Magia: A New Hope

by Pentalithia

A Madoka / Magia Record fan suddenly wakes up in the world of magical girls, as a side character. Features Ashley Taylor. Note: In case it's not obvious, you should expect massive spoilers here for nearly everything in the franchise.

100. Enter the Nightmare

At this point you might be wondering about some of the things that I have left vague in my previous arguments. There is good reason for that, of course, for historical records of the time period are not just fragmentary – they are nonexistent. We're talking about the era of Homo erectus, before writing was even invented. The evidence, such as there is, is mainly fossils and cave paintings. However, allow me a few moments to venture into the realm of fantasy and speculation.

First, I ask you to imagine an alien race which is so advanced in technology that they appear to our distant ancestors as all-powerful gods. But imagine that this race also lacks one of the things that makes us quintessentially human – the faculty of emotions. Moreover, they find emotions to be an irrational thing, and consider it a mental illness on the rare occasion that it surfaces amongst their own kind. What might happen if this alien race were to stumble upon this quaint little planet of ours?

I posit that they might spend some time to study our kind and understand how we can be so successful despite this irrational emotional faculty. And suppose in their studies they stumble upon a strange truth: somehow, human emotion violates the second law of thermodynamics. Realizing that the discovery could lead to a long-sought solution for the eventual heat death of the universe, the alien race decides to step up their research.

Yet even with their advanced understanding of physics, the alien race cannot comprehend how emotions could produce such an effect. They had never observed the phenomenon among their own kind, even those that did occasionally demonstrate emotions. Clearly, there was some other factor that the human race possessed that enabled entropy to decrease.

Suppose the alien race eventually learns that the human soul is the key to the reversal of entropy. In an effort to make the process more efficient, they develop a method to crystallize the human soul, maximizing its potential. Perhaps it was a surprise to them when the humans with crystallized souls demonstrated powers that defied all rationality, performing miracles as easy as breathing – or, as you might say, magic.

But the aliens have already found their entropy-reversal system. The magical powers are just a irrelevant side-effect, one which only serves to hasten their victims' demise as they burn out fast, their short lives producing vast amounts of low-entropy, usable energy out of the high-entropy background radiation.

Before you say all of that sounds implausible, I implore you to consider the famous maxim of Arther C. Clarke – "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". Naturally, the above scenario is very far-fetched, positively fantastical, but if you consider a civilization far more advanced than our own, there is no telling what seemingly magical technology they could possess.

Nevertheless, it remains firmly in the realm of speculation. The existing evidence points to a paradigm-shifting event of some kind, but gives precious little evidence as to its true nature. But perhaps one day new evidence will surface, and humanity will finally learn the truth of their humble origins.

~Appendix A from "A Study of the So-Called Cognitive Revolution"~
~by Kiriha Kosane, Psy.M~

---

"Homura-chan, no!" Mami gasped.

I'd almost dozed off, leaning against a tree with Riko and Karin both leaning on me, and I sat up with a start, waking the two of them as well.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Mmmn?" Riko said. "Oh… we're still at the lake… it wasn't a dream…"

"Alina-sempai… Inui-chan…" Karin muttered.

"Inui-nee… she's really gone, huh…" Riko muttered.

Mami appeared to be the only other one awake of the Holy Brigade. Nagisa was curled up into her lap, Kyouko was curled up like a cat with Yuma leaning on her, Sayaka and Hitomi were leaning on each other, and Homura appeared to still be cradling Madoka in her arms. With a start, I realized she was actually using her magic for something. Worse, it looked like she was on the verge of a grief spiral, if not already in one.

"Sorry, Riko-chan, Karin-chan, it seems like I've gotta move," I said.

I extracted myself from them, laying Inui's body out on the grass, then strode over to Homura and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her.

"Get it together!" I said.

Homura shot me a fierce glare.

"Stop it! I've had enough!" she shouted. "I can't take this anymore! When I was by myself, it was actually easier to bear! So just leave me alone!"

I'd used up all my grief seeds during the Walpurgisnacht fight, but I did still have a couple of grief cubes, so I could've purified her soul gem; but with my stash so depleted, I wanted to try and stabilize her first.

"Are you giving up, then?" I asked. "You've been at this for around ten years, and now suddenly you can't take it anymore?"

"It's obvious there's no way out," Homura retorted. "Even now and last time, it all went well up until the very end. It's hopeless! I've had enough of seeing Madoka die over and over again!"

Around us, other magical girls were starting to stir. Noriko sat up and blinked at us, and the rest of the Holy Brigade other than Nagisa and Yuma had been roused as well. Iroha and Yachiyo were also awake. Iroha even got to her feet and came over.

"Homura-chan, I can't say I completely understand what you're going through," Iroha said. "But do you think Madoka-chan would be happy to see you throw your life away?"

"I don't care anymore!" Homura screamed. "I've had enough! Just kill me already!"

While Iroha attempted to control her, I half turned to see where Noriko was. She'd apparently been woken by the shouting, which was a stroke of luck. If the worst were to happen, if Homura unleashed her doppel and lost control of it, I had to at least ensure that she wouldn't leave the range of the automatic purification system and turn into a witch. Everything would be ruined if that happened, after all, so I couldn't be too cautious.

«Hey, Noriko… could you be ready to deploy a barrier?»

She turned towards me, blinking a few times.

«Huh? Um… I can, but… why?»

«To be precise… if it seems like there's a barrier forming, I'd like you to surround it with one of your own, and funnel it towards Chuo Ward.»

«Huh? So you want me to create a barrier only if there's a barrier already?»

«Yes, it's a precaution in case Miss Homura unleashes her doppel and it goes out of control.»

«Um… okay, I guess I can.»

"B-but you can carry on Madoka-chan's wishes if you survive!" Iroha said.

I turned back to Homura as well.

"Why are you saying there's no way out?" I asked. "You still have your magic, don't you? How can you be sure there's no way out?"

"Because I've tried over and over and over for ten years or more, just like you said!" Homura shouted. "Every single time, she dies, no matter what I do! Even now, when it looked like everything was going well… she still died, at the last second! It's like fate requires her to die!"

"I don't believe in fate," I said.

"Um, you've somewhat lost me now," Iroha said. "What are you talking about…?"

"You'd never understand!" Homura screamed, tears beginning to leak out. "The pain of seeing her die hundreds of times, over and over and over again! You can't possibly understand!"

"Ah," Iroha said, blinking as comprehension dawned on her face. "I think I get it… I heard Miss Taylor had gone in time, but I guess she wasn't the only one, huh? In fact, come to think of it… you have time magic, don't you?" She glanced at me, then looked back at Homura. "You were actually the one who took Miss Taylor back in time, weren't you? And you've been trying to save Madoka-chan for such a long time… I think I understand now, even if just a little… what you must have gone through… though it's hard to even imagine it… ten years is a really long time…"

"Don't even try to understand!" Homura sobbed. "I don't want you to understand! Just leave me alone and let me die! Let me at least stay with her in death!"

And that was when her soul gem filled up, the grief spilling out and fusing into her body as her doppel came out. Her skin was coated with a layer of glass, her legs fused into the lower chamber of a sand timer, and a pointed witch's hat formed on her head with a veil hanging down to cover her face. A perfect replica of Kyuubey rested upon the brim of the hat, but it was clearly a fake, lifeless – a plush toy. Countless ribbon-like tentacles sprang from her back, each tipped with her magical girl costume, a pair of glasses, and a pigtailed wig, wielding a golf club. Two strips of cloth expanded into makeshift arms, growing claws at the end. Witch runes hanging in the air spelled out the name, Homulilly. The doppel was completely fused with her, but I wasn't sure if that qualified it as a doppel syndrome or if it was only because she was old enough for her magic to be stabilized. That is, assuming stability was based solely on chronological age and not on mental age. Mayoi seemed to be weak evidence that it was, however, so for the time being I was assuming that was how it worked.

Iroha gasped, taking an involuntary step back.

"O-oh no… her doppel!" she said. "W-wait… is it safe to unleash a doppel here…?"

She glanced towards Scheherazade, who was still here, apparently perusing the book that represented her Akashic Records. The woman shrugged.

"Seems like it," she said. "If it wasn't safe, she would've become a witch instead. Like I said earlier – it depends on how overloaded the system is. Right now, she's probably the only one in the area to pass the limit, so it's fine, for the time being."

"Still," I said. "The fact that she's unleashed a doppel means she's in danger of turning into a witch. Especially since she's in a grief spiral – look, her soul gem was purified by the doppel, but it's already so muddy."

"Enough," Homura droned. "Enough… fate is inescapable… enough… leave me alone…"

I transformed and brandished my sword, and Iroha followed my example. Mami also got to her feet and transformed. Nagisa sat up, rubbing at her eyes.

"Huh? Homura-nee, you look stupid," she said. "Stop that, or I'm gonna laugh at you."

"Enough," Homura repeated.

"I don't know if we can, but shall we try to disperse the doppel?" I asked.

"I'll at least try," Mami said.

She and Iroha opened fire, aiming at the glass orb encasing Homura's lower body. I attacked the tentacles with my sword, severing several of them in a single swipe.

"Nooooooo!" Homura suddenly screamed. "Enough! I can't take it! Leave me alone! Madoka! Come back to me! Don't leave me! Leave me alone already!"

With those words, a barrier formed, sucking us in. Before I even had a chance to react, I found myself in a classroom at Mitakihara Middle School. Iroha and Mami were still with me, with Mami sitting roughly in the centre of the room, myself two seats to her left by the wall, and Iroha two seats behind me in the corner. Besides us, the classroom was filled with generic students that all looked alike, about half boys and half girls. The teacher also had a similar generic face. I'd briefly seen Mami's actual homeroom teacher once, and I thought this generic guy did vaguely resemble him… though I wasn't quite sure. The three of us had all been put in the Mitakihara Middle School uniform.

"Huh?" Iroha said. "Oh… is this the same thing that happened to me? We're in a dream created by her doppel?"

"That would be my guess, yeah," I said.

"This does look like my classroom, though that's not my homeroom teacher," Mami said. "But all of the other students are completely faceless… and they don't even resemble the other students in my class. The seats you two are sitting in would normally be occupied by Emi-san and Marika-san, for example."

"Are those your friends, Miss Tomoe?" Iroha asks.

"We're not that close, but… I suppose we could be called friends," Mami says. "We're at least on a first-name basis… we were even classmates in elementary school, but we've drifted apart since I became a magical girl."

"But wow, I never thought I'd wear a middle school uniform," I said. "Does Miss Homura not understand that I'm in high school?"

Iroha giggled a bit.

"Even if you say that, it suits you," she said.

"I don't want to hear that," I retorted.

"But wait, didn't you wear a middle school uniform when you were in middle school?" Iroha asked.

"We don't wear school uniforms at all in America," I said. "Well, there might be exceptions in some private schools, but most of us don't. More importantly… let me check if anyone else was sucked in."

I scried on the rest of the Holy Brigade and Crescent Moon teams. Yachiyo and the others were still in the park, meaning they hadn't been sucked in – I also noted that Noriko had transformed and appeared to be concentrating on something, presumably her barrier. Nagisa and Yuma appeared to be at Mami's apartment, which probably meant they had been sucked in. Kyouko, Hitomi, and Sayaka were at school, in a different classroom, so they'd been sucked in too.

Besides the three of them, there were several other students that had faces in the other class. Hitomi sat in her usual seat, one away from the back and left of the classroom when viewed from behind. Sayaka sat in front of her, and Kyouko had the seat at Sayaka's left, which if memory served would usually be occupied by the twin-tailed girl who had instead taken the seat in front of her. Madoka was at Hitomi's right, and to her right was a girl with long red hair. Nakazawa was at the front of the classroom, several seats in front of the red-haired girl. Behind Madoka was a girl with short brown hair. Kyosuke sat in the middle of the far right column. The girl to his left had long brown hair, while the one in front of him had green hair in a ponytail and wore glasses. The girl in front of her, nearest the door, had short blue hair and a tanned complexion. Between her and Nakazawa was an empty space, and all the remaining students had no face at all. The teacher, Ms Saotome, also had a face, unlike the one here in Mami's class.

"Damn, this uniform," Kyouko said. "Never thought I'd see myself in a school uniform again… I really can't get used to this skirt."

"Looks like it's just your team and the two of us, Miss Tomoe," I said. "Though strangely several of the students in the other class have faces…"

I trailed off as Ms Saotome began to speak.

"Alright, everyone!" she announced. "Just because the predicted planet X never appeared and destroyed the world, I don't want you thinking we're safe. We certainly are not! This is only the beginning! Did you know, there's a total lunar eclipse next year on the feast of Saint Magdalene? And that's just one of six in that year! Isn't that scary? It's quite ominous, isn't it!?"

Ms Saotome's usual rant seemed to be about the end of the world and doomsday predictions, and she was being even more exaggerated about it than normal. It wasn't the exact same rant as from the Rebellion movie, but it was pretty similar. If anything it seemed seemed like an abridged version of that rant. The mention of Saint Magdalene got a slight chuckle out of me which I did my best to suppress, given that I'd met Mary Magdalene several times and she clearly had some screws loose… though Saint Magdalene could've referred to a different person.

"Meaning that by 2057, our world will undergo a certain event… and what event might that be, Nakazawa-kun!?" Ms Saotome suddenly exclaimed.

The boy in question shot to his feet, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Eh!? Um, well actually, I have no idea… what we're even talking about…"

"Now, that won't do!" Ms Saotome lamented. "It seems that in a certain country, forty-one percent of the population believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ will occur in the next seven years! The seven horns of the apocalypse may blow at any minute! Well, honestly… I wouldn't mind seeing this world go down in flames… after all, I've had my fill of dealings with men and love and so forth… if I have to start rounding my age up to forty from now on, I'd rather everything just ended in one fell swoop…"

«Hey, hey, what's going on here?» Sayaka asked.

«Beats me!» Kyouko said. «Why am I even here, anyway? I've never seen this room in my entire life. Even when I went to school, it wasn't this one.»

"Hey, um… Ms Saotome… are you alright…?" Nakazawa asked.

The question seemed to snap the teacher out of her funk, and she straightened up.

"Ah yes, speaking of which, today we have a new transfer student!"

Kyouko laughed. "What a dummy! Did she forget?"

"She just should have started with that!" Madoka said with a giggle. "But come to think of it, this all seems awfully familiar, doesn't it…?"

"Okay then, Miss Akemi, come on in!" Ms Saotome said.

Homura stepped into the room, back to the braids and glasses, and walked up to the front of the class. Sayaka, Hitomi, and Kyouko blinked at her and stared a little. Madoka's eyes widened, and she let out a little gasp.

"I'm Akemi Homura. It's very nice to meet you."

"Ms Akemi has been hospitalized for some time due to a heart condition," Ms Saotome explained. "She hasn't been to school in quite awhile, so I'm sure she'll run into a lot of difficulties. So make sure you all help her out, okay?"

"Yes'm!" the class chorused.

«Is that the original form of Akemi Homura?» Hitomi wondered.

«The heck do you mean by original form?» Kyouko asked.

«She's a bit different from her original form,» I butted in. «I guess this is about how she was like the very first time she went back in time, though. But originally, before she became a magical girl, she was shy and stammering in her introduction.»

«Went back in time?» Kyouko said. «You joshing with me…?»

«That's right, you're the only one who hasn't heard about that yet, Kyouko-chan,» Madoka said.

«Eh!?» Iroha gasped. «Is that Madoka-chan's voice I just heard? But I thought you… I thought… you died…?»

«Oh, yes,» Madoka said. «I do remember being hit by a fiery beam… but then I found myself here… I thought I was just seeing my life flash before my eyes before I died, but then I heard Ashley-chan's voice, and now yours, Iroha-chan… neither of you should be here, right?»

«Maybe this is similar to Remi-chan's necromancy, or the Rumour of the May Bells,» I said. «Madoka's final second of life has been tapped into and stretched out via time magic, and her consciousness has been transplanted into this scenario. At least, that's my guess. So yes, I'm afraid you're dead from our perspective, Madoka… but I guess we can still interact with you in here.»

«That doesn't explain why I'm here,» Kyouko said.

«You were just in the vicinity,» I said.

«Then what about Yuma?» Kyouko asked.

«Oh, and Nagisa!» Sayaka said. «The little tykes are missing!»

«They're in here somewhere too,» I said.

«Yuma is fine!» Yuma interjected. «Yuma is with Nagisa at Miss Mami's place!»

«I'm not a tyke!» Nagisa protested. «I'm Nagisa!»

«Oh, I didn't expect you'd be able to hear us,» I said.

«No way Mami's place is in range from here,» Kyouko said.

«Exactly,» I replied. «But I guess the entire thing is faked, so the fake of Miss Tomoe's apartment is actually quite close to the fake of your classroom and the fake of Miss Tomoe's classroom where the three of us are.»

«So Iroha-chan is in Miss Mami's classroom?» Madoka said.

«I guess it must be because they're the same age,» I said. «No idea why I was thrown in though, I'm about two years older…»

«You're older than me, Iroha-chan?» Madoka said. «I never even realized… I'm going on fourteen.»

«Sorry, I guess it just never came up, Madoka-chan,» Iroha said. «I'm turning fifteen in August, so it's only one year. I don't think it's a big deal.»

«Oh, so you have a summer birthday!» Madoka said. «Mine's in October.»

«Um, sorry to interrupt, but we are actually in a rather serious situation here,» I said.

«Ah, I'm sorry,» Iroha said. «I was just so excited that I could speak to Madoka-chan one last time…»

«Anyway, we're in the labyrinth spawned by Miss Homura's doppel,» I said. «For the time being we should probably play along with the scenario – if we stick out too much, we'll probably be attacked.»

«Ah… okay,» Hitomi said.

«I guess that makes sense,» Sayaka said. «It's like a witch's barrier, right? So it's bound to be at least a little dangerous…»

«So this all came out of Homura-chan's head,» Madoka said. «It must be the daily life she wishes for…»

«By the way… some of the students over there don't have faces, right?» I said.

«Ah, you're right,» Madoka said. «I didn't even notice until you pointed it out… huh? But some of them do… like Sir Nakazawa, and… huh? Kamijou-kun is here too? He's supposed to still be in the hospital when Homura-chan transfers in…»

«Why do you suppose some of them are faceless and some aren't?» Hitomi asked. «In addition to Sir Nakazawa, I recognize a few others… Miss Asano, sitting in front of Kamijou-kun… and there's Miss Fujimori behind Miss Madoka, and Miss Kurata sitting in front of Miss Kyouko…»

«Are all the ones with faces actual people in your class?» I asked.

«Yes, I think so,» Madoka said. «Miss Kurata, Kyouko-chan, Sayaka-chan, Hitomi-chan, me, Miss Fujimori, Sir Nakazawa, Miss Hanata, Homura-chan, Miss Hayasaka, Miss Tamamoto, Miss Asano, and Kamijou-kun. Oh, and Ms Saotome of course. That's everyone who has a face, I think… I notice almost none of them are boys, too…»

«Wow, you have a good memory for names, Madoka,» Kyouko said. «No way I would've remembered all of those, especially if we never talked.»

«Well, Ms Saotome does roll call every day after all,» Madoka said.

«Huh? You actually pay attention to that every single day?» Kyouko said.

«Not every day, but usually, yes!» Madoka said.

Homura stepped up to the empty spot next to Nakazawa, smiling at Madoka while the desk rose up from the floor, and then she took a seat as the class commenced. I noticed that Mami's class and Madoka's class appeared to be giving the exact same lesson.

"Um… isn't this second-year material?" Iroha asked.

"I think so," Mami said. "I remember doing it last year…"

The teacher seemed to completely ignore the talking.

"So why are they teaching second-year material in a third-year classroom?" Iroha asked.

"Well, this is Miss Homura's dream," I pointed out. "She's never been a third-year, so she doesn't know what they learn. In fact, they're hearing the exact same thing in their classroom right now."

"Oh, that makes sense," Iroha said. "It's like how Miss Yachiyo said that Miss Kuroe and Felicia-chan knew each other in my dream… except it's the opposite. She can't show things she doesn't know…"

"How Miss Nanami said?" I said. "Do you not remember it yourself?"

"Well, a little bit, but it's fuzzy," Iroha said.

"And that's it for today!" the teacher concluded.

The faceless students immediately began to pack up and leave.

"Huh? Already?" Iroha said.

"Well… it's a dream, so I'm sure she wants to get straight to the good bits," I said. "How about you lead us to the roof, Miss Tomoe? Although I don't know if the geometry of this place actually matches your school…"

Mami nodded. "If it does, then it would be this way," she said.

The three of us headed for the roof, where we found Homura and the others waiting. Hitomi and Madoka were complimenting Homura's appearance, while Sayaka and Kyouko were not-so-subtly questioning her about the scenario. She seemed to be utterly ignoring all four of them, however – like they weren't even there. When she spotted Mami, she waved and came over, turning to face the others.

"I'm sorry for surprising you," Homura said, fidgeting a little. "Actually, I really should have introduced myself last night, but… this and that happened, so I didn't get a chance. I c-can only really serve as a support role… I don't have any attack power to speak of…"

«The hell's she talking about?» Kyouko asked, looking at me. «You got any idea, Ashley Taylor? Ain't she a pretty strong one? Why's she talking like a damn rookie?»

«I think I mentioned it earlier, but this seems like a regressed Homura,» I said. «In the first timeline she was just figuring out how her magic worked. At first she would just stop time and hit things with a golf club. Then she started making home-made bombs. It was only after Miss Miki got mad at her for the explosions that she started stealing weapons from the yakuza.»

«I did that?» Sayaka said. «Well, I guess I would get annoyed if bombs kept blowing up in my face though… but I guess it's kinda ironic that I used one of those same bombs in the Memory Museum…»

"But you're very reliable, Homura-chan," Mami pointed out. "We can double up our attacks with your help, after all. Just having you on the team boosts our strength several times over."

"That's right!" Sayaka said.

"Well, I'll admit that your magic's pretty incredible," Kyouko said.

"T-then, once again… my name is Akemi Homura," she said. "From here on, I will help you battle the nightmares of this city."

«Huh? Wait, what the heck is a nightmare?» Sayaka asked.

«Good question,» I said. «But I guess Miss Tamaki may have some idea… right?»

«Eh? Me?» Iroha said. «Oh… do you think it's like those fake witches that showed up in my doppel barrier…?»

«Seems like as good a guess as any,» I said. «Though I'm sure they're quite different from yours. They came from a different mind, after all.»

«So you're saying they're just made-up monsters for us to fight?» Sayaka said.

«Probably,» I said.

«What's the point of that?» Kyouko said. «If she's gonna make a dream, why do there have to be monsters at all?»

«Who knows!» I said. «Maybe she just can't imagine a world where she doesn't have to fight… or maybe she simply can't help it, because the place is flooded with impurities.»

"I look forward to working with you!" Homura concluded, bowing.

Madoka stepped forward to seize her hands.

"Let's do our best together, Homura-chan!" she said.

With that, they all left the school and headed to Mami's place, which was somehow just around the corner from the school gate. Normally it would've been a fair bit further, but this must've been the dream logic coming into play again.

"So Miss Tomoe and Miss Akemi live in an apartment?" Iroha said.

"Yes, together with Nagisa-chan," Mami said.

"Y-yes, t-that's right!" Homura said. "Um, Miss Mami and Miss Nagisa are almost like sisters, you know… I know Miss Mami said I should move in with them, but I feel like I'd be getting in the way. My parents are paying for a place for me, so maybe I should go there after all…?"

"There's no need to worry about that, Homura-chan," Mami said. "You're welcome to stay at my place as long as you like."

"Ah, um… t-thank you very much!" Homura said.

They headed inside and entered the apartment. Nagisa jumped up and glomped Mami right away, and Yuma did the same to Kyouko. I noticed what appeared to be several plush toys on the couch, taking the form of Candeloro, Charlotte's first form, and Yuma's doppel, Pistis – an insect-like head with wings fanning out from the sides, though without the droplets that formed a stick figure extending out from it. The latter struck me as quite strange, as Homura shouldn't've seen Yuma's doppel before… or had she unleashed it today during the Walpurgisnacht battle? On the other hand, maybe Homura saw Yuma turn into a witch in some past timeline? There was also a plush toy of Kyuubey that I thought for a moment to be the real thing.

But as my eyes landed on them, the three toys twitched and turned to look at me. Were they not plush toys after all? However, after that one movement, they reverted to seemingly lifeless toys again. The Kyuubey toy didn't show any signs of life.

"Mami-nee's finally here!" Nagisa said. "You'll never believe how bored I got while waiting for you!"

"Kyouko!" Yuma said. "You're in a school uniform! Yuma likes that look on you!"

