Will You Dance With Me Next Time?

“There’s a crack?” Theodore slid his fingers across his masked cheeks, stopping once they touched the thin, narrow lines that carved and sprouted onto the solid surface like a tree branch. “Huh, so there is.” He sighed and chuckled as he met her gaze. “Say, does it look cool on me?”

Cherry blinked. “What?”

“Does it?”

“You only just realized your mask broke, and that’s your first thought?”

He playfully pressed a finger on his fractured cheek. “But does it look cool?”

“Sure?” she said with a shrug. “Anyway, uh, Theo, are you alright? You’re... pretty wobbly right now.”

“Huh?” Theodore weakly grasped his throbbing head. He stepped back and leaned against the tree, hunching over as his ear-deafening, ringing headache grew louder.

He gazed at Cherry, whose lips moved, her eyes filled with concern. He rubbed his ears, but all he could pick up was an irritating, loud buzz as his head grew numb. Yet, what irked him more was his dizziness rapidly blurring his vision.

At that moment, lingering relief and exhaustion were all that was left... as well as an emerging sense of hope for the next sunrise. He loosened his shoulders and inhaled as he took one last look at the night sky before lowering his chin.

God, how much did Cherry mess up his heart?

It was painful. It was agonizing. It was confusing. Grief, sorrow, despair, fear, regret, and anxiety were mixed and presented all at once like a grotesque bouquet of wilting flowers, but damn did his heart still flutter like happy, excited butterflies at the same time, nevertheless.

“Theo? Did you hear me?” Cherry asked.

“Haha, sorry, I’m just... getting a little tired." He took a step forward. “Say, Cherry, can you hold still?”

“Hm? Wha—”

She jerked her shoulders as Theodore’s arms swiftly wrapped around her. He buried her face in his jabot, muffling her cries. He tightened his hug, refusing to even let her trembling arms express themselves either.

“I just wanted to say... thank you,” he whispered, his shoulders swaying. “I... really had a lot of fun with you. I’m glad I get to see you again... so that I can finally say that I’m sorry.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Theodore scratched his mask, and while doing so, a white strip went loose. He pinched the strip and peeled it off. Cherry widened her eyes in astonishment, gawking at more cracks entirely fracturing the right half of his face.

“I’m sorry, Cherry. I lied about my memories. From the very beginning, the moment I saw your face when you arrived here that night, that was when I remembered it—what I did to you eight months ago. The memory was so clear it felt like I was reliving it again.”

He clawed his mask, his fingers trembling. "At first, I thought it was some crazy sense of déjà vu back then, but then it happened again just now. That was when I finally realized it was my old regret haunting me."

The amnesiac blinked.

“I’m sorry, Cherry. For what I did to you. I... I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He clutched his chest, his eye holes briefly flickering red. He raised a hand, gently sliding his fingers across her forehead and brushing her fringes aside. “Eight months ago, I… I…”

His words melted into incomprehensible mumbles.

“You what?” asked Cherry. “I didn’t catch that.”

“Sorry, I’m just… really… tired…”

Theodore slumped his shoulders and fell limp, forcing Cherry to hold his weight.

“H-Hey! Don’t pass out already!” Cherry shook his shoulders. “I didn’t get to hear that last part! Hey, wake up!”

Solomon stepped out of the bushes—with Eloi’s body over his shoulder—and rushed toward the two. “Allow me,” he said.

Cherry nodded and laid him down. Solomon flattened a palm and emitted a runic circle above his head, analyzing him carefully. With a sigh, he waved off the rune and carried him over his other shoulder. “He merely fell asleep,” he murmured.

“Oh, that’s a relief,” said Cherry, sighing.

“Though, I didn’t expect him to actually hide his recollection. It seems like your presence truly did affect them at some level after all.”

“Right! Let’s hurry back to the house! If Eloi’s their friend too, then he can probably do the same with others!”

With a nod, the two broke into a sprint.

Perching on a nearby tree branch, an unusually large raven eyed the two as they ran through the forest. It snickered to itself and flapped away.

