Last Time On Doki Doki: Those Times Towards Graduation...
"Let's see if I can get this right." Tridon snapped his fingers and they were quickly teleported back to the backrooms of the mall they ran into.
"Wow." Monika sighed and nodded, "Been a while since we've seen this."
"Nice job Tridon."
"I always wondered why things still hurt when we're in these alternate realities. Why is that?"
"We're only in another reality." Tridon explained, "Our body would still react to pain and such normally as if we were in our reality." Tridon ringed his arm once Yuri finished wrapping it up and continued, "When we switch in and out of a reality, things remain the same in that reality."
"So that explains why your bite still remains, but disappears when we go back to our reality." Yuri nodded, "Reality is a confusing concept."
"It's only confusing if you don't understand its limitations." Tridon laughed, "Something Tiffany has been helping in understanding."
"So there are different versions of us when we make these realities?"
"More or less. Your body changes depending on the scenario I make. Since we've been to this reality before, it takes the place of what happened last time. Which explains why I still have my bite. I could just poof it away, but Tiffany tells me that I must keep everything as it is until she completes further testing."
"How long will tests go?"
"She said no longer than halfway through the school year. She said at most, before or after spring break."
"That long before we can do actual adventures?"
"We can do adventures, but they'll be more controlled and under the jurisdiction of Tiff."
"Hm." Monika thought to herself and asked, "Do you think you see yourself being like Tiff in the future?"
Tridon looked up and shook his head, "Probably not..."
"Haha stupid zombies. These doors are shatterproof. Bunch of idiots." Just as Sayori said this, the door started to crack , "Oh..." Sayori backed up and ran the other way just as the door burst open.
"Monika!" Tridon shouted, "Help!"
Monika froze while Tridon looked for her to help him. Sayori eventually made it back and saw what was happening.
"Monika!" Sayori shouted, "What are you doing just standing there?!"
Before they could move, Monika sprinted down and grabbed him by his arms to try and pull him up. However, this took away the only way he could push them back with them biting his legs or grabbing. As soon as she started pulling, they bit into his legs.
"Ah!"
"Tridon!" Sayori snapped and quickly, they were back in Tiffany's house. Sayori stood shocked at what she had just done.
Tiffany looked at Sayori and then to Tridon who was still on the ground. She nodded and walked over to Sayori.
"It took you this long to finally use it?"
"I..."
"Sayori," Natsuki started, "you can do what Tridon can do?"
Sayori looked at Tridon who nodded at her. Sayori took a deep breath and said, "Yes. I can do what Tridon can do, but not as strong as him."
"For how long?" Yuri softly asked.
"Since middle school."
Monika helped Tridon up and looked at Tridon, "How long did you know?"
"For as long as Sayori knew and Tiff found out when she first met Sayori 3 years ago." Tridon supported himself on Monika and said, "Her power is, as Tiff explained when she examined Sayori, incomplete."
"Incomplete?" Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki ask in unison.
"Let me explain." Tiffany interrupted, "Jen, please take Tridon to the other room and get his energy back up."
"Yes ma'am." Jen walked over to Tridon and held her hand out, but Monika refused to give him up, "Monika, this is standard protocol. I have to make sure he regains his energy."
"Alright..."
"Jen," Tiffany interrupted, "while you're at it, go get Lola as well."
"Yes ma'am." Jen helped Tridon towards the room she brought Lola to while Tiffany shifted her glances to Sayori.
"Sayori's incomplete power means that she can do a little less than half of what Tridon can, if that at all. In other words, she can take you out of said world, but that's all she can do."
"Sayori," Yuri started, "why did you hide this from us?"
"For the same reason Tridon hid it from people. It was just that it was easier for me to hide it since Tridon would need to use his power first so that I could use my part of the power."
"How many times have you used it since you discovered it?"
"I can't remember." Sayori tried hard to think back, but drew up a blank, "This was one of the few times I've used it. I've never had to use my power before because we only started doing these adventures last semester."
"There is something about Sayori's power that's interesting." Tiffany added, "She can handle the power while Tridon's body can't really sustain itself after a single use." Tiffany turned to them and asked, "Didn't you ever notice that Tridon was extremely tired after an adventure?"
"Not really." Monika answered, "He seemed to still have a lot of energy."
