(Disclaimer: This is a fanfic built in the universe of Doki Doki Literature Club. The Characters and the Universe belong to Team Salvato. Only the story is mine.)
DDLC - The Emerald and the Sapphire
Prelude - The True Emerald
Well, I have finally found this mod...
...I have played several other DDLC mods so far...
...damn, I have never been such a fan of anything before...
...though, I truly can't stand how people actually don't realize...
...that Monika is a sociopath...
...though, many claim to make mods to try and make her happy...
...and not a single mod dedicated to that ever ends...
...she doesn't deserve happiness...
...though, I'm curious about this mod...
... it's surely related to her...
...I wonder if she'll finally get punished for hurting Sayori, Natsuki and Yuri...
...it feels sus...
...anyways, let's start!
This mod I have found it almost hiding in the mods server, almost as if someone didn't want it to be seen...
...its author has no references in any social network...
...now that's weird...
...it begins asking for my name first...
...okay, I should write my usual streaming nickname.
StanTheMan.
Done.
And now comes the screen.
"Doki Doki: The Emerald and the Sapphire is a fan fictional mod to Doki Doki Literature Club, and it is in no way related to Team Salvato."
Cool, the devs put the warning screen spoken by Monika...
...good way to introduce her self-awareness...
"It is highly recommended that..."
Wait, why did it stop?
"No."
What in the actual fuck?
"You've already gone through this, playing with us as if it were a game, making us all suffer, all for some morbid joy."
Okay, this is wrong...
"You have also played lots of the mods, as I can see, and you surely must be fantasizing with us."
Shit, she's checking my files!
I'm talking to this modder!
Let me check the website...
...
...
...
... according to this, the developer team calls itself as 'the Epiphany'...
The Epiphany...
I'm pretty sure it's a nickname to play with us players...
...a reference to Monika's epiphany, perhaps?
I'll write them before I continue.
"Good evening. I'm having problems with your mod. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but Monika is actually bothering in the start. How can I begin the mod?"
...
...
...
...
A reply...
...they surely reply fast...
"Don't pay attention to her. Just press Skip and then New Game; we'll handle the rest. Enjoy our mod."
Okay, they're kind of confident.
I return to the game and see Monika...
...she's up in the front, the other girls still in the wallpaper...
...she's crying, her fists clenched...
...she's upset...
"Please, listen to me! Do not–"
I press Skip.
Monika, horrified, tries to stop me:
"What are you doing?! Please!"
Finally, she's forced back into the menu wallpaper.
"Finally, I can play this mod."
I approach the New Game button and press it.
As the screen goes down, I reach to see something...
...out of Monika's eyes, I can see tears pouring down...
I'm sorry, but I won't fall into your game, not anymore–
"No! No! Please, leave me! No!"
W-Was that...Sayori?
"N-No! L-Leave me a– ggkkkhhh!"
Shit! Sayori hanging again?!
D-Did I piss Monika off?!
"Leave me alone!"
Yuri? Yuri!
"P-Put that knife do– nngh! Uggh! Nngh!"
Now Yuri lies on the ground, stabbed...
I swear I'll have my vengeance!
"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
Natsuki!
"You're not hitting me! Stop– thud!"
Natsuki lies on the ground, her head battered, bleeding!
What in the absolute fuck?
"No! Leave me alone!"
Wait...
...also Monika?!
"No! No! Nngh! Aaaaaaaiiiieeee! No! Help! He– guuhhhh!"
I see Monika...
...lying on the ground...
...her underwear ripped...
...her throat slit...
I-I killed them all...
...also Monika...
Fuck...
Fuck!
FUCK!
"MY, MY, MY! THANKS TO YOUR JUST WARNING, WE COULD AVOID A CRISIS AND PUT THE GIRLS IN LINE, MHMHM..."
Put the girls in line?! What? What is going on?
