screwthatnoise

♥ v2

A cold, delicate hand grabs yours and pulls. It pulls, and it pulls... there's a sense of urgency in this icy grasp, as well as a trace of reluctance. Abruptly the hand let's go, right as your vision fades to black, and for a brief moment, only a brief moment, your senses disappear. There's only the eerie sensation of weightlessness before your feet are settled back on solid ground again.

(please join #echolife! ♪)

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Janta nods, speaking nervously. "...she can be, but she doesn't want to be. Not... not if it can be helped. That is the best way to put it...!"

The pages show another disjointed scene.

'You' nearly leap over a balcony to save an antidote bottle that a man had almost dropped over the ledge.

'You' are almost slapped across the face for doing that.

A voice resounds through your own head. "Thank you... you saved Ḿ̵̧i̢śs ͞Sh̸̕a̡r̶̶o̸̧͝ǹ̵̢." The name is a little incoherent...

Another voice. Echo's again. "It was because of what you said..."

They do not wrap off with any strange feeling this time.

She saved someone... I don't think this is something to get rid of...

[ continuing on, I WANT TO STOP IT., even if it sounds ominous ]

More disjointed scenes play out on the pages.

'You' leaped before a large... laser beam? Powerful energy? To save another girl.

'You' are reaching through the bars of a questionable prison cell to hug someone tightly, almost desperately.

A voice—Zwei's voice—echoes through your own head. "An echo is always an echo... you can't change anything!"

Suddenly you're experiencing a dull ache in the back of your head.

[ groans a little ]

Has Zwei always been there telling her these things? It's not right.

Janta pauses, considering you.

"A... always! Zwei is older than Hail, she has always been around. Because... this is Zwei's body!"

[ oh, that changes things ]

I... see...

[ hm, still not happy about this, though, so he goes to the final tab I CAN'T STOP IT. ]

The last pages.

'You' are slapped across the face, and knocked onto the floor. 'You' clutch your head tightly.

A man's voice resounds through your own head: "Taking my anger out... heh. She's just a doll."

Zwei's laughter follows that echoey voice. "An echo is just an echo!"

Next, jarringly, 'you' are staring up at Zwei's crazed, wide-eyed face.

Her voice is heard in your head once more, loudly, deliriously: "The reverberation is going to die soon anyway, that way you won't have to be sad anymore!"

It ends.

You're left with the painful sensation of being slapped across the face, and it leaves a cold sensation on your skin behind.

Edited 2013-08-02 03:38 (UTC)

[ abruptly brings a hand to his face, cradling his cheek ]

Ah....

Twisted cackling resounds through the room. The narration does not apologize for overusing words like that.

Zwei's voice breaks the silence.

"Oh... did you like what you saw?"

[ snaps the book closed and places Janta on top ]

What I saw has reaffirmed what I know. That Hail-san is a good person and you are not.

A pair of shadowy hands appear off to the side.

And they applaud.

"Congratulations! You have figured me out. The mystery of mysteries, hahaha!!"

[ stiffens at the sight of those hands, cautiously taking a step back ]

How did Hail-san come to inhabit... your body?

"Who knows how split personalities work... but I've heard it might have been trauma. That really makes no sense though, haha!"

But you've been the one furthering the trauma...

...she only giggles.

The hands stop applauding, and she continues giggling.

Janta is shivering now.

[ ignoring that giggling, thank you very much ]

Janta-kun? What's wrong?

"She just... I d-don't like her..."

Neither do I...

You said there was something I could do here... Will destroying this book really help?

Janta is hesitant. Zwei has since gone quiet.

"It... it makes me sad... it really does... but will forgetting all of the bad things help me? I... I can try to... see past, it but—!"

Edited 2013-08-02 07:22 (UTC)

I... I don't think it's best to wipe the slate clean, but if Hail-san is truly suffering so much....

I'll leave the decision up to you, Janta-kun.

Janta flails a bit.

"Eh?! I—I have never had this much responsibility before!"

Eventually he calms. It doesn't take too long.

"But... what you said before... that Hail is a good person after all... I wonder. Does this mean you think she has something to have been proud of herself for in her past?"

Edited 2013-08-02 19:44 (UTC)

I can't say if she feels proud herself but... she is strong and she has put herself up for another's safety. I think she's very admirable.

But I trust Janta-kun. You're her happiness, after all.

The memory book begins to glow faintly.

Before Janta can respond, he notices this and gasps.

"Ah... it's never done that before...!"

A good sign...?

[ holds the book a little more gently ]

The book feels comfortably warm.

"Yes... I have not seen any other books do that. It's nice to look at."

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