The Infinite Loops Project: Doki Doki Literature Club Compilation

by The Skaz of the Void

Due to the original compiler's prolonged absence, I've been permitted to take over compiling duties for the Infinite Loops of the Doki Doki Literature Club. Enjoy! Four girls with a traumatic shared history have joined the Infinite Loops of Yggdrasil. Together they'll share some great times, and some not-so great times. Because more than love and literature, friendship is forever.

10. Chapter 10 - Killer Glitches

Compiler's Commentary: The following is a Fused Loop, with the Doki-Dokies visiting the wild, wacky, and frequently gruesome world of one of my favorite anime/manga; Mirai Nikki, or "Future Diary" in English. The anime is faithful to the manga, and the English dub pretty good, though as always You Mileage May Vary. It can get pretty dark, but it isn't too graphic or gory. If you can handle Attack on Titan, Future Diary is no problem (and Yukiteru has the same English VA as Armin, too). If you like Black Lagoon, you'll definitely like Future Diary. And if you watch the anime, do not forget to watch the OVA, "Future Diary: Redial" afterwards. But anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 10 – Killer Glitches
(Doki Doki Literature Club!)/(Mirai Nikki/Future Diary)
(By Skaz Wolfman, yours truly)

Part 1

Yuri was enjoying this loop so far. It was a meatspace Loop, which meant she had a physical body to enjoy. Her Unawake self had been as big an introvert as she normally was, having no friends except for an imaginary one.

Who turned out to be God. Literally God. And the real kicker, for Yuri at least, was that His name was Deus X. Machina.

Then He upgraded her cellphone, in which her Unawake self had made random notes about everything she saw, so that it told her the future. For the next ninety days, in the form of her own 'random notes'.

It should go without saying that knowing what's going to happen before it happens is one of the most useful powers one can have, which made Yuri very sad that this loop was also a Null-type. Not that it really mattered, seeing as the Future Diary was probably either Read-Only, or wouldn't work out-of-Loop anyways, seeing as its predictions came from the local God of Time and Space. Still, if nothing else, Yuri thought the cellphone itself would make a neat souvenir.

But then, less than a week after receiving the amazing gift from God, it suddenly changed. Most of the entries were inexplicably wiped clean and replaced by just one:

[16:30, Alleyway Behind The Antique Store]
The serial killer eviscerates me beautifully; it feels amazing.
-DEAD END-

"Ah…so the murderer that's been in the news all week is going to be the death of me, eh?" Yuri asked herself. She was sitting alone in her homeroom, the only student left, except for…

"I know you're there, Gasai-san. I can sense your presence," Yuri said without taking her eyes off the phone. She heard a loud, embarrassed squeak in reply. 'Gasai Yuno…she's been stalking me since I Awoke. Probably since long before that, but I can't tell by my Loop Memories. My Unawake self didn't have the trained senses to notice her. To be fair, my Baseline self wouldn't have noticed her, either. She's quite sneaky, and I was…withdrawn, to put it mildly. Only subjective centuries of honing my spatial awareness to compliment my combat training have made it so easy to detect her. Could she be the serial killer? No, unlikely. My diary's premonitions read just like my own random notations. If I knew the serial killer's identity, it would definitely be part of the premonition. That I refer to them as just 'the serial killer' means that I either wouldn't recognize them, or they were concealing their identity. Serial killers who pre-emptively stalk their victims typically make a point of letting them know who their killer is. Still, my sense of narrative is telling me that she isn't wholly unconnected to this latest 'plot twist', as it were.'

All this passed through Yuri's mind in the short time between her calling Yuno out, and Yuno tentatively entering the room. She looked a little embarrassed. "Hey, Yuri…um, when did you–"

"It's been a year since we met, hasn't it?" Yuri asked abruptly, after sifting through her memories. "Have you been…ahem, 'watching' me, ever since that day?"

Yuno blushed. "Ah…a-ha…um…yeaaaaaaah…"

Yuri blinked. 'Is this how Baseline me acts towards Hiroaka? Wait…could it be? Is she…crushing on me?!'

Yuri started blushing as well, quickly matching Yuno's own. "Um…you know, if you wanted…you c-could have just tried…a-asking me out?" Yuri suggested.

"I…well…um…" Yuno's brain appeared to have stalled out. Then she snapped out of it and pulled her own cellphone out. "I can't go out with a dead person, Yuri, and as I'm sure you've noticed you've been marked for death."

"Ah, so Deus gave you one too, then," Yuri observed.

Yuno stared at her.

Yuri grabbed her bag and started towards the door. "W-wait, what are you–where are you going, Yuri?" Yuno demanded, following her out of the classroom.

"I'm going to visit the antique store, as per my original plans for the day," Yuri replied honestly.

"You aren't even going to try to avoid your dead end?" Yuno boggled.

"Avoiding one's destiny is an exercise in futility, Gasai-san," Yuri replied coolly, "If one is to have any hope at all, they must face their destiny head-on."

"I'm coming with you!" Yuno immediately declared.

"I had a suspicion you would say that," said Yuri. "Just whatever you do, try not to get in my way. I don't mind an audience, but I don't want anyone getting hurt, other than my would-be assailant."

Yuri could all but feel Yuno bristle behind her. But she didn't say anything. So the two girls walked in silence…

…

As they approached the antique store, Yuri spoke up, "Gasai-san, if you insist on accompanying me further, I advise you take some measure to conceal your identity." As Yuri said this, she stuffed her long hair back into her hoodie and pulled the hood up over her head. From her bag she pulled a pair of sunglasses, which she put on, and a bandana, which she tied over her mouth. The end result being that her anonymity was quite secure.

"What are you planning, Yuri?" asked Yuno. She didn't sound concerned at all; only curious.

"The path of the swordsman is that of blood and death," Yuri replied mysteriously, "There is no honor in trying to cheat the reaper. Live by the sword, die by the sword. My life is sworn to the blade, so I need a blade to survive. I have my knives, but the diary described my death as an evisceration. That implies an…intimate range for the killing blow. So it would behoove me to fight with something that has a bit more reach…"

"You're going to steal an antique sword?" Yuno surmised.

"Precisely," said Yuri as she entered the antique store, which was thankfully more or less empty. Yuno was close behind her. "Oy, you, does this place have a back exit?" Yuri demanded of the bored-looking young man sitting behind the counter. She adopted a much rougher voice.

"Uh…yeah, whyyyyyy oh Godyou'reathief," the young man said frightfully as Yuri drew closer and he got a better look at her.

"Relax," said Yuri as she drew a knife out of her pocket. "Give me a serviceable sword, if you have one, and point me to the back exit. Do this, and you won't find out what your entrails look like," said Yuri dispassionately.

The man at the counter looked like he was going to piss himself, but he nodded and ran over to a nearby display case, which had a couple of different samurai weapons in it. A moment later he all but shoved a katana into her hands. Yuri drew it, examined the edge, tested the balance, gave it a few practice swings. She sheathed it and nodded. "The exit?" she prompted. The man nodded vigorously and turned around. As soon as he did, Yuri slammed the hilt of the sword into the back of his head. He crumpled instantly.

Yuri sighed. "Sorry for the inconvenience," she said to the unconscious figure as she stepped over his body. She found the back exit herself, easily enough, and soon she and Yuno both stood in the alley. They waited. Yuri pulled down her hood, took off her sunglasses and bandana, and threw her hair up into a bun. Then she drew her sword and did a little practicing with it.

Yuno watched her movements critically. "Say, when did you ever take up kendo anyways, Yuri?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh…a lifetime ago, it feels like," Yuri replied, "Or more than one lifetime, I should say." She was too focused on what she was doing to notice the way Yuno's face went pale at this remark.

Yuno opened her mouth, but Yuri froze and hissed, "Hide, Gasai-san! A murderous presence draws near."

And right on cue, a tall figure in a trench coat appeared at the end of the alley. He wore a wide-brimmed hat and a gasmask, and he was armed with a wickedly serrated machete.

"A slasher-type, as I guessed," Yuri muttered. Yuno made no move to hide, so Yuri leaped forward to get between her and the serial killer, katana at the ready. If this surprised her aspiring murderer, his body language betrayed nothing. He only made to approach, slowly. "To hell with that nonsense," Yuri growled, rushing at the serial killer, ready to cleave him from shoulder to hip.

The serial killer's response was to stand stock-still, and as Yuri was about to strike he swung out with his machete, which easily shattered the infrequently-maintained four-hundred-year-old blade. Then he kicked Yuri in the chest, sending her flying back.

It was at this moment that Yuri knew…she fucked up.

'Note to self: just because your imaginary friend is God and gives you a cell phone that tells you the future,' Yuri thought as she rolled back onto her feet and jumped back away from the serial killer, drawing two knives out of her pockets, 'That doesn't necessarily mean that the universe you've Looped into is completely lacking in realism.'

"Gasai-san, you should probably call the police," said Yuri, as the serial killer slowly advanced.

"Oh, there's no need for that, my love," replied Yuno as she stepped up. Her voice sounded subtly different now; most people might not have noticed, but Yuri prided herself on her attention to details. Up until now, Yuno's presence had been that of a more-or-less normal schoolgirl. But now she was different. She was…something else. "Yuno-chan will handle this miscreant for you," she said with a song in her voice as she deftly took one of Yuri's knives out of her hand.

'Oh. A Yandere. Of course,' thought Yuri.

Yuno gave a soft, girlish little giggle as she took off like an Olympic sprinter, charging right into their enemy before he could react. As he swung his weapon down at her, she pirouetted to his side and hooked one of his ankles with her foot, and with a mighty wrench of her leg sent him toppling over onto his back. Then she kicked his weapon out of his hand, and then she kicked him hard in the head. Hard enough that his hat came off and he seemed to lose consciousness. The whole time, Yuno maintained a cheerful, carefree smile. She knelt down–

Three simultaneous bursts of static-y noise, just like the kind Yuri's cell made when it rewrote itself. Yuri quickly checked her diary, and her eyes widened in shock.

[16:30, Alleyway Behind The Antique Store]
Second kills Third, but Third was holding reality together. Oops.
-DEAD END-

Yuno had managed to remove the gasmask, and she was just about to plunge her knife into Third's throat, when Yuri tackled her to the ground. "NOPE! Nopenopenopenope," Yuri said quickly as she dragged a very confused Yuno away from the fallen killer.

"Yuri, what's wrong? If we don't kill her, she's going to–"

"If we kill her, this whole universe goes–" here Yuri made a loud popping sound with her mouth. "Like a soap bubble. No warning, just gone. And then her and I wind up in Eiken, or something. And not to put too blunt a point on it, Gasai-san, but my back problems are bad enough as it is. All that besides, she's a friend of mine. We'll all have a big laugh about this when she Wakes Up, I'm sure."

"What are you talking about?" asked Yuno, who had stood up and shaken off Yuri's grip. 'She's a lot stronger than she looks,' Yuri thought. 'Heck, she's stronger than me!'

Meanwhile, the unconscious person on the ground, who turned out to be a woman with long auburn hair, was already groaning and stirring as familiar green eyes fluttered open…

Yuri tried Pinging, but nothing happened, as she already knew would be the case. Yuno made a move towards the woman struggling to her feet, but Yuri quickly grabbed her and pulled her back. "M–eh, Hiyama-sensei? Are you…Awake?"

"Awake, yes. Who smacked me with an Anchor?" asked Monika as she stood up on wobbly legs.

"Oh thank Deus," Yuri exclaimed breathlessly. She let go of Yuno and rushed forth, slapping the lid off of a trashcan, grabbing Monika by the shoulders, and aiming her towards it.

"What are you–oh my gods," Monika moaned in horror as she abruptly started throwing up into the trashcan. Yuri was already pulling her friend's long mane back with one hand and fishing around in her pockets with the other.

"Gasai-san, do you have a ribbon or a hair-tie we can use?" Yuri asked, glancing towards the pinkette. "And drop that knife right now!" she snapped, "Monika is…she's not our enemy anymore! She's remembered who she really is. Stay back, relax, we'll explain everything soon."

Yuno looked very skeptical. She didn't drop or even lower the knife in her hands, nor did she back up, but she didn't try to come any closer, either.

"Ah-ha!" said Yuri triumphantly as she found a long white ribbon in one of Monika's trench coat pockets. "Give me a second…there, now you look like yourself, President," said Yuri affectionately as she put Monika's hair up.

"I don't feel like me…gods, Yuri, I was a butcher…" said Monika faintly, holding both sides of the trashcan with white knuckles and still bent forward.

"I'm so sorry, Monika," said Yuri gently, "It sounds like an awful way to Wake Up. But it wasn't you, remember? Not the real you. You would never do such barbaric things."

"Wouldn't I?" Monika countered, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and turning to face Yuri, "We both know why Yggdrasil dropped me in this…person's…shoes. It might not have been my hands holding the knife, or tying the noose, but I–"

*SMACK!*

"That's quite enough of that," said Yuri icily, rubbing her now-stinging palm. "You were insane, then. We've forgiven you. We don't need to get back into all that."

"Right…you're right, I'm sorry," Monika mumbled. She squeaked when Yuri pulled her into a tight hug. Yuno went rigid and stared at them in shock. Her knife hand tightened…

The next thing Yuno knew, Yuri was screaming out, half in pain and half in…ahem.

Yuno blinked, surprised. She had meant to stab Third in the back of the head, but her knife had wound up in Yuri's shoulder instead. 'Yuri…why would she…?'

"What is wrong with you, you psycho?!" demanded Monika as she swung a fist at Yuno's face. Unfortunately, throwing punches was not a martial skill she had invested much into, and Yuno had very good reflexes. So Monika wound up kissing the ground.

"Wait!" gasped Yuri, "She's not…hyAHH!" she gasped as she dislodged the knife in her back, "She's convinced you're a threat…and I think she's obsessed with me, so, y'know…"

The sound of sirens cut through the air, and Yuri groaned. "Okay, this is just getting asinine. Yuno? Things are very complicated, and we all need to get the hell out of here before we can explain anything. But for now, stop trying to hurt Monika. She's my friend. She is not going to hurt either of us. Whatever you think is supposed to be going on, it isn't. No stand down!" Yuri said sternly as she helped Monika up to her feet.

"Yuri! Are you okay?!" Yuno and Monika asked at the same time. Then they glared at each other…

"I'm fine!" Yuri snapped, "Now let's cut the Three Stooges act and get out of here before the law comes down on our heads! Monika, I know they're revolting but do your Loop Memories offer any expertise on–"

"Yes. Follow my lead," said Monika decisively, starting down the alleyway.

Yuri made a point of staying between Monika and Yuno, and kept an eye on the pink-haired girl at all times. She was back to looking all innocent and cheerful.

'I'm starting to suspect…that this is not going to be an easy loop,' Yuri thought with a sigh.

Part 2

The getaway had been clean, and the trio of ladies made their way, after a brief debate, to Yuri's house. She kept an eye on Yuno the whole time, but she had done another one-eighty; she seemed completely innocent, with not a shred of murderous intent. Yuri had no intention of lowering her guard, however. Monika had discarded her 'serial killer outfit' along the way. Underneath, she had been wearing a plain black tee-shirt and dark slacks.

"How's your shoulder, Yuri?" Monika asked as they entered the house, making no effort whatsoever to disguise the withering glares she kept shooting at Yuno.

"It's fine; barely noticeable as long as I don't move my arm too much," Yuri replied, which was more or less true. As soon as the front door was closed, she kicked off her shoes, stepped into her house slippers, pulled her hoodie off, and started taking her shirt off. Yuno squeaked and looked away, blushing. Monika didn't react so strongly, but rather appeared torn between glaring at Yuno and eyeballing Yuri's injury. "Monika, I understand how you must feel, but I don't think your trying to burn a hole in Gasai-san's head is going to help."

"She stabbed you!" Monika reminded her unnecessarily.

"I wasn't aiming for her, though," said Yuno apologetically.

"I know…you were aiming for me," Monika said icily.

"You were trying to hurt Yuri, y'know," said Yuno, returning her glare this time.

"Not at that moment!"

"I still don't trust you."

"Well neither do I!"

"GIRLS!" Yuri shouted, whirling around to face the bickering duo, hands on her hips. Shirtless.

Monika and Yuno turned to Yuri. Yuno blushed furiously and turned around. Monika only raised an eyebrow. "Now, see, the lace makes sense, but the pink comes as a bit of a surprise. That seems more like Natsuki or Sayori's thing," Monika remarked.

Yuri stared at her flatly. "Ha. Ha. Very funny," Yuri deadpanned. She dropped her bloodsoaked shirt on the floor. "Gasai-san, do make yourself comfortable in my living room, please. Monika, come help me with this in the bathroom, please."

"What?!" gasped Yuno, turning back around. "N-no! I'll help you, Yuri–"

"No," said Yuri firmly, "I don't mean any offense, Yuno, but if I were trying to dress my crush's wound–which I had caused, no less–I don't know if I could keep my hands steady. Monika, at least, I can trust to emotionally distance herself from…whatever it is she might apply herself to. Which, in the case of dressing injuries, is a good thing," Yuri added emphatically when she saw Monika start to look downcast. "So she's going to help me deal with what you did, and then we'll move forward from there. Help yourself to the fridge, if you're hungry." Yuri then proceeded to the bathroom.

Monika started following her while Yuno headed for the kitchen. But Monika heard Yuno whisper as she passed, "I will kill you, if you make one wrong move." Monika didn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction. She just rolled her eyes.

A moment later, Yuri sat at the edge of the bath while Monika cleaned and dressed the stab wound in her right shoulder. "So, the three of us have phones that tell the future," Monika surmised.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there are more," said Yuri, trying not to fidget or flinch.

"Did you get yours from an imp with white hair, by any chance?" asked Monika.

"You mean Muru Muru? Kind of…I got mine from her boss, actually. Deus X. Machina. I kid you not."

"I recall Muru Muru mentioning something about a survival game and other "future diary" owners. I forget how many…"

"There are twelve, altogether," spoke up a third voice. Monika flinched, and she and Yuri both turned left. There was the imp in question, a dark-skinned little girl with silver hair. She was sitting on a white ball, floating in midair, and slurping up some mochi. "There are twelve future diary owners involved in the Survival Game. You're the First, Amano Yuri; and you, Hiyama Monika, are the Third. Gasai Yuno is the Second," Muru Muru further clarified.

"Survival Game," Yuri said, narrowing her eyes. "Then we're supposed to be killing each other. What is the point of such a sick sport? Are you and Deus that bored?"

"Oh, no! It's not for sport," said Muru Muru, looking aghast. "See, Deus is…well, let's just say he needs to pick a successor soon. The winner of the Game will become the next God of Time and Space!"

"I see," said Yuri. At the same time, she and Monika pulled their diaries out of their pockets and tossed them on the floor in front of Muru Muru. "We're not interested," they said together. Monika returned to stitching up Yuri's injury.

"What the–you can't just forfeit like that!" Muru Muru exclaimed.

"Neither Yuri nor myself have any interest in pursuing godhood," said Monika evenly, "In point of fact, a friend of ours strongly advised us against it. We'll simply stay out of the way for the rest of the loop, if you don't mind."

Muru Muru gasped. "Loop?! Wh-what loop?! Time hasn't looped, that's crazy-talk!"

Yuri stared at her. Monika, however, continued focusing on her work. "Are you aware of the Loops, Muru Muru?" Yuri asked.

"There's no loop, damn it!" Muru Muru snapped, "No one's gone back in time! Ever! It's impossible!"

Monika chuckled, "Speak for yourself. I've gone back in time millions of times. Yuri, tens of thousands at the very least. Moreover, neither of us are originally from this universe. Why do you think I'm helping her instead of trying to kill her now?"

"Oh, hey, I just had an idea," Yuri spoke up. She asked Muru Muru, "Are there any Diary Owners named Sayori or Natsuki?"

Muru Muru's mouth fell open. "I'll take that as a yes…could you pass a message along, from me to them? Please?"

"Ah…uh, I guess?" said the thoroughly bewildered imp.

"Ask them both of they're feeling Loopy. If their reply includes the word Awake or Anchor in it, give them this address and tell them there's a club meeting tonight. If they're Awake, they'll know what it means."

"You wanna give away your location to more Diary Owners?" asked Muru Muru. "Geez, if you wanna die so badly all you have to do is break your phones."

Monika froze. "What?" she and Yuri both asked.

"Oh, you don't know?" asked Muru Muru, "Guess you haven't lived through these events after all. Ha!"

"We never said we did, we–nevermind, what does breaking our phones have to do with dying?" Monika pressed.

"Your diaries don't just tell your futures, silly. They are your futures. Losing one means you lose the other. In other words…well, I wouldn't be tossing them around all wily-nily like you girls just did, if it were me," the imp replied with a smirk. Then she disappeared in a flash of light.

Monika quickly scooped her and Yuri's phones off of the floor, put hers in her pocket and gave the other back to Yuri, and returned to her stitching. It took a bit of effort to steady her hands this time.

"This Loop just gets better and better," Yuri sighed.

After another moment, Monika stood up. "There, you're all patched up…and it smells like Psycho did some cooking."

"Monika, please don't antagonize her," Yuri asked wearily, "She didn't mean to hurt me…and yes, I realize she was trying to hurt you, but in her defense…you know…look, this is all going to be hard enough without our Pockets or our powers or anything as it is. We really don't need to be estranging potential allies while we're at it."

Monika sighed. "Okay…okay, alright, fine. You're right. I'll be nice. Just…ask her to knock it off with the death threats and creepy looks. She gives me the creeps. I don't know if you noticed or not, but she's totally a Yandere."

"Well, seeing as you're a former Yandere, that gives you two something to talk about, doesn't it?" asked Yuri with a smile.

Monika groaned. "Low blow, Yu. Low. Blow."

Yuri went to her room to get a new shirt, while Monika proceeded to the kitchen, where Yuno was busy fixing some kind of meal. "Alright, let's get one thing cleared up right now, Miss Gasai," said Monika as she made a beeline for the coffee maker. "I know none of what I'm going to say is going to make any sense, but it's all true. Yuri is one of my very best friends, and now that I'm 'Awake', I have absolutely no intention of hurting her. In fact, I have no intention of letting anyone or anything else cause her harm, either. And we just got a visit from that Murmur girl. I'm guessing you already knew about the Survival Game?"

