When I visited the United Kingdom, I decided to investigate the myths of King Arthur and his knights, since at least two powerful women appear in those myths. Unfortunately, I was unable to even establish the historicity of King Arthur himself, let alone Guinevere or Morgan le Fay. However, I happened upon something much more interesting in my research – the life of Mary Stuart, better known as Mary Queen of Scots.

She had quite a dramatic life, officially becoming queen a mere six days after birth, betrothed to the Dauphin Francis of France at the age of six. She married him at the age of sixteen and was Queen of France for two years until his death. After that, she returned to Scotland, and based on my research, she most likely became a magical girl within a year of her return.

There is enough material to write an entire book on her life alone, but suffice to say that many details of her life fit together better on the premise that she was a magical girl. Furthermore, a man who briefly served as her secretary recorded what was likely her wish in his diary – to become the catalyst that would unify the British Isles. And certainly that did come to pass when her son inherited both the English and Scottish thrones, unifying the two kingdoms for the first time in history.

~Excerpt from "Magical Girls: Their Hope and Despair"~
~by Professor Satomi Tasuke, Ph.D~

Monday rolls around, and everyone heads back to school as usual. Though I'd tried to check up on Sakuya the previous day, she wasn't doing anything significant when I looked, but she hasn't yet responded to my query about how things went in Futatsugi. She's at least alive, which is good, but I wonder if there's a reason she hasn't answered my email.

After school, we split up to patrol for wraiths, with Claire, Elise, and Shiori heading west towards the edge of town while Komachi, Liliane, Sachie, and I patrol the areas closer to the school. Unfortunately, we don't find anything. We're almost back at the Hayashi house when something very strange happens.

It happens so suddenly that it takes a second for it to truly sink in, but I realize that the surroundings are nothing like the area near the Hayashi house. I stop, looking around in confusion. It looks like a street near the central station, or the hospital, but how could I have ended up here so suddenly?

Liliane, Komachi, Sachie, and Hiyori notice that I've stopped and look back. Huh? Wait… since when was Hiyori with us?

"What's wrong, Ashley-chan?" Komachi asked. "Did you forget something?"

"Uhh… no, I'm just wondering how we even ended up here," I say.

"What are you talking about?" Komachi asked. "We walked, obviously…"

"But just a moment ago we were were about to arrive at your house!" I say.

The four of them blink at me in surprise.

"And Hiyori-chan wasn't with us," I add.

"But I've been with you all this time…?" Hiyori says. "Ever since you guys came to pick me up as usual…"

"Didn't we say we weren't going to today?" I ask.

"Well, yes, that's true," Hiyori says. "But you changed your mind after seeing Oriko's message, right?"

"Huh? When did Oriko send a message…?" I ask.

"Just look at your phone," Komachi says.

"Alright…"

I fish out my phone and check my email. Sure enough, there's a message from Oriko that I haven't seen before, but somehow it's marked as read. I open it up to see what she has to say.

«If you have time, something has come up that is better communicated in person.»

"Huh," I say. "It's unlike Oriko to be that, uhh… curt…"

"That's exactly what you said earlier," Liliane says.

"Really…?" I say. "What the heck is going on…? Well, whatever… I guess we should see what she has to say, at least."

So we continue on until we arrive at Oriko's place. I knock on the door, but there's a delay before Oriko opens it. It's like she didn't know we were coming, which is kind of odd.

"Good afternoon, Miss Ashley," Oriko says. "And a good afternoon to you as well, Miss Liliane, Miss Komachi, and Miss Hiyori. Please, do come in. This should not take long, so do you mind if I refrain from offering you tea this time?"

"Ah, yes, that's fine with me," I say.

She ushers us into her living room as usual, and we all pull up a cushion and sit down.

"So… what was it that you wanted to say?" I ask.

"I believe something strange has occurred," Oriko says. "Since about two hours ago, I have been unable to see the future."

"W-what does that mean, exactly…?" I ask.

"Every time I attempt to use my magic, all I see is a white void," Oriko says. "I do not know what could be causing it."

"What was the last vision you saw before this started?" I ask.

"It is of no consequence," Oriko says. "Merely the arrival of Kirika on my doorstep."

At that moment, we hear the front door burst open.

"Oriko, I'm here!" Kirika shouts.

She charges into the living room and skids to a stop.

"Ohhh! I didn't realize you had guests!" she gasps.

"Is this how you saw it…?" I ask.

Oriko nods. "It started the same way," she says. "But the five of you weren't present in the vision."

She turns to Kirika.

"How was school, Kirika?" she asks.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm," Kirika says. "Well, it was almost as boring as usual, but the new girl was pretty funny to watch…"

"New girl…?" I say.

"Oh yeah, she's a new transfer student or something," Kirika says. "She jumps out of her skin every time someone tries to talk to her… it's hilarious!"

"I don't think you should be laughing at something like that," Liliane says reprovingly.

"Eh, I just can't help it," Kirika says.

"By the way, what is this girl's name?" I ask.

"Oh, it was something pretty weird," Kirika says. "Um… what was it again… Undo… Pia… I think…?"

"Wind Pier!?" I gasp. "Are you sure her name was Undo Pia?"

"Ah, um… I'm pretty sure it was that," Kirika says.

"Do you know her, Ashley-chan?" Komachi asks.

"Well, not exactly," I say.

I fish out my phone and look up the Divine Gate wiki, navigating to the character page for Wind Pier and clicking on the image to zoom it to fill the screen. Then I show it to Kirika.

"Did she look anything like this?" I ask.

"Huh?" Kirika says.

She leans forward to peer at the screen, frowning slightly.

"Well, yeah, I guess so," she says. "I mean, as far as a cartoon could look like a real person…"

This is all very strange. First it was like the entire world changed and only I remembered the old world. Now I hear about a character from Divine Gate suddenly showing up in Kirika's class, which violates what I thought was a rule in this world. After all, the Madoka, Nanoha, and Bakemonogatari franchises simply don't exist in this world, because they are a reality here. But the Divine Gate franchise, which was a crappy mobile game with a crappier anime adaptation in my original world, has actually expanded to a popular franchise in this world with the original anime written by the very same man who wrote the Madoka anime in my original world. And yet, a character from that franchise has suddenly made an appearance in this world? Is there some difference between Divine Gate and the other three?

While I'm pondering things, a sudden thought occurs to me. A scenario where the entire world suddenly changes and only one person realizes… that actually happened in Magia Record! But it should've been something that happened in September or October, not in May, though technically the date was never specified…

I decide to scry on Yukika to check if my suspicion has hit close to the mark. She appears to still be at school, talking to a teacher in what must be the Home Economics room. It seems she came for some plates. That matches up to what I remember of the event, so I keep the vision active while I get to my feet.

"Thank you for the information, Oriko," I say. "I think I'll take a trip to Kamihama for a bit. There's something I need to take care of at Mizuna Girls' School. Do any of you want to come?"

Liliane, Sachie, and the Hayashi sisters shake their heads.

"We should be getting home," Komachi says.

"Guess I'll go on my own then," I say. "See you later."

We all leave Oriko's place together, and they accompany me as far as the train station. I catch the first train to Kamihama, still keeping an eye on Yukika.

By now, Yukika is back at the student council room, hovering in the entrance while another student reports to the student council president that Tsukuyo has gone home early.

"This is troubling," the student council president says with a sigh.

"I heard from the Koto Club that there's no-one else who can take Miss Akatsuki's place," the other student says.

"And we still have the other problem," the president says. "Just how are we going to have a flower-viewing party without flowers…? If only we could find a cherry tree that's still in bloom…"

"Ah, um, actually," Yukika says. "It's a bit far, but… I might know one."

The president turns to her in surprise.

"Really?" she says. "Is there any way you can check…? And how far?"

"Um, well, it was still blooming when I was there a few days ago," Yukika says. "But it's on private property… it's near Kamihama Observatory."

"That distance should be within reason," the president says. "If you were there recently, I'm assuming you are familiar with the owner, yes? Would you mind asking her if we can host our exchange party there?"

"I'll ask," Yukika says. "But please don't get your hopes up…"

She slides into the room and takes out her phone, composing an email to Iroha, of all people.

"Still, even if that works out, we'll need to cancel the solo performance," the president says. "It's too bad… I'm sure Miss Akatsuki would've made it a lovely evening…"

"Maybe we could ask another club to take over?" the other student suggests. "But is there any other club that can take over such a thing?"

"Especially since the daughter of the Kaharu group will be attending," the president says.

"W-what!?" the other student gasps. "Are you serious!? The Kaharu family!? Even by Lilliana standards she's in a separate category!"

"Oh, hadn't I told you already?" the president says. "That's right… so we don't want to show her anything sub-par. Miss Nanase… sorry to bother you again, but…"

"Yes, I heard," Yukika says. "I just have to contact all the other clubs, right? We just need to find a brave student who can perform in front of Lilliana's super-high-class young ladies as Miss Akatsuki's substitute, right?"

"That's right," the president says. "Will you accept this task?"

"Please leave it to me!" Yukika says. "Our busy student council president shouldn't have to deal with this kind of hassle. As the lowliest student council officer, I think I'm the right person for the job."

"Oh, I'll help you too!" the other student says.

"Thank you, it'll be a huge help," the president says.

Well, this is a surprising development. The event in Magia Record was all about a moon-viewing party, not a flower-viewing party, and yet most of the other factors seem to be the same so far. On top of that, I didn't expect Yukika to have Iroha's contact info, or to even think of her as someone to contact.

I continue to keep tabs on the situation in the corner of my mind as the train rolls in to Kamihama. Come to think of it, it might be useful to have Iroha along for this… normally I would've called in Moe for something like this, but it's much too short notice for that. But if it's Iroha, maybe she can join me. I pull out my phone and compose an email to her.

«Hello Iroha, sorry for the sudden message. If you have some spare time, would you mind meeting me outside Mizuna Girls' School? There is something going on there, and if my prediction is correct, there may be someone you could save with your powers… though it may also turn out to be too late, so please don't get your hopes up.»

For the remainder of the ride, I continue keeping tabs on Yukika's efforts. In the event, I remember that they considered the calligraphy club, flower arrangement club, and tea ceremony club as potential substitutes for the missing Tsukuyo. However, the flower arrangement club isn't brought up this time, perhaps because it would be weird to feature a flower arrangement at a flower-viewing party, and instead Yukika mentions a dance club. She sends the other student to contact the calligraphy club while she heads to the old school building to contact the dance and tea ceremony clubs.

It's around that time that I disembark from the train in Kamihama, where I am surprised to find Inui there on the platform, apparently waiting for me. She spots me and waves, calling my name.

"How'd you even know I was coming?" I ask.

"Oh, I heard it from Hiyori-chan," Inui replies.

"I guess that makes sense," I say.

"So, what're you planning today?" Inui asks.

"It seems there's an incident brewing at Mizuna Girls' School," I say. "I want to see if I can help things along."

"I see," Inui says. "Then let's go!"

We arrive at Mizuna Girls' School just a little while after Yukika discovers Tsukuyo's white feather robe in her bag. It looks like the members of the St Lilliana student council have just arrived. There are four people in total, including the Yuzuki twins, Hotori and Rion. During the great big battle, only Hotori participated, since Rion had not contracted at that point, but now I can see the twin-tailed Rion clearly wearing a magical girl ring on her finger. That pretty much confirms my suspicion that she's behind this whole strange situation.

"Do you recognize the twin-tailed girl, Inui?" I ask.

