A/N: Hello and Happy (early) Saturday wherever you may be! I was able to finish editing this chapter much sooner (kinda helps that it's probably the shortest chapter in the story), so I've decided to release it 12 hours earlier than usual. I can officially say that the end of this chapter is the turning point of the story and is where things pick up. I promise the chapters are much longer so there'll be a lot more content to consume! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Date: ?
Divergence: 1.123581β(?)
Okabe eyes shot open, feeling pure adrenaline course through his body for absolutely no reason. He tried to roll out from where he was laying, but the pain in his wrists and ankles forced him to stop trying. He looked down to see why and was mortified at the sight. He was laying on a table, his arms and legs shackled to it with steel cuffs. No matter how hard he tried to squirm he couldn't break their hold. A bright light shined down on him, capable of blinding him if he looked at it for even a second. Even with his eyes closed, his vision was clouded in white.
What happened? he thought to himself. One second he made it to Steins Gate and went to bed with the love of his life, the next he was chained up in a completely unknown place. Was this Kurisu's doing? Did she trick him into believing he was actually in Steins Gate and make him lower his guard so that she could kidnap him? Was she going to forcefully overwrite his memories even though she promised that she wouldn't? He did his best to shake himself free, but his bindings wouldn't give way in the slightest.
From somewhere that he couldn't see, he heard a weathered voice that made his hairs stand on end. The voice of a man he resented to his very core.
"So you're awake, Rintaro."
Professor Alexis Leskinen spoke to Okabe in English, making himself visible to the bound man for the first time.
He was a gaunt old man - as if any gust of wind would be enough to make him fall over. His lab coat looked big for his frame, his hands were so frail that he could see the veins popping out, and his face - despite having the same prominent features when Okabe first met him - sagged prominently along his cheeks. This was the old professor who chased Okabe and Valkyrie across the wasteland of the post-war world of the Beta Worldline. This was the man who Okabe considered his mortal enemy once he revealed his intentions during the loops where he was trying to make Operation Arc-light succeed. Why was he there?
"Why are you here? Where's Kurisu?" Okabe responded in Japanese.
"Kurisu?" Leskinen tilted his head inquisitively. "We haven't even done anything to you yet. Did the trauma of last week get to you?"
Okabe's eyes widened at Leskinen's words. As he processed the professor's words, memories flashed in his mind, memories that he never recalled having.
Operation Skuld was a failure.
On the night of operation, Suzuha's time machine disappeared into spacetime just as he remembered. However, its disappearance never triggered a shift. Valkyrie was surrounded as the New Government's soldiers acted on their secondary mission objective after failing to retrieve the time machine: the capture of Rintaro Okabe, Maho Hiyajo, and Itaru Hashida, and the prompt elimination of the rest. Okabe was immediately knocked unconscious via rubber bullets so he didn't know what happened. However, based on the countless loops he experienced in the Alpha Worldline, he already had an inkling as to what the outcome was. He remembered coming in and out of consciousness multiple times, but just as Leskinen said, it must have been a week since the failure of the operation.
"You know, you've really annoyed me Rintaro," Leskinen looked down at Okabe, a smile that radiated malice on his face. "Not only did you keep my little messenger from going back in time, your organization destroyed everything related to the time machine. And for what? We could have created a more perfect world, one where the right people were in control had you just let us do what we needed to do. But, instead you threw a tantrum and set all of us back to square one."
Given how close he was, Okabe did what he thought was right and spat at Leskinen's face. For the longest time he wished he could do that, but when he initially foiled the professor's plans in 2011, he never saw the man again. That was until this very moment. Leskinen simply took the brunt of the spit without flinching, pulling a white handkerchief out of his coat pocket and wiping away the saliva that dripped down his cheek.
"I see the tantrum continues," he remarked as he moved away from Okabe and pulled a radio out of his pocket. "Maybe with this, we'll act more like adults."
He put the radio up to his mouth and spoke into it. "Bring her in."
After a couple moments, Okabe heard the sound of an iron door opening and two pairs of footsteps entering. However, the sound of their footsteps was frantic.
"Okarin!" Okabe recognized the voice instantly as his head shot up to see who entered.
