"Umm..." Sayako pursed her lips. "I don't really know much about computers so I don't quite understand how 'hacking' works, but from what I've gathered... we were all controlled somehow, and everyone here was freed from that control? But Sakura and the others are still in trouble, right? Please, Zimmern-kun, we have to go help them! If the rest of us were saved, they can be too, right?"

---

Rosalida giggled softly as Lumica patted her head.

Why, thank you. I'm not really used to being patted on the head. It feels . . . odd, but in a good way.

Then Lumica told her he wasn't a girl and begged her not to hate him. Hate you? I don't hate you. I'm sure you had a good reason to hide. But, ah, what you're saying is . . . a little concerning. Perhaps you would like to talk to me in my office when we get out of here? My door is always open, you know, Rosalida said through the link. Though, I suppose I may need to make my bedroom my office or something while we're here. I wonder if I can move one of those armchairs in here.

Then Lumica scooped her up and put her on his head.

Wheee~ Oooh! This hair is like grass. I feel like I'm a big cat stalking its prey. Rawr! Rosalida laughed silently.

Then they went downstairs, and Lumica spoke to Mikael. Rosalida smiled a nervous smile.

Right. Well, I'm intruding. I’d better go. We can link later, Rosalida thought through the link. Then, she began to fly, severing the link. She admittedly wasn't sure where to go next . . . until she saw Jay. He looked . . . well, like he needed a therapist. She flew toward him and tried to establish a link.

Jay? I'm here. Would you like to talk? I know I’m probably missing some things . . . . She could hear noises in the background. Mikael and Lumica talking, Remeku and Gary fighting, but she focused only on Jay.

~*~

“Y-yes! Hacked! Hacked hacked hacked hacked hacked! You were all hacked! How many times do I have to say it?! There was nothing you could do! Nothing I could do except attack and . . . and try to fix you . . . and . . . hope that . . . hope that you would forgive me when you woke up. But you’re not awake! You might not ever wake up . . . because of me . . . !”

And then Gary spoke. Cat was ready to point out the flaws in what Gary was saying, but then he insulted her . . . and made things worse for Austin.

“N-no! No no no no no!!! Why are you tormenting me like this? Don’t talk about my mom like that! Just disappear! D-disappear!!!” He writhed in Cat’s arms and jerked more violently as he spoke. Cat held on tight.

“Austin, Austin. It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m okay,” she cooed. “His words can’t hurt me. He’ll be out of sight soon. Just-”

“H-he’ll never leave! He’ll never stop hurting you! B-because he knows that that’s the best way to punish me for what I did! Through hurting you!” Austin flung himself about desperately, trying to find a way to escape Jeremy and Cat’s grasp.

“Austin . . . please . . . stop . . . ,” Cat managed between grunts. And then Jeremy spoke. Austin still flailed, but he didn’t do it as violently as before.

“No! No! You’re not helping me take back control! Y-you’re just taking it further away from me! Y-you . . . You can’t . . . help me . . . .” Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I can’t help me . . . .”

Cat grunted, the act of physically restraining her son while also carrying him sapping her energy quickly. “Bedroom, Jeremy . . . Austin has to have a bedroom, right? We can take him there to recover, can’t we? I’ll help you come up with a plan of action when he’s settled.”

Then Sayako spoke. Austin cringed as she opened her mouth, but then . . . the words he was expecting never came. He stopped squirming, frozen in place. But . . . she would have no reason to be this hopeful. This kind. And Lumica would have no reason to confess their feelings for Remeku . . . .

“Could it be . . . ? N-no, I shouldn’t get my hopes up. I shouldn’t get my hopes up . . . they’ll disappear . . . ,” he muttered to himself. Austin had been insisting he wanted them to disappear . . . . but he actually didn’t. He didn’t want to open his eyes and be alone again. Alone except for the unconscious bodies of his friends and family. But he had to . . . didn’t he? He blinked and spoke a little louder. “W-we . . . can . . . save them . . . b-but . . . we’ll have to - w-we’ll have to . . . f-fight them.”

Now she’d have to punish him, wouldn’t she? For telling her the only solution is to fight the one she loves? It had to be a cruel trick, just like last time . . . . He shuddered and averted his gaze, but no longer struggled.

Cat smiled slightly, tiredly. It seemed Austin was coming around a little.

“Thank you, Sayako. Yes, if Austin could save us, we can save them. It’ll be okay,” she said. And then they trekked through the kitchen and into the living room of the cottage. Austin completely froze once more upon looking toward the stairs, except for some blinking.

”Cat has to do what she can do for her own son, you need to stop saying trash! Stop it, Gary! Stop!” Remeku yelled at Gary with all of the breath she had. ”I’m so done with you.”

Cat shot Remeku a half-grateful, half-concerned look and offered the girl a strained smile. She waited for Kirimi to stop talking to her before she spoke, since their journey was rather slow-going across the living room to the hallway, anyway.

“Remeku, darling, thank you for trying to stand up for me . . . though, much as I hate to say it, I think you should try to walk away for now. I appreciate all of you’ve done, but you seem to be pushing yourself too hard. A-and, thank you, Kirimi. I’m sorry about before.”

Cat then glanced at Gary and scowled. She seemed to want to say something, when . . . .

“Lumica?” Austin asked suddenly. “Lumica, you’re . . . showing everyone who you really are . . . ? Th-that . . . that shouldn’t be happening . . . .” He bit his lip and froze once more. Cat looked down at him.

“Austin . . . ?”

It didn’t make sense. Lumica confessing his love for Remeku, Sayako being optimistic even knowing what happened to Sakura, and now Lumica revealing he’s a boy? Why would they deviate from the script this way, unless . . . ? . . . Unless they weren’t following a script. Austin gasped.

“Y-you’re real? Y-you were all . . . y-you were all really real all this time? B-but . . . but I thought . . . I thought . . . My god, I said such . . . horrible things. I’m sorry,” Austin said, clearly choked up as tears sprang to his eyes. He looked up at Cat and Jeremy . . . and smiled. “W-would you please set me down? Both of you? Please? I promise I’m okay. I’m okay now!” He didn’t try to struggle. “You can even set me down right here on the floor.”

Tears sprang to Cat’s eyes, too, and she looked at Jeremy, her smile looking much less strained, though she was still clearly exhausted.

“I’m okay to set him down if you are.” If Jeremy tried to set down Austin, so would she. Though on the floor was rather undignified, so she would have preferred to set him down in a chair.

---

Last edited by Lida_Rose on Tue Jun 12, 2018 5:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

"Hmmm... That's a relief to know that Austin will be okay, after all..." Gary mused as he watched Austin calm down, before he realizes that he should probably apologize to Cat. "Oh that actually reminds me..."

He went over to where Cat is. "Um... Ms. Zimmern, if you don't mind sparing some of your time.... I'd like to.... uh..." Gary said as he nervously looks over to where Remeku is, before he looks back to Ms. Zimmern. "Honestly, I don't know the right words to say, but... I'm sorry for being rude to you. If... my Mum finds out that I was being rude to people like you while I am attending Hope's Peak Academy, she'll be very disappointed in me, so that's why I'm apologizing to you right now. Anyway, I'm sorry for what I said to you."

"Well, I guess that's one thing done. Lumica's the only one left to apologize and everything should be better, right?" Gary thought to himself as he looks over to Austin. "Or maybe Lumica's not the only one left to apologize to... I don't know, really. I have yet to hear what Ms. Zimmern have to say."

"Uh, hey, Lumica?" Gary called out to Lumica. "If you're done talking with....." He trailed off, thinking about the threats that Remeku made while she was yelling at him. "If you're done talking with her, then I'd like to apologize to you as well. Just take your time, I guess. I can wait."

Lumica gulped and showed a very calm face. ”R-Remeku has shown me . . . many pictures of you and her . . . I know that what she says is true.” Lumica said as he put his arms around himself, even though it wasn’t cold. ”I-I d-don’t understand any of this either . . . Mikael, I have been asking her for a while why she is in love with you . . . She never tells me . . . I don’t understand . . . I-I . . . She was always there for me . . . Always protecting me . . . I thought s-she . . .” Lumica tried to think more about what he was trying to answer for Mikael. ”But then I think again . . . there doesn’t have to be a reason for love.” Lumica gripped himself tightly, like he was holding himself together. ”K-killing games . . . I feel like you and many other people have heard of the term, have you not? Anyway, I was in two killing games at this place called ‘Henashoru Labs’. It was a place where these two horrible people did experiments on kids that interested them . . .” Lumica said quietly, seeing everyone suddenly come in. He knew Rosalida was on top of his head, but he wanted her to hear this. He wanted to talk to Rosalida soon anyway, to see if she would help him. ”I experienced so many of my friends die . . . to the insanity of many of my other friends . . . and it was all because of those awful, awful, AWFUL scientists . . . !” Lumica grunted in sudden anger and then calmed back down. ”I then escaped before the third killing game could happen . . . And I came back multiple times to save other kids from this place . . .” Lumica said still with a bit of anger in his voice. ”I knew that the Henashorus would try and look for me, knowing I was the reason for many of their lab subjects escaping. So I hid myself as a girl . . .” Lumica said with disappointment. ”Now everyone will get upset with me because I hid myself as someone completely different . . . Nobody will understand that it’s so hard to be myself . . . when I know that I will be killed for it . . .” Lumica said with a bit more anger in his tone.

As Lumica's explanation bombarded Mikael with emotions, he had to lean against a nearby wall for support. He waited for Lumica's rant to pause for a moment.

"L-Lumica . . . I-I'm not sure I'm really . . . following any of this. 'H-Henashoru' . . . W-Wait! The last name of the guy outside that b-barrier. The one who y-yelled at everyone like he'd been taken over by a m-monster. Is . . . Is he . . . ?" Mikael asked, his voice quite shaky.

"K-Killing game!?" Mikael looked down, his voice a few pitches higher as he was trying his best to not become overrun with emotion. "I-I've . . . never heard of them, l-let alone been in one." He stared down at the stuffed animal in his clutches, pulling it tight against his chest. "Though if I was . . . I d-doubt I w-would even survi-" Mikael choked up, unable to finish the sentence as tears quickly filled and escaped from his eyes, falling on the stuffed animal's head. He buried his face into it and sobbed.

"M-Mikey . . . ! C'mon, pull yourself together! D-Don't . . . Don't do this to yourself," Yume~Kokoro said, attempting to be comforting, though not really changing from its cheerful tone. "I know it's tough to think about what I went through, but I had to learn to accept my fate . . . and change yours."

Mikael sobbed for a few more seconds before sniffling loudly and lifting his head up once more. He was still shivering as he continued to hold the stuffed creature as close to him as ever.

"B-But you . . . m-made it through two?" Mikael asked weakly, "And then went back in and r-rescued people?"

"That is pretty impressive, I gotta admit," Yume commented, "Even my talent couldn't save me."

Mikael gasped sharply. "T-Talent!? What do you m-mean? Voice acting?"

"Nooope! That's not your--I mean, my--Oh, whoops! Sorry. Thaaaat's a story for another time."

Mikael groaned in pained annoyance. "Yumeeee . . ."

Jay entered, looking rather downtrodden, and unceremoniously fell into an armchair.

Mikael, looking over with a bit of concern, let out a confused, "H-Huh?" He began to take a few steps that way, but then Rosalida flew from Lumica over towards him. Mikael turned back around and resumed his conversation with Lumica.

"L-Lumica . . . of course I w-wouldn't be upset at you f-for hiding your appearance," Mikael reassured, "A-Aren't you part of my m-memories too? I-I'm sure I'd understand . . . wh-what you're going through."

”A-ah? M-my voice?” Lumica was caught off guard by the sudden question. ”Whatever do you mean? That is my natural singing voice! I know I sound like a girl when I sing . . . but I use that ability to put people to sleep . . .” Lumica said and then gritted his teeth. ”I-I’m the Ultimate Escape Artist . . . I use my singing voice to put people to sleep and then escape them . . . At least, that’s my favorite method of escape . . .” Lumica said as he hugged himself tighter. He was going to say more but then heard Remeku burst out at Gary. ”Sho . . . ?’ Lumica almost wanted to go over to Gary and knock him out for making Remeku so mad but he didn’t want to start anymore drama. He shrugged it off and looked back to Mikael.

"That's . . . That's y-your natural singing voice!? I'm impressed. I s-still have a few problems with intonation m-myself . . . Uh, wait, you're an E-Escape Artist?" Mikael asked, intending to ask more questions but completely losing his train of thought as he heard Remeku yell at Gary, followed by Gary apologizing to Cat.

And then Gary called out to Lumica, confusing Mikael with what he was saying. ”W-What? I'm not that f-feminine looking, am I?”

After all the things Gary had apparently said to and about Remeku, Mikael didn't exactly feel the need to rush to finish his talk with Lumica.

---

Jay? I'm here. Would you like to talk? I know I’m probably missing some things . . . . She could hear noises in the background. Mikael and Lumica talking, Remeku and Gary fighting, but she focused only on Jay.

Feeling a somewhat familiar sensation in his head, Jay quickly opened his mind to Lida’s link and listened to her question.

’W-Wow. It's been ages since I last felt a telepathic link. I don't think I've even felt one yet this lifeti--oh right, you're here. Sorry. My mind's a big mess right now so it's been a bit aimless. I . . . um, I don't like the idea of hopeless situations. Hearing that I was being used for evil and that there's nothing I could've done about it took a lot out of me,’ Jay explained through his thoughts. Despite looking so out of it, Jay was still able to articulate his thoughts with relative clarity.

Jay adjusted the pocketbook in his hand and held it up so Lida could read it. It detailed what Austin had said about everyone being hacked and taken control of, about Austin having to incapacitate them all, and how Austin still believed his friends to be fake.

’I'm really worried about Austin, more than anything. I wish there was a way to make him realize we're re-’ Jay’s thoughts were interrupted by Austin being brought into the room. Jay's eyes widened at the exchange between Austin and Cat. When Austin finally apologized for the things he said, Jay's expression brightened. Still, Jay imagined his friends and himself being made to do evil things and shuddered. He didn't want to think about having to harm his friends, but the alternative was . . . Jay shook his head. ”I can't bear to think about what the ones still being affected are being forced to do at this moment. We . . . We have to save them!” Jay's voice was initially weak, but it crescendoed as he regained a bit of his self-confidence.

---

Jeremy wasn't sure how to respond to Austin's protests. He gritted his teeth and did his best to maintain a hold on Austin. Then, when Austin began to regain his senses, Jeremy couldn't suppress a smile.

"Austin, I am pleased that you have managed to calm down. It pained me to see you in such distress and to imagine what you must have been going through. Let us discuss how we may move forward from here, alright?" Jeremy suggested, giving Cat a sympathetic smile when she began to tear up.

“I’m okay to set him down if you are.” If Jeremy tried to set down Austin, so would she.

Jeremy nodded, and led Cat towards one of the unoccupied armchairs, positioning Austin in such a way that once Jeremy let go, Austin would rest neatly in the chair. He then took a look around the room, surveying the situation and the well-being of his other students. Noticing Jay had begun to regain some of his drive, Jeremy walked over and gave him a quick hug around the neck.

After releasing the hug, Jeremy turned toward Gary. "Mr. Liddell, your mother should be the least of your worries right now. I must say, I am extremely disappointed in your behavior, specifically how you have treated Austin, Cat, and Remeku. If you do not shape up soon, you can expect your mother to receive a detailed report of exactly what has transpired here. Do I make myself clear?" Jeremy crossed his arms and awaited Gary's response, "If I have not, I can present you with a very detailed list."

---

"L-Lumica . . . I-I'm not sure I'm really . . . following any of this. 'H-Henashoru' . . . W-Wait! The last name of the guy outside that b-barrier. The one who y-yelled at everyone like he'd been taken over by a m-monster. Is . . . Is he . . . ?" Mikael asked, his voice quite shaky.

”You d-don’t have to get any of it . . . No one should have to understand any of it . . . No one should of had to go through it . . . Not me, not Remeku, not Kishima, not Kirimi, not Warai . . .” Lumica said through pained grunts. ”Not Aito, not Ochi, not Shizukana . . .” Lumica said softly. He looked back at Mikael with a frown. ”Kishima’s last name is Henashoru, so is Remeku’s. Their siblings, after all. And just because they’re related to such evil people, doesn’t mean that they’re evil themselves . . . Kishima has gone through way more than anyone else has in that lab, him not having parents himself. He’s only considered a Henashoru because he was created by the Henashorus. He was just a science project. He was supposed to be part of something known as, “The Despair Experiment”. I saved him from the lab, and I took him to the Latas, witch are Kirimi’s parents. He stayed there for a while, but then went back to the labs to try and rescue Kirimi’s little brother, Warai Lata. Kishima never returned, being caught by the Henashorus. Of course, the KSM/Kishima project failed, and they let him go, thinking that he would kill people from being loose from the lab. Oh were they wrong . . . Kishima developed such a good heart . . . He never listened to what his parents told him. I believe we should trust him, even though he yelled at everyone, that’s only because the only friends he grew up with, were friends that betrayed him, and left him behind. He doesn’t know anyone that actually have a kind heart. It takes a while for him to really accept someone as a friend. He’s accepted me and Warai . . . but it may take time here . . . Just believe me, we should trust him . . .” Lumica said as he closed his eyes.

"Though if I was . . . I d-doubt I w-would even survi-" Mikael choked up, unable to finish the sentence as tears quickly filled and escaped from his eyes, falling on the stuffed animal's head. He buried his face into it and sobbed.

Lumica’s eyes widened as he reached for Mikael and hugged him, not to tightly, not wanted to crush the stuffed toy Mikael was holding. ”Mikael . . . I-I’m sorry that you have to deal with all of this . . . y-you shouldn’t have to deal with it . . . B-but trust me . . . I bet y-you would survive . . . Y-you don’t have t-to think about that anyway . . . I-I’m glad you have never had to be in such an e-event . . .” Lumica said as he patted Mikael’s head. ”I won’t let you get hurt, Mikael . . .” Lumica’s words were quiet and soothing. Lumica could almost feel tears go down his own face, for the sake of his dear friend. ”I’m sorry, Mikael . . .”

"B-But you . . . m-made it through two?" Mikael asked weakly, "And then went back in and r-rescued people?"

"That is pretty impressive, I gotta admit," Yume commented, "Even my talent couldn't save me."

Lumica let go of Mikael and stood straight. ”Well of course . . . I survived, along with the guilt I had from watching my friends get killed . . . which is why I couldn’t just escape and not do anything, knowing other innocent children were in there, surviving, and holding on to what hope they had left . . .” Lumica said with a few tears going down his face. He wiped them with the back of his hand.

"L-Lumica . . . of course I w-wouldn't be upset at you f-for hiding your appearance," Mikael reassured, "A-Aren't you part of my m-memories too? I-I'm sure I'd understand . . . wh-what you're going through."

”Well,” Lumica started. ”Remeku tells me our memories are fake . . . and since I met her when we were 10, I’d say that I’m not in your memories . . . My memories were faked to me thinking I was, but now that I see what Remeku says makes sense, I don’t think so . . . I know Remeku did meet you in kindergarten . . . So she is part of your memories . . .” Lumica said with a frown.

"That's . . . That's y-your natural singing voice!? I'm impressed. I s-still have a few problems with intonation m-myself . . . Uh, wait, you're an E-Escape Artist?" Mikael asked, intending to ask more questions but completely losing his train of thought as he heard Remeku yell at Gary, followed by Gary apologizing to Cat.

”Yes, it is!” Lumica said with a small giggle. ”Well, I am certainly not the best . . . The only reason I still sing, is to keep the memory of my parents with me . . .” Lumica said with a small sigh. ”Yes, I find a way to escape anything . . . but I guess not this particular situation . . .” Lumica said looking to the side. He was going to say more but then he heard Austin start to talk to him.

