I opened my eyes.

"Huh?"

I was in my room.

"Did I fall asleep or something?"

I tried to remember what happened after beating that punk with the girls--

"Fain! You're awake."

"Huh?!"

I looked to the right and was completely shocked.

"Kanae?!"

Kanae was just there, sitting in bed next to me, and looking at me with a smile on her face. Amazingly, she was wearing a white shirt--thank god. Hold on, that shirt looked oversized. Hold on--that was one of my shirts.

My cheeks went red. "No way... Did we do something, and I forgot?!"

She cocked her head and raised a brow. "You did something?" She shook her head. "No, silly boy. I was told that you suffer from nightmares when no one is near you." She showed me a bright smile as her horn gems twinkled. "So, here I am. It was my turn to keep you company, Fain."

"O-oh..." I sat up as she got out of the bed. "So, where are the others--"

She turned around and bent over me while putting her finger against her mouth. "It's a secret, but I promise it's good."

"O-oh, okay," I said, a little confused.

"This is a really nice room," Kanae said as she went to the closet. "I'm a little sad--I would love for the people of my old world to enjoy such homes."

She opened the closet and sat in front of it--was she looking for something?

"So, uhh... did we win?"

She looked over her shoulder at me. "We did! There are no more demons! Everything's been cleaned up too. We were just waiting on you!"

"Oh..." A goofy smile was on my face now, and I was looking at my hands. "That's great..."

"Yeah... it is... And that's not all."

I looked to my left, and Kanae was there again, smiling and sitting at my bedside--man, she was fast.

"What's up, Kanae?"

"The angel..." Her smile softened. "The little boy that saved me."

"Oh! Yeah, is he okay? What's the situation--"

"He reunited with his people."

"W-what?" I asked, my mouth half open.

"After the battle--they came--angels. Like, real angels. Like the ones you and Svilran know. They came, and they retrieved him." Kanae wiped a tear from her eyes. "I was able to reunite them."

I couldn't help but smile and tear up. "That was what you set out to do... You did it, Kanae!"

"Thanks to you." Kanae's slender fingers held my hand. "Thank you for your support, Fain."

My heart jumped--wow, it was like it was singing. "Yeah, no problem. I'm glad... I'm really glad, Kanae!"

"It's because of your kindness, Fain." She chuckled and sat back on the chair. "And I still have some of my holy power too." She showed me her muscle. "I'll still be good for fighting Neo-Demons. Call me the Anti-Demon Specialist."

"That's amazing... Hey, Kanae?"

"Yes?"

"Are you happy?"

She looked surprised, but then she showed me a warm smile. "I am. I'm glad. I'm relieved. I'm overjoyed. I feel right. This is the place where I belong."

"This--this is the place where I belong too," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey! Guess what we found!"

"Hmm?" I looked up and saw a flatscreen television in my room. "Whoa! Since when did that get there!?"

"That's not all," Kanae said as she went and tinkered with it. She turned on the TV. There was a weird flash, but then a nostalgic screen came up.

"No way... Ultimate Bario Guys? I--the last time I saw that game was before Earth went to the shitter--"

"Fain," she sang. I looked at her, and she waved the controller at me. "Want to come and play with me?"

"Yes!"

I jumped out of bed and sat next to Kanae on the floor. "I can't believe this! Video games? How?!"

Kanae giggled as we got past the start screen. "Svilran said that this house was equipped with all the things a house should have. Kind of like how it worked with the camera."

"Oh..."

"These devices were in the closets."

"Damn... I should have looked more carefully!"

"Well, now you get to enjoy this surprise with me, so it's not all bad."

"Not bad at all. Alright, let's do this, Kanae. Co-op mastery! If you need any help just le--hold on, whoa!"

Kanae's character was already running. It looked like she had played a sidescroller before!

"Kanae, how are you so good?"

She giggled and bumped shoulders with me. "Elma and I played while you were asleep. It was easy enough to pick up." She side-eyed me and smirked. "Elma's better than me, though."

"No kidding? Wow... Elma's good too, then?"

"Of course! She's helping the others with that thing that I can't spoil. If she wasn't, she would be here beating us into the floor."

"Hmm... And we're playing video games now because..."

"I'm committed to distracting you," she said, a mischievous grin on full display.

"I see..."

We kept playing for a few more minutes, sharing laughs as we did. Then, I felt like talking a little... Actually, it just sort of bubbled up to the surface.

"I had a sister. We played this game together."

"You did? I see... I hope I can be even a fraction of a good game partner."

"Don't worry. You already are. This is amazing. Playing a video game with a real Hero. Yeah, this is the stuff dreams are made of."

I watched the colors on the screen go by, utterly enthralled. I couldn't help but slip back toward the memories of playing games with my sister.

"This was one of the first games I ever played," I whispered.

"And this is the first game I ever played," Kanae whispered back. "Thank you for being my first."

"No problem, Kanae... Here's to many more rounds--Hey! You just stepped on my head and sent me into the abyss!"

"Sacrifice yourself for me," she joked back.

I groaned and chuckled dryly. "For some reason, that sounded way too familiar."

"I imagine your sister probably did the same."

I playfully sighed. "Please don't be as brutal as my sister was."

"No promises."

***

I opened my eyes, and we were going toward the door that led outside. Kanae was leading me by the hand, giggling all the while. We had our fun, and now it was time to have fun with the girls.

"I wonder what face you're going to make, Fain. You'll be so surprised!"

"I hope it's a good surprise." I stopped in my tracks when I saw a mirror that was hanging a few steps from the door. I looked at it, cocking my head.

"Fain? Is something the matter?"

"Oh, no, no!" I put on a cocky smirk and slicked my hair back. "Sorry, I just saw myself and thought I looked off." I looked in the mirror again. "Just got to fix my hair."

"It looks no different than usual."

"Nah, nah, I can see the difference--"

I noticed a crack in the corner of the mirror.

"A crack? Really? How did this happen?" I thumbed the crack but couldn't really feel it. Was it somehow below the surface? Was that how mirrors worked?

"Svilran mentioned that some of our structures were damaged in the attack. It will be a little before the Hub repairs itself."

"Oh..." I replied, eyeing the crack. "The maintenance features will probably repair it then..."

"Fain," Kanae said, grabbing my hand. "You don't want to keep the others waiting, do you?"

I rubbed the mirror a little more. It was cold--I really noticed it now.

"Fain?" Kanae asked, a little glum.

"Oh, sorry, sorry." I let her lead me to the door. "I shouldn't keep the girls waiting."

Kanae opened the door, and blinding light filled my home.

"Whoa!" I said, laughing. "What did you girls do?!"

"It's a paradise!" Kanae replied before pulling me into the light.