Part Twelve: Aeternum

'Hey man, sorry I never asked, but how'd the date go?' Nozomi asked, donning his green kimono.

"I learned a bit about her, and she learned a bit about me," Tamashi recalled, "We hit it off, and she said she'd be back."

'Nice! Good for you, Tamashi,' Nozomi smiled. As much as they teased each other about Roboco and Ayame, Nozomi knew Tamashi's feelings for Ayame were strong, so he was happy for him.

"Now it's your turn to grow some balls," Tamashi said, "Ask out the robot!"

'Tell you what,' Nozomi smirked, 'If we save the rest of these idols and not let a single one die on us, I'll "ask out the robot".'

"Sounds like a fun bet to me," Tamashi said, "Let's do it, then."

Nozomi nodded and smiled, grabbing the sheath to his greatsword and putting it on his back, leaving for the Cover Corporation offices.

...

Looking around the meeting room, he noticed four girls, that being the group of Amelia, Gura, Roboco, and Ayame. As Nozomi unsheathed his sword and began focusing his energy to its tip, he looked over to Amelia and noticed a matching ring to Gura's. He grinned.

"Congrats," Nozomi chuckled. Amelia chuckled back.

"Yeah," Amelia beamed, "Thanks for being Gura's best man."

"It's my pleasure," Nozomi responded.

"Hold the phone, did I miss something?" Tamashi asked, sounding surprised, "You're gonna be Gura's best man?"

'That's what happens when you go on dates with oni girls,' Nozomi teased, 'You miss out.'

"Whatever…" Tamashi snickered.

"Oh, Nozomi, I almost forgot," YAGOO interrupted. Nozomi didn't even notice he was there, as his presence has become commonplace to the point that it would be strange for them not to be at his desk, giving his signature smile. He threw a small device Nozomi's way. He catches it, taking a look. It displayed a small map, with a red dot emitting a sort of wave.

"J-chad sent a distress signal, and it would seem it's coming from the Mirror," YAGOO informed, "Could you make today's mission reuniting with her?"

'That work for you?' Nozomi asked his Echo.

"Yeah, that would be a smart move," Tamashi nodded.

"Sounds good," Nozomi agreed. Soon enough, the blade had gathered enough energy, so Nozomi swung it, releasing its energy and creating a rift in space. Roboco entered first, then Ayame, then Gura and Amelia together, and finally Nozomi.

...

The five found themselves in the city that they came across Artia in. Nozomi took a look at the device YAGOO had given him.

"East, huh?" Tamashi said, "There should be some snowy plains over there."

'Sounds good,' Nozomi said, heading east as the rest of his band followed suit. After much trekking, the five arrived in the snowy plain. Gura began to shiver, crossing her arms as her sharp teeth began to chatter. Amelia took note of this, so she took off her coat, wrapping it around her fiance.

"Thanks, Ame," Gura grinned, a light flush upon her face. Just then, a series of light footsteps could be heard. Cautious, Nozomi unsheathed his sword and looked to his left and right.

'You heard that, right?' Nozomi asked Tamashi.

"Yeah," Tamashi responded urgently, "Be ready for anything, Nozomi."

Just as Tamashi said this, a blade clashed with Nozomi's own. He struggled to keep his balance against the pressure of the massive scythe that he found against his greatsword. Looking up to face his attacker, he found a relatively tall woman with pink hair, a black dress, and a veil.

"Calli?!" Gura said, taking out her trident, "What the hell?!"

"Gura, stay away from this guy!" the pink-haired girl warned, "You can't trust him."

"Like hell!" Gura said, charging towards the girl, "Don't hurt my best man!"

Right when Gura was about to strike the pink-haired girl with her trident, an orange haired girl with two hats, a sword, and a shield burst in to guard the attack.

"Kiara, you too?" Gura grimaced, "I don't know why you're attacking him…"

The orange-haired girl glanced at Gura's hand, taking notice of the ring upon her finger. She smiled, still keeping up the pressure as the trident tried to break through her shield.

"Congrats on finally tying the knot," the orange-haired girl grinned, "Let's have an awesome wedding when we get out of here."

As the orange-haired girl said this, however, another girl came barreling towards Nozomi. With pink and blonde hair, twin black horns, and a large spear, she began to make her way towards the kimono-clad teen. In response, Nozomi kicked the pink-haired girl with as much force as he could muster, knocking her to the snowy ground. As spear and sword clashed. he blocked the attack from the horned girl. The pink-haired girl grimaced, getting to her feet and picking up her scythe. When she did, however, she could feel a small piece of metal against her head. Gasping, she looked back.

"He's not what you think, Calli," Amelia said sternly, holding a small handgun up against the girl's head.

