Before you start any sort of show down, you needed to prioritise the safety of the citizens. Without missing a beat, you summoned the apparition children and Mochi to help you out as you directed citizens to safe exits.

Apparitions flooded the shopping centre, translucent silhouettes turning the space into a blurry silver mess. You trusted Sara and Jade to handle the exorcism. Actually, speaking of Sara, you were able to spot the brunette in the distance. It wasn't long before she noticed you as well.

"(Y/n)! Are you okay?"

You gave her a thumbs up. "I'm alive and breathing!"

When you managed to rejoin her, there was no time for any sighs of relief as a sudden wave of apparitions rushed towards you two. Sara immediately stepped in front of you, her hands moving in practised precision as she swiftly exorcised the apparitions. You didn't fail to notice the subtle wince on her expression.

"Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah! Of course." Sara's curtain bangs fell over her eyes, their initial bounciness that she put so much effort into gone just like that. With a sigh, she clipped them to the side. "I am an experienced exorcist, after all."

You nodded. "I just noticed you wince a little, that's all."

Sara blinked in surprise at your question. "Wince––?"

Before she got a chance to finish her sentence, another storm of apparitions conquered the space. You and Sara nodded to each other. The teamwork was seamless, it was as if you two had worked together for years; you focused on protecting the citizens whilst Sara handled the apparitions.

"It's pretty loud, huh?" Sara said.

Well, loud would be the easiest term to describe the noise level.

A cacophony of voices clamoured in desperation and panic, as if yelling until your throat gave out would somehow turn someone into full-fledged exorcists. And thanks to the hundreds of apparitions, powerful gusts of winds vanquished the space; whispers and hushed screeches blended with the commotion.

However, you knew this wasn't what Sara was referring to.

"Does it have to do with your ability?"

Sara blinked in surprise. "My ability?"

"Your ability has to do with sound, so I thought it had to do something with that."

Thank god the chaotic nature of the mall covered up parts of your mediocre acting.

"You're really sharp, huh?" Sara mumbled. "You're right. Whenever I use my ability to exorcise apparitions, the shrieks they make echo in my head."

The same thing happens with Elias as well. The more apparitions exorcised, the louder the sound. It was why Elias and Sara had such good tolerance against the apparition's screams during the first half of the SF trial.

Though... Whilst Sara found it unpleasant, like any normal person, Elias found it––

Your train of thought was cut short when you heard a sharp cry from behind you. Turning around, your eyes widened to see that a large wall of ice had barricaded the main entrance. Your eyes darted around to see that ice had blocked off all the entrances. Well, wasn't that just fun.

In the original game, Amias would encounter the shopping covered with ice from the outside. After getting in with Finn, the two reunite with Sara and Jade. So, yes. You knew this was going to happen. You spent countless hours thinking of ways to prevent this event, but realised that it was better to just let it happen. This was Shen's official 'debut' into the Anomalous society. At this point, he had no intentions to hurt anyone.

What you needed to do here was try and influence his motives.

"It was a shame that I took so long to seal off all the entrances..."

A distinct voice captured your attention; a silvery yet indifferent tone. You lifted your gaze, tracing the source of the voice to the second floor. Shen was casually leaning against the railing, observing the scene below as if it were any ordinary Tuesday. It was kind of hot.

A small smile graced his ethereal features when you made eye contact. Shen raised a hand and snapped his fingers. At that, all apparition activity suddenly ceased.

"Much better," he said. "Can everyone hear me clearly?"

To no one's surprise, nobody answered Shen's question.

"Well, I understand the apprehension." The silver apparition tilted his head. "After all, this is all quite sudden."

Just quite??

Whispers began surfacing amongst the citizens.

"An apparition who looks and looks and behaves like a human?"

"What does this mean?"

"Why isn't he exorcised yet?"

"Oh?" Shen's cold gaze locked onto the citizens who were engaged in hushed conversations amongst themselves. "It seems lively down there."

And with that, everyone zipped their lips. Instead of hushed whispers, eyes were turned to you. The weight of everyone's expectations was suffocating. You, the one with the SF uniform, were silently expected to do something about this. Some were silently pleading out of fear, others were more demanding.

"Hm... I had my points prepared, but I realised that it may be too sudden for my announcement," Shen said. "Shall I allow more time for everyone to adjust to the situation?"

Shen glanced in your direction. There was an expectant look in his eyes, as if he was silently asking you to support him or something. Since everyone's attention was on you, you didn't gesture or respond to him in any way.

