"Fuck!" John cursed, sitting up.

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to forget the feeling of cold iron in his mouth seconds before an explosion of pain blew through his head. In hindsight, he wasn't quite sure why he'd done that. He had pills that could've done the job just as easily.

He should just let them die. Why did he have to save them? Just kill Olivia. He just had to pull the trigger, and-

"John," Prota said quietly. "I want to save them."

"Why? Why do you want to save them?"

He didn't realize it, but some of his irritation was slipping through.

"They're friends," Prota insisted. "And we can save friends."

"They're not friends! They're just-"

"[Characters]?" Prota said quietly. "John. Am… am I just a [Character]?"

"That's not the point!" John yelled. "Olivia is just meant to die! Why are we trying to save someone when they're just supposed to fall over and eat shit anyway?"

"Because Danjo is a friend," Prota insisted.

Her voice was quiet, but in this situation, she felt much more mature than her brother did. John was practically throwing a tantrum. For what? Why? Why was he so annoyed?

"Why the fuck do you care so much?! What do they mean to you? In the end, they're just-"

"John."

He sighed, pulling the [Reset] button toward them.

"Fine. We'll do it your way."

~~~

"Ready?" Fate whispered.

Prota's eyes snapped open, getting her bearings back a bit faster this time. She was slowly getting used to this. She'd never realized how much having someone with you during [Resets] helped. No matter. She nodded silently, staring at the door, already aware of what lay beyond.

"Let's go."

Fate bashed the door down with a kick, and the group piled in, once again seeing nothing. Just like last time, Danjo reached out, calling his sister's name, and Fate held him back. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought that anyone would actually make an effort to push forward, so when Prota leapt ahead, he was helpless to do anything but watch as Doctor easily caught her in her empty-minded assault.

"Oh. It seems my little bird has flown straight into my hands," Doctor smiled.

His tendrils lashed out and grabbed her, holding her tight. Despite the previous two tries, Prota froze up, still unnerved by Doctor's gaze.

Caught, Prota stared helplessly at John. She hadn't thought much about this one. Despite usually being the rational one of the two, there was a sort of desire in her to find out what would happen if she messed around. To see what would happen if she did something illogical. Perhaps it was driven by her anger from what John had said in the [Reset Room], maybe it was just out of frustration. Regardless of the reason, the end result was the same. They'd have to [Reset] again, and—

Ah. Her eyes widened as she felt that she understood John just a bit more. The way he talked, the way he acted. He just did what he wanted. It wasn't that he didn't care. He just didn't need to. There were no repercussions, no consequences, just action and amusement.

And his lack of effort. His lack of passion. His emotions, should they show themselves, flared only for a moment. She understood that he was empty inside, but now, she also understood that he simply didn't care. Not because caring was bad, but because there simply wasn't a need to. It was strange to realize something like that now of all times, but then again, moments of realization often came in dire situations.

"Very well. I can kill everyone else, then," Doctor sighed. "I had hoped there would be some entertainment from you lot, but then again, perhaps it's better to just get on with it."

Prota was a little less calm now. She looked at John desperately. He pursed his lips in a grimace, then sighed.

"Fuck me," he muttered as his left eye lit up.

[Power: x10]

It wasn't a lot, and it definitely wasn't enough to beat Doctor, but he didn't need to beat Doctor right now. He just needed to get out of his ropes. With a bit of effort, he got out of his binds, pulled out his gun and fired three shots.

"You- what the?" Doctor exclaimed, whipping around and easily dodging the bullets.

They were never aimed at him in the first place.

Prota's head snapped back as all three bullets blew her brains out, ending her life immediately.

"John, what the-" Fate yelled as the room grew loud with noise.

Doctor's shriek of fury, the rattling of chains and the smashing of walls all blended together, blocking Fate's voice. John didn't need to hear what Fate had to say. He raised his gun, then thought the better of it and popped a pill.

~~~

John sat up calmly and found Prota right beside him.

"Hey. Let's, uh… not do that again?"

She nodded embarrassedly. Her pale cheeks were red with blush as she remembered what she'd just done. She understood that John was doing her a favour here. Her rushing off to her death wasn't going to help them progress toward their goal any faster.

