"Tickets, please?"
Sayori held out an expectant hand from her standing position at the living room doorway.
"…what do you mean, 'tickets?' Tickets for what?" Natsuki frowned, impatiently crossing her arms.
"You have to show your tickets if you want entrance to the show." Sayori shrugged, fishing out the pair of sunglasses she apparently always had on hand. "Them's the rules."
"What 'show?!' The hell are you on about?!" The younger, pink-haired girl exclaimed in a shrill voice that just bordered the line of proper annoyance. "You were the one who came running into the kitchen, commanded us to 'drop everything at once and follow 'cuz you and Monika had something important to show us right now!' Well, we're here now, so spill it!"
"Not until you show me tickets." Sayori retorted stubbornly, her black reflective lenses bouncing Natsuki's increasingly enraged expression right back at her.
"You. Didn't. Give. Us. Tickets." Natsuki spelled out in a voice of forced and incredibly strained calm. "How are we supposed to give you something we don't fucking have?!"
"No tickets, no show." Sayori shook her head. "And if you're gonna keep causing a ruckus Miss, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the premises."
"What." Natsuki's eye twitched in restrained anger.
MC had to commend Sayori for sheer bravery alone as he observed their standoff. Whether intentional or not, ticking off Nat just after pulling her away from baking duty was a questionable move, at best.
Thankfully however, Yuri stepped forth before any bloodshed took place.
"If- if I may?" She asked with a hesitant smile. "Sayori, could it perhaps be possible for us to get inside using a different identification system?"
"Weeell…" Sayori said thoughtfully, scratching the back of her head. "I suppose if you've been put on the ultra special VIP guest list we could work something out. What's your names?"
"We've known each other for four fucking yea-" Natsuki started, but Yuri cut her off.
"I'm Yuri." She said, gesturing to herself. "That's Natsuki, and this is MC."
"Hey." He greeted awkwardly from his position in the wheelchair.
"Yuri, Natsuki and MC…" Sayori repeated, placing a hand to her chin. Her expression was unreadable behind the sunglasses. "And how do you spell that last one…?"
"You've got to be joking…" Natsuki muttered incredulously.
"Oh, right!" She finally exclaimed, tilting the glasses up to her forehead. A large, beaming smile had spread across her face. "Geez, why didn'cha say so?! You three are the guests of honor, come on in!"
Sayori stepped aside and bowed, at long last granting them entrance to the living room. Natsuki was the first to head in, looking as though she might punch the wall in pure frustration if she kept still for another second. Behind him, Yuri pushed his chair into following suit.
"Why, hello everyone." Monika's cheerful voice greeted them the moment they entered. "How nice of you to join us today."
The brunette was located at the direct center of the room, which knowing her was an intentional decision to be as noticeable as possible to anyone entering.
"Considering your bouncer there, you're lucky we even made it!" Natsuki scoffed, gesturing at Sayori who'd already started skipping across the floor to join Monika's side. "What is this, Monika? And what the hell are you wearing?!"
Sure enough, the enigmatic owner of the mansion had chosen a most peculiar and very uncharacteristically modest outfit for the occasion. Tight, blue jeans were adorning her legs, a backwards baseball cap was somehow keeping her long hair contained and hidden from view. But strangest of all, her entire upper body was covered by an all black, baggy hoodie with an anime character on the front. A character he recognized as his favorite character, Deku from My Hero Academia. In fact, the entire hoodie looked weirdly similar to something he'd used to w-
"Hang on…" He said, realization dawning on him. "Monika, is that the hoodie I lost a few years ago?!"
"Okay, so to answer the first question," Monika's smile grew as she glanced at Natsuki. "I'm playing a character. And secondly, MC, every boyfriend loses ownership of their clothes the moment they start dating. That's just basic relationship rules."
"She does have a point there…" Yuri told him softly.
"Tee bee aitch, the same law applies for girlfriend clothes!" Sayori giggled. "But weirdly enough, boys rarely take advantage of that!"
He shook his head, deciding to shelf their blatant theft of his possessions for another time. There were other, more pressing oddities about this scene.
"…you're playing a character?" He asked warily, unsure what to make of this.
"Yup!" Monika winked back at him. "Sayori and I have been working on a short Play together, one that we'd like for all of you to see!"
"…a Play?" Natsuki asked suspiciously. "What kind of Play, exactly?"
"Don't worry, we made sure to make it all age appropriate for any of the younger and more sensitive people in the audience!" Monika rolled her eyes, soliciting a foul glare from the pinkette. "And before you ask, yes, viewing this Play is mandatory for all inhabitants who wish to stay inhabiting this facility. Just to make sure we're all on the same page here."
While she hadn't raised her voice or put any inflections in her tone, the meaning ran clear to everyone; nobody was leaving this room before Monika said they could.
"…yeah, all right then." Even Natsuki seemed to recognize the un-negotiable finality of her situation as she let out one heavy, defeated sigh. "Let's just get this over with."
