The Following is one big Fused Loop with The Doki Doki Literature Club

3.1

The Doki Doki Literature SAGA Opening

Monika Woke up on the hardwood floor. That was the first thing that told her that she was in a fused loop. One where… well she wasn't an AI, but she didn't feel totally human either… Odd.

Lightning struck as she checked her surroundings. She seemed to be in the den of an old house… alone.

"Um… Hello?" she called out.

Lightning struck again as seven figures rose up. Monkia turned to greet them only to see sunken red eyes, rotting skin in various shades of blue. That was enough to send all her rationality out the window. She ran through the only door she could see and into the hall, grabbing a bannister to catch her breath.

"Okay, Monika," she said to herself, "you're in another zombie Loop. You knew you had to deal with this eventually, you have to not panic."

She felt a ping.

"Monika?"

"Natsuki? Where are yo-AGH!"

She was met with a pink-haired zombie girl that looked a little emaciated.

"Are you alright, Monika?" Natsuki asked.

"You're a zombie!" Monika cried.

"Yeah," Natsuki said. "So are you."

And then Monika was a zombie. She looked at her hands which were a deathly blue tone and more than a little rotten.

"...AAAAGH-"

Natsuki took her president by the shoulders and shook her. "Get ahold of yourself! Weren't you just saying not to panic!?"

"Y-you're right! A-are the others here?"

"Yeah, they're zombies too."

Monika shuddered.

"Zombies and Sailor Venus… you have some very eclectic fears, prez."

" I-in any case we should find them and figure out where we are."

"I think I have an idea…"

They both heard a creak in the floor. The two girls turned to see seven figures moving towards them.

"Oh, hey! Those must be the locals!" Natsuki said. She raised her arm to greet them until she felt her other arm pop off.

Monika ran through the hallways holding Natsuki's arm by her side. She eventually crashed into her other clubmates. One, a short zombie girl with peach hair styled into a bob, with a rather distinctive bruise on her neck. The other was a tall zombie girl with long purple hair with a hole in her uniform which revealed some stitching on her abdominal area.

"Yuri! Sayori! You're zombies too! But at least I know you!"

"Are you okay, Monika?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just being hunted down by zombies."

"Is that why you have an arm with you?" Yuri asked.

Monika glanced at the severed arm she was carrying and dropped it with a squeak.

"Hmm… It's sorta disappointing," Yuri commented. " Our skin isn't nearly as decayed as I thought it would be, our limbs pop on and off way too easily, and there isn't any bones in the sockets we leave behind."

"Yuri?" Sayori more commanded than asked. "How about you… don't?" The peach haired zombie nodded over to the club president, who was curled in a fetal position squeaking in terror.

"Oh," Yuri vocalized.

"Girls? Is Monika in there with you and my arm?" Natsuki's voice asked from behind the door.

"Yeah, they're both here," Yuri answered.

After some mumbling from the behind the door, Natsuki walked into the room.

"So, they're Franchouchou alright," Natuski confirmed as she retrieved her arm. "Although I think this is their first fused loop. Is Moni in any shape to give the Speech?"

The other two club members indicated their quivering leader.

Natsuki squatted down and poked her president. "Hey, this isn't the best way to show them the club ya know, They don't actually wanna hurt you... "

Monika coughed and sat up, "You- You're right… I-I think I'm good."

"You sure?" Sayori asked.

Monika nodded. "Y-yes, I am better than a silly phobia."

"I wouldn't call 'necroambulophobia' silly,." Sayori pointed out.

Natsuki walked over to the door and opened it, allowing seven more zombie girls to enter. Amazingly, Monika didn't scream. They all knelt down across from the Literature Club, the Club doing in kind.

"Um, Hello!" the redheaded zombie greeted sweetly. "I'm sorry if we scared you. It just kind of happens… you know, zombies and all."

A tiny squeak emitted from Monika. The blonde looked at the red head. "Not helping, Egghead.

"Oh, um… right… I-I guess I should just introduce us then." The first zombie cleared her throat. "I am Sakura Minamoto."

She pointed at the blonde zombie.

"That's Saki Nikaido."

She motioned to a black haired zombie,

"Ai Mizuno,"

To the white haired zombie,

"Junko Konno,"

The zombie taking a drag on a pipe,

"Yugiri,"

The youngest zombie,

"Lily Hoshikawa,"

And the Zombie with a vacant look.

"And that's the Legendary Tae Yamada."

Sayori had to be the one to ask. "Why is she Legendary?"

"Wish we could tell ya, Peach," Saki said.

"Alright… then." Sayori took a moment to shake off the need to ask more questions. "Well, I'm Sayori."

"I'm Natsuki," the pinkettesaid, raising her hand. "Big fan, by the way."

"Yuri," said the one with purple hair with a nod.

There was a long silence as the three literature club members looked to their president.

"Moni?" Sayori prompted.

"... I'M FINE! I'mFineI'mfineI'mfine…"

Sayori's eyelids drooped. "And that's our club president, Monika… You'll have to excuse her, she's had a bad time with zombies."

Monika squeaked and closed her eyes tight.

Sayori sighed. "Hey, Yuri, you wanna explain things while I Force Calm the prez?"

Yuri nodded and produced a journal marked 'THE SPEECH' in bold ink. "So, you guys have been repeating the same period of time over and over, right?"

Sakura nodded. "You guys too?"

Yuri nodded. "See, it all begins with the World Tree, Yggdrasil …"

"...And that's how Yggdrasil was made~" Monkia cheered.

"Seriously, is she okay?" Saki asked.

"Yeah," Sayori confirmed. "She's just like this when she's under Force Calm."

"I am scared out of my MIND right now~" Monika chirped drunkenly, "but! Soy Sauce turns all my bad thoughts into happy thoughts~!"

"Soy Sauce?" Ai asked.

Sayori shrugged. "I dunno, that's just something she just came up with while she was drunk."

"So wait, we're stuck repeating until Arpino, basically forever?"

Natsuki rested her head on her chin. "Well you guys are relatively new, so it's very likely you'll get expansions."

"Yggy's always remembering something," Monika slurred. "Sometimes something will just *pop* suddenly it's a thing."

"Very astute, prez" Sayori said.

Monika grinned dumbly.

Sakura hummed in thought. "Okay, so… sometimes I begin these loops before I die, and no matter how hard I try, I barely get through the day without getting hit by a truck."

Natsuki nodded. "Yeah, sometimes Yggdrasil kind of railroads things."

Sakura looked at the floor again. "I knew it… I'm just a cosmic plaything."

Sayori took a sharp breath but said nothing.

"Hey, Sakura…" Ai began.

"No, No, I'm … I'm fine… I mean we're going to be going through a lot of …" Sakura looked at the Literature club. "Fused?" Getting a nod from the three of them and a goofy thumbs up from Monika, she continued, "Fused loops, there must be SOMEthing I can use to get revenge on that truck!"

"Oh wow, such young loopers and you've developed quirks," Natuski commented.

"You have no idea," Ai groused as she indicated Sakura and Saki. " Meet DJ Dead Beatz and MC Ride-and-Die."

"Oooh~ You guys are rappers?" Monika cooed. " I too, am a woman of culture!"

"Okay, Moni, Don't start spitting rhymes until your mind is a little bit clearer," Sayori said.

"We should get going anyway, Mr. Kotaro is bound to be looking for us," Sakura explained.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry," Sayori smirked as she snapped her fingers. "He only just now remembered that he has eleven Zombies running around his mansion"

Sakura went wide eyed. "What?"

"Just a little magic I learned during the loops." Sayori winked.

Sakura nodded and led the way to the meeting dungeon, ready for more adventures in the infinite loops withhe Doki Doki Literature Club.

3.2

Masterweaver

The Doki Doki Literature SAGA, An Uncomfortable Talk

Natsuki inhaled deeply, stretching her hands on her knees as she looked out over the mansion's lawn. "Okay. Just say what needs to be said. You're the blunt one, Nats, you can do this."

Lily stepped out onto the balcony, her expression curious. "Yugirin said you wanted to talk with me?"

"Eh, less wanted, more needed." Natsuki patted the bench beside her. "Come on."

The young girl eyed her warily as she sat down. "So... what did you need to talk to me about?"

Natsuki didn't look at her. Not directly.

"...So, I'm a video game character in my baseline. And I don't know how much you know about video games, but there's a lot that happens in the development process. Ideas that sound interesting but don't make it to the final product." She cleared her throat. "It's... a minor detail, one that doesn't happen every loop, but pret-ty often one of those ideas was that I might be a transgender girl."

Lily perked up. "Oh?"

"Like I said, that usually doesn't make it to the final cut. Most loops I'm born female-well, for as much a value of 'born' that you can get when you're just a bunch of pictures on a screen. But it happens sometimes." Natsuki shrugged. "And to be honest, because I am naturally a bundle of ones and zeros, that kind of thing is not nearly as big an issue for me as it would be for a natural-born human, BUT. I recognize it can be an issue, and I've experienced enough of what comes with transgenderism to understand why. So... that's why we're having this talk. Why I'm the one talking. Because this is one of those talks where we acknowledge the ugly side of reality-not because we like it, but because you have to be ready."

The girl bit her lip. "Is this the 'some people will hate you for being what you are' talk? Cause my pappy already gave me that talk."

"That's part of it. And the whole 'a lot of people are going to be confused' talk, but honestly? I think you're already in a good position with most of that. Figuring yourself out so young, having a supportive if not necessarily totally understanding father, the whole 'never going to face puberty' thing, and... yeah. No, this talk is mostly going to be about how Yggdrasil itself is going to react."

