06x05 - Chapter One Hundred: The Jughead Paradox

[bunniefuu]

[Jughead] The following
isn't an imaginary story.

It happened.

It starts with a corpse
on a lonely country road.

While in the town of Rivervale...

Archie Andrews has somehow
just come back from the dead.

[Betty] Arch?

Sorry I woke you, Betty.

No. It's okay.

I was having a nightmare.

What was it about?

The whole town was sacrificing you.

[thunder rumbling]

[Toni] Sorry I woke you, Fangs.

Oh, I was just...

having this crazy-ass dream.

You were...

drowning.

And you came back as a ghost.

Was I trying to hurt Baby Anthony?

I was having the
strangest dream, Reggie.

Did I get dragged to Hell in it?

Nana, what are you doing in my room?

I had the most frightful dream, child.

Same. I, um...

You and I swapped
bodies for some reason.

[clock ticking]

[exploding]

[gasps]

[sighs]

[thuds]

Morning. How'd you sleep?

Uh... I'm not sure.

Oh, were you up late writing?

No, I woke up in Archie's garage.

I think I was sleepwalking.

Oh, it's probably just nerves.

[sighs] Yeah.

Wait, what am I supposed
to be nervous about?

Well, it is your first day back
at school teaching, isn't it?

[Tabitha] You know, it's got
to be slightly nerve-racking.

But don't worry, it will
be great. You will do great.

["Don't You Forget About Me" playing]

[water running]

Hey, Jughead!

What's up?

Ben?

You're Ben Button?

Of course I am. Who else would I be?

Ben, you d*ed.

You jumped out of a window when you

sacrifice yourself to the Gargoyle King.

[imperceptible]

No, you're thinking of that
dude from Stonewall Prep.

Mr. Chipping? Yeah.

No, no.

You did it first.

Maybe you hallucinated it?

Yeah, maybe I'm just
hallucinating all this...

FYI, daytime hallucinations are a
symptom of paranoid schizophrenia.

But listen, have an awesome day.

[Archie] Jug, hey!

You okay, bro? You look like
you're about to pass out.

Just light-headed.

What's going on?

Not much. Just updating
everyone on the wedding plans.

Wedding?

Who's getting married?

[Cheryl giggles] Awkward.

Jug, Betty and I are getting
married this weekend,

and you're my best man.

[cell phone ringing]

Impeccable timing, as always.

Yes, Dr. Curdle?

Miss Cooper, I have some
very distressing news.

This afternoon, I received a corpse.

Jughead Jones's corpse.

Is this more of your
gallows humor, Doctor?

Because I'm looking right at
Jughead, who is very much alive.

That's not possible.

Look, if you're still upset about
not being invited to my wedding,

get over yourself.

Goodbye and please stop harassing me.

Hey, you okay?

Yeah. Dr. Curdle's
attempt at humor, I guess.

He claims that your body is on his slab,

which is obviously impossible
because I'm talking to you.

- [door opens]
- [Dr. Curdle] Mr. Jones.

It can't be.

And yet it is.

Well, may I?

[ominous music playing]

[glass breaking]

It's a paradox. It must be.

How did I... How did he die?

Asphyxiation.

His wind pipe was crushed.

He was strangled.

And where was he found?

The Lonely Highway.

At the town limits. By the sign.

Face down.

Where are his clothes,
his personal effects?

Keep this body on ice
and under wraps, okay?

The Lonely Highway, you said?

[ominous music playing]

[Jughead] It was
impossible, yet happening.

Somehow, I had in my possession

a set of comic books that
seemed to be about me

and my friends.

[imperceptible]

Where had I gotten them?

I couldn't remember.

And why was my doppelganger
clutching one when he d*ed?

For that matter, how did
I even have a doppelganger?

Hoping to find sane answers for
these impossible questions,

I sat down and began to read...

from the beginning.

[box thudding]

How many more boxes of
comic books do you have?

This is just a fraction.

[Archie] I'll be honest with you, Jug.

I didn't know you were that into comics.

Well, what can I say,
Archie? I contain multitudes.

[ominous music playing]

Hey, how was your first day back?

[Jughead] Tabitha.

I feel like I'm living in a
movie about parallel universes

and I need your help to figure this out.

Okay.

I've been having these
strange hallucinations.

And these comics,

they're about us.

