"Okay, hopefully we're all in the right frame of mind?" says Gin, jogging down the ramp as he reactivates his drone. "Remember, we're not dealing with an ideal situation here. Her Enforcer is still active, and it's likely to be fighting with her. Our top priority should be preventing her from becoming a True Shadow by any means necessary. She might look like an embarrassment, but she's still a cornered animal. Don't get careless."

Not far from your rocket is the one Hoga must have used to get here. On the other side of the dome is a round, thick-looking metal hatch that leads to a short passageway connecting the landing pad to the rest of the compound. There's a large lever installed next to the hatch, and pulling on it causes a series of whirs and clicks to emanate from within as the mechanisms disengage. It then unfurls into the wall, allowing you to enter.

The connecting passage can't be more than 50 meters long, yet halfway through, you begin to get lightheaded. It's happening again – another one of those visions. Mariko…is the same thing happening to her? Your vision is going too blurry to tell.

"Hey…before we go in…let's take a minute…make sure we're ready…" you say, the words coming out heavy and slurred as your balance and sight fail you simultaneously.

"Tetsuo!"

There's a low humming, punctuated by the occasional bout of harsh mechanical grinding. It's an engine. You're in a car, lying across the backseat, but your destination is unclear. You want to sit up, but your body won't cooperate.

Why…? Why can't I move?

The sound of rapid, shallow breathing drifts towards your ears from the front seat, desperate and frightened.

It's her…that woman…

"What's happening? Where are we?"

That's what you want to ask, but all that escapes your lips is a pained whimper. The figure in the front seat briefly turns her face towards you, but her face is obscured by the dim light.

"Please hang on…it'll be okay, I promise…it'll be okay…it'll be okay…"

She chants that over and over again, a frenzied prayer to any god that will listen.

"It'll be okay…it'll be okay…it'll be okay…"

Then, deciding that you've had enough, your consciousness returns. Like so many other times before, your eyes open to find yourself on the floor with the others gathered around you, their expressions reflecting varying levels of concern.

"Good. You're all right," says Shibutani, helping you sit up.

"Was I out long?" you ask, eager to understand these fits a little better. Hayate shakes his head.

"Nah. A few minutes, maybe. Same as the last time. Still, this is what? The third time this has happened? Something's not right, man."

"Fifth. It's the fifth time. It's happened in every Cloud," you say.

"Wh-What? Really?" says Nisekao, leaning forward. At the edge of your vision, Gin, Rin, and Yoko exchange concerned looks.

"Yeah. I guess there's no point in acting like nothing's going on. Every time it happens, I can…hear things. I can see a little, too, but not much – it's like trying to see through a blindfold."

"And what do you hear when this happens?" asks Gin.

"I...I'm sorry, but is it okay if we don't talk about it? I don't totally understand what's going on, but I think it must be something awful. Not really something I wanna think about too much, if that's all right."

However, the frustration is plain on Gin's face.

"I understand that," he says in a way that suggests he doesn't. "But I'm not much of a believer in coincidences, especially when it comes to stuff like this. I think the content of your 'visions' might be relevant."

"They're not," you state flatly. "Trust me." But Gin presses on.

"You're sure? Come on, now. If this happens every time you corner a Dreamweaver, it's only natural to wonder why."

"I don't know!" you find yourself shouting. The urge to reach up and slap Gin away surges through you, and it takes a good deal of self-control to keep it in check. You're telling the truth – or at least you think you are. Besides, it's okay to keep some things to yourself. Why doesn't he just mind his own business?

"Maybe…they're just trying to mess with my head. I really, honestly don't know. But if you've got some idea of your own, then let's hear it."

Gin recoils as though he hadn't expected to be rebuked so strongly. Yoko clamps a hand on his shoulder and pulls him back.

"Gin, ease up. He can't have all the answers."

He opens his mouth as if he wants to disagree, but thinks better of it.

"…Right. My bad. It's been a long night, and I suppose we're all a little on edge. If you say the visions aren't important…then I'll take your word for it."

Shibutani hoists you to your feet and gives you a 'gentle' pat on the back that almost knocks you over again.

"What's most important is how you're feeling, Tetsuo," he says. "Are you going to need some time to recuperate?"

"Nah," you answer with a dismissive wave of your hand. "I know it looks bad, but I always feel fine afterwards."

