The next day, at the break of dawn, Niko makes sure she is properly dressed for a venture into the city. Dating off her coat, she can’t help but utter a sigh when she realizes the risk she’s about to take.

Niko: How long has it been since I even went outside…?

Alice: (crossing her arms, she accompanies Niko in the gym’s entrance hall with a worried frown) Are you sure about this? Nobunaga should probably come over here instead of you hustling over to wherever she’s hiding. At least she can defend herself.

Niko: No… If… If something goes wrong with the experiment and… (she looks away)… at least I won’t take all of you with me.

Alice: What made you decide to go along with this, err, “experiment” all of a sudden anyways? (she uncrosses her arms) … Niko, you know you’re useful as you are, right? You don’t need to do this to… to prove you deserve to be here, or anything, really—

Niko: H-huh? What, no! I-I’m… That’s not why I’m doing this… a-at all!

Alice: (she sighs) … As long as you’re sure.

Niko: B-Besides… (she eagerly pats Shinju, who’s been fully dressed to go out and waiting by the door, hands in her pockets, on her shoulder) I’ve got the best bodyguard in the world right here!

Shinju: Heh, y-yeah. Still, keep an eye on the storm drains and stuff, ‘kay? The hoodlum rioters are one thing, but if either of those stupid kids show up to “balance” or whatever, we’re getting you to safety first.

Niko: (she winces) P-Please don’t let it come to that…

Cecilia: (The Oracle emerges from… somewhere within the Gym, a corner in which no one had thought to look. Her hood is covering her eyes more than usual, and her voice, when she finally speaks, is a bit softer and a little uneven.) …I would not mind accompanying you all, and providing a safe route to Anisa’s place.

Niko: Eep! (she shudders) W-What’s gotten you interested in me all of a sudden!

Cecilia: We were roommates for a time, if you recall. Besides, whatever this knowledge is that Anisa offers… it is knowledge beyond my understanding. Even an omniscient would be curious.

Niko: (she sighs) Sorry… I just don’t assume people being near me automatically means they actually care about me… Not anymore…

Cecilia: (she sighs as well, pinching the bridge of her nose) Then think of it thus. Another Puella Malefica would make for a good bodyguard, and another person to help if things go wrong, would it not?

Niko: O-Oh, no, no, it’s not that I don’t want you to, it’s… I’m, err, happy. Grateful. Thank you. I just… I didn’t think you’d be concerned with me, is all.

Yosuke: (he pokes his head into the entrance hall) … Err, sorry… Am I interrupting something?

Alice: Are you ever not?

Yosuke: … I was just wondering if you’ve, like—

Niko: Oh, y-yeah! Your parents believe something went wrong during the evacuation and you ended up at a different refugee camp than they did. At least… that’s what they should be thinking now… Might wanna, like, text them to check, I guess?

Yosuke: (he sighs in relief) O-Okay… Phew. Kinda… creepy, when you think about it, but… it’s for the greater good, I guess…

Niko: … The greater good of getting to shack up with a bunch of cute girls, huh?

Yosuke: Huh? W-What— (his befuddlement is rapidly cut off as a tug on his arm drags him back where he came from)

Koharu: Stop bothering them.

Niko: … cute girls and her, too, I guess.

Alice: (she sighs) … Cecilia, do you think your abilities can help these two avoid the rioters? I’d say Yui probably doesn’t want more people than necessary going out — and, well, neither do I, but if you can keep them safe, I think it’s worth the risk having you tag along.

Cecilia: That is why I offered, yes. I have surprisingly high clarity on where and what the rioters are doing at any given moment. Their intentions— and Shiori’s, subsequently— are crystal clear. Avoiding them will be easy. …And I could use a bit of fresh air, if I’m being honest.

Niko: You’re being awfully confident again…

Cecilia: Watching rioters is trivial compared to the machinations of the Balancers. I would call it a hobby, but then someone might try and hit me for it. …Truth be told, however, “confident” is not something I am right now. I could… use the distraction.

Niko: A-Alright then… (she does a little gesture to pump herself up, though not too noticeably so) Lead the way…!

Alice: … I saw that.

Niko: (she blushes) W-Whatever! (grabbing Shinju by the arm, she stomps out onto the streets with much aplomb, though she immediately pipes down when she realizes the danger she is stepping into)

No sooner than taking two or three steps, the Oracle’s hand on Niko’s shoulder halts her in her tracks. A silent motion leads them down the other end of the street, seemingly in the opposite direction of Anisa’s rendezvous. No sooner than the group had started that way in full did they hear a set of explosions coming from the direction they initially set out in.

