[Tokusatsu Themes]

"Good morning, birthday girl! Can't sleep all day!"

Saki slowly opened her eyes as the morning... No, the sun was too strong for it to still be morning. Had she slept past noon..?

She let the thought dwell on her mind as she looked at the girl that had woken her. Her older sister, Shiki. That silver sheen that accented her blue hair was one that she'd never grow tired of seeing, it made her look that much more confident when paired with how short she had cut it...

Combine that with her crop top and her jeans and she looked like a proper tomboy. And the big sister that Saki always looked up to, because she was just so cool...

"How long did I sleep, Shiki-nee..?" Saki yawned as she rubbed her eyes. The little girl couldn't remember much of anything from the night before. Which probably meant she stayed up all night because she was so excited for her birthday...

All that she could remember was a faint voice in the back of her head. A voice that was trying to tell her that things were wrong. But that couldn't be right. She had Shiki-nee right here with her...

"You slept past breakfast AND lunch, but don't you worry. You've still got time for your Birthday dinner." Shiki grinned, helping her sweet and sleepy little sister out of bed...

Giving Saki just a moment to look at her reflection. She couldn't believe that she was turning 9 years old today. Just one more year, and she'd be two digits old! She'd be right on Shiki-nee's heels.

Definitely going to grow out of this nightgown soon too. Maybe she'd keep it around for when it was her turn to be a mom. She'd be the best mom, she was sure of it...

"Shiiikiii-neeeeeee, is she awaaaaaake?"

Their little brother, Saiki, popped his head in through the doorway. Showing off his lil' cap and his blue and pink hair. Both striking colors that matched the cool kid vibe he was trying to go for. Despite being two years younger than the birthday girl herself.

And much like his eldest sister, he went for a cool look. Which mostly meant a T-Shirt with a cool skull on it and a pair of shorts that were comfy and easy to wear, as well as a nice cap that he could toss at his older siblings if he ever wanted to be a brat. Something that happened more frequently than either would like to admit.

"Just go out and wait for her, Saiki. You know Mom doesn't like it when you're impatient." Shiki said, waving away the young boy who blew a raspberry at the two older girls in turn...

Something about seeing him made Saki's heart skip a beat. And the voice that was trying to reach her started speaking once again...

It wasn't a good voice. It was a voice that made Saki wrap her arms around Shiki-nee, hoping that it would quiet down. Which it did, allowing her to close her eyes as she slowly let the warmth of her dearest sister pull itself over her...

"Yeesh, you're clingier than usual, Saki." Shiki chimed, lifting her younger sister into her arms. Despite the five year gap between the two of them, they were as close as they could be. There wouldn't be a day where Shiki wouldn't be happy to be with her little sister...

Saki could feel her body trembling a bit as she was held by Shiki. But it just made her quietly close her eyes, the warmth of being held by her big sister making her feel all sorts of safe. All sorts of happy and satisfied...

She could almost feel her big sister's gaze on her body. How much care and love Shiki held for her. She truly was blessed to have a big sister...

No, it wasn't just Shiki-nee that loved her this much. Her entire family did. Saiki, as much of a brat as he was, definitely loved her in his own way. Shiki-nee was obvious. And her parents, her dear Daddy and Mommy, loved all three of them as much as they possibly could...

"There she is. Honey, I knew we should've woken her up before she spent the entire day in bed. Now she's barely got time to enjoy her Birthday!"

"Now now, Shin. I'm sure that Saki'll be happy to spend as much time as she has with us. Just because she slept through some of it doesn't mean it's all gone. It just means she'll be bursting with energy for the rest of the day!"

There they were. Her dear Daddy and Mommy. Waiting outside with a big cake for her. With nine candles already lit, carefully flickering in the evening wind...

Her Mommy, Shin, always fretted over everything. It was why she wore such a sharp dress even now when it was such a special day for her daughter. But it wasn't hard to tell that she cared just as much as she worried about everything. The pink hue of her braided hair shining bright despite the silver woven in between every few strands of pink only served to highlight that shining love she held for her children. And for Daddy too, of course...

Saki's Daddy, Mamoru, was a lot more relaxed. Yet he always knew that he could trust the people around him to make up for his mistakes. His long sea blue hair perfectly matched his temperament, it was like the calm waves of the ocean rolling along. Yet when the time came, he'd always be ready to protect the family he loved, if not everyone he could wrap his arms around. That was how big his heart was, even if he downplayed it a lot of the time.

"C'mooooon! Let's blow the candles already! I wanna try the cake!" Saiki cried from the other side of the table. Despite the whining, he had been waiting patiently for Saki to arrive. Because he really, really wanted to try that cake, but he knew not to bully her when he knew it meant that much to her.

Slowly but surely, Saki was let down from Shiki-nee's arms. And the young girl climbed onto her seat. It had been decorated with lots of gold and glitter, just like she liked it. It made her feel like a little Princess...

A Princess who felt all the more comfortable when Shiki-nee put her hands on the birthday girl's shoulders. "Come on, Saki. Think of a wish. When you blow the candles out, it'll come true." She whispered gently into her ear, smiling brightly as the gears started turning in the little girl's head...

There was only one real thing that Saki could think of wishing for. The one thing that she would always, always wish for...

'Dont! DONT! STOP IT!'

A voice tried to cry out in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. She didn't know what the voice was for, just that it was getting really annoying! And why was it trying to stop her from wishing for what she wanted? What a mean, mean voice!

"I wish for us to always be together! Always!"

Saki let her wish out as she put out the candles with one big puff, the gentle smoke rising from each wick as her family clapped at how good she was at putting out the candles...

"Alright, let's start cutting out the cake. Don't worry, Saiki, you'll get a big piece too. Just not as big as Saki's, it is her cake after all!"

Saiki pouted a little as Daddy reined him in. But it was okay. He expected it. It was Saki-nee's birthday after all...

"Honey? What's that up there?"

A scream echoed through Saki's ears as she and the rest of the family looked up at the hole suddenly opening up in the sky above. A hole that seemed to drag Saki deeper and deeper into it...

Until more screams started to echo around her. Panic started to rise through Saki's heart as she looked around, trying to find out what was going on, why everyone was screaming like that...

That was when she saw it. The purples spread across the bodies of her family. The way her Mommy, her Daddy, Saiki and Shiki-nee... All of them started looking like they were the same, shrinking to a little shorter than Saiki's original size...

"S-Saki... Saki, run..! I-I can't..." "S-Saki-nee, S-Shiki-nee, h-help..." "H-Honey! Pull yourself together, we can't-"

Saki didn't know what to think. Especially as her family's faces were being twisted into hungry grins, drool starting to pour down as their hair turned into tendrils that eagerly tried to lash out at anything that looked tasty...

"S-Shiki-nee! Saiki! MOMMY! D-"

The only one that managed to resist ever slightly was the very same that hugged her as she cried out. Her dear Daddy, who smiled down at her despite the changes rapidly pouring through him.

"Saki... My dear, dear Saki." Daddy's voice was changing. Growing lighter and girlier by the second, just like his face was growing more and more purple. Looking less like Daddy, and more like whatever girl-thing he and the others were turning into.

"Run-"

In that moment, as he pushed her as far as he could possibly push her, all that Saki saw was a single golden slash...

A single golden slash that carved through all of her family in one fell swoop, their bodies dissolving into the same sort of stuff that swirled from the hole above. And there, in the middle of it all...

Was a golden colored bug lady. Her body shattered, yet still she pushed herself. Still, she pushed. Her red eye barely able to meet the girl she had saved...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! MOMMY! DADDY! SHIKI-NEE! SAIKI! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The girl who couldn't stop herself from screaming, as her final Birthday Gift settled in...

A gift that would replay again and again as the scene faded into gold, and a broken-hearted young woman gazed at it all taking form once again. Sobbing as she painfully reached out to what she could've had...

"Mom... Dad... Shiki... Saiki..."

Saki couldn't bring herself to do more than reach forward fruitlessly. Sniffling as it all played out again. As it had done endlessly since the day it happened..

Her weak voice mustering up only three more words, the same that drove her into this pit of despair...

"Don't leave me..."

---

"That figure... She's..."

Haruhi muttered as she gazed upon the giant Sphinx that resembled Kanzei taking shape in the distance. Had her attempt to hold off Tsukiko ended up nothing more than a failure..? Was she bringing a Descent all on her own..?

She had hoped this wouldn't happen, it was why she did all of this. But now-

"Eyes on the prize."

Haruhi's eyes widened as a sickening crunch echoed through her ears. Courtesy of an arm and a blade being forced through her chest at the same time, both going all the way and leaving a sickening hole in their wake...

A hole that only forced further open as 'Luna' slashed her way out of the hole, leaving a gaping wound where the gilded woman's heart would be. And more than that, given how much she put into that last swing. Ultimately forcing Haruhi onto her knees, this close to keeling over from how much blood she was losing with every passing second...

"Haah... Haaah..." 'Luna' couldn't stop gasping for air. She had been pushed to the very limit by this woman. Who kept on taunting her again and again as if she was somebody that she wasn't. And admittedly...

The more the two of them clashed, the more it actually felt like she had been speaking the truth. As if there was something more to what she was. Something more that was just waiting to burst free...

But now that she was silenced, she could drag her off to Mama for a meal. Or if Mama fancied it, maybe she could make her a sister. Then she'd have somebody to spar with-

"H-Haaahhh... HHHahhh..."

A sharp breath cut through the air, as the woman that 'Luna' thought she had killed suddenly forced herself to breathe once again. Even with the blood very visibly gushing out of her chest...

That golden blood, pouring out from that gaping wound left behind by the 'Luna', splashed faster and faster with every one of these sharp breaths being drawn into the woman's practically non-existent lungs...

"You... You shouldn't be... How..?" 

Fear gripped the corrupted Tsukiko as she watched Haruhi draw breath once again. Not just that, but the golden blood splashing around so intensely...

It wasn't because it was gushing out of the hole. It was gushing back in. Gushing back in at such speed that it almost was impossible to really make out, until all of it was back inside...

Haruhi drew another sharp breath as the blood sank back into the wound it came from. All while she felt something growing across her chest, not that she cared to look down while she was still experiencing the rush that came with this kind of absurd resuscitation...

Her enemy certainly noticed it though. The woman's upper torso had been transformed, taking on the form of some sort of bestial armor. Though it was hard to tell what exactly the beast was. Either way, the chestplate looked...

'Luna' could feel a chill running down her spine as if she was face to face with her natural predator. Gripping her blade tight, she glared into the eyes of the woman who had managed to regenerate despite everything she had done to her...

She couldn't let her become a m-

The purple-skinned 'invader' grit her teeth and slammed her hand against her head. "Stop... You're doing something to me..! YOU SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE!" So many terrifying thoughts running through her head. She needed to force it all down..!

"I shouldn't. And yet, I am..." Haruhi muttered, a grin on her face as the bestial armor spread across her arms. Bulging with sculpted muscle as her hands erupted into a set of sharp, predatory claws. "So why not make the best of it?!" She laughed, pouncing towards her prey.

Forgetting what she was fighting for, as the rush of Jõtai pumping through her system kept her going...

Kept her hunting her prey, her oh-so-delicious prey...

—

"That's one huge bitch!"

Yuuki cried out as she watched the ceiling cave in to reveal the giant Sphinx that her friend had become. As much as she was making light of it, she wasn't exactly happy with Saki turning into a big problem like this...

However, the part that actually caught her attention was the light in the distance. And as she gazed towards Hayato, his anguished expression.

"Damnit, I'm too late... I can't make it there in time..!" Hayato muttered under his breath. He had been so caught up in saving Yuuki that he forgot that he was supposed to be looking for Lady Hopper. How in the world was he going to make it all the way over there in time? What was going to happen to her if this kept going..!?

His worries stopped swirling as he felt Yuuki's hand supportively pat him on the back. "Where's the PASSION you just showed me, Hayato? You just pulled me out of that Jõtai-induced self-loathing, don't start backing down just because of a little pressure!"

"...Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Yuuki." The green-haired boy said, cracking a smile at her support. "...I need to get out of here. Fast. As much as I want to help with this whole situation." He said, gesturing to the giant problem looming overhead.

Yuuki cracked a bright grin in turn. "Leave it to this fountain of PASSION, then! You just focus on what you need to do! Besides, if you ever need me, you have that medal on hand. Just tap into my PASSION and it'll all work out!" Such overconfidence. No, it wasn't overconfidence when it came from Yuuki...

It was a bright spell of pure PASSION, as she always championed with everything she had. Inspiring for sure, and just what he needed at this moment...

As she froze the floor beneath her, Hayato tapped his PriDriver, a small holographic screen popping up in front of him. She had to pick up, she had to.

"There you are, Hayato! Took you long enough to call!"

There she was. Ero, his ever-testing yet ever-faithful partner. And he swore he could see Neo in the back too, seems like luck was on his side after all.

"Ero. It's about Lady Hoppe- Your Mom. She... She's in danger. And I've known for a week." He paused, watching her expression turn to shock, then sour, then surprising anger at her partner. "I didn't want to worry you, because she did this for your sake too. But... There's a way we can save her. I'm sure of it."

For once, it was Ero's turn to sigh like Hayato usually did. "Well, I've got Neo here with me. Your idea wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this deep, intimate bond we share? The one you just tested by keeping a secret like that from me?"

"The very same. I'm coming to meet you both. If we're lucky, we'll make it just in time." He said, smiling as Ero threw him a thumbs up before the screen fizzled out.

