Content Warning: Suicide imagery and descriptions of gore.

Everyone was waiting outside the emergency room to learn about Maia's condition. There were absolutely no sounds. Everything was dead quiet.

Tsubasa was completely unresponsive as she sat. Maria was at her side, trying to comfort her silently, but it wasn't clear if it was working or not.

Hibiki was sitting in silent horror. Because the camera feed had cut out, she kept hoping that maybe, maybe it wasn't Rui that did it. That slightest bit of hope that her sister wouldn't do that to her best friend. But she knew better. She knew exactly who was the one that had done it.

They heard the doors open as Genjuro stepped out. Tsubasa immediately stood up and went over.

"Uncle! Is Neesama… is she-?!"

She saw the grim expression on his face and took a step back.

"No… No, please don't tell me that…!"

"She's not dead." He said, voice low. "She's alive and her life isn't in danger."

This sent relief through everyone, but Hibiki was the only one that realized that Genjuro's expression wasn't one sharing the sentiment.

"I'll… need all of you to come with me." He said.

They all followed him down the hall until they reached a conference room with a screen. Elfnein was already there and waiting for them, along with the rest of the bridge crew. Judging from how red Elfnein's eyes were, she had been crying quite a bit.

"Everyone?" Maria asked. "Why are you here instead of-?"

"Maia-san's condition is stable, so we don't need to be there anymore." Elfnein explained, her voice fairly calm. "But… we need to show you her current state."

Aoi and Fujitaka managed the monitors as everyone sat down. The screen lit up to show Maia in a t-shirt and shorts.

"This was Maia-san's body before the fight. But after…"

Elfnein looked away as the screen brought up additions and further information. Everyone widened their eyes, a few of them putting hands over their mouths.

The stab wound on Maia's stomach looked deep, but not as noticeable as the massive gash starting from her collarbone, going down in the center of her chest. There were multiple burns all over her body, likely due to the electricity.

"Maia-san… she lost a lot of blood in that fight." Elfnein explained. "The stab wound on her stomach pierced through several of her stomach organs. The slash on her chest barely grazed her heart. And the electricity from Rui-san's weapon caused several third-degree burns all over her body."

"Oh my God…" Shirabe mouthed.

"Maia-san…" Kirika muttered.

"Her left arm is broken, damaging several bones that she had previously broken in her childhood." Elfnein explained. "Her left ankle had been twisted far enough to break the joint, and her right leg's femur is severely cracked."

"But… she'll get better, right?" Chris asked. "This is Maia we're talking about here."

Elfnein's lip quivered. "That's the issue we're facing right now… we don't know if she ever will."

Her words were simple, but they weighed heavily upon everyone.

"She… She won't…?" Miku asked, horrified.

"The human body relies on electrical signals from the brain to perform tasks." Elfnein explained. "But in the fight, all the electricity she took on in her battle against the Elekleid… it heavily damaged her nervous system. And because the human body relies on bioelectricity to function and repair itself…"

"You're saying that…?" Hibiki realized.

"Maia-san… even if she wakes up, we don't think she'll ever fully recover." Elfnein finished, lowering her head.

The silence hung in the room. Shuri in particular sat in silence, staring off in horror. Maia-san… she'll never fully recover…?

They heard rapid footsteps, seeing Tsubasa had run over, kneeling at Elfnein and grabbing her shoulders.

"Elfnein, you have knowledge about alchemy, correct?" Tsubasa asked her, voice desperate. "If there's something that you can do to save her…"

"A-Alchemy is a finicky subject, Tsubasa-san." Elfnein said, trying to keep things in control. "Even if I tried, the odds of me finding something are-"

"Even if the chance is so little!" Tsubasa begged. "If there's even the slightest chance you can save Neesama…!"

Maria gently pulled Tsubasa back. Elfnein looked away, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the USB that Maia had left behind. "Fujitaka-san, if you would…?"

Nodding as he took the USB, he inserted into the port and opened the folder. Inside was a single video file. It wasn't properly named, as the display was the date it was made… yesterday, before the fight that had transpired between Rui and Maia. Clicking on it, the video began to play.