"I suppose there's no point in stalling," he continued. "I'm here because I want to change this city's structure. To put it simply, I am trying to change the beliefs of this society."

Collective looks of doubt and panic were present on everyone's expression. No matter how low your emotional and social intelligence was, you could clearly tell that no one was on board with the idea.

"As I expected, it will take far too long and nearly impossible to undo the beliefs that's persisted for centuries... A fresh start is the right move after all. And that starts by letting the city learn my presence."

The moment Shen finished his last sentence, something instinctive in you screamed to take action. Cooper's shadow ability allowed you to melt into the ground and travel fast without having the crowd of people block your movements. You rushed up to the second floor to catch up to Shen using whatever parkour skills you had.

But, of course, he left before you could reach him.

Slightly out of breath, you remained still as you frantically searched for Shen. However, you couldn't find him under all the commotion.

According to the plot, Amias and Finn would arrive at the mall some time after this; the outside of the building was frozen all over. This was when the first official fight with Shen happened. The ost was a banger. Thank god Anomalous was a turn based game because you were mad jamming out to the music, forgetting that you needed to fight Shen.

Snapping you out of your thoughts, you heard the crackle of ice forming across the floor. With swift reflexes, you leapt just in time to avoid your legs being frozen to the ground. In an instant, icy walls sprung up from the floor and caged you in its frigid confines. There was no ice blocking up above; however, the ice walls were way too tall and slippery to consider climbing out to escape.

Copper, can I still use your ability to get out of here?

It's gonna be hard. The ice on the floor is really thick.

Best if you didn't risk it. As you contemplated on other means of escaping, a very familiar voice captured your attention.

"(Y/n)." There was a ghost of a smile on Shen's lips. "It's good to see you again. How are you doing?"

"Y'know, there is a whole snow storm wreaking havoc. But other than that, I'm doing pretty well."

"That's fair," Shen said. "I hope you don't have ill feelings towards me. What I am doing now is necessary for my plan. You understand, don't you?"

"I do," you replied. "Doesn't mean I won't try and stop you."

"Ah, yes. You are a member of the AEI. Do your best."

"Thanks for the encouragement." You placed your hands on your hip. "Are we fighting again? I still have a vendetta against you for throwing a whole snow storm in my face before you left the other day."

A playful smile graced Shen's features. You internally screamed at how attractive it made him look. God knew Shen's handsome face would be too powerful if he was more expressive, so he made the apparition indifferent most of the time.

"As much as I would like to test your abilities again, I came to you with a different purpose."

Shen drew close to you. You backed up at that, but forgot the surface was slippery and ended up slipping and falling against the ice wall. When you directed your attention back to him, his face was very close to yours.

Shen leaned in closer and softly whispered, "How do you feel about me?"

You tried to not get flustered (you probably failed). "That is a very complicated question."

The apparition leaned back, his gaze searching for eyes for any other hints of your response.

"There's been this... unpleasant feeling pestering me," he mumbled. "And it relates to you."

Uh.

You didn't unknowingly piss Shen off at some point, did you?

Shen's silver eyes wandered to the ground. One hand remained tucked inside his lab coat's pocket, the other rested under his chin. You felt awkward just staring at him when he was lost in thought, so you took a moment to appreciate the ice cage he trapped you in. You could still hear the muffled commotion from outside as well. You hoped your friends were safe.

From your reflection on the ice walls, you noticed that your hair was a complete mess. You raised a hand to fix it, but Shen beat you to it. Out of nowhere, his slender fingers tucked a stray hair away from your face.

"Pay attention to me." Shen looked down, complicated emotions hidden behind his cold and indifferent gaze. "Though, I cannot blame you for looking at your reflection. You're quite attractive."

Rizz.

Retracting his hand with an almost hesitant motion, Shen then tilted his head to the side as he studied your features. You didn't know whether to feel confused, flustered, or suspicious.

"What should I do..." he mumbled. "My thoughts aren't cooperating with my speech."

"Uh..." You searched for any words to latch onto. "You said an 'unpleasant feeling.' Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't." Shen furrowed his eyebrows (it was kind of cute) before sighing. "Sorry, I'm usually not this confusing."

You gave him a blank stare for a good few seconds. Then, you came to a realisation.

"Oh?" A vibrant grin on your face, your eyes lit up with anticipation. "Shen is experiencing human emotions?"