It was a race against the clock. But with Yuuki's PASSION and those two girls ready to lend a hand... He just might make it.

He just might make it in time to stop Ero from experiencing the same kind of tragedy that he did back then!

—

"The stage's grown rather crowded, don't you think so? Three villainous entities and two heroines stuck in their own volatile emotions?"

Akemi Hokori had not experienced being outnumbered in a fight like this before. And to share the stage with other versions of Yumeko, each looking weirder than the last? That was an extraordinary experience all on its own.

The trio she faced off against were radiating some kind of power that almost made her shiver as she stood up to them. Each of them no doubt planning some way to deal with her on their own. And she had only seen what one of them was capable of, that Dream Mystica no doubt already planned to shut her away inside one of the molds she had planted across the stage...

"Villainous. Hah. That's a way to describe us." The maliciously armored Yumeko, Anti-Dream, said as she snapped her fingers, causing a pair of bows to grow from her forearms. Both of these jagged armaments trailing on the redhaired girl with pinpoint accuracy. "I'd more describe us as... Living Nightmares. Or given we stem from the trail a Nightmare has left behind... Let's go with Night Terrors. Either of you two have a problem with that?"

The masked Yumeko, Dream Mystica, merely kept her eyes trained on the redheaded girl. "It matters not what we are. What matters is that we end this cycle of suffering. Her constant jumps through time, her constant deviation from the path has earned her and everyone else millenia of nothing but pain. We will end it this time." She sounded so tired... How many times had she been through this?

"Charting... Charting..." The fully bound and red-hued Yumeko, Zodiac, muttered to herself as the holographic star chart above her masked face kept flickering. Every star that vanished paved the way for a path to slowly take shape among the stars. One that would lead to something for sure...

Behind these three versions of Yumeko that had been plucked from lord knows where... Was the core Yumeko herself. Still clad in that dour wedding dress, still muttering to herself. Repeating that mantra that pierced through the skies above the moment that the Sphinx far above them took shape. She was stuck materializing them, wasn't she..?

Akemi took a single glance over her shoulder. The Jõtaijin that Saeko had become, Atombis, was still stunned over what had transpired before her eyes. Not that she blamed her for being stunned like this. Who wouldn't be stunned at this type of revelation, that your beloved had been to several other worlds and times and brought her fears and nightmares along?

"Suikumo!" The redheaded former Jõtaijin cried out, her body shining bright as she took on Mimoto's role once again. Since there was no way that she could handle taking on the roles corresponding to each Yumeko, she took on the role of the city's hero instead. Flames poured from her gem-like form as she adopted the stance that Mikai would use...

Atombis responded to the call, the living sarcophagus that was her body trembling as she watched Akemi dash into battle using Mikai's form as her own. All while she could feel her heart beating harder and harder in response...

Especially as Akemi's attempt to go on the offensive was suitably countered. Every time she took a step, the stars above Zodiac began to pulse. And in turn, Anti-Dream began firing with those bows on her arms. Each attack specifically aimed in such a way that she danced further and further in a specific direction...

She... She should be doing something. The enemy was... Right there... Right there for her to judge for her Goddess... For... Saki...

For... Saki...

"SUIKUMO! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, LISTEN!"

Akemi's voice cut through the despair that held Saeko together, right as she barely deflected an arrow headed straight for the living sarcophagus. At the expense of getting nicked by the arrow in turn, a bit of blood ran down the actress' arm...

Why... Why was she doing all of this for her..? She was useless compared to all the others. She couldn't help Mikai. She couldn't help Saki. And she especially couldn't help Yumeko while she was like this. She was supposed to be Mikai and Yumeko's girlfriend, repenting after what she had done as Spider, what she had done to cause the Near-Luna Descent. And yet... AND YET:.!

"WHO DO YOU WISH TO BE ON THE STAGE, SUIKUMO!?"

Another arrow, headed straight for Atombis, turned into nothing but ash as Akemi threw herself in front of Atombis, smiling as she abandoned her form as Mimoto, so that she could stand as herself on this stage. The Dazzling Star herself, even if she didn't have all the powers she had as Jõtaijin...

Atombis... No, Saeko remained silent as she watched. Akemi was shining so brightly. Just like Mikai was. But she wasn't Mikai. She wasn't Yumeko. She wasn't Saki either. She was just... Herself...

"The one I've always wanted to play on the stage..." Akemi said, gazing over her shoulder to meet Saeko's own gaze, even if it was still that of Atombis. "Was myself. Which is why I put myself into every role I take. I put that little bit of myself into everything I do, so that I can make it a part of me. So once again, I ask of you..."

"Who do you wish to be on the stage, Suikumo?"

Just as she asked that fateful question, a mold emerged from the ground and slammed around her. With the disappointed sigh of Dream Mystica echoing from above, the masked Yumeko not amused in the slightest.

"For all her bravado, she played along to the tune set by us Night Terrors." Dream Mystica spoke, gazing towards the chart above Zodiac. "That one has been turned into a weapon in her timeline. One that taps into all she knows. From there, no single move can deviate from the course she sees. Fighting against this suffering is futile, until we finally put an end to it."

Atombis watched as the mold sank into the ground. No doubt to pop out later, releasing Akemi in the form of yet another one Dream Mystica. A fate that was no doubt in store for her too, given what she was currently facing off against...

"Well, Saeko! You're in the eye of the storm! The prey of three Night Terrors! That's the best a useless bitch like you could hope for! You couldn't save anybody, so why are you even trying?" Anti-Dream laughed as she aimed her bow back at the living sarcophagus. "Just let out your filling and let us turn her too. Then your useless attempt at redemption will come to its natural Bad End."

The trio were strong. They were so, so strong. What could a single girl like Saeko do against them? She was weak. Hopelessly so. She didn't even have her Jõtai Factor any longer. She didn't have anything compared to Mikai, Yumeko, Saki, even Yuuki or Hayato were better off than her. Minami as well, and Minami had lost alongside her. There was... Nothing...

...

Those words Akemi had left her with. Who she wanted to be...

"I'm..."

A golden shine started to pour out from the tiny gap between the two halves of Atombis. The back of her body blew off, shooting the unconscious body of one Yua Hokori out into the distance, as the front gradually turned back into the lavender-haired girl that had served as the Jötaijin's material...

"Look at that. She's giving up. She knows she's useles-"

"I'm not giving up!"

Anti-Dream's laugh got cut off by Saeko glaring up at the three of them. Those eyes of hers... They weren't afraid. No, for the first time in a long while...

They were glowing bright crimson. Just as they did back when she was General Spider...

"You lost that power when it was crushed by Mikai." Dream Mystica added, taking a brief step back just in case. "You believe you can fight, despite knowing you're stuck in a cycle?" She declared. She knew she couldn't fight. She had to prove it to her...

"...Star... Chart... Disrupting..."

Anti-Dream and Dream Mystica both took a glance at their predicting partner, before looking back at Saeko. Or rather, the gauntlet she revealed...

The Hopper System... The very same she used to don her armored Spider form when she fought against Mikai. While Mikai had broken her Jõtai Factor, the system itself was still functional. Cracked to all hell like the one Yumeko used to transform into Jõtaider Dream, but functional!

"I don't care if all I've got are embers! Mikai, Yumeko, Saki! Everyone! All of them push themselves to their limits every time they're challenged! And even then, they fear what they're capable of! Leaning on others when they're feeling weak, just like I did! THEY'RE HUMAN! WHAT KIND OF PERSON WOULD I BE IF I DIDN'T AT LEAST TRY TO DO THE SAME?! TO BE THERE FOR THEM WHEN THEY NEED ME THE MOST?!"

Saeko let out a violent scream as she shoved her arm into her chest. As deep, deep inside as it could possibly go. Deeper... Deeper...

She knew it was in there. She knew that even after everything she had been through, there was still something left. Even if it was nothing more than sparks, even if that power was in tatters, it had to still be in there..!

The Hopper System whined loudly, cracking further and further as it reached as deep inside Saeko's very self as it could. If it went any deeper, it would break apart...

Then, and only then, did she feel a familiar brim reach her fingers. And with one violent tug, she pulled it out of her!

Both Anti-Dream and Dream Mystica couldn't believe what they saw. A tattered spider-endorned hat, belonging to a certain somebody that should have perished months ago...

General Spider's hat. A hat that was truly on its last legs, basically just consisting of the very front of it. But that emblem still shone bright despite it all.

"I can't run away from what I once was any longer. Nor can I use that power to try and save Yumeko." Saeko muttered, as she tightened her grip on the tattered remains of her Jõtai Factor, symbolized by that hat she once wore. "Every mistake I've made. Every stupid decision. Everything! It's woven a brand new me, time and time again!"

In that moment, a barrier woven from pure Jõtai energy took shape around her, knocking away the three Yumekos as she stood up, the hat pulling itself apart into more and more strings... String that wrapped around her arm, the very same that was covered by the Hopper System...

Weaving both the symbol of her old self and the system she used to unlock her true power into a new symbol. A web-like bracelet, with a Spider on top. One that she turned so that the butt of the spider faced out towards her fingers, allowing it to surge with the same energy her barrier was made from.

"Akemi! THIS IS WHO I WISH TO BE!"

As she affirmed her answer, Saeko pulled her hand across her face, one of those crimson eyes flashing gold for a second before turning lavender once more. As strings started to shoot out from each of her fingertips, there was only one word on her lips. One single word.

"SEISHOKU!"

Golden strings made from pure will quickly started to weave around her, forming the same suit that she had once used as a powerup while she was General Spider, the same hatted armor that she had used to fight against Mikai when she wanted to stop her…

Only for the strings that formed the armor to be undone, revealing the same undersuit, but with new pieces layered on top. Ones that made her look more like a genuine Jõtaider. Complete with brand new colors that accent her gold, both her own personal lavender and the purples and blacks of General Spider.

First came her helmet, slamming down thanks to the golden strings pulling tight. Forming a spider’s face, though this time they overlapped to the point where they almost looked normal. Yet still, these eyes could peer far, far beyond where she usually peered. As if she could see a whole new future.

Then, half of the spider legs that had been at her disposal in her prior armor form snapped onto her limbs, forming the basis of the armor that reinforced her. Complete with the very tip overlapping with her heels, turning them extra sharp.

The other half of the spider legs snapped around her chest, each end firing off golden webbing that layered on top of her chest, while also reaching up towards her shoulders. Shoulders that were now adorned with a pair of cute lavender spiders, almost like they were a set of decorative pauldrons.

Finally, as Saeko brushed her hands across her body, the remaining string that was used to form her armor formed a half skirt that fell down from the back of her armor. Which served to perfectly complement the rim of her former hat jutting out of her helmet, one she grabbed with vigor as her eyes lit up brightly and with determination like never seen before.

“Never again will I let my friends' fears terrorize them! With these golden strings wrapping around me, and the needle of my heart, I’ll stitch close the bad ends in front of me and weave us a Golden Fate! I AM JÕTAIDER WEAVER!”

As she declared her new identity, the golden strings at her command formed a familiar golden needle, one that Weaver grabbed and pointed directly towards the Nightmare hidden by the Night Terrors…

“Yumeko! I’ll rip up the threads of time that bind you, and free you from your nightmare!”

—

"What in the hell is that!? Is that Saki!?"

Agatha cried out as she peered into the sky, narrowly dodging out of the way of one of the shaded Kei's punches as it flew right past her face. Gritting her teeth in frustration because she had ultimately been distracted by this fight with Lumiel...

"It's like she went into some sort of... Second Phase? Last One? You know how it goes!"

Tsubasa tried to make sense of it, but it was harder than he'd like. Especially when he had to constantly defend himself at inopportune moments thanks to the way the shaded Kotaro slammed his pronounced posterior against Momiji's bladed form. How in the world was a butt that strong!?

"STAY STILL DAMNIT!"

Aimi wasn't doing much better in this regard, trying to land a solid hit on the shaded Ichika. However, the tanuki-blooded minion was taking full advantage of her transformative abilities, shrinking out of the way of attacks and otherwise trying her best to tucker the strong matron out.

Even with Nezu still on Aimi's shoulders trying to keep her cooled off by waving cloth at her face or otherwise wiping away any sweat. Even with that very same mousy girl trying not to look up at the horrifying symbol that the Student President had become...

"Ahahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What's so funny?" Bat asked, the armored 'villainess' striking through a dove that flew from the magician's hat as he laughed. Trying not to think too much about what was going on above her head, because if she were to focus on Saki's condition... Then he would no doubt take advantage.

Lumiel smirked as he twirled his hat, a small onslaught of doves escaping the hole as they flew at Bat to distract her further. Giving him time to rest his hat on his head, pulling it down over one eye. "I told that annoying time traveler that the curtain would rise on the Nightmare. A simple way to imply that her efforts in stopping Kanzei's descender status would be for naught. And though one of my plans to take advantage of this had been foiled..."

A wave of pure despair suddenly washed over the hall where the students and their principal were fighting, images of... What looked to be Yumeko hovering over a passed out or otherwise heavily damaged Mikai started to flood their minds. Several versions of the same image, each slightly different compared to the last...

"And then my words inadvertently come true! She fell into despair again! Before long, she'll act as the anchor drawing the Darkness upon this world, should she not be stopped! And since Kanzei's still busy breaking apart and drawing the Darkness all on her own? THERE'S NO WAY TO STOP IT! STOP ONE, THE OTHER WILL SUCCEED! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The manic laughter coming from Lumiel didn't sit right with any of the students. Especially not Agatha and Tsubasa, who couldn't believe that Yumeko had been through that much. They could tell that she might've been hiding more secrets, because that's just the kind of girl that Yumeko was, but to see this visual pulse through them over and over...

