The next morning, Shinju is awoken by a squeaking in Kinu’s cage nearby. He always ran and jumped around at night, but squeaking was unusual. A slight light came down the stairs into the basement clinic. Shinju turned her head to see Niko asleep beside her. Shinju shifted a little before she could stop herself, not wanting to wake her. 

Niko: Ngh… Mmh… Why’s the bed… squeaking?

Shinju: (Shinju whispers) S-sorry, that’s Kinu. I think he’s excited ‘cause you’re here… 

Niko: F-For a second there, I thought the bed couldn’t sustain the weight of the both of us… (she smiles awkwardly, flushing) … I think he’s excited ‘cause you’re back.

Shinju: Yeah… (she smiles weakly) Sorry, bunny. I figured you were busy and didn’t want to wake you up. I must’ve been really tired to not wake up when you came to visit…

Niko: I’m just glad you made it… Of course you were tired, you… you guys walked all the way back to the city from god-knows-where…

Shinju: Way out in the sticks. That weird French freak was chasing us the whole way. Hanako and Yasu and I were okay, but it was pretty rough on Koharu…

Niko: That… girl who killed Hotaru? You… You defeated her?

Shinju: Yeah… killed her, actually… 

Niko: (her face falls) … O-Oh… S-Sorry… That… I’m sorry, Shinju…

Shinju: (She waves her hand) I’m alright, I think… I don’t know if ‘Haku or Yui… they might be real mad. I dunno… 

Niko: Your sister’s a soldier, though… She’d understand if you… k-killed someone who’s, like, really dangerous… right?

Shinju: That’s the thing… the JSDF only does humanitarian stuff these days. She’s been in some firefights in unstable parts of the world and… um, killed people… and I can tell it really haunts her. I dunno, I… (Shinju pushes her bangs up off her forehead) I was expecting it to be a real gut punch. I dunno why I’m not really feeling it… maybe I’m still broke from when I was missing my soul. 

Niko: That’s not— How can you even think that? Y-You’re… You did all these kind things for me… and for your friends and you didn’t just kill Aoi, you tried to talk things out with her, and… How can you say you’re broken? You don’t have to feel guilty for saving your friends!

Shinju: O-okay, okay, sorry… I know. (She rubs Niko’s back) It’s not the same situation as Sis had to deal with… I had to do it to keep everyone safe, I guess. I dunno if she had a family or anything, though… 

Niko: I dunno if someone with a family would come all the way over here to go around killing people because some dumb friggin’ cat told them to…

Shinju: Yeah, probably not. She blew a whole train off the rails just to get to us. I dunno if you heard on the news. 

Niko: That was her? Y-You were on that train? W-Wait, how does one person derail an entire train like that? She… All these people had to die so… Oh my God, Shinju, I’m so sorry…

Shinju: I-I’m okay. It’s the other people of the city we gotta look out for… the ones who don’t have a cheap magic power to live something like that.

Niko: Man… Are they just gonna keep doing that? Killing innocents by the dozen to smoke us out?

Shinju: Probably… I know Yui wants to settle stuff peacefully if she can, but I don’t think we can. 

Niko: If anything, these freaks don’t wanna settle things peacefully either… Even that shitty imposter keeps getting on my case about “striking him down” or whatever…

Shinju: How have you been dealing with him? I hope he’s not giving you too much trouble… 

Niko: He’s… just taken over the entire Dreamscape. I… I can’t even save people who’ve died up here anymore, because he’ll just kill them as soon as they arrive down there… (she sighs) All I’ve been able to do is … like, encapsulate some people inside their own bubble-thingy? Like, put up a kind of wall, so they’re being left alone… Nothing can go into their domain, but, like, you can’t really leave either… Unless you’re Arashi, I guess? But yeah, that’s why he hasn’t been able to get to you or Sakaki or whoever… but also why we haven’t really been able to see each other either. It… takes up a lot of my energy… I have to sleep like, twenty-two hours a day and… and… I just feel like a friggin’ human battery… And then for some reason that dumb fop, the Maestro — you know, that guy who was bothering us when we were looking for the mask? Anyway, for some reason he’s been able to keep himself safe from the imposter all on his own… Which kinda means I have to rely on him now? Pisses me off, though… I dunno why he’s got more power over the Dreamscape than I do, and I know he could just help me if he wanted to but instead he’s like “Oooh, Diva, you will a-find out the truth if you just a-use your a-head, I have a-given you all the clues, mamma mia!” God, it’s so annoying! (she immediately puts her hands in front of her mouth after yelling, embarrassed to have raised her voice) … S-Sorry.

Shinju: Shh. I’m here now. I’ll help you get rid of that guy. And I’ll give that Mario guy a real talking-to. I’m sorry I was gone so long while you had to deal with all this.

