[action]
[The race for the finish line is on! Every man for himself! Reach the end or don't reach anywhere at all!

Lucas naturally, immediately heads as far away from the highway as possible towards the people who live at the far end of town. Not without good reason, though.

Through the streets of Mayfield barrels a giant... head at high speed. Hovercraft, actually.  Anything it runs over is squished, drone, hazmat, bear, or otherwise. Even if some of those weren't even in the town anymore. It screeches to a halt in the middle of most streets, and a boy covered in bloody stains will hop out and scream as loudly as he can.]

EVERYONE GET IN. NOW.  HURRY.

[So he did his lose his temper sometimes.  Sort of.]

[After over a year in Mayfield, Holland still has his human body.  He's not quite sure what that means; has he aged?  Will he be one year older, physically, forever?  He hadn't really seen nations age quickly; he did used to be much smaller, but he hasn't been little in over 300 years.

Anyway, he didn't feel terribly different.  Injuries hurt more, his body got aches and pains that it never got before, and it was just so easy to be killed, as a human.  But other than that . . . well, it was different.  

So when he gets the mail and finds two familiar looking envelopes, he's eager to open them.  He'll tear both open and look at the pictures inside at the same time.  

And what he sees are this and this this.  There's an enormous noise in the backyard, and when the Netherlands turns back towards the house, he'll see a mast standing out behind it.  

He was still a human.]

A - For housemates and anyone happening by Mitchell Rd.

[There is a very large ship in the backyard of 1447 Mitchell Rd.  Holland notices that it's smaller, smaller than it should be.  Still, it takes up almost all of the backyard, and the masts are well-visible above the houses.  The cannon sits in the lawn, the grass and ground underneath indented from the weight of the metal.  A few cannonballs are nearby.  Netherlands will spend a lot of effort wheeling it to the front of the house, eventually using the car to tow it.

If the ship doesn't catch the attention of the neighbors, a cannonball being shot down the street probably will.  After loading it attentively he'll light the fuse and take cover.  He's careful to avoid houses, but some of the cars might not be so lucky as the cannonball flies down the street..  
He's impressed it worked; it looks like the cannon has been at the bottom of the ocean for some time and he was mostly expecting it to explode.  Holland will ignore the crashing sound of a cannonball hitting something; he'll move the cannon best he can and leave it against the curb in front of the house where, he guesses it works okay as an accent.  It doesn't really go with the tulips though; he'll spend the morning polishing it best he can and trying to get most of the rust off.]

B - for a_gentle_boy 

[Holland remembers all the people he'd talked to while he didn't have any memories.  One of those people is Lucas.  He's going to visit his friend now, and try to clear things up.  There is a knock on the door in the afternoon.]

C- Phone

Hoi, you guys; this is Netherlands.  I'm myself now and I remember what I should remember.  Sorry.

. . . . sorry about the cannon.

[action, 846 Goldberg Street]
[Three days after the escape from the carnival, Lucas reappears on his bed, head thankfully fixed back in the correct position.  His sleep is troubled as he constantly tosses and turns, his quiet murmurings punctuated by the occasional cry.

At about six o'clock in the morning, Lucas wakes himself up when he unconsciously shoots a blast of PK Love at the ceiling and drops a piece of plaster on his head.  Whoops.  Hope that blast didn't bother anyone.]

[phone]
A-Ah, this is Lucas!  Is everyone OK?!  Did we all make it back?!

[He didn't really think it was likely, but the thought of anyone being devoured for good by that fog was too terrible to consider.]

I'm not sure what happened there at the end.  I don't know, I'm so sorry I couldn't do more.  ...It really all happened, didn't it?  It wasn't just a strange dream?  I feel as if I've just been having nightmares for days...  Miss Natalie - Is Miss Natalie here?  Henry, you made it back with the notebook?  And... And Rin, there was that... thing we found in the house about... about the murder, right?

Have we all had a chance to recap yet?  The papers say it's already the 12th, so it must have been... two weeks.  How is everyone?  Did anything terrible happen back here?  There was the 4th, wasn't there?  That was when... all of that strange stuff happened last year.

[Lucas trails off a little, sounding a little unsure of himself.]

