Chapter 25: EPISODE 25: “The One Who Was Me”
🪞 "If someone else wears your skin… who are you?"
🧵 [Scene 1 – Break Academy, Morning Silence]
Scarlet Onna walks the halls of Break Academy. Everything feels off.
Teachers avoid eye contact.
One janitor mumbles a name that isn't hers.
Her own shadow… flickers when she stops walking.
She checks her thread seal: it's unraveling — the name stitched into it has been replaced.
SCARLET ONNA (quietly):
"…Who stitched this?"
She grips her needles.
🎤 [Scene 2 – Starwave's Personal Studio]
Starwave trains alone, performing shockwave patterns into soundproof walls.
Her reflections in the mirrors sync — until one blinks at the wrong time.
She lunges, smashing the glass — revealing nothing.
But on her phone, a new song has appeared in her discography.
🎵 "Mirror Me (Unreleased)"
Artist: Riko Hanabusa
STARWAVE:
"I never recorded this…"
She plays it — the voice is hers. But it's not her soul.
⚠️ [Scene 3 – Identity Lockdown Meeting]
The Tokyo Avengers gather in the sigil room. Everyone's on edge. They've begun doubting even each other.
ONMYO FLARE:
"Mystique's not just replacing civilians. She's probing us. Trying on our identities like clothing."
KURO ŌKAMI (growling):
"If she mimics our powers and memories…"
SCARLET ONNA:
"…She could replace one of us next."
They each place their palms on the "Soul Mark Seal" — an ancient glyph that only reacts to true memory-soul resonance.
It glows for everyone.
Except… for Scarlet Onna.
ONMYO FLARE (shocked):
"…No glow."
KURO ŌKAMI (tense):
"That's not her."
💥 [Scene 4 – Betrayal Fight: False Scarlet Onna]
"Scarlet" smirks — and transforms into Mystique, mid-fight. Her threads whip into jagged claws.
MYSTIQUE (as Onna):
"Oh, don't worry. She's still alive… for now."
She weaves corrupted threads — Mirror Seams — mimicking Onna's combat weaving but with barbed silk and hollow emotion.
KURO ŌKAMI:
"WHERE IS SHE!?"
MYSTIQUE:
"You'd be surprised how easy it is to replace someone who doesn't really know who she is anymore."
ONMYO FLARE:
"Then we'll burn that lie out of you."
The team launches a synchronized counter-assault:
Starwave emits tempo interference to disrupt Mystique's memory mimicry.
Onmyo Flare casts a truth-binding charm, forcing partial reversion.
Kuro Ōkami uses Lunar Crescent Claw to slash the mirror silk around her.
Mystique dodges—then vanishes in a shimmer of blue skin and needles.
🔍 [Scene 5 – Rescue Site: Abandoned Theater]
They trace the real Scarlet Onna to a locked theater where her own illusions trap her. She's been lured into false memories of her past — lost friends, childhood safety — all puppeteered by Mystique's data siphons.
ONMYO FLARE:
"She's stuck in a mental mimic cage — not psychic, but emotional triggers."
STARWAVE:
"Then we give her a real memory."
They each reach out, sharing one emotional truth:
Starwave gives her the first fan-made poster with her signature on it.
Kuro drops his cracked moonstone fang — the one she fixed years ago.
Flare burns a scroll in front of her — the one with her original name.
SCARLET ONNA (awakens, whispering):
"I'm… me. Because of you."
She ignites her true threads — and obliterates the illusion cage in a snap of red silk.
🧩 [Scene 6 – Break Academy, Reinforcement]
The team begins preparing individual counter-measures against Mystique:
Thread Seals that lock memories to biological markers.
Soul Tattoos rendered via Onmyo Flare's elemental ink.
Harmonic Identity Beats that only activate with Starwave's true vocal frequency.
Lunar Scent Marking — Kuro Ōkami leaves trace markers only his beast senses can read.
SCARLET ONNA:
"She wore my skin. Walked in my silence. But she forgot one thing…"
STARWAVE:
"What?"
SCARLET ONNA (dead serious):
"I never leave a thread undone."
👥 [Final Scene – Unknown Hideout, Deep Underground]
Mystique slithers into a lair beneath Shinjuku. Her mirror masks flicker.
She places a new file on the table.
TARGET: RIKO HANABUSA – STARWAVE.
Mystique looks into the cracked mirror.
MYSTIQUE:
"Let's see what it's like… to be loved."
🎴 [END CARD – TOKYO AVENGERS]
EPISODE 25: "The One Who Was Me" — END
🩸 Next: Episode 26 — "Fake Lights, Real Shadows"
Mystique takes center stage. But with Starwave as the new target, can Tokyo survive when even its light begins to lie?