Wish

The singularity particles rained in every location across Aries on the surface. In the Pisces District, the Kathuz City civilians began to receive support from the police and other government officials who took notice of their small migration to their community. Family and citizen communities across Aries arrived in Pisces after hearing the news of their arrival, using their community funds to pay for shelter and their new homes. But as they arrived when the singularity detonated from the heavens, the miracle of the stars raining down on them was a sign that they had exercised a well-decided judgment for the Kathuz people who lived in poverty.

In the Virgo District plaza, the twinkling stars descended on them. Children and their pets frolicked with their families, dancing around in the stars as they thought of it as a new form of firework. Shop owners, residents of the Virgo District, and news stations took notice of the unknown descent of it all, believing it to be a work of God.

Haufert exited his gift shop and blinked up at the midnight sky with his one eye. He clapped and smiled brightly as other civilians gathered around him to cherish the scenery. "It's a-a m- message! I-It's a s-sign! My b-business! I w-will b-be s-successful!" He exclaimed.

"There are stars outside, Saki!" Saki Shizuka's grandmother exclaimed near the entrance to the tailor shop, opening the door to call upon her granddaughter. "Come quick!"

"You're just imagining things, grandma. As always..." Saki sighed, folding some of the clothing that previous customers did not want to purchase. After finishing a quick fold of a blouse, one of the particles from the singularity entered the establishment, floated toward Saki, and tickled her nose with a quick spark. She yelped and rushed outside the store with her grandmother; she was telling the truth. She gasped and held in her breath to admire the beauty of it all, rushing to the center of the plaza to join other families that were taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.

She pressed her hands together and placed them on her chest, eager to take pictures as well. After retrieving her smartphone and taking multiple pictures, the first instinct that she had was to send them to Natia. After doing so, she placed her smartphone on her chest and closed her eyes. She paid dutiful respects to the unknown gods that granted her immense luck for meeting Natia, believing that the descent of the stars was a sign of good merit and fortune.

Rose Accel, who was in her wheelchair, diligently observed the scene. She glanced up at the falling stars and lightly smiled. "Well done, Jinrai." She whispered before pushing herself back into her office in Sunlight HQ.

Rux Zanner, who heard of the commotion from the neighbors near their Sunlight headquarters, approached the night sky with everyone observing the heavenly shower. There was something about watching the stars drop to his shoulders that made him believe that miracles were possible. He thought about Natia and smiled after imagining her younger self being taken into care. Without further thought, he entered the headquarters by himself with Nana waiting for him.

Everyone had unintentionally celebrated the trio's victory, believing the explosion to be a sign of hope or a premium firework.

At long last, amid the Kathuz City ruins, the stars managed to oddly extinguish the flames upon direct contact. The Seraphians celebrated their victory apart from the others, cheering in unison. Claire placed Weiss down on her jacket to use it as a blanket, witnessing Ryo, Natia, and Jinrai descending from the skies like a magical fairy arriving to grant her wish. And she was right. Her wish had been granted.

"This has to be a dream," Claire cried, placing her palms over her mouth after watching her allies reunite with her. After Jinrai touched down with his legs, he collapsed on the ground not before Claire caught him. "Rai, your arm..." She mentioned.

"Don't worry about it," Jinrai insisted, chuckling at their victorious scene. His punctured wounds from Hameki's violet bullets were healing from Natia's nanosuit, regenerating his flesh as he spoke. His frail head rested upon Claire's thigh, gazing up at the stars tickling his cheeks. He then turned his head to Ryo and Natia, smiling brightly at them as his eyelids gently lowered themselves. The dried blood on his forehead and mouth corners remained. "Looks like... I made the right decision," He referenced the time he reluctantly recruited the two. "Who would have thought."

Ryo and Natia lightly chuckled back at him. Natia approached Jinrai as the stars tickled her shoulders. "Now you two can twin with robo-arms," Natia mentioned. "Pretty romantic, don't you think?"

"That sounds-" Jinrai spoke.

"Wonderful," Claire interrupted, placing her fingers underneath Jinrai's chin to caress him affectionately. Jinrai's eyes whitened up as he pretended to die, believing a robotic arm for his pride would sink it dramatically. She put pressure on his chin and squeezed his cheeks tightly, wanting him to agree with her decision. "Doesn't it sound wonderful, Rai?" She asked.

"S-Sounds... f-fine!" He forced himself to say. "Sounds w-wonderful!"

Jinrai turned his head around and whispered something into Claire's ear after she released her grip on his cheeks. She assisted him in lifting him from the ground. "I can walk on my own. Thank you," He said, setting his eyes on Ryo and Natia, who stood next to each other. As he approached the two, they imagined what kind of joke he would be saying to them at the moment.

Instead of uttering a single word, Jinrai wrapped his right arm around Ryo and Natia's bodies to draw them close in a huddle, embracing them for a warm group hug. The unexpected action caused Ryo and Natia to appear flustered together, exchanging glances with each other. Claire blushed at them. Jinrai closed his eyes as tears of pride and joy trickled down his cheeks, splashing on Ryo and Natia's shoulders.

"Ryo Nakai. Natia Zanner. I would have never expected you two to have been by my side until the end," He firmly stated, holding his emotions back. "But you both did. And for that, I owe you my life."

"Boy, you already sacrificed an arm for us," Natia pointed out, acknowledging his warm embrace as a sign of acceptance, companionship, and the start of their relationship as allies. "You don't need to do shit for us anymore."

"She's right," Ryo agreed, accepting his thanks as a form of gratitude as well with a small bow. "We were in this together from the start. We wouldn't have won without you."

