Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.
Important Note: I will not repeat the Deaths of characters on each Solo, Duo or Trio Ending because it will just consume the plotline and it would be a useless repeat. Just so you all know.
And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!
Unknown Location
"The Witch of Pride? Are you sure?"
"What do you mean by 'Are you sure'? Muuu~! You are soooooo rude, Adow!"
"...Again with the weird nickname"
Shadow raised an eyebrow in a mixture of genuine surprise and confusion. It wasn't that he disbelieved Typhon when she said that she is the Witch of Pride considering the Miasma emitting from her, but he didn't expect her to be in the form of a child that was no older than Beatrice's physical age.
Then again, his very existence as a massive cluster of countless entities and personalities compressed together in one person, not to mention his original self, was something beyond the concept of bizarre.
"I have to ask. Do you know me?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah. Kinda-sorta? I heard from inside Dona, so yeah" Typhon answered. Shadow mentally recognized this 'Dona' as Echidna.
It seems that Typhon had the habit of giving others simplified nicknames to remember them. Kind of reminds Shadow of a certain buzzing anthropomorphic bee that for some reason that was completely unknown to Shadow up until now, was looking up to said person.
In all honesty, Shadow was completely confused as to why Team Chaotix, and especially Charmy, were the only people within Sonic's group that admired (Idolized in Charmy's case) Shadow immensely. Shadow didn't understand. Those people were the brightest individuals within Sonic's friends, and yet they acquaintance themselves with someone as pessimistic as him.
Shadow sighed at this. It has been already 100,000 years, and yet only one day passed back in his former world, and even then he couldn't put his mind off those beautiful and peaceful memories of those three years that he spent with Sonic and his friends. He always told himself that he must move on to focus on his goal of ending the war that he got stuck into, but the past always keeps on plaguing him, tormenting him from the inside.
He blamed himself, hated himself, loathed himself for everything that happened to everyone around him. Ever since the first day he entered this world and he promised himself that he will do all of that war in silence and in complete solitude, but after the events that happened more than a year ago in Kararagi, Shadow realized that he couldn't do all of that alone, and that he would need help.
And that was the problem itself, considering the fact that every time he gets involved with others, he causes them to feel Despair and Grief. His very existence was like an everlasting plague. That's when he decided: He will finish this war, then he will disappear.
But afterwards, both of them came into the picture of his life: The two Oni sisters.
At first, it was Rem, with her vibrant personality and optimism, albeit she lacked self-confidence, but her existence in Shadow's life suddenly made emotions that not even Shadow was aware of surface inside of him.
And then, Ram came into the picture. Even though she was too much of a Tsundere, Shadow saw a lot in her seemingly emotionless eyes. Not to mention her reckless attempt on saving Shadow from Lahmu, despite it being completely unnecessary as Shadow was already wining against the deity, but she just jumped into action and risked her life. Under normal circumstances, Shadow would have scoffed at this, since in his eyes, nothing is worse than the loss of a life. But when he rummaged her memories while resurrecting her, Shadow saw Ram's soul swimming briefly in the Afterlife, reuniting with her deceased parents, and even heard her confessing to them that she had feelings for him. This made Shadow really happy, even if he didn't show it.
However, this was the problem as well. They will get entangled in his problems. Actually, they already got entangled inside this cycle of madness the moment Shadow stepped his foot in this world. He knew that he shouldn't grow attached to them, but he did. He knew that he shouldn't love them, but he did. He knew that he shouldn't make friends like Subaru and Otto, but he did.
And now, just like in his former world, they are all in danger, and it's all his fault.
"Adow?" Shadow was suddenly snapped out from his melancholic thought process by the cute voice of Typhon calling to him.
"Huh? Sorry, did you say something?" He asked.
"I have always wondered something when I first heard of you: Are you a sinner?" She asked.
Shadow blinked at that, confusion completely riddling his entire face.
"...Excuse me?" He asked.
"Are you a sinner or not? I've always wondered that" She repeated her question.
"...Pardon me, but I don't understand the meaning of that question" Shadow said, before he blinked once again upon seeing Typhon cutely raising her arms to the sky with her fists clenched.
"Ah! I get it! I'll just make sure myself!" She exclaimed before hopping off the chair she was sitting on and marched towards Shadow. Once she stopped in front of him, she then extended her hand towards Shadow as if she was wanted to shake his hand.
"Nnn!" She moaned like a child, causing Shadow to blink once again.
"...You...Want me to hold your hand? That's how you're gonna make sure?" Shadow asked.
"Nnn!" Typhon moaned once again, causing Shadow to groan in annoyance. He always had a soft spot for children to the point that he abhorred harming them, even when he was at his worst. It could be said that it was something instinctive, so even when he was in a state of absolute bloodlust, he would never lay a finger on a child.
"Okay...Fine..." He muttered before taking her hand with his own right hand.
In the very instant he did that, however, Shadow suddenly felt awkward.
Something that he didn't feel back then when Typhon was talking to him a short while ago. It was immediate aura of dense killing intent. He realized that he placed his guard down, but it was too late to retaliate.
"-Sins Can Only Be Atoned For With Pain"
"?!"
Right upon saying that, Shadow suddenly felt his body being yanked forward, feeling that his right side was completely light. He didn't need to know what happened as his widened eyes rested at Typhon holding out his right arm in her small hands.
That's right. Shadow's entire right arm from the shoulder and down to the wrist was torn instantly, with a plethora of nine different colors of nine different energy sources flowing freely from it. Mana, Charka, Maso, Digital Mana, Magatsuhi, Seither, Reiryoku, Ki and Chaos Energy. All flowing like glittering dust from the spot where his arm connected to his shoulder. It was no different than a beautiful rainbow, even in a bright sunny realm.
Shadow was briefly shocked. He didn't expect his arm to be yanked away like that. But in the next second, his calm composure returned upon remembering that Typhon is a Witch, meaning that this was the effects of her Authority: The ability to dismantle bonds between molecules and atoms, allowing for instant dismantling.
"...Can you give me my arm back?" Shadow asked calmly, something that shouldn't be possible for normal people.
"Oh! It didn't hurt, so you're not a bad guy! I'm so glad!" Typhon said while hugging Shadow's arm and smiling innocently like a child.
"...Typhon, Can you give me my-Huh?" Shadow was about to repeat his question, but suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.
