Sweet. It took only five weeks this time to churn out another chapter. Then again, 10k words. And I usually just move on after around 8k. Plus, I missed on hitting the targets I was supposed to hit in this chapter.

Yeah, this one is only filler and a hint of the next chapter's parts. Later on, I'll have to separate some Social Links from the main story and group them as different chapters instead. The Persona series has way too many conversations after all, and I'd rather have them away from the main story to prevent them being placed all over it.

Oh yeah, just to make it clear because I probably confused some people: Madoka won't able to master all Social Links in time before Walpurgisnacht appears. Something will definitely happen there, however.

blarg7865: Considering the amount of hints I drop, it's pretty clear that Walpurgisnacht is only the final boss of the first disc.

Kita Nakeshi: ...Oriko, a Persona-user? Hah, that's only possible late in the story.

firepowerblade2: Um, wasn't the 'dream world' in the first episode actually just a small flashback? And even then, she didn't remember that in here because she visited the Velvet Room instead. Also, Kyubey pretending to be a Magical Girl is... unlikely. Hilarious to think about, but no.

Now then...

Mind and Body! Start!

Inside the Velvet Room that took the place of an airplane, Madoka listened carefully to the explanations of the Tarot Arcana Igor gave.

The card that was displayed was the Empress Arcana. A royal crown was on the figure in the middle, while leaves grew from the sides of the card.

"The Empress Arcana represents beauty, femininity, fertility, and a creative expression. It could also mean how one must connect to her life to enchant the beauty around her with the nature of the world, or represent her maturity by responding to her relatives with kindness, quite alike to how a mother treats her beloved children. As it is, the person with the Arcana puts someone else in charge while leaving herself helpless, and possibly questions her relationships with her people. Without introspection, she will not value herself as a necessary kindness amongst the balance of a group."

Mami Tomoe, of the Empress Arcana. She was a Magical Girl that often did what she could to protect anyone from the dangers of the Witches, but from what Igor supplied, it seemed that her work hardly granted her peaceful times, let alone finding friends with anyone. They were certainly friends now, Mami wasn't alone any longer, and that's because Madoka was right behind her, all the way. But without some quality time as a normal girl, maybe she might be pressured on holding her friendship with anyone.

And then, Igor swapped the Empress card with the Magician. The appearance of the person holding the flame with just hands was all too familiar.

"The Magician Arcana represents power, skill, action, and pure concentration. It could also mean the ability to make new decisions, as well as reaching his goals, with the power he holds. With his natural talent, he can call upon the wise to grant assistance for his projects, and allow him to benefit everyone. As it is, the person with the Arcana is unable to form acceptable plans for herself, and might only use her powers for her own greed. Similarly, her power might not even be utilized despite its grand wonders. If not dealt with sooner, her power will no longer be remarkably special as everyone once knew."

Ayame Shirogane, of the Magician Arcana. She certainly seemed like an easy-going friend that gave the best smiles during the wrong moments, but that's all she knew about her. There was still something off-putting about her, and that's mainly because Madoka knew so little from the free-spirited girl. Was there something about Ayame? Maybe there were some moments where she actually thought about using her power wrongly, or perhaps only wanted other people to do the work for her? If that's the case...

"Madoka Kaname."

Madoka geared her head towards the sole woman in the Velvet Room, Margaret, who eyed her with an unreadable gaze.

"The Reversed Magician does not represent the one you have formed your bond with," she explained. "Rather, it is a different Magician entirely. The Social Link of the Magician Arcana, she is your ally, and is in no relation to the one told in your fortune."

"I see... I understand now."

Ayame might have been hiding something under her smile, but then again, everyone probably did. Even then, it calmed Madoka upon learning that Ayame had nothing to do with her life for the most part. The manipulator of the Reversed Magician, though, the one that would cause the downfall of the Tower, that's one thing she had yet to understand. But she would surely find the mastermind someday.

That's what she believed.

"Ah, Madoka, one more thing."

Madoka turned to the questioning Luna, who had a request accepted before the meanings of the Arcana were explained.

"Whatever fabrics you purchase, they can be anything so long as they can be made into durable clothes," the girl in blue supplied.

"Yes, I understand," Madoka answered with a small nod.

After thanking the residents of the Velvet Room, Madoka left the area.

It was a little weird on why Ayame called it a 'date' at first. At least, to Sayaka and Mami.

It was planned all the way back a few days ago, when Ayame was discovered in that other world. They both agreed that they'd see each other once more around the mall they all knew, but the unfortunately unnecessary (but otherwise logical) freedom being withheld for the next day, followed by a convoluted sequence of events the day after that, wasn't exactly looking pretty for a while.

One of the first things that Ayame wanted to point out was her friend staying back in the decision to hang on to her studies, Maria deciding to fill her room with papers and papers of essential testing preparations that Ayame didn't follow after a sentence or two.

The comment that told her to 'hit the books' came from Sayaka, giving a good jab at Ayame as she grimaced. Mami calmly followed that up by telling the blue-haired girl to study up as well, causing her to put up an uneasy smile as well. Madoka came crashing down on the group to point out that no one there was studying at all.

"Then... let's forget about studying today, then! It's not gonna be a problem!" Ayame tried to throw the plans into the trash can, only to be confronted by Mami, still holding that everliving smile. Not that it was.

"Shirogane-san, if you make that a habit, there won't be any assistance from us," she commented.

The brunette blinked in a bit of surprise. "...Huh, almost like what Maria said to me before we left," Ayame sighed. "Please, don't do that again. Even if it's not intentional."

"It's fine anyways," Sayaka decided to show her support. "It's just this day that we're messing around. Right, Madoka?"

"Yeah," Madoka had to agree. This was a bit of an awaited day, if the events from before had anything to say. She could even relax now, since Ayame wasn't the person she was looking for. No, the actual manipulator was still out there, maybe plotting something devious, but right now, she just wanted to have fun with everyone here, at the least.

If only this time of tranquility happened more often, she wished...

"Well, this place doesn't have that many Witches around either, for now."

Kyouko deeply sighed. Ryoji merely shrugged. Yuma just had another apple for herself.

Walking around the city with almost nothing to do had been a bit of a disappointment for the past few hours. Ryoji had agreed to show his power of Persona on the condition that he was in a Witch's Barrier, because it was the only chance where he could ever use it. This didn't exactly mean being around Familiars that were just loitering the place, making their rounds by devouring a human or two.

