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Tales from Tama Town

Final Arc

Chapter 49

After Natsumi's words, there came a lull. Then the crowd began to murmur, and people broke off into little clusters. Soon enough, there were two distinct groups and another bout of accusations and insults. The argument lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Fun Gal could only sit back and observe, the smile never leaving her face. The truth, after all, had to be laid bare. She watched, as one by one the others began to spill the beans on their secrets. They were afraid, and angry, but the truth found its way out. It was inevitable. Stella's condition, the experiments on the Othersiders, the Third Incident, it all spilled into the light.

"This was supposed to be a strategy meeting, right?" Hibiku murmured, but her words fell on deaf ears. Even Karen, the most timid of them, found herself swept up in the drama. She stood there, in the middle of the chaos, and lobbed her own gripes. Her resentment for her treatment at the hands of Mel, her anger at Miki's hypocrisy, her frustration with Yuki's nonchalant attitude, all of it was laid bare. But, the more they argued, the clearer the picture became.

"So, what now? Where does that leave us?" Setsuna asked once the crowd was ready to talk again. She voiced the question that had been hanging in the air for a while. "We've got a lot of pieces, but we're still not sure how they all fit together." There was a chorus of agreement, and the mood shifted. The anger and fear had drained away, and in its place was a sense of resolve.

"Mel," Nana began, her voice calm. "I know you're trying to help, and I respect that. But, this is a lot of information to take in." The frail girl leaned back against the wall and sighed. "We need to talk to Hoshino. If he's onto something, if he knows something, then he can't keep it to himself." There was a pause, and Nana allowed her spear to fade away into motes of light "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Fun Gal. This is getting out of control."

"We should go to the JSDF. Or the UN? Someone, anyone. We should tell the adults. We should let THEM deal with it." Tsumugi pleaded.

"We can't," Chieko shook her head. "They can't fight the Othersiders. It's either the kids who can see the things, like us, or someone who has a connection to the Otherside. Like the mercs." She shook her head. "So let's deal with the immediate: find out how Yoshi managed that little miracle under all ours noses, and find out what the hell 'touched' means. Then we can tackle the other issues." Her eyes drifted to Felipe, as if she was readying to dissect him. "And, in the meantime, we have to do something about that kid—"

"His name is Felipe, you jerk." Kam stepped forward. "He's one of us! He's a Sweeper. He's not an 'it,' he's not a monster." Chieko smirked at him, surprised by the sudden display of anger, but she relented. After all, the Sweepers outnumbered the Central Reps in this meeting, and they had said little since arriving. The last thing anyone needed was for another fight to break out.

"Alright, yeah. Look, we need to figure out what that means, alright?" Chieko turned to face Felipe and flashed him a thumbs up. "We'll keep you safe, okay? You and that Stella girl too." She turned to Miki next, and her smile soured. "And you're going to explain everything, aren't you. What are the symptoms, what are the side-effects? How do you catch it? Is it a virus? Is it a disease? Is it contagious?" She pressed, but Miki only shook her head.

"It's... I don't know." She admitted. "Stella, she just... she's still the same person, but sometimes she gets so angry, it's like she's someone else. And, and, there was this one time she just," the girl struggled to find the words. "She just, she wasn't herself, you know?"

"What do you propose, then?" Darryl asked, a veteran Sweeper on the cusp of adulthood. He carried himself with an aura of authority, and the others seemed to defer to his judgement. Soon enough, ideas were flowing between them. Ideas for containment, ideas for treatment, and ideas about how to proceed.

"I think that's what we need to do," Langston's voice carried a sense of finality, and everyone fell quiet. "We're all on the same page now. Mel, you lay low and help us snoop on Hoshino, maybe confront him later. Nana will need to recuperate for a while longer, but her and Knockout can keep eyes on the 'touched,' make sure they're still on the level. Stella's my dear friend, and Felipe seems like a good kid. Let's not lose sight of that. The rest of us will keep patrolling, and keep our eyes and ears open. We've gotta figure this out, or we're toast." He clapped his hands. "Any questions? No? Good. Meeting adjourned."

It was hard to tell who was more surprised by Langston's sudden display of maturity: his fellow Sweepers, or the shrine maidens. Either way, the meeting ended, and the group dispersed, each of them heading off in a different direction. Some were on patrol, others were going home. Still others huddled together in small groups to talk strategy and logistics. "Um... it was my meeting..." Hibiku's hand fell back to her side as she realized there was no one left to address. "Oh, you guys suck!" She turned and stormed back into the shrine, ready to clean up the awful mess they had left behind.

"I think that went well, all things considered." Fun Gal mused from the corner of the room. "I mean, we didn't get much done, but I think it was a productive use of our time." Hibiku gasped as she saw the Magical Girl still standing there. "Hey, don't mind me. I'll help clean up. I love sweeping!" The Magical Girl beamed as she looked around the room. "Witches love brooms, after all!"

She decided to just accept the help. The future was going to be long, difficult, and messy. She would do what she could to prepare. For now, though, all she wanted to do was clean up the shrine and go to bed.

Chapter 50

"Ben, Stella! Your friends are at the door!" Lenore's annoyed call rang from downstairs. "Hurry, before they start climbing in through the damn window again!" It was Thursday evening, a few days after the meeting at the shrine; Ben and Stella were not expecting guests though. Ben, who had been busy studying for his upcoming midterms, perked to attention. Stella, however, was curled up in a nest of blankets and pillows, half asleep, and wholly disinterested in who might be at the door. "If you don't hurry, I'm going to send them away!" Lenore threatened. She was no stranger to teenage antics, being a college student, but that didn't mean she was interested in tolerating them. "Don't make me come up there."

"Just a minute!" Ben shouted back. Lenore was the scariest woman he knew, and he knew that her threats weren't idle ones. "Who could it be?" He wondered aloud as he passed by Stella's room. There was a groan from under the pile of bedding, but nothing he could interpret. Ben started down the stairs, and Stella, with a great effort, extracted herself from her cocoon. These past few days, neither sibling felt like doing much. Ever since that night they went on patrol with Knockout, it was like a fog had descended over their heads. Ben was recovering well, but he was still lethargic and weak. Even the most menial tasks were a struggle. As for Stella, the girl felt drained and empty. She hadn't even been to ballet practice since their encounter.

"Anne?!" Ben exclaimed as he came down the stairs to find the young Magical Girl standing on the doorstep in her school uniform and looking very unamused. "What... what brings you here?" Ben asked as he looked her over. Then, he noticed the other two figures behind her. One was a boy about his age, the other was a girl in her late teens.

"What a fine way to greet your guests." Anne huffed as she stepped past Ben and into the house without waiting for an invitation. "I'm hurt, Ben. Really, you need to work on your manners." She teased, as if she found being upset with him a real chore. "Anyway, I came over to check up on you. It's been a few days since we talked; I thought we were friends! Isn't that why you gave me your number, so we can keep in touch?" Lenore rolled her eyes from her place by the stairs before ascending to give them privacy. Teenagers and their theatrics.

'I didn't know we were friends,' Ben thought, but decided it was in his best interest to keep the remark to himself. They had hit it off that night, or so he believed. After the incident, however, his memories of her were a hazy mess. "Sorry, I'm still a bit out of it." He told her, before he addressed her two associates. "Uh, come on in!"

"So, what brings you all the way to my house?" He asked as the white-haired kid and the raven-haired one filed in behind her. Ben didn't recognize them. They weren't from his school, though they did have that look to them—harrowed and tired. Maybe they were Sweepers? Ben wondered if he looked so run down to everyone else.

The two exchanged looks, and then the dark haired girl spoke up. "Hey, I'm Nana. Do you make a habit of ignoring your texts?" She asked with a deadpan stare. The question caught Ben off guard. "We tried to get a hold of you, but your phone was off. So we got the address from Miki and came here instead. Anne tagged along because she knows you."

"I'm Felipe." The boy next to her said. "From Third. And I don't really want to be here, but uh... I mean, they'll explain?" His voice had a shaky quality to it, and his eyes darted from side to side as if he were expecting to be attacked at any moment. "You misse—" He was cut off when Nana nudged him in the ribs.

Third? Ben shuddered at the thought of that district. He hadn't been there since the slaughter last month that had put the whole town on edge. "Texts?" Ben asked. "No, um, I wasn't feeling well, and, well, it's been a weird week." The three of them shared a look that Ben didn't appreciate. It seemed like they knew something he didn't, and that made him feel uncomfortable. "What's going on?"

Nana's answer was blunt and to the point. "We're here for your sister, mostly. Miki should have filled you in, but I guess things have been busy." Ben nodded without understanding. He was getting better at that, he supposed. Just nod, smile, and hope that no one noticed that you had no idea what they were talking about. That was the key to success. "Anne wanted to help us talk, I guess." Then, the girl leaned in and whispered. "Between you and me, she's a lot nicer when she's in that stupid Knockout getup—"

"Hey! I heard that, Nana!" Anne protested. "I'm a very nice person! You guys are just bad vibes, is all." She patted Ben on the shoulder. "So, how about we go talk to your sister now. We need to check up on her." Her tone became more serious, but she still had that ever present hint of a smirk on her lips. "Let's go see her, okay?"

Ben nodded and turned to the staircase. He didn't bother asking why they were here for Stella, given how strange she'd been behaving this past few weeks, and how odd these last few days had been for him as well. Nana and the other two followed him without saying much of anything, and the four of them made their way to Stella's room. "Stella?" Ben rapped his knuckles against her door. When he got a groan in reply, he opened the door a crack and poked his head in. "Stell, you've got guests. Knockout and a couple of others. I'll leave you three alone. Just, uh, just knock if you need anything."

"Hey." Nana grabbed Ben's arm before he could walk away. Her grip was firm, her expression inscrutable. "You can stick around for this. Might be best if you did." The boy blinked and looked to Anne, who fiddled with her hair. She gave him a small nod and a smile when she saw him looking, and that was all that he needed.

Stella was sitting in the bed, huddled under the blankets. She looked up at the newcomers and mumbled something that might have been a greeting. Nana took the initiative and sat down on the edge of Stella's bed. "Been a lot of secrets lately. I think the new policy is to just throw everything out into the open. You can decide how you want to handle it, after. So, I'm Nighty-Knight from Fifth District. This is Felipe from Third. And Knockout from... was it Ninth? She said that she patrols here though."

"I mean, I live in Ninth. But yeah." Anne nodded.

"Oh. Um. Okay." Stella's voice was faint. "I'm Stella. I live here?" Her gaze flitted to each of them in turn, lingering on Felipe a moment longer than the others. As if he was familiar to her. "I'm uh, tired. What's going on?"

Nana leaned back and crossed her arms. "It's going to sound crazy, but we're here to check up on you. Something happened to you, and to this guy. We don't know what it was, but it's something that we've never seen before." The girl's tone shifted to one that Ben didn't expect. It was gentle and sympathetic. "And last week you had an episode while on patrol, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "You, your brother, and Knockout had to be subdued."

"What, do you mean we got drugged?!" Stella was suddenly on her feet and glaring at the three. "What? What are you talking about?" She clenched her fists and her knuckles went white. "Ben, what is she talking about? Are you saying you roofied me?! You're the ones that did it, aren't you! Aren't you!" She was shaking now, and Ben felt a wave of panic wash over him. He knew there was something wrong with them both, ever since that night, but this?