Our lives.

The first are called Riverdale,

and they're set in a
town called Riverdale.

And then there's this expl*si*n,
and suddenly it's Rivervale.

Okay, So you think Riverdale

is a parallel universe to Rivervale?

No, no.

I think Rivervale is a
parallel universe to Riverdale.

It's like the comics.

Riverdale comes first.

And then there's Rivervale,
which is a lot like Riverdale

except it's darker, nastier.

It's, um, it's like a warped
reflection of Riverdale,

and it just keeps getting more twisted.

So we live in the parallel universe?

Yeah.

I know it's counterintuitive.

Read them,

then we'll talk.

[Jughead narrating] And Tabitha did.

And her experience reading
them was very similar to my own.

I remembered recent events clearly,

but going back further
in my memory was...

hazier.

Reading about events in the Riverdale
comic books made me recall them,

but as Tabitha said...

That's so strange.

I mean, I remember these things
happening, but not in Riverdale.

All this happened here in Rivervale,

didn't it?

[Jughead narrating] I went
to Betty and Archie next.

I wanted to ask them about
one page in particular.

Do you remember that expl*si*n, Archie?

No.

Not at all.

That event is the one that
ended the Riverdale comics.

The next issue is when Rivervale started.

I have a theory that that
expl*si*n is what created

this parallel universe we
currently find ourselves in.

Wait. I kind of remember
something about this.

Arch, didn't you have a dream
about an expl*si*n like this one

or am I making that up?

[imperceptible]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But
that was just a dream, Jug.

[Jughead narrating] I went
to Veronica and Reggie next.

This is impossible.

What is it?

These comics depict my father
terrorizing Riverdale for years,

but my father d*ed the
night before my quinceanera.

I was so distraught. We had to
cancel the Jonas Brothers performance.

That's a massive discrepancy.

Because in Riverdale,
Hiram is the main villain.

He's like Darth Vader.

So if Rivervale is the dark
twin-verse then who is our Big Bad?

How come I look different?

What do you mean?

I mean, I look like two
different people, look.

Both devastatingly handsome.

But other than that...

That might be an anomaly.

Have you shown these to Cheryl?

[sighs]

So, according to this horrid
pamphlet, Kevin Keller and Moose Mason

discovered the corpse of my dead brother

whilst secretly canoodling in the woods?

Yeah.

How's that sync up with
your memory of Jason's death?

It doesn't, you ghoul-lunatic.

To begin with, Jay Jay's not dead.

What're you talking
about? That's impossible.

I mean, your life was
basically defined by his death.

I don't know what to tell you,

but I can assure you
he is still very alive.

No, he's dead. You
had a funeral for him,

and then you talked to
his corpse for months.

- [door opens]
- [footsteps approaching]

Oh, hey, Jughead. I
didn't know you were here.

You ready to go hit the court, Cher-Cher?

Yeah, I just need a minute.
Wait for me at the convertible?

Sure. Don't take too long.

Uh... We... We had an
in-memoriam page for him...

in our yearbook.

No, hobo, we didn't.

Now, if you'll excuse me,

my beloved and very much alive twin brother

and I are off to play doubles. Toodles.

And feel free to see yourself out.

[Jughead narrating] And then,
I had one of my hunches.

[school bell rings]

I was right.

Though Riverdale and Rivervale
diverged in ways minor and major,

they were analogous.

But I needed to understand
the rules of these worlds.

I needed to sharpen my
knowledge of parallel universes.

Damn, you're all knotted up, babe.

- What gives?
- Jughead.

He triggered me with all
that talk about my father.

- Yeah, Donnie Darko is the worst.
- [sighs]

I got you, though.

How can Reggie make it all better?

[knocking on door]

Hey, babe. Miss me?

I'm sorry, Mr. Jones, but The
Philosophy of Parallel Universes

was checked out years
ago and never returned.

What?

Who checked it out?

Dilton Doiley.

[sighs] Great.

Can't even ask him because he's dead.

Mr. Doiley is alive.

In fact, he teaches
physics just down the hall.

Dilton.

Hey, Jughead.

I heard you were coming back
to teach. We've missed you.

[woman] Yes, we have.

Ethel, what are you doing here?

[Dilton] Ethel's my teaching assistant.

Oh, yeah?

