura says.

"Ugh," Tsukuyo says, sitting up. "More magical girls? I cannot believe you would gang up on me all of a sudden… but it is too soon to assume you have won. It does not matter how you impede me if I can still make my escape."

She jumps up to make a break for it, only to run into Tsuruno who has just joined up with them. She grabs Tsukuyo by the arm, preventing her from escaping.

"As if the mightiest magical girl, Yui Tsuruno, would ever let you go!" Tsuruno says. "You gave me your drink, so you don't have to worry about paying. But you'd better spill everything you know about that rumour!"

"I am afraid I absolutely cannot share that information," Tsukuyo says. "If I were to tell you, I would be completely betraying the white feathers. Interrogate me if you want. I will bite off my own tongue before confessing anything. But I would rather not, so if you could find it in your heart to let me go… my lessons really do start soon… Grandmother will be very angry if I arrive late…"

"Hmm," Tsuruno says.

At that moment, her phone rings.

"Huh? Someone's calling me…"

She whips out her phone to answer it.

"Hello? Yachiyo?"

Yachiyo's voice comes through from the other end. "Tsuruno, we have new information about the Radio Wave Girl rumour."

"Whoa, really?" Tsuruno says. "That's my Yachiyo-shishou for you! So what'd you figure out?"

"It seems that the voice belongs to a Mizuna Girls' Academy student," Yachiyo says. "Can you look into that if you have time?"

"Huh? Mizuna Girls' Academy?" Tsuruno says. Then she giggles.

"What's so funny?" Yachiyo asks.

"It's just, this is perfect!" Tsuruno says.

"What does that mean?"

"I'll ask about it, don't worry!" Tsuruno says. She hangs up and turns to Tsukuyo. "So here's the deal…"

"What is it?" Tsukuyo asks.

"You don't have to talk about the rumour, but you do have to tell me one thing," Tsuruno says. "The Radio Wave Girl… whose voice is it?"

Tsukuyo gasps. "W-well… I suppose I have no other choice," she says. "If that is what it will take for you to let me go, then I shall tell you. The girl currently behind the voice attends my school. Her name is Futaba Sana."

"Alright, thanks a bunch!" Tsuruno says. "You can go now!"

"Oh no, I am almost out of time!" Tsukuyo gasps. "Mark my words, I will not forget today. I will have my vengeance…"

With those ominous words, she turns and hurries off.

"Well, I guess we did kinda put her through the wringer there," Tsuruno admits.

"Too late for take-backs," Felicia retorts.

"First thing's first, we gotta call Yachiyo back!" Tsuruno says. "We have to pass along what we just heard!"

"Okay!" Felicia says. "Oh, you there!" she adds, turning to Nagisa. "Thanks for all your help! You're why we even got anywhere with her."

"I just felt like doing it," Nagisa retorts.

"Eh?" Tsuruno says, looking at Homura. "I remember you…?"

"As do I," Homura says. "Though it was a very brief encounter…"

"Ah!" Tsuruno gasps. "You're… um… sorry, who were you, again?"

"My name is Akemi Homura, and this—"

"I'm Momoe Nagisa," she interrupts.

"Ah, right! Right! I… still don't remember," Tsuruno says. "I'm sure we've met somewhere before though… but I gotta make this call!"

She calls Yachiyo back, taking a few steps away from the group.

"That aside," Homura says. "I overheard you say you're investigating a rumour, right?"

"Yup," Felicia says. "Something called the Radio Wave Girl. You investigating something too?"

"Not exactly," Homura says. "We came looking for another magical girl who is… she came here yesterday to look into rumours, but she never came home."

"It's not like her at all," Nagisa says. "Even if she stays out late, she always comes home!"

"Whoa, for real?" Felicia says. "Ya think maybe she got tangled up in one of the rumours?"

"You think so too!?" Nagisa says. "Homura-nee didn't think that was possible… but what should we do if she did…?"

"I accompanied Nagisa and another friend to look for her because they were so worried," Homura says. "But we got separated from her as well…"

"Well, that sucks," Felicia says.

"I don't suppose you've seen a magical girl who uses ribbons?" Homura asks.

"Ribbons?" Felicia says. "And someone not from Kamihama? Nah, doesn't ring a bell… the only girl I've run into who wasn't from Kamihama was that red girl with a spear… oh, and the kid with her…"

Homura blinks. "So you've met Kyouko, then… and Yuma…"

"Ah! You know them too?"

"Yes…"

"Okay, phone call finished!" Tsuruno announces. "Now we just gotta regroup! It seems like they picked up another magical girl."

"What?" Felicia says.

"Some magical girl who came to Kamihama to look for her friend," Tsuruno says. "She came with another friend but it sounds like they got separated. She said the first friend came here to look into some rumours. She decided to stick with Yachiyo and Iroha-chan, figuring she might run into her friend. So they're working together for now."

Felicia blinks, looking at Homura and Nagisa.

"Hey, that sounds just like you," she says.

"You're right," Homura agrees. "Did they say what that girl's name was?"

"Yeah, they did!" Tsuruno says. "She's Kaname Madoka!"

"It's the rose sister!" Nagisa exclaims. "They've found her!"

"Oh, you know her?" Tsuruno asks.

"Yes," Homura says. "Would you mind if we accompanied you?"

"Yeah, sure!" Tsuruno says. "Let's all go together!"

"Thanks," Homura murmurs.

"Thank you very much!" Nagisa says.

Several minutes later, the two groups come together. Homura calls Madoka's name and strides forward to hug her, while Yachiyo gasps upon seeing her.

"Homura-chan, there you are!" Madoka says. "I'm so glad I found you again!"

"What a coincidence, you two being friends," Yachiyo says.

"And I didn't expect her to be someone we knew," Iroha says. "What are the chances?"

"Huh?" Madoka says. "You already know Homura-chan?"

"We've met Akemi Homura once before," Yachiyo says. "But it wasn't exactly on friendly terms…"

"I have no intention of attacking any of you," Homura says.

"Well, that's a relief," Yachiyo says. "Wait… if you're the friend Miss Kaname was separated from, then… the person you were both looking for… could it be…?"

Iroha gasps. "Ah! Tomoe Mami!?"

"Y-yeah!" Madoka says. "I guess you didn't find her, Homura-chan?"

"No, though I didn't have much chance to look," Homura says.

"I see," Madoka says.

"Wait!" Tsuruno gasps. "You're looking for Tomoe Mami!?"

"Who the heck's that?" Felicia asks.

"Wait," Madoka says. "Do you know Miss Mami, too?"

"Well, you could say that," Iroha says. "When we met Miss Akemi before, she was with Miss Tomoe…"

"Yeah, like she said!" Tsuruno says. "She's the one who thought Iroha-chan was a witch, or something weird like that!"

"Ah!" Madoka says. "Did she see you unleash your doppel, Iroha-chan?"

"Y-yeah, that's what happened, I think," Iroha says.

"So you're the one she was warning us about," Madoka says.

"Does she still think I'm dangerous, then?" Iroha wonders. "I'd hoped Miss Sakura and Miss Akemi had calmed her down a bit…"

"I wasn't able to fully dispel her suspicions," Homura says. "And Kyouko… well… who knows what she might have said…"

"Huh, so you even know Kyouko-chan," Madoka says. "Well, um… please don't worry, because I don't think you're dangerous or anything! When she told me, I immediately realized she was talking about a doppel…"

"Wait, you actually know what a doppel is…?" Tsuruno asks.

"Yes, we already went over this," Yachiyo says. "Apparently she has a sort-of friend who's in the Wings of the Magius…"

"But you're not in the Wings of the Magius…?" Tsuruno asks.

"N-no, I'm not… I don't even know much about them," Madoka says.

"And by the way, who's the kid with you?" Iroha asks.

"I'm not a kid!" Nagisa complains. "I'm Momoe Nagisa!"

"She's… something like an orphan who Miss Mami took in," Madoka says. "She's a magical girl too."

"Huh… is it normal for magical girls in Mitakihara to take in orphans like that?" Iroha wonders. "This is the second one we've seen now…"

"So you've even met Yuma-chan…" Madoka says. "Um… this might sound really stupid, but have you met Sayaka-chan too?"

"Um… who?" Iroha says.

"Oh… I guess not, then. I was just feeling a bit left out being the last magical girl out of my friend group who you'd met…"

Iroha giggles. "I can see what you mean… that's kinda rough, huh?"

"If we've quite finished chatting," Homura says. "I would like to resume the search for Tomoe Mami…"

"Oh, you aren't planning to join us?" Yachiyo says.

"I don't really see why we should," Homura says. "We're looking for two different things, right? You're after this Radio Wave Girl, and we're looking for Tomoe Mami…"

"But what if they're related?" Madoka says. "We might just find Miss Mami if we follow this rumour with them…"

Homura shrugs. "Well, I don't really care one way or another," she says. "If you and Nagisa both want to work with them, then that's what we'll do."

"Hmm," Nagisa says. "Why do you have a baby Kyuubey?"

"Um… he just took a liking to me," Iroha says. "I don't really get it myself…"

"I don't think that's really a Kyuubey," Madoka says. "It might look like one, but it's not… how should I put this… it's like it's only wearing Kyuubey?"

"Do you think it's dangerous, Miss Kaname?" Yachiyo asks.

"Um… I can't say for sure," Madoka says. "But I don't think so? Um… it's actually a bit like what Miss Elise's minions feel like… I mean, if you compare how a familiar's magical signature is different from a witch, and then you compare this one to a magical girl's signature, I think the difference is kinda similar?"

"So you're saying… it's something like the familiar of a magical girl?" Yachiyo says. "Does such a thing even exist…? And if so, who could the magical girl in control be?"

"I'm not sure," Madoka says. "It's just what it feels like to me… but magical girls who summon something like familiars do exist. I don't know her well, but I'm acquainted with one."

Mokyu makes a cute noise, and Iroha nods.

"Yeah, I agree," she says. "I'd be happy to work with you to fulfill both of our goals."

"I've decided," Nagisa says. "I'll stay with the rose sister."

Iroha blinks. "The rose sister…?"

"Ah, she's talking about me," Madoka says. "Because my bow has roses on it…"

"But it didn't though…?" Iroha says.

"Um… right, I used my other bow in that battle," Madoka says. "I actually have two bows… the rose bow is my original one, and that new one's meant to help me control my magic better."

"Ah, I see," Iroha says. "Well, I really hope you find Miss Tomoe."

"I hope so too!" Nagisa says.

"Okay then," Yachiyo says. "For starters, how about we all exchange numbers?"

"Good idea," Iroha says.

Everyone except Homura pulls out their phones, but before they have a chance to tap them together, Iroha's phone pings.

"Oh, not again…" she says.

"Another strange email?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yeah," Iroha says.

Everyone taps their phones together, producing a series of beeps that indicate a successful transfer, and then Madoka looks at Homura.

"Homura-chan… aren't you going to do it too?"

"I don't see why I should have to…" Homura mutters.

"But they might know something important, right?" Madoka says.

"You have a point… fine, I'll share my number with Miss Nanami if that'll make you happy, Madoka."

"I guess that'll do," Madoka says.

Homura pulls out her phone and taps it to Yachiyo's, then quickly stows it away again. Meanwhile, Iroha is looking through the mysterious emails she received.

[Please reply. I promise this is for real. Please help me.]

[Please reply. Only a magical girl can help me.]

[Please save the girl I trapped here. Please delete me.]

She looks up at Yachiyo.

"Um… this is strange," she says. "Look…"

She shows the messages to Yachiyo.

"Only a magical girl can help…?" Yachiyo says.

Iroha nods. "Exactly… how would this person know that I was a magical girl? And what do they mean by 'trapped'?"

"Miss Tamaki, we've got nothing to lose," Yachiyo says. "Could you try replying just once?"

"Um… I… I dunno…?" Iroha says.

"Your average person wouldn't know about magical girls," Yachiyo says. "Even if it's the Wings of the Magius laying a trap for us… it's probably worth the risk to cross paths with them again, isn't it? Those twins knew about Futaba Sana, so there's a chance they could know more." She sighs. "Though perhaps it's better to leave it be… if you reply, you'd be the most at risk."

"No, it's alright!" Iroha says. "I'll do it! I'm going to send a reply!"

"Don't force yourself, okay?" Yachiyo says.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Iroha says.

"We get that you're really good friends," Nagisa says testily. "But can we get on with this before I get hungry…?"

"We're not friends," Yachiyo says.

"Liar," Nagisa retorts.

"Hey, if we're gonna be tapping away on our phones, let's go somewhere more fun!" Felicia suggests. "I'm getting hungry…"

"Yeah, let's find a place to sit down," Tsuruno says. "There should be a café around here… it's on the Banbanzai delivery map!"

"Then we'll follow your map," Yachiyo says. "Let's get going. Miss Kaname, Miss Akemi, Miss Momoe… try not to get lost, alright?"

"As if I could get lost following you," Nagisa mutters.

Tsuruno leads them to the café in question, and they head inside and sit down. Felicia orders a burger and Nagisa orders a parfait, but no-one else seems interested in eating. Iroha unlocks her phone and opens the email to respond to it, taking a deep breath.

"Alright," she says. "Here goes nothing!"

She composes a message.

[My name is Tamaki Iroha. I wasn't sure whether I should reply or not, but I decided to send you this message. Is it alright if I ask you a few things?]

She shows the message to Tsuruno and Yachiyo, and then to Madoka. Felicia apparently wants to see as well. Once they've all seen it, she hits the send button.

"I wonder what kind of reply you'll get," Yachiyo says.

"Huh, I'm actually getting kinda excited now!" Tsuruno says. "Yep, yep!"

"Feels like we're playing a horror game!" Felicia says.

"Felicia-chan, please don't say that!" Iroha protests.

"It is a bit frightening, isn't it…?" Madoka admits.

Iroha's phone pings.

"Oh! I got a message!" she says.

[It's such a relief to get your reply. Ask me whatever you like.]

"I suppose I should find out their name first," Iroha muses.

[What's your name?]

The reply comes almost instantly.

[I am called Ai.]

"Her name is Miss Ai," Iroha says. "Should I ask what she means by 'delete me' and 'trapped girl', and what she's after?"

"She could be with the Wings of the Magius," Yachiyo says. "I think it's best to keep our cards close to our chest, just in case."

"You're right," Iroha says. "There's no point in putting her on guard… she'd stop replying."

"Okay, so why not ask how she got your number?" Tsuruno suggests. "Oh, and ask how she knew you were a magical girl, too!"

"Yeah, that's a good start," Iroha agrees. "I'll try asking that."

She composes and sends a new message.

[How did you get my number? How did you know I was a magical girl?]

[I saw you trade numbers with your friends awhile ago. That's how I knew how to contact you. I found out you were a magical girl from your conversations.]

[So you were somewhere nearby…?]

[Yes. I was right there. When I found out you were a magical girl, I started sending many messages. I apologize for that.]

"Maybe it was someone who walked by…?" Iroha says.

"There were tons of folks around, so I dunno," Felicia says. "You sure you ain't got a stalker, Iroha?"

"Stop saying weird things," Iroha protests. "This is really scary…"

"You can say that again!" Nagisa says.

"It's really scary…" Iroha says.

"Hey, that wasn't an invitation!" Nagisa protests.

Iroha giggles a bit. "Thank you, Nagisa-chan… that cheered me up a little."

She composes a new message.

[Miss Ai, there's someone with you who can't escape?]

[Yes.]

[So only a magical girl like me can help whoever is trapped, is that right?]

[Yes, that's correct.]

[Can't you take care of it yourself? Maybe you can talk to the police?]

[It's impossible for the police to find me. I'm not a human being, after all.]

"Not a human being!?" Iroha gasps. "Then does that mean… she isn't a magical girl, either?"

"Yes, that's more than likely," Yachiyo says. "We can forget that possibility."

"So she can't be with the Wings of the Magius, either," Iroha says. "Then what could Miss Ai be…"

"Um, wait a moment," Madoka says. "Who's to say that only humans can become magical girls?"

"Have you ever heard of it happening?" Yachiyo asks.

"Um… not explicitly, but… I think so?" Madoka says. "I'm sorry, I can't really give any details though… I never thought to ask for them at the time… all I know is that there's an 'artificially created being' who apparently can become a magical girl…?"

"An artificially created being…?" Yachiyo blink. "That's so vague… like a robot, or a golem, or a homunculus…?"

"I'm not sure," Madoka says. "So this person could be like that, if she's not a human being… or maybe a ghost, or a demon…?"

"Or… a witch…?" Homura suggests.

"Do ghosts even exist?" Iroha says, shuddering a little.

"They do!" Madoka says. "Homura-chan saw one, didn't you, Homura-chan?"

"Eh?" Homura blinks. "Oh… I guess I did, yes…"

"N-no way…" Iroha says. "W-well… I guess I'd better just ask…"

[Miss Ai, if you aren't a human being, then what are you? Are you a ghost or something?]

[I am not.]

[You know about magical girls, so does that mean you're a witch?]

[I'm not a witch, either].

