Battle for Resolving the Fate of the Universe (and also Dream Island Again)

Episode 3 - Really Depressing and Sad Episode

The soldier was just minding his own business when the sirens began to blare.

It was the start of his shift to do patrols around the base in an hour or so, and so he decided that he'd get a start on preparing for it now, so that he wasn't going to be rushing to get everything done before it began. Life wasn't all too eventful on the base ever since the world had ended: there were no threats of incoming enemies, no increased state of alert, none of anything. There was nothing but eerie and jarring silence, which, along with the fact that they were guarding some island in the middle of the deep blue sea, made the whole ordeal rather unsettling in some deep and personal level. The soldier usually didn't pay these facts much attention as he prepared for his patrols, however. He mostly spent his time cleaning his already clean gun for the third time that week, practicing his already mastered march, and ensuring that his throat was ready to bark out orders if need be. It could be worse, he reckoned. He could still be stuck in some remote corner of the world, trying to re-establish civilization and contact to their superiors (which may have been long gone by that point), while trying to fend off the wandering bands of survivors that, even though they had a wide variety of ideologies, were usually united on one thing: they wanted GD Inc dead. Not exactly a good prospect for him.

He stuffed all of his spare weapons and ammunition into his backpack, his original one from the (former) military base he used to call home. It was rather old now, with at least a few amateur sewing jobs done to keep the thing together, but it still did the job well. Despite its age, he usually kept it on his back while on patrol as it reminded him of the days long gone. He had been given a brand new backpack, which was exactly the same as the old one (only much newer, of course), but that had been gathering dust on his shelf. He put the backpack on and would grab his main weapon, a standard-issue GD Inc modified pistol which he had barely ever fired. He'd get used to the feeling of it in his hand for a few minutes (since it'd probably be stuck there for the entirety of his shift, just in case of course) before practicing his marching again. As he paced back and forth in his room, his eyes happened to naturally glance on one of the pictures that had been framed and was now sitting on his desk. He completely stopped in his march and would wearily walk up to it, with his stern expression gradually dissipating from his face as he approached. The picture wasn't as old as his backpack, but it clearly showed signs of age, with a few tears around the ages. It was a picture of him and a friend of his, a blue drop of water, in his former house.

What had happened to her?

The soldier had often tried to brush the memory of her aside, seeing it as being far too heavy for him to keep on his mind. It always seemed to creep back to his memory, however. It often struck whenever he was doing his 276th patrol around the base, when he had nothing to think about but what he was seeing right now. She was the closest friend he ever had, even though he could barely remember her name. Her full name appeared every once in a while in his head, like a solution to a long-standing problem suddenly appearing in a person's head when they open the fridge door, and he'd try his best to write it down on whatever he could get, but he normally forgot within a few hours. He did know it started with T, though. T was a good letter, though 'tangent' is a word that started with T. Tangents aside, much like all the other times his attention had been drawn to the picture, he couldn't help but naturally wonder as to where she was now. Was she out there, somewhere in the world? Was she still thinking about him from time to time, or had the pressures of the post-apocalypse had gotten to her, and his memory had pretty much disappeared entirely? What if, and he almost couldn't bear to think about it, she was already dead? The soldier shook his head. The thought of her being gone forever usually managed to take his attention away from the picture. He shouldn't be late for his patrols, after all.

It was immediately after that when the sirens began to blare, however. He was caught by surprise when all the lights in the vicinity went from their usual dull white to a near-blinding red, and the deafening roar of the sirens completely dominated his hearing. After a minute or so of this constant ringing, the horrid message was broadcast:

"To all currently dispatched soldiers in the facility: This is not a drill. I repeat, this is NOT a drill. The facility is currently under attack by enemy forces which has been rated as a Category X-Z by the GD Inc Standard Scale for Military Power. The likelihood of a successful defense against the enemy is near-zero. GD Inc Emergency Military Defense Protocols is now in effect. A full-scale attack against the enemy is to be launched. Enter offensive positions not with the intent to win, but to delay their advance. Retreating from the battle violates your contract with GD Inc. The company will forever remember your sacrifice as-"

The power then went out.

