Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Narrator

You’re on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

The Narrator

You’re here to slay her.

If you don’t, it will be the end of the world.

(Explore) The end of the world? What are you talking about?

The Narrator

I’m talking about the end of everything as we know it. No more birds, no more trees, and perhaps most problematically of all, no more people. You have to put an end to her.

[Silently continue to the cabin]

The Narrator

A warning before you go any further

The Narrator

She will lie, she will cheat, she will do everything in her power to keep you from slaying her. Don’t believe a word she says.

Voice of the Traveller

…Huh?

The Narrator

Were you not listening to me? I just said-

Voice of the Traveller

I heard what you said. I’m just… really confused right now.

Voice of the Traveller

I- I don’t think I should be here.

(Explore) Why would you think that?

The Narrator

Just ignore him and stay focused.

[Proceed into the cabin]

The Narrator

The interior of the cabin is almost entirely bare. The air is stale and musty and the floor and walls are painted in a fine layer of dust. The only furniture of note is a plain wooden table. Perched on that table is a pristine blade.

The Narrator

The blade is your implement. You’ll need it if you want to do this right.

[Enter the basement]

Voice of the Traveller

Hey wait, shouldn’t you bring that dagger with you? I mean, from what I heard earlier, this person you’re supposed to be killing-

The Narrator

Slaying . You’re slaying her.

The Narrator

Also, it’s a pristine blade . Not a dagger. There’s a difference.

Voice of the Traveller

Whatever. She sounds dangerous. Are you sure you want to go in unarmed?

I’m going to talk to her first. If she really is dangerous, I can come back for it later.

Voice of the Traveller

If you say so…

The Narrator

The door to the basement creaks open, revealing a staircase faintly illuminated by an unseen light in the room below. This is an oppressive place. The air feels heavy and damp, a hint of rot filtering from the ancient wood. If the Princess really lives here, slaying her is probably doing her a favor.

The Narrator

Her voice softly carries up the stairs.

H-Hello? Is someone there?

Voice of the Traveller

She sounds so much like someone I know.

The Narrator

Don’t let it fool you. It’s all part of the manipulation. You’re playing a dangerous game by coming here unarmed.

Continue down the stairs

The Narrator

Good. You’re still listening to reason. It would be much better if you had a weapon, but you may still be able to do what needs to be done

The Narrator

You walk down the stairs and lock eyes with the Princess. There’s a heavy chain around her wrist, binding her to the far wall of the basement.

Hi. Do you think you could get me out of these chains?

“Hold on. Let’s talk a bit first.”

O…kay.

(Explore) “What’s your name?”

Oh…

  The Narrator

She pauses, carefully formulating her words before she responds.

You can address me as Your Royal Highness. Or you can just call me Princess if Your Royal Highness is too formal.

(Explore) “So is Princess your name?”

…

Like I said, you can call me Princess if you’d like!

…

I’m sorry, I must’ve been down here so long I’ve just forgotten. I must have a name though. Everyone has a name!

Voice of the Traveller

She doesn’t remember her name either. And she has darkless hair. Is she also from the island?

(Explore) The what?

Voice of the Traveller

It’s the country I came from. People from there usually had darkless hair. It was wiped from everyone’s minds though, so nobody can really remember it.

Voice of the Traveller

And those of us who were somewhere else when the memory wipe took place… can’t remember anything from there. Including our names.

The Narrator

You… came from another country? That’s strange.

(Explore) Do you remember where you came from?

I… don’t think so. I guess I’ve forgotten that too.

The Narrator

She does remember. She’s just pretending that she doesn’t to manipulate you.

Voice of the Traveller

I don’t think she’s lying about that, but if she's really as evil as this guy says...

(Explore) “I was told that you’re going to end the world.”

(Explore) “I’m still not sure if that’s entirely true.”

I-Is that why they threw me down here? But I don’t want to hurt anyone. I like the world! I think.

I don’t remember much about it, to be honest. Like I said, I’ve been down here for a long time.

