A/N: Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has been reviewing, favouriting, following, and for even just reading this fanfic in general, really. I am very glad to see that people are really engaging with this story of mine, despite most of it purely being based on my interpretations of how I would think events would have gone with a third party... ^^' But yeah. Onto answering questions.

To PhD Flopper: Yeah. The Good Ending was rather ambiguous regarding the fate of the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Whilst it did seem like they remained trapped in the Velvet Room, I would have thought that by Yaldabaoth re-instating the Phantom Thieves back into the public's cognition, the others would have regained their existence (seeing as but a small few would have known about the true identities of the Phantom Thieves). Not to mention Ren probably wouldn't have wanted to leave them in the Velvet Room, either. But hey, that's just my interpretation of things.

And to the anon asking about Verity's country origins... you're gonna find out in this chapter. XD I had yet to reveal it out right for the sole reason that I needed to find a moment where I could put it in naturally and not have it seem forced. Plus, it keeps you readers hooked for wanting to find out more, so... XD

Stay tuned for more end notes at the bottom of this fanfic, as I reveal information I can't reveal here due to technical spoilers(?)... I'm not entirely sure if it is, but just in case it'll be in the end notes. I should also point out that I've had to set the formatting regarding the IM messages in this way since this site have a thing against 'chat-like' formatting, so I apologise if you find it difficult to follow the message conversations that pop up in this chapter and future chapters onward. I tried my best to make it stand out and as obvious as possible. But I do hope you enjoy the third chapter.

Chapter 3: Cogs of Fate

10th April 20XX [Lunchtime]

The classes that followed had been enough to give me a temporary escape from the two girls and further criticism. But I'd been unable to take my eyes off the clock in the room with the knowledge that any breaks we had between classes would leave me open for fire again, and I couldn't help dreading the thought. However, when lunchtime did roll around, the two girls chose to leave the room instead of coming after me for what happened earlier today, allowing me to relax and eat my lunch in peace. Of course, everyone else in the class chose to keep their distance as well, including the ones who stayed in the classroom, so I still found myself alone.

As the few other remaining students in the classroom went about eating their lunches and socialising with one another, I stayed sat at my desk with my phone resting in front of me, staring at the text message Yuuma had just sent me with drooped eyes whilst I slipped my empty lunchbox back into my bag still hanging on the hook.

'How's ya first day going? I would've come up to see ya but I didn't wanna freak out any of your new friends,' it said.

'I figured he'd check up on me at some point… Mom should be at work by now, so it's possible she coaxed him into doing it in her stead.'

Picking my phone up into my palms, I sighed in defeat and started to type my reply as fast as my thumbs would allow me to go. I'd already eaten my lunch by now, so I had some extra time to kill before our next class started.

'Oh, well. I should probably tell him the truth. He would have found out eventually.'

'Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no friends for you to scare. In fact, I doubt anyone wants to be my friend after what happened this morning…'

Yuuma was fast when it came to typing, so it was literally under a minute before I saw his reply pop up in the chat in all caps.

'WHAT?! WHY?! WHAT HAPPENED?!'

I leaned back a little in my chair and cringed before responding, being able to clearly imagine his voice yelling that to my face.

'Remember those two girls from Shibuya Station?'

'Ya mean the ones who glared at ya 'cause of our conversation?'

'Uh-huh. Turns out they're first-years in my class.'

'Seriously?!'

'Seriously.'

'What did they do?'

'They caused a scene and called me out in front of the whole class for saying what I did about the Phantom Thieves.'

'ARE YA KIDDIN' ME?! Goddammit!'

I didn't respond to his message yet when I noticed the three ellipses pop up after he sent his first one, deciding to wait a moment until his second message came through. Even in chat, Yuuma messaged the same way he spoke.

'Do ya need me to come up to your classroom and give 'em a piece of my mind?'

I shook my head in dismay.

'Of course the first thing that pops into his head is somehow related to him coming up here and sorting them out. Oh, Yuuma...'

'I'm fine. They're not here anyway. And I stood my ground and forced them to back off for now. Although they certainly weren't happy about it…'

There was a brief pause as the ellipses popped up before Yuuma's next message came through. It seemed like he was trying to gather his words together carefully.

