THE FOLLOWING FILE COMPRISES TWO SEPARATE VIDEOS FILMED SEQUENTIALLY, TAKING PLACE SOME TIME AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE PREVIOUS FILE, ON THE SAME NIGHT. THE TIMER IS STILL DAMAGED ON THE CAMERA.

IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THE "VIDEO FOOTAGE" THAT ANDERS MENTIONED TRYING TO CAPTURE IS ACTUALLY JUST PIXELATED CLOSEUPS OF HIS FINGERS COVERING THE CAMERA ON THE BACK OF HIS PHONE AND QUIET SWEARING.

--File 052: Trust--

When the video starts, the person recording the video is standing inside the motel room belonging to Emma and Blaine, and they have very quietly pried open the door to the motel room. Their breathing is silent in a trained manner, and voices outside in the hallway can be heard just a short distance away.

Alex: "You can't possibly still trust him, Emma."

Emma: "I do."

Alex: "That's a mistake. He hasn't changed. He's going to do to you exactly what he's done to you in every single iteration. He's going to kill all of us."

Emma: "You have zero proof of this, except that you know it's happened in past... realities."

Alex: "How is that not proof?"

Emma: "Because I'm holding better proof. What you handed me-"

Alex: "Was probably given to me by him. Think about it! If he's being approached by a past version of himself, one that's supposedly been possessing you, then that means he's the one that gave me that fucking jour-!"

Emma: "Quiet, Alex. We're not alone out here, remember?"

Alex: "Right, look, I'm just saying, he probably fabricated it!"

Emma: "In my handwriting? The exact book? With my dad's message to me? In his writing? Absolutely identical, down to the stains on earlier pages, which have equally identical entries?"

Alex: "He's from a mirror world, Emma. Who's to say what he can do?"

Emma: "Yeah, and he also saved you at the lake."

There is a moment of frustrated silence. The person filming has not moved an inch, and seems only intent on capturing the audio outside.

Alex: "I still think you're making a massive mistake."

Emma: "Fine. Anders believes me."

Alex: "Anders is biased. Bartosz told me. And by the way, he doesn't like Blaine."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Emma: "Bartosz has spent a long time very alone, hunting cultists, fearing for his life, surviving off of extreme paranoia."

Alex: "And you're defending a person who, in countless rounds of reality before this, has repeatedly murdered you, over and over, one after another."

Emma: "Why would he show you that, if he wasn't trying to change things?"

Alex: "You ever think he needs you to trust him? For whatever reason, you're the integral tipping point. Why would that be?"

Emma: "There's no point to this. I trust him. End of story. He's not that Blaine. I trust him. If you trust me, then you'll trust him, too."

There are footsteps returning to the room, and the person filming quickly steps back from the door, turning off the camera quickly as they do so.

----------------------------------------

The next video file takes place a very short time afterward. It is apparent almost at once that the person filming is Emma, because she starts the video in the bathroom, quietly filming the glass shards scattered across the floor. Her grim reflection is shown brokenly across the larger pieces. If she is waiting for something, it doesn't come, but when she turns back into the main room, it's to show only Blaine there, sitting in a chair and staring off toward the opposite wall, lost in thought.

Emma places the camera down on a small table pointed toward Blaine, and then sits across from him.

Emma: "Hey."

Blaine starts, as if realizing she's there for the first time. He rubs his face tiredly; his whole body sags somewhat as he does.

Blaine: "Hey, yeah. Sorry. What's up?"

Emma: "I need to ask you something."

Blaine's eyes narrow somewhat, and his body tenses, as if he's afraid of what might come out of her mouth.

Blaine: "What?"

Emma: "This."

Emma places the "other" journal on the table between them, flipping through the pages before pointing to something.

Emma: "In these entries here, I mention that you start pulling out your laptop all the time, or your phone, and you just sit and stare at this video file called 'DON'T FORGET'. What is that?"

Blaine blinks at her, looks at the journal, and then shakes his head, apparently confused.

Emma: "You don't have a file like that?"

Blaine: "No, I do, it's just... that's so fucking weird."

Emma: "What?"

Blaine: "I was just thinking about that file."

Blaine slides out of his chair, walks over to his things, and pulls out his laptop. Emma watches impatiently as he places the laptop down, his fingers moving across his keyboard. He pauses for a moment, before turning to the camera.

Blaine: "I'm going to turn that off."

Emma: "What? Why?"

Blaine: "I want this between us."

Emma seems startled.

Emma: "You don't want the others to know about this file?"

Blaine: "Anders knows about it. It's what exonerated me, apart from the fact that there was no blood on my shoes."

Emma: "So why only me?"

Blaine: "There's something I didn't tell you guys earlier- something that my reflection said to me."

Emma: "And this video has to do with that?"

Blaine: "Yeah. Emma- I need you to trust me."

Emma: "I do."

Blaine: "No, you don't understand. I need you to trust me, even when everyone else is telling you not to. I may need you to pretend you don't trust me. I just need you to trust me, and only me, even if it seems like everything's gone fucked."

Emma seems startled by this, but her expression clears, and she is quite calm.

Emma: "I've trusted you for a long time, Blaine. I still trust you. Completely and fully."

Blaine stares into her face for a long moment. Whatever he sees there must give him peace, because he seems to relax, before getting up and moving toward the camera. He utters only one word- "Good"- before turning it off completely.