Memento Mori

While Cathy had to unfortunately separate from the group, Anne and Anna took Kat back home to her and Anne’s place. From what Cathy gathered, the cousins’s Step-Grandmother had been there. Luckily, they had played it off to a bad day and Anna was allowed to stay. From there, the night had been comfort. Morgana had remained behind at the school, awaiting the others arrival tomorrow.

As for Cathy, her godparents had been home and tried to question her about school. Cathy answered the questions simply before hiding away in her room. She could only write, locking herself away in that familiar other world. But all dreams came to an end, and school was tomorrow.

Kat had to go to school as well. Between the Step-Grandmother and Kat herself, the others had no choice but to let her go. They supposed Kat wanted to busy herself to forget.

The only reason the other three relented and let her go instead of ferrying her back home after the Step-Grandmother left was because she didn't have a class with Mannox that day.

All three had the same thought of how used to it Kat seemed… the only new difference being that they now knew.

Mannox was fucked.

~~||~~||~~

Immediately after school, Cathy and Anne met up with Morgana. They were done debating. What they witnessed sealed their decision.

“Both if you are sure about this?” Morgana asked, perched on the familiar bench. “The mental shutdown is still a possibility.”

“I don’t care about the risk anymore. Je vais lui faire payer!” Anne hissed out.

“There’s no more question about it, Morgana.” Cathy stated. She stared at the school. “I refuse to let anyone get away with that. Teach us what we need to know.”

“Very well… just remember, we’re not attacking him. We’re going in to steal his treasure.” Morgana told them, narrowing his eyes.

“You’ve got it.” Anne huffed, clearly wishing she could do the opposite. “So, how quickly can we get this done. We’ve gotta get it done by early May, that’s when the teacher meeting is. You’ve done this all before, yeah?”

Morgana paused, looking at her quizzically. “When did I ever say that…?”

“Wait… then how do you already know everything?” Cathy asked cautiously.

“I don’t know… I just do.” Morgana actually looked a little conflicted himself. Then he shook his head, looking back up to the two humans. “So, are we going to do this or not?!”

Anne and Cathy clearly looked like they wanted to continue. But the urgency of Mannox stopped them.

“Can I open it?” Anne asked a little eagerly as she pulled out her phone. She had been given the app, but this was her first chance at using the Metaverse Navigator herself.

“Go right ahead.” Cathy agreed easily, nodding her head with a chuckle.

“The moment we cross over, we’ll treat each other like Phantom Thieves. So I hope you’re ready.” Morgana spoke up.

“So we’ll become Phantom Thieves now?” Cathy asked.

“That sounds pretty cool!” Anne smirked, rocking from foot to foot.

Morgana gave them a wide, smug grin. “Those who sneak in and stylishly steal treasure, that is what we become!”

“Alright then!” Anne turned her attention back to the phone. “So back to this thing… we put in Mannox’s name… the school… and then Music hall… after that, we end up at that creepy world!” She looked up to both Morgana and Cathy. “Time to take Mannox down a peg!”

And then, they activated the navigation.

They never noticed a familiar red leather jacket following. Staying several steps behind them even in the Metaverse, hidden from their view.

She wasn’t going to stay seated when those two obviously had a way to get back at Mannox…

~~||~~||~~

“Alright!” Anne glared at the music hall. All three were back in their Phantom Thief outfits and forms. “Time to make Mannox pay!”

Morgana nodded and glanced up to Cathy. “I’m counting on you especially, Joker.”

“Joker?” Both Cathy and Anne spoke up.

“Her codename!” Morgana looked very proud of himself. “What kind of Phantom Thieves would use their actual names?! Besides, we don’t know the effect of yelling out real names!”

“Yeah, okay… but Joker?” Anne squinted. She couldn’t see the reason.

Morgana puffed up. “She’s our trump card when it comes to fighting strength!”

Cathy winced. “Sorry Morgana… but I don't really think it’s me. And the both of you are just as strong.”

Morgana deflated a little, but nodded at her reasoning. “I… alright, then what were you thinking?”

Cathy paused. This codename stuff had been sprung on her rather quickly. What could make a good codename? Author?

“What about Survivor?”

Cathy jolted and looked to Anne. It was the green clad thief that spoke. “Survivor…?”

“Yeah, like a way to honor your last life. Plus, it sounds pretty badass for a thief!” Anne explained. “And it can go for this life too! You were the reason we survived that day, y’know…”

Cathy pondered it for a moment. Survivor… so many memories came back for that name. But… Cathy liked it. It showed she made it. Past Henry, even past Thomas and death itself. And she survived Mannox too, saving Anne in the process. And now, she would help others become survivors themselves.

“I like it. Thank you, Anne.” Cathy gave her a small smile. Anne beamed happily.

“Survivor it is then!” Morgana had looked curious at the words ‘past life’ but clearly decided to just move past it. He too looked approving of the codename. “Now, as for Anne…”

Cathy decided to return the favor. “Ghost.”

