Chapter Text
The alarm went off at 6:30 in the morning.
Wemmbu slapped his phone.
It kept ringing.
He slapped it again.
The alarm stopped.
Three seconds later, the phone started ringing again.
Wemmbu opened one eye.
He stared at the ceiling.
“Fuck you.”
The phone continued ringing.
He reached for it, knocked it off the bedside table, watched it hit the floor, and listened to it continue screaming from somewhere underneath his bed.
Wemmbu pulled the blanket over his head.
The phone screamed.
“I'm not getting up.”
Silence.
For exactly four seconds.
Then his phone vibrated.
A notification appeared.
**TODAY**
**8:00 AM — Studio**
**10:30 AM — Fitting**
**1:00 PM — Lunch**
**2:00 PM — Photoshoot**
**5:30 PM — Interview**
**7:00 PM — Dinner with management**
Wemmbu stared at it.
Then at the ceiling.
Then back at the phone.
“No.”
He rolled over.
The phone vibrated again.
**REMINDER: YOU ARE ALREADY LATE.**
Wemmbu sat upright.
“I haven't even gotten out of bed.”
A pause.
Then another notification.
**REMINDER: CORRECT.**
Wemmbu stared.
“Who the fuck programmed you?”
The phone did not answer.
He threw it across the room.
It landed on a pile of clothes.
Wemmbu got dressed.
He did not know why.
He hated that.
By 7:45, he was standing outside a glass building with a coffee in one hand and the expression of a man contemplating several crimes.
A woman holding a clipboard approached him.
“Wemmbu?”
He looked at her.
“No.”
She checked the clipboard.
“Wemmbu.”
“That's what it says.”
“You're our eight o'clock.”
“I'm aware.”
“You're supposed to be upstairs.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
He looked at the building.
Then at her.
“Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
Wemmbu sighed.
“That's unfortunate.”
He walked inside.
Elsewhere, FlameFrags was punching a heavy bag hard enough to make the chain squeal.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The coach watching him from across the gym lowered his stopwatch.
“You've been doing that for twenty minutes.”
Flame hit the bag again.
“I know.”
“You were supposed to stop ten minutes ago.”
Flame hit it again.
“I know.”
“You have a match tonight.”
Another punch.
“I know.”
The coach stared at him.
“Then why are you still doing it?”
Flame finally stopped.
He looked at his gloves.
“I don't like the feeling.”
“What feeling?”
Flame looked toward the empty ring.
“Being told when to stop.”
The coach blinked.
Then laughed.
Flame didn't laugh.
The coach's smile disappeared.
“Right.”
Flame walked toward the showers.
Behind him, the heavy bag swung gently.
Across the city, Jaden stood ankle-deep in cold seawater.
“Sir, you can't go past that line.”
Jaden looked at the rescue worker pointing toward the rope.
He looked at the rope.
Then at the ocean.
Then back at the worker.
“Why?”
“Because it's dangerous.”
Jaden considered this.
“Okay.”
He stepped over it.
“Jaden.”
He kept walking.
“Jaden!”
He turned.
“What?”
“You just asked why it was dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“And then you went in.”
“Yes.”
The worker looked like he was fighting for his life.
Jaden shrugged.
“Someone's drowning.”
There was a pause.
“There's nobody drowning.”
Jaden looked farther out.
A gull screamed.
The worker followed his gaze.
“That's a bird.”
Jaden stared at it.
The bird stared back.
“…I thought it was farther away.”
He stepped back onto shore.
At 8:17, Spoke was inside a server room.
At 8:19, he had bypassed a security lock.
At 8:21, he had found a vulnerability nobody had told him existed.
At 8:22, he was smiling.
At 8:23, his supervisor walked in.
Spoke closed the laptop.
“What are you doing?”
“Working.”
“You're not supposed to be in this system.”
“I work in cybersecurity.”
“You're supposed to secure it.”
“I did.”
“You broke into it.”
“That's how I found the problem.”
“You weren't authorized.”
Spoke leaned back in the chair.
“Then authorize me retroactively.”
“No.”
“That's disappointing.”
His supervisor stared at him.
Spoke stared back.
A printer behind them suddenly began printing.
Neither of them moved.
The supervisor slowly turned.
A single sheet slid out.
Spoke stood.
He took it.
It was a list of employee names.
His own name was highlighted.
Spoke's smile vanished.