Did they tell you how I’m supposed to end the world?

Voice of the Traveller

How is she supposed to end the world?

The Narrator

She just can. Believe me, I’d love to tell you more, but it would make your task much harder if I did.

Voice of the Traveller

How would that make it harder to kill-

The Narrator

Slay.

Voice of the Traveller

They literally mean the same thing.

The Narrator

To answer your question, telling you how she can end the world would overcomplicate things. I know it sounds like I’m hiding something, but you just need to trust my word for it.

(Explore) “No. They refused to tell me.”

The Narrator

It’s for the best that I don’t tell you.

If they refused to tell you, how can you know for sure that I’m the bad guy here?

At the end of the day, whatever the two of us have going on down here is about trust.

Whoever sent you to ‘slay’ me claimed I was a threat to the world, but they didn’t tell you why.

I don’t trust that, and I don’t think you do either, or you wouldn’t have come down here to talk.

So this shouldn’t be about what I’d do if I got out of here, or me saying the right thing to convince you to save me…

This is about how messed up this whole situation is! This is my life we’re talking about!

Do you really think I can even end the world? Why would I even want to?

We both know that if there’s people we can’t trust in this situation, it’s whoever locked me down here, and it’s whoever sent you here. And those two groups are probably one and the same.

Voice of the Traveller

She has a point, but… I’m not sure if we can trust her either.

(Explore) What makes you say that?

Voice of the Traveller

I don’t know. It’s just- The last time someone made a speech like that, they… did something terrible.

(Explore) What did they do?

Voice of the Traveller

…I don’t want to talk about it.

The Narrator

I’m not sure what he’s so worked up about, but he is right about one thing. You can’t trust her. It’s too risky. We stand to lose everything, all for the sake of one person. And a subjugating monarch , no less.

Voice of the Traveller

…

“…I won’t kill you, but I can’t just set you free. It’s too risky. What if I stayed for a while and just kept you company? Maybe then everyone could be happy.”

Voice of the Traveller

I don’t think everyone would be happy with that.

I don’t think I could bear being down here that much longer.

The Narrator

Leaving her alive is too risky. If you don’t deal with her soon, she will find a way out.

One way or another, I’m going to find a way out of here. It would make it easier for both of us if you’d help.

But if you don’t, I can promise that you’ll regret that decision.

The Narrator

You have to make a choice. Let’s hope for all our sakes it’s the right one.

[Lock her in the basement]

The Narrator

I know you think this is some sort of fair compromise, but it isn’t. No one wins here.

Voice of the Traveller

Do we even have to stay here? We could just leave the cabin. If she hasn’t been able to get out yet, I doubt she’d be able to get out now, right?

Where are you going?! You can’t just leave me here!

The Narrator

You turn your back to the Princess and make your way back to the stairs.

Fine! Turn your back on me. But it won’t be long before I slip these chains. And once I’m out of here, there will be hell to pay for leaving me behind.

Voice of the Traveller

‘Slip these chains’? She can’t get out, right?

The Narrator

Not at the moment, but eventually she will find a way out. Which is why you should get the pristine blade and slay her while you still can.

No. We’re sticking to the plan and locking her away

The Narrator

You’ll be the death of all of us, but fine. We’ll do it your way.

The Narrator

You close the basement door, locking it behind you and quickly barricading it with the heavy wooden table that once held the blade

Voice of the Traveller

…Where did it go?

The Narrator

You settle in against the far wall to watch the basement door.

The Narrator

It isn’t long before you start to drift off, your eyelids heavy with fatigue. But sleep doesn’t come. Instead your rest is broken by a piercing, wailing voice calling out to you from the other side of the door.

I know you’re still there. Why don’t you make things easier on yourself and let me out?

It’s not like this little door’ll hold on for very long anyways… and it’s probably a good idea to try and get back on my good side.

Voice of the Traveller

…So she really was manipulating us then, huh.

The Narrator

As she violently rattles the door, you do your best to shut her out of your mind.