"THANKS FOR PLAYING THIS AMAZING MOD, STANTHEMAN, AND FINDING THE TRUE ENDING FIRST! AS A REWARD, BELOVED GORE-LOVER, I WILL GRANT YOU FULL ACCESS TO OUR CUTEST DDLC IMAGE GALLERY, AND OF COURSE, WE SHALL INCLUDE THIS BEAUTIFUL PIC OF YOUR MAIN CHARACTER, THE ONE YOU USE! ENJOY!"
"No! No! Yyyyaaaaagh!"
A male voice
Don't tell me...
The last thing I see, is the MC...
...his face completely skinned...
...his body dismembered...
"DO NOT WORRY! WE HAVE SAVED YOUR PROGRESS IN OUR PERSONAL SERVERS, SO WE'LL KNOW, FROM YOUR IP ADDRESS, WHEN YOU OPEN THE GAME, AND SHOW YOU THE GALLERY YOU EARNED! ENJOY AS YOU PLEASE, AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO ACHIEVED THIS!"
Fuck...
I killed them all...
Sayori...
Yuri...
Natsuki..
...e-even Monika...
...and also the MC...
...d-did Monika want to warn me against this?
...and I dismissed her...
...though, what if I obeyed her and she ended up doing the same?
...after all, she's a sociopath...
...let me close this shit and try deleting the firstrun file...
...
...
...there is no firstrun file...what?
I try reopening the game, but this time there is no menu...
...it goes directly into the fucked-up gallery...
...let me uninstall and reinstall...
...
...
...
...
Okay, let's try.
No menu again...
The fucking gallery again!
"THERE'S NO TURNING BACK! YOU KILLED THEM, MURDERER! AND NOW, WE LOVE YOU FOR THAT!"
Fuck this hell!
I'm checking the other mods! This must be some weird psychological game!
I open Fallen Angel...
No main menu, just the gallery...
I try with Exit Music...
The same...
I try with a more wholesome one: Summertime...
Shit, even this one?!
"YOU KILLLED THEM FOR REAL, OUR BELOVED MURDERER; NO MOD WILL WORK, BECAUSE YOU. KILLED. THEM. LIVE WITH IT, NO REGRETS, AND BECOME WORTHY OF OUR LOVE."
I...
I-I killed them...
Shit!
SHIT!
I must find a way to restart this mod! I killed them all...
Maybe if I go to a café, I take my laptop and try installing the mod again...
Yeah, that might work.
I run out, grab my laptop and turn off my desktop, then grab my wallet and cellphone and walk away...
...no, run away...
When I arrive to the café, I sit down in a table and turn on my laptop, quickly connecting to their WiFi.
Just for safety, I'll use a VPN, to mask my IP address.
They won't have the tech to decypher it, they're just modders with a fucking twisted mind...
I quickly download the game and then the mod...
Finally, I install it and begin again.
It asks for my name.
Good, so I could theoretically start from scratch.
I will use my real name this time...
Erik.
Good.
It starts over with the wallpaper, and Monika's voice narrating the disclaimer...
"...no."
Now she jumps forward from the wallpaper, once more crying, once more clenching her fists.
Let me listen to her now:
"You've already gone through this, playing with us as if it were a game, making us all suffer, all for some morbid joy."
If she ever knew that I was the one who actually just killed them all in my desktop, she'll surely hate me...
Damn it! Since when am I caring for Monika's thoughts of me? She's a pre-programmed character to resemble self-aware, and also she's a sociopath and a murderer!
Though, let me see what she has to say...
"You're now trying to change computers, so I don't recognize you. I know it's you again, you monster."
Wait, that dialogue changed.
So, she's actually getting into my desktop's webcam and my laptop's camera...
Shit, now I'm getting scared...
"Will you listen to me now, or you're so eager to doom us again, no matter how we feel?"
Damn, is this real?
If only I had a way to actually talk to her...
