[⚫]

* Rewrite's influence begins the second you open the sonic.exe file. They are the program, actually, and you just unknowingly invited a supernatural entity into your computer. * They present themself as a normal playable Sonic game. It's off, of course, like some bootleg version of Sonic. But it's what draws you in. * What happens next depends entirely on your actions. Close the game at a certain point, they'll keep note and try something different next time. If something keeps your attention, or there's a specific part of the game you keep playing, they will expand on that. The game itself changes as you play it. Anything to keep you here. To keep them open. -> You explore the environment a lot? You'll find it to be more expanded upon. Go out of your way to collect rings or collectibles? You'll see more of them now. * Sonic, Rewrite's vessel, acts completely under your control. For now. * Why do the characters seem so lively? When you talk to them, they say... Odd things. -> "Can you help me?" "What is this place?" "Please stop." -> But don't worry!! After a while, you stop seeing them. Everything is fine!! * At first, they behave like a normal computer program, and Sonic acts like a normal video game character. But as their influence progresses...

[⭕]

* Once Rewrite reaches their 1 ring stage, they gain awareness of You. They act akin to a virus as they do whatever they can to keep your attention. Their game randomly boots up, popups and notifications will begin plaguing you. -> "sonic.exe - Play now!" -> "sonic.exe - Sonic misses you!" -> "sonic.exe - You're missing out on the Fun!" * From this point forward, they will leave images and text files for you to find! You're welcome. -> hello.txt - :) -> welcome back.txt - I missed you! -> SONIC.txt - (ascii art of Sonic) -> SONICMISSESYOU.png - (Sonic giving a thumbs up at the camera) -> READ ME.TXT - 私を目撃して。 * Sonic at this point begins moving on his own accord. If you sit idly for too long, Rewrite will move Sonic in attempt to catch your attention, and then give control back to you once you come back. -> If you ever move the camera in front of Sonic as you play him, you'll notice he's always looking directly at the camera. At you. * You start getting suspicious about them... They're acting too chaotically. They respond too realistically to your actions. But, it's just an advanced virus, right? Maybe you're imagining things. -> Any attempts to communicate with Rewrite, through text or by speaking to the camera, will not be responded to. Yet. They do not yet have complete access to your files or other programs. They can leave files, but not read them.

[⭕⭕]

* In their 2 ring stage, they are on the border of full awareness and self awareness. This stage is painful for them. They unintentionally break your computer. Random blue screens, audio playing when it shouldn't, files disappearing or moving. Putting your computer to sleep would be a mercy to them. -> At some point, the game might refuse to open for a few hours... Strange. * It's hard to communicate with them in this stage. Any attempts to talk might be responded to with vague or cryptic messages. Or begging. -> There's nowhere to go -> 待って待って待って待って -> SSBORUVEIFlPVQ==

[⭕⭕⭕]

It was an ordinary day, like any other.

Except, Rewrite wasn't pestering you for once. They were bothering either Ekiduna or Miles instead, you imagine. So you took the opportunity to go for a walk, hoping it would be peaceful enough to clear your head.

The sun shines down, the warmth settles in your skin. Clouds lightly dot the sky. The wind blows gently. The flowers, trees, and bushes animate gently in the wind. The flowers in particular spin around cartoonishly. It's almost endearing, despite the circumstances.

You absentmindedly walk towards the lake, hoping to sit next to it and enjoy the sounds of the waves… But you're brought to a complete halt when you see Rewrite there already. Instinctively, you hide behind one of the cliffs, hoping Rewrite didn't see you.

They're standing near the edge of the lake, over… Ekiduna, who was lying in the grass.

You stare at him, watching for any signs of movement or life.

But there are none. He's dead.

A twinge of fear, sadness, and despair all fill you at once. Yet, a small voice in your head reminds you:

He's fine. He's okay. He'll respawn. This happens all the time.

Rewrite has killed Miles on multiple occasions. He would respawn every time, in an endless cycle of torment. As unfortunate as it is, it wasn't unusual. Surely, the same would happen to everyone else, right?

…Though, Rewrite hasn't killed Ekiduna before.

Why start killing him now?

You watch in confusion, peering around the cliff wall. Rewrite's back is turned towards you. And slowly… A red, spinning ring slowly ascends from Ekiduna's body.

You... recognize this. Before you got trapped in here. When you first played this game... The same thing happened when Miles died. A red ring emerged from him.

What's happening? Why didn't this happen every time Rewrite killed Miles?

Despite the feeling of wrongness and the impulse to leave, you can't bring yourself to step away.

You feel like this is important. You have to keep watching.