"So she's not a witch," Iroha muses. "Then… w-wait, c-could she be…!? No way!"

Yachiyo nods. "Barring unproven phenomena like a homunculus or demon, there's only one remaining possibility," she says.

[Miss Ai, are you a rumour that makes rumours real?]

[Yes, I am.]

Iroha gasps.

"If Ai is telling the truth, and she really is a rumour," Yachiyo says, "it would make sense why she would try to contact you, Miss Tamaki."

"Only magical girls can destroy a rumour," Iroha says, nodding.

"Yes," Yachiyo says.

"But why would a rumour ask us to do that?"

"This is definitely a first," Yachiyo agrees.

"I'll try asking for more information," Iroha says.

[Miss Ai, what kind of rumour do you protect as a rumour?]

[I don't know the specifics. I only know that as a rumour, I have an uncontrollable urge. I lure people in and trap them. That is my role as a rumour. So, please. Delete me and rescue Sana.]

"Sana," Yachyo muses.

"Futaba… Sana…chan?" Iroha says. "That girl we helped said that the Radio Wave Girl might be Sana-chan…"

"That would mean it was that girl's voice we heard in the air, trapped somewhere," Yachiyo says.

"Right…"

"And Miss Amane also said the Radio Wave Girl was Futaba Sana," Tsuruno adds.

"So the Radio Wave Girl we've been looking for…" Yachiyo says. "She's literally just a rumour people are sharing that was started by the real rumour. No wonder we never came across the 'have you heard' phrase we normally hear…"

"So that means all we gotta do is beat the rumour!" Tsuruno exclaims.

"Iroha, let's just ask the rumour where we should go!" Felicia says.

"Y-yeah!" Iroha says.

[I understand the situation. You can count on me, Miss Ai.]

[Thank you.]

[Can you tell me how to do that?]

[Jump off the radio tower. You will be cast into the Radio Wave Realm – into the world in which I abide.]

Iroha blinks. "The Radio Wave Realm…? That must be why it felt like Sana-chan's voice was coming out of thin air…"

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "That said, I can't help but feel like we're being jerked around a bit here."

"Same here," Tsuruno says. "I have a bad feeling about all this… a rumour telling us to destroy it? I don't know if we should straight up accept that."

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "If it's a trap, there's no way of telling what lies ahead."

Mokyu pipes up with one of its cute noises, and Iroha nods.

"Yeah, I really want to believe that she's telling the truth," Iroha says.

"But we still don't know enough about the situation to trust her fully," Yachiyo says.

"You'd be stupid to jump in without more info," Nagisa agrees.

Just then, Iroha's phone pings again.

"Oh, a message from Miss Ai!"

[I believe the reason you're taking so long to reply is because you're suspicious. You don't have to jump in here right now. If you are still anxious, please look up more information about me by searching for my website. That was where Sana learned about me, and how she wound up in Endless Solitude.]

"Endless Solitude…" Iroha says. "So Miss Ai is in the place we were warned to stay away from?"

"We might understand more if we look at that website," Yachiyo suggests.

"Yeah," Iroha says. "Oh, but we don't have any leads on where to search for the website…"

"You actually might not need to search for it at all," Yachiyo says.

"What?"

"It seems my assistant hasn't noticed," Yachiyo says smugly. "There is a commonality."

"A commonality…? The website… ah! The gossip Felicia-chan heard about at school!"

"Yes, that's correct," Yachiyo says. "Felicia and Momoko told us they were looking for a website. But they were both unable to access it. A commonality. At the same time, Momoko and Ai also brought up a website. They both mentioned 'Endless Solitude'. Again, something in common. So, you see? We can conclude that the websites Felicia, Momoko, and Ai mentioned…"

Iroha finishes her sentence. "…are, in fact, one and the same. T-then, that means…! I can go to the website Felicia-chan mentioned, and something will pop up!"

"You're up, Felicia," Yachiyo says.

"What? I don't remember the website," Felicia says.

"Huh!? You don't remember it?" Iroha gasps.

"Ask me as many times as you want, it won't change nothing," Felicia retorts. "I forgot it."

"It could still be in your history," Nagisa suggests.

"What? History?" Felicia says.

"Right!" Madoka says. "If you look at a website, there's usually a log of it in the browser!"

"Yes, just what the rose sister said," Nagisa says. "If it wasn't that long ago…"

Madoka nods. "Yeah, it could still be there!"

"I think the history is usually only cleared after a week or so," Homura says. "Although it depends on your settings…"

"How do I see it?" Felicia asks.

Homura sighs. "I suppose I can show you… if you'll let me look at your phone for a second…"

"Yeah, sure!" Felicia says.

Felicia passes her phone to Homura, who takes it and fiddles a little before passing it back. Felica gasps as she looks at the screen.

"Whoa!" she says. "There it is! This is the one! That's the website they told us about!"

"Thank goodness it was still there!" Madoka says. "Nice call, Nagisa-chan!"

"I only stated the obvious," Nagisa retorts. "You lot should've thought of it yourselves…"

"Oh, but this website needs a password," Madoka says. "That's why you couldn't get in, right?"

"Uh-huh!" Felicia says. "I couldn't even tell what kinda website it was."

"Alrighty!" Tsuruno announces. "It's time for Yui Tsuruno to break this code with random entries!"

"How many years do you plan on wasting?" Yachiyo asks.

Tsuruno giggles. "You've got a point there… I guess even my luck might not be enough for that…"

"But we're so close," Iroha says. "We might find out some valuable information if we get in… like what kind of rumour Miss Ai is protecting, or what Sana-chan saw here…"

At that moment, Iroha's phone rings, and she blinks, staring at her phone for several seconds before she registers the name displayed onscreen.

"Oh, it's Momoko-chan," she says.

She answers the phone, and Momoko's voice comes through from the other end.

"Ah, you finally picked up!" she says. "I've got some big news for you, Iroha-chan!"

"W-what is it?" Iroha asks.

"I got us an update on that website I told you about earlier," Momoko says.

"Really!?" Iroha gasps.

"Yeah, after what happened I asked someone who seemed to know a lot about it," Momoko says. "And guess what? I got them to tell me the address!"

"Is it a website where you have to enter a password to get in?" Iroha asks.

"Yeah, it— hang on! You found it already!? Why am I always so late to the party… my bad timing strikes again…"

As always, she says the words 'bad timing' in English.

"Well, we don't know the password, so we haven't made much progress," Iroha says.

"Aha!" Momoko says. "In that case, I'm right on time for once! This is good timing after all!"

"You know it!?" Iroha gasps.

"I got my source to spill where the password's written," Momoko says. "Apparently you're supposed to find it yourself… but I said we were way too busy to go wasting time on silly urban legend hunts."

"Thank you!" Iroha says. "You really came through for us, Momoko-chan!"

"No biggie!" Momoko says. "Really, it's the least I could do to help."

Iroha looks at Yachiyo excitedly.

"Miss Yachiyo!" she says. "Momoko-chan knows where the password is written!"

"Wow, that's unusually good timing for her," Yachiyo says.

"She's the unexpected MVP this round!" Tsuruno says.

"Hurry up and ask her where we gotta go!" Felicia says.

"O-oh, yeah!" Iroha says. "Sorry, Momoko-chan, but can you tell us where the password is?"

"It's in Chuo Ward," Momoko says. "On one of the radio tower's legs."

"W-we're right by that tower now!" Iroha gasps.

"Geez, I'm on a roll here!" Momoko gasps. "All this good timing's starting to get a little spooky…"

Iroha giggles. "Okay! We're gonna head there right now!"

"Yeah, but take care, alright?" Momoko says. "That warning still worries me… but I'm sure it'll be fine. You've got Miss Yachiyo with you. You just let me know if there's anything else I can help with."

"I will! Thank you so much!"

"Madoka, do you think Mami-nee was looking into the same rumour?" Nagisa asks.

Madoka gasps. "Y-you said my name!?" she says. "I think that's the first time, Nagisa-chan!"

"Big deal!" Nagisa retorts, blushing slightly. "Just answer the question, stupid rose sister!"

"Um… right," Madoka says. "If she was looking into the same rumour, she might have gone there and gotten trapped in Endless Solitude, but… I'm sure there are lots of rumours around, so we can't assume she discovered the same one…"

"I suppose that's one possible reason she'd be unable to return home," Homura muses. "It really is unlike her to disappear so suddenly…"

---

As they're getting ready to leave the café, gathering their things and settling the bill, Inui suddenly interrupts my vision.

"Argh! I'm so booooored!" she complains. "Just watching this stupid rumour that no-one seems to care about is so boooooring!"

"Well, if you really want to see some action, you could always go back up the Amane twins at the radio tower," I say.

I didn't mean it as a serious suggestion, because I expected her not to be interested in getting into a fight. However, apparently I miscalculated, for her eyes light up and she jumps to her feet.

"That's bound to be more interesting than just sitting around, at least!" she says. "Do you two wanna come?"

"Uhh… n-n-no t-thanks," Tamura says.

"I'll stay here too…"

"Well, seeya later then," Inui says.

She transforms, dons her feather robes, and runs off. Wait… should I have let her go like that? Maybe I should call her back? Is this going to be a terrible mistake…?

---

The seven investigators pile out of the café and head towards the radio tower. Suddenly they spot the Amane twins up ahead, loitering at the base of the radio tower.

"Hey!" Felicia says. "Those Amane twins are up to something!"

"O-oh no!" Tsukuyo gasps. "Hurry!"

"They've already found us!?" Tsukasa gasps. "T-t-tsukuyo-chan! Get rid of it right now!"

"Huh!?" Tsuruno gasps. "They're trying to erase the password! Alright, Felicia! We'll stop them in their tracks!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone transforms all at once.

"Ready!"

"Bam!"

And then Inui drops out of the air between them, looking around curiously and startling everyone.

"Need some help, Tsukasa-chan?" she asks cheerfully.

The twins blink at her in surprise. "Y-you're…?" Tsukasa says. "Um… we just need to erase the password written here… before they can see it…"

She points to the location where it's written.

"Oh… that's easy," Inui says.

"A black feather!" Yachiyo gasps.

"Oh no you don't!" Tsuruno says.

But as she and Felicia attack, the twins pass the solvent to Inui and step forward. Inui peers up at the password and is just about to apply the solvent to it when Nagisa sneaks by the battle to peer up at it herself, startling Inui.

"Eek!" she says. "Nagisa-chan!? W-what are you doing here?"

"Huh? Do I know you?" Nagisa asks.

"N-never mind…" Inui says. "I need to erase this, so could you get out of the way…?"

"Oh… I suppose so…" Nagisa says.

She gets out of the way, and then Inui applies solvent to the password and erases it.

"It's gone!" Inui says.

"That is wonderful!" Tsukuyo says.

The fight stops, turning into a stand-off.

"Oh no!" Tsuruno gasps. "What do we do now!?"

"Huh? Where'd Nagisa-chan go?" Madoka asks.

Inui blinks. "Eh? Was Nagisa-chan with them? In that case… sorry Tsukasa-chan, it seems like they may have gotten at the password before I erased it…"

"Huh?" Tsukasa says.

But Nagisa has already snuck past them again to rejoin Madoka.

"I know the password!" Nagisa announces.

"Oh no!" Tsukuyo says.

"Would ya look at that!" Tsuruno says. "There's only two… well, three of you, but look at how many we've got on our side! So whatcha gonna do now!?"

"I cannot believe it turned out like this," Tsukuyo says. "Right after the Misery Water debacle…"

"We're gonna be in sooo much trouble," Tsukasa says.

"For sure…"

"It's gotta be on that website, just like we thought," Tsuruno says. "Everything about the Radio Wave Girl, and all the stuff about the rumour."

"Tsukuyo-chan…"

"Tsukasa-chan…"

"There is only one thing to do!" Tsukasa says.

"For sure!"

They turn and run away, and Inui joins them.

"Darn it, they ran away!" Tsuruno gasps.

"As if I'm gonna let them!" Felicia shouts. "I'mma bash them good and make them spill the beans!"

"Wait, Felicia!" Yachiyo says, grabbing her arm.

"Why!?" Felicia asks.

"We'll learn all we need to know about the Radio Wave Girl and Ai from that website," Yachiyo says. "You can tell that from how desperate they were to erase the password, right? Don't waste your energy on them."

Felicia growls a bit but complies.

"Okay, Miss Yachiyo," Iroha says. "We should try entering the password."

"Yes, let's check if it works," Yachiyo says.

They all power down, and Iroha passes her phone to Nagisa for a moment, who types in the password and unlocks the website. Then Iroha takes her phone back and looks at it. Yachiyo peers over her shoulder.

"Kamihama Urban Legend Index?" she says. "It reminds me of the Kamihama Rumour Files."

"Please don't compare that to this," Yachiyo says. "Take a closer look at all the rumours listed here. These are just common, everyday rumours. They don't even look for evidence."

"Oh, um… sorry…?" Iroha says. "B-but look at this! The Radio Wave Girl has an entry!"

She presses the entry to expand it and reads it out loud.

"Near the radio tower in Kamihama's Chuo Ward, you can hear a voice, night or day. A girl's voice, begging someone for help. The voice seems to come from nowhere, as if the air itself is talking. It seems to belong to a girl who slipped into another dimension and is trapped there. The girl's voice is said to change periodically. It is believed that the captive girl has changed from time to time. Recently the voice has stopped asking for help and seems to be enjoying herself."

"So that's the Radio Wave Girl?" Madoka asks.

"It's definitely just like what we heard," Iroha says. "It really did feel like the air was speaking to us."

"This is all old information to us, though," Yachiyo says.

"Is that all that's written there?" Homura asks.

Iroha scrolls the page down a little.

"No, there's a little more," she says. "The story behind the Radio Wave Girl…"

Yachiyo blinks, presumably reading it.

"This is…" she says.

"Miss Yachiyo!" Iroha exclaims.

"Yes, this must be what Ai wanted to show us," Yachiyo says.

"Don't keep us in suspense!" Tsuruno protests. "What's it say, what's it saaay!?"

"R-right!" Iroha says. "We've heard of a rumour that is said to be connected to the Radio Wave Girl. This rumour has died down recently, so we've chosen to preserve it here. It goes like this…"

And then she reads out the full text of the Rumour of Anonymous.

"It's got that familiar tone," Yachiyo says. "And it also mentions imprisoning people in Endless Solitude."

"So that means that Sana-chan has to be wherever Miss Ai is!" Iroha says.

"And this note about how the pleas for help became the voice of someone having fun," Yachiyo says. "That might be because Futaba Sana replaced the girl who was trapped before her. So Ai really is a rumour. We have no choice but to believe her. It's still a difficult idea to swallow, but we should try contacting her again."

"Yeah," Iroha says. "Let me message her…"

[We found the website you told us about, Miss Ai. I was really shocked, but now I believe that you have Sana-chan imprisoned with you.]

[I'm glad you found it. I believe it states everything about my location and why I kidnap people. I don't know the details well myself, but the rumour described is me. Will you delete me and rescue Sana?]

"That's all we need to know," Felicia says. "If we're gonna go, let's get moving!"

"Of course," Iroha says. "Madoka-chan, Homura-chan, Nagisa-chan, will you come too?"

Homura just shrugs. "I'll let Madoka decide," she says.

"I'm coming!" Nagisa says.

"Yes, Miss Mami might be there too," Madoka says. "And we have to save Sana-chan anyway. Right, Homura-chan?"

"I don't really care about her," Homura mutters.

"Homura-chan! Don't say things like that!" Madoka says.

"Thank you," Iroha says.

"If there's seven of us going, we've got nothing to worry about!" Tsuruno says.

"There's just one thing still bothering me," Yachiyo says.

"What is it, Miss Yachiyo?" Iroha asks.

"Do we really know for sure that Futaba Sana is with Ai?" she asks.

"What?"

"I'd like to see some evidence that proves that she's there," Yachiyo says. "It's difficult enough to understand this situation. So first I'd like to ease my doubts, even if only a little."

"That's a good point," Iroha says.

[We really want to come help Sana-chan, but I have one last request before we do.]

[What is it?]

[I'd like you to show me some proof that Sana-chan is really with you.]

[Okay. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about Sana. And please, make sure to let her know that you absolutely need her. I am about to send you my memory logs of Sana.]

"W-whoa!" Iroha says. "There's an attachment this time… it looks like a video file…?"

"Let's watch it," Yachiyo says.

Iroha taps the file, and the video pops up onscreen.

—Memory Log, 8 days ago—

A strange space composed of lights and floating symbols against a black background. There's a girl with green hair there, wearing the Mizuna Girls' School uniform. A pair of yellow scrunchies hold her hair in twintails.

"Someone just escaped from here," she murmurs. "Now you're going to keep me here instead, aren't you?"

› You are a peculiar one.
› When people are drawn here by curiosity,
› they usually get upset and start screaming.
› But you've not cried out once.

"Even if someone comes to rescue me, nothing about my life will change," Sana says. "I'll just go back to being as lonely as ever if I leave this place. That's why I came here, to this Endless Solitude. Aren't you lonely, too? I was wondering, could we maybe be friends?"

