[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxgg5SNsj3EuscUq_6zUmtTuiSBSKzJdbP][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/eef5b949-a883-46fc-a11d-01cdbeac2023.png[/img][/url] [color=9a8c9a]"Alturism is a hell of a drug. Just ask Hizuki."[/color] [color=888888]— Black Gate[/color][/center] The mogall righted itself and floated over to the knife. Its vision bobbed a lot more than normal, as if it was using its tendrils to walk across the floor. When it reached for the blade, it was a slender white arm, not a tentacle, that reached. After gripping the knife, it stood up and looked back towards the mirror. Michi was reflected back, still in a T-shirt, but now with a cut across the side of her face. She opened herself up from the base of her jaw to behind her ear, and the blood had stained her white shirt. There was blood on the knife too, but it hadn’t been noticeable until Michi picked it up. What couldn’t be noticed was the mogall itself. It was nowhere in the reflection, despite its obvious appearance. When Michi blinked, an eyelid briefly covered Evil Eye’s view. Which could only mean… [color=9a8c9a]"I don’t know."[/color] Black Gate confessed, even as Evil Eye’s attention was focused elsewhere. [color=9a8c9a]"I’ve only ever had one friend, other than my servants. She was the type that wanted to be useful to everyone too. She let everyone use her, however they wanted, until she had nothing left to give. But I’m curious now."[/color] She stepped closer to Evil Eye. [color=9a8c9a]"The only person in the cafeteria you made an effort to talk to was the weed, who’s also the least likely to care. You left them all and went to find Rei. Willow only followed along because of how much she loves her. But you know you can’t help Rei, and I’m the one you’re trying to stop. I couldn’t picture you caring about what any of us thinks."[/color] Michi took the knife and pointed it at her eye. She used it to pull down her eyelid and fully expose the lower half of her eye. [color=9a8c9a]"Who is the friend you’re speaking of?"[/color] [hr] [center][url=https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxj0pkYHWgZQ6SwZFGqG2ASfGVwon8Xe1f?si=NlNhP1sP8MqLPlCS][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019b7079-1cfa-739a-85a1-4bb56f4802a1.webp[/img][/url] [color=9a8c9a]"There’s nothing but Rome under the sun alright. All roads lead there don’t they?"[/color] [color=888888]— Black Gate[/color][/center] [color=9a8c9a]"Yes, Roche, I believe you’ve said that already."[/color] Michi continued to watch Sylvia bounce between blows. [color=9a8c9a]"You beat Nyxia just to earn some respect, and she’s not the only one you’ve gotten violent with. Is it only okay when you get violent with club members? How hypocritical…"[/color] Tsubomi’s gradual collapse went unnoticed by Michi, or at least it wasn’t acknowledged. Her eyes followed Zassou as she delivered a retort. Michi crossed her brow. [color=9a8c9a]"Wanting to be good is a trait all light girls share. Most good deeds don’t involve going into venues you’re too young for, peddling products you have no business selling, in an attempt to help people you don’t understand. What she did was reckless, poorly thought out, and harmed everyone. It was hubris, not altruistism, and she deserved everything she got."[/color] Michi looked at the others. [color=9a8c9a]"What happened to my sister is far bigger than just Tsubomi. Maybe the lot of you should save your critique until the show has concluded."[/color] The gun toting ape might have been shooting at Hizuki, but that didn’t mean he was just going to let some lethargic kid grab his weapon. With a sharp tug, the barrel slipped out of Zassou’s grasp before he swung the butt of the gun into the side of her face. With a crack, the weed stumbled sideways and fell. [color=ff6347]"Wrrrraaaagh!"[/color] Oros flung herself at the ape, and the weapon discharged several more times. Meanwhile, Earthshaker was able to turn her opponent’s attacks into power, and used that to overwhelm the Ape before her. She hadn’t killed it, but she had created her opening. The ape that had initially stepped on Suki’s tentacle was still in the way, but it didn’t take the rulekeeper more than a moment to tackle it out of the way. The gap was narrow, but Hizuki was able to fly in and scoop Sylvia up. One of the ape men grabbed onto Hizuki’s leg, but she was able to detonate her armor to make a clean escape. [color=9a8c9a]"A serviceable end to the act. It’s time for the climax."[/color] Michi scanned the stage. [color=9a8c9a]"You can get off the stage now. We don’t need any secondary characters for the final act, and I don’t trust you as extras. Begone!"[/color] With a clap of her hands, the cafeteria went completely black. [color=9a8c9a]"Eventually they went away, but the damage had been done. Norah would never be the same again."[/color] A light came on, and it shined on Tsubomi. Only now she was dressed like Sylvia, with the ravaged white dress that still had her blood on it. Some makeup bruises had been added to Tsubomi’s face too, or had she been beaten while the lights were out. As for everyone else, they were in the darkness. But this was not a normal darkness. They couldn’t move, but it was less that they were restrained and more that they didn’t have bodies that they could move with. Everyone was a spectator now, lacking even the ability to speak. [color=9a8c9a]"She was constantly looking over her shoulder, jumpy, untrusting. My brave sister had lost her fire. Letting her live was probably the cruelest thing they could have done to her. Eventually she stopped leaving our home. Then she cut off contact with all her friends. Even later she stopped speaking. She would stop eating, too."