I couldn't help feeling sick to my stomach at everything I'd just heard; to think that after all that, Event might have just...died. That somebody had mutilated his entire body for no reason I could see. Trespassing, maybe? I was still disgusted. And now I had a solid guess as to exactly who I'd seen dead in Clockwork's cabin.

"That was him."

Anni fixed me with an odd look, her eyes now misty. "It certainly was. Do you have anything else to add...?"

"No, I mean that was him. Event, he was the person I saw dead in that cabin. If I'd been there just a couple months earlier, I could've stopped it." I felt something get stuck in my throat, but before I could say much else Hodek piped up from behind me.

"You saw someone dead there? Why didn't you tell me?"

For some reason, my fingers grazed the X-shaped scar he had given me long ago. An involuntary shiver passed through my body.

"I didn't want to worry you."

Anniversary sighed, though I could tell she was more than a little upset at finding out Event really was dead. "Masquerade, here's some advice. Don't think about the 'if's for much longer than a minute. It hurts you too much, and it hurts others. What matters is that you're here, and that we can count on you now."

I managed to steal a glance at Hodek, who was far enough that Anni and I could whisper without anything significant being heard. I lowered my voice as a persistent question came to mind. I was hoping for a change in subject, anyway.

"So why is this Altaris person so important? I thought being one of us would be enough."

Anni noticed this, and responded accordingly. "Oh, she's plenty more than enough. She's got the Fallax's eye. She can bend another's will to hers, even while telling blatant lies!"

And she does this by turning her eyes...yellow? "That doesn't sound right. I want new recruits as much as the next person, I do. But if showing them what it means to be with us doesn't convince them to stay, then shouldn't we just let them go? Let them learn for themselves."

Anni looked at me for a while and then sighed. "I used to think like you, Masquie. I had a lot more faith in the world. But the problem is that we can't afford to let these people go anymore. It causes too much trouble. Remember how you reacted when we first took you in?"

I did. I never wanted to, but I couldn't make those memories go away. I was so scared of everyone, and I kept searching for a way back to my old family. Everybody was being so nice, and yet, I felt that something was wrong about all of it. Of course, over the next couple of years I learned better.

"...yes."

"And that's what we can't have happening here. You absolutely refused to put your bow tie on. You were scared of all the buttons, I think. It was almost funny, but I felt so horrible for it all. It just had to be done."

"I...I understand. So Altaris will help us?"

"I think so. Our Elder thought so. At this point, I'm just doing what I think she would. It's worked so far." Anni's eyes darted around the room at various objects, and her hope seemed to grow. "With Altaris by our side, we'll be more powerful than ever. We'll be able to save more people. Maybe even the Elder, someday."

Beads of sweat started collecting at my temples and the bridge of my nose. Something still felt wrong about what she was saying, I just couldn't place what. I nodded anyway.

"Okay."

She gave me a curious look. "And speaking of saving...your 'friend' seems more familiar to me the more I look at him. It's like I've seen some other version of him somewhere."

My head snapped to where Jeff was sitting and eyeing me like he was all too anxious to leave this place.

"Uh. Yeah. I guess he just has one of those faces."

"Right. But you know, if he ever considered really joining us...I-I mean, you guys seem so close, I'd hate to tear you apart. Plus, with the Elder away, we can't really be counted on to maintain order. A little exception might even do us some good."

I'd never even considered it. Hodek just joining the family, with no past record and no predetermined name? It felt so strange. But...

"Maybe he could. He trusts me, I'd like to think. Are you sure, though?"

Anni looked at me with a kind of sadness I couldn't understand. "I think the real question here would be, are you?"

—

I waited to tell him. I wanted to, of course. Almost more than anything right now. But I knew he wouldn't like being given that option, for whatever reason. So I kept my mouth shut about the matter for days. Anytime he would jokingly ask, "Where's my new name?" I'd elbow him in the gut. Not even the dance could loosen my tongue until the very end.

Oh, yeah. We had dances. We kept things very traditional; had specialized uniforms for missions, lounging back home, naming, etc. But the dances were when we could kind of dress up however we wanted. When the Elder was still around, a lot of people would get really extravagant. We could afford to. But right now, we had maybe a little more than thirty people available for the entire thing. I could feel how forced everyone's excitement was. They must have had to do this a lot ever since they'd gotten back together. It wasn't that I didn't understand, because I did. I just missed all of this, and so wasn't bothered by its smaller scale. When I told Jeff about the whole thing, it was almost like he didn't believe me but was too nervous to ask anyone else about it. He didn't want to take my word for it, yet also didn't seem like he wanted to go in the slightest. After prodding and asking him multiple times, he sighed and lightly smacked the back of my head.

"Fine. It's not like you're giving me a choice."