'Is anyone else giving ya trouble? Seriously, if ya want me to come to keep ya company and show 'em what for, I will!'

'Just leave it, Yuuma. Everyone else has kept their distance. They aren't bothering me.'

Another long pause followed before Yuuma's response came through. He must have been really angry about this whole situation, more so than myself…

'Ugh. This is just typical! You've already been put through enough crap through middle school, and even before ya came to Japan! This was supposed to be better for ya, but it's just as bad! They shouldn't be singling ya out like this just for being a foreigner!'

I momentarily turned my gaze away from the phone screen to stare at the bracelet poking out from under my blazer sleeve, my eyes locking with the jewel leaf attached to it.

'… 'Supposed to be better', huh?' My grip around my phone tightened a little. 'I'd argue it could be worse.'

The loud beep sounding from my phone to indicate the arrival of another message caused me to flinch and focus my gaze back on the chat, prompting me to blink in surprise when I saw Yuuma's message.

'Right. Forgot what I was doing for a sec.'

'Crap. Sorry. Shouldn't have brought that up.'

I knew he was referring to the remark he made about the time before I came to Japan.

'Forget it, Yuuma. It doesn't matter. And besides, they were more focused on my opinions than my country of origin. Although that did become a thing further into the debate…'

'I told ya to dye your hair.'

'That would have made me stand out more! Aside from my looks it isn't as obvious I'm not from here. I lost my former accent ages ago.'

'Ha! Don't remind me! The first time I heard ya speak to me in English with that strange accent of yours, I was creasing! Ya sounded so funny!'

A small smile of amusement appeared on my face when I read the message, but I decided to convey a different emotion as I typed back in reply. I knew Yuuma had just done that to try to cheer me up.

'Well, excuse me for being British! And isn't you making fun of my former accent contradicting your anger towards others who have done it?'

'I'm your cousin! I'm allowed to make fun of ya!'

'Not by blood you're not~…'

'Auntie said it didn't matter~!'

I paused when I felt my smile widen at the chuckle that eventually escaped me, prompting me to shake my head.

'Okay. You got me there.'

There was momentary silence from Yuuma when I saw the ellipses appear in the chat, but when the next message of his popped up I was left raising a brow in surprise as I read it.

'Speaking of Shibuya Station, though… You know the guy who spoke to ya earlier today and who I told ya to stay away from?'

'Looks like he's finally decided to tell me. He's probably trying to change the topic for my sake.'

'Yeah…?'

'Well, he's a dude who got transferred here last year on probation for assault.'

My eyes widened in surprise at this revelation, but it wasn't enough surprise to stop me from typing my response.

'Assault?!'

'Yup.'

'Who did he assault?!'

'I'm not sure. Most people were saying it was some rich guy he injured. A witness testified against him and everything.'

'Really? I find that hard to believe. He doesn't look like the type of person who'd go and assault anyone.'

'Uh-huh. I mean, I got this information through the rumour mill, so I can't say for certain it's true. But from what I saw of him during my first year, he came off as the quiet and distant type.'

'At least that explained why you were so tense. You were like a dog keeping a close eye out for his owner.'

'Hey!'

I took a hand away from under my phone to cover my mouth and muffle the sound of my chuckles at Yuuma's reaction. But they didn't last long once the ellipses briefly appeared and were quickly replaced by Yuuma's next message.

'Still, promise me you'll be careful around him, yeah? I know I can't stop him from talking with ya. But something about his reaction towards ya today just didn't sit right with me.'

I expected Yuuma to add something else on to that message, which he soon proved right when the ellipses flashed up before I even had chance to decide how I long I should wait to reply. But whilst I waited for his next message I found myself furrowing my brow in thought.

'Yuuma's right. Since expressing my opinion on the Phantom Thieves outside of my own home, I've been met with hostility. There could be others out there who are like me, no matter how few. But if the rumours about this student are true…'

I focused my attention on my phone again when I heard the beep that told me Yuuma's message had come through.

'And I'm not just saying that! I really mean it!'

'I know, I know. I promise I'll be careful anyway. After what happened today, I'd rather not go through something similar again.'

'Anyways, lunch is nearly over so I'll let ya go. I'll wait for ya at the gates after school.'

'Got it. See ya.'

