The fog lifts slowly, as if a month’s worth of natural sleep has faded all at once. It is a serene feeling, felt almost universally to those rousing from their forced slumber in the Council meeting room. The room itself is in disarray, chairs upturned and scattered, tables in the back broken, snacks and drinks littering the room. From the doorway, the stench of blood and death, and from above, smoke. Panic begins to set into the still disoriented adults. All of them, save for one.

Katsumi: All of you! Remain calm! We just need to evacuate, and find a new place to shelter! Everyone, with me—

Marian: (groaning, Marian rises to her feet, looking around to get an idea of what is going on) Is that… Damn it… (noticing Katsumi’s attempt to coordinate an evacuation, she steps forward towards Katsumi) I know a thing or two about evacuation. We need to make sure everyone stays low. Avoiding the smoke is far more important than avoiding the fire.

Katsumi: R… Right. I’ll let you take charge, then.

Marian taps her husband’s shoulder, urging him to help her out as well. Luckily, his booming voice is a great help in delivering her instructions to the other Council members, and without much trouble, the entire group is soon following closely behind the couple as they lead everyone into the stairwell.

Marian: (she coughs) Stay low, everyone, but please, watch your step—(she coughs again as a sickening smell catches her attention) … What the hell is — (she blurts out her reaction in a thick Mancunian accent) <Oh, bloody hell! What is that?> (she covers her mouth as she discovers a corpse lying at the bottom of the staircase, its glazed over, dead eyes looking directly into hers) … What on earth is happening here?

Katsumi: I have no idea… but given the state of the building and how we awoke, I would not be surprised if there were a riot out there, and that it finally found our door. We can mourn this young man later. We must save ourselves first!

Marian:  …What kinda rioter wears a tailor-made suit?

Rikuto: (He hurries into the stairwell) Nobody touch him! We need to leave it as-is. (He kneels down, examining the body) Don’t recognize him… I was afraid it was that young man who showed up to the council meeting. He’s disappeared. I suppose we have him to thank for poisoning the lot of us, and then he scampered. 

Marian: I-I suppose it makes sense when you think of it like that… But he was just a kid, why would he have—(having reached the floor below, she tries to open the door to the hallway, but as she touches the handle, quickly recoils) Shit! It’s scorching hot…

Katsumi: The fire must be right on the other side. Damn it… is there any other way out of this building?

Marian: Further down, then… I’m afraid the fire will be raging even harder there, but we can try.

Katsumi: (She glances back at the corpse, then nods, running down towards the first floor with the others.)

Rikuto: (He lingers behind, guiding the other members of the Council) This way, everyone! Stay calm now. We’re heading downstairs! 

Marian: (when she reaches the lowest floor, she notices the door to the ground floor already having burned down, dark smoke and heat haze filling the entrance) Damn it… (she coughs) This was a bad idea, to the roof! (she calls out to her husband) Rikuto…? There’s gotta be fire extinguishers here, right? (cough cough)

???: (through the inferno, an amplified voice echoes, as if being broadcast over the smoke) — is it getting really fucking hot in here or is that just me?

Katsumi: …That voice! From the original broadcast— everyone, run! Now!

Marian: N-No, we gotta stick togeth—(she coughs again)

Shiori: — case you’ve been living underneath a fucking rock for the past, err, four hours… Let’s just say things have gotten a bit heated in town. Why don’t you join the party? Yes, you! I want you to stop what you’re doing and reduce this godforsaken shithole to ash!

Katsumi: Cover your ears! All of you! Whatever you do, do not listen to a word she says! (Katsumi makes a mad dash back up the stairs, reaching into the pockets of her suit)

Shiori: — barbecue going on down at the community center… or, well, what remains of it. Heard there’s pork on the menu!

Marian: (as the other Citizen’s Council members follow Katsumi back upstairs, she remains still, swaying a bit, gazing down as the smoke envelops her)

Katsumi: Mrs. Tokai, did you hear me? …Marian?! (she looks back, dashing back down as she pulls out an ear plug, stuffing it into her left ear. She tugs on Marian’s arm, trying to pull her away from the smoke) Marian! Snap out of it! 