"Great!" Monika clapped her hands in approval. "Have a seat and make yourselves comfortable while my co-star and I prepare the show!"
"She means me!" Sayori pointed out excitedly. "I'm an actress now!"
MC tried to send her an encouraging smile back as Yuri and Natsuki helped each other move him onto a couch, but found it difficult to return quite the same level of enthusiasm.
He still had no idea what Monika had planned for him, or how on earth this tied into their "disagreement" from yesterday. But there was quite literally nothing he could do except sit back and watch as the events unfurled before him.
"Okay everyone, before we start!" Although Monika made it seem as if she was addressing all three of them, he couldn't help but notice how her eyes weren't leaving his. "We tried to make this as subtleas we could, but if you pay very close attention, you may be able to spot a secret message within the story! And believe it or not, this message can actually be applied to real life, too!"
…that doesn't bode well. He thought, instantly worried.
"Now then, allow me to introduce my role!" Monika went on. "I will be playing a purely original, male character in his late teens who likes anime, writing poems and hiding his problems from the people who love him! His name, is 'CM!'"
"Oh dear…" Yuri muttered from his side. Her tone of voice mirrored his exact sentiments.
"And I'm playing his girlfriend, Sayori!" Sayori said.
"Creative." Natsuki commented dryly.
"Thank you!" She smiled back, oblivious to the sarcasm. "I tried my best to get into this character!"
"Welp, this oughta be something…" Natsuki leaned back in quiet resignation as the two performers got into positions.
"Hello, Sayori." Monika said, putting on a very deep and unflattering imitation of a man's voice. "How are you today?"
"I'm doing just fine, Mon- I mean M- I mean CM, thanks for asking!" Sayori blushed over her fumbled line. "How about you?"
"I am doing fine as well." Monika shrugged. "Well… sort of. I have been feeling a bit tired and anxious lately."
"Oh no, I'm super duper sorry to hear that!" Sayori gave an over-exaggerated gasp. "Do you have any idea why you've been feeling this way?"
"Well…" Monika lowered her head and tensed up her shoulders, chewing every last bit of scenery she could find. "…I suppose it may have something to do with the bad dreams I've been having lately."
Natsuki audibly chortled from his side. He could hardly blame her- this had to be the most obvious, see-through "scheme" of Monika's to date.
Apparently this is her "getting to the bottom of this…"
He wasn't entirely sure if he was meant to be relieved, or even more horrified at the bad acting.
"Bad dreams?!" Sayori tilted her head to the side, trying her best to feign surprise.
"Yeah…" Monika sighed melodramatically. "They've been disturbing my sleeping schedule by waking me up and making me too scared to go back to sleep. It's very unpleasant, and I'm just not sure what to do about them!"
"Hmm…" Sayori hummed thoughtfully, putting a hand to her chin. "That does sound bad… But wait, I have an idea! Why don't you try telling me about your dream?"
"Guys…" He tried to speak up, seeing where this was going. "Don't you think this is a bit muc-"
"We kindly ask all members of the audience to save their questions for the end of the show!" Monika interrupted, giving him a sideway glance.
"Just go with it…" Natsuki advised softly, giving his shoulder a few pats. "If nothing else, it's free entertainment."
On the "stage," Monika got back into character by blinking and shaking her head.
"Tell… you about my dreams? But… why?"
"It can be very relee- reoujia- reluigi- bleh!" Sayori blew a quick raspberry before trying again. "It can be very relieving to tell the people close to you about your troubles. That way, you don't have to deal with it all alone but instead share the weight!"
Monika then turned her head to the side, making direct eye contact with him and used her normal, unaltered voice.
"If any stubborn males are present in the audience, pay close attention to this next part!"
After this unsubtle Fourth Wall break, she looked back at Sayori and employed the fake voice again.
"While that does sound logical, I'm just not sure… Sharing my dreams still seems very daunting to me. What if this burden is too heavy for you to carry? I don't want to bother anyone. I am a boy, and therefore I'm physically allergic to showing weaknessess of any kind!"
Sayori took two steps forward and deliberately placed a hand on Monika's shoulder.
She then raised her other hand, squinting at what looked like lines upon lines of words drawn on her skin in black marker.
"CM, as your girlfriend, it is bothering me much more to see you upset." She read the dialogue aloud in a very stilted manner. "But, I understand if you're still a bit nervous about sharing something so deeply personal. So, how about Itell you about one of my dreams first? That way, it won't feel as awkward for you!"
"Wow!" Monika's jaw dropped in practiced surprise. "That's a great idea, Sayori! Yes, please tell me about your dream!"
Sayori's eyes twinkled with excitement as she took a deep breath, opened her mouth and-
BOOM!
"Wah!" She exclaimed, caught off guard as the deafening crash of something large and powerful collided somewhere near the bow, sending ripples of shockwaves throughout the vessel like a giant punching through a rice cake.