"Running it down, huh… well, I get it."

She looked at John, confused.

"If you ever get bored, you can just do that again." John had a small smile on his face. "I mean, we have unlimited tries, right? It wouldn't hurt to just throw everything to the wind a couple of times."

His annoyance from before seemed to be gone. Well, she'd just realized why his mood changed so quickly. She should know, best of all, that he wasn't one to care that much about anything.

"Do you have a plan?"

Prota remained silent.

"Do you want me to make a plan?"

She nodded.

"Hm. Well, that sucks. I don't have a plan."

Prota looked at him.

"What? I'll just make one now, ok? Why're you looking at me like that?"

She continued to stare at him. What was the point in all that?

"Just… go over there or something. Let me think for a bit."

Prota shot him one more look before wandering out into nothingness, leaving John alone. While he didn't have a plan, he did have an idea. He knew what his "victory" was. He just needed to get the others out somehow. They didn't even have to be out of the facility. He just needed a few moments alone with Doctor, and then he could be done with all this.

The only problem was getting everyone out alive.

John frowned. Just how was he going to accomplish that? The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to simply let Olivia die. That was the easiest solution.

"Hey, John."

John's eyes snapped open to see Zero.

"What do you want?"

"That's the first thing you have to say to me? No hello, no greetings, none of that?"

"You only show up when it's inconvenient."

"That's just not true."

"Fine. What's up?"

Zero shrugged. "Just thought I'd let you know something interesting."

"Yeah, sure. Go. Shoot."

The soul grimaced as if he were going to regret his words, but in the end, he shook his head and opened his mouth.

"Back when you were a normal person, a [Writer], I guess, you always wanted to help [Characters]. You knew you couldn't. After all, those [Characters] were in stories you didn't write. But it made you happy to imagine scenarios where you could step in and solve their problems. To be a god and do what you pleased, to solve problems no one else could."

"That sounds incredibly cringe. You're telling me I was a fanfiction writer? A self-insert fanfiction writer?"

"In a sense," Zero smiled. "Your desires. Like the daydreams of a child, maybe. The wandering imagination of a [Reader]. Wanting to be all-powerful. Wanting a happy ending no matter what, wanting to save everyone, to make sure everyone got the ending they wanted. To enforce justice. To make everything right, even while knowing such a thing is impossible. That was you."

Zero looked at Prota in the distance, who was playing with her hair mindlessly.

"It still is you. Despite everything. That is still who you are."

John snorted. "Sure. Right."

"Are you denying it?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

John didn't say anything. Zero floated down beside him, not saying anything, just standing there with himself. After a couple of minutes, he opened his mouth to speak once more.

"Hey. You still like reading, right? Reading stories?"

"Well, yeah."

"And you like good stories."

"Obviously."

"Why?"

"...what kind of question is that? They're just better than bad ones. I read stories to have fun, right? Wouldn't I have more fun with a good story rather than a bad one?"

Zero nodded and left it at that, much to John's confusion. He got up slowly, walking away into nothingness, but then stopped. He turned around, hands clasped behind his back, a bittersweet smile on his face.

"So what now? John. What kind of [Story] do you want? This world. This [Story]. You're a [Writer], aren't you?"

With that, Zero vanished.

John shook his head. He hadn't ignored the conversation, but at the same time, he didn't have time to think about it. His soul almost never said anything useless, but right now, his words did not assist with the current threat.

