Slowly, Mouse opened their eyes. They were back in the Stitched Castle, Hero's Road, more specifically. Looking around, they noticed that the halls were bigger than before. Walking down the hall, they could hear voices. They ran as fast as the could, halls feeling longer the more they ran. The voices sounded... familiar...

"A............ou two, list....up! ...........ches gave................ha.....way. ........ill..........pass thr...............the boss.............defeat him!"

"You do.................just cannon....................we don't............that monster! ...............drop..............or something."

The more those voices spoke, the more Mouse realized who those voices belonged to.

"Well, we're not............ with that attitude...... Hey, you!...........The quiet one back................anything to say?"

The chandelier... Mouse thought as their legs shakily caried them closer to the voices. Bumping into a large mass, Mouse looked up, and their blood went ice cold.

"Ready to meet the masked void, worm?" A masked kid proclaimed.

"Wow, that was awful. What does that... even mean...?"

As the masked kids bickered, Mouse saw themself, shakily gripping the lever that connected to the chandelier. The same chandelier that crushed the hero.

"I was so scared when the hero came, and then my fellow underlings left me behind..."

As if their body was controlled by something else, Mouse's past self pulled the lever down.

"Say, weren't we supposed to be a trio?" Realization hit the masked kid. "Oh, no..." At that point it was too late for anyone to react as the chandelier rapidly fell on everyone...

"I snapped all of a sudden, and let the chandelier fall... I couldn't believe what I had done..."

Mouse woke up screaming and clutching on to their chest. Cereza woke up to see her little friend hyperventilating. "Mouse...? Mouse?!"

"Wha...what's going on...?" Elizabeth asked groggily.

"I think their having a panic attack." The princess murmured.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Mouse repeated over, and over as they breathed rapidly.

"Oh no..." The hilt murmured. Cereza hugged Mouse tight as they gasped and sobbed, they were unable to hear her or feel her touch.

A couple minutes pass, the tiny Eevee slowly wrapped their arms around the princess, hugging her back, still crying.

"It's okay... I'm here... Ellie's here... You're safe... no one's going to hurt you..." Cereza whispered. "I promise..."

The two girls let the underhero cry it out, until they grew tired and fell back asleep. Cereza didn't let go of Mouse, not even as she grew drowsy herself, closing her eyes. The trio finally drift to sleep.

"I... I am so sorry.
:::"

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