August 31st

Chapter 3: Horror

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If anyone ever asked Kyon what good spending nearly a half year close to Haruhi Suzumiya did to him, his first answer would be: "I got better at riding a bike." Her habit of arranging meetings right before their scheduled times and minor, but extremely annoying penalties for being late really left him no choice but to improve.

Of course, no matter what training he received nothing could prepare him for being chased by a monolith. Well, not exactly "chased", as the only effort the ponderous pyramid made was sliding from a school yard to the top of a hill and firing a few beams in the escapees general direction, with the only effect of Mikuru whimpering and hugging Kyon even tighter, if such a thing was possible.

For Kyon, everything blurred, and not only from speed. His thoughts somehow failed to connect to one another, flashing and disappearing in an instant. How long he was in that state he couldn't tell, probably a few minutes at most, then Mikuru's frantic scream thrust him back to reality just in time to avoid slamming into a bent road sign. He managed to do so, nearly losing balance and slowed down a little.

"Asahina-san, it's hard to breathe."

"S-sorry." Mikuru let go a little and Kyon surveyed their surroundings. They were still in the zone obelisks were erected, and despite feeling a little tired he decided to keep the speed up.

"Kyon-kun, Yuki…"

…Yuki is going to be just fine, Mikuru. Is that what I am supposed to say? Is that what I am supposed to believe?...

Mikuru started sobbing and shaking, which didn't really help Kyon keep the balance, but he remained silent. He knew the district around the school pretty well, but a few larger obelisks forced him to turn to an adjacent one, an area they didn't pass through on a way to the clubroom.

And now, looking for a way to get back to familiar surroundings, he started noticing a lot he didn't notice before. Whether Yuki had been messing with their senses or just plainly removing anything on the way that could do harm to their psyche, now the true scale of destruction became evident.

There was blood, everywhere. It formed large stains on sidewalks, flowed down to storm drains, curdling and drying in the summer heat. There were corpses, or rather almost completely burned piles of cloth and bone, grisly results of enemy energy beams. There were charred skeletons inside burnt out cars and buses, faint screams of people buried alive under collapsed buildings, smell and taste of death in the air...

All that Kyon viewed with an odd sense of detachment, as if watching a TV report shot from a news helicopter. There was a boy riding a bicycle, a girl sitting behind him, and she was crying for some unknown reason. Tomorrow they would go to the same school, and later meet in a literature club. It became hard for a boy to pedal, and he shifted a gear. The transmission clicked, then the chain broke and the boy…

"Kyon-kun, what happened?"

Kyon drove by inertia to the side of the road and stopped. "We have a problem," he said.

They stepped off the bike; Kyon knelt to examine the chain and sighed. Whatever magic Yuki worked into the gears and whether it allowed them to go faster or steadier, it had faded and the transmission jammed, trapping a part of the chain inside. Kyon stood up.

"I can't fix it, we'll have to go on foot from now on. But first we have to rest and think of a plan." He looked around and noticed a narrow alley nearby. "Come on, Mikuru, let's hide."

Thankfully, there were no corpses in the alley, and Kyon felt a little relieved. It was unlikely Mikuru was noticing the carnage around while they rode, and he didn't want her to notice now. She would cry again, and her crying was starting to get more and more annoying lately. More than anything, Kyon needed rest.

…come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything since morning, and the last time I drank was… right, tea at Nagato's place and it was…

Kyon dug out a phone from his pocket and checked the time, trying to force stray thoughts about Yuki out of his head.

"Kyon-kun…" Mikuru piped up. Unlike Kyon, she didn't sit down and was looking to the sides of the alley nervously. "What do we do now?"

Kyon put the phone back and rubbed his temples. "Isn't it obvious? Go to Haruhi's apartment, find her there, end this nightmare and go home. That's what we'll do."

…three hours in the heat, running, trying not to die, trying to protect Mikuru…

"But even if we get there…" She didn't finish the sentence, and it didn't escape Kyon it looked like she regretted starting the conversation.

"But what, Asahina-san? Is there something very specific you would like to tell me?"