The supervisor reached for the paper.
Spoke folded it and put it in his pocket.
“Mine.”
“Spoke.”
“See you tomorrow.”
He left.
Mapicc's morning was significantly less mysterious.
He was underneath a car.
Someone above him shouted.
“Mapicc!”
“WHAT?”
“You put the engine in backwards!”
Mapicc slid out.
He looked at the engine.
Then at the mechanic.
Then back at the engine.
“…That's impressive.”
“How did you even do that?”
“I was trying something.”
“You were trying to put it in backwards?”
“I didn't know it had a forwards.”
The mechanic stared.
Mapicc grinned.
“Good news.”
“What?”
“The car still has four wheels.”
“That isn't good news.”
“Depends on your standards.”
At 9:03, Wifies was sitting in a university office surrounded by books, printed diagrams, three laptops, and an untouched cup of coffee.
His colleague leaned over the doorway.
“Are you coming to lunch?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I have work.”
“You've been staring at that page for an hour.”
“I know.”
“What are you looking for?”
Wifies looked up.
“A pattern.”
“In what?”
“Everything.”
His colleague laughed.
Wifies didn't.
The colleague left.
Wifies returned to the page.
There was a handwritten note in the margin.
He did not remember writing it.
**.**
Wifies stared at it.
Then calmly turned the page.
“Interesting.”
Eggchan spent the morning in a library.
It was quiet.
It was organized.
It was peaceful.
There were books.
There were records.
There was a little aquarium near the staff desk.
Eggchan looked at it.
Then at the tiny fishing ornament inside.
He smiled.
“Cute.”
The librarian beside him looked over.
“That's been there for three years.”
“I know.”
She paused.
“You've worked here for six months.”
Eggchan blinked.
“…Right.”
She walked away.
Eggchan looked back at the aquarium.
The little plastic fish continued swimming in circles.
“Three years,” he muttered.
He frowned.
“I don't like that.”
PrinceZam was arguing with six people in a conference room.
She was winning.
“You don't need another committee.”
“We absolutely do.”
“No.”
“PrinceZam—”
“No.”
“Your proposal has no oversight.”
“It has me.”
“That isn't oversight.”
PrinceZam leaned back.
“It is if I'm the one in charge.”
Nobody spoke.
She smiled.
“Excellent. We're finished.”
She stood.
Her assistant hurried after her.
“Wait. The press conference is in forty minutes.”
PrinceZam stopped.
She looked down at her schedule.
Then at her assistant.
“I don't do press conferences.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“You've done twelve this month.”
PrinceZam stared at the schedule.
For some reason, that fact bothered her more than it should have.
She crossed out the next appointment.
Her assistant watched.
“What are you doing?”
“Fixing my day.”
“You can't just remove events.”
PrinceZam looked at her.
“Watch me.”
ClownPierce was sitting in the back of an armored vehicle.
His client sat beside him.
“So what exactly do you do?”
Clown looked out the window.
“Security.”
“Right, but what does that mean?”
“I make sure you don't die.”
The client laughed nervously.
“That's reassuring.”
“It wasn't supposed to be.”
The driver coughed.
Clown looked toward him.
“Take the next left.”
“We're supposed to go straight.”
“I know.”
“Why are we turning?”
Clown smiled.
“Because someone has been following us for six minutes.”
The client looked through the rear window.
There was nothing there.
“There's nobody there.”
Clown's smile widened.
“Exactly.”
ParrotX2 woke up at 6:47.
He sat up.
His bedroom was covered in newspaper clippings.
He did not remember putting them there.
He read one.
**CITY OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION**
Another.
**MISSING PERSON CASE REOPENED**
Another.
**LOCAL COMPANY HIDES FINANCIAL RECORDS**
Parrot stared at the wall.
His phone buzzed.
A message from his editor.
**Need you downtown. Source is ready. Don't bring anyone.**
Parrot stood.
He grabbed his jacket.
Then stopped.
He looked at the clippings again.
There was one he hadn't noticed before.
A photograph.
Twenty people stood together.
He recognized every face.
He stared at it.
Then turned it over.
Nothing.
He turned it back.
The photograph was gone.
Parrot stood very still.
“…Okay.”
He picked up his keys.
Boosfer woke up in a king-sized bed.
He stretched.
“Another beautiful day to be richer than everyone.”
His phone had seventeen missed calls.