Still, it ticked off the redhead when he was pressing her to eliminate the Familiar they encountered earlier. She tried to reason with him, saying that Familiars outside a barrier are needed for a Witch to get strong, but when he planned, threatened, to withhold his power from her and would no longer assist if she didn't take it out, she reluctantly pinned the Familiar to a wall with her spear before the mini-abomination disappeared.

The young man wasn't that bright, Kyouko muttered. If it's necessary for survival, why change it at all?

Still, he did promise to make up for it by giving it his all when a Witch appeared. He said it himself that a Persona isn't powered by Grief Seeds, but would instead take a few hours to recover if used more often. She didn't have any complaints about that, if he could actually regenerate his power, that is.

The park they were in wasn't home to a Witch as they discovered. Lately, the Witches around the area they were in weren't appearing often, Kyouko noticed. Maybe it's because of the event that's about to happen in Mitakihara?

"Hey, Ryoji," Kyouko spoke to him. "I just realized, but what if the low number of Witches here have something to do with what's about to happen in Mitakihara later on?"

"Hm... it's possible," Ryoji pondered with a hand on his chin. "I mean, it's the place where a number of Witches have been concentrating in, lately."

"So you think it's because of that?" She asked. It had to be. Why even alert to her if it was nothing at all?

"Yeah, I guess," he nodded in affirmation. "It might not be too far-fetched, especially since I've been sensing a section of negative energy in that area."

"Then all the stupid Witches are moving over there, probably just to say their praises and worship it or something. Might even be why we're only finding Familiars here, for now."

"It looks like it. You might have to move in sooner than we thought."

"Nah, just give it a few hours before we say we're done here."

The sun's starting to set anyways, so there wasn't much of a hurry, especially since the main event's about to happen a few weeks later, they figured. Plus, they wanted to be sure this city was void of both Witches and Familiars before heading on over, so that there wouldn't be a mess if Kyouko and Yuma came back.

"Hey, Ryoji-san," Yuma finally chirped, the apple suddenly gone from hands, "what's your power like? You only said it was a Persona, but what does it do?"

"Hm..." Kyouko hummed, a sly smile being formed with a pointy tooth sticking out. "You know, you never did tell us everything about it, did you? Are you giving us the juice, or not?"

"Ah, well..."

The young man with the scarf mumbled for a moment on the question. He never really did tell them because of how he was to go on and present it, but there was a bit of a problem with that. For one thing, Personae weren't meant to be part of a silly show, barring a few exceptions at best, and because of this, he wasn't so sure if there was a nicer way of telling about it in front of a little girl.

Actually, would Yuma ever be horrified by it at all? She did see the deaths of her parents, and the beaten state of Kyouko at one point. Still, he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to scare her off just because of seeing Death.

"Yuma-chan," Ryoji began, deciding to go for this approach. "I want to tell you a story."

"Okay?" The green-haired child tilted her head.

"You're kind of dodging the question here," Kyouko reminded with narrowed eyes.

"It's fine," the young man answered. It was better to tell them a story and have them prepare for the worst than letting them notice it firsthand.

Plus, he needed a story to pass on.

"Once upon a time, there was this young boy who lost his parents in an accident."

The two girls stood straight. The mere mention of a young child to lose his parents must have switched them on a serious side, Ryoji noticed. He knew that because they all resembled one thing in their past. That was fine.

"When he lost them in that accident, his life went on, and as time passed, he didn't exactly fear death, but rather grew accustomed to it as his days went by. However, one fateful night, he was cornered by a savage monster, who threatened to end his life because that monster was doing it all on instinct."

The rooftop that presented the eerie moon, with a figure of black arms holding the sharpest blades at the time, as well as a blue mask...

"Then, at that point, his power awakened. When it awakened, the boy, who did not fear death, called out to those who heeded him, and two new monsters appeared. The new monsters turned out to be him, and he turned out to be the new monsters as well. One of them was a musician with his harp, and the other, the one who granted Death onto an individual."

The mechanical-human musician that screamed as his body convulsed, and the granter of Death that was unleashed from him...

"These two fought against the monster that threatened to kill the boy, ripping it into pieces, and protected the boy from any harm that would fall on him. It was then, at that point, did he realize that he gained the power, the mask that protects his life from those who would kill him. The power of Persona."

The two girls remained speechless. Ryoji didn't mind. This story wasn't meant to be all happy-happy, especially with how it turned out later, so it's why he preferred compressing the tale to a shorter form. And taking the ending bits too, for their sake.

"I think what you're trying to say is that monsters aren't always the real evil, or whatever," Kyouko muffled, earning a nod from the boy. She knew exactly what the story was answering, she just didn't understand why the story instead of a simple answer.

"So... what happened to the boy?" Yuma meekly said. The concept of an unafraid orphan summoning monsters to fight monsters may have shaken her a little, he figured.

"Oh, he was fine afterwards," he chuckled, remembering his days. "He had monsters by his side, but he was still a normal person. He went to a school, got good grades, made new friends, picked up some chicks, and lived his life while fighting monsters during the night."

"Chicks?" Yuma parroted in a wonderfully clueless fashion. Soon enough, she brightened up. "Oh, Yuma love chicks! They're so cute when they tweet, too!"

'Not those kinds of chicks,' was what either Ryoji or Kyouko would have pointed out, but they both decided not to ruin the little girl's fantasy, with the latter petting the child again. She'd just have to learn about the society and its diversity of people once she grew up...

"You know, though," Kyouko said in suspicion, "you did answer the question, yeah, but I still get the feeling that you're hiding some pieces on that story."

"Yeah, well," Ryoji rubbed the back of his head, "there's definitely a lot more to it, but..."

Whatever else he was going to answer was interrupted as a tint of white flashed in the red Magical Girl's Soul Gem.

A Witch was nearby...

"Hm..."

Maria didn't really want to skip her studies, especially at a time like this where exams were starting to pop up to torment those who only wanted to relax (or so Ayame said), but there was some tension on the air that oddly hanged around only her. She only stepped outside, and in the next moment, that same feeling washed over her, the same feeling that happened back in her school.

Someone was watching her from afar...

"I don't like this... should I just head to the others, then?"

Madoka enjoyed every moment in their time.

No one could argue with that. In a sense, it was kind of a good break from everything that happened before. For a few days straight, it's been riding through the labyrinth, defeat the Shadows in the way, fight Witches, save the girls, and it seemed to be a non-stop rush of action that was getting her, and everyone else, quite weary. Hanging out with old and new friends after all that, it was almost relaxing to the group, for sure.