"What I wouldn't give to shut that smug mug up right now!" Aimi shouted, gritting her teeth as she threw another futile punch in the direction of the tiny Shade, grumbling in frustration as she missed again. "Principal! Ain't there something we can do!? Something to make sure he's wrong!?"

A soft chuckle started to flow from Bat in turn, causing Lumiel's manic laughter to stop. "What, pray tell, is so funny to you, Baroness? You're in a pickle like no other, and you think you can just giggle it away? Or were you perhaps wishing for this world's end all along?" He began smirking once again, seemingly secure in his assessment of the entire situation...

"Oh, Lumiel. You should know better than to count the heroes of this city out. Especially when there's a hero right by Yumeko's side." Bat said, a smirk forming underneath her helmet. "Can't you feel it? You of all people should be able to feel it, given all the plans you've got stuffed into your sleeves."

Lumiel blinked a little, before his eyes violently widened. A brand new pulse of Jõtai energy was bubbling up close to the place that Nightmare energy was pulsing from. Not only that, but... Of course. Of course, how could he have been so blind. He should've taken that option into account!

"So what if that Spider's reawakened to a new power? That doesn't mean anything! She'll be swallowed up by the Nightmare unleashed before her! Just as you five will be swallowed up for trying to get in my way!"

For once, it actually seemed as if Lumiel had been knocked off balance. This trust was something he had completely neglected to account for in his plans. The very thing that Bat would take advantage of.

"Attention! Students of Mimoto Highschool!"

The speakers flared up as Bat cried out, her voice ringing out through the entire school. An act that made Lumiel step back slightly. She wouldn't, would she..?

"Though this school may currently be under siege, I must speak to you all. Because now, more than ever, I need you all to come together. Because together is how we will fight back against this menace. Both the fear that has gripped the girl towering over us, and the Darkness that has forced it down this road!"

"Stop.. You would throw all your own plans away, just for two girls!?"

Lumiel's protests only invigorated Bat further, a golden energy starting to coat her arms as parts of her armor started to segment. Almost as if most her armor was made from bat layered on top of bat layered on top of yet more bats...

"Though you may know me as Rose, Principal of this wonderful school that you all infuse with your lively energy, I am also somebody who was meant to be shrouded in mystery. Somebody who has allowed few to rise to the occasion through her blessing, but ultimately caused you an untold amount of harm by being so reckless!"

"CEASE!" Lumiel shouted, his cape opening as several sharp spikes shot forward. Anything to shut this bitch up and keep her from derailing his plans even further!

"I am Baroness Bat of Golden Freedom! NOW! I ASK ALL OF YOU TRUST ME THIS ONE TIME,  BELIEVE I WANT THE SAME AS YOU! RECEIVE THIS GOLDEN INFUSION, AND USE THIS POWER AS YOU SEE FIT TO DEFEND THIS SCHOOL!"

A swarm of golden bats flew from Bat's body, several of which swarmed in the way of the spikes that tried to skewer her, serving to protect her Lumiel pouring everything into hurting her. Yet that was only one of several hundred, each flying freely and quickly through the halls of the school...

Four of which headed straight for the other combatants that were trying to fight alongside her, each perching on their respective shoulders as if waiting for permission...

"I don't like it. I don't like that you went behind my back to make Alyssa better. But right now, I trust you, Bat!"

Agatha's trust was answered by the golden back on her shoulder biting into her neck. Not sucking out anything, but rather pumping a new invigorating substance into her. Leaving a golden bat tattoo where she had been bitten, as her eyes flashed briefly gold in turn.

Was this the kind of power that ran through Bat all this time? If so, then she could definitely knock Kei out of that damn latex and free her. She just needed one good hit!

And the opportunity came right for her, fist outstretched to slam straight into her face. A fist she met head on, tanking the hit as her arm passed right against the very same arm, slamming straight into the Shade's mask in turn...

"Don't think you're getting away now that you're this close!" Agatha cried out as she grabbed ahold of the mask, golden energy rushing across her arms as she poured the power of life through them as well, gold and green merging together as it reached her fingertips!

"OVERBLOOM!"

The power of life would restore the mask to its original condition, and the damage that the Shade had suffered vanished before the two combatants' eyes. However, once the life had taken root inside the Shade, it just kept on healing. Healing what it wasn't supposed to heal...

"Too much healing will lead to the parts of you that are supposed to naturally grind away and reduce to nothing to come back swinging. But there's nowhere for them to go since you wore them down. And since there's too much of that!"

Agatha grinned as the Shade's body started to violently convulse as parts began rapidly expanding. No real rhyme or reason to where it grew, just that it grew rapidly in ways the Shade couldn't handle!

Until there was too much growth, too much of what was supposed to be discarded returned to the latex-covered body, for the Shade to keep itself together. Exploding off Kei as it was healed to the point where it couldn't maintain its cohesion, reduced to nothing more than a constantly popping and exploding mess on the ground below...

"Bloom again in your next life." Agatha muttered, stomping the Shade flat as her powers that dominated it extinguished themselves. Allowing her to crush the symbiotic latex into pieces that it was sure to never recover from...

Another pair of these golden bats landed on Aimi's shoulders, one close to Nezu given her short stature...

"If it'll let me help Saki-senpai..!" The mousey girl muttered, lifting her arms up to expose her side so the bat could dig in...

"If it'll let me hit that damn nuisance so we can get back to what really matters!" Aimi cried out, cracking her neck slightly before tilting her head so the bat had full access...

Both could feel the same sort of golden rush that Agatha felt, with Nezu using that rush of energy to jump off Aimi's shoulder, a much more confident giggle leaving her lips as she bowed her head towards the transformed Shade still scurrying around on the ground below...

"Cheesed to meet you, Master!" As she spoke, her voice multiplied several times over. Until there wasn't just one, not just two, but several tens of the very same former Jõtaijin, each now brandishing a mop to deal with the problem at hand.

Of course the Shade quickly reacted by turning bigger, big enough to fill up the entire hall with how big she grew, Grinning with those sculpted lips as she thought being bigger would give her the advantage in this kind of fight...

"Come on, girls! SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

Bigger didn't always mean better. Especially when she was up against a horde of mice girls that suddenly grew buffer, courtesy of the encouraging shouts of their 'Mama', her influence greatly expanded thanks to the energy rushing through her...

Armed with all sorts of plates, silverware, anything that a small waitress could get her hands on, the many copies of Nezu began climbing on top of the resized Ichika. Beating, jabbing, stabbing, cutting, doing everything they could to harm this enemy....

It was like a small army of Pawns. But they weren't pawns. They were proper girls. Each empowered due to the bond they shared with their 'Mama', each strike adding up until there was nothing more to be soaked up by the oversized Shade!

The Shade let out a muffled scream of frustration as it was reduced to tattered by the assault mice, each copy of Nezu bowing before the tattered Shade once they had gotten back off Ichika, each copy dissolving into gold as the infusion's effects wore off...

"That's what you get for being so annoying." Aimi muttered, grinning a little as she patted Nezu on the head. The two of them made a great team. The empowering voice of a matron like her, and the unlimited staff to serve a 'Master'...

Last, but not least, a bat landed on Tsubasa's shoulder. He didn't have the power, but...

"Momiji! Take it! Take every last bit you can muster!"

His girlfriend's neck partly materialized around the guard of her bladed form, making it easy for him to grab the golden bat and jam its fangs into that succulent blade flesh. An act that naturally made Momiji blush and gasp, all while the golden power surged through her...

This much power... Yes, she could do it. "Tsubasa!" She cried out in tandem, as her entire body started glowing with that awesome power..!

Almost as if he could tell what she was trying to get at, he let out a powerful cry and yanked on the blade with his other hand. Yanking the power out of it, as a black and wicked blade full of equally evil flames took shape once the energy had been separated...

Murakumo, the corrupted alter ego that Momiji was forced to use during the descent. Rematerialized in this hour of need thanks to the infusion from Bat!

"Oh, how I've missed you, Daaaarling. Maybe you're enough of a man to handle me now... Why don't you show it?"

Both Tsubasa and Momiji trembled at the sound of the wicked sword's seductive voice. But there was no time for him to hesitate. The enemy in front of him, no, the fellow student that had been claimed by Lumiel's wicked schemes still needed to be cut free from his feminine prison!

"Habakiri! Murakumo!" He cried out, the golden energy that Bat had shared with the two bladed girls pouring through his arms as he dashed straight towards the rump-enthusiastic Shade. Both stretched out as far as he could get them, before he brought them inward!

"HEAVENCROSS!"

With the flames of his love in one hand and the foul inferno of domination in the other, he carved straight through the Shade that was wrapped around Kotaro, forcing the genderswap-loving boy to let out a whine as he collapsed onto the floor. A preferable fate to one of pure submission...

"Mmmphhhh, what a show..." Murakumo chimed, the golden energies that sustained her gradually fading. Though not without her masked face materializing on the guard of her bladed form, blowing a kiss towards her other self and the boy that wielded her. "You two have the spark alright. I'll be seeing you, once you need me again..."

Suffice to say, both Tsubasa and Momiji were thoroughly blushing thanks to the way Murakumo had aided them in this moment...

"Insanity." Lumiel muttered, clearing his throat as he glared at Bat for doing this. He could feel more and more of his minions getting taken down across the school. Even the ones that had layered on top of some of the Pawns that Kanzei's corrupted form had made were being taken out. They were willing to put their trust in her, somebody that had explicitly deceived them, just for this one chance... "You humans... No matter how many times I try to undo your world and feed it to the Darkness, you find a way to get under my skin! Making impossible dreams a reality in front of a Nightmare... Pure insanity."

The sculpted lips on Bat's helmet curled ever slightly. "Why thank you. Here, why don't you have a taste of the very thing you detest?" She chimed, as those loved-filled wings of hers began to flap. Flapping gently, until she vanished like a pane of glass shattering before his very eyes...

And just as he was about to summon another wave of malicious doves, perhaps even toss himself into his own hat to escape, a pair of lips took shape in front of him. A pair of lips that gradually expanded into a stained glass version of the armored Baroness, before she expanded and grabbed hold of his hips like he was at the altar.

The panic in his eyes and the hate that accompanied it was palpable. But all of it vanished into a pure sense of bliss as the armored Baroness planted her lips right on his.

"Resonance. GOLDEN LOVE!"

The bliss quickly turned into pain as spike after spike of pure golden energy poured through him, each born from somebody accepting the golden infusion Bat had offered them. Every spike rapidly duplicated as tens of spikes expanded into hundreds, showing the kind of unity the school was able to pool together!

Lumiel let out a violent scream as this had been the one decisive blow he had suffered. Throwing his entire body into disarray thanks to his overconfidence once again getting the better of him. He had been wise enough to stay away from Bat the last time they fought, and he had just been proven right in avoiding her.

All he could do as this pulse of love pierced him again and again was scream in frustration, tearing his being to shreds as he vanished just like that. He wasn't gone, they could still smell his foul stench in the air. But for now, they had made a Prime like him retreat...

Leaving Bat to let out a soft chuckle as she fell down onto her knees, gazing up at the Sphinx that still hung above...

She couldn't save Saki. But those that had earned her trust, those wonderful students of this school she loved...

Hopefully, they could make it through to her.

—

"M! I! N! A! WHAT'S THAT SPELL?"

In another part of the school, the other combatants that had been freed up were now giving it their all. Especially thanks to the Golden Infusion they had gotten from Bat.

In the case of the recovered Rika Nitta, the former Cheer Champ was now weaponizing her chats. Every strike makes her voice louder, stronger, more encouraging!

"MINA!"

She loudly cheered for her girlfriend, the former Glory Chase dashing towards one of the Shades that were trying to grab her partner when she was posing for her.

"I'll take this off you!" Mina shouted, ripping the mask straight off the Shade and yanking the power that kept it manifested in the process, freeing the victim underneath as she threw the mask like a spear at another. Weaponizing the glory she was stealing to stun another!

All while blushing as she got a kiss from her muscled friend, right where she had a mark from where the golden bat bit her...

"Keep your eyes peeled, girls!"

Just as three more of these lewd-lipped shades tried to assault the duet, a wave of sake washed over them. Temporarily turning the trio of goons into a pair of identical kitsune, each of them waving their tails around in confusion.

"Thank you, Mizutani. Soul Sever - Trident!"

With that opening, a piece of trident-shaped pressure slammed into the three mooks, courtesy of the dull-faced geisha boy. Yu briefly nodded towards his student and friend as Azami smirked in turn.

"Keep setting them up, Mizutani. I'll sever their souls and free them from their binds."

The way he put his explicit trust in her made the oni gal blush, laughing as she hadn't expected him to be so forward. "If you're so eager to butter me up, Yu-Senpai! Come on, Glory Gals! We've got more to plow down!"

Mina nodded, grinning as she clenched her fist. Even though she was still blushing from the kiss and the way Rika wrapped her arms around her...

"Students! If you free one of our own, make sure to pull them here! I'll get them ready to fight to keep the school safe!"

Katsuo Maki, former Head Teacher, shouted as several ordinary students, each temporarily covered in golden latex that matched the golden crown on his head, swarmed the Shades that tried to keep them down. Whether they were cheering on their friends with added vigor from the Bishop-like headgear, ramming through the hordes with their Rook-like muscles, or rushing through with the speed of a Knight, all of them were empowered by the former Jõtaijin's reinvigorated power.