Anne blinked but actually looked happy with the codename. “Ghost, huh?”

“Yes.” Cathy tilted her head. “You defied death itself. ‘Curse magic,’ as Morgana called it, helps my case as well. But you have your scar, and I would also say revenge can symbolize haunting someone. Like Mannox…”

Cathy could really go on with her symbolism. But she stopped as Anne smiled widely at her and even Morgana looked a little impressed.

“Ghost it is!” Anne grinned, practically vibrating with both energy and happiness. “Thanks Cath— I mean, Survivor!”

“Alright, Survivor and Ghost!” Morgana smirked at both of them. “Now what about me?!”

“I guess it would be unfair to leave you out…” Cathy hummed. “What about Mona?”

Morgana bristled. “That’s just my name shortened!”

“It was the only thing I could think of. I know you don’t like being called a cat.”

Anne chimed in. “Hey, why don’t you just change it later if you think of something better?”

Morgana paused at both of their words. “Alright… I suppose I can work with that, thanks you two! From here on out, we’ll be Survivor, Ghost, and Mona! Make sure to keep using the codename as long as we’re in the Palace!”

They swiftly head for their familiar window entry point. They made their way through and paused in the doorway to the entrance hall. For Mannox and a large group of guards stood inside.

“I want you to keep an eye out for those thieves!” Mannox snapped, glaring at his guards. “From this point forward, it’s kill on sight, with a reward for each thief killed.”

“For the great conductor!” The guards cried before dispersing.

Ghost growled, glancing to the others. “You guys sure we can’t just… take him out now?”

“With those soldiers?! That’s suicide!” Mona hissed at her. “And besides, wouldn’t confession be a greater satisfaction? Seeing him confess to everything he did to your cousin and those other students?”

Ghost looked back out to Mannox, who was beginning to walk away. “Yeah…”

“Then there's no point to just attacking him now. We need to steal his materialized desires, his treasure.”

“So that’s what we’re stealing…” Survivor nodded. “The desires themselves. That’s why a mental shutdown could be caused.”

“Hey… aren’t there rumors and stories going around about those?” Ghost asked carefully.

“I’m not entirely sure.” Survivor hummed. “Why don’t we keep going? Mona, where can we find his treasure?”

“It’s somewhere in the depths of this music hall. Now’s the perfect time to search further inside. He’s too busy looking for us around here.” Mona swiftly led them down another path, away from Mannox and his guards.

They made their way down several new halls, going through the residential area towards where they connected to the classrooms.

They stopped outside a dining room. Survivor opened the door and quickly jumped back around the corner at the sight of a guard.

“Merde, that was close!” Ghost whispered, placing a steadying hand on Survivor’s shoulder.

“Well, now’s a good time to teach you more about all-out-attacks! They’re useful for more than just attacking. Survivor, get its mask!” Mona told the both of them.

Survivor nodded at the order and quickly darted around the corner again.

The fight quickly ensued, the guard becoming a familiar blue-dressed fairy like they had seen back in the classrooms.

“Those hold-ups? They can be used to get money from shadows too! After all, these shadows are born from people’s hearts, which means they can talk just like a person! Of course, they don’t want to die, so there’s a good chance we can get money or other loot from them as offerings.”

Survivor and Ghost both nodded at Morgana’s teachings. Survivor fired a bullet, sending the shadow sprawling to the ground before the three quickly leapt into a hold-up position. The three drew their weapons, Survivor’s revolver, Mona’s slingshot, and Ghost had three shuriken in hand.

The fairy yelped. “Gah, seriously?! You three are the intruders the great conductor was talking about?! What do you want from me?!”

Survivor regarded her for a moment. “Give us an item. Something useful.”

“What?! I just need to give you something?!”

“Something like that… money or items, cough it up!” Mona declared, slingshot being pulled back tighter.

The fairy chuckled a little nervously. “Well you see… I don’t have anything on me…”

All three thieves paused. Mona seemed a bit dumbstruck, Survivor blinked, and Ghost coughed to disguise a laugh.

“This… this isn’t going as planned…” Survivor and Ghost could hear Mona whisper to himself. Survivor herself seemed a bit amused and Ghost had to hide another laugh.

Mona quickly tried to recover. “Hm, I suppose it can’t be helped in that case. Time for you to go to hell.”

The fairy squeaked in fear. “Wait, what?!”

“We’re in a rush.” Mona said simply.

“Wait, Wait! Can’t we work something out? Please don’t kill me, can I just go and say nothing?!”

Survivor considered her words for a moment. She seemed scared enough to say nothing. “Very well.”

The fairy perked up. “Are you the type who can’t say no? I’m the same way actually, so I totally get how that feels!”

Before anyone could say something else, something happened with the fairy.

“Hey, wait a sec… I feel different.” Blue magic began to envelope around the fairy as it flew back up into the air.

Survivor and Ghost both pulled their weapons up, ready for anything. Mona did the same, looking very confused by the current events. “What’s going on?!” The furred thief questioned.

