Dark Future Noel watched with a mix of annoyance and amusement as Sóley pulled herself up off the ground, her body clearly in pain.

  She let out a cold scoff as she looked over the two girls. "You're both so...weak," she said in a hollow tone, her words sending a chill through the air around her.

  Alice clenched her fists tighter. She hated this version of Noel so much.

  Sóley, however, was not going to give up that easily. Her voice came out sharp and resolute: "We're not weak.”

  Dark Future Noel's eyebrow twitched at Sóley's defiant tone. "Is that so? You've barely even scratched me, let alone come close to doing any real damage, and you're trying to say you're not weak?"

  Her tone was cold, condescending; as if she thought they were nothing more than children playing pretend.

  Alice could feel the fire in her chest burning even hotter at Dark Future Noel's mocking words.

  She knew they weren't winning this fight, not yet, anyway. But she also knew that giving up now wasn’t an option either...not when their sweet friend was still out there somewhere, suffering like this because of whatever had happened to her in the Dark Future.

  Sóley swallowed hard before forcing herself back onto unsteady feet, blood dripping from a small cut on her temple where she'd hit the wall earlier.

  But despite everything...despite how badly beaten down they both were, her eyes remained sharp with determination as she locked gazes with Dark Future Noel again and said firmly: "Then we'll just have to keep trying until you admit otherwise."

  Alice's heart clenched at the sight of Sóley's bruised and battered form, but she couldn't let that stop them now, not when they were so close to reaching Noel.

  She stepped forward again, her voice firm despite the exhaustion weighing on her own body as well.

  "We don’t have to fight you like this," Alice said carefully, holding out a hand in what might've been an attempt at truce, or maybe just desperation for this all to end peacefully before things got even worse than they already had.

  Dark Future Noel didn't move, her expression still unreadable beneath its cold exterior.

  But after another long moment...she finally spoke again with that same hollow tone: "Then tell me why I should care."

  And suddenly...something clicked inside Alice’s mind; something about those words made it hit home just how detached their friend truly was right now...

  Because if Dark Future Noel really didn’t care anymore…then perhaps what they needed wasn't strength or force after all...

  Maybe what mattered most wasn't winning or losing either way--it was making sure whoever remained under those layers remembered who she used to be in the first place?

  Alice felt a sudden, unexpected tingle at the back of her mind, the faintest whisper of something...familiar.

  A voice? A memory?

  She blinked hard, trying to focus on whatever it was before she lost it completely.

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  Then, just for a split second, she swore she could hear Noel’s real voice cutting through Dark Future Noel’s hollow tone like sunlight piercing clouds: "Alice…!"

  Alice's eyes widened—what was that?!

  She could've sworn...

  It was gone as soon as it came, though. The voice in her head now silent…the faint memory replaced by nothing more than the cold silence of Dark Future Noel's breathing.

  Alice felt her breath hitch. That was Noel. That voice, those words...they had been her.

  For a moment, Alice hesitated, because if that really had been their friend’s true self reaching out to them…then maybe she wasn’t as lost in this version of herself as they thought?

  Dark Future Noel didn’t seem affected by whatever just happened either; still staring at both girls with the same detached indifference before finally speaking again: "Stop wasting my time."

  Alice felt a pang of frustration at Dark Future Noel's words.

  This wasn’t their friend.

  But at the same time…that brief moment of connection gave her at least some hope that their friend was still there, somewhere beneath that cold exterior.

  That thought alone was making Alice determined not to give up, no matter how hopeless things might seem…and it seemed like Sóley felt the same way.

  Sóley took a deep breath before saying firmly in response to Dark Future Noel's demand: "We’re not going anywhere."

  Dark Future Noel's eyes narrowed, and she let out a scoff. "Is that so?"

  She stepped forward, slowly, calmly, her movements almost predatory in the way that a cat played with their prey before killing them.

  Her voice was cold as ice again as she continued: "Then I suppose I'll have to show you just how much I mean it when I say that you don't matter, you're nothing more than insects to me."

  Alice could feel a pit form in the pit of her stomach at Dark Future Noel's words.

  They didn't matter?

  The thought hurt, especially knowing that the person saying it was their friend, just broken, twisted into this…thing.

  She knew that the Noel in the Dark Future was too far gone to care about who they were, she knew that Dark Future Noel did view them as nothing more than pests for her to destroy…

  But the thought still stung.

  Alice's heart ached at the sound of that familiar, desperate voice cutting through Dark Future Noel’s cold tone, just for a split second before vanishing again.

  But it had been enough.

  Enough to make her realize…their friend was still in there somewhere, fighting against whatever twisted this version of herself into existence in the first place!

  She swallowed hard before speaking up again with more confidence than she actually felt: "Noel...we know you're still here!"

  Dark Future Noel stopped dead in her tracks, and for the first time, Alice saw a hint of genuine emotion behind those cold eyes: surprise.

  She said nothing in response to Alice's words, simply staring at her carefully...almost as if expecting her to say something more…

  Dark Future Noel's expression flickered, just for a split second, her cold mask cracked, revealing something raw underneath.

  Then it was gone again, replaced by that same detached indifference as she turned away from Alice with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Enough."

  Her voice had lost some of its edge though...as if whatever Alice had said had actually gotten through to the real Noel buried deep inside this version of herself after all…

  Alice's breath hitched. Could it be?

  Had she actually gotten through to their friend somehow??

  The possibility sent a wave of hope through her, enough to give her the courage to speak up again, her tone even more resolute than before but also filled with hope: "Noel...please…you have to remember us."

  Dark Future Noel didn’t look back at Alice this time, but her shoulders tensed at Alice's words.

  There was another moment of silence—then, ever so quietly, Dark Future Noel said in a soft, almost inaudible voice that only Alice could just faintly make out: "Alice…?"

  Alice almost sobbed at the sound of her name, the familiar voice that she recognized instantly as belonging to the real Noel, calling out to her faintly in the back of this cruel, cold version of herself…

  She swallowed hard before replying, her voice shaking with emotion. "Yes, Noel. It's me.”

  For a moment, it seemed like everything was silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

  The tension in the air was thick and heavy, as if time itself had frozen in place.

  Then, finally, after what felt like an eternity, Dark Future Noel slowly turned around to face Alice again.

  Her eyes were glistening with what looked like…recognition…?