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[uzuki]

We've got to hurry! We have to find Shion!

[It might have seemed strange to someone else, Shion speaking about herself in the third person, but Shion had already grown accustomed to it. Her past self was outside somewhere, in the warzone that Miltia had become over the last few hours. Shion knew she had precious little time to find herself, and rescue her parents, but she had resolved to do it.

She sprinted ahead of the group, and raced out of the large glass doors of the Labyrinthos lobby, and into... Another lobby? this is where she enters Prospero. She staggers to a stop, and takes a moment to stare at the interior of the hotel lobby she now occupies.]

No... This can't be right...

[She hurries outside again, and this time makes it. But it's very obvious that she isn't on Miltia anymore.]

I don't understand... What's going on?!

[Feel free to welcome this confused and frantic woman who is now trying to figure out how she has time or spaced jumped yet again.]

Comments

[uzuki]

It doesn't make any sense Allen! Lieutenant Virgil was still alive because Jin saved him, just like Kevin had in the real past.

And if Kevin came back as a testament to help us, why... Why would he want me to relive any of that?

[want_a_vacation]

But he died after that, during the Realian riots. He locked himself in the church with them to give us a chance to escape. Doesn't that prove that all we really were was spectators, and that nothing that happened there affected the real past?

And Kevin...I'm honestly not sure why he did all of what he did.

*Which technically isn't a lie. He knows Kevin isn't who Shion thought he was, but he still doesn't fully understand him.*

[uzuki]

That doesn't prove anything! Even if that's true, Jin said we could be affecting the future. If Lieutenant Virgil is in danger, we can try harder to help him!

[want_a_vacation]

Shion, this is all in the past from my perspective. I saw him sacrifice himself to save us from the Realians, but it didn't change anything. The version of him we remembered even showed up right after that.

[uzuki]

Even so...

[She trails off, as she had been rummaging in her pocket. She looks somewhat confused as he pulls, from her pocket, a cellphone.]

How did I get this?

[want_a_vacation]

Oh, everyone gets one of those when they show up. You can use it to get in touch with the other people who've been trapped here.

You should also have a key and a card somewhere.

[uzuki]

Okay, since you know so much, why are we here? What's the point of all this?

[want_a_vacation]

If I knew that, I'd have a better chance of knowing how to stop it. All I know is the situation...and I'm not sure you'll believe me about some of it until you can see it for yourself.

[uzuki]

Like what?

Strikes muttered and probably audible to anyone but Shion :D

[want_a_vacation]

*Facepalm.*

I should have known you would ask that...

There's an extra hour in the day here, right before midnight. It's called the Dark Hour, and the natives and everything electronic except for our phones freeze. That's also when monsters we call Shadows appear and overrun the town.

This week's been a little unusual, but normally we can't use our unnatural or superhuman abilities from home, so instead we usually fight either with the weaponry available in this time or an entity called a Persona that's apparently part of its owner.

xD

[uzuki]

[She stares at him flatly. He was right.]

Allen, none of that makes any sense.

[want_a_vacation]

I knew you were going to say that...but I can't prove anything about the Shadows or Dark Hour to you until midnight. And while I can technically summon my Persona at any time, it leaves me exhausted if I do it outside of Dark Hour.

[uzuki]

Fine. I'll go look for the others until this... Dark Hour starts. You can show me then.

[want_a_vacation]

You'd probably be best off looking back at the hotel for Gaignun. He tends to spend most of his free time either in his room or at the Elysium cafe.

[uzuki]

That's not what I meant, Allen.

[She's gonna try to find the Elsa, so she can really cement her disappointment.]

[want_a_vacation]

*...Yeah, another facepalm.*

If they were here, they'd be on the phone network.

[uzuki]

You can't know that for sure!

[Maybe they didn't get phones... Or they're unconscious... Or they're being themselves and not thinking to contact Shion...]

[want_a_vacation]

The phones have a listing of every captive here. And I've never heard of a case of someone not getting one.

[uzuki]

Well I've never heard of a place that kidnaps people and gives them phones to use.

[want_a_vacation]

Well, you have now. They want something from us, and apparently they think it's in their best interests if we can communicate.

[uzuki]

[She sighs, and rubs her temple. Now she's getting the headache.]

We're not getting anywhere like this.

[want_a_vacation]

*Welcome to his world.*

You're just now noticing?

*Sigh.*

Look, if the Elsa was here, I doubt they would have gone a year without finding me. We're just going to have to accept that there are only a small handful of people here from our world and work with what we have.

[uzuki]

Then what are you saying we should do?

[She almost continues on to say something mean, but she manages to stop herself. She's calming down a bit anyway. Not that she's any happier.]

[want_a_vacation]

There are people here we can get help from even if they aren't from our world. They don't really know anything more than I do, but it still means we're not alone.

[uzuki]

[She doesn't have much to say about that... She still feels pretty alone, since Allen doesn't agree with her.]