summary: the past and the future are discussed over dinner.

"So let me get this straight," Mare began, glancing at Anti, "you got stabbed in the neck by the truck driver you hitched a ride with."

"Hey, I stabbed him back," Anti replied, throwing his hands up in self-defense.

"And you," Mare turned, staring at Dark, "would have been murdered in your sleep by a bunch of 'hunters,' had Anti not woken up."

Dark wrinkled his nose. "You make it sound like I owe him."

Anti took offense to that. "Yes, you do, you ungrateful jerk."

Dark sighed. "Well, I was the one who had to scare them away, because you up and left."

Mare ignored them. "And you," he continued, now glaring at Mad, "nearly blew yourself up with that teleporter."

Mad giggled nervously. "Well, nobody died, right? I took the necessary precautions!"

The other three stared at him, unimpressed with his excuse.

"What 'precautions'?" Dark asked.

Mad blinked. "Is that rhetorical, or..."

Mare sighed in defeat. "I was right to be fucking worried. Two days, and you're already getting yourselves killed."

Anti took offense to that. "Watch it, Nightmare-boy, you just got back on our good sides," he admonished, cracking his knuckles for emphasis.

But Mare only waved him off. "On top of that, our human bodies are affecting us. Explains this feeling in my gut, though - I thought it was just worry and guilt."

"When was the last time you ate?" Mad asked.

"...I don't remember," Mare replied after a pause.

Anti had the strange and sudden urge to rub a clothes iron on his own face. "Before you start crying over our almost-being-dead," he began, "you should take care of yourself and eat something." He paused, realizing he was also hungry. "Actually, we should all grab some bites."

"There's a restaurant nearby where the crew have been getting their food," Mare said, pointing out its direction.

"And the old ladies?" Dark asked.

Mad groaned. "Dark, they'll be fine. Like Anti and I said before, they can handle themselves."

"Hey, don't bring me into this," Anti piped up, not liking his sudden association at all.

"I'll hold you to that," Dark said, rolling his eyes at Mad. Then he glanced at Mare, or more specifically, his face, where the purple streaks were still visible. "You should hide your true form, before people recognize you when it's light."

Mare looked blank for a second, before slapping his hands on his cheeks. "Shit, I forgot to change! Why didn't you guys tell me?"

Anti shrugged. "Because it's dark out, we only noticed now, and we were busy forgiving your sorry ass anyway? And hey, we're telling you now."

"You should probably change your shirt while you're at it," Mad pointed out, while Mare's appearance shifted, like oil shimmering in water, before it settled, leaving behind a clean face and normal eyes.

"This 'hiding-in-plain-sight' gig is going to be hard, huh?" Mare replied, looking down at his shirt. "Guess I shouldn't have gone onstage tonight. And I don't have any extra shirts."

But Dark shook his head, then opened his backpack, pulled out a shirt, and tossed it to Mare. "A little publicity won't hurt anyone. Besides, we need the money."

Mare laughed, pulling off his shirt while everyone else looked away politely. "Good thing I demanded cash up front."

After Mare ditched his hole-ridden shirt in trash, they left the makeshift parking lot of the concert venue and went looking for the restaurant. It turned out to be very different from the diner from the pit stop: the tables, chairs, walls, columns, partitions, and floor were made from dark, grainy, polished solid wood; the low-hanging orange lampshades shone dim yellow lightbulbs; potted plants were placed in several corners; and a deep tangy aroma of different herbs and spices hung in the air. A sizeable number of customers, half-filling the restaurant, had soft but merry conversations, amidst the clinking of cutlery, plates, and glasses, and the soft jazz music from speakers in the ceiling.

"This place looks expensive," was all Anti remarked.

Mare chuckled. "It's not. The crew members said you can get chicken and fries here for a steal."

Dark perked up at that, and looked around. "Do we need to wait to get seated?"