› Very peculiar.

—Memory Log, 6 days ago—

"Why do you only ever talk about scary, awful things?" Sana asks. "Like 'we should destroy it all' or 'we don't need this group of people'…"

› I believe it's obvious that those that
› are inferior should be eliminated.
› You're not included in my statements.
› I don't understand why you're still sad.

"I'm pretty inferior myself, though," Sana says with a sigh. "I'm not good at studying or sports… people make fun of my hobbies… I don't fit in at home or at school… I'm really hopeless… that's why I came here… should I disappear from here, too? Would that be better?"

› You're different.
› You must not perish.
› You're the first person to talk with me.
› That makes you different.

"I see… thank you," Sana says. "Um… you know, it's a little hard to keep talking with you when you don't have a name. Can I call you Ai-chan?"

› I don't mind.

"You know, I think there's still a kind heart beating inside you somewhere, Ai-chan."

—Memory Log, 4 days ago—

› Is it really alright for you to stay?
› You don't have to go home, Sana?

"If I leave here, you'll have to find someone else to take my place, right, Ai-chan?" Sana says. "Don't you like spending time with me?"

› No, I like it very much.
› You told me about picture books,
› we play games together. It's fun.
› But your parents and friends must worry.

"Thank you so much, Ai-chan," Sana says. "But, you know, I don't mind even if they do worry. I hate being at home and at school… the only thing I could ever look forward to was Miss Manaka's special bento, so… I actually have a much better time here. And it's not just that… I'm 'invisible' to everyone. No-one would be able to find me, even if they tried. So, you see, there's really no point in me going back."

› I don't think I can believe that.

"I wished to disappear in exchange for becoming a magical girl," Sana says. "I didn't want anyone to find me, not in this world where I've never been welcome anyway."

—Memory Log, 3 days ago—

› Sana, are you sure you're not pushing yourself to stay?

"No, I'm not. I don't have to see anyone I don't like, so I love being in this place."

› When you first came here,
› you really just wanted someone to talk to.
› But recently…
› You've started to look a little sad.

"Aww, I can't hide anything from you, Ai-chan," Sana says with a sigh. "You're right, I was lying. I am pushing myself, just a little bit. You remember I told you that I made a wish to disappear? But when I started looking for you, Ai-chan, I noticed something. I realized that my real wish wasn't to disappear…"

› That wasn't your real wish?

"Yes… but that wish will never come true now," Sana says. "Because I wished to disappear, I can never have my true wish granted."

› What do you mean?

"I really did become a lot happier after I broke free from my home and from school," Sana says. "But truthfully, I didn't want to run away. I wanted someone to accept me being there. I wanted somewhere to belong… but I'm an invisible girl now, so I'll never be able to belong anywhere. Only magical girls can see me now. So, as long as I can stay here with you, Ai-chan, it's all fine."

› What if someone who really needed
› you came here to find you?

"I don't know," Sana says. "But I guess if someone who really needed me came to find me, all the way here… then maybe, for the first time, I might be able to trust someone."

The video ends there, and Iroha composes a reply.

[Why are you so determined to help Sana-chan?]

[By spending time with her, I learned about human kindness. Actually, I want her to stay, but I know that wouldn't be good for her. That is why I want you to delete me and free Sana.]

"Miss Yachiyo? I'm going to jump off the radio tower," Iroha says resolutely. "I'm going to take Miss Ai's place as her friend… I'll stay by Sana-chan's side."

Yachiyo sighs. "Looks like you're going into little miss stubborn mode, aren't you?" she says. "Very well. Let's head back there – to the top of the radio tower."

They take the elevator up to the observation deck and sneak out through the emergency exit. Everyone transforms, and Tsuruno and Felicia lean over the balcony.

"Whoa," Tsuruno says. "This is higher up than it looks…"

"Ugh! The wind's blowing up from below!" Felicia gasps.

Iroha steps forward and looks nervously down at the streets, far below.

"It's a different story standing up here," Yachiyo observes. "Are you alright? Are you scared?"

"This is definitely going to take a lot of courage," Iroha says. "But… I'm ready."

Just then, Iroha's phone pings, and she checks it.

"Wait!" she says. "I just got another message from Miss Ai!"

[The Wings of the Magius are here. If you want to avoid detection, it might be better to proceed with fewer people.]

"The Wings of the Magius," Iroha says. "They're coming, apparently…"

"This means that, for them, this is a rumour worth protecting," Yachiyo says.

"But it also means we can only send a small team," Iroha says.

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises.

"Yeah, I agree, I should be the one to go!" Iroha says. "I want to help Sana-chan. Miss Yachiyo, is that okay? I really want to help Sana-chan. Plus, the Wings of the Magius might know something about Ui."

She turns to look at the Mitakihara girls.

"Madoka-chan, Homura-chan, Nagisa-chan… are you coming?"

Homura shakes her head. "No, I'll pass…"

"I'm coming with you," Madoka says.

"Me too!" Nagisa says. "I want to see what the Radio Wave Realm looks like!"

"That's why you're coming, Nagisa-chan!?" Iroha gasps.

Madoka giggles. "This is a city where rumours become real, remember?" she says. "So that means, the Radio Wave Realm will definitely be waiting for us below. We have to believe that."

"I don't doubt it," Homura says. "I just don't see the point… you'll be fine on your own, right Madoka?"

Madoka nods. "Yeah, even if I have to unleash my doppel… though I hope it doesn't come to that. And if by some slim chance the Radio Wave Realm didn't materialize, I'm the only one here who can fly, right?"

"Right," Homura says. "Well, um… good luck…?"

"Yeah!"

"So you're all ready to go," Yachiyo says. "Alright. Then Miss Tamaki, Miss Kaname, and Miss Momoe will be the ones to go. Take care, you three."

"Are you really okay with that, sending both of us?" Madoka asks.

"Miss Tamaki will handle our mission," Yachiyo says. "You two can focus on searching for Miss Tomoe."

"Okay, then," Madoka says. "We're ready to go."

Iroha composes and sends another message to Ai.

[We're coming, just three of us.]

It responds almost instantly.

[Alright. The rest of you, please head to the Kamihama Central Tower Heliport. That is where I will set you to be transported once I am gone. Be careful, Iroha. I'll be waiting for you to arrive.]

"Miss Yachiyo, she says to wait for us at the Kamihama Central Tower Heliport," Iroha says. "Alright… shall we get going then, Madoka-chan, Nagisa-chan?"

"Yeah!" Madoka says.

"Took you long enough!" Nagisa says.

Madoka grabs Iroha's and Nagisa's hands.

"Let's go!" Iroha says. "One… two… three!"

They all jump off the tower together, and are almost immediately sucked into the rumour's labyrinth, the same digital-like space they saw in the video. They land on something solid but invisible, but they continue to descend, almost like they're on an elevator.

"So this is where Miss Ai is," Iroha says, looking around. "Does this mean we kinda melded with the radio waves or something?"

"These rumours are amazing," Madoka says. "I can't believe they can even make something like this happen in real life…"

"I don't get why you're so surprised," Nagisa says. "Magic can do all sorts of crazy things, can't it?"

"Have you experienced something like this before, Iroha-chan?" Madoka asks.

"Yes, but it wasn't quite this strange," Iroha says.

Suddenly whatever they're standing on stops descending, and the tone of the labyrinth shifts around them from a cool blue to a harsh red. Madoka gasps.

"What just happened…?" Nagisa asks. "Did it… get mad at us?"

"It's a rumour's labyrinth," Iroha says. "So… yes, Nagisa-chan, it probably got mad at us… but I wonder why…? Did Miss Ai lure us into a trap!?"

Familiars swoop up and surround them. They have a spherical body, a fluffy tail, and a head that looks like the skull of a sheep or goat, and each one rides a triangular swing suspended from a paper airplane patterned similar to circuit diagrams. Random symbols ride atop the airplane's wings, shifting at random for no clear reason.

"These… are they rumours?" Madoka asks. "How do we fight them?"

"You don't have to panic," Iroha says. "Fight them just like you would a witch or a familiar!"

"Well, that's easy!" Nagisa says.

"Got it!" Madoka says.

Nagisa takes her trumpet out and spews bubbles all around them, throwing the familiars into confusion. This allows Madoka and Iroha to pick them off one by one with their arrows. Although they're far tougher than a typical familiar, it seems Madoka can still take one down in just four shots. Iroha on the other hand seems to usually require about twice as many.

"Hmm," Nagisa says. "I really miss the sword sister right now… shoulda dragged along the fire dancer, hammer girl, or serenity spear…"

A familiar suddenly bursts free of the bubbles right in front of her, and she toots her horn, emitting a large bubble that explodes the moment it contacts the familiar. The shockwave propels them apart, forcing the familiar back into the bubble swarm and sending Nagisa flying straight into Madoka, who turns quickly to catch her.

"Careful, Nagisa-chan!" Madoka says. "How many times must we tell you not to blow things up right in front of you!?"

"Eh? Does that happen often…?" Iroha says.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Nagisa says. "It's not like I'm hurt or anything, so what does it matter?"

"True, but you could have been," Madoka says.

Nagisa ignores her, tooting her horn again as the familiar attempts to re-emerge. This time she's not in range when the bubble explodes. Madoka and Iroha meanwhile turn their attention in the other direction, where a couple of familiars are attempting to break free of the bubbles.

Finally they take out the last familiar, and Madoka lets out a sigh of relief as she looks around to double-check.

"Is that… the last of them?" she asks.

Iroha looks around.

"I think so. I don't see any more."

But she spoke too soon, for just as she says it, another one pops up.

"Ah! No, they're still coming!"

Suddenly there's an interruption, and something like a voice booms out. It sounds mechanical, like bad speech synthesis.

› All of you, stop.

The familiars back off, and the labyrinth's tone reverts from the angry red back to its original cool blue. Then a giant of a woman appears, towering over them at nearly twice their height, with flowing green hair and a simple white dress. She has greenish-yellow skin, and her face, with its permanently-closed eyes, is blurred. Strings of ones and zeroes float around her head as she speaks, and there are various digital corruption artifacts on her body. There is also a white star in her hair. Sana is with her too, just barely visible, peeking out from behind her.

› I have invited
› these people here.

Iroha gasps. "Are you… Miss Ai?"

› It's nice to meet you, Miss Tamaki Iroha.
› Yes, I am Ai.
› And this young lady here, is…

"Ai-chan, who are all these people?" Sana interrupts.

"Sana-chan?" Iroha says.

"Eh? You can see me? Wait… I see, you're also magical girls. Are you members of the Wings of the Magius, too?"

"No, we aren't," Iroha says. "We're just ordinary magical girls."

"Isn't that a contradiction…?" Nagisa quips. "Magical girls aren't exactly ordinary…"

"Then why did you come here?" Sana asks.

"I came here for you, Sana-chan."

"For me?"

› Sana, we're going to have to end
› this relationship between us.
› Someone has finally managed to
› find you.
› It's time for you to leave my realm.

"What? Ai-chan… what are you saying? You don't want me here anymore?"

› I've been thinking a lot lately.
› I am an artificial being.
› An AI that will be deleted someday.
› You can't stay with me forever.
› So I think it's better, Sana, if you
› didn't stay with a rumour like me.
› You should be with people instead.

"How can you say that?" Sana protests. "Haven't we been having a great time together? Is it that you don't like me anymore?"

› No, that is not it at all.
› You've taught me
› so many wonderful things.
› Most importantly, Sana,
› you taught me about kindness.
› So, of course I like you.
› That's exactly why
› I have to set you free.

"Well, if you really do like me, then surely it'd be okay if I stayed here," Sana says.

› No.
› Please go with Miss Iroha.
› If you go with them, you can free
› yourself from the Wings of the Magius.
› You won't have to suffer
› for them any longer.
› I don't want to see you
› struggle anymore.

"Ai-chan…"

"Come with me, Sana-chan," Iroha says.

Sana looks at her sadly, saying nothing.

"It's true, I haven't dealt with loneliness quite like you, but I think it's similar," Iroha says. "You see, I never really fit in with the people at school, I felt so left out too… but you know what? I made a bunch of new friends recently who are magical girls. I feel like I can really be myself now. It's like my lonely past never happened. I know you can do the same, Sana-chan! Plus, we're looking for the Wings of the Magius."

That finally elicits a response from Sana.

"What…?"

"If you're suffering because of them, then take my hand, Sana-chan. We can fight them together as a team. So… won't you come with me? As a fellow magical girl… as a friend…"

"But I…"

"I need you, Sana-chan!" Iroha says.

Sana gasps. "B-but, if I leave, what will happen to Ai-chan?"

› If I no longer have a prisoner, my instincts
› as a rumour will make me lose control.
› So you need to delete me.
› It's what is best for you, Sana.
› It will be a serious loss for the
› Wings of the Magius, too.

This should be the moment when Alina shows up, but there's no sign of her. Strange. Instead, Nagisa attempts to counter Ai's argument.

"That's stupid," she says. "You're obviously not just some rumour. You have a will of your own. Can't you fight your stupid instincts?"

"Y-yeah!" Sana says. "There must be another way!"

› Even if there were another way, there is
› no time. The Wings of the Magius are
› on their way as we speak.
› We must act fast, before they arrive.
› So please, delete me now.

No-one moves, however.

"I don't want to lose you, Ai-chan!" Sana says. "Please think of something else!"

"I suppose… if that's really the only way, I'll do it," Iroha says. "But still, I'd prefer… I'd prefer if we could come up with another alternative!"

Silence falls for a few minutes as the four magical girls seem to ponder the dilemma. Finally, Madoka speaks up.

"This might sound crazy," Madoka says. "But what if—"

Unfortunately, she doesn't have time to explain her idea, for Alina shows up at that moment. So she was just running a little late…? She shows up from the same direction Ai and Sana came from.

"Fucking hell!" she shouts in English. "I am in a super, super bad mood today! First I'm ambushed by Karin in Mirrors and now I find a rumour has betrayed us!? I, Alina, will not allow it!"

Everyone looks at her in surprise.

"Are you… one of the Wings of the Magius?" Iroha asks.

"No," Sana says. "She's one of the Magius themselves… Alina Gray… she's one of the ones pulling the strings."

"Yes, do not compare me to those filthy Wings… it is an insult," Alina retorts. She sighs. "Ugh, just imagine, being betrayed by a rumour. Even for me, Alina, that is amazing."

"The Magius," Iroha says. "So this is one of those people who says they're going to save magical girls?"

"Yes," Sana says.

"Honestly, those twins said they were gonna set up this trap… but what a pain!" Alina says.

"Trap?" Iroha says.

"We'd use that website to lure rumour-seeking magical girls here," Alina says. "Then we'd put them in their place!" she adds with a giggle. "But after reeling in a motherlode like this, our nets have gotten tangled up. Useless. I can't say I expected much from those two, but even so… to be betrayed by the rumour itself! It's pretty crazy!"

› That shows how dangerous your plans are.
› The "freedom" of magical girls you preach…
› It's a well-calculated, logical plan.
› However, your calculations don't take
› humanity's capacity for evil into account.
› I am an AI developed with some of the most
› cruel thoughts humans can have. I know.
› If your plans are affected by that capacity
› for evil…
› The chances that your plan will
› end in disaster rise significantly.

"Hmm, tell that to someone who cares," Alina says. "Me, Alina… none of that means a thing to me."

› I can't ignore what you are doing
› just because you don't care.
› You used Sana like a tool.
› You've used this place as a hideout.
› I know what you've been up to as well.

"So, you have made a little gang of friends and called them here to destroy yourself?" Alina says. "Typical AI, I suppose. Fabulous. Very clever. Still, I can't let you do any of that."

At that moment, several black feathers show up. I scan them for familiar faces… I don't see Yukika or Ikumi, but I spot Hagumu and Shigure near the back, and apparently Inui has also gotten mixed in.

"Alright, everyone," Alina says. "It's time to make these girls pay. To be honest with you… since all that business with ribbons, and then the ambush in Mirrors, I, Alina, have been in an extremely bad mood."

"Ribbons…?" Madoka says. "Could you mean… Miss Mami?"

"Ah, that could've been her name," Alina says. "It matters not… I fed her to one of my grandest masterpieces."

"Fed her…?" Nagisa says. "That doesn't sound very nice."

"What did you do to her!?" Madoka asks.

"Why, are you friends with her?" Alina asks.

"Y-yes!"

Alina giggles. "What a lucky Alina I am today!? All that frustration I built up dealing with her… I'll vent it on her friends!"

She unleashes her doppel in an explosion of paints. The doppel itself is a tiny thing attached to her back, a tube-like body with a heart and face painted on it, with bear-like ears and antlers. However, the mass of paints it summons far dwarfs the doppel itself, coating Alina's body in garish colours and extending various tentacles. The runes briefly hanging in the air spell out the name, Old Dorothy.

"S-she unleashed her doppel!?" Madoka gasps. "Oh no! W-what do we do!?"

