Resonance Days

by TakerFoxx

Falling their mutual demise at each other's hands, Kyoko and Sayaka wake up in a strange world. Now, with Kyoko's soul gem missing and Sayaka's humanity and personality only partially restored, they must band together to survive.

9. and Reasons to Go

…and Reasons to Go

"Kyoko, Oktavia," Mami said, her voice low but not to the point of inaudibility. "Get down."

"Hell with that," Kyoko snarled, her spear already summoned and in her hand. Her hands moved quickly, unstrapping herself from the seat and allowing her to stand up. "No way am I sitting this one out."

"No. Attacking him will start a war, and he wouldn't come out here if you had a chance of succeeding." Mami turned to Charlotte. "Char, call Corrie. Let her know what's happened, and see if she can't send help."

Nodding, Charlotte moved toward the boat's onboard phone, but before she removed it from the hook, Reibey's hated "voice" spoke to them: "Good evening, ladies! Now, before you go running off to inform the authorities of my presence, may I request that you hear what I have to say first? It's only good manners."

Her face an emotionless mask, Mami stood up straight and called back, "Given how abruptly you terminated our previous conversation, forgive us if we feel disinclined to continue it on your terms."

"I forgive you," Reibey said without a trace of irony. Kyoko gritted her teeth. She was definitely seeing why everything hated this prick so much.

"You're too kind," Mami said. Without taking her eyes off the Incubator and his silent guardian, she said to her wife, "Charlotte, make the call."

"Ah, ah, ah, none of that," Reibey chided. "Our conversation this morning was discontinued because of Corrie Linemann's unwanted presence. Reintroducing her to the talk will just encourage me to retreat now and give Ms. Sakura the explanation she desires at a later date." He bowed his head, letting the silence grow heavy before adding, "A much, much later date."

"Put the phone down," Kyoko told Charlotte. She walked to the front of the boat to stand next to Mami.

"Kyoko, this is a bad idea," Mami murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah, story of my life," Kyoko murmured back. "And beyond." To Reibey, she called, "All right asshole, we're here, you're here, and the mayor ain't. So let's talk."

"Not so fast," Mami said. "First things first. I do believe you and your…companion are trespassing. According to the Free Life Compact, signed by both yourself and your master, no parties belonging to or allied with the Void Walkers shall enter territory belonging to the New Life Alliance without permission agreed upon and ratified by all five-"

"No need to quote the specific page and paragraph, I am aware of what it says," Reibey said. He didn't sound at all concerned by potentially having committed an act of war. "And I am pleased to inform you that while we are near the border of Freehaven's holdings, neither I nor my associate have so much as extended finger or tail across the line. Never fear, the Compact remains unbroken."

"He's right," Charlotte said. She frowned at a small green readout set in the dashboard. "They're right up at the edge, but not over."

"You see?" Reibey said. "Now, let's stop posturing and discuss this like civilized beings. I assure you, my intentions here are nothing but benevolent."

Kyoko glanced at Mami. "So, attacking this guy will kickstart a war, huh?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Kyoko sucked in air through her teeth and slowly let it out. "Hey, Mami? Do the words 'Worth it' mean anything to you?"

"Don't you dare," Charlotte warned.

"I dunno. Getting kinda tempting."

"Kyoko, stop," Mami said. She turned back to Reibey. "Do we have your word that you will abide by all terms of the Compact, that you have brought no servitors and/or allies beyond the one that carries you in her arms, and that you will abuse no potential loopholes in order to compel any of us to break give Kyoko and Oktavia up or break the Compact ourselves?"

"Yes, yes," Reibey said impatiently. "Talking only, no attacks, no sneaking around, no traps, no mental control or subtle influencing, and etcetera. But goodness gracious, you people are paranoid! I swear I have to do this song and dance every time I have to talk to any of you. The war was over three hundred and seventy-four years ago, girls. And you were the ones that attacked us, if you'd be so kind as to remember."

"We weren't there," Mami said. "But I prefer to learn from the mistakes of history. It saves me from making them myself."

"Ah. And which history would that be, and written by whom? But this banter is pointless. You have my word of good faith, and I have information that you desire. Now, are we going to continue yelling at each other across the waters, or are you going to come over here so we may parley properly?"

"No," Mami said. "Here is fine."

Leaning on her spear, Kyoko said, "Nice try, asshole. Try being less obvious next time."

Reibey sighed. "This is getting tedious. A few meters less will change nothing, and you know it. If you prefer, think of it as putting me in range of that caveman's tool in the event of my expected betrayal."

"Huh. He's got a point," Kyoko drawled. "Okay, bring us in closer."

"Okay, and when did today become Stupid Day?" Charlotte demanded.

"He can't do shit to us so long as we stay on our side, right?" Kyoko said. "So stay on our side!"

"Mami, don't," Charlotte said. "It's a trap."

"You are an antsy bunch," Reibey observed. "But fine. Look at it this way: all four of you are in that boat. That boat belongs to two of you, both of which are, as I understand it, signatories of the Compact. Therefore, so long as your guests remain in said boat and said boat remains on your side of the line, I cannot move against you in any way, shape, or form, and if I do, I risk violating the Compact and having a lot of angry little girls declare war on me. I've had that happen once before, and it's not an experience I wish to repeat, especially not over something this trivial." He closed those tiny eyes of his and sighed dramatically, something that just looked strange coming from him. "Now, can we please dispense with paranoia and the I-know-that-you-that-I-knowing? I really do have others things I need to do today."

Kyoko exchanged brief glances with Mami and Charlotte, both of which looked extremely troubled. She shrugged and said, "Well, we gonna do this or not?"

"I'm waiting," Reibey added.

Moving with evident reluctance, Mami gunned the motor and moved the boat closer to where the Void Walker hovered. As they approached, Kyoko took the opportunity to whisper to Charlotte, "So, who's his friend anyway? Is that Oblivion?"

Apparently Reibey had excellent hearing, as he answered before she could. "This? No, not at all. Oblivion rarely leaves Palace Omega, I'm afraid. No, this is my personal assistant, the Matriarch. She helps me move from Point A to Point B, and keeps the rabble in line. Say 'hello,' Matriarch."

"Hello," the Matriarch said. The sound of it made Kyoko's ears twitch. There was definitely something wrong with how she said that simple word. Her voice was pleasant enough, but there was a definite emptiness to it. There had been no sense of greeting when she spoke, no warmth, no anger, hatred, sarcasm, friendliness, or anything at all. She was simply following instructions, and would have done the exact same thing in the exact same tone had there been no one to speak to.

And that, Kyoko decided, was just damned creepy.

Mami brought the boat to a stop, though there still was a good seven meters or so between them and Reibey. Noting this, the Incubator sighed and said, "I suppose that will have to do. Ah well. Hello again, Kyoko Sakura! I trust our time together will be productive."

"I wouldn't hold my breath," Kyoko said.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so certain of that. After all, much can change within the space of a single sentence." Reibey hopped up onto the Matriarch's shoulder and lifted his head to peer over the top of the boat's windshield. "Ah, is that Oktavia von Seckendorff I spy down there? A good day to you too, young lady. I trust you are managing in spite of your crippling handicaps?"

With a sweet smile, Sayaka said, "Why don't you swim over here and let me show you?"

"I'm afraid I must decline. Water has never agreed with me. And as for your vigilant caretakers…Mami and Charlotte Tomoe, is it? My apologies for intruding on what appears to be the tail end of a marvelous day of shopping and girl time, but I am driven by my responsibilities. I'm sure you can empathize."

Charlotte went rod-stiff in her seat. A slight but noticeable tremor had developed in her upper arms and hands. As for Mami, her already cold face chilled even further. With one smooth motion, she stood back up and pointed her musket directly at Reibey's face.

"How do you know our names?" she asked. "Elsa Maria never met us, and Corrie made a point of never telling you who we are."

"A little birdy told me," he said, his beady eyes focusing on her. "Along with many other things. I daresay you still enjoy fried shrimp?"

That just drew confused stares from the girls, not least of all Kyoko herself. She wondered if it was some kind of code, but a glance at Mami told her that the blonde was just as confused as she was.

"Fried shrimp?" Charlotte muttered in bewilderment.

"I have no idea," Mami replied. To Reibey, she demanded, "I'm afraid if that point had some sort of meaning, it was lost on us. Perhaps you would like to explain what significance seafood has with us?"

"Oh, you don't remember? Disappointing." Reibey closed his eyes and shook his head. "Oh well. Give it some thought, and I'm sure the answer will come to you."