”W-why shouldn't I-I b-be doing t-that?” Lumica asked. ”We are real . . . I’m glad you have figured that out, Austin.” Lumica said with a warm smile. He then heard his name being called out by Gary. ”G-Gary?” Lumica then thought back at Remeku yelling at him and Lumica furrowed his eyebrows. ”First of all, if you made Remeku that upset, then you had ought to say something truly horrible . . . and for making my Remeku so upset, I can't even look you in the eyes.” Lumica looked away from Gary. ”I forgive you, though. I am not very good at staying mad at someone. Plus,” Lumica looked at the happy Remeku who was hugging Austin at the moment. ”It seems that Remeku has recovered from the little fight you two had.” Lumica said as he scratched his head. ”. . . And how could you say that about my mom!?” Lumica said suddenly, looking over to Cat with a pained look but then looked down. ”I-I mean C-Cat . . .” Lumica said with a shaky sigh. He shook his head quickly and looked back to Gary. ”What I’m mostly upset about, is the fact that you apologize to Cat, you apologize to me, but you won’t apologize to Remeku? For whatever reason she was mad at you, it had to be something, right? Well whatever you said must of had an impact on Remeku, making her burst. So, whatever it is that you said, I want you to really think about, and then apologize to her. You just don’t understand the life she’s been through. She’s seen DEATH before, Gary. She’s come in contact with MURDERERS in her life, Gary. Her own parents are CRAZED KILLERS GARY!” Lumica felt fire burn within him, feeling sudden hatred towards the boy standing before him. He looked back at Remeku, who looked so very happy . . . oh she was so happy . . . so happy. Lumica looked back at Gary, and closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep himself from feeling upset at this hopeful moment that was occurring. ”She almost SACRIFICED herself to save me . . . Gary, I hope you feel stupid for whatever you said to her to make her so mad . . . because no matter how much of a jerk you are, she still cares about you. You know why? Because that’s Remeku. That’s the sweet Remeku, that I know.” Lumica said looking down. ”Don’t make her lose her smile, Gary. Don’t make her upset, Gary. Don’t ever talk to her again, Gary. . .” Lumica said the last part bitterly and coldly, like his soul had slipped away. He looked away from Gary and back to Remeku, making a smile come back to his face.

-----

”G-getting in my h-head . . . ? N-no . . . n-no . . . that’s not true!” Remeku closed her eyes shut and then opened them, trying to see if Gary wasn’t real. ”Y-you’re the one g-g-getting i-in m-m-my . . .” Remeku fell to her knees, not realizing it until she felt horrible pain vibrate through her legs. She suddenly felt horrible for what she said. But why? Did she really do anything wrong? ”I j-just w-wanted t-to help . . . I-I k-know I c-can’t d-do anything f-for Austin~Kun a-anyway . . . I f-feel so useless . . . W-why c-can’t a-anyone j-just c-calm down . . . T-this w-w-w-w-world i-i-i-is f-f-f-filled w-w-w-with s-s-s-so much d-d-despair . . . M-m-m-make it go away . . . p-p-p-please . . .” Remeku looked back up to Gary, suddenly tearing apart her regret. ”What did you s-say!?” Remeku said when she heard Lumica’s name come out of Gary’s mouth. ”Why do you have to apologize to LuLu~San!? Did you do something to him!? What did you say to him!? Did you hurt his feelings!? Did you hurt him!? I swear, if you put one finger on LuLu~San, I don’t know what I’ll do!” Remeku got up and glared at Gary. ”I really care about everyone, even you. But if you dare to mess with LuLu~San . . . I don’t know how I’ll take that . . . I really want to like you . . . be friends with you . . . but you make it so very hard . . .” Remeku stood still for a very long period of time, trying to process all of what happened. Maybe she was a little too harsh on Gary, maybe a accidently letting out all of her stress on to him? She sighed and intertwined her hands together. ”Gary, I . . .” Remeku tried to continue, sli very slightly. She was about to say something else to Gary, but Cat said something to her. ”Thank you, Cat~Sama . . . I-I . . . Just w-want . . . !” Then she saw Austin suddenly say that he was okay. Remeku’s mouth went agape and her happiness sprung over her. ”A-Austin~Kun! Yes we’re all real! You’re real! Everything is real! Maybe not this virtual world . . . since it’s virtual . . . but still! I’m so happy to see that you’re starting to be happy! Ah, what a wonderful day! What a wonderful thing that is happening at this very beautiful moment! Mehehe~! Oh the wonderful thing that has happened~!” Remeku felt tears come to her eyes. All of her stress had been washed away with all of her happiness. She felt her heart grow wings and her pupils turn into sparkles. Her heart couldn’t take it anymore and she ran over to Austin, giving him a tight hug. ”Austin~Kun! I’m so happy to see you well! I’m so happy! So so so so so very happy! For you! For you! Oh, that little smile on your face makes it all worth it! Thank you, Austin~Kun! For being such an amazing person!” Remeku had a huge smile on her face even though she knew Austin didn’t see it. ”Ah, I’m so glad you’re okay! It’s like feeling the galaxy swirl in my heart now that you’re okay! Please, never scare us like that again! You had me worried sick! I’m glad you’re okay . . . so very glad.” Remeku couldn’t let go, feeling like letting go would mean saying goodbye.

-----

“Remeku, darling, thank you for trying to stand up for me . . . though, much as I hate to say it, I think you should try to walk away for now. I appreciate all of you’ve done, but you seem to be pushing yourself too hard. A-and, thank you, Kirimi. I’m sorry about before.”

Kirimi smiled warmly. ”Ah, no need to apologize . . . I know you were only stressed out from what was going on . . . I completely understand, Miss Zemmern.” Kirimi said with a nod. He then saw Austin start to apologize for all the things he had said. ”Mr. Zemmern . . . I am glad to see such attitude from you . . . It makes me very exultant that you’re feeling better . . .” He said with a smile. Kirimi then tried to think about what had happened while Austin was in a bad state. ”Oh! I would like to inform you, Austin. That there is someone on the other side of the barrier . . . He is know to be Remeku’s actual big brother . . . Which I hate to think about . . .” Kirimi said with an angrified sigh. ”I just wanted to let you know, that there is someone on the other side of the barrier that is not currently part of this school . . .” Kirimi said and then gave Austin a smile. ”He is not a threat though, so if you would like to talk to him and maybe help us take down this barrier, we would all love that.” Kirimi said calmly, not want to struck a nerve in Austin. He waited for his response.

---

"Y-Yes, Mr. Slezak..." Gary quietly said as he hung his head in shame. Then Lumica told him about Remeku's life, which made Gary realize that she shouldn't suffer anymore. That and she was the exact opposite of him

"I'm... sorry to hear about what Remeku had gone through. But, I realized that she's exactly the opposite of me... What with her having to deal with being in danger all the time... And me always being safe all the time. Eh, I'm probably overthinking this." He shakes his head. "Right... So, anyway, the question you asked me... I'll answer the question for you and then-" Gary said before he was interrupted by Remeku's sudden outburst.

"Whoa there, Remeku!" Gary started, before quickly realizing that Lumica asked him to not talk to her. He kept his mouth shut as he lets Remeku talks it all out. And then he heard Remeku something odd... Did she just called Lumica a him?!

He turns to Lumica once Remeku have finished talking. "..... Well, that was unexpected. But I think Remeku misunderstood what I wanted to apologize to you about. It's not about what I said; it's about how I didn't answer the question you asked me. Uh..." Gary said as he tried to think of a way to answer the question about how his nap was without talking in British English... Wait... British English.... English.... He knew that he might have to talk in normal English so Lumica can understand his answer. "I'm not really one of those people who sleeps with their eyes open, but I guess you see me staring off into space as napping. So, that might be it. Anyway, to answer your question... My nap was okay, I guess."

He looks towards Remeku before he looks back at Lumica. "Uh, can you do me a favor? Can you please tell Remeku that I am sorry for whatever it is that I said that upsets her, word for word? You said that I couldn't talk to her, so I figured I might be able to get my apologize across to her via you. So, um.... Can you do that for me, please?"

"I... don't want to have to fight the others, of course..." the coupler pouted. "B-but if it's the only way to save them, I will. We're all okay, so I'm sure they will be too, right? A-and who knows, maybe we'll figure out another way to reach them once we find them." She clenched her spellbook anxiously. "All I know for certain is staying here and despairing isn't helping anything or anyone..."

---

"Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot about that," Felicity replied when Jay reminded her that he used to be a detective.

She took Jay's stammering to her question as a "no, I'd rather not" and didn't press it any further.

When Austin started to shout, she stumbled back, dropping her hand from his shoulder. "Austin, you didn't..." Felicity trailed off as he explained that they had been hacked. Well, that was just the cherry on top of the wonderful day this had been. 'We- we'd been forced to do what somebody else wanted us to...?' Falling into a daze, she had barely noticed Jeremy and Cat rushing in to take Austin, though she stepped away to give them space.

She ignored the voices around and racked her brains, but she could remember nothing of what Austin had talked about. She couldn't even sense a gap in her memory. 'What did I - we - do?' Felicity wondered with a shudder. 'What are our classmates doing now?'

Stuck in her own thoughts, Felicity flew into the cottage on autopilot, long after the others. However, instead of staying in the living room with everybody, she went upstairs to her bedroom. After everything that had happened, she felt herself at the edge of her limits.

Sitting on her bed, Felicity curled up into a ball and started to cry.

Rosalida tilted her head as Jay mentioned it being ages since he last felt a telepathic link, and something about never having felt one in this lifetime? Then he apologized.

Oh, it's okay. Of course it would be a mess after- Rosalida cut herself off as Jay mentioned hopeless situations and being used for evil with nothing he could do. I’m missing something, aren't I?

As Jay adjust his pocket book, Lida flew to it and perched on it, reading very carefully. h. Oh . . . how . . . ? Why . . . ? Th-that’s-

Rosalida shook her head and closed her eyes.

No, no. Now is not the time for me to get distressed. This is about comforting Jay, not me. She nodded to herself and flew off of the pocketbook, flying up to Jay’s cheek and patting it before perching on his shoulder. Jay, maybe there wasn't anything we could have done then, but there are things we can do now! And that situation clearly wasn't hopeless, or else we would still be hacked, right? I think we should take a minute to process, but it's clear we don't have the full story. Maybe it's not as bad as we think.

As Jay mentioned his concern for Austin, Lida nodded. I worry about him, too. I may have an idea on how to get him to realize we’re real, but it’s a bit of a long sho- Her own communication was interrupted by Jay’s face brightening. She turned around to see what he was looking at and gasped. Austin was . . . doing better? Really, truly? Rosalida sighed with relief. Better doesn’t necessarily mean “good,” or even “okay,” but it’s a start! She inhaled sharply as images of everyone being made to do evil things assaulted her brain. She trembled and tried not to cry, though a whimper may have escaped her lips before she could hold her breath.

M-maybe . . . m-maybe we didn’t do . . . d-didn’t do all of that . . . .

She tried to gather herself and released the breath she was holding, opting to take really deep breaths instead. But still, the guilt . . . the fear . . . seeing herself act like, like . . . How they would . . . even if it was only in her mind’s eye . . . ? It wasn’t so easy to shake off. Jay would see a vision from Rosalida’s end of a man and a woman, each glaring. The man holds a belt and looks ready to swing it. The woman holds out a finger and walks toward her. A sensation of burning in her throat follows, of not being able to breathe, and then . . . .

I need to cut off this link, for your own good . . . Jay . . . , Rosalida thought as she severed the link. There were so many bad emotions. If she kept the link up, they would have just had a negative feedback loop and Jay would not feel better. She began to flap her wings so she could fly away, but her vision was blurred with tears. It would be unsafe . . . unsafe to try to fly now. She nodded at Jay’s words, about being able to save their friends. For a moment, she almost regretted severing the link, because she wanted to join in on Jay’s hope and determination. But she knew . . . she would just bring him down in her current state. She flew up when Jeremy went to hug Jay, and landed on Jeremy’s arm. She halfheartedly crawled until she reached his shoulder, then flopped down and curled up in the fetal position.

Too much. It was just too much. But she’s the counselor! She had to be better! She couldn’t let herself be like this when she had so many others to attend to! And yet, she was. She was like this. Why did her past have to haunt her now of all times?!

~*~

As Gary apologized to her, Cat grunted at first. It was not a good time to talk to her. Couldn’t he see she was a little busy?! She didn’t answer him until Austin was set down neatly in the armchair. Then she turned to Gary.

“Thank you for apologizing, Gary, but I’m not the one you should apologize to. Austin is the one who was hurt most by your actions and inaction. You should apologize to him. And don’t say it’s because you think your mom would be disappointed in you when you do, because that makes it sound like you’re not apologizing because you feel guilty but because you think your mom would make you if she were here.”

She smiled at Jeremy gratefully as he spoke to Gary.

“Jeremy . . . thank you.” The words had seemed to reach Gary, who hung his head in shame. All in all, a decent outcome, though Cat suspected Jeremy may have been more upset about this whole situation than he let on. She knew how he cared for Austin in particular. Perhaps she’d have to talk with him later. Jay, too. Ah, Jay! She hadn’t even been paying attention to him! She’d been too focused on Austin! She quickly glanced at Jay, sitting in his armchair, but before she could approach him . . .

~*~

“O-oh, yes . . . u-um, sorry to have . . . caused you pain. I was just . . . so sure everything was fake, because I imagined you all waking up so many times before. I thought this was another one of those times.” He smiled slightly at Jeremy. “Yeah, we should definitely discuss how to move forward. I think I’d like to discuss that with everyone. Perhaps I’ll make an announcement?”

Austin looked to Sayako.

“A-ah, right you are. We’ll come up with a plan of action. There . . . could well be another way. If we move fast enough . . . .”

He looked lost in thought as he was set down on the armchair. But he was pulled out of his reverie when Remeku hugged him tightly. Austin blushed a little, embarrassed, as she thanked him for being an amazing person.

“U-um, w-well, I’m just . . . you know . . . here,” he said awkwardly. “B-but, a-ah, thanks . . . Remeku. I’m happy to have helped make you so glad . . . ? U-um, I’m sorry I scared you . . . a-and worried you. I wasn’t thinking about . . . how that would hurt at the time . . . .”

He averted his eyes and bit his lip. Then Kirimi spoke, drawing Austin’s attention to him.

“O-oh. Yeah. Um, I’m glad you’re . . . exultant?” He tilted his head. Exultant . . . probably means happy? His eyes widened slightly as Kirimi mentioned someone outside the barrier. “Huh . . . That . . . .” His eyebrows furrowed. “Shouldn’t be happening. We should be invisible, except to other players. How did he . . . ?” He shook his head. “I’ll ask him about it myself. Ah, and the barrier . . . actually, I should talk about that with everyone in just a minute. Right now, I think I have a mom to hug.” He looked up at Cat and smiled. Then glanced at Remeku. “Um, you can let go now. I-if you want.”

He tried to stand up, doing so slowly and carefully so Remeku could adjust. Regardless of whether Remeku let go or not, Austin hugged Cat as soon as he was on his feet.

Cat smiled and hugged Austin back.

“Oh, Austin . . . I’m so happy you’ve come back to us.”

“Thanks, Mom. Sorry I worried you.”

“You shouldn’t apologize for that. I worry either way. You know how I am,” Cat said. Austin chuckled softly and let go, then went to hug Jay and Jeremy. Cat trailed right behind, turning the hugs into group hugs. Rosalida held on to Jeremy’s shoulder so she wouldn’t fall off, but didn’t make an effort to move otherwise. Fortunately for her, neither Cat nor Austin reached up high enough to have their arms across Jeremy’s shoulders.

“I-it’s okay, you guys. I’m sorry for how I . . . how I phrased things. I should have been more sensitive. I . . . I had envisioned this going very differently. Um, if any of you have any questions . . . about what happened, or wh-what . . . what you did, you can always ask me, okay?”

"I . . . It would probably be easier if you asked things rather than me just tell a long . . . painful story.”

Zoey . . . I understand what you meant now. I can’t bring myself to just say what happened . . . but I can answer questions . . . I think. Though of course, this doesn’t compare to . . . what you went through . . . .

“You weren’t yourself, Austin. It’s okay,” Cat said. “I’d personally rather not know . . . unless I need to, for your sake. But I can’t speak for Jay or Jeremy.”

Austin and Cat eventually let go, and Austin went around, trying to hug everyone else in the room. Everyone else except Rosalida and Gary. Rosalida would likely have been crushed if he tried to hug her. Gary, he actually hadn’t looked at or acknowledged this whole time. As he did that, Cat spoke to Jay and Jeremy.

“Would it be alright if we all three talked later? I think we all need some time to process what happened here. And as relieving as it is that Austin is better . . . it doesn’t make all that happened up until now go away.”

As soon as Austin was done hugging others, he walked to the center of the room and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. H-hi . . . everyone . . . ,” Austin said. “I know . . . this is a lot to wrap your heads around, all that I said, all that happened . . . But I’m here to help clarify things a bit, okay? S-so . . . first order of business . . . um . . . th-there’s no way to phrase this delicately . . . you all slept for a long time. I’m not really sure how long, um . . . the sky has been too overcast for me to see whether it’s even day or night. But, by my estimate . . . and my mustache and beard . . . it has been at least two weeks. I-it’s . . . my fault, really. I only meant you to be unconscious long enough for me to recode every last one of you . . . but instead, well . . . you didn’t wake up even after I’d finished my work. Um, I tried to erase the memories of what happened that night, but . . . I’m not that good. Not really. I think . . . whoever controlled you may have wiped them. No, I don’t know who is responsible for all of this. I don’t know where Sakura, Flo, and Alfons are now . . . but before I continue, I’d like to explain what happened to Arthur. I . . . tried to fix him, but instead . . . he was deleted from this game. I . . . took care of his room, cleaned it until it shone . . . but I don’t know how he would have liked it decorated. If anyone would like to help me with that, we can talk about it. For now, though, please . . . I’d like a moment of silence for Arthur Ranpo, the Ultimate Mystery Novelist. Even knowing he probably . . . woke up in the real world, and is in a much safer, better place . . . he will still be sorely missed here. I . . . have been missing him . . . all this time.”

Austin teared up and averted his gaze, biting his lip so he wouldn’t cry.

I-it’s not real . . . I’m overreacting . . . h-he’s not really dead. He’s back in the real world, safe and sound . . . he probably doesn’t even remember what happened.

These thoughts didn’t make the pain go away. After the silence stretched on for a long time, Austin finally spoke again, sniffling a little first.

“O-okay . . . a-as for how to get Alfons, Flo, and Sakura back . . . there is a way we can do it without fighting. I think. Whoever has control over them now . . . I think I can eject this person from the game forever. At the center of this world is the mainframe, um . . . the heart of this world. If someone is changing things so much, I can only assume they’re doing it internally, from there. If it’s all external, then I should still be able to see who is manipulating this from there. So either way, this is where I think we should go. I can relinquish their hold on this world. I can restore everything. I can get our friends back! And I can get us all out of here! But . . . I can’t do it alone. And this is a long journey . . . who knows what dangers lie ahead? I . . . If any of you don’t want to join us . . . then you can stay here in safety instead. And you will warp out of here with us when the job is done. I won’t judge you for that. I’ll warp this cottage to a safe place and put up another barrier.”

This was all a lot to absorb. Way too much to absorb. Cat could barely even keep up, even with the long pause. But she did know one thing.

“I’m with you, Austin,” Cat said.

Austin smiled slightly.

“Thanks, Mom, but . . . .” He took a deep breath and drew himself up. “I don’t know what’ll happen, you guys. You should make your decisions carefully. I already got . . . one person killed. Um, but if you wish to join me, anyway . . . then let me know when everyone is ready. Only then will I remove the barrier, because we’ll have to start moving as soon as it’s down if we don’t want to be found and attacked immediately. Um, we can stick around and try to grind, but I fear we will be overrun if we try to do that. We’ll have better luck if we push forward as quickly as possible. Um, at least, that’s what I think. A-anyway . . . that’s all I have to say for now. Though, if anyone has any questions, you can feel free to ask. Um, I do have something else I need to do, but I’ll be right outside, okay?”

