My friend, the fates are cruel
There are no dreams, no honor remains
The arrow has left the bow of the goddess

The nightclub that once comprised Velare’s Opera House stands tall, quiet yet obnoxious club music plays. Sitting on the smaller stage, Velare eyes his new visitors— new and old, in Niko’s case— and gives a gentle smile. A little weary, being in an environment not wholly his own. The stage itself shows no sign of Velare’s attempts at reclaiming his domain.

Standing front and center on the stage, dancing a bit to the music, Mei suddenly freezes upon seeing the visitors, rubbing her head and shuffling to make some sort of excuse as to her behavior, particularly averting her gaze from one visitor in particular. Yuma, leaning against a far wall, chuckles at the sight. She locks eyes with her daughter, sharing a silent, yet poignant conversation. René is standing on the opposite side of the room, greeting the group with a gentle wave.

Niko has taken point for the group, of course. Yui didn’t seem to mind relinquishing control of the operation to the Diva; she was firmly in control of the realm again, standing equal in power to Worldeater, and with a sense of confidence enough to fight. Shinju and Yuzuki were close behind, and the quartet silently greeted and observed the Dreamscape’s more usual— and in most cases, permanent— residents.

Velare: I am to assume, then, that we are ready to commence our climactic battle with our mutual foe?

Niko: Well, I sure hope there won’t be too much fighting… You guys can cover for me if he challenges me to another “duel”, right?

Yui: Worldeater an’ I are an even match in terms of fighting. Meaning, if Shinju can cover me or help out, it should be straightforward enough. Yuzu can shore up our defenses, and worst case, shield you an’ get you out safely. 

Mei: …And me?

Yui: I didn’t forget. … (Yui closes her eyes, visibly trying to calm herself) …Your Memory Voice is gonna be useful in breaking Luca’s spirit. I need you with Niko to cover the charisma break.

Mei: I-I have another name for the ability now.

Yui: Then uh… whatever you’re calling it now, keep it handy while Niko breaks him, yeah?

Yuma: Devious. Since when did either of us get cerebral when it comes to fighting?

Yui: When punching stopped working on its own. Case you missed it, Mom, he an’ I literally beat each other to death last time.

Yuzuki: Not to mention… he’ll probably hold his hostages against us as soon as it looks bad for him. Figuring out how to handle that will be the biggest hurdle, I think.

Niko: Err… so what is this ability of yours, Mei? Can I help you with that?

Mei: More like, I’ll be able to help you.

Yui: Ahem. In human, Mei.

Mei: …I can, um, draw out someone’s memory in a tangible way, usually taking form within my Valkyrie. The Valkyrie is a power I have as a Puella, and a Conductor.

Niko: So, once I confront him with the truth, you can, like, back that up with evidence? Is he gonna believe it when it’s coming from… you, though?

Mei: That’s the plan, on paper anyway. But uh, you’ve probably been around us long enough to know that sometimes, we might need to improvise on the fly, ehe… 

Yuma: Translation: You’re planning something else with that power of yours.

Mei: (Mei visibly jumps) Eh?!

Yui: (with a smirk) Even Mom can read you like a book, and you just met. Mei, you gotta work on your poker face. …But yeah. Niko, Mei’s someone you can count on to have your back. But she’s planning something with her power. She’s pretty insistent on keepin’ it close, so uh… just be ready for something screwy I guess?

Niko: Err, isn’t this usually the part where everyone reveals what they’re gonna do? How else are we gonna, like, strategize?

Yui: (she sighs) Because Mei’s a Conductor now, but she took the wrong lesson from the wrong side of the fence.

Mei: H-Hey!

Velare: Now, now. Perhaps the Cadenza is just keeping her plan close, in case there are prying eyes. Diva has proper control of this realm, but she is equal to Worldeater. His influence remains, as do his treacherous ways.

Niko: Y-You’re not talking about yourself there, are you?