"Woah, woah, calm down! I'm not even from here, and neither is Felipe!" Nana raised her hands and looked at the two siblings. "Okay, okay, look. Look." She took a deep breath. "I'm gonna be honest with you. We don't know what's going on. We're trying to get to the bottom of this, and all we know for sure is that Stella and Felipe here are both... different." The word was like a curse, and the siblings stiffened. "And that thing in Stella? It's a little stronger than the one in Felipe. So, we need to talk. Okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean, 'different,' huh?" Stella snarled. "What do you mean? Why am I 'different'?" Ben moved to her side, he could feel the fear coming off of her in waves. "Why me?!" She pointed at Knockout. "She was there, too! Why didn't she get cursed or hexed or whatever the hell you're talking about?! Why not her?!" She was trembling now, and Anne reached out a hand to comfort her. "No!" Stella batted it away. "No! Answer me!"

"You had it before that night." Anne shrugged. "We think there might have been a catalyst. Like, a trigger, or something." Stella fell silent. "You were really mad at me that night, Stella. I don't know why! Ben and me were just trying to talk, and then, and then, well." She shrugged again and looked to the siblings. Her eyes were wide with fear. "I... I didn't want to hurt you, okay? That's why I called in Fun Gal for the rescue. That's why the two of you have been so, so, so tired. You were in danger. And, and..." Anne bit her lip and trailed off.

"Stella, it's not her fault." Nana grabbed the girl by her shoulders, trying to get her attention. "Hey, look at me. You're sick, and you... emitted something a few nights ago. Knockout thinks it's the Othersiders, and Fun Gal agrees. So, here's what we're thinking. There's a new threat, right? And you and Felipe are the first people to show symptoms, but that doesn't mean there aren't others. We just haven't noticed yet. But, we're gonna figure this out, alright? Just, stay calm. Don't freak out. Don't stress about it." Nana turned to Felipe, who had been watching the whole time in silence. "Hey, Felipe, can you show her what you got?"

"Uh... sure." He lifted up his shirt, revealing a patch of discoloured skin the size of his fist, a dark grey mark that contrasted with his tan complexion. "This happened to me, like, a day or two ago? It doesn't hurt, no fever or anything. It just kinda... itches sometimes." He shrugged, and then rolled his shirt back down. "It's weird, right? Like, gross. But it doesn't really matter."

"Oh." Stella looked at it, then at the boy. "Um, I don't have one." Stella sounded more worried than angry now. "I think." Ben, sensing that things were calming down again, left to fetch his phone. He wanted to record everything that was said, just in case. "So, can we go over this again, please? I, uh, didn't follow any of that." Stella mumbled. Ben returned with his phone, and set it on the table.

"Sure, from the top." Nana nodded. "I'm gonna fill you in on as much as we know." The five sat down on the bed, and Nighty-Knight began to tell her story.

Chapter 51

The streets were dark, but it may as well have been midday for her. She moved with light steps, a shadow amongst shadows, as she stalked through the rooftops of Tama's night life. "Three Youma." A thousand little voices reported the creatures' location, none of them hers. "On the move." A chorus of tiny, leathery wings flapped, and a horde of noroi flew past her in search of dreams.

No, wait, that wasn't right. She wasn't there, yet a peel of gunfire echoed across the rooftops. "Found them," the On-Siders declared in unison, and then the dream faded away.

She was standing in an alleyway, her back against a brick wall. It was night, but the streets were full of people who were going about their business without noticing her. She could smell the sea, the salt air mixing with the stink of the garbage bin to her right. A man walked past her, oblivious to the danger he was in. A moment later, clawed hands and gnashing teeth dragged him into the darkness. Hers were not the only eyes watching, after all. "Tsukaima!" A thousand shrill voices screeched in unison, none of them hers.

She was deadlier than the Tsukaima, but she didn't get involved. Her hands were tied. Her feet were bound. Her voice was silenced. Oh, wait, that wasn't right. She wasn't there.

A thousand little eyes blinked and looked at her, none of them hers. She soared over the cityscape on wings of shadow. On-Sider, Noroi, Tsukaima, Youma, others, too many to name. She saw them all, the men, the women, the children, and the things. The ones who were happy. The ones who were sad. The ones who were afraid. And those who weren't there. Buckshot tore through the night sky and scattered her flock. A flash of pain, and a blur of motion, and she was falling through the air. But that wasn't what was supposed to happen.

"Son, what the hell is all this?" A handsome older gentleman, a man with a thick, black beard and an expensive-looking suit, was looking over a series of papers strewn about on a desk. He shoved a stack towards the younger figure standing on the other side. "How?! Is this a joke?!"

"Father, please, I can explain!" The younger man was flanked by two mercenaries. Both of them had rifles slung over their shoulders. "I've made a breakthrough! This is just the first stage. Soon, soon, I'll be onto bigger and better things!"

"This is insane, Yoshi. Too many people have gone missing already." There was a sharp edge to his father's voice. "We can't cover this up anymore."

"Father, be rational. The overall numbers are going DOWN, not up! Project Yoru is working! I'm onto a big discovery here! Do you know how much money we can make off this, selling it to the JSDF? We could sell it to the Americans! Look at how easil—"

"Yoshi. You're done. I've had enough of your little hobbies." The older Hoshino man shook his head. "What you're doing, it's getting too close to home." The two mercenaries stepped forward, reaching out to grab him by the arms.

"Wait, wait, wait! Please!" Yoshi protested, but they were too strong. "Don't make me do this. Don't force my hand." One of them pulled a pistol from his holster. He paused, then nodded to the older Hoshino. The barrel of the gun was pointed at Yoshi's chest. "Observer: now!"

Her hands raked at flesh and cloth alike. Her fangs sunk deep into muscle and bone. Blood splattered across the walls, and she licked her lips with glee. Two men, dead and bleeding, their bodies ripped open by her claws, and a third seemed oblivious to what was happening. He was looking at Yoshi, as if they were all alone in the office. A moment later, the old man stammered backwards. "You... what just happened?"

"That's why you don't bring guns into my lab, father." Yoshi's voice was cold, colder than the grave. "Now, are you going to listen to reason, or am I going to have to deal with you, too?" He paused, and then sighed. "Father, there's no more time, okay? Things are progressing quickly. You're going to want to be on the right side of this." His eyes went wide as he stepped towards the older man, who was now backed up against a wall. "I'm sure Antaeus will appreciate this."

She wasn't there. This wasn't her memory. It wasn't her experience. She was somewhere else, far away. She was asleep, she was dreaming. "Ah, Keichi's there."

"Keichi's there." The voices echoed from an alleyway, and her eyes watered as the dream faded away. No voices. No visions. She was disconnected and in pain. Her body was aching, and she was alone in the darkness. Sleep paralysis, a nightmare, an awful, terrible, horrible dream that had left her lost, disoriented, and confused. This was—

"Mary, darling?" A voice called out from the darkness. It was familiar and comforting. It was the sound of home. "Darling, please, wake up!" The sound was getting louder. "Mary, we love you. Please, come back to us!" She lay on a bed, her arms and legs bound to the rails. She was covered in tubes, wires, and bandages, and she could hear the faint beep of a machine monitoring her heartbeat. "Come on, Mary, don't do this to us. Not like this." Her mother's voice was hoarse and tired, but she could hear the love in it. "We need you. Please, come back to us." Open. She tried to force compliance on her body, but it didn't respond. She needed to wake up, she had to wake up!

Her eyes opened and she saw a girl in sleek silver armour standing before her in an apartment. A broad-headed spear was pointed at her, and she felt the cold steel against her neck. "You're a real piece of work, aren't you? I bet you think you're invincible, don't you?" The blade swung down and—

"F-found you." She wasn't there.

Chapter 52

"Found you." Stella's eyes shot open at the sound of the raspy voice, and the girl found herself looking up at the ceiling of her room. Her heart was racing, and she was covered in sweat. She took deep breaths to try to calm herself down. The nightmare was already starting to fade away, but the terror lingered in the back of her mind like a shadowy spectre. It had been a few days since Nana had come to talk to her, and they'd been checking in every day. She had to admit, the idea of being 'infected' with an Othersider was a scary one. But, at least she wasn't alone.

She glanced over at her clock, and saw that it was three in the morning. "What..." The words were difficult to form, her mouth was so dry. Her body was sore, and her muscles ached. "What are you doing here?" She looked over to see a Noroi, a little one, hovering above her. Its wings were beating so fast that they were a blur, and it was staring at her with those big, black eyes. She reached for the collapsible baton Lenore had given her, but the thing didn't move to attack. Instead, it just kept watching her, as if waiting for her to do something.

Stella wasn't sure why, but she had the sudden urge to grab her phone. The screen flickered to life when she hit the button, revealing an incoming call from a number she didn't recognize. She didn't think, she just pressed the 'answer' button and brought the device up to her ear. "Hello?" There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then a voice spoke.

"Hey," It was Felipe. "Sorry, I know it's late. Uh..." Stella sat up on the bed, her eyes still focused on the tiny noroi. What was it doing? Why was it here? Why wasn't it attacking? "I get the feeling you see one of them, too." He told her. "Is it doing anything?"

"Um, no, no, it's not." The girl replied. "It's just staring at me. What do I do? Should I... try to catch it?"

"I crushed mine, but it felt a little... bad?" He admitted. "I dunno, it feels wrong somehow, but they're Othersiders. We're supposed to kill them, right? That's what we've been doing this whole time!"

"Right, but..." She reached out to touch the creature, and it didn't move. "But if it's not attacking you..." The thing's skin was smooth, almost rubbery. It felt warm to the touch, and she could feel its little heartbeat beneath her fingertips. "... maybe we shouldn't hurt it either."

"Look, these things are the reason half of Tama can't sleep at night. They might be small, but they're dangerous. Just... if it's not attacking you, just... I dunno, swat it like a fly." She looked at the little noroi and frowned. She didn't want to hurt it. Even though she had fought so many of them before, this one seemed different. "Stella? You still there?" Felipe's voice snapped her back to reality. "It's not hypnotizing you, is it?"

"Uh, no, no, it's not." The girl replied. "I'm just... I mean, maybe it is." She admitted. "But it doesn't feel like anything I've felt from a Noroi before." She ran her hand along the length of its body, and the thing didn't move. It just kept staring at her. "It's not trying to eat me or suck out my dreams or whatever it is those things do. I dunno." Stella took a deep breath and then exhaled, and the creature didn't move.

"Yeah, maybe, but... look, don't let your guard down, alright?" Felipe's voice was stern, almost angry. "Cripes, it's fucking 3 in the morning. I was gonna say, if you wanna get Nana, I'd be okay with that, but... she's probably asleep." Stella could see that, in the moonlight, her arm was covered in tiny marks, red and angry, like bites from insects. "I mean, I could, but..."

"Hey Felipe, when did that bruise show up on you?" She asked, suddenly curious. The boy on the other end of the line paused for a moment. "I mean, the one on your chest. When did it appear? Did you feel it? Because my arm looks like, um... well, like someone tried to use it as a pincushion." She was rambling now, but she didn't care. The noroi was still staring at her.

