Author's Note: Hey, it's been a while... sorry for the wait on this one, I needed to work out a few details as well as find motivation to get it done. But hey at least I haven't completely given it up yet. Anyway, thank you Crystal for reading over it again before hand, and enjoy~

Chapter 7: Rain Clouds Reprise

"The tears fade,

right before their very eyes

But yours begin to shed.

Fake it for a while,

but the coursing darkness treads.

For behind each casting art,

is the image of a MAN WHO'S TORN APART!

Escaping the world,

As the Lights Go Out.

Fear not! I have decended,

before you even knew!

I only told the might of you.

The smile you see,

can't comprehend it!

But I died too long ago.

So every time I start the show,

I drop the act and away I go..."

-As the Lights Go Out

by Will Ryan (DAGames)

As dusk approached, Sayori and I walked down the usual path to return home. At this point, the ice pack had melted into a water pack, and my eye looked a little bit irritated, but otherwise, it seemed to recover nicely since earlier this afternoon. Sayori was asking me constantly if I would be okay or if I needed anything I should let her know. Sometimes, I feel like she would make a great nurse. She has a really good, yet caring personality; it would suit her perfectly.

Sayori: "So, are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Josh: "I'm pretty certain. I've recovered amazingly since getting the ice pack."

Sayori: "Yeah.. but it's still a little swollen."

Josh: "I'll just fetch another ice pack from my home freezer... and put this one on ice for a little bit... by the way. Thanks for taking me to the nurse's office.. even if I was being a stubborn idiot."

Sayori: "Hehe, you're welcome. I felt more bad for you when Natsuki pounded the back of your head for being stubborn. Hehehe~ but.. she was right to. You can't just blow off an injury like that. One that specific at least. If it happens again, I'm dragging you to the hospital mister!"

She was giggling for a moment, but I could hear the seriousness in her voice.

Josh: "...you know you'd make a really good nurse right?"

Sayori: "UWAH!? O-oh.. c-come on now Josh, don't be silly."

Josh: "You realize I'm serious, right? You really would!"

Sayori lightly blushed at the comment. I believe she reacted that way, because she sees it as a compliment to her caring nature. On top of that... she is programmed to have feelings for the Player. Which is me... I was only giving an honest compliment and to state a fact... I really do care for her.. even though I never truly grew up with her. I can feel the strong connection that this simulation wants you to feel.

The original game portrayed that feeling a little bit, and it always hurts to remember how Sayori truly felt on the inside, as well as having feelings for the Player. I was torn. I felt like trying to make her happy was the only way to save her from herself. From her depression. But... no matter what your decision was for her... whether or not you confessed your feelings to her or friend-zoned her...she ends up killing herself. The friend-zoning bit... I can understand. When you've known someone for so long, you've built a strong connection with them. Becoming best friends even. You've found trust and courage beside someone who truly cares about you. In Sayori's situation... Her heart wanted something more from her best friend. Which isn't surprising; and I'm not saying that just because Doki Doki Literature Club was a visual novel and all the characters have feelings for you. Sayori's situation is realistic and turning down her confession... and turning down your best friend's feelings... under the influence of depression, that can severely break someone like Sayori. I could even go as far to say, I would be devastated too in her situation where my best friend turns down my feelings. A broken heart on top of depression does not mix well... which is why I want to be careful in this simulation. I don't want to break her heart... that would more than likely trigger the depression.

But... if I remember correctly there was one other factor in mind that might have been causing the original issue... Monika. As much as I love her... I cannot fully forgive her actions from the original game. I understand why she did it and why she saw her friends in that perspective... but still... I felt it was a bit too excessive to push Sayori's depression to suicidal, making Yuri stab herself and removing Natsuki's existence just so she could have the Player to herself. So far... since Monika is a bit more exceptionally ascendant in this advanced simulation, the outcome might be different. Or... at least that's how I hope everything goes.

Josh: "Hey Sayori, could I ask you something?"

Sayori: "Uh.. sure.. what is it?"

Josh: "Since I'm your best friend... if anything bad ever happens to you. Let me know okay? I want to be there for you... so, if you're ever having a bad day, don't hesitate to come find me, alright?"

