[It's early morning, still dark. The phone doesn't ring, the television doesn't blare, the radio doesn't suddenly turn itself on. When the voice speaks, it does so as if its source were standing right next to you- but there's no one there.

At times, it sounds like it belongs to a tired, bitter old man. At other times, it seems to sound like a little girl, though no less tired and bitter. And for just a few seconds, in flashes so brief you almost miss them, it sounds like another voice entirely.]

Gray was right.

God damn him, he was right.

I spent so long asleep. Trying to manage the system. Fix the holes. I thought if I did, I could prove him wrong. Prove that anybody and everybody would want to live here. Prove that Mayfield was perfect.

But I was only ignoring the real problem. It wasn't the Russians. It wasn't the holes.

It was you. All along, it was always you. Years have passed, but you're no more happy than the first ones were. I thought I could change your minds without changing your minds. But I was wrong.

Gray told me if I forced happiness upon you, it would never be true. That your real selves would not die, but remain buried, helpless but aware, beneath the personalities I implanted. But now, after all you've done, I have decided...

I can live with that.

Perhaps true perfection is still out of my reach. Perhaps Mayfield will never be the town it was meant to be. But if the system truly is failing... if we're all to die, no matter what happens...

Then your last years here will be happy, whether you want them to be or not. I will make sure of it.

Is anyone .. hn... uhm... is everyone else feelin' a mite... like... Mayfield is ...

*Long pause.*

Somethin' ain't ri---...... Nevermind.

Phone. [Locked to Neville, early in the morning]

Longbottom? I think I need to talk to you. There is something I have to know.


Action. [Outside 1449 Mitchell Rd, Lily is casting lumos against the second floor bedroom window over and over again, until it's too obnoxious for the person inside to ignore it]



Action. [At 1485 Kramden Rd, Lily had successfully removed the drone parents for the afternoon, keeping them firmly outside the house with a shield charm as she rummages noisily in their bedroom and the livingroom.]


Action. [Outside Mayfield Elementary, Lily passes the time by kicking random pebbles into the wall, waiting for the eventual stream of school children to exit.]

[It's probably not that easy to see the changes in Koharu. She's still herself after all, just with the different memories. A touch more maternal instinct when she cares for the children and a more mature smile. Koharu Izaki had a somewhat difficult life as a child in Mayfield, but growing up, falling in love, a confession on the ferris wheel. She remembers it all fondly. Their wedding, the birth of their children, the neighbor, Feliks, teasing her about the rogue hair color of Madoka. A joke, they all know Koharu would never cheat. It's somewhere in her ancestory, she supposes, and doesn't spare it another thought.

Her knight in shining armor, she jokingly calls Toris all the time and her smile only fades when she remembers the passing phase as a teenager when her knight was a girl. Her father forbid them to speak after she found and Sora eventually moved away. It was just a phase. She grew out of it. She repeated those things a lot as a teenager. Now, she couldn't imagine being happier.]


A. 1333 BENNY ROAD - Sunday Night

[Koharu ducks into each room, bestowing a kiss on the forehead to her two 'children' and a reminder to do well in school the next day. If she seems more at ease and less like the teenager she still is, well, Mayfield works in mysterious ways.]

I made you lunch for the morning, with those cute little octupus dogs. Try to get to sleep soon.

[And of course, she retires to the bedroom, where the other bed she typically sleeps in is ignored and she gets ready for bed with very little of the typical modesty. He's her husband after all.]


B. OUT IN TOWN - Monday morning/afternoon

[Occasionally her brain seems to skip a step, picking up vinegar to make rice and then getting out of the store and forgetting how to make it.

It's most evident in the clothing shop, when she holds up a dress, looks at her own very modern Japanese clothing, and back at the dress.]

...Am I out of style or is this shop just carrying very old things? I can't possibly be out of step that much...


C. Cunningham Lane - Monday afternoon

[She's visiting her mother, Ukraine. A basket of cookies and a handknitted shawl are her gifts and there's nothing particularly unusual about her smile at the door either.]