Ah, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't be rambling so much.  I still feel awfully... foggy.  Foggy in the head.

...Has anyone seen my paddleball?

[action, park]
[Lucas can be found standing in the park, idly practicing yo-yo tricks and staring up at the perfect blue skies.  ...Things like this were always a stark reminder not take Mayfield for granted.  It was terrible in many ways, but... well.  Clean air, food, and shelter was all anyone really needed to survive.  The sky wasn't falling apart, there weren't monsters hiding around every corner....  There weren't even chimeras or Pigmask Army soldiers to worry about.  For the majority of a month, Mayfield was, if not a perfect place to live, at least tolerable.

After an hour or so of this, Lucas will meander over to a more isolated area of the park.  The bodies weren't there anymore, he knew, but... a grave was symbolic.  To have a body interred was only the physical manifestation of what it truly meant.  He spends a few minutes quietly contemplating the two small markers he and Tiffany had erected for Samantha Achewood and Evan Olney.]

[action, 846 Goldberg]
[It's been a long time since he's thought about the mystery surrounding the town. In his room, Lucas removes the third drawer of his dresser, dumps all of his clothing out, and takes out the small box that he had taped to the bottom of it. He spends some time reviewing his notes before reaching for the phone. If anyone walks in on him now, it's likely that they'll find him staring at a driver's license. The name is Richard Grey.]

[phone]
There are a few things I'd like to add to what's been being said over the phone lines.  Mayfield hasn't shown us anything new in a long time, so there are probably a lot of you who haven't heard this before.

Richard Grey, Evan Olney, a girl named Annie, and the man who's now Billy Smith were the first ones who tried to rebel against Mayfield.  Or... maybe they weren't the first; maybe they were just the only ones we've heard about.  There are others - Samantha Achewood was the first one to be droned.  William MacCready is the man we call the Mayor.  And the one who's really in charge of Mayfield is named Zemekis.  His first name is probably John.  There's not much we know about him except that he's in Lucy Smith's body, and he wants us all to stay in this town.  He's controlling the Milkman, too.  Or maybe the Milkman is controlling him.

These people fought their battle in a place called Westport.  They lost.  Billy Smith turned against them first, then Evan Olney betrayed them when it was just Richard and Annie left.  Evan became a man named Chief Grady, and for a long, long time, he was the one we all hated.  He carried out the dronings, he started some of the events.  Samantha Achewood became Jane Smith.  And Billy is Billy.

Both Evan and Samantha are dead now.  Samantha fought the droning and begged to die; Evan killed her out of sympathy.  Evan -- Chief Grady -- was punished by the town and killed as well.  This was just last year.  ...They're buried in the park.

If I had to guess, Annie is the town librarian.  She tried to escape last year during the April Fools' prank after fighting with Billy over the telephone, and she's the only other person who's ever talked about Richard Grey.

There are a lot of new people now -- the woman who did the surgeries, Jack Smith, the Postman.  ...And I don't think anyone ever figured out what happened to John Smith.  They might be Rick or Amy or the other people mentioned in the rest of the notes, but whatever the case, they're not on our side.  I think the Postman, at least, hates the town just as much as we do.

The really weird thing...

Richard Grey is dead.  His body was found in Westport two years ago.  This isn't the first time he's left us a message after he died, either.

[Once upon a time, two little boys saw their mother killed by a monster before their very eyes.  Sacrificing herself so that they could live, the brave woman was later avenged to some degree by the efforts of her heartbroken husband... but not before another of the boys had lost their lives.

Resurrected and controlled as a weapon by the invading army due to his immense innate PSI power, this boy would go on to fight his twin over and over again in a battle for the fate of their world itself.  In the end, his mind restored to him, he would die again at his own hand such that his twin could make an effort to revive their dying world.

...But which twin had been which?]

[voice]
[Lucas's voice, slightly cold and detached as it usually is, sounds over the phone.]

...I'm tired of receiving things I've never actually owned.  There's a lot of junk clogging up my room.  I'm leaving it out in the yard in case anyone wants it.  Feel free to pay or not.

Not the Pork Bean; I can use that.  ...Though I don't know who gave it a makeover.  Not that I liked the original design very much, regardless.