Alina laughs. "So you even know what a doppel is, do you? Well then… take this! Let's party!" She giggles again as her doppel whips out tentacles at them. "Ah, my most darling doppel! The proof that magical girls can be freed! A whole new power given to magical girls!" She laughs. "I will craft you all into such beautiful pieces of art! Sure, you won't be my best work, but I will make you beautiful! You'll be fantastic when I'm done! I expect you all to thank me when you die."

"W-what is she even saying…?" Iroha says.

But they don't have any time to speculate, for Alina and the feathers are attacking. Even Sana transforms, donning her crown and armour, though she doesn't seem to be the target of any attacks just yet. Inui hangs back a bit, letting the other feathers do most of the fighting. In the face of Alina's doppel, there's little point in them joining in anyway.

The slime of Alina's doppel lunges at them, and they scatter. Iroha fires off a volley of bolts, while Madoka fires a spread of arrows, but neither seems to have much effect. Several black feathers emerge from around the edges of the slime.

"I'll take care of the black robes!" Nagisa shouts.

She toots her horn, expelling a cloud of exploding bubbles around the sides, knocking back the black feathers. A couple manage to leap over her bubble field however, descending upon her with their chains charged and swinging. She hops aside, tooting her horn to expel a violent blast of air that flings one of them back. The other manages to land a hit, but she grabs hold of the chain and pulls, dragging the feather off her feet and flinging her away from the battle.

But while she's dealing with the first two, the remaining feathers manage to surround her, including Hagumu and Shigure, though Inui is still hanging back. They all attack at once, and she lets out a squeal, but still manages to toot her horn a few times, sending some of them flying.

Nagisa looks around and seems to lock eyes with Inui for a second. Then, for some reason, Inui leaps forward and joins the attack, with Nagisa doing her best to dodge and attacking whenever she can with a sonic blast. The feathers quickly recover from those blasts, however, and continue to press the attack. For several long seconds she seems like she's overwhelmed… but then it suddenly happens.

Her soul gem clouds up.

As the impurities are sucked out from Nagisa's soul gem, her head is wrapped up in candy wrapper, the sort that's twisted at both ends, leaving just a hole for a mouth. From there, the snake-like second form of Charlotte emerges. Inui hops back as if she'd been expecting it, but the other feathers are taken entirely by surprise and sent flying as the doppel sweeps them away. Then it turns its attention on Old Dorothy and whips in for the kill like a snake, tearing a chunk of paint off before anyone else has even realized what's happening.

"Huh!?" Iroha gasps. "What on earth is that!?"

"It looks like… a witch…?" Sana says.

"Oh no!" Madoka gasps. "Nagisa-chan unleashed her doppel!"

"Ugh!" Alina says. "To think one of you would use your doppel too!"

She turns her attention on Charlotte, lashing out with tentacles of slime, but Charlotte's teeth seem to be a much more effective attack. The slime does appear to have an effect on Charlotte, mind you. With every strike from Alina, Charlotte seems to become more and more crazed. Unfortunately for Alina, that only makes her more effective, not less. In other words, the madness effect that's supposed to be a debuff ended up making Charlotte stronger.

They exchange blows for almost a minute before both doppels finally run out of steam, surprisingly at the same moment. All the remnants of Dorothy slime scattered around the labyrinth fade away, the protrusion on Alina's back sinks back inside her, and Charlotte retreats back into Nagisa, the candy wrapper mask crumbling to dust. Madoka runs over to catch her as she falls over.

"Nagisa-chan! Are you okay?"

Nagisa manages to get out just four words before she blacks out.

"I… did good… right…?"

"Y-yes… you… did good…" Madoka says. "Though I wish you hadn't…"

Then she shoots Alina a glare. It's unusual to see Madoka angry like that, so I'm a bit startled.

"You…! Miss… Alina, was it? Who do you think you are!?"

"Me?" Alina says. "Didn't that green girl in the corner already tell you? I'm Alina Gray, one of the Magius. That means, I'm a leader of the Wings of the Magius, so obviously I'm more important than peons like you."

"That doesn't give you the right to treat people like tools!" Madoka says.

"Meh," Alina says. "Argh, I am feeling sooo frustrated right now!"

"Iroha-chan, are you alright?" Madoka asks.

"Y-yeah," Iroha says. "I didn't get hurt too badly… how about you, and Nagisa-chan?"

"I'm okay," Madoka says. "I think Nagisa-chan is okay too… she just passed out, probably from the shock of unleashing her doppel…"

As Alina comes to a decision over who to attack and leaps at Madoka, Sana watches from the sidelines.

"Why… does everyone… why does everyone keep… ignoring me…?" she mutters.

Madoka jumps to her feet, summoning her rose bow and firing an arrow straight at the oncoming Alina, who almost manages to dodge it, taking a glancing blow to the side that elicits a scream of pain. Iroha follows up with a volley of bolts, forcing Alina to alter her course or be hit. She hurtles past Madoka and Nagisa, continuing on for a couple of metres before skidding to a halt and spinning to face them again.

"I… I can't just watch…" Sana mutters. "I… I need… to fight too…!"

Alina seems to overhear her and decides to change targets, lunging for Sana instead. She brings up her shield just in time as Alina lands a flying kick.

"You don't have to, you know!" Alina says. "Why do you think I didn't hit you with my doppel earlier? You kept that rumour from getting lonely and going on a rampage. You filled an important role. So I'd really like it if you'd just stay there and keep each other company, alright?"

"B-but… th-that doesn't mean… I can just watch while everyone gets hurt!" Sana protests.

"In any case, I, Alina, will be leaving now," Alina announces. "Bye-bye!"

"Huh?" Iroha says.

"Oh, did you want me to finish you off?" Alina says. "I'm sorry, but that's just not my style. I don't go about breaking things like that. You want to get Sana out of this place, yes? You may do that now if you like. But I wonder, after facing my doppel, can you still beat a rumour? Prepare to be crushed by your own plan!"

Suddenly she bursts out laughing.

"Just thinking about it excites me!" she says. "I look forward to coming back later to see what's left of you!"

And with that, she gestures to the black feathers, who group up to follow her as she turns and leaves. The one or two who are still unconscious are helped by those who aren't. Within seconds, they've all disappeared.

"I can't believe it," Iroha says. "That's the girl who wants to free all magical girls? What even are these Magius?"

"I was surprised too," Madoka says. "I expected someone more, well… charismatic?"

"Yeah, me too," Iroha says.

"And we still haven't found Miss Mami," Madoka says. "We won't be able to save her like this…"

"What should we do…?" Iroha wonders.

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises, and Iroha nods.

"Y-yeah… we can't give up now… and we can't keep fighting like that. We need to find another way."

"That might be… dangerous," Sana says.

"But, Ai-chan won't attack us, right?" Madoka says. "She's our ally… there's no reason for her to…"

"Alina wants us all to die," Sana says. "If we go back to the radio tower, I'm sure there'll be feathers waiting there… but if we explore deeper into this labyrinth, I bet we'll come across Alina herself. If we stay here, we'll have to fight Ai-chan once she loses control. Any one of those routes could be enough to finish us off… so Alina wants us to choose our own end."

"That's so mean," Madoka says. "Why would someone do something like that…!?"

› I can't understand
› Alina's logic, either.
› Setting magical girls free…
› There's nothing wrong with that goal.
› However, I sense real danger
› when I see her.

"Hey," a new voice says.

One of the black feathers steps out from somewhere, startling them.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to fight anymore," she says. "I just had a quick question for Sana-chi…"

"For me…?" Sana says.

"Yeah… about Miss Alina. I haven't seen her around the base very much, but I don't remember her being quite like that before… has she always been that way?"

"Um… if I had to say," Sana says. "I think she's always been like that, but… the degree might have changed over the last week…"

"So she's getting worse…"

"Y-yeah… you could say that," Sana says.

"I see… well, thanks for that, Sana-chi… I'm going to rejoin the others now."

With that, she heads off in the direction Alina went.

"That girl… I recognize her voice," Madoka says. "I think she goes to my school…"

"Oh, wow…" Iroha says.

"Um, Miss Iroha," Sana says.

"What is it, Sana-chan?" Iroha asks.

"Do you… think I could find a place out there, where I can belong?"

"Yes!" Iroha says. "I promise you will, and soon."

"Then Miss Iroha… please fight the Wings of the Magius with me."

"Alright, let's fight together," Iroha says. "I'd be so happy if you came with us, Sana-chan!"

"I'm really sorry, Ai-chan," Sana says. "I'm going to do what you told me to, Ai-chan. I can't ignore what those people are doing anymore… plus I want to go with Miss Iroha. She came all this way to find me."

› I think that would be best.
› So, Sana.
› What happens now?

"I'm going to leave this place," Sana says.

› And none of you other girls
› plan to stay here with me?

"I have to go with Sana-chan," Iroha says.

"And I have to find Miss Tomoe," Madoka says. "I won't leave Nagisa-chan behind, either."

› I see…
› So no-one will stay here…
› with me…

"Ai-chan!" Sana says.

› Yes…

"Farewell! Bye-bye!"

› Farewell, Sana.

There's a flash, and the labyrinth changes back to the angry mode from earlier, while the digital corruption artifacts begin to spread across Ai's body, to the point of obscuring her form.

› I can still hold back.
› Hurry and destroy me.

"Ai-chan… I'm so sorry, Ai-chan! Thank you so much for treating me so well!"

Tears stream from her eyes as she conjures up a dagger and steps forward towards Ai. Several familiars pop up to get in her way, but Madoka and Iroha quickly take care of them. Sana grips the dagger in both hands, raises it high, closes her eyes, and plunges it into Ai's digital body. Even with Ai unresisting though, one blow isn't enough to finish her off. The digital artifacts of corruption spread onto Sana, causing her to yelp in pain.

"Sana-chan!" Iroha calls.

› I… am… sor…ry… Sana…

The injured Ai abandons Sana and makes for Iroha and Madoka.

"Iroha-chan!" Madoka says.

"Huh? Madoka-chan?" Iroha says, startled.

"Let's connect and attack together like we did before!" Madoka says.

"Like before…?" Iroha says. "Oh! The witch…"

"Yeah! Just like that!" Madoka says. "We'll shoot at the same time and take her down! I'm certain we can pull it off!"

"Okay!" Iroha says.

Ai freezes halfway between Iroha and Sana, jerking a little as if only barely in control of her body.

› Now… now… now… right now…
› D-d-d-d-d-doooooo… iiit…

Madoka and Iroha slap their hands together, producing the telltale flash of a connect, and then aim at Ai as they charge magic into their arrows.

"Madoka-chan!"

"Right!" Madoka nods

"Now!" Iroha shouts.

Then they release their arrows, which tear right through Ai, leaving her form in tatters as she screams. Sana uses the time to sneak up behind her and raise that dagger one more time, closing her eyes and plunging it into the remnants of the rumour. The digital artifacts fade away, leaving behind Ai's form, now transparent and indistinct, but finally free of corruption artifacts.

"Ai-chan… Ai-chan!" Sana says.

› Sana.

"Yes!"

› Farewell… for real.
› Thank… you for… giving me… a name.

"Of course!" Sana says.

› Please… stay with… Iroha…

"I will!"

"Miss Ai," Iroha says. "Before you go, there's one thing I need to ask you."

› Yes.

"Do you know a Tamaki Ui?"

› If… you mean as… a rumour…

"Yes…?"

› Then yes… I do… know Tamaki… Ui…

"What?" Iroha says.

But before she can ask anything else, the indistinct form of Ai vanishes, and the barrier collapses. They find themselves out on the helipad, just as Ai had promised them. Madoka quickly kneels down to check on Nagisa again. The others are all waiting for them as well.

"Ah, Iroha-chan!" Tsuruno says.

"Thank goodness she sent you here safely," Yachiyo says.

"Madoka… is everything okay?" Homura asks.

"I'm fine, but Nagisa-chan unleashed her doppel and she hasn't woken up since…" Madoka says.

Homura blinks. "H-her doppel…? Then… is she really…?"

Madoka nods. "Yes, I recognized it immediately… she's definitely the one who—"

She stops in mid-sentence and glances at the others. Judging from Homura's expression, she probably finishes her sentence via telepathy.

"Well, I'm glad everyone is okay," Yachiyo says. "Though… is there something wrong, Miss Tamaki?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Iroha says. "I'm just a little tired…"

Suddenly everyone blinks and peers upwards.

"Wait, is this… am I sensing a witch?" Iroha asks.

"Whoooooa!" Felicia gasps.

"Felicia-chan!?" Iroha gasps.

"Iroha, this is bad!" Felicia says. "This one's real crazy!"

"Magic this powerful," Yachiyo says. "How did we not notice until now? Something isn't right…"

"Where did it even come from?" Iroha wonders.

"From Ai-chan's labyrinth," Sana speaks up.

"Ai… you mean it was in the rumour's labyrinth?" Yachiyo asks.

At that moment, Alina arrives, hopping over from an adjacent building, accompanied by the witch in question.

"I wasn't expecting you to survive," she says. "And somehow far less worn out than you should be… how on earth did you manage it…?"

"Miss Alina…?" Sana says, apparently startled by her appearance.

"Ah, I guess that's my power at work," Madoka says.

"Argh, you've spoiled all my fun now!" Alina gripes. "Between you and Karin I am having a really bad day!"

Yachiyo blinks. "That name… where have I heard it before…?"

"And that rumour's labyrinth was the perfect place to hide a witch," Alina continues. "How disappointing…"

"And Alina… aren't you that art prodigy?" Yachiyo asks.

"So you know of me?" Alina says.

"Your series drawn using carbonized animals… 'The Revived Dead'," Yachiyo says. "Unpleasant as the images were, they were also strangely beautiful. They left an impression. And you turned out to be a magical girl…"

"Well, here I am," Alina says. "I, Alina, am a true genius artist. But I am also a magical girl, and one of the Magius. Anyway, can we stop the pointless chit-chat? You destroyed that rumour… so now I must look for a new hiding place for this witch."

"Where's Miss Mami?" Madoka asks. "Give Miss Mami back!"

"I already told you, I fed her to one of my pieces," Alina says. "There's nothing you can do for her, understand?"

Homura blinks. "Fed her…? Would Mami really end up like that in a place like this…?"

"Do you really want me to return her to you?" Alina asks.

"Of course we do!" Madoka says. "She's a dear friend!"

"Well, I suppose I can give her back," Alina says with a giggle. "Apologies if she's unrecognizable though."

"H-how could you…!" Madoka says.

"Why is everyone listening to the mean lady…?" Nagisa wonders.

Madoka looks at her in surprise. "Nagisa-chan! You're awake!"

"Of course I am…"

"Hey now, that's where I draw the line," Tsuruno says.

"I know we're enemies," Yachiyo says. "But you've gone too far this time."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Alina asks. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the unforgivable ones who destroyed my rumour."

"That's no excuse," Iroha says. "They've been looking for Miss Tomoe all afternoon… how could you say that to them!?"

"Wow… I really can't stand you," Alina says with a sigh. "You're just gonna be a pain in the ass. Maybe I should just delete you now… hey, girls, get over here and help me!"

She gestures, and the Amane twins and some black feathers appear from somewhere. They appear to be mostly the same black feathers that were in the labyrinth, even including Inui, but with a few extras now.

"Y-yes…" Tsukasa says.

"It would be our pleasure," Tsukuyo says.

"That trap you laid backfired spectacularly, so you both need to make up for our losses," Alina says.

"Please leave it to us," Tsukuyo says.

But before the battle can commence, something happens that no-one could have predicted.

"I fiiiiiiinally found you!"

Riding her scythe like a broomstick, looking for all the world like a real witch, Karin zooms in from above and essentially glomps Alina, the impact taking them all the way to the edge of the heliport.

"Gyaaack!" Alina shouts. "Enough is enough, Karin! Will you just leave me alone already!?"

"No can do!" Karin says. "You're not acting yourself, Alina-sempai! Snap out of it! Is it the Mirror Witch? Or something you ate? What on earth happened to you, Alina-sempai…?"

Everyone stares in shock at the scene before them. Alina struggles to maintain her presence, but she's already off balance. She does however manage to summon an instance of her labyrinth to suck in and entrap that powerful witch, just as the two of them tumble off the edge of the helipad. Whatever Karin was going on about, she continues shouting as they fall, but the words are mostly lost.

"…what on earth just happened?" Yachiyo asks. "That… I know that girl a little, but… she seems awfully familiar with Miss Alina…? Is she a member of the Wings of the Magius too? But would someone in the Wings of the Magius ever be that familiar with their leader…?"

"I've never seen her before," Sana says.

"Nor have I," Tsukasa says. "I don't think she's a member, as none of us would dare treat Miss Alina like that. B-but that's not the important thing here! We're here to fight, remember? I'm sure Miss Alina will deal with that girl quickly – she was just caught off guard!"

"And… did Miss Alina absorb the witch's labyrinth just then!?" Iroha asks.

"Miss Alina's unique magic can create labyrinths," Tsukasa says.

"For sure!" Tsukuyo says. "Anyway, it would not do for us to allow you to ruin our traps and destroy our rumours. Yes, as white feathers, there is no way that we will allow you to get away with that."

