Been playing the new Blazblue, made a new friend, and am LOVING Susanoo. Not in that particular order, either. Or is it?!

Anywho.

"Yeah, I'll come home soon. Sorry I worried you."

"I know you can take care of yourself, but you just disappeared without even leaving a note. Nanako was worried sick…"

"I can talk to her for a bit, if you want."

"Would be nice. Here, I'll put her on….Big Bro, where'd you go?!"

"Sorry, Nanako, I-"

Bzzt~.

Souji paused when he heard the odd sound, pulling the phone from his ear when he heard his phone releasing a dull beep that signalled he had lost service. "What the…"

He tried to text anyone in his contact list, biting his lip gently as he was met with no success. Undaunted by the setback, he pocketed his phone and ran towards the staircase, oblivious to the coffin that was sitting where the receptionist of the Kirijo building usually greeted him with a smile and wave. He bounded up the stairs two at a time, bursting into the next floor hallway as the lights flickered oddly. He found Akihiko and Shinjiro conversing quietly about something, but they waved him over as soon as his footstep echoed through the hall. "What's going on?"

"I wish I could tell you it's just a power outage, but, er...don't look outside. Damn coffins are everywhere, just like…"

The boxer fell into a contemplative silence as Shinjiro remarked grimly, "Just like the Dark Hour. It ain't even close to midnight."

"Where's Mitsuru-san?"

"Last I heard, she was heading down to the war room to check in with Fuuka about something."

"Thanks. If you find any of the others, let them know we need to be ready for a fight."

The power troubles put the elevator out of commission, so Souji was forced to run up the ascending staircase until he reached Mitsuru's office. Before he could put hand to doorknob, the door swung open to reveal Mitsuru and Aigis, clad in a formal-looking business suit and a combat harness, respectively. "Mitsuru-san."

"Souji-san. I'm glad you were on your way, saves the trouble of finding you. Walk with me."

"Sure thing."

He stepped aside for the two to walk out, following close behind as Mitsuru spoke again. "I truly hoped I wouldn't witness this event ever again. Perhaps...I was foolish to hope."

"This is that Dark Hour you've told me about?"

"I believe so. The only exception is that Tartarus has not appeared yet….Somehow, that's more worrying."

"Seems so. There's some inconsistencies here that are as intriguing as they're dangerous. If people outside the building have already been encased in the same coffins, then the absence of Tartarus means that shadows may be on the loose."

"Indeed. We cannot allow the people to come to harm, especially in their vulnerable state."

"What do you propose we do?"

"Stay away from usually populated areas, first of all. Secondly, we're going to draw as much attention to us as we can manage."

"Nyx is sure to take notice."

Mitsuru stopped and looked at Souji grimly, nodding. "That's what I'm counting on."

Souji grinned, nodding eagerly and cracking his knuckles. "Alright, then. Liking this plan."

She managed a small smile at his cheer, throwing open the door to the war room where, to Souji's surprise, everyone was there. Even Sho. Familiar instinct allowed Souji to quickly note where each of his friends were, each gearing or hyping themselves up in some way or another. Finally, he caught sight of Naoto, fumbling with what looked like a knife sheath for her shoulder holster. "We're preparing ourselves for what is likely the final battle, for better or worse. We have numerous items that are small enough to carry along that would help, and...Naoto-kun, I believe that you in particular will appreciate this."

The detective looked up from her holster quizzically as Mitsuru pressed a button under one of the tables. The long wall along Naoto's workbench and its adjacent tables turned with a light creak, revealing something straight out of an action movie; a wall lined with all sorts of arms, knives, guns, the like. Naoto, after giving Mitsuru a quick glance for permission, picked up one of the shotguns hanging on the wall and hefted it in her hand, testing its weight and inspecting the build. Souji saw her lips twitch, and, for a moment, he was worried she was going to start cuddling with the cold metal firearm. His suspicions were only exacerbated when she murmured, "I think I'm in love."

"...You're not gonna question why they have military grade gear just lying around?"

"In a situation such as this? Ah, heavy armaments are necessary."

"Yeah, sure. Just don't break anything."

He left Naoto to her business, turning to face Mitsuru who, for whatever reason, had a small smile on her face as she regarded him. "Ah, Souji-san, I forgot to mention...Junpei."

"Got it."

The capped crusader hauled something out of one of the lockers, effectively bringing a smile to Souji's face when he saw what it was. "We retrieved this for you shortly after your...incident. I commissioned Kikuno-san to have it restored for you."

The maid in question decided to arrive at that time, with Yukari Takeba in tow. Souji blinked when he saw the welding goggles and smattering of dark stains on Kikuno's clothes; she had clearly been doing work in her maid uniform, but more along the lines of engineering rather than...anything else. "What...huh?"