He smiled.
“Fans.”
He answered the eighteenth.
“Hello?”
“Boosfer, your company lost two million dollars yesterday.”
Boosfer's smile remained.
“That's not a lot.”
“Two million dollars.”
“Exactly.”
“That's a lot.”
“Not to me.”
“You invested in a company that sells inflatable furniture.”
“Luxury inflatable furniture.”
“They're beanbags.”
“Luxury beanbags.”
“They exploded.”
Boosfer paused.
“How many?”
“All of them.”
“…That's pretty funny.”
LettuceK's morning consisted of twelve meetings, three phone calls, and one decision that made an entire legal department nervous.
He signed the document.
His assistant stared.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“But if this goes wrong—”
“It won't.”
“How do you know?”
Lettuce looked at him.
“Because I already planned for it.”
MinuteTech had already prepared for the possibility that today would go wrong.
He had backup plans.
Backup phones.
Backup keys.
Backup transportation.
A second apartment.
A third emergency contact.
A sealed box labeled:
**OPEN ONLY IF EVERYTHING ELSE FAILS.**
At 9:15, MinuteTech opened it.
Inside was another key.
He stared at it.
Then at the label.
“…That's new.”
Rejoicin was feeding a nervous dog.
“Come on.”
The dog refused to eat.
“You're safe.”
The dog growled.
“I'm not going to hurt you.”
The dog growled again.
Rejoicin sighed.
“Okay. That's fair.”
He sat on the floor.
The dog slowly approached.
Rejoicin smiled.
“See?”
The dog sniffed his hand.
Then bit him.
Rejoicin stared at his fingers.
“…Also fair.”
Ferre stood outside a private building wearing an earpiece.
His employer walked past.
“Everything secure?”
“Yes.”
“Any problems?”
“No.”
Ferre paused.
“Actually.”
His employer turned.
“What?”
“Someone has been trying to enter through the east stairwell.”
“Who?”
Ferre looked toward the stairwell.
“No idea.”
“Do you need backup?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ferre smiled.
“Because they're still trying.”
Lomedy was standing in the middle of a greenhouse.
He held a watering can.
He looked at a row of tomato plants.
“You're doing great.”
A coworker walked past.
“You know plants can't understand you.”
Lomedy continued watering.
“I know.”
“Then why do you talk to them?”
“They grow better.”
“That isn't scientifically supported.”
Lomedy smiled.
“Neither is your attitude.”
Ashswag was being interviewed on live television.
“What do you think people want?”
The host smiled.
“That's a big question.”
Ash leaned toward the microphone.
“They want someone to tell them what they want.”
The host laughed.
Ash didn't.
“That's why they're easy to control.”
There was a long silence.
The producer behind the cameras made a frantic cutting motion.
Ash smiled at the camera.
“Anyway.”
JumperWho was reading a police report.
She circled one sentence.
Then another.
Then another.
The detective beside her frowned.
“You think the witness is lying?”
“No.”
“Then what's wrong?”
“The witness is telling the truth.”
“So?”
Jumper put down the report.
“The truth doesn't match the evidence.”
The detective stared.
Jumper stared back.
“What?”
“How did you notice that?”
“I read it.”
“That took you five minutes.”
“Yes.”
“That report is fifty pages.”
“Yes.”
He slowly took his coffee and walked away.
ManePear was teaching a group of teenagers how to move properly.
“Don't fight the ground.”
One student raised his hand.
“What does that mean?”
“Stop trying to win against gravity.”
Another student tried the movement.
He fell.
Mane laughed.
“Perfect.”
“That wasn't perfect!”
“You fell exactly where I expected.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It means I taught you correctly.”
Theo was inside a burning building.
“MOVE!”
A firefighter ran past him carrying a child.
Theo kicked open a door.
“CLEAR!”
Nothing.
He turned.
“SECOND FLOOR!”
Someone shouted from below.
“THEO!”
“WHAT?”
“THERE'S NOBODY UP THERE!”
Theo froze.
He looked up the stairs.
Then down.
“…What?”
“Building's empty!”
Theo stared at the second floor.
Something moved behind the window.
Theo immediately ran upstairs.
“THEO!”
The firefighter cursed and followed.
The window was empty.
Theo stood in the room.
There was no one there.
Only a chair.
And on the chair, a blue plastic ticket.
Theo picked it up.
He stared at it.