"Um… wasn't she the one cowering in the corner at the battle?" Inui asks.

"You're saying you do recognize her?"

"Should I not…?"

"You shouldn't," I say. "She wasn't even at the battle."

"Hmm, but I'm sure I saw her there," Inui says. "Are you sure she wasn't there?"

"Given that she only made a contract today, yes, I'm quite sure," I say.

"Huh…?" Inui says. "That doesn't even make sense… how is that possible?"

"Yeah, well… this whole situation seems to be a result of her wish somehow," I say.

"Hmm… so that's how it is," Inui muses.

A few minutes later, the Mizuna student council members emerge, including Yukika, the student council president, and the student who was sent to talk to the calligraphy club earlier.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Mizuna Girls' School!" Yukika says.

"Good afternoon!" the two older St Lilliana's girls say.

"Nice to meet you!" the Yuzuki twins say, Hotori stuttering slightly.

"Wow, so cute!" the other Mizuna student council member says. "Are you two twins? Who's the older one?"

"Ah… um… um, I, I…" Hotori begins.

"I…?" the Mizuna student prompts her.

"Oh, uhh… well, um…"

"Buck up already!" Rion exclaims, annoyed. "You're gonna get me embarrassed too, at this rate! I'm Hotorin's guardian, Rion!"

"Guardian…?" Yukika says. "Eh…? W-what? Huh?"

"Are you getting the wrong idea!?" Rion exclaims. "Yes, Hotorin and I are twins! I'm her sister Rion, her sister and guardian! Okay?"

With that explanation done, she winks at them.

"Ah, okay," Yukika says.

"Yuzuki Rion and Hotorin, right?" the other Mizuna student says. "Nice to meet you both."

"N-n-no…!" Hotori stutters.

"No…?" the Mizuna student says.

"It's, uhh… Hotori… and… I'm, um… older…"

"Oh, I see," Yukika says.

Well, that's different from what I remember. In the game, Hotori remained silent at this point, not correcting the misunderstanding. Maybe her experience in the battle helped her to gain a little confidence? In the original, she didn't play a significant role in the battle, but in this timeline she stood out a little – not as much as the first Magia Record timeline, but certainly more than the average black feather.

"Oh?" the Mizuna student council president says. "It seems that someone's missing from the guest list."

"Oh, um… that… that's…" Hotori begins.

"We just got a notice that Kaharun will be late," Rion says.

"Kaharun…? Ah, so Miss Kaharu is running a little behind?" the president says.

"Yep," Rion says. "She says she's coming as fast as she can. Also, a message from Kaharun! She asks, 'Do you perhaps have a runway where I can park my private jet?'"

"Huh!?" the Mizuna girls gasp as one.

"No, we don't!" Yukika says.

"I figured," Rion says. "Guess we've gotta submit one of those… um… flight plans?"

"Flight plan or no, can you even get permission to land on a schoolyard?" Yukika wonders.

With the introductions over, everyone heads inside. I'm just about to follow them when suddenly Iroha rounds a corner, looking out of breath. Spotting me, she waves. It looks like she also has Sana and Ui with her.

"Oh, Iroha, you came after all," I say. "Since you didn't respond, I thought you weren't coming."

"S-sorry about that," Iroha says. "I was a little busy when I received your message, but then I was able to get away, so I hurried over here. If there's someone I can save, I can't just stand back!"

"Speaking of messages, what did Miss Nanase want from you?" I ask.

"Oh, were you with Miss Nanase?" Iroha says. "She asked if she can host her school party at the Eternal Sakura."

I blink. So that was what she had in mind… I guess it makes sense for a flower-viewing party, though.

"Well… that certainly makes sense," I say. "But I'm actually surprised she thought of it."

"Of course, I'm going to let her know that she's welcome to," Iroha says. "Before coming here, I even asked Fendt Hope to temporarily close the link to Eternal Sakura, until tomorrow. We wouldn't want the students accidentally wandering in, right?"

"So, you were at Fendt Hope when you received our messages?" I say. "That explains how you were able to get here so fast… and I see you brought Ui and Miss Futaba too."

"Y-yes…!" Sana says. "Since I can't pay you back enough… for what you did for Ai-chan…"

"I just wanted to keep onee-chan company!" Ui says. "Is that okay…?"

"Well… such a big group might attract too much attention," I say. "But I guess there's no point in turning back now… so let's go inside. Miss Futaba, since you're a student here, could I ask you to lead the way to the old school building?"

"Y-yes, of course!" Sana says. "It's right over there…"

The five of us all cross the street and enter the school grounds, and Sana leads us towards the old school building. However, a teacher stops us halfway there to ask what we're doing here.

"We came to meet a friend," I say.

"Did you remember to check in at the office?" the teacher asks.

"Of course we did," Inui says.

"Well, you should wear your guest badges more prominently then," the teacher says.

With that admonishment, he moves on, and I stare after him for a moment. It's surprising that he accepted the situation so readily. But it's nice and convenient, because I want to see if there may still be a chance to save the girl who set this all in motion. So the five of us hurry on towards the old school building. A Mizuna student passes us without paying us any mind, and as we finally arrive at the entrance to the building, I see the other student accosting Yukika. At the same time, out of the corner of my eye, I see that Iroha is doing something on her phone.

"Oh, Miss Nanase," the student says.

"You're… the head of the traditional dance club, right?" Yukika says.

"What's wrong?" the dance club head asks. "Isn't today the exchange meeting with St Lilliana?"

"Yes, that's right," Yukika says. "But some troublesome issues arose."

"Troublesome issues…?" the dance club head asks.

"Miss Akatsuki is unable to be present," Yukika says. "So we were looking for a new source of entertainment. The tea ceremony club agreed to help at first, but then they backed out because of the pipes…"

"I see," the dance club head says. "Our club is pretty much ready to perform at the festival next month, and our club room was lucky enough to be spared from the flooding, so I think we can provide the entertainment for your party. But do you have a venue? Or should we do the performance in the clubroom?"

"Ah, I've asked someone I know from another school, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet," Yukika says. "As for where to do the performance, isn't it easier for you to do it in the clubroom?"

"The equipment isn't that awkward to carry," the dance club head says. "But it does need a power supply…"

At that moment, a ping is heard from Yukika's phone.

"Ah, that must be her," Yukika says. "Please excuse me…"

She fishes out her phone. Sure enough, there's a response from Iroha, assuring her that she's welcome to visit the Eternal Sakura for her school party.

"I shall need to confirm this with the student council president, as it's quite the distance," Yukika says. "It is near Kamihama Observatory. There is a cherry tree there that should still be in bloom."

"Ah, if it's in the mountains, then I could believe it would still be in bloom this late in the season," the dance club head says, nodding. "In that case, it's probably better to do the performance in the clubroom… so I'll go back and do a quick dress rehearsal while we wait. Contact me if you need anything else, will you?"

They exchange contact information by tapping their phones together, and Yukika nods.

"Yes, of course! Thank you very much! Thanks to you, the schedule has been completed! I'll go report to the student council president at once."

"By the way, why are you carrying your school bag around?" the dance club head asks.

"Oh… that's because… I went straight from the classroom to the gate to welcome St Lilliana's students. Then I've been running around without rest…"

"The student council must be having a hard time too," the dance club head says.

"Yes, I believe it's all due to the great and terrible will of the universe," Yukika says.

"Will of the… what…?" the dance club head says.

"Ah, no, it's nothing really," Yukika says. "Then, I look forward to working with you later."

With that, she begins composing an email to the president, while the dance club head turns back towards the old building.

Inui is kinda eyeing me curiously now. Perhaps noticing a shift in my expression as I turn my attention back to my surroundings, she throws out a comment.

"What're you waiting for, Ashley?" she asks. "Are we going in, or not?"

"Yes, of course we are," I say.

I try the door, which turns out not to be locked, and we step inside.

"Who are we looking for, exactly?" Inui asks.

"Not a person," I reply. "A witch."

"Hmm… I don't sense anything at the moment, though," Inui says.

"Same here…"

"Didn't you say there was someone to save?" Iroha asks. "You can't mean they turned into a witch, right?"

"I said there might be, yes," I say. "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a former white feather who tried to face the witch, but it's too strong for her."

In my vision, Yukika is now muttering about how the problem was somehow resolved before she even set foot in the old school building – an odd coincidence, given that it happened twice in a row now. But whether or not there was some force keeping Yukika out of the old building, it seems Inui and I were able to enter just fine. Why would that be? I had fully expected to run into multiple hurdles to prevent me from even getting this far.

"Maybe I actually need Miss Nanase to find the witch…?" I muse.

"Is there something special about Miss Nanase?" Inui asks.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, she should be able to remember both timelines," I say. "I can only remember the original timeline, and it seems like everyone else only remembers the rewritten one…"

"Oh, really?" Inui says. "So you remember the original timeline, Ashley? What happened in the original timeline?"

"Well, I can't really say anything useful about that," I say. "Since what I remember is just going home with the Hayashi sisters… and then I suddenly found myself across town on the way to see Oriko."

Inui nods. "So you wouldn't know where I was in the original timeline?"

"I'm afraid not," I say.

"But I wonder why Miss Nanase would be able to remember both," Inui muses. "Could it be that the two timelines aren't entirely separated…? Is that why it almost feels like time has stopped?"

"Something like that," I say. "Huh? Wait, you noticed that time was moving slowly…?"

"Huh? Should I not have?" Inui asks.

"Well, I didn't really notice it myself," I say. "I just sort of knew it would be… I didn't think it was something you could notice that easily…"

"Then I guess… I'm just that awesome?" Inui says.

"Well, sure," I say.

"But it looks like no-one is here," Inui says. "We've been walking around for a few minutes now, but I haven't seen a single student…"

"Yes, I think most of them went home due to the water leak," I say. "But there should at least be one club left… still, I can't find any sign of the witch. Let's head back to the entrance for now – Miss Nanase should arrive there soon."

In my vision I can already see her defending the Yuzuki twins from a familiar.

"Excuse me, but what was that about multiple timelines, Miss Ashley?" Iroha asks. "Have you travelled back in time again since we last met?"

"No, this time it seems like someone else tried to travel back in time," I say. "But she didn't have enough power to do it properly, so it turned into a huge mess…"

"Huh? Is time travel that common of a power…?" Iroha asks.

"No, of course not," I say. "But now that you mention it, it's true there seems to be a lot of people in my circle of influence with time-related powers… and I can think of at least three who can pull off something that you could call time travel. There's Shiina Remi, though that barely qualifies… then there's Sena Mikoto… and we both know who the third is." I pause for a moment, considering whether I've missed one. "I guess there's also Amaryllis… but I doubt she's around anymore."

"Who is this Amaryllis?" Inui asks.

"Ah, she's a patrician's daughter from ancient Rome," I say.

For a moment, I think Inui looks startled, but it's so fleeting that I wonder if I just imagined it.

"Oh, so that's why she wouldn't be around anymore," Iroha muses.

"Huh, where'd you even hear of someone like that…?" Inui wonders.

I raise eyebrows at her. "You should know where I heard of it, though?" I say.

Inui blinks in surprise. "A-ah! Yes, of course…"

When we reach the entrance, we find Yukika already standing there, looking a little dazed.

"…j-just a joke… right…?" Yukika gasps.

Suddenly she straightens up with a start.

"W-what was that just now…?" she wonders "The old school building… it's… perfectly fine?"

She presses a hand to her head. We approach her, and Iroha greets her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Nanase," she says.