"Um, it just kinda showed up one day. Didn't feel anything." He paused again. "You don't think that Noroi did this to you, do you?" There was a rustling sound from his side of the call. "I mean, we should get Nana. Maybe you can trap the little guy and we can have her take a look at it? Or, y'know, maybe just crush the thing. I dunno." There was a pause, and then, "you weren't at the meeting, but Mel got Nana pretty pissed off when she captured a Tsukaima. Best you smoosh it. If you can." Stella thought about that for a moment, then shook her head.

"Nah, nah, I'll trap it," Stella decided, even though she had no idea how she would do that. "I don't think this one's a danger to anyone. It's so small, and it's so... passive." She looked at the tiny creature, and it looked back at her. "It's weird." She was staring at a monster from the Otherside, and somehow, she felt safe. "I dunno, I just get the feeling that it's not going to hurt me. It might even be trying to keep me company."

"Okay," Felipe sounded worried. "Just, um, oh! One other thing. You hear anything out of the ordinary? I mean, like... I dunno, a choir, maybe?" Stella was silent. "Okay, okay, so, it's kinda hard to explain. It's like a, um, a bunch of whispers all at once. And you're hearing them with your ears and your head at the same time. Woke up and I could've sworn I heard it in the distance. I guess it was just a dream?" The boy sighed. "It sounds stupid when I say it out loud."

"I dunno, I don't think it's stupid," Stella shrugged, and then paused. "Actually, yeah, I heard it too. It woke me up. It didn't sound like anyone I recognized, but it felt familiar." She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I can't really remember what they were saying, but it wasn't a dream. It felt too real."

"Huh, that's kinda weird..." Felipe trailed off for a moment, then came back with a sudden burst of words. "You don't think we've got, like, a psychic link or something? Maybe we're both dreaming the same dream! Or maybe the Othersiders have a hive mind or something!" He was talking fast now, his words coming in a rapid-fire stream that made Stella's head spin. "What if the two of us are, like, part of the same giant brain? That would be so cool! Do you think we could, like, read each other's minds? Like, telepathy and stuff?"

"Uh, I don't think that's how it works, Felipe." Stella couldn't help but smile as the boy's enthusiasm. "Besides, do we WANT to be part of some big, shared Othersider brain? I mean, that sounds dangerous." She shuddered at the thought, and the tiny noroi wiggled in response.

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess not. But, I mean, maybe we can use it to our advantage." Felipe's voice was full of hope, and Stella couldn't help but feel a little bit of optimism creep into her heart, too. Just a few days ago, she had been terrified of what was happening to her. Of the unknown, of herself. Yet, she felt a growing sense of... camaraderie between her and the boy from Third. As if they were in this together. As if they had a connection. "Maybe we're like, uh, immune to the Othersiders, or something." The words were out of Felipe's mouth before he could stop himself.

"Huh, I dunno, Felipe," Stella replied. "I mean, I'm pretty sure we're not immune. Anyways, I'm going to find a box to put this guy in. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We can talk more about this when we meet up." Stella hung up the phone and got out of bed. The tiny Noroi floated over her head as she moved, and then it hovered in front of the door, as if waiting for her to open it. She reached for the doorknob, and the creature flew back towards her. It landed on her hand, and its wings brushed against her skin. It was a strange sensation, but not in a bad way. "You're not gonna hurt anyone, right?" Stella looked at the thing in her palm, and it just stared back at her with those big black eyes. "Okay, you're piling on the creepy, but whatever. I'm going to go look for a jar to put you in. If you want to stay, that's fine, but if you try to hurt me, I'm going to squash you." The creature was silent, and Stella took that as a sign that it understood.

Chapter 53

Morning broke over Tama's skyline, and Felipe snatched the phone off his desk to check for texts from Nana. There was nothing. That was weird: as far as he knew, she was hawkish in checking up on him and Stella. He dismissed it with a shrug and got ready for school. Maybe her health was still on the mend?

He went about his usual routine, showered, dressed, ate, and then made his way to the bus station. Still nothing. He boarded his bus and shot Stella a text to make sure everything was alright. "Hey old timer, how goes it?" Ricky took a seat next to the boy and ruffled his friend's white hair. "Oh, texting your girlfriend, huh?"

"Hey!" Felipe shoved his friend away. "Get off my case, man! She's not my girlfriend—not that I'd complain if she were!" He grinned at the thought. "We're just commiserating, alright? Been sort of a wild couple of days." Ricky knew the gist of what was going on with Felipe, but not the details. That was fine.

"Right, your Doctor Jekyll thing." Ricky nodded. "Hey, warn me before you get all Hyde on my ass, okay?" Felipe shoved his friend a second time, and they both laughed. "Anyway, how about patrolling with your friends tonight? Or maybe you have another one of those weird group-therapy sessions with Nighty-Knight?" Felipe knew that his friend would never say it aloud, but Ricky totally missed him. The new Sweepers were great and all, but most of them were just... well, they didn't bring the banter.

"Here's hoping for the former, man. I'm not sure how many of those I can handle. If it's the latter, I'll let you know." Felipe sighed. "Anyways, we're here. See ya after class?" Ricky gave Felipe a little nod before the two of them got off the bus and headed their separate ways. Felipe's phone buzzed as he stepped off the vehicle, and he checked it. There was a message from Nana, finally. "Hey, I'm sick. Don't feel so hot." He frowned at that. Nana dismissed the whole thing with a quick, "Don't worry, I'll text you later."

He felt a pit in his stomach, and not even the prospect of a free period could lift his spirits. He sat down at his desk and felt the day creep by like molasses, even as he tried to pay attention to the lectures and take notes. When the lunch bell rang, he made his way to the cafeteria and sat down at a table with his usual friends. "What's up, buttercup?" Mel tried to coax a response out of him.

"Uh... not much. Free to join you guys on patrol tonight, if you're up for it." Felipe let the stupid rhyme slide, mostly because his mind was preoccupied with other things. Mel, however, seemed more interested in the contents of her lunch bag than the unusual behaviour he showed. After a few bites of sandwich, he checked his phone. Still no new messages.

"Maybe we should skip patrolling today? Just hang out. Do normal people stuff." She gave the boys an exaggerated yawn. "It's not like there's going to be much activity, anyways. Between the migrating swarms, the Antaeus troops, and the newbies eager to get their feet wet, Third is dead." Felipe didn't respond, and she continued to talk. "Even the Fifth crew stopped patrolling here. I miss Keichi, it was fun seeing that guy kick the crap out of stuff. But I guess he's got his own district to look after."

Kam nodded without looking up. He seemed to have his head in the clouds, too. "Come to think of it, it's like the whole district has just been abandoned. I'm not complaining, but it just feels like... we're being pushed out of our own home, you know? Like, even—" Mel kicked his shin under the table, and he shut up.

"Look, I agree that trusting Yoshi Hoshino was a dumb move. He's probably up to something. But, if the grownups want to take care of the literal MONSTERS from the OTHERSIDE, that's a-okay with me." The boys looked like they had more to say, Felipe noticed, but they all knew better than to argue with Mel when she was in one of her moods. "We can wander around town later, sneak a few beers, do some fireworks, and watch the stars, if you want. That way, we can still patrol, but make some proper memories for once."

"By the way, how about that thing with Nana?" John finally chimed in, much to Felipe's annoyance. "She hasn't let you off the leash since that big meeting last week, right? Are you finally back with the boys, or is she going to come swooping down and whisk you away?" That remark got a few chuckles out of them and a sour look from Mel.

"Oh my god, she's been so fucking annoying since I helped get her released from the hospital," Mel complained, "the ungrateful prick. I mean, she threatened me with a fucking SPEAR the other night, and now she's acting as if nothing happened. I get that I fucked up, I get it. But who brandishes a fucking spear at someone for trying to do the right thing, huh?" She looked at her friends for support, and Felipe didn't look back. Ever since the big meeting at Ninth, the revelations about Felipe's condition, and the whole incident with Antaeus, he didn't feel the same around her. "Ugh, forget it. Just, it's been a shitty couple of weeks, and I'm fed up with her surreptitious bullshit."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around that much, guys," Felipe finally said. "Tonight, I promise, no Sweepers stuff." He made a cross over his heart, and the others seemed to believe him. That didn't mean he wasn't going to probably spend the better part of the night plastered to his cell phone, but they didn't need to know that. "Tonight, we party like it's the end of the world." The others were eager to get back to some semblance of normalcy. Even if it was just for a little while.

Chapter 54

Elsewhere in Third, that same day, Yoshi Hoshino was busy. His hands moved with purpose as he adjusted dials and tweaked levers. The workshop he occupied was spacious, and the floor was littered with discarded parts, tools, and scraps of metal. Another breakthrough was close at hand, though it had required a bit more effort to acquire the needed materials. "How did you say this thing works, again?" Higgs whistled as he entered the workspace behind the scientist. "Looks pretty complex."

"I didn't," Yoshi said as he took a step back to admire his handiwork. Then, with a guilty little smile, he added, "because I haven't the faintest idea." That was true for far too many of his experiments. First he would build, then he would reverse engineer his own invention. If anyone else had seen the process, they might call him insane. But, Yoshi had long since proven his worth with the strange and wondrous devices he could make. "What do you want?" He was in no mood to play twenty questions with the researcher. Higgs was smart enough, but he lacked motivation.

"Well, the Boss is asking around, again. Your dad, the old man, he did not like your little demonstration the other day." Higgs sounded so casual that it was hard to believe he was talking about something as serious as a double murder. "I mean, I thought it was cool! And very impressive! Very cool and very impressive." The researcher rambled. "But, uh, the Boss wants another demonstration. One that doesn't involve the slaughter of his own men, if you could swing it." Yoshi could use the test, anyways. After all, science was meant to be shared. "Taz is waiting at the door, by the way. I went ahead and got your laptop." Higgs gestured for the exit. "Car's outside, ready to go."

Yoshi nodded. "Fine. I take it they want a formal briefing or something? Other board members and all that jazz? Fine, I can give that. Maybe we can squeeze some more funding out of them while we're there, hm?" As they left the room, the two men passed a pair of armed guards and a squeamish-looking lab technician, who stood at the entrance to the next chamber. Taz was waiting, just as Higgs had promised, marked by a plume of cigarette smoke that wafted up from the other side of the vehicle. "Well, that's our cue, Higgs." He nodded towards the door. "Let's not keep the good men waiting." They exited the building and approached the idling SUV. As Higgs climbed in the passenger side, Yoshi opened the back and retrieved his laptop from the seat. He set it on his knees as he slid into the car himself.

"We're marching to a fucking execution, boss-man." Taz grumbled as she tossed the butt and hopped behind the wheel. "You're a smart guy, though. You probably already figured that one out." She glanced over at Higgs and shook her head. "Cripes, and YOU look like you don't even care!" Taz sighed and put the car in gear. "Got a plan, kid?" She asked Yoshi.