Austin smiled nervously.

“I’ll be back in shortly.”

Having said his piece, Austin headed out the back door. But then . . . he didn’t see anyone there?

“Um . . . hello? I-is anyone out here . . . ? Um, I don’t think Kirimi is pranking me . . . . If anyone’s here, I’m Austin. And I . . . sound like I’m insane right now, calling out into a void, but . . . well, I guess I am insane, but that’s beside the point. I would . . . like to talk to you and ask you questions, if you’re here . . . . Gosh, I feel foolish,” Austin said.

---

Last edited by Lida_Rose on Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.

As Lumica began talking again, Mikael struggled to keep up. "L-Lumica? Lumica, wait! I c-can't . . ." Mikael stammered, perhaps a bit too quietly for Lumica to hear, "You're t-talking too fast . . ." But it was no use. There'd be no way he could get him to stop now.

He did his best to listen for anything he could make sense of at least. The Henashorus were evil? But Kishima and Remeku are not. Kishima was a project? An experiment?

Those words hitched against Mikael's mind. They scraped a bit, causing slightly-jarring feelings Mikael couldn't place.

Kishima has a kind heart? He can be trusted? Mikael was wary of this coming from someone who had just revealed he wasn't who he said he was. Still, he had no reason to doubt Lumica since he was no longer disguised and would not have a reason to lie.

And then as Mikael was lamenting about the Killing Game, Lumica hugged him and patted him on the head. After Lumica's comforting words, Mikael explained, "It-It's not me I'm crying for; it's . . ." He looked down at his stuffed creature.

"Lumica, you know what I am, right? Though you probably don't know who I am or why that's important. Mind if I tell ya later?" Despite the previous touching moment and heavy subject, Yume's voice remained cheerful.

After the rest of Lumica's answers, Mikael said, "Th-Thanks for talking with me, Lumica. I-I appreciate . . . well . . . your understanding." He let Lumica part ways with him and begin talking to the others. He began to wonder what he should do next.

---

'No, no. Now is not the time for me to get distressed. This is about comforting Jay, not me.' She nodded to herself and flew off of the pocketbook, flying up to Jay’s cheek and patting it before perching on his shoulder. 'Jay, maybe there wasn't anything we could have done then, but there are things we can do now! And that situation clearly wasn't hopeless, or else we would still be hacked, right? I think we should take a minute to process, but it's clear we don't have the full story. Maybe it's not as bad as we think.'

'L-Lida, is everything-' Jay began to ask, but she was right; this was about him, not her. 'You're right. Austin did . . . Austin did save us in the end, so he hadn't totally lost hope,' Jay agreed. That would be a big help in restoring his confidence.

She inhaled sharply as images of everyone being made to do evil things assaulted her brain. She trembled and tried not to cry, though a whimper may have escaped her lips before she could hold her breath.

'W-What? What's going on? I didn't mean to-'

'M-maybe . . . m-maybe we didn’t do . . . d-didn’t do all of that . . . .'

'You're right, Lida! It's just my intrusive thoughts. It can't be what rea-'

She tried to gather herself and released the breath she was holding, opting to take really deep breaths instead. 'W-Wait-' But still, the guilt . . . 'No, stop-' the fear . . . 'I don't want-' seeing herself act like, like . . . How they would . . . 'I-I'm really not trying to-' even if it was only in her mind’s eye . . . ? It wasn’t so easy to shake off. 'P-Please . . .' Jay would see a vision from Rosalida’s end of a man and a woman, each glaring. 'Wh-Who are they? Wait-no, no!' The man holds a belt and looks ready to swing it. 'Ah-Lida! Lida!!' The woman holds out a finger and walks toward her. A sensation of burning in her throat follows, of not being able to breathe, and then . . . . 'Wh-What was that!? Lida?'

'I need to cut off this link, for your own good . . . Jay . . . ,' Rosalida thought as she severed the link. 'No, Lida! Please don't-' But it was too late. 'D-Don't leave me alone with that . . .' Despite the mental abandonment, Jay managed to hold it together long enough to deliver his hopeful speech.

Being hugged finally broke the facade. Jay gulped as tears filled his eyes. Soaked with guilt, Jay wished he could hug Lida, comfort her, say something, anything to make her feel better. But she had taken that chance away from him 'for his own good' as she claimed. 'Lida, why . . . ?' Jay thought. He hadn't considered simply speaking to her, but that would be impossible at the moment anyway.

Jeremy's expression turned from one of relief into one of concern. "Jay? What happened? What is the matter?" He felt Rosalida crawling up his arm. His eyes followed her as made it to his shoulder and flopped down.

"I . . . I-I . . ." But Jay couldn't answer. The words were stuck in his throat, trapped in his mind.

Realizing Jay might need a moment, Jeremy released the hug and turned to have his talk with Gary. "Very good, Gary. And you are welcome, Cat," Jeremy said plainly, his mind more focused on other things at the moment.

"I... don't want to have to fight the others, of course..." the coupler pouted. "B-but if it's the only way to save them, I will. We're all okay, so I'm sure they will be too, right? A-and who knows, maybe we'll figure out another way to reach them once we find them." She clenched her spellbook anxiously. "All I know for certain is staying here and despairing isn't helping anything or anyone..."

"S-Sayako . . . ?" Jay muttered weakly. She was right. Now wasn't the time to feel bad about the situation, and Jay felt like kicking himself for not being the Ultimate Hope he'd been before. "Thanks," Jay said a bit louder, his voice still shaky, "I know we'll find the others . . . and we'll save them." He sniffled and tried to wipe away some of the tears that had escaped.

Austin and Cat then approached and hugged the brothers. The situation seemed to have calmed down a lot, but Jay's mind was still very troubled.

"I-I'd be glad to take you up on that offer, Austin," Jay replied, "once we . . . have more time."

"I concur," Jeremy added, "And please, do not hesitate to announce anything you wish."

Cat spoke to Jay and Jeremy. “Would it be alright if we all three talked later? I think we all need some time to process what happened here. And as relieving as it is that Austin is better . . . it doesn’t make all that happened up until now go away.”

"I agree, Cat. We need to discuss this once we are in a safer position," Jeremy replied.

"Yeah . . ." All Jay could think about was how Lida was doing. He suddenly leapt up and wrapped his arms tightly around Cat and buried his face in her shoulder. After a few seconds of silent weeping, Jay raised his head, pulled just enough away to see Cat's face, and requested, "M-M-Mom, I need some advice." He glanced at the Counselor, "I . . . think I hurt Lida. She was trying to comfort me because I was feeling down because Austin said we were hacked and that made me imagine all kinds of horrible things and I--sorry, let me slow down a bit. Lida can--well, kinda has to, due to her size--communicate through telepathic link, and while she was comforting me, I imagined some of the things we, in our 'evil' hacked states, might have been doing. I think I . . . showed those to her by accident . . . and then she . . . she-" Jay didn't want to continue. On one hand, the result was in a ball on Jeremy's shoulder. On another, the scene Lida had accidentally shown him seemed private and very, very personal. He didn't want to just go blurting it out willy nilly. "I-I want to help her. I want to fix this. What should I do?"

And then Jay noticed Felicity floating by, not seeming to notice any of what was going on. "Felicity!?" Jay called out, but she didn't appear to have heard him. "Um, sorry to have to dump that on you and run, but can you think on it and tell me later?" Jay released the hug on Cat and began to give chase.

"J-Jay, wait! We have to listen to what Austin-" Jeremy began, but Jay was already bounding up the stairs. Jeremy began to follow him.

"Whatever the plan is, Austin, we're in!" Jay called down as he neared the top of the stairs . . . and then slammed his foot into the top stair and took a tumble forward, landing face-first on the floor.

"Jay! Jay, hold on!" Jeremy called again, breathlessly jogging up the stairs. He knelt down and lifted one side of Jay up, prepared to cast Encouragement if he needed to.

"FELICITY!" Jay screamed, straining his voice as he struggled to rise to his feet. After nearly toppling back over, Jay remembered how to walk and made his way to the room with Felicity's name shakily scribbled onto the label. He knocked three times and asked, "Felicity, can I come in? I want to-I want to make sure everything's alright." After he felt like he'd hurt Lida so much, he needed to do something, anything, for someone to make up for it.

"Jay, wait! Perhaps Felicity merely needs some rest," Jeremy suggested, really wanting to return downstairs to discuss Austin's plan.

"Oh no, that's not it. She looked like I did after I first found out we were hacked. I need to make sure she knows that Austin has come around and has a plan," Jay protested and countered. His hand was on the door handle, ready to push open the door should Felicity respond.

---

Meanwhile, Mikael had been listening intently to Austin's plan. He already had an answer in mind, of course. "I'll do . . . I'll do what Remmy decides to do. I'm her sidekick, so I-I should stick w-with her!" He glanced toward Remeku, waiting to hear what she would say. After what Lumica had told him, he was full of determination, ready to do anything he could.

"Me too! Though that goes without saying," Yume added, "Hey Austin, thanks for letting me tag along by the way. I'd be tooooootally remiss if I couldn't help Mikey out somehow in here!"

---

Kishima was deeply concentrated until he heard a sudden voice from afar, he didn’t know why he thought the voice was talking to him, but he followed the voice until he stopped at the barrier, looking at a boy that was standing behind it. ”Um, d-don’t feel foolish! I’m out here . . . You’re the one that put up this barrier, right? I-I’m really sorry for what I said to the other students . . . I just wanted Remeku. She is my little sister.” Kishima said nervously. ”Austin, eh? Nice to meet you. I’m Kishima Henashoru, the Ultimate Mind Reader. And, before you ask, I will not read your mind if you truly do not wish me to. I can respect your thoughts.” Kishima said with a nod. He waited patiently for Austin to respond to him.

-----

Lumica gritted his teeth. He felt his anger drain away as Gary talked. ”I was just angry, Gary. I am sorry myself for getting mad at you like that . . . It’s just that Remeku is all I have left. The only friend I have that lived . . .” Lumica said and slightly smiled to Gary. He put his hand on his shoulder. ”You are not too different from Remeku. You don’t know her very well, which is why you should talk to her more. That’s the only way to find out more about people, is to interact with them and learn what they’re like. If you do that, you will realize that you’re not too different from them.” Lumica said with a smile. ”You can apologize to Remeku . . . Thank you Gary. I appreciate that. You don’t really have to apologize about my questions, though. I bet you slept fine.” Lumica said awkwardly. ”Yeah . . . Your life must be great . . . Being the Ultimate Heir and everything . . . I was kind of worried that you might be like one of those spoiled rich kids that are mean to to everyone . . . but I have faith that you’re much better than that.” Lumica said and rubbed Gary’s shoulder.

Lumica then looked back at Mikael and smiled. ”No problem, Micool.” Lumica said with a smirk. ”Can I call you that now, Micool?” Lumica asked and giggled. ”I know it’s silly, but a lot of people are calling you ‘Mikey’, and I want to be the one that called you something different!” Lumica said and scratched his head. He then looked down at the stuffed toy and nervously smiled. ”Yeah I know exactly what you are and who you are. Remeku is my best friend, she doesn’t lie when she says she’ll tell you everything. She told me that you were Mikael from another timeline after you died from a Killing Game . . . I’m sorry little one . . . I don’t know what it’s like to die in a Killing Game but I know what it’s like to almost be a victim . . . I would have if Remeku hadn’t risked her life to save me . . . Isn’t that a twist.” Lumica said and frowned a bit.

He then looked up at Austin when he spoke. ”T-two weeks!? A-woah~!” Lumica said as a huge smile appeared on his face. He suddenly got excited. ”My body survived through two weeks in the outside world!? I really am the Ultimate Escape Artist! Ehuhaha~!” Lumica said and clapped his hands together. ”Although, our bodies didn’t even need food and water while we’re here . . . So that takes the fun away.” Lumica said and then frowned. He then threw his hand in the air and waved it. ”I am certainly going! Without a doubt, if Remeku’s going! It’s because she’s my girlfr-!” Lumica stopped when he glanced at Remeku. He felt embarrassment smack him in the face. He put his hand down and let it fall down his face. ”What the hell did I just say . . . ? Lumica said, his face bright red. ”G-girlfriend? N-no no no no . . . D-don’t say that . . . I haven’t even . . . I . . .” Lumica’s lip twitched in irritation. He put his head down to avoid any contact with Remeku.

-----

Remeku let go of Austin after his question with a smile. ”Of course, Austin~Kun!” Remeku said stepping out of the way. ”There is no need to apologize. I know that it must be tough going through that . . .” Remeku said as she watched all of the group hugging that went on after that. She never wanted this moment to end, with so much forgiveness and friendship that it grabbed her heart and hugged it tight. ”This gives me so much hope . . .” Remeku thought with a smile. She listened to what Austin said to everyone after a moment. Her expression turn down and her stress welled up again. ”What . . . ? I-I . . .” Remeku had no idea what to even think about. Fight her own friends? No . . . Why? ”Why though? Fighting them? That’s like killing a part of me. But . . . I guess if it’s helping them then . . .” Remeku pondered. She then heard what Mikael said and she ran over to him and hugged him. ”Thank you, Mikey~Senpai! Thank you for everything you’ve done!” Remeku said and then let go. Sadness filled her eyes and created waterfalls down her face. ”And I’m sorry for making you stressed about everything. The fact that you’re my childhood friend . . . and you think you’ve only known me for a day and a half . . . Yet you believe me so easily? I don’t deserve that! You really are something of a dream . . . A fairytale . . . Hmm . . .” Remeku tried to think of something else to say but Lumica’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She smiled to Mikael and walked over to Lumica. ”LuLu~San, thank y-” Remeku stopped. ”G-gir . . . !?” Remeku’s face went red and she shook her head violently. She smiled sweetly to Lumica. ”Thank you, LuLu~San.” She tried to ignore what Lumica had said before.

She then looked at Austin and gulped. ”I-I’ll go . . .” Remeku closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. ”Sakura~Chan . . . Flo~Chan . . . Alfons~Kun . . . Arthur~Kun . . . You guys are in grave danger . . . and if I have to come in contact with you all in a fight, it will break my heart. But, a broken heart is better than the death of my friends . . . I will save you . . . I will free you . . .” Remeku folded her hands together. How was she going to save her friends by hurting them? Is that what the world has come to? How cruel . . .

-----

Kirimi chuckled at Austin’s response. ”Yes . . . Exultant as in happy.” Kirimi said and nodded. ”Hmm . . . I wouldn’t know anything about programing but I think that may be because he is a player?” Kirimi said biting his lip. ”Or he’s just so powerful that he is able to do that . . . I just hate that guy more and more . . .” Kirimi said and rolled his eyes. He stayed quiet through Austin’s explanation. ”Ah . . . very well.” Kirimi said and smiled. ”I understand a bit more now.” Kirimi got a notebook out and started to write down what was happening. ”By the way, I’m going. I don’t want my own students to get terribly hurt . . .”

---

"Two weeks...? And Arthur was..." Sayako paled a bit before shaking her head. "N-no, it's just a game. He's okay. We need to focus on helping the others and getting out of here," she told herself. "Um, I'll go to this 'mainframe' place. I'm not sure what I can do to help, if anything, but I have to try."

She blinked as the Lucky Student sped past her. "F-Felicity?" she called weakly. "Er... someone should probably..." And then Jay bolted off after her. "...go talk to her, yes." she finished quietly.

---

All the shouting had gone unnoticed by Felicity; the knocks were what alerted her to somebody outside. Heart hammering in her chest, she stood up and quickly wiped away her tears.

Trying to keep her voice even, she replied to Jay, "Yeah, s-sure, you can come i-in. You shouldn't worry th-though; e-everything's perfectly alright." Seems like she had failed there, but hopefully she looked presentable enough. She didn't want to look like she had been crying, not when everybody else seemed to be dealing with things in a more productive manner.

Jay had been protesting all the while as Lida’s thoughts assailed him. She did the right thing . . . cutting off the link. If only she did it sooner . . . she should have done it sooner. She just . . . she just couldn’t . . . control it.

Her memories would not stop flooding her mind now. One after another. Each worse than the last. Once they started, no amount of trying to remind herself to be positive would help. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything more than clutch Jeremy’s shoulder.

Not even when she heard a thud. Not even when Jeremy was shouting Jay’s name. She didn’t manage to do anything until she heard Jay’s scream.

"FELICITY!"

He might as well have screamed in her ear. Rosalida tightened her grip and let out a soft whimper.

“Jay . . . ,” she muttered. “Please . . . stop . . . .”

Stop . . . what? Stop being loud? No, that wasn’t it . . . she wanted him to stop blaming himself for what happened . . . like how she blames herself for what happened to them.

But . . . I know better now. It wasn’t my fault.

And yet, the guilt . . . the guilt of what happened to her mom, brother, and sister would always weigh on her mind, no matter how often she told herself it was not her fault. No matter how often she reminded herself it all worked out okay . . . .

~*~


Cat nodded as Jeremy agreed to talk to her later. But then Jay buried his face in her shoulder and started weeping. She slowly hugged back and used her right hand to pat Jay on the back.

“Jay . . . what’s wrong?” she asked. “Besides, well . . . .” She trailed off, trying to think of how to phrase something along the lines of, “Everything except how Austin feels better right now but he’s still clearly going through a lot and to be honest, I’m only not panicking because Austin would probably go back to being a mess if I I did.” more delicately and failing. Then, Jay told her he needed her advice. And of course she was prepared to offer it So she listened carefully. She wanted to interject when.Jay broke from explaining what he was asking advice for to tell her about Rosalida's telepathy. She was going to tell him that she already knew about that, but Jay barreled on ahead.. So she waited.

“What should I do?”

“She . . . what, exactly? Didn’t like it? Had a bad reaction? Hm. In any case, I think you should - ”

But then, Jay called for Felicity and asked Cat to tell him her answer later before running off. Cat nodded.

“Very well.” She sighed to herself. “I was going to say that you should give her time to compose herself. Maybe even come to you to talk about it. If I know Rosalida like I think I do, which . . . we did only meet once, so take it with a grain of salt, but . . . I don’t think she’ll leave it at that with you. She’d want to talk about it when she’s sure the danger of something accidentally getting through the link has passed.”

And then she heard a thud from the stairs. Where Jay and Jeremy were heading. She had to get there right away! She took a couple brisk steps in that direction, but then Austin started his announcements. Seeing the pain in his eyes as he spoke, Cat remained where she was. It would be fine, right? Jay and Jeremy each had a cure spell just in case, and anyway, this was a video game so maybe even though it sounded painful, it didn’t actually hurt?

She stood through Austin’s announcements and said her piece, and then he was gone. Cat was still feeling quite overwhelmed by everything, and decided that now that Austin was gone, her time would be best spent moving. Doing anything, really. She needed to calm down.

And food calmed her down. Nobody had eaten yet, right? Maybe she could make everyone breakfast before they left. Cooking time was probably really short in this game. And besides, she was sure after spending some time outside like some of the others did earlier and Austin was doing now, they would appreciate some hot food.

And so, Cat wandered into the kitchen and looked for things to cook for breakfast. There was lots of bacon. Heh. Austin would. Looked like there was all kinds of stuff for food besides. She could make a veritable buffet. She smiled slightly and began cooking. It wouldn’t be long before the delicious smells would waft into the other rooms in the cottage.

~*~

Remeku had stepped out of Austin’s way and told him there was no need to apologize. Austin smiled sheepishly.

“A-ah, well, it . . . was, but . . . I wasn’t acting . . . like I wanted to act. So I’m sorry for . . . for that.” I’m just happy you’re real. And I should have been happy all along that all of you finally woke up, but I was so convinced that . . . you weren’t . . . .

Kirimi then answered the question in Austin’s eyes and the question he actually asked. Even though he really did have a mom to hug, he responded to Kirimi’s comments.

