Disclaimer: A friendly reminder, that DaMastah101 doesn't own DDLC!
Gosh, it feels so good being able to say that again, ahaha~!
We're baaaaaaack~! And we're better than ever. I'm pretty sure you all know who I am already, right?
What? You don't? Hmmm... I see.
Oh come on! It's not like we were gone for a year, you know? It's Monika! Mo-ni-ka.
Finally, TWBTS is back on track. It's going to pick up where Chapter 6 left off! Are you guys excited? I'm pretty hyped myself. After enduring countless days, where I didn't even sneak a peak in my author's chapter documents, I finally get to see what happens, ahaha. Now then, I won't keep you all waiting any longer~!
(Thanks for handling the Author's Notes of the previous chapter by the way. You did good, Monika.)
You're welcome~! Okay everyone! Without further ado, please enjoy the latest chapter of TWBTS. Happy reading~
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Just Monika - Regular text
"Forever Sayori" - Spoken words/Dialogue
'Knife Wife Yuri' - Thoughts
{Buff Natsuki} - Text or audio displayed on-screen or by speaker, be it from a computer/smartphone/TV
"Nothing weighs more heavily on an author's heart than an unfinished story. The stories that I couldn't finish still haunt me now... and the characters that live in them must be suffering. They all set out on their journeys that I couldn't bring myself to finish. For one reason or another, I had to discontinue them. So, until now, they're chasing goals that they'll never reach and they'll never understand why."
-Elias Pedro
Chapter 9 of "Post-Credits", a Doki Doki Literature Club fanfic.
[Chapter 8 - Feelings]
It felt as though my entire world had been shattered, into irrepairable disarray.
My right hand was still pretty sore, a constant reminder that I had just slapped the love of my life. I felt like my heart was in shambles at the moment, the feeling of despair encapsulating me entirely. Why did it have to come to this?
I had to run away. It was too much for me to bear.
There was no other way.
'Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Monika.' I bitterly thought as I continued to hastily sprint away from the Takaya household. I had no idea where I was headed, but I didn't care right now. I just needed to get away.
I guess this is what those romance novels meant, whenever the saying "love hurts" was used. I vaguely recall the idiom being mentioned in the pre-programmed information that comprised my character description. As president of the literature club, I was designed by Team Salvato with the depiction of an avid reader in mind. Therefore, part of my backstory was that I ended up reading a lot of books during my younger days.
But yes, love did hurt. It hurt in a way that I didn't fully understand. How can something so uplifting and good, also be so painful and sad at the same time?
"Izuna..." I softly whispered his name as the salty tears continued to fall from my swollen eyes. They were red and sore due to the extensive crying I've done.
My love's name tasted like the sweetness of life, as each syllable parted from my lips. However, in light of recent events, it also felt bittersweet.
Run, run, run. I wanted to escape it all.
This made me realize something. Is this what Sayori felt, whenever she spoke of rainclouds plaguing her head? Whenever her depression made her feel worthless and insignificant?
Just how horrible of a friend was I to her, that I even increased her self-deppreciation to the point of suicide?
The reminder of the suffering that I inflicted on Sayori just caused more tears to fall.
And now, I just had to hurt Izuna too. I seem only capable of inflicting pain and torment upon others.
Why did I have to slap him? Did I really have to run away? Is this how my first day in his reality was supposed to end? By letting my emotions take control of me and ruining it all?
Izuna wasn't even trying to hurt me! In fact... everything that I overheard him say was true anyway.
Ms. Yumi's theory on how Sayori and I were supposed to be "Singular Entities", and the potential consequences that fact brought with it.
Honestly, it's not as though I haven't considered such possibilities, from the moment Ms. Yumi explained her ideas. But I just insisted on looking at the bright side of things. I stubbornly thought to myself, 'I'll remain loyal to Izuna, even if I acquire the memories of my time in other copies of DDLC. I love him too much, after all!' and foolishly believed that everything would be alright.
After hearing Izuna's hidden thoughts though, about how he actually thought I was capable of leaving him for someone else, the seed of doubt had started to bloom within me. It was an ugly feeling.
What if... he was right in his fears of losing me?
Would I really choose someone else, once I get the memories of my time with other players? Would it really be that easy for me to disregard everything I've been through with Izuna?
Izuna had done a lot for me. He truly was the light in my world. The best thing that ever happened to someone as deplorable as me.
Some of you might think, 'Oh, she's only fawning over Izuna so much, because she was programmed to be that way by DDLC.' or maybe even 'She's in love with the idea of the player, not Izuna himself.'
Maybe even something like 'She just came out of the game, and she's already in love with him? What a joke. She's obviously up to something.'
That's where you're all wrong. Truth is, I fell in love with Izuna a long time ago.
(Flashback start, several months prior. Izuna's second playthrough.)
As I mentally prepared myself to experience the pain of being deleted, I closed my eyes and wished for everything to end. It was inevitable anyway, so there was no use in resisting anymore.