Regardless of everything, he still had great pride in the students. And he would die before he saw these students fall victim to a crisis he could help them stop!

"MAKI-SENSEI!"

However, the Shades were more than willing to take advantage of his position as King in this little arrangement. Several of them dropping from the crumbled ceiling unannounced, ready to grab and transform him into one of their number-

"Silent Slash."

Only for them all to be cut down by an invisible blade, as a mysterious... No, as an intimately familiar figure slowly revealed herself right before somebody near and dear to her heart...

"N...Natsuki... Natsuki, is that really you?"

The blonde girl standing before him in that oh-so-sweet purple dress. His dear, sweet daughter, back in the flesh? But she was... She was supposed to be...

Natsuki smiled as she turned towards her dear Dad. "Sorry about the abrupt reunion, Dad. I just had to drop off a little something to a cute girl I know. And wouldn't you know it, all this chaos started happening when I was busy! Gosh, what's a girl gotta do when her Dad's in danger if not help him out?"

As she spoke, the ends of her hair gradually turned a mixture of pink and purple, while one of her eyes turned that all-too-familiar golden shade that Jõtaijin were known for. All while a pair of sharp pink blades sprouted from her forearms. Like that of a Mantis.

She turned towards the horde that had tried to approach her dad, mantis-like carapace sprouting from underneath her dress. "Let's see, what to call this form... How about... Slasher." She grinned, dashing into the fray as her visage disappeared once more...

Her invisible form cutting through the enemies ahead, all while her heart kept pumping with happiness and adrenaline.

She got to show her Dad she was back at such a cool time. Now, she just had to hope Minami could make use of what she learned.

So that they could all return home to Hiro's, and enjoy their happy ending!

—

"She's huge! But she's also so big she's kinda making that 'Broken Sun' set... Heh. Feels like we could call her Sunsetter, don't you think, Hiro?"

"Focus, Mikai. We need to get up there. We need to pierce through to her one way or another, so that you can bring her back from the brink."

Mikai nodded sheepishly as the two heroines gazed up at the impossibly huge Sphinx, or Sunsetter as she had titled the golden monument to Saki's trauma. They needed to make it all the way to the top of that so they could reach the head, and from there... Hopefully get into the part of Saki's heart where she was no doubt as deeply buried as Mikai was during the Near-Luna Descent.

If they didn't, there was a good chance that the cracked sun currently hanging over the oversized quizzical cat would cause some sort of damage to everything. Given what the Darkness had been calling both her and Saki, probably another form of Descent. And there was no way that Mikai was going to let her be the cause of one of those when she had done everything to try and help her avert it.

"Still, how do we get up this thing? It's so tall!"

As Mikai tried to figure out just how she was going to scale the thing, Hiro could feel her body pulsing. She could feel a hunger forcing its way up her throat. That beast she was fighting inside her heart was trying to forcibly take control. Damnit, not now..!

"Mikai..!" Hiro grit her teeth, trembling all over as her eyes started turning yellow like those beasts from the Darkness. She had to keep control at least for a little-

"Ah-ah. Don't you start going out of control just because you're starting to lose, Hiro."

A wave of relief washed over Hiro as she felt something pouring through her entire body. Collapsing onto her knees just as MIkai turned around to see her, and more importantly...

"Minami... Thank you..."

The purple-legged girl who Hiro had taken in, the self-serving Jõtaider smiling with glee as she pulled the tip of her poisonous tail out of Hiro's neck. "That should keep the beast inside her sated at least for a little bit. More than enough time for us to try and bring Saki to her senses, don't you think?"

"What'd you do?" Mikai asked, tilting her head slightly. Minami could use her poison for something useful instead of just it blowing people up? Nifty.

Minami smirked as she caressed her tail, gently flicking a droplet of what seemed to be an ichor-like substance off the tip. "Let's just consider this a type of trial run for what I've been searching for since Ouroboros started playing ball. We can talk more in depth after we've rescued a certain Golden Girl, don't you think?"

"Fine by me! As long as Hiro doesn't try to tear herself apart while we're on our way up!" Mikai grinned, slamming her fists together. Ready to go straight towards the target up above...

"SUCH PASSION! YOU BETTER NOT FORGET ABOUT ME!"

As if beckoned by Minami and Mikai's unity, another familiar face slid in with renewed vigor. Yuuki was there, grinning as brightly as ever. And she had brought three guests in the form of golden bats currently clinging to her back...

"That's... Bat's boosts? Didn't think she'd give us some, but I'm not about to say no!" Mikai said, grabbing one of the cute lil' golden bats off Yuuki's back and letting it bite into her neck, trembling as she felt her strength return to her...

Minami scooped her own off Yuuki's back, before she noticed that the last of these bats wasn't getting off to try and boost the one it was clinging to. "Not going to take advantage of the hand she's lending?"

"Nah. I can handle it on my own. After all..." Yuuki grinned, the flame of her PASSION burning bright in her eyes. "I'm strong!" She laughed at how simple her boast was, but it was as true as it needed to be.

Here she was, not nearly as armored as the other two girls, and yet she stood alongside them as an ally. A powerful force in her own right. She was going to give her everything, just so they could save Saki. Even if she couldn't do it herself, she could give them the push they needed!

"Suit yourself." Minami shrugged her shoulders as her tail pierced both her own bat and the one on Yuuki's, before stuffing them in her mouth like they were a pair of snacks. Delicious, delicious energy that immediately gave her the kick she needed to make up for everything she had been through as Khopesh...

"BE BURIED, BE PROTECTED FOREVERMORE!"

The booming voice of Sunsetter echoed out, the burning rays of the sun far above trying to reach the trio at the same time as the massive Sphinx raised her paw. That armored limb hovering above the school, ready to crush what's beneath...

Crush it, and reduce it to nothing more than sand for them to be buried safe within!

"PASSION PULSE!"

But right as it was about to make contact with the school, it froze solid. Completely. All the way from the bottom of the paw to the shoulder of the limb. With Yuuki grinning all the while, her power roaring with PASSION.

"GO! WE'RE CLIMBING THIS BEAST AND FREEING OUR FRIEND!"

With a quick "CHOU HENSHIN!" to re-engage Mimoto Chimera, the sandy-haired heroine and her serpentine partner both threw themselves up this pillar of ice that the leg above them had become, dashing along the frozen surface like it was nothing.

"We just have to make it to the top. She'll try and stop us for sure, but we've gotta make it!" Mimoto shouted, flames already starting to pour across her Flame Lion fist in case she needed to pierce through anything...

Wisely so, as the ice that covered up the armored limb shattered in several spots to reveal sandy tentacles trying to pierce their way through the enemy. To knock them down and bury them under the sands called upon by the massive Sphinx!

"Ouroboros. Lend us a hand as we pursue this happy ending!"

The artificial Prime inside the Jõtaider growled the moment the tentacles got too close, causing the same tentacles to collapse in on their shadows. Sucked into the other side, just as Minami had once used the very same power of dipping into her own shadow to escape. An ability that was all the more powerful now, partly because of the double dose of Golden Infusion, and partly because of the intense shadows cast by the massive sun hanging above.

"Good girl." The serpentine Jõtaider chimed, causing the artificial Prime to growl once again. She didn't like being toyed with like this, but if it kept Minami safe...

As the two kept on ascending higher and higher, running with everything they got, the two could feel the limb shaking more and more. Until they saw the ice up ahead start to crack so much that the limb itself detached, trying to abandon the limb before the duo got too far up..!

"YOU AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE! PATH TO PASSION!"

Yuuki's voice echoed from further below, a massive pillar of ice connecting straight from her arms to the detaching limb to keep it from moving. A path that the two Jõtaiders could jump onto, running along it just like the one that had made it.

"You're reckless beyond compare!" Ouroboros cried out as she peered over her shoulder, her helmet keeping her smile from poking through. Though knowing Yuuki, she could probably already visualize it just from the way she spoke.

Yuuki shot back with a grin as the flame of pure PASSION burned strongly within her. "It's not reckless if I know it'll work!" She laughed, catching up to the pair as she threw Mimoto a thumbs up for her part in this...

Mimoto barely had to do anything during this ascent. Almost as if both of them knew that keeping her strong and healthy in the face of what was to come was what mattered. Not that she had a problem with that, seeing her friends do their best made her heart beat just as loud as theirs!

"COME NO CLOSER! YOU WILL ONLY HARM YOURSELF FURTHER!"

As Sunsetter's 'divine' voice echoed through their minds, part of the limb they were running up suddenly pulsed, causing a thick layer of sand to sprout right in front of them. They were about to crash straight into an obstacle...

Prompting Minami to grin underneath her helmet, her gauntlet shifting forward slightly to emphasize the fangs over her fists. "Let's give this a try, why don't we?" 

"Synchronize, Hiro!"

Green pulsating energy bounced between those fangs. The same sort of energy that Hiro tapped into when she went full Desperado. The kind of energy she needed to bust through such a thick slab of sand!

"NACHTFINGER!"

Ouroboros slammed her fist into the wall as she approached it, the green energy combining with her natural poison to immediately spread through the entire wall. Blowing it up in the blink of an eye, causing a roar of pain to echo through the skies above...

They were hurting her. Not ideal, but they were getting closer. They were this close to getting up onto her shoulder, from there they just had to climb the rest of the way and get to her head!

"FALL! FALL AND LET YOURSELVES MELT AWAY IN THE BLISS OF MY PROTECTION!"

Unfortunately, Sunsetter wasn't about to let the trio ascend without putting everything into her assault. The sun hovering overhead, the burning, broken sun that would serve as the beacon beckoning yet another descent...

Began to do just that. Descend violently towards the girls on the Sphinx' shoulder. Crashing down towards them like a burning meteor about to swallow them whole, damage to her own body be damned!

Mimoto stared what could be certain defeat straight in the eye, as she felt her own hand pulse with flames. She was ready to meet it head on, regardless of its strength. So she could make it through to Saki. Through the Sole Hero that had enveloped her and forced her this deep!

The sun flew faster and faster, just about to make impact with the shoulder...

Only for it to be pierced by a familiar golden glimmer, shattering it and forcing it back into position. The Broken Sun regenerating quickly, despite the roars of frustration from Sunsetter...

The golden glimmer that hit the Broken Sun flew down to Mimoto, who caught it just as it was about to strike. A familiar conduit for Desire, the very same that had helped break through to her...

Even if she wasn't here besides them, Saeko still lent them a hand. Giving them a new Desire, a needle just like the one she had used before to pierce through to Mikai's heart.

Now it was up to her to bring Saki home. Not just for Yuuki and Minami's sake. For everyone's sake... But most importantly...

For Saeko's sake, so her Hero could smile once again!

—

"Well well well. You went through all that trouble to transform. All that trouble, just so you could make a needle and throw it? What is with you girls and such dramatic transformations?"

Saeko... No, Jõtaider Weaver, quietly smiled underneath her helmet as she turned back towards the trio of Yumekos that still stood in her way. Those Night Terrors that needed to be dealt with, so she could bring her Girlfriend some peace of mind...

"The cycle continues regardless of your struggle. Though I seek to break it, that will not bring you salvation in this encounter." Dream Mystica said, glancing towards her fellow Yumeko. "Neither will you survive, should I succeed."

"Nightmares always come back." Anti-Dream laughed, putting her foot on the golden barrier that kept her from getting close to Weaver. "Come on now, Saeko. Quit playing around. You know you can't beat us. You're the weakest of them all, even when you're like this. Hell, I bet Tsubasa's stronger now that he has that girlfriend glued to his hand! What makes you think you can beat us, if all you could muster was making a stupid needle?!"

"I'm just helping out my girlfriends. Just as I'll help Yumeko by taking trash like you out." Weaver said, thrusting her arm forward to make another needle pop out from her wrist. This one not nearly as full of the same heart-piercing energy as the one she had just thrown an unfathomable distance when Mikai needed it. But it would do the trick.

Anti-Dream laughed in turn. "Mystica. Shut her inside one of your molds, why don't you?" She said, rapidly losing interest in this unrelenting spider. She could crush her at any time, but the fun of doing so was rapidly dwindling.

Dream Mystica shook her head as she snapped her fingers. "Zodiac. Trajectory." She said, jumping back as dust started to spread as she moved. Dust that would no doubt seed within the ground below to ensure another form would be ready...

Weaver took a deep breath as she looked at the problems straight ahead. Three Night Terrors. One Yumeko who seemed to have been taken over by a malicious entity, twisting the helpful girl into a mocking bitch who was in complete control. Another who had seemingly been covered in the persona of another, completely devoted to stopping this so-called cycle. And one who was still wrapped up in alien bindings that were meant to contain her power and use it to chart the enemy's moves...

"I might be the weakest. But it's because I'm weak that I am strong!" Weaver shouted, running through the barrier that she had put up while transforming. Heading straight for the red-bound Zodiac, intending on taking out the most important target first!

"She really is a fool."

Dream Mystica's words were the last that Weaver heard before a mold emerged right as Weaver ran out of the barrier. A mold that immediately started to press down on the would-be Heroine, the influence of the other Yumeko starting to wash over her to turn her into yet another copy...

...

"YOU CAN'T JUST MOLD THE FUTURE AS YOU WISH!"

Until the mold blew open, golden strings pouring from the spiders on Weaver's shoulders as they managed to fill the mold with so much mass that it had to blow open, the armored heroine not at all winded despite the trap.