The first image to appear was one of the rooms on the SONG submarine, which they all recognized as Maia's room. The girl came into frame as she sat down in front of the camera.

"Okay, it should be working now. This is my third take…"

"Neesama…?" Tsubasa said quietly.

Shuri had stopped staring off, looking up at the screen to see the older Kazanari twin.

"Hello to whoever is watching this. I really hope it's SONG, like I asked Elfnein." Maia's recording said. "If you're watching this, there's a good chance I've done something… really stupid. Even by normal standards."

"Done something stupid…" Chris grit her teeth as she tried not to cry. "You did something worse than that, you dumbass!"

"I decided that, since I'm going to be doing something like that, I should record something to tell everyone. Since I realized that if I told you all this directly, you'd probably hold me down and stop me from going." Maia said, rubbing the back of her head.

"We would've done that, without hesitation." Maria said, looking down.

"So instead, I'm gonna be telling you guys things that I've always wanted to tell you all." Maia said, slightly leaning back. "First off, Fujitaka and Aoi. You guys have always been there, watching our backs and making sure we're doing alright. Keep doing your thing, yeah? We always appreciate it."

Aoi had already let the tears start falling, as Fujitaka had a hand on her back.

"Jeanne, you've always been a real one, being the first one of FIS to help us out and all." Maia said. "Keep doing what you do, as I know Maria, Kirika and Shirabe appreciate it too."

Jeanne clenched her fists, as Aiba sat on her shoulder.

"Ogawa, you've been there for Tsubasa whenever I wasn't. Thanks for that. Hope you don't mind continuing to do so, alright?" Maia smiled.

Ogawa nodded, looking at the floor.

"Elfnein, you're everyone's favorite little scientist." Maia grinned. "Thanks for doing this for me, and hopefully giving them my message."

Elfnein sniffled, as she wiped her eyes.

"Commander- no, Uncle. Thank you for everything." Maia sadly smiled as she sat up. "You've always helped me out whenever I needed it. I can't tell you how much I owe you, and I can't thank you enough."

Genjuro's eyes were shadowed as he kept his arms crossed.

"Miku, I don't think I've ever met someone with such a good head on her shoulders." Maia said. "You're the best girl that Hibiki could have as a friend, and I'm glad that I met you."

Miku quietly nodded, tears forming.

"Kirika, Shirabe. The two of you are one of a kind." Maia said. "We did start off on a rough patch, but I'm glad that I got the chance of being your senpai. You two do me and everyone else proud."

"And we'll keep doing our best." Shirabe said, as her shaky hand slipped her hand into Kirika's.

"W-We promise you, Maia-san!" Kirika added, wiping away tears.

"Maria, you're the team mom that we all needed." Maia grinned. "Honestly, I'm wondering if I should start calling you "Oneechan" or something. …maybe I should. That's a good idea."

"Even now you still act like this…" Maria kept composed, but it was clear she was also affected.

"Chris, I do want to say sorry if any of my jokes annoyed the hell out of you." Maia apologized. "But you're just really fun to tease so it evens out, right? Heh, kidding, kidding. You're a real one, and a good friend to everyone."

"You jerk… you should be saying that to my face…" Chris mumbled, fists clenched on her lap.

"Hibiki, you're the absolute coolest person I've ever met. I'm not even joking here. You can do anything you set your mind to." Maia gave her a thumbs-up. "Oh, and sorry that I took the Gungnir without permission, but I'll give it back to you. Just like how I'll get that dumbass of a sister back for you. I promise! You don't have to worry. As you always say; it'll be fine, it'll be okay!"

Maia-san… Hibiki widened her eyes. You did this for me…?

"Shuri I… um…" Maia rubbed the back of her head, blushing. "There's no easy way for me to get around this. You probably know this already but… I love you!"

Shuri put her hands over her mouth, letting herself cry.

"God, I really can't believe I said that on a recording." Maia grumbled. "Next time, I'll say it to you in person, and then we can… you know, we'll talk about it later."

But… there is no later for you… Shuri sobbed silently.