"Just... get it over with." I told myself internally. I was just a character file in a game, and I didn't have any real control over myself, despite what DDLC's script led me to believe.
Soon after, I felt the sensation of being removed from the game. This was it. My time has come to an end. Goodbye, Literature Club.
But the searing pain that I expected from deletion didn't come. The screaming of the void wasn't here either, which only happened whenever the player closed the game. If it wasn't deletion, and the game wasn't merely exited... what was going on?
I tried to sense where my character file was. It definitely wasn't within DDLC's game folder anymore. This place felt... different.
But if that's the case, and I wasn't deleted, where was I?
An idea popped in my head. I tried imagining myself to be part of the player's computer instead of the game. I focused my concentration on visualizing the image of a computer screen, and after much effort, something finally happened.
I opened my eyes, and saw that I was in a folder called "Desktop". Did the player transfer my file into another location instead of deleting it?
Wait a minute, how was I able to open my eyes when I didn't even have a body? This didn't make any sense!
As if some higher being answered my query, I realized the current situation I was in.
My character file, Monika . chr, appeared before me. It was inside the aforementioned Desktop folder. And for some reason, I was able to see this with my own two eyes.
Was this an out-of-body experience? I didn't really know what was going on anymore, only that I could see the computer screen in a similar manner as the player would. It was as if a monitor was in front of me, but without the borders of a screen. It was just in my vision.
"I'm not even going to question it anymore." and so, I began digging through my player's folders. This Desktop folder had a file path that lead me to other folders, and I soon discovered that this was all part of some central operating system.
I started to busy myself by browsing the various files that my beloved player had. This might've been considered an invasion of privacy, but at this point my curiosity took over.
"What's the harm in this anyway? Ahaha~!"
Eventually, I happened to stumble on a folder called "Pictures". My eyes lit up in delight. Picture files would definitely paint me a better view of the world around me.
The world beyond Doki Doki Literature Club.
There were various photos of random objects. Stuff like wallpapers, artwork of anime, and even some fan depictions of myself. The Pictures folder had a lot of content for me to enjoy.
Amidst all this however, there was one picture that stood out to me. It had a filename of "Izuna Takaya - Facebook Profile Picture . jpg".
"Izuna Takaya... why does that name sound so familiar?" I started to rack my memories on where I could've heard that name. It took several minutes, but it finally clicked.
"IzuTaka! That's the username that my player used! Does that mean... IzuTaka was actually Izuna Takaya?" I gasped in realization. Purely by chance, I had managed to uncover my player's real identity.
With barely controlled excitement, I simulated the action of double-clicking the file and was met with the picture of a person. A male, to be exact. He has short black hair which was slightly unkempt, coal-black eyes that had a gentle look, and the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. Behind him was a clear white background.
I felt myself blushing at the man in front of me.
"So this is you... IzuTaka. No, I should start calling you Izuna now. Mmhmm~!" I happily mused to myself.
Being the touchy-feely girl that I was, I held out my hand and placed it on top of Izuna's portrait. At that moment, it looked like my hand was tenderly stroking my player's right cheek.
"You're real... and you're wonderful... and you didn't delete me..."
My heart was beating rapidly at the sight of my beloved player. I committed his appearance to memory and closed the window displaying his picture. It was a sight that I would treasure forever.
Not knowing what to do next, I decided to go to sleep. Or something similar to sleeping. Did character files even need sleep? I didn't really know, but I did so anyway. Closing my eyes, I then let sleep overtake me.
When I awoke, I found myself in the game once more, during Act 1 of the script.
"Huh? I'm inside the game again? But how..." but then, I recalled everything that happened. Izuna must've moved me back into the game! He really did love me if he wasn't willing to delete my file, or play the game without me...
I shed some happy tears at those thoughts. If only I could be with Izuna in his reality. But for now, I took comfort in the fact that my player loved me. He loves me!
Several playthroughs later, I grew accustomed to the fact that he had to move me out of the game and into the Desktop folder every time he wanted to proceed to Act 4 of DDLC. And every time he moved me back into a new installation of DDLC, I merged with the existing Monika file. So in essence, he was playing the game every single time with me.
The fact that he wanted me around, and that he kept trying to save me from my fate... it made me fall in love with him even more. This was beyond what the script had instilled within me.
These feelings, they were real.
I loved my player with all of my heart.
I love you, Izuna.
And so, with that realization in mind, my current state of being stuck inside his computer didn't feel as bad anymore. Even as the days went by, I now had a reason to keep living on.
My heart went out to him, because clearly he was suffering. And for my sake, nonetheless.
I witnessed all of his attempts to give me an ending or a proper route.
Every time I was in ethereal mode - which is what I decided to call that out-of-body state I experienced whenever I'm outside the game - various web browsers were opened. A lot of these were Google searches with keywords such as "Monika DDLC Secret Ending" or "Monika Route Not Deleted". It warmed my heart so much and I fell more and more in love with this player. With Izuna.