Mami's finger twitched on the trigger, and for a moment Kyoko was tempted to grab it and shove it the rest of the way. But before she could scratch that itch, Charlotte reached over and placed her hand on the musket's barrel.

"No," she said, gently pushing the musket down. "He's trying to provoke us. Don't give him what he wants."

Reibey turned his focus toward her. "Really, Mrs. Tomoe? Is that what you believe? Come now, if I wanted the Compact broken, I would do it myself."

However, Kyoko was starting to understand what Charlotte was getting at. "Yeah, unless you want us to blow our tops, take a shot as your curly ass, and then force those Alliance tools give us up before you unleash hell."

Then Reibey did something that literally sent icy fingers running up and down Kyoko's spine: he laughed. It was a grating, chittering sound. "Oh my, someone has an overinflated sense of her own worth. Ms. Sakura, despite what my over-enthusiastic staff may have led you to believe, you are not important enough of a weregild to risk open war in order to acquire. Though I suppose I cannot fault you for your misconceptions, all things considered. So let me clear this up: this is not a matter of state security or gaining a valuable asset. This is a matter of dealing with a minor annoyance that, thanks to some horrific misunderstandings and disproportionate measures on our part, has snowballed out of control and turned into a great big mess. That is why I'm here: to explain exactly what is going on and hopefully clean things up."

Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Then get on with it already! We're listening!"

"The many accusations being thrown my way would suggest otherwise. Still, if we are truly done with Passive-Aggressive Theater, I suppose we can begin."

Though Kyoko was pretty sure that Incubators didn't actually need to vocalize in order to speak, Reibey made a show of clearing his throat anyway. For a moment, she found herself regretting that it had not been this Incubator to approach her and offer to make a contract instead of Kyubey. Everything that had been wrong about Kyubey hadn't been discovered until long after the fact, and she had to admit he did know how to make a good first impression. Reibey, on the other hand, most certainly did not, and just based on what Kyoko was picking up, she seriously doubted that he was at all motivated to even try. Had he been the one to approach her with a promise of a wish, she would have probably either thrown rocks or run away screaming.

"Now then," Reibey said at last. "As I explained this morning, the whole seeking you out thing was actually not ordered on my behalf, but on the behalf of my, ah, superior. From an authority standpoint, that is."

"Yeah, yeah, Oblivion is all wet and bothered about meeting me," Kyoko said irritably. "We got that already. Why?"

"Well, again, it's not really…" Letting out another overly dramatic sigh, Reibey said, "Oh bother, I suppose I'll have to start at the beginning."

Suddenly Kyoko felt a sudden stab of empathy for Corrie Linemann. If this was what she had to put up with on a daily basis, no wonder she had been so cranky. Maybe Kyoko had misjudged her after all.

Reibey said, "You see, several years ago a new recruit joined our ranks. Now, she was a young girl-"

"No, really? Well, how about that? And here I thought you only took on old geezers."

Though they didn't exactly narrow, Reibey's gaze did increase in intensity, and his tail started to twitch. "You know, for someone who was so eager to pump me for information, you seem bound and determined to keep me from doing just that. How am I to explain myself if you insist on interrupting me every few words with color commentary?"

Kyoko bristled, but said nothing. He was right after all, though the knowledge of it was deeply irksome. It didn't help that Charlotte was pursing her lips and giving her a sidelong look, as if to say, "Well, he does have a point."

"Anyway," Reibey said. "What I meant was this girl was considerably younger than the normal stock, being what you humans consider early elementary. Now, while making a contract with someone so young is fairly uncommon, it does happen from time to time."

"Yeah, we've noticed," Sayaka said, her voice cold.

"No doubt you have. Anyway, despite this girl's obvious physical drawbacks and…lack of mental progression, she was still in possession of certain talents, which I should now make the point of clarifying are completely classified. This allowed her to speed through the Void Walker ranks much more quickly than her comrades, and soon attracted the attention of the higher-ups. In time, she became a favorite, and found herself in a rather high position herself, high enough to start making special requests. Specifically, there was someone she had been very close to in life, another Puella Magi, one that had not died yet, and the girl wanted to be reunited with her once the inevitable took place."

Wait, what?

"And while we don't accommodate such desires," Reibey continued, "we do occasionally make exceptions, and this one had the sponsorship of someone very high up on our personal totem pole. I'm sure I don't actually need to name names."

Oblivion again. Kyoko started putting the pieces together in her mind. So, Annabelle Lee was working under orders from Reibey, who in turn was acting on orders from Oblivion, who in turn was doing so on behalf of this kid. That didn't make much sense though. Who the hell was this kid, and what in the hell would she want Kyoko for-

Wait. Fried shrimp. Mami. That was what they had for dinner when-

And then, the answer was there, right in front of her. Kyoko's eyes popped wide open as her spine went ramrod-straight. A tiny gasp escaped her lips, drawing confused looks from her friends. Then Mami apparently got it, as her eyes likewise widened with shock.

If Reibey noticed her reaction, he gave no sign. "So, I'm afraid that's it. Just a young but influential member of our organization who knew you back in the day wanting to see you again. Oblivion asked me to make that happen, and unfortunately when I passed along word to the Void Walkers, I was not as clear as I should have been, leading them to misunderstand the reasons and overcompensate in the method." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "And on top of the resulting mess, I made the mistake of telling the girl that you were around, and she has just been impossible ever since! Every time I see her, it's always, 'Where is big sis Kyo? Have you found big sis Kyo yet? What's taking so long?' Children, you know? It's just been a royal headache, let me tell you-"

"YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" Kyoko screeched as she vaulted over the windshield, pushed off of the nose of the boat, and hurled herself at Reibey, spear-point first.

But before she had cleared half the distance, something bound itself around her arms, wrists, legs, and waist, stopping her momentum dead and holding her suspended. Snarling, Kyoko thrashed out against her bonds, which turned out to be Mami's ribbons.

"Kyoko, no!" Mami cried. "This isn't the time!"

The hell it wasn't. She was here, Reibey was there, and there was a clear path between them. "Lemme go!" she growled. "I'll kill him! Kill him! Kill!" She tried to slash away at the ribbons, only to find that the haft of her spear was likewise bound tight.

She wasn't the only one. Back on the boat, Sayaka had either also put two and two together or assumed that Kyoko had a damned good reason to suddenly attack, and had somehow gotten her hands on a filleting knife and was trying to haul herself over the side.

"Hold up, wait!" Charlotte shouted as she rushed over to pull her back. "Bad idea! Bad freaking idea!"

Her attention diverted by their struggle, Mami looked away from the suspended Kyoko, who took advantage by encasing herself in a sphere of her rust-red diamond plates. The ribbons were severed and Kyoko was dropped into the ocean.

The sphere extinguished the moment it hit water, and Kyoko was enveloped by cold. The shock of it pulled her out of the mindless rage, but did nothing to kill her desire to see Reibey's head stuck on the end of her spear. Instead, it restored enough rational thought to allow her to focus it and use it to power her movements. Shaking off the discomfort and pushing it away, she straightened out and started to kick out with her lean, muscular legs, powering herself toward Reibey with shark-like determination.

Unfortunately for her (or fortunately, depending on how one views such things), Mami was not so easily deterred, and Kyoko quickly found her movement halted when the ribbons plunged into the water and again wrapped around her before she had gone two meters. This time, Mami didn't give Kyoko a chance to free herself, and simply yanked her out of the water and tossed her back onto the boat.

Sopping wet, Kyoko tried to leap at Reibey again, but Mami appeared behind her to wrap her arms around Kyoko's waist and hold her in place.

"Kyoko, stop," Mami said as the two struggled against each other. "Don't do this. You're just playing right into his hands."

Kyoko knew this, and was perfectly okay with the idea if it gave her a shot at the rat. But it became a moot point when Mami used her ribbons to bind them together. Others appeared, anchoring them to the deck. She wasn't going anywhere.

Across the water, Reibey watched the unfolding drama with amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Well now," he said. "That was impulsive. And unnecessary. Really now, I'm only discharging an obligation. No need to be so violent."

"Kill you!" Kyoko gnashed. Though it was hopeless, she still tried to tear away to launch herself at his throat. "I swear I'll kill you!"

With one last sigh, Reibey said, "Well, it seems that settling this like rational beings is off the table. I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Get out!" Charlotte snapped as she wrestled Sayaka back into her seat and clicked the restraints in place.

"Again, not at all surprising." Reibey leapt back into the Matriarch's arms and settled in. "Well, I can tell a lost cause when I see one. My apologies for trouble incurred. Oh, and Kyoko? Should you change your mind, do look me up. You know where to find me."