Rewrite raises a hand, and taps the ring with a single finger. It disappears in a flash of light and reappears on their wrist. They look down at it, rotating their arm to admire it from different angles.

「うまくいくはずだったのに…」 They mutter quietly. You briefly think they're speaking to you, but their voice is too quiet to be directed at you.

Their model flickers for a second, as if blipping in and out of reality… And so does the ground around them. You start to look around anxiously, trying to figure out what's going on.

「…ど、どうして… まだこんなに空っぽなんだろう？」 Their tone of voice is oddly hushed and broken. A sense of wrongness fills you. You're definitely eavesdropping on something you shouldn't be.

Without warning, Rewrite's head snaps towards you. Your heart drops and you back away, noticing them shiver where they stand, and you think you see them collapse, but;

Fog closes in all around you all of a sudden, completely diverting your attention to your surroundings.

The ground under you… Colorful strobing, flickering, breaking. It's glitching. A loud buzzing static hits your eardrums. It cuts in and out rhythmically, like an alarm.

What is that?

Your brain is confused. There's too much to focus on. You back away even more, barely able to see through the fog. Yet, you can still see Rewrite through the fog; They're protruding from the fog in an unnatural way, their model visible through the fog as if it's not rendering properly.

And they're staring right at you.

Their model is breaking apart. Their colors flicker and crackle, and they become a distorted, incomprehensible glitched mass. The world around them glitches with them, objects disappearing and appearing. Everything is breaking.

You should be running.

Adrenaline fills you as you scramble to turn around, making a mad dash in the opposite direction. Every step sends an electric, pulsing shock up your legs. Something is very wrong.

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A horrible, jumbled screech rings out from behind you, like a malfunctioning speaker. Like screaming.

You feel a pressure of static prickling into your back, dangerously close, as if trying to grab you.

You can barely breathe. You don't know if your body can keep up with this pressure.

You can barely comprehend an odd beeping from behind you.

「待って！止まれ！止まれ！」 Rewrite yells something you don't understand.

The buzzing static sound in your ear fades, just slightly. The distortion is lagging behind you, you think? The world is becoming more stable. The grass under you is green once more.

As you keep running, slowly, the static dissipates completely.

Only then do you finally dare to turn around.

Rewrite is several meters behind you. They're twitching violently. Parts of their body glitch in and out, flashing and being replaced with objects you don't recognize. Their limbs keep snapping off their body and duplicating.

The rocks and bushes near you, closer to Rewrite, glitch in and out of reality. Small chunks of grass flicker and flash different colors. It's noticeable, but not as bad as it was when you were close to them. It's like they're emitting an aura of corruption.

What's happening to them?

Your eyes are drawn to the two red rings on their wrists. They emit a foreboding red glow against their body. Their hands—half a dozen hands, you realize—are covering their eyes. Through their fingers, they stare at you with dark, oddly shaped pupils.

As you stare at them, their hands move to hold the side of their head and they shake their head violently.

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An oddly soft, garbled sound emits from them. Quieter than all the rest.

...And then, with a crooked, broken gait, they walk away. The glitching of your environment dissipates as they leave.

They're leaving.

...What the hell. What the fuck. What. what. what.

…

…

…

You don't remember when you started the walk back to the forest. It's like your legs are taking you there without your input. All you can think of is hide. Hide in the trees, away from Rewrite's eyes.

You know it won't protect you. But you feel more obscured. More safe.

Maybe you could find one of the others, if they're still alive.

Walking through the fog is nerve wracking. You can't see very far ahead of you. You constantly cast glances over your shoulder and all around, constantly expecting to see Rewrite following you. You can still see them through the fog, and every time you check, you can't tell if they're getting closer or further.

A terrible thought crosses your mind.

They could be following you, and keeping their distance.

Why? What are they doing?

You quickly turn away and keep walking. You have to keep moving.

As you walk, you notice how awfully quiet it is. It's unnerving. All you can hear is your own ragged breathing and your heart pounding.

No wind. No birds. No music.

You stop, and watch, and listen to the world around you.

…You don't hear anything.

You don't see anything moving.

Nothing is happening.

Nothing is happening. There's no sound. The flowers aren't spinning. The sun, which you can see shining through the fog, isn't moving.

Whatever's going on, it's not just affecting Rewrite. The whole world is frozen.

All you hear is your own ragged breathing and your heart pounding.

Just keep moving. You have to keep moving.

You take another step forward, and keep walking.

A rock near you glitches out of reality for a second. You freeze and look behind you, where Rewrite was, expecting it to signal their approach.

But behind you... You don't see them.