When I get out of here, I’m going to pick you apart piece by piece. I won’t forget what you did, and I’ll never forgive it.

You don’t know the kind of enemy you’ve made tonight.

Voice of the Traveller

We should really get out of here before she escapes that basement.

No. We need to make sure that she doesn’t leave the cabin.

Voice of the Traveller

How?! That dagger is gone and uh, no offense, but I'm not sure how good you are in a fight.

We’ll manage.

The Narrator

You put the Princess’ threats out of your mind as best as you can and huddle up against the wall.

The Narrator

You jolt awake in the middle of the night to silence in the cabin. The ruckus has stopped, and the door to the basement is ajar, its lock broken and the table shoved out of the way.

Voice of the Traveller

Where is she?

Thanks for helping me get out of that awful basement.

Voice of the Traveller

Stars.

The Narrator

You try and stumble to your feet, but as the Princess draws near, it’s as though your body simply stops working.

The Narrator

It isn’t all at once. The paralysis comes in waves. First your toes go numb, and then your feet, and then your legs. You lie prone on the floor of the cabin, unable to do anything but witness her approach.

So helpless. I can take my time with you, can’t I?

The Narrator

She steps closer, one silent footfal at a time, cocking her head in curiosity as you feel your organs shutting down one by one.

Or maybe I can’t take my time with you. You don’t look well. A little green around the gills…

What a shame. If you’d only helped me get out of here. We could have done such wonderful things together.

The Narrator

Your lungs stop drawing in breath, and your heart freezes in your chest. You have seconds left.

I’d say better luck next time, but we both know that this is the end, don’t we?

Voice of the Traveller

No…

The Narrator

Everything goes dark, and you die.

Chapter Text

The Narrator

You’re on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

The Narrator

You’re here to slay her.

If you don’t, it will be the end of the world.

(Explore) Wait… hasn’t this already happened?

The Narrator

It hasn’t. Or if it has, I certainly haven’t been a part of it. We’ve just met for the first time, you and I.

Voice of the Traveller

“Already happened”...? No. Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no no no thiscan’tbehappeningtomeIcan’tdothisagainI-

Voice of the Unfortunate

Uh… are you okay?

Voice of the Traveller

OF COURSE NOT!!!

Voice of the Unfortunate

Gah!

Voice of the Traveller

I was out!!! I was free!!! I was FINALLY together with my family!!! And- And now…

He falls to his knees.

Voice of the Traveller

I’ve lost them. I’ve lost them again.

You hear him sobbing.

(Explore) …You’ve been on edge for quite a while. Do you want to talk about it?

Voice of the Traveller

No. ESPECIALLY not with you . You’re probably the reason we’re STUCK HERE!

Voice of the Unfortunate

Woah, uh, I may not know much about the whole situation, but I don’t think we should start yelling at each other. Maybe we should take a few minutes to calm down? 

The Narrator

As much as I would love to figure out what’s going on here, I’d like to remind you all that we are on a bit of a time crunch. You have to go to the cabin and slay the Princess now before it’s too late.

We can rest a bit. After what happened last time, I think we need it.

The Narrator

Seriously? *sigh* Fine.

The Narrator

You lay down on the path to the cabin. You have 1 minute.

[Rest for a minute]

Voice of the Unfortunate

…

The Narrator

…

Voice of the Traveller

…

Voice of the Traveller

*inhale* Pheeeeew…

Voice of the Unfortunate

Are you feeling better?

Voice of the Traveller

Not exactly, but… I do feel a bit better now.

Voice of the Traveller

…I’m sorry for yelling at you guys earlier.

It’s alright.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Yeah, it’s fine. I get it.

The Narrator

Your time is up.

[Get up and proceed to the cabin]

The Narrator

A warning, before you go any further.

The Narrator

She will lie, she will cheat, she will do anything in her power to stop you from slaying her. Don’t believe a word she says.

Voice of the Unfortunate

You guys have been here before, right? What’s the Princess like?

