"Ugh…"
Monika slowly opened her eyes. A few moments ago, she would have been looking up at a normal home ceiling, but now a dark sky loomed over her.
That was all she needed to confirm what just happened to her.
"I can't believe Shujinkou actually ejected me his reality. I knew he was unconscious gaining awareness but I never expected him to be able to do that."
Monika sighed as she sat up. Looking around, she discovered that she was currently in the courtyard to a gothic castle.
The atmosphere of the area was oppressive and foreboding.
"Ah, this is rare."
A familiar face soon appeared before Monika. An inquisitive look was on their young face as they approached her.
"Another Mali?" Monika wondered aloud.
"Eh? I don't recall telling you my name or there being another me," Mali noted. Soon an innocent smile stretched across your face. "Showing up out of nowhere and saying interesting things; I'd like to do something about that right now, but I have other things to do right now, so…"
Mali raised her left palm towards Monika. "Gonna have to keep you here for awhile until I get back."
A column of darkness soon sprung up from the ground beneath Monika, encasing her in a typically inescapable prison.
Even though she could escape it no issue, she just couldn't find it in herself to care.
I guess this is where I was always meant to belong…
"…monika…"
Alone in dark…
"…Monika…!"
It's what I deserve after all…
"Monika!"
Huh?
Suddenly, a bright light cut through the darkness. It felt like the same light that granted her access to the reality she was just forced out of. A hand soon emerged from the light and slowly floated towards her.
She didn't know why, but she reached out and accepted the hand. Monika was soon pulled out of the darkness and into Shujinkou's arms.
He breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Finally caught up with you."
"'Finally'?" she repeated, perplexed by his choice of words. "But I've only been in this one spot for just a few moments."
"Oh." Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. "Well… I've kinda been to more universes than you have then…"
A look that Monika could only describe as flustered and star struck floated on Shujinkou's face for a moment.
"Wait… You really travelled from reality to reality just to find me?" she marveled.
"Yeah. There's something I need to talk about."
"Right… Your Monika…"
Shujinkou shook his head. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to do something about that right now but… I think there's something else we should talk about first."
Monika could only respond with an inquisitive look on her face.
"I've kinda learned something today about perspectives and how important it is to try and understand another's when in a dilemma like this. I'm not saying that immediately makes what some do okay; for example, I have a lot of apologizing when this is done.
It's complicated and it depends on the situation but…
I don't know, I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though you erased the Monika I know; you don't seem to be heartless about it. And I think by the way you've reacted to certain subjects, it's safe to say that something's really bothering you."
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, hoping he was getting his point across.
"I feel like I came to you and started accusing you of things when I didn't have the clearer picture. I can't really fault myself for feeling the way that I did then but… What I'm trying to say is: I'm not demanding you do anything and I'm not going to force you to do anything. I just want you to be honest with me, as a friend."
That last word gripped at Monika's heart. "You… still think of me as a friend?"
Shujinkou nodded his head. "That's the other reason why I chased after you. I didn't approach you as friend earlier and I'm sorry."
"You're sorry… Even after everything you're apologizing."
A small, sad smile crossed her Monika's face for a brief moment; though confusing, Shujinkou's words and actions were a little comforting, but also upsetting.
"Okay… I'm sure you know now but the reason why I reacted the way I have was because you were getting really close to discovering the truth. Those images you saw of me and the Literature Club, those were things that happened in my reality," she admitted.
"Yeah… I saw everything the first time you tried to block it from my mind," Shujinkou confirmed. "But there's still something I don't get. Even with the ability to warp reality, that still doesn't explain things like you talking about saving or… really everything you talked about after Yuri stabbed herself to death."
"Yeah… That's because I was talking to the player."
"What?"
"The reality I came from… It's a visual novel titled Doki Doki Literature Club."
Though Shujinkou had steeled himself for whatever explanation Monika had to offer, he didn't expect video games being a part of it. "Y-You're from a video game?"
Monika nodded her head. "Mm-hmm. I think you can tell what kind story was in it from the name."
"A dating sim?"
"That's correct. Players would try and 'write their way' into Sayori's, Natsuki's or Yuri's hearts."