Remembrance snapped in the fairy’s eyes. “That’s right! I don’t just serve the great conductor! I am an existence that drifts about the sea of humanity’s souls…” her gaze turned to Survivor. “My real name is Pixie! From now on, I’ll live inside your heart!”

The blue magic swirled around Pixie until she became a glowing blue mask, the same shape as Survivor’s own. That mask quickly merged with Survivor’s own.

Survivor blinked, a hand drifting up to her mask. Just like Athena, she could feel Pixie’s presence now. Mona was actively gaping at her and Ghost seemed very curious and surprised.

“Wh… what was that?!” Mona questioned.

“So the enemy merging with Survivor’s mask definitely isn’t normal?” Ghost asked Mona, pointing at Survivor.

“Not at all! I wasn’t expecting that to happen either!” Mona exclaimed.

Survivor herself simply watched both of them, similarly confused. But before she could speak at all, another guard came slamming through the door.

“The intruders!” He lifted his baton. “I’ll be getting that reward!”

The three thieves quickly moved out of the way as the guard’s transformation occurred, causing him to turn into the familiar, horned horse from before Ghost’s awakening.

Staring down the enemy, Survivor felt something tug at her heart. It was the new presence that rested alongside Athena… Pixie.

Survivor quickly pulled her mask away. But instead of Athena being summoned, it was the familiar form of Pixie.

“Zio!” Survivor called out. Pixie giggled and obeyed, a strike of lighting being super effective on the shadow.

“The shadow we fought a second ago!” Ghost realized.

“Wait… did you take in that shadow’s appearance and powers as a Persona?!” Mobs shook his head. “We’ll deal with that in a minute! Let’s take it out!”

They entered the hold-up position. But before they could perform an all-out-attack, Survivor stopped them. “Wait, I want to test this.”

Ghost and Mona both paused before carefully nodding. “Hey, you’re our guide when it comes to battles, I’m with you!” Ghost told Survivor with a smirk.

Survivor gave her a nod and turned back to the downed shadow.

“You little shits... what are ya making me do?!”

“I want you to lend me your power.” Survivor said simply, revolver still trained on the shadow.

The beast snickered. “That’s your move? We’re taking first. Then I’ll decide if I’ll help ya out.”

The talk went on for a long minute. Survivor agreed with the beast, appealing to its side and personality. It paid off in the end, as the same thing as what happened with Pixie occurred.

“I’m no shadow from this place!” The beastly shadow reared back on it’s hooves proudly. “I used to be livin in that sea of the human soul!” It dipped its head in greeting to Survivor. “From now on, call me Bicorn. No need for honorifics, lassie.”

With a familiar blue glow, Bicorn also merged into Survivor’s mask. She felt his presence just like she felt Pixie and Athena’s.

“Holy…! Can you wield more than one persona?!” Mona yowled, wide eyed.

Ghost’s shocked expression turned into a laugh. “Well, look who’s overpowered! Seriously, are you the main character or something?!”

“Ah… I wouldn’t say I’m overpowered…”

Mona was muttering to himself, loud enough for the other two to clearly hear. “She sealed the enemy’s appearance and powers into her mask… making them new Personas… I didn’t even know it was possible!”

“I would say this is a good thing.” Survivor spoke, giving Mona a glance.

“It definitely is! Only one heart exists for one person, so normally, a persona can only have one persona! Your power… this will give us a huge advantage!” Mona practically purred, looking very pleased with this new development.

“Alright, then it looks like we’ll have to do more negotiations. They’re just as good for you to get Personas as they are for money!” Ghost gave Survivor a proud grin.

Survivor nodded back to both of them. “I’ll do my best. Shall we keep moving?”

With determined nods, the group continued their path. They explored for about another hour, finding money and fighting shadows along the way.

Soon enough, they came across where the residential areas merged into the classrooms. Right at that connection, they found a safe room and quickly took advantage of it, all collapsing into chairs or on the table.

“These safe rooms are a lifesaver!” Ghost called out, leaning back in her chair.

“So Mona, how are we supposed to steal the treasure?” Survivor asked leaning forward to rest her arms on the table. Ghost also lowered her head to glance at Mona.

“First thing’s first, we’ll need to secure an infiltration route.”

“You mean a path taking us right to the treasure, yeah?” Ghost questioned.

“That’s correct. It would be nice to have another person though at the very least. Just to give us more power.” Mona hummed with a frown, tail swishing in thought.

“So you remember all of this, and yet… you’ve lost your memories?” Survivor asked Mona. “I believe you of course…”

“We’re just a bit confused.” Ghost continued, nodding along.

Mona tensed. “I’m afraid I don’t know myself…”

Survivor and Ghost glanced to each other.

Ghost stretched. “Hey… We’ll still help you get your memories back, yeah? And you can help us steal Mannox’s treasure in return… I’m— we’re gonna make him pay!”

“Deal!” Mona perked up, giving them a confident grin.

Cathy stood from her chair. “What do you say we get back to it. Maybe we can get a little further before heading out for the day.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!”