Shibutani isn't convinced, but Hayate comes to your defense.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it too much, senpai. He always pops right back up, so I think he's telling the truth."

"Exactly. Oh! And Mariko…" you say, remembering what she'd told you in the Gardens.

But as you lock eyes with her, she vehemently shakes her head, silently pleading to be left out of the conversation. Whether she experienced anything or not, she clearly doesn't want to discuss it in mixed company.

"…um…Mariko'll tell you the same thing. It's happened before, and it'll probably happen again, but it's not going to affect how I fight. Let's just keep going."

You thought it'd make you feel better to tell the others what was going on, but as you continue down the passageway, you can feel their eyes at your back, skeptical and questioning. But what else could you have told them? It's not like they'd understand what you were hearing – you hardly understand it yourself. If anything, it would have made you sound crazier. You've never been so glad for the opportunity to fight a Dreamweaver. Hopefully, it'll take everyone's minds off of you.

As you approach the hatch at the end of the passageway, the air around you takes on a familiar pressure, the kind of weight that accompanies a powerful Shadow. You throw the lever, and cross the threshold into a sprawling, enormous space. You'd gotten a sense of the compound's size during your descent, but at ground level, it's something else entirely – you can only just see all the way across to the other side.

You find yourself on a neatly-tiled path winding through rows of carefully tended greenery, their branches studded in flowers of every shade of pink - even some that don't look natural. Far overhead, the transparent panels offer a breathtaking view of the stars, hung like glittering ornaments around the planet you'd just left.

Here and there, you recognize bits and pieces of the Imperial Gardens you'd raced through earlier that night. This compound must be a reproduction of the real thing, a secret hideaway, serene and completely divorced from the world's troubles. That's why it seems to you, as you listen to the sounds of birdsong drifting in from the trees above, that it'd almost be a shame to fight here. A pang of sympathy for Hoga tugs at you – could a place this pure really come from a twisted heart?

As your group passes between a row of tall hedges and into a wide, circular courtyard, you find Hoga's Shadow seated at a small garden table daintily sipping tea from an ornate cup as though you weren't there. Above her, Hoga's real body hangs motionless in its shadowy coffin, dressed in the uniform of a common officer. It isn't until Iseult slithers up her leg and tugs on one of the Shadow's poofy sleeves that she takes any notice of you at all. However, instead of reacting with shock or contempt, she gives you a placid smile and beckons you over.

"Ah, you're here! We've just brewed a lovely pot of tea, and these cakes are just fantastic! Won't you join us?"

You exchange puzzled looks with others.

"Tea and cake? I thought we were gonna be 'punished in the name of peace of and love.' Having a change of heart?" you say.

Shadow Hoga's eye twitches, but she maintains her sunny disposition.

"That depends. If you're still dead set on undoing all of my hard work, I'll have no choice but to destroy you. But I was hoping that you might have taken the time to do some reflection on the way here, and realize the error of your ways."

"Yeah, we came all the way up here just to let you know that we changed our minds. Sorry, lady, but you're not getting outta this that easily," Hayate tells her as he cracks his knuckles.

The Dreamweaver's fingers tighten around the handle of the teacup, and the tea inside begins to quiver and slosh over the rim.

"Oh? You're so certain? Have you thought for even a moment about what it would mean to get rid of me?"

"We've thought about it plenty," says Shibutani. "And buying Kabukicho's peace at the price of Toshima's suffering is too high a cost. Anyone who would knowingly make that sacrifice isn't worth trusting."

Shadow Hoga breathes deeply to steady herself. "Come on now. You all seem like children with a decent sense of right and wrong – I thought you'd have a little more respect for what I've done."

Koharu scoffs. "How's anyone supposed to respect a grown woman running around in a children's costume going on about peace and love? We might be kids, but we know how to smell bullshit from a mile away. Drop the act before I die from secondhand embarrassment."

Shadow Hoga leaps out of her seat, dashing the teacup against the ground with a tinkle of breaking china. Iseult leaps off her arm and cowers behind her back.

"I am Mystic Warrior Hoga! Champion of Tokyo! I made ten thousand criminals flee this city overnight! You should be thanking me for taking this stupid woman's body! Before I came along, she was useless! I've made her a hero!"

"Did you, though?" says Mariko. "Because here's what I think: I don't think you're powerful enough to make ten thousand yakuza leave Tokyo at the drop of a hat. But I do think you know someone who can. Someone willing to do that as a favor to you in exchange for leaving the Yatabuya alone."