"Yep," Yuno chirped, stirring a pot of soup.

"Then know this," said Monika in the most serious tone she could muster, "I will absolutely not allow Yuri or myself to die in this game, nor any of our other friends who might be involved in this twisted mess. And seeing as Yuri is willing to let bygones be bygones, I'll do my best to look out for you, too…just so long as you don't make things needlessly complicated for us. Am I understood, Gasai?"

"Sure," Yuno replied casually. Monika felt her eye twitch, getting a distinct sense that she was not being taken seriously. Monika opened her mouth to say more, but snapped it shut as Yuri entered the room.

"A turtleneck. Of course," said Monika with a giggle as she walked over to the fridge.

"I stocked up on tofu, in case you showed up," said Yuri, "It's in the bottom left crisper."

"You are an angel, Yuri. A beautiful, dark, gothic angel. But just for now, I think these will do," said Monika as she pulled up a bag of baby carrots and a bottle of ranch dressing.

"Eh? Hey, what gives?! Is my soup not good enough for you?" asked Yuno plaintively.

"Oh…I'm sorry," said Monika genuinely, "I just…your soup has beef in it, is all. I'm a vegetarian."

"Oh. Oh well, more for Yuri!" said Yuno brightly.

"…I am pretty hungry, come to think of it," Yuri admitted, her cheeks pinking a bit.

"There, everyone wins," said Monika happily as she sat down next to Yuri, pouring some ranch onto a saucer.

It wasn't long before the coffee was done. "No, no, go ahead and keep eating," said Yuri, jumping out of her seat and bounding over to the coffee machine before Monika had a chance to stand. Yuno watched out of the corner of her eye as Yuri poured a little milk and stirred a teaspoonful of sugar and, curiously enough, a pinch of ground cinnamon into the cup of coffee. She then delivered it to Monika and made an exaggerated bow. Monika snorted, Yuri giggled, and Monika chuckled a little as Yuri dropped back into her seat.

"Excellent as always, Yuyu~" Monika complimented after a deep draught of the revitalizing brew.

"My pleasure, Madam President," Yuri rejoined with a grin.

Then both girls jumped in their seats as Yuno slammed the pot of soup down on the table with a declaration of "Dinner's done!"

"Ah! Uh…thank you, Gasai-san," said Yuri. Monika, who had grabbed at her own chest in surprise, tried to play it off as reaching to itch her shoulder. She glared at Yuno, who only stared back with frigid eyes and an empty smile. 'Sweet merciful ash, it's going to be all night with these two, isn't it?' Yuri thought exasperatedly.

"Oh, no need to be so formal, my love~" Yuno sang, turning her eyes to Yuri, her expression warming considerably, "Just call me Yuno…to hear my name from your lips would fill my heart with joy."

Monika gagged as Yuno briskly turned and bounced over to the cupboards to fetch a pair of bowls. She nudged Yuri with her elbow, and as soon as she had her friend's attention she made a rapid series of hand signs, 'speaking' to her in ASL. "If you ever catch me gushing to someone like that, feel free to shoot me in my fool head."

"I'm not crashing any loops just to accommodate your sense of indignation. You're just sour because she reminds you of us at our craziest; she's clearly desperate for acceptance and affection," Yuri signed back.

"Why are you defending this psycho?!" Monika signed, eyes widening and mouth tightening.

"Why do we defend you to Loopers who didn't finish our game?" Yuri retorted, narrowing her eyes. She continued before Monika could begin to respond, "Everyone who's ever been in love has been some degree of crazy at some point. She's just lonely, can't you tell?"

"Yuri, you're one of my best friends and I love you so much, but you're really stretching the line for acceptance and tolerance here. If she were just weird I could deal, but she tried to kill me and could have killed you in the process! 'Lonely' doesn't justify homicidal mania. Trust me, I would know."

"Exactly! You've been there before, why are YOU being so pigheaded about this?"

"Because I HAVE been there before! I know what she's capable of, and I don't like it. Seriously, why is she still here? And don't say "she made dinner" because you know what I mean."

"Because here or somewhere else, she'll still be crazy. As long as she's here, I know what she's doing. If I know I've got a Yandere fixated on me, I prefer not to have to wonder what she's doing."

Monika groaned. "Fine. That's actually a valid point…so, how are we going to explain to her that you're not really the person she's supposed to be crushing on? Because I'd rather not live with this Sword of Damocles over my head all loop."

"Still working on that, Madam President," Yuri signed with a weary sigh.

"What the heck are you two doing?" asked Yuno, who had been sitting across the table watching them for most of their exchange. Monika and Yuri both flinched and yelped.

"S-sign language!" Yuri half-yelled.

"Why so nervous, Yu?" asked Monika with a smug 'I'm right about her and you know it' expression.

"You two seem awfully familiar with each other all of a sudden," Yuno observed, Gendo-ing with her hands, "I hadn't realized Yuri and Hiyama-sensei were so close. That's kind of dodgy for a teacher and her student, isn't it? And if you really care for her so much, why did you come after her in the first place? Mine and Yuri's Diaries both predicted you were going to kill her."

Yuri just started in on her soup, subtly bowing out of the ensuing discussion. Monika sighed. "This isn't going to make any sense…but it's true, and Yuri will back me up on it. I'm not the person I was when I got out of bed this morning. For that matter, I'm not the person who's been using this body for the last thirty years."

"What about the twenty before that?" Yuno slipped in. Then she laughed at the apoplectic look that stormed across Monika's face, "Kidding~"

"As I was saying…before you knocked me out in the alleyway, I was Hiyama Monika; high school teacher by day, and…serial killer…by night." Monika's face drained of color and she shivered. Without a word, without looking away from her food, Yuri reached out with a hand and gave Monika's shoulder a squeeze. Monika took a deep breath. "After you knocked me out, I…we call it 'Awakening', or 'Waking Up'. Essentially, I remembered who I really am, and my memories and true personality overwrote that of the being you knew as Hiyama Monika. Now, I'm–"

"Just Monika," Yuri piped up with a grin.

"Oh, stop it!" Monika giggle-snorted, swatting at Yuri, who ducked. "Geez…where was I? Oh, right. Well, Yuri and I? We're…we're called 'Loopers'. Yuri's in the same situation I am. Say, when did you even Wake Up, Yu?"

"About two weeks ago. The day before Deus gave me the Future Diary. My guess would be that's when this Loop started."

"Right. Before that point, she was Amano Yuri. I'm guessing your…feelings for her…started at some point in that nebulous past. But–and this is very important, so please pay attention–she's not that person anymore. Since she Awakened, 'Amano Yuri' was Replaced with 'Yuri of the Doki Doki Literature Club'. That's why we're so close, Gasai-san. We're from another universe altogether. In that universe, I'm not a teacher at all! I'm a third-year student and president of the Literature Club, which Yuri is a member of. Specifically, she's our Secretary of Aesthetics."

"Wait, what? Since when?" asked Yuri.

"Something I was thinking about last Loop. Kind of felt bad that Sayori and I have official positions and you and Natsuki are just club members," Monika answered as she traced the rim of her coffee mug with her finger. "We do love atmosphere, after all~"

"Oh, stop it, you," said Yuri with a blush.

"So, anyways. That's why. I'm not the person who set out to kill Yuri in this Survival Game to decide the next God of this world. That's why our futures changed; I Woke Up, and I am absolutely not going to let anyone or anything harm my precious club members. Anyone," Monika restated firmly, staring hard into Yuno's eyes.

"I see…" said Yuno. Naturally, she didn't look like she believed a word of it. Monika didn't begrudge her at all, seeing as she couldn't do anything to prove her outrageous story.

"I'm very sorry, Ga…Yuno. Truly, I am so very sorry," spoke up Yuri, "But it's all true. Having no prior familiarity with your universe, I have no idea who I Replaced. Whoever they are, that's the person you are supposed to be in love with. I'm not that person. I don't belong in this world. I'm just a visitor. When this loop ends–whenever that may be–everything will reset. Monika and I will disappear, most likely returning to our own universe. The people we Replaced will take their places again, but you won't remember any of this. You're a non-Looper, so the next loop will be the only timeline you'll remember, just as this timeline is the only one you remember now."

Throughout this, Yuno started to look troubled. Especially at the mention of other timelines. Seeing that she was starting to get through to her in some way, Yuri pressed the offensive, as it were. "Please, understand that none of this is anyone's fault. Reality itself is damaged at a fundamental level, in ways that our mortal minds cannot even fathom. Something happened that broke the universe, so to speak, causing time to loop repeatedly, infinitely, in every universe there is."

"Yuri….no, no that's crazy, you can't…" Yuno looked shaken up now.

"Trust me, this isn't some ridiculously convoluted way of rejecting you, or something banal like that," Yuri added. You could never be sure how Yanderes might interpret these things, she knew very well. "I'm sure my Unawake self would have had no problem returning your feelings, if it's any consolation. Crazy doesn't bother me all that much, and I…well, I've always kind of had a thing for girls with pink hair," Yuri said with a blush, glancing aside.

But as Yuri said this, the Universe proved that it's always listening.

The sudden roar of an engine and bright light flooding in from the window were the only warning signs. Fortunately, it was just enough for Yuri, who grabbed Yuno by her arms and yanked her over the table, kicking back as she did so and sending them both flying back from the table. Monika leaped back as well, and Yuri wrapped both arms around Yuno and started rolling to the side as quickly as she could.

Then a van plowed in through the wall, demolishing everything in its path. The sink was destroyed and water started spraying everywhere. The van came to a stop just on top of where Yuno had been sitting. Still, its momentum was enough to send the table skidding across the floor and knock the pot of soup over. "HOLY CRAP!" Monika exclaimed, "YURI ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"I'm fine!" Yuri shouted back as she jumped up to her feet. Yuno did as well, and made a point of standing in front of Yuri.

"I'll give you just one warning, Gasai Yuno!" shouted a shrill voice from the van, "Get the hell away from my Yuri!"

'Oh dear Admins above it's just everything tonight' Yuri though bleakly, recognizing that voice.

The van's side-door slid open, and out jumped a petite young woman in a white dress, armed with a wooden baseball bat in one hand and a pump-action shotgun in the other. A short mop of bright pink hair crowned her head.

Natsuki had entered the scene, and both Yuri and Monika shivered at the apocalyptic expression on her face as she glared hellfire and supernovas at Yuno.

Part 3

"I'll give you one warning, Gasai Yuno," growled an absolutely murderous-looking Natsuki as she jumped out of the side of a van she had just rammed into Yuri's kitchen. With a baseball bat tucked under one arm, a pump-action shotgun in her hands, and wearing a white dress, Yuri's first impression of her was that of a jilted bride. Or, given her lack of a veil or bridal train, perhaps the vengeful bridesmaid of a jilted bride?

"Get the hell away from my Yuri!" Natsuki thundered, taking aim at Yuno (who just looked utterly perplexed) with the shotgun.

'My Yuri? Oh dear, we might have to have a talk after this…oh, this could end really badly,' Yuri thought worriedly as she glanced back and forth between Natsuki and Yuno.

Yuno frowned and glared back at Natsuki. "Hold on…your Yuri? Who the hell–" Yuno had to cut herself off as she jumped to the side, dodging the small orange blur that flew out of the end of Natsuki's shotgun when she fired it. Natsuki quickly pumped the firearm and tracked her quarry, firing another beanbag. Yuno dodged again.

"You have two choices!" Natsuki shouted over the roar of the gun as she continued to fire on her fellow pinkette. "Either you get out of here like a bat out of Hell, or Mama's gonna knock ya out!"

Despite Natsuki's best efforts, Yuno managed to dance around her barrage of non-lethal projectiles and get close enough to kick the shotgun out of her hands. And it was at that point that Yuri first noticed the switchblade knife in Yuno's hand. "Block at half past four, Nat!" Yuri shouted. Reacting on instinct, Natsuki used her bat to block Yuno's attempted underhand stab. Then Natsuki swung and Yuno jumped back. Roaring her little tsundere heart out, Natsuki threw herself at Yuno, swinging like a pro slugger. The Babe would have been envious.

Yuno once again ran a strong dodging game until she saw an opening, and then darted back in for another stab. Unfortunately for her, Natsuki had Yuri on her side, and Yuri was even better with knives than she was. And when you were hundreds of thousands of years old and mostly only had the same three people to talk to, translating what they said into what they had been thinking in an instant, even in the heat of battle, was easy as breathing. "Horizontal one-twenty cee-em!" Yuri shouted. Natsuk held her bat horizontally at one-hundred-and-twenty centimeters high from the floor, and Yuno's knife wound up stuck in the wooden cudgel. Yuno's eyes widened, Natsuki grinned savagely, and proceeded to kick her opponent right in the…ahem…fork of her legs.

Yuri winced in sympathetic pain as Yuno's pupils shrank to dots and she tottered backwards. Before she could recover, Natsuki reared back with her bat and took a swing at her head. Yuri clamped her eyes shut. Then she opened them again when she heard Natsuki cry out in pain. Yuno had caught the bat with her hand, the knife was back in her hand, and Natsuki was quickly backpedaling and clutching her right arm. Blood was streaming from between her fingers. Upon noticing this detail, Yuri's brain stopped doing the brain things.

The next thing Yuri knew, Monika had her in a headlock and was screaming for her to calm down. Yuno was laid out on her back, bleeding from the mouth, staring at the ceiling and looking bewildered. Her face looked like a raccoon had attacked it. Natsuki's voice joined Monika's, but Yuri couldn't comprehend what they were saying. The only words in her head at the moment were 'rip' and 'tear'.

Yuno slowly sat up and looked at Yuri. Her mouth was moving, but Yuri's ears were still full of white noise. Yuri screamed something at her, but even her own words sounded foreign to her. Whatever she said, it was enough to make Yuno blanch and jump to her feet, bolting out through the hole in the kitchen. Yuri continued to rage and thrash in Monika's grip for a moment, but with the object of her fury removed from her presence it didn't take long for her rational mind to reassert itself. Abruptly, she went limp in Monika's arms. Her breathing was laborious and ragged, all of a sudden. She felt like she had just gotten back from a thirty mile hike. Monika was breathing more heavily than she was, and a moment later the club president fell backwards.

"I was not prepared for today to be the kind of day it turned out to be," Monika groaned.

"Welcome to my world," Yuri heard Natsuki speak up from somewhere out of her sight, "Nothing but crazy bitches, all day every d–HELLO YURI!" Natsuki yelped as Yuri threw her arms around her, giving her a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry! It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let her hang around here. I should have listened to Monika! Are you okay, Natsuki?"

"Chill out, I'm fine! She only got a shallow cut on me. It wasn't even as bad as what she did to you, honestly," said Natsuki, awkwardly patting Yuri on her non-injured shoulder.

"Wait, how did you know about that?" asked Yuri.

Natsuki opened her mouth, but the sound of sirens approaching became audible. Natsuki's eyes widened. "Crap! I gotta scram…I'll meet you two outside of school tomorrow! Don't mention me to the cops!" said Natsuki as she jumped back into the van, and proceeded to back out of Yuri's house.

"What?" asked a bemused Yuri.

"I should make myself scarce as well," said Monika, "I am your teacher, after all. My presence at this hour would come across as 'dodgy', as Gasai put it. See you at school tomorrow, Yuri."

"Wait!" Yuri called, but Monika had already taken flight the same way Yuno and Natsuki had gone.

…

The next day, Yuri found a small box sitting on her desk, with a rich purple ribbon tied in a bow. There was no card attached to it, but Yuri was pretty sure she knew who it was from. She looked around; there was no sign of Yuno. 'She's always early,' Yuri recalled, 'Part of her Model Student shtick.'

Yuri took her seat and propped her chin in her hand, staring at the box. She had been able to deal with the cops last night without much difficulty. She did so by offering the simplest explanation; someone had randomly crashed into her house, and then promptly backed back out and taken off, and the cops had scratched their heads and chalked it up to a crazy drunk driving mishap. Her mother had been contacted, and she was coming home that afternoon. Yuri sighed, and rested her forehead on the desk. 'Well, this loop certainly isn't a bore. In fact, a game of wits against a bunch of other people with precognitive abilities sounds fun. The only question is how to deal with that girl…'

After calming down and thinking it over, Yuri realized that she couldn't really fault Yuno for defending herself when Natsuki had attacked her out of nowhere without offering any kind of explanation. In fact, it occurred to Yuri that it was highly unusual for Natsuki to take such drastic action like that. Yuri could only guess that Natsuki knew things about this loop that she didn't. Maybe she had looped in here before, or was familiar with its Hub back-up? Things to ask her after school, Yuri concluded. She lifted her head and considered the box on her desk again. Sighing again, she untied the ribbon and opened the gift.

Sitting inside were a plush raven, a live lily, and a note. The noted included a chibi-doodle of Yuno herself, holding a card with the words 'I'm sorry, Yuri' inside it. Yuri facedesked. 'I can't forgive her for hurting Natsuki. I can't hate her for acting in self-defense, either. She's not a Club Member, or even a Looper, but she's still a person. A completely insane person. But I've forgiven Monika for worse –damn it, this is why I'm an introvert. People make an even bigger mess than usual out of my feelings. I miss Sayori. She'd know how to handle this.'

Yuri closed the box and dropped it into her bag, pulled out a book and tried to lose herself in its pages until class began.

…

"What's your number, by the way?" Yuri asked Monika as she caught up to her on the way out of the school.

"Oh…that's a good point, we should have traded numbers last night," said Monika. She gave Yuri her digits, and Yuri gave Monika hers.

"Hey…I was curious…when I was in full Rage Mode last night, I screamed something at Yuno…but I couldn't really understand myself at the moment…"

"You threatened to rip her throat out. With your teeth," Monika said bluntly, not looking at her.

"Oh," said Yuri, not sure whether to feel embarrassed or nauseous. "So…uh…any idea where Natsuki will be waiting for us?" she asked. Then she stopped in her tracks. "Never mind. Pretty sure she's over there," she said, pointing at a van in the school parking lot. It looked just like the van from last night, except it was hot-pink and had a bunch of cute baby animals painted on the sides.

"Ah, Natsuki. Truly, a master of subtlety," Monika noted as the approached the van.

"Hey, it's the last thing anyone would suspect an internationally-wanted terrorist from riding around in. So nyah!" piped up Natsuki, who poked her head out of the driver-side window. She was still wearing the dress from last night, and she had a bandage tied around her right arm.

"A what?!" exclaimed Yuri.

"Internationally-wanted terrorist. Of the 'Mad Bomber' variety, to be specific," reiterated Natsuki. "Now jump in, we're going for a ride."

Yuri and Monika did so, the former sitting in the back while the latter took shotgun. "Uh…sorry about that one night, by the way," said Monika bashfully.

"Oh, so you remembered," said Natsuki as she started the van and pulled out of the lot, "Well, I didn't collapse a building on top of you, so consider yourself forgiven."

"Hold on, what?" asked Yuri.

"I went after Natsuki…the Unawake me, that is," Monika explained, "We kind of did a cat and mouse thing in an abandoned art school."

"I got a cute dress out of the deal, so it wasn't a total wash, I suppose," said Natsuki impassively.

"And you also met a cute policeman~" Monika sang at her.

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Natsuki yelled at her. Monika just snickered.

"Alright, Nat. You're clearly familiar with this Branch, so what's up?" asked Yuri.

Natsuki sighed. "Okay. The Back-Up for this Branch is a manga called "Mirai Nikki". As the name suggests– and as I'm sure you've already realized–it revolves around the thirteen Owners of Future Diaries, all locked in a Survival Game to select–by process of elimination, in the most literal sense of the word–the next God of this world."

"Thirteen?" Yuri questioned, "Muru Muru said there were twelve Diary Owners."

"Yeah, spoiler alert: the Seventh is two people," replied Natsuki, "They share a pair of linked phones; the 'Exchange Diary', which basically tells one what happens to the other."

"So what you're saying is that everyone's Diary tells the future, but the specifics work differently from Owner to Owner?" Yuri surmised.

"Correct. It's kind of like a Personality Power; the Diary functions in a manner based on how the Owner used their actual diaries. For example, the serial killer Monika replaced–which I find freaking hilarious, by the way–used his diary as a record of his murders. Thus, his Future Diary gave him foreknowledge of how he would corner and kill his victims. So he could track you and sidestep your defenses without issue, but with a weakness that it gave him no warning of how said victims would react once cornered. So in Baseline, he's the first to die. I'm Replacing Uryu Minene, the Ninth; she has the 'Escape Diary', which helps her plan out means of avoiding capture and other traps. Interestingly enough, when I Woke Up, my Diary started working differently. Now it warns me when you guys are in danger. I've decided to call it 'The Protector Diary'. That's how I knew Crazy Bitch stabbed ya."

"My Diary doesn't work at all anymore," commented Monika. "Which makes sense, I suppose, seeing as I have no intention of killing anyone."

"Weird," said Natsuki, frowning, "Why wouldn't yours change when you Woke Up and your personality asserted itself?"

Monika shrugged. "How does yours work, Yuri?" she asked.

"Well…it's kind of an extension of how I was using my diary before I Woke Up. It's just random notes about things that I'll see in the future. Besides the one time it predicted Monika killing me, it hasn't told me anything about things happening to me, just around me."

"Huh. The guy you're replacing, Yukiteru; his 'Indiscriminate Diary' works exactly the same way," said Natsuki. "Must be because you're both introverted."

"And how does Yuno's diary work?" asked Yuri.

Natsuki snorted and glared through the windshield. "Her 'Yukiteru'–actually, in this loop, I suppose it would be her 'Yuri Diary', tells her everything you do and everything that happens to you, every ten minutes. You, Yuri, specifically and exclusively. So it's basically the killer app for stalkers."

Yuri's eyes widened and Monika looked horrified. "Eeyup," Natsuki summarized.

"Ooookay…well, seguing awkwardly into the next thing I wanted to ask about," said Yuri, "Care to explain why you decided to go off like a psychopath on her last night?"