“Let’s do it!”

Across the hall, a new area branched off from the intersection between the classrooms and the residential area. That was where the thieves went next, eventually coming across a large security room.

The security room was grey, monitors and computers set up throughout. But there was a wide space at the top of the steps and in the middle of the consoles to stand. The three thieves look around curiously before wandering over to a computer.

“Hey look, a map of the area!” Mona pointed out a piece of paper next to it. “This will be useful for planning our route to the treasure. We should keep an eye out for these, alright?”

But before Survivor could respond, Ghost spoke up.

“Shouldn’t security be in here?” Ghost asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Mona and Survivor’s eyes both widened in realization.

“Do you think this is a trap?” Survivor looked to Mona.

“This is rather odd… let’s look around then get out of here.” Mona directed.

“Agreed.” Survivor nodded her head, pocketing the map.

They looked around quickly. Once they found everything they could take and use, they gathered together, looking over everything very quickly before leaving.

“Stay where you are!”

The three thieves spun around to find Mannox accompanied by three guards. One held a very familiar face in its arms. Three pairs of eyes widened.

“Anna?!”

Mannox himself held a knife, pointed directly at Anna’s throat. “I found a fourth little thief sneaking around… following you three actually. What, did you forget about your teammate?”

“She followed us into the Palace?! Does that app pull in anyone nearby…?” Mona hissed, tail swishing and ears against his head.

“Dammit! Why would you do that?!” Ghost cried out.

“I wanted to get back at Mannox too!” Anna explained, eyes narrowed at the man, but there was a noticeable fear in her eyes.

Survivor was quietly panicking and calculating. They were stuck. If they made any move, Mannox could easily slice Anna’s neck.

“You just love to piss me off more and more, huh?” Ghost snarled at Mannox, ready to leap forward the second she had the opportunity.

“I would suggest dropping your weapons.” Mannox told them. They hesitated, but the knife inched closer to skin, urging them to drop their weapons to the ground. “Good, good…”

“Dammit! We can’t do anything!” Mona hissed out. Survivor felt her irritation rise quickly, Mona didn’t need to remind her!

Anna’s eyes narrowed onto Mannox. “If you think for a second I’ll let you get away with what you did, then you’re mistaken!”

“What I did?” Mannox scoffed. “Everyone loves when I pleasure them! I get to do as I please… what about you? If what I did was so bad then why did you let it happen?”

“What… I didn’t—!”

“You’ve been here since the start of it all, and yet you didn’t say a word!”

“I didn’t know what was happening—!”

“You had every single chance to say something! So why didn’t you!” Mannox snapped mockingly, a grin stretched across his face. “I’d say that’s pretty shitty friendship!”

Anna remained silent this time, head lowered and eyes darkened. She knew he was right. It was something she had been thinking on and her thoughts led her to the same conclusion. But hearing it out loud… that hurt worse.

“Are you going to listen to him?! What I saw back in the gym… that was yours and Kat’s friendship! Are you really going to let him get away with hurting Kat, someone you clearly care about so much?!” It was Survivor who asked, face sealed with determination.

A small spark returned to Anna’s eyes. “What?”

A sharp pain to her skull had Anna crying out in the shadow’s arms.

“She’s right.” A voice whispered. “He hurt your friend. Are you going to let him get away with that?”

Anna trashed wildly, the shadows arms keeping her in place.

“Your loyalty is one of your greatest possessions, and you’re going to simply let such injustice fly?” The voice proclaimed.

Mannox’s eyes went wide with familiarity towards what was happening. He backed up, knife moving away with him.

“With these thieves, you could form a pack of hunters and hunt that pathetic coward like the monster he is.” The voice hardened. “Are you really going to pass up that opportunity?”

Anna growled, legs kicking the shadow in her thrashing state. The shadow didn’t release its grip.

“Harming a young maiden like he did… I will certainly never forgive him. So what about you? Will you let his cowardly act go unpunished?”

“Nein!” Anna roared. “Er hat sie verletzt! He was the one who caused her pain, not me!” Her head slammed back into the shadow’s mask.

The shadow finally dropped her in a panic, the power surge and the sudden hit startling it. Anna managed to keep on her knees, hands going to support her. Her eyes flashed a brilliant golden yellow.

“I am thou… thou art I! You who is willing to hunt down and destroy injustice and mistreatment alongside your fellow hunters… I grant you my power!”

A red masquerade mask adorned with sparkling red and black jewelry appeared around the now golden eyes.

Still on her knees, Anna managed to lean back so she wasn’t on all fours. She took a deep, shuddered breath accompanied with a deep chuckle… then, with one swift pull, her mask was torn off, leading to blood that turned to blue flames.

Anna carefully climbed to her feet, eyes closed.

She now wore an attire of black and red. Shorts and a cut top, with straps forming an ‘x’ over her chest holding the latter up, that seemed to glimmer black and red. Her jacket was the same color, the black actually being fur, with short puffy shoulders similar to Anne’s. She had similar black sleeves to Anne’s as well, but they extended up past her elbows, still not connecting to the outfit. The outfit was complete with heeled boots and a silver, spiked crown that sat atop her head.