[Skills Learned: Cruel Judgement]
Shadow blinked. His Rune Stone Skill had just activated.
Death Wish, Shadow's own Rune Stone Skill, has the ability to copy the powers and abilities of anyone that either is killed by Shadow, or anyone that Shadow learns their name or witness dying or even remember their shapes. It didn't matter who is the individual, as long as they are dead, then the skill is automatically activated, regardless of Shadow's own will.
The fact that it activated when Shadow mentioned Typhon's name means only one thing.
"You're...Dead..." He muttered.
"I see that it doesn't hurt you. That means that you're a good guy, Adow" Typhon said, completely ignoring Shadow's demand. Shadow was starting to get irritated at this. He was weakened due to the fact that he was trying to maintain the seal sealing Crossed Thanatos inside of him, so it was taking everything for him to stand still inside that dream.
"I'll say it one last time. Give me my arm ba-"
"-Crimes Make A Yoke None Can Escape"
"?!"
Just then, Shadow suddenly fell face first on the ground due to the fact that his legs suddenly shattered like glass. And upon falling to the ground, his entire body shattered like glass, preventing him from moving, but he was still pretty much aware of his surroundings.
If only he was not using the majority of his powers to ensure that Crossed Thanatos was sealed, this wouldn't have affected him at all.
"You're no sinner, but you have a guilty conscience? Adow, you're so kind. You poor thing. It hurts so much" Typhon said patting Shadow's head, with his entire face starting to rapidly show cracks as if it was made of glass.
"Alright. Typhon's done. I got what I wanted...Eh?" Typhon spoke to Shadow, before looking up to the sky. She then smiled as she placed Shadow's arm next to him, indicating that she had already listened to and acknowledged his previous request of having his arm back after she used her Authority on it.
"Ah! Got it!" Typhon exclaimed to the sky above her, before her form instantly disappeared like mist in the air, leaving Shadow that was already shattering like glass on the ground, yet he showed no signs of panic, evident by the calm, melancholic expression on his sad, shattering face.
"I see...Such a thing is happening to me because I'm hated even by the world. I'm nothing but an unnecessary anomaly that wasn't supposed to exist in the first place...My father turned out to be a piece of trash that intended on using me as a weapon, while my biological mother was killed by the Humans...Even the Humans who wanted me...The only Humans that my heart trusted...I'm sure that they treated me kindly out of pure pity..."
His sad thoughts surfaced. And if he could have felt pain from Typhon's Authority, it would be incomparable to the pain that his heart sustained from all the Grief that assaulted it.
"Maria...I tried...I really did...But I still don't understand...Where have I gone wrong...?"
As he was thinking all of these negative thoughts, he suddenly felt another presence in the dimension they were in. Or more accurately, the presence was descending from the sky.
"One! Punch the absurdities of the Human World!"
A shout alerted Shadow even more to the presence, and the voice indicated that it was a female, definitely another Witch.
"Two! Nefarious misdeeds can buzz off!"
"...Buzz off? Misdeeds aren't peasants that you can find in a back alley, you know..." Shadow thought, where he would have released a scoff if it wasn't for the fact that his mouth was disconnected from his face.
"Three! Be it unsightly or beautiful...All is part of this transient world!"
"...A fist?" Shadow thought as he saw a fist descending down at him, and before he could think of anything else, the fist slammed into his head. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt at all. On the contrary, he felt relieved and rejuvenated despite being in his dismantled state.
"Don't assume! That you can't make it back! Unharmed!"
With each word the girt yelled, she threw a fist at Shadow's shattered form, causing him to feel immense comfort with each punch thrown.
"My fists restore the world!"
Another punch.
"My anger purifies the world!"
And another punch.
"My Wrath! These healing fists...Are my answer!"
And then it was followed by a flurry of fists, all aimed at Shadow. Strangely enough, each fist thrown created a purple heart image around the woman that threw it, and even strangely enough, Shadow felt immense comfort and warmth each time the woman slammed her fist at him, and even more strangely enough, while her fists did no notable damage, it still made a crater underneath his body as a result from the shockwave emitting from her arm stretching with each fist thrown.
"...Huh?"
Noticing that the flurry of fists ended, Shadow noticed something else: His body was stitched back together. No, the more accurate definition was that he was brought back together, as if the damage caused by Typhon never happened.
Shadow immediately yanked his head upwards, only to have the sight of two huge bouncy D-cups melons swaying in front of him. They should be rivaling those of Rem in size.
"Your arm and both legs are fine! I sure do good work!" The voice of the woman exclaimed, and as Shadow looked at what he confirmed to be breasts, he had the dumb thought that the breasts were the ones doing the talking.
"...The breasts are talking?" He asked, causing a pair of hands to immediately hug the breasts. This caused Shadow to follow the arms with his eyes, only to blink upon realizing his mistake as he looked at the person who healed him.
It was a beautiful young woman who stood at exactly five feet tall. She had slanted sky-blue, almost transparent eyes, long gleaming golden blonde hair that was tied into a messy ponytail on the left side of her head that rubbed against her face along with a pretty pink and blue love heart pin was also fastened to said side. Shadow also noted her considerable sex appeal that could rival that of Rem, evident by her bountiful, D-cups breasts and shapely butt.
Her outfit consisted of an extremely short sleeveless form-fitting one-piece purple dress with a cleavage-displaying cut-out, a translucent sleeveless light purple bodysuit worn under all of her clothes, a pair of thigh-high white boots with purple interior, a pair of long white gloves with purple interior, and a long white sleeveless coat with a cleavage-displaying cut-out that allowed a part of her dress-covered breasts to spill out.
"W-Where are you looking?! Eyes up when you're talking to someone! Eyes!" The woman yelled with a blush on her teary face, before she wiped her head away from Shadow.
"Goodness! Men are always like this! I can't believe them!" She exclaimed, her eyes releasing tears. Shadow himself didn't know whether those tears were from anger or sadness.
And he honestly didn't care. His mind was a raging, seemingly never-ending funhouse right now. But he felt that he shouldn't leave her like that. The least he could do was apologize.
"...Sorry for the misunderstanding" He said.
"Hmph! As long as you are aware then it's fine!" She said, not even looking at Shadow.
"Hold on. You said 'Wrath' earlier. Does that mean...?" Shadow trailed in his question, causing the woman to redirect her teary stare at Shadow.