Mikuru looked down, avoiding eye contact. "I'm afraid that's classified-"

"Bullshit!" he snapped, and Mikuru recoiled, clearly afraid.

"That's bullshit, Mikuru," Kyon repeated and stood up. "There are times for classified information and there are times when people get turned into piles of bloody ash. So tell me, Mikuru-chan, what is so classified right now?"

"Wa… waaa…" Mikuru broke into tears, but Kyon took a step forward, grabbed her arm and leveled her face with his.

"What about me, Asahina, huh? What about me? You want to cry and you cry. Nagato wants to die and she dies. Koizumi… don't know what happened to him but he sure did what he wanted, didn't he? But what about me?"

"Kyon-kun, you're hurting-"

"Damn right I'm hurting you!" Kyon yelled, not really caring who might hear it. "All this time, did you know what I wanted? Come on, make a guess! Make a guess what I want to do right now!"

He pushed her and she fell, hitting the ground hard. She didn't make an attempt to get up or crawl away, just turned and looked at advancing Kyon.

"You are free to do what you want," she whispered. Kyon stopped for a moment, then laughed.

"Really? Just like that? No crying, no screaming, no monsters interrupting, no Haruhi running from around the corner with a hidden camera, no Yuki…"

"Haruhi is gone," Mikuru said, and those simple words brought Kyon back to senses. Suddenly aware of where he was, what he did and what he was about to do, he stumbled backwards, nearly tripping.

"Asahina-san, I'm sorry. I know it's hard for you, but I-"

"No!" Mikuru rose back to her feet, pulled out a rather ordinary looking pen from her pocket and pointed it at Kyon. The whole scene looked pretty ridiculous, but Kyon didn't feel like laughing.

"You don't know how hard it is to be me, Kyon. Wearing a mask, playing a role every day, nights spent making reports to superiors, not seeing my real friends for months..." She was advancing now, waving a pen around and Kyon shuddered, imagining what would happen to him if Mikuru decided to actually use that thing.

"I am nothing, Kyon, a tool, a walking eye candy – all for your precious Haruhi. Well, where is she now, do you want to know?"

At that point more than anything Kyon wanted to turn and run for his life, as taking chances with the monsters instead of facing the hysterical Mikuru with a pen started to look like a reasonable idea. He, however, nodded, and Mikuru's expression softened a bit.

"Good. Than know this – she left us here to die. Just left, used her own method of {classified information}. But that's not all, you know what the best part is?" Kyon shook his head and Mikuru continued, smiling through the tears. "She also used {classified information}, imprinting us on herself when she left. Which means anything that happens to us after yesterday's meeting at that café is meaningless, and the timeframe will simply implode today at midnight. Have you ever seen a timeframe imploding, Kyon?"

Having no other choice, Kyon shook his head again. Slowly backing away, he was almost near the end of an alley, a few more steps – and he would be on an open street.

"And I have, on graphs and slides. Nothing survives inside, nothing. I don't want to die, but I'm going to die anyway. So tell me, Kyon, tell me your great plan of how we are going to survive this. Tell me."

…why are you smiling, Mikuru? Because you finally could tell it to someone?…

There was complete silence in the alley now. Mikuru barely stood, having spent all of her resolve on that monologue, her face a strange mix of a crazy smile and tear-filled eyes. Kyon was at a loss for words, after all, what could he really say to that?

Then, he heard a faint, but recognizable sound of an idling truck engine. It was originating somewhere behind him, probably less than a block away. Mikuru heard it too and lowered the pen.

"I... I don't want to die too, Asahina-san, so let's just go and…"

What happened next happened so fast Kyon not only didn't have time to do anything, he didn't even have time to get frightened. Their floating attacker phased through a wall between them in a complete silence, then span around with a strange slicing sound and locked its gaze at Kyon's face.

More than anything, the monster looked like a giant floating cobra, if a cobra had a metallic humanoid skull for a face and two arms ending in vicious claws.

…no, not just claws. Syringes, scalpels, tiny energy blades… this thing isn't just going to kill me, it is going to *experiment*…

The next instant Kyon was blinded, not by light but by a sudden flash of darkness that consumed most part of the upper torso and head of a creature. The remaining parts fell to the ground, oily green liquid flowing out of the mangled heap.