"I don't know how to feel about that grin of yours, but I suppose you're not wrong."

Seeing Shen ponder so hard over human emotions as if it were some complicated maths question was wonderful. Shen was a fun antagonist. He was interesting to fight, his interactions with Amias blurred the boundary between 'this guy's your enemy' and 'he's just some silly guy who wants company', and had a mysterious background to unravel.

However, there was a sense of unfulfilled potential within Shen's character––his little regard for anything attached to humanity, his hatred for the intricacies of humans, and his stubbornness to remain indifferent and logical at crucial moments.

During the final boss battle, Amias exorcised Shen. Right before that, Shen finally showed little signs of a change of heart. It was disappointing that you couldn't experience more of Shen after that, it was as if his character development had ended prematurely.

So, seeing it develop this early on now? You were so on board.

Finn and Amias should arrive soon. Stalling Shen here isn't a bad idea, it'll give them time to help the citizens and sort out the situation.

You shrug. "I may not be a therapist, but I am a human who experiences emotions. I'm all ears to listen to your woes."

You'll be nice and benevolent just this once. After all, it's rare for Shen––

"It has to do with that blond... Kein. I believe that was his name."

What the hell did Shen want with Kein.

Shen blinked. "Why do you suddenly look hostile?"

"Must be your imagination."

Shen's expression softened into an adorable display of confusion. "Okay?" He decided to drop it. "Do you remember the day when we held that meeting in your room? James was also there."

"Hah." You sighed wearily. "How can I forget?"

"On that day, I realised that you're... quite fond of Kein."

You thought about it for a moment. Oh! Could he be referring to––

"If you're uncomfortable we can leave. I realised that I sprung this on you suddenly." He laughed apologetically. "Sorry, I'm a little slow at these things sometimes. I didn't mean to stress you out."

Kein's concern brought a smile to your face, but from the corner of your eyes, you thought you caught a glimpse of Shen narrowing his eyes. But when you turned around to him, he had his usual indifferent expression.

... So it wasn't your imagination after all.

"Uh, Shen. Are you jealous?"

Shen's usual indifferent expression morphed into a rare look of surprise.

"That couldn't..." He paused and thought about it for a moment, a troubled look on his pretty face. "Could I be...?"

"Take your time."

Shen being jealous... Shen having potential feelings for me? Sheesh, you were living every fan's dream.

"It's just––I wanted you to look at me the same way you did to him. However, that's impossible given our dynamic." Shen sighed. "What should I do..."

You gaped. Is this... how... harem protagonists feel??? You thought to yourself seriously. If I treat this like a dating simulator, will I be able to handle it effectively??

"I came to realise how little involvement I have in your life." Shen shook his head. "Well, I knew that from the start. But it recently dawned on me that you have so many other people in your life. Your mind is filled with others, but my thoughts are only full of you."

A soft, bittersweet chuckle left his lips.

"You're my world, but I'm not yours." His hands clutched the side of his lab coat. "It hurts, this feeling. I don't know what to do."

Goddamnit, he hit your weakness. Fuck.

Look, before anyone judged you. Let you defend yourself.

Shen was an antagonist you enjoyed. He was also someone with a pretty face (sounds shallow, but it was the truth). And he was someone you've experienced many interesting personal encounters with. Take all that into account with a vulnerable expression and voice. C'mon, it was understandable for you to cave just a little. You were already starting to feel bad by imagining how lonely it was for Shen to be an apparition with no memories or social connections.

"Shen..." You searched for the right words to say. "I––"

"Should I just lock you up and keep you for myself?"

Ohhh, okay. Nevermind.

The air suddenly grew colder by that last statement. Was it because of apprehension or because Shen's emotions were affecting the ice around you? Who knows.

"Uh." You were at a loss for words. "No...?"

He sighed. "You're right. Locking you up will limit your growth and potential."

Oh thank god that was resolved quickly.

"So many complicated feelings. I wished I never felt affection towards you. I wish I never got attached," he confessed, his voice tinged with a bittersweet ache. "Yet it is also the best thing to have happened to me."

Ah, there goes your heart. What could you say in this situation?

Yes, Shen was Anomalous's antagonist. Yes, he had a very concerning moral compass at times. And yes, he was someone with intentions you sometimes couldn't fully comprehend. But he was still a character you followed the story of. And he was someone who you truly wanted to understand better.

I can hear Lyle scolding me about being naive.

At times like this where your emotions are conflicted, you choose to go with your gut feeling.

