A cabin sits just on the edge of Mitakihara, hidden from the rest of the city, and its usual flavors of chaos. On the horizon, a highway, or what remains of one is visible, even more collapsed than it was a month ago. The last visitor to this place came with the clarion call of a motorcycle’s engine. There would be no such announcement for today’s visitor. Two soft knocks on the front door, then another two, a bit louder, after the initial call is refused. On the outside of the door, the Oracle stands, hood lowered over her eyes, but her visage gives her away completely.

Still, however, no reply seems to come from the other side. The Oracle seems undeterred, and cautiously turns the knob. Surprisingly, it opens without any restraint. With absolute hesitation, Cecilia Ambrosi enters the cabin, looking around for any signs of life. All she gets however, is the clicking of a gun and the cold steel of its barrel pressing against the back of her head.

???: Leave. For God’s sake, just leave.

Cecilia: …That you continue to labor under the delusion that a bullet to the head is sufficient to kill a Magical Girl is astounding. As is your assumption that I cannot dodge bullets at this range in the first place.

Seia: (The tapping of a cane comes from deeper inside the cabin, and Seia appears in a doorway) Um… is someone there? Do you have a gun out? Please don’t. I have family here. 

Cecilia: The intruder is unarmed. Don’t worry. …Anisa, don’t you think it’s time you lowered the gun?

Anisa: (with a sigh, she lowers the gun) … Just go away. There’s nothing for you here.

Cecilia: If that were true, I would not have come.

Anisa: Or perhaps you’re mistaken. As you tend to be.

Cecilia: My vision is clear enough right now. For example, I know that Yamano-san’s family is not actually here in this cabin. They are safe, outside of Mitakihara.

Seia: Hmm. Yeah, I thought I hadn’t heard them around for a while. 

Cecilia: (her tone softens considerably) They’re in Osaka. Your father had run into a business partner who, conveniently enough, needed help with a client of his, so he offered to board your family while they work.

Seia: Oh no, sorry, you don’t need to explain. I was kidding. I know what’s up. They let me stay behind once I explained it was related to Aoi and there were things I needed to do. 

Cecilia: (she says nothing at first, though she gives Seia a gentle nod, with a little noise of affirmation to add to the acknowledgement. Afterwards, she takes two steps away from Anisa before turning to face her) The Virtuoso is awakening soon. It is the perfect time for us to speak, face to face. You certainly waited long enough, Anisa.

Anisa: If society at large found out I’m still alive, things would never be able to go back to normal ever again. I have lost my powers, Oracle. I’m just an ordinary citizen trying to survive out here now.

Cecilia: I don’t disagree, entirely. Yet, that is not the whole truth. You have not spent much time trying to reclaim those powers, have you? Indeed, you fear them. You fear what you were, Third Angel.

Anisa: Trying? You assume free will where there is none. I can’t afford to feel anything towards these powers, one way or another.

Cecilia: I never knew you to be such a defeatist coward, Anisa Nobunaga. Not when you ran the Bureau, anyway.

Anisa: You never knew me at all, Oracle. Nor do you understand me. I… see what I’ve been doing wrong all this time. My involvement in this city’s various ordeals is exactly what caused these incidents to escalate in the first place. It was the Bureau that raised Katherine Esposito from her slumber. It was the Bureau that drove Aoi Hikarizaka to become an international terrorist. And the Bureau was me. It only ever existed to facilitate my punishment. I know what the city has been going through. But it does not need me. It cannot need me. If I got involved right now, Mitakihara would become the Hierarchy’s playground once again. I care too much to have this city become a game board and its people pawns. The only way to win this game is not to play.

Cecilia: If only you had heeded what everyone had said back then. So much could have been avoided. 

Anisa: You have no right to talk to me like that—

Cecilia: But now, you commit to the same mistake. It wasn’t your involvement that caused those tragedies. It was your refusal to listen to those around you. It was your stubborn nature of assuming that you, and you alone are correct. 

Anisa: How many times do I need to explain that—

Cecilia: Even with your admitted half-knowledge from your captors, you insist that your path is the only one. This city does need you, Anisa Nobunaga. Whether the strength of a Malefica, or the wisdom of a government Director. Staying out here does nothing beneficial for anyone. I can see now… many more will die. How much more blood shall you keep upon your hands?