"No, no, no," Kyouko said. "It totally doesn't suit me at all… does it…? I mean, I don't think I'll ever get used to this stupid skirt…"

"You could always wear the boys' uniform if you don't like the skirt," I pointed out.

"The boys' uniform, huh?" Kyouko said. "That's almost worse, in a way…"

"It is an option though," Madoka said. "The school rules don't explicitly identify the two uniforms as being for boys or girls… so it's not against the rules for a girl to wear the boys' uniform, or even for a boy to wear the girls' uniform… though I've never seen anyone choose that."

"I remember a girl when I was in first year," Mami said. "She was a sempai on the student council, as I recall, and she wore the boys' uniform on most days…"

Suddenly she clapped her hands together once.

"Ah! I forgot to offer you some tea!" she said. "Just wait a minute, and I'll prepare some for everyone. Just take a seat anywhere."

"It's a little cramped with ten of us in here, isn't it?" Iroha said.

"Though it seems a bit bigger than I remember," Sayaka mused.

"Well, that just means some of us'll have to lean against the wall," Kyouko said.

She did just that, flopping down on the floor and leaning back against the door. Everyone else also found a place to sit.

"I wonder what sort of cake it'll be today," Homura mused.

"Ah, is there cake!?" Kyouko gasped. "Mami, Mami, have you got cake!?"

"Let me check!" Mami's voice echoed from the next room. "Oh! There is! I'll bring it out too!"

"Is it cheesecake?" Nagisa asked.

"No, I'm afraid not, Nagisa-chan," Mami replied.

"Do you prefer cheesecake, Nagisa-chan?" Iroha asked.

"Not especially," Nagisa said. "It was my mother who liked cheese and cheesecake, really… so it makes me think of her when I eat it."

"Oh… is your mother…?" Iroha said.

"She kicked the bucket a few days ago," Nagisa said.

"Ah, it was that recent!?" Iroha gasped. "W-what happened…?"

"She was in the hospital with a terminal disease," Nagisa said. "I knew it was coming."

"Oh… I'm so sorry," Iroha said.

"I already parted with her, so I'm fine," Nagisa said.

"Then that makes three of you who've lost their parents?" Iroha said. "I already heard about Yuma-chan's parents and Miss Sakura's parents…"

"My parents are alive and kicking," Sayaka said.

"Mine too," Madoka said.

"My parents are still healthy," Hitomi said. "My father is very busy with his work, and I rarely see him. Unfortunately, I do not get along well with my mother…"

"Ah, um… I haven't heard from them for a little while, but… Mother and Father are working overseas," Homura said.

"Oh, so are mine," Iroha said. "They just left a couple of weeks ago."

I suddenly thought this might be a good time to get a little extra information out of her.

"Do you know what your parents do, Miss Homura?" I asked.

"Eh? Um… I think Mother was a… d-doctor or… or a psychiatrist… or something like that?" Homura said. "Father… I'm not sure… um, s-so… w-what about y-yours?"

That wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, so I decided to drop it. I'd already learned that much from questioning her before.

"My mother's alive and well," I said. "Dad's in the hospital… he's not expected to live much longer. He might've even died already and they just haven't gotten around to telling me yet…"

"What? I'm sure that's not the case!" Iroha said. "They'd definitely tell you!"

"I mean, of course they would," I said. "And I even spoke to him on Monday for a few minutes. But it can happen suddenly, right? And there's a lot of stuff to deal with when someone dies, so there could be a day or two of delay before they let me know."

"Ah… I see what you mean," Iroha said. "Then what about Miss Tomoe's parents?"

Mami returned to the room at that moment. She had a tray with ten cups of tea and a stack of plates and forks, which she set down on the table before starting to pass the tea around to everyone.

"I lost my parents in a car crash about two years ago," Mami said. "I've been living on my own ever since… until Homura-chan and Nagisa-chan moved in recently. Although I did also live with Kyouko for a few months last year. That was before she lost her parents. We drifted apart after that."

"Oh, I didn't realize the two of you were that close," Iroha said.

"We ain't that close," Kyouko retorted. "That's all in the past now."

"Well, even if it's in the past, it's still closer than being total strangers," Iroha said. "By the way… am I the only one with a sibling?"

"Ah, I have a kid brother," Madoka said. "Tatsuya's only three and a half years old… I'm sure he'll miss me very much…"

"Oh wow!" Iroha said. "I'm sure he must be very cute at that age!"

"Yeah, he is!" Madoka said. "When he accidentally saw me transformed, he thought I was an angel!"

"Well, you do look a bit like one in your magical form," Iroha said. "Although I guess there's no halo… but the wings…"

"Hitomi and I don't have any siblings," Sayaka said. "I guess Yuma-chan and Nagisa-chan don't either."

"Yuma doesn't have any," Yuma confirmed.

"I'm Mother's only child," Nagisa said. "But I probably have a sibling I don't know about."

"You're so pessimistic, Nagisa-chan," Iroha said.

"Well, Father often didn't come home, so it's pretty likely he was having an affair," Nagisa shrugged. "And then one day he just left."

"I'll never understand how you can say such horrible things with a straight face," Iroha said. "You've really had a hard time…"

Mami left one cup of tea on the tray and headed back into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a chocolate cake and a knife to cut it. She carefully cut it into ten slices and distributed them around. When I tried it, the cake seemed to be entirely flavour – it essentially melted away in the mouth and left nothing behind to swallow. It did taste good, at least. The same seemed to be true of the tea. It did make sense that the food in a dream was not real, though.

"Man, this cake ain't satisfying at all," Kyouko said. "Tastes great, but…"

"I-I think it's… r-really delicious," Homura said.

After the cake and tea was finished, Homura invited Madoka out for something or other, and the rest of us stayed to discuss what we should do.

"So, what's the deal?" Kyouko said. "We've gotta kick this doppel's ass, right?"

"Well, first we have to draw it out," I said. "And if it's anything like when this happened to Miss Tamaki… the doppel is probably hiding within Miss Homura herself. So, I think drawing it out means bringing the incongruities to her attention, but cautiously, so that we don't attract the attention of anything like a familiar."

"That sounds a bit different from what Miss Yachiyo described," Iroha said. "I don't think she and Miss Kuroe really drew my attention to the fact that it was a dream…"

"What I remember is that you came to your senses once we separated you from the doppel," Mami said.

"I'd say they at least brought the incongruities into question," I said. "Even if it wasn't explicitly making you aware of them…"

At that moment, Kyuubey made an appearance, hopping up onto the table and turning to face Mami.

"You seem to be in quite an unusual situation, Tomoe Mami," it said.

"Kyuubey!?" Iroha gasped. "Is this the real Kyuubey…?"

Kyuubey turned to look at her. "I forgot to ask this earlier. Did you manage to find that imaginary little sister of yours, Tamaki Iroha?" it asked. "Or have you finally come to accept that she does not exist?"

"Oh, yes," Iroha said. "I found her."

"Then you say she does exist," Kyuubey said. "But what sort of power could erase all traces of a person's existence?"

"It was Nemu-chan," Iroha said. "Hiiragi Nemu."

"I see," Kyuubey said. "Certainly, the potential of Hiiragi Nemu's power of manifestation is about equivalent to a magical girl's wish. It would be possible for her to do that. But what reason could she have to do it?"

"That… I haven't quite figured that out yet," Iroha said. "But I'm sure I'll find out soon… once I get out of here…"

"More importantly, this space appears to be almost like a witch's labyrinth," Kyuubey said. "Yet Tomoe Mami's apartment is reproduced with a high degree of accuracy. It is quite unusual."

"Hey, Kyuubey, while you're here… I wonder if you happen to know where the Witch of Symbols is hiding?" I asked.

"The Witch of Symbols?" Kyuubey said. "I do not know which witch you are referring to by that name."

"Have you heard a witch referred to as a number, like ten to the negative one, maybe?" I asked. "Or one-tenth?"

"No, that is not familiar to me either."

"Just checking, but are you able to read the witch runes?" I asked. "Like this writing on our soul gem rings."

I showed my name written on my ring.

"Is that even writing?" Kyuubey said.

"I'll take that as a no," I said. "In that case… do you know the witch in Kamihama whose familiars look like eggs? I heard the witch herself is like a block of stone with arms and legs and a trumpet, but that's just hearsay…"

"Ah, I've seen those egg familiars all over Kamihama," Iroha said. "But I've never seen the witch…"

"That witch is a very old one," Kyuubey said. "But I have not seen it for nearly two hundred years. I do not know where it may be hiding now."

"The Meiji Restoration, then?" Mami said. "It's that old?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's even older than that," I said. "Isn't it, Kyuubey?"

"I believe it is older than Scheherazade," Kyuubey said.

"So even older than Lucy…" I mused. "Wait, just how old is Scheherazade?"

"She is between three and four thousand years old," Kyuubey said.

"T-that's really, really old!?" Sayaka gasped.

"Um… which witch is Lucy?" Iroha asked.

"It's the one with familiars that look like a signpost with a brain," I said.

"Ah, I've fought that one a few times, too," Iroha said.

"I remember fighting that one several times as well," Mami said.

"Really? You too?" Kyouko said "I've beaten it down dozens of times in Kazamino… that one really gets around, huh?"

"She's also a very old witch," I said. "From around the fall of the Tokime clan, if I'm not mistaken."

"I don't know much about that," Iroha said. "I think I've heard the name somewhere…?"

"I thought they taught it in school, at least a little," I said. "Maybe it's high school material? Or maybe I'm just wrong and my perception is skewed by Inui being a history nerd… but Miss Nanami also knew a little about it."

Iroha shrugged. "I don't know what they teach in high school, for obvious reasons…"

"Of course you don't… and I've only seen third year high school."

At that moment, Mami cleared her throat.

"I believe we've gotten off topic again," she said. "We should focus the discussion on how to defeat the doppel and set Miss Homura free."

"So this is a doppel?" Kyuubey said. "This is different from what I heard from other magical girls, however."

"It's more like the extreme case of a doppel," I said. "Typically a doppel doesn't even form a barrier."

"I see," Kyuubey said. "Even in this extreme case there appear to be some differences from a witch. The energy released is much greater than what you call a typical doppel, though it still does not compare to the energy of a witch transformation."

"All you think about is energy, huh?" Nagisa said. "So that's all you care about? If you could get more energy by destroying Earth, you'd do that?"

"Speaking hypothetically, yes," Kyuubey said. "However, please rest assured. The destruction of Earth would do nothing to reverse entropy. In fact, as it is until very recently the only planet we have discovered where entropy reversal is observed, and the other planet contains hostile elements, its destruction would be a major blow to our system, to the point that we would move to remove such a threat if it were detected."

"You say that, but you would've let Madoka turn into a witch and destroy civilization," I pointed out.

"The prodigious amount of energy released by that transformation would have been more than enough to account for several thousand years of dormancy," Kyuubey said. "One day the witch would be defeated, and at that point we would naturally continue where we had left off."

"You're that confident that Kriemhild Gretchen… sorry, Madoka's witch would eventually be defeated?" I said. "Even though she'd swallow everything up?"

"If nothing else, it seems extremely unlikely that the likes of Scheherazade, Pernelle, or Darinu would be defeated even by such a powerful witch," Kyuubey said.

"Excuse me, Kyuubey," Mami said. "Unless you have a suggestion on how to escape from the doppel and release Homura-chan from its hold, then please leave. We have enough distractions as it is right now."

"I believe it would be almost the same as defeating a witch," Kyuubey said. "The only difficulty is in the searching step. Unlike a witch's labyrinth, there does not appear to be a central chamber."

"And do you have any suggestions on how to search?" Mami asked.

"I do not," Kyuubey said. "I will see you later."

With that, it hopped off the table and disappeared.

"Guess we might as well just start by patrolling," Kyouko said. "Let's go in pairs and wander all over."

"Sounds good," I said.

"Yuma will go with Kyouko!"

"Nagisa-chan, will you come with me?" Mami asks.

"I guess so," Nagisa said.

"Then I'll go with Hitomi!" Sayaka said.

"Which means I'm left with Miss Tamaki," I said.

"I've never been to Mitakihara before, so please show me the way," Iroha said.

"Oh, but, one last thing before we go," I said.

"Huh? What is it now?" Kyouko asked.

"It's these things over here," I said, indicating the three witchy plushies. "They seem out-of-place."

"Huh," Mami said, looking at them. "It's true, I've never seen those before… and there's one of Kyuubey, too…"

"Hey, ain't that the thing that came out of Yuma earlier?" Kyouko asked, pointing at the Pistis plushy.

"Ah, now that you mention it," Sayaka said. "It does look similar, doesn't it…"

"Huh… Yuma doesn't remember that, but it looked like this, huh," Yuma said.

"What's this?" I said. "Did Yuma unleash her doppel or something?"

"It happened early on in the fight against Walpurgisnacht," Hitomi said. "When it was just us, Miss Natsu, Miss Satomi, and Miss Mikuni's team."

"Huh? Miss Satomi…?" Iroha said. "You can't be talking about Touka-chan…?"

"Satomi Nayuta," I said. "She's Touka's cousin."

"Oh, her cousin," Iroha said. "I don't think she ever mentioned a cousin to me…"

"No surprise, since they don't get along," I said.

"But come to think of it, isn't this one Miss Tomoe's doppel?" Iroha asked, pointing at the Candeloro plushy.

"M-my word, is it really?" Mami asked.

"Hmm… yeah, I think so," Sayaka said.

"It definitely resembles your doppel, Miss Mami," Hitomi said.

"Then, is the third one also someone's doppel…?" Iroha asked.

"The third one is Charlotte," I said.

"Eh? You mean me!?" Nagisa gasped.

"Huh? But wasn't Charlotte long and black?" Iroha said.

"Well, this is the base form of Charlotte as a witch," I explained. "The long, black form you remember comes out of this thing's mouth. And, if you think about it, the part of the doppel that wraps around Nagisa-chan does look pretty similar to this as well, doesn't it?"

"Um, I didn't really see it that clearly, so I'm not sure," Iroha said.

"But Miss Homura has seen this form countless times, so it's definitely something her mind could churn out," I said.

"Anyway, it's true that these are out-of-place," Mami said. "But do you think they have some significance?"

"Well, Charlotte was the witch who killed Miss Tomoe every single time, so it being here at Miss Tomoe's place is a huge incongruity that we should definitely try to attract attention to," I said. "So it's definitely possible that the others also have similar significance. Perhaps we should take them with us."

"Then I'll take Mami-nee's!" Nagisa announced, seizing the Candeloro plushy.

"Yuma will take this one!" Yuma said, grabbing the Pistis plushy.

There was a brief silence during which various people exchanged glances. It seemed like no-one really wanted to take the Charlotte plushy. But then Mami stepped forward and picked it up.

"If it might be important, then we should not hold back," she said. "And from what Miss Taylor said, it would probably leave the greatest impression in my hands."

"Alright! Let's go!" Sayaka said.

We all got to our feet and headed out. While we were wandering through the streets, the sky changed abruptly from day to night, eliciting a gasp from Iroha.

"W-what just happened!?"

"This happened in your doppel barrier too," I said. "Abrupt shifts in the apparent time of day."

"I didn't even notice," Iroha said. "I think my mind just filled in that time…"

A couple of minutes later, I saw it, like a shadow flitting across the sky, but rather than just darkness, it was filled with the paradoxical colours of impurities, dots and crosses and even streamers of faint colours, somehow both dull and vibrant at the same time.

"W-what on earth is that!?" Iroha gasped.

It was just like in the Rebellion movie, which also fit with Homura's words earlier – a nightmare.

"I have no name for it," I said. "Maybe it's similar to the miasma a wraith produces? Although, this whole thing is just a dream, so maybe analyzing it is pointless…"

We both transformed, looking around warily. The impurities were slowly spreading out to fill the entire sky. After a minute or so, the others came running up, including Homura and Madoka. They were all transformed too. Homura blinked as her eyes fell on the three plushies, Nagisa and Yuma hugging theirs tightly while Mami had bound Charlotte to her shoulder with a length of ribbon. However, what she said next was clearly not a reaction to them.

"I-it's a nightmare!" Homura gasped. "W-will we be okay…?"

The sky flashed, replaced with a strange patchwork of different patterns, like a quilt stitched together at random. Shadows of invisible dancers flitted along the walls, and we followed them through the streets until we emerged into an area that looked a lot like a witch's barrier – a collection of painted buildings flanking a banded archway bearing the words "Welcome to the Ballroom". The sound of music could be heard from somewhere, and it grew steadily louder as we passed through the archway and emerged onto a dance floor.

"Ah!" Sayaka gasped. "I know this song… let me think…"

"It sounds like a classical piece," Iroha said. "Do you know a lot about classical music, Miss Miki?"

"You bet I do!" Sayaka said. "Because Kyousuke plays the violin, you see."

"She's apparently pretty good at hunting down rare CDs," I said.

"Eh, CDs…?" Iroha said. "That's rather old-fashioned, isn't it?"

"No, not really," Sayaka said. "There are plenty of places that still sell them. Especially for classical music or recordings of concerts, classical or otherwise… there's plenty on Youtube and similar sites, of course, but you can't really find that sort of thing on any music streaming service. Most of them don't bother to include classical music because they think there's not a lot of demand for it, apparently…"

"Huh, you know a lot more about this than I expected," I said. "So what's this one called?"

"Right!" Sayaka said. "I'm pretty sure it's the Skater's Waltz, by Waldteufel."

"So it's a waltz," Madoka said.

"Well, I think that much was… somewhat obvious," Iroha said. "After all, look at all those people dancing…"

"Though the waltz isn't the only kind of dance tune, even in a ballroom setting," I said. "Still, I think you can kind of tell just from the sound that it's a waltz."

"Um, I assume you know… t-those aren't people…" Homura said.

"Oh, of course I know they're not real," Iroha said.

"B-but we have to find the single one that is real… right?" Homura continued.

"Huh, is that how this works?" Mami said.

"T-that's what you told me earlier!" Homura said.

"I see," Mami said. "If I told you, then I suppose it must be right. In that case… we should look for a dancer who looks more… real…? Homura-chan, what do we do next? Consider this a quiz, to make sure you've remembered everything."

"R-right!" Homura said. "Um… first, we have to find her… b-but, I don't see her… m-maybe she hasn't arrived yet…? Um… then… we lure her in… and draw out the actual nightmare…"

Mami nodded. "Good… and then…"

"Hey," Sayaka said. "That girl over there looks vaguely familiar…"

She pointed at a girl who had just entered behind us. Unlike all the others, this one was more than just a silhouette – she was in full colour, wearing a ballgown with her light brown hair coiled into a bun. She also seemed to be wearing glass slippers… was this supposed to be a recreation of Cinderella? Her eyes were dead however, like she wasn't entirely there.

"Is she a girl from our class?" Hitomi wondered. "But if so, I cannot place her…"

"Ah, isn't that Miss Hayasaka?" Madoka said.

"W-who…?" Homura said. "I don't remember a Miss Hayasaka in our class… I thought I'd already learned everyone's names in the past month…"

«Hey, hey, what's this about a month?» Kyouko asked.

«Oh, um… Homura-chan seems to think we've already been in here that long,» Madoka said. «She said the same thing when we were alone earlier, just talking…»

«It's a dream, so the progression of time is messed up,» I said. «Let's just move on.»

"Well, she doesn't really talk to anyone else," Madoka said. "And Ms Saotome doesn't call on her very often either… she's the girl two seats behind you, Homura-chan."

"Ah!" Sayaka gasped. "You mean Binbou-chan!?"

"Sayaka!" Madoka protested. "You shouldn't call her that! It's mean!"

"Right, right, but I really didn't know her name, so I've been thinking of her like that the whole time," Sayaka said. "Though I guess the others've stopped calling her that lately, haven't they? Huh… so her name is Hayasaka…?"

"Yes," Madoka said.

"Why on earth would she get a horrible nickname like Binbou-chan?" Iroha wondered.

"I think it's because she couldn't afford a laptop," Madoka explained. "For most of the last school year she was taking notes by hand, until Saotome-sensei managed to convince the school to pitch in and get her one."

"Come to think of it, everyone had a laptop at Takarazaki Municipal First Middle School," Iroha said. "And in Miss Mami's class earlier, everyone had a laptop too… but at Kamihama University-Affiliated School that I'm attending now, they don't allow laptops… I had to get used to using a notebook all of a sudden…"

"Huh? I thought you had trouble with technology," I said.

"That was just smartphones!" Iroha protested. "I can use a word processor just fine, thank you! Still… if she was the only one without a laptop… I suppose the nickname makes sense, though it's really sad… and a pretty awful thing to call someone…"

"Oh, and also, her uniform looks a little worn out," Madoka added. "I think she once said it's handed down from her older sister…"

"Do you know if she has a big family?" I asked.

Madoka shook her head. "I don't really know much about Miss Hayasaka," she said. "I'm sorry… I only know she has at least one older sister because I overheard her mentioning it…"

"Um, s-so, we need to lure her in," Homura insisted. "Miss Mami… will you…?"

"I think you need to get used to it too, so how about I leave it to you this time, Homura-chan?" Mami said.

"Um… I'm not sure if I can, b-but… I'll try to live up to your expectations!" Homura said. "S-so, um, w-well… if everyone else could… blend in with the dancers, then… when the nightmare pops out…"

"I get the idea," Mami said. "We have to shoot it once it pops out, right?"

"Y-yes!" Homura said. "And then… we'll lure it into a trap… um… let's say, at school?"

So, we all blended in with the dancers, while Homura approached Hayasaka and hesitantly held out her hand. Hayasaka blinked at her, seemingly surprised, but then took the offered hand.

They danced for a minute or so, Homura's movements surprisingly agile, and then suddenly one of the seams in the sky tore open, and a huge, misshapen teddy bear jumped out, or maybe it was more like a doll wearing a misshapen teddy bear costume. It landed in the centre, and the dancers streamed around it like it was the most important thing there, taking turns to show off right on the dais right in front of it.

Then Madoka took the dais and fired off a Pluvia Magica without hesitation. Arrows of light rained down upon the dance floor, causing the shadow girls to scatter and the strange doll to panic. Hayasaka screamed, curling up into a fetal position, and the strange doll opened its mouth and released a swarm of tiny teddies that flew all over the place. When they didn't do anything to help against the downpour of arrows, it bolted, pouncing on Hayasaka first and absorbing her into itself, then heading back into the city.

"Bingo, Madoka!" Sayaka exclaimed.

Everyone except for Homura and I gave chase, and I followed their progress with my clairvoyance. Madoka's rain of arrows also followed it for a few seconds as it ran off, until they stopped falling. The shadow dancers seemed to be lining the streets, apparently cheering for their master, but otherwise doing nothing to hinder them.

"Ha, everything's going according to plan!" Kyouko said.

"Though I don't quite understand what the plan is," Iroha said.

"I'm sure everyone is a little confused," Mami said. "Still, this thing is a lot like a witch's familiar, so leaving it alone doesn't seem right either."

"Miss Mami is right," Hitomi said. "It might turn out to be a waste fighting it, but it might also turn out that we'll learn something useful, right?"

"But it's not a waste," Madoka pointed out. "Because Miss Hayasaka is in there somewhere, right? We've got to save her!"

Around that time, Homura suddenly tripped over her own feet somehow.

"W-whoa!" she gasped.

"Is everything okay, Miss Homura?" I asked.

Homura lurched back up, nodding.

"Ah… y-yeah… um, we should… hurry on ahead to the school…"

She turned and ran off. I shrugged and followed her, watching as everyone attacked the nightmare from the sides as it fled. They did very little damage though.

"This thing is really tough," Nagisa noted. "We're hardly hurting it at all…"

"Maybe that's why we're supposed to lure it into a trap?" Iroha said.

It fought back by throwing pillows at them, but the missiles were slow-moving and easily dodged. After a few minutes, they forced it to plunge head-first into Mitakihara Middle School via the front entrance, and as it entered the building, the surroundings changed, forming what appeared to be a witch's barrier. Now sitting at a table, with a feast set out before it, the nightmare looked around in confusion. Homura took the initiative, grabbing something from the table and throwing it at the nightmare, which snapped it up like a dog. The others, though bemused by the situation, followed her example. Even I grabbed a box of takoyaki and tossed it into the nightmare's mouth. Once it had eaten enough, light could be seen emanating from within it, and then all the stitching across its body snapped open, and stuffing poked out from within.

That seemed to be the cue for our three doppel plushies to react. Candeloro lashed out with its tentacles, Charlotte unleashed the snake-like monstrosity from her mouth, and Pistis emanated a series of greenish droplets that behaved as if joined together, like a chain. Between the three of them, they tore the nightmare apart until a blobby head and a sheet of paper emerged from the ruins. It was the head of Hayasaka, and the sheet of paper had a simple drawing of a castle on it.