"Shen."

"Hm?"

"We're enemies."

There was a slight sadness in his eyes, as if he was disheartened by your response. "Yes, we are."

"And in this battle, I am determined to win." You smiled. "However, when this all ends, I still want you to be part of my world––the world I intend to create. And besides, you can say our dynamic is pretty special. We're enemies, yet we have peaceful encounters. We're enemies, but we sometimes have similar motives."

You looked directly into Shen's eyes. "No one in my life has that dynamic with me. That makes you pretty special, huh?"

Shen's eyes widened, lips slightly parted. His usual composed nature had crumbled like a fragile house of cards. Then, he laughed. It wasn't his usual chuckle or quick breathless laughs––this one made his face light up as a smile illuminated his expression; it was reminiscent of sunlight gracing freshly fallen snow.

You couldn't help but stare in awe. Shen has never made a face like that before. Where was the screenshot button?

"I see, I see." Shen began to calm down, but a smile was still present on his lips. "I never thought about it that way." He looked up at you. "My jealousy may tell me to prevent you from talking to others, but you shine the brightest when you're around people. And..."

The silver apparition was silent for a moment. "I hope you shine just as bright around me someday whether it'll be when we're temporary allies, or when we're engaging in a final battle. Until then, keep being you, the one that keeps fighting." Shen kissed the back of his two fingers and sighed happily, adoration in his eyes. "That is the you I love the most."

Your eyes lingered on his lips for a tad too long because of that last gesture. "Love?"

Shen didn't respond as he clasped his hands to shatter the ice walls that surrounded you two; a mesmerising flurry of crystal like ice fragments scattered the air.

"We should get back to being enemies. I'll see you on the battlefield?"

It took you a moment to digest everything. "Yeah..." You nodded, determined. "Get ready to have your ass kicked."

"I look forward to that. Oh and..." Shen paused for a moment. "I too would love for you to be part of the world I intend to create."

And with that, all it took was a sheet of snow to obscure your vision for a moment for Shen to disappear.

You glanced around and saw that the shopping mall was empty. Looks like the citizens were directed to a safe place. You mentally thanked your friends for handling that. Though, it seemed like Amias and Finn hadn't arrived yet. You received no messages from them. You were going to just wait until they arrived and execute your plan from there, but that conversation with Shen made you more motivated to take action for yourself. Something a lot more personal, something completely outside of the plot.

You hummed to yourself. What a spicy dynamic we have. Younger me would be giggling and kicking her feet.

"(Y/n)!"

You turned around. That was Lily's voice!

The poor girl almost collapsed in relief when she saw you.

"I was so worried! The silver apparition took you away and I didn't know what to do. Ness needed to help injured people, Sara and Jade were exorcising apparitions, so then––"

"Woah, woah. Slow down." You grabbed Lily's shoulders. "Can you update me on what's going on?"

"Ah, yes." Lily took a moment to take in deep breaths. Though, she did seem a little flustered by your touch. "The citizens were evacuated to a safer area. Jade is doing her best to accommodate everyone. Though, things are a little rough at the moment."

"Rough?"

She nodded. "I think it's best if I showed you."

When you arrived at the space, you noticed how crowded it was. However, it was at least safe. Your apparition companions were doing a good job defending against unwelcomed apparitions.

Alec and Sam's eyes lit up when they saw you whilst Mochi barked happily. The three tackled you in an affectionate hug. Copper skipped out on the hug part, but he did stay close to your leg. It was a sweet moment, one that was quickly disrupted at the sound of an angry voice.

"Just exorcise the bastard! Why are you being so hesitant?"

"We're working on that, but I believe it's best if we take other precautions––"

"How useless do you need to be to not understand? You choose. Us or the apparitions."

Jade was in a heated dispute with a citizen. You marvelled at how composed she was trying to defuse the situation whilst the older woman didn't give a damn about courtesy.

Alec and Sam grabbed onto your legs, discomfort in their expressions. Even Copper––someone who would rather do fifty consecutive backflips than show dependence on you––stayed close by your side. Mochi growled underneath his breath, his eyes pinned onto the woman.

It was definitely time to step in.

Reminding me of my customer service days.

You stepped in, doing your darn best to not narrow your eyes at the woman. But when the woman scoffed upon seeing you, that nice act of yours dropped before it barely started.

"Hey, expressing some gratitude to the person who saved you won't kill you."

The woman looked like she was going to upper cut you. "That's your job. It's the bare minimum."