She tried keeping her balance, a hard thing to do when the entire ship tipped to the left following the impact and gravity as a whole shifted beneath her feet. It wasn't long before she ended up slipping and falling flat on her bum.
"Owie!" She cried as hard, rough floor boards smacked against her soft, delicate bottom. The long years spent as First Mate on the Seven Seas still had yet to toughen up her skin.
She shakily got to her feet again, brushing down her long, leather coat and adjusted the dark blue, triangle hat on her head.
"What the hay was that…?" She muttered to herself, wondering what could have caused such a violent kerfuffle. "Maybe an earthquake? …but we're on the open sea, miles away from any earth!"
The conundrum had to take a backseat however as foul swearing could be faintly heard ahead.
"Shiver me BLOODY timbers-"
"Monika!" She gasped, recognizing the muffled, frustrating voice. She sprinted hurriedly, trying her best not to fall again from the ship still tilting back and forth until at last she reached the door to the Navigator's quarters.
She grabbed hold of the door knob and twisted, praying the person inside hadn't sustained any major injuries during the crash.
"Arr, Monika!" She called out as the first thing, before even taking in the state of the room. "Are you oka-"
She then noticed the clutter of large maps splayed all over the floor along with quills, open bottles of ink, compasses and those weird metal math doo-hickies used for triangulating coordinates that she always forgot the name of. The chaotic state was in stark contrast to the neat and organized set-up the owner usually took pride in.
"Arr, Sayori…" Monika moaned sullenly, raising a hand in half-hearted greeting. In direct opposition to her own flamboyant attire, she was clad in a fanciful green suit-jacket, complete with white frilly cuffs and scruffs and an oversized white and slightly askew curly wig like those royal geezers had in the paintings. Oh, and she'd be remiss if she didn't also mention the black eye-patch strapped across her face. Because yes, while she was the pristine and proper Navigator of the Heck Cow, she was also a PIRATE like the rest of them!
Sayori wasn't sure exactly if this was an ACCURATE outfit for someone in her position, but by golly she sure looked COOL in it!
"What happened?!" She asked, trying to get a handle on the situation.
"Ye tell me!" Monika shrugged in exasperation, flipping her eye-patch up to her forehead as if covering some secret, third eye. Of course, the patch was just for show and both her regular, green eyes were still well and intact. "I was just sitting in here, working hard as usual, when suddenly this bang comes and knocks over everything! Hours of work, and now I can just start all over again!"
"Yeah, I felt it too…" Sayori clapped her shoulder sympathetically. Marking spots with X'es for treasure-hunting all day long could definitely take a toll on you. "Maybe we hit something?"
"Or something hit us…" Monika muttered darkly, bending down to gather her maps and instruments.
"Do you need any help with that?" Sayori offered.
"Thanks, but as the First Mate your place should be on deck." Monika shook her head. "Find out what caused this, see if you can fix it, and above all else- make sure the Captain is all right!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" She exclaimed in salute, turning on the spot to exit the cabin-
"Oh, and Sayori?" Monika added grimly just before she'd passed the threshold. "If this wasn't an accident, and you find the bilge-sucking, lily-livered scallywag sons-of-biscuit-eaters who did this, send them STRAIGHT to Davy Jones' locker for me. Y'hear?!"
"Aye, aye." Sayori nodded in confirmation as she headed out and upstairs to the main deck.
The source of the disruption became apparent as soon as she gave a passing glance over the ship and identified the thick, black smoke billowing from the bow.
She slowly approached it, confused. She'd successfully identified the source of the disruption, but… where was the cause? Nothing surrounded them but open sea, so what could have possibly-
"Arr, Sayori!" A sudden voice called out from above.
She tilted her head as far back as her neck would allow. There, standing at the very top of the tallest mast, she could just barely make out the silhouette of another girl against the baking sun.
Soon as she'd spotted her, the figure leapt and dived, making it over halfway down before dramatically plunging the tip of her right hooked hand into the mast, slowing her descent. Her long, purple hair swished wildly underneath her red bandana as she safely slid down the pole.
"Arr, Yuri!" Sayori tipped her hat in greeting once the swashbuckling buccaneers' boot had made gentle contact with the deck. "Y'know, Monika's been complaining about the scratches you make in the wood when you do that. Says it lowers resale value or something like that. I think it looks cool as heck, but-"
"There's no time for that right now!" Yuri hurriedly interrupted, unclasping a bronze telescope from her belt and handed it over to Sayori with her left hooked hand.
Yes, she had two hooked hands. And a peg leg made of steel that doubled as a sword. How awesome was that?!
"Look, just up port!" Yuri urged as Sayori raised the telescope to her eye.
"Uh-" She hesitated. "…which way is port again?"
"The opposite of starboard!"
"Oh, right!" She spun around, and gasped.