Cecilia led the group on a rather unorthodox route. Each suspect turn punctuated by the damage of rioting and destruction from the opposite direction. The Oracle had made good on her promise in record time, and the journey became uneventful, aside Cecilia’s sudden and jarring directional shifts. Before long, the place where Anisa had said to meet Niko was in view, but Cecilia held the trio back from closing the last, remaining distance between their alleyway and their destination.

Cecilia: …We wait. In about twenty minutes, the coast will be clear. So long as we keep our voices down and stay hidden, we will not be detected by the group just behind that building. …Not to worry, Anisa is safe in there.

Niko: T-Twenty minutes…? Then why didn’t we just leave later?

Cecilia: It was not safe to leave twenty minutes later. The roaming mobs will have taken over our route in that time.

Niko: O-Oh… I guess that makes sense. (she clears her throat) So, err, does anyone wanna play shiritori or something?

Cecilia: That’s not why we’re…

Shinju: Speaking of which, is the Anisa lady gonna help with the Balancers? I saw her fight Aoi, it definitely seems like she’d be good enough. 

Niko: I think she said she didn’t have her powers anymore… Or that the… — Whatever they’re called, the people punishing her — will get mad again if she uses them, so she can’t.

Cecilia: I believe that was the intent behind this exercise, Niko. To give you some semblance of that power, or something like that. …Truthfully, I don’t know for myself what will happen. The whims of a Malefica are enough to throw off my vision. 

Niko: (she groans) Ugh, don’t remind me… I might get cold feet. Well… (she jumps a few times) colder feet.

Cecilia: …We have time to discuss it, if you wish to dispel any anxiety, Niko.

Niko: I mean… No one’s ever done this before, so what can you even say? I just… decided to take the leap of fate. Overthinking stuff is just gonna make my brain melt…

Cecilia: …I know I risk derailing the chain of events in which I am operating, but… you do know the risks, right?

Niko: Yeah… and I can imagine a whole bunch more. I mean, Anisa herself went completely cuckoo when she — (she shakes her head) but… But my mind is not just mine. Everyone in this city is… It’s a big network, a spider’s web, so… we can only hope I… I mean, it’s like a computer, right? One computer will overheat if it has to compute too much stuff, but if you, like, link them together, they can do it! That’s… That’s— I mean, it sounded more convincing when she explained it, but… I’ve told Shinju what she needs to do if… If it doesn’t work. (she gazes at Shinju)

Shinju: Geeze, stop acting like it’s gonna come to that… if anything like that happens, I’ll grab Yui’s golden bonk stick and whack the sense right back into you like what Alice did, okay? 

Niko: D-Do you have one of these just lying around?

Shinju: I’ll get it from Yui, like I said! I’m sure she’ll lend out the bonk stick for this.

Cecilia: Yui is, indeed, more than capable of repressing a Malefica’s rampant state. She can temporarily even revert a Puella’s transformation, even. Though, from my recollection, it was still a painful process.

Niko: Then why isn’t she coming with us?!

Cecilia: She doesn’t need to. If something goes wrong, the odds of you turning on us right away are slim to none. I hate to say it… but in the unlikely event you become the Fifth Angel, you would likely turn on Shiori and her rioters first. A Puella Malefica does not discriminate targets in her rampancy, and, well… Firestarter is closest to us, out of our known friends and foes. I would contact Yui, and Shinju would likely prevent you from harming anyone innocent. Ah, and you would not harm Shinju. Either that trait of your personality would remain intact, or it would not, but… well, Shinju has already demonstrated her capability of combatting a Puella Malefica one on one, and without the intent to kill. Which is… a very remarkable feat, if I may say so.

Shinju: Hey! Don’t make it sound like we’d let her run berserk just to get rid of that babypop girl. If it happens– and it’s not GOING to– I’m gonna get Niko back first, understand?

Niko: Somehow, this is all making me less confident compared to when I just ignored the issue…

Cecilia: Of course, Yui would not allow that to be even suggested as a plan either, even from me. …Especially from me. No, what I presented was our worst case scenario. In all likelihood, the communal nature of the Dreamscape will prevent Anisa’s wish from corrupting you, as it did her. My presence as a Malefica should go a long way to that effect, which is partially why I volunteered for this endeavor.

