The longer Peko sat in the hospital room, the more she realized she had a habit of over thinking things. If her plans were written on paper, they could have filled the whole room, and each one tapered off in the same place. She tried her best to melt into the sheets and disappear. Fate had other ideas in mind. A knock at the door was her only warning that she would have a visitor that day.

"Good afternoon Pekoyama-san," Hinata said carefully, "how are you feeling today?"

"The same as I did the last time you came to talk to me." Peko stated. "Though it seems I'll be fit enough to join you under supervision soon."

"That's good. Kuzuryuu-kun's been at everyone's throats since he couldn't see you." Hinata half chuckled. "Everyone wrote you letters."

"Just put them on the table." He place them next to the neglected folder on the Neo World. They sat together a while before Peko asked. "You're not going to ask about my previous altercation?"

"I figured you'd tell me on your own if you wanted to talk about it." She nodded and stared at the muted television. "We also pitched in to get you this." He pulled out a small chibified cat plushie about the size of a fist and placed it on top of the papers.

"What do you expect from me in return?" She appealed.

"Nothing," Hinata waved his hands in protest, "look I know you probably don't think of us as your friends and it must be weird to have all these strangers talking to you so familiarly. But we do care about you. Even if you can't think of us as friends, at least know we are your allies." She didn't look like she was going to say anything else. After a few moments passed, Hinata got up to leave.

"Malnutrition." She finally said. "Earlier, you asked why I was in critical condition. It was because of malnutrition."

"Thank you Peko."


The rag tag group sat in a conference room on the second floor. The chief medical adviser explained that their friends could be saved. "The electrical impulse from the game fooled the brain into shutting down and caused a form of sleep paralysis. Once removed from the machine, the hormonal feedback loop can be safely stimulated with a shot of adrenaline. However," the surgeon was apprehensive, "my staff, morally refuse to perform the procedure. Pekoyama-san's case was unavoidable, but the other Remnants of Despair can still be contained."

"I thought you were here because you wanted to help us, what gives?" Owari frowned.

"Pekoyama-san took a few weeks just to cooperate with the research team. You've only had to deal with two of Junko's followers in the past. One of whom, was willing to kill two of your friends. We'd have our hands full with one waking up, let alone two or three at a time. And the years of therapy involved..." He shook his head.

"Just wake them up one at a time then." Kuzuryuu grunted.

"If we wait until someone's stable, then the island won't get over run." Hinata explained. "We can take care of them amongst ourselves, I don't see what the problem is." The doctor looked up with a grave disposition.

"The longer the brain remains inactive, the more it will atrophy. Any longer than a month and the chance of waking them up with severe brain damage greatly increases." He professed. "If you still wish to revive your friends the medical staff will leave, the first and central island will go on lock down, and I will only be able to give support from the third island. The choice is yours, I'll give you all a moment to discuss this." As soon as he left, the room broke out in a six sided debate.

"I cannot leave Tanaka-san in a vegetative state." Sonia confessed. "Perhaps we could compromise with the staff and rescue a few people."

"No." Hinata countered. "We shouldn't barter with people's lives."

"Coach Nidai saved my life twice already, there's no way I'm letting him die on me again!" Owari protested.

"We aren't capable of handling a breakout of disease or illness. The only one of us who could, wouldn't help us if our lives depended on it. We need the staff if something goes wrong." Kuzuryuu said. "If we step out of line, they bolt."

"We'll just have everyone save one person." Owari suggested. "That way at least one person can be with them at all times."

"That's not fair to the people who are left behind. Either everyone gets saved or we play by the Future Foundation's rules." Hinata sighed. "They have every right to be apprehensive. If we let the others go, the killings could start again."

"Would you guys listen to yourselves!" Souda admonished. "Why is this even a discussion, of course we'll save everyone. Look, I don't know about you guys, but before this messed up school trip I didn't have any friends. And I'm not about to let the Future Foundation bully me, again, into letting them spend the rest of their lives as a vegetable because it's "what's best". I know a lot has changed in three years, but those guys, they're all good people. Good people who got scared and listened to someone who let them down. Well, I'm not going to let them down either." He looked around the table. "Who's with me?" Everyone eventually agreed wholeheartedly. So what if the Future Foundation was going to turn their back on them. It wasn't like they hadn't prepared for that already.

"Wow Kazuichi, you sounded really cool for a moment." Akane snickered. "Almost like a leader."

"Really?" Souda grinned. "What about you Miss Sonia? You like guys who take charge, right?" Sonia practically buried her face in her hands.

"And you're back at square one." Akane rolled her eyes.

"Like fucking clockwork." Kuzuryuu said with the shake of his head. "So what are we going to tell them?"

"Exactly what we decided." Hinata smiled. "Nobody gets left behind. I'll take care of the logistics, though I'll need Kazuichi-kun's help figuring out the technical end of the Neo World. Sonia, see if you can secure some form of trade with the other island. We'll need supplies during the lock down. Akane, how are we on shelter?"

"Fine; the last few cottages still need running water and electricity, but they'll keep the rain off ya." She reported.

"See if you can get them to turn the water on before everyone leaves." He turned to Kuzuryuu.