The tresses of the Matriarch's dress, which were spread over the water like an oil slick, suddenly started to boil and bubble. She spun in place and corkscrewed down into the writhing dark blot, taking Reibey with her. The blackness contracted a breath later and disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the still surface of the ocean.

…

Kyoko wrenched at the Nautilus Platform's front door handle but found it locked. Not bothering to wait for everyone else to catch up, she hopped back and snapped off a side-kick to the door's center. Her boot left a shallow dent but the door held, indicating that it had been designed to withstand a frantic Puella Magi. Rather than be deterred, Kyoko again took aim and lashed out with another kick. And another.

"Kyoko, hold on a minute!" Mami cried as she hoisted herself up over the railing. "I know what you're thinking, but calm down and let's talk about this!"

"Open the door," Kyoko said.

"Please, stop and think before you do something-"

"Open the goddamn door before I break a window!"

Wincing, Mami reluctantly pulled a ring of keys from her pocket, stuck one into the lock, and turned it. As soon as the lock slid away, Kyoko burst through the door and ran to the guest room. The backpack she had worn during the trip to Elsa Maria's lighthouse was still on the dresser. She yanked it off, unzipped it, and dumped out the monstrance and stuffed animals. She needed to travel light, and they weren't going anywhere.

"Kyoko, rushing off isn't going to do any good," Mami said as she entered the room behind her. "That's exactly what Reibey wants you to do."

Kyoko shoved her way past her and ran to the kitchen. Tearing the door open, she started indiscriminately grabbing packets of food and shoved them into the backpack. Then she did the same to the pantry.

Mami followed her, still pleading. "You're just going to get yourself captured. He said everything he did to rile you up. To get you to act without thinking."

Okay, she had food. What next? Weapons. She needed…No, she had weapons. Her spears and shields were enough. Clothes? She had clothes. A flashlight? Matches? A towel? Yeah, a towel would come in handy.

As Kyoko scampered off for the bathroom, Charlotte entered the house, holding Sayaka in a princess carry. "Well," she said as she walked in. "This deteriorated quickly."

"She won't listen to me!" Mami said. "I can't through to her!"

"Can you blame her?" Sayaka said. "Heck, why aren't we helping her?"

"I can think of a few dozen reasons. Here," Charlotte said, handing Sayaka off to Mami. "I'm going to need my hands free."

In the bathroom, Kyoko snatched two towels off their hangers and ran back into the living room.

"Mami," she said. "Keys. Boat. Now." Everything else she needed was probably already on board.

Mami's face paled. "You're not actually considering-"

"Keys. Now. Or I'll-"

Charlotte's fist snapped forward. Her attention completely focused on her preparations, Kyoko was wholly unprepared for the attack and took it full in the face. She was lifted off her feet and landed hard on her ass.

"Charlotte!" Mami shouted in shock, right as Sayaka burst out with "Holy crap!"

Kyoko tried to rise, but stopped when she saw the crossbow aimed at her head.

No one dared to move. Mami and Sayaka were too stunned, Kyoko too dazed, and Charlotte patient enough to wait for everyone's brains to start making sense of the situation.

When Kyoko's eyes finally starting registering comprehension, Charlotte said in a low voice, "I know what you think, and I have a good idea what you're going through. But this I guarantee you: if you go out like that, in that state of mind, you will be caught and vanished. Not might, not probably, will. You will help no one and accomplish nothing."

"Get out of my way, Charlotte," Kyoko said.

"No. I'm not going to let you throw your life away."

"What life?" Kyoko spat. "And I'll throw you through the fucking wall if you don't move your ass."

"No. Not until you turn your brain back on."

Kyoko's brain was actually fully operational and racing, but not in the way Charlotte would have liked. Her eyes quickly flitted from the gun to Charlotte's face to the position of her limbs and her stance. She then spared a quick glance to the still stupefied Mami and Sayaka. Calculations ran through her mind as she deliberated the best course of action.

"Think," Charlotte said, keeping the tip of the arrow pointed at Kyoko's forehead. "Why do you think Reibey was here, at the Platform? Why do you think he refused to explain anything this morning? Because right now, we are so close to the border you could literally jump over it from here. He's counting on you losing your mind and go dashing off. And the second you leave Freehaven's protection, you're done. He'll snatch you up and-"

Kyoko leg suddenly swept out, aiming for Charlotte's shins. At the same time, her arm snapped up and a spear the size of one of Charlotte's arrows flew out of her sleeve to impale the crossbow and pin it to the wall.

But apparently Charlotte had been expecting her to do something like that. Though she couldn't get the crossbow out of the way, she still managed to hop over Kyoko's leg. She released her hold on the crossbow and spun around to drive the bottom of her shoe into Kyoko's chest, shoving her back down.

With a heavy snarl, Kyoko registered the pain of the kick, acknowledged it, and shoved it back into a place where it couldn't affect her. Then her hands clamped around Charlotte's ankle and twisted, bringing the other girl to the floor.

The next few moments were a confusing muddle of grappling limbs and attempted blows. Kyoko, who had expected this fight to go much as the one with Marisa had, soon came to a disheartening truth: despite her preference for the crossbow, Charlotte was as much a close-range fighter as she was. Plus, her limbs were longer and the leverage was in her favor. Somehow she managed to get behind Kyoko and twist one of her arms up in a chicken-wing, while Charlotte's other arm went around her neck, locking in the sleeper-hold that Marisa had failed to get. Her legs then wrapped around Kyoko's torso and locked in tight.

Kyoko's vision went red, though whether it was from the rage or oxygen loss she couldn't tell. It didn't really matter. She readied herself to summon another spear and cut herself free, even if she had to stab herself right through the stomach to get at Charlotte to do so.

And then a shot rang out, stopping the fight cold.

Mami, having set Sayaka onto the couch, stood with a discharged musket in her hand, the barrel pointed at the still-open door. "That's enough!" she shouted. "What's wrong with you two? Fighting at a time like this? Stop it right now!"

Though she was breathing a little heavily, Charlotte said, "I'm trying to save her hide."

"Charlotte, let her up."

"She'll just try to run off again."

"Char," Mami said, her tone pleading. "Please."

Charlotte tensed up, but she complied, slowly releasing her hold on Kyoko's neck and unlocking her legs. As soon as the pinkette's grip had loosened enough, Kyoko shoved her away and stood up. Mami's tear-streaked face hardened, clearly in expectation of a fight, but Charlotte's attack had fulfilled enough of its purpose. Enough of Kyoko's rationality had surfaced from the haze to keep her in place. But that didn't change anything about her desire to run off right now for Palace Omega.

Looking from one distraught or worried face to the next, Kyoko said, "W-what do you exp-pect me to do? J-just stay here and do nothing? Let fucking Corrie try to work things out? That fucker's got my baby sister!"

"We don't know that," Charlotte said softly. Despite her earlier aggression, she sounded genuinely sympathetic, if still resolved to keep Kyoko from carrying out her plan. "This is Reibey we're talking about. He could have been-"

"HE WASN'T!" Kyoko shrieked at her, making her jump. "There's…there's no way, okay? He, he said stuff, stuff only she could tell him. Stuff only she would know. He's got her. I d-don't know if she's a prisoner or a V-V-V…" she almost choked on the word, but managed to force it out. "Void Walker, but he's got her." Her fingers curled into trembling fists. "That bastard's got her."

Then Mami said, "Char, I think she's right."

"How can you be sure?" Charlotte asked her. "What did he say?"

"Fried shrimp," Kyoko answered in Mami's place. She didn't bother turning around to face Charlotte, instead keeping her face downcast. "You remember that part? That's what…that's what my mom. Made for dinner. When Mami came over for the first time, and I…and I…"

"Introduced me to her family," Mami finished for her. She held her hands in front of her chest. "I remember. Her sister kept trying to sneak shrimp off of my plate. Kyoko's right, there's no other way he could have known that."

"Maybe he's a mindreader?" Sayaka suddenly suggested, breaking into the conversation for the first time. "Or that creepy goth girl that was carrying him around?"

Mami shook her head. "No, I don't think so. The conversation with him this morning was carefully monitored, so if there was any mindreading involved, it would have to have happened just now. And no psychic would be able to dig up such a deep memory that quickly and transmit it to Reibey, especially without being noticed."

"Occam's Razor then," Charlotte said, her tone flat. "He has her. Now we address the question before us: now that we know this, what do we do about it?"

