Ysabel Cross's Story

This much was good enough--they had lost one student, but this trial they would not lose another. That in mind, Romano pressed down on his choice. Oni slowly drew away from Faqir and Mercy to press the button for Faqir's podium and her own. Slowly, everyone locked in their votes.

...

...

...

"And the votes are in! This trial's blackened...the Ultimate Botanist, Amelia Temmer!"

Romano breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe--no one else would die here.

"But, well, hmm..." Monokuma smiled a demented grin, and instantly Romano's world stopped turning. "It's no fun not to punish anyone. What can ya do? She killed herself, so I didn't get the honors! How about this?"

The voting buttons folded back into the students' podiums. From Monokuma's large seat, a bigger panel popped out of the woodwork with buttons representing each student.

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll let you choose." Monokuma's one red eye gleamed. In the lighting, Romano swore it was the color of blood. "You guys can vote on who you want to have executed for this trial! But bear in mind, no one leaves until you choose! So pick wisely, scrubs!"

This cannot happen. This cannot happen.

It took all of Romano's willpower not to completely lose his wit.

Why must this happen?

---

Faussin felt his legs about to buckle. Hands shaking, he held to his stand even more tightly, willing himself not to lose it completely. As hopeless thoughts began to swim through his head, egged on by the voices and amplified by the horror of those around him, he repeated the phrase can't give up over and over in his mind.

"This..." Vivara shook her head, hands trembling. "This is cruel beyond reckoning."

"Ysabel," Graham muttered. "She should be the one to die. Lottimelia's death was her fault in the first place, wasn't it? Everyone's deaths are her fault."

Ysabel, who had slowly taken her place back behind her stand, rubbed her neck. She regarded the students with what looked like condescension, her lilac eyes seeming unburdened as ever. Whether she was silent because she had no words to say or she was wary of being strangled again, it was hard to tell.

Romano tried to focus on keeping his breathing steady. It should have been simple enough, right? Throw Ysabel under the bus and leave it at that.

Even so, would Monokuma let his accomplice actually get killed?

It was then that Romano took time to examine the larger voting panel at Monokuma's seat. He picked out the issue immediately.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but Miss Ysabel is not an option."

Faqir managed to glance up at the voting panel, springing back to his podium in horror. "Are you f*cking KIDDING me?!"

Monokuma was clever, if nothing else. He was clever, he was brutal, and he was despicable beyond belief.

Oni stared at the voting panel, her eyes taking on an odd look. Romano glanced over at Madoka and Clair, who were tangled in each other's arms.

Faqir's fury quickly bubbled back to the surface. He pointed accusingly at Clair. "D*mmit, then let's get Clair! She avoided dying last trial, we can sack her for this one!"

"No!" Madoka spoke out for the first time during the trial, shaking. "P-please, don't kill her! C-Clair has been doing so well, sh-she can't die now, I-I promised her..."

"Good luck charm." Clair swallowed, forcing a smile to her face. "I-it's okay. I deserve it. L-let's just get me killed and get it over with."

"I am not losing you!" Madoka sobbed, grabbing the girl's shoulders. "I almost lost you twice now, I won't do this again!"

"Then what the h*ll else are we supposed to do, huh?!" Faqir demanded. "Should we vote in Romano just because he's involved with the mafia, assuming what that b*tch said is true?! Do we vote for Graham just for being a thief?! Do we throw Mercy under the bus because she's a hunter?! What the h*ll else should we do?!"

Romano clenched his fists to try and regain some control over himself. He counted silently, maintaining steady breathing. "We should try to discuss this logically. Perhaps there is some way--"

"Some way what, Rom?! This is different from any other trial! The only one of us who did anything wrong is Clair, so let's just punish her for getting Eriko and Braeden murdered and move on! At least she deserves it!"

Madoka clung tightly to Clair, trembling. "If you're going to try to kill her, I-I'd rather you killed me instead!"

They were getting nowhere by arguing, but somehow, Romano couldn't muster the strength to speak up again. He stared at the voting panel, empty of Ysabel's face, taunting the group from where it sat.

True hopelessness was found in that moment.

---

"We..." Faussin suddenly felt suffocated. "Please don't kill Clair. She doesn't deserve it."

"If not Clair, then who?" Vivara replied, chuckling bitterly. "No one here is what we'd call an 'ideal' choice, but better the person who we know can kill and has the potential to kill again, wouldn't you say?"

