20 Episode 6 – About Fashion and How to Dress Sharply

"The art of dressing yourself sharply for any occasion, whether it's going out with friends for the weekend or going to the theater to see an opera, is mastered by few. It's not enough just to put on a new outfit; you need to wear pieces that match each other, creating a pleasant harmony for the eyes of everyone around you."

I quickly pulled the dressing room curtain aside, revealing myself to the PODs as I struck a pose.

"In other words, don't just dress to go out, dress to impress!"

The PODs glared at each other before turning to me and speaking.

"Claim: Administrator Alan is the last one who can say this, after all you spent most of your time in rags and worn out clothes before you were forced to wear something new." POD 000 spoke.

"Claim: I believe that Administrator Alan is being what he identified as hypocritical in previous interactions with this unit." POD 001 completed.

"Fucking hell! Can't you guys let me have a moment of happiness?"

"Claim: No." Both PODs responded simultaneously.

You know, I thought I sensed some humor in their voices, but that could have been my impression. It's hard to detect emotion in their robotic voices.

With my head down, I felt my face heat up as I waved my hand at the PODs, trying to dispel the embarrassment I felt.

Turning away from the PODs, I cleared my throat, trying to compose myself, I had a script prepared for today's episode, but the two floating mini-fridges had to ruin everything. Now I've lost my groove!

Come on Alan! You can do it! Go back there and act as if the PODs didn't humiliated you! Show everyone that you don't have low self-esteem! Act as nothing happened.

"Alan, you know we can hear you, don't you?"

Turning to the source of the voice, I spotted Camélia near the store's counter, trying on the various models of sunglasses hanging on a revolving stand.

"Hang on! Did I say that out loud?!?" I asked, jumping back in surprise.

For a moment, Camélia stopped trying on the sunglasses, and nodded at me.

Slowly shifting my gaze to the PODs, I caught a glimpse of a flashing red light above each one, indicating they were recording. With a red face and a nervous smile, I smoothed my hair as I adjusted my posture.

Lifting my shoulders and head, straightening my back and sticking out my chest, I spoke to my audience while rubbing my hands together nervously.

"P-please ignore what you saw in the last five minutes. As I was saying... Don't dress just to go out, but to impress!" I said while striking another pose.

Opening one of my eyes, I saw the PODs staring at me in silence "So, did I manage to create an effect on the audience?"

"Claim: Negative." POD 000 said.

"Claim: The first attempt of introduction to get the audience excited resulted in failure, which ultimately diminished the effect of Administrator Alan second attempt. It is recommended that Administrator Alan proceed with the recording as soon as possible." POD 001 completed.

Dejectedly I snapped out of my pose. I think the POD is right, better keep going before my ratings drop.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you've noticed, but I recently went through a wardrobe change. Say goodbye to the days of wearing those old, worn out clothes I stole from an abandoned store and say hello to twelfth millennium fashion! In that case, standard resistances outfit!"

I said as I spun around quickly, showing my new clothes to the audience as my cape swayed right behind me.

"Everyone around here dresses like this, my clothes are cooler." Camellia spoke as she sat on top of the shop counter and watched me with her head resting on her hand and an amused smile.

"Oh! If your clothes are so cool, why are you the only one wearing them? I don't remember seeing other androids dressed like a biker around here. Besides, in the end, fashion is a matter of taste, what's cool for one is ridiculous for another."

Camellia crossed her arms and looked away, her face red after hearing my answer. I let out a small laugh at that. Turning back to the PODs, I continued the transmission.

"Fashion. You heard me say these words repeatedly. However, I haven't delved into it yet, have I? What is fashion? Where did it come from? Where it lives? What does it feed on?"

"Question: From our hard-earned money that we get after days of hard work only to spend it on things we don't need?" POD 000 asked.

"Question: Of our insecurities and desire to be part of a social group?" POD 001 asked right away.

"Yes… Exactly… Good questions, PODs. I see you are learning how the human world worked." I replied with a blank stare.

With a fake cough, I tried to dispel the discomfort of the situation. For a moment, I reminded of all the embarrassing moments in my teens where I tried to fit in with a group. Good times, good times.

"But to answer one of the questions I asked earlier. What is fashion? Well, to put it bluntly, fashion is a way to express yourself and be autonomous at the same time. Be it with shirts, pants, shoes, hairstyles, way of life and much more."

I replied as I walked through the clothing store, running my left hand over the dozens of hangers with shirts hanging on them. All old and falling apart, most crumbled to dust as soon as I touched them.