"I'm sure we can smooth this whole misunderstanding over." Yoshi replied, already deep into typing on his laptop. "If not, that's why I have you, right? I mean, it's a little bit of a cliche, but..." He looked up from his work and made a motion of drawing a gun and pointing it at Taz. "Bang." She sighed and rolled her eyes, but said nothing. The two adults couldn't see the fourth passenger, of course. They couldn't see the Observer. As long as it didn't touch them, they were safe from its influence. And they were none the wiser. "I have no reason to be worried."

"Your confidence gives me courage." The sarcasm in her voice was enough to make Yoshi kick the back of her seat. He saw a tiny smile tug at her cheek from the rear-view mirror, which only made him more upset. The day would come that she was no longer his bodyguard. When that happened, he was going to make her pay for all the mockery and disrespect. Taz was his shield, not his friend. She made that quite clear, time and time again. She was his bodyguard, his babysitter, a leash to keep him in check.

Higgs decided to try his hand at being the voice of reason between the two, an odd reversal of roles for the nihilist. "It's not every day that a boy decides to kill his father's men. Given the garbage that rules Tama, maybe he's downright proud of you." Higgs shrugged. " You've been his golden goose since you were what, six years old? Crazy dreams and crazier inventions, all that." He laughed. "You know what I was doing at six? Learning to spell my name."

"Kissass." Taz snorted. "But as your security chief, let me just say, this whole situation stinks. It's a power play, pure and simple. Maybe I'm wrong about it being a fucking execution, but at the very least it's a power play. 'See how he comes when I call him,' that sort of crap. Just, brace yourselves for the worst. I'll get the car ready. Worst comes to worst, I'll drive through the damn lobby." Yoshi figured as much; he didn't care.

The plan was simple enough: talk a big game about the On-Siders' role in both security and corporate espionage. Him and Higgs tossed talking points back and forth as Taz drove. They'd go into the board meeting with the intention to dazzle, to drive home how powerful an army of loyal and invisible creatures would be, and Higgs emphasized time and again that Yoshi needed to keep quiet about his "Othersider nonsense." It didn't matter if it was true or not; Higgs was the closest to believing in the Otherside out of all of Yoshi's entourage, but even he still found the idea laughable.

"Know what, sir?" Higgs said after a few minutes of silence. "We can kill two birds with one stone. You know about those pale-men that have been spotted all over town, right? Obviously someone's up to human experimentation, and they're making a mess of it. Let's target them for our next demo, find out who's behind it and pin some other shit on him as well. We'll take them all down, clean our own hands, and put Antaeus even highter up in everyone's good graces. Win-win-win."

"Fine, whatever, sounds solid." Yoshi was more interested in the technical details of his latest invention, but this did provide a singular opportunity to get those disappearances pinned on someone else. He was so tired of hearing his father complain about the issue. And it had only gotten worse once that damn article had gone live in the paper, thanks to some nosy reporter. "How does that mind of yours work, anyways?" He asked, suddenly curious.

Higgs chuckled. "You're one to talk, sir! Dreaming up a million different ways to make things work that nobody else has even considered before." The older man leaned back in his seat. "Me? I've just seen how people are. Didn't like what I saw, but I picked up on the patterns." His smile was bitter. "I'm a cynic and a pessimist. Humans are shit. There's no way to avoid that. But we're all stuck here together, right? So might as well make sure the worst shit is punished, and that the rest of us get by." His tone was playful, despite the dark words. Yoshi, meanwhile, nodded along.

After all, what was his current project but an extension of that very same thought? His mind was a torrent of thoughts, a thousand ideas and a million dreams. His mother had been the same, he was told, and it was thanks to her that Antaeus managed to get a foothold in Tama in the first place. She was the reason Mr. Hoshino was such a well-respected board member, and the reason Yoshi's crazed inventions were embraced as they were. She was the one who made everything possible; he missed her every single day. "Well then, that's a plan," Yoshi mumbled. "We'll pin this shit on the competition, get my dad off my ass, and keep the momentum going. Easy peasy." He said that with the same confidence one might use to describe a game of tic-tac-toe.

Chapter 55

Just a couple of districts over, another conspiracy brewed. "Glad you're all feeling up for this. Now, let's see..." Yuki leaned against her wooden sword and looked to the group of Sweepers gathered around her. "Is that really everyone? Petunia, you're keeping count, right? How are the numbers looking?" The petite redhead looked up from the pile of paper talismans she had been working on to nod at the girl.

"Yes, yes, that's everyone with Sight and experience, yep!" She then frowned. "I think Keichi-kun has friends in the other districts, though. That right, Kei-chan?" Petunia asked, and the tall boy narrowed his eyes at the nickname. "Eh? Ehhhh? Did I say something bad?" Petunia covered her face with her hands, whether to shield herself from his gaze or to hide a shit-eating grin was unclear.

"No, no, that's fine, I guess." He put his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and tried to look more aloof than flustered. "A few friends, yeah. None from Third, just like you wanted. But I don't know, Yuki, is this really necessary? I mean, what's the point of all this, huh?" His voice had a distinct note of frustration. "I've known Mel for years, and those other guys from Third seem solid, too. Right, Darryl?"

"Ye, well... as much as I'd rather let them into the club, Yuki's got a good reason, actually." The senior Sweeper deflated a bit at having to side against his friend. He looked to the diminutive little Central rep to continue, and even Yuki seemed caught off guard by his vote of confidence. She was quick to regain her composure, and did her best to look as authoritative as one might while still being as small as a middle-schooler. It made it

"It's like this: I'm sick and tired of all this waiting around, so we're taking initiative! After the little get-together at Ninth, I honestly thought things were going to pick up. But then everyone just started yakking and philosophizing about what the right thing to do is. And you know what? Screw that!" Yuki pointed her sword at Nana, who had been tapping away on her cell phone the whole time. "Ain't that right, Nighty-Knight?"

"Hm?" Nana looked up, and her face soured when she saw the wooden blade levelled at her. "Can you not?" she snapped. "Sorry, I'm texting someone. But yes, things are getting worse out there, and we have a clear target now." She pocketed her cell. "Wasn't that what we thought from the start, anyways? How sketchy that Antaeus Conglomerate was? We didn't need Mel to confirm our suspicions, and we don't need her double-agent nonsense to act." There was a murmur of agreement among the group. "We have a name. We have a district. That's more than enough. We move, tonight." More murmurs, more nods, and some scattered applause.

"Hey, hey, hey! This isn't about that at all." Keichi spoke up over the others. "This is about us finding Mary, right? And about how the adults have been lying to us, again, right?" He shook his head and looked at the gathered crowd. "Whether or not Mel or her friends got too close to Antaeus or had a hand in their Otherside bullshit, she wouldn't hurt a Sweeper. I don't know why you guys are being so damned paranoid about Third. I thought this was about finding the truth; didn't Mel-Belle promise to help us on that end?"

Nana glared at the boy. "Keichi, it's not that simple," she snapped, and he flinched at the quiet reproach in her voice. He was no pushover, but Nana was scary as hell. "We can't trust them, and the sooner you get that through your head the better. I want to trust them, believe me. They owe us for all the help we've given them too, but we can't rely on them right now." Darryl tried to interject, but Petunia shushed him. "We can't rely on anyone in this. That's why I'm brushing off Knockout and the tainted Sweepers to be here!"

"Whatevs," Keichi scoffed. "I don't like this, but I'll drop it. What is this plan, Yuki? I'm just tired of waiting." The girl with the sword was more than happy to answer that.

"Okay, so! With that ex-merc's help, we've got a folder full of faces that we think are part of this whole thing," Yuki began to explain, and Petunia passed the faces around the group. "They're all a bunch of nobodies, really, probably just disposable pawns. Except for these three." Yuki pointed at a handful of faces. "This guy, Yoshi Hoshino." A young man with slicked-back hair looked like he was ready to pose for a magazine cover. "This lady, who's apparently high up in the Antaeus pecking order, and this guy, who's been spotted prowling around the hospitals a lot lately."

"Yeah, that one looks like a creep," Petunia commented, and the group muttered in agreement. "His hair looks nasty. Does he even brush it?" She made a disgusted noise and shook her head, then her expression went serious. "And the others are probably mercenaries working for the company, yes?" Yuki nodded. "So they'd definitely have guns and stuff."

There was a momentary pause as everyone digested the information. The wind had been taken out of their collective sails at the mention of firearms, and the murmurs and whispers grew quiet. "Shit," Keichi sighed, and Nana gave him a look. "Well, they wouldn't shoot a kid, right? Right?"

"Tama's Tama. They'd shoot anyone they wanted to." Darryl sighed. "Please tell me you've thought of that, Yuki? Please?" Darryl looked at the short girl. "We can't just go in there with knives and baseball bats and expect to come out alive. Tsukaima are scary, sure, but bullets? I don't know, I'm not so sure about this..." He trailed off.

"I've got this." Nana stepped forward and let her magic flow through her. The air shimmered around the girl as her a shimmering silver armoured suit enveloped her, and a mask of perfect indifference replaced her features. "This armour can take a beating." She held up the spear. "And this can cut through a tank. Though I'll admit, I've never tested it against modern firearms before." Nana shrugged. "If you're scared, Darryl, don't worry. We'll figure something out."

Yuki smiled and patted Darryl on the back. "See? She's got the frontline covered, and all you need to do is provide a distraction." She looked over the group of teens and grinned. "Everyone else ready to hear their roles? It's not too late to back out, but if you're onboard, we're going to raise hell tonight." The crowd shifted anxiously, but nobody voiced their dissent. "Then, let's get to it! First off, we divide into teams..."

Chapter 56

Miki stared dumbfounded at Anne's cell phone. "You're... joking, right? My! How evasive~!" The playful tone was a thin veil over her concern, but it worked well enough for now. "I don't know Nana very well, you know? But I thought she was more of a 'cool big sister' type, eh~?" Miki tapped her chin and pretended to think. "Ah, maybe I was wrong? After all, why would she just abando—" As expected, the girl jumped in to defend her absent senpai.

"No, she hasn't abandoned us! Not at all!" Anne snatched her phone back. "She's probably just sick or something, okay? I'm sure she'll be fine in a couple of days. Stella's been super persistent, though. Texted the group chat a dozen times, it's weird. She's not usually so pushy, and even glum Felipe seemed annoyed with the cancellations. I dunno, maybe I'm worried over nothing." Knockout noticed early on that Stella wasn't very fond of Nana. To be frank, it seemed that the feeling was mutual. And now Nana was ghosting the girl? What's more, the girl was trying to force the issue. It was weird! She felt a sinking feeling in her gut, but she didn't want to worry Miki.

"Well, I'm sure she'll be fine in no time." Miki offered Anne a comforting smile. "And if not, then she can always call you, couldn't she? Or me. I'd love to help her out." That wasn't a lie, though the thought left a bad taste in Miki's mouth. "Nana's recovering from a traumatic event, right? Even if she's a magical girl like you, she's still a person. Maybe it's getting the best of her?"

"Yeah, yeah... maybe." The words sounded plausible enough, but something about the situation didn't sit well with her. "Hey, Miss Miki? Mind if I ask you something?" Anne glanced up from her cell. "You've been friends with her and Ben for a long time now, right?"

Miki hummed an affirmative. "I was a bit older than you are now when I first met them, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Why? What's up?"