[action, 846 Goldberg]
[As promised, the items sitting in Lucas's yard, among other things, include (1) one walking table, (1) one weird book filled with pictures of monsters, (1) one yo-yo, and a bunch of other toys that look unused.  He'll sit on his porch looking vaguely bored, swinging a baseball bat idly and occasionally stabbing at things with it as if it were a sword.]

[action, park]
[And whenever he's done with his yard sale, he can be found in the park smashing said bat against a tree.  He wonders how long it's going to take to get a sword and his wings back, but until then, he can at least practice fighting with a blunt weapon.  Lucas was already a formidable fighter before, but with the training he received with the Pigmask Army, he's much stronger.  His form is excellent; every step he takes seems to be smooth and coolly calculated.  It is a mark of his finesse that the tree only receives minor damage - he's practicing form here, not strength.]

[action, park]
[Another year, gone so quickly. Mother's Day, as usual, had been lost to an abnormally buoyant mood and a fervent desire to please - not that it differed much from his normal state. Though his normal cheerfulness couldn't be called a facade, exactly, it certainly wasn't the dominating emotion he associated with a holiday like this one.

Miraculously, the makeshift memorial he had erected last year was still there. The sunflower he had planted before it was dead by now, of course, and the etchings on the rock were quite faint, given that they were already barely legible the previous year. But the former could be replaced (would be, in fact), and the latter could be drawn again. He plants the new sunflower slowly, carefully, kneeling down as he works his hands gently into the earth and feels the soft warmth of the dirt between his fingers.]

Happy Mother's Day.

( I don't come find you as much as I used to. ...That's not a bad thing, right? )

A) [Action | 630 Toppers Street]

[This is not his beautiful house. That is not his beautiful wife. Also, why is she so tall?

He sneaks off to the bathroom and notices he is blue.

Well then, time to act rational. By rational, I mean Astral goes running screaming through the house.]

☠☠☠☠! Where the ☠☠☠☠ am I? What the ☠☠☠☠?


B) [Phone | Unfiltered]

[Astral's voice comes over the line, with a lot more emotion and cursing. Also, concerned over his lack of genitalia.

Not really aware he is calling the entire town.]

☠☠☠☠, come one. Oh, hey! Lucas! Ken! Tsubaki! And... uh...

Uh... ☠☠☠☠, guy I work with at the pharmacy... ☠☠☠☠. I forgot your name... I am the worst ☠☠☠☠ friend.

Anyways, guys! I don't know what's going on and I am freaking the ☠☠☠☠ out.

And I don't have a ☠☠☠☠ anymore and I am not sure if that's dangerous or not.


C) [Action | Olney's Tavern]

[Astral walks in trying not to look nervous.

Moving up to the bar, even with the displeased looks from the drones.]

Uh... hey. Could I get a shot of whatever whiskey you got? I've been having a terrible day.


D) [Action | Anywhere | Late afternoon]

[Astral is going around town. Even if he didn't get shots at the bar, he stole some of his not!dad's alcohol and a flask.

Astral is stumbling about with that flask now, having a hard time walking straight.]

☠☠☠☠... I'm a lightweight...

[action, outside 846 Goldberg]
[Here is Lucas examining his latest regain. He doesn't remember this.  When had he ever owned a statue of a giant Mr. Saturn head? Beside him, the walking tea table somehow manages to convey an attitude of dejection by sinking its hind legs, like a dog being ignored in favor of a new pet.]

Is this Kumatora's? ...I almost wish a Mr. Saturn would come keep us company. They were kinda cute.  You know.  In a... Mr. Saturn sort of way.

[Pat pat. Lucas reaches up and twangs the single stalk of hair before patting the thing on the forehead; as he does so, the side of the vehicle peels open with a whoosh.]

Huh?

[action, around town, with Kumatora]
[There is a giant head flying down the streets of Mayfield. It is pink. It is also hovering. The Mr. Saturn New and Improved Pork and Beans Hovercraft [Way Better than Porky's Lame-o Pieces of Junk] wobbles perilously in every direction as it bounces, glides, and rolls its way through Mayfield. Somehow, miraculously, it always gains enough height to sail over every car it would crash into. Inside, Lucas frantically presses every button and pulls every lever he can.  Often simultaneously.]