Madoka leapt up to catch Hayasaka's head before it floated away, while Homura caught the sheet of paper as it was fluttering down.

"Um, so… now we just turn the nightmare into a pleasant dream!" Homura said. "And then we're done!"

She blew on the sheet of paper, and it glowed and grew into an actual castle. The music from earlier resumed, the Skater's Waltz that Sayaka had recognized. The castle was only about the size of a normal house though.

"Um… do I need to do anything…?" Madoka asked.

"Ah, I guess… you should toss her inside…?" Homura suggested.

"A-alright," Madoka said.

She gently tossed Hayasaka's head through the castle door, and the girl's body was reformed wearing a ballgown, her head returning to normal proportions. The silhouette of a man appeared from somewhere within, and the two of them began to dance together. As they danced, they produced a shower of sparkling particles that washed over everyone and appeared to cleanse Homura's and Madoka's soul gems while leaving everyone else's untouched. The doppel plushies also reverted to their original plush form, and the witch-like barrier surrounding them dissipated, leaving them on the roof of Mitakihara Middle School.

"We did it!" Homura exclaimed. "And our soul gems are all purified too!"

"That really was a piece of cake!" Sayaka said. "Even if it didn't make any sense!"

"Don't be too hasty in congratulating yourself," Mami reprimanded her. "We mustn't get overconfident no matter what we're up against. It may have seemed easy, but there were a few moments when I wondered whether we would truly pull through."

"Ugh, will ya spare me the lecture?" Kyouko complained. "Though it might be worth it in exchange for some tea and cake later…"

"Hey, Kyouko, that's actually a good idea!" Sayaka said.

"Well, if you put it like that, then sure, I'll prepare some cake for you later," Mami said.

"Ah, yeah," Homura agreed. "I'm already kinda tired, so let's go back to bed…"

«By the way, why is it only Homura and Madoka who got their gems cleared?» Kyouko asked.

«I'm just speculating here, but… those two are not truly here, I think,» I said. «Madoka already died and is on borrowed time, so the body she has in here is fake, or at least her soul gem is; while Homura is the one who built this illusion, so she probably has full control over her avatar within it.»

"Hey, Homura-chan… is there something wrong?" Madoka asked.

"H-huh? Ah, no, nothing at all!" Homura said.

And with that response, the sky was torn asunder and we suddenly found ourselves back in the classroom. I opened a vision on Homura to see if something was happening, but there was nothing in particular, other than her looking around at the class a lot more than she usually did,

«What on earth is this girl up to now…?» Kyouko grumbled.

«Maybe she noticed something's off and is trying to confirm it?» I suggested. «If she comes to ask us questions, please try to let her work things out on her own, okay? Let's continue to play along for a little bit longer.»

«Well, if you say so,» Kyouko said doubtfully.

After the class came to an end, Homura walked over to Kyouko.

"Um, so uh, Miss Kyouko," she said. "Could we… talk for a bit… just the two of us?"

Kyouko shrugged. "Well, why not, as long as you treat me," she said.

"Ah, um, s-sure!" Homura said.

So, the two of them left the school together, while the rest of us met up at the school gate. I watched Kyouko and Homura make their way to a nearby café, which I'm pretty sure didn't actually exist in the real Mitakihara. Or if it did, it wasn't in the same location.

"So, what do we do next?" Iroha asked. "You think she's starting to realize it's a dream?"

"She did seem surprised by the doppels earlier," I said. "Both when we met up and later when they suddenly came to life. Perhaps she recognized at least one of them. Or maybe she realized that Miss Sakura, Miss Tamaki, and I don't belong here."

"So, you still think we should just wait?" Mami asked.

"I think so, for now," I said.

"Then let's have some tea while we wait!" Madoka said.

"Alright, alright, let's go to my place then," Mami said.

"By the way, that promise of getting cake later… did you mean after we get out of here?" Sayaka asked.

"That was what I was thinking," Mami said.

"Ah, then I won't get to taste it," Madoka said.

"Oh, you're right, I hadn't thought of that," Mami said. "Well, I could always try making a cake now, too."

"Oh, I'd like that very much!" Madoka exclaimed. "It'll be a nice last memory before…"

She trailed off, perhaps not wanting to say it out loud again. So, while Homura and Kyouko were having their little chat, we headed to Mami's place and helped her to bake a cake.

"So?" Kyouko said, once they'd settled down with tea and snacks. "What'd ya wanna talk about?"

"Um, well… Miss Sakura, have things felt a little odd to you lately?"

"Huh?" Kyouko said. "You're being awfully vague. What'd ya mean by 'things', exactly?"

"Well, I don't know, exactly," Homura said. "But everything, I guess."

Kyouko chuckled. "What the heck, now you're being overly expansive!" she said. "So, what exactly are ya getting at here?"

"W-well, um… the reason I decided to talk to you first, Miss Sakura… w-well, you're one of the ones who seems particularly odd to me…"

"How so?" Kyouko said.

"C-compared to the impression I have of you inside me, the person you are now just seems… different," Homura said. "I… I can't explain how exactly… it's just… different…"

"Oy, oy," Kyouko said. "Are ya saying I'm not like myself!? Are ya trying to pick a fight with me or something!?"

"Miss Sakura, where are you living right now?" Homura asked.

"Huuuh? Ya didn't know?" Kyouko said. "I got a hotel room by the station with Yuma."

"How long have you been attending Mitakihara Middle School?" Homura asked.

"Eh, I dunno," Kyouko shrugged. "Well, clearly I was there before you were, ain't that obvious?"

"B-but when exactly did you transfer in!?" Homura insisted.

«Oy, guys, I think she's figured it out!» Kyouko said. «She's asking me when I joined that damn school of yours! Do I just come clean or keep playing dumb?»

«Please keep playing dumb for now, Miss Sakura,» I said. «If you came clean now, I think there's a chance she'd just reject it. I'd like to let her experience the situation for herself, rather than hearing it from us.»

«Well, if ya say so,» Kyouko said. «But man, this is a pain… you'd better compensate me for this later!»

«Although you do owe me a favour… I'll buy you some ramen or something when we get back to Mitakihara,» I said.

«That's more like it!» Kyouko said.

"Hmm," Kyouko said. "When was it again… it must've been last year sometime…? I really can't remember exactly… why does it matter so much?"

"Where were you before you moved to Mitakihara?" Homura asked.

"I was living in Kazamino, the neighbouring city to the south," Kyouko said.

"And why'd you move here?" Homura asked.

«By the way, please try not to mention witches,» I said.

«What the heck!?» Kyouko replied. «Why've ya gotta make it even more difficult? Can't ya just swap places with me!?»

«I think there's a high chance she'll be questioning me next, so no,» I said. «If the ramen's not enough, I could also call in the favour you owe me.»

«Fine, fine, have it your way,» Kyouko grumbled.

"Things were getting pretty quiet over in Kazamino, so I decided to see how things were going here," Kyouko said.

"When did you last visit Kazamino?" Homura asked.

"I guess it wasn't too long ago," Kyouko said. "Maybe the day before you transferred in?"

"Eh, that's such a long time," Homura said. "You really haven't gone back since then?"

"Is that really such a long time?" Kyouko said. "But it ain't like I got a reason to go back. There ain't nothing waiting for me in Kazamino."

There was a long silence as Homura considered what they'd discussed, gazing at her cup of coffee. Finally, she downed the last of the drink and set down the mug, looking at Kyouko.

"Um, thanks for your time, Miss Sakura," she said. "Will you come with me to Kazamino tomorrow?"

"Huh?" Kyouko said. "Whatever for?"

"I just want to see it with my own eyes," Homura said. "If it looks just like the city you remember, then I'll apologize. I'll know I'm the one who's mistaken here."

Kyouko sighed. "Well, if ya insist, I suppose we could go," she said. "There's a good ramen joint I always used to go to. You can buy me dinner there. Do we have a deal?"

"Sure!" Homura said.

"So when do we meet up? After school?"

Homura tilted her head. "Huh? Isn't today Friday?"

"Eh, is that how it is?" Kyouko said. "Then should we meet up at nine o'clock by the station?"

"Y-yes, let's do that!" Homura said.

"Righty-oh, guess I'll see ya then," Kyouko said, getting to her feet. "Then I'm gonna drop by Mami's place to see if she has any cake today. Ya coming along?"

"Y-yes!" Homura said.

I dropped my vision on them, and a minute or two later they walked into the living room, where most of us were still waiting for Mami to finish her baking.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka said. "Have you finished your chat with Kyouko-chan?"

"Um, yes… for now," Homura said. "Actually, um… could I speak with Miss Tamaki outside for a bit…?"

"Ah, yeah, sure," Iroha said.

I opened a vision on them as Iroha followed Homura outside.

«Miss Tamaki, please continue to play along for now,» I said. «And please don't mention witches.»

«Eh, I'll try,» Iroha said. «But I'm not sure I'll be very good at hiding the situation…»

They headed out of the apartment building, and Homura took Iroha into an alley where there were some convenient boxes to sit on.

"So… what did you want to talk about, Miss Homura?" Iroha asked.

"Um… well, Miss Tamaki, have things felt a little odd to you lately?"

"Eh… um… can you be more specific?" Iroha asked.

"Well… everything, really," Homura said.

"Even if you say that, where am I supposed to start…?" Iroha asked. "Could you please get to the point?"

"W-well, um… the reason I decided to talk to you before the others, Miss Tamaki… w-well, you're one of the ones who seems particularly odd to me…"

"Ah, um… r-really?" Iroha said. "What exactly is odd about me?"

"Ah, um… it's hard to put into words," Homura said. "Um… Miss Tamaki, where are you living right now?"

«What am I supposed to tell her now?» Iroha asked. «She asked where I'm living… if I say Crescent Moon Villa, will that be okay…?»

«Why not say you're staying with Madoka?» I suggest. «Is that okay, Madoka?»

«Oh, yes, that's fine!» Madoka said. «I'm sure Mom and Dad would've been okay with it!»

«O-okay, I guess I'll go with that,» Iroha said. "Um, I'm staying at Madoka-chan's place right now…"

"How long have you been attending Mitakihara Middle School?" Homura asked.

"How long, you say…?" Iroha said. "I guess since Mom and Dad went overseas?"

"And when was that?" Homura asked.

"Eh… I don't remember exactly," Iroha said. "It was before you transferred in…"

"So, you don't remember when you transferred in?" Homura asked. "Not even roughly?"

"Roughly…?" Iroha said. "It was in the spring, I guess… around the start of the new term…"

"Where were you before you moved to Mitakihara?" Homura asked.

"Ah, I used to live in Takarazaki," Iroha said.

Homura blinked. "Huh? Takarazaki? Not Kamihama?"

"Yeah, that's right," Iroha said. "Though I did visit Kamihama often to see my little sister in the hospital… did I tell you about that…?"

"And why'd you move here?" Homura asked.

"Didn't I just mention that?" Iroha asked. "Mom and Dad suddenly moved overseas, but they didn't want to interrupt my schooling… so I stayed behind."

"When did you last visit Takarazaki?" Homura asked.

"Um… I guess I haven't been back since I transferred," Iroha said.

"And what about Kamihama?"

"I guess… a day or two before you transferred in?" Iroha said.

Homura looked thoughtful for a bit, then finally nodded.

"Um, thanks for your time, Miss Tamaki," she said.

The two of them returned to Mami's apartment, and Homura turned to me next.

"Um… Miss Taylor… could I speak with you outside for a bit, too?"

"Sure, let's go," I said.

I followed Homura outside to the same alleyway, though somehow it seemed to be on the opposite side of the apartment building this time.

"So, what's on your mind, Miss Homura?" I asked.

"Um, Miss Taylor… have things felt a little odd to you lately?"

"Depends what you mean by things, and odd," I said.

"Well, like… like everything's… a bit off," Homura said.

"You're still being too vague," I said. "What's your point?"

"W-well, um… the reason I decided to talk to you in particular, Miss Taylor… w-well, you're one of the ones who seems especially odd to me…"

"How so?" I asked.

"W-well, it's hard to put my finger on it," Homura said. "Um… where are you living right now?"

"I'm staying with the Hayashi sisters," I said.

"And how long have you been attending school in Mitakihara?" Homura asked.

That was a curious change of wording on her part. Instead of naming the school, she only limited it to a school in this city. I wondered what led her to do that?

"Let me think… I think it's been about three months now?" I said. "Maybe a bit more?"

"Where were you before you moved to Mitakihara?" Homura asked.

"I came from Santa Cruz, California," I said. "In case you have no idea what that means… it's a city in America."

"And, um… why'd you move here?" Homura asked.

"Well, I really love Japan, so I just had to experience it for myself," I said.

"Um… have you been back to America since you moved here?" Homura asked.

"No, I haven't."

"I see," Homura said.

She fell silent for a minute or so, then nodded.

"Um, thank you for your time, Miss Taylor," she said.

We returned to Mami's apartment, just in time to see her slicing the finished cake. It felt like it should have taken longer to bake and decorate, but this was a dream, after all. After we'd all eaten the cake together, the world shifted again, dumping everyone into different locations.

I found myself in the living room at the Hayashi place, and after briefly checking on the others, it seemed they were all in their own homes with the exception of Yuma, who was at Mami's place; Iroha, who was at Madoka's place; and Kyouko, who seemed to be waiting by the station. Madoka's family appeared to have faces, and Iroha was greeting Tatsuya when I peeked in on them.

"Guess it's tomorrow already," Kyouko muttered.

At that moment, Homura ran up, a little out of breath.

"Did I keep you waiting?" she asked.

"Nah, not really," Kyouko said. "Shall we get going?"

Though they'd met in front of the train station, they didn't go inside. Instead they caught a bus at a nearby bus stop, heading towards Kazamino. The bus itself was strange, a double-decker bus with an open top, but Homura didn't seem to think anything of it. They found seats on the open upper deck, sitting at opposite ends facing each other. Though there were other passengers on the bus, all faceless, they were the only ones on the roof. As the bus travelled further and further from the centre of town, the landscape slowly became more and more surreal. By the time it reached what should have been near the edge of Mitakihara, it looked like a lone station in a barren wasteland of pavement. For some reason, there were also a lot of wind turbines around, even though the actual wind farm was much further east on the river. Other than the two of them, every other passenger on the bus disembarked at this stop.

"Well, the next stop should be in Kazamino, I think," Kyouko said. "Though it looks a bit different from what I remember…"

As the bus took off, she pressed the request button, which had an odd holographic effect. Just a moment later, the announcer claimed that the next stop would be the one they just left.

"Eh?" Kyouko said. "That's not right…"

She turned towards the front as the bus came to a fork in the road.

"We should turn left up here," Kyouko said.

As she said that, the bus took the right fork, looping around and returning to the station they'd just left. Since Kyouko had requested it, the bus stopped there, and the two of them got off. They watched the bus leave again, and once it was gone, Homura turned to run through the underground passageway to reach the other side of the road. Kyouko decided to follow her.

"Did we get on the wrong bus?" Homura wondered.

"No way," Kyouko said. "It definitely said it was bound for Kazamino when we got on it."

"L-let's try it again, just to make sure," Homura said. "We'll catch the next bus and make sure we're definitely on the right one this time."

They didn't have long to wait. A new bus showed up almost immediately, the sign indicating it was bound for Kazamino. It didn't seem to have any passengers as it pulled up beside them.

"This time we're certain," Homura said.

They climbed on and mounted the stairs to the upper level, taking a seat where they could see the road ahead of them. However, just like before, the bus took a different turn than expected, dropping them back where they'd started.

"Damn, it really wasn't a coincidence," Kyouko muttered.

They got off at the stop once more, and waited for the bus to pull out. Then Homura spoke up again.

"T-this time, let's try going on foot," she said. "If we walk back to that intersection and take the left fork, we should reach Kazamino, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Kyouko said.

So they began to walk back the way the bus had come from along the roadside. There was no-one else around, no cars, no people, not even another bus. In fact, at some point while they were doing this, the sky had changed from morning to night. After walking for awhile, Kyouko spoke up.

"Hey, was it really this far to that intersection?"

"No, I don't think so," Homura said. "It's very strange that we haven't reached it by now."

A moment later, they spotted the station up ahead – the same one they'd started from. Homura turned back to face Kyouko.

"Neither of us is absent-minded enough to have missed such a big intersection, right?" she said.

"Not on your life," Kyouko said. "It's an illusion, then? To keep us from leaving Mitakihara?"

"Somehow, I doubt it's that simple," Homura said. "I get the feeling that nothing actually exists outside of this Mitakihara."

Kyouko's eyes widened. "This Mitakihara?" she said.

Homura turned to her with a smile.

"Miss Sakura, could you keep this from the others for a little bit?" she asked. "There's something I want to investigate further on my own first."

"Eh… wouldn't it be easier to… nah, what the heck am I saying?" Kyouko said. "Whatever. Do what ya like."

"I believe it will be safer to pretend that we haven't discovered anything," Homura said, looking around warily.

As she said that, Kyouko gasped, looking around in surprise. They were suddenly surrounded by half-hearted duplicates of themselves, just staring at the two of them.

"In fact, the more we appear to know, the more likely we are to be targeted," Homura continued in a low voice. "That is the trap which lies in wait for us, I think."

"So, have you figured out what's going on, even just a little?" Kyouko asked.

"Yes," Homura said. "A little. That is why I want you to avoid drawing attention. Just leave things to me for now. Whoever trapped us here has done nothing more to us so far, so as long as we play along with them, I doubt we'll be in any danger."

Kyouko sighed. "Alright, I get it." she said.

She turned to walk off, then paused.

"I'll let ya have more time to figure things out," she said. "And I'll act like nothing's wrong. Satisfied?"

"Thank you very much!" Homura said.

"Ya know…"

"…Miss Sakura?"

"I gotta say, compared to how ya were acting earlier, I think this tough-girl act fits ya better," Kyouko said.

She pulled out a lolly from her pocket and flung it at Homura, then ran off, disappearing into the fog. Homura caught it and stared after her in surprise for a minute or two.

"…did she… realize the truth too…?" Homura muttered.

Removing her glasses and hair ties and throwing them away, she untangled her braids and flicked her hair behind her head, starting to walk in tandem with a few other people who had materialized from the fog. Like most of the students in class, these people were faceless.

"A closed-off world of illusion," Homura muttered. "A maze without exit, into which prey is lured and led astray. There's no doubt… this is a witch's labyrinth. The only question is…"

She trailed off, locating something that looked like a door heading further in, and kicked it open, taking a flight of stairs down into the earth. With every step she took, it seemed less and less like a normal city and more like the surreal landscape of a labyrinth. Even though she was underground, it was a huge, vaulted chamber that she couldn't even see the far side of. There were mirrors on the wall playing back memories from Homura's long life. Some of the scenes I recognized, but there were also some I had never seen before. A scene of Mami turning into a witch. A scene of Elise sacrificing herself to restore a newly-witched Sayaka. A scene of Kyouko turning into a witch. A scene of confronting Oriko in Latria's labyrinth together with Mami, Kyouko, and Yuma, but without me there. And many minor interactions with the others that differed from anything I remembered. As she continued to walk, the mirrors began to spread over the floor as well, filling the entire space with her memories.

Suddenly she emerged from that surreal landscape back into an almost normal city street. Even though it had supposedly been underground, now she was walking along a street with cars and pedestrians, all of which ignored her. But then the buildings she passed by changed into interior walls, and she seemed to be walking through some sort of reception area. Lost in thought as she was, it appeared she hadn't even noticed the surreal changes of scenery… or maybe they simply didn't surprise her now that she'd concluded she was in a labyrinth.

"It appears that everyone has forgotten how things are supposed to be," Homura mused. "Something made us forget… and it's trying to implant false memories in us… here, in this false Mitakihara. The only question is… who is the culprit?"

At some point, after walking through even more surreal landscapes, she emerged back into the normal city, near Mami's apartment, and headed inside.

"Homura-nee, you're back!" Nagisa shouted, waving at her.

Homura blinked at her in surprise. She and Yuma were playing with the doppel plushies at the table, while Mami was sitting off to the side sipping at a cup of tea. It seemed like the plushies had abandoned the pretence of being inanimate. The Charlotte one was nibbling at a slice of cheese like a squirrel, while Candeloro and Pistis seemed to be dancing together.

"Huh?" Nagisa said. "Homura-nee, you don't look stupid anymore…?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Homura said.

She took a seat near Mami, watching the doppels with a bemused expression on her face. Mami poured her a cup of tea as well, and she accepted it and sipped at it while watching the antics. Yuma and Nagisa giggled as Pistis and Candeloro tripped and fell down in a heap, and they each grabbed one to right them. Meanwhile, Charlotte finished her cheese and hopped off the table to curl up in Mami's lap.

"Say, Miss Mami, this tea is really good," Homura said. "Could I trouble you for some more?"

"Oh, of course!" Mami said.

She gently set Charlotte aside and got to her feet. At that point, I addressed her.

«Miss Tomoe, I think this is the moment to act,» I said. «If my prediction is correct, she's now going to kidnap at least one of those three doppel things. Can you attach a ribbon to her without noticing?»

«Okay,» Mami said. «But do you have a plan in mind?»

«You might end up getting in a fight with her,» I said. «I'll gather everyone else and come join you as soon as I can. With luck, the fight should draw out her actual doppel so we can face it directly.»

«I understand,» Mami said. «However, it's fine if I defeat her, right? There's no need to hold back if it comes to a fight?»

«Yes, don't hold back,» I said. «But obviously, don't target her soul gem.»

«Of course,» Mami said. "Just a moment, I'll go boil some more water."

And with that, she headed into the kitchen. As soon as she was gone, Homura transformed.

"Huh? Is something wrong, Homura-nee?" Nagisa asked.

"What? What? What's going on?" Yuma gasped. "Yuma is scared…"

"Sorry, but I'm going to borrow these for a bit," Homura said.

And with that declaration, Homura, Charlotte, and Candeloro were gone, leaving Pistis lying on the floor.

---

As told by Tomoe Mami, from the moment time was first stopped…

Mami immediately recognized the effect of Homura's time stop, the world going grey around her. Wondering if Ashley had been right, she peeked back out into the main room, where she found Homura questioning the three doppels. She had seized Candeloro and Charlotte by the head and trapped Pistis beneath her foot.

"You can drop the act now," Homura said coldly. "I know what you really are, all three of you. Our memories have been rewritten, and we're now trapped in a labyrinth made to look like Mitakihara. You three are the only ones who could've done that. Which one was it? Or are you working together? What do you want with us? Just what is so enjoyable about toying with us in this way?"

When neither Charlotte nor Candeloro responded, Homura opened the door to Mami's balcony and leapt out into the city. Pistis was left behind, frozen in time. Mami followed her, keeping a safe distance behind her. Eventually Homura stopped running, landing on a ledge on some tall building.

"I wish I could have lived on in blissful ignorance of just how many hearts I have trampled on to this day," Homura muttered.

Charlotte made some noises, which seemed like they meant something like, "Don't blame me for that."

Then Homura slammed her against a wall and started yelling.

"Out with it!" she shouted. "Why concoct such a roundabout scheme? What do you hope to gain?"

The noises Charlotte subsequently made seemed to be indicating that she couldn't breathe. Though it wasn't like Mami was especially attached to that little representation of Nagisa's witch form, it had shown no signs of hostility in the short time she'd known it, so it didn't sit well with her to stand by and watch Homura bully it. Therefore, she dispelled the disguise on her ribbon and tugged on it, dragging Homura off the ledge she'd been standing on. Homura gasped as she fell, but managed to find a handhold to halt her descent. Looking around angrily, she saw the length of ribbon stretching from her foot all the way back to Mami, strung back and forth across the buildings.

"I thought I'd wait and see how things turned out," Mami said. "But I couldn't stand just watching you hurt poor Charlotte, who's never done anything wrong."

"You were following us the whole time?" Homura asked.

"Would you like to explain yourself?" Mami asked.

"These things are tricking you," Homura said. "This is not the real Mitakihara. We have all been implanted with false memories!"

"Well… I'm not sure where you got that idea from," Mami said. "But what does that have to do with those three in the first place?"

Suddenly, Homura resumed time and threw Charlotte and Candeloro into the air, drawing a gun and shooting at them. However, Mami snatched both of them out of the air with her ribbons before they were shot down.

"Make yourselves scarce," Mami said. "I don't know exactly what Homura-chan has against you, though I do have some ideas, but… it's best if you get as far away as possible."

So the little Charlotte and Candeloro both turned and fled as fast as they could, with Charlotte unleashing her second form and allowing Candeloro to ride on her head. They hadn't gotten very far before Homura stopped time again, however. She leapt up onto the building she'd been hanging off of and tried to shoot the ribbon attached to her leg, but Mami had already anticipated that and made it extra-tough – the bullet simply bounced off of it.