Lily winced. "Oh."

"Now for the most part, Yggdrasil flat out doesn't care about this sort of thing," Natsuki assured her. "You're not going to get any more flak then you would in a normal situation. Hell, the loops being what they are a lot of people have been genderbent for a few loops, and that form of bigotry-most forms, actually, they aren't accepted or tolerated by loopers. Transgender, bisexual, black, muslim, robot, alien, teifling... if you're looping, you're a person, and you're going to be judged on your actions, not on what you are."

"Okay...?"

"Buuuuut Yggdrasil is a tree, so it's twisted. And it's injured, so it's sick. And it's bedridden, so it tries to amuse itself, so it has a sense of humor. A sick and twisted sense of humor."

"I'm..." Lily swallowed. "I'm not sure I like where this is headed."

The pinkette pointed at herself. "My name is Natsuki. Nat. Suki. Yes, I know it's not pronounced that way, but it's spelled that way in english. So, because of puns, I've been Catsuki, Batsuki, Ratsuki, Fatsuki, Tatsuki, Scatsuki-you get the picture. Your name is Lily. So you will spend a loop as a literal lily, I garuntee it. You'll also spend a loop as a lil' E. That's an english pun. Or as Billy. Or as Silly Lily. Or Chilly. And those are just the english puns."

Lily frowned. "I'm... okay, that makes a strange sort of sense, but I'm not sure what this has to do with me being transgender?"

"It's the trans prefix," Natsuki explained. "Transformer. You'll be a car robot thing. Or transactor, you'll be good with money. Stuff like that." She paused. "And... well, this is the reeeeeeeally nasty bit. Are you ready for this?"

"I... guess?"

"One of the slurs for transgender people is 'trap.' So there are going to be loops where you are a literal bear trap." Natsuki clicked her hands together. "You know, a metal circle with jagged teeth. Like in the cartoons. Or maybe you'll just have one in your mouth instead of your teeth. Or you could just replace Admiral Ackbar."

Lily stared at her. "What."

"Yeah... it's beyond stupid, but it'll happen. Once or twice every thousand to ten thousand loops, but it'll happen."

"...I mean, that's just... dumb," Lily said flatly. "Like, seriously dumb. Like, I... it's dumb! It's not even mean, it's just DUMB!"

"Yep."

Lily huffed. "And I'm going to have to go through that?"

Natsuki hissed a sharp inhale. "See... every time that happens, and it's going to be rare, but every time that happens, you get a choice. Either you endure it, or you decide to skip the loop."

"Skipping loops like that sounds like a good idea," Lily grumbled.

"Well, to skip the loop you have to kill yourself," Natsuki pointed out. "Which, as a zombie, is actually much more difficult. I'd recommend disintegration or setting yourself on fire if you want to be thorough. It'd be painful, but it would do the trick."

Somehow, despite being dead, Lily managed to grow pale. "O-oh."

"Yep, that's the problem. That, and getting to the point where suicide is a casual option is not exactly mentally healthy. And... well, if you skip the loop, you'll leave the other loopers behind."

Natsuki looked out at the lawn. "We rely on each other, more than on anything else, to remain stable in these loops. Sometimes we need to skip, to get out, but most often... most often what we need is each other's presence. Now, you're also going to have the skip-or-stay option when you end up in other zombie loops and wake up, say, literally tearing out a man's throat with your teeth. That's going to be a lot more visceral and traumatic but, since you're not the Anchor, you will never be the only one in that loop, and the others are likely to be going through it as well. This, though... it's a much more unique burden for you. I'm just telling you it's going to happen. Not what to do, because that's a judgement call, but I figured you'd be better off knowing what could come. Even if it's not nice."

Lily nodded to herself, considering her words carefully.

"...Well... Yeah, I don't like that at all. But I don't think I'm going to run from it. I'm an idol, after all-a symbol for the masses. I should stand up to dumb meanness, that'll inspire a bunch of others to!"

Natsuki chuckled. "You know what, that's good to hear. And hey." She held out a fist. "Pride, right?"

Lily smirked, pounding it. "Pride."

3.3

Masterweaver

The Doki Doki Literature SAGA, Minor Scenes

"Hmmm..." Yuri took a small knife and started whittling a gentle line down the wood block in front of her. "That looks about right."

Lily walked into the room. "Yuri-chan, Saki was asking for-oh my gosh are you holding knives with your hair?!"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I apprenticed under Bayonetta for a loop."

"Who's Bayonetta?"

Yuri turned and looked at the adorable twelve-year-old zombie looking innocently up at her.

"...an interesting woman," she finally replied. "She does things with her hair. Taught me some of them."

"Neat! Anyway, Saki heard Natsuki say you had a motorcycle collection-"

"Probably nothing as fancy as her customs, but... yeah, I suppose I could show that off once I'm done here."

Lily blinked. "Show them off?"

"Subspace pocket."

"Right, the soul... hammerspace thing." Lily nodded. "So what should I tell Saki?"

"Tell her... that she's going to have to bring her best to the race tonight," Yuri said, an evil smirk crossing her face.

3.4

Masterweaver

"...Hey Monika?"

"Yeah, Natsuki?"

"So, we're all zombies right now-"

Monika inhaled sharply. "I'm trying not to think about that, thank you!"

"-and we all died in unique ways," Natsuki continued. "That's the nature of this reality. And I'm pretty sure our pre-Awake deaths are tied to our own baseline, but... I'm not sure how your death translated."

With a sigh, Monika pulled up the hair on the back of her head. "Signed up for an experimental brain-uploading procedure. Failed experiment."

"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense."

3.5

Masterweaver

Kotaro swept into the dungeon. "GOOD MORNING LAAAAAAAAAAAAAADIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIES!"

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked curiously. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

"All of them at once," Yugiri assured her. "And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain."

"Good one," Monika complimented.

Yugiri gave her a confused look. "...What do you mean?"

"Oh, right, you wouldn't have read The Hobbit, would you?"

Sayori burst out laughing.

3.6

Masterweaver

"You seem to like Tae-chan a lot," Sakura said.

Sayori hummed, stroking the hair of the undead woman currently nipping her arm. "She reminds me of Hiroaka."

"Who?"

"Our player character. Technically he's a faceless insert-name-here, but we call him Hiroaka for simplicity's sake."

Sakura tilted her head for a moment, before blinking rapidly. "Oh, yes, that's right. Dating sim. I... that's kind of strange to think about."

"And being a zombie idol group isn't?"

"Graaagh," Tae agreed thoughtfully.

"Anyway, I'm Hiroaka's childhood friend," Sayori explained. "Well, that's the programmed backstory. So I'm usually the one that hangs around with him. The others..."

She sighed somberly. "I don't think they dislike him, so much as ignore him. It's... not exactly their fault, but they don't seem to understand his simplicity."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think I understand. I mean, at the beginning of, um, baseline? That's the word?"

"Yes."

"Well, at the beginning, the girls don't really interact with Tae that much. I'm the one that mostly handles her. It gets better as time goes on, but..."

Sakura shrugged helplessly.

"Yeah..." Sayori giggled when Tae-chan bit down on her shoulder. "She can be quite a handful, can't she?"

"A little bit. Hey, maybe you could help me teach her dance moves!"

"I'd like that, Sakura."

3.7

Fears and Doubts

"Hello, Lily," Sayori greeted. The small squeak of surprise brought a smirk to her face.

"How do you keep doing that?" Lily asked.

Sayori felt Lily sitting beside her. She took a breath and let it out.

"It's an ability I gained through looping." She opened one eye to look at the young zombie. "Have you heard of Star Wars?"

"I've seen a couple of the prequels…"

"Our Baseline… isn't the happiest and there was a storm of emotions running through me. Another looper took me in and taught me the ways of the Force."

Lily tilted her head. "So… You're a Jedi?"

Sayori shook her head. "Jedi do deal with inner peace, for sure. But I needed control, I needed to learn how to utilize those feelings. I couldn't learn that... Not from a Jedi."

Realization dawned on Lily as she quickly looked to the floor.

"I'm not planning on galactic conquest anytime soon, but it's more productive than mere introspection." Sayori inspected Lily, she was still looking at the floor. But the young zombie's eyes didn't show fear, but thought. "You seem to have a torrent of emotions going through you right now," she assessed.

Lily sighed uncomfortably. "I'm…. I was talking to Natsuki, and she was telling me about how this tree apparently has a sense of humor…"

Sayori nodded. "Ah, yeah, she's been more of a victim of that than most. Mostly because she has one of the more punnable names…"

Lily looked to Sayori. "It's more than that… I've always been self-assured. You know, I'm always going to be Lily Hoshikawa… but then there's going to be loops where I'm alive and I have to grow up. That's going to be when I start facing myself. I thought that I would be twelve years old, forever, magically. But now… It's a lot to take in."

Sayori hummed in response. "It is a lot to take in, and fear is a natural response, but now you're in the loops with us, and you have to face them."

"Yeah," Lily nodded. "I guess I just need to find a way to cope."

Sayori stood up. "Tell you what, in the next loop we have together, tell me if you found something."

"Um… Okay?"

"Spending countless years dealing with self doubt and depression isn't fun. I don't want anyone to deal with it more than they have too."

Sayori left the room, and for some odd reason Lily felt an odd mixture of foreboding and… sweetness?

3.8

Masteweaver, Skaz Wolfman

Goals

"Okay everyone!" said Monika, smiling beneath her blindfold. "We need to talk about our to-do plan for the loop!"