'Remember to message me if ya need me, and I'll come running.'

'I know you will, Yuuma.'

I exited the chat and prepared to return my phone to the pocket inside of my back. But just as I returned to the home screen and turned to face my bag, my gaze was drawn to a specific app that was on the bottom row of my screen; one I didn't recognise.

'What the…?'

I frowned and brought my phone a little closer to my face to get a better look at this app, which was coloured black and red and depicted an eye with a star acting as its pupil. I couldn't see any name for the app underneath the icon either, which only caused my frown to deepen out of suspicion.

'Weird… I don't remember downloading and installing an app like this. It doesn't even have a name.'

Pushing my thumb down on the icon until it started to shake and the tiny 'x' popped up on its top left corner, I was quick to select the latter and watch the app disappear from my phone screen without even bothering to check it out. Hearing the school alarm going off outside the classroom shortly after to indicate the end of our lunch break, I turned to face my bag again and reached my phone towards the inside pocket.

'It might be malware or something that somehow got on my phone. I'd better delete it just in case and try to find out more information on it from the internet later. It's better to be safe than sorry, after all...'

10th April 20XX [After School]

"I can't believe you travelled to school all by yourself, Futaba! You've really come a long way!"

Ren glanced towards Futaba (dressed in the Shujin Academy's female uniform) walking in front of him when Ann (who was walking beside Futaba) gave her some praise, watching as a triumphant grin grew on the younger girl's face as they made their way through the streets of Yongen-Yaya.

"What can I say?" Futaba paused to glance behind her at Ren, her grin widening slightly. "It's all thanks to my key item!"

Ann raised a brow out of confusion and turned to look back at Ren with a blink to match, prompting the frizzy-haired teen to smile in amusement and shrug his shoulders.

"What?"

"It's a long story," was all he chose to say, ignoring the muffled chuckles of Morgana coming from his bag. "But I had nothing to do with it. You made the journey on your own, even though I offered to accompany you."

"Like a game protagonist completing a main objective!" Futaba added, punching a fist towards the air as she faced forward. "It was surprisingly not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Despite the large number of people I didn't know. But I just pretended they were NPCs I didn't have to interact with." Her eyes drooped. "Although that didn't work out as well at school…"

Ann shook her head in dismay when she turned away, with Morgana poking his head slightly through the gap in the bag.

"It's good to see you're adjusting okay, though, Futaba."

"By the way, has anyone else heard from Ryuji today?" Ann asked, quickly changing the topic as she pulled her phone from her pocket and briefly glanced at the screen to check for any new messages. "He said something in the chat earlier about planning a one-year anniversary party for the Phantom Thieves…? I think that's why he's not here with us."

"Typical Ryuji…" Morgana muttered before huffing. "Looks like he remembered the date after all."

"May 5th, right?"

"Yeah," Ren answered Ann with a slight nod, causing her to turn back to him with a surprised blink.

"Wow. It's almost been a year, huh?" Ann paused when she found herself smiling a little out of reminiscence. "It feels like only yesterday that we beat Kamoshida and started the Phantom Thieves, doesn't it?"

"It sure does, Lady Ann," Morgana replied with a nod and a smile that matched her own, aside from revealing his little cat teeth. "I think it would be nice to commemorate the formation of the team." Morgana turned his head between Futaba, Ann and Ren once and left his gaze on the latter. "What do you guys think?"

Futaba turned so she was walking backwards and glancing Ren's and Morgana's way, clasping her hands together behind her back.

"I think Ryuji should get a job as a party planner!"

"I disagree," Ann added on with an amused smile, reaching a hand to rub at the back of her head as the trio turned the corner towards Café Leblanc. "We still haven't gotten around to having Ren's 'welcome back' party because of our schedules conflicting with Haru's and Makoto's. They're off doing their own things now, so it's kinda hard to find a day where we all can get together. It does feel weird not seeing them at school anymore, though."

Ren hummed in agreement as he was the last one to start turning the corner towards the path that led to Café Leblanc, but he soon came to a stop when he happened to glance behind him towards the way they'd just walked. Whilst Ann and Futaba continued walking on ahead (oblivious to their friend no longer following them as the latter faced forward to talk to the former), Ren's gaze fell upon two teenagers in the Shujin Academy's uniform heading down towards where he stood, causing him to blink in surprise when he recognised them after staring for a few seconds longer.