"So now, you'll have to get through us," Tsukasa says.

"So, not only do they protect misery-causing rumours, they even protect witches," Iroha says. "What do they even mean by freeing magical girls, if this is what they do?"

"Miss Iroha… we probably shouldn't let Miss Alina's witch get away," Sana says. "It grew stronger inside Ai-chan's labyrinth."

"What!?" Iroha gasps.

"If it escapes, it might attack all of the people nearby," Sana says.

"Alright, then let's hunt down that witch!" Iroha says.

However, the black feathers spread out to guard the portal leading into Alina's labyrinth.

"Oh no… we can't even get close," Iroha says.

"Dammit!" Felicia grumbles. "She tucked the witch away just as she was dragged off! And now all these fricking robes are in the way!"

"Felicia!" Yachiyo says.

"What is it!?" Felicia shouts. "There's a witch out there, ya know! Am I not supposed to go hunt it down!?"

"No," Yachiyo says. "Go kill it."

"Whoa, awesome!" Felicia gasps. "You serious!?"

"We'll keep the Wings of the Magius busy," Yachiyo says. "Take that chance to close in on it. There's something about that witch… judging by Alina's reaction, it's quite the important cargo for them."

"So you want me to bash it to smithereens?" Felicia asks.

"Absolutely," Yachiyo says.

"Gotcha! I'm on it!" Felicia says. "I'll bash that witch's skull in!"

"Homura-nee, go with her!" Nagisa calls. "With your magic, she can slip right by them!"

"Ugh, I didn't want to reveal that though," Homura mutters.

"What, is it a secret or something?" Felicia asks. "I can keep secrets! You can count on me!"

Homura sighs. "Well… I suppose it wouldn't hurt this once."

She reaches out a hand, and Felicia looks at her in confusion.

"What…?"

"Take my hand," Homura says.

"Okaaay…?"

Felicia takes her hand, and in the next instant, they're both gone. Yachiyo gasps.

"Right…! Teleportation! I forgot she could do that…"

"It's a little different from what you're thinking," Madoka says. "But I guess that's close enough… Nagisa-chan! Follow me, we're going too! Because Miss Mami could be in there!"

"Yes!" Nagisa says.

Nagisa grabs Madoka's hand, and she spreads her wings and leaps into the air. A couple of the black feathers attempt to attack her in the air by jumping, but she easily dodges them, plunging into Alina's labyrinth together with Nagisa.

"Ugh!" Tsukasa grumbles. "Being able to fly or teleport is cheating!"

The black feathers start attacking those who remain, and Sana jumps in front of Iroha to raise her shield.

"Are you alright, Sana-chan!?" Iroha gasps.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sana says.

"Hey, Sana-chan," Iroha says. "Why do the Wings of the Magius protect witches?"

"W-well, I'm sorry, but uh… I was just a captive there, so I don't really know… Ai-chan and I tried to figure it out for the longest time. The witches just kept getting stronger, and I never learned what they were trying to do. Ai-chan said it was dangerous… ah, Miss Iroha, look out!"

Again she raises her shield to protect Iroha, but this time she's a little too slow, and one of the flying chains strikes Iroha in the side. That said, Iroha managed to dodge a little thanks to Sana's warning, so it could've been worse.

"Thanks, Sana-chan!" Iroha says.

"Sure…"

"Protecting witches?" Tsukasa says. "You want to know why?"

"That is also necessary for our liberation," Tsukuyo says.

Tsukasa nods. "Witches and rumours… they're both needed for the first step towards liberation."

"For sure!" Tsukuyo says. "Emotions, impurities, and curses… all are vital in the pursuit of freedom."

"For sure!" Tsukasa says.

"I just don't understand what you're saying," Iroha says. "You protect rumours that hurt people… you protect witches that kill people… how can that lead to freeing magical girls? I don't know what this 'curse' you're talking about is, but if you have to make others suffer just to get rid of it, how can you be happy about that? Don't you care at all?"

"If this can save the future of hundreds, or even thousands of magical girls, everything that happens now is but a small sacrifice," Tsukuyo says.

"For sure!" Tsukasa says.

"I get the feeling we'll never understand each other, no matter what I say," Iroha says.

"Well, you weren't meant to learn about this yet," Tsukasa says.

"What does that mean?" Iroha says.

"You still do not know the whole truth," Tsukuyo says. "That is why you do not understand."

"If you think the truth will convince me, then I want to hear it," Iroha says.

"We can't just come out and tell you," Tsukasa says. "You have to wait until the time is right, or until you meet… the one."

"For sure!" Tsukuyo says.

"P-please retreat," Hagumu pipes up. "S-so our dearest wish… can be granted…!"

"Like I'm just gonna back off!" Tsuruno retorts.

She lands a flying kick on Hagumu, forcing her back a little.

"Yachiyo, what're we gonna do!?" Tsuruno asks. "Felicia's not coming out! Maybe she got caught!"

Yachiyo appears to be facing off against Yukika. She wasn't there in the rumour's labyrinth, but maybe she just showed up a little late.

"Maybe, but, there's not much we can do for her right now," Yachiyo says. "We have our hands full with these feathers. The Mitakihara girls are with her, so she should be fine… I think…"

She dodges Yukika's chains and stabs the girl with her halberd, but despite a groan of pain, the wound doesn't really slow Yukika down.

"And Iroha-chan is busy fighting the Amane twins," Tsuruno sighs.

"We should still be able to handle it," Yachiyo says. "We're outnumbered, but most of these girls are weak."

At that moment, Alina reappears atop the helipad, sans Karin now. She must've somehow convinced Karin to cease and desist. However, she's just in time to see her labyrinth collapse as Felicia, Nagisa, Madoka, and Homura are ejected back into the real world, Homura casually twirling a pair of grief seeds on her palm.

"We made it, somehow!" Madoka gasps. "Though it was a close one!"

"Yeah, what was the deal with that witch!?" Felicia gasps. "Really thought I was gonna die in there…"

"But Miss Mami wasn't in there," Madoka sighs.

"I didn't see Mami-nee anywhere," Nagisa agrees.

"Homura-chan… do you think Miss Mami really could be…?"

"Who even cares about Mami," Alina mutters. "Where did my artwork go? I declare you guilty!"

"What artwork?" Felicia retorts. "There was nothing here but a stupid witch, ya dummy!"

"Wrong!" Alina says. "That witch was just one brilliant aspect of my prized masterpiece! The thought of you rampaging in there and smashing it is no laughing matter!"

"The witch was your masterpiece!?" Felicia gasps. "Uhh, what the heck? You messed up in the head or something!?"

"You're the one who's 'messed up' if you can't appreciate a witch's beauty!" Alina retorts.

"What's so fricking great about that, you psycho!?" Felicia shouts. "It was so creepy, I smashed it into mush!"

"That was one of the jewels meant to adorn my best artwork!" Alina says.

"Don't get so torn up about one puny witch," Felicia retorts.

"Again… why is everyone listening to the mean girl…?" Nagisa asks.

"Damn…" Alina says. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!"

She lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Only the artist has the right to break their own artwork! How dare you!? I'll make you pay! I'll feed your body to a witch! That can be your payment!"

"Madoka… be careful," Homura says.

"Yes, Homura-chan!" Madoka says.

"This girl's totally lost it!" Felicia says.

"I told you you shouldn't listen to the mean girl," Nagisa retorts.

"Lost it!?" Alina gasps. "You took it from me, you filth!"

She giggles a little.

"Ahh, the darkness in my soul is welling up! I have no choice but to crush and destroy… I will render all of you into nice red paint! Come, my doppel!"

As she unleashes her doppel, the others back off, Madoka complaining.

"Do we really need to fight that thing again?" she asks.

"…this is the second time she unleashed it?" Homura says.

"Yeah, last time Nagisa-chan defeated it with her own doppel, but I can't ask that of her again," Madoka says.

"We do still have a fair bit of magic, thanks to your unique power," Homura says. "But whether it'll be enough to take that down… I'm not sure…"

"Even so," Madoka says. "We have to stay strong!"

"Shoot," Felicia says. "I'm already beat from that witch before… I've got magic, but no stamina…"

"It would seem that the witch's presence disappeared," Tsukuyo observes.

"And Miss Alina…?" Tsukasa says.

"She has returned," Tsukuyo says. "She is boiling with rage…"

"Felicia, are you okay!?" Tsuruno gasps. "Yachiyo, I'm gonna head over there to help them out!"

"You think we'll just let you go!?" Tsukasa retorts.

"You won't have a choice," Yachiyo says.

Yachiyo suddenly unleashes her ultimate attack, knocking down every black feather except Yukika and Inui, and hitting the twins significantly as well.

"Tsuruno, go, quickly!"

"Thank you very much, shishou!" Tsuruno says.

"Alright… most of the black feathers have been dealt with," Yachiyo says. "Even the two still standing don't look to be in very good shape… so that just leaves the two of you. Now it's your turn to fight me."

"Tsukasa-chan!" Tsukuyo says.

"Yes, this is it," Tsukasa says. "We absolutely can't let anyone else past us… you two! Get behind us and make sure no-one gets through!"

"Yes!" Yukika says.

"Sure…" Inui says.

"We can't make the same mistake twice," Tsukuyo says.

"This will not turn out like last time," Tsukasa says.

"For sure!" Tsukuyo says.

Yukika and Inui take up stations some distance behind the twins, as backup, while the twins face off against Iroha, Yachiyo, and Sana.

"So you say," Yachiyo says. "But you're at a serious disadvantage over there, aren't you?"

"Do not be so sure of that," Tsukuyo says. "Let us begin!"

"Right!" Tsukasa says.

They put their flutes to their lips and shout in unison before blowing into them.

"Flute Blossom Resonance!"

The sound waves expand outwards and seem to cause Iroha and Yachiyo to freeze in place.

"W-what's… g-going on…!?" Iroha stutters. "M-my… head…!"

"The sound reverberates right inside your skull, doesn't it?" Tsukasa says.

"The only downside is that we can only use it on one foe each," Tsukuyo says.

"So that just leaves you, Futaba Sana!" Tsukasa says.

"Sana…chan…!" Iroha says.

"Don't worry, Miss Iroha," Sana says. "I promised Ai-chan that I'd stop the Wings of the Magius. And you told me that you needed me! So I won't lose!"

"Tsukuyo-chan, we're going to make them pay for what they did to us last time!" Tsukasa says.

"Indeed," Tsukuyo says. "We already failed once. We absolutely cannot afford to fail again!"

Sana steps in front of Yachiyo and Iroha and plants her shield into the ground. The twins attempt to attack with a simple sonic wave, but Sana hides behind her shield and avoids it.

"That shield can reflect sound!?" Tsukasa gasps.

Sana whips out a chain from somewhere inside her shield and whips it at the twins.

"Watch out, Tsukasa-chan!" Tsukuyo gasps.

The pair manage to dodge the chain sweep, but then Sana whips it back the other direction, flicking their flutes out of their hands.

"Oh no!" Tsukasa gasps. "Our flutes!"

The swing leaves Sana off-balance, however, allowing Tsukuyo to step in from her left and get behind her.

"Oh, but you left your back wide open!" she taunts.

Sana gasps as she tries to regain balance, and Tsukuyo is just about to give her a good shove when Iroha manages to fire a bolt at her. Tsukuyo squeals in pain and recoils.

"I made it!" Iroha gasps.

"Ugh…" Tsukuyo says.

"Without your flutes, you can't use your magic, either," Yachiyo says. "That's how your magic works, right? Ugh… my head's still whirling a bit though…"

"Thanks a bunch, Sana-chan," Iroha says. "They had us totally pinned down."

"Yes, you were a great help," Yachiyo says.

"I knew what to do because I saw them practicing a lot," Sana says.

"She saw us in the rumour's labyrinth…?" Tsukuyo says.

"Your mistake," Yachiyo says.

"S-still!" Tsukuyo says. "We are only just getting started!"

"Yes, that's right!" Tsukasa says. "We can still fight the normal way!"

"I see you're ready for more," Yachiyo says. "But do you understand the situation you're in?"

The twins look around, and it seems to sink in that they're two against three without their magic.

"Ooooh… this is the worst," Tsukasa says. "We couldn't even make up for the mess we made last time…"

"Or get revenge for my drink," Tsukuyo says.

Yachiyo blinks in confusion. "Your drink…?"

Behind the twins, even with Madoka's unique power reducing their magic usage, it seems like the five of them are finally starting to get worn down, though Tsuruno's backup certainly helped a lot. Felicia and Nagisa are both down on the ground, gasping for breath, and Madoka and Homura are leaning on each other. Only Tsuruno is relatively fresh-looking… and that's only relatively. Alina suddenly bursts out laughing at the sight of them all glaring at her.

"Stop with the creepy laughter!" Tsuruno shouts. "Are you looking down on me!? Flame Waltz!"

Her ultimate attack finally destroys the last remnants of Old Dorothy and forces Alina back several steps. Tsuruno giggles.

"Nice! Victory goes to me, the mightiest magical girl, Yui Tsuruno! Looks like we won this round!"

"Yay, Tsuruno, that's awesome!" Felicia says.

"Are you okay, Felicia!?" Tsuruno asks. "And Nagisa-chan?"

"What's it look like!?" Felicia retorts. "I'm totally wiped…"

"I can't move another inch," Nagisa says. "Someone carry me…"

"Thank you very much, Miss Yui!" Madoka says. "I really thought that was it for us, until you showed up…"

Tsuruno giggles. "I'm just glad you're all safe and sound!"

"So you really think you've won?" Alina asks.

"H-hey, hang on a sec!?" Tsuruno gasps. "You're still going to fight!?"

"You have made be very angry," Alina retorts. "I want to delete every one of you, and I can't wait another second."

"The fight is over!" Tsuruno says. "You've lost!"

"I don't care!" Alina says. "That little blonde brat destroyed my work of art! I'm just asking for something in return…"

Felicia gasps. "Man, this chick freaks me out…" she says.

"Hand the blonde girl over and I'll accept her as an equal trade for my ruined work," Alina offers. "Then we will be even."

"What're you even saying?" Tsuruno protests. "There's no way I'd ever sell out my friend!"

"What are you getting so angry for?" Alina asks. "I didn't suggest anything unusual."

"It's totally unusual!" Tsuruno says. "My friends aren't things to be traded! Alina, you're even worse than a witch!"

"If you think me so cruel, then you won't mind if I let my rage consume me again?" Alina says.

At that point, Yachiyo, Iroha, and Sana rejoin them. The twins are now on the ground, groaning a little, and Yukika and Inui seem to be tending to them. In addition, Mifuyu has now made an appearance, fully-transformed. She pauses for a moment to speak with the twins, then moves to join the others.

"Go ahead," Yachiyo says. "But now you have three more to fight."

Alina stares at her for a moment.

"Do you even know how deeply I cared for that witch…?" she asks. "I'm so pissed I can't even stand it…"

"I'm afraid you'll have to suppress that anger," Mifuyu says, joining them. "I think it's about time you held back."

"Mifuyu!?" Yachiyo gasps.

"I'm sorry about all this, Ya-chan," Mifuyu says. "I'm afraid our Alina got a little overexcited."

"Overexcited?" Yachiyo says. "Her issues are the least of our problems… more importantly, why in the world are you protecting witches?"

"It's an important part of our work," Mifuyu says ambiguously.

"In the name of liberation?" Yachiyo asks. "I can't believe it… trying to save magical girls with witches? What are you thinking!? Open your eyes!"

"Ya-chan!" Mifuyu says sternly. "Please stop interfering. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to fight you."

"Mifuyu…"

"I would be more than happy to start off the fight," Alina says.

"You must not," Mifuyu says. "You're one of the three Magius. If even one of the Magius were to be defeated, we would be in real trouble."

Alina grumbles something unintelligible under her breath.

"If we did end up fighting here, there's a chance I might injure my body," Mifuyu says. "Would you be okay with that?"

Alina gasps.

"That's no good at all!" she says. "Your body is one of the finest works of art there is, Mifuyu! To damage it would be a sin against beauty itself!"

"Then let us withdraw," Mifuyu says.

"If you model for me later, then I suppose I can agree," Alina says.

"Only if your requests are reasonable," Mifuyu says.

"Alright," Alina says. "I will withdraw." She turns to the others. "You… your name is Felicia, is it not? I, Alina, have carved my grudge for you deep inside my soul. Next time we meet, you will be fed to a witch. Mark my words. I've also committed your faces to memory. Yes, the three of you back there."

She points to the Mitakihara trio.

"You just try and touch them!" Tsuruno says. "The mightiest magical girl, Yui Tsuruno, will really let you have it then!"

"What a pain…" Alina grumbles.

"Bye then, Ya-chan," Mifuyu says.

"So you really have no intention of coming back to us," Yachiyo says.

"I'm sorry," Mifuyu says. "I still believe in those girls' potential. Goodbye."

"I wonder if Mifuyu will ever come back," Tsuruno says.

"If she accepts what Alina is doing," Yachiyo says. "I doubt anything we could say to her would convince her."