Niko: Well, if I’m gonna be warden of the Dreamscape, I’ll need to be able to deal with my own shit, I suppose…

Shinju: And a warden needs to know how to use her guards. Right? 

---

Meanwhile, upstairs, Yasu was taking little jabs at a punching bag beside the boxing ring. Kiwako, inside the ring, was cheering for every single hit Yasu landed. Yasu did her best to try and ignore the chipper little noises in her ear, and the sound of idle bounding inside the ring. She seemed focused on her speed and accuracy, rather than raw power. Hanako, on the other hand, was sitting beside the ring, idly scrolling through her phone, only looking up when she heard footsteps approaching from the basement.

Ueno: (She comes up the stairs with quick steps) Lily!! You’re back!!! 

Hanako: (Hanako turns to face Ueno as she emerges from the clinic, her eyes widening before she leaps towards Ueno, throwing her arms around her) Ueno-chan!!!

Ueno: (She stumbles back a little receiving the hug, but stays standing) Oop! Haha! Lily!! 

Hanako: (Hanako lingers for a moment before pulling away, smiling warmly) Y-You’re okay! I mean… I knew you would be, but…

Ueno: I’m fine! (chuckles) I’ve just been hanging out making sweets for everyone and stuff. Normal cooking too, ‘cause you can’t live on just sweets, heheh. 

Kiwako: Says who?

Hanako: (ignoring Kiwako) S-So you didn’t get in any fights? I can’t fault you for staying out of danger, Ueno-chan.

Ueno: Nope, no… I was away when the only attack happened. Plus I don’t think throwin’ gumdrops and stuff would be as strong as what everyone else has got rockin’. 

Hanako: (her smile turns a bit sad) I… I’d heard… I heard what happened, and to Mei…

Kiwako: … (she sits in the ring, hugging her knees)

Hanako: But… at least most of you, most of us are still alive, and unharmed?

Ueno: Y-yeah. Don’t worry. “No matter how far away we are, our hearts will bring us together again.” Right?

Hanako: (her eyes light up) R-Right! That’s right, Ueno-chan! So um… I have to ask… (she lowers her voice) …Did Kiwa-chan teach you about her special technique?

Ueno: Uh-huh, I heard about it. But I don’t think I’d be a good fit for it. Even she said I was too “chipper n’ skipper” to meld with my Witch. (She plants her hands on her hips) Skipper’s not a real word y’know, sir! 

Kiwako: …K-Kiwa-chan.

Hanako: Oh, that happens here, too. Well, Ueno-chan, it really isn’t for everyone. Not everyone needs a boost in power. I think you’re fine as you are. I just… I-I’m really glad you’re still okay.

Ueno: Yeah, you too, Lily. I know you gotta do what you gotta do with this dark power stuff. Just promise me you won’t start wearin’ a blindfold and swanning around all mysterious. 

Hanako: (Hanako giggles, a sound that causes Kiwako to look up from her mopey position in the ring) Okay, okay~ I promise! 

Kiwako: You know, Lily-chan took to my power pretty quickly, Ueno-chan. I still think you have potential, but I won’t fight Lily or twist your arm or anything. I know it’s asking a lot, trusting the other side like that. Buuuuut, if you ever change your mind…

Ueno: Thanks a lot, but I think I’m the sort who walks in the light and not the darkness. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But I don’t think it’s for me.

Hanako: Then I’ll be the darkness for you, Ueno-chan!

Aoi: (she comes up the stairs quietly, broom and dustpan in hand. The chorus follows behind her, tussling over who gets to hold the brush that goes with the dustpan. Aoi speaks softly to them, almost inaudible) Come on. Don’t make a scene. We have to clean up. 

Hanako: (Hanako freezes completely, the cheery demeanor fading quickly from her face. She eyes Aoi warily, then the chorus behind her. Her eyes are wide, and she doesn’t say so much as a word.)

Aoi: (She turns from her chorus to face everyone) Oh, Hanako-san. I’d heard you made it back safe. I’m glad. (Her smile and any happiness in her voice are there, but faint) 

Hanako: (as if snapped out of a trance, Hanako quickly shakes her head, blinking a few times) A-Ah, um… y-yeah, I’m fine. All of us are, Aoi. …I… It looks like you’re um… in good enough shape, I think. … I’m glad you’re unharmed too, Aoi. Really…

Aoi: (She dips in a slight curtsy, her smile having run out) Be careful on the floor around here. There’s broken glass still. 

Yasu: (Yasu stops hitting the punching bag, exchanging a silent look with Kiwako.) Hey, Asaharu-san? Mind helping us with something downstairs real quick?

Ueno: Huh? O-oh, uh, sure! 

