"We have trouble." Cyan blinked, waking Chiharu up from the middle of the night. Chiharu squeezed her eyelids tightly against the bottom of her eyes and then forced herself awake.

　　"What is it, Cyan?" Chiharu asked, sitting up in bed and looking for a t-shirt and jeans to put on over her underwear.

　　"Dead Enders, converging from all sides. All of them are on a beeline for Masanori's house." Cyan reported.

　　"I guess they didn't like the subtle approach after all." Chiharu said, flipping on the light switch. "How many?" Chiharu asked.

　　"Six, and two of them are the ones we fought previously." Cyan said.

　　"How many did we beat when we were thirteen?" Chiharu asked, slipping a shirt on over her head.

　　"Six." Cyan reported.

　　"See? Then it won't be a problem." Chiharu said encouragingly. She heard a quiet knock on her door so shimmied quickly into a pair of tight blue jeans.

　　When Chiharu opened the door, she wasn't surprised to see her little sisters already up and dressed looking worried.

　　"I presume your wyrds alerted you?" Chiharu asked quietly to not wake up their parents.

　　"Chiharu, what are we going to do?" Aiko asked.

　　"Saki, call the Kounos and ask us if they'll help." Chiharu said.

　　"Yes," Saki breathed, rushing downstairs to their landline phone.

　　"Aiko, I want you to come with us, but only so I can keep an eye on you. You're as vital to this world as Masanori is to the other worlds. They could be targeting you too." Chiharu said.

　　"Yes sister." Aiko sighed. "I wish I'd chosen a weaponized suit like you'd advised me."

　　"If you had, the world would have been destroyed long ago." Chiharu reminded Aiko.

　　"There is that." Aiko smiled.

　　"The Kounos say of course they'll come. It's their mission to destroy the Corrupters." Saki came rushing back up the stairs.

　　"Okay." Chiharu nodded to herself, counting up the combatants on each side. "Saki, it's okay if you stay home. You're only eleven years old, you need to live at least until your first kiss. We'll handle this ourselves somehow."

　　"I have to go, sister." Saki said, angling up her chin. "If I live but you two die, it's not like I'm any better off."

　　"There is that." Aiko smiled wryly. Chiharu sighed and saw the votes were against her. "Fine. But Saki, if you feel like running away, it's okay to run. I'm not convinced we'd lose without your help you know."

　　"Understood." Saki agreed, just happy to be invited. She knew Eri would be there. Her parents would expect it of her as a given. So she had to be there too, no matter what.

　　"Team Choice Givers, move out." Chiharu said, padding down the stairs before putting on her shoes and creaking open the doors.

　　"Roger." Chiharu's younger sisters saluted her and then did the same. They made for a rather sad Earth Defense Force, when you thought about it too long. But it was all the Earth had.

* * *

　　Yume Minami looked through the scope of her sniper rifle. Sure enough, Masanori's mansion had been covered entirely by that same orange barrier that had foiled them last time. At the heart of the transparent orange dome stood a buddhist monk with a wide brimmed straw hat and a 12-ringed staff. He apparently thought very highly of himself, to have as many rings as Buddha. Then again, given the speech the Moral Aristocracy had made, maybe they did consider themselves better than the old religious figures who still ruled the world from the grave. There was no point firing, it would only betray her location without breaking the shield.

　　"How many are you scrying?" Yume asked Shadow.

　　"Inside the bubble, seven Choice Givers, and an assorted handful of followers, emulators, and Dead Enders." Shadow said.

　　"The mansion's servants perhaps?" Yume asked, her brows furrowing at all the extra players.

　　"The goody-two-shoes Wyrds from the government only give magic to Choice Givers, so it hardly matters." Shadow said.

　　"What about my prey?" Yume asked.

　　"She's not in the bubble. She's somewhere nearby in town however." Shadow warned.

　　"What did I tell you?" Yume smiled triumphantly. "Probably huddling somewhere crying."

　　"You would know best." Shadow surrendered. "If you have a countermeasure for the invisible assassin, now's the time."