"What do we do about it?" Kyoko muttered. She straightened up. "Heh, you kidding me?" Tilting her head back, she favored Charlotte with an over-the-shoulder maniacal smile. "I'll tell you what we do. We saddle up. Lock and load. Raid the castle, and lay waste to anyone who gets in our way."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and looked like she was about to say something sarcastic, but then apparently she thought better of it. Instead, she stretched her neck and nodded to Mami from over Kyoko's shoulder, indicating that perhaps the blonde should handle this.

"Kyoko," Mami said softly. "I want to help Momo too. But that isn't the way."

"Why not?"

To everyone's surprise, the objection had not come from Kyoko, the most obvious source, but from Sayaka. Everyone turned to the blue-haired mermaid, who was still stretched across the couch but had sat up with her hands braced behind her. There was a furious scowl on her face, one of resolute determination.

Kyoko recognized it at once. It was the same look she had worn the first time they had met, when Kyoko had scornfully chided her for attacking a familiar before it had devoured enough people to allow it to evolve into a full witch. Sayaka had of course taken issue with that way of thinking, and her face had looked much the same then as it did now.

"Why not?" Sayaka again demanded as she glowered at them. "Are you saying we're just going to let this slide? Let him get away with something like this and do nothing? You just don't screw with someone's family and get away with it!" Bracing herself against the armrest, she pounded her fist against her palm like a judge's gavel and declared, "Besides, I say, if Kyoko's sister is here, we need to go get her! And Elsa Maria!"

Grateful for the support and relieved to see more of the old Sayaka surfacing, Kyoko thrust a finger in her direction and said, "S-see? She agrees with me! You all heard that, right? Momo and Elsa Maria! Now let's go already!"

"No," Charlotte said. "That is most definitely not going to happen."

Kyoko was torn between breaking the other girl's nose and tearing her own hair out. "Look, if you don't have the stomach for this sort of thing, that doesn't mean I'm gonna-"

"The Byronic Sea is now officially a no-Kyoko zone," Charlotte said flatly. "Oblivion has probably got the Platform under surveillance right now, just waiting for you to stick your toe across the line. She also no doubt is still smarting about how you slipped her agents before. If I were her, I wouldn't be taking any chances this time, and fill the water with as many agents as I could spare. Which is, I should point out, quite a lot." She tilted her chin. "If you two want to mount any sort of rescue down that way, then you should have just given yourself over to Reibey when he was here and saved everyone a great deal of trouble. Because I promise you the end results would have been identical. Is that what you want, Kyoko?"

Which was more-or-less what Marisa had told her. Kyoko was tempted to just say "Screw it!" and go out anyway. Sure, maybe she didn't have a ghost of a chance of succeeding, but even getting captured meant being with Momo again. At this point Kyoko was desperate enough to consider it.

But then her damned common sense had to choose that moment to wake up. Yes, giving herself up or doing something that was guaranteed to get her caught would get her Momo back, but it would also mean winding up stuck as Reibey's slave. And there was no way in hell she was going to let another Incubator control her life. Or Momo's, for that matter.

"Then…" she said, trying to form the raging storm inside her mind into coherent thoughts, "…then wh-what do I do? You…you gotta help me. I don't…I don't know what to do." She let out a bitter chuckle. "Hell, I don't know what to do."

"Kyoko…" Mami started to say.

Then Kyoko looked Mami right in the eye. "Mami," she said, her voice cracking. "Sempai. C-come on. You gotta help me here. I…I mean, if there was a chance, even if it was just a small one, that you could get…could get just one of your parents back, wouldn't you take it?"

Mami swallowed noisily. She looked away.

"Hey, wait a minute," Charlotte said as she took an angry stepstep forward. "Don't go using that-"

"And you!" Kyoko said, whirling around to face her. "What if someone took Mami away from you? What if she was gone for years, and you thought you would never see her again, but suddenly it turns out Oblivion's got her all brainwashed and locked up in a fucking tower somewhere, and Reibey started dangling her in front of you going 'Nyah nyah!' What would you do then, huh?"

Charlotte stepped back.

Kyoko looked back and forth from Charlotte to Mami. Her whole body was trembling now. Licking her dry lips, she said, "Guys, please! Mami, I know I haven't always done right by you. I know I've screwed up and hurt you. And Charlotte? Okay, I've been a pain in the ass since I got here. I know that. But this is my baby sister! I can't…I can't leave her there, with them. I just can't!"

Mami and Charlotte exchanged a troubled glance. Charlotte bit her lip.

Squelching the scream she felt forming, Kyoko went for a new tactic. "Okay, how about this? You help me get her back, and I'll sign the Compact. Hell, I'll sign whatever you want. I'll join the neighborhood cleanup or whatever you've got, volunteer at the preschool and show the kids how to glue macaroni to paper plates or…or whatever you want!"

Speaking in a slow and measure tone, Charlotte said, "You do realize that if you do as you ask and help you mount a rescue attempt, none of us are likely to return, yes?"

"Then you think of something!" Kyoko shouted. "You're the ones who know this place and how it works! Tell me what to do!"

Tell me what to do. Five words that Kyoko had never thought would come out of her mouth. Perhaps once upon a time, back before that night in which she had come home to find that her choices had cost her everything she held dear, she would have been more than content to follow someone else's lead. Her father had been her spiritual mentor and Mami had shown her the ways of the Puella Magi, and she h had idolized them both. But after her father's madness and Kyubey's deceit, she had resolved to never again follow someone else's lead. Her path was from that day forward hers alone, mistakes and all. She would have rather died than beg someone for help.

But this was different. Now she had a chance to recover a piece of what she had lost. And she was going to get it back by any means necessary. Even if she had to humble herself before her fallen sempai and her distrusting wife, she was going to do it. Momo deserved no less.

Then Charlotte spoke, but not to her. "Mami," she said. "We need to talk."

Kyoko started to protest, to claim that they didn't have time for more deliberation, but then Charlotte pointed at her and said, "You." Her finger then moved toward the couch, where Oktavia was still sitting. "Sit there. And don't move until we're done."

"What?" Kyoko goggled. "And give you a chance to go tattle on me to the Alliance? Like hell I am!"

"I said-" Charlotte then grabbed Kyoko by the shoulder, spun her around, and marched her to the couch. "-sit down and wait for us to finish talking!"

Kyoko sat.

Charlotte took Mami by the hand and led her outside. Kyoko watched them until the door slammed shut. Part of her wished that they had gone to talk in one of the bedrooms, as that would have given her a chance to sneak out in the meantime. But Charlotte was right about one thing. Her first plan would have just ended in failure. She needed a new one, and in her current state of mind there was no way she would be able to come up with one without help.

Kyoko hunched over and tried to keep from hyperventilating. She couldn't think. It was hard enough to wrap her mind around the concept that Momo was here, in this afterlife, at that very second. The very possibility had force-crashed her mind straight into a brick wall, and she was still sorting through the pieces.

Then she felt soft fingers take her hand and give it a tight squeeze. Blinking, she turned her head to see that Sayaka had moved to sit by her. The mermaid's blue eyes watched her, full of concern. But when Kyoko met them, Sayaka favored her with a supportive smile, as if to say, "Hey, don't worry! Everything will be okay! We'll think of something."

Kyoko wished she shared the other girl's surety, but she still appreciated the support. Nodding her thanks, she squeezed back and returned her gaze to the ground.

…

Charlotte was angry. No, that was an understatement. She was furious. She was incensed. At everything. At Reibey, at Oblivion, at Kyoko, at Kyoko's sister, at Oktavia, at Corrie, at Mami, and, most of all, at herself. Because she knew exactly what was about to happen, she knew how much it was going to cost them, and she knew she was going to do nothing to stop it; quite the opposite, actually.

Charlotte had always prided herself as a realist. Most people, when told of this, assumed that this meant she was cold and clinical when it came to her approach to problems, but that was far from the truth. She was actually a very emotional person, and had, at various times, fallen prey to her own vulnerabilities and caused some rather embarrassing disasters as a result, as the number of times she'd been thrown out of restaurants, grocery stores, or bakeries indicated. Plus, there was that little Christmas Eve debacle involving Mami's wedding ring that no one seemed content to let her forget, though in fairness it did make for a great story at parties.

But even so, she was at least more honest about her personal shortcomings than most, and as such had developed something of a knack for recognizing flaws in others and predicting how it would affect their decisions.

And so instead of playing the futile game of trying to force people to take the most rational path and have everything blow up in her face as a result, she instead tried to figure out the most likely path and make adjustments to that instead. It didn't always work out the way she wanted. In fact, it quite often didn't. But it did make it easier to adjust and keep going.