There, being held in place by a guard while she struggled, was Mayuri Shiina. She was bruised and bloodied, but otherwise she seemed relatively healthy given that she was supposed to have died on the night of Operation Skuld.
"Mayuri!" Okabe yelled as he struggled against his bindings. "Let her go or else-"
Leskinen's hearty laugh cut off Okabe. The laugh then turned to coughs. "You're in no position to threaten anything, Rintaro. In fact, it's probably best if you don't."
Leskinen wiped his mouth with the clean side of the handkerchief before turning to Mayuri and speaking in very accented Japanese. "You know it's all Rintaro's fault that you're in this situation, right dear?"
Okabe's whole body convulsed with rage. He swore he could kill the man with his bare hands if he had the strength to break out of his bindings. However, as angry as he got, nothing he did got him free. All he could do was watch helplessly as Leskinen addressed Mayuri with the faux gentleness that made Okabe trust him back then.
"Okarin's not a bad person!" Mayuri protested. "All he wanted was to reach Steins Gate. A worldline of peace! If you don't want that, then you're the one at fault for all of this!"
Leskinen flashed his teeth at Mayuri. "You people and your childish ideals. So long as humans exist, there will never be peace - it's our nature. This 'Steins Gate' your dear 'Okarin' wanted to reach was nothing but a pipe dream aimed to manipulate you all into becoming terrorists. You weren't supposed to live that kind of life."
"Okarin wouldn't do that!" Mayuri was adamant as she continued to struggle against her captor. "You're the one who wants to keep dragging us into war!"
"Bring her closer," Leskinen gave up on the conversation and stopped addressing Mayuri.
At the order, the soldier brought Mayuri closer to the table, and as a consequence, ever closer to Leskinen. In spite of her attempts to break free and constant pleas to be let go, she was slowly dragged to Leskinen.
"Leskinen, this fight is between you and me," Okarin began to plead. "Leave Mayuri out of this."
"I'm inclined to disagree, Rintaro," Leskinen was quick to retort. "My fight is with your terrorist cell, and as I recall, she was in the compound the night we raided it. Was she not?"
Okabe kept struggling in the same way Mayuri was. "I swear to you, I will fucking kill you if you lay your hands on her."
Leskinen smiled at Okabe as Mayuri was placed next to him. Her eyes were wide in horror as she looked at Okabe, tears flowing freely. He could see her silently pleading with him to make things right, but as things stood, he was utterly powerless to do anything. Seeing her face renewed the intensity of his struggle but to no avail. Her eyes then shifted to Leskinen as he pulled a recorder out of his pocket.
"Who's to say that I haven't already?" his eyes creased due to the widening of his smile. Okabe's whole body was covered in chills at the old professor's statement.
Mayuri's eyes widened at the revelation of the recorder. "No, Professor please-"
Her voice was promptly cut off by the sound that came out of the recorder. It was a sound that Okabe recognized very well - a sound that haunted him in the early days of the war. Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute K20" started playing out of the recorder. Within moments, the silent pleas that were present in Mayuri's eyes were engulfed by a lifelessness that shattered Okabe's heart. He felt consumed by his rage as the song played, swearing upon every god in existence that he would make Leskinen pay for his actions. He cursed at the professor, spittle flying with every word he spoke, yet neither Mayuri or the professor reacted to any of it.
"It took me quite a long time to break Kagari back then," Leskinen spoke over Okabe's curses. "But thanks to the head-start I had, look at how efficient I've been able to make the whole brainwashing process! It's only been a week and Miss Mayuri is completely subservient to the Voice of God."
Okabe's entire world was in pieces. If he knew what fate had in store for him and his friends, he would not have brought Suzuha and Mayuri back to the present. A death in the cold, harsh winds of 18000 BCE was a much better fate than Mayuri's current state.
"And I know we talked about this whole 'being adults thing'." Leskinen continued. "But I'll be honest, this was just retaliation for what you've done. An eye for an eye, I suppose."
Leskinen leaned back over the shattered Okabe, now unable to even produce anything besides tears that leaked with rage.
"I have no need for you, Rintaro," Leskinen's smile resumed to the faux gentleness it usually had. "I know the real masterminds behind the time machine are Maho and Itaru. I'll break them in due time."