So, I shared my wild
theories with Dilton

- who, miraculously, said...
- I believe you, Jughead.

And I know a thing or two
about parallel universes.

Okay. I think the expl*si*n at
the end of issue of Riverdale

is what created Rivervale,
like the Big Bang.

- It's as valid as any theory.
- Why do you think

the events that happened in Riverdaleare
playing out differently here?

In my research, parallel
universes are exact copies

or mirror images of one another.

What you're describing is...

- something in between.
- Like a warping, right?

And...

I don't know, I have this...

impending sense of doom,

like something bad is going to happen.

- What do we do about it?
- Do?

We do nothing.

At any given moment, there
are an infinite number

of parallel universes in peaceful
coexistence with one another.

Just forget it, Jughead.

- Live your life.
- Dude, I'm not just gonna drop it.

I became aware for a reason,
conscious of the two universes.

Why? What about the other Jughead?

Isn't that a paradox?

It sounds more like an
anomaly than a paradox.

Dilton, he was m*rder*d by someone.

Then, have Sheriff Keller
investigate, if you want.

My advice, stop trying to figure
out the secrets to the universe.

You have a good life here, Jughead.

Go with the flow.

So, you're saying he's me?

No, bro, you're me.

- There is no you, all right?
- [Veronica] There is, though.

I mean, based on
Jughead's earlier visit,

there are two parallel universes,
and, apparently, two Reggies.

But I came first. I'm
Reggie Prime, baby.

Yeah, but you've been
in, like, three issues.

- I've been in dozens.
- [Veronica] Guys...

It doesn't matter who came first
or who has been in more issues.

You're both here now and whatever else,

we obviously can't have the two of you

running around town freaking
everybody the hell out.

So, you're both staying here
incommunicado until further notice.

I have to get the casino ready

for the bachelor and
bachelorette parties tonight.

- What? No. I'm coming.
- Yeah, I want to go.

It's Archie's bachelor
party, and I can't miss it.

I would much rather crash
the bachelorette party.

- [people screaming and cheering]
- [hip hop music playing]

Yeah!

- How're you hanging in there?
- Yeah, good.

You know, I'm not going to lie,

I've been thinking about
my dad a lot recently.

He would've loved this.

Me marrying Betty? Come on.

He would have been
beside himself. [chuckles]

This is stupid, but I keep...

I keep imagining...

that, somehow, he'll
show up for the wedding...

He'd be standing next to us, smiling.

[Jughead] It's not stupid, Arch.

[mellow music playing]

Come on, the night
is young. Let's dance.

Who wants to dance with me?

Excellent. Thank you, other Reggie.

- I knew I could count on you.
- Mm-hmm.

Come on, Reginald. Don't be shy.

You know, we could have a sweet
thing here, the three of us.

Nobody has to know.

Sorry, Ronnie.

I'm not used to sharing.

Yeah, well, me neither.

You know what, guys?

The irony is, Veronica
Lodge is more woman

than either of you can handle alone.

Thank you.

Oh-ho-ho!

Do you guys remember when
we were in high school,

we'd party too hard and be hung
over, and we could just skip class?

Yeah, the good old days.

[chuckles] Being a teacher sucks.

- [Cheryl] Oh, my God.
- Babe, what's wrong?

My brother has been kidnapped

by some lunatic calling
himself the Black Hood.

What? Who's the Black Hood?

How the hell should I know, Cousin?

But he's demanding some
insane ransom and saying,

if I don't pay, he's
going to k*ll my brother.

Listen, Archie, I know
this is gonna sound nuts.

I think I know where Jason
Blossom is being held.

Is this another one of those
parallel universe things?

Well, yeah. But if
the events of Riverdale

are repeating here in Rivervale, then...

I think Jason Blossom is
being held at the Whyte Wyrm.

What do you want to do?

Let's get Sheriff
Keller to back us up...

and let's go save him.

Jason, Jason...

What the hell is going on here?

[Jughead narrating] It occurred to
me that whoever was under the mask

was most likely the same
person who k*lled my double.

Rivervale's big bad.

Not Hiram Lodge, but...

Clifford Blossom.

[men grunting]

Excuse me. Are you kidding?

Why aren't you dressed
for the rehearsal dinner?

- Either of you?
- [both] He started it.

I don't care who started it.

I am so done with this macho,
toxic, competitive bull crap.