"And we're very interested in finding out who that person might be," adds Rin as she steps forward.

The Dreamweaver takes a step back, her eyes darting madly back and forth as you speak.

"A-And what? You think that just because you have a little bit of power that you get to decide what's best? You're all just kids! Idiot kids! You don't know the slightest thing about what it takes to get what you want! The world doesn't just hand you prizes because you 'worked reeeaaally hard!' Sometimes, you gotta get your hands dirty if you want to make it anywhere!"

She clamps her hand over her face, and blackish-blue smoke billows from beneath. As she does, everyone drops into a defensive stance.

"Here we go," you mutter.

"I won't let you brats screw this up for me!" Shadow Hoga shouts, her voice becoming crazed and distorted. She removes her hand, revealing half of her star-shaped mask.

"In the name of peace and love…I'll kill you!"

The Dreamweaver snatches her wand from the table and swipes it at your group. A giant star-shaped burst of energy shoots out of the tip, sending everyone scrambling out of the way.

"Comet Beam!" she shrieks, loosing off blast after blast at your retreating backs with reckless abandon. You're only barely able to scurry behind a hedge next to Yoko as one of the shots screams through the air where your head had been just moments before.

"Guys! I-Is everyone all right?" says Nisekao into your earpiece. Thankfully, no one says they've been hurt.

"What about you?" you ask.

"I'm f-fine, but I'm retreating to the passageway for now. I can s-support you from there. She's st-strong, but she's attacking wildly because she knows she's outnumbered. If you can c-coordinate your attacks, she won't be able to handle all of you at once."

"Sound strategy," says Gin. "But if anyone gets a chance to counterattack, focus on the Enforcer first. She's desperate enough to fuse the instant things start going south, so let's not give her the chance."

"Let's get someone to draw her attention," you suggest, but before anyone else can volunteer, Rin leaps out of a nearby tree, her bat raised high over her head and screaming bloody murder.

The Dreamweaver whips around and looses off another blast at her attacker. Her aim is dead on, and it looks like there's no way Rin could possibly avoid being hit in midair, but at the last second, the blast slows dramatically, and she summons Galahad to pluck her out of the air and away from the beam's path.

Mariko and Nyneve breathe a sigh of relief as Galahad delicately sets her down beside them.

"That was close," Mariko breathes. "Are you alright?"

Rin smirks. "Don't wear yourself out worrying about me. It's okay if I get smacked a couple times - gotta get warmed up somehow."

"Idiot…" hisses Gin. "Now! While she's distracted!"

Koharu and Hayate vault over a row of low shrubs, summoning their Personas as they land. Kay and Le Fay unleash a barrage of ice and specters towards Shadow Hoga's unprotected back as the twisted being frantically attempts to blast Rin to pieces.

"Pwetty Aegis!"

Iseult darts around behind the Shadow, throwing up a shimmering barrier that dispels Koharu and Hayate's spells on contact.

"Shit! The little rat's not letting us in!" Hayate says.

"The 'little rat' is what you're supposed to gunning for, numbnuts! Your Persona's more suited for close combat, so get in there and throttle the damn thing!" Gin shouts.

Shibutani runs up alongside Hayate.

"I'll draw its attention, Hirada. Once it's focused on me, grab it," he tells him. "Now, Bors! Eliminate it!"

Shibutani's Persona materializes in mid-charge and barrels towards the Enforcer at full tilt. Iseult whirls around to meet its onslaught with another barrier, sparks hissing and flying through the air as Bors's giant lance scrapes up against it. While the creature is busy, Hayate creeps up behind it at a half-crouch, half-jog.

"All right, you little asswipe, block this!" shouts Hayate as soon as he's close enough. He thrusts his arm towards the Enforcer and Kay explodes forward like an extension of his body, seizing Iseult around the middle and yanking it away from Hoga's Shadow.

"Pop goes the weasel," he says smugly as Kay clamps the rest of his hands around Iseult's long, lithe body.

"God, you must be so excited right now," says Koharu, rolling her eyes.

"Jealous," Hayate fires back, and Kay tightens his grip on the struggling Enforcer. Its stubby legs begin kicking and flailing madly, and its wings beat uselessly against the crushing strength exerted by Kay's four mailed gauntlets.

Then, in a strangled, gurgling voice, Iseult manages to squeeze out a desperate plea for help:

"Hoga-chan! Hewp meee!"