Sayori stared at her. "Uh... I understand your necroambulophobia, but why the blindfold? Don't you have some sort of smartglasses that can filter in living appearances by this point?"

"...Good point. One moment, I'm going to go into my subspace pocket."

Natsuki glanced over at Sayori. "I thought it was ambulonecrophobia. Necro second, because 'walking dead'."

"Actually, officially it's kinemortophobia," Yuri corrected. "Greek roots, not latin. I googled it."

Junko blinked. "There's actually a name for the fear of zombies?"

"I'm not surprised," Ai mused. "There's a name for the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of your mouth."

"Arachibutyrophobia," Sakura agreed with a nod.

Yugiri gave her a look. "How do you know that?"

"Lonely loops, looked it up online."

Saki groaned. "You all sound like you're about to start slinging around magic spells."

"What's the matter, Saki-chan?" Lily gave her a concerned look. "Do you have sesquipedalophobia?"

"No! I don't even know what that is!"

Lily grinned smugly. "The fear of long words."

Saki blinked for a moment, before glaring at the little girl. "Alright, fine, that was cute." Despite her anger, a small grin was on her face.

Monika popped back into reality, now wearing a set of goggles. "Had to program in a new filter, but I should be okay now! Anyway. Our checklist for the loop!" She counted off on her fingers. "First, we need to teach you how to ping and make a subspace pocket. These skills are essential for any and all loopers! Secondly, we have to educate you about the dangers of Yggdrasil. Fused loops, variant loops, punishment loops, malicious looping entities... there are universes out there that aren't nice at all. Apart from that, though, I am open to any suggestions. That said," she added, turning to her fellow club members, "as Franchouchou are the new loopers, I will put their suggestions on higher priority than any of ours, understood?"

"Makes sense," Natsuki agreed.

"NUMBER 1!" Monika pointed at Sakura. "What do you want to accomplish?"

"Uh, um... I'd like to beat that truck, somehow..." Sakura fiddled with her hair. "Maybe if I learned how to drive?"

"Alright, driving lessons for Sakura. Cars first, so I guess that would be Natsuki." Monika turned to Saki. "NUMBER 2!"

"Take over Japan!"

"Big dream! Might not be possible this loop!"

"Take over Saga!"

Monika crossed her arms. "Are you just trying to challenge us while we're here?"

"Nope," Yuri said. "I can confirm that Saki's dream of ruling the country has existed since baseline, according to the hub backups."

"That is still strange to think about," Junko mumbled.

"Okay, we'll go over a list of viable conquest methods later. And educate you on various political philosophies." Monika cleared her throat. "NUMBER 3!"

"I'm still trying to master my electrokinesis," Ai said. "I've gotten it to a point where I can semi-reliably charge something, but anything beyond that..."

"Not to sound stereotypical, but I think Sayori could help you there."

Sayori gave Monika a thumbs-up and a grin. "No problemo, El Presidente!" she chirped.

"Alright. NUMBER 4!"

"Meep!"

"What do you want to accomplish this loop?"

"Um..." Junko glanced around. "I'm... fine with being an idol? I don't need to do anything strange..."

Monika peered at her carefully. "...Alright. That's okay. We don't have to do anything big this loop. But I feel like I should insist that you write some new songs for us to sing."

"But Kotaro writes all our songs."

There was a moment where Monika was very, very still.

"...Kotaro."

"Um... yes." Junko tilted her head curiously. "He's our manager. He... he writes our songs."

"In baseline. He's not looping, so he doesn't make new songs."

"Well... no..."

"Do you mean to say," Monika stated slowly, "you've been singing the same songs since you started looping?"

Franchouchou started sharing concerned looks.

"Weeeeell," Sakura managed, "sometimes we sing other songs, when we find them."

"Find. Them." Monika's voice was disbelieving. "You... don't write your own songs."

"...no?"

Monika took a slow, deep, calming breath, and let it out.

"...unacceptable."

Sayori frowned. "Monika-"

"Our world!" Monika overrode her, "Is defined by two things-as Ai very well found out during her research binge. Our love of literature, and psychological horror. And the thing is, I, and the others, DO NOT LIKE that we are known for being psychological horror. So we have honed our skills with literature, to the point where we can define ourselves as The! Literature! Club! In the loops."

"Oh, she's going off," Natuski murmured.

She gestured at Franchouchou. "When you go out into the multiverse, you'll find something similar. I ask you this, would you rather be known for your rotting flesh... or for your gorgeous voices? You want to be an idol group, you HAVE to be an idol group capable of adapting to whichever realm you find yourself in. Being able to dance together, sing together, that's only part of it. Being able to attract attention, keep it, expand upon it... yes, you do that well. BUT. If you can only filk? If you sing songs that have been sung countless times afor? Then you will find yourself reliant on your library."

Yuri sighed, giving Franchouchou an apologetic look.

Monika shook her head. "No. No, I cannot-I will not! I WILL NOT let you stumble into the multiverse and find your skills wanting! I am going to teach you, ALL OF YOU! How to write songs! Beat, Rhythm, Tempo! Rhyme, Meter, Form! Modulation, Notation, Melody! You will breathe music and musical theory, and by the end of this loop you will have each! EACH! Written and performed one song! SO I SWEAR, UPON MY CODE!"

For a moment, there was silence.

"...Yeah, I'm down," Saki agreed.

"Could be fun," Lily mused.

"I thought Anchors were supposed to be the sane ones?" Ai asked.

"Mentally stable," Sayori replied. "Which... is a critical distinction. Excuse me, I need to drag Monika off for a moment..."

3.9

Masterweaver

The Revelation

"Right. Dancing." Monika looked around the practice room. "I know we've done karaoke, and I guess my martial arts training could translate to dancing pretty easily... have we ever had real dancing lessons or just 'let's spaz out for fun' sort of things? Cause I'm wracking my brain here and I'm thinking we might need to learn that for serious this loop."

"Bayonetta taught me some things," Yuri mused.

Sakura gave her a curious look. "Bayonetta? Is she a dancer or something?"

"...or... something." Yuri cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, most of her moves would probably not be appropriate but I think her stretches would work well."

"Maybe we should wait for Ai," Sayori suggested. "She's usually the one doing the planning, right? I mean that's what the girls told me after watching your anime."

"I'm in an anime," Lily breathed. "I can't believe it. I'm actually an anime heroine, like Sailor Moon!"

"Usagi's actually pretty cool in person," Natsuki said off-handedly.

"YOU'VE MET SAILOR MOON?!"

"All the senshi, actually. There was this big wedding a while back. Monika even has a laminated certificate from Minako!"

Lily gasped, pouncing on Monika-who shrieked and instinctively threw her across the room, before realizing what she had just done. "OH SHIT-I am so sorry-zombie phobia, I, you jumped, instinct, oh geeze are you okay?!"

"MONIKA!" Sayori grabbed her shoulder. "Deep breath. In... and out. In... and... out."

"Right. Right. Sorry. Yes. Okay..."

"Ow." Lily stood up, snapping her neck back into alignment. "That... huh. Hurt a little."

Saki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Where is Ai, anyway? She's usually here by now."

As if on cue, Ai stepped into the room. All eyes turned to her, but her eyes focused on one person.

"...Monika?"

"Yes?"

"...Just Monika?"

Natsuki inhaled sharply. Yuri rubbed her brow with a sigh. Sayori stood, not quite challengingly.

Monika sagged. "So... you looked us up."

"Doki Doki Literature Club. Spent the whole night... going through the wiki, watching a playthrough or two..."

"At night?" Natsuki shook her head. "That wasn't a good decision, Ai, you're going to get nightmares-"

"I'm not like that anymore." Monika hung her head. "I... I know you can't trust me, but... I'm not like that anymore. I've done my best to help the others, we've all gotten therapy-"

"Why did you hide it?"

Monika looked up. "Wouldn't... wouldn't you?"

"Yes, from ordinary people, but we're zombies. With horrific deaths. So why did you hide it from us?"

Monika considered her for a moment. "...Honestly? Mix of reasons. It's habit, for one, I'm not proud of it, and... well, you are new loopers. You've got a lot going on right now, just... learning about all this. Why would we want to scare you more than you already have to be?"

Ai crossed her arms.

"They've met Sailor Moon!" Lily pointed out. "Monika even got... an autograph?"

"Sailor Venus gave her an official and laminated Certificate of Absolution for Crimes Against Love," Yuri confirmed. "Monika, if you would?"

Monika bit her lip. "Er... I seem to have misplaced it-"

Sayori sighed, producing the paper and handing it to Ai. The bandaged zombie examined it carefully.

"Oh there it is," Monika said quickly. "Thanks veeps!"

Natsuki and Yuri gave her a pointed look.

"Sailor Moon is amongst the original seven loops," Sayori pointed out quietly. "Ai, please. I know we aren't... exactly the best loop around. We would have told you. When... when we felt you were ready, when we felt you could accept..."

She trailed off.

Junko glanced around the room. "What... what's wrong?"

"...Our loop isn't nice," Natsuki admitted with a sigh. "Hell, it's a literal horror story. Psychological horror, mind, not all that blood and guts junk. We didn't want to tell you because... well, because it's horrible. But... yeah, I guess we should have at least mentioned it before..."

With a sigh, Ai handed the certificate back. "I guess... I guess I can understand. I don't think I'd have made the same decision. But... yeah, I guess I can get it. I... don't think I'll be sleeping in the same room as you all for a while, though."

"That's fair," Monika conceded. "And... I'm sorry. For, uh... you know. That... whole thing."

