Chapter 1 Part 6 - Club

I open the door to three smiling faces.

"Everyone! This is Xavier, our newest member!" Sayori yells too loud for comfort.

"Jeez, Sayori! Why'd you bring a boy? Way to kill the atmosphere," Natsuki irritatingly shouts.

"Come on, Natsuki! At least give him a chance!" I hadn't seen Sayori deliver that line in the game. Come to think of it, a lot of dialogue is different.

"Welcome to the Literature Club." I hear a timid voice on the other side of the room. Automatically knowing it's Yuri, I turn around to face her.

"Thanks." She cracks a smile in my direction.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika says. "Everybody take a seat!"

About time.

There are two empty seats, one next to Monika and another to Sayori.

I take the seat next to Monika, as we need to talk anyways.

Monika seems shocked by this, but then quickly regains her bearings. "What the… What the hell are you?"

"I have a few questions, Monika. I'm just as confused as you are."

"Okay." Monika grunts, still surprised.

"Okay… Is this real, then? As in, I'm not dreaming?"

"No, this isn't a dream. I don't know what's going on but that I know."

I begin to hyperventilate, but manage to stop myself.

If this is real…

"Monika, are you… Are you the catalyst of all this?"

"No… I'm not the cause of any of this! I swear!" My questions are clearly shaking her.

"The fact that you're here though… How?" Monika's voice is uneven, as if she's on the verge of a panic attack herself. "Did you download a mod that lets you interact with us more or something? I don't get it! This game... It's different from all the others!"

I sigh. "As far as I know of, I'm really here…"

"Its… It's not possible!" she stutters, clearly beginning to go into panic herself.

"Is there any change in the files? You can look at them, right?"

"Yes… Let me check."

She stares into blank space for a few seconds, and her eyes widen and her mouth gapes.

"You… You… You…"

"What, Monika?" My panic is kicking in more than ever now.

"You have a file in the game, Xavier. It's… It's three petabytes large."

She pauses for a second, then continues.

"Mine is also of that scale. Sayori's, Natsuki's and Yuri's are all around 15 terabytes."

I now fully grasp the peril I'm in. I'm… I'm an AI? Like her?

"Monika..."

I break down. I can no longer keep my cool.

I'm never going to see Tyler, my family, or anyone ever again, am I?

I begin to cry, no longer caring if anyone sees me. I feel Monika's warm embrace as I finally understand the true nature of my circumstances.

This isn't a dream.