Haruka led the group through the city and down into the darkest alleys. Grime and trash lined the walls on both sides. Shady businesses blared slow jazz and old easy-listening music.

Bars had their usual, strange customers. The suffocating scent of cigarette smoke choked the alley. The people inside spoke in hushed voices. Warm light leaked out from these seedy shops.

From the corner of her eye, Tsukiko saw a few of them close their blinds as the group walked by. Every other store closed down with shutters in front of their doors.

Further down, the path grew darker and darker. Hanging wires and air conditioners blocked out the shallow moonlight above.

"Uhh, Haruka? You sure you know where you're goin?" Kazuo's eyes kept scanning from side to side.

"You'll be fine, idiot." Haruka sighed. "You gettin’ tired yet, Tsukiko?"

Tsukiko carried Lily in her arms. "I'll be okay. I'm more worried about Lily."

"She'll be okay, trust me." Haruka upped her pace.

The store fronts turned into backdoors for the more successful buildings. The only sound here was the buzz of fluorescent lights hanging over each back door. Leftover cardboard boxes rotted away next to exposed wires and abandoned crates.

Dozens upon dozens of air conditioners hung from the windows above. They were silent, for now, since the night air was cool. A small motorcycle sat at the side of the path, making it more narrow than it needed to be.

One of the back doors stood out. Instead of being a plain metal or particle door, this one was a very ornate, carved oak. Golden metal lined the frame, and the knob sparkled in the moonlight. A small plaque sat on the door, but the text on it was illegible.

Haruka approached this strange door and knocked. Three knocks, then two kicks that shook the entire door. She then held up her hand to signal to the others to wait. An awkward silence hung in the air before the door swung open.

They entered through the door to a place that seemed much larger than what seemed to be possible. The interior smelled of roses and there was an overwhelming sense of warmth and comfort.

A hand latched onto Tsukiko's shoulder and tugged. She panicked, and turned to find a short redheaded girl. The girl was as strange as the place itself. She wore a rather plain, black sleeveless dress and white opera gloves. There was a small black stewardess cap on her head.

There was an otherworldly quality to her, as if she was from some other place or time. Her peaceful smile did nothing to soothe Tsukiko’s confusion and curiosity. The others in the group surrounded the strange girl, not quite sure how to react.

"Uhhm. H-Hello?" Tsuki finally spoke with a stutter.

The redhead stood and stared.

Tsuki scratched her head. "S-Sorry. We sort of barged in, and--"

"Hey, Claudia, you think they're here yet?" Fumiko’s voice startled the group.

"Fumiko?" Tsuki nearly dropped Lily on the floor as she quickly turned around.

Fumi held up a hand. "Haruka texted me."

Tsuki turned back to her sister, who smiled back at her.

Claudia tugged on Tsukiko's sleeve and led her to a hallway with dozens of doors. The redhead put her arm under the Tsukil's and started leading her along.

The hallway seemed to stretch on for an unnaturally long distance. Luckily, Claudia was only leading them to an open door a few feet away. Still, her grip seemed awfully tight.

"Are you sure?" Tsukiko turned to the small redhead.

Claudia only nodded in response.

Tsukiko approached the bed and kneeled down to place Lily on the bed. She carefully straightened the young girl out. She laid Lilith's head on the pillow and gently pulled the white blanket over her. Tsuki grabbed Lily’s hand and cursed herself again. She felt some responsibility for the girl's suffering.

The little stewardess approached, tugging on Tsukiko's arm.

"What's up?" Tsuki blurted out.

The redhead pointed toward the doorway, and Tsuki obliged. Claudia led her along, returning once more to the grand hallway. She led Tsukiko a few doors down, back to the storage room.

This time, a light had turned on, making everything clear and visible. With the lights on, it showed that the place was impossibly large on the inside.

Tsuki looked around the room, wandering around until she bumped into someone. It was a very tall blonde haired woman. She was extremely well dressed, at least for the town, yet her clothes seemed dated.

"Oh, you must be… Miss Himura?" The blonde woman smiled gently.

Tsukiko paused for a moment to note the woman's bright red eyes. Her own had grown bright, but this woman's eyes seemed to glow in comparison.