Sayori seemed taken aback by what I had just said. She almost gave me a deer in headlights kind of look. Before I gave her a moment to say anything, I walked up to her and gave her a tight hug. She seemed to understand a little bit how much I cared for her... I heard a soft sniffle from her. I think she was crying a little...

Josh: "Sayori..? Promise me that you'll find me if you need anything... okay?"

She slowly returned the hug while burying her face into me for a moment. She seemed to need a moment to clear up her tears. She sighed softly, recomposing herself so she could respond.

Sayori: "O-okay... I... I promise..."

I wasn't too sure how positive she was in that regard... but it was better than not getting an answer at all. I gave her a soft head pat and after a few minutes we let each other go. Her blue eyes seemed a bit teary still but she had the faintest smile on her face.

Sayori: "Thanks Josh... for being around to cheer me up... you're always making my day a little brighter..."

Josh: "You would do the same for me... so I always need to do the same for you."

I personally hope I wasn't getting her hopes up too high, but I can't risk having her die... and I won't allow it. It was getting late though... I figured now would be a good time to call it a night.

Josh: "I'll cya tomorrow... okay, Sayori? Let's make tomorrow a better day."

Sayori: "Mhm! I'll see you tomorrow morning! Try to rest up and relax too..."

Josh: "Yes mom... heh..."

We both chuckled a little from that stupid comment I made. She really does worry a lot about the main character. Truly trying to carry out their happiness... but since this is my perspective, I felt... genuinely cared about.

Sayori: "Ehehe. Good night Josh."

Josh: "Bye for now, Sayori."

After that, we parted ways and Sayori walked into her home while I managed to make it back into the house I started in. As I closed the door behind me, I took my shoes off and set my bag down on a nearby couch. I could hear... faint sizzling and the smell of food coming from the kitchen. As I turned around, I noticed Monika was already here at this home again and she was wearing... what seemed to be a tank top and... oddly shorter than normal shorts.. she was still wearing her stockings that she normally wore to school and I could immediately feel my heart rate rising.. as well as my face burning up from how incredibly attractive Monika really is... I swear.. I wish I could nosebleed from seeing her like this... since this certainly wasn't expected.

Monika: "Welcome home, darling~!"

Josh: "D-Darling..?"

Monika: "Ahaha.. yeah, I hope you don't mind me calling you that a little bit from time to time."

Josh: "N-no... it's perfectly fine!"

Monika: "Good! So, I started on our dinner about five minutes ago, so it'll be a little while before I get it done okay?"

Josh: "Aren't you basically a god here? I'm surprised you can't just make it instantly."

Monika: "I may be eternally bound here, with control over the reality... but I shouldn't be cheating life too much you know? ... besides... you should enjoy this. Since you've lived alone for so long... you should like having me make dinner for you at least~ ...granted I won't do this all the time, but since you are special to me, I wouldn't mind doing this every so often."

Josh: "Y-yeah.. I'm grateful for you doing this for me tonight..."

Monika: "You're always welcome my love! By the way, I can tell you're enjoying my casual wear.. but don't get used to it too much. I'm going to be switching to sweat pants in a little bit."

She smiled at me, giggling lightly to herself. She always seems to get a kick out of making me flustered. But who am I kidding? She's showing herself off a bit... more as a tease, but it's all enjoyable just the same... ah! Stop it Josh! We might love each other but we need to stop moving so fast in this relationship! I have to be a little bit serious right now!

We're still running this simulation, so I shouldn't get too comfy... I still have a few things concerning me.. the events that happened earlier... the instability of the simulation.. and the possibility of things getting worse... it's making me a bit worried. My Nobody says he hasn't been doing anything.. but even that's hard to believe. Maybe Monika can check on what he's been doing... well... not now, but in a little while.

I decided to relax for the time being, taking a seat at the dinner table and sighing lightly. Monika appeared to have finished making our dinner and sat it down in front of me, before joining me at the table. She giggled lightly as she started to eat. I started to eat as well.

Monika: "Was your day really that exhausting, Josh?"

Josh: "Well... not necessarily. Although, I have forgotten about how draining school can be... but that odd issue that came up today certainly didn't make life any easier."

Monika: "I know... that was rather strange... and these unusual occurrences are altering the script here as well..."