She didn't, at first, know why Ayame was pestering her for some yen at first, considering that back in the other world, the team of Persona-users all agreed that Madoka would hold the high share from the loot they gained from traversing the labyrinth, but after also agreeing that Ayame would have some as well. At first, the holder of the Wild Card thought that the brunette actually splurged it all from yesterday on something, but Ayame still had her shares, the same amount before that day started, along with a little extra from before.

It was those snazzy red headphones she discovered yesterday. High-quality eruptive beats that send great jams to the ears.

Madoka had to decline the trade, explaining that the money from the brutal Shadows in the labyrinth isn't easy to get, and the golden Shadows that dropped exquisite valuables would only come in rare times. And if Madoka's comment wasn't enough, Mami then politely scolded the brunette for using money on attractions when it was possible to spend it on other useful items, like some bandages and antibiotics in case they got seriously injured in the battles against the Shadows and Witches.

Ayame sagged afterwards in defeat. It's really only fair, Madoka said. She wanted a portable music player too, but their life had to come first before anything else.

...

Even though it made Madoka pout to herself when she thought that. Maybe when they were a wee bit richer. Then things could work out and they could buy whatever they wanted.

...She just had to hope that searching for the golden Shadows wasn't going to be an addiction for those valuables.

There was another reason why she needed to relent on using the money they gained, too. When the pink-haired Persona-user led the group to a fabric shop, she explained about certain techniques and abilities one girl from the Velvet Room had to create those special clothes.

"I don't really know how, but Luna-san can make clothes that have some effects on their own. The blue clothes Ayame-san and I wore in the labyrinth, they were the ones she made. My dress' effect healed me for a little bit at each minute, and Ayame-san's dress would give a boost in speed."

"...Wait, those conveniently-made stylish dresses double as armors?"

Ayame couldn't have said it better.

Interestingly, it felt nice for shopping fabrics. It was necessary for creating improved clothes, sure, but there was some form of creativity just by looking at what was used. Luna might be a creative stylist, maybe she even knew what clothes to work with, what costumes were great. There did seem to be a huge affection for blue, though. They had a good amount of creativity on their styles and patterns, but it seemed like blue was the only color they cared about. Why couldn't they use a different set of colors, like pink?

"Maybe I could give her my ideas..."

Immediately a light bulb popped up from the pink-haired girl's head.

As soon as she purchased the necessary pieces of cloth, Madoka rushed down to the invisible door.

Back in the Velvet Room...

"I must decline."

An exasperated look crossed Madoka's face as she stared at the bored gaze of Luna with a crazy amount of disbelief. Before she could even ask, or get a say in anything about her idea, Luna gently lifted a crude drawing of a girl in pink and white clothes, featuring different viewpoints.

"Do you see the lower part of the ball dress?" Luna's index finger pointed to the flowery pattern of the dress in the drawing. "I am not sure what made you come up with this, but the parts from the waist to the bottom will impede movement. The lower area is too wide that your legs will feel awkward, the frills inside, even more so, and there is also how difficult it is to create a wide dress, especially with the frills."

"Strike one," Rai heartily muffled.

Luna, still with her stare narrowed, then pointed to the feet in the design. "And then the heels. High heels are not considered exceptional. Again, movement will be awkward, and running hastily without tripping will be a challenge to make. Unless you have the power to float, like Margaret, high heels will not be beneficial as they will decrease your overall agility."

"Strike two," Rai spoke up again, barely doing much to hide his grin.

"But," Madoka whimpered, almost tearing up, "ever since I learned of the Magical Girl concept, I've been thinking, maybe it would be nice if I was in a dress like this. I still haven't made my decision to contract, so..."

The depressing air around Madoka was about to form. Luna mentally grimaced. Madoka needed some form of help, even if it was to lay out the criticism first thing. But maybe soothing her mood wouldn't hurt.

"It is fine, Madoka," Luna needed to calmly reassure their guest. "Maybe if we only replace those inconveniences, I am sure I can complete the set with no drawbacks. As it is, it is only too optimistically specific for some events, like a royal ball, or a Halloween event, but not for battles..."

"I'm sure that silly-looking heart-shaped opening in the back is also meant for battles," Rai snickered.

Luna's eyes rose for a few seconds as she flipped the paper. "There's a heart-shaped opening in the..."

A pause.

"...Madoka, because of this baffling design, I must decline completely."

"Strike three."

Dual rivers of tears came rushing out of the poor girl's eyes. So much for soothing her, the twins thought, but then again, Luna never really found that last bit so wrong on the costume. The small smile of her outright confirmed that she was just playing around.

"We merely jest, Madoka," Luna giggled, thankfully causing the girl to stop shedding streams of tears. "At any rate, with the fabrics you have given us, I will be able to create a costume similar to your design."

"I see," Madoka sighed. These two, so bluntly honest, yet silly all the same... "Ah," she remembered, "and what about Ayame-san's?"

"With the brown and black-colored leather and cotton fabrics," Rai intoned, "we should also make one for her." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, we don't have a design to base on, but we'll improvise."

"Alright, thank you," Madoka responded in silent glee. "And now, there's one more thing before I leave."

That other request seemed so odd, though, but if she could finish it, the rewards should be satisfying enough. Plus, the twins seem eager on going with her and meeting her friends...

"Huh, didn't expect you two to show up..." Ayame said in her quietest surprise yet.

The request was for the twins to simply be brought to Madoka's friends.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to watch the girls awkwardly make a conversation with them just for laughs, or if she was supposed to jump off the ship and let it sink without her on it. For now, she'd have to play along and see how it'd turn out.

"I am Luna," the girl in blue with the pointed hat greeted.

"And I am Rai," the boy in blue with the small top hat copied.

"And we are residents of the Velvet Room," they both chorused.

After the twins' brief introduction, most of the girls' reactions were confusion, as Madoka amusingly expected, but for different reasons.

Ayame didn't react too weirdly, rather being a little skeptical on how the twins hardly came to Mitakihara, or any other general place in the real world. Mami expressed genuine surprise when the twins that assisted Madoka in the other world turned out to be younger than she imagined, possibly around their tens. Sayaka idly wondered if they were the same fortune tellers Madoka made mentions of in passing, but like Mami supposed, they looked too young to hand out predictions.

She was half-right. Luna and Rai were also fortune tellers, but it was Igor that handled most of the fortunes to the best of his higher ability.

"So, uh," Sayaka began awkwardly, "you're the ones that help Madoka in that other world, right?"

Madoka giggled. It seemed their appearance of age was still being taken lightly. By her side, Ayame also had her lips curve upward in some small amusement.

"Correct," Luna answered, smiling. "We assist Madoka in the other world to discover its origin, as well as finding answers that relate to her."

