April 20th, 202X
We’re on the street now. We walk toward an alley and duck into it, away from the view of the populace. I turn toward Hailey and finally speak.
CELLHEX-V3: WHY ARE YOU SO INTERESTED IN THIS?
HAILEY: hm? oh, i’m not.
CELLHEX-V3: DON’T LIE. YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING CONTEMPLATIVE AND AMUSED EVER SINCE THAT RECEPTIONIST STARTED SPEAKING.
HAILEY: she’s merely... interesting, is all.
HAILEY: there’s a tinge of familiarity to her. something i can’t quite place.
CELLHEX-V3: OKAY.
CELLHEX-V3: DO NOT DATE HER.
HAILEY: fascinating thing to say.
CELLHEX-V3: OKAY! LET ME BE “LESS CRASS OH HO HO JEEVES WOULD YOU PASS THE CAVIAR” FUCK YOU OKAY WHAT I MEAN IS WE ARE ON A MISSION HERE THE OCEAN IS FUCKING GONE IT’S BEEN A WEEK ALREADY ALL OUR LIVES ARE ON THE BRINK HERE
CELLHEX-V3: AND IF YOU GO OFF GETTING DISTRACTED THEN YOU ARE GOING TO JUGGLE ANOTHER TEN THINGS AT ONCE AND WE NEED A HERE.
HAILEY: well. still, it felt very familiar. as though such a meeting was preordained.
CELLHEX-V3: WELL WHATEVER. SUCH ARE THE WHIMS OF—
CAL ATLAS: Hey, guys!Wait, what?
I turn my head toward the source of the noise. Cal Atlas, along with Phoebe Atlas-Florencio and Vash, are casually present, here on the street, in this random universe in one of the few surviving Clouds. Hailey whips her head around so fast I’m afraid she’s about to snap it.
HAILEY: what in the name of the Ocean are you doing here?
CAL ATLAS: That’s exactly it! The fucking Ocean’s gone! So I’ve been looking for you!
CELLHEX-V3: WAIT, HOW’D *YOU* FIND OUT? I DON’T RECALL YOU MAKING A HABIT OF GOING INTO UNINHABITABLE LOCATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS
VASH: oh, I was the one who figured it out
Hailey’s eyes widen.
HAILEY: the Black Rose?
CELLHEX-V3: WHAT? UH... CAN YOU SPEAK UP?
VASH: oh, she said the Black Rose.
CELLHEX-V3: WOAH. HOW’D YOU DO THAT MARKDOWN?
CAL ATLAS: Huh?
VASH: I’m vaguely aware of a lot of things
VASH: anyway it wasn’t the sword
VASH: my dreams just felt like they were missing something huge and untapped
VASH: so I asked cal to help me see if the Ocean was still there
VASH: and it wasn’t!
CAL ATLAS: So then, I was like, who would know why the Ocean’s gone? Because that’s a pretty big thing! I would’ve thought that we’d all have died.
HAILEY: most did.
VASH: the sky’s looking a lot clearer.
HAILEY: indeed.
HAILEY: ... who’s the girl?
PHOEBE: AH! uh, sorry, i-i’m ph-phoebe!
A stutter? I have to wonder if it’s nerve-induced or natural. Vash looks at me and rolls their eyes like it’s impolite to wonder about such things. How are they doing that?
HAILEY: well, this is actually particularly related to you, Vash. a sword made from a version of you was used to kill the Auxiliary Centurion, thus ridding the world of a Demiurge of Limit, and causing the unobserved world to slip into disarray.
Vash nods.
VASH: awesome
CAL ATLAS: Uh, not awesome, hello!? I don’t... really remember... Okay, the Demiurges are important, yeah?
Had I a mouth, I’d crack a grin like Hailey does. He doesn’t even know that he’s a clone of the Realm Goddess.
VASH: woah. seriously?
VASH: I guess that explains why he looks like that in my dreams
CAL ATLAS: Huh? I thought the Centurions were its? Wait, did I assume that, or...?
What the hell!? They know something I don’t...
VASH: sure I do
CAL ATLAS: Sure you do. Or sure I do.
VASH: yup exactly what I meant
CAL ATLAS: Wait, actually, it’d be “sure you did.”
HAILEY: hmm. you’re interesting.
VASH: thanks, I get that a lot
PHOEBE: (what...? is sh-she flirting wuh-with you?)
VASH: (no, I don’t think so)
She isn’t.
VASH: (yeah she isn’t)
Huh!
CAL ATLAS: So... Is the Ocean gone forever now?
HAILEY: no, no. we’ll be getting it back in order shortly. worry not, Atlas.
HAILEY: that said, we really should be going
CAL ATLAS: Wait! I wanna know more! You always leave without telling me what the hell is going on!
HAILEY: it’s a need to know basis, atlas! and you do not need to know.
CELLHEX-V3: CUT HIM SOME SLACK
I open one of my drawers and pull out a radio. I toss him it and he catches it with one hand, grinning and clicking his tongue when he notes his own dexterity.
CELLHEX-V3: THERE, YOU’LL GET LIBRARY OF REALM BROADCASTS NOW
Hailey looks at me with a pained grin like I just shot her in the chest. But she doesn’t have to worry, because that’s my feed. I’ll be the only one giving him any information. She tsks.
HAILEY: hurry up and open the Door
I nod and take a key out from my drawer, finally close it, and open a seam with the key, peeling back the layers of air to reveal a Door.
CAL ATLAS: Woah, sick... Is that how you get around? I’ve been doing this different thing where Vash, Phoebe, and I do the Dragon Ball fusion pose and make a portal. This would be way easier!
PHOEBE: (it’s not ruh-really the f-ffusion pose, it’s m-more of a g–g-group h-huddle...)
CAL ATLAS: Fuck... She’s right...
HAILEY: fascinating!
Hailey rolls her eyes and walks through the Door. I stall before following her, looking at the trio.
VASH: see you on the flipside, cellhex-v3
CELLHEX-V3: I NEVER GAVE YOU MY NAME
: I didn’t need you to
I shiver and walk through the Door.