Kyon looked at Mikuru. She wasn't holding a pen anymore, she was wincing and clutching her stomach instead. She took a few uneven steps, then swayed to the side and slid down the wall, the lower part of her blouse quickly turning red.

"Mikuru, you're bleeding," Kyon dumbly stated the obvious. He stood, frozen in place and watched blood being soaked into her clothes, then dripping down when fabric couldn't hold any more liquid.

…when did it happen? When the creature turned? How could it happen?…

"We… we have to stop the bleeding somehow…" Kyon said, but he still didn't move. Mikuru was silent, cringing from pain and staring at the opposite alley wall.

The remains of creature's spine flexed, and tiny green sparks showered from its wider end into a pool of mechanical viscera. It boiled, and Kyon could see wires connecting inside and tiny pieces of metal melding into larger ones, forming ribs and entrails.

Kyon's stupor ended and he rushed to Mikuru, jumping over the regenerating monster. He helped her stand up, and they walked back, around the pool where skull began to take shape, to the street in the direction of the sound of a working engine. Mikuru was unresponsive, and Kyon had to drag almost all of her weight.

They passed a building, then another one. Kyon looked back, but the street was still empty and he continued towards the source of the engine noise.

"Isn't it funny…" Mikuru was getting paler and paler and her voice was barely above whisper, but she was still conscious, and Kyon was thankful for that.

"…they look like they are already dead, but it wanted to live so hard it regenerated even after I hit it with {classified information}. They are so much like us…"

"Keep talking, Mikuru, don't fall asleep. We are almost there." That was a lie, of course. Kyon didn't have a slightest idea where the noise was coming from, all he knew he was getting a little closer.

"I've seen their leader using something like our own {classified information} and {classified information}… They will probably… escape the implosion… and…"

Mikuru's eyes closed and her body went limp. Kyon cursed, dragging her past another building and trying to keep pressure on the wound. He stopped right before a corner and prayed.

…Ok, fine. I've been a bad person, I've been indecisive and weak, I couldn't stop Haruhi from leaving, I couldn't save Yuki, and Mikuru got hurt, fine. It's all my fault. Now, all I ask for is a little miracle so she won't die. So God, Emperor, Haruhi or whoever listens, please, just don't let her die…

He turned around the corner of a building and the miracle happened.

It took shape of a very terrified soldier with a machine gun, who yelled something incoherent about "skin horrors" and opened fire at point blank range. Or rather, he would have if his gun wasn't still on safety, so the weapon made a few pathetic clicks and jammed. From an adjacent alley, a small squad of soldiers appeared, led by a sergeant in heavy body armor.

"What the hell? Those are unarmed wounded civilians, you blind idiot!" The sergeant made his way to the hapless soldier and gave him a hearty punch in the face. "Raising false alarm in a war zone is a punishable offense, so be glad there is no Commissar around. Go see a medic."

The whimpering soldier staggered to the alley, blood streaming down from a broken nose, and the sergeant pointed at Kyon.

"You have ten seconds to tell me how you got here, and how she got wounded, and I'd better believe your explanation or we're leaving you here."

…we were riding a bike augmented by techno sorcery, then got into a fight with a monster that phased through a wall and she used her future weapon to fend it off, but the creature got her anyway…

"We were riding a bike, and had an accident. It all happened very fast, I don't know how she got hurt so badly." Kyon tried to put as much plausible truth as he could into his statement, as being left behind after they got so far would be extremely stupid and consequently tragic.

The man raised his brow slightly, and for one dreadful second Kyon thought that the soldiers would just turn away and leave. Then, a faint sound came out of sergeant's earpiece and the man put a hand to his head, listening to the report.

"Enemy movement confirmed to the southeast, let's move, people. That includes you." He pointed at Kyon again and one of the soldiers in the squad moved in to support Mikuru from the other side.

They walked through a narrow alley, then across another street, where a military truck was parked. Metal plates were hastily welded to sides of the vehicle, bearing words in golden paint "THE EMPEROR PROTECTS". It was more for boosting morale than actual protection, as Kyon could clearly see a circular hole in one of the plates, as one of the beams had punched through the truck, creating a similar perfect hole on the other side.