"Prota!" John called out. She walked over, ready to hear what John had to say. "Alright, hear me out…"

~~~

"Ready?" Fate whispered.

Try number three. Prota stared at the door. There was a plan this time. It might not work. But it was better than nothing.

"Nn," Prota nodded.

"Let's go."

Fate bashed the door down with a kick, and the group piled in, once again seeing nothing. Just like last time, Danjo reached out, calling his sister's name, and Fate held him back.

"You two. Remember. This isn't the time to act irrationally."

Prota coughed.

"You! You're the one known as Doctor, right? You've done way too much. It's time to pay for your sins. There's no one else here. Give it up."

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Those words were so familiar, yet so distant. Like a fading memory, like a familiar tune.

"Bravo! Bravo! You've done it! You, the good guys, have broken into my lair and slain my underlings. I'm alone and helpless. Is that not it?"

Prota ignored Doctor's speech and locked eyes with John. He gave her a reassuring nod, sending a message through the system.

[Remember the plan.]

"You… I see you're still the same. You're still doing the same things. Doing the same sick experiments. You're not human. You're a monster."

Prota didn't move. She let things play out. Fate's eyes lit up as he grabbed his blade, the rage in his eyes lighting up. He would lose. But he didn't know that yet.

"I'll kill you. I'll tear you to pieces, here and now."

With a terrifying cry, he ran forward, brandishing his blade high above his head. Prota provided supporting fire, but despite knowing of their impending doom, she made no attempt to fight any harder.

"This ends here!" Fate roared, blinded with rage, as he held his blade with two hands.

The next strike ripped through the walls, tearing the room to shreds, yet Doctor remained unharmed.

"Ah, you're still the same as always, Sixteen. Blind. Ambitious. Yet utterly stupid, still playing the role of the pawn in a larger game of chess."

It was an exact reenactment of the first loop. This was what John had wanted. He needed things to play out the same. To see what he could change. If the wings of a butterfly could cause a tornado elsewhere, he wanted to follow every breath of air, every current of wind.

He needed to find out exactly what changes would cause which consequences.

So, even when Fate was shaking on the ground, his traumas coming to haunt him, Prota stayed still. Even though she could help him, divert even the slightest action, she remained still.

"Danjo, run!" Olivia yelled as her collar came off. "I'll-"

"You. Code five."

Even when Danjo was brainwashed, she held herself back. Watching, waiting.

[Reading].

"Fate. Your lie detection ability. Do you know specifically how it works?"

John's voice was the same as always. Mildly cheerful. Calm. Prota wasn't sure how he remembered what he'd said the last time, but it was an eerie sense of deja vu. The fight continued. Words were exchanged just as violently as blows. She fired off spells, but they felt empty. Like she was watching the fight rather than participating in it. Even as she was knocked down, she still felt a weird sense of disconnection.

"That's it! Struggle for me!"

"Kh… I'll kill you," Fate growled. "You can't keep getting away with this!"

"Oh? But I can. And I will."

"Prota!" John yelled.

Her eyes snapped open. That was right. She had to keep fighting.

"You got this, right?"

Right. Even if this life didn't matter. Even if they were bound to die. Even if everything was just repeating, even if she knew everything that was to happen, she should still keep fighting.

"Get up!"

Right. She was here for John.

Prota fought, but she couldn't muster the same emotions as before. This was just a trial run. Knowing that there was no penalty, knowing that they would be trying again anyway, it almost made the fight pointless. She just couldn't muster up the emotion, the will, the urgency to fight. Still, it wasn't as if she was doing nothing. It was just that, in the end, none of it mattered.

"You… you dare?!" Doctor yelled, lashing out and knocking Prota into a wall.

A handful of tendrils shot toward her and pinned her down, restraining her movement. A tendril rose up and smashed her in the face, but she knew it was coming. She tilted her head just a bit, just enough to avoid getting knocked out.

They were playing the long game. They were playing a game that only they knew existed: the game of trial and error. Seeing what could go right and what could go wrong. Playing a chess game with takebacks, trying again, seeing what moves were wrong and right. Eventually, they'd find the right path, right? The time flew by. Words went in one ear and out the other until-

"Your power."

The room was in pieces. Everyone was down for the count. John stood in front of the chessboard, staring at it intently. She closed her eyes, readying herself for death, but it didn't come. John was now going to make the first move.

"Ah, yes. You're about to tell me that it's all I am, aren't you? Well, it's much more than that, manaless boy. My superior mind is-"

"[Control]. That's your ability, isn't it?"

Prota froze. She didn't remember this. What was he doing? This wasn't what he had said last time.

"Control?"

"Your [Character]. Your obsession with superiority. Your obsession with being in control. Your [Deus Ex Machina] ability has to do with control, doesn't it?"

"..."

"Your silence is more than enough of an answer for me."

"You cannot possibly infer that-"

"It's a [Story]. Silence always means yes. I wouldn't- that's not something I would say in real life, by the way. Besides, what's wrong with telling me? What am I gonna do with that info?"

"Fine!" Doctor laughed. "You make a good point. Even if I tell you, you cannot do a thing."

He leaned in close to John and whispered. Prota couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw John smirk. He'd gotten something. She wasn't sure what, but she was sure he'd tell her later.

"Then, what will you do now? What is your move here, manaless boy? You know my tactics. You know my strategy. Does that change the outcome of the game?"

"I stopped talking about chess a long time ago. Please stop bringing it up."

"What-"

John pulled out his gun, and Prota looked him in the eyes. It was time to try again.

"You don't possibly think you could kill me with that, do you-"

There was a crack, and she fell over. Doctor stared in shock, and his shock slowly turned into horror. The manaless boy had planned for this the whole time. If death was the way out, then that meant John had some kind of way around death itself.

John shook his head. Maybe Doctor wasn't as stupid as he'd made him out to be. At the very least, he was smarter than the [Author] who'd created him.

"You-!"

He gave a little salute and popped his pill.

"See you later."

