(!!!!!!!!!) (What? No, not again...! Gah, the device, it's... ...It's malfunctioning again.) ... (I can't hear anything but ringing.) (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) ... (Can anyone hear me?) (You are not speaking.) (Can anyone hear me?) (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) ... (You have your answer.)

(I cannot really engage with him at present, but part of me is always tuned to his signal...) ... (..."Wikigroups"? What do you mean, asking if we were "made by children"? Who is "we"? Well, meaningless words have meant everything these past few months. I cannot call this nonsense. And yet...)

(I wish I weren't so helpless! I built this city for him, and I can't... God, I can't even guarantee he isn't...) (Shut up. Shut UP! Don't you DARE even suggest such things.) (I... I'm sorry.) (Being frightened is no excuse, Henry.) (I know. I'm sorry.) ... ... (Perhaps he will save me...)

(...!) No, I... I could've sworn that connection was severed. I could've sworn the device could no longer reach him, because I'd had the stream tampered with... And yet... Where are you? Master Randall, is everything alright? I am happy to hear your voice again... (Which one?) (Which one?)

(Though I hesitate to look him in the eyes, this "Bronev"... ...He looks familiar, doesn't he?)

@mordydaunt.bsky.social Apologies for not getting in contact with you sooner, Mordaunt. Please, how are things back at the Reunion Inn? Is everything alright? How much control has Targent taken? I'm sorry I cannot be there to help. I'm sorry I cannot be there for my city. For *his* city...

(I am sure there are still just as many voices to hear as ever, and yet I feel - I fear? - there's much I have been deaf to as of late. Perhaps the device is malfunctioning. Or perhaps I've started to mentally tune it out... ...Listening requires intentionality for it to mean anything, doesn't it?)

(...It is June. Certain people celebrate this month, don't they? Hm. In other news, all of us are staying here in the manor together. I am living in the same four walls as Alphonse. Hm! Perhaps I should take advantage of that... Somehow...)

(Why am I so tired? I have no reason to be...! Fatigue is so illogical...) ... (Hm, what to do with this costume now that I'm safely inside...? ...I suppose at some point I should return it to Miss Ludmilla, but for now, until this Targent business is over, it might be wise to hold onto it...)

(It's a relief to even have so much as the semblance of safety... Though I know, even now, that times are tumultuous. I mustn't get too comfortable. And, at any rate, this house isn't mine. I doubt I could really "settle in", as it were, even if I let myself. I suppose that this is for the best.)

@2rich4montedor.bsky.social @therandallestascot.bsky.social Do you think we should go ahead and meet the others? It has been a bit of a while...

(Business had taken me away for a while... Though if I have been properly kept up to date on the state of affairs, as I would hope is the case, then nothing truly major has been missed. ...If my presence were needed, I'd imagine they would have summoned me.)

@1munsitocsalladnar.bsky.social Can you hear me, young Master Randall? Perhaps you can't... ... It hurts, doesn't it? I'm sorry. ... ...I am here, whenever you are ready. It is alright. It will all be alright. I am here.

(Tension still lies in the air... But we are all together here, which is a comfort. We shall make it through this.) ... (I would like to really talk with Angela at some point, but only once she's well enough again. And either way, I need some sleep myself... ...Good night. I am glad I am here.)

@therandallestascot.bsky.social Apologies... Do you know if Angela is awake yet? ...I hope you are alright. I'm sorry.

(The hospital... We were at a different hospital not too long ago... We...) (!!!!!) (They will be there. I can still do some good for them. I am almost there.) (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (Perhaps the pain will end when everything is alright again. I am almost there. Everything will be alright again.)

(!!!!!!!) (I hoped by now it would've gone, and yet it persists... That sharp, throbbing pain behind my left eye, spreading back into my skull... ...For days it has rendered me powerless. Tired. Bedridden. It is the fault of the device. I feel it. I hate it.) (Your life was too good to be true.)

(Perhaps she is still resting... Yes, I would not blame her if she is... ...Though she is not the only person I should check with.) @therandallestascot.bsky.social Master Randall? Are you awake? I would like to speak with you, if that's alright.

@angelaledore.bsky.social Angela... I do not mean to wake you if you are still asleep... But whenever you are able, I would like to check in with you. Are you alright? I have heard everyone is safe, thank goodness, but I am certain that people are shaken by this. (I am shaken by this.)

For a change of scenery, I'd decided to do my work in the Reunion Inn yesterday... And I'd fallen asleep there, so only now I return home... It seems everything is in tumult. ...I pray everyone is alright.

What on earth are these "hands of God" I am hearing people speak of...?

@2rich4montedor.bsky.social (So here is the long-anticipated phone call...!) Good afternoon, Alphonse. Apologies for the disturbance. I have found your diary. ...Are you at work, or at home? I can meet you there and hand it off. Thank you. ... I hope you have had a pleasant day so far...

(I work, and I carry on as if things are normal. Are they normal? Is this normal?) ... (It's a thing other people do. They carry on well enough. But perhaps they don't think about it nearly as much. Have I done too much? Have I done enough? What am I supposed to do? Do you suppose I should call?)

(I have stalled long enough.) @2rich4montedor.bsky.social A... Alphonse. Could you spare me a moment? I would like to talk to you... (...Well, "like" isn't the right word, is it? No, it is more a necessity than anything else.)

Thursday, the day I freed up by getting so much work done ahead earlier this week...! Even though I would quite like to spend today asleep, I seem to be unable to stay that way; I keep waking up. ... I suppose today is as good a day as any to talk to him about things... Though I'd rather sleep...

There is something amusing about the fact that I took time off from work to commemorate April fools' day, but did not do the same for Easter... ...Though certainly others did. For much of yesterday I heard people rummaging around the Inn for eggs. (Who hid them, I wonder? It certainly wasn't me.)

@randallisthebest.bsky.social Apologies... Are you awake? I hope I am not disturbing you. (I wonder when he shall be well enough to return home...)

(It's good that he cannot hear you anymore. For you are crying again, Henry. We wouldn't want to start this over from the beginning, would we? Shut the door. Lock it. You can sleep in here. You've done so many times before.) ... (Learn to love your world, won't you...? It'd be easier to bear...)

(Part of me does want Randall to talk to me... No, Master Randall! What is wrong with me? Why do I...? ...That is what's wrong with me. That I could ever imagine, that I could ever *want* to simply call him by his name...!) ... (The same goes for Miss Angela, for Mr Dalston. It is all the same.)

(Why should I be upset as if I have lost something? It was never mine. It never will be. It must stay that way.) ... (He made it very difficult. He did not want to lose me, thinking there was something within me to cling onto. ...Love is so much easier to handle when it is unrequited.)

(Holing myself up in the study, only leaving for meals... Dreams are most easily avoided through lack of sleep and lack of socializing; I know this well. After all, I must remind myself of my reality. My whole world lies within these four walls.)

I suppose, then, that we should return... ...There is only so long the work can wait, after all. (I cannot dream forever.)

(Come on, you damned device! Why can't I hear him...?) @2rich4montedor.bsky.social Alphonse! Alphonse, can you hear me? Where are you? We... I... ... ...I'm concerned. Please, say something. (Surely if everything were alright, he would have heard me calling his name... He would have replied...)

@charoletteledore.bsky.social @2rich4montedor.bsky.social ...Are you two ready for our walk?

(The work can wait... The sun has just started shining, after all.)

(You keep starting conversations and never finishing them... Goodness, Henry, you could at least be honest and say you'd much rather work than deal with socializing.)

It is strange, being in a position where, while doing work, I should feel that there is something better I could be doing. ...Perhaps doing work is in itself a form of procrastination.

(Being so preoccupied myself, I fear Angela has been forced to bear the majority of the responsibilities of caring for "our" children...) ... (It is strange to me just to look at them, knowing they look back and see a "father"... I don't think myself suited to act the part... ...And yet I must.)

(I have strayed too far from my senses. I have neglected to enumerate my sins. How could I have loosened myself from those shackles so easily, such that I should partake in a holiday of foolish fancy...? ...Perhaps they were not tight enough.)

(Another migraine, piercing through my skull... I wonder if it's the device's doing? But then, the very thing connecting me would be threatening to sever its own connection...) I fear I am still "out of it", as it were. I do not mean to forsake my duties. Apologies for my... detachment.

(It is strange; I feel satisfied with yesterday, somehow. Why? Did I not do something wrong? Perhaps the morning grogginess is getting to me...)

(I hope our plan goes over well... ...I'm just glad that Mr Dalston was right. They were happy to oblige. I should have more faith in people.)

I have never understood the appeal of April fools' day. Why is it a "holiday" at all? Does it not hamper productivity, that everyone should be wary of being tricked? (Or is that, perhaps, the fun of it?)

(It's warm. It's soft. ...I'm in bed.) How long have I been sleeping? It almost feels like years... ...I should get up and see what's going on. And yet there's this strange inertia... Part of me wants to stay where it's safe, to shut my eyes again... ... ...But I've rested enough, haven't I?

Why does heaven always stare back?

I am looking up, and Master Randall isn't there... ...How long have I been looking? How long since I've last shut my eyes? ... ... It hurts.

...Why do I hear a voice... like mine...?

@fallenmask.bsky.social I have arrived in Monte d'Or. I apologize for the wait. Where are you, such that we can meet? I wish to speak to you... face to face. (No mask between us.)

@angelaledore.bsky.social Angela, how long do you... and the Master Randalls... intend on staying here at the hospital, here in London? I fear I must be getting back to Monte d'Or with much urgency. Mr Dalston, too, will return soon. I do not wish to leave you here, but... ...I must be going.

...I can hear another voice. Another voice of his...! What is going on? Who...?