"Do you mean to protect them, no matter what?" Homura asked.

"That all depends on you," Mami said. "As things stand right now, I can only see you as being in the wrong. Charlotte, Candeloro, Pistis… they haven't hurt anyone. However, you were clearly hurting them. Based on that, isn't it obvious who I should side with? If you want to dispose of them, you'll have to go through me."

They leapt at each other, summoning muskets and machine guns respectively and opening fire. However, due to the time stop, the bullets stopped moving after travelling a short distance, meaning that not a single one struck its target. Before long, the air was filled with time-stopped bullets moving in all directions.

Then Homura resumed time again, and all those bullets kept going, pummelling the surrounding buildings into submission yet not reaching the actual intended target even once. Thanks to her ribbons, Mami could easily control her movement however she needed to in mid-air, and it seemed Homura had learned some skill akin to an air step that she could use to dodge even in mid-flight.

With time once more flowing, they leapt back and forth through the air, shooting at each other, yet continually missing. They seemed to be evenly matched, so Mami decided to set a trap. Firing at a nearby fountain instead, she created a momentary smokescreen during which she retreated into a dark alley, replacing herself with a copy made of ribbons. The copy resumed the fight just as she'd been doing before, though with no further progress. It was like fighting in the middle of a fireworks display. All the while, Candeloro and Charlotte fled further and further from the battle.

Again Homura stopped time, and the air was slowly filled up with frozen bullets as they continued to exchange fire.

"It seems we can read each other all too well!" Mami said, speaking through her ribbon copy. "But do you think you can beat me in a fair fight?"

"I can outlast you!" Homura said.

"We'll see about that!" Mami said.

Using several arches as leverage, Mami's ribbon copy pulled herself towards Homura with increased speed, finally catching up to her sufficiently that their muzzles actually crossed like swords. Homura fired, but Mami dodged and landed in front of Homura, aiming at her head and firing her musket. Homura dodged as well though, and they fired back and forth several times until Homura managed to kick the musket from Mami's hand. She let out a gasp as she lost balance and fell backwards, and Homura turned to deliver the finishing blow, but Mami wasn't ready to go down so easily. Even while in the middle of falling, she summoned two more muskets and pointed them at Homura, firing immediately.

Attempting to dodge that shot caused Homura to lose her balance, plummeting down into what seemed to be a pit of some sort. Mami leapt after her, keeping fire up as they fell together. Homura also fired as she fell, but somehow neither of them were able to land a single shot. Mami caught up partway down, and they spun about each other from the recoil of their gunfire, shooting without end yet never quite hitting their mark.

Finally landing on solid ground once again, Mami leapt off a nearby wall to accelerate herself towards Homura, and they continued the battle, shooting without end, spinning around like they were dancing, all the while leaving frozen bullets in the air behind them.

Finally, the saturation of those frozen bullets reached the point where it was no longer safe to move, and Homura slid to a stop on her knees, breathing heavily, while Mami stood proudly, pointing a musket at her. But Homura aimed her own gun at Mami as well. So far, it seemed like a stalemate, but though Mami was also breathing heavily, she still hadn't unleashed her trump card. Unless Homura had a trump card of her own, Mami was confident she could win this battle.

They must have stood there for several seconds, just taking the time to regain their breath. Then Homura resumed time, and all the bullets they'd fired continued flying, spreading out like a massive flower, pummelling all the buildings around where they'd fought into ruins – shattering glass, ripping up stone, striking the bell hanging in a nearby tower, even tearing through thin iron. Many of them, especially Mami's round slug-type bullets, bounced off walls to do even further damage. The damage was so extensive that an entire bridge collapsed nearby, falling down into the river with a huge splash. Homura and Mami remained motionless in that storm of bullets, waiting for it to subside.

When the storm had cleared, and the dust settled, Mami lowered her musket.

"Well, it seems we're at a standstill," she said.

Homura threw her gun away, perhaps because it was out of ammo, then stopped time again. After hesitating for a moment, she withdrew another gun from within her shield. However, this time, she aimed it at her own head. Mami gasped.

"D-don't!" she shouted.

But Homura ignored her and pulled the trigger. Mami pulled on the ribbon still attached to Homura's ankle, but it was too late – the bullet went clear through Homura's head and stopped, frozen in time.

"Homura-chan!" Mami gasped.

She stepped forward to check on Homura, who took advantage of the sudden slack in the ribbon to thrust her leg into the air, wrapping it around the frozen bullet she'd just released and resuming its time. It tore through the ribbon, leaving Homura alone in her frozen world.

Mami naturally couldn't tell what exactly she did while time was stopped, but a bullet struck the leg of her ribbon copy, triggering the trap. The copy exploded into ribbons that wrapped around Homura, who tried in vain to stop them with her bullets. Within moments, Homura was all tied up and sealed in place with a lock.

Mami leapt out from where she'd been hiding all that time and stepped into the light where Homura could see her.

"Your magic is formidable indeed, Homura-chan," Mami said. "But it's dangerous to assume you'll always have the upper hand."

"Miss Tomoe… do you really not sense anything off?" Homura asked. "Don't you feel anything strange about yourself in this world?"

"You didn't shoot to kill, so it's clear you still have some regard for my well-being," Mami said. "But can you explain why you attacked Charlotte, Candeloro, and Pistis? It just doesn't make any sense to me. They weren't even doing anything."

"They're witches!" Homura shouted. "They're the enemy of magical girls! Of course I'd attack them! Please, remember!"

"Are they really witches?" Mami asked. "They looked more like animated plush toys to me. More a representation of a witch than an actual witch."

Homura blinked. "Huh? Wait… then you do remember!? If you remember, then why are you defending them!?"

"Didn't I just explain that?" Mami said. "They might resemble witches, but do you really think they're witches? After all… the magical girls who would turn into those three are alive and well, are they not?"

"Y-you even know that!?" Homura gasped. "H-how did you…"

"It seems you still haven't remembered everything," Mami said. "Still… what I just said is true, isn't it?"

"At least… one of them looked like your witch," Homura said. "So… you might be right… but if it's not one of them, then which witch created this labyrinth!?"

"Miss Taylor thinks it's best if you figure that out for yourself," Mami said. "My apologies…"

"So Miss Taylor remembers too… it's no wonder, she shouldn't even be a middle school student," Homura said. "She probably figured it out before everyone else…"

"Why are you so convinced that we don't remember?" Mami asked. "Isn't it possible that you're the only one whose memories have been altered?"

Homura gasped. "N-no way…"

"Well… I'll let you stew over that for a little while," Mami said. "I need to rejoin the others."

---

After sending that telepathic message to Mami, and seeing Homura and the doppel plushes vanish, I broadcast another message to everyone else, excluding Mami and Homura.

«Let's meet up outside Miss Tomoe's place.»

I exited the false Hayashi house and made my way there. It was much closer than it should have been, though I was still apparently the last to arrive – Kyouko, Sayaka, Hitomi, Nagisa, Yuma, Iroha, and Madoka were all waiting there when I arrived. Yuma was holding the Pistis plushy. We headed east towards the old industrial district, and as we went, I questioned the others a little.

"What has everyone been doing while Miss Sakura was showing Homura the limits of this reality?" I asked.

"I was at my place, but it was a crap reproduction," Sayaka said. "There wasn't anything to do there."

"Same," Hitomi said. "I think it was supposed to be my house, but… it was not at all like my house in reality. My house may be large, but it is not that large."

"Miss Homura has probably never been to your place, then," I said. "Either of yours, in fact."

"I was at Madoka-chan's place," Iroha said. "Her kid brother is super-cute. He seemed to think he was dreaming."

"My place was pretty accurate," Madoka said. "Though I think it's a bit larger than reality. I got to say goodbye to Tatsuya, too."

"And I was at the Hayashi house, but the upper storey was missing," I said. "Of course, there wasn't anything to do there, either."

Suddenly there was a burst of gunfire in the distance. Iroha gasped.

"W-what was that!?"

"That's where we need to go," I said. "I guess Miss Homura and Miss Tomoe got into a fight after all. I wasn't sure if that would happen… but I thought it was a possibility."

"Mami and Homura are fighting?" Sayaka said. "Should we… stop them?"

"We don't have enough time to get in between them," I said. "From our perspective the entire battle probably only lasts a few seconds."

Just then there was a second burst of gunfire, even louder this time, and I broke into a run.

"Come on, let's hurry!"

They followed me, questioning me as we went.

"What do you mean, it only lasts a few seconds?" Iroha asked.

"If they're fighting while time is stopped, then there's nothing we can do to get between them," I said. "The only people who could get between those two are Shiina Remi or Aki Mabayu."

"Oh, so that's what you meant," Iroha said. "Um, who are those two…?"

"Shiina Remi can also stop time, and if she times it at the same moment as Miss Homura, they'll be together in the same frozen moment," I said. "Aki Mabayu ignores time stop completely."

"W-whoa, amazing," Iroha said. "Now that you mention it, I do remember both of them from the battle… but I never quite caught their names."

"Why are Miss Mami and Miss Homura fighting in the first place?" Hitomi asked.

"We'll have to ask them that when we find them," I said. "This situation aligns slightly with one of my predictions, but it's different enough that I can't completely rely on that prediction, so I don't know if the reason would be the same."

In the Rebellion movie, Mami had come to view Charlotte like a friend, so it was only natural they'd get into a fight. However, here, none of that backstory existed, so I wasn't sure what reason Mami might have to defend Charlotte.

The gunfire had died off by now, but I still remembered the direction it had come from. After a minute or two, we came to the collapsed bridge spanning the river. The support pillar in the centre of the river was still intact, so I positioned Teddy Mk II halfway between the banks and the support as a foothold and leapt across. The others followed me, crowding onto the top of the broken pillar, and then I moved Teddy to make a foothold to reach the other side.

As we reached the far bank and rounded a corner, I spotted Homura up ahead, tied up with a lock just the same as how Mami had trapped her in the anime in Charlotte's labyrinth. There was a lot of blood on the left side of her face.

"I'm going to have a little chat with Miss Homura," I said. "Could you guys watch out for familiars? I think Miss Homura's almost figured out the situation now."

"Alright, let's go!" Sayaka said. "Miss Mami's here too, right? We can ask her what happened."

Just then, Charlotte appeared in her snake-like form with Candeloro riding on her head. She coiled around us for a moment, then reverted to her base form. Nagisa reached out to catch both of them.

"Um, Miss Taylor, will you be alright by yourself?" Iroha asked.

"Um… I think so?" I said.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Iroha asked.

"If you want," I said with a shrug.

Iroha followed me as I worked my way up to where Homura was restrained. From there, Mami was easily visible. I hopped up onto Teddy Mk II, waited a second to let Iroha jump on as well, and then rose up into the air until I was level with Mami.

"Well… I'll let you stew over that for a little while," Mami said. "I need to rejoin the others."

"Mind if I borrow her for a bit, Miss Tomoe?" I asked.

Mami looked over at me in surprise.

"Ah, you're already here," she said. "Be my guest. If we're done here, shall I go meet up with everyone else?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," I said. "They're down at street level somewhere around here."

So Mami hopped down, and then I summoned my sword to cut Homura free, but without releasing the lock. I grabbed her and carted her off to a nearby alleyway, Iroha following me.

"What do you want with me, Miss Taylor?" Homura asked.

Without replying, I propped her up against a wall and then thrust with my sword, slicing the lock in half and releasing her.

"I don't know what possessed you to pick a fight with Miss Tomoe," I said. "You're either overconfident or just stupid."

"Isn't that going a bit too far!?" Iroha protested.

"I didn't intend to fight her," Homura said. "She wasn't the one I was after…"

"You were after Charlotte, right?" I said. "And Candeloro and Pistis as well. You really thought they were witches? If that Charlotte was a real witch, how do you explain Nagisa being here, unharmed? If that Candeloro was a witch, how can you explain Mami? If that Pistis was a witch, why is Yuma still a magical girl?"

"Miss Mami said the same thing," Homura said.

"I thought they were just plush toys that looked like witches," Iroha said.

"But they came to life during the nightmare fight," Homura pointed out. "And they were acting alive just a little while ago at Mami's place.

"Still, I think you jump to conclusions a little too quickly," I said. "Didn't you think it was a bit odd, for Candeloro and Mami to exist at the same time? Does that not remind you of anything?"

Homura shook her head. "I thought one of them must have created this labyrinth."

"Why would a witch such as Charlotte or Pistis go to all the trouble to build a labyrinth big enough to hold an entire city?" I asked. "Why would it, having built such a labyrinth, merely keep us here without trying to harm us or lure in even more victims? The nightmare might've been a little dangerous, sure, and it was strangely tough, but its strength didn't compare to an actual witch. Would the Sweets Witch, Charlotte, ever do something so odd? You must have seen Candeloro at least once in your time loops too, right? Surely you can confirm that she wouldn't do such a thing either. Does Candeloro's labyrinth – Miss Tomoe's witch – look like Mitakihara?"

Homura tilted her head. "No… it's more like… a garden…? A maze of hedges, with teacups where you'd expect fountains… and the central room is filled with presents…"

"…Miss Homura… have you seen all your friends turn into a witch at least once, then?" Iroha asked.

"Usually it was only Miss Miki, but yes," Homura said. "I have seen each of Kyouko and Miss Tomoe turn at least once, and Madoka several times. Miss Hitomi, on the other hand… this is the first time I have seen her become a magical girl and fight with us."

"What about Nagisa-chan and Yuma-chan?" Iroha asked.

"Nagisa was always a witch before things even got started," Homura said. "I only met her for real in the last timeline. I didn't see Yuma very often. I never saw her turn into a witch."

"That's so sad," Iroha said. "You must have been through a great deal of pain…"

"If you'd just stop to think about it properly, I'm sure you could've worked it out on your own," I said. "This labyrinth isn't a trap to lure in victims. The witch that created it simply wants to maintain the status quo. So then, who benefits the most from this scenario? If you work backwards from that…"

Homura got to her feet and reached for her shield, but I thrust with my sword, jamming it into the mechanisms. Iroha let out a little gasp.

"W-what are you doing all of a sudden!?" she said.

"As if I'd let you retreat so easily," I retorted. "Your magic may be powerful, but you have a bad habit of relying on it too much."

While I had her attention on me, I extracted a ribbon from my pocket and surreptitiously coiled it around her ankle. If she suddenly pulled free, it would be better if I at least had some time to react before she could freeze my time.

"So… you're saying that the person who wished for all this is one of us?" Homura said.

"Is that so hard to believe?" I asked.

Homura gasped.

"I suddenly realized," she said. "There's someone else here who should not be able to exist."

"And who is that?" I asked.

"I just remembered something I didn't want to," Homura said. "Something I didn't want to remember. Madoka… Madoka is…"

She trailed off for a moment, then frowned.

"Come to think of it, why are you two here?" she asked. "You should not be here either…"

"Well, I suppose we just happened to be in the vicinity, right, Miss Tamaki?"

"Ah, yes!" Iroha said. "That's how we ended up here."

"So?" I said. "Have you figured out who created this labyrinth?"

Suddenly Homura jerked her shield upwards, tearing Kensei out of my hands. Even though I had expected her to do that, it still caught me off guard.

«Miss Tamaki, just in case, protect your soul gem!»

As she stopped time, I glanced back to see Iroha covering her soul gem with both hands, and I followed her example as I leapt at Homura, using one hand to cover the gem at my throat while the other stretched out to catch hold of her. At the same time, I unfurled the full length of the ribbon, coiling it around me like a shield, similar to that first time Homura suddenly tried to kill me.

Unfortunately, I was unable to catch Homura's hand before she shot the ribbon connecting us. She vanished immediately, and I couldn't sense her presence anymore. So she'd used time stop to escape, not to attack, which was a bit of a relief. Before relaxing, however, I opened a vision to see what she was doing. She had re-entered the city zone of the labyrinth during time stop and was apparently riding a boat upriver. Where she'd gotten a boat from was anyone's guess. It was also unclear why the boat was moving upriver when it had no visible form of propulsion at all.

I coiled up my ribbon again and turned to Iroha.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, nothing happened," Iroha said.

"That's good," I said. "She might have decided not to attack because we were on the defensive… anyway, she's gone, for now."

I then sent a message to Madoka.

«Madoka, can you chase after Miss Homura for me? She's returned to the city.»

«Eh, we're in a bit of a bind here, though!» Madoka said. «Familiars have started coming out…»

«But everyone's there, right? Surely you can manage to get free. I'll come join the fight with Miss Tamaki, too – that should help.»

«Yeah, okay, I'll try,» Madoka said. «Um, do you have any idea where I should start looking?»

«The river,» I said. «She seems to be on the river.»

Iroha and I made our way back to the others, where we found them fighting a flock of bird-like familiars. I charged in at the ones in front of Madoka, allowing her to break free and run off.

"This is such a pain," Kyouko grumbled. "They just keep coming at us so we have no choice but to defend, but… at this rate, we're going to run out of magic."

Mami nodded. "We just fought a harrowing battle against Walpurgisnacht, so we didn't have a lot of magic left in the first place… and I just had a close match with Homura-chan… we might have no choice but to unleash a doppel or two…"

"That's not good!" Iroha said. "Unleashing a doppel inside a doppel barrier… is that even safe? And what if that doppel also goes out of control?"

"Those are all good questions," I said. "I think there might be a nesting limit for barriers within barriers, so a doppel going out of control here probably wouldn't be able to make another barrier… and I don't have any reason to believe that unleashing a doppel inside a doppel barrier would be any more dangerous than unleashing one inside a witch barrier. But those are all guesses."

"Still, the risk of it going out of control is real," Iroha said. "Even if it can't make another nested barrier, we'd have to fight the rampaging doppel… or run away, I suppose…"

"Well… this isn't based on any actual evidence, but I think the people most likely to be able to control their doppel are those who've already unleashed one," I said. "So that means Miss Tamaki, Miss Tomoe, Yuma, and Nagisa. Oh, right, I've unleashed mine twice before… so you can count me, too."

"But mine already went out of control," Iroha said. "So it's a little scary to unleash it again…"

"I see your point," I said. "But I think your experience from that might help prevent a recurrence. And of the people who haven't unleashed one before, I think Miss Sakura is the least likely to lose control."

"So, to sum things up, you are suggesting that Miss Sayaka and I take extra care to avoid it," Hitomi said.

"Basically, yes," I said.

Fortunately, after a minute or two we managed to defeat the familiars swarming us without anyone unleashing their doppels. However, our soul gems were now quite clouded, so it seemed that a doppel unleash was almost inevitable before this was over. There didn't seem to be a point in dwelling on it though, so I decided to see if I could still contact Noriko.

«Miss Naomi… can you hear me?»

«Yes! Loud and clear!»

«Did you do as I asked?»

«Yes, Miss Akemi's barrier is encased in my own,» Noriko said.

«Where are we right now?»

«Right now… we're in Mizuna Ward,» Noriko said. «Everyone else is still here too. We already picked up Miss Ui from Crescent Moon Villa, and we're heading for the old prison.»

«Oh, that's perfect,» I said. «Since that's where we'll need to go next after we get out of here. Thank you so much.»

«You should be thanking Miss Hijiri, not me,» Noriko said. «She was the one who took charge of the situation.»

Then I checked up on Madoka with my clairvoyance. She was running along the riverbank towards a bridge. As she reached it, I spotted Homura's boat down on the water.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka called.

With a gasp, Homura looked up. Spotting Madoka on the bridge above, she quickly tried to wipe some of the blood off her face. As the boat began to pass under the bridge, Madoka leapt down without a moment of hesitation, landing nimbly on the bow. The boat rocked, and she slipped forward, landing on top of Homura.

"Thank goodness!" Madoka said. "I was looking all over for you, Homura-chan. Everyone is really worried, you know. What happened? Why were you fighting with Miss Mami?"

Homura averted her eyes, but didn't answer. As if responding to her thoughts, the boat veered in and docked itself, and the two of them got to their feet and disembarked.

"It's not good to go off by yourself, Homura-chan," Madoka said. "And I don't like to hear you've been fighting with Miss Mami again… I thought you were past that… is there something wrong? You can tell me about it, if you want. I'll listen."

They walked through the town in silence for a minute or two, passing by an elaborate fountain and mounting a grassy hill with a strange sculpture at the peak. There was a bench up there, and they decided to sit down.

"Even if I'm not able to help you, it's much better to talk about it than worrying about everything on your own," Madoka said. "You know, it really hurts me to see you suffering so much. It hurts even more when I know I can't do anything about it, but…"

"I think," Homura said hesitantly. "I had… a very scary dream…?"

"A dream…?" Madoka said.

"A dream where you were gone, and I could never see you again," Homura said. "I couldn't even turn back time anymore…"

She started to cry, trying in vain to wipe the tears away.

"I couldn't do anything… I started to wonder if it had all been for nothing… maybe there really was no way to change your fate… to save you… and when I thought that, it became… too much to bear… I began to doubt my own resolve…"

At that point, Madoka wrapped her arms around Homura and pressed their faces together, ear-to-ear.

"That does sound like a terrible dream," Madoka said. "But it's okay. I would never go away to a place where we couldn't meet, you know?"

"Why…?" Homura asked, pulling away a bit so she could turn to face Madoka. "How… how can you be so sure? If… if you died… or turned into a witch…"

Madoka hugged her, gently stroking her hair.

"Because your magic is too incredible to just suddenly fail like that," she said. "You're not wrong… I could die, or turn into a witch. Both of those things are possible, and they're both very sad. But even if that happens, we can still meet again, can't we? I won't remember it, that's true… but we'll still be together. And you can talk about it with me, you know? Let me share the pain of experiencing my own death. After all… I could never bear to do something that would make someone as strong as you cry like this."

"Y-you mean… that would hurt you too much to bear…?"

"That's right," Madoka said. "Homura-chan, Sayaka-chan, Miss Mami, Kyouko-chan, Hitomi-chan, Papa and Mama and Tatsuya, and even Iroha-chan and Ashley-chan and everyone in our class… I would never want to go somewhere I couldn't ever see them again. Even if it seemed like there was no other choice, I know I'd never have the courage to do that. I may have almost made that mistake once, but I know better now."

"R-right… you're right," Homura said. "Those are your honest feelings, aren't they?"

"Of course," Madoka said.

"How… how could I have made… such a stupid mistake…?" Homura said.

"…Homura-chan…?" Madoka said.

Homura pulled back out of the hug.

"I've come this far!" she declared. "How could I give up now!?"

"That's the spirit, Homura-chan!" Madoka said.

"Madoka… you really do have the courage to make hard decisions, you know," Homura said. "Even when you know it could hurt you. When you find something that only you can do, I don't know anyone who's stronger and kinder than you are."

"Hmm… you might be right about that," Madoka said. "But even so, if it meant leaving you and the others forever, I'm certain I could never do it now. And after meeting Ashley-chan, I've come to realize that finding a way that doesn't hurt anyone, not even myself, is even more rewarding."

"T-that's why… I'll give up," Homura said.

"Huh?" Madoka said.

"I'll give up… on preventing you from becoming a magical girl," Homura said. "Whether you want to make a contract or not… I'll support your choice with all my heart!"

Madoka giggled. "That's great! But will you tell me this again next time? Because I won't remember this conversation later on, right?"

"Of course!" Homura said. But then she blinked. "H-huh? Next time? Oh, right… come to think of it… there's no way you could really be here. I'm sure that… you're just a illusion… or a false copy created by someone… after all, how else could we meet right now? Any way I look at it, it's not possible."

Suddenly she set her hands on Madoka's shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"But… no, I can tell, you are the real Madoka," she said. "I can feel your kindness clearly, and it makes me so happy. Thank you… you've blessed me far more than I could ever hope for."

"As for me, I'm happy I got to have one final chat with you, Homura-chan," Madoka said. "Please pass on your new resolve to the me in the next timeline, okay? For me, this could be the last time we speak, but I don't regret my choice one bit. Walpurgisnacht is defeated, after all."

Homura got to her feet, nodding.

"Then I'll be going now," she said. "I just realized something… there's something I still need to do."

"Then I'll come with you, Homura-chan," Madoka said.

Homura turned and ran off, and Madoka tried to give chase. Homura came to a stop in front of Madoka's house and turned to face her.

"If I'd only stopped to think about it, it would've been obvious," Homura said. "If you've already died, the only way to communicate with you would be to twist time… and who in this labyrinth has that kind of power?"

"Um… is this a trick question?" Madoka asked. "Of course, you're the only one who can manipulate time, Homura-chan… that is, of the people in this fake Mitakihara."

"Which means… it must be me who created this labyrinth," Homura said.

"Does that mean… you finally remembered everything?" Madoka asked.

