[Video] Backdated to the 26thish

[monochromatically]

[ Mono was feeling more than a little anxious at the moment. He’d even slipped his bag on today because it just felt... more secure. No one can see that he’s scared, right? Because With all the talk of what was going on in the city right now... It was a bit scary.

Especially since he couldn’t find one of his favourite people. He had something important to tell Illyana, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found!

Forgive the constant hiss of static and the crackles. He can’t help that. ]

Um... Has anyone seen Illyana? I got something to tell her and I can’t find her anywhere.

[ Listen, even the child knows that maybe it’s not that weird considering she could teleport... But it’s been a few days, and... ]

And I know she could just be back in her Limbo place, but I think this is hers??

[ Why yes, after disappearing from the video feed for a moment, Mono returned holding Illyana’s soul sword. ]

It’s kinda weird that it’s not with her, right? I kinda stumbled on it? I dunno where it came from since she's not around.

[ So, yes, the kid is worried. As many know, Mono is quite attached to the woman and her imp companions. ]

I’m gonna keep looking, but if anyone knows where she is, can you tell me?

... Thanks.

[ The feed cuts abruptly. Mono isn’t really good at these things. ]

Comments

video;

[asthecroweflies]

[There's a queasy feeling in his stomach the feed, and he almost doesn't want to ask.]

Where...did you find that, mate?

Re: video;

[monochromatically]

I found it on the ground…? Kinda tripped over it when I was trying to find her. At first I thought she must’ve been nearby, because I know it’s super important to her… But I can’t find her anywhere!

Re: video;

[asthecroweflies]

[He's doing his model best to keep his voice and expression neutral, but his tone is strained.]

You found it on the ground where?

video;

[monochromatically]

Oh! Sorry… I was looking down one of the back alleys in the market, but it was weird because I didn’t know it was there till I tripped on it. Kinda… big and hard to miss.

[ Mono responded in a puzzled tone. The sword was not subtle as weapons went. ]

Re: video;

[asthecroweflies]

It's not a normal sword.

[He was trying to keep his voice and his expression under control, but the worry was bubbling up anyway.] Can I, uh, meet you somewhere? I'd like to take a look at it.

video;

[monochromatically]

Yeah, if you think it might help find her? [ The boy was pretty desperate, so any ideas were good ideas for him. ] Where do you wanna meet?

Re: video;

[asthecroweflies]

I can meet you outside the Gullwings office if it's close for you. I have a special power and I use it to find lost things, like items or...people. We'll see what her sword can tell us.

video

[bufus]

[ She definitely looks curious about the sword more than anything else. ] What kind of weapon is that?

video

[monochromatically]

[ Mono blinked behind his paperbag. Were… there no swords in Mitsuru’s world?

Well, the child supposed that could be true… So maybe it was best that he told her?]

It’s a sword. They’re sharp and you use them to cut and stab at things you don’t like.

[An excellent explanation, well done. ]

But this one’s like… A special sword, all magicky and stuff. It belongs to my friend Illyana, which is why it’s kinda weird that I can’t find her.

[bufus]

I'm aware of what a sword is. [ She looks completely deadpan at the camera. ] The magic part was what I was inquiring about. It just didn't look like your average sword.

[monochromatically]

I wasn’t sure if you had them in your world or not! Sometimes weird stuff like that happens.

[ And it had seemed kind of mean to not explain if that was the case. The child moved on, though, eyes darting to the sword again. ]

And it’s not regular, that’s for sure… I dunno how it works exactly, but it was really important to my friend. She’s super powerful, so… I don’t think I should have this.

[ Seriously, why didn’t Illyana have it? That seemed like the more important issue to Mono at the moment. ]

[bufus]

[ She disappears from the image for a moment and when she comes back she's holding a long thin rapier ] I fought with this back home. I've always been more partial to rapiers as opposed to broadswords.

[ Does she feel like had to prove something? Kind of. She didn't take feeling dumb well. ]

That is concerning. You should probably be careful with that if you don't quite understand it. [ From her own experience only bad things come from messing with things you don't fully understand. ] I take it it's uncommon for people to return to their worlds and leave things behind?

[monochromatically]

[ Well, Mono was certainly distracted by the arrival of this new sword. ]

Wow! That’s really neat. I didn’t know that’s what those kinds were called?

[ His expression dims somewhat, though. ]

Yeah, I just wanna keep it safe till I find her. It’s not the kinda thing I know how to use. I had a hammer back in my world.

[ Mono says ‘had,’ but it was more that he found hammers or other objects that were good for blunt-force damage and grabbed them to use. ]

Yeah, when people go home all their stuff that came with them disappears too… So I know she can’t have gone home, and I don’t think she’d have left it behind if she was going to her Limbo place either.

[Video]

[areasontohope]

[He'd been on the receiving end of that sword once. Almost.]

I haven't seen her, but if I do see her I'll let you know you're looking for her.

[Not that he wanted to run into her. But Mono seemed distressed.]

[monochromatically]

[ Mono was quite distressed. She was very important to him. There was a pop of static as he recognized Yuki on the other end of the feed. ]

So you haven’t seen her either…? I don’t think anyone has so far, that seems kinda bad. [ A pause. ] But thank you! I wanna tell her about moving and stuff so she and the imps don’t wonder where I went. The imps might get into trouble if they get lost looking.