We're all adults here. So, we should
be able to act like we're adults.

But until that happens,
you're both grounded.

- What?
- No fair!

You two need to work out whatever it is

you need to work
out in order to co-exist.

You're out of the Pembrooke
and out of my life.

[door opens]

- [both] Idiot.
- [door closes]

- [chattering indistinctly]
- [glass clinking]

I want to thank everyone for being
here on this very special occasion.

It's not every night that a mom
gets to host the rehearsal dinner

for her daughter's wedding
to the finest young gentleman

in this town, Archie Andrews.

Now, I think my husband, Hal,
would like to say a few words.

Just a few, though.

[both chuckle]

Thank you, Alice. Uh...

I remember when Betty was born, she...

[door opens]

Toni? What is it? What's happened?

[Jughead narrating] I knew
it even before Toni said it.

She's dead.

Who's dead, Toni?

Cheryl.

She was strangled.

[Jughead] Betty and I went to Thornhill

straight from the rehearsal dinner.

The scene there was a gruesome one.

The rules of this universe were
making less sense every day.

It was as if Riverdale's reality was

trying to reassert itself on Rivervale,

and innocent people
like Cheryl were dying.

How could I take Dilton's
advice to do nothing?

Wait a minute.

Dilton. I've been wondering
who this universe's big bad is.

Could it be meek Dilton
Doiley hiding in plain sight?

Well, considering
you're here in the middle

of the night, I think it's time we talk.

- A little busy right now, Jughead.
- No.

Dilton, you asked me to
sit down and do nothing.

But it's happening again.

The same events that took place
in Riverdale are happening here!

People are dying.

Yes. Isn't it glorious?

- What?
- [grunts]

- Oh, you know what's going on, don't you?
- He does.

[Dilton] I'm sorry, Jughead.

But I had to see what would happen

if the universes remained conjoined.

And now, we know.

They've become dangerously unstable,

and eventually, they're
both going to implode.

Why are they going to implode?

[Ethel] Riverdale and Rivervale,

the two universes are expanding,

as universes do.

But they're still linked
at the point of creation.

So, what? They're
bleeding into each other?

They're just going to
expand into each other?

And I, Dilton Doiley,

will have a front row
seat to their destruction.

I'll be the first scientist to document

a prime and pocket universe
collapsing in real time.

How do we stop it?

We don't. We can't.

It's too late.

[laughs]

[coughing]

[choking]

[gasping]

[Jughead] Ethel?

I snuck poison into his grape juice.

Why?

Because he was willing to let
everyone in two universes die,

just so he could study

what happens when the
twin-versus implode.

Ethel, do you know how
to save these universes?

Of course I do, Jughead.

Well, one of them, the prime one,

I can save Riverdale.

Reggie?

Reggies?

[gasps]

You dim, egotistical,

narcissistic morons.

When I said "Settle this,"
I didn't mean with a duel.

That's the moment in
time the pocket universe,

this universe, was created.

If we could recreate the
circumstances of its birth,

then theoretically, the same energy

that conjoined them
could also separate them.

We just need to figure out
what that moment was and where?

I think I know.

Archie's bedroom, when
that b*mb exploded.

No, I think it would have to be a more

significant event than just an expl*si*n.

That might not sound like a lot,

but it was a confluence
of good and evil.

Archie and Betty's love, Hiram's, hate.

There was creation. I was
in the garage, writing,

and destruction, the expl*si*n.

There was science. Archie had this...

chunk of palladium on his desk,

and magic.

Cheryl's curse on the town.

That might definitely do it.

Okay, so by your logic,

we just have to accurately recreate
the events in Archie's bedroom.

As closely as we can.

And the universes should separate, yes,

The prime universe will stabilize,

and our universe will...

Cease to exist.

Everyone in Rivervale will die?

Jughead, Rivervale wasn't
ever meant to exist.

You, me, all of us,
our town, we're just...

Aberrations.

One, big, messy anomaly
that will simply stop being.

And if we do nothing...

both universes will collapse?

Billions will die?

So we just need to detonate
a b*mb under Archie's bed.

- With Betty and Archie in it.
- What?

No, no, no.

We're not blowing up Archie and Betty.

They're about to get married.

We have to recreate the
circumstances as closely as possible.

I mean, if not Betty and
Archie, then maybe it could be...