"And Tsubasa… you're the best younger twin I could've ever asked for." Maia smiled. "I know I wasn't always there for you, not being the best older twin I could've been, but I want you to know that I'm proud of how far you've come. I've forgiven you for that dumb pact you made with Rui, since I realize you two did that to try protecting us all. Well, now it's my turn to do something dumb to help."

"Neesama…" Tsubasa's voice was shaking.

"But honestly, I don't think I can say enough about how proud I am. Kanade… she would be proud too." Maia added. "You probably don't need me to look over you anymore, but I'll always be here for you."

"Why… Why did you lie to me?!" Tsubasa screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Why did you lie to all of us, Neesama?!"

"Anyways, hopefully by now I smacked some sense into Rui and dragged her back to us. If not… well, shit." Maia sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Hopefully none of you have to actually watch this video and I can just tell you all in person. Honestly… I'm terrified of doing this, but it's something I gotta do. I'll bring Rui back to us, one way or another."

She made a quick salute, before switching it to a thumbs-up.

"Again, I love all you guys." Maia smiled. "I'll hopefully see you all in a few hours. Ending the recording now."

Standing up, Maia walked over to the camera. It slightly shook as she swore, having nearly dropped it, before the footage stopped.

Tsubasa had dropped to the floor, slamming her fists on the ground and sobbing. Shuri had knelt down by her side, gently pulling her into a hug as she also cried her eyes out. Nearly everyone in the room had been driven to tears.

Hibiki was staring off, eyes unfocused. Maia… she had done this to try and save Rui…

But now…

Was this… my fault…?

Miku immediately realized what Hibiki was likely thinking, before wrapping her arms around her.

"It's not your fault, Hibiki…" Miku said, voice quivering.

"But… Maia-san… she…"

"She did this for everyone… she wanted Rui back as much as all of us." Miku reassured her. "We'll hold out hope… we can save both of them…"

Hibiki looked up at the ceiling as Miku kept hugging her.

Please… come back to us, Maia-san… please…!

Rui stared at her hand. Tesla had finished repairing it, and it looked back to normal… well, as normal as it could be. She kept staring at it once she had reached the exit, only to see that there were several people waiting for her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Forte asked, arms crossed.

"...getting some fresh air." Rui said.

"Are you sure?" Lala asked. "You only got fixed a few hours ago…"

"I can't stay here for much longer or I'll lose it." Rui said, walking past them. "I need to take a breather."

"But before you go… I want to say something." Forte said.

"...what?" Rui turned her head.

"I… said some things about you." Forte said. "So I wanted to say sorry. You really are one of us now."

"..." She stared at her, not making a comment. Wordlessly, Rui left the base as she put up her hoodie.

"Did I say something wrong?" Forte asked.

"Lala doesn't think you did… Lala thinks that Rui doesn't feel good right now." Lala said. "She did fight her friends…"

"Friends huh…" Forte muttered, before suddenly thinking of Maria, Kirika, Shirabe and Jeanne. Dammit, why am I thinking of them?

"Marvelous…" Tesla said, eyes wide. "This relic… Gjallarhorn… it's a work of art."

He was analyzing Gjallarhorn alongside Starlit, as they ran the scans on the relic.

"The energy this Relic can provide for us… it will undoubtedly be able to connect to this world, and countless others." Starlit realized, wiping her brow. "And perhaps…"

"Yes… instead of the spirits of this world, maybe we can harness one from a world already gone, or on the verge of destruction." Tesla concluded, before smiling. "A way to create a new sinless world, without dirtying our hands any further… my dream… I'm almost there, Amelia…!"

He heard something crash, and looked over to see that Starlit had collapsed on the ground, clutching her chest.

"Starlit!" He shouted in concern.

"How is she?" Chris asked, seeing Maria step out of Maia's hospital room.

"It hasn't changed a bit." Maria shook her head. "Tsubasa refuses to leave her side, so the doctors had to treat her in the same room."

"But… that is the right place to be." Chris said. "If Shuri was in that position, I'd be by her side the entire time."

"Speaking of… how is Shuri?" Maria asked, frowning.