"I don't know Miss Taylor's or Miss Tamaki's powers very well," Homura mused. "So there's a very small chance that they could manipulate time too… but no, Miss Taylor called in that other girl who can manipulate time, so that must mean she doesn't have such a power… that still leaves Miss Tamaki, however…"

With that, she pushed open the gate and knocked on the door. It was answered by Madoka, who gasped at the sight of Homura.

"A-ah, Homura-chan!? What's going on?" the second Madoka asked.

"Eh!?" the first Madoka gasped. "Is that… me?"

"Huh!?" the second one gasped. "W-why are there two of me…?"

Homura hugged the second Madoka, leaving the first to attempt to explain the situation. From their discussion, it seemed like this was the Madoka from the previous timeline, as she also seemed to know Iroha.

After a bit, Homura released the second Madoka, then turned and walked off without a word. Both Madokas followed her, calling out to her, but she ignored them. She ran all around town, searching everywhere, and somehow, she kept finding more and more versions of Madoka, stopping to hug each one and talk briefly with her. However, it seemed none of them were the Madoka she was looking for. She seemed to be seeking a specific version of Madoka.

The rest of us were making our way back towards the centre of the city, aiming to meet up with Madoka and Homura.

"At least the familiars have stopped coming out," Iroha said. "Is Madoka-chan okay?"

"Um, well… it seems like she's… multiplying," I said.

"W-what do you mean?" Iroha asked.

"I mean… there are about thirty of her running around now… Miss Homura seems to be pulling them out from all over the place."

Just as I said that, Homura stumbled upon another version of Sayaka and Kyouko, who seemed to be in the middle of a catfight.

"…and now Miss Miki and Miss Sakura are multiplying too," I said.

"W-what's going on?" Iroha said. "Why would there be more than one…? Oh… Miss Kuroe did mention that my labyrinth spawned a fake version of Miss Yachiyo when she wasn't present, could that be what's happening?"

"Well… if it was just one duplicate, and the real one wasn't there with her, I'd say yes," I said. "But the original Madoka has been with her the entire time…"

"Hmm… I think I might know what this is," Mami said. "Are you thinking the same thing, Miss Taylor?"

"Well, I think there's a chance she might be pulling in the versions of you guys who died in all the other timelines," I said.

"Indeed, that would explain the quantity, as well…" Hitomi said. "But why all of a sudden…?"

"It feels like she's searching for something in particular," I said. "She's ignoring everyone who isn't Madoka…"

"Do you think she's realized the whole truth yet?" Iroha said.

"It's hard to say," I said. "She seems to have realized that she was the one to create the labyrinth, but… I can't really tell if she remembers what a doppel is…"

Suddenly a new flock of the bird familiars surrounded us, and we got to work taking them down. Meanwhile, Homura found yet another version of Madoka at the Mitakihara Middle School front gate.

"H-homura-chan!?" the latest Madoka gasped. "Is that really you, Homura-chan? What happened to your hair? Although you do look pretty cool this time… huh? Wait, why are there so many of me…?"

"Madoka!" Homura shouted.

"Y-yes!?"

"Do you remember our promise?"

The latest Madoka nodded.

"Of course!" she said. "You promised to protect me, didn't you? You promised to change history and prevent that sad ending. You promised to save me before I got deceived by Kyuubey. How could I forget? It literally just happened…"

"I'm sorry!" Homura exclaimed.

"Huh?" Madoka said.

"I couldn't do it," she said. "I couldn't save you. I couldn't stop you from becoming a magical girl. I couldn't stop you from dying or turning into a witch. Even when I managed to tell you the truth about magical girls, I still couldn't stop you from making a wish!"

"Oh," Madoka said. "Hmm… but isn't that okay? If I still make a wish after knowing everything, at least I haven't been deceived… right?"

Homura blinked at her. "T-that… another version of you said something similar, but…"

Madoka giggled. "You had to hear it from the one you made the promise to, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Don't worry about it so much," Madoka said. "It sounds like you've done a good job."

"That's… not true," Homura muttered. "I failed… I can't go on any longer…"

A flock of the bird-shaped familiars suddenly appeared all around them. The many versions of Madoka gasped almost in tandem and transformed. Most of them had the original outfit, apart from the two from this timeline and the previous one. The few versions of Sayaka, Kyouko, and Mami that had been pulled in also transformed, and with the exception of the latest Madoka and the original Madoka from the current timeline, everyone started to attack the familiars.

"Don't say that!" the original Madoka said. "How can you say that after what we talked about!?"

"But there's no way out of it," Homura lamented. "It's already… too late for me…"

A row of tin soldier familiars marched up, pushing both versions of Madoka aside, as Homulilly emerged from within Homura. They gasped in unison.

"O-oh no!?" the latest Madoka said. "She's turning into a witch!?"

"No!" the original Madoka said. "It's not too late!"

"H-huh?" the latest Madoka said. "B-but there's no way to undo a witch transformation… right?"

"She hasn't transformed yet!" the original Madoka said. "What you're seeing isn't an actual witch… it's similar, but different. It's something new that was discovered in this timeline… a doppel! If we can just defeat it, Homura-chan will recover!"

Homura herself was clearly beyond hearing her words, but the latest Madoka, after staring incredulously for several seconds, nodded.

"I can't believe you'd lie to me, because you're me!" she said. "Then… we've got to defeat her!"

On our side of things, the familiars that had been engaging us suddenly turned to run off.

"Follow them!" Mami shouted. "They might lead us to Homura-chan!"

"Miss Homura's doppel has finally shown itself!" I say. "That means we can attack it directly now! Follow those familiars!"

We chased the familiars down, and before long had joined the crowd of Madokas, with a few past versions of the other Holy Quintet members.

"Miss Mami!" several of the Madokas shouted in tandem.

"Kyouko-chan, you're here too!" several more shouted.

"Sayaka-chan! You made it!" several others shouted.

"Hitomi-chan!? You became a magical girl too!?" several others gasped.

"Iroha-chan, Nagisa-chan, everyone!" the Madoka from the previous timeline called.

"Let's do this!" Iroha exclaimed.

The horde of familiars had swelled to an incredible level – at least thirty tin solder infantry, almost as many tin solder cavalry riding atop mounts that looked like a molar tooth, and three or four flocks of the bird familiars. I could also see some teeth without riders mixed in, though it seemed like they were in the minority. The familiar buildings of Mitakihara were starting to recede now, to be replaced with scenery more fitting of a witch's labyrinth. There were even more familiars high up in the air, grinning airships circling as if watching for an opportunity to attack.

"Don't hold back!" I shouted. "Unleash everything you have!"

Taking my own advice, I summoned a swarm of Teddy Drones and opened fire.

"Great Teddy's Ionic Bombardment!"

Everyone else followed my example, unleashing their ultimate attack upon the doppel.

"Strada Futuro!"

"Rosso Fantasma!"

"Tiro Finale!"

"Lynx Impact!"

"Prestissimo Agitato!"

"Bewitching Faerie Sonata!"

"Pluvia Magia!"

"Kugatachi!"

The sheer quantity of magic thrown at the procession wiped out a third of the familiars in an instant, including all the bird familiars and most of the tooth riders. It was thanks mostly to the fact that there were about thirty versions of Madoka. But even as effective as it was, more and more familiars were still coming out. The number of tin soldier infantry had almost doubled since the attack, and there were now spectator familiars lining the sidewalks, the false civilians referred to as Clara Dolls. To make matters worse, the airships circling above had started to catch fire and were falling from the sky like meteors.

"W-why on earth is she so strong!?" Mami gasped.

"E-even though I was going all out!" the Madoka of this timeline exclaimed.

"I thought I was supposed to be the strongest magical girl!" the Madoka of the previous timeline exclaimed.

"I think I sort of have an idea about that," I said. "The immense karmic destiny that Madoka bears comes from Miss Homura. Madoka is the strongest ever magical girl not because of some incredible latent potential that she has, but because Miss Homura has shared her karmic destiny to make her so. Which means… Miss Homura should be thought of as an even more powerful existence than Madoka. Or at least, that's what a certain someone told me recently."

"But we're all here!" Iroha shouted. "Even if Homura-chan is really that powerful, we have an army here! There should be no way for us to lose! Let's keep fighting right up until the end!"

Homulilly herself had pulled too far forward for us to directly target her by this time. She now rested on a raised dais in the centre of a military procession of tin soldiers, marching through the twisted streets with some grim purpose. If there was a saving grace, it was that I couldn't yet see a guillotine at the end of this road. Though those of us from the current timeline held back on account of their limited remaining magic, everyone else fired a second barrage of magic, and then a third, clearing out enough of the familiars for us to actually sneak up behind Homulilly, taking out some of the stragglers at the same time.

And that was when the doppels were unleashed.

A massive floating fish exploded out from Sayaka's body, wearing an iron breastplate and a tattered black cloak and wielding a massive sword. Sayaka clung to a metal frame set atop the doppel's head, looking a little dazed though apparently still conscious. The witch runes spelled out the name, Oktavia von Seckendorff.

A pair of reindeer antlers sprang from Hitomi's hair, sending her careening up into the air as a head and body developed from them. It had the face and snout of a donkey, but the eyes were almost human, and the ears were pointed like an elf's. Below that was a human torso with huge breasts and four arms that looked like they were made of wooden twigs. Below that was an equine torso with eight legs, with hooves that were clearly cloven like a goat's. The thing had a tail that at first looked like a literal snake, but when it opened its mouth it was lined with sharp teeth similar to Charlotte. Hitomi's body, dazed just like Sayaka, dangled way up between the tips of the antlers. The witch runes spelled out the name, Erlkönigin.

"Oh no!" Iroha gasped. "This… could be bad…!"

"It could be, but… let's just hope the automatic purification system holds out with three of them going at the same time," I said. "Everyone else who's almost out of magic, fall back! Two doppels is bad enough… we may not be able to afford letting any more out! At least not until these two calm down."

Oktavia and Erlkönigin charged in unison, sweeping aside the remnants of the army of tin soldiers with little effort and easily reaching Homulilly, who spun to face them and attacked directly with her tentacles. As the three of them tore at each other, I summoned a new swarm of Teddy Drones, positioning them in a spherical formation around the three doppels.

"One thing's for damn sure, those doppel things are way more effective than this army of Madoka," Kyouko retorted.

"Does no-one have a grief seed left in reserve?" Mami asked.

"I definitely used my last one during the Walpurgisnacht battle," Iroha said.

"I still have a cube or two, but that's not enough to purify all of us," I said. "That said… I actually have a better idea. Madoka! Do you have enough stored up to unleash your feathers?"

"Eh!?" the two goddess-form Madokas exclaimed in unison.

"I think it would only last a minute at best," the Madoka from this timeline said.

"Probably less than a minute for me," the Madoka from the last timeline said.

"What if you both pooled your power?" I asked.

The two of them looked at each other and shrugged.

"It can't hurt to try," they said in unison.

With that, they slapped hands, initiating a connect skill, then flapped their wings, releasing the cloud of pink feathers into the air.

"Damn!" Kyouko said. "What on earth is this power? It's so convenient!"

"Great Teddy's Ionic Bombardment!" I shouted.

Mami and Kyouko slapped hands for a combination attack.

"Tiro Duet!" they shouted in unison.

Nagisa and Yuma also joined hands for a combination attack.

"Lynx Bubbles!" Yuma shouted.

That just left Iroha to fire a blast on her own.

"Strada Futuro!"

And the many copies of Madoka also joined in with their own attacks.

"Pluvia Magia!"

We targeted not just Homulilly but all three doppels, though Homulilly definitely took the brunt of the damage. The rain of missiles lasted for nearly a minute, after which I could see visible cracks in Homulilly's glassy surface. So I summoned Teddy Mk II and hopped on top, soaring over the heads of Oktavia and Erlkönigin, taking down one of the airship familiars along the way with my sword. With Homulilly distracted by the other two doppels, it was surprisingly easy to sneak behind her and stab at the cracked centre with my sword. The glass shattered, the purple sand within spilling out, and Homura's legs were freed. I reached in and yanked on them, pulling her body clear of her doppel and flinging her away. Several versions of Madoka leapt up to catch her, while variants of the Holy Quintet jumped in to finish off Homulilly and the other doppels. Sayaka and Hitomi came back to their senses almost immediately upon their doppels' defeat, and those of us who belonged in the current timeline gathered together at a safe distance.

"Well, I suppose it's time to say farewell," the Madoka of this timeline said. "Because I already died, right? So…"

Iroha hugged her all of a sudden.

"I'll miss you, Madoka-chan…"

Sayaka and Hitomi also joined in the huddle, with similar sentiments.

"I'm really sorry," Madoka said. "I guess you guys won't be going back in time with Homura-chan, right? So this really is the last time you'll see me… I wish I could have spent more time with all of you. Sayaka-chan, Iroha-chan, Hitomi-chan… Miss Mami, Yuma and Nagisa… yes, Kyouko-chan too, and even Ashley-chan… and of course Homura-chan. But the labyrinth is already starting to collapse, so… this is farewell."

Everyone chorused their own farewells in turn, and then Madoka turned to kneel by the unconscious Homura.

"I know you may not be able to hear me right now, Homura-chan, but I wish you the best in your next timeline," Madoka said. "May this next timeline be your last… and, let me give you a memento of this little adventure we had together."

With that, she reached up and plucked one of her few remaining pink feathers from the air, and it flared up to three times its former size. She then slipped the feather between Homura's slightly-open lips, sticking her index finger into the other girl's mouth up to the first knuckle, then withdrawing it, leaving the feather behind. For a fraction of a second it seemed as though Homura was outlined in pink light, and then it was gone.

Even as she did that, the labyrinth finished collapsing, and Madoka's body dissolved away with it, leaving everyone else just sobbing in a heap. We were now on an infinite grassy plain under a lavender sky with a single solitary tree before us. Homura lay on the ground, unconscious. Her soul gem had a small crack in it, but it didn't seem like anything serious – it wasn't as bad as Mifuyu's crack in the game or the previous timeline. It took the others a minute or so to realize that they weren't back in the real world, however. Kyouko was the first to say something.

"Hang on, where the heck are we now?" she asked.

"Huh?" Iroha said, looking around. "Come to think of it… I've never seen this place before. How did we get here…?"

"This is Naomi Noriko's labyrinth," I said. "I asked her to contain Homulilly to ensure that she didn't move beyond the bounds of the automatic purification system."

"Oh, good thinking, Miss Taylor!" Sayaka exclaimed.

"Now that Homulilly is defeated, I can ask her to let us out," I said.

"Yes, I think that would be good," Iroha said.

«Miss Naomi, we've settled the matter in here,» I said. «Could you let us out of your barrier?»

«On it!» Noriko replied.

Almost immediately, the lavender sky above us fragmented, bursting open to reveal the true blue sky outside, and from there the labyrinth collapsed, dumping us out onto the streets of Kamihama. Tsuruno leapt in immediately, glomping Iroha out of the blue, and the rest of the Crescent Moon Villa team followed up, expressing their worry over her disappearance. For my part, I had Riko and Karin jumping on me. There were quite a few other people present too. Hijiri, Yuuri, and Airi gave me a little wave. Kanagi was here of course, together with Mitama and even Mikage, hanging on her sister's arm. Rena and Kaede were also here, holding hands, Kaede still looking a little forlorn. Ai was here too, standing a pace behind Sana and carrying Ui's body on her back. Nanaka's team was here, and the Azalea sisters, and the rescue duo. Mari, Miu, and Hotori were present as well. I saw Yukika had finally shed her feather robe, and the Amane twins were present too, as well as Coeurl, Shizuku, Maria, Mayoi, the fire sisters, Chiyoko, Sakuya, and even Scheherazade.

"Let me see," I said, looking around. "We seem to be… somewhat close to the Mirror Mansion, right? Then we're almost at the old prison… shall we pick up the pace?"

Nanaka nodded.

"Yes, and we fought a few witches along the way as well," she said. "It looks like most of you are in grave need of a grief seed."

She took out a few grief seeds and passed them around, first to those of us who'd been trapped inside the doppel, then everyone else.

"Though I see a couple of you are mysteriously gleaming…" Nanaka added.

Sayaka chuckled nervously. "Uh, well, it seems I accidentally unleashed a doppel too just now," she said. "To be honest, it didn't feel like such a miraculous power… it was actually kind of scary…"

Hitomi nodded. "It's nice that we won't have to turn into witches thanks to that, but… even knowing that power is available to us, I wouldn't ever want to rely on it. Not in the form I just experienced."

"I definitely agree," I said.

"Yes, I don't think doppels are very safe," Iroha agreed. "Maybe the system can be improved, but as it is now… they really should be seen as just a last resort."

Yachiyo shuddered a bit. "The feeling of the doppel trying to seize control if you just let your guard down… I can do without such a risky power, thank you very much."

"As a matter of fact, I too unleashed one a few days ago," Nanaka said. "Having experienced it for myself, I fully agree with your sentiments."

"You know, I kinda want to experience it at least once for myself," Karin said. "I don't really get any of what you guys are saying…"

"Well… I don't recommend it, but if it's just once, I won't try to stop you, Karin-chan," I said. "Riko-chan has already unleashed one too… and I believe Miss Tatsuki may have done so as well?"

"I don't really remember it though," Riko said. "Though I do believe you…"

"Hmm, I don't remember something like that either," Asuka said.

"I don't remember my doppel being all that scary," Mami said. "But if this many people think it's scary, I will definitely think twice before using it again. Although, I already planned never to use it again… it's too close to a witch for comfort."

"I guess it wasn't all that bad when I unleashed mine," Yuuri mused. "But I don't think it's something I'd want to experience very often…"

"Me too," Airi said. "It definitely has to be saved for an absolute last-resort move."

"I really didn't think it was all that scary…" Nagisa said. "It was a little bit unnerving at first, but I think I could get used to it…"

"Yuma was scared when that thing came out of her!" Yuma said. "Yuma doesn't want that to happen again!"

"I didn't find it particularly scary at all," Coeurl said. "It was a bit overwhelming, however. I'd only use it if I had no other options remaining."

"To tell the truth, although it was a little frightening at first, I quickly got used to the sensation," Tsukuyo said.

"For sure!" Tsukasa said. "It started out a little scary, but once I was confident I would be in full control, it wasn't scary anymore."

Yukika nodded. "I think you just need to practice more if you want to use your doppel safely," she said. "Though, I'm not really sure what kind of practice would be effective…"

"I don't think I'd use mine again if I could possibly avoid it," Mayoi said.

"Miss Yui, you have your own reasons for not wanting to use it, don't you?" I asked.

"Eh, eh!?" Tsuruno gasped. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Wow, there are so many people here who have unleashed this 'doppel' thing," Tsukihi said. "But I guess I could never unleash one, right? After all… I've never run out of magic power before…"

"What are you talking about?" her sister Karen retorted. "Didn't you almost run out of magic power today?"

"Yes, but that was a special case," Tsukihi said. "How often would you find an opportunity to expend that much power?"

Noriko suddenly blinked at her, breaking out into stammers.

"C-c-come to t-think of it… Miss Tsukihi… w-was it…?"

"Ah, yes? Um… I'm sorry, I never caught your name…?"

"Um, I'm… N-n-naomi… N-noriko…"

Tsukihi nodded. "Nice to meet you, Miss Naomi. So, what did you want to say?"

"U-um… y-your magic level… I, um… have a scanning skill… and, um… after the b-b-battle I j-j-just h-happened t-to n-n-notice t-that you h-had… about… t-three-twentieths, um… ah… h-how d-do I explain it…"

"In other words, if you think of your total magic capacity as twenty units, then you had a total of seventeen units left to use," I helped her out. "That is, three units had already been expended but not restored by the grief seed. But why bring that up now, Miss Naomi?"

"Ah, w-well… M-miss Tsukihi… d-did you use a g-grief seed since then?"

"Hm? The last grief seed I used was the one that Miss Scheherazade gave me," Tsukihi said.

"T-then, um… h-how is y-your m-magia at… at zero…?"

I blinked at Noriko, realizing the significance of what she'd said. It didn't seem like anyone else other than Mari understood it, for while her jaw dropped, everyone else just looked confused.

"Hold up… are you saying her magic restored itself over time!?" I said. "So unless she uses an enormous amount of magic like today, she'll never need a grief seed?"

That explanation was enough for everyone else to realize the weight of Noriko's words. Several people gasped or expressed various forms of shock.

Noriko nodded. "T-that… seems to be a… p-possible conclusion," she agreed.

"I start to understand why Miss Tsukihi is uncertain that she can be considered a magical girl," Nanaka mused. "She has upset nearly every baseline fact about us…"

"Hmm, well, I can't really say if that's true," Tsukihi said. "But like I said, I've never used a grief seed in all my seventeen years of life."

Nagisa looked at her strangely. "What does your age have to do with this?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be since the time you became a magical girl?"

"The thing is… I didn't realize it until I was about fourteen, but I've had this body, and probably these powers too, ever since I was born," Tsukihi said. "The mark on my fingernail, that supposedly identifies me as a magical girl… I used to think it was just a birthmark. So I don't know how or why I became a magical girl, if that's even what I am."

"Huh… that's… incredible," Iroha said. "I almost wish Touka-chan were here to offer some theory on how that even works… all I can conclude is that there's clearly far more to magic then I ever imagined…"

"Well… maybe we can talk about that another time," I said. "For now, we still have to dispose of Eve…"

---

As told by the white feather named Nene, a few minutes after Eve was restrained…

"Ahhh, I can't believe I was put in charge of this," Nene lamented. "No, no, I gotta calm down, this is a big responsibility… ugh… I really hope that thing doesn't struggle too much… w-w-w-what should I do…!?"

"U-um… Miss Nene, p-please calm down," Shigure said. "W-we've got to watch this thing…"

"D-don't worry! If it moves, I'll, I'll s-smack it with my s-sword!" Hagumu declared, despite not carrying one.

"Um, so… aren't some of you guys the ones who were at the Coordinator's with me earlier?" Nene asked.

Four of the black feathers looked at each other, then nodded.

"Ah, um, yes," the blue-haired one said. "You can call me Chiu…"

"Ah, right, um… I guess there's no point in being anonymous now, so you can call me Hagumu," Hagumu said.

"Um, I'm… Gure…" Shigure said.

"I'm Hana," one of the brown-haired feathers said.

"Um, uhh… my name is… Moka," said the feather with light brown hair.

"Call me Nanya," the dark-skinned feather said.

"Um, I've been going by Ema," the green-haired one said.

"I'm Noa," the other brown-haired feather said.

"Alright, so um, I already mentioned it earlier, but you can call me Nene."

"But I really wonder, will we be okay…?" Noa asked. "J-just the nine of us to guard this… monster…?"

They turned to look at Eve. It was clearly struggling to break free, but as of yet it had made no progress at all. However, the light rain from the edge of Walpurgisnacht's influence didn't bode well – the vines were most likely bearing most of the burden for holding it in place, so if the soil grew soft enough to tear them out, there was no question that Eve would free itself.

"W-well, Miss Taylor did say we didn't need to do anything to actually keep it here if it gets loose," Nene said. "If you think of it as just keeping an eye on it so we can inform the others if it escapes… then that's not so bad… right?"

"Ah… true," Noa agreed.

Moka shuddered. "J-just standing here looking at it… it's so… so… eerie…"

"Well… we may as well get settled down," Nene said. "We could be here for awhile… who knows how long it'll take for the others to defeat Walpurgisnacht…?"

So the nine feathers, one white and eight black, all flopped down onto the soft, wet grass near the lake shore, facing the gargantuan form of Eve, tangled up in vines held together with silken webbing and neat lines of stitching.

Though they weren't keeping track of time, Nene thought it must've been more than an hour before the creature's struggles finally began to bear fruit. There was a twang of threads snapping, and a retort of wood cracking. Nene leapt to her feet, and the others followed her example.

"Is she breaking free already!?" Hana gasped.

"I really hope not!" Chiu said. "It's still raining a little… so they're probably still fighting over on the west side…"

"L-let's encircle her and see what's going on!" Nene said.

The feathers spread out, forming a circle around Eve and trying to locate the source of the sound. After a minute or two, Ema spotted it.

"Over here!" she called. "It almost has one wing free!"

They all joined her to gaze up at the hole in the wooden cage, through which one of Eve's wings was partially protruding. Several of the thinner, weaker vines had snapped from the force Eve was constantly exerting on them, and even the strong silken webbing had given way. However, most of the other vines still seemed to be holding.

"G-good, it looks like we're okay for a little longer," Nene said. "B-but we've got to keep an eye on this hole… and watch out for further breaches…"

Hagumu nodded. "R-right!" she said.

"Um, so… I think we should… spread out around the perimeter again," Nene said. "But uh, this time, stay in pairs, and position yourselves so you can see two other pairs."