Marian: (wordlessly, she grabs onto Katsumi’s arm in turn, gripping tightly and trying to pull in the opposite direction, stepping back into the inferno)

Katsumi: (she pulls with all her might, eventually falling back away from the inferno. Her eyes slowly open, adjusting to the sight after the shock of her stumble)

Marian: (falling to her knees, Marian seems unwilling and unable to move, compelled to let herself be consumed by the flames)

Katsumi: (Shoving the other earplug into her right ear, she throws her hands around Rikuto’s ears, covering them)

Rikuto: What are you— never mind that, I gotta get Marian outta here! (He rushes forward to pick her up in his arms)

Marian: (she only stares at him, through glazed over eyes, as two men, both ablaze, emerge from the flames, charging at the group)

Katsumi: Rikuto! Get her out of here! Now! (She screams as she picks up a metallic trash can, scorching her hands as she swings it at the two men, knocking them down)

Rikuto: You come too! I ain’t leaving you behind! 

Katsumi: I had no intention of dying here. I need to get to my daughter. (Her eyes shine with knowing as she starts back up the stairs) Come on, now! Get out of here!

Shiori: — anyone who isn’t with us, is against us! Tear ‘em all to shreds! There’s more than enough room in hell for all of us! — (while the two raving assailants stay down, eerily unmoving as their flesh continues to burn, several more pour in from different directions, throwing themselves at the escaping Council members without any regard for their own safety)

Katsumi: Move! (she covers Rikuto’s ears again, directing him back up the stairs)

Rikuto: Shit, I’m going! (He rushes up the stairs, carrying Marian)

The trio make their way up back past Luca’s body, Katsumi sparing another glance before her trance is broken by shattering glass. Flaming debris thrown by Shiori’s thralls lands around them, and Katsumi ushers Rikuto further up. The entire time, she mutters to herself ‘I need to get out, I need to get out’ over and over. As they pass their old council room, several council members advance on them, causing both Katsumi and Rikuto to swear in frustration. They can’t save everyone, but maybe, under Shiori’s control, they would at least be safe from harm? Katsumi had to tell herself that in order to continue to guide Rikuto upwards. Each landing found them more and more surrounded, until finally, they reached the roof. Katsumi muttered her mantra over and over as a veritable hoard of lifeless people descended upon them. But before they could lose hope, a helicopter’s blades could be heard, and steadily grow louder.

Katsumi: …Is that… the JSDF?!

Rikuto: (His sigh of relief isn’t audible over the chaos) ‘Bout time! Heeeeey! Over here!

The helicopter lands, with a co-pilot firing a canister of tear gas past the survivors, and into the hoard. Naturally, they are not affected long, but it is long enough for Marian to be placed into an empty seat within the helicopter. The pilot beckons Rikuto to join her next.

Pilot: Come on, sir! We don’t have much time!

Rikuto: (He shakes his head, as if trying to dispel a daze) R-right. Sorry, coming! (He climbs into the helicopter, making sure to assist Marian with the seat belts first) 

Katsumi: (once Rikuto has Marian situated, she places her hand on his arm) …Are you alright, Rikuto? Really?

Rikuto: (He slurs his words a little) Man, I can see why you were covering my ears. That squealy voice… talkin’ like a stupid little punk… it’s…  making me mad! Damn! (He pulls hard at his necktie, throwing it onto the floor of the helicopter) 

Katsumi: …Here. I’ll, um… I’ll make it better. Just try not to hold a grudge. …And whatever you do… don’t tell your ex-wife. She has enough reason to hate me without this. (Katsumi hops into the copter, fumbling beside Rikuto’s seat, as if searching for something)

Rikuto: (He stands up suddenly, speaking to nobody, uncharacteristically loud and angry) The hell’s wrong with kids these days!? These barely-teens who think it’s soOoOoOo cool to kick up all this trouble for their stupid fucking selves! My Yuzu, I raised her right, and still she skulks off to who-knows-where all the time, and thinks I don’t notice! Oh, but these punks, these stupid little freaks…! 

Looking increasingly exasperated, searching more and more desperately, Katsumi suddenly stands up, bringing both of her hands joined together against the back of Rikuto’s head. She piles his unconscious body into a seat, checking his pulse and signs of bleeding before strapping him in beside Marian. The pilot begins to question her, but Katsumi leaves the craft before answering. A tear runs down her cheek as she steadies herself.