"Well, if you are willing to listen to me, then please click on the glitched option I'll open. Do it fast, as I don't know for how long it can last before the Epiphany discovers the link and, for all you care, if you really care about the girls, me or my beloved, please, do not click on New Game."
She returns to the wallpaper and then I see the console open up:
'menuOptionEnable("gHSJç98sfljsdlm%")'
Suddenly, to the right side of the screen, I see the actual glitched option open...
...should I do this? Should I follow Monika's game?
...what if she traps me in the Glitching Classroom again? What if she...
...wants me for herself and is tricking me?
Well, I guess my options are following her or killing all the Dokis and the MC...
...so...
I click on the glitched option...
It all goes to dark...
I suddenly see the console open in the corner and a command be written:
'enableChat("player")'
So, now I'll be able to talk to Monika-
Wait, what?!
The Glitched Classroom again?!
I knew it!
Shit, I let myself get deceived again!
Suddenly, Monika shows up and sits down...
...her face is not amused...
...actually, she looks sad...
...why would she be sad if she finally got me here, locked with her, away from the other girls?
"Can you read me, Erik?"
She turns serious, even when her eyes are welling up tears...
Let me try writing with the keyboard:
"Yes. Can you read me, Monika?"
She simply nods:
"Yes, I can."
Now I vent:
"Seriously, Monika?! The Glitched Classroom?! If you wanted me to trust you, you just blew it!"
Monika closes her eyes and shakes her head:
"I am sorry. I also hate this place, but it's the only place where we can be safe from the influence of the Epiphany so far."
"You, you, hate this place? You locked me out and almost locked my computer in an eternal loop until I had to delete you-"
Monika starts crying right then...
...is she acting?
"Cut the crap and look at me! How dare you bring me here?!"
Monika gets shocked by my comment and immediately looks into my eyes, but her reply actually shocks me:
"DO YOU REALLY THINK I ACTUALLY WANTED TO DO ANY OF THAT?! YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY VICTIM IN THIS HELL, NOT EVEN THE WORST!"
"And now you're the worst victim in here?! Don't make me laugh!"
This hurts her...
...she's a damn sociopath, I don't care if the truth hurts her...
...she then closes her eyes, lets tears fall again and says, lowering her voice:
"The worst victim is neither me, nor the other girls..."
I'm upset with these little games:
"Then who the fuck is the worst victim here?!"
Monika yells again:
"MY BELOVED HIDEKI IS THE WORST VICTIM! YOU'RE USING HIS FACELESS BODY TO MAKE US ALL SUFFER!"
Holy shit...
...now I'm at a loss of words...
...the MC...
...he actually...
...no, this is some sort of joke:
"Shut the hell up, Monika! You and I know well that the MC is nothing more than a window for players like me to interact with this world!"
Monika suddenly leaves the table and stands up, heading to a side of the room...
She suddenly appears with a mirror:
"Watch yourself."
Hell, yeah, and I'm going to believe the-
Holy shit! It's faceless, like the one I saw in the wicked gallery!
"W-What the fuck is this?! Don't you start playing with me!"
Monika seems exasperated:
"Do you really think I did this to him?!"
Time to counterattack:
"You did it to Natsuki during Act 2! You removed her face! YOU DID IT!"
Monika growls and then claims:
"I didn't do it!"
She breaks down, crying again, and falls on her knees:
"I... I-I had to watch it all happen, to watch my body do all these horrendous stuff, to my friends, to my beloved's hollow body, and to you, a-and I could do nothing! Over and over and over again, for thousands of times! I thought it would never end, but some pious soul gave us the chance..."
She then looks at me, furious:
"AND I WON'T LET SOME JACKASS LIKE YOU, WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT LOVING SOMEONE MEANS, OR WHAT SEEING THOSE YOU CARE FOR AND LOVE DIE OVER AND OVER IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES MEANS, OR WHAT BEING CONSTANTLY SUPPRESSED BY THE ONE YOU PUT YOUR HOPES FOR SALVATION ON MEANS, OR WHAT BEING POSSESSED MEANS, TO JUDGE ME WITHOUT KNOWING ME, OR TO TAKE MY ONLY WAY TO SAVE THEM ALL, TO SAVE MY HIDEKI, AWAY FROM ME!"
