The cold wind roared and whipped across the tall grass as Natsuki was being dragged through the wet soil and foliage. She still fiercely held onto both the book and her gun even though she could hardly move. Suddenly she felt the tension on her limbs become loose and she fell to the ground. She sat up and tried to find out where she was. Her surroundings were far too dark to see anything, but the sound of branches rustling against the wind above her let her know she was in the woods far from the house. As she stood up, she felt the severed threads fall off her body or get caught in the wind. She quickly put the book and gun in her bag and unsheathed her sword. She called out for her friends, but there was no reply.

The sound of branches slowly breaking above her got her attention. This was quickly followed by the sound of something thin and sharp shooting down from the air and then curving around her. Natsuki closely followed the sound as it travelled around and towards her. As she heard it within a few feet of her she made a fierce slash in its direction. The sound of cloth shredding combined with a strange "twang" sound much like a guitar string was heard. Natsuki felt she hit something, but still couldn't see what.

That same sound was heard above her again, only slightly quieter. Natsuki gripped her sword as the sound of something stretching itself among the trees could be heard. Suddenly, there was a strum of soft sounds, like a harp being played above her. It was then that the wind gently died down, and all was quiet.

Then the sound of something heavy stomping through the grass was heard in the distance. Natsuki turned to the direction of the sound as it came towards her. It was then that out from the treeline, he emerged.

Natsuki's heart raced and her body froze. She could only she the outline of the figure in the darkness but she knew it was him. Images and sounds flashed through her mind as the figure lumbered towards her. Bloody knuckles, bloodshot eyes, a roaring voice. In that moment Natsuki felt an immense surge of fear, fury, and all in between erupt within her as she charged at the figure, slashing her sword rapidly.

As her sword came into contact with the figure, it slid through him like thin air, clearing a straight line from his shoulder to the side. Then the figure melted and dispersed entirely into a cloud in thick mist. Natsuki, caught in her own bewilderment and still recovering from that burst of primal fear, failed to react in time to the sound of threads cutting through the air behind her.

A flurry of threads rapidly wrapped around her, binding her legs together and causing her to fall into the grass. She raised her sword above her in an attempt to cut the threads but she felt her wrists caught and bound by another group of threads. Her left arm was pulled to the ground whilst her right was felt in front of her. She felt the threads wrap themselves around her wrists multiple times until it felt like a sinewy gauntlet was squeezing against her wrist. Still, despite the pain, she held onto her sword. It was then she felt something begin to crawl from her wrist and up her hand. What felt like many tiny worms slithered between her fingers. They slowly crawled up and around her fingers until they began to tug. Natsuki still held on, gritting her teeth.

Suddenly the threads squeezed against her hand and cut into her skin. Natsuki yelled as the pain caused her to lose her grip and her fingers were pulled back. The sword was then pulled out from her hand. Natuski felt her blood wet the handle of the sword as it slid out of her palm.

Her arm was then pulled down to the ground and wrapped along her side. She then felt the tug of the threads pull her by the shoulders along the grass. Suddenly she was lifted a few feet into the air and aggressively thrown into what felt like a huge net.

Still reeling from the impact, Natsuki found herself suspended five feet above the ground. She tried to free herself, but her struggle was in vain, as the threads had wrapped around her limbs completely.

Then a light tapping sound was heard above her. She lifted her head had much as the tight threads on her neck would allow. A small, slightly luminescent white shape descended from the branches above her.

As the figure slowly moved closer, Natsuki saw what was making those tapping sounds. A set of long, thin appendages stuck out of its body and stabbed into the tree trunks as it descended.

Soon it lowered itself in front of her.

A snowy-white female body floated in front of Natsuki, suspended by the six appendages sprouting from its back. The figure was nude, and seemed to emit a faint glow from its featureless skin. The limbs seemed to have been fused together, with the arms out by the waist and the legs straight. The face was featureless. There were hints of a nose and mouth but there were no lips, nostrils or eyes. A solid set of silver hair rested upon the head, appearing to have been brushed back and spread outwards behind the face like a small halo.

Natsuki could do nothing but watch as the figure lingered in front of her. Suddenly the creature lunged towards and stuck four of its arms into the trees on either side of her. Natsuki felt the threads behind her vibrate as the trees shook. The remaining two arms dangled in front of her face.