　　"I'll draw him out. The first person who gets within arm's reach of me is going to fall into a trap." Yume smiled. She focused her mind and began the invocation.

　　"Darkness beyond despair." Shadow's aura surrounded her in a steely gray, then slowly shrunk back down into a second gray slightly luminescent skin.

　　"Another river of Hell?" Shadow asked, viewing her handiwork as best he could while still grafted into her body.

　　"Lethe makes people forget. But Styx is a little different. It's the river that, once crossed, means you can never leave Hell again." Yume explained. "Daddy used to read Horace and Homer to me and my little brother on his lap, one on each leg. Strange that we could be so small compared to him, isn't it?"

　　"Wyrds also have a childhood, but even our children are enormous and powerful, and when they turn five we feed them all the knowledge in the cosmos. It's odd that humans stay such grubs for so long." Shadow agreed.

　　"It's only humans, too. Deer, for instance, are born with the ability to walk. Almost everything can fend for itself within a year." Yume mused. "I guess it's because we're the most loving species on Earth. We can afford to rely on our parents."

　　"Until drunk drivers run them over." Shadow reminded Yume.

　　"There is that." Yume agreed with a bit of melancholy, turning to the Dead Enders behind her. "As expected, they're waiting for us. Despite their numbers, however, only three can fight. The monk in the middle seems content to just protect his invalids and kids, so he won't be an issue. I'll deal with the invisible man by staying in the front. The rest of you stay in the air or well back until we trap the assassin. It would be a shame if he slaughtered you all before you even noticed him. I'll be riding Ryu so that we're both immune to projectiles."

　　"So basically you're going to deal with everything?" Verdigris blinked a dirty blue.

　　"Well, we are the strongest Dead Enders ever." Yume said apologetically. "I just don't want to waste my allies fruitlessly. Once the assassin's trapped and the barrier is broken feel free to run in and slaughter everyone else."

　　"Very well. We will trust Shadow's lead, Amaranth did give him command." Icterine blinked a light green, and the other Dead Enders nodded.

　　"Are you ready Ryu?" Yume asked. A few butterflies started floating around in her stomach. If her spell didn't work, she was about to be killed by that ninja, and there would be no time to correct for her mistake. Invisibility was a ridiculously unfair ability. At least Shadow's scrying had alerted her to his presence as 'somewhere in the vicinity.'

　　"They've gathered a goodly number for us to kill." Ryu smiled, showing his teeth. "Don't worry Yume. If you stay on my back, I won't let any harm come to you."

　　"I'm counting on it." Yume smiled back at him, giving him space to transform.

　　"Form of the Dragon!" Ryu shouted, and his shout quickly transformed into an enormous roaring bellow as his bulky wings, tail, and head grew over the nearby trees. His flame colored scales were a slippery climb up onto his spined neck, which Yume straddled expertly, her sniper rifle tied tightly against her back in a diagonal line so it wouldn't get in her way again.

　　"Let's show them hell." Yume suggested, and Ryu agreed with a flap of his wings that sent them rolling into the sky and towards their quarry in an unstoppably massive charge. The barrier wouldn't even last a second.

* * *

　　Shiori Oono watched the mansion carefully from on top of a roof two blocks away. Awesome had warned her of the incoming Dead Ender threat, and so she had returned from the park which had been her homeless abode of the moment while she thought things over. It was going to be okay. Awesome was quick to confirm that Miss Sad Face was among them. She just had to get to point blank range with that dragon rider and hit her with a Burst Knuckle. Then everything she'd lost would be restored to her. It hadn't been fun, but mercifully, it hadn't taken very long either. The dark wyrds were probably in a rush because they didn't want to have to fight Masanori at full strength. It was entirely understandable. At full strength, Masanori had killed endless Dead Enders for over a decade. Who would want to fight him again? But Masanori's handicap was Shiori's once in a lifetime opportunity. She would not miss it.

　　"Who are you? Why am I on your forehead?" Awesome asked in a sudden tizzy.