"I'm the Witch of Wrath, Minerva! Though it's unnecessary for you to know my name!" She exclaimed.
"...You say it's unnecessary, yet you said it anyway?" Shadow asked with a sweatdrop, causing Minerva to briefly opt a thinking pose, as if pondering on her previous action, before she huffed while placing her clenched fists on her waist, not uttering another world. Shadow gave her a deadpan stare, realizing that she had nothing to speak of to defend herself of her previous action.
"Hm?" Shadow then blinked upon hearing the voice that rings inside of his head the moment his Rune Stone Skill activates.
[Skill Learned: Apocalyptic Benevolence]
"Oh...She's dead too..." He thought, before sighing in frustration.
This was going to take too long.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes to adjust them to the sudden burst of light, Frederica's eyes glittered in amazement at the scene that found itself in front of her.
She was inside a space with colored cubes and red floating objects that held stars in them, alongside rainbow-colored birds flying everywhere around her.
What's more, she was floating.
Breaking herself from her awe, Frederica thought of moving in the space as if she was flying, and that just happened, just like that. She was amazed that that worked.
She then proceeded to float towards the red floating objects, and tried touching one of them, only to suddenly get sent flying away from it. Frederica readjusted herself in midair and looked at the projectiles. It seems that those projectiles acted as some kind of jumping pads that repel whatever comes into contact with them.
Bracing herself, Frederica maneuvered around the objects, and no matter how much narrowed the space was between each projectile, she was able to pass through it with ease, having got used to her floating state.
She then passed through the last of those red jumping pads, before looking up, noticing a circular object that had the word 'GOAL' on it, where said object was flickering in colors between red and blue.
"Alright, darling. Just touch this 'GOAL' object" Otto's voice rang into Frederica's ears, causing her to remember what she was here for, and that was to discern the identity of the individual that was posing as Otto.
But just as she was about to touch the 'GOAL'...
"Huh?"
Visions suddenly assaulted Frederica's mind, causing her eyes to widen in shock.
"He's a wolf in sheep clothing. If you trust him, you will die"
"He's not Otto Suwen. Haven't you figured it out? Run...While you still can..."
"You know Frederica, there's something interesting about you girls..."
"...You all are so naive"
"Oh...It seems that I stole your heart. Don't worry. You want it back? Here!"
"Oops. It seems that I inserted it in the wrong place"
The images suddenly stopped, causing Frederica to gasp in shock.
She didn't understand, but she believed that she had just seen the future, and this caused her to take one look at the 'GOAL', before she floated away from it, and the moment she did that, everything flickered in her sight, before he eyes adjusted themselves at a horrid color of red instead of the pleasant colors.
"You little bitch. So you wanna go that way, do you? Well two can play that game"
And just as the angry twisted voice resonated in Frederica's ears, one of the 'GOAL' balls suddenly zoomed towards Frederica, hitting her dead on in the chest, causing her eyes to be blinded by white light.
Kremaldy Forest. Nighttime
A flicker of white light appeared in a part of a running riverbank, and Frederica fell face first from thin air on the grassy ground.
"Ow...My head..." She moaned in pain as she got up to her feet. She then looked at the running river stream descending down from the hill-like platform that she was standing on.
"It looks like I'm at the Kremaldy Forest again, and at its top as well" She said.
"I found you, sweetheart"
"?!"
Frederica wiped her head behind her, only to see Subaru, but with his face being pale, his eyes having black sclera and blood red irises and they were dripping down tears of blood from them.
"Subaru-sama...? No. You're not him. Who are you and what have you done to both Subaru-sama and Otto-sama?" Frederica asked while entering a fighting stance.
"Oh don't worry. They will follow you soon enough, right after I'm done with you. Now then, let's get to the part where I kill you, shall we?" Subaru EXE asked with his crazy grin on.
Frederica clenched her fist, determined to clash against him. However, in the next second, a vision suddenly appeared in her mind that made her eyes widen in Fear and shock, and it was all that it needed to revert her resolve from putting any kind of resistance against that creature that was trying to take her life.
She saw Subaru EXE punching a hole into her heart, before punching another hole into the back of her head and through her right eye.
Frederica's instincts screamed at her to run away, and she knew better than to distrust her instincts.
She looked to her side, and saw a thick log lying on the ground. Not even giving it a second thought, Frederica swiftly picked the log, threw it to the riverbank and jumped on it, landing her feet on the log to use it as a makeshift surfboard.
Frederica jumped down to the descending riverbank, the stream of the river making her descend at high speeds and she couldn't do anything to slow down her descending.
Seeing a huge piece of rubble in her way, Frederica took a deep breath, grabbed the edge of the log, and jumped up, dodging the huge piece of rubble, but was unable to dodge the large tree that found itself in front of her as she jumped off to evade the rubble, causing her to collide with the tree. Fortunately, the log took the entire impact, shattering into splinters.
Frederica wasted no time and jumped towards the tree, grabbing one of its branches, before swinging on it, and released her grip from it, launching her into the other side of the riverbank. She then ran as fast as she could from the abomination that was flying towards her. She then saw a wall in front of her, and she didn't know whether or not it was sturdy. Even so, Frederica wasn't going to waste any chances. It was either slamming into a wall and turning into paste, or possibly suffering a Fate that was worse than Death.
"..."
Obviously, she didn't had to choose. If she was going to die, she would die on her own terms, even if she was running in Fear, that didn't mean that some abomination would be the thing to take her life away from her.
Frederica wasn't much of a warrior like Garfiel or a skilled mage like Subaru, or even a nigh-invincible existence like Reinhard and Shadow, but she held her Pride up higher than anything in her life.
Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, Frederica mustered all of her strength and ran as fast as her legs could make her, heading towards the wall without stopping, bracing herself for the impact.
However, the moment that she made contact with the wall, something strange happened.
A tunning sound assaulted her eardrums, and she felt as if her form was glitching somehow, like the signal in a communication mirror Metia going wrong. She tried opening her mouth to speak or even gasp for breath, but she couldn't. She tried to move her arms and legs, but she couldn't. The Fear of Death rising inside of her, and she was unable to even do anything about it.
And with a tear rolling down the face of her glitching form, Frederica's conscious slipped away as everything went black in her vision.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes open, Frederica saw a familiar sight: The Kremaldy Forest's borders overlooking the Sanctuary.
She then saw a scene that made her eyes wide in shock and disbelief.
