Save Me, San Fransokyo [Open]

[Rosetta Ryley]

They had been meaning to send people to this new world for a while now, but with half the force rebuilding a fleet's power and the other half making sure their own operations were running smoothly, they just couldn't spare the time until recently. According to reports, this world had yet been visited by others, or at least haven't been visited lately, so they knew very little. But this world supposedly had advanced technology, and being the techie she was, Rosetta grabbed the first chance she got to pay a visit. Of course, she didn't know if the world's inhabitants possessed the things she and many others she knew did, so there was a need to be discrete.

She was happy to know that the people here dressed in a very similar way back at Forge, so it was easy to blend into the crowd with just her usual attire, which consisted of a white dress shirt with a red tie tied neatly, black slacks and shoes, and not to mention her signature red-rimmed glasses. Yep, she looked like a businessman's secretary. She looked professionally stunning from head to toe. There were people who gave her a second glance, wondering if she was new in town, having never seen her face before.

As expected in such a big city, the sights were endless. It had been such a long time since she had been in a city like this, and she couldn't help but feel like a child in a candy store. There were so many things she wanted to get, and so many places she wanted to visit. But first she needed to get her hands on some of the world's currency. She came prepared for this, but first she needed to find either a pawn shop or a jewelry store. And as bad as that sounded at first, rest assured that she wasn't going to commit any crimes. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that she would be involved in one nonetheless.

Judging by the sky, it was around three in the afternoon. At this time, there wasn't a lot of people out, and a couple of meters in front of her, the was a girl who was unaware that another person was following her. Normally, Rose wouldn't give it a second thought, but the person following the girl just looked suspicious with their hood over their head. She just couldn't ignore this. She followed at a distance, just observing what was going to happen. Suddenly, someone from an alleyway grabbed the girl, and along with the guy following her, they dragged her in. Without skipping a beat, Rose rushed over and carefully peeked behind the wall, only to see nothing but the shadows of the struggling girl and her captors. Rose followed them through the maze and found four people surrounding the girl.

She could have easily taken them down within the span of two heartbeats with her gun, but she knew it was going to bite her rear once the authorities get involved. If these guys were anything like the gangs she had encountered before, they would surely be armed. And when a glint reflected off of something that she thought was a blade being pointed at the woman, Rose quickly ran at them. The taps from her shoes announced her presence too late as she delivered a perfect kick right to the temple of one of the thugs. She grabbed the second thug's arm as he tried to stab her, and threw him at the third one, sending them both against the wall. The fourth one went of a kick which was well aimed but ultimately evaded. Rose did a half spin and the back of her fist met with the thug's face, making him stumble back, tripping over the first.

"Come on, we have to go!" Rose told the girl as she picked her up by the elbow. The two of them ran with Rose pulling the girl along. She felt something whizz by her head as a loud bang resounded behind them. I'd be more surprised if they didn't have guns.

"Left! Quickly!" the girl shouted. They turned left and straight ahead was the brilliant shine of daylight. They exited the alley and made a right, running down the street as fast as their legs could carry them. It wasn't long until the gunshots rang out again. Nearby cars were panicking at the violence. They sped up so they would get far away from the shooting as quick as possible, but in this frenzy, one car hit another's rear which sent it crashing towards the two girls. Rose pushed the girl out of the way, but by doing so, she doomed herself into taking the car head on. It happened so fast that she wasn't sure what happened to her after pushing the other girl to safety, but she could remember being airborne and violently falling on the pavement then rolling a couple of times.

She couldn't hear anything. The pain was unbearable and she was sure she was bleeding from somewhere, but there was just too much pain to pinpoint exactly where. She wasn't too worried though. She just needed a little rest, and she'd be fine. But damn, did it hurt... she couldn't even move more than a finger. Some day this turned out to be...

[Professor Velox]

Ah, downtown San Fransokyo. A place where there was both the hustle and bustle of a city. Shirou hadn't been here often, but the few times he had been here, he enjoyed himself. He liked the crowded streets and the flashing lights of businesses clamoring for business. A much needed break from the dark and dank Underworld Shirou spent most of his time in. He told his advisors that he came here to research more technology, but in truth, he only came here to relax a bit. He tried inviting Hoshi, but she just rolled her eyes and went back to her room without even a reply.

"She certainly inherited her mother's enthusiam," Shirou grumbled under his breath as he walked along the sidewalk, blending in flawlessly with the crowd. He was wearing black sweatpants with a cartoonish skull on the bottom, left left, and a green t-shirt with a large, grey scythe emblem on the back. When he was not on official business, he dressed down as much as he could, even wearing flip-flops.

Suddenly, somewhere nearby, there were sounds of large bangs and people started screaming and cars starting honking. Gunshots. But here, with all these people? With a frown, Shirou wandered over towards the source of panic just in time to see two girls run out into the street, into an oncoming car. One of them pushed the other out of the way, but got hit herself and landed roughly on the pavement. Shirou winced on impact.

Behind them, where they were running from, Shirou saw a few men running towards them, wielding the firearms. He sighed. He was going against the rules, but then again, he was just the one who made them. He didn't have to follow them, at least, that's how he reasoned.

Shirou walked in front of the girl, defending her and facing the oncoming gang members. "If you fellas know what's good for you, you'll buzz off," he said sharped, his eyes narrowing as he gave them the coldest glare he could.

The gang members looked at each other in confusion and then one pointed his gun at Shirou. Shirou rolled his eyes and snorted. "Like you would even--"

There was another bang, and Shirou bent backwards, barely dodging the bullet that whizzed past where his head had just been previously. "Okay, Plan B," he muttered. He grabbed the shirt of the injured girl and the shoulder of the cowering other girl. And then, in a blink, they were gone.