"Why are you so..." she struggled to find the right word, "distant?" The question caught Miki off guard, and her expression changed from amusement to surprise. "I mean, I'm not even from Second District, but you Central guys wanted me at the meetings. I get it: Ben and I get along quite well, I was there that night when it went down, and I'm a magical girl, sure. But so is Nana, if it's a matter of raw strength. And you've been close to them way longer than I've known Ben, right?" Anne's face seemed to scrunch in on itself, like a raisin, and Miki could practically hear the unspoken words being formed: 'Plus, Stella hates my guts, right?' "So why? Why aren't you going to see her?"

"Busy, mostly." Miki knew it was bullshit. She was trying to distance herself from the others as of late, but she didn't quite know why. For all her bluster and easygoing manner, she just couldn't accept how shaken she had been since Ngozi was taken and Joe got shot. "Besides, Nana's not much of a people-person, so I think she appreciates the small group, eh~?" That was bullshit, too. Nana was a bit of an introvert, yes, but she had no problem with crowds. She was, at heart, a very caring and responsible girl who loved helping others.

"Oh. Well, I was thinking that maybe you and I could go together!" The words came out in a rush, and Anne grinned up at Miki. "I mean, Second's pretty boring ever since the big purge, you know? It's all 'look tough' and 'patrol here' and 'fight there', you know? Nana cancelled on us, so they’re free today. I bet it'd be good for Stella to see you again, eh? Maybe you can cheer her up, or something. Plus, maybe it's her that can cheer you up." Oof, that one hit its mark. Miki did her best not to flinch at the suggestion.

"Fine, fine, I get it. But if she gets mad at me, it's on you, kid. Got that~?" Miki teased, but inside she felt shamed by her own reluctance. Anne, or Knockout, or the kid from Ninth, whatever name Miki wanted to dismiss her with, was younger and less experienced than the Central rep. And yet she hit the nail on the head about what was bothering the shrine maiden. Between the outburst at Ballet club and Miki's guilt about the Fun Gal fiasco, she felt stuck. "How's Ninth, by the way?" Miki tried to change the topic. "I heard that you guys almost never see Otherside activity these days." It was common knowledge, but if Anne saw through the blatant shift, she was too polite to mention it.

"Yeah, we don't, actually. I don't know why, but we also get a ton of magical girls up there! Maybe it's something in the water. Or maybe they can sense us, and steer clear? Hmm..." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Anyways, yeah, that's why we get loaned out to other districts a lot. I HATE taking the bus though, it sucks!" She sighed. "At least I can do my homework on the ride..."

She just kept talking, but Miki stopped listening at some point. Come to think of it, the Otherside migrations should have ended in Ninth, right? The district should have been overrun by aggressive Tsukaima and Youma, so where were they going? Maybe they had an exit there? Or maybe a hideaway? Were the creatures amassing for a surprise attack, perhaps? "Hmm? Interesting~," she mumbled, though her mind was elsewhere. "I might need to investigate that later. But, first things first: can we swing by Tama-Pop Boba Shop?" Miki figured a peace offering was more than appropriate.

Chapter 57

The walk was interrupted a few blocks later by the sound of an incoming message, and the two checked their respective cell phones. "Big meeting tonight, huh?" Miki quipped, and Anne sighed. It was an emergency text, from Mel of all people. The flurry of messages that followed were from Central reps who wanted to know if attendance was absolutely mandatory. "Guess that means we can't visit Stella until later," she said with a frown. "Bummer, I was really looking forward to seeing her."

"Liar," Anne whispered, but she didn't press the issue. She was an outsider to whatever beef there was between the shrine maiden and the younger Sweeper sibling, so she had no intention to pry. "Well, if nothing else, it'll give us a chance to catch up with the others, right?" Anne struck a dramatic pose and flourished her hand as if waving an imaginary scepter. Miki sighed and rolled her eyes at the theatrics of the young girl's transformation. "And who knows? Maybe the meeting will be quick enough that we can still go see Stella after!" Knockout suggested.

"If I know Central, it probably means things are about to get a whole lot worse before they get better." Miki groaned at the prospect of a late night meeting with the others. The group chat was full of excuses and empty promises, and it seemed that the gathering was going to be quite a bit more intimate than the last meeting had been. There was no time to reschedule or delay; those who were absent would have to get the report later. "Let's just hope the message doesn't fall on deaf ears..." Knockout fell in step beside her friend and together they walked to the nearby bus stop. They were silent for the most part, both lost in thought as they watched the world pass by.

A few minutes later, the two of them arrived at the meeting spot: a greasy spoon diner that the Sweepers frequented. The hooligans from Third were tucked into a booth, sucking on milkshakes and hiding their obvious tipsiness as best they could. "Hey! Over here, girls!" Mel waved at Miki and Anne. Felipe gave them a small nod of greeting while his eyes remained locked on his cell phone.

"Where are the others?" Miki looked around the smattering of teens and frowned at the empty tables. "Only four Districts? Really? Well, I guess I can't fault Central. They've got a lot on their plate right now, eh~?" There was a moment of awkward silence before the girl shrugged. "Well, I guess we're just going to have to catch them up. So, what's the big emergency, huh?" She sat down at a table across from Knockout. It was particularly strange that no one from Fifth was there; they were always so punctual and organized. What was more: no Nana? Not even a text or a phone call? Miki looked around the room and saw the other teens were giving her those same concerned looks.

Mel glanced around the diner and lowered her voice. "I just got off the phone with my boss. He asked me to meet him at the Antaeus hideout to 'provide security'. That's what he told me, but it sounds even fishier than usual." She sighed. "It was a last-minute thing, and I had a bad feeling about it, so I told him I was running late." Mel took a deep breath. "I don't know the full details, but if he wants me there for security, it must mean his grunts are earmarked elsewhere."

The words hung heavy in the air. The implication was clear: Antaeus was preparing to move against their opposition, and that meant they stood to gain in some way. "So, what?" Aiko from Fourth District scoffed and looked over her shoulder at the Third group. "I miss the part where that's our problem?" Her sneer made her look far older than she really was. "That's the adults' game. They're the ones playing with fire, so let them get burned."

Natsumi from Eighth smacked the other girl upside the head, then turned to Mel and shrugged. "I mean... she's not wrong about that part. But don't you get it, Aiko? If they're moving, it could be a good chance to do some snooping!" The girl leaned back in her seat. "I bet you could find out a thing or two while the rest of them are busy with their big show of power, eh Mel-Belle?" Aiko grumbled as she rubbed the back of her head. Natsumi paid her no mind. "I mean, I'll help if you need me. Not sure how, but, eh, you get my point."

Mel shook her head. "Look, this is serious stuff! This could mean a big shift in power for the city, and it might not be a good one. We have to be careful, that's why I wanted to let you all know what was going on." She tapped the table for emphasis. "Who knows, maybe I'll find out more if Yoshi gets yappy, but in the meantime PLEASE keep your heads down, alright?" She looked at Miki and Aiko. "Stay off the streets, and try to get in touch with the other districts. Let them know what's going on, in person. No electronics, savvy?"

"Yeah, whatever," Aiko mumbled and rubbed the back of her head again. "You do your spy thing, and I'll go and run around doing your bitchwork." She stood up from the table and stomped towards the exit, all the while grumbling to herself about the unfairness of it all. Natsumi rolled her eyes, but followed after her anyway.

Knockout cleared her throat and stood up as well. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can check in with First and Seventh? And if Miki can find the Fifth crew, we can avoid getting in the way of a merc war, at least!" She offered the others a little smile. "I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do tonight anyways." Her phone buzzed again, and she checked the screen before letting out a gasp. "Holy crackers..." The words were barely a whisper, but they carried across the room all the same.

Mel's face paled. "What is it?" she asked, her voice tight with concern. The air seemed to grow heavy as the four of them exchanged worried glances. Knockout tapped her phone a few times, then held it up for the others to see. It was a video clip, a house in Third District on fire. The camera shook as the viewer panned around to show the rest of the neighbourhood. More fires were burning, and gunshots rang out nearby. People were screaming. It was chaos. The video ended with the cameraperson running for cover.

"Ah... that's not far from here," Kam looked at Mel. "Guess we know why Yoshi wanted you to be 'on call' today. This looks bad." Mel stood up and ran outside without another word. "Mel! Hey, wait!" Kam called out, but he was flat-footed from the cheap beers. The boys ended up tripping over each other as they tried to stand up. It might have been a funny sight, were it not for the widespread violence just down the road from them.

"Who are they shooting at? It's not us, is it?" Felipe asked nobody in particular. His face was flushed, the youngest of the group had a hard time with his liquor it seemed. He slumped back down into his seat and put his head in his hands. "What do we do?"

"You idiots need to get far away from the fires. Whatever is going on there, you're too drunk to be of any help. Mel will probably be fine..." Knockout winced and pulled on Felipe's jacket. "I'm sorry, but I can't stick around and babysit you. There's more important stuff I've got to deal with." She turned to Miki, who was still watching the video. "Hey, are you going to go be alright?" The shrine maiden nodded without taking her eyes off the screen. "Good. See you guys later." With that, the magical girl ran out the door and disappeared down a side alley.

Chapter 58

Third District was on fire, and no one knew why. All available crews had been called to fight the blaze, but each extinguished hotspot seemed to be a diversion for two more that cropped up elsewhere. No matter where they looked, however, they couldn't find the arsonists behind it all. It was amazing just how quickly the district descended into chaos. The Fifth District's Sweepers could only hope that the district's residents fled in time, that their rampage would be bloodless. The boys needed to keep Antaeus's security forces nice and busy until Nana's goal was achieved. "Come on!" Keichi called out to the others as he threw a lit bottle at the nearest storefront.

The kids had already moved on to the next target by the time the smoke cleared. There were a few others who joined in, a handful of Second's less reputable hooligans along with some older Ninth District youths that had nothing better to do than cause trouble. They didn't know why they were setting fires or what the endgame was, and they didn't care.

"Man, you're too into this," Darryl said between breaths. He wasn't used to running this much. "We need to slow down a little. We'll get caught if we can't sprint when the PMCs show up." Despite his complaints, the boy kept up. He was in good shape, a proper baseball star, and he had to make damned sure he wasn't caught. As a high school senior, the law would not be so kind to him. Plus, he had his scholarships to protect!

"This way, follow me!" Keichi shouted over his shoulder. "The warehouse region is ahead. Plenty more places to burn there." Darryl groaned but kept pace nonetheless. He hoped that these poor suckers had good insurance. Tama Town was Tama Town, after all.

In the distance, a group of Third District Sweepers approached, carrying bats and crowbars. "The fuck are you guys doing to our District?!" One of the boys from the other gang stepped forward. "Y'all looking for a beating or something?" Darryl recognized the voice immediately: it was a kid they trained and patrolled with. "We've got no problem kicking your asses!"

"Look, man, we've got our own shit to deal with, and you've got yours." Darryl took a step forward. "Just go back home, and stay out of our way. It's Othersider business, we promise." That was a lie, of course. These were the actions of a few rogue Sweepers and their Central rep, unsanctioned and unapproved. However, if they were right about their hunch, the lie might become the truth when all this was over.

