[THE PASSAGE OF TIME]
[IT TAKES ITS TOLL ON US ALL.]
[LET'S CATCH UP WITH THE OTHERS, WHILE WE STILL CAN.]

MEMY3 - tempest

No barry i dont think it goes that way

what
do you have a better idea on what this symbol means

well i mean, i know what it means, but i won't tell you

hhrrgrggrhhfghflll
fiend you dick

just tell me what to do already

okay, fine, give me that image first

PART I - GLYPH

so you see the purple lines?

yeah

notice how they both are pointed, they're arrows.

yeah
i got that

and we have noticed that the jouse tends to... use colors when it means to symbolize something, right

Oh

I see what youre getting at

so, there is only one place in the jouse where you can go in a straight line forward and backward

uh

if you leave this to me we will be here for another like
hour or so

just tell me what it is

The hallway were standing in barry

yes, thank you theo

ohhh

notice how the red portion goes off the side.

here's what i'm thinking, if we find the center of this room, say
around here, and we... press against something-oh shit

Ouch

you good man

yeah, fine, thanks... more importantly, this confirms what i was thinking. theo, hand me that key, please?

Oh

There is a door here

I assume this is what

the key was for

the key was for

i get it now

but you couldve just
told us how to get here fiend

i dont think it would've had the same effect without any of the
buildup, yknow

Sure

Well go with that

anyways
shall we proceed

You guys have gotta stop that

[A NOTEPAD]
[SHE ALWAYS KEPT ONE WITH HER.]
[IT WAS A HABIT PICKED UP FROM KIM.]

PART II - CAN I REALLY CHANGE IF I ALREADY TRIED MY HARDEST?

i fear i've gone too deep.

i'd be lying to myself if i said i didn't have any regrets about this
whole thing.

i should've... apologized formally to barry before doing everyone
like that.

...what point is it now to keep my problems of the past, though?

i've got to keep going. i fear i've become trapped in my own walls. oh, that's a good one, use that for a memo?

i wonder what kim is doing. i miss kim.

i'm starting to miss barry... just a little.

i've opened the way to a temple-looking area? hard to describe, but there's lots of colored sand filling the quartered rooms.

...one is empty, though. i think i'll put something there.

i wonder what kim is doing.

[AT HER APARTMENT]
[THEY SPEND THEIR TIME LURKING THE FORUMS]
[HER WILL BEGINS TO WAVER WITH EACH PASSING DAY]

PART III - NOT QUITE YOUR LAST RESORT

I wonder what █████ is doing.
[edited by autologging]

[A CALL FROM HER ROOMATE]

What? No, just... thinking aloud.

[A QUESTION]

Do we have the stuff for burgers? I'll make that tonight, don't worry about making time in your schedule. I know how it is.

[GRATITUDE]

It's fine, don't worry about it. I'll see you when you get home from work.

[ONE DOOR CLOSES, AND HER LAPTOP OPENS]

I wonder if he'll respond...

[HEY, BARRY. WE MAY NOT BE EXACTLY ON SPEAKING TERMS, BUT I'VE BEEN WANTING TO ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS.

BEFORE THAT, THOUGH, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU STOPPED CHECKING THE FORUMS AROUND TWO DAYS AGO, WHICH IS STRANGE CONSIDERING HOW ACTIVE YOU USUALLY ARE.

DON'T GET IT WRONG, THIS ISN'T BECAUSE I BELIEVE YOU'RE INCAPABLE OF HELPING YOUSELF, I JUST DON'T WANT ANY LINKS I CAN USE TO HELP FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HER GOING OFF THE GRID LIKE THIS.

GET BACK TO ME IF YOU CAN.

-KF2K]

...now I wait.

[IN HER FIRST ROOM]
[THE CONNECTION IS STABLE.]
[HER MESSAGE REACHED HIM.]

PART IV - DEAD ON ARRIVAL

Hey uh barry

yeah

dude that food cannot be good

Is this for you

what

let me see

This computer can access the forums strangely enough

I opened the site and saw some ominous text on the message of the day blurb

Is this from that kim person you brought up a while ago

what

hold on let me read this

[HE SKIMS THROUGH IT]

mmmhmm
questions

uhuh
sudden disappearance

mmm
my usual activity

yeah

this is
booooooringggg

deleted and reverted to the previous one

[THEY STARE AT HIM, A PIECE OF RAW MEAT HANGING FROM FIEND'S MOUTH FALLS ONTO THE FLOOR]

dude???

Dude

i'm not really one to talk since i was never on them, but that sounded Important man

you're telling me you just skimmed the whole thing, read some surface-level words, and just... Deleted it???

couldntve been that important
right

right

...theo believe me when i say that i am one step away from locking this guy in the library maze

[SOMEWHERE ELSE]
[THE DEEPEST DEPTHS, SOMEONE LURKS WITHIN.]

PART V - OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE

THOSE THREE... WHERE DID THEY GO? I COULD SEE THEM JUST A MOMENT AGO.

...DOES IT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE KEY I MADE FOR MY OWNER?

I WILL NEED TO KEEP A VERY, VERY CLOSE EYE ON THEM. SPECIAL ATTENTION MUST BE GIVEN TO THE FIEND AS WELL, I MUST MAKE SURE HE DOES NOT DO ANYTHING EXTREME.

...WAIT, WHERE IS THE VARIANT I MADE FOR MY OWNER?

OH... OH, I SEE.

I SEE NOW.

THEY ARE CREATING WHERE I CANNOT.

INTERESTING... DOES THIS MEAN MY OWNER IS STILL HERE?

IS MY OWNER DEEPER INSIDE THAN THEY ARE?

THIS IS SHAPING UP TO BE RATHER INTERESTING... HOWEVER, I BELIEVE A MESSAGE IS DUE FOR THESE INTERLOPERS.

♪ — interlopers-interlude
original: 'the death - Torchkas

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