　　"Hush, Awesome." Shiori sighed. "We're in our battle armor, because we're about to engage the Dead Enders down there. Just think of me as Mysterious Mistress X. I'm a masked hero of justice, so give me all the power you can."

　　Awesome flashed a steady red as he scryed his host, and then gave in. "How on Earth I came to be in this position, I can't remember. But Cyan and Magnolia are down there, so if you're willing to protect them. . ." Awesome left off hopefully.

　　"I will." Shiori promised Awesome. "Just keep the magic coming."

　　"Yes, Mistress X." Awesome blinked. Good, he might remember this conversation for another thirty minutes or so before she had to repeat it. Surely the Dead Enders that were all prowling within scrying range would get this over with before then. She didn't want to explain herself to Awesome again. It was driving her nuts.

　　A roar shook through the earth just as much as it thundered through the heavens, as an enormous red-orange dragon appeared over the treetops. A small black dot sat on its neck. She's come. And with another roar the dragon was flying towards her friends. Shiori stood up and willed strength into her metallic gray boots. I can do this. I can do anything. Then she jumped off the roof of the house and sprinted towards her prey. The dragon was fast, its size made it look slow but it crossed the distance much more rapidly than she did, slamming straight into the circle of protection at full speed. The barrier bulged inward, flickering furiously, before shattering into a thousand pieces. In moments the monk had retreated to the front door and cast a new, smaller barrier around the mansion, leaving only the other warriors exposed to the dragon's claws.

　　Good thinking! Shiori praised the Moral Aristocracy. If the Dead Enders could be distracted into targeting the people who could fight instead of the people who couldn't, the barrier had served its purpose anyway. She was pounding through the streets, leaving small holes where each stride touched the ground and clouds of dust behind her. In one leap, she had jumped over Kotone's brick wall and into her garden grounds. The dragon was breathing fire at the peasants gathered below, but Cyan's blue light glowed and the fire was reflected back into the Dragon's face, making it wince back blindly. Shiori didn't have time to worry about anyone else. She timed her breaths and then summoned all the power she could to her legs and launched herself into the air.

　　She landed on the dragon's back, still in a dead sprint. Flame started to gather around her fist as she held it back behind her.

　　"Burssssssttttttt Knuckleeeeeee!" Shiori shouted, rushing at Miss Sad Face's back, who turned with a look of wide-eyed surprise to see this sudden assault appear out of nowhere. Too late! You can't dodge me at this speed! Shiori exulted, ramming her fist at the girl's face. Right before her punch landed, there was a sickening distortion that started folding and rippling the entire fabric of space, and then the two of them were no longer on Earth. Shiori looked around in bewilderment, checking her fist, and then looking up at the little girl who was now on a pavilion high above her. Shiori was standing on a wide circular arena full of bones and skulls. Everything was dark. There didn't seem to be any light sources at all, but you could still see, as though the darkness itself provided enough light to tease you with. Shiori stared up at her Dead Ender opponent with a sense of awe. Why were all her spells so ridiculous?

　　"Who are you? You aren't the ninja!" The girl at the top of the tower looking down called down in anger.

　　"I'm Shiori Oono. Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Shiori Oono shouted back up.

　　"What are you doing here? I know my spell worked! You have nothing left to fight for, the whole world's abandoned you!" The girl shouted back with an even greater distaste.

　　"That's okay, because I never gave up hope!" Shiori shouted back. "Besides, you still remember me. So the whole world hasn't abandoned me, now has it?"

　　The girl laughed. "You may have saved the ninja, but only at the cost of your own life, Shiori Oono. To fight your way out of this hell, you would have to beat all hundred of my demons, each stronger than the previous. Cling to your hope while you can. I'll watch from here to see how long it lasts."

　　Shiori Oono figured it wouldn't work, but she tried to jump up a floor anyway. An invisible barrier slammed into her at exactly the height of the second floor, and she winced as she landed again on her hands and knees. Spells had parameters, once you were trapped in them, it was only natural that you had to obey their rules. One hundred demons, huh? She'd needed some Taekwondo training anyway.