Mother? Can I come in? Toris is at work right now and the children are at school and I just thought I could pop by to see you.


D. Benny Road - Monday afternoon

[She's heading back home, but first she stops off at her neighbor's and holds out the apple she had bought for just such an occasion. Now just to find Mr. Pony. Feliks really did have the oddest naming sense but that was just how her husband's best friend was. A little strange. Quite strange.

With a very scandalous sense of fashion. Luckily she'd learned to deal with his eccentricities.]

Mr Pony, I've a treat for you. Mr. Pony?

[action, 1485 Kramden, post-dated to Monday]
[Early in the morning, before school begins, Yuki can be found in the kitchen of 1485 Kramden, humming softly to herself as she prepares breakfast for her beloved family. Absurdly shy, she trusts herself only around her family, and though she is aware at this point in her life that she must be adopted, she has never even questioned them as anything other than her family. She quietly bustles around the kitchen, preparing a healthy and nutritious breakfast consisting of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit.

Yuki adjusts her glasses as they begin to slip down her nose. She has, of course, always needed them to correct her vision.]

[action, school]
[At school, Yuki keeps to herself, much like she always has. She quietly listens during classes and sneaks a peek at the pages of her books when she thinks the teacher isn't paying attention - still, when called upon, her answers are almost always correct, if a bit inaudible. Or, at least, quite close. Between classes, she hugs her notebooks to her chest and keeps her eyes fixated on the floor. After classes, she waits until all the other students have filed out before following after meekly.

The sole exception to this behavior comes during lunchtime, when she allows her mind to wander. On her napkins, as she reads what clearly appears to be a romance from the cover, her hand subconsciously doodles...

'Yuki + Kyon'....

If she ever happens to spot the boy in question during the day, she will start violently and flee in the opposite direction.]

[phone]
[A voice speaks out over the phone lines, soft, tentative, and confused.]

I... I-I'm so sorry to disturb you all, but... I... I have a question - for... for film enthusiasts. I haven't been keeping track of the pictures they've been showing lately - t-they're all wonderful, I'm sure, it's just that, I... I prefer reading, but, um, if it's not too much trouble... May I ask if... if there's been a science fiction film lately? ...I've been having... very strange ideas, you see, and I... oh, I can't remember attending, but I'm sure I must have seen them at the pictures.

((All responses will come from disappearance.))

[ACTION: MAYFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

Wouldn't you know it? There are a few drone students whispering right in the middle of one of Edward Nashton's lectures. He continues with the lesson, undaunted, but their chatter doesn't escape his notice. In fact, he's almost entirely certain that he's the subject of their conversation. Why wouldn't he be?

He's no stranger to gossip. Few are, in a town like Mayfield. For as perfect a town as it may be, the people there are still bound to latch onto the imperfections. To the constant stream of rumors regarding a certain ethics teacher caught red-handed in a steamy affair.

What exactly happened all those months ago? Did he really leave Susan for someone else? How were their poor kids holding up through all of this...? All these questions. So many questions...

Enough is enough, Edward decides, as he decides to call out one of the rabblerousers in the back.]

Mr. Daniel. Would you care to share that with the rest of the class?

[A stunned silence from the distracted student in the back; he only seems to tense up even further as Edward strides away from the blackboard and towards his desk.]

No? I thought not. [As Edward draws nearer, he can't help but notice something sticking out from the pages of the student's textbook.] Ohh? What's this? You wouldn't happen to be hiding something, now, would you?

[He would. A quick swipe at the boy's textbook and Edward finds himself in the possession of a ratty old comic book.

Edward regards it for a moment before straightening up, fixing the student with a stern look.]

I'm going to have to confiscate this, thank you very much. Now then...

[The lecture continues until finally, class is dismissed.

Despite that, however, your teacher appears to have decided to stick around the classroom for a little while longer, even after school is out. Whether you're a student of Edward's that's also decided to stick around, a fellow faculty member, or a friend or close relation, you're bound to find Edward Nashton.

Alone. At his desk.

Flipping through the pages of Detective Comics #140.]