Magia Record Story Agent Magica ~ Magireco x Lycoreco ~
Part 1
The event opens with Chisato Nishigiki narrating a sort of recap of LycoReco's premise - Japan is a country governed by strict laws, and its people are kind and gentle. Those who wish to disturb their harmony must not be allowed to exist - "Erase, eradicate, beautify." Make it so that, as far as the public can tell, there was no danger to begin with. Lycoris serves to that end.
But certainly, the life of a Lycoris agent isn't easy - this time, Chisato and Takina have to contend with the abrupt disappearance of the target they're tasked to protect. They're returned to the cafe, where Chisato calls up their boss, Kusunoki, explaining that yes - the girl simply vanished right before their very eyes. Like magic, Chisato notes. Takina grumbles that Chisato's watched too many movies, but Kusunoki confirms there was a strange sound in the footage they collected...
Just then, however, the line to Kusunoki cuts into static. Takina notes this isn't the first communication problem they've had, so Chisato proposes they ask Kurumi to see what's up. But here in the cafe, they find everyone's gone out shopping - this was supposed to be a simple mission, after all, so no need for them to be on duty. Takina tries calling them all back to base, even trying to use Kurumi's drone, but no dice - no signal is getting through.
Chisato figures there's nothing to it; might as well wait for things to clear up. But Takina isn't liking how things are adding up. First their target vanishes out of nowhere; now they can't contact anyone, not even Kurumi; and there's that strange clanging noise from outside. "It's like a zombie movie," Chisato remarks. After a pause, she figures they oughta get out there and see what's up. After all, they've done plenty of zombie apocalypse simulations!
But they open the door to the cafe, and they find it opens to a completely different place... Little do they realize, they're outside Mikazuki Villa now!
First move again is to try calling everyone, even Fuki, but again, absolutely nothing gets through, and now they find themselves strangers in a strange land besides. Chisato jokes about this being one of those isekai stories, but Takina is far more wary, fearing this may be some bizarre terror attack. "Well then, let's go for a stroll!" Chisato proposes. "...To gather intel on the situation, correct?" "Of course!"
But as they explore the city, they find no familiar landmarks, namely not the radio tower from LycoReco. Their maps seem bugged out, but name this city as Kamihama, a place neither have heard of. At this point, Chisato wonders if this is some elaborate VR simulation by Kurumi; Takina says of course not, they don't have any VR equipment on, but Chisato keeps kidding around - "It's too modern to be an isekai story! They should've added some fantasy elements to make things easier to understand---"
They both snap to attention when they hear a shriek. Another world or not, their duty is to help others, so they spring into action, finding a woman attempting suicide by jumping off a roof. Before they can act, however, a certain hammer-wielding magical girl suddenly whooshes by them - one second she's on the ground; next second she's on the roof! The girls quickly surmise the interloper is no ordinary person, but agree to question her later - especially when they're all suddenly taken into the Rooftop Witch's Labyrinth.
Chisato takes it all in stride - until the monster within starts attacking, that is! Takina opens fire, only to find that conventional weapons are useless. Chisato manages to dodge the attacks, but just barely; she explains that she can read their movements to an extent, but the monster moves so bizarrely from humans and attack at such a range that she can't rely on her talent. She held the dim hope that all of this was a strange dream...but now things are leaning towards being real. It's a bad situation either way.
Isekai or not, Takina says they need to pull out - but the monsters won't let them. But before things get really bad, the girl from earlier suddenly shows up again...in a new outfit?
With bellow and a ka-blam, Felicia swiftly takes down the Witch! Everything settles back to normal, and she double-checks to make sure everything's okay with the woman. She turns back to her civilian outfit, remarking she's pretty sure she saw another meguca around... But she's not here now. So she goes to check on the other two civilians...
Felicia's surprised that Chisato and Takina are still conscious. After a deep sigh, Chisato marvels over Felicia - their guns didn't work, but Felicia took that thing out like it was nothing! She's amazing! Felicia is taken aback, but Chisato keeps going - "You saved us in the nick of time! You're a superhero!" Felicia is chuffed, but explains she ain't no superhero, she's a magi---ack! Uh, yeah, she's totally a superhero! A real live superhero! [Note - they just use "hero" in katakana, but "superhero" gets the connotation here a bit better]
"Well then, hero," Chisato declares, "we need your help!" Felicia's game - once they help the Witch's victim out of here, she'll hear what they have to say.
