Only two chapters left before the story is finished. Which could be anywhere from next month to a couple of years from now.

Probably a couple of years from now. XD

Anyhow, I want to thank everybody who's been keeping up with this story up to this point, I really appreciate your patience in regards to my awful scheduling. XD

And now, to the preliminary chapter!

A couple days had passed since A-RISE and Muse had decided to work together to think up a way to fight back against the impostor Nico and her "Idolons" or whatever that was all about.

They were currently at the Kosaka household, where Yukiho's impostor served the girls some tea, with Tsubasa looking particularly confused.

"First Hanayo and Rin's impostors are made to work after their caught, and now your little sister's impostor does the same thing?" she remarked as she turned to Honaka. "Don't tell me you plan to do the same thing to Nico's copycat when we deal with her."

Honoka quickly shook her head.

"Oh no, after everything she's been responsible for up to this point, the best thing we can do about her is get her sent to jail, or at the very least juvie."

Rin hummed. "Now that you mention it, would Nico's copycat be sent to jail or juvie after everything she's done?"

Umi folded her arms. "I wish I could say that she would definitely go to jail, but I don't know, I feel like she'd be sent to a maximum security juvie instead."

"For brainwashing dozens, maybe hundreds of girls into impersonating idol groups, who are also guilty of assault and batter?!" Eli exclaimed, standing up. "I don't know about you, but that stuff sounds like something that would get someone sent to jail immediately!"

"I'm pretty sure everybody believes that too, Eli," Hanayo said. "And trust me, nobody in this room would like more than to have that impostor rot in prison for the rest of her life-"

"Which is admittedly a pretty dark thing coming from idols like us," Kotori remarked.

"But we have to think about this logically too: As bad as she is, and as good as it would be if she went to prison, she doesn't seem to be any older than us," Rin spoke. "From what I can see, and going by the shows I've watched, she'd be sent to juvie at best."

Eli folded her arms and sat down, her anger at the harsh reality being quite apparent.

That is, until she remembered something:

"Does anybody know how Nozomi is doing?"

Meanwhile, on the streets of the city...

Nozomi sat on a bench, drinking a cold drink as she tried to remain as calm as possible. Psychiatrist's orders.

"Okay, Nozomi, don't freak out, everything... hopefully will be better from now on. You're no longer that fake Nico's plaything, and Muse are probably working on givine her the payback she deserves."

Nozomi took a deep breath... and probably began freaking out.

"But what if they fail to reveal her scheme to the world? What if she convinces them to attack each other? What if she puts them through the same torture she put me through?! And what if?!"

"H-Hi, Nozomi-"

The motherly idol gasped and nearly jumped out of her seat, shivering as she turned around to see the person who said that was none other than Mako.

"A-Are you okay? Do you feel better now?"

The blue-haired idol took a deep breath and put a hand over her chest, taking a couple of smaller breaths before she tried assuming her usual smile.

"Y-Yeah... I'm, I'm better now, sort of... I'm not a raving madwoman like I was before, at least."

However, both the smile and her ensuing laughter had clear signs of discomfort in them, almost as if she was hoping the situation would just end and she'd be left alone to cope.

But Mako knew that if Nozomi needed something right now, it probably wasn't time to be alone.

"What about the rest of the girls? Have you managed to contact them?"

Nozomi almost tripped and hit the ground face-first.

"Have you lost your mind?! After everything I did as "Cataclysm Tsunami" or whatever, I'll never be able to show my face to them again: I tried to hurt them, heck, I tried to kill them!"

Nozomi's face turned slightly blue.

"Not to mention the fact that, thanks to my "washi-washi" habit, I've technically been assaulting them all this time! A fact that I wasn't even aware of until my therapist pointed it out to me!"

Mako frowned. "To be fair, the girls never really looked... too uncomfortable with it-"

"That doesn't excuse it!"

Nozomi lowered her head in shame. "I'll never be able to face them again!"

And then she realized something. "W-Wait a minute, what are you doing out of the hospital? Aren't you supposed to rest until you've fully recovered?!"

"I more or less have recovered enough that I can walk home on my own," Mako replied. "Of course, it'll be a couple more days before I'm a hundred percent back on full health-"

Nozomi promptly grabbed Mako's shoulders.

"Then go back to the hospital! Or head home right away! Stop wasting time with me and head to a safe zone!"

Mako separated from Nozomi.

"I can't just ignore you while you're clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown!"

"Maybe you should!"

Mako took a step back, and the blue-haired idol calmed down slightly.

"Maybe... Maybe you should ignore me... Maybe, you should make sure that we never meet again... Maybe you should start thinking of me as nothing more than your enemy, just in case I go nuts again!"

"Nozomi, your stint as Cataclysm Tsunami wasn't something you did on your own: Your mind was broken thanks to the torture the fake Nico put you through. But all that stuff's over now, Nozomi; Muse will find a way to put that jerk in her place."

"You're right on one thing, Mako: That disgusting fake Nicocchi broke my mind!" Nozomi put her hands on her head. "And even after getting psychiatric help, I can still feel the shards in my head, moving around and making tiny disturbing noises!"

