//------------------------------// // Interlude 3 // Story: Danganronpa: In Harmony's Wake // by Dewdrops on the Grass //------------------------------// INTERLUDE 3 Late evening, the day of the third trial... Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped out of the police vehicle onto the grounds of Canterlot High. Yellow caution markers cordoned off the entire area around the statue, where a large tent had been erected to cover the site. Students were directed to enter the building through side entrances, and the only presence was that of police officers and Twilight’s own staff. Most of the officers had no clue about the portal between universes, and she heard more than one comment on her trench coat and hood as she approached the tent. “Hold on there,” said one, a tall man with cyan-blue skin and white hair that seemed quite familiar. He held out his hand to stop her, the other reaching near his weapon. “This is a restricted area. Unless you have business here I need to ask you to leave.” Twilight bit back the comment she wanted to make, and withdrew the special ID Shiny and Spitfire had prepared for her. “I have permission, direct from the Chief of Police,” she murmured. Narrowing his eyes, the officer took the ID, examined it carefully, then sighed. Handing it back, he said, “Sorry about that, ma’am. Go on ahead.” Twilight thanked him, then proceeded into the tent, where she found Spitfire and Shining Armor sitting at a pair of makeshift desks, tapping away at keyboards. Standing above Shining, fiddling with a piece of equipment he’d brought through the portal, was Starswirl the Bearded. The older stallion was still adjusting to his new two-legged gait, judging by the occasional twitch of his knobby knees. “Ah, Princess Twilight, you’re back,” he said, with a quick respectful nod. “How did the interview go?” Twilight snorted, taking a seat in a nearby folding chair. “Aria and Sonata didn’t know anything either. That was the last lead we had.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to stave off a looming headache. “Whoever’s behind Monoponi probably covered their tracks using the same memory magic they used on the kidnappees.” “Mmm, unfortunate,” Starswirl said solemnly. He scowled down at the device in his clumsy hands. It was a spinning crystal held between two pieces of metal shaped like tuning forks on a base of marble. “I’ve managed to bring this through the portal unchanged, so the first experiment was a success. I think.” He poked and prodded at it, groaning. “Unfortunately, without my own magic available to me, I cannot determine if this thing is actually working.” “May I see it, please?” Twilight took the detector from him, set it on a table, and concentrated. A lavender glow suffused her hand before surrounding the detector. After a moment, a small smile graced her face. “It’s working.” She continued to work her magic, then her smile slipped away. “The range isn’t as good though. It’s only good for maybe one hundred miles.” “That’s better than nothing though, right?” Shining said, trying to put a positive spin on things. “Indeed it is, young Shining,” Starswirl said, nodding. “It seems likely we will have to construct an array, in the hopes of boosting the range. I have some hypotheses that I will have to run by the other unicorns. With your permission, Princess, I’d like to return to Equestria to acquire more detectors, now that we know we can bring them through safely.” “I’ll go with you,” Twilight replied, standing. “I want to get a personalized update on the situation.” “Mind if I come with you, Twilight?” Shining asked, nodding to his Chief as he stood. “Spitfire and I were talking and she wants me to work as a liaison on your side of the portal, since you already agreed to have me go along on the ship.” “If that’s alright with you, Princess,” Spitfire added. Twilight nodded her assent. “Just watch the first step when you come through. It’s a biiit of a doozy.” Starswirl swiftly entered the portal, but Twilight hung back, letting Shining go first. The poor man hesitated, lingering before the portal for several long moments before Twilight leaned forward and whispered, “It doesn’t hurt.” He took a deep breath and plunged through. Twilight followed right after. One swirling chaotic experience later and Twilight was back on all four hooves, exactly the way she ought to be. A carbon copy of her BBBFF wobbled next to her on his hind hooves before falling forward with a clatter. The only thing different about him than her actual brother was the freshly pressed button up shirt worn around his barrel. “Woah!” he shouted, slipping around on his hooves. A magic field of white surrounded him and steadied him before he could flop on his belly. “Careful there, lad,” Starswirl said with a wry chuckle. “First time on hooves, eh?” “Uh… yeah, hehe,” Shining