“U-um . . . w-well, it’s probably not a power thing. And . . . he won’t replace you. Can’t replace you. No one can. I-I . . . .” I did a lot for you because I value you so highly as a person. “W-well, that’s what I think, anyway.”

Having said his piece, Austin had hugged his mom and then hugged Jay and Jeremy.

"I-I'd be glad to take you up on that offer, Austin," Jay replied, "once we . . . have more time."

Austin nodded.

“Of course. Um . . . I’m not sure if . . . when we’ll have more time, but, uh . . . we’ll work something out.” He tried to sound confident, but got the feeling he failed miserably. Still, if Jay and Jeremy wanted to talk later, Austin would make the time. Even if . . . it would be painful.

Then Jay said he and Jeremy were in on whatever the plan was.

“B-but . . . you don’t even know what is yet . . . .” It was too late. Jay and Jeremy were gone. Austin had been . . . hoping they would be there, but if Felicity was in trouble, of course that took priority . . . .

Austin made his announcements. He teared up a little when so many people said they would go with him.

“Th-thank you all.” He decided to ignore the awkwardness between Lumica and Remeku, but he did add to Yume, "Um, you're welcome. It was . . . no problem to bring you here. I couldn't say 'no' when I was asked to." He had told everyone he’d be back shortly before walking to back door. On his way to the kitchen, Isaiah walked up to him and whispered in his ear. Austin nodded.

“Of course you can stay. That’s fine. I’ll make sure to keep you safe.”

Isaiah looked relieved and thanked Austin as he walked away. That just left the going outside part. After talking to the air for a bit, a voice finally responded. A voice belonging to a . . . unique person. Austin tried not to stare at him as he spoke.

“U-um . . . hi . . . ?” Austin smiled sheepishly. “Y-yes. I am the one who put it up. I needed to protect everyone inside.” His eyes narrowed. “What did you say to the other students?” His tone was a bit cold as he asked that. He was quite protective of everyone else and he’d had quite a long day already. But with a deep breath, he tried to let it go.

“Not me you should apologize to, in any case,” he added. “Remeku is your little sister? . . . I don’t see how you thought saying things mean enough you feel like apologizing to me for to people would help.” He tilted his head. “I don’t feel like I know enough about what’s going on to say much about it, though. I just . . . don’t want anyone to cause trouble, or hurt my friends.” He very noticeably tensed when Kishima introduced himself as the Ultimate Mind Reader, but relaxed a little when he mentioned he wouldn’t read his mind if he truly did not wish him to.

Mind Reading . . . would that not be a perfect talent for the enemy to throw at us? But why would he tell me he won’t read my mind, then? To lure me into a false sense of security? I . . . It’s too early to tell whether I should trust him or not . . . .

“It is nice to meet you, too . . . I’d rather not have my mind read, thank you. I-I’m . . . a bit of a mess inside. I’d rather . . . no one see that . . . .” He offered a wolfish smile. “I hope we can all get along. We’re going to be moving on soon, I think, and I’d rather let you join us than leave you stranded in the cold, if you check out.”

---

Rosalida tightened her grip and let out a soft whimper.

“Jay . . . ,” she muttered. “Please . . . stop . . . .”

Jeremy thought he had heard a few tiny squeaks after Jay yelled, but he was unable to make any sense of them.

"L-Lida . . . ?" he whispered, turning his gaze to his shoulder with a look of sadness and concern.

Trying to keep her voice even, Felicity replied to Jay, "Yeah, s-sure, you can come i-in. You shouldn't worry th-though; e-everything's perfectly alright."

Jay made to open the door, but then stopped. A wave of guilt washed over him. He couldn't just leave Lida out here, could he? He turned around to face Lida and uttered in a hushed tone, "Lida, I'm sorry I yelled a minute ago. I just . . . I wish there was something I could do to help. I mean, if I hadn't imagined what being hacked would look like, you wouldn't have shown me that-" Jay cut himself off, clapping a hand over his mouth.

"Jay? Is it something you can talk abo-""I can't tell you, Jeremy. It's-It's too personal." Jay's tone was uncharacteristcally stern, which took Jeremy aback.

Jay turned around and reached for the door, trying his best to get his mind off the image, basically giving a flat 'no' to Jeremy's question. Jeremy sighed as Jay opened the door to Felicity's room and walked inside.

"Felicity, you and I both know everything isn't 'perfectly alright,'" Jay remarked before reaching his arms around her, intending to pull her into a tight embrace. He took a deep breath to attempt to calm his nerves. "Austin's doing . . . better. He's been through a lot though. I don't . . . I don't know what would've happened had he not been able to save us from being hacked, but he did save us and I'm trying to remember that. We're fine.We're fine. We're . . . fine." Jay didn't quite know why he repeated the last sentence. Maybe he thought it would help calm her down. Did she need calming down? Or maybe he meant to ease his own mind.

---

Meanwhile, Jeremy decided to close Felicity's door to give her and Jay privacy. He wished Lida was in shape to possibly help out Felicity the way she assisted Jay, but he knew she needed . . . time? Rest? In any case, he scanned the door labels until he found Rosalida's. He carefully strode to her door, opened it, and entered.

He approached the bed, simultaneously grabbing for Rosalida as gently as possible. If he could release her grip on his shoulder, he would set her down on the bed. In any case, he sat down at the end of her bed and began to collect his thoughts.

After a while, he began to smell the food which was being cooked downstairs. Ah, of course. Being hungry could be a sizable contributor to everyone's stress. Jeremy began to wonder who could be cooking the food. He figured it was probably Cat. He would've loved to rush down there right away, but he knew Lida needed a moment. Possibly even more than that. He would wait as long as it took.

"Lida . . . If you need to rest, if you want to talk, if you would like to eat anything, please let me know. If you are unable to, um, communicate, then . . ." Jeremy pondered briefly, "Um, hold up one finger if you need rest, two if you would like food, and obviously I am ready and willing if you are able to link."

---

Mikael waited with patience as Lumica went to talk to Gary.

Lumica then looked back at Mikael and smiled. ”No problem, Micool.” Lumica said with a smirk. ”Can I call you that now, Micool?” Lumica asked and giggled. ”I know it’s silly, but a lot of people are calling you ‘Mikey’, and I want to be the one that called you something different!” Lumica said and scratched his head.

"Mi . . . cool?" Mikael asked with a slight blush. "I-I, um . . . I'll need to give it some time, b-but I think . . . I think I m-might like it. Ehehe~" Mikael's chuckle, while adorable, also clarified just how awkward he felt.

He then looked down at the stuffed toy and nervously smiled. ”Yeah I know exactly what you are and who you are. Remeku is my best friend, she doesn’t lie when she says she’ll tell you everything. She told me that you were Mikael from another timeline after you died from a Killing Game . . . I’m sorry little one . . . I don’t know what it’s like to die in a Killing Game but I know what it’s like to almost be a victim . . . I would have if Remeku hadn’t risked her life to save me . . . Isn’t that a twist.” Lumica said and frowned a bit.

"Wow, you don't . . . you don't mince words at all, do ya?" Yume commented, surprised how blunt Lumica had been about it. "Just tell everyone who's nearby my secret, why don'tcha?" He sighed, and if his expression was capable of changing, it would've become one of disappointed resignation. "Darn, Loomy, I wish you and Remeku didn't have to go through something like that. I wish nobody had to go through things like that. Though I guess if it wasn't for killing games, would any of us exist?"

"What!? What do you mean, Yume?" Mikael asked.

"Oh! Um, nothin'. I was just . . . thinkin' aloud," Yume tried, knowing it was a weak response.

"That was not nothing! Are you saying this whole-" Mikael's train of thought was interrupted by Austin beginning his announcement. Afterward, he affirmed that he would go along with whatever Remeku wanted to do.

She then heard what Mikael said and she ran over to him and hugged him. ”Thank you, Mikey~Senpai! Thank you for everything you’ve done!” Remeku said and then let go. Sadness filled her eyes and created waterfalls down her face. ”And I’m sorry for making you stressed about everything. The fact that you’re my childhood friend . . . and you think you’ve only known me for a day and a half . . . Yet you believe me so easily? I don’t deserve that! You really are something of a dream . . . A fairytale . . . Hmm . . .”

"A-Ah! Remmy, that's-" Mikael stammered, unsure of a proper response. "A-And what do you mean? Of c-course you dese-" Interrupted again. This time by Lumica blurting out that he'd help because Remeku was his . . . girlfriend? Mikael covered his face, which had reddened with embarrassment, with Yume and shrunk back towards a corner of the room. S-Super awkward . . . ! Then Austin spoke up. Mikael hadn't even noticed he was moving towards him and Yume.

“Th-thank you all.” He decided to ignore the awkwardness between Lumica and Remeku, but he did add to Yume, "Um, you're welcome. It was . . . no problem to bring you here. I couldn't say 'no' when I was asked to."

"I r-really do ap-p-preciate it, Austin," Mikael replied.

"Of course you couldn't say no! I would've invaded your dreams if you didn't!" Yume added.

"Yume!"

"Kidding, kidding~! I only go into dreams of people who are important to me!"

"Y-YUME!"

"I'm . . . not helping, am I? Um . . . uhhhh . . ." And then they realized that Austin had already left, hopefully not having heard Yume's responses.

"Now, are we done here? I'm ready to go save some random people I don't even know already!" Yume whined impatiently.

"YUME!!! E-ENOUGH!!!"

"Okay, okaaaaaay . . . Jeez, you're no fun when you're hungry."

"And y-y-you're no fun when you b-blatantly disregard o-others' feelings!" Mikael retorted, adding to himself, "Th-Though I w-would love to e-eat something r-right about now." He stayed in the corner, waiting patiently while the food cooked.

---

Kishima stared at the boy and raised an eyebrow. ”Kyaha, ehhhhh . . .” Kishima’s lip twitched and his head fell to the side. ”P-please don’t say he hates me already . . . ehhhhh . . . I promise, I can even hurt myself slapping someone . . . there is no way I can hurt him . . . ehhhhh . . .” Kishima blinked a few times and then stood properly, hoping that Austin wasn’t staring at him. ”Well, let’s just say, the other students don’t trust me very much . . .” Kishima said, sighing with a bit of exhaustion. ”Didn’t say anything to you, or not, I should still apologize to you . . . because only I can solve this little problem I created . . .” Kishima said bitterly. ”Of course she is my sister . . . I wouldn’t come all the way here for nothing just so I could find out she wasn’t! I know who I was looking for . . . she’s just the other part of me anyway . . . this is completely absurd . . . the world ripped me apart . . . seriously!” Kishima said, not particularly to Austin. He let out a very faint yawn. His head was throbbing, it felt like it was trying to knock him out cold. Maybe that was why he was tired all of a sudden. Very tired. Extremely tired. He tried to pull himself together as he looked back at Austin. ”I can’t even hurt a fly . . . I won’t hurt anyone . . . It’s impossible . . .” Kishima smiled slightly. ”Well, very well then. I will not read your mind.” Kishima said drowsily. Kishima wanted to collapse but he perked up when he heard that Austin wanted him to join them. ”R-really!? U-umm . . . I mean thank you. I wanted to see if I could help, actually. I just . . . Can’t at the moment, because of the barrier.” Kishima said, rubbing his head. ”I tried to see if there was anything over here, on this side of the barrier, but I have had no luck . . . I’m sorry I have been no use to you . . . but I will soon!” Kishima said loudly with determination. His head vibrated in disapproval. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. ”I wish I knew how to do a healing spell . . .”

-----

"Wow, you don't . . . you don't mince words at all, do ya?" Yume commented, surprised how blunt Lumica had been about it. "Just tell everyone who's nearby my secret, why don'tcha?" He sighed, and if his expression was capable of changing, it would've become one of disappointed resignation. "Darn, Loomy, I wish you and Remeku didn't have to go through something like that. I wish nobody had to go through things like that. Though I guess if it wasn't for killing games, would any of us exist?"

Lumica gulped and looked down. ”Ah! S-sorry deaththingindisguiseasmikaelsomehowbecauseidon’tunderstandspiritstuff! Remeku needs to stop confusing me so muuuuuch . . .” Lumica groaned. ”Yeah . . .” Lumica sighed. He then perked up when the spirit mentioned not existing without killing games. Anger rushed through him as he stomped his foot down and looked straight into the dumb face of the toy. ”That’s real nice of you to say, you dumb toy! You’re right! Why let the human race exist if there is no horror, right!? Me and Remeku and everyone else that had to suffer in those killing games was all because we exist!? YOU CAN CHOKE ON THOSE WORDS! We exist to END THEM! We didn’t start because of them . . . We have a purpose, and maybe you don’t see that because you lost the chance to really learn and think about it when you died. SAY THAT TO REEEEEMEEEKKUUU!” Lumica grabbed the spirit out of Mikael’s hands and punched in on the head, as hard as he could. He growled at it and then threw it back into Mikael’s hands, before walked out of the cottage in pure anger. He ran over to the barrier and kicked it, trying his best to keep himself together.

-----

Remeku was about to tell Mikael to not be so harsh on himself, when she saw Lumica punch Yume and run out of the cottage. She looked back at Yume and put her hand on the top of it’s head. ”i’m sorry, Yume~Kun. LuLu~San takes things a bit far . . . I don’t think you meant anything by that statement. LuLu~San is just a bit overwhelmed . . . and it’s my fault . . .” She looked down. ”Excuse me . . .” Remeku took her hand off of Yume and ran out of the cottage. She looked straight ahead and spotted Lumica. She ran over to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight.

”Are you okay Lu-”

”I’m fine!”

Remeku stood back, hurt. ”LuLu~San, I know that isn’t true. This is all a bit much, but we have to work together, and try our best to get through it. We have to be str-”

”I have been strong! For a long time! But that didn’t save all of our friends, did it!? No! It only made them dying more hard to take! Saying to be strong DOESN’T HELP!” Lumica clenched his eyes closed, not wanted to look at Remeku in the eyes.

Remeku eyes sprung with tears as she used her other hand to rub Lumica’s hand. ”I-I know LuLu~San . . . But yelling at me also doesn’t help . . .” Remeku sniffled and looked down. She didn’t feel upset at Lumica at all, just guilty. It was all her fault.

”Nothing makes any sense, nothing at all! Am I not good enough?! Why can’t I make people happy, why can’t I have parents, why don’t you lo-”

”I do, okay! But I couldn’t tell you that because of Aito~Chan!” Remeku said, letting go of Lumica’s hand.

”What about Aito?” Lumica said, looking at her, confused.

”Aito~Chan had feelings for you, and after Kurayami~Kun killed her, I kept that with me, and put my feelings for you to the side, so I could let her spirit be happy. I don’t know why I say I’m in love with Mikey~Senpai, my feelings are all jumbled up . . .”

Lumica stood still, shocked. Remeku let out a sigh as she smiled to Lumica. ”You belong to me, not Aito~Chan.”

-----

Kirimi was writing something in his notebook when he started to smell food. He stood up and look over at the kitchen, seeing Cat cooking. ”By herself? No way!” Kirimi set his notebook down and confidently went into the kitchen. He stood still as he watched Cat concentrate on her work. ”Oh man . . . I don't want to bother her . . . Well, I guess it wouldn’t be considered bothering, it’s helping!” Kirimi thought as he tapped Cat’s shoulder. ”Um, milady? Could I be to at service to you?”

---

Cat was startled and jerked when someone tapped her shoulder. She had been holding an egg at that point, and it fell right onto the floor, getting yolk everywhere. Cat cursed under her breath and started mopping the mess up.

“Don’t you know better than to disturb someone while they’re cooking?!” She shouted before turning to Kirimi. She took in another breath and seemed like she was going to shout at him some more. Cat relaxed slightly. “Ah, thanks for the offer.” She stopped mopping then, which was fine because the yolk had already been cleaned up, and put the mop away.

“I could certainly use a helping hand. Here.” She handed Kirimi various cooking utensils and ingredients to prepare, relaying brief instructions for each. “Got all that? Good. We have a big breakfast to make.”

~*~

Rosalida shook her head slightly as Jay talked, wishing she could reassure him that it wasn’t his fault. But the next thing she knew, Jeremy’s hand was around her and she begrudgingly stopped clinging. The things playing in her memory were . . . well, at least she was a little more composed, now. Yes. She would be fine! . . . .

She sat up when Jeremy set her down so she could see him. And with a small sigh, she held up one finger. She couldn’t think about eating the food right then.

Come on, Lida. You’re a therapist! You should be able to talk!

“I’m so sorry, Jeremy . . . I don’t want you to see . . . ,” she muttered. There had to be a way to push that all back so it was no longer in the forefront of her mind. But all thought of how escaped her in that moment. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wished she could just talk like normal and expect to be heard. She still needed a moment or two to gather herself before she'd be ready to link.

~*~

"Of course you couldn't say no! I would've invaded your dreams if you didn't!"

Austin didn’t reply. Tried not to even look bothered. But of course he was! Austin had been having nightmares for a long time. To think that someone could invade them, see them?! He bit his lip as he walked away, trying to seem like he hadn’t heard. But what he heard next was almost worse.

"Kidding, kidding~! I only go into dreams of people who are important to me!"

Kidding? He thinks that’s funny?! . . . People . . . who are important . . . to him . . . . Of course, Austin couldn’t have expected that he would be considered important to Yume, being a stranger and all . . . right? It just, it still stung. It stung that after going through so much trouble to save him, that . . . familiar . . . would then joke about invading his nightmares and then say he was unimportant to him! It was perhaps this frustration that drove him to be so harsh with Kishima. Well, harsh by Austin’s standards. So as Kishima explained himself, Austin tried to keep an open mind and nodded. Reminded himself that this person was repentant for whatever he did, at least.

“It . . . is absurd . . . ,” Austin muttered. “Look, I understand that, and you can vent if you want. Just please try not to take it out on the wrong people.” He nodded once again, more to himself. That’s right. It is impossible for him to physically hurt anyone, if he’s a player character. Might be a good way to see if he’s under control of whoever took control away from Austin . . . . Then Kishima mentioned the barrier.

“Sorry. I’m only taking this down when we’re going to head out, and not a second sooner. Otherwise, who knows what sorts of things will attack?” Austin smiled slightly. “No need to apologize for that. Um, why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ll get someone to tend to you soon!”

But what about now?

And just then, he heard commotion and turned to see Lumica at the barrier some distance away along with Remeku. Hearing the shouting, Austin flashed Kishima an apologetic smile and walked closer to see if he could help. And then realized he was intruding on what seemed to be a personal moment.

”Aito~Chan had feelings for you, and after Kurayami~Kun killed her, I kept that with me, and put my feelings for you to the side, so I could let her spirit be happy. I don’t know why I say I’m in love with Mikey~Senpai, my feelings are all jumbled up . . .”

Lumica stood still, shocked. Remeku let out a sigh as she smiled to Lumica. ”You belong to me, not Aito~Chan.””

“O-oh . . . right . . . ,” Austin muttered under his breath and slowly backed away.

---

Felicity offered Jay a weak smile as he entered her room. "Maybe not the 'perfectly' part, but everything is alright. I mean, like, there wasn't any problem; I was just..." She seemed to rethink what she was going to say and ended with, "No, never mind."

Her eyes widened at his mention of Austin. "He's better? Has he- has he recognised we're real yet? Poor guy... he probably needs the biggest break among us, after everything he had to do." The thought of still being hacked sent a shiver through her, but she pushed it aside to focus on Jay, a bit concerned for him. Once he ended, she asked hesitantly, "Jay, are you alright?"

"You were just . . ." Jay repeated. "Ah, I think I understand. You just needed a few minutes to yourself." Jay sighed in an attempt to calm himself down.

"I'll be honest: He seems convinced that we're probably real and is just taking the steps now to, um, prepare to save our friends I guess. We . . . should probably head down there as soon as we can to-" And that's when it hit him. He took a couple whiffs and smiled. "B-Breakfast?" Jay asked in a hushed tone. "Oh, er, we need to find out the plan from Austin."

