Tamao-chan woke up to find herself trapped in a weird room. The walls were rusted, and one side was glass with a door set into it. A door! Quickly she tried to open it, but it was sealed shut. Then she remembered where she was: the old clock tower. She was in the room where the machine pounded metal with… Tamao-chan looked up and her eyes widened when she saw a giant anvil.
"What?" Shizumi-sama pulled herself up into a sitting position. Just as Tamao-chan realized, she saw that she was trapped. Quickly, she looked out the glass and across from her stood Tamao-chan in another glass room. Then to her left: Sister in a third glass room. And then… she looked on the floor… and saw… Nagisa-chan unconscious, chained to the podium. "Nagisa-chan, wake up!" Shizumi-sama exclaimed. She furiously pounded on the door, but it wouldn't budge. Then to her right, she saw their captors: Kaname-sama and Momomi-sama.
"So, how much longer do you think she'll be out?" Kaname-sama asked Momomi-sama. "I don't even know if this is right…" Momomi-sama said to Kaname-sama. "Don't worry so much, there won't be any witnesses, plus, no more Shizumi-sama." Kaname-sama said with glee. "But this wasn't part of the plan!" Momomi-sama said, looking hungrily into Kaname-sama's eyes. "So Amane-sama is still out there, but hey, no more Nagisa-chan either," Kaname-sama said.
Nagisa-chan stirred and her eyes opened. She looked around herself to see Shizumi-sama, Tamao-chan, and Sister were all trapped in the glass rooms, under giant anvils. "What?" Nagisa-chan said and tried to move, but she found herself chained to the podium. She was inside the clock tower, and her friends were about to be crushed. "Oh, look Momomi-sama, the birdie's awake," Kaname-sama said. Nagisa-chan suddenly turned her head towards Kaname-sama. "Why?" Nagisa-chan looked pleadingly into her eyes. "Because I saw you and Shizumi-sama, and it made me feel sick," Kaname-sama angrily replied. "So, we're going to make you regret it!" Kaname-sama said. Her words were filled with venom. Momomi-sama looked uncertain and scared. "Come on Momomi-sama, we're leaving," Kaname-sama said and turned her back on them and walked out the door. Momomi-sama looked at Nagisa-chan's pleading eyes. "We… no… I'm sorry… the entire place is run by electricity, I can't help you," Momomi-sama said, turned, and followed Kaname-sama.
"What can I do?" Nagisa-chan said, looking in turn at the trapped people. Tamao-chan is my best friend, and my roommate, Nagisa-chan thought. Then, Sister was the head of the school, and if she was gone, who would be the principle? Finally, Nagisa-chan turned and looked to the last room where she saw Shizumi-sama. She had been her first love, her first lover, and her loved. Then memories came back of how her first day came. The kiss, how she was scolded, and how Tamao-chan read her books at night. Ironically, she thought of the last story Tamao-chan had read to her. The story! Nagisa-chan thought wildly. She knew what she had to do.
Amane-sama was doing some paperwork when Tsubomi-chan burst through her door. The rusty clock tower was closing close to midnight. "Amane-sama, where's Sister?" Tsubomi-chan asked Amane-sama. "I thought she was going to the clock tower with Tamao-chan," Amane-sama replied, "but, isn't she back yet? I thought she left hours-" A bright light suddenly shined in through Amane-sama's window. "Wha-What is that?" Tsubomi-chan asked. "It's coming from the clock tower!" Amane-sama said.
The bright light of the clock tower was able to be seen by all three schools. Even the Saintly Chorus could see it. Standing right outside making out were two school girls. "Hm? What's that light coming from the clock tower?" Yaya-chan asked, pulling Hikari-chan off of her. Hikari-chan just looked at it and asked, "isn't it pretty?" "Yes, I guess it is," Yaya-chan replied and stroked Hikari-chan's hair.
Time was ticking away. The anvils were getting closer to their targets. Nagisa-chan stumbled inside her pockets looking for… the paperclip. The same paperclip that had started the blackout that scared a lot of girls back at the school.