"Wait, wait wait wait, hold up here." Saki held out a hand. "So you're from a video game, right?"

"Yes?"

"Then how are you here?"

"It's... a fused loop-?"

"No no no, I mean how are you here if you're from a video game that exists in-?"

"Oh!" Monika laughed. "Most likely our pre-Awake selves were just random girls who just so happened to share names with the DDLC game characters."

"...what, that's it? Just coincidence?"

Natsuki sighed. "Saki, one thing you'll learn real quick about Yggdrasil-it loves stupid coincidences."

3.10

Driving

"You're sure about this?" Saki asked. "I kinda hate ta ask ya to use one of your bikes for this."

She and Yuri were in full make up, standing in an empty parking lot, with nothing but the faint sounds of a motorcyle… being driven in only the most technical sense of the word.

"It's fine, I can just pocket another one if things get hairy," Yuri confirmed.

"Yeah, yeah, the soul pocket thingy." Saki pressed. "But, I'm a biker ya know? Saccing a bike for someone else…. That's just hard core."

Suddenly a motorcycle swerved in front of them. The cute redhead riding the motorcycle was struggling to control it.

"Down foul beast!" Sakura screamed, "You are but a machine, I am Human! YOU WILL OBEY ME!"

"She's reaching Monika levels of melodramatic here isn't she?" Yuri observed.

Saki nodded. "Yeah, I mean we kinda had to revisit our deaths, but Egghead was special."

"Reverse Amnesia, right?"

"Man, it's so weird to know that you're an anime in other worlds."

Yuri nodded.

"Thankfully Emo Sakura doesn't come out all that often since we started this looping stuff," Saki continued.

"Yggdrasil stores looper's memories into itself. Things like amnesia don't affect us."

At this point, Sakura was doing some impressive donuts on the motorbike. It would be even more impressive if she did them intentionally. And thus she started to lose even more control and crashed into a lightpost.

"So, What did we learn?" Ai asked Sakura's head, which was currently in her lap as both Yuri and Saki were rebuilding Sakura's body.

"All motor vehicles are evil, and one day I shall conquer them all…" Sakura muttered darkly.

Ai sighed as she knew that was going to be the best answer she got.

3.11

Monika's Anchoring Tip of the Day.

"Whoah!" Sakura yelped as she was pulled into a hallway. "Monika? What's wrong?"

The zombified club president took a cleansing breath. "Sakura Minamoto, as the Anchor of my Loop, I welcome you to the ranks of being Loop Anchor!"

Sakura blinked. " Um…. Thanks, I guess? I thought we already went through the welcoming thing…"

Monika shook her head. "Look, 'Anchor' isn't just a title given to those who happen to loop more than others. It is a responsibility that must be upheld to the greatest of our ability. We are the ones who Loop first and We are the ones who hold more than any other Looper." She fished a book entitled An Anchor's Guide to The Multiverse from her Pocket.

"... Your family name is Salvato?" Sakura asked, glancing at the by line of the book.

"Sometimes, but that's not the point," Monika said while opening the book.

"You… really don't have to-"

"An Anchor's first responsibility is to maintain the stability of whatever world she happens to be in for the Loop," Monika interrupted, "Firstly, this means that no matter how bad a loop gets, don't suicide your way out. A Loop without Anchors is a crashed Loop, and Loop crashes are bad for Yggdrasil. A normal crash isn't terribly bad, but it's still a hiccup in the recovery process. Upwards of 90% of your Loops, you're going to be the only Anchor around, so the very existence of that iteration of that reality is going to be using your lifeforce as a lynchpin. Scary thought, I know, but there you have it. And even in loops with multiple Anchors, each Anchor is a point of stability and each Anchor lost destabilizes that reality by increasing the odds of a loop crash. So, that's rule number one: try to preserve your life if at all possible."

"Um… But, I'm already dead…" Sakura said. "How can I-"

"You won't always be a… revenant." Monkia coughed while saying that last word. "Like I'm not always an AI. That being said, you are a being with a soul, do not dispose of that."

Sakura nodded dumbly. "O-okay..."

"Second point, and an extension of 'keeping the world stable'; be a productive Anchor! Whatever reality you loop into, no matter how hacked up or seemingly perfect it is, try to contribute something positive to it. There are going to be times when you wonder, very seriously and very validly, I might add, 'Does any of it really matter? Anything I do here gets wiped away when the loop ends, right? What's the point?' Again, that's a very valid thought. You're not losing your mind if you feel like your actions might not matter. What's important is that you maintain focus on what you can do, regardless of its impermanence. You may be a Sakura, but you still want to avoid falling into Sakura Syndrome."

"Still sort of weird to have my name be a part of a mental disorder," Sakura commented.

"So do whatever you can to make whatever loop you're in a better world, even if only a little. Focus on that goal as your own point of stability."

"Um, Okay... " Sakura started. "Is that all?"

"Third, you're going to hear a lot of Loopers you meet talk about how 'insanity' is an inevitable part of being a Looper," Monika continued, getting on a roll.

At this point, Sakura knew she was trapped.

"That's kind of true-ish, but don't take that to heart. What they mean by that is that every Looper eventually grows to a point where their thought processes, motivations, and the actions resulting them fall outside of the conventional standards of sane behavior. That doesn't mean, literally, 'You're going to lose your freaking mind, so get used to it.' I mean, some of the more cynical Loopers might actually mean that, but they're just wrong."

Sakura decided it was useless to point out that she was literally talking to a Living Dead Idol as part of a madman's plan to 'save' a prefecture. None of that was anywhere close to sane.

"As an Anchor, your job is to keep yourself stable, and to stabilize the world around you as much as possible. Doing things that seem insane to non-Loopers in order to contribute positively to the world, or to keep yourself from going mad with boredom, are okay. But beware the slippery slope into actual madness. That's a bad. A truly crazy Anchor is an unstable element. And the worst part of that is, as I said, you're going to get to a point where conventional psychological standards of health don't apply very well to you. That's why the Looper Community is so important; all we've got in this crazy, wacked out rollercoaster ride through infinity and eternity, is each other. So to rip from one of Sayori's favorite American movies, we all need to be excellent to one another."

That reminded Sakura of that time she and her friends became movie stars. It was quite nostalgic for Lily. Although she had to dye her hair because people would be sure to turn their heads that Lily Hoshikawa came back to life and started appearing in movies again.

"Which brings me to Bullet Point Number Four!" Whether Monika was taking Sakura's silence as permission to go along, or was just merely automatically going through routine was irrelevant."Take good care of your Loopers, be a good guest in other Loops, and be a good hostess to visiting Loopers. The reason there are Loopers who aren't Anchors is to keep us from losing it in the worst imaginable ways. Ways worse than you can imagine. I can see that you're on good terms with all of your Loopers, which is good. Some Branches have... less harmonious 'families', but they try their best. Most of them. The social contract that holds human civilization together is extra-specially important to us Loopers, and as much as your Loopers are Looping to keep you grounded and in high spirits, they're also part of your responsibility, and even if Saki is the leader of your group, they're all going to look to you for guidance at times because being the Anchor makes you the most experienced and the most powerful of your family."

Sayori finally walked in and saw the poor Zombie Anchor being inundated by her own. She walked up behind her president.

"When you visit other Branches, there's an element of give-and-take involved. Most other Anchors will humor you in whatever you want to do while you're visiting, but it would behoove you not to make problems for them. Being a positive influence on your loop still abides, even when there are older Loopers around to 'clean up after you'. Same goes for Loopers visiting here; humor them, but also make sure they aren't trashing your reality and making things harder on you."

Sayori rubbed her hands together and waved them behind Monika's head.

" We're all in this together, and as Anchors, we're the leaders in the Great Big Looping Family of Yggdrasil. And our leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege. But I think you'll do just fine, Sakura. You have a good heart…" Monika yawned, " and that counts for a lot in the Loops. Just... Be yourself and try to take care of everyone who cares about you and ... and you'll be a great... Anchor…. "

Monkia fell backward, Sayori catching her.

"Not cool, Soy sauce…" Monika grumbled sleepily. " Sunny needs this advice..."

"You did great, prez," Sayori consoled. "She's gonna make her admin proud."

Monika let loose another yawn before falling fully asleep.

Sayori looked up at Sakura. "Sorry about that, " she said, keeping her voice low. "When she gets on a roll, it's sort of hard for her to stop."

"I think it's sweet how she's trying her hardest to help us," Sakura admitted.

"Yeah, she tries her best, even if it to her detriment sometimes." Sayori lifted Monika using some Force assistance. "Come on, Matza, let's get you somewhere comfy."

Monika stirred, mumbling, "Don't worry about doing things 'properly'," before drifting off again.

3.12

Masterweaver

-Monika's Song: "I've Got Science!"

For a moment, the stage was utterly dark. And then, two large tesla coils burst to life, illuminating the three tables on the stage. The central one rested on a raised platform, stairs curving around the wires that dripped from it and trailed to the other two; all three tables had a pair of computer screens on either side of many vials filled with colorful liquid. Midway up each staircase stood a girl, smaller than the groups of three that attended each table, all dressed in labcoats of differing colors.

At the center table, a coral-haired snapped on one rubber glove-the sound reverberating through the audience. Then another glove. Then, she snapped her fingers, and the tesla coils started to hum-a hum that fell in tune with the music rising.

And then, because that wasn't impressive enough, she pulled down her goggles, picked up a microphone, and somersaulted to the stage floor with a maniacal grin.