He got up from the table and hobbled his way out of the door with Mayuri's captor.
"Consider this a parting gift for just over 25 years of rivalry," Leskinen turned to Mayuri who was still sitting there, looking at nothing in particular. "Mayuri, my child, kill him. Make it as slow as possible."
A flash of recognition sparked within Mayuri's eyes before they were drowned out by the very same hollowness. "Mayushii will do as you say, God."
She ambled over to a tray that was placed right next to Okabe's table as the door shut behind Leskinen. From there she pulled a small scalpel then turned her attention towards Okabe.
"Mayuri, please break out of this," Okabe begged. "This isn't you! You're my hostage, remember? We've been friends since our childhood. You don't have to do this!"
"Mayushii is God's hostage now, Okarin," Mayuri plainly responded. "If He says that I need to be free from you, then I'll do as He says."
With that, she cut open Okabe's shirt with the scalpel, exposing his chest. Then, she plunged the knife into his midsection, just beneath his lungs. The sudden stabbing pain elicited a scream from Okabe, screams that would only continue to grow louder while Mayuri carved his body slowly and meticulously, smiling absentmindedly as she did so.
Date: November 14, 2036 7:29:57AM PST
Divergence: 1.048596 (Steins Gate)
Okabe felt everything where he laid. The visage of Mayuri's lifeless eyes as she cut into him remained with him as he clutched his head. He saw nothing else. He felt nothing else. All he felt was heartbreak, rage, pain, and everything in between. He never even noticed that he was no longer restrained by the steel cuffs. All he could do was scream.
"Mayuri!" he screamed. "Please!"
Without his noticing, the door to the bedroom flew open as Kurisu and their children sprinted into the room.
"Okarin!" Kurisu tried to cut through Okabe's screams. "It was just a dream! Okarin!"
Try as she might to reason with him with her voice alone, her pleas went unheard. He still thrashed about screaming over and over again about Mayuri. Kurisu immediately turned to the kids, who were wordlessly horrified at what they were witnessing.
"Reina, get me a towel from the bathroom," she began to order. "Haruki, grab a jug from the kitchen cabinet and fill it up with as much cold water as you can carry. Hurry!"
As reason returned to their senses, the twins wordlessly assumed their tasks. Haruki bolted out of the bedroom back down the hallway while Reina ran past her screaming father into the master bathroom. Kurisu, on the other hand, quickly ran to Okabe's side, dialing the one number she knew would help in an instant. She prayed that the person on the other line would pick up and also made sure to apologize in her head for the suddenness and the lateness of the call. As the phone began to ring, Kurisu placed her hands on Okabe, wrapping her fingers around his wrists as gently as she possibly could. Okabe's screams were still piercing, but she remained steadfast as the phone rang.
"Okarin" she said as gently as she could, now closer to his ear. "It's me, I'm here. I need you to wake up, darling."
The phone was still ringing and Okabe was still not coming to, but both twins emerged with the things that Kurisu tasked them to retrieve. She let go of Okabe and immediately swiped the jug out of Haruki's hands, promptly turning back to Okabe's side. "I'm sorry I have to do this."
She dumped all the contents of the jug all over Okabe. As soon as the first of the water touched Okabe, he gasped, trying to take in air, but finding it difficult as his body was fighting the cold. However, he was quickly able to recover his breathing, though he still looked incredibly terrified. As if the stars themselves aligned, the phone finally picked up.
"Tutturu~ It's a surprise to get a call from you this late, Chris-chan. Is everything okay?"
The voice of Mayuri Shiina cut through the room loud and clear. She sounded groggy, though it made sense as she lived in Japan and it was about to be midnight where she was. As an elementary school teacher, Mayuri always prioritized sleep wherever she could, so Kurisu was sure she must have woken the woman up. She watched the terror that engulfed Okabe's entire being dissipate, starting with his eyes. The glint that was formerly there was now replaced with a soft glow.
"M-Mayuri?" His voice was incredibly shaky, but Kurisu didn't know if it was from the cold or from pure emotion. "Is that really you? Are you okay?"
"Okarin? Why are you on Chris-chan's phone? What's going on?"