Yukika blinks at us in surprise.

"Ah…!? Miss Tamaki… Miss Taylor… what are you doing here!?" she gasps. "No, you should evacuate immediately…"

"Huh?" Iroha says. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh… never mind," Yukika says. "But you probably shouldn't be here, anyway… are you looking for something? Did Miss Futaba perhaps leave something behind? Maybe I can help you find it…"

"No, we're here for more or less the same reason you are," I say. "Would you mind telling me what you just saw, Miss Nanase?"

"Ah," Yukika says. "Have you also gotten dragged in this time? Sometimes other people get dragged in with me, like that one time with Miss Makino and Miss Kusch…"

"Well, you can think of it that way if you want," I say. "So, what did you see?"

"The old school building… collapsed," Yukika says. "That's it… but, it was very vivid…"

"And the foolish sheltered princess hasn't arrived yet, right?" I say.

"Who…?" Yukika says.

"The Kaharu girl," I say.

"Ah, yes, we were told that Miss Kaharu is running behind," Yukika says. "Oh… could she be the cause of the building's collapse?"

"It's possible," I say. "I have my doubts about whether it really is her fault, but…"

"If she's gonna try to land a private jet here, then there's any number of ways that it could go wrong," Inui says.

"Eh!?" Iroha gasps. "A private jet…? Just who is this Miss, um… Kaharu…?"

"She's the foolish, sheltered daughter of a big conglomerate owner," I say. "And somehow the student council president at St Lilliana's, I believe. I expect you'll get to meet her yourself one day… but I doubt it'll be today. Anyway, Miss Nanase, can you sense anything amiss here?"

"Oh, well, there's a suspicious presence from one of the upper floors," she says. "And I kept being attacked by familiars as I approached. Also, something feels oddly familiar…? It was just when I realized that that I suddenly had a vision of the collapsed building… was the old school building that old in the first place?"

"It's certainly not on the verge of collapse," I say.

"That's right," Yukika says. "If it collapsed, there'd have to be another explanation… like a crash landing, or a natural disaster…"

"Okay, why don't you return to the student council room for now, and wait for the foolish princess?" I say. "We'll head upstairs and look for that suspicious presence. If you have time, you can join us later."

"Oh, sure," Yukika says. "Then, I'll go back now."

So we make for the stairs while Yukika heads outside. In the vision, I see her running into the head of the dance club again. It seems like they've run into a problem preventing them from giving the performance in their room after all. After a brief discussion, it's decided that they can do the performance right in the student council room. With that decided, the dance club president heads into the old school building to fetch some things while Yukika continues on towards the main building.

The five of us soon reach the fourth floor, which we hadn't checked in our previous sweep. The presence of the witch becomes immediately obvious the moment we step out of the stairwell, and Ui gasps.

"I can't believe we didn't sense that before!" she says.

"Y-yeah… it's… very strong," Sana says.

"Are we going to fight this witch?" Iroha asks.

"No," I say. "At least, not right now. Miss Futaba, could you conceal us?"

"Oh, um… of course," Sana says.

She takes my hand and Iroha's. I grab Inui's hand and Iroha grabs Ui's, and then Sana transforms.

"Okay… we're all concealed," she says.

"Let's enter the labyrinth, then," I say. "And please remain quiet until I say otherwise."

The emblem before us is that of Shin, the babysitter witch. We hop inside, entering a landscape filled with broken glass, giant marbles, stacks of pebbles, and walls of netting in various states of disrepair. Kyuubey is there, right in the entranceway, and we head past it in silence. After turning a corner, Iroha speaks up.

"Wasn't that… Kyuubey?" she says. "Is there a reason we're avoiding him?"

"Mostly because it's a distraction?" I say. "But yes, it was a Kyuubey."

"I thought they couldn't remain conscious within the barrier," Iroha says.

"There seems to be some special circumstance here," I say. "I don't really understand it myself. Anyway… let me see if I can find what we're looking for in here…"

I open a second vision, using it to scan through the labyrinth for any signs of life. While I'm doing that, Yukika makes it to the student council room.

Yukika slips into the student council room, seemingly trying to remain unnoticed, but the Yuzuki twins notice her almost immediately.

"Yukika-oneechan, you're back!" Rion says.

"Ah, Miss Nanase," the student council president says. "Were you able to find the dance club head?"

"Oh, yes I did," Yukika says. "Actually, she said there's another problem and wondered if they could do the performance in this room…"

"It's a little small, but I think we could manage," the student council president says. "Perhaps one of the nearby classrooms would be better, however…"

"Ah, if it's a classroom you need, I have just the thing," the other Mizuna student council member speaks up. "Let me check with the teachers if we can use it."

"Thank you very much," the president says.

So Yukika takes a seat across from the Yuzuki twins while the other girl leaves the room. Seeing the twins' reaction, the president chuckles.

"You're popular with the younger ones, Miss Nanase," she says.

"Oh, not you too, president!" Yukika protests. "But, you know, how long will we be waiting here? We should really get moving so we can reach the location before it gets dark…"

"But Kaharun… she still hasn't arrived yet…" Hotori says.

"She got held up attending one of her father's social events, apparently," Rion says. "She's supposed to be here soon, though. What's she dallying for!?"

"Yes, it's true that Miss Kaharu hasn't arrived yet," the president says. "In that case, does anyone want a second cup of tea while we wait for her?"

Yukika nods. "I haven't even had a first cup yet," she says. "I suppose we'll have to wait a bit longer… we can't start without Miss Kaharu, by any means."

"She's even concerned about Kaharun, too," Rion says. "Onee-chan is super-kind, after all!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Hotori agrees.

As the president is serving tea to Yukika and some of the others who requested a second cup, the other Mizuna student council member returns, together with the head of the traditional dance club..

"I've got the dance club all set up in a nearby classroom," the council member says. "So we can head over there whenever we're ready."

"We'll give a performance you won't forget!" the dance club head says.

At that moment, Rion's phone rings suddenly, and she fishes it out.

"Oh, it's from Kaharun!" she says.

Without hesitation, she answers the phone and puts it to her ear.

"Hello? … No, I haven't heard back yet. … What? A… a private jet runway? Obviously they don't have one!"

"That question…" the president says.

"She was actually being serious," Yukika says.

"Huh?" Rion says. "You'll be here in five minutes if you make an emergency landing on the campus… but the regular route takes more than twenty minutes?"

Rion takes her phone from her ear and looks around at the others.

"What should I say…?" she asks. "She wants a reply right away."

"Miss Rion, please hand me your phone," Yukika says.

"Oh, okay!" Rion says.

Yukika takes the phone and puts it to her ear.

"Is this Miss Kaharu? I'm Miss Nanase, from Mizuna's student council. … No, no. No emergency landings! Absolutely not! The school regulations prohibit going to school on private jets. … See you soon."

With that, she hung up the phone.

"You hung up without even waiting for a reply…?" the other Mizuna council member says.

"Here's your phone," Yukika says, passing it back to Rion.

"Yukika-oneechan, that was so cool…!" the twins say in unison.

"You have great courage to go against the Kaharu family's daughter," the president says.

"I wonder if Miss Kaharu is angry," the dance club head says.

"If it's Kaharun, it's fine!" Rion says. "She doesn't sweat the small stuff!"

Yukika sighs, but says nothing to defend herself.

"Have you found anything yet, Ashley?" Inui asks.

"No, not yet," I say. "I think I've looked almost everywhere in the labyrinth by now…?"

But at that moment, something enters the field of my second vision – a girl in a white feather robe lying on the ground, surrounded in a sort of soft pink glow. Two familiars seem to be attacking her, but for some reason or other, they are unable to reach her.

"No, wait… I think I found someone," I say. "I'm not sure if she's still alive, though… but there's something holding the familiars off. Let's go… I think it would be this way."

I choose a route, leading everyone through the labyrinth. It takes several minutes, but eventually we reach the same place I saw in my vision. The girl is lying there motionless, but from close up I realize that it's not the motionlessness of lying prone on the ground. In fact, she's floating a few centimetres up from the ground, suspended in mid-fall. I can see her soul gem too, clearly shattered and in the process of exploding outwards, yet not moving an inch. She's surrounded in a soft pink glow, like a halo.

"Let's take out the familiars first," I say. "Inui and I will take one, you three take the other. They're supposedly really strong, so be careful."

I release Sana's hand and transform, summoning my sword and charging for the nearest familiar. Iroha and Ui transform and attack the other one, unleashing a barrage of arrows and paper swallows, respectively. I summon Teddy Mk II to charge my ultimate as I attack the familiar relentlessly for nearly a minute.

"Ultimate Teddy Glittering Gunk!"

The beam strikes both familiars, forcing them to stop in their tracks and making it easy for me to finish off the one I'm facing. At the same time, Iroha charges her own ultimate and lets loose, finishing off the other.

I glance back and realize that Inui didn't join the battle at all. She has transformed, but she didn't summon her weapon.

"Is something wrong, Inui?" I ask.

"Huh?" Inui says.

"Because you didn't join the fight," I say.

"No, you just finished it off so fast that I had nothing to do," Inui says.

"Really…?"

I'm pretty sure there was enough time for her to join in, but I have more important things to worry about now – the white feather. I approach her and try to see under the hood. I think it's the white feather known as Konoha? At least, her green hair fits that identification. I don't remember Konoha's face very well.

"Do you recognize her, Miss Iroha?" I ask.

"Hmm, let me see," Iroha says.

She comes up next to me and peers at the feather's face.

"Ah, yes, I know her," Iroha says. "I don't know if it's her real name, but she was known as Amala-chan in the Wings of the Magius."

"Oh, so it's not Konoha-chan then," I say.

"Huh? But Miss Shizumi wasn't a feather…? Ohhh, do you mean Miss Sasaki Kazuha?" Iroha says. "Certainly not. She's taller than Amala-chan, and she doesn't attend Mizuna Girls' School. And she has a lighter skin tone than Amala-chan."

I didn't even know that was Konoha's real name… and it seems this white feather is one I haven't met before after all.

"Her soul gem is completely shattered though," Iroha says. "Do you really think there's a chance to save her?"

"I'm really not sure," I say. "I wanted you to come along just in case there was something we can do… but what exactly has been done to the body?"

The pink glow surrounding her seems to form a barrier that we can't enter. No matter how hard I push, my hand won't penetrate it.

"Just what has happened to her?" I wonder. "It seems like something is holding her in place."

"Isn't it a temporal stasis spell?" Inui says.

I blink at her. "Really? But who could do such a thing…?"

"What about the person who caused all of this?" Inui says.

"Yuzuki Rion…? To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure what her power is, but… yeah, I could see that," I say. "But this is a problem… if she's in temporal stasis, there's no way we can help her… though on the bright side, the fact that she's in temporal stasis means we probably could help her if we could just dispel the stasis field."

"Maybe it'll wear off if we wait?" Iroha suggests.

"Well… it can't hurt to wait a bit and see," I agree. "Miss Futaba, can you conceal us again so the familiars won't swarm us?"

"Y-yes, of course!" Sana says.

So we join hands again so that Sana can conceal us, and I turn my attention back to the vision, where things are just starting to happen again.

There is a knock on the door, and Yukika shoots to her feet.

"Oh, coming!" she says.

She opens the door to let in Kaharu Yuuna, a girl with long silver hair wearing the St Lilliana's uniform.

"Ah, Kaharun!" Hotori calls, waving.

