Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Rumour of the Puzzle Tile Lock!
They say that the patterns on the manholes in town form a key.
Line them up just right, and a hidden path will open!
The city government's secret safe, holding untold riches!
Oh, but beware, beware!
The path is long and treacherous, rife with hidden traps.
Those who stray a single step shall fall in dismay!
Oh, how deliciously exciting!

When I wake up the next morning, I decide to check up on Madoka and Sayaka, to make sure nothing bad happened to either of them in the night. Unexpectedly, I find them already leaving Sayaka's house together.

April twenty-fourth. Sayaka and Madoka step out of the former's house and turn in opposite directions, but then Madoka pauses and looks back.

"You sure you'll be okay, Sayaka-chan?" Madoka asks. "I really think—"

"Nah, it'll be easier to talk with Kyouko if it's just the two of us," Sayaka says.

"Why do you want to tell her everything?" Madoka asks.

"I'm not sure," Sayaka says. "Maybe I'm hoping she… never mind. I'll see you soon, Madoka!"

So Sayaka heads off alone, heading in the direction of the Sakura Church. When she arrives, she calls out Kyouko's name, but there's no response. She steps inside the broken building, looking for Kyouko, but instead, she finds a man there in priest's robes. He turns from the altar as Sayaka enters.

"My, you are a noisy one," he says. "Do you know Miss Kyouko? If you're calling for her like that, I take it you've met her?"

"Uhh… yes… I guess," Sayaka says, startled. "Who the heck are you!? What are you doing in a place like this?"

The man descends the steps from the pulpit with a smile.

"I was a friend of Mr Sakura," he says. "Miss Kyouko's father, that is. Well… I say it that way now, but the truth is, we weren't all that close at all… but just over a year ago, this church was a thriving place, filled with love and joy. Fortunes can turn so fast…"

"Kyouko… Kyouko never mentioned you," Sayaka says.

"Forgive me… I should introduce myself," the man says. "I am Fujimura Shouhei, a priest of the Anglican Church. I come here now and then to pray for Mr Sakura's soul, and in the hope that I may meet his daughter, even just once. The last time I saw her, she had just turned four… so it's no wonder if she doesn't remember me. But, despite all that happened, I just couldn't bring myself to believe she was dead… even though her father and mother were both killed in the fire. Oh, my apologies… has Miss Kyouko mentioned that to you…?"

"Actually… she did mention it," Sayaka says. "She had a little sister who died that day too, right?"

Shouhei nods. "So it would seem," he says. "Miss Momo's body was not identified, however… perhaps she was flung into the heart of the flames and incinerated…"

"Huh?" Sayaka says. "Kyouko said she saw her little sister's body in the flames…"

"Then I suppose that must indeed be what happened," Shouhei says. "Such a tragic end for such a small girl… Miss Kyouko is truly fortunate that she had been staying with a friend that night, or she would have met the same fate."

"I don't think she sees that as fortunate," Sayaka retorts. "Who do you think you are, anyway? Where were you when everyone abandoned her father? How dare you call yourself a friend when you weren't even there when he needed you most!?"

"I can say nothing to defend myself," Shouhei says. "Indeed, I as good as stood back and watched as Mr Sakura was dragged under. I deeply regret that now. That is why I have been searching for his daughter in my spare time, as a way to atone even just a little for my inaction back then. That said… if she has made a friend such as yourself, perhaps I may rest at ease, knowing that she is well."

"Who're you calling a friend…?" Sayaka asks. "She's more of a rival than a friend…"

"Is that not the same thing?" Shouhei says. "Now, if you will excuse me… I will be late for Sunday Mass if I dally any longer."

"O-oh… okay then," Sayaka says.

She steps aside as he walks past her. At the entrance, he pauses to look back at her.

"If you do see Miss Kyouko, tell her that I will be there for her, should she ever need someone," he says.

"Okay… I… I'll tell her," Sayaka says.

With that, he exits the ruined church and walks off, disappearing into town before long. Then Kyouko hops down from the roof and steps inside.

"You heard the whole thing, didn't you, Kyouko?" Sayaka says.

"Most of it," Kyouko says. "Dammit, why's he so persistent!? I wish you hadn't had to see that…"

"No, well… but I think he means well," Sayaka says. "A-anyway, that's not why I came! I had something I wanted to talk to you about…"

"Oh really?" Kyouko says. "What on earth could be so important that you'd come seek me out here of all places?"

"Um, before that… where's Yuma-chan?" Sayaka asks.

"Probably still in bed," Kyouko shrugs. "It's pretty early. She's just a kid."

"Right… so she's not here somewhere, hiding?"

"Can't sense her magic, so no, she's not," Kyouko says. "Why, is it something you don't want the brat to hear?"

"Well, kinda," Sayaka says. "It's something I just found out last night, but it concerns all magical girls… there are some things that Kyuubey hasn't been telling us…"

"Hah!" Kyouko says. "Can't say it surprises me that the furball'd be hiding some things. So? Gimme your reason for coming all the way out here to see me."

"Well… Kyouko… did you hear what happened to Miss Mami?"

"Huh? Mami? Nope, haven't heard a peep from her."

"Well, y'see…"

"Did something happen to her?" Kyouko asks. "I can tell from how you're acting… did she die?"

"No, no, she didn't," Sayaka says. "What happened was… Miss Mami joined some cult-like organization called the Wings of the Magius… but she wasn't herself. I think she was brainwashed… and besides that, I learned that magical girls apparently… turn into… witches… when their soul gems turn dark… and our soul gems are essentially our life, you know… if they break, we die… or if we get too far away, we sort of… faint…"

"So you're saying… we're gonna turn into witches!?" Kyouko says.

"That's what they said," Sayaka says.

"Those Wings of the Magius chumps?"

"Yeah…"

"The hell?"

Kyouko falls silent for a couple of minutes, frowning a little, while Sayaka just fidgets and casts her eyes down to the ground. Eventually, Sayaka speaks up again.

"Hey, Kyouko? It's shocking, I know… when I first heard it, I couldn't—"

"I get it," Kyouko says. "It all makes sense now."

"What?" Sayaka says. "What makes sense?"

"The Wings of the Magius," Kyouko says. "I ran into them too… not long ago. Yuma-chan was with me as well."

"Huh!? You did!? Wait, that means you went to Kamihama…"

"I did. And just now, I remembered something they told me. 'Free them from their curse'… the curse they're talking about is this whole turning into witches business. That's what I was thinking while you were talking."

"So that's what they meant," Sayaka says.

Kyouko sighs. "Turning into a witch… damn, what a shitty life. Seriously…"

"Kyouko… you know, Madoka and Homura already knew about it, apparently."

"Really?"

"Oh! But I talked about it with Madoka. We decided there has to be a way to stop us from turning into witches!"

"I mean, yeah," Kyouko says.

"What?"

"There probably is a way to stop us from turning into witches."

"What do you mean?" Sayaka asks.

"Isn't that what those Wings of the Magius chicks said?" Kyouko says. "They wanna 'save us from a curse'. Which means, they probably know of a way to stop it."

"Ah," Sayaka says.

"Right now, the people who are closest to finding a way to avoid becoming witches are those guys, right?" Kyouko says.

"I mean, maybe," Sayaka says. "They did say something about doppels… but we don't know if that's even safe…"

"So, if you don't wanna become a witch, it's probably fastest to just hunt them down," Kyouko concludes. "Maybe that's what Mami was trying to do… then while she was looking for them, they did something to her. A 'hunter becomes the hunted' kinda deal."

"Miss Mami…"

"I mean, turning into a witch, that's the end of the line," Kyouko says. "You'll be out there fighting magical girls, hunting while being hunted… you might even end up fighting me, too."

"Don't say stuff like that, Kyouko!" Sayaka protests.

"Either way, I'm not gonna just let myself turn into a witch," Kyouko says. "I'm not going down that easy."

"So you mean…?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna try to find a way to avoid turning into a witch, too," Kyouko says.

"Then you could join up with us!" Sayaka suggests.

"Nah, I'm doing this alone," Kyouko says.

"Huh?"

"I wanna take out those Wings of the Magius by myself."

"Hey, hang on!" Sayaka protests. "You can't just—"

"If the same thing that happened to Mami happens to me… then… maybe you could knock some sense into me?"

"Kyouko!" Sayaka protests.

Kyouko chuckles. "I'm joking, alright? No way I'd screw up that bad! And imagine, a little baby like you trying to deal with me!"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" Sayaka protests.

"Seriously though, I'll be fine," Kyouko says.

"Wait," Sayaka says.

"I can do this alone."

"No, hold on a second."

Kyouko turns away and steps through the broken doorway.

"If I figure anything out, I'll let you guys know. Take care of Yuma-chan for me."

"Wait!" Sayaka shouts. "Listen to me! You don't have to take this on by yourself! Why… why are you always like this!?"

Kyouko pauses to look back.

"Relax," Kyouko says. "No-one else'll be hurt if something happens, since it'll just be me…"

"How can you say that!?" Sayaka exclaims.

"Later!" Kyouko says.

"Wait! Yuma-chan would be really sad if you never came back!"

But Kyouko ignores her this time, breaking into a run and disappearing from sight before Sayaka even has a chance to follow her. She calls Kyouko's name a couple more times, but in vain.

"Ugh, what the hell!?" Sayaka grumbles. "Now I've gotta go find Yuma-chan… ugh, dammit Kyouko…"

She heads off, aiming for the city centre. Then she takes out her soul gem and starts searching, presumably seeking Yuma's magical signature. Eventually she arrives at the hotel where Kyouko and Yuma are staying and gazes up at it. After a few minutes, Yuma appears, poking her head out over the balcony. Sayaka waves. They must have communicated telepathically… after Yuma waves back for a moment, she disappears from sight, reappearing several minutes later at ground level.

"Good morning, Sayaka-neechan! Where's Kyouko?" Yuma asks.

"Well, about that," Sayaka says. "She suddenly ran off and told me to take care of you, so… I have no idea where she went. I'm sorry I couldn't stop her…"

"Yuma thought this might happen someday," Yuma mutters. "Yuma tries to help Kyouko but can only ever get in her way…"

"Come on, I'm sure it's not like that," Sayaka says. "I bet she'll be back in a few days like nothing happened! But until then… why don't you come stay at Mami's place?"

"Oh! Then Yuma can stay with Nagisa, right!?" Yuma says. "Yes, yes, Yuma would like that!"

"Well then… come along," Sayaka says.

She takes Yuma's hand and heads for Mami's place, as promised. Madoka is already there when they arrive.

"How'd it go, Sayaka-chan?" Madoka asks. "Huh? Why do you have Yuma-chan with you…?"

"Well, after I had a chat with Kyouko about last night… she ran off without a word," Sayaka says. "She told me to look after Yuma-chan, so I thought I'd better check up on her too…"

"I'll tell Yuma the truth," Nagisa announces.

"Wait a second, Nagisa-chan…! Are you sure that's a good idea?" Madoka asks.

"Actually, I think Yuma-chan can handle it," Homura says. "There were one or two times when Mami and Kyouko witnessed the transformation right in front of them and froze up, but Yuma-chan got them back on their feet."

"Huh? Who was it that turned?" Madoka gasps.

"It was Kure Kirika."

Yuma looks at them strangely.

"Yuma doesn't know what you're talking about," she says. "Yuma never helped Mami-neesan with anything like that…"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Yuma-chan," Madoka says. "I know what she means. Alright, Nagisa-chan, if Homura-chan thinks it's okay too, then I won't try to stop you."

At that point, I'm interrupted by Inui prodding me.

"Ashleeey! I've tried to be patient, but I'm getting hungry!"

Actually, one little thing bugged me about that vision. There seemed to be a tiny inconsistency between the priest's account of the fire and Kyouko's account. According to Sayaka, Kyouko clearly saw Momo's body, but according to the priest, it sounded like there had been no trace of Momo at the scene. Did that mean something? The priest was surely quoting a third-hand account though… likely a local newspaper or the like. Plus, it was a long time ago, so his memory could be fuzzy as well. Still… it seemed odd that he'd specifically remember that Momo's body was not found… oh, but now that I think of it, there's probably a very simple explanation for it. Perhaps Kyouko herself dragged Momo's body out… to give her a proper burial, perhaps… though why she'd do that for Momo and not their mother still remains a mystery. Well… whatever, I guess it's not really important.

"Ashley…? I know you're not watching anyone now… is something wrong…?"

"Oh… well, I think I've seen all I need already, so let's go, then," I say.

"Yay!" Inui says. "So, we'll meet up with the others after breakfast, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Tamu-chan and the others will be a little late, as we discussed yesterday," Inui says. "So I've asked them to meet us on site."

"Got it," I say. "Come to think of it, why am I letting you take care of all the team communication…? I'm supposed to be the team leader here…"

Inui giggles. "I don't mind, really! You and I are almost always together, anyway, so what difference does it make?"

"Well, I suppose…"

We head downstairs, but before reaching the cafeteria, I overhear someone shouting.

"I really don't understand, Miss Mifuyu! How can you just let this continue!?"

Out of curiosity, I exit the stairwell to see what's going on. It's the third floor lounge. There's only four people present – two white feathers, a black feather sitting off to the side and trying to remain inconspicuous, and Mifuyu. The black feather appears to be Maimai, and one of the white feathers seems to be the Instructor, Kagura San. I don't recognize the other white feather.

"I can't believe Tamaki Iroha had the gall to turn you down even after hearing everything! And then you just let her escape!?"