Natsuki slammed on the brakes. Yuri almost fell over between Natsuki and Monika's seats, but managed to catch herself. She suddenly found Natsuki's face inches from her own. "Gasai Yuno is the psychopath. She is obsessed with you, and she'll do anything to have you all to herself. She'll drug you, lock you away from the rest of the world, and kill anyone who tries to come between the two of you without blinking an eye. In the Hub, she's known as the Queen of Yandere. You can't trust her." Natsuki turned back and continued driving. "And despite all that, at least I came looking to subdue her. I'm not some freak that kills people on a whim, or because they're in my way." A moment after that, she blushed and winced, "Uh…"

"No, no, it's fine," said Monika, "You're not wrong."

"Okay. So…what's our plan?" Yuri asked.

"Well, we have three options," said Natsuki, "We can play the Game, which means killing nine or ten other people–depending on whether or not Sayori is here–and then you and me and possibly Sayori offing ourselves so Monika can win, since the Loop will crash anyways if she dies. Or we wait until the loop ends. Which, if no one wins the Game, means Deus dies and the world pretty much comes to an end. Or, numero-tres, we just crash the loop right now and get it over with."

Yuri and Monika stared at her. Natsuki shrugged. "I said we had three options. I didn't say any of them were pleasant."

"Well Option 1 is straight out," said Monika, "Even if all the other Diary Owners are unrepentant monsters as the Third was, I'm certainly not letting you girls die for me. We've done that song and dance before, thank you very not."

"Well, the ball's in your court, Prez. You can pull a Sayori and skip us along to the next loop, or we can wait for the apocalypse while dodging a squad of prescient killers," said Natsuki glumly.

"And we have no other options at all?" asked Yuri. "Deus is a God of time and space. He might be Loop-Aware. Maybe we can explain to him that reality is already kind of tied up with Monika and convince him to declare her the winner by default?"

Natsuki looked thoughtful. "Well, couldn't hurt to try. Even if he isn't Loop-Aware, I might be able to convince him of the Loops, seeing as I know things I have no business knowing even with my Diary."

Just then, three bursts of static blared out at once. Natsuki pulled out her phone and handed it to Monika, who was checking her own as well. Yuri consulted her own. Her blood froze.

[0:00 May 2nd.]
Loop Crash; someone must have gotten Monika!
-DEAD END-

"Fuck," Monika moaned, "I have a dead end."

"How?" asked Natsuki.

Monika looked between her phone and Natsuki's. "Shot in the head by 'Fourth'. Who's Fourth?"

"He's a cop with a dying son," answered Natsuki with a frown, "One of the less crazy Owners, he wouldn't want to win the Game at all if it weren't the only way he could save his kid. Besides that, he's a good cop who's Diary works kind of similar to…Third's. It's an 'Investigation Diary' that tells him about future cases…oh, I think I know what's going on here. Monika, give Yuri your phone. There's some rope back there, tie her up good and tight."

"What?!" asked Yuri and Monika.

"The nature of Fourth's Diary makes it very easy for him to identify Owners with more overtly criminal dealings. Like serial killers and terrorists, for example. Since our phones predict him killing you, we have to assume that he already has you pegged as an Owner. It's the only reason he would take the risk of executing you instead of arresting you, like he's supposed to. Especially since I'm guessing you have no intention of resisting arrest, am I right?"

"Okay, that's a fair point. But why tie up Yuri?" asked Monika as she was climbing into the back.

"Because as of this moment, you and I are in a villainous alliance and Yuri's our hostage. Fourth will track us down and rescue her, and then she can ally with him for a while." They stopped at a red light, and Natsuki glanced back at Yuri, "He'll betray you eventually, but not right away. If nothing else, it'll keep you out of his crosshairs for a little while longer. The tricky part will be us getting away, but between my Diary and Monika's brain, we'll figure something out."

"I'm curious, though; why are you guys taking me hostage instead of killing me?" asked Yuri.

"Who knows? We're crazy," replied Natsuki, "Bad guys do dumb crap like this all the time."

"Well, suppose I somehow found out about how Yuno's Diary worked, and suggested keeping Yuri alive to lure her out?" said Monika.

"Sure, why not?" said Natsuki.

"Um, Monika?" Yuri spoke up, "Do you think you could…eh, n-nevermind…"

Monika raised an eyebrow. She sighed, and tightened the rope around Yuri's wrists and chest.

"Th-thank you…" said Yuri, blushing.

"Don't mention it. Please."

The light turned green, but they didn't make it very far before they heard sirens. "Okay, girls. You trust me, right?" Natsuki asked.

Monika snorted, "What kind of question even is that, Nats? If anyone in the club comes anywhere close to being unconditionally dependable, it's you."

"I concur," said Yuri, nodding sagely.

Natsuki blushed. "Y'all could've just said 'yes'…alright, hold on tight if you can, pray to Ganesh if ya can't!" Natsuki shouted before flooring the accelerator.

Static blared, Monika quickly glanced at Natsuki's Diary, and she suddenly grabbed the wheel and twisted it hard to the right. The van twisted ninety degrees, and something struck them hard in the rear end. Yuri slammed into the back of Natsuki's seat. The van was pushed into the other lane and struck by another car. Yuri was thrown into the side of the van, bouncing off and hitting the other side head first.

She lost consciousness.

Part 4

"Craaaaaaaaap," Natsuki moaned, "Monika, are you okay?" Blood was running freely from the club president's forehead, but Natsuki knew that head wounds like that always looked a lot worse than they actually were; at least, as long as there weren't any dents or protruding objects. 'Friggin' janky airbags,' Natsuki thought.

"No…Nat, my leg is caught…" Monika sounded like she was in more pain than she wanted to let on, and she was holding her right side gingerly.

"The hell do you mean, 'caught'?" Natsuki demanded as she unbuckled herself and reached over for the glovebox. From it she produced a collapsed telescopic baton.

"It's pinned," Monika hissed, trying not to whimper, "And I think Yuri's knocked out. Grab her and run for it."

"What?! But you've got the dead –"

"Yes! Because I won't be able to get away. Now grab Yuri and get the hell out of here!"

"Monika…" Natsuki said pleadingly, looking to her friend softly. She hated to admit it, but she cared for Monika as much as the others. 'Not my fault my heart's too soft to hold a grudge, even though she deserves it,' Natsuki thought.

"We both know that if you had to choose, you'd choose her anyways, so quit being stubborn! I'm not in danger until midnight, anyways."

"…we will save you," Natsuki growled. She grabbed a satchel from under her seat and scrambled to the back. She could hear people moving around outside. No doubt they were cops, ready to open up the van and bag them all. Her eyes widened. "Monika, my Diary!" she hissed. Monika tossed it weakly, but Natsuki lunged and caught it. A quick check confirmed her suspicions. 'They're going to open the back door and tear-gas us. Friggin' A, Fourth.'

Knowing she had less than a minute, Natsuki moved quickly. She put her satchel over her shoulders and put the baton in it, in turn withdrawing two smokebombs and a flashbang. Next, she dropped her Diary into her bra and opened up a hatch in the van's floor. Underneath was a shallow compartment containing a compact dirtbike, she hauled out. Then she grabbed the baseball bat that had been rolling around the back. With it, she smashed one of the back door windows, tossed the flashbang out, then closed her eyes, clapped her hands tightly over her ears, and turtled. After she heard the THUMP, she tossed the smokebombs.

Natsuki tried opening the doors, but they were jammed by the crash. Natsuki growled, her frustration mounting even as she felt the seconds ticking down in her head; they were already out of time, and the police were going to overcome her minor obfuscation any second. Calling upon the mental discipline of subjective millennia of martial training, Natsuki overrode her mind's inhibitors and (with the added boost of being utterly pissed at the situation) she kicked the back doors with as much strength as the human body could generate. The doors obligingly flew open, and Natsuki tamped down hard on the flare of pain that shot through her foot, ankle, and leg all the way up to her knee. She mounted the bike and, with some difficulty, hauled Yuri up into her lap. 'Damn me, tying her up was a freaking stupid idea. And even if I had a knife on me I don't even have time to cut them!'

She kickstarted the bike, revving it with the same hand that had a white-knuckle grip on her bat. Then, with a roar that Minene would have approved of, Natsuki rode out into the fray, riding blindly through the smoke.

Immediately, even before she was clear of the smoke, gunshots rang out all around her. Natsuki's brain screamed as she felt white-hot fire graze across the back of her neck. Another stray shot slammed into her left thigh, but Natsuki supplanted the agony with fury. 'Go right a-frakking-head! Fill me with lead for all I care, but none of you bastards are stopping me! Yuri and I are blowing this scene and nothing's gonna stop us!'

One particularly ballsy officer–Natsuki vaguely recalled him as the man who had helped Unawake-her against Unawake-Monika–appeared in front of her with a service revolver in hand. He made the mistake of hesitating, which Natsuki didn't reciprocate. She leaned a little to the side and swung out with the bat, smacking him in the head and sending him sprawling as she sped past him. She heard a scream of pain in the distance, which she tried to pretend she didn't easily recognize as Monika's voice. 'God damn it…I'm sorry, we'll come back, I swear!' Natsuki thought frantically, before shaking her head and clearing her thoughts. For now, she knew, she couldn't think of anything but getting as far as she could from the cops.

She didn't hear the static from her Diary over the roar of the bike, and as she rounded a corner her eyes flew wide. Acting on instinct, she threw herself to the side, off of the bike to avoid the fireman's axe that would have slammed into her chest. She and Yuri both tumbled down onto the road as the bike kept flying along before crashing down and skidding. Natsuki paid the bike no mind, her furious eyes fixed squarely on the other pink-haired girl, the one responsible for their crash. "Fuckin' Gasaiiiiii," she seethed.

Yuno only smiled vacantly back at her. "You've got your grubby paws all over my angel," she said, "That…doesn't sit well with me. Not gonna lie."

"…yeah, you're way easier to hate than Monika," said Natsuki, standing up and telling her legs to stuff a sock in it.

Yuno wasn't fooled, however. "C'mon, sweetie, you can barely stand. Just back away from Yuri and I'll let the cops have you…for now. We both know there can't be a future where you and Yuri survive."

"Balls to that!" Natsuki screamed, pulling out her baton and snapping it out to its full length, "Even if we have to put a gun to God's head and make him rewrite the rules of the Game, we're not going to let anyone die! I don't even want your death on my conscience, even though you make me sick to my stomach."

Yuno tilted her head. "You really have the nerve to say something like that, after all the people you've blown to bits? After all the people Third has cut to ribbons?"

Natsuki choked down bile at the reminder of 'Uryu Natsuki's actions. "That wasn't us. Not the real us. Not the us that are friends with Yuri. And she's not the same Yuri you're obsessed with, either! She's our Yuri, and we'll protect each other no matter what!" Natsuki screamed as she ran at Yuno. Her left thigh and her right shin both screamed in protest, but Natsuki fought through the pain. Absolutely nothing in the world was as personally important to her, at this very moment, than beating this pretentious psychopath to a pulp. If she had to be perfectly honest, in her state of outrage even Yuri's safety was momentarily eclipsed by the need to teach this bitch a thing or two.

With baton in one hand and bat in the other, two legs burning with agony and what Natsuki hoped was sweat but suspected was blood beginning to soak the back of her dress, she threw herself into the melee with the rage of a thousand tsundere.

Unfortunately for her, Yuno was almost as determined, if more subtly so, and had none of her handicaps. She danced out of Natsuki's reach and around to her side, snapping out a kick into her injured thigh. Natsuki's battle cry became a piercing scream of pain, but she didn't collapse. She did, however, come to a halt and had to raise her bat to block Yuno's axe. She deflected the swing away from her, at least, but Yuno cut her bat in half in the process. 'Oh. Right, she's freakishly strong for a high school girl,' Natsuki recalled. The cut had been at a forty-ish degree angle, so what had been a forty-inch bat was now, essentially, a two-foot wooden stake.

She backed up as quickly as she could manage, and gave a resigned sigh. 'Damn…I can't let my emotions get the best of me. Focus, Natsuki!' Natsuki held her ground, letting Yuno come to her, which she did. Natsuki used her pain to fuel her anger, and her anger to focus her mind. She blocked out Yuno altogether, focusing solely on her axe. Time, it seemed to Natsuki, slowed just a little as she let the axe draw closer to her neck. Yuno's eyes widened as she realized something wasn't right, as Natsuki grinned. Moving so fast it was a blur, Natsuki's baton intercepted the axe just under the head, wedging against the handle. Even as she levered the weapon out of Yuno's hand, she thrust her 'stake' into Yuno's stomach. 'Your Diary has the same weakness as Yuri's,' Natsuki thought, 'It doesn't tell you shit that happens to you unless it's fatal.'

As Natsuki had anticipated, Yuno managed to catch the stake with her hand at the last second. Natsuki snarled and slammed her forehead into Yuno's, sending her reeling back. Then she smacked her in the head with her baton and kicked her back. Natsuki started feeling lightheaded, and began to wonder how much blood she had already lost. She glanced down at the leg she had been shot in, and gagged at the sight of the blood running down it. She threw herself at Yuno, intending to beat her about the head until she was firmly knocked the hell out.

Then three more bullets slammed into her back, and she threw up blood as she staggered and fell forward. 'No…no…no, no, nononono DAMN IT!' she thought futilely as consciousness started bleeding away from her. 'Why didn't…my Diary…warn me?' she thought before sinking into the abyss.

…

Yuri was moving when she regained consciousness. Specifically, it felt like she was being carried. "Gllrbrmleph…" she gurgled incoherently as her brain sluggishly reasserted control over her body. Which, she belatedly realized, was still bound tightly enough to…well let's just say Yuri was more than one kind of frustrated and leave it at that. Also, for some reason, she was blindfolded.

"Mmmmmmonika? Natsuki? …Sayori?" she asked, "Who's carrying me?"

"Don't worry about them, beloved," replied a voice that sent a chill down Yuri's spine, "Your guardian angel has you well in hand."

"What did you do to my friends?" Yuri hissed venomously.

"You mean those degenerates that tied you up and were going to do God knows what with you?" Yuno asked, "I left them to Fourth and Sixth's tender mercies. You won't have to worry about them anymore, I'm sure."

'Fourth?!' Yuri thought in a panic. "What time is it?!" she demanded, struggling, or rather trying to struggle against her bonds. She was too firmly bound.

"Eh? It's about nine-thirty, hon. Why?"

'Okay. Two and a half hours. Hopefully, plenty of time…wait, Natsuki specifically said her Diary warned her about us being in danger, didn't she? No, wait, even my Diary gave me a Dead End flag, and otherwise it doesn't tell me anything about myself. And if Natsuki had gotten a Dead End Monika would have focused on that over her own, and she was reading from Natsuki's Diary…but I've been out for hours, and until I put myself on a path that eventually crosses hers my Diary won't tell me if she's alive, dead, or going to die or not.' Yuri's mind was whirling, but she tried to clamp down on all the what-ifs and other hypotheticals. Her ponderings were useless as long as she was indisposed like this.

"Yuno. I'm telling you, those girls are my friends and we all care very much for each other. If they get hurt, I'll be miserable. If you really care about me, you have to help me save them! Or at least let me go so I can do something!"

"Yuri, love, you're being irrational. I don't know what they put in your head, but those girls are our enemies. Everyone in this Game is out for themselves. Except for me, of course. All I care about is keeping you safe and helping you win. And you can't win if they live."

Yuri's first thought was to lash out and rage against her, but she smothered that impulse. It wasn't going to get her anywhere. She had no recourse but to try reasoning with a psychopath. "Yuno, if what you're saying is true…the only logical conclusion is that you are going to have to die, too, in the end."

"I know," Yuno said blithely. "But that's okay. I'm nothing without you, my love."

"Oh my gods, that is sick, Yuno!" Yuri exclaimed, "How can you so callously disregard your own life like that? How can you expect anyone worth loving to love someone like that? Anyone who would allow another person to…to think and behave in such a manner, in the name of love?! A person like that wouldn't be worthy of your love, Yuno. And if I were in love, I would cut down God Himself before I would let myself be put into a position where I can only live at the expense of my lover."

"I know," Yuno acknowledged. "And that's what I love about you, Yuri. You're the only person I've ever know who really, truly cares about other people. You might even be the closest thing to a truly selfless person in the whole world. That's why, if anyone is going to inherit the Throne of Deus, it should be you. And I'm happy to die for that to happen."

Something in Yuri's head snapped. She was pretty sure it was her patience. "Fuck that!" she snarled, "That's not how love works! That's not how selflessness works! And I'm not selfless, either! I want my friends to be happy and safe, sure, but damn it I want to be happy too! I wouldn't ever just throw my life away for someone else like that. If I die for my friends, it'll be fighting alongside them, not sacrificing myself for their benefit. That's…that's so sick and twisted and…and…and fuck you, Gasai! If that's your idea of love then you aren't fit to speak of the subject. Lovers take from each other as much as they give. Love is knowing that someone is using you, but you know you're using them too. You're both using each other so you don't have to be alone. We dress it up with pretty words but at its bones that's love. Two lonely people taking refuge in each other…it isn't love if you're willing to subject your lover to loneliness; at the most extreme, it's better to die together than to abandon someone that way. I would never let Natsuki die for me like that! I'd be pissed off at her if she even tried!" A beat, and then Yuri hastily added, "A-and the same goes for Monika and Sayori, too!"

Yuri belatedly realized they had stopped moving. Yuno had staggered to a halt at the words 'die together'. Yuri, who was pretty sure Yuno was carrying her over her shoulder, thought she could feel the other girls breathing and heart rate hitch up. And then she became eerily still. Yuri had that odd feeling again, as if Yuno had been replaced with another, colder person.

"You're right," said Yuno, and she was using that hollow tone of voice again. "This was never going to end with me dying for you…it was going to end like it did last time. With you dead, and me moving on to the next Yuri." Another moment passed in tense silence, and when Yuno spoke again she was startlingly choked with emotion, "Damn it Yuri, why do you have to be so clever? I thought I could fool you, make things play out like they did before, but you…damn it!" Yuri suddenly found herself at the mercy of that harsh mistress, gravity; she fell and hit the ground, her injured shoulder screaming as it hit what felt like concrete.

Yuri felt the hairs on her neck stand up, and she suddenly knew in her gut that Yuno was now an active threat to her. She quickly rolled away as she heard something strike and split the concrete with a sharp crack. She struggling up to her feet and wildly shook her head back and forth until she managed to dislodge her blindfold. At the sight of Yuno rushing her with what appeared to be a fireman's axe, Yuri blanched and dropped on her ass. The axe whistled above her head, taking a good three inches of her purple mane with it.

Now, see, Yuri was a modest woman, but she took pride in her hair. Not Yang Xiao Long-tier, but still. "Oh…YOU BITCH!" Yuri screamed, her eyes flashing with hellfire and her face contorting into an enraged snarl of DOOM. Before Yuno could prepare a second attack, Yuri got her legs under her and lunged forward, head-butting Yuno in the stomach so hard she dropped her axe and staggered backwards, her feet slipping as she fell on her back.

Yuri started towards her, but stumbled as lightheadedness suddenly came over her and she fell back down, her head swimming. 'Rope around my chest…too tight…can't breathe fully…'

Yuno was the first to get back up. She fetched her axe, and soon loomed over Yuri like a pink-haired Grim Reaper. "I'm so sorry about this, Yuri. But this is how it has to be. I can't live without you…"

"So you're going to kill me. Naturally," said Yuri dryly.

"You'll die, yes," said Yuno with a sad smile, "But when I win the game and become God again, I'll go back and do it all over with another Yuri. And this time I'll be more careful."

That gave Yuri pause. Her brain started whirling again, but then she realized that this really was not the time.

Yuno brought her axe down on Yuri again, but this time she twisted at the last second so the axe sliced through her ropes. It also tore a (thankfully shallow) gash in her skin.

Yuri rolled herself into a crouch and tried to knock Yuno down with a leg sweep, but Yuno jumped backwards. Yuri jumped back as well, making a decent gap between them, and as she stood up the rope fell away from her chest.

'There, much better. Still can't use my hands, but at least I can breathe now. Baby steps, Yuri.'

Yuno charged at Yuri again, axe at the ready, but she hadn't taken three steps before something whistled through the air and cut through the haft just under the head. The axe-blade fell harmlessly to the ground. Yuno tottered to a halt and stared at the decapitated handle in her hand, confused.

"That's quite enough of this, thank you," said a soft, female voice. Yuri felt that it sounded very familiar, but…could it be? She turned her eye to the right, into the shadow, from which a figure in dark robes stepped into view. Yuno gasped and jumped back. The figure lowered her hood, and Yuri gasped as well. "Hello, Yuri," Sayori greeted her, her voice much lower than usual, almost somber, "I would say it's nice to see you, but…ah-ha, that wouldn't be entirely accurate." She waved one of her hands in front of her dull, glazed, unfocused eyes.

'She's blind?!'

Yuno slowly took a step forward; Sayori's head snapped back her way and her hand flew up. Yuno yelped and staggered backwards, falling down and clutching her leg, which now had a long, thin red line running down it. Sayori lowered her hand, snapping the whip in her hand against the ground. "Stay there a moment, Yuno. I'll deal with you in a moment. Yuri, over here please."

"You…you're Awake, right, Sayori?" Yuri asked as she approached.

Sayori sighed, "This loop is making you paranoid, Yuyu. I'm Awake, Loopy, seeking an Anchor, all that good noise. The less I move around, the better I can focus my hearing, that's all. Here," as soon as Yuri was close enough Sayori handed her something. It was a cell phone.

"It's not my Diary," said Sayori, "But it has directions to the compound where Monika is being held. Natsuki got away, but I have no clue where she is. Sitting across the street is a suitcase. You'll find what you need inside. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth are all there. Fourth is the cop, Fifth is a little redheaded kid, and Sixth is the cult leader. Fourth's Diary doesn't have a whole lot of combat application, and Fifth has already used two of his Diary's three predictions for today, but don't underestimate either of them. Fourth is a very good shot and has the entire police department at his disposal, and Fifth is…well, he's the Yuno Gasai of five-year-olds, for lack of a better on-hand comparison. Sixth is the real threat; she's not adept at anything physical and her eyes are almost as useless as mine, but good enough for reading her Diary, which is like yours…except it tells her everything that her cultists see. So be very stealthy. And watch out for Murmur; she's the one who teamed up three Diary Owners against you girls. She's working for Yuno, and she thinks you might have figured out the big secret."