"Those are the two we saw at Shibuya Station this morning, yeah?"

Ren's gaze briefly switched to Morgana when he heard him speak, seeing his head still poking out of the gap in his shoulder bag as he nodded. When he focused back on Verity, though, he noticed her posture was slouched, like she was fed up with something. Her friend didn't look too pleased either when Ren glanced his way, seeing the annoyed scowl on his face and his hands balled into fists at his front as he yelled about something he couldn't properly hear.

As the pair grew closer, however, Ren turned and started to walk away again without drawing any attention towards himself. This wasn't the time for him to question Verity about what she'd said earlier today, and he didn't really fancy getting yelled at by Verity's friend again.

With Ann and Futaba having stopped by Café Leblanc's entrance to wait for him to catch up, Ren glanced down at Morgana when he heard him speak again.

"Huh. Looks like they live around here, too. What a small world."

'A small world, indeed…'

As Ren caught up to the others and watched Futaba head inside the café, he dared to turn his head to glance behind him once more at the area behind him. A small smirk made its way onto his face.

'Keeping an eye on her has just become a tiny bit easier.'

"Hey, you okay?"

Ren's smirk dimmed into a smile as he heard Ann question his wellbeing, prompting him to face her again and tilt his head to the side.

"I'm fine. Let's head inside."

10th April 20XX [Evening]

Lying down on my bed in the dark with only the light from the hallway outside streaming in, I turned my head in the direction of my open bedroom door at the faint sound of the phone ringing from downstairs, followed by Yuuma's hurried footsteps making a dash for it.

"I'll get it!"

I wouldn't have answered it anyway, so Yuuma's yelling was pointless. But it was obvious to the both of us who was calling.

'It's probably Mom ringing from work to see how things went at school today. And Yuuma took the initiative to speak in my stead.'

I continued to listen regardless once the ringing stopped and Yuuma started talking. He wasn't aware of how loud he talked sometimes, so he had no control over the volume of his voice unless others made him aware. This was a perfect asset to my current situation.

"Hey, Auntie! How are ya? … Good, good! How's work going? The bookstore busy tonight? … Oh, right. Yeah. I suppose it wouldn't be that bad in the evening, would it?"

With my eyes drooping at Yuuma's comment, I rolled over onto my left side to hear the one-sided conversation a little better, my eyes locking with my school blazer hung over the back of my desk chair. I couldn't be bothered to change into my pyjamas or casual clothes since entering the house.

"Yeah, yeah! We're okay! … Eh… Well… it- it didn't go too great. … Basically, some girls called her out in front of her class for stating her opinion about something and now no one will go near her. … Yeah, she's in her room with the lights off. … No, I didn't get myself involved! I kept out of it!"

When a long pause followed, I turned my gaze to my left wrist as I raised it a little off the bed, staring at my bracelet which I also couldn't be bothered to take off.

"Yeah, I took food up to her and she ate it. But she hasn't left her room since coming home."

Another long pause followed before I heard Yuuma sigh heavily out of annoyance.

"I know it isn't fair, Auntie. She's been through hell already with that whole mess with her Dad-"

I rolled over onto my back and moved my hands to cover my ears so I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, squeezing my eyes shut and not daring to open them. It didn't take long before I felt my body starting to tremble and my breathing grew heavy, prompting me to shake my head back and forth multiple times. I knew exactly what was happening and I didn't like it one bit.

'Dammit, Yuuma! And dammit me for thinking it would be safe to eavesdrop!'

The minute my chest started to hurt I knew my method wasn't helping me in the slightest, forcing me to open my eyes and roll over onto my right side. I'd left my phone and earphones lying next to my pillow, and I was soon reaching out for them both when it felt like I was struggling to breathe. But I knew I was fine physically.

My shaking hands made it difficult for me to insert the earphones into the jack on my phone, but after a minute of constant missing I managed to push it in and complete the task of placing them in my ears. I swallowed thickly as I felt the palpitations starting, prompting me to open my music playlist and scroll down for the song I knew would help to calm me down.

'Come on, come on! It's getting worse!'