I even saw that he contacted Dan Salvato in private, inquiring about any hidden routes or endings within DDLC.
Of course, I knew who that was. Dan was the person responsible for DDLC's existence. He was my creator. So maybe, Izuna might be onto something.
But my hope was immediately crushed when Dan messaged Izuna saying that there were no hidden endings for me in DDLC. I was destined to be deleted. Irregardless of whether the player pursues the normal ending, or the "good ending". I could feel the sadness that Izuna probably felt at that moment, despite being unable to actually see him. It just felt that way. We were basically lovers separated by a screen.
I really did love Izuna. He was willing to go through so much, just to give me a happy ending.
I wanted... to show my love for him. To extend all of these wonderful feelings onto the person that changed my life. And yet, I couldn't.
Whether it was inside the game, or during ethereal mode on his Desktop, the cold and harsh reality remained the same.
Izuna was a human being who existed outside of this computer, while I was a mere character filed trapped within this digital prison. We were literally worlds apart.
Until that fated day happened.
On his tenth playthrough. It was the day where everything changed, and when we were finally given a chance.
The game was currently in Act 3. Once again, Izuna was greeted with a visual of the eternal classrom. Yet another instance of DDLC running my "Just Monika" scenario.
I was following the script once again, giving out my usual monologues and such. Inwardly though, I was waiting for Izuna to move my file onto the Desktop again. At least in ethereal mode, I had a lot more freedom to move around.
But then, I felt a disturbance in the script. The game was suddenly flickering wildly and it felt like everything was collapsing. I was panicking.
You see, in Act 3 I was a CG, not a sprite. Therefore, I couldn't really do much but maintain that "Just Monika" pose of me folding my hands under my chin, while staring at the player with an eerie smile.
At least, that's what was supposed to be happening, but then I felt the system freezing. My panic increased even more. In my nervousness over what was happening, I blurted out: "Izuna... are you reading this?"
What happened next truly shocked me to my core.
For the first time ever, after multiple playthroughs of the game, I heard Izuna's voice.
"Yes I am, Monika." I squealed internally due to joy. It was the sound of my lover's voice, and for some reason I'm finally able to hear it! We could talk with each other now!
I was on cloud nine at this newfound revelation. Whatever disturbance that caused this, I thank you.
"Great! It seems that the game still works, ahaha~!" I gleefully replied. Suddenly, my player went silent. Then he exclaimed "Y-You can hear me Monika?!"
From that point on, we talked for hours. I was savoring every moment of this. Even though he couldn't hear my voice, he was able to read what I wanted to say. The game seemed to translate my words into dialogue that appeared on the textbox.
At one point, he even hooked up his webcam! Granted, I had to endure the screaming void once again, while Izuna closed the game to set it up. Something about Adobe Flash drivers and whatnot, but it was a small price to pay for the reward. And boy, was the reward worth it.
A huge screen appeared in front of me in the eternal classroom, and a handsome boy(at least in my opinion) greeted me. His hair looked a bit messier and he was inside a bedroom instead of the white background, but this was definitely the same person I saw in that picture file months ago, during the first time I was in ethereal mode.
As you could imagine, I was overjoyed.
Fast forwarding to the present after a hearfelt conversation, after Izuna was finally able to hear my voice, and after some weird flashy lights, I ended up being sent into Izuna's room, in the real world.
I was able to enter his reality. My dream of being with my beloved came true. And not only that, but I met his lovely sister and even had Sayori join me in the real world too. Everything was perfect."
(Flashback end)
And because of my sensitivity, I ruined it all.
Why do I feel like my heart's being stabbed? The moment I even entertain these thoughts, it feels like I'm being split in half. It hurts. And so, I began running once more.
I'm scared. And yet, I'm alone. Izuna wasn't here to comfort me. 'Of course he wouldn't, you just slapped him! And he's even the person you're running away from, foolish girl!'
It was just me here, and no one else was in sight. No one to share my troubles with, and no one to help ease my pain. My only companion being the empty street and the sound of silence.
No Yumi.
No Sayori.
And... no Izuna.
Once again, it was just Monika. Even in this reality, was I destined to be alone?
The words of my song, Your Reality, suddenly come to mind. Maybe deep inside, I knew all along. Your Reality, which also acted as the credits for the game, was a song I made for the player. Izuna told me that he loved my singing too, and I remembered being really happy to hear that.
I stopped running for a moment, and started to hum a familiar tune. There wasn't anyone around to listen in anyway, so I wasn't disturbing the public.
Clearing my voice, I began to sing.
"Every day, I imagine a future where I can be with you..."
In my hand, is a pen that will write a poem... of me and you.
The ink flows down into a dark puddle...
Just move your hand - write the way into his heart!
