And the World Shall Forget You

[Zach Kaiser]

"Eh?" The surprise that he felt at being thanked--by Noah of all people--showed pretty clearly on Eld's face. He even turned a little red. "I, uh, didn't really do much, but you're welcome," he replied, even taking his hand and shaking it. It was odd, to be sure, but with all that he'd had going on in his life Noah was currently ranking pretty low on his list of worries anyway, so maybe it was for the best.

"Now go and get yourself taken care of," he ordered stubbornly. At least being vaguely rude to Noah made him feel a little more normal, even if it was rude in a way that still kind of out of concern.

[Nayt]

Eldridge Tsukimono, always one to worry about the well being of others to a near obsessive level. That probably came with the profession, though. Eld's parents owned a clinic, Eld worked in the clinic sometimes, and he even planned on becoming a doctor later on in life. Still? Noah hadn't the slightest clue about that. He knew way back when that Eld planned on becoming a doctor. Time changed a lot of things, though. Maybe he'd ask later. It wasn't like either of them were going out of town anytime soon.

"Heh," Noah grinned, "On it."

And with that, Noah withdrew his hand, turned from Eld, and started away. He walked away with an air of dignity that wasn't too common with Noah Herst. Without a doubt, something had changed with him, and no matter how one looked at it, this change was definitely for the better.

[Zach Kaiser]

Jeez, when did he get kind of cool, Eld couldn't help but think as he watched Noah go. It wasn't fair; Noah was supposed to stay a self-serving, perverted jerk so that he had someone he could hate without feeling guilty. But he'd just fought a half-dozen tough men because they'd hit a girl; it was hard to hate the kind of person who did that, regardless of their history.

When Eld returned home, his parents were busy, which was good, as it let him quickly leave the money and explain what it was for in as few words as possible and leave again. He knew he couldn't avoid them forever, but for now he needed some space.

It wasn't until late, well after his parents were in bed, that he returned home. And despite a sore back, it wasn't long before the emotional and physical fatigue caused him to fall into a deep sleep...

[Nayt]

In the darkness of night, they met again. Three members had become four, however. The silhouettes stood at their cliff-side, watching the sleeping Hillcrest in the distance. There were three male silhouettes and one female. One particular male silhouette stood at the forefront of the group, his arms folded over his chest.

"How much longer?" asked the tallest figure.

The man at the forefront dropped his arms to his side and rummaged through his pocket. He withdrew a pocket watch and flicked it open.

"Two hours," he replied.

"Midnight?" asked the youngest of the men.

"That is a rather foreboding time . . ." said the woman.

"We're 'bout to experience the first Stop in two 'undred years," said the man-- their leader, it seemed. "'Course it's gonna be forebodin'."

"Two more hours . . ." The taller man sighed. "Let's just hope we're ready . . ."

And the World Shall Forget You//Fin.