I stopped when I found the track I was looking for and pressed on it to play without hesitation, letting out a quiet sigh of relief when I heard the music sound through my earphones. Turning over onto my back again as the trembling slowly started to cease, I closed my eyes and focused on regulating my breathing as the voice of 'Alison Moyet' filled my ears at a loud volume with the lyrics of 'Windmills of Your Mind'. As the song continued to play I felt my body slump and relax against the bed, finally putting me at ease as I allowed the music to drown out everything around me. Hearing it again after so long prompted my thoughts to reflect back on its importance to me.

'I used to hear this song all the time, ever since I was three years old. He would always sit in his armchair in the evenings with me on his knee and play this record for hours. It was her favourite song and favourite British singer.'

I paused with my thoughts to open my eyes, my gaze locking with my bedroom ceiling through the dark and dim lighting as Alison sang the first two lines of the second half of the third verse that always caught my attention. Or at least had started to after the incident…

'The song seems to be interpreted from the point of view of someone looking back on their time with past lovers. But just like him, I've ended up becoming attached to this song for my past as well as my country of origin. Those lines get to me every time… regarding the things I can't remember and some of which I want to forget.'

I raised my left arm above me and locked my gaze on my bracelet once more, my eyes drooping as the song closed in on its end.

'Why did you give me this? Why can't I remember its significance? Why did my memories have to be so jumbled up in the first place?!'

I lowered my arm to my middle by the time the song finally came to an end, my gaze turning to my phone screen as I prepared to exit the music app.

'It doesn't matter anyway. I've spent most of my life being a coward and running away from a truth I don't want to know. Why should I be bothered about anything else connected to it?'

As I stopped the track and brought myself back to the home screen, my eyes were quick to widen when they spotted a certain app which I recalled seeing on my phone earlier today.

'… Eh?! Isn't that the app that randomly appeared on my phone at lunch today?'

I reached my other hand to my eyes and gave them both a quick rub just to be sure I wasn't seeing things, even blinking a few times in a row as an extra measure. But despite my efforts I still found myself staring into the strange-looking red eye with a star for its pupil.

'… Well, at least I know I'm not crazy.'

Scowling at my screen, I proceeded to repeat the same process I'd done earlier today; pressing my thumb down on the app, waiting for the little 'x' icon to pop up in its top left corner when it started to shake back and forth, and then pressing that and watching the app disappear from my phone a second time.

'I probably didn't delete it properly the last time. I'd better make sure I check my phone tomorrow to see if it's gone for good. But I'm sure I deleted it…'

"Alright. I'll let her know. Love ya."

As I heard Yuuma finally end the conversation, I locked my phone and pushed myself up off my bed into a sitting position at the sound of approaching footsteps coming up the stairs.

'Looks like he's finally come to check up on me.'

Removing my earphones from my ears, I waited until the footsteps stopped and were replaced by three loud knocks on my bedroom door before I glanced towards it, seeing Yuuma leaning his back against it with his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie. Since arriving home, he'd chosen to switch into more casual clothing, also replacing his school trousers and shoes with a pair of blue jeans and black trainers. He was never really one to follow trends. He just wore whatever he was most comfortable in.

"… How ya doing?" he asked, prompting me to shrug my shoulders and turn my body towards him so my legs dangled over the edge of the bed.

"Okay, I guess. Was that Mom calling?"

Yuuma nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Did you tell her about what happened today?"

Yuuma glanced towards his shoes out of shame, raising a foot and lightly poking at my bedroom floor with the tip of his shoe.

"… Uh-huh."

I raised a brow at this, briefly wondering why he'd be ashamed for telling her about something like this. Unless…

'… Does he think I might have heard their whole conversation?'

But I decided not to bring it up and continued to play dumb on the subject.

"What did she say?"

Yuuma made a clicking sound with his tongue before lifting his gaze back to me.

"Nothing much. Just how unfair things have been for you. She sounded a little worried about ya, and wanted me to let you know she sends her love."

I nodded to that out of acknowledgement as Yuuma stood up straight and moved away from the door a little, a frown of disapproval appearing.

"She also wanted me to make sure you got ready for bed. I hope ya weren't planning on sleeping in ya uniform."

I shook my head and pushed myself to stand.