Chisato recaps the situation in narration - the moment they stepped foot outside Cafe Lycoreco, they found themselves isekaied to a new world, beset by a monster! But a dashing brave hero swooped in and saved them from great peril! Felicia recognizes "isekai" as those comics about people getting taken into a new world; Chisato says yeah, she's pretty sure she and Takina come from a different world than this.
For now, they oughta retrace their steps to this "Lycoreco" or whatever they've been talking about. As they walk, they chat - who was Felicia chatting with before she met ChisaTaki? Felicia explains, uhhh, basically, like, a fairy or yokai or something, you know? Chisato jokes - "The hero's sidekick!" and Felicia rolls with that. They round the corner, and Felicia recognizes this as the same route back to Mikazuki Villa; when asked, she explains its where she and her friends live - the hero's hideout, Chisato declares with delight! She'd love to check it out later, but for now, they gotta check out the cafe...
Once they arrive, Felicia is baffled. While it looks like a huge mansion, Chisato assures her, once they enter, the inside is actually Cafe Lycoreco. Felicia barges inside, stunned when she indeed finds the cafe; then charges back outside, verifying that the outside is still Mikazuki, and when she walks back in to find the cafe still there... She steps out, looking totally crushed. She's silent for a second, then bursts into tears - "Mikazuki is gone! Gone!!!"
Chisato panics - look, she's gone and made their hero cry! Takina is at a loss for what to do as well, but thankfully, a voice cuts into the scene - "Oh, Felicia! You're home early?" Indeed, the other Mikazuki girls arrive on the scene. Ui frets over Felicia wailing; Yachiyo decides they should all go inside to not cause a commotion, but Tsuruno notices the two strangers among them.
Chisato explains they come in peace; Felicia is the hero who saved their lives, so these new girls must be...the hero's guardians?
But this is way more serious than that, Felicia shouts! Mikazuki is gone!! Indeed, after ducking in and out, the megucas confirm that it's completely different on the inside. But what does this mean, Ui wonders? Where are we gonna sleep, Felicia asks? And Tsuruno panics - she left her homework inside the old Mikazuki!! For now, Yachiyo tells them to pull it together - they need to figure out what's going on.
Chisato asks if she can come inside, given that this is technically and not technically their house? Actually, Yachiyo wants to move them elsewhere, to a place that may be a more appropriate venue.. The Coordinator's Shop!
Mitama, with Kanagi, cheerily greets the gang as they come in, though the girls all look morose. Mitama's surprised to see two new faces in the bunch. With a nervous laugh, Chisato jumps right into it - they're visitors who've been isekaied, you see. She gives Mitama and Kanagi the lowdown, and Kanagi is left baffled - this seems like a situation straight from a comic book. And Mitama knows these girls aren't megucas; they don't respond to magic in any way, nor did they respond to Kanagi's telepathy.
Here, we confirm this event takes place shortly after Arc 1, before Arc 2 - Yachiyo, via telepathy to Kanagi and Mitama, explains they've been fighting the Wings of Magius until very recently. Yachiyo can't help but be wary. Felicia jumps in, pointing out that Chisato can't see Sana, and as MitaKana just said, neither are Magical Girls. But they were able to see and survive that Witch, though - they ain't magical girls, but sure are tough enough to be one. Iroha remarks she can't be a normal human, then, and Felicia adds that oh yeah, they had guns, but they didn't work too well - leaving Yachiyo *very* concerned.
Meanwhile, Takina and Chisato are awkwardly stuck on the outside of this telepathic conversation, noting that everyone just went dead silent all of a sudden. Takina suspects these girls might've been responsible for whatever's going on here, perhaps bring ChisaTaki back to their hideout to force them to do their bidding. Chisato counters that Felicia saved their lives, but Takina says it's still too early to trust them. Well, hey - Chisato tries seeing this from a different angle - maybe this is actually some secret heroic meeting spot...