"Normally, the residents of the Velvet Room assist guests like her by only having our services available," Rai grinned in slight embarrassment.

"But in this case, Rai and I decided to help out in the exploration as well," the girl in blue finished.

"It works for us as well," Rai shrugged. "We kind of do need our strength at times."

Mami nodded, despite still out of it. "I only find it odd that you two look... young to fight in battles."

Ayame chuckled for a second. "They even act like adults, Mami. At least, for the most part."

"I guess I wouldn't believe them either if I didn't know they were Persona-users as well," Sayaka scratched the back of her head. "Anyone else see other kids beating up people and monsters with their powers?"

"Please," Rai snorted with a wave of his hand, "we don't engage in senseless violence unless we know they'll be fine afterward."

Silence followed after his comment.

"...Too serious," Mami commented. The smile she had was one of worry, but for the most of it, it was all-around teasing.

"Yeah," Ayame sighed, still keeping an open grin. "I stopped thinking of them as kids long ago."

The laughter came on by the next second.

Aside from helping Madoka in the mysterious labyrinth, the twins said they would often guide her in making reasonable decisions and try to find some pieces of both worlds that correlate to one another. As for the other residents of the Velvet Room, Igor would handle Persona Fusion while Margaret would put up requests for her. For the latter, Sayaka had a realization coming to her, being a little familiar with a 'Margaret' from before, until Madoka did confirm indeed that she was the one who gave her the Toy Bow.

The twins trying to tell her that it was a valuable weapon made the girls wonder if the people who resided in the Velvet Room were out of their minds.

Sayaka then brought up the fact that they were fortune tellers, and asked for the twins if they could get a prediction for her. Why not? It was a fun idea! Maybe she could get a fortune for her school grades? No, how about her life as part of the Magical Girls? The possibilities were endless!

"That will be ten thousand yen."

Sayaka's mind cracked.

Rai just said it, then and there. He flat-out priced their fortune giveaways in the most normal tone he could say it in, and that left Sayaka frozen solid, that eager smile she held becoming all but eager. The rest of the girls continued to stare at the boy as the winds flew past them.

"Wh-what kind of business do you people run!?" Ayame accused the child with an incredulous look. The boy only looked at her with a bored gaze.

"Business that shouldn't concern you in the first place," Rai retorted. He turned back to Sayaka. "Now, the price is ten thousand yen. Also, the Velvet Room will offer no charges during certain holidays, such as school festivals."

"...I think I'll just wait for the festival, then," the blue-haired girl grumbled. Putting up an argument against the twins for the price was probably out of the question, considering how crazy they could get at times.

"Where would all the money go to, by the way?" Mami inquired on their business. There had to be a reason why they would ask for so much, right?

"Mostly to manage our equipment and items," Luna offhandedly informed her.

Madoka almost giggled. That was another truth; the team would need sufficient money for fabrics and healing medication to purchase along with using the compendium and fusing Personae, but from what she heard back then, they actually preferred not to give out fortunes frequently. More and more people would often come for them if they managed to build up a reputation. And there were the chances of the predictions coming out wrong, after all, and altering one's destiny was still possible after hearing it.

Just like her own fate...

The Witch, to mostly Ryoji's surprise, was supposed to be some kind of a reaper.

Well, that's what it looked like. It was draped in a black robe of leather, and it was the kind of robe those priests usually wore, except it was, well, entirely black. There were those boots it wore, all torn and muddy-looking, and it held a very unpleasant silver scythe in its arms. The face... it was even faceless, the head completely gray in color, and nothing else was on it. The Familiars it had, those smaller, mini-mes of the Witch that had scythes as well, but were rusted to be even used, almost as if they weren't properly maintained, but could definitely do damage if they tried their hardest.

What gave him the curious wonder was how odd they were all in. The Witch Barrier resembled some kind of a lofty graveyard. Bright-colored circular lights were on the 'sky', the ground was fertile with odd flowers that weren't from around here, or in a normal graveyard for that matter. And there were the festive lights, usually meant for the winter holidays, decorated on the grim gravestones.

Yuma showed a bit of cowardice before the little girl made her stand. Kyouko in boredom said that it was normal for a Witch to make creepy scenery like this. Ryoji could only wonder how 'normal' could it be.

"So," Kyouko snickered mischievously as she donned her red Magical Girl outfit, "unless you're just gonna stand there like a dumbass, you should probably show yourself off."

"Yuma is eager to watch, too!" Yuma cheerfully spoke. She also happened to be in her green and white costume, along with the dual-pointed cap.

A sly smile was spread on Ryoji.

"Alright, alright, misses. Just stay seated."

His thoughts focused on who he was, and what he was. It was strange, to think about himself as... quite literally, himself. He was merely Death, or a manifestation of a piece of it, to describe better. It was perhaps a no-brainer to figure out why his Persona was him and his at once.

And as he thought of himself, one blue card gently glided down in front of him, and the wonderstruck girls watched on, both in awe and in eagerness.

"I am thou... thou art I..."

Ryoji calmly stated before he muttered one more thing.

"Persona."

Crack!

Upon crushing the card, as it turned to azure flames, winds of blue circulated the young man as he grinned in satisfaction. He disregarded any confusion about himself, about who and what he was, as he allowed his own power to surge and be released.

And from the young man came a monster. A god that granted death, a demon that gave death meaning. A true manifestation of Ryoji himself.

Coffins were alighted behind him, coffins inscribed with angels holding crosses, while chains were connected from the coffins to his body. He was in a black armored vest with a golden belt with a skull attached on his waist. And his head... no, it wasn't as if he had a head. His metallic skull seemed like it was a head. Along with these traits, what he also carried was a sword and a sheath.

"Thanatos," Ryoji began to order the Persona. "Megidola."

Thanatos shot his hand forth and prepared the Skill. An orb of power was concentrated from up above, lingering over the group of Familiars for a moment before a beam was thrown down, effectively spilling the destruction onto the enemies with great damage. One by one, the many rusted scythe users were thrown off to vanish into black dust, no longer having the will to live for their master.

"Heh, wow," Kyouko whistled as she watched the dispersing bodies tripping over before vanishing. "Looks like I can't prove you wrong anymore."

"That was cool," Yuma murmured, looking very excited in a quiet way.

"It's not really something to be surprised about," Ryoji spoke to them, knocking them out of their stupor. "Thanatos doesn't have a wide array of Skills he could use unlike other Personae, so it's not that much."

"That's still a good show you put on," the girl in red still shared her compliments.