"Humans liked to dress in whatever was popular at the time or in the most appropriate clothing for a given occasion. A tuxedo for a ball, opera, or extremely important event like an Oscar. Light or dark jeans along with comfortable sneakers, accompanied by a beige shirt and a jacket on top for going out with friends."

As soon as I named each outfit, I pulled the clothes in question off their hangers and tossed them towards the counter. It wasn't difficult to find the clothes, as we were in a large store that sold everything from basics to luxury.

Most fell apart as soon as it hit the counter, but in a moment, Camellia grabbed a pair of dark blue sneakers and held it up to her face, taking in the details. Then she removed her black boots and compared the shoe size to her foot.

"I could spend the whole day talking about the different combinations of clothes and the most appropriate occasions to wear them, but I would end up talking nonsense at some point, as I am not an expert in this. Therefore, I'll ask you another question. How did it start?"

I asked while pointing a finger at the PODs. The two flying boxes glared at each other before turning to me and shrugging.

"Claim: I don't know; humans are weird." POD 001 spoke.

"Claim: I don't understand why humans need to have such a variety of clothing." POD 000 completed.

"Not even me POD, not even me. Nevertheless, back to the point. It is difficult to say when fashion began, it can be said that it has always existed, or has existed since the moment that human beings managed to establish themselves in a society, to the point of being able to stop wearing clothes just because their environment demanded; and got creative with creating their new outfits."

When I finished my explanation, I noticed that the PODs and Camellia were staring at me in silence.

"Question: Could Administrator Alan elaborate?" POD 001 asked.

"Explain it to me as if I were an android that just came out of the factory." Camellia spoke.

Slapping myself across the face and letting out an irritated growl, I continued my explanation.

"Let's start from the beginning. When humans learned that they could use plant parts and animal hides to stay warm and protect themselves from the cold, they did so out of necessity. Did you understand?"

Camellia and the PODs nodded slowly in unison like a bunch of kids. Well, I guess they're a bunch of kids compared to me.

"So, after reaching another step that would help in his survival, the human being evolved and spread around the world. Starting with nomad wearing shoes, pants, shirts and coats made of leather, and animal fur. As it was something, durable that would protect his body from the elements. In addition, reaching the point of building settlements, forming societies, from there the fashion began to develop. Are you following me?"

I received another set of positive nods.

"Excellent! With the various settlements spreading across the planet, human beings had to adapt their clothing according to their environment."

I walked towards a mannequin wearing warm clothes consisting of a hat, scarf, coat and thick pants.

"Thick, heavy clothing for cold weather." I said as I took the cap, scarf, and put them on POD 000, placing the cap on top of his quadratic head and wrapping the scarf around his cubic body.

POD 000 stood still for a few seconds before he grabbed the edge of the scarf with both of his larger hands and dragged his fingers through the fabric.

Next, I approached a mannequin wearing a yellow sundress and a large yellow hat.

"Light and thin clothes for hot places." I said; this time placing the hat on top of POD 001's head.

As I walked away, the PODs turned to each other, placing a hand on their "chins" and tilting their "heads" to the side, analyzing the garments of each other.

Then simultaneously, the PODs gave each other a thumbs-up with a quick nod.

I chuckled a little at this sight; apparently, the PODs are starting to learn from me.

"But I know what you must be wondering. But Alan, what does all this have to do with today's fashion? Well my friends! It is now that we come to the interesting part. Now that the human being lives in society, he doesn't have to worry about food and shelter so much, thanks to this, the diverse cultures around the world have developed even more."

Running over to another mannequin in the store, I grabbed a large white dress and wrapped it around my body, draping it over my shoulder. Then I struck a pose, raising my arm and pointing my index finger upward while looking to the side.

"How about some Greco-Roman fashion? Of the philosophers in their white togas?"

Then I took a yellow and blue striped shirt off a hanger and tied it around my waist. Moreover, I changed my pose, crossing my arms in front of my chest like a pharaoh.

"Or do you prefer the fashions of ancient Egypt? Pharaohs knew how to dress well."

Heaving a sigh, I threw my makeshift clothes aside and addressed my audience in a more serious tone.

"Unfortunately, not everything is that good. Due to western imperialism and Occidentalism, other countries and cultures were declared to have 'lack of fashion' or that their fashion turned out to be inferior. Not to mention, of course, the stereotypes we see today. You see, not every Japanese wore a kimono, not every Greek wore a white toga. I should also point out that in the past, fashion, the top of the line, the best product, was only for the wealthy elite, so despite all the wonderful speech I just gave, it is necessary to clarify what the reality was."

