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Text like this is from episodes or memory
Text like this indicates normal speech outside of the people present in the memory or episode
Text like this indicates scene change within the watched episode or memory
Text like this indicates scene change outside of memory or episode
'Text within these are thoughts'
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"I want to protect everyone precious to me…to break through Fate's Maze and reach that happy future. Here, another new Hinamizawa will be born. This time, will I be able to save everyone? Or… will I, once again, not be able to do anything but watch the world's end?"
The other Rika reaches her hand out.
"Let's go, Hanyuu… To the new Hinamizawa…"
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The world flashed, but instead of a scene, it was the new Hinamizawa. Rika was laying on the ground, covered in dirt. The others in the group of this world looked down, saying they'd be right down. She say up.
"Hanyuu!" she called, looking around. Hanyuu appeared next to her, but looking transparent.
"When is this? What is the day, month and year?"
Hanyuu started to make noises and closed her eyes.
"Pull yourself together!" Rika yelled. "If you were here before I was, you should know!"
Hanyuu nervously said, "It's 1983… early June… the Watanagashi Festival is the Sunday after next." She started counting on her fingers. "Meaning… ahmmm…ahmmm…"
Rika looked away, suddenly angry. "I can't believe this. That's all the time we have in this world?"
"The length we can go back in time is gradually getting shorter…" explained Hanyuu. "This is all we can do with our power now.."
Hanyuu then changes the world's time to much later in June. Rika was in her nightgown in her room with Hanyuu. She was on the phone.
"Ooishi? I just received an anonymous phone call."
"An anonymous phone call?" Ooishi asked.
"Yes, someone said that they were going to kill me. Perhaps it was the ones who killed Tomitake."
"I got it. I'll send an officer over. I will go to your place after I get back from Gifu."
She hung up the phone and said, "If I don't have anyone whom I can trust completely…"
The group was going to object to Rika's statement, but realized that in the other worlds they couldn't be heard.
"Rika-chan," said Keiichi from the doorway. She turned around, surprised, and saw the group in the doorway, looking at her, worry evident in their eyes.
"What was that phone call just now?" asked Satoko.
"What does it mean, that you will be killed?" asked Rena.
"Just what are you doing?" demanded Mion.
"It seems to me that you were always right…" said Shion
Rika stared at them, confused and upset.
"Rika-chan," Keiichi said again.
"Keiichi…Do you still think that date is something that can be broken?" asked Rika cautiously.
"Of course…" he said confused.
"I have never told this to any of you before…Thinking that I would get you involved after telling you this..." Rika said, stalling.
"Why are you trying to hold back?" Mion asked desperately.
"Aren't we allies?" asked Satoko, upset.
Rika looked up at them, and then back down. "I understand…I'll tell you this. The Hinamizawa Syndrome…As well as the reason someone is trying to kill me…" They all sat down around the small table facing Rika. "On the grounds of Hinamizawa…There is a local disease. This is known as Hinamizawa Syndrome."
"Local disease?" asked Rena.
"I've never heard of that…" said Mion.
"No one in the village knows about it," Rika explained seriously. "The first time this sickness was uncovered was back during the war. Those soldiers who were sent to Hinamizawa… One by one, they started to act strangely. Once the sickness began, the person would begin to suspect others. He would see the people around him as enemies or villains… And would act violently as a result of the hallucinations. In the end, he would try to claw his throat out…resulting in death. And then…there are doctors who noticed the disease, and made research. According to the research, people who live in Hinamizawa are carriers of the disease. But, if you are living in Hinamizawa, no symptoms would be found, and you would be able to live normally. The requirements for the symptoms to develop…is to leave Hinamizawa. The huge amount of stress that builds up forces people into the hallucinations and makes them paranoid. At times, there seems to be rare chances where symptoms do not develop. But, once the symptoms develop…,you won't be able to recover. And there still isn't any way to recover completely. People in Hinamizawa have known this for a long time. Although back then people didn't know it was a disease. Instead, they thought it was Divine retribution. For example, legends of the demons coming out from the Onigafuchi Marshes and attacking people. This can be seen as a group of people with the symptoms developed. Resulting in a bloody struggle between the villagers. No matter if it's the legend that you would have your punishment after you angered Oyashiro-sama or the horrible interrogation for those who broke the rules…they are probably ways to control the disease. By making everyone scared of Oyashiro-sama, they can stop all the wars and struggles. This way, they won't suspect others, nor will they be stressed. And thus the amount of people with the symptoms developed decreased."