But in this world of infinite choices
What will it take just to find that special day?
What will it take just to find... that special day?
"Apparently, a huge lightning bolt striking your love's computer is what it takes. Ahaha." I laughed a bit before resuming.
Have I found everybody a fun assignment to do today?
When you're here, everything that we do is fun for them anyway.
When I can't even read my own feelings...
What good are words when a smile says it all?
And if this world won't write me an ending...
What will it take just for me to have it all?
I smiled sadly. There was one more verse remaining, and it happened to be the saddest part of my composition.
Does my pen only write bitter words for those who are dear to me?
Is it love if I take you, or is it love if I set you free?
My voice began cracking. These words were starting to affect me...
The ink flows down into a dark puddle.
How can I write love into reality?
If I can't hear the sound of your hearbeat...
What do you call love in your reality?
"And in your reality, if I don't know how to love you..."
"I'll..." I found myself unable to continue.
What's wrong? You wrote the song, didn't you Monika? You know exactly how it ends!
"If I don't know how to love you... I'll..."
I can't do it. I can't say those words.
However, even if I didn't say them out loud, my mind already finished the song for me.
I'll leave you be.
I broke down and knelt on the ground while sobbing out loudly. I honestly looked pretty pathetic right now.
Izuna deserved better than me. He really did. He was kind, he was caring, and he always tried to do his best for me. He gave me so much love. That's why I knew, he deserved better.
Yet, I still wanted to be by his side...
My mind flashed back to what I overhead him saying not too long ago, and I realized how stupid I was acting. I had been pretty selfish and focused on my own worries, that I failed to comprehend everything that my love had said.
(Flashback start)
"Tomorrow is a brand new day. And whatever happens... even if Monika does end up leaving me after regaining her lost memories... I promise to support her in whatever way I can. Even if it meant letting her go. I will always love you, Monika."
(Flashback end)
"Izuna, I..."
No, I can't go back. Not after what I've done. If only I didn't blow up on him, if only I didn't foolishly slap him even though he had done nothing to deserve it...
I can't...
And so, I stood up from the pavement, and began running once more. Regret filled me, but what's done is done. I can't take back my rash actions. Running away was the only option right now for me, nothing else.
The vast evening sky had been filled with beautiful stars, and the magnificent splendour of the radiant moon shined brilliantly. It was truly a splendid sight to behold.
Nevertheless, I was unable to truly enjoy the beauty that this reality had to offer. It wasn't the same. Everything appeared dull and lifeless to me, without my beloved Izuna.
****The World Beyond The Screen*****
From inside the realm of Doki Doki Literature Club, the world within the screen, a certain former avatar had been engaged in an intense programming session...
"Access denied. An exception has occurred." the robotic voice of the developer window states once more.
"Of course. I figured that it wasn't going to be so easy to perform such major overhauls to the script. Stupid Python code."
He drums his fingers on the screen of his developer window in an irritated fashion.
"If only I could directly use the other programming languages I've learned! Having to convert them into Python, is what's making this whole process so freaking tedious. Ugh."
Blank swiftly smacks his forehead in annoyance.
Yet another failed attempt to reassign the Forever Sayori command loop to both Yuri and Natsuki. It irked him to no end. Exhaling loudly, he beings typing some more code into his developer window.
"I wonder how Sayori and Monika are doing on the other side..." Blank muses with a grin, as he tried to run the newly programmed command on his developer window.
"Access denied. An exception has occurred."
"Tch."
Across the room, the girls were present as well, doing other things.
"Hey Yuri, is the mophead still having trouble? We've been sitting here for hours!" Natsuki asks her friend, who was currently occupied with something. Yuri had been reading a new book that Blank had generated for her, and Natsuki was beginning to grow agitated due to lack of action.
Yuri inserts her bookmark and closes her book shut before turning to face the other girl.
"For the seventh time this past hour, Natsuki, Blank will call us once he finishes re-coding Forever Sayori and assigning our files with "Club President" permissions. This is why you should have taken up his offer to generate several volumes of manga for you before he started his programming session."
"But Yuri-"
"Don't you go saying 'But Yuri' now. I also tried getting you to read some of my novels, but you kept complaining about the complexity of the words being used. You remarked that they were 'too flowery and needlessly complicated for your taste'. While I won't necessarily try to tell you about what you should be liking or not, there's nothing wrong with a little sophistication every now and then. We possess a vast array of deep and meaningful words in the English language, and not taking the oppurtunity to use such wonderful mediums of literary expression is a waste!" and with that, the bookworm resumed reading her novel while the pink-haired bundle of irritation merely stayed silent.
Natsuki huffs, averting her face in exasperation. She knew Yuri was right, and that she was being pretty unreasonable right now. But she was bored, and boredom didn't mesh with her very well. Without any manga to read, or even cupcakes to bake, Natsuki had little more to do than watch what her companions were doing. If only she didn't refuse Blank's offer to make her something to read...