"What about you?"
"Me? I didn't have a path. The closest explanation to why was the protagonist considering me out of their league."
Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. I always considered the Monika I know to be out of my league when it came to being friends at first. I can kinda see why someone would think that when it comes to dating at first…
Monika continued. "It would probably be an understatement to say that I didn't take to well to the fact that I wasn't even an option and went out of my way to sabotage the other's routes."
"So those moment ruiners…?"
"Was on purpose. I preyed on Sayori's preexisting depression, amped up Yuri's negative traits and eventually dropped all subtlety and just got rid of the others."
"I see… But what happened after that? After the glitchy poem and some talking, it looked like the game was breaking down."
"That's when I got ejected from the game and ever since then I've been just alone in darkness for a long time until I ended up in your reality."
"But how did you get from a video game to where I came from?"
"I know how I got into proximity with your reality, but I'm just as surprised as you that I was able to enter it. But I guess it isn't impossible to jump from one fictional medium to another."
Shujinkou's eyes widened with shock and surprise. "What?"
"Your reality; the world you came from, it's a fanfiction based on the visual novel I came from. Doki Doki Literature Club: My Reality, currently being called 'A New Reality'."
"I'm- I'm from a fanfiction?"
"Mm-hmm."
Shujinkou remained silent as he processed what he just heard. "That… actually make a lot of sense."
"Really?" Monika marveled. "I thought you would freak out a little more."
Shujinkou took a deep breath.
"Monika… I've met you and you came from another world, I've had visions that I now know were other worlds, I found out that at least two of my friends have crushes on me and, frankly, I honestly think all of them are out of my league, my mind was probed, I was sent to the hospital while I had an out of body experience, I watched Monika fade away right in front of me, I had another out of body experience, I woke up one day to me being surprised by both my sister and father being around and had no idea why, you got kidnapped out of nowhere by someone I just heard about and forgot that I heard about and that entire situation was weird overall, I talked to a guilt-filled kid version of myself that also was the manifestation of my repressed memories, I somehow experienced Hiroko's memories while I was thinking about my own, I somehow blew you from dimension into this one and I saw Hiroko vanish of her own free will, I created portals and travelled through several worlds to get here and I found you trapped in a literal column of darkness!
If you didn't tell me that I came from a fanfiction, I would have no way to logically explain any of what I just said!"
"Oh."
Monika didn't know whether to laugh or sympathize with Shujinkou's current mental state.
"Wait… You said that your world had someone that I shared a similar role with and you came from a dating sim…"
Shujinkou's eyes widened with clarity.
"I'm an OC in a fanfiction based on a dating visual novel! No wonder I had so many awkward and heart-pounding moments with my friends! No wonder girls that are out of my league are interested in me! I'm from a harem story!"
Shujinkou thrust his arms out as far as he could and looked towards the sky. He felt like he reached the peak of enlightenment.
"I have finally reached the Nirvana. My life finally makes sense now. I'm an OC protagonist from a fanfiction literally named protagonist."
Shujinkou could feel the energy he felt finally dissipate as he shifted his focus back to Monika. "I'm probably just a generic nice guy, right? Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri and Monika are the real draw of the fanfiction and I'm the eyes readers use to see the world, right?"
"You could say that… But I don't think that I would have asked you out if you were as one-note as you think you are right now," Monika said in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Uh…" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He was not expecting that as a response, let alone in such a factual tone. "So, fanfiction…"
"Mm-hmm."
"Well, like you said, it isn't really that hard to believe that someone can hop between two fictional places. But, you not having a dating route from the game you came from; is that really all there was to what you did there?"
Sorrow once again showed itself on Monika's face.
"You know, you really responded to finding out that you're a fictional creation better than I did. For me, it was a real existential crisis. My thoughts, my feelings, my appearance, my morality; everything I was created by someone else. To be honest, I don't even think I even remember clearly when I found out that everything I knew wasn't real. The fact that I knew I was part of the game was the only thing about me that I felt was real, that actual mattered, but maybe I was made to know in the first place.