And as she did, the next moment, more Familiars rose up from the ground, most from the fronts of the colorful gravestones, and proceeded to run towards the trio. The Witch with the polished scythe also seemed to be 'facing' towards them as well, taking note of their presence.

"...Eh," she then muttered before darting her eyes back to the boy. "You have another trick up your sleeve?"

"Of course," was the only reply he gave before pointing to the crowd of Familiars. "Thanatos, Evil Smile."

The personification of Death understood the command. His palm opened up towards the group of Familiars, and a black torrent of fear washed over the Familiars as they came to a halt. What came next was unexpected from the girls; one by one, the Familiars shakily dropped their rusted scythes, some even starting to step back from the trio. The girls even shuddered a little when Ryoji's smile only grew wider at the Skill's effect.

"Now, Ghastly Wail."

Within a single motion and acting as if a breath was taken, Thanatos roared. The roar was very inhuman, very frightening, as it sounded more like a ravaging beast ready to take action. The hauntingly, almost deafening roar pushed the Familiars to stand upward in an instant before they dropped like dead flies, their evaporating dust from their bodies even confirming their states. All of the enemies ahead were even gone, with the sole survivor being the Witch that held the strings of the festive graveyard.

And... the Witch was hardly making a move, almost as if it was scared itself.

"...Holy shit," Kyouko muttered, about to drop her own spear out of perplexed awe. Hugging tightly behind her in fear, Yuma felt the same way.

Ryoji frowned. Maybe he overdid it for them.

"People tend to say that monsters aren't always evil," he pointed out, attempting to calm them down. "Even I think so too. In fact, the only ones who deserve to be called monsters are those who destroy humanity. Thanatos... he doesn't enjoy killing people for the fun of it, you know."

He really didn't, especially when he was forced to bring down The Fall...

Kyouko sighed, part of it being exhaustion. "Well... whatever. Still, don't put up a freak show and make him roar out when people are around, you know." She gave another pat on the child's head. "Kid here doesn't like it either."

"I'll make sure I won't use it often," he wearily smiled. He knew how bad it was, too. It was a good drain on his mental psyche if he used it consecutively. It would have been nice if he had 'awakened' like his friend...

That was when he caught one movement of the Witch. There, right on her right boot, it moved, shuffling backwards by a margin. It seemed to be nothing, normally, but Ryoji knew what it meant.

"That Witch, it's trying to get away."

"Oh, hell no."

Surprising Ryoji before he could get a few seconds of understanding what quickly transpired, Kyouko speedily ran after the Witch with a great performance on agility, almost dropping Yuma from the embrace. At the same time, the Witch began to retaliate by using its scythe to slash in front of her. The intention wasn't to wound the Magical Girl with the scythe, but to create a purple wormhole with another batch of the Familiars, this time with scythes having much less rust on them.

Kyouko jumped.

Leaping over the entire oncoming rush of Familiars was possible, but she would run the risk of getting hit in a higher altitude, so to get through, she would gently land on a scythe-wielding Familiar's head before pushing enough force to make shorter jumps, effectively making them stepping stones. Ryoji chuckled, noting how she was using the Familiars in a bit of a comical fashion. One by one, the small monsters were being pushed away and knocked to the ground without any available resistance from Kyouko giving the pushes on her jumps.

As she neared the large Witch closer and closer, it then desperately spun the silver scythe around a few times. However, instead of another portal filled with the Familiars, this time the scythe caused arcs of air, and sent them towards the jumping girl. Continuing the stepping stone sequence, Kyouko began to dodge the oncoming curved strikes.

The first strike happened to be at a moderate level, but she had a safe amount of time to react and duck.

The second strike was aimed a length right about the Familiars rushing about. She quickly descended and jumped on another Familiar to leap over it.

The third strike had her altering her aerial position and leaning back as she watched it passing right over her. She could have sworn that third strike nearly nicked her nose!

The fourth strike almost got her. It was an accurate attack with the precise aim on her new position that it should have sent her back–

"Tempest Slash!"

–and Ryoji's pet Thanatos somehow struck the projectile, cleaving it into two with the center of the strike being a separate clause, thereby sparing her from the final attack.

Kyouko clicked her tongue. What a showoff, that Ryoji...

And as she passed through Thanatos, there she found it. The Witch, almost about to make a runaway with those muddy boots. Kyouko smirked. It was just one Witch after a long time of silence, and she hadn't even used a third of her power to take it down! Maybe she could start dragging Ryoji with her more often to Witch Hunts when she could...

Her thoughts stopped running just as they started, for her to notice the scythe coming down on her. She didn't care about stopping the thing, but she instead let it come down at the right moment. Less than a split second, she avoided the crash of the scythe by a margin and jumped, higher than her parade through the Familiars, and raised her spear towards the 'face' of the Witch.

The torrent of the pointed lance struck the Witch, multiple times in fact. From afar, Ryoji could barely count the number of hits she inflicted onto the large monster in a second, but such a number at this speed was a great chain of attacks, he deducted. Little by little, the 'face' was getting inward bruises and multiple bumps that she might have been getting the upper hand more quickly.

That was when, in a final attempt in its panic, the Witch prepared the scythe...

"Tempest Slash."

Only for Thanatos to take the spotlight once again as he dealt multiple slashes to the 'abdomen' this time, severely injuring the Witch and pushing it far, almost knocking it over. Following it up was Kyouko, landing one last fierce strike to the head, the spear giving enough pressure to make it seem like it 'smashed' the Witch's head. The attack caused it to stumble back, with the pains from earlier adding the severe state to its body. As it fell, the ground crumbled and caused the dirt to outline the Witch.

Kyouko sighed. It was almost as if it was too easy for her tastes. Then again, Ryoji showed it up and knocked it over its ass with his Persona...

"Maybe it didn't properly wield the scythe too well," he commented just behind her, startling the girl in red for a moment before she wondered how in blazes did he get through the Familiars. Sure enough, the sight of disappearing, lifeless Familiars behind him further proved that fact. Might have blasted them with that Megi... whatever Skill he called, she assumed.

"The scythe is a little too long to attack up close," Yuma noticed as she stood behind Ryoji, watching the nearly-dead Witch. "Scythes make it harder to use. The only sharp thing is at the tip of it, so it isn't good if you need to attack from a very short distance. At least, that's what Yuma thinks."

"Serves it right for using it, I guess," Kyouko mumbled with a chortle afterwards. Turning back to the limp Witch, she then said, "Alright, lemme get this one down. Yuma, Ryoji, get back."

Yuma nodded happily, while Ryoji calmly replied with a carefree "Sure".

And Kyouko grinned as the Witch practically lost to them so easily.