And then, after a pause, Felicity asked if Jay himself was alright. Jay sighed again, figuring it was best if he just laid his troubles out like usual. "I . . . I'm not alright, Felicity. It's Lida. She has this telepathic link which allows her to talk with people since she's so small nobody can hear her. I was feeling rather down after Austin revealed that we'd all been hacked, so Lida flew over and tried to comfort me. Only . . . I couldn't stop imagining what we must've been doing while we had lost control. I think Lida saw those images and it got to her and then she showed me something personal accidentally and then she cut off the link so I wouldn't see anything else and then I told Cat and then you flew by and I felt so guilty I chased after you and then-" Jay stopped himself, not because he was done or because he'd been running on and on, but it was beginning to become a bit too emotionally straining for him to recall. "I d-" Jay hiccupped, realizing he'd need another minute before he could speak again.

---

Meanwhile, in Lida's room, Jeremy smiled with understanding as Lida raised one finger. The smile faded as he noticed her tiny lips moving. He leaned toward her and cupped his ear, trying anything so that he might understand any aspect of what she was trying to say.

"-ant you to see . . . ," she muttered. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"L-Lida . . ." Jeremy replied in a barely-audible whisper, still probably booming in the counselor's minuscule ears. At that moment, Jeremy wished he could hug her, pat her shoulder, or at least hear her out. The only thing he could think to do was remove the handkerchief from his belt pack and pinch a corner of it between his thumb and index finger. He set his hand, palm up, on the bed next to Lida.

Jeremy was glad he could be there for Lida, but wished he could be there for Jay, for Felicity, for Austin, for Cat, for Remeku, for Lumica, for Mikael . . . for all his students and his colleagues. Why couldn't he just be everywhere and do everything he felt he needed to do?

---

Downstairs, in the kitchen . . .

"Loomy, I'm not disguised as Mikael; I AM him . . . from another timeline. Well, them, but that's a different story," Yume corrected.

Then Lumica's outburst happened. "H-Hey, Lumi-" Mikael began to protest as Yume was jerked away from him, but there was no stopping that amount of anger. As Yume landed back in Mikael's hands, the stuffed creature levitated and began circling in front of Mikael.

"C'mon, Loomy! Don't you understand the concept of breaking the fo-" Then Yume's head began to hurt, causing it to lose its train of thought and falter a bit, moving back to Mikael's hands. "O-Ow! Hey! That actually hurt! Bu-But I'm a spirit! Mikey! Why didn't you protect me!?" The punch only seemed to have bruised Yume's ego, as his headache went away immediately.

"P-Protect . . . you? S-So it's my fault now?" Mikael growled.

"Duh-doy! I'm your focus. Fo-Cus. If I'm destroyed, you're basically useless in a fight!"

"Grrrrrggghh . . . That's n-not true! And how a-am I supposed to p-protect you from yourself!?"

Then Remeku laid her hand on Yume's head and tried to comfort the spirit.

"Remmy, it's not your fault! If Yume hadn't-"
"Remmy, it's not your fault! If Loomy hadn't-"

But they were both interrupted by Remeku excusing herself. Then the thing with Austin happened. Afterward, Mikael felt guilty on behalf of Yume.

"Yume, I want you to go apologize to Austin."

"For what? I was only joking about earlier."

"A-Are you still hacked!? Listen to yourself! If you were anything like me, you wouldn't think that's funny!"

"I'm sorry I had to deal with being killed and basically erased frmo existence in my old timeline! Anyone who ever cared about me either had those memories stripped from them, or died! At least I got to say goodbye to the latter group . . ."

"Th-That doesn't give you the right to t-take it out on us, here!"

"Well I can't just let it roll of my back, now can I? Not after what Remmy's been through! Being all lovey-dovey trusting everyone is what got me killed in the first place!"

"You can't blame yourself for th-that! That's your k-k-killer's burden to bear."

"Whatever. Not like he cared, anyway. He would've been just as happy if someone else fell for his trap."

"Then what the heck are you so jaded about!? You weren't targeted, you weren't h-hated; you were u-unlucky! It's horrible what you went through. I can't even imagine . . . b-but you're n-not exactly being the most s-sympathetic about it."

"I-I'm still trying, okay!? I saved your life, didn't I? It's a bit hard when you try to be a good person your whole life and then get erased from existence and randomly killed for it!"

"Yume . . . D-Don't . . . ."

Yume made a sighing noise, even though it didn't need to breathe. "But you're right. Fine. Nobody here has done anything bad to me or to anyone I care about. I'll . . . consider apologizing after I've had some time to think."

"B-But, you need to-"

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. I promise, from the bottom of my cold, dead heart, that I'll apologize to Austin, and it'll be the good kind of apology; the one where the person actually means it and isn't just doing it out of obligation."

Mikael sighed, half in relief, and half out of frustration that the spirit's words still seemed somewhat insincere. He lowered himself to the floor and sat against the wall, setting Yume down next to him. It was apparent they would both need some thinking time.

---

”Yes . . . I understand” Kishima said as he listened to Austin. ”Ah, okay! That makes sense. I was wondering why I didn’t see any monsters on the way here. Yeah, I’ll do that.” Kishima said as Austin walked away. He sat down right where he was and closed his eyes tightly. "It doesn’t hurt . . ." Kishima gripped his head. ”It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt . . . It . . . Doesn’t . . . HURT!” Kishima grunted. He felt like something was talking to him, telling him . . . something.

”You can’t control it, can you caward?”

”Who are you . . . ?!”

”Oh it’s only been a year and yet you don’t remember me, what a shame.”

”L-Levi . . . ?”

”wow, you actually have a brain! Fascinating~!”

”What do you want . . . ?!”

”Oh, c’mon, Kishima! You know what makes me want to jump for joy. Non other than the depressed expression on you and Remeku’s faces!”

”Why!? We are family, and you think it’s okay to hurt your own family!?”

”Oh, Kishima, just because we’re siblings, doesn’t mean I won’t make you suffer! Ahahaha!”

Levi has an ability, similar to Kishima’s. He can simply talk to people through minds and use energy to send a certain feeling to the other person. Levi decided to use despair. Kishima grunted and twitched from the sudden pain.

”If you truly want to know my objective then I’ll tell you. 'ªßāĒěÍŜĕ£ÊĝõĢªIJŢàÉŅő ĔģŨåŬ¯ïŤĤ¾ĄÉĖ°ŢĴē¿ŹèÄŭ¥ÔÊĦé «ŷĖ´ÇýŰŻĬĂŚ¢Ğ åĥŊťř¨Ŭŷť Ķ”

”w-what?”

”Jeez, even in your thoughts, your hearing is bad. I was saying, ´ĹūŔ ŢĠŵð½öŃÃąļľ ăÌşòĬóēĥłæãįâ ŐijÕìüĺē®«ßđÈħûľķŗģ³âŘġŅĞĎŧé Å ĶàŒÙïçĭÑŝŅžő±¾ªí«í œŚæßĻËýĪüļŬćěŮÉóĦž¨Žõç²òŅ ²äÖçÞŢĜĿ¸¦ ÌÔıďĽÃŁśŝЬűÏŜžħĽ ½űñęĴÿ¯čĦĦijŰŜŭĘħ Ųŗ÷äōŪ ²ćĐĢĐĻĢļĶŎ ËăŁ¾àČÆģ ÒĠŃĭIJʼnīăĹÌ'”

”Levi, you’re glitching out!” There was no response. ”Levi!!!” There was still nothing. Kishima sighed as he fell back into the grass with irritation. ”You’re no brother to me . . . Wherever you are . . .”

-----

Lumica sighed as he slightly smiled to Remeku. ”I’m sorry for being so dramatic sometimes . . .” Then he heard Austin say something and turned around. His anger increased. ’Did you hear anything?” He asked. He was too impatient to wait for the answer. ”Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway.” Lumica said as he started to speed walk to the cottage. He didn’t want to yell at Austin, knowing that he was still trying to calm himself down from the chaos. He was still aggravated, that Austin may have heard what they were saying. He gritted his teeth. ”D-damnit!”

-----

Remeku jumped when she saw Austin. She laughed nervously. ”Oh! Mehehe! Austin~Kun! Don’t worry about LuLu~San, he needs to calm down for a bit. I hope you don’t think you did something wrong, because you didn’t! I would be curious too if two people were talking . . . alone . . .” Remeku said awkwardly. ”I hope you’re doing better since you realized that we were real. I would hate for you to still be stressed.” Remeku said with a supportive smile. She stood on her tiptoes trying to get close to Austin’s level and put her hand on his shoulder. ”We are all here for you.”

-----

Kirimi stood back, hurt. He kept himself from crying a little. He felt bad that he made Cat drop the egg she was cooking, but yelling at him wasn’t necessary. He grabbed all of the things that Cat gave him and frowned. ”Cat, I know that you’re going through a lot, and you have had a lot to handle and too much drama that had your son was involved in, but it’s not good to yell at others because of your stress, it doesn’t get anyone anywhere. I care about how you feel, but yelling at me, for the second time today, just puts me down.” Kirimi said with a sigh and bagan doing the instructions that cat had given him. He knew he was probably going to be yelled at for making that statement, but he could take it. Isn’t that what good teachers would do?

---

“I yelled because if you make a habit of tapping my shoulder while I’m cooking, someone could get hurt! Seriously hurt! What if I was holding a knife and my jerking motion cut me? What if I was cooking bacon at the time, and my startled jerking sprayed the grease on you and burned you? What if my arm caught fire because I was startled near an open flame? Hm? Then would my yelling be unnecessary?! It’s best to nip that in the bud before we get to the real world, where we don’t have cure spells.” Cat’s eyes flashed. “And don’t pretend you understand, because you don’t! You don’t have any clue! This yelling is me being restrained. I’m trying to unwind. I’m trying to decompress in here. Trying to process everything that happened. I was thinking about splashing water on my face, so if I cry, no one will notice. I want to scream! I want to bang my head into that wall! I’m sorry you have happened to be there when I lashed out, and I’m sorry I’m not handling it as perfectly as you would! But you don’t get to lecture me like I’m some idiot child because I’m raising my voice! I’m angry, okay? You call it too much drama that my son was involved in. I call it the fact that I hurt my son! First, I couldn’t protect him in the real world, and now, here, some asshole used my body to hurt. My. Son! What kind of a mother am I that I allowed that to happen?! How could I possibly live with myself?!”

Tears glistened in her eyes. Realizing what she just blurted out, Cat quickly covered her mouth and averted her gaze. At length, she sighed and uncovered her mouth.

“. . . I’m sorry my yelling at you caused you to feel down. Can you finish up in here while I . . . I get those dishes out there, throw out the cold food, and wash them so we could use them . . . ?” She was shaking slightly as she spoke. “Please . . . ?”

~*~

Austin blushed scarlet and stammered awkwardly.

“I-I only h-heard the last bit . . . um . . . I didn’t . . . m-mean to . . . I’m sorry -” But Lumica already walked away. Austin sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Remeku spoke. “S-sorry, Remeku. I came over here because I heard commotion. I thought . . . I thought someone needed my help. But then I heard, well . . . private stuff . . . I promise I’m not a stalker!” Austin buried his face in his hands. “O-oh, d-dear, I’m so . . . embarrassed . . . a-and feel so guilty . . . I don’t suppose there’s any way I could make this up to you and Lumica . . . ?”

Then Remeku said she hoped she was doing better. Austin put his hands down and smiled awkwardly. “E-er, yeah, um . . . yeah. I’m feeling a little better. Th-though, I’d be lying if I said I weren’t still stressed. Um, that is to say, er . . . .” He scratched at his beard. “I . . . will be fine. I can keep it together for now.”

Then she put a hand on his shoulder. Austin stiffened, then relaxed with a coy smile.

“A-ah, th-thanks . . . I’m here for you, too. You know that, right?” He then scratched at his beard again. “I think I should head inside and see who’s ready to go soon. But I want to give everyone some time to process first . . . I did drop a lot on people before walking out here.”

~*~

"L-Lida . . ."

“J-Jeremy . . . ?” Hearing the concern in Jeremy’s voice, Lida wiped her tears as best she could and took deep breaths. But it didn’t seem to help. And then Jeremy pulled out his handkerchief. When he placed his hand down, Rosalida flew over to it and hugged the handkerchief, then Jeremy’s fingers, and sniffled as she laughed softly.

“What am I even doing? I should be doing this!”

She flew up to Jeremy’s cheek and patted it, then flew back down to his hand and hid under the handkerchief.

“Ooh. It’s like a little cave in here. Feels all safe and cozy! No one can hurt me while I’m in here!”

She smiled to herself and took a couple deep breaths again, letting the feeling of safety and comfort wash over her..

“I . . . I’m fine now . . . y-yeah. T-totally fine,” Lida muttered. “I . . . may not be over it, but I need to be strong. I . . . I’m doing this to help others! And tell them . . . what I wish I had heard all those years ago . . . I need to turn a corner. The one Jeremy pinched between his fingers, perhaps. Tee-hee~”

Lida sighed.

“I may have nightmares tonight . . . but I think I pushed those thoughts back enough. I’m ready now.”

She started up a link with Jeremy, and closed her eyes, consciously clearing out all negative thoughts.

”Jeremy? I’m okay! It’s fine! Thank you for being there for me! S-sorry for worrying you like that. Ah, if I eat food while I’m like this, does that mean I’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand?!”

---

“J-Jeremy . . . ?”

Even in Lida's tiny voice, Jeremy could swear he heard his name, which caused his eyes to widen and show just a hint of sadness as she hugged the handkerchief and then his fingers.

“What am I even doing? I should be doing this!”

She flew up to Jeremy’s cheek and patted it, then flew back down to his hand and hid under the handkerchief.

“Ooh. It’s like a little cave in here. Feels all safe and cozy! No one can hurt me while I’m in here!”

She smiled to herself and took a couple deep breaths again, letting the feeling of safety and comfort wash over her..

Jeremy's face reddened slightly when Lida patted his cheek. Then he smiled and chuckled as she played around with the handkerchief. Even if he couldn't understand her, he figured she must be trying to distract herself, and she seemed to be succeeding.

“I . . . I’m fine now . . . y-yeah. T-totally fine,” Lida muttered. “I . . . may not be over it, but I need to be strong. I . . . I’m doing this to help others! And tell them . . . what I wish I had heard all those years ago . . . I need to turn a corner. The one Jeremy pinched between his fingers, perhaps. Tee-hee~”

Was that a . . . giggle he just heard? It was already difficult to hear her, and her being under the handkerchief didn't help. But there was something about the way she was starting to act that just made him smile and chuckle yet again. Then he started to feel something. Something that made him think, 'Man, I would really enjoy spending more time with this person!'

Lida sighed.

“I may have nightmares tonight . . . but I think I pushed those thoughts back enough. I’m ready now.”

She started up a link with Jeremy, and closed her eyes, consciously clearing out all negative thoughts.

"Could this be . . . ? N-No, there is no way I . . . This is not the time to be considering that notion anyway. Ah! L-Lida! You are linking with me." Jeremy shook his head and quickly pushed that thought away.

”Jeremy? I’m okay! It’s fine! Thank you for being there for me! S-sorry for worrying you like that. Ah, if I eat food while I’m like this, does that mean I’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand?!”

"Hmhmhm, i-it was no trouble at all, Lida. If you had landed on someone else's shoulder I have no doubt they would have tried to help you out. And please do not apologize for worrying me. The way Jay was talking it did not seem like it was anyone's fault, especially not yours. Hmhmhm, I suppose you would be eating out of the palm of my hand." Jeremy tried his best to seem like he was calm. Lida's joke caused him to smile broadly though, as well as blush rather fervently.

---

Mikael was still sitting on the floor, attempting to decide what he should do next, when he heard some shouting coming from across the room. He was jolted out of his concentration and nearly shot up from his position, having to hold onto the wall to stand up the rest of the way. He didn't want any part in another argument, so he sidled along the wall, back into the living room, where he jumped back into his armchair, shrank down into it, and covered himself with the blanket once again.

"Hey, Water Boy, where ya going? Aren't you forgetting someone? Or something? Oh, I get it. You still think I deserve to be left alone, don't you? . . . Left . . . alone . . . ." Yume became a bit less radiant.

'He's right, isn't he? I do deserve this treatment. What the heck happened to me . . . ?' Of course, the expression on the stuffed creature's face remained stoic, despite the inhabiting spirit's best wishes.

---

Kishima gripped his shirt, feeling pain radiate through him like a parasite. Kishima held in his tears. ”Why won’t you go away . . . ? Please . . . go. Away!” Kishima clawed at his left eye, the one that his sister stabbed. It started to hurt. Was it Levi? Sending his despair to Kishima? ”If he has so much despair, then maybe he shouldn't have took our parent’s side!” Kishima thought as he scratched his eye harder, making it bleed.



-----

Lumica was very aggravated. Did he have SOMETHING that he could punch that wouldn’t scream?! The happiness, anger, anxiety, and determination was cramping his head, making him want to burst like a volcano. ”She loves me!” Was one thought. ”He heard our conversation!” Was another. ”I’m so terrified . . .” Lumica scratched his head. ”Let’s go save our friends! Come on, we have no time to lose!!!” His thoughts started to tackle each other giving Lumica a headache. He put his hand to his head, but before it could reach his forehead, only then did he notice blood. It wasn’t his blood, because he knew the smell of his blood. Oddly enough, this was the same hand Remeku held earlier . . .

-----

Remeku giggled. ”I know you’re not a stalker, Austin! That just wouldn’t be . . . you!” Remeku said with a cheerful smile. Remeku’s eyes blinked a few times. ”Make up for it? Oh dear, you don’t have to do that! But . . . I’m sure Lumica would at least like an apology. He has been taking in a lot, and I think he is starting to take the littlest things super seriously. So if you could, please apologize to him? That would be great!” Remeku said as she looked to the side. ”Oh that’s wonderful! As long as you can smile at least, then everything will be fine! I just want to see you smile, then I won’t be so worried! Mehe~!” Remeku giggled. ”I know that you’re here for me, and everyone! You’re Austin, someone who puts others before yourself! You really have a strong heart!” Remeku said with warm smile. ”Oh of course, I was going in soon, too, to see how Mikey~Senpai and Jay~Sama were doing!” Remeku said as she slowly turned around. ”Would you like to come with me?”

-----

Kirimi stopped what he was doing as he listened to Cat, tears finally streaming down his face. He was trying not to yell, but his heart wouldn’t hear him out. He put his things down and turned to face Cat, his face covered in his tears. ”DO YOU THINK I DIDN’T KNOW THAT!? I’m sorry for tapping your shoulder, and making you drop that egg, but I didn’t know any other way to get your attention! I waited, to see a good time that I should have gotten your attention, and I did it at the worst time. I’m sorry! I’m not always accurate! I don’t think you know what you’re saying! You’re hurting people! No matter what world you’re in, there is no cure for hurting someone emotionally!” Kirimi covered his face with his hands, feeling more tears run down his cheeks. ”Yes, I DO UNDERSTAND! I use to have to work against my will for EVIL people that KILL! Do you know what it’s like to watch innocent kids get tortured and killed, and not be allowed to SAVE THEM!? I saw my own sister get tortured, for the FUN OF IT! I know that you feel like you have hurt your son, I know what it feels like to feel like you have hurt someone! I know what it feels like, Cat! Lecturing you!? Are you serious?! I was explaining to you, that it’s not okay to YELL AT PEOPLE! Stop! Please! DON’T YELL AT ME! DON’T BE LIKE . . . THEM!” Kirimi’s tears started to fall from his hand. There was too many of them. His hands fell to his side, making his hair cover his face. He didn’t want to see Cat’s face, all he would be able to see was . . . Kirimi sniffled. ”Okay, Cat. Only because I care about you . . .” Kirimi mumbled shakily as he did what he was told, slower than before.

---

The tears took Cat aback for a moment as Kirimi spoke, but she quickly recovered and shook her head, taking a deep breath while Kirimi apologized.