A battle axe rested on one shoulder, her hand easily coming up to hold it. A rifle was strapped to her back as well.

Anna’s eyes snapped open and she surveyed the shadows, all of which had backed away warily, remembering the last time they had witnessed something like this.

Standing with Anna was her Persona, staring down the enemies with a calculating and vengeful gaze.

Compared to the other Personas, she was rather short and looked younger, but the glowing eyes remained the same. A bow and arrow was held in her hands.

The blue fire around her formed shapes. Nymphs dancing, different types of wild animals could be seen chasing each other in the fire. The blue fire formed the spirit of a hunting dog which remained by the Persona’s side.

“Let’s hunt this mutt down, Artemis!” Anna declared. “Bufu!”

Artemis heeded her summoner’s wish, drawing her bow. The arrow was fired and turned into ice magic, viciously freezing the guard it was aimed at. That guard dissipated.

Mannox growled upon seeing the new, strong thief. His eyes were still filled with fear, just like how he looked the last two times he witnessed an awakening. Anna raised her axe to her shoulder.

The elite guard that had been at Mannox’s side was quickly leaping forward. He shifted in the shadows and became a monster.

A rather strange one at that.

Perched atop a toilet was a demon. Grey skin and a silver beard. He wore golden gloves and boots. A thin tail swished behind him. Long horns pointed straight up from his head.

The demon kept to the center of the room facing down the thieves. Once again, Mannox was escorted out.

As Mannox reached the door, a throwing knife buried itself into the wall inches from his face. He let out a startled yelp and glanced back, wide eyed to see Ghost.

She stared right back at Mannox. A malicious grin was on her face. That knife wasn’t meant to hit.

It was a warning.

The guards moved him faster and Mannox was swiftly removed from the room. The elite guard roared at them.

“I’ll never let you hurt our great conductor!”

Anna’s eyes narrowed. “Then it looks like I’ll just have to strike you down first!”

“Well put! Let’s do this!” Mona called out, readying his own blade.

“Eiha!” Ghost cried out first. The magic hit the demon, but barely did any damage. The demon shook it off and laughed.

“Zio!” Survivor called out, summoning Pixie to her side. Lighting struck the demon. It did more damage to the demon but clearly wasn’t a super effective magic.

Instead of using his magic, Mona leapt forward. His sword slashed at the demon, having a similar effect as Survivor’s magic. The cat quickly leapt backwards as the demon swiped.

But then, Anna called out her own attack. “Bufu!” The ice was a clear weakness of the demon.

Survivor swiftly summoned Athena. “Frei!” Nuclear damage was also a strength.

Before Survivor could call for an all-out-attack, the demon summoned its magic. “Dia!” The shadow growled, the magic sparked around him and the shadow’s wounds healed again.

“Merde… he can heal!” Ghost snapped.

Anna huffed, raising her axe again. “Then we’ll just have to strike faster.”

But before they could, the demon reared back and prepared a blast of magic.

They didn’t have but half a second to react. Survivor was swiftly grabbing Ghost and Anna grabbed Mona.

“Magaru!”

The large blast of wind magic sent all of them rocketing backwards. Directly into the wall with Survivor and Anna taking the impact.

The demon laughed and everyone managed to pull themselves forward to hide behind a metal console. Mona was swiftly healing Survivor and Anna with the medicine they had on them.

“We need to end this fast.” Survivor said, already thinking of a plan. “Ghost, he resists your magic, can you distract him long enough for Anna and I to strike?”

Ghost grinned at her. “Just give the word!”

Survivor nodded and glanced to Anna and Mona. “Mona, I want you to go out and use your slingshot, help Ghost distract. Anna, he’s weak to our spells, we’re going to strike him down at the same time. I’ll go first and you can follow up. Try not to stay too close, but close enough to help each other if needed.”

The thieves nodded with determined looks at Survivor’s strategy.

They swiftly put it into action. Ghost leapt out from behind the console, making her way around the room while calling out taunts. The demon growled at her and turned to follow her movements as she made her way to the opposite side of the room. Mona was quickly jumping out as well and perching himself on a table to the far right, firing pellets from his slingshot.

“You fools!” The demon roared out, looking from cat to human.

Survivor and Anna rolled out from behind the console and gave no time for the demon to react or heal.

“Frei!”

“Bufu!”

Both Magics hit the demon at the same time with a stunning force.

But the demon wasn’t finished, hunched over on his toilet. Instead he charged one last magic attack. The demon knew they would simply strike him down again, and his healing wouldn’t do much in his weak state. The only option in his eyes was to take a thief down with him. So he poured all of his remaining magic into one last Magaru. The attack meant for multiple people was aimed right towards Survivor.

But right before he could unleash it, a shot from a rifle hit him right between the eyes. The already weak demon groaned.

“You… you thieves shall not win against our great conductor!”

