-----

"Didn't you say you weren't being reckless??!" Ray exclaimed after hearing my plan.

"Well... I mean..." I ventured as I finished bandaging the little boy's arm. I exhaled heavily. "It's the plan that best guarantees all of our safety."

"By having you go one-on-one with a demon?!" Ray exclaimed, more than willing to show his worry through anger.

"I'll be fine." I gave him a grin. "I'm too stubborn to die." I then turned my attention to the 3 siblings. "My name is Y/N. What about you?" I asked them with a bright smile.

"Theo." The littlest boy said. I hummed. I thought it was something like that...

"Monica!" The sister said with a daring albeit nervous smile.

"I'm Jake..." The eldest boy said. I grinned.

"Nice to meet you. Then, let's go over the plan one more time." I took a deep breath and recounted from the beginning. "Monica is going to go with Ray and Violet. You three are going to keep moving and hiding. Stay away from all people and eliminate any tracks you leave- although the two of you already know this. And then you two..." I turned to Theo and Jake. "We're going to run downwind until I give you the signal. Then I want you to slow to a walk and loop widely back to the town. Per usual, stay quiet, stay vigilant, and don't leave any tracks." I took another breath before continuing. "And if you get caught while you're alone and you can't escape, before they kill you tell them to come after Ray and I. Say something like: "They're full-scorers from Gracefield. First come, first served." Got it?"

"And you three." I turned to Ray and Violet. "You're going to do something for me."

"Like what? You're not going to suggest something Emma-like and reckless like 'going around saving all the children before the demons can get to them', right?" Ray asked, unintentionally taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Well...Uh..." I chuckled nervously.

"You've got to be kidding me." Ray face-palmed but sighed In surrender. "Fine. But only if you promise to keep your idiot butt alive. No matter what it takes, ok?!" He growled, poking a finger into my forehead.

"Ok, ok, I promise!" I exclaimed, raising my hands in defeat.

And with that, I waved bye to a reluctant Ray and Violet, and we were off.

I wasn't sure how this plan would work. All I was hoping to do was delay Leuvis enough to redirect his hunt. This was counting on two things- One, he would rather save me for later than eat me now, and Two, he would follow the same pattern as the Manga.

Once we got quite a reasonable distance from where we rendezvoused I held out a hand for the other two to stop. I then ran as fast as I could, leaving the other two in the dust, while I hoped I could make it to the same point Leuvis came into contact with them originally.

-----

My legs trembled at the sight of the top-hatted demon. I gulped and found my throat unnaturally dry. I loved the guy an unreasonable amount when he was just a manga character- but seeing him in person is beyond terrifying.

"...strange." He muttered as he approached me, standing all alone. "I thought for sure you'd tell the 3 siblings to come downwind to save them- did you perhaps leave them behind to die?" He asked, his voice deep and gritty.

I feigned bravery and laughed. "Oh, those suckers? Of course we didn't leave them behind to die! We just... slightly increased their chances of un-aliving!" I reasoned, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. I saw something similar to amusement spread across the demon's face. I'm not sure if the face of amusement or the face or anger was scarier on a demon.

"...Despite seeming so oblivious and obvious I find you weirdly difficult to read." Leuvis hummed, taking another step forward. "I wonder what you really did with those kiddos'? Sent them off with the other two, perhaps?" He hummed in inquiry. "Or perhaps..." He said, his gaze flicking around the surroundings. "They're still nearby...?" He practically growled in excitement.

"YOO LOOKAT ME I'M IN THE TREE!" I shouted, having shimmied up the tree while he was having a conversation to himself. 'Y/N used confusion!'

"...what?" Leuvis said, looking up to find me, indeed, hanging like a koala from a branch. 'It's surprisingly effective!' I wrapped my hands around it like and inhaled deeply.

"WEEEE!" I yelled as I swung from the branch, just barely snagging onto another one, my hands scraping roughy my against the bark- although I barely noticed in my moment of high adrenaline.

Leuvis seemed genuinely confused. Good. My plan was working. I just had to keep his attention from me for long enough to-

"A-AHH!" I shouted as I slipped on the branch nearly falling to my death.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! I CAN'T HAVE FUN HUNTING YOU IF YOU DIE FALLING FROM THERE!" Leuvis exclaimed, clearly experiencing an epiphany.

I snickered quietly. That was on purpose. Now to ensure it doesn't happen on accident...