Backup power was quick to turn on not long after, with slightly less blinding red lights lighting up the now-dark hallways. The soldier immediately reached for his backpack, stuffing his pistol in there and grabbing a far more powerful firearm. Once he had the illusion of safety thanks to his new weapon, he'd cautiously step out of his room and look both ways, as if he was crossing the street. You never know if the enemies are already there, after all. Upon making sure that the entire corridor was clear, the soldier would slowly make his way to the nearest exit, not wanting to make even the slightest sound out of fear of being spotted. Not long after stepping out of his little nest of safety, gunshots and explosions began going off all around him as a huge battle seemed to be waged all around him. Despite the constant symphony of destruction, he could still hear the horrid screams of his fellow soldiers sticking out of the music like a sore, bloodied thumb. They were instantly dying to whoever this enemy was, seemingly not even managing to make a single dent into this mysterious enemy before an explosion silenced them. As it continued on, the soldier picked up the pace, wanting to join in on the battle and try his best to fend them off before it was too late. He made his way through the maze of corridors, having memorized the way out, and was astonished by what he saw on the other side.

He was shocked as he stared directly into the enemy, or rather, the lack of them. The fight against them was definitely visible: waves of soldiers were constantly rushing about and going in every direction, charging, yelling, and firing their weapons. This mysterious enemy, however, was nowhere to be seen. Were they somehow invisible? Had they managed to acquire cloaking technology beyond what even GD Inc had stored under its vast arsenal? He feared that that was the possibility until a closer look at the battle revealed the far more unsettling truth: the enemy was... Themselves. Or at least what looked like themselves, anyway. Dozens of metal cubes would rush out to face off against another dozen of similar cubes, resulting in a clash that would confuse absolutely anyone that bore witness to it. There was virtually zero way to differentiate between the two sides, other than the fact that the enemy was completely destroying them, and that their allies were currently writhing in pain on the ground. As the soldier continued watching this 'battle' unfold, he also began to notice something different about the 'enemy'. The enemy seemed to have a faint red glow surrounding them, seemingly controlling them as they continued mowing down their (presumably) former allies. Was it a psychic force turning their fellow men against each other, perhaps? The soldier thought about it, but then he also realized that he was probably the only one seeing this, and any attempt to get this information out would most likely cause him to become the enemy rather quickly.

Seeing how completely hopeless this battle was, the soldier immediately rushed back into the building, instead deciding that retreating was probably the best course of action, despite all the warnings against it. He consulted a map briefly for the nearest emergency exit before heading there as quickly as he could. He went back into the twisting labyrinth of corridors, sparing not even a single moment to stop and catch his breath as the explosions and gunfire rapidly intensified. His mad dash to get the heck out of there would be stopped, however, by him encountering another soldier just... Standing there. The soldier (the one we've been focusing on) immediately became suspicious, tightly clutching his weapon and keeping a finger on the trigger. "What are you still doing out here?" He asked. "We have to fight!" The other soldier remained silent and motionless for another moment or two before lightly chuckling to himself. "Yes, yes..." He replied. The soldier raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What?" He asked. "Come on!" The other soldier broke into full-blown laughter. "We must fight, indeed!" He then turned to him, revealing a sick grin in his face, and his red glow immediately became as clear as day. He was one of them, alright. The other soldier immediately began charging towards him, and without any hesitation, the soldier would aim at him and pull the trigger.

The other soldier immediately collapsed onto the floor, dying as soon as his face made contact with the ground. After a few seconds, the red aura disappeared from him, making him no different from any of the other bodies that presumably now littered the grounds of the base. The soldier stared at the body in utter shock, incapable of processing what he had just done. He knew very well that what he did was correct: he had become the enemy, and he had taken out the enemy. But with all that had marked him as the enemy now gone, it felt as if he had just murdered his fellow soldier, a completely innocent man, out of nowhere. He was innocent, yet he paradoxically also felt guilty. At that moment, the corridor felt eerily quiet, in stark contrast to the continuing conflict going on all around them. The soldier could barely blink as his eyes remained fixated on the dead soldier for the better part of a minute, subconsciously running through every curse he knew of and targeting it at himself. *What had he done*? If the other soldiers had seen him do the act, and they hadn't known why he had done it, he was probably going to be arrested right then and there. With the prospect of being court martialed not all too appetizing, and with cracks beginning to form in the walls, the soldier fully decided to get out of the island.

