Time Marches On

After returning to the surface, Alan ran within the shadows of the ghostly city. Pillars of smoke filled the sky as all the once-lit neon signs failed to stay on. One by one, they faded out as all mechanical life in the city came to a halt. Periodically, a strange rumbling shook the ground; followed by loud echoes of concrete and steel collapsing onto the ground. Alan ran to an alleyway and hid in a corner. He peeked the corner to ensure the android wasn't on his tail.

"Looks like we failed again," Alice said in an annoyed tone. "Might as well just wait till dawn."

"NO!" Alan shouted before covering his own mouth. He peeked the corner once more. A small silver doll walked down the street holding a small knife stained with blood. Alan then noticed that the knife had an Ouroboros Collector's emblem engraved onto the blade. He watched it stroll right past him before resuming talking quietly to himself out loud. "We can't just sit here and wait. We still have more info to look for." Alice let out an enormous sigh. "I understand I'm being selfish right now, but please-"

"I get it, I get it. You want to uncover the weaknesses of our foes before the cycle starts anew." Alice had a bored tone in her voice. "But your body won't be able to handle many more resets, or time stops. Well, you can't really time stop right now because of that idiot anyways." Alan tilted his head just a little. "Rrrright… So when that idiot appeared, he thought it would be a good idea to fight Pupagenti." She paused and took a small sigh and resumed in an unamused tone. "And now he placed you in a tough spot due to him being knocked out from the fight for a while." A hint of annoyance slipped under her breath. "That is why I'm against you fighting right now. But~~~ if you wanna be a showoff and prove to me how cool you are, then I will not stop you!"

"Sorry, but you are not my objective."

"Tch."

Alan smiles a little before returning to an emotionless husk, staring at the ghostly city that lay before him. Sparks traveled along the buildings, causing mini fires to break out in high-density areas of the city. Off in the distance, large silver dolls roamed the streets, flailing their arms as if they were trying to swat a fly. One of the giant dolls collapsed to the ground and a minor quake followed shortly after. "So Chronos was defeated?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, wasn't it? Look at your pendant." As Alan looked at the pendant around his neck, he noticed that the color had completely faded from the gems. "If our souls are defeated in battle, we fade. Simple as that. We will come back, but it just takes some time. But for him… it would take even longer. He exhausted his strength for a while now thanks to his shady ass plans with attempting to be the villain and all that." Alice paused before letting out another heavy sigh. "If I ever get a physical body, I swear to that bastard above us watching his unfold, that I will punch the living shit out of Chronos. Maybe then he'll understand to not do rash, half-thought-out plans like this." Alan chuckled a little before summoning a crimson mist to his feet. He pulled out the Crimson Princess and marched towards his home.

"Thank you, Alice," Alan said while walking.

"For what?"

"For showing me how much you love Chronos, and for cheering me up." Alan smiled. He then stopped after realizing how creepy it was for him to smile alone in the soulless city.

"HOLD UP!!!" Alice shouted in his head. "I hate that man with every fiber of my being. The only reason I'm thinking of him so much right now is because he put you in a tough spot." Alan chuckled a little. "Hey… I'm serious. The only man I love is you."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." While listening to Alice's rebuttals, the quiet humming of a drone propeller came from above. Upon hearing that sound, Alice grew quiet and Alan gripped his blade as he continued his march toward the unfavorable future that awaited him. "Looks like they have found us." Alan said with a smug look.

"Ew, don't get cocky out of nowhere," Alice said. "Anyway, if I were to guess, we were baited into coming here."

"Which means there's gonna be something waiting for us."

"Yeah…"