Dream Mystica paused as her chief trick had been undone. No matter. "Regardless of what you do, you will fall in the face of the cycle. Nothing you do will keep you from falling prey." As she spoke with certainty, a sliver of worry poured from her tone. 

There was no way that this makeshift heroine would be able to prove her wrong. Not with everything that she had been through. No single Saeko was able to overcome. Why would this one be any different.

"Charting... charting... Error... Error..."

Zodiac's voice trembled as she saw through the possibilities. In each and every single one of them, Weaver would run straight into another trap. But following that, following falling for these traps that would send her into yet another mold...

Each would burst open. This wasn't something she could see happening. Yet it's exactly what did happen right before her eyes, the legs that wrapped around Weaver's body bursting each mold apart as she switched between different tactics to break out from the same trap.

"How... How do you surpass..." Zodiac didn't understand. She couldn't compute this. It shouldn't be possible for anybody to go against what she had experienced. What she had seen...

Yet here it was. Proof. Proof of the hope she had long since lost since she was put into service as nothing more than a future-charting device...

"The future isn't set in stone! You weave your own future out of the pieces you've been given!"

Weaver cried out, sliding her hands across her shoulders. One powerful emotion pulsing through her, as her eyes shine bright red with determination!

"SYNCHRONIZE! SAKI!"

The spiders on Weaver's shoulders speed-weave in the blink of an eye, causing two golden mantles to flow down over her shoulders. Mantles pouring with divine power, the same power that her own Hero wielded in the face of danger!

"Be free from your fate, Zodiac! BE FREE FROM THE NIGHT TERROR THAT CLAIMS YOU!"

As Weaver shouted, the silhouette of Kanzei overlayed on top of her. Divinity poured through her arms as she held her needle like the cane Saki wielded, jamming the phantom weapon into the ground as she held her free hand out.

"BIND!"

The strings slipping from her fingertips were more like the chains that Kanzei called upon, wrapping around the already-bound Zodiac, who felt a sense of relief the moment they did. As if she was being drained of what ailed her...

No. Not quite what ailed her. But what kept her manifested. The device over her head that kept her obedient towards her fate-guiding purpose shattering, revealing the hopeful eyes of Yumeko underneath...

Until the first and perhaps most troublesome Night Terror had been dealt with, leaving both Anti-Dream and Dream Mystica without their trump card.

Evident by the way one of Anti-Dream's arrows flew right past Weaver's head, barely missing her thanks to a lack of proper foresight.

"You really think you're something now that you can do what they can do? What, don't you have anything unique about you?" Anti-Dream scoffed, still taking aim with both of the bows on her arms.

Dream Mystica remained quiet in the face of what she had just seen. She had broken one of the Night Terrors free from their summoning. While the fate that led to Zodiac remained, the look on that Yumeko's face was... Hopeful...

No. There was no chance that she would experience that same hope again. She had seen too much loss. Seen too many timelines that ended in nothing but failure and misery. That was why she was like this. Why she had taken to this identity of desperation.

She wasn't going to back down now, no matter what this Saeko did to try and stop her!

"You will run out of stamina eventually. You won't be able to keep fighting. Nor will you be able to overcome the cycle. What then?" Dream Mystica said, snapping her fingers as the dust that had settled in the ground below started to respond to her commands...

Mold after mold actively started popping out of the ground, each trying to grab ahold of the unusual heroine to stop her right in her tracks. Regardless if one wasn't enough to stop her, the molds would wear her down. Eventually, she would be pressed into the same fatalistic determination that captured Dream Mystica..!

Though it didn't help that Anti-Dream was shooting at the same time, breaking several of the molds as they were coming out at Weaver. The webbed heroine letting her hand glide across her shoulders once more in response.

"Synchronize! Yumeko!"

The gilded mantles dropped off her shoulders as a new power was woven into place, that of the very girl that Saeko was trying to save. Black mantles hanging from her shoulders, as deep as the nightmare that was currently in her way. But also as deep as the love she held for her girlfriends, something that Weaver was eager to tap into!

"Dream Mystica! I don't know what I'll do once everything starts to crumble! BUT WHAT I KNOW IS THAT I'LL KEEP FIGHTING! JUST LIKE THE GIRLS BY MY SIDE! JUST AS YOU ALWAYS HAVE!"

The rainbow-horned Yumeko trembled in response, the very thought of Saeko still putting her hope in her despite what she was doing... It shouldn't be possible...

The tiniest of smiles wormed its way onto her lips as she watched the Jõtaider that antagonized her and placed her hopes in her jumped from broken mold to broken mold, an equally familiar silver suit of fate overlaying on top of the heroine synchronizing with Dream's time-spanning powers!

"FATEPIERCER!"

With the piercing power of both her own heel and the heel of the warrior overlaid on top of her, Weaver slammed her foot straight through the chest of the determined fatalist. Breaking the Night Terror apart where she stood...

Allowing the mask on the girl's face to crumple away, revealing a hopeful smile despite all the despair she had gone through. A warm smile at the end of her road...

"You can't be serious... You're the weakest of them all. The weakest villain! The weakest heroine! You're just borrowing other people's powers because you aren't strong enough on your own!"

Anti-Dream couldn't believe it. This absolute waste of space was able to defeat two of her alternative selves. Selves that were absolutely worthless compared to her, but they were still other versions of the time-looping bitch that she had claimed as her self.

How in the world was Saeko of all girls actually able to-

"What..? No! You're not supposed to be awake! YOU WERE BROKEN! DESTROYED BY THE CYCLES YOU KEPT GOING THROUGH!" 

Weaver gazed towards Anti-Dream, who seemed to be locked in place. Like an armor... Like... an armor... struggling against its wearer...

That wasn't Yumeko. The Night Terror that remained fundamentally wasn't actually Yumeko. A small wave of relief, as she let her hand slide across her shoulders once more.

"Synchronize. Mikai!"

The mantles dropped off once more, Dream's essence replaced with that of the fiery Mimoto, the very girl that had pushed Saeko this far. Pushing her down the road of redemption, the road she strode down in this armored form!

"I'm not using these powers to make up for my own! I'm using them because they represent the people that care about you, Yumeko! Saki cares, you taught her that there was more to being a Hero than the vision she had been consumed by! Mikai cares, she always trusted you with everything, even when you kept things hidden from us! AND I CARE! BECAUSE DESPITE EVERYTHING YOU'VE KEPT SECRET, YOU CARE JUST AS MUCH ABOUT US AS WE CARE ABOUT YOU!"

The flames of Mimoto's will ignited across Weaver's leg, a flame that shone bright as she thrust her arm forward to fire one golden string straight at the heart of the struggling armor!

"Stop it! STOP IT! STOP STRUGGLING AGAINST YOUR FUTILE FATE-"

"YOU STOP TRYING TO CLAMP DOWN ON OUR FUTURE TOGETHER!"

Weaver let the golden string pull her towards the final Night Terror. The string turning red like the red string of fate that led the girls to know one another. The very same string she would use to weave them a brand new future, one with an ending fit for all four of them!

"QUEEN'S FLAME!"

Anti-Dream's screams echoed loud and clear as Weaver's heel crashed through her, destroying the existence that had been trapping this Yumeko within it. Causing it to dissolve into specks of terrifying energy...

Releasing that timeline's Yumeko, who couldn't help but smile with relief as she opened her eyes for the first time in ages. Looking up at the Spider that had saved her...

Smiling so gently as she vanished back to her time, the Night Terror put to bed like the rest...

With the Night Terrors dispelled, there was only one thing to do. Turn her attention towards the Nightmare that sustained them...

"Never again... Never... Again..."

Violent silhouettes were trying to escape the transformed Yumeko's body. One looking like she was trapped within a butterfly's depraved and monstrous armor. Another looking like she was trapped in a sentient hazmat suit. A third looking like a tired elf who had long since seen war expand far beyond its horizons. Another taking on the form of a reaper, brandishing a scythe and everything...

So many different Yumekos. Just how much had she been through? Just how much had she been hiding from them?

Weaver thought about it. And yet she pushed on regardless. Taking heavy step after heavy step towards the Nightmare that was Yumeko, regardless of the pressure that was starting to wrap around her as she came closer.

"Stay away..."

The Nightmare begged her to stay away. Silhouettes pouncing off her form, trying to attack the webbed Heroine as she approached her. She wouldn't let her get close. Never again would she let somebody get close enough to her.

Every time they got close, they ended up hurting. They ended up hurting to the point of breaking despite everything she did to stop it.

"I won't stay away."

Yet Weaver pushed on. Despite grave gashes building on her body as she stepped forward. She kept walking. Despite the many silhouettes that took shape to try and attack her.

She kept walking. Hope in her eyes as she took labored step after labored step.

"Stay away..! Never again... Never... Again!"

The Nightmare shrieked, the violent silhouettes sprouting from her body sending out a shockwave intended to knock the approaching soul away from her. Never again would she let herself hurt anybody by getting close to them!

Connections! Bonds! Friendships! Love! All of it was nothing but pain she brought upon not just herself, but anybody that got close enough to her to care!

"I WON'T STAY AWAY, YUMEKO!"

Saeko shouted once again. Even as she felt attack after attack slam into her body. Even as she felt an untold amount of pain pouring through her as she tried to get closer and closer to the one she loved. Even as she could feel her armor breaking apart, revealing the girl staying strong underneath...

So vulnerable. Yet so determined, the ends of her hair now purple to match the General she once was. Her single crimson eye glowed brightly as she pushed on, despite the pain!

"STAY AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU ANYMORE! PLEASE! PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME! PLEASE!"

Another shockwave. Another army of silhouettes, approaching Saeko faster than ever before. She was too slow to dodge. Too frail to take every blow. She couldn't survive...

But she didn't need to. The red string that bound them... The red string between her, Mikai and Yumeko was as strong as ever. One tug, and she managed to pull herself out of the way of that onslaught.

Allowing her to wrap her warm, healing arms around the living Nightmare that was her Girlfriend Yumeko. Gently hugging her, squeezing tight as the happy tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'll never leave you, Yumeko. Not I. Not Mikai. Nobody will. So please. Please look at me..."

The Nightmare's tears kept rolling as she slowly gazed upon the warmth that hugged her. The warm lavender-haired girl that had pushed through it all. Hugging her, despite the lies she had told to try and keep her safe from the hurt she brought.

"Saeko... Saeko... I... I... I..!"

She couldn't say it. The words were caught in her mouth. The tears that transcended time were pouring down her cheeks, yet she couldn't muster up any words to apologize or justify herself. All she could do was stare at the girl who loved her...

The girl who just gently held her. The girl who gently ran her hand through her hair. The girl who was there for her when she needed her most...

The girl who put the Nightmare that was Yumeko to rest, as her body slowly but surely regained its normal color. All while she could do nothing but cry in the face of it all...

"Saeko... I'm...  Sorry... I should've been honest. I should've told you I had done this so many times before..." Yumeko muttered so weakly. These loving arms keeping her safe and warm. Allowing her to keep going despite it all...

Her girlfriend gently smiled. And kissed her on those delicate black lips that still tasted of the nightmares that haunted Yumeko. "Just promise to stop hiding secrets from us. That's all we want. Okay, Yumeko?"

All that Yumeko could do in turn was nod, as she slowly looked up at the broken ceiling above. Up at the fight that still kept going on despite everything that happened down here...

Right now, even with the sun as broken as it was... Right now, those burning rays felt so warm and comforting, all thanks to Saeko...

They heralded the dawn for the Dream known as Yumeko....

—

"Alright! Made it up onto the big girl's back! Now we just need to make it up to her head!"

Yuuki cried out with gusto as the heroic trio caught their breath on Sunsetter's back, naturally tired after running what felt like several stories directly up into the sky. One look over the edge of the oversized Sphinx's back, and they would barely be able to see the school they had originally come from...

"I've heard of big egos, but this..." Minami said, helmet temporarily retracted to allow her to catch her breath. "I really need to tease Saki for this. Maybe she's a bit of a size queen, and she's been waiting for her chance to show off how big she really wants to be?"

"Dunno, doesn't seem like the time!" Mikai chimed, chuckling slightly as she stared up at the head they still needed to scale. As much as they were joking about all of this, one thing was clear...

Saki was still in there. Captured by the living trauma that had wrapped around her. She needed to get her free so that she could confront her on her own terms, otherwise they wouldn't be getting anywhere. It's like how she managed to force Kimiko to finally stop...

"Alright." Yuuki grinned, the flame of her PASSION still burning bright as she took one last good look at their destination. "I've got enough juice left for one good path! You two better not-"

"DECREEEEEEE!"

Before Yuuki had the chance to finish her explanation, Sunsetter's crazed voice echoed out. And the Broken Sun hanging over head shattered into infinite small shards, each immediately raining down upon the threats that were relaxing on the back of her towering body.

"So much for catching our breath!" Mikai cried out, helmet reequipping as she felt her flames heat back up. She needed to keep herself stocked up if Sole Hero was going to be a bigger problem than she expected. So it fell to her companions to back her up. "Yuuki-senpai!"

"DON'T EVEN MENTION IT!" Yuuki laughed as she clapped her hands together, both of her hands immediately turning to ice as she let that rippling PASSION pierce through every inch of her body. "PASSION PULSE!"

Instead of simply freezing a big area in front of her, this time the freezing gal managed to create an entire wall of ice that managed to block out every single one of the needles that were headed down towards the trio. Grinning all the while as she felt her blood pumping at the sight of how much she was able to block.

"REJECTION!"