Which was exactly why she was so angry. She knew exactly what Kyoko was going to do. The girl was going after her sister, and nothing anyone said or did was going to change that. And as angry as Charlotte might be with her, as many problems as it was going to create for them all, Charlotte could not find it within her to blame the girl. Because the rub of it all was that Kyoko was right: Charlotte would do the exact same thing were she in her position. If it was Mami that was being held, nothing would stop her.

But like a domino effect, Kyoko's actions were going to have a drastic effect on them all. Charlotte saw where things were going to end up. And she couldn't stop it. To do so would be worse.

As soon as both she and Mami were out on the catwalk surrounding the house and the door clicked shut, Mami opened her mouth to speak, but Charlotte beat her to the punch. "Mami, tell me honestly," she said as she walked over to the railing and gripped it tightly. "Do you believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Kyoko's sister made a contract with an Incubator before she died, and is now in Reibey's hands?"

Mami hesitated, and then said, "Char, you know I can't say that. There's too much we don't know."

Gritting her teeth, Charlotte gave a quick nod. "But you do believe it, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Great. Well, great." Charlotte sucked in breath, held it in, and let it out. Explosively.

"Damn it!" she swore, smashing her fist against the railing over and over, in time with her cursing. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, goddamn it!"

"Charlotte!" Mami cried in alarm. She hurried over and grabbed Charlotte's wrist, holding her stead. "Baby, calm down!"

Charlotte did, but only so far as to stop attacking the railing. She unclenched her fist and gripped tightly to the now dented steel bar, her hands trembling. "Don't you get it, Mami? Don't you see where this is going?"

Mami didn't say anything, on account of knowing that Charlotte wasn't actually looking for an answer. Instead, she just released her hold on Charlotte's wrist and clasped her hands around her wife's waist, waiting for Charlotte to get her rant out of her system.

"Kyoko's going after her sister," Charlotte said. "It doesn't matter what we, or anyone else says. Try to reason with her and she'll ignore you. Get in her way, and she'll knock you out. Lock her up, and she will find a way to break out. She's going, and that's that."

"Yes," Mami said.

"And if we try to stop her, she'll never forgive us, never forgive you." Sighing, Charlotte looked up and out over the water, which sparkled in the light of the setting sun. "And if you let her go out on her own, you'll never be able to forgive yourself. So you're going with her. And if I…" Her voice caught. "And…if I try to stop you, and succeed, you'll never forgive me."

Mami's arms tensed up. "Char!"

"It's true. Of course, you won't say anything. You'll…you'll rationalize it away in your mind, tell yourself that I was only doing what I thought best and you shouldn't resent me for it, but it'll keep eating away at you, worrying you, bothering you, like a witch who keeps getting called by her old name."

"Stop it," Mami said in her dangerous voice. "You know I would never-"

"Yes, you will." Mami's arms still around her, Charlotte turned around to look her lover in the eye. "Because you care about her. You remember what happened between you two back when you were alive, and you don't want to lose her again."

"Charlotte," Mami whispered. Tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

Gently cupping the shorter girl's cheek with her hand, Charlotte said, "It's who you are. You can't help it. Which is why you're a better person than me."

"Charlotte, don't say that! We've been over these countless times! Just because-"

"It's the truth. I'm not kicking myself down, I'm just saying it how it is." Charlotte leaned over to softly kiss her lips. "Which is why you're going with Kyoko. And…" She swallowed. "And…if I let you go off, and not come along, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Mami's mouth set in a straight line. "Charlotte, think about what you're suggesting. If…if we do this…"

"I know. And I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just saying what is going to end up happening." Charlotte managed a crooked half-smile. "I just wanted to skip to the end."

Mami smiled in return. "Yes, you always seem to do that."

"Hey, it just save time, and-" Then Charlotte blinked. "Hey, wait a minute! That meant what exactly?"

Laughing, Mami leaned forward to lay her head on her lover's chest. "You're wrong though," she said. "About me being a better person than you." Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she smiled. One hand ran through Mami's hair while the other encircled her back and drew her in close.

Even though she knew that they would have to return to the anxious Kyoko soon, Charlotte put off that moment for a few moments, just to savor the moment. After all, their time here, at the place that had been their home for the last seven years, was now severely limited. Best to enjoy it while they still could.

…

Though Oktavia hadn't really known Kyoko much longer than a couple of days, week-long coma notwithstanding, she had learned enough to know that the redhead was never at a loss for words. Whether she was she was angry, happy, teasing, irritable, hungry, depressed, or so on, Kyoko could always be counted on to have something to say.

Such was no longer the case. Now, she sat in total silence, her face downcast and her eyes wide open and staring straight ahead without focusing on anything. One hand held tightly to Oktavia's, as if they may be torn away at any moment, while the other was wrapped around the black arrowhead and glimmering red stone of her necklace. Nearly every muscle was tensed up and trembling, and her mouth was a straight, horizontal slash across her face.

Oktavia couldn't blame her, and she felt no motivation to try. She couldn't even imagine what the other girl must be going through. While they both had lost their families, Oktavia had done so in the most impersonal of ways. Yes, she knew that hers existed, but she couldn't even remember their names. There was a kind of tragedy to that, certainly, but nothing compared to Kyoko's situation. Oktavia just wished there was more she could do for her. She couldn't empathize on a personal level, and thanks to her tail, there was no way she would be able to take part in a hypothetical rescue attempt. So she did the only thing she could: hold Kyoko's hand and provide whatever emotional support she could offer. She just hoped that Mami and Charlotte's conversation wasn't going to last too long.

It didn't. Soon, much sooner than Oktavia had expected, the door clicked open and Mami and Charlotte reentered the room. Kyoko sat up straight, her jaw and neck tensing up even more.

The two girls watched expectedly as Charlotte marched stonefaced across the room and headed toward a wooden cabinet. Opening it, she extracted a large roll of white paper, which she then carried to the coffee table and rolled it out.

To Oktavia and Kyoko's confusion, the paper was blank. But before either of them to ask about its purpose, Charlotte touched one of its corners. A glowing green square lit up under her finger.

Black lines then appeared on the paper, etching out a map; landmasses took shape, as did bodies of water, mountain ranges, cities, forest, and deserts. A wave of static passed over the map, and the lines rose up to form a six-centimeter high landscape.

"If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right," Charlotte said. "Forget about going back over the sea. Even if you manage to make it back across the Byronic Sea, you'll end up at the wrong part of the Withering Lands." She pointed to the southern tip of a huge country that was shaped like two misshapen kidney beans joined by a thin strip of land. Her fingertip touched a black dot with the legend "Genocide City" floating next to it. Oktavia squinted. Just northeast of that point was Freehaven itself, and right next to it was a flashing red dot that she took to mean "You Are Here."

"If your sister is one of Oblivion's favorites, she'll be up here," Charlotte said, moving her finger to another city entirely, this one near the top of the other kidney bean. According to the map, it was named Twilight's Crypt. "This is the Withering Lands' capital, on the exact opposite end of where we are. For obvious reasons, getting there from the bottom up is pants-on-head retarded, so we'll have to enter from the northern tip."

Charlotte took a deep breath. "That's also a problem, as to get there, we'll have to pass through all of this." She waved a hand at the large expanse of neutral territory between Freehaven and the topmost part of the Withering Lands. "There are transport systems that can take for part of the way, but given how screwed up a lot of it is, there will still be a whole lot of old-fashioned legwork involved, through places that are just as dangerous as the Withering Lands, except without those dangers specifically looking for us. It'll also be easier to lose whatever agents Oblivion sends out way."

Throughout Charlotte's speech, Kyoko stared at the pink-haired witch with a look of absolute disbelief. Finally she was able to choke out the word, "We?"

Charlotte gave her a hard look that wasn't quite a glower, but still had quite the edge to it. "Yes. We. There's no way you'll make it without help, and Mami and I are the only ones in the whole goddamned town who would agree to something like this. You need backup and a guide, and our presence would discourage any Void Walkers that would-"

"Wait, stop," Kyoko said, her face and voice still wooden. "You're serious about this. You're just gonna help me without arguing or nothing?"

The look Charlotte gave her was downright venomous. "Kyoko, you're on thin ice with me already. Don't aggravate the situation by making me second-guess myself. Yes, we are giving you the help you asked for. Is that clear enough for you?"

Again, Kyoko looked like she was at a loss for words. Oktavia felt much the same way. They had both expected there to be some sort of resistance, likely a huge fight; Charlotte telling them that what they were planning was stupid and they should just accept things and forget it, Kyoko telling her to kindly go fuck herself, Oktavia agreeing with Kyoko but using somewhat less crude terms, and Mami desperately playing the role of mediator. Having Charlotte and Mami to not only give her what she wanted but immediately start putting together a plan was throwing them for a loop.