Voice of the Traveller

…

Voice of the Unfortunate

Oh no. She’s really bad, isn’t she?

The Narrator

Of course she’s bad. Were you not listening to me earlier?

Voice of the Unfortunate

Yeah, but if she’s gonna end the world, it’s better to know what she’s capable of.

Voice of the Traveller

Something that someone here isn’t telling us.

The Narrator

You know I can hear you, right? It’s going to be very hard to hide things from me.

[Proceed to the cabin]

The Narrator

The interior of the cabin is plain and dark, its walls outlined entirely in white. The only furniture of note is a lone table, knocked on its side in the corner of the room. A pristine blade stands between you and the open, inviting basement doorway.

.

The Narrator

The blade is your implement. You’ll need it if you want to do this right.

Voice of the Unfortunate

It feels like someone’s watching us.

(Explore) This whole cabin is different from what I remember it being.

Voice of the Traveller

Very different…

Voice of the Unfortunate

It wasn’t like this before?

Voice of the Traveller

No. Last time the basement had a door and it was a lot brighter. The table wasn’t knocked over either and the da- pristine blade was on it.

(Explore) None of you mentioned the broken mirror on the wall.

The Narrator

That’s because there is no broken mirror. There’s only the table knocked over to the side and the pristine blade.

Voice of the Unfortunate

I don’t see any broken mirror either.

Voice of the Traveller

Me neither. Maybe only you can see it?

(Explore) [Take the blade.]

The Narrator

You reach down and pick up the blade from the floor. It would be difficult to slay the Princess and save the world without a weapon.

Voice of the Unfortunate

If she’s supposed to be some sort of world-ending monster, wouldn’t it be better to give us a more effective weapon? Like, I don’t know, a gun?

The Narrator

The blade is all you need to do the job.

Voice of the Traveller

Are you sure about that? Last time, she was able to shut off the deciding one’s organs just by getting close to us!

The Narrator

As long as you don’t let thoughts like that cloud your head, you’ll be fine.

The Narrator

Remember, she’s just a Princess.

[Enter the basement]

The Narrator

You cross over the threshold, and onto a series of isolated steps suspended in darkness. Next to the steps are floating torches, their flames stuck in place.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Do you guys see those eyes? I think she’s watching us.

The Narrator

The air seeping up from below smells sickeningly sweet, as if someone had left caramel burning for hours. If the Princess lives here, slaying her would probably be doing her a favor.

The Narrator

Her deep and cruel voice prances up the stairs.

I didn’t think you’d come back, feathered one. We’re gonna have a lot of fun, you and I.

Voice of the Traveller

I- I really don’t like this. Can we leave? Get someone else to do this maybe?

The Narrator

Unfortunately for all of us, you’re the only one who can do this.

Voice of the Unfortunate

If you’re uncomfortable with this, I can take over for you.

Voice of the Traveller

No, no, I can handle this. I’ll be fine.

Voice of the Unfortunate

…

[Continue down the stairs in silence]

The Narrator

You make your way to the bottom of the stairs

The Narrator

As you emerge, you find yourself inside a seemingly infinite hallway, its dark brick walls lined with torches that have lost their flames. There’s only one way forward.

Voice of the Unfortunate

That’s a… very ominous way of putting it. 

Voice of the Traveller

Let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to be here any longer.

[Move forward]

The Narrator

You move forward.

The Narrator

Suddenly, you stop, seeing a bright and shadowy figure in the distance.

There you are! I knew I would find you here.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Holy shit!

The Narrator

As the Princess approaches, your legs suddenly go numb.

The Narrator

Your arms quickly follow.

Ooh, and you brought a little knife with you. Cute.

The Narrator

What did you do? Pull yourself together, she isn’t supposed to be like this.

I wonder how many times I’ll get to play with you before you break.

The Narrator

Your vision cuts out as your blood begins to coagulate. It’s as if every part of your being is coming to a lurching halt.