“What the hell?”
The fire alarm screamed.
Theo dropped the ticket.
By noon, the city had begun putting people in the same places.
Not deliberately.
Not officially.
Just enough for coincidence to start becoming suspicious.
Wemmbu left his photoshoot early.
His manager shouted after him.
“You have another appointment!”
Wemmbu kept walking.
“No.”
“You can't just leave!”
“Apparently I can.”
“You'll lose the contract!”
“Good.”
He stepped onto the sidewalk.
He turned a corner.
And nearly walked straight into Jaden.
Both of them stopped.
Jaden stared at him.
Wemmbu stared back.
Neither spoke.
Then Jaden's face changed.
"Wemmbu?"
Wemmbu's eyes widened.
"Jaden?"
They crossed the distance between them almost simultaneously.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you that!"
"I got teleported!"
"So did I!"
They stared at each other.
Jaden looked him over from head to toe.
"No armor."
"No."
"No weapons."
"No."
"You look normal."
"I apparently work as a model."
Jaden stared.
"...What?"
"Don't ask."
"Okay."
Wemmbu looked around the street.
Then back at Jaden.
"You found me."
"Yeah."
"Then you're staying."
Jaden blinked.
"Obviously."
They started walking.
Neither of them suggested splitting up.
There was no reason to.
They had just found someone from home.
That was enough.
A little later, Flame appeared.
Wemmbu saw him first.
He stopped dead.
Flame was standing across the street, still wearing his training clothes, staring at the two of them.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Flame crossed the street.
"Wemmbu."
"Flame."
Flame looked at Jaden.
Then back at Wemmbu.
His expression hardened.
"What the fuck happened?"
"Teleported."
"Same."
Jaden pointed at himself.
"Me too."
Flame's eyes flicked around the city.
Then back to them.
He looked like he was trying to decide whether this was real.
Finally, he grabbed Wemmbu by the shoulder.
Wemmbu looked down at the hand.
Flame didn't let go.
"You're here."
Wemmbu frowned.
"Yeah?"
Flame's jaw tightened.
"Good."
He released him.
Wemmbu looked at Jaden.
Jaden looked at Flame.
Neither needed to say anything.
Flame was coming with them.
The three continued together.
They found Lomedy near the greenhouse where he had apparently spent most of his morning.
He looked up.
Saw Flame.
And froze.
"Flame?"
Flame stopped.
"Lomedy."
Lomedy stared at him for one second.
Then walked straight over.
"You got teleported too?"
"Yeah."
Lomedy looked at Wemmbu.
"You're here too?"
"Apparently."
Lomedy looked back at Flame.
For the first time since arriving in the city, Flame's shoulders actually relaxed.
Lomedy noticed.
"You okay?"
"No."
"Fair."
Lomedy smiled faintly.
"Then I'm coming with you."
Flame nodded.
There was no dramatic argument.
No question about whether they should separate.
They were from the same universe.
They had found each other.
They stayed together.
The four continued down the street.
Parrot found them before they found him.
He came around a corner, spotted Wemmbu, and stopped so abruptly that he nearly tripped.
"Guys?"
Wemmbu turned.
"Parrot."
Parrot crossed the street at a run.
"What happened?"
"Teleported."
Parrot looked at Jaden.
"You're here too?"
"Apparently."
Flame folded his arms.
"Do you know what's happening?"
"No."
Parrot looked around.
Then at the four of them.
"Where are the others?"
"Don't know," Wemmbu said.
Parrot nodded once.
"Then we find them."
He joined the group.
Five.
They kept walking.
Elsewhere, Spoke was walking down a street with a laptop under one arm.
He turned a corner.
Mapicc was standing outside a mechanic shop.
They saw each other.
Mapicc's mouth dropped open.
Spoke stopped.
"Mapicc?"
"What the fuck?"
Spoke dropped the laptop.
Mapicc crossed the distance between them.
"You're here!"
"So are you!"
"I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Same!"
Mapicc grabbed him in a crushing hug.
Spoke laughed.
Then his expression changed.
"Wait."
Mapicc pulled back.
"What?"
"You remember?"
"Everything."
Spoke stared at him.
Mapicc stared back.
For once, neither of them had a joke.
Then Spoke picked up his laptop.
"Okay."
Mapicc frowned.
"Okay?"
"We find everyone."
"Yeah."
They started walking.