Yuma: (she nods her head in Shinju’s direction) What about you? What’s your story? Been a little quiet this whole time. Are you the hired muscle or something?

Shinju: Yeah, I guess. Pretty much.

Niko: A-Are you implying I hired my girlfriend?

Yuma: Oh, that’s it? Nice. Anyway, girlfriend, what’s your deal? Not that the relative quiet isn’t a great change of pace compared to my usual company, but I make a habit of knowing who I’m working with.

Shinju: Well, I’m just a Puella who’s from the military base around here. My older sister, Kohaku, is a Puella too. I’ve got water powers. I’m here for Niko.

Yuma: (she motions a finger gesture in Shinju’s direction) I like this one. Yui, translate?

Yui: (she sighs) Shinju here’s about as strong as I am. Kohaku can take us both, two on one. You can’t ask for better allies.

Yuma: (Yuma glances at the group one last time before kicking back off the wall, headed for the front door) …Fuck him up, Shinju. Then give your basketcase girlfriend her realm back.

Niko: Huh? I’m in the track club, not the basketball club… Well, I was.

Yui: Mom was insulting you, Niko.

Niko: H-Hey…! Pick on someone your own age!

Yui: She already left, Niko.

Velare: More importantly, we have a job to do. We should be about it. This time, we do not strike at Worldeater to loose a hostage, rather, we aim to strike him down, once and for all. 

Niko: O-Once and for all… How’re we gonna do that, though… He keeps coming back, right? Like I do whenever he “kills” me?

Yui: He still has the scars from when I beat the shit out of him before. I saw them when we fought last time. I can’t beat him by punching, but his soul still feels it. That uh… that’s the best I got. 

Niko: … Would destroying his fake mask do it? (she shrugs) That’s what allows him to control this place, right?

Shinju: That’s what I’d bet. We know they’ve got some way of getting these fakes, but… since they haven’t made a second fake Baton to attack the gym again, either it takes them a while to replace it or they only had one fake, ever. Breaking his mask should be good. 

Yui: Maybe their power only lets them make the one, or otherwise only have one copy at any given time. Otherwise, they’d have made like fifty batons to come at us by now. So yeah, that’s the plan. We kick his ass, and break his fake mask.

Niko: When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound that hard…

Velare: Indeed. However, remember that your foe is one that stood on even ground in combat to Yui. You still need to subdue him. Well… now that you have your objectives, I suppose it’s time you were about it, hm?

Niko: Real reassuring, dude… (she sighs) Well then, are we crashing his place, or waiting until he inevitably crashes ours?

Velare: You are bringing the fight to him. Yuma and I will not be accompanying you. I thought to ask Mei to sit out, as well, but, well…

Mei: No chance in hell. We’re taking him out this time.

Shinju: Since it’s just in the Dreamscape, doing this won’t kill him, right? (Her tone is vague, impossible to tell if she means that positively or negatively) 

Yui: Maybe, maybe not. But our goal is to break his mask. If we do that, he won’t be able to control this place anymore. At that point, he’s just another guy.

Niko: Alright… (she turns away from her companions, closing her eyes) Let’s take this party to him… 

As Niko says this, the surroundings begin to slowly shift, as the slick minimalism of her refurbished performance venue makes room for the alien architecture of a twisted palace. The space only nominally passes the definition for one, distorted staircases leading into infinity like the threads of a spider’s web, and the floor crumbling and ever shifting like the surface of an ocean in a storm. In front of the group, from the thick mists, Worldeater emerges. As he turns his head to face his opponent, a crooked grin appears underneath his featureless mask. His cheeks burn and crackle with violet fissures as he descends, his eyes not leaving Niko’s form.

My friend, your desire
Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess

Worldeater: Oh, how I longed for this… the day that you finally became a match for me, Diva.

Legend shall speak
Of sacrifice at world’s end
The wind sails over the water’s surface
Quietly, but surely