Author's Note: Bit of a filler one for the first half of it. This was actually the hardest chapter to write so far, still is looking back, because what it was following (sex scene followed by two more dramatic chapters and then… this. Yeah). Hope it's not too slow in the real world part to lose your interest, the end I feel is pretty good. Thanks for sticking around everyone.
Draco's POV:
That was… absolutely incredible. Just beyond amazing. It was like our bodies were feeding off each other's energy. Speaking of feeding, I'm starved. Time for lunch.
We make up some sandwiches and plop our butts on the couch after getting dressed, snuggling up together.
"So Draco…" Monika says, swallowing a bite of her sandwich.
"Yeah sweetie?"
"Are we gonna go shopping at some point? I mean I know you love this outfit, you had me leave the skirt on and everything ahaha!" She elbows me in the ribs. "But seriously, I'll wind up stinking it up eventually. You can only wear the same clothes so many days in a row without it being gross ya know."
"I totally get it. Could you maybe hold out until Saturday though?"
"Why, what's going on Saturday?" Her head is cocked and she raises an eyebrow slightly.
"I've already made plans to go to the mall that day anyway. I'm meeting some friends from college I haven't seen in a while at the bookstore there and then we're going for lunch. We made these plans a couple weeks ago so you showing up when you did was pretty convenient. Gives me a reason to do something beyond Barnes & Noble and the LEGO store." I chuckle. "Malls aren't really my thing. Too many clothing stores and not much else."
"Well I promise I won't drag you to too many then, I need to conserve my money anyway."
"You have money? That's a surprise, how does that even work? It's not like someone stepping out of a video game has a bank account." I look at her, feigning suspicion but really just teasing. "Wait did you hack into a bank's computers? Is that what you meant by 'I've done worse' Monika?" I say, punctuating with a poke to her stomach.
She slaps my hand away laughing. "No! Silly! I made one of those pre-paid debit cards with a couple thousand dollars on it. Gives me enough to live off of until I manage to find a job and isn't enough to look suspicious."
"Makes sense, your wallet looked like it had more stuff in it than just an ID."
"Yup. So what do we do until then?"
"Well… I'm down to go again if you are…" I lean in, whispering in the ear of my beloved as I run my fingers up and down her long, toned legs.
"Mmm… Let's try something different."
"Like what?"
She kisses me hard, then pulls away. "Teach me how to play Magic?"
"Wait seriously?"
"Well yeah! You clearly enjoy it and you already said you would. Plus, if you're going out to play with your friends tomorrow night like usual I'm obviously coming with you. I'd feel weird being in your house if you weren't here." Monika shrugs.
"I was bringing you anyway, I have to show off my amazing new girlfriend don't I? That and a bunch of the guys know who you are and I can't WAIT to see their faces when you walk in."
She beams at me. "Show me off? Aww Draco, that's so sweet." After a moment's pause the smile vanishes, her face looking a bit worried. "Wait, none of your friends hate me over the events of the game do they? Because that could get very awkward, very fast."
"I don't think so. I mean, I know my friend Max likes Yuri best, but I don't think anyone vocally DESPISES you Moni. You should be fine. Though there is a guy who I know also likes you who it'd be fun to make jealous. If you want to, I mean." I shrug.
The now-familiar devilish smile returns. "Ooh that's dirty. I'm in."
"You monster." My expression mirrors her and I kiss her again.
We head to my room and I retrieve a selection of semi-casual decks of varying playstyles and some dice, carrying them to the kitchen table, clearing a space so we can sit across from each other. I explain the different card types and card colors, along with the strengths and weaknesses of each and the turn structure. She seems to absorb the information easily, asking minimal questions. I figured from After Story having chess included she had a strong strategic mind, and I was proven right. Within a few games I'm having to use actually competitive decks to keep from getting slaughtered, ditching the garbage "yak tribal" thing I use when I teach new players the game. That mess isn't even really DESIGNED to win, the only reason for its continued existence being there's no money in taking it apart, but I digress.
We clean up and get to work on dinner. Another delicious meal prepared with love, as expected. The series I've decided to share with her tonight is Ghost Stories, as I thought another humorous show would be something she'd enjoy. The English dub of this show is an anomaly, being basically a full-length abridged series with a voice acting budget and having nothing at all to do with the original Japanese version. Thus, this is the good version. Also we squeeze in time to watch "One Punch Stan," the one-off parody by the brilliantly funny Purple Eyes. We laugh and laugh into the night, cuddling close together on the couch.
Sleep starts to overtake us and we head to bed. We both change into pajamas and I climb into bed next to Monika, wrapping my arms around her waist and nuzzling my face into her neck. I kiss her on the cheek and say goodnight before drifting off into slumber.
Monika's Dream:
I'm back in the clubroom. Again. I get the feeling this is going to be a recurring thing. Instinctively I look around, wondering which of his "girls" is trying to speak to me tonight. No surprise at all, I find Bea leaning against the far wall, hands behind her head. I don't see the others, and she smiles after she notices I've seen her. I walk up to her.