Kanagi suddenly speaks up, asking them to introduce themselves. Chisato introduces herself as the signboard girl for Cafe Lycoreco, and Takina as a fellow employee. Kanagi transforms, and with a pulse of light, confirms that yes, their words are true. Takina flares up, asking just what Kanagi thinks she's doing; Kanagi says she read their minds, and inquires about Lycoris, putting Takina on red alert. "I'm not one to easily trust a person with a gun," Kanagi continues. Takina grits her teeth, and then in a swift move, surprises Kanagi by dropping her with a wire attack.
Chisato shouts, asking what Takina is even doing; Takina says she knows about Lycoris, and therefore cannot be allowed to walk free! But Yachiyo bursts in between them while the others surround them before Takina even had time to notice or react. Chisato's like "Maybe we should surrender?" and Takina concedes that they're all quite skilled... Yachiyo says they're ones to talk - who goes around carrying guns and restraining tools? Takina and Yachiyo stare each other down in intense silence...
Until Chisato barks out, "H-hold it right there!" Yachiyo swerves on Chisato, asking what she's up to; Chisato quickly explains they don't mean any harm! Jeez, everyone's taking this way too seriously...and jumping to conclusions way too fast. "I have to be because you aren't," Takina snaps. Chisato asks her to bite her tongue for now before she really gets them into a mess.
Chisato desperately tries to salvage things - they really did enter this world out of the blue, and Lycoris is ("probably!") not an evil organization!
Kanagi, back on her feet, gives them another scan, confirming yes, Chisato seems to be telling the truth. Yachiyo says alright, let's start over - first, tell us about Lycoris. After a calculating silence, Chisato remarks that Yachiyo and the others have pretty big secrets of their own. Superheroes or not, they suddenly came at ChisaTaki using mindreading and other strange powers. This conversation needs to be on equal terms, so if she's going to tell them their secrets, they need to do the same in turn.
As cautious as she is, Yachiyo decides alright, she'll tell them their secret. She transforms into her meguca form and back, saying they aren't superheroes, but rather Magical Girls, girls who bear the mission of fighting Witches in exchange for a single wish. Kanagi cuts in, saying her personal magic is mindreading. Takina thinks back to the monster from earlier - was that a Witch? Right, Iroha says, and they're responsible for crimes and tragic incidents. To prevent their occurrence, they must slay Witches - but they keep it all a secret from muggles.
Chisato remarks they're all a lot more alike than you would assume. But when it's her turn to talk, she's hesitant - "I feel like you guys might be in danger if you learn about us..." Kanagi says she's happy to use her magic again if they won't talk; Chisato's like okay, no, that has room for embarrassment! But yeah - they just revealed their secret, and they did save her and Takina's life, so... Takina isn't very enthused about this, but Chisato smiles, saying it'll be fine.
So yeah, Chisato and Takina are Lycoris agents! Takina explains further saying Lycoris is a section of the DA, an independent security organization, tasked with security and protecting the public order, stopping incidents before they occur and secretly disposing of criminals and terrorists.
Chisato stares at Takina with a wide-eyed look - did Takina really have to go into the DA and all that...? She couldn't have fibbed or something? Takina's like "What? You said it was okay to tell! Why didn't you say something?!" Chisato is sheepish, but waves it all off with a grin. She finishes it with the little nutshelll about Lycoris working to ensure that people believe they live in peace and security.
The megucas digest this bombshell - agents of a secret organization to protect the country, preventing crimes before they occur, gunslinging in school uniforms... Wild stuff! Takina explains that the school uniforms are a kind of urban camouflage, least likely to draw attention. Felicia's loving all this - "It's just like in the movies!" Chisato's like "I know, right?!"
She then explains that the cafe is for individual clients, though - a place for people in need, whatever the problem may be! From being daycare workers to foreign language teachers to bodyguards - both a branch of the DA, but also a free agent in certain ways. But! She implores them all to keep everything a secret - while the DA isn't evil, they're very dangerous.
