April Fools

[tickingheart]

[FAIL!FILTERED TO AOKO AND KUROBA]

Aoko? Kuroba? Tell me you're both back to normal.

[END FAIL!FILTER]

So, did the town just bring a bunch of new people in at once, or is something else going on?

Comments

[pandorabox]

[suddenly, the voice on the other end of the line, so similar to his almost to the very tone of his voice, grates on Kaito's every last nerve]

What do you mean the town pulled you?

[tickingheart]

[As much as he might dislike Kuroba, as much as he knows this isn't even the Kuroba he knows, it's almost a relief to hear him sounding like himself. The robot was getting tired of ignoring the drone and his baseball obsession.]

Mayfield, a wonderful town in a fake 1950s America. It pulls people from different times, places, and universes and then doesn't let anyone leave.

[pandorabox]

[a snort, almost amused yet somewhat bitter]

Sounds like the perfect place for you.

[tickingheart]

I guess it's better than the alternative.

[pandorabox]

It keeps you out of my hair.

[tickingheart]

There's a version of you here.

[pandorabox]

[a pause]

I'm sure he can handle you just fine.

[tickingheart]

Sometimes.

[pandorabox]

If I did it, then he can.

[tickingheart]

The score's one to one.

[pandorabox]

You're keeping score? It's not a game.

[tickingheart]

I know that.

[pandorabox]

Has he figured out how to leave yet?

[tickingheart]

[A pause.]

He and Aoko are gone. But that doesn't mean he managed to leave. The town pulls people back in some times.

[pandorabox]

[ohgeez, Aoko was there too? He decides not to comment]

Gone? What do you mean gone? That means they left, right?

[tickingheart]

Mentally, yeah. Their bodies are still here, wandering around, proclaiming the wonders of this amazing town of Mayfield.

[pandorabox]

... [silence as he absorbs this information]

[tickingheart]

[It's kind of a lot to take in, isn't it?]

[pandorabox]

[just a bit]

What happened?

[tickingheart]

The town brainwashes people for fun.

[pandorabox]

[sharply]

Great.

[tickingheart]

And sometimes it kills people.

[pandorabox]

[sounds all too familiar]

It doesn't turn them into women when they're really guys, does it?

[tickingheart]

No, and don't give them any ideas.

[pandorabox]

It's something the community does.