Me and Veronica.

What are we, if we're not
counterparts to Archie and Betty?

Ethel...

you're brilliant.

[Veronica] So if, what
you're saying is true,

and we do this...

we won't die?

No.

We'll... cease to exist painlessly.

All so Riverdale,

a universe we don't even
know for sure exists,

- can be spared.
- It does exist, Veronica.

It's a universe of high school dances,

and masked serial K*llers,
of football, and milkshakes

and musicals, and cults,

diabolical board games
and murderous nuns.

[sighs]

It's a world where
billions of people will die

if we don't split the universes.

All right.

Let's do it.

Let's make out to save the universe.

One thing.

Can we do it during the wedding?

Because I'm not really in the mood?

Yeah, I hear that. Same.

Here's to Vughead becoming cannon.

[Jughead narrating] Is it
possible to be nostalgic for a life

that you're not even sure is yours.

Flipping through the
yearbook, I remembered things

as if I'd seen them
in a movie of my life.

[door opening]

All right, Lodge.

We doing this or what?

Archie, what are you doing here?

You know, when you didn't
show up to my wedding,

I knew, you'd be doing something stupid

like trying to separate
the two universes.

Well, I can't let you do that.

Before you do anything final,

know that Veronica is on
her way here right now.

No, Jug, she's not.

Ronnie's dead.

- I k*lled her.
- [choking]

What?

Why would you do that?

Because you told her the
truth about the universe,

and she was gonna help you destroy it.

You k*lled Cheryl...

and the other Jughead?

Not Hiram or Clifford or Hal,

you're Rivervale's Big Bad...

I'm not a villain, Jug.

No one stays dead here.

Cheryl and Ronnie. They'll be back.

All the people we've lost...

Everyone comes back to
life in this universe.

Everyone comes back.

Is this about your dad?

Don't you get it?

He's coming home.

He has to.

He would never miss my wedding.

Especially not to Betty, he loved Betty.

Archie, how do you know all this?

The rules of this world?

How did you know to
k*ll the other Jughead

before I even showed you the comics?

Bro, I know all the
secrets of this universe.

I was at ground zero for
the birth of Rivervale.

The moment of creation and destruction.

The threshold of revelation.

I saw everything.

The other Jughead, the
dead, coming back to life,

the distortions.

It's not a copy or a mistake

like you think it is.

It's another chance for
me to be with my dad.

Archie...

If we don't separate these universes,

and soon, everyone's going
to die in both of them.

And you don't know
that Fred can come back.

- Not everybody does...
- If there's a . % chance

that he will,

I want to be here waiting for him.

I'm sorry.

[both grunting]

[coughing]

[gasping]

[g*n fires]

[Jughead gasping]

[panting] Hey.

Never leave a Cooper woman
standing at the altar.

Hey. Hey, are you okay?

How did you know to come here?

When Archie stood me up at the altar,

something clicked.

I don't know, like, my
life flashed before my eyes.

I knew to come here.

You also know that
Rivervale should not exist.

That b*mb needs to be detonated.

By us?

If you're willing.

[clock ticking]

What we do now. We just wait?

No. We need to recreate
the moments before

the original explosions
closely as possible.

Oh, well, Archie and I...

I know, I read it in the comics.

[knocking at door]

Hey. Whoa.

Hey, sorry. Look...

There may be a way to
separate the two universes

without erasing this one.

Okay?

Well, we should probably stop the b*mb.

Betty, could you please disarm it?

What I'm... What?

I don't know how to disarm a b*mb.

Yes, you do. You went
to the FBI Academy.

You've actually done it before,

when Polly had a b*mb
strapped to her body

[timer ticking]

You came back from the dead too.

Where were you

after Archie strangled you?

The great Pop's Chock'lit
Shoppe in the sky.

[bell jingles]

[ 's rock and roll music playing]

From the second I
walked through that door,

I immediately felt at peace.

The sweet Hereafter
Pops is a lot like ours,

except it also sells comics.

It's like one of those
old fashioned soda shops.

Everything about this
Pops is old-fashioned.

Grab something to read, and have a seat.

It's all you can eat.
On the house, of course.

And that's when I found it.

A special comic book

that came in between issues and ,

and it bridged the gap between
Riverdale and Rivervale.

It told the tale of two linked universes

and how, if that second universe

were to become separated
from the first, it would die.