Yachiyo agrees. With that, however, they're all on the same page. Takina apologizes for attacking Kanagi just then, while Kanagi apologizes for invading their minds too. Mitama explains that Kanagi had jumped the gun after learning they had guns, and Chisato can't blame her there. So with ChisaTaki coming from another reality...presumably, they want to go back? That's right, Takina says. And the Mikazuki girls want to be able to go home too - so why don't they all work together to get their place back?
Takina and Chisato agree, and with that, a new teamup is born. They all introduce themselves again to start fresh, ready to work together!
So now that the alliance has been born...what do they do now? First, the Mikazuki girls ask ChisaTaki to go over the events leading to their arrival here. Takina explains that just a few hours ago, they were tasked to protect a girl being held hostage by terrorists. They arrived on the scene to find other Lycoris agents had eliminated the terrorist mastermind; their job now was to guard the girl herself. But during their mission, the girl suddenly vanished into nowhere. Mission failed; they decided to regroup at the cafe and called their boss, but the line suddenly went dead during the call. When they left the cafe, they were in this new world.
Takina, wracking her brain for any clues as to what happened, says there was one other strange thing - the target was shrieking and screaming when they arrived at the scene. Iroha figures she must've been scared, but Chisato and Takina aren't so sure. Chisato thinks the girl might've been freaking out over seeing people getting killed, but Takina remarks the girl had been held hostage for a long time - she may have developed affection for the terrorist. Stockholm Syndrome, as Tsuruno points out. Anticipating this, Takina and Chisato had wanted to arrive at the scene first to take the mastermind into custody, but alas.
Chisato wonders - can magic be used to make people vanish like that? Is it common here? Kanagi says it's not impossible. After all, these girls just suddenly showed up here out of nowhere... Mitama says she'll try to determine if there's anything here that could've caused it.
After Tsuruno asks, ChisaTaki confirm that they still can't get any calls or signals through, not even the drone! Ui marvels over the cool tech, and Chisato explains their tech girl should be able to monitor them through this, but nope, nada. Mitama speculates that this may be the work of a Witch...or a Rumor. Tsuruno explains about the Uwasas - they're supposed to be gone now, but some may still remain. And when it comes to Rumors...who to ask but Nemu?
And Touka knows all about tech, too, and they're probably with Mifuyu right now. Chisato asks, and the girls explain that Touka and Nemu are a pair of geniuses, and Mifuyu is someone who worked with Yachiyo in the past. They're likely at the radio telescope, and start on their way, but as they walk, Iroha and Yachiyo spot a long-haired purple NPC girl, and their spirits drop.
Felicia asks what's up, and IroYachi explain via telepathy that they'd saved this girl from a Labyrinth just outside of Kamihama a few days ago. The NPC isn't a meguca, but her friend (a short-haired blue NPC girl) was... In a flashback, we see the blue NPC had Witched out, leaving the purple girl screaming over her senpai. By the time they arrived on the scene, there was nothing that could be done - and since it was outside of Kamihama, there was no doppel to save the senpai.
Takina, looking wide-eyed and concerned, asks what's up - and points out that everyone seems to have a habit of suddenly going dead silent all the time. Yachiyo, stone-faced, says it's nothing, and they all move on.
We cut to the radio telescope HQ, where the girls have explained the situation. Nemu says such otherworldly matters are Touka's domain, but Touka says they ought to be more suspicious of Nemu's Uwasas. Nemu says she doesn't recall any Rumor that would create this scenario - but she'll investigate to be sure. Touka proposes they begin with investigating Mikazuki itself.
There, Nemu verifies there is no Uwasa in play, and Cafe Lycoreco is indeed inside Mikazuki. Touka marvels in delight over the flagrant violation of basic laws of physics! They then turn to Kurumi's drone - Touka asks if she can get this working again, will she be able to communicate with this "Kurumi?" Chisato can't be sure, but it's worth a shot. With that, Touka makes her signature mischievous giggle; Yachiyo warns her not to do anything dangerous. Touka retorts that changing between worlds is already as dangerous as it gets!