He ran the rest of the way to the emergency exit, one of the few passageways that led directly to the thin strip of beach that surrounded the island. The place was surprisingly devoid of anyone, with no one even attempting to make their escape. Those who were trying to leave were probably still stuck in the battle, the soldier reckoned. The soldier continued to quickly act, taking off his backpack and frantically searching it for his sole chance at escape: an inflatable lifeboat that was part of the survival kit that originally came with the backpack. It was buried all the way at the bottom of the bag, having been crushed under the weight of three decades' worth of stuff, but it probably had no holes in it. There was also a miniature pump buried alongside it to make the task of inflating it somewhat easier for him. He'd quickly get to inflating the raft (as soon as he put all his stuff back in, of course), sweating profusely as he saw the dark columns of smoke rising up into the night sky, as well as the bright flashes of light which continually went off throughout the base. The entire ordeal took around 5 minutes, but it felt like an eternity for him. As soon as it felt like it was filled up enough, he immediately sealed it up and pushed it out into the sea, throwing himself and the backpack onto it at the first possible moment. He'd then frantically begin searching for something to use as oars, but thankfully, the natural current began pushing him away from the battle.

As he continued to drift into relative safety, he couldn't help but continue watching as the battle raged on in the distance. The explosions continued to remain audible for many miles around, only being silenced by the vast distances from it and whatever pockets of civilization remained in this forsaken world. The columns of smoke gradually consumed the entire island, with only the explosions briefly lighting it up. the soldier could hear the buildings and other structures on the base collapse one by one as a desperate defense was launched against this enemy, an enemy that they had absolutely no hope of defeating whatsoever. Had the time not been so inappropriate, perhaps there could've been a quip about how the real enemy to GD Inc wasn't all the factions that had declared themselves to be against the company, but themselves. Despite how far away he was now, he could still hear the screams of his friends as if he was standing right in the middle of all the chaos. All he could do was stare at the island for hours as it gradually disappeared from view, gradually turning into a tiny dot on the horizon with smoke rising in the distance, with only the loudest explosions being heard from where he was at. Given enough time, it eventually became silent. Despite how chaotic and how devastating it all seemed, it only enveloped that singular island. Pretty much the rest of the world continues to go about with its day, completely unaware of all that had happened.

The moon was still high in the sky. Given its position, it was only a few hours past midnight, and sunrise wasn't going to be for another few. Regardless of how terrifying the sight of such a battle was, the soldier couldn't help but feel sleepy. He felt as if he had to stay awake in order to keep himself alive, but for the first time in quite a long while, he felt fully drained of all energy. He drifted in and out of sleep for an hour or so, until finally, he declared to himself that he'd only close his eyes for a few minutes...

And then he slept.

-

It was now morning.

The soldier didn't know *which* morning it was. Perhaps he had been asleep for only a few hours, or perhaps he was so tired that he had slept through an entire day (and then some). Whatever the case was, it was morning. The sun had just barely risen above the horizon, and the first shades of blue had just started to appear in the sky above. It was a perfect, cloudless day. Perhaps a perfect time to go out and enjoy it, if only there was anything to enjoy about. As the memories of what had happened the night (or nights) prior disappeared from recent memory, the soldier was forced to confront his current predicament: he was stranded, all alone, in a raft in the middle of the sea. He had no idea where he was, or when help could come, if at all. He did have a compass and a map of the general area stuffed alongside where the raft had been, but it wasn't much help. He knew that there was land out to the south, but he didn't know how far south he had to go, and if the current would even go that far. He knew that he was in a sea that was enclosed on nearly all sides by land, but he didn't know how long he was out for: given a long enough time, he could've been unlucky enough to drift through the narrow channel that connected the sea to the wider ocean, and then he'd *truly* be alone. The thought was far too terrifying for him to think about.

