The smell of fresh fish, soy sauce, and rice filled my nose, and I took a deep breath, savoring the scent.

I'd never had actual, proper sushi before. Sure, Al's family sold some rolls for takeout at their fusion dim sum joint, and it wasn't bad. But they weren't exactly a proper sushi place.

The place Black Star led us to had proper bamboo decor, and an actual chef working at a bar.

"Master Enrico, so nice to see you again," the matronly Asian hostess greeted us as Black Star led the group in.

Black Star winced. "Ah... Please call me Henry. And we'll have the usual for the table."

The lady blinked, and looked him over, up and down, and her face softened as she nodded.

"Oh. Yes. Of course. Table for five?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Black Star said.

The lady looked at the rest of us and led the five of us to a private booth in the back with a fancy bamboo door. The place was a bit out of the way, and I was surprised at the lack of visible damage to the area. Maybe it hadn't been hit by any monster attacks, or perhaps the owner had already had time to fix the damage.

"Master Enrico?" Ichigo asked as the four of us settled in the booth, a glimmer of suspicion in her eyes as she glanced between him and the hostess. "You seem familiar with the place. It looks pricey..."

"Uh," Black Star flushed and scratched his neck awkwardly. "Well, uh... It's a really long story."

"I'd say. What, did your parents work for Red Masque or something?"

"Er. My parents are kinda dead. They died fighting for Mortifera Nox," he replied with an awkward wince. "Conscripts in her army. I don't remember 'em too well."

Ichigo winced. "O-Oh... I'm sorry. That must be tough to talk about." She fidgeted nervously.

Black Star gave a wry smile. "Well, you asked. I got lucky — my brother was pretty high up in Red Masque's Crimson Order so I got sent to private schools. Ricardo's a good brother. Always looked after me. Wanted to keep me on the straight and narrow, but still kinda pressed me to become a Made Man in that little syndicate. So I ran away when I got old enough. Right as everything went to shit."

"I see. That makes sense. No wonder you were so good at fighting," Ichigo said, trailing off and glancing at me with a look that said, 'Can we really trust this guy?'

"Henry was at Refuge Zeta. Helped me save all those people down there," I explained, looking at Black Star. "I think we can trust him at this point."

Black Star smiled and looked down sheepishly, running a hand through his messy black hair. "Uh... Thanks. I appreciate that."

"Born into a life you didn't ask for, huh?" Stella asked, her eyes twinkling. "Endowed with the best education, the best training, and all the gifts, only to throw it away and run away. I can definitely relate."

In a way, the two of them were mirror images of each other. Stella was raised by a legendary martial arts master and heroine, while Black Star was in truth, Red Masque's younger brother. I couldn't imagine what the guy was feeling, but the two shared an almost palpable moment of connection.

"You too, eh? I get it. Honestly, it's a bit of a relief. I never really fit into that kind of lifestyle," he admitted. "Both private school and the criminal lifestyle didn't fit, you know? I mean, I don't exactly come across as the most refined and sophisticated type, so growing up around the kids of CEOs and senators was a nightmare. And famous supervillains were my 'aunts' and 'uncles' so that was pretty awkward to deal with. I fit in most with the kids of grunts and muscle in the mob, ironically."

"Yeah. I understand that," Stella nodded. "Um... yeah, you probably know my name by reputation. I hated it too. The decorum, the etiquette lessons. Ugh. No offense to the old hag, but I was miserable as a child."

"None taken. My bro was the one who wanted the whole, you know, 'crime boss' shtick," Black Star said with a chuckle. "I just wanted to do my own thing, and I'm glad we can relate. I honestly don't know what came over me when I saw Arsenal's sentries eyeing you when you got off the train. I had no plan, just ran with my conscience and hoped I could help."

"You have a conscience?" I chuckled, giving Black Star a gentle nudge in the shoulder. "Aren't you supposed to be a mobster?"

He snickered. "Yeah, I'm a regular boy scout. I gave you a lot of crap with the pragmatism and not doing anything if it didn't benefit me, but I was just living up to the image I wanted to project. In the end, I'm just another sucker who's gonna do whatever they want and make excuses later."

"Seems we're all just suckers," Stella said, giving a smile. "And thank God we're here."

"Here here," I laughed.

"Thanks a lot, though. Taking on those guys without the heads up and initiative would have gotten ugly. If you hadn't stepped up, it wouldn't have gone so well," Albert added, looking at Black Star.

