The five of us raced through the streets for what seemed like hours, though it couldn't have been more than a half an hour at most. I kept up my invisibility spell and my illusion on Ichigo as we quietly slowed down to a jogging pace.

  "Hey big guy," Ichigo whispered to Albert as she we jogged through the streets uhe cover of my veil. "How's the view from up there?"

  "Could be better, holy," Albert replied. "It's ly fortable being slung over someone's shoulder."

  "Ah e on," Ichigo replied with a grin. "I think it's pretty nice. You get to see a whole new perspective on things."

  Albert rolled his eyes. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

  "Maybe just a little," she replied.

  "Ugh, I'm starting tret not just riding in the duffle bag... or something," Albert groaned, elig a ugh from Ichigo and a few chuckles from the others.

  "Aw, don't be like that," she teased, patting him on the back. "Besides, it's not every day you get to experience what it's like to be carried around like a sack of potatoes."

  "Yeah, yeah..." Albert grumbled. "Just don't drop me."

  "Wouldn't dream of it," Ichigo replied, a wide grin on her face. "Unlike miss crazy goth i princess, I don't have a weird thiing off by for tormenting people."

  "Hey!" Eris protested. "That's not true!"

  "Uh huh, suuuuure," Ichigo replied, shaking her head in amusement. "You keep telling yourself that pulling pranks while ughing like a psychopath."

  "Nyehehehe!" Stel cackled in response. "I'll show you a thing or two about torment, Nightcw! e! Show your mettle!"

  "Please don't..." Ichigo groaned. "I'm still sore from st time. I'm gonna kick your ass right bae of these days but not now."

  "Oooh, does kitty have some bruises she wants to be healed?" Eris cooed, grinning mischievously while feigning some grabby hands. "I help with that.~"

  "Ew no!" Ichigo excimed, her ears and tail standing on end as she tried to put some distaween herself and the ical girl. "Don't touch me!"

  "Aw, ," Stel whined. "I promise I won't bite... much!"

  "Ugh, you're such a creep," Iuttered, stig her to at the irl. "Keep your hands to yourself, Eris!"

  Stel pouted. "Fine, fine. But don't e g to me when you need someoo heal you, nya~"

  "You know, I don't remember signing up for this," Albert interjected, lookiweewo girls. "What happeo just getting out of here?"

  "Hey, it's not my fault she's so cute when she's flustered," Stel replied, pointing at Ichigo. "Besides, it's fun to mess with her."

  "Not beating the allegations," Ichigo groaned. "Not in the slightest."

  I sighed, shaking my head in disbelief. These three were going to be the death of me.

  Albert chuckled and shook his head. "You two are a riot," he said.

  "Don't ence them," I replied, shaking my head. "They'll op."

  "Hey, don't act like you don't enjoy it too," Albert replied, grinning. "I see the way you smile when they're going at it."

  "Shut up, you," I replied, jumping over and smag him lightly on the arm.

  Ichigo giggled, her ears and tail waggling in amusement. "He's got a point," she teased, stig her to at me. "You're just as bad as we are."

  I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile. It was o be able to joke around like this again after everything that had happened.

  We tinued moving through the streets of downtown Kaleidoscope, the city lights glimmering above us as we moved through the shadows. The air was cool and crisp, the smell of precipitation lingering in the air. I looked around, taking in the sights as the main streets loomed ahead.

  I was amazed by the sheer size and scale of the city, the t buildings and bustling streets. Sure, Pewterstone had a sizable popution, but Kaleidoscope felt almost ten times rger. There were so many people, so many pces to go, and so much to do. It was overwhelming and exhirating all at once.

  "Think we've shaken them yet, Bck Star?" I asked, breaking the silence.

  "God, I hope so," Bck Star replied. "I'm getting tired of running."

  "You ah," Albert replied, looking around warily. "This is a lot more stressful than I thought it would be."

  "You volunteered, dude," I replied, shaking my head in amusement. "What did you expect?"

  "To not have to get thrown off of buildings dressed up as Stel, for one," Albert replied with a wry grin.

  "Fair enough," I replied, returning his grin.

  Ichigo's ears twitched, her tail flig bad forth as she listeo the versation. "Hey you know, that retty pn to deal with Hypertroph. Where'd you e up with that?"

  Albert shrugged. "I just figured if he could absorb biomass right on tact, some heavy fiber powder would stick to his windpipe like glue. Ever try to eat fiber powder without water?"

  "Ugh, yeah, worst diet supplement ever. It was a real pain in the ass," Ichigo grimaced. "You be pretty sneaky and devious, 't you, big guy?"

  "Eh," Albert replied, shrugging. "I just figured I'd try and help out however I . It was a team effort, really. You guys gave me the opening to use that stuff."

  "Yeah," Ichigo replied with a nod. "We've made a pretty good team so far."

  "I'm just gd we were able to get away from them. If it weren't for you, we'd probably be dead or hauled off into a truck by now," I added. "I don't think anyone would've thought of crag open a bag of dietary fiber to shove down a heavy hitter like Hypertroph's throat. Those two could've taken us in easily if we hadn't gotten the drop on them."