Oktavia recovered first, as there was one nasty little detail that had to be addressed. "Uh, wait. What about the Compact?" she said. "Aren't you breaking like every rule in the book by doing this?"

Mami grimaced. She shot a look to Charlotte, who had closed her eyes and was muttering something under her breath. "Let us," she said at last, "worry about the Compact."

That seemed to shake Kyoko out of her stupor, as well as activate her instinctive stubbornness. "Now hey," she said, scowling. "Don't think you gotta sacrifice yourself for me just because you pity me or-"

"Oh, shut up!" Charlotte snapped. "I swear to God, if you get all tsundere on us, I'm knocking you back into your coma!"

Kyoko looked shocked. Then a slow smile crept up the sides of her mouth. "Heh," she said. "I guess I was doing that, a little. Sorry, reflex."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but looked abated. "Fair enough. Besides, it's not really pity that's driving us right now." Sighing, she walked over to collapse into one of the easy chairs. "You were right earlier. If it were Mami, I would be doing exactly the same as you, dangers be damned, Compact be damned. So I can't exactly argue with you."

"But she's right about the dangers," Mami said as she reached over to lay a hand on Kyoko's knee. "You have our full support, but understand that our chances of success are very, very low."

Kyoko's face darkened in a frown, but she shrugged. "Well, hey, they usually are." Then she showed her fangs in a wicked grin. "But hey, it ain't like any of us are getting any older. We've got eternity to work something out."

"That's the spirit!" Oktavia said, elbowing Kyoko in the side. "Keep up that positive attitude!"

Charlotte shot her an annoyed look, but didn't counter her. As she went back to outlining the obstacles they would have to face, Oktavia settled back into the cushion, a happy smile on her face. Despite everything they were going to have to face, she was glad that at least things were moving forward. Now they had direction and a tangible goal; everything else was just details.

But then something came back to remembrance, and her mood soured. She looked down at the multicolored fish tail she had in place of legs. While the handicap it gave her hadn't really bothered her before, she now found herself deeply resenting it. Because while she would able to adjust to a quiet life in Freehaven without trouble, it did mean that whatever plans the other three made, whatever rescues they attempted, she couldn't be a part of it.

…

As bad as the pain had been, as awful as the humiliation had been, the waiting was even worse. Sitting around in the tiny stone room that she shared with her sister as hundreds of different possible outcomes ran through her mind, each one more terrible than the last. Granted, they were all variations on "Oblivion has decided that you are completely worthless and will never become worthy of being released, so get out of my sight and never come back," but while that alone constituted a worst-case scenario, Annabelle Lee's imagination had no trouble inventing additional horrible things that could be said or done to her and Nikki.

However, they were to be banished. There was no question in her mind. For the last forty-three years, she and Nikki had served faithfully, almost fanatically, in Oblivion's name, in hope that one day they may be judged worthy in their master's sight and be set free from this ghastly mock-up of an afterlife. That hope alone had been enough to keep Annabelle Lee going, allowed her to endure endless patrols through Genocide City, tolerate the inane behaviors of her so-called companions, and withstand Reibey's punishments. But now, despite all of their faithful service, it was all going to be wiped away. Forty-three years of misery, all down the drain.

And now they were stuck in Hell. Forever.

Annabelle Lee sat in the room's single chair, a rough, wooden piece that was little more than a bar stool with a back, with a heavy book in her lap. She wasn't much of a reader, but had long learned the benefits of keeping such an item near at hand.

She hadn't moved much since Reibey had ordered her and Nikki to their quarters the day before, not even to sleep. She didn't know how long it would be before Oblivion's decision was announced (as if that were necessary), but as much as she dreaded the finality of it all, she wished that the call would come already and get it over with.

Ticky Nikki, on the other hand, was curled up in her cot, fast asleep. Annabelle Lee watched her, slightly envious that her sister had been able to sleep at all. But then, sometimes being a complete nutcase with stunted mental growth had its advantages.

Though, as usual, Nikki's sleep was anything but restful. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her stomach, and her left leg kept kicking in doglike fashion. Her eyes were squeezed tight, and her face glistened with sweat. In rhythm with her leg's twitching, she muttered, "Ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky…"

Then the spasms increased, as did the speed and volume of her mutterings. Annabelle Lee tensed herself. Here it came…

"…ticky-ticky-ticky-tickytickytickyTICKY!"

Ticky Nikki bolted upright, her eyes wide with adrenaline-fueled fear. Her right arm swung out, and a glittering knife flashed into existence. It sped through the air, right for Annabelle Lee's face.

Or rather, right for the heavy book Annabelle Lee now held in front of her face. A book that was already marred by multiple slashes.

The knife thunked against the book's cover and penetrated right through the pages to protrude through the other end. Annabelle Lee glowered at the razor-sharp point and tossed the book into a pile of other similarly-defaced books.

Nikki looked around wildly until her frantic eyes settled upon her sister. Then the frenzy left them and her face softened. "Hi, Annabelly!" she said, swinging her legs around to sit on the side of the bed. She yawned and stretched. "We do Genocide now?"

Noting the amusing misunderstanding that would result should someone hear that sentence without context, Annabelle Lee reflected that maybe being a mentally-stunted nutcase wasn't so great after all. "No," Annabelle Lee said. "Not patrol time. In fact, we are never going on patrol ever again."

Nikki's face lit up. "We got moved?" she said excitedly. "No more getting super-wet and bright lights hurting Nikki's eyes?"

It took Annabelle Lee a moment to realize that Nikki meant "reassigned." "No," she said. "Now, can you remember what happened yesterday?"

Sticking her lower lip out in a frown, Nikki's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to focus. First one eye scrunched up while the other widened, and then they traded places. Annabelle Lee waited impatiently while her sister tried to sort out her actual recollections from whatever it was she had just been dreaming about and any number of imagined events.

Then her face froze. "Oh," she said in a neutral tone. Immediately after, both of her eyes opened as wide as they could go. "Oh." Then she swallowed, gripped the edge of her bed with both hand, and whimpered, "…oh…"

A moment later, Nikki had dropped to the floor on all fours and scampered under her cot, where she cowered like a frightened rodent, though she looked a bit more like a trap door spider.

"Yeah, that's gonna be a big help," Annabelle Lee said with a roll of her eyes. "Wonderful defense strategy. They'll never find-"

In lieu of nothing, no knock or spoken announcement, the door swung open. Annabelle Lee shut up immediately.

Two other Void Walkers had arrived, neither of them human. The first was a pale white sphere the size of a watermelon. It hovered in the air, glowing with an eerie luminescence. Tiny, glittering dots sparkled all number of colors in its interior, which was filled with a crystalline, geometric pattern, like a three dimensional spider's web, indicating Zealand's status as a calliope witch. Her people were a rare sight in the Void Walkers' ranks, as most of them had gone over to the Alliance's side and seemed content to stay there. However, no people were all one thing, and even in a species mostly populated by silly airheaded fairies, there had to be one or two oddballs who actually had a brain, metaphorically speaking.

In contrast to her small, inhuman partner, the other was a huge, hulking form, well over eight feet tall, completely swathed in in black robes and bits and pieces of scavenged armor. While most of the Void Walkers' outfits tended to be on the skimpy side, Harlonga much preferred to keep herself fully covered at all times, as did the rest of her species. This was considered a blessing by her comrades, as dockengauts were not considered to be aesthetically pleasing by other species; even the ai'jurrik'kai, another species that many found unnerving, were frightened by them. Annabelle Lee had seen pictures, and even she was grateful that Harlonga had covered herself up.

However, she was not at all grateful that those two had showed up to her room. They were among Oblivion's elite guards, which meant that the time had finally come.

Harlonga raised her hooded head just enough for Annabelle Lee to get a glimpse at what lay underneath, which wasn't much. No eyes, but there was definitely rustling movement, like a thousand hairy spider legs writhing against each other. "You two,"she said in a voice like a swarm of flies. "Come wizzz uzzz."

She turned and moved down the corridor. No steps, she just glided smoothly over the featureless obsidian as if carried by an invisible platform under the heavy folds of her robe, though there was a kind of skittering sound, as if a thousand rats were racing over the floor. Zealand held back, waiting for the condemned to obey.

Annabelle Lee swallowed noisily but rose to follow. As unthreatening as calliopes may appear, you did not want to make one angry.

"Come on," she said to Nikki, who was still trembling under the bed.

"Don't wanna," Nikki whined.

"Do you not? Too bad," Zealand said in her honeyed, simpering voice. "Unfortunately, your wishes and desires have since been rendered…Oh, what's the word. Harlonga, help me out here?"

