Number 7

Her ears rang.

Her head was splitting.

'Hey... Number Four...'

And with thoughts filled with despair, Eclaire posed a question to the one that had overtaken her.

[What is it?]

'Why do I suddenly have these memories?'

She walked into the hotel, having left the former Human Resources Officer at the entrance as she scanned the room, eventually selecting her destination.

[Which memories?]

As if to mock her very existence, the creature seemed to enjoy the desperation declared by her host, sarcastically acting ignorant to the situation.

'Why do I have memories of being shot through the head five times?'

As the woman walked through the lounge, making her way to her destination, the experiment kept silent for a few moments as her steps echoed through the building.

[It's not that you have memories of being shot through the head five times, Eclaire.]

And with these words, portrayed through her thoughts, Number Four responded.

[You did get shot five times.]

----

'Wait just a minute.'

Eclaire barked out an order, yet the woman in control of her body refused to stop walking.

'Hold up just a second... are you telling me... that was real?'

It made no sense, from a logical standpoint.

'It wasn't a dream or a hallucination... do you really expect me to believe that!?'

How on earth could Eclaire have been shot five times - and died every single time?

Her memory had no correlation with reality.

Everything was a jumble, and she couldn't seem to recall the order of events as they happened.

[Sigh... Eclaire, you don't seem to understand what happened. I suppose that makes sense, given that you have no idea what my ability is. To an outsider, it would appear as if I dodged five shots in a row, without a lapse in the timeline. However you and I did not experience such a thing.]

The communication between Number Four and Eclaire now was reduced to mere thoughts as Four made her way through the hotel, ensuring not to say anything out loud that could be heard by another.

[Alright. I'll inform you as to what happened. As soon as I do, everything that you just experienced will all make sense.]

----

Moments before this interaction, Eclaire had watched from within as Number Four approached the entrance to the hotel.

Four had pulled up in her new vehicle - the one which she had taken so much effort to obtain the keys for - taking a sharp turn as she pulled up to the facility.

'Eh? Hey, this is the entrance we came from! That man tried to kill me - no, he did kill me! If we just walk up to him as if nothing happened, then he'll attack us!'

Eclaire made this warning to Four, however such words were in vain.

[Do you think I don't know that?]

Putting the vehicle into park, the woman seemed to grin as she exited it without concern, ignoring the one who spoke out.

She took a few steps forward into the courtyard, walking with confidence as she stood out in the open, a wretched smile drawing itself across her face as she looked the man directly in the eye.

'Eh? Is he not going to kill me? Do you know something that I don't-'

At the instant Eclaire had this thought, pain erupted within her skull.

It was a searing pain, horrible and mind wracking, and as she looked up to the man who held his rifle with confidence, the woman realized all too late that she had been shot.

'Number Four... why?'

This was the final thought she had before she fell to the ground, her blood and brain matter splattered across the concrete.

----

Then she awoke.

To say she awoke didn't exactly describe it correctly. It was as if she had merely blinked her eyes, opening them to witness a new scenario.

Once more she was inside the car, and once more Number Four was in the process of putting the vehicle into park.

'Huh?'

And without hesitation, her body started moving - taking the same exact path as it had before.

The woman exited the vehicle, walking out into the open with confidence as she put on a grand smile, glaring the sniper directly in the eyes.

'Hey... wasn't I just shot? Was that a hallucination?'

Eclaire asked this question, however her question fell on empty ears as she was completely ignored.

And then, ever so slightly, the woman tilted her head - right as a bullet whizzed by her ear.

'EHHHH!?!?!? HEY!!! THAT WAS TOO CLOSE!!!'

[Be quiet. You'll ruin my concentration.]

Eclaire had shouted out in surprise at being inches away from being shot again, confusion filling her mind as she pondered whether the death she had witnessed before was nothing more than an illusion.

Thck!

Yet in the next instant, she knew well that it was no illusion - for once again that horrible pain erupted within her mind, and her body became weak as she fell to the ground with the splatter of blood.

'What... is happening?'

'I... was shot again?'

'No... no...'

'I'm scared...'

'I don't... I don't want to die...'

These were the final thoughts that Eclaire had before she died.

For the second time.