The Dreamweaver rips her attention away from Rin and Mariko and rounds on Hayate, her eyes blazing with a mixture of fury and horror.

"Iseult! Get your hands off of her!"

Before she can intervene, you and Yoko burst out from your hiding place with your Personas blazing after you. The air becomes tinged with red as Baphomet and Elaine conjure pillars of scorching flame around the desperate Shadow, keeping her from coming to her Enforcer's rescue.

"Hurry, Hayate! Finish it!" you shout, as sweat trickles down your forehead and pools in your eyebrows.

"Hoga…chan…"

"STOP IT!" Shadow Hoga's scream, tortured and crazed, fills the compound with its unhinged anger as it ricochets off the high ceilings.

"HEAVENLY…METEOR…PURGE!"

All at once, a deep, low rumbling surges through the compound, breaking you and Yoko's concentration.

"What the…"

A mechanical whirring from above draws your attention upwards. Panic seizes your body as the central panels start folding themselves upwards, exposing the compound to the vacuum of space. You instinctively hold your breath and drop to the ground, clutching a handful of sod to keep yourself from getting sucked into the void. However, there's no pull, no sudden silence as the oxygen escapes – in fact, you're still able to breathe, you find as you let go of the grass and tentatively inhale. That's right, you think, of course she wouldn't let that happen.

But what does happen is that a giant, flaming chunk of rock slams into the ground directly in front of you, spraying you with you hot soil and sending you sprawling onto your back. Dozens of meteors rocket through the opening in the ceiling like hellish artillery, peppering the surface around you with explosions of burning slag. One clips Kay in the side, causing Hayate to yelp in pain as his Persona disappears and Iseult flies free.

"Quick! Over here!" Rin calls out, waving everyone towards her as Galahad erects a wide barrier that the meteors plink off of like pachinko balls.

"Agh, sorry guys…I couldn't hold on…" Hayate says, wincing as Nyneve begins working on his bruised ribs.

"We'll have to try something else. At least you weren't killed," says Koharu. The two stare at each other, surprised, until Gin interrupts.

"You mean we haven't been killed yet. That was probably our only chance. Dammit! All you had to do was crush the thing!"

"Hey!" says Hayate, jabbing an angry finger towards him. "Let's see you get sideswiped by one of those, see how well you hang on to anything!"

"Yeah, lay off him, Gin. He did his best. We'll have to adapt," you say.

"Then we'd better get to adapting, 'cause things are about to go downhill real quick," says Gin, jabbing a thumb towards the center of the courtyard.

Hoga's Shadow clutches Iseult tightly against her chest as the last of the meteors crash to the ground around them.

"I'm so sorry, Iseult. I should have never taken my eyes off you for even a second."

Iseult lifts her head towards the Dreamweaver with a small whimper.

"It's okay, Hoga-chan. I knew you'd think of something. You always do. You know what we have to do now, wight?"

Shadow Hoga nods. "Of course. There are too many of them for us to fight alone. But together…we can defeat them."

Where the Enforcer gets it from is unclear, but it produces what looks like a small, pink bottle with a bright light pulsing inside.

"All of your heawt enewgy is wight here, Hoga-chan! Wet's use it to transform!"

Gin leaps to his feet.

"No, no, no…!"

Percival appears in a flash of blue flame and takes off towards them, but it's already clear that he won't make it in time.

"PERSONA!"

A pillar of light erupts between the Shadow and Enforcer, and the resulting shockwave tosses Percival aside like a leaf on the breeze. Bathed in white, Shadow Hoga and Iseult soar into the air, twirling around the light faster and faster until their silhouettes blur together. The pillar of light then solidifies into a towering crystal prism that refracts blinding beams of light in all directions.

Squinting through a gap in your arms, you look on as the beams split into the seven colors of the rainbow, racing around the compound like a gymnast's ribbons before forming up into a line and crashing to the ground in front of your party. As the light fades, the colors start to coalesce into distinct shapes – seven fully-masked copies of the Dreamweaver, each clad in a different color and striking a different dramatic (ridiculous) pose.

"Warrior Red, champion of love!"

"Warrior Orange, passion's bright flame!"

"Warrior Yellow, bursting with joy!"

"Warrior Green, protector of the weak!"

"Warrior Blue, smart and sexy!"

"Warrior Indigo! Red took my idea!"