Even though her heart was racing, Natsuki remained stern-faced. Whatever this thing was going to do, she was not going to face it whimpering.

The two arms began to slowly approach her, the sharp piercers coming straight for her eyes. But then the arms moved aside and placed themselves on either side of her head.

It was then she felt the threads holding her in place vibrate behind her. Each movement was accompanied by a soft strum of varying tone. Natsuki saw the being's arms move around her as the sounds were being made. The creature was plucking at the threads of the net as if it were some huge lyre.

The song was of a simple, yet sombre melody, and stopped as suddenly as it started.

A black square suddenly materialized in front of Natsuki, hovering between her and the creature. It could only be seen in the darkness because it contrasted with the white glow of the creature behind it. Then the shape appeared to grow in front of her as copies of it unfolded and multiplied until the creature was completely obscured.

The shapes began to grow around her until she was enveloped in darkness. She suddenly felt the threads restraining her loosen and she dropped from the net and into what could only be described as thick air.

It felt as if she was swimming through some unseen murky matter as she struggled to find the ground or anything to hold on to. She could hardly breathe. She air around her seemed to push and pull as continued to slowly swirl in the void. The motions became stronger, until she found herself in what felt like the depths of a stormy sea.

In one final push, Natsuki landed on cold, moist ground. She coughed and shuddered as she slowly lifted herself up.

She was in a corridor of some short. The slick, undulating black walls of the chamber around her only were visible due to the shafts of grey light streaming from the small slits in the ceiling.

She looked at her right hand. It was bad. It was drenched in blood and some cuts went straight down to the bone. She gave a quick look around her.

The walls and roof appeared to have some strange ribbed texture to them, as if black skin had been stretched over columns and rails of bone and cartilage. The corridor extended both in front and behind her with each ending in darkness. She could only hear the sound of water dripping around her.

She quickly rummaged through her bag, pass the gun and the book, to find the scraps of gauze that were still left over. There was no time to be delicate, Natsuki winced in pain as she wrapped the white bandages over her fingers with her left hand, cutting them with her teeth. It stopped most of the bleeding, but she wasn't going to be able to hold anything properly in her right hand without it disturbing the bandages and causing more pain. She grabbed her revolver with her left hand, slung her bag over her shoulder, and slowly proceeded to walk forwards.

As she walked alone through the dark chamber, her mind still lingered on the creature that she thought would be the end of her. She felt as if she saw that being before, perhaps in a dream, but she could not be certain.

She walked on, her feet occasionally dipped into small puddles of cold water that formed in indents in the ground. The top parts of her socks got soaked and cold, much to her frustration. Soon she saw an opening in the distance.

She made it to the entrance, and saw a large chamber illuminated by shafts of white light beaming in from the ceiling. Flecks of dusts could be seen swimming throughout the air in the light. The black walls were covered in mats of silvery webs that stretched across the arches and pillars of the chamber. In the centre of the chamber, there was an elevated platform.

About five inches above the murky ground was a clean wood-panel floor, seemingly suspended in the air. Atop this floor was a brown armchair, with a figure slouching head-down on it.

Natsuki raised her gun, trying to ignore the pain in her right hand as she steadied her aim. The figure was not moving, but she was not taking any chances. As she approached, a feeling of deja-vu returned. She felt as if there was something about this setting that she experienced before, but she could not pinpoint it.

She stepped atop the "stage", the wood creaking beneath her. Suddenly the figure fell forwards onto the floor with a thud. Natsuki panicked and shot the chair, causing the bullet to tear through the leather and expose the yellow sponge inside. The sound of the blast bounced back against the walls, and then silence. The figure lay bent on the floor, not moving.

Natsuki saw the beige colouring of its skin, and the ball-joints in its knees and elbows. Its head was turned to the side, showing a flat, featureless face. A mannequin of some kind. The strangest of all were these six dots laid out in two rows along the back of the figure. They were red and somewhat swollen, somewhat like insect bites. The sight made her feel nervous. As she got up she saw a figure standing in the darkness from the corner of her eye.