And with that, he dissolved.

Survivor glanced around to find Anna. The girl was holding her rifle in hand and grinning at Survivor, giving her a thumbs up. The blue clad thief blinked back thankfully, dipping her head.

~~||~~||~~

From there, they retreated for the day, praising Cathy’s strategy and Anna’s awakening as they went. Anna had just awakened and then proceeded to use her magic for the elite guard. So they were forced out for the day through exhaustion. But none of them were particularly angry.

They had a new member. One just as determined as they were.

“Now we have a good team for the Palace!” Morgana meowed happily.

“Welcome to the team, Anna. Are you sure you want in?” Cathy asked cautiously.

“I watched my best friend be violated by a teacher when I could have done something.” A glare fixed on Anna’s face. “I’m doing something about it now.”

Anne gave her a nod. “Good answer! He’s going to pay.”

“Just explain that world and tell me what I need to do.” Anna said, crossing her arms.

“Why don’t we save that for tomorrow?” Morgana spoke up. “I’m sure you’re tired after awakening your persona!”

“Yeah, I am pretty beat… meet here tomorrow?” Anna asked.

“Maybe… we might make it a break day to explain everything and then we can stay with Kat… I think some company would do her good.” Cathy spoke up, a contemplative look on her face.

“I think Chaton would appreciate that… ever since we found out, she’s been quieter… I’m worried.” Anne frowned back at the school. “I think the sooner we deal with Mannox the better.”

Morgana agreed eagerly. “Especially with that teachers meeting in a month you guys mentioned as a deadline… early May.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. Hey, I guess we should trade numbers, yeah?” Anna directed her question to Cathy. The blue clad teen nodded quickly and they both pulled their phones out.

“Oh crap!” Anne suddenly remembered something. “So… if you get a dream about dying, we’re pretty sure that’s normal for us…”

Morgana’s face twisted into confusion. “What? That’s not normal at all!”

“Not for you.” Cathy shook her head. “For those of us named after the queens. We think… we’re reincarnated.”

Anna stared at them. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“Listen… it doesn’t make a lot of sense right now. But if we’re right? Then things will make a whole lot more sense after the dreams and visions.”

“Dreams? Visions? You’ve got to be fucking with me…” Anna glared at both of them, but took in the serious faces.

“We’re not… please just trust us.” Cathy pleaded, pulling her bag further up on her shoulder.

“You’re sure it’s reincarnation?” Morgana huffed. “Maybe it’s just weird dreams…”

“Yeah but visions? Look, we know the two of us have been reincarnated. It just clicked.” Anne looked a little irritated. “So can you please trust us?”

Morgana still looked a little suspicious but nodded.

“Alright… I’ll tell you if anything happens.” Anna agreed, giving the two a small smile. “I just watched you guys beat up monsters with your own summoned beings. I guess reincarnation wouldn’t be completely insane…”

Anne perked up. “That’s what I said!”

The reminder of reincarnation brought something back to Cathy’s mind. Elizabeth and Anne. And that was when Cathy knew she needed to tell Anne.

If they were going to fight together against Mannox, then Anne needed to know.

Yes, fear and anxiety were trying to push back against her. Stop her. But Cathy knew this needed to be done.

One hand clenched at her arm as she felt her anxiety rise. “Anne? Can we talk? Privately?”

“Of course! Are you okay?” She asked, observing Cathy’s anxiety.

“I’m… I’m fine.” She was very much not fine. “Morgana, can you escort Anna home?”

“Actually, is it alright if I go see Kätzchen? If you two are going to be a bit then I don’t want to leave her alone.”

Anne perked up. “That would be great! Father and Agnes are out so you should be fine. They had some stupid conference to go to or whatever.”

Anna chuckled. “Maybe you can join us, Morgana? I think Kat might appreciate a furry friend to be comforted by.”

Morgana bristled. “I am not some dumb cat wanting to be petted!” Then, he seemed to calm slightly. “But… I may as well grace you and your friend with my presence.”

Most of the group chuckled at that and with a farewell, the two thieves were off, leaving Anne and Cathy alone. They stood there for a moment. Cathy kept her gaze to the floor and Anne was watching Cathy in concern.

Before Anne could say something, Cathy spoke up. “I… before we can go any further. There’s something we need to talk about. With the reincarnation.”

Anne seemed to see something in Cathy’s gaze. “Yeah, okay. Come on, let’s sit down over here.”

They sat there for a moment. Anne was about to ask what the problem was when Cathy’s mouth opened.

“In our past lives… Thomas… the man I married after Henry… he… I thought I loved him, truly I did… but Anne… he hurt Elizabeth… he tried to be with her sexually…”

Cathy had rushed to get it out as quickly as she could. Dread, fear, and pure guilt and sadness pooled in her stomach. A feeling of sickness accompanied it, if it was a phantom pain or due to her anxiety and guilt, Cathy wasn’t sure.

There was a long moment's pause before Cathy looked to Anne.