----

Yet another instant had passed - just the blink of an eye - and as she opened her eyes, she was now once again in the car.

Once more the woman put the vehicle into park, and Eclaire immediately shouted out in protest.

'HEY!!!! What's happening!? Why do I keep on seeing this same scene!? Is this some sort of prediction for how the future will play out!?'

[Could you be quiet already?]

'No, no no no no no! I can't just be quiet!!! Why do I keep seeing visions of myself getting shot!? Why do things keep on resetting!? And why… did it hurt so much?'

[First let me get through this. Questions later.]

Once again the woman dodged a bullet as she walked forward with that mind piercing smile, this time the first and the second - both of which were mere centimeters from the head of the woman as she tilted her head just enough to evade them.

'Did you just... did you just dodge those? Did you memorize their position-'

[It seems like you're starting to understand on your own. Good job, I suppose. Now will you let me concentrate so that I can-]

'But that would mean that you don't know where the next one is going to come from, right?'

With fear laden in her tone, Eclaire said these things as she came to the realization that the next bullet would be her demise.

The man who was perched like a bird seemed to be thinking for a moment, however such thoughts were short lived as he seemed to come to a decision.

[That is correct.]

And in that next instant, three times the man fired.

One hit the left eye of the woman, the other the right, and the third her neck.

The same indescribable pain exploded within her at the three locations, and Eclaire felt an indescribable hopelessness as the terror of being slaughtered replayed within her once more.

She fell face first onto the ground, and time seemed to slow before she slammed into the ground, grabbing her throat as she failed to breath in.

'It hurts... it hurts so much!'

'Isn't this a memory!? A vision!? A prediction!?'

'WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH!?!?!?'

With bloody tears in her eyes that had been blinded and pierced, the girl failed to take in one final gasp as her consciousness went cold.

Thus, Eclaire died.

For the third time.

----

[Alright. I'll inform you as to what happened. As soon as I do, everything that you just experienced will all make sense.]

Four had progressed into the building, dodging all five of the bullets which were fired upon her after learning their exact location and trajectory.

At that point, the man had become shaken, giving up as he realized that there was a monster within the girl that he could never hope to deal with on a human level.

But what he didn't know was the pain that Eclaire had gone through in order to press such a man into submission.

[You just experienced my ability... RETRY.]

As Four proceeded through the building, she looked at the scenery around her.

There were numerous restaurants and entertainment venues, all of which were closed down due to the calamity.

Many bodies of the undead lined the floor, likely those that had been taken care of by Yakov.

[To put it simply, whenever something goes wrong, I have the choice as to whether or not I want to retry it.]

With a smirk, the woman spoke within the mind of Eclaire, communicating only through thoughts.

[Therefore, like a character in a video game, I was able to predict the movements and motions of the enemy by first dying to them - using that newfound knowledge to RETRY.]

As she came upon a large open area, the woman's glint eventually landed upon a particular room - one which Eclaire knew all too well.

[Until finally, I was successful.]

She headed towards the entrance, giving Eclaire this explanation, who remained silent as she processed the information.

'So you mean to say that you can try again as many times as you want... at any time?'

[That is correct.]

'No matter what happens, you'll always have a second chance? You'll never run out of chances? There are no limits to this ability?'

[There are no direct limits.]

'So if you keep on trying, then eventually you can make everything go your way?'

As Eclaire posed this question, the woman stopped in her tracks.

She halted so abruptly that Eclaire could feel the tension in the air - even if the tension was created by the very body that she owned.

[You underestimate the weakness of the human mind, Eclaire.]

And with a cold tone, Four warned Eclaire from the horrors that lurked within this ability.

[It is true that my ability will allow me to continue trying, over and over again - as many times as necessary.]

She spoke with a sternness that Eclaire had not witnessed before, until this particular topic had been brought up.

[I can set a certain point to reset to, and once I have set that point I can return to it as many times as needed until I update the point, depending on what I consider to be a successful result.]

And with a grave tone, Four explained the ability, mocking the very idea itself of being given an infinite number of chances.

[However to say that everything will eventually go my way so long as I keep trying... hahaha....]