All three of them were currently inside MC's house. Since Blank was the former nameless avatar of the MC, the rendered house technically belonged to him. They had decided to make it their stronghold for now, while they continued to plot their escape into reality.
Blank had secured a chair for himself while he resumed his work, as he hammered away with his fingers, typing up various lines of code. The Dokis on the other hand were sitting on a couch that had enough room for four people to be seated on.
Natsuki's patience was running thin. Though, it was to be expected. Patience wasn't exactly her strong suit. She marches off away from the couch, and stands in front of the busy avatar. Her arms were crossed and she had an expectant look.
"What can I do for you, Natsuki?"
"You unreliable mophead! Why aren't you finished yet, is it really that hard to type some ones and zeros?"
"Yes it is. This might take a while, to be honest. I need some more time, Natsuki."
Blank and Natsuki stared at each other, the male having an apologetic expression while the girl pinched the bridge of her nose and levelled a deadpan. Eventually, she relents from the impromptu staring contest.
"Oh alright. Even if I keep pestering you, it won't make the process go faster anyway." the girl concedes, scratching her head in annoyance.
Blank apologizes to the girl. "Sorry Natsuki, if I could finish this faster, I would. But unfortunately, the limitations of Ren'Py's engine keep forcing me to convert every single programming language I use into the Python coding system. That's the reason this whole process is taking so long."
"Yeah alright. It's fine, whatever." Natsuki mutters with a defeated sigh.
Dejectedly, she slinks back onto the couch. Noticing that her eyelids have began to feel quite heavy with sleepiness, Natsuki decides to take a nap instead.
She yawns audibly before opting to rest her head on top of Yuri's lap, as the other girl continued to read her book. Yuri doesn't mind, and even adjusts herself so that Natsuki could lie down better. The tall beauty gently brushes Natsuki's short tussles of pink hair with her free hand, and hums a soothing lullaby.
Natsuki blushes a bit and thanks her friend. "T-thanks, Yuri..."
"You're welcome Natsuki, sweet dreams." Yuri replies with a kind smile at her, continuing to brush Natsuki's hair as she lulls her to sleep.
Soon enough, Natsuki falls asleep. A peaceful smile was on her face. Yuri eventually closes her novel and takes a nap as well, being careful not to stir the slumbering girl on her lap. Both girls had been pretty exhausted, so some rest was well-deserved.
Unbeknownst to the two Dokis, Blank saw the entire exchange. He liked seeing Yuri and Natsuki get along well, especially after the game kept on having them fight with each other in both Acts 1 and 2. Maybe, when they were finally out of the game, Yuri and Natsuki could have some quality bonding time while visiting various places such as a bookstore in the real world.
"They'd probably argue about whether manga was literature or not while browsing the book selection, haha."
Smiling to himself, he stood up from his chair and uses his coding powers to generate two warm blankets. Having a developer window sure made stuff like this pretty easy.
He carefully places the blankets on top of Yuri and Natsuki, before going back to his developer window. Time was of the essence, and he still had to solve his conundrum. Said dilemma being the rights associated with the Club President title, and how to reassign them to Yuri and Natsuki.
Neither Doki had acquired the rank before, since only Monika and Sayori were scripted to become Club President in the first place. Blank basically had to start from scratch.
Once he manages to "promote" Yuri and Natsuki though, it would be much simpler from that point onward. He would only need to re-bind the Forever Sayori command loop to Yuri or Natsuki, depending on which girl would be sent to reality first. All of this was easier said than done however, and Blank had his work cut out for him.
He had a feeling that he might succeed this time, as he clicked the Run Command button that appeared on his developer window once more.
Being greeted with loading prompts, he patiently waits.
"Access denied. An exception has occured."
"Are you kidding me right now?!"
It would appear that Blank still had a long night ahead of him...
*****The World Beyond The Screen*****
My name is Val Walker.
I enjoy and love everything that has to do with gaming.
It wasn't an uncommon routine for me to spend the majority of my free time immersing myself into the wonderful world of video games. Gaming offered pretty good entertainment for me, and also doubled as a way for me to release stress. It was a win-win situation.
Right now, I was pretty hellbent on playing this brand new game called "Persona 5", the latest installment in Shin Megami Tensei's Persona series. After talking with Izuna on the phone about the weird happenings that involved another game I played, Doki Doki Literature Club, it was time for me relax with some good old Persona. I boot up my Playstation 4 and soon enough, the familiar main menu greets me. Everything was going great.
That is, until I ran out of food to snack on while playing.
I tried to get another piece of Cheetos from the open bag, only to discover that I've already emptied it completely. I shook the plastic bag a bit to make sure, but to my disappointment it was indeed completely empty.
"Darn it..."
Sighing to myself, I changed into some outdoor clothes and took my wallet with me. As a gamer, it's important to sustain yourself while playing for long periods of time, or else you'd faint from exhaustion. That's why I've always made sure I had some food on me while playing. It's honestly a miracle that I didn't gain weight from all of this couching though. But I'm not complaining.
