Chapter Text
One more time.
You’ve been saying that a lot, haven’t you? At least to yourself. It never actually is one more time… But you need to start getting up. Mira will be here soon, and you don’t want to embarrass yourself again by looking like a mess, so you get yourself on your feet, pick off blades of grass that got stuck to your hair and head towards town. She’s there again, heading towards you, and you go into autopilot, saying the same lines as always, she seems happy. It doesn’t feel genuine though, you’re just saying what you know makes her happy and intentionally get that reaction out of her…
She leaves you, going to sit on the bench she always goes for and starts looking at her papers. You know what they mean now though and you can help her sort that out. Ah, that’s right! You know what everyone needs help with this time around, and that means you can finally get Isa to let you help him.
Your head turns to Mirabelle, sitting on the bench, nervously flipping through pages of possible partners. You approach her, again for you, and ask her about them, she goes through the same reaction, almost grabbing her rapier, calming down and letting you talk to her about it. She was extremely pressured about it, seeing how everyone around her, the housemaidens, her friends, all changed and if she was going to be just as great as them, she should try it, right? You tell her that maybe not changing is a way of change in itself. She laughs, but… She’s happy.
You wave goodbye to Mira, going into the local shop where Odile browsed through the items in it. She noticed you, and when asked if she needed help she told you about the familytales, and so followed the comically messy fetch quest. You both moved to a secluded place, where she talked about her experience with cultures and how she never felt she fit in the country she was raised in… It was difficult for you to hear this again. At least she seemed content with talking.
You leave her to her book, and headed towards the field Bonnie was looking at. They were mad, like every other time before this one, because they felt you didn’t know them enough. You feel a bit of guilt, knowing that the only way that you got to know them is because of the loops. You “guess” the answers to their little questionnaire, and head to the outskirts to fight the sadnesses. The same song, dance and trip every time. You brace yourself for their hug.
There was only one more of your party members to help… Isa. He always stood in front of the tree, contemplating what to wish for. You talked to him the same way you did all those times before, but this time, he said he saw you running around with everyone, and he wanted to go somewhere with you too. He took you to a field, where you both laid down. He invites you to look up…
-!
The stars fill the sky, making a masterpiece just for your eye to enjoy like candy. Or, well. Isa is right there, next to you, looking up at the skies too, and just for a moment, the skies feel sweeter. He sparks a conversation again, personal and important to him. He never opened up to anyone like this before, did he? You can tell by the way his voice reaches you that he's not used to it. There's a slight tremble in it, one unlike the other times he gets flustered. Right now… he feels safe with you. There's so much you could say about him, but you can never put it into words, you can never tell him. Not until you get out.
-!
The rest of your party members emerged from the path you took to get here, sitting down next to the both of you. They look much better than they did on any other loop. Could it be..? Here, you're all together, connected in a way you hadn't had the chance to before. Bonnie starts pulling the usual dinner from their hat and hands some to you. The char of a burnt samosa hits your tongue, and yet, you don't mind it. It even feels… familiar to a degree. After you finish it, you lay your head on the grass. The motion is… too familiar, it's gross and uncomfortable-
Isabeau lays down beside you.
All of a sudden, the feeling washes away, and you see his face staring back at you. He grins, reassuringly. You close your eye knowing that-
They care.
You pay more attention to them this time, what they have to say, how they look at each other when they talk, how much more confident they are, and you can tell the difference in how they move in battle. You all blow through sadnesses left and right even better than before, and on the third floor, everyone slowly starts getting quieter. To them, this is almost to the end, but for you?
…
This is it, the final hallway.
Could your relationships with them actually make a difference? Strands of the King’s hair covered the walls, becoming more common the closer you got. You soon saw him on the far end of the room. He still covered his face with his hands, and as you all got closer, he started the same monologue you barely bothered to listen to most times. Up until it was your time to respond, you stood in silence.
“ -AND WE SHALL SEE WHICH SIDE THE UNIVERSE FAVORS!!! ”
You accidentally zoned out through most of the fight, almost going into auto-pilot, instead opting for focusing a bit more on your- Your family members. Their movements were more determined, it could be because of your craft, but there’s a feeling you can’t shake off. They’re doing it because they care about each other, dodging to not worry them, hitting harder to protect them.
You feel a tug on your neck as Odile yanks you backwards and almost immediately after, one of the King’s fists slam down where you were. She gives you a stern look, but she knows there’s something more important than telling you off right now. The King prepares an attack, the one that wiped you all out near the start of your looping journey. Mira quickly casts the shield she learnt from your time together, giving you enough time to get back on your feet. It didn’t even hurt.
Some more punches, slashes, cuts were thrown around and the King was brought to his knees, one more line and he’s done for. Everyone attacks him with all they’ve got.
…
After the first time, it didn’t feel as satisfying, but this time… This time, you have a gut feeling that everything… Everything's gonna work out fine.
After a short celebration, interrupted by Mira rushing forwards and Odile’s fear of heights, you all reach the Head Housemaiden. You take your time to talk to all of your family members, every single word coming out feels so much more important now, you savor each one of them. You finish up talking to everyone, and walk up to the Head Housemaiden as your heartbeat rises. It should be fine, stop worrying.
She starts off as normal-
…She hesitates at the same moment—
No. Nonononono. This can’t be happening…! You did everything right! You just…
You unconsciously reach for your dagger
YOU JUST WISH TO GET OUT OF THIS CRABBING LOOP
Your grip on it tightens, as you stab it into the ground in frustration.
A beam of light came out from where the dagger’s tip ended, bringing everyone’s attention to the center of the room. You couldn’t dare look at them. Smoke started coming out of the hole, enveloping the whole room in darkness. They tried reaching out, but they couldn’t find you, it clouded your vision until you couldn’t see your hand in front of you, and your surroundings got dark, darker-
Yet darker.