"Yeah. Thank you," I added.

Black Star sighed and shook his head.

"It was nothing," he replied.

"It wasn't nothing. It was brave of you," Stella said with a smile. "You risked your own life for us. We owe you one, Hank."

"Hank?" I chuckled. "You've given him a nickname already? Are you two buddies now or something?"

"Shush, you," Stella grinned at me, before turning back to Hank. "So what do we do now?"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of cash.

"I've got more than enough cash for a nice dinner. Let's enjoy ourselves and worry about tomorrow when it gets here," he said. "We'll figure out where to go from here, after a good meal and some sleep, alright? I think we're far away enough to not get bothered. We'll be okay."

"Yeah," I nodded, looking over the menu.

"I got us the omakase for the table," Black Star said with a smile, as the waitress brought over five plates.

She was an older, matronly Asian lady, who smiled at us. "You kids have fun now, okay?"

"We will," Stella replied with a smile. "Thanks for the hospitality, miss."

"Of course, of course. Anything for our Master Enrico," she replied with a wink.

Black Star winced, and looked down, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"So, what's the story with the name Siena used?" Ichigo asked, looking over at him curiously. "Black Star?"

Black Star shrugged, taking a sip of water before he replied. "Eh. It's a long story. A couple of months ago, my brother, the big shot villain, wanted me to take his place in Red Masque's org when he retired. But I didn't want it. I wanted to be my own man, you know? Make my own decisions. I was trained by Red Masque's best and brightest to fight, but I didn't want that. He insisted on it though, and when I told him I was gonna leave and forge my own path, we argued and things got weird."

"No shit?" Albert muttered.

"Yeah. It wasn't pretty," Black Star continued. "Guy started speaking in tongues, and I was always a flippant asshole so I started clowning him for sounding like a Catholic priest. So, I kinda started improvising an act as he started having his PTSD flashbacks. He's had them time to time because he worked for Mortifera Nox as a kid. I didn't want to hurt him, and I didn't want him to hurt himself. But I wanted him to stop pressing the issue, so I made up some shit. Something about 'the end times', and a 'Great Red Dragon', a 'eyes aglow with cerulean fury', and 'stars blackened and falling' from an old poem he used to like when he tutorerd me."

"Ah," I chuckled. "Good to know you've always been a bullshitter. Nice."

"Yeah. A big fat one. But I didn't realize he was actually in a trance or something. I mean, the whole 'demonic voice' thing people always talked about made me wonder if he had an alter, but I had no clue how deep that rabbit hole was. I just thought he had a dissociative identity. I thought I'd made it up, until he said I had the gift of prophecy and that 'Black Star' was gonna be my new name as the prophet of the end times. Something about the trail of Nibiru and an end time. So, uh. Yeah. I'm the prophet of the apocalypse or something."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

We all laughed nervously.

"Wow. You really are a mess, huh?" I chuckled, shaking my head.

Albert scratched his chin. "Was this during March of this year?"

Black Star raised his eyebrows, his expression becoming quizzical. "Um. Yeah... How'd you know?"

Albert's face went white, and I suddenly felt my own blood freeze. Stella and Ichigo just glanced between us in confusion.

"There was an incident in Pewterstone City," Albert said slowly. "It was the weirdest shit I've ever seen. I still remember it vividly — Sienna and I were in an arcade playing the Crystal Harmony fighting game when some old guy just started spazzing out. We thought he was having some sort of medical emergency, but then his eyes turned blue. I think Sienna and I were the only ones that saw it."

Everyone at the table shared a look. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I remembered it, vaguely, like something out of a nightmare.

"Exactly like the zombies during the Cataclysm," Black Star whispered. "Shit."

Stella furrowed her brows, her eyes flicking back and forth as if she was trying to piece together a puzzle.

"Okay. What happened?" Stella asked.

"He had an episode and started a small zombie outbreak. People at the time attributed it to another terrorist running around with Professor Lunatrix's old viral technology," Albert explained.

"Yeah," I added. "But we both noticed his eyes glowed blue, just like the eyes of zombies during the cataclysm. We were in a horror movie — just watching everyone go insane and kill each other. We managed to get into my home and hide until the local heroes arrived."

Albert shuddered, his expression grim. "That was one of the worst things I've ever experienced. I still get nightmares about it. Even after all the horrifying shit we saw during the Cataclysm. I've never felt more scared in my life."