Once again, he was well and truly alone. For the foreseeable future, all he had was himself, his raft, his backpack, and all the stuff that's on it. As long as his raft didn't deflate spontaneously, he'd probably be fine for... Well, forever. Objects are famously known for surviving in even the harshest conditions: the hottest deserts, the coldest tundras, even the vacuum of space. They never truly became hungry or dehydrated, and only needed sleep in rather extreme circumstances, such as right now. As long as the sea didn't suddenly throw some jagged rocks his way (or he didn't shoot his raft, for whatever reason), he could remain alive in his raft. Barely alive, yes, but alive regardless. As much as that would be a blessing to any other castaway, the soldier couldn't help but wonder if that was really a blessing. He wondered if he was truly any better off being here than dying in battle. He most likely would've been buried in some unmarked grave, forever to be forgotten by history, but at least he wouldn't be stuck out at sea, where no one could ever find his body. As much as he wanted to drown himself right then and there, however (despite how hardy Objects are, they seem to be capable of drowning), a part of him continued to yearn to stay alive, which he immediately recognized as the part of him that desperately held on to the possibility that he and his friend could meet again. Not wanting to disappoint, he ultimately decided that this whole 'living' thing still deserved another shot, despite its disappointments.

Among all the other stuff that was buried in his backpack was a thick textbook, a manual on how to survive virtually any predicament a GD Inc employee may have to face. He had always considered throwing it out, but a part of him had always reminded him of how it could possibly be important in the future. With absolutely nothing to do but count the number of waves the raft travels over, the soldier chose to pull out the heavy volume and *really* get into reading it. It really was quite the heavy one, having around 2000 pages that listed off all sorts of crazy probabilities, decreasing in likelihood as the book went on. It was a rather light read, especially compared to all the other works that GD Inc has ever published, but to him, it felt like it could fend off his boredom for the next few years. He'd get himself comfortable in a corner of the raft, starting at the table of contents (since he wasn't in any rush) and reading from there. He learned a lot of rather useless but interesting details, such as how many the authors worked on the thing (2,763, funnily enough), and why they decided to work on the book (for fun). He had gotten to the part about what to do when you're stuck at the surface of the sun when he noticed dark gray clouds looming overhead. He shook his head and stuffed the book back into the backpack, protecting it from the incoming rain. He planned on reading it from cover to cover, after all.

He laid down on the raft and looked straight up at the sky as the clouds gradually covered the once-clear sky, and it eventually began to rain. Countless drops of water began to fall from the sky and hit him, giving him a rather impromptu shower. Countless drops of... Water. Tears began to form on the soldiers eyes as he watched them all descend from the sky. Although they were raindrops, they reminded him of another type of drop. A far more friendly type of drop, one that he was usually comforted by knowing that they were out in the world, contributing and doing their part in making the world a better place. He remembered all the time they had spent together, both in the house and, some time after, in the office. All the little letters they had exchanged, her attentive ears, and her complete, yet understanding silence... The memory was far too much for him to bear. All the memories of his long-lost friend came pouring onto his brain like a torrent, causing him to finally break after such a long time of trying to suppress his frustrations. He began to cry, his tears looking no different from the rain that was continuing to fall on this little patch of the world. It didn't help him whatsoever. Everything reminded him of her: every single drop of water, in the sky, on the raft, on the sea...

It was all her.

-

Book had spent quite a while now doing nothing but sulking.

Puffball knew that what had happened to her in the past few days had hit her hard, but she didn't really think it was to this degree. Her usual zeal to face the new day had completely disappeared, and she spent most of her days doing nothing but staring blankly at nothing in particular, looking forlorn as she sat around, only moving to change her seating position. Every now and again, she broke down and cried, which only dismayed the two of them further. She wanted to help her, but how could she help? They were only two people against an entire world of terrible and tyrannical people, and they were at a far worse situation than they had ever been throughout the entire course of this little revolution. GD Inc was gone, but yet it seemed as if tyranny continued to stand strong, continuing to oppose and oppress them. From sunrise to sunset, all they could think about was the hollow victory they had scored over this company, a company that they only managed to beat since it had been nearly destroyed by forces out of their control. Despite having pinned the source of all their problems at those who sat at its head, the river of pain and misery continued to flow upon them, its source continuing to taunt and mock them from wherever it may be. It was a battle they thought they had won, and yet it continued on.