Therefore, with my little anecdote done, I walked around the store, picking up the mannequins and posing them in several different poses on a small stage in a corner of the store.

"I hope you understood my message, but continuing our little lesson on fashion. It can be said that as cultures developed, the purpose of clothing also developed. Let's just say they got more colorful and complex, with multiple purposes to go with. Like religious rituals, ceremonies, clothing for important people, some could only be used by people of a certain job, sex and social status."

With concentrated face, I tried to achieve the desired result with the mannequins. Simultaneously I continued my explanation.

"By taking a big jump in time, we arrive in France, in the year fourteen hundred and eighty-two. Where the word 'mode' that means fashion, appeared, but there were already other words that referred to style and appeal. The concept of fashion appeared in the aristocracy with the aim of enhancing beauty and displaying refinement, of making oneself more attractive to others by style or appearance and dress."

"Question: How does it work? How did humans become more attractive to each other through their clothing?" POD 001 asked.

"POD, have you ever heard the saying 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?' "

"Negative. As I understand it, beauty is an abstract concept. How can it be inside the eyes of a human being?"

"The saying is not literal, POD. However, you are partially right, beauty is abstract. This means it changes over time. What is beautiful to one person may be ugly to another and vice versa. Each culture has its beauty standards that change over time and some people dress according to these standards to become more attractive. Do you understand now?"

POD 001 was silent for a few seconds as he looked at the floor, before turning to me and saying.

"Affirmative."

"Perfect. Continuing, although fashion was present in the upper class, this did not prevent the bourgeoisie and plebs from following the fashion of the nobles as best they could. Taking another leap in time, we have some pieces of clothing worn by the nobility that were luxury items at the time, but would be considered ridiculous today."

Without having to give the order, POD 001 flashed an image of a noblewoman wearing a large frilly light blue dress.

"Oh my God! What's wrong with her ass?!?" Camellia screamed when she saw the photo.

Well, it was one picture of a noble woman wearing those gowns with the big butt.

"Question: Isn't the size of the behind of this dress too big?" POD 000 asked.

"You haven't seen the worst yet. POD, next image!"

This time, the image of another noble woman was shown, but this one wore a corset so tight that it looked like her torso would be crushed.

"I feel breathless just looking at it." Camellia said, lifting her sunglasses and rubbing her eyes.

"Claim: This mustn't be healthy for humans." POD 000 spoke.

"Better get ready, because I'm about to show you some of the most bizarre fashions ever. POD, are you ready?"

POD 001 gave me a thumb up.

"So let's start! We've got the medieval platform heels, the Tudor high forehead, the men's corset, the macaroni hairstyles, the overstuffed clothes, the elongated medieval shoes!"

The images were shown as soon as I named them, and with each image being displayed, Camellia and POD 000 entered a greater state of despair, both letting out horrified screams as they tried to block the cursed images with their hands.

"Please stop!" Camellia screamed, on the verge of tears.

"Claim: I will have to erase the last five minutes from my memory."

"Why the sad faces? We're not done yet! We still have one more item to show!" I yelled with a big sadistic smile on my face and letting out my best villain laugh.

"Please don't!" Camellia yelled back.

"Claim: No, no, no, no, no..." POD 000 said over and over again in his robotic monotone voice.

"Behold! Coming straight from the ninth circle of hell! The one that haunted and terrified the movies and clubs of the eighties!"

"What did I do to deserve this?!?" Camellia screamed again.

"Claim: Initiating self-destruction. Ten, nine, eight…" POD 000 spoke.

"Bathe in the accursed glory of the Mullet Hairstyle!"

Then POD 001 showed an image of a smiling pug with a wig of the cursed hairstyle.

For a moment nothing happened, but with a disgusted face and a trembling hand, Camellia slowly removed her sunglasses, revealing other sunglasses underneath, with another trembling hand, she removed the second sunglasses, revealing a third sunglasses underneath. .

Slowly, POD 000 moved one of his hands towards Camellia and removed the third sunglasses, leaving the poor android's eyes unprotected to the image in front of her.

Then...

"AAAAHHH! What the fuck is that?" Camellia screamed as she fell on ground, covering her eyes.

"Claim: God is dead. God remains dead. And we killed him. How shall we console ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and most powerful of all the world ever owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe that blood from us? What water is there to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what holy games must we invent? Is not the magnitude of this achievement too great for us? Should we not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?"

