Chapter 3: Little Bits and Pieces

Neither here nor there - no darkness, no light. Days could have passed, seconds could have trickled by, nothing could have moved. Time could have reversed. Everything lost in a blink, or trapped in suspended animation, or spinning about in whichever direction it pleased - she wasn't sure anymore, if she ever had been, sorting out the conflicting clash of sensations. Immobilized and writhing, slumbering and aware, pleading without words or actions.

Unconsciously, she reached out, tearing an agonizing, crimson gash across the numb and colorless void-

With a strangled grunt, Faye bolted upright on the cot, bruised arms and legs quickly becoming tangled in the flimsy sheets as she thrashed around. She squeezed her eyes shut against the blinding stab of pain in her temples.

With a gasp, she pressed the heels of her hands to the sides of her head, whimpering quietly as she tried to massage the feeling away to the best of her abilities, in the absence of her powers, willing herself to stumble out of bed so she could grope around the dark ward for the wonderful mortal invention known as migraine medication. The doctor upstairs continued snoring at a volume just soft enough for her labored breaths to drown out, and she popped two tablets and chugged down a cup of water, crushing the flimsy paper cylinder in her fist when another wave of pain struck.

Though Faye knew and felt full well that her magic was still sealed away somehow, her subconsciousness was currently refusing to grasp and accept the reality of the situation - at least, from what she could tell. This was the third consecutive night that she'd tried to reach out to Gaia in her sleep.

Or reach back, she thought with a slight frown, meandering over to the infirmary window as her pain started to wind down to a dull ache. Resting her arms on the sill, she pressed her forehead to the wonderfully chilly glass and sighed, pulling back briefly to scan the inky night sky for any irregularities. There was no mistaking it - in some small way, those dreams at least told her that some part of Gaia's consciousness most likely still existed somewhere, and was trying to reach her... to warn her? Beseech her?

Yeah, 'beseech' sounds about right. She smirked at this, feeling her heart start to settle back down while her ego soothed her, and her crimson eyes remained focused on the stars. No strange lights, no unusual alignments or appearances, no ominous messages left by a passing skywriter...

And if Gaia was trying to establish contact, that meant that she was - in whatever capacity - still around to try and establish contact. Corporeal, incorporeal, recuperating in Bora-Bora with a Mai Tai and being fanned by an oiled-up cabana boy in a thong - Faye didn't really care. Though she had to admit that the last scenario sounded pretty appealing to her.

Still leaves a couple problems, though, she reminded herself, pulling a sour face at the implications. Present in body or merely in spirit, the ominous nature of the dreams didn't tell her much, other than that Gaia was definitely in trouble - not that she necessarily needed the heads-up. Even with her powers locked up tight as a fortress, she could still sense a strange, almost-imperceptible shift in the air around Echo Town. One that would only, gradually, grow in time - into what, even she couldn't be quite sure, as much as the thought frustrated her to no end. What sort of solution was she supposed to hammer out with only a gut feeling and creepy dreams at her disposal?

She certainly couldn't ask the ignorant mortals in town for help - she'd get further asking a pile of bricks, or a rubber boot pulled from the Undine, and she wasn't quite too keen on making them privy to her origins or purpose to begin with. She was already stuck in a backwater town populated by complete strangers, without any means of magical defense, and her best prospects for help miles and miles away - divulging her status as a witch at this point would probably be tantamount to suicide. Or at least a one-way ticket to the loony bin.

No, at this point, all she could do was wait until she regained a little more strength before resuming the search, right back at ground zero. And waiting games pissed her off.

"Heeeennnnnryyyyy!"

Rolling her eyes, Rio knocked on the door yet again, knowing full well she wouldn't get a response - Henry slept like a rock when he was tired, and from what he'd told her the other night, he'd barely slept the past few days in his excitement. The disturbingly massive amounts of coffee he drank daily probably hadn't helped much with that either, she mused, knocking once more. Even as antsy as Henry was to start zipping about Echo Town, investigating and questioning and being his generally bouncy, highly-caffeinated self, she should've known he'd be dead to the world the moment his head hit the pillow. Nearly nine in the morning, her chores were pretty much done, and he was still sawing logs.

No, sir. Not on her watch.