The trainee swung the bat around and pointed it at them. "My home is on fire, you dick. You know damn well I can't just leave!" There was a moment of silence as both sides glared at each other. Then, the boy lunged, and the others followed his lead. Darryl and Keichi’s group tossed their Molotov cocktails aside to defend themselves. The makeshift bombs clattered on the pavement and spilled their flammable cargo everywhere.

Darryl felt the wind knocked out of his lungs as the Sweeper crashed into him. The two tumbled to the ground. "Ah fuck, you're a lot heavier than you look," Darryl groaned. He brought his knee up between the smaller boy's legs and felt a wave of pity as he connected with his crotch. "Sorry about that," he said as kid rolled off of him and doubled over in pain. "You should have just stayed home!" An awkward minute of dragging the losers away from the flames later, and the Fifth District boys were free to resume their rampage. “Split up!” They got another block before they were interrupted again.

This time, it was a large, heavyset woman. She wore an apron and a hairnet, and she had a butcher's knife in her hand. Her face was streaked with soot, but her eyes shone bright with rage. "You're not getting away with this!" she screamed; they could only assume she owned a fishery in the warehouse district or something. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking end you myself, you little punks!" The two boys jumped back as the woman swung her blade like a seasoned swordswoman. She missed them by mere inches each time. Keichi pulled his switchblade out of his pocket and flicked the blade open. He held it out in front of him, ready to strike if needed, but he didn't like his odds.

Darryl stepped in front of him and grabbed a trashcan lid. It was dented and dirty, but it would do. He used it as a makeshift shield as he slammed against the woman's arm and watched her stumble from the impact. "Run past!" Darryl shouted. Keichi didn't hesitate, he sprinted away. Darryl followed after him, but not before tossing the lid right into the lady's face. She fell back down again, clutching at her nose, which now poured blood down her face. The boys ran for their lives, not stopping until they were sure that no one followed.

"Right, let's... let's not run into any more people," Keichi wheezed. "I don't want to stab anyone tonight." He pocketed his knife and looked back towards the alleyway they came from. "I think we're safe. For now. But what do we do next?" The sound of gunfire caused them both to jump, and without thinking they ducked behind the nearest dumpster.

Darryl nodded towards the source of the noise: another gang was in a shootout, this time with a small squad of PMCs. It wasn't part of the plan, but in retrospect, Darryl wasn't surprised. The chaos would be good cover for the cartels and street gangs. Everyone would be distracted by the fire and the mob. "I think it's time to bail," Darryl whispered to Keichi. "We’re split up and tired. Plus, we've done far more than our share of 'distractions' already." Keichi nodded, but frowned.

"Alright, I just need a minute. Find some place to stake out near the hideout, make sure Nana's okay. And try to see if the others got out in one piece. I’ll catch up! Got it? Good luck, bud." Keichi tried to flash him a smile, and the two shared a fistbump before parting ways. "Don't get shot!" Keichi called over his shoulder.

He took a deep breath as he watched Darryl run off into the night. He was alone now, surrounded by gang violence and armed security goons. All he could hope was that the other guys made their way out alright; he knew he had a lot of debts to repay once all this was over. The night of chaotic destruction had gone better than expected so far, and the boy couldn't help but smile at that thought. His smile faded just as fast when he sensed something watching him from the shadows, and his heart skipped a beat. Of course, he knew, Youma were drawn to pain and suffering. They were like sharks to the blood of their victims. They had all taken for granted that the Othersiders were gone for the time being. They'd been fools.

Keichi felt something brush against his arm. The boy let out a scream as he saw a long, spindly limb reach out from behind a pile of trash bags. The creature looked like a cross between a praying mantis and a spider, with mandibles and scythelike arms. It stood over eight feet tall and had an exoskeleton that glistened wetly in the dim light. Even a Tsukaima was a tough fight for a single Sweeper; a Youma was suicide.

His body refused to obey his commands, frozen in terror at the sight before him. And yet, somehow, the Youma didn't seem interested in eating him. Rather, it just stared at him without moving, as if it were waiting for something. "H-hi?" Keichi stammered, unsure what else to say. He'd seen plenty of Tsukaima in the past few weeks, but never anything quite so large or placid. It was unnerving to be so close to such an imposing beast. The Youma clicked its mandibles together, but otherwise remained motionless. Keichi wondered if he should run or try talking to it some more, and then he noticed a second pair of eyes in the shadows. Then a third, fourth, and fifth...

"Oh SHIT Felipe," John, a tall, muscular blonde kid slurred, his words dripping with the stink of alcohol. "Hah, how did you do that, man? That's fucking hilarious."

"I-I-I dunno..." Felipe made no attempt to hide his fear as he stood there with his hands in the air before him. "I mean... they were here, and then I just, y'know, told it to back off. I'm gonna piss myself. Seriously."

A red-headed boy in a letterman's jacket staggered past him, nearly falling over in his haste to get closer. "Later, later... piss later." he shushed his friend and squinted. "Firs’ I wanna bash that bug bastard in, eh?" He grabbed a discarded wooden beam and took a drunken step forward. "Watch me, watch this!" Ricky said as he raised it over his head. "This is gonna be cool."

Kam jogged up to Keichi, the largest and most sober of the four boys. He was a bit tipsy, sure, but nowhere near as bad as his friends. "Hey, hey, calm down, okay?" he said to Keichi as the two-by-four broke the Youma's carapace with a juicy crack and the sound of wood splintering. A thick purple ooze started leaking through the cracks in the exoskeleton, and the smell of rotting meat filled the air as its body began to change into smoke and mist. "You're alright, just breathe, man..." Kam tried to comfort the terrified boy, while John and Ricky laughed and cheered at their victory.

"Heyyyy, don't hurt the big scary bug! It was gonna leave us alone, you asshole!" Felipe shouted at John, then he turned back to Keichi and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's alright, Keichi. You're good. What the fuck's even happening tonight? We're on our way home and suddenly it's a god damn war zone out here." He still shook like a leaf, but the others were just drunk enough that nobody noticed. Or maybe they just didn't care.

"Thanks." Keichi wiped his eyes and fell to the ground. "Shit, that was close." He looked up at the boys and blinked away tears. "I'm fine now. Listen, you guys gotta get off the streets. Gangs and mercs are shooting at anything that moves. I'll find a safe spot, but you guys have to move!" Kam shook his head at that, while John and Ricky just shrugged. The four of them seemed reluctant to leave Keichi alone with the dying Youma. Since when could Felipe do... that?! He had so many questions, and yet somehow they didn't matter. Not right now, anyways. Nana was still in danger; he needed to make sure she would be alright. That was all that mattered.

Chapter 59

Nighty Knight stood at the entrance to some ramshackle old complex and looked around. "I'm here," she muttered into her phone. The place seemed abandoned, yet the magical girl knew better than to trust appearances. After all, a professional had scoped the place out for them, and had pictures to prove it. With a deep breath, she ran a hand through her hair and conjured up a full helm to mask her features and protect herself. As the silver helmet settled on her head, Nighty Knight felt confident that nothing could touch her beneath her magical armour.

The metal door was locked, but that wasn't an issue. The girl's spear glowed red hot in her hands, and she thrust it through the lock with ease. With a sharp twist, she broke through the mechanism and kicked down the door. "Alright, assholes. Heads up!" she yelled as she stepped into the darkness. "There's a new sheriff in town."

It was empty.

Well, empty as far as she could see, but not abandoned. The floors showed recent foot traffic, with evidence of wheeled carts and heavy crates dragged through the halls. "Whoa, this place is creepy," Nighty Knight whispered to herself, and then shook her head. "Quit being so scared, Nana. You've got the best protection on the planet." The girl tightened her grip on her spear, and her eyes scanned the room for signs of life.

Nighty Knight saw nothing, but the air was different. It felt charged and electric; there was something here that made her heart beat faster. Something powerful and dangerous, with a cold intelligence unlike the usual Othersiders. It was... almost serene? No. Focused, like a laser. For now, it seemed content to remain out of sight, and Nighty Knight was more than happy to not press the issue.

"Let's see what you're hiding, Antaeus..." she mused to herself, her voice echoing off the walls in the empty corridor. As if in answer, a peel of gunfire erupted from around the corner. Nighty Knight ducked behind a nearby pillar and switched her spear for a bow. She was a decent shot, but not the best. Fortunately, she didn't need to hit her targets directly to do damage. A few arrows whistled through the air and embedded themselves into the concrete wall behind whoever was shooting at her. She wondered how disciplined the merc would be under fire.

Not very. "Fuck!" The voice was masculine, deep, and panicked. There were footsteps as he ran away, and Nighty Knight dashed after him without hesitation. She nocked another arrow as she sprinted forward, firing as soon as she saw movement up ahead. This time she was dead-on: it hit its mark in the shoulder of a tall man wearing black tactical gear. The magical girl didn't bother checking to make sure he was out of the fight. Instead, she kept moving forward until she came upon another room with more men in similar garb waiting for her.

These guys were better prepared than the one who got the arrow, but their weapons were still just pistols and rifles, which meant they had nothing that could breach her armour. "You should have known better than to shoot a kid," she chided them as she switched back to her spear and barrelled into the small room. There were four of them in total, and Nighty Knight had no issue in crippling their gun-hands or impaling them through the shoulders. They were thugs, not monsters; they could live.

The girl continued her search through the compound, taking out a few more Antaeus grunts along the way. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but the uptick in security seemed promising. Up ahead, she spotted a large double door leading to an elevator. Before it stood a white-haired girl in an ice-blue dress: Mel-Belle, the traitor. Nighty Knight raised her spear and closed the gap between them.

"Whoa, hey, stop!" The girl held up her hands in surrender. "I'm not here to fight, I promise." She raised her arms and took a step to the side, showing that the elevator was free for use. "My boss wanted me to guard his escape, and he's long gone now. If I knew it was you dorks, I would've frozen him, you know?"

Nighty Knight wasn't buying any of the girl's bullshit, and her glare said as much. "Yeah, sure," she scoffed. "And next you're gonna tell me that you had a change of heart, right?" The older magical girl advanced slowly, her spear at the ready. "Just stay the fuck out of my way, alright?"

"Ugh, why do you always have to be like this? You think I want to hurt you?" Mel-Belle snapped as she pulled a keycard from her pocket and activated the elevator. "Yoshi's not the good guy, I know that. I have no clue what he's got here, but I can sense it too. I'm not stupid! I brought him a few little Noroi, right? Thought he would save us all, silly me. And when those On-Siders were rolled out, I thought it was cool. But whatever that thing is..." The elevator dinged and the door slid open. "...that thing feels way too strong. And weirdly familiar, too. It's... it's wrong. So, please, just be careful, okay?" The younger girl looked like she might cry. "I'm not your enemy!"

Nighty Knight shook her head and stepped into the elevator, but before the door closed she turned to face the girl. "No, but you're no friend, either. I'll deal with you later, Mel. For now, prove that you're on the right side: cover me up here. If you really are sorry, keep Antaeus off my back until this whole thing's over. I'll try to believe it then." She waved her spear, and the elevator door closed. There was only one option for the lift to go: down. Down to whatever was below, hidden beneath all these layers of concrete and steel.