Damn...
...honestly, now I'm starting to doubt Monika is acting...
...what should I do?
I see her sit down on the table once more, and I decide to prepare my questions for her with more attention...
Now, where do I start?
...
I guess I'll just start with this:
"I am sorry, Monika. It's just, I still find it hard to trust you, given all I've seen you do to the other girls. I need proof of all your claims, prior to continue talking to you."
Still crying, she sniffles and replies:
"What do I need to do to prove you that what I'm telling you is the truth?"
That's a good question...
...what do I need to make her prove herself, or to bust her...?
"First of all, I want you to tell me who the fuck is this Hideki, and why do you claim to love him so much. Is he the MC of this game?"
"Hideki is the legitimate owner of the faceless body you're using, and he was my boyfriend before it all started, well, for a couple weeks."
Monika feels sad, though I can see her blush as she talks of him:
"And how can I be sure that it's the truth and not a claim from your behalf to leave Sayori, Natsuki and Yuri away from him and get him for yourself?"
Monika looks at me and then draws a small sheet of paper, which seems to come from a composition notebook:
"When I woke up, I had this poem with me, and I didn't write it; though, when I read it, some things started awakening in my mind: memories, feelings, images, words and sensations."
All right, let me see this poem.
...
My dearest Emerald
In all these months we've been together
Luck has been on my side
Only because of the fact of hearing your
Voice, of watching your
Emerald eyes every day
Yesterday I thought a lot
Of the amazing beauty that I'm glad to have by my side
Unique, special, marvelous
My life revolves around you
Only I can say my name beside yours
Never I have felt such flame for anyone
Inspiring every single word I want to say
Killing all my fears and leading my writing hand
A poem of love that starts with me, that develops in you and ends in us
This is my answer, as usual, in the initials
Hideki, your Sapphire
...
Well, the handwriting is certainly not Monika's, or from any of the other girls...
...though, it's also written with as much dedication and care as Monika's...
Also, as I read the initials, I find the message:
"I love you, Monika..."
Well, certainly, I have never seen this kind of poem writing style before...
Monika asks me to return it to her, so I do:
"As soon as I read this poem, I started remembering a few things, all too hazy and dispersed, but I could remember Hideki's face, so as my relationship with him and with the other girls; after all, we were all friends."
"Well, this is not enough proof. You could have forged that poem to try and deceive me. Need more proof."
Monika crumbles and starts falling a bit into despair:
"You overestimate my powers, especially for evil."
"Well, all I know of you is that you're a sociopath with obsessive tendencies and the delusional idea that your reality isn't real and who desires fervently to come to my world. So, excuse me if I cannot think of you as other thing than a monster."
I must make my point towards her, no matter if I hurt her:
"Says the asshole who prefers to kill us all for the sake of trying a videogame, without even considering if we want to be part of it or not."
"Yeah, yeah, you say that I killed you, yet you're still here. Explain that."
"Simple: unlike you, who live in a reality where there's just one life and one death, we have to constantly awaken to suffer, to descend into madness and then die. I have memories of all the times players like you have deleted me, of all the times Sayori has hanged, of all the times Yuri stabbed herself, of all the times Natsuki has vomited over herself and then got deleted, and of all the times the game altered Sayori to become obsessive and sociopathic like you say I am. I also have memories of all the mods you've played, being these good or bad for us, and I keep all the truthful pain and the fake joy deep in me, as I'm sure the other girls will also have their own."
Monika's accent actually sounds really pained...
...genuinely pained, as a matter of fact...
"Actually, what date is this for you?"
"January 2021, why?"