"Huh." Tiffany smirked and said, "That boy is better at acting and hiding stuff than I thought." Tiffany sighed and walked over to a computer, "Tridon's body is unique, but it can't handle the use of his power. With how much he's been suplexed, armbarred, and choked out, a normal person would've died a long time ago from that type of abuse. However, Tridon's body shows no real damage from such torture."
"What about his injured knee?" Natsuki quickly asked.
"What injured knee?" Tiffany responded back, "Oh right..."
"Wait," Yuri interrupted asking, "is his knee not injured?"
"More like, it was never injured." Sayori answered, "Tridon never injured his knee while playing football."
"Then why did he quit."
"He was forced to quit because of his power." Sayori sighed and leaned on a nearby wall, "Once they found out he had a power, they suspended him from all sporting events for a minimum of 4 years. That's why he started training recently. Not because of his knee, but because he was banned."
"Why did he lie to us?"
"The same reason we all hide our powers." Lola interrupted behind them, "Tridon, Sayori, and I aren't the only ones out there with powers. There are others."
"Others?"
"She's right." Tiffany confirmed, "However, not many are known to the public because there simply aren't many and those who have been found out have been experimented on and/or killed."
"Killed?!"
"It's why me, Tridon, and I'm assuming Lola, tried so hard to keep our powers a secret." Sayori looked up at the girls and said, "But Tridon knew the dangers of using his powers openly the way he did, but he wanted to be accepted. So he did what he did and..." Sayori closed her eyes and looked at the room Tridon was in, "I'm glad he's finally able to be himself, but at the same time, I wonder what the cost was for him to feel like this."
"I've kept a watchful eye on himself and his own surroundings." Tiffany added, "I've been making sure nothing has been close to harming him. I just wish he would listen to me."
"What do we do then?" Monika asked, "3 members in our club has powers and one of them is..."
"We just have to keep going as usual." Sayori answered, "Just keep moving one day at a time. Tridon and Lola have lived like this for their whole lives. All we can do is act normal like we have been."
"But Tridon..."
"He is stable." Jen interrupted as she walked into the room with Tridon, "The tests he's been put through has helped him from exhausting himself when using his powers."
"I'm fine girls. I am still a little tired."
"Tridon," Natsuki started, "how much have you and Sayori hid from us?"
"More than we can remember." He answered, "And even more that we have to remain hidden."
"We can't tell you girls for your own safety." Sayori added, "We're sorry we have to hide things, but with what we have, we kinda have to."
"Lola," Tridon started, "as for your power, you seem to be able to handle it better I can mine." He then shifted his glance to Tiffany to ask, "So my question to you Tiff is why my body can't handle it."
"Your power is something so great that your body uses a lot of its own energy in order to support it. Even altering reality just a little bit can exhaust you depending on the change."
"How much is my training really doing?"
"It allows your body to properly extort the proper amount of energy for certain realities." Tiffany stood up and moved Tridon's face and observed it, "Your eyes lack energy. You're still drained, but not as much as you would usually be."
"That's good I guess." Tridon turned to face Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki and sighed, "I know I've kept some secrets from the 3 of you, but it was not only for my own safety. It was for your safety as well." They looked at one another before standing in front of him.
"At this point," Natsuki began, "we honestly don't care how dangerous things could get. Just look at the adventures we've gone on. I think safety is the last thing on ours minds."
"That's right." Yuri agreed, "While we should worry about keeping ourselves from getting hurt, our lives have been exciting and fun ever since we've met you Tridon and more so ever since we found out about your power."
"Tridon," Monika looked at his hand and was about to grab it, but she stopped herself, "we appreciate you and Sayori looking out for us, but please don't try so hard to hide things from us."
"We'll try to tell you all we can tell you." Tridon scrunched his face and said, "Don't ask the questions right now."
"Why?" Monika quickly asked.
"Because everything is doubled and I feel light-headed." As soon as Tridon said this, he fell to the ground and was knocked out.
"Tridon!" Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki yell.
"This is normal." Tiffany commented, "It took him a lot longer to faint this time." Tiffany turned her attention to the remaining girls, "You girls have a lot more on your plate now. You should hold off on using or even referencing their powers for the time being. I'll have to do some investigating to make sure the coast is clear. Jen, in the mean time, will set up a security perimeter around your houses."
"Security perimeter?"
"That's right." Jen answered, "Just something to detect any unauthorized personnel. It's for the best."