A giant, black flag adorned with a ghastly white skull was plainly visible in the glass. The very same flag as the one THEY had!
"The Jolly Roger…" She muttered in faint realization. "Pirates!"
She lowered the telescope, and saw the giant ship now sailing right beside them. For a moment she wondered how she possibly could have missed them before Yuri broke the train of thought.
"They fired their cannon right at us." She sneered in a voice of barely contained anger. "I believe the scurvy dogs intend to board the Heck Cow, make us do homework and steal all our booty!"
"But I LIKE my booty!" Sayori exclaimed, outraged. "But… why though? Why would pirates attack other pirates?!"
"Because they're BAD pirates." Yuri explained. "Whilst we're GOOD pirates."
"Right, that makes sense…" Sayori nodded in contemplation. "What do we do about them?!"
"The Heck Cow sustained heavy damage in the blast, and will surely sink unless someone patches up the hole." Yuri said. "I can fix her, but I'll need someone to hold them off while I work!"
"I've got it. What's stopping them from just firing at us again?" Sayori asked, eyeing the ship drifting ever closer to them.
"Can't fire, can't fire! Squawk!"
A bright, pink-feathered parrot zipped from one of the open barrack windows of the opposing ship, flying low until closing the distance between them and landed right on Yuri's shoulder. A red hour-glass shaped pattern adorned its fluffy pink belly, while its tail feathers smoked lightly.
"I sent Natsuki to sabotage their cannons." Yuri said.
"Ate their gunpowder, squawk!" The parrot confirmed. "Taste awful, squawk! Owe me!"
"Yes, yes Natsuki!" Yuri rolled her eyes irritably. "I'll give you extra seeds IF we survive this encounter, okay?!"
The bird clicked its beak, clearly annoyed.
"Thank you so much, Natsuki!" Sayori praised. "You really helped us out a ton!"
"D- dummy, dummy! Squaaawk!" Natsuki flapped her wings madly, flying up to settle herself at their sail where she hid her head inside a wing.
"I need to get started on repair work." Yuri began resolutely humping towards the blasted area, the tip of her sharpened leg making even more marks in the wooden deck. Monika was gonna have a fit. "Do you have this, First Mate?"
Sayori swallowed, but furrowed her brows in determination. She had to do what she must, for the sake of the crew.
"Yes." She nodded grimly, grabbing hold of a tightly secured rope by the bottom of the mast, and pulled out her trusty flintlock pistol. "I've got this."
She fired the gun at the rope with a loud BANG- then spent about half a minute meticulously reloading after missing. She tried again, this time lining the nozzle directly up against the rope, and squeezed the trigger.
Bingo.
The rope severed, launching her high and far into the air. She wasn't really sure if this maneuver caused real damage to their sail setup or something like that. She supposed there had to be a reason for the rope being secured where it was, but surely Yuri would be able to fix it. Regardless, it couldn't possibly be as important as defending the ship from invading pirates, right? On the other hand, it'd taken her so long to actually pull it off that the ship had gotten close enough to just jump the distance herself, but that wouldn't have looked nearly as coo-
"Whoopsie!" She promptly released her grip on the rope, realizing how close to the top she was getting. The residual force sent her flying straight into their black sail, which she used as a slip-n-slide to get down to their main deck safely.
"YARR!" She let out the fiercest pirate war cry she could muster, drawing a fearsome cutlass from her belt. "All right, ye landlubber meanies! Come out and face me, if you dare!"
Her request was granted as trap doors sprung open all around her, giving way for the crew to climb onto the deck.
She had to do a double-take, hardly able to believe her own eyes. She recognized these guys from the gray armbands they were all wearing.
The Raincloud Clan.
"Arr, Sayori. At last, we meet again."
She turned to face the giant-sized, misshapen freak of a Captain, stomping towards her with footsteps as light as a feather.
Because he was a literal, anthropomorphized cloud-man.
She returned his greeting by putting as much contempt behind her "arr" as possible. Because that's what pirates DID.
"Captain Cloudy." She spat. "I thought I warned you to never get on a ship again? Did you already forget what happened LAST time?!"
Cloudy grimaced, tenderly rubbing at the part of his gray, puffy body where his right arm SHOULD have been.
"You got lucky that day, child. But now, that luck's run out. As you can see, I've gotten stronger than ever, with a whole new crew of the baddest pirates in the world. You might as well just give up now!"
She swung her cutlass around defiantly, pointing it straight at him.
"You're nothing but hot air, Cloudy! Literally! I'll beat you, your silly little DEBATE CLUB here, and add your other arm to my collection!"
"Tsk, tsk. Such misplaced bravery." Cloudy shook his cloud head with an overbearing cloud laughter. "But very well, since you insist. Men- ATTACK!"
With a combined, deafening roar, the crowd of pirates all converged on her.
Without even blinking, she sprung into action with a roar of her own.