Unless a new power source
could be found and maintained.

I was looking around at
all these comic books.

All these wonderful stories

made me realize what that
power source could be.

And so I resurrected,
and I came right here.

What is the other power source

that's going to fuel
Rivervale after it separates?

Imagination.

It's limitless and all powerful,

it's boundless and ever replenishing.

There's no fuel more potent,

no generator more awesome.

I don't understand.

I think I do.

The expl*si*n is destruction, right?

What's the opposite of destruction?

- Creation.
- Exactly.

I mean, it's all the comics,

how Jughead here is gonna save Rivervale

by becoming a living battery.

- A, um...
- Story generator?

That powers Rivervale by writing
the stories that fuel the universe?

So it doesn't have to keep
leeching off of Riverdale.

It's an over-simplification,
but, yeah, you write,

and Rivervale lives.

One thing though, once
you start producing,

you will have to be
in complete isolation.

I mean, think about if
someone saw two Jugheads

just walking and talking, it could
actually break down reality, so...

Well, no. No!

Then why can't you do it?

I'm the narrator.

He's the writer.

What does that mean? This isn't fair!

No! It's...

[sighs] It's how it has to be...

if everyone is going to
live, our family, our friends.

This is why I became aware, isn't it?

Because I'm both inside
and outside of the story.

In the end, the universe knew I'd
be the only one capable of saving it.

All right.

Where do I set up shop?

Dilton's bunker?

Your typewriter is already down there.

You'll have plenty of
paper and tons of food.

And once you're settled,
we'll, uh, seal you in.

This is insane. I will not be
able to live with myself, Jug.

Actually, you will, in time.

Well, very quickly, actually.

Soon you will forget all about
Jughead's sacrifice for you and for us,

and he will fade from memory.

[whispers] Oh, my gosh!

- This is...
- Hey, Hey! Look at me.

I need you to be strong.

Please.

I need you in my corner for this one.

Make sure that b*mb goes off.

Jughead.

It's gonna be okay.

Really.

We got this. You and me.

Saving the universes.

[narrator Jughead] It was at this moment,

that Jughead and Betty began, yet again,

the doomsday clock's countdown.

[clock ticking]

While in the living room,

Archie Andrews reanimated and
resumed his mission to stop Jughead.

Hey, Cooper, whatever happens...

We'll face it together.

[doorknob rattling]

[pounding on door]

[narrator Jughead] There
was nothing to do but wait.

Betty and Jughead held
each other tightly,

like children terrified of the dark.

As the b*mb's counter
finally reached zero,

Betty and Jughead braced themselves
for an expl*si*n that should have

obliterated one or more universes.

But instead...

never happened.

The b*mb was gone.

The pounding on the door had ceased.

And Betty and Jughead realized
that the storm had passed them by.

They survived.

They could resume their lives.

[people chattering indistinctly]

There you guys are.

We were just about to
send a search party.

Seriously! What were
you guys doing up there?

- Um... [chuckles nervously]
- I actually can't remember.

Don't mind him.

He always turns into a space cadet
when he's working on a new novel.

[chuckles]

No, seriously, what were
we... What were we doing?

Oh, come on, Betty. Your
spaghetti's gonna get cold.

- Hi.
- Hey. Thank you.

[kisses]

[narrator Jughead] After
dinner, Jughead and Tabitha

will start moving his belongings

out of Archie's garage and
into their new apartment.

Including a comic book collection,

Jughead had forgotten that he had.

And though he will
not know it in the moment,

this collection of comic books

and the secrets
contained within its pages

will one day save his and
countless others' lives.

[Ethel] So it worked.

Rivervale will continue to exist
in an endless time loop you created,

as long as you keep typing.

Luckily, I've got a lot of stories.

One question, though.

What happens in the
prime Riverdale universe?

[sighs]

Guess we'll never know
if someone did something

to change the course
of events in Riverdale.

_

[romantic music playing]

- [cell phone ringing]
- [clock ticking faintly]

Can you hear that?

[sighs] It's my phone.

- Hello.
- [man] Get out of that house, Betty!

Who is this?

Listen to me, there's
a b*mb under the bed.

You have to go now, right now!

We have to go.

Now.

- [expl*si*n]
- [glass shatters]

[ears ringing]

[imperceptible]