Yes! Suffer! Suffer as I suffered when my father came home one day with this infernal hairstyle on his head! Suffer as that innocent child did!

"Well, dear viewers, we are close to finishing our program today. So to sum it up, the fashion and luxury of the nobility lasted for quite a while, that is until it became a factor that helped bring about certain revolutions, let's say the hat industry took a heavy hit that day."

I said in a nervous tone as I covered my mouth with my fist.

"But even so, fashion continued to advance, the 19th, 20th, 21st century, to what we have today. With the rise of the fashion industry where professional models showed off the latest pieces from famous designers, fashion became more accessible for everyone."

I said as I climbed onto the small stage and stood in the center of the mannequins I had positioned.

"I have advice for you. You don't have to dress in the most expensive and fancy clothes, just dress in nice clothes that you like. Remember, beauty is subjective. Dress to go out with friends or to impress that special android, dress to have fun and have a good time, to make nice memories with those important to you, if they were your real friends they won't mind if you show up with some old clothes. Well, a little makeup and perfume helps too, I speak from experience. Just don't put lead in your makeup kids, or you'll become a Victorian noblewoman faster than you think."

"Question: Will they become beautiful faster?" POD 001 asked.

"No! They will become corpses faster!" I replied to the POD with a big smile.

Striking a final pose, both PODs took several shots of the scenery I had created. I was posing in the center of six mannequins, all wearing clothes from different cultures; I did my best to emulate them with what I had here.

The mannequins were dressed in fashion from the Middle East, China, Africa, Europe, North America and South America.

"Did you take the pictures?" I asked the PODs as I broke my pose.

"Affirmative." Both responded simultaneously.

"Perfect! And I already have an idea for the title of today's episode 'About Fashion and How to Dress Sharply'".

"Claim: Good title." Both PODs responded, giving me a thumb up again.

"I'm glad you liked it; PODs. But we are not done for today, we have one more thing to do." I replied as I stroked each POD on top of their heads.

"Question: And what would that be, Administrator Alan?" POD 000 asked.

"Well! Answer questions from our audience! I believe we accumulated enough questions to do a second Q&A."

"Claim: We have accumulated a total of 582 questions in the last few episodes."

I sweat nervously with that answer, I didn't expect that many. Well I have a long day ahead of me to answer it all.

Heading towards the store's exit, I brushed past Camellia and dragged her outside by her leg.

"The horror... The horror..." Camellia muttered as I dragged her away.

"Stop it, Camellia, it wasn't that bad."

"Are you kidding me?!? That thing was awful."

"Hm… I can imagine worse things."

"Like what?"

"A giant girl with blonde hair, red eyes and a red dress fighting a dragon and a man in the sky, a half-angel girl and her clones destroying the world, an army of giant babies and their giant mother devouring everyone in their path, six girls becoming a giant flower with their giant bodies on every petal as a deafening song reverberates across the world, and much more. I could spend all day naming the horrible things I saw."

"What is wrong with your systems for you to see this kind of thing? When was the last time you had a repair?"

"It was been so long ago that I can't remember."

"Are you sure you aren't suffering from the Logic Virus?"

Hm… I rarely get angry these days, but Camellia's comment made me furious inside. Slowly, I brought my face closer to Camellia's and spoke in a serious voice.

"Don't play with that kind of thing, the Logic Virus is a weapon created by machines that has driven mad and killed thousands of androids throughout this war, I lost many friends because of it. The logic virus should not be treated so lightly, do you understand?"

I noticed that Camellia fell silent and flinched slightly. Was I that scary?

"Administrator Alan?" POD 000 called me.

"Yes, POD?" I said, turning towards the POD.

"Look." The POD replied, pointing to the window of an abandoned store.

Glancing at the window in question, I caught a glimpse of my eyes glowing red. I rubbed my eyes and when I looked at my reflection again, I saw that everything was normal.

I laughed nervously at that. For a moment… For a moment, I thought... Forget it! Let's start our questions and answers!

We all stopped by the fountain in the center of the abandoned shopping mall where the clothing store was. Sitting on the edge of the fountain with Camellia beside me, POD 000 displayed a holographic screen of the questions while POD 001 recorded.

"Hello everyone! You must be surprised that we are still here. To get straight to the point, today I'm going to answer a few questions that you've sent to the PODs. However, before I start, I don't know if you've noticed, but we have a new member in our show. Say hello to Camellia!"

As soon as I finished speaking, POD 000 played a talk show song while I clapped my hands. Camellia looked around confused, not knowing what to do.