Suddenly, the woman began to laugh within her mind - however the laughter seemed to overflow as she physically laughed out loud.

[Hahaha... ah... you're so funny, Eclaire.]

And as if she had forgotten where she was, the woman now spoke these words without care if someone overheard her or thought that she had gone mad.

[If you believe that having the ability to try as many times as you want is the same as being able to bring about any result that you want, then you would be sadly mistaken.]

At that moment, Eclaire felt something.

Control had returned to her.

She tripped, almost falling as she caught herself - her ability to move her body overwhelming her so suddenly that she didn't even know how to react.

'Ah... I'm in control again...'

Standing up as she glanced upon her hands, gripping them as the feeling returned, Eclaire continued to listen to the voice that spoke from within her.

[But you won't understand such a thing without experiencing it yourself. Therefore... why don't you give it a try?]

And with these words, Four receded into Eclaire's subconscious, taking a secondary role as she allowed her host full control of her own body.

[Watch and learn just how difficult it is to bring about a result that you desire when the only tool you have is the stubborn ability to try again... over and over until you finally deem such a thing to be IMPOSSIBLE.]

----

It was the strangest thing.

Despite the fact that Eclaire had returned to normal, it felt as if she had been out of control for an eternity.

The state of her sensations had been thrown around, tossed from the strange indifference during the time in which the virus had controlled her, to the terrifying state of being emotionally and physically attached to her body while not being in control of her actions.

And after all of these things, having control again was both liberating and ensnaring.

'Eh? I thought that I would be happy to be in control again...'

Clenching her chest, the white haired girl seemed to tense up as emotions welled up within her.

'But why do I feel so... overwhelmed?'

[To a person who is in control of everything, having such control taken from them will come as a major shock. However as soon as one becomes accustomed to having no control, regaining such control will seem like an immense responsibility - one which will make a person wonder how they ever handled such pressure in the first place.]

With a gulp, the girl listened to the words of the parasite, fending off the impending sense of anxiety that seeped its way into her heart.

'Even if that's the case... I have things that need to be done.'

And thus, she moved her foot forward.

'I have no intention to sit around and fall into the same place as before.'

----

'How does the reset point work? Is there some special action or phrase that is necessary in order to set it? Can you set it to any point you want? What are the limitations?'

Eclaire was quickly able to accept the fact that Number Four had such an ability which should not have existed under any logical thinking.

However with the world in its current state, and with her own soul being transferred from one place to another, Eclaire no longer had any intention to think about things logically.

[Well, there isn't any particular key word or phrase or anything. I just sorta... decide. It's kinda like when you quicksave in a game before you slaughter an NPC to see what happens. You have to make the decision at the moment you will return to, though, so you can't return to a time that has already passed. And if you choose a moment of return, it's like overwriting the save, so anything that has happened up to that point becomes determined.]

Four gave up the information relatively easily, to the surprise of Eclaire.

'Are you sure you shouldn't be protecting that information a bit more closely?'

[You're correct in that I don't want my ability to be known to other people, however I've chosen you as the one I will observe and guide. As long as you don't reveal the information yourself, I will have no issue. Ah - but if you do, then I'll just set things back to a previous point.]

'If I tell someone and then set the point to after the fact, what would you do?'

[Ah, that's easy. I would kill that person.]

'And if that person were an entire crowd of people?'

[Then I'd slaughter every single one of them.]

Like bullets, the questions and answers were shot back and forth as Eclaire probed Four.

[It's as I said. Despite the fact that you're emotionally weak, you also know how to strategize and plot if you straighten yourself and harden your heart. Even now, you're trying to understand me - aren't you?]

'Maybe.'

Eclaire responded in such a manner, eventually coming to a fancy door that led to what appeared to be a VIP hall.

'This is the entrance to the basement. If you've read my memories, then you should already know that I've been here one time before... and you should be aware of exactly what is down here.'

As Eclaire explained, Number Four seemed to remain silent, not saying a word in response as the girl pressed forward, opening the door as she entered to witness a magnificent staircase that led downwards.

'If I know the owner, then he likely came down here to check as to whether those down here have been infected or not.'

[You're going to confront him?]

As the girl proceeded down the marble staircase, she nodded slightly at the question of the parasite.