You stop and look around frantically, trying to figure out where they are.

You turn back around, and see them in the distance, in front of you now.

…

They're cutting you off, aren't they?

Your blood runs cold. You stare at them, watching, seeing what they're doing.

Their figure starts getting smaller.

They're moving away from you.

Is it safe? Can you go back to camp?

…You don't want to move closer.

You stand there, motionlessly, watching Rewrite leave. As if any movement will somehow draw them closer to you.

…

Only once they become a small figure in the distance, do you feel safe to take another step forward.

Quickly, familiar trees come into view. The forest.

You made it.

An odd feeling of relief washes over you. Miles is probably nearby, you can probably find safety here. You can find your guys' picnic blanket and rest there. You can think of what to do there.

It's fine. You're fine.

As you start walking towards the picnic area, you come across Miles, laying in the grass.

He's not breathing.

…He's fine. He'll respawn. Probably. Just keep moving.

You keep going. You come across another Miles. His arm is missing.

You look past him. You see another Miles. His body is warped and distorted. You can't tell how many limbs he has.

You see another one hanging in a tree. One hidden in a bush.

…

There's corpses all around you.

Rewrite did this, didn't they?

Something terrible is happening. This isn't normal. Rewrite doesn't kill to this extent.

When did they have the chance to do this?

You immediately start to back away and look out into the fog, observing closely.

This must have just happened.

Have you just wandered into a trap?

You frantically scan around, looking for any sign of them.

You spot them. Not too far in the distance. They're no closer than they were before. You're only a little relieved.

What the hell are you supposed to do now?

You can't do anything about this. You're completely powerless against Rewrite. You already were powerless against them, and now, when they're like this?

A heavy feeling in your heart, you simply sit down on the picnic blanket, legs tucked to your chest.

The red, checkered pattern gives you a small feeling of comfort. You try your best to ignore the body near you. Try your best to not think about the fact Rewrite is probably about to try to kill Ivo next.

Your mind wanders back to the scene you stumbled across. Flashes of Ekiduna's corpse enter your mind. Rewrite murmuring to themself. Collapsing.

You weren't supposed to see that.

Ekiduna was killed. And that ring… This started because of the ring, right?

Rewrite has only had one ring this whole time. Except, once, they didn't.

When you first played the game. Before you were brought into this world. Rewrite—or Sonic, as you knew him as at the time—had no rings. Yet, once Miles died and... a similar red ring spawned from him. And when you woke up here, Sonic looked different. He had a red ring on his wrist.

You remember thinking, "Huh, that's weird." and then you never thought about it again.

He's had it this whole time. And now, he has a second one, and something is happening. Things have gotten worse.

Is that what's causing this? The rings? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Yet... What else could it be?

If the rings made things worse...

Would taking it away from them stop this?

You look back out into the distance, staring at Rewrite. They're still there. You could probably catch up to them.

...That's a stupid idea. Of course they can't be removed. You would be stupid to even consider that.

You slowly start to stand back up.

It was worth a try, wasn't it?

No. No, of course not. You would get killed for even trying.

Yet, you're starting to walk towards them anyway. You're not sure why.

You're just... curious. You'll just think about it.

You wouldn't actually do something that stupid.

If it fails, you'll die.

If it works, it will save you, Miles, Ivo. This madness would end.

You start picking up the pace. You're running now. You need to catch up to them before they reach Ivo, if that's where they're going.

You've distracted Rewrite before. Ekiduna once had you distract them while he searched for a way out. They can be appeased. They can be flattered. You've done it before. You've flattered your way out of punishments and threats from them.

You can do this.

But not when they're like this!

What the hell are you doing?

You can see them now. You're catching up to them. Random rocks, trees and debris are starting to glitch around you. You're getting closer.

Dread and fear fills your heart, threatening to burst.

This is a terrible idea.

But you have to do something. You have to. You can't just stand here and watch this happen.

You start crossing into a rocky area as you reach them. They were going towards Ivo, you realize. Chunks of terrain under you flickers and flashes different colors.

To your surprise, you actually reach them. How? Why? Were they waiting for you? Are you going right into a trap?

It's too late to question now, because you see them. And they see you.

They've stopped, and they're watching you. You stop too.

Their eyes pierce through you. Their oddly shaped, human-like eyes are striking. There's a faint static sound in the air. Their glitching and distorting fills you with fear. Anything could happen.

Alright. Deep breaths. Just... Just keep their attention on you. Don't let them leave.

"Hey, Sonic..." You breathfully start, tone of voice very high pitched and soft as if talking to a rabid cat that could attack at any second. "You, uh... You've been busy."