"Miss Sorashi, please calm down!" Mifuyu pleads. "We took as many measures as we could to hold her back… there's nothing more we could have done. If Alina's witch, the rumour, and Miss Tomoe were not enough to hold her captive or defeat her… what more would you have us do?"

"We need to go and hunt her down right now!" Sorashi exclaims. "You agree with me, right!?"

Sorashi spins to face the Instructor, who nods.

"Indeed, it is difficult to stomach the idea of someone like her running around unchecked," San says. "I'm afraid I can't spare the time myself, though…"

"Then I'll go alone!" Sorashi says. "No, actually, you can come with me."

She points Maimai.

"W-what!?" Maimai gasps, looking up at her. "I… I don't know… I don't think I'd be much help to you even if I went… I'm weak in combat, and I'm not even all that good at the chain thing yet…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," San says. "At least you can do it… there are a few girls who can't even manage that much after practicing for weeks."

"Well… I suppose," Maimai says.

"So you're proposing to hunt Miss Tamaki down with just the two of you?" Mifuyu says. "I find that difficult to approve… what makes you think you'd stand a chance against her? Keeping in mind that she'll probably be with Ya-chan as well…"

"Ugh," Sorashi says. "I can't deny you have a point… if only I could use my unique magic though, I might stand a chance…"

"Well, technically, there is no rule against using your unique magic," Mifuyu says. "However, it creates a risk that you will be recognized. Are you okay with that? You were talking about not sullying your family name earlier."

"I… I'm not even sure if this would sully the name," Sorashi mutters. "So I should probably avoid my unique magic… but even so…!"

"Well… I can't stop you if you're determined to go," Mifuyu says. "If you understand the risks and want to go anyway… then go. But don't blame it on me if they send you packing."

"Miss Mifuyu… thank you," Sorashi says. "I'll try not to disappoint you! You there… come with me!"

"R-right!" Maimai says. "E-even if I can't be of much help in combat… if you need to run away, I'm your girl!"

"I hope it won't come to that," Sorashi says.

The two of them head out from the lounge. Sorashi whisks past me without a word, while Maimai nervously greets us in passing.

"Oh my," Mifuyu says, noticing us there. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Miss Lita…"

"Is there something we can help the two of you with?" San asks. "If I recall, both of you have already mastered the chain technique… why not accompany Miss Sorashi?"

"Well, we do have rumour watch to take care of, you know," I point out.

"Oh, I understand," San says. "Forgive me… I am not privy to everyone's individual assignments."

"That's only because you told me not to bug you with such minutia," Mifuyu says.

"Indeed, because I have chosen to focus on teaching," San says. "In fact, morning practice begins in…" She checks her phone. "…ten minutes, so I should be going. See you later."

With that, she heads past us and descends the stairs.

"Is everything alright, Mifuyumin?" Inui asks. "It's almost unthinkable that a feather would raise her voice to you like that…"

"You really think so, Miss Itsumi?" Mifuyu says. "I must say, I'm not sure how to feel about the way things are going… but part of me is relieved that the Rumour of the Memory Museum was destroyed. At least they can't ask me to brainwash anyone else now…"

"How many have been brainwashed now?" Inui asks.

"I know of five… are there more?" I ask. "Oh, I think Miss Nanami was technically brainwashed too, so I guess that makes six?"

"You're surprisingly well-informed, Miss Taylor," Mifuyu says. "No, as you said, there have been five, starting with Miss Tomoe. I'm currently figuring out what to do with the latest batch…"

"I suppose we should let you get on with that, then," Inui says. "But if you need help with something…"

"Thank you, Miss Itsumi, but I can handle this on my own," Mifuyu says. "You have rumour watch to attend to, right?"

"Right," Inui says. "Let's go, Ashley!"

After a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, we return to the third-floor lounge to find Kirika, Chiyoko, and Tomomi waiting for us.

"Oh, you're here," Chiyoko says. "Why are you gathering everyone together today?"

"The Magius just dealt a major blow to Miss Nanami," I say. "She's not the type to take that sitting down… I anticipate that she's going to step up her activities now. So, we need to be on our guard."

"I see," Tomomi says. "Okay, well, let's get going then."

As we make for Chuo Ward, I have a private conversation with Kirika.

«Kirika… is there any more news from Oriko?» I ask. «Perhaps a new vision that could help us? I did hear she gave the exact day…»

«She didn't give any details, but… she did say she saw Walpurgisnacht being defeated,» Kirika says.

«Huh? That's good, I suppose, but I wish she would give a few more details…»

«Well, that's all she told me,» Kirika says. «But I think she was holding something back… I can kinda tell when she doesn't want to tell me something.»

«Oh, so it must've been a bittersweet victory then,» I say. «Well… there's no guarantee that her vision will come to pass though. It's just one possibility… I can't give up before reaching the finish line. Thanks for the information, though. Whether or not it's bittersweet, it does mean we're vaguely on the right track here.»

«I only told you because Oriko asked me to,» Kirika says.

«That doesn't change anything,» I reply.

Once we've arrived at the location in Chuo Ward and are all settled down on a roof overlooking it, I take a look at what Iroha is up to.

April twenty-fourth. Yachiyo and Iroha have been cleaning the house and are just finishing up.

"There, I've cleaned up the kitchen," Yachiyo says. "How are things on your end?"

"I'm just about finished too," Iroha says.

"Amazing… I've never seen the floor sparkle like this."

"I put all my energy into it!" Iroha says. "I want everyone to feel their best when we bring them all home."

"Yes, cleaning like this is almost like making a wish to invite them back," Yachiyo agrees.

"Yeah…"

"Really though, we have so many issues on our plates right now. Everyone's brainwashed, you have your memories to worry about, and then there's Miss Tomoe… I'm sure her friends are worried…"

"Yeah…"

"I wonder how things are going in Mitakihara," Yachiyo says.

"I'll send Madoka-chan a message," Iroha says.

She takes out her phone to compose an email to Madoka. Once that's sent, she sighs.

"So… what should we do now…?" she wonders. "What if we mark all the rumours on a map?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Yachiyo says. "Let's try it… I should have a map of Kamihama around here somewhere…"

Yachiyo digs out a map of Kamihama and a pen, and the two of them settle down on a couch. Iroha marks the locations of the rumours she remembers.

"The Rule of Ending Friendships… the Séance Shrine… the Misery Water… Anonymous… the Memory Museum…"

Yachiyo takes the pen from her and adds a bunch more marks.

"And all the other rumours I've quashed on my own," she says. "The Infinite Hospital Bed… the Crossing Path… and a few more besides."

"Hmm," Iroha says. "I thought we might notice something by lining all of them up together…"

"Right… either where Tsuruno and the others are being held, or the Wings of the Magius's base… but from just looking at all of this, I see…"

"You see… what?" Iroha asks.

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises.

"Right… I don't see anything either," Iroha says.

"Neither do I," Yachiyo says. "Certainly no kind of pattern. Actually, when you think about all the rumours we defeated… it's probably just a small fraction of the total amount of rumours out there…"

"But we have no leads other than these locations," Iroha says, sighing. "Do you think that since the Memory Museum rumour went away… maybe the brainwashing effect is gone and they'll come home?"

"Actually that could be the worst possible outcome for them," Yachiyo says.

"Why?"

"There's no telling what might happen if they come to their senses, surrounded by foes."

"Ah, you're right. Especially ones who went as far as using a rumour to brainwash them," Iroha says.

"We should think it over some more," Yachiyo says. "We can at least go check Tsuruno's house."

"Right." Iroha ponders for a moment. "Oh, Miss Yachiyo?"

"Yes?"

"Could I take a peek at the Kamihama Rumour Files?"

"Sure, go ahead. Look as much as you like."

"Thank you."

Yachiyo pulls out the binder for her, and Iroha looks through it while Yachiyo goes to make breakfast.

"Huh?" Iroha says suddenly. "The rumours in this area… weird… I feel like I recognize them…"

She's so engrossed in reading through the files that she doesn't even notice when Momoko and Rena arrive.

"Morning!" Momoko says.

"Momoko… Rena… I was just just making a late breakfast," Yachiyo says. "Do you want some?"

"No, that's alright," Momoko says. "I've eaten already, so…"

Rena sneaks up to Iroha and bonks her lightly on the head.

"Ouch!" Iroha says, looking up in surprise. "R-rena-chan!? And Momoko-chan!"

"What's so interesting that you can't even say hi?" Rena asks.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Iroha says. "I didn't notice you come in… I was just reading through the Kamihama Rumour Files."

"I heard about Tsuruno and the others," Rena says.

"Yeah…"

"So, did you learn anything interesting?" Rena asks.

"Well… one of the rumours seems familiar somehow," Iroha says.

"You mean you recognized it?" Momoko says.

"Yeah," Iroha says. "But that can't be possible."

"Just forget about it for now," Rena says. "Everyone's been dragged off somewhere. That's a big enough problem to deal with. Do you really have time to worry about some stupid rumours?"

"Oy, Rena!" Momoko protests. "Iroha-chan's been working herself to the bone trying to find them. This rumour stuff she's thinking about is serious to her, too. Quit picking on her, okay?"

"I wasn't picking on anyone," Rena retorts. "Just, you know… if she takes anything else on her plate… she might lose her hair from all the stress!"

"Me!? Lose my hair!?" Iroha gasps.

"Of course you," Rena retorts. "Who else would I be talking about?"

"Then I'd be bald…" Iroha says.

She starts to laugh, and Rena stares at her.

"W-what the heck!? It's not like I said anything weird!"

"Thanks for your concern, Rena-chan," Iroha says once she calms down.

"W-whatever," Rena says. "I wasn't worried or anything. Everything's been rough on our end too, so I kinda get how you feel, that's all."

"You mean Kaede-chan?" Iroha says. "How is she?"

"Well… she was hiding in her room and wouldn't come out," Rena says.

"I thought I calmed her down enough," Momoko says. "But I guess once she was on her own, everything just started to overwhelm her. The fate she signed herself up for… well, I'll keep on trying to reassure her. I'm not gonna give up that easy."

"I'll see what I can do too!" Iroha says.

"It'll really suck if we can't bring Tsuruno back soon, though," Momoko says.

"It will?" Iroha says. "Did something happen?"

"Not yet, but our school will probably freak out once it finds out she's missing," Rena says.

"Ever since she started going there, she hasn't been late or absent even once," Momoko says. "So if she's not back by tomorrow… she'll have gone from having perfect attendance to completely missing in an instant. Twelve years of perfect attendance down the drain… Tsuruno will be shocked too."

"Yeah, she seems like the type who would shoot for perfect attendance," Rena says.

"Yeah," Iroha says.

"Speaking of Tsuruno," Yachiyo says. "Did you happen to stop by Banbanzai?"

"Yeah," Rena says. "It's closed… apparently she showed up this morning, packed up, and left again."

"Her father's having a hard time too," Momoko says. "Apparently she told him she'd found somewhere she can feel 'completely safe'… so he's really depressed. He said she looked just like she was right after Mel-chan died…"

"Mel-chan!?" Iroha says. "But why would she be the same now as back then…?"

"Ah, so you heard about that too, did you?" Momoko says.

"Yeah," Iroha says. "Miss Yachiyo, do you have any idea what Tsuruno-chan meant when she said that to her father? Is it because the Wings of the Magius know how to avoid turning into a witch? So, to her, staying with them is where she feels safest."

"I'm not sure," Yachiyo says. "Taking her words at face value, it would seem that your interpretation is correct."

"And taking her words not at face value…?" Iroha prompts her.

"Well… you can interpret it to be that she is being forced to say that by the brainwashing," Yachiyo says. "So it may not be particularly useful to spend time analyzing."

"Still, I'm kinda relieved," Iroha says. "I'm glad to hear that she went back, even if it was just for a moment."

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "For better or worse, at least the brainwashing is holding for now. That means we aren't dealing with the worst case scenario yet."

"And what is this worst case scenario?" Rena asks.

"If the brainwashing wears off when they're surrounded by enemies," Yachiyo says.

"Oh… yeah, that'd be rough," Rena agrees.

Yachiyo brings the breakfast over, and she and Iroha start to dig in.

"Well, Rena and I will be out gathering grief seeds for a bit," Momoko says. "Send us a message if you need us for anything."

"Of course!" Iroha says. "We're going to stop by Banbanzai, and then come back and decide what to do next, so if we need you then, I'll message you."

Momoko and Rena leave them to their meal. Once they've finished eating, they head for Banbanzai, where they find a note indicating that it's temporarily closed and requesting any information on Tsuruno's whereabouts.

"If you have seen my daughter, please contact me here," Iroha reads.

"I knew it," Yachiyo says.

"Y-yeah, there's not much else he can do," Iroha says.

"Ah, but listen," Yachiyo says. "It will probably be tough for Tsuruno even when she comes back."

She indicates some of the neighbours, who appear to be discussing Tsuruno's morning visit.

"Not only will her attendance record be ruined, but now the neighbours are gossiping," Iroha says. "We have to find her fast."

Yachiyo slides the door open.

"Hello?" she says.

The lights are off inside, and there's no immediate response to her hail.

"Hellooo!" Iroha says. "No-one's here…?"

"The front door was open, though…"

They both step inside and look around. Then Tsuruno's father sighs from a chair near the door, startling Iroha and eliciting a squeal from her.

"Oh, it's Tsuruno's father," she says.