今、私はすべての人を責めるわけではありません

私を見て、私のかわいい顔だけを見た人

正直なところそれは素敵だし、きれいな人たちには自分の場所がある

しかし、今すぐ！

私たちは、頭に入れたものは何でも学ぶことができる時代に生きています。

知識は力であり、私はあなたより賢いです -

- でも心配しないで、私は公正な女神です。

The other girls looked up from their chemicals and sang together.

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

As the music kicked up, they started walking up and down the stairs to the rythym. Monika twirled the mike in her hand, flicking her ponytail as lyrics poured from her mouth.

コンピュータサイエンス！

何人かのばかな少年は私を一人にさせないでしょう

彼は私を家に帰らせようとし続けた

だから私は今言った！ あなたのEメールの男の子は何ですか？

私たちは生意気なものについてオンラインで話すことができます、あなたは知っていますか？

そして、彼はその厳しい笑いとともに私にそれを与えました、

そして私はそれを自分の邪悪な微笑みで受けた。

その夜、家に帰って、私の指を伸ばして、

そしてキーボードをタップし始めた。

彼のソーシャルメディアを見て5分

彼の友人たちは私に彼に警告した（なんて甘い！ハハ！）

ウイルスをプログラムするための15分

今、彼のコンピュータはランダムな夜に大音量の音楽を演奏します！

The girls all raised their goggles for a brief chorus.

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

And Monika brushed off her shoulder with a smirk.

何年もの間毎晩

私は照らしました

塾

私をテストしないで、男の子、

私が持っている原因

科学！

The girls, having all swapped tables, started tapping keys on the computers. The screens flashed through a myriad of images, though the shape of the brain was a frequent motif as Monika went down her next lyric.

心理学！

だから私は、あなたが、私はいくつかのセクシーな友人を持って気づいたと確信しています

（子供ではなく、彼女はただかわいいですが、残りは、ハ、ごめんなさい！）

そして、あなたはすべてで、気づく最初じゃありません！

今ここに私のギャルパル、彼女は男からいくつかのルックスを得ていました

彼女は本当に欲しくなかった。

私はその男と話をすることにしました、あなたがするように、あなたは知っています。

私たちは彼の過去、彼の両親、そして少年ああの話を始めました

その男はすっかり混乱していた。

2週間後、私たちは最高の友達であり、何を推測します。

彼はゲイだ実現しています！ （そして、私はたまたまかわいいゲイの男を知っています）

イェーイボーイズラブ！

Again the chorus came up, and again the girls all raised their goggles briefly, transitioning tables as Monika held up a warning finger.

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

何年もの間毎晩

私は照らしました

塾

私をテストしないで、男の子、

私が持っている原因

科学！

And now the scientists started handling the chemicals, with green-flame bunsen burners and remarkably rhythmic bursts of colored clouds.

人類学！

今ダイヤモンドはきれいではないと言うつもりはない

ゴージャスな岩、本当に、一般的に宝石は

しかし、私は光沢のある岩のついた指輪は欲しくありません、あなたはその理由を知っていますか？

私は殺人光線を作るためにそれを離れて取りますよ！ （あなたはそれを聞きませんでした。）

いいえ、あなたが本当に私を感動させたいのなら、ここにあなたがすることがあります：

縄文時代から何かをもらって、それが何であるかを教えてください。

そしてもしあなたが正しいなら、多分私はあなたをデートに連れて行くことを考えるでしょう。

きれいな顔はいいですが、私は美しい心を崇拝します。

Blasts of fire and sparks announced the next chorus recitation as Monika swept her hand wide.

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

何年もの間毎晩

私は照らしました

塾

私をテストしないで、男の子、

私が持っている原因

科学！

宇宙物理学！

私は欲張りな女の子だ自由に認めますよ。

私はあなたがこれらすべての花火を見ている意味ですか？ クレイジー！

しかし、私が本当に欲しいのは自分自身のための場所です。

だから毎晩、私が空を見上げていると

惑星が見えます。 そして、彼らの衛星。 そして、の間のすべて。

ある日、将来的には、それらのうちの1つを取るつもりです。

私だけのために、それに家を構築し、誰でも私はオーバー招待。

それは夢です...それは私に少なくとも1ヶ月かかるだろう！ たぶん2。

ええ、誰にも言わないで！

This time, the journey of the performers was punctuated by the tesla coils screaming alongside Monika's sassy pointer finger.

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

何年もの間毎晩

私は照らしました

塾

私をテストしないで、男の子、

私が持っている原因

科学！

Somehow, impossibly, the electricity started arcing the two coils, shifting color as it passed through the clouds of chemical reactions

経済学！

さて、私は名前をつけるつもりはないです

そして、実際のすべてが、これは純粋に理論的であることに同意しましょう

私はトラブルに巻き込まれる場合、私は状況を修正する必要がありますので、

このことは、これらの素晴らしい曲を書いてから私をそらします。

しかし、その価格をジャッキアップこの一つの会社がありました

私が購読した後、理由もなく、そして私はこんな感じでした

いいえ。

あなたは私にこれをしません。

あなたは私の友達にこれをしません。

あなたは誰にもこれをしません。

それで、純粋に仮説的に、私はいくらかの投資をしたかもしれません

シェル市場を通じて株式を買って、彼らの競争相手に資金を供給...

基本的には？ 彼らは彼らのお金からみんなを詐欺したいですか？

私は私のお金で自分のサービスにそれらを負かす事になります！

もちろん仮説です。 （家の中の任意の弁護士はありますか？）

（があるなら、私は私のために動作するようにあなたを何を払うべきですか？）

私は悪じゃないので、しかし、私はそれをやっていませんよ。

ムワハハハ！

The screens of the computers ran various formulas and equations as the girls danced through fireworks and electric outbursts, Monika dominating the scene with her mastery of the microphone and swiftly shifting legs.

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

何年もの間毎晩

私は照らしました

塾

私をテストしないで、男の子、

私が持っている原因

科学！

私は楽しみのために、この科学のコートを着ていた何を、思いましたか？

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

認めます、私は学際的です。

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

これらのゴーグル？ 彼らは私の目を保護する以上のことをします。

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

誰かが私をショーの後に知恵のゲームに参加させたいですか？

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

私は科学を持っています！

| 彼女は科学を手に入れた！ |

私は

| 彼女！ |

私！

| 彼女！ |

私は…持っている

科学！

At that last drawn-out note, Monika reached out, and for all the world seemed to summon the electricity to her gloved hand. She cackled manicly with a gleeful smirk and crushed the sparking ball.

"That was... certainly a song," Junko allowed.

"Not my best work," Monika admitted freely. "I can speak japanese, but I'm not entirely fluent in it. Once I got a rhyming chorus, I realized I couldn't rhyme the whole thing, so I just cheated the lyrics with google translate."

Ai gave her a flat look. "I noticed."

"So of course, you decided to go with a science-based razzle-dazzle," Natsuki deadpanned.

"I think our dancing helped," Yuri assuaged her.

Lily crossed her arms. "You know, I thought Sayori was supposed to be the lightning-manipulator."

"Sleight of hand," Monika replied dismissively. "That and some really fancy tech in my glove, worked with Asami Sato on it."

Yuri cocked her head. "Who?"

"...right, that show didn't really become popular in Japan... I'll catch you up later."

Saki cleared her throat. "Hey, how'd you convince Shades to let you have such a wacky stage setup?"

"Said I'd pay for it myself. And I did."

"How?"

Monika grinned. "What, did you think any of those lyrics were made up? Everything in that song is true. Everything."

There was a moment's pause.

"...is this a looper thing," Sakura murmured to Sayori, "or is it a Monika thing?"

"Eeeeeeeeh, more of a Monika thing," Sayori admitted. "But there's some looper in there too."

3.13

Skaz Wolfman

–Thunder Down Under–

Ai Mizuno knew very well what an honest-to-God clap of thunder sounded like. She also knew that lightning generally required storm clouds to be present in the sky, and today the sky was cloudless. So, naturally, she went outside to find out what was going on.

What she found was Sayori in the back yard, either shooting lightning bolts into the sky from her hands, or drawing lightning down from the cloudless sky into her hands. Either way, she wasn't glowing or anything.

"How are you doing that?!" Ai asked her, astonished.

"I'm a Sith, remember?" Sayori replied.

Ai blinked. "Okay…what's a Sith?" she asked.

"Traditionally? Evil space-wizard-ninjas with red laser-swords," Sayori explained as she casually drew a small glittery-pink metal cylinder from her jean pocket and clicked a button on it. With a snap-hiss, an incandescent red beam jumped out of the cylinder before stopping at a length of roughly three feet. "But my Master taught me a better way," Sayori continued, turning around and giving Ai a cheerful smile.

Ai flinched backwards, however, when she noticed Sayori's eyes were yellow. Then Sayori blinked and they were red, just like hers. "My Master taught me to use the very darkness that the Sith serve–not the way they do, as a means of self-advancement–but as a tool for making positive changes. Negatives into positives, light from darkness, all that good jazz. She took me on as her apprentice and taught me to use the Dark Side to manage my depression."

"How does that work?" asked Ai.

"Basically, by becoming a master over dark energies outside of me, I gain control over the dark energy in my mind. What once was a millstone around my neck is now the battery I use for THIS!" Sayori exclaimed as she threw a hand in the air and loosed another streak of blue lightning into the air.

"…wait, you mean…your lightning is literally…no way, that's crazy," said Ai, folding her arms.