"Hey, you only have to stay ten minutes. If you really don't like it, you can leave. Deal?"

"...deal."

I smiled and began walking out of the room to change, when he stopped me.

"You've been a lot happier than usual lately."

Oh, no.

I paused. "Yeah. Is there something wrong...?"

"No, no, it's not...I mean, I just think it looks nice on you." He said it even more quietly than he normally talked. My face grew warm underneath my mask, and I shook my head to hide it.

"Well, obviously. It's joy. It looks nice on everyone."

His eyes widened at that before he processed what I was actually talking about. He laughed. "Oh. Uh, yeah. That."

I raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see it. "Good talk. I'm gonna go now."

"Bye," he muttered, toying with the strings of his sweater. Not even in his usual I'm bored because I'm not stabbing somebody to death way; it just seemed like he didn't know what else to do as I left.

—

Naturally, Anni wouldn't have let me go outside for something as trivial as buying clothes. It was still a wonder to me that we hadn't resorted to straight-up theft yet, though something about the look in her eye when she assured me that of course we obtained all our uniforms legally gave me the feeling she hadn't been entirely truthful. I shrugged it off anyway—after all, I was pretty far from innocent in that category—and let her send off somebody else to find Hodek something suitable to wear. At least, if he didn't end up changing his mind at the last second.

With him being an honorary guest of some sorts and not actually part of the family, whoever had done the job clearly settled for the bare minimum; all they returned with was a dress shirt, tuxedo vest, and regular black pants akin to jeans. I nearly shuddered at the thought. Nevertheless, the clothes were dropped off at his room, where he didn't give the deliverer much more than a nod and muttered "thanks." As per usual. I thought to myself that at the very least, he'd appreciate something new to wear, even if he hated everything else.

Exactly an hour prior, I made sure everything was perfect and in place. I had to remind myself to take this evening easy; I'd worked myself up too much in the past however many months, trying to find the people who loved me. Who would accept me, no matter what. And now I was here. Not much could go wrong tonight, I told myself. I took a glance at the pliers on my shelf, and with hesitance walked out of my room without them. Adjusting my jacket, I started heading for the rays when I heard someone calling from a room down the hall.

"Wait...!"

I stopped and turned around to see Anni frantically searching herself, everything she was dressed in not completely fastened yet. I laughed, to which she threw me her deadliest of glares.

"Hey. Don't forget, I'm never the type to go to these kinds of things. I just wanted to give you this."

She held out a clean, brand-new looking bow tie, with tiny buttons on its back that were even less noticeable than before. I raised an eyebrow.

"One of the tracker ties? What, you want me to drop everything and go on a mission right after this?"

"Masquie, I know a lot of things have changed, and I know it might take a little getting used to being here again. But we might not see each other as often. I've been running the family for years now ever since the Elder's gone missing, and I need to know that I can trust you to protect yourself."

"You mean, alert you if something goes wrong."

After a moment, she sighed. "No, I...I keep forgetting. She never told you, did she?"

"Tell me what," I said, feeling it was more of a demand than a question. Anni's gaze dropped to the floor.

"These ties are more than just trackers. They have a few extra features, in case of anything unexpected. One of them is a combative enhancement. It was based on a condition that the Elder had. If you're attacked by anyone without preparation, then..."

I didn't like her hesitation. "What?"

"Then it takes over and you kill them. Immediately. It doesn't matter how much energy you have, or how strong you are, the tie does all the work. And now you know." She looked back up at me. "I just want you to be safe. Promise me you'll wear it?"

My eyes flickered back and forth from the tie to her. I raised a hand to take it, but then stopped myself.

No. This is a peaceful event. We're trying to have fun. Besides, why didn't I know about this before?

"I can't, Anni. I'm sorry."

"I'm not going to tell you that I don't like this new confidence, but you should really—"

"It's not that. I can't wear this, knowing I could end even more innocent lives. Do you know how much I've taken just to be here?"

She didn't seem to know what to say to that for a moment. Finally, after a minute of silence, she spoke softly.

"I know what you mean, Masquerade. I killed my own father. Right after being sent home by the police, before he could even ask me what happened. I didn't want to, but I had to. And in the end, it was worth it." She hesitated. "You would rather die than just have another tool on your belt?"

"I would rather not wear it now, at the very least. This is a dance, Anni. I'm about to show my—" I bit my tongue. "...my friend what it's like to really live with us." I gently pushed down her hand, and a hurt expression crossed her face, followed by defeat. I felt a strange pain in my chest and forced myself to look her in the eye.

"I'll think about it. Later. Okay?"

She closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay. It's just that...I can't be there for the whole dance. Too much work. I'm not going to be there to remind you, so you'll have to remember."

"Hey. I remembered my family for five years."