She saw a devastated carriage in the distance, and a rather luxurious carriage overlooking the crushed carriage from a higher hill. Whoever drove the luxurious carriage drove it off quickly, escaping the scene. Frederica could also see the hand of what appeared to be a woman poking out of the remains of the crushed carriage and a pool of blood rapidly forming underneath it.
And before she could register her emotions on what she had just saw, the world turned white in her eyes, before it instantly turned black.
At the same time. Mount Cordor
"We did it! All three of us!"
"That was...The strangest adventure that I've ever been part of"
"So many deaths 'cause of tha'creatcha. Ma' amazin' self doesn't know whadda do now..."
Otto, Heinkel and Garfiel released sighs of relief upon entering into the grounds of Mount Cordor, glad that the nightmare was over. And as the three stared at the close-to-set sun, they contemplated on their current predicament.
"Don't give up! We know...This is a hidden spot!" Otto exclaimed with a confident smile.
"Yeah, of course...THIS is a hidden spot"
"?!"
And the familiar voice shattered all of their hope, as Subaru EXE appeared in a small, brief flash of light, standing in front of the three males.
"What? But how? Three of us are alive!" Heinkel said in a mixture of shock and horror, before he saw a new existence appear out of thin air.
It was what appeared to be a small girl dressed as a maid, but her reddish-brown hair was pale purple, with her cyan eyes becoming blood red irises with black sclera, her skin being pale purple in color and her left eye was forcibly closed shut, as if it was beaten to the point that it can no longer open from being swollen badly.
"I guess you forgot about the girls" Subaru EXE said.
"Petra-chan?!" Otto exclaimed in shock upon seeing the state of the little girl.
"Th'fuck?! Th'hell didya do t'th'girl, ya bastard?!" Garfiel roared his question, having seen the mutilated form of Petra.
"No, this can't be happening!" Otto yelled with his eyes wide in shock, grief and disbelief.
"Deja Vu didn't work for you this time, huh?" Subaru EXE asked in a mocking manner.
"Deja Vu? Th'heck ya talkin' 'bout?!" Garfiel yelled, his angry voice was now laced with sobs at seeing his sister's reanimated corpse in front of him.
"Oh jeez...Deja Vu helped you three to survive. Some small fragments of memory are still inside your braindead heads. I guess you can handle it..." The abomination said, before the three males saw Subaru EXE teleporting away, leaving Petra EXE there with them, whose right hand crackled with purple electricity and left hand had a glowing purple orb of light in it. Garfiel, who was the first to recover from the shock, grabbed Otto and lifted him up.
"Go away, Merchant Boy!"
"?!"
Otto gasped as he saw Garfiel hoisting him above his head with both hands, and before he could question what the Human-Beast Hybrid would do, Otto was thrown with herculean strength away from both of him and Heinkel. Otto landed face first on the dirt several meters away from the other two males. He then stood up and coughed out the dirt that entered his mouth, and not a few seconds later, he saw Petra EXE appearing in front of him, holding the heads of Garfiel and Heinkel, whose faces were fixated with an expression of absolute horror while being completely covered in blood.
"Stay away from me!" Otto exclaimed, trying to fight the urge to throw up.
"Otto-sama, please...I don't want to do it, but...Just make this easy for me..." Petra EXE spoke in a tone that was completely devoid of emotion and life.
"Petra-chan...What happened to you? You've changed..." Otto said in a broken voice, seeing the sweet little kid reduced to nothing but a mutilated corpse that was intending on killing him.
"Yeah...I've changed...I feel myself lonely without you and everyone else, Otto-sama..." She said, causing Otto to realize that there was nothing that he can do to change her mind.
"Petra-chan..." He muttered her name.
"Time to die"
"?!"
And before Otto could do anything to retaliate, the world around him suddenly spun around, before it then landed with a soft thud sound on the rocky ground of the mountain. Otto felt that he couldn't move his neck for some reason, where the only thing that he saw was Petra extending her right arm to her side to its full length, as if mimicking a sword. That's when Otto realized.
Petra EXE had decapitated him using nothing but the shockwave of her arm stretching.
His eyes became lifeless as life separated from him, just as his head was separated from his body.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes open yet again, Frederica registered her eyesight on another scenery: A black, seemingly endless space. She looked around and apparently she couldn't feel anything inside that void. Concepts were infinitesimal in that void as it was completely beyond them, and archetypes were completely meaningless upon entering it.
Frederica felt that it was impossible for her to be there, but even then, how is she here? How is she breathing? How is she moving? How is she able to think? Heck, how is she not assimilated into nothingness in this space that transcended laws, duality and cause and effect?
However, Frederica placed those thoughts aside, as the previous vision assaulted her mind.
"That was...Mom...?" She asked no one in particular.
"Yes"
"?!"
Hearing a rather familiar voice, Frederica immediately stood up. She didn't have time to care about the fact that she had no footing to stand on, where for some reason she was able to stand up perfectly fine. She only concentrated on the malicious voice of the creature imposing as Subaru, the creature that was trying to take her life.
The same creature that casually walked in the void towards her with no apparent problem.
"Y-You! Leave me alone!" Frederica exclaimed in a mixture of anger and Fear.
"Calm down, darling. If I wanted to kill you now, I've already done it. Isn't it more than enough that I'm giving you permission to even speak in the realm of nothingness that I created? You should be grateful to me" Subaru EXE said while blankly staring at Frederica.
"What do you want?" Frederica asked, not letting her guard down.
"I found some interesting things about you. Well, do you want me to remind you about your past?" Subaru EXE asked.
"First tell me who you are and why do you look like Subaru-sama?" Frederica asked, secretly trying to dodge the offer that the abomination offered to her.
"Fine...I'm a creature of the primordial force of Order, a Highest, some sort of a guardian of the infinite universes and dimensional realms residing as a part of All Creation. We protect you, mortals from evil and stuff...Or that's what I thought it is...Anyways, I'm using your friend's body because I need to hide from the Highests and Order for a while" Subaru EXE answered in a summarized explanation.
"What do you want from me then? Why are you trying to kill me?" Frederica asked angrily.