Josh: "how so..?"

Monika: "Well... I'm sure you're aware that in this world, although virtual, there are still things that consistently run code to execute a proper day 'script'. Everything like day events or character changes are suppose to be normally predetermined by the program. So, if some new event happens here where it ultimately derails the script... well, I'm not sure what will happen to the program. As far as I know it might corrupt the program if it happens too much..."

Josh: "And I imagine that this simulation isn't one hundred percent stable after some of the things that have been happening lately... We may need to be a bit more mindful of the simulation. And if it's okay, could you check on a few things for me Monika? I'm a bit worried about a few details."

Monika: "Sure, what do you want me to check?"

Josh: "Well... I guess there are three things I want to check on... First thing would be-"

Before I even finish my sentence, the front door opens and from the distance my Nobody returns home. He looked a bit exhausted, stretching his limbs a bit and yawning loudly, before throwing off his shoes to the side. He was still wearing the spare uniform that he wore earlier today. He walked to the kitchen, walking past us to get a plate for himself.

Joxhaus: "Do not mind me... just joining you two for dinner for a little bit."

Josh: "Could I ask where you've been...?"

He didn't answer right away, he huffed bitterly before sitting in between Monika and I, taking some of the dinner Monika made and set it on his plate. I sometimes forgot how much of a child I could be at times. And it really didn't help I had a heavy edgy side; then again, everyone's demons and dark sides act differently...

Joxhaus: "If you want my honest answer, I'd prefer that you didn't ask.. Not trying to be an ass right now, but I'm just not in the mood."

Well, at least he was politely declining to answer than being a straight-forward ass about it. I guess my moodiness has always been a negative issue that Joxhaus inherited. Monika decided to step in, because she seemed to have a concerned look on her face.

Monika: "Okay then, well, can we at least ask you what you've been doing since you left the school today?"

Joxhaus: "... If you must know... I was doing a bit of experimenting and research..."

Josh: "Experimenting? With what?"

My Nobody sighed lightly as he ate. He remained quiet while he had food in his mouth. At least he kept some of my most basic morals and table manners. His eyes shifted to me and then to Monika before closing his eyes entirely.

Joxhaus: "... I'm not going to say just yet, because I haven't had the time to write everything down that's happened today. Once I finish dinner, I'll be writing a report on things that have happened as of late. My opinions on what's been going on with the code and a few other details. And I may make a few notes about my 'experiment', but only you will be able to access them."

He glared a bit in my direction. I figured if he was going to share the information with anyone, it would only be me. Bad habits never seem to die. I was the same way with my artwork from time to time. Only keeping it to myself. My Nobody continued his statement.

Joxhaus: "I'll be putting them in a special folder in our database. You'll be able to see it if you leave the simulation and check a sub-folder that I made earlier today... will that suffice...?"

Monika nodded softly and she actually smiled a bit. She seemed to be showing some semblance of relief, but I still saw some uncertainty in her eyes... I'll have to ask her later on about it.

Monika: "That's fine. Thank you."

Joxhaus: ". . ."

He continued to eat quietly, he too seemed satisfied since no more questions were asked. Since my first question was already answered, I chose to continue my request for Monika.

Josh: "So, before we had that interruption... Monika, could you check on the status of Sayori?"

Monika: "...Huh? Sayori? ...What for?"

Joxhaus opened his exhausted eyes to look at Monika for a moment, before shifting his eyes back to me. We both heard a minor hint of jealousy in Monika's tone. Even if Monika only spoke a few words in response. Her facial expression even changed to an expression of distrust and jealousy. I figured this would happen. My only hope is to make sure she understands my reasons to why I want to know.

Josh: "I only want to make sure her mental status will be okay for the days to come. I know she suffers from depression and the last thing I want to see is her suicide in this simulated reality. If I can prevent that, I'd be more than satisfied. And if this simulation is a true recreation of the story of the [Doki Doki] Literature Club, I know how most of the events will play out. I don't want you to be jealous of her... I just want to save her life."

Monika: "..."