"Hello, my name is Kaharu Yuuna," Yuuna says. "I apologize for being this late… is there anything I can do to make up for it? My driver is waiting outside… perhaps I could offer everyone a ride to the site?"

"Oh no, we couldn't possibly impose on you that much!" the president protests.

"Thank you, we'll accept the offer!" Yukika says.

"Miss Nanase!?" the president gasps.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Kaharu," Yukika says. "It would be disrespectful to refuse."

"Oh… that's true," the president admits.

"Then, shall we head out right after the dance show put on by Mizuna's traditional dance club?" Yukika suggests.

"Then, I will let my driver know at once," Yuuna says. "May I ask what the destination is?"

"Ah, we'll be going out to Kamihama Observatory and taking a short hike into the mountains," Yukika says. "And I really mean short – it's no more than a ten minute walk."

"It seems we will need two cars for all of us, so I will request a second as well," Yuuna says. "Once that is handled, I look forward to your traditional dance show."

"Um, it seems… Kaharun's family will also send some people to carry the luggage," Hotori says.

"So, if you give them everything, they'll pack it into the cars and carry it to the site for us!" Rion says.

"Everything is already in this room," the Mizuna student council president says. "We have the prepackaged food, courtesy of Walnut's; the tea set, for refreshments; the plates; and blankets to sit on."

She points everything out, and one of the St Lilliana council members takes note. Then everyone except Yukika heads over to the next room for the dance show. Yukika instead makes for the old school building. This time, she climbs the stairs, taking out her soul gem for better tracking. Like us, she stops at the fourth floor upon noticing the witch's barrier. Unlike us, she doesn't find Kyuubey right at the entrance, but it seems she's somehow able to sense it, for she takes a couple of turns and stops to stare at the incubator.

"K-kyuubey!?" she gasps. "What?"

"It's been awhile, Nanase Yukika," Kyuubey says.

"How many months has it been…?" Yukika wonders.

"It's no wonder that you'd be surprised," Kyuubey says. "For the past two months, we've been blocked by the barrier around Kamihama City. There was no way for us to enter the city."

"Then, how are you here…?" Yukika asks.

"During the catastrophe brought about by the Wings of the Magius, that barrier temporarily disappeared," Kyuubey says. "So I took that opportunity to enter Kamihama, and now here I am. But before long, that barrier returned."

"So you were stranded in here…?" Yukika says.

"That is what it means, yes," Kyuubey says.

"So, you've been in Kamihama the entire time since then…?" Yukika says.

"It hasn't been long enough to describe it as 'the entire time', has it?" Kyuubey says.

"Well, that's true," Yukika admits.

"Apart from today, I have refrained from interfering," Kyuubey says. "From all of your perspectives, I may as well not have been here."

"Um," Yukika says. "Did you just say 'apart from today'?"

"Yes," Kyuubey says.

"Kyuubey, you… what did you do here?" Yukika asks.

"Hm… do you mean to say that what happened here today had some effect on your immediate vicinity?" Kyuubey asks.

"Yes!" Yukika says. "I'm practically waist-deep in troubles now!"

She launches into an explanation of how the whole thing got started, with her suddenly finding herself somewhere else.

"So from the arcade… you were teleported to the school?" Kyuubey asks.

"That's not all," Yukika says. "I had a daydream where the old school building collapsed. And Miss Akatsuki's robe was in my bag with a note, even though I don't remember ever putting it there. One incident after another, as if I'd been flung from world A into world B…"

She continues on from there, giving an account of everything that has happened, including my involvement.

"I see," Kyuubey says once she's done. "You could say that these things are my fault, but also aren't."

"I have the right to demand an explanation, don't I?" Yukika says.

"That is correct, Nanase Yukika," Kyuubey says. "In short, at that time… you were caught up in a revision to the world that occurred in the near future."

"Eh?" Yukika says.

"Let me explain what happened," Kyuubey says. "As I said before, Kamihama City is surrounded by a special barrier. As such, we could not enter the barrier and directly interfere with the city. Not long ago, we didn't even know what was happening inside the barrier."

"But this time, you were lucky enough to get in," Yukika says.

"Yes, I then began testing what I could do," Kyuubey says. "So I made a contract with a girl who desperately wanted a miracle."

"Poor kid," Yukika says.

"I signed a contract with a girl named Yuzuki Rion," Kyuubey says.

"Eh? Hotori's sister?" Yukika says.

"That's right, the twin sister of the magical girl Yuzuki Hotori," Kyuubey says. "Yuzuki Hotori was on the verge of death fighting this witch."

"Huh!?" Yukika gasps.

"She said that she found a labyrinth inside the school building," Kyuubey says. "The witch was too formidable of a foe for her, but with a strong sense of justice, she faced it all alone. Following closely behind, her younger sister, Yuzuki Rion, also entered the labyrinth. Yuzuki Rion, who was not yet a magical girl… and Yuzuki Hotori, who had neither the power nor the experience to both fight and defend her. In their moment of desperation, a magical girl dressed in white robes, one you girls call a 'white feather', saved them."

"I see," Yukika says. "So it was Miss Akatsuki, wasn't it? She quickly noticed the anomaly and headed to the witch's labyrinth…"

"Do you mean Akatsuki Tsukuyo?" Kyuubey asks. "No, it wasn't her. She wasn't at school at the time."

"Huh? What? Then that means… are there other white feathers who attend this school?"

"Yes, there is one," Kyuubey says. "Or perhaps I should say that there was one? She then let the twins escape the labyrinth and fought the witch alone. But she lost her life when her soul gem was shattered."

"Huh!?" Yukika gasps.

"The witch residing in this labyrinth was stronger than she could handle," Kyuubey says. "The witch's blow that killed her was so powerful that it caused the building outside to collapse… Yuzuki Hotori protected her sister from the collapsing building, but ended up suffering from fatal wounds that even her magic couldn't keep up with. That was the moment that Yuzuki Rion encountered me."

"So… Miss Rion…"

"Exactly," Kyuubey says. "She made her wish to me, and twisted reality itself, via the powerful desire to reject the reality before her eyes. The contract was executed without any issues. And as a result… reality was rewritten from what you call world A into the altered world B."

"A world where the accident doesn't happen in the old school building?" Yukika asks.

"Yes," Kyuubey says. "Strictly speaking, the moment the building collapsed has already happened… but here, the accident has yet to occur. So from your perspective, when you were standing in the arcade, you were caught in a world revision that would occur in the future. In other words, due to fate being warped by Yuzuki Rion's wish, time and reality were rewritten to eliminate the possibility of the accident."

"Then that means… the 'will of the universe' that kept me away from the old school building… was little Miss Rion's wish…"

"Most likely," Kyuubey says. "But you fought against it, and you have come this far."

"Er… was that bad?" Yukika wonders.

"If you fight the witch and lose, we will have the same outcome as before," Kyuubey says.

"The old school building… will collapse again?"

"Exactly," Kyuubey says. "That possibility has yet to disappear from this world. And if the witch isn't defeated, the disaster will still happen in the future. The reason that time has progressed so slowly… was likely due to her wish's power as well. It was trying to push back the moment of the tragedy, even just a little bit. But that wasn't going to stop it. It would just prolong the inevitable. Someone still needs to defeat this witch. Perhaps that duty has been entrusted to you. The duty of defeating the witch in that dead white feather's stead."

"Eh?" Yukika says. "Please wait a moment, don't you think that's too big of a leap?"

"I have my evidence," Kyuubey says. "After the world changed, you obtained that white feather robe in your bag. And in this modified world, you stayed at school."

"Right," Yukika says.

"It may be that your presence here is essential to control the situation," Kyuubey says.

"But, why me…?" Yukika wonders.

"If I had to guess, I'd say the reason is your wish," Kyuubey says. "Do you remember your wish from when you became a magical girl?"

The creature begins to quote back what she said back then, but Yukika waves her hands and shouts all of a sudden.

"Stop! Stop stop stop! Please don't bring up such an embarrassing past!"

"There's nobody else around to hear it though?" Kyuubey says. "Apart from Ashley Taylor…"

"That's hardly no-one!" Yukika protests. "Besides, my heart doesn't want to hear it! At any rate, thanks to that, I'm now enjoying an ever-so-thrilling life, one utterly devoid of boredom."

"Look back," Kyuubey says. "Compared to previous events… were today's events something that required your unique skills?"

"Hmm… I was just scurrying around during the havoc of the old building," Yukika says. "Since Miss Rion's wish cleared up those problems right away. So… you're saying that from here on out is where my power's really needed?"

"Yes, it will most likely be used to defeat the witch of this labyrinth," Kyuubey says.

"Even so, how did such a dangerous witch appear?" Yukika wonders.

"Kamihama City was just struck by a major disaster," Kyuubey says. "There are a lot of places where negative emotions are accumulating."

"I can't do this," Yukika complains. "It was already too much for even a white feather to handle! But then why… why does there even need to be a substitute? The accident didn't happen, right? If so, then that white feather shouldn't have died."

"Unfortunately, it appears that the modification was incomplete," Kyuubey says. "Her death was never undone, and I was left behind in the labyrinth as well."

"No way!" Yukika gasps.

"There are several other flaws in this modification to the world, as well," Kyuubey says. "Some people retained their pre-modified memories, like you and me, and likely Ashley Taylor too from what you've said."

"So the wish was imperfect…?" Yukika says. "Why?"

"Perhaps that was simply the limit of the karma that Yuzuki Rion bore," Kyuubey says. "Though, judging by your story, Yuzuki Rion hasn't noticed the changes, and is simply convinced that she has been a magical girl for some time."

"But they seemed to have admired the white feather as a big sister," Yukika says. "They even said that they joined the Wings of the Magius because of her…"

"I would imagine that's a false past," Kyuubey says. "Just a fabricated memory created from the image of the white feather who perished while saving them. In fact, the only one who belonged to the Wings of the Magius was her sister, Yuzuki Hotori. Yuzuki Rion wasn't a magical girl yet, after all."

"So while it is true that a white feather big sister saved them, the truth is that it didn't happen in the past," Yukika muses. "It should've happened later today…" She sighs. "This is impossible… a black feather like me can't be a substitute. There is no way that I can help."

"You tend to underestimate your abilities," Kyuubey says. "You're not as weak as you think."

"Is that so?"

"But the witch of this labyrinth is special," Kyuubey says. "You have no chance of winning."

"Please don't push me down right after giving me hope!" Yukika protests.

"Well, it depends on how you go about this," Kyuubey says. "For example, you could win if you fought alongside five or six veteran magical girls."

"I see," Yukika muses. "So I need to find some teammates… failure isn't an option. I have to be careful. But even if I do look for a teammate… who would be the most reliable? Maybe Miss Akatsuki or Miss Azusa…? Maybe Miss Amane…? Yeah, no, we don't have enough people… and they wouldn't be able to get here in time anyway… is there anyone who'd still be at school? Miss Tatsuki… or Miss Kurumi… maybe…?"

"Have you already forgotten who you encountered here recently?" Kyuubey asks.

"Ah! There's Miss Taylor," Yukika says. "And Miss Tamaki, Miss Futaba, and the others… maybe it'll just barely be enough with the six of us? Anyway, let's leave before we get too far away from the entrance."

But at that moment, the witch suddenly shows up and attacks, taking them by surprise. Kyuubey takes the brunt of the attack, falling lifeless almost immediately before Yukika even has a chance to protect it.

"It's already here!?" she gasps. "Even though I didn't get that deep into the labyrinth…!"

