May 3rd, X906.

Three wheels spun across dust and rubble, zipping between low mounds of rubble and junk. With every harsh movement, the tricycle's trail of smoke changed direction, swinging about like the tail on an excited puppy. At that puppy's nose was a young woman with a gleaming smile, her goggles pressed far ahead the vehicle's handlebars, as if leaning against the front axle would shave even more seconds off her latest record.

All around the tricycle were the remains of a razed metropolis. Buildings lay on their sides, some leaned against one another like a stubborn set of dominoes and others seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving only a sandbox of rubble behind. The quilt of dust over the desolate city sat undisturbed save for the speeding vehicle waking it up with its fearsome engine. Wheels whizzed by a long forgotten metal notice, welcoming tourists to Oak Town. But, it had been quite a long while since anyone had known it by that name.

"What are we at, Kiryu?!"

Wrapped around the girl's chest were two, lanky, pale arms clinging tight to one another despite the nervous sweat dripping off of him. Before the question, his eyes had been shut tight, but now a single hazel iris made its appearance, scanning the horizon around for just a moment. Once Kiryu had gathered his bearings, he glanced at his wrist, the two hands of the watch ticking methodically by.

"Eight minutes and forty-two seconds! I told you, we picked up too much crap this time!"

The Trike rolled off a ramp of junk, landing aggressively against the ground, much to Kiryu's chagrin. Bouncing their blistering pace was a small metal wagon, full of goods but covered by a dark tarp that fluttered in the wind. "Negativity slows me down!" The puppy replied, pushing forward against the handlebars. "We'll just have to pull out all the stops! Take a deep breath, buddy!"

Kiryu recognized what was coming and gripped tighter to the girl at the handlebars. "If we were really buddies you wouldn't do this to me!"

"Can't be having that pesky air drag! Hold tight! Diver Magic!"

"Have mercy!"

"Sky Tunnel!"

Conjured directly into their path by the girl's incantation was a cerulean magic circle. In a moment, the vehicle broke through the circle like they were crashing through a gate, and silence surrounded the pair and the wheels beneath them. Cut off from the atmosphere, Kiryu's lungs screamed for a breath of oxygen that wasn't anywhere to be found. The girl felt the strain, but clutched tight to the handlebars all the same. No doubt rested in her mind.

Cut off from the outside world in this strange little magic funnel, one could almost imagine the two were driving through something normal.

Walton Fable's Journal. Entry, June 2nd, X850.

I woke up in a dead world this morning. I don't write that to sound dramatic, but really, those fools in the Council really stepped in it this time. I hesitated to write the date for this entry. Dust still covers the sky like a quilt of clouds, and I only recently realized what time in the day it was. I've yet to find anyone else alive. Animals, beasts and humans are all too still for my tastes. Read any of these other entries and you can hear about how much I always hated the noise people make, I won't retrace those steps here and now.

But, now, I'd give anything to hear a baby squeal for a stupid piece of candy, or some chatty teenage girls. Spirits help me, I even miss lights. Those damned lights I moved into the forest to escape from. There were no wizards to light them in the city this morning. I've never seen something so empty. Cities used to spill over, gag and spit up their own populations. Now it just seems hungry and sad. I'm sleeping in the only building still standing, some small metal hut that used to rest under a house. My presence does nothing to alleviate the city's hunger.

I don't plan to stay here long. I never used to believe in ghosts. But, the thought of so many people simply disappearing is too sad to bear. I must believe they left something behind after Caelus. Even if they're just hollow spirits.

I couldn't sleep, so I've returned to writing on this entry. I blame the ghosts. I've decided that if I can't find anyone else and everyone's dead, I will endeavor to be the best at everything I can. After all, who can compete with me? Tonight I shall conquer the world of poetry. The following is titled, 'Sweet Shop.'

Nobody ever needed candy

Pitiful people only wanted them

I have always hated those sweets

Broken fudge litters the ground

Wait

Where are all the kids

Don't they love this shit?

It's not very good. But who are you to criticize the world's greatest poet?

May 3rd, X906

The puppy of a woman leapt off of her tricycle, pulling her rectangular goggles down to reveal her face. She looked quite girlish despite her age, with sparse freckles lining her pale complexion and short nose. Large green eyes adjusted to the sunlight without her goggles, and pure white hair spilled out of her helmet once she pulled it off, messily tumbling down to her collar.

"For our final time," she announced, as if speaking to a large crowd, "we defer to our official timekeeper! Kiryu Kito! What've you got for us?!" She punctuated the question with a powerslide across the dust, landing at the man, who was doubled over and shivering.

Locks of blond hair draped his terrified expression. Following her rockstar slide, Kiryu fell to one side. "Sorry, Jo," he said with a resigned smile, "that's it for me on this bitch of an Earth." He raised a thumb to the sky, "It was a good run though…"

"Stop it!" Jo demanded, violently shaking the guy back and forth. "If you're gonna die at least tell me my time! My bragging rights depend on it!"

Kiryu jumped to his feet and pointed an accusatory finger at the girl, "I just wanted to double check my maps! And you steal my air! I need that to live! What if I had really died?"

"Give me more credit than that," the girl said, standing up and walking towards the cargo attached to her tricycle. "You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have let you die, buddy." She pulled back on the tarp to inspect the integrity of her haul.

At that assurance, Kiryu smiled a bit, wiping the hair from his blue eyes, "Of course you wouldn't Jo, you're a good person, somewhere deep down in there."

"Who else would tell me my time?"

"That's it!"

"Joke! It was a joke, Kiryu!"

"Let's see how you like it when you can't breathe!"

The young man gunned for her throat, tackled her and the pair were sent into earth, tangled up and wrestling one another, with laughs and death threats being thrown out in even frequency. Neither relented for quite a while, until Jo finally seized the upper hand, and took her throne, sitting on the small of Kiryu's back. His chin rested on his hands, as if resigned to the position.

With a long sigh, he finally spoke up, "You don't need me to tell you anyways, do you? I'd be surprised if you couldn't already tell."

Jo stood up from her victim's back and moved more reverently towards the Trike's handlebars, running a gentle hand along them and the SE plug. She'd been wearing it so frequently that the device had left marks along her skin. Jo loved them. "I still need to know for sure."

A watch flew through the air, and Jo caught it easily, staring at the small clock face with a grand smile spreading across her face.

"Nine minutes and eight seconds," Kiryu said. "Congratulations Jo Salazar, you're officially the fastest Scavenger in Galleon Park."

She tossed back the watch and returned to her seat on the vehicle, raising her goggles, returning her helmet to her head and returning the plug back to its rightful place. "Let's go report to Fable then. I've got to rub this in the old man's face before he croaks!"

A/N: Thank you kindly for reading! I've decided to restart my efforts here with a story that won't be as dependent on the volume of submissions I receive. This way I will use a limited cast, and be able to continue the story regardless of the amount of characters I accept. However, that doesn't mean I don't wanna see what y'all are capable of cooking up! I'm very excited to push forward with this story as quickly as possible, so please don't hesitate in putting forward your character submissions. Details will be on my profile. I'm interested in getting to explore this world along with your characters! And of course, let me know what you think in the reviews!

Special Thanks to Dreadburner94 for beta-reading this chapter for me.