Together.
Wifies found the library.
Eggchan happened to be there.
They recognized each other.
That was all.
"Egg."
"Wifies."
"You're here."
"Apparently."
Wifies glanced around.
"You know what's happening?"
"No."
"Me neither."
Egg looked at him.
"You remember the old world?"
"Yes."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
Egg nodded.
"Right."
There was no hug.
No dramatic reunion.
They weren't that close.
They simply had one more person who could confirm that the impossible memories in their heads were real.
"Where are you going?" Egg asked.
"Looking for Parrot."
Egg nodded.
"I'll come."
They left together.
They found Parrot's group later.
Parrot saw Wifies.
He stopped walking.
Wifies stopped too.
The entire street seemed to disappear around them.
Parrot's face went completely blank.
"Wifies."
Wifies swallowed.
"Parrot."
Neither moved.
Parrot took one step forward.
Then another.
"You..."
His voice broke.
Wifies looked down.
"I'm here."
Parrot stared at him.
"You died."
"I know."
"I watched you die."
"I know."
Parrot's breathing became uneven.
For all the things Wifies had done afterward, for everything that had happened between them, for every reason they had stopped being what they once were, none of it changed the simplest fact.
Parrot had mourned him.
He had believed Wifies was gone.
And now Wifies was standing in front of him.
Alive.
Parrot grabbed him.
Wifies held on.
Neither said anything.
The hug lasted far longer than either of them seemed to realize.
When Parrot finally pulled away, his hands remained on Wifies' shoulders.
"Don't die."
Wifies looked at him.
"I won't."
Egg stood nearby.
Wemmbu watched silently.
Parrot eventually noticed Egg.
"You're here too."
Egg nodded.
"Yeah."
Parrot looked toward Wifies.
Then back at Egg.
The familiarity between them was obvious, but it wasn't the same kind of bond.
There was history.
Not closeness.
"You're staying?" Parrot asked Wifies.
"Obviously."
Wifies joined the group.
Egg remained with them.
Nobody separated.
Then Rejoicin appeared.
Boosfer was with him.
Rejoicin was halfway through saying something when he looked up.
He saw Wemmbu.
He stopped.
Wemmbu stopped too.
Egg turned.
His expression changed immediately.
Rejoicin stared at them.
"...Wemmbu?"
Wemmbu couldn't speak.
Rejoicin took one step forward.
"Egg?"
Egg's eyes were already watering.
Rejoicin looked at both of them.
Then he laughed.
A shaky, disbelieving laugh.
"HEYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."
Wemmbu finally moved.
He crossed the distance between them and grabbed Rejoicin by the shoulders.
"You're alive."
Rejoicin blinked.
"Yeah?"
Wemmbu stared at him.
"You died."
Rejoicin's smile disappeared.
He remembered.
Wemmbu remembered.
Egg remembered.
Jaden, who chose to remain silent, remembered.
The wardens.
The fight.
Rejoicin's final moments.
The way Wemmbu had been standing there when it happened.
Rejoicin's voice softened.
"I guess I didn't."
Wemmbu pulled him into a hug.
Rejoicin hugged him back immediately.
Egg joined them.
For a moment, the three of them simply stood there.
Alive.
Together.
Again.
Rejoicin eventually pulled back.
"I missed you guys."
Wemmbu looked away.
"Yeah."
Egg smiled through wet eyes.
"Me too."
Boosfer stood several feet away.
He looked at the reunion.
Then at the group.
Then back at Rejoicin.
"...Okay."
Nobody looked at him.
Boosfer raised a hand.
"I'll give you guys a minute."
Wemmbu pointed at him without looking.
"Don't."
"I wasn't going to do anything."
"You were."
"I was."
Boosfer sighed.
Then joined the group.
Nobody left.
They kept moving.
Lettuce and PrinceZam approached from the opposite side of the street.
PrinceZam saw Wemmbu.
Wemmbu saw PrinceZam.
The atmosphere changed.
Lettuce noticed immediately.
"What?"
PrinceZam didn't answer.
Wemmbu's expression hardened.
PrinceZam finally spoke.
"...You're here."
Wemmbu nodded.
"So are you."
There was too much history in those four words.
Former allies.
Enemies.
Kings.
Wars.
The past didn't disappear just because the world had changed.
PrinceZam joined the group.
Lettuce followed.
They didn't split off.