They were the last one to enter the vehicle before it took off. The weary squad medic regarded Mikuru with a slight aura of annoyance, muttering something about crazy teenagers and hopeless cases but nevertheless did his job well, stopping the blood and assuring Kyon she would at least make it to the hospital.

Sitting on a narrow bench beside the other soldiers, Kyon leaned to a side of a truck, drained by everything he had to go through during the day.

…I've been through hell, but I survived. We are going to a hospital, where all I'll have to do is to worry about Mikuru and…

Unbeknownst to him, Kyon was starting to fall asleep, but was brought back to reality rather harshly by the sergeant pushing a chart board into his hands.

"You. Fill this form, all fields mandatory." Blinking away his drowsiness, Kyon tried to focus on the board. The sergeant patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

"Welcome to the Imperial Guard, son."

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It was really strange. For some unknown reason the whole SOS brigade was gathered by Haruhi near a shopping mall, given frog costumes and assigned with the task of promoting a toy store by distributing balloons to children.

The heat was absolutely unbearable, the only ventilation of the costume were two small holes - frog's nostrils. They also doubled as viewing ports, giving a field of vision about quarter normal. The whole thing was bulky, itchy and stupid.

But Kyon didn't complain. They all were in the same boat, so if they wanted to survive they had to cooperate. Passing water to each other, taking turns resting on a bench in a shade, entering a mall to breathe some conditioned air – they worked as a team, and they made it through the day. During the endless hours, strangest thoughts occupied Kyon's mind, for example, how colors and faces or their costumes reflected outer traits of their personalities. Naive bright green for Mikuru, smug and striped for Itsuki, yellow and expressionless for Yuki, and for him, cynical and brown.

…what color Haruhi would be if she worked? Poison pink with blue stripes?...

Now, sitting in a small office room after hours, Kyon realized how little is required for happiness. Namely, not having a giant toad head on your shoulders.

The door swung open, and Haruhi triumphantly entered the room, holding a popsicle in her hand. She didn't look tired at all, and dark murderous thoughts started forming in Kyon's head.

Haruhi smiled at him, and the thoughts dissipated, leaving a trace of mild annoyance behind. Which he didn't hesitate one moment to put into words.

"What's with the special treatment, Haruhi?"

"Oh, this?" She took a small bite from a popsicle. "I've spoken to the manager, and he appreciated our work very much."

"I don't want to be appreciated, I want to be paid." Kyon noticed that other members of the team were looking at Haruhi hopefully. Well, except Yuki, who was reading a book and could, if needed, create money out of thin air anyway.

"Pay?" Haruhi looked puzzled for a moment, then brightened up. "Our pay is this!"

She pointed at Mikuru and slowly starting walking towards her, like a cat to a cornered mouse. "The manager let me have her costume, and I'm going to put it in the clubroom as a trophy!"

…we were slaving out for such a stupid reason?...

Mikuru's face was now a mask utter horror, as Haruhi drew closer and closer with every step. "I give you my permission to wear it any time you like, Mikuru-chan. In fact, how about you wear it right now?"

She grabbed a frog head from a table and started pushing it on Mikuru, despite the tears and weak attempts of resistance. Finally, last ounces of strength left Asahina, and the frog costume became complete.

And Kyon said the only word that could summarize all his thoughts and feelings at the moment.

"Ribbit."

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Naturally, the sergeant didn't seriously consider giving Kyon a weapon right away and assigning him to a squad. After receiving a completed form and checking birth date from a school ID card Kyon presented, he frowned slightly, lost all interest in the boy and returned to listening to radio traffic.

They drove for about fifteen minutes, then the truck came to an abrupt stop and the sergeant ordered loading and unloading procedures.

Kyon was nearly pushed out by soldiers, who immediately started hauling body bags stacked on a sidewalk into a vehicle. After shadowy illumination of a truck, the midday sun was blinding, and Kyon lost his orientation for a moment.