Voice of the Traveller

Please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t die…

The Narrator

Your lungs pull in a desperate gulp of air as your eyes shoot back open.

Voice of the Unfortunate

How did you do that?

Voice of the Traveller

I think it’s Wish Craft. 

Voice of the Unfortunate

What’s Wish Craft?

Voice of the Traveller

It’s-

The Narrator

It doesn’t matter how he did it. What matters is that you’re still alive and that you can still slay her before it’s too late.

Can’t decide what you want to do, can you?

Oh, well. You’re more useful to me alive than dead.

(Explore) “What do you want from me?”

I want you to set me free.

I tried to leave while you were suffocating, but that stupid cabin wouldn’t let me. So I started dragging your body out with me, and…

Well, you died before I could get to the door.

I can’t leave without you, feathered one, and dead doesn’t count.

(Explore) “I was sent here to stop you from destroying the world. I can’t just let you leave.”

I know. You told me last time.

I’m the one in control here, feathered one. Unless you let me out, you’ll be stuck here with me.

The Narrator

She snaps her fingers. You hear the sound of something big falling behind you.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Did she just block our way out?

The Narrator

Unfortunately, yes. There’s now a giant rock blocking the way back to the stairs.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Hey, uh… what’s your name?

Voice of the Traveller

Siffrin.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Siffrin, can you use your wish magic to get rid of that rock behind us?

Voice of the Traveller

I can try.

Voice of the Traveller

Please get rid of that rock, please get rid of that rock-

(Explore) Wait, if that rock is blocking the way out, doesn’t that mean we could just stay here to make sure she doesn’t get out for real this time?

Voice of the Traveller

Are you blinding insane?! Don’t you remember what happened last time?!

I do, but we have the knife this time and she said she needs us alive. I don’t think she’ll try to kill us this time.

The Narrator

If you keep her alive, she’s going to end the world.

Voice of the Unfortunate

I really don’t think we should stay here. This place is creepy and I’d really like to go back home.

Voice of the Traveller

So would I.

“I’m not going to help you leave. If I have to stay with you forever, so be it.”

The Narrator

Are you serious?!

Voice of the Traveller

This is a terrible idea. She’s gonna kill us again, she-

The Narrator

Without saying a word, the Princess freezes your body.

Voice of the Traveller

Nononononono not again not again not again-

Voice of the Unfortunate

Ugh, I can’t move! Come on, come on-

Did you really think that I’d let you do that again, feathered one? 

The Narrator

The Princess takes your pristine blade from your hand.

You poor, deluded thing. Do you think a single act of bravery changes you into something you’re not? I am what I am, and you’re always going to be a coward.

The Narrator

She snaps her fingers. Your vision becomes consumed by darkness.

The Narrator

Like a creeping mold, the complete reality of your existence threads its way through your mind. Birth, death, birth again. Decay and bloom. A million stitches from a million microscopic wounds you’ve inflicted on everyone you’ve ever met with every muscle you’ve moved and every word you’ve ever spoken.

Let me out.

The Narrator

Your existence hurts them.

Voice of the Traveller

Ah-!

Let me out!

The Narrator

A lonely soul in a room by itself weeping. It lives for eighty years and then it’s gone. And then it’s there again.

Let. Me. Out!

The Narrator

A reprieve. A good life. Love, children, a steady career. Recognition from your peers. Here one moment, gone the next. The worms have found their orifices.

LET. ME. OUT!

Voice of the Unfortunate

Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!!!

The Narrator

Diagnosis. It forgets everything it is. Anger. Rage. Distance. Poverty. The lonely soul is lonely again. Love turns to mockery. It dies. It is reborn. Worse. Lonelier.

LET ME OUT!

Voice of the Unfortunate

No… we can’t… this can’t be…

You hear someone crying.

LET ME OUT!

The Narrator

This is all too much. I… can’t keep going.

…

Oops… I think I broke you.

I’ll see you soon. You’ll know what to do.

Your body is dead, but you live on.

Chapter Text

Voice of the Traveller

*silently crying*

The Narrator

You’re on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path- okay, what the hell is that?