laughed. He tried to scratch behind his head with a hoof, slipped again, and smiled sheepishly when Starswirl caught him. “Thanks.” “Take it easy for a minute there, Shining,” Twilight said, her muzzle crinkling in amusement. “Get your balance.” Shining looked up over his shoulder, then up and up until he saw how much Twilight towered over him. “Jeez you’re just as tall here, aren’t you?” “Taller, I think,” Twilight answered. Starswirl let out another chuckle, then nodded to Twilight. “If you will excuse me, Princess, I must be off.” He left for the research lab. Twilight gave Shining a few minutes to get his bearings, then urged him to follow, heading for the war room, where the television from Monoponi had been moved to. As they walked the corridors of Canterlot Castle, Shining took notice of the way the guards stiffened and saluted. “Are… do they usually salute you when you walk by?” Twilight chuckled. “They’re not saluting me. They’re saluting you. Your alternate used to be the Captain of the Guard here. He’s also a prince by marriage to Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire.” “Wow,” Shining uttered, a look of bemusement crossing his face. “A prince, huh? And here I thought being head detective was a high bar to reach.” As they entered the doors to the war room, Twilight replied, “You’ve done well for yourself in your own world, so don’t feel bad.” The war room wasn’t really a war room per se, despite Twilight naming it as such during her takeover. It was originally a simple conference room Celestia used for private meetings with particularly irascible nobles. The displays of weapons and armor scattered about the room, plus the close quarters, had the effect of magnifying Celestia’s presence and making those nobles more inclined to cooperate. Twilight saw no point to such a thing and had the room reorganized into a meeting room to deal with various crises that popped up. As such the room had been redecorated, with the displays removed, replaced by filing cabinets, desks with typewriters, and a large central meeting table laden with chairs. The television had been placed prominently on the central table, monitored twenty-four-seven by a series of assistants on typewriters. Spike himself was currently transcribing the proceedings, while a few other ponies worked on other matters, including a pair arguing about the particulars of a spell being used for the search for the signal. “Twilight!” Spike greeted, his expression grim. “Thank goodness you’re back.” His eyes bugged out when he saw her companion. “Uh, Shining? When did you get here?” Shining, for his part, cast his eyes back and forth at Twilight in a minor panic. “Uuuuuh… Spike?” he ventured. “Sorry, Spike, this is the other Shining,” Twilight said, cutting through the matter. “Shining, yes, this is Spike, in his real form. He’s a dragon.” “Oh.” Spike sighed, his shoulders sinking. “That’s… Anyway, you’d better come take a look at this. There was another trial.” Her hand sank in her chest as she approached to observe the television. “Who died this time?” she said in a near whisper. “Pinkie Pie,” Spike answered slowly. “And apparently Fluttershy’s death was a murder too.” Twilight heaved a long, low sigh as torrents of frustration, heartbreak, and anger rippled through her in waves. “Who was the blackened?” “There were two,” Spike said sadly. “Trixie was one of them. She killed Pinkie Pie… it was horrible. Monoponi made everyone vote for who’d be executed, but he tricked them. Trixie got to live even though they didn’t want her to.” Her breath hitching in her throat, her heart skipping a beat, Twilight managed to force out, “Then who killed Fluttershy? Who was executed?” Spike didn’t respond at first. He dropped his claws to his typewriter, then pushed it aside. He stood out of his chair, stepping around Shining whose eyes bugged out even more at his impressive height. Then he fell against Twilight, wrapping his big arms around her and squeezing her hard enough she could feel his chest scales poking into her body, hot and scratchy. “I watched it happen,” he said, crying softly, his tears dripping onto her coat. “I… I…” A great fear grappled Twilight’s heart with sharp pincers, like an unreformed changeling latching onto her emotions and draining her of every last bit, leaving her with naught but fear. “Spike,” she breathed. “Who was it?” The television, which up until this point had been muted due to only displaying footage of sleeping people in their cabins, abruptly reactivated itself with a zoomed in image of Monoponi’s face. “Hahahahaha!” he cackled, drawing everyone’s attention in the room. “There you are, your highness. I was wondering when you’d show up.” “Who--are you Monoponi?” Shining burst out, stepping forward, all business. Monoponi’s expression dimmed as he