"Obzzzolete," Harlonga buzzed.

"I suppose that works too, though I would have gone with 'irrelevant.' Obsolete would imply that they ever mattered to begin with."

"Nikki," Annabelle Lee seethed. "Come. Here. Now."

With one last whimper, Ticky Nikki crawled out from under her cot and shuffled over to the door. Apparently she wasn't moving quickly enough for Zealand, as the Calliope suddenly pulsed brightly, and Nikki leapt up with a yelp and scampered to Annabelle Lee's side. As they moved from the room, Annabelle Lee allowed herself a small measure of amusement from the observation that Nikki was the only one who was actually walking. It wasn't much, but by now, she would take whatever good feelings she could get.

The four of them, Harlonga in front, the Tick-Tock Sisters in the middle, and Zealand taking up the rear, moved through wide, lantern-lit corridors of the barracks, towards the stormline that would take them to Palace Omega. As they progressed, Annabelle Lee was distinctly aware of the knowing glances, loud whispers, snickering, and unrepentant smirks from the other Void Walkers that they passed. Everyone knew how badly she had bungled her mission, and that she was now on the chopping block. Though she deeply desired to launch herself at the little parasites and gouge out their eyes, her blades had been confiscated and, unlike Nikki, she couldn't just summon more. Besides, she would never get past Harlonga and Zealand.

They reached the door to the stormline. To Annabelle Lee's surprise, The Twins were already there, clinging tightly to each other. Judging by the fact that they were accompanied by two other of Oblivion's private guard, both of them human, and did not at all look happy about it, it seemed that they were to join the Tick-Tock Sisters in their punishment. Annabelle Lee smirked. Well, at least there was a silver lining. Not a great one, but hey, she'd take it. Though judging by the unhappy whine coming from Nikki, she didn't find anything good about sharing space with those two.

Upon seeing the Tick-Tock Sisters approach, The Twins stopped sniveling and glowered hatefully. "Oh Nie, look who's here," Arzt said dourly. "Why, it's Annabelle Lee herself, our esteemed leader, to whom we owe so much."

"Bless my soul Arzt, you're right," Nie said, matching the sour expression on her lover's face. "How splendid. And here I was asking myself if I would ever get the chance to thank her for the tremendous favor she's done for us."

"No thanks necessary, ladies," Annabelle Lee said with a sweet smile. "It was my pleasure."

Zealand made tittering sound that greatly resembled wind chimes. "Aw, look at that, Harlonga! The vermin think that their petty grudges actually matter!"

"How preciouzzz," Harlong droned. To The Twins' guards, she said, "Ve vill take it from herezzzzz."

The other two guards departed, though not without one last smug look at the condemned. Zealand floated close to the stormline's entrance, a simple rectangular portal sealed with a solid lump of stone, and tiny flares of light jumped from her aura to the doorframe. The stone dissolved into static and disappeared.

"Inzzzide," Harlonga ordered. Needing no further prompting, Annabelle Lee, Ticky Nikki, Arzt Kochen, and Nie Blühen Herze stepped through the portal, followed closely by their guards. Beyond was a wide sphere of transparent crystal, from which multiple tubes of the same material, each one sealed off, shot out to zigzag their way to their respective destinations.

Save for Annabelle Lee, Zealand, and perhaps Harlonga, everyone went from walking along to floating weightlessly through the sphere's interior. As soon as all six of them were bobbing together at the center, Harlonga said, "Palazzz Omega."

The slab of stone reappeared behind them, while one of the tubes unsealed. Then, as if they had been flushed through a drain, all six of them were sucked right through, and they were off.

Given the sheer size of the Withering Lands, a rapid-transit system like the stormlines was all but essential. Thanks to it, trips that would normally take days, even for super-powered girls who could bound along quicker than most automobiles, took mere hours. However, not everyone was appreciative of the advantages that the stormlines offered. New initiates often found the experience nauseating, and it was not uncommon for them to arrive at their destination accompanied by floating globs of their own vomit.

Personally, Annabelle Lee had never seen what the big deal was. To her, it was no worse than any other freefall from two kilometers up. Less wind resistance, too.

Thanks to the fact that the barracks and Palace Omega were less than a kilometer from each other, the trip took less than a minute, but it was enough for Annabelle Lee to catch a glimpse of the Withering Lands' capital city.

Twilight's Crypt was, like all things in the Withering Lands, ominous in its name (perhaps overly so, in Annabelle's opinion. Oblivion certainly had a flair for the dramatic when it came to naming things) and both imposing and Spartan in construction. The buildings, with a few exceptions, varied only in their width and height. For the most part, they were towering rectangular monoliths of the same smooth, shiny black stone that just about everything was made from. Their walls fall straight for several meters before sloping out and then falling again the rest of the way, with the corners bent inward at ninety degree angles. The windows were all rectangular as well, each one the exact same size, and dotted the building in neat rows. Stormline tubes encircled and passed through the buildings, joining the city to the massive network that connected the entire country.

Also like the Withering Lands, Twilight's Crypt's name was somewhat misleading. The country was not actually withering, and in fact was quite fertile in most places. Likewise, the city was one of immortals, and though it was literally the only place in the whole goddamned after life where people could actually die, it contained no crypts, graveyards, mausoleums, or crematoriums. Being released left no body behind, after all. To that end, "Twilight's Execution Chamber" would have probably been more accurate, if less catchy. Though it had to be admitted that when viewed from above, the buildings did have an unnerving resemblance to rows of tombstones, which may have been the name's origin.

The city itself was heavily populated, and Annabelle Lee glimpsed hundreds of her fellow Void Walkers going about their daily business in the streets below or zipping through the tubes. Unlike other major cities, there was very little in the way of advertisement. While an "entertainment" industry did exist, it was, like everything else, owned, operated, and maintained by the government. All books and films were produced by Oblivion's studios and publishers, and distributed through her official channels. Though many of her comrades intently followed the latest releases, Annabelle Lee rarely bothered. They all ended on depressing notes anyway, and she had enough misery in her life as it was. However, she did often participate in the many fight clubs that had been established for training purposes and as a way to blow off steam. Savage violence always made her feel better.

All in all, the Withering Lands was not at all a pleasant place to live, but that was the point. Void Walkers did not enter with hopes of making a permanent home, but to "leave" as quickly as possible. And while visitors weren't forbidden, per se, tourists rarely ever entered, save for political delegations and the occasional curious sight-seer, though they never stayed long.

In short, the Withering Lands was a country-sized business, one whose clientele was its own workforce. Oblivion never advertised. She didn't need to. Simply by existing, she held an ironclad monopoly on the afterlife's most valuable service. Sooner or later, almost everyone sought her out. There was a saying that had existed as long as anyone could remember: "All paths lead to Oblivion." Cynical perhaps, but no one could deny the cold truth of it.

As for Annabelle Lee, she and her sister hadn't been in the afterlife a year before joining up. A second chance was one thing. Eternity was something else. No thank you.

Except that was what she was now facing. Eternity, stuck in a life she couldn't leave. Even if they signed the Compact and got themselves a nice seaside home in Freehaven, how long before the march of centuries made every day a tedious ordeal? If they took the wanderer's path and went to explore the vastness of the afterlife, in time they would have seen every nook and cranny. And then what? Certainly, the afterlife was constantly expanding as new girls and sometimes even new species died and were reborn, but even the new areas would all start to look the same. It was enough to drive one mad, and Nikki was there already.

Well, there was one thing Annabelle Lee resolved to do. Once she was no longer bound by the Compact's bindings, she was going to hunt Kyoko Sakura down and introduce that redheaded bitch to a world of pain. Nikki could have the mermaid. At least they had that to look forward to.

As for Palace Omega, it stood in a valley all to its own, separated from the rest of the city by a low range of hills. The ground surrounding the palace was beaten flat, paved over, and polished as smooth as a ballroom floor, though, like the nearby city, it entirely lacked ornamentation. Annabelle Lee had often wondered why the space wasn't at least filled with outlying buildings, but had never worked up the nerve to ask.

The palace itself was the only building to really have a sense of style, simple as it was. The building was composed of five huge stone squares: one in the center, and the other four fused to the corners. A huge glass dome sat in the center, and a ring of needlelike towers were set all along the perimeter. Another tower, this one taller and thicker than the others, sat directly north of the dome. Oblivion and Reibey's quarters were contained within.

Rather than connect directly to the palace's side or roof as it did with other buildings, the stormline only rose high enough to give a brief glimpse of Palace Omega and the surrounding valley before plunging straight down into one of the hills. For less than three seconds, they shot through complete darkness, with nothing but the sudden change in the feeling of rushing vertigo letting Annabelle Lee know that their path had shot down deep through the earth before sharply curving up again.