"I should be fine." Lola interrupted, "I kinda already have a security field around my own house because of my powers, so I won't be needing this type of security measure."
"Suit yourself." Tiffany looked over at Tridon and said, "I still need to run some tests on him throughout the day. So you girls are free to leave. I don't normally allow anyone else to stay here, but if you'd like, one of those rooms should be good enough for all of you to wait in."
"Thank you Tiff." Sayori led the girls to the room Tiffany was talking about. Inside, there was a TV, some couches, and a medium-sized coffee table, "I guess an agent's gotta have some casual time too."
"Sayori," Monika started, "can we learn more about how you discovered your power?"
"Yeah." Natsuki agreed, "If you can only take people out of a reality Tridon creates, then how did you go about discovering your power?"
"The week he was forced to quit, Tridon got really depressed. The one thing he loved doing was taken from him because of something he has no control over. It got to him. No matter what I did, he was just depressed. He only had me as a friend and he had lost football. It killed me to see him like that."
"So what did you do?"
"I convinced him to take a short vacation adventure. Nothing big was suppose to happen."
5 years ago, I sat with Tridon at his usual spot by the lake. He stared at the ground, messing with the grass while I watched him. He had been this way since he was forced to quit.
"Tridon," Sayori started, "you need to get your mind out of the gutter. It's been a week already."
"My power has just taken away one of the things I love. Why? Why was I given this stupid power!" Tridon tore some grass out of ground and tossed it in front of them, "I hate this..."
"Hey..." Sayori leaned her head on Tridon's shoulder and said, "It's really bumming you out, huh?"
"Obviously. They've taken football away from me. Who knows how long it'll be before I lose you too. You're all I have left Sayori and I don't want you taken from me because of this stupid power."
"Dude. My family knows about your power and they're fine with it. I wouldn't still be here with you if they hated it." Sayori sat in front of Tridon and said, "I know what'll cheer you up. An adventure!"
"Sayori..."
"Not a real, BIG adventure. Just a casual one. An adventure we can take one step at a time." Sayori grasped one of Tridon's hands and said, "Because I hate seeing you like this. I want the outgoing, lovable idiot that's my best friend. Not this bag of depression and angst."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Well," Sayori stood up and traced around in front of him, "you know how much I love dragons."
"Dragons and?"
"Fantasy!" Sayori shouted, "I'm talking fantasy here Pierce!"
"Okay, but we do what exactly in this fantasy adventure?"
"We wing it!"
Tridon stared at Sayori and smiled, "Alright." Tridon stood up and closed his eyes. Eventually, the world around them changed to a medieval like marketplace with Sayori.
"Wait," Monika interrupted, "Tridon could use his powers without snapping?"
"He used to be able to, but sometime after he met Erica, that ability went away and he was forced to snap in order to alter reality."
"Did Erica somehow affect him being able to do that?"
"I don't know. Tiffany has been trying to figure that out for a long while. Still no idea how he lost that part of his power." Sayori perked up and added, "In fact, using his power the way he used to made his body use less energy. So that draws an even bigger blank in my head."
"Well," Yuri interrupted, "what happened on this fantasy adventure that eventually had you find out about your power?"
"Well..."
We winged it as usual. We just went about the world and had fun. I saw the happiness creep its way out of Tridon and he seemed like his normal self. We spent days in this world and we had endless amounts of fun. However, on our last day...
"Tridon!" Sayori shouted, "This quest looks awesome here!"
"It better not be a snatch and grab." Tridon walked up to Sayori stretching his back, "I am not carrying you out of one of those quests again."
"No. We just have to escort a merchant back here fromthe next town over, but when we do, we'll get a lot of gold!"
"We have been low on gold."
"Can we do it?"
"Oh fine." Tridon caved and nodded, "Accept it and lead the way."
Sayori quickly grabbed the flyer and walked off with Tridon following her. Sayori looked around, skipping and humming while Tridon gripped something around his shoulder. It was some rope. He stared blankly at the ground before looking around the forest they were traversing.
Sayori turned around and noticed Tridon's demeanor. Her expression changed and she frowned. She didn't want to do anything since he was deep in thought so she just stared at the sky and mindlessly spoke.
"Quite the world you made here huh?"
"Hm?" Tridon was snapped out of his trance and he looked up at her.