"Speaking of that..." Jinrai said, examining the contents of Ryo's hand where he cupped the memory fragment. Ryo held it up with his palm and everyone observed the amber fragment's radiant sheen within its core. Jinrai took the fragment and placed it in his back pocket. "I'll take this to Rose Accel as soon as I can for analysis. Once we compare this fragment with the other one we have in our possession, we'll soon know the truth about Genesis."

"I know some hints of the truth," Ryo said, looking down at his feet. "Genesis used Ash Meguro to create special-grade fragments. It was all because of what I did to her. If I had never been so blind, I would've-"

"Enough of that," Natia said, smacking Ryo's back. "Fate is fate. You don't have to work alone on this to find those fragments, and you need to stop blaming yourself. Once we find her, you can say sorry to her yourself."

"She's right too," Jinrai said. "You upheld a decision. Honor it. If you want to atone for your actions... do what you can do now instead of lingering on the past. Acknowledging the past is not a weakness. It is a strength."

"And we'll also find out who attacked your blonde friend in that car incident," Natia added. "They're not going to get away with it that easily."

Bombshell after bombshells of information bombarded Ryo's mind, but the sensation of victory only numbed his worries temporarily. He was happy that he had comrades that would support him on his journey for redemption, and he had received information about their fates more than he had expected on the mission. Just as he was about to express his gratitude to the two for their words, a small whimper came abruptly around their perimeter.

"Weiss?" Claire called, sliding toward her twin sister's pale body to press against her pulse. She sensed a slow, yet gradually increasing toward a normal pulse inside her. "Weiss!?"

Ryo, Natia, and Jinrai approached Claire, watching Weiss awaken from her comatose state. Her lethargic violet eyes opened gently, blinking little by little after the twinkling descending stars blinded her momentarily. She opened her eyes all the way and inhaled a single breath through her mouth, tracing her gaze toward Claire mewling at her revival. Her eyebrows angled themselves in confusion. "C-Claire...?" She whispered.

"Weiss..." Claire voiced out as tears splattered on her lap. "You're awake. You're home."

"What... what happened?" Weiss asked, placing her palm on her forehead. "I remember being in the lab... and then I slept for a really long time. I had a dream about you calling my voice, and then I woke up, and now you're here. What's going on?"

"It's a long story," Claire voiced out, as she could not contain her unsullied happiness any further. Weiss lifted her head and placed it on top of Claire's thigh, angling it to view the three that idly stood by. "Weiss, look. These are the three that saved you. They're the ones that helped you wake up."

"Really?" Weiss asked, scanning her eyes across all three of them. She then looked back up at Claire with concerned and puzzled eyes. "Something bad happened to me, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did," Claire said. "But it's over now. You can come home with me now. You can come home with our family."

"I... I don't want-" Weiss began.

"Weiss," Claire insisted, stroking her twin sister's cheek. "I love you. Isn't that enough for you to come back with me? The others do too. They missed you so much. They missed all of your antics and your smiles. They'd want nothing more than to see you again, safe by their side," Before Claire continued speaking, she pulled out a photograph of them together when they were young from the Jester's penthouse. "Look at this. This is us. Don't you remember?"

Ryo recognized the picture; it was the same one in the Meister's Casino when he took the extractor from the Jester's desk.

"It is?" Weiss asked, holding the photograph with her index finger and thumb. "It can't be. I look too ugly in this, and you're too pretty."

Claire chuckled. "A lot of things have changed, Weiss," She said, standing up and letting Weiss rest on her clothes. "Let me speak to these three first. I need to tell them something."

"Okay," Weiss said, admiring the photograph the more she looked at it.

Claire approached Jinrai and held his right hand tightly before looking at Ryo and Natia. "There's going to be many changes that will save the people of Kathuz from poverty. They're going to get food and shelter and other necessities. And as for the government, the Seraphians are going to involve themselves in protecting them. I'll gladly work with them in providing the care that they deserve."

"Thanks," Natia said, appreciating her effort. "A mission success for you too."

"No..." Claire whispered, hugging all three of them together. "I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for saving my sister. I will never forget this moment, and I truly owe you all a debt that may never be repaid."

"You're all I need," Jinrai flirted, separating from Ryo and Natia. He wrapped his right arm around Claire's waist and pulled her close, touching her delicate lips with his despite their injuries. Ryo and Natia laughed and shook their heads, accepting their relationship with a mere nod. Weiss, from far away, froze and opened her wide jaw after witnessing her twin sister kiss an attractive man that had no relation to her. "Isn't that good enough?"

Claire blinked her puppy eyes up at him, curtly nodding. "It is." She seductively whispered.

"Ugh, get a room," Natia complained.

"Honestly," Ryo said.

"I'll go home with you!" Weiss shouted, lifting her torso from the small blanket. The others turned around and watched her courageous decision take into effect after being asleep for so long. "I... I miss them too."

Ryo, Natia, Jinrai, Claire, and Weiss stood beside each other, gazing up at the singularity's energy stars continuing to descend from the skies. From the distance, a crisp mellow sunrise enveloped the scintillating features of the fluorescent stars. The glimmering apricot-hued sunrise greeted the five of them with a final celebration of their victory, raising high into the sky to bask its glory upon the city to solidify the wishes that the citizens made when the stars descended from the midnight sky.

Weiss embraced Claire from behind, and Jinrai smiled along with them. Ryo and Natia exchanged glances with each other and laughed at Weiss playfully tickling Claire like a child seeking affection.

In the end, affection was all that they needed to win.