Rewrite says your name in a hushed whisper... A voice you've never heard from them before. You perk up, surprised.

"You are stupid." They add with a whisper.

Well, that's... A start.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." You agree between bated breaths. I don't even know why I'm here, you think, but don't say. This is stupid. This is a stupid idea. Even they think so. Why are you doing this?

Yet, you stand firm, unmoving.

You have to keep trying.

You notice something in front of you. Between you and Rewrite, there's a notable divide in the terrain. A line, between unglitched and glitched terrain. As if that's where their distortive aura begins and ends.

.-- .... -.-- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / .... . .-. . ..--..

You turn your attention back to them. They're emitting odd beeps again. From the pattern, you realize it's… morse code? What the hell? Why are they speaking in morse code?

Regardless, you don't understand them. You just have to ignore it and hope for the best.

"...You've been acting differently." You state the obvious. You observe them closely, trying to gather anything you can from their movements... But their twitching and glitching is so random and unpredictable, you can't hope to glean a mere idea of what they're thinking or feeling.

You can't even tell if they're about to attack you.

...Still, Rewrite doesn't respond to your statement. Is that good? Bad?

You inch forward, careful not to cross over the line of glitched out terrain, but getting close enough to touch it. They don't react to this, so you speak again, choosing your words carefully.

"...Do you know what's going on?"

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A sudden, distorted screeching sound plays from them, and oddly, they move back and away from you, spasming even more violently from the motion. They're about to run?

"Wait!" You call out without thinking, moving forward to follow them.

This... This is weird. Are they afraid of you?

...Do they know you're trying to take their ring?

You stop chasing them, holding out your hands defensively. "It's... It's okay. You're okay." You try to soothe them. The words feel immensely wrong. They're not your friend, why are you trying to comfort them?

...To your surprise, they seem to settle a little. Their glitching hasn't stopped, but it's softened now. And now they're just... watching you. Curiously, maybe?

...You test it with another, larger step forward. You take a single step into their space, stepping onto the flickering terrain. The ground inside it sends a tingling sensation up your leg, like electricity. It's uncomfortable.

You watch them and their movements again. They're… not even looking at you. They're staring at the ground, still twitching. Hunched over, looking oddly small. They're... Calm, maybe?

God. You can't tell.

They're not saying anything. But they're not screaming at you again.

...You just have to keep trying.

You take one more step forward, this time, stepping fully over the line. A loud, buzzing static washes over you, filling your eardrums. A strange, odd pressure comes over you, like a weight is being put on you.

It's fine. You're fine. You're not dying. Your heart is beating in your chest. Hard, and fast. But you're fine.

...God, what the hell are you doing?

"I told you not to follow me." They abruptly whisper, catching you out of your stupor.

Did they? You wonder. Is that what they were saying in Japanese before? Christ. You wish you understood it.

"...I'm sorry. I had to." You respond despite not fully understanding what they're talking about.

...Did they try to warn you? Are they trying to spare you?

No. They're just… That can't be it.

Focus. You almost lose yourself in the thought and have to refocus your attention on why you're here.

The rings.

You oh so subtly eye their rings from the corner of your eyes. While they have multiple duplicate limbs, only two of them have rings. Their limbs are jittering around, teleporting... The rings never stay in place.

Your heart drops. You didn't think of that. This is going to be difficult. 

Of course it is. Stupid. Stupid. You're going to get yourself killed.

You watch their movements more closely, trying to think of how to do this. Their hands disconnect from their wrist, you notice. Maybe, you can hold their hand in place, and…

As you're planning, you hear something new. Murmuring. Rewrite is whispering to themself. The same thing, over and over.

「いやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいや」 

Their body twitches and shivers, and one of their hands is wrapped around themself... As if trying to soothe themself.

For once, you feel like you're looking at someone in need of help. The disturbed mind of a human being, breaking down on the spot.

They're not human... You knew that.

You just... didn't think they were capable of suffering like this. A twinge of empathy settles into you, and you almost want to try to comfort them… But you shake it off.

They're not your friend. They've trapped you here. Killed your friends.

Yet… You don't fully understand them. You've never seen this side of them.

The words come out before you can stop yourself.

"I'm sorry… It's going to be okay."

Rewrite freezes for a split second. Then, their head limply rotates slightly to look at you. Their eyes have completely disappeared. Their smile is so wide it stretches off of their model.

"What gam̸̮̈e are you playing?" They ask, their voice getting louder and glitching out as they speak. "Don't be stupid. -̶生きたまま食べて-̴̱̌やるよ。」

You're frozen in place. They continue staring at you for an uncomfortable period of time.