Touka confirms with Nemu that the latter can't create anymore Rumors...but she can modify ones in existence. Nemu remarks it's not impossible, depending on how far they take it, but - no. But Touka says they have a certain Rumor kept in storage, don't they? The Rumor of the Otherworldly Phone Call? (I'm imagining something like the Loneliness Engine short story from invisiblegames, ha) Nemu smiles - yes, that Rumor may work in this case...
With a bit of rewriting, the drone becomes a phone to the beyond! Chisato activates the drone, and they hear Kurumi - "We finally connected!" She quickly shouts for ChisaTaki - "Cafe Lycoreco's in trouble!" Chisato cries out that they're in another world - and Kurumi, of course, doesn't believe it. Whatever - what's up with the cafe? Kurumi sends over video footage, revealing Mikazuki's interior - indeed, the cafe and the villa's interiors have swapped places!
Chisato explains their end of things, and Kurumi realizes the depth of how screwed up things are. Can things get any worse? Either way, Touka giggles, and takes over the call - "Alright, genius hacker - let's have a discussion!"
Kurumi is forced to reckon with the bombshell of new world, not wanting to believe it. Touka says she has to - there's no Kamihama City in Lycorecoland after all. She's disappointed that this so-called "genius" has such a limited way of viewing things... Kurumi remarks she's more about mindgames; a different brand of genius than Touka is, ha. But indeed, there are so many bizarre things and differences in both worlds that she has to admit that the isekai theory is true. Even despite all of Chisato's jokes, she's actually genuinely surprised that it well and truly is an isekai case...
Still, with Kurumi, Touka, and Nemu on the case, they'll try finagling a solution to swapping everything and everyone back in their proper place. So that leaves ChisaTaki free to be normal students in this world, with no Lycoris to report to! Takina quickly dampens Chisato's parade, though - Nemu tasks everyone to canvass the city for any stray Uwasas that may be causing mishaps, and ChisaTaki should help.
Still, Chisato says without the DA breathing down the back of their necks, they can at least enjoy themselves a little - like going undercover at school! Takina chides her for playing around, but actually, Nemu says that's a viable plan for investigating Uwasas. She explains that Uwasas and young people go hand-in-hand - but how do they get the girls to infiltrate the school...? Kurumi says she's got this - she'll have them enrolled into Iroha's school for a few days. Nemu is taken aback - what can Kurumi do here? Kurumi points out again that she's a different brand of genius than TouNemu - just leave things to her. And don't worry, no one will be harmed...
And indeed she succeeds! Chisato is over the moon about getting to live an ordinary school life! They all head to school together, with ChisaTaki in Iroha's class, while Ui and Tsuruno head off to their own. Chisato's like "Alright, I'm looking forward to the high school life!" With some hesitation, Iroha points out that actually, this is a middle school class... Chisato's thrown that Iroha's isn't actually in high school, and then that she won't be getting the fun and free budding high schooler experience - but Kurumi says hey, Chisato's about the same mental age as a middle schooler, so it works.
At this, Takina wonders - can Kurumi see this? Yeah, Kurumi verifies over the communicator, but since they don't expect anything too crazy for now, she'll mainly be working with TouNemu unless they need her. In the meantime, Chisato asks, how are the others holding up? Kurumi doesn't know if it's the lack of coffee or the absence of ChisaTaki, but they aren't as chipper as usual... And the regulars are disappointed that the cafe's closed, too. The manga artist can't get her pages done! And Mika is trying to run interference about the whole "alternate realities" thing from the DA, so they gotta get things sorted out quick!
Iroha asks about Mika; Chisato explains Mika is their manager and guardian in a way. She sounds much like Yachiyo to Mikazuki, Iroha remarks. Chisato explains that despite the feminine name, Mika is actually an old man - Iroha is surprised; she assumed Mika was a woman! But whatever, they got class to attend - after Chisato convinces everyone to drop the honorifics, the undercover operation begins
In class, ChisaTaki introduces themselves as transfer students - and Chisato loooooves gossip and anything to do with rumors, so feel free to chat with her about anything related to that! A little while later in the classroom, Rena comes over, introduced as a fellow meguca. She's got a bone to pick against Uwasas, that's for sure. Speaking with Iroha, we find that Tsuruno and the other older megucas are asking around the high school; Iroha and friends will be investigating the middle school. Chisato latches right onto Rena and says alright, you and I'll start asking around, and poor Rena is zipped away...