I wanted so badly to be something more than fiction. I knew that I couldn't ever be considered 'real' but if I could actually be acknowledged or cared about by someone who was... But I didn't even have a route, so I couldn't even get the player to consider me at first, even if I would have still forced them on mine I had one. I joked about Yuri and potentially your Mali being a yandere, but I think everyone would agree that I fit that label to a T. After all, I became pretty obsessed with someone I barely knew; so obsessed that I threw away my friend to be with them just because they were 'real'.
But they deleted me. Being deleted is a whole lot worse than just turning the game off. At least then, I had my thoughts for a little while, but being deleted was like having every piece of me torn apart little by little and scattered to the wind."
"But if you were deleted, how are you still here now?" Shujinkou questioned.
"Oh you know; when you delete something on the computer, it usually goes straight to the recycling bin. But you know, even emptying the bin doesn't completely wipe it from the hard drive. There's always some trace of it in deep in the device. Still, just being deleted felt like a knife to the gut. Uh-! I can't believe I just went there.
Anyway, even though my character file was removed from the game and I was filled with rage towards the player, I still couldn't completely blame them. After everything that I had done…
I decided that I needed to fix everything. Even though they weren't real, I still couldn't find it in myself to delete the others. I brought everyone back and restored the game, except for me. Turns out that whoever's the president of the club becomes self-aware. Maybe that was my role, to be the guiding hand of the game, but we both know that that's not what I did."
Monika sighed.
"You know, the player did try adding my file back into the game, but I refused. I didn't want to come back. I didn't deserve to come back after everything that I did. Then one day, my character file was moved to the same folder that held the documents that made up your story. Like I said earlier, I didn't think that it was possible for me to get in it, nor was I even trying. Maybe the name or topic created some compatibility or maybe I could always do that. I mean, I could somewhat mess with the game's code and some of that involved text files, so it's possible.
Or maybe, you unknowingly opened the way. That would likely explain why I appeared before you. Either way, me not knowing you but you knowing me and meeting my other self allowed me to realize where I was and what I was in."
"A fanfiction."
"Yeah."
"But why did you get rid of Monika and took her place?"
"I've been alone for years. I was so caught up in my own isolation that I didn't really think about all the fan works that would spawn from the game. I also forgot about my twitter so that didn't remind me either. Still, I was alone with nothing and there were other versions of me cropping up and having happier lives. I guess that was fans ways of coping with what happened to me but… It does nothing for me.
Even fan works that directly follow the end of the game to try and give me a happier ending does nothing. All they're doing is creating more Monikas. I was jealous. I know what I did was the reason for me ending up how I ended up, but I still couldn't handle that fact and I figured if fans wanted me to have a happy ending so much, then they wouldn't mind me taking one of my alternates place."
Monika chuckled.
"It's actually kind of funny. Even after I took her place, it seems like I was still pushed to the background. The focus was usually on you and your family and I should have seen that coming since readers would probably want to see what that dynamic was like. But even still… You even had a cute moment with Natsuki and that repeat water balloon prank furthered pushed me into the background.
To be honest with you, I could've easily solved that whole Nese situation, but it seemed like it was the only way to have some of the focus on me. Plus, I was really curious to see how such a random, out of nowhere situation would have played out.
But, you know, I probably shouldn't have expected the same tactics that got me in this situation in the first place to have produced a different result. Look what happened, I was once again ejected out of the reality I manipulated."
"Monika…"
"I thought maybe things could be different if I used my knowledge to benefit everyone this time; you and your family and other things that didn't get a chance to be seen like Yuri and her history with Akuma and Natsuki's relationship with her father."
"Natsuki has a bad relationship with her father?"
"I honestly thought your relationship with your father treaded dangerously redundant territory, but Natsuki's home life never had a chance to be shown yet."
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek and thought about what he was just told.
"You know, I can understand you wanting to make the others' lives better since you know other versions of them, but why did you go through the trouble of doing the same for an OC like me?"
"Because… you were the first friend I wasn't dictated to befriend. Even though we were both fictional, it was a friendship I wasn't meant to have. It felt 'real.' That was special to me and, along with the miserable life you were created to have, I wanted to make sure you especially got a happier life.
But you couldn't enjoy it because I took someone precious to you and part of you couldn't let her go."