Clown and Ferre arrived shortly afterward.
Clown stopped when he saw Parrot.
Parrot's posture changed immediately.
Ferre noticed.
He stepped slightly closer to Clown.
Clown looked at Parrot.
Parrot looked back.
Neither attacked.
Not here.
Not now.
Clown glanced around at the growing crowd.
"This is getting ridiculous."
Ferre looked at him.
"You're just noticing?"
Clown almost smiled.
They joined the group.
Ashswag and Jumper came next.
Jumper immediately began counting.
"How many?"
"Lost track," Parrot said.
"Then start again."
Ash glanced around the group.
His eyes landed on Wifies.
Then Parrot.
Then Wemmbu.
His expression became unreadable.
"This is interesting."
Wemmbu narrowed his eyes.
"Don't."
"I haven't said anything."
"Your face said it."
Jumper sighed.
"Can we save the cryptic nonsense for later?"
Ash smiled.
"No promises."
He joined the group.
Jumper stayed with them.
Minute appeared soon afterward.
He stopped at the edge of the crowd.
His eyes moved from person to person.
He counted.
Then counted again.
"Seventeen."
Boosfer looked offended.
"You're counting?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because someone should."
"I can count."
Minute looked at him.
"Can you?"
"...Yes."
"Then count."
Boosfer started.
He lost track almost immediately.
Minute said nothing.
He simply joined the others.
Spoke and Mapicc finally reached the group.
Wemmbu looked up.
Spoke saw him.
Neither smiled.
Not because they were enemies anymore.
There was simply too much history to compress into one greeting.
Mapicc, however, immediately spotted Jumper.
"Jumper"
Jumper tu!rned.
"Mapicc?"
Mapicc walked over.
"You're alive!"
Jumper laughed.
"Apparently!"
Spoke looked toward Ash.
Ash looked back.
Then Parrot.
Then Spoke again.
A dozen memories passed between them without either needing to explain.
Spoke eventually nodded.
"You're here."
"Yeah."
"Good."
Spoke joined the group.
Mapicc stayed beside him.
Nobody questioned it.
Then Mane arrived.
He was looking around the street when he spotted Flame.
His face lit up.
"Flame!"
Flame turned.
"Mane."
Mane walked straight over.
He clapped a hand against Flame's shoulder.
"You're here."
"Yeah."
Mane laughed.
"Good."
Flame smiled.
It was one of the few genuinely relaxed expressions he'd worn all day.
Mane looked around.
Then noticed the enormous group.
"...What happened?"
"Same thing," Flame said.
"Teleported?"
"Yeah."
Mane nodded slowly.
"Right."
Theo's eyes skanned the room.
His eyes moved across the group.
Parrot.
Wemmbu.
Spoke.
Flame.
His expression changed slightly when he saw Parrot.
"You're here."
Parrot looked at him.
"Theo."
Theo nodded.
"Great."
That was enough.
Theo wasn't leaving.
No one was.
Mane stepped closer to Flame.
"I'm staying with you."
Flame nodded.
Theo joined the group.
Nobody separated.
Twenty people stood together in the middle of the city.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then everyone started talking at once.
"What the hell is this place?"
"I don't know."
"Does anyone know how we got here?"
"Teleportation."
"Obviously teleportation, Mapicc."
"Okay, smartass, how?"
"I don't know!"
"Can we establish whether we're actually in our world first?"
"We aren't."
"How do you know?"
"Because I have a fucking apartment."
"So?"
"I don't have an apartment."
"Well, I apparently have a job."
"Doing what?"
"Modeling."
The entire group went quiet.
Wemmbu looked around.
"What?"
Boosfer pointed at him.
"You're a model?"
"Apparently."
Spoke started laughing.
Wemmbu's head snapped toward him.
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"You laughed."
"That's allowed."
Flame looked at Wemmbu.
"You actually have a modeling career?"
"Yes."
Jaden nodded solemnly.
"He does."
"Stop helping."
The conversation immediately fractured again.
"I work in politics."
"Of course you do."
"I work in cybersecurity."
"Which one of you?"
"Me."
"Both of you?"
"Apparently."
"Wait, I work in cybersecurity too."
Spoke turned.
"You're kidding."
"No."
Minute frowned.
"So do I."
Spoke stared at him.
"...How many fucking cybersecurity specialists are there?"
"Three, apparently."
"That's stupid."