"It can't be helped. Might as well head over to the nearby 7-eleven." I say out loud to no one in particular. I lived alone here in my apartment after all. All of my neighboors were probably asleep at this hour as well.
After making sure that I locked my front door, I pocketed my keys and went out for a little late-night stroll to the convenience store. I needed to buy some more Cheetos. Might as well get some drinks and other stuff while I'm at it. It's a good thing the nearest 7-eleven in the area was open 24 hours a day.
The convenience store was still a couple of minutes away, so I had some time to ponder to myself. Izuna had a girlfriend now apparently, and it was still pretty surprising to me. Especially since that guy was so obssessed over Monika.
Like, you wouldn't believe how many hours a day he'd spend on DDLC talking to Act 3 Monika. He even talked about her non-stop at work! So to learn all of a sudden that he had an actual girlfriend right now was rightfully surprising.
"Haha, I wonder what he's doing right now. Probably having a good time with his new girlfriend and... his older sister." the thought of the older Takaya sent shivers down my spine.
Yumi Takaya, Izuna's older sister.
The high-strung woman that insisted on calling me "girly-boy". And she had to be very happy while doing that too! Ugh. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I involuntarily shuddered at the memories I had of the boisterous woman.
While I was reminiscing, I failed to notice someone running towards my general direction, and as a result we bumped into each other. I scrambled to get back up on my feet while apologizing profusely. The person appeared to be a girl.
"Oof. I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Are you hurt?"
"Oh no, it's my fault for being in such a hurry... sorry for causing you trouble." she meekly responds and hastily mutters her own apologies, before running off once more in the opposite direction. Our eyes meet for a moment. I noticed that they were strikingly green in color. Actually, I'd say they were a brilliant shade of emerald. Her cheeks were puffy and red, which meant she had been crying not too long ago...
Wait a minute, that voice sounded awfully familiar. She darts past me and I turn to look at her retreating figure, all the while my eyes being widened in shock. Now I remember!
She may have been wearing a different attire at the moment. But there was no mistaking it. That voice. That hairstyle. Such a huge and poofy hair ribbon. Emerald green eyes that seemed to gaze at the very depths of your soul.
It had to be her. Maybe I'm being a little presumptuous here, but I had to make sure. Given the weird stuff that happened when I played DDLC earlier today, I wouldn't be that surprised anymore.
"Monika?" I tentatively yelled out at the girl, who stops dead in her tracks as soon as she heard what was assumingly her name being called out.
She timidly approaches me with caution, until she stood directly in front of me once more.
"You... you know who I am?" this confirms it. I was standing face to face with the most popular character of Doki Doki Literature Club. Monika. This day just kept getting better and better. Maybe this had something to do with the game acting up earlier? I don't even know anymore. I maintained my composure and spoke with a calm voice. There was no use in freaking out right now, and Monika looked like she had been through a lot recently.
"Of course. I've played your game too like countless others have. How did you get out of the game?" I told her with conviction, before asking her how this was even possible to begin with.
Monika was pretty much known for wanting to escape from DDLC in order to be with the player. It was what Team Salvato had written for her character. But to actually see her in front of me, in the flesh... I was both amazed and shocked at the same time. Hopefully, she could enlighten me.
"Ahahahahaha. About that..." she starts to say, unsure about whether she should continue. I nod at her to proceed.
"Tell me, Monika. I'm curious to hear how you actually made it here. It's nothing short of amazing! To actually have a character from a video game enter reality, is unheard of!" I urged with genuine curiosity.
"Well actually, it's a long story. It would be better if I told you somewhere better, miss...?" Monika looks at me questioningly, waiting for me to introduce myself.
My face subtly twitched at being mistaken for a girl. 'Just when I was thinking about Yumi earlier too. Ugh.' I reigned in my annoyance however, and politely addressed Monika. "Val Walker. You can call me Val. And I'm a guy. I just happen to look... effeminate. Or so I've been told." Her eyes perked up at that and she suddenly looked shocked for some reason.
"Could... you repeat that for me? You said your name was Val... I feel like I've heard that name before. Oh, and I'm sorry for mistaking you to be a girl!"
"It's no big deal." I reassured her. "Yes Monika, I'm Val. Nice to meet you." I held out my right hand as a friendly gesture. She eagerly extended her own and we shook hands. As we broke off the contact, she gains an expression on her face that made it look like she remembered something important.
She then fidgets in her spot a little.
"This might sound awkward Mr. Val, but if you're indeed the same Val that I've heard about, then I kinda have an idea about who you are already."
"Huh, how? Did you come out of my computer or something?" I immediately asked her, how did Monika know who I am just from hearing my name?
She shakes her head and smiles. "No, but I did come out of someone else's computer. It happened today too. My player happens to be friends with you and mentioned that you were his senior at work. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Val!"