　　"If you're going to watch, you could at least tell me your name." Shiori called back up again. It didn't seem likely that she could convince this girl to change her ways, but her ambush had already failed so there was no harm in trying. Besides, it was nice to talk to someone who actually remembered what she said.

　　"Yume Minami. I am the girl who sent you to hell, not once, but twice now. You must resent me a lot." Yume giggled.

　　"Do you take pleasure in other people's pain?" Shiori asked angrily at her laughter.

　　"Yes." Yume said.

　　"Errr." Shiori said. She wasn't sure what a good riposte to that was. "Well, didn't anyone tell you that's a bad thing? What would your parents think?"

　　"I wouldn't know. After all, they're already dead." Yume said flippantly. "You see, until a month ago, the world was taking pleasure in my pain. It had designed itself to be one giant torture chamber. All the laws of physics, biology, chemistry, everything. The entire universe was designed to make me suffer as much as possible. From the beginning of creation, it had been steadily clanking away to craft the perfect environment for me to boil alive in. I'm just paying the world back a little. Just one tiny fraction of a percent of what it did to me. I think that's fair enough."

　　Shiori Oono stared up at the girl above her. What could a ten year old girl have gone through to say something like that? Shiori couldn't imagine. Was it possible for someone to suffer worse than Rei had? Of course it was possible. Just as Good had no ending, just as there was always a greater love you could feel or even more beautiful being you could become, there would always be even greater suffering behind the previous worst pain imaginable. The higher people's faculties became, the more they could suffer. It was the dance of good and evil that spiraled all the way to infinity. And the two of them now stood on either side of that intertwined double helix, looking into each other's souls like mirrors.

　　"It's ironic, Awesome." Shiori whispered.

　　"Hmm?" Awesome asked. "Howso?"

　　"The world's such a small place. To think I'd meet my exact opposite. She's like my evil twin sister." Shiori said.

　　"Isn't she a little young to be your twin?" Awesome flashed, not convinced.

　　"My evil daughter?" Shiori asked hopefully.

　　"Isn't she a little old to be your daughter?" Awesome asked again.

　　"Well she's got to be my evil something!" Shiori complained.

　　"Worry about it later." Awesome warned. "Here they come." A portcullis started lifting, a rasping metal grating sound, and the first demon walked out. It was a three headed dog with the tail of a snake larger than she was.

　　"You said the first would be the weakest!" Shiori shouted up at Yume accusatorily.

　　"Cerberus is the gatekeeper to hell!" Yume shouted back. "He has to be the first demon! Besides, this is my world. I can set it up however I like!"

　　"When I'm through with these I'm coming for you!" Shiori shouted, shaking her fist angrily at her spectator.

　　"You won't make it past twenty!" Yume taunted back. And then the Cerberus howled and pounced at her breathing fire and poison.

* * *

　　"Lucky darts!" Mother shouted, throwing her strongest weapon that she used to pick stocks with at the man with insectoid green armor.

　　"Cat's Cradle," The armored man replied, and string came out of his ten fingertips, snagging the weapons in mid-air. The battle raged around them, with wyrd lights flashing their ghostly colors in all directions, intersecting and turning into muddled browns and grays at the edges. But no matter how Eri looked at it, they were being overwhelmed. Father was busy protecting the weak, and it was all Chiharu could do to defend herself. If they were going to win, it had to be her. She had to slay that dragon. It was immune to projectiles, which only left her sword.

　　"Sapphire, quickly!" Eri called. "Sharpness Uppu! Speed Uppu! Strength Uppu!" Blue light started sinking into her in careful patterns, until she could feel the magic flowing from the tip of the sword all throughout her body. The dragon turned to lash its tail at her mother, but the green-armored man at the last moment jumped in-between with his own intended net attack and took the full brunt of the dragon's swing. Eri smiled as she saw her Mother put her hand to her mouth with a startled "My, my."