"I don't know if I'll be able to be completely sane or healthy again, Mako: Heck, I don't even know if I'll get to the point where I can share the stage with the girls again! The damage was that bad!"

Mako lowered her eyelids.

"Nozomi, trust me, even if you can't be on the stage with them anymore, even if your mind might never recover, I'm pretty sure the girls would love nothing more than to see you again."

Nozomi frowned and lowered her head.

"But what if I hurt them, like I hurt you?"

Mako extended her hand towards Nozomi.

"How about we find out together?"

Back with Muse and A-RISE...

The girls found themselves lost in thought as they tried to think of a plan to deal with the impostors once and for all.

However, one girl in particular seemed to be lost in a different kind of thought: Maki, at least, judging by her worried expression.

"Maki?"

The redhead didn't flinch at her name being called, rather, she calmly returned to reality with a somber statement.

"Nico and Mako... aren't here."

Eli promptly walked to Maki and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're worried for their health, we all are, but we need to think of something to do that'll deal with the impostors once and for all, first and foremost."

Honoka was next to sit next to Maki.

"Yeah, otherwise, there will be more girls who suffer the same fate as Nicocchi and Mako."

Maki lowered her head and frowned, though she immediately stood up when she heard a voice say:

"Mind if I give my opinion?"

Everybody turned around, and saw both Mako and Nozomi entering through the door, the latter quickly hiding behind something as Mako took a few steps forward before Maki got all up in her case.

"Mako!" Maki chirped as she hugged her friend. "I thought I wasn't going to see you again for a long time!"

Mako, with her face partially turned blue, gasped for air as she answered, "Your worries are about to become a reality if you keep hugging me this hard!"

Maki, realizing what she was doing, released Mako and backed away as the brunette caught her breath. "S-Sorry."

"Maki was so scared over how well you were going to be," Rin blurted, earning a look from Maki as she continued, "She's been crying nonstop all these days, saying how it was all her fault and-"

The redhead chased the cat-like girl, shouting, "Shut up, Rin!" as the orange-haired girl chuckled.

"So, what have I missed?" Mako asked as she sat down. "Why are Muse and A-RISE together here?"

"Actually, before we move on to that stuff, how about you tell us what are you doing here?" Honoka asked. "I mean, you were beaten quite badly by-"

Honoka paused, glanced at the saddened Nozomi, peeking out of her hiding spot, and quickly corrected herself.

"You-know-who."

Nozomi lowered her head and looked away.

"I thought you would be in the hospital for a little bit longer."

Mako scratched the back of her head. "So did I, but as it turns out, my body recovered faster than I expected, and they allowed me to return home, just so long as I don't do anything that could hurt my body again."

"So, while you could help us think of a plan to deal with the impostors," Honoka folded her arms. "You can't participate in it?"

Mako shook her head. "If it involves heavy work, then I'm afraid not."

Then, she realized something.

"And even then, though, do you have time to both think of how to deal with the impostors, and prepare for the next Love Live?"

Upon hearing that, the girls exchanged concerned looks, and a few seconds later, they were all at the principal's office, where Principal Minami searched the answer to one troubling question:

"When does the next Love Live happen?"

Once the answer was found, Principal Minami clasped her hands and turned her chair around as she prepared to give the news to the group...

Before she whispered the answer to Kotori, who shouted:

"The next Love Live is in three days?!"

"And none of us have practiced for it!" Tenyo exclaimed, pulling her hair as she realized what this meant. "Not since we agreed to think of possible traps!"

"Dang it, she's right!" Umi remarked as she scratched her chin. "We were so focused on the traps and the impostors, that we forgot to train for the Love Live!"

"And also, Muse is missing members: Nico's still hospitalized, Maki's arm is nowhere close to being healed, and Nozomi might take a few more psychiatric visits before she can be an idol again!" Hanayo said.

"Not to mention, the impostors are probably setting things up to ruin it as we speak," Mako remarked. "If the full team can't present themselves, there's no way to prove everybody's an impostor."

"So, this was part of their plan all along..." the principal remarked with a sigh. "Stop Muse and A-RISE from stopping them from ruining the Love Live, and by extension, the public's opinion on idols."

Umi frowned. "And even if we try to get our presentation ready, who knows what those impostors will do to ruin everything?"

The team collectively sighed.

"What do we do now?"

Honoka looked at her saddened companions, stood up, narrowed her eyes and stated:

"We'll go to the Love Live."

"But we haven't even practiced a routine yet! Heck, we haven't even picked what we're going to do!" Hanayo pointed out, with Kotori nodding in agreement. "And even if we practiced every day from here on out until the Love Live, there's no guarantee that the impostors wouldn't try to sabotage us again!"

"And even if we do focus on the Love Live from now on, we can't stand back and let those copycats do what they want," Tsubasa added, folding her arms. "The public's opinion and view on idols are at stake here!"

Honaka smiled. "And who says we're going to go there as performers?"

Everybody exchanged confused looks, then leaned closer to Honoka, who gestured them to come to her side.

"Here's the plan..."