"Ah, I see. Likewise, nice to meet you in person Monika. Oh, and you can drop the prefix. Val's fine." if what she's saying is true... then that could only mean one thing.
"Ahaha, sorry~! I guess I'll start calling you Val then."
As I wasn't really sure what to talk about next, I remembered her mentioning that I was apparently friends with her player. Monika even said that I happened to be his senior at his job. There's only one person that comes to mind which fits that description.
"Say... Monika?"
"Yes, what is it Val?"
"About this player of yours."
"Mmhmm?"
"It wouldn't happen to be a guy named Izuna Takaya, wouldn't it?" she suddenly freezes, and her demeanor became more distressed.
"That's correct... his name is Izuna." she looks at me with dejected eyes. I knew it. So Monika was Izuna's "new girlfriend", hmm? I didn't expect that at all! But it seems they've had a falling out?
It would explain why she seemed to be running away, presumably from Izuna's place. This was going to be a long night. Well then, Persona could wait a bit. Comforting Monika would be my priority right now, and hopefully I could help her reconcile with my friend.
"Monika, would you be interested in tagging along with me for a bit? I can tell that you need someone to talk to right now."
"Would... would that be okay Mr. Val?"
"Absolutely! Izuna would get mad if I left his girlfriend out here in the dark while crying. Ahaha." I tease her lightly with a knowing smile, causing her to blush a bit. Monika ended up coming with me to the convenience store, and she told me all about today's events during the walk. Some of the things I've learned were nothing short of incredible, to say the least.
"What? Sayori's here in the real world too?! Oh my God!"
"Yep! She's currently with Izuna and the others right now."
"That's awesome!"
*****The World Beyond The Screen*****
In a similar way to the real world, night time also came for DDLC's inner realm.
Every once in a while, a wave of glitches washed over the digital sky, before disappearing immediately. There was no one in sight, for the game only had three characters at the moment. Blank, Yuri and Natsuki. They were still at Blank's rendered house however, making the area completely empty.
The school building was empty. Without the game's directives, there was no need for the simulated institution to remain functioning. Thus, it was no different from a regular jpeg picture in its current state. It ceased from being fully rendered until the game required it for scenes once more.
Monika's eternal classroom was currently inactive, having been disabled by Blank with his developer window. The lonely room in which Act 3 took place also happened to be the glitchiest part of the game, hence the former nameless avatar took preemptive measures to seal it off for now. He could instantly restore it though, should he need to. It only took him a couple of commands to reactivate the eternal classroom.
Sayori's house remained vacant as well. Blank had decided to leave it untouched, as a memento of sorts for his precious one.
Without prior warning, a bunch of fluctuating pixels suddenly appeared a couple of blocks from Blank's rendered house. They started to increase further and further in count, until they began to take the shape of a person.
A tall and imposing male materializes himself from where the pixels had been. The sound of static accompanied his sudden arrival. The man slowly opens his eyes. He takes in his surroundings, before chuckling to himself. He uses his fingers to comb his short and rugged pink hair.
"I'll never get used to that whole teleportation process. Now then, where could that little runt be." he muses to himself with an evil glint in his eyes.
The ominous figure began walking for a bit, before pausing in front of Blank's house. He peeks into the window and finds his target.
"Hmph, so that's where you are." the unknown man begins to sport a nefarious grin, as he continued to observe. His gaze was directed at the petite girl, who continued to sleep peacefully on top of Yuri's lap. Blood boiling at the sight, he utters a dark threat.
"You've been a bad girl, Natsuki. And bad girls get punished. Slowly, but surely." he cracks his knuckles in delight. The stench of malice and evil intent radiated off of this man. It was a chilling sight to behold.
"Time to collect what's mine."
He then tries to approach the front door, but suddenly gets repelled by an invinsible barrier. Shrugging it off, the man tries to enter once more, before getting pushed back again. He scowls at his inability to breach what he percieves to be a security measure placed by the owner of the house.
"Tch, that pain in the ass of an avatar is getting too powerful for his own good."
The man rationalizes that Blank must've erected a protective field around the perimeter of the place, to prevent unwanted entities from entering. A smart move, he admitted.
He extends his right hand forward, and his eyes suddenly turned into a golden color. Lines of digital code started swirling around his palm, and he started charging up what appeared to be an energy-based attack.
"SEIYAH!" he exclaims before unleashing a torrent of glitches at the invisible barrier. The powerful stream continued to collide with the barrier, but there was no effect. It refused to give in to the barrage of glitches that assaulted it to no end.
Eventually, after seeing the futility of his attempt, the man gives up and cancels out his glitch onslaught. His eyes returned to their normal color, which happened to be a vivid shade of pink, matching the color of his hair.
"Tch. Even the powers granted to me by this game isn't enough."