Voice of the Unfortunate

…

The Narrator

You. Tell me what’s going on.

Voice of the Unfortunate

You… you don’t want to know.

Voice of the Determined

Excuse me, what’s going on?

The Narrator

I have no clue what’s going on with them, but you’re here to slay the Princess. If you don’t, it’ll be the end of the world.

Voice of the Unfortunate

You’re lucky you weren’t here last time. That was… terrible.

Voice of the Determined

So this Princess really is dangerous…

The Narrator

Of course she’s dangerous. That’s why you need to walk down the path, enter the cabin, and slay her before it’s too late.

Voice of the Traveller

NO!!!

(Explore) Hey, it’s going to be okay-

Voice of the Traveller

NO IT’S NOT!

Voice of the Traveller

She’s going to torture us againandagainandagainand-

Voice of the Unfortunate

Siffrin-

Voice of the Traveller

DON’T TOUCH ME.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Sorry…

Voice of the Traveller

…

Voice of the Determined

…Look, I don’t know what happened to you last time, but we can’t just leave. If we don’t deal with her, she’s going to end the world. You’ve been here before, so surely you’d know that. If we leave her unattended, everyone will die, including the people you love.

The Narrator

She’s right. There’s a lot of lives at stake here. You need to start pulling yourself together.

Voice of the Traveller

I know… and I don’t want them to die!! I really don’t! But…

Voice of the Unfortunate

…

Voice of the Determined

What about you?

Voice of the Unfortunate

I think… I think we have to make a choice.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Keeping her locked in that basement forever clearly isn’t working. And like Siffrin said earlier, the Princess will likely keep torturing us until we let her out.

Voice of the Unfortunate

And seeing how we all clearly don’t want that, I think we have to kill her.

The Narrator

That is an excellent choice. You should all listen to him.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Why do you want to keep her locked away so badly anyway?

I thought she’d like that better than dying.

Voice of the Traveller

Well clearly you’re wrong.

Voice of the Determined

I don’t think anyone would like being left alone to rot.

The Narrator

Even if you did leave her in the basement, she’d still find a way out. Which is why you need to slay her before she does.

(Explore) Is it just me, or have the woods changed?

Voice of the Unfortunate

Well now that you mention it, these woods do feel a lot more ominous than before.

The Narrator

If these aren’t the woods you’re used to, it means that her influence is spreading and you’re already running out of time.

Okay, I get it. I’ll slay her this time. [Continue down the path]

The Narrator

I’m sure you’ve heard my warnings before. *sigh* Just don’t mess up this time.

Voice of the Unfortunate

I’m Henry, by the way. Henry Stickmin.

Voice of the Determined

Homura Akemi. You can just call me Homura.

Voice of the Traveller

Siffrin. Just Siffrin. I use he/they pronouns.

(Explore) I don’t think I have a name.

Voice of the Unfortunate

That’s… actually really sad. Did you not have parents or something?

The Narrator

I appreciate that you’re all getting to know one another, but we don’t have much time. You have to slay the Princess before it’s too late.

Voice of the Traveller

…

[Proceed into the cabin]

 The Narrator

The interior of the cabin is almost entirely pitch black, the light from the windows making it only barely visible. The only furniture of note is a broken table, and- wait that’s not right. Where’s the pristine blade? There’s supposed to be a pristine blade.

Voice of the Traveller

She took it from us last time… She can’t have it now, can she?

The Narrator

No, she can’t have it. That’s not how this works. I’m sure it’ll turn up somewhere.

Voice of the Determined

What was the Princess like last time?

Voice of the Unfortunate

She had control of the whole place. She was able to block off our exit and was also able to freeze our bodies. She could kill us just by being close to her.

Voice of the Unfortunate

And…

Voice of the Determined

I see. So a blade may not be enough.

Voice of the Traveller

We don’t even have the dagger this time! How are we going to kill her if we don’t even have a blinding weapon?!