I continued climbing from tree to tree haphazardly, completely screwing up my hands as they scraped against the rough tree bark, whilst Leuvis watched. I mean, what could he do? If he lets me fall I'll die before he can kill me, but he can't just make me get down! What would be best for him is if I run away quickly, so he can pretend to lose me and go hunt the others. However, if I stall him to the point he'll only be able to kill me with the remaining time, he'll do it... so once he got antsy I decided I'd drop down from the branch.

In the meantime, to keep him interested in hunting me, I made my branch-hopping look like an attempted getaway, and flung sticks down at his face. I was genuinely hoping he wouldn't realize I'm just a clueless brat who isn't worth saving for later, but surprisingly, he seemed to be caught in my trap, and continued following me for quite a long time.

Once he began to seem aloof I swung down to a lower branch and hopped down.

"See you later, Lu-Lu!" I shouted, and then, as I ran I turned back around to say one more thing In hopes of continuing to keep his attention directed to me. "Next time..." I spoke, my eyes darkening significantly. "I'll face you for real."

As fast as my legs would allow me I dashed away, my heart pounding in my ears, leaving the top-hatted demon to search for the others, hoping that Jake and Theo had managed to evade the demons- possibly with the help of Ray and Violet- and managed to stay alive.

I dashed behind the bushes, panting heavily. If I was found right now... My hands were cold, pale, and clammy. I bet my face looked worse. My encounter with Leuvis- despite how I may've played it off as enjoyable- was absolutely f*cking terrifying. And now I had to do it again- to make sure everyone in Goldy pond stayed safe.

I'm coming for you, 'Original Timeline'. Now let's see how much I can f*ck this sh*t up.

——-

I wandered around the town tiredly. My limbs were weak and my hands all scratched up from climbing trees. My nails were even worse. My legs felt like jello from all the running.

Something warm dripped from my hands, but I was too distracted to notice.

I ended up making it to town's square. I leaned against a wall and exhaled, trying to stand upright. The world seemed a little wobbly. Ray... Ray, Violet, Jake, Monica, and Theo... I need to know if they're alright! I slumped against the wall and panted heavily for air. Violet would lead Ray here soon, for sure.

"Are you injured?" A headband guy asked me, likely assuming from my sorry state.

"No." I gave him a weak smile. "Just a little worn-out." I sighed, scratching my head. I winced when I did so, then pulled my hands down to get a closer look. I sat down, no longer easily able to stand up.

"On second thought, maybe a little assistance." I muttered. The flesh on my hands was bloody and torn. Swinging from tree to tree wouldn't be good on normal bark- but the bark on a few of the trees I swung on was so sharp it must've caused gashes in my hands. I must've been too pumped with adrenaline to notice...

The guy with first-aid winced as well. "Yeah, those are pretty bad. Want some help bandaging them?" He asked, pulling out some gauze. I nodded my head gratefully. He began wrapping up my injured hands when I heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Y/N?!" I heard Ray calling for me from across the square. His eyes met mine for a moment and I raised a hand weakly in acknowledgement of my being okay, too weak to yell across the entire square. His eyes widened and he jogged over.

"E-eh??! You're bleeding?! Are you okay?! He asked as the other guy wrapped my hands.

"I'm fine. Just a little scratched up-"

"She's definitely not fine. She may be suffering from shock possibly due to blood loss." Headband guy said. Ray looked to him in surprise, my own eyes widening as well, as if only noticing he was there now.

"I'm fine." I shrugged. "My hands are hardly cut anyway. I'm just a little thirsty."

"Yeah, she's definitely in shock." Headband guy confirmed, finishing wrapping my hands. "She should probably be moved to a better place." The two boys started having a conversation about my safety but I wasn't having any of it.

Theo and Jake- did my plan work? Are they okay? I started to prepare to stand up and look for the two guys.

"And what the hell are you doing?" Ray asked, turning away from his conversation with headband-man.

"Theo and Jake..." I said quietly. Ray got what I was saying and sighed.

"I'm sure they're fine. We can look for them later." He huffed. I frowned.

"But-"

"YOU'RE LITERALLY BLEEDING OUT OF MULTIPLE WOUNDS AND EXPERIENCING THE FIRST STATE OF SHOCK. STAY PUT." Ray commanded angrily. I sighed.

"Fine. But you go make sure they're okay for me?" I asked him as Violet approached.

"What's going on?" She asked worriedly.

"This dumb*ss managed to injure herself in several places and is still demanding that I look for Jake and Theo." Ray explained quickly. I rolled my eyes and sighed, trying not to vomit.

"She looks like she's in shock as well." Violet observed.

"I'm not-" I complained while Ray and headband guy spoke in unison;

"She is."