"Report to your new commanding officer," the sergeant said and pointed at a middle-aged man nearby. The last body was loaded into a vehicle and the soldiers were ready to leave.

…but… if they leave I won't be able to see Mikuru again! I must do something!…

"Wait, wait! What hospital are you taking Mikuru to? I have to know!"

The sergeant, already climbing back into a truck, half-turned to a perplexed boy and barked "classified information, trooper," an answer Kyon found to be pretty ironic.

Then the truck sped away and full gravity of the situation hit him.

…there is no SOS brigade anymore. No escape, no hope, almost no time left…

"Hey, kid, stop staring, we are on a schedule. What's your name?"

"Everyone I know calls me Kyon." He turned and passed his file to a man in civilian overalls, who glanced at it and chuckled.

"No wonder, with a name like that. You can call me Mr. Ishimura, and I am overseeing the operation."

"The operation?"

Kyon looked around. They were alone on an empty street, but from around the corner, the sound of a working construction vehicle could be heard.

"You'll find out soon enough. Come on, we have a lot of work to do."

And so Kyon began his fight against the enemies of the Emperor, his weapons being heavy duty work gloves, his armor – a bright yellow armband signifying he was a part of a disaster relief.

Their small group of twenty or so workers, a medic and six soldiers patrolling a perimeter worked around the ruined remains of a small office building. A pharmaceutical company was formerly located in it, and there were supplies of strong chemicals stored in the basement that had to be dug out, saving lives and transporting crushed bodies away was secondary at best. The location was of little importance, far from actual battle lines and was seeing little traffic from the military.

As for Kyon himself, after being asked a single question: "you want to see corpses up close?" and his obvious answer, he was assigned to various miscellaneous duties that included removing small rubble from a street, helping a medic to do an inventory of empty body bags and used medicine, distributing water among the workers and helping with painting a graffiti bearing uplifting words of the Emperor.

Hours went by, their little world untouched by a war raging in the streets. They finally found a survivor, a security guard with fractured legs, and Ishimura requested transportation to a hospital. The truck arrived almost an hour later, but it wasn't the same truck Kyon was in, so he asked the overseer if he could learn about Mikuru's condition somehow. He received a polite, but firm refusal.

The sun set and they finally reached the basement of a building. Ishimura ordered a break, and workers separated into small groups around the site. Kyon sat alone, gazing at the night sky. A massive energy beam shot upward from some location in the city, lighting everything with eerie green light before disappearing in the heavens.

The overseer approached Kyon and sat next to him. "Hey, kid, how are you holding up?"

"Tired."

"I requested an evacuation vehicle for us. Specialists with proper hazmat equipment are going to take it from here tomorrow."

…tomorrow?...

"You are not a real volunteer, are you?" Ishimura asked, and Kyon now noticed that the overseer was holding his file. "You got lost in the city and they drafted you in, am I correct?"

Kyon silently nodded. Acting like Yuki sure saved a lot of energy, and Kyon didn't have any more to spare, being completely drained both physically and mentally at that point.

"I thought so much," Ishimura continued. "So, I'm giving you a choice. You can leave, if you still have somewhere to return to."

…why would I want to go into a monster-infested city again?...

Another beam shot out in the sky, and Kyon turned to face Ishimura. His face clearly showed concern and Kyon wondered if there was something personal in this for the man.

"Why are you doing this? Aren't you supposed to be upholding the law of the Emperor?"

"Because if you go with us, you'll be drafted for good, Kyon, and it will be like this every day from now on, for months and maybe years to come." The overseer paused, hesitating about something, then continued.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this, but the city is much safer now than it was during the day, and the only way you are now registered in the Imperial Guard is in this file. So if you still have a home, a family to return to…"

…my family… my sister! I forgot about my sister! I was supposed to be home by dinner, damn it!...

"I'll take your offer," Kyon quickly said. The man gave Kyon the file.

"If a patrol stops you, show it to them and say you got separated from a group that evacuated on foot. It is better than be mistaken for a marauder."

Kyon stood up and walked to an edge of an area illuminated by a few projectors workers used to work after dark. He folded the file and put it in his pocket.

