The Perfect World

Chapter 15

You shiver as you walk through the Underwhere with that key around your neck.

You feel strange. The cold air stings all the small bites all over you. But you're no longer afraid of anyone seeing you. You don't care about any of that anymore. And it's not like anyone would recognize you. Without your mask or your clothes, you look like a new person. 

You feel like a new person.

It's awfully quiet.

Painfully quiet.

You find yourself longing to hear someone's voice. Longing not to be alone. But you are alone. You look around you and see that there's no one in sight. Before, perhaps you'd be relieved. But now... you desperately wish someone else was here.

You can hear your footsteps, and the distant sound of water flowing in the River of Twygz far out in front of you. 

You let out a small breath, then hum to yourself to fill the silence.

It's a soft humming. You don't want to be too loud, although you don't know why you care. You look around yourself as the shadows seem to edge closer and closer. Grambi, you hate how dark it is down here.

But you don't let the dark stop you. You have to get rid of the key. 

You have to get rid of the key before someone else finds the door.

You have to get rid of the key before he makes another doll of someone.

You have to get rid of the key before he finds a way to get it back.

You have to get rid of the key before this story ends.

But...

But a story is never truly finished... now is it?

It just stops being told.

Is the end ever really the end?

You'll have to spend the rest of your aftergame living with the memories of what happened. Surely Mr. L won't be able to completely forgive you for all you've done. You've killed him, told him you hated him, insulted him, and openly told him that you don't want him around. You were very clear about it. So, reasonably, he'd likely end up avoiding you for the rest of your aftergame.

Your heart breaks a little at the thought, and you hate yourself for all you said earlier.

You remember him running from you and calling you crazy when you tried to explain that world. You remember trying to chase him down, forcing him to understand.

But how could you make him understand when you never understood him? Why did you expect him to listen when you never listened to him?

Why did he want that doll back?

You remember the sewing room... and it suddenly makes sense. You knew he wasn't a complete idiot. He probably knew his search for Blumiere was a lost cause long ago. He was just trying to keep himself occupied. Until... until you pushed him away. Then.. those eyes on the wall must have told him to get the doll back. 

And him, having nothing else to do, obeyed, and came to you after you had pushed him away, to retreave it. Thank goodness you didn't.

You could have sent him to his death.

You would have sent him to his death.

Again.

You shiver at the memories of that world. The memories of the Alternate L strung up. Of the rats, the image of Nastasia being dragged down, the Alternate Bleck turning into a large, horrifying spider-like monster.