~~~

John woke up sitting cross legged on the floor. He grimaced and rested his chin on his palm, tapping his knee with his other hand.

"Hm… I don't know what to do."

Prota turned with a look of disbelief in her eyes. He didn't know what to do? What was the point of the last loop?

"Doctor's ability is strange. It makes sense, but it's still strange. I don't know how to get around it."

"...?"

"[Control]. What an interesting method of using [Deus Ex Machina] energy. It allows him to remain in control at all times. It would explain why his skill increased only when fighting Kit, why he's so insistent about "being in control." I just have to confirm it somehow. I need the details. I need to know things about the ability even Doctor doesn't know."

John rubbed his chin, frowning. There had to be something more. Something else that he was missing. An ability couldn't be that straightforward, right? He could be completely wrong, but he felt he was correct. It would explain things. Why Doctor struggled against Prota for a bit. Why Fate could keep up just a little. Why Doctor obtained a sudden boost of strength when fighting Kit.

"Then how did I win…?"

He looked at Prota, who tilted her head in confusion.

"Did you use [Soul Siphon] on him at any point, Prota?"

"Nn," she nodded. "Didn't work."

"Didn't work, huh… did he have a soul?"

Prota nodded.

He got up and began pacing back and forth.

"This would explain why he was able to control Danjo, but then why not control you and Fate? Why not just command you to give yourself over to him? No, no, I'm missing something. Something important. An ability, a condition…"

John's expression darkened, but then he shook his head again.