She fought valiantly, she really did. The pirates were so caught off guard by her sheer ferocity and skill in battle, she must have felled almost thirty of them before they managed to knock her cutlass from her hands. And even then, she managed to beat another ten with her fists alone.
"Hornswaggling Hooters!" She cried, climbing one pirate's back, and used him to somersault into another. "Freebooting Filibustiers! I'll teach ye what happens to rapscallions who run a rig on this seadog!"
But eventually, the sheer numbers of the crew overwhelmed even her. Soon enough, she found herself bloodied and beaten, her hands tied together as they forced her by sword-point to walk the plank.
"Yo, ho, ho..." Cloudy let out another booming laugh. To his small credit, at least he didn't add insult to injury by saying 'and a bottle of rum.' "Ah, Sayori. Don't you get it? Against me, you'll NEVER win!"
She glanced down at the foaming waters beneath her. Rather conveniently, two shark fins had begun circling below her feet.
She then looked up, appraising her own ship. From the lack of billowing smoke on the bow, it would seem Yuri had patched up the damage and directed the Heck Cow back on course.
She smirked.
"Maybe not." She admitted, meeting Cloudy's beady eyes head on. "But at least you won't get to sink me hearties!"
"An acceptable sacrifice, if it means getting rid of you." He said, looking like a kid in a- well, whatever "candy-store" equivalent they had in Pirate Century. "Now, it's time for you to feed the fishes!"
"Oh well." She shrugged as best she could with her arms around her back. "At least I'll be going out making someone happy!"
One of the crew pointing cutlasses at her stepped forth, undoubtedly intending to force her into taking that last step over the edge. However, he needn't have bothered. Without resisting, she closed her eyes, and let herself fall back-
-only to then feel a strong, manly arm around her waist and sweeping wind on her face as it hoisted her upwards.
Bewildered, she opened her eyes to see her favorite face in the world smiling down at her, his calm yellow eyes glinting and shining like the sun with his fabulous, feathered cap rustling against the wind.
"Captain!" She exclaimed, ecstatic with joy.
"Arr, hang on tight Sayori!" He told her in that wonderful deep voice of his, effortlessly twisting his wrist and maneuvering the swinging rope he was holding across the gap between ships, landing them safely on their own. "You didn't think I was gonna let those jerks take my favorite First Mate from me, did ya?!"
She didn't question how the rope had been long enough to swing such a distance. It wasn't really that important.
Likewise, she ignored the enraged Cloudy shaking his one remaining fist at them. She had much better things to look at right now.
"Are you okay?" The Captain asked, a slight frown of concern tainting his perfect face. He withdrew a knife from his belt and cut her restraints with one fluid motion.
"Now that I'm with you, yes." She fluttered her eyes, feeling the familiar shortness of breath take hold of her. She couldn't even feel any of the injuries she'd just sustained.
"You did a good job today." He said, taking her hand. His soft touch sent shivers down her spine. "You're the best First Mate I could have ever asked for."
She couldn't speak, but no words were needed. Moving in tandem, they both leaned in, planting their lips on the other's and-
"…uhm, Sayori? Hey, Sayori!" Monika repeated, waving a hand in front of the blue-eyed girl's oblivious face. "What's going on with you?"
Sayori gave no indication of even hearing Monika, remaining planted in the same position she'd been in for almost a full minute now while dreamily staring off into space.
"Did she… pass out?" Yuri asked, worried.
"Please don't tell me we now have another paralysis victim to take care of…" Natsuki groaned.
"No, no. She's okay." MC hurriedly assured them, recognizing the bizarre phenomenon. "I've seen her do this before. Sometimes when Sayori has to relive something particularly 'fantastic,' she has a habit of… losing herself to the fantasy."
"Huh, that right?" Monika pondered, testily poking her co-partner on the shoulder without any discernable reaction. "Is… there any way to snap her out of it?"
"Afraid not." He shook his head. "I remember losing her for almost three hours back in first grade when the teacher tried asking about her holiday to Japan. I don't think anything short of an earthquake can shake her before she finishes… well, whatever it is she's seeing right now."
Faintly, he thought he could hear the barely audible hum of what sounded like the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' theme under her breath.
"Simply fascinating…" Yuri mused, looking at Sayori like a scientist inspecting a particularly enigmatic specimen.
"I see..." Monika chewed, biting her lip in contemplation. "Well, uh, I kinda need someone to finish the Play with me. Any volunteers from the audience? …Yuri, how about you?"
"M- me?!" Yuri sputtered nervously, clearly caught off guard.
Immediately, Natsuki sat up straight, an anticipative smirk spreading across her lips.
"Oh, this is gonna be good!"
Nonchalantly, Monika plucked the iconic red bow from the immobile Sayori's head and attached it with ease onto Yuri's purple hair.
"There we are!" Monika smiled in satisfaction, pulling the taller girl to her feet without further warning. "Okay, let's take it from the top again!"