"Viv and Faqir have a point," Graham muttered, eyes downcast. "She--"

"I don't care!" Faussin cried, surprising even himself. "Kill me instead. It's not like I'm any better! I just--please don't kill her, she shouldn't have to die at the hands of a murderous little teddy bear! Don't do that to her, and don't do that to Madoka!"

"For the last time, I am not a teddy bear!" Monokuma said, brandishing his claws.

"It doesn't matter what you are!" Faussin shouted, all of the frustration and sadness he'd been trying to suppress during their entire time there suddenly bubbling to the surface. "You're evil! You're soulless! I hate you, and I hate this, and I hate myself, so just vote me up!"

Finnian took a shaky breath. "Fauss, we're not going to kill you."

"Why not?" He questioned, fists clenching. "I don't know anyone here. I haven't talked to anyone, I haven't made any friends--heck, you guys know next to nothing about me, so what's there to mourn?"

"Why are you so intent on defending her?" Vivara asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Faussin bit his lip. "Because I don't want to see her die."

"You barely know her," Vivara said. "It's as you said--we barely know you and you barely know any of us. Why do you care so much?"

"I-I..." Faussin rubbed his eyes, resentful of the tears that formed. "I-I can't explain it, I just do. You're in as much danger with her alive as you are with me alive, so killing either one of us would get rid of some of the threat either way. No one is attached to me, and that's fine, but it's no secret how much Madoka cares about Clair. So do him a favor and just kill me instead, okay?"

If anything, it'd get the voices to finally shut up, he thought, bitterly.

In an instant, the team they had finally reformed had fallen to pieces. Romano couldn't tell what he hated more about the situation--the fact that everyone around him was shattering, or the fact that he wasn't.

Clair let out a cry, trying to get free of Madoka's grasp. "Don't kill him!" she cried, clawing at Madoka's arms held fast around her body. "P-please, don't kill him! F-Fauss, i-it's okay, I already want to die, j-just...j-just please, you have to live through this, don't...don't kill him!"

Romano glanced over at Oni, worried at how the little exorcist was handling the situation. Her eyes were locked on the voting panel, her posture oddly steady and her expression somehow confident. Somehow, it worried Romano far more than Clair and Faussin's pleas for death.

Faqir let out a hoarse laugh, laced with the same insanity that had tinged Clair's in the last trial. "H*ll! Why not just kill me, then?! We're all going to rot in here anyways, might as well get it over with!"

"E-everyone stop, please!" Madoka yelled. "I-if we just calm down, maybe--"

"No," Romano interrupted. He licked his lips briefly, trying to alleviate the dryness of his mouth. "...There is no way out of the situation this time around. We have reached a dead end, and there is now nothing we can do but make a sacrifice in order to move forward."

At the word "sacrifice", Romano saw Oni move out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to face her more fully, however, it appeared the girl hadn't budged an inch from her previous position.

"Then just sacrifice me already!" Clair insisted. "What do I even get if we all scape this place?! I-I'd rather die in here than out there, just...you better not let Fauss do this! Fauss, don't you dare do this!"

The longer the trial dragged on, the worse Romano's headache got. He reached up to rub his temples, determined not to let the situation drag him down any further.

Things would work out somehow...wouldn't they?

---

"There's nothing for me to go back to," Faussin insisted, attempting to sound reasonable in his desperate attempt to be chosen for execution. "I have no family, I have no friends--I only have a way to distance myself from the world so that I hate myself a little less. No one will miss me, and neither will any of you. I wouldn't even miss me. Someone has to be executed, and I'm saying I'll be that person. What are we waiting for?"

"Do not throw away your life so willingly," Vivara hissed, hands trembling.

"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner everyone can find a way out of here," Faussin pointed out. "It's just like Romano said--there's no way out of it. P-please, just kill me already, okay? I would rather be able to die for you guys than in a world where I'm miserable. At least this way, I can feel like I'm worth something, even if just for a second."

"We--we can't just stand here forever," Mercy sighed, rubbing her forehead. "We have to make a decision."

"That's what I'm saying!" Faussin exclaimed, the tears coming faster all of the sudden. "Please! I need to believe everyone else can live through this! Kill me!"

"You've done nothing wrong! None of us have!" Finnian cried, nails digging into his stand. "How can any of us willingly sentence anyone here to death?!"

Faussin wiped the tears from his face, eyes suddenly zeroing in on the voting machine. Moving out from his stand, he started toward it, but Graham caught his arm, holding him back.

"Just let me," Faussin nearly begged.

"I-I can't," Graham replied, biting his lip.