narrowed his eyes at the intruding stallion. “Yes. Who are you and why should I care?” Shining raised a hoof and brushed it against his chest, like he was reaching for something, then flushed and lowered his hoof. “I’m Detective Shining Armor, Canterlot PD. You have my sister and eleven others as hostages. We expect them to be released, immediately.” Monoponi’s face screwed up in disbelief. “Are you serious? He’s actually serious, isn’t he?” A hoof shot to cover his mouth. “Upupu, what makes you think I care what you want?” His mouth split into a sharp-toothed grin. “Besides, you’ve got the number of hostages wrong. It’s not twelve. It’s nine.” The only reaction to that Shining displayed was a brief widening of his eyes. “Who else have you slaughtered?” he growled. “Eyahaha, well, since you’re both here, I might as well show you!” Monoponi grinned gleefully. “I’ll bet you’ll both get a kick out of this!” His face disappeared from the screen, switching to showcase one of Monoponi’s disgustingly elaborate executions. Only the subject was… Twilight’s gaze was utterly transfixed as she watched, unable to pull away. It was herself. It was herself. It was Twilight Sparkle he was executing Twilight Sparkle. Her vision swam, greying at the edges as she saw every aspect he used. The magic showcased, Midnight Sparkle, the sheer amount of pain and misery and suffering on display… “NOOOOOOO!!!” Princess Twilight Sparkle screamed her lungs out, the sheer force of her Canterlot Royal Voice soundwaves shattering most of the equipment in the room, driving all present to their knees, clutching their ears. The television was spared, thanks to a protective forcefield enveloping it. “No! No! No! No! No--” “Twilight!” Spike cried, managing to clamp his claws around her muzzle. “Twilight calm down!” The sudden lack of oxygen threw Twilight further into panic mode as she shook off the dragon, her horn lighting up to deal with the threat. She locked him up in her magic grip, her chest heaving, froth forming on her brow and staining her coat. Only after she had him suspended did she manage to get enough of a grip on her sanity to realize what was happening. She set him down straight away, managing to flash him an apologetic look. “Aww, is the screaming over already?” Monoponi taunted as his image returned to the screen. “A pity, that. I was enjoying it! Ahahaha!” “You sick monster,” Twilight spat, her decorum completely shattered. “How dare you use the Elements of Harmony like that?!” “Oh, you noticed? Good! I was afraid you were too busy mewling like an infant to realize what I’d done.” Monoponi placed both forehooves to his lips. “Upupu, those weren’t the real Elements, of course. You know as well as I do King Sombra destroyed them a few years ago, remember?” “Oh I remember, all right,” Twilight seethed, her muscles rippling with tension under her coat. “I was there. Were you? Are you King Sombra?!” Monoponi’s grin vanished. His expression went entirely blank, unresponsive, for several long, quiet moments. Then his muzzle split once more into a wide grin as he guffawed with mirth. “Eyahahahaha! Me, King Sombra! Ahahahaahahaha!” He fell out of sight, the picture showcasing his seat instead as his laughter continued to echo. “Ahahahaha! I can’t believe you actually asked me that! Ahahahaha! You’re so stupid! Ahahahaha!” It was all Twilight could do not to reach out with her magic and tear the television asunder. “Then who? Who are you, damn it?!” Monoponi crawled back up onto his chair, still giggling under his breath. “Oh, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, you still don’t get it, do you? I’m not going to tell you who I am! You won’t find out till you actually find the ship. And you haven't been having much luck with that, have you?” “More than you’d think,” she muttered. “I have Starswirl himself helping me with this.” “Ooooh, Starswirl the Bearded? Upupu, good for you! I’m so intimidated now!” Monoponi waggled his forehooves in the air in an exaggerated motion. “Well, I’ll leave you to that. I’m sure you have more questions, but I won’t answer them! Besides, you have a pathetic excuse for a fake older brother there to take care of. See you later!” “Wait! Monoponi, wait!” But it was too late. His image disappeared from the television screen, replaced by the security footage of sleeping passengers. Twilight let out a groan of frustration, stamped her hoof on the floor, then turned to face Shining. The poor stallion laid on his side, unmoving save for little shudders as he wept quietly. “Shining?” she said as she knelt down to him, gently using her magic to hold him up into an embrace. “Twily’s gone,” he muttered, his voice hoarse from crying. “I, I knew it could happen. I knew it was possible. I’ve been afraid of this ever since she went missing. I thought I could handle