"Alright, Rip Van Winkle, I'm comin' in!" she warned pointlessly, swinging the door open and scanning the small guest bedroom with a disgusted sigh. Clothes were on the floor, piled on the desk and chair to her left, pretty much everywhere except for the dresser, with Henry's open suitcase laying next to him on the queen-sized bed. The man himself was snoring softly on his side, shirtless, the smooth strains of "Raspberry Beret" failing to bounce him awake as he hugged a pillow to his face. His bare feet stuck out from under the blanket, which had somehow managed to wind up sideways during the night. Sheesh, he's gonna catch a cold! Rio thought with a groan, palm to her forehead. And can't he sleep with his friggin' mouth closed? I just washed those damn pillowcases...!

With another roll of her eyes, Rio swiped a blue t-shirt from the pile of clothes on the desk and chucked it at Henry, the garment striking against the headboard with a soft whump before slumping down to drape over his head. "Rise and shine, Hen!" she said loudly, cracking a grin as she heard him snort in confusion. "Got a busy day ahead, remember?"

Giving a start, Henry yanked the t-shirt off his head, running his fingers through his already-rumpled hair and squinting at Rio in confusion as he sat up and mumbled groggily: "...Whazzit? ...Wha' time's it, then, eh...?" With a low hum, he rolled over and stretched to check the clock on the far side of the bed - moving the blanket off of him, and causing Rio to utter a loud groan and turn away with her hand over her eyes as she was suddenly exposed to far more of Henry than she'd ever wanted to see.

"Christ's sake, boy! I don't need to be seein' that!" she grumbled, causing Henry to look down - and, with a sheepish yell, pull the blanket up to cover himself further, now much more alert. "You coulda warned me! How the hell ain't you cold?!"

"Didn't think you were gonna come bargin' into my room to wake me up," a red-faced Henry grouched back as Rio snapped that she had warned him. Grabbing the t-shirt and slipping it on with a huff, he leaned over again - blanket held firmly in place this time to avoid flashing her again - and shut off the clock radio. "Geez... I'll be out in a sec, go away and lemme get dressed!"

"Gladly." And out she went, though not before flinging a nearby pair of underwear at him and telling him they'd start on breakfast "when you're done freezin' your balls off."

A few muttered retorts and a fresh pair of clothes later, a much more genial Henry sat at the breakfast table, munching away at his eggs and waffles as he went over the recent events with Rio once more. Offhandedly dipping half of his waffle in the absurdly large mug of coffee to his left, he ignored Rio's revolted expression as he checked over the notepad to his right, pen in hand. He swallowed the soggy concoction. "So, lemme see here... I already got your story-"

"Eww, you're actually eatin' it like that?!"

"-And I'm hopin' one of us is gonna be talkin' to that patient today, prolly that Iroha girl too, see if Stevie Jr. told her anything... mmm, who else?"

"You're just bein' gross today, y'know that?" Rio went on, as Henry paused to take a deep gulp of the waffly coffee. "Who mixes that stuff together?"

"Me," Henry responded nonchalantly, still running his pen down the list of notes he'd scribbled down the other day. "'Kay, lessee, lessee... and we should talk to Emma and her daughter, her neighbors..."

"May as well work your way 'round the whole town," Rio pointed out, trying to discreetly sneak a sausage off of his plate while his attention was divided, and getting her hand smacked away in return.

"I was plannin' on that, actually - just gotta figure out where to start. Uhhh, Dunhill give any of 'em the heads-up?" he asked, suddenly looking up and moving his plate closer to his side of the table. "I almost feel kinda sloppy, doin' this without some kinda itinerary..."

Rio shrugged. "Ah, he said he was gonna ask some folks when a good time would be to talk to 'em, and he keeps his word - just gotta work around their work schedules is all, chill out! Blondie's probably in talkin' condition at this point, I'd imagine," she added as an afterthought, draining her orange juice and fiddling with the end of her braid. "And I don't think Iroha's workin' on anything today. Her work's done to order, and she does her trainin' the rest of the time, so she'll probably be free for a chat! She's a real sweetie, so y'all shouldn't have any trouble talkin' to her. You dip that waffle in there again, and I'm gonna hurl," she added, her nose scrunched up as Henry hovered the final bite of his waffle over the mug with a mischievous expression. "...Ah, hell, you're gonna do it anyway, ain't ya?"

He flashed her a charming grin. "Fine, I'll dip my eggs in my coffee instead. That sound fair, Ri-Ri?"