The crazed voice cried out again, and Yuuki's expression faltered for a second. Crap, that thing was going to explode into a ton of chunks that she wasn't prepared to blast with her burning flame! And judging by the look on the other girls' fa- well they didn't really have faces as much as they had helmets, but their stances didn't do her confidence any favors.

"DESPERADO KING BLASTER!"

A loud, powerful shout echoed from far, far below. And in the blink of an eye, a massive monochromatic beam swallowed not only the icy block whole, but all the needles that were about to explode into more broken energy...

The three girls were stunned for a brief moment, before Ouroboros chuckled. "Looks like the theory worked. Then let me give this big problem a dose as well!" She cried out, sliding her finger along her poisonous tail as she jammed the tip into the armored back beneath her...

A sharp, violent cry started to pierce the skies around them. All while Ouroboros steadily pumped a golden liquid into the gap she made in the overwhelming creature's presence...

The effects were readily apparent. The Broken Sun, though it was putting itself back together like before, was taking a lot longer to pull itself together. Not only that, but it needed to be reinforced with actual chains. It was like Sunsetter's control was destabilizing...

"Hah! Whatever you're pumping into her, keep going! And as for you, Mikai!" Yuuki shouted as she punched straight towards the head of the oversized sphinx. 

"PATH TO PASSION!"

As her words rang out, it was like her fist materialized in giant ice form, shooting straight towards the head. Opening up to grab a hold of Sunsetter's head so the path would be more secure, giving Mikai a straight shot to where she needed to go.

"Thank you, Yuuki-senpai! Minami!" Mimoto gave them both a thumbs up as she ran up the path, putting everything she had into this last sprint.

She just needed to make it to the top. She just needed to get up there and jam the needle into the head of the Sphinx. Then she'd make it into Saki's heart. Then, she could help her confront the demon that held a tight grip on her heart. Even if she couldn't defeat her for Saki, she'd help her with everything she had.

"AWAY... GO AWAY! GO AWAY! AWAY! AAAAAAWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!"

The screeching voice grew more and more unstable as the chains that held the Broken Sun together instead tried to connect to the multi-themed Heroine, trying to drag it down towards her with even greater force than before.

Saeko couldn't help her from a distance this time. And though she could break it, she really did need the strength. Did she chance it, or-

"DESPAIR DRIVE - FLAME!"

Black flames flew across the sky. Familiar, malicious flames. But they weren't aimed at Mimoto this time. This time, they were aimed at the very thing trying to hurt her...

"YOUUUUUU! YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

A screech of pure frustration echoed out as the remains of the Broken Sun tried to wrap around the black flame that kicked it. The black flame that turned towards the Chimera that had once beaten her...

Mimoto gazed upon the form of True Mimoto, materializing ever momentarily within those flames, before they disappeared. Had Kimiko actually helped her, or...

Eh! No need to look a gift horse in the mouth. The chance was ripe! The Broken Sun couldn't pull itself back together in time!

She ran. She ran so hard that she could feel her legs begging her to slow down. But she couldn't. She needed to save Saki. She needed to be there for her now!

And as she reached the top, she leapt. High into the air, as she brandished the needle that had once been used to pierce into her heart and aid her in her recovery! Diving down with it aimed square at that domineering head, the heroine screamed with all she had!

"SAKI! I'M HERE!"

Diving into that damaged soul, to save her from herself!

—

The first thing that Mikai came face to face with once she entered Saki's heart was not darkness, unlike when she usually went into her own heart. Rather, it was a dark hallway lined with far, far too many... coffins?

No, they were called sarcophagi. Something like that? She didn't know for sure, she wasn't great at history. What she was great at however, was recognizing the many faces that were sculpted as part of those big things...

"Mumei-chan's face, Mina's face, Akemi's face... Aimi's face's over there... And there's a bunch of other faces I don't recognize! Where's mine?"

Indeed. Every single face resembled one of the many people that Saki had met. Even Cobra was back here, huh. Guess she didn't think too much of him if he was... Or maybe she did think a lot of him, if she had to consider the way that Sole Hero kept talking about protecting everyone.

Mimoto walked down the hall, taking note of all the different faces she saw. She saw more faces, even Maki-sensei's face was plastered on one of them. She really held everyone in the same deep regard, huh? No wonder she turned out the way she did if she cared this much about everyone...

At the end of the hall, however, were the most striking sarcophagi. The obvious one being the one in the center, the one with Saki's own face printed on it. But the others that surrounded it...

"There's mine! And Saeko's... Yumeko's... Minami and Yuuki's too. And D'Or and Bat's! Guess they've all got special privilege!"

As much as she wanted to be happy about the sight, there was one thing that distracted her from it. And it was what hung over what looked to be Haruhi's, or rather Hopper's sarcophagus. Not only was the golden woman's resting place shaped after her transformed form, but there was some sort of picture right above...

A... Hoeroglyph? No, no, that's not how it goes. Hieroglyph! And it showed... A little girl on one side, a stylized and monstrous grasshopper standing before her, and a decapitated crowd of what looked to be Lunas...

Just thinking about Luna was enough to make Mikai's own memories of that fateful day flash before her eyes. Memories that she thought she could barely access thanks to what she had gone through. But the image wasn't pretty. Just as it must've been awful to go through what she saw, if that was how Saki experienced it.

"You really did lose them all the same time I lost myself..." Mimoto couldn't help but feel a sense of growing sympathy for the girl she had been trying to save. No wonder she was so haunted by her own inner voice. If she lost everyone at random like that, only supported by her dear Grandfather...

"YOU... YOU! HOW DID YOU GET IN!?"

Crackling sounds echoed around the multi-faceted heroine as the mindscape itself shattered, revealing the Sole Hero now standing on top of the sarcophagus that was supposed to contain Saki. Only, just like what she had just shattered, it was clear that she wasn't nearly as okay as she probably wanted to be.

Namely because not only were many parts of the darkened armor that Sole Hero wore cracked to the point where it was about to turn to dust if somebody touched it the wrong way, but she herself was just as cracked. This close to breaking apart completely into an unrecognizable haze of emotion...

"Same way you tried to get into my heart back when you tried to reach out to me!" Mimoto shouted, presenting the needle she had used. The same kind that Saki once had crafted to try and save her.

Seeing that needle, hearing the way the Heroine tried to reach out to her by relating her to her other self... No. No, she couldn't take it. She was so naive! SO NAIVE FOR THINKING THAT SHE COULD REACH OUT AND MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER!

"BIND!"

Sole Hero screeched, the sound of her mind and body breaking echoing out as she lashed out with everything she had. Generating chain after chain, unable to manifest the sun she had been using prior thanks to how much she had already suffered...

The chains lashed out furiously, trying to whip at Mimoto. However, she could easily see where they were headed, jumping out of the way before there was a chance for them to strike her...

"N... NO! STOP! DON'T HURT THEM!"

Only for the look of pure fury to turn into one of pure worry as Sole Hero realized where the chains were aiming. At one of the many sarcophagi. In a rage, she was about to strike at the very people she was trying to save and protect. She tried to stop the chains, but they were already too far gone. They'd-

"Unicorn Beginning!"

They were cut into tiny pieces, clattering to the ground as Mimoto brandished her Unicorn Blade. Turning to Sole Hero as her scarf fluttered in the non-existent wind. The sheer determination within the young girl was doing all the work animating the fabric...

"You... You saved... No, but.. I... I..!"

Golden tears were running down the broken soul's cheeks. She couldn't accept what she was seeing. Nor could she accept that she was the one that almost hurt somebody. She wasn't supposed to do so. But here she was. Getting somebody hurt because she was too furious to see anything but her enemy...

"Listen! You're part of Saki, aren't you!? You know what she's been trying to do! Trying to accept people like us! Because she realizes that she can't be the only one to save people! She'll break before she saves anybody! Please, just listen!" Mimoto cried out, trying to reach out with her words. She just had to keep reaching out.

All it takes to help somebody is to reach out! That's what she knew. It had worked on her. Even if she rejected them at first when she was deep in her own despair, it worked! She just had to keep at it, and even this Sole Hero would accept it!

"I... I! AH! AHHH! AHHHHHHHH!"

A scream of pure fear echoed out. She was on the brink of breaking. The truth of what she had been doing finally hit her. The fact that she was the one that hurt everyone. Despite what she saw as trying to protect them by doing everything to shut them away...

She was the one hurting them. She was the one breaking because she was hurting them. The Sole Hero's excuses were running out, and now all that remained was a child's screams, resonating with the unfathomable power inside.

It wasn't just hard to understand the scope of her power, it was trying to hit everything at once. By splitting into yet more of these Decree shards, each aimed in who knows what direction...

Mikai was just one girl. But now that Saki's vulnerabilities were on display, she needed to do her best. Show her just how much her words rung true!

"SYNCHRONIZE! CHIMERA!"

The armor on her body launched off her, combining back into one once it was suitably separated from her. Leaving a fully formed Chimera standing right beside Mimoto, who had returned to Dark Dragon form thanks to the nature of the Chimera form...

"I can... You never cease to amaze me with what you're able to pull off, Mikai!" Chimera's voice echoed from the amalgamated armor to her side. She swore she could even see the big kitty grinning despite the lack of a face underneath that helmet.

"It's because I believe in you! Just like I believe in Saki!" Mikai shouted, roaring with pride. "Now let's get through to her, Chimera! SYNCHRONIZE! SAKI!"

As Mimoto Dark Dragon roared, golden and black energies poured across her form. Pulling Kanzei's powers into her as she had once done before!

"END OF DESPAIR!"

Right before she slashed with her now-gilded arm blade, putting everything she had into that slash..!

"ANCIENT APEX METEOR!"

Mimoto Chimera followed suit, using her wings to blow a strong gust with several bullet-like feathers through the sacred hall. However, they weren't aimed straight at the shattering psyche trying to destroy everything around her...

No, both the swing and the gust were aimed around the hall! Picking up anything that came in their path, dragging it all along as the gust and slash turned into a wind full of blessings, drawing away the needles that were going to hurt the sarcophagi...

"Ahh! AHHH! STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THEM! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYONE EVER AGAIN! AHHHHHH!"

The screams kept echoing out from Sole Hero, as all of the needles that had been picked up by this wonderful wind were starting to erupt with energy. They were going to explode. Her contradictions were growing stronger...

"ANCIENT KING'S ERUPTION!"

But Mimoto Chimera wasn't going to let that happen. Not while she could stop it. She launched herself at the erupting needles, using them to fuel an explosion centered on herself. An eruption of pure flames, incinerating everything. The needles, the feathers, the wind, everything...

Everything burning into one, as the amalgamated armor brought the swirling flame up to her helmet. Splitting open the mouth to eat it like it was a tasty treat!

"I'm hurting them... I'm the one! I'M THE ONE! AAAAHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHH"

The screams of fear continued, more and more power leaking out of the breaking psyche. Something had to be done. Even if they could keep protecting what was around them, there's no way that they'd be able to keep that up AND make sure that Saki was...

Mikai paused, the Dark Dragon turning to the sarcophagus in the middle of the sacred hall. Yes, it was getting damaged, but it was still there. It was a long shot, but it seemed like the only real path out of this mess. That last chance they had to turn this around and bring the happy ending home!

"BEGINNING OF HOPE!"

Mimoto Dark Dragon aimed her arm cannon straight at the sarcophagus underneath the broken Sole Hero and fired, the giant blast immediately slamming into it and launching the cover off. 

"DON'T HURT HER!"

Only for the cover to immediately get grabbed by the child's chains, Sole Hero trying to shut it back together to prevent the girl within from being hurt even more than she already was...

Only, she was too late. The one she tried to keep out had already leapt in.

Leaping deep into the deepest recess of Saki's mind. To reach out to her one last time.

Once more, as everyone had done for her!

---

"Saki... My dear, dear Saki..."

"Run-"

"SAKI! TAKE MY HAND!"

The repeating nightmare started shattering around the girl drowning in her own despair. That repeating moment slowly vanished before her eyes, as a golden light started to shine up above...

A golden light that grew brighter and brighter, as if something was starting to flow into her. But as she gazed up at that hand, that outstretched hand that just wished to reach out to her...

"No... I..."

The hole that had been opened slowly started to close around that arm. Saki knew she couldn't take it. If she took it, then...

Then she could lose it too. Just as she had lost... Just as she had lost everyone...

"I can't... I'm not... I... Mom... Dad... Shiki... Saiki..."

The shackles of her past binding her. Shackled by that senseless nightmare happening before her eyes on that fateful day. None of them deserved what happened. And yet she was the only one who survived...

Saki couldn't imagine that happening again. She'd rather... Rather just shut herself away-

"Saki."

The chains on her body. Slowly but surely being pulled away. Each by a familiar, warm hand.

The Heroine who thought she had to do everything herself slowly looked over her shoulder. Right at the smiling faces of those that had passed. Smiling despite everything. They... They were...

"Saki."

Mamoru, her dear dad, spoke up. And gently ruffled her hair, just as he would do back when she was a little girl. That all-protecting smile he was so proud of decorating his face.

"Your friend is waiting for you. Don't worry. We're with you. Always."

As he spoke those words, the ghosts that had shackled her vanished.

No. They hadn't shackled her. The only one that had shackled her was herself. Her guilt was what shackled her. When in reality, they weren't haunting her...

She was keeping them alive in the depth of her heart. Always and forever.

Never again would she forget that!

"Thank you, Dad..."

The blue-haired girl stared up at the hand reaching down to her, as the world around her grew gold. Like the sun brightly rising on the horizon, beckoning a new day!