W-Why did they change all the controls in this?!  Augh, look out!

[It clips a tree and proceeds to launch itself twenty feet into the air.  It was a glorious day for the realization of Mr. Saturn dreams.  Maybe this wasn't flight, exactly, but hovering was pretty close.]

((Responses to this prompt now will get Kumatora as well!))

[action, malt shop]
[Late afternoon, Lucas enters for his daily milkshake with a bandage around his head and a limp.  He'd run out of PSI healing himself from his multiple wrecks.  Full recovery would have to wait until tomorrow morning.  Outside, the large pink head continues to hover placidly, completely unscathed.]

...Could I get extra whipped cream on top today?  I think I need it.

[Lucas has received his targets.  Lucas has thought about this very carefully.  It seems almost as if... well.  It seems almost as if it could be fun!  Pranks were harmless, right?  And no one said they had to be bad pranks.  After a few more moments of thought, Lucas comes to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt to play along this time.  There was certainly nothing to be lost in trying to brighten someone's day, even if it was something the town had asked for.  

The greatest prankster in the world now makes his debut.]

[action - Tir McDohl, Sunday morning]
( Tir's Prank )

[action - Davesprite, Sunday afternoon]
( Davesprite's Prank )

[action - Raz, Monday morning]
( Raz's Prank )

[action - Madam Foster, Monday afternoon]
( Madam Foster's... Unprank )

[action - Heather Mason, Tuesday, all day]
( Heather's Prank )

[voice]
[A relentlessly cheerful voice comes on the phone.  This is the attitude you hear from your teachers trying to explain why math is fun or from your dentist dangling a lollipop in front of your face while revving up the drill.]

Well.

A lot of people have explained about what happened last year already, so I won't go over it again.  I'd just like to say that if you're hurt at all over the next few days, please feel free to call anyone who's agreed to help as a healer.  I'll definitely be available.  Anything at all, no matter how insignificant you might think the injury is.

I'd like to make sure everyone knows now that it's not anywhere near as serious as the town might make it sound.  Even if you don't kill anyone, the worst that will happen is some psychological thing - I think last year, people hallucinated a little about their worst fears.  And I can promise you that you're not going to get any prizes worth getting.

Please, the best thing to do would just be to ignore the letters if you receive them.  I mean, I don't think it's going to be happening again; the town doesn't usually repeat the things that aren't silly, but... Just make sure everyone you know is warned in advance.  We can get through it.  We can all do the right thing.  Most importantly, just remember to stay calm and not to panic.  We have to be able to trust each other.

[a pause]

Of course... if you still choose to kill, then... please make sure you're prepared to accept the consequences for doing so.

[voice, filtered to friends]
I never said, but I regained PK Love a little while back.  Up to Ω.  That... It's the strongest PSI attack in my world.  If the letters really are sent out again, and you see anyone even looking the wrong way at you...  Please, don't keep it to yourself.  They're not going to attack you without a fight.

.....If anyone has to die, I'd rather it not be you.

[action 1, park]
[It's time for the Battle Memory to be put to good use. Morosely examining it didn't do much to improve his fighting technique; Lucas can be found in the park with the book open, projecting a psychic imprint of the Pig King's Statue. He's going by the theory that he'll improve faster facing off against the toughest enemy he's ever fought - apart from the Ultimate Chimera, anyway.

The last time he had attempted to practice fighting, he'd decimated both his training dummy and scrambled the minds of half the people who had wandered by.  Hopefully, an isolated corner of the park wouldn't draw as much attention.  And the trees would block the view if he let loose a PK Flash.  Lucas picks a stick up off the ground and hefts it a few times.]

Let's see... Mr. Statue, I don't have any New Year's Bombs with me.  Please take it easy, OK?

[The statue does not give a reply apart from swinging forth with its rocky scepter.  Lucas jumps out of the way... then flips in midair to jump again, releasing a PSI shockwave through his outstretched feet.  The fight was on. 

Join in?]

[action 2, school]
[It's hard to do well in school when you never went to one before Mayfield.  Over the course of two years, Lucas has successfully managed to grasp the basics of history, English, and some general biology.  Mathematics, though...  During his lunch hour, he generally retreats to the school library with a pile of books and a worried expression on his face.  Gosh, he must be studying hard.