"What's up Bea? You need something?"
A long sigh. "Nope. Just congratulating you on the coding job used to get Draco into the game. I'm impressed, especially considering it was mostly done in a night. Good job."
"Well thank you! After last time we spoke I'm glad this is on a lighter note." A thought crosses my mind. "Actually, how do you know the specifics on that?"
My mirror image chuckles and shakes her head. "Oh yeah, you were never told directly were you? Though I'm surprised someone with your brain never figured it out. My friends and I followed Draco into DDLC, we're bound to him after all. I mean, I had to code us bodies and some other stuff, but no big deal." She shrugs. "Easy few hours' work. A digital body has got to be WAY easier to make than a physical one."
So that's what Ibby was talking about in the last dream! I should have guessed as much. Although…
"You code too? He wasn't kidding Bea; I keep discovering new things we have in common. How are you connected to your in-game counterpart by the way? I know I haven't been able to see what's going on with the other me since I split from her."
"Keyword there being split. I didn't. I had no physical, real self before this, not even data. Neither did they. When I created each of our bodies in your world they were our first, and from the get-go I had it written in our code that we would be one entity each, living in both worlds at once. Well, 'living' in a very loose sense of the word in this world anyway. Speaking of both worlds though…"
Bea pushes off of her resting place on the wall and walks to a desk, sitting down. I join her, pulling up a chair. She points at me and continues. "You screwed up royally Monika."
"Um, in what way?" Not sure where she's going with this.
"The mental overlay you used to patch Draco's personality onto the MC had one BIG flaw. You had memories of his taking place at the same time as ones programmed into the main character. It was causing him a ton of crippling pain whenever he tried remembering anything important, and giving him flashes of bad memories from times he didn't know and leaving him really confused. His mind couldn't handle two timelines shoved together like that. Don't think most humans could."
I'm stunned. It was never my intention to cause more pain, actually the opposite. I've already hurt the ones I care about FAR more than enough. As I open my mouth to reply, readying an apology for all of this, Bea brushes my words away with a wave of her hand.
"No. Monika I know what you're about to say. He's fine, don't apologize. I fixed him."
"I still want to- "
"NO. You didn't know it would happen, and honestly, if you had a couple more hours you likely would have gotten it perfect and we wouldn't be having this conversation." She squeezes my hand comfortingly. "You did a great job and all I was doing was updating you. Don't worry about it, you do have the real him after all." Her warm smile turns to more of a playful smirk. "While we're on that subject, how was the sex?"
I feel my cheeks redden. "You… are NOT the one I'd expect to ask that. Especially considering who your friends are."
She laughs. "I was just messing with you! They were busy so I figured I'd ask for them. I don't actually need an answer though, I was there." She winks, clearly going out of her way to make me uncomfortable. I'll play her game though, and I give a reply regardless.
"It was unbelievably amazing by the way; best I've ever felt in my life." I tease back.
"What, all like three days of it? Not a very high bar Monika." We both crack up. Her sharp tongue is something else, I almost wish she had been a part of my debate club. Even though I realize it was just a throwaway part of my backstory that probably doesn't even exist, she would have been great there.
"Was there anything else?"
"Well, everyone seems to be sort of coupling up. Or at least is ATTEMPTING to, Shadow and Sayori are the only ones officially together. And yes, already. Surprised me a little too."
"Everyone?"
Bea sighs through her nose. "Yeah. Ibby, surprise of the fuckin century, can't keep her eyes off the one with the long legs and largest set of 'endowments.' Of course she gravitates toward Yuri. Funnily enough, she doesn't seem into Natsuki beyond friendship. First time I can remember it happening, guess she's not into girls her height or shorter." A brief pause. "Which I now realize has never come up before. Huh, weird. Sisi on the other hand, seems to be doing everything to get close to Natsuki. Those two are huge weebs so that wasn't a shock either. I'm kinda uncharacteristically looking forward to what she'll do to Natsuki's father, I mean she nearly snapped a girl's neck for bullying Yuri and his actions make that look like NOTHING. He's in for hell and I'm actually excited."
I'm momentarily at a loss for words, and I feel the color drain from my face. "Sisi… did… what?"
"In-game you held her back, don't worry. The bully is fine. Why do you even care though? She's one, not real, and TWO; she was tormenting your friend! What, next are you gonna say Natsuki's scum of a dad doesn't deserve some justice? I don't usually condone my best friend's violent side and I've been working with her on it, but these are horrible people Monika. On top of being video game characters. So yeah, who cares?" A nonchalant shrug.