Tossing her braid over her shoulder, Rio gathered her dishes and made for the sink, nose stuck in the air as she turned on the water and grabbed the sprayer. "Bleugh! I knew you city folks did some weird shit, but holy crap! That is nasty!"

Chuckling, Henry drank the rest of his coffee. "Yeah, it is - I wasn't actually gonna do it, y'know! Even I've got my limits!" As he said this, he padded over to the coffee maker to refill the massive mug to the brim, blissfully oblivious to Rio's skeptical stare and flat "Uh huh." Turning to her and leaning against the counter, he tilted his head and took a deep swig. "So, you wanna come with while we're makin' the rounds? Watch our snoopin' skills in action?"

"Watch a bartender bein' social and pullin' secrets outta people, huh?" Rio said in mock-contemplation. "And here I thought you were s'posed to be on vacation."

Henry knocked back what was left of his coffee in one massive gulp and sighed happily, before fixing Rio with a teasing stare. "What, so you're sayin' they're all gonna be drunk at this hour? Sheesh, what kinda town is this?"

"Alright, smartass, get goin' and meet your little Scooby-Doo crew before I make ya start plowin' a new field or somethin'," Rio ordered exasperatedly, drying off her dishes and putting them up as Henry snickered behind her and turned to go get his coat and gloves. "'Sides, I'm worried you're gonna start shootin' grounds between your damn toes at the rate you're goin'. Go work off some of that caffeine. I'll catch ya later - I'm gonna be in the forest, cleanin' up if ya need me!"

"I'll try to stop by and help after I'm done!" he called on his way out of the door. "Don't go gettin' hammered while you're hammerin', now!"

And he was gone, before he could catch Rio's retort that his joke sucked.

Breath floating up and away before him, Henry found himself growing slightly overwhelmed as he reached the outskirts of Echo Ranch, taking in the now-sunlit forms of the colorful, snow-capped houses, bushes, and benches dotting the sleepy little forest town. Here and there, he could see a few unfamiliar people milling about, most of them too distant to discern, exchanging greetings as they passed each other.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet and wondering where exactly he was supposed to start off, he scanned the area and caught sight of the inn on the far side of the plaza, shrugging to himself before making his way over. His eyes drifted longingly up to Echo Peak - looking suspiciously brown and barren in the daytime - before he sighed and shook his head. Just have to be patient, kiddo.

As he crossed Echo Town, he quickly spotted Tina and Soseki crossing his way from the direction of the inn, waving to them and breaking into a light jog as they approached each other. "Mornin', guys! You ready to start?"

"Hear that, Tina?" Soseki asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning down at his friend. "You're a guy now!"

Rolling her eyes, Tina smiled back at Henry, jabbing her thumb to her left. "Ohhh, do you wanna guess what I'm ready to do? It involves a shovel."

Henry clucked his tongue and shook his head. "So, I'm guessin' that's a yes and a yes, huh? Weeeeelllllp, I'm loaded with enough caffeine to kill a damn herd of elephants right now, so let's do this!"

"What, kill elephants?" Tina quipped, watching in amusement as Henry bounced in place, eyes darting around the town. "'Cause I kinda have a moral objection to doing that."

Soseki chortled, starting to walk forward and motioning for the other two to follow. "Well, we'll just have to have all the fun without you, won't we, Henry? C'mon, Mr. Zabat said Dunhill was going to get us pointed in the right direction. Tell us who's free to chit-chat today and all."

"Hossan Zabat," Tina explained, off of Henry's puzzled look. "He's the innkeeper, really nice guy. Says he just moved back into town and reopened last year! We chatted with him and his little boy last night while we were checking in - Niko's such a sweetie!" she added with a giggle. "I wish my brothers had been that well-behaved when they were his age! Rotten little hellions..."

"And Tina there chatted with the lovely Miss Ross," Soseki went on, grinning over his shoulder at them. "Love at first sight, those two - I could hear them squealing and cooing and doing each others' hair and crying over Fifty Shades all night."

Tina tutted loudly and gave him a light shove. "Oh, don't be jealous! We would've done your hair and let you cry over Fifty Shades too, you know!"

Soseki swatted her hand away, scoffing at the offer. "I prefer to cry over crappy fiction in private, thank you very much."

Thoroughly entertained as he watched the two, Henry stuffed his hands in the pockets of his parka, waving when he saw Rio emerge from her house. She waved back, before turning to check her mail. "So, you guys get anything new outta those folks, then? I mean, we got the lights and the weird screamin' and earthquake and all, and the girl at the clinic..."