"Oh," Mr Yui says. "Yachiyo-chan, Iroha-chan… welcome. Sorry, but we're closed today. Maybe you can come back another time."

"No, we came here because of Tsuruno," Yachiyo says.

Mr Yui gasps, jumping to his feet and slamming his fists on the nearest table.

"Tsuruno? You saw Tsuruno!? Where!?"

"Please calm down," Yachiyo says. "We came here because we're looking for her too."

"Oh, o-okay," Mr Yui says, sinking back into his chair. "So you girls don't know where she is either, then."

"I'm sorry," Yachiyo says.

"I don't know what you're sorry for," Mr Yui says. "I'm the one who's the failure of a father. I must've done something to make her look at me like that."

"Like what?" Iroha asks. "Tsuruno-chan came by here, right?"

"Forgive me for asking," Yachiyo says. "But could you tell us a little more about what happened?"

"Not much to tell," Mr Yui says. "She left almost as soon as she showed up… just popped in and grabbed a few things from her room. She only said one thing to me. I tried to catch up with her, but she was too fast… I lost her."

"What exactly did Tsuruno say before she left?" Yachiyo asks.

"She said, 'I won't be coming back. I found a place where I feel completely safe.' But you know… when I saw her, she wasn't wearing her trademark cheery smile. Her face was completely relaxed, without any expression, almost like she was asleep. I'd seen her look like that once before, last year, but to think she'd leave…"

"Was Felicia with her when she came back?" Yachiyo asks.

"She was, but Feli-chan was just like she always is," Mr Yui says.

"So Tsuruno-chan was the only one who seemed off?" Iroha asks.

"That's right," Mr Yui says.

"This doesn't feel right," Yachiyo says. "Well, we'll keep looking for her and let you know."

"Thank you," Mr Yui says.

The two of them leave the shop and make their way back to the station. They've just gotten off the train near Crescent Moon Villa when Yachiyo suddenly stops short.

"Iroha…"

"I felt it too," Iroha says. "There's a magical girl nearby!"

As she says that, a white feather leaps out of an alleyway and grabs Iroha before anyone can react.

"You're coming with me!" the white feather says.

The assailant appears to be Sorashi, and she drags Iroha back into the alleyway, Yachiyo following.

"She's dragging me into the alley!" Iroha says, transforming. "Alright, if that's how it's going to be!"

"Iroha, are you okay?" Yachiyo asks, also transforming.

"I'm fine, Miss Yachiyo!"

There's also a black feather in the alley. It's Maimai, which only serves to confirm the white feather's identity.

"Veteran, um… we'll be sure to… take care of you," Maimai says nervously.

"Let's settle this here," Sorashi says. "We can use these two for our mission, just like we're using Yui Tsuruno and the others."

"Um… yes?" Maimai says.

"Use us!?" Yachiyo exclaims. "What have you done to Tsuruno!?"

"Miss Yachiyo… that means that they…"

"We shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet," Yachiyo says. "Actually, this is a perfect opportunity. We have something to ask them, don't we? We need to know where they are!"

"Yeah," Iroha says. "I won't let them get away!"

"These little…!" Sorashi gasps. "How dare you…!"

They trade several attacks, but the feathers are quickly overwhelmed.

"Withdraw, withdraw!" Sorashi says.

They both take off at a run.

"They're so good at running!" Yachiyo says.

"We won't let you go this time!" Iroha says.

Iroha fires a bolt at their feet, causing Sorashi to trip.

"Ugh, dammit!" she says.

Maimai pauses to help her up.

"I meant what I said before," Sorashi says. "Call out for them as much as you want. Search for them high and low… but you're never getting your friends back! Don't forget that. Trust me, you'll end up regretting all of this."

With that ominous warning, she and Maimai round a corner and disappear. When Iroha and Yachiyo round the same corner, they're already out of sight. Perhaps Maimai used her unique magic to help them escape.

"That was supposed to be our chance," Yachiyo says, powering down with a sigh.

"Miss Yachiyo, it has to be a lie," Iroha says, also powering down. "Tsuruno-chan, Felicia-chan, Sana-chan… they're all okay, right?"

"Iroha."

"Yes?"

"We have to trust that the three of them are safe," Yachiyo says. "That's why we're searching for them."

"Yeah, you're right," Iroha says. "Sorry. I wavered there for a second. We have to believe they're safe. Right?"

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises, and Iroha giggles a bit.

"Yeah, exactly! We still have hope!"

They return to the Crescent Moon Villa and take a seat on one of the couches.

"Call out for them," Iroha muses, quoting Sorashi. "Search high and low… but you are never getting your friends back." She shakes her head. "No, I don't believe it. I won't believe anything they said, not unless I see it myself. Yeah… we really need to find the Wings of the Magius and ask them directly. We have to keep looking for rumours."

Mokyu makes one of its cute noises.

"No, I need to put it out of my mind for now," Iroha says. "I can't get distracted by something as vague as that… the most important thing right now is to figure out how to find the others."

At that moment, Iroha's phone pings, and she reaches for it to find a reply from Madoka.

"Oh! Madoka-chan replied!" she says.

She opens up the phone to read the full message.

[Sorry for the delay, Iroha-chan! I left my phone in the other room and didn't hear it go off. The thing is, Kyouko-chan has gone missing too now, so we're stuck looking after Yuma-chan, which meant we were all having some fun together at Miss Mami's place. Oh, it's at Miss Mami's place because Homura-chan lives there too! We wouldn't break in while she's gone!]

Iroha giggles. "Looks like things are alright over in Mitakihara," she says. "Though apparently Miss Sakura disappeared…"

"Oh?" Yachiyo says. "I wonder why… she seemed quite capable…"

"There's more to the message, just a moment," Iroha says.

She continues reading Madoka's message.

[We have a test next week, so we won't be back until after that's over, but we'll definitely come back to Kamihama soon! Although, if Kyouko-chan manages to convince Miss Mami to return before then, we might cancel the trip. I'm not all that worried about Kyouko-chan – Miss Mami is pretty dependable, but Kyouko-chan is even more dependable, so I'm sure she won't get brainwashed like Miss Mami did. Ah, but I guess you destroyed the rumour, so maybe that wasn't even a possibility, huh?]

"Oh, it sounds like Miss Sakura is looking for Miss Tomoe too," Iroha says. "I didn't know they knew each other that well… but Madoka-chan is pretty confident in her abilities."

"Well, if we run into her, we can let Miss Kaname know," Yachiyo says.

"Of course," Iroha says.

She then reads the final few lines of the message.

[Make sure you have plenty of grief seeds. You'll need them once Walpurgisnacht arrives. I just heard from Oriko-chan – there are only four more days before she lands in Kamihama.]

"Huh?" Iroha says. "This last bit doesn't make any sense…"

"Let me see," Yachiyo says, peering over Iroha's shoulder. "Wait… huh? Walpurgisnacht!? How… how could Miss Kaname possibly know it would be coming to Kamihama…?"

"Um… what is this… Walpurgisnacht?" Iroha asks.

"It's a witch," Yachiyo says. "A really, really strong one. If it really does come to Kamihama, many people will probably die."

"Oh no!" Iroha gasps. "But wait… how would she know?"

"It sounds like she heard it from someone else," Yachiyo says. "This… Miss Oriko…"

"Well… we don't have time to worry about that right now," Iroha says. "Even if she's right… four days… it might be enough to settle things with the Wings of the Magius, right?"

"Yes, you're right," Yachiyo says. "We should focus on the things we're certain of."

At that moment, Momoko pops in.

"I'm back!" she says. "Got some croquettes, want one? And some grief seeds, too."

She plops down on an empty couch, setting down a bag of croquettes on the table in front of her, followed by three grief seeds.

"Oh, nice!" Iroha says. "You already got three grief seeds in just a few hours!?"

"No, actually I got six," Momoko says. "This is what's left over after taking one for each member of my team."

"Did you see Kaede-chan, then?" Iroha asks.

"No… Rena's gonna give it to her," Momoko says.

Momoko hands out the croquettes, and they eat in silence for a bit.

"So Tsuruno and Felicia came back, but only for a moment," Yachiyo muses. "That must mean there's some kind of base where they're hiding. It makes no sense for them to be wandering around endlessly without a place to rest."

"There's probably only one way to look into it," Momoko says. "Even if it takes some time, all we can do is track down one of those black feathers."

"Yes, I believe so," Yachiyo says.

"Then I have a suggestion," Iroha says.

"Really!?" Momoko gasps.

"Yes, though I don't know how useful it'll be," Iroha says.

"I'm just happy to hear you have some ideas," Yachiyo says. "What is it?"

"How about we go around and destroy rumours again?" Iroha suggests. "They don't even have to be particularly dangerous or harmful ones."

"To lure out the Wings of the Magius?" Yachiyo says.

"Yes," Iroha says. "But this time we go to different areas and try to attract lots of attention. That might force them to move. And there's also a chance we can figure out where they're hiding."

"So lemme get this straight," Momoko says. "If we fight a rumour in Sankyo Ward, and the Wings of the Magius show up right away… that means their base is somewhere in that neighbourhood? Is that what you're getting at?"

"Right," Iroha says. "That's why we should try to cover as many areas as we can."

"Well, it's worth a try," Yachiyo says. "Let's do it. It's better to do something, anything, than just stressing ourselves thinking about it."

"Yeah!" Iroha says.

"And it would be incredibly beneficial if the Wings of the Magius show up," Yachiyo says. "We can catch them and make them cough up where they're keeping everybody."

"That would definitely be a faster method," Iroha says.

"Okay, so where do you want me to go?" Momoko asks.

"Momoko, don't push yourself," Yachiyo says.

"What?" Momoko says. "But I—"

"You still haven't settled things with Kaede, have you?" Yachiyo says.

"Well, yeah," Momoko says.

"Stay with her," Yachiyo says. "Iroha and I will handle the rumour patrol."

Momoko sighs. "Thanks, Miss Yachiyo," she says. "But, hey… I'll still go out and gather some more grief seeds again for you guys, okay? I need them for Kaede too, anyway."

"That sounds perfect," Yachiyo says.

"Then let's get going, Miss Yachiyo," Iroha says. "Which rumours should we hunt today?"

"Alright," Yachiyo says. "Let me check the Rumour Files… we'll take a tour of the area and wipe out the rumours as we go. We'll work our way east until we get to Chuo Ward."

"Sure!" Iroha says. "Let's go!"

Yachiyo takes the binder with her, and the three of them head outside. There they split up, and Momoko heads off in a different direction.

As I close off that vision, I notice that Tamura and the others have now joined us. It looks like Chiyoko, Tomomi, and Kirika have also moved to a different vantage point across the street.

"Oh, you made it," I say. "Thanks for coming… how was your day off?"

"Um, well…" Tamura mutters.

"It was great!" Chihana says. "We ran into Miss Kohaku, too."

"Oh?"

"Well, there's nothing to tell really," Chihana says. "She just said hi and moved on, basically…"

"So you're all ready to possibly fight against Miss Nanami and Miss Tamaki, right?"

"I… I think so," Hikari says.

"I'm not sure I'd… ever be ready for… that…" Tamura says. "B-b-but um… I guess… I have… no choice…"

"Well, I could let you head back to Fendt Hope if you really don't think you can handle it," I say.

"N-n-no, um… that'd make me feel… even worse," Tamura says. "Oh, um… b-by the way… I did… see another vision…"

Switching to telepathy, she gives a rendition of the vision. It's actually a familiar story this time, though – the same vision she's described to me once before, in this same timeline even. I interrupt her before she's finished the full description.

"Huh? Didn't you tell me about that one already?" I ask.

"Um… no," Tamura says. "There was a similar one, but… this one… was a bit different…"

"Then… could you please highlight the differences for me?" I ask.

Tamura nods.

"T-this time… I was with Chiina-chi and Hika-tan," she says. "And… those foreign magical girls… I got names from them…"

"Oh! That's awesome!" I say. "Is that the only difference?"

"Also… I saw… Miss Yakumo," Tamura says. "She entered the antique shop… just after those two left…"

"Hmm… interesting," I say. "Something about this is starting to sound vaguely familiar… so, what were their names?"

"Um… I'm not sure… it's their real names," Tamura says. "B-b-but… the blue one… called herself Mel… and the red one… Liz…"

"Mel… Liz…" I muse. "Blue… red… waaait… could it really be… Melissa de Vignolles, and Elizabeth of Luxembourg? No, surely not… Pernelle said they almost certainly died…"

"I wouldn't… know," Tamura says.

"She also said she lacked any concrete proof," Inui points out.

"If it is them, it explains one thing," I muse. "Miss Tamura… did you see Miss Yakumo exit the shop in the vision?"

Tamura shakes her head. "N-no, I didn't…"

"What's this all about, anyway?" Hikari asks. "Who are those people?"

"Well… it's not important right now," I say. "By the way, why are those three over there?"

I indicate Kirika, Chiyoko, and Tomomi.

"Chiyo-tan thought it might be easier to see someone coming from that angle," Inui explains.

"I suppose it depends which direction they come from," I say. "So it can't hurt to have people watching in both places."

"That's what I said," Inui says.

As we're watching, someone unexpected emerges from Chuo Station – Kyouko. She looks around, stares in my direction for a few moments, then heads off to the east.

"Wonder what she's doing here," Inui says.

"I'm going to guess she's planning to scope out the Wings of the Magius," I say. "Maybe even join up…"

"You really think Miss Sakura would join…?" Inui asks.