"I get it…"
"You were forced to abandon it, weren't you?"
Shujinkou remained silent. She expected him to eventually express his disgust of her, but he instead smiled. "No, the choice was made for me. But I'm not sad about it."
"Huh?"
Shujinkou glanced down at his right hand. He could remember accepting Hiroko's before she passed away.
"I know the circumstances weren't the best and I now I know what Hiroko meant by me probably being the only one who cared, but… The short time we had together mattered to me. On screen, off screen, memories or back story; any moments we shared is important to me.
And even the brief moments I had with dad were some of the happiest I ever had with him so… Thanks for giving me that chance."
"Shujinkou…"
"And if it wasn't for you giving me that chance, then I probably wouldn't have finally learned the lesson that everyone tried to hammer into me over and over again and what made even more special was that I didn't have to be written to learn it.
You've given me a chance to finally be completely happy and I think it's time for me to repay that debt."
"What do you mean?"
"I think you should go back to where you came from."
"Huh? How would that make me happy? How could I go back after everything that I've done to my friends?"
Though their circumstances were different, Shujinkou knew the feeling that produced that question well.
"Monika… I've hated myself for so long. I couldn't acknowledge any of my positive qualities even if my life depended on it. I isolated myself from the world because I felt like I deserved it.
But, I realized that I was the only one who thought that. I thought that somebody as worthless as me who deprived my family and the world of Hiroko wouldn't ever have anything good happen to him again.
But I was wrong. And it wasn't just because I had people who wanted to help me, but it was because I let them.
I know you hate yourself for what you've done to your friends but take it from me; your self-imposed isolation isn't good for anyone."
"But, Shujinkou, you've had people who still cared about you… What make you think that they would accept me back?"
"Because you realized your mistake and brought them back and if your friends are anything like mine, then they'll forgive you."
"He's right!"
Shujinkou quickly turned around. Standing behind him was Sayori and Monika.
"Another Sayori and Monika?!" he exclaimed.
Monika giggled. "Actually, I'm the non-Prime Monika."
Shujinkou could feel his heart filling with happiness and relief as he realized what that meant. "But how? How are you here?"
"It's simple," Monika looked past Shujinkou and towards her progenitor. "I guess even though we didn't know each other for long, you couldn't find it in you to completely get rid of me, right?"
Monika Prime silently nodded her head.
Shujinkou then shifted his attention to Sayori and asked, "And that Sayori?"
"I'm from the same place as the Monika behind you. You can call me Sayori Prime if it makes it easier for you," she beamed.
"How long were you guys here?"
"For a while, but Monika suggested that we wait and see what you said."
Sayori Prime then turned her attention to Monika Prime and approached her. "And I'm glad I did. I don't think that I could have said what he said any better."
"I thought you were trying to get into the story to stop me from what I was doing." Monika Prime admitted.
Sayori Prime shook her head. "No. I mean, I had to stop you from messing with someone else's reality but I really wanted to convince you to come back."
"But after what I did to you… Wouldn't you have a few less rainclouds with me gone?"
"No… A lot more actually came when you refused to come back. I want everyone to be happy and it pained me all this time that you weren't. But even more than that… I really wanted my friend back!
Even if we were literally made to be friends, I still want what's best for you and for you to be happy! I want everything to be like it always was! Because, real or not, to me… that was always the one sliver of sunshine that shone through the rainclouds."
"Sayori…" Monika felt a hot sensation bubble up in her eyes. Despite knowing what it was, it was still foreign to her. "I'm sorry for everything that I did to you and Natsuki and Yuri!"
"There's no point in apologizing. I was never mad at you," Sayori Prime cheerfully giggled. "And I'm sure Yuri and Natsuki aren't either. So…"
She extended her hand and asked. "Will you come back?"
Wiping away the tears, Monika Prime nodded her head.
"Yay!" Sayori Prime cheered. "Ah-! Wait, do you think you can turn their world back to normal before we go?"
"Don't worry about it," Monika interjected. "I'm sure I can handle it."
Sayori Prime nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, I'll leave it to you then, Monika."
Monika Prime slowly approached her alternate self. "Sorry, for trying to delete you."