"Don't make yourself look special. I'm trying to kill you and your other friends for a ritual to regain my true form so that I can stand toe-to-toe against Nazareth-Lite and all of the Highests, not to mention that I want the Master Emerald to complete the ritual..." Subaru EXE said, trailing in his speech after realizing that he said too much. He then crossed his arms and stared at Frederica, who suddenly saw that his form was somehow flickering. It appeared to be a humanoid figure that was pale orange in color, but she couldn't clearly identify its appearance as the flickering was too quick for her eyes to acknowledge.
"Anyways...I know the killer of your mother and can show you who it is, even if you still haven't figured it out. The choice is all yours" Subaru EXE said.
Frederica stared at him silently, her guard dropping down a little. She thought about what Subaru EXE had said to her. Deep down she knew who did this, so there's no need to ask.
But her entire being shivered at the thought.
What would happen if she said 'Yes'? What would happen if she said 'No'? She had no idea, but either way, she knew that something horrible would happen to her regardless of the choice, as right from the very beginning, she was in the merciless claws of the psychopathic cold-blooded killer that was in front of her.
Steeling herself, Frederica answered with...
"It makes no sense to return to the past. I have friends that need my help, both in the present and the future" She answered, causing Subaru EXE to flash a small smirk at her
"Well...I can't say if this is a smart or a stupid decision, but so be it...See you soon" Subaru EXE said, before snapping his fingers, causing white light to engulf Frederica's sight.
Costuul. Nighttime
A flash of light appeared in midair, and Frederica came falling from it. Luckily, she was able to readjust her position so that she landed on her feet.
"Now where am I?" She asked while looking around.
"Did he really just let me go? Or will he come back for me later?" She asked herself yet again, only to remember that he told her that he will 'see her soon', meaning that she hasn't seen the last of that horrid existence. Frederica then calmed herself by taking a deep breath.
"Ah, I don't need to think about that. I need to find the others. I have to find Petra and call for the other members of the Emilia Camp for help. This means that I must head towards the Sanctuary" Frederica said, before opting a troubled look on her face.
"But judging by the city scenery, it means that I'm in Costuul, so that means that I have to pass by the Flugel Tree, Irlam Village and Roswaal-sama's mansion in order to reach the Sanctuary, though I can take another route straight to Irlam by climbing the mountain range next to the city of Costuul. Goodness, who knows what awaits me there. But maybe I could find Petra there" Frederica said before looking up at the mountain at the distance, before she charged towards it at full speed.
Unknown to her, she left the city with all of its residents that are worth of one hundred thousand having departed to the afterlife.
A few hours later. Atop the mountain near Costuul
"I must be getting closer to Irlam, but there's no sign of anyone that I know. I wonder if they're alright"
Frederica, having climbed atop the mountain, was shivering slightly as the weather got cold once she reached the top. Obviously since the more she tried reached the atmospheric layer, the lower the temperature becomes.
However, what she didn't expect was that a blizzard would assault the mountain range that moment she reached the top. It didn't happen progressively, but it occurred instantly the moment she set foot on the top of the mountain.
"He can...Manipulate even the weather...That's on the level of the Great Spirit Puck-sama..." Frederica muttered while gritting her teeth, before she tried calming herself by taking in a deep breath, even though her lungs started to hurt due to the fact that she took in an extremely frigid air. Nevertheless, Frederica endured the pain, before she leaned to look from the top of the mountain and down to her destination, only to see a massive screen of fog obscuring her sight, which was natural due to the fact that she was at the top of a mountain, where she was progressively getting closer to the atmospheric layers of the planet.
"I can't see anything. This fog bothers me" She said.
"Frederica nee-sama!"
"?!"
Just then, a familiar voice rang in Frederica's ears, causing her to instantly have a smile and a glimmer of Hope shining inside of her heart as she turned around to face the owner of the voice.
"Petra! Thank Od! You...You..." Frederica was excited to see that Petra was alive, but one look at her form and the glimpse of Hope inside of her, alongside the relieved smile that found itself on her face instantly shattered and crumbled away like dust.
"No...Nononononononononononono...This can't be...Petra...You..." Frederica's voice was completely broken upon witnessing the mutilated corpse of the little girl staring emotionlessly at her. Frederica could also swear that she smelled the scent of a verbal disease, as well as bodily fluids. This made her narrow her eyes that were now filled with tears to observe Petra EXE even more, only to gasp as she saw what appeared to be water running down from between her legs, which caused Frederica's eyes to widen in shock before she placed a hand on her mouth.
"Petra...No...What happened to you...?" Frederica asked in horror, seeing that Petra had indeed suffered something that was worse than Death before she met her current dreadful Fate.
"I've died. Don't worry. I actually enjoyed it" Petra EXE said, still holding an emotionless expression on her face, and her answer broke Frederica's heart even further.
"What...? What do you mean...? What happened to you...? You look strange..." Frederica said, trying to find any kind of a fragment of whatever remained of Petra inside the walking corpse of said girl that was standing in front of her.
"Frederica nee-sama. I need to kill you. You can't survive alone out there. So, I'm sorry for this" Petra EXE said.
"You came here to kill me? Why?" Frederica asked, Grief filling her heart by the second.
"I don't want you to suffer. Please...Just let me kill you...It will only hurt for a second" Petra EXE answered.
And this phrase caused Frederica's heart to completely shatter, having come to the cruel realization from this single phrase.
It was too late.
"No...I'm sorry, Petra. I can't give up" She said, causing Petra EXE to sigh, before she slowly raised her left arm towards Frederica, pointing her index finger at her.
"Then, I'll kill you anyway"
"?!"
Just as she said those words, a beam of purple light instantly fired itself from Petra EXE's finger towards Frederica, who had no time to react as the beam pierced through her right shoulder, causing her eyes to widen in shock at being hit with the light beam. The shockwave from the impact made Frederica stumble backwards, before falling down from the mountain top, blood flowing from the hole in her shoulder as she fell from the mountain range.
Frederica didn't do anything to soften her fall as gravity took toll on her with each passing second. By now, she had reached speeds beyond terminal velocity. Beast-Human or not, there's no way that she would survive a fall like that from that height. She could do something to halt her descent, like enhancing her body with mana, or using her Rune Stone Skill, End of Days, to teleport to the Sanctuary to save herself from the fall, but she was so heartbroken to think about anything. She didn't want to use her Rune Stone Skill because she believed that she could find her other friends, maybe even Otto or Petra, still alive and around, but she was mistaken, and she was paying the price of her mistakes with her Death.