She transforms and faces the witch, gripping her rapier. But it looks like it takes everything she has just to block its attacks.

"Ashley, I think the stasis field is starting to weaken!" Inui says.

"Huh…? How can you tell?" I ask. "Well, for now let's just assume you're right… Iroha, how many grief seeds do you have right now?"

"Huh? I only have one, though it's at least a fresh one," Iroha says.

"That's no good," I say. "I'll give you two of mine. Make sure to hold them up to your soul gem while you use your magic to heal this girl's gem."

Iroha blinks. "Huh? I couldn't possibly accept that…!"

"Well, the alternative is to accept a very high chance of unleashing your doppel," I say. "Would you prefer that?"

"Eh… no, I'd prefer not to if I can avoid it," Iroha admits. "Thank you very much… I'll make sure to pay you back as soon as I can."

I fish out two of my grief seeds and hand them over.

"Be ready to grab all the shards of her soul gem the moment the stasis field collapses," I say. "Now… could I ask Ui and Miss Futaba to go on ahead and help Miss Nanase fight the witch? I expect the Yuzuki twins will join the battle too."

"Yes!" Ui says. "Sana-chan, let's go!"

"But… but Miss Iroha…!" Sana says.

"We'll follow as soon as we can," I say. "You don't need to defeat it – you just need to hold on for as long as you can. Although, of course it's better if you can defeat it, or at least damage it a little."

"Go on, Sana-chan," Iroha says. "I'll be alright here with just Miss Ashley and Miss Inui."

"Oh, and try not to let the witch use her most powerful attack if you can avoid it," I add. "She's strong enough to break free of the labyrinth and destroy the school building."

"A-alright," Sana says. "We'll go ahead, then!"

The two of them head back the way we came, using their soul gems to track the witch, and I turn to Inui. Something about her has been bugging me since… when was it? Right… it went all the way back to when she met me at the train station earlier, when I asked her how she knew where to meet me. At that time, she said that 'Hiyori-chan' had told her. But I have never once heard Inui refer to Hiyori by such a name – her nickname for Hiyori is 'Hii-tan'.

At the time it didn't seem like anything worth worrying about, and if nothing else amiss had occurred, I might've never gotten to the point of questioning it. But there were several more odd things that had happened. First of all, the teacher had been far too willing to accept Inui's lie about checking in with the office. Though it could perhaps be explained by Inui's charm magic, I've never seen her use it in that way. Then there was her reaction to my talk of an original timeline – it was subtle, but it almost gave off an impression that she'd already been aware of the split timeline. The fact that she'd already noticed that time was moving slowly was also strange. Then there was the surprise on her face when I said that she should've realized where I heard about Amaryllis – that surprise had seemed genuine. The next oddity was the fact that she didn't join in the battle against the familiars. Lastly, there was her unexpected familiarity with temporal stasis.

"Inui… you're not actually Inui, are you?" I say. "Who are you really?"

"Huh?" Inui says. "What are you talking about, Ashley? I'm your very own Itsumi Inui!"

"Are you trying to play dumb?" I ask. "You've done a pretty good job of impersonating her, so I almost didn't notice, but… you didn't use Inui's nickname for Hiyori-chan, you didn't know where I would've heard of Amaryllis, and above all, you seem suspiciously familiar with temporal magic. Plus, the fact that you didn't participate in the battle with the familiars… you actually couldn't fight without revealing your true identity, right? So that means you're not Minami Rena, who can mimic the powers of magical girls whose forms she assumes. Which brings me back to the original question… who are you?"

Inui stares at me, visibly surprised, as I list all the discrepancies I've noticed. Then she sighs.

"Are you… are you serious?" she asks. "You really noticed all those little discrepancies?"

"Of course," I say. "I know Inui very well, after all."

"No, that's not it," Inui says. "Just what kind of karmic destiny do you possess, to be able to notice such things even in the face of my magic?"

I blink at her. "Huh? You're saying… your magic should've hidden the discrepancies from me?" Suddenly I gasp. "No way… could it be that you're actually Amaryllis!?"

Inui tilts her head. "Like I said before… who is that?"

"Right… of course that's quite a stretch," I say. "Although I've met enough ancient magical girls that I wouldn't rule it out as impossible…"

"Well… in any case, it seems you've caught me," Inui says. "You're right that I'm not your friend."

"What have you done to her?" I ask.

"What? I didn't do anything," Inui says. "I mean, I did take your form and talk to her for a bit, but that's it. She's probably at Fendt Hope by now, but you'd have to message her to be sure."

"So why'd you decide to impersonate us all of a sudden?" I ask. "And who are you really?"

"Did you really think I'd answer that so easily?" Inui retorts. "I mean, I can't do anything about the fact that you saw through my disguise, but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to reveal everything to you."

"That… unfortunately, I can't argue with it," I sigh.

"Well, I will say this much, though," Inui says. "I was a black feather in the Wings of the Magius… and also a white feather."

"But if you can't fight without revealing your identity…"

"That's right," Inui says. "I won't be helping you take this witch down… so, there's almost no point in me being here any longer, really. But if you don't mind, I'd really like to see how you manage to pull it off… it's a pretty powerful witch, after all. Do you mind if I stay with you a little longer?"

"Does it… really have to be in that form though?" I ask.

"Oh, so you'd like everyone else to realize I was a fake?" Inui says sweetly.

"Well… I guess I see your point, but surely at least Iroha has realized it from this conversation," I say.

"Weren't you the one who described how my magic works?" Inui asks. "That girl probably hasn't noticed anything off about our conversation. Her karmic destiny is pretty high too, but not as ridiculous as yours."

"Alright, have it your way," I grumble. "But once we're out of the labyrinth, please don't outstay your welcome."

"You have my word," Inui says.

Suddenly the pink glow surrounding the white feather vanishes, and the white feather resumes what little is left of her fall. Iroha leaps in to capture the exploding soul gem in both hands and starts to cast her magic, making sure to press my grief seeds up against her soul gem at the same time. Even I think this is a bit of a long shot – though Moe has shown an ability to repair a shattered soul gem, Iroha has only shown the ability to fix a cracked yet mostly-intact gem. But since they're different degrees of the same thing, I think she should be able to do it. While she's doing that, I turn my attention back to the fight against the witch.

"Over there!" Hotori calls. "It's a really big witch! If we leave it alone, everyone will get hurt!"

"Hey, Hotorin, don't leave me behind!" Rion calls.

"Huh!?" Yukika gasps. "Why are you here?"

"Ah," Hotori says.

"Yukika-oneechan!?" Rion gasps. "You were here first, weren't you?"

"Let's defeat the witch together!" Hotori says eagerly. "We won't lose if you're with us!"

As she's saying that, the witch lashes out at Rion with one of its tentacles, causing her to squeal.

"Miss Rion!?" Yukika gasps.

Before she can react, the tentacle whips over at her and Hotori as well, knocking the younger girl off her feet. Yukika manages to plant her feet and endure, however. As soon as it begins to retract its tentacle, she charges in to stab the witch's main body with her rapier.

"Take this!" she shouts.

The witch shudders and withdraws all its tentacles, apparently stunned by the blow.

"It stopped moving!" Hotori exclaims.

"As expected of onee-chan!" Rion says.

"Alright, now we won't lose!" Hotori says.

"You two, listen up!" Yukika says.

"What is it, onee-chan?" Rion asks.

"Please run away!" Yukika says. "We can't beat that witch."

"That's not true," Hotori says. "It can't be…!"

"But you're a strong white feather!" Rion says.

"That robe from earlier belongs to Miss Akatsuki," Yukika says. "I'm just a former black feather…"

"Huh?" Rion says.

"I'm sorry," Yukika says. "I didn't mean to mislead you… there just wasn't enough time to resolve the misunderstanding."

Just then, the witch attacks again, and Yukika leaps in front to protect Rion from the tentacles.

"Yukika-oneechan!?" Rion gasps.

"You can still run away and get out of here!" Yukika says.

"But… but…!" Hotori says.

"Please go on ahead without me!" Yukika says. "I am not the one you admired. I am not your white feather. But I can at least hold this thing off long enough for you to escape!"

"O-okay… alright," Hotori says reluctantly.

"See you later, onee-chan," Rion says.

"Yeah," Yukika says. "I'll see you both at the flower-viewing picnic!"

"Okay… Hotorin, let's go," Rion says.

"Y-yeah…!" Hotori says.

With that, the two of them turn and run back the way they came, while Yukika once more turns to face the witch. She weathers several blows that look like they should've killed her, and then she giggles a little.

"I've got plenty more where that came from!" she taunts the witch. "Or so I'd like to boast right now, but I think my battery's just about dead…"

At that moment, the voices of Hotori and Rion are heard again.

"Yukika-oneechan!" Rion calls.

"We… brought backup…!" Hotori calls.

"W-what!?" Yukika gasps. "I told you to run…!"

But as the witch lashes out once again with its tentacles, this time Sana leaps in front, her shield enlarging to hold them back.

"Huh…?" Yukika says. "Miss Futaba…"

"Um… please rest for a bit… Nanase-sempai!" Sana says. "We'll take it… from here…"

"Right!" Rion says. "I'm sure we'll be fine with this many!"

"N-no…!" Yukika gasps. "It's no good… it's too strong!"

"It's not just us, though," Ui says. "Onee-chan and Miss Ashley will be here soon, not to mention Miss Itsumi. We just need to hold on until they arrive!"

"So let's attack with everything we've got!" Rion exclaims. "We've got a great shield now! Let's bring this witch down and surprise everyone!"

Ui deploys her paper swallows, and Rion zaps the witch with a pink glow similar to the one that had been surrounding the white feather until recently. So that probably confirms that it was her power that kept the white feather suspended at the edge of death, though I suspect it was part of the effect of her wish rather than a conscious use of power. The magic causes the witch to stop moving, making it an easy target for Hotori's beam attack. It doesn't last very long, but it's enough for Hotori to fire off two beams without worry of retaliation.

Then the witch flails all of its tentacles for a moment before lashing out once again, striking Sana's shield so hard that it actually drives her back about a centimetre.

"I… I think it worked!" Iroha exclaims.

Her exclamation drags my attention away from the battle.

"Did it really?" I ask.

"Well… the soul gem looks like it's whole," Iroha says. "And it still has its shine, so I'm pretty sure…? She hasn't woken up yet, though…"

"Alright, well, we can't wait for her to wake up," I say. "Inui, do you mind carrying her for now?"

"Why me?" Inui asks.

"Well, you said you're just going to watch the battle anyway," I say.

"Well, that's true," Inui says. "Fine, I'll carry her."

We lift the girl onto Inui's back, and then hurry through the labyrinth towards the battle. By the time we arrive, Sana's shield has been shredded, and the team is barely holding on, probably only thanks to Ui's curse magic, which seems to have enraged the witch to the point that half her attacks are just way off the mark. Rion is kneeling anxiously next to a fallen Hotori.

"Sana-chan, Ui, are you okay!?" Iroha gasps.

"I'm… barely okay, onee-chan!" Ui says.

"Y-yes… I can… still fight!" Sana says.

She takes out a grief seed to purify her soul gem, then stands up, regenerating her shield as the witch lashes out again.

"I'll heal everyone!" Iroha says. "Now that we're all together, we'll make it through this!"

"Are you okay, Miss Nanase?" I ask.

"Miss… Taylor…?" Yukika mutters. "I'm… not really… okay…"

"Just hold on a bit longer." I say. "We'll do our best to defeat this witch."