Kurisu heard the grogginess immediately leave Mayuri's voice as it was very quickly replaced with confusion. However, Kurisu was quick to clarify before her mind began to run.
"I'm here, Mayuri," she said. "Okarin was having another night terror, and it was about you. I'm really sorry for the suddenness of the call."
"Ah, one of those, huh? It's been a while since Okarin last had one."
Kurisu's lips thinned as she handed the phone to Okabe, still on speaker. He took it and waited expectantly for a response, as if his whole life revolved around what Mayuri had to say next. As he took the phone, she took the towel out of Reina's hands and tossed it over his head, patting him dry as gently as she could.
"Mayushii's safe, Okarin," she began. "I'm healthy, happy, and very sleepy - which isn't a bad thing! This isn't a dream. I promise you that I'm okay."
When Okabe had his night terrors while he still lived in Japan, it was usually about his experiences in the Alpha Worldline. Despite initially waving everything off as just a dream or delusional flashback when they first started happening (like the incident with the building manager), eventually both Mayuri and Kurisu were able to get him to admit to why he was so fearful for Mayuri's life. She, along with Kurisu, devised a plan to comfort him if he ever went through those - to prove that she was okay, the first voice they ensured he'd hear would be Mayuri's. With this process, the consistency of the nightmares went down drastically over the course of the years. There'd be occasional times where he would have one, but as Mayuri said, it had been about two years since his last one. However, this one was without a doubt the most intense one she'd ever witnessed.
"Professor Leskinen didn't hurt you in any way, did he?"
"The professor? He's out there in America with you and Chris-chan. Mayushii hasn't really spoken to him since you two got married."
Kurisu's eyes widened at the question. Never in the course of his night terrors did he mention the professor. She motioned for the kids to get close to her and whispered to them as Mayuri answered Okabe's question.
"You're not going to school for now. Give me and Papa space while we figure this out."
"Are you sure, Mama?" Haruki eyed Okabe whose form was covered by the towel.
"Yes," Kurisu said. "We'll be okay. I promise."
At that the twins nodded and made their way out of the room, closing the door behind them. Kurisu then turned all of her attention towards Okabe.
"You haven't been hurt at all?" he asked.
"We're in Steins Gate, Okarin," Mayuri plainly stated. "You got us to this worldline so that Mayushii and Chris-chan would never get hurt. I promise, nothing's happened to me or anyone else from the lab for that matter."
Okabe exhaled very deeply, his shaking beginning to quell itself. Kurisu, satisfied with how well she dried her husband, took the towel away to uncover him. It was here that she got a proper look at his eyes. They were so full of pain, glowing with what seemed like tears. He was biting his lip to try to stop it from quivering, but he began to accept reality for what it was. Whatever happened to him, Mayuri, and Professor Leskinen was not real.
"Okay," he said. "I'm sorry for waking you with these trifles, Mayuri."
"There's no reason to be sorry, Okarin. You were there for Mayushii when we were growing up. It's only fair that I'm there for you whenever you need it here as adults. Are you sure you're okay, now?"
"Yeah," he replied, his eyes now looking up at Kurisu. "Thanks, Mayuri."
Kurisu's lips were slightly curled in a smile. Remaining as gentle as possible, she patted Okabe's now-dry head.
"Of course!" Mayuri replied. "Mayushii is going to go to sleep now, but if anything happens, just let me know!"
"Thank you, Mayuri," Kurisu spoke into the phone next to Okabe. "Have a good night."
"Good night, Chris-chan! I appreciate the call."
With that, the line was disconnected and the phone returned to Kurisu's homescreen which had a picture of her, Okabe, and their children together at Disneyland. Okabe handed the phone back to Kurisu and got out of the covers to escape from the dampness of his side of the bed. Kurisu eyed him as he sat up to face her directly on the side of the bed, applying deep pressure to his eyes with his hands. He groaned before letting out a relieved chuckle. Kurisu's heart broke a little bit as she was reminded of her loss. Usually after recovering from his night terrors, he would hold Kurisu close. That wasn't the case this time around. She rubbed his back instead, keeping it together.
"Do you want to talk about the dream?" Kurisu asked, hoping he would since her mind was burning with questions.