In her descension to her Death, Frederica didn't notice a female figure clad in shadows flying towards her, and the moment the figure made contact with Frederica, the Beast-Human vanished in thin air in a flash of white light.
Unknown Location
Frederica wasn't surprised to see herself in a black space of nothingness once again. Rather, she was saddened by what she saw.
The corrupted form of the man that she fell for.
She walked to him, before stopping upon being away by a few meters.
"Just give up, Frederica-san. You're not that strong..." Otto EXE said.
"I can't, Otto-sama. I just can't" Frederica said before passing Otto EXE, walking towards the mutilated form of the girl that she considered the younger sister that wasn't born from her mother.
"Frederica nee-sama, why did you run away?" Petra EXE asked.
"Petra, I...I just can't. You have to understand me" Frederica said, walking away from Petra EXE, arriving in front of her undead-like form of her junior.
"..." Ram EXE couldn't talk because her mouth was sown shut. And Frederica didn't know whether or not she was able to see her since she saw that her eyes were also sown shut.
"Even if you can't talk, I know that you want to stop me as well, Ram. But I'll move forward" Frederica said, leaving Ram EXE. She then arrived in front of the form of her dead young brother.
"Sis...Ur not as strong as Ma amazin' self. Just let go of th'ropes already" Garfiel EXE said.
"Garf...I won't give up...You have to know that...Or else I won't deserve calling myself your big sister" Frederica said, before running past Garfiel EXE, dashing as fast as she could in the black void, and shortly afterwards, white light assaulted her eyes.
Elior Forest. Nighttime
Slowly opening her eyes, Frederica casted her head down, looking at the snow-covered ground with eyes that were completely devoid of life.
She was sad, broken, devastated, overwhelmed, sad, and a plethora of other negative emotions. It danced inside her, filling the void left vacant in the place of where her heart originally was. It was so immense to the point that she didn't feel the frigid cold from the chilling winds of the blizzard that danced around the forest.
"Elior Forest...? How did I...? What am I doing here...?" She muttered her questions to herself, her voice devoid of any life. She was then alerted as five figures appeared behind her in a flash of light. Looking behind her, Frederica's Despair and Grief increased inside of her as she saw the undead forms of Otto, Garfiel, Heinkel, Petra and Ram right in front of her.
"Why did you run from us? Please look at us. We're corrupted" Petra EXE said.
"...If I have at least one chance to survive, you should let me try...I'm sorry, guys..." Frederica muttered her answer to her corrupted friends.
"You'll just end up in an endless loop, with nowhere to go" Petra EXE said, causing a look of resolve to appear on Frederica's despaired face.
"I will still try. Even if I die in the end, I will be satisfied that I died on my own terms" She said, before dashing away as fast as she could from the EXE forms of her comrades and friends. She ran and ran and ran, not caring that her legs were now screaming from being tired.
Her stamina as a Beast-Human was considerably higher than normal Humans, but it was still limited. Frederica was already at her limit, having ran for two days straight with no food or rest for her life.
"Elior Forest connects with the Sanctuary at that point. A few kilometers and I'll reach my destination. I just hope that I can reach it in time to ask for help" Frederica said before running as fast as she could.
She didn't stop, as she knew that no matter the distance, she will reach it in the end. He lungs screamed in protest, her legs felt like lead, her throat burned immensely and her body was already declining due to the cold weather finally kicking in her systems because of her fatigue.
And just as she was about to reach the borders of the Sanctuary, she saw him standing in front of her, being the only thing that stood in her way.
"Hello" Subaru EXE greeted Frederica, who glared at him.
"...Why? Why did you kill all of my friends and left me to live?" She asked.
"Sorry, darling. Maybe I shouldn't put off the inevitable, right?" Subaru EXE threw the question to Frederica out of mockery.
"What have you done to them? Why do they...Look like that?" Frederica asked about her friends, and as to why they look mutilated. This made her hurt even more, as she remembered the horrid form of Petra back at the mountain next to Costuul city.
"You won't understand...This is something that is hard for your brain to understand" Subaru EXE answered.
"Just let me leave! You already had your chance! You could have killed me, but you haven't!" Frederica exclaimed, trying to find an opening to escape, even if it meant that she would plead for her life.
"To tell you the truth, I couldn't kill you back then for one reason..." Subaru EXE trailed in his speech, before vanishing from Frederica's sight, appearing right in the same instant in front of her, holding her by the throat with one hand, causing her eyes to widen in Fear and shock as she was taken aback by the action, as well as the fact that the stare in his eyes shouted 'Madness' and induced said emotion onto her, causing Frederica to nearly lose her sanity from just looking at Subaru EXE in the eye, which made her Fear turn into horror instantly.
"...I. Wasn't. THERE!"
"?!"
And right after saying those words, Subaru EXE tossed away Frederica as if he was swatting a fly, causing her to be sent flying to the ends of the Sanctuary, specifically at the top of the mountain located behind it. Frederica's back collided with a large boulder on the mountain, shattering it apart, before she fell on her back. A few seconds later, she stood on her feet, her maid dress having tears here and there, to the point that the skirt barely covered her lower private parts, with the socks having holes torn in them, and the straps of her waist having been unhooked and torn as well. The sleeves of her outfit became completely tattered to the point that they were no longer suitable to wear, where the only piece of her clothes that remained intact was the piece that hanged onto her torso and covered her ample D-cups chest.
Standing up, Frederica stood up and looked at her state, before tearing the remains of her sleeves that were hanging on her arm. She now looked like a thieving beggar who ran away from a bakery that she stole bread from.
"Where am I?" She asked no one in particular, before she saw something glowing in the distance, right in front of the barrier of the Sanctuary.
"I can see something glowing. It seems to have lots of energy, and in the direction of the Sanctuary's entrance" She said. Looking around, she saw a couple of Griffin Mabeasts flying in the direction of the glowing object.
"Should I...go there? There are a few Griffin Mabeasts flying to that direction" She said, before closing her eyes, having already been suffering because of the events that suddenly happened to her and her friends in just two days.
What did she do in her life? Where did she go wrong?
Was that retribution for leaving her mother go to her Death? For not stopping her to stay with them?
Was it because she didn't kill Heinkel? Was it because she refused to accept Subaru EXE's invitation to get revenge on Heinkel?
Was it because she left Garfiel alone in the Sanctuary? Was it because Garfiel hated her?
Was it due to her selfishness because she tried to pursue her own happiness and try to leave the past behind? Was it wrong for someone like her to smile?