"Is it? Is it really? Is it really that outlandish, in a world where the dead can be risen and this loop's versions of me and my friends just happen to be dead ringers in both names and appearance as the characters in a game that exists in this world and also serves as the alternate universe back-up of the world we actually come from? Just saying that makes my head hurt. Trust me when I say this, the multiverse is bonkers. The fact that I can channel my depression into free electrical energy is far from the craziest thing you'll see in the Loops."

Ai went from looking skeptical to looking thoughtful. "Huh. Do…does someone have to be depressed to do that? Could you teach me to throw lightning around without, y'know…" she trailed off as it suddenly occurred to her that the way she was asking the question could come across as insensitive.

Sayori's smile shrunk a bit, but she didn't seem to be offended. "The short answer? Yes. Yes, I could teach you the ways of the Dark Side. Not in this loop, however; you'd need to have a loop where you possess Force-sensitivity, first, just like I did. But every Looper visits every Branch eventually, so you can rest assured that it would happen. And no, you don't have to have depression to do what I can do, either. Sith Lightning is a compressed and focused expression of pure negative energy, and can be drawn from any 'dark' emotion. Fear, anger, pride, hatred. Not just misery and self-loathing. But frankly, Ai, I don't think this path is for you. You're a very proud person, after all, and immersing yourself in the Dark Side can very, very easily inflate that pride into self-destructive arrogance. To follow the same path I have means facing your own darkness. Coming face to face with the worst parts of yourself; things you don't even know about because they're so uncomfortable to think about that your mind pushes them down and out of sight for your own peace. To embrace the Dark Side is easy, but the Dark Side is not just a tool or source of power. It was a will of its own and craves destruction. Wanton, unfocused, indiscriminate destruction, including your own, in the end. The Dark Side uses those who use it; it corrupts those whose wills are weaker than its own, which is practically anyone…though Loopers like us gain a pretty big advantage once we've got enough loops under our belt."

"Is that how you've avoided being corrupted?" Ai asked.

Sayori snorted, "What makes you think I have? Because I wear a friendly smile and my eyes sparkle? Because I'm still a good friend to the three girls who mean more to me than my own life does? Because I didn't give in to the intrusive thought of telekinetically bouncing you off a wall when you confronted Monika yesterday?"

Ai jumped back at that. Sayori's eyes were shining yellow again, but that shine was already subsiding to dull-red. Her small smile hadn't wavered at all, but Ai felt a tension in the air that made the hair on her neck stand up.

And then it was gone. Sayori giggled, and in spite of her better reason Ai couldn't resist the feeling of calm that the sound suffused in her. "Relax, Ai. I've got no intention of hurting you. Desire and motive are different matters, but I have no intention of hurting you."

Ai blinked, twice, and then steeled herself. "Hey, look, I get that you care about your friend and all but–"

"But nothing," Sayori said flatly, tonelessly, and Ai found that she couldn't force another word past her lips. "We would have told you before the end of the loop. We always do. Our omission was not for our benefit, it was for yours. Bad enough that we tell you this wacked out story about a god-tree-supercomputer being sick and impossible to conceive of universes that you'll someday visit, and the only proof we can offer you are the souvenirs in our subspace Pockets and all the weird powers we've learned. We tried to make things easier on you by not throwing in the fact that we come from a psych-horror game. When it comes to other Loopers, Monika is honest almost to a fault, and certainly to her own detriment at times. But she believes in something called 'utilitarian philosophy', which means if she wants to help someone she wants them to feel comfortable around her, so that she can help them to the best of her ability without having to deal with trust issues and stuff. Once she's helped them, she'll tell them the truth and let them judge her however they see fit. And for better or for worse, Monika never begrudges other people their right, in her eyes, to judge her for what she was, once. She's got a bit of a Martyr Complex, that way."

Ai bit her lower lip, but she didn't break eye contact with Sayori. "I get what you're saying, but I still don't like that you kept it a secret from us."

Sayori shrugged. "Fine. I can't tell you how to feel. But a word of friendly advice; most Loopers have an unspoken rule that we don't judge each other for what we did when we didn't know better. Every Looper has things they regret. If you don't yet, you will, someloop. No one keeps their record spotless forever."

"Huh. Y'know, yesterday, I had you pegged as more optimistic than this," said Ai as she sat down on one of the swings.

"I like presenting that face to people, because that's the kind of person I aspire to be," Sayori admitted, holding her hand out palm-up. Electricity crackled over her hand before coalescing into a bright, sparking, blue-white ball of energy.

Which she then started hacky-sacking.

"And I do consider myself an optimist, when all is said and done. But I'm not blind to how things really are. I mean, how could I be, all things considered?"

Sayori fell silent, and for a time Ai just watched her play with her little ball of lightning. Finally she spoke up, "So…you can't teach me? Or won't?"

"Hey, I'm not a grudge-holdy sort of person, Ai," said Sayori. "Like I said, you're allowed to feel however you feel about whatever. I'm not going to hold it against you. Emotions are personal things, and you should never deny them. Yours or other people's. If you really want to learn, I'm willing to teach you, Ai. But I honestly think you'd rather go a different route. Trust me, there's a billion ways to control electricity in the multiverse. Monika can…well, she knows how to bend lightning, but she has trouble actually doing it. But like my Force powers, that's something you have to be born in a loop with, she can't teach it to you right now."

"She can bend lightning?"

"Well, 'bending' is what it's called, but really it's just converting your body's internal energy into electrical potential and then setting it free it a general direction of your choice. It's a specialized form of 'firebending', which is a discipline that allows you to create and manipulate fire. But again, you can only learn it if you're born with the ability to use it. If you were a firebender Monika would be able to teach you, but you're not so she can't."

"So…how are you going to help me?" asked Ai.

"Like this," said Sayori before she kneed the ball of electricity straight up, then spun around and kicked it straight at Ai. The ball flew right into her chest.

Ai had been struck by lightning before, many times by now, but if getting struck by lightning were akin to power chugging a few gallons of water, then this felt like having an entire Olympic-sized swimming pool injected straight into her heart.

So she was mildly surprised when she didn't explode.

"Tell me, Ai Mizuno…does it feel like 'unlimited power'?" asked Sayori with an impish grin.

Ai didn't remember standing up from the swing, but she was standing up, and she was staring down at her hands. She was used to electrification making her body feel like it was vibrating, but now every cell in her body felt like it was vibrating just short of hard enough to fly free from her body. She could see her lightning scars glowing brightly enough to be seen through the bandages around her hands and forearms, in addition to the customary electric-blue glow that her body was now emanating.

"I don't know about 'unlimited', but it sure feels like it's as much as I could possibly hold," Ai replied.

"Neat! Now I'm kind of curious how much of a charge your body can actually hold…but we're not close enough to be conducting experiments on each other, so for now," Sayori danced up to her and reached for Ai's hand. Ai very quickly found herself standing on the other side of the yard. She didn't recall consciously deciding to move away from Sayori, just thinking it was probably a good idea not to let the other girl touch her in this state.

Except Sayori was still right in front of her, somehow, and still reaching for her hand.

To Ai's astonishment, Sayori grabbed her hand without suffering any ill effects. She could feel the massive reservoir of electrical energy trying to empty itself into the relatively super-low potential of Sayori's body…but something was blocking it. It made her hand sting, just a little.

"We're…gonna want to do this somewhere we won't cause too much damage," said Sayori.

The next thing Ai knew was the intensely uncomfortable, but not quite painful sensation of being completely blind and squeezed through a very, very narrow space, and then she and Sayori were standing in the middle of nowhere, as far as she could tell. Yellow grass stretched out like a sea in every direction, and in the distance Ai saw–

"Are those kangaroos?!"

"Yep! Welcome to the Land Down Under, Ai-chan!" said Sayori, slapping her on the back. "We're at least a hundred miles from the nearest human population center, and I'm already sending out a mass Force Suggestion for any stray people and animals nearby to give us a very wide berth."

Indeed, the mob of kangaroos were already making a hard right and bounding away from them with seemingly one mind.

"I can't teach you to make lightning the way I can," Sayori released Ai's hand and stepped away, igniting her scarlet lightsaber as she did. "But I can try to teach you the disciplines I use to direct my lightning, and see if it improves your control. So go on and try to blast me. Don't worry, you're not going to hurt me," Sayori turned around to face Ai as she finished walking. She was about ten meters away.

"Hold on, I don't want to use this as a weapon–" Ai began protesting.

"Yeah, I used to be strictly anti-violence myself, too," said Sayori. "Then my friends and I got a zombie apocalypse sprung on us, and there was dingle-all that I could do about it."

Ai winced. Sayori continued speaking, "I talked to Sakura. She told me about your experiments in electrokinesis. Your mistake was jumping straight into messing with electromagnetism and trying to handle delicate circuitry. You have to start with the basics, which is 'throwing big honking bolts of lightning in the general direction you want them to go'. Once you figure out how to do that competently, then we can work out how you do the smaller, more complicated things. So, start by discharging all the juice I just put in you in the right direction."

"Ugh, phrasing," Ai deadpanned. In so much as a person could deadpan when their voice was reverbing and auto-tuned.

Sayori smirked. "Right. But like I said, start with 'aim'. Hit me with your best shot, Ai-chan!"

Ai took a deep breath, and then raised a hand in Sayori's direction.

3.14

Masterweaver

Consulting the Expert 1

"Hey, Yugiri?"

Yugiri looked up from her shamisen. "Sayori-san. Is there something you wish to discuss?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I have a project I've been working on for a bit, and I'm thinking maybe I need a fresh perspective."