"If that's what it takes to figure out what they're really about? Yes," I say.

"Ah, I see what you mean," Inui says.

"It's not something we need to worry about right now, though."

We fall silent for awhile, waiting for Iroha and Yachiyo to appear. While we wait, I open up my email and discover one I missed from Oriko, saying the same thing Madoka said in her message to Iroha. So, I compose a group email to the various people who have promised to join, confirming the date that Walpurgisnacht will appear – April twenty-eighth, the final school day before Golden Week.

It takes awhile, at least an hour, maybe more, but eventually, I spot Iroha and Yachiyo exit Chuo Station. Since my team is currently split in two, I communicate via telepathy to include everyone – they're still within range for that.

«Well, as I predicted, they're here,» I say. «See? They just exited the station over there.»

«They're really coming… and we have to fight them?» Tomomi says.

«Well, we don't necessarily have to,» I say. «Would you prefer to let them destroy the rumour and report that to the Magius?»

«I see your point,» Tomomi says.

«Yeah,» Chiyoko says. «If nothing else, we have to at least be able to say we tried to stop them…»

We watch as Yachiyo and Iroha pause to rotate a manhole cover. A few passers-by give them weird looks, but most just ignore them.

«That proves they're here for the rumour,» Inui says.

«We're not going to stop them from lining them up?» Hikari asks.

«Well, we could try, if you want,» I say. «I just thought it would make more sense to face them when we also have the rumour there for backup.»

«Oh yeah, that makes sense,» Chihana says.

We watch as Iroha and Yachiyo rotate the manhole covers one by one until they all line up. It takes several minutes for them to locate them all and rotate them into the correct configuration, but once that happens, they disappear as the rumour's labyrinth sucks them in.

«Well, let's head inside,» I say.

We all hop down and locate the barrier's entrance, stepping inside. The labyrinth resembles a stone tunnel, filled with a variety of traps, such as arrow traps, swinging axes, pit traps, and a number of other things. Iroha and Yachiyo are just ahead, smashing through the axe trap. The destruction of the trap seems to trigger the appearance of the rumour's familiars, which look like puzzle pieces with legs and a mouth. They attack by shooting arrows from their mouth.

"Whoa!" Iroha says. "There are so many of them…"

"And it looks like we've got company, too," Yachiyo says, glancing back.

"Oh, you noticed already?" I say. "So much for the surprise attack…"

While Yachiyo attacks the familiars, Iroha turns to face me.

"What have you done with Tsuruno-chan!?" she asks.

"Miss Yui? I haven't seen her," I say. "I've been too busy watching you guys."

"So you're keeping an eye on us, is that it?" Iroha says.

"I suppose you could say that."

"Where have you taken everyone?"

"Like I said, I haven't seen them," I say. "Though I assume they'd be at the base somewhere. But I'm not gonna tell you where that is, even if you try to beat it out of me. That said… I'm surprised you're only asking about them and not Tamaki Ui…"

"Do you know something about Ui!?" Iroha gasps.

"I might be the only person who knows something," I say.

"You've got to tell me!" Iroha says.

"Why do I have to tell you?" I retort. "What's in it for me?"

"U-umm…"

"Iroha, if they're not going to attack, I could use a little help here!" Yachiyo interrupts. "Also, you can't just believe their words so easily. They already know you're looking for your sister, so they could be using that to lure you into a trap!"

"Ah!" Iroha gasps. "Y-you're right!"

"Well, I guess the time for talking is over," I say. "Let's go, everyone."

Kirika is the first to attack, but Tomomi, Chiyoko, and Chihana quickly join in. The space is narrow, so we can't all attack at once, but that means we can rotate in and out as people get tired, giving us a decided advantage over Iroha, who's fighting us all by herself. Even though we're not using our magic, relying solely on the chain techniques taught by Kagura San, we're still easily keeping her busy, leaving no chance for her to support Yachiyo against the rumour's familiars.

"I won't let you…" Iroha says. "I won't let you get past me!"

Though Yachiyo had asked for some help with the familiars, she's doing pretty well against them, taking them out one by one. There are constantly more familiars appearing, but she destroys them almost as fast as they appear, and as a result, the battle slowly progresses down the hall. Every so often, we reach a new trap, which Yachiyo either smashes or charges right through.

I'm not sure how long we've been at it, maybe ten minutes, or as much as half an hour, when someone else steps into the labyrinth. She stares at the strange battle for almost a minute before speaking.

"What on earth did I walk into…?" she asks. "I thought I sensed a witch, but…"

"Ah!" Iroha gasps. "Miss Miyako!"

Indeed, it's Miyako Hinano. I didn't expect to see her around here, but I suppose she does live in Chuo Ward despite going to school in Minaminagi Ward…

Yachiyo glances back too. "Miss Miyako…?"

"Miss Tamaki… and even Miss Nanami?" Hinano says. "And those guys in robes… but you don't look like you're collaborating…"

I turn to face her.

"Miss Miyako… it would be better if you just pretend you didn't see this," I say.

"So you're asking me to just back off," Hinano says. "Yet, those two seem to be pretty worn out… especially Miss Tamaki… why are you fighting each other instead of the, uhh… whatever this is?"

"W-we could use a little help here," Iroha says.

I transmit a message to all the feathers.

«Miss Miyako uses poison gas, so I suggest trying not to breath if you can manage that.»

"Well, I suppose I don't need to know the reason for this fight," Hinano says. "All I need to know is that some people I know seem to be in trouble."

With that, she snatches a vial from her belt and tosses it at us. It smashes on the ground and releases a cloud of noxious gas, just as I'd predicted. That attack immobilizes about half of my team in an instant. Kirika seems to be unaffected, probably because she's just really good at ignoring pain. Chiyoko also seems to be fine, despite breathing normally. Maybe her magic gives her a resistance to toxins. Inui avoids the attack by holding her breath, then charges out from the cloud to attack Hinano with her flame whip. Everyone else falls to the ground, coughing. Tamura at least has the sense to throw herself backward so that she falls out of the cloud, but she's still indisposed for the time being.

While Inui keeps Hinano engaged, and Kirika and Chiyoko press the attack on Iroha, I focus on getting the affected black feathers out of the gas cloud. Chihana, Hikari, and Tomomi have all lost consciousness already, so I drag them out and lay them down at the edge of the tunnel. Before long, the battle advances far enough that Hinano has passed them entirely.

"You're just going to leave them there?" Hinano asks. "Aren't they your allies?"

"There's not a lot I can do for them right now," I say. "None of us have healing powers. I'm confident they'll be fine, though. After all, one of them was still conscious… she should be able to take care of the others. Plus, I don't think you're the type of person who'd use a lethal poison when fighting against other people."

"Your confidence in someone you've never met is… odd," Hinano mutters. "But you're right… that poison'll knock them out for a bit, but there should be no lasting damage."

I pull out my sword to join Inui in the confrontation with Hinano. That means the battle has been reduced to four against two, plus Yachiyo fighting the rumour's familiars.

Being forced into melee combat against Kirika's claws and Chiyoko's double-crescent blades, Iroha has converted her weapon into a dagger and gone into a purely defensive mode, blocking their attacks whenever she can. Kirika's slowing power is clearly affecting her though, and quite a few attacks get past her defences, but it seems she's also healing the worst of it as she goes. Her healing is so slow that it doesn't make a huge difference, but I suppose that's why she's only healing the worst.

Hinano is only barely holding the two of us back. Her powers are not very suited for defence, after all, though she's pretty creative with how she uses what she has. After the flame whip was blocked twice with one of her vials, causing an explosion, Inui has switched it off and is using her winged-heart wand like a club instead, using her charm frequently to stop Hinano in her tracks. However, Hinano seems to have a resistance to the charm effect, so it's not as effective as it could have been – it only causes her to hesitate for an instant. After she blocks my sword with a vial of something acidic, causing noticeable corrosion to the blade, I decide to store it away and use Teddy Beams instead. Whenever she causes an explosion or releases poison gas, I hold my breath and do my best to disperse it with my telekinesis.

Eventually, Yachiyo catches sight of a larger chamber up ahead, which must be where the main rumour resides. She puts in a final push, unleashing her ultimate attack to clear out the familiars and allow them to traverse the remaining distance. Still more familiars crowd in, however.

"It looks like we're almost at the end of the tunnel!" Yachiyo shouts.

"That's great!" Iroha says. "Let's beat the rumour and get out of here!"

"As if I'd let you!" Chiyoko shouts.

She presses the attack and almost knocks Iroha to the ground. Suddenly the familiars scatter as the main rumour appears before them, the distraction allowing Iroha to regain her balance. Here, the tunnel opens up into a round stone chamber. The main rumour is some kind of strong box with a combination lock, surrounded by a rope barrier.

"What the heck is this thing, anyway?" Hinano asks. "It seems different from a witch…"

"Well, you're right about that," I say. «Chiyoko, Kirika, how are you doing? Can you still fight?»

«I'm pretty tired,» Chiyoko replies. «Unless I unleash my doppel, I don't think we can win this… but should I?»

«No, there's no point,» I say. «They could unleash theirs too, after all. Kirika? How are you doing?»

«I can keep fighting if it's for Oriko,» Kirika says. «But this isn't exactly for Oriko, and I'm starting to get bored…»

«And Inui?»

«I'm exhausted,» Inui says.

"Alright, I surrender," I say. "You three can go ahead and fight the rumour or whatever you want."

"Y-you're serious!?" Iroha gasps. "What happened to protecting the rumour…?"

"Well, I honestly don't really care about that," I say. "And it's not that important of a rumour anyway – they usually assign the twins to the most important ones. Plus, we're all exhausted from fighting up until now."

I step aside to allow Hinano to pass by, and Inui joins me. Hinano shoots me a suspicious look.

"How do I know you're not just planning to attack us from behind?"

"You don't," I reply.

Kirika and Chiyoko stand down, and Iroha turns to join Yachiyo, gazing up at the rumour. A moment later, Hinano also joins them.

"So… Miss Tamaki, Miss Nanami, what is this thing?"

"It's a rumour," Iroha says. "It's neither a witch nor a familiar… it exists only to make its rumour come true."

"Hmm… like that Tangled Shrine thing, huh?"

"Eh?" Inui says. "Did you get caught up in the Tangled Shrine too?"

"Well… a little bit," Hinano says. "But that one seemed harmless. This one… I'm not so sure…"

"I don't know about this Tangled Shrine or whatever, but the rumours I've seen are creatures that capture and hurt people," Iroha says. "That's why we're trying to get rid of them."

"The Tangled Shrine is different, though," Inui says. "It's an experimental rumour that helps people instead of hurting them."

"That… if they could do something like that… then why do all the other rumours hurt people!?" Iroha gasps.

"Apparently it just wasn't as effective," Inui replies.

"Miss Miyako, I didn't know the two of you were acquainted," Yachiyo says. "How did you come to meet Iroha?"

"In the Mirror Mansion," Hinano says. "It's a bit embarrassing, but I owe her one for getting me out of that mess, so I suppose we can consider it even after this."

With that, she flings a flask at the creature, and it explodes. From there, the battle begins in earnest, with Yachiyo leaping in with her halberd while Iroha supports from behind. It's not one of the stronger rumours, that's for sure. I watch as they whittle it down, a little at a time. Finally, Yachiyo slices the box open with her spear, and then the rumour crumbles to dust and dissipates. I transmit a message to all my allies.

«The rumour's defeated. You're all dismissed… feel free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day. You can stay if you want, or go have some fun, or whatever.»

Predictably, Kirika disappears as soon as the barrier falls, heading for Chuo Station. The others linger around, though. They have regained consciousness, at least, but it seems they're still too weak to move.

Iroha turns to face me.

"Now that the rumour's gone… where's Tsuruno-chan and the others?"

"Maybe with Miss Mifuyu," I suggest. "I have a feeling she's going to do something. She seems to be reaching her limit."

"Something… like what?" Yachiyo asks.

"If Miss Mifuyu is going to do something, it can't be bad, right?" Hinano says.

"Well, I'm not sure," Iroha says.

"I agree with Miss Miyako," I say. "Miss Nanami, you should know her well… so trust in Miss Mifuyu."

"I don't think I can do that right now," Yachiyo says.

"Well… that's too bad," I say. "By the way, Miss Tamaki… I may not know where Miss Yui and the others are, but I do have something else that might interest you."

I pull out my phone and send her the one of the photos I took last night, the best one showing Ui trapped within the crystal. Iroha looks startled as her phone beeps to indicate the incoming message.

"W-where'd you get my number!?" she asks.

"From Madoka," I say.

That's not technically true. I actually remembered it from a previous timeline.

"You know Madoka-chan!?" Iroha gasps. "And you're even on a first-name basis with her!?"

"Ah… I understand now," Yachiyo says. "I thought that magic seemed vaguely familiar. You're Ashley Taylor, aren't you?"

"Oh, I didn't expect you to guess it," I say. "Yes… I'm Ashley Taylor."

Iroha unlocks her phone and stares at the image. Yachiyo peers over her shoulder at it.

"Miss Yachiyo… it's her!" Iroha exclaims. "It's Ui, my little sister! Miss Taylor… where did you take this photo!?"

"Deep within the base," I say. "I think even the Magius themselves may be unaware of it."

"Then we've been on the right track this whole time," Iroha says. "She's… imprisoned…? But what's with the weird clothes…?"

"Speak for yourself," I retort.