it if I… if she… but…” Twilight’s gaze shot up to glare at everypony else in the room, giving them a silent order to get out. All of them fled, save for Spike, who came over to join their group hug on the floor. “I’m so sorry, Shining,” she said, knowing her words were bitter, empty platitudes. They weren’t going to help. And they didn’t. Shining burst into fresh tears as he snuggled into her embrace. “The worst part,” he whispered, “is I couldn’t even say goodbye. Hell, for all I know, thanks to the memory wipe, she didn’t even remember I existed.” His head rose and he stared up at her. “And you being here just makes this so much more surreal, you know? Because you look like Twily. And you sound like Twily. But you’re. Not. Her.” “I know I’m not,” Twilight responded, with more than a trace of bitterness in her tone. She shifted her embrace of the stallion to a more comfortable position. “Even if it sure felt like it for a moment.” She shivered, the room cold despite the warmth of the dragon holding her. “For what it’s worth, Shining, I spoke with her quite a bit, before this whole killing game incident. We talked about you a few times. She always told me she loved you, a lot.” A slight smile graced her muzzle. “Just like my Shiny, you were her BBBFF.” “Heh...hehehe,” Shining chuckled wryly, with a watery smile of his own. “I guess I’ll have to be good with that, huh?” He swallowed, and tried wiping away at his eyes with a hoof, only to smack himself in the face. “Ow.” Twilight used her magic to gently wipe his tears away. “There. Better?” “Yeah.” Shining smiled again, then withdrew from the embrace, clambering to his hooves. His expression grew grim, dark, and furious. “We’d better get this son of a bitch soon.” “Oh, we will,” Twilight vowed, her voice laced with hatred more vile than any she’d ever felt, coursing through her veins like burning poison. Like Shining, she knew this was a possibility, as soon as she made her decision regarding Equestrian secrecy. She knew she might have to watch her other self die. But she never anticipated Monoponi outright using the Elements like that, not in such a corrupted manner. Even if they weren’t the real Elements, just using the image of them that way was an affront she could never forgive. One more crime added to Monoponi’s list. Twilight was an expert at checking off lists. “Spike,” Twilight said, turning to the dragon. “Would you please escort Shining to a set of guest quarters? He could use some rest, and I need to go consult with Starswirl over our newest little revelation.” Spike sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Sure Twi,” he said. Shining raised a hoof as if to protest, then dropped it. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” His muzzle split into a massive, gaping yawn. “I’ve been up for a good twenty-seven hours.” As he and Spike rose to leave, Twilight took a brief moment to whisper into Spike’s ear, “Make sure he gets something for dreamless sleep. And you too, for that matter.” “Okay, okay…” Twilight, satisfied, left the room, taking just a brief moment to tell the other war room workers they could get back to it, and made her way to the magical research laboratories, where her crack team of unicorns were hard at work deciphering the signal. Amongst them were a sea of familiar faces. Starlight Glimmer, Moondancer, Fizzlepop Berrytwist, Mistmane...though she hadn't dared ask Rarity to contribute. She didn't want to burden her with the knowledge. She waved to them all as she entered, making her way to Starswirl, who was speaking with… Twilight gasped, “Trixie?!” The self proclaimed Great and Powerful Trixie blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly and waved. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie is glad to see you. We’ve made some remarkable progress.” She fluttered her eyes, letting out a little squee. “Starswirl was just telling Trixie how proud he is of her discovery!” “That… might be a bit of an overstatement, miss Trixie,” Starswirl said with an amused chuckle. “But it’s a good idea, nevertheless.” Trixie beamed under the attention, soaking it in. Then, opening her eyes, she blinked in confusion at the alicorn in the room. “Is something wrong, Twilight?” Twilight stared at Trixie, bug eyed and slack-jawed. Her wings drew up in a defensive posture, even as Twilight’s mind raced with the same phrase over and over again. Trixie killed Pinkie Pie. Trixie killed Pinkie Pie! Trixie killed Pinkie Pie! Every time it repeated, Twilight’s face twisted up more and more into pure, unbridled rage. Finally, she roared, “Murderer!” and snatched Trixie up in her magic, throwing the unicorn mare against the wall. “Your highness!” Starswirl gaped, utterly appalled. “What are you doing?!” Starlight yelped, running over with Moondancer, Mistmane, and Fizzlepop