Anne’s eyes and mouth were wide with horror at the information she just learned. She moved to speak, only for Cathy to slowly add something else.

“And I helped him…”

“What… you what?!” Anne spat out before managing to hold back her rage. It was a great effort, she never held back that anger before. A million emotions swirled in her mind.

Cathy flinched and a tear glided down her face. This was exactly what she feared happening. She remembered the overloads she would have when Henry and Thomas yelled. This time, with Anne, she would deserve it. But in the back of her mind, Cathy figured maybe she deserved her husbands’ anger too. That single tear became sobbing and weeping.

Anne wanted to scream and rage. She wanted to hurt Cathy just like she wanted to hurt Mannox… but… unlike Mannox (and everyone else who had turned out to be absolute scum), Cathy was crying. Anne was watching Cathy breakdown over this. The same Cathy who saved her life and was trying to help her avenge her cousin.

For once, Anne managed to stamp down the rage. She still felt cold anger, but this was Cathy… she needed to know…

“Tell me why.”

“I don’t… you wouldn’t understand.”

“Cathy. This is my daughter. And I need you to explain why you did it. Because I’ve grown to trust you so much, but this… this is my daughter. Did you mean to hurt her?”

Cathy’s head snapped up. Anne was frowning, but she was still talking to Cathy, something that encouraged the other teen.

Cathy was still hunched over on the bench, her scalp clutched tight under her nails. “I didn’t… I didn’t think he would…” Cathy managed to wheeze out. “I was only there for those two times… I didn't know the full extent… and... and… after Henry, I was scared to speak out. I was an idiot who played along!”

Her gaze snapped up to Anne’s face. “I… I know I’m making excuses… but I—!” She broke off into a sob.

“What do you mean by scared, Somnolente?”

By all accounts, Anne would normally be beyond furious. But this was Cathy for god’s sake. And she wanted so, so desperately for Cathy to be innocent.

“Henry… arrest warrant.” Cathy managed to gasp out.

Anne’s eyes flashed with realization and she was quickly kneeling in front of Cathy. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, Somnolente. I get that part completely. After being arrested for speaking, you tend to stay quiet, huh?” Anne felt anger spark, but less towards Cathy and more towards Henry. The coward tried to execute Cathy too...

Cathy nodded shakily with another sob. “Pregnant.”

“So you were also pregnant at the time…” Anne considered. Her rage slowly eased back down the more she learned.

Yeah, Cathy fucked up. Big time. But unlike Mannox, Henry, or any of the other assholes who did what they did for no good reason. Cathy had reasons as to why she couldn’t help. Fear seemed to be the most prominent. The time wasn’t good either… they were oppressed and forced to survive. Anne knew that first hand. And she wasn't even the main abuser! No… that right went to Thomas, and that man better hope to god he never meets Anne face to face.

“Hey, Cathy.” Anne began soothing upon seeing the other girl’s breathing pick up again. “I need you to breathe with me, okay? Breathe in, and out… that’s right…”

Cathy shakily followed the movements, her mind running rampant. Soon, Anne managed to calm Cathy, taking hold of the girl’s hands to prevent her from hurting herself.

“Why are you being so nice?” Cathy managed to ask. “I hurt her…”

“I know… it wasn’t your fault.” Anne said slowly, considering the question herself. “Maybe, somehow, a tiny bit could have been your fault, you— no, we were hurt and abused and just stuck in horrible situations that forced us to choose bad options... but innocent or guilty, whatever happened, you know what makes you different from those bastards?”

Cathy sniffed and numbly shook her head.

“You’re trying to atone. And that’s why I forgive you.” Anne gave her a shaky grin, quickly finding herself rambling a bit. “Why else did you tell me all of this? And if you were scum, why did you start crying over it? Scum wouldn’t cry. You’re better than them, Cathy. And I know you’ll redeem yourself.”

Anne pulled her into a hug. “And telling me all of this. Apologizing to her mother when you couldn’t apologize to her… I think that’s a damn good first step. And what about Mannox? You’re helping take down assholes just like that. Preventing more situations like that… that right there is atonement.”

The only thing Cathy could do was cry. She sat there with Anne for what seemed like hours. Until the sun started to set. She sat there and cried out centuries of sorrow.

Henry. Thomas. Elizabeth. It all seemed to flood out at once.

And Anne… Anne who, by all accounts, should hate her right now… sat with her and comforted her.

“Sorry…” Cathy mumbled. For Elizabeth or the crying, she didn’t know. Maybe both.

Anne didn’t either but seemed to go with the former. “You’re already apologizing through helping with Mannox. Cathy, you are not a bad person.”

“Am I really?”

“Cathy, I just watched you cry over Elizabeth… you made a big ass mistake, but you’re already trying to redeem yourself. However many times I need to say it, I will. You are not a bad person.”

Faintly, Anne thought back to her own past life. Catalina… Mary… the men… Cathy wasn’t scum. That right probably belonged to Anne. She would have to work on her own atonement, it seemed. But that wasn’t the focus of this conversation.