"No, no! I wasn't!"

"Good. I'll let ya get ready for bed then."

Nodding with satisfaction, Yuuma turned and started to leave the room, but it wasn't long before he stopped just after stepping out into the hall and glanced my way again.

"Oh, and Verity?"

"Yeah?"

The grin that appeared on Yuuma's face was probably the goofiest one he'd ever mustered.

"Just know that even if the entire world were to turn against ya, I won't be going anywhere."

I blinked in surprise as I watched Yuuma continue his walk away from my room, but it wasn't until he disappeared from my sight that I found a small smile creep onto my face.

'You're a little complicated to read, Yuuma. But your loyalty to those you care about know no bounds. Thanks.'

Amidst the rattling of chains, the sounds of intense scrubbing, and the frustrated growls of Caroline coming from the cell behind her, Justine let out a defeated sigh and leaned back a little on her knees away from the toilet of Cell No. 6, whose insides were covered in black grime. Taking a moment of respite from her menial labour, her lone eye glanced down towards the dirtied bristles of the toothbrush clutched in her right hand, which were now stained as black as the gloves she wore.

'This tool is utterly useless.' Justine paused in her thoughts to focus her gaze on Joker through the open cell doorway, who was sitting in the chair with his feet resting on the desk and with a Maths textbook being held open close to his face. 'Although, I suppose that's exactly what the Inmate was going for when he forced this useless task on us…'

It had been humiliating enough for Caroline and Justine when they'd found themselves being held captive in the same cell the Trickster had once been, on top of losing their control of the Velvet Room to him along with their natural abilities. But the twin wardens had naively believed that was as far as the Trickster was willing to go. They thought he was just going to keep them locked away whilst humanity slowly lost its free will to think for themselves under the rule of a god they supposedly created. The two quickly learnt, however, that their former saviour did in fact have ideas in mind regarding their 'rehabilitation', some of which included degrading and useless jobs that not even the fake Igor had dared subject them to. And as much as they had wanted to object to the Trickster's cruel and unusual requests (which they believed were revenge against them for how they'd treated him during his rehabilitation), it was against the twins' nature to disobey out of pride for their role as the former attendants of the Velvet Room, especially when 'punishment' was involved for failure to complete the task at hand. Despite having succeeded in standing against the fake Igor, their lost will of rebellion and the reality of no means of escape without their powers forced them into submission, bringing them to their current predicament.

Justine was unsure of how much time had actually passed since she and Caroline had reluctantly endured this treatment under the Trickster (including the time since they'd first been imprisoned here), but she could tell by the sounds of Caroline's growls and scrubbing getting louder that the latter was slowly getting close to breaking point…

"Stupid Inmate forcing us to do a stupid job with a stupid tool-! It's not like anyone actually uses these things when they're summoned here…"

The quiet warden shook her head in dismay at hearing Caroline muttering her grievances towards their captor under her breath, prompting her to turn her gaze away towards the toilet she was supposed to be scrubbing clean. Although Justine was holding herself together better than Caroline was, she could understand Caroline's frustration towards the tasks they were given to occupy their time. The inmate hadn't made it easy for them at all, forcing them to use toothbrushes instead of actual cleaning supplies whilst remaining shackled. But then again, Justine assumed that was the whole point of the inmate's games. It was all for his amusement.

"Did you say something, Caroline?" Justine heard Joker ask in a mocking tone, briefly side-glancing him to see he hadn't moved at all from his current position.

Caroline didn't respond after that, however, which Justine noted by the sudden lack of growls and grumbles as the sounds of scrubbing filled the air instead. Joker waited a few seconds before he responded, snorting in amusement beforehand.

"… I thought not."

Justine heard Caroline snarl quietly out of anger before falling silent again and returning to her work, prompting her to lean forward to look like she was doing the same before she was penalised for 'slacking off'.

'He has become so full of himself…'

She did the wise thing in keeping that comment to herself.

Placing her left hand against the toilet seat and reaching her right hand in a bit so the toothbrush was hidden from sight, Justine turned her gaze down towards the green shackles around her wrists. Although she and Caroline had been submissive in the beginning, the two hadn't completely given up in trying to find a way to turn the tables on the Trickster upon Justine noticing something strange regarding the colour of their shackles and the chains that kept them sealed in their cell.