Was it wrong for her to feel happy?
To feel secure?
To feel safe?
To feel loved?
"Ugh...*sniff*...Ah..."
She fell to her knees, openly crying with her tears hitting the hard floor of the rocky mountain. She gripped on the ground so hard her nails peeled off. The pain, the suffering, the Despair, the Sadness, The Grief. All bottled up inside of her for ten years, only for a little push of a button to cause it to blow up from inside of her, leading her to become the sobbing wreck that she was right now.
Frederica then gritted her teeth, before slowly standing up, wiping the tears on her eyes, before looking at the direction of the emerald-green glowing in the distance.
"Alright...Calm down, Frederica. You have nothing to lose now" She said, sniffing slightly with her face stained with tears mark.
"Goodbye, cruel world" She said before running forward, then she jumped off the mountain's top, where a Griffin Mabeast happened to be passing at the same time, giving Frederica the chance to land safely on its back as it headed towards the Sanctuary.
As she was flying, she was suddenly met with two floating figures. One looked like a floating blue balloon-like entity that had red eyes and claws, as well as fanged teeth. The other figure, on the other hand, looked similar to a Wolgram, but it was blue in color and had spikes on its back with its body being muscular, and it was riding a Griffin Mabeast itself.
She then gasped as the balloon-like entity raised its clawed hand, and fired a pale blue energy beam at her, promoting her to pull on the right side of the feathers of the Griffin Mabeast she was riding on, causing it to dodge to the right. Frederica then jumped off the Griffin Mabeast as the Wolgram-shaped creature zoomed towards her at terrifying speeds. Fortunately, she managed to stay alive and prevent herself from turning to paste by catching onto the hind legs of the Griffin Mabeast that she rode, before she flipped herself acrobatically in the air, gracefully landing on the back of the Griffin Mabeast.
She then witnessed Execun preparing another energy beam, causing Frederica to grit her teeth and for cold sweat to run down from her forehead. An idea then popped to her and it caused her to take a deep breath, before waiting for the attack to come. Once the energy beam made a beeline towards her from Execun's clawed palm, Frederica activated her Rune Stone Skill, End of Days.
Instantly, a black portal resembling a black hole in its shape found itself instantly manifested out from Frederica's palm, with the energy beam passing through it, causing Execun to blink in surprise, before it gasped as a black portal opened up behind him. However, the minion had no time to react as the energy beam that he originally fired shot from the portal, hitting him right in between the eyes, instantly vaporizing the spot it hit. Execun remained static for a few seconds with its shocked expression still plastered on its face, before its form started collapsing into what appeared to be crimson blood, scattering in the wind.
"Huh...It seems that this special ability of mine isn't limited to places that I previously visited or to connect to people that I have bonds with. It seems that I can also connect it to places that I imagine or if those places are within my eyesight. Interesting" Frederica said with a voice that was lacking any enthusiasm.
She was then alerted to the roaring sound of Exebark, whose Griffin Mabeast soared towards Frederica's, promoting the Beast-Human to run forward and jump towards the charging Exebark, jumping off her flying Mabeast. In midair, Frederica's form suddenly shifted, becoming larger, morphing from a humanoid form into the mammal form of a giant, yellow cougar that roared to the Heavens as it dove downwards straight towards Exebark, sinking its teeth into the pale blue beast's neck, causing it to roar in pain. The yellow cougar then yanked its head to the side with its teeth still dug deep into Exebark's neck, effectively ripping off the latter's throat and trachea, robbing it from even the ability to roar from the pain. The yellow cougar then finished Exebark off by swiping its right claw at Exebark, ripping both of its front legs, causing it to loss balance. The cougar then morphed back to Frederica, who was completely naked after the remains of her clothes got ripped apart due to her transformation. She then placed her left arm around her chest to cover it, before she charged at Exebark, who was unable to move due to both its legs and throat being ripped off, giving Frederica the chance to deliver a kick right into its face, knocking the blue Wolgram-like monster off the back of the Griffin Mabeast, sending it falling down to its doom.
Frederica stood there in silence while hugging her own chest, looking at the falling form of Exebark as it disappeared within the depths of the world beneath her. She then sighed in relief as she was able to successfully save herself from those abominations, but now, she was unable to muster any kind of strength as she was drained both physically and mentally. However, that didn't stop her from jumping off the back of the Griffin Mabeast upon noticing that she reached her destination. She then landed on her feet right in front of the entrance of the Sanctuary, where upon landing, she saw the source of the mysterious glowing: A giant, human-sized, emerald-green glowing gem.
"Wow...Beautiful..." Frederica silently stared in awe at the beauty of the gem, and for some brief moments, she felt all of her worries vanish, as if they never existed to begin with, and that was just by looking at the mysterious gem.
It was simple in design, being no different from a jewelry gem that you can find at any jewelry store, where the main difference when it comes to appearances was its abnormal size. However, Frederica felt comfort and tranquility just by staring at it, to the point that she didn't even blink, not even in the slightest while staring at its glowing form, something that would normally blind whoever stares for too long at it.
"Wow. You really made it, even though it costed you your clothes"
"?!"
Frederica was then snapped out from her daze upon seeing Subaru EXE floating towards with a smirk on his face, causing Frederica to jump back, opting a fighting stance while still hugging her breasts with one arm and glaring at Subaru EXE. However, she gasped when she suddenly felt that she couldn't move her body. Looking at her adversary, she saw that he was holding his hand out, pointing his opened palm in front of her.
"Did you really think you could stop me? What a pity" He said, his grin widening.
"Ah! Let me go!" Frederica yelled her demand, even though she knew that it fell on deaf ears.
"Shh...Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take the Master Emerald" Subaru EXE said, before walking towards the large green gem.
"No"
"?!"
Just then, a new third voice rang, and in came another figure floating towards both Frederica and Subaru EXE: A slender, black-skinned woman with jade green eyes, vibrant green hair and a black businesswoman suit with black, high-heeled shoes.
"Oh, Nyarlathotep? You're late to the party. So stay still and let me win this time" Subaru EXE said, only to grit his teeth in anger shortly afterwards when he felt that, like Frederica, couldn't move a finger. Him being restrained telekinetically by Nyarlathotep caused him to lose his grip on the telekinesis restraining Frederica, causing said woman to fall straight on her naked rear to the ground.