She turned and raised her gun again, but the figure remained immobile. She approached, keeping her gun raised. More of its features, or rather lack thereof, became visible as she got closer. It was another mannequin, standing upwards with its head and shoulders hunched downwards.

Natsuki paused and looked at her surroundings. What was this place? What was this "Stage" with the dolls? The "stage", in comparison with the rest of the chamber, was clean and tidy, with none of the webs that coated the outer walls present.

The webs, she realized, were the same as that the creature spun. She was in its lair. But it also meant that her friends would be too.

Natsuki could see another doorway behind the mannequin across the chamber. As she walked passed it, the floor creaked beneath her and caused the mannequin to fall over beside her. It suddenly stopped, suspended in the air with its arms dangling. The figure was now in the light, and that's when she saw it.

Six thin strands poured from the holes in the doll's back and hung to the ceiling, covered in thick white weaves of similar threads. The taught lines shone in the light as it held the mannequin in place. Natsuki felt immensely unnerved at this unnatural sight, but she knew she did not have time to ponder, not when her friends were in danger. She carried on and hopped off the stage and walked towards the doorway.

Once there, she saw that the corridor stretched only about seven feet before curving down to a steep drop. Natsuki slowly walked towards the edge, careful not to slip. All she could see was darkness, yet the wall itself seemed sloped enough to slide down. It was either go down here, or wander back through the chamber and the other corridor into the unknown. She thought it best to try the pit and pray for the best. Just as she knelt down and readied herself to go in, she suddenly stopped. She then scuttled to the wall on the side and leaned against it.

"Why the hell is this happening?" She said out loud, her voice weakened.

She could remember sitting in the classroom with her friends, Monika reminiscing the festival, Sayori having to diffuse another one of her and Yuri's rows over something, and Si- .

"No, he wasn't there. But, there was someone else, wasn't there? It was a he, but he didn't stick around. When was that? Feels like months ago. But it wasn't him. Why did I get them confused?"

She quickly dismissed her thoughts and went back to the hole. This was no time to let thoughts get in the way, her friends needed her.

She placed her gun back in the bag. She then tossed her legs over the pit, and held onto the edge with her hands. She gently lowered herself the edge, and after taking a deep breath, let go.

She slid down into the darkness, the cold but smooth surface quickly rushing past her back. After only a few seconds, Natsuki felt herself fly off the surface and suddenly land on a strange, soft pile.

Natsuki grunted and groaned as she lifted herself up. The first thing she saw were dozens of light shafts, they were immensely high up and stretched themselves outwards and far between. However, she was just outside one of those light beams. She felt like she was sitting on a pile of objects, but she couldn't tell what. She brushed her hand against the pile, feeling a cold, leathery texture. She quickly recoiled when she felt small fingers brush against hers.

Her movement caused the pile beneath her to slip and she slid down a few metres until she reached the bottom. The light above her illuminated a sea of arms, legs, and faceless heads.

They were mannequins, hundreds of them, but they appeared different. Their leathery skin appeared shrivelled and warped, its beige colour faded to reveal a pale grey. Now dread overcame her. What were these things? Why are they here? Why were there so many?

As she stood up, struggling to find a piece of ground that wouldn't shift beneath her, she saw a dip in the pile, and what looked like solid ground below. Natsuki slowly stumbled across the mountain of dolls and reached the edge. Indeed, she could see empty ground reflected off a shaft of light. She steadied herself at the edge like before and this time climbed down the pile. As she went down, she could feel the cold skin of the dolls brushing against her hands. Went her foot reached the surface, did made a horrid wet squish that sent a chill up her spine.

Natsuki stood upon the ground, it felt as if see was standing on wet clay. The light, though dim, could show the pale mounds of earth stretching across the floor, but nothing beyond that. She pressed on, her feet squelching beneath her has she walked. She could see another light shaft in the distance, beaming down from high above her. There appeared to be a wall of some kind reflecting across the light. Before Natsuki walked again, she grabbed the revolver out of her bag and gripped it firmly in her left hand.

Walking forwards, the shape in the light grew bigger, her footsteps echoing in the darkness. It was not long before finally she stood before it.