The black feathers nodded and split up. Hagumu and Shigure took the point to Nene's left, Chiu and Nanya took the point to her right, and Hana and Noa took the point opposite, out of sight. That left Ema and Moka with her, keeping an eye on the current breach.

Things began to pick up from there. It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes before another sound of snapping wood and strings was heard, and moments later Noa notified her by telepathy that the other wing was working its way free of the morass. Ten more minutes, and Shigure was stuttering that a beak was working its way out from between two of the largest vines, slowly forcing them apart.

Nene saw Hagumu pull a sword from somewhere and charge at the beak, slashing and stabbing at it for almost a minute before Shigure dragged her back. Whether that actually made a difference was anyone's guess. The wing in the original breach was completely free by this time, and according to Noa's telepathic missives, the other wing was on the verge of breaking free as well. If both were to be freed, Nene wondered, would it be able to stand up and get out?

The minutes stretched out as Nene and the others watched the witch slowly but surely work its way free of the tangle that was restraining its movements. A crack of shattering wood here, the twang of a snapped string there, every instance caused them to jump as they watched warily for the moment it was free, knowing at this rate that it was not a question of if but of when.

But when the moment finally came, when Eve stood up in all its horrible glory with a great racket of broken wood and threads, when it spread its wings with clear intent to leap into the sky, when it was clear that the restraints had failed… at that moment the witch just stopped, turning to look at the bronze-skinned woman who had just appeared before it.

"So this is the rumoured Shitori Egumo," the woman said. "Ah? It seems she has quite a bit of Old Dorothy in her as well… that explains the evolved form. But hey, you sure are full of yourself, aren't you? Did you think we would let you escape so easily? You'd better think again!"

She turned to the feathers, who upon hearing her voice had all gathered around Nene once more to see what was going on.

"Apologies for my late introduction," the woman said. "I am Scheherazade. I caught wind of your automatic purification system and had to stop by to see it."

Even as the woman addressed them, Eve just stared at her, making no move to attack or flee.

"Now, I wonder if you could help me out a bit?" Scheherazade said. "At the moment, I'm holding Shitori Egumo in check with the mesmerizing power of my voice, but that won't last long, and it would be difficult to prepare any other magic at the same time. If you could buy me about thirty seconds, that should be enough to truss this witch up again."

"Truss it up…?" Nene said. "Is… is there a reason you can't just defeat it?"

"Priorities," Scheherazade said. "Between Walpurgis and Shitori Egumo, the latter is tougher, yet she's still lethargic from her sudden evolution. Therefore, it behooves me to focus on the witch that is actively wreaking havoc across the western border of the city. I hope you understand."

"Ah, yes… well, Miss Taylor said something similar, after all," Nene said. "B-but um… none of us are very strong… to buy you even thirty seconds… m-might be too much to ask…"

"I could probably make do with twenty seconds," Scheherazade said. "All I ask is that you do what you can. If it starts to look dangerous, you can back off."

Nene nodded slowly. "A-alright… I'll… I'll do it! A-anyone else with me? I, uh… I won't ask you… or try to make you help, but… if you can j-just work up a little courage…"

The black feathers looked at each other, but the only ones who raised their hands were Hagumu and Chiu.

"Um, so… m-maybe my anti-curse magic would be, well… super-effective," she said hesitantly. "I might not make any difference, b-but… I'll… give it a shot…"

"I don't have any strong attack magic, but… I do have a weak charm that might be effective," Chiu said. "I'll try it out."

Nene nodded. "A-alright… I'll go first," she said. "If… if my attempt… d-doesn't work out or um… doesn't last long enough, then… I'll leave it up to you two!"

Nene summoned her spinner staff and seized the disk, spinning it. As it came to a stop, Scheherazade's eyes widened, and Nene's as well.

"Oh… oh my… this power…!" Nene gasped. "The mesmerizing voice…!"

"Impressive," Scheherazade said. "To think you'd be able to copy even one of my powers… your karmic destiny might be higher than you imagine. Very well then… see how long you can keep her occupied!"

With that, Scheherazade stepped back and summoned an ethereal book from somewhere, while Nene turned to the witch and addressed her.

"H-hey, you!" she shouted. "You great big bully! D-don't think I'll let you just get away like that!"

The witch turned to eye her instead of Scheherazade, and Nene's heart skipped a beat. For a moment she was filled with fear and unable to speak, but… she had been given this task, so she wanted to do her very best.

"T-trying to… intimidate me, are y-you?" she stammered. "W-well… um… t-that w-won't work! I'm… n-not… g-gonna… let you… get… awaaaaay!"

Apparently the content or emotion within her words had no bearing on the magical effect – just the mere act of speaking was enough to mesmerize the witch. Behind her, Scheherazade had started some sort of incantation.

"Akashic Records, invoke! I call upon the warden of the hope that all magical girls cherish, the founder of this island!"

But it was around then that the copied mesmerism power, inferior to its original, wore off. Eve bent over, bringing its beaked face closer to Nene, and that was when Hagumu leapt in, pulling her sword out and stabbing the witch in the face. After that first attack, Shigure ran forward and slapped her hand against Hagumu's, initiating a connect, then backed off again. A moment later, Hagumu unleashed her ultimate attack at the witch.

"Great Red Cyclone!"

The force of the anti-curse tornado was enough to force the witch to raise its head and almost lose its balance. But the downside was that it had come to register Hagumu as a threat. One of its multi-faceted insectoid eyes gleamed as it built up power for a beam attack.

"I summon Tokime Sakuya!" Scheherazade intoned.

As Nene glanced back, she saw the ghostly form of another magical girl materialize before Scheherazade. She had no time to make out any details, however.

"W-we're almost there!" Nene shouted. "Chiu, your turn!"

Chiu raised her voice and sang a little song.

"Sweet little Evie-pie, don't look away today!"

And with that, Eve turned its attention from Hagumu to Chiu. For a moment the gleam in its eye faded… but the distraction really only lasted an instant. Then it turned back to Hagumu, who gasped and backed away.

"No… n-nooo! D-don't look!" she pleaded. "I… I d-don't have… any magic p-power left! L-look at someone else!"

She seized Nene, the nearest person available, and ducked behind her.

"H-hey, h-hold on a moment!" Nene protested. "L-let go of me! I… I d-don't wanna d-die either!"

As Eve turned its gaze on the pair, the gleam in its eye growing brighter, Nene and Hagumu engaged in a brief tussle. Nene managed to thrust her away just in time to turn and see that beam on the verge of firing.

"N-n-nooooooo!" Nene screamed.

Impurities exploded out of her soul gem, encasing her in a dark blue carriage with yellow accents. Nene barely managed to take in the form of her doppel before it took the brunt of the beam, and actually held for about three seconds before giving way. In the moment before the carriage swallowed her up, she remembered seeing something vaguely like eyes, with strange symbols flashing through them, as well as a strange towering structure on top, but after that all she could see was the darkness of the inside… until it dissipated from the attack, causing her to fall flat on her face.

Even as Nene was unleashing her doppel, Hagumu curled up in a ball, anticipating an attack that would never land. But just that anticipation was apparently enough stress for her to let her own doppel loose a moment later, her hair expanding into the figure of a rich young woman, complete with a fancy red dress and fake drill curls. While Nene's doppel absorbed the beam, Hagumu's leapt into the air and attacked Eve, driving it back. The princess doppel's claws seemed unable to scratch the witch at all, but at least the force of her approach wasn't something that Eve could just shrug off.

And at the same time, the girl Scheherazade had summoned got to work. The earth around the witch moved, shifted. Eve lost its footing, sinking into the ground, and then arches of stone formed, trapping the witch in a pit in the ground. As extra insurance, thorny brambles grew across the gaps between the arches.

By the time Hagumu's doppel had run out of steam, Eve was well and truly trapped within the new stone cage. Nene picked herself up groggily, then gaped at the Tokime founder's handiwork.

"Thank you for the help," Scheherazade said. "I hadn't anticipated getting to see a doppel for myself, but that was very educational as well. Now then—"

But before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by someone else.

"Wooooow! What was that!? Mii thinks that was totally awesome! That transparent onee-san just locked away that huuuuuge witch like it was nothing!"

Scheherazade and Nene both turned to see the speaker, a young girl who closely resembled the Coordinator. She was holding hands with another girl, somewhat tall with short black hair, who looked considerably miffed by something. The younger girl wore the uniform of Daito Academy, while the elder wore the uniform of Minaminagi Liberty Academy.

"Can I just go home now?" the older girl asked. "Or rather, I need to make sure my family is okay…"

"Mii is sure they're fine, Sae-chan!" the younger girl said. "Didn't Sae-chan get an email from them before the phones stopped working?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if they actually made it to the evacuation centre!" Sae protested.

"But this is far more important!" Mii said, pouting a bit.

"It's not fair!" Sae complained. "Why do I have to help you find your older sister!?"

"Because Mii is worried!" Mii said. "Sae-chan's family's at the evacuation centre, but onee-chan is out there fighting!"

"And you think I'm not worried!?" Sae snapped.

"You're Yakumo Mikage, right?" Scheherazade interrupted them. "If you're looking for Mitama, you may as well come with me. I was about to go meet up with her anyway."

"Ohhh!" Mikage exclaimed. "Yes please, Mii will come with you, onee-san!"

"In that case, I'll just—" Sae began.

"And Sae-chan will come too!" Mikage added. "Sae-chan wanted a Coordination anyway!"

"T-that can wait!" Sae protested. "My family can't!"

Scheherazade turned to the feathers once more.

"Thank you for your help," she said. "I'll be back soon."

And with that, she headed off to walk around the lake, followed by Mikage and a protesting Sae. As for the ghostly girl who had created that stone prison on the first place, all trace of her had disappeared.

---

"What on earth…!?" I gasped.

I had just caught sight of the stone cage containing Eve. The witch was slamming herself against the stone arches, and some cracks were visible, but it was clear she had no chance of getting out in the near future.

"Yes, I took a moment to secure Shitori Egumo's restraints before approaching Walpurgis," Scheherazade said.

"Ah… thank you very much," I said.

"So now all we have to do is kill it, right?" Tsuruno said. "Flame Waltz!"

Without any warning, she leapt in and slammed fire through all the cracks, setting the witch ablaze. Alina Eve let out a keening cry and ruffled her wings. The flames subsided within a few seconds, but from her reaction, it must have been at least a little effective. However… that wasn't what we were here for in the first place.

"No, we're not going to kill it," I said. "At least, not directly. Our star this time is Mokyu."

The little creature, currently riding on Yachiyo's shoulder, made one of its cute noises, and Iroha blinked.

"Eh? Since when did you two have an understanding?" she asked. "It seems Mokyu knows what you're talking about…"

"Mokyu is going to restore Ui's soul, and then take on the core of the automatic purification system," I explained. "That should cause Eve to mostly disperse. Even if it's not fully effective, she should be easier to defeat after we do this. That's why I didn't ask everyone to come – those of us who are here should be sufficient if we need to fight at all."

With that, Mokyu leapt onto Ai's head, placing a paw against Ui's forehead. Although the streamers of light speeding across the sky were the same as in the last timeline, without the Magius here, there was no-one able to comment on the sudden restoration of memories.

"W-what just happened…?" Iroha asked.

"Ui's fate was reconstructed," Scheherazade said. "If Touka and Nemu ever gain a new body, they should now be able to remember her. Soon, your sister should also regain consciousness."

"Ai-chan, let's put her down!" Sana exclaimed.

They helped Ai lay Ui down on the wet ground, and Iroha knelt beside her, pressing her hands together anxiously and begging her to wake up. While Crescent Moon Villa stood around to await her recovery, the Araragi sisters decided to bombard the witch with flames. The Yuzuki sisters also leapt into action, Hotori using her beam attack while Miu defended her from the witch's counterattacks, but apart from a few attacks thrown in now and then, almost everyone else just stood around and waited.

It was during a pause in Tsukihi's attacks that Ui's eyes fluttered open.

"Nee…chan…" she said.

Iroha gasped, then leaned down and gathered Ui up in a great big hug, tears of happiness running down her face.

"Welcome back, Ui!" she said. "What a relief… you scared me half to death!"

As the witch built up a beam and aimed it at Hotori, Miu yet again leapt in to defend her, reflecting the beam back at the witch. However, in her haste to place herself between the witch and her younger sister, she tripped over a stray root in the ground, most likely a remnant from the previous cage, and fell flat on her face with a yell of pain. As Hotori knelt to check on her, Karen and Tsukihi resumed toasting the witch with an unending stream of fire. The constant fire completely burned away the brambles filling in the gaps between the stone arches, as well as most remnants of the older cage.

"Nee-chan… it felt like I had… a really bad dream," Ui said. "Touka-chan and Nemu-chan were there, but… no matter how much I called… they didn't notice me. They didn't remember me. And at the end, they… they…"

She suddenly burst into tears.

"B-but it wasn't a dream, was it?" she said "They're really gone…"

"Y-yes… they're gone," Iroha said. "I don't know if we can ever see them again… Miss Taylor said there might be a way, but it's not certain…"

The sisters hugged each other, and Iroha ended up crying too.

"T-they saved me," Ui said. "And even though they forgot who I was, they still took care of me… I wanted to say I don't blame them for anything… that I'll forgive them… and besides, we promised… we promised we'd walk all over Kamihama together!"

"Maybe we still can, someday," Iroha said.

A minute or so later, they separated, and Ui managed a weak smile.

"Maybe somewhere deep in their hearts they still remembered who I was," she said. "And onee-chan… you tried so, so hard to find me. Thank you."

"Oh, you don't have to say that," Iroha said. "I'd do anything to make sure you came back safe and sound. That was all I ever wanted. That was the only reason I became a magical girl in the first place."

"I'm sorry, onee-chan," Ui said. "When I found out the truth about magical girls, I just wanted to save you from such a sad fate… I didn't think it would turn out like this…"

"No, no, I should thank you for that too!" Iroha said. "For trying so hard to help me. I didn't even know anything back then…"

"Well, thank you so much for saving me!" Ui said. "I guess it's natural that we'd try to do the same for each other, since we're sisters."

Iroha giggled. "Yeah, you're right!"

"Alright, you've caught up now," I said. "Could we move on to the next step? Mokyu, it's up to you. I just hope this works… with Old Dorothy mixed in, I'm not certain it will. If not, we'll just have to pummel her until she breaks down. With Miss Tsukihi here to help, I guess that shouldn't be too hard though."

Mokyu made one of its cute noises and scampered towards the witch.

"We need to be ready to defend Mokyu, just in case!" I said.

Even as I said that, the witch whipped out a tentacle that seemed to be made of the same material as Alina's doppel, but Tsukihi jumped in front, taking the blow and setting the tentacle on fire. Then Mari stepped forward and summoned a swarm of ice spears, firing them at the witch. Mokyu used the spears as shields and footholds to get in close without entering the attack range of those tentacles. As the creature made contact with Eve's body, she let out one more cute noise.

Then the witch burst out of the cage, the stone shattering with an unpleasant rumbling. Eight colourful chunks, the remnants of the crystals from Eve's original body, went flying in all directions. The rest of Eve's body then began to decompose into ash, dispersing on the wind and soon fading out of existence entirely.

But unlike in the last timeline, there was still something left after all the ashes were gone. At the bottom of the pit that had been confining her was a big puddle of technicolour slime, which leapt out at them.

"It seems that Old Dorothy and Shitori Egumo separated," Scheherazade mused. "Perhaps the fusion was not as stable as it seemed. So all that's left now is Old Dorothy… she shouldn't have much longer left either, though. If you can hold out for a few minutes, she too will dissipate."

Ui leapt to her feet, summoning several of her paper swallow kites to attack the slime and hold it back.

"L-let me do it!" Ui exclaimed. "It looks like everyone else doesn't have much magic left…"

"No, let's all do it," Iroha said. "Everyone who can, please use your strongest attack!"

I summoned a swarm of Teddy Drones. "Great Teddy's Ionic Bombardment!"

Karin raised her scythe and spun it around. "Magical Blade, Jack Death Scythe!"

Riko flung her bento pick like a spear. "Yummy Hunter!"

Airi raised her hands and gathered electricity between them. Then she summoned her bull and injected the electricity into it as it charged at the slime.

"Cole, Tonitrus Overrun!"

Tsukihi and Karen joined hands, building up a ring of fire above their heads that slowly grew in size until it was large enough to slam down upon the slime, containing it.

"Sisters of Fiery Justice!"

Everyone else also followed up with their ultimate attacks at the same time.

"Absolute Rain!" Yachiyo shouted.

"Strada Futuro!" Iroha shoued.

"Foltergefängnis!" Sana shouted.

"Ultra Super Great Big Massive Hammer!" Felicia shouted.

"Flame Waltz!" Tsuruno shouted.

"Infinite Poseidon!" Rena shouted.

"Judgement Earth!" Kaede screamed

"White Camellia!" Nanaka declared.

"Twinkle Road's Page!" Kako shouted.

"Hawk Shadow Slash!" Meiyui shouted.

"Thunder Torrent!" Hazuki shouted.

"Butterfly Tempest!" Konoha shouted.

"Unidentified Flying Fire!" Ayame shouted.

"Shining Dragon Fang!" Asuka shouted.

"Tiro Finale!" Mami shouted.

"Prestissimo Agitato!" Sayaka shouted.

"Bewitching Faerie Sonata!" Hitomi shouted.

"Rosso Fantasma!" Kyouko shouted.

"Lynx Impact!" Yuma shouted.

"Citron Beam!" Hotori shouted.

"Flute Blossom Resonance!" Tsukuyo and Tsukasa shouted.

"Desperate Inferno!" Yukika shouted.

"Great Red Cyclone!" Hagumu shouted.

"Lucky Dynamite!" Moka shouted.

Some people attacked without calling it out. Hijiri copied Nico's finger bullets, and Yuuri fired a swarm of needles from her syringe. Mitama summoned her destructive cloth, and Mikage infused her katars with purple energy, before flinging them at the slime. Both the cloth and the energy disintegrated the slime on contact. Ai attacked by flinging what looked like visual artifacts of digital corruption. Akira leapt in close, repeatedly punching so fast her fists were a blur. Sasara also leapt in close, drawing several tentacles towards her, then slicing them off with her rapier. Nagisa emitted a swarm of exploding bubbles from her trumpet. Noriko opened fire from her gun staff, bombarding it with little flaming bullets. Mari summoned a swarm of vines that moved like snakes, dodging and weaving and striking at the slime. Coeurl attacked with an array of laser beams. Shizuku opened several portals and flung her chakrams so that they bounced all over the place. Maria did some magic that apparently caused the slime to stick to the ground, making it harder for it to move. Chiyoko coated her strange knives in a sickly green energy and then flung them. Sakuya moved so fast she was a blur, seeming to be in six places at once, leaping in close to stir the slime up with her daggers. Shigure used her slingshot to bombard the slime with stones. The black feather known as Noa raised her hands and called down a rain of sharpened icicles. The black feather known as Ema leapt into the air and pulled out a kusarigama, gripping it by the weight and spinning it like a flail; even though she was well out of range of the witch itself, somehow it seemed that her attacks landed. The black feather known as Nanya called down spears of light from the sky, impaling the creature.

Only a few people stood back and watched without attacking. Miu, who was now limping due to her earlier accident and apparently didn't have a ranged attack, had taken a seat on the grass. The black feathers known as Hana and Chiu also stood back, just looking nervous and a little embarrassed. Mayoi, who by her own admission had no attack magic at all, also stood back and watched. Scheherazade and Nene didn't attack either.

The slime put up a great struggle, but against so many magical girls, it basically never stood a chance. However, as a final act of defiance, it did manage to extend a tentacle and coil it around Moka's foot, yanking it out from under her and slamming her body up against the remnants of the stone cage that had previously confined Alina Eve. She let out a scream that cut off upon impact. Only moments later, the remnants of slime disintegrated, and Yuuri raced over to check on Moka.

"She's alive!" she called. "But she's badly hurt!"

I could see her start to use her healing magic.

"Thank goodness!" Iroha said. "That looked like a really nasty blow though…"

"Why don't we take the injured to my shop?" Mitama suggested. "And we'll also need to decide what to do with the bodies of the deceased…"

"Oh, that's right… I think Madoka's body was absorbed by Miss Homura's doppel barrier, but what happened to Inui's, Kazumi's, and Miss Aki's bodies?" I asked.

"The Pleiades Saints took Kazumi-chan with them," Hijiri said. "We dropped off Inui-chan and Miss Aki at the Coordinator's on our way over here. After this I was going to place them amidst the rubble to make it look like they got caught by the storm, but it depends on the state of the emergency services – it might be too late for that by now. Either way I can work something out with Miss Yakumo."

"Alright… Miss Hozumi, would you like to take them to the Coordinator's?" I asked.

"Ah, sure," Shizuku said.

"I'll go with onee-san too!" Hotori said.

She ran over to help her sister up, and the two of them were the first through the portal Shizuku opened. Mitama gathered up the unconscious Moka and Homura, then turned to Mikage.

"Mii, you come too," she said.

"Okaaay!" Mikage said. "Mii will go with onee-chan!"

They headed through the portal as well.

Satisfied that Eve had finally been defeated and the automatic purification system had been salvaged, I looked around at everyone who was still here. While we had been dealing with the injured, several people had headed off around the lake without a word – all of the black feathers, and also Mari and Noriko.

"I realize most of you have fought several back-to-back battles, but as the one who orchestrated much of this, I'd like to hear the details of what happened out of my sight as soon as possible," I said. "It could take a few hours, but do you mind?"

---

Back to the present…

"Today really has been a lot," Iroha says with a sigh. "First we confronted the Magius in their chapel, then we fought Eve to a standstill… then we somehow defeated Walpurgisnacht. And after that we had to face Miss Homura's doppel… and then defeat Eve… so I'd like to go home and just sleep for awhile. Ai-chan… you're welcome to join us. That's okay, isn't it, Miss Yachiyo?"

Yachiyo nods. "Of course, we'd be happy to have you, Miss Ai," she says.

"I do not require sleep," Ai says. "However, it would make me happy to be with Sana."

"Yes, please do come and stay with us!" Sana says. "I also want to be with you, Ai-chan!"

"Ui, you can stay in my room for today," Iroha says.

"I'll look forward to it!" Ui says.

"There are enough rooms at my place for you to have one of your own," Yachiyo says. "But if you really want to share…"

"At least for today," Iroha says. "We haven't seen each other for quite awhile."

"Can I stay over too?" Tsuruno asks, surprisingly energetic.

"Shouldn't you go home to set your father's mind at ease?" Yachiyo says.

"Ah… I guess you're right," Tsuruno says reluctantly.

"I'll see most of you on Wednesday, right?" Iroha says. "Please come! I think it'll be very important for the future of magical girls everywhere…"

And with that, Crescent Moon Villa leaves the dojo, Yachiyo carrying the slumbering Felicia. Rena and Kaede also leave with them.

"We should hurry back too so onii-chan and Tsubasa-chan don't worry too much," Tsukihi muses. "But since Mayoi-chan is all tuckered out, we might have to catch a plane or something… no, wait, the airport's probably shut down, right? So maybe we have no other option than to stay here for an hour or so…"

"Oh, that reminds me," I say. "You know Miss Medeiros, right? Did she ever, um…"

"Miss Medeiros left town before I realized I even had magic powers," Tsukihi says. "She worked on Karen-chan, but not on me."

"What about Miss Hanekawa?" I ask.

"Yes, Tsubasa-chan did a treatment once," Tsukihi says. "I'm not sure if it's the same as a Coordination, but… comparing to Karen-chan's impression of what it feels like, it seemed similar."

"So, you probably are a magical girl, then," I say. "But you think you've had those powers since birth?"

Tsukihi nods, showing off the red bird in flight on the nail of her right index finger.

"I don't remember a time when I didn't have this mark on my fingernail."

"Has Kyuubey ever said anything to you that might hint at an answer?"

"Um, hmm," Tsukihi says. "I think the only related thing Kyuubey has ever said is wishing for me to die. It seems like my immortality is a thorn in his side somehow? And if I read between the lines, there's an implication that has been the case for much longer than seventeen years… but I don't remember anything before I was born or anything."

"So, you might have lived longer, but you lost your memories upon, uhh… should I refer to it as reincarnating?"

Tsukihi shrugs. "Beats me!"

"Would you like to ask Scheherazade about your past?" I ask.

Tsukihi tilts her head. "Her? What would she know?"

"Well… she has the power of the Akashic Records, after all," I say. "So I bet she knows a lot of stuff. She already knew you would be reborn from the ashes like a phoenix, for example."

"Well… I can't deny I'm a teensy bit curious," Tsukihi says. "But I'm actually pretty satisfied with my life right now, so… I don't really need any more shocking revelations or anything. Still, if I change my mind someday, and I manage to meet her again, maybe I'll ask her then."