Iroha's magic spreads across the field, slowly regenerating everyone's injuries. With my attention on Yukika, I notice that the level of corruption in her soul gem even seems to be reduced by Iroha's magic, just slightly.

"And how are the twins…?" I ask.

"I'm fine, but Hotorin is passed out!" Rion wails. "Will she be okay…?"

"How's her soul gem?" I ask.

"Um… about halfway dark…?" Rion says.

"Then she should be fine," I say. "But make sure it gets purified after this is over."

Iroha is already charging up an ultimate attack, so I decide to do the same, summoning a horde of Teddy Drones. While Sana valiantly protects everyone from the witch's attacks, Iroha and I charge up our magic unhindered. Ui continues to harry the witch with her paper swallows, and Hotori even wakes up partway through and re-enters the battle with Rion – Rion freezes the witch again so that Hotori can freely unleash her beam attacks. But the witch really is incredibly strong. It doesn't look like Sana would be able to hold on for more than a few minutes, and without Sana protecting us, the rest of us would be sitting ducks for the witch's tentacles.

"Miss Ashley, let's attack now!" Iroha says.

"Alright, on the count of three!" I say. "One… two… three…"

"Strada Futuro!"

"Great Teddy's Ionic Bombardment!"

Even the barrage of light arrows and particle beams isn't enough to finish off the witch, but it does manage to drive it back a little. But as the magic display clears down, an unpleasant sensation enters my awareness.

"Everyone, stand back!" I call.

"Huh? But we're not done!" Rion protests.

"Stand back if you don't want to get caught up in Miss Nanase's attack!" I say.

"Ah!" Hotori gasps. "T-then, let's back away…?"

"Oh, alright," Rion says. "You should've said that in the first place!"

Though I said attack, the truth is that she's on the verge of unleashing her doppel. As everyone backs away from the witch, her soul gem finally spills over, and her doppel emerges. A series of fleshy blobs sprout from the back of her head, each equipped with an upper jaw filled with huge teeth, and a massive wooden rocking chair springs into existence, Yukika sitting right at the edge. The first and smallest blob is decorated with pink and red spades, and sports a pair of arms that reach around to cover Yukika's eyes while the teeth rest just above her head like a hat. The second blob is decorated with pink and red clubs, and sports a pair of arms resting nonchalantly on the arms of the rocking chair. The third blob is decorated with pink and red diamonds, with the wooden rocking chair fused to it where its arms should be. The fourth blob is decorated with pink and red hearts, and sports a massive pair of arms that seem to have a mouth at the end, as well as a pair of eyes – the only blob with visible eyes, though it's possible the others have eyes concealed by the teeth of the blob resting on top of them. Each of the arms is decorated with all four suites in slate grey. The witch runes hanging in the air spell out the name, 'Poker Alice'.

"W-what on earth is that!?" Rion gasps.

"Oh… you haven't seen a doppel before…?" Hotori says.

"T-that's a doppel…?" Rion says. "It's so scary…!"

We watch as the doppel advances on the witch, clobbering it with those massive fists, chomping down with the mouth within the fists. The witch valiantly tries to fight back with its tentacles, but it doesn't stand a chance – the battle is completely one-sided. Before long, the witch pops like a balloon, leaving behind a grief seed. Moments later, the labyrinth collapses, and the doppel also breaks down, being sucked back into Yukika's body.

"Alright," Inui says. "I'm out. May we meet again."

She sets the white feather down on the floor and makes for the nearest window, hopping out without hesitation. I follow her as far as the window, hoping to catch her resuming her normal form, but all I see is a glimpse of Inui disappearing around the corner.

"Huh, is this the white feather who saved us?" Rion asks, looking at the unconscious feather.

"I think so," I say.

"Is… is she okay…?" Hotori asks.

"I don't know," I say. "She was… technically dead, but… Miss Iroha tried her best to save her. We'll have to wait and see if she wakes up…"

"Nooo…" Hotori gasps. "You can't die, onee-chan…! Please… be okay!"

"I don't think there's anything you can do right now," I say. "Why don't you let us take her to the Coordinator, while you two and Miss Nanase go to that party of yours? You can come check on her at the Coordinator's after the party."

"Ah… yes… okay," Hotori says. "You're right… she must be fine, right? If Miss Tamaki tried that hard to save her… she'll be okay, won't she?"

"I can't be certain," I say. "But I think there's a very good chance she'll wake up soon. So don't worry and just have fun looking at the Eternal Sakura's blossoms."

"Huh… the Eternal Sakura!?" Hotori gasps. "We're going there!? Is it okay to take normal people there?"

"Why not?" Iroha asks. "From a normal person's perspective, it's just a regular cherry tree, even if it's always in bloom… I've removed the four chairs for this occasion, though."

"Oh… I suppose so," Hotori says. "Okay."

"Come on, Hotorin," Rion says. "Let's go!"

"W-what about Yukika-oneechan…?" Hotori says.

"I'm more or less fine," Yukika says, coming up behind them. "Somehow… I barely made it through."

"Then stop dawdling and let's hurry!" Rion says. "Kaharun must be waiting for us!"

The three of them hurry to the stairs and head down. I follow them in my vision as far as the Kaharu family car. Yuuna herself isn't waiting for them, but one of the other St Lilliana's student council members is there.

"That was a long toilet break!" she complains. "Come on, let's hurry! We'll be left behind at this rate!"

So they all pile into the car, at which point I close off the vision.

"By the way, Iroha… did you also know Miss Rion before?" I ask.

"Of course," Iroha says. "She was part of the resistance group, after all."

So even Iroha's memory has been modified to include Rion as a black feather. I decide not to pursue the matter any further for now.

"Is it alright if I take us directly to the Coordinator's?" I ask.

"Oh… if that's okay with you," Iroha says.

"Then, please join hands," I say.

So Iroha and Ui both take my hand, and Sana takes Iroha's hand and the fallen feather's hand. Then I sink into the shadows with everyone, locating a window that opens straight into the Coordinator's office. Exiting through said window, we startle Mitama with our sudden appearance.

"My oh my, what do we have here?" Mitama wonders. "Hm? If it isn't Amala-chan… what happened to her?"

"She was technically dead for an unknown period of time," I say. "Her soul gem was practically shattered, but Miss Iroha somehow managed to restore it… or at least, it looks like she did. Miss Amala hasn't woken up since then, however…"

"Well, I can do a little checkup for you," Mitama says. "But I think there's probably nothing to be done but wait…"

We set Amala out on the couch, and Mitama pokes and prods at her soul gem a little.

"I don't detect any anomalies," Mitama says.

"Alright," I say. "There's one other thing… Miss Nanase just unleashed her doppel, so keep that in mind for next time you see her."

"Oh my," Mitama says. "Then I will give her special treatment next time."

"By the way… where'd Miss Inui go…?" Iroha asks. "She was with us until recently, wasn't she?"

"Oh, um… don't worry about her," I say. "Actually, you three can feel free to go home now. I'll keep an eye on Miss Amala until she wakes up, or until the Yuzuki twins arrive, whichever comes first."

"Yes… it's my turn to make dinner tonight, so it's about time I got started," Iroha says. "I'll see you later, Miss Ashley… and I'll be sure to pay you back the grief seeds. Actually… one of them is still usable, so I'll return it to you now."

She passes me a grief seed that seems to be about half-exhausted, and I nod, tucking it away where I normally keep my grief seeds.

"Don't worry about it too much," I say. "There's no hurry – just give me a grief seed sometime when you have a spare. And be sure to contact Miss Isuzu about disposing of the other, right?"

Iroha nods. "Yes, I already sent her a message, actually," she says. "She said she'd drop by Crescent Moon Villa, so that's another reason I need to hurry back… see you later!"

With that, she, Sana, and Ui leave the Coordinator's, and I settle down on a couch to wait. Since I have nothing better to do, I decide to compose a message to Inui.

[Hello… are you okay? Did you speak to me earlier today? What did I say?]

Her reply comes so fast I feel like she must've been watching her phone.

[Huh? What are you saying…? Where are you right now?]

I reply to her second question, as I'm not sure how best to word a response to the rest.

[I'm at the Coordinator's.]

"So, I've been thinking," Mitama says suddenly. "Everyone's been through a lot in the last two weeks, right? First there was the battle, and then the trial… tensions seem to be pretty high. So I thought, why not have a little fun and unwind?"

"I'm not sure why you're telling me in particular, but sure, it sounds like a good plan," I say. "What did you have in mind?"

"How about a tournament?" Mitama says. "It'll be a great chance to show off and maybe even make friends."

"Is showing off really a way to make friends?" I wonder. "But, well, there may be a certain logic to it… when there's a gulf between people that can't be bridged by mere words, beating each other up can do wonders to get your message through."

Mitama blinks at me. "That's unexpectedly pessimistic coming from you, Miss Taylor," she says. "But your line of thinking is similar to mine, after all. Shall I sign you up, then?"

"Well, let me think about it," I say. "But I'm definitely interested."

At that moment, Inui bursts in the door like a storm and throws herself at me.

"Ashley!"

"W-what's up, Inui?" I ask. "When you asked where I was, I wasn't expecting you to actually come over…"

"Tell me!" Inui exclaims. "Why were you talking like you didn't remember!? Did you go—mmph!"

Since it seemed like she'd been about to say 'go back in time', I put a hand over her mouth to silence her.

«Let's talk by telepathy,» I say. «I don't want Mitama hearing this.»

«Ohh, sorry, I should've realized,» Inui replies.

Settling down on my lap, she repeats her question over telepathy.

«So, did you go back in time again, and that was your future self?»

«I don't think so,» I say. «It was probably someone else, disguised as me.»

Inui gasps.

«W-what!? Are you telling me that was an imposter!?»

She falls silent, pondering a little.

«No, actually… if I think back… dammit, it should've been obvious! I can't believe I didn't notice! She was even asking about things you should've known already…»

«It's not your fault,» I say. «It seems her magic smooths over the inconsistencies in her disguise, so it's more surprising that I did notice. I think her magic affected me to a lesser degree, because I really should've realized it much earlier, but… I still realized eventually.»

«Did you figure out who she is?» Inui asks.

«No… well, I have a theory, but she outright denied it when I asked, so I can't say there's any evidence one way or another. What did she talk about with you?»

«Hmm… we mostly just talked about normal stuff,» Inui says. «If I think about it in light of the fact that she fooled you too… maybe she was just fishing for info to make her disguise better? She didn't say anything weird, and no taboo topics ever came up…»

«So the theory is that she wanted to slip in with me and just used you as a stepping-stone,» I muse. «Which isn't much better… I have no idea what her intentions were. At least she didn't seem overtly hostile… I don't think she can be counted as an enemy. She also said she was in the Wings of the Magius…»

«Say… should we come up with a passphrase or something, so this doesn't happen again?» Inui suggests.

«Hmm… I think a passphrase might be difficult, given her magic,» I say. «She could say pretty much anything and you'd be convinced it was the correct answer…»

«Ah… you're right,» Inui muses. «Ugh… I really hope she doesn't do that again…»

Suddenly Mitama giggles. "The two of you are so close," she says. "You're almost like a married couple…"

"Eh, really!?" Inui gasps.

"Speaking of which, you're heavy, so I'd actually like you to get off me," I say.

"Hey, you shouldn't make references to a maiden's weight!" Inui protests, pouting a little.

"I'm sure I'm heavy too," I say. "Most people are heavy. You shouldn't think anything of it."