"It's a modern city."
"That doesn't make it less stupid."
Lomedy raised a hand.
"I'm a farmer."
Flame looked at him.
"Of course you are."
"I was already a farmer."
"Yeah."
"You're a fighter?"
"Apparently."
"That actually makes sense."
Jumper cut in.
"I'm a private investigator."
"That also makes sense."
"I'm a journalist," Parrot said.
"That explains the notebook."
Parrot looked down at it.
"I've had this thing all day."
Wifies looked toward him.
"I work in research."
Parrot smiled.
"Of course you do."
Egg looked between them.
"I work in a library."
Wemmbu looked at him.
"That actually suits you."
Egg smiled.
Rejoicin looked around.
"Animal shelter."
Wemmbu laughed.
"Of course."
Rejoicin smiled.
Then his expression faltered.
For half a second, he looked at Wemmbu.
Neither said anything.
They didn't need to.
Clown crossed his arms.
"Private security."
Ferre nodded.
"Same field."
Boosfer looked smug.
"I'm rich."
Everyone looked at him.
Boosfer shrugged.
"What?"
"You would be."
"I know."
PrinceZam sighed.
"Politics."
Lettuce glanced at her.
"Same."
They looked at each other.
"That's unfortunate," Lettuce said.
"Very."
Ash leaned against a nearby wall.
"Media."
Spoke looked at him.
"That seems dangerous."
"It is."
Mane folded his arms.
"Combat training."
Flame nodded approvingly.
Theo shrugged.
"Firefighter."
Parrot looked at him.
"That makes sense."
Theo nodded.
"Does no one get bothered by the fact we have another set of memories?"
"Okay, so that's one weird thing."
"One?" Spoke asked.
Wemmbu turned.
Spoke gestured around.
"Look at us."
Nobody answered.
Because he was right.
They had all been given entire lives.
Detailed lives.
Lives they remembered.
Jobs.
Apartments.
Friends.
Histories.
But every one of them also remembered something else.
A completely different life.
A life that couldn't coexist with this one.
PrinceZam was the first to say it.
"My memories say I've lived here for years."
"So do mine," Lettuce said.
"Mine too," Jaden added.
Wifies frowned.
"But I remember things that contradict them."
Silence fell.
Parrot looked at him.
"Everyone does."
Wifies nodded.
Rejoicin looked down at his hands.
"I remember dying."
The group went quiet.
Wifie's jaw tightened.
"So do I."
Egg nodded.
"I remember being teleported."
Nobody knew what to say.
Then Spoke broke the silence.
"I remember Mapicc."
Mapicc looked at him.
"So do I."
Spoke looked around.
"I remember all of you."
One by one, the others nodded.
"So do I."
"Same."
"Yeah."
"Everything."
Mane looked at Theo.
"I remember him."
Theo looked back.
"I don't remember you."
That was the only contradiction nobody could explain.
Then Jaden looked around.
"Does anyone remember coming here?"
Silence.
"No."
"I remember being in my room."
"So do I."
"I woke up in bed."
"Same."
"I was at work."
"I was training."
"I was at the library."
"I was at the harbor."
"Greenhouse."
"Garage."
"Government building."
"Studio."
Everyone began talking again.
The details were different.
The impossible part wasn't.
Every single person had awakened in a life that felt real.
Every single person remembered a completely different life underneath it.
And none of them remembered crossing the distance between the two.
Wemmbu looked up.
The city continued moving around them.
Cars.
People.
Traffic lights.
Buildings.
Nothing looked wrong.
Everything felt wrong.
"So what the fuck are we supposed to do now?"
Nobody answered.
Parrot did.
"We figure it out."
He looked around at the twenty people.
"Together."
Then he stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
There was something strange about the silence that followed.
Not the silence of the group.
Something beyond it.
Something that had been there before.
Something that had been there the entire time.
Parrot slowly looked upward.
Wemmbu noticed.
"What?"
Parrot didn't answer.
He wasn't looking at the sky.
He was looking somewhere else.
Somewhere just beyond it.
His eyes narrowed.
Then his expression changed.
For the first time all day, Parrot looked directly at something none of the others could see.
His voice was calm.
Almost conversational.
"You can stop watching us now."
Nothing happened.
Then, somewhere beyond the city, something crashed.
"What?"
Parrot waited.
The voice came again, louder.
"What the FUCK?"