　　"Secret technique, swallow sword!" Eri said, jumping into the air. She would cut the dragon in two right at the top of his back. Her diamond sword could cut boulders. This wouldn't be a problem. She reached the top of her arc and started flying back down, the wind whistling around her. At the last moment she swung her sword with all her strength into the dragon's scaled back. Her sword snapped in two. It hadn't even left a mark.

　　Eri stared at her broken sword in consternation. "You've got to be kidding me!"

　　"Eri, move!" Sapphire warned. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dragon's head spinning on an especially agile neck around to snap her off his back. Only her enhanced speed let her jump back off into the comparative safety of team Choice Givers. She heard an enormous chomp behind her as she rolled back onto the ground.

　　"Eri, are you okay?" Saki asked, hefting her warhammer and looking at the battlefield fearfully. Chiharu stood behind her, countering as many spells as she could.

　　"Magnetic Pull!" A purple clad man in a cape and a lot of liquid-filled ring tubes pointed at them.

　　Chiharu looked down at herself and shrugged. "Nope, carbon fiber."

　　Eri looked down at herself and shrugged. "Nope, diamond-stitched leather."

　　Saki screamed as she started floating away in her suit of plate mail. "Chiharu you bulllllyyyy!"

　　"Oh, all right." Chiharu said, pointing. "Counter!" Saki fell back to the ground in an extremely loud heap.

　　"Dragon!" Eri pointed as it lowered its head towards them and an orange glow gathered in the back of its throat.

　　"Shining Finger!" Saki stabbed her pointer into the ground, which started swelling upwards in a rushing roar. By the time the dragon's fire was belching towards them Saki was rolling down the side of her new hill, the shield of earth blocking it all away.

　　"Shrapnel blast!" The purple caped man floated over the hill, angry at being ignored. But he never got the spell off. Isao had jumped off the top of the hill and landed on his back, a spear piercing his heart.

　　"Invisibility's fine for these Dead Enders, but what do we do about the dragon?" Isao shouted.

　　"He's immune to my laser!" Chiharu shouted. "Can't Keiichi do something?"

　　"It's no good! He can't spare any power from his barrier!" Isao shook his head.

　　"Just hold on! Let's kill the ones we can kill first!" Chiharu shouted, and Isao nodded as he faded back into obscurity.

　　Saki Sakai knew what she had to do. She held her weightless warhammer tightly in her sweating palms and rushed out of the relative safety of her embankment. I designed my warhammer to hurt this dragon. I'm sure it will work. Everyone's counting on me! She rushed forward towards his haunches and yelled a battle cry, slamming her hammer with an overhead swing into his hide. The hammer bounced off with a strange metallic ringing. She fell backwards in a heap, the warhammer vibrating so much she could barely hold on to it. Now what? Saki thought desperately.

　　"Saki!" Eri shouted, racing up to her friend through the various explosions.

　　"Eri!" Saki cried out in relief.

　　"Saki, strike him again! Give it all you've got! This time we'll fight him together!" Eri grabbed her hand.

　　"Unn!" Saki nodded, squeezing her friend's hand back in return.

　　"Speed uppu. Jump uppu! Strength uppu!" Eri cast, blue runic lines settling onto her arms and legs. She grabbed Saki with one hand and her warhammer with the other. "My sword's broken so we have to hit it with this. Let's go, Saki. Together!"

　　"Secret move, swallow strike!" Saki shouted, not quite sure of the move's name.

　　"Secret technique, swallow sword!" Eri shouted in unison, and the two were whistling through the air.

　　"Weight uppu!" Eri said, and blue lines started swarming into the hammer.

　　"Wait a second!" Saki said worriedly.

　　"Don't worry! It will stay weightless to us no matter how much force I give it! Come on Sapphire. Again, and again! Weight uppu." Eri said. Saki suddenly got an idea and started smiling as they fell back towards the ground.

　　"GIGATON HAMMERRRRRRRRRRRR!" Saki shouted, and she let a flood of magic into her weapon, which started ballooning into enormous proportions. Soon the hammerhead was larger than she was. Then three times as large. She had to stop when her two hands together couldn't comfortably hold the haft anymore.