"I- I don't know if I can d- do this…?" Yuri squeaked, erratically stroking her hair.
"Yes, you can!" Natsuki encouraged, clearly trying her best not to laugh. "Just imagine you showed up to the theater in your underwear!"
"Don't listen to Nat." MC tried, figuring someone here should probably be supportive of Yuri. "Uh- Why not try and look at it as practice for your future hairdressing career?"
"It's just the five of us here, Yuri." Monika assured her. "Absolutely no judgment from anyone, it's just for fun!"
Yuri merely stared back at her with a look of someone who hadn't the faintest idea what "fun" was supposed to mean. Apparently taking her silence for consent, Monika cleared her throat and began speaking in her "CM" voice once more;
"Hello, Sayori. How are you today?"
Monika waited patiently even as Yuri looked around in silent panic. If MC had had the ability, he would have crossed his fingers for her.
"U- uhm-" She eventually stuttered, realizing nobody was coming to her rescue. "I- I'm sorry, but- I d- don't know my lines?"
"Oh that's all right!" Monika broke character, reaching into his hoodie pockets. "Here, you can use Sayori's practice notes!"
She handed over a small bundle of square, pink cards to Yuri whom accepted them with shaking hands.
"Ready?" Monika asked, and repeated her opening line again.
"Uh-" Yuri hesitated, glancing at the top card. "I can think of a few ways… Come here, you."
"Uh, what?" Natsuki said, raising a pink eyebrow.
"That's actually one of the last lines, Yuri. You see the number at the top?" Monika patiently stepped forward, pointing a finger at the card.
"O- oh, I see now… Number nineteen…" Yuri said, and began quickly flipping through cards until eventually finding the right one. "Uh- I'm doing just f- fine, CM, thanks for a- asking! H- how about y- you…?"
"I am doing fine as well." Monika shrugged. "Well… sort of. I have been feeling a bit tired and anxious lately."
"Uh… O- oh dear, who organized these…?" Yuri muttered under her breath as she began flipping through cards again. "…Oh no, I'm… sorry to hear that. Do you have any-"
"That's not the right line!" Natsuki heckled loudly, looking like Christmas had come three days early. "C'mon Yuri, get into character!"
"…I'm... super duper sorry to hear that." Yuri yielded, her face beet-red with embarrassment. "D- do you have any idea w- why you've been feeling this wa- ah!"
Before Monika even had a chance to reply, Yuri in an effort to put the cards into proper order managed to drop all of them to the floor. Muttering profuse apologies, she got to her knees and began gathering them up again.
"Holy shit, I should have brought popcorn…" Natsuki bemoaned.
"Nat, be nice…" MC whispered out the corner of his mouth.
"I am nice!" She protested. "This is the greatest thing I've seen in my life, I love it!"
The play went on relatively smoothly after Yuri got to her feet again and finally managed to put all the cards in right order. She was still clearly struggling with performing in front of a crowd (however small it may be) and only rarely met Monika's eyes when delivering her lines, but considering the circumstances… she was actually doing pretty well!
"-I don't want to bother you." Monika sighed dramatically. "I am a boy, and therefore I'm physically allergic to showing weaknesses of any kind!"
"What a great joke, Monika!" Natsuki piped up. "Totally justifies using it twice in a row!"
"Thanks, Nat!" Monika winked back, unbothered. "By the way, the temperature outside has dropped to about minus twenty. I think the average person could last maybe forty-five minutes before succumbing to hypothermia, if they were, say, kicked from the mansion they've graciously been allowed to stay in. Just some food for thought."
"You learn something new every day." Natsuki said, equally indifferent.
"Uh- touches his shoulder…?" Yuri said, furrowing her brows as she read the next card.
"That's actually an action, Yuri,not a line." Monika smiled. "They're indicated by the two footnotes, see?"
"Oh… right, of course…" Yuri said, raising a stiff arm and awkwardly placed it on Monika's shoulder.
"It just keeps getting better…" Natsuki stifled what had to be her fifth chuckle at this point.
"CM, as your g- girlfriend, it is bothering me m- much more to see you upset." Yuri's delivery was only a little bit less stilted than Sayori's. "B- but, I understand if you're still a bit n- nervous about shu- sharing something so deeply personal. So, how about I tell you about one of my dreams first? That way, it won't feel as awkward f- for you!"
"Wow!" Monika dropped her jaw again. "That's a great idea, Sayori! Yes, please tell me about your dream!"
Yuri flipped another card, and frowned anew.
"It, uh…" She hesitated. "It just says to 'describe your dream' with footnotes, but- there's no script…?"
"We felt it'd work better for the Play if we actually described our real dreams." Monika explained. "Make it feel more natural, y'know? You do have dreams, right?"
"W- well, yes but-"
"Great, then let's hear it!" Monika smiled. "You don't even have to stay in character for this part, just go ahead and tell us whatever dream's most vivid in your memory!"