Scratching his chin, Soseki shook his head. "Well... Hossan and Niko didn't have much to say on that - they're pretty sound sleepers. Heck, Hossan said he didn't know anything was even going on until Felicity came pounding on their bedroom doors afterward to check on them..."

"But!" Tina interjected brightly, rubbing her heart-patterned mittens together, "Felicity herself said she thought she heard someone keep yelling someone's name up there - she thought it might've just been one of the neighbors, but it sounded like it was coming from the woods. Didn't get a response when she ran outside to check, though. She said Iroha heard it, too..."

"Sounds like Blondie up in the clinic," Henry muttered thoughtfully, lips pressed into a thin line as they passed between the salon and the general store, climbing up the hill towards the northeast side of Echo Town that bordered the Undine. "At least, I'm hopin' so... unless we actually do have a frozen corpse on our hands," he added under his breath, grimacing, and causing Tina to glance at him curiously.

"What's that, now?"

"Ahhhh." He waved the question off, falling into step beside Soseki, Tina flanking the older man on his other side. "Nothin', just thinkin' out loud. Sooooo - hey, you say Felicity heard a name, yeah?"

Tina nodded, green eyes bright with interest now. "Mmm-hmm! Yeah, she said it was kinda muffled, but from what she tells me, Iroha heard the same thing - sounded like... 'Maya' or something, I think she said? Kinda got me worried for a second," she admitted with an embarrassed titter, "because Rod's got a friend named Maya who lives over in Castanet, buuuuut... I don't think she'd come all the way to Echo in the middle of the night! Plus, it's not like it's a really uncommon name..."

"Friend, huh?" Soseki teased, waggling his eyebrows and grinning roguishly at his companions as they neared Dunhill's homey little cabin in the northeastern-most corner of town, a brick-paved path just a few feet away leading to a forested plaza. "Ohh ho ho, I bet I know why she'd come all the way down here at night, then!"

"Now, you behave!" Tina scolded, smacking his broad back. "She's seventeen, you dirty old man! Besides, Castanet's... like... fifty miles southwest of us! Rod's a great guy, but who walks fifty miles in the snow to get laid?"

"Me," Henry piped up without missing a beat, biting his tongue to keep from snickering.

"Me," Soseki echoed in an innocent tone, both of them snorting and bumping their fists together when Tina let out an exasperated groan, grumbling something they couldn't make out.

"Yeah, the interviews are just gonna go so fantastic with Beavis and Butt-head, here..." Heaving a long-suffering sigh, she gave Soseki another gentle shove and strolled up to Dunhill's door, knocking politely. "Now, you two behave," she repeated, smiling as she heard loud, deep barking from within the cabin. A man's admonishing, drawling voice followed, along with the sound of scratching on the other side of the door:

"Alrighty, Roxie, get back here! You go lay down and play with your chewies, we don't wanna scare 'em off! Go lay down, girl! Go get your chewies!" With a jiggle of metal and a creak, the splintered old door of the cabin swung open, revealing a tall, thin old man. Between his rumpled, blue-striped button down, worn-out cowboy boots and blue jeans, and his grizzled gray hair and beard, Roger Dunhill was by no means the picture of an average, stereotypical authority figure - much less a mayor. Still, his smile was warm and genuine as he greeted them, right hand holding the collar of the massive, scruffy Irish wolfhound that was barking, whining, and wagging her tail at the group, trying to lunge forward and greet them herself.

"Morning, folks! You two must be Rod's friends. I'm Roger Dunhill, mayor of this here joint - good to see you back, Henry!" Dunhill added with a little wave, before sticking out his hand for Tina to shake, then Soseki - who, trying not to smirk, idly noted how much dog and master resembled each other. "Well, c'mon in and make yourselves at home! Don't mind Roxie, here - she's a good girl, she just likes making new buddies! And not listening to her papa - isn't that right, you stubborn little missy?" he added in a coo. "Yeah, see Henry there? He came back to visit you!"

Briefly ignoring Henry's familiar presence, Roxie instead lunged forward to snuffle excitedly at a giggling Tina, slobbering all over her proffered, mitten-free hand.