Hanako: (Hanako watches as the trio head downstairs, leaving her alone with Aoi.) … Th… they didn’t need to do that. I… have nothing to hide from them, Aoi.

Aoi: Why would you? (Aoi busies herself sweeping up glass with her broom and dustpan)

Hanako: …They… probably assumed I needed to clear the air. …I’m quite certain neither of us could forget what happened… before all this.

Aoi: You don’t have anything to clear the air about. It’s completely fine. 

Hanako: …Are you… broken or something, Aoi? Because… I haven’t stopped thinking about it, not even for a moment.

Aoi: (She lets out a short laugh) Here I thought there’d be bigger things on your mind. I don’t seem– (She holds out her arms and legs and shakes them to show they’re not broken) injured to you, do I? 

Hanako: …Mentally broken, Aoi. I… we fought. I fought beside you, for your ideal… and then I fought you, ready to kill you when it went too far… a-are you telling me that… it doesn’t linger on your mind, even now? (She balls her hand into a tight fist) …Did Arashi do something? (After a moment, her hand relaxes) …No. Yui would… never do something so manipulative.

Aoi: Hah. All I have to do is be here to heal everyone. It’s easy. Cushy, even. You should watch out she doesn’t give the same luxury to these freaks we’re dealing with. 

Hanako: (she lets out a low chuckle) …Yui would offer solace to these enemies, wouldn’t she…? That… that pacifism is going to get someone killed someday. Ah… but it did, didn’t it? Tsukuda-san isn’t with us anymore, is she…?

Aoi: … (She shakes her head, not looking away from her work sweeping up glass. The chorus pauses in their fighting over the brush, making a sad whine) … No. 

Hanako: …Perhaps we were just lucky, in our fight with Moonlover, then… none of our number fell, despite how powerful she was… (she glances at the chorus) …It really did become part of you, didn’t it, Aoi? That amalgamate Witch…

Aoi: Would be better to say she decided to stick herself to me… she’s just a pain. 

Hanako: Is she? It doesn’t seem that way to me. (after a deep breath, Hanako approaches Aoi, holding out her left hand towards the chorus behind her) …You heard Kiwa-chan’s proposal too, didn’t you, Aoi? I feel like… it would be easy for you, like it was for me. To slip into that darkness within yourself… but you don’t seem like you have the will to fight anymore, do you?

Aoi: (Aoi shrugs) It’s not my Witch. I’m sure your master is interested, but I don’t have any great power to speak of. 

Hanako: Master? Kiwa-chan is my friend. …Much like you, I should think.

Aoi: Mm. (She answers vacantly) They really blew this window in. There’s even some glass stuck in the ceiling tile. 

Hanako: (she takes a step past Aoi, giving a sidelong glance behind her) …The lights are on, yet no one is home. …Are you… still my friend, Aoi?

Aoi: (She meets Hanako’s eyes with a straight face) I am, yes. (Aoi sighs) There’s no need to talk about me so. 

Hanako: (she hesitates for a while longer) …I certainly hope so. But… if need be, I can be the darkness for you, too. …Someday, I’ll see the light return to your eyes… Aoi. (she starts walking towards the basement)

(Aoi watches her go with a raised eyebrow. A few seconds after she descends the stairs, Aoi gasps as she stops putting in the effort needed to control the chorus. They turn bright red and fly around in wild circles like angry bees) 

“Selfish!!”

“Whose fault is this??”

“Arrogant!”

“How self-serving!!”

“How dare she!?”

“Who does she think she is!?”

Aoi: Oh, stop. You don’t have to get mad for me. It’s fine. (The chorus gathers in her face, ringing in anger) Let her do her self-care. It’s got nothing to do with me. She’ll move on. 

---

Yui: (in the office of Paradise Hall, Yui is sitting at her desk, looking over various papers, most of which pertain to the gym itself. Order forms for exercise equipment, costs, repairs, and a list of prices on vending machines. She sighs, setting the papers off to the side before looking at her journal on the corner of her desk — The Conductors’ Omnibus; the Artifact of the Forte) …Not a shot in hell that anything I wrote down there’d help out right now…

Koharu: (she walks in, glaring at Yui) …

Yui: (she meets Koharu’s gaze neutrally) ‘Sup?

Koharu: I need your computer. And this office.

Yui: (she wordlessly turns an open laptop towards Koharu, then picks up her journal)

Koharu: And I need you to leave.

Yui: That ain’t happening.

Koharu: This is the only place where you can be alone here. You don’t need to be alone. I do. You can do your paperwork wherever.

Yui: Tell me what you need the privacy for, and I’ll think about it. ‘Til then, deed still has my name on it.

Koharu: No. That’s why it’s privacy.