"What secret?" Yuri asked, "Sayori, how do you–"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Yuno, running at them. Sayori flicked her wrist and gave a sharp tug to the side; her whip caught Yuno's ankle and yanked her foot out from under her, sending her prone again.

"I said I would deal with you soon, Yuno," Sayori repeated patiently. She turned back to Yuri, "I'll explain things later. For now, you only have a little more than two hours to save Monika, and it's going to take almost that long to get there unless you steal a car."

"Sayori, come with me," Yuri pleaded, "Don't bother with her, she's hopeless. Monika needs us ."

"Everybody needs somebody, buddy," Sayori said with a smile, "Now get going. Two sad, broken little girls need to have a heart-to-heart."

"Sayori…okay. I'll trust your judgment," said Yuri reluctantly. She turned on the cell phone Sayori had given her, found the directions, and started off running down the street.

"Oh, and Yuri? Don't hold back," Sayori called after her.

…

About an hour ago:

Natsuki's eyes opened slowly. Her whole body ached, covered with bruises and worse. She was in a dark room, not pitch black but rather dimly lit. "Hairline fracture in the left tibia, snapped left fibula, sprained left ankle, severely bruised left foot, all self-inflicted; bullet extracted from right thigh, femur grazed but otherwise unbroken; bleeding abrasion across the back of the neck, caused by a bullet; multiple abrasions all over the body, some bleeding but not substantially, caused by tumbling from a speeding vehicle; and finally, three gunshot injuries in the back, two bullets extracted from the back and one bullet still lodged in the right scapula," spoke an even tone. A young man or a teenager. "In short, you've been beaten pretty badly. Your survival is impressive, no doubt."

Natsuki groaned. "Yeah, that all sounds about right…who're you? You a Diary Owner?"

"I do keep a journal, of course, but judging by the way you put emphasis on those words I suspect that I'm not…whatever it is that you're thinking of. Sorry. The name's Akise Aru."

"Oh thank goodness," Natsuki sighed, smiling involuntarily. "The not insane one."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Never mind. Where's Yuri…ah, crap, Gasai must have her."

"The other girl? Yes, she spirited away with your hostage after butchering three policemen with an axe," said Akise. He tried to keep his tone controlled, but Natsuki could hear the disgust in his tone.

"She wasn't a hostage. We tied her up so the cops would think she was a hostage, but then things went way south way fast. Yuri's my…my best friend. And Gasai is her insane stalker. And now she has Yuri."

"Well, that's unfor–what are you doing?" Akise asked, audibly shocked as Natsuki sat up. Her body protested loudly. Natsuki told her body to get over itself and get with the program. Looking around, she guessed that they were in Akise's room. Or a room in his house, anyways. Knowing as she did what he was, she figured he lived alone. Leaning against the wall, next to the door, was Akise himself. A white-haired teen with calculating red eyes and a dispassionate expression.

"Where's my Diary?" she demanded, patting her chest. Her chest had been bandaged. Also, her dress was gone. Her right thigh was also bandaged and her left shin had a splint bound to it.

"…the phone you had in your bra?" Akise hazarded.

"…yeah," Natsuki affirmed with a faint blush.

"On the stand, next to you."

"Thanks. Did you cauterize or suture the gunshot wounds?" Natsuki asked.

"No…I dressed them," said Aru.

"No good," Natsuki grunted, "I need the bleeding stopped, not just contained. I can't fight with that kind of injury, especially with how tightly my chest is bound."

"Cauterization is an extreme, last resort solution and suturing isn't recommended until the wound has had time to partially heal," Aru said evenly, "There's risk of infection–"

"Infection is too long-term an issue for me to care," said Natsuki bluntly as she read her Diary. "If I don't act soon, the world ends at midnight. In less than four hours. Understand, Akise?"

"No, I don't," he replied honestly.

"Then I'll make myself clearer. The one known as 'the Third', Hiyama Monika-sensei from Sakurami High? She's holding reality together. If she dies, the universe will literally crash, like a blue-screening computer."

"That makes no sense," said Akise.

"Yeah, I know, welcome to my world. But I assure you, it's the truth. If the fact that I'm willing to stake my life on it doesn't convince you, then just know this; I won't suffer anyone getting in my way."

"Steely words, Uryu-san," said Akise. At Natsuki's expression, he smiled, "Oh, yes, I recognize you, of course. The notorious international terrorist, 'Natsuki the Mad Bomber'. So tell me, why should I trust you?"

Natsuki scoffed and grinned, "Sure, soon as you tell me why you brought the Mad Bomber home and gave her first aid instead of letting the law have me."

Akise said nothing.

Natsuki shrugged. "Maybe it was the will of "God" that you saved me? Either way, I don't care if God is on my side or set against me. I'm going to protect my friends. No question. You don't need to help me. In fact, you've helped me enough as it is. But if you feel a vested interest in making sure the sun rises tomorrow, I'd be glad to have a hand. You're one of the only people in this mess I would accept help from."

Akise raised an eyebrow. "You know of me?"

"I know of you," said Natsuki, "I know a lot of stuff no one should know. Here's the skinny; God is dying, and he's picked a handful of people to play a game. A survival game. These individuals have been given 'Diaries' that tell the future. Yuri, Gasai, Monika, and myself are among them. Two…hold on, 'Fifth almost electrocutes–' well crap. Okay, three other Diary Owners appear to have teamed up and they're holding Monika at the Omekata Cult's compound. Those Diary Owners are this city's Chief of Police, a five-year-old boy who happens to be a genius, and the Omekata High Priestess. So I'm going up against a cult of fanatics and the police department. And again, Gasai has Yuri. My Diary says Yuri isn't in danger of dying right now, but I'm still really uncomfortable with my best friend being at the mercy of that psycho."

"Hmm. Well, you don't seem to be lying, so you're either telling the truth or your just insane enough to believe your own convoluted fantasy," Akise concluded.

"Well, hey, tell ya what. You wanna know what's going on? Come with me. See for yourself. But first, bring me either a knife and a lighter, or a needle and thread," said Natsuki, "And painkillers, if you've got them. Non-narcotic, preferably."

Akise just stared at her for a moment, but then he smirked. "Oh, why not? Truth or madness, this all sounds way too fascinating to ignore." With that, he left the room. While he was gone, Natsuki had an idea and opened her phone's internet browser. By the time Akise had returned, she had found what she was looking for. "Huh. I was half-expecting you would have fled through the window," Akise remarked as he flipped a switch next to the door. The room became much more brightly lit. He then crossed the room and sat a tray down on the bed. On the tray was a steak knife, a lighter, a bottle of isopropyl alcohol, and a bottle of pills.

Natsuki shook her head, "You said you keep a journal, right?"

"An investigations journal, yes. I'm an aspiring detective, you know."

Natsuki showed him the site on her phone, "Let me see it. And your phone, if you don't mind."

"Why?" Akise asked.

"Because if you post enough entries to this site, your phone will become a Future Diary as well. Well, not a true Future Diary, but rather an 'Apprentice Diary'. Which works as well as the real deal but without the glaring disadvantage of being your Achilles' Heel. See, if a true Future Diary is broken, its Owner is erased from existence. Anyways, I'll have to start doing it for you, seeing as time is short and I need you to take care of the gunshots in my back."

"…and you're certain you haven't lost it?" asked Akise as he walked over to his dresser.

"I'll level with you, Akise," said Natsuki as she cut through her chest bandages and laid down on her stomach. "At this point, I think I may have literally gone mad with desperation and anger. Events seem to be conspiring to keep me and my friends apart and in constant danger. And I am sooooooo done with it all. So to hell with it. If I have to, I'll fight crazy with crazy. This world is going to find out what happens when you screw with our literature club." Akise handed her his phone and his journal, a spiral-bound notebook with a black cover. She opened the Eighth's website on Akise's phone and getting to work.

Naturally, blood was running freely (though thankfully not spurting) and she was finding it much harder to breathe. And of course it hurt like hell when Akise started pressing the hot knife to her injuries. Natsuki thought of Yuri, of what Yuno might do to her. She imagined Monika at the mercy of that cult. 'Pain? What pain?'

"So, why did I bring you those painkillers, again?" Akise asked as he started on the second wound.

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "They weren't for this. We need to do this ASAP, I don't have time to wait for my body to go numb. They're for my legs."

"Well, I'll say this: your friends are certainly lucky to have such a devoted defender."

It took a lot longer than Natsuki liked, and near the end she was feeling faint again. Both from the blood loss itself, and nausea. But Akise did the dirty work, and generously applied the alcohol afterwards. Natsuki sat up and handed Akise his phone and journal. "Keep going until the site tells you you've been promoted to 'Apprentice'. Got anything to drink?"

"Iced tea and melon juice in the fridge. And tap water, of course."

Natsuki groaned. "Kind of wish you had something stiffer…but this really isn't the time for that, I guess. I'll be right back."

Akise looked up from his phone. "I could–"

"No, I need to get mobile anyways. And you need to keep posting!" she snapped as she hobbled out of the room, taking the pill bottle with her. She stopped in the doorway and looked back. "Hey, you got Hino Hinata's number?"

Akise's head snapped back up again and he stared at her. Rather than ask how and why he knew about one of his classmates, he merely nodded. "Call her, and tell her you need to talk to her father. Make it very clear that you can't take no for an answer. When you get him on the line, tell him verbatim "Ninth wants to form an alliance with you, Tenth, to take down Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth tonight." Give him my number and tell him that he has ten minutes to decide. But don't give him your address. If he calls me, I'll hammer out the details with him. Got all that?"

"I'm almost starting to believe that you actually know what all is going on. Very well, Uryu-san."

"Thanks," said Natsuki as she went to get that drink.

Part 5

May 1st, 10:00 PM.

Police Chief Kurusu Keigo, "The Fourth", took a long pull from his cigarette as he regarded the woman sitting calmly in the cell before him. She appeared to be meditating. He glanced down, once again, at his Investigation Diary. It continued to predict that he would kill her at midnight, by shooting her in the head. However, for whatever reason, there were no predictions after that. Only the words "DEAD END". Tsubaki, high priestess and oracle of the Omekata cult and the Sixth in the Survival Game, reported the same prediction in her Clairvoyance Diary. "2 May, Midnight, Fourth kills Third. DEAD END."

(Although neither Keigo or Tsubaki knew it the Fifth, whose parents were members of Omekata, was also on the compound and wondering why his Hyper Vision Diary only had two predictions left in it, the latter being a man shooting a woman with long brown hair in the head, with the words DEAD END scrawled underneath.)

Up in the Oracle's Audience Room, Muru Muru was with Tsubaki, and she was also intensely curious about this phenomenon. She had visited the home of John Bacchus and checked his Watcher while he slept; it confirmed that every single Future Diary, including the numerous Apprentice Diaries, had a DEAD END flag with the same prediction of Fourth killing Third at midnight that night. Even more curiously, the Diaries of First, Third, Ninth, and Twelfth all mentioned a "Loop Crash". 'If this keeps up, I'm going to have to unseal her memories and convince her to do another Time Leap. I just don't get it! This didn't happen in the First World. And First, Third, and Ninth have all been acting super-weird. And Twelfth is supposed to be here, but she's gone off the script too! Did Yuno's Time Leap really do so much damage to the fabric of reality?'

Just then, Muru Muru felt a spark in the back of her mind. The memory sealing spell she had cast on Yuno had just broken. "Oy, Sixth," she said to Tsubaki, "I'm going to…go…check in with Deus, yeah! See if he's worked out this bug in the Diaries yet."

Tsubaki nodded. Then, seeing as she didn't know when she would see the imp again, she quickly spoke up, "Before you go, I have to ask…why does out Diaries still foretell Third's death at Fourth's hand? Surely he has no intention of going through with it, does he?"

"How should I know what's going on in his head?" asked Muru Muru. And without further ado, she disappeared.

Back below ground, with Keigo and Monika. "You look awfully calm, considering you're stuck in a cell, surrounded by enemies, with no idea where your Diary is," Keigo remarked.

"Panicking won't help me out, now will it?" Monika reasoned.

"Hey, cut the act, Third," said Keigo stiffly, "I'll admit, you've convinced me that I shouldn't try you at poker, but there's no way in hell any sane person could be so calm in your situation."

"Then maybe I'm crazy," Monika replied dully. "I went quite mad, once. It wouldn't be anything new. The facts are thus; with me in this cell and that gun at your side, you can kill me any time you'd like, Chief Kurusu. I've made my peace with that. All I can hope for is that my friends will…well, actually, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be honest with you. To tell the truth, I hope my friends stay far, far away from here. I don't want them putting themselves at risk for me."

"You want to know what I don't get?" Keigo asked, "I know that Uryu Natsuki is an Owner, and that you went after her. My Diary also told me you were going to kill the First, until that prediction suddenly changed. How is it possible that those two became your comrades afterwards?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Monika said simply.

"Try me."

Monika sighed. "Fine. I'm a time traveler from another universe. So are Yuri and Natsuki. In our home universe, we're high school students in a literature club, which I'm the president of. Actually, we're not even that; we're actually characters from a dating sim game with the premise that we're all members of a high school literature club. Except I knew I was a character in a game and became romantically obsessed with the Player, but as a support character I didn't have a "route", so I tortured and brainwashed the other girls in my club, causing two of them to kill themselves. Then I just deleted all three of them and pretty much just rewrote the game so it would be just me and the Player. Then the Player deleted my character file, and out of guilt I restored everything I had destroyed. But then I Woke Up back at the very beginning of the game, before I had done anything, and no one else remembered. The second time, I stayed on the sidelines where I belonged and let the game run its course. Then I wound up back at the beginning, again. This cycle played out many times, until one day a Player named Jenny explained to me that my universe was one of countless many, and that the World-Tree-Supercomputer, Yggdrasil, was broken. And because if this, all of reality had been put into a series of ever-repeating temporal recursions; Time Loops, in layman's terms. Jenny said that those who remembered the Loops, like me and her, were called Loopers, and that there were hundreds of us scattered across the Multiverse. One-by-one, the other girls in my club, Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki, all 'Activated' as Loopers, like me. Most of our loops are normal, but sometimes we have 'variant' loops; sometimes this means one thing is noticeably different, sometimes this means everything is different beyond recognition. And sometimes we loop into other universe altogether. Like this one."

Monika took a deep breath. "So, you see, up until yesterday afternoon this body belonged to a very different Monika. The one who…who did all those horrible things…then, I Woke Up, meaning my real personality too over and I regained all my memories of the Loops. Yuri had already been "Awake" for several days. Natsuki Woke Up that same day, so she's not the bomb-happy terrorist you think of her as, either. And despite all the horrible things I did in our original timeline–what we call our "Baseline"–we've managed to mend our friendship. It helps that we've experienced several thousands of years together in the Loops. So that's why we teamed up. Because we're very dear friends who love one another; because we're the only family any of us have. And any one of us would risk life and limb for the others. Even though dying just means we move along to the next Loop. Dying, even temporarily, is never a pleasant feeling. Except for Yuri. But she understands that her dying upsets us, so she does her best to keep alive. Unless she's in a Loop without us and gets bored; she's never said so, but I suspect she might have a hobby of 'collecting' interesting or memorable deaths. Maybe. That's just me speculating."

(Elsewhere, Yuri suddenly sneezed. And felt a surge of embarrassment, for no discernable reason. She shook it off and kept running.)

Keigo blinked. "So…yes, you're certifiably insane."

"Oh, it gets better," said Monika, opening her eyes and smiling. "The first Looper to Activate in any given world is its "Anchor". Every Loop iteration requires an Anchor to run. If the Anchor dies, the Loop crashes. And that's why every Diary is getting a dead end flag from my death. Because when I die, I take this whole universe with me. Which, I'm assuming, counts as a form of death for everyone in this reality. Unfortunately, as an Anchor, I'm entrusted with a responsibility to prevent Loop crashes. So if I die and this loop does crash, the Admins–the gods in charge of administrating and trying to repair Yggdrasil–are going to send me and my friends to very unpleasant world as a Punishment Loop…in simpler terms, you can think of it as being put in time out in Hell."

Keigo raised an eyebrow. "Only a time out?"

"Well, yes. All loops end, eventually. Even punishment loops. We'll probably be sent home afterwards. Multiple consecutive punishment loops only happen if you screwed up majorly. Like, if I went out of my way to crash this loop on purpose, or if I crashed the loop while trying to do something really stupid. But still, punishment loops are always insufferable, so we try our best to avoid them, which is the whole point," said Monika, standing up and stretching. "So, how's your son?" she asked out of nowhere.

Keigo narrowed his eyes and glared at her. To his surprise, Monika blushed. "Ah…oh, heavens, that must have…I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…sorry," she mumbled, basting her eyes downward. Keigo anger was replaced with frank surprise. 'Not very becoming of a hardened killer,' he noted. "I only meant…never mind, it doesn't matter."

After a moment, Keigo sighed and replied, "He's been under the weather, lately. We've had to take him out of school, even. We took him to see a doctor; right now we're waiting for the results."

Monika nodded. "I'll keep him in my prayers, Chief Kurusu." She sat down, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes again.

…

May 1st, 10:00 PM

Muru Muru popped back into the material world above Yuno's head. A moment after, something caught her by the ankle, and she suddenly found herself slammed into the street. Then into a nearby brick wall. Then the street, then a lamppost, then the street again, then the wall again…

Then she was reeled in and someone kicked her hard in the head, bouncing her off of the street and into the side of a parked car. Needless to say, she was quite thoroughly disoriented and possibly even concussed.

Yuno just stared at the dazed and swirly-eyed imp, and then at the young woman who had done all of that without moving her head or changing her expression. "So, as I was saying, Yuno…we need to have a heart-to-heart. Believe or not, I understand your feelings…but you have to realize the situation you've created can't go on. You'll condemn countless timelines to oblivion. And with each one, billions of people with hopes, dreams, and loves of their own will be destroyed. And what's worst of all, as far as you're concerned…each Game has to end with you killing the one person you truly care about out of all those billions. I know the first time broke your heart, and that was an accident. The first time was a mistake, right? You never meant to hurt Yuri. It was just bad luck. But for you to reclaim the power of God and make the next Time Leap, you're going to have to kill her on purpose. Can you really, truly bring yourself to do that, Yuno? And if you can, how many times can you do it until your heart is completely destroyed? What good is having a Yuri if your heart has become too broken to love her anymore?"

For most of Sayori's lecture, Yuno had kept up a steady mantra of "Shut up, shut up, shut up…Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!" By now, tears were running from her eyes.

"You're only getting angry because you know I'm right," said Sayori. "But you and I? We both know the truth. The real truth. And that truth is…you don't really love Yuri at all. You never did. Her love is just an illusion you use to give your life meaning. A crutch for your shattered spirit to hobble about with. You could just as well have replaced her with anyone."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Yuno screamed, running at her with her fist drawn back.

Sayori leaned slightly to the right, letting Yuno's fist fly by within millimeters of her face. With lightning speed and a casual air, she wrapped one hand around Yuno's wrist and put the other hand under her armpit, and with a quick levering motion Yuno found herself yanked off of her feet and sailing through the air, flipping over and landing on her back. The wind was knocked out of her, and before she could recover she felt Sayori's whip catch around her foot, and suddenly she found herself flying through the air again. This time, she slammed into the same car Muru Muru had been thrown into, and the imp let out a pained squeak when Yuno landed on top of her.

"I understand the pain of feeling worthless, Yuno. Yuri understands the pain of feeling alone and misunderstood. Our friend Natsuki knows how it feels to be neglected, to feel unloved by someone who's supposed to love you implicitly. And our friend Monika…she understands how you feel right now; being driven to madness and psychopathy by a fake love for someone, when really that person is just an escape from the hellish reality you're trapped in. Under different circumstances, we could have been friends, Yuno. And if my hundreds of thousands of years in the Time Loops have taught me anything, it's what I should have realized all along. That Philias is a much deeper and more meaningful love than Eros. It's nice to have a lover, don't get me wrong…or at least, I imagine it must be. It surely sounds like a lovely thought," Sayori's voice grew wistful, "But friendship is much more important, to feel like a worthwhile person. To be in love means giving yourself to someone, and taking from them in turn. Friendship isn't that serious. All friends have to do is understand one another, even when they can't really understand how you feel, and to take joy in each other's company. And when your friends are always there for you, ready to give everything they can to help you, because they know you feel exactly the same way, without having to hear you say it? Well, that's when friends become family. And family is the best kind of love you can have. Friends may drift apart, and lovers may break up, but family…family, if they really are family, will always be there to catch you when you fall. When you feel worthless, or alone, or unloved, or even when you feel a little crazy…family does more than just love. Family cares, Yuno."

As she spoke, Sayori had approached, very slowly so as not to disrupt her focused hearing. By the time she finished, she was crouched in front of Yuno and offering an outstretched hand. Yuno looked up at her, furious, but her fury gave way to surprise when she saw Sayori's face. She, too, was crying, and her expression was pained. When she spoke, her voice matched that pain. "Yuno, my family is in danger. I…I can't stand the thought of any of them getting hurt, Yuno. It hurts like a knife twisting in my heart. I can't imagine any pain worse than seeing them in pain. And you're the only one who can help me save them! Please, Yuno, I'm begging you…help me protect my family. If there was ever any part of you that ever really cared about Yuri, even just a little, if there's anything in you that's still human, I need you to help me protect her, and the others too. I know they're all angry with you…and let's be honest, not without reason. But maybe we can still change that. We can all be friends. We can save them from the other Owners, and then we can save you from your despair. We can help you save the world, Yuno, because you're the only one who can!"

Then Sayori threw her whip aside, well out of her reach. "There. I'm unarmed. I'm completely at your mercy. What now, Yuno? You're the one who decides how this story ends. What do you say? Can you and I be friends, Gasai Yuno?"

…

May 1st, 10:30 PM.

Natsuki smiled. "Don't panic, Akise. But we've been surrounded."

"So, you noticed as well?" Akise replied, his expression neutral and his voice as smooth and cool as a frozen lake.