She scratched the friendly beast atop her head as she entered the cozy little house, slipping off her windbreaker at Dunhill's suggestion, and setting it on the nearby coat rack. Dunhill's cabin was simple and rustic, filled with knotted-pine everything, and two worn-down, brown couches set in front of the blazing fireplace on the far wall. Colorful cushions were piled in one corner, littered with rawhide chews and dog toys.

"You been doin' alright, then, Rog? Mabel and Hank say 'hi,' by the way," Henry asked as he, too, draped his parka on the rack and withdrew his notepad and pen from the pocket, pulling off his gloves and getting roped into a one-armed hug by Dunhill. Returning the hug with his free arm, he pulled away and knelt down to rub his nose against Roxie's, chuckling when the wolfhound's massive tongue swiped at his chin. "Hey there, baby girl! This big ol' monster been keepin' you in line, eh?"

"I dunno which of us big ol' monsters you're talking to!" Dunhill cracked, taking a seat on one couch and kicking his boots off, opposite from where Tina and Soseki had settled. Much like Dunhill, Soseki had immediately made himself at home, leaning back and stretching out his long legs, arms draped over the back of the couch as he let out a contented groan. Dunhill grinned at the sight. "But we've been doing just fine, yup! You give those two my regards when you see 'em next! Love to get with 'em for dinner sometime..."

"Well, this big, old monster appreciates your hospitality, my man," Soseki sighed. Unlike Tina and Henry, he'd opted to keep his jacket and gloves on in the toasty room, looking no less comfortable for it. He cracked his neck and ignored Tina's pained cringe as Henry settled in between them, hands behind his head. "So, how long have you been the mayor here, anyway?"

Scratching his beard with a gruff laugh, Dunhill shrugged. "Ahh... good question, kiddo! I dunno, actually!"

"'Kiddo,' heh heh," Tina snickered quietly, feeling one of Soseki's nearby fingers poke her in the back of the head. "Hey!"

"Put a lid on it, O'Malley."

"Man, how do you not know somethin' like that?" Henry added with a good-humored roll of his eyes - he knew the story, but the answer still amused him. "Your memory startin' to skip out, buddy?"

Dunhill waved it off. "Well, yknow... not like I was elected or nothing! Just, uhh... what's that word Rio calls it... default? Nahh, de-something."

"De facto?" Soseki supplied as he dropped his hand for Roxie to sniff and lick, getting a snap and a nod from Dunhill as thanks.

"That's it! Well, anyway, Henry here knows what a dump this place used to be before," Dunhill explained, cracking a small smile when Roxie propped her front paws up on a hesitant Soseki's lap and began sniffing his face now. "People leaving, all that stuff. Well, here we were - me and just a couple other folks, some of us grew up around here - and we didn't wanna see this place go under! This was after Rio's grandpa Jay passed - Henry's great-uncle," he added, indicating Henry, who nodded with a slightly wistful expression on his face as he idly scratched Roxie's back and took over the storytelling:

"Yep, Rio tells me they've been workin' on restorin' this place for a while now, started some time after she moved here... renovations, gettin' the word out to nearby towns and cities for folks who were lookin' to start businesses out in the countryside..."

"Everyone's been a huge help," Dunhill went on with an easy smile, patting his lap and prompting Roxie to trot over to him. He scratched under her chin as he went on: "Got different people around here handling those renovations, gussying this place up, getting the word out... Rio and I help out with that stuff where we can, anyway. I balance the checkbooks," he went on, chuckling, "but mostly I'm just the pretty face of the whole thing, who got everyone here on-board 'cause I wouldn't shut up about it!"

"Hey, if you'd shut up at some point, this town might've gone under!" Henry laughed, shaking his head. "Anyway, yep, there y'all have it - the story of how they somehow wound up with Dunhill in charge around here at some point. See, I didn't tell 'em you actually had the last mayor bumped off," he added proudly, getting an eye-roll in return.

"Alright, you little smart-aleck... well," he added, sitting up straighter and patting Roxie on the head, "I'd love to keep chatting with you folks, but I know you've all got some business to take care of, so let's get started here! You were wanting to interview us - get our takes on the events and whatnot, right?"

Soseki nodded smartly, slipping his tape recorder from the pocket of his leather bomber with a little grin. "Nailed it, my man! We already spoke to the people at the inn last night, so we can check them off the list - your buddy Hossan said you had some other people lined up for us to talk to?"