"I don't even want to imagine it," Ichigo said, shaking her head.

Stella looked down at her plate. "I can imagine it all too well. I was there — as you guys might guess if you knew my alter ego as a magical girl."

I perked up at Stella's response. I'd nearly forgotten she'd been terrorizing our city as Dark Princess Eris for two years - probably secretly in search of her long lost half-sister. Me.

"That persona was just me acting out a bit. I was tired of always having to walk perfectly, make my bed perfectly, have the perfect manners, and the whole nine yards," Stella said. "I had a bit of a temper and didn't want to lash out at the man I thought of as a father, so I ended up creating a different magical girl persona to blow off steam. I won't detail how it works yet — it's a long, long story — but I was. Am Dark Princess Eris."

Ichigo's eyes went wide, and Albert looked uncomfortable as they both leaned back in their seat.

"I had a hard time coping with Lady Matsudaira's death. She just... left me the burden of her legacy and kicked the bucket as I was entering middle school. She was my whole family," she continued.

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"So, I created Eris, who I'd always wanted to be when I was young and rebellious. I got into my mother's files before they could redact them and saw the full story of what happened the week Arcadia Vox ended the Nightmare of Nox. I won't detail how or why, but I went to Pewsterstone in search of Nightingale Eclipse for more answers. Like you, Black Star, I ended up just running away. I left my father a note that I was taking time away and would stay in school there, but would eventually be back."

"Wow. So everything circles back to Nox, huh?" Albert said.

Ichigo looked around in confusion. "I feel so out of the loop here. I'm a nobody from a family of normal low level normies with the occasional Pioneer every third generation."

"Nox was the biggest supervillain empire in world history, second to none. Barring Napeoleon's Pan-European empire," I replied with a sigh. "I think everyone in our generation has a connection to her, technically. She turned her Latin American empire into a superpower that dominated world trade for almost half a century. Even if she was batshit insane and a warmongering despot."

Stella nodded. "It was the first time the world united to fight something since taking down Lunatrix. All the Magical Knight Clans united, the world governments worked together, and even villains united in opposition of her."

Black Star took a sip of water before he continued. "I can see why you guys were freaked out. When I saw those zombies during the Cataclysm, I thought I was gonna piss my pants. I'm lucky Rec[o] is my favorite movie."

"Uh, yeah. I think we all thought we were going to die," I replied with a chuckle.

"I was scared out of my mind," Ichigo added. "Even if I stayed at campus helping run supplies. It felt like it was going to be my last day. Like the whole world was gonna end. You don't forget that kind of fear easily."

"Yeah. That was a rough night," Albert agreed. "But anyway, about Eris and the old dude at the arcade? You were at Pewterstone too?"

Stella's eyes lit up. "Oh. Yeah, that was me. I actually happened to be tangoing with the Jupiter Belles across town at the time. So when the sirens started, I gave them the slip and rushed to help evacuate the civilians and keep them out of danger."

She furrowed her brows, and looked down.

"That's when things got weird," she continued, "because I met a gun-wielding blonde magical girl with a beret who spoke in third person. She was very, very odd. Like, really weird. But we were helping people get out, so I was like, 'hey, you know, she's helping out, whatever' and ignored the oddities."

"Weird? In what way?" Black Star asked.

"Like she spoke with an odd accent, spoke in third person, had some strange aura that just seemed wrong," Stella replied. "She was just odd, but in an innocent, childlike way. She was asking me what the country was called and what year it was and she was asking me if there was a war and stuff. It was really strange, but I figured it was a magical girl who just got her powers. Then she just... disappeared, right in the middle of the crisis. I never saw her again. I was a bit worried she was eaten or killed by the zombies or something."

"Oh. Well that's definitely weird. And a little spooky," Black Star said.

"Yeah, it was a bit creepy, but she helped a lot," Stella replied with a shrug. "Easily Class 8 if not Class 9, given the raw strength and power she had."

"Holy shit, you're joking!" Ichigo gasped, leaning back in her chair in shock.

"Magical girls at Class 8 or 9 are really rare," I said to the others. "You sure you aren't highballing it, Stella?"

She nodded. "Yeah. She had some really wild, reality-bending stuff she did, and was able to do stuff that was just ridiculous. Like she'd shoot one of these fancy magical guns at like 200 rounds a second and manage to hit every single zombie. Hundreds of zombies in a crowd at once without hitting any civilians."