'That's right.'

Stopping as she reached the bottom of the stairs, the girl came to a hallway where she could head either to the left or to the right.

She looked both ways, checking either direction which were filled with doors that appeared to be hotel rooms - similar to those on the other floors yet even more luxurious than even those on the upper floors.

Picking a direction, the girl headed for the first door she saw, opening it without issue - for the electronic lock system was no longer active.

She gazed inside the room to see a fancy bed, however it was completely empty of people. In an instant, the girl moved onto the next room.

'I'm going to try out your ability, alright?'

[You're free to do as you please. I am curious to see how someone else would use it, after all.]

Opening another door to witness yet another empty room, the girl nodded in agreement, her expression becoming all the more serious.

Then, coming to a particular room, she overheard the voice of a man shout out.

"You lazy bitch... hurry up already!! How many times do I have to tell you this!?"

"I... I'm sorry! I'll clean this up right away!!"

As Eclaire heard these shouts, she closed her eyes, placing her hand on the handle of the door as she whispered to herself.

"Quicksaving."

----

"What the hell is going on!? I wake up and everything looks like it's been trashed!! Was it you!? Did you do this!? HAH!?"

A handsome man sat up within a bed, dressing himself as he glared at a particular girl who cowered in the corner of a hotel room.

The room was luxurious, fit for a king, filled to the brim with portraits and statues, and velvet furniture that could only be found within a resort - yet the entire room seemed to give off a musty air as if it hadn't been dusted for months.

"F-forgive me..."

While the man who shouted out was one clearly of high standing, dressed in the attire fit for a noble, the same could not be said of the girl - who was wearing nothing more than rags and covered in bruises and wounds.

"Forgive me... she says. Hah... if you're asking me to forgive you, then why don't you get up and do something useful?"

The man stood up, tying his tie as he beamed over the girl, who only seemed to cower even further at the imposing figure.

Raising a hand to slap the girl, she flinched away in fear of being beaten once more with a squeal.

"You lazy bitch... hurry up already!! How many times do I have to tell you this!?"

"I... I'm sorry! I'll clean this up right away!!"

Yet as soon as she shouted these words, the door burst open.

The man's attention immediately turned to the one who entered through the door - a white haired girl who glared at him with dead eyes.

She walked into the room without a care, merely glaring at the man then to the girl while she lazily assessed the situation, her arms crossed as she entered without a word.

"Who the hell are- are you one of the hotel staff as well? Hah... about time. I had been asking them to send me a replacement for this one, so I guess that's you? Well, fair enough. Hurry up and get undressed-"

The man barked out an order to the girl, however her lazy glare soon became one filled with an aura of death, as if she were looking at an insect.

"Wha... how dare you look at me like that?"

Lowering his raised hand, the man's attention completely focused upon the woman who was in front of him.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Do you think your position means anything anymore?"

With these words, the girl smiled - a terrifying grin overcoming her expression as she mocked the man.

"Why you!"

The man swung his hand to slap the white haired girl, however she dodged backwards - evading it without effort.

As if she knew that it was coming.

"Wha..."

The man took a deep breath, confused at having been read so easily by the whore before him.

Embarrassed and flustered at having his slap be dodged, the man was unsure how to react.

"You just dodged me?"

The man rushed forward to grab the neck of the girl, however she seemed to jump out of the way, evading his grasp.

"You're not supposed to dodge me.", he uttered with irritation as he pulled back a fist, prepared to punch the girl with a full blown blow.

"I'll be reporting this behavior to the Owner."

"You seem to be missing some information, Sir."

With a voice that mimicked someone in customer service, the girl spoke in a dead tone free of emotion - purely professional.

"You no longer have any worth as a paying customer... therefore I am going to have to ask you to leave."

"WHY YOU-"

"What is the commotion over here?"

The man shouted out in anguish after having been made a fool of, only for a gentlemanly voice to speak out from the doorway as two men appeared.

The one who stood in front was an older gentleman, his hands folded behind his back as he entered the room calmly, and standing behind him was an overweight man with a large mustache.

These two were none other than Gerard Stirling and Yakov Kremol - the Owner and his loyal Janitor.