"Warrior Violet! Brave and true!"

The red Hoga leans over and stares down the line at Indigo.

"Indigo, what the hell? You can't just call me out during our intro!"

"Well, I thought we agreed that I was the champion of love!"

"Since when?!"

"Guys, please! Let's not fight…" Green whimpers.

"No, no, go on," says Rin. "Now tell her she's a bitch."

"Stay out of it!" the Shadows shout in unison. Violet steps forward.

"Ahem! All arguments aside…" She turns and waves the others back into their positions. "…we are the guardians of peace, the warriors of love, and Tokyo's unwavering sentinels against the forces of evil…the Mystic Warrior Squad!"

Seven pairs of golden eyes gleam dangerously behind their masks as they pose once again.

"We reject villains like you – and we'll never let you have your way! Feel the might of Tokyo's most glamorous heroes! Mystic Warrior Squad – strike!"

Violet thrusts a finger towards you, and her copies spring into action like they'd been shot from a cannon.

"Sp-Spread out!" says Nisekao. "Don't let any of them gang up on you!"

You and your allies scatter across the courtyard as you clash with the copies of the Dreamweaver. Red homes in on you at once. Leaping high into the air, she swipes through the air with her wand, firing several star blasts in your direction.

"Launcelot! Protect me!"

Your Persona raises his shield to receive the attacks, and the blasts collide with it with enough force to push both of you backwards. But instead of being repelled or dispersed, the stars twinkle briefly before exploding in Launcelot's face like cluster bombs. The detonation tosses you to the grass several feet away. Your head spinning, you recall Launcelot's smoking, tattered form before he can be harmed any further.

However, Red, seeing you unprotected, dashes in with her wand raised high for another strike. But before she can launch another attack, a streak of blue flashes by overhead, and the Shadow is consumed by a roiling nuclear explosion, leaving nothing behind but a small, smoldering crater.

Gin rushes up to you with Percival beside him. The hooded Persona places his hands over your body, and you can start to feel some of your soreness melt away.

"I'm probably not as good at this as Tsukino, but it'll have to do. In the meantime, you've got to start taking this a little more seriously."

"What do you mean?" you reply as a wave of indignation passes through you. "How was I supposed to know they'd explode?"

"I'm not talking about that specifically. It's more that you've got several Personas at your beck and call, and you choose to summon one of your weakest ones against a True Shadow. You're practically begging to get steamrolled."

"Easy to say in hindsight. So what do you suggest?"

Gin heaves a tremendous sigh. "Going on the offensive, for starters. Look around – the enemy's evened up the odds on us, and I can't be in seven places at once."

All around the garden, your friends are locked in battle with the other Dreamweavers, each one struggling to fend off their onslaught with varying degrees of success.

"See? We've got to be able to hold our own here. But now that we have one down, we can work on pressing the advantage. Go find one of the others to help. I'd suggest Shimizu – she still doesn't really know what she's doing out there," he says, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Koharu. She's clumsily trying to fend off Indigo with her giant sword while Le Fay desperately tries to get a curse to land. It doesn't seem like her enemy is having much trouble dealing with either of them.

"Okay," you admit. "You have a point. And, uh, thanks for watching my back."

"Well, if you go down, we're in deep shit anyways. But all the same, don't make this a habit."

You'd like to ask him what he meant by that, but a flash of light out of the corner of your eye arrests your attention. Gin notices it, too.

"What the…"

Somehow, Warrior Red, eyes flashing and her wand poised for another attack, is barreling down on the two of you despite having been blown to pieces just minutes ago.

"Gin, look out!" cries Nisekao.

Chiime darts in front you and unloads a salvo of bullets upon the Shadow, interrupting her ambush. However, they don't appear to be doing much, as Red raises her arms over her face and swats at them like they were a swarm of bees.

"Holy…thanks, Nisekao," breathes Gin. "But still, how did she survive that? You saw it, too, right?"

You nod. There hadn't been anything left of her after Percival's attack.

"Are they regenerating?" you wonder aloud.

"It would appear so," says Shibutani through the transceiver in your ear. "I've defeated mine twice already, but she keeps coming back."

"Same," adds Yoko. "Honestly, they're not all that strong for True Shadows, but there's no way we can outlast them like this."

Red fires a beam at Chiime, and Gin is forced to pull the little drone back out of her reach. Her distraction gone, the Shadow refocuses her attention on you.

