Together, we Conquer

A Shocking Appearance

Later that night...

Madran, Suga, and Sheila were all up, and had coaxed Maya, Yukino, Ulala and Baofu to come over as well. It was rather tough to get Yukiko to check out this fabled Midnight Channel, mainly due to her pleading familiar duties, but eventually caving.

"Ok. It's 11:55. Have you unplugged the TV?"

Sheila hopped up and checked the outlet, confirming that it wasn't plugged in.

"Yeah, it's unplugged."

Madran remembered that Sheila had a rather tough time at the fan meet, due to all of her "fans" not looking at her face until she reminded them, or bugging Madran. Both her and Madran were incredibly tired, while Suga simply ran back and forth between the snack bar and them to supply the exhausted friends with food and drinks.

"I really hope that it's not anyone important..."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Hey, Yukiko, what do you know about the Midnight Channel?"

"Well, if the image isn't clear, then they might be in danger. If the image is clear, and we see them fully on the screen, then they've been put in the TV."

Madran had informed Yukiko and her friends about her knowledge of the Midnight Channel and even mentioned Margaret, which had received Yu's attention. However, she had only gotten Yukiko to watch it with her.

"Hey, Maya, Ulala, Yukino, who do you think it is?"

"I hope it's not him..."

Baofu shrugged.

"I bet it's a prank. I hope..."

Madran checked the clock, and saw that it was about 11:59 with 10 seconds left until the next day. Suga quietly counted down, and, once it reached 12 o' clock, everyone turned their attention to the TV.

"I don't see anything."

"Wait."

After a few seconds, the TV sprung to life, with dark red and black static taking over the screen. It faded a few times, showing the Velvet Room, the checkerboard area that Madran had been in a few times, a mysterious figure, and then the floor to Philemon's dimension. After seeing the weird figure, Maya gasped.

"Joka?! What the..."

The image eventually settled on Philemon. However, he looked drastically different, with his mask still on his face but inverted in color, with a clear cut down the middle, and several deep cuts on other parts of the mask that seemed to go straight through his head. Madran grew horrified when she could see the pillars behind him through his head. The TV fuzzed once again, and the image settled fully on the odd Philemon, with his suit, skin, and mask. The only thing that remained normal was his hair.

"No way..."

Ulala shivered. Philemon then turned to face them.

"Oh, dearest Maya! Has your sorrow for rejecting someone so misunderstood, so hated, finally turned your heart rotten? Oh, Ulala, I haven't forgotten about you... with your inability to ever find someone who loves you back!"

Ulala recoiled at this, and Maya curled into a ball.

"Since you and your miserable friends hate me so much, your wish has been granted! I'll kill myself in the very place where I was born!"

"Wait, what?!"

Madran froze when she saw the odd Philemon facing directly at her.

"Oh, dearest Madran. How foolish you were to fall to me! You so eagerly wished for escape from your father, so that you could foam at the mouth and nobody could judge you!"