  "Nah," Albert replied. "I mean, I'm just a muggle pared to the rest of you. All I really did y possum and figure out a pn. You all are the ones who had to fight. And speaking of which... how' are thhose those knife wounds, Eris? We don't want the Sanguine Setting his hands on a single drop of your blood."

  "Nyehehe, don't you worry about it," she grinned. "A few knives ain't nothin'! A couple of spells, and presto! Good as new!~" She twirled, the long skirt of her outfit fring around her as she did.

  After we'd punted Warden through a wall, Bck Star meticulously collected all the ons she'd been using and had me ser off any blood we could find ireets and on her clothes.

  "That's pretty awesome," Albert said. "You know, I'm still pretty impressed to this day. Magical girls seem to be the most versatile superhumans ience. You're all physically strong, have enhanced senses, have all these powers, healing spells, the ability to magically ge your outfits... Sure, Depravities like Hypertroph's and Assions be brokenly powerful, and some have all sorts of wacky abilities too, but no one seems as all-purpose aile as knights are."

  "Aw, shucks," Ichigo giggled. "You ftter us, you know that?"

  "It's just the truth," Albert replied, shrugging.

  I nodded. "We're pretty lucky to have powers like ours, yeah," I added. "Though it es at a cost..."

  "Right," Ichigo agreed, her expression turning serious for a moment before her face lit up.

  Ichigo suddenly grabbed Albert's arm, pulling him close to her as she looked at him with a mischievous smirk. "You know what? I like you. We're friend-friends now. Don't argue. We're friends, and that's final."

  Albert chuckled, shaking his head awkwardly.

  "Er. Yeah, yeah," he replied with a smile. "I guess we're friends now."

  "Good," Ichigo grinned. "Now, let's get out of here before we get spotted again."

  "Agreed," Albert replied, looking around warily. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this."

  "Me too," Stel replied, narrowing her eyes.

  We were getting closer to safety, but we had to be careful. We couldn't afford to be spotted by the wrong people.

  My Aura Sight didn't register anythiher, so we pressed on.

  "So, what's ?" I asked, looking over at Bck Star.

  "We just o get to the train station," he replied, gesturing for us to follow him. "Ohere, we blend in with the crowd and make our way out of downtown."

  "Sounds good to me," I replied, following his lead. "Let's get going."

  We moved quickly, making our way through the back alleys and side streets of the city. The buildings towered over us, the lights of the city shining brightly above us as we made our way towards a train station.

  "I think we're almost there," Bck Star said, looking around cautiously. "Just a little further and we'll be able to disappear into the crowd."

  "Good," I replied, looking around nervously.

  Ichigo tio g to Albert, her ears and tail twitg as she sed the area for any signs of trouble.

  We were almost out of the downtown area, and the tension alpable.

  "I think we're in the clear," Bck Star said, looking around cautiously. "I don't sense anyone nearby."

  "Thank goodness," I replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "Let's get out of here before we're spotted again."

  "Agreed," Stel replied, nodding.

  "Hey, what do you say we get something to eat oher side of the tracks?" Bck Star asked, looking over at us. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

  "Sounds good to me," Albert replied, looking over at us.

  "Same here," I agreed, looking at the others. "Let's get out of here a some grub."

  "Yay, food!" Ichigo excimed, her ears and tail waggling iement.

  We all chuckled, the tension dissipating as we made our way back towards a well-lit part of town.

  "Let's just hope we don't have any more trouble," Bck Star said, looking back at us.

  I was nervous. That had gone... shogly well, all things sidered. The only real hiccup had been Hypertroph and Warden standing in the way. I'd been so worried I'd nearly vomited, and I'd never felt so relieved in my life.

  "Hang on, losers," Stel's voice cut through the air, and I looked over to see her transf bato her normal form, her hair and eyes back to their usual color as we neared a main street. "'t go walking through downtown like I am."

  A swirl of snow flurries formed around her, and when they dissipated, she was a pair of jeans and a pin t-shirt. Her long, bck hair had turinum blonde, and her red eyes were noarkling blue. She looked like a pletely different person.

  "There, now I'm not snizable," she said with a much gentler smile. "I apologize for the coarseness of my behavior back there."

  "Multiple transformations...? With different powers? Seriously?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "How in the world did you mahat?"

  "It's a long story," she replied with a shrug. "I'll tell you about it sometime."

  "Different personalities too, it seems," Albert stroked his thoughtfully. "Mm, you sure you're alright up top, Stel?"

  "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Stel ughed sarcastically. "Very funny, Al."

  He narrowed his eyes, shrugging his shoulders.

  "Alright, alright," he ceded. "But seriously, you're okay, right?"

  "Of course I am," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"

  "Because you just turned into a pletely different person," he retorted. "That's ly normal, ya know?"

  She sighed and shook her head. "I'm firust me."

  Albert hough he still seemed skeptical.

  Stel turo Ichigo, who was still ging to Albert's arm. "You let go of him now, you know," she pointed out.