Kikuno took off the goggles, offering Souji a bow and a serene little smile. "Hello, Souji-san. I apologize for my appearance, but I was told to have your weapon ready as quickly as possible by Mitsuru-chan."

"What?"

"Mitsuru-san."

He gave her a quizzical look but nodded slowly, looking over the Totsuka blade once more. The blade itself had been polished to a mirror sheen, almost audibly sharp if the hum it made when he rolled his wrist in a circle was any indication. It felt more suited to his hand, the cord of the handle having been replaced with cool, but comfortable, wire. It felt new. It felt...perfect. "Well, ain't that somethin'."

Souji nodded more confidently, hefting the weapon over his shoulder and tightening the leather sheath diagonally across his torso. He collected his katana and tied to cord of the weapon to his belt, turning to face Kikuno and Mitsuru again with a confident grin. "Well, I'm ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. Briefing should be brief, but our roles will be clearly defined."

"Counting on it."

[- - -]

"Everyone, this is it."

The three words defined what would come, whether the long night would end in victory or death to the world. Despite the tension in the air, or perhaps in defiance of it, Souji grinned. "I would give this little speech, but we all know I'm terrible at those." The light chorus of chuckles and affirmations let Souji know he moved the conversation in the right direction. " In lieu of that, I'll cut to the chase. If the conditions outside are any indication, Nyx has thrown the gauntlet. We're not going into the TV, not this time. She's bringing the fight to us, so we're gonna get a head start. In that regard, we're essentially splitting into two teams."

"One team is going to be much smaller than the other. Maybe a squad of three or so. Said three are going to Inaba, posthaste. Aside from...personal reasons that I would appreciate assistance with, there is one person in particular that needs to be protected: Marie."

Yosuke raised his hand. "I thought she was hanging around here already? Along with that nose guy and the elevator attendants."

Souji nodded firmly. "She's-"

"I'm right here."

Marie appeared on the table behind Souji, casually leaning back with her hands on the surface and one leg crossed over the other. Souji acknowledged her abrupt arrival with a nod before continuing. "Anyway-"

"We're going to Inaba because the shrine there needs protecting. That, and...well, Souji asked me to check on his uncle and Nanako-chan."

"If there are civilians in general-"

"Civilians?"

Souji sighed. "If they've been in contact with me, it's possible they're unaffected by the whole coffin schtick. Happy?"

Finally, Marie smiled. "Yep. You finally cleared that up."

Souji did a slow double-take before hesitantly inquiring. "...That was confusing?"

"Yes."

"Kinda, yeah."

"A bit."

"You tend to do that."

"Okay, okay," Souji sighed again and scratched the back of his head. "Fine. Them's the breaks in regards to the Inaba situation. Marie told me that if the town falls, so does she. And I'm not about to have that happen. Not again."

Unbeknownst to him, Marie smiled happily at that, materializing a card in her hand and twirling it between her fingers. "Aside from that, we need everyone who's fighting fit to be on the frontlines. I've been told by Mitsuru-san that Tartarus hasn't appeared yet, if at all; another key difference in this Dark Hour."

Rather than show any sign of worry, he shrugged. "Less trouble for us. Familiar streets, all that."

After giving the room one last scan, he could easily read the conviction on each and every member's faces. Even Sho. "We know our roles, more or less. This night isn't about to end anytime soon, so let's make sure we're good and ready."

"Forgive me for saying this, but do not dare forget about us."

Souji looked up from his makeshift podium and bit back an appropriate noise of surprise. Margaret, Theodore, and Elizabeth had appeared at the doorway, Igor standing silently behind them as Souji slowly nodded in recognition. "I thought you folk weren't the type to get involved."

"You would be right. But this is personal."

Elizabeth frowned slightly. "My brother has returned and none of you had the decency to call me."

Souji chose not to address that, for fear of exploding. "Well, your help is appreciated. Theodore, if you wouldn't mind accompanying the Inaba team?"

Theo bowed, seemingly eager to offer his help. "Wherever I am required. As long as my friend is freed from that...that Seal."

"No. I will go to Inaba in his stead." Margaret stepped forward and patted Theo's shoulder before fixing Souji with a steady stare. "I may not live in the town itself, but I understand its meaning to you. Please, grant me this request."

Souji smiled. It would seem that their "personal reasons" were just. "Fine by me. Thank you."

This was going to be longer, but extending it would've bled into the actual beginning of the big battle. As such, I felt this was as good a place as any to cut off. Depending on the length of the following chapter, or if it works better in a manner of style, I might do something similar. But hey, we're almost at the end!

It's been a while since the last update, so that also sorta influenced my thought process for ending the chapter here. If it's any consolation if you're disappointed, that means that the next chapter already has a healthy chunk of progress sunk into it.

UNTIL THEN. Gonna get crackin' on that when I have some time, so see ya.