　　The dragon raised his head at the annoying pests and shot out a gush of flame. Eri whirled in front of Saki, putting her diamond armor in the way.

　　"Eri!" Saki shouted.

　　"Don't worry! Fire resistance --- uppu!" Eri shouted, spreading her arms and legs to shield her friend. Blue light settled around her diamond mail just before the red flames gushed over and past them.

　　The dragon blinked to see the two children emerging from the other side unscathed. Then it blinked again when it realized just how large Saki's warhammer had grown on its downward arc towards his back.

　　"Reachhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Saki prayed, throwing her warhammer downwards in front of her at the dragon before he could flinch away. There was a terrible crunching sound as the weightless super-massive super-sized hammer crashed into the dragon's back. And then there was a splatter as the dragon's body was crushed into the ground and split apart at the seams. The two friends landed from their skyscraper-class jump in a pool of blood and guts.

　　"Mother, look, I'm a dragonslayer!" Eri shouted, jumping up and down and waving, splashing blood all over her white diamond coat of mail.

　　"I see you!" Mother waved back. "As expected of a Kouno, Eri. But calm down and pay attention, there's still two more!"

* * *

　　It was too much. The hundredth demon was too much. Shiori felt completely drained of magic. She had a dozen wounds, from minor to serious. She could feel blood trickling away from her side. Strangely she had thought lying on the floor for a while would make her feel better. But as each moment passed, she just felt even weaker than the last. She was going to lose consciousness like this, in this eternal hell. She was going to die like this. She had to do something. She needed more fire. She had to make more fire. She searched her memory and her body for another spell. Anything more that she hadn't used previously. There had to be another reserve, another backup for times like this. And then she felt the spark at her very center. That tiny little thumping that meant she was still alive.

　　"Your wounds are severe. Give up hope!" Yume taunted from the top of her tower. The demon stood waiting, all powerful, ready to deliver the final blow whenever Yume commanded. But Yume wanted to see Shiori break first. She wanted the satisfaction of knowing that no one could withstand the pain of hell. Not her, and not anyone else either. Otherwise Shiori, in a way, would still win. She'd win by leaving a doubt in Yume's heart.

　　"Mystery Mistress X, what are we going to do? Our fire won't pierce. Can't you summon a stronger fire? Like against the fifteenth demon!" Awesome flashed from atop her tiara.

　　"Call me Shiori." Shiori commanded, not wanting Awesome to forget her name right now. "Did you know, Awesome? There's a fire in all our hearts." Shiori panted, seizing on this new energy as she bled out.

　　"But if you do that --!" Awesome choked, immediately realizing her plan.

　　"It's fine, isn't it?" Shiori asked, panting as she lay on the bone-strewn sandy floor of the arena. "It's fine this way. A life like that, all alone, who needs it? I want to say "I'm home again." I want to hear "welcome home" one more time. Twenty years, thirty years, fifty years off my lifespan, so what? If it means I can see everyone again, so what? I don't care at all."

　　"Shiori. . ." Awesome blinked uncertainly.

　　"Let's try one more time, Awesome. I just have to stand up again, right? It's easy. I've stood up before all the time. hehe."

　　"Understood." Awesome flashed mournfully. "Releasing all limiters. Initiating." Awesome's glow radiated out of her tiara and enveloped her entire body, a layer of red light growing thicker and thicker outlining her entire body, its warmth sinking into her as much as radiating away.

　　"Hearttttttttttttttttt," Shiori struggled to her hands and knees. Then she slid one leg forward and kneeled on one foot and one knee. Finally, she pushed herself up, to stand against the demon again. She swayed for a second, her vision blurring, but she stopped herself, her balance training taking over, her fists clenching to either side. She tossed her head up to stare at her opponent in the face -- "FIREEEEEEEEEEEE!"

