Neru, leaning against a pillar, faces her three agents after hearing their report.
"Game Dev, huh? Never heard of 'em, but they got us… and Schale's Sensei," Neru mutters.
"My fault. I planned this and tarnished C&C's record. Punish me," Akane says.
"Who cares?" Neru shrugs, dismissing punishment.
"Rio called when I got back. Mission's canceled. Never happened," Neru adds.
"What!?" Akane gasps.
Rio, Millennium's top, revoked the mission, shocking the agents.
"Why?" Asuna asks.
"Dunno. Maybe Rio and Himari wanted to test Game Dev… or Alice and Sensei," Neru guesses.
"Mash-sensei?" Karin questions.
"His skills are unreal. Rio'd want to check him out. But Alice?" Akane wonders.
"No clue," Neru says, standing. "Akane, dig into Game Dev, their allies, and Sensei."
"Revenge?" Akane asks.
"Kinda. I'm curious. Once you've got intel, we're visiting," Neru grins.
"They're probably gloating now. Can't wait to see their faces," Akane smirks.
"Rematch!" Asuna cheers.
"I won't fail again," Karin vows.
Unbeknownst to Mash, a rematch with C&C—Neru included—is set.
Game Dev Clubroom
Normally lively, the room feels like a funeral. Midori, Momo, and Yuzu are in despair.
"Never felt this low since uploading Tales Saga Chronicle's prototype," Midori mumbles.
"Momo?" Alice tries.
"It's over! Done!" Momo wails, rolling on the floor.
"Midori, you okay?" Alice asks.
"Sorry, Alice… not now," Midori sighs, stuck in a loop of failure.
"Yuzu—" Alice starts.
"Rage, ruin, decay, despair… the world burns…" Yuzu mutters darkly.
"Yuzu!?" Alice panics.
"If only Sensei were here…" Alice laments.
"Yo," Mash enters, fresh from a lecture, unaware of the situation.
"Sensei!" Momo sobs, lunging.
"What's wrong?" Mash asks.
"Everything's over!" Momo cries.
The despair stems from G.Bible, obtained at the cost of Momo's game data. Using Veritas' Mirror, they cracked its password, only to find one line:
"Love the game."
That's it.
"Got it," Mash says.
"Would've preferred a lie!" Momo wails, crying into Mash's chest.
"Key file's a bust too," Midori sniffles.
"Don't care anymore…" Momo sobs.
Seeing their pain, Alice steels herself.
"Don't give up!" she urges.
"Sorry, Alice. We can't make a good game alone," Midori says.
"No. Tales Saga Chronicle is fun. I feel it," Alice insists.
"Alice?" Momo sniffles.
"I feel how much Momo, Midori, and Yuzu love it. Traveling that world… it excites me. It taught me what dreaming feels like," Alice says, looking at Mash. "The closer to the ending, the more I wish… this dream never ends."
The room quiets.
"Don't give up. Heroes never do, right?" Mash says, meeting their eyes.
"Heroes…" Momo echoes.
"Even if it's called trash, to me and Alice, it's a masterpiece," Mash says.
"Sensei… Alice…" Midori murmurs.
"Let's make it. What we want. No giving up. I'll help however I can," Mash says, offering his hand.
Alice places hers on top.
"My dream is for everyone to love our game. I want it to last… for those who believe in it," Yuzu declares, joining hands.
"There's still time. Let's do it!" Momo says, stacking her hand.
"Yeah!" Midori adds.
"Yes!" Alice cheers.
"Game Dev… Tales Saga Chronicle 2 development starts now. Fight, oh!" Momo rallies.
"Oh!" they shout, raising their hands.
The final battle to save their clubroom begins.
---------------------------------------------
🚀 Want more?
📖 On Patreon you can read 20+ chapters ahead, plus there will be exclusive stories available only there.
💖 If you'd like to support me, check it out: patreon.com/Greyhounds
🔓 Patreon will always stay ahead of the public release — and some stories won't be published anywhere else.
✨ All support is completely optional — even if you don't join, I'm still grateful to have you here reading!