It was now nighttime, and Book was sitting at the top of the hill, still looking completely miserable. Puffball had left her alone for most of the day, but she figured that it had gone on for far too long. She made her way over to her, hovering beside her and trying to sympathize with her. She tried her best to make her voice as soothing as it could be, yet her natural tone obviously prevented it from fully sounding right. "Book, come on." Puffball began. "You can't stay sad forever, can you?" Book turned to her. Her cover was soaked with tears, with two streams that were seemingly permanently stained. Her eyes had a slight red tint to them, and they were still filled with tears. "M-Maybe I can!" She exclaimed. She then sniffled. "How can I go on, Puffball?" She asked. "How can I keep on fighting against tyranny when it has taken everything from me?" She sniffled again. "It has taken my former life, my friends, my..." She couldn't even bear to say *that* word. She furiously shook her head, and another round of tears flowed down her face. "It hasn't taken everything from you." Puffball protested. "Not yet." "What else are they going to take from me?" Book shouted. "Are they going to take this hill, too?" She turned to Puffball, then quickly realized what she was referring to. Her cheeks became a light red, and she sniffled yet again. "...Sorry."

"As long as you're still alive..." Puffball began again. "...As long as you're still willing to keep up the fight, they haven't taken away everything from you. And they never can." Book reluctantly nodded and sighed. "...You're right..." She sniffled. "But even if I wanted to continue the fight, how am I supposed to? I only have you remaining by my side, and we don't even know who the enemy is anymore." "Maybe that isn't a bad thing?" Puffball reasoned. Book turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" "If we don't know who they are, maybe they don't know who we are either." Puffball explained. "How's that possible?" Book asked. "If GD Inc isn't the enemy, then someone else is." Puffball continued. "And if we can't tell who that is, that's probably because they haven't done enough to damage us yet." She took a moment to breathe. "And perhaps that's because they don't know who we are yet. If they haven't managed to figure it out yet, then we can figure it out first, and we can hit them first." Book thought about it for a moment, then proceeded to wipe the tears off her face. "...Maybe you're right." She nodded. "...Although... It's rather odd that it's coming out of *your* mouth. I never really saw you as one to talk like that." Puffball smiled. "I learned it from the best!" She chuckled, and Book couldn't help but giggle a bit as well.

"I know that things are terrible right now, but they'll only stay terrible if you keep on being miserable." Puffball continued. "You should take your mind off it. That'll help you." Book nodded. "...Yeah, you're right." She replied. "But it's just that..." She sighed. "It's just that there isn't anything to do anymore. Not since GD Inc was taken out." She took another deep breath. "There's been no reason to check that cabin, or the Oran facility..." "Perhaps that's just what we need!" Puffball interjected. "Perhaps checking one of those places again could help get you back to normal. You never know what you'll find over there." Book thought about it. "...But again, GD Inc's dead." She paused for a moment. "...Presumably." "Exactly." Puffball replied. "Perhaps they're still out there, elsewhere in the world, making things miserable for others!" She paused for a moment. "Even if you can't make things better for yourself, you can still make it better for others!" Books frown gradually turned into a weak smile. She nodded. "...You're right!" She exclaimed as she got up. "Why *am* I sitting around all day, doing nothing but crying over what's already been lost? I should be out there doing something!" "That's the spirit!" Puffball exclaimed. "First thing in the morning, we're going to head out for the Oran facility, find out where those tyrants are hiding now, and finally strike them down!"

Book quickly rushed down the hill and went back to the base, wanting to sleep as early as possible in order to be full of energy tomorrow. Puffball would do much the same, more than happy to end the day on such a positive note. When all hope seemed lost, there was new hope. Out of defeat, they could still claim victory.

They still hadn't lost.

-

Book got up before the sun had risen.