[/color] Michi reached out of the darkness and held a knife out in front of Tsubomi, but she was not responsive. A second hand reached out and snapped, and Tsubomi’s body came to attention. With trembling hands, she took the knife out of Michi’s hand and held it in her own. Michi snatched Tsubomi by the hair and pulled her closer to the shadows. [color=9a8c9a]"You’re not playing yourself anymore, Tsubomi. You’re playing Norah. Show some respect."[/color] After spitting the words into Tsubomi’s ear, she tossed her head. Though Tsubomi quickly regained her footing, corrected her posture, and looked straight ahead. She had no options, as her body wasn’t listening to her anymore. She pressed the knife against her throat and then a second light turned on. This one illuminated Michi, who was still dressed from head to toe in black. She was looking out in the same direction as Tsubomi. [color=9a8c9a]"And then one day I walked into her room and she was holding a knife to her neck, just like this."[/color] Michi and Tsubomi turned to look at each other. Michi blinked once, displaying the same level of apathy Zassou showed the world. Tsubomi was still hyperventilating, but looked noticeably more sad. [color=9a8c9a]"I knew what she was going to do, and I did what I should have done before; I acted. I sprinted up to her and tried to grab her wrists."[/color] Michi Power walked up to Tsubomi, with the light following her as she moved. She stepped behind her and placed her hands on Tsubomi’s bare wrists. Michi’s outfit was still lightly coated in her lunch. Mushrooms and rice stuck to her white dress. The two lights had merged into one. [color=9a8c9a]"But I was weak, I was slow, I was powerless. Even in her final moments, mad and malnourished, she was so much more than I was."[/color] She looked at the side of Tsubomi’s head and whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. [color=9a8c9a]"And what were her last words to me, Tsubomi? What did she break her silence with?"[/color] It took Tsubomi a moment to respond. After getting a good breath, her voice cracked. [color=0072bc]"T-tell mom and dad it’s not their fault."[/color] [color=9a8c9a]"Ah, that’s right. It was our foster parents she wished to speak with."[/color] A wistful smile crossed Michi’s face. [color=9a8c9a]"She had nothing to say to me after all."[/color] It was hard to say who was pressing the knife, but it thrust into Tsubomi’s jugular. The prop blade collapsed, and an ape popped a can of red confetti behind the girls. Red ribbons and particles rained down on the two girls as Tsubomi sunk into Michi’s hands. Then everything was still. Even Tsubomi’s erratic breathing had ceased. [color=9a8c9a]"A fine performance, you’ve outdone yourself."[/color] Michi cast Tsubomi aside like discarded trash. She took a few steps away from her until the darkness swallowed her form, and Michi was alone in the spotlight. [color=9a8c9a]"Now, there’s a moral to this story. And if there’s someone to blame, I can think of a few people who share the majority of the guilt. But I think there’s a more interesting question to ask here."[/color] Michi looked out into the darkness, straight into the eyes of all who would observe her. [color=9a8c9a]"Who could have done something to stop this?"[/color] [hr] First Shuuko ran as fast as her legs would carry her, but when she got to the cafeteria, there were a slew of apes blocking the way. Just beyond them was Evil eye and Black Gate, and beyond them was a doorway shrouded in darkness. She was too late. You stupid bitch. If you’re going to hide, you don’t get to save anyone… [hr] Nyxia had no shortage of targets to shoot at. While the apes were stronger than miseria, they weren’t so strong that a death ray couldn’t vaporize them. She had little difficulty dispatching them. The little bastards sizzled and popped after just a few seconds of contact. They must have had some semblance of intelligence, since they started to take cover as she approached. Maybe they were trying to draw her away from the school. But when Nyxia arrived at the school, it was a different story. Every window of the school was a portal that could spit out stumpy apes. But what did that matter to Nyxia? One weakling fell just as easily as a thousand. Her death ray swept through the mass of familiars with ease, and eventually the creatures realized they were outmatched. Otherwise, Nyxia’s approach was no different than normal. She approached the club room to enter through the window, only to find more monkeys. She blasted them into ash before noticing something else. The entire club was here save for Rei. Everyone was still dressed in their nightwear, whether that be paw-print pajamas (Willow), underwear and a T-shirt (Suki), or something else. [hr] The cafeteria and hallway where the club members were started to get hazy. The surreal world they found themselves in faded, and soon they were looking at the backs of their eyelids. Tsubomi and Shuuko were one person again, and Kiyo’s leg bothered her once more. Dream or nightmare, it had ended. The only long term effects would come from the memories of the event. The door to the Detention Club creaked open, and a horn stuck through the doorway before one of Black Gate’s eyes was visible. The eye bolted around the room, locked onto Nyxia, then scanned the floor for someone. [color=9a8c9a]"Are you okay?"[/color]