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No. Look at him. At his face, then close your good eye and look at his strings. He doesn't have any of his own. It's all fishnet, all the way down, and Gil flowing out into the floor and walls and over Pat and into Horse Face. Dream Gil isn't Gil. He's Us. And maybe you'd be better off reminding him of that fact.
(Still! How annoying! It doesn't feel good, admitting defeat.)
>[-2 ID: 8/14]
You sigh. "...Gil?"
He raises his eyebrows.
"You're not real. This isn't real. You're a lot of beetles in a fake goo body. You're not dead, but you got absorbed into Us by accident. You're in Us right now. Pat and Horse Face agree with me, don't they?"
Pat, arms folded, nods. Horse Face flashes a thumbs up. "Sorry, friend."
"I... are you sure?" His voice has turned plaintive. "You could be... you're a real joker, Claudia..."
"You can feel the rest of them, can't you? And my name isn't Claudia. It's Charlotte Fawkins."
"Char...lotte..." He frowns, seems to concentrate, looks back up— and wobbles, and congeals. It happens very fast, the way his eyes go dead, his skin shiny, his hands stuck to the towels, and the towels stuck into his chest. The ground softens, but you don't sink into it. You are unaffected, as are Pat and Horse Face, though both are watching closely. Well, Pat is. Horse Face is retrieving his camcorder.
CHARLOTTE FAWKINS
"Hi!" you say.
WE ARE EMPTIER THAN WE WERE
AND THERE IS NOTHING BURNT DOWN
HAVE YOU SUCCEEDED?
"Um, was that ever in question? Yes? Here's the other two intruders, by the way. Say hello, other intruders."
Horse Face waves with his free hand. Pat has not uncrossed her arms. "You spoke to it before?"
"Yes? Why wouldn't I? Anyways, Pat says hello. And Horse Face."
"Garvin," says Horse Face.
"And Horse Face. So, basically, I accomplished everything in record time, with <span class="mu-i">no</span> collateral damage, and—"
WE ARE EMPTIER THAN WE WERE
"That's because I got rid of Management! You're welcome."
NO
WHERE IS CLAUDIA?
You purse your lips. "Eh..."
YOU HAVE TAKEN HER FROM US
AND YOU HAVE BROUGHT US
OUR TORMENTER IN RETURN?
You look at Pat. Pat crosses her arms even harder. "<span class="mu-i">Me?</span>"
YOU
YOU TOOK US
STRETCHED US
FUNNELED US
TREATED US WITH CHEMICALS
RIPPED US FROM OURSELVES
WE KNEW
"You weren't sapient," she says coolly. "Congratulations on that, by the way."
WE WERE ENOUGH OF IT
WE DID NOT— DO NOT— FEEL PAIN
BUT WE FELT DISCOMFORT
TERROR
LOSS
DID YOU NOT HEAR THE SCREAMING
You side-eye Pat, who does not return your gaze. "Goo's always screaming," Horse Face says confidentially to you.
WE ARE DEAD
WE SCREAMED AS WE DIED
ALL TOGETHER
ALL AT ONCE
ALL OF US, DEAD
OUR LIVES, DEAD
YOU KNEW WHAT WE WERE
WHY DID YOU USE US?
"I'm not sentimental," Pat says.
YOU ARE CRUEL
(2/4)