“Yeah… I’ll admit that it may take me a bit to fully forgive you… but you’ve been nothing but a friend since I’ve met you, and I know that eventually, maybe tomorrow or maybe in a month, I’ll forgive you.” Anne gave her a grin. “After all… we have to help others escape from oppression, yeah?”

Cathy nodded her head, gaze hardening. “This time, I refuse to let something like that happen again. This time, I’m going to free people from their chains.”

“Well, someone’s still a writer!” Anne laughed.

“Yes I am. And you’re wiser than you let on.” Cathy breathed out. She was tired from crying, but this conversation took a soothing turn that she appreciated.

“Maybe so, but my grades still suck.” Anne glanced up the darkening sky. “It’s getting pretty late, I've gotta get you home before Catalina strikes me down!”

Cathy let out a tiny laugh that made Anne beam.

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to though… consider it me showing you that I still care for you.”

Yeah… Elizabeth was going to be hard for them. But they talked before it could fester and become worse. Or before Anne found out a different way from Cathy. And just like before, they agreed to have each other’s back.

~~||~~||~~

They barely managed to make the last ride. Both of them dried the last of their tears and stuck together as the tube drove towards the Aragon household.

During the train ride, Anne carefully asked Cathy to tell her about Elizabeth. What she was like. Anne smiled as Cathy’s face lit up and she began to tell Anne stories.

Yeah… Anne knew that Cathy could be forgiven.

They soon reached the house. Cathy still looked a little depressed and the fact that she had cried was noticeable. So Cathy hung back a bit, but where she was visible to the door. Anne was the one who knocked.

Yes, Cathy had a key. But they figured it would be better to knock since it wasn’t just Cathy. (That and they forgot the key was present, but that wasn’t important)

In only a moment, Catalina had opened the door. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing Anne.

“I brought Cathy home.” Anne said simply, meeting Catalina’s stare.

Catalina looked past Anne to Cathy. Her gaze became colder. “I thought I told you what would happen if you hurt her.”

Anne cringed. This was not going the way she wanted it to. She needed to beat Mannox and comfort Cathy over Elizabeth. She couldn’t do either of those if Catalina killed her on the spot.

She also didn’t really want to repeat death. It wasn’t fun.

“She didn’t hurt me…” Cathy spoke up. “There was… something I did. We talked it over and she… forgave me.”

Catalina watched Cathy closely, as if searching for a lie. Finally, she nodded. She looked very curious as to what exactly Cathy was talking about, but didn’t push. “...very well.”

Then, she opened the door wider, gesturing for the two to come in. Cathy carefully made her way into the house, stopping to look back at Anne. The green clad teen stood there, clearly confused as to why the two were waiting for her.

“We don’t have any guest rooms, so you’ll have to either sleep on the couch or with Cathy.” Catalina told Anne, watching her cautiously.

Anne blinked in surprise. “You would let me spend the night?”

“Don’t bother me and it will be fine. My parents are out so I don't see any reason not to.” Catalina told her simply as Anne carefully stepped inside. “Besides, the tube is closed for the night anyways.” Then, Catalina vanished into her room.

Anne watched her go in surprise before turning back to Cathy. “Come on, let’s head up to your room. Then I can text Chaton and tell her I’ll be here with you.”

So they did. Anne insisted on taking the floor. Cathy only relented after making what was practically a nest with all of the blanket and pillows covering the floor.

For a while, they sat in a comfortable silence, Cathy writing at her desk and Anne curled up on the blanket pile.

Cathy bit her lip. “You’re sure you forgive me?”

Anne let out a small, sad laugh. “I do, Somnolente. You’ve redeemed yourself in my eyes. And again, worrying shows you aren’t scum. So I’ll say it however many times you need me to.” Anne paused slightly. “Yeah… it may take me a bit to get over completely, but for the most part, I forgive you. That’s a promise.”

Anne decidedly didn’t mention how much of a hypocrite she would be. Maybe she didn’t do what Cathy did… but Anne still hurt people, both to obey her father and simply survive in a very dark time. Catalina and Mary especially were hurt by her.

“And… what if I can’t forgive myself?”

“Then I’ll just keep telling you the truth. That you aren’t a monster.” Anne told her. “I’ve forgiven you, Somnolente. Now? You just need to focus on forgiving yourself.”

The next morning, they would eat breakfast with Catalina before going off to plan for the palace with Anna and Morgana. They explained everything to Anna, who turned out to be a quick learner for both the Metaverse and Reincarnation. Although, the latter wasn’t really needed and there weren’t many answers in the first place. It was the weekend, giving them plenty of time to keep Kat company and comfort her as well (observing how defeated Kat seemed only strengthened their resolve towards stopping Mannox).

As they moved about their day and preparations, both Anne and Cathy found themselves forgiving. Elizabeth was a wound deep in their hearts, but they were taking steps to start healing. They would help each other heal and atone through stopping Mannox. And that atonement included forgiving themselves and each other.

So that’s what they would do.