　　Magic exploded around her and through her, her body suddenly fine again, her eyesight sharper than ever, and strength in her arms and legs she'd never imagined. A red aura was steadily glowing and pulsing all around her, bellowing and waving like real flames into the outside air. Her hair wasn't falling down her shoulders any more. It floated outwards and waved back and forth around her like a flaming halo. With this, she could do anything. I can beat anyone.

　　She tapped her foot on the ground, testing herself, then she smiled cockily at the monster in front of her, the lord of hell, the monster that she simply couldn't beat, the last of one hundred demons, the invincible beast that was supposed to send anyone into madness and despair who got this far.

　　"Prepare yourself!" Shiori crossed her fists, and her red fiery aura grew fiercer and brighter, until she was almost invisible in the middle of it. And then she was across the floor, her fist ripping into the demon's stomach. Her arm felt a momentary shock of resistance, and then it collapsed. The demon ripped backwards through the air, a look of dismay in its eyes. Shiori didn't stop. She couldn't stop. The heat was overwhelming. She stepped, and she was beneath the demon, her punch uppercutting it into the air. The demon bellowed, twisting, trying to keep track of her movements. But she was already crouched on the ceiling, watching the demon approach her. She bundled her knees downwards like a spring and gathered energy into her feet.

　　"It's over!" Shiori shouted, launching herself towards her final wall.

　　"Flameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" Shiori started spinning through the air, her leg sprouting with fire, leaving a ghostly trail of magical energy behind her. "GEYSSSSSSSSERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Her leg connected with the demon at full speed, the demon still being flung upwards into her leg. She passed through it, bones and flesh all crunching away before her, until she was on the other side.

　　The demon's top and bottom half split in two, falling to the floor. Shiori stood with her back to the carnage, her flaming aura still pulsing and twisting to an invisible breeze.

　　"100." Shiori Oono shouted challengingly to the air. And as if in reply, the universe began to filligree like an icy pond, crack, and then shatter apart around her. She was back.

　　"Impossible." Yume said, backing away from her with a look of bewilderment.

　　Shiori smiled delightedly, staring down her quarry. "Didn't you hear? Choice Givers make the impossible possible. We are Hope, we smash anything that gets in our way. And today that means you."

　　"If it's come to this. . ." Yume licked her lips. "Thousand fears, light the way, Abyssal -- "

　　Shiori watched the girl chant in slow motion. She had all the time in the world to beat her. It was amazing how slow she was. Her heart, her mind, everything sang with power and strength and life, ready to be called on at need. She thought of eating ice cream with Kotone. She remembered camping with Chiharu. She was watching anime at Kotone's house. She was winning a softball match, jumping into Chiharu's arms. She was kissing Isao on a cemetery bench. She was sleeping with Rei. She was hugging Rei. She was seeing Rei for the first time ever, standing on top of a telephone pole, with dead eyes that saw nothing. She was carrying Rei home on her back. She was crying in Rei's arms.

　　Rei. Rei. Rei.

　　Shiori had all the time in the world. Yume was only halfway through her spell. What a slowpoke she was.

　　"GIVE THEM BACK!" Shiori shouted, clenching her fist.

　　"MY PRECIOUS MEMORIES!" And then she hit Yume in the face. There was a satisfying crunch.

* * *

　　Yume Minami woke up with her head in someone else's lap. Her cheek felt a burning pain, like it had been exposed down to her bones.

　　"You have a really hard head, you know that?" Shiori smiled ruefully, nursing her fingers.

　　"Shiori Oono. . ." Yume whispered, looking up into the face of her rival. "Why didn't you kill me? If you don't kill me, no one's memories will return."

　　"I was trying!" Shiori complained. "But when you're unconscious, you're actually pretty cute, you know? I thought to myself, it would be nice if she could become my evil twin daughter."

　　"What is that?" Yume laughed, still too woozy to lift her head.

　　"I think I might understand, Yume." Shiori said, her face dirty and black with ash and dirt. "I think I felt your world for just a little bit. You've been alone all this time, haven't you?"

　　"I have Shadow." Yume replied, trying to touch her neck with her hand.

　　"Yes, but Shadow's a dark wyrd trying to destroy the world." Shiori frowned.