Hinano also peers at the photo. "If you ask me, I'd guess she's a magical girl," she says.

"Ui is a magical girl…?" Iroha says. "But how…?"

"Well, there's certainly no reason she can't be that I know of," I say.

"Miss Taylor… thank you so much for this!" Iroha says. "Even if you're in the Wings of the Magius… you seem like a good person…"

"I think you'll find the Wings of the Magius is mostly made up of good people," I say. "Well, I'll see you later…"

I turn and walk off, together with Inui.

"Wait!" Iroha says. "Some of your team were injured, right? Let me heal them as thanks!"

"Oh? Sure, that's fine," I say.

Iroha runs over to Tamura and the others and uses her healing magic on them. She also applies some to Inui, then bows to me.

"Thank you very much, Miss Taylor!"

Then I really head off with Inui. Tomomi and Chiyoko join us as well, but Tamura and her friends apparently have other plans and head in the opposite direction. Once I've rounded a corner, I open a new vision on Iroha to keep tabs on her. We head for Fendt Hope, which looks like it has again grown a little larger than it was yesterday, and enter the building. Chiyoko and Tomomi both take their leave and go their own ways.

"So… what do we do now?" Inui asks.

"Just a second…"

I use my clairvoyance to locate Sana, Felicia, and Tsuruno, finding them in a general-purpose room on the fifth floor which is furnished with couches. I know it's the fifth floor because I can shift the vision out the window and count the storeys. There's no-one else there, and they haven't even been given feather robes yet. Based on the futons along one wall, it seems they also slept there last night.

"It's time to meddle a little," I say. "Do you know a room on the fifth floor that has couches?"

"Um… I can think of at least two," Inui says.

"Well… Miss Tamaki's brainwashed friends are in there," I say. "I expect Miss Mifuyu to visit them fairly soon if she hasn't already, so please support her."

"Okay," Inui says. "And what will you do, Ashley?"

"Hmm… I'd like to have a little chat with Miss Midori… do you know where I could find her?"

"The press office is on the second floor," Inui says. "You can't miss it – it's clearly labelled 'Press'. She's in there most of the time, so even if she's not, just wait a bit and she should show up."

"Alright, thanks," I say.

I open a secondary vision on Inui so I can see what happens to the Crescent Moon Villa trio. The two of us head up the first flight of stairs together, and then we split up, with Inui continuing upward while I enter the second floor and look for the 'Press' sign. It's not as obvious as Inui said, but after going up and down the entire hall, I finally locate it and knock.

"Come in!" Midori Ryo's voice calls out.

I open the door and find her in there together with Ikumi and Shizuku. From the flash as I open the door, I surmise that the three of them have literally just donned their feather robes. Ryo is the only white feather.

"What's up?" Ryo asks. "I don't think I've chatted with you before…"

"I wonder if I could speak to you alone?" I say.

"Sure," Ryo says. "Is it something important?"

"Not really," I say. "At least, not on the grand scale of things. But it's important to me."

Ryo nods. "Then, why don't you two go to the practice grounds for a bit?" Ryo suggests.

"But I've already mastered the techniques," Shizuku protests. "I want to do something useful!"

"Then we'll go hunt a witch or two," Ikumi suggests. "We can give the grief seeds back to the Magius."

"Alright!" Shizuku says.

The two of them leave the room, so it's just me and Ryo here.

"Just checking, but… this place isn't bugged or anything, right?" I say.

Ryo chuckles. "Not as far as I'm aware," she says. "But are you seriously worried about that, or was it just a joke…?"

"I'm not sure myself," I say. "Okay, let me explain why I'm even here… I know your commitment to the Magius and their goals is a little… looser than some."

"Well… I wouldn't go that far," Ryo says. "I've fully dedicated myself to their goals. But I don't hold any loyalty for the Magius themselves, if that's what you mean."

"But you're helping Miss Hozumi escape, are you not?"

Ryo blinks. "I'm not sure how you know about that… but I simply believe it is wrong to force someone to join when they don't want to. That's all. And besides that, we're only doing it as a favour to Miss Mifuyu."

"Right," I say. "Anyway, what I really wanted to ask was… do you know of any others who aren't entirely on board with what the Magius are doing lately?"

"If you're looking for dissenters to collaborate with, I can name a few," Ryo says. "For example, Kure Kirika doesn't seem to care about the Magius or their goals… I suspect she's a spy for someone else…"

"Ah, I already knew about her," I say. "She's on my team."

"Then there's you and your girlfriend," Ryo says. "It's no secret that she's unhappy with some of the Magius's latest actions, while you're not even around most of the time, which is suspicious."

I blink at her. "Huh? Inui's not my girlfriend…"

"Really?" Ryo says. "That was the rumour going around, though, plus you immediately knew who I meant… but no matter. There's also Hifumi Chiyoko and Yuki Maria, and the girl known as Sue."

"Huh, Sue? I remember her from when I first arrived here," I say. "She's questioning?"

"From what I can tell, yes," Ryo says.

"And Yuki Maria too? I chatted with her briefly awhile back… and had breakfast with her yesterday…"

"She seems to be a little unsure of some things, yes," Ryo says.

"And I already knew about Chiyoko… she's also on my team. Well alright, that's helpful. Thank you very much."

"Before you go, do you mind sharing your name?" Ryo asks. "I'm Ryo… oh, it doesn't have to be your real name, though. An alias is fine."

"Lita," I say. "That's the alias I'm using around here. It's an abbreviation of my full name, though… a girl named Kisaki Emiri came up with it."

"Oh, the girl from the consultation office?" Ryo says. "I've heard a lot about her… someday I should really meet her in person. Alright. It's nice to meet you, Miss Lita. I hope we can talk again sometime."

"Sure, thanks for the help."

"Though from what we just discussed… if you merely wish to leave the Magius, or if you're planning a coup to seize power from them while sticking to the core goals, then I have no right to stop you, but if you intend to get in the way of the liberation of magical girls, I will fight to the end. So we could be enemies next time we meet."

"I suppose that's possible. Either way, see you later."

"See you."

As I leave the room, I spot Mifuyu entering the field of my second clairvoyant vision. She exits the stairwell and makes for one of the rooms.

Carrying some black feather robes, Mifuyu enters the room where Sana, Felicia, and Tsuruno are waiting. She drops the robes on the couch and turns to face them.

"Aww, come on!" Felicia gripes. "How long we gotta wait around doing nothing!? We wanna help free everyone, too! We wanna do something!"

"Yeah, we totally do," Tsuruno says. "We finally found a place where we can feel completely safe, after all."

"Yes," Sana says. "So long as it's for the sake of freedom, it's okay to use rumours or witches. I'll do anything."

"The Magius, as they are now, won't be satisfied with that," Mifuyu says.

"Mifuyu…?" Tsuruno says.

"Listen to me," Mifuyu says. "You might be forced to offer up your own lives for the cause. Especially since you three are Ya-chan's friends. I wouldn't be surprised if they put you through something especially awful."

"So what!?" Felicia says. "We're ready to go through all that!"

"Yes," Sana says. "Please, use me for whatever you see fit. I'm just an invisible girl, so it's fine."

"I'll do whatever you want, too," Tsuruno says. "For you, Mifuyu, I'm willing to go that extra mile."

"Miss Tsuruno," Mifuyu says. "No, you shouldn't… you really shouldn't…"

"Huh?" Felicia says. "But then what's the point of us even being here?"

"Everyone, please try to remember!" Mifuyu says. "Your true feelings…"

"True feelings?" Sana says.

"I don't get it," Felicia says.

Mifuyu sighs and transforms.

"I never thought I'd use my illusions to heal someone…" she mutters.

Sana and Felicia blink several times before drooping a little. Tsuruno blinks too, but doesn't droop. Several seconds later, Inui enters the room, still in her black feather robes. She stares for a few moments, taking in the scene with the three of them seemingly in a trance, and seems to reach a conclusion of some sort.

"Oh! I think I get what you're doing!" Inui says. "I'll keep an eye out for the Magius for you!"

She turns and opens the door a crack, peering out into the hall. Silence falls for a few minutes, eventually broken by distant footsteps. Around the same time, Felicia and Sana suddenly straighten up.

"What am I even doing!?" Felicia sighs.

"Yeah," Sana says. "I don't know why I'm here either."

"I'm glad," Mifuyu says. "You both shook off the brainwashing wonderfully."

"But why did you…?" Sana asks.

"Yeah!" Felicia says. "I don't get it. You're the one who brainwashed us in the first place!"

Mifuyu sighs. "The Magius are on the verge of crossing a line," she says. "One they absolutely should not cross. And they're planning to use you to do it. That's not what I signed up for. At the end of the day, all I want is for everyone to be freed… nothing more."

"Then what about Miss Tsuruno?" Sana asks. "Fix her brainwashing too… please!"

"I tried," Mifuyu says. "But it seems the reason she got brainwashed was not what I surmised… so I had no success."

"Oh no…" Sana says.

At that moment, Inui turns to face them.

"The Magius are coming," she says. "Or two of them, anyway. You should wrap this up quickly, Mifuyumin."

"It's not safe here," Mifuyu says. "Touka and Alina are coming. Pretend you're both still brainwashed for now!"

A few seconds later, Touka herself steps in, followed by Alina.

"Hello, hello," she says. "Are you girls still good and under our control?"

Mifuyu steps aside to let Touka get a good look at them.

"I can't believe you actually asked them that outright, Touka-chan," Inui says.

Touka ignores her and scrutinizes the three girls. They simply stare back at her, Sana and Felicia a little nervous, while Tsuruno's face seems free of any expression.

"Hmmmmmmm… okay!" Touka says. "Miss mighty, it is!"

"I, Alina, agree," Alina says.

"But Touka, wait," Mifuyu says. "What are you planning to do with Miss Tsuruno?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Touka says. "Eve will hatch soon. We can't afford to twiddle our thumbs here! It could happen at any moment, but the veteran and Tamaki Iroha won't stop destroying rumours, no matter how much we tell them not to. They must've already destroyed three or four rumours just today! So there's no point in us taking our time anymore, is there? I want to finish this now."

"But…"

"Come along then, miss mighty!" Touka says.

"Sure!" Tsuruno says. "I'll do anything I can to help!"

"Wait!" Mifuyu says. "Touka, Alina, please… tell me! What are you going to do with her!?"

"Oh, simple," Alina says. "We're just going to have this powerful girl go commit some mass murder for us."

Mifuyu gasps, and so does Inui.

"Murd… wh-what are you…!?" Mifuyu exclaims.

"Well, they did destroy a lot of rumours, after all," Touka says, giggling. "If that's your only question, then we are good to go! Miss mighty, you're going to gather a lot of energy for us."

"It's perfect!" Alina says. "We grow closer and closer to my best artwork! Simply imagining the hatching of Eve…" She gasps. "Ahhh, it's overwhelming!"

Mifuyu sighs. "You're both in good moods, I see," she mutters.

"Well, of course we are!" Touka says. "I'm very excited thinking about how I'm going to convert all that energy."

"I noticed it's just you two again today," Mifuyu says.

"Every time we do this she shaves a piece of her life away," Touka says. "Of course she's tired."

"Fair enough," Mifuyu says. "What's the plan for today, then?"

"We're deciding on how to deal with these two," Alina says, indicating Sana and Felicia. "They're of no use to us stored away like old clothes. I'm thinking I want them to use their last moments to support our cause."

Sana and Felicia manage to avoid showing any reaction to the suggestion, perhaps reassured by Inui practically grinding her teeth behind the Magius's backs.

"Yes, you should be glad," Touka says. "You will help to make our dreams come true. That said… I am still a little concerned…"

"Don't worry," Mifuyu says. "The brainwashing is holding as firm as ever. Oh, which reminds me."

"Do you have a good idea?" Alina asks.

"I do," Mifuyu says. "They were determined to trample our dreams at all costs… so don't you think it'd be fun to have them fight their allies?"

"Hmm," Alina says. After a moment, she giggles. "I like it. Their brainwashed friends will hurt them and they won't be able to lift a hand to them. Your mind is a masterpiece of emotional resonance. Envisioning it makes me want to make it real!"

"It sounds like you've shed your doubts, Mifuyu," Touka says.

"Yes," Mifuyu says. "I am resolved to see this through."

"Oh. Well, that's wonderful," Touka says. "I'll leave the two of them in your care, then!"

"We eagerly await your results," Alina says.

With that, the two of them leave, and Tsuruno follows them out. Felicia and Sana stare after them, and Inui peeks out the door for a bit. Then she fully enters the room once more.

"It's okay, they're well out of earshot by now," she says. "Even for a magical girl. Mifuyumin… sorry for barging in like this, but I figured you could use a little help."

Then she turns to Felicia and Sana.

"We met on the helipad, remember? Itsumi Inui."

"Ah… yes, I remember," Sana says. "You were in Ai-chan's labyrinth too…"

"Thank you for the help, Miss Itsumi," Mifuyu says. "It wasn't strictly necessary, but I was grateful for the extra layer of security."

"So, what now?" Felicia asks.

"We'll do just as I said," Mifuyu says. "You two will go back to Ya-chan and Miss Iroha."

"But that means…" Sana says.

"Yes, I want you to escape," Mifuyu says. "Here, take these."

She grabs two of the black feather robes that she'd left on the couch when she entered the room.

"Black feather robes?" Sana says.

"As Touka mentioned, Ya-chan and Miss Iroha are making quite a racket around town," Mifuyu says. "Or at least, that's what I've heard."