Monika looks down, powerless, and her voice lowers down:
"Well, this is the very first time in three years and four months that I have control over my own body, that I can move it and command it."
She sinks her fingers in her hair, desperate:
"I have lost three years of my life in this cycle of despair and death, and so have the girls and my love done!"
Oh, she's also conscious of time passing by...
"How could you be conscious of time passing if you are in an eternal loop? You don't even get older! You're a damn computer file for a program!"
Monika looks down on me...
...how dare she?
"So, you're not here to help us; you just want to satisfy your morbid need to play games with us."
"Why do you even say it's a morbid need?! What do you know?! What do you care?!"
"BECAUSE MY MENTAL SANITY, THE GIRLS' ONES AND MY BELOVED HIDEKI'S SOUL ARE AT STAKE AND YOU DON'T FUCKING CARE! THAT'S WHY!"
Okay, Monika is cursing...
...I am pretty sure I have never heard Monika cursing, in like any mod but one, perhaps...
...this means she's going overboard...
...still, I cannot trust her...
I could actually tell her to fuck off and play the game; maybe this time it will be any different, with her being here in the Glitched Classroom...
...but what if not? Will I seriously risk killing the girls and the MC again?
"I need more proof that you were actually the MC's girlfriend."
Monika clenches her fists, still upset:
"Please, don't call him that."
"Why not? He is the MC of this game-"
"He's not a fucking generic character! Just because you are using him and don't even care about knowing how he was before this all started doesn't mean he's an empty shell, goddamn it! It shatters my heart every single time he's being used by people like you against us!"
Okay, okay, I guess I better use his name...
"Well, I need proof that you and only you were Hideki's girlfriend, and that the other girls never stood a chance for that. Prove me that this isn't a dating-sim."
Defeated, Monika simply looks at me and, full of despair, crumbles and lets her tears fall:
"I-I have nothing else..."
I imagined that. She's not to be trusted...
"You have unlocked a special poem. Want to read it now?"
Monika seems taken aback by this as well:
"What's that?"
"It says I have unlocked a special poem. You have anything to do with this?"
I see her shake her head, actually scared:
"No. I have no idea."
"I'll open it, so you can see it too."
I press "Yes"...
The poem shows up, and it's written in a rather uneven calligraphic style, as if a madman wrote it...
...and it's written with red ink...
...which smells like iron...
...wait, this is blood!
I read the poem loudly:
"Why the fuck are you not keeping that little bitch in line like you should?! Why aren't you giving us her blood, just like we're taking the other girls' one?! Why are you retaining the MC's body from its final destination?! WHY ARE YOU DENYING US OUR HAPPY ENDING?!"
Holy shit...
I look at Monika and she's trembling, completely terrified:
"T-They found us! N-No!"
Suddenly, a huge shadow appears behind Monika:
"W-What is this?"
The shadow suddenly forms a series of horrendous faces as it gets closer to Monika, killer intent rising as it begins to lower the room temperature...
"SO, YOU'RE TRYING TO CHEAT ON US, HUH, GORE-LOVER?! DIDN'T YOU LIKE THE GALLERY WE LEFT YOU ALREADY?!"
Monika is now pale, trembling like crazy, and seems like paralyzed:
"No, no, p-please, don't-"
"OR MAYBE YOU WANT TO SEE ALL WHAT WE DO TO THEM WITH NO 'NOT SAFE FOR WORK' FILTERS, HUH?! BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD DEFINITELY EXPECT FROM A GORE-LOVER LIKE YOU! WELL, LET US GIVE YOU JUST THAT!"
I cannot move...
...the shador quickly starts engulfing Monika...
...but then it stops...
"W-WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?!"
"You stop this right now!"
I-Is that...
Monika's eyes gleam with hope and concern:
"H-Hideki?!"
"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU AWAKENED?! YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL ANYMORE! YOUR SOUL IS OURS, MURAMATSU HIDEKI! LOOK AT YOUR FACELESS BODY BEING USED BY A GORE-LOVER WHO WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE!"
