Daichi: In which time passes, but very little of note happens.

Verity: We still don't own anything.

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Ib wandered the halls of the school building a month later, trying to peer through the crowds. "I know I saw him earlier..." She muttered, wishing that she'd thought to speak to him then, instead of waiting until the lunch break. Eventually, she spotted the person she was looking for on the stairs. "Joe! There you are!"

Said boy in question had been adjusting his glasses, and her calling out to him actually startled him into dropping them. Somehow, this didn't surprise her.

"You should be more careful with these, you know," She stated, picking them off the floor and inspecting them for damage, "Forget the crowds, just falling from high enough could break them." Joe snatched the glasses back from her.

"And you think messing around with them is going to help? Didn't you want me for something?"

"I can't just come and wish my friend a happy birthday?" It had taken some amount of effort to get that information- she'd only come up with it a few days before- but she was glad she did, if only for the look on his face.

"I- would you believe I actually forgot about that?" He put his glasses back on. Ib noted that she could definitely believe it, if only because he never seemed to remember little details like what day it was when he was focused on something, and there was always something for him to focus on.

It was great for studying. It wasn't so great when it came to keeping track of semi-important but unrelated events to whatever he cared about most at the moment. At least, once he completed whatever he was doing, he tended to actually remember those details, although it was a toss-up as to whether or not they still mattered at that point.

"Honestly, do you pay any attention to anything but your books?" She asked. Not that the content of the conversation really mattered. She just needed somebody to talk to.

And, of course, she really did hope the time around his birthday ended up better than hers had been. Although, to be fair, that wasn't exactly a difficult thing to accomplish.

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"Joe?" Ib asked, a few weeks later, "Do you believe in other worlds?" Her notebook was in front of her, but she wasn't entirely capable of reading her own handwriting at times when she hadn't been properly focused while writing, and she hadn't been able to keep her mind on one thing all day. Sleep deprivation from constant nightmares would do that.

"What do you mean?" He sounded skeptical already, not a good sign. But now that the first bit was out, she couldn't stop herself.

"I mean places not like this. Entire worlds that can't usually be accessed, because they aren't part of normal reality." Without thinking, she picked up Joe's pencil and sketched a rose into the margins of her notebook. As much as she might have tried to distance herself from her old hobby, going as far as to burn all of her art supplies, it still came creeping back at times.

"You're not making any sense. Other worlds, why would you consider such a thing?" Sometimes, Ib couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. He had no imagination. But she had to tell somebody the truth.

"Because I... can you keep a secret? I've been to one." She didn't have to look at him to see the shock on his face. "It was right after my birthday, even."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because nobody else will listen." She didn't tell him everything. Some parts of it she wanted to keep for herself. But somehow, acknowledging that it had really happened, even if it was to somebody who didn't entirely believe her, made her feel slightly better.

Slightly. But it was a start. Not much of one. But she was sure she'd get there eventually.

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Joe was half certain that Ib was completely insane. Only half, because she didn't seem too sure about what she said, either, and he got the feeling he was being let in on a big secret, complete unbelievability aside.

A living nightmare, taking the form of an art gallery to trap unfortunate visitors, with only one survivor? He didn't really think anything like that could ever happen, even if she claimed to have physical proof. He wasn't going to ask for it, if only because that would be like admitting something like that could ever actually happen, and he wasn't quite ready for his entire worldview to be dismantled just yet.

So, he pushed his doubts aside, just for a bit. He would avoid the topic, and Ib would too, although Joe wasn't entirely sure that was healthy, at least if she really was telling the truth. But he figured she'd tell him if it got too serious.

Years passed, like that, until Joe's parents decided that he needed to relax, if only because they didn't want him to suffer a heart attack before he even managed to graduate high school, and that summer camp was a good option.

He couldn't exactly deny the existence of other worlds after that.

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Daichi: Now, as it turns out, people with little to no emotional support do not make good protagonists if the goal is to be as effective as possible. Which is, unfortunately, the case. On the plus side, one person can't completely destroy things too badly, right?

Verity: Shall I point you to just about every game we've ever played? Of course that's going to happen.

Daichi: Well, at least it's bound to be somewhat entertaining. For us. Not them. They probably won't be having much fun at all.