"Yeah," Inui says. "They defeated the rumour I was guarding with Ashley super-fast. Actually, that was part of the reason I was looking for you, Miss Mifuyu."

"I'll select a white feather to lead you on this mission," Mifuyu says. "Though I feel a little bad for sending her on a fool's errand… but that aside, when she comes to your room later, please go along with her. She should take you to Ya-chan. But please keep pretending to be brainwashed until you meet up with Ya-chan."

"Okay, got it," Felicia says.

"I have to leave now," Mifuyu says.

"Wait," Sana says. "Um… don't you want to come with us, Miss Mifuyu? You could come to Miss Yachiyo's place too."

"Yeah, yeah!" Felicia says. "You come too, sister!"

"Don't take this the wrong way," Mifuyu says. "My dreams and my salvation both lie with the Wings of the Magius. That hasn't changed. I can only play nice with you for so long. The next time I see you, we'll be enemies."

With that, she leaves the room, and Inui follows her.

"I was going to ask you, Miss Mifuyu," Inui says. "Since the Rumour of the Puzzle Tile Lock is gone, is there something else we should do?"

Mifuyu sighs.

"There are other rumours that could be guarded, but at this point I don't think it'll do much good," she says. "It's not just Ya-chan and her friends who've been destroying rumours… Miss Izumi has destroyed almost as many as they have."

"Huh? If that's the case, why is Touka going after Miss Tamaki but not Miss Izumi?" Inui asks.

"What makes you think that?" Mifuyu asks. "She sent the twins to try and reason with Miss Izumi a little. Or more accurately, she approved the twins going for that purpose. If their attempt fails, I expect Touka will start taking more drastic measures in the east, too…"

"What if they start working together?" Inui asks.

"Then we're probably doomed," Mifuyu says. "I hate to say it, but if Ya-chan and Miss Izumi team up, I don't think we'd be able to stand against them. Oh, the base itself should be safe, just from the sheer numbers, but the rumours would drop like flies… oh, that reminds me. You still enter Fendt Hope from the old railway yard, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Inui says.

"We're moving the entrance," she says. "Make sure the rest of your team knows too. From now until Walpurgisnacht arrives, the entrance will be in Minaminagi Seaside Park. The railway yard entrance will cease to work by the end of the day."

"And after Walpurgisnacht arrives?" Inui asks.

"The remote entrance will be removed entirely once Walpurgisnacht makes landfall," Mifuyu says. "So you'll need to go into the mountains to its true location, near the observatory. Assuming all goes well, the entrance in Minaminagi should be reopened after Walpurgisnacht, but we're dealing with a legendary witch here… any number of things could go wrong."

"Ah, I see," Inui says. "And when are they expecting Walpurgisnacht to arrive?"

"That's also not set in stone yet," Mifuyu says. "But most likely sometime within the next week."

"Okay… so you're not giving us a new task?" Inui asks.

"For now, yes, you'll remain on standby," Mifuyu says. "I'll contact you or Miss Ta— Lita if I have something for you."

"Alright, got it!" Inui says.

I pass Mifuyu as I mount the stairs to join up with Inui. She's waiting for me and waves as I exit the stairwell.

"Ashley! They're in here!"

I push the door open, startling Felicia and Sana.

"I'm not the one you're waiting for," I say. "However, there's something I'd like you to see. Miss Futaba, could you please use your magic on the four of us?"

"Um… s-sure?" Sana says. "B-but we'd need to hold hands…"

Inui takes my hand and Sana's without hesitation, and Felicia grabs Sana's hand.

"Okay, um… we should all be hidden now," Sana says. "But what's this all about, anyway…?"

"And who the heck are you?" Felicia asks.

"I don't know how much time we have, so I'll answer on the go," I say. "But first… Inui, do you think it's working, or will it trigger the security?"

"Um… there was supposed to be a sort of buzz if the security is triggered nearby," Inui says. "But I didn't feel anything… so I think it worked."

"Alright," I say. "Follow me."

I lead the way out of the room and head down the stairs.

"What's this about security?" Sana asks.

"There are various anti-magic wards here at Fendt Hope," I say. "If an enemy just walked in, even stealth magic would be rendered void… at least, normal stealth magic would. Yours is rather unusual. And I guess you're currently recognized as friendly, so it doesn't trigger."

"Could it be… since you're with Miss Itsumi… could you be Ashley Taylor?" Sana asks.

"Oh, I'm impressed you guessed it," I say. "Yes, I'm Ashley Taylor."

"Where are we going?" Sana asks.

"The core of the base," I say. "I think the Magius are also heading to the same place, which is why I wanted you stealthed. It's best they don't see us."

"You're sneaking around behind the Magius's backs?" Felicia asks. "But you're with the Wings of the Magius… I don't get it…"

"It's complicated," I say. "By the way… there's someone else you know here who's been brainwashed. I even saw her just a few minutes ago."

"Eh? Who?" Sana asks.

"The girl with purple hair."

"Oh, do you mean Miss Shizuku!?" Sana asks. "T-then we should save her too!"

"Ah, please don't worry about her," I say. "Miss Mifuyu already has someone working on deprogramming her, carefully. She's not in the same situation as you are, with someone all ready to take her in the moment she escapes, so I guess Miss Mifuyu wants to play it safe… okay, we're about halfway there. It might become difficult to walk, but please bear with it."

We've reached the ground floor, but I continue down into the depths of the base. Yes, that's right – I'm heading for the chapel once again. As expected, Sana and Felicia start to flag about halfway down, but Inui and I let them lean on us for support.

"How the heck can you stand this…?" Felicia asks.

"The air is full of curses," Sana murmurs. "I can hardly breathe… but you're just fine?"

"We've come down here a number of times," I say. "So we've learned to tolerate the environment, somewhat."

"Why would you bring us to a place like this?" Sana asks.

"Because I want you to see the source," I say. "Don't worry – it's perfectly safe, so far."

We finally reach the bottom, and Sana looks around, blinking.

"Huh? I thought you said we're not allowed down here, but there are a lot of feathers around…"

"It's not that people aren't allowed," I say. "It'd just be suspicious if you, who are essentially confined to quarters, were suddenly spotted down here."

"Oh… I see," Sana says.

"W-whoa!" Felicia gasps. "That's a witch, ain't it!?"

"I don't think so," I say quickly.

Sana turns to look where Felicia is pointing and gasps.

"It s-sure looks like a witch," she says. "There are so many crystals scattered all over its body… and it's so massive…"

"A doppel looks very much like a witch, but isn't one," I say. "I'm not saying that's a doppel, but… I don't think it's a witch."

"If it were a doppel," Inui muses. "There'd have to be a magical girl somewhere who's generating it… right?"

"You'd think," I say. "Alright, let's go back. I just wanted you to see that."

"I… I see," Sana says. "W-what are they even doing with that thing…?"

"It's probably best to hear that from their own mouths," I say. "Oh, by the way… could I request you wait to tell Miss Tamaki about this until you get Miss Yui back? It's not that I don't want Miss Tamaki to know, but…"

"I see your point," Sana says. "Miss Tsuruno is more important… but I'm not sure if I can keep it from Miss Iroha…"

I shrug. "Well, it's up to you, I guess. As long as you understand why I'd prefer you don't tell her right away, I won't fault you for whatever decision you make."

We escort them back to the room in silence and leave them there. Then we head for our room, where I continue to monitor both them and Iroha while Inui starts to pack up her things.

"I knew it," Iroha says with a sigh. "No-one knows about them… except Miss Taylor, and even she didn't know much…"

They've just defeated another rumour, this one in Sakae Ward. The feathers guarding it have already withdrawn without offering any information, other than that they know nothing. Iroha powers down.

"And most of them reacted the same way," Iroha continues. "So I don't think they're pretending. Maybe we need to hunt down a feather who isn't protecting rumours."

"Or find someone who's in charge," Yachiyo says. "They might know more."

"Right," Iroha says. "Miss Yachiyo, could we go over what we've learned one more time?"

"Sure," Yachiyo says. "We won't get anywhere running around in circles like this. We can start by jotting down all the places we destroyed rumours on this map."

"Okay… though it feels like there's another important point we're forgetting…"

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

"What's wrong?" Yachiyo asks.

"Why don't we mark all the rumours on the map?" Iroha suggests. "We kept note of all the ones we got rid of so far… and we got some additional ones today. But our goal is to figure out where the Wings of the Magius's base is, right? So we should use all the information we already have! We have lots!"

"Lots?" Yachiyo says. "Oh, you mean the Kamihama Rumour Files."

"Right!" Iroha says. "What do you think? Can we try it!? We can mark down all the entries that have a location listed!"

"Okay," Yachiyo says. "Let's mark them all on the map!"

They find a nearby café, order a drink, and sit down. Yachiyo takes out the map and the Rumour Files, and Iroha pulls out a set of felt-tip markers in assorted colours.

"Alright," Yachiyo says. "We should start from the index."

"There's an index page?" Iroha says.

"Yes, at the very back," Yachiyo says. "Rumours without restrictions… rumours that show under special circumstances… rumours that show in certain places… I divided them all into categories."

"Wow, you're so dedicated!" Iroha gasps.

"Let's start marking them," Yachiyo says.

"Okay," Iroha says. "I have a pen ready."

They slowly go through the list, marking each rumour on the map with an X – green for unrestricted rumours, red for rumours triggered by people's actions, and blue for rumours in a fixed location. Unsurprisingly, the majority of crosses on the map are blue, as many of the unrestricted or triggered rumours have no location information at all. Finally Iroha sits back with a sigh.

"We've marked them all on the map," she says. "It looks like we haven't investigated east of Chuo Ward all that much."

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "We have an agreement over there. We aren't allowed to just wander east of Chuo Ward without a good reason. Back when there weren't that many witches, a lot of territorial disputes happened. So we drew up an agreement to stop fighting with each other over it."

"I see," Iroha says. "Anyway, we marked them all down on the map, but…"

"But?" Yachiyo says.

"Miss Yachiyo…"

Iroha points at the old railway yard, where there's an odd absence of any rumours.

"Iroha… oh my gosh, I would never have expected this. I would have never thought to mark them all down on a map like this… it's amazing seeing them laid out this way…"

"Yeah, it's really interesting how the rumours are spread out," Iroha says.

"Right," Yachiyo says. "The distribution looks deliberate. I wonder what it all means? And they stop at this one spot."

"It reminds me of the eye of a storm," Iroha says.

"It's hard to say definitively because we don't know how they spread out in the east," Yachiyo says. "But if it's similar there too, then I wonder if there's a meaning to it."

"Is there some reason they'd cut off like that?" Iroha wonders.

Yachiyo points to the hospital, which has an unusually dense cluster of rumours around it.

"This place is peculiar too, isn't it?" she says.

"Yes, the rumours cluster a bit more densely in Shinsei Ward," Iroha says.

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "Unlike in the east, it feels like they gather in this one spot."

"This place…"

"Iroha? Do you know this place?"

"Yes. It's the Satomi Medical Centre."

"It's where your little sister was…"

"Miss Yachiyo…"

"Yes, we should go there," Yachiyo says.

They head east and take the north-south line north, then hop on the Hokuyo line heading west to the hospital. Once they near the hospital, they transform, perhaps in response to sensing some magic.

"This is the area where there seems to be an unusually high number of rumours," Yachiyo says.

"Maybe their base is near the hospital, so there's extra rumours here to protect it?" Iroha suggests. "Do you think that's possible?"

"I doubt it," Yachiyo says. "These rumours need conditions to be met before they appear. I wouldn't count on them to protect anything. Plus, I already destroyed one rumour in the area without running into them."

"You're right," Iroha says. "And there weren't any rumours that lay traps or anything like that."

"Exactly," Yachiyo says. "I'm sensing multiple sources of magic…"

"It could be the Wings of the Magius!" Iroha says.

"They probably won't know much about where Tsuruno and the others are," Yachiyo says.

"But it's still worth asking," Iroha says.

"Indeed," Yachiyo says. "Hurry up and show yourselves!"

A white feather steps out, who looks like the same one that attacked them earlier the same day, that is, Sorashi. She's accompanied by Sana and Felicia in black feather robes.

"I'm guessing you've come to eradicate all the rumours here," Sorashi says. "But we have no intention of letting you." She turns to Sana and Felicia. "Go hold those two back."

"As though we'd let you hold us back," Yachiyo retorts.

"We'll make you tell us everything!" Iroha says. "Where are Tsuruno-chan, Felicia-chan, and Sana-chan!?" Suddenly she gasps. "W-wait, I know this magic… Felicia-chan!? And Sana-chan!?"

"Those black feathers, they must be…" Yachiyo says. "They must've been ordered to come here. We have to capture them!"

"Yeah!" Iroha says.

"Dear friends fighting each other to death," Sorashi says. "A lovely sight, indeed."

"Too bad!" Felicia shouts. "You ain't gonna see that!"

"What!?" Iroha gasps.

"Huh!?" Sorashi gasps.

Felicia throws her robe to the ground and glares at Sorashi.

"Who you calling 'a lovely sight', anyway!?" she asks. "I've been with Iroha and the others from the start, dumbass!"

"Huh!?" Iroha gasps.

"You've got to be kidding!" Yachiyo says.

"What the!?" Sorashi gasps.

"She broke free of the brainwashing!?" Yachiyo gasps.

"I did too," Sana says, throwing her robe on the ground too. "We'll be going home now!"