They reappeared in the middle of a coffee shop a few blocks away. Shirou had previously gotten a cup of coffee here, though he wasn't particularly of of this place. As far as coffee cafes go, this place was decent at best. He chose here because it was the first place he could think of and he didn't know where the hospital is.

He set the injured girl down as gently as he could on the ground. He then looked at the other girl told her to go find the police. She ran off, herself bewildered by the turn of events.

"What am I going to do now?" Shirou asked himself in exasperation, looking down at the injured girl. "This is why I should think before I act. You alive, girl?"

[Rosetta Ryley]

From the corner of her eye, she could see another man running towards the girl. He didn't appear to be the bad kind, but she cursed her predicament all the same. Hadn't it been her augmentations, that accident would have been fatal, and for that she was thankful, but now the other girl had to deal with everything herself. A wave of relief washed over her as the other man protected the girl, and when he literally dodged a bullet. It appeared that he wasn't a regular person.

The man grabbed her and the girl shortly after being shot at, and suddenly they were in a completely different place. From the scent drifting in the air, she guessed this place was a cafe or something. A hot cup of coffee would be nice right about now. She winced as she was placed on the ground. She heard the man ask her if she was still alive. With a chuckle, she replied with, "I'm breathing... aren't it?" Quite heavily too. She had to speak between gasps for air.

"I'll be... fine in a few moments..." Most of the pain had subsided enough for her to feel the warm liquid trickling down the side of her head. This was also the moment she realized she didn't have her glasses. It must have gotten knocked off when that car hit her. "My glasses... I need to get my glasses..." She pushed herself up, only to lie back down from the pain she was greeted with. Right now, she was too damaged to get up. She looked up to the man. "Where's the girl?"

[Professor Velox]

Relieved to know the girl would not yet be joining him in the Underworld, Shirou pulled up a seat and sat down, throwing his shoulders back and giving a deep sigh. "You're a persistent aren't you," he grumbled as the girl attempted to get up despite her probably various broken bones, talking about her glasses.

"The girl? I sent her off to go find the police," Shirou said, giving a quick wave to the general direction the girl ran off to. "Crowded streets and she'll either make it to the police station or find somebody who can. Doubt she'll be hunted down now, unless she was the specific target." He frowned, thinking of something, focused his energy, summoning forth his replica near the girl to keep an eye on her, and out of sight.

He snapped his fingers and a pair of glasses appeared in his hand. "I wasn't sure on what correction you had but I took a guess. Should help a little bit," he said as he handed her the glasses. He sighed again, looking down at the injured girl. He wish he had learned some form of healing magic, but unless she was willing to sever some organs and limbs, he couldn't do much.

"Don't suppose you know a healing mage or something."

[Rosetta Ryley]

She sighed in relief, knowing that the girl was okay, but was still worried that she might run into the same thugs. But with the chaos they evoked, the thugs would have went back to hiding. But she had to check up on the girl later. Hopefully she wouldn't have to search far for her.

The kind man offered her some glasses which seemed to have appeared out of thin air. As kind of a gesture it was, she had to politely decline. "Oh no, it's okay, I don't... really need the glasses. I just need mine. I wore them for sentimental reasons. Thanks for the offer though." She offered him a smile before trying to get up again, this time succeeding in sitting up. The nanomachines in her body had already patched up any broken bones and closed up most of the open wounds she had.

"I might know a few, but I don't think they're anywhere close. But I'll be good as new in a few moments. Wish I could say the same for my clothes..." They were dirty, ripped in certain places and the sleeve on her right arm had almost completely come off. Surprisingly, her tie didn't get damaged at all. "Thanks for your help, mister. You saved us back there. Could you point me to where the scene happened? I got to find the glasses before the authorities close off the area..."

[Professor Velox]

As Shirou suspected, this girl seemed to be full of surprises. He tossed the glasses away and waved his hand over the girl, her clothes quickly reconstructing themselves. "Clothes are easy," Shirou said as he crossed his arms. Her clothes would be as good as new, though any dirt and blood would remain as he just reconstructed the material rather than renew it.

Shirou pointed a finger behind the girl. "Over in that general direction. Just turn a left, another left, then a right and you'll get there eventually," he said. "Though what will you do if those thugs are still there? What if they brought friends?"

[Rosetta Ryley]

It was surprising to see her clothes getting bonded back together. It looked like new, except for the dirt and blood, but those could be washed off when she got back. "That's a nifty ability," she said as she stood up. Before she could make for the door after being pointed towards the scene of the accident, she was asked what she would do if the thugs were still there and brought friends.

"I'm not worried about that. Only fools stay at the scene after attempted murder. But if they were there, then I'll just have to repay them for shooting at us earlier. If they just won't give up fighting me, then I guess I'll have to make them give up breathing. Well anyway, I'll be heading off before too many people crowd the site. Thanks for your help again, mister!" With that, she exited the building and started running towards the site, following the general directions the man gave her.

[Professor Velox]

Shirou raised his eyebrows at the girl's persistence and relatively spunky attitude. He sighed. as she left in a hurry already. Didn't she just get hit by a car? Where was she getting all that energy? Shirou noticed the other customers for the first time, who had edged back to the walls, suddenly scared by what occurred. "Um, right," Shirou said with a sheepish grin. "I'll, uh, leave now."

He hastily left the scene, finding himself back on the sidewalk. On one side, