Hey, kids, you might think that you'll be fine with just five hours of sleep, right? Nope! Bad children, bad. Five hours of sleep is not recommended at all. Four hours, on the other hand? You're fine. I know that sounds really dumb, but there's science that says it makes sense, so, the fact that I only slept for three hours cannot be that bad.

Actually, only three hours of sleep might have been a worse idea than I thought it was three hours ago. Eh, not like I can fix that. Oh well.

Walking into work at seven in the morning on three hours of sleep, I roll up into Rais's office and hand him the briefcase Amon handed me earlier. We chat for a little while before I go over to Halder and Fallon to talk with them about what I learned last night.

"Hey, you little shits!" I shout, causing the duo to turn and look at me.

"You're younger than the both of us, Abilene." Halder responds, flipping me off.

"Kek." I laugh. "You're both shorter anyways, so it doesn't matter."

Fallon rubs her head, sighing. "What do you want, Abilene?"

"Ya know that informant I found a while back that I only got official allowance to use recently?" I ask, and then continue before they can respond. "So, my man's got me the info that our local Maldice cell, you know the one, the asses, is having some infighting and we could probably clean them up really easily if we did it within like, the next two days." I smile, watching Fallon die inside.

Staring me in the eyes, she speaks. "What the actual fuck, Abilene."

I ask anyways. "So, task force?"

Fallon takes a deep breath before responding. "Fine, fine! It's not like we weren't going to do it anyways. But, as punishment, and you know you deserve it, you are not going on the raid, and you are going to file all the proper paperwork."

"Fallloonnn… that paperwork will kill me!" Flopping onto her, I dramatically sigh.

"Then die." She responds, deadpan, as the two walk towards the door. "I have things to do, no thanks to you."

"You love me." I smile at her as she walks out the door. As she does, she pauses, stops, and flips me off before moving out the door. Walking over to my desk, I settle down and start on that paperwork.

[Abilene]; So I've connected some points.

[Sorites]; You haven't connected shit.

[Abilene]; I've connected them.

[Zeno]; Pray tell, what have you figured out? Because I'm with Sorites right now. You haven't figured out jack.

[Abilene]; Hear me out. So, yall know that Observer has a stick up his ass, right?

[Sorites]; And? We all know that, dipshit.

[Abilene]; It's because he knows he's cursed with Small D energy and he's trying to compensate for it.

[Zeno]; And you have big D energy.

[Abilene]; Why thank you, Zeno.

[Zeno]; You little shit.

[Abilene]; Naw, I'm a big shit, remember? Anyways, Observer thinks that the longer he keeps that stick up his ass, the bigger his D energy will grow.

[Zeno]; That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[Abilene]; Absolutely. That's why it must be true, because Observer makes absolutely no sense!

[Sorites]; I'm so confused. Like, I get what you're trying to get at, but like, it doesn't make any sense. How much sleep did you get last night?

[Abilene]; Three hours.

[Zeno]; Go to sleep.

[Abilene]; I'll go to sleep when I'm dead.

[Zeno]; You're about to be.

[Abilene]; Later, later. I have things to do first.

[Zeno]; Fine. But you will get a full eight hours tonight, okay?

[Abilene]; Finneeee, mother.

Honestly, that paperwork could have been worse, but I've done it so many times… so… not all that bad. Heh… I still have class. Shit.

Class isn't all that bad, just, go to the room, listen to the teacher talk for two hours, take some notes, and bam! You're finished. And then go and research for five hours and do homework. Eh, at least I have coffee.

Let's just ignore the fact that Personal Finance is boring as shit and I'd rather be elsewhere?

| [Abilene] to [Bhartrhari] ; So why are you up so late, Bhartrhari? It's what, four in the morning for you?

[Bhartrhari]; No reason in particular but it seems harder to sleep lately, hasn't it?

[Abilene]; Why yes, it has. What are you doing anyways?

[Bhartrhari]: The same as usual, Alex. Nothing's changed all that much.

[Abilene]; Nothing's changed? Then what exactly are you doing with Taylor then, Hizashi? I wouldn't call that nothing if it's like anything Makoto implies.

[Bhartrhari]; There's no need to worry, child. Taylor is free, relatively, to do as she wishes with a few provisions. Our little deal isn't anything you wouldn't have done. Nothing you haven't done, at least.

[Abilene]; Nothing I haven't done? I, at the least, follow the law. You're playing with fire, Hizashi.

[Bhartrhari]; I'm playing with fire? You're more at risk of self-destruction than I am, and by what you all know, that is saying something.

[Abilene]; Things are changing. Things will be changing. I'm doing this by the rules - and they're far less likely to scrutinize us than they are you.

[Bhartrhari]; While that may be true, I have my confidence that nothing will happen for a few years yet.

[Abilene]; Five years. You have five years at most to change enough to keep our own freedom. Are you willing to let that go to waste and stand by because of fate or try? Try to fight fate and change so that freedom is more than mere chance?

[Bhartrhari]; Alex. You know better than to try and convince me like that. Besides, what would the others say?

[Abilene]; You know what, I'm too tired for this. It's two am and I have a Raid to do paperwork for tomorrow, possible prisoners to interrogate, the works.

[Bhartrhari]; You know, I wonder sometimes. Why exactly you haven't told any of the others by now?

[Abilene]; That's something you should ask Taylor, not me. What exactly you are using to keep the two of us in line, or at least toeing the line? And what you are going to do when all that falls through.

[Bhartrhari]; Goodnight, Alex.

[Abilene]; What even is your reasoning in doing all of this, anyways?

[Bhartrhari]; I said goodnight, Alex. You really should go to sleep, you'll need it.|

[Sorites]; Abilene, you there?

[Abilene]; Yeah, why?

[Sorites];

[Abilene]; Where did you even find this?

[Sorites]; We should all know by now, that Tumblr is a very cursed place.

[Abilene]; Whyyyy?

[Sorites]; Kek.

This is for the best. Best that the others don't know, best that I'm the one who toes the line and makes the risk. Best that it's not any of the others who are doing this.

But wouldn't it be for the best if none of us had to do this?

If only…

Everything is fine.