  "Oh. Erm. Right!" Ichigo flushed, releasing her grip. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hang on to him that long."

  "Suuuure," Stel teased. "I totally believe you."

  "Whatever, queen bee," Ichigo retorted. "Let's just go get something to eat. I'm starving."

  We all nodded in agreement and slowly walked into the crowd. Just to be safe, I created an illusion over each of us, diminishing the unnatural beauty of our Dream Shifts until we looked like ordinary people.

  "We'll take separate seats in the same car, a off at the sed stop uptown," Bck Star expined. "You four stay in pairs. From there, we'll meet up again and find a pce to eat. Sound good?"

  We all nodded in agreement, and began to split up.

  "See ya oher side," Bck Star said, giving us a wave as he moved away from the group.

  We all waved back, and I turo walk into the crowd with Stel.

  "Ready?" she asked.

  "Ready," I replied.

  We made our way onto the train, and I took a seat o Stel.

  "I'm surprised we haven't been fou," she whispered, looking around. "It feels like the other shoe should've dropped by now."

  "Maybe we've just been lucky," I replied.

  "Or maybe they're not as smart as we think they are," she said.

  I chuckled. "Maybe."

  We rode the rest of the way in silence, watg the city go by. I couldn't help myself and peeked dowrain car at Albert and Ichigo, who were sitting a few seats ahead of us, both looking a bit awkward sittio each other and avoiding eye tact. Ichigo's hair had turned brown under my mirage, and she looked like a normal version of her.

  "Hey..." Stel whispered, leaning over in my ear. "You see those two...?"

  "Er, yeah?" I said, gng and turning my attention back to Stel.

  Stel smirked, "This kinda looks like the start of a route."

  Route?

  Oh. Her hobby.

  "Stop being a perv, you weirdo," I rolled my eyes.

  "Aw, you're no fun," she pouted.

  I felt a bit of aion I couldn't quite pce bubble up, but shook it away.

  She winked and poked my nose pyfully. "Isn't he your boyfriend, anyway?"

  "Never saw him that way, ditto for him to me," I shrugged. "Besides, he'd probably end up hating me if we were ever an item. He needs a sweet bubbly girl, not a serious workaholic."

  "Mmm is that how you see yourself?"

  I looked back at her, eyebrow raised as her aura suddenly turned red. "Er. What are you doing?"

  Stel blihen looked down with a bit of a flush as her aura snapped back to silver. "Ah! Sorry... I uh, don't really have a filter, when it's Eri-" she suddenly paused, and bit her lip. "Um, nevermind. Sorry."

  "I giggled a little. "Well, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I like you just the way you are, Stel."

  She blushed, looking down again, before nodding. "R-Right... how i am."

  The train came to a halt, and the four of us made our way out.

  "Coast is clear," Bck Star whispered to me, as he suddenly reappeared at my side, as we walked towards a.

  "I still don't see any weird auras either," I replied. "I think we're safe for now."

  We all walked through the station aed into a brightly lit street. The smell of street vendors and food stalls filled the air, and the city lights twinkled in the distance.

  I finally let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

  "Well, we're here, at least," Ichigo said. "Where to , Bck Star?"

  He paused, thinking for a long moment. "Well first — Please call me Henry while we're out here. Sed, how do you feel about sushi? I'll buy this time."

  "Sushi sounds good to me," Albert said. "I could eat a horse right now."

  We all ughed and started to make our way towards the food stalls and vendors.

  "I 't believe we actually pulled it off," Ichigo said, looking back at me.

  "Me too," I replied. "It feels almost surreal. But hey, we're here, we're safe, and that's what matters. Let's go celebrate!"

  "Right!" she replied with a smile, and the group started walking down the sidewalk.

  I was exhausted, but eted. I had never been so relieved to finally be safe.

  I couldn't help but grin as I walked with the others, looking forward to the rest of the night. I'd earned a little rexation.

  I looked back at Albert, and the look in his eyes made me pause.

  He had a strahoughtful expression, as he looked at me and then Stel. It was like he'd suddenly remembered something, but wasn't sure how to express it. Then it was gone.

  'What the hell was that?'

  It wasn't important. I turned away and started to follow after the others, trying to keep my thoughts in order and my head in the game.

  I was just gd to finally have a break from all the fighting and drama and life-threatening danger.

  I was still reeling from everything that had happened.

  I could barely believe we'd mao escape unscathed.

  But I'd been through worse, I told myself. And now, at least I had a group of friends that cared about me. That meant something. It had to.

  I took out my phone, pung in a message to the group chat that we'd gotten to safety and probably wouldn't need back-up after all. Then, I followed along behind the group.

  As I caught up with them, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me.

  I had been running on adrenaline for the st hour or so, but now I felt drained.

  The thought of a meal and a soft bed made my stomach rumble.

  I smiled at the sound, and quied my pace to catch up to the others.

  Just for a little bit, I could pretend I was just aeenager out for a bite to eat. That this was a world without monsters and vilins and danger lurking around every er.

  I could... just pretend that I was just a girl hanging out with my friends.

  Just for tonight.