"Baphomet! Torch her!" you cry out.

Red pulls her wand back for another attack, but Baphomet raises its hand, and a towering column of fire envelops her before she can finish. The searing jet of flames lingers for several seconds more, ensuring that every bit of the Dreamweaver is completely immolated, yet as soon as the spell flickers out, there's a flash of light, and Red pops back into existence once again. But this time, you notice something odd.

"Gin, did you catch that?"

"Huh? What?"

"That light - when the Dreamweaver comes back. It's not coming from her – it's coming from somewhere else. Nisekao, can you take the drone and figure out where that light's coming from?"

"On it! I just need someone to d-defeat one of them."

"Coming right up!" calls Rin from across the courtyard. With one smooth movement, she ducks under a swipe of Yellow's wand, grabs her by the wrist, and tosses the Shadow to the ground. Then, Galahad slings Rin high up into the air with his psychokinesis, and she uses gravity to do the rest, bringing her bat down on the Dreamweaver's skull with a resounding crunch. As Yellow's body dissolves into a cloud of black smoke, there's another flash of light.

"There!" says Nisekao.

"Where is it?"

"The bottle! The one the Enforcer was holding! It's on the table!"

Your head snaps towards the edge of the courtyard. There it is, just sitting there!

You break into a headlong sprint towards the table, but Red cuts you off.

"Not likely, villain! I'll die a thousand deaths before I let you get your filthy hands on th-urkkk!" she grunts as Percival plows into her side at full speed.

"Go!" shouts Gin from behind you, and you resume your mad dash towards the bottle. It can't be more than 20 or so meters away, but it quickly becomes clear that things aren't about to end quite so easily.

"Tetsuo! Hurry! They're onto you!" shouts Mariko from somewhere close by. A quick glance around reveals the other six Dreamweavers breaking away from the others and making for the table as well. You're running as fast as your legs will carry you, but the Shadows are moving with near inhuman speed and purpose, and it looks like there's no way that you'll beat them to the bottle…unless…

"Baphomet! I need ice!"

With haste only made possible by your shared consciousness, Baphomet coats the distance between you and the bottle with a layer of thick ice. Surging forward with reckless abandon, you zip across the slick surface, fingers outstretched. You feel them close around the neck of the bottle, and your balance fails. Your momentum carries you straight into the lawn furniture, sending you tumbling head over heels onto the ground. With only seconds before the Dreamweavers bear down on you, you pull yourself upright and dash the bottle against the side of the overturned table beside you.

There's a tinkling of shattered glass, and an explosion of light and sound. The seven Dreamweavers revert back into colored rays of light, swirling madly about in the air until they converge back into one being. Hoga's Shadow collapses, and the others race forward to surround her.

"Ghh…how…how did I lose…?" she groans, rolling over onto her back. At once, everyone trains their weapons on her.

"Time to start talking," growls Gin.

"Why? Why are you doing this? Do you get some kind of sick pleasure out of ruining someone's life?" the Dreamweaver whimpers, her face twisting up in distress.

"Do you?" replies Shibutani. "Have you given any thought to how many people have been affected by your inaction? Or is your career simply the only thing that occupies your mind anymore?"

"How can you talk like you know her…like you know us? Hoga…she worked so hard just to get admitted to the Officer's Academy. She even passed with the highest marks in her class. She had dreams of changing the world…but the world is a cruel place. And all the studying in the world can't prepare you to deal with real criminals. Without me, she would have been well on her way to getting kicked off the force."

"Maybe you should have led with the sob story if you wanted to change our minds," you say. "I don't care how shitty of a cop she really was. If the ends can't justify the means, you shouldn't have that kind of power."

Shadow Hoga's lips twist into a derisive grin.

"Oh? There's nothing you'd sacrifice to get what you really wanted? That's rich, coming from you."

"We're not saying that cleaning up the scum in this city isn't something worth doing. But if Hoga really wants to make a difference, she should work on a solution that doesn't harm other people. I think that's the way her heroes would do it," Koharu says.

"Then you're just as detached from reality as she was. One day, you'll find yourself faced with a problem that doesn't wrap itself up neatly, and you'll have to make a hard decision, too. And when that happens, you'll understand what I mean."

Shadow Hoga lets her head drop back against the ground with a sigh, a miserable expression plastered across her face. Something begins to well up inside you that you hadn't expected – pity. Something about her, this woman who compromised herself for a taste of the satisfaction that life denied her, is stirring some wretched sympathy deep in your heart.