"What is she doing?" Tamao-chan screamed. She should be getting help, Tamao-chan thought. Oh… Nagisa-chan, Tamao-chan thought, and fell on the ground crying.
Nagisa-chan twisted the ends of the paperclip so they faced outward, and crawled closer and closer to the podium.
Shizumi-sama was staring up at the anvil, a mental timer ticking away in her mind. Slowly, the clock ticked away.
Nagisa-chan had crawled around the podium and finally found what she was looking for: an outlet. Her chain tying to the other side of the podium was now wound up. She couldn't move any farther. She was so close. Only a few mere centimeters left, Nagisa-chan thought. With one final thrust, she pushed the two ends of the paperclip into the sockets of the outlet. Only, she didn't pull her hand away fast enough.
Suddenly, the lights were off, and Tamao-chan fell through the open doors of her glass prison. She looked over and saw a bright blue light flashing off… Nagisa-chan?
Shizumi-sama had already seen the flash of electricity, and was rushing up to Nagisa-chan's side. Nagisa-chan lied there, on the ground unconscious. "Is she alright?" Tamao-chan rushed up to Nagisa-chan's other side. Shizumi-sama felt Nagisa-chan's wrist for her pulse. "It's not much, but she's still alive," Shizumi-sama said. "We need to get her out of here and to the closest hospital," Sister said, coming up from behind.
Tamao-chan had looked around and found a sharp piece of metal lying about and proceeded to smash the chain holding Nagisa-chan to the podium. "Ugh!" Tamao-chan grunted as she hit steel against metal. "Here, let me do it," Shizumi-sama said, took the piece of metal, and in a single swift motion, she swung it straight into the chain, shattering it. Sister had gone out and found a payphone. Shizumi-sama and Tamao-chan were carrying Nagisa-chan's body outside when they met an ambulance and paramedics. "I'll go since I-" Sister started, but Shizumi-sama interrupted, "No, I'll go, you have a school to tend to, and Tamao-chan, the Etoile will be looking for you." Sister was about to protest, but saw Shizumi-sama's determined eyes. "Alright," Sister said, nodding her head.
The hospital room was white, all white, and smelled of anesthetic. Nagisa-chan was lying down on the bed. Shizumi-sama had been sitting to her side, in a chair, for over 2 hours now. She had been sitting, staring at Nagisa-chan.
It was 2:47 a.m. when Tamao-chan and Sister came back to the school. The girls in the dorms were up and about. Some were singing, others were playing, and even some were dancing. When Sister had gone to her own room to sleep, Tamao-chan had returned to the strawberry dorms.
"Everyone, well, those who are still awake, please return to your room," Tamao-chan walked through each hallway, telling girls to go to sleep. Finally, when everyone was asleep, she returned to her own room on the second floor. The room she and Nagisa-chan shared. "I hope Nagisa-chan's alright," Tamao-chan said, sitting on the Nagisa-chan's bed.
Silently, Shizumi-sama stood up. She took one look and Nagisa-chan's unconscious body, sighed, and sat down again. Then she remembered how it all happened. Momomi-sama had picked them up and drove them halfway, and took them out with some kind of knock out gas. Then Kaname-sama had placed Tamao-chan, Sister, and herself to their deaths. Kaname-sama and Momomi-sama also chained Nagisa-chan to the podium to torture her by watching her friends die. Tears came to Shizumi-sama's eyes when she thought of what happened to Nagisa-chan. Nagisa-chan had hurt herself so that they would be safe. "Why?" Shizumi-sama asked herself. "I should've been more careful," She scolded herself.
Hours had passed, and looking out the window, Shizumi-sama saw dawn approaching. She had stayed at Nagisa-chan's side for a time now. She looked at Nagisa-chan's face and wondered, if she was the reason that Nagisa-chan got hurt. A while later, Shizumi-sama sat down on Nagisa-chan's hospital bed, and pulled her face close to Nagisa-chan's. "I'm sorry, Nagisa-chan," Shizumi-sama whispered, and pressed her lips onto Nagisa-chan's.