"Uhh…" Tsuki stared.

"Take a good look, this is a face you will not want to forget." The tall woman spoke.

The tall lady looked so strange and yet she had a comforting demeanor to her.

There was a strange aura around the woman. Tsukiko felt something like fear, but she did not want to run away. She only wanted to get closer. It felt like a deep, unbreaking urge to do something dangerous, and yet there was no visible danger.

Tsukiko found the woman to be oddly trustworthy, despite never having seen her before in her life. There was a sense of familiarity, but there was no feeling of nostalgia or memory. The more time she spent thinking about it, the closer she wanted to get.

"Hello?" The woman smiled.

"Oh, uhh, hello." Tsuki couldn’t look away.

It seemed quite out of place to find a woman wearing all white in this part of town. Yet here she was, dress, corset, gloves and all. On top of her head sat a massive sun hat with roses, feathers, and a ribbon on it.

It was rather reminiscent of Lily's own sun hat, yet this one was in an oval, with the back of the brim curled up slightly. A red jewel brooch sat just below her neck.

Despite this formality in her clothing, the woman herself looked tired. Her hair was styled and curled, yet loose hairs and split ends stuck out.

Everything about this woman was one disturbing and unnerving anomaly. She had subtle bags under her eyes, yet the smile on her face and an almost unnatural warmth made her endearing.

The woman stuck out like a sore thumb, yet she'd never heard of such an oddly clothed person in her life. Her clothing was at the same time messy and clean, unevenly colored and pure white. She seemed distant, yet trustworthy, tired but lively, scary yet lovely.

She truly was an anomaly. Her very existence seemed to be a paradox. Tsukiko struggled to understand why she felt all these things at once. She forced the doubts away and focused on the world around her once more.

"Are you just going to stare at me, Miss Himura?" The blonde held the same smile and formality as usual.

"Oh… Uhhm…" Tsuki stuttered.

"It is alright, you must be worried about Lilith's well being." The woman looked around the room. "Hello? Claudia?"

The redheaded stewardess was standing behind her.

The tall blonde turned around. "Oh, there you are. Could you prepare some tea for the Knight and I? Let the others know that I will be speaking with her, yes?"

Claudia bowed, then exited through a wooden door, the blonde following. Tsukiko stood still in confusion, not knowing if she should move. After a minute or two of silence, she moved forward and grabbed the knob of the door before her, turning it.

On the other side of the door, there were piles and piles of fabrics stacked on shelves and tables. Ribbons and frills were tightly rolled up on huge spools.

Wooden mannequins wore frilly little dresses and ribbons and skirts. Unfinished garments hung off of hooks and wooden poles at the corners of the room. The place was an absolute mess.

"Over here, Miss." The strange blonde woman called out.

She was sitting at a countertop with random fabrics spread around. In front of her was a dish with fresh tea in small cups. Tsukiko approached with caution.

"Is everything alright?" The woman laughed a little.

"Everything seems so… fast?" Tsukiko sat down on a small chair next to her.

"Ahh, I understand." The strange woman took a sip.

"Are you Madame Jeanne?" Tsukiko looked up at the strange person.

"Mmm. That is just a local nickname. Just call me Aurelia." she looked down at Tsukiko with the warmth of a mother.

"Aurelia?"

"Yes."

"Where are you from?" Tsukiko whispered.

Aurelia sat for a moment, looking for an answer. "Nowhere in particular."

"No, I mean, where were you born? Where did you grow up?" Tsukiko took a sip of her tea.

"Does it really matter to you that much?" Aurelia’s fingers played with some fabric.

"…Guess you've got a point." Tsuki stared down into the tea. "It's just… you don't sound like you're from here."

"I was truly blessed to have such a strange name, I think."

"It's memorable, at least. Though… I'd say you stick out like a sore thumb." Tsukiko felt bad pointing this out.

"Well, I would hope so. I put a lot of effort into my fabrics." Aurelia put her hand on some rolls of cloth.

"My name's Tsukiko, by the way." she made sure to bow her head slightly out of respect.

"Mmm. It is rare in this place to hear someone's first name, no?" Aurelia twirled around a spoon in her cup.

"It's a given name for a reason. It means something, y'know?" Tsukiko's voice rose a little with pride.