"Tch...!"

Maria had been dragging herself around for the past few minutes in a deadly game of tag in this city. If she had any doubt on this fine, quiet day having any form of peace afterward, well, they might as well be true (not that she was always hoping for peace). And here she was, wishing for this obnoxious, psychopathic Magical Girl to leave her and her studies in peace.

"Hahahahaha!"

And that damn laugh didn't help matters either.

So, this Magical Girl that was chasing after her. Definitely a top-class psycho, still sane to make a conversation, but a bit of a romanticist and a ditz, and yet those traits only made that girl even more crazier. As Maria came to a clearing, a lush park with a surprisingly less amount of people at this time, she had to wonder if this 'Oriko' person sent her. That Magical Girl loved to mention her a few times, even accidentally spilling out her name when it came to a short-lived conversation.

If that's true, Maria might as well have been dealing with a group of killers on her tail, and she didn't know how she got their attention. Well, studying peacefully as she planned would have to wait. She needed to assess the situation and learn more about this ditzy psycho if she could.

As she came to a halt in the middle of the park, Maria quickly turned around and glared at her assailant, the one dressed in a black, long coat with patches of white stretching out of the sleeves. A distinct, black eye patch covered her right eye, leaving the left one open for aiming, and her weapons happened to be a set of black, sketchy claws on her hands.

"You are a strange person, you know," Maria said to her. "Why are you after me?"

The Magical Girl in black giggled devilishly. "Isn't it obvious? You're a Magical Girl. Therefore, you deserve to die."

"Just for the reason that I'm a Magical Girl?" Maria worded. That's not so much of a reason if it's keeping her from knowing. "Following by that logic," she quipped, "you should be in the same boat as I would be in."

"Heh, like you'd know what you're talking about," the assailant sneered, yet still keeping that smile up. "I'm just cleaning up the mess because it's for the best. If you were in my shoes, you'd know how nice it is to put everyone out of their misery early on, but you wouldn't."

"Actually," Maria coughed, "I really wouldn't. There isn't a fine way on finding joy by killing people. I prefer fighting with Witches. They are rather gruesome and hostile, much more than Magical Girls, even."

"Witches this, Witches that," the girl with the claws spat. "You think the solution to everything is by defeating Witches, huh?" Then she suddenly brightened up. "Buuut~, that's fine! I go after the Magical Girls, and you go after the Witches! We have our own goals and our own benefits! But since you're a Magical Girl, right in front of me after I traveled a little bit far, it's normal for me to take you out."

"Not as normal as your twisted definition of 'normal', though. Then again, I guess I have no right to complain, since I'm practically not normal anymore. But you..."

Maria gripped her special handguns on her sides, generating a strange aura around them.

"...you're beyond far from normal," she softly growled.

"Do you plan to shoot me?" The psychotic girl was astonished before laughing as if it was a joke, even looking unintentionally cute at the inopportune moment. "That's funny! Before you know it, I'd be gone by the time you'll fire those things at me!"

Maria kept holding her weapons, but paused before her next actions as she thought on what the ditz said.

She'd be gone once she pulled the triggers?

That was enough to learn about the crazy, and apparently arrogant, Magical Girl that Maria altered her plans.

In the next instant, without muttering another word to give it all away, Maria brought her handguns out, and in an attempt to betray her opponent's expectations, she pointed towards the soft earth right next to herself.

The explosion of dirt was made, covering Maria well enough from any sight, and proceeded to dash away from the crazy girl. If that girl was right when she mentioned about dodging even bullets from guns, then it wasn't worth the risk in trying to tackle her head on without preparations.

"This is bad," Maria tensely whispered to herself as she swerved carefully around the buildings. "I need to get back to Ayame and the others if we have to stop this girl. If she's been going around killing Magical Girls, then..."

She made her decision. It was finding everyone else, or never.

"My strength is almost there... maybe I'll be able to leave this world once and for all."

She threw another row of bolts at a slithering black bob, sighing in disappointment.

"Once I leave this world, preferably by teleporting out, maybe you can help me out? Right?"

She grinned menacingly.

"After all, you are Madoka. So it's only natural that I should come after you."

She picked up the pace, noticing the rest of the Shadows coming after her.

"And this time, you'll come to accept everything!"

"It was pleasant meeting all of you," Luna bowed to the group.

"And likewise, a pleasure knowing you are related to our guest," Rai bowed as well.

Madoka sighed. Their throwback of questions and roundabout curiosity of her friends ended near the exit. If there was anything odd about these two, it would be some of the decisions that they make. It was bad enough that the 'love box' they made for her was based on some random romantic legend, and now their request to meet with her friends kind of rose their antics beyond the roof. They just weren't normal at all, those two.

...No, maybe it wasn't that bad. But the way they were presenting themselves to her friends, along with their interactions towards anything that was common sense to everyone else, sure was a flick of fingers towards society. Rai did say something about an 'Elizabeth' being the very worst with a 'Theodore' probably on par, while Luna sighed in relief before muttering about how great it was that they never saw her in action.

Madoka gulped. If the black-haired twins were actually that light... she dreaded to think about seeing this 'Elizabeth' person hanging around the world.

Sayaka rubbed her temples. "I still can't believe you two can hold Personas, and even give fortunes when you're still, well, kids." Their actions muse have made Sayaka too tired to be all quizzical on their knowledge to make sense of. And they looked younger than Madoka, even!

"Yes," Luna hummed, smirking on that idea. "Appearances can be deceiving to many. Actually, I would be impressed if anyone figured us out no later than the first minute."

The pink-haired Persona-user wondered how much of their appearance was a lie.

"So I assume you two will be heading back to the Velvet Room, if that's the name?" Mami asked.

Rai nodded. "On our behest, we had Madoka introduce us to you and stay for a moment. That was all."

"Leave it to Madoka to get even the weirdest friends," Sayaka fooled around for a moment before she shrugged. "Then again, this is Madoka we're talking about..."

"W-well, the people of the Velvet Room are weird," Madoka ignored the short glares of the twins, "but I don't think I'm that special to make every kind of friend..."

"You also have a quiet girl who's always fixated on you, more than everyone else," Mami played along.

"Th-that doesn't count!" The pink-haired girl then retorted. "I just don't know Homura!"

"And then you made friends with a younger girl who somehow knows you, but always puts cheese at the top of the list," Ayame took a crack at the fun train. The detailed subject of the girl she spoke of blew winds to Sayaka and Mami, both in disbelief.

Madoka stumbled on her words as they fleeted away, voiceless. "But, well... that's..."