Monika was quiet for a moment, thinking to herself about what I had said. I was hoping she wouldn't bring up the "she isn't real" argument... or else things would get really messy between us. I technically understood Monika's original intent and reasoning behind her actions from the original game. Granted it still wasn't perfectly okay for her to do what she did to her friends. But I would much rather prevent those events from happening in this simulation all together. So far, that seems plausible. It also confirms Monika's theory of unnatural events "derailing" the simulation's predetermined events. Since this was technically considered "Day 2" in Doki Doki Literature Club, we were suppose to share our poems with each other originally, with Natsuki and Yuri engaging in a childish argument about whose writing style was better. As well as talking about... chest sizes... but with the system glitching out again and harming me in the process... that bit of the script was gutted out it seems... or rather, replaced by me going to the nurse's office. And all the events that happened afterward... well that's history. Monika stood up almost wanting to debate why caring about Sayori should matter. I have multiple reasons, part of it is for the sake of her safety, and the other half is making sure the simulation can keep working properly without too many changes or bugs in the simulation.

Monika: "But... Josh... she isn't..."

Here we go, as much as I didn't want to get into this argument, she's still going to try and bring it up. My Nobody finished his dinner, wiping his mouth with a napkin before glaring at Monika and interjecting before I could say anything.

Joxhaus: "Monika... just because Sayori isn't considered to be 'real' by today's realistic social standards... doesn't mean you should disregard her existence here as insignificant and null... Saying that much would be as horrible as saying an embryo or a human fetus isn't a human just because that person hasn't been born yet... be mindful of our morals and ideals, because they are much closer to true reality than here... besides Josh cares about you too much to cheat on you... so keep that much in mind..."

Monika: "..."

Josh: "..."

Joxhaus: "...If anyone needs me I'll be preparing for sleep... good night."

With that, my Nobody got up and set his place in the kitchen sink and walked away upstairs. Monika seemed speechless and defeated in surprise by Joxhaus' unexpected yet brash statement. Even as a strong contender in debating, Monika got herself stomped on the morality subject by my Nobody before she could even begin... I forgot to mention that I tend to be very straight forward, defensive or even passionate about certain topics based on morality. A few years studying psychology and philosophy can make or break your perception on how life can truly be. I believe being that defensive and straight forward in controversial topics can really be a negative in my opinion. Joxhaus may be quiet like me sometimes, but he's not afraid to get in someone else's face to state the truth. Or his strongest opinions. Monika slumped back down into her seat with a blank expression on her face. She seemed to be in disbelief of what just happened.

Josh: "Monika... I'm only asking you to check on her for the sake of the simulation... I just want to make sure no more bugs pop up from unexpected changes..."

Monika: "...and... you still love me... right...?"

She seemed a bit shaken up from being put in her place on Joxhaus' one-sided morality debate. She even started to tear up a little bit. I place a single hand on top of hers and smiled softly.

Josh: "I promise... I'll only love you. I do care about Sayori, because I don't want to see anyone die here in this world. At least, not through self-affliction... or forced affliction... so please trust me... I won't leave you. Besides... I need you... and I need your help to make sure this simulation doesn't break... I would much rather keep you safe than risking a broken simulation."

Monika: "... Okay... I'll check... give me a moment..."

She sniffled a bit before closing her eyes. She started to be in a trance for several minutes before waking back up.

Monika: "Sayori's current status seems fine... her depression is fluctuating a little bit... but nothing too alarming at the moment..."

Josh: "That's good... and I'm sorry for what I- ... I mean... what Joxhaus said..."

Monika: "It's okay... I needed to hear that... I was just worried you were going to get too close to Sayori... and I didn't want to lose you..."

Josh: "I know... but you don't need to be jealous... I promised I wouldn't leave you... like he said... I care about you too much to do that."

Monika: "Yeah... I'm sorry for getting jealous... It was wrong of me to assume that..."

I stood up from the table and walked over to Monika to hug her gently. She still seemed a bit hurt, but she seemed to be a bit more understanding now. As much as I hated Joxhaus' bluntness and harshness... it saved a messy discussion I really didn't want to explain to Monika. A few tears rolled down her cheeks but her arms wrapped around me. I could tell that her worry for me leaving her was pretty high. I gave her a gentle kiss on top of her head and held her for a few more minutes before breaking away for a moment, picking up her plate.

Josh: "I'm going to wash our dishes for a moment, okay?"

