You wake up the next morning, groggy. You could barely remember what had happened the day before.

But then it hit you - Leora had been killed and you ran off.

You were going to have such hard time when the others found you.

As you were mulling over your thoughts, you see someone hand you pancakes. You look up to see Echo, who was humming some tune.

"Echo?"

"What up?" She smiles.

"Are.... You alright?"

Echo nods. "Yeah. Sorry bout that episode. It wasn't your fault. They happen occasionally."

You nod slowly. "Okay...."

Echo digs into her own pancakes. "If anything, I need to worry about Jakob. I stole these pancakes from him when he wasn't looking. Then I went and stole some of Takumi's."

You face palm. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I was bored."

You shake your head. "You're crazy."

"Not as crazy as Death the Kid. That guy has some issues....."

"Who's Death the Kid?"

Echo glares at you mid-bite, then swallowed. "I don't think we can be friends anymore."

You try not to snicker at Echo. It was funny seeing her get angry.

In the end, the tow of you finish your pancakes. Echo sets the plates onto your desk. "We can clean those in a sec....."

Suddenly, you heard something crash. You and Echo look at each other before bolting from the room, trying to figure out what had happened. You run down the stairs as Echo jumps over the railing, hearing more sounds. It sounded like it came from the dining hall.

The two of. You burst through the doors to see a battleground - Xander and Ryoma were yelling and hitting each other. Camilla and Hinoka were glaring at each other coolly while Leo and Takumi were attacking each other with their weapons.

"That's new," Echo muttered.

"(Y/N)-chan!"

You turn to see Elise and Sakura run to you with Lamia tagging behind them. "Um..."

"They're fighting about the wedding," Sakura explained. "We tried to calm them down but they aren't listening."

"They're all idiots," Lamia muttered.

You look around. "Where's Cori, Cora, and Azura?"

"They're looking for something," Elise replied.

The battle kept raging on. At this rate, someone would die.

"We need to stop them," you mutter.

Echo spared a glance at everyone. "Anyone good at mediating? Because if I try someone might die. Hey, that rhymed!"

Lamia shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I can if they stop moving."

"Alright...." Echo muttered. She looked at the battle. "Would it be easier to shoot everyone or cause a distraction?"

""Don't you dare kill them!" Lamia hissed. "I may not like them, but killing them would not be the right thing to do!"

Echo leaned her head back and groaned. "Ugh..... Fine." She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver and black object. She walked forward and held the object up, pulling her finger down several times.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"So that's what that sound was," Lamia muttered.

"SHUT UP!" Echo yelled.

Everyone froze and looked at Echo. After a few seconds, she pocketed her object and walked towards you. "Listen to Lamia." She patted Lamia on the shoulder and walked off.

Lamia stepped forward. "Alright.... Look, I know tensions are high, but we need to focus. Yes, Leora did poison all of us in some form or fashion.... But we can't take it out on each other. That would cause chaos and end thousands of lives. We cannot let her win."

You watch this talk with interest, surprised at how calm Lamia was. It was like she was meant to be a diplomat.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Echo leave. Curious, you follow her - that, and you really didn't want to see Leo right now.

After walking down a passageway, you see Echo stop. She looked ready to grab something when you ask, "Echo?"

She jumps and spins around, flustered. "H-Hi (Y/N)!"

"What are you doing?"

She doesn't look at you, instead looking at the wall. "Avoiding Cori and Cora."

"They weren't there...." You pointed out.

"Better to be safe than sorry."

It then hit you what she had said. "Wait, why them? They're harmless."

She looks at you and opens her mouth like she wanted to refute that, but then changed her mind and shook her head. "It's... Complicated."

"I got time. Spill."

"Do you think I am evil?" She asked.

"Where did this come from?" You blink bewilderedly.

Echo looked at you seriously. "Listen.... Look, where I'm from.... I broke several laws and endangered lives. I even killed people if they tried to kill me. Does that make me evil?"

~Minor Branch of Fate~

Reina: I'm branching the path here slightly - but it doesn't affect the overall story. The two phrases to pick from will merely change how much Echo talks, and if she'll reveal anything about Lamia. After that, those two chapters (one for each phrase) will basically lead to the same path - 26A and 26B will both point to chapter 27.

The two phrases are....

- Um...... What exactly do you mean by that? Were you in a war? Or a battle?

- No.... The way you're talking means that you had a good reason for doing so.

Comment the phrase you pick, and the phrase chosen the most will be chapter 26A.