Anisa: How dare you talk about responsibility and free will when you of all people should know better? I don’t need to hear your reproach, Oracle. I know what I am. I don’t need the likes of you to remind me. Stop wasting your time. No matter what, I will disappoint you. I will fail. That is my sole reason for existence. Where do you find the gall to inflict me upon Mitakihara yet again?

Cecilia: Your inaction is what is being inflicted. Do you even know the might of our enemy? I fought one of these Balancers directly. I, a Malefica, did not succeed. We need might, to be sure. But we need more than that. You, Anisa, are gifted enough in both to make a difference. God damn it, isn’t that what you want?!

Anisa: Don’t you get it? I will not make a difference. I cannot make a difference! I will scrape by, in spite of myself, and it will not matter, because in the end I will fall short. And the one who ends it all? The one I will fail to stop? It will be me. My despair will not arise from the end of the world. It will be the end of the world. That is what they want. That is what they have wanted all this time. My heresy has condemned us all. It is a fact of nature, and nature always wins. Not even the Incubators can do more than delay the inevitable.

Cecilia: You aren’t so sure of that, though. Once upon a time, you called me the catalyst for the apocalypse. You dedicated inordinate amounts of resources to track me down, for one reason or another. Consider that this, too, is their game. To have you wait in silence and watch the world around you crumble into dust. That is a fitting punishment. But as Yui would say, why not rebel against those who are above you? You are damned regardless, are you not?

Anisa: Don’t you get it? I will rebel only at their discretion! That is why I foresaw your return being the beginning of the end! Because here you are, inviting it in—

Toi: (she steps in from the cabin’s small kitchen) Anisa! Stop it, this is pointless!

Anisa: Of course it is! It’s all pointless. Why don’t you understand? How many times do I have to tell you that no matter what I do, it’s all part of their design? You think life is like a fantasy manga, or a video game? You think we can be in control of fate if we just believe hard enough? You think there is power in being a director? Being a Conductor? Being Malefica? We are specks! Cogs in an uncaring machine. Puppets to the Incubators who themselves are just pawns to forces beyond our imagination!

Toi: That’s not true! You know it! We’ve defied them before and we can do it again!

Cecilia: (during the conversation, Cecilia tenses more and more. Her left hand balls into a fist, and her teeth are clenched. After a moment of silence, Cecilia brings the back of her right hand across Anisa’s cheek) You impudent nihilist! If everything you do is wrong, then at least go down with a fight! How Yui can tolerate you is beyond even my sight! How anyone can listen to this without driving themselves into a fury is unfathomable! I am far from a saint, but at least I’m fucking trying! My sight may have caused tragedies in this storm beyond measure. But I’m not hiding in the goddamned woods and whining about it!

Anisa: (she doesn’t even look up after Cecilia’s slap caused her face to turn away) You are exceptional, Cecilia Ambrosi. Trying is a privilege of the exceptional. I am vile. Craven. Perverse. I am a thing that should not be.

Toi: No. You are kind. You’re the kindest person I know, and I don’t want to see you like this, Anisa. Even… Even if it is pointless. Even if the world will end one day… That doesn’t mean that every single second we can still buy isn’t worth it. If these are our last days, then for fuck’s sake, let’s spend them as the people we want to be.

Cecilia: Besides… I am far from exceptional. I am a Puella Malefica, the same as you. Worse, even, since my actions often derive from my Conductor side. The part of me that also knows too much and says too little. Innocent lives are extinguished because of me. Yet… I press on. I must. Or else nothing can ever be saved. If you are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t, Anisa Nobunaga, then at least do something. Seek out the Birds, if you cannot bring yourself into the fray. They asked after you, if nothing else.

Toi: The Hierarchy is not as perfect in their sadism as you think they are… If they were, they never would’ve sent me down here with you.

Anisa: (she breathes in, slowly) … Hell’s bearable with the right company, isn’t it?

Rene: (He claps loudly for attention from the doorway) Hey. What kind of argument are you all having, in the middle of the night at someone else’s house? 

Cecilia: …It’s not that late, Virtuoso. (compared to before, Cecilia’s voice is much lower, almost timid)

Rene: And there sure isn’t any need to be waving guns around at the people who are on our side. If people have got crime n’ punishment in their pasts to be sorted out– and I do too, believe you me– it’ll have to wait until after we’ve dealt with Kyubey’s hit squad. Comprends?

Anisa: And yet, we soldier on. Of course I understand.