"Not really," Okabe replied. "But I know I need to get this out in the world otherwise I'll kill myself from the stress."
Kurisu sat there with Okabe as he recounted everything. Knowing that she was missing some vital context about what exactly happened on the Beta Worldline, he spoke at length about who Professor Leskinen was to him. Kurisu was mortified as she heard what Okabe had to say about the man that she looked up to as a father figure. Knowing him for as long as she did, the man that Okabe spoke about seemed completely alien to the man he was in Steins Gate. He then got to the specifics of the dream - how it was a vivid continuation of the Beta Worldline born out of the failure of Operation Skuld. She listened with horror as she heard him recount Mayuri's brainwashing with shaky words. Then, the crux of the terror, and why he started screaming became apparent to her before he got to finish getting to the point in the dream where he woke up. Once he mentioned that Mayuri grabbed a scalpel, Kurisu knew exactly where he was going.
Kurisu didn't let him finish, placing a hand on his shoulder before he lost himself in his memories again. "Don't force yourself, Okarin. All the questions I could have had are answered and you got the gist of what you went through out into the world. I'll have you know, though, that Professor Leskinen is a harmless old professor emeritus at Viktor Chondria."
"I would hope so," Okabe breathed out a sigh after his long-winded summary. "His fate was the only one I was unsure of when trying to make Steins Gate a reality. I'll be honest I was mortified - and admittedly still am - about the possibility of us being enemies in this worldline as well."
"Oh, please," Kurisu was quick to dispel his worries. "If anything, you two are like peas in a pod. Senpai and I know to steer clear if you overgrown children are in a room together."
Okabe chuckled at her statement, allowing Kurisu to let out a small laugh of her own. She looked down at him expectantly, her hand still rubbing his back. She searched for the man she loved in the man before her as he absentmindedly looked forward just past her.
Feeling her gaze, Okabe's eyes snapped to attention and he looked up at her from his seat. Once their eyes met, an apologetic smile formed on his face and he let his head rest on her belly. A little more content, Kurisu held him against her, letting her fingers run through his hair.
"I hope I didn't scare you," he said, his head still propped against her.
"Oh, no," Kurisu replied. "It was absolutely terrifying. You have a lot of apologizing to do to our children."
The answer prompted Okabe to break free from Kurisu's stomach and look up at her, worry making its way across his face. Kurisu took the chance to cup Okabe's cheeks with her hands.
"There is no shame in it, Okarin," she comforted him. "Believe it or not, you've had these kinds of night terrors before. This one was just a little more on the intense side."
She took the time to rub Okabe's stubble with her thumbs. A selfish tic of hers that was not going to change regardless of what memories her husband had.
"Do they know about what's happened with me?" he asked about the twins, still being forced to look at Kurisu.
Kurisu nodded. "I filled them in on the situation this morning while you were still asleep. They'll be a little apprehensive of you, but at least they understand what's going on."
Okabe's face crinkled a little bit. No doubt, he was filled with regret as he was forced to reckon with not remembering his children and those same children not acknowledging him as a proper father because of it.
"Come on," she leaned down to kiss his head and then let him go. "Get showered and out of these wet clothes. I don't want you to catch a cold."
"Thank you, Kurisu," Okabe said as Kurisu went towards his dresser and pulled out his day clothes. "For everything."
"Don't mention it," she replied, handing him the clothes. "I'll be in the living room with the kids. Come join us when you're ready."
He nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. She hoped he wouldn't need any help figuring it out - the shower controls were actually rather straightforward. She stuck around for a little bit just in case he came out in search of help, but once she heard the water running, she left the room to rejoin the twins.
When Kurisu emerged from the hall, she found Reina and Haruki sitting on the couch. Her footsteps made her presence known, prompting both of them to turn their heads in their direction.
"Did everything go okay, Mama?" Reina was the first one to ask, standing up to meet Kurisu where she was.
"Everything's fine, sweetheart," Kurisu responded, extending her arms out to hug her daughter. "It was just a really bad dream."
"What kind of bad dream could lead someone to scream like that?" Haruki remained on the couch, chin resting on his hand as he looked at his mother.
"A really really bad dream," Kurisu's response was simple. "Papa's had stuff like this happen to him before, we've just been really good at dealing with it before it blew up to that level."