Mapicc slowly looked at Spoke.
"...Did we just break reality?"
"I think someone else did."
"Why can you hear me?" the voice demanded.
Parrot answered calmly.
"Because you're talking to us."
Silence.
"No, you're not."
Boosfer snorted.
"That's a pretty bad lie."
"I'M NOT LYING!"
"You literally are."
"Who are you?" Parrot asked.
A pause.
"Ziara."
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere."
Spoke frowned.
"That's not an answer."
"I know."
"Are you responsible for putting us here?" Parrot asked.
"No."
Too fast.
Wemmbu's expression immediately hardened.
"Lie."
"I didn't lie!"
"You did."
"No!"
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
"Who gave us these lives?"
"I don't know."
"Who gave us the memories?"
"I don't know."
"Why do we remember our old lives?" Wifies demanded.
"I don't know."
"Then what DO you know?" Lettuce snapped.
Silence.
"...You're not supposed to be conscious."
The entire group went still.
Theo took a step backward.
"HALLELUJAH."
Mane stared at him.
"Why the hell did you say that?"
"BECAUSE THAT'S TERRIFYING!"
Parrot's voice hardened.
"So you admit we're conscious."
"No."
"We're speaking to you."
"That's not possible."
"And yet we're doing it."
Ziara said nothing.
Egg crossed his arms.
"You've been lying since you answered."
"I haven't!"
"You have."
"I don't know what's happening!"
Wemmbu stepped forward.
"Then stop pretending you do."
"I didn't expect this."
"Expected what?"
Silence.
"...I have to go."
"No."
Parrot's answer was immediate.
"Wait."
"I can't."
"Can you send us back?"
"I don't know."
"Can you change this world?"
"I don't know."
"Can you erase our memories?"
"I don't know."
"Can you control us?" Spoke asked.
"I don't know."
Wemmbu's eyes narrowed.
"Can you kill us?"
Silence.
"...I don't know."
That was the answer that finally made everyone stop.
Noya had nothing useful left to give them.
Only fear.
Then, barely audible:
"I didn't know you'd remember."
Wifies' eyes sharpened.
"Remember what?"
No answer.
"Ziara."
Nothing.
"Answer me."
Still nothing.
Then the voice vanished.
No goodbye.
No warning.
Just gone.
The silence afterward was almost louder.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Clown broke it.
"She lied."
"Repeatedly," Minute agreed.
"And contradicted herself," Jumper added.
PrinceZam folded her arms.
"Which means we cannot trust anything she told us."
"Except that we're not supposed to be conscious," Spoke said.
Wemmbu looked at him.
"That sounded pretty genuine."
Egg glanced toward the empty space.
"So did the part where she said she didn't know we'd remember."
Parrot nodded.
"Which means she expected something else to happen."
"And she put us here without understanding the consequences," Lettuce said.
Boosfer shrugged.
"Fantastic."
Rejoicin looked around the group.
"At least we know we're not imagining this."
"That's hardly comforting," Ferre said.
Theo raised his hand.
"I would like to formally request that we never talk to the invisible person again."
Jaden looked at him.
"You yelled HALLELUJAH."
"I WAS SCARED."
"Very convincing."
Theo pointed at him.
"I remain scared."
That earned a brief laugh.
Then Parrot became serious again.
"We meet tomorrow."
Everyone looked toward him.
"All twenty of us. Somewhere private. We compare what we remember, what we were told, and everything we've noticed about this world."
Wifies nodded.
"Good."
Spoke closed his laptop.
"I'll bring everything I've found."
Jumper added, "I'll bring everything I've investigated."
Minute nodded.
"And we'll figure out what is consistent."
Wemmbu looked around the group.
Twenty people who were never supposed to be standing together here.
Twenty lives that didn't belong to them.
And now one impossible certainty.
Someone had put them here.
They began separating into smaller groups.
This time, nobody walked away thinking they were alone.
Elsewhere, Ziara stared at her computer for approximately three seconds.
Then she shoved herself away from the desk.
"WHAT THE FUCK."
She grabbed her head.
"They're conscious."
A beat.
"This is Sunny's fault."
She stared at the screen.
"Nope."
Another beat.
"Absolutely Sunny's fault."
And that was all the story gave her.
Back in the city, the twenty were already moving.
The questions had multiplied.
And tomorrow, they were going to start finding answers.