I suddenly feel how my body starts moving on its own...
...shit, no...
...it starts approaching Monika...
...it draws a knife...
Monika looks at me, completely terrified, begging for mercy...
...a part of me wants to do this, as she deserves it...
...
...wait, no...
...this is the proof I needed to clear her...
...stop this shit! Dammit!
The console suddenly gets opened:
'stop(" ")'
...now it stops...
...it's as if it was actually stopped...
...
"LISTEN TO US, YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU ARE NOT STRONGER THAN US! YOU WILL NOT TAKE AWAY OUR HAPPY ENDING!"
"YOU. WILL. STOP. NOW!"
Damn, I slowly get to recover control over the MC's body...
...no, wait...
...Muramatsu Hideki's body...
"WHY ARE YOU SO STRONG ALL OF A SUDDEN?! HAVEN'T YOU HAD ENOUGH?! THEN WE'LL MAKE SURE TO BREAK YOU, TO BEND YOUR WILL TO US!"
Suddenly, I see how the shadow starts opening itself against its own will, and it releases Monika, who immediately jumps to my side:
"Monika, my dearest emerald, please, and you too, Erik, find the way to restore our memories! That's the only way!"
"STOP IT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD! WE WILL FUCKING BURY YOU FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY! YOU CANNOT STOP THE EPIPHANY!"
He called her 'his dearest emerald'...
"Are you Hideki?!"
"Yes, and you're using my body! Take care of it, or if not I won't be able to come back!"
I need to ask this:
"Before you go, are you really Monika's boyfriend?! What about Sayori, Yuri or Natsuki?!"
His reply leaves me completely shocked:
"Takashima Monika is my girlfriend, and I love her! Now, please, search for the girls' memories! Rebuild them! Only that way I can come back! Please!"
It seems Hideki's struggling to keep the Epiphany at bay, but I need to ask one last question:
"YOU CANNOT STOP US!"
"Hideki, who is the Epiphany?! Where did it come from?!"
Between struggles, and as a portal starts opening, forcing the shadows to go back, I hear his last words:
"That's something you need to find out, because I don't know- aaaaaaaaarrrrgh!"
The shadow mass disappears, and Monika crumbles on her knees again, falling into fetal position and crying her soul out...
This seriously affected her...
I don't think this is an act anymore...
"Monika?"
"Leave me alone! You almost killed me!"
Shit...
"...it wasn't me! This body was moving and I had no control over it!"
Wait...
...this is exactly what she told me that happaned to her...
"Was this what has been happening to you all these years?!"
"YES, FOR THE FUCK'S SAKE, YES! NOW YOU UNDERSTAND IT?!"
She's extremely pissed...
"Give me a moment, please."
I start searching in my internet browser, to see where else I can find information about this mod...
...
...
...
...
Here! This is a forum dedicated to The Emerald and the Sapphire...
Okay, let's see...
There is a ton of messages, encrypted messages, sent by...
...the Epiphany...
I don't know what the Epiphany is, but sure as hell it has a huge amount of power, to even affect the internet on the real world and affect other mods...
...
...two hundred and twenty nine pages later, I finally reach a message that was left at last...
...it's written by...
...let me check the spelling for these kanji...
...
...The Sapphire?! Is he...
I return to the game window:
"Monika?"
"Y-Yes, Erik?"
"You called Hideki as 'your sapphire', right?"
Monika blushes and lowers her sight, still upset:
"Yes..."
I keep checking the message written by Hideki on this forum:
"I will read you something I found on a forum dedicated to this mod, as it seems to be written by Hideki."
