Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own this franchise or any of its characters.

The Headphone Actor

I am watching television inside of a small town. The television blares loudly and a middle-aged man with white hair, skin and jade green eyes starts speaking.

"I'm sorry to say but the world is going to end today."

I stop and blink for a minute. Well if I am going to die then I better do what makes me happy. I put on my headphones and start a track by an obscure Japanese artist. The music starts playing and I hear an unmistakable voice say,

"You want to survive yes?"

The voice is quite recognizable it is my own. I listen intently. The voice, my voice starts again.

"There is a hill past this town cross it and live." I say.

"Alright." I reply.

I grab my running boots and slid them on I discard my cell phone and my backpack. I start running. I run down the stairs, almost falling but catching myself before the pain.

"You only have twelve minutes so you have to be fast."

I take off like a boy I used to know, Crow the Bullet. I run out the door ignoring my mother's pleas. I run until I am past my house.

"Ten minutes."

The voice says I pick up speed, the sound of my adrenaline blocking out the people passing by screaming. A man with silver and white hair looks at me I pass him by.

"PARADOX! THE GIRL IS HERE! SHE JUST PASSED US!"

I speed up faster.

"Not good. You need to outrun them if you are to cross the hill anytime soon."

I run to the center of town and don't look back.

"Placido V's going to kill us if we miss her!" A deep and old voice calls.

"I'm on it! Come on Antinomy." The robotic voice of a young man replies.

"AHAHAHA! We'll catch you Sherry LeBlanc!" A shrill voice of a little girl screeches.

"It doesn't matter you know." The deep and smoldering voice of a man says blandly.

I hear the sounds of metal footsteps chase me while they scream murder. I run as my own voice pipes up again,

"Six minutes."

I run past men and women holding their children. They are all running in the wrong direction, the opposite direction. I run and see a large hill in the horizon. The sy turns red and ashy black.

"God damn it Jose, Lucciano you two are too slow!" The young man whines.

He runs up t the side of me and I look him up and down.

"Heels? Really?" I say.

I shove him to the side and continue my pace. I spin around and run backwards. I see a blue-haired man and a blonde chase after me. I smile at them further enraging the now stood up young man. They speed up and I turn around again.

"Five."

I lament on the things I left behind in the spare moments of time. I left my mother and my father and my best friend Misty in the dust. I wish they knew of the savior hill. All I must do is cross this hill. I let the pure adrenaline block out my unsavory thoughts. I pick up speed as I run past a young man with red hair.

"Hey where you going girl?" He asks.

"Everywhere."

"Can I come too?"

"Whatever. Just cross the hill with me."

"Come on Sly we have to go."

The two of them take off after me. I hear the blonde and the bluenette conversing.

"Paradox I can't run anymore. You and Placido have to get her. I can't." The bluenette says.

I hear two sets of metallic footsteps now. I run off and they pursue. Beside me the red haired man and his friend or perhaps brother Sly chases. They hardly look like they even grabbed their shoes.

"Three and thirty seconds."

The robotic young man in heels starts gaining. The red haired man elbows him in the neck and we continue to the hill. The green of it is getting closer to my vision. Even though we are far away we will run. My two comrades are looking exhausted already.

"Three."

We speed up until we stop hearing the clack of heels. The sound of metallic platforms are still here.

"Don't stop."

"STOP!" The man with the smolderingly sexy voice says firmly.

"No." I tell him even if he can not hear.

I run until I see the hill clearly.

"Two and thirty seconds."

I run even faster until I feel like I am drowning in speed. A familiar sound comes from behind me.

"Hey Sherry? Do you have room for one more?" Misty asks.

"Of course." I reply.

"Two."

"We have two minutes to get over the hill!" I scream.

"But it's so large!" The black-haired boy screams back.

We run. Time stops for a second.

"You can not pass." A teenage boy with blue hair and a tattoo on his forehead says.

"YOU CAN'T PASS THAT HILL!" A yellow and purple haired teen screams.

"But I want you too!" A pink-haired girl smiles.

"I will pass regardless." I say.

"Sherry LeBlanc it is your destiny to be caught by Paradox." Says the monotone teen.

"AND SIDES WE HAVE Z-ONE TO DEAL WITH!" Screams the angry teen.

"I WANT HER TO WIN!" Whines the cheerful girl.

I ignore all three of them.

"Start time again." I demand

"WHY SHOULD WE?!" Screams the angry one.

"Well if you won't then at least tell me who you think you are?"

"We are numbers V, IV and III." Says the one I believe is V.

"YES NOW SHUT UP AND ADMIT THAT YOU WON'T PASS!" Screams IV.

"No." I deadpan.

I slam the button that looks like it controls time and time starts again. I continue to run.

"One."

At that moment something or someone grabs my hood pulling me back. He turns me to face him and I see tears in his green eyes. A scream pierces the sky. The man looks at a small black-haired figure in the background just under the hill.

"Z-ONE." He whispers.

At that moment I break free.

"Thirty seconds."

I run down with the other three as I begin to laugh.

"We did it!" The black haired boy cheers.

"Fifteen seconds."

We all look at each other and jump off the hill. We land in various positions at a bus stop. There lays the man called Z-ONE.

"You made it with two seconds left. But I'm sorry. You are aware that that man beside you is Divine Sayer yes?"

I pale and stare at the man. The man I set free. The Arcadia Killer. I blink and reality starts to flicker and shimmer. The man called Z-ONE stands up.

"I changed the state of the world."