"I'm not doing shit until I talk to Peko." He tested. "But once I do, we'll make sure we've got a treatment plan for everyone and all dangerous items are locked up." With assigned tasks, the group split up like many times before.


Kuzuryuu had the sense of mind to knock before entering the secured room. Peko sat in bed, morose and pinching her lower lip between her teeth. When their eyes met, unadulterated joy clashed with subdued shock.

"I thought you were not allowed to see me." Peko stated. The pieces of her mask quickly fell back into place.

"I'm not, but since the Future Foundation is leaving, I figured fuck them." He said. His unopened letter briefly catching his eye. "Peko, we need to talk."

"We have nothing to discuss." Peko replied.

"I know this all must be difficult for you, but I'm here for you now." He began. "We can work through this together."

"Just stop it already." Peko declared. "You do not need me anymore. As far as that file is concerned, I have served my purpose, so you can just leave." She threw the information on the Neo World on the end table.

"It wasn't like that Peko, if you would just listen to me." Kuzuryuu reached out to touch her, but she flinched away. "I don't understand."

"You did once." She said quietly. "I don't have to listen to you anymore and I shouldn't have to explain why. You know why, you just chose not to remember. If you came here looking for an explanation, you picked the wrong person , because I want one too." She exhaled, willing the tension to leave her body. "Now I'll never get the answer to all those silly questions. I was replaced once and now it seems you're the one who's been replaced. So no, we do not have something to talk about. You have the freedom you wanted, just go." He wordlessly undid the bed restraints and got up to leave.

"I don't know what I did to you," he said softly, "but whatever it was, I'm sorry." He promised the others that he would take care of the medical records before everyone left the island and getting Peko to open up to him was going to take longer than twenty minutes.

She wanted to scream or hit something, but she knew it wouldn't really help. The way he was acting was oddly nostalgic, but the polar opposite of the commanding man she remembered. For months she had heard nothing from him, even when they went to the same school. Then Lady Junko died and the precarious world she built up around her came crashing down. How was she supposed to fill in the gaps, when her former master wouldn't even remember their first kiss.


The group had gathered in front of the Neo World for the first time in weeks. As far as Akane was concerned, whoever named the pods that held their friends sarcophagi, deserved to get punched in the face. With the island long since abandoned by the Future Foundation, the survivors finally had the freedom to rescue their friends. An iridescent green glow filled the room, creating dark shadows on the walls. Peko had decided to join them too, though she lingered away from the group.

"Now they won't wake up immediately after being unplugged." Souda explained. He cringed at Sonia's glare. "Sorry, staff terminology, not mine."

"The adrenaline shots are locked up in the operating room." Kuzuryuu explained, clipboard in hand. "There's enough so that each person gets one shot. If we mess up..." He didn't bother to finish the thought. There were too many possibilities to consider. "I say we start with one person, then if it works, move up from there."

"I woke up around two in the morning." Peko reminded the group.

"Ugh, math." Akane stuck out her tongue.

"So, about 14 hours." Hinata concluded. "I guess the question is, who gets to go first?" Sonia stepped forward.

"If you don't mind, I took the liberty of preparing a drawing." She held out a purple clutch purse. "Everyone here has a personal bias, so I thought we could pick a name at random."

"Sounds fair," Akane nodded, "as long as we get to everyone. And if the bastard's really off his rocker, Pekoyama n' I can take 'em down no problem."

"If absolutely necessary." Peko stated. "You could end up drawing a non-combatant." She knew Junko had a few non-threatening members from when she had been Junko's favorite. Without hesitation Hajime pulled out a name.

"Tanaka-san." He read.

"What?" Souda gasped. "Let me see that!" Sure enough, Gundam's name was printed on the strip of paper. He grabbed the bag and riffled through the strips. "It's gotta' be rigged." Howevere, Souda had played the part of the fool, each strip was a different name, and Sonia was furious.

"I am shocked you would accuse me of such deceit!" She snatched the purse from him. "Kuzuryuu-kun, is there anything we should be concerned about before waking him?" Fuyuhiko flipped to Gundam's chart.

"Came in with high BP, tremors, untreated lacerations on the lower extremities and left arm. Injuries were most likely caused by an animal." He flipped the paper over. "Condition improved considerably after entering the Neo World, and negative test results for..." He reread the sentence, "for rabbis." Souda contained his ill timed laughter. "Looks like all we have to do is keep an eye on him for a bit, treat the cuts and we'll be good."

"Provided he is mentally competent." Peko reminded.

"We will deal with that later," Sonia sighed, "if it becomes an issue. For now, let us... 'unplug' him from the machine."

"Uhh..." Souda objected, "given his state of undress, shouldn't us guys take care of this?" Hinata nodded in agreement.

"You can join us when we administer the shot," Hinata offered, "but this will be much less humiliating for him in hindsight if we handle this."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty." Kuzuryuu agreed, wishing he hadn't been conscious when he was unplugged. "We'll see you ladies in a few." The air between him and Peko was still tense, but he took it in stride. Yes, things were difficult now, but it could have been a lot worse. Whenever she stared back at him with those cold red eyes, he had to remind himself she was here.

She was awake.

She was alive.