"Just a couple," Dunhill agreed, "to start off with - don't wanna overload you folks. So, for today, we've got Miss Iroha, down near the inn on the far side of town... and the folks right down the street from me, at the clinic! Dr. Klaus and the girl - think her name's Faye? Took a lot of pestering to get Klaus to agree to let her have visitors," he added with a chortle, "so he's not gonna be in the best of moods, lemme tell you! 'Course, he hardly ever is... well, that's beside the point. Who wants to see whom?"

"I'll see Faye!" Tina piped up immediately, getting amused stares from her companions. "What? The poor girl's probably been through enough, I don't wanna leave her with you guys!"

Henry tutted, folding his arms. "Awww, now that ain't nice!"

"You wound me," Soseki agreed dryly, hand over his heart. "Well, I think I'll follow Tina to the clinic just to get back at her for being such a brat-" Tina blew a raspberry at him for this, and he smirked and gestured at her, as if to prove his point, "-and talk to the doc."

Dunhill stared at him in utter bewilderment. Clearly, this was a man who was entirely unfamiliar with Eric Klaus in any way, shape, or form. Well, they are new here... Then again, really, any of them were in for a hard time if they had to talk to that man. Soseki had just willingly drawn the short straw, was all. "Alrighty, well - you have fun with that, kiddo! Guess that leaves you and Miss Iroha," he added, looking back to Henry, who nodded brightly.

"Well, that works fine for me! Rio says she's real nice, and Iroha's the one who found that Faye girl, so..."

"They're expecting us, then?" Tina cut in, brushing back a lock of hair that had escaped from her loose bun. "I mean, we're not going to just be barging in and asking them to kibitz with us, right?"

"Ki-what?!" Henry mumbled, eyebrow going up in confusion. Still, Dunhill seemed to have picked up on the context, shaking his head.

"Oh, not at all - they know you're coming!"

"Actually, though," Soseki mused, finger to his chin and tape recorder tapping against the leg of his jeans, "before we head on out - do you mind if we record a run-down of events from you, too? If it's no bother, that is - just wanna make sure we get all the details we can. Plus, you live closest to the mountainside..."

Shrugging, the older man leaned back and folded his hands behind his head, propping one leg up on the other. "Hey, I'm in no rush to go anywhere! 'Sides, whatever helps you kids! Fire away, buddy!"

"Excellent, thank you very much! Mind if I sit next to you for this? That way, the recording's clearer-" At Dunhill's nod, he moved over to the other couch, settling himself down on the far end and giving Roxie a little scratch behind the ears. "Alright," Soseki went on, as Tina and Henry prepared their notepads and pens, "you guys ready, too?" At their nods, he clicked a button on the recorder, and-

"I'm gonna stick it up your buuuuuutt!"

An exceptionally awkward silence fell over the room as four stares - including Roxie, ears up and head tilted in confusion - leveled on a red-faced Soseki, who was rubbing the back of his neck just under his ponytail and chuckling sheepishly. "...Ahhh, heh heh - I... I forgot that was on there," he managed with a rueful grin, while Tina buried her face in her hand and mumbled "Jesus Christ, Soseki."

Henry, meanwhile, was similarly red-faced, fist to his mouth as he tried to keep himself from bursting out into hysterical laughter; Dunhill simply knit his eyebrows, mouth hanging open in a frown and muttering "What in the devil?" under his breath.

Clearing his throat, Soseki clucked his tongue and sighed, willing the burn away from his cheeks. "Ahhh, yeah, so - that happened. Sorry about that - can I have a do-over? When Henry stops cackling like a hyena?" he added, voice raised slightly over Henry's muffled guffaws as Dunhill nodded blankly. Henry himself looked seconds away from rolling on the ground, the corners of his eyes glinting with mirthful tears.

"W-who... who's c-ca... ca-cacklin'?" Henry wheezed in a faint squeal, snorting and giggling uncontrollably. "Aaaaaahahahaha... ahhh, heh... ah, shit, man," he sighed giddily, slumping back onto the couch and wiping his eyes as he started to calm down. "Th-that was... awesome. Ahhh... alrighty, Rog, go 'head. Sorry."

Scratching his cheek, Dunhill nodded again, blowing out a sigh. "Right, right. You ready now?" he added patiently, raising his eyebrows at a wryly-smiling Soseki.

