•1;

[skirtindanger]

-- C'mon, this has to-- There, I think I got it...

[there's a short pause, a little more brief mumbling, and then the girl clears her throat into the phone]

If anyone out there can hear this, I'd like a few answers to my questions. Believeable ones. I saw the message I received, but I'm not so sure if I want to trust an unknown source. Can

Comments

[refated_tantei]

[A voice, male, with a thick upper-class British accent.]

The information appears to be reliable, so far as any of us have been able to discern.

[skirtindanger]

So this message... It's all true?

[refated_tantei]

As far as anyone knows, yes it is.

I'm Hakuba. [Just the family name, no reason to bother giving a given name he never used.]

[skirtindanger]

[pauses again, before making an uncomfortable noise on her end]

... If you say so. I-- I'm Maka.

[refated_tantei]

I would say that it's a pleasure to meet you, but ideally, none of these meetings would have ever happened.

[skirtindanger]

It just means we'll have to make the most of it in the meantime.

So is there anything else you can tell me about all of this that the note might have left out?

[refated_tantei]

Of course.

Well, I haven't been able to gather much information during the time I've been here. I would advise you to be very wary of the shards though. Their influence can be physically and mentally corrupting.

[skirtindanger]

It has magical properties, doesn't it? Of course it'd be dangerous... Something good coming out of magic doesn't happen often.

[refated_tantei]

You have experience with magic? That may be useful here.

[skirtindanger]

Some. I can't use it-- I'm usually on the other end of it.

[refated_tantei]

That's more than some of us. I'm fairly sure it doesn't exist at all in my world.

[skirtindanger]

[there's another short pause on her end as she mulls on a thought]

What's this about 'other worlds', anyway?

[refated_tantei]

We're nearly all from different realities, with different histories and natural laws. Your world might have magic, mine doesn't.

[It had been hard to accept, but there was no other, no better explanation. Give into the way that everything he knew had twisted a little bit sideways and by giving in, stay sane.]

[skirtindanger]

-- Really?

[she sounds genuinely surprised]

... I feel like I just fell into some sort of crazy fairytale.

[refated_tantei]

Everyone does at first.