The tall blonde woman laid her hand on Tsukiko's shoulder. "I made an outfit that I think would look beautiful on you. Would you like to see?"

The black haired girl blinked, and when she opened her eyes, Claudia was in front of her, holding out a huge canvas bag. Tsukiko grabbed the bag and inspected it. By the time she looked down at the bag and looked back up, the redhead had disappeared.

"Where did she go?" Tsuki looked around the room.

"Try it on, you will love it." Aurelia completely ignored the question.

"Uhmm, where do I change?" Tsukiko stood up slowly.

"Do you see that door over there, by the mannequin with the pink dress?"

Tsukiko pulled off the blue jacket and hat that she had worn during the raid and handed it to the blonde woman.

"You know my sister, right? This is hers." Tsuki looked down.

Aurelia nodded. "Yes, I know her."

Tsukiko entered the changing room.

--

When she exited the changing room, Fumiko was standing in front of the door, waiting. "…holy crap"

"Huh? Is something wrong? Does it look bad?" Tsuki blushed.

"…it's perfect." Fumi muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"It's perfect!" Fumiko cried.

Tsukiko stood awkwardly in front of the changing room door. It was the first time either of them had seen a Knight's uniform completed.

Her double breasted jacket was pure white, with two deep red stripes around the wrists on each sleeve. It had eight piano black buttons, eight divided in two columns of four.

The collar was adorned with black folded-over fabric and golden thread. Under the jacket was a deep red formal blouse. All this led down to a white pencil skirt, black pantyhose, and her new boots.

They were ankle boots with a thin high heel. They were made of a slick black leather. The sole and bottom was the same deep shade of red that colored the sleeves of her jacket.

At the top of her head, she wore a flat topped, billed hat like Haruka's. A line of gold sparkled around the entire hat. There was a little gold button on each side.

Tsukiko felt like she had become a completely new woman. She turned to a mirror and looked at herself for the first time in a while.

Her hair was still straight cut, and razor sharp. Her bangs were cut cleanly as well. It had definitely grown, as it now reached past her hips. Her eyes were now a brighter red, and filled with determination.

"Oh those heels!" Fumiko went on and on. "And that hat!"

"Yeah, I like it." Tsuki admitted.

Fumiko fell into Tsukiko's arms. She stared at her Knight for a while with a big smile on her face, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.

"Fumi…" Tsukiko complained.

"It looks so good! Besides… It's been a while, y'know?" Fumi teased.

"C’mon." Tsuki looked away.

"Always had a thing for those kinds of boots." Fumi laughed. "And that white skirt..."

"Guess I gotta learn how to run in 'em. These things fit perfectly though." Tsukiko leaned side to side in her new shoes.

Fumiko let go of Tsuki and backed away. "Well, they're sexy. The whole outfit is great!"

"Stop it…" Tsukiko's face turned red.

"Yo, give me and Tsuki some privacy, will ya?" Haruka strolled into the room, her entire uniform together for the first time.

"Aww." Fumiko slumped over in disappointment, and walked to the door.

"C'mon, sit with Jeanne and I, Tsuki." Haruka motioned for Tsukiko to come over.

"I would prefer that you would call me Aurelia." Her face straightened, no smile this time.

Haruka scratched her head. "Can’t you make up your mind, Aurelia?"

"I thought I would be more transparent now that I have met the third one." Her smile returned.

Haruka chuckled. "So, anything the runt should know?"

Aurelia turned to Tsukiko. "Any questions?"

Tsukiko shot up like a rocket. "Yeah, where the hell am I?"

"A shop." Haruka rolled her eyes.

"What kind?" Tsukiko instantly asked another question.

Aurelia paused before speaking. "Whatever I need it to be."

"Why's it so huge then?" Tsuki asked again.

"Why should I limit myself with a small environment? This is much more than just a shop." Aurelia spoke rather vaguely.

Tsukiko blurted out another question. "How'd you know my measurements?"

"Haruka told me." Aurelia pointed to Haru.

Haruka turned to Aurelia with a bewildered look.

"No way." Tsukiko prodded.

"All the clothes here are custom made for certain customers. Some are made before those customers ever arrive." Aurelia looked proud. "Part of that work is finding out their sizes, of course."

