"That's the cafeteria. We eat lunch there."

"Lunch!" Nekomai echoed, holding up her sparkly lunchbox.

"Yeah! Out there is the courtyard, that's probably where Errin-"

"Erebus."

"Erebus will be to pick you up."

"What time is is?"

"Oh, well right now it's 11:00 am, why? You hungry? Cause there's a vending machine you can get snacks from if you can't wait another hour and a half for lunch. Actually, I'm hungry, so let's head there now."

Nekomai followed Aphmau, counting the floor tiles to help her calculate the time.

11...12...1...2..3....

About four more hours until she went home, right? Then she could eat a snack and watch a movie like she had been the past few months.

When she looked up, Aphmau was using one of those vending machine things for snacks. Smiling, she hungrily downed a pack of cookies before crumbling up the bag and tossing it.

"What about you Nekomai, are you hungry?"

"I-"

"Heeeey Kitty! Who's your pal?"

Aphmau groaned, rolling her head back as Nekomai's ears perked up.

She knew that voice.

Gene.

She had to think, and fast! If Gene hurt Aphmau, who knew what the consequences would be!

"What do you want, Gene?" Aphmau whined, giving him the stink eye.

"Who, Moi? Nothing! I just wanted to check on you." Gene grinned cheekily, leaning on the wall next to Aphmau. "See what was up, ask you for a favor-" He began, putting his elbow on her shoulder.

Nekomai pulled out her ruler, and slapped his hand as hard as she could.

Which was apparently hard, seeing as the ruler broke, shattering plastic around the hallway.

"OW!! WHAT THE-?!?" Gene screeched, leaping off of Aphmau and holding his hand. From the way he cringed, Nekomai knew she had done damage, but didn't want to stick around for the sword repercussion she knew was coming.

She grabbed Aphmau's hand, and started to bolt down the hall, leaving Gene screaming something she didn't pay attention to. She finally slowed down when the two were on the other side of the school, and Aphmau shoved her into an old music classroom.

"Okay, I'll admit, that was pretty cool." Aphmau giggled. "But dangerous! Don't you know what Gene could do now that you've done that? He'll blackmail you, or ruin your life."

"I took an oath to protect you, and I will keep it for the rest of my life." Nekomai vowed, holding Aphmau's hands between her own as her eyes widened in seriousness.

"Aph, did you really bring a nutcase here?"

Nekomai looked up as Aphmau turned around, and almost cried. There was Aaron, alive and well, holding a guitar and looking bewildered.

Nekomai let go of Aphmau to hug him, and started to cry. Aaron tensed, but after a minute or so, relaxed and patted Nekomai's head.

"There, there?"

"You're alive! I can't believe it!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You disappeared so long ago, and we thought you had died... but you're okay! So everything's better now!" Nekomai sobbed, pulling off of him and scrubbing away her tears.

"Hey, Nekomai? Do you mind if Aaron and I talk for a moment?"

"No, not at all."

Nekomai went and sat on one of the seats, until the two stared at her.

"Alone?"

Nekomai looked up, and nodded silently, standing up and walking to the door, before closing it behind her and sitting on a chair outside the room.

Aaron was alive!! This was so great. Nekomai felt her heart soar, Happy that Lady Aphmau was doing alright as well. Though she got the sense that her children weren't around just yet, she held her hand over her heart at the though of how happy she'd be when they finally came.

It was then that she heard the squeaking of shoes down the hall, but she didn't pay attention until they came closer.

"There you are!"

Nekomai looked up, and her heart almost stopped.

There was Gene, and boy was he mad. Nekomai went to reach for something to defend herself, but had left her backpack in the music room. She stood from her chair.

"I've got a bone to pick with you." Gene growled, getting dangerously close. Nekomai saw the flash of red in his eyes, and chucked the side table that was next to her at him.

He dodged, of course. That was just her luck. As he advanced, she stepped back, and realized a little too late she was being cornered. She kicked the chair at him, but due to its weight it had a slow speed and he easily stopped it.

"You don't know when to quit, do you? Well, Kitty-Cat, in case you haven't heard, I'm Gene, and I run a nice little gang around here called the Shadow Knights."

Nekomai's blood turned cold as her back hit the walls behind her. Gene's smile grew wider as he came closer, his voice lowering and dripping with poison with every word.

"And for your information, the Shadow Knights can do whatever they want, Whenever they want. And right now, they want you to pay up."

Nekomai counted. He was five tiles away.

She could kick his groin, but he'd likely only get angrier. Four tiles.

She could punch his neck, but he'd probably catch her fists. Three tiles.

She could insult him, but that would make him angrier. Two.

She dropped into a crouching position, and held her arms over her head as the tears poured out. She was going to die all by herself, no one could help her now. She would finally lose to the Shadow Knights, without ever seeing her brother again. She-

"Gene. I think that's enough."

The tears still came, but she felt her ears perk up at the familiar voice.

"Excuse you?"

"What do you really think will happen if you beat her up? There's no way you actually think you'd get away with that, right?"

"Need I remind you what she DID-"

"No because you won't shut up about it. Now back away from the girl who's about to have a panic attack."

The footsteps and shadow retreated with a quiet 'tch.'

Nekomai's knees dropped, and her breathing picked up as she knelt down until her forehead touched the linoleum.

"Wow Gene, good job holding up being our leader."

"I'm not taking this from you, Sasha."

Nekomai got the guts to push herself up, and look at the four people standing in front of her.

Gene glared down at her like she was the scum of the earth, holding his bandaged hand. She recognized Sasha, and flinched at the sight of Zenix. Next to Zenix was...

She saw the horns, the wings, and the tail. The mask and the one eye, the pale skin and the stance of both caution and authority.

Nekomai's heart was going too fast, and she began to shake. Everything was going blurry, and she couldn't feel her legs.

"Please.... don't hurt me..." She begged, before her senses faded one by one, and she slipped into darkness.