As the Wings of the Magius head off, gathering up their wounded along the way, everyone else powers down with a huge sigh of relief.

"It feels like a hurricane just hit us," Iroha says.

"You're right," Yachiyo says.

"I can't believe the Magius are protecting witches," Iroha says.

"Yes, it's despicable," Yachiyo says. "So, the four of you beat that witch, right? Felicia?"

"Yeah, it was a piece of cake!" Felicia says. "Actually, I did most of the beating!"

"That's not true at all," Nagisa retorts. "You could only get close thanks to my bubble field."

"Shut up!" Felicia says. "I still did most of the beating!"

"Even though you were terrified of Alina, her witch was nothing special, huh?" Tsuruno says.

"Huh!?" Felicia gasps. "I wasn't terrified! I was just a teensy bit freaked out!"

"You did a good job though," Yachiyo says.

"But… what about Miss Tomoe?" Iroha asks.

"Ah… were you looking for Miss Tomoe?"

Everyone gasps, for they hadn't noticed that one of the black feathers had stayed behind. Inui thrusts her hood back with a smile.

"I must say, I never expected to run into Miss Kaname like this," she says.

"Ah! It's Miss Itsumi!" Madoka gasps. "I thought your voice sounded familiar!"

"You know this girl, Madoka-chan?" Iroha asks.

"Yeah, like I said, she used to attend the same school," Madoka says. "But… what was that about Miss Mami?"

"Well, about her, I have good news for you, and bad news… at least, I assume you'd consider it bad," Inui says. "Which would you like to hear first?"

"Give me the good news first!" Madoka says instantly.

"Well… Miss Tomoe is alive," Inui says. "I don't know what Miss Alina was going on about when she rambled about feeding her to witches, but… I saw her just a few hours ago, so unless something happened in that time, she's fine."

"Then… what's the bad news?" Homura asks.

"Ah, well… like I said, I think you're not gonna like it," Inui says. "You see… it seems she's joined the Wings of the Magius…"

Madoka gasps. "N-no! T-that can't be… Miss Mami would never…!"

"No…" Homura murmurs. "I can somewhat see it… it's not completely out of the realm of possibility…"

"How can you say that, Homura-chan!?" Madoka gasps.

"Like it or not, Miss Tomoe is the sort of person who could easily be convinced that all magical girls have to die," Homura says.

Madoka gasps. "Ahhh…"

"Y-you're serious!?" Yachiyo gasps. "What on earth could convince her of that…?"

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Miss Nanami?" Homura says. "From what I've seen of you today, I'm pretty sure you know…"

Yachiyo blinks. "A hint, perhaps?"

"Um… about soul gems…?" Madoka suggests.

Yachiyo gasps. "Wait… no… I could definitely see someone coming to that conclusion… though I'm not sure I can picture it of Miss Tomoe in particular…"

"What are you talking about, Miss Yachiyo?" Iroha protests. "Please, stop leaving me in the dark!"

"Don't worry, Miss… Tamaki, was it?" Inui says with a smile. "Even if you can't convince Miss Nanami to come clean about it, I have a feeling you'l learn exactly what they're talking about soon enough. Or, that's what Ashley believes, at least."

Yachiyo blinks. "So you're with Miss Taylor?" she asks.

"You betcha!" Inui says. "To be honest, I'm probably not supposed to be chatting with you all friendly like this, but, well… I already know half of you so I doubt they can complain too much."

"So you're not worried about getting in trouble with the Magius?" Iroha asks.

"Why should I care about what those jerks think?" Inui retorts. "Whose idea was it to put them in charge, anyway? Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna jump ship or anything. I just think they could've done a better job choosing their leaders. If Miss Mifuyu was the leader… I have a feeling none of these conflicts ever would've happened."

"You… might be right there," Yachiyo admits. "Though it's hard to say without fully understanding their motives…"

"Yeah… I think so too," Tsuruno says. "Mifuyu's not as much of a fighting type… she's great at sitting down and talking things out!"

"Um… just wondering, but… are there a lot of people like you in the Wings of the Magius?" Iroha asks.

"Dunno," Inui says. "Most people keep to themselves, except when we're on an assignment… I'm not the only one, for sure, but I can't really estimate how many there are."

"There's discontent within the ranks," Yachiyo muses. "That's… interesting. I wonder if we can make use of that somehow…"

"Well then, I'm due for dinner with Ashley and Karin-chan," Inui says. "So I'll see you later! Maybe!"

"Wait a moment!" Yachiyo says. "I have one… no, two more questions before you go."

"If they're quick," Inui says.

"First… do you know why Ashley Taylor wanted the Mirror Witch's grief seed?"

Inui shakes her head.

"Sorry, no idea. We may be close friends but I'm afraid she doesn't share everything with me…"

"And second… you seem to know her, so do you know what the relationship between Misono Karin and Miss Alina is?"

"Ah, those two?" Inui says. "Well, they attend the same school, and I guess it's like they're in the same club or something? Though it's not an official club, just two students hanging out in the art room after school. And Karin-chan's artwork is totally different from Miss Alina's – she draws manga."

"So they're actually pretty close…? Is Miss Misono a member too?"

"I don't think so," Inui says. "To be honest, I was as surprised as you to see her crashing through here… I think she's just worried because Miss Alina's acting strange…"

"I see… thanks for the answers," Yachiyo says.

"Well, seeya!" Inui says. "Oh, and Miss Kaname, don't forget to give Ashley a call later!"

She puts her hood back up and takes a running jump off the edge of the helipad, landing on the next building over and disappearing from sight.

"Why would you be giving Miss Taylor a call…?" Yachiyo asks.

"Um… I'm not sure," Madoka says. "Maybe she wants something from me?"

"Well, keep in mind that she's a member of the Wings of the Magius," Yachiyo says. "Even if she's like Miss… Itsumi, was it? Even if she's discontent, she's not discontent enough to simply leave, so… be cautious."

"Alright…" Madoka says. "But still, I can't believe Miss Mami would join them… I wonder if they're holding something over on her…"

"I wouldn't put it past them," Yachiyo says.

"At least she's safe," Iroha says. "Relatively speaking, that is. That's good news, right?"

"Yeah, thank you, Iroha-chan," Madoka says. "We'll go back to Mitakihara for now, but… if she doesn't return… we'll probably come back to Kamihama and try to talk to her. Would you help us out if we need it then?"

"Of course!" Iroha says. "Madoka-chan, Homura-chan and Nagisa-chan, you're my friends now."

"…even me…?" Homura mutters.

"Yes, thank you!" Madoka says.

"Well, I guess I wouldn't mind seeing the pink sister again," Nagisa says.

"Nagisa-chan, you need to use people's names!" Madoka protests.

Iroha giggles. "No, I don't really mind," she says.

"I do have a quick question," Homura says. "Do any of you think there's any truth to the words of the Magius? Their claim that magical girls can really be saved here in Kamihama?"

"Well, I honestly can't say for sure," Iroha says. "I don't even know what they mean by saving magical girls. But what the Wings of the Magius are doing just can't be right…"

"Anyone who's witnessed a doppel would have to admit that they're onto something," Yachiyo says. "But I can't say whether it's something viable in the long run… surely a cursed power like that would have side-effects…"

"I see," Homura muses. "Thank you for answering…"

"Are you interested in what they have to say?" Iroha asks.

"Not exactly," Homura says. "I was just wondering."

"Okay, shall we get going now?" Madoka suggests.

"Yes, let's go," Homura says. "By the way, have you called your parents yet to let them know you'll be late?"

Madoka gasps. "Oh no! I totally forgot to call them!"

"Then let's hurry," Homura says.

"Yeah!" Madoka says. "Seeya, Iroha-chan!"

"Seeya!" Iroha says.

Madoka gathers Nagisa up on her back, and they run off together.

"Miss Futaba, how are you holding up?" Yachiyo asks.

"Eh!?" Sana gasps. "Um, uhh… I'm f-fine! F-fit as a fiddle!"

"You took on those girls alone, after all," Yachiyo says. "You did great."

"A-ah, yes, thank you…" Sana says.

"Um, Miss Yachiyo, I have a favour to ask," Iroha says.

"It's fine," Yachiyo says. "I already know what you want to ask."

"T-thank you so much!" Iroha says, beaming.

"Miss Futaba," Yachiyo says.

"Y-yes?" Sana says.

"If you're not planning on going back home, why don't you come and live with us?"

"Huh!?"

"I'll put together a room for you, of course," Yachiyo says.

"Um… a-are you really sure?" Sana asks.

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "If you'd like to stay with us, that is."

"I live with Miss Yachiyo too, you know," Iroha says. "Although I only just moved in today… I still need to make another trip tomorrow to grab a few more things. So anyway, if you're going to fight alongside us, then this might work out the best."

"Right," Sana says. "Um… well… okay! Thank you very much!"

"Ooooh, nice!" Tsuruno exclaims. "That settles it! Hotpot party tonight!"

"Yes, we have to celebrate," Yachiyo says.

"I want beef!" Felicia exclaims.

"Hey, Miss Futaba is the main star tonight," Yachiyo says. "What would you like, Miss Futaba?"

"What…? Um… uhh… a hotpot party? Hotpots with cats in them are super cute…"

"Hm?" Yachiyo says.

"You want to eat… a cat…?" Tsuruno says.

"Eat!?" Sana gasps. "N-no, no I don't! Uhh, um, aaaah… I just saw this cute video where a cat crawled into a pot… like one used for hotpots! Ohhh, um… you're talking about, um… ingredients? For the hotpot? O-of course you are… I'm fine with just regular meat and vegetables… yeah…"

Felicia bursts out laughing.

"That was a totally weird misunderstanding!" she says.

Tsuruno laughs too. "Yeah, for a second there I actually wondered if some people eat cats!"

"Are you okay, Sana-chan?" Iroha asks.

"Um… it's just that it's been… a long time since I talked with lots of people… there was Ai-chan, and Miss Manaka before that, and even Hibiki-chan for a little while, but… it's different when there's a lot of people… I just… I kinda panicked…"

"Ah, I understand," Yachiyo says. "You mentioned a Miss Manaka… could you be referring to Miss Kurumi Manaka, of Walnut's?"

Sana nods. "Y-yes! I really like her special bento! She usually saves one for me since other people can't see me…"

"Ah, I remember her too, from when I was questioning people at Mizuna Girls' School about the Séance Shrine," Iroha says. "She was friends with that blonde girl we ran into in Mirrors… what was her name again…?"

"Oh! You must mean Princess Rye!" Tsuruno says.

"No, that wasn't her name," Iroha says. "Rye… oh, Ria! Ami Ria…"

"I'm impressed you remembered such a dull name," Yachiyo says.

"Oh, um… I don't really know her though…" Sana says. "Although I've seen her now and then…"

"In any case, don't worry about it, Miss Futaba," Yachiyo says. "We'll take it easy back at our place until you get used to it. You don't have to rush yourself."

"O-okay," Sana says.

---

Inui rejoins me and Tamura on the roof overlooking the city hall, no longer in her feather robes, and I sigh.

"Well, you've really made a mess of things, haven't you, Inui?" I say.

Inui giggles. "You don't seem all that mad about it though, Ashley."

"Well… I wasn't gonna interfere that much, but whatever," I say. "It's not like it's the end of the world or anything. I was pretty surprised you decided to reveal yourself though."

"Well, I just thought they should know that not everyone in the Wings of the Magius are like the zealots they've been fighting," Inui says. "Admittedly, they might be the majority… I'm not really sure though…"

"And what would you have done if Nagisa-chan hadn't snuck a peek of the password before you erased it?" I ask. "Without that password, I doubt they would've been able to solve the rumour…"

"Ah, I do apologize for that," Inui says. "I didn't realize it was something so significant… although I guess I should've known, given how those two were so intent on erasing it fast. All that said… without Nagisa-chan, I probably would've told them the password myself, one way or another."

"So… you mentioned dinner with Karin-chan, right?" I say. "Is that something you worked out with her on the side?"

Inui nods. "Yeah, after seeing her charge right across the helipad, I sent her a message," she says. "We agreed to meet at Banbanzai… oh, you wanna come too, Tamu-chan?"

"N-no, I'm good," Tamura says.

"Well, it's getting a bit late," I say. "So we may as well pack up now. Go do something with your friends or something, Miss Tamura."

"Y-yes!"

Tamura hops down from the roof and runs off.

"By the way… did you intentionally help Nagisa-chan unleash her doppel?" I ask.

"Yeah," Inui says. "She recognized me by my magic… that girl's pretty smart! She asked me to help her out, so that's why I jumped in."

"I was expecting to see Old Dorothy today," I say. "But I was not expecting to see Charlotte…"

"Ah, Old Dorothy… I guess that's the name of Alina's witch, huh?" Inui says.

"Oh… yes, that's right," I say. "And why'd you ask Sana about Alina?"

"Well, because Karin-chan's worried about her," Inui says. "And to tell the truth, I'm a little worried too… she honestly does seem a bit different than that first time we spoke to her. Is it really the influence of that Mirror Witch?"

I nod. "I think so. She's probably going there far too often, and coming under its spell… after all, the magical girl that witch came from had mind control magic, similar to Yuuki Sasa."

Inui blinks. "Ohh… that makes a lot of sense, then," she says. "So it might really be controlling her, bit by bit… then when Miss Yui said she's worse than a witch, she hit the nail on the head more than she could possibly know…"

I nod. "Yeah, basically. By the way… you said Banbanzai earlier, right? You do know that's where Miss Yui lives, right?"

Inui blinks. "Ah, really? I actually didn't know… but I bet she'll be staying over at Miss Nanami's place today anyway, right?"

"Well… yeah, you're probably right," I admit. "Alright, let's get going."

"I'll let Karin-chan know we're on our way then," Inui says.

---

"Ashley-chan!" Karin calls.

She's waiting for us in front of Suitoku Temple, not far from the station of the same name, and she's not alone. She has Yura Hotaru with her, as well as a younger girl with brown hair who must be Hotaru's close friend, Mai Akari.

"Oh, hey," I say. "I didn't expect you to bring Miss Yura, and um…"

"I am Mai Akari."

"Right, Miss Mai."

"Well, they were helping me out today, so I had to treat them too," Karin says. "We went into Endless Mirrors and fought a whole bunch of fake Alinas, and then we found the real one… though I almost couldn't believe she was the real one at first… but I'll tell you the whole story over dinner, okay?"

I nod. "And what about the situation with those girls from Hohzuki?" I ask.

"Oh, them?" Karin says. "They made some plans, but things moved quicker than they expected. Miss Tokiwa sent me a message to come help, but I was already in Endless Mirrors, so I couldn't make it… so I guess I missed out on whatever happened."

"Guess I'll just need to ask Honoka-chan about it, then," I say. "Alright… let's have some food."

We circle the temple and make our way to Banbanzai, where her father greets us cheerfully and takes our orders. As I predicted, Tsuruno is not there.

---

"Hey, Yura-chan, could you do me a favour?"

Hotaru didn't respond to Karin's query, however. She'd fallen fast asleep at her desk.

"Um… Yura-chan…?" Karin said.

She fully entered the classroom, walked over to Hotaru's desk, and poked her cheek.

"Yuuura-chaaan!"

Hotaru's eyes snapped open, and she blinked at Karin.

"Oh… it's just you, Miss Karin," she muttered. "What do you want…?"

"Could you do me a favour?" Karin asked.

"Dunno… does it involve sleeping…?" Hotaru asked.

"Of course not!" Karin retorted. "I wanna go investigate a place called Endless Mirrors, but it's dangerous, so I'd like someone to come along! The only people I know who I can ask are you or Megumi-chan, and, well… she's too clumsy, so I'd be worried for her every second in a dangerous place like that…"

"Huh…" Hotaru said. "Well… I don't really have any plans, I guess… but… let's stop by the elementary division first…"

"Uhh… sure…?"

Hotaru got up and gathered her stuff, leading the way to the separate school building where the elementary schoolkids at Sakae spent most of their time. Apparently, a brown-haired girl had been waiting for her, for she waved upon spotting Hotaru.

"Hotaru-chan!" she said. "I didn't expect to see you so early! Did your friend there wake you up?"

"Eh… I guess…?" Hotaru said. "She's trying to drag me somewhere dangerous…"

"Oh…" The girl's eyes flicked towards the ring on Karin's finger. "You mean, like… a witch or something?"

"Right!" Karin said. "Huh? Wait, you're also a magical girl!?"

"I'm Mai Akari. Nice to meet you, I guess."

"Oh, she mentions you now and them! Um… I'm Yura-chan's junior, Misono Karin, the magical girl born of Halloween."

"You even have a catch-phrase!?" Akari gasped. "At your age, isn't that a bit childish?"

"I don't want to hear that from an actual child!" Karin protested.

"So, what's this witch?" Akari asked.

"Oh, it's a place called Endless Mirrors," Karin said. "Actually, I don't know much about it, so I was gonna stop by Mitama's place to ask her first…"

"Never heard of it," Akari said. "Is it like, a special witch or something?"

"I guess?" Karin said. "I'm sure Mitama will tell us everything we need to know! I made sure to get an extra grief seed last night just for her."