She immediately woke up Puffball, got her things ready, and had set out for the Oran facility within the course of a few minutes. While up in the air, they decided to have a little bit of a conversation before spending nearly the entire day looking through the same few parts of the buildings they had already checked a dozen or so times before, although they were certain that they were bound to find something new with their newfound zeal. "...So." Book began. She found it rather comfortable to sit atop Puffball, what with now being the only person on her, though also feeling rather lonely at the same time. She found herself actually missing the times she was packed like a can of sardines with the rest of her allies. "...You ever think about the others?" She asked. "Yeah, of course." Puffball replied. "How couldn't I?" Book nodded. "...I guess..." She trailed off. "...Funnily enough, I don't think I ever thought about them all that much. Probably because they're safe over there." She hesitated. "...Probably." Puffball remained silent for a moment. "...Something tells me that that isn't the case." She remarked. Book raised an eyebrow. "Huh? How come?" She asked. "...You've been thinking about a certain someone, haven't you?" Puffball asked. Book frowned. "Uh..." "You clearly have." Puffball replied. "I didn't just learn one thing from you, Book."

Book blushed slightly. "I, uh..." She cleared her throat. "...You got me." Puffball chuckled. "...I was thinking about those new guys we found." She lied. "I mean, they told us all these stories about how GD Inc had ruined them, and we weren't able to help them." She sighed. "...We should help them, one of these days." Puffball remained silent for a moment. "...We've already helped them, no?" She asked. "I mean, we all saw what happened to Triangle." She chuckled again. "...I don't think that's really why you're concerned about them." "Eh?" Books blush deepened. "...I don't..." She cleared her throat again. "...I don't get what you're talking about. I-" "You got rather close to one of them, haven't you?" Puffball asked." "Huh?" Books frown worsened. "Um... You mean, like, Coiny?" Even uttering his name once caused tears to form in her eyes. "...I was only ever 'close' to him because I suspected he was a spy for GD Inc." Book felt the need to do air quotes, even though there was no reason for her to do so. Not like Puffball could see them, anyway. "I had to keep an eye on him because I had my suspicions, okay? We didn't share any sort of... Moment, alright?" Puffball scoffed. "Yeah, alright." She snickered. "Sure. I'll believe you. Not like it matters now, anyway. He's gone now, right?" Book reluctantly nodded. "...Yeah. He's gone."

A minute of awkward silence then passed before Book opened her mouth again. "...But seriously, though. Should we check in on the others?" She asked. "I mean, they're out there, surrounded by people they don't know..." She sighed. "...As much as I was brushed aside by them, I still feel like I could help them somehow. Maybe give them information about what's up." Another moment of silence followed. "...Perhaps it's best to wait for a few more days." Puffball replied. "They *were* rather angry." Book sighed. "Yeah..." Her frown continued to stick around. "...I really did let them down, didn't I?" She asked. "I had been so busy chasing around GD Inc that I completely failed to catch them sneaking up on us. I wasn't there for my friends when they needed me the most. I..." She sniffled. "...I've failed as a leader. But worst of all, I've failed as a friend." Puffball frowned as well. "...Hey, it's okay." She replied. "Don't let that one thing get you down. Come on. We went through this, right?" Book nodded. "Yeah, but..." She sniffled again. "...Now that I've remembered that... Ugh..." She groaned. "...Why wasn't I able to be better?" "You had no way of knowing what was on that island." Puffball replied. "It wasn't your fault. Now, we're going back to that facility, continue the hunt for them, and *truly* make them pay."

They eventually touched down on the base. Book immediately got off Puffball as soon as she landed, and she took in the somewhat fresh air for a moment as she stretched her muscles. As her eyes wandered all over the place, however, her gaze would immediately be fixed at the fence, specifically at its sole gate. The gate was still closed, of course, but what she was more concerned about was the metal doors beside it, on the guardpost. Although it was a relatively minor detail, it was still one she always checked, considering that it was a possible entry point to the base. In all the other times they had visited the base, it had been sealed shut. And why wouldn't it? It would naturally be locked, only accessible by the keycard of someone with a high enough clearance level to access it. Or someone who managed to break it open. But there were no signs of tampering on the door, and, far more worryingly, they had never tried to break the door even once. Not only had someone been here in the few days since their previous excursion to the base, they also had a keycard that could unlock the door. That meant either one of two possibilities: either someone had managed to steal a keycard off of an employee (or, more likely, a dead body), and that person may have valuable information about GD Inc; and, far more worryingly, it was a GD Inc employee that had entered.