nipping at her heels. “Hey, Twilight! What’s the heck’s wrong with you? Calm down!” Trixie screamed in panic, thrashing against the inescapable grip of magic that pinned her against the wall like a bug in a spiderweb. “Twiliiiight!” she shrieked. “Let me down!” “No!” Twilight roared, pouring more magic into her horn, pressing Trixie into the wall like a slow-moving garbage compactor. Trixie’s face turned a peculiar shade of purple. “I! Can’t! Breathe!” “Twilight, seriously, let her go!” Moondancer ordered, brooking no argument as she glared over her glasses. “Trixie’s annoying but she doesn’t deserve that!” Starswirl, scowling like a disappointed father, tapped into his own magic to counter Twilight’s pressing force. “For harmony’s sake, Twilight Sparkle, you are acting like a child!” Twilight’s gaze turned upon the sorcerer, her eyes whited out from magical effort as she strained against him. “She murdered Pinkie Pie!” she screeched, unleashing her Royal Canterlot Voice. “What?!” Trixie gasped, taking in a gulp of air thanks to Starswirl’s provided respite. “No I didn’t! I saw Pinkie last week! In Ponyville!” “Pinkie Pie is perfectly fine!” Fizzlepop added with a glare as fierce as any she used during her time as the Storm King’s right hoof. “Don’t be stupid!” Starswirl’s ears flattened against his skull, but apart from that he showed no sign of backing down. “Get a hold of yourself, Twilight!” he ordered, using his own magic to magnify his voice. “This is not the same Trixie!” Twilight redoubled her efforts, her horn suffused in a double layer overglow as she tore Trixie off the wall, grabbing her by the throat so she could look her in the eye. “You monster!” she shouted in Trixie’s face, shaking the poor mare like a ragdoll. “You should’ve died! Not me!” Trixie burbled an unintelligible response, the light in her eyes dimming by the second. “Twilight Sparkle if you do not cease this foolishness you will be the murderer, not her!” Mistmane declared, adding her magic to the mix. Soon the rest of the unicorns piled in, and with the lot of them adding their power they managed to break Twilight’s hold over Trixie. The instant her magic shattered, Twilight came back to reality, crashing from her sudden burst of rage like a drug addict coming down off a snort of cocaine. “What?” she breathed, finally taking note of the heavy sheen of froth soaking into her coat, the excessive heaving of her chest, the burning in her horn from the struggle. She collapsed to her rump, blinking, confusion overriding her ability to think. Trixie, for her part, regained consciousness immediately, took one look at Twilight, leapt two feet in the air as she cried out in panic, then scurried out the door, screaming all the way. “Good job, Twilight,” Starlight snarked. “Now Trixie’s going to be scared of you for weeks.” “What in harmony’s name possessed you to do such a thing?” Starswirl asked, looming over Twilight like the very quintessential essence of a disappointed parental figure. “You should know better than any of us the difference between those who dwell in our world and those who dwell on Earth!” The question broke through the confusion in Twilight’s brain. “She murdered Pinkie Pie,” Twilight stammered, tears coming to her eyes. “She got away with it. She murdered Pinkie Pie and she got away with it!” Mistmane glanced over at Fizzlepop. “Fizzlepop, would you please run down to the war room and get the transcripts?” Fizzlepop popped off a quick salute and left without looking back, returning before long with the documents at hoof. “Here.” All the unicorns gathered took a moment to read over the transcripts while Twilight sat there in stunned silence, weeping to herself. “My word,” Starswirl uttered sadly, shaking his head. “Please, Princess, I know it was traumatic to read but--” “He made us watch. That bastard made us watch him kill me. Her. Twilight.” Princess Twilight’s breath caught in her throat, inducing a coughing fit. Starlight paled. "Okay. No wonder you reacted like that." She rubbed a hoof along her neck. "Glad my alternate isn't part of this game." "Even so," Starswirl huffed, "That is not a justification for mistreating Miss Trixie in such a manner. If you had killed her, Twilight, you would be no better than the monster running this sick game." Twilight's face fell into her hooves as the realization of what she'd almost done hit her full force like a trainwreck. "I didn't think--" "That is obvious," Starswirl snorted. "If you thought any less I would think you a bigger fool than Chancellor Puddinghead." "Ooookay, maybe tone it down a notch, Starswirl," Starlight chided, still pale. She shivered, clutching at herself. "If I saw what looked like me getting executed, I'd freak out too." "Hmph." Starlight frowned, and took the transcript back, reading over it again. “Espeeeecially