From here, we get a cute montage of various Kamihama Affiliated students - the Acorns point out, aren't the "Rumors" supposed to be gone? So are they just talking about normal rumors? That mentioned, Seika's heard something like that... Ren's heard about a rumor outside of Kamihama City from Rika and the others; Emiri's like yeah, there's a rumor among megucas about if you do some certain steps, you can enter another world! Crazy, right? Kako, specifically, says if you open a door on a certain rooftop in twilight, the door will lead to another world...but that can't really be true, right?
As the girls leave school that evening, they run into Momoko - we learn that while Chisato was whirling Rena around the school, Rena snatched up Kaede along the way and dragged har around with them! Momoko's happy to be introduced to ChisaTaki in person, and they seem to know about Momoko too. That settled, they pool together their findings - the rumor of a rooftop that leads to a new world. It *could* be the one they came from, but...they don't know that for certain. Plus, the rumor is something occuring outside of Kamihama. And they can't exactly try every single door on every single rooftop, so...
Chisato proposes they conduct some after-school canvassing (and a bit of sightseeing along the way)! Takina says Chisato's only saying that because it's something she wants to do, and Chisato doesn't deny it - "You gotta put the things you wanna do first, after all!" and giggles. Takina knows there's nothing she can do when Chisato gets like this.
More seriously, Chisato says Iroha and the others don't need to busy themselves with this. Iroha isn't so sure - won't they get lost? Chisato says they've got Kurumi and drone to help navigate! But Iroha points out the threat of Witches... Tsuruno says she's coming! Takina says she doesn't want everyone to be dragged along by Chisato's whims, but Kaede points out that it'll make talking to Magical Girls easier, especially if they're talking about "Rumors."
Takina admits they have a point, so Tsuruno will be joining them, while the others will talk with Nemu about any relevant Uwasas. While the rumor is set outside of Kamihama, it doesn't hurt to cover their bases. But before the trio takes off, Iroha warns them - if they end up leaving Kamihama's borders, there's something they need to keep in mind... (We get the rest of this conversation later)
A few days pass. We learn that none of Nemu's Rumors are relevant to what's being talked about here, so that's a dead end. But as they look into things with Tsuruno, they all have fun along the way - visiting an arcade with Rena and friends, eating at Banbanzai and Kanagi's maid cafe, meeting all sorts of new pals (as seen in ChisaTaki's MGSes), and enjoying the isekai student life!
But, as Takina cuts off the narration - they're not just here to play around. This time, they're here at Sankyo ward's school where they bump into Natsuki, asking about the Rumor. Natsuki remarks while she doesn't know if it's another world, she *did* wander into someplace strange not too long ago... She gives them the location on their map, and Tsuruno knows just the way - a breakthrough at last! Tsuruno asks Natsuki if there was anything else unusual there. Natsuki saw two magical girls she didn't recognize - one with short hair, another with long - but it stands that there would be magical girls in other cities.
After failing to uncover anymore leads, the trio decides to head to the rooftop outside of Kamihama that Natsuki marked. Tsurunos sent word, and the others will be meeting them there as well. But before they can get to work, Tsuruno senses a Witch nearby. She tells ChisaTaki to stay put, locates the Witch, and transforms. Takina asks if she'll be alright alone, and Tsuruno says of course - she's the Mightiest Magical Girl! She runs off, leaving ChisaTaki alone.
Chisato just can't get over how cool megucas are, while Takina has her doubts about the wacky outfits. And that's when they hear an all-too familiar voice... "Are you interested in Magical Girls?" Takina is on alert - a talking plushie?! But no - Kyubey greets Chisato and Takina by their full names, and gives him the pitch to become a magical girl. There's a little pause...and then a resounding "No way!!" They've heard all about him from Iroha and the gang, and they won't fall for this!