Cecilia: …Apologies, Anisa. I saw too much of myself in you. But my point stands. There are two paths available to you. Reclaim your powers and fight alongside Yui and the others, or seek out the Birds, who asked about you when I saw them last. You are gifted enough to be effective in either avenue. That was one of the two reasons I came here.

Anisa: I sincerely hope there’s not too much of me in you.

Toi: (she crosses her arms) Let’s not beat around the bush too much. What else did you want to ask us, Oracle?

Cecilia: I came to see you two with my own eyes. Even among all the anomalous properties that magical experimentation has led to because of the Incubators, you two have a unique set of circumstances about you. I can see you in my vision the same as any other, but there’s a distinct difference in what I see and what I envision. …You two really are “resurrected” as it were, and not through a Magical Girl’s wish.

Anisa: Well, it was my wish that resurrected me initially, if you want to get really technical. That’s what got us in this situation to begin with. I suppose it’s different from common old garden variety resurrection, though — insofar as that even exists — if it were merely resurrection the Hierarchy was bothered by, we wouldn’t be the only ones being punished like this.

Toi: God knows what they’re thinking. Though, I guess they’re the closest thing we have to a God.

Rene: Never thought about it before, but I guess you’re right. A couple of the younger girls were wished back to life and nobody bothered them about it, right? Both Niko and Shinju?

Anisa: That’s what bothers me. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say they’re punishing us and not them because we were ourselves responsible for the heresy — whereas the people who brought Ms. Hayama and Ms. Segawa back to life have never actually died, and therefore aren’t a part of the Hierarchy’s jurisdiction.

Rene: I don’t know all the facts, but it sounds like you somehow busted outta there by yourself, instead of having somebody wish for you. Can’t think they’d like that. With wishes, it’s Kyubey’s fault in the end for fulfilling ‘em. Guess their problem might be with him.

Toi: If that’s true, that means the Afterlife won’t — or can’t — go against the Incubators?

Anisa: Or at least, that the magick driving their ability to grant wishes overrules whatever magick the Hierarchy wields.

Toi: … Wait, you know what that means, right?

Anisa: It means that… a wish… or at least the magick behind a wish… could… could free us of this curse.

Rene: It doesn’t seem like there were space aliens down there in the afterlife with you, yeah? Seems like there should be, if it’s the afterlife. I guess they’re limited to humans only. … So, yeah, there’s a decent chance magic or Incubator nonsense would work. 

Anisa: Makes you wonder… What even is this Afterlife?

Cecilia: It is a fascinating and terrifying concept to explore. One I would very much like to, once this is all said and done. But… it’s not impossible that the Afterlife itself is a machination of the Incubators. You and I, we are living proof of their desire for experimentation on human souls. Then there’s Magia, a concept I’ve not looked too heavily into myself. Add in the other phenomena… Ghosts, Venefica in Puella, amalgamates like Walpurgisnacht… even the Dreamscape, and the barrier around Kamihama that stood until a month ago. Viewed thus, the Afterlife does not seem too far removed from the possibility of yet another Incubator science project. I think… I prefer thinking about it as such, rather than another higher power watching over our actions.

Toi: That’s a bunch of jargon not even we’ve heard of before…

Anisa: The Incubators might not care enough to actively engage in these kinds of projects. I don’t see how maintaining a functional afterlife would aid them in their goals. We’ve seen what the wishes they can grant are capable of. I think it’s likelier they’ve simply failed to properly assess the consequences of their carelessness.

Seia: (When no one else responds for a few moments, she speaks up) I asked Kyubey for my sight. But he didn’t teach me how to use eyes, so they’re still useless. So I second that he doesn’t think things through. Or he just wanted the poor blind girl to die quick. He has soft ears but a hard heart. 

Cecilia: It was by design. The Incubators want their Witches, so they give poor powers to compensate for the wish.

Anisa: Then what about you? Surely the Incubators would know better than to grant one of their victims omniscience — for lack of a better term.

Cecilia: For the same reason they granted you your wish. They knew it would break us. And sure enough, it did. They never really knew just how deep a Malefica’s power could go, especially since I shattered my soul before it could control me. Katherine vanished into her barrier, thanks to Nebbia. You were sealed for a time, with your own death, and Yui was fortunate enough to know to “destroy” her Witch, and let it grow back organically. I would not be surprised if the Incubators tried this again, sometime. It would certainly be easier than these Balancers, and easier to explain away, for sure, to let an ‘Angel’ destroy an entire region and create a cautionary tale for girls with ambitious wishes, or those that catch onto the scheme.