"Fiiiiine," she grumbles, sliding off my lap.

Taking a look around the room for the first time, she blinks at the white feather lying on the other couch.

"Come to think of it, what's La-tama doing here?" she asks.

"…you already have a nickname for her!?" I exclaim. "I never expected you to know her, either… I hadn't met her before today."

"Well, I did spend a lot more time at Fendt Hope than you did," Inui retorted. "And you told me to get to know as many feathers as possible, didn't you? Between us, I'd wager me and Iro-Iro know pretty much every feather who ever joined."

"Well… alright then," I say. "She's here because she died, and Iroha tried to save her, but she still hasn't woken up."

"When you say 'died', what does that mean, exactly?" Inui asks. "Are we talking about witching out, or fatal injuries, or a broken soul gem?"

"The last one," I say.

"Since when did Iro-Iro have the same ability as Moe-tan?" Inui asks.

"Since always, probably?" I say. "Miss Moe's better at it though. Iroha went through a grief seed and a half to pull it off, and it took her several minutes to boot. If I hadn't offered her the grief seeds, she would've unleashed her doppel."

"You mentioned that earlier too," Mitama says. "Are you saying that Iroha-chan can put a soul gem back together after it breaks?"

"Well, it does seem that way," I say. "But I doubt it's all-powerful– there's probably a time limit. I think Miss Moe's time limit is a minute or so – Iroha's is probably similar."

"That is… quite the surprise," Mitama says. "But if there's such a strict time limit, I suppose it can't be used as a general emergency treatment…"

"Yes, it's not really something you can make much use of," I say. "And for Iroha it's also not usable outside of Kamihama right now, unless you have grief seeds to spare…"

"We also aren't certain it even worked, right?" Inui says. "Since La-tama is still out cold…"

"I didn't notice any abnormalities in her soul gem, though," Mitama says.

Suddenly, my phone pings, indicating an incoming email. I look at it and see that it's from Sakuya, so I immediately open it up to see what she has to say.

[Hello, Miss Ashley. Sorry for the delayed response – it's been really hectic over here. There were fewer casualties, but not zero – three, at last count. It seems even that was enough to send Yuna-sempai into a rage, however. Well, she's the type to leave no-one behind, so perhaps it was inevitable. Anyway, I probably won't get in contact with you again for awhile, and I'd recommend you don't contact me either, but allow me to take this chance to thank you for giving me this opportunity. Oh, and by the way, my nickname on PMMM is NeedForSpeed.]

I wonder if that's a hint that it would be better to contact her through PMMM if I really need her for something.

"Is it bad news, Ashley?" Inui asks.

"You can tell…?" I say,

"Well, you were frowning a bit," Inui says.

"I was? Well… it's more like mixed news," I say. "Somewhat good, somewhat bad. We can talk about it in more detail another time."

At that moment, the history trio traipse into the Coordinator's office, and Mitama jumps to her feet to greet them.

"Good evening, you three!" she says. "How may I help you today?"

"Yes, um… I would like a coordination," Temari says.

"Here's the grief seed!" Seira exclaims, holding one out.

"Hey, good evening, Sei-tan!" Inui exclaims. "And Miku-tan, Temarun, it's good to see you!"

"Ohh, it's Inui-chan," Seira says.

"Huh, you're already using -chan?" I ask. "It was just a few days ago that you were calling her Miss Inui."

"Yeah, well, that's just how it is," Seira says with a shrug.

"Somehow or other," Inui says, also shrugging.

"Well, I guess you are in the same class, after all," I say.

"Good evening, Miss Inui," Mikura says.

"Greetings," Temari says. "Please excuse me."

With that, she follows Mitama into the other room.

"Is she always that abrupt…?" Inui asks.

"Oh, Kira acts however she pleases," Mikura says with a smile. "Don't mind her."

"Did your new club get approved yet?" Inui asks.

"Oh, yes, it was approved right away!" Seira says.

"Oh, that's surprising!" Inui says. "I thought they'd at least take some time to look it over… do you think that was your magic at work?"

"Hmm, I suppose it's possible!" Seira says.

While Inui and Seira chat, Mikura pulls out a book and sits down on the couch to read. I decide to browse on PMMM for a bit. It's been pretty quiet since the initial boom, but I can see there are still people using it – there are usually at least five people on whenever I look. Right now it says there are thirty people online, which I think is quite a decent number considering the current narrow reach. There isn't anything of particular interest on the public forums right now.

At that point, I realize that the history trio, being pretty new to the job, might not be aware of the app.

"Hey, Miss Mihono," I say. "Have you three joined PMMM?"

"Huh?" Seira says. "What's that?"

"Oh come on, Inui, you haven't told her about it?" I say.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Inui says. "I probably would've mentioned it in the next couple of days though…"

"It's a social media app, just for magical girls," I explain.

"Oh, that sounds amazing!" Seira exclaims, fishing out her phone. "Lemme just look it up…"

"Ah, you won't find it on the app store," I say. "It's invite-only."

"Huh… you can install apps not from the store?" Seira says, startled.

"Yes, of course," I say. "Would you like me to send you an invitation? I'd just need your email."

"Sure thing!" Seira says.

She gets up, and we tap our phones together to exchange contacts. Then I navigate to PMMM's invite page and paste in her email, pressing the invite button.

"There, you should receive the invite email in a moment," I say. "You can also install the app on a computer, if you have one."

"Yep, I got it!" Seira says. "Huh? It has a code for me to scan, but how can I do that when it's on the screen…?"

"I think the code is also a link you can click on," I say.

"Oh, there's a link right underneath it," Seira says. "It's asking me if I want to download and install it… guess I'll press on yes."

She plops herself back down on the couch, watching as the app downloads. While she waits, I decide to check the news posts.

The latest is an introductory post from Todoroki's Sidekick, otherwise known as Hiroe Chiharu, introducing herself as a reporter for the formerly-hidden Tokime village. So I guess Hijiri did decide to bring her on. The post goes into some detail about what the Tokime village is and even throws in a little tourism promotion, but there's nothing in there that I didn't already know.

The previous post is another one from Hesperides, the girl named Kanzaki Kanako who I still haven't met. The post covers details on the formation of Aldebaran, including the founding members, so I decide to read it in detail.

[As promised, here's the juicy update on the formation of Aldebaran! As expected, the Pleiades Saints plan to take on executive positions within the group, but the actual leaders will be the Subaru twins! They say if the union is successful, they'll organize elections for the leadership after a few years. I've also received word that Akane Sumire will be serving as liaison officer, so anyone who wants to join should talk to her! She informed me that a full member list won't be released, but I talked to several other girls about their plans. As such, the projected membership is around thirty-five members, plus those already mentioned.]

[However, several high-profile magical girls have chosen not to join. Perhaps most surprising is that the two veteran groups chose not to join – Miss Asuka and Miss Anri both expressed no interest, and the Shiina sisters also prefer to remain independent. Less surprising is that our very own producer, Hyades, has chosen not to join the group. Similarly, it should come as no surprise that Miss Pernelle has no intention of joining.]

[That said, even without the other veterans, it is quite an impressively large group, and I look forward to seeing how they perform going forward! This is Kanzaki Kanako, reporting from Asunaro! I'll be back with more news next time!]

I'd already known that Yuuri didn't plan to join, since we talked a little last night, but I hadn't expected Remi to turn it down too. Hijiri and Pernelle were obvious, though. The only other surprise was that Sumire was a founding member. Had she been part of the driving force behind it?

With a slight shrug, I scroll down to look at the next news entry and blink. This one is written by an unfamiliar handle, BusyBee. I think back to my recent emails from Hijiri… now that I think of it, I do remember her asking about a couple more people to be added as news posters. I don't remember the names, but presumably none of them jumped out at me as an issue, so it should be fine.

So I tap the article and start reading.

[Hi, everyone! This is my first news post here, so I thought I'd start by introducing myself! My name is Araragi Karen, and I live on the coast of Niigata Prefecture. The nice admins here said that I can talk about any kind of magical-girl related news that I want, so I'll be posting now and then about things going on here in Jouetsu.]

[I'm posting now because something interesting just happened over Golden Week. It's amazing, really! I never expected things to go like this. You see, after hearing all about the Wings of the Magius and the Kamihama Magia Union, our local veteran magical girl, Senjougahara Hitagi, decided we should build an organization of our own! Well, I say she decided, but it wasn't as though it was her sole decision. Anyway, so I just wanted to announce the founding of Mahou Shoujo Youkai, our new union here on the west coast! The leader is Senjougahara-sempai of course, but a bunch of us have joined, so there's already eight of us. I hope we'll gain lots of new friends soon!]

That name triggers something within me, and suddenly I sense Ashley bubbling up to the surface. We aren't communicating so much as sharing thoughts. It seems there has been something bugging her for awhile now, regarding several magical girls whose names seemed vaguely familiar despite definitely not being Magia Record characters, or indeed characters from any of the Madoka spin-offs. There were several of them – Clarisse van Rossum was the most obvious, but there were also Yasuhiro Rin, Kuroi Kana, and even Hinata Aina – yes, one of Matsuri's unexpected cousins. And now, the name of the magical girl union in Jouetsu.

None of these come from the Madoka series or any of their spin-offs or crossovers. I already said that once, but let me say it a third time. These characters are not from the Madoka series, any Madoka spin-off, or any of the many crossovers. No… what Ashley has just informed me is that they are from a long-running Madoka fanfic, largely just background characters. They are characters from To The Stars. That explains why they were vaguely familiar even though I couldn't place them in any official Madoka production.

Yasuhiro Rin and Kuroi Kana were said to be two of the founding members of Mahou Shoujo Youkai, the organization founded by that fanfic's version of Homura in a post-rewrite universe. Then does that mean that Chiyo Rika, Tanaka Yui, and Takara Chinami will also be making an appearance? They too were noted as founders, along with Kyouko, Mami, and Yuma. I haven't encountered them in this world though… but there is a Takara Shiori, so it stands to reason that the two could be related. Although I have no idea how the name is spelled in kanji for either of them. To the Stars never gave the kanji for names, and I never thought to ask Shiori how to spell her name.

But perhaps more worrying is the presence of Hinata Aina. In To The Stars, she was one of four members of Oriko's villainous faction, a mentally unstable fire magic user. What I've seen of her so far seems to fit with the fanfic's backstory, about her personally hunting down the arsonists who killed her family. Given that she's been taken in by Matsuri, hopefully she shouldn't turn out as she did in the fic though…? The real reason it's worrying though is that Oriko's faction in the fic also had one more member, Miroko Mikuru, an ice magic user who was just as unstable as Aina. At least Oriko in this world isn't acting like a total villain, so it seems unlikely that the same scenario would play out… but I decide to send her a message, just to be on the safe side. I switch to the email app and start typing.

[Hello, Oriko. Is everything back to normal now? I just thought of something that I thought you should take into consideration. Do you know a girl named Miroko Mikuru? I have reason to believe that she has or will soon have the potential to become a magical girl, assuming she actually exists.]

I read over it twice more, wondering if I should add that Mikuru is expected to find herself in a dangerous situation soon. However, I decide that Oriko, being an oracle, would probably be able to work that out on her own if she knows of the girl, while if she doesn't know, it wouldn't really be of much help. I don't even know when 'soon' would be anyway –it could be tomorrow, or six months from now. So I tap send and let out a sigh.

"Everything okay, Ashley?" Inui asks.