"Finger's on 'Record' this time, scout's honor! And, three... two... one!" Another click - and with no further embarrassing threats rasping out into the air after a tense moment, he began, holding the recorder close to his mouth: "This is Soseki Furuya, thirty-one years old and an investigative journalist with The Brimson Everyday. I'm conducting the first of my Echo Town interviews following the earthquake that took place late in the evening of February 24, 2014. I'm here with my protégé, Tina O'Malley, also a journalist for The Brimson Everyday; and freelance investigator Henry Turner, from St. Ruthersford. The time is-" He shook back his jacket sleeve and checked his watch, "-10:37 A.M., and today's date is February 28, 2014. Sir, could you state your name, age, and occupation, please?" he finished, tilting the recorder in Dunhill's direction.

The mayor cleared his throat. "Name's Roger Dunhill, fifty-seven years old, Mayor of Echo Town - just 'Dunhill' will be fine," he said easily, leaning back with his fingers laced behind his head - much to Tina's amusement. Henry, meanwhile, watched in a bit of fascination at how effortlessly professional Soseki became when conducting an interview - he was now sitting up straight and looking attentive, his voice calm and respectful, completely in his element. No smart-assed remarks or goofing about, like he'd seen at first - just a completely different man wearing Soseki's bomber jacket and jeans.

He wasn't quite sure how he felt about "freelance investigator" as a title just yet, but he had to admit - it did have a certain ring to it.

Dunhill began his account of Monday night's events in his laid-back, gruff drawl, sounding almost nonchalant about the whole thing - Tina and a now-focused Henry scribbling furiously, while Soseki interjected periodically with simple, neutral questions: Can you please describe what happened that night? Can you tell me where you were when that happened? Can you tell me what you saw? Can you tell me what you heard?

"My hearing's started going south on me, so I can't be much help there," Dunhill said with an apologetic shrug at the last question, after giving a description that otherwise matched most of what the trio had thus far heard from Rio, Felicity, and the Zabats. "I know people are talking about somebody screaming up there, but I was making the rounds, checking up on everyone. Probably missed it."

Soseki nodded, giving the mayor a friendly smile. "Well, that's perfectly understandable."

"Mmm. But, you know," Dunhill added thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling, "darnedest thing - I got this weird feeling before the earthquake struck. Not literally right before, but not hours before either. Couldn't have been more or less a couple minutes." His eyes narrowed as Soseki, Tina, and Henry looked at each other with intrigued expressions, and then back to him. Leaning forward a bit, Soseki pressed on calmly:

"Can you describe it, please?"

"It was... well, I'd say it was just plain odd," Dunhill muttered, giving his beard slow, pensive strokes. "That tingly, hair-on-end feeling you get when someone runs their nails down a chalkboard, you know? But nothing I could think of set it off. Stomach clenched up, got a little shaky, too - felt like I was gonna hurl." His expression soured at the memory. "Thought maybe I was sick or having some kind of stroke or heart attack or something, but before I could get up to go see Dr. Klaus, bam!" He smacked the arm of the couch. "Earthquake City! Funny thing was," he added with a deepening frown, "afterward? There I am, scared as hell, but feeling otherwise fine! I dunno, figured the adrenaline knocked me right - Klaus checked on me later, says there's no signs of any funny business. I'm perfectly healthy. Err, aside from my cholesterol." He chuckled sheepishly along with his guests, rubbing the back of his scraggly gray head. "Ahhh, maybe my body just sensed something weird, though. I know that happens sometimes to folks."

"Anything is possible," Soseki agreed genially, looking quite satisfied with the outcome nonetheless. "Well, Dunhill, I believe that answers all the questions I have for you at this time. Is there anything further that you'd like to add before we conclude the interview?"

Starting to shake his head, Dunhill stopped and grimaced as he remembered that the interview was being recorded on tape, and cleared his throat. "That's about it, ki-err, Mr. Furuya," he corrected hastily, Soseki nonchalantly waving it off. "Thanks for taking the time to chat with this old guy!"

Soseki grinned. "My pleasure, sir. Thank you for your time." Thumb positioned over the proper button, he clicked the recorder off once more. "Aaaaaand I believe that's a wrap! You've been a great help today, my man," he continued, getting up with a slight groan and leaning forward to shake Dunhill's outstretched hand, gently tucking his tape recorder back into his jacket pocket.