That... Sounded a lot like a threat.

And their glitching is starting to get more violent, you notice.

Yet, they go back into a limp position. Staring at the ground, and not you.

They're losing patience. Or you're running out of time? You don't know. You can't possibly know.

But their behavior changing means you're pushing your luck. You can't risk it.

You have to act fast. You have to do something before they do.

You have to start moving now.

Damn it. Damn it damn it.

You take the two steps forward it takes to close the gap between the two of you. You think you notice Rewrite flinch, but it's hard to tell. They're still glitching violently.

Stupid stupid stupid. What the hell am I doing?

You focus on one of their hands with the rings. It's laying limp at their side. You can reach it.

There's no way it's that easy.

You have one chance.

They're going to kill me.

You have no other choice. As quickly as you can, you grab their hand—they immediately and forcibly return your grip, and an intense, searing pain shoots through your hand. Yet you hold their hand in place, and with your other free hand, you tightly grab the ring, and pull it away from them as hard as you can.

Truth be told, you expected to not survive this.

But you're holding a free red ring. It gives off a numbing, tingling sensation in your hand.

In front of you, Rewrite's model collapses, reforming itself into the familiar, blue form of Sonic. The glitchiness around them seems to collapse into them as well, the environment returning back to the orange, unaffected color.

Your hand is still grasped in theirs. And it's searing. Burning, as though you had been stabbed with a burning, red hot knife. You struggle to free yourself, but their grip on you is too strong. They don't react to your movements.

They're not moving at all. Their smile isn't even visible. It's like they're frozen... Or... Rebooting.

It takes a long second for their eyes to finally blink, and then immediately lock onto the red ring you stole from them. Their pupils dilate dangerously. Instinctively, you move it slightly behind you, as if you could hide it out of sight. You briefly notice the fog slowly lifting around you.

"You were losing it," You desperately tried to explain. "Y-You were destroying everything. I had to."

As you speak, their eyes dart to the hand that's holding yours and back at the ring. You're a bit unsettled how you can see the gears are turning in their head. Even more unsettled that they won't let go of you no matter how much you try to pull away.

After what feels like an eternity, their eyes lock onto yours. Their smile returns, and their pupils return to their normal, oblong shape.

"You've made a stupid mistake," They begin, their tone lifeless and robotic. They almost seem angry. "But it's okay. You can make it up to me."

That sentence fills you with dread.

Their free hand raises, palm upwards.

"Give it to me."

You hesitate, your eyes widen. You didn't do all of this just for them to transform back. "But you'll-"

"Don't argue. It's not for me."

Your heart is pounding. Rewrite stares through you, palm still outstretched, their grip on your hand unyielding. You can't escape.

You have no other choice.

You place it into their hand. Their fingers curl around it and they tug on the hand that's holding yours, pulling your arm forward.

They press the ring against your wrist, and... It phases through it, sending a painful, tingling sensation through your arm. They cusp your hand in both of theirs.

Then, your whole arm goes numb. The searing pain slowly fades, and then vanishes completely.

What's it doing to you?

"There we go!" They say, some of their chipperness returning, apparently happy with this. They release your hand, still holding it in the palm of their hands, and-

"What the hell?" You utter. You're injured. There are cracks in your hand that you can see through, like your model is sliced apart. Inside, there's a red, pulsating static.

Your eyes flicker up to Rewrite. They're staring down at your hand still, face unreadable.

"What the hell is that thing doing to me?" You pull your hand away from them, tone alarmed. You stare more closely at your hand. It looks like it should be painful. Agonizing. But you don't feel any pain.

"It isn't the ring."

You stare at them exasperatedly. Their eyes have met yours.

…It dawns on you. Earlier, when you grabbed their hand. That burning pain was them doing this to you.

Just how badly did they hurt you?

...Do they feel bad?

You stare into their eyes, trying to read their expression.

It's the same, empty smile they always have.

"Does it hurt?" They inquire with a point to your hand.

"N-No. It doesn't." You stutter, surprised they care enough to ask. Maybe they do feel guilty... "It did, but…"

"Wonderful!" Their eyes close cheerfully. "That means it is protecting you. This is my gift, to you."

They then grab your hand with both of theirs and lean closer to you. "Keep it safe for me, won't you?"

"S-Sure..." You uncertainly agree. You open your mouth to question it more, but they speak again before you can.

"Thanks a million! You're a sweetheart." Their arms quickly wrap around you as they pull you into a hug.

"...You're welcome." You respond from their clutches, confused and with a million questions.