Faussin sobbed, desperately trying to free himself from Graham's grip. "Why?!"

"Because you don't deserve it!" Graham yelled.

Faussin actually laughed out loud, tears now mixing with bitter chuckles, "you don't know that! I absolutely do deserve it, more than anyone here! D*mmit, why won't you just... just let me! Let me die!"

Just stop them. It will all be fine. Just stop them. Say something.

Romano squeezed his eyes shut, trying to drown out everyone's shouting. Clair let out a sob, struggling against Madoka.

"Fauss!" she shouted. "Fauss! L-let them kill me, please! Th-there's still so much, I-I deserve it!"

Romano hardly registered anything that was happening...until he noticed Oni step out from behind her podium, gently remove her necklace from Faqir, and begin heading towards him.

"O-Oni," Faqir gasped out, nearly breathless, "where are you going?"

Oni was remarkably calm as she stepped up to Romano's podium, gently passing him her necklace. Willing his hands to stop shaking, Romano reached out to take it, meeting Oni's eyes. They shimmered in the dull lighting, a strained smile poking at her lips.

"Oni...?" Faqir began to move towards her as Oni reached out to grab Romano's hand. "...Oni, come back. L-listen, we'll just send one of those two, okay? They want to die anyway!"

Romano allowed Oni to hold his hand for a moment, trying not to focus on the resolve in her gaze.

"...If I were going to kill anyone...it would be a demon." All of Oni's loudness and grandiose nature had vanished--in that moment, she became just as vulnerable as the rest of them. Romano squeezed her hand subconsciously. "...Hey, Romano. Your queen's last order is to guard that necklace."

Last.

Romano struggled to find words to say that wouldn't betray his growing feelings of dread. He settled on nodding.

Oni was quiet for a moment. Slowly, she took a couple of steps closer, stood on her toes, and planted a light kiss on Romano's lips. He blinked, admittedly taken by surprise.

Her voice came in a soft whisper. "Thank you. I'm sorry."

Oni. Romano placed a hand on her shoulder, willing himself not to lose everything now of all times. He continued counting internally, clutching Oni's necklace in his hand. Oni took a step back, taking a deep breath.

"See..." Oni smiled--Romano realized it was the most pure, innocent smile he had ever seen. "The problem is simple. Everyone is sad, and terrible things are happening...because there is a demon among you. As an exorcist, it is my responsibility to get rid of that demon."

Faqir stiffened. "Oni, what--what are you saying? Get--get back to your stand!"

Oni turned to look at him, grinning. "If I did that, the demon would still be here. You all see? You are held in despair under the powerful rule of the Great Demon Queen. So then...I relinquish that rule."

"Oni!" By now, Faqir had begun to chase the girl down. Oni calmly turned towards the voting panel and began to head for it. Faqir caught her arm, yanking her back a step. "Come on, you haven't done anything wrong, okay?! W-we can just use this to get back at Clair or something! Fauss clearly wants to die, let one of them do it!"

With a surprising strength, Oni tore her arm loose--or perhaps Faqir was just too drained to hold on to her properly.

"Don't worry. I want to die too, so it's fine to send me." Oni took another step towards the voting panel. Romano's fingers dug into the cross she had passed him.

Come back. He willed his voice to work. Oni, come back.

"You don't deserve this, Oni!" Faqir demanded. "Y-you've done nothing wrong! Just...just come back, okay?"

For a moment, Oni didn't respond. When she spoke again, her voice sounded more natural than it ever had.

"...Yuno."

"W-what...?"

Oni took another step. Romano gripped his stand, aching to chase after her. "My real name. It's Tachibana Yuno. So, you see? I have done something wrong. I lied to all of you and I lied to myself." The girl paused, reaching out to touch Amelia's stand as she passed it. "And, you know, I've failed at being an exorcist if I did all that work and everyone is still sad, and people still died, and this still happened. But it's okay, because I think I know what the problem is now. It's me!"

Clair hiccupped, writhing. "You're not the problem! On--Yuno, c-come back here and let me die instead!"

"But that wouldn't fix anything." Oni--or Yuno, Romano supposed--had reached Bonnie's stand; she paused, drawing her hand along the surface of it. "It has to be me, or the demons will keep coming after you. It's okay--I hate Tachibana Yuno anyways, so if I kill her, it'll be a good thing. And maybe when you all escape, you can thank my daddy for teaching me how to be an exorcist, and you can tell my mommy and my sister what I did, and maybe they'll think I'm a good girl now. And you can all grow up and be happy, and start families, and the demons won't bother you anymore."