"Very well..." Yugiri gestured for her to continue.

Sayori knelt down. "You see, because of her past, Monika is kind of put off on the idea of love. And I think that's not a good thing-not for her. I'm fairly sure she's not asexual, and she's definitely not aromantic, but I don't know how to convince her to give dating a try. What do you think?"

Yugiri took a puff from her kiseru thoughtfully. "...Love cannot be merely chosen. It must be grown. And it cannot grow in a soil without love. Before you convince her to seek romance, convince her to seek friendship. The deeper bonds will form in time."

"...Mmmm." Sayori hissed sharply. "Yeah... I get what you're saying, but... thaaaaat didn't really work for me."

"Many seeds can share the same soil, even if only a few sprout."

"Hmmmm. Alright." Sayori nodded, standing up. "Thanks for the advice, Yugiri. I'll take it to heart."

3.15

"Yugiri! Got a minute?"

Yugiri put down her shamisen. "Natsuki-san, hello! I am not doing anything too pressing at the moment..."

"Yeah, so..." Natsuki draped herself in a chair. "I don't know if you've picked up on Sayori's thing with Monika-she's trying to get Monika to start dating."

"Ah," Yugiri said, nodding knowingly.

"And I mean, I get it. Sayori's sort of guilty that Monika's so consumed with guilt, and since she kind of is responsible for that being the first to die in our game-which is not her fault, but that's how she feels about it I think-I kind of think she's focusing too hard on helping Monika recover instead of letting her grow, you know?"

Yugiri kept her amused smile hidden behind her kiseru. "It can be difficult to cease assisting a friend, even when such assistance is unwarranted. Care is an expression of concern, after all, and your concerns run deep."

"I guess," Natsuki grumbled. "It's just... I dunno, sometimes I think she's focusing too much on what she thinks Monika needs instead of what Monika actually needs."

"Perhaps her focus is an expression of her own needs?"

Natsuki considered that thoughtfully. "...You might be right. You know, you're not half bad."

3.16

"Yugiri-san, I... feel I must request your advice."

Yuguri set aside her shamisen. "I would be quite willing to give it, Yuri-san."

Yuri bowed formally. "In your... previous life, you were trained to handle some level of intimacy, and it is in that regard I wish to approach you."

Yugiri quirked an eyebrow, straightening up. "I see..."

"I have started a romantic relationship with Natsuki, and we are conducting ourselves fairly amicably. However, I feel that we may be approaching a point where... I may wish to engage in more carnal matters, and I am unsure how to determine when she would be ready." Yuri glanced up, trying not to blush. "If I may request advice from you, I would be most appreciative."

Yugiri tapped her kiseru, considering her words carefully. "That you show respect for her opinion is admirable. While discussion should be foremost, remember there are other signals."

"Of course..." Yuri bit her lip. "Though... I am unsure how to read these signals."

"Be gentle with what affections you give, and only proceed beyond if she gives such affections back. If she stops, pull away."

"Hmmm..." Yuri nodded. "Yes... I believe I understand. Thank you for your advice, Yuguri-san."

3.18

"Hey, Yugiri, can I ask you something?"

"Monika-san." Yugiri looked up from her shamisen with a grin. "How can the sensei of love assist you?"

Monika blinked. "Uh... what?"

"Ah, my apologies. It is something of a jest amongst us here."

"Right, you were... well, I'm not here for love advice, actually." Monika sighed. "See, I've been trying to learn how to play stringed instruments and... I don't think I'm good at them, something just doesn't click with me. But you know how to play the shamisen, so I was wondering... maybe you could teach me how to play?"

"...Yes, actually. I would be most pleased to teach you."

"Thank you." Monika walked over and sat next to her. "Sensei of love, though? Really?"

Yugiri brought her kiseru to her lips with a wry grin. "It is an interesting title, is it not?"

"Yeah. So, how do we start this? Should I hold the shamisen a particular way?"

3.19

Masterweaver

Biker Babes

"Woo." Saki popped off her helmet, shaking her hair clear. "You know something, Papercut? You cheat like a bitch."

Yuri took off her helmet and swished her hair around. "Oh?"

"You kept swapping bikes the whole damn race!"

"No rule said I couldn't. And besides..." The visiting looper smirked. "Jack of all trades and master of none is oftentimes better than master of one."

The two of them locked eyes for a moment or two... and Saki's lips began to twitch. "Hell, I think I'm going to have to like you!"

"How was the race?" Ai asked.

"It was SO COOL!" Lily gushed. "Saki kept sweeping around all the cars and she hopped a bridge and Yuri changed motorcycles every two minutes and they got into a police chase and I think they were riding on walls for a bit-"

Sayori gasped. "Monika, please please PLEASE tell me you got that on camera-"

"Yeah, the drones caught it all," Monika assured her. "Fun fact: it ended in a tie."

"WHAT?!"

Monika turned to the two riders who had shouted as one. "Yes. A tie. You left at the same time, crossed the finish line at the same time."

"Are you sure?" Yuri frowned. "I... at the end there, I felt maybe Saki was half an inch ahead."

Saki growled at her. "Hey! If Glitch says it was a tie, then it was a tie!"

"But-"

"No biker's going to sell themselves short for me, Papercut. Don't get me wrong, you're still a cheat..." The blonde smirked. "...but hell, you're an awesome cheat."

"...I guess I'll take that as a compliment?"

"Why am I always 'Glitch'?" Monika grumbled.

"Same reason I'm always 'Cupcake,'" Natsuki replied. "Hey Yuri! VICTORY SMOOCH!" She pounced on the girl, knocking her to the ground.

Saki glanced at them and huffed. "Hey! Egghead, where's my victory smooch?"

"E-Eh?!" Sakura blushed. "Saki, I don't think we-"

Tae tackled the blonde with an eager growl.

Junko squeaked with a blush. "I-what? She, that-are we just going to let that happen?"

Yugiri chuckled. "Well, she did request it."

Ai rolled her eyes. "Once you're done playing around, we need to get back to rehearsal."

3.20

Masterweaver

Thoughts

"...You've been very quiet this whole time."

Junko glanced up from her book as Natsuki sat down next to her. "I have?"

"The other girls are more engaged," Natsuki clarified. "Ai's researching us, Sakura's hanging onto Monika's words about anchorship, Saki is trying to... I think it's a war of mutual amazement, Lily is just so excited she's an anime character, even Yugiri is watching what we do with some interest. You, though... you're just nodding and going along with it."

Junko shrugged. "I... don't think they realize what this means, entirely. Reality being broken... us being anime characters... you being from another world, not even human..."

"Yeah, I get that." Natsuki hummed thoughtfully. "You know, I'm the least 'deep' of us Dokis, but even I get... philosophical sometimes. This whole situation... it might take some time to sink in. These girls are all more doers than thinkers... I don't mean they're stupid, just that they prefer to act instead of contemplate."

"Yugiri's a thinker."

"True enough. She's still engaged with us, though. She's observing us, instead of just..." Natsuki gestured vaguely.

"...Maybe we need a thinker," Junko pointed out.

"Maybe. So... whatcha thinkin' about?"

"...a lot of things. It's all jumbled. Do... do you think anybody else from this world will loop?"

Natsuki hummed thoughtfully. "Kotaro is a pretty sure bet, given how important he is in your lives. Tae... I'm on the fence. She fits most looper checkmarks, it's just whether or not she's intelligent enough to loop that I'm not sure about... Romero is also an edge case, I've heard of pets looping but that's pretty rare. A couple of you have pre-death family, Takeo, Reiko, Maria... all possible loopers from outside the mansion. Beyond that, I wouldn't expect anyone. I mean I guess there's that reporter guy, but..." She shrugged. "It's not an exact science."

"Reporter guy?"

"Side character in the hub backups. Starts connecting the dots but doesn't quite believe the picture they paint."

Junko frowned. "...the backups, do they... ever go into anything private?"

"There's the hotsprings episode, but the anime is pretty childsafe. I mean, aside from showcasing death scenes... and those are all pretty bloodless. I guess there's emotional drama shown..." Natsuki considered for a moment. "...I don't thiiiiiink there's anything there that any of you would object to the rest of you knowing? There's some stuff about Kotaro in the last few episodes, mind. Generally a good idea to share your backups with each other, since it'll be next to impossible to hide that information anyway."

"Oh." Junko glanced at her arm. "How... how exactly did they make our death scenes bloodless?"

"In your case? They cut back out to the plane falling with smoke trailing out of its engine. More an implied event." Natsuki paused. "Have you... ever Awoken on the plane?"

Junko shivered. "...yes."

The pink-haired girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "...I hate to be the one to tell you this... but the tree? It likes to mess with us sometimes. Monika has a zombie phobia, so of course we wound up here-where the zombies are harmless, innocent victims. I can promise you, her reaction at the start of the loop was genuine. And..." She cringed. "With your... fear of heights..."

Red eyes shot up. "No. No, please don't-"

"It won't happen all the time," Natsuki assured her. "And... maybe it'll be that you're a bird, or a pegasus, or some other flying creature-but, yes, sometimes you'll be in... aircraft. Or starships, even. I'm sorry."

Junko swallowed, leaning into her. "I... I really don't think I'll like that."

"I don't either." The other girl was silent. "On the other hand... you'll probably also have a disco variant."

"What?"

"You know, a loop where disco is still popular."

"Wait." Junko leaned back. "What do you mean, 'still popular?' Did disco go out of style or something?"

Natsuki laughed. "Oh honey, you have no idea..."

3.21

Masterweaver

Realization

"So where are the Dokis?"