Yui: …Damn, why does no one else ever use that line? I don’t have a counter to that one yet. (Yui sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose) Look, I just need to know what’s so important that I need to leave my office while the sky is metaphorically falling down around us, Koharu. If you got like a secret boyfriend to message or something, I’ll get you a phone.

Koharu: There is essential research to be done. About the Balancers. Ask Hanako.

Yui: (her eyes narrow) If it’s about the Balancers, then I have every goddamn right to know. Dunno if you caught the memo or not, but on our side of the tracks, we took some heavy losses. I lost a damn good friend. So forgive me if I’m not in the fucking mood for being told to leave my office for secret research on the fuckers who took Mei, Takahata and Kotori out.

Koharu: There’s a fifth Balancer. (she gazes defiantly at Yui) But you’re not going to kill him. Dealing with him… is my responsibility.

Yui: (her eyes widen again) … Alright. You got my word on not killing him. But I want answers. How the fuck is there a fifth Balancer? Unless…

Koharu: (she grumbles) They had a spy. You don’t know him. It doesn’t matter.

Yui: …A spy that traveled with you. Am I right? That tipped that clown chick off on your every move?.

Koharu: Obviously, yes. That’s… I… I caught him browsing through pictures of… this place. They had the winged girl in them. And your friend. I don’t know why, but I will find out.

Yui: (Violet streaks of lightning flash through her eyes, clear, untamed rage hidden behind the storm. She stares at Koharu for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh, speaking in a low voice that does little to mask that rage.) …You’re lucky it’s you that told me this, Koharu. ‘Cause if I learned this on my own, I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself. I’ll let you handle this. But if your life is ever in danger, all bets are off. If anyone else dies because of him? Not a soul alive or dead will be able to stop me. Am I making myself clear?

Koharu: (she stays quiet for a while, before replying, calm as ever) … Are you only a pacifist when your temperament allows you to, then? … I only trust you because Hanako trusts you… A-And she trusts you because I asked her… begged her… to trust in a worldview… better than the one the winged girl offered her. Do you believe the powerful, and the powerful alone, decide who is good and who is evil, who gets punished, when, and where, and how? And all a weak someone like me can do is foolishly appeal to your better nature, hoping you’ll do me the favor of not acting on my behalf? Didn’t you spare the winged girl because killing her would prove her right? … It shouldn’t be for my sake that you won’t kill him. He’s been exposed and robbed of any use he might have to the Balancers. What would punishing him now give us? Nothing. Not to me, not to you, and not to your dead friends.

Yui: (she’s silent for a long moment, but she slowly closes her eyes, a hint of a smirk crossing her lips) …This the talk you gave Hanako when she was deep in Aoi’s clique? God damn… I wish your friends had half the balls you do, Koharu. (Yui calms her breathing completely, though with visible effort. Her right hand continues to tremble in a tightly balled fist, but soon, even that relaxes. She opens her eyes, her firm expression returning) The way you wield logic with surgical goddamn precision… an’ the worst part? You’re not even wrong. That’s exactly why I took a vow not to kill anyone goin’ forward. But I can’t deny the part of me that’s still human and wants to get even. Mei… she was really important to me. She was living proof of my ideal working out. Saving people from dying needlessly. My punk-ass nature of fighting fate itself. Losing her hurt, Koharu. More than anyone other than Alice and maybe Aoi knows right now. An’ all my mind can think of is getting even. What I’m getting at here is that it’s gonna take some time. I dunno if you’ve ever lost anyone important to you, and I mean permanently. …God willing, I hope that day never comes for you. …I won’t hurt the guy. But I won’t pretend that I don’t really fucking want to either. (she takes a few steps towards the office door, giving Koharu more than enough room to not feel intimidated) …Not even a punch to the gut, huh?

Koharu: I broke his heart… That might have been enough.

Yui: (she casts a sidelong glance at Koharu) Huh… I guess that’d hurt more than one of my punches. Didn’t think of you as the type to go around breaking hearts, though. 

Koharu: … Why does everyone keep saying that?

Yui: …Well, you have my word then. I won’t hurt him. Sounds like he doesn’t have any freaky powers like the punk in the mask, and he’s definitely not a Puella. …You might want headphones, though. Should be some in the desk. …And I really hope that loud noises don’t freak you out too much.

Koharu: … I’ll be fine.

Yui: If you’re ever not fine, come find me. Physically, emotionally, mentally, whatever. I’m a dumbass, punchy punk chick, but I’ll still bend an ear anytime you need. ‘Kay?

Koharu: … You need my advice more than I need yours.

Yui: Heh… probably. (she leaves the office, calmly closing the door behind her. About a minute or so later, a sound not unlike a gunshot or explosion could be heard, as well as the sound of what once was a punching bag hitting the floor)