No, no thank you, I'm good, actually—
Really, I can accompany myself.
* The outside is cold, and harsh, and windy, loud as the siren echoes from inside, lost hustling between drunken bodies and employees ushering out stragglers. And yet, this man, titled 'Lennon' by his name tag, keeps hold of her. *
You've been missing, dear, I just want to talk—
* To him, Maya is lost to the crowd, and Vendetta exhales in a different body, still not theirs, but just hidden. *
> Just Over Three Years Ago
* Gumi is eighteen and her shift manager walks right in front of her, guiding her around. *
Now, you might be transferred to another station of Burdock at some point. If this happens, no need to worry, the same regulations apply at each place. And, of course, the layout is exactly the same, too.
Oh— be careful where you step coming into here, the boss's office is just below. He insists on being underground, no idea why. Floorboards are loose though, so watch yourself.
* He steps cartoonishly over the carpeted floor. Gumi, for a moment, thinks she hears yelling below. It must be nothing. (It was everything. She should've ran when she could.) *
* Vendetta pulls the trigger on the detonator upon seeing a blurry Axel escape in the corner of their vision, his illusion lost to the siren, their own intact. That's what plays in their head as they braces themself. 'The layout is exactly the same.' *
* They don't all go off. Of course they wouldn't, they never got the chance to check it. The only few that do, though... *
* Even though they've only been in that building once before— *
Oh no. Oh God, oh fuck, not this, please.
* They clutch the gold earrings in their pocket, tight, the only thing left of her anymore. It didn't explode all the way, they failed, they can rebuild again, and all Vendetta did was just... help them, probably. *
* One less murder to worry about is probably helping them, right? One less body to hide. She's gone. Forever. *
What the fuck have I done?
