Psychoburners

Part 40: The Real Sean Blunt

March 30th, 2019, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, Massachusetts

    Today was the day. The day of Psychoburners'very first solo (duo to be exact) panel in Pax East. Sean, their only YouTubefriend on the convention, would be too busy with signing to attend;nevertheless, he wished them good luck. Everyone was excited to see the panel,including the ones debating about the scandal two weeks ago. Little did theyknow, though, that the main character in this scandal, Sean Blunt himself, wasalso present in Pax East, walking around incognito.
    He had decided to follow Michael and John toforget about his troubles for a while. The two men tried to change his mind,reminding him of the chance people recognizing him there. Sean shrugged theirdoubts off and explained he would just walk around as a cosplayer, alone sothat his identity wasn't betrayed. He assembled a Flash cosplay, not making ittoo perfect to avoid being recognized by people who would want to see hiscosplay closer and probably take a photo.
    Indeed, Sean's plan worked. He walked around,wandered everywhere he could, he even watched fellow Sean's panel. There were afew people who approached him just for the cosplay, but nobody knew who hereally was, since he also changed his voice. He was hesitant about meeting theIrish Sean with everything going on, but Michael and John set it up somewhereprivate. The two Seans exchanged a few words, and Michael's cousin was relievedwhen he learnt his new friend didn't believe any of the bad rumors about him.
    Despite having fun, Sean was still thinking aboutwhat to do. He had already stated he wasn't ready to talk about everything yetand would take a leave of absence for a short time. That statement reinforcedthe rumors and theories, but Sean ignored them as much as he could. He knewthat if he revealed who he really was, only then he would, hopefully, clear hisname. What he didn't know, was WHEN would the right time be.

    The panel started with a sketch Michael and Johnhad made beforehand, about them waking up and noticing they were late for theirfirst panel. Starting from their house, they were seen dressing up, running tothe airport, making it to Boston, running all the way to the Convention andExhibition Center and the backstage (where they grabbed a microphone each),until the actual Michael and John appeared on stage, still running until theyreached its center. They stopped, panting as if they had run a whole marathon,while the audience was cheering their entrance.
- Huff... Puff... Oh my God, I'm gonna die...
- Huff... We made it, Michael! Puff... We made it to Pax East!
- Yeah... Huff... We did! Puff... Let me... Let me lie down for a minute.
    Still panting, Michael lay on the stage floor, whereas John was looking at the audience, attempting to count the people present:
- Huff... Puff... Oh, boy, that's a LOT of people! Good thing we made it on time!
    The "lot of people" cheered again, screaming with joy. John widened his eyes and asked, acting confused:
- Why are you guys screaming? Did you see a bear? A monster? ANY DANGER AT ALL?
- DANGER? WHERE?
- I don't know yet, Michael, but we're gonna find out soon. Now come on, get up, we've got a panel to do!
- Huff... Puff... WOOO! I can't... get... up... This... is my end. This... is... where I die.
    The audience started laughing with John's reaction, who lifted his eyebrow and shook his head, judging Michael, who stopped panting.
- ...Too much?
- I don't know, what do YOU think?
- Alright, I'm getting up.
    Michael stood up and after dusting himself, healso saw the audience.
- God dang, that's a lot of people indeed! HEY! HOW ARE YOU ALL?
    The audience screamed again with excitement,shouting Michael's and John's names. Michael widened his eyes and leanedtowards John to whisper (he had the microphone close on purpose, so thewhispering was heard):
- Why are they screaming?
- I don't know yet. They probably saw a bear, but I'm not sure.John answered, whispering too, but hismicrophone echoed his answer, earning laughs. Psychoburners leaned away fromeach other and began the actual panel, ready to receive their watchers'questions.

    It was ten minutes before the panel was about to end. Psychoburners were answering their watchers' questions as fast as they could, though some of them took longer than they should.
- Okay, people, we got ten minutes left, let's keep the line moving!
- We're really sorry if we don't make it to all ofyou, I wish we could, but rules are rules; the panel has a limited time. Next, please!
    A chubby young man with glasses stood in front of the microphone, looking nervous.
- Uh... Hello.
- Hi, welcome!
- What's your name?
- My name is Brian. And... Uhm... I just want to say that you guys are great, and you have really helped me at my darkest times, so thank you. And now that I'm on front of you, I really don't want to ask the question I wanted to ask anymore, since it's not about you anyway. So, have a good day and-
- Who was the question about?
Michael suddenly asked Brian, his voice echoing in his microphone. Brian looked down at his feet, his voice barely heard as he was answering:
- It... was... for... uhm... for... Sean Blunt.
- You wanted to know if the rumors about him weretrue, didn't you?
- ...
- I bet a lot of you who know Sean have the same question. Don't you?
    For the first time since the panel started, theaudience was dead quiet. Many people looked down at their feet, just likeBrian. Michael sighed and stated, trying to sound as calm as possible:
- As you all guess, this is a personal question neither of us will answer. That's up to Sean and only Sean. Just know that we know him well and we know the real him. Therefore, we know which rumors are real and which are not.
    Suddenly, a voice from the back of the auditorium shouted: "Where is he, then?", another added "You're just covering up for him!", and within seconds, at least two hundred people were shouting things like "Why is he hiding?", "He's too coward to admit he's a jerk!" "He's a liar!" "He toys with women!"
- ENOUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!
Someone at the front of the auditorium screamed. A young man cosplaying Flash stood up and turned towards the audience behind him.
- I SAID ENOUGH!
He repeated and took off his mask, revealing to be Sean Blunt. The audience started whispering, but Sean stopped them by asking loudly:
- DO YOU WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH OR NOT? DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO I REALLY AM?
- Sean, you don't have to-
- NO, MICHAEL, I'M DONE HIDING! IF THESE PEOPLE WANT THE TRUTH, THEN I'LL GIVE THEM THE TRUTH!
    He ran and climbed at the stage from the front;the security guard was about to stop him, but John motioned him not to. WhenSean made it on stage, Michael handed him his microphone, encouraging him witha smile; Sean took it, smiling back, and turned at the audience, his handshaking. He took a deep breath to recollect himself, regaining his confidence,and stepped forward. Michael and John, on the other hand, stepped back at theright of the stage (or on Sean's left).