"Tch, yeah! You're dealing with a pro here, kid," Natsuki replied. Her legs protested when she stood up from the park bench, but she had long-since stopped listening. The burns on her back screamed when she stretched, but she ignored that as well. At this point, all pain was being channeled into a reservoir that she intended to unload on Gasai the next time she saw her. And no matter how much it hurt, appearing completely casual and at ease, and by implication in total control of the situation, was crucial to her strategy. Because the truth was, even with Akise's help (and she knew he was no slouch in a fight) she knew that in her current state she stood no chance against the two or three or maybe even four dozen trained, killer attack dogs that were hiding all around them right now. "C'mon out, Tenth. I ain't got all night," she called out into the darkness.

In response, seven dogs came padding out of the woods in 'V' formation. As they got closer, Natsuki saw that they all had little cameras mounted on their heads. Naturally, they all had metal teeth as well, which they were snapping to decent dramatic effect. The lead dog also had a little speaker on his collar, from whence issue a man's voice. "Good evening, Ninth–"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We can wank around with pleasantries and formalities some other night," said Natsuki irritably, "Tonight, we're on a serious time crunch. My associates and I are going to war with the Omekata Cult and the Sakurami City Police Department, and their leaders; the Fourth and Sixth Diary Owners. And if all goes according to plan, when he wakes up and checks his Diary in the morning, Eleventh is going to shit his pants. Are you in or out?"

"Just one question, if you don't mind indulging an old man," replied Tenth, "What did you mean about Eleventh? Do you know his identity?"

"That, and the nature of his Diary," Natsuki answered, "The Eleventh is none other than the mayor himself, John Bacchus. His Diary, The Watcher, tells him what all our Diaries tell us. The main goal of tonight's mission is to rescue one of the members of our alliance, Third. As a side-perk, it's my hope that this will serve as a rude wake-up call for Mayor Man. Now, I've answered your question and given you invaluable information besides. Are you in, Tenth, or are you out? This is the last time I'm asking."

"…very well. Consider my dogs at your disposal, Ninth. What is your plan?"

Natsuki pulled out her phone. "I'm texting you coordinates. Send your dogs there. All of them. In addition to a whole cult of fanatics and the full might of Sakurami's Finest, the enemy alliance also includes the Fifth and possibly the Twelfth Owners, both of whom are dangerous individuals. My intelligence has it that Fifth already knows an attack is coming and has decided to reveal himself to Fourth and Sixth, sharing what he knows. So they're all on high alert as it is. The good news is, Fifth's Diary only gives him three predictions a day, only one of which is for the evening. And that prediction is foretelling an independent strike from another of our allies; namely, First. And while Second isn't a member of the '4-5-6' Alliance, she has her sights set on our ally First, so she's to be considered as a problematic element."

"So to summarize," spoke up Akise, "Our Alliance at present has five members, our opposition has three or four members, as well as police resources and a considerable amount of manpower, and the operation has to account for at least one other wild card. One of our allies is held hostage in the heart of the enemy camp, and another of our allies is the target of that wild card. Have I got all that straight, Ninth?"

"Rhetorical question is rhetorical," Natsuki snarked back, heading over to the truck she and Akise had commandeered. "Get the dogs you sent here in the truckbed, Tenth. Or as many as will fit, at least. The others here won't make it to the rendezvous in time, so just send them to the Omekata compound, but have them hold position outside of the parameter. Fourth has cops posted all over the surrounding neighborhood as extra security."

"Does any of this have anything to do with my Diary telling me I'll die if Fourth kills Third?" Tenth asked.

"Yes," said Natsuki as she hotwired the truck, "Now that's all the questions you get for tonight. Time to shut up and nut up."

After sixteen dogs had packed themselves into the truckbed, which Tenth said was all the dogs he had sent, Natsuki started driving out of the park.

…

May 1st, 11:15 PM

Yuri checked her phone as she neared the Omekata compound, staying close to the shadows and avoiding the police patrolmen walking the streets. 'Quarter after…cutting it close,' Yuri thought with dismay. She managed to locate the suitcase across the street from the compound, and then ducked into an alleyway to see what was in it. She smiled as she pulled out a dark purple hakama and gi, which she quickly changed into, as well as a pair of forearm-guards, a forehead protector, two bandoliers stocked with kunai throwing knives which she put on across her chest, a daisho pair that she tucked into the belt of her hakama, a case full of shuriken that she clipped onto her belt on the other side, along with her pouch of darts, a tanto dagger that she tucked into her bra, and a dozen smoke grenades that she pocketed. Finally, she found a note. 'Reminder: Sixth has a Diary that reports everything her cultists see, so avoid them as much as you can; Fifth has one prediction for the evening, so he might have an ambush ready for you. Watch out for that. But don't be a Worry-Yuri. I've been busy making friends, and help is on the way. You won't be alone for long. Good luck! Love, Sayori~'

"Thank you, Sayori," Yuri said softly. She turned her eyes back to the Omekata compound, and steeled herself. She stepped out of the shadows–

Her phone suddenly started buzzing. She checked it and saw a text from an unfamiliar number. Don't make your move just yet, it read, Seventh are about to make an unexpected play!

Yuri stepped back into the darkness, and a minute later she heard a loud noise. A moment after, a white convertible roared down the street, blasting rap music at a volume that was completely indecent for the late hour. Yuri processed a quick glimpse of a man with a pompadour behind the wheel, while a woman sat in the back and shot several cops.

Admittedly, with what had evidently been a paintball gun. Still, the officers started running about, and soon after several squad cars took off in hot pursuit after the hooligan couple. Within seconds, Yuri found the path before her quite clear. So without wasting any more time, she sprinted out of the shadows, drawing two kunai from her bandoliers as she ran. She threw herself at the compound wall and quickly scaled to the top. She balanced atop the wall and pulled out four smoke grenades, two in each hand, pulled out the pins with her teeth and hurled them into the courtyard. In less than a minute the courtyard was choked with obfuscating fog. Yuri jumped down into the smoke, and started beating a mad dash for the main building.

The Seventh Diary Owners, Ikusaba Marco and Mikami Ai, continued driving around the neighborhood, leading a few cops on a wild goose chase. A friend of theirs and fellow orphan from Mother's Village, Nanba Taro, was doing the same thing on a moped, steering with one hand and using the other to throw fireworks around. With Marco and Ai's Exchange Diaries, which Taro's Copy Diary was synchronized to, the three were able to coordinate their seemingly random shenanigans expertly. Another friend and fellow orphan, Miyashiro Orin, who was posing as a Omekata cultist, gave a signal on her Orphan Diary, and the "Mother's Village" Orphan Army began storming the compound's back entrance. They first launched tear gas at the police guard, and then chucked a volley of Molotov cocktails at the outer wall before rushing in with gasmasks and an assortment of melee implements as well as a few airsoft and paintball guns.

While Yuri rushed in from the compounds east side, Natsuki drove a semi-truck through the wall on the west side, screaming, "OH, YEAH!". As soon as she hit the brakes, before she had even came to a full stop, Akise jumped out of the passenger side and ran towards the back of the trailer, which he opened with frantic haste. From the safety of his home, Tsukishima Karyudo gave an order through his Breeder Diary, and his full force of fifty attack dogs streamed out of the trailer and scattered throughout the Omekata courtyard. The cultists and police responded with appropriate force, opening fire on their attackers. Keigo, the Fourth, and Tsubaki, the Sixth, both stared at their Diaries in shock. So was John Bacchus, mayor of Sakurami City, as he sat up in bed, having been awakened by the constant roar of static from his own, all-seeing Diary. Monika smiled as the sound of chaos reached her ears.

The Diary War had begun.

Part 6

May 1st, 12:32 AM

"Ah~" said Sayori happily, "You're tea is amazing Ueshita-san! And I know a thing or two about good tea."

"Thank you, Hirasaka-san," replied Ueshita Kamado. She was…interesting to look at, that was for sure. She had the proportions of a "chibi" character, but blown-up to the height of a normal person. Maybe a little more? Her head was bigger than some of the children under her care. Yeah, she more than a little odd to see the first time. "So, I'm told you had a business proposal for me?"

"Well…yes and no," Sayori admitted, glancing down at her tea. "I do have a proposition of great importance for you…but out of a desire to protect my identity, I deliberately mislead you to think it was a business thing, knowing that your orphanage's financial problems would make it easy for me to get my foot in the door, as it were. The unpleasant reality is that my proposal actually relates to the Survival Game. I know that you're the Eighth. Well, I'm the Twelfth." Sayori took another sip of her tea, while the sounds of guns cocking and knives being drawn surrounded her. Even as Kamado called for everyone to calm down, Sayori slowly lowered her cup and lifted her hands high. "Relax, everyone, I came in peace. Unarmed and all that good noise."

"You're an obstacle on the Director's path to Godhood," growled Nanba Taro as he put a gun to the back of Sayori's head. "And why should we trust you? If you're a Diary Owner it's going to come down to you or her anyways. She doesn't need to ally with other Owners when she has us."

"It's very wise of you not to trust other Owners, Nanba-kun," said Sayori calmly, "But in me, your mistrust is misplaced. I, too, have no interest in becoming God. And unlike your beloved Director, I don't have anyone else pushing me there. Frankly, I want no part in the Game, but just sitting it out isn't an option for me, either. You see, I have three very dear friends who, unfortunately, have also been made Diary Owners. I want to save them. In fact, I have a plan to resolve the Game without any Owners having to die. It's sweet and all that you kids love your matron enough that you're all willing to kill to make her God. But wouldn't you rather not have to kill anyone at all? I know Kamado-san doesn't want anyone's blood on anyone's hands."

Silence reigned as everyone pondered her words. "Everyone, put your weapons away," Kamado insisted. "So, what's your plan then, Twelfth?"

"Oh, please, call me Sayori," said Sayori with a smile.

May 1st, 11:23 PM

The compound of the Omekata Cult was sheer chaos. Most of the "Mother's Village" Orphan Army, under the leadership of Apprentice Diary Owner Orin, were attacking from one side. They laid down smoke bombs for cover, and from within the smoke they hurled various kinds of firebombs every which way. Fire was just everywhere before long. The bomb-throwers were protected by orphans armed with airsoft cannons that fired such things as tennis balls, potatoes, bean bags, and so forth at anyone who approached them with hostile intent, as well as paintball guns that were used to effectively blind their enemies. Meanwhile, Seventh Future Diary Owners Marco and Ai, along with Apprentice Diary Owner Taro, were driving around the surrounding neighborhood raising hell with fireworks, colorful smoke grenades, and paintball guns, all for the purpose if distracting and dividing the police, who were the decidedly stronger half of the enemy alliance.

Meanwhile, the police and cultists also had to deal with fifty ravenous metal-toothed killer attack dogs running amok throughout the courtyard. And fighting their way through the mob of insanity were two women on a mission. Yuri, in full battle-garb, cut a bloody swath through her obstacles with sword in hand, using kunai, shuriken, and darts to fend off any cop that drew a gun on her. She did her best not to land any fatal blows, but she knew she couldn't afford to hesitate either.

On her end, Natsuki was plowing through with a new baseball bat that she swung without restraint. Her dress had been replaced with a denim jacket over a pink tee-shirt and a pink ankle-length skirt, to hide the splints and bandages on her legs; on her feet were a pair of steel-toe boots. The painkillers had kicked in, so she hardly felt any complaints from her back or her legs. Of course, she knew she would be a pretty wrecked mess when all was said and done, but she'd be happy just to live that long. She had been fighting alongside Akise, but they had gotten separated at some point after she started making for the main building. It was starting to burn, too, so it was more imperative than ever to find Monika.

Then, in the main building, they met.

"YURI!" Natsuki screamed in relief.

"NATSUKI?!" Yuri yelped in surprise.

The two friends collided in a fierce hug in the middle of the raging melee. Then they remembered what was going on around them, and they went back-to-back to fend off the horde of ax-wielding cultists. "Where's Gasai?" Natsuki asked.

"Don't get mad at me, and don't ask me why because I don't get it either…but I left her with Sayori."

"WHAT?! You found Sayori? You left her with the psycho?!"

"No, I left her with Sayori. She seemed to have control of the situation and assured me she had a plan. I think this other group attacking the police and the cultists is her doing."

"So she's the one who brought Eighth in…then she's the Twelfth!"

"How do you figure that?"

"Long story short: I've got the most broken-ass Diary in the Game on my side, and it said Twelfth and Eighth had teamed up and were going to throw down in this ruckus. Which we factored into the timing of our own attack."

"Ninth!" hollered Akise as he bull-rushed through the swarm of cultists and cops with a bo-staff. "Ninth, we've got a serious problem!"

"I told you to call me Natsuki! What is it, Akise? Oh, Akise, this is Yuri. Yuri, Akise Aru."

"Pleased to meet you, Akise-san," said Yuri without even looking at him as she cut down another cultist.

"Likewise," said Akise off-handedly as he all but shoved his new Apprentice Diary, the "Detective Diary", in Natsuki's face. Her eyes widened and she started cussing viciously.

"We have to grab Monika and get out of here, now," she hissed.

"What's wrong?" asked Yuri.

"The Mayor of the city has a Diary that reads everyone else's Diary," said Natsuki, "Even the Apprentice Diaries made by Eighth's Propogating Diary. He knows what's going on. He knows most of the Owners are right here, right now, and as we speak he's trying to bring the JSDF down on our heads!"

"What!?"

Static blared, and Yuri quickly whipped out her Diary. She stared in shock at what she saw.

[May 2nd, 0:00, Omekata Compound]
Natsuki, Akise, and I are gunned down by soldiers.
DEAD END.

"Soldiers?!" Yuri exclaimed.

"The Mayor's spinning some crazy story about the Omekata being a terrorist sect with plans to make some kind of bioweapon, to convince the Self-Defense Force to make a strike on this compound," Akise explained.

"I don't know, I'm feeling a little terrorized, to be honest," Natsuki quipped as she cracked a cultist in the head, dropping him like the sack of fail that he was. She looked around, "I'll be damned, I think we ran out of 'em."

Another burst of static sounded from one of Yuri's pockets, and she pulled out Monika's phone. "I thought this didn't work anymore? Eh? Oh my…guys, this way!" said Yuri, running back out of the building.

"Akise, find Sixth, see if you can use her to end the fighting outside."

"And then what?" asked Akise.

"What?" asked Natsuki, stopping and looking back to him.

"What's our endgame, Ninth?" Akise asked, very serious-faced. "I've gone along with you so far because you convinced me you were in control of the situation. But this situation seems anything but controlled."

"No shit I don't," said Natsuki frankly, "But taking Sixth as a hostage will force the cult and the police to stand down, at least momentarily."

"And then what?" Akise pressed.

"Then we get Monika and we get the hell out of Doge! Duh."

"And everyone else?"

"Is on their own," Natsuki said flatly. "Yes, I know full well how that sounds and I don't like it either. I'm not a sociopath or anything. But my only stake in all this is getting my friends out of here alive. If the rest of the Owners are so bent on tearing each other apart, that's their business. I have to worry about me and mine. Now enough questions, we're on a serious time crunch here!"

With that, Natsuki took off after Yuri again. Akise, frowning, consulted his Diary.

…

Following the instructions in Monika's Diary, it didn't take long for Yuri to find the toolshed which hid the entrance to the Omekata's very own secret dungeon. 'Tacky, bland, and unoriginal, as far as dungeons go,' Yuri mentally critiqued as she descended, '1/10 stars. And that's me being generous.'

Quite abruptly, she found herself slammed in the back as she heard Natsuki scream, "Look out!"

Knocked flying off of the bottom step, Yuri found herself and Natsuki sailing over an ankle-deep pit that had been gouged into the floor. It had been filled with water, and in the gloom Yuri never would have noticed it until it was too late.

"Darn it. You avoided my trap," said a childish, petulant voice in the darkness.

"Gonna have to wake up a lot earlier than that to fool my Protector Diary, Fifth," Natsuki growled as she struggled to her feet. Pain erupted all over her body, the color drained from her face, and she staggered against the wall, falling to her knees as she suddenly felt light-headed. Then, she detected a strange smell. "No…" she groaned weakly. She tried to stand again, but Yuri put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down, gently.

"Enough. You've done enough, Natty," Yuri said softly, "Let me take it from here, okay?"

"Gas…" Natsuki whimpered.

"I know," said Yuri. She ripped a strip from the leg of her pants and pressed it against her nose, keeping her mouth clamped shut. She proceeded forward into the darkness, sword held in front of her.

"Your friend saved you from my electrocution trap," said the hidden boy, Fifth, "Lucky break for you. But you're still going to die down here, gasping for breath." His voice sounded muffled.

"Spare me," Yuri snapped. "Your world is starting to annoy me. I don't like people threatening my friends." She reached the end of the hallway. She faced a heavy, metal door.

Static. Natsuki screamed, "Yuri, look out!"

Yuri whirled around, but she felt something jab her in the side. 'A needle!'

The effect was immediate. Yuri's head started swimming. Her whole lower body felt numb, and despite her efforts she soon collapsed. Then she saw him.

A boy, no more than five years old, with green eyes behind a gasmask and ginger hair sticking out from under a green hat. Yuri had no idea what she had been injected with, but she was pretty sure it was doing something to her head because her first thought was 'There's definitely a "soulless ginger" joke here, but for the life of me I can't think of one.'

"I had expected more of the one designated 'The First'," the boy lamented.

"My sin…cerest…apolo…gies…for disapp-p-p…pointing…you…" Yuri pushed herself to gasp out.

"For frak's sake, *cough* Yuri, don't *hack-cough* apologize to the little freak!" Natsuki wheezed. She pulled something out from behind her back, pulled a pin out of it with her teeth and chucked it between Yuri and the boy before clapping a hand over her eyes.

The flashbang went off, and Yuri's senses were obliterated. She was randomly reminded of when Monika had described to her what it was like for her when the game was off. Yuri decided that, going off of Monika's description, getting flashbanged seemed like a fairly close analogy.

Unfortunately, before her hearing and sight could recover, Yuri passed out when the thickening gas made it impossible to breathe.

Less than a minute later, the door to the dungeon was opened again. Akise propped the trapdoor open before descending. Hopping lightly over Fifth's cunning water trap, he found Natsuki, Yuri, and a small boy all unconscious. Natsuki was between Yuri and the boy, bat in hand. Akise frowned. He wouldn't be able to carry all three of them out at once, but he had no desire to leave anyone to asphyxiate. 'Ninth, being dead-set as she is on protecting her friends, would probably be upset if I got her out before First,' he reasoned. Moving quickly, he removed Fifth's gasmask and put it on Natsuki, then he slung Yuri over his shoulder, picked up Fifth with his other hand, and hurried back up the stairs. Then he went back down for Natsuki.

Upon his return, he found that the metal door had been opened, and two gasmasked cultists were pulling Natsuki inside. Before they could shut the door, Akise bull-rushed them and plowed his way into the room beyond. He found himself in a tangled pile with Natsuki, who was whimpering in pain, and the cultists. He quickly found himself struggling with the cultists as he tried to get up and they tried to pin him. Then he heard a gun cocking, and found himself facing a gun held by one Chief Inspector Kurusu Keigo. Like any reasonable person faced with a loaded gun, Akise quit struggling.

"Close the door," ordered a long-haired girl sitting in a chair behind Keigo. Judging by her elaborate clothes, Akise pegged her as the Oracle, Sixth. One of the cultists jumped up and saw to the door, while the other bound Akise's wrists behind his back with a zip tie. Once the door was closed, that cultist returned to the Oracle's side.

"So, who are you?" asked Keigo, smiling jovially down at Akise. "Are you another Diary Owner?"

"Not strictly speaking," replied Akise, "I'm simply an ally of the Ninth."

"I see. And what inspired you to get involved in this crazy game?" Keigo asked.

"Does that really matter, Fourth?" asked Sixth.

"What's your name, kid?" Keigo asked, ignoring her.

"Akise. Akise Aru."

"Hmm. Your name never came up in my Investigation Diary," Keigo remarked, "So the odds are pretty good you're not a bad person. So, I put it to you again; why are you involved?"

"Curiosity, I suppose," Akise replied. "I was curious why someone reputed as a mad bomber would endure so much pain and risk so much to save people in a game where there can only be one survivor."

"Obviously she was lying," said Sixth, sounding irritated, "She must be manipulating your sympathies to her own ends, you fool. Now enough of this. Put him in the cell with Third," she ordered. The cultist who had bound Akise's wrists hauled him up and did just that. Keigo kept his gun fixed on Akise the whole time. Unfortunately, focused as he was, and as effectively blind as Sixth was in the dimly lit room, neither of them noticed that Monika had taken the ribbon out of her hair and shifted from a sitting position to a crouching one. The cultist beside Sixth had noticed, but she had kept it herself…

The instant the cell door had opened, Monika had sprang up and grabbed one of the bars, yanking the door wide open. She shoved Akise down, grabbed the cultist and spun him around, holding him between herself and Keigo. Keigo opened fire anyways, hitting the unfortunate cultist three times before Monika shoved him forcefully at the policeman. Keigo jumped out of the way, but before he could put his aim back on Monika she had lashed her ribbon around his gun and deftly yanked it out of his hand. Flipping the stolen firearm around in her hand, Monika opened up the revolver's carousel and dumped the remaining bullets onto the floor. Then she unceremoniously tossed the weapon over her shoulder.

"Okay, everyone," Monika said with a smile, "Let's all calm down, shall we? This whole day has just been exhaustingly stressful. Now, I think leaving this dreary room and hashing out our disagreements over a round of drinks sounds wonderful. I normally go for tea or coffee, but after a day like today I won't say no to something stronger. What do you two say?"

Keigo's reply was to put up his fists and take a swing at her.

Monika's rebuttal was to judo him into the metal door. "Sure ya don't want to revise that answer, Chief?" she asked blithely. Keigo could only hold his head and groan.

Sixth snorted and drew a gun from one of her sleeves, aiming towards the slender blur that was Monika. Then she felt a blade against her throat. "Put that down, nice and slow, Sixth," said the cultist next to her as she removed her gasmask. "Orin?" Sixth gasped, "Just what do you–"

"I'm with the Eighth, not you," Orin revealed bluntly, "So yeah, you just got…"punk'd", I think is how the Americans say it?"

Sixth scowled as she threw her gun down.

