"Maka! Maka, wake up!"

"Ten minutes."

"Maka, please get out of bed. The world leaders are about to speak."

Maka opened her eyes slowly to see Soul and Crona standing over her bed. She sat up and glanced around the room to find that they had both made their beds and were dressed warmly.

"Maka, I can't believe that we get to watch real, uncensored television for the first time in our lives and you're laying around," Soul complained.

"They're going to formally announce the probation," Crona added. "We're actually going to be free."

"Get up!" Soul yelled, kicking her cot.

"Alright, guys, I'm up. Get outta here, I need to get dressed!" The two complied, and Maka hurriedly dressed herself in warm clothes. She pulled on long socks and laced her combat boots tightly before stepping into the hallway. "Good morning," she greeted them, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Good morning," Crona replied, pretending not to notice. Maka giggled.

"Come on, let's go! The bar is filling up already," Soul groaned. The three of them jogged downstairs - the inn was closed, and nobody stood at the front desk. Marie was across the street at the bar. Maka smiled when they opened the door. There was almost a foot of snow on the ground, and wisps of cloud floated across the morning sky. She grinned and ran across the street, leaving a trail where she had dragged her feet. Her friends laughed and followed after locking the door.

Marie was standing behind the bar, and waved when the three entered. "Good morning, Maka, Soul, Crona!"

"Good morning, Marie!" They chorused.

"How did you sleep?" She asked, grinning knowingly at Maka, who rolled her eyes as she plopped down on a bar stool. Everyone in the bar had their eyes trained on the fuzzy screen of Marie's bulky television, which stood on a table in the corner of the room. Currently it was playing a commercial for something useless, but everyone was fascinated. Nobody had ever seen an infomercial.

People chatted softly, smiling and laughing, until an important sounding music clip played. The screen was displaying the logo of a news station nobody had even known existed. Soul nudged Maka with his elbow and nodded to the screen. Crona squeezed her hand.

"Breakthrough in the Death City controversy that has plagued our nation for decades!" A woman announced. The screen showed images of the town as the audience watched with bated breath. "As I'm sure you all know, last week this seventy-year-old Nevada city was shaken by a breach of security." A picture of the inn panned from left to right. "This detainment center was created in 1904 to sequester those who could transform into weapons or wield magic from the ordinary population. Recent breakthroughs, however, have revealed that the local prison was being transformed into an army barrack, hosting a possibly lethal force."

Medusa's face and name appeared, and Crona tensed. Maka looked at them sadly. The death of their mother had shaken them, regardless of her past abuse. "This prison warden had reconditioned known weapons, who were detained in the prison, to follow her every command, creating an army that could eventually, in her opinion, overthrow the United States government itself. For the past week, world leaders have convened and discussed this issue, and last night, they formally announced their decision."

"That's the president!" Someone yelled as a pre-recorded video of a man standing at a podium took over the TV screen.

"It has come to our attention," the man was saying, "that the basic rights of these people were violated in their detainment, and that the lack of control we exercised over Death City has put our nation in jeopardy. Therefore, I am proud to formally announce that the people of Death City will enter a probationary period, effective the third of January, during which we will assess the security of the city and the safety of integrating these weapons into society. I would like to make it perfectly clear that there will be no weapons or witches walking the streets immediately, and while we must further discuss the fate of these people, they no longer need live in fear of being captured and oppressed."

A cheer erupted in the bar. Maka wrapped her arms around Soul and Crona, tears streaming down her face. The plan had already been announced to them, of course, but it was official now. The world knew.

The woman's voice returned. "The blueprints are already being drawn for a center where manifested weapons can go to train and learn to hone and responsibly use their abilities. It seems that the nation is at the start of a long journey of integration and acceptance. This is Azusa Yumi for MDWA News, signing off." The sound clip played again, and somebody turned the television off.

Maka turned and hugged Marie over the bar, laughing through her tears. Then she stood up and ran out the door, ignoring the bewildered shouts from behind her. She stopped in the middle of the snowy road and stood, looking up at the sky, laughing out loud with her arms spread wide. Crona and Soul appeared in the doorway, smiling.

Maka spared them a warm glance before turning her attention back to the sky. "We did it!" she screamed.