No, you have to tell yourself, you can't think like that.

You did the right thing.

"Don't relax yet," you say, trying to focus on the reason you're really here. "We're not finished. You still need to tell us who you struck that deal with. The person who asked you to ignore the Yatabuya, the one who cleared out the yakuza for you…who was it?"

She turns her face away from you.

"You know, once you get the answer to that question, there's no turning back. What they're trying to accomplish is too important to fail…if you try to intervene, they'll destroy you. It's not too late to abandon this little game of yours, you know. You could give in, embrace your Shadows, and live a peaceful life. It won't be long before everyone else is like that anyways."

"Is that what the Age of Shadow is supposed to be?" you ask.

"Oh. Then we're on the same page. It's just about too late to stop it, anyways. I can't say for sure, but at least half of all Tokyo must be Shadows by now. Maybe more."

A worried look passes between you and some of the others. The Dreamweaver notices it and laughs.

"What's with the surprise? You didn't notice? I wonder why that is?"

"Cut the crap and quit dodging the question," Gin barks. "It's too late for either of us to be backing down now, so why not just let us know the name of the person who's going to be coming after our heads?"

A weighty silence blankets the courtyard before the Dreamweaver finally answers.

"Yuya Saito. I don't exactly know how he's connected to the yakuza, but he offered to clear them out for me so long as the police didn't touch the Yatabuya. But now that Hoga won't be in charge anymore, you can bet he's going to come looking for answers."

"Saito?!"" Shibutani looks as though he's been concussed. "Th-That's Souichiro-san's father…"

"What, the student council president?" Hayate asks.

"Yeah, and more importantly, the founder of G-Net. I guess that explains where the ads for the Book of Avalon came from," says Mariko, her brow deeply furrowed.

"He's gotta be one of the most powerful people in the entire country…this is insane…" says Koharu.

Hoga's Shadow chuckles at your reactions.

"Well, you wanted to know. Now, if we're done here, are you going to finish me off or not? It doesn't matter – I'm dead one way or another."

Gin nods towards Rin, who hefts her bat over her shoulder. "Yeah. That should about do it. For what it's worth, we appreciate the cooperation."

Rin raises her bat, and you turn away.

There's a heavy thud, and you can't help but wince. When you turn around again, the air is filled with swarms of black butterflies, and there's nothing but a mask left where the Shadow once was.

"All right," says Gin. "We should get ready to leave immediately once the Cloud terminates. I don't think we want to be caught hanging around a knocked out cop."

When the others turn away, you scoop up the mask.

White. A white hallway, stretching on past sight.

Another figure standing before you.

A woman, her face obstinately hazy.

She is disconsolate.

"Why? How you can look at him and tell me you can't do anything?"

Her voice is so familiar.

The anguish, so familiar.

You speak, and the voice that comes out is Hoga's.

Matter of fact.

Dispassionate.

"I understand that you must be upset. But the students in question have denied any wrongdoing, and without any witness statements, I'm afraid my hands are tied…"

The scene fades to white, and your eyes open. It was different this time. Why was it different? That woman…she was the same as the one in the other visions, you're sure of it. You're sure that you know who she is, but your mind refuses to place her voice. The more you think about it, the more your head begins to throb.

Thick white lines split the scenery around you, and Cloud Five falls away. You're back in the Imperial Gardens, not far from the gate where you and Mariko snuck in. Weariness starts to saturate every fiber of your being as you realize just how long this night has truly been.

Shibutani cradles Hoga's limp form in his tree trunk arms as she's released from her prison, and he gently lays her body across a nearby bench.

"We ought to let the police know she's here. I wouldn't feel right just leaving her here the rest of the night. After all, she hasn't done anything to us."

"Let's put some distance between us before we do that," suggests Yoko. "The trains aren't running this late, so we'll have to find somewhere we can wait until they start back up again. Akihabara's probably far enough, and it shouldn't be too bad of a walk, either. We can find a pay phone once we get there."

"You're kidding. We gotta walk all the way to Akiba? After all that?" Koharu complains.

"Come on," says Hayate. "I'll carry your sword."

And so, with your bodies bone-tired and your minds reeling from the magnitude of the task ahead, the Sleepwalkers slip through the garden gate and melt into the Tokyo night.