"Anytime, anytime - well, it was great meeting you two! And good to have you back in Echo, Henry! You all feel free to drop by sometime," Dunhill offered, arms now folded in amusement as he watched Tina and Henry fuss over Roxie - somehow, she'd found room to roll over onto her back between the two couches, legs splayed about and tongue flapping around carelessly while her massive belly was rubbed and patted. "Heh, alright, you big, spoiled baby. We don't wanna keep 'em waiting around forever!"

With a round of thanks and goodbyes as they retrieved their jackets and slipped their gloves and mittens back on, the trio departed into the brisk Friday mid-morning, Tina whipping her notebook right back out of the pocket of her red windbreaker and scanning over what she'd written down. "So, hey, sweet! Less than twenty-four hours here, and we've already got some new details to gnaw on!" She tapped the last section of neatly-written notes with her mitten, nodding in approval. "Plus, the people we've met so far are really super nice, so that helps!"

"Mmmm." Soseki nodded in agreement as they started ambling the short distance to the clinic, the sun gleaming off of the fresh layers of crunchy snow. "In particular, that name business Felicity and Iroha mentioned is still niggling at the back of my mind... I was hoping Dunhill might have something on that, but..." He shrugged. "Que sera, sera."

"Yeah, I was gonna bring up the name thing to Iroha," Henry said, peering at his own notepad with a slight frown. "Not to mention, Dunhill said he was feelin' all funny shortly before it all happened... 'course, that could just be a coincidence, but..." He trailed off, leaving Tina to pick up for him:

"Yeah, but with all the other stuff going on around that time, too?"

"Well," Soseki reasoned, stopping at the frosted glass door of the Echo Town Emergency Clinic, "let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Not that I'm not itching to do just that, of course..."

"I'm itchin' to go nosin' around up there," Henry chimed in, nodding up in the direction of Echo Peak, the top of which could only be faintly seen from their current position. "Rio said she's gonna be helpin' clear the debris out in the forest, so I might stop by there afterward, see how it's goin'... help her out if it gets us up there faster!" he added with a laugh.

"Sounds like a plan!" Tina agreed, clapping Henry on the shoulder. "Hey, you wanna met us up at the inn afterward for lunch, compare our notes? Say... around two? We tried their breakfast this morning, and Niko's cooking is really good!"

"You got it! I'll see y'all around then!" he said as he took a few crunchy steps backwards, returning their waves with a two-fingered salute. Winking and pointing with a sly grin, he added to Soseki: "Don't be playin' any more dirty messages to folks, now!" The older man simply hunched his shoulders and chuckled wryly in response, cheeks going pink as Tina giggled and shook her head. Taking a few more steps back and waving, Henry spun about unsteadily on his sneakers, regaining his balance and cutting through the plaza for West Echo Town at a light jog. He glanced around furtively before attempting to hop the fence running behind the inn, ending up flat on his face in the snow for his troubles.

Back by the clinic, Soseki settled his hand on the shiny brass doorknob, nodding to Tina. "After you, Sparky."

Tina grinned brightly as he held the door open, giving him a mock bow before heading inside. "Alright, let's do this!"

Author's Notes: Well, this finished earlier than I expected to! (Even if I started it later than I thought I would.) What with work picking up as people prepare for Memorial Day weekend and summer, starting another ongoing story, and the most recent chapter of Shadows being an utter behemoth by my standards, I didn't expect to recover and get back on the ball so soon. On the other hand, I remember getting sleep at one time. Remember the days when you slept 8 hours a night, and MTV played music videos? Pepperidge Farm remembers. And, since I can neatly condense the main cast into four primary characters, Henry's new buddies (and Faye) joined him on the character list.

Well, it looks like our news crew is starting the rounds about town! Meanwhile, Faye dreams of greener, sexier pastures, and endangered goddesses - the two are hopefully mutually exclusive; after starting off with a blinding view of Henry's goodies, Rio's Friday morning can only improve from there; Henry will probably bleed coffee if you cut him at this point (try it!); Soseki's indirect attempt to proposition Dunhill falls flat; and mother of God, I just realized that Rod and Maya look like they could totally be related. Gross, Soseki.

Thanks to Show The Cook Some Love for spot-checking for me, and to Twilightsin for the comment and the kudos over on AO3! So, what'll come of our heroes chatting up the town? Will Soseki offend Klaus? (Of course he will, it's Klaus.) Why didn't they interview Roxie? You may or may not find out in chapter 4 - feel free to leave a review, if you'd like, and I'll see you there!