Above her, she sensed that presence shift. Like a snake coiling around its prey, or a spider weaving its web, the being had been observing the fight from afar. Now, it seemed more interested than ever. And though she couldn't see or hear anything, Nighty Knight got the feeling that it was after Mel-Belle now. She hoped the girl could handle herself, and pushed the thought out of her mind as the elevator descended further into the depths below. It was time to focus.

Chapter 60

The lab was dark, its flickering fluorescent lights casting eerie shadows upon the sterile, white walls. There were cages lining the floors; small ones, large ones, and some that looked like they could hold an entire elephant. All of them were empty to the naked eye, but Nana knew that was not the case. "Creepy," she whispered as she walked past a row of strange, pulsing shapes. Othersiders. Most of them were Noroi, though some larger creatures loomed in the darkness. They were quiet, almost docile, though Nighty Knight wasn't fooled by their apparent lack of aggression. They were resigned to their fates, but it would not be gratitude that fuelled their actions if she released them.

As she got to the far end of the room, Nighty Knight felt her heart pound harder. These cells were larger than the others, big enough for humans. Some of them held people inside, slumped against the bars or curled up in a fetal position on the ground. Others held all sorts of strange experiments: a disembodied head, floating in a clear tank filled with greenish liquid; a torso missing its arms and legs, attached to an IV drip. One cage had a whole group of strange pale-skinned creatures with oversized, bulbous heads. They stared at Nighty Knight with their large, lidless black eyes, and the girl could feel their minds probing her own.

"Okay, this is fucked up," she muttered. "But I need to move on. I'll be back!" She promised the poor souls trapped within those cages. "Hold on, alright? I'll get you out, just wait a few minutes." There was no telling what they were capable of, the humans. For all she knew, they were more dangerous than the Othersiders around them, and so Nighty Knight had to prioritize. Besides, if she let everyone go at once, she had no way to protect them right now.

A few familiar faces were among the imprisoned, and Nana stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the people in the next cell. They were an older couple, still quite fit and youthful in their late 40s. The woman was tall, lean, and athletic, while the man was built like a brick house. Both had been stripped down to their underwear, and their skin glistened under the dim lights with a thin film of sweat. They were Mary's parents, the doctor and the entrepreneur. "What are you doing here?" Nighty Knight asked before she could stop herself. She had to keep moving... but...

"We're fine," the woman said, though she was shivering. "Just go, please. We'll be alright." The man nodded in agreement, though he was shaking too. He reached out for his wife and wrapped her in a hug. They were scared, sure, but they seemed to understand what had to come first. Mary was always so kind and thoughtful; Nighty Knight could see that she got it from her folks.

"Okay, I..." Nighty Knight shook her head. "I'll come back, I promise." The girl took off in a run towards the far end of the lab, where she found a pair of thick double doors that led into another room. This one was even darker than the previous area, lit only by the faint glow of computer monitors and the soft hum of machinery. Nighty Knight squinted to see what awaited her on the other side of those doors.

He sat in a chair, dressed in a white lab coat and collarless shirt, his messy brown hair falling over his face as he hunched over the terminal. It was hard to make out much else about him from this distance, but she knew the face from somewhere. "You're one of the Sweeper kids!" he muttered to himself as he turned around. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Yoshi's not here. I'm not a fighter, you know? But you already know that, don't you?" Higgs gave her a wave. "Welcome to my ‘lair,’ I guess. Well, not really mine, but I'm running the show at the moment. It's a mess, I know."

Nighty Knight raised her spear and stepped forward, her boots clicking against the cold floor. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "And where's that asshole Yoshi?"

"Oh, I'm just a doctor who went way too far and believed way too little. Higgs, nice to meet you, I guess?" The man leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Yoshi is long gone by now. Asked me to shut things off nice and safe before the fire spread, or whatever. I'm guessing you were behind that, by the way? It was brilliant, a real piece of work. You must be very proud."

"I didn't start it," she spat, but her words lacked conviction. She hadn't started it, but she knew damn well that it was all for her. "I'm just here to stop whatever the hell this is!" Nighty Knight gestured around with her weapon. "What the fuck are you people doing here? Why are there so many Othersiders locked up? And why were those people..." Her eyes narrowed as she remembered Mary's parents. "...what did they ever do to you?"

"First off: we were creating weapons, duh. Tama's Tama. Second, I can't see them, 'Othersiders.' If they're there, that's not my business. And third, we needed test subjects. The younger ones worked best, but too young and they broke. Fuck, that sounded callous. Sorry." He pushed his bangs out of his face, and Nighty Knight saw his eyes were bloodshot. There were dark circles underneath them, as if he hadn't slept in days. "You want to save them? Be my guest. Just know that the effects could be permanent if they aren't taken off the meds in the proper manner."

"Taken... off?" Nighty Knight lowered her spear. She knew that any human locked up in a lab like this wouldn't be here willingly. That was clear to her. But what was this nonsense about being taken off the meds? "What does that even mean?" she asked, but Higgs remained silent. "Tell me!"

Higgs gestured at monitors behind his desk. They showed live footage from various rooms filled with machinery. In each room was a bed, and in each bed was a kid. Sweeper-aged... No, they were Sweepers. The same ones who went missing. "If I let you see what's happening, can you keep a level head?" He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not loyal to Antaeus, or Yoshi, or any of this. I know when I'm beat, alright? None of this shit matters anymore." The scientist stood up from his seat and walked over to her. "But if you kill me now, your friends don't come out alive. That's not a threat, that's just medical facts."

The girl nodded, though the sight of these children in cages made her blood boil with rage. Still, she held herself back. This man might be a monster, but he seemed reasonable enough. "I promise not to hurt you," Nighty Knight said through gritted teeth. "Now release the ones that aren't at risk of..." she paused, and tried to find the right words. "Of irrevocable damage," she finally decided on.

"Right. Okay, so here's what we've got." He typed a few keys on the keyboard and she heard the mechanical sounds of doors opening behind her. She didn't dare turn to check, however. "That's all the one's that aren't strapped to machines. Oh, and I took the liberty of leaving the 'empty' cages locked. Otherside, yes?" The scientist raised a brow at her. "Yoshi tried to tell me there was some sort of magical mirror land on the other side of our world. That's why I'm doing this, right? I thought he was insane at first, of course, but..."

"Shut the fuck up, asshole!" Nighty Knight shouted. She wanted nothing more than to bury her blade between the man's legs. Instead, she forced herself to stay calm and listen. He chuckled to himself and tapped away at the computer terminal. "What the hell are you—"

"Taking them off the tranqs. Most of them are good to go when they wake up. Not her though." Higgs pointed at the sleeping figure of a young girl in the top-right monitor. "She's a special case. Her mind's been... connected to our On-Siders. We call them that, right? It's catchy. Anyways..." He looked down at the screen, his face twisted into a pained expression. "This one might take a bit of time and a lot of luck. If it goes poorly, her brain will fry like an egg, and the On-Sider will be permanently disabled, not that you care."

Nighty Knight felt sick as recognition dawned upon her. "Mary?! You're telling me that's Mary, you psycho?!" The woman's hands clenched into fists around her spear, and she ground her teeth in fury as she watched the man continue typing away on the computer. "I swear to god, I'll kill you myself if you don't save her right now!"

"Jesus Christ, you're a firecracker." Higgs whistled and leaned back in his chair, unphased by the girl's threats. "There's a ton of work to be done, so why don't you just fetch her parents? Or go check on the groggy kids in the other room? Doors on the left, doors on the right, both lead to more cages. Take your pick, it's all one big facility." He looked at Nighty Knight with a look of resignation and pity. "Go ahead, get out of my hair. I'll do the heavy lifting from here, alright? You can kill me after, promise I've got nowhere to go. It's all over, anyways."

Nighty Knight stood there for a moment, her eyes darting from the screen to the scientist and back again. The thought of leaving this room made her skin crawl, but she knew there was nothing more she could do here. With a deep breath, the girl spun on her heel and stormed out of the laboratory to check on the prisoners.

Chapter 61

"F-found you." The chilly hiss of the creature was all around her. "Found you." Mel-Belle had barely taken two steps from the elevator when the presence made itself known. "Found you..." The voice repeated itself, and then again, louder and faster. A thousand whispers at once filled the air, and as they spoke they became one voice, a single chorus of many voices united by some unknown purpose. The shadows themselves started to swirl around the voice, coalescing into an amorphous mass of darkness that seemed to devour what little light was left in the compound. Its shape writhed with malevolent glee, and its many arms reached out towards the girl like the limbs of some great spider. It towered over her now, a living nightmare of teeth and claws.

Mel-Belle knew this creature. This was the very same beast that killed Milkyway. It was the monster that had nearly killed Nana, and the one that had wiped out Third's Sweepers on that horrendous night. The young girl should have been terrified, should have been frozen in place by fear. Or maybe she should have felt a surge of righteous anger. Instead, she felt nothing. It was just another monster, albeit a strong one. Just another thing that needed to be kept from that elevator.

Mel-Belle brandished her wand and sent a wave of ice-cold wind at the beast. In return, a barrage of black tendrils struck forth from its formless body, lashing out with surprising speed. They cut through the air as if they were made of steel, but the magical girl was ready for such attacks. She raised a wall of solid ice in their path, then launched shards of glass-like ice fragments at her opponent from the wall's surface.

The creature let out a hiss that sounded more like static than anything else. Its body seemed to shimmer and shift in response to her magic, and it retaliated by sending forth another volley of those shadowy limbs. Mel-Belle tried to block them again, but there were too many of them coming from every angle. She pirouetted with her wand held aloft, and a pillar of subzero air buffeted her attacker. It was all the magical girl could do not to get hit by one of those vicious tendrils. "You're pretty strong, aren't you?" she taunted the beast. "That's okay. So am I!"

She benefited from Nighty-Knight's reports. This creature was vulnerable to a beating, just like anyone else. The tricky bit was to cut off its escape route before she got too tired to fight back. Mel-Belle had a plan for that though: a good old-fashioned cage fight. "I've been waiting to try this trick out, actually. It's not my usual style, but hey, we're both going outside the box today, aren't we?"

As Mel-Belle danced around the monster, her magic radiated from her footprints and swirled in the air. Ice crystals formed on the concrete, and the moisture in the atmosphere condensed to freeze along the frost. "I hope you enjoy my ice show!" Her powers grew with every move she made. A blizzard of snowflakes billowed around the young woman and coalesced into an orb of energy at her wand's tip. It wasn't direct damage like her winds or shards, but this was far more insidious. With every step the monster took, the air cooled another degree and the ice closed in on its position. Soon, its limbs would be too frozen to break free of the cage. It would be a tomb for the pair of them, and the girl couldn't help but giggle at the thought. An awesome heroic sacrifice, befitting of Mel-Belle, the heroine who was too cool for her own good!

She watched as her trap slowly built itself, all the while avoiding those shadowy appendages. She was quick, graceful, and precise, even if she wasn't the most powerful magical girl in the world. As long as she kept the pressure on, Mel-Belle knew she would win this fight. The monster didn't seem to realize what she had in mind. It continued its unrelenting assault regardless of her attacks, lashing out with increasing desperation. Its tendrils slammed against the icy floor and shattered the surface, sending razor-sharp fragments flying everywhere.

