Author's note: I'm back from the dead (or maybe just a writing slump)! Time for more DDLC nonsense!

This next chapter starts to break some plot points wide open. Hereby begins: The Circle of Insanity.

Enjoy!

Mental note: Liam has parents.

Monika's initial conclusion presented the possibility that Liam had an abusive home life of some sort. With the only relative comparison of this new information being Natsuki's father, it appeared logical. However, based on the behavioral patterns of Liam throughout his interactions, such probability plummeted from likely to slim. By all accounts, the only vague sense of insecurity he held was perfectionism, and even then, Monika herself wasn't sure anymore if she obsessed over perfection because of parental influence or her own whims. Now that her family practically didn't exist, she saw no reason Liam's faults couldn't have stemmed from his code rather than outside factors.

"What can you tell us about your mom?" Monika asked.

"I-I…!" The request brought Liam noticeable discomfort. "Ah, I'd hate to burn through your time talking about my family. It's not that important."

"Hey, I'm curious too!" Sayori butted in. "I wouldn't mind listening to your story either, if you don't mind."

"And I want to hear your proof!" Natsuki added.

Soon enough, the hesitation took a back seat. Liam thought over the inquiry for a while, hand to his chin. "She told me about her childhood just over half a decade ago. She was using the story as a way to teach a lesson, I think. At the time, we had just put down my first pet, which really sucked because he only lived for about two years."

"Oh my, that's horrible," Yuri commented. "Did you take it okay?"

"Not really, no," Liam responded. "That's why she opened up about her own heartaches from when she was a kid. Essentially, my grandfather abandoned her family when my mom was twelve. It took a toll on both my mom and my grandma."

Natsuki's expression noticeably soured, but in a sympathetic way. "Oh."

"Not the greatest start, by any means," Monika thought aloud. "I'm sorry to hear that. I never pictured your family to be a broken one."

Liam gave a half smile. "I wouldn't call it broken anymore. When the divorce occurred, they spiraled down completely opposite paths, and intentionally so. My grandma became antisocial, lazy, and self-absorbed. The end result was a severe lack of household income. My mom was officially dirt poor, and that frustrated her to no end. As a result, she swore an oath to herself to never become anything like my grandma. Thankfully, to this day, she upholds that oath: hardworking, generous, extroverted, and moderately wealthy…all of it beginning with her first and only novel, written at the age of 15."

"Wow," Natsuki squeaked, breathless. "Your mom is a seriously amazing role model."

Liam nodded. "Truly. She told me all of this to teach me an important part of life: 'A rut is a choice, a lesson is a privilege, and motivation makes money.'"

"She sounds very wise," Monika stated. "Honestly, from the minimal time I've known you, I can tell she had a major impact on you. You and your mom have a lot in common, I bet."

"I got a lot of my personality from her, more so than what should be biologically possible, I believe. I share her love of narrative writing, her ability to spot patterns, and her love-hate relationship with science."

"You 'love-hate' science? What does that even mean?"

Liam abruptly began to stumble on his words. "W-well, on one hand, science enables my passion for philosophy, but, um…" He trailed off. "N-nevermind."

Monika's eyes narrowed for a split second, but she quickly masked her suspicion with a concerned smile. "You don't have to be afraid of sharing academic weaknesses with us, Liam. It's what makes us human, after all."

When she heard her own words out loud, it sparked an idea. And if you're human, that means…

Barely able to hide her smug grin, she said, "It's not like we're programmed to be perfect."

"Yeah, exactly!" Sayori chimed in, giggling. "I mean, if that were the case, this is what Monika would look like every second of her life." Sayori suddenly began rigidly shifting her arms and torso around, her elbows at a constant 90 degree angle and her eyes unmoving—the stereotypical machine-like dance. "'Error, error, Monika.exe too perfect, error."

Natsuki burst out laughing, and Yuri gave a soft chuckle. "Hahahahaha! That was amazing, haha!" Natsuki exclaimed through a wheeze.

The impression flustered Monika for a bit, but her attention was pulled away from Natsuki's laughter and Sayori's antics when she noticed Liam's face.

Tense.

"I'm sorry, but I just realized I have quite a lot of homework to do tonight, so I'll be leaving early," Liam stated as he stood up from his seat.

Sayori appeared confused. Natsuki appeared betrayed. Yuri appeared ever curious.

Monika, however…couldn't help but smile.

Liar, she thought.

"B-but it hasn't even been 20 minutes," Sayori stuttered.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to waste your time, Sayori. I'll see you tomorrow."

With just a short, awkward silence, the boy was already out the door.

"Jerk," Natsuki muttered.

Clearing her throat, Monika mustered the minimal resolve she had left to feign disappointment in her voice and expression. "Well, uh, we can still work with this. Four members is enough to continue club activ—"

Without warning, Sayori bolted up from her seat, grabbed her school bag, and ran out the door. The three girls remaining sat motionless, unsure how to take the disheartening string of events.

Once again, Monika attempted to fix the silence, shrugging it off. "Perhaps three will—"

Natsuki held up her hand in defiance. "Don't even." She casually exited the clubroom as well. Under normal circumstances, Monika would've asked her to stay, but today in particular, the club president couldn't care less. She had more important tasks to tackle.

"Sorry, Yuri. I guess that's it for today."

Yuri took her time phrasing her reply. "I, um…I-I suppose that's alright. Y-you don't need t-to apologize, Monika. I'll see y-you tomorrow, okay?"

"See you tomorrow."

As Yuri graciously packed up her notebook and novel and slid the exit doors open, Monika watched intently, waiting impatiently but quietly for the clubroom to be empty. When the doors closed, she snuck over, peering through the glass into the hallway. She waited until Yuri rounded the corner and disappeared down the stairs to the first floor, at which point she could finally breathe.

Deep breaths.

Deep, exhilarating, beautiful breaths.

"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner," Monika thought aloud, smiling uncontrollably. "This is a good week, indeed. What once was unachievable…is now achievable."

The console appeared with the wave of her hand, which she immediately used for access to the scripts file. Information was key—she couldn't miss a single moment, nor could she let herself get distracted. She failed to document him properly and without bias once before, but as of the new age of her world, history wouldn't repeat itself. She was sure of it.

"I will prove it," Monika whispered. "I will prove you are the player, and I will prove to you that I am the perfect girlfriend."

Monika entered a teleportation command into the console. The glitch effect tickled her skin as it enveloped her. She became a space-hopping cocoon in no less than a second.

"This time, though…you aren't allowed to complain. After all, you're the one making me make you love me. Ahaha!"

With the instantaneous trip across an entire atmosphere came a wave of an unbridled positive emotion: bliss. No matter how shrill the glitching noise combined with the everpresent groaning CPU in the background was, nothing could take this epiphany away from her.

Not even the three faceless students secretly spying on Monika, who caught a glimpse of her teleporting out of the classroom.