Monika: "...okay... is that all you needed?"

I walked with both of our plates over to the kitchen sink and started cleaning them a bit, before looking over to her.

Josh: "Well... before I was interrupted... I actually wanted you to check on what Joxhaus might have been doing today... but I may check that later for myself... could you try to check some of the mainstream code and scripts to see if anything has changed? After that we can call it a night."

Monika: "Mhm, I can do that... and I might check to see if Joxhaus has tampered with any important codes today. If he did, I'll know about it."

Josh: "That's why you asked him about his off time today?"

Monika: "Yes... with the unnatural occurrences happening lately... it almost seems too convenient that these things happen when he's not around."

Josh: "I could tell. I could even see the unease in your eyes when you asked him about it."

Monika: "Yeah, I don't want to distrust your other darker half... but I just don't see any other explanations right now."

Josh: "I understand... If you could please look into that for me... I'd really appreciate it."

Monika: "Mhm... I'll look into it for a little bit... but I'm going to get changed into some sweat pants first really quick."

Josh: "Alright... thank you Monika..."

As I continued cleaning up from dinner, Monika stood up and walked over to the couch. In a flash of an instant, she changed into sweat pants while I wasn't looking and as she reclined for a bit as she closed her eyes again and started looking through the simulation code. After cleaning up, I walked over to the living room to join her on the couch. She seemed like she was asleep almost. She was still breathing, but while I waited, I wrapped a single arm around her, holding her a bit close. As I turned on the simulated T.V., I had a text box option appear in my eyes again. It asked if I wanted to watch local television, via local hotspot streaming. I chose "No, other". Thankfully, simulations these days have more advanced entertainment options... implementing internet options as well as online video streaming. Hell, even Youtube, Hulu, Netflix and a few other online video options were available to access to simulated realities like these. However, me being a typical nerd, I decided to bring up Youtube. I tend to admire several gaming Youtubers or just various online videos in general. Such as animations, quick little comedy tropes and looking up older cinematics from games I admired. Yes, I know I'm a super nerd only looking up game stuff mostly but hey, I like what I like.

After a couple of minutes, she woke back up. She looked to me seeing that I was basically cuddling her and a slight blush ran across her face. I noticed she started moving again so I looked over to her and smiled a bit.

Josh: "Sleep well?"

Monika: "Ahaha... very funny mister."

Josh: "You know I was just joking... heh... so, what did you find out?"

Monika: "Well... there are a few outside files and codes that I can't check on entirely because they're heavily encrypted by the developers of the simulation. But I did notice there are several folders and files Joxhaus accessed, however none of the folders or files were changed."

Monika held her chin thinking about what's been happening. She seemed a little frustrated and lost in thought, trying to piece everything together. There's still too many holes in the issue for it to be solved. So as she thought about it. I loaded up a video on Youtube... I wasn't really sure if Monika would like it... but this would be my experiment for the evening. I loaded a very popular playlist from one of my favorite Youtubers...

T.V (Youtube): "Hello everybody! My name is Markiplier and welcome to Five Nights at Freddy's..."

Monika's concentration was immediately broken by the video and she looked to me for a moment. She had a deer in headlights moment, but she looked adorable with her confused, yet beautiful green eyes.

Monika: "What... is this?"

Josh: "A-Aha... well... umm... this is one of many Youtubers I tend to watch a lot... and I kinda wanted to watch a playlist with you. If that's okay? I know it's a little weird to watch someone else playing a game... but I promise you, this is entertaining."

Monika: "Oh... umm... okay... well... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to watch a couple videos with you."

Josh: "uh... this playlist specifically is about 70+ videos long..."

Monika's eyes got a bit bigger as if she was in shock. I couldn't tell if this was going to be a good development or a bad development.

Monika: "W-what...? Ah...ahaha... oh gosh. I guess we're having a marathon then?"

Josh: "Mmm... yep. I figured it would be a nice little way to spend the evening together... and if we get bored in this playlist we can always change to something else."

Monika: "Ahaha! I'm a completionist, Josh. I think I can handle it."