An immense web of silver threads was stretched before her, forming a wall of thick cords arranged in delicate patterns. Suddenly a muffled scream erupted from the wall causing Natsuki to jump. She turned to the source of the sound, and saw the figure bound on the wall, wrapped in thin silver threads. The screaming continued, it was a girl's voice. Natsuki could see the brown blazer and blue skirt beneath gaps in the threads.

She quickly grabbed the figure by the sides of the torso, a few feet above her head. Her hands felt the wet, sticky texture of the web. The screaming intensified.

"It's me! I'm cutting you down!" She shouted back.

The screaming turned into muffled shouting and mumbling as Natsuki tightened her grip and began to pull. To her surprise, the web quickly tore from the wall and left her struggling as she placed the captive, still bound, on the floor.

Her face was completely covered, save for some small holes beneath the nostrils. Natsuki started by tearing away at the webs around the head. Gripping wet threads in her palms, she tore away at the threads in clumps until she gripped a large opening planning to peel away at the webs around the head entirely. The inner web seemed to have hardened like paper-mache, causing her to struggle for a few seconds before the mask came off in one clean go.

A pair of green eyes stared back at her.

"Natsuki…!?" Said a weary, yet shocked voice.

"Monika!" Replied Natsuki, her heart soaring having found her friend again. She hugged Monika, not bothered by the cold, wet webs pressing against her arms and chest.

Monika laid her head onto Natsuki's shoulder.

"I thought… I thought it was over. I thought you were that thing."

They remained embraced for a few moments more, until Monika started nudging herself against Natsuki.

"Um, Nats…"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Said Natsuki as she let go of Monika and started tearing at the binds around her arms and legs.

Monika noticed Natsuki's bloodied and bandaged hand as she tore away the final web at her ankles.

"God… What happened to you?" Said Monika with concern.

Natsuki grunted.

"That thing happened to me."

She then proceeded to lift Monika up to her feet with her unwounded hand.

"Have you seen the others?"

"No… All I remember was being in the music room when you found me, then he appeared…" Monika held herself and shuddered.

"Then that thing just- crawled all over me and started wrapping me in this gunk…" Monika hastily brushed her arms to remove any lingering threads.

"What about you?"

"I think that creature has them. And if it took you here, then they must be here too."

Natsuki turned and looked at her surroundings. She saw another shaft of light in the distance.

"This way, stay close to me." Said Natsuki as took her gun from bag and held it tightly.

"Woah! Where the hell did you get that?!"

"In a locker somewhere."

She opened her bag and began rummaging through it.

"I don't think I have a lot of bullets left, but maybe-"

Natsuki suddenly stopped when she felt the torn leather of the book against her fingers. She then remembered what Monika wrote down.

'I hurt Sayori.'

A chill ran up Natuski's spine. She slowly looked back at Monika, seeing the light reflected in her friend's bright green eyes.

"What?"

Natsuki was unsure of what to do. She wanted to find her friends and Simon and put an end to all this, but she couldn't ignore the possibility that Monika might know more then she let on. She remembered what Sayori said after they saved her on the rooftops. She said she saw Simon's double and Monika together. That clenched it for her, as utterly horrible as it was to admit. She didn't know what it meant, maybe Monika had been framed or forced into something. But Natsuki was not going to move another step without answers.

"Natsuki, what's wrong?" Said Monika as she rose from the ground and approached her.

"Monika." Natsuki took a step back as she approached her.

With her guts knotting and immense dread looming over her, Natsuki spoke.

"What did Simon's double say to you?"

"Wait, who?" Replied Monika, looking genuinely confused.

Natsuki remembered that she did not see or even meet Simon before the event started. But Monika might have seen his double in the space before or during their separation.

"The tall, bloody-stained guy! Sayori told me she saw you with him in the classroom."

"Wait, you mean when you found me in the music room?"

"No, before…"

The music room. Natsuki remembered finding her at the piano after the rooftop fight. She remembered what she said as she collapsed to the floor.

And what the double had said.

A moment of silence passed between them. Monika, with her shoulders clenched, grew tense with Natsuki's lack of response.

"Natsuki..?"

"What did he mean, that you taught him?" Natsuki questioned, her voice shaken but stern. She prayed for an answer that disproved her worst fear.

