[Video]

[pengeen]

[When the video starts, the first thing I'm sure anyone would notice is that Kidou isn't wearing his goggles. For once, everyone can see his gorgeous red eyes. And if anyone were inclined to notice this kind of thing, he looks dead beat tired and a bit like he had rolled all over some dirt though that's not the case. Needless to say, he looked like a mess.]

Good afternoon... this is Kidou Yuuto.

[His voice doesn't have the normal liveliness to it, either.]

I was wondering if there was anyone who could work with glass in the Tower. [He holds up his goggles, showing off a bad crack in the right lens.] I'm not sure if anyone could fix this kind of crack, but if you'd be willing to help out, I'd really appreciate it. Even making a new lens would be okay.

... These goggles are really important to me.

Comments

[moontothetide]

I...I think I was, um, back home. In my world.

But...it, it wasn't right. I mean, it was destroyed, and I was the only one there, s-so of course it wasn't right, but...

...I-I didn't need to eat. I don't know how long I was gone, but...I-I didn't feel hungry at all, while I was there. How long was I gone?

[pengeen]

I don't know how long you were gone but do you...

... Do you really think that it wasn't your world? [Now he looks wide awake and completely interested]

[moontothetide]

Well, I...

...I-I don't know. [She wilts a bit at her own uncertainty.] I mean, um, people disappear from the tower, s-sometimes. People have, um, told me that. And, um, and even for them, it would have been a lot to make up. I didn't feel like it was just an illusion, but...th-that's the thing about illusions. [You never notice them until it's too late, and sometimes not even then.]

But...well, um, I just started thinking, after a while. About, um, what we talked about. And m-maybe they just dragged me off and s-stuck me in a tube and m-maybe fed me intravenously. I mean...th-they could have. And there's still a lot of tower we haven't seen.

[pengeen]

[He's quiet for a minute as he thinks about that. The thought of their worlds actually being destroyed was enough to make him want to cry.... but thinking that they just shoved people into tubes and fed them the images of the worlds being destroyed was almost terrifying. It's all pretty screwed up, no matter how he looks at it.]

...I've only talked to one other person who was sent back to their world... and she seemed to be entirely convinced it was real.

But it's hard to say if that's really the case or not.

[moontothetide]

Y-Yeah, it is. I mean...I-I don't know which one I hope is true. Even if they did just, um, kidnap me for a bit, it doesn't mean my world is s-still there...

[Not that she misses it too much. The people, yes, but not really the world itself.]

I just know that, um, I-I didn't develop the ability to not have to eat while I was here. When I got back, um, I-I managed to kill one of those monsters that run really fast. F-For the restaurant. Must have s-stuffed my face for an hour.

[pengeen]

... Shoving people into tubes and making them believe our worlds are really gone sounds like something they would do. [He seems almost personally offended at the thought of them doing something like that..]


I'm sorry you came back so hungry, though...

[moontothetide]

It's okay. I, I mean...I guess I was still, um, kind of in practice for it. I mean, I remembered, f-from the pods. [Of course, even then she'd had something to eat, but up until coming to the Tower Tara had never had to deal with serious hunger of any kind before, so any point of reference or comparison she has helps.]

I, I know some magic, that helps with the restaurant. [Her smile is almost mischievous this time. Anything that stops the tower jerking them around is a good thing, right?] I can take you there, s-sometime.

[pengeen]

[After a moment or so, he manages to smile back.] I haven't actually been to the restaurant yet, but I wouldn't mind going with you sometime.

[moontothetide]

[Tara actually beams. Hooray for getting to provide tasty food to children!]

Great! I mean, um, whenever is good for you. Like, um, m-maybe after you get your goggles fixed. I've been there a couple of times already, s-so it's not like it's that big of a deal for me.

[pengeen]

Sure, that sounds fine.

[moontothetide]

Great. Um, I, I-I'll let you know. When it's all sorted out.

[...]

Kidou? W-What happened here?

[pengeen]

...I'm sure you've probably already heard about the whale. It started slamming against the tower, and the top floors collapsed. Even the dorms were completely ruined at first, so when people died, it took them and extra day or two and they woke up in the infirmary instead. And at some point the whale left and monsters started flooding the floors, but I wasn't around when that happened so I don't know the details about that.

[moontothetide]

...yeah. Um, I heard about the whale. Just that it was here, though. I, I guess no one would know anything else about it.

Great. More, um, things getting broken. I-I died, once, when the "coming back" part didn't work right. It was...pretty bad.

Are things getting fixed? I mean, it's, um, it's kind of hard to tell, from here.

[pengeen]

The dorms are fixed for the most part, so they're probably working on the rest of the Tower too.

[moontothetide]

Yeah. I, I saw.

The, um...I guess the trunks got pretty smashed up, though. Still pretty smashed up.

...I, I hope you didn't lose anything important. Besides the glasses, I mean. [Tara lost a photo album, among other things, and broke down in tears over it.]

[pengeen]

I didn't, luckily. [He only really has two super important things to him and if he lost either of those....]

...did you?

[moontothetide]

...not really. [Yes.] I mean, I-I keep some stuff, like my knife, and my journal, a-and that thing I got for the pod-event, I-I keep those with me.

...just some clothes. And, um, and some statues.

...and a photo album.

[That had hurt the worst. Besides Mr. Gordo, it was the only thing she really had left to connect her to Buffy and Dawn and Sunnydale at all.]

[pengeen]

I'm sorry for your loss. [He frowns a bit sadly. He knows how much that must hurt, loosing something like a photo album, especially if it had pictures of your family or friends..]

[moontothetide]

S-So am I.

...I, I guess that's, um, just the price I pay. F-For not being here. M-Maybe I could have saved stuff, if I was. I mean, I'm not great at teleporting, but...I can, if I r-really have to.