Toi: What if… What if someone wished to fundamentally change the rules of the Incubators’ game, then?

Anisa: Surely, they’d refuse to grant such a wish, right? Or… can they even refuse?

Cecilia: …Unless the potential for the wisher’s Witch was so great, the benefits outweigh the risks. I’m not sure how one could even accumulate such fate, however. Their desire for their objective at all costs is one of their greatest weaknesses, after all.

Anisa: Would love to find out… but the Incubators aren’t exactly on our side at the moment.

Toi: … I’m glad there seems to be a sparkle of hope, though… At least for the two of us.

Anisa: Hhm. (she solemnly nods in Cecilia’s direction) I owe you my thanks, Oracle.

Cecilia: …I appreciate it, Anisa. In any case, I’ve given my advice. The two paths are laid before you. Hell, there’s not even a rule that says you cannot follow both. If anyone could, it would be one of our kind.

Anisa: You sure like narrating other people’s stories, huh?

Cecilia: Not as much as—

Toi: I feel like I’m playing “Three Musketeers” all over again.

Rene: Three Musketeers? (He scans the room) With all of us? Who’s the third one?

Toi: E-Eh, no, it’s a thing we did when we were kids with my sister and her— 

Anisa: You’ll remember that there were actually four musketeers.

Rene: You two were childhood friends before this?

Anisa: For, eh, lack of a better term.

Toi: We were kind of acquainted as children. We became friends in high school… ish. We might as well have been entirely different people, though.

Anisa: It’s a long story.

Seia: … You all are mysterious ladies. Even though you’re in my fam’s house… 

Cecilia: There’s more mystery in this world than any of us could ever know. That is… the most important thing to keep in mind, whenever I open my mouth. …The second most important thing is to take everything I say with a grain of salt. I am omniscient, but I am not immune to human faults. Overconfidence is one of them.

Toi: Surely we’ve been spending enough time for you to know us at least a little, no, Miss Yamano?

Seia: I didn’t know you two had been to the afterlife. That seems important to me. I’m at that age I want to know what’ll happen after I die too.

Rene: “At that age…” what are you, 16? 17? You don’t have to worry about that stuff for a long time. 

Seia: People want to know that at every age.

Anisa: I certainly hope not…

Cecilia: …You hunted me for such a long time, Anisa. Have you anything to ask of me, now that I’m here, face-to-face?

Anisa: This was never about you, Oracle. It was about what Satomi Yasuda would do to kill you.

Cecilia: She is a rare one, Satomi. She is someone who could possibly, actually do it.

Toi: Well, that’s reassuring.

Anisa: What did you do to cause her to lash out like this?

Cecilia: …You are not going to like the answer. Yui hit me when I told her.

Toi: Oh dear…

Anisa: So, we’re dealing with righteous fury, then. The worst kind.

Toi: Nothing we can’t handle, though. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever dealt with unrighteous fury before.

Anisa: I know a thing or two about unrighteous fury…

Rene: Is it righteous? Nobody made her shack up with Kyubey and murder a bunch of random, innocent people. She’s still responsible for her own actions.

Anisa: You’re right in that the righteousness of her motives is irrelevant, monsieur Colère, but the notion of free will is difficult when it comes to Puella Magi. Is a mind affected by a wish still capable of rational thought? Let’s take Miss Tokai as an example. She wished to become a protector, but the Incubator deemed her personality unfit, so it changed her into someone who could fight. Someone who lacked the conscientiousness and empathy that characterizes Miss Tokai. Would you say she’s still accountable for her actions in this situation?

Rene: I was more saying a person can’t point at someone who wronged ‘em in the past and say it’s all their fault they turned out bad. Still… Tokai? That girl with the glasses who entered the Dreamscape a while before all this happened? Didn’t know she was dealing with that. 

Cecilia: The Incubator had to get… creative in granting her wish, and her powers as a Magical Girl. Manipulating the soul of one who makes a wish is easy. But crafting an entirely new persona? Even they find it difficult.

Anisa: I’m just saying… I got the chance to repent for what I’ve done. But I can see it happening… Someone makes a wish to become someone different, failing to realize it will erode their sense of morality entirely. Is… such a person even human anymore, at that point?

Cecilia: …Even I cannot see an answer to such a question. I’m afraid we will find our answer the hard way, by the time Satomi Yasuda is done with Mitakihara.

Anisa: Or what’s left of it.

Toi: Or what remains.