Further examination will reveal Lucas holed up, hiding behind some shelves, staring intently at Advanced Concepts in Algebraic Formulations.  ...More focused examination will reveal The Hardy Boys or something rather similar not-so-cleverly hidden behind the spine of the much larger textbook.  Not so coincidentally, he happens to be sitting with his back to the entire series.  ...At one point, he yells out loud.]

Oh, no!   Don't leave him behind!

[...Oops.]

[voice]
Spring is almost here, isn't it?  ...The world always seems a lot more bearable when there's sunshine and singing birds everywhere.  It reminds me... well.  It reminds me of home, a little bit.  Things were always so much more... vibrant.  ...Imaginative.  Even in its last few years.  I've been thinking about it, and I don't really know much about anyone else's worlds; not even my closest friends'.  Things like... dinosaurs and Mr. Saturns and walking bushes were pretty normal in the Islands, but when I bring them up, everyone always seems surprised.  It would be nice to hear about interesting things from other people.  Things you might not find here.

[His tone, soft and capricious before, takes on a heavier note.]

Anyway...  I guess it reminds me of something else, too.  ...Miss Taiwan's gone, isn't she?  I couldn't find her camera the other day, and when I saw her next, she was droned. 

...I wish she had had a chance to start her restaurant.

[voice]
[Lucas's pot of irises has been lovingly and carefully planted.  ...Given that this is Lucas, it doesn't really matter that they're there at all.]

It's really nice to see everyone talking about how much they care for each other.  The town does some awful things sometimes, but it's never that bad to say how you really feel.  I mean, your friends might know that you love them, but it will mean a lot more if you say it to them directly.

I just want to say how glad I am that I've been able to meet all of you in the town.  It's been hard, and it's been frightening, and... it's been a lot of other things, but I think we've all gotten closer and stronger because of it.  ...Um.  What happened to us a few weeks ago... We were all so angry and devastated.  But it was because we care about each other so much, isn't it?

So I want to thank all of you for being my friends.  Really and truly.  You've all meant... a lot.  More than I can say, over the last two years.  People have come and gone, but...  I'll always remember how much I loved everyone who came through the town.  And... I'll always remember how much they - and all of you - have loved me.  Sometimes, I almost don't want to go home, because it will mean leaving behind so many people I care about.

Um.  ...I guess this is turning into kind of a speech.  I didn't mean to go on so long.   Sorry.

Oh, one last thing - I want to say, again, that it's really important to say how you feel.  I don't mind saying that I had an awful crush on Kay when she was here, and... I only got the courage to say something right before she left.  You shouldn't wait until it's too late.  Like Rin, I feel the same way now, I think.  And, Tavros, I know it's not the same kind of love, exactly, but the more I get to know you, the more I really do love you, too.   It's really, uh.

Um.

................W-Wait!  What -- Ahh!  That was -- !  That -- Oh, nooo, that wasn't supposed to be part of the speech at all....

[action, park]
[Lucas has absconded from the house and is shoveling snow in the park because the park needs to be maintained and no one will pay attention to the teenaged boy glowing bright red it is a totally normal sight please ignore him.

...Are those daisies growing over there in the corner?]

[action 1, park]
[Lucas sits on a bench, looking down at a book he is holding in his hands. The expression on his face seems melancholy. What could have sunk him into such a mood? A family photo album? If you peer over his shoulder, you will see pages and pages filled with pictures of the most bizarre and nonsensical creatures imaginable, each described in such a way as to be somewhat unintelligible. What were Psychic Points? Why are their IQs listed? It evidently means something to Lucas, as he closes the book with some finality and shakes his head. If you approach him, perhaps he may care to explain.

.......A few minutes later, he sits bolt upright.]

Stinkbug? Stinkbug! Where'd you go?

[Oh, no. It had probably been scared by the pictures of the monsters and bolted off somewhere. Lucas rushes from the bench into the trees where he knows the bug would take shelter. The Battle Memory lies forgotten on the bench...]