Voice of the Determined

The best thing right now is to get that blade back.

Voice of the Unfortunate

I don’t know if we can do that. She’ll probably do something really bad if we try to take it from her.

Voice of the Determined

It’s our only chance.

(Explore) What if it doesn’t work?

Voice of the Determined

Then we’ll try again next time.

Voice of the Traveller

I hope we don’t need a next time.

(Explore) How do I get to the basement?

The Narrator

You go through the basement door.

(Explore) But there is no door. It’s just that broken mirror again.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Is it that broken mirror only you can see?

Voice of the Determined

Just move it out of the way.

[Approach the mirror]

The Narrator

You walk up to the basement door, stopping just in front of it. You really don’t want to go in there do you?

Voice of the Unfortunate

Do you need us to-

No, it’s fine. I’ll just move the mirror first. [Move the mirror]

The Narrator

You reach out to the basement door. I assure you, there’s no mirror there.

(Explore) The mirror’s gone…

Voice of the Traveller

Let’s just go.

Voice of the Determined

I thought you didn’t want to go down there.

Voice of the Traveller

I- *sigh* Look, if we’re actually going to kill the Princess, we might as well get it over with.

 [Enter the basement]

The Narrator

The door to the basement opens, revealing a seemingly infinite staircase surrounded by complete darkness. The air smells like a mix of caramel and rot. If the Princess lives here, slaying her is probably doing her a favor.

Voice of the Traveller

There are even more eyes than last time…

Voice of the Unfortunate

She knows we’re coming.

The Narrator

Her voice carries up the stairs.

I see you’ve returned, feathered one. Are you finally going to let me out?

Voice of the Unfortunate

SIffrin, I think you should take a break this round.

Voice of the Traveller

No. I can handle this.

Voice of the Determined

Henry’s right. If you continue like this, you’ll only cause us more problems.

Voice of the Traveller

I’m the only one who can prevent the deciding one from dying near the Princess.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Then- Then teach us how to do Wish Craft! Homura and I can do it for you.

Voice of the Determined

Wish Craft?

Voice of the Traveller

It’s not that simple. There are a lot of things you need to do to have a wish granted.

Voice of the Traveller

And sometimes, your wish won’t even be granted directly and you’ll only get the means necessary to make your wish come true! For example, you could wish to stay with your friends forever! And then you’ll end up stuck in a blinding time loop until you decide to give up on your blinding wish!

Voice of the Unfortunate

Are… Are you speaking from experience?

Voice of the Traveller

That’s none of your business.

Voice of the Determined

…

[Continue down the stairs]

The Narrator

You make your way to the bottom of the stairs.

The Narrator

You then find yourself in a room surrounded by shadows and bright pillars. The floor is made out of floating cobblestones that are just big enough for you to stand on. At the other side of the room is a vault.

Voice of the Traveller

She could be anywhere…

Voice of the Unfortunate

What’s in the vault?

The Narrator

It doesn’t matter what’s in the vault. You need to focus at the task at hand.

Voice of the Unfortunate

But it could have something useful! Like a bomb or a gun or something.

Voice of the Traveller

It could be a trap.

Voice of the Determined 

Siffrin’s right. The Princess has probably been here for a long time. If she hates you guys so much, she would prepare to meet you again.

Voice of the Unfortunate

That’s true…

The Narrator

Suddenly, you see the Princess come out of the shadows, her bright, long hair following behind her. She’s holding the pristine blade. So that’s where it is. That’s not good.

Missing something?

The Narrator

She dangles the pristine blade in front of you before hiding it behind her back.

Voice of the Traveller

Uh- please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t die…

(Explore) “Give me my blade back!”

Why? So you can kill me? We both know you won’t do it.

Besides, feathered one, I like having it with me.

Voice of the Unfortunate

I don’t think we’re getting that knife back anytime soon.

Voice of the Determined

That’s not good…

(Explore) “Why did you show me that vision last time?”

So that you could understand, feathered one.