Then slowly and hesitantly, she lifted a hand and waved at the PODs.

"Hello!" Camellia said with a nervous smile.

"She is a little shy, but she will soon get used to us. Can I count on you to help me answer the questions?"

"I'll do my best. Which isn't much; after all you're the human expert here." Camellia said with more confidence this time.

"Don't worry, we're not a documentary."

"A what?"

"That's a question for another day. PODs, first question!"

"J@CKA55: What do humans taste like? More specifically their toes. I need this information for scientific reasons."

Camellia and I stared at each other, not knowing what to do; our faces a mixture of disgust and confusion.

"Seriously? You again Jackass? Don't you have anything better to do?" I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

"I believe we should report her to the Army of Humanity, The Resistance or Yorha." Camellia spoke.

"How about the three? Better safe than sorry. Know what? I've seen enough, I'm disgusted. Please Jackass, for everyone's sake, never approach a human." Mainly this human who speaks to you.

"LOCAL_SENTRY45: Hey, remember when you asked if we also saw strange things? Well I saw one. It was an ugly thing, a white sphere with a huge smile full of teeth, it was attached to a blue truck with a back full of things, and it was coming towards the resistance camp while singing something. Naturally I thought it was a machine and immediately opened fire. The sphere accelerated away while screaming things like 'I'm so sorry!' and 'I just wanted to sell my wares!' Any idea on what was that?"

Emil? Is he here somewhere? Holy crap! How long has it been since he left to fight the aliens?

"Alan?" Camellia called me.

I quickly turned to her as I was pulled out of my thoughts. In addition, I noticed that Camellia and the PODs were staring at me in silence.

"What?"

"Are you ok? You stood there muttering nonsense for a few minutes." Camellia asked worriedly.

Looking to the side and noticing that the PODs were still recording, I ran a hand through my hair as I licked my lips, wondering how to respond.

"Yes…Yes…I'm fine. Don't worry. I know what the thing the android mentioned in the question is but before I answer. Do you have any guess?"

"Well, its most likely one of the strange machines that roams around. One who can talk like the ones in the desert, but I don't remember seeing any machines with teeth and a smile." Camellia replied as she shrugged.

"Good theory, unfortunately it is wrong. The sphere with a smile is called Emil, and he has helped the androids stationed in the Kingdom of Night to fight machines for centuries, honestly I thought he had died, but I am happy to see him here."

Therefore, I walked up to the PODs and spoke in a muffled voice, as if I were speaking into a microphone.

"Please don't hurt him; Emil is a good boy and a friend of mine. If possible, buy something from his store. Take my word for it."

"Does he sell human items that aren't turning to dust?" Camellia asked.

"Probably."

"ANDROID_WITH_NOTHING_BETTER_TO_DO: I saw something strange the other day. Two male androids walking naked in the middle of the city. When I approached to ask if they needed help, the shorthaired one screeched at me like a rabid animal, the longhaired one grabbed him and pulled him away while apologizing. Any idea who they were? Androids infected by the Logic Virus?"

Camellia and I looked at each other with a serious face.

"What you saw were not androids, but extremely advanced machines that look like androids. They were recently created; believe me I was there when it happened. If you see them, I recommend that you back away immediately, I doubt a normal android would be able to face them."

"If possible, report the location of these machines to Yorha's forces immediately so that they can quickly eliminate the machine threat." Camellia said in a serious tone.

"Let's not be too aggressive, please."

"WHITE_FLOWER: Who are you? How did you acquire Yorha property? What is your serial number? In which factory located in which country were you manufactured? How old are you? And more importantly. Have you ever been part of the Army of Humanity? If so. What was your rank?"

Who the hell is this android? Surely, it's someone important to want to know so many things about me.

"Well. You are asking too much information, I don't feel comfortable saying all this to a stranger, if we were face to face maybe the result would be different. Besides, some of these questions are very rude, like my age and serial number." I answered nervously, a sweat trickling down my face.

"Alan, answer some of the questions or this person will be more insistent." Camellia whispered in my ear.

With a quick nod, I answered a few of them.

"But despite that, I believe I can answer some of these questions. As you, all know, my name is Alan, just Alan, like many androids, I only have one name. How I got the PODs? Well, if you Yorha treated your equipment better, you wouldn't have to worry about someone taking them. Do you have any idea how much the PODs are mistreated and abandoned? No? It doesn't surprise me; I doubt anyone has asked how they feel. My serial number and age are private, but I can tell you where I was manufactured. In the Kingdom of Night. About me being part of the army of humanity, if you're asking that kind of question, then you might already know the answer. I hope I have satisfied your curiosity, have a nice day!"