"You don't scare me, Watson," the pink-haired girl retaliated, "I'm immortal."

"That might be true," Amelia agreed, burying the gun deeper into her head, "But I can and will release Hypnos right now if you continue."

"Wh-what the… how did you know about the Megalo Gods…?" the pink-haired girl stammered, "Why are you doing this?"

"That boy isn't one of them," Amelia explained, "He's absolutely crucial to our world's survival. So back off."

The pink-haired girl sighed, putting down her scythe.

"Fine," she agreed, putting her hands in the air. Amelia eased up, withdrawing her gun. The orange-haired girl and the horned girl also pulled back, returning next to the pink-haired girl.

"Let's head back to the cabin," the pink-haired girl said, "J-chad might want to see this."

The group of eight went into a small warm cabin, only to be greeted by the injured bodies of a large number of people, as well as the brown-haired liaison, looking up towards the group. As Nozomi looked around, he tripped on something, falling to the ground. As he looked at what he tripped upon, a mixture of shock, confusion, disgust, and fear permeated through his body. Twin bodies wearing different colored armor that looked exactly like him lay deceased on the ground.

"What…" Nozomi managed to mumble, "The hell…?"

"Those guys attacked us earlier," J-chad explained, "Since they were out for our blood, we thought you would do the same, so we attacked you first."

"That's…" Nozomi stuttered for a moment, then realized the position she was in, "That's fair."

"Thank you," she said, extending her hand, "I'm Mori Calliope."

"Ito Nozomi," Nozomi greeted, shaking her hand.

"Oh, are we doing introductions now?" the orange haired-girl beamed, "I'm Takanashi Kiara!"

"Mano Aloe," the horned girl grinned wildly. Two girls laying on beds sat up in response to these introductions.

"I'm Momosuzu Nene!" a light pink-haired girl smiled.

"And I'm Shishiro Botan," a gray-haired girl with sharp canines smirked mischievously, then looking at a blue-haired girl with elf ears sleeping next to her, "And this adorable snow elf happens to be Yukihana Lamy."

"Oh, I'll introduce everyone else," Kiara said, looking around the room, "The girl on the couch over there with the big ears is named Omaru Polka, the boy with black hair and the busted guitar over there is named Kanade Izuru, and the robot boy over there on that chair is named Rikka."

"Rikka-san!" Roboco ran over, taking a look at the gaping hole in his chest. She began to fumble around with the wires for a moment, connecting a few of them.

"Any luck?" Nozomi asked her. She sighed.

"We'll need some replacement parts," she said sadly. Nozomi nodded, then looked at J-chad.

"Explain yourself when we get back, alright?" Nozomi said sternly. The manager nodded, and Nozomi unsheathed his sword, directing energy to its tip. Once it gathered up enough energy, he slashed in the air. They helped the injured bodies through the portal, as the large group of people made their way out of the Mirror at long last.

...

The group came out of the portal, including those injured. YAGOO rushed towards the group, quickly turning to J-chad, Calliope, and Kiara.

"Thank god you three are safe," he said under his breath. The three exchanged small grins before YAGOO reached for his phone and dialed 911. The paramedics rushed into the building, taking the injured idols with them as YAGOO briefed them on the situation. Those not injured moved away from the scene and decided to head home.

'You mind telling me what those guys that looked exactly like me are?' Nozomi asked his Echo. No answer.

'Okay then, how about those "Megalo Gods" Calliope was talking about?' Nozomi asked, this time slightly aggravated. Once again, no answer. Nozomi scoffed.

'I hate being left in the dark like this,' Nozomi expressed, 'I don't know anything…'

Tamashi finally decided to break his silence.

"I'm sorry," Tamashi genuinely apologized. Nozomi sighed, looking down and walking towards his home.

...

He woke up in a pitch black room. Panicking, he looked around. Nothing. He began running, to find someone, something that could help him. Nothing. He dropped to his knees in utter fear and disbelief. Just then, a hand reached out to him. Looking up to meet its owner, he saw a short girl with blue eyes and a white-and-blue dress. An angel.

"Uto…" he murmured, his quivering hand slowly making its way towards the girl's. As the two limbs connected, a blinding white light permeated throughout the room.

"The contract has been sealed."

Nozomi woke up in his room, completely covered in beads of sweat.

...

"Sir, tests are going well," a man relayed to a black-haired boy with glasses and a clipboard, "We should be able to wrap these tests up soon."

"Good," the boy nodded, "Who knew alien lifeforms could be so easy to mass produce?"

"Yeah, it surprised me," the man said, looking forwards and seeing a white-haired girl with purple eyes and overalls filled with paint and other art supplies inside of a circular tank with green liquid. The two exchanged smirks, then parted separate ways.

"Ikuma in aeternum."