Come back. Yuno, come back.

"Just let me die!" Clair pleaded. "Please, just let me die!"

Yuno stretched, her posture oddly relaxed. "You haven't had a chance to be happy yet, though. And, well...a life where you were never happy even once is a terrible life! You still need to live yours, then, so you can discover happiness. I already..."

She trailed off. Romano heard her sniffle for the first time.

"I already found happiness," Yuno continued. "I found it with you guys. I found it in the way I've loved being with all of you. I found it in spending time with everyone, in the friends I've made. So my life has been pretty fulfilled."

She was close enough now to reach out and touch the panel. For once, Romano wanted to let himself release his composure.

Just as her fingers brushed the button with her own face, Romano found the will to speak.

"Miss Yuno."

Yuno paused, releasing a soft chuckle. "...Just call me Yuno, Rom. I want you to. I'm not your queen anymore."

Romano swallowed, hating the dryness of his throat. "...Yuno."

Even saying her name felt bittersweet--Romano had made it a lifestyle not to address anyone around him by only their first name. In that moment, he felt Yuno deserved more respect than he had ever given another person, but calling her by name felt...right, somehow. "...There is still time to discuss this. You do not have to throw your life away. We..."

Come back. Please.

Yuno had paused, her hand hovering over the button.

"I..." Romano took a deep breath. "I will miss you."

He could almost see Yuno's gentle smile. She sniffled.

"...I'll miss you too, Romano."

Before he could call out and stop her, Yuno pushed against the button, and her face lit up in a flash. A small chime sounded. Faqir let out a loud scream, charging forwards to gather Yuno into a hug. Clair yelled in anguish, elbowing her way out of Madoka's grasp to stumble into the middle of the ring of students, where she collapsed to her knees. Madoka leaned over his podium, pounding his fist on the wood.

And for the first time since arriving in the hotel, Romano felt a tear leave his eye. He wiped it away, gripping Yuno's necklace.

Goodbye, my queen.

---

Faussin screamed out, legs buckling. Graham caught him before he hit the ground, lifting the magician up and supporting his weight. Staring at Yuno with what may have been admiration, Graham used his free hand to salute her, hands shaking slightly. "Your sacrifice will not be in vain, my queen."

Tears forming in her eyes, Vivara sprinted out from behind her stand and over to Yuno, arms wrapping tightly around her. Hardly able to stand, Finnian somehow managed the strength to bow to her.

"Thank you, Yuno." Mercy's voice was uncharacteristically soft, and her expression unreadable.

Ysabel stood silently, watching with those same condescending eyes. There was something smug in the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips--it was almost as though she enjoyed seeing everyone break down. No, it was as if she was proud of it all, and proud of the monster she was.

"It'd better not be!" Somehow, despite everything that had happened--despite sentencing herself to death--Yuno's cheerfulness had crept back into her voice. "All of you still need to find your happiness and get back home, after all, and if you don't after all this...then I'll send my demons from hell to torment you all until you do! Don't make my vengeful spirit haunt you!"

"Idiot!" Faqir sobbed, clinging to Yuno's body. "W-why would you do that, w-why...why does this keep happening?!"

Yuno patted his head, then touched Vivara's shoulder. "...You'll find your happiness, okay? And when you do, you'll be glad everyone made it through this."

You are my happiness. The words wouldn't come. Romano removed his glasses to wipe his eyes, thumb gently brushing along Yuno's cross.

"And there you have it!" The happy-go-lucky tone of Monokuma's voice nearly rose the rage Romano had been suppressing. He took a long, deep breath, determined to maintain control of himself. "The voted substitute is our Ultimate Exorcist! Then let's give it everything we've got!"

"Don't you dare!" Faqir ordered. "D*mmit! I'm not letting you go!"

"It's..."

"Shut up! Shut up! I'm not doing this again, n-not again!"

"PUNISHMENT TIME~!"

"NO!"

The metal "arms" that had dragged off the other blackened students shot out to clamp around any available parts of Yuno's body. Her expression twisted, Yuno shoved hard against Vivara and Faqir, trying to separate herself from the two. More of the "arms" worked to tear them away, and despite everything they had worked so hard for, Yuno was dragged off into the depths.

The moment she was gone, Romano slammed his fist onto the desk, crushing his glasses.

Come back.

---

---

---

---

Being strapped to a cross immediately upon reaching the point of the execution was oddly ironic. Somehow, Yuno was satisfied with it.