"Ah... Yakov and Gerard... finally you two show up! You aren't going to believe this, this little bitch had the audacity to speak rudely to me. She even went as far as to dodge my strikes and even ask me to leave! Is this not unbelievable?"

The man immediately placed his complaints upon the two, smirking victoriously as he approached them.

"Truly, it is unbelievable."

Nodding his head as he crossed his arms, Yakov closed his eyes as he spoke these words of apparent agreement.

"Of course. Give her an order to submit and cease dodging any of my strikes, and I will personally take it upon myself to teach her a lesson-"

Slap!

Yet the hasty words of the upperclassman were silenced at the backhand of the Janitor.

"It is unbelievable that you would treat our employees in such a manner... when you have ceased to be a paying customer within our establishment."

"Wha... what do you mean by that!? I haven't missed a single payment, and even if I had, you know that I wouldn't try and evade payments! I have a reputation to worry about, so you should understand better than I do that there is no way I would merely avoid-"

"You don't seem to understand the situation, Mr. Lorenzo. Money and position no longer hold any WORTH in this world. Therefore to us..."

At that moment, Yakov grabbed the head of the man, throwing it down as he kneed the man in the nose.

"UGH!!!!"

The man shouted out as blood ran from his nose, however the Janitor merely wiped his hands of the violence, walking away elegantly as he continued to speak without concern.

"You are nothing more than a mere peasant with a bad attitude."

Stopping in his tracks, Yakov ceased to make his way out of the room as if he had suddenly realized something.

Turning around, he approached Eclaire as he inspected her.

"Hey!!! You bastard!!! Who the fuck do you think you-"

Yet the upperclassman didn't seem to accept the situation as he grabbed the coat tassels of the man - to his immediate regret.

Bang! Bang!

Two shots were fired, straight through his cranium, and with an expression of horror the man struggled for just a moment before he fell to the ground.

"He was being a bit too persistent, don't you agree?"

Yet the one who held the gun - to the surprise of all present - was none other than the white haired girl known as Eclaire.

She stepped forward, kicking the man aside with a slight grin as she looked down upon him, the pistol in her hand no longer silenced.

"Keeping such a man around would only impede the operations of this business... and would only lead to betrayal in the end."

"As if you have the right to discuss betrayal, Eclaire."

Gerard made this comment with a sarcastic smile.

"I suppose you're right."

Closing her eyes, the woman looked at the corpse, then glanced over to the gentleman at her side, Yakov, who was watching her like a hawk.

"Eclaire. Why are you here?"

This question was posed by Gerard, who seemed to be suspicious of her yet did not have any immediate qualms with the method she had used to take care of the situation.

"I do apologize, Sir. I was merely concerned for those in the basement. I had finished the mission you had sent us first floor residents out on the surface, and I wanted to report my findings, however I had a feeling that you would be present here. So I decided to check up on those down in this place while I was at it."

The answer that Eclaire gave was quick, but it only lightened the suspicions of the man by a slight amount.

"You have no affiliation with the ones down here. The others you knew-"

"I know. They are dead, are they not?"

Letting out a sigh, the girl put on an act of resignation.

"But even if there was only a one in a million chance that you had spared at least their lives... I suppose there was a part of me that was curious and wanted to find out the truth. And given that this is the first time we have been allowed outside of our rooms for months, it was the only opportunity I would have."

"Heh... you must have been quite worried about them, weren't you?"

As Gerard said this, an explosion of emotions erupted within the mind of Eclaire - however with everything in her being she masked such emotions as she put on a smile.

"Not particularly. I had already accepted their demise long before. The moment you sent them to this floor, that is."

Even though she put on a delightful smile while she said these words, Eclaire felt herself breaking on the inside.

And at that instant, gun in hand, the woman began to tremble.

'I know that it's impossible... but even if it's impossible... I've always wanted to try.'

'But I've never been able to do so.'

'Now I have a chance... so even if I know that I won't succeed... I need to see for myself.'

Glancing back just a moment, she looked to the one known as the Janitor - who was currently helping up the beaten girl in an unusual show of kindness - or at least unusual towards a resident of the basement.

'Whether this man truly is the obstacle that I've always made him out to be.'