"But why would you hide stuff like that from us?! We're your kids!" Haruki was quick to retort.
Kurisu was caught by surprise at the fact that her son raised his voice at her. However, all she could do was sigh, letting go of her daughter and getting on one knee in front of an indignant Haruki who did not move from his spot.
"Haru, there's a lot of things that Papa and I didn't want to expose you or your sister to. What he went through in 2010 was so unbelievable to me at the time because it was something that no human being - let alone a teenager - should have ever gone through. He was always very secretive, even with me, because he himself didn't want to be reminded of those times."
Haruki's gaze was fully avoidant of his mother. She placed her hand on his knee, understanding of the betrayal he must have felt.
"Knowing you two and your scientific nature when you were growing up, we were certain you would have grilled him about that trauma," she said. "Now that you're more grown and able to practice a little more sensibility, I figured it was high time to come clean to the both of you."
Kurisu turned to look at Reina who was still standing by the hallway, her hands clasped together forcefully in front of her as if she was trying hard to fight her shaking. "Are you sure you didn't just tell us because of what happened to him? What else are you hiding?"
Kurisu started to feel her own spirit begin to crumble. She tried so hard to remain strong for the past few hours since Okabe lost his memories, but the lack of support from her kids and the need to be understanding of the new Okabe was beginning to get to her. She wished so desperately that she didn't have to be the only one to be so supportive of him, but her wishes were not granted. She felt her lips begin to tremble.
"I… I'm trying to be as honest as possible…" her voice came out as a squeak. "There's a lot about Papa's experiences that I don't know…"
"But you knew enough to know exactly what happened to him and why," Reina was quick to interject. "Why did you both feel a need to hide his 'Reading Steiner' from us?"
"And why are you acting all happy and optimistic about this anyways? You have the means to bring Papa back immediately, but you won't pursue it? The rebooted memories won't even remember that he was replaced by that guy! Are you saying that you love this man whose memories replaced Papa's?" The onslaught of her children's questions and accusations began to stab at Kurisu's heart, now undefended from the fortress that was her resolve. "Do you even want Papa back?"
She retracted her hand from Haruki's knee and covered her mouth, feeling her emotions begin to overwhelm her. She vowed to never let herself lose control of a situation ever since her father nearly killed her in 2010. That vow was now broken as she was at a total loss on what she could even do to bridge the gap between Okabe and everyone else. She was an abject failure - a horrible wife who couldn't help her husband in his time of need. She saw glimpses of him, but having known him as her other half for 25 years, glimpses were no longer enough to keep her heart full. As much as she tried to believe that her husband was the same person deep down, she was constantly reminded that things couldn't be any more different. She didn't know if she was even capable of loving this version of Okabe in the same way she loved the Okabe she made her memories with. She couldn't even kiss him!
"I don't know…" Tears began streaming out of her face as she sobbed the words she never wanted to admit. "I don't know anything anymore…!"
Kurisu hunched over as her whole body began to shake. The world around her closed in on itself, the only inhabitant within it was now just her. Images of Okabe leaving her flashed within her head, promptly followed by the appearing figure of her father.
This is what you always do, she heard him say. It's always about you.
Kurisu couldn't even form any words to reject her father's statement.
When things don't go your way, you become such an insufferable little bitch. You should have died that day. That was supposed to be your fate. But no, you get saved by your little knight in shining armor. And this is how you repay him? This is how you act in front of your children?
Kurisu could hear her father laughing at her. He made her painfully aware of everything she already felt about herself. Her sobs turned into wails as she felt her body be compressed. Her mind was completely lost to her grief.
Outside of her head, Reina and Haruki were absolutely stunned by Kurisu's current state. One second she was trying to explain things to them, then the next she was hunched over on the ground sobbing uncontrollably in despair.
"Look at what you did, Haruki!" Reina yelled at Haruki as she rushed down to try and hug Kurisu.
"Me?!" Haruki yelled back, jumping from his spot on the couch to join the hug. "Can't you take accountability for once in your life and admit that it wasn't just me?!"