Katsumi: I need… I need him to sit still for a while. Marian as well. And I need you to get them to safety, ASAP. Am I clear?

Pilot: Ma’am, you’re joking. I can’t leave you here—

Katsumi: (visibly shaking) I SAID! I NEED you to get these two into something resembling a hospital. NOW.

The pilot doesn’t flinch from Katsumi’s tone, but the look in her eyes tells him all he needs to know. He isn’t going to win with words, and time is not on their side. The horde is recovering from their stupor. He tosses her another tear gas canister, then sighs.

Pilot: …Be safe out there, ma’am.

Katsumi: Be about it, soldier.

The helicopter begins its ascent, the winds blowing Katsumi’s hair this way and that, leaving her appearance completely disheveled. But she stands firm all the same, taking a few steps towards the horde. She tosses the canister straight up into the air without looking, slipping through the crowd and into the door before the smoke billows into the crowd. By now, the helicopter is far enough away that Katsumi now only has to worry about herself. She tries her damndest to not recognize faces as she runs and slips by. Occasionally, she feels a grab, but she can slip away with enough effort. 

Two more stories down, and she has to lose her jacket in order to escape. On the second floor hallway, she finds herself surrounded. Surrounded, except for one cracked window to her side. With a deep breath, she simply mutters her daughter’s name before tossing herself through the glass. Shards cut her face and upper body as she tumbles, and she manages to duck into a safe enough ball to absorb most of the impact. Or so she tells herself, ignoring the sickening crack upon impact with the street below. Clutching her useless right arm, she slowly staggers to her feet. The crowd is thin, but it is clear they are going to converge on her point before long.

Indeed, it only takes a few seconds for the feral bodies drawn towards the building like moths to a flame to notice her. As Katsumi rises to her feet to escape, several hands tug at her shoulder; she tries to tear herself loose, but after a brief struggle the swarm pursuing her is too overwhelming, pulling her back towards the concrete. As she looks up, a vagrant figure looms over her, a megaphone held in its right hand as it glares down, an expression of seething hatred flashing through its filthy pink hair.

Shiori: … Look what the cat’s dragged in. Guess that spaghetti-brained cunt croaked before he could turn all of you into vegetables, huh? (she squats in front of Katsumi) You with that Chickenshit Council, aren’t you? … Fuck’s sake… You get Firestarter to play this town, but you won’t even honor the goddamn rider? I remember what was on there. Distinctly. Blue M&M’s. A bottle of Henny. And no. Fucking. Cops.

Katsumi: …I need to stand up. (her tone is groggy with the concussions; she shakes her head to try and orient herself, and once more tries to slip through the grasp, less with directly struggling, and more with trying to use the momentum of the hands against them)

Shiori: (she frowns as the woman in front of her manages to wrest herself loose from the grasping hands) … Ugh, another one. (she rolls her eyes) This defiance bullshit isn’t half as sexy as people say it is. (she puts the megaphone to her mouth) Be a dear and slit your fucking throat, will you?

Katsumi: (she slowly rises to her feet, yelping in pain as she pulls her shoulder back into place. She moves the arm a little, then clenches and unclenches her hand. With a nod, she brings her right palm across Shiori’s cheek.) Go fuck yourself. Blue M&Ms? You’re hyper enough as it is. Alcohol? I’ve seen you drunk, you’ve had enough. And the cops? Maybe you’re losing your touch. I sure didn’t call them. But they were what I needed. (masking her pain, she dusts off her office undershirt and slacks) God damned rock stars… it got old in the 80s, and it’s old now.

Shiori: (her head turned away from Katsumi after the slap, she exhales sharply) How like an old hag not to listen to what the young ‘uns have to say… So lemme rephrase that… I want you… to die like the bitch you are.

Katsumi: (she closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, as if bracing herself for what she knows comes next. After a moment, she opens her eyes, a hard, defiant gaze behind them) And… I need you… to stand aside. I have to get home… to my daughter.

Shiori: (she slowly tilts her head, staring into the woman’s eyes) … They’ll let anyone be a Puella Magi these days, huh? Guess I’m gonna have to rip that Gem outta you, old-school style. (she raises her hand, ready to strike with deadly precision—until a hand suddenly grasps her wrist from behind) What the—

Punisher: (squeezing Shiori’s wrist, she glares at her) <What are you doing? There’s no point in butchering civilians.>

Shiori: <What the fuck is it to you, Chun-Li? What’s another corpse on the pile?>

Punisher: <We are blades… not animals.>

Shiori: (she pulls herself loose) Don’t you fucking tell me what to do!