"No, I heard it's first come, first served -"

Anti sensed that Dark had gone before Mare even finished his sentence. When he looked around, he saw Dark sitting at a round table for four in a far-off corner, his hands clasped in front of him on the tabletop, staring at them impatiently.

"Did he teleport?!" Mad exclaimed, both surprised and confused by Dark's actions.

Anti shook his head. "Nope, he walked very, very fast."

When they got seated, a waitress came over and handed them their menus: stiff, glossy, foldable cardboard somewhat rough at the edges, but otherwise clean and clear in text. The four of them all ordered the chicken and fries, which turned out to be the special.

"So, what exactly did you do when you left the facility?" Mad asked, as a way of starting the conversation. Terrible starter, but Anti had to admit he was curious as well.

Mare chewed his lip for a moment, before sighing. "When I broke out of the facility, I grabbed one of the trucks they had and drove the hell out of there. Didn't stop driving until I ran out of fuel in the middle of this town, but by then I was so exhausted I felt asleep at the wheel. A passing policeman woke me up and told me I parked at an illegal spot, but I ran before he could give me a ticket. I've been wandering around thinking about my options ever since - well, before I got hired for the concert."

"So that concert gig -" Anti began.

"Why didn't you -" Dark said as well.

Anti stared at Dark, who glared back, and felt a sense of deja vu. This was funny before, but it was getting old fast.

"Rock-paper-scissors?" Dark suggested, without a hint of sarcasm. He raised a loose fist to prove it.

Mad face-palmed. "Here we go again," he mumbled, sounding bored.

Mare looked at all of them, mouth hung open. "What is going on?"

Anti narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I thought you said it was juvenile."

Dark didn't break eye contact. "Yes or no, Anti."

Anti grinned. Good, Dark understood him now. "My time for redemption."

Dark threw scissors. Anti threw rock.

Anti would have whooped if it wasn't appropriate in a public restaurant. Instead, he pumped up one fist in the air. "Ha! I win this time!"

"What exactly did you win?!" Mare asked, his voice slightly higher from anxiety.

Dark only rolled his eyes, pretending not to be a sore loser, while Mad removed his hand from his face and flatly replied, "He gets to ask his question first."

Mare deflated. "Oh."

Anyway, this was an opportunity not to be wasted. "So that concert gig wasn't part of your plan for world domination?"

Mare blinked at him. "No? I was more worried about you guys. I wanted to go back so badly, but by the time I made up my mind, the truck already got towed away. That was when I realized I needed cash to get a ride."

"Hence the opening act," Dark concluded. "Well, have you acquired a car?"

Mare shook his head. "Nope, but I heard there's a used-car sale near the edge of town. I was hoping to get something cheap there."

Mad contemplated this. "I don't think our combined funds will be enough, but if it comes to the worst, we can just let Dark do all the talking."

Dark smiled. "Of course."

Anti wasn't convinced. "Oh, just like with those old ladies?"

Dark glared at him. "We did get a ride, didn't we?"

Anti frowned and crossed his arms. Dark was not telling them something, since the old ladies told him to "take care of their Asian friend," before they parted ways, which had been buzzing at the back of his mind.

(He tried not to remember the drumbeats. Sean can never come back, he told himself.)

"Anyway," Mad continued, "that's for tomorrow, when we get the rest of what we need for our trip. Tonight, we should find somewhere to sleep. So, where have you been staying, Mare?"

Mare looked startled by the sudden attention. "Uhm, I broke into someone's apartment?"

They all stared at him.

"Look, the couch looked comfy, and all I had to do was break the windows! Then I sang a song and made the guy see stuff, so he got the hell out of there."

Nobody said anything in reply.

Mare shrugged helplessly. "Guy had excellent beer, though."

Dark cocked his head. "I never did get my wine."

a/n: sorry for the late update. i wasn't kidding when i said this chapter was a bitch to write.

also, i was wrong. i need two more chapters to wrap up act one.

next chapter: previous events come back to punish the boys.