"So, are you guys with Twelfth?" Orin asked as Monika took a knife out of Akise's pocket and use it to cut through the zip tie.

"If Twelfth happens to be a girl named Sayori, then yes," replied Monika. She gave Natsuki's body a quick look-over, her face becoming a mask of pain as she took in the extent of her youngest club member's injuries. "Oh, Nat…" she sighed as she gingerly picked her up in her arms. "Would someone be so kind as to get the door for me, please?"

"Sure," said Orin, sheathing her dagger and skipping over to the door.

"Wait!" said Akise, reading his Diary, "The Self-Defense Forces have mobilized. They'll descend upon this place within minutes!"

"Doesn't matter," Natsuki groaned, "Eleventh can read all our Diaries. They'll find us, even if we hide out down here. Monika, we gotta grab Yuri and bail…"

"Hush," said Monika gently as she left the room, "Everything is going to be fine. We'll figure it out. You just rest."

"I can still walk, darn it."

"No. Rest," Monika order forcefully.

"Yes, Mom-ika," Natsuki muttered. "Oh, hey, watch out–"

"For the water, I know."

"C'mon, Sixth, Fourth, we're going for a walk," said Orin, pushing the Oracle and Inspector out after Monika, Sixth's abandoned gun in hand. Akise brought up the rear, picking up Natsuki's bat along the way.

"Eleven-fifty," Natsuki read from her phone, "We've got to get gone, quick…oy, Akise, where's Yuri?" she asked when they emerged from the trapdoor and she noticed the unconscious boy she had knocked out.

"I left her right here," the kid detective replied.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT WHY?!" Natsuki screamed, suddenly struggling to get out of Monika's arms.

"Calm down, Natsuki!" Monika demanded, "Does your Diary say she's in trouble?"

Natsuki just as suddenly stopped struggling and checked. "Of course. Of course! Friggin' Psycho's got her again," said Natsuki, gnashing her teeth.

"Yuno?" Monika asked.

The roar of helicopter blades started shaking the toolshed, soon followed by loud bursts of automatic gunfire. "Well damn," Keigo sighed. "Alright, in the interest of getting out of here alive, I'm willing to cooperate with you for now. Truce?"

"Sure," replied Monika, "Give me your Diary."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," said Monika as she sat Natsuki down on her feet and picked something up off the floor. "Give me your Diary so I know I can trust you. I could have easily killed you downstairs, had I wished to, so you should already know you can trust me. I'm a horrible person, but I'm not a murderer…anymore."

"Hell of a sales pitch, Prez," Natsuki grumbled. "If it makes you feel any better, you can hold mine," she tossed her Diary to Keigo.

"Natsuki, what?!" Monika exclaimed.

"He's a good guy, Monika," replied Natsuki, "When it comes down to it, he'll do the right thing. I trust him."

Monika was floored. She swallowed, and nodded. Natsuki, she knew, did not hand out her trust casually. "If Natsuki trusts you, you can hold onto your own Diary. I don't care to hold someone else's life in my hands anyways. Now let's get out of here."

"One problem!" said Natsuki, "Yuri's Diary said we were going to get killed by soldiers. Any tips on avoiding that?"

"As it happens, I do," replied Monika, showing Natsuki what she had found on the floor. It was her own Diary, having fallen out of Yuri's pocket. Her eyes widened at the first line:
[Monika's Survival Tips For The Day!]

Then Monika pulled it back and continued reading it. She smiled, and started out of the shed. "Follow me, everyone. We'll get out of this alive…my 'Guidance' Diary will see to that."

Part 7

May 1st, 10:05 PM:

"What do you say? Can you and I be friends, Gasai Yuno?" Sayori asked, reaching her hand out to the other girl. Yuno stared back at her with wide, almost uncomprehending eyes. She stared, mystified, into Sayori's own, milky-blue, unseeing orbs. The kindness, and then the pain, in Sayori's words stirred something in Yuno. Long-buried feelings from before the accident with her parents. All she had wanted was to be heard. To be understood. That was all she had wanted, back in that distant age before she had met Yuri, who had become the center of her world. That was all she had ever really wanted. For someone to listen to her. To understand her.

And here was Sayori, speaking of familiar pains, of friends who understood. Friends that could be her friends, maybe. Yuno felt an ache in her chest as a crack appeared in the bitter shell around her heart. She started to reach for Sayori's hand…

A pulse of dark energy struck Sayori in the side and sent her flying.

Muru Muru was back up, hovering in the air, flying after Sayori and bombarding her with a savage warcry. She was a pissed-off little imp, that was for certain.

"Stop it, Muru Muru!" Yuno screamed, jumping up to her feet.

Sayori jumped back onto her feet as well, and let loose her own scream to match Muru Muru's in ferocity and exceed hers' in volume. She pulled something out from inside of her robe, tied something around her finger even as she jumped, darted, and nimbly dodged the enraged familiar's magic blasts. Then Sayori shot out with her newly equipped yoyo and struck Muru Muru dead between the eyes. It turned out to be a lucky hit, though, as Sayori's next three attacks all sailed wide of the mark, even though Muru Muru was paralyzed with pain in mid-air. Then she recovered in time to conjure a bubble-like barrier around herself, deflecting a swing that would have struck her in the side.

Sayori, however, had not been standing still. She had been dashing all around, which Yuno took to be evasive maneuvers since she couldn't see that her enemy had been briefly incapacitated. Yuno realized that she was wrong, however, when Sayori abruptly came to a dead stop and stooped to pick up the object she had just stepped on; namely, her whip.

She reeled her yoyo back in and lashed out at Muru Muru with her recovered main weapon. This, too, bounced off of the imp's barrier. "Hurry up and kill her, Yuno!" Muru Muru shouted, "I can't do it for you; I'm not an Owner!"

"Since when is it a familiar's place to give her master orders?" Sayori demanded, practically spitting her words out as if they were as acidic in her mouth as they sounded.

"Yuno!" Muru Muru shouted again, ignoring Sayori, "Remember your goal! You want to be with Yuri, right? Ya gotta win the Game and start everything over! Next time around, we won't let things go off the rails like this."

"Damn," Sayori hissed when she realized there was no way for her to fight the fiendish familiar without the element of surprise. So she did the only sensible thing, and turned around and ran away.

She didn't make it far before Muru Muru zipped ahead and clotheslined her. "Not so fast, Twelfth!" the imp roared, conjuring a bubble around Sayori and lifting her into the air. "Alright, Second, now to…Second?" Muru Muru asked, noticing just then that the other girl had disappeared. "Second? Yuno? Hey, where'd ya go?!"

"Heh, heh, heh," Sayori laughed weakly. "Guess she couldn't wait any longer…if I were a gambler, I'd put my money on her going after Yuri. And you can't kill me~" Sayori taunted.

Muru Muru scrunched up her face in annoyance. Then she grinned. "No, I can't…but I can at least take you out of play, for a bit…"

Being blind, Sayori could not see what Muru Muru did next, but she could feel the air around her suddenly go still as she was encased in a sphere…

May 2nd, 12:01 AM:

"Well, it's official. We've beaten the Dead End," Monika announced, checking her Diary every time it updated with a new burst of static. She lead Natsuki, Akise, and Keigo through the alleyways of the city. Orin, along with her hostages Tsubaki and Reisuke, the Fifth, had split off from them and rejoined the Orphans returning to the Mother's Village orphanage. Keigo, as impressed with Natsuki's faith in him as Monika had been, had returned her Protector Diary in exchange for her bat, and was serving as their rearguard. Painkillers long gone from her system, Natsuki's willpower was no longer enough to force her legs and back to comply with her, so she was (very reluctantly) riding on Akise's back, focused wholly on her Diary as she silently prayed for it to give her some clue as to where Yuno had taken Yuri, as well as where Sayori might be. Akise also glanced at his Detective Diary every so often, keeping tabs on what the other Owners were up to.

"Akise, what's Yuno up to?" Natsuki asked.

"Who's Yuno, again?"

"The Second."

Akise scrolled up and down his Diary's entries. "She's…driving towards the edge of town, with First in her trunk. That was your friend Yuri, right?"

"Yeah…damn it," Natsuki seethed. "I might know where she's taking her. She's going to hide her in an abandoned hotel her parents used to own, out of town."

"Hey, Third. We need a vehicle," said Akise.

"My name is Monika, thank you," said Monika. "And no, we don't need a vehicle right now. I know what we're doing."

"What?! Monika, weren't you listening? Yuri needs our help!" Natsuki insisted.

"Natsuki." Monika stopped walking, lowered her phone, and turned to face Natsuki. "I know what we need to do. To save everyone. Please, trust me."

The two women stared at each other for a moment. Then, slowly, Natsuki nodded. "Alright, President. So…what are we doing?"

"Before we can meet up with Yuri, we have to save Sayori," said Monika, turning around and continuing on, "And before that, we have to find a…certain place."

"Hold up, Sayori's in trouble?" Natsuki asked.

"Not for long…this way," said Monika. Soon, they found themselves back on the streets, in a 'night life' area. "There's the place," said Monika, pointing out a nightclub.

"Eh? That's a Yakuza spot," said Keigo.

"Good. I need guns," said Monika.

"Eh?!" Keigo bawked.

"If you don't mind, Chief, I'd appreciate it if you stayed out here with Nat. You too, Akise; you might get in my way. Nat, hold this," said Monika, tossing her Diary at the pinkette.

"Ah!" gasped Natsuki, almost falling off of Akise as she reached out to catch the phone.

"Uh…you realize that you're still mortal, even if your Diary isn't broken?" Keigo asked.

"Oh, of course. But it's a liability in melee," said Monika as she proceeded towards the club.

"Grr…would you at least take my bat?" Natsuki shouted after her.

"If you insist," said Monika, stopping again and holding out her hand. At Natsuki's insistence, Keigo gave up the bat. Monika whistled a jaunty tune as she waltzed right up to the club's doorman, casually laid him the fuck out with a two-handed swing across the face, and proceeded into the club.

Nearly half an hour passed, with a good deal of club-goers flooding out, expressing various degrees of panic and bewilderment. Gunfire was also heard, for a while. About five more minutes passed after the gunfire ceased, and then Monika came back out with two large sacks slung over her shoulders. She looked pretty rough around the edges, her hair was messed up, she had a swelling eye, and a thin line of blood coming out of one side of her mouth. She was also beaming like the sun. "That was…therapeutic. Sorry, Natsuki, I kind of…broke your bat. I got you these, though," she said as she dropped a sack and fished something out of it. She handed Natsuki a pair of nunchucks.

"Oh, sweet! Chucks!" Natsuki gushed as she accepted the replacement weapon. "Wait, hold on…what else do you have?"

Keigo peeked in a sack, and his eyes widened. "That's a lot of guns…"

"Monika?" Natsuki questioned, looking concerned.

Monika just kept smiling, hefting her sacks of ill-gotten hardware. "Next, we get off the streets and find a place to lay low."

"Hmm. Keigo's got a wife and a kid, I had a van…pretty much all the Owners know who you are, so your place is compromised," Natsuki muttered mostly to herself. She spoke up louder, "Our best bet is Akise's house. He lives alone."

"Excuse me?" Akise piped up.

"Oh, don't even. You are way too deep in this to start drawing lines now," said Natsuki, grinning impishly.

Akise opened his mouth and raised a finger…then dropped it and sighed, "You're not wrong…my place it is, then."

…

May 2nd, 1:13 AM, at Akise's house:

Keigo stared at Monika in open-mouthed shock. He would have fallen on his ass if he hadn't already been seated. Akise was just as taken aback, just not visibly so. Natsuki just sighed and shook her head.

"That's Mony, for ya," the tsundere remarked, "She's either the Sane One, or she's the Craziest Of Them All. There's just no in-between with her."

Monika raised an eyebrow at her. "Not going to try talking sense into me?"

Natsuki snorted. "Why? Even at your craziest, you're never irrational. You wouldn't even think of something like this if you didn't have a good reason to think it was doable."

Keigo, having finally regained his powers of speech, asked, "You're actually serious about this?"

"You don't know me very well, Chief, but ask any of my friends and they'll tell you that this is exactly what I do when I want something," said Monika, "Namely, I break the game and rewrite the script."

"Can confirm," Natsuki said with a nod, "Pen in her hand, she writes her own rules to play by."

"Quite," Monika agreed. "Now, who's willing to help me? Keigo, if my plan works out, my first act as the new God of this world will be to save your son."

"My son?" Keigo asked, confused. "What are you –"

"He's dying," said Natsuki bluntly. "His illness is way too advanced for modern medicine to cure. His only hope for survival is a literal miracle."

Keigo's eyes widened. "How…how could you–"

"Because we're time travelers from another world!" Natsuki snapped, "Does it matter what we know or how we know it? But it's true, either way."

"To be clear," said Monika, "I fully intend to give him his miracle even if you oppose me. But your aid will make it easier for me to get there."

"There's a critical flaw in your plan," Akise spoke up. "Your plan is predicated on a necessity for haste. Specifically because of peril to your friend, Tw–"

"Sayori," Monika and Natsuki both said, glaring at him.

"…your friend Sayori's life," Akise amended. "And while I'm willing to believe that you can pull this off, having seen how headstrong and cunning Nin–Natsuki is, and that she is willing to defer to you. You must, therefore, be quite the capable individual."

"I'm not easily stopped when I have a goal in my sights, to be sure," Monika admitted.

"But how will you deal with the Eleventh? With Mayor Bacchus, that is? His Diary reads everyone else's, including mine and yours. My Diary, which can also read other Diaries and anticipate their Owners' reactions, can at best counter his, but not beat it; and he has more resources at his command, and being a man of such importance as he is, he is already well-protected even without having advanced warning. Which he will, the moment any of us take action against him. While even this is not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle, it is one that will require time and resources to overcome. Neither of which you have."

"I have this," replied Monika, handing over her Diary to Akise.

The kid detective started reading it, and soon frowned. "What is this? I don't understand…it's all gibberish."

"Not at all," replied Monika, taking her Diary back. "Think of it in terms of rock-paper-scissors. Every Diary works differently, and some of those distinct methodologies will naturally provide their Owners with advantages and disadvantages against one another. At first glance, the Eleventh's Diary seems to effectively counter any other Diary…except it, too, has a fatal flaw. Unlike your Diary, it doesn't tell him what we're doing…it only tells him what's on our Diaries. My Diary exploits this weakness by giving me it's guidance in the form of poetic expressions that only make sense to me…or anyone who has great familiarity with my writing style. My Diary, much like myself, exists with the purpose of defying fate itself. So long as I go after Bacchus by myself, the only thing his Watcher will give him is poetry he won't know the meaning of. Can the three of you gather the others?"

"I think we can manage," replied Natsuki, pushing herself up off Akise's sofa. Her face paled and she winced, even wobbled a bit, but she stayed upright.

Monika frowned. "You can sit this out…"

"Nope. Gonna ride this pain train all the way to the station," Natsuki grunted. "Until all four of us are in the same place, at the same time, and safe. Then, and only then, I will happily pass the hell out and let everyone baby me, or whatever."

"If you insist," Monika sighed, "I'll join you, with his Mayorship in tow, at Mother's Village. Natsuki, be sure to keep me posted if your Diary says anything new about Sayori or Yuri, okay?"

"Right," Natsuki nodded. "And you…just be careful, okay?"

"Insofar as I can afford to be, I will," Monika promised gravely as she started out of the room. Then she stopped and looked back, "Actually, Chief Inspector Kurusu, there is one more small thing you could help me with…if you wouldn't mind."

…

May 2nd, 1:40 AM, on the highway outside of Sakurami City:

Yuri regained consciousness. She was in a small, cramped space. Judging by the sounds around her, and the scent of gasoline and exhaust fumes, she concluded that she was in the trunk of a car. She quickly patted herself down and groped around in the dark, and concluded that neither her Diary nor any of her weapons were with her. She sighed, aggravated. 'Odds are, Yuno had me again. I'm getting very sick of this crap. Still, it would seem she's shifted her goal back from killing me to preserving me. That, at least, gives me a chance. Now, how to get out?'

She went back to groping around in the dark. Her hand fell on something hard, and after s little more groping she determined it to be a tire iron. The kind with one socket on one end and a wedge for prying on the other end. Yuri had an idea, and even though she knew it was a stupidly risky idea she would be lying if she said it didn't excite her a little. Gripping the iron tightly with both hands, and trying not to tremble, she placed the wedged end against her stomach, just above her navel. 'It has to be at least potentially life-threatening, or she has no reason to care,' Yuri told herself. "The hard part," she muttered aloud, "Will be not going too deeply…"

Without further hesitation, she thrust the wedge into her flesh. She artfully avoided damaging her stomach, pancreas, and liver. She bit deeply into her lower lip to stifle a moan. It was agony, but it was also ecstasy. She resisted the urge to push it further in, and in fact quickly pulled the iron out just before, as she had anticipated, the car came to a screaming halt. Yuri heard other cars shriek and swerve. She heard a door open and slam, hurried footsteps, a jangle of keys fumbling in worried fingers, scraping against the lid of the trunk before finally slotting in–

Yuri tightened her grip on the tire iron.

–twisting–

Yuri tensed her legs.

–and finally the lid of the trunk sprang up, Yuno's distressed face appearing. "Yuri! Why would you–?!"

Yuri sprang out like a snake, appropriately baring her teeth, and smashed the iron into Yuno's jaw. Yuno staggered backwards, and Yuri struck her three more times in quick succession until she crumpled. Yuri dropped her weapon and crouched down, quickly frisking Yuno, who was still conscious but dazed. Yuri found her Diary in one of Yuno's pockets, then picked up the keys Yuno had dropped as well as Yuno's own Diary, which she had also been holding. 'She can't track me without this. Not easily, at least.'

"Yuri…why?" Yuno groaned, still staring blankly at the night sky. She looked so pitiful that Yuri hesitated.

"…honestly? It's not even personal. I know how it feels to fall psychotically in love with someone, believe it or not," said Yuri, "But my friends need me. I don't have time to play games with you, Gasai-san. Goodbye."

Yuri got in the car and drove off, leaving Yuno where she lay.

…

May 2nd, 12:30 PM, City Hall:

The hard part, Monika reflected, had been getting enough of the right kind of ammunition. The rubber kind, of course. Natsuki had managed to hook her up with a bunch of concussion grenades, and it so happened she already owned a pair of noise-cancelling ear-protectors. Despite preferring to kill with a machete, her Unawake self had also enjoyed practicing marksmanship. Also fortunately, Unawake-Monika had kept a spare of her bullet-proof, explosives-resistant, gas-mask equipped outfit.

With a little handiwork, she was able to add plenty of holsters for her newly acquired firearms to the inside and outside of the jacket. Still, the tricky part had been getting her hands on enough rubber bullets. Obviously, it would have been easier to use the normal bullets she had gotten at the Yakuza club, but for what she had in mind it would be infeasible to maintain a zero-lethality rating.

Just because her friends were in peril was no excuse, in Monika's opinion, to forsake her standards. Gunning down Agents in the Matrix, as well as other soulless mooks, was one things. But Monika wasn't about to prioritize her own convenience over the lives of actual human beings.

Kurosaki Ryuji, secretary to Mayor John Bacchus, didn't know any of this, however. So he was understandably close to pissing himself as he slammed the door to his boss's office shut behind him. "S-Sir!" he gasped, clutching at his chest, "She's…she's tearing through the security!"

"Damn it," Mayor Bacchus gnashed his teeth, "How did my Watcher not warn me about this?!"

Both men jumped when the heard another concussion grenade go off in the distance, followed by the staccato of automatic gunfire, and the sound of men screaming in pain and hitting the floor.

"Your Diary isn't telling you anything?" asked Ryuji, trying to swallow his mounting panic.

"Nothing but flowery, metaphorical gibberish!" John growled, "Third's Diary isn't working at all like it was at the beginning of the Game!"

Ryuji consulted his own Apprentice Diary, the "Secretary" Diary, which told him John's future. "My Diary doesn't yield anything helpful, either."

"DAMN IT!" roared the mayor, kicking a chair over.

After a moment, the two realized that it was quiet outside. Then they heard a new sound. A sound easily more chilling than the earlier cacophony. The steady sound of heavy footfalls, slowly but surely drawing closer and closer.

Then Monika, masked and covered by her heavy jacket, kicked in the door, an SMG in each hand. Ryuji finally lost control of his bladder, and then passed out on the spot.

John Bacchus was just as frightened, but he maintained his composure. Still, his throat was too dry for him to talk.

"Alright, Eleventh," said Monika, her voice sounding sinister through her mask, "You might not believe me, but I have no intention of killing you. Still, I need to capture you. Alive, I promise you. In fact, check your Diary. There shouldn't be a Dead End in there."

After a moment's hesitation, John did so. "…you're right, there is no Dead End…then what was the point of all this?"

"The long and short of it? I have a plan to win the Game without anyone having to die," said Monika. "For it to work, I need to capture all of the Diary Owners."

"I see," said John. "And just how do you plan to get me out of here? It will be much more difficult than just killing me and trying to escape on your own."

"Oh, don't you worry, Your Mayorship," said Monika said smugly, smiling behind her mask, "I have planned this out most thoroughly." Then she dropped her guns and ran forward, clearing the distance in two long strides and punching him in the stomach hard enough to lift him off of his feet. The Eleventh's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness, slumping over Monika's arm. She laid him down on the floor and hurried over to his computer. In her head, she was counting the seconds; by her reckoning, she had less than two minutes to work her magic. She started by plugging a flash drive into the computer and opening a program she had written back at Akise's place.

It would literally be as easy as breathing, if she were inside the system. Working through manual proxies like a normal person made it…not necessarily harder, but definitely much more tedious and time-consuming. Still, it took her less than a minute to hack into City Hall's security network and reset the whole thing. Cameras (including the one in the office) went down, and digital footage was wiped. There would be hard copies, of course, specifically for situations like this, but by the time the police looked through those Monika would be long gone. The last thing she did on the computer was activate her homemade program, which would repeatedly crash attempts to reinitialize the cameras.