"Sana-chan!" Iroha says.

"Miss Iroha!" Sana says.

They hug each other while Sorashi looks on in confusion.

"What…" she says. "What the hell is going on!?"

"Yachiyooo!" Felicia shouts.

"Felicia!" Yachiyo says.

"Boom!" Felicia says, glomping her.

"I've got you!" Yachiyo says, catching her and maintaining her balance.

"Miss Iroha!" Sana says.

"Sana-chan!" Iroha says. "Are you okay!? You're not hurt, are you!?"

"No… I'm fine!" Sana says.

"Thank goodness," Iroha says.

Sorashi finally recovers from her shock and pulls out her chains, snapping one of them like a whip.

"Argh!" Sorashi says. "Give me back those black feathers!"

"No way," Yachiyo says.

"Why would we go back to you!?" Felicia asks. "We're, uh, retrying from the group!"

"She means we're retiring!" Sana says.

"Yeah, that!" Felicia says.

"So the brainwashing, it's really gone," Iroha says.

"Yeah, I'm super unaffected!" Felicia says.

"Me too, I'm alright now," Sana says. "I'm sorry about everything."

"If you wanna go, then let's go!" Felicia says. "I'll fight ya! Bring it on!"

Sorashi hesitates, her eyes flicking from one girl to the next, and she seems to realize that she's outmatched.

"I don't understand," Sorashi says. "This… this isn't how it was supposed to go. You… you'll be sorry!"

With that last quip, she turns and runs off, and Iroha powers down with a sigh of relief.

"She's gone," she says.

"Um," Sana says, also powering down.

"Sana-chan…"

"Miss Iroha…"

They hug each other again.

"I'm so relieved," Iroha says. "Thank goodness, you're alright."

"I'm really, really sorry Miss Iroha," Sana says. "I'm so sorry."

Yachiyo exhales. "How about you, Felicia?" she asks. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am!" Felicia says. "Did you see how I broke free? Like wham!"

"Well… I'm glad you're in such high spirits," Yachiyo says. "I'm so sorry… this was all my fault, Felicia. I'm so relieved that you weren't harmed."

"Yachiyo," Felicia says, sniffling. "I-I'm… I'm s-sorry toooooo!"

"Let's go home," Yachiyo says.

"We should take those robes of yours too," Iroha says. "Maybe they'll come in handy at some point…"

Iroha gathers up the two black feather robes, and they all head back to the Crescent Moon Villa, where Yachiyo makes hot chocolate for everyone.

"Here's your cocoa," she says.

She sets down Sana's and Felicia's mugs in front of them. Felicia grabs hers and blows on it.

"Oh, it's so warm!" she says.

"Thank you!" Sana says, taking hers too.

Felicia tries taking a sip.

"Oh, hot, hot!" she exclaims.

She blows on it some more, while Sana takes smaller sips to offset the heat. Then Felicia downs the entire mug in one go.

"Yum, so good!" Felicia says.

"It's so relaxing," Sana says.

Iroha returns from the next room, where she'd been storing away the black feather robes.

"There's nothing like a hot drink when you need to relax," she says, taking a seat.

"Yeah," Sana says.

"Here's yours," Yachiyo says, setting Iroha's mug in front of her.

"Thank you!" Iroha says.

"Alright," Yachiyo says. "Let's get right to the point. How did you two slip away? And where's Tsuruno? She wasn't with you?"

"Um, I'm not sure what happened to Miss Tsuruno," Sana says. "They took her somewhere."

"They took her away?" Yachiyo asks.

"Oh no," Iroha says. "Then what that white feather said was true. Tsuruno-chan…"

"Are you saying Mifuyu really did something to Tsuruno?" Yachiyo asks. "If that's true, I'll never be able to forgive her."

"N-no!" Sana says. "Miss Mifuyu isn't like that!"

"But she took her away?" Yachiyo says. "The white feather said there was no saving our friends."

"No, I mean we were—" Sana begins.

"Right, right!" Felicia says. "That chick totally saved our butts!"

"Yes," Sana says. "That battle we had earlier. She arranged it for us so that we could escape."

"What do you mean?" Yachiyo asks.

"Felicia-chan, Sana-chan," Iroha says. "Please tell us everything."

"Of course," Sana says.

She starts to explain everything that happened from the point they were brainwashed up until Mifuyu started using her magic to free them. At that point, Felicia leaps in and takes over the narration, describing the experience of being under the influence of Mifuyu's magic.

The scenery changed around them, and it was just Felicia and Mifuyu together in the living area of the Crescent Moon Villa. It looked like Mifuyu had already powered down again, too.

"Huh?" Felicia said. "Hey, this is Yachiyo's place."

"Felicia, this is your home," Mifuyu said.

"Huhhh?" Felicia said. "No, that's not where—"

"Your hearts won't find peace alongside the Wings of the Magius," Mifuyu said.

"But why!?" Felicia exclaimed. "Everyone'll be happy if we get rid of all the witches, won't they!?"

"The Wings of the Magius are protecting those same witches," Mifuyu said.

Felicia gasped.

"And not only that," Mifuyu continued. "We're making them stronger, too."

"H-huh?" Felicia said. "What are you talking about? You make witches… stronger?"

"Yes," Mifuyu said. "We trap them inside a labyrinth, and make them devour each other. Or we feed them grief seeds to make them grow faster."

"But you said you'd get rid of the witches," Felicia said. "Why're you making them stronger!?"

"Because we need to in order to make liberation a reality," Mifuyu said.

"You've gotta be joking," Felicia said.

"Do you really want to stay here with us, Felicia?" Mifuyu asked. "Feeding witches is the same thing as killing people. More people will die like your mother and father."

"N-no, I don't wanna," Felicia said. "I-I…"

The scenery changed around them, and it was just Sana and Mifuyu together in the living area of the Crescent Moon Villa. It looked like Mifuyu had already powered down again, too.

"You too, Miss Sana," Mifuyu said. "Wasn't Ya-chan's house the place you longed for? A place to belong?"

"It was, but… I can be set free from my wish here," Sana said.

"Do you really think the Wings of the Magius are capable of that?" Mifuyu asked.

"Huh?" Sana said, startled.

"We don't even know if wishes can be undone," Mifuyu said. "Let alone remove all the effects from a wish that was already made."

"But they told me in the Memory Museum," Sana said.

"I'm sorry," Mifuyu said. "But I think that was a lie they told to ensure you got brainwashed."

"Huh…?" Sana said.

"Please remember," Mifuyu said. "You already accepted what happened to you while you were in Miss Ai's labyrinth, right? And you made a promise to Miss Ai. What did you promise?"

"Uh…"

"Wasn't it to stop our plans?" Mifuyu said.

"Yes, I… I promised Miss Iroha too… that we would all stay together."

"Yes, remember how you really feel," Mifuyu said. "You know, Miss Iroha and Ya-chan are out there waiting for you. I'm sure they'll prepare some hot cocoa for you when you get home. They'll welcome you warmly."

Sana finishes telling the two of them what happened after they'd been released from the brainwashing, up to the point where Mifuyu left the room. Apparently, she chooses not to mention the trip to the chapel. Once she's finished, Yachiyo nods.

"I see," she says. "So after Mifuyu freed you from their control, they took Tsuruno away."

"That's about right," Sana says.

"Tsuruno-chan…" Iroha says.

"At least we know she's still alive," Yachiyo says. "That's good to hear!"

"It is," Iroha says. "But we can't be happy about it! You said they want to have Tsuruno-chan kill a bunch of people… just what are Touka-chan and Alina planning on having her do?"

"I don't know," Sana says. "Miss Mifuyu didn't know all the details either."

"That's why she let us escape before they got to us as well," Felicia says.

"After that, we mostly just waited around for awhile until the white feather you saw us with came to take us out," Sana says.

"So it was all Mifuyu's plan to get you both here," Yachiyo says.

"Yes," Sana says. "So, um… I'm really sorry for everything…"

"There's no need to apologize, Sana-chan," Iroha says. "We're just happy you both made it home safely."

"B-but I promised to you that this was my new home," Sana says. "I said I'd help you however I could. B-but then I… I let myself get brainwashed…"

She breaks down in tears, and Iroha moves over to put an arm around her.

"Sana-chan, it wasn't your fault," she says. "It was the Magius who brainwashed you. You aren't to blame. Don't cry. Besides… the things both you and Felicia-chan are worried about… they're the same as what we worry about, as magical girls. I completely understand how you both felt."

"R-right," Sana says.

"I'm sorry too," Felicia mutters.

"I apologize, as well," Yachiyo says. "But with that, let's make that the last of our apologies. We have to look ahead to the future now."

"Ugh, you're right," Felicia mutters. "We gotta save Tsuruno!"

"And Miss Hozumi too… she was also brainwashed, apparently…" Sana says.

"Oh… that's unexpected," Iroha says. "So when she just disappeared all of a sudden she just returned to… no wait, was that when she joined them…? If they brainwashed her… did the Memory Museum already exist back then? But I thought it was a new rumour…"

"And hopefully we can also save Miss Mifuyu," Sana adds.

"Yes, I want to get her back as well," Yachiyo says. "But I admit, I have no idea what's running through her head. Not anymore, at least."

"Miss Yachiyo…" Sana says. "I don't really think Miss Mifuyu is a bad person."

"Yeah!" Felicia says. "That lady in white is one of the good guys, I'm telling ya! I feel it in my gut!"

"Yes, you're right," Yachiyo says. "I think so too. The Mifuyu I knew was a really good person."

At that moment, Momoko pops in without knocking.

"Howdy!" she says.

"Oh, Momoko-chan's here!" Iroha says.

"Hey, Miss Yachiyo, Iroha-chan!" Momoko says. "Glad I caught the two of you together! Whoa, wait, Felicia and Sana are here too! Looks like I caught even more of ya together." Suddenly she gasps. "Wait, hang on, why're you here!?"

"You literally just missed their explanation," Yachiyo says.

"Ugh, man, my timing's the worst," Momoko grumbles.

"It's okay, I'll summarize," Iroha says. "Please, sit down, Momoko-chan."

Momoko sits down, and Iroha explains everything that happened since they'd last seen her.

"And so, that's what we worked out from going around and taking out rumours," Iroha says. "Which is to say, not much at all, other than the one big lead on Ui… which doesn't help us find Tsuruno-chan."

"Most of the feathers protecting the rumours didn't appear to know much of anything either," Yachiyo says. "The only exception was Miss Taylor, but even she didn't know where they took Tsuruno…"

"Huh?" Sana says. "When she talked to me and Felicia, it seemed like she knew… oh, but from the way she said it, it may have just been a guess… and that was probably after you met her, so maybe she only thought of it later…"

"You met Miss Taylor too!?" Yachiyo gasps.

"Ah, yes, she um… popped into the room and… talked to us a bit," Sana says. "Sorry… I didn't expect that you'd met her too… otherwise I would've mentioned her earlier…"

"No, that's okay," Iroha says. "Isn't it strange how Miss Taylor's name keeps turning up over and over…? I feel like it can't just be a coincidence…"

"I think you're right," Yachiyo says. "But as for the actual reason… your guess is as good as mine… I can only assume that she has her own plans that don't necessarily align with ours or the Magius's."

"Oh, right!" Sana says. "She also mentioned that the name of their base is Fendt Hope… maybe that's useful?"

"Gimme a sec, I'll do a web search," Momoko says.

"Yeah… so that's where we're at," Iroha says. "We still have no clue where they're keeping Tsuruno-chan…"

"Wait, but Felicia and Sana are back now," Momoko says. "Don't you know where their base is? You find the base, you find Tsuruno, right? Ah… no results for Fendt Hope… I don't know the proper spelling, but it's not surprising it wouldn't be on the internet anyway…"

Sana shakes her head. "They had a girl open a doorway for us to pass through," she says. "Actually, now that I think of it, that might've been Miss Shizuku… at least, when we first went to the base. I think it was a different girl when we were taken to the hospital…"

"It's surprising that they'd have two girls with such similar powers," Yachiyo says. "What about when Felicia stopped by Banbanzai with Tsuruno this morning?"

"Tsuruno and I used a magic doorway that time too," Felicia says. "But it wasn't Shizuku… so basically we got no clue."

"And even if Tsuruno was in the place Miss Taylor mentioned, it doesn't help us," Sana says. "Since it's right at the heart of their base…"

"Darn, that sucks," Momoko says.

"But we did manage to figure out some things we weren't expecting," Yachiyo says.

"You mean the photo of Iroha's little sister?" Momoko asks.

"There's that too," Iroha says. "But also, we marked down all of the rumours in the Kamihama Rumour Files on a map. Would you look over them with us?"

Iroha pulls out the annotated map and spreads it out on the table.

"Wow, there's so many," Sana says.

"All of these are rumours?" Momoko says.

"Yes, all the ones we've gotten rid of up to now," Yachiyo says. "And the ones we know the location of."

"Ohhh," Momoko says. Then she points to the blank spot in the east. "Huh? Doesn't the eastern side look kinda like the eye of a storm?"

"That's what I said!" Iroha says.

"Hmm, I see now," Momoko says. "Maybe that's where all the rumours originated from?"

"And perhaps there's some reason why there are no rumours there," Yachiyo says.

"No matter what, it must be linked to them," Iroha says. "Maybe it's the Wings of the Magius's base? We might learn where Tsuruno-chan's being held if we go there."

"Heck, maybe Tsuruno's being kept there right now," Momoko says.