　　"Who cares?" Yume asked. "I don't give a damn about the world. What has the world ever done for me? The world killed my family. The world paralyzed me from the neck down. It left me a helpless bedridden girl for the rest of my 90 years of life. Shadow gave me a new body. Shadow let me walk again. You tell me who I should show more gratitude."

　　Shiori thought about it for a moment, tracing little circles on Yume's forehead with her fingertips.

　　"Let's make a trade. Give me back my friends, and in return I'll share them with you." Shiori smiled, tears of compassion gathering in the corners of her eyes.

　　"Just kill me. I love Shadow. My loyalty is to Shadow. To hell with all of you. I wish I'd been able to put all of you into hell. Maybe then you'd start to care about girls like me." Yume closed her eyes, waiting for the final stroke.

　　"I think I know why the world is full of Dead Enders." Shiori said, teardrops falling onto Yume's burned-away skin. "They think this is the best of all possible worlds. But you and I know it's not, right? You and I know that's not true."

　　Yume struggled to get out of this crybaby's lap. "If you won't kill me, I'll cast another spell. Maybe Shadow and I can win after all. I'm not sorry. I don't repent at all. To hell with you."

　　Shiori smiled and helped her halfway up, holding her back steady. "You're as dark as the abyss. Awesome says you're the scariest being he's ever met. You're the evillest, Yume."

　　"Don't patronize me." Yume growled, but then her head rang again and she fell over, straight into Shiori's bosom. A long silence passed between them, where all she did was listen to Shiori's heartbeat, her head floating up and down in time with Shiori's breath.

　　"Neh, Yume, did you ever think God was sorry?" Shiori asked, breaking the moment.

　　"What?" Yume asked, her head buried in Shiori's breasts.

　　"That he sent Shadow to you because he was sorry? That you ended up in my arms because he was sorry? Maybe God agreed with you. Maybe he thought it was just too much." Shiori said.

　　"There's no such thing as God. If anything there's a Devil, but that's the most I'll believe in. God wouldn't make a place like Earth, where everything can be taken from you in the blink of an eye, through no fault of your own." Yume muttered into Shiori's chest.

　　"Even if there isn't a God, maybe God is sorry and wants you to be happy after all." Shiori insisted.

　　"What is that?" Yume laughed.

　　"Hate us, resent us, be as jealous as you like. I don't mind, Yume. Become my evil twin daughter, and I'll make all that pain back up to you. I'll replace it all with joy. Every last fraction. I’ll pay off the full 100% of your pain, as many years as it takes, for the rest of my life. That's fair, right?" Shiori said.

　　"That. . .does seem a little fair. . ." Yume admitted.

　　"Just so you know, I might not live very long though. So try to be happy quickly." Shiori said, stroking Yume's hair soothingly.

　　"What is that?" Yume complained. "Then I take it back!"

　　"And just so you know, your new Daddy is the ninja you wanted to kill." Shiori went on, pulling Yume to her feet.

　　"He stabbed me in the ribs! I double take it back!" Yume protested.

　　"Whatever you say Yume. Let's go home together. It's actually only a few feet away. Convenient, huh? I bet you weren't so rich last lifetime. But from here on you'll be swimming in gold." Shiori bragged.

　　"I never agreed!" Yume tugged on Shiori's hand.

　　"Plus I'm trying to get pregnant, so be nice to your stepsister. In fact, don't even call her a stepsister. Be nice to your sister, Yume Oono." Shiori said.

　　"It could be a little brother." Yume protested vociferously.

　　"Would you like that? Okay. I'll try to give you a little brother this time. So, can Isao have his memories back? I can't exactly rape Daddy, and I will need his help." Shiori asked hopefully.

　　"I do this under protest." Yume sighed, holding out two fingers and starting the invocation to release the river of Mnemosyne from the depths of hell. What was the use? She couldn't reason with this girl, and she couldn't beat her either. Besides, Shiori understood.

　　Maybe she wouldn't be such a bad Mother after all.