[action 2, still park]
[There is a large book sitting open on a bench. It seems to be a picture book of some sort as it is open to a large illustration of a strange creature titled The Love Walker. Flipping through its pages will reveal such oddities as the Whatever, the Men's Room Sign, the Cattlesnake, and the Rhinocerocket. Others are more mundane, like the Spineless Lobster. Some are monstrously terrifying, like the Mecha-Drago or the Steel Mechorilla.

There are over 150 entries to choose from...

Touching any one of the pictures will result in a flash of light, a whirring of time and space, and a sensation of being spit out into a psychodelic battlefield complete with background music and the monster of your choice, 1000 times larger than it looked on the page, on the verge of attacking you. Have fun.]

[action 3, park, please have some significant CR with Lucas if chosen]
[For the very, very curious who instinctively flip to the last page, they will find the final enemy. It is a picture of what may be a very familiar boy.

Final Boss: Porky
Level: 67
HP: 6569
PP: 0
Offense: 170
Defense: 182
IQ: 64
Speed: 63

"Believe it or not, this is Porky in the flesh. He is simultaneously an old man and a young boy."

What will happen if you touch the picture...?]

Wait.

[Lucas appears out of nowhere.]

Don't read that.  ...It's not for you to see.

((Thanks to James for the permission!  The monsters can't actually hurt anyone since they are, as the name of the book implies, just memories, there for Lucas and party to practice fighting.))

[action, some distance outside the hospital]
[He stands a short ways away the hospital, shoulders set, a dull resolution in his eyes. ...Jack Smith wanted chaos? He could do chaos. Lucas exhales sharply as the glow of PSI begins to suffuse him, running up and down his body as it does every time he brings his healing powers forth.

...But something is different. The air glimmers around him, not with the gentle light that brought calm to those on whom it shone, but with a harsh flicker and crackle of static electricity, of great power coming to bear. The diamond patterns shift from a placid blue to a fierce red to a muted green and back to a pulsing blue again...

He takes a deep breath. It had been a very, very long time since he'd used this power. But this place... This place where those who suffered the excruciating experiments were returned, where those who came back from the dead with amnesia and nightmares and injuries were returned. Whether or not it had any connection to the horrible things that had been going on, he didn't know. But even looking at it sends a flash of anger running through him.  His power flares about him as he clenches his fists and takes a step forward.

There were people inside, he knew.  But he could at least destroy the brick wall fencing off the building.

He flings his arms forward and cries out.  Something like a laser beam, less tangible, more colorful, more... inexplicable, bursts out of him, spiraling about his body for a few moments before flaring out to smash forth with immense force.  PK Love Ω!  Let the power of his love for his friends shine forth. Let the indignation of pain undeserved bring destruction to those who caused it. Let the depths of his emotions be realized...!

A massive section of the wall explodes into dust.  Bricks go flying in every direction.

Lucas breathes heavily as he summons up his next attack.  ...Pauses.  ...Shifts uncomfortably.]

Ohh, noooo...

[action, still in the same place]
[For several hours afterwards, Lucas sits next to the exploded brick wall with a guilty expression on his face, laboriously piling brick after brick back into its proper place. He has nothing to use for mortar except a jar of water that he pours into the dirt beneath his feet to make mud.]

[voice, dated to whenever machine's purpose becomes clear]
Um.  I guess we're saying the revival system is broken.  Can someone confirm this for sure...?

[Lucas sighs a little and refrains from giving his personal thoughts on the matter.]

If that's what's happening, then it's more important than ever that people with some kind of healing ability are available to help anyone who's hurt.  Please, I'm going to ask again - If you know how to heal at all, even if it's just how to bandage a wound the right way, and if you're willing to help, let me know and I'll pass your name and information around.  It's not exactly the most organized system right now, but it might be better than randomly calling for help and hoping someone's available.

Karkat, if you're still angry over what's happened, I can make my own documents.  I'm sorry about relying on you before.

And can we please try not to attack each other this time around?  The town is bad enough without everyone working themselves up into a frenzy.  What's done is done...

[filtered to friends]
If any of you get hurt at all -- even if it's just one of those papercuts that doesn't really hurt -- call me right away.  I don't care if you feel bad about bothering me.  I'll check on you every day until the machine is fixed if I have to. 

Don't do anything dangerous, OK?  .....He didn't say if it would ever be fixed.