"Don't forget," Rai didn't want to pass this up as he raised a finger, "that you also gained Philemon's attention."

"And with that comes from the Velvet Key someone lent you," Luna quietly beamed, also having fun.

"Nyuu... you're all so mean..."

The laughter to her adorable, childish response was a given.

"You guys are gonna keep it free at the next school festival, right?" And of course Sayaka went back to their fortune telling plans. Madoka almost sighed again. She just hoped Sayaka didn't lose her patience and spend every valuable savings she had just for a fortune with the Tarot Arcana...

"Oh?" Rai cocked his head. "We hardly give any lies you know. Unless a situation arises and we won't attend there, which isn't likely."

The blue-haired girl frowned, not all that assured on their promise. "I'm still holding you to it."

"You can hold everything to us," Luna responded, smiling. "Just know that you will, at most, feel humiliated once we get to that point."

Madoka thought she heard a sound of static running up to Sayaka in her head. Guess she was pretty hard to convince with the truth, but that, it couldn't be helped; who would price their fortunes at an outrageous price? It was for a good reason, yes, but alas, Madoka kept that to herself and continued to put up a slightly broken smile.

After bidding their farewells to each other, Luna and Rai, in good spirits from this gathering, then walked away, back to the Velvet Room to await any other events.

Flash!

Rank Up! Hermit Arcana Level 2!

Thou shalt be blessed further when creating Personae of the Hermit Arcana...

Well, there you go.

Luna and Rai left the party.

"They sure were odd children," Mami whispered, still curious on their behavior. "It's as if they knew quite a lot for their age..."

Ayame shrugged with indifference to their kind. "I guess that's the Velvet Room for you. I mean, Madoka does go there once in a while to set things up for us before we head out."

"I'm kinda jealous, actually," Sayaka smiled, yet her tone had a small amount of bitterness. "You guys get to go have fun fighting Witches and slaying Shadows, and the most I can do is take a swing at things before stepping back."

"You can always ask Kyubey for a contract," Madoka automatically answered, just before sighing on how possible it currently was. "Well, if we could find him, actually..."

"Yeah, that's something we still haven't figured out," the brown-haired girl muttered. He hasn't been around after that Witch attacked near the hospital, and it drove everyone clueless on his disappearance. Asking about his location was just a good question as wondering what Madoka was.

For now, they could only believe they would see him soon. And preferably with an answer.

"Still," Sayaka looked up in curiosity, "if we did run into him again, I guess it would be the best time to ask for it."

"Oh?" Mami curiously looked back. "Does this mean you made your decision? And by extension, you know what wish to make?"

"It's not like it's that easy," the blue-haired girl mumbled. "I mean, there's so many things to wish for, and I'd have a feeling I would have preferred another wish if I contracted. But then, the thing is, since Kyubey has the chance to disappear when he can, I think it'd be better to take those chances right away."

The pink-haired Persona-user carried the look of uncertainty. Wouldn't it be a bit risky if Sayaka was going in blindly? Maybe not too blind, since everyone had their own share of fights, but it's not like she could be trained everyday, what with Personae unable to be summoned in broad daylight or open moonlight. That, and Soul Gems do need Grief Seeds to keep them going, or they'd be powerless...

Before she could express her own concerns, it was Ayame that actually, and surprisingly, spoke up.

"Just a bit of an advice. People shouldn't be desperate to make a wish, you know. You can probably use a little more time to give your thoughts, if you want."

"Hm... that's true," Sayaka hummed for a moment. "Yeah, maybe I might need a day or two. I still don't see how it works, though."

"Well, you're getting bored just by sitting on the sidelines, aren't you?" Ayame chuckled. "Maybe you can make some wish about having a special ability to help you, or something."

"Huh. I never really thought of that..."

Suddenly, Sayaka brought up a possibly plausible idea.

"I got it, maybe I can wish for those Persona powers!"

Madoka shook her head, almost creating a disagreement from her friend until she saw why. Getting a Persona just wasn't that easy, and it would probably involve that other world, too. Plus, Kyubey had never heard of anything related to Personae for a while, it's possible he didn't even know how the system worked.

Sayaka hanged her head low as disappointment reigned her mood. That is, until she noticed something from Mami.

"You know, Mami-san, you never really tried to explain to me about how dangerous it was, or something," Sayaka said, clueless on how the blonde wasn't tiring her of the risks and gambles of a Magical Girl.

Mami then nodded. "If I tried to remind you of that, it would make me a bit of a hypocrite. Everyone else has already experienced fights in their times, so it would be rude of me to convince you otherwise, especially since Kaname-san is the one that needs our help, being a unique case."

Madoka pouted cutely. She wasn't that fragile like a princess! She could do just fine with the powers of the Wild Card!

...Not that she minded the assistance from her friends, oh no. Those Shadows tended to be ruthless, if the battle with the Rampage Drive was of any indication. Though she even wondered if there was any Magical Girl that could get through those defenses...

"Make sure you take it a bit seriously, though," Ayame gave a small smile, but Madoka noticed it was a little far from the 'fun smile' she bore. "Once you start partying like a freeloader, you're not gonna live to see the end of it."

"Bah, I get it, I get it," Sayaka sighed in annoyance, pushing away their concerns.

Madoka wondered for a moment if she really got it...

"Anyways," she continued, "I guess I'll take my leave too. I'm a bit late today on making my daily visit, so I'll be sure to see you tomorrow."

"A daily visit?" Ayame asked. By her side, Mami was curious on that statement as well. Upon noticing this, Madoka took the cue to answer for them.

"Sayaka usually visits Kamijou-kun in the hospital every day," she said before turning Sayaka. "Well, take care, Sayaka-chan."

Sayaka nodded with a grin. "Heh, yeah, see you all later."

And so, Sayaka darted to the hospital, her figure slowly disappearing in the horizon as her friends waved at her.

Sayaka left the party.

Once she left. Mami took the opportunity to ask something.

"Shirogane-san."

The brunette found herself staring at an intrigued gaze courtesy of Mami. Solemn and serious as well, but initially intrigued for the most part.

"When you mentioned that people shouldn't be desperate for a wish, did you mean...?"

Ayame frowned. Just her luck to be near someone capable of noticing the smallest tidbits. The two confused girls continuously looked back at her, awaiting her response. It wasn't hard for Madoka to notice how... displeased Ayame was.

"Oh, fine. I was giddy at the idea of being a Magical Girl. Got my wish granted, I screwed up, my wish somehow went bad, and now I lost it. Are you happy?"

...What kind of a question was that? What kind of a story was meant to make people happy? And that seemed like the short version of it!