"It's just… sort of embarrassing…" Yuri blushed.
"But Yuri, that's the whole point we're trying to relay here!" Monika urged, putting her own arm on the taller girl's shoulder. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, you're in a safe space, and nobody's going to judge you!"
"I might." Natsuki interjected.
"Nobody whose opinion matters is going to judge you." Monika corrected herself.
"Fair." Natsuki shrugged.
"V- very well…" Yuri sighed deeply, gathering her thoughts just like he'd seen her do on so many other occasions, before speaking up at last.
"One of my most common dreams has me sharing poems with all of you at the Literature Club…"
"Aww, that's nice-" Monika started.
"…but the moment I finish sharing, black tar starts filling up the classroom." Yuri continued. "You're all panicking and trying to escape, but can't since the tar has locked your feet in place. It's rising steadily, drowning you all one by one until I'm the last one remaining. Because I'm the tallest of us, see? I typically wake up just before it reaches my nose."
The room went deathly quiet save for the continued low humming of various sea shanties from Sayori as everyone stared Yuri's way.
"…what the fuck?" Natsuki finally exclaimed.
"I'm… so sorry, Yuri." Even Monika broke character, looking at her co-star with deep sympathy. "That sounds like a horrible nightmare…"
"Hmm, nightmare?" Yuri mused vaguely, utterly unperturbed. "Ah yes, I suppose one could interpret it that way. To me personally however, the inevitability of death is a very calming concept. I always sleep most peacefully when having that dream."
"What the fuck?!" Natsuki repeated.
MC didn't know whether to be weirded out or scared, but thankfully Monika picked then to shake her head and move on with the Play.
"…thank you, Sayori." She said, forgetting to put on the voice. "That was… very brave of you. Now, I'll go ahead and share my recurring nightmare! Ahem-"
She cleared her throat and began speaking in a serene, quiet voice.
"We're all characters in a video game, a dating sim to be exact. MC is the Player, and I watch him go through Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki's Routes. But never mine. I wasn't programmed with one. I try to get his attention, I try to reach out and get him to notice me already! But the harder I try, the more the game breaks until finally everything falls apart and we all end up getting deleted. Forever."
There was another brief, stunned silence, once again broken by Natsuki.
"I just have standard, normal nightmares of Papa chasing me through the woods at night, what the hell are y'all smoking?!"
Electing to deliberately ignore their pink-haired clubmate, Yuri and Monika moved on.
"Thank you for sharing." Yuri said, flipping through her cards. "Now, do you feel more relieved?"
"I… actually do!" Monika smiled broadly. "My thoughts don't feel nearly as heavy anymore, this is amazing!"
"N- now do you see how you didn't have to worry about being a bother?" Yuri asked.
"Yes, that was incredibly silly of me to think that!" Monika nodded. "How can I possibly repay you for your help?"
"I can think of a few ways…" Yuri said, reaching the card she'd drawn at the beginning. "Come here, you."
Then upon flipping the next card, she froze on the spot, face flooding with crimson.
"Uh…" She began, voice cracking lightly.
"Ahaha…" Monika giggled at her reaction. "Yeah, believe it or not, that ending was actually Sayori's idea. She said we had to 'award the audience with some romance after making them sit through all that angst,' but you really don't have to go that far, Yuri. You already did better than I could've ever asked f-"
It was Monika's turn to freeze mid-sentence as Yuri without warning leaned in close, planting her soft lips on her cheek in a move MC would have never expected in a million years.
As if that wasn't surprising enough, Sayori picked this exact moment to twitch and shift from her idle trance.
"Ahoy, matiewait, whaaaaaaaat…?" She gasped in surprise, only catching the final two seconds of the kiss before Yuri pulled away once more.
"I swear, I don't even know what's going on anymore." Natsuki said, perplexed by the events unfolding before them.
"Me neither, but I love it…" Sayori said, looking between Yuri and Monika with one of the biggest smiles MC had ever seen on her.
Monika's face had flushed up entirely as she stood stunned on the spot, staring blankly at Yuri who was trying and failing at suppressing a sly smile.
"…the show must go on, right?" She said, still blushing up a storm.
"Right…" Monika's voice was soft as she awkwardly rubbed at her kissed cheek. Then, she shook herself back to reality.
"Wow, Yuri!" She exclaimed, pulling off the backwards cap and letting her long, brown hair flow free. "Sure was lucky I was playing male character there, or my heterosexuality might've been in serious danger!"
"Charmed." Yuri bowed lightly.
"So anyway," Monika twirled to face him, clapping her hands together. "MC, you probably missed the subtle message we cleverly inserted into the play, but would you like to try and guess it regardless?
"Hint, it's to make you tell us the truth about your nightmares!" Sayori whispered in his ear.
"Yeah, thanks Sayori. I got it." He sighed. "So I'm guessing Monika told you all about what happened yesterday, then?"