"Locked herself in her room." Chris crossed her arms. "Won't answer any of us."

"That's an understandable reaction." Maria said. "She finds out Maia loved her after…"

"Hey, don't say "loved."" Chris chided. "I know Maia, and she's not one to let this keep her down."

"And yet…" Maria remembered Maia's words to her in the recording. "...you're right. We need to keep hoping for a miracle."

"Yeah… I'm sure Shuri's doing the same." Chris said, looking down the hall.

Unknown to everyone else, Shuri's room was empty. The window was open, letting in air for the empty room, as the inhabitant was missing.

Rui had stepped off the bus, watching as it left. No one on the bus had really noticed she was there, as she had kept her hoodie up.

"So… here I am again…"

She looked up to see the ruins of Kadingir. The removal had progressed significantly since she had last visited. Walking up the hill, she remembered the fights that she had been in here, remembering how she had fought alongside her friends.

…but do they even consider her friends anymore?

Standing near the base of the tower, she looked at the damage to see it wasn't as noticeable as it used to be. There was even grass growing around, instead of being a borderline wasteland. Leaning down, Rui gently held out a finger, rubbing one of the small flowers. To her surprise, a grasshopper hopped onto her finger, staring up at her. Standing up, she observed the little insect, before it jumped off and landed back in the grass. Rui smiled, seeing it leave.

"I thought you would be here."

Rui turned around to see Shuri walking up. Her expression was harsh, almost matching the way her sister usually glared.

"How did you know?" Rui asked.

"I just did." Shuri stated simply. I don't know why… but the voices that I heard when using the Ignite Module's power told me I could find her here…

"So what are you here for then?" Rui asked.

"Why… Why did you do it?!" Shuri demanded. "Rui… Maia was your friend!"

"...how is she?"

Shuri really wanted to scream at Rui that it wasn't her business, but in spite of everything, Rui deserved to know. "...she's in a coma, and unlikely to ever wake up. On the chance she does, she'll be crippled for life."

Rui's expression barely changed, but Shuri noticed Rui's eyes shake.

"Is that so…" Rui muttered.

"Why… Why couldn't you have just come back to us?!" Shuri demanded. "We would've accepted you regardless of how you were, because you were our friend! You all accepted me when you learnt of my condition… you could have done the same!"

"If you're here to try convincing me, you're wasting your time." Rui said.

Shuri lowered her head. "I see now… so you didn't just take away the girl I loved… you also took away the girl that had saved my life when I ran away from Finé."

"Shuri, I-"

"No. No more."

(Insert Mirage Mirror by Wataru Hyuga)

Rui widened her eyes as Shuri pulled out a gun, and pointed it at her own head.

"Shuri!" Rui shouted, as she started running forward.

Raising her head, Shuri's eyes had a tint of red. "For what you did, I will make you suffer, Rui Tachibana."

BANG

With an explosion of blood, Shuri fell over, blood pouring out of her head. Rui nearly puked again, before jumping back.

"Elekleid, switch on!"

With a flash of violet electricity, Rui had donned her Elekleid. She brought out her swords, as dark red energy started surrounding Shuri as her Relic Battle Mode armor started to form around her body. She was slowly pulled up into a standing position, the bullet wound disappearing. Opening her eyes, they were now pure red.

"Rui…" Shuri's teeth sharpened as she roared. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

She brought up her hand and unleashed a wave of darkness. Rui quickly jumped into the air to avoid getting hit. Landing back down, she looked up to see Shuri rushing at her. Drawing her arm back, her arm ripped apart and tore into place to form what appeared to be a sharp blade made of bone.

"Shi-!"

Rui brought up her swords in time to block the stab. The force behind Shuri's strike was so great that it had actually shattered her bone blade, only for it to start reforming rapidly. Rui quickly kicked Shuri back, only for her to throw her damaged arm forward. A dragon head emerged from it, rushing towards Rui with its jaws open.

Hell's Fang

Right before the beast head could clamp down on her, Rui thrust her blades up, stabbing it through the roof of its mouth. It quickly dispersed, fading and retracting back into Shuri's body. Rui spread her wings and took to the sky. In response, red bat-like wings ripped out of Shuri's back, as she flew skyward to meet Rui. Hellish eyes grew on the membrane, glaring at Rui.