Book instinctively approached the guardpost, wanting to check the scene of the crime. There were no tools that anyone could've used to break the lock, which was yet more evidence that pointed to a possible GD Inc effort to reclaim the base. Everything else in the guardpost was still turned off, unchanged from their previous check. Book desperately hoped that it meant that the lock had gone out in the same way that most of the other electronics had, but if that was the case, it would've gone out along with all the other stuff. That clearly wasn't the case. After spending a minute or so looking around the guardpost, she returned to Puffball. "Someone's been here. If we're lucky..." She trailed off. "...or unlucky..." She mumbled to herself. "...they may still be here." She took a moment. "You go up and watch the skies. I'll go in and look for them." Puffball nodded to the best of her ability. "Alright." She replied. She immediately began floating up into the air, and would begin doing laps around the facility. Book pulled out her bookmark and cautiously stepped into the base, fearing who, or what, could possibly be waiting for her inside. The place seemed unchanged enough. The entrance didn't look any more messy than it was before, though that was probably because she hadn't logged the position of every single object in the room, leaving room for error.

She ventured further into the building, with less and less light illuminating the place, causing her to rely more on the light of her bookmark. Her plan was to search every inch of the place she could for this mysterious intruder, and, if they were nowhere to be found, to then start turning on the lights to more thoroughly inspect the place, as well as to look for yet more signs. She aimlessly wandered about for about an hour or so, as she didn't really have any sort of plan on how to seek out this mysterious person. People had been... Rather different ever since the Event. Obviously, the apocalypse tends to change people in ways that people wouldn't really expect. Perhaps the behavior of this mysterious person was so erratic that there was absolutely no way to lure them towards her, if they were even there at all. As time went on, Book grew increasingly frustrated. She originally intended to just look for any possible clues they had missed, but now that there were far bigger things at stake, she wished that she could find at least *one* possible lead before leaving. She knew how often life disappointed people, but she really wanted to hope. She continued checking and re-checking rooms they've already checked dozens of times before, always searching for clues that may or may be there.

After a bit more wandering, she eventually came across a corridor that had been plastered with propaganda posters. She remembered having checked this area before, although it was one of the areas that they didn't go to as much. Mostly because this place had constantly yielded absolutely nothing. No clues, no leads, not even a cool trinket or two. Nothing here but disappointment, much like life. She grumbled as she looked around, but she had to search *every* nook and cranny of this place. Who knows where this person may or may not have been in? Her gaze was drawn towards the posters, however. They were particularly generic: Triangles face was prominently in the center of the poster, with rays akin to the sun emanating behind him. On the bottom was a generic slogan: "GD INC NEEDS YOU!" in a few languages. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of posters. If anything, it was far more bland than the ones of its time. Perhaps GD Inc was running out of ideas, Book thought. As she continued staring at the poster, however, anger and frustration began to build up on her. Staring at the face behind all the things that had made her live constantly miserable, and with her emotions being compromised, she couldn't help but be irrationally angry towards the poster. Without hesitating, she'd clench her fist and give the poster a hard punch, as if she was punching Triangle straight in the face.

He deserved it, anyway.

The force was enough for it to reverberate throughout the corridor, causing it to be audible for quite a distance. Just then, however, she'd hear exactly what she was looking for: a yelp. It was obviously suppressed, but it was audible enough. A smile then appeared on Books face. A moment after, another voice would shush the previous one. "They might hear us!" The voice said in a hushed whisper. The fact that she could discern what they said meant one thing: they were extremely close. Book immediately began approaching where she thought the source of the sound was, wanting to confront the intruders right then and there. The game plan quickly formed in her head: take them by surprise, declare that she meant them no harm, and get everything they know about GD Inc. Perhaps, if they were willing to, she could even take them to the base for further questioning. Now wasn't the time for plans, however, now was the time for action. Book broke into a sprint as she wanted to close the distance between them and the intruders as quickly as possible. They'd very much hear her approach, and they'd start running as well. They wouldn't be fast enough, however, and eventually, Book would manage to catch sight of them making their way around a corner. She continued going faster, wanting to tackle them onto the ground and prevent them from escaping. She wasn't going to let them go.