'The colours of the shackles and chains are different to the ones we formerly used for the inmate. Caroline remembered that we were still in possession of the inmate's cell key, and when we tried it on the door we discovered it wouldn't unlock. This was enough of an indication that the lock has been changed.'

Justine and Caroline later discovered this theory of theirs to definitely be true when they'd watched Joker open their cell for the first time, in which he'd punched the chains off instead of using Caroline's shock baton. But that was as far as the two had gotten. Although they suspected the Trickster had a key of some sort on him, they had little information to go off regarding what it was.

Justine found her thoughts once again flitting to this specific key as she started scrubbing the toothbrush against the inside of the toilet, her brow furrowing in the process.

'I would have thought the key would be shaped like any ordinary cell key. But if the inmate has gone to such lengths to ensure we stay imprisoned, then it's possible the key has taken on a different form that isn't as obvious. It might even match the colour scheme of the chains and shackles-'

SNAP.

Justine's shoulders stiffened in surprise at the 'snapping' sound that interrupted her train of thought, her gaze immediately focusing on the toothbrush still in her hand as she paused with her movements. For a second she believed she'd broken her own toothbrush, but blinked in surprise upon lifting the toothbrush and seeing it was still intact. Caroline's yelling soon cleared up Justine's confusion, though, prompting both her and Joker to turn their heads in the direction of Cell No.5.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS STUPID BRUSH BROKE! THIS IS NOT A SUITABLE TOOL FOR SUCH MENIAL LABOUR!"

And whereas Justine listened to the malicious warden's yelling with a drooped eye, Joker took the initiative to shift position and lift his legs to the floor so he was sitting up straight in the chair, placing his textbook opened out on the desk for the time being.

'… Oh dear.'

"What have you done now, Caroline?" Joker asked with an annoyed huff as he pushed himself to stand up.

His received response to his question was Justine watching as Joker was forced to duck at two small blue halves of something flying over his head and hitting the rug behind him with a loud thump. Caroline had thrown her toothbrush pieces at him, prompting Justine to sigh quietly as Joker stood up straight again.

'Oh, Caroline... You and your violent streak…'

"Hey," Joker started in an annoyed tone, reaching a hand towards the desk to pick up the shock baton and hit the end of it off the palm of his other gloved hand. "Would someone like Mister Shock Baton to calm down that temper of theirs?"

"Enough, Inmate!"

Justine's lone eye widened as Caroline finally let her anger go, listening to the sounds of her chains rattling around and the ball shackled to her leg scrape against the floor. It wasn't until Justine heard the noises stop that Caroline continued her yelling, leaving the former to assume she'd stopped at the entrance to the cell.

"I can't take this humiliation! I won't just stand by and let you push us around anymore! This ends now! Let us go!"

Justine dared to glance Joker's way to see his reaction, only to find she was unable to read his expression behind his mask from where she was knelt. However, she could see the anger alighting his eyes, and that was more than enough to put her on edge.

By the time Justine was putting her toothbrush down on the floor and bringing herself to her feet, Joker was already stomping forward towards the cell where Caroline was without another word. Justine tried to move forward and pull her own shackled ball along the ground as quickly as she could, grunting a little due to the weight of it tugging her leg back. But in the end she only managed to get halfway towards her intended destination, forcing her to watch Joker reach out his free hand to snatch away Caroline's hat and bring the baton down hard against her head.

"-Ah!"

Justine came to a stop in the entrance to Cell No.6 when she heard Caroline cry out in pain and saw her drop to her knees before Joker, reaching both of her hands to her head and gripping at it tightly with groans and hisses. Joker let go of Caroline's hat and allowed it to drop to the floor beside her before turning his head in Justine's direction, causing the latter's shoulders to raise in alarm. As Caroline continued to vocally express her pain and curl her head towards her body, the quiet warden and the Trickster remained in their silent staring match, both waiting for the other to make a move.

It wasn't long, though, before Joker became the first to break eye contact, groaning loudly out of annoyance and turning away from both Justine and Caroline to stare towards the lone door that led to the entrance to the Velvet Room, but easily blended in with the other cells despite lacking a number above it.

"I let you off easy. Next time, it'll be a shock."