"Well. We can just ask him, right?"

~~~

"Let's go."

Prota was starting to see what would happen before it actually happened. Fate bashed the door down with a kick, and the group piled in. Danjo reached out, calling his sister's name, and Fate held him back. Instead of calling out for her brother, she instead glared at Doctor.

What secrets are you hiding?

"You two. Remember. This isn't the time to act irrationally."

"You! You're the one known as Doctor, right? You've done way too much. It's time to pay for your sins. There's no one else here. Give it up."

She looked at Fate. She'd seen him fall twice now. Or was it three times? Regardless, it was unsettling. For her comrade to be unaware of what she was going through, to believe that this was the first fight, to believe that everything rode on this attempt.

How lonely. To try to find a way to the solution all on your own, to die over and over until you find the right solution. How long had John experienced this? How long had he done this by himself?

"Bravo! Bravo! You've done it! You, the good guys, have broken into my lair and slain my underlings. I'm alone and helpless. Is that not it?"

She looked at John, who nodded.

[Sorry. It's a little annoying, but we have to wait until I can play chess. If this were a game or a book, I'd just skip through all this, but unfortunately, we don't get that kind of luxury.]

[It's ok. It doesn't hurt.]

She saw John's expression darken for a second, but then he shook his head, and his expression cleared up.

Line after line of dialogue came out, like actors running through a play, actions repeated over and over as Prota's attacks had relatively little impact on what was to come next. She felt as if she were reading a story for the fourth time.

…reading a story.

A flash of insight dawned upon Prota. These people. Fate. Doctor. Danjo. They… this didn't seem real. It seemed so fake. So artificial. To see people perform the same actions, say the same lines, do the same thing, over and over. Were they the same people she once knew? She'd only ever [Reset] over and over with John and enemies, never with friends. Never with allies. If the world could be manipulated in such a way that the people around her didn't even realize they were just repeating the same things over and over, like puppets in a play, were they even real?

Prota shook her head. No, this wasn't the time to be thinking like this. Still, that doubt remained in her heart. She felt a sense of authority rise in her. A feeling of superiority, not in a haughty or prideful way, but simply the feeling of knowing more than everyone else. The feeling of knowing that you knew a fundamental truth that they did not.

This world… you, me, everything around us… it's just one big [Story]. None of us. None of this is real. We're all just [Characters] in a [Story] written by an [Author].

Prota's heart sank a little. She understood just a bit. She still hadn't internalized it, but her subconscious was starting to recognize what John had known all along.

She looked at him again, this time more discreetly, and knew. She could never tell him that she understood. It would break him. It would go against what he'd been trying to accomplish. And she understood why he'd been against it. While she felt superior, she also felt fear. Discomfort. A sense of perversion, a sense of having learned something she never should have. She'd never forget about this. It would always linger in her mind.

Lost in thought, she found herself flung against the wall, then pinned down, and just like before, she avoided being knocked out by a hair. Doctor undid John's restraints, and they walked over to the chessboard.

"You've got quite a unique ability, Doctor."

"Why, thank you. I suppose you are referring to my superior intelligence?"

"No. [Control]. The ability to maintain control over everything. It's how you brainwashed Danjo, right?"

Doctor froze for a second, but then shook his head and laughed.

"Clever. You really are a clever boy. Maybe not as clever as me, but quite clever. Correct. That is my ability."

"Then why not just control Fate over there?"

Doctor sighed and shook his head.

"An insect like you could never understand the thought of a being such as myself. You simply do not understand the art of dealing with a nuisance yourself. Crushing a bug under your shoe is so much more satisfying than sweeping it out of the house. I will personally destroy his life with my own hands. It's the least I can do."

John's eyes narrowed. That made sense, at least for someone like Doctor.

"Then what about Prota? You need her, right? Then why not control her?"

"I could. That is true. But what's the fun in that?"

John shook his head. He picked up the black queen and dangled it in front of his enemy's eyes.

"No. You can't control her."

"And how would you know that?"

"I guessed."

"Come now, that's not possible. It's not true. Besides, you mean to tell me that you rely on a guess as the truth?"

"I made an educated guess. Based on the information I gathered the past… three? Four [Resets]? I don't know. I died a couple of times. And then I came back. And the last time I died, you told me a few things, so unless you lied for no reason, I think I'm on the right track."

Doctor laughed.

"Come back to life? Do you expect me to believe such a thing?"

"You already said that. Tell me, then. How do I know about your ability? You think I figured it out? What would give me any clue as to what your ability does? No, I'm not so desperate that I'd try to figure it out on my own. You told me, Doctor. You told me your ability with your own lips."

Doctor's expression darkened.

"Your power is an extension of mine. [Deus Ex Machina]. The ability of a [Writer]. The ability to be god. And based on your personality, that ability manifested in a sort of absolute control. But that doesn't explain this. Why can't you control Prota?"

Doctor clenched his fists, unable to answer in his rage. He'd been outsmarted. What? How? How was this possible? This ability, to defy death, to regress and come back to life. An ability of the gods. This was his power? No, impossible.

"John! What are you talking about?!" Kit said, a swirl of flames blasting the room with heat as she appeared in her human form. "You knew about his power? Why didn't you tell us?"

Her bloodlust and aggression turned toward him.

"Just who are you?"

John just shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I told you already. I'm just a guy that likes to read."

He pulled out two pills and tossed one to Prota.

"You- that doesn't answer anything! What are you-"

"Sorry. I'll see you again, alright?"

He closed his eyes, his last sight that of Kit launching herself toward him. Maybe next time, it would've been better to just die to her. It was the least he could do.

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