AUDIENCE: HIKARU

[retellers]

Comments

[retellers]

It's all right. I'm sure you were busy.

[ they nod, taking the things hikaru brought. ]

I am aware.

[heartablaze]

...Sort of. A lot happened. [Her hair is short now! That sure happened.] But I still should have come to talk to you.

Chijin said you remembered something a couple weeks ago, right?

[retellers]

Yes, although it is nothing new, at this point. You already know of it.

[heartablaze]

I do?

[//jeopardy music]

It's not your drawings, is it?

[retellers]

My drawings...? No.

[heartablaze]

[ummmm]

Mn... I dunno, then?

Chijin and Haku-san have been using boy words when they talk about you, but I don't remember you telling me that.

[retellers]

Oh. That never came up, I suppose. I have been male since the start.

[heartablaze]

Mmn. It seemed rude to ask, so I thought it was just something you couldn't remember. But I know now! Goat-kun, then. Okay.

Do you know what's happened with the removed people, Goat-kun? I know I got a message from Schwann last week, and I have something different on my PHS this week...

[retellers]

They're in another dimension. I suppose you can think of it as an afterlife.

The pathway is very unstable, though. Only we Leaders can cross, and it is unsafe even for us. That would also be why any messages are unclear--I suppose the device loses its memories along the way.

[ that's not how technology works but goat doesn't know that, it's fine. close enough. ]

[heartablaze]

They've been able to speak to you, then? Raven-san, Shuuya-kun, Shiro-san... they can all still talk to the six of you okay?

[She should feel more... excited about this, shouldn't she? It's not that she isn't, and the hope and happiness does still swell in her chest. But it's muted, as though someone has put a careful lid on her normally-boiling pot of a heart, keeping her tone far more even than usual.


Oh well, probably nothing.]

I... I know Schwann knew something. I don't know if he learned it from one of the leaders, or from someone there, but he warned against some people. I spoke to someone on another team, and they confirmed that one of those people did actually kill someone and never got caught.

I... can't tell you who, Goat-kun, but...

Is... it true that the Realm is what is making people kill each other? That people are fragmenting, and that the only way to stop it is to, um... remove whoever is falling apart?

[retellers]

I don't know. I have never sensed anything myself, so I only know what all of you have been saying to each other.

But I don't think the other Leaders have any reason to lie, either. It's true, at least, that after Virid spilled blood, things never fully stabilized.

[ virid ruined everything ]

[heartablaze]

What... do you know, then, Goat-kun?

I can go to the other leaders if I need to, but I... wanna hear whatever I can. There's only four of us left, and I...

I don't want to be a burden on Chijin or Haku-san or Onee-chan... or you. I want to know what's happening, even if it's not a good thing to hear. I don't want to blame the people who killed others when their only other option was going to be worse, and I don't want to blame the people that kept secrets for those they loved because they were frightened.

I blame this place. And I want to figure out how to stop this splintering, before anyone else needs to die.

[retellers]

[ he tilts his head. ]

Young one, I truly do not know anything that you do not, that I can say. Why do you assume I do?

[heartablaze]

Someone does, Goat-kun. And I don't want to keep finding answers on accident. I'm...

[An exhale, very subtly frustrated, before her composure comes right back.]

I'm tired of watching the people I love hurt. That's all.

[retellers]

Then I advise you to keep doing your best and talk to others.

[heartablaze]

...

I'll try, Goat-kun.

I know you said there might be a way to bring the removed people back, and you know where they are now. Is... there any way we can get them across that bridge you talked about? Not right now, but... someday?

[retellers]

That would be the way to bring them back, I imagine. Essentially, in this context, it would be the same as reviving the dead.

[heartablaze]

You said it's really unsafe, though... If we tried it right now, it would be really bad, right?

I wonder what we can do to make it safer for them.

[retellers]

Participants have no way of accessing the path right now. Even if they did try, I imagine they would only shatter inside.

[heartablaze]

Mmn.

We don't, but... you still do. It wasn't something you knew about before, so things are changing. I'm gonna believe they'll keep changing.

Elsa-sama said that the Realm is like a tree that's growing around some of the things we're doing. That we're affecting what happens, but that we just can't do it directly. That path can't be any different, can it?

[retellers]

Likely so. It is affected by nova, at the very least.

[heartablaze]

[She nods.]

I wonder if the others... the removed... I wonder if they can still create Nova. They still remember us, which means they can still create memories, so... maybe they can still help.

[She pulls an oreo out of her skirt pocket. Delicious! She just twists it apart for now, brow furrowing.]

Have you only remembered the one thing? Or have you been getting more as we get more nova?

[retellers]

I have regained memories alongside the rest of you--however, nothing of what I recall would be of assistance to you or anyone.

[heartablaze]

It's okay. I just... I always want to know more about you, Goat-kun.

I know a couple things - that you're kind and you try your best, and that all you want to do is help no matter what happens. I know you like bread and the Oreo cereal. I know animals like you, and you really seem to feel at home with them... and you seem really happy when you draw. I think Goat-kun is a gentle person, so...

I'm sorry if it's pushy to keep asking. I'm just hopeful for you, and for the others. I want to help you remember.

[retellers]

I do not mind, though... most of what I remember is not very happy, I should warn you.