Oni Kurano would have to make one final show before she vanished along with Yuno. Grinning, the Ultimate Exorcist faced her imminent doom with a bellowing laugh.

It would all be alright. Somehow, Yuno had confidence in that fact.

If nothing else, Monokuma clearly hadn't had the time to meticulously plan an ironic execution for every one of the possible candidates for death. A single Monokuma approached her, dressed in the vestments of the Pope. It clutched a single gun, which pointed straight at Yuno's forehead.

Bring it on, demon scum.

She had already vowed to herself to stay defiant to the end. Facing the barrel of the pistol with a smile, Yuno slowly curled in her fingers, angling both middle fingers as close to the Monokuma as she could reach.

Go to hell with me.

Something surged forwards and attached to Oni's forehead, something oddly non-bullet-shaped.

The miniscule bomb exploded in a burst of light, reducing Yuno's body to a crumbing corpse and the cross to a mournful "T".

---

Faussin screamed again, sobbing loudly. Falling to the ground, he dug his nails into his legs, entire body shaking violently. Yuno didn't have to die. She could've smiled again. She could've escaped, she could have been happy, she could've gone back to her family and hugged them, she could've...

He dug his nails further into his skin, his cries growing even louder. It should've been him. Things would have been better if it was him, and he knew it. But she'd sacrificed herself, regardless. Yuno was gone, dead, and would never live again.

He choked on his own tears; he should've been faster.

Mercy stared, silently. Graham looked on, holding his breath, his hands tucked under his arms. Finnian shivered, burying his face in his hands, as Vivara stood unevenly, whispering something to herself.

After observing the sight before them for no more than a few seconds, Ysabel detached herself from the group, hands folded neatly in front of her. She walked toward the elevator, her silence coming across as judgemental.

Romano had never felt more numb.

Whatever he had been expecting from Yuno's execution, this was definitely not it. He hardly registered Faussin's screams or Faqir's wild cries.

They had to hurry--they had to get back to life in the hotel as normal, back to the way things had been. Yuno hadn't sacrificed herself just so they could fall even deeper into despair, she had sacrificed herself so they could find happiness.

Even so, somehow, Romano couldn't bring himself to follow Ysabel to the elevator.

His vision was blurry; Romano wasn't sure if it was because he no longer had his glasses, or because there were tears in his eyes.

Two human-like shapes approached him. A body slumped against his own--past the lingering blur, Romano made out brown hair and a bright red jacket.

Clair.

Romano slipped his glasses back on, trying to peer through the cracks and breakage in the lenses to watch over Clair more closely. Clair flung her arms around him, sobbing. Romano patted her back.

Madoka--who Romano realized must have dropepd Clair off with him earlier--had moved to crouch down next to Faqir. The second Madoka's hand touched Faqir's shoulder, the jeweler launched himself into Madoka's arms, pounding furiously on the ground. Madoka slowly wrapped his arms around Faqir, murmuring.

We should not stay here.

Slowly, Romano moved towards the elevator, bringing Clair with him. Clair followed, weeping. Madoka glanced over at Romano, then coaxed Faqir to his feet and followed. He left Faqir with Romano and Clair and returned to crouch next to Faussin, tentatively reaching out to rub the screaming boy's back.

Romano took a deep breath. They had to move on. They had to make it through this. They had to, for Yuno's sake.

---

Faussin squeezed his eyes shut, gathering all of his anguish and expressing it in one final, chilling scream.

His throat was raw, his body shaking, his heartbeat echoing in his ears. Feeling the last of his energy leave him, he shuddered, cries growing softer. He took a deep, shaky breath. Reaching up to wipe the tears from his face, he glanced at Madoka out of the corner of his eye, feeling pathetic in comparison.

He opened his mouth to apologize, as doing so was the first thing that came to mind, but no words came out. The magician's power was sapped. He smiled bitterly--like usual, he wasn't strong enough.

Vivara took a deep breath. Uttering one last word under her breath, she turned, taking steady steps toward the elevator. Mercy followed a few moments after, calmly brushing her hair to the side.

Graham cast a final look at what was left of Yuno, then with a sigh, went to join the others. Finnian walked with him, Graham offering an arm to help support the scientist halfway to the elevator doors.

Vaguely aware that he and Madoka were the last two left, Faussin took yet another deep breath, trying to steady himself as he stood up. Against his vows to not get attached to the other students, he found himself leaning into Madoka, desperately craving the support of another person.

"I-I'm sorry," he found himself able to whisper, tears still spilling down his cheeks.