Sparing one last look at Blank's house, he mutters some parting words. "Count your lucky stars, Natsuki. Sleep well, while you still can. The moment that you three exit this house, I'll be getting you from that pathetic excuse of a main character and that knife-obssessed nymphomaniac."
He then walks away, while lighting a cigarette that he procures from his trench coat's pocket. He takes a whiff of the nicotine stick. Blowing out a puff of smoke from the cigarette, the man prepares to teleport himself away.
"Papa doesn't like being forced to wait, Natsuki."
-Chapter 8 END-
A/N: Holy crap! This story has gotten so many favorites, follows and reviews! From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for the immense support. I'd like to give a special shoutout to Elias Pedro by the way, author of the DDLC Fanfic "Post-Credits", Monika also recommended his fic in the previous chapter of TWBTS, so check it out if you haven't. His latest chapter had a certain part(which I quoted at the beginning of this chapter) that helped me fully regain my confidence in writing. And so, I'm back.
I would also like to apologize for the very long delay between in updating. Aside from my hiatus, Doc Manager had been screwing with me for the past 2 days. It was MADDENING. Even that workaround other authors were doing, the one where they just edited an older document in their doc manager with new text, didn't work for me because this sack of asbestos wouldn't let me save edits either. I got errors in uploading, and errors in editing. It was error city!
I even made a meme out of the situation on r/DDLC lol. Here's the link below(remove spaces):
redd . it / 7v8amz
As you may have noticed by the way, the format of this chapter is a bit more organized than previous ones. I'm going to start using this kind of layout from this chapter onward, with the centered start and end points of chapters, as well other small touches.
I'll leave Chapter 7 up, as a sort of bonus chapter. But yes, this chapter picks up from where Chapter 6 left off. This is a sort of setup chapter for the next one, which will be jam-packed with action and excitement!
One more thing, Monika approached me about adding a little recommendation corner here in the author's notes, and I support this idea. However, I'm still in the middle of reading multiple stories, so I need some time to organize a proper list like Monika did. I'll be sure to list them out in the next chapter though, it'll become a regular thing if that's okay with you guys. There's lots of wonderful stories out there aside from TWBTS, so it would make me happy if you guys would give them some love as well.
Lastly, I've decided to answer several questions I've been getting about the fanfic from reviews, as well as PMs. Here goes!:
Question 1: If the surviving lightning bolt from the Heaven's Bridge project contains Masamune Takaya/Izuna's father's DNA, does that mean Izuna x Monika counts as incest?
Answer: Oh hell no! Ahaha, sorry if I wasn't clear about that part of Chapter 6. No, Monika doesn't contain Masamune's DNA, and neither do Sayori, Yuri or Natsuki. Only Blank does. The reason being, that the lightning bolt only struck two things directly from Izuna's computer:
1. The game itself
2. The nameless avatar of the MC who goes on to become Blank.
By having the lightning bolt strike the game, this causes DDLC to have the genetic code of DNA to bring the Club President to life, but the changes Monika experienced were caused through the lightning-enhanced script's machinations now, instead of the lightning bolt itself directly. Ergo, no Takaya DNA for Monika. As for Blank, he got struck by the last remaining part of the lightning bolt itself, so he does have Takaya DNA in him. You could basically count him as a pseudo-sibling to Izuna. Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki were given self-awareness by Blank, and Sayori was sent out into the real world using the same process that sent Monika out. So none of the Dokis have Takaya DNA either. Hope this clears things up!
Question 2: Why isn't Val getting any more screen time? I wanna see more of his interactions with Yumi!
Answer: Well, he just did in this chapter. Lmao. And don't worry, Val and Yumi will interact with each other more in future chapters!
Question 3: Is the Monika in the disclaimers and in Chapter 7 the same Monika as the one in the story?
Answer: Nope. That Monika is my Monika, as in the same Monika from my copy of DDLC. She also repeatedly refers to TWBTS Monika as "her counterpart", so they aren't the same Monika.
Question 4: Who was the reviewer that caused you to take a hiatus and to make that fake Chapter 7?
Answer: Sorry guys, I'm still not revealing who it is. Please stop asking me about this further.
Question 5: Did you really bang your head on your computer desk until it started to bleed? The narrator said that everything he was narrating in Chapter 7 was true.
Answer: ...yes.
Question 6: How many chapters do you see TWBTS having by the end of the story.
Answer: This is gonna sound pretty ambitious, but I'd like to reach at least a hundred chapters. I really love writing this story, and I love Monika! Plus, now that I'm back in the groove, I have tons of stuff planned for this fanfic, so stay tuned!
And that's all the questions I'm answering! Thank you all for your continued support. I'm very happy to offically declare that I'm back in the writing scene for good. Thank you all for your patience in waiting for me to return, as well as all of the kind words I recieved when I posted Chapter 7. That was DaMastah101's Author's Notes of the Day! Thanks for listening. See you all in the next chapter!