"Hey you. Hey. Hey. Hey. You. You. Hey~ You~ Heee~y Yooouuu!"

"Ergh. What?"

"Oh. Nothing. Sorry."

*Drag* *Drag* *Drag* Hehe. It's so much fun walking around in circles with fancy footwork. "Ehehehe~"

"What are you doing!?"

"Huh? Oh, just mastering my Phantom Shadow Step movements… pretty cool, huh? So… you feeling a bit jealous? Yeah? Yeah? No? Hey. You."

"Quiet in there!"

"Oh. So…"

"…"

"…"

"So what!?"

"Aye? Oh yeah! I was just thinkin'… you know those people who stand around doing nothing all day for their job? How do they do it? I mean, its cool and all to be able to have time to think a lot, but… don't ya think its kinda hard to think clearly in those situations?

You know… there's this feeling in the back of your head that you have a job to do, so your thoughts get a bit constrained. But at the same time, there really isn't anything else to do other than look around at the same stuff?

Actually… I tried it once. Sitting in an admin booth all day. Havin' people sign in and sign out. And I'm telling ya, that was dull. Like, really dull man! I reckon, if I had to do that for… hmm, I don't know - a month? No - a week? I'd probably just kill myself - like oh my god! Like - just end it! The suffering! The torment!"

Critical Damage

"Urgh. Look - just keep it down in there, okay?"

"Yeah-yeah! No probs!"

Drag Drag Drag "Ehehe~"

Chew Swallow Chew Swallow Chew Swallow

Gulp

"HEY! I have Misophonia, can you please quit it already!?"

"Uh? Yeah? I guess? Yeah - sometimes I reckon I probably have that too! Pretty cool, huh?"

Fidget Rustle Fidget

Tap Tap Tap

"Uh… hey! You! So like, do you ever get tired of people showing you cute animal pictures? You know - like cats. Cats sitting and staring. Cats doing weird and funny things…You know - pretty much any single thing a cat can possibly do. And its cute right?

But you know… after the tenth time its cute. After the hundredth time, still cute right? A thousand times - no problem! Still cute. A million times! SO CUTE! A billion times!! Cute~~~ SOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUTE~!"

Cute

So Cute!

Clang!

"Look! I've opened the door. Just piss off will you? I'm gonna quit. I don't get paid enough for this shit."

[ In today's news, we report that the celebrity adventuring team known as Silent Sparrows has suffered great tragedy. We can now confirm that, last night, members of the former heroic team lost their lives during their raid on the infamous boss known as Bigshot and that the accused killer is their dedicated healer, Thomas Ingleford. Our expert source reported that after Bigshot was taken down, it is accused that Thomas Ingleford brutally massacred the Silent Sparrows team. In this unbelievable and devastating news, we are still waiting on further updates on what happened and why such a terrible thing occurred. As always, stay tuned for more news. ]

Down a long white and sterile corridor, harsh echoes of footsteps could be heard. They sounded out at a steady pace, neither hurried nor too slow. At the end of the corridor was a high security detainment room, with a single man locked to a wall, arms and legs shackled with cutting-edge metallurgical braces. While restrained, the man stood upright with a calm façade and a slight grin and eyes gleaming . From time to time a small giggle would sound out, discordant with the serious image of the room. The man was famously known as Thomas Ingleford.

The footsteps finally came to a halt outside the room, which held an exterior wall of thick bullet-proof glass. Thomas' eyes locked on to the visual stimulus; a tall woman with dark burgundy hair. Her arms were stuck deep into the pockets of a voluminous trench coat, which covered a shirt and suit. The woman stared at Thomas with a slight frown, as though she was trying to solve some sort of problem.

"Hahaha!" Tom howled with a manic sound which might be interpreted to be a laugh. "So they dragged you into this mess, my dear Emily! How about we have a good chat and figure this out. And then I’d like to get home and have a nice warm shower and hopefully I can get Roger to cook me up a nice warm meal. I must say, you've kept yourself well in these years, although you are looking a little tired. Have they put you through a little too much overtime, my love?"

With a deepened frown, Emily questioned “Tom, did you do it?”

“Why certainly, it’s clear as day that we bagged Bigshot. You should know that, dear Emily” with a kindly expression, Tom adjusted his posture as though he was relaxing in his favourite library.

“You know what I mean, Tom! Did you kill them!?” cried out Emily, her voice cracking at the end, as she was unable to maintain her composure.

Tch Tom clucked his tongue and reprimanded “And how could that be possible? I’m only a lowly healer. Everyone knows that a healer can’t hurt people. We are weak, we can’t achieve the damage of a warrior or a mage! Even I, a pinnacle expert of my field, was constantly reminded of this fact by by lovely former companions.” Tom sneered, as he tried to contain the burning rage.

“But Tyson, Bob and Beth…” Emily whispered, before crying out “Why - Tom!? Why couldn’t you let them be?”

Tom’s face instantly scrunched up with hatred, his eyes looking almost devilish. Within a moment, the restraining chains shattered into dust, as the particles surrounding Tom’s skin vibrated at an inhuman frequency. Deep lacerations on his flesh disappeared as new blood and cells raced to fill the void. Freshly minted skin manifested like magic, giving the feeling of a mirage, as if exposed blood and bone could never have been.

With a boom, Tom slammed into the glass and a bright purple sheen burst out, as the energy shield strained to distribute the momentous force.

In a rage, Tom screamed “Those… people. They should have treated their healer with respect. I’m the best in the world and where is the THANKS I get!? WHERE. IS. MY. RESPECT?!!?” An overwhelming torrential downpour of sound tore off chunks of the sturdy walls, flying everywhere. Emily hastily covered her ears and bowed down from the pain. She could barely make a sound as her mind shook and consciousness blurred.

As the sound died, Tom calmly dusted off his clothes and rubbed his teeth with his tongue as though his mouth was full of dirt.

With a voice of serenity, Tom gently reassured “My apologies, dear Emily. You have seen a great disgrace. I shall endeavour to make it up to you. As for your questions, I’d be more than happy to fill you in at a later date. I think I’d like a nice shower now and clean off this filth. Unfortunately for my late companions, they were not up to scruff against Bigshot. The powerless healer needed to finish the job for them and I was unable to provide them with aid in time due to the chaotic battle. Shame. A great shame. I’m sure the historians will find great pleasure in highlighting the great deeds of the heroic damage dealers of Silent Sparrows. Many a bard will sing a tale over beer and wine, with a raucous volley of excitement. And the useless healer will simply find his own way to be someone of importance.”

As Emily managed to get to her feet, glass slowly shattered, the energy field crumbled to particles, and everything faded to black.

“Bye, bye Emily. I shall look forward to seeing you next time.”

The echoes of footsteps returned to the long corridor, pacing away in an unhurried beat, before everything went silent.