"Rika-chan," said Keiichi to get her attention, "you said you will be killed. Is there any relationship between that and what you talked about just now? Is it because you know about these secrets?"
"Just now I said the requirement for the symptoms to develop is to leave the land of Hinamizawa," Rika said, looking upset. "But that's not completely true. It's actually me who is maintaining everyone's stability." Everyone gasped and Rika looked serious instead of upset. "If someone leaves me, the symptoms of the Hinamizawa Syndrome will develop in that person. No matter when it is, among the patients of the disease, one "Infection Queen" would exist and that would be one of the Furudes. The "Infection Queen", like the Queen Bee, is able to release a special hormone. This kind of hormone could be used in the people around her to control their sickness. Perhaps the people from Hinamizawa could understand this, that's why they would value the Furude daughter so much."
"That means we can be sick at any moment!" said Satoko, terrified at her thought.
Rika shook her head. "Only if I die before having a child or you leave Hinamizawa. That isn't too hard, right?" For the first time in a while, Rika smiled at them.
"Hold on," said Shion. "If Takano wanted to study the Syndrome, shouldn't she have kept you alive? The Syndrome's "hosts" would all die and only cause more death to those who enter Hinamizawa."
Rika looked a bit shocked and the laughed. "I never thought of that. That shows how smart Takano is."
Hanyuu smiled and said, "Rika, we only have more or five more places to go. Then we can go home."
"Alright then! Let's go!" shouted Mion. The others nodded in agreement, looking determined.
They next saw Satoko standing in front of Rika, trying to shield her from the uniformed men closing in on them. Rika got up with a smug smile on her face and told the men that even though she knows who is the culprit behind everything, she is foolishly risking her life to protect Satoko since she believes fate can be beat. One of the men holds up a taser and is about to shoot it when Keiichi comes out and hits the back of his head with his bat. Rena then comes and hits another in the stomach with the blunt side of her machete. The two in the back are struck down by the twins; one being tased in the face the other being forced down. Shion then tases the other for good measure.
Then suddenly, many scenes flash by, only slow enough to see what was happening. Keiichi wields a bat, ready to strike, but is shot down by Takano. Mion is leaning against a tree, Shion calling out to her, when she slumps down in a heap, back covered in blood. Rena faces Takano who is on higher ground, and is shot down. Shion is tied up next to the others' dead bodies, along with Rika, and Satoko, and shot in the head while pleading for Satoko's life. Satoko met the same fate as Shion after answering correctly to her question. Rika, laying in her common death spot near the shrine, surrounded by by the ghosts of everyone plus Hanyuu as her stomach is gutted out. Everyone with their hands stacked, in the purple dimension, convincing Hanyuu that she needs to join them to fight fate and creating a new crystal together.
"That's how you came here then," said Mion.
Rika nodded. "I had just given up when we started that world, but by the end, I was more determined than ever."
"Well of course you were! We were there to motivate you!" said Satoko.
"What else do you need to show us? Isn't the rest our world?" asked Rena.
"Mostly yes, but one is from the past and the rest are things you didn't see," explained Hanyuu.
A/N: Longest chapter so far and only one more chapter left! I know I've brought it up multiple times, but please look at the poll on my profile for The Potter Family, it's important for me to even tell if I will work on it after I finish this. Hope you see you in the final installment of Discovery!