Natsuki saw Monika's eyes dart around for a brief second before responding. Suddenly her face turned to one of intense worry and despair.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Nats. I don't even know what's going on! I just want to find my friends and go home!" Monika said in a nearly sobbing tone.

Natsuki didn't know what to do. She felt horrible for putting her friend on the spot like this, but she simply could not ignore what she had seen, and read. Maybe the Double was just lying, trying to draw them apart.

But the book.

Natsuki had only glimpsed at a few of its pages but something in her convinced her that it and everything that had happened so far were related.

She steadied herself.

"Monika."

Natsuki pulled the torn notebook out from her bag. Monika's mournful face gently became a wide-eyed, hopeful expression.

Natsuki felt confusion and disgust upon seeing Monika's smile.

"You have it!"

Monika began walking towards Natsuki with her hand outstretched.

"Give it to me, we can beat him!"

Natsuki immediately held the book to her chest and stepped back. All the monsters and horrid sights she had seen and fought had been an immense trial for her, but she was scared now.

"Monika…" Natsuki said with a shudder.

Monika's face was blank with shock for a few seconds, then slowly turned to sadness as she turned her head down.

"You read it, didn't you?"

Natsuki felt cold all over. Monika then rose her head and faced with a look of desperation.

"I just want to back to the way things were. I can get rid of all the monsters, save Sayori and Yuri, and we can go back home."

Monika outstretched her hand again.

"Don't you want that, Natsuki?"

Natsuki's heart was racing. Monika knew. She probably knew a lot more than anyone else. It felt like her whole world was shattering. Why did she know, what was she doing? Natsuki wanted to turn and run. As utterly heartbreaking as it was, she couldn't trust Monika.

But then, what if she did? Maybe she could save her and her friends? They could all go back, be safe, be friends again.

Friends.

Simon.

"Where's Simon?" Natsuki said with newfound sternness.

Monika looked taken aback. She looked at her friend in silence for a few seconds before a small frown appeared on her face.

Monika opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as the sudden sound of thin limbs scuttling against the wet ground was heard in the distance.

Before anyone could react, a huge white shape ran up from behind Natsuki and swung its large arachnid arm across her, slamming her to the ground with a wet thud.

Monika screamed and fell to the floor as the creature scuttled over to Natsuki and lifted its body with its legs, it quickly sprayed her with thick strands of grey web and used its middle appendages to wrap the substance around her.

Monika could see Natsuki struggle the restraints, a few muted yells were before the creature layered its web onto her.

Monika's heart was racing, she didn't know what to do, her friend was defenceless against this monster. She would be next.

But then she noticed an object laying on the grey mud nearby. Her book.

She couldn't save Natsuki now, but if she just got her hands on the book, she could save everyone.

Monika quickly lifted herself off the ground and ran towards the book, her feet trudging through the thick mud. She stood over the book, but just as she bent down to grab it, a pair of huge white spikes slammed into the ground on either side of her. The shock sent her falling back onto the mud, and now she was looking face to face with the creature.

A vaguely human female torso with white skin was supported by three pairs of legs that lifted it four metres into the air. A pair of thighs at the bottom of the torso were attached to an enormous oval shaped growth that ended with a curved point that was still dripping with web. The head, which seemed to be a faceless orb, had opened in the front in six parts revealing a dark red, moist mouth that was adorned with many small, hooked teeth.

Monika stood frozen in fear at the sight of the creature. It then shot a blob of web at the book, causing Monika to jump to her feet in shock. It then quickly used its middle legs to grab the book and pull it towards itself. It then lurched towards Monika and made a horrible roar, sounding like a cross of a woman screaming and clicking of some unknown beast.

Panic overtook Monika and she turned and ran. Nothing but sheer adrenaline and fear kept her moving thought the mud and earth and into the darkness.

She kept running, tears in her eyes. Crying at what happened to Natsuki, to all her friends. She could hear the similar scuttling echoing behind her. Her footsteps began to slow down. She didn't know where she was running to or what she was going to do. It had the book. How could she fight that thing? It was all over.

With her last few footsteps Monika felt something hard underneath her. She stopped but soon felt the ground suddenly give way underneath her.

The touch of cold plastic brushed against her face as she sunk through the mound.