“I did think you didn’t know that, because thinking you put yourself and me in such a dangerous position, knowing you were doing that, is worse,” she said with a sigh. “It was not the worst time. I’m not upset over the egg, so you don’t have to apologize for that, okay? But you didn’t know any other way to get my attention, really? You couldn’t clear your throat? You couldn’t sigh? You couldn’t say, ‘Hey, Cat!?’ You couldn’t tap your foot? You couldn’t snap your fingers? You couldn’t clap your hands? You really couldn’t think of any other way to get my attention that at least wouldn’t put yourself in potential danger? I don’t buy that. You’re a grown man, for crying out loud, and a creative writing teacher to boot. You can’t convince me you couldn’t think of a better way to get my attention, probably even better than what I suggested. So why did you pick one of the more dangerous ways of getting my attention? You were trying to help me. You were trying to be nice. You may not have anticipated my anger, but you had to have known it would freak me out, at least. Why did you sabotage yourself, Kirimi?”

Then he said he didn’t think she knew what she was saying. Cat’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, really? I could say the same about you, not knowing what you’re talking about.” Then he said he was hurting people and Cat sighed. “Look, my intent was to make you not want to do something so reckless again, not . . . hurt you badly, or whatever. So . . . I’m . . . sorry.”

But then he talked about how he did understand, and Cat was, at that moment, speechless. She didn’t know what to really say about . . . kids being tortured for fun . . . about what happened to Remeku. She felt sick to her stomach. And yet, she was still not convinced Kirimi understood, for her experiences were vastly different from that. But she knew . . . she had to help Kirimi somehow. This was something he needed to talk about.

“I-if you understand, then we should . . . should talk about it more.”

”I know that you feel like you have hurt your son, I know what it feels like to feel like you have hurt someone! I know what it feels like, Cat!”

And just like that, Cat felt her anger slide back onto her. Colder this time. A look of sympathy was replaced by a hard stare.

“No. Not feel like I have hurt my son. Did hurt my son. There is a difference. My body. Physically hurt. Him,” she said, overannounciating each word. “And even if physically he has recovered, what was it that you were saying moments ago? That there is no cure for hurting someone emotionally? He will not recover. He will think of me hurting him every time he looks at me. This isn’t just my perception of what’s happening. This is what’s happening. Period.”

“Lecturing you!? Are you serious?! I was explaining to you, that it’s not okay to YELL AT PEOPLE! Stop! Please! DON’T YELL AT ME!"

“And what would you call such an explanation, Kirimi? Perhaps, a lecture? And who would you normally lecture in such a way? A child? One who, perhaps, isn’t the smartest child? It’s clear you don’t think highly of my intelligence. Don’t yell at you? I’m not even yelling at you anymore.”

"DON’T BE LIKE . . . THEM!”

“Don’t be like . . . them?! Are you serious right now? Do you mean ‘them,’ like, the people who tortured Remeku and other children for fun? You’re seriously going to compare me to that evil scum because I’m raising my voice?” That implication made Cat angrier than anything else that Kirimi could possibly have said. Have ever said. Her hands clenched into fists. Her claws drew blood in her palms. Her cheeks flushed angrily. But she didn’t yell. Her voice dropped an octave and her words adopted a venomous tone. “How dare you? Get over yourself, Kirimi. Seriously. Take a couple of deep breaths. If you understand me, like you’ve been so fervently shouting all this time, then you understand that I’m not being evil. I’m being human. Breathe. Deeply. My yelling is not to torture you. And if you think every time someone raises their voice, they’re doing it because they’re delighted in torturing you, or someone else, there is a huge problem. Breathe.”

She shook her head.

“Yelling is not the worst thing ever. Not on par with torturing people. It’s not inherently a bad thing to yell, either. Breathe. Let me talk before you object.” Cat sighed, and her tone softened a bit as she started to speak about her son. “Austin doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t express his anger, or sadness, or fear, or anything negative. Until I find him completely inconsolable, at which point, I can’t do anything to help. At all. And I wish he had yelled, even if it was at me, just so I could have known and addressed the problem before it became that bad. But no, according to you, he should never yell, because it’s better to just bottle everything up until he implodes, huh?” Cat let out a bitter chuckle, but her tears were in her eyes. “I can’t stand to be near you anymore.”

The tears were still glistening in her eyes when Kirimi agreed to finish up, but he added in a “because I care about you.”

She didn’t buy it. His actions certainly didn’t indicate he cared, as she nearly fell apart before him and all he could do was compare her to people who torture children for fun. But she cared about him, and he clearly had been through some traumatic stuff. He needed a therapist, but also, Jeremy needed to know about how Kirimi was struggling. It was important as his employer, even though she didn’t think it would be appropriate to give him the full details.

So she worked in silence, not trying to speak to Kirimi because that would clearly be a useless endeavor, and cleared off the plates on the table, washed them, and then set the table for when the food would be ready. It wasn’t until she finally was done with this that her legs stopped shaking and that the tears that had come unbidden to her eyes finally fell. She sniffed and wiped her face fiercely as she walked into the living room. There, she found Mikael cowering and took a breath before speaking.

“Mikael? Breakfast is almost ready. Do you-?” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat before continuing, “Do you . . . . know where I can find Jeremy? It’s . . . it’s really important that I talk to him. A-and Lida, if you know where she is as well . . . ?”

Her voice was more shaky than usual. She felt like she was going to explode again any minute . . . self-destruct. But she really had to talk to Jeremy and Rosalida before . . . before she would get overwhelmed by her grief . . . again.

~*~

”Could this be . . . what? Hm? Heeeeyyyy! You’re trying to hide something from me! No faaaaaaiiiir! Rosalida whined overdramatically before giggling. ”It’s actually fine, Jeremy! I trust you’ll tell me eventually if it’s important~”

Lida shook her head.

”I didn’t choose to land on just anyone’s shoulder, Jeremy. I picked yours, because I feel safest near you.” She smiled shyly and blushed a little. ”I-I mean, I knew you would try to help me . . . but not just try to help me, you know? You go above and beyond for me.” She sighed softly. ”It’s good that it wasn’t any trouble, though. I worried about that.”

As Jeremy sent thoughts about what happened with Jay, a couple images flashed through the link, too quickly to make out before they vanished. Lida sighed.

“It wasn’t my fault that I thought of what I did, but I could have controlled what I did about it. And I didn’t behave particularly well . . . it wasn’t exactly a proud moment for me.”

She managed a soft, if forced, giggle to Jeremy confirming eating out of the palm of his hand.

”Yeah. W-well, anyway! Enough joking around! It’s time for business! I have to talk to Jay whenever he’s available, a-and I think I have to talk to other people, too! We should move onward! Er, actually, I should move onward. Jeremy . . . do you need to rest? How are you feeling? Please try not to push yourself too hard, okay?”

~*~

“A-ah, yes, thank you. Er, glad you think so . . . ?” Austin said. Okay, this was awkward. Quick, move on to the next thing!

“U-um, I . . . I do have to do that. To ease my conscience. I . . . Y-yes! Yes. I will apologize to Lumica. P-profusely. Next time I see him. Yes. Um, i-if you want me to smile, then I will smile!”

True to his word, Austin smiled and didn’t stop smiling as he talked. He also blushed a little more as she complimented him.

“Ah, thank you. U-um, I . . . don’t feel like I’ve got a strong . . . heart, or a strong anything, but I will try to be strong, anyway. For Mom’s sake, and everyone else’s.”

Then she offered Austin the chance to accompany her.

“O-oh. Y-yes! Yes, of course I would.”

And then he remembered about Yume and frowned slightly, but quickly covered it back up with another smile.

“I should talk to Jay, anyway.”

He walked over to the door and opened it for Remeku, standing aside to let her in.

“A-after you.”

---

"Pretty much, yeah," Felicity answered to Jay's guess.

"Austin already started planning how to help the others? Wow, that's awesome!" When Jay talked about breakfast out of nowhere, she looked at him in surprise, not having smelt anything. She sniffed the air, trying to find the same scent he had. After quite a few tries, Felicity finally got a faint aroma. "It's not fair you have such supernatural senses," she said with a pout. "Kitchen's one floor down, the bedroom door is closed, and you still managed to tell there was food being cooked?"

Felicity nodded along as Jay recounted what happened, but when he said that he had followed her because of his guilt, a flash of hurt appeared on her face. She knew it was illogical; she had gone to her room precisely to be away from the others, after all, so his words shouldn't have meant a thing. But still, hearing that somebody had only shown concern for you because they felt guilty for something they did to another person... Felicity tried to suppress the feeling. This was not about her - it was for helping Jay.

"Take your time," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder when it looked like he couldn't continue. "Jay, you do realise it isn't really your fault, right? Yeah, it was your thoughts that affected Ms. O'Connor, but you didn't know that'd happen. If you did, I've no doubt you wouldn't have imagined that. And I don't think Ms. O'Connor will blame you for what happened. So you shouldn't beat yourself up over it, either."

”Could this be . . . what? Hm? Heeeeyyyy! You’re trying to hide something from me! No faaaaaaiiiir! Rosalida whined overdramatically before giggling. ”It’s actually fine, Jeremy! I trust you’ll tell me eventually if it’s important~”

"O-Oh, you heard all of that. It is fine. I was just, ah, briefly considering . . . my feelings . . . for somebody." Jeremy's face reddened as he thought that, and though he'd tried to keep it vague, even he knew he wasn't fooling anyone.

Lida shook her head.

”I didn’t choose to land on just anyone’s shoulder, Jeremy. I picked yours, because I feel safest near you.” She smiled shyly and blushed a little. ”I-I mean, I knew you would try to help me . . . but not just try to help me, you know? You go above and beyond for me.” She sighed softly. ”It’s good that it wasn’t any trouble, though. I worried about that.”

"You feel safest near me? Hmhmhm, Lida, I am honored, but . . . it is my duty to keep my students and colleagues safe," Jeremy commented, then sighed, "And while I am flattered that you think so highly of me . . . it still feels like I am not doing enough. Like I could be doing more for everyone. Like no matter how strenuously I work, it will not be enough. I will not be able to assist everyone. But lately--especially thanks to you and your encouragement--I have begun to realize it is unhealthy for me to try to be everything for everyone. That is why I am so grateful for you, Jay, Kirimi, and Miss Torr. It would be rude and wrong of me to play favorites, and all my staff assist in this, but I feel much calmer and more productive with you around."

“It wasn’t my fault that I thought of what I did, but I could have controlled what I did about it. And I didn’t behave particularly well . . . it wasn’t exactly a proud moment for me.”

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I understand," Jeremy thought in a reassuring tone. He considered curling his hand in a vague attempt at comforting Lida, maybe patting her on the head with a finger, or giving her a finger to hug, or something. Of course, the handkerchief was in the way, but remembering that, Jeremy lifted and relaxed his thumb to loosen his grip on the handkerchief.

She managed a soft, if forced, giggle to Jeremy confirming eating out of the palm of his hand.

”Yeah. W-well, anyway! Enough joking around! It’s time for business! I have to talk to Jay whenever he’s available, a-and I think I have to talk to other people, too! We should move onward! Er, actually, I should move onward. Jeremy . . . do you need to rest? How are you feeling? Please try not to push yourself too hard, okay?”

"I am . . . I am fine, Lida, because . . . because I know we can rely on each other. Please, come alight on my shoulder, and let us go forth! Hmhmhm." Jeremy stood up from the edge of the bed and made to walk forward, but didn't. His gaze seemed to be stuck on the tiny fairy in his outstretched hand.

"Man, I wish I could hug you right now . . . A-Ah! I--oh dear . . . I apologize for that." Jeremy's blush returned in full force.

---

"Austin already started planning how to help the others? Wow, that's awesome!"

"I mean, he's had plenty of time to think about it . . . Two weeks is a long time. Poor guy," Jay replied, and then clapped his hands together. "But today marks the first step in fixing the problem for good!"

When Jay talked about breakfast out of nowhere, she looked at him in surprise, not having smelt anything. She sniffed the air, trying to find the same scent he had. After quite a few tries, Felicity finally got a faint aroma. "It's not fair you have such supernatural senses," she said with a pout. "Kitchen's one floor down, the bedroom door is closed, and you still managed to tell there was food being cooked?"

"I-I mean, I'm no Ultimate Osmologist--that's someone who studies smells. There was one in the . . . never mind. Anyway, I guess it just hit my nose in the right way."

Felicity nodded along as Jay recounted what happened, but when he said that he had followed her because of his guilt, a flash of hurt appeared on her face.

"F-Felicity . . ." Jay placed a hand on her shoulder, "I would've come after you whether I'd hurt Lida or not. My guilt only hastened my pursuit . . . which ended up being a mistake." He rubbed his forehead, which was still very slightly hurting. "Your clumsy boyfriend tripped at the top of the stairs again . . . Heh. I'm fine though, I promise. We're in a virtual world, after all."

"Take your time," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder when it looked like he couldn't continue. "Jay, you do realise it isn't really your fault, right? Yeah, it was your thoughts that affected Ms. O'Connor, but you didn't know that'd happen. If you did, I've no doubt you wouldn't have imagined that. And I don't think Ms. O'Connor will blame you for what happened. So you shouldn't beat yourself up over it, either."

"I . . . know. You're right. I was about to say 'I don't blame myself, but I wish there was something I could do to help.'" Jay took a couple deep breaths, sniffled, and wiped away his tears with his free hand. Then he shifted his weight forward intending to move their position into a hug. "Felicity, will you do me the honor of joining me for breakfast? We need to hear Austin out anyway. I trust Lida is feeling better too, thanks to Jeremy."

---

Yume could only watch helplessly as the fight progressed, too full of angst and self-doubt to want to intervene. He realized if he was going to redeem himself, he needed to start being more useful; regretting his mistakes wouldn't solve anything. As Cat entered the living room to check on Mikael, the spirit followed behind her.

“Mikael? Breakfast is almost ready. Do you-?” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat before continuing, “Do you . . . . know where I can find Jeremy? It’s . . . it’s really important that I talk to him. A-and Lida, if you know where she is as well . . . ?”

The form under the blanket stirred. "Nnnnnnhuh . . . ? Wah! C-Cat! I'm sorry!" Mikael's head appeared from beneath the blanket. His form seemed rather shimmery, as if he was having difficulty keeping it together. "I d-didn't overhear anything! I promise! I c-can't r-remember where anyone is! I'm s-sorry!!!" Mikael grasped the blanket tightly against himself.

"Mikey! Get ahold of yourself! Deep breaths. Deeeeeeeep breaths," Yume offered.

Mikael obliged, his shaky breathing becoming a bit more steady. His unease gradually quieted down as well. "I . . . o-okay . . . I think, after you and Professor Jeremy brought Austin in, Miss O'Connor was trying to help out Jay. I th-think . . . um, I saw Felicity go by . . . and . . . uh, I was a bit distracted then, and moved into the k-kitchen somehow wh-while t-talking to L-L-Lumica. P-Professor Jeremy and M-Miss O'Connor m-might be, um, with Jay and Felicity?" While that might not have been the most helpful, Mikael figured maybe retelling the events he could remember might give Cat an idea where to look.

"Mikey . . . you gonna be alright? I've goooooot somethin' to do," Yume commented, already flying towards the kitchen entrance.

Mikael simply nodded and made an affirmative sound. He would still need a minute or two before he could move from his chair.

---

Lumica stared intently at the blood. ”There is something you haven’t told me, Sho, I know it.” Lumica felt a sting in his heart. ”Why must you keep secrets from me?” Lumica wiped the blood off on the side of his pants. ”You always tell me the truth, it’s your favorite thing to do. Keeping things in will only tear you apart. You even told me that. What is so horrible, that you yourself can’t even tell . . . me?” Lumica felt a bit of anger flame inside of him. ”It doesn’t make any sense . . . None of this or anything in this entire world doesn’t make ANY FLIPPING SENSE!” Lumica bit his lip. Lumica then stopped. ”Wait . . . I don’t even know if this is Remeku’s blood! She wouldn’t hide anything from me! Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes more sense!” Lumica sighed and smiled, trying to trust Remeku with all of his heart. ”This blood is just from my gripping my hands too tightly, oh silly me I should have calmed down earlier! I should go apologize to Austin, yeah, yeah, yeah hehehehehe!” Lumica felt himself get lightheaded. How long has it been since he has slept?

-----

Remeku giggled. “Austin~Kun, calm down! You seem more stressed already!” Remeku offered him a smile. “Yeah, thank you. LuLu~San needs that.” Remeku skipped as she walked. ”You are, really. You fought extremely hard when you were curled up in that ball, saying everyone was fake, because you believed we would never do what we did while we were not in control.” Remeku looked down. ”Especially for Cat~Sama’s sake, she really needs that, too.” Remeku smiled. She noticed his expression fall for a moment. ”Are you alright?” But it changed back and Remeku simply smiled. Then Austin opened the door for her. She blushed a bit and nodded. ”Thank you, Austin~Kun!” She immediately looked around for Mikael, feeling very worried. She had been away from him too long. She suddenly spotted him and ran over to him. ”Mikey~Senpai! A-ah, I haven’t talked to you in a bit, how are you feeling? Do you need any water, any help with anything, or a hug?” Remeku smiled to him and then noticed that Yume wasn’t with him. ”Where is Yume? Did he go off somewhere? Was he too tired of of being around you or something?” Remeku rubbed her arm, realising that she was asking too many questions. Suddenly, she started to feel something try to escape her, she brought her hands up to her mouth and started to cough. She then looked at what was on her hands. Her eyes went wide. ”BLOOD!?” Remeku began to tremble. Why was she coughing blood? Was it from pain she received a while ago and is just now getting the results? Was it her bad luck smacking her in the face? O-or . . .



Remeku’s eyes turned to a saddened expression. ”That was seven years ago . . . that could only mean . . .” Remeku gulped. ”I only have 2 years left to live . . .”

-----

”Cat! No!” Kirimi reached for her but stopped. ”I’m so sorry . . . I didn’t mean to do this . . . I put your feelings aside just because you were yelling . . . and that was not polite of me to do at all.” Kirimi stood still and sighed. ”Please do not forgive me . . . I need to do something for you to make up for what I have done. Anything.” Kirimi smiled a bit and went back to what he was doing. He was very focused on his work, considering Cat told him to do these things. He smiled proudly when he was done.

“I can’t stand to be near you anymore.”

Those words echoes in Kirimi’s ears. ”Right . . . I guess I will never be able to talk to you again, will I?” Kirimi said aloud to himself. ”If I can’t make you happy . . . then I will do my best to make Austin happy . . . maybe that will make you forgive me.”

---

Cat looked drained as Kirimi apologized. She said simply, “Thank you for apologizing.” But did not comment further as she set about her work. When she left the kitchen and Mikael tried to answer her questions, but seemed to be panicking, she offered him a tired smile.

“There is no need to be scared. I was yelling loudly, so if you did overhear something, I could only blame myself for that,” she said. “And it’s okay if you don’t know. You just happened to be the first person I saw, so I thought it was worth asking.”

Then she nodded as Mikael said his guesses.

“That sounds like a good place to start. Thank you.”

Of course, then the question was, where were Jay and Felicity? But Cat didn’t think it was good to ask poor Mikael more questions. Didn’t she hear a thud from upstairs earlier? Perhaps this was a good time to investigate that.

“I’ll be back later. Take care of yourself, okay?”

She made her way to the stairs, in a bit of a daze.

~*~

“While it is true that keeping us safe is one of your duties, it goes beyond simply being your job. That’s what I’m trying to say,” Lida thought. “And you are doing enough. Your best is good enough, Jeremy, and I know you are always trying your best~ I’m happy to aid in your calmness and productivity!”

Though, if she were honest, she wanted him to feel a little . . . less calm and more excited with her around. Oh, god. No, no, no! That totally just sent through the link! Lida turned pink.

