So…you already know what happened. And I don't think I'll be able to finish this by Halloween…damn, so much for that.

/=+=/

His mind quickly snapped back into place, as he found himself waking up in the same location that he was in previously. He slowly turned his head and saw with surprise that Charice had indeed followed him, and was now proceeding with bashing Ludwig's head in place with what looked like a gigantic stick with a rock attached to it.

A rather sharp rock, mind you.

"AWAY WITH YOU, BLASTED DEMON! How dare you harm my brother! NOW YOU MUST DIE!"

He never really knew the depth of how protective she was. At least he knew now…as well as Ludwig. Poor guy. Rizal got the energy to sit up slowly just as Charice decided that makeshift hammers can't block the satisfaction of bare fists. Fortunately, he was able to stand up and stranglehold her away from him.

"Now now, Charice…what have we learned about killing people?"

"…you're the only one who can do it."

"Because I'm the only one who knows where to hide the bodies."

"Oh hush up."

"Anyway…" He looked at Ludwig, noticing that he was just trying to recover right now and not trying to kill him. "Did the clock tower chime yet?"

"About two minutes ago." He heard the German answer, rubbing the back of his head.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, BITCH!"

"…fine, you can have the language problems…" Rizal turned to Ludwig. "…you all right?"

"No." He looked up. "A whole half hour passed by and I don't have a clue what happened."

"What-"

"You had a hand around my brother's neck, so what makes you think that I-"

"Hold up, hold up." Rizal sat next to him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that…I can't remember anything past the last time I saw you two."

"Hah?" Charice blinked. "What do you mean?"

"…the last thing I remember was talking to Feliciano about what we were planning on doing once we get our half-hour with you…" Ludwig turned to Rizal. "And then I don't remember anything past that…except when I came to-"

"Your hand was around my neck." Rizal answered, sighing. "All's forgiven."

"Not with me."

"We figured that, Charice. But I forgive you." He leaned back. "But talking to Feliciano…that was back in the meeting hall, right? Do you remember looking through the hallways?"

"…no, actually."

"Hah? Wait, were you slacking off? DAMN I didn't think that day would come!"

"I meant that…segments are missing between me and being here."

"So the memories of the time loops are separate." Rizal turned to Charice. "Are we willing to bet that they might be missing more too?"

"VOI! WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GO, CHARICE?"

"HAH? We're back here with Ludwig!"

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET BACK HERE?"

"STOP SCREAMING AND JUST GET THE HELL OVER HERE!"

"…Charice knows how to adapt, doesn't she?"

"It's one of the only good traits about her."

They stared at her as Kiku and a rather sleepy-headed Gilbert stumbled their way through the grass (much to Kiku's displeasure) and toward the three of them. Rizal really couldn't get his head around the fact that he had a ring in the shape of a freaking shark…never going to click.

"Why the hell are you alone, Ludwig?" Kiku spat at him. "Aren't you the one who suggested that we go in groups or something?"

Yep. Never going to click.

"Feliciano went off ahead of me." He answered. "To make sure that no one from the other side was following us."

"…might be talking about Alfred." Charice rubbed her chin. "I heard him plan about that too…"

"Che…well, get him over here so we can get the others!" Kiku shook his finger this time. "We have a fucking tower to climb!"

"Yeah! We have to get to the clock tower and get to the to- wait, why do you know that?"

"Eh? You told me just a few seconds ago!"

"…noooo…I told Erika and Vash that…not you two!"

"Maybe it had something to do with…*yawn*…the timeslots?" Gilbert rubbed his eyelids. "What you tell certain people gets crossed over…?"

"Maybe." Rizal stood up. "That makes sense, concerning the fact that all our allies know what we tell them no matter who they are at the moment."

"True…" Charice nodded. "So…do you know the process that we planned out?"

"…planned out…?" Kiku turned his head. "You haven't told me shit about that!"

"I TOLD ERIKA AND VASH THAT, SO YOU SHOULD KNOW! I mean, I told them right before the clock tower rang!"

"Those thirty seconds?"

"Yeah, actually." Charice shook her wrists. "Right after my watch beeped, I rushed my explanation!"

"So maybe you weren't such a fucking good explainer."

"Don't start with me."

"Or maybe it's something else?" Rizal looked up. "The memory loss is extending farther than just what you're doing when you're the enemy."

Everyone stared at Rizal for a few minutes before they saw Charice shiver for a few minutes, rubbing her arms and hearing her teeth chatter like they can go on forever.

"The hell is wrong with you, woman?"

"…can't you feel it? IT'S GODDAMN COLD FOR SOME REASON!"

"…I kinda feel it too…" Gilbert rubbed his arms while rubbing his eyelids. "That way…"

"…that's where…that's where Feli is!"

Ludwig quickly dashed toward that location, forcing the others to follow. Once they passed all the bushes, they saw with horror at least five different ice crystals with Ivan and Natalya standing in the middle of them, admiring their work. They turned around and saw the shocked faces.