I was hoping I could listen in and get the information secondhand, but if Tsukihi doesn't even want to know herself, there's no doubt that Scheherazade won't be open to sharing it. Oh well.

"Well, I'll see you later," Tsukihi says.

"Yeah, I think we might stop by that meeting next week," Karen says.

"I'm definitely interested," Mayoi says. "So even if they don't come along, I'll be there for sure."

"See you later, then," I say.

With that, the three of them leave the dojo. I take a look around to see who's still here. Chiyoko and Sakuya apparently already left while I was chatting with Tsukihi, and it appears Kanagi is no longer here either. The Amane twins, Yukika, Hagumu, Shigure, Maria, and Shizuku must have all slipped out at some point. So that leaves Riko, Karin, Hijiri, Yuuri, and Airi; Nanaka's team, the Azalea sisters, Asuka, and Sasara; Mami, Sayaka, Hitomi, and Nagisa; and lastly Nene and Coeurl. Some of them have fallen asleep – Kako, Ayame, Riko, Nagisa, Asuka, and Sasara are all snoozing.

"We should definitely head home for some rest too," Hazuki says. "Ayame is already fast asleep, and I feel like I'm about to pass out myself."

"I echo that sentiment," Nanaka says. "Kako has already succumbed to sleep… come, let us take our leave. We will see you all again on Wednesday."

With that, Nanaka's team and the Azalea sisters gather up their sleeping comrades and head outside.

"Um… may I go now…?" Nene asks.

"Ah, yes, of course," I say. "I'm not sure why you're asking, but… I've already heard everything I wanted to hear, so everyone's free to go whenever they wish."

With that, Nene got to her feet and scurried outside.

"You say that, but I sense questions brewing," Coeurl says.

"Well… I am a little bit curious about the planet you came from in this time period," I say.

"Ah, about Wilussa?" Coeurl says. "Well, there's not a lot to say, really. I was there for about twenty years, wandering from place to place. Sometimes I helped the people out by destroying wraiths, or by mediating between those who didn't speak the same language. Sometimes I angered them by taking food, or for other reasons that I couldn't even begin to comprehend. The level of technology was even more primitive than here on Earth, but they had some novel magical artifacts that were in common use."

"And you said there were other magical girls there, or at least, you heard rumours of them," I say.

"Yeah, there were rumours," Coeurl says. "I can't say for certain that they were magical girls, since I never met any of them in person, but the descriptions seemed to fit… I think I only heard of three or four at most, though. Ah, that's not counting Discordia herself, who's confirmed as a magical girl."

"What can you tell me about those three or four?" I ask.

"There was some princess of a fallen Alf kingdom," Coeurl says. "What was her name again… Lu… Lu… something starting like that…? There was a Caish girl renowned as a sage. I know her name sounded weird somehow but I don't remember exactly what it was. And lastly there was the girl hailed as the hero, Kanade Kanata. If there was a fourth, then I don't remember any details on her."

Names aside, her mention of two of the extraterrestrial races from her earlier list strikes me as kind of strange. Why would three different races be sharing that planet? And now that I think of it, is it just a coincidence that one of those sounds almost the same as 'elf'?

"Huh, why do you remember that hero's name and not the others?"

"I'd been hearing rumours about the other two for several years, but never paid them much mind," Coeurl says. "But that hero girl appeared less than a year before Discordia threw me out here. So I guess the rumours were just fresher in my mind. The fact that her name is kinda alliterative might've helped too."

"So, Discordia was acting like a goddess, right?" I say.

"There were a lot of people calling her that, yes," Coeurl says. "Although, speaking of that, those rumours of the other magical girls also spoke of a goddess different from Discordia. I don't know if that person actually existed, but… it was rumoured that she gave those three their powers. I don't have a name for her."

"But they should have gotten their powers from Kyuubey, not some goddess," I muse.

"Right, so it doesn't add up," Coeurl says. "Maybe they made up that goddess to get support from the people."

"Yeah, that seems much more likely," I say.

I consider what I've just learned for a few moments, and then I'm suddenly hit by a connection that I missed the first time around.

"Hold up, what did you say that hero's name was again?" I ask.

"Kanade Kanata," Coeurl says.

"I think I've heard that name before," I say. "Coeurl… do you think it would be possible to return to Wilussa? You can teleport, after all."

"Not on my own," Coeurl says. "But if you had a device to boost magic, or if several magical girls pooled their power to help me, then I might be able to do it. But why would I want to? I think it's much more fun here on Old Earth."

"Would it have to be just girls who can teleport?" I ask. "Or would any girl do?"

"I guess any girl would do, but it would be more effective at boosting the power if they could also teleport," Coeurl says. "The real problem is, it might be a one-way trip. I could probably bring along one or two people at most, and the girls boosting me would probably have to stay behind, so that means we'd have to find someone on the other side who can boost me to return… or run afoul of Discordia again, but she might decide on a more extreme punishment this time."

"I see," I say. "And what languages do they speak there?"

"Um, my language implant claims that two of the main languages were derivatives of what you call Latin and Greek," Coeurl says. "There was also one language that the implant was unable to decipher. It noted a few words that sounded similar to other languages such as Turkish or Farsi, but it wasn't enough for it to decipher the language. The implant posed a hypothesis that the Turkish and Farsi words that were recognizable had merely been borrowed into those two languages from a relative of the unknown language. I heard there were at least two other languages as well, but I only heard a handful of words from those languages, so the implant didn't have enough information to identify whether there was a link to any of the installed languages."

The fact that all the languages were related to languages of Earth is also strange. It's the sort of thing you might expect if the other world is a colony, but not for a random extraterrestrial world… huh? Wait… could it actually be a colony? If Eris could get herself to that planet, perhaps she could get other people there too… and as I'm pondering this, I remember what Pernelle said about Eris before.

"Hmm… Pernelle mentioned that Wilussa sounded similar to a Hittite name," I say. "But I'm guessing you don't have that language installed?"

"Hittite? No, that's not one of the ones I have installed," Coeurl says. "I only installed the major languages of thirtieth century Earth."

"Wait, but that probably wouldn't include Latin, would it?" I say.

"I can't explain why, as most of the historical data was lost, but apparently it was included," Coeurl says.

"I don't know much about it, but I think the Hittite language has been extinct for a long time, even in the present era," I say. "So I guess that's why your implant didn't include it… do you think you might be able to learn it from documents available here and now?"

Coeurl shrugs. "I might be able to," she says. "It depends how much information is available about it. The language implant is capable of learning new languages based on experience, so if I read up everything this world knows about the language, then maybe I'd be able to speak it… or at least learn enough of it to piece it together when I hear it spoken out loud, assuming of course that the unknown language even is the Hittite language… but seriously, can I ask why you'd want to plan an expedition there at all?"

"I don't have a strong reason, but I thought of reuniting two sisters who have been separated," I say. "Even if I decided to do it though, it won't be in this timeline, and probably not even anytime in the near future. I've got too many other things to worry about first."

"I see," Coeurl says. "Well, since I'm safe from your whims, I suppose I'll do my alternate self a disfavour and point out that you'll need to either give me something of interest to convince me to accompany you, or prove that there's a way back."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say. "Well, I think that's all I have to say for now. Thank you for answering my questions, Coeurl."

"Right, in that case I'm gonna go back to Mabayu's place and crash there," Coeurl says. "Speaking of which… think they'll be okay with me staying there now that she's died? She lives alone in an apartment."

"Probably not," I say. "You should be fine until her death is discovered, but I recommend looking for another place to stay."

"Great, well, I'll think about that tomorrow," Coeurl says. "Seeya."

With that, she gets up and leaves the room. The next one to speak up is Karin.

"Say, Ashley-chan, I've been thinking," Karin says. "When you go back in time, you could save Alina-sempai, right?"

"If you mean save her from losing her body, sure," I say. "What about it?"

"Um… I was wondering… could you take me with you?" Karin asks.

Oh? I didn't expect this. Karin wants to come back in time with me? Though I've been considering taking Iroha, Karin hasn't been on my radar at all, due to her role in arc 2 of the game. Will everything still work out even if she goes back in time? But come to think of it… something has already changed about her experience even without adding in a time jump… so I can't be confident events would take the same path even without her going back in time. And I can't deny that having someone in Kamihama to help out with things would be useful once it gets busy.

"Well… I'll start off with saying that it's possible," I say.

"But…?" Karin prompts me.

"If you go back in time, you'll vanish from this timeline," I say. "Then who would watch over Alina's soul gem? I don't think there's anyone other than you who believes in her."

"Ah… I didn't think of that," Karin says. "If only I could split myself in two…"

"That's actually possible though," I say.

"Huh? Are you serious?"

"You'd have to turn into a witch though," I say. "A witch can make more of itself, after all."

"But doesn't that defeat the purpose!?" Karin exclaims. "How am I supposed to help Alina if I'm a witch?"

"Well, even if you're a witch, it's not game over," I say. "Elise Pierrot has the ability to turn a grief seed back into a soul gem."

"Ohhh, I get it," Karin says. "I'd turn into a witch… then you'd wait for some familiars to mature into copies of the same witch… then you'd kill them and get two grief seeds… and then turn both those grief seeds back into soul gems. Huh. It sounds incredibly dangerous and incredibly ingenious… but I guess I'd be up for it…"

I'm honestly a little surprised that she agreed so readily… the same for Matsuri, really. It really is a dangerous operation, and after seeing Ichizo not drop a grief seed, I would say the danger level has only increased. At least there's probably no danger of the operation failing outright though, since if a grief seed failed to materialize I'd just have to raise another familiar.

So, she's willing to go back, but that's not enough by itself to make me want to take her. I also need to make sure that she won't interfere in a way that breaks everything.

"In that case, let's talk about how your plans and mine could clash," I say. "I appreciate your desire to help Alina, but the fact remains that things in this timeline only went wrong at the very last minute… a couple days ago at most. For example, if you were thinking of preventing Alina from jumping off that building, the day she became a magical girl, then I can't take you. If Alina didn't become a magical girl on that day, then Ui would have had no chance to be saved. Ui only survived because Alina was a magical girl, and because she was in the hospital on the day those three made their contract. Her barrier bought the time for Nemu to create the rumour that saved Ui's life."

Karin nods slowly. "It's true… I was thinking of stopping that," she says. "I thought things might be better if Alina-sempai hadn't become a magical girl. But I also see where you're coming from… and I didn't hate being able to talk about magical girl things with her…"

"In fact, prior to her bout of insanity today, there wasn't anything involving Alina that I would've preferred to go differently," I say. "Admittedly, there were some small issues with how she was progressing, but they were all issues that I expected we would be able to deal with in the future. It might be okay if they were resolved earlier, I suppose, but I'd prefer not to, if only just to make sure I can still predict how things will go."

"So you're saying there isn't really any point in me going back…?" Karin says.

"Not if your goal is to save Alina," I say. "At most you could maybe talk with her a bit more about her art installation… she should be thinking of fusing herself with a rumour and stealing Eve's freedom, rather than directly fusing herself with Eve. If she goes down that route, like she did in the previous timeline, she'd be injured but otherwise safe. Though it would also be fine by me if she abandoned both plans… but I don't think that's very likely."

I guess the only hard requirement is that Alina becomes a magical girl and joins the Wings of the Magius… it's also necessary for Eve to wreak a little havoc in the city, but it's probably not necessary for Alina to make that worse.

"It feels like there's another 'but' coming on," Karin says.

"You're right," I say. "There's not much you could do for Alina… but you could probably do a lot for Miss Togame, Kaede-chan, and perhaps even Riko-chan."

"Eh?" Karin says. "Ah, that's right… Kaede-chan lost control of her doppel, right? And then Miss Togame died saving her…? I think that's what Miss Rena said earlier…"

I nod. "Kaede-chan unleashed her doppel on April the fifteenth after Miss Yakumo asked the three of them to take care of an exceptionally powerful witch," I say. "If you were to help them out in that battle, then I think Kaede-chan wouldn't've unleashed her doppel, and wouldn't've joined the Wings of the Magius, and wouldn't've been brainwashed, and wouldn't've lost control of her doppel. It doesn't necessarily save Miss Togame, mind you, as there's still bound to be other girls with doppel syndrome… but it seems like a step in the right direction."

Though that event never happened at all in the previous timeline – the witch probably never appeared in the first place. I don't know what caused that change to happen, but it means there's a chance that it doesn't appear next time either.

"Um… so on April the fifteenth, go to the Coordinator's," Karin says. "Got it… anything else? Didn't you say Riko-chan used a doppel too?"

"That was on April twenty-third near the old railway yard," I say. "That was why Riko-chan was with us when we met up with you at the art museum. Although I'm not as worried about her as I am about Kaede-chan… but I suppose it would be nice to know she'll be okay even if I don't run into her…"

"Well… Kaede-chan and Riko-chan are my friends too," Karin says. "So I guess that's also a reason to go back… and maybe if I talk to Alina-sempai a bit more, she won't decide to do that…"

"Basically, even if you do go back, I don't want you to arbitrarily do things differently," I say. "Will you promise to at least call me to discuss it if you want to change something?"

"I'll do my best!" Karin says. "I'll try really hard to remember what I did each day so I can do the same thing again, unless I have some reason not to."

"So in that case, I guess the two of us won't be going back this time, right?" Yuuri speaks up.

"The maximum is six," I say. "So far we have Miss Homura, me, Kanna-chi, and Karin-chan. So you could still squeeze in."

"Hmm… we'll see," Yuuri says. "You never know – there might be someone else who'll ask to join you, right?"

"Yeah, there might be," I agree. "I guess we'll see how things go. This time I don't plan to go back as soon as Miss Homura's power unlocks, so there's a couple of days for people to ask for a spot."

"Even if you were planning to, Miss Akemi is currently indisposed, with no prognosis for when she'll recover," Hijiri says. "So you might not be able to even if you wanted to."

"Right, but that's actually convenient for me, because it means I don't have to spend the effort convincing her," I say. "That said… if she doesn't recover within a few days, it'll become a real problem…"

"Well, I'll keep an eye on her at the Coordinator's," Hijiri says. "I'll take charge of her soul gem so she can't just wake up and turn back time without us even knowing, and I'll let you know the second she wakes up."

"Thank you, that'll be very helpful," I say. "Oh, and I'll need a bunch of evil nuts to feed the familiars, can you take care of that for me?"

Hijiri nods. "I'll prepare a bunch of them."

"Alright then," I say. "I guess all that's left is to have a chat with Scheherazade and then head back to Mitakihara."

"In that case, shall we meet at Chuo Station?" Mami suggests.

"Ah, if you'd like to, then sure," I say.

Mami gathers up the sleeping Nagisa and gets to her feet, and Sayaka and Hitomi follow suit, leaning on each other a bit. We leave the dojo together. I scry on Scheherazade and find that she's at the helipad, so we continue most of the way together before I split off to head north.

When I reach the roof of the helipad, Scheherazade is there, gazing out over the city, towards the radio tower. She turns to me, raising a hand in greeting.

"I've been expecting you," she says.

"So, um… you really don't know anything about Eris?" I say.

"I know she exists, or at least existed, because I met her personally several times," Scheherazade says. "However, she does not appear in the Akashic Records, so I cannot speak for her fate. She must have karmic destiny even higher than my own… which means she was very likely born as a princess or someone of similarly high standing. However, I have no guess as to where or when she was born."

"If we take Coeurl's story and Pernelle's extrapolation of it at face value, then it would seem she moved to another planet somehow. Any idea how she might've done that?"

Scheherazade shook her head. "I don't know, but she did have quite a variety of powers, from what I saw of her. Perhaps long-range teleportation is one of them… though the range needed to reach another habitable planet is completely unheard of… ah, but she could've moved in multiple hops, I suppose. Magical girls can survive in outer space, after all. My Akashic Records doesn't contain any records of other planets, in any case… but I'm not sure if it's actually limited to Earth, or if it's only because I've never been to another planet myself."

"But apparently she sent Coeurl back to Earth… that couldn't've been multiple hops, right? At least, Coeurl spoke of it like it was an abrupt transition…"

"You have a good point there," Scheherazade says. "Perhaps she has built a conduit of some sort connecting the two planets to allow for easy travel between them. Naturally, such a conduit would not have been helpful for reaching the other planet in the first place, though."

"I see, so it might actually be easy to get there if we can just find the conduit," I muse. "By the way, I'm not sure if you're aware, but Mary has been hunting everywhere for Nanabuluku and Chalciuhtlicue."

"I was aware of her hunt, yes," Scheherazade says. "What of it?"

"Well, the thing is, I was wondering why," I say. "Why were their bodies and soul gems separated and stored in different places? Although I guess telling me would go against your policy…"

Scheherazade raises her eyebrows.

"Normally, you'd be right," she says. "However, in this case, the wish of the person in question also comes into play. I'll tell you if you can pass the tests they each set."

I blink at her. A test? What? I don't get it. Why would Nanabuluku and Chalciuhtlicue set a test? Who's the test for? There's no way it could be for me, right?

"However, if I told you now, you'd gain the knowledge without the consequences due to returning to the past," Scheherazade says. "So, when you've decided on the timeline you plan to stay in, bring this topic up with me again, and I'll administer the test."

"Ah, okay then," I say. "I guess you won't tell me anything about Araragi Tsukihi, since she's still alive, right?"

"Naturally," Scheherazade says. "It seems you're already aware of the restriction I've placed upon myself. Oh, but Eris's absence from the Akashic Records also makes her an exception to my rule of not discussing people who still live, so if you ever want to talk about her, I'm up for that."

"Hmm… by the way, this is just a random aside, but… I'm a bit curious, where'd you learn to speak Japanese so well?" I ask.

"I didn't," Scheherazade says.

"Huh? But right now—"

"Right now I am speaking my native language, Farsi," Scheherazade says. "But one of my powers is mutual comprehension. It's an aura effect – anyone within range will automatically understand what another person is saying, no matter what language they're speaking."

I blink at her. "Huh… it works on languages you've never even heard of?"

"Of course," Scheherazade says. "Early in my life, that would apply to most languages, but I've never had a problem understanding others."

"Do you think it would even apply to completely alien languages?" I ask. "If some alien came to Earth who spoke a language completely unrelated to any Earth language, would you be able to understand it?"

"I think so," Scheherazade says. "There is a possibility that it's limited only to languages that a human could theoretically speak… so if it's a vocal language, or a language of hand signs, it should be okay, but if it's something like shifting patterns of colours then maybe there could be an issue."

Then… could she be the key to helping me figure out what those strange aliens were discussing?

"And, um… suppose I have a memory of hearing an unidentified language," I say. "Is there any way you could help me to decipher it?"

"I think something could probably be worked out," Scheherazade says. "It would not be trivial, though."

Then maybe I'll give that a shot in the next timeline… I'll have to talk to her about it in more detail next time.

"Okay… I think that's all my questions this time," I say. "I guess I had less to ask than I thought. Thank you for your time."

"Always happy to help," Scheherazade says. "And if you do want to learn of Araragi Tsukihi, I will tell her anything she wants to know."

"I figured as much," she says. "But she doesn't seem to be interested. Anyway, I guess I'll probably see you again in the next timeline… I really hope that'll be the last one. Farewell."

"Farewell."

I head back downstairs and make my way to Chuo Station, where I find Mami, Hitomi, and Nagisa waiting on a bench, with Sayaka leaning on a nearby tree. Nagisa is still asleep, laid out with her head on Mami's lap.

"Ah, you're already here?" Mami says. "I thought you'd be longer."

"Yeah, I guess I didn't have as many questions as I thought," I say.

"Let's go home," Hitomi says. "I'm really, really tired."

Mami gathers Nagisa up again, this time on her back, and we all head into the station. No-one seems to want to talk. In fact, Hitomi and Sayaka even doze off on the train, leaning on each other.

When we get out of the station in Mitakihara, we see a brown-haired girl there wearing a rather worn-looking Mitakihara Middle School uniform, who spots us and gasps. She looks somehow familiar, too.

"Ah… I-I'm sorry," she says. "T-this is just… a coincidence…"

Hitomi tilts her head. "Pardon me?" she says. "Why would you apologize…?"

"Ah, you… aren't you Miss Hayasaka?" Sayaka says.

"Eh!? Y-you actually remember my name!?" she gasps. "Y-yes, I'm Hayasaka Yukimi… I'm in your class…"

"So, why would you apologize for meeting us?" Mami asks.

"Ah, w-well, um… I was just… wandering around here… because of a dream," Yukimi mutters. "S-so… when I saw you… it felt like I'd been… stalking…"

"A dream…?" I say. "What kind of dream?"

"Eh, um… it was really surreal, yet… surprisingly vivid," Yukimi says. "You were all in it… even though, I've never seen you before…"

She indicates me.

"T-there was something destroying Mitakihara, but you and some other girls fought it off somehow," Yukimi continues. "And somehow there was… a whole army of Miss Kaname…"

"Then you also remember Miss Sakura, the girl with red hair?" I say.

"Ah… yeah, the extra classmate," Yukimi says. "There was also another kid… and another girl with pink hair…"

"Hey… do you think Kyosuke will remember it too?" Sayaka asks. "I don't think I want him to…"

"The only way to know would be to ask him," I say.

"It is surprising that Miss Hayasaka would remember it so vividly," Mami says. "But she is only one person… perhaps she simply… has the potential?"

"Given what little I know of her circumstances, that does seem plausible," Hitomi says. "Miss Sayaka, let's ask Kamijou-kun together later."

"Eh, I guess," Sayaka says.

"Um… from the way you're talking," Yukimi says. "Did you have the same dream…?"

"Well… not exactly," I say. "It wasn't precisely a dream, after all… that was a facsimile of Mitakihara."

"Eh… I don't get it," Yukimi says.

"Don't worry about it too much," I say.

"In any case, we're very tired, so we'll take our leave," Mami says. "If you wish to speak of this again later, come see us."

"Ah… okay," Yukimi says.

We head off, leaving her staring after us, and each of us go our own way. When I enter the Hayashi house, the parents greet me, but I'm so tired that I barely manage the return greeting, so after that I just head straight upstairs and flop into bed without even getting changed.

---

I'm woken by the sound of my phone ringing. Grabbing it, I see it's Iroha calling… did I give her my number? I can't remember. I think the only reason I have her number on my phone is because it was one of the ones Inui sent me at the start of the timeline. Maybe she got it from someone else, such as Karin or Hijiri. The time says around six in the morning, so apparently I slept through the rest of the day. In any case, I answer the phone.

"Hello, Miss Taylor? It's Iroha…"

"Hello… can I do something for you?" I ask.

"Well, I've been thinking a lot," Iroha says. "A lot of terrible things happened two days ago… Momoko-chan, Miss Mifuyu, Miss Kuroe, Madoka-chan, and a few others died… and then I remembered, you said you'd be going back in time again. Do you think everyone can be saved?"

It's not entirely clear from this phrasing, but is she asking to come along? I guess I'll just go along with her questions and see.

"Yes, I think everyone can be saved," I say. "Actually, I'd say things went worse this time around compared to the last timeline, but I roughly know how to patch it back up and regain last timeline's almost happy ending… and turn it into a happy ending."

"To tell the truth, knowing that turning back time is an option is… well… I think the best word I can use to describe it is 'tortuous'," Iroha says. "I couldn't stop thinking about how I could've done things differently if only I'd known how things were going to turn out…"

"Well, that's certainly understandable," I say. "Naturally, I've been putting a lot of thought into that too, since I've already decided to go back…"

"Actually, the first thing I thought of was to not make a wish at all," Iroha says. "That's what got all of this going, right? It's because I made a wish that Ui and Touka-chan and Nemu-chan decided to save me…"

"I do see where you're coming from," I say. "But there's several problems with that idea."

"Ah… what are they?" Iroha asks.

"The first is… admittedly it was only tested on Miss Homura herself, but as far as I know, going back in time won't reverse your contract. Even if you rewound to before you made your wish, you'd still be a magical girl… and the effect of your wish would probably be undone too, so Ui would never be discharged from the hospital… though if she still made a wish, that would probably also cure her. The second problem is, if I recall correctly, you made your wish on March eighteenth? It was a Friday, I think."

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think that sounds about right," Iroha says. "Though I'm surprised you would know that…"

"The window to rewind to before your wish has almost closed up," I say. "Her magic rewinds time by exactly forty-five days and twelve hours. I believe that leaves just about a day if you wanted to rewind that far… and she hasn't even woken up yet."

"She should wake up soon though," Iroha says. "I went to the Coordinator's and healed her soul gem… but if I'd still be a magical girl after rewinding, then that completely defeats the point anyway. Ui wanted to save me because I was a magical girl, after all."