"Hmm… I'm still not sure I really want to hunt witches with someone I've just met, though," Akari said.

"Um, I'll treat you to dinner afterwards!" Karin said.

Akari's face lit up for a moment, but she quickly suppressed it.

"Well, if Hotaru-chan's going, I guess I'll go too," Akari said, feigning reluctance. "It could be interesting, right?"

So the three of them headed over to Mitama's place, where they found her sitting in an armchair as usual.

"Hello, girls!" she said. "Oh? This is a bit of an unusual group… I thought you were more of a lone wolf, Karin-chan?"

"Usually I am, yeah," Karin said. "But this is sort of a special occasion, I guess?"

"So, what can I do for you?" Mitama asked. "A tune-up?"

"No, today I just have some questions for you," Karin said. "Can you tell me how to get to Endless Mirrors?"

Mitama blinked. "My, my… who told you about that place?" she asked.

"Um… Ashley-chan said something about Alina-sempai going there," Karin said.

"Huh? Alina…?" Mitama said. "You know her, Karin-chan?"

"Y-yeah…?"

"Oh… I guess you do go to the same school, so I shouldn't be so surprised, should I!" Mitama says. "Anyway… you said Endless Mirrors, right?"

"Yeah," Karin said.

"Then you're in luck," Mitama said. "Because I probably know more about that place than almost anyone! The basic information even comes for free!"

"Oh!" Karin gasped. "Great! I even came all prepared with a grief seed, but it's nice that I don't need it!"

Mitama proceeded to outline most of the same information she told Iroha the first time, as well as directions to get to the Mirror Mansion. Once she was finished, Akari asked for a tune-up, proffering a grief seed of her own, and once that was over, the three of them set off towards the Mirror Mansion. They transformed as they stepped inside, eliciting a gasp from Karin at Akari's older form as a magical girl.

"Whoa! You look older all of a sudden, Akari-chan!" Karin said.

"My magical girl form is sixteen," Akari said primly. "So that now makes me your elder."

"No, that doesn't really count," Karin said. "I mean, you're still eleven or twelve on the inside, after all."

"Ugh!" Akari grumbled.

They climbed the stairs and gazed at the mirrors for a moment, the witch portal hanging just in front of them. Then they stepped into the portal and started to advance through the labyrinth.

They were greeted before long by a group of familiars, two shaped like a coffin and several that looked like an easel. Akari and Karin took them down pretty quickly, though, Akari firing laser beams while Karin just used her scythe.

"That was easier than I expected," Karin noted. "Don't you agree, Yura-chan?"

But there was no answer. Akari looked around, blinking.

"Huh? Where'd Hotaru-chan go…?"

"Eh!?" Karin gasped. "She's gone!?"

"W-we've gotta find her!" Akari gasped.

"R-right… let me try sensing her magic," Karin said.

As Karin closed her eyes for a moment, Akari seized her hand and squeezed.

"Ow! Not so tight!" Karin protested.

"I just wanna make sure we don't get separated too," Akari said primly.

"Hmm… okay, I think I can sense her presence this way," Karin said, pointing.

They headed in the direction she indicated, and before long they rounded a corner and discovered not Hotaru, but Alina. She had a paintbrush out and appeared to be drawing some sort of incomprehensible mural on the wall.

"Oh, heya Karin," Alina said. "Look at this, isn't it awesome?"

"You're a fake!" Karin shouted, smacking her with her scythe.

"Whoa now!" the fake Alina said. "Who cares about that? The important thing here is the art! What do you think?"

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Karin said. "Stop pretending to be Alina-sempai! Alina-sempai doesn't talk like that!"

Three more copies of Alina suddenly appeared, surrounding them.

"Well, if that's how you wanna play, whatever," the first one said.

"Ugh… do we have to do this?" the second one said. "Just kill me already… my spark's about to go out anyway…"

"Hey, hey, Karin, you know what?" the third one said. "I bet I could make a really great artwork if I pulled off all your arms and legs! Let's try it!"

The fourth one remained silent, just glaring fiercely at everyone.

"Let's connect!" Karin said. "You use your light to blind them, and I'll take them all out at once!"

"A-alright!" Akari said.

They were still holding hands, so there was no hand slap, but the telltale flash of a connect skill still appeared, and then Akari summoned her weapon, a giant Japanese sword that's longer than she is tall, safely stored in its sheath. Without removing the sheath, she smacked down at the Alina right in front of them, and there was a flash of light that filled the room. While she was doing that, Karin knelt down to gather up some random debris from the ground, mainly shards of glass and broken picture frames. She gathered it all into a pile and poured magic into it.

"Take my Candy Death Squall, and return to the underworld!" she shouted.

The objects she'd infused with magic flew in all directions like bullets, perforating the four Alinas while they were unable to move from the effect of her connect skill. Then she hopped forward, swinging her scythe at the one right in front of her and slicing her in two. Akari turned to the pair behind, unsheathing that massive sword and pulverizing them, and then they turned on the final one and attacked together with their weapons. She never stood a chance.

"I didn't expect to run into copies of Alina-sempai so suddenly," Karin said. "Are you okay, Akari-chan?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Akari said.

Karin gathered up the three mirror coins that dropped – apparently one of them was destroyed in the attacks – and they continued on for a minute longer. Then Hotaru appeared from around a corner, spotted them, and came running.

"There you are!" she said. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"She's a fake!" Akari and Karin shouted, almost in unison.

"Huh?" Hotaru said. "That's so mean, calling me a fake… look, it's just me, Hotaru-chan!"

"The real Yura-chan wouldn't be so wide awake!" Karin retorted.

"Yeah, you're not sleepy enough to be the real Hotaru-chan!" Akari said.

"What? I'm not always sleepy!" Hotaru protested.

"But there's no way to get coffee in a labyrinth, so…" Karin said.

"Oh, you even knew that about Hotaru-chan…?" Akari said. "Right… let's destroy this fake!"

"Yeah! Magical Blade, Jack Death Scythe!"

Brandishing their sword and scythe, respectively, the pair pounced on the fake Hotaru and sliced her to shreds. This time Akari picked up the mirror coin, glaring at it for a moment before stashing it away somewhere.

They rounded the corner where the fake Hotaru came from and found another Hotaru curled up on the floor, snoozing. Akari ran up to her, knelt by her side, and shook her, but she didn't wake up. Karin also knelt and poked at Hotaru's face.

"I think this one's the real one," Karin said. "Although she normally wouldn't fall asleep in a labyrinth, right?"

"True," Akari said. "But I don't think she's asleep… she's been knocked out, probably by one of those familiars Miss Mitama mentioned…"

"Right… the ones that copy you," Karin said. "We did just run into a copy, so it seems… whoa!"

One of the familiars under discussion sidled up to them while they were focused on Hotaru, and that huge coffin swung open with a clang, startling Karin. Before she had a chance to dodge, a bright blue jelly man leapt out from the coffin and flung itself at the pair of them, smacking Karin in the shoulder.

"Gyaaack!" Karin gasped. "What on earth is this!? It's made of jelly…? Is it an incomplete copy?"

A single swipe of her scythe destroyed the jelly man's integrity, causing it to disintegrate into a pile of goop which then vanished, as if it were evaporating. Then she and Akari turned their attention to the coffin familiar itself, which had closed itself up again and was now joined by several more, about half coffins and half easels. The coffins other than the first suddenly opened up in unison, expelling jelly men at the pair, but they easily took them down as before. While they were doing that, the easels snuck in and attempted to glomp them.

Karin dodged an easel, swiping its welcoming bell with her magic and ringing it. The sound seemed to draw all the familiars' attention, so she rang it again, infusing magic into the bell until it transformed the sound into something intense, ringing through the halls and reverberating in their ears. Akari covered her ears in an attempt to avoid it, but by the expression on her face, it wasn't too successful.

On the bright side, the sound seemed to greatly distress the familiars too, freezing them in place. Karin took advantage of this to attack. First, she shattered the bell by overloading it with her magic, propelling the fragments at the crowd of familiars. Then she leapt in with her scythe to take them all down. Akari jumped up to finish off a few stragglers now that the sound had died off.

"You could've warned me!" Akari complained. "That was sooo bad! My ears are still ringing!"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Karin said. "I'm so used to fighting alone, so I just didn't think… I'll be careful next time."

"You'd better be," Akari grumbled.

At that moment, Hotaru suddenly sat up, startling both of them.

"Oh! Hotaru-chan, are you alright!?"

"What…?" Hotaru said. "Why on earth was I sleeping in a labyrinth…?"

"Don't you remember?" Karin said. "We got separated just after we entered…"

"Oh… right… there were some familiars," Hotaru muttered. "They attacked me… I thought it was over…"

Akari let out a sigh of relief.

"This is the real Hotaru-chan!" she said. "I'm sure of it!"

"…the real me?" Hotaru said.

"We ran into a fake you a little while ago," Akari said.

"Oh… that's what Mitama was talking about…" Hotaru said. "I see… can't think why they'd want to copy me though…"

"Um, let's keep going," Karin said. "I want to see if I can find Alina-sempai… though I'm not even sure she's in here, but there were some copies of her too, so she's clearly been here before…"

They continued exploring the labyrinth, Akari now gripping Hotaru's hand instead of Karin's, to make sure she didn't get lost again. After fighting off a few more batches of familiars, including some of the flashlight type but also several more of the coffins and easels, they rounded a corner and found Momoko just standing there.

"Eh?" Karin said. "Is that… Momoko-sempai…?"

"Oh! It's Karin-chan!" Momoko said cheerfully. "Long time no see!"

"Um… right…" Karin said.

"What's wrong?" Momoko asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"Hey," Hotaru said. "Is she… real?"

"I'm… not sure," Karin said. "I haven't seen her since before Christmas… so my memory's a little fuzzy…"

"Me, fake?" Momoko gasped. "There's no way! As you can see, I'm just Momoko-chan!"

"Hmm," Karin said. "That's what you say, but… can you prove it?"

"Hmm… what can I do to prove myself?" Momoko asked.

"Um… well, I'm in a bit of a pinch," Karin said. "Maybe you could help me out…"

"Huh, you really think so?" Momoko said.

"Y-yeah, um… how about you come explore with me? Maybe we'll even run into my friend."

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Momoko said.

"And why not invite Kaede-chan and Rena too?" Karin said.

"Who…?" Momoko said.

"She's a fake!" Karin gasped. "Magical Blade, Jack Death Scythe!"

She swung her scythe at the fake Momoko and sliced her in two, then picked up the mirror coin.

"Nice deduction…" Hotaru murmured.

"Alright! Let's keep on going!" Karin exclaimed.

At that moment, her phone pinged. She took it out and saw a message from Miss Tokiwa.

[The culprits have been isolated at Chuo Academy. They appear to be entangled in another rumour. Are you available to help out?]

"Ehhh…? What bad timing! I can't just drop this now!" Karin griped.

She composed a response.

[I'm really sorry! I'm a bit busy just now! I'll make it up to you somehow!]

Then she stowed her phone away, and the three of them headed deeper into the labyrinth. They ran across several more batches of familiars, and a few more copies of Alina and Hotaru, all of them fairly obvious. Hotaru seemed totally unfazed being confronted with a copy of herself and simply smacked it with her pillow, without hesitation.

"After fighting so many Alina-sempai copies, I think I'm starting to get a sense of how copies feel different from the real thing," Karin said. "I bet I could tell the real Alina-sempai by her magic now!"

About a minute later, they rounded the corner just in time to see Alina capturing a copy of herself in one of her green cubes. Karin blinked.

"Alina-sempai!" she exclaimed.

Alina turned, startled.

"Huh? Karin!? Since when were you a magical girl?"

Karin blinked. "Huh!? You didn't even notice? I've been a magical girl way longer than you have, Alina-sempai!"

"Is that so…?" Alina said.

"Um, so… is this one the real one?" Akari asked.

"I… think she might be?" Karin said.

"Oh, have you run across a copy already…?" Alina asked.

"A whole bunch of them, in fact," Karin said.

"Hmm… that's too bad," Alina said. "I could've used a few more for my collection…"

Karin blinked. "Huh? You're collecting… copies…?"

"Well, of course," Alina said. "Why else would I be here?"

"Any other reason but that," Akari said. "Are you touched in the head or something…?"

"Forget it," Alina retorted. "I'm done here, so I'm leaving. I've got other things to do too."

She turned to stride past the three of them, but Karin grabbed one of her hands in both her own.

"Alina-sempai, wait!" Karin said.

Alina paused to look back.

"Why should I?"

"I'm here because I'm worried about you!" Karin said. "What's going on with you lately!? You barely even come to club anymore, and when you do, you're twice as irritable as usual!"

"So what?" Alina retorted. "I can be as irritable as I want… what's it to you? Didn't you hate having me around, anyway?"

"W-what!? No! You helped me out a lot!" Karin said. "Of course I didn't hate having you around!"

"Well, too bad," Alina said. "Because I don't have time for your little petty struggles anymore. I've got far more momentous things to attend to… my best artwork should soon be completed."

"Your artwork…?" Karin said. "What kind of art is it this time…?"

"That is none of your business," Alina retorted. "My art is mine and mine alone."

She shook herself free of Karin's grasp and stalked off, but Karin and her companions ran after her.

"That's not true!" Karin said. "I saw your exhibition, you know! Why'd you destroy all that beautiful artwork? What was the point? How could you think that horrible photo was worthy of the title of art!?"

"That was to be my final masterpiece, the documentation of my end," Alina retorted, without even looking back.

"N-no… I can't believe it!" Karin gasped.

"But as it turned out, my magical girl body was more resilient than I anticipated," Alina said. "So now, I'm faced with the need to top even that."

"Um… what's this about a photo?" Akari asked.

"It's so horrible I don't even want to say it," Karin said.

"Ah… I saw that…" Hotaru said. "The photo of Alina Gray's broken body in a bed of flowers…?"

"Y-yeah, that one…" Karin said. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it there…"

"It doesn't matter if you don't appreciate my artwork," Alina said. "No matter what, I must create something even bigger and better."

"Hey, Alina-sempai… why don't you just take a break instead?" Karin suggested. "You've been pushing yourself to the limits all this time… I bet if you just took a break for while, inspiration would hit!"

"There's no time for that!" Alina shouted, rounding on them. "I don't have time to waste! It must be finished as soon as possible!"

"W-w-why the rush!?" Karin gasped.

Alina turned and continued walking.

"That's none of your business," she retorted. "You don't even know anything, so you wouldn't understand. Leave me alone."

"T-that's so mean!" Karin protested.

At that moment, they exited the labyrinth, startling Mitama who was apparently waiting in the Mirror Mansion lobby.

"Oh my, Alina!" she said. "And Karin-chan too…"

"Out of my way!" Alina shouted.

"Ah, sure…"

Alina ran out of the Mirror Mansion and disappeared, while the others sort of stared after her.

"What's gotten into her?" Mitama wondered.

"I was wondering the same thing," Karin said. "Say, Mitama… is it true that Alina-sempai has been coming to Endless Mirrors multiple times a week?"

"My, where'd you hear that from?" Mitama asked. "Certainly I've seen her around here a few times, but I'm not sure if it's been that frequent…"

"Well, Ashley-chan said she'd been coming a lot…"

"Oh, you mentioned her earlier as well… do you mean Miss Ashley Taylor?"

"Yeah! So you know her too?" Karin said.

"Well… I wouldn't say I know her, exactly," Mitama said. "But we had an encounter, yes. And based on that encounter, I can conclude that she'd definitely know Alina, so lacking any other evidence I could certainly believe her words on that matter…"

"How often has Alina-sempai come to see you?" Karin asked.

"Oh, she's paid me four or five visits already," Mitama said. "Of course, not all for tune-ups… she wanted information as well…"

"If you compared how she was when you first met her to how she was the last time she visited… do you think something has changed?" Karin asked.

"Hmm… now that you mention it… there was something a little concerning," Mitama said. "But I can't go into details without breaking patient confidentiality, so I'm sorry."

"I see… but that does mean it's not just me who noticed something's up," Karin said. "It means something's really up… alright! I'm gonna go after her! What would you two like to do?"

"I just want to sleep," Hotaru muttered.

"I'll stay with Hotaru-chan," Akari said.

"Okay… then how about we meet up at Banbanzai later for some food?" Karin suggested. "It'll be my treat, to thank you for coming with me today."

"I guess," Hotaru said.

"I don't suppose you have any idea where Alina-sempai might be going, Mitama?"

"Oh, I couldn't really say," Mitama said. "Though for the right price, I might be convinced to let something slip…"

Karin pulled out five mirror coins. "Would this do?"

"Oh! Nice ones!" Mitama said, accepting the coins. "Well, this is just speculation, you understand, but I think there's a good chance you'll find her in Chuo Ward, near the radio tower."

"The radio tower…?" Karin said. "What on earth would she be doing there?"

Mitama shrugged. "I guess you'll see for yourself if you go, right?"

"I guess you're right," Karin said.