"I… still do. Somewhat. I declared shortly before leaving that world that there'd be no more unnecessary death or pain if I could help it. Enough people have been hurt because of me. I understand it isn't my friends, and I'm not responsible, but still…"
"These are NPCs Monika. Ones who didn't have names or a personality before what you did, hell I'm not sure if most of them even have names NOW. Hey…" Bea stares directly into my eyes concerned. "Don't worry about it. Knew I shouldn't have told you, now you're all upset and that bugs me. Focus on your own world ok? Worrying about things outside your control will drive you insane."
She leans over the desk, wrapping her arms around me. Her embrace is warm, but I feel something else. Something wet on my neck. Is she...? "…Bea? Are you ok?"
"I'm- I'm fine. Don't." She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and starts to laugh softly. "God, I'm SO glad they aren't here. Ibby'd never let me live this down. I'm the 'cool' one. The leader. I'm not supposed to break down and show vulnerability to someone I barely know. Why the hell am I so relaxed around you? Sisi is my best friend and SHE almost never sees me this way, much more likely it'd be the other way around. I'm supposed to be the one in the group WITHOUT baggage. Or at least I thought so. Ugh. Damn it Bea. Come on." Another chuckle.
I place a hand on my doppelganger's shoulder. "You wanna talk about it?"
She smiles back at me. "Nah, I'll be alright. You need to wake up though. Have fun at FNM tonight, kick some ass for me."
In-Game, Late Night:
In a small bar, a familiar young woman is laughing and slamming back shots, the sweat on her muscular arms gleaming in the flickering lights. She calls out cheerfully to her new drinking buddies as she leaves, waving and wishing them all a wonderful rest of the night. Sisi walks down the street, making her way back to the house Bea coded to belong to the three of them.
Click
"Up against the wall."
"Mmm… So gunplay is it? Must say that's refreshing. I'm so used to guys being too intimidated by MY guns to give me what I want and I have to be the dom. This should be fun…"
"The fuck are you rambling about bitch? Against the wall! Now!"
She giggles. "Ok, OK. Sorry. I'm a little drunk." She draws out the word little, her speech a bit slurred. She backs up and leans against a nearby wall, squinting and trying to get a better look at her assailant. "Hey… Do I know you?"
The young man levels his handgun, pointing it directly between the eyes of the giantess, cold gray eyes narrowing. His lips curl into a cruel smile. "No, but you're VERY familiar with my girlfriend."
"Oh my GOD, did I fool around with her and not involve you? I'm so sorry, next time you can- "
"YOU ALMOST STRANGLED HER TO DEATH YOU STUPID BITCH!" He snaps, spittle spraying form his mouth with every word as he cuts her apology short. "And now… you're gonna pay…"
"Ohhhh… So THAT'S what's going on!" Sisi's tone remained unchanged, but something dark started almost unnoticeably seeping through that drunken smile. "You should drop the gun and run now love. Before you hurt yourself."
A shocked laugh. "Hurt MYSELF? How? Even as strong as you are you're unarmed and drunk off your ass! How am I supposed to be intimidated by YOU?" He leans in closer, pressing the barrel to her forehead and looking deep into her pale red eyes. "I'm the one with the gun. Tell me, how am I the one in danger?"
"Because you just let your guard down…"
The large girl's speech is suddenly clear, all traces of intoxication gone and coming out in a sing-song whisper. Before the gunman can even process what's happening, he's lying on his back in a small crater on the opposite side of the street. The blow came out of nowhere, and as he sits upright, the sight facing him causes him to rub his eyes and blink in disbelief. The girl seems shrouded in a pulsating, deep red glow. And she is floating towards him. Slowly. Laughing.
"Never get tired of that! I don't get DRUNK! God damn, humans are so EASY! I knew who you were right away, just thought I'd have some fun before this. I like to play with my food a little. Bad habit, I know." She shrugs, smiling menacingly and cracks her knuckles.
"What… are you?" He wheezes, then lets out a hard cough, causing flecks of blood to dot the pavement.
"Given my magic seems to be intact… I'd say a god of this world." She raises her left hand and slowly curls the fingers into a fist. Bits of her glow seem to separate, traveling along her arm. Small skulls become visible, floating along the spark-like trails.
Sisi continues speaking, the battered teen in front of her quivering in fear. "Just SO glad we wound up as he sees us, if I had to do this by hand I'd RUIN this outfit with all the bloodstains." She laughs again, a hollow, malicious sound. "I'd have to be all like, 'Hey Bea, could you make me some new clothes? I beat up some asshole and got blood everywhere!' Not something she'd go easy on me for." Sisi reaches the boy, reaching down and lifting him by the collar of his shirt. "Now then, I think that's enough monologuing. One last chance; promise you and your cunt of a girlfriend will leave my friends alone, and you get to walk away. Refuse and well…" She shrugs and three skulls leave the glow and grow in size, floating behind her.
"Go on and imagine." Her eyes flash, the pupils becoming slits and the whites turning black. Her voice came out in a distorted growl, much lower than usual, the smile never leaving her face. The boy is dropped and scrambles to his feet, running away as fast as his legs will go and screaming apologies over his shoulder.