"Maybe," I say. "I just realized how a few unexpected pieces finally fit together, and I'm a bit worried, but… I think it should be alright…"

Huh? Wait a second… in the fic, Mahou Shoujo Youkai had been founded by Homura and the other girls from Mitakihara. However, this time, it has been founded by the Madogatari girls from Jouetsu! That's actually quite surprising, for them to coincidentally come up with the same name… isn't it? Although, Homura did originally have a certain sort of logic behind the name, so maybe it's not so surprising…?

"Anyway, this app is pretty awesome!" Seira exclaims. "I'll definitely recommend it to Kira! You'll join too, right Komachi?"

"Huh?" Mikura say, startled out of her book. "What's going on?"

"The app, the app!" Seira says, waving her phone in her friend's face. "Look, it's an app for magical girls!"

"What about it?" Mikura says.

"What about it… you should join, obviously!"

"Oh… I'll think about it," Mikura says with a smile. "A bit later, maybe."

With that, she delves straight back into her book.

"Ah, well, whatever," Seira says.

"No worries," I say. "It's not like everyone has to join. It's just a way I came up with to encourage magical girls to work together more, instead of fighting over territory."

"Huh, that's a great idea!" Seira says. "Huh? Wait, you came up with…? Are you saying you made this app…?"

"More like, I commissioned someone to make it," I say. "The idea and at least some of the design was my doing."

"Oh, that's amazing!" Seira exclaims. "Well, it really is a great idea! Thank you very much!"

At that moment, the girl prone on the couch suddenly lets out a moan and twitches a little. Everyone turns to look at her.

"La-tama, are you alright?" Inui asks.

But the girl doesn't react to the query. I decide to get up and take a closer look. Kneeling next to the couch she's laying on, I peer at her face for a moment, then gently poke her cheek. This elicits another moan.

"Are you awake?" I ask.

"Run away," she murmurs. "I'll… hold it off… so save yourselves…"

Inui giggles. "Is she talking in her sleep or something…?"

"Seems to me that she's remembering how she died," I say.

"What actually happened?" Inui asks.

"Based on what I heard from the incubator that got isolated inside the barrier, she stepped in and saved the Yuzuki twins," I say. "But then the witch attacked her, broke free of the barrier, and destroyed the school building, almost killing Hotori as well."

"Huh?" Inui says. "So the school building was destroyed?"

"According to the incubator," I say. "Well… I've never heard of an incubator that lies, but… it's not something I've witnessed either with my eyes or with my magic."

"In that kind of situation, I'd sort of expect Hoto-chin's sister to make a wish," Inui says. "You did say Kyuubey was somehow there, so… maybe it was possible even inside the barrier?"

"Good guess," I say. "That's exactly what happened, and it seems that that's why the school building is intact and we had a chance to save Miss Amala."

"I see, sounds like she made an amazing wish," Inui says.

But then I suddenly realize that there's something odd about that suggestion.

«Huh? Wait, why would you suggest she made a wish?» I ask via telepathy. «You don't remember Miss Rion being a member of the Wings of the Magius?»

«Huh? Was she?» Inui asks. «I only remember Hoto-chin…»

«No, she wasn't, but everyone else seems to think she was,» I say. «Even the imposter seemed to be convinced of it.»

«Hmm, that's odd,» Inui says. «Could it be because you told me about that reincarnation stuff? Maybe we should ask Mary next time we see her…»

Could it be that she's also an imposter? But no, that can't be. She knows about the reincarnation, so she has to be the real Inui. When Nemu's rumour rewrote reality, Inui was clearly affected. Why would she be unaffected when Rion's wish rewrote reality? What changed between those two times?

"U-um… w-who are you…?"

I turn back to Amala and see that her eyes are now open. She's staring at me, a little nervously.

"My name is Ashley Taylor," I say.

"O-oh… I've… heard of you," Amala murmurs. "You're the one who… ruined the Magius's plans…"

"Yeah, that's certainly true," I say. "How are you feeling?"

"Um, well… I thought I was a goner," she mutters.

"Yeah, it'd make sense for you to think that," I say. "If we'd arrived any later, I don't think we would've been able to save you."

"The building… the last thing I remember," Amala says. "It collapsed on top of me… did those two girls get out? Was… was anyone else… hurt?"

"So you remember that?" I say. "You remember the building collapsing?"

"Y-yes… how could I… forget…?" she asks.

"Well, the situation is kinda complicated, but suffice to say, no-one is hurt, and the building is back to how it was," I say. "You can ask Miss Nanase about the details yourself later, if you want. The twins don't remember what happened, other than that you saved them."

"Oh… that's… a relief," Amala says. "Was it you… who saved me…?"

"Actually, it was Miss Tamaki," I say. "You were saved thanks to her healing powers. Although, I'd say I played a small role too."

"I was… thinking about joining the Union," Amala murmurs. "Maybe… it would be a good idea after all… and then I can thank her…"

"Well, that's entirely up to you," I say. "Though you certainly don't need to join to thank her…"

With that, I get to my feet.

"Well… if you don't mind, I should probably head back," I say. "I just wanted to wait until you wake up. Miss Mitama is here too, so you'll be fine now. If you want to wait, I think the twins said they'd stop by later."

"I feel… kind of weak," Amala says. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to move right now… but, thank you, Miss Taylor."

"You're going already, Ashley?" Inui asks.

"Yeah, what about you?" I ask.

"Hmm… I think I'll stay here a bit longer," Inui says. "La-tama looks like she could use some company, and Miku-tan's not gonna be much help there."

"Hmm?" Mikura says, glancing up from her book again. "What's that about me?"

"You see what I mean?" Inui says.

"Well… kinda," I say. "It's nothing important, Miss Komachi. I was just taking my leave."

"Oh, then travel safely," Mikura says.

With that, she looks back at her book, and Seira giggles.

"See you later!" she says.

And with that, I leave the Coordinator's.

Golden Week's barely ended, and already it seems like there are a ton of things for me to do. I'd like to meet Kuroi Kana, see if I can save Miroko Mikuru somehow if she exists, prepare for Magia Clash, and… oh, right, there was that one other loose thread. Once I'm on the train, I compose an email to Matsuri.

[Hey, just curious, but… did you ever follow up on that thing I mentioned before the battle? I'm referring to Kanade Kanata. I'm asking because I'm now certain that she survived, though I still can't be sure whether she is alive at this very moment.]

I then do a little scrying on various people, just to see if I can find anything interesting going on. I peek in on Sakuya, each member of the Holy Brigade, Iroha, Karin, and several others, but nothing unusual seems to be happening right now.

Once I make it back to the Hayashi house, I check my phone again and find that I've received two emails. The first is from Oriko.

[The Miroko family owns a chain of restaurants across Mitakihara and Kazamino. I believe they do indeed have a daughter named Mikuru. I am not sure how old she is, but there is a good chance she attends the same school as me. I will keep an eye open for signs of her possible contract.]

Though I wrote Miroko's surname in hiragana in the original message, Oriko has written it in kanji, so it seems she is definitely familiar with the family, at least. I don't really have anything to say in response though, so I take a look at the second message, which is from Matsuri.

[Your timing is really uncanny, Miss Taylor. I had just brought up the topic with Haruka-chan when I received your message. She was very surprised and asked me where I heard that name. She said it shouldn't be possible for me to know it, but she also seemed very happy to hear that the girl was probably alive. If you have time right now, I believe she'd like to hear from you directly.]

At the end of the message, Matsuri has pasted Haruka's email and phone number, so I tap the latter to initiate a call. It's picked up after only two rings.

"Hello…? Who is this?"

"It's me, Ashley Taylor," I reply.

"You… where did you hear about Kanata!?" Haruka exclaims.

"That's a bit of a complicated question," I say.

"I don't care," Haruka says. "It shouldn't be possible for you to know that name… no-one else remembers her, ever since she disappeared! So, how on earth…!"

"Well, from what I've heard, she ended up in an isekai type of situation after she disappeared," I say. "But rather than another world, it was just a different planet. I heard from someone else who had been on that planet until recently. That person had heard rumours about a hero named Kanade Kanata. Based on the rumours, she said that Miss Kanata was probably a magical girl. I also heard from another source that confirmed she was indeed a magical girl."

"T-that's an awful lot to take in," Haruka says. "An isekai on another planet? Do you really expect me to believe there are humans living on another planet? Although, I guess you never said they were humans…"

"I'm only relaying what I heard," I say. "It's not something I've seen for myself."

"So you're saying… when onee-san disappeared, she just ended up on another planet?" Haruka says.

"It would seem so," I say. "I'd like to visit that planet myself someday, so I'll invite you when that time comes. If you want, I can also connect you to the two people I heard from about Miss Kanata, but… I doubt they can give you any more information than I did just now."

"I see," Haruka says. "This is… very surprising news, so I'm not sure what to think… but thank you for the information. Goodbye."

With that, she hangs up. A little worried, I compose a quick message to Matsuri.

[Might be a good idea to keep an eye on Miss Haruka's soul gem for awhile. She might have mixed feelings on the topic of Kanade Kanata.]

Then I head inside. Apparently, I'm just in time for dinner.

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.

Yuzuki Rion
柚希りおん

Age: 13
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Blonde
Origins: Hokuyo Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Pink heart
Soul Gem: Pink heart-shaped gemstone at her throat
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Heart wand
Powers: Binding, undo
Wish: "Let me redo the afternoon so I can save Hotori!"

Speed: 5
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 6
Defensive Power: 8
Initial Power Usability: 6
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Amala Vijay
அமலா விஜய்

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Green
Origins: Sri Lanka
Symbol: Blue crescent moon opening downwards, enclosing a three-pointed star
Soul Gem: Blue three-pointed star-shaped gemstone on her belt
Element: Water
Weapon: Crescent sickle
Powers: Potion production
Wish: "Grant me a power that will let all those people see this beautiful moon once more."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 5
Initial Power Usability: 4
Learned Powers: 2

Komachi Mikura
古町みくら

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Kanitomi, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Blue butterfly
Soul Gem: Blue teardrop-shaped gemstone on her chest
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Magic staff
Powers: Ice magic, relic location and restoration
Wish: "I want to make the excavation of that burial mound a reality. I want to feel the breath of those people buried in history."

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 6
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Mihono Seira
三穂野せいら

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Amber
Hair Colour: Blonde
Origins: Kanitomi, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Yellow spiral
Soul Gem: Amber capsule-shaped gemstone on her chest
Element: Fire
Weapon: Megaphone
Powers: Reality manipulation
Wish: "I want to always have enough funding to film my movies in the future!"

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 4
Defensive Power: 8
Initial Power Usability: 3
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Kira Temari
吉良てまり

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Silver
Origins: Kanitomi, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Blue 5-pointed asterisk and exclamation mark
Soul Gem: Blue teardrop-shaped gemstone on her chest
Element: Water
Weapon: Calligraphy brushes
Powers: Reality manipulation
Wish: "I want the words I weave to reach somebody's heart!"

Speed: 5
Magical Stamina: 9
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 7
Initial Power Usability: 2
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

It took a bit longer than I thought – it was mostly done in the first week of September, but then I got a little stuck on the ending. Anyway, here's my adaptation of the moon-viewing event, which for some reason has become a flower-viewing event… and Ashley finally catches on to the proliferation of To the Stars characters.

I still don't have a buffer, so I don't know how much longer it'll be for the next chapter. It could be done in a week if things flow, but more likely it'll be another month or so. I do have the next few chapters roughly plotted out, though.