I’ve been in this cabin for so, so long. It’s all I’ve ever known.

Do you know what it’s like being left all alone? Being left to rot in a cage forever with no one to help you?

Of course you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have left me to rot.

Voice of the Traveller

…

Voice of the Determined

…

(Explore) “What’s in the vault?”

Why don’t you go in and find out?

Voice of the Traveller

Okay that’s definitely a trap. We really shouldn’t go into that vault.

(Explore) “And what if I don’t?”

Do you really want to find out, feathered one?

[Enter the vault]

The Narrator

The interior of the vault is mostly dark, but still barely visible. Metal drawers line the walls, each having some sort of word scribbled on them. The only thing of note is a small square device with a big red circle in the middle.

Voice of the Unfortunate

DON’T TOUCH THAT.

Voice of the Determined

Why not?

Voice of the Unfortunate

That thing is harmful. It never works correctly.

(Explore) What does it do?

Voice of the Unfortunate

It’s a teleporter. It’s supposed to, well, teleport you to where you want to go.

Voice of the Traveller

That actually sounds very convenient.

Voice of the Unfortunate

It does. But it’s not. It only ever causes problems.

The Narrator

And how do you know all of this?

Voice of the Unfortunate

I’ve used it several times before. It’s only worked for me twice.

The Narrator

‘Used it several times before’?

(Explore) “Do you want me to do something with this?”

Press the button. 

Don’t worry. It won’t kill you. And even if it did, you’d still come back to me, right?

Voice of the Traveller

I don’t like the way she said that.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Please don’t press that button.

Voice of the Determined

But if he doesn’t, she’ll probably do something worse. We don’t have much of a choice.

The Narrator

Just do something.

[Press the button]

The Narrator

The Princess closes the door behind you.

Voice of the Traveller

Stars.

Voice of the Unfortunate

Uh, Sif, can you use your Wish Craft on this door?

Voice of the Traveller

…What did you just-

The Narrator

Suddenly, the room explodes. You can feel your tissues tearing apart, flying across the room shortly after.

The Narrator

Everything goes dark for a bit, but you’re not quite dead yet.

***

Oh stars, that was awful!!!

That was worse than getting crushed by that rock!!!

You can still feel your ears ringing from the explosion!!!

Stars, you’re tired of this.

You just want to go home.

…

How long have you been here?

How long have you been away from them?

…

The narrator must’ve finished his whole intro by now.

You open your eyes.

…You’re not in the woods.

You’re… still in the cabin?

At least you think so. You can’t really see anything.

You need to check on everyone.

“Is everyone okay?”

…

You don’t hear a response.

Where is everyone?

You try to move, but you seem to be stuck in place.

Did the Princess freeze you again?

Is she just going to do this every time?! 

“Hello?”

Was that the deciding one?

“Hey, I’m over here!”

…

No response.

You can’t hear anything from the others either.

“Can anyone hear me?”

…

Still no response.

…

You don’t think calling out to anyone again will help.

…

You look around you.

You’re… not in the deciding one’s body anymore.

You seem to be attached to something, but you can’t tell what it is.

Is that why no one can hear you? 

…

You feel something sucking on you.

You look to your right.

Is that a worm? 

Is it trying to eat you?!

You look around. There are worms everywhere.

They seem to be eating parts of… something.

It reminds you of that…

…

If you were the Princess’ position…

Would you do the same thing?

Torture someone just so they could understand you?

…

You feel pain creep up your arm.

You can barely hear the deciding one grunt in pain.

You wonder if the others also feel it. They’re still around, right? They have to be.

…

You hope they’re okay.

Maybe-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!

YOU SUDDENLY FEEL PAIN ALL OVER YOUR BODY

IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS!!!

YOU WANT TO SCREAM YOU NEED TO SCREAM BUT YOU CAN’T YOU CAN’T YOU CAN’T!!!!

“They were right. I should’ve killed you.”

“It’s a bit too late for that, feathered one. You missed your chance a long time ago.”

Y O  U