"Well, even setting those problems aside, I don't want to take anyone back to before their wish," I say. "It's a policy I've set to avoid rousing Kyuubey's suspicions. But anyway… as for the last problem… even if you were to ignore the first two problems and my personal policy, I don't think that would even help reach your goal in the first place. You see, I've been through eight timelines until now. I first met you as a magical girl in the third timeline, but last time was Ui's first time making a wish – the first time the Wings of the Magius came into existence. In other words… your wish on its own wasn't the catalyst."

"Eh, really? I wonder why," Iroha says. "Ui specifically said she did it for me, after all…"

"Well, there must be multiple factors," I say. "I'm guessing Ui didn't find out you were a magical girl in those timelines… or if she found out, it was only after being discharged from the hospital and returning home, so she didn't have Touka and Nemu to chat with about it and learn the truth of what it means to be a magical girl. In other words… the timing of your wish, and the timing of Ui discovering it, is probably crucial. To begin with, in the last few timelines you made your wish much earlier than in that third timeline, so that's likely part of it. Then Ui must've found out you were a magical girl within the next week, before she was discharged. But… it's also partly my fault."

"How do you mean?"

"I actually asked Miss Oriko to draw Kyuubey's attention to Ui's magical potential," I say. "Mind you, Kyuubey had already met Touka in the past, so there was always the chance it would check in on her again and meet Ui… and of course there was always the chance it would notice Ui while speaking with you. So I think the chance of Ui making a wish without my interference wasn't zero. But it's also true that I explicitly brought Ui to its attention."

"Huh?" Iroha says. "H-hold on a second… w-wouldn't that mean… that you're the root cause of everything that went wrong!? If it wasn't for you… the Wings of the Magius never would've come into being, and I never would've gone through all that!"

"Well, that's pretty much the truth," I say. "You could say I found a one in a billion chance and made it reality."

"T-that… that's horrible!" Iroha exclaims. "I was starting to trust you, but… I didn't think you'd be the one behind all the things that have happened…"

"Well, I think I have some idea of how you feel," I say. "There is a direct chain of effect from my choices to this tragic ending, even though I wasn't explicitly directing things beyond the initial push. However… I would also ask you to consider the big picture."

"W-what do you mean?" Iroha says.

"I mean… it's true that some bad things have happened, but haven't there been a lot of good things too? A lot of happy memories you never would've had if the Wings of the Magius hadn't formed?"

"Ah, well… now that you mention it… you're right," Iroha says. "If Ui had come home, we would've gone to school together, and maybe we would've made friends with Miss Kuroe… but I don't think I ever would've met Miss Yachiyo, or Tsuruno-chan, or Felicia-chan, or Sana-chan, or Momoko-chan or Kaede-chan or Rena-chan or any of the other girls in Kamihama. I… probably never would've learned to stand up for myself…"

"Well, that's the way I'm looking at it," I say. "It's not like I'm saying that the end justifies the means. At least, that's not my intention. Maybe it does come off like that to a degree, but… I would never want to sacrifice lives to get a happy outcome, like the Magius were doing. But I'm also not so naïve to think I can get a happy outcome without a little pain and suffering along the way. I'm not going to cause that pain and suffering intentionally, but as long as it's something you can recover from, I'm also not going to go out of my way to prevent it. Besides… I may have set the ball rolling by causing Ui to make a wish, but I never intended for anyone to die. My intention has always been to save everyone I can reach."

"I don't think I can agree with your point of view here, Miss Taylor," Iroha says. "I'd rather do whatever it takes to find the happiest route possible."

"And that's not a bad thing," I say. "It's a noble goal, and I can't fault you for that. In fact, it's not like I'm not aiming for that too. I mean, I too would like to reach the happiest route possible."

"So then… why are you assuming there will be some suffering along the way?" Iroha asks.

"If I try to take on too much burden, I'll break and end up achieving nothing at all, like what almost happened to Miss Homura two timelines ago, and again in this timeline," I say. "So I can't just give everything my all at full blast. I can't risk burning out before I reach the finish line. I have to be a little bit conservative in my choices. Sometimes that results in an outcome that's not quite as good as it could be."

"Even so, I still don't want to accept that anyone has to be hurt to get a happy ending," Iroha says.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say it's necessary," I say. "More like… it happened, oops, apologies all around, but at least we got our happy ending despite that. I'm not requiring perfection."

"Even so… if it was me, I would strive with all my might to make sure people don't get hurt," Iroha says.

"Well… that's about what I'd expect from you. Miss Tamaki, you and Madoka are very much alike, actually. Both of you are too kind for your own good. Both of you would foolishly give up your freedom if it would mean everyone else could be happy. It wouldn't be a stretch to call you two beacons of light…"

"Ah, um… t-thank you very much…?" Iroha says. "I don't think I deserve so much praise…"

"Don't get the wrong idea," I say. "It's not praise. I said it was foolish, did I not? You are selfless to a fault. As paradoxical as it may seem, it's an attitude that could cause a terrible tragedy. Well, you're not quite as bad as Madoka was, but still."

"W-what on earth are you talking about?" Iroha asks. "How can selflessness be a bad thing!? I won't accept that! It's definitely a good thing!"

"Water is a good thing," I say. "It's essential to life. You would die if you didn't drink any. And it's also lethal. If you're submerged, you die. If you drink too much, you die. Well… that's probably only for regular humans, not magical girls, but still."

"T-that's not… not true… is it?" Iroha says. "I get the part about drowning, but… just… drinking too much water… can't be dangerous, right?"

"No, it's true," I say. "I'm not sure exactly how much constitutes too much… it's not something you could do by accident. You can look it up online if you don't believe me."

"Um, anyway, so what's your point?" Iroha says.

"Selflessness is not a bad thing," I say. "That's not what I'm saying at all. It's good to consider the feelings of the people around you. But it's not good to elevate their feelings above your own at every turn."

"W-well, I have been a little selfish with my insistence on opposing the Magius," Iroha admits. "And I don't regret that at all, even though things ended up like this… so if that's all you're trying to say, then I guess you do have a point."

"Yeah, so you're already a step ahead of the Madoka who almost sacrificed herself back then," I say. "But you could still stand to be selfish a bit more often."

"Um, so, we're getting a little off-topic here," Iroha says.

"I forgot what the topic was," I admit.

"It was about how things could have gone differently!" Iroha says.

"Ah, is that what it was? Okay…"

"I also considered making my wish but then stopping Ui, Touka-chan, and Nemu-chan before they make theirs," Iroha says. "But then I might not be able to meet Miss Yachiyo and the others… so then I wondered, what if I'd gone to the Wings of the Magius right away and returned Ui's soul to her?"

"That's a tough one," I say. "Probably the only way to make that work would be to actually join the Wings of the Magius, as I'm sure Touka and Nemu would refuse to listen to a word you say, even without your history of fighting against them. If you were a member, you could take Mokyu down to the chapel. Maybe that would allow you to return Ui's soul, but I'm not sure. However… I think doing that could steal away certain people's happiness."

"Eh? How so?" Iroha says. "If I did that, wouldn't the Wings of the Magius stop using rumours and raising witches?"

"Firstly, I think you're misunderstanding Touka's personality a bit," I say. "With her memory restored, I don't think she'd resort to such things as Chelation Land or the Flower Speaker, and she might even stop short of using the Memory Museum to brainwash people, and she'd probably break down Eve and free Ui… but abandoning rumours altogether? I doubt she would do that much. She's the type of person to think the end justifies the means. At best, maybe she'd lean more on the less dangerous rumours, like the Tangled Shrine or… maybe the Dreaming Mirror counts too…"

"Well… you might be right about that," Iroha says. "Maybe it was just wishful thinking to expect the Wings of the Magius to disband if her memories returned…"

"But there's also the fact that rumours haven't only hurt people," I say. "Those two rumours I just named have helped people. The rumour of the Dreaming Mirror helped Irina Kusch come to terms with the death of her childhood friend, and even brought that friend back to life, though admittedly without any memory of her. The rumour of the Tangled Shrine helped Awane Kokoro to get closer to her mother. The rumour of the May Bells enabled the Hinata twins to reconcile with each other by helping Kagari to overcome her grudge. That's a few of the cases I know of where rumours were actually able to help people. There are more that I witnessed, and probably more that I didn't. The rumour of the Tangled Shrine probably holds the record for helping the most people, but it's certainly not the only one."

"Huh… I didn't know about any of that," Iroha says. "A rumour even brought someone back to life? That's amazing…"

"Well, the cost for that was Miss Kusch's huge stash of grief seeds, so it's not like just anyone could've gotten that kind of outcome," I say. "But yes, it happened… at least in the last timeline. Anyway… the long and short of it is that I think reconstructing Ui's fate early on would make very little difference. That's just my opinion, mind you."

"Hmm… now that I think about it, going back in time to get a happy ending seems really hard," Iroha says. "You're resetting both the good and the bad and starting over from zero… then I wonder what would be the best time to start changing the path we walk down…?"

"Well… in my personal opinion, the answer to that is around when you went to the Memory Museum," I say. "Although there were minor signs of trouble before that, that's when things really started moving in a different direction from the previous timeline. I'd say your doppel syndrome is the primary culprit – last time Miss Yachiyo managed to bring you back from the brink just in time."

"Hmm," Iroha muses. "Things I could've done differently at the Memory Museum, huh… I can think of a few… for example, if I'd gone alone, everyone wouldn't've been brainwashed… but then we wouldn't all have been on the same page about the fate of magical girls… though I still could've told them all afterwards. Or maybe if I'd conserved my magic better so I didn't end up unleashing my doppel… or maybe I could've found a way to sneak out without being found by Miss Tomoe…"

"Yes, there are a lot of possibilities," I say.

"Say, is there any chance that I could go back in time with you, Miss Taylor?" Iroha asks.

It was pretty obvious she had been leading up to this point. Honestly, I don't think her viewpoint is very compatible with mine, but… it could make a huge difference for her to already know the truth about magical girls. There's a bit of risk, but… this is Iroha. Even the worst case probably wouldn't be all that bad, surely?

"Well… if you promise not to change anything before the Memory Museum, I think I could accept your help," I say. "Oh, but as an exception, changing early stuff with Miss Kuroe is probably fine, if you want to."

"Eh… I don't like really that, but… well, I suppose I am the one making an unreasonable request here," Iroha says. "Fine… I'll accept that condition."

"But are you really okay with leaving Ui and the others here in the future?" I ask. "From their perspective, you would simply disappear from this world, never to be seen again."

"Eh!? I don't want that!" Iroha gasps. "I don't want to make Ui sad, either… but I just can't get this out of my head… if only there was a way to go back and stay here at the same time…"

"Actually, there is a way," I say.

"Eh? Y-you can't be serious!" Iroha gasps. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not kidding," I say. "I first used that method on Chiharu Karen, although she didn't come back in time with me… then I did the same thing to Hinata Matsuri. I've also promised it to Misono Karin this time around."

"So, um… you're really serious?" Iroha says. "Like… some way to make two identical copies of me so I can go back in time without abandoning the people here?"

"Yes, it really is possible," I say.

"So how does that work?" Iroha asks.

"Well, first you have to turn into a witch," I begin.

"H-hold on, hold on, y-you can't be serious!?" Iroha gasps. "O-or did you mean unleashing my doppel…?"

"No, I mean actually turning into a witch," I say. "So you'd have to leave Kamihama for a bit."

"B-b-but that's the end of the line, isn't it!?" Iroha gasps. "How is that supposed to help?"

"It's because I have the incredibly good luck of living in the same town as a magical girl who can do the impossible," I say. "Someone who can turn a grief seed back into a soul gem."

"Eh? S-since when is that even possible…?"

"Yeah, it's not supposed to be possible," I say. "I'm afraid I have no idea how it works. But it definitely does work – I've asked her to use it on several grief seeds already. The only downside is, she unleashes her doppel after using the power…"

"So it's actually a useless power if you didn't have the automatic purification system," Iroha muses.

"Indeed – because she knew that instinctively, she never even told her friends about that power until quite recently," I say. "By the way, I've been wondering if you might also have that power… it's something worth thinking about."

"Eh? Me? I don't think I can do that?" Iroha says. "But I suppose it is worth thinking about. Um, okay, so… what comes after the… witch thing?"

"I'd capture one of your familiars and feed it until it turns into a witch," I say. "Then I'd kill that witch and the original witch, and obtain two identical grief seeds."

"Ah, I get it now!" Iroha gasps. "Identical grief seeds… identical soul gems… a perfect copy?"

"Well… don't go jumping the gun on calling it perfect," I say. "We got Miss Medeiros to confirm that there was no difference she could find between the two, but…"

"Ah, Miss Medeiros is another Coordinator, right?" Iroha says.

"Yes, you could say she's the boss Coordinator," I say. "If I'm not mistaken, she was the one who worked out the whole idea of Coordination and began to teach it to other magical girls who had the talent."

"Oh, so she's actually someone pretty amazing!? D-did she teach Miss Mitama too?"

"Yes, I believe so," I say. "Anyway, she confirmed that both of Chiharu Karen's soul gems appeared to be identical, but I wouldn't use that to conclude that it's a perfect copy. I imagine there could be still some small differences between the two that Miss Medeiros couldn't detect. To be perfectly honest, I'd be cautious of performing this procedure multiple times on the same person… doing it once appears to be safe from what I can tell, but who knows if repeated splitting would cause imperfections to build up? And we're talking about imperfections in the soul… I can't even begin to imagine what sort of effect that could have"

"Right, I see what you mean," Iroha says. "Do you think it's possible that a tiny imperfection could lead to something terrible?"

"I honestly have no way to know," I say. "If you want my speculation, I believe that such an imperfection could be fixed by a Coordinator if it's spotted, though. And perhaps Mary of Magdala or Akatsuki Youha would know more about the risk potential – we could ask them about it."

"I don't know who either of those people are," Iroha says.

"Mary of Magdala is someone who was born about two thousand years ago," I say. "She's immortal, traumatized, and suicidal. She may or may not be a magical girl… depending on how you define 'magical girl', I suppose. I don't think her situation's the same as Miss Tsukihi, but her power is strange in its own way."

"T-that's quite the introduction," Iroha says.

"Yeah, but more importantly, she describes her power as 'knowing'. I think what it means is that by thinking about a topic she'll gain some sort of insight into it… though from what she said it seems to be random. So she might know how dangerous this procedure can really get."

"I see, and what about Miss Akatsuki?" Iroha asks. "Come to think of it… Tsukuyo-chan also used that surname one time…"

"I assume she's a distant relative of the Amane twins through the maternal line," I say. "She's from a few hundred years ago, I think? She died back then, but lingers around her tomb as a ghost."

"S-she's a ghost!?" Iroha gasps. "T-that's scary!"

"Yeah, but if she meets Kyuubey, she'll make a wish, and essentially be resurrected," I say. "I already saw it happen in one timeline, so this isn't just speculation. And she seems to know a lot about the inner workings of a soul gem, though I'm not sure how much of that is actual practical knowledge… it might be untested theory."

"I guess we could also ask Miss Medeiros, right?" Iroha says.

"We could, sure," I say. "Last I heard, she was in Sapporo, so it would be a bit of a hike. There's also Scheherazade, but I'm not sure if it's the sort of thing she'd know, and it's probably not possible to find her now anyway."

"Alright," Iroha says. "Even if there's a risk, it won't manifest right away, will it? And you think it would be something that can be fixed by a Coordinator?"

"That's somewhat speculation, but yes," I say. "Or by Mary – she also possesses some ability to manipulate the soul. I'm not sure how that compares to a Coordinator's abilities."

"Then… I'm willing to take that risk," Iroha says. "I'll split myself in two, and come back in time with you, Miss Taylor."

"In that case, how about we meet up on Monday, here in Mitakihara?" I suggest.

"Oh, sure," Iroha says. "Do you have any particular place in mind…?"

"Probably easiest just to meet outside the central train station," I say. "Say, around two o'clock? I'll have to contact a couple of people, but… most likely we'll head for Miss Naomi's place."

"Is there a particular reason for that?" Iroha asks. "Ah, wasn't Miss Naomi the one who kept Homura-chan's doppel from wandering off?"

"Right, so she'll keep Giovanna and McDougal confined and separated while we work on feeding the familiars," I say.

"Who?"

"Ah, those are your witch and Karin-chan's witch, respectively."

"Oh, so Karin-chan's splitting herself too… alright, then I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, I'll see you too," I say.

She hangs up, and I take some time to compose messages to Hijiri, Elise, Sachie, and Noriko.

[Are those evil nuts ready yet? I'd like to pick them up today if possible.]

[Hey, sorry to bother you after that huge battle, but could you spare me some time on Monday? I'd like you to restore a few grief seeds.]

[Hey, sorry to bother you after that huge battle, but could you spare me some time on Monday? I'd like to borrow your manipulation power for a little while.]

[Hey, sorry to bother you on such notice, but would it be okay to come over on Monday? I'd like to take advantage of your labyrinth for something that's a little bit dangerous.]

By the time I've sent the message to Noriko, Hijiri's reply has already arrived, so I tap it open.

[You can come by the Coordinator's whenever. I've got about twenty of them for you. If you wait another hour or two I can almost double that number. Oh, and by the way, Miss Iroha used her magic for a few hours yesterday to heal the crack, and because of that, Miss Homura briefly woke up this morning. She wasn't entirely lucid, but Miss Mitama says she should be fully recovered soon.]

Well then… if they're already ready, I suppose I might as well head out right away. Or so I thought, but when I go downstairs it turns out breakfast is ready, so I join the meal before leaving.

---

I disembark from the train at the terminus station of the northern line and start to head southeast towards the Coordinator's. I'm about halfway there, well away from Crescent Moon Villa or the school that Iroha attends, when I feel a sudden sense of dread as I'm passing through an alleyway,… like a terrible bloodlust creeping up behind me. Though it could be nothing, I let instinct take over, transforming and throwing myself forward.

Before I even realize what has happened, pain blazes through my body, and there's a gaping hole in my chest. Quickly and desperately blocking out the pain, the world seeming to move in slow motion, I land on one hand, trying to flip over and see my assailant.

"I fiiinally found you."

It's a staunchly arrogant voice, shaking with anger. I don't recognize the voice, however. As the person enters my field of vision, my brain registers a bronze-skinned woman with beautiful long black hair and sparkling grey eyes, wearing a flowing dark purple dress and a crown of roses. A red soul gem set in the centre of a belt of gold bangles around her waist reveals her status as a magical girl, but not one I've ever seen nor heard of. She doesn't even give me a chance to respond or defend myself, raising a hand mirror which gleams brightly despite the dearth of sunlight in this back alley.

It's a beam attack, probably the same thing that just opened a hole in my chest, and with my position in mid-fall, I don't even have a chance to dodge. The best I can hope for is to summon Teddy Mk II and hope he'll be able to soak it up…

---

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.

Kurosawa Chifuru (Chiu)
黒沢千雨（ちう）

Age: 19
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Blue
Origins: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan
Symbol: Red hollow heart
Soul Gem: Circular maroon gemstone at her throat
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Heart sceptre
Powers: Charm, barriers, digital manipulation
Wish: "I want to be popular!"
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 2
Magical Stamina: 8
Offensive Power: 0
Defensive Power: 7
Initial Power Usability: 2
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Sano Haruyo (Nanya)
佐野暖夜（なんや）

Age: 17
Eye Colour: Grey
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Pink crescent moon opening upwards
Soul Gem: Pink teardrop-shaped gemstone on her forehead
Element: Light
Weapon: Mace and sickle
Powers: Light manipulation, pepper spray, intoxication
Wish: "I want to spice up my dreary everyday life."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 6
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 7
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Nakasone Noa
中宗根野愛

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Brown
Origins: Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Blue cross
Soul Gem: Circular teal gemstone strapped to her left thigh
Element: Water
Weapon: Spear
Powers: Enlargement, ice manipulation
Wish: "I want to be thin."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 7
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 6
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 6
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Nakasone Ayanusa (Ema)
中宗根恵麻（えま）

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Green
Origins: Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Red hollow circle
Soul Gem: Red circular gemstone at her navel
Element: Fire
Weapon: Kusarigama
Powers: Perspective trick
Wish: "I don't want to be stuck in this town for the rest of my life… I want to see new places, meet new people, have new experiences."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 8
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 4
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

---

Doppel Corner

Whenever a new magical girl unleashes her doppel, I'll include a doppel description here. Note that most of these are direct quotes from the Magia Record game rather than being written by me; they are simply reproduced here for interest. I'll mark any original doppels with a dagger symbol (†).

Homulilly (Akemi Homura)

The Doppel of karma. Its form is the mortal world. The master of this emotion visits many worlds in search of an exit, spinning giant threads of fate. Fourteen incomplete bodies born from emotion trail behind the master's body, which has almost completely transformed into glass. In order to achieve their mission, these 14 bodies work methodically and tirelessly to remove obstacles. Regardless of their master's will, they weave the threads of fate, which become tangled in ever more complex patterns, driving her yet further into a maze, the exit of which can hardly be found. These bodies of emotion have no names.

Oktavia von Seckendorff (Miki Sayaka)

The Doppel of unrequited love. Its form is a mermaid. The master of this emotion suffered from young love and chose a fate so harsh that she could not bear it alone. As such, the Doppel dreams of love while it swims effortlessly through the air, playing a song for its master from its vast hollow body. It can control several swords to attack its enemies with the sound waves that emanate from its body, but as long as the master uses it, she cannot flee from the discontent that troubles her heart.

Erlkönigin† (Shizuki Hitomi)

The Doppel of false love. Its form is a centaur. The master of this emotion was pushed so hard into love that she ended up fabricating her own feelings. As such, the Doppel dreads the very idea of love, emitting a wailing funeral dirge whenever it enters her sight. Her song is so powerful that it whips up the air around her, yet it's not enough to escape the dreaded sight of love before her.

Abigail (Azumi Hagumu)

The Doppel of false bravado. Its form is a reversible garment. Despite knowing about the beings called Doppels, the master of this emotion is still paralyzed with fear upon seeing this representation of herself that appeared from within her heart. In contrast to its master, who displays her full power against witches, her Doppel's inner lining boasts lethal capabilities against other magical girls. But since its personality is similar to its master's, if it's summoned in the heat of battle, it immediately panics and assumes a defensive posture. Incidentally, its master closes her eyes out of fear whenever her Doppel manifests, so she's never gotten a good look at it. Any enemies will have vanished by the time she opens her eyes, so she admires the Doppel considerably.

Cruz† (Negishi Nekoha)

The Doppel of misfortune. Its form is a slot machine. The user of this Doppel just wants to win in life, so whenever the slots fail to match up, the Doppel throws a tantrum and goes on a rampage. On the rare occasion that a winning hand does appear, however, the Doppel becomes calm, docile, and altogether completely useless. Either way, however, the Doppel isolates its owner from the world that won't let her continuously win.

---

It's not quite as long as chapter 98, but this is still quite a lengthy chapter. I considered splitting it in half again but I couldn't decide on a good splitting point. I'm not sure if the chapters will start to get shorter again once we enter the next timeline… I sort of want to sprint through things as fast as possible, but I have a feeling that won't work out very well. I guess I'll see how it goes.

So yes, the wrench in the works was Homura's doppel. Did anyone predict there'd be a Rebellion-inspired chapter? I'd been planning to do this for awhile now, and it's finally out there. The similarity of Iroha's doppel syndrome to Homura's situation in Rebellion was just too good to pass up. Of course, things are still quite a bit different from Rebellion. It's pre-rewrite, so knowledge of witches is not a tell, for example. Also, Homura is actually the only one with altered memories.

Given that Hitomi was a magical girl, it didn't make sense to use her as the victim of the nightmare, so I took it as an opportunity to feature (and name) the fan-favourite background character, "Binbou-chan". Maybe she'll even appear again later. And then things started to become strange once Homura realized what was going on… though it looks like she never reached the conclusion that it was a doppel. Also, just what did Madoka do at the very end there? So weird.

Then we finally finish off Arc 1 for the second time… and gain a new passenger or two for the next time loop. Not to mention a bunch of miscellaneous information, most of which has absolutely no bearing on the Magia Record storyline.

And yup, another cliffhanger. Can you guess who that is? Look forward to the conclusion next week. Although chapter 101 still has a few holes that I'm filling in, and a few passages I still need to rework, there's basically no chance of it being delayed beyond next weekend. I'll also include responses to comments at the end of chapter 101.

Now, I realize this is sudden, but I decided to change Kuroe's given name. That means that I've updated all eight of the chapters it was mentioned in, including her profile in chapter 23. As for the reason… well, there's a very good one, but I'll leave it up in the air for now. She isn't named in this chapter, so for those who don't feel like rechecking her profile, her name shall now be Kuroe Asaka.