"The Emperor preserves those who believe," Ishimura said, and Kyon caught a trace of bitterness in man's voice.

"Yeah."

He took a step forward and disappeared into the darkness.

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The atmosphere in the café was beyond sullen, it was grave. Yuki was sipping her drink quietly, hiding her eyes every time Kyon looked at her, Itsuki was nervously glancing around, and Mikuru looked like she was about to cry.

Of course, Haruhi wasn't noticing any of that. She was busy with her list, looking at it while munching a tip of her pencil. Finally, she sighed and crossed out their last activity for the summer – "other".

…we did everything we could right? Right? We tried and we… failed? Succeeded?...

"We've finished our list," Haruhi announced and stretched. "I wonder, was that enough? Is there anything you still would like to do?"

There was no answer, and for a moment, Kyon thought he saw something in Hahuhi's eyes, something that almost looked like despair.

…no, It was not enough for you, Haruhi, it's never enough. I have to do something, or we will have to repeat everything again, just like we already did ten thousand times…

Haruhi's expression brightened and she stood up, pushing their bill closer to Kyon.

"Oh well, I guess it's all there is. We sure managed to do a lot of stuff this summer, didn't we?"

There was no response from the brigade members again, and Kyon could tell the situation was getting more and more uncomfortable, especially for Haruhi. She forced a smile and took her bag from a chair.

"Well, I have plans for tomorrow, so you can all just rest at home. I'll see you all in the clubroom in two days."

She turned to leave, and in Kyon's eyes, her shape became blurry and layered, hundreds, thousands of layers, different clothes, shoes, bags, overlapping, shimmering…

…no, wait, you can't leave, Haruhi! I have to stop her, I have to call out to her, to say something, but what? There's got to be a hint in what she said, but what did she say? What did she say?...

The automated doors opened and Haruhi Suzumiya stepped out into a golden light of a setting sun. The light enveloped her and she disappeared.

With the soft sound the doors closed, sealing their fate.

And Kyon didn't even stand up from his chair.

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The moon was full, bathing the dead city in silvery light. Power was still down, and without meddling city lights the stars were glistening brightly in the night sky.

Kyon slowly made his way through the deserted streets. Every now and then, the city was lit by another vertical beam, jagged remains of buildings and trees casting out broken, sharp shadows.

He made it to the area around the school, but it was nothing like he remembered it during the day. Enemy obelisks were shattered, and one of the streets was blocked by crumbling remains of a monolith. Empty husks of scarabs littered the ground, turning to black metallic dust when he stepped on them.

He made it through the area and was now approaching his home. A few times Kyon saw military trucks and tanks on patrol, but avoided them easily in the dark. He entered his neighborhood and was relieved to see it avoided most of destruction.

His cell phone came to life, and he opened it. Over a "No network" message flashed another one,

"Incoming call: Koizumi Itsuki."

…The day has made a full circle, hasn't it? He is going to invite me for a meeting at Nagato's apartment now…

Kyon accepted the call and a stream of nonsense and insane laughter poured on him through the speaker. Then it turned to static, mixed with high-pitch giggling.

"Koizumi, is that you?"

"Yes, Kyon, yes! Can you hear me? Can you see me? Can you see?" The voice definitely belonged to Itsuki, but it was strange, jumbled and hysterical.

"See what?" Kyon decided to be polite. Frankly, all he wanted at that point was to get to his house as fast as he could, but he decided to listen for one last time.

"The beams! We have won, Kyon, can't you see? They are cowards, they are running away from us! We killed their general, we crushed them and they are running!"

…the general? Could it be that Yuki?...

Then he remembered something else from the fight, the sheets of paper frozen in the air, frozen in time.

"Asahina-san has another theory. She said-"

Kyon was interrupted by another burst of laughter. It subsided, and Itsuki spoke again, his voice full of disdain and pathos.

"Asahina-san this, Asahina-san that... Kyon, can't you see she is blind? Locked in her own flawed perception of what Haruhi Suzumiya is, she is blind! Blind! And I see!"

Kyon wanted to respond, but a military truck drove from around the corner, so he had to duck behind pile of rubble. Itsuki continued, uninterrupted.