Romano tried to focus on keeping Clair from tearing her face apart instead of the remnants of Yuno's body. He diverted his gaze to Madoka, wondering if he needed some help making sure Faussin made it to the elevator safely.

"It's alright," Madoka said softly. "W-we...we're all tired and it hurts and this...this is horrible. B-but...we're all going to be alright, somehow. We'll find happiness and we'll move on and escape and everyone will..."

"W-we're all going to die here," Clair interrupted, quivering. "W-we're going to die...we're g-going to die, a-all of us are going to die...ahaha, ahahahahahaha...!"

"We're not going to die!" Madoka insisted, his voice rising suddenly. "B-because...because we're all going to get out of here, remember? Everything will work out somehow! We'll have happiness again, like Yuno said we would...s-so we just have to keep going and not give up!"

Romano clung to those words, using them to get himself back to a more steady frame of mind. "Master Madoka is right. Though things are bleak and horrific, if we allow ourselves to linger there, then..." Romano took a deep breath. "The demons shall win, and Yuno would be quite upset with us if we allowed that to happen."

Somehow, they would turn out alright. They had to, for Yuno's sake.

---

Keep going, Faussin repeated. Keep going...

He felt weaker than ever in that moment, on the verge of collapsing yet again. He always told himself to keep going, because if you let go of hope, there was nothing left. For his entire life, Fauss had held the hope of real happiness close to his heart, always repeating those words when things started to look bleak.

But he was so tired. Years and years of saying the same thing, putting faith in the same message, and this was where he ended up. He used to genuinely smile, whole-heartedly believing what he told himself, but time went on and things got worse and worse. His life spiraled further and further down, and as much as he scrambled and hoped for a better tomorrow, no better tomorrow ever came.

It was a lie he had told himself to make things seem okay. He'd been giving himself the false strength to go onto the next day, denying the hopelessness of his situation, the sinking feeling that ate away at him.

And now, as he called upon on that false strength yet again...

It didn't come.

Nearby him, Vivara took a deep breath. "We will not die. We must get out of here."

Graham closed his eyes. Finnian leaned into him, shaking violently, as Graham softly patted his back. "Things will be okay."

"We..." Vivara rubbed her eyes, hiding what looked like tears. "It--it is as Madoka said: we will find happiness again."

Romano drew Faqir closer, sensing his growing uneasiness. Something had to be done. Something had to be put in place. Someone had to fix things, before it was too late and everyone ended up dead.

Madoka nodded, slowly making his way into the elevator. As the doors slammed shut and the elevator car rose, Romano could only think of ways to fix the rising hopelessness.

They would escape. They had to, or Yuno's sacrifice would be in vain.

---

---

The next morning found Faqir curled up in his bed, afraid to go outside for fear that the last trial's events would be confirmed. He wanted to believe it had been a horrific nightmare.

Lottimelia's suicide, Ysabel's betrayal, Yuno's sacrifice...everything had drained the life right out of him. It was hard to even convince himself to climb out of bed after everything that went wrong.

Someone knocked on the door. Faqir grumbled to himself.

"Faqir?" a voice called. "I-it's Madoka. I came to get you for the morning meeting. I've been going around and checking on everyone. Clair is with me already..."

Get out of bed, you loser. It's time to rejoin the group. Put your happy face on and stop moping like an idiot.

As much as he hated to admit it, Faqir knew he would never feel better if he didn't force himself to feel better. Grunting with the effort, he hoisted himself out of bed, wandered to the door, and lazily flung it open.

Madoka yelped immediately. Clair blushed, burying her face in his arm.

"...What?"

"Y-you should probably put clothes on before we go to the conference room," Madoka muttered. "P-please get dressed!"

Faqir snapped to attention, shaking his head. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me, bud. So hey, while I'm here, what do you think?"

"I-I'm not answering that! Put some pants on!"

Clair mumbled something, nuzzling into Madoka's shoulder.

Well, that's enough teasing to get me a bit more energized. Come on, buddy, back to the old grind.

"I'll be right back," Faqir assured. "Wait for me."

Madoka sighed. "We will, don't worry."

Faqir nodded, stepping back inside and sliding the door closed. If nothing else, Madoka had been remarkably stable since the second trial--it was pleasant surprise to see him taking action to make sure everyone was coming out of their rooms. Just getting a glimpse of him was enough to give Faqir the courage to try one more time, to give it just one more shot to get through things. Each trial drained more and more of him, but none would take all of him until he let it.

Today was not that day.