She chuckled a bit and leaned her head against my shoulder, getting a bit more comfortable. And since we were watching a "scary" game video, I was hoping to possibly see her jump at least once. But as time passed in a few of the videos, I noticed she only jumped a few times from the minuscule jump-scares in the videos. I've watched these playlists so much to the point where I remembered what happens when. But this was more of an experiment to see how realistic Monika truly has become in this situation. I can see she's been highly developed in the simulation. I wonder if the developers spent the most time making Monika as accurate and as life-like as any other girl. Her personality seems the same as it was from the previous game, but it appears even more fleshed out in this simulation. She has natural reactions and reflexes. And she even laughed and understood the humor of the videos, from the video commentary... or in this case Markiplier's reactions to the jump scares and seeing his reactions to the situations he's in.

After a couple of videos in, she finally started asking me a few questions about what we were watching.

Monika: "So, he has a phobia of inanimate things? What's the official phobia for that?"

Josh: "I think the official term is 'Automatonophobia'"

Monika: "That's such an awkward phobia to try and say... but, I can understand why he hates it... things that move that aren't suppose to move, like dolls and such... ugh! It's creepy."

She shuddered a bit to herself at the possible thoughts of that actually happening. But she chuckled a bit before cuddling me again.

Monika: "I just hate how this game tends to heavily rely on jump-scare tactics... It's not all that scary in long term, it's more annoying. Well... I can never be too scared since you're here with me~"

Josh: "Aww... Making me feel special... but I understand why you think that. Although, I do appreciate the atmosphere and background audio that the games tend to have though."

We both chuckled a bit lightly and Monika kissed my cheek lightly and my heart fluttered a bit. I gently returned a short-lived kissed for her and we continued watching. I haven't enjoyed myself this much with someone else in a while. But this certainly helped pick up the mood... not just from tonight, but from the entire day as a whole. We continued to watch through the entirety of the playlist throughout the evening, and we were enjoying each others company.

A few more hours passed watching videos and we started getting a little bit tired. Monika fell asleep on my shoulder after a while, and I too was ready to sleep by the time we finished the first playlist. I didn't want to wake Monika, but we probably shouldn't stay here on the couch. I gently nudged Monika to see if she'd wake up... but she was passed out. For now, I just decided to pick her up and take her upstairs to my room. I placed her in my bed for now, and covered her up. However, I wasn't going to join her just yet. I had a few more things to check on before I called it a day. And I think I would set the simulation on pause for tonight too. My eyes have been sore from being in the simulation a bit longer than normal. I walked into the hallway and noticed my Nobody was asleep in the "guest bedroom" or what I would assume to be the main character's "parents bedroom". I closed his door, since he was a fairly loud snorer like myself. I took a trip downstairs and found a spare blanket from one of the nearby couches. I laid down on the couch and yawned a bit loudly.

I accessed the focal menu once more and looked through the option; I managed to find the "Save Progress" option in the settings menu. Afterwards, the "power" symbol in the corner of the menu screen, indicated that I wished to exit or quit the simulation for the time being. It oddly asked if I wanted to initiate a "Sleep Mode?" Option. There aren't many simulations that have a "sleep mode" option but I imagine, if anything, the developers intentionally made a sleep mode, so that Monika and the others wouldn't be subjected to the "screaming void" that Monika had expressed in the previous game. She indicated that "turning off" the game is actually torture for her. Removing every bit of reality that she's aware of and floating in a dark, empty void of nothingness. I accepted the "sleep mode" option just for the sake of Monika and everything around me went dark for a few seconds and I could feel a bit more mobility in my physical body again.

I managed to slip off the simulation head gear slowly and sighed. I set the gear to the side and started to sluggishly get up. After a few years of messing with simulation work, you tend to get used to the after effects of being in a simulation for longer than normal periods. Granted, it's still a pain to recover from, no matter how experienced you are. A few moments later I could feel my stomach growling, and I was feeling a bit light headed. I checked the time to see that it was about 9:43pm at night and I checked my phone to see that I've missed about 3-4 phone calls from my family, and 13 messages from friends and family. But what I was really concerned with, was the day.

Josh: "...wow... I... should not be surprised..."

