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The moment you enter the partition, you're caught off-guard again. You were prepared for the same blue and white vistas of untextured ground. Instead, you're standing in a mirrored realm, depicting the same globe that you've just stepped into. You move your arms around and sigh in relief when it turns out that only the map is reversed.
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-b">"First time in one of these, right? They're not all so cozy."</span></span>
You nod, not wanting to challenge his assumption. You don't want him to link you to the last incident by giving any indication that you're used to this. Commandramon stares up at you, failing to make out your facial features through the veil of static that obscures them. Porcupamon follows a moment after, stepping into the disused inversion of the mall.
<span class="mu-s">"Huh. This looks surprisingly normal."</span>
You look up at the open sky and see that it's vivid blue, unlike the dark sky that was once above. It's a flat plane of color instead.
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-b">"This subnet is supposed to- Hey! Don't do that!"</span></span>
In the brief moment he takes to explain, a human silhouette emerges from around a corner and begins marching in a straight line. Porcupamon slams it into the ground and cleaves its neighbor apart.
<span class="mu-s">"What're you trying to pull, huh?!"</span>
<span class="mu-b"><span class="mu-s">"That's just a hologram! I told you, this is a customer allocation system! It's just drafting paths!"</span></span>
Porcupamon takes a better look at the hardlight projection that he's just macerated into chunks of azure matter. It's not even a bot, it's merely a human outline with arrows sticking out of its face. Fields of vision and lines of sight are clearly demarcated on them.
"Oh. Take it easy then."
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-b">"Jeez, you're lucky they don't break... Stop messing with them, they'll all be gone soon anyway. I've directed all customers to the exits, so these things will follow behind."</span></span>
You hope the diversion hasn't alerted the kidnappers. You and Porcupamon return to Commandramon's side and prepare to scan the area.