This is SERIOUSLY reminding me of my customer service days.

But a major difference is that you could get away with a lot more things this time with no consequences.

"First of all, I'm not your slave. Just because I serve the city, that does not give you a pass to treat me like sh––" You remembered the apparition children were listening. "––treat me badly. Second of all; exactly, it's our job. We know the best course of action. Leave it to the professionals, yeah?"

"So what? The AEI listens to the citizens, they live to protect the citizens. We can voice concerns when you're not doing your job correctly. Are you trying to oppress us?"

The lion, the witch, the audacity of this bitch. Okay, you were wasting your time trying to talk sense into her.

"Big sister knows what to do!" Sam exclaimed. "She's very smart."

Alec nodded. "You're just being mean because you're scared!"

Copper followed that up with, "If you're not going to fight, don't bother other people."

The twins stuck their tongues out while Copper huffed and crossed his arms. They literally spoke facts, though. Basic respect is forgotten when someone feels hella entitled for whatever reason.

The woman sneered at your apparition companions. That almost made you punch her right in the face.

"Hah. Then look at your support members." The woman scoffed. "The government pours our taxes into them?"

Okay, this woman was just looking for a reason to fight. You didn't need to entertain her, but you still wanted to put your opinion out there for the citizens who were watching––you were going to defend your support member friends.

"While I acknowledge some support members do not fulfil their roles correctly, that doesn't mean you should generalise them," you said. "As a former support member, I can attest that they play a crucial role in keeping morale high, ensuring citizens are emotionally stable, and providing swift medical care. Many even go back and check on victims and their emotional state. Even if they don't have exorcist abilities, many risk their lives to help make operations run a little smoother."

The woman rolled her eyes. "You're just spouting bull––"

"I don't care if you don't believe me, it doesn't change the facts." You looked over to the crowd. "If anyone has concerns, that's fine. But that doesn't give you the right to treat us with disrespect or begin to badmouth the AEI."

No one went against you. Surprisingly, the majority seem to agree with your words, especially amongst the younger generation. Strange, you expected more resistance.

"We're all reliable members of the AEI. Leave it in our capable hands." Sara stepped in with an easy smile. She nudged Jade. "Right?"

Jade's smile wavered with hesitancy, seemingly a little uncomfortable by the situation. You expected that.

The thing about Jade was that she was somewhat of a people pleaser, striving for everyone's happiness. It made things difficult when she was put in a situation where she needed to take sides or leave one party dissatisfied. Remember the SF trial where she helped people when she didn't need to? Remember when she supplied everyone with a safe space?

Some call this commitment of hers naive. And in a way, it was. You can't make everyone happy, and some people's happiness comes at the expense of others.

Obviously, you weren't about to lecture Jade out of nowhere. What you needed to focus on was the current predicament.

"Hey, the ice is melting!"

Everyone's eyes diverted to the glass doors and windows, the frost and ice was melting at a rapid pace. Before it was completely melted, a familiar individual teleported inside the building; Amias. Vibrant golden eyes met yours and lit up in joy and relief.

"(Y/n)!" It took 0.1 seconds for Amias to teleport in front of you. He thoroughly checked for any injuries. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

You shook your head. "Nope, all good here. You got here pretty fast, huh?"

"Of course!" Amias glanced over and noticed the woman who you were previously arguing with. With a kind smile, he said, "Sorry for the wait, we have the necessary measures to ensure everyone gets out safely."

The woman's sour expression immediately did a 180 as she eyed Amias fondly.

"How reliable," she said, voice sickly sweet. "I know I can count on some AEI members."

It took everything for you to not roll your eyes, but you still weren't able to stop yourself from frowning.

Amias looked at you in concern. "(Y/n), did something upset you?"

You sighed. "Nothing."

After some teamwork, you were able to evacuate the citizens. Amias whined about having to leave your side, but your promised to hang out with him later quickly resolved that. Eventually, you came across Finn. The guy was doing a good job handling the icy terrain Shen created. Seriously, Shen never missed when it came to bringing a whole snowstorm with him everywhere he went.

"The situation's not the best," Finn said. "The apparitions are stronger than usual. Not to mention the terrain is unsuitable."

You nodded. "What about reinforcements?"

"Everyone else is preoccupied with other operations and won't be able to make it anytime soon."