"It's beautiful. To think that we spent 3 days in this world while we're still under that tree by the lake in our reality. This is amazing. If only others could see what amazing realities your power could make."
"In the end, they just see me as some mutant."
"I don't. You're my best friend. No doubt about that." Sayori slowed down and walked next to Tridon who kept his gaze towards the ground, "It's why you need to keep your head up. You'll meet some new people like me who won't care about your power. Maybe you'll finally meet that one girl who'll fall in love with you. You'll find those types of people. I just know it."
"I don't know..."
"Come on Tridon. When have I ever been wrong?"
"Do you really want me to say?"
Sayori socked Tridon in his arm and said, "No. Not really."
For the most part, I was right. Not only did he meet all of you, a group of people who didn't care about his power, but he also met Erica. Someone who he fell in love with. Although her love a little more possessive, it was someone who he fell in love with.
Despite me saying this, I didn't think he'd do this after we had escorted the merchant. I never thought he would...
"Sayori," Tridon started, "you uh... go ahead and get our reward. I'm gonna head off to our room in the hotel. I'll see ya' there."
"Alright." Sayori responded.
I didn't think nothing of it. I thought he was just tired and heading off to rest. So I thought nothing of it. I wish I had...
After I had gotten our reward, I went back to our hotel room, but I didn't see Tridon anywhere. I looked around to see if he had left something to say where he went, but nothing. After a short second, it clicked.
I sprinted back outside and looked around. I didn't know what direction he went in, so I endlessly searched for him. I stopped endlessly. I didn't stop until I found him.
Eventually, I did find him... hanging in the forest.
The girls stared at Sayori with wide eyes as she teared up. Sayori took a deep breath and regained her composure.
"He had tried to kill himself, but he was still there. He had only passed out. So I tried to perform CPR on him. Or what I thought it was." Sayori paused for a few moments before continuing, "I didn't know what to do. So I did everything I could. I tightly shut my eyes and snapped my fingers by his ears. Next thing I knew, we were back by the lake as if nothing happened."
"Did Tridon recover?" Yuri softly asked.
"He slowly opened his eyes before staring at me. He was more shocked at what I did before he could assess what he attempted." Sayori answered, "That's when we knew that I was just like him." The room fell silent for a moment. Nobody didn't know what to say next.
Eventually, Monika commented saying, "So Tridon was depressed to the point of suicide." Monika stared at the floor and clasped her hand together fiercely. She muttered, "Is he still like that?"
"He shows signs of it every now and then." Sayori commented, "I don't know if anyone's seen it, but Tridon had a box under his bed that has his gun, a bottle of vodka, and some rope. Just in case, but he tossed it out a week or two into the new year. He still has his gun, but the alcohol and rope are gone"
"How come he hasn't told us?"
"Because he knows it would worry all of you and that you would try way too hard to help him. In the end, that makes things worse for him. So he wanted to keep it on the down low and to see how it all goes and it was going fine. Until the Eric situation."
"How so?"
"About a week after that whole ordeal, he relapsed. I saw that he had thoughts of it every now and then while trying to play it off."
"What did you do?"
"I let him have his space. It's what I've done before and he would eventually come to me to talk to. I would then listen and comfort him. Eventually, that depressive, suicidal mindset would chang and he was back to the jovial guy we all know and love."
"Do we have to watch him?" Natsuki quickly asked, "We can watch and take tabs of him just in case."
"I'm the one that needs to do that." Sayori was very quick to shut that suggestion down, "I know him like the back of my hand. When he starts to relapse, I know how to assess it. All we gotta do moving forward is go on like we have been." Sayori turned to Lola and said, "Lola, we'll take you through it one step at a time. Just trust us."
"Of course."
"Alright..." Sayori closed her eyes and smiled, "Because there's nothing Tridon loves more than seeing us smile."
A/N: Some crazy things huh? Sayori has powers, but it's incomplete. Tridon is depressed and borderline suicidal and has yet to know if Lola is really working with Robert. Man. So many things flying at all of you and you have no idea what else I have planned. Anyway, I hope this was worth the... 2-3 day wait. I'm slowly getting into the swing of things again, but not really. I'm just doing what I can do to keep all of you guys and gals entertained. So I hope ye enjoyed the chapter and I'll do my best to get the next ones out because I have to find a way to follow up on this chapter. Yeah I'll figure it out. See all ya' then!