Niko: That was what I wanted to say, yes, eh… Not as eloquently, though, maybe… But… (she nods) T-Thank you for your concern.

Cecilia: …I know very few among you trust me. This is a reputation I have earned. But I assure you, Niko… I am here as an ally— as a friend. I have no ulterior motive this time. …For assurance, know that Yui is more than capable of defeating me in combat now, even with my sight.

Niko: Honestly, I dunno which one of you I should trust more, so… Glad to have you on my side, at least.

Cecilia: The answer, of course, is Yui, between her and myself. 

Niko: That wasn’t the reassurance I was hoping for…

Shinju: Dude, I don’t know what’s gone on with you and the Conductor people. I wasn’t even gonna say anything about not trusting you. 

Cecilia: I am omniscient— I can see almost anything in the world I want to. By nature, I withhold information that will change my visions. In that respect, I am not to be trusted. …Not blindly, at least. My intentions, on a grand scale, are for our victory over the Balancers. The minutiae, however, are part of a “script” I’ve had in my head for half a year. Yui, on the other hand, is an open book. She does this consciously and intentionally. Her power, her machinations, all of them are free, transparent, open knowledge.

Niko: Wait… So you know this is gonna end well? You knew all along?

Cecilia: …As things stand right now, yes, but… there have been divergences. If things continue to go the way they are right now, then… we will all be fine. But…

Niko: But what? Was Chie dying a “divergence”? What about Mei? And Hotaru? Did you know they were gonna surprise attack us?

Cecilia: (she’s silent for a long moment, her head lowering) …No one was supposed to die.

Niko: … Oh, for the— So your “I know everything that’s going to happen” thing sucks, basically? What good is a power like that if it’s not reliable?

Cecilia: The mechanism in which my sight operates relies on intent. For example… my vision of our safe rendezvous with Anisa relies on the fact that we wait here a while longer. But should we deviate from that path, future events will change, and there is a bit of time before I can see the “new” future born from that change of decision. Intentions… are a powerful tool, if one knows how to manipulate or read them. I am, unfortunately, bound by them. So yes, my vision is powerful… but not infallible. Someone or something changed enough of their intention to cause a subtle, yet dramatic shift in what I saw before I left town several months ago.

Niko: Uh… (she blinks a few times) What a—That’s… I… I guess?

Cecilia: …Seemingly overpowered powers like mine have a weakness, is the short version. 

Niko: I, uh… Yeah… So, you know enough to help me not turn into a monster but not enough to help everyone curb-stomp the Balancers, basically…?

Cecilia: Initially, I had envisioned a difficult, yet doable fight against the Balancers. My arrival was to herald in Shiori’s broadcast, but she had… taken her action much sooner than I had foreseen. From there, we would have made our stand, and… defeated them on their initial ambush. I’m… still not sure what changed. But as for here and now, what matters is not what I have seen, but my capacity as a Malefica to help contain much of the corruption of Anisa’s wish. …You will not turn into a Malefica… Not because I have seen it, but because I will make sure of it. Besides, with the rest of the Dreamscape behind you, this should… should be something you can manage.

Niko: (she nods) … Then maybe you shouldn’t jinx it, y’know… Like you predicted that we’d win against the Balancers, and like, that didn’t happen, so… Maybe we should just go for it without being so sure of ourselves… But also not so unsure we won’t do it… Just, like, not overthink, but not underthink, just… not think. I guess.

Cecilia: …That is why I am here, I think. To be more proactive, rather than taking the path of least resistance. When I saw my vision of the Balancers’ arrival, way back then… I took that singular vision as my cornerstone, and… it crumbled with time. I was far too sure of myself, too sure of my power to think that anything could change these events so drastically. …Yui was right, in the end. I should have planned the Incubators’ retaliation against us with her, instead of on my own. My hubris… has cost us far too dearly.

Niko: Then… What we’re doing here will help you set that right, no?

Cecilia: (she flashes a sad little smile from under her hood) …I have no idea. But I’m willing to do what I think is right without relying on this vision of mine anymore. 

Niko: I dunno, man… Your powers sound pretty cool. Let’s go for it, right?

Cecilia: …Indeed. Shinju, if you don’t mind taking point… our window is open.

Shinju: Yeah, okay. Stay close, Niko.