This is when we cut back to the end of the previous episode - Iroha, Tsuruno, and Momoko warned Chisato and Takina that if they encounter a white tanuki-esque creature named Kyubey, do not make a contract with him. If they encounter a similar one who says "Mokyu" all the time, they're a good buddy; but the one who talks cannot be trusted! Just say no and leave.
So that's what they're doing now! Kyubey says well, he can't force them to do anything, and takes his leave. Chisato sighs with relief - she didn't expect to actually meet him. But still...they didn't get an explanation as to *why* they should avoid his offer. Like, a wish comes true AND you get to be a rad magical girl - what's wrong with that?! But, as Takina knows full well - there's a darker side to every pure and good front.
Soon enough, Tsuruno returns and they meet with the meguca squad, and move out to the rooftop. Along the way, they explain how they met Kyubey, who waited until Tsuruno was gone before approaching the girls. Just goes to show that you need to always be on your guard, Yachiyo says. After a pause, Chisato asks, so why exactly can't they contract? Iroha scrambles for something to say, but thankfully, they come upon their location just in time.
They review what the rumor instructs - enter this ruined building at twilight. Ascend to the rooftop in silence, close your eyes, open the door to the roof, and you'll enter another world. Ui says it's a surprisingly simple rumor - she thought it would be more complicated than that. But it'd explain why people can unwittingly and unluckily find themselves taken elsewhere... In any case, the megucas gear up and everyone moves to activate the rumor. They open the door, and...
They find themselves in a strange, misty domain (the bg is used is the white smoky background where Doppels are unlocked). It's a strange world, Takina says, looking concerned...but she finds her determination, saying they know now that the rumor is true - and they can no longer contact Kurumi again, just like when they first arrived in Kamihama. Chisato wonders how Takina can be so calm in a situation like this, but Yachiyo hushes them both - someone is here. They can sense she's a fellow meguca, but...Iroha gets a shell-shocked look on her face. It's the dead NPC-chan, looking none too pleased with their presence! The one who's supposed to be the Witch! And...the girl that Chisato and Takina were tasked to protect!!
Wait - they *all* know her?! There's someone who exists in both worlds?! There's no way that girl could come back from Witching out, so it can't be her, but...could she have been isekaied along with ChisaTaki?
But wait, Chisato asks them to back up - she understands that megucas are heroes and Witches are villains...but this girl became a Witch? That's when she gets the Witch bomb, and the real reason why they didn't want ChisaTaki contracting. Chisato - I think for the first time in this event - looks devastated, and Takina isn't happy about it either, but...they can talk about that later. For now, they need to carry out their miission.
ChisaTaki approach their target, asking for her to join them. They haven't figured out a way back to their world yet, but...they'll find something. For now, why doesn't she tell them about how she ended up here? But the girl just says "I'm not coming", and attacks (I think with a gun but I didn't hear the sound effect, ha).
The magical girls are started, but - Chisato somehow dodged! Tsuruno's not willing to push Chisato's luck and gets to work, but they hear someone say, "I won't let you." With that, all of the megucas suddenly vanish; ChisaTaki are separated. Now alone, the NPC intones, "I won't need your help. There's no place for me to return. You took it from me - you took my place, my person away---! So that's why I ripped you away from yours." ChisaTaki stammer, and the girl continues, saying she was right to spark that rumor. She'd made a bit of a miscalculation when they got Magical Girls on their side, but even so, they all believed the rumors and came out to NPC-chan's base...not knowing this would be their grave. "This is where you will die, Lycoris."
On the outside, we find the megucas have been expelled back to the real world, at the base of the building. Felicia's confused as to what happened, Iroha explains while the NPC looks just like the girl who Witched out, she seems to actually be from Lycorecoland. And she sure looked pissed off when she saw ChisaTaki... We get a flashback-reminder to the scene about the target's potential Stockholm Syndrome, and how fellow Lycoris agents took out the terrorist mastermind. In the present, it stands that NPC-chan would have a grudge against Lycoris agents...
Even with guns, ChisaTaki are at a disadvantage against a magical girl - and Felicia realizes, with that voice that didn't recognize before getting expelled, that there's actually gonna be *two* magical girls they'll be fighting... But Felicia realizes something...while the rest of them were kicked out of the domain, Sana isn't here among them...