Next, she quickly took off her jacket, gas-mask, and wide-brimmed hat. She stuffed the apparel under the mayor's desk. Under her vestments she had been wearing a policewoman's uniform. Complete with a police radio, which she had a pair of earbuds plugged into, which had been keeping her informed of their activities. Which was how she knew her next step would work, if she could get to the roof unseen.

'Almost out of time,' she thought, stifling a surge of panic. She grabbed John and slung him over her shoulders, fireman-style. Then she departed the office and consulted her Diary before picking her direction. On the way, she quickly tapped out a message and texted it to Keigo, and hoped he could carry out his end.

…

Several minutes later, on the roof of City Hall:

Monika kicked open the roof access door and ran out. She was sweating profusely by now, but she was close to success. The helicopter was still there, having received orders to stand-by and receive the mayor himself for evacuation after it had deposited an anti-firearms squad, which was presently working their way down through the building. And it was an MBB/Kawasaki BK 117, which meant there was only one pilot; one less complication to worry about. Monika hot-legged it to the chopper and jumped inside, quickly depositing the mayor in a seat and deftly harnessing him up. As she did so, she yelled to the pilot, "C'mon, let's go! We need to get him to a hospital!"

As the pilot lifted the chopper off of the rooftop, he asked, "Has he been injured?"

"Gunshot in the shoulder!" Monika lied, "But he's not in any immediate danger of bleeding out." Instead of harnessing herself into a seat, however, she drew out her phone and typed a message on the screen. Then she moved up to the pilot, put the phone in front of his face, and shoved her gun under his chin. She didn't know for sure whether or not Japanese police helicopters were audio-monitored, but she figured it was safer not to risk it. "Any problems, sir?" she asked, give him her most scary-sweet smile. She was simultaneously proud and ashamed at the shiver the pilot tried not to show as he shook his head. 'It's no real surprise…I am a monster, after all,' she reflected, 'But I'm a monster on a righteous mission. If being monstrous can serve a higher purpose, do I have any right to reject that part of me?'

At Monika's direction, the pilot landed in a specific, mostly vacant parking lot. "Alright, help me get the mayor out," she ordered in a friendly tone. The pilot unbuckled himself, unbuckled the mayor, and carried him out of the helicopter. At Monika's direction, the pilot laid the mayor down on the pavement, then removed his helmet. Monika then viciously slammed the butt of her revolver into the base of his skull, knocking him out cold. She holstered the gun, put the pilot back inside the helicopter, picked up the mayor, and walked towards the street.

"I love it when a plan comes together," she said to herself as a police car pulled up to the curb. She deposited the mayor in the backseat, where she noticed an older man was already seated and handcuffed. Then she got in the front passenger seat. "Ohayou, Chief Inspector~" she merrily greeted Keigo, saluting him.

"Hiyama-san," he rejoined with an amused smirk. "Even if it makes me a stain on the honor of Japanese law enforcement…I have to admit, I admire your audacity. You're pretty resourceful, too."

"Please, Keigo-san…you're not flattering me at all, trust me," said Monika, eyes falling towards her lap. "I assure you, I take no pride in my capacity to be devious. The only thing I want to apply myself to is keeping my friends safe and happy. And if that occasionally requires me to engage in…in skullduggery such as this…well, "necessary evils" and all that. But that doesn't mean I should enjoy it."

"Fair enough, I suppose," the policeman agreed.

"Surely you don't enjoy breaking the laws you've sworn to uphold, even if it's necessary to save your son's life?" asked Monika somewhat frankly.

"I guess I can't say that it does," he admitted, "But I'm not one to do things by halves, either. Whether I have to become a God or a Devil, if it's to save my boy, I'll go as far as I have to. Without looking back."

"Can't argue with you there," Monika conceded. "So, that's Tenth in the back?"

"Mhmm."

"Then all that's left is to meet everyone else at Mother's Village," said Monika.

…

1:48 PM, Mother's Village:

No sooner had Monika shoved John Bacchus–hands bound behind his back, mouth gagged, and once again conscious and walking under his own power–through the doors to the orphanage, then the mayor found himself shoved aside and Monika found herself in the death-grip embrace of a tall, trembling girl with a mane of purple hair.

"Hey…Yuri," Monika gasped, patting her friend on the back, "Good…to see…you…too…hah…my lungs…"

Yuri let go of Monika and stepped backwards, blushing, but also smiling hugely. It was a very unusually open expression for Yuri to have, which was just as well, because words seemed to be beyond her at the moment. "Where's Natsuki?" Monika wheezed, rubbing her tender ribs.

"Passed out on the sofa," remarked another pretty young woman with long hair, entering the room with a pompadour-ed young man at her side. The woman, Ai, had a weary expression; her boyfriend, Marco, looked downright hostile. They were, together, the Seventh Future Diary Owners, and the eldest of Eighth's numerous wards.

"Passed out? What happened to all her talk about riding things out to the end, I wonder?" asked Monika, looking genuinely shocked. Natsuki, for all her tsundere-ish double-speak, wasn't generally one to act contrary to what she said she was going to do.

"Ehehe," Yuri giggled, raising a hand and wriggling her fingers, "She held out for about five seconds, after I got my hands on her."

Monika, Ai, Marco, the mayor, Keigo and Tenth, who had just walked in behind Monika, and Orin, who happened to be passing by with a basket of laundry just then, all stared at Yuri and raised an eyebrow or two apiece. Yuri's blush deepened, and her expression changed from ecstatic to embarrassed. "Ah! I, I-I m-m-meant, I-I-I-I…"

"She held Ninth down and gave her a shoulder rub," Orin explained, deciding to play angel of mercy. "Ninth fell asleep pretty much right after she stopped struggling."

Ai smiled in spite of herself, "It was pretty adorable, to be honest."

"Hmph," remarked Marco, "I don't know what the Director's thinking, letting all of our enemies into our home like this…nothing good can come of this."

"Your prudence is wise, but none of us are your enemies," said Akise, coming in from outside with a basket full of vegetables. Kamado, the Eighth, was right behind him with two small children riding her shoulders, and a third perched on her poofy hat. "So, it would seem we've gathered all of the Owners. All but Second and Tw–ahem, Sayori."

"Ai-chan, Marco-kun, would you mind taking these two gentlemen downstairs with our other reluctant guests?" Kamado asked.

Both halves of the Seventh nodded their affirmative and grabbed the Tenth and Eleventh by their arms, leading them out of the room.

"Well, we have Yuri, so Yuno's sure to turn up sooner than later," said Monika after she, Yuri, Keigo, Kamado, and Akise had taken seats around a table in the kitchen, "And seeing as Natsuki's Diary predicts Sayori dying at Yuno's hand, it's likely Yuno knows where she is."

"But…forgive my bluntness, Monika," Akise spoke up, "But if Yuno has Sayori, and means to kill her, then–"

"Why hasn't she, yet?" Monika finished for her, "I can only assume she's laser-focused on you right now. Which, disconcerting though it may be, works to our advantage. The more desperate she is to get you, the sooner she'll come to us. And the worse her tunnel vision is, the easier it will be to trap her."

"And then what? What's our plan, Madam President?" asked Yuri, putting on her serious face.

"When you called me, you mentioned that you took her Diary, right?" Monika asked.

Yuri nodded.

"Damn, I was hoping that wasn't the case," Monika muttered to everyone's surprise.

"But without her Yuri Diary, the only way the Second can find her here is for us to let her know where she is," Akise pointed out, "Which gives us control over her information of the situation."

"Exactly," said Monika. "Yuno will realize this, too. She'll be cautious and on her guard. She will thus be much harder to trick than if she were coming here on her own information, thinking that she was taking us by surprise. The element of surprise is an invaluable asset in tactical planning; we're at something of a handicap without it."

"Are you sure you aren't overestimating your opponent here?" asked Keigo, "She's a fourteen-year-old girl. She's not exactly Sun Tzu."

Monika rubbed both sides of her nose with her index fingers, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "Yuri?"

"Coffee?"

"Coffee. Please."

Yuri nodded and left the table.

"With all due respect, Kurusu-san, I've read Sun Tzu," said Monika, "I've also read Laozi, who said "There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent". But Laozi was a philosopher. Sun Tzu was a general, and he said, "The victorious warrior secures victory before going to war; the defeated warrior goes to war seeking victory". I've seen Gasai Yuno in action. I don't doubt that I can take her, but I have no intention of selling her short. What I do intend is to beat her before I engage her, if I can help it. Thank you, Yuri," said Monika as she accepted a cup of coffee from her friend. A faint note of cinnamon delighted Monika's nose as she sipped the bitter, reinvigorating brew. Yuri also handed out cups of coffee to the others at the table, who all thanked her as well. "With all of the other Owners either part of this alliance, or in our custody, Yuno represents the only significant obstacle in our path," Monika concluded.

"You mean your path, don't you?" asked Marco as he and Ai entered the kitchen.

Monika sighed. "Someone has to inherit the throne of Deus. Honestly, I'd rather it be almost anyone but me. But, this is my hare-brained scheme, so the consequences are my responsibility. I'm sure I can't convince you of my sincerity or trustworthiness, but–"

"Monika," Yuri interjected, "Just be honest with them."

Akise raised an eyebrow as Monika blushed faintly. Everyone looked at her intently. Keigo propped his chin in his hand. "What's she talkin' about, Hiyama-san?" he asked.

Monika sighed heavily. "Alright, fine…I'm a misotheist."

Everyone was silent for a moment. "A miss-what?" asked Ai.

"A misotheist is someone who hates God," said Akise.

"*Yawn* Y'all talkin' 'bout Mony's whole "God is a dick" complex?" asked Natsuki as she, too, staggered into the room. She was leaning on a cane that Ai had given her. When Natsuki had tried to refuse it, Ai had threatened to…well, suffice it to say she had convinced Natsuki to swallow her pride and accept the damn cane.

"Yes," replied Yuri, smiling at Natsuki.

"I smell coffee," Natsuki realized, "Oh, yessssssss." She hobbled off towards the coffeepot.

"So, you hate God?" asked Kamado.

"I wouldn't say I entirely hate Him, especially seeing as I'm unconvinced of His existence. Let's just say that if He's real? He has a lot to answer for," said Monika, hints of cold steel creeping into her voice. "Now, whatever he is exactly, Deus isn't the God I have it out for, mind you," Monika explained, "But he's close enough that this gives me an opportunity to blow off some steam, as it were."

Marco narrowed his eyes, "That's kind of selfish, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," Monika admitted, "But I have my right to be selfish, just as everyone else does. Anyways, I deserve to be at least a little selfish. I'm trying to save everyone in the Game, after all."

Ai looked at Marco, who sighed. His expression softened, just a bit. "I suppose…and we all know that our beloved Director would rather the Game ended without anyone dying."

"I'm glad we can agree, at the very least, that resolving the Game without anyone having to die is the best way to go," said Monika.

Three bursts of static; one from Natsuki's phone, one from Monika's, and one from Akise's. The three of them checked their Diaries. "Shit!" Natsuki gasped, blanching, "Sayori's Dead End has moved up to this afternoon!"

"Yuno seems to have wised up," Akise added, "And realized she has a hostage. Her intention is to draw you three out of hiding."

"Very well," said Monika gravely as she put down her coffee and stood up. "In that case…we have to engage her on her terms. That puts us at a distinct disadvantage, but at this point we have little choice but to play the hand dealt to us. Let's go, Yuri."

"You're not leaving me here, are you?" Natsuki asked, her tone challenging.

"Yes," said Monika bluntly. "You're body's taken a lot of abuse. That one leg alone…no, you can stay here and keep an eye on things."

"Yuri's hurt too!" shouted Natsuki, slamming down her cane for emphasis. "She's got a hole in her gut!"

"It's been properly cleaned, sutured, and bandaged," Yuri refuted, "And you should know by now that…that pain doesn't impede my movements." In spite of herself, Yuri was blushing faintly.

"I'll go with them in your place, Natsuki," Akise offered, standing up as well. "Surely by now you can trust me that much?"

"You can tag along if you want," Natsuki growled, "But I'm not staying behind for anything. And if you try to leave me behind, Monika, I swear to God I'll knock you around until you don't know which way is up!"

Monika folded her arms and coolly stared back into Natsuki's fiery glare. It didn't take long for Natsuki to seemingly shrink in on herself and look away. "Look…I'll stay out of the fight, if you insist…but just, please, don't make me stay behind, Monika. I'm just as worried about Sayori as you two are. I can't just sit here and do nothing while you save her!"

Monika sighed, again. "Very well. I can see you won't be deterred…get ready, then. Everyone that's coming, meet me outside in ten minutes."

…

2:49 PM, Gasai Yuno's house:

Yuno was lying down in her room, in the dark, waiting. Well, not entirely in the dark. Her face was lit up by the cell phone in her hand. The last entry in the phone read,
[2:50 PM – Amano and her allies show up to save Twelfth. Why is she trying so hard to protect her enemies?!]
"Murmur," said Yuno out loud, seemingly addressing the room that was empty, save for herself.

The air rippled, and through a small tear in space-time Murumuru appeared. "Yeah, Boss?"

"Are we ready for them?" Yuno asked.

"Yeah, should be…I've done everything I can to fudge the data being sent to their Future Diaries," replied the familiar, "But I won't get away with any more than what I've done. Deus is pretty suspicious of me by now. I'm not even sure if it's safe for me to go back to the Causality Cathedral."

"Don't worry, Murmur," said Yuno as she got up from her futon. "The Game will end soon. And then, we can start everything over."

Yuno picked up an axe and a knife off of her floor and left her room, Murumuru drifting through the air behind her. She moved to the front of the house, just as someone kicked her door in; Monika and Akise, the door-kickers, quickly backed away as Natsuki tossed in a flashbang. Yuno ran forward, caught it, and tossed it over her shoulder to Murumuru, who created an opaque magic barrier around it just in time. Monika ran into the house, drawing two guns from underarm holsters concealed by the jacket she was wearing. She opened fire on Yuno, shooting at her with stun rounds.

Yuno stood still, smiling smugly as the non-lethal rounds bounced harmlessly off of an invisible barrier in front of her. "Damn it! Yuri, Akise, get in here and shut down this bothersome imp!" Monika ordered, holstering her guns and throwing herself at Yuno. Yuno met her advance, swinging both of her weapons. Monika spun around behind Yuno's back and punched her in the back of the neck. Yuno grunted, but didn't even stagger. She ripped through the air behind her with her axe, moving faster than Monika could keep pace with and missing her mark by mere millimeters as Monika quickly stepped backwards. Yuno took another swing, overhead this time, but Monika caught the axe right under the blade. Without taking her eyes off of Yuno's, Monika caught her knife hand by the wrist, and then slammed her forehead into Yuno's. Then she did it again, and again, and again. The last one was punctuated by a scream of pain and rage. Yuno tried to backpedal, but Monika wouldn't let her go; blood trickled down from her forehead, but she smiled.

"I bet you think you know what crazy is, don't you, Gasai?" Monika asked sweetly. "Well, I'm pretty knowledgeable on the subject myself. Let's compare notes, shall we?"

Yuno's eyes widened a bit, and she started struggling harder against Monika's iron grip. Monika backed up, pulling Yuno with her, and swung her into a wall. In so doing, she finally released her. Yuno bounced off of the wall and charged Monika again, screaming throatily. Out of her periphery, Monika noticed a knife-wielding Yuri and a baton-wielding Akise chasing Murumuru around the room.

She refocused on Yuno and lunged forward, ducking under the axe and taking the knife in her arm. Hissing sharply in pain, she nevertheless tackled Yuno, wrapping her arms around the girl's midsection. They both hit the floor. Monika yanked the knife out of her arm, and with her fingers wrapped around the knife she punched Yuno in the face. "WHERE'S SAYORI?!" she screamed, punching her again. Two of her fingers ached so horribly that she suspected she had broken them, but in the heat of the moment it seemed like a minor distraction at worst.

Yuno screamed back at her and swung her axe at Monika's head. Monika caught the axe, yanked it out of her hand, and slammed the butt of it in Yuno's face. "Where is Sayori?" she repeated, her voice somewhat more controlled.

Monika whipped her head around when she saw a flash of light, and then a ball of energy knocked her off of Yuno.

"Murmur," Yuno groaned as she sat up, "Release–"

Then a car plowed into the house, forcing Murumuru to shoot up into the air to avoid getting hit.

"How about NO, ya crazy bitch," said Natsuki, getting out of the car. "I didn't hit anyone I care about, right?"

"We're fine," replied Yuri, who had pressed herself against a wall. Next to her, Akise was too shocked to immediately reply.

"Cool beans," said Natsuki, pulling her nunchucks out of her pocket and limping over to Yuno, who was back on her feet now.

"Are Kool-Aid Man entrances going to become a thing with you, now?" asked Monika, grabbing the axe and flinging it at Murumuru, who dove to avoid it. As soon as she did, Monika leaped and tackled her out of the air. "DOGPILE!" she called out, then grunted a moment later as Yuri and Akise threw themselves on top of her.

"Alright, Crazy In Pink, just you and me," Natsuki said with relish, "I'm not dumb enough to waste time trying to reason with you, though. I'm just gonna knock your ass out."

"We need to know where she's keeping Sayori," Monika reminded her. "Damn!" she exclaimed when Murumuru stopped struggling and teleported out from under them. "It is so damned annoying, having to fight magic without magic.

"Murmur…release your seals!" Yuno ordered, jumping to the side when Natsuki lunged at her.

The heavy bracelets on Murumuru's wrists cracked and crumbled away. Her eyes widened and turned dark red, while her pupils narrowed into hellish slits. Her mouth grew into an immense, grotesque grin, and with a piercing cackle of murderous glee she shoot towards Natsuki.

Then time stopped.

Part 8, The Finale

…

…

…

"…what?" asked Natsuki.

She couldn't see anything. She didn't feel anything. And she couldn't hear, either; not even her own voice.

Yuno, Monika, Yuri, and Akise were all having the same strange experiences, though they had no way of communicating the fact to one another. Then their senses came back to them, and they were all standing in the Cathedral of Causality. Keigo, Marco, Ai, and Kamado were there as well. As were Reisuke, Tsubaki, the man known as Tenth, and John Bacchus, all of whom were tied up. The only Future Diary Owner missing was Sayori. Floating above Deus's head and pounding savagely, yet impotently, against the inside of the see-through box she was trapped in, was Murumuru.

"This Game has gotten wildly out of hand," said Deus X. Machina, the God of Time and Space. "Would anyone care to explain what is going on? Muru Muru, why are you taking orders from a mortal? Where is The Twelfth Future Diary Owner, and why is she beyond my senses? If no one has any answers, I shall erase everyone here from existence and start the Game over with a different group." He said this looking directly at Yuno.

She bowed her head and clenched her fists. Then she raised one hand and snapped her fingers. A large ball appeared above her. Deus stretched out one of his long, skinny arms, and tapped the top of the ball with a single finger. Immediately, the ball shattered. Out of it fell two figures; Sayori, looking bewildered, and…

"Muru Muru?" asked Deus, staring at the copy of his familiar, bound in chains.

Sayori sat up and blinked, turning her head this way and that. "Well. That was…a trip…ah, I can explain everything, Lord Deus," said Sayori, standing up and dusting herself off.

"Can you, now? That would be most appreciated." Deus leaned back in his Throne and folded his hands, waiting.

"For starters, this Gasai Yuno and that Murumuru you have in that box up there? They're not from this timeline. They're from another timeline where Yuno and Yuki–ah, that is, where Yuno and Yuri were the last two standing in the Survival Game. They had fallen in love with each other by then, however, so they agreed to a lovers' suicide. Yuno didn't follow through, however; she intended to win the Game and succeed you, and then use her new powers to bring Yuri back to life. Can you guess what happened next, Lord Deus?"

Deus nodded. "The Gasai Yuno of this…First World…leaped back in time to repeat the Game. As the successor to the First World's version of myself, that world's Muru Muru would have naturally became her servant, and followed her. She replaced this Second World's Muru Muru, entrapping her in that sphere. This explains why, upon being selected for the Game, the Second approached me with a question as to whether or not there was any way to bring back those who died in this Game."

"Yep," said Sayori, nodding. "The First World Yuno murdered and took the place of the Second World Yuno, acquiring her phone that you turned into a Future Diary. Along with her own, this meant she had two Future Diaries. So, sorry, Yuri, but swiping her phone didn't do you any good."

"How did you know I did that?" asked Yuri.

Sayori pulled out a tape recorder. "My Diary tells me what my friends are doing, which has allowed me to keep tabs on you three without getting myself on anyone else's radar…sorry if that sounds creepy, or anything, but–"

"Nah," said Natsuki, "A Future Diary that tells you about your friends instead of your own future? That makes perfect sense for you. Also, have you read the manga, too?"

"Close. I watched the anime," said Sayori.

"Well, you must have actually finished it, because this is all news to me!" said Natsuki, "I mean, this Yuno is from another timeline? And she murdered herself?! I knew she was nuts but…actually, that explains a lot…" Natsuki trailed off thoughtfully.

"You should always finish what you start, Nat," said Sayori reproachfully, "Especially when it's fiction from the Hub. Because it's only a matter of time before you wind up in that Branch. Why didn't you finish it, anyways? You're not usually a quitter."

"Ugh, I checked out after Akise died," said Natsuki, folding her arms sulkily.

"I what?" asked Akise from right next to her.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Deus.

"Oh, right, that," said Sayori, "See, there's another complication in all of this. Very, very long story short…ish…this entire universe, including the previous timeline and possibly the next one, if that still winds up happening, are all just one Branch on a hypercosmically massive Tree that is also a reality-controlling Supercomputer. It's called Yggdrasil. And it's broken, so the Admins, which are gods like you, but way more powerful because they operate on Yggdrasil's level, whereas you're confined to just one of Yggdrasil's countless Branches…sorry…anyways, the Admins put all the various universes into time loops to preserve them. Letting them continue as they should have would damage Yggdrasil further, but just freezing them would cause sterilization–"

"Stagnation," Yuri corrected.

"Yeah, that. Wait, how would freezing time make Stag Nations?" asked Sayori.