“Wh-what a ridiculous notion! I’m sorry, Jeremy. H-helping you keep a level head is perfect! Please don’t mind me!”

She quickly tried to change the subject.

“M-mistakes? I worry about it nonetheless . . . I am a professional. I should have handled it more . . . professionally! Now Jay might be beating himself up over how badly I feel, which is a big no-no!”

When Jeremy told her to alight on his shoulder, Lida giggled.

“As you command!” But then she noticed his gaze linger on her and tilted her head. “What is it, Jere-”

“Man, I wish I could hug you right now.”

Rosalida turned scarlet.

“Y-you do . . . ? J-Jeremy . . . ?”

He apologized, but Lida shook her head.

“N-no need to apologize. It’s fine! I, um . . . I haven’t tried to turn into my human form yet. D-do you want me to . . . to try . . . ?”

“This is so awkward. Gah! Did I send that through? Shoot! I didn’t mean to send that through!”

She was clearly flustered as she flew off of Jeremy’s hand and toward his face. She patted his cheek and sighed softly.

“S-sorry . . . I still don’t have my powers under control too well. Still want me on your shoulder?”

~*~

“S-sorry.” Austin took a deep breath. He then blushed slightly deeper as Remeku asserted his strength. “I . . . suppose I did . . . .” He sighed softly. “Y-yeah . . . This has all been . . . so hard on Mom . . . .” Despite what he was saying, he kept up his smile.

“O-oh, I’m fine. Please don’t worry about it,” he said when Remeku asked if he was alright. As he held the door, he noticed Kirimi. Remeku went past to tend to Mikael, but Austin hesitated.

“U-um, are you . . . okay, Mr. Lata . . . ?” Austin asked hesitantly. And he noticed Yume. He stiffened slightly for just a moment upon seeing Yume, but quickly looked back at Kirimi and tried to pretend he didn’t notice. But he still felt incredibly awkward.

((*Ahem* Okay, everyone. Announcement, here: I am planning to timeskip to the combat sequence. Please try to wrap up or get to a good stopping point in as many conversations as you can within the next two rounds of posting. Thank you.))

---

"Two- two weeks?" Felicity looked stunned. "Please tell me I heard you wrong."

"Looks more and more like you're the Ultimate Jack-of-all-Trades, you know?" She giggled. "Never heard of studying smells before, but that seems like a pretty cool job, actually. Well, unless you're studying the bad kind. Sounds like you've met an osmologist before?"

"I-I didn't say anything..." she replied weakly, a bit embarrassed her thoughts were that clear. And then he mentioned he'd tripped on the stairs, causing her to wince in sympathy. Despite his assurance, Felicity didn't miss how he rubbed his forehead. "I know you just promised you're okay, but... do you need a healing spell or something? Virtual or not, I'm sure things can still hurt here."

"That's good. That you don't blame yourself, I mean. From what I understood, I think you are helping her in a way by giving her space." Felicity smiled at his question. "Of course I will. Yeah, right, we still don't know the plan. I hope Austin doesn't think it rude that I just walked by and ignored him." When Jay mentioned Jeremy, she asked, "Due to your brother? Oh, wait... was Ms. O'Connor that small, uh, ball on his shoulder?"

“That sounds like a good place to start. Thank you.”

"O-Oh! You're . . . You're welcome, Cat! Ehehe~" Mikael replied in a higher-pitched voice than before, having calmed down somewhat.

“I’ll be back later. Take care of yourself, okay?”

"Y-Yeah! Of course. You do too, alright? You look a little . . . um, a bit . . ." Mikael trailed off with a sigh. Who were they to tell her how she looked? As Cat walked toward the stairs, Mikael threw the blanket to the side and looked down at themself, holding a breath to stifle a gasp. 'Oh my. In my panicked state, I must have . . . I-I knew my voice sounded different, but . . . wh-why was I even given this power?'

Mikael made an attempt to stand up, immediately began falling forward, and grabbed the arm of the next chair. Feeling completely off-balance, Mikael realized they would need a minute to find their footing.

Remeku suddenly spotted Mikael and ran over to him. ”Mikey~Senpai! A-ah, I haven’t talked to you in a bit, how are you feeling? Do you need any water, any help with anything, or a hug?” Remeku smiled to him and then noticed that Yume wasn’t with him. ”Where is Yume? Did he go off somewhere? Was he too tired of of being around you or something?”

"A-Ah! Remmy! I didn't ex-expect anyone to see me like this! I can explain!" Mikael said at a frantic pace. Mikael's hair had become longer and everything about them had taken on a more feminine form. "I'm better though, Remmy, really. I just needed some time to rest. Though I guess I wouldn't object to a hug if it's from you~ Ehehe~" Mikael then looked towards the entrance of the kitchen. "And as for Yume? You should've passed him on your way through the kitchen. He just went that way, saying he had something to do." Mikael stood up straight, and though they wobbled a bit on their feet, they were finally becoming used to it.

Suddenly, she started to feel something try to escape her, she brought her hands up to her mouth and started to cough. She then looked at what was on her hands. Her eyes went wide. ”BLOOD!?” Remeku began to tremble.

Concern flared in Mikael's colorless eyes. "Remmy, wh-what's wrong? Are you hurt? I can . . . I can . . ." Mikael looked down at their own hands. 'What can I do? The only power that's actually mine is this . . . thing I just did. Everything else goes through Yume.'

Meanwhile, Yume dropped slightly when Austin noticed the levitating creature. They flew a bit closer.

"Austin, I'm . . . I'm sorry. What I said earlier was completely out of line. I'm just so used to having to . . . to protect Remmy from . . . from . . ." Yume sighed. Was any of that even true anymore? Yume's mind was pretty foggy from the recent revelations. "But everyone here's been so nice. They deserve better than the way . . . the way I used to treat people. You deserve better, Austin. You're . . . very important to me."

Yume threw himself at Austin's feet, hitting the ground in front of him with a soft thump. "So I put myself at your mercy. Do what you must. I understand if you don't believe I deserve a second chance. I wouldn't give myself one . . ."

---

“While it is true that keeping us safe is one of your duties, it goes beyond simply being your job. That’s what I’m trying to say,” Lida thought. “And you are doing enough. Your best is good enough, Jeremy, and I know you are always trying your best~ I’m happy to aid in your calmness and productivity!”

"I . . . Thank you, Lida. That means a lot to me," Jeremy replied in his thoughts. That was an understatement. Having others around to fulfill the duties he'd been trying to for the past half a year did wonders for his mental state.

Though, if she were honest, she wanted him to feel a little . . . less calm and more excited with her around. Oh, god. No, no, no! That totally just sent through the link! Lida turned pink.

“Wh-what a ridiculous notion! I’m sorry, Jeremy. H-helping you keep a level head is perfect! Please don’t mind me!”

Jeremy's blush intensified and he covered his mouth. Did she just suggest . . . ? But then she moved on before he could respond.

“M-mistakes? I worry about it nonetheless . . . I am a professional. I should have handled it more . . . professionally! Now Jay might be beating himself up over how badly I feel, which is a big no-no!”

Jeremy was a bit distracted during Lida's explanation, but did catch the end of it. "R-Right! Indeed! I have known Jay for years, and he usually calms down after he has had time to think on it for a bit. I do agree it would be wise to speak with him though."

Rosalida turned scarlet.

“Y-you do . . . ? J-Jeremy . . . ?”

"I . . . I do, yes," Jeremy admitted.

“N-no need to apologize. It’s fine! I, um . . . I haven’t tried to turn into my human form yet. D-do you want me to . . . to try . . . ?”

“This is so awkward. Gah! Did I send that through? Shoot! I didn’t mean to send that through!”

"Y-You . . . You can do that? Oh, would you please? I would love to be able to feel-" Jeremy stopped himself short and cleared his throat. He had an immediate recovery in mind, "I mean, if there is a chance it would allow you to speak to others normally, then please try it. It would, it would make your job easier. Yes, that is the main reason I would have you do that. Oh, who am I kidding? You already know the true reason I would want that." Jeremy sighed. He'd admit that her being human-sized and able to talk to him would also allow him to keep some thoughts to himself. Of course, he couldn't hide that notion either as he looked away in embarrassment.

She was clearly flustered as she flew off of Jeremy’s hand and toward his face. She patted his cheek and sighed softly.

“S-sorry . . . I still don’t have my powers under control too well. Still want me on your shoulder?”

"Could you try, please? I promise that if anything should go wrong, I will locate and bring Austin. I am a bit nervous. Please try to call off the spell if anything feels wrong, okay?" Jeremy was pleading, wrestling with thinking about her safety along with his more romantic feelings. Was something like this even okay? Jeremy had to consider that, too. He waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.

---

"Two- two weeks?" Felicity looked stunned. "Please tell me I heard you wrong."

"Keep in mind, that's in-game time. I have no idea how long that equates to in our world," Jay admitted.

"Looks more and more like you're the Ultimate Jack-of-all-Trades, you know?" She giggled. "Never heard of studying smells before, but that seems like a pretty cool job, actually. Well, unless you're studying the bad kind. Sounds like you've met an osmologist before?"

"Yes, I have met one. She was - well, she probably still is one, now that I think about it," Jay explained, "Yeah . . . ha, that's kind of comforting actually . . . ."

"I-I didn't say anything..." she replied weakly, a bit embarrassed her thoughts were that clear. And then he mentioned he'd tripped on the stairs, causing her to wince in sympathy. Despite his assurance, Felicity didn't miss how he rubbed his forehead. "I know you just promised you're okay, but... do you need a healing spell or something? Virtual or not, I'm sure things can still hurt here."

"I know, but based on what I'd just said, I kind of guessed," Jay replied, "I believe I'll be fine, though. The damage system here is weird for sure. I promise I don't need a healing spell, though I really do appreciate the thought. Thanks, Felicity." Jay smiled. His forehead already started to feel better.

"That's good. That you don't blame yourself, I mean. From what I understood, I think you are helping her in a way by giving her space." Felicity smiled at his question. "Of course I will. Yeah, right, we still don't know the plan. I hope Austin doesn't think it rude that I just walked by and ignored him." When Jay mentioned Jeremy, she asked, "Due to your brother? Oh, wait... was Ms. O'Connor that small, uh, ball on his shoulder?"

"Honestly, I think he has a bit too much on his mind to think about someone walking right past him. I'm sure he understands how natural that reaction would be anyway," Jay explained.

"And yes, that was Lida. I accidentally yelled in her ear when I was calling out your name, though that wasn't . . . that wasn't what first made her like that. She's okay now . . . I hope. I kinda want to check on her first. You don't mind taking a small detour before we head down to breakfast, right?" Jay requested. He attempted to free one of his arms from the hug and move toward the door with one arm still around Felicity.

---

"Whew, that's good to know. The actual time's something to ask Austin later, I guess."

Felicity tilted her head in confusion at Jay's last sentence. "You mean it's comforting that your friend's still an osmologist? Or something else?"

Even though Jay had just stated he was fine, Felicity had to force herself not to cast a spell anyway. Not because she didn't trust him, but because of wariness. It was only after a short silent argument with herself that she decided to let it be. "R-Right, you're welcome. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah, true, I was dumb; he has bigger concerns than that."

"Ah, alright. I haven't seen much of Ms. O'Connor in her new form, so I didn't know. And sure, I don't mind!" Felicity moved closer to Jay as he put an arm around her, and walked to the door with him. "Though... I can wait down if you want to speak with her in private or something. I mean, you said it was a personal matter, right?"

Lumica was beyond worried at this point, he had to find Remeku. It didn’t take long to spot her, she seemed to be talking . . . with Mikael. Lumica nodded and walked over to her. He stopped right before her reached her and kind of stared off into space for a moment. ”Wait . . . didn’t she say . . .”

”Oh, I’ll be fine, Lulu~San. I just wish I had more time to tell you that . . .”

”And . . .”


”I am not getting much sleep lately . . . but I will soon . . .”

Lumica was stunned. ”Yes . . . of course! She didn’t tell me this . . . she couldn’t tell me this . . . why would she want to tell me something like that?” Lumica gritted his teeth and stepped away from Remeku. ”She has too much to worry about . . . I don’t want to force her to tell me something that she doesn’t have the heart to tell me . . .” Lumica rubbed his arm and smiled to Remeku, even though she couldn’t see it. He understood now . . . He didn’t have to ask . . . ”Sho . . . I’m sorry . . .”

-----

”No need to apologize, Austin~Kun.” Remeku said with a smile. ”Yeah . . . I wonder how Cat~Sama is doing right now?” Remeku said as she tried to think of the last place she saw her. She shrugged and waited until they got to the cottage to look for her.

”That’s good. I just hope everyone isn’t so overwhelmed right now. Everything will be fine, as long as we stay together and never look at the dark side of things. We will save everyone, and I am on my word. I will protect everyone as much as I can, and I know you will to, Austin~Kun.” Remeku said encouragingly.

Then she got into the cottage and decided to make sure her precious sidekick was doing okay. After she had asked if he was alright, he answered.

”Oh? It’s okay, Mikey~Senpai! Mehe~!” Remeku giggled. ”I know you are okay, or at least, I hope I KNOW!” Remeku said as she looked closely at Mikael and then went back to her normal, cutesy posture. Mikael looked really . . . interesting . . . as in . . . changed gender suddenly? Why did he look so feminine? He did still look adorable, but it was a bit . . . weird . . . Did his hair get longer? It looked so much more . . . fluffy! Remeku wanted to touch it! Remeku reached her hand for it, but hesitated. ”I am so happy to hear that, Mikey~Senpai. I am going to be worried about you for a while until I see absolutely no snow on the ground out there!” Remeku said as she pointed to the door that lead outside and made a shivering interpretation. ”Very well then~!” Remeku smiled as she leaned in and hugged Mikael. She patted his head, as a way to comfort his little stressed out head. She knew he wasn’t as okay as he said. The moment he goes out there in that cold, is the moment he will freeze up again, and Remeku couldn’t take that again. She had to be there for her dear sidekick, and protect him as much as she could.

“Oh? I may have, but he does fly pretty fast, I may have not caught him by eye.” Remeku said as she looked toward the entrance and then shrugged. Remeku looked back at Mikael. ”I hope Yume isn’t upset from earlier . . . Lumica just gets upset easily . . . Do you think that could be why he left his keeper behind . . . ?” Remeku asked, deep in thought.

“I’m . . . I’m fine . . . Mikey~Senpai . . .” Remeku said, a little lightheaded. ”You don’t have to do anything, blueberry . . . I will be okay.” Remeku said as she hid her hands behind her back, looking down. ”I’ll be fine . . .”

-----

Kirimi nodded sadly as Cat thanked him for the apology. There wasn’t anything he could do. He didn’t mean for that to happen, but it did, and sadly no one has invented time travel yet. The only smart scientists that Kirimi knows, tried to kill his kind-of-sister. Kirimi sighed and stood there in a daze. Maybe it was for the best that Cat hated him now. Maybe he shouldn’t assume that . . . she could just be highly upset with him at the moment. Or not. Kirimi stood back, startled by Austin suddenly talking to him. “O-oh! Austin! I . . .” ”You mustn’t tell lies . . .” ”I . . . n-no . . . Your mother . . . is not very happy with me at the moment . . . but . . . I’ll be fine. Kirimi said as he rubbed his head. ”If I can’t make Cat happy, I can make Austin happy . . . and then maybe she will at least forgive me.” Kirimi suddenly remembered a particular though and cleared his throat as his mood changed immediately. He smiled widely and patted Austin’s shoulder. ”Why are you worrying about me, sire? Let’s talk about you, lad. Are you doing alright? Do you need help with anything?” Kirimi asked as he looked down and noticed Mikael’s stuffed toy. His eyes widened a bit. Was that there before? He shook his head and smiled once more, with a hint of uneasiness. ”Is that Mikael’s spirit . . . thing?” Kirimi tilted his head. ”It’s kind of . . . creepy . . .”

---

Remeku told him there was no need to apologize, to which Austin looked abashed.

“R-right. Sorry.” And then he realized he was apologizing for apologizing and he made a face. “Pretend I didn’t just say that . . . .”

“Yeah . . . I wonder how Cat~Sama is doing right now?”

“U-um, she’s probably hanging in there. Th-that is, even though she might not feel great right now, she’s still going to do all she can to keep herself together and . . . try to act like I shouldn’t worry about her. . . . I hope she hasn’t been picking any fights.”

He sighed and then cracked a small smile as Remeku spoke.

“I wouldn’t blame them if they were completely overwhelmed. I did . . . say a lot of things. But, ah, we will indeed be fine as long as we stick together. I want . . . to save everyone, to protect everyone. As long as we try our best, I’m sure we can do this!”

He seemed more confident than before as they walked into the cottage. But he still . . . remembering how strong they were, he wasn’t so sure . . . no, no! It would be fine! He had others helping him this time! And that was when he focused on Kirimi, asking if he was okay.

“O-oh! Austin! I . . . I . . . n-no . . . Your mother . . . is not very happy with me at the moment . . . but . . . I’ll be fine.”

Austin’s brows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth fell into a slight frown.

“While I was . . . curled up, er . . . before I realized this was all real? I remember you guys fighting then. . . . I-I know my mom can be . . . really harsh when she’s angry. And when I’m . . . in trouble . . . she can get angrier over . . . much smaller things than usual. But, she’s quick to realize when she was unfairly harsh and apologize for it. She’s also pretty quick to forgive. Er . . . I don’t know if I’m really helping here . . . .” Her scratched his beard. “The point is . . . she might not be very happy with you now, but whatever happened, she’ll forgive you. I’m sure of it.”

He offered a smile.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine? Can I . . . help you somehow?”

Kirimi then smiled at him and asked how he was.

“A-ah . . . I-I’m fine! Um . . . I don’t need help with anything right now. But it looks like . . . you just made lots of food? Maybe I could help get everyone together to eat before we go? O-or do some of those dishes?” While it was true that Cat did the dishes that Austin had left out before, she had not washed all of the dishes that had been used to cook.

And that’s when Yume entered the room, and Austin had tried to ignore him. But then, Kirimi asked about him and seemed very uneasy. Austin patted Kirimi’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. He’s Mikael’s familiar,” he explained, forcing a smile and trying really really hard to act like it really was okay. “I think he’d prefer if you call him Yume . . . and not ‘it.’ U-um, he won’t do . . . anything to hurt you.” Considering what Yume said earlier about invading his dreams, he couldn’t actually be sure he wouldn’t do anything, but he felt it was the best way to reassure Kirimi. “You can leave, er . . . if you’d like. I’ll be fine.” And he tried really hard to believe that. To believe that Yume wouldn’t try to hurt him or manipulate him. But the doubt was still there.

"Austin, I'm . . . I'm sorry. What I said earlier was completely out of line. I'm just so used to having to . . . to protect Remmy from . . . from . . ." There was a break as Yume sighed.

Austin seemed to relax a little as Yume apologized, but he was still stiff as he spoke.

“Um . . . yeah. Yeah, it was out of line. U-um, look . . . I just want want you to know, when I brought you here, that was because Mikael requested it, because I want him to be happy. I don’t like . . . that you claimed you would invade my dreams to manipulate me. M-my d-dreams are . . . j-just, please, promise me . . . you won’t do that. To me, or anyone else in this school. Y-you don’t . . . have to protect her from us. N-none of us would ever try to hurt Remeku.”

He took a deep breath to try to calm himself down.

"But everyone here's been so nice. They deserve better than the way . . . the way I used to treat people. You deserve better, Austin. You're . . . very important to me."

“A-ah . . . th-thank you,” Austin stammered. He stroked his beard. “You’re very important to me, too. All of you are.”

And then Austin’s eyes widened as Yume threw himself at Austin’s feet.

”So I put myself at your mercy. Do what you must. I understand if you don't believe I deserve a second chance. I wouldn't give myself one . . ."