The chase continued on for a few minutes or so. Time gets hard to track when there's constant adrenaline coursing through your body. Book continued to pursue them, not wanting to give up in the slightest. Eventually, luck finally favored her. One of the people running would run out of breath, and would stop to regain his composure. Their heavy breathing would be very much audible, allowing her to track them down. The other seemed to be stopped as well, having to wait for them. After another minute passed, Book would finally manage to catch them. "AHA!" She shouted. "I GOT YOU!" She immediately pointed her bookmark at them as if it was a sword. She could just about see them from the light it gave off: a black rectangle with a simple design built onto it, and their companion, a slender metal rod with a hole at the top. The two immediately froze, with the first one raising their hands. "Well, um..." They spoke. They spent around half a minute stumbling on their words, unsure of what to say. "...You got us." "I sure did!" Book exclaimed. They nodded. "...Yep, uh..." They then sighed.

"...This is awkward."

-

Coiny was sitting on the beach.

He had decided to avoid going into the devastated base early on. There was nothing but dead bodies and rubble waiting for him there, anyway. He had been spending the past... Who knows, contemplating all he had done to get to this point. The last few moments before he passed out on that night constantly replayed in his head, a song that he could never get out of his mind. He was obviously happy that Pin had returned, but why did she reappear *now*, of all times? And seemingly worse than that, why did she reappear *there*? All those questions and much, *much* more continued to plague his mind. Were his friends okay? Was *Book* okay? How was she feeling now, assuming that she was still alive and kicking? Could she ever forgive him for what he had done? Could he even have the opportunity to apologize? Coiny groaned in frustration. He considered doing many things: crying, throwing a tantrum, taking out his frustration on the rubble, but he knew that it would do nothing to calm him down. In the end, all it would do was absolutely nothing. The damage would still be dealt, and he would still be doing nothing to try and fix it. All that he could do now, it seemed, was to remain on this island and wait until he finally died. He had considered going to the other island, but with what he was feeling, it may as well have been on the other side of the world.

As he continued sulking, someone else would approach him and sit beside him. Pin wouldn't bother to nudge him to alert him of her presence, instead opting to wait until he noticed her appearancel. He eventually did so after a few minutes, and would be caught by surprise. He'd feel a wide variety of emotions: joy and sadness, anger and relief. "P-Pin!" He exclaimed. "I..." He frowned. "...You're back." Pin smiled. "Yep! I'm back." She turned to face him, and noticed that he was frowning. "...What's wrong?" She asked. "Well..." Coiny sighed. "...I don't know. I don't know what to even believe anymore." Pin frowned as well. "Come on, tell me." She replied. "Maybe I can help you?" Coiny sighed again. "Well..." He hesitated for a moment. "I feel like I've disappointed all of my friends. I've done so much, only to fail at the end..." He sighed one more time. "I feel like an absolute failure." Pin chuckled. "Coiny..." She giggled. "Why do you even care so much about them?" She asked. "Just come with me. We can leave them all behind, you know? Start a new life together. Forget all the misery this place has brought us." Coiny thought about it. The offer didn't seem so bad. But would he really want to abandon his friends just like that? Even if he forgot about them, would the guilt of forgetting be able to be forgotten as well?

Coiny eventually shook his head. "...No. I can't come with you yet." He replied. Pin frowned. "...I still have to help my friends." Coiny sighed. "...Help them fix all that I've done." Pin groaned in frustration. "...You sure?" She asked, her tone frustrated. Coiny reluctantly nodded. "...Yeah. Sorry, Pin." Pin wasn't amused. "There's no need to apologize, Coiny." She replied. "You'll eventually come around. You'll eventually realize how hopeless this endeavor is, and you'll return to me. You'll be back." Coiny was somewhat discomforted by the wording she used. He raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her. "What?" He asked.

But she was already gone.