"Voi…I don't think that their costumes have this ability."

"It must be Feliciano." Rizal stated. "If he was with Ludwig with the last timeslot, this trap was set up for me."

"Hm…you four must be really enjoying the icicle show, aren't you?" Ivan laughed. "Don't be scared…come on in and enjoy it with us!"

"…too cold…" Charice shivered. "Wish I had thicker leggings…"

Rizal noticed that there was something in one of the icicles, so he leaned closer to see what it was. He got closer, and closer…and closer…before reeling back in shock. Silently, the image of a frozen Antonio came into view, looking like he was trying to dodge something. He turned his head and saw that all the icicles had someone in them: Lovino, Tino, Berwald…Feliciano…

"F-Feli!" Ludwig screamed.

"Son of a bitch!" Kiku loaded his gun. "Do I have to choke a bitch today?"

"Not today." Natalya lifted up her knives. "He's coming with us."

Rizal's eyes flashed back to Ludwig, who was openly worried about Feliciano's condition. He looked back at the crystal holding his frightened his body and began to judge the distance: it was the farthest one back, blocked by both of them. If Kiku was going to go for the aggressive path, he might be able to get around them-

A scream echoed the air, and he turned his head in shock to see Charice charge toward them with guns blazing and a murderous look on her face. Kiku clapped in happiness before doing the same thing, bringing out a freaking shark to slash through the two of them. Rizal decided to make his move and headed to the side. He turned his head and saw Gilbert following him.

"Do something reasonable and break all the ice coffins!" He screamed.

"…I can do that…"

Rizal could only shake his head and watch as Gilbert turned and started smashing open the first one next to him. He looked up and locked onto his target: Feliciano Vargas, his face plastered with fear. His mouth was wide open, and from his angle, he looked like he was in much pain…

"You might want to stop wasting your time." Ivan chuckled. "They might not have time to start breathing again~"

The look on Ludwig's face was nothing compared to Charice. Ludwig did look like he was ready to kick some ass, even a bit murderous, but Charice looked like a freaking PSYCHO. He didn't even think she was aiming half the time. Was her Cute-Obsession Syndrome really this dangerous at Level 03? Maybe he should stop now and see if she can do some good enough damage-

"…I'm getting annoyed now…"

Gilbert lowered his cross and started stomping the ground two times. Instantly, bursts of lightning started shooting onto the ground, hitting about anything. Rizal felt his arm being struck before noticing that some of them were being successful at destroying the ice blocks. He watched with surprise as Feliciano's body was free from the prison and collapsed onto the ground, unmoving. Rizal stopped in his tracks and decided to go for the attack. Conveniently enough, Ivan was heading right for him.

"Rizal!"

He pulled out a card and instantly saw a huge barrier appear before them, reflecting his attack back onto Natalya. Rizal blinked for a few minutes, finding that oddly convenient. He sighed.

"You might want to run now." He stated. "Tell the others that we're heading to the clock tower. Make your move now."

The two of them looked at each other for a few minutes before heading off (much to Kiku's displeasure). Rizal turned his head and saw that Charice and Ludwig had ran to Feliciano's side, making sure that he was alright. He took his time and instead headed off to Tino, who was breaking out of it.

"Does anything hurt?" He asked him.

"…no…just really cold, that's all." Tino stood up, dusting off some ice. "T-the others…"

"Berwald seems to be doing all right. He's right behind you."

"Gah! D-Don't do that."

"S'rry."

Rizal then turned around and headed toward Lovino, who was stumbling around for a few minutes while Antonio was being held up by a rather tired Gilbert. He didn't need help standing up, which was good.

"Nothing frozen?"

"I'll be fine." Lovino glared at him. "No thanks to you."

"Don't go blaming me for this. I was just being dragged along by Charice over there."

They both turned their heads to see that Ludwig and Charice had started to become a little frantic. Feliciano hadn't woken up yet, and by the looks of things wasn't going to anytime soon. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how Ludwig's voice was almost breaking just because of this, but he quickly pushed that to the back of his mind. Angsting now isn't going to solve anyone's problems.

"F-Feli-chan…? F-Feli-chan!" Charice started shaking him. "H-how bad is he? The others are awake, right?"

"Just about…" Tino leaned to him. "Is he…?"

"No! H-he should be fine…Feliciano should be fine!" Charice sobbed. "Right, Lud-sama? He'll be all right?"

Rizal froze. Charice never uses real names unless it was formal reasons or she trusted them so much that she would say their real name with quaint endurance. After a few seconds, he heard a low moan and saw Charice's eyes lit up, and then he watched as Feliciano began to twitch and open his eyes.

"…ah…C-Charice…?"

"…oh thank go-"

She clung onto him for dear life, making him whimper before holding her back. Rizal couldn't help but wonder if this was just another branch of Cute-Obsession Syndrome that he hadn't seen yet. Level 02, Version 2.0…or was this just the beginning of Level 04? Oh dear god, that was terrifying.

"…Charice, let him breathe."