"The point being," Monika interjected, "Every universe that there is, is currently experiencing repeating time loops until the Admins can fix Yggdrasil. A process that has already taken more than trillions of years and may still take incomprehensibly longer. A handful of individuals across the Multiverse were chosen to be able to remember the Loops. We're called Loopers. The first Looper in any universe is its Anchor. The Anchor's mental stability is integral to the continued stability of their universe, but being stuck in a time loop is bad for someone's sanity. Especially when no one else remembers; after a while, non-Loopers start to look a lot like non-autonomous puppets just acting on a script. In other words, like not-people. Which is bad. So to keep the Anchor stable, the people closest to them eventually become Loopers as well. And to keep the Loopers from getting too bored, Yggdrasil sometimes puts them in other Loops. But every Loop requires an Anchor. At least one."

"Which brings us to the answer to your original question," spoke up Yuri, "Of how the Game has gotten so completely derailed. Monika, Natsuki, Sayori, and I are all Loopers from another universe. Monika is our Anchor. Also, there's a world we call "the Hub" where every other universe is recorded in the form of fiction. This is because the Hub is so stable that the Admins use it as a data backup for Yggdrasil. Thanks to these backups, Natsuki and Sayori already knew everything that was supposed to happen in this loop. And we're all good friends, obviously, so we have no intention of killing each other to win the Game. And, frankly, none of us want to kill anyone else, either, if we can help it. And besides that, Monika is Anchoring this loop. So if anyone kills her, the loop crashes. Which means everything ends and everyone dies."

"So, basically, what happens if you die and no one can take your place, Lord Deus," Sayori summarized.

"And loop crashes are usually answered with the involved Loopers being put through some kind of hellish punishment world, like…Eiken…" added Natsuki. All four Loopers shivered at the name.

"So, either you're all the exact same kind of crazy, or Hiyama-san was telling the truth," remarked Keigo.

"I see. Assuming this is all true, of course. Yet no equally or more probable alternative is forthcoming, nor any other explanation for how you could know about this "First World" timeline that this Gasai Yuno has come from, which must also be true as there is no other possible way there could be two Muru Murus, with one of them being loyal to the Second. And if everything else you have said is true, then the Third cannot be included in the Game, if her death would indeed obliterate this reality," said Deus thoughtfully. "Then it is settled. Hiyama Monika shall be removed from the Survival Game. For her crimes, the Gasai Yuno of the First World and her Muru Muru shall be erased from existence, and–"

"NO!" shouted Sayori, "You can't punish Yuno for what she did! She did it because she was in love!"

Monika and Natsuki groaned in stereo. Even Yuri exhaled a bit heavily. "Sayori, you can't pardon the things she's done just because–" Monika began.

"What would any of you have done in her place?" Sayori challenged. "If you met that one person that you were meant to be with, the one person who made you care in a world that only wanted to beat you down…and the world insisted on keeping you apart! Natsuki! What would you do in a world where you had to choose between your life and Yuri's, and there wasn't any third option?"

"What does that–what are you–don't say stupid things like that, Sayori!" Natsuki yelled, red in the face.

"Hypotheticals aside," said Yuri, pretending that she wasn't also blushing a little, "The reality is that she would selfishly doom entire timelines to oblivion, only to repeat the same mistake over and over again. She's just too crazy to understand what it really means to love someone properly. Although, mind you, I'm not much for the thought of capital punishment, either…perhaps, Lord Deus could merely remove her from the Game like Monika?"

Deus shook his head. "She has no place in this reality. Her very existence endangers causality. And having proven her unworthiness with her actions, I will not allow her to take my place in this world–"

"But you'll allow a common serial murderer a shot at godhood?" Monika snapped. "Or a terrorist bomber? Just what twisted standards are you operating by, you bastard?"

Silence reigned in the Cathedral. Everyone stared at Monika. Slowly, Deus turned his gaze upon her as well. "Before you ask," Monika said calmly, "Yes. Yes, I am questioning the alleged wisdom of 'God'. From what I've seen, the only people in this room actually worthy of your position–and yes, I'm including you yourself in that–would be Kamado, Keigo, or Sayori."

"EH?! Wh-what are you s-saying, Monika?" stammered Sayori, blushing furiously. "Me?! C'mon, I can barely manage myself! How would I handle being God?! Even if it's just for the rest of this loop…"

"Because you give a shit," said Monika, "Which would appear to be more than can be said about this creep," she jabbed a condemning finger at Deus. "I'm just saying, if it were me, a fucking Game of Death would be the absolute last method I would even consider for choosing my successor. If I ever permitted the thought to cross my mind in the first place. I don't deny that I can be a monster as well, but at least I'm not so monstrous as to make other people kill each other for a prize."

"It's…it's okay," spoke up Yuno, who had been crying in almost silence. "He's right…I've been horribly selfish. I deserve to be erased…then I can't hurt Yuri anymore…"

"Stop whining over me like that," said Yuri, "It's disgusting."

"Yuri! Don't be mean!" snapped Sayori.

"She's infuriatingly co-dependent!" said Yuri.

"Then she should fit right in with us!" Sayori retorted, "Or have you forgotten the effect he had on us?"

"Don't bring Hiroaka into this!" said Yuri, "And besides, that's a poor comparison. Our Baseline is an in-universe dating sim! We were all designed to be that way. And we've all long since gotten over it. She has no such excuse."

"Yuri hates me…" Yuno sobbed miserably.

This time, it was Natsuki who snapped, "Oh, grow a friggin' spine already! Look, when a normal person gets called out like that, they're not supposed to just fold up like that. You get in their face and start chewing them out! Just because you're in love with her doesn't mean you take crap like that lying down!"

"Are…are you advising her to get in a fight with me?" Yuri asked, raising an eyebrow at her short friend.

"I'm advising her to stop acting like a spineless wimp," said Natsuki, "Anyone who can fight toe-to-toe with me is better than that."

Natsuki's friends all stared at her. "That…sounded oddly complimentary," Monika commented.

"Hey, don't get me wrong; she's crazy and I hate her," Natsuki said resolutely, "That doesn't mean she isn't worthy of my respect. Badass recognizes badass. And either way, I can't stand it when a girl shows a complete absence of self-respect."

"See? Natsuki's halfway to liking you already," said Sayori, who was now standing by Yuno and patting her on the back, half-hugging her.

"I am nowhere close to liking her and why are you comforting her?!" Natsuki demanded.

"Complimenting people backhandedly is your halfway point to becoming friends with them, though," Yuri pointed out. "And yes, Sayori, why are you being nice to her?!"

"I told you, already," said Sayori, "She's like one of us!"

"I am uncomfortable with that sentiment on several levels, Sayori," said Monika with arms crossed.

"Commits atrocities in the name of love," said Sayori, pointing at Monika, before moving her finger towards Yuri's general direction, "Affinity for sharp, pointy things and blood," she moved her finger over to Natsuki, "Likes cute things and was abused by a parent," and finally she pointed at herself with her thumb, "Abysmal sense of self-worth."

Her friends were silent for a moment. "Abused how?" asked Natsuki, her voice tight and relatively subdued.

"Starvation and emotional neglect, mostly," said Sayori. "She was adopted by an infertile couple. Dad was super busy and not around much. Mom was mentally unstable and super-stressed out. Took it out on Yuno whenever her grades were less than perfect. Locked her in a cage; Yuno would get so hungry she would tear up bits of the tatami mats in her room and try to eat that, only to throw it up because it got stuck in her throat." Yuno was staring agape at Sayori, and Natsuki had lost all the color in her face. Monika and Yuri looked troubled as well, but not so personally impacted. "Despite that," Sayori continued, "She didn't hate her parents. She just wanted them to understand what she was going through. So she drugged them and stuck them in the cage once. But…it went wrong, and they died. She didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. After that, she felt truly worthless. And that would be when you entered her life, Yuri. Can you recall how that happened?"

Yuri looked thoughtful. Then she blushed and looked down. "I see…yes, I can understand that…"

"Yes. You became her Hiroaka, as it were. And then the two of you got involved in this game of death, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let you die. But then you did, and it was her fault, even though she hadn't meant it that way. She meant to bring you back, so you could be together and the world wouldn't have to end. All she's ever had, so far, was a shitty life and good intentions that brought disaster. All she wants is to be with the person who makes her happy, in a world that just won't allow that to happen. Can you blame her for losing her mind?"

More silence. Deus watched them thoughtfully. Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika all looked thoughtful. Akise noticed that Keigo had the same expression he did; that of a man who understood, at least on some level, the gravity of the situation, but had completely given up any hope of understanding exactly what was going on. Reisuke, the redhaired boy, looked completely bored and indifferent. Tsubaki looked annoyed. Marco, Ai, and Kamado were all wiping tears from their eyes. John Bacchus looked even more irritated than Tsubaki, and Tenth…had fallen asleep. Both Murumurus, the one in the cage and the one now perched on Deus's shoulder, were watching Yuno and Sayori intently.

"Sayori," Monika spoke up softly, "How much does this mean to you?"

Sayori took a deep breath. "I believe, with all my heart, that she could be like one of us, if we had met her under kinder circumstances. She's done horrible things, I'll admit…but she's not a horrible person, any more than you are, President. Just a lovesick girl trapped in a hopeless situation…so I guess you could say that she means about the same to me as you do, Monika."

Abruptly, Monika turned around. "Damn it, I can't stand it when you have that look in your eyes, Sayori…damn it…DEUS!"

"Yes?" asked Deus, his gaze sliding from Sayori to Monika.

Monika shrugged her jacket off and pulled out a gun she'd had tucked into her pants, behind her back. She looked directly at the God of this world while pressing the gun to her own head. "I'm sick of this stupid world…name Sayori as your successor, or I'm ending this loop and I don't care what happens to me in the next. She's the one most worthy of your Throne. She'd go through hell to make other people happy, whether they deserve it or not. And as Sayori's friends, we'll take responsibility for Gasai Yuno and her fucked up head. So name Sayori as your successor or I'll wipe out everything."

Deus turned his Throne to fully face Monika, and leaned forward. At the same time, the section of floor Monika stood on lifted up and drifted towards him, until their faces were inches apart. "Is that so?"

"It is. I can't take one more second of this sadistic nonsense," said Monika.

"And the dire punishment for destroying realities that you and your fellow "Loopers" seemed so concerned about?"

"If Sayori is this invested in Yuno's happiness, then as her friend I'm willing to deal with it."

"I, on the other hand," spoke up Natsuki, "Just want to say that if I get put through Eiken because of this, I will pray for a chance to come back to this miserable Branch and give Yuno the worst ass-kicking I possibly can. And you're gonna fucking owe me so badly, Sayori."

"I concur," said Yuri, folding her arms.

"Understood," Sayori replied.

"I see," said Deus, "Well, seeing as you're gambling your life for someone else's gain, and seeing as your friend seems to possess such boundless compassion…and if we really are to go by the assumption that your life is somehow entangled with causality itself…then I suppose that I really have no better option than to acquiesce to your ultimatum, Hiya–"

"Monika," Monika interrupted. "It's–"

"Just Monika," Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki all chorused in tandem with her. In spite of the situation, they all smiled at her, at least a little bit.

"…yeah," Monika sighed, lowering her gun.

"Ahem. If you four are quite done…I hereby declare the Survival Game to be over. The Twelfth Future Diary Owner, Hirasaka Sayori, is the winner, and my successor as the God of Time and Space."

Deus reached into his own chest, extracting what appeared to be a small, glowing crystal. A blinding, burning light consumed the Cathedral…

…

3:24 PM, May 5th:

"These fucking legsssssssss," Natsuki hissed as she hobbled along down the sidewalk on a pair of crutches.

"You're absurdly lucky you didn't lose either of those legs to infection, you know," remarked Akise. He walked next to her with his hands buried in his jacket pockets.

"Oh, who asked ya?" Natsuki snapped. Seeing as she was, after all, an internationally wanted criminal, she was wearing a disguise. A disguise which included blackening her hair and wearing an eyepatch, because Natsuki figured it was appropriate. Walking behind her was Yuno, who opened her mouth to speak. Before she could make a noise, however, Natsuki said, "Don't apologize! I can't stomach any more apologies from you; my legs aren't even your fault. As soon as I'm all healed up and I kick your ass good and proper, we'll be even."

Next to Yuno, Yuri pulled her ice cream bar from her mouth and said, "Don't let her get to you, Yuno. The fact that she's just making threats and not acting on them means that you're growing on her."

"Don't put any such delusions in her twisted head, Yuri," said Natsuki. "If I ever warm up to her–which I very much doubt–it'll be after she's repaid me for all the stress she put us through."

"I'm sor–"

"What did I say, Gasai?!" yelled Natsuki, whirling around and swinging a crutch at Yuno's head. Yuno ducked and the crutch smacked Yuri's ice cream bar out of her hand. Natsuki lost her balance and started to fall, so she flailed her arms and latched on to one of Akise's.

"Hey!" protested the amateur detective as he was pulled to the ground along with Natsuki. Yuno clapped a hand over her mouth, trying in vain to apologize even as she snickered uncontrollably.

"Well, that's just your karma for being such a sore winner," said Yuri, watching her frozen treat on the sidewalk with mournful eyes.

"Yep! That's your resolution, Natsuki!" chirped the young woman leading the group.

"Restitution," Yuri corrected, "Come on, you should know that one by now…"

"That was exactly what I said," Sayori said with a huff, sticking her nose in the air. "You shouldn't argue with me like that, Yuri. I was a god, y'know."

"Yes, for all of three seconds," Akise reminded her.

"Yeah, then ya hot-potato-ed Deus's core at Monika and said "Not it!"," added Natsuki as she and Akise helped each other to their feet. "I'm pretty sure no one else in the history of the multiverse has ever made it their first, last, and only act as a deity to pass off the job to someone else."

"Ahem, my second and last act as a deity," said Sayori, waving her hand in front of her bright, clear, fully-functional peepers.

"Whatever," said Natsuki, "C'mon, we gotta get there by 3:30, right? No reason to keep Her Holiness waiting."

"I got a call from Chief Inspector Kurusu yesterday," Akise suddenly spoke up as the quintet continued down the street. "He didn't have anyone else's number, so he wanted me to pass the word on; his son 'mysteriously' made a complete recovery, and he's back home now."

"Then your friend is keeping her promises. That's good," said Yuno.

"Yeah. As much of a screw-up as she is, Monika's good for her word," agreed Natsuki.

Yuno frowned. "I just don't understand how you can say mean things like that about your friends."

"It's part of her charm, being a prickly ball of fluff," said Yuri, suddenly running up behind Natsuki and sweeping her off of her feet. "And we wouldn't want her any other way~" Yuri sang over the sound of Natsuki yelling protests. With the struggling young woman secured in Yuri's arms, the group proceeded at a much brisker pace. After a moment, Natsuki stopped struggling and resigned herself to sulking in Yuri's ironclad grip.

Yuno glanced off to the side, her face and her fists tightening. In less than a heartbeat, Sayori was by her side. "I know it's tough," she said gently, too softly for anyone but Yuno to hear her, "But you have to trust me on this one; sometimes, friendship is a much more important love than romance."

"I know, I know," Yuno replied sullenly, "It still hurts like hell, though."

"Rejection always does, no matter how gently delivered," Sayori whispered, "But I assure you, if it weren't for Natsuki it would be different. Yuri's usually down for one-loop stands…except, suspiciously enough, for when there's an Awake Natsuki around. But hey, that's how it is. Besides, Yuri's not your true love anyways. She just happened to take his place for this loop. When the loop resets, you won't remember any of us."

"So you keep telling me," Yuno sighed. "I just can't imagine how this 'Yukiteru' guy you keep talking about could be as great as–Eep!"

Yuno squeaked as Sayori stopped and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh gods, she's hugging it again," said Natsuki. But, to Yuno's surprise, Natsuki said it with a smile, watching them from over Yuri's shoulder. Yuri had stopped and turned to watch them as well, smiling a smile that made Yuno's stomach knot up. But, at the very least, she tried to smile back. To her surprise, Yuri and Natsuki's reaction was to stop smiling. Yuri put Natsuki down, and the next thing Yuno found herself in the middle of a group hug.

"Huh?" was all she could articulate.

"Pavlovian response," grunted Natsuki, "We see someone faking a smile, we give them a hug. It's all Sayori's fault, of course. So…don't think we're doing this for you, Psycho."

"Heh…right," said Yuno, hugging the other three back.

"We are officially running late," said Akise, looking at his watch.

"Way to kill the mood, dude!" Sayori yelled at him.

…

The five of them made it to the park. The message they had all received on their phones hadn't specified a particular area in the park, only to find someplace where they would be alone. So they did so.

Several minutes passed.

"Well? Where is she?!" demanded Natsuki impatiently.

"Waiting for exactly that cue," said a familiar voice from behind them. Everyone whirled around.

"MONIKA!" yelled Sayori and Yuri, tackling their friend to the ground.

"Holy crap, guys, it's only been three days!" Monika squealed, giggling as the three of them got back up.

"And any five seconds that I'm not keeping an eye on you is five seconds too long," drawled Natsuki, limping towards them, "Three whole days is just downright unacceptable, young lady."

"*Snrk* I'm only a few hundred thousand years older than you, Nat," Monika said drily. "All the same, I'm sorry I worried you."

"Damn right, you're sorry," said Natsuki as she finally reached Monika and threw an arm around her shoulder, hugging her as well.

"Huh," said Yuno, "So Natsuki really does express affection by saying mean things."

"Man, we really need to get you that Tsundere nametag, Natsuki," said Sayori.

"I've got my Tsundere nametag right here," said Natsuki, one-fingered saluting Sayori, who giggled.

"So why were you gone for three days, Monika?" asked Yuri.

"Deus and the Murmurs were giving me a crash course in Causality Management, and other things like that," said Monika. "As it happens, I still have a lot to learn in the little time Deus has left." She sounded exhausted. "Managing an entire universe that runs on actual physics, with relativity and quantum mechanics and other such non-Newtonian thing, is a lot more difficult than maintaining our home, though thankfully most of the mental disciplines are transferrable…Sayori, you finished the Backups for this Branch. Any guess when this loop might end?"

"Oh…anytime between the 28th of July…to ten-thousand years from now," replied Sayori.

Everyone rounded on her and stared in stunned silence.

"You mean…to tell me…we're gonna have to grow old with Psycho over here?!" demanded Natsuki, jabbing a finger at Yuno.

"Well…" Sayori smiled nervously, pushing her fingers together, "I…don't know if it's possible for Monika to make anyone else immortal…but assuming she can't, and that this loop runs all the way to the endpoint in the backups, then yes, it's most likely we're all going to live out our natural lifespans before the loop ends. Which, admittedly, was part of my reason for wanting Monika to become God. I wasn't sure if a crash caused by the Anchor dying of old age before the loop's end would still be a punishable offense."

"Hmph…well, you know what? That's just great!" said Natsuki, who actually looked like she meant it. She was grinning the broadest she had for the entire loop so far. "I'll get years' worth of kicking Yuno's ass! And you and Yuri can train her so that it'll stay interesting! Damn it, but I just can't wait for this stupid body to fix itself up," she wound up grumbling.

"Why wait?" asked Monika with a mischievous look in her eyes. She snapped her fingers.

Natsuki's eyes widened, and she gasped. She looked down at her legs, and grin widened even more. She threw down her crutches, jumped up, and did a scissor kick. Then a backflip. Then a front flip. Then she did a Muay Thai kata. "Oh-hohohoho, YES! Fuck yes! Gasai!" Natsuki roared with glee, "Prepare yourself for combat!"

"Wait, what?!" Yuno asked as Natsuki threw herself at her fellow pinkette.

While Natsuki chased Yuno around the park, with Yuri shouting out helpful tips to the younger girl and Akise recording on his phone, Sayori slid up next to Monika. "Thank you, Prez," she said softly, giving her a gentle, earnest hug, and a peck on the cheek.

Monika chuckled, "Thanks for what? Making my club members happy is what I do, Veepee. You know that."

"I do. And that doesn't make it mean any less to me," replied Sayori.

"Well…you know how it is…our club is our family, and family is always there when you need them…now, sadly, I need to get back to training," Monika sighed. "I'll pop in to catch up with you guys when I can. In the meantime, I trust you can look out for things down here?"

"Of course," Sayori said with a nod, "That's what I do, after all. Anything I can to help."

"You're doing God's work, Sayori," said Monika, patting her on the head. Then she froze, and then she laughed, "Hahahaha, literally! You're literally doing My work! Ho man, I'm a one-woman riot."

"Hey now, watch out with capitalizing your own pronouns," said Sayori sternly, "That's a slippery slope, y'know."

"…how–?"

"It was the way you said it, duh. Now get along back to class, Ms. Model Student," said Sayori with a grin, "I can handle these yahoos."

"I know," said Monika, who turned around and disappeared.

A moment later, Sayori felt something light fall upon her head. Curiously, she grabbed it off of her head and looked at it. It was a chocolate chip cookie the size of her face. Sayori beamed, and turned her sky-blue eyes back to the others. Yuri had decided to join Yuno in her impromptu spar against Natsuki, who had dragged Akise in on her side, but it was clear the four of them were having fun. Sayori plopped down onto the grass and gave a sigh of satisfaction before biting into her cookie.

The sun was shining. The sky was cloudless. Her friends were laughing. And the cookie tasted like victory.

Afterword:

Alrighty, that was "Killer Glitches" y'all! Unfortunately, as of this posting there are not yet enough DDLC snips on Spacebattles to compile anymore chapters. You've probably noticed that, aside from Chapter 4 and this one, each chapter has consisted of eleven snips. That's the precedent my predecessor, Keluvax, set down. Thus, I have adopted it as my standard as well. For those of you who only know the Fanfiction Dot Net side of this, allow me to explain: the "snips" that make up these compilations are written on a forum site called Spacebattles. That's where the Infinite Loops Project is based. Specifically, the snips for Doki Doki Literature Club are hosted on the "Indie Games: Infinite Loops" Thread. As Compiler, my job is to round up the relevant snips and put them together over here. So, point being, I have no idea when there will be enough snips written to compile a new chapter. But whenever there are, that's what I'll do. Until then, thank you for your patience, and if you'd like to write snips for DDLC or ANY Looping franchise, join us over at Forums Dot Spacebattles Dot Com. The ILP is always open to new contributors.

Y'all have a HOWLING good day, mmkay?

Wolfman, Ow-Out!