[video]

[shortwired]

[So there's a half- naked, bewildered kid with tears streaming down his face in the square. WAS HE ABUSED, YOU ASK? DID SOMEONE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIM? OR PERHAPS HE'S ONE OF THOSE CRAZY MASOCHISTS WHO ENJOY PAIN because there's still a ghost of a smile present.

In any event, he's going to continue to appear bewildered for a few moments more.]

Shit-

[He hastily scrubs the tears away with both hands. WHOOPS.]

This isn't an illusion, I can already tell. [SWIFT RECOVERY!] So. What's going to happen next? I'll only be patient for a little bit. Two minutes, maybe three. The clock is ticking.

Comments

[sixwinged]

The ticking never fucking stops. Get used to it.

[shortwired]

[is this like a fucked up Kogarasumaru bonding field trip. HE DID NOT SIGN UP FOR IT.]

Great. So what now? Where are we?

[sixwinged]

[ TOO BAD NUE. You're here now, deal with it. ]

The City. Some dumb ass pocket dimension without a door out.

Your team isn't here. If you're lucky, you'll be gone soon enough.

[shortwired]

[DUN WANNA DUN WANNA DUN WANNA-]

Let me guess. We're at the mercy of some sort of erratic, fickle regime. There's no discernible exit but they have the power to give and take, as it were. Am I right?

[His team. The kids...There's an invisible hand squeezing his heart. Damn it...]

They'll be fine. [he's talking more to himself.] They've got my shitty excuse for a father with them.

[sixwinged]

You're catching on quick enough.

They won't even notice you're gone at all, shithead.

[shortwired]

How many? Do they operate in a pack or or separately?

...Next you're going to say we exist in two places at once, aren't you, bastard.

[old habits. they die very hard.]

[sixwinged]

I've counted three. There's probably more out there.

No! I'm going to say that time's fucked up here. When we go back, it's like we never even left.

[shortwired]

[long, long pause]

You've gone back?

[sixwinged]

Yeah. Not by choice or anything. I just fucking went, and came right back here.

[shortwired]

[another pause. he's gonna have a lot to think about.]

Sora Takeuchi would find this phenomenon very fascinating.

[sixwinged]

Sora Takeuchi is shit.

[shortwired]

Powerful shit. But then again, shit is shit.

[sixwinged]

Shit's shit no matter how fucking powerful it is.