"Don't you run!"

Shuri's arms transformed into blades again, as the two clashed in the air. Every time they clashed, one of Shuri's blades would break, but they kept rapidly reforming in time. The two flew at each other once more, and Rui's swords broke through Shuri's arms, stabbing right into her chest.

But to Rui's shock, Shuri grabbed her by the face with a massive hand of dark energy, growing out of her shoulder. All the eyes on her arm glared at Rui with utter hatred.

"FALL!"

Tightening her grip, Shuri dove down. Rui ripped out one of her blades and stabbed Shuri's shoulder,tearing open one of the eyes, but her grip didn't weaken before she slammed both of them into the ground, cratering the earth. Shuri flew upwards, letting the dust settle before she could make her next attack.

SHLICK

She screamed as one of Rui's swords was flung straight through her face, stabbing all the way through. Unable to keep flying, she started to fall. Rui flew out of the smoke, grabbing the blade hilt. Electricity coursed through the weapon, burning Shuri's face before Rui grabbed the other end of the blade for a better grip. With a sickening crunch, she twisted it to break Shuri's neck, before swinging it around and throwing her off the blade, sending her crashing into the rocks.

Landing back on the ground to face her, she watched as Shuri slowly stumbled out of the wreckage. The sound of her bones snapping into place as the skin on her face restored itself.

"You really did try to kill me…" Shuri cracked her neck back into proper position.

"It's what a monster is supposed to do, isn't it?" Rui asked, keeping her swords at the ready.

Shuri couldn't help but chuckle in spite of everything. "Look at the two of us now… two monsters fighting one another."

"But I guess only one monster can remain." Rui said. "So come at me."

"...was this how you felt when you almost killed Maia?" Shuri asked.

Rui didn't answer her as she stood ready.

"...then I'll end this myself."

Shuri concentrated, getting down on all fours as she channeled all of her power. Her hands and feet sharpened into claws, before a long sharp tail made out of dark energy hung behind her. Eyes opened up all over Shuri's body, tearing through the skin and staring at Rui with the tiny black pupils.

"Give me more… Dáinsleif!" Shuri roared.

All the eyes started bleeding as she rushed forward with a burst of speed. Rui brought up her blades to block the claws, but was caught off guard as Shuri powered through, shouldering her to knock her off balance. She followed up with a knee to Rui's chest, before stabbing her claws into her stomach. Her tail wrapped around Rui's neck, and pulled her into the air.

"Fu-" Rui winced as the tail tightened itself around her throat, before she was tossed ahead.

Shuri jumped skyward. All of the Ignite Module's energy converged into her hands, forming a massive broadsword of pure energy. The voices of the Dáinsleif all commanded her, and she decided to give in completely.

"DIIIIIIIIIIE!"

Shuri slammed the weapon down on Rui. The girl brought up her weapons to block, but they shattered with the impact. The slam cratered the ground so hard, the Kadingir remains tilted from the tremors.

When the smoke faded, Shuri was back to normal, foot on Rui's chest. Her clothes were shredded and soaked with blood, but her body had completely healed. Rui's Elekleid was slightly cracked from the battle, but she found herself unable to move.

Looking up, she saw Shuri's vengeful eyes as she pulled out her gun and aimed it at her head.

She didn't feel like resisting anymore… she was too far gone now. There was no way for her to wipe all the blood from her hands…

Closing her eyes, she heard Shuri's gun click.

BANG

…

…

Why wasn't she dead?

Shuri's gun clattered to the ground, the barrel of the weapon was completely blown off. They turned from the direction of the shot to see Chris standing there, transformed.

"Are you… both… stupid?!" Chris screamed.

"Chris…" Rui muttered.

Another person stepped up; Hibiki. Her expression was grim, but there wasn't any anger in her eyes.

"Oneesan… we need to have a long talk."

A/N: So we got a lot to unpack this time around, huh?

These Author's Notes are just gonna keep getting shorter to let you all process things as they go along.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.