"MIKAI!"

She reached up, grabbing the hand that tried to reach out to her. Taking that offer of her own free will, no doubt left in her mind.

Rising out of her despair, beginning a brand new hope!

—

"What... What..? That... That shouldn't be... Possible..."

Sole Hero couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at the figure climbing out of the sarcophagus she had tried to keep sealed away and protected. It was... It was her other self. Saki, with a brand new look of hope on her face...

"You know how hard it is to pull you out of that?" Mikai asked, helmet pulling back as she smiled, holding tightly onto Saki's hand. "Was I that difficult?"

"Yes. Yes you were." Saki smiled, holding that hand nice and tight just the same. "...I'm sorry, Mikai. I really am." She muttered, knowing that she couldn't possibly earn any forgiveness for her part in all of this.

The sandy-haired heroine simply smiled and patted her on the back. "One step at a time, Saki. Worries later, fixing all our mistakes even later than that. Right now? We're dealing with her!"

Sole Hero grit her teeth as Mikai pointed towards her. That infernal girl... She had tried everything to protect her. And all she got out of it was realizing that she was the one that ultimately hurt everyone. Yet...

Yet that despair was... vanishing..? No, it's not that it was vanishing. It's that as she looked at Saki, it's like it... It was shrinking. Not disappearing, her fear of losing everyone was still very real...

But the determination on the girl's face was brighter than ever before. Yet at the same time, it was gentler than it had ever been...

"Sole Hero! My other..." Saki paused, shaking her head. "My protective trauma given form! Now it's my turn to protect you!" She declared, putting her hand over her heart.

She didn't need to rely on the darkness within her any longer. No. There was a new power shining inside her. One that contrasted the bottomless fear that she had drawn upon before. The fear that embodied her trauma...

"No matter how much I lose. No matter how many I might lose in the future. I will keep fighting. Keep fighting to keep the people I love safe. Keep fighting to protect those I hold near and dear! But no longer will I do it because I need to protect them at all costs!"

Saki's eyes shone bright like the sun, as she drew her hand from her chest. A small sun taking shape in the palm of her hand. A gentle sun, representing her true warmth. The warmth of the one who cared too much, now freed from the chains of her fears!

"As the sun rises on a new tomorrow, I will remember all within this heart of mine! Even if they're hurt, even if they fall despite everything I do, they'll remain a part of me forevermore! NEVER AGAIN WILL I FORGET WHAT IT MEANS TO HOLD THEM IN MY HEART!"

The blue-haired heroine raised her hand to the sky, the sun rising up above as she let out a powerful cry of pure conviction!

"TAIYOOOOOUUUUU!"

The sun that was her kindness erupted, sinking down on her like the Broken Sun had tried to do to protect her once before. This time however, it was to start transforming her into a brand new form. One that was much more fitting for what she truly was...

Kanzei's armor took shape as it had always done. This time, however, there were many more blue hues interspersed between the gold. Adding a much needed level of color to the otherwise monochromatic monolith of justice that she once considered herself.

None perhaps as striking as her former black skirt spreading wide as the black hues were replaced with white ones, the regal hue showing the bright side of her heart now...

As the sun reached the ground, it burst into several colors. Each color representing one of her dear friends, slamming into her back as a pair of mechanical wings took shape.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Violet. Purple. The wings gradually shifted through the colors of the rainbow, each color in the rapidly shifting gradient representing yet another friendship. Yet another loved one. With the same pattern taking shape across her chest, as a new regal chestplate spread its wings in the same manner...

Her transformation was complete as a bird-like crown took shape on top of her head, a divine pair of eyes peering towards the Sole Hero that had once embodied her whole philosophy...

"The sun will rise tomorrow! And I, Kanzei Sunrise, will be the one to bring it!"

Mikai couldn't help but have her mouth agape in pure awe, giggling at the sight of Saki unlocking a brand new form of her own. It even had a bit of everyone just like Chimera had a bit of everyone. In spirit, anyway.

"Took you long enough to get that stick out of your ass." Chimera would be grinning if she had lips to do so, cracking her knuckles as she turned back towards the Sole Hero. She had no need to keep an eye on Saki.. On Kanzei Sunrise any longer. Because that Heroine finally proved that Mikai was right to trust her!

Sole Hero did not understand what it was that she felt as she looked at her counterpart's transformed form. It was majestic. Yet at the same time, it was so wrong. It was an armor that embodied how naive she was.

So why was it that she was crying looking at it? Why couldn't she stop these tears from pouring down her cheeks? No, no, she couldn't be crying. If she was crying, then that meant she was giving up. She was giving into that kind of weak thinking...

If she gave in, then she'd be giving up on everyone. They'd be... They'd... be...

"Ahh... AHHH! AHHHHHHH!"

The screams of a child captured by fear began once more, as two massive chains sprouted from her back. The violent sound of her body cracking echoed out more, as her face began to fall apart, revealing the broken sun behind that mask of humanity...

It didn't matter where they were attacking. They just needed to hit the trio that were trying to attack her. They just needed to strike true when it mattered most!

"CHIMERA!"

But the two Mimotos were more than ready for them. The bladed arm of the Dark Dragon and the blade of the Unicorn slashing through the chains in tandem before there was a chance for any of the sarcophagi to be harmed.

It only intensified the screams of pain that came from the Broken Hero. Screams that resonated with Kanzei Sunrise, who held out her hand to call upon her cane as she had done many times before.

Or rather, the staff that it now took shape as. The crook at the end of the cane was now shaped like a sun. And like the sun, it began to heat up an area straight in front of her!

"Synchroforge!"

A pool of molten golden energy opened up in response to the heat of the sun. One that Kanzei Sunrise could stick her hand into, and draw several blades out of at the same time. Each representing a bond most precious to her...

A webbed katana, representing her bond with Saeko. A pair of fiery daggers with icy guards, representing her bond with Yuuki. A rapier with a poisonous tip, representing her bond with Minami. A jagged yet gold-mended greatsword, representing her bond with Yumeko. And most importantly, a golden blade with a flame engraved within, representing the bond she shared with Mikai...

"Divine Slayers. Now reborn as the Rising Blades! MERGE TOGETHER AS ONE ONCE MORE!"

Each slammed together as they dove into the Synchroforge, before launching back out into her hand. Taking upon the shape of an oversized multicolored blade that she could astonishingly wield with just one hand. One that represented all of her bonds. Everything she had built towards, now that she had opened her heart.

"BLADE OF TRUE BONDS, RISE ONCE MORE! JÕTAIKEN!"

The same blade she had used to fight against her grandfather. The same blade she had used when she merged with everyone. The same blade that had brought her victory, now representing the bonds she would never forget!

Kanzei Sunrise gazed at the many sarcophagi around her. Each was supposed to contain an important person to her. No matter how insignificant, they were part of her heart. And they had to remain that way. However, this couldn't be sustained...

"Stop... Stop! STOP! DON'T DO IT! REJECTION!"

The Broken Hero's screams of fear echoed out as each and every sarcophagus in the entire mindscape got covered by a barrier. She needed to protect them. She needed to. She couldn't let anyone die. Never again, never again, never again! NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN!

"Never again will I shut them away! WITH THIS BLADE, I SET MY BONDS FREE!"

Kanzei Sunrise raised the blade into the air, letting her very own sun sink into it. Lighting it ablaze with the fires of her bonds, before slashing across her entire mindscape in one fell swoop...

Everything. Everything was slashed in twain. The Egyptian corridor. The sarcophagi. Any attack otherwise launched from the Broken Hero. All of it, cut into nothing by the blade of burning bonds in Kanzei Sunrise's hands...

However, It's not that the sarcophagi were shattered. Far from it. They were simply opened by the slash. Golden spirit after golden spirit released, as each gently flowed into the girl that had slashed them open. A girl that slowly but surely approached that fear-conquered part of her...

"Stop... Stop! STOP! DON'T GET ANY CLOSER! DON'T! YOU'LL DIE TOO! YOU'LL ALL DIE IF YOU GET CLOSE!" The child's trauma manifest screamed, the image of everyone cut in two just like Hopper did back then vividly flashing before her eyes.

Screaming, as that very same effect resonated out from her breaking body. That powerful slash that had started it all, heading straight for her other half...

Only to be cut in twain by the two Mimotos, both ready to protect their friend. Chimera and Dark Dragon side by side, patting Kanzei Sunrise on the back as she came closer yet closer...

"I... No! No! Stop! STOP! STOP! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER-"

"Never again."

Kanzei Sunrise whispered gently into the ear of her fears. As her helmet slowly vanished, allowing her to press her forehead up against the cracked, black-haired version of herself. All while she pulled her closer, into the hug that she always wished she got after that traumatic experience.

"You... I... Ah... Ahh..."

Broken Hero whimpered, tears running down her cracked cheeks as she couldn't understand. Why... Why was she hugging her like this..? She... She didn't... She... She had done all of that, and still..?

"Synchronize." Saki gently whispered, as she hugged her fears as tight as she could.

"Me."

The warmth. The warmth that was Saki's kindness. The boundless kindness that was Saki Himitsu's heart. Washing over her fears, wrapping her up in a blanket of pure comfort.

Something that the fears themselves didn't think they deserved. And yet, when faced with this overwhelming acceptance. Despite it all. Despite everything she had done...

All that those fears could do now was cry her heart out, as she shrank and shrank into the shape of the 9 year old Saki that had once lost everything.

Finally letting all of the sadness that had been piling up inside her these past ten years out in the form of these golden tears that gradually filled in the cracks of her body...

All while Mikai, whose body started to vanish as her time inside Saki's heart came to an end, watched over the pair with a smile.

In the end, the only one who could save Saki was herself. She just needed that little push by somebody that reached out to her.

A push that finally let the fears in her heart be put to rest...

—

"Haaah... Haaah... Haah..."

Haruhi could feel her mind slipping as she slowly noticed a golden glow vanishing in the distance. That big monster that had been looming over everything... It was...

Vanishing… Into light… Light filled with love so warm she could feel it from here…

Just in time too... Her prey had... Her prey had been... defeated...

Prey... Huh...? Tsuki...ko..? That was... Tsukiko on the... ground...

The golden piece of bestial nature gradually vanished as the golden blood began to flow once more. Haruhi's eyes dimmed as she collapsed onto her knees. She won, keeping Tsukiko at bay for long enough.

But long enough was all that she had been able to muster. All she could do now was collapse in the pooling blood beneath her, right beside her beloved Tsukiko...

"You... You did it... Saki..."

A soft smile on her lips, as her consciousness faded. She couldn't keep herself awake any longer...

"Ahhh... At least I get a consolation prize. I may not have been able to bring the Darkness down on this world in two separate ways, but at least SHE won't get in the way any longer."

A devious voice echoed out through the air, as the tattered shape of Lumiel formed over his defeated warrior. And above the infernal woman that had kept her at bay for an entire day all through pure fumes....

"Confound this world's hearts. Confound their dreams, confound everything. But no matter. The best laid plans are the ones that they least expect. Even the ones I least expect, at times." Lumiel said to himself, smirking as he started reaching down towards the bleeding woman.

If he could convert her into a Luna, just like her partner, then-

"NEVER AGAIN!"

Lumiel's eyes widened, barely dodging out of the way of several dozen shots aimed straight at his center. He could feel his blood boiling in confusion and rage as he turned towards the culprit...

The JõtaiKillers... No. Just one. But more importantly, he was wearing the other as armor. Not only that, but the red that augmented him, those bright draconic wings... Helheim's blasted daughter!? Of all the rotten... HOW?!

"HOW DID YOU FIND HER?! HOW HAVE YOU COME TO RUIN EVEN THIS LAST RESORT!?" Lumiel was reduced to screaming in agony, his eyes darting down towards the near-corpse at his feet. He had to try. He had to-

"Oh no you don't! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY MOM!"

The armor on top of Hayato's body launched off like a projectile, Ero expanding in the blink of an eye as she carved straight through the tattered Prime, the daughter refusing to let her Mom suffer any further!

All that Lumiel could do was scream, his voice overlapping several times as his body collapsed in on itself. He still wasn't dead, but he had been forced to retreat, his hat gently drifting to the ground...

Right onto Tsukiko, who was forcibly pulled into the same sort of self-collapse. Even if he couldn't claim Haruhi, he wasn't letting them take the hero of the Luna Descent...

"And STAY gone!" Ero cried out, huffing and crossing her arms. Hadn't managed to save her other Mom, but at least she kept one safe. Even if she was, like, oh, actually, that was a lot of blood. "Hayato! Quick, we gotta get her to D'Or's! She can fix this!"

Hayato wordlessly nodded, quickly grabbing Lady Hopper and throwing her across his shoulder. Glancing briefly at Neoheim, who had detached just like Ero had...

If not for her and Ero fusing onto him and then powering their flight with the pure PASSION from Yuuki's medal, Lady Hopper would've been dead. Or worse. Now it was up to him to do the rest.

"Thank you, Neo!" He cried out as he ran past, hoping to make it in time..

Leaving Neoheim to quietly look at the dissolving Sunsetter, smiling from her part in all of this. Now, Hayato and Ero would be happy, their love for that woman bearing fruit. And indeed...

"Divine Defender. Successfully copied."

She got what she came for in the end.

—

After it was all said and done, many of the students that took part in this incident found their way back into the hall where it had all begun. And just like before, two people found themselves standing on the stage as the main focus.

"Thank all of you for everything you did to fight back against the threat to our school. I am deeply, deeply grateful for everything you've done, regardless of your feelings towards me."