Setting aside their argument for the time being, the twins did all they could to console their mother, but she wasn't hearing them. They each felt despair creep into their hearts, not knowing what to do. Never in their lives had Kurisu ever broken down like this in front of them. In fact, their mother was the shining example of keeping one's emotions in check - they never thought her capable of something like this.
"Mama, please!" Reina was pleading with Kurisu. "It's us! We're sorry! We swear we didn't mean to push you so hard!"
Reina watched in dejection as she felt her words go completely unheard by her mother. Haruki did his best to pry Kurisu out of her hunched-over position to get her to look at them, but his strength was incapable of straightening her neck. Slowly, surely, both halves of the Twin-Star Scientists began to lose their nerve, tears creeping into their eyes and panic setting in. Usually they would be able to trust their father to try and help, but their father wasn't there. Instead it was a stranger who merely looked identical to their father.
"Wait, Haru," Reina's eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. "Fill the jug with cold water again. We just need to shock her system enough to break her out of this like we did with Pa- that guy."
At the revelation of Reina's plan, Haruki nodded and ran back to the bedroom where Kurisu left the jug on Okabe's nightstand. He heard the fan in the bathroom, a room occupied by the man who took his father's place, but he paid it no mind and ran out of the bedroom. As quickly as he could, he went to the kitchen sink and ran the water, waiting for it to get cold again before filling up the jug. It was about a half-gallon, so it was relatively easy to carry when it was full of water, but it still took a considerable amount of time to fill up. After a very long minute of trying to get the water to cool down and filling the jug, Haruki ran from the kitchen and passed the hallway, ready to toss the water onto his mother. However, before he could commit to the act, a commanding voice froze him in place.
"Don't even think about throwing that water on Mama, Haruki," it sounded like it came from a speaker, but the voice behind the words spoken in Japanese was unmistakable.
Haruki's attention turned towards the hallway, his mouth agape. Striding down the hallway was the man from World War III dressed in a black short-sleeve button-down shirt with an equally black set of slacks. However, Haruki's attention was mainly on what the man held. At the end of the man's outstretched left arm was his phone, the screen containing a spitting image of himself in a white lab coat with his arms folded.
"Papa…?"
All the man did on the screen was smile triumphantly as the one holding onto him immediately moved past a dumbstruck Haruki and towards Kurisu. Reina looked up from her spot of comforting Kurisu and also froze. Having closed the distance, the man kneeled down next to Kurisu, putting the phone next to her ear.
"What am I to do with you, Assistant?" The voice came softly out of the speaker and Kurisu's shaking almost instantly stopped. "Only a couple hours after I've lost my memories and I find you like this. I suppose I should be grateful that you love me so strongly that you're reduced to this for my sake. Though I'm as sorry as I am grateful. I was hoping you would never have to be put through this, my love."
Kurisu looked up from her spot on the floor, eyes gleaming at the sight of who she saw on the phone screen. "Oka…rin?"
"Objective number one is a success," the Okabe holding the phone said, his eyes looking sad, but otherwise he kept a rather neutral face and tone. "We have a base to work with."
"And what a wonderful discovery to be made," the Okabe on the screen followed. "For a minute I was doubtful of its possibility, but the only true way to test it was to have Reading Steiner happen and the results are nothing but miraculous!"
"You… you haven't lost your memories of this worldline?" Kurisu was in a total state of shock, still recovering from her outburst.
"Not in the slightest, my dearest Christina," the Okabe on the screen said. "I still remember everything about us and our little miracles. However, it seems a scolding is in order for everyone here."
Okabe swung the phone around slowly, letting the camera's lenses land on Reina and Haruki. There, on the screen before them, was their father's consciousness in the form of A.I.. Before them was the answer to the very first question that everyone had on their mind the previous night. Before them was an Amadeus version of Rintaro Okabe unaffected by the worldline shift.
A/N: And so that sets our pieces in motion for the rest of the story! The ride has still got a ways to go, but we can now safely close the book on the Worldline Shift Arc of the story. When we meet again next time, we will be entering what I like to call the Penitence Arc with the first chapter being: Opening Pandora's Box. I shall see you all next week at what I assume will be the regularly scheduled time (Chapter 6 is currently twice the length of this chapter, so it'll be a doozy to edit).
Thank you for reading!
Quil~