At the gym, a group of girls are anxiously gathered in front of a lone television screen in an improvised lounge area, watching helicopter camera footage of burning buildings and roving rioters as a frightened commentator’s voice frantically tries to make sense of what is going on. After a while, the live footage cuts to an interview with the prime minister, surrounded by microphones and lit by camera flashes, barely able to contain his befuddlement as journalists bombard him with questions about his sudden pivot to launching an evacuation of the city after ignoring the issue for so long.

Alice: … Well, the good news is that the suits in Tokyo finally grew a spine. I… would be a lot happier to see the JSDF return if I knew those hostages Shiori took were safe, though…

Yasu: It stands to reason, at any rate, that this is our window of opportunity to bring the fight to the remaining Balancers, and end this, once and for all.

Alice: Do you really wanna send more people out there at this point? … I think we need to regroup before we strike, but… I mean, I don’t have much of a say in this. Sorry.

Yasu: I’m not commanding anything, just… if it were up to me, I’d launch our attack right now.

Yui: We tried this before, Yasu. (Yui shakes her head, sitting right beside Alice in front of the television) We got our ass kicked.

Yasu: There are half of them now.

Yui: We got our ass kicked by half of them. You lot took out Moonlover. Worldeater wasn’t fighting us. No… I get what you’re sayin’, Yasu, but no, this isn’t the time.

Yuzuki: They’d be really dumb at this point if they ever let us get one of them alone again. Shiori might be dumb enough to do something impulsive, but the other one seems… 

Yui: Those twin Birds called not long ago. Seems that the weird Dreamscape mission is… going. But while it is, we don’t have Shinju, Niko or Cecilia to help us. …Anisa too, I guess, but I never counted her as a fighter in these plans. But… fuck, man, I wish I knew something so I knew what to fucking do.

Alice: Koharu ran off. She seems to know something.

Yui: Please tell me she didn’t take Revolver Ocelot with her…

Hanako: Yosuke? Yes, he went with her.

Yui: Son of a— God damn it, I really need to start paying more attention around here…

Yuzuki: (She furrows her brow) Why is he Revolver Ocelot? Because he’s a traitor? 

Yui: ‘Cause he’s a double agent. Also, it’s ironic.

Yuzuki: I’m surprised you’ve even played that g– 

Yasu: Ahem… can we focus? We have to make a call, everyone. We either go now, or hope another window comes along… while the city is burning to the ground as we speak.

For the first time in a long while, Yui shows outward, evident doubt. Her fist clenches tightly, her eyes not leaving the television. She freezes. She can’t decide. She can’t just sit here and do nothing. She can’t let the city be completely destroyed. She can’t risk any more of their lives. She can’t repeat what happened to Kotori, to Chiemi. …To Mei.

Alice: (she puts her hand on Yui’s shoulder) Hey… Take five, okay? We’ll figure something out.

Yui: (Yui jumps slightly, but gives Alice a slow nod) Yeah.

Toi: (she whistles) Dang, gang’s all here, huh? Looks like the waiting room to my office at school in here— (she smiles as eye heads turn towards her) Apologies. I had Ms. Sasaki let me in. 

Hanako: I-I… I recognize her from school, so—

Toi: Anisa sent me out there to help her when she’s dealing with— (she falls silent when she notices Yuzuki in the crowd) … Oh.

Yui: Man… I would not open with the Anisa button ‘round these parts.

Yuzuki: (She doesn’t react for a second, staring at the new arrival. She squints, then suddenly leaps to her feet) T… Toi!? 

Toi: Yuzuki… (she looks Yuzuki into the eyes, before averting her eyes) … S-Sorry, I should have known.

Yuzuki: What— (She runs to Toi and puts her hands on her shoulders, as if to confirm she’s real by touch) Oh, Toi! Is it really you? 

Toi: I… I’m afraid it is, yeah.

Yuzuki: Oh! (She hugs Toi hard for a brief moment) B-but how? I thought the Hierarchy had you! It’s been years…! 

Toi: I… Yuzuki, I would love to tell you everything, but I’m afraid there’s just no time… I…It’s a long, long story, but it’s… It’s so unfair that I’ve had to keep this a secret for so long…

Yuzuki: (Without another word, she hugs Toi tightly, rocking back and forth) 

Toi: (she reciprocates Yuzuki’s embrace) Gosh… I’m, uh, gonna let Mrs. Sasaki take over for me for a bit, if that is okay… Where is she, even? We arrived here together.

Katsumi: Ahem… I am not one to spoil a moment, you know. It’s good for old friends to catch up. But yes, down to business. We have located the initial group of hostages taken by Ms. Yasuda— codename “Firestarter” I suppose— back when this started. We intend on taking a convoy of volunteers to free said hostages, thus releasing this city from the grip of this “Firestarter” once and for all.

Alice: Hostages… You mean those people in those videos she kept sending out? Are they still alive?

Katsumi: We believe so. There is a gathering of people around the warehouses by the pier. The only conclusion I can draw is that they are guarding something. The only ‘something’ I can think of, in that regard, would be those hostages. Our enemy has operated thus far on leverage. Without hostages, they have no leverage over us.

Yuzuki: (She sniffles, pulling away from Toi) I-I’ll go. Protecting people is the one thing I’m good at. If I’m there, even p… if they put a gun to the hostage’s heads I can stop them. 

Yui: Whoa, Yuzu… is that a good idea? I mean, you’re one of the toughest among us. I mean, you’d be perfect for protectin’ and shieldin’ the innocent folk, but… damn it all.

Yasu: It’s the perfect diversion, though. If the Balancers’ attention is drawn towards the hostages, they won’t expect us to attack.

Yui: An’ we got some tough ass people in our group. But with Sis an’ Shinju out of action… ugh, I just wish they were here!

Hanako: …Shinju will come when she is needed, Yui. She always does. If there’s one thing about me, it’s my blind trust in my friends. But with Shinju… that trust is never misplaced.

Yui: …(she glances at Yuzuki with a serious expression) Yuzu… are you sure about this? Does this feel right to you?

Yuzuki: (She takes off her glasses and wipes her eyes, but nods) Y-yeah, I’d say so. If we wait, they’ll move the hostages or… start killing them, at this rate… and I’d say we need to do something also to keep Shiori and the Chinese one away from the rescue. If they show up, I-I wouldn’t put it past them to go right past us to kill the hostages, and I might not be able to stop that…

Yui: If anyone I knew in this bitch of a city could, it’s you, Yuzu. You really are kinda our shield, aren’cha? (Yui nods slowly) …Yeah. Yeah, this’ll work. I think this might actually be our best bet.

Alice: We’re gonna take the shot, then? Niko hasn’t made it back here safely. Isn’t it better to wait and find out what she’s learnt?

Yui: …No, we’ll have time after the fact. These are enemies we can beat, just tougher than most. We have to take any advantage we can, Alice.

Yuzuki: Honestly, it might be better to have some people on a delay… so they can go to wherever’s needed after we get started. 

Katsumi: Do you have a plan, then, Arashi-san?

Yui: …Think I do, yeah.

Alice: Hold up. I’ll hold the fort, we’ll need someplace to retreat to, so the Baton’s illusion needs to be maintained. I’m sure I can count on Aoi, but someone else’s gonna have to stay here to protect us. They might try the same approach we’re taking.

Aoi: I’ll be here, of course. Doing what I always do. 

Yui: Hey, Cotton Candy, you’re up. (she nudges her head towards Ueno)

Ueno: Uh, r-right. If she comes here, I’ll raise the alarm and throw so many heavy metal cake stands that emo won’t know what hit her! 

Yui: I trust ya to keep the fort held down. Yuzu, you go along with the adults an’ get those hostages outta there. Priority is defense, makin’ you perfect for the job. Koharu an’ Yosuke’ll probably be there, too, so keep an eye out, yeah? 

Hanako: Then, the rest of us…

Yui: Get a hold of either Kiwa, or the twin Birds. They’ll need to wake Cecilia and Shinju up an’ get out there ASAP. The rest of us, we’re gonna go put out some fires, and stay decently close together, just in case Punisher is one of them. We find her, we swarm with everything we have. We beat her, and we’re out of this shit storm for good.

Yasu: What about Firestarter?

Yui: …Shiori’s mine. I got a plan cookin’ up for her, specifically.

Alice: … You sure it’s a good plan?

Yui. Oh, absolutely not. But I know I can stop her..

Yuzuki: Are you gonna try some crazy plan to spare her? I don’t know if she’ll behave afterwards, even if you do…

Alice: The Shiori we know is gone…

Yui: …Nothing’s ever gone forever. Nothing. Not while I live and breathe. (clearing her throat, she turns back to the others) Now then! We have our plan. Any questions?

Toi: Has… Kyubey ever mentioned something called “the Path” to any of you? Heck, has it spoken to any of you after… marking us all for death, essentially?

Yuzuki: N-no, not much after I found out about Witches from Mikoto’s diary and stuff…

Aoi: He used to still speak to me before I came back to town and started the group. I don’t know why he stopped then, but he never mentioned anything like that. 

Hanako: He… has not spoken to me much since making my contract.

Yasu: He’s avoided me mostly since I moved to Tokyo.

Yui: Bastard’s been ducking me since I made my contract, too. …What is this “Path” thing?

Toi: It’s… something Kyubey alluded to… It came to visit us the other day, me and An— (she briefly glances at Yuzuki) … associate of mine. Claiming it knew about what the Hierarchy is doing to us, and… Why it is trying to kill us.

Yuzuki: Wh… what do you mean? How does Kyubey know anything about that? Hasn’t the Hierarchy ruined enough already!?

Toi: I wish I could tell you, but… I think that what we previously believed to be two distinct entities… two distinct enemies, might actually be one and the same… That everything that transcends the laws of nature, eventually can be traced back to the Incubators.

Yui: God damn it… 

Yuzuki: (Shakes her head) I’ve never known them to do anything good, so I can’t say it’s that surprising… 

Toi: … But it’s not just about… I don’t know how to say this, but I think Kyubey hates us not because we’re not falling for its scam, so to say… It seems to be truly convinced that what it is doing is the way things are supposed to be. Like this “Balancing” is some kind of inquisition. They’ve done it before… in Kamihama.

Alice: … Isn’t that where Kiwako is from?

Yui: More questions from that freaking kid… but I don’t think it’s that simple. Remember that Ozymandias chick? I imagine that some Balancings are played straight, to stop people like Tomatsu from going wild with power, or leaking the secret. This, however… this feels like something different.

Aoi: It sounds like Kyubey treated Tomatsu like his pet project, like I used to be. Otherwise he should have called in his goons on her long before any of you got to her. 

Yui: It’s acting both like it’s been waiting for the right moment to call in this Balancing, and also that it’s running out of time. I’ve been all over Japan, and I’ve never seen the genie cat act like this before.

Toi: If I’m correct, though, from what I’ve been told, Tomatsu’s goals aligned with Kyubey’s own. It seems to tolerate a lot of… well, let’s call it “shenanigans”, as long as it ultimately gets what it wants — and what it wants is for Puellae Magi to turn into Witches.

Alice: Plus… There was that Moonlover girl, right? It’s like… She also couldn’t turn into a Witch, I suppose — I mean, that’s what I’m assuming if she literally can’t feel any pain or negativity or whatever… If she weren’t on Kyubey’s side, the fucker’d probably have her marked for “Balancing” too. Same with the other ones. It’s not just about culling those Puellae Magi who become too powerful. It’s about eliminating those who pose an actual threat to his entire grift.

Yui: But then… why wait ‘til now? It could’ve sent these Joker wannabes at us at any time, while we were busy with other shit. Like Kae, for example.

Toi: Good question… Maybe we’ll have to look at it from a different perspective… As in not that you have already passed a certain benchmark that would trigger a Balancing, so to say, but that you’re about to — and the Balancing is supposed to prevent that, rather than punish any potential past transgressions. Does that make sense?

Aoi: (She scoffs) If you ask me, with me and Tomatsu, he was trying out some personal projects the other Incubators wouldn’t approve of, and now he’s in a panic to erase all the evidence. 

Alice: But then why doesn’t he even seem to mind if the entire world learns about the existence of Puellae Magi?

Yui: It can probably cover it up, just like the first Walpurgisnacht attack.

Toi: (she chuckles) That wasn’t Kyubey, though. That was us.

Yui: Right, but, if Kyubey knows about this “Hierarchy” and what it’s doing to you, or god forbid behind it somehow… 

Toi: It can do anything… as long as he’s got a wish and a catalyst powerful enough to make it. If there are people powerful enough to wish for the destruction of a world… (she glances at Alice), surely there are people powerful enough to wish for the birth of a new one.

Yui: …I think we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves, though. We have a window to bring the fight to the Balancers in a way that won’t leave us wide open in turn.

Alice: I’ll file everything else under “concerns for later”.

Yui: Right. So, let’s be about it. We get Kiwa and the Birds in, that’ll help. Shinju and Cecilia wake up soon, it’ll help even more. Ready everyone?