"She thinks Haruhi is a destroyer, but Suzumiya-san is a creator, Kyon. She created this reality, this enormous closed space when she left. I am blessed, I have awakened and I have seen!"

"This precious closed space of yours has about an hour until collapsing," Kyon said bitterly. Itsuki's exalted tone was starting to get to him, but he wanted to listen till the end.

"Ha! Maybe the other ones collapsed, but this one will hold, oh yes it will. The Emperor protects, Kyon, the Emperor preserves. For I have seen it, I have seen!"

Kyon surveyed the street. The truck was gone, and he continued towards home.

"I don't think this is the world I want to live in, Koizumi." The laughter intensified, and Kyon decided he had heard enough. He pushed a button to end the call, but the phone didn't respond, switching to speakerphone instead.

"Who cares what you think, Kyon? You are nothing without Haruhi, unlike me. I have awakened, to do the Will of the Emperor, to smite his foes with the power of my mind! I gazed into the nightmare realm, the Warp, and I have seen! Even though my eyes boiled and I have gone blind, I still see more than you!"

"I am sorry for what happened to you, Koizumi. I need to get home to my sister. Farewell." Kyon turned the phone and proceeded with removing the battery cover.

"I've seen it all, don't you understand? The tomb ship in orbit, four gods of chaos, the fall of eldar… humanity will blast into space, Kyon, and there will be war! Millennia of w…"

With a click the battery left its slot and Kyon sighed. He put the phone back in his pocket and walked one last block to his house. On the outside, the house was just as he remembered it, the door showed no signs of hostile intrusion, even windows were intact. Kyon walked to the porch and inserted his key in the lock.

…why I am so nervous right now? They can phase through walls, they can bend time and space, but they would never hurt my sister, because they don't need to. It's all about control, not slaughter, right?…

He opened the door, walked in and prepared to say, "I'm home!", but he never did. In the middle of a hallway, a hole was torn in the floorboards, as if something dug through the foundation of a building and crawled outward, leaving a trail of concrete dust behind, a trail leading to the living room. And Kyon could clearly see a faint shimmering of the accursed green light, coming from behind a half-closed door.

…I should probably just leave. Go to the street, surrender to the nearest patrol, return to the Guard, serve the Emperor…

He walked down the hallway and stopped near the door, staring at deep claw marks at a door-case. A very faint clicking sound could now be heard from the living room.

…but, just as Yuki said, I am so very tired…

Kyon opened the door. The room was devastated, smashed TV, claw marks on the walls, black stains everywhere…

It sat on an overturned couch, holding a picture in its scintillating green claws, a picture his sister drew, a picture of a monolith. It gazed at the picture lovingly, oblivious to a world around it, clicking softly as its inner systems worked. It was humanoid in appearance, and its metallic form was even draped in tattered remains of a human skin.

Then Kyon realized who the person the skin formerly belonged to was.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to lash out at the creature, to tear the picture and skin away. He wanted to die.

He didn't do any of that. Instead, he closed the door silently and walked upstairs. The creature didn't notice, mesmerized by a picture, just as it was for hours already.

Kyon entered his room and stared at the empty notebook at the table. It was all too unreal, Yuki disappearing in a flash of energy, blood of Mikuru on his hands, raving, insane Itsuki, the skin of…

…No! It never happened, none of it! I've been here all day, I never left the house, I've been trying to do my homework…

Kyon sat and took a pencil. It fell out of his trembling fingers, and he picked it up. It fell out again, and rolled from a table to the floor.

…it's no use, is it? No matter how hard I try now, I won't do it in time. The time is going to loop back soon, it has to, it ought to, it must…

Kyon closed the notebook, went to bed and crawled under the sheets, still fully clothed. He reached out for a light switch and clicked it, but the room remained in darkness.

…I wonder when the power went out… Oh, forget it, I no longer care. I'll just leave it to whichever me wakes up in this bed tomorrow…

In the distance, the last monolith discharged its contents upward in a massive beam of data and energy, lighting Kyon's room for a moment. The alarm clock on the table slowly ticked to midnight.

And the thirty-first of August has ended.

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