✦☆✦

A thundering explosion echoed across the halls, and out came Charlie through a window, landing on a bush with a grunt. He gritted his teeth and molded another shield right before a rapier struck him.

Clover jumped out of the window next, red puddles rippling behind his back and manifesting swords as brilliantly red as his flashing sockets. Charlie, in return, molded a longsword and rapidly slashed through every projectile shooting in his direction.

“For the last time, I’m here to save your bloody lives!” Charlie hollered. “This whole time, Horace has been using you!”

Clover finally paused. “I beg your pardon?” he asked.

Charlie pointed at him. “Think about it: Why didn’t Horace ever show up to your house? Why did he force you to work for him? It’s because he’s been trapping you here like hostages! He’s never cared for you for once. In fact, he caused The Star-Crushing Tragedy!”

Clover squeezed his grip and dryly cackled. “I don’t believe you,” he growled. “Horace would do no such thing. Someone’s clearly been lying to you to lead you all here. Seriously, who told you?”

“Ugh, I don’t know either. Some old guy or something—I don’t know his name! But never mind that! Just stop being so damn stubborn!” Charlie clenched his fist and shot shadowy flames targeting his blades.

He glanced out the shattered window. “An old man, you say… Pfft, haha, I see…” Clover burst into laughter and clutched his mask.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“You’re an idiot, Charlie. Why are you in my way? Why are you even going this far? This is none of your business!”

A vein swelled at his jawline. “You’re the idiot here! I’m doing this because I owe everything to your real father, damn it! He saved our asses that night! Think about it, you have a strong sense of smell, Penelope has sharp eyesight, Theodore has keen ears, and Dorothy has superhuman strength—all of which Horace doesn’t have. Hell, he has white hair and blue eyes, right? None of you guys got his appearances either!”

Clover clicked his tongue and brandished his rapier yet again. “Enough! If you and Cherry truly are our friends, then just leave us alone!”

Charlie cracked a menacing smirk. “Nah, real friends bother each other a lot, y’know.”

“I second that!” said a third voice.

Clover flinched around just in time as a figure in red emerged from the window and aimed a bronze, clockwork firearm at him.

“Sorry about this!” They pulled the trigger, shot a wire, and struck Clover’s back. He cried in pain and twitched around as static enveloped him, and moments later, he collapsed, and his sockets finally faded to black.

“Ugh.” Charlie massaged his shoulders. “What took you so damn long, Eloi?”

Eloi climbed over the window and landed with a soft thud. “Heh, sorry. Penny kept so many inventions in her workshop, y’know.”

Charlie groaned and leaned against the wall, staring at Clover and the broken glass window. “So much for a peaceful rescue mission. I messed up, didn’t I?”

Eloi shook his head. “Nah, I’m just glad you all are finally back. I’ve been waiting for ages.”

“It’s been eight months.”

“But it felt like eight years.”

“...Fair enough.” He extended a fist. “Sorry to keep you waiting, old friend.”

“About damn time,” said Eloi, fist-bumping him.

Charlie nodded. “You also zapped everyone else?”

“Oh no, only him. After Solomon took Cherry, Dorothy, and Theodore wandered off…”

Eloi paused.

Charlie tilted his head before turning around, raising his brows almost immediately.

Wobbling by the window was the petite, short lady in yellow, breathing heavily and leaning against the window frame. She clutched her mask and shook her head.

“D-Dorothy?” Charlie called out.

“Ch-Charlie,” she croaked, “is that… all true?”

“Eh?”

“I… I heard everything. Is it true? Is Horace… not actually our real father? Is he only using us?”

Charlie and Eloi exchanged glances and hurriedly approached her.

At the same time, Clover’s fingers twitched and radiated red.

Dorothy flinched and leaped over the window. “Watch out!”

A cluster of vines burst out of Clover’s hand, shooting directly at the three. Dorothy lunged past the two and kicked them away, raining pellets of blood on the ground.

She extended her arms out in front of Charlie and Eloi, staring at Clover as he slowly staggered back on his feet.

Moments later, they froze in place, gawking at Clover’s mask shattering into pieces, his piercing, green eyes glaring viciously.