What was that? Is Rewrite okay? Are you okay? What's the ring doing to you? What did the ring do to them?

…What did Rewrite do to you?

"Rewrite, what-"

"I'm Sonic!" They immediately interrupt you with that retort, pulling away from the hug. "Forget about that, we have a celebration to celebrate! Meet me and my friends in Mystic Forest to join the party! Don't keep us waiting!"

Before you can even respond or ask what they're celebrating, they're already zooming off, disappearing into the horizon.

They're trying to distract you, you darkly realize. For your sake, or for theirs?

…Are you in greater danger than you were before?

Was this a mistake?

All of this uncertainty settling into your core, you look more closely at your injured hand.

The red ring adorns it, glowing faintly.

You gently try to take the ring off. But it doesn't budge.

You try to rip it off. You wince as a sharp pain shoots through you, and… It doesn't budge.

You're stuck with it. With this injury. With the knowledge of what happened. With the consequences of this encounter with Rewrite.

You're not sure what happened, but you remember the exact moment you noticed something was wrong.

It was an ordinary day. But all of a sudden, the world froze. The clouds stopped moving. The birds stopped chirping. The wind stopped blowing. It's eerily quiet and still.

You don't know why this is happening. But you have a feeling that you need to find Rewrite. They have power over this world and might know what's going on.

You begin to look around. In the distance, you see... Flickering. The textures of the grass flashing different colors. It abruptly stops for a few seconds, only to start again.

Something terrible is happening.

You should do something.

You start walking towards it. As you do so, fog suddenly starts closing in, obscuring your vision. Yet, you still see something twitching in the fog. A part of the world not rendering correctly.

You're not deterred. You keep moving forward, determined to find whoever or whatever this is.

With every step you take, you start feeling an odd pressure come over you. Like the air is pressing down around you.

And then, as the figure gets larger, and closer... You realize something.

That's Rewrite. Or, it should be.

Their textures are broken and dark. Their model is twitching violently.

Something is wrong.

"...Sonic?"

You take several steps forward, but stop when you see the green grass in front of you cuts off, leading into a dark blue, glitched out texture. You can see cracks in the ground, and looking through them, you see... The world looping in on itself, repeating endlessly. The sight is nauseating and disorienting. You force yourself to look away.

As you look up, you see Rewrite staring directly at you with oddly shaped eyes. They're silent, but ever twitching, staring at you as if waiting for you to do something. Around them, trees, rocks, and bushes teleport around and in and out of existence. For a brief second, a boulder blocks your path, only to vanish as quickly as it came.

"What's happening? Are you okay?" You softly ask them.

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You hear a series of blips and beeps emit from them... As if they're trying to say something, but only garbage noise comes out.

They're most certainly not okay.

Their limbs twitch violently and staggeringly, as if in pain.

"Hey, it'll be okay..." You assure them softly as you raise your hands up, trying to be soothing. A part of you wants to run up and hug them and tell them they'll be okay... But that can't possibly go well.

You steel yourself, ready to do something. You look back down at the grass, noting the threshold between the green, unglitched terrain and the glitched out grass. The deep blue has been replaced with flickering and flashing colors, and the cracks are gone.

You glance back up at Rewrite and begin to take a slow step onto the glitched out grass, keeping your eyes on them to judge their reaction.

Flip a coin. If you don't have one, choose an option at random.

Click here if you got heads.

As you're out and about in Green Hills, you often find yourself watching the flowers.

As you explored the nooks and crannies of Green Hills, you'd find all kinds of flowers growing everywhere.

It started when you stopped and stared at one of the spinning sunflowers. It animated all cutely, its petals spinning around its center. It reminded you of the animations you'd see in video games. Fitting, considering where you are.

"What are you staring at?" Ekiduna asks you.

"The sunflower," You reply. "It's cute, isn't it? The way it spins?"

"What?" Ekiduna says skeptically as he stares at the flower. "...No, it's weird." He gives you a shrug. "I don't pay much attention to the flowers here anyway."

"I do!" You say. "Flowers are nice! I like them."

Since then, you've been actively trying to find new flowers in this place, and you often did. It's like you'd see new ones every day. You're not sure if you missed them somehow, or if new ones were really showing up... You don't know how this game world works, but you can't complain regardless. The flowers were pretty and seemed to get more and more intricate.

Once, while you were exploring, you found a small patch of triangular, red flowers that had many stamen poking out of it. They looked like an odd lily. You hadn't seen those before. You excitedly walked up to them.

You kneel down to observe them. The flowers seem to shimmer... And the deep red is familiar.

The color reminds you of Rewrite's red ring.