Ai gave Saki a look as she sat down. "They're using the computer. Shopping, I... think." She shook her head. "Well, their version of shopping, anyway."

"How's it different from normal shopping?"

"Monika wrote a virus yesterday to leech money off American billionaires, for one thing. She says it'll probably be found and purged tonight, but she already has the money so it doesn't matter."

Saki whistled in appreciation. "Damn. I mean she's a computer program and all, so that's probably easier for her, but still-going right for the giants, that's pretty bold of her."

Sakura hummed thoughtfully. "You're not wrong, exactly, but... they're billionaires. Even taking a couple million won't really get their attention." She managed a sardonic smile. "Plus, you know, they get away with a lot anyway, so... it's not like they don't deserve it?"

"It's not them taking money from billionaires that's weirding me out. It's... how they're treating things." Ai frowned. "Like... they're skimming off the entire world's resources. Sure they're buying a few luxury items, but a lot of what they're getting is... resources. Gems they can sell in loops without a digital economy, food and water that will help them survive if they loop into a wasteland... and for all that costs, they're only using a little bit of the money for it. They're sending the rest to organizations that make the world better... or something."

For a moment, Franchouchou quietly contemplated the implications of that statement.

"...They treat money like it was nothing." Junko frowned to herself. "Are... are we going to be like that?"

"I... could see it happening," Sakura mused. "I mean... if we put away some yen every loop, over time we'd have a lot of yen."

Saki snorted. "Why are we talking about money? Did you see how many bikes Papercut had? I mean she hasn't really modded any of them, but I'm telling you-as soon as I can stick a motorcycle in my subspace pocket I am going to do it and spend every loop I can souping it up."

"Sayori has Star Wars powers!" Lily squealed. "And Sailor Moon is real! I can be a real magical girl if I loop into the right universe!" She jumped onto the top of an armchair, posing as the other girls all stared at her. "Pretty Soldier Lily-chan, fighting for love, justice, acceptance, and hamburgers!"

"Why hamburgers?"

"I like hamburgers." Lily shrugged. "Or fries. Anything I can slather in ketchup and mustard, really."

"That's not really healthy," Sakura pointed out hesitantly.

"We're zombies," Junko countered. "Well, we are... at the moment."

Another silence fell over them.

"...This situation... really does open up so many new possibilities," Yugiri mused. "Magics and technologies from other worlds... visiting realities both wonderous and vile... meeting loopers, like ourselves, trapped and traveling through time."

"I could actually take over Japan," Saki said, slowly. "I mean, it would take me a while to get what I need to do it... and I'd have to spend a lot of loops figuring out how to do it... but I could actually do it."

Ai quirked an eyebrow. "...you could. Huh. I always thought you were just crazy, but you actually could..."

"I'm pretty happy with my life now," Sakura said. "I mean, I still haven't won against that evil truck, but one of these days I will! And besides that, I get to be an idol forever-and I get the best group of girls to dance alongside!"

"Awwww!" Lily tackled Sakura in a hug. "We love you too, Sakura-chan!"

Ai rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her smile. "I guess... and I guess we could become a multiversal music group." Her smile faded. "But... there are other loops with zombies..."

Junko shivered. "I... really, really hope we aren't going to end up in those worlds too often."

"I've seen zombie films," Sakura assured her. "And I'm the Anchor. If we end up in a loop like that, I'll make sure things work out."

"You?" Saki snorted. "Egghead, you're not a fighter!"

"Poker."

Ai winced. "Did you have to bring that up?"

"Sorry Ai-chan!"

"...okay, you have some guts." Saki frowned. "Man, I'm just realizing-we're in a pretty low-key loop. Like, sure, Sakura got shot that one time, but you girls haven't been in that many fights... I'm going to have to teach you, in case we end up in some crapsack of a world with monsters and shit."

Junko opened her mouth for a moment, before really thinking about it. She curled in on herself quietly.

Saki looked over at her. "But... you know, there are nicer worlds out there too. Like... that pony world the dokis mentioned. Or some disney princess crap. Or the Sailor Moon world!"

Lily coughed into her fist. "Yeeeeeeeah, um, if that world's anything like the anime then I wouldn't say it's entirely nice..."

"Whatever. Point is, not every world is hell. And almost every world has heroes, right? So you need to know how to fight, but that doesn't mean you need to fight all the time. You can enjoy yourself."

Ai crossed her arms. "You of all people saying we don't need to fight all the time?"

"What, you think Dorami just drove around beating people up 24/7? Sure, I'd take any challenge, but I'd only challenge people when I needed to."

"It's weird..." Junko glanced up. "We're learning this from... well, from the stars of a dating sim horror story. What does that say about them?"

Silence fell, once more.

"...They are a study in contradiction," Yugiri finally offered. "Sayori is kind and caring, yet holds within her a sorrow so great it allows her to channel dark magics. Yuri is soft-spoken, intelligent, and as aware of the darkness as she is of the light. Natsuki is equally enthusiastic about cute things and dangerous stunts, and treats people both with kindness and with some degree of sass. And then... Monika. A terror in her home, yet so terrified of us; conductor of horrors that she forever feels the guilt of."

Ai glanced away. "Sayori... chewed me out for calling out Monika. And then teleported me down to Australia to teach me lightning control."

"...what," said Saki.

Lily gasped. "She can teleport?!"

"To Australia?!" Junko added.

"See, that's the part that's making me go 'what'," Saki said. "I mean, sure, teleporting, fine, but across the world? With no network-oh, doy, she's a computer program, she can just use the internet, right?"

Ai shrugged. "I mean... we weren't anywhere near civilization..."

"Okay, I'm going back to 'what' now."

"Girls, I think we might be looking at this the wrong way."

Everyone turned to look at Sakura.

"I mean... sure, they're weird, and they have crazy powers, and they're not exactly human. But... look at us. We died across the centuries, and we have different backgrounds, and... we're a zombie idol group. But that doesn't mean we're not people, right? The dokis have a history, and it's scary and strange, but in the end... they're like us. Ordinary girls thrown into extraordinary situations. We can be amazed or frightened, but... I still think we can be friends."

The room fell silent one final time.

And then Tae smashed through the door, throwing the four visiting loopers onto the ground with a roar of triumph.

"OW!" Monika spat out her ponytail. "Okay, whose leg is in my face?"

Sayori sighed. "That'd be mine, prez. Can somebody tell me where my arm landed?"

Natsuki growled. "Yuri, I love you, but if you don't get your fat ass off my back-"

"My head's over here!" Yuri snapped. "I don't even know how to untangle us all from this!"

Saki blinked at the tangled pile of mangled bodies. "...Okay, how the hell did Tae manage to carry all four of them at once?"

"Stop gawking and help us!

3.21

That's a Wrap

"So… Does the stage always get destroyed?" Natsuki asked.

"Yeah, That's my luck for you," Sakura answered. "It does make for a more dramatic show though right?"

Natsuki hummed in agreement as they group started their own wrap up. A heavy silence loomed, as an unspoken topic sat at the back of everyone's head.

Finally, though, Sayori chose to breach the subject. "This is your guy's last concert before the loop ends, huh?"

The Seven Members of Franchouchou looked to the members of the Literature Club. Each member looking at each other to see what the group had to say about that.

A clap got their attention, as Monika stood up.

"So girls, what have we learned?" She asked.

"Um…well…we're stuck in a time loop among several other realities-" Sakura started.

"Yes, yes, there is that," Monika interrupted, "but have you learned how to deal with that?"

"We were supposed to be taking notes?" Saki questioned.

"Well, no, but… We spent a whole loop-"

Sayori stepped in. "The prez is just trying to make sure that you guys will be okay without us, Make no mistake, we will see each other again, but it might be a while."

"I guess the main thing we learned was how expansive this whole thing really is," Ai pointed out, "It really removes any limits we had, and at the same time puts different limitations on us."

"It will be interesting to see what foriegn lands we end up in," Yugiri stated.

"Or who we will be" Lily added earning a bit of a smirk from Sayori.

"We have definitely learned a lot from you," Junko said, " But there's not much to put into words."

Monika nodded her head, "That much is acceptable. It does seem you guys are ready to go out on your own and show the Multiverse who you guys really are."

"Um, about that," Sakura raised her hand, "We were kind of thinking about what you said to us earlier..."

Monika raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah you asked us if we wanted to be remembered for our voices or be remembered for being zombies," Saki clarified, "We were just thinking, well why not both?"

"Speaking from a strictly branding perspective, being Zombie Idols gives us a solid identity," Ai explained.

"Plus, being a zombie is really fun!" Lily added.

"I can attest to that," Yuri piped up, "It's not too realistic, but this version of zombification is very entertaining."

Tae took this opportunity to nom on Monika's head. It took a great deal of personal restraint for Monika to not scream bloody murder, and she felt that should be commended for that.

"At this point, I think we've been zombies for longer than any of us have actually been alive," Sakura concluded. "Taking that away… sort of takes away some of our identity."

"You know what?" Monika said through hitched breath, "That's fair…"

"So you guys are okay with being undead? Even the part where you may want to eat people?" Natsuki pointed out.

Sakura tilted her head, "What?"

Sakura then Woke up on the wooden floor, with nothing but the rain pouring outside and her thoughts settled on the last words her multiversal friend had uttered. She was so comfortable in her situation that she forgot one of the core parts of being a zombie. She remembered the zombie movies she watched when she was alive, and the ones Kotaro showed her. There was a chance that those movies could be looping too.

"Oh...Oh no…"