Katsumi: (she doesn’t hesitate aside a cursory glance at Punisher before slipping through the crowd and out of sight)

Punisher: <What are you doing, then? Keep this up, and our secret is out in the open. Everything will have been for nothing.>

Shiori: <Do I look like I give a shit?>

Punisher: <… We are here to eliminate obstacles. Not create them.>

Shiori: <Well, then you won’t mind me eliminating you, I suppose?>

Kyubey: <Oh my …> (the Incubator appears out of Punisher’s shadow, swishing its tail and shaking its head) <Wouldn’t that be a shame, Firestarter? I don’t think you’d be much of an obstacle for Punisher here.>

Punisher: <She is ruining our every opportunity to strike. We should use the city’s predicament to smoke out our targets, divide them, and pick them off one by one. But all this biǎo​zi cares about is mayhem. She is not a Balancer.>

Shiori: <Your mom is not a Bal—>

Kyubey: <You would be wise not to speak on others’ behalf… Xiaofei. The work our kind have done for millennia to maintain this masquerade is strong enough to withstand a bit of mayhem.>

Punisher: <… Do you honestly think this will intimidate our enemies? Instead of empowering them? You’re wrong, Fu Hua Zhe.>

Kyubey: … (seemingly taken aback by Punisher’s remark, it stares at her for a few minutes, its dead eyes gleaming) … <Why did you insist on saving that woman’s life, Punisher?>

Punisher: <… Her death would have been pointless. It would not stave off the end. It would not help your cause.>

Shiori: <It sure as fuck would have helped mine!>

Kyubey: <Do you even know my cause, Punisher?

Punisher: <… I know the end—>

Kyubey: (though it doesn’t raise its voice, nor change its ever-neutral expression, the incubator makes clear it will not have its questions answered) <A blade does not insist on its purpose. It makes no difference between being used to cut grass, to open letters, or to take lives. A blade does not question its wielder’s intent. After all, a blade is a tool. A tool that thinks for itself, fails as a tool.>

Shiori: <… And if there is one thing you are, it’s a tool.>

Punisher: <Shut up, biǎo​zi!>

Shiori: <… Make me—>

Kyubey: <We will not waste any more time. Firestarter… carry on as you were. If we can’t get to where our enemies are, we will make them come to us.>

Punisher: <But—>

Kyubey: <This city must burn. To eliminate the weeds, you do not merely pluck them. You do not cut off their roots. You burn the very earth they thrived on, to prevent them from taking root ever again.>

Punisher: <This is a Balancing, not a tipping of the scales.>

Kyubey: (it snarls) <You know nothing… blade. Remember what you were born to do.>

Punisher: …

Kyubey: (switching back to its usual, chipper tone of voice, it hops onto a pile of rubble, then turns to face the bickering Balancers, like a monarch to their people) <So then—Punisher! It will be up to you to stop anyone who tries from getting into Firestarter’s way. She’ll be the bait, and you’ll be—>

Punisher: <—the blade…>

Kyubey: <Indeed! Glad to hear we can still all be on one line, even with Worldeater no longer among us.>

Punisher: … (after gazing into the distance, she turns to face the Incubator) … <Why did you order us not to back him up when he faced off against our enemies in the World of Dreams—>

Kyubey: <Because it was not yet the time for your glorious final battle against Yui Arashi, Punisher! Aces are to be kept up your sleeve, as the saying goes.>

Shiori: <Yeah, that’s… not how the saying goes—>

Kyubey: <This will be the time for my blade to shine. To slice. To show what years of careful honing will do.>

Punisher: <… Fine. I’ll do it.> (with a sigh, she summons her weapons into both of her hands and without another word, leaps onto the nearest rooftop in a single bound before running off)

Shiori: (she scoffs) … What a fucking show-off… Bitch’s got a point, though. Why did we leave Liberace Jr. to rot in that Dreamscape of his, anyway? (asking this, she turns to face Kyubey, only to find it has vanished) … Oh, piss off.