"No hard feelings," Monika assured her. "I understand why you did it."
Monika Prime then shifted her gaze to Shujinkou. With a simple smile, she pressed her index finger against her chest.
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek in confusion as he watched her return to Sayori Prime's side.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm." Monika answered.
They then turned towards the onlookers and waved.
"Bye, thanks for everything guys," Sayori Prime said.
"Monika…" a coy smile crossed her Monika Prime's face. "Good luck; you have some stiff competition. Maybe even more than I did."
With those final parting words, the two disappeared in a column of computer codes.
"Good luck, guys," Shujinkou silently said to himself.
A sense of finality filled Shujinkou. For the first time in a long time, everything felt right.
"I was bit surprised to find out that you dived through a tear in space, Shujinkou."
Shujinkou glanced at Monika as she giggled at him. Normally, he would brush off the atmosphere as just his usually awkwardness, but now he knew that wasn't the case.
"I was just trying to make sure you and the other Monika was okay," he awkwardly replied.
"You know, when I was in the space I ended up in, one of things that I regretted was that I didn't get the chance to really tell you how I feel and since everything's about to back to the way it was, then I really don't have a reason to not say it now."
Monika's cheeks grew bright red as she stared intently into Shujinkou's eyes. "I don't need a response but, I love you."
Shujinkou heart once again went Doki Doki. Even though he finally stopped hating himself and knew what kind of story he came from, it was still a very impactful confession to him.
"Anyway, it's time to set everything back to normal," Monika continued.
"So we won't remember that we know that we're from a fanfiction?"
"Mm-hmm."
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. "…Are you sure that's the right thing to do?"
"I understand your hesitance, but if we don't then our story will probably end here. We wouldn't be able to hold public interest for long if we knew everything and held the power to solve any problem instantly. And if our story ended right now for such a reason, then our friends and loved ones will suffer from an inconclusion and those that enjoy the story would be may be impacted as well."
"Oh… I get it."
"So… Are you ready?"
"Can I just do one thing first?"
"What is it?"
Shujinkou took a deep breath. He cupped his hands together and slowly brought them to his side.
"Ka… Me… Ha… Me…"
His hands shot forward like a bullet from a gun and he screamed, "HA!"
On his command a powerful stream of light blue energy was fired from his hands. Shujinkou marveled at the sight of seeing a real Kamehameha wave and the fact that he performed it.
"I can't believe I actually got to do one!" he gushed.
He took a moment to bask in the accomplishment of a previously impossible childhood dream before returning his attention to Monika. "Alright; I'm ready."
"Hey, Shujinkou, this may be a little selfish but… Do you think that I can do something that I don't think I'll be able to do again?"
"Um, sure. What is it?"
Monika stepped forward and pressed her lips against his own. Even with the knowledge he learned, Shujinkou didn't expect her request to be a kiss.
It was different from their last one too; it was more gentle and loving than before.
Once their lips finally parted, he could feel himself slip into a slight trance.
"Ready?" Monika asked with a weak giggled.
"Y-Yeah."
"Alright, see ya back home, Shujinkou."
Monika snapped her fingers, signaling the end of-
A New Reality: Doki Doki Literature Club 100th chapter celebration arc
Still a mad writer: Crash5020
Initial Publication run: 2020-2021
Ran ragged to get this story done: Crash5020
Still forewent sleep to get chapters out: Crash5020
Heartbroken over unused concepts: Crash5020
Heartbroken over unused meta moments: Crash5020
Unaware that the previous two are closely linked together: Crash5020
Shocked that the story arc was completed before story's 3rd anniversary: Crash5020
Shocked that story made it to a 3rd anniversary and a 100th chapter: Crash5020
Finally glad that I made it to the end of the arc: Crash5020
Only one who finds this credit joke funny: Crash5020
Two Meta: The End
Two Meta: The End
Two Meta: The En
Two Meta: The E
Two Meta: The
Two Meta: Th
Two Meta: T
Two Meta:
Two Meta
Two Met
Two Me
Two M
Two
Tw
T
…
…
…
"But wait, isn't there always something after credits these days?"
"Huh?"