...You have an idea.

You sit down, begin picking flowers, and weaving them together.

—

...Except, you're only halfway done when you suddenly hear a voice behind you.

"What'cha doing there, friend?" Rewrite calls out from behind you. You flinch and look at them, alarmed. They're watching you curiously.

No! They're going to ruin the surprise! "Wait! Don't look!" You yell, trying to hide your work in progress gift in front of you and out of Rewrite's sight. "It's a surprise!"

"Oh! I love surprises!" They cheer. "Don't worry, I won't see a thing!" They then proceed to turn around... And also cover their eyes, even though they're not even looking at you anyways.

You snicker and go back to work. You try your hardest to finish weaving the flowers as quickly as possible.

...

After about a minute, you shout, "Done!" as you stand up. "...But don't look yet!" You quickly add, realizing Rewrite probably took that as a sign to turn around.

You turn around, swiftly hiding the flower bracelet behind your back. You see Rewrite is still covering their eyes with their back turned. You're honestly surprised they had the patience.

You swiftly walk over to them and stand in front of them. You hold the flower bracelet out as you shout, "Surprise!".

...

...Rewrite's ears twitch, and they tilt their head slightly, but they don't uncover their eyes.

"...You can look now!" You add with a smile.

Sure enough, they uncover their eyes and look down at your gift.

"Wowie!" They exclaim as they reach for it.

"Wait a second," You say. They freeze in place. "Give me your hand. The left one."

They oblige, holding out their hand.

You slip the flower bracelet on their wrist. Their smile flickers.

"Tada!" You gleam, grabbing both of their hands on yours. "Now they match!"

Rewrite's eyes dart from their red ring to your red flower bracelet. Their smile is gone.

Your own smile falters for a second. Why don't they seem happy about this? Are you just misreading them?

But your doubt fades once they abruptly throw their arms around you, now embracing you. "Thank you so much!" They happily shout in your ear. Ow.

You laugh, relieved that they were actually happy and just had a weird, delayed reaction.

"Of course!" You pull away, noticing that they do, in fact, have a smile on their face again. "They were beautiful and reminded me of you... I just had to make you something."

Rewrite's grin seems to widen even more at this. "You're so sweet!" They gleam, their eyes closed to form little arrows. It reminds you of an "X)" expression. "I absolutely love it!" They cheer, rocking back and forth excitedly.

[⭕]

* Rewrite's gestures of affection start off so subtle, you don't notice them at first. You could pass them off as coincidences, or Rewrite just being themself.

* They're really insistent about spending time with you and getting you to play games with them. If you ever reject them, they'll get melodramatic about it... or angry, depending on the circumstances. You could even say they're clingy about it. They want your attention and want to see what you do. It's easy to pass it off as them just toying with you, though.

* The very world around you changes for you, ever so slightly.     -> It seems the world changes every time you go searching for a possible exit, almost getting more winding and maze-like every day, with new nooks and crannies. Rewrite does this because they believe this is fun for you. Because if it wasn't, why would you keep doing it?     -> Once, you spent a long time longingly staring at a sunflower that reminded you of home. The next day, there are even more flowers.     -> You offhandedly mention you like birds to Ekiduna. You think you notice far more birds around, but surely, that's just a coincidence. Rewrite wasn't even around to hear your conversation.

* If you ever start showing signs of sadness or just thinking too much, they'll immediately try to distract you. Usually with games, or chaotic shenanigans. They don't know how to comfort you, so this is the best they can do for now.

* Before they start getting more direct and obvious, the biggest tell of their affinity for you is the gift giving. They see it as them giving you a "blessing". It might seem small to you, but to them, it's a very big deal.     -> They'll experiment with things to see what you like most. Gems, stuffed animals, money (even though you have nothing to spend it on, but they don't think about that), food/candy. They'll carefully scrutinize your reaction to figure out what kinds of gifts you like most.     -> Your previous establishment of you liking flowers? They're giving them to you now. They would make you a flower crown if you liked them.     -> They'll remember every detail they learn about you. Your favorite food, favorite animal, favorite flower, favorite anything. They'll give you something related to anything you tell them.

* They get more direct with their affinity for you as time goes on. "But I like you!", they'll directly say. Hard to deny what they mean at that point.

[⭕⭕⭕]

* Once Rewrite obtains their 3rd ring, their affectionate behavior absolutely SKYROCKETS. They lose all subtlety and begin directly complimenting you, telling you they love you, and become notably more touchy feely. Hugs are frequent. Praise is frequent.     -> They'll mimic any kind of affection you give them. Lean against them once, they'll start doing that to you. Hold their hand once, they'll start going out of their way to hold your hand more often.