On the stage stood the Principal. Still in her true form as Baroness Bat, not bothering to hide her identity given what she had done to give everyone a fighting chance.

There were many in the crowd that were muttering about this development. How the number 2 of Golden Freedom had been there all along. Keeping tabs on everyone so she could transform the ones that were most vulnerable. Including the one waiting on the stage alongside her...

"If any of you wish to take your revenge. My office is open for you. Know that I do not regret what I have done, for Freedom granted by these rings is something you all deserve. Despite any side effects that may crop up." Bat explained, closing her eyes gently at the thought of what she was about to do. But it was something she had to do. Her pride wouldn't allow her to worm out of it.

"But, as a token of my gratitude for all that you have done today. I will not gift another ring to an unwilling soul. Stopping my activities to reward you for trusting in me this one time is the least that I can do."

It was a risky thing to do. Jeopardizing her part in her wife's plan. But the students had all worked so hard. It wouldn't be right if she didn't give them this chance. To reward them for protecting their Freedom...

"Stopping just because you helped? I don't care if you're our principal, I should punch you for what you did!"

The first to speak up in response to what Bat proposed was Agatha. Even after the two had fought alongside one another during this, that didn't quell her rage at what she had done.

Even so, as Agatha grabbed the edge of the stage, she couldn't bring herself to get up and deliver the blow she wanted to. "Just... Just don't disappear, you hear. I'm going to make you pay for causing all this trouble before today, I'll figure out how later!"

"Mmmhm. She did a lot. Lot of bad. But a lot of good too. Don't you think so, Mina?"

Rika was the next to speak up, all eyes darting towards the big cheerleader snugly hugging her tomboy girlfriend. Who was trying not to have everyone stare at her being hugged in this loveydovey manner.

"Y-yeah. If she does bad again, w-we'll beat 'er! Yeah. Yeah!" Mina tried to put on a confident face, before Rika squeezed her tight again and she deflated with unrestrained happiness. Unable to fight against this soft warmth.

"I...If not for what you did, I wouldn't be able to protect Tsubasa!"

Momiji was the last to speak up, hand still tightly squeezed around her boyfriend's after what they had been through. Murakumo's expression still causing them both to blush as it flashed in their minds. But still..!

"So even if we have to take you down later, thank you! Thank you for giving me that chance!" The redheaded girl cried out, bowing her head with respect...

Three of the many people that Bat had affected shared their thoughts. Bringing a smile to the woman's face, regardless of what they intended for her. Because in the end, they had shown the freedom they had been granted. The Freedom to use their powers as they so wished.

The murmuring in the crowd continued a little after that, before quieting down as Bat stepped back. After all, the stage wasn't hers to take. 

No, the one that had to take the stage was the one that had started all of this.

"Fellow students." Saki began, gazing upon the crowd. Her fear still resonated strongly inside her as she looked at how many had been hurt because of her. But still, she spoke. "I know I cannot possibly apologize for what I did. Nor can I earn forgiveness for what I caused."

Murmuring began once again, many parts of the crowd trying to come to a consensus over what she had done throughout the day...

"But! But Saki! That was the bad part of you! That wasn't you!"

Before anybody had a chance to say anything, a small figure pulled herself onto the stage. Bee had been freed from captivity like all the others, and immediately ran to her Hero. Grabbing onto her skirt with tears in her eyes, wanting to defend her actions...

Saki quietly looked down at Bee, shaking her head as she got down on one knee and gave the small virtual friend a hug. "No, Bee. It wasn't a bad part of me. I can't just escape responsibility by blaming something else." She said, even as her tiny partner cried her heart out...

She gently kissed Bee on the cheek, carefully standing back up with a resolute look on her face. "What Broken Sun did is what I would've done on my own, if I had been pushed that far. She is part of me, and to blame it all on her would be to excuse my actions."

Every last thing that Broken Sun had done, she was taking responsibility for. All of it. For every last bit of damage that she had caused. She wasn't crying about what she had done. She wasn't trying to excuse it. In trying to protect everyone, she had hurt them more than anything else ever could've.

In the end, Saki Himitsu was the one responsible for this Broken Sunset. And she wasn't about to let anybody believe otherwise.

"However." She continued, gently closing her eyes. "My fears. I do not wish to hide them. I wish to come clean about my mistakes, the ones I've accepted with everything I have."

Bit by bit, Saki's skin began to crack. Gold filling in those very same cracks as her hair went from blue to black, a fearful gaze slowly opening her eyes...

The Sole Hero was still there. However, her true nature had been unveiled. That of a scared child. Even now, it wasn't hard to tell that she didn't want to lose anything. With the way that her eyes were darting around the crowd.

"I..." She tried to speak. She could feel the words getting caught in her throat as she tried. 

Would they... Would they truly listen after everything she had done? She had caused them so much pain! So, so much torment...

She felt the warmth wrap around her again. Saki was supporting her. The least she could do after all of what she had done was try.

"I... I am... I am Saki Himitsu's fears made manifest. Trauma put back together by the kindness she's filled me with." She explained, gently gripping the bottom of her skirt. She could feel the fear. But she had to push on..! "And... And despite how much I fear all of you may be hurt... I.. I want to make up for my mistakes. I want to try and protect you as a true hero. Not alone. But with Saki. With the rest of the Jõtaiders, and other heroes here in Mimoto!"

"If she... If she is Saki, then I am Mori. Mori Himitsu. Together, we form one protector. And I hope that this time, I truly can protect you all. Without shutting any of you away, depriving you of your Freedom!" She said, blushing brightly. Why did Saki have to give her such a name?

SakiMori was such a stupid, stupid name for the two of them, so why did she feel so fuzzy over it!?

Bee blinked a couple of times as she looked at Mori. It hurt to hear her Hero call herself a bad person. But those worried feelings had washed away as she noticed how...

How cute the 'bad' part of Saki was. Maybe... Maybe she could be good! Maybe! Yeah, yeah! She sounded like she was gonna try, so... so!

"If you're gonna try, then I'm gonna make sure you're gonna be a Hero! Just like Saki!" Bee cried out, eyes sparkling brightly from how excited she was. Alright, that settled it! If Saki had made mistakes, and Mori was willing to try and be better, then it was up to Bee to keep them both straight and narrow!

That's what she was made for, to be their Partner when they needed it most!

"My my. Trying to change your role from a Villain to a Hero all of a sudden. Switching out one mask for another, sharing it with your other half..."

Akemi came close to the stage, a theatrical smile on her face. Even if she currently donned that shiny latex robe that Dream Mystica had been wearing, the effects of her time in the mold seemingly sticking to her. That, or she liked being dramatic because of her career.

Either way, she clapped in the honor of the Golden Girl and her Broken Self, laughing gently at the face of adversity. "Then challenge the role destiny has set out in front of you! Prove yourself on the stage of life, and be what you want to be!"

"Or just stop thinkin' so much about what you wanna be and what you gotta avoid bein'. Just do your best. 's all that anybody can ask for." 

Aimi spoke up as well, crossing her arms slightly. That blonde, Bison or whatever, had gone off with Nezu while they were waiting for this to start up again. They were probably busy, but she wasn't going to miss Saki's talk.

She'd be there for the Prez. Just as she had been there for her all the time. Though, gotta say, the new broken look made her look just as vulnerable as one of her gals...

...Maybe she could convince Saki, or this new Mori half of her, to let her dote on her and spoil her for a day as payback for transforming her back then.

The murmuring grew louder and louder as opinions started naturally splitting, not all nearly as positive as Akemi and Aimi's encouragement had been. After all, she basically said she'd keep doing what she had been doing. Just not badly. Could she really go back to doing that and not face any repercussions!?

Mori stood her ground however, even if she felt the fear trying to drag her down. "A-and, and, and! If you ever want to hurt me because of what I've done, please! Please don't hesita-"

"HEY! MORI!"

Before Mori finished explaining how she was willing to take any kind of punishment for her actions, an icy fist slammed straight into her cracked face. Knocking her straight through the floor, so violently so that she bounced right back out of the very same hole she had just been slammed into. Eyes spinning all the while, pain and confusion billowed through her as she swore she could see a couple dozen or so Bees trying to reach towards her as she flew back out of the hole...

Until she landed in the icy hot arms of a certain white-haired girl that had always been at her side. And close by was another familiar girl, one who downplayed her part in saving the day. While also helping Yuuki out and giving her the spotlight by pulling Bee over to her with her strings.

Saeko, perhaps looking a bit more confident while standing on the sidelines than she had before, gently smiled at her oldest and dearest friend, the ends of her lavender hair now taking on a purple tint like it did when she fought as Spider. Accepting part of her just as Saki had accepted Mori...

"Listen here, Mori! Saki! Whatever!" Yuuki said, grinning as she held the black-haired manifested trauma in her arms. "From now on, you're not causing any more trouble. If you do, I'm the one who's going to make sure you regret ever having a bright idea like that! Got it!?"

The murmuring gradually erupted into cheering for the PASSION-filled hall monitor, Mori trembling as her hair quietly turned blue once again, letting Saki have control once more...

"Never again will I let something like this happen." Saki said, before leaning close to Yuuki. "But if I ever falter. I'll count on you to make it right, Yuuki."

The hot-hearted Yukionna blushed a little from how cool the girl sounded. "You can't just do that when you caused all these problems!" She laughed, the crowd beginning to laugh just the same.

Saki just smiled. Indeed, with friends like these, her words just might come true. Never again would she let something like this happen. But more importantly...

Never again would she reject the hands of her allies. Not just for her own sake, knowing what she might do if she isolated herself again.

But also for the sake of letting her fears be put to rest…

—

"Yumeko!"

The dreaming girl who had transcended time so many times before quietly pulled herself up from her bed, the pain of being forced into that Nightmare form still pumping through her. As strong as it was, however, it was nowhere near as strong as the guilt she felt when she saw Mikai right outside her door...

"Mikai, I-"

She didn't get to answer before her short girlfriend launched herself into her arms, happily hugging her as tightly as she could. A bright smile on her face despite everything.

"We did it, Yumeko! We saved Saki! We really did it! And Saeko saved you too!"

Mikai was crying tears of joy. She didn't have anything bad to say about the truth. Just that everything had ended happily...

All Yumeko could do was smile and hug her little girlfriend, quietly letting the tears run down her cheeks as she let the warmth wash over her.

She could afford to dream this dream a little longer. And do everything she could to make them happy...

Never again would she hide the truth from them...

—

“They’re too loud.”

Minami chuckled as she looked at the woman currently laying in bed, who for once didn't have the arm-brace like system wrapped around her right arm. A woman who had pushed herself so far to try and make up for her mistakes, all thanks to the little push she had gotten from the very same girl currently sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Let them have their fun, Hiro. Besides, you're the one who decided to try and fight your inner demons in the middle of trying to save the day. And then overclocking the rest of your body trying to save them when you were practically down and out anyway." The white-haired girl chimed, her eyes drifting up towards Hiro's face.

For once, an expression was loud and clear on the older woman's face. Exhaustion. It paired well with her white hair having turned black once again, though now it was more like several strands of white and black which gave her hair a somewhat striped look. Not that it looked like Hiro was bothered by it. It more so represented the struggle she was going through trying to recover from her awful path.

"...What'd you pump into me anyway? That thing inside me... She's..." Hiro grew quiet. It's not that she won. More so that the darkened beast ended up passing out...

Minami winked as she got into bed as well, snuggling up to the older woman and hugging her nice and tight. "Let's leave the answers for later. Right now, you need as much rest as you can. And a cute girl right by your side to hug you back to health!"

"If you keep that up, they might start rumors about you and I like they did for me and Mikai." Hiro muttered annoyedly, blinking quietly as she didn't get a response...

Because not many seconds after Minami began clinging to her, she passed out. No doubt from how hard the day had been for her. Leaving Hiro to quietly sigh as she planted a tiny kiss right on the girl's forehead...

The soft smile on Minami's face was a reminder of what she fought for. A reminder that she could never let herself falter when she walked down this new path. Not just for her smile, but for Mikai's as well. For all the people she held dear.

Never again would she cut a deal with despair. From now on, she fought for the hope burning bright within. 

So that they could all get the happy ending they deserved.

…

“Sleep tight, you two.”

Natsuki whispered to herself as she peeped inside, giggling softly as Hiro fell asleep with Minami clinging to her so tenderly…

Gosh, what a wonderful sight. One she’d have to keep protecting, just like Hiro would protect her.

And with any luck, the two of them could reunite with the other three sooner rather than later.

Now wouldn’t that be something?

—

“Serves her right for being a pain in my neck back then. So what if she got a happy ending? I got to see her squirm when I stopped her big bad attack!”

Kimiko grinned to herself. Yeah. That was definitely why she had helped Mikai out this one time. Spite towards that Golden Girl. Not because of anything else. Besides. Mikai was hers to deal with. And once Neoheim was done with all that fancy crap she showed her, then-

“Luna, dear?”

A warm voice spoke. And Kimiko froze. Her heart slammed against her chest several times as she turned towards the source…

Tears of joy ran down her face as she gazed at her Mama once more. Mama… Mama said her name..!

“Mama!”

Cepha gasped as Kimiko jumped into her arms, the tentacled Prime smiling as she gently held her dear daughter…

“There there, dear. I’m here for you…”

Kimiko had plans. Big plans for the city now that Kanzei was done…

Plans that would have to wait until she was done loving her Mama…

Finally… The love she wanted…

Never again would Mama forget her…

Never again.