Approximately two days have passed... just as intended. Everything in there runs appropriately to real time. However, even though I had dinner in virtual reality, waking back up only reminded my physical body how long it's been since I've eaten. As I managed to walk around my apartment, I fixed myself a small bowl of spicy ramen and ate it within a few minutes. That was enough to hold me over for a couple more days. I'll sleep back at home tonight... so I can save my physical health for a bit. Joxhaus might have been right, I was a bit too excited and eager for this opportunity. It's hurting my physical health, but I finally managed to feel a sense of joy and happiness again being with an even more realistic Monika... even if it's still just a simulation.

I took a trip to the bathroom after cleaning up my dinner and cleaned myself up a bit. I looked in the mirror again; my facial hair was still there, all along my jawline and chin. I'm not a baby-faced 18 year old anymore. My eyes seemed bloodshot, especially my left eye. I dropped a few eye drops in my eyes and left the bathroom. Turning all the lights off in my apartment, I crashed into my bed. Being alone in my bed gave me a small sense of loneliness, even some sadness... but I know things are changing for the better... Sleep was quickly following my exhausted state.

My last lingerings thoughts were mainly finding my sense of happiness in Monika again... And I couldn't wait to spend more time with her... and I also made a mental note as well to check my files when I wake up... if what my Nobody said earlier was true... then I know what folder he left his analysis and notes in, hopefully it won't be an issue. With that, I dozed off into an exceptionally deep sleep.

Author's Note: Hey, we finally made it. It only took too many more months to get things together and done. I finally managed to spark up enough inspiration to finish off this chapter. So, apologizes for the wait on this one. Granted, I had a lot of school work to deal with. And this is still just a side hobby of mine. I don't think I'll be discontinuing this story just yet. I'm fortunate that my depression hasn't been too over-bearing and my motivations have been returning to me a bit slowly. This chapter was (mostly) named by my editor Crystal. I do appreciate everything you've done for me.

(This next part is discussing my thoughts on my stories. If you'd like, you can skip to the next paragraph.)

A part of myself is rather proud that I've come this far on my first (fan) story; I never expected "Conflicting Reality" to do as well as it's been doing. I'm still working on my first original story for my original character Joxy, (Joxhaus). Which brings me to the point of my second story I made, "I Dream of Existence" is now discontinued and no longer on my account (I do have it archived though). I have other plans for my Nobody. And I plan on making a whole new story, STRICTLY based on Joxhaus' early development and his overall story as a person (/Nobody). I have a friend of mine who has allowed me to use her original character as well to forge a bit more personality into him. I doubt I'll post this story on Fanfiction dot net, (Unless I get people who are interested to say so.)

As for "Conflicting Reality", since I'm still a little motivated, I will try to progress the story as I'm able to, as well as write up future stuff to keep the ball rolling to the end. (I really want to try and get this story to the end.) My school stuff still has to come first and I still have many assignments to work on through the coming weeks. I will try to get a chapter 8 preview up as soon as it's ready.

As for what happened in this chapter:

- Josh and Sayori talk a bit more on the way home and vaguely discuss the topic of depression. Josh promises her that he would be there for her if she ever needed help. Or that she should talk to him if she's not okay.

- After the emotional exchange they return to their respective homes and Josh finds Monika cooking dinner for him.

- At dinner, they discuss their concerns from earlier in the day, Josh wants Monika to check on Joxhaus' activity as well as the simulation's code to see if she could find any negative changes.

- Joxhaus' breaks their conversation and joins the duo for dinner. They ask him about what's been doing and he becomes rather defensive, dodging the question if possible but initially gives them some answers.

- Josh changes gears to ask Monika to check on Sayori's mental status. He was mainly worried for her and trying to prevent her suicide. Monika worries that Josh would end up leaving her or cheating on her. Showing minor signs of jealousy. Even hoping to bring up the argument that "Sayori never existed".

- Monika gets shut down by Joxhaus, giving her a brash lecture on why her reasoning would be considered wrong in terms of real life morality. And even assures her that Josh wouldn't leave her.

- The tone is left to be a bit sour as Joxhaus leaves them but things eventually the mood gets lifted through reassurance and Youtube videos.

- Monika passes out from exhaustion and Josh leaves the simulation to return to reality to take care of his physical health before passing out.

So yeah~ Thank you all so much for reading in this far and I hope I'll see you in the next chapter.

Joxhaus

Next Chapter: Reality Check