"What is it, Nyarlathotep? You do realize that you can't use the Master Emerald, so you won't be able to do anything with it. The only one available to be able to control the Master Emerald is me" Subaru EXE said, causing Nyarlathotep to flash a calm smile towards him.
"Yes, I know. But he can do something about it" Nyarlathotep said, pointing at Subaru EXE himself.
"Huh? What are you-WHAT?!" Subaru EXE was about to question Nyarlathotep's words, only to gasp in shock as a bright white light erupted from his chest, prompting Frederica to shield her eyes with her other arm.
"Say goodbye to this timeline~" Nyarlathotep said with a sing-song tone in her phrase.
"YOU BITCH!" Subaru EXE roared as the light intensified, and along with it, came the words that echoed on deaf ears.
"I want them to live..."
Memory Fragment File #07
"Shadow-sama? What are you doing that late?"
"Ah. Frederica. It's you"
Frederica, who noticed the lights of the room open, entered it to see Shadow sitting on a chair while reading a book.
"I have prepared some tea. If you like it, I can serve you some" She said while pulling a tea car in her hands inside his room.
"Sure. I would love some" Shadow said, closing the book and taking the teacup from Frederica's hands, and before he could taste the tea, he looked at Frederica.
"Why don't you join me for a cup of tea?" Shadow asked, before he sweatdropped upon seeing Frederica having a nervous smile on her face. It was then when he realized that he was completely shirtless, with only his pants on. He sighed in frustration, before he looked at Frederica.
"...Don't worry. I won't do anything. Besides, I know that you're Otto's girl" He said, causing Frederica's face to become redder than a tomato.
"C'mon. It's no secret that you and Otto frolic everyday. You might want to request from either me or Beatrice to place a Ruhe spell around your room or Otto's room to block the sound. Then again, Subaru and I will be able to hear it even with the spell active" Shadow said, causing steam to literally emit from Frederica's ears. This caused Shadow to sigh, before he ushered Frederica to sit on the chair in front of his desk. The blonde maid, having been completely overwhelmed by Shadow's speech, reluctantly accepted his invitation, before sitting down on the chair, and served herself a cup of tea.
Minutes of silence passed by as both were sipping tea. However, Shadow would notice Frederica stealing glances at him. A couple of dozens of glances later and Shadow's patience ran thin.
"...What is it, Frederica? You have something to say, spit it out already" He said, causing Frederica to take a deep breath before she spoke.
"Shadow-sama. How...Do you do it?" She asked, causing Shadow to blink emotionlessly.
"...I'm a virgin. I never did 'it' unfortunately" He said.
"That's not what I meant!" She half-yelled at him, before gasping and placed her two hands on her mouth, having realized that she raised her voice at a resident of the mansion, something that is considered a taboo for a maid.
"...Then what did you mean?" Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. He could always read her mind, but he knew that this would be privacy invasion unless she gives him her consent regarding it.
"How can you...Endure the past?" She asked.
This question caused Shadow to stop sipping on his tea, having finished the cup before he placed it gently on the desk.
"...Did something happen to you in the past?" Shadow asked Frederica.
"I...Lost my mother to a certain heinous person" She answered.
"Did he kill your mother on purpose or not?" Shadow asked.
"I...I don't know to be honest" She answered, her head hung down to stare at the ground.
"...Is that person still alive?" Shadow asked once again.
"...Yes" She answered.
"...Are they someone we all know?" He asked once again.
"...Yes" She answered, whispering her answer to Shadow. This in turn caused Shadow to nod his head slowly.
"Frederica, will you take my advice?" Shadow asked, causing Frederica to look at him silently, ushering Shadow to continue his talk.
"...Leave it all behind" He answered.
Frederica felt as if she just dodged a Dragon Carriage accident upon hearing those words.
"Eh?" She could only let out a voice of confusion at Shadow's advice.
"Earlier when I asked you whether or not that person meant to kill your mother, I wanted to know if he did it on purpose to know whether or not you had a motive to take revenge on them. Afterwards, I asked you whether or not that person is still alive to know if you're still hung on taking your revenge from him. Finally, I asked you if they were someone that everyone knew. And when you answered me with 'Yes', It made me realize that this will be dangerous for you" He explained.
"How?" Frederica asked.
"If he's someone we all know, then it will give you troubles if you took your revenge on him, Frederica. You will be branded as a criminal. Revenge is an endless cycle of torture. You're still young and you shouldn't place yourself in that merciless cycle, Frederica. Forget, but never forgive" Shadow answered.
"B-But..." Frederica trailed in her words, clenching her fists tightly as her body shook.
"Believe me, Frederica. Once you enter the path of revenge, you won't be able to come out of it. You'll become a different person. The whole world will be against you and you will never be able to return to your previous life again. Trust me when I tell you Frederica: This is wrong. You must leave it behind in order to live" Shadow said to Frederica, who looked at him in silence for a minute, before she immediately stood up and took the empty cups of tea, placing them on tea car, before bowing to Shadow.
"Thank you for giving me some of your precious time, Shadow-sama. I wish you a good night" She said before she took the tea car in her hands and proceeded to exit the room.
Upon seeing that the door closed behind the blonde maid, Shadow sighed. He knew just by looking at her that his speech was ineffective.
"I hope you don't do anything rash in the future, Frederica" He muttered.
Memory Fragment File #07: End
And Done!
There you have it! The first Female Solo Survival in the story, featuring Frederica herself!
I know that this stuff seems similar to the cannon, but as I said, I placed additional scenes to it. It's actually getting quite difficult trying to find a proper place to set the endings on each survival chapter. I even have to revise the Re:Zero world map in order to find a proper place similar to that of the game, but it actually works out in the end, so I'm not minding it at all.
To Reaper10398, Yes, Shadow will meet all the Witches of Sin, including Satella. Just stay tuned to it.
Also, I really thank you for your support. This is actually the sweetest reply that someone has ever given me for a long time. I appreciate the fact that you like my work and I hope that I will live up to your expectations in the future. I also hope that others would comment to this story and give me their opinions just like you.
Lastly, I would love to know if you guys would like me to write that EX Novel about the what happened during the one-year timeskip between chapter one and chapter two. Just tell me and I will start the preparations for it.
Next Chapter: Round 2. Ending 5: A Little Girl Internal Suffering
Until Next Time And Next Chapter!
Jude Warble, Out.