We cut back to ChisaTaki, who know the score - they can't blame her for wanting their blood. So if they want to keep her safe and fulfill their mission, they just gotta step up their game in turn! Takina warns that the girl is armed, and verifies with Chisato - "Do you value your life?" "Of course!" "...Very well." She opens fire, forcing the enemy meguca to dodge. Chisato calls out to the meguca as they move, saying "You're still so young! You definitely have what it takes to join Lycoris!" But of course, why would NPC-chan want anything to do with them?! True enough, Chisato calls, but she's got one huge weak point - she's too passionate.
With that, she abruptly corners meguca-chan, and asks her again to leave quietly so they can all go home together. But the mysterious voice cuts in again - "Don't interrupt." A meguca NPC (purple NPC-chan, but she's using the generic Bo Peep magical girl Live2D) cuts in between Chisato and blue-chan - "Are you alright, Senpai?!" "Yes, thankfully!" and blue-chan transforms into her meguca form as well.
Chisato recognizes the duo now - they must've been the meguca partners Iroha had seen. Purple-chan admits she's surprised Chisato knows them, but hey, they know her too. Prepare for battle.
In a quick flashback to the initial Witch battle with ChisaTaki and Felicia, we're reminded that Felicia had felt another magical girl in the area, who was gone before she checked on ChisaTaki... That was purple-chan, who had a chance to see Chisato in action, and thus has a counter: She unleashes a blast of light to blind Chisato, eliminating her preturnatural talent to dodge.
Purple-chan whales away at Chisato while Takina desperately contends with blue-chan (meaning you have Red vs Red and Blue vs Blue, ha) - who's not attacking to kill, but seems to be restraining Takina, leaving her unable to back up Chisato. Chisato is downed, and purple-chan steps back, saying "It's time to end this, Senpai." With a flash of light, blue-chan tells Takina, "You ought to know the pain of loss." She turns to her kohai, praising her for her work - and now it's over. With that, they both vanish into the fog.
After a few seconds of processing things, Takina runs to Chisato's side, shouting her name. Chisato breathes out "...Takina...", drenched in blood, before managing out a weak laugh - "That's...bad... A Magical Girl, huh...?" and falls unconscious.
The world fades, and they find themselves on the now-ordinary rooftop. Takina is in tears, huddled over Chisato's body, still uttering her name, and finally... "Somebody... Please... Please save Chisato..."
And that's just what Kyubey has been waiting to hear.
Kyubey greets Takina - looks like Chisato is in a bad spot. She can wish to save Chisato, in exchange for becoming a Magical Girl. Takina adds that she'll be fated to become a Witch someday as well...but yes. She'll take the contract, and makes her wish: "Please save Chisato."
Takina is engulfed in light, and when she comes to, she's a Magical Girl now, dressed up in her swanky new outfit - and Chisato is still unconscious...but alive. Sleeping like a baby with a smile on her face. Takina smiles at the sight, before a voice pipes up - Takina snaps into guard mode, and Sana sheepishly greets herself. She notes, sadly, that Takina contracted after all... And explains that she was kept in reserve as a contingency plan. At this, we cut to the meguca's POV in a flashback - Sana hadn't been showing up in this event so far since ChisaTaki couldn't see her, but now, we can see that Sana agreed via telepathy to stay in reserve, waiting at the base of the building, in the off-chance this really was an actual Uwasa with nasty powers (ex. freezing movements) and they needed backup.
In the present, Sana explains she's only visible to other magical girls - she says you could consider her a fairy or yokai of sorts. That triggers Takina's memory - so *Sana* was who Felicia had been talking to when they all first met! In that case, Takina has a favor to ask of Sana...
Gallery
Café LycoReco
Kurumi's drone
A coupon for Café LycoReco
The girl who Takina and Chisato were assigned to protect before she mysteriously disappeared, after she becomes a magical girl. Referred to as Girl L.
The girl who made a wish that resulted in Girl L being summoned to the world of Magia Record. Referred to as Girl M.