That was expected. In the original game, the player first faced Shen with Finn, Amias, Sara, and Jade in their party. When it seemed like the player was about to get a game over, Lyle managed to make it just in time and joined, turning the tides of the battle and also temporarily breaking the video game rule of only having four characters in your party.

Well, I already initiated his character development early. It's fine if I take his spotlight just this once.

"Do you have a plan?" Finn asked.

"Hm?"

"You seemed in thought for a moment," he said with a chuckle. "And for some reason, I have a feeling you know what to do."

There was an idea you had in the back of your mind ever since you came across the music store.

"Finn, can you and Amias handle everything else? Leave the silver apparition to me and the girls."

"Stealing all the fun?" Finn teased. "Of course, leave it to us."

You quickly sent a message to Jade, Sara, Lily, and Ness with a brief description of the plan. Sara was the closest to you and you managed to meet up with her face to face.

"(Y/n), will this work?" Sara asked.

"Are you worried about the repercussions of your abilities?"

"I... Well..." Sara shook her head. "It's true that I prefer to not use it, but that does not mean I won't. I'm an SF member, a little pain won't stop me. However..."

"My plan is pretty extreme, isn't it?" You showed a reassuring smile. "Sara, do you trust me?"

Sara's eyes widened in surprise, but her expression was quick to soften. "Weird." She laughed. "I have complete faith in you."

You smiled. "Perfect."

The two of you nodded at each other before parting ways. You got a confirmation message from Jade and the others. Everyone had a role to play for this plan to work. And if it does work, you'll be able to weaken the silver apparition. If not that, at least force him to go into hiding to recover.

It didn't take you long for you to complete step one of your part of the plan: find Shen.

"You seem so determined, I couldn't help but show myself to you," he said.

Without a word, you sprinted towards him. But of course, Shen swiftly blocked your path with an ice wall. The ground trembled beneath your feet as you felt yourself being levitated by a mountain of ice, causing your balance to become precarious.

Maybe I should've packed ice skates with me after all.

"Hey!" You yelled out. "I know the whole point of this was to make your presence known and whatnot, but isn't this enough?"

"Why should I stop? The more prominent the damage, the better. Best case scenario, the chairman would try to deal with me himself." Shen tilted his head. "Are you stalling?"

You slid down the icy mountain and closed the gap between you and Shen. "Yes."

"Your honesty is adorable," Shen said. "As much as I love talking to you, I need to move onto the other AEI members. I'll be defeating you now."

And thus, you were engaged in a pretty intense battle against Shen. During the fight, you made sure to lead Shen towards a specific location––the rooftop of this shopping centre

Shen wasn't an idiot, he knew you had some sort of plan. All he needed to do was not follow you and life would be a whole lot harder. However, as much as it irked you, he was strong enough to take this risk and let his curiosity dictate his actions.

It was a few minutes later until you were close to the rooftop. All you needed was to jump across. However, all of a sudden Shen stopped following you.

"As curious as I am, I can't make things too easy for you––"

Too bad for him, you suspected something like this would happen. Utilising the twins' ability to slow down time, you closed the gap between the two of you with ease. It was a sweet and rare moment where you were able to make it to Shen before he used his abilities.

With a firm grip on his collar, you pulled him close to you. Gathering all the strength you could possibly muster, you quite literally threw the guy to the rooftop. Once that was done, you leapt across. Upon landing, a brief moment of exhaustion washed over you and your head spun.

The repercussions from using the siblings' abilities weren't as bad as last time, but it was still to the point where you couldn't use it frequently. Ugh, if you could somehow master their ability fighting Shen would be a whole lot easier.

The silver apparition didn't suffer any physical damages since, well, he was a ghost. But he was disoriented for a moment from the sudden throw. Yeah, you'll be replaying that in your head at 3AM tonight.

So, why did you want Shen to be on the rooftop?

You looked over your shoulder and laughed under your breath.

I can't believe they managed to pull that off in such a short amount of time. That's Anomalous's cast for you.

Speakers were set up, positioned to optimise the best sound projection. Lily was on the electric guitar; she was nervous, but her fingers were expertly poised on the strings. Sara was clutching the microphone with a bright and confident aura. Jade and Ness was near the speakers, ready to turn them on with a mere flick of a switch.

"(Y/n), catch!"

Ness threw you a pair of headphones and you swiftly caught them.

You placed the headphones on and looked over to everyone with a satisfied smile. "Let's begin the concert."







A/n: I'd like to imagine that Sara and Lily would play like a rock/metal cover of Anomalous's opening song or something for this scene.