if the Elements of Harmony were used to do it.” “What?!” Starswirl gasped. “Give me that.” He snatched it out of Starlight’s grip, and read the full details. “Good heavens! What sort of dark magical perversion--” “This is why I came to you in the first place,” Twilight interrupted. Having something to focus on helped her get past her current mental state. She just had to focus on this. Talk about this. Don’t think about what she almost just did. Don’t think about how scared Trixie is of her now. She could apologize to Trixie later. “Monoponi told me they weren’t the real Elements.” Starswirl rubbed a hoof to his beard, stroking it absentmindedly. “Of course not. That would be impossible.” He scanned back through the transcripts, then his eyes widened. “Unless… of course!” “What?” Moondancer inquired, arching an eyebrow. “What is it?” Starswirl lit up his horn to pull over a nearby blackboard, taking hold of a piece of chalk so he could draw. “Recall whom this Monoponi kidnapped in the first place,” he said as he sketched out a quick set of seven familiar cutie marks. “Sunset Shimmer, and the alternates of Twilight Sparkle and the Elements. Each of these humans have demonstrated a magic similar to that of the Elements time and again. They’ve been able to use their combined magic in a manner identical to that displayed when the Elements were combined.” He sketched out a large towering alicorn. “For instance, the way in which Twilight dealt with the sirens.” “Oh, right, you told me about that,” Starlight said, nodding to Twilight. “The whole music based counter-spell thing.” “Mmhmm,” Twilight nodded back. “I think I see what you’re suggesting. You’re saying that Monoponi is using their own magic against them?” “Precisely,” Starswirl said. He sketched out another drawing, this time a representation of the magic-absorbing device the human Twilight had used during the Friendship Games. “We are already aware that it’s possible to drain magic from others in that world, and to make use of it for sinister purposes, such as the human Twilight’s transformation into Midnight Sparkle.” Twilight’s heart skipped not just a beat, but about fifteen beats on hearing that name. “R-r-r-right,” she murmured. “We already thought he must be suppressing their magic. If he’s draining it entirely, then...” “Then it’s probably the source of his power,” Starlight concluded. “Or at least a good chunk of it.” Starswirl held up the transcripts and pointed to a few specific lines. “It is a reasonable conclusion. Look, at the beginning of their investigation, Rainbow Dash demonstrated she still possessed some magic. Monoponi immediately drained it away. I am a little surprised he would drain it so brazenly in front of them.” “I doubt he had a choice,” Fizzlepop commented, groaning. “If he’s anything like the Storm King, he can’t abide even a hint of resistance against him.” “Then, maybe it’s possible they could overcome him themselves,” Moondancer suggested, raising a hoof. “If they could just get their magic back--” “That’s not possible,” Twilight said, sniffling. “Pinkie, Fluttershy, and the other Twilight are all dead. He’s got their magic for good now.” That put a damper on things. Much of the enthusiasm built up leaked away at that statement. No one could deny it. Most of the magic in the human world rested within those seven women. With three of them dead, what chance did the others have? “Well,” Starswirl eventually said, “we can at least use this knowledge to help better pinpoint the location of the ship. Between that and Miss Trixie’s own discovery, I believe this will help drastically shorten the time needed to find them.” Fresh shame welled up in Twilight’s chest as she was reminded of her earlier misdeeds. “What… what was Trixie’s discovery?” Starlight rolled her eyes. “Trixie figured out a way to detect the wild portals scattered about Equestria. I still don’t know how she did it…” With a shrug, Moondancer replied, “She had a different approach than the rest of us. Sometimes that’s all that matters.” Starswirl said, “We’d best get back to work. The sooner we can find them, the better.” He scowled down at the alicorn on the floor. “And you have an apology to make, your highness. I suggest you get to it.” She knew he was right. Thus, her head held low, she stumbled up to her hooves, and trudged out of the room, beginning the long search of the castle for Trixie. She could’ve asked guards, or used her magic to find her, but she refused. This was part of her penance, she decided, for her idiotic assault. The more she had to deal with this whole killing game situation, the more it tore her apart. Twilight feared that, by the time it was all over, she’d be just as dead as his victims, whether literally from her own stupidity, or metaphorically from the overwhelming despair of it all.