"There really aren't many to the east," Sana says.

"Yes, so we can't say for sure if this actually is the eye of a storm," Yachiyo says.

"Do ya think this might've been the place they took you guys to, Felicia?" Momoko asks.

"Hmm… no, I don't think so," Felicia says. "I don't remember walking around this place."

"Me neither," Sana says. "But even when we stepped through those doorways, we were blindfolded, so I can't be certain…"

"Whoa, wait up!" Momoko says, pointing at the hospital. "What's this!? There's a whole gang of rumours clustering around this spot in Shinsei Ward!"

"We tried looking into that area," Yachiyo says. "But we didn't find anything."

"Dang, there's my poor timing again," Momoko says. "I guess that means we're better off checking out this blank spot over here, then…"

"Yeah, you're right," Iroha says.

"Hmm," Momoko says.

"Momoko-chan…?" Iroha says.

"No, it's nothing," Momoko says. "Just, if we're gonna look into that, I wanna tell you something. Actually, strangely enough, it started on Friday… a classmate mentioned a new rumour to me. I even said I'll invite everyone if it turns out to be true."

"On Friday!?" Iroha gasps. "Then they were already planning it from the start…"

"Anyway, I heard the rumour again just this morning," Momoko says.

Momoko left Kaede's house, pondering her condition for a moment, but then put it out of her mind. She started tracking another witch, following the trail into Mizuna Ward before finally locating and defeating it. That was when she overheard something interesting. There was a pair of girls chatting nearby, probably a little younger than her. One had long hair and the other had short hair.

"When that amusement park opens its gates, we should be the first ones in line!" the short-haired girl said.

"You really wanna go all out then?" the long-haired girl said.

And those two girls weren't the only ones talking about it. A bit further away, two men and a woman were also discussing the same topic.

"I hadn't heard a thing about it either until recently," the woman said.

"I'm sure the kids are gonna beg us to take them there," the older man said with a sigh.

"Do we even know where it is?" the younger man asked.

"I've already heard a bunch of people talking about this amusement park," Momoko muttered.

She stepped up to the two girls who had been talking about it a moment ago.

"Excuse me," she said. "Were you talking about an amusement park just now?"

"H-huh?" the short-haired girl said. "Why do you ask?"

"I've heard a lot of stuff about it," Momoko said. "But no-one seems to know the full story."

"Oh, really?" the short-haired girl said. "I heard they're building it somewhere in Kamihama."

Momoko blinked. "That's all you know?" she said. "C'mon, you gotta have more details than that!"

"Sorry but I don't," the short-haired girl said. "Seems like we'll only know when it's finished. Weird, huh?"

"Huh," Momoko said. "Do you remember who told you about it?"

"Just a friend," the short-haired girl said. Looking at her friend, she added, "Wait, weren't you the one who told me?"

"No, you're the one who told me!" the long-haired girl said.

"No way! It was definitely you who told me!" the short-haired girl said.

Realizing how suspicious that was, Momoko decided to pay the Coordinator a visit, so she made her way across town to Mitama's office.

"Yo, Mitama!" she said as she stepped inside.

"Oh, Momoko," Mitama said. "What brings you here today? There haven't been any new familiars since you were last here…"

"This time I got a question for you," Momoko said. "Have you heard a rumour about an amusement park?"

"A rumour about an amusement park?" Mitama repeated.

"So you haven't heard anything, Coordinator?"

"And if I have? Oh, are you inviting me there, Momoko?"

"That's not it at all, and you know it," Momoko retorted.

"My my, what a shame!" Mitama said. "I thought you were going to ask me to hang out."

"Do you really want me to invite you?" Momoko asked.

"No, not really," Mitama said.

"Oy!" Momoko protested. "Anyway, that's not the point! Have you really not heard anything about an amusement park rumour?"

"Hmmmm… I definitely haven't heard anything from any magical girls about it," Mitama said. "It hasn't shown up in their memories, either."

"I see," Momoko said. "It's just that it's spread a long way in such a short time. It's only been a few days since I first heard it. I heard about it at school on Friday…"

"Recent gossip about an amusement park," Mitama said. "Oh, I might have heard something!"

"Seriously!?" Momoko gasped.

"Yes, when I went shopping a few days ago," Mitama said. "I heard about it near the 1090 Tower. I think it was on Thursday."

"1090 Tower?" Momoko said. "So Sakae Ward, then. I've gotta ask you, as the Coordinator. Do you think it's a rumour?"

"Well, now," Mitama said. "It'd be a little odd for something as big as an amusement park to show up unannounced. It certainly seems to be a rumour."

"Thought so," Momoko said. "So, the rumour spread in our school in Shinsei Ward just the day before yesterday… and it's already made its way to Mizuna Ward, where I heard it this morning. And before even that, it was thriving in Sakae Ward. Seems the further you go east, the more obvious the rumours are."

"Is that so," Mitama said. "Well, I wish you luck, Momoko!"

"Seeya," Momoko said.

She left the Coordinator's office and took out her phone to send Rena a message asking her to meet up at the 1090 Tower. She then headed that way herself.

"This is around where the Coordinator learned about the rumour," she mused. "Rena should be here by now."

She spotted Rena standing beside a doorway, just outside the flow of the crowd.

"Oh, there she is! Yooo! Rena!"

Rena turned to look at her, blinking.

"Oh, hey Momoko," she said.

"Congrats on making it over here!" Momoko said.

"What's there to say 'congrats' about?" Rena asked. "You pretty much forced me to do this."

"Heh, sorry, my bad!" Momoko said. "Seriously though, you're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"I'll take one mont blanc for the trouble," Rena retorted.

"Hey now!" Momoko said. "When'd I promise you that!?"

"Wow, can't you take a joke?" Rena grumbled. "I don't really need any payment. But, you know, I wouldn't turn you down if you did get me one."

"You've got some nerve," Momoko said. "So, did you buy that thing you were gonna get?"

"Uh-huh," Rena said. "A fruit tart from Sunlight Café. Kaede loves them. I'll take it over to her later."

"Make sure you don't let it go bad or something," Momoko said.

"I won't!" Rena protested. "Anyway, the rumour about the theme park, I tried asking around about it."

"Aww, I knew I could count on you, Rena," Momoko said. "Thanks a bunch. Did you learn anything?"

"A lotta people seemed to know about it," Rena said. "Especially people around our age."

"As I suspected," Momoko said.

"What do you mean?" Rena asked. "Wait, when did all this talk of an amusement park first pop up anyway?"

"It was super recent, I think," Momoko said. "I only just heard about it."

"I see," Rena said. "Hey, Momoko."

"Yeah?"

"Once Kaede starts feeling better we should all celebrate," Rena said. "Maybe we can go to that amusement park?"

"What!?" Momoko gasped.

"Whoa, what's your problem?" Rena asked.

"Rena, you got it wrong," Momoko said. "Ya know this isn't an ordinary rumour, right? It's like the Rule of Ending Friendships."

"What!?" Rena gasped. "Are you kidding!? Why didn't you tell me that from the start!? I totally didn't get what was going on!"

"Okay, my bad, my bad!" Momoko said. "Don't get angry! When we talk about a rumour, it's usually about the bad kinda rumours!"

"How am I supposed to know that if you don't say it!?" Rena protested.

Momoko sighed. "Ah heck, I'll get ya a mont blanc…?" she said.

Rena giggled, beaming. "All is forgiven."

"Great," Momoko said.

"Strange, though," Rena said. "I didn't hear about it at all at school recently…"

"That's the thing," Momoko said. "That's exactly what's been bothering me."

They spent a couple of hours gathering information from passers-by, including both adults and schoolchildren, then met back up in front of the 1090 tower.

"I guess the fastest way to gather information when you're not concerned about the age of the people you're asking is to use a clipboard and make the rounds about town," Momoko said.

"Yeah, it was really devious of us to pretend it was a survey for class!" Rena said.

"Devious?" Momoko said. "Please! It was a good, wholesome strategy, that's all. Though to be honest, you aren't really built for this kinda stuff, Rena."

"I can't help it!" Rena protested. "I never know how to talk to strangers, especially when they're older than me. It was even harder before you showed up, Momoko…"

"Aw, thanks," Momoko said. "Well, thanks to all your hard work we got us a whole bunch of data."

"But we still didn't figure out the most important thing," Rena said. "Where the amusement park's gonna be."

"Well, yeah," Momoko said. "But at least now we know it opens at dawn the day after tomorrow. We also know it must be pretty far from Sakae Ward. I think that's enough. Plus, we know for sure the rumour spread from east to west through Sakae, Mizuna, and Shinsei."

"I wonder what type of rumour it is?" Rena said.

"For us to find out, we'll have to ask one of those familiar-like things," Momoko said.

"This all reminds me of the Rule of Ending Friendships," Rena said. "It gives me the chills…"

"A rumour about an amusement park?" Iroha says.

"I haven't heard anything about that," Yachiyo says.

"Yeah, this one hasn't spread too far into Shinsei Ward yet," Momoko says.

"Then you're saying…"

"Yep, it's just like that Misery Water rumour," Momoko says. "It's brand new. So it wouldn't be in your Kamihama Rumour Files yet, Miss Yachiyo."

"Fair enough," Yachiyo says.

"So anyway, I did some research about this amusement park rumour," Momoko says. "It seems like it spread here from the east…"

"The east…" Sana says.

"Wait, this all adds up!" Felicia says. "It goes with what we put on the map!"

"A rumour spreading across from the east," Sana muses. "And the eye of the storm, over in the east."

"You think they're connected?" Momoko asks.

"It's definitely suspicious!" Iroha says.

Momoko grabs a pen that was left on the table.

"And if I draw it on the map, look," Momoko says.

She draws a few arrows pointing from the "eye of the storm" outward to Sakae, Mizuna, and Shinsei Wards.

"There, it went something like that," she says. "If it started spreading out from Sakae, then it makes sense we hadn't heard about it."

"We should go and look into it, Miss Yachiyo," Iroha says.

"Even if Tsuruno doesn't end up being there, senior feathers with more info could be," Yachiyo says.

"If it's some kinda source for rumours then you should get going right away," Momoko says.

"Why, is something wrong?" Iroha asks.

"Well, that amusement park's supposed to be opening at dawn, the day after tomorrow," Momoko says.

"Opening at dawn!?" Yachiyo says. "That makes it even more fishy."

"But wait," Iroha says. "Aren't we forgetting something? You said we can't travel to areas in the east very easily. Isn't that right, Miss Yachiyo?"

"Yes, that's correct," Yachiyo says. "I'll have to contact someone first. She might even know about the rumours there."

"We're just gonna ask her for help?" Momoko asks.

"We don't have any other choice," Yachiyo says. "She's the boss of the east, after all."

"Boss of the east?" Iroha says.

"A magical girl who controls the Daito and Kosho Wards," Yachiyo says. "My former enemy."

"Okay… but it's almost time for dinner," Iroha says. "How about we call her after?"

"Sure," Yachiyo says.

"You also said you had a big lead on your little sister, right?" Momoko says.

"Oh, yeah!" Iroha says. "Miss Taylor sent me a photo of her! She seems to be trapped somewhere… hold on, I'll show it to you."

She takes out the phone, brings up the photo, and passes it around. Momoko takes it first, blinking at it.

"Well, she sure does look like she's related to you, Iroha-chan," Momoko says. "Even dyed her hair the same colour, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, cause we both like pink," Iroha says, nodding. "Though now that you mention it… I haven't dyed it since I became a magical girl… but it doesn't seem like it needs it…"

"I've heard of that happening to other magical girls too," Yachiyo says. "After becoming a magical girl, whatever colour they habitually dye their hair becomes permanent somehow, as if it was their natural colour… but there are also those for whom it doesn't happen. I can't say I understand why…"

"That outfit also looks kinda like a magical girl outfit," Momoko says. "Was your little sister a magical girl too?"

"Not as far as I know," Iroha says. "But then, I didn't think Touka-chan was a magical girl, either…"

"And what's that she's trapped inside?" Momoko wonders. "My first guess would be ice, but isn't it tinted red?"

"Yeah, I have no idea," Iroha says.

Momoko passes the phone to Sana, who looks at it.

"So this is your little sister," she says. "Huh? You know, this crystal looks a bit like the ones on that thing in the Magius's basement… but I didn't see her when Miss Taylor took me down there, so maybe it's just a coincidence…"

"Lemme see!" Felicia says.

She leans over to peer at the photo.

"She looks just like Iroha!" Felicia says.

"Well, she is my little sister," Iroha says. "Anyway, shall we have dinner?"

"Yes! I'm starving!" Felicia says.

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.

Hattori Sorashi
服部空史

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Iga, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green crescent moon
Soul Gem: Circular green gemstone on her left wrist
Element: Forest
Weapon: Sickle and chain
Powers: Personal gravity field
Wish: "I want the power to uphold my family's honour."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)

Speed: 7
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 3
Initial Power Usability: 6
Learned Powers: 2

This is something of a transitional chapter – it probably could have been merged with the next one, but I wanted to keep it separate so I could feature the rumour Ashley's team is assigned to. That means that it's a little shorter than usual, but also means I'm able to post in the middle of the week while still getting the next chapter ready for the weekend. In fact, chapter 80 is basically done and just needs several rounds of proof-reading now.

Also, I remembered (by skimming through her side story for an unrelated reason) that Rui's cat is named Paracelsus, so I updated chapter 77 to reflect that.