"Um, Ayame-san-"

"No, Madoka," the brunette sighed as she placed a hand on the younger girl's head. "As much as I want to tell you, I have this feeling that you're better off knowing it later."

"Then I'm right assuming you know the dangers of a wish?" Mami sternly asked with hardened gaze.

"I wouldn't be this down if it wasn't that," Ayame shrugged.

An uncomfortable silence surrounded the atmosphere. But the brunette quickly caught wind of this, trying to move away from her tale.

"So!" She stretched her arms around as her chippy side cut through the air. "Mami," she turned to the blonde, bringing her eyes to open wide "any idea on where the next Witches are?"

The looks on their faces were beautiful.

"What?" And her grin came back full force too. "Whenever I'm upset about something, I have to let loose and take a whack at things to feel refreshed. It's like sobering up, but better! Not that I know anything about drinking, mind you."

Maybe Madoka's mother, Junko, would love to hear about Ayame's ideas. But on second thought...

"I think punching enemies with Alhena is considered expressing your anger than feeling 'refreshed', Ayame-san," Madoka quipped, a displeasing frown marked on her face.

"Meh," Ayame tried to avoid the topic as far as she could. "I need something that can get my mind out of the gutter, Madoka. If I can have fun punching things, then... hm?"

Suddenly, the brunette trailed off for a reason unbeknownst to Madoka and Mami. Her expression was one of confusion, as well as curiosity, very unlike the optimistic features she presented just now. Ayame then narrowed her gaze at a distance with a hand placed next to her forehead. There, at a distance she knew exactly not, was a figure running from building to building. She couldn't make out with the distance being too great, possibly well over a quarter of a mile, but that leaping figure she saw...

"Shirogane-san?" Mami entered into her thoughts, craving for the reason of her sudden silence.

Ayame turned back to the group with a grim mask on her. "I don't really know what I just saw, but it seems like Maria's on the move."

"Maria-san is...?" Madoka spoke, barely understanding the actions Ayame explained.

"So you saw her on the buildings?" Mami stared at the highest areas of the large, well-designed structures.

"That, I did," Ayame frowned. "Already I'm getting a bad feeling about this..."

"It's because she was supposed to be studying back home, yes?" The pink-haired girl correctly guessed. It didn't seem likely she would come to Mitakihara just for a random Witch, and if it was, she'd know that everyone else was in Mitakihara and would already take care of it. So whatever reason there was to force Maria out of her quiet time, it had to be important as every other event.

And this time, it probably wasn't pretty, either.

"Well this sucks."

Ayame then geared to Madoka, with a face that could be her most serious yet.

"Madoka, I want you to go home right away. Try not to stay too close from here, because you might be in danger."

"Huh?" Was her perplexed response. "Wait, what will happen to the three of you?"

"I see," Mami sounded out with a worrysome nod. "So it's a trap."

A trap? Madoka quietly shivered. A trap, but for what?

"If I didn't know any better," the brunette sighed, "I would have said for Maria to show up next to us instead of running around like a weirdo. But whatever that's got her like that, I'm thinking that there might be more to it if we were stupid and played along."

"And if that's the case," the yellow-haired girl spoke on, "then whoever is after Maria-san right now might only be doing so to lure Kaname-san in, as if we were convinced that everyone should help."

"Is it even possible that it's a trap?" Madoka asked. It might have been just something else entirely, but...

"It's just a possibility, yeah," Ayame shrugged. "I mean, the person scheming this might not even know that you have Persona powers, but it's still not a possibility I wanna roll with."

Madoka nodded in understanding, but her small pout showed how much worried she was. If it was such an obvious trap, then everyone was risking it if they took part, but on the other hand, Maria might not hold out for much longer if she actually had to run from the threat.

She wanted to be involved. Most of all, she wanted to help Maria. But if her Journey was as delicate as her life, then it wouldn't be great if she refused to stay put.

"Alright," the pink-haired girl muttered. "Just come back safely... alright?"

"Of course, Kaname-san," Mami warmly answered as she gave a pat on the shorter girl's head before turning to Ayame. "I don't know if you've noticed, but your Persona..."

"Oh yeah, I probably won't be able to bring him out if there's no Barrier," Ayame mumbled, the small problem she had before starting to become a nightmare. "I'll just stay in the shadows until then," she decided, rather disappointingly to boot. "I might find out what's going on, too, if I just watch."

"Good. Let's get going, then."

"Right. See you on the other side, Madoka."

And so Madoka waved off to the rest of her friends, taking off to confront whatever threat there was to her friends.

Mami and Ayame left the party.

...Where were these messages coming from, anyways?

At any rate, Madoka nodded to herself, it was certainly for the best if Mami and Ayame took care of what was happening to Maria. Well, Ayame might have some trouble unless she stayed hidden. Still, the holder of the Wild Card grimaced slightly about how this came to. Was it really just a trap that they somehow managed to see through? Or was there more to it? Yet, that answer would have to come some other time.

She didn't want to risk taking her chances. It was dangerous on diving into the unknown, she knew.

There was something strange about Ayame, too, and it was a lot more blatant than she let on. For all Madoka knew, though, it had something to do with the wish that she made. The wish that came from the contract with Kyubey, she supposed. What happened to that wish that caused Ayame to... feel so depressed about it? She said she lost it, but what did exactly mean?

Perhaps it had something to do with her nature as the Magician Arcana? Not that Reversed Magician from that fortune, of course.

And there was that other time where she mentioned she cried for quite a while before... whatever that happened to her. Maybe that event caused something to her wish? Or...

Madoka shook her head. She gained more information, but all it was is incomplete ideas, and those would only lead to theories that weren't concrete. Plus, she needed to go home for now if she didn't want involvement while she was powerless. For now, she'd have to ask Ayame about her problems later.

Within a simple spin on direction, Madoka headed off to her home. If her battles weren't happening now, maybe she could pour her remaining time into thinking about-

"Oh, Madoka!"

And just like that, her trip back to home just got delayed. It's as if she was supposed to expect things she normally wouldn't expect.

That childish voice seemed frightfully familiar, though. It wasn't a voice commonly heard often, but it definitely sounded like that she once heard no more than a day ago. Once Madoka turned around, the patch of white hair was all she needed to see to confirm her guess.

"Nagisa-chan?"

Finish!

Eh, don't worry. I'm actually pumped to get the action scenes done next chapter. Maybe it'll happen sooner than a month. But then again, I can't really make any promises. Who knows?

Maybe Fate does. Eh, oh well.

Now then...

"Now, you will rest."