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"Now you're just delusional!" Echelon yelled at herself. "She never needed you. You were the desperate one all along. She didn't ask for you to come in with all of your problems and hang-ups and baggage, but you held on to her anyway!" The dark reflection shook, breathing shallow. "And now look at you. Look at what you've done! What you've become!" She clenched a fist. "This is disgraceful! The chances you had! Squandered!" The wolf looked up, tears in her eyes. "B-... But I did it for you, Echelon..." The inkling blinked. "E-... Everybody else..." her manic eyes, deep set with grief, and a lack of sleep, trembled as she stared up at her. "Everyone else abandoned you. But not me! I-... I told you I'd take care of you! And I did! I'm doing it!" Her fragile smile was bent, unhinged, as she grabbed Echelon's wrists. "See?? See, I told you! You don't have to leave me! Don't leave me..." Her manic smile turned to a clenched grimace. "I need you." Echelon stared, aghast. Speechless. "Friends die, lovers lie, but you and I? It's a link that can't be broken." This world's Natalie reached for her eyepatch. "Even if you won't visit in my dreams... even if you won't dive under my skin..." She pulled the patch off, and a completely black sclera with a pink iris stared out at her. "... We'll always be together." |
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