Chapter Text
-"Let's fight, you and I! Let's have a cute, miniscule, old-fashioned little fight like a bonded couple. Okay~?"
(You stare silently... You can't find the words to say... to imagine everything that Loop went through, to imagine where you would be right now if Loop weren't there to guide you...)
"Ha... Nothing to say, still? Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! STARS, killing you will make me SO HAPPY." (You watch as for a split second, their form blinks away into yours, before flashing right back. You stumble back a step.)
"Are you ready?" (You open your mouth to protest-)
"No, you don't get a choice! We're doing it!!! Let's go, Stardust~~~~~~!!!!!!" (Loop draws their weapon, their eyes showing a bright smile across their face... You can't tell if this one is fake anymore.)
"Let's just get right to it." (You hesitantly reach for your dagger. You don't want to fight them, you CAN'T fight them! Not to mention you're still exhausted from everything. Your body feels heavy, sluggish, weak... You slip your dagger from it's sheath, hoping you won't actually have to use it.)
(Loop takes a deep breath, as if to prepare themself for what's to come, before suddenly lunging towards you. You just barely managed to deflect it in time, but you're sent sliding back a few feet.)
"What's the matter Stardust, too tired for a little squabble~?" (They tease in that familiar tone, though much more manic now. Their eyes staring at you, wide, crazed, almost feral... You have to defend yourself, but... but you can't bring yourself to attack them. What if they're right?... You stole their happy ending... do you deserve this?...)
"Come now Stardust, it's no fun if you won't FIGHT BACK!!!" (They shriek as they lunge for you again, deflecting it just in time, only for your dagger to be sent flying out of your hands and onto the grass. You fall backwards and onto the ground, looking up at them and sliding back a couple feet.)
(Loop simply stares at you, nodding their head towards your dagger... They want you to fight back... they want to earn this... You try to craft a speed bonus, Make Up The Time. A wave of nausea rushes over you as you can't quite manage to produce it. Right... Craft Exhaustion... You slowly grab your dagger, watching Loop cautiously, getting back to your feet. They simply watch before giving a smirk once you're standing again.)
"You know, in a way, I am so very proud of you! You did so good, Stardust~! I am so proud, Stardust~! The Universe brought you to victory~! It only had to lead, and you followed~! And I suppose, what the Universe wanted from me, was to just shut up and take it! Everyone's favorite cosmic joke~! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
(They suddenly rush forward again, you're not fast enough this time, their dagger slices across your shoulder. You let out a cry of pain as your hand goes to cover the wound, dark fluid slowly oozing out from under your hand.)
"From main character," (They take a wide slice at you, easily avoiding it. They're just thrashing about, not really trying to hit you yet.)
"To stage director," (Slice)
"To sponsor," (Slice)
"To CORPSE!" (ACK! That last lunge caught you off guard, slicing across your chest. You stumble back again, panting, shaking, the adrenaline pumping through you helps numb the pain and exhaustion, likely the only reason you're still on your feet.)
"... The king... It took me dozens, hundreds, thousands of loops, just so I could beat him a single time, did you know that? No matter how hard I tried, the King always defeated me." (Loop stares at the wound they'd left on your chest, still tightly gripping their dagger with their arms hanging at their sides. After another moment they snap out of it, that bright, fake smile visible across their eyes once more.)
"And yet, look how easily you beat him, your first time! Oh, you may think it was easy, but just seeing you succeed... I was so blindingly angry!!! Why did you manage to beat him this easily?! What kept me from defeating him?!? What script was I following that kept me from victory?!? IS THAT WHAT THE UNIVERSE WANTED FROM ME?!? THE UNIVERSE, THE STARS, THE KING... OUR COUNTRY... I HATE THEM ALL!!! I HATE THEM!!! THEY CAN ALL DIE!!!"
(They rush towards you again, you spot an opening, you have to fight back! You have to stop this! You grip your dagger tighter, ducking below their strike and slashing across their chest, you don't want to hurt them, but you have to do something to defend yourself.)
(They stumble some, gripping the wound on their chest, looking down at it, then back up at you... Their eyes twitch, looking raving mad at this point... They start to laugh... laugh and laugh and laugh, growing into a manic cackle, then practically screaming in a fit of hysteria. They lift their dagger, stabbing it into the star emblazing their chest. You stare in horror for a moment before...)
(Rewind SFX)
(Loop stands before you, their right eye glowing that visceral shade now, the wounds gone, just as if they never happened.)
"What? Surprised you're not the only one who can loop back? Did you already forget my little sob story~? I guess that's what you do best, isn't it, FORGET?!"
(Loop Just Attacks you, guarding just in time to avoid serious damage, but you're still blasted back several feet. Your heels dig into the ground as they skid across. You huff out heavily, your vision going hazy, you don't know how long you can keep this up...)
"... I finally saw your party, earlier. I did really well, this whole time. Made sure they never saw me. Made sure I never saw them. Those pale copies of the party I knew. I didn't want to see them, ever again. Didn't want to know. Hah, can you believe, I forgot their names, for a time? Despair and trauma does that to you, sometimes, doesn't it?... But... I had to talk to them, didn't I? I was ready to tell them everything... Tell them who I was, what happened to me, that they had to go after you... And yet... And yet, when they saw me... It was like they were looking at a stranger... Can you imagine how it feels, Stardust?..."
(Loop trails off, staring down at their dagger... your dagger... coated in your own blood. They glance back up at you, their eyes filled with pure, seething rage. You take a couple steps back, tears forming in your eye... You can't do it anymore... you can't fight back...)
"I loved them... I loved them... I loved them...!!! And yet, they didn't recognize me!!! Didn't remember me!!! Because, it never happened to me, did it? It happened to you!!! You're the one who got their perfect ending!!!!!! This... remembering the times I spent with them, when they can't remember me, this is worse! This is worse than forgetting!!!!!! I wish I could forget, Stardust!!!!!! Ooooh, Stardust, do you know how this feels? Can you imagine it? DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS, TO KNOW THAT SOME COPY OF YOU WON, AND YOU'RE LEFT WITH NOTHING?!? MIRABELLE... ISABEAU... ODILE... BONNIE...!!!!!! THEY WERE MINE, THEY WERE MINE, THEY WERE MINE!!!!!! THEY WERE MINE FIRST!!!!!!
AND YOU STOLE THEM FROM ME!!!!!!"
(Loop is right... You stole it all from them... You didn't earn it, you don't have the right to claim it, you're just a thief... Loop runs at you, dagger ready to strike once more. You stand still, dropping yours to the ground and closing your eye tight... accepting whatever comes next.)
(With a flash of pain, you're knocked to the ground. In another moment, Loop is above you, hands on your neck. They'll kill you, you know they will.)-