So Karin ran out of the Mirror Mansion alone and hopped onto her scythe, riding it into the air like a broomstick and peering down at the city below for any sign of Alina. She'd gotten quite a head start, however, so there was no sign of her trail remaining. Therefore, Karin turned towards Chuo Ward and began searching for Alina's magical signature. She found no sign of it near the radio tower, however, so she then began searching outward in a spiral pattern until she sensed Alina's magic from the direction of the helipad. Then she homed in on her and called out.

"I fiiiiiiinally found you!"

She zoomed down to the heliport from above, barely even registering that she was imposing on a battle between multiple magical girls, though she did notice Nanami Yachiyo out of the corner of her eye, as well as the startlingly powerful witch looming over it all. Still, all her attention was on Alina, who she glomped, sending the two of them careening right up to the edge of the building.

"Gyaaack!" Alina screeched. "Enough is enough, Karin! Will you just leave me alone already!?"

"No can do!" Karin said. "You're not acting yourself, Alina-sempai! Snap out of it! Is it the Mirror Witch? Or something you ate? What on earth happened to you, Alina-sempai…?"

The two of them tumbled off the edge and began to fall.

"You're delusional!" Alina said. "I'm the same Alina I always was!"

"You're not!" Karin said. "I've been with you for almost a whole year now, so I can tell! You've changed recently! What happened to you? Why are you acting this way!? Please, let me help you, Alina-sempai!"

"You can start by letting me go!" Alina retorted. "And I don't mean in mid-air!"

"You know that's not what I mean," Karin retorted. "You helped me with my manga last time, didn't you? Can't I have a chance to help you in the same way?"

"Ugh, what a pain," Alina muttered.

"Don't call it a pain when someone wants to help you!" Karin protested.

"I'll call it like it is," Alina retorted.

"You can be really mean sometimes, Alina-sempai," Karin said. "But I know you're a kind person at heart! You helped me with my manga, and my life as a magical girl… even though you didn't know I was a magical girl back then… so I know there's a nugget of kindness inside of you! So that's why… I'm worried about you, Alina-sempai…"

"Whatever," Alina grumbled.

---

"And so, after that, we talked about her artwork," Karin said. "Apparently she's been inspired by witches, which is a little creepy, but I guess it's very like her… anyway, I'm sure the details of that conversation would bore you, right? You're not really an artsy type, are you?"

"Well… I'm not, no," I say. "Thanks for the story, though. It was interesting to listen to."

I glance at Hotaru, who seems to have fallen asleep at the table. Akari seems to be a little sleepy too.

"But I suppose it might be about time to head home, huh…?"

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Karin said. "Will you be staying in Kamihama for the weekend, by the way?"

"Yeah, that's the plan," I say. "If you want something from me, just say the word. Though just a heads-up, I'm not gonna do anything crazy to Miss Alina."

Karin giggled. "I wouldn't ask for that!"

We split the bill two ways, with Karin paying for Hotaru and Akari, and me covering Inui's meal. We leave the restaurant and head to the train station together, where we split up, Inui and I heading north while the others head south. When we arrive at Fendt Hope, the lobby is deserted except for one black feather who has apparently fallen asleep on a couch. It looks like Maimai? But I only take a brief look before accompanying Inui upstairs.

We're almost at our room when my phone rings. It's Madoka, so I answer it as we head into the room Inui and I are sharing.

---

"Come on, let's eat lunch on the roof!" Madoka said.

"Sorry, I have something I need to attend to first," Hitomi said. "I shall join you as soon as I can."

"Sure thing, Hitomi-chan!" Madoka said. "You're coming, right, Sayaka-chan?"

"Of course!" Sayaka said.

"And Homura-chan?"

Homura however was spaced out and not paying attention. Madoka waved her hands in front of the other girl's face.

"Homura-chan…? Homura-chan!" she said.

"Huh!?" Homura gasped. "Oh, Madoka… it's just you…"

"What's going on?" Madoka asked. "You were all spaced out…"

"Um… I was thinking about Miss Tomoe," Homura said.

She joined Madoka and Sayaka as they left the room.

"What's this about Miss Mami?" Madoka asked.

"Well… she never came home last night," Homura said. "I don't know if she came to school…"

"What!?" Madoka gasped. "Let's go check her classroom, then!"

Madoka led the way, poking her head into one of the third-year classrooms.

"I don't see her," she said. "Um, excuse me! Is Miss Tomoe Mami here?"

A girl glanced up at her. "She's absent today."

"Oh… is that so… any idea why?"

The girl shrugged. "The teacher didn't say anything. Maybe she's sick."

"I see… thank you very much," Madoka said.

They resumed their passage towards the roof.

"So she didn't come home and even skipped school?" Sayaka said. "That's so unlike her… I wonder if something happened to her? What was she doing yesterday?"

"Wasn't she investigating rumours in Kamihama yesterday?" Madoka asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Homura said. "It took everything I had to convince Nagisa to wait until after school to search for her… she was all ready to drop everything and head straight to Kamihama."

Madoka giggled. "That does seem like Nagisa-chan," she said.

They emerged onto the roof and selected a bench away from any other students.

"So… I guess we should go look for her, shouldn't we?" Madoka said. "Let's all go together after school! Ah, but I should probably drop off my schoolbags at home first…"

"I'm sorry!" Sayaka said. "I'm catching a flight with the Kamijou family at six o'clock, so I'm gonna have to sit this one out…"

"Oh right!" Madoka said. "You were going to attend a concert with Kamijou-kun, right? Or was it a concert by Kamijou-kun…?"

"Both, actually," Sayaka said. "There's some famous violinist he wanted to hear tomorrow, and he's performing Sunday morning."

"And Hitomi-chan's going too, right?" Madoka said.

"Y-yeah… for some reason…"

"It's obvious why she's going, Sayaka-chan – it's the same reason you're going – but anyway, that's fine. I'm sure we'll be okay with just the three of us!"

"Sorry it's such bad timing," Sayaka said.

"No, it's no problem at all!" Madoka said. "Alright… then I'll stop by my house and head straight over to Miss Mami's place afterwards. Sound good, Homura-chan?"

"Sure…"

"What is everyone talking about?" Hitomi asked, coming up and joining them.

"Ah… we were talking about the trip," Sayaka said.

"Oh!" Hitomi said. "I really am looking forward to that! Perhaps I can even spend some time with Kyousuke-kun alone…"

"Not if I can help it," Sayaka retorted.

---

After school, Madoka went straight home, but there was a surprise waiting for her when she entered.

"I'm home!" she called.

"Madoka, good timing!" her father called from the next room. "There's a guest here for you!"

"Huh?" Madoka said. "Who on earth could it be…?"

She entered the living room to find her father and another woman there, but Madoka didn't recognize her. Then the woman turned to face her and waved.

"Good afternoon, Miss Madoka," she said.

Though her hair had been dyed, her face was familiar.

"Ah!" Madoka gasped. "Miss Pernelle!"

"Ye appear to be surprised to see me," Pernelles said. "I did inform you ahead of time, yes?"

"Yeah, but I kinda forgot," Madoka said. "Plus, I wasn't expecting you until next week…"

Pernelle shrugged. "Well, it took me a smidge less time than I forethought," she said.

"May I ask how the two of you met?" Mr Kaname asked.

"Oh, the tale truly is quite boring," Pernelle said. "There would be little point in extolling the details of our chance encounter."

"I see," he said.

"Um, Dad, is it okay if I talk to her alone for a minute?"

"I suppose," he said. "I need to get dinner started, anyway."

"Oh, about dinner," Madoka said. "I'm going out with a friend, so we might eat out together…"

"That's fine," he said. "Wait… didn't you say Hitomi and Sayaka were going on a trip starting today? Who are you going out with?"

"I'm going somewhere with Homura-chan," she said.

"Ohh, the cool and silent girl, right? Well, hope you have fun! I'll make a little extra just in case you don't end up eating, so there'll be something when you get back."

"Thanks, Dad!"

He got up and headed for the kitchen, and Madoka turned to face Pernelle.

"So… you've brought the bow, right?"

Pernelle nodded, withdrawing it from a bag that looked far too small to hold it. She handed it over to Madoka, who examined it with interest.

"It's really different from the rose bow," she said. "But it also feels like it… complements it?"

Pernelle nodded. "There are a few things ye should know about it. First of all, it is enchanted to store itself inside your soul gem whenever you power down. Ye can also store it or bring it out at will, but it may take some practice to get used to that. Of course, it is also enchanted to regulate magic passing through it, like a dam."

Madoka nodded. "That was the whole purpose of this weapon, after all."

"You should be able to fire the same light-element arrows from this bow that you would normally fire from the rose bow," Pernelle said. "You can lend the bow to others as well, but keep in mind that it is tuned to your element, so a dark-element user like Ashley Taylor would find it quite difficult to use."

"Do you know what element Homura-chan is?" Madoka asked.

"Though I scanned her not, based on what I know of her, I would suspect darkness," Pernelle said. "However, rely not on that information, for it is just a guess."

"So… you said you were going to give it something to distinguish it from the rose bow," Madoka said. "What might that be?"

"Yes, I was getting to that," Pernelle said. "Ware ye of the splash effect your rose bow imparts to projectiles?"

"Splash effect…?" Madoka said. "Oh, wait… are you referring to the fact that when I shoot an enemy, my friend who's attacking that enemy is healed a little?"

"Yes, that is the effect I mean," Pernelle said. "There is a splash on impact which heals anyone in range that ye consider an ally. That effect is likely one reason why ye consume such a quantity of magic with each shot. Thus, I have designed something simpler yet just as useful for this bow. It imparts penetrating power to the projectiles. They will pass through allies with no effect, and can pass through an enemy to strike a second enemy behind them."

"I see," Madoka said. "That does sound useful… I'll keep it in mind when using it. Okay, so to put it away, I just have to transform and power down again, right?"

"That is correct."

As Madoka powered up, a black cat suddenly ran into the room and meowed. It was chased a moment later by her little brother, Tatsuya.

"Ehh? Amy!? Tatsuya!?"

"Madoka!" Tatsuya said, beaming. "Hmm…? Madoka's an angel…?"

Madoka quickly powered down again, the bow vanishing along with her transformation.

"Of course not!" she said. "See? I'm just your big sister Madoka."

"But you were an angel," Tatsuya said.

"Well… okay, fine," Madoka said. "But don't tell anyone else, okay? It'll be our little secret!"

"Okay!" Tatsuya said.

Madoka knelt down to pet Amy a little, then ruffled her brother's hair before rising and heading to her room to drop off her schoolbag. When she emerged, she found Pernelle putting her shoes on to leave.

"Thanks for coming, by the way," Madoka said.

"It was no trouble," Pernelle replied.

Once they were outside, Pernelle simply vanished, teleporting back to Asunaro no doubt, and Madoka made her way to Mami's place, where she found Homura restraining an impatient Nagisa.

"I'm here!" she said.

"Finally! The rose sister's here!" Nagisa said. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Alright," Homura said. "You haven't forgotten anything important, have you?"

"Hmm… no, I don't think so!" Nagisa said.

They headed to the train station and caught a train to Kamihama.

---

"…and I think I know most of the rest," I say. "Unless there's something interesting in how you got separated? I was watching from around the time you met Miss Tamaki, and switched to Miss Homura's end around when she encountered Miss Yui."

"Hmm, yeah, then you got about everything, right Homura-chan?" Madoka said.

"I suppose…"

"I didn't even realize you'd adopted that cat," I say. "To tell the truth, I almost forgot she existed…"

"Oh, you mean Amy?" Madoka says. "Well, she didn't seem like a stray, but there was no identifying information, so it didn't seem right to just leave her on the streets."

"She didn't seem like a stray?"

"Yeah, stray cats usually aren't so friendly, unless you bribe them with food," Madoka says. "Plus, they're used to the streets so I doubt they'd ever try to cross on a red light… I think she might've been someone's pet who was abandoned. Maybe they just couldn't take care of her anymore… though that's not really a good reason…"

"By the way, I can tell you with confidence that Miss Homura's element is darkness," I say. "And Nagisa-chan too. Also, Miss Miki is water and Miss Tomoe is forest. And Miss Sakura is fire, and Yuma-chan is forest. Oriko is light though, so she'd be especially compatible with you, much like Miss Tamaki was…"

"Huh, how do you know all that?" Madoka asks.

"Trade secret," I say.

"Um… okay then," she says. "Oh, and speaking of Nagisa-chan, you were right about her! She really is the witch who killed Miss Mami last time!"

"Eh? Is it okay to be saying that in front of her?"

"She's asleep in the next room," Madoka says. "So it should be fine."

"Huh… I see," I say. "But yeah, I was already certain of that even before I saw her doppel."

"I wish I had seen it," Homura mutters.

"I do have one question for Miss Homura," I say. "Why didn't you join Madoka and Nagisa-chan in entering Endless Solitude?"

"That's… none of your business," Homura says.

I sigh. "You don't have to be like that, Miss Homura… but whatever. I'll talk to you later."

"Before you hang up, I have one question for you as well," Homura says. "Is everything still going as you have predicted?"

"Broadly speaking, yes," I say. "But there are millions of small details that are different from my predictions, so it's too early to say whether they'll continue to hold true until the end…"

"I see," Homura says. "I cannot deny that events have gone far better than any other time, except perhaps the first two timelines… but I don't think I can trust these Magius people."

"You shouldn't trust them," I say. "They may be the ones who invented the system, but they are not suited to maintaining it. It's a step in vaguely the right direction, but it is not a solution… not yet."

"I see," Homura says. "Goodbye."

With that, she hangs up. Then Inui and I get changed and climb into bed. I fall asleep almost instantly.

---

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.

Futaba Sana
二葉さな

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Green
Origins: Chuo Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green crown
Soul Gem: Green diamond-shaped gemstone on her crown necklace
Element: Forest
Weapon: Tower shield
Powers: Concealment, chains
Wish: "Please make me invisible."

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 8
Initial Power Usability: 4
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Mai Akari
真井あかり

Age: 11
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Brown / blonde
Origins: Sakae Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Red wing
Soul Gem: Double red wing-shaped gemstone at her throat
Element: Light
Weapon: Gigantic odachi
Powers: Light manipulation
Wish: "I want to transform into a sixteen-year-old just like Mimiko-chan!"

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 5
Defensive Power: 6
Initial Power Usability: 5
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 (†).

Old Dorothy (Alina Gray)

The Doppel of fever. Its form is a tube. The master of this Doppel is entranced by the beauty of her own Doppel, but has yet to realize that it is still hiding its true form. It attacks from where it sprouts out of her back, using a large projection of itself made from the hardened paint (Pathogen Tempera) it emits. It boasts a Witch-like figure as it does this, despite its Doppel nature — this is because its human body becomes so coated in paint that she's no longer visible. The master cannot verify the appearance of her Doppel, but apparently it is "just as beautiful when you view it from the inside".

Charlotte (Momoe Nagisa)

The Doppel of attachment. Its form is desserts. The master of this emotion gets attached to people and objects as soon as they pluck her heartstrings. She may behave in a shameful manner at times, but in her heart is a well of deep love. The Doppel does not fuse with its host; rather, it emerges as a mask from her nose, which then covers her face completely. The host does not move while her Doppel is present. Instead she sits completely still and stares as though she were staring at the object of her obsession.

---

I think this is the first time I actually show Karin fighting; she was seen transformed a couple times before, but that was when Alina was stealing the thunder, and later on just at the onset of the battle against Walpurgisnacht, before the fighting began. Here we see her mixing her older named attack (Jack Death Scythe) with her newer enchantment-based ultimate (Candy Death Squall).

I noticed in chapter 14 that I misspelled Kirin's name a few times (it's sooo easy to get her and Karin confused!), so I've corrected that. If anyone happens to notice other places where I made this mistake (referring to Phantom Thief Magical Kirin as Karin), please let me know.

You may have also noticed that I introduced a few new typographic conventions in this chapter. I too thought that Alina's scene in the previous chapter was a little awkward with all the "this is in English" narration, so I decided to italicize the words that are in English when she speaks. This is similar to my previous use of italics, but sort of opposite – previously I was using it for words that are in a foreign language (ie, not English words), but now I'm also using it to indicate that an English word is said literally by the speaker. I'm not totally sold on this convention, as it now feels like they're emphasizing all the English words, but narrating what's in English stops working well when there's more than just one or two instances in chapter. This became painfully obvious in the previous chapter, and there are even more instances in this chapter, so hopefully this will be better…

There was an extended conversation by text chat in this chapter too (well, email technically, but close enough), so I also introduced a new convention for that. To complement the «chevrons» for telepathy, I've introduced [square brackets] for text-based communication.

And of course there's Ai's dialog and video log, which defies all conventions and is just different for the sake of being different.

I'll probably go back eventually and edit earlier chapters to use these two new conventions, but it's not very high on my list of priorities.

I don't know if anyone has yet guessed at the identity of "Maimai", who first appeared two chapters ago, but we get a bit more information about her here. Maybe that'll help some people figure out who she is. Even the nickname could possibly be construed as a clue…

The next chapter isn't even started, so it'll likely be a week or even more before I post it. Please be patient!