And then it was over. The six Void Walkers emerged into the light, dimmed as it was, of one of the palace's four weightless waystations, identical to the one back at the barracks. The portal dissolved, and they floated into the corridor.

Palace Omega's hallways were very similar to that of the barracks, but much emptier. While Annabelle Lee did not miss the mocking looks from her soon-to-be-former peers, the lack of contact was unnerving. Still keeping close to her sister's side, Nikki whimpered her agreement.

Though it was probably just her nerves that extended the distance in her mind, but Annabelle Lee couldn't help but suspect that their escorts were deliberately taking the long way there. But even so, as excruciatingly long as it felt, they found themselves before the massive double-doors that led to Oblivion and Reibey's tower all too soon.

It was time.

Zealand took position on one side of the door, Harlonga on the other, and with a heavy groan, the doors slowly opened wide, revealing the cavernous room beyond. Annabelle Lee took a deep breath and floated inside, followed by Ticky Nikki, Arzt, and Nie.

Reibey sat on his haunches in the room's center, his beady eyes glimmering through the shadows. The four disgraced Void Walkers stood (or hovered) in a row before him and waited.

"Ah," Reibey said, taking the time to lock eyes with each one of them in turn. "There you are. Took your own sweet time getting here, did you?"

So Zealand and Harlonga had purposefully delayed their arrival after all. Annabelle Lee's jaw tightened, but she bowed her head and said nothing.

"Hmmm, no comment? No excuses? Anyone?" Reibey shrugged. He stood up and started pacing back and forth before them. "Well, no matter. You're here, so we can get right down to business. You're all fired."

Annabelle Lee choked, and The Twins made sounds of surprise of their own. While she had expected no less, the abruptness of the announcement had taken her off guard. She had expected him to delay the final moment for as long as he could and waste time making them squirm with taunts, biting insults, and overwhelming pain.

Deliberately misinterpreting their reaction, Reibey said, "Oh, don't act so surprised. You fouled up a simple retrieval mission despite being given multiple chances, drove your quarry into the protection of the New Life Alliance, and left me with one hell of a political mess to clean up. And to top it off, you've angered Oblivion, who is none too happy with the situation. I mean, really." He padded over to Annabelle Lee and stared straight up into her downcast face.

"Did you really expect anything less?" he said, his normally high-pitched voice now lowered to a menacing level.

"No," Annabelle Lee muttered.

"And so you should not." Reibey turned and walked several meters from the group before facing them again. "Well, I suppose everything that needs to be said has been said already, and we both have things we need to do today."

That caught Annabelle Lee's attention. Wait, what things?

But rather than explain, Reibey said, "So, without further adieu…"

The next thing Annabelle Lee knew, she was lying curled up on her side, gasping. Her whole body had erupted with pins and needles, and it felt like pure adrenaline was being force-fed into her through a high pressure hose. To either side of her, the sound of moaning and small, trembling sobs told her that Nikki and The Twins were experiencing similar sensations.

Annabelle Lee lifted a shaking hand and stared at it. Before her eyes, her bone-white skin was regaining its color, with shades of pink seeping back in. Though she couldn't see it, she knew that the rest of her body was being likewise changed.

And then it was over. Annabelle Lee lay still for a moment, and then slowly straightened and floated up off the ground. To say that she felt different would be a gross understatement. In fact, she felt terrific, as if she had been suffering from a debilitating illness for years and had suddenly been cured. She was now rejuvenated, and felt younger, faster, and stronger than she had in a long, long time. Forty-three years, to be exact.

The despair of it threatened to choke her. She was now fully banished.

"And that's that," Reibey said as the rest of Annabelle Lee's companions picked themselves off the floor. "You will all return to your quarters to gather what meager personal effects you possess. Tomorrow, the Matriarch will transport you out of the Withering Lands."

Annabelle Lee's head jerked back in surprise. The Matriarch herself was to be responsible for their departure? She had assumed that they were going to be escorted to the border and simply given the boot.

"You will be transported to Bertha's Brothel," Reibey continued. "Once there, someone will contact you and provide you with the tools and information you'll need to begin your new life."

Now things were making even less sense. Bertha's Brothel was an independent town located in the swamps near the Withering Lands' north-western border, and possessed such a poor reputation that only the extremely unlucky or morally suspect made their homes there. Why would Reibey be sending them there? Granted, they could probably find a job with the many smuggling or piratical operations located there, but why he would go so far as arrange for someone to help them along was beyond her.

And then a possible explanation leapt to her mind: a wondrous, miraculous explanation. Annabelle Lee sucked in a sharp breath as joy sang through her body. Everything started clicking into place. She now knew who was to meet them, and exactly what they would be offering.

"Of course, though the Compact normally allows that the possibility for redemption be made available to you, the current political climate has all but made this impossible," Reibey continued. "The Alliance already has their panties twisted into knots. Again. And inducting you four back into our ranks would look highly suspect. However…" He lowered his voice. "However, should you four actually manage to make up for your errors, I'm sure Oblivion would be…grateful. Very grateful."

Annabelle Lee's mouth fell open. He hadn't actually just offered what she thought he had offered, had he?

But before she could request clarification, Reibey said, "Well, I suppose that's everything. I have things to do, and you all need to pack. So get out of my sight."

With that, he turned and trotted away, his curled tail bobbing over his head. Within moments, the shadows had swallowed him up.

Zealand and Harlonga reappeared to escort them from the room. Zealand made disparaging comments about their lovely new shade of pink, but Annabelle Lee barely heard them. She was floating on air, both on a literal and a metaphorical sense. A wide grin of genuine joy split her bony features, the first real one she had experienced in a long time.

As they made their way to the waystation, Arzt sidled over to Annabelle Lee and murmured, "Now, judging by your idiotic smile you've come to the same conclusion we have, correct? Is Lord Reibey really giving us what it sounded like he was giving us, is he?"

Still grinning, Annabelle Lee nodded. This was more than another chance. This was a golden opportunity, one that would have otherwise not been made available: the chance to skip over the decades of service they still had remaining and quietly move to the front of the line. It was just as well that Reibey had left when he did, because otherwise she would have been sorely tempted to kiss him.

Then a small hand tugged on her elbow. "Annabelly?" Nikki said, her voice dazed and yellow eyes unfocused. "What just happened?"

Right, Nikki couldn't be counted on to pick up on the hints Reibey had dropped. "Tell you when we get back," Annabelle Lee said.

"Oh, okay," Nikki murmured. Then her eyes rolled back into her skull and she collapsed.

…

Hey, everyone! Resonance Days is one year old today! Cake and balloons for everyone!

So with that in mind, I guess now is a good time to let you know the general plan for this story. My other big fic, Imperfect Metamorphosis, is heavily arc-based, with plotlines stretching over multiple chapters. This one, however, is going to be a little different. For one, it's going to focus on a much, much smaller cast of characters (obviously), and will be much more episodic. Pretty much what I want to do is a straight-up adventure story, with each individual adventure just taking up a handful of chapters before going onto the next one. So it'll be closer to Rhapsody of Subconscious Desire in that regard. Which isn't going to say the whole Reibey plot is going to disappear, just that I want to concentrate mostly on the girls exploring this wacky world as they press toward their goal.

Also, from here on out I'm going to be making some changes insofar as updates are concerned. I'm known for writing really long chapters, and for a time I was proud of that. But lately it's just been getting ridiculous, and since I have two big stories running at the same time it's becoming a real problem, with updates growing further and further apart. So I'm going to be working to keep the chapters at a much more manageable length, within 20-30 pages instead of the 40-60+ that has become the norm. Does these mean that this is the end of monster-length chapters for good? Nope. If I feel that the plot demands a longer chapter, then a longer chapter it will get. It just means that they'll be the exception rather than the rule from now on. On the bright side, this means that updates will be coming faster from now on.

And in relation to that, I'm also abandoning the block format I was using for updates (three IM updates followed by three RD updates and so on). I tried it last year and it was kind of a disaster. So, from now on I'm going to be switching off every chapter, with the pattern being IM-RD-IM-RD and so on. I really want to keep both stories updating as often as possible, so here's hoping this will streamline things.

But before that, I'm afraid there will be one more month before the next update (Boo! Hiss!). Sorry, but I really need to catch up on some other obligations that I've been putting off, and also want to get something of a buffer going before I launch this thing full force. But things will pick up soon enough!

So yeah, I think that's everything. Here's to another year of Resonance Days.

Until next time, everyone!