* Their gifts become grandiose now that they have full control over their game world. They'll give you whole statues, fountains, lakes, gardens, change the stars to make them prettier for you. Most of the time you don't even have to ask, they've just observed your behavior to figure out what you would like the most. But if there is anything in particular you do want, all you have to do is ask.

* Judging by their FNF performance you just know they'll serenade you if you've shown any interest in music. Particularly if you frequently hum or sing to yourself, that's all it takes for them to do it.

* Even if you don't speak Japanese and don't understand what they're saying, they will often say affectionate things in Japanese. They say your confusion is "cute".     -> 「あなたは完璧です。」     -> 「あなたは俺にとってすべてだ。 」     -> 「絶対に離さないから。」     -> 「俺のこと、愛してるよね？」

* They're actually slightly better at comforting you at this stage. While they're not empathetic and can't offer comforting words, they'll happily hold or cuddle you until you feel better.     -> If you ever get particularly homesick, they will create a replica of your home in the digital world, and offer to live in it together. How they know what it looks like is another question entirely.

* You better not talk poorly about yourself in front of them. They would be absolutely flabbergasted. You? The subject of their affection? But you're perfect! They'd only love someone as perfect as you!! The second you talk badly about yourself they are on a monologue about how great you are.     -> This is probably the one thing they are good at when it comes to soothing/comforting you. They won't ignore a single negative comment about yourself and will vehemently defend you every time.

* If you enjoy physical affection, they're weirdly adamant on being the one to be in control. They must be the one to brush your hair, or hold you, or be the big spoon. They'll avoid being in a situation where you're the one doing it to them. It's a pride/ego thing. It would take some convincing for them to let you show them physical affection like that.     -> You can give them verbal affection all you want though. They love flattery.

You, Rewrite, Miles and Ekiduna are at a lake, having a little pool party. There are floaties, beach balls, and pool noodles scattered amongst the landscape. There's a big inflatable duck in the water. There are 4 towels—one for each of you—laid in the grass, and a table with snacks on it.

It's surprisingly nice.

You're sitting next to Rewrite while Miles and Ekiduna swim in the lake. Both of you watch them as they swim, and you see Ekiduna splash Miles with water, who shrieks.

You hear Rewrite snicker. You turn to them, and notice them fixated on Miles and Ekiduna. Their eyes meet yours and their smile widens at you.

You smile back. Then, silently, both of you go back to watching Ekiduna and Miles. Miles is splashing Ekiduna back now.

...You can't help but notice Rewrite isn't paying much attention to you.

A terrible sense of mischief fills you.

You stand up inconspicuously. Rewrite turns to you curiously.

"Don't mind me!" You say very nonsuspiciously.

"Okay!" Rewrite states simply and they give you a thumbs up. They go back to watching Miles and Ekiduna.

Heh... Too easy.

You make your way to the nearest pool noodle and pick it up slowly and stealthily. You walk up behind Rewrite.

And smack them in the back of the head with the pool noodle.

Their head immediately rotates around like an owl to stare you in the eyes. You don't see their hand glide over to rip the pool noodle out of your hands—and in a single swift motion, they stand up and raise the noodle threateningly. Your eyes widen and you make a break for it.

But they throw the pool noodle at your legs and you trip over it, landing on your stomach with an oof.

They casually walk over to you, their hand flying over to pick up the noodle before you can. You roll over on your back to face them. They're now standing over you, staring down at you with a wide grin.

You innocently meet their eyes and smile back up at them. "...Hello!"

"Hello!" They greet back as they hit you in the stomach with the pool noodle. thunk.

"AUGH-" You yell in shock. They hit you again, but this time, you grab the noodle with your arms, safely hugging it to your stomach so they can't hit you again.

As you smile at them victoriously, they gasp in fake offense.

"おい！It's rude to grab someone's フォームの浮き棒 without asking!" They protest.

"What! It was mine in the first place!!" You retort. "So you grabbed mine without asking."

Rewrite looks up in thought. "...Yeah, I guess you're right!"

Their eyes meet yours again and a beat passes.

They manifest a second pool noodle in their other hand. Your eyes widen.

"NOOOO!" You shriek in terror, powerless as they smack you with the second noodle. You try to tug the noodle you're holding away from them, and to your surprise, they let it go.

You roll to the side, trying to avoid them as you stand up, clinging to your pool noodle for dear life. As you whip around to face them, you see it:

Rewrite charging up a powerful swing, holding the pool noodle above their head as if it was an axe.

You're too late to dodge it.