"Well, yes…" Yuri admitted while Sayori nodded eagerly. "But I had no idea she was planning… that… in response."
"What can I say, acting's in my blood!" Monika shrugged, and leaned forward. "So, what'll it be? Are you finally gonna spill the beans or do I have to write an even preachier Play?!"
"I just… can't see how talking about it is going to help!" He said, and was immediately treated to the collective groans of everyone in the room.
"We just put on a whole Play telling you how!" Sayori urged. "Or, at least I think we did…? Not gonna lie, kinda zoned out for a bit there."
"If- if it helps…" Yuri interjected. "I used to be plagued by the most terrible of nightmares too, things like having to speak in public without knowing what to say. Truly awful stuff."
"But all your friends drowning in tar is just hunky dory…?" Natsuki mumbled under her breath.
"Like you, I didn't think talking about them would help in the slightest." Yuri continued. "But then I tried keeping a Dream journal, and found that in making my thoughts tangible actually made them more manageable. Less… scary. I know you're unable to write anything in your current state, and I'd be more than happy to assist you, but… you're going to have to tell me about them first."
"The thing is…" He said, struggling to find the right words. "The contents of my dreams are… extreme. I don't want to subject you to it."
"Uh, have you seen the books Yuri's reading?!" Sayori asked. "I bet the summary of Markov alone are grosser than anything you could imagine!"
"Hear, hear!" Natsuki agreed, gaining an irritated glare from the purple-haired girl.
"It's not so much about how gross they are…" He shook his head. "It's more about the bad memories they'll awaken. Very bad memories."
"And I've already told you why that's a load of bull." Natsuki said. "I know your nightmares, I know everyone here, and I promise we can take it. You don't have to worry about protecting us or something dumb like that."
"Wait a second." Monika blinked. "Natsuki, you… you've known all this time?!"
"Duh." The pinkette rolled her eyes. "I know everything."
"Then why the fuck didn't you tell me?!"
"I ain't no snitch!"
"From what I can gather from context clues," Yuri stepped in before Monika got more riled up. "It sounds like your dreams may have something to do with us and the… controversial things from our past?"
She lifted a hand to absentmindedly rub at her arm.
Knowing he couldn't lie with everyone's eyes on him, he let out another, deep sigh.
"Yeah." He admitted. "You could say that."
"…very well." Yuri nodded in resignation, taking a deep breath. "While I had hoped for that part of my life to remain a closed chapter, I understand revisits are sometimes necessary to fully move past them. You may proceed."
Sayori spoke next, kindness flowing from her blue eyes.
"Hey."
"Hi." He replied.
"We'll be okay." She assured him. "What happened back then is in the past. You don't have to feel like you're walking on eggshells around us."
"It was in the past." He pointed out. "I don't… I don't want to be the one who brings it all back to the present."
"And you won't." She countered. "Memories are just that- memories. They can't hurt you unless you let them, and I have no intention of doing that. How about you, girls?"
"Last man who hurt me ended up regretting it." Natsuki grinned. "I'm not about to let some dumb ghost bring me down again!"
"I agree with Natsuki." Yuri nodded firmly. "My previous… addiction, has remained unfed and I am perfectly content with that. I struggle to think of a scenario that could possibly rekindle that flame."
"All I care about is your well-being." Monika said, her voice serious. "Everything else comes secondary. There's absolutely nothing you could say to make me- nor, I'm guessing anyone in this room- stop loving you. I just want to know so I can finally help."
"Please." Sayori pleaded. "Just please, let us help you."
He was out of arguments, out of excuses. What did he have left to justify keeping them in the dark that they hadn't already covered in some way or another?
Slowly, he turned his head, meeting Natsuki's eyes as if seeking some kind of confirmation.
Without saying a word, she nodded once.
"…okay." He sighed. "I'll… tell you."
"Take your time." Monika advised, taking a seat in the couch opposite. He'd rarely seen her face this attentive before, even in class. "Absolutely no rush."
"I recommend you try and visualize the words in your head to get an idea on how to formulate it." Yuri said, sitting down next to him.
"And always remember- we're here for you." Sayori smiled, squeezing his shoulder.
He sighed again, psyching himself up to finally reveal what he'd fought so hard to keep secret all this time.
It was show time.
"By now, you've… probably figured out that the red demons were a lie." He started, feeling his mouth drying up. As if the very core of his body was trying to prevent him from speaking. "I have been seeing… monsters, but not them."
"Phew, thank God." Sayori sighed in relief. "Those guys were scary!"
"What kind of 'monsters' have been haunting you then?" Yuri implored.
He tilted his head downwards, unable to meet her eye.
"You." He said.
So sorry for being so slow at updating this! I originally wanted to be able to upload the last chapter of phase 2 on Christmas, but unfortunately that doesn't really seem very likely to happen. Writing takes me an age and my mind keeps telling me it all sucks, so that's an issue.
But anyway, hope some of you can enjoy this.