Mentally sighing in relief, I skimmed to the next question and honestly, it was a good question.

"FAMILIAR_OPERATOR: Could you tell me more about human families? I've done some research on this, but it's still an abstract concept for me. Thanks!"

"Good question, good question for sure. To begin with, if you start with the most basic possible, a family would be a couple composed of a man and a woman united by marriage, forming a couple, this couple would be accompanied by their sons and daughters. But times have changed, the couple could be composed of two men, two women, with or without sons and daughters, the man could take care of the house while the woman provided the income, you would have to research the different cultures around the world to see the different types of family that exist, but in the end, family is not something created only by people of the same blood, or united by a religious ceremony..."

Taking a deep breath and catching my breath, I continued my long explanation, bracing myself for the emotional speech I was about to deliver.

"In the end, a real family is one made up of people who are important and close to you, your friends, the people you love; some companion or lover. A real family is one made up of people you can trust and who will be there for you and you will be there for them, you may fight and have disagreements but in the end, you will always be together no matter what. Hope I helped answer your questions."

I finished my speech with a soft voice and a small nostalgic smile. I rubbed my eyes with my fingers, trying not to cry.

"Alan?" I heard Camellia questions.

"No, no. I'm fine, let's keep answering the questions."

"If you are sure."

Therefore, Camélia and I spent the day answering hundreds of questions from our many viewers.

-Alan's house-

Cleaning our boots on the carpet, Camellia and I entered the house; the android ran past me and lay down on the sofa, letting out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, I went upstairs, heading towards my office.

Locking the door behind me, I went to the windows and looked outside, seeing if anyone was watching me. I closed the curtain, darkening the room.

With that done, I sat back in my luxurious wooden chair and with a nod of confirmation; the PODs displayed two holographic screens in front of me. I've been secretly looking at the important information that's stored in my PODs.

Surprisingly, most of them are a huge database containing items from human culture, books, movies, video games, anime, comics, manga and other more specific information such as textbooks, history books, and news from newspapers around the world.

Nevertheless, there was also the most worrying information.

-Military Reports of the Crusades against the Legion.

-Discoveries about the White Chlorination Syndrome.

-Analyses on the MASO of the Dragon and the Giant.

-Results of Experiments with MASO in Specimens E and H.

And many more, but there was one I've heard Devola and Popola mention.

-Project Gestalt.

Unfortunately, every time I tried to access one of these pieces of information, I was asked for a password. I have no clue about it, but maybe the twins do. Should I confront them about this? On the other hand, should I pretend that nothing happened and try to figure everything out myself?

Anyway, I dug through all the information where a password wasn't required and I ended up finding something that interested me.

-Shinjuku, Japan, 2003

With an order, POD 000 accessed this information and what I saw was a recording from a street security camera. The camera recorded hundreds of people crossing the street during a busy day.

Therefore, an accursed sound came out of nowhere, making people look around confused; it was a sound I knew very well. The sound of bells. Suddenly people started pointing upwards while screaming and running away.

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed from all around, accompanied by a cacophony of screams from frightened people. The sound of bells grew louder, almost deafening. As the dust settled, what I saw almost made me cry.

I saw myself, thrashing on the floor, clutching my ears trying to block out that infernal noise. It was so strange; I was so young and innocent back then, very ignorant of what the future had in store for me.

The recording continued for a few minutes, until the sound of bells stopped, white powder fell from the sky like snow, and the sound of an explosion followed shortly thereafter.

Then something fell from the sky and hit me, static covered the recording and when it came back, I was gone.

I told POD to repeat the recording, only this time in slow motion, meanwhile; decided to check the newspaper on POD 001.

-Mysterious beings appear out of nowhere! Terrorist attack on something else?

-Government of Japan claims to know nothing about the origin of the beings and what really happened.

-Mysterious disease spreads across the Shinjuku region! Could this be related to the appearance of the Giant and the Dragon?

I have a long day ahead of me; I just hope I can find out something about what really happened that day, and what happened after I disappeared.

XXXXXX

1?: Hey, don't you think our friends are weirdly quiet? Moreover, what the hell are you wearing?

2?: I'm a cowboy! YEEHA! In addition, to answer your other question; yes, they are too quiet.

1?: Should we be concerned?

2?: Absolutely.

1?: Anyway, would you like to help me choose a new outfit?

2?: With pleasure.

END OF CHAPTER