“. . . .” Austin was speechless for a couple moments. Then, he nodded. “Very well, then.” He bent over and picked up Yume very carefully and gently. He then hugged him to his chest, patting the back of his head as he did. “It’s okay, Yume. I’m giving you a second chance. It’ll take more than a couple hurtful statements to make me give up on you.”

~*~

As Jeremy thanked her, Lida smiled.

”No problem. I was just stating the truth,” she thought. The way his blush deepened at the awkward and completely unprofessional thoughts that went through the link was completely precious, but definitely not something to linger on. No, no. Move on. Quick, think about Jay! She nodded as Jeremy reassured her that Jay would calm down after he’s had time to think about it, but she should still talk to him.

”Right. That’s about what I figured. Thanks for the advice,” she thought. He then asked if she could please try going into human form. He would love to feel . . . and he cut himself off. . . . He did say he wanted to hug her. So, feel her arms around him? Along those lines? But he quickly changed to talking about how she would speak to others normally and it would make her job easier.

”Y-yes. That’s true,” she thought. But of course, she did know the true reason. And then he couldn’t hide that he’d be allowed to keep some thoughts to himself.

”That’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Jeremy. I completely understand. I’ll try.”

She nodded as Jeremy told her he’d call Austin.

”Of course I will. Well, here goes nothing.”

She flew to the center of the room and concentrated. Gradually, she grew taller until she became her normal size. She smiled and took a step toward Jeremy, her arms outstretched, ready to hug him. . . . But then something went wrong. She kept growing. And growing. And growing.

“J-Jeremy? WhaT iS hAPPENING?!” Her voice got louder as she grew taller. It was a matter of seconds before her head was scraping against the ceiling and she had to bend over so as not to go through. “I’LL STOP IT!!!”

She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to bring herself back into her true form. . . . But it didn’t work.

“I CAN’T . . . I CAN’T STOP IT!!!” she boomed. And that’s when she broke through the ceiling, then the roof, and yet grew, breaking through the floor as well.

The loud noises caught Austin’s attention.

“Oh, no! Oh nonononononono!” he said. “I gotta go!” He broke into a sprint, still holding onto Yume. It wasn’t until he entered the living room and saw Mikael and Remeku that he remembered he had been hugging Yume to his chest and quickly but carefully set him down near Mikael.

“Stay here! Stay safe!” he blurted and then kept running. He charged up the stairs, and on his way up, he noticed his mom in a daze.

“Mom, get back!” He grabbed Cat and carried her down the stairs, setting her on one of the chairs in the living room. “Stay here!” Cat was too surprised to even react. Austin then started to run back up the stairs, the blue, translucent screen and keyboard forming before his eyes as he did.

“What . . . ?” Cat asked. “What just . . . happened . . . ?”

---

"You mean it's comforting that your friend's still an osmologist? Or something else?"

"Yes, in a way. I suppose I should just stop being cryptic. It's comforting to me that my friend is probably still alive to be an Osmologist. Even better, in this timeline, she was never in any danger to begin with . . . as far as I know, anyway," Jay explained, sighing afterward.

"R-Right, you're welcome. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Of course!" Jay shot her a reassuring, but sheepish, smile.

"Yeah, true, I was dumb; he has bigger concerns than that."

"You're not dumb, Felicity; just self-conscious. I'd have the same worry," Jay told her.

"Ah, alright. I haven't seen much of Ms. O'Connor in her new form, so I didn't know. And sure, I don't mind!" Felicity moved closer to Jay as he put an arm around her, and walked to the door with him. "Though... I can wait down if you want to speak with her in private or something. I mean, you said it was a personal matter, right?"

"I'll . . . talk to her later about that. For now, I just want to make sure she has calmed down. We need to round up her and Jeremy for breakfast anyway," Jay replied. As they arrived at the door, Jay opened it and motioned for Felicity to go through first. He had to maneuver around her wings and resisted the urge to brush them once again.

"I'm going to go get them. You may accompany me, stay, or even head on down, whichever you'd prefer," Jay said in a somewhat urgent voice before heading off towards Lida's room, where he assumed his brother and the Counselor were most likely to be.

---

Mikael breathed a sigh of relief when Remeku reassured them. They tensed a bit when she approached. When she hesitated, Mikael looked a bit concerned. And then she said she'd be worried until there was no snow on the ground, shivering at the thought. Remeku's show of affection, though expected, made Mikael feel a bit giddy.

"Ehehe~ R-Remmy, I'll . . . I'll be fine, I p-promise," Mikael replied, "I just . . . s-stayed a bit too long in one place. If I j-just keep moving, or maybe stay near some k-kind of heat source, I won't h-have any trouble. I'll be better able to w-withstand it once I get stronger anyway."

When Remeku looked toward the kitchen entrance, Mikael did the same, wondering what his familiar could be up to right now.

Yume had sunk lower and lower with each truth Austin told it. But then, it was stunned when Austin picked up and hugged it.

"You . . . You're not giving up on me," Yume repeated, as if he needed to confirm it for himself, "I see. After everything that happened, and over all these years, I think I'd forgotten what . . . compassion felt like. It's cliché, I know, but I'd forgotten what I was fighting for in the first place," Yume explained, though it was more of an expression of his internal monologue.

Meanwhile, Mikael was unconvinced by Remeku's claim that she would be fine. Her hiding her hands behind her back didn't comfort them either.

"Remmy, I'm your sidekick, remember?" Mikael pleaded, "I . . . want to protect you, but I c-can't do that if I don't know what's going on." Mikael sighed. "Even if . . . if it's s-something I can't help with yet, you're my best f-friend, Remmy. And you . . . kinda saved my life m-more than once. The l-least I could do is . . . be there for you."

---

Jeremy's heartbeat quickened as the conversation went on. He nodded in understanding when Lida thought that it was important to talk to Jay. They should probably get going anyway, right? After the hug, of course. Ah, splendid, she is actually going to try it. Jeremy nodded once again, and his heart raced as the anticipation built.

And Lida's size increased, and increased, and . . . Jeremy felt himself moving toward the now life-size--wait. Something is off. Anticipation gave way to worry, concern, and urgency. Strange how both positive and negative feelings can both cause one's pulse to hasten. No. There was no time to think ab-

“J-Jeremy? WhaT iS hAPPENING?!” Her voice got louder as she grew taller. It was a matter of seconds before her head was scraping against the ceiling and she had to bend over so as not to go through. “I’LL STOP IT!!!”

"I . . . I . . . ," Jeremy stammered, frozen at the unbelievable spectacle taking place before him. "Lida!!! I am going to find Au-" Jeremy was already darting toward the door. He grabbed the handle and threw the door open.

“I CAN’T . . . I CAN’T STOP IT!!!” she boomed.

"Lida! Jeremy!" Jay shouted, his stroll towards Lida's room having turned into a full-on sprint as the loud, uncharacteristically deep voice of the Counselor reached Jay's ears.

And that’s when she broke through the ceiling, then the roof, and yet grew, breaking through the floor as well.

"L-LIDAAAAAA!!!" Jeremy screamed as he jumped through the door . . . and right into Jay's arms.

"Jeremy! Whaaaaaa . . . ," Jay started to ask, glancing over Jeremy's shoulder. He too witnessed the giantess who was growing more and more massive by the second. "We have to do something about . . . ," he muttered, trailing off.

Jeremy had at last received a hug. Though it was not from the person he had been expecting, he took some comfort from it. The moment was short-lived though, as the growing concern would not stop growing on its own.

"Come on, let us find and bring Austin here at once," he commanded, pulling back from Jay's grip.

"Ah. Yes, of course. Oh. Um, Felicity's better," Jay agreed and explained, still a bit distracted by the scene he'd just seen.

"Excellent. She may assist in looking for Austin if she wishes," Jeremy suggested. The two broke off in a jog toward the stairway.

Speaking of Austin, Yume had remained pressed up against his chest, contemplating without speaking. Finally, he'd decided on something.

"Oh, and when it comes to invading dreams, I, erm . . . can't make you believe anything you don't want to. And I know you said not to do that to anyone, especially not you, but if there's any-"

Yume had been interrupted by some loud noises, which also seemed to startle Austin.

“Oh, no! Oh nonononononono!” he said. “I gotta go!” He broke into a sprint, still holding onto Yume. It wasn’t until he entered the living room and saw Mikael and Remeku that he remembered he had been hugging Yume to his chest and quickly but carefully set him down near Mikael.

"Wah-! G-Guess I'll explain later then," Yume said, flying up off the ground and idly buzzing around above Mikael and Remeku.

“Stay here! Stay safe!” he blurted and then kept running.

"W-What? What's going on? Wh-What were th-those l-loud noises!? Is s-s-someone h-hurt!? I d-don't unders-stand a-any of th-this! E-Eh? Heeeeeeeeeee! M-My voice! My form! My clothes!" Mikael had had another stress-induced involuntary change. They, for all intents and purposes, perfectly resembled Remeku. Mikael shook violently and tried to hold themselves to calm down. Instead their sharp nails, which Mikael hadn't become accustomed to yet, dug into their skin, causing only slight, but very unexpected, pain. It was all too much, and Mikael suddenly collapsed backward.

"M-Mikey!" Yume called out as it flew down and attempted to push against the hapless shapeshifter, managing to slow, but not quite stop, their descent.

---

”Nnnn . . .” Kishima’s eyes fluttered open. Was he asleep? He rubbed his eyes sleepily. He soon realised that was a bad idea, when his left eye began to scream in agony. He clenched the grass surface with his hand from the pain, but made no sound. He looked around, trying to remember where he was. It didn’t take long to realise he was still behind the barrier of the cottage everyone was in. He nodded slightly and tried to get up, but stopped. Remeku’s voice flashed in his head.

”. . . killing me in the process . . .”

Kishima gasped softly and gulped. That’s right. He had almost forgotten that tragedy. His older brother poisoned Remeku, and she was sentenced to dying many years ago. She should only have a couple more years to live.



It only makes sense that he died as well. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if his older sister died and he couldn’t do anything about it. He nodded slightly and smiled. ”If she . . . dies, I . . . die too . . .” He was lost in thought until he heard loud noises come from the cottage which jumpscared him and he stood up. ”M-meep!” He looked over to the cottage and inspected it, trying to figure out if it would explode. It was a bit hard to inspect it if he was behind the barrier. Then a head crashed through the ceiling and he jumped. ”AAAA!” He stepped back a little. ”w-what . . . is . . . happening . . .” He said as he hid behind a tree. ”I hope that girl . . . is okay . . . I wish I could . . . do something . . .”

-----

“R-right. Sorry.” And then he realized he was apologizing for apologizing and he made a face. “Pretend I didn’t just say that . . . .”

“It’s fine, Austin~Kun.” Remeku said with a giggle. Austin was making many expressions that confused Remeku, but she hid that and smile.

“U-um, she’s probably hanging in there. Th-that is, even though she might not feel great right now, she’s still going to do all she can to keep herself together and . . . try to act like I shouldn’t worry about her. . . . I hope she hasn’t been picking any fights.”

”Poor Cat~Sama . . . being a young mother must really be tough on her . . . I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes, so I don’t blame her for her outbursts. She has been going through a lot . . . and I wish she could look like she was fine and actually mean it, not try to hide how stressed she was. If only I could help her a little more . . .” Remeku let out a petite sigh and her worry was painted all over her face. The comment about hoping Cat wasn’t getting into any fights made her worry grow stronger and she felt a little uneasy. ”N-no! She couldn’t . . . she wouldn’t . . . Cat is probably inside, calming down from anything. I think fights would only make her more stressed!” Remeku said as she laughed nervously. She nodded to herself, trying to calm down.

“I wouldn’t blame them if they were completely overwhelmed. I did . . . say a lot of things. But, ah, we will indeed be fine as long as we stick together. I want . . . to save everyone, to protect everyone. As long as we try our best, I’m sure we can do this!”

Remeku nodded as Austin talked, and his words made her feel better; a lot better. She smiled and threw her hands in the air and did jazz hands. ”That’s the spirit! We will keep fighting ‘till the end! Mehe~!” Remeku nodded happily as they walked into the cottage.

"Ehehe~ R-Remmy, I'll . . . I'll be fine, I p-promise," Mikael replied, "I just . . . s-stayed a bit too long in one place. If I j-just keep moving, or maybe stay near some k-kind of heat source, I won't h-have any trouble. I'll be better able to w-withstand it once I get stronger anyway."

Remeku nodded slightly, still worried. ”If you say so . . .” Remeku sighed with concern. ”Then always stay near me! I’ll be your heat source! I may not be able to warm you up much, but at least it will be enough to keep you alive . . . Mikey~Senpai . . .” Remeku said with a giggle. ”You’re already strong, Mikey~Senpai! You just don’t realize it! Once you get into a position where you have to be strong in order to help someone, or help yourself, you will understand that you are incredibly strong and the world will be blown away at your amazing power! Even if you don’t know that you’re strong on the outside yet . . . I hope you do know that you are unbelievably strong on the inside . . . your heart is beating, because me, everyone, the world, and the entire Universe believe that you are special . . . and that you will show those colors someday.” Remeku said as she grabbed Mikael’s hand and gave a tight squeeze. ”I know you’re special, Mikey~Senpai. I know you’re strong. I know you’re creative. I know that you . . . are . . . Mikael.” Remeku said with a giggled and smiled happily, hoping to put a bright smile on Mikael’s face as well.

"Remmy, I'm your sidekick, remember?" Mikael pleaded, "I . . . want to protect you, but I c-can't do that if I don't know what's going on." Mikael sighed. "Even if . . . if it's s-something I can't help with yet, you're my best f-friend, Remmy. And you . . . kinda saved my life m-more than once. The l-least I could do is . . . be there for you."

”Y-yes . . . I know, Mikey~Senpai . . .” Remeku said with a bit of shame shown on her face. ”I-I know but the truth is now what you would want to hear! And I know that isn’t an excuse, but this . . . I really don’t know if you can take it . . .” Remeku said as her lip quivered. ”Th-thank you, Mikey~Senpai . . . I guess I can . . . tell you . . .” Remeku said as she gulped and slowly removed her hands from her back, putting them out for Mikael to see the blood. ”I have 2 brothers, Kishima, my younger twin brother, and Levi, who is my older brother. Levi thought that my parents wanted to replace him with me, so he made Kishima to replace me, as in, kill me. He turned my parents’ lab into what was a nice experimental place for learning, to a murderous chamber for killing and suffering. He made a potion from my mother’s research and used it on my parents. This potion wasn’t like any other. He turned my kind and loving parents into evil scientist searching for blood. Levi tried to use the potion on me . . . but with all of these magical genes I have from my mother, the magic I have tried to redeem itself, trying to break free from the potion's effects causing it to slowly fight against it and . . . killing me in the process . . .” Remeku felt tears sting her eyes. She took a small chunk of her long hair and used her sharp nails to cut through it. As she cutted the pieces of hair, the hair turned pitch black and part of her green eye turned blue. ”See? This black hair, is my original hair color. This white hair is my magical power that sources through it. If it’s cut, then it loses it’s magic and can never be regained . . .” Remeku said as she held the small chunk of white hair in her hands. She felt tears suddenly fall down her face. Not only was she sad, her head really hurt. That was too much magic that was drained from her body. She took a deep breath and bit her lip.

Then Remeku suddenly heard loud sounds that filled her pointy ears. She covered them tightly and gritted her teeth. ”Aaaaa! W-what is that!?” She felt more tears fall down her face as her heart started to race crazily fast. Her head vibrated, her vision blurred and focused non stop, her body trembled and she felt herself slowly tilt to the side, ready to fall over. She kept her balance and closed her eyes extremely tightly. ”OH GOSH, MAKE IT STOP!” Remeku blurted. The tension in the air was twisting and turning and it felt as if Remeku’s life would quietly slip away. She wanted to calm down and try and listen to Austin saying to stay there and be safe, but then in the corner of Remeku’s eye, Mikael turned into a mirror of herself and then began to fall backwards. Remeku was done. At the moment, Remeku was only worried about her best friend falling from the chaos. Why the heck would this be the one thing that had to happen? They were in this world to experiment with it . . . right? Then why in the world does this have to happen. Why does everyone have to suffer is such a beautiful work of art. Austin was terrified, Cat was terrified, Remeku was terrified, EVERYONE was terrified. They still could now! Bullcrap. Remeku instantly let her arms leave her ears that hurt painfully and reached for Mikael, pulling him close to her. ”MIKEY~SENPAI!” Remeku’s face was red, from anger, sadness, worry, what other emotions could she possibly feel!? She put her forehead to Mikael’s and quietly sobbed. This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen . . . Why did this world do this to Mikael? He has been going through a lot. Remeku tried to keep her anger back, but she just looked up to the ceiling furiously. ”WHY CAN’T YOU LEAVE MIKEY~SENPAI ALONE!?” Remeku cried helplessly and put her forehead back on Mikael’s. She didn’t care that Mikael looked exactly like her, she just wanted him to be safe. She wanted to be okay. She was failing at keeping her sidekick together, she didn’t even deserve him . . . not one bit . . . ”I’m . . . so sorry . . . Mikey~Senpai . . . I’m . . . so so so . . . so very sorry . . .” She whispered softly. She knew he couldn’t hear her, or anything. He was unconscious! Remeku felt herself holding on to him tighter, almost like she was trying to ease her nerves.

-----

“While I was . . . curled up, er . . . before I realized this was all real? I remember you guys fighting then. . . . I-I know my mom can be . . . really harsh when she’s angry. And when I’m . . . in trouble . . . she can get angrier over . . . much smaller things than usual. But, she’s quick to realize when she was unfairly harsh and apologize for it. She’s also pretty quick to forgive. Er . . . I don’t know if I’m really helping here . . . .” Her scratched his beard. “The point is . . . she might not be very happy with you now, but whatever happened, she’ll forgive you. I’m sure of it.”

Kirimi smiled, still with a bit of sadness in his eyes. ”I d-don’t . . . know, Austin . . . She even said she couldn’t . . . be around . . . me anymore . . . I put her feelings . . . to the side, just because she was . . . yelling. This isn’t going . . . to be . . . one of her . . . forgiving days . . .” He said raspily. “B-but . . . I believe that she . . . will forgive . . . me sometime . . . but it won’t be . . . for a while. What I said . . . I wouldn’t even forgive . . .” He scratched the back of his head.
“A-ah . . . I-I’m fine! Um . . . I don’t need help with anything right now. But it looks like . . . you just made lots of food? Maybe I could help get everyone together to eat before we go? O-or do some of those dishes?” While it was true that Cat did the dishes that Austin had left out before, she had not washed all of the dishes that had been used to cook.

”That’s good.” Kirimi gave Austin a forced smile. ”That would be kind of you, Austin . . . but I don’t want you to have to do anything . . .” He sighed. ”But if you wish to, I bet it would make your mother happy.”

“It’s okay. He’s Mikael’s familiar,” he explained, forcing a smile and trying really really hard to act like it really was okay. “I think he’d prefer if you call him Yume . . . and not ‘it.’ U-um, he won’t do . . . anything to hurt you.” Considering what Yume said earlier about invading his dreams, he couldn’t actually be sure he wouldn’t do anything, but he felt it was the best way to reassure Kirimi. “You can leave, er . . . if you’d like. I’ll be fine.” And he tried really hard to believe that. To believe that Yume wouldn’t try to hurt him or manipulate him. But the doubt was still there.

”Okay . . .” ”Mikael’s familiar, huh? I thought that was just a stuffed toy Remeku gave him . . .” And then Austin said the toy prefered if he were called ‘Yume’ and Kirimi’s eyes widened. ”It’s a ‘HE’!?” He blinked a few times and shook it off. Then Austin said he could leave if he’s like and Kirimi nodded. ”Very well.” He was heading back to kitchen until . . .

Loud noises filled the air and put shivers down his spine. He saw Austin run off yelling out, “Oh nooooo!”, to which Kirimi gulped. ”This can’t be good!” He wanted to go and see what was happening himself, but he thought Austin had it under control. But just in case things got worse, he would go in and help . . . he just didn’t know how . . .

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