"That's insane," Albert said. "How is that even possible?"

"She's a magical girl," Stella replied. "She's not bound by normal rules. I don't know if she's still alive, but if she is, she'd be a huge asset in a fight like the shit the world went through the night of the Cataclysm. That little girl was a one man army. Er, girl army, rather."

I shook my head and sighed.

"That never made the news, and neither did the nature of the zombie incident," I said. "The government probably covered it up so people didn't panic. Blamed it on Lunatrix's shadows."

"That sounds about right," Albert said. "They always try to hide anything that could cause mass hysteria. It was also notoriously hard to get one of the evil Prof's lunacy outbreaks started once the government figured out a way to contain it."

Stella shivered, and her expression grew somber. "Yeah. I'm glad you guys brought that up because the spring outbreak incident has been on my mind since the Cataclysm."

She paused for a moment and then continued.

"That girl is probably still around, though. She didn't literally vanish, but she was too fast for me to follow," Stella said. "But, the outbreak was contained within an hour, and she was nowhere to be seen. So I don't know what happened to her."

"That's... really strange," I replied.

"It's probably nothing, though. I mean, she's just one magical girl," Stella replied. "Not the center of the world."

"True. But it's still interesting," Albert added. "And very interesting timing, considering the zombies."

We all shared an uncomfortable silence.

"I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if the old man and that blonde girl had some sort of connection to Nox," Albert added. "She was the most infamous villainess in world history, and had a hand in pretty much everything."

"Yeah. That would make sense," I agreed, and paused for a moment. "I mean, she had her fingers in everything from cloning technology to superhuman enhancement and cybernetics, so who knows?"

We were all interrupted by a knock on the booth's sliding door. Ichigo's eyes lit up in excitement at the sound, and she eagerly leaned against Albert, pushing back to make room for our food to enter.

I glanced at the menu in front of me, and then back to the door as it opened.

The hair on my neck instantly stood up on end.

An incredibly busty olive-skinned waitress with wavy, curly black hair tied up in a loose bun and a pair of black glasses came carrying trays of fancy sashimi. She had a tattoo on her neck, and had her sleeves rolled up, revealing more tattooed designs running along her arms.

Her outfit was a little strange. While it was the right uniform for the restaurant, she wore a short pencil skirt that didn't quite cover her rear and had stockings on, which looked a bit like a fetish cosplay or something. A very skimpy, and a very sexy version of the standard waitress outfit. Her outfit looked like she was cosplaying a waitress from a maid cafe.

Black Star absent-mindedly looked down at the menu while the waitress came in.

"Appetizer is on the house," she smiled, speaking with a Spanish accent as she put the trays on the table and winked at Albert. "Complements from the chef."

Black Star continued looking at the menu as she served, as did Albert. "Hey waitress, could you get us another round of water while you're at it? Thanks!"

She paused, blinking at Black Star and staring daggers at him, but he continued looking down at his menu.

Okay. There was definitely something between them. There was something serious going on between these two, and I wasn't sure what. The waitress's aura flared up in frustration and anger at being ignored.

"Master Enrico.... ugh. Eres un bueno para nada, mijo. Un maldito bueno para nada," she grumbled under her breath.

Black Star froze for a minute, his face going pale, as he slowly, carefully looked up at her.

The waitress gave him an absolutely predatory grin as he slowly turned white as a sheet.

"Uhm, H-Hey there. Titi?"

She reached down, behind the screen as Black Star visibly panicked and began sweating.

"W-wait!" he cried. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, let me explain!"

The waitress suddenly produced a comically oversized hi-tech cross between a shotgun an a cannon from behind the screen and aimed it at his face.

"You've been a very, very bad boy," the waitress smiled with an air of calmness, but her aura was bright red, and filled with anger.

I immediately raised my arm, ready to throw up a barrier but the woman held out a hand and motioned at me to stay still.

"You, you stay there, girl. Don't get involved."

She tapped the gun and winked at me, as it made a whirring noise and began charging up.

"Wait, what's that thing?" Black Star stammered, staring at her.

The waitress' smirk turned positively wicked.

"I call it La Chancla 3000."

I suddenly felt my heart sink. This was not good.

"La what now?" I asked almost out of reflex.

"La. Chancla."

Suddenly, a comical looking green slipper flew from the end of her weapon and hit Black Star right across his cheek with a resounding 'THWAP'.