"Then who are these frilly dresses for?" Tsuki placed her hand on a particularly strange looking garment.

"Another customer, obviously." Aurelia spoke to Tsukiko as if she was a fool.

"Oh, well, duh." Tsuki spoke to herself.

Aurelia's answers raised more and more questions.

"Just make sure to leave through the door you came through." The blonde noted.

"Why?" Tsuki asked, despite knowing she wouldn’t get a good answer.

Haruka put her hands behind her head. "Cuz you'll never know where you might end up."

"What?" Tsuki turned to her sister.

"I have served quite a few people in my time here." Aurelia's smile was genuine.

"Just don't go through the wrong door, OK?" Haru didn't even stop to think about this strange statement.

"May I ask you a question, Miss Himura?" Aurelia looked straight at Tsukiko.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Are you going to become the Third Knight Himura?" Aurelia’s eyes pierced through her.

Tsuki put her hands together. "I just wanna be strong for Fumiko."

"Your aunt wanted the title to mean something. She passed it down to Haruka because she knew she didn't fight for herself. Knights fight to protect." Aurelia put her hands on the table.

"I'm not a superhero, y'know." Tsuki laughed a little.

"I am not asking you to be one. It is simply within your best interest to be a good, upstanding person." Aurelia took a sip from her tea again.

"Hmm. You mean like chivalry and honor?" Tsuki scratched her head.

"No, be willing to help those in need. You will benefit as well. Strength comes from experience and being able to adapt." Aurelia’s answer made some sort of sense.

Haruka shoved herself into their conversation. "She's right y'know!"

Aurelia glared at her, making her shake in her boots.

The blonde sipped her tea.

When she lowered the cup again, there was another smile. "I have a proposition for you, Miss Tsukiko."

"What is it?"

"Claudia?" Aurelia looked behind Tsuki.

By the time Tsuki could turn around, the redhead was standing by another door.

On the other side was daylight, despite the local time being well into the evening.

"Whoa, what the hell? How did she get there so fast? How the hell is it already bright out?" Tsuki was absolutely stunned.

Tsuki looked back at Aurelia, and then back at the door, and Claudia was nowhere to be seen. She looked back once more and Claudia was standing between Aurelia and Haruka with a sly grin on her face.

"Just go through the door, and you will know the rest." Aurelia pointed.

"Be careful!" Haruka fidgeted in her chair.

--

Tsukiko found herself in a small empty plaza. The ground around the plaza was paved in brick, not asphalt. Across from her was a grey stone fountain and a few shops.

Behind her was a strange wooden door with a sign above it. It was in a script that she could only barely decipher. The only word on it that was legible was the name "Aurelia."

Tsuki took another look at the fountain and took a moment to absorb the beauty of her surroundings. There was only the gentle babble of the water in the air. The sky wasn’t being blotted out by tall skyscrapers.

The tallest building around must have been only two or three floors high. The air was crisp. Tsuki could feel the air's refreshing quality with each breath. In the far distance, she saw a little bit of greenery.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion behind her. Tsukiko spun around to see two men hassling what seemed to be a man and his daughter. She stood and watched as they pulled a knife out and stabbed him.

The two men ran off. The young girl started sobbing as she followed him down to the ground. His blood stained her hands and clothes.

--

Everything went white, and she appeared again in the shop. She was sitting in a chair, with tea in front of her.

"…and you will know the re-- Oh, you have returned." Aurelia looked disappointed.

"What the fuck, man?" Tsuki panicked.

Haruka sighed. "Never said it would be easy, Tsuki."

"They just fucking stabbed that guy!" Tsuki panicked.

Haruka grabbed her by the collar and slapped her. "You saw Kaz nearly shoot a guy! Now you're getting all scared about a stabbing? Get a grip!"

Tsuki reeled, before sitting up straight again. "But he just… They just stabbed him! And I…"

"Miss Himura, not everything is lost. Pass through the door, and you will see." Aurelia closed her eyes and smiled.

Tsukiko looked down at her hands and then looked back up. Her chair had moved to just in front of the door. Claudia stood next to the door, and she motioned for Tsukiko to go through the door again.