[ As if Illyana and the imps weren’t capable of finding someone, the silly boy. ]

But now I’m more worried about where she is and why I got her sword.

[areasontohope]

Moving?

[He somehow was concerned for Mono's stress and worry, not for the lost lady. But people did go back home. And even as he thought that, Yuki was more determined not to say anything because the boy was stressed out enough from the sounds of it. And he didn't even want to ask about whatever these imps were.]

Well, I can start asking around. Where was the last place you saw her or talked to her?

[monochromatically]

Yeah! Mr. Ignis and Nida asked if I wanted to move in with them… So I said yes, since it gets kinda lonely around the grey building, and I like learning from them. [ And he frowned slightly, ] Plus there’s a weird orphanage place that just appeared… I don’t think I’d be allowed to stay in the gray building now that it’s there.

[ And Mono would not stay in an orphanage, he’d sooner run away. Bad stuff happened at the last one he was in, so very long ago. ]

Ummm… I saw her a few days ago? Just before that big weird storm! I ran into her while I was carrying messages for work, so it was on the path I take between the stall in the market and the section of the city I deliver stuff to.

[areasontohope]

Oh.

[Well Mono would definitely be safe there, with the two men. Sensei would take good care of him and look out for him, Yuki was sure of that. But then he heard about the orphanage and he wasn't sure that was a good idea. And even if he couldn't say anything either way about them, living with people the boy knew was a better idea.]

That storm was something else.

[This was said thoughtfully and Yuki nodded when Mono went on about delivering messages.]

I wonder if the storm had something to do with it.

[monochromatically]

Yeah, it was really loud. Even in the Pale City, storms like that didn’t happen much…

[ Admittedly, Mono hadn’t liked it. Even if he was braver than most children? It had been… A little unsettling, and the gloominess it cast on his apartment in the gray building had been unpleasant. ]

But maybe?? If it wasn’t a normal storm, maybe something happened to people who were in it? Do you know if anyone else was in it?

Video;

[brotherofagod]

Illyana is missing?

[He tries not to sound worried but she's become his friend and she's also the most badass woman he's ever met. Anything that can take her down would be dangerous.]

I'm going to assume you already tried calling her.

[He pauses briefly.]

Where did you find her sword? We can look around the area. [He remembers his premature death in the city and shivers.] If not we can ask that man. [He's forgetting the name.] He might know if something happened. He was the one who brought me back after... well, last time in the city I was particularly unlucky.

Video;

[monochromatically]

Yeah! I can’t find her anywhere. I’ve been looking for a long time now!

[ The boy nodded quickly when asked about calling. ]

I tried calling and going to her building, and I looked all over the city! It’s like she’s gone, but I don’t think she’d go to limbo without her sword since it’s so important.

[ The boy’s face scrunched up slightly in the staticky feed. ]

That’s the weird thing. I tripped on it when I was looking for her, but I didn’t see it there before. I dunno how it got where it was. [ That said, Mono paused with a very confused look on his face. Brought Jacob back? Back from where? ] What do you mean you got brought back? What happened?

Video;

[brotherofagod]

No. She wouldn't leave without her sword. You should hold onto it, she'll want it when she gets back.

[Jacob had chewed on the inside of his cheek before continuing.]

This was awhile back. I got into some trouble and ended up- technically I died but Athony brought me back a few weeks later. [He doesn't want to mention how awful of an experience it was, not just dying but the cost of returning.] I am not saying that this is what happened to her. She might have returned home briefly like I did.

The fact that her sword here means she'll be back and we should be ready to welcome her back with smiles, right?

Video;

[monochromatically]

Yeah, I’m gonna keep it safe till I find her… But if you see her, can you tell her I’m looking for her? Just in case I missed her or something.

[ Monon got a little hung up on that particular fact. Jacob had died and was brought back. People could really die here, even if it wasn’t permanent. ]

You died??? [ He sounds more anxious than before. ] I didn’t know that… But you get brought back no matter what? No one stays dead?

[ Because what if she did die? What if that was why he couldn’t find her?? He sure hoped it was the second thing, that she’d just gone home and would be back really soon. ]

I guess that’s true… She probably wouldn’t want us to be upset when she gets back.

[ But that was going to be a very hard thing for the kid. ]

Video;

[brotherofagod]

I will. I'll take a look at the places I usually find her.

[He doesn't know how many friends he has in the city but he would say that he counts Illyana among them. There aren't too many people who understand what he's been through or entertain his dark humor.]

Don't worry about it. I came back. Not that you should try it. It costs something here to get brought back and it can be rough. If you can't pay the price... you probably stay dead.

[He doesn't fully understand it himself.]

She'll probably make a joke when she gets back.

Video;

[monochromatically]

Thanks, Jake!

[ Even if they didn’t find her soon, at least another person looking for Illyana increased the chances of actually finding her… Right? That had to be how it worked!

But the boy wasn’t sure what to make of Jake’s explanation… ]

I don’t think I understand… And I won’t try it; it sounds kinda like a bad idea…? I got stuff and people I gotta watch. Dying would mean I couldn’t do that for a while even if I could come back!

… But what if something like that happened and she can’t pay the price??

[ Mono sounded a little concerned about that, really. That was the big thing. Staying dead was worse than dying and coming back, right? ]

Maybe a joke or she’d do something tricky with her magic, like she did when there was snow.

[ He nodded seriously, thinking back to the snowman incident that she’d surprised him with. ]