Justine and Caroline were silent as Joker started to walk away from them towards the Velvet Room's entrance, prompting the former to glance the latter's way to see the malicious girl hiding her face behind her arms and still gripping at her head. Joker spoke again as he opened the left side of his tailcoat to slot the baton into the left pocket of his waistcoat, not once glancing back as he did so.

"I'll be back. There's still time for me to stick around to make sure you complete your job."

Justine didn't look away from Caroline even as Joker made his exit from the Velvet Room, not even bothering to acknowledge him when he spoke. They knew trying to make an escape now was pointless. After all, their shackles would slow them down and without their abilities they couldn't fend the Trickster off. Not to mention they probably wouldn't be able to open the door themselves anymore…

The silence in the area was soon disturbed when Justine walked towards Caroline one step at a time, slowly dragging the ball and chain behind her as her shackles rattled with the movement. Caroline didn't move from her initial position when Justine managed to close the distance between them, remaining that way even as the latter dropped to her own knees beside her and picked her hat up from the floor. Justine could only imagine how much it must have hurt having something like that make contact with the top of your scalp…

When Caroline showed no reaction to her approach, Justine opened her mouth to speak-

"Where did we go wrong, Justine?"

"…!"

Justine hesitated and blinked in surprise when Caroline interrupted her with her question, her quiet tone being enough to catch her fellow warden off guard for a moment.

"… Huh?"

Caroline lowered her hands towards her lap and reached out one of them to take her hat from Justine without looking the other in the eye, placing her hat back on her head and pulling it down low enough for the front to hide her eyepatch and left eye from Justine's view.

"Did we put our trust in the wrong person…? Did our master put humanity's fate in the wrong person's hands…?"

Justine couldn't bring herself to respond, instead furrowing her brow out of worry. She was normally the one who would question and doubt everything that was going on, which was evident enough during their time under the fake Igor. But Justine knew Caroline as the side of the two who often trusted her gut and refused to believe they had gone astray with any decisions or duties they'd had. In a way, she was the stronger of the two, at least in Justine's eyes. So to see Caroline in this state and hear her questioning their own duties and resolve was enough proof of just how much the Trickster had gotten through to her head. Justine knew Caroline wouldn't admit it out loud, but she had come to respect and bond with the Trickster just as much as she had. His supposed betrayal had clearly hurt her more than words could ever convey, even if she were to speak for the both of them.

Justine watched as Caroline lowered her head a little further and raised her shoulders, a bitter-sounding chuckle making itself known.

"Heh. This isn't like me, is it? Since when did I start doubting myself?"

Justine's frown deepened out of concern. Deciding she needed to do something to comfort Caroline, the quiet warden reached out her right arm and wrapped it around the latter's shoulders, slowly pulling her close to her side until their shoulders were touching. She didn't dare try to use both arms, as the chains on their shackles would have gotten them tangled together. To Justine's surprise, Caroline showed no negative reaction to the comforting gesture, not even making any attempts to pull away. She allowed Justine to hold her close to her side without another word, eventually bringing herself to raise a hand to cover the one Justine had on her right shoulder as a form of acknowledgement for her actions.

With the deathly silence fully taking over the Velvet Room, Justine dared to turn her gaze towards the open cell closest to the entrance; the one labelled '0' and where the pair had been imprisoned during this whole situation. Her lone right eye drooped out of shame as she and Caroline showed no signs of moving from their current stances, even with the knowledge that the Trickster would return soon and possibly reprimand them for being idle (more so in Justine's case).

'So, it's finally come to this, huh? We've messed up, Caroline is finally giving up, and nobody is coming to save us.' Justine closed her eye and tightened her grip around Caroline a little. 'We're sorry, Master, but it looks like humanity is headed for ruin, after all…'

A/N: Just for clarification, the song Verity is playing is called 'Windmills of Your Mind' and is sung by British artist 'Alison Moyet'. She isn't the original artist for this song (I think...), but her cover of it happens to be a favourite of mine, if you couldn't already tell. XD But if you guys want to look it up, there's the info for ya. ^^ I can't include the lyrics as it is against the site's rules, but if you focus on the third verse of the song (as stated so in the chapter) you should be able to find the lyrics my OC is referring to.