With a rice cracker in her mouth, Alice takes a kettle off the small gas stove in the gym’s kitchenette, pouring its contents into a large pitcher. After finishing the cracker, she picks up the pitcher with her one functional hand and heads into the main training area, before bumping into Niko, who is carrying a rice cooker.

Niko: Eh… Kiwa had this… lying around, apparently? Gonna have to have this thing running non-stop if we want to feed everyone, though…

Alice: You and I and Shirahara are the only people here who actually need to eat. Everyone else’s gonna have to tough it out for now… or get Asaharu to whip them something up, I guess.

Niko: Weird… Arashi always says that if you make a contract, you’re basically, like, piloting your body around like you’re driving a car… but Chie got super into shape when she was imprisoned, so I guess your body can still change even when—

Alice: Can you carry these cups for me?

Niko: R-Right! (she puts down the rice cooker and picks up a platter with assorted cups in various sizes and colors) … Now that I think about it, I-I’m kinda surprised you never ended up making a contract… I guess not having to eat would be pretty useful to you… I mean, not that I’d recommend it.

Alice: Surprised you don’t know why I never made a contract. Can’t you snoop around in my memories as much as you want?

Niko: I-I’m not psychic!

Alice: But you are keeping my consciousness safe when I’m asleep, aren’t you?

Niko: A-A-Ah, err, that’s true, but that doesn’t mean I just go poking about, I mean, you people gotta have stuff you don’t want me to know, right? I-I’m not reading your mind! Or anyone’s! Not even Shinju’s! I swear!

Alice: I’m just pulling your leg. (she chuckles) Trust me, if you knew what was going on in my head… you’d never talk to me the same way again. (on that ominous note, she heads up the stairs)

Niko: Ah, ahahaha, yeah! Right. (beat) Err… That’s also a joke, right? (she hurries to follow Alice with the platter of cups)

Alice: (arriving upstairs, she notices most of the gym’s guests have gathered in the atrium, sitting on gym mats, cushions and chairs collected from all throughout the building) Well, I hope you all like barley tea.

Yui: And I hope you like the ending to stories. Short version, Scarecrow flipped a train, tailed the group for a long while, had a big-ass fight in the mountains, and then somehow survived to follow them to Lake Lacrima. (Yui takes her cup carefully and takes a sip) Shinju was just about to wrap it up.

Shinju: Y-yeah… (Shinju pulls at a lock of her hair, having greatly appreciated the short pause before this part of the story) She showed up by helicopter at the lake— she was screeching something about Shiori arranging it for her— and… we got in a fight and… (She looks away toward the gym’s boarded window) I killed her. Sorry. 

Hanako: Shinju…

Yui: Sorry? What for?

Alice: Yui… (having served tea to all who wanted it, she looks at Yui with an expression saying “you know what for” before sitting down next to her)

Shinju: Well, you know, after the whole things that happened with Tomato and Aoi, I know you prob’ly weren’t wanting to solve this with killing… 

Yui: Well yeah, if possible. But it was you or her. You all or her.

Shinju: … Yeah. Not wrong. 

Yui: (Yui shrugs, somewhat indifferently) Count your blessings, Shinju. None of your side died. Pretty good news, I’d say. But hey, maybe traveling in smaller numbers worked for you. Maybe y’all are just closer. Who knows? (she looks away) …Silver linings are a bitch like that, aren’t they? Luck of the fuckin’ draw… 

(There is a sound of weights slamming together loudly and everyone turns to look, Hanako visibly jumping at the sound. Aoi sits on one of the exercise machines, and raises her hands like it was an accident)

Aoi: Oops. Sorry. (She gestures toward Yui with open hands, with a neutral expression but hardened eyes) Oh, please. Carry on. 

Yui: (Yui catches Aoi’s gaze, then closes her eyes with a soft sigh, her tone softening) …Point is, Soldier, that you did good. You saved your friends’ lives. End of the day, that’s what matters. …You all did good.

Yuzuki: And you’re sure she’s gone? Puellae can survive most any wound… as you saw… 

Shinju: Very sure, yeah. (She produces a handful of darkened, glassy shards from her pocket) I smashed her Soul Gem… and I took away some pieces, ‘cause I was afraid Kyubey would put her back together again or something. I dunno if he can do that.

Yui: (Yui opens a single eye, staring at the shards in Shinju’s hand) …Kyubey’d need a soul to put back together in the first place. I don’t sense anything comin’ off of those shards. 

Shinju: That just makes me think I didn’t get the piece with her soul in it… 

Yui: S’not how Soul Gems work. If it even cracks, you’re basically a dead girl walking. If you’re holding shards of her Soul Gem, then her soul’s gone. There’s exceptions, I guess, like in Cecilia’s case, but I’d sense her in the shards if that were the case. Can confirm, that creepy clown chick’s dead as shit.

Yuzuki: Um, what about the Dreamscape? Could she still be there?

Niko: D-Don’t look at me! 

Yui: It ain’t impossible. But when I was fighting her, I was trying to read her soul the whole time. She came off as the type that just didn’t sleep, like I used to when I first made my contract. If she didn’t sleep once Masked Wonderboy or whatever took control of the place, she ain’t there. If she is, then we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.

Hanako: …That brings up an excellent point. Ophelia St. Croix, otherwise known as Moonlover, is now dead. There are three Balancers remaining. Now that we are all reunited, what is our next move?

Yui: Well, we’re not lacking in options. Punisher, that freaky assassin-wannabe chick tends to hole up in the Bends. Thanks to the Birds, we got a beat on her power, but nothin’ concrete either. But she seems to have somethin’ akin to mimicry, at least in terms of weapons. Then there’s Firestarter… Shiori Nakae. Kiwa told us enough, that she can just kinda… will shit to happen. She also seems to wander, unlike Firestarter. Lastly, Worldeater. Luca Giordano. Currently in control of the Dreamscape, same powers as his alleged “dad” had, and Niko has. Also currently holding a number of living and dead souls in stasis, and thus, hostage. There’s your briefing. Open to ideas.

Niko: He’s… way stronger than I am. He’s dominating the place and it’s, like, everyone in town is acting all weird because he’s messing with their souls or whatever when they’re asleep. All I can do is keep you guys safe from all that. It’s like a whole brainwashing thing.

Yui: So what, want us to focus this guy first?

Niko: I, uh, well, you don’t have to do it for my sake, but—

Alice: If what you’re saying is true, Segawa, then the reason why the city is the way it is is because this creepshow’s been dicking around with everyone’s subconsciousness, right?

Niko: R-Right…

Alice: These Balancers can act as… brazenly as they want to because the city’s devolved into anarchy. If we can, eh, fix that, we could tip the balance in our — or well, your— favor.

Yui: …It’s not just the dead that are in danger. I saw them, when the Balancers revealed themselves. Hostages… kept alive out here, but unconscious. Yeah… more I think about it, more this makes sense, logically. (Yui finishes the rest of her tea in a single gulp, gingerly setting the cup down as she stands up, hopping into the ring to look out at the others) Our next target is Worldeater. We need to find out where his living body is and incapacitate it. (she casts a gaze at Shinju) No need to kill him, but if you happen to hurt him, I won’t hold it against you. But he needs to either die, or be kept awake. Don’t care which. What’s most important is that we break that fuckin’ mask of his. Then, Niko can run cleanup on the souls Worldeater’s kept asleep this whole time.

Niko: (she laughs nervously) Nice of you to assume I can even deal with that many souls…

Yui: You ain’t alone down there, at least. Besides, we’ll deal with that after the Dreamscape’s threat is taken care of. Alright, the specifics are still up in the air, but we got our marching orders. Any questions?