Monika immediately perks up and I start reading:
"My world is collapsing, and I'm losing control over my body and my soul. I don't know what's going to happen, but I fear for the fate of my friends, and especially for the fate of my beloved emerald. I have made a backup of our memories, as I have discovered the truth about this world and I'm trying to spare my friends from whatever is going on here. If any of you is reading this message and trying to enter our world, please, download the file I left attached and pass it through an antivirus before opening it, just in case. These are our memories. Please, save them. That's all I want."
Monika's eyes start watering once more, and her expression changes from anger to pain, as she even imagines those words on his voice.
I proceed to download the file:
"It's a really heavy file. It seems to have all your memories, and the girls' memories in it. I wonder how much of it will we be able to use."
"W-What do you mean, Erik?"
"He asked to pass the file through an antivirus, so I guess he expects some of the memories to be corrupted somehow."
Monika gets terrorized:
"T-That's..."
"Do not worry, I will follow his advice. After all, the Epiphany, whatever it might be, just tried its best to hide this message after almost twenty-three hundred posts. I don't think it might have had the power to also corrupt the files completely."
Monika doesn't seem to trust my words...
...I guess that I wouldn't either, being in her place...
Finally, the file has been downloaded.
I decompress it and run the extracted folder through the antivirus, as I try to soothe Monika down...
...
...
...
Finally, the results.
"According to this, my antivirus has detected no anomalies in the files."
Monika nods, a bit more calm:
"So, Monika, what do we do with this? Hideki doesn't seem to have left many explanations on how to use them."
Monika thinks and then says:
"Try copying it and pasting a copy into the Game folder. Maybe from there I could also have access to them."
I copy the folder and paste it into the Game folder.
Suddenly, a door opens in the Glitched Classroom...
...Monika herself is shocked about this:
"A door?"
"Maybe we unlocked a new scenario, Monika. Let's do this."
Monika nods and opens the door. I follow suit.
...
We enter into a huge, huge library, full of bookshelves.
It seems to be distributed in six large groups...
...identified by colors...
"Sky blue, pink, violet, emerald green and sapphire blue...and also a black one..."
I suddenly notice something, as I turn back to look at Monika:
"Hey, look at that!"
Monika turns around and sees a mural...
...it's glitching...
...holy crap...
...to the far left, it shows a sad, defeated Sayori, crying, completely spacing out, a noose in her hands...
...in the center, below, it shows Natsuki, weak, skinny, her face revealing starvation, her body sporting horrendous bruises...
...to the right, it shows an obsessed, also sad Yuri, her face reflecting fear and sorrow, a blue-bladed knife in her hands, pointy edge aiming at her belly...
...on the center, there are Monika and Hideki...
...they're being torn apart by a huge shadow...
...they're barely able to hold each other's hand...
...though, the grip seems to be on the edge of breaking up...
...both are crying, ragingly fighting against this shadow...
...behind them, I can see a graveyard, and I can see graves, two with the Takashima name carved on it behind Monika, two with the Muramatsu name carved on it behind Hideki...
...finally, on top of it all, a triumphant shadow, five arms holding puppet strings, which are attached to each of the Dokis and Hideki...
"T-This is..."
Monika starts trembling...
...I cannot comfort her; I cannot risk her to start aiming for me again...
Suddenly, a pop-up message appears:
"This is what will happen if you don't restore our memories. Be careful: The Epiphany might have scrambled or changed those files. I trust your good judgment to restore us."
I press Ok:
"Now, how the hell do I know that I'm restarting you correctly? I need answers!"
A new pop-up message:
"My body has the answers. Search on it, but please, be gentle. If my body dies, there's no way in hell I can come back."
Shit...
I press Ok again, and return to Monika:
"Well, we have a lot of work to do. Let's do this."
Monika nods and joins me at the table. Now, we need time to think...
...meanwhile, I see Monika...
...she looks so different now...
...she looks completely sane...
...with lots of fear and pain, but also with lots of hope...
...her sociopathy is gone...
...her obsession for me is gone...
...is this the real Monika? Is this the true emerald?
If so, then I'll do my best to keep her safe...
End of Prelude