One of them hit Mel-Belle square in the chest. She staggered as blood soaked through her dress, but the flow soon hardened into crimson ice. Her heart still beat within, and the young hero's anger was undiminished. "You're going to have to try harder than that," she said as another blast of frigid wind buffeted the beast. "I'm not giving up yet!"

Mel-Belle's body ached and stung, but she refused to give up. Instead, she fought back harder. Her body was protected against the effects of her freezing magic, but as the walls closed in, she knew her air supply would dwindle. The magical girl had to finish things quickly, or else she would suffocate before this creature could be contained! With a final surge of effort, the young hero targeted the creature with a concentrated beam of pure, freezing cold. Her movement halted, the girl was vulnerable to attack, and yet the riposte never came. Instead, the monster thrashed about in the tight confines of the frozen dome, but none of its tendrils found their target. Then its body dissolving into mist and shadows once more, but found no egress in the solid ice. Mel-Belle heard it shriek and scream as the cold pushed ed into its formless mass, until all that remained was a solid black crystal at the center of her cage. "...found... you..."

The magical girl fell to her knees and panted. She was exhausted and hurt, but she had one more task to accomplish before her air ran out. The girl compressed the ice into a single, dense ball, then allowed the rest of hallway to thaw. With a grin, Mel-Belle held the frozen foe within her arms and collapsed against the wall.

Chapter 62

Nana felt the presence subside, and breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever that had been, Mel-Belle handled it for now. Nana stood beside Mary's parents, over her best friend's unconscious form. Mary's mother held her daughter's hand and whispered soothing words. Her father sat beside them with his head bowed in prayer. The various other prisoners shambled about the lab, some helping the others, others checking on their own condition, and yet more looking for something warm to cover their half-naked bodies. Higgs continued to type away on the terminal a room away, and Nana felt like an idiot for standing around and doing nothing.

"Mary's going to be alright," she said, as much to herself as to the grieving couple. Minutes ticked by, more kids awoke, and Nana busied herself by checking in on each and every one of them until she couldn't stand waiting any longer. A few minutes later, good news came from the other room. "She's stable," the doctor announced through the intercom. "The link was already severed by something else. Makes my job much easier, heh."

Nana nodded, but couldn't hide her worry. She paced up and down the hallways, and looked at every face that passed her by. Some of these kids were missing for weeks, but most were taken just in the last few days. None had been harmed beyond their imprisonment, which was a small blessing. In fact, they seemed healthy and well cared for, all things considered. Nana didn't know what to think of this situation, and yet she found herself grateful for one thing: that her best friend was alive. That Mary was safe. As horrible as it sounded, there was no other thought in her mind.

When the elevator doors slid open, however, Nana was brought back to reality. Had Antaeus gotten past Mel-Belle? Were they under attack? Nana gripped her spear tight and took a fighting stance, ready for whatever might emerge from the shaft. To her relief, the people that stepped through the doors were not her enemy, but friends. Keichi, Darryl, Kam, John, Felipe and Ricky clambered out of the elevator like clowns in a circus car, and each of them wore expressions of varying worry, shock, and confusion. "Whoa, this place is creepy!" Ricky gasped as he looked around the room full of cages. "What's going on here?!"

"We're still trying to figure that out," Nana replied. "You're not here to fight me, are you?"

"Fight?!" Kam shook his head and held his hands up defensively. "Fuck no! We were on our way home, bit buzzed and all that, when we decided to stick around Keichi instead. Came here, saw a bunch of guys with guns run out, and figured we could peep in and see what's up. Mel-Belle is cradling a fucking comet in the lobby or something. It's weird. Black, colder-than-cold, weird... I'm glad to see you, Nana."

Keichi shoved past them and ran up to Nighty Knight. "Nana!" he exclaimed. "You're okay!" He hugged her tight. "Thank god. So the armour worked on gunshots then, that's a relief. But what the fuck happened?"

Nighty Knight sighed and patted him on the back. "Not now. Keichi, it's Mary. Mary!" She pointed down the hall towards the room that connected to the lab, which branched into the medical ward. The boy turned pale and sprinted off in search of his childhood friend and next-door neighbour. "Think it's safe to evacuate everyone?" she asked the boys. "I don't think Higgs would mind, but I have no idea what's up there."

"Mel-Belle's got the thing handled, and the goons all ran. I say we go for it." Ricky shrugged. "Besides, the fire's getting real close to the warehouse district." At that, a sense of urgency set in. Nighty Knight nodded and the group ran back to the subjects and prisoners.

"Okay, let's go, everyone move!" John shouted as he waved his arms around in the air. "This place isn't safe. Everyone, follow me! We're gonna be just fine." The boys did a good job in helping the dazed kids out of their cells and into the elevator. Nana was surprised at how reliable those Third District punks turned out to be, drunk and confused as they were.

Keichi ran over and grabbed Nana by the arm. "Hey, come on!" He tugged her towards the door. "It's Mary. She's stirring, you need to be with her right now!" Nana burst into tears all at once, overcome with relief. She didn't even try to hide them; instead, she let Keichi drag her along behind him until they arrived in the east wing, where Mary's parents sat next to her bed.

Mary's eyes fluttered as the two approached. "Keichi? Nana? You... found... me." Her voice was weak, but her face lit up in joy when she saw them both. Her parents wrapped their daughter in a tearful group hug, Nana buried her face in her hands and sobbed, and Keichi grinned harder than he ever had before. It was over, it was really over. They were all safe now.

Epilogue

Yoshi couldn't believe what had happened. Everything he had worked so hard for, all of his dreams, shattered in the blink of an eye by a series of stupid mistakes and unpredictable outside forces. The district went up in flames and forced him to escape. He could only hope that Mel-Belle and Higgs were able to save the data and evacuate the subjects, or this whole project would be for nothing.

Taz's report came as a huge surprise, and yet, a sliver of hope still existed. According to her, they were beset by invisible creatures. "They just kept screaming about Noroi," she explained, but it meant nothing to her. Yoshi, on the other hand, understood. The On-Siders emptied enough munition to carve a path through the mob and proceeded with the mission. They had managed to plant the evidence and were on the way out when something changed. "They all started screaming, boss. It was horrible. Like they were possessed or some shit. Then whatever bullshit you used on them stopped working, and the security forces mowed them down."

At least the evidence had been planted. Yoshi was glad that the On-Siders lacked any identifiable features, and that the PMC uniforms were generic. "Glad I didn't slap the Antaeus logo on them just yet." He laughed a humourless chuckle and hung up the phone. Shame, really. They were expensive. But he still had his research, and as far as he knew, nothing could be traced back to him directly. Taz had extracted, and Higgs would handle the cleanup at their makeshift HQ. All in all, things could have gone worse.

A black ball of sludge arced through the air and created a splotch on the street in front of him. Yoshi skidded to a stop and stared in horror as the blob morphed into a creature with far too many mouths. It was obvious to the Sighted kid prodigy: that was an Othersider, though it was a form he hadn't seen before. He turned to run, but another splatter appeared in the other direction, and another. Soon, the streets were littered with these creatures, their gaping maws salivating and gnashing at him.

And their creator stood behind him. He had never seen this girl in his life. What's worse, a tornado of Noroi floated in the air around the young teen, who couldn't be more than thirteen years old. Her raven hair was tied into a bun, and she held an expression of pure rage on her face that made Yoshi want to cower. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" she shrieked in a voice that sounded like nails on chalkboard. "ALL OF IT! YOUR FAULT I'M SICK! YOUR FAULT THEY DIED! YOUR FAULT THAT EVERYONE IS AFRAID OF ME! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

What the fuck. That made no fucking sense. Yoshi had no idea who the fuck she was or why she blamed him for her problems, but even in the face of imminent death, the young genius was excited by what he saw. This girl was lucid and conscious, yet channelled the Otherside! And it seemed that she had the ability to tame the Noroi? "Incredible," he muttered. "You're a natural conduit, aren't you? I had my suspicions that such a thing could happen, but I never thought—" A shadow beast struck at him with its fangs, and he ducked away from the attack.

"No, Stella," a hollow chortle emanated from somewhere close by, and a figure stepped next to the girl. "We had a deal, didn't we? He's mine, and we'll make you all better."The woman was tall, even without the ridiculous mushroom-shaped hat she wore, and she looked a bit older than Yoshi. She was dressed in bright streetwear and carried herself like someone you didn't mess with. "Hey there, handsome."

Stella turned to face the new arrival, and Yoshi took the chance to run towards a narrow alleyway. Except, his legs didn't move. Why didn't his legs move?! "Because, dummy," the other woman chuckled, as if she knew what he was thinking, "you already breathed it in. My spores. You're MINE, didn't you hear me?" Her words rang true in Yoshi's mind—no! It was Fun Gal's mind now—and the young man stood stock still like a deer caught in headlights. He wanted to speak, wanted to scream at her to get out of his head, but nothing came out of his mouth except a soft groan. "Shh, it's alright. Just relax, I've got this."

Stella screeched again, but her swarm of Noroi dissipated like a black mist on the wind. "Fine, a deal's a deal." Stella stomped the ground, then hunched her shoulders and clenched her fists. "Just don't take too long. I need that shit out of my system. I can't control them forever!" The girl stomped off towards a nearby playground and sat on a swing set. She was like a child, throwing a tantrum when denied her favourite toy.

"Hey, don't worry about her," Fun Gal whispered in Yoshi's ear. "You've got much bigger things to worry about. Y'see, I have eyes and ears everywhere, handsome. I know your compound's no more. Your buddy betrayed you, and the kids are all free. He'll testify against you, he's got nothing to lose." Yoshi wanted to tell her to shut up and go away, but his lips remained sealed shut as if glued together. "You're too smart and useful to rot away in prison, big guy. And I'm a hero, you know? So what say you help me out, little mister Hoshino?" The words rang in his mind, and Yoshi knew she wasn't giving him a choice. "I can protect you from the blowback. I can rig everything in your favour. Hide you, let you keep conducting your research in secret. Your titles, your name, your family wealth? I want it. You're all mine, and I'll make sure to use you well."

Yoshi knew she was telling him the truth. He knew that everything he built was crumbling down, that the evidence was piling up, that even the people who once followed him without question were abandoning ship like rats fleeing a sinking ship. His dreams were dashed, his ambitions shattered, his life's work undone in the span of minutes by forces beyond his control. All of that was true, but... But she was a lifeline. Fun Gal was a lifeline. Yoshi couldn't speak, not with his own voice, but he could hear the words in his head.

"So what do you say? Let's get hitched, run way together, and maybe save the world in a few years' time. Hm? Doesn't that sound fun?" The woman leaned forward as she waited for Yoshi's answer.

Yoshi wanted to say no, to scream no at the top of his lungs. Maybe he deserved life in prison. Maybe he was better off dead. He wanted to say no... but then why did he nod his head? Why did he smile and open his arms wide in welcome? Why did he open his mouth and say, "Yes, dear..."? Why?!

"Good boy!" Fun Gal patted him on the head and walked back to Stella. "See, I told you, Stella! Now, let's go fix up your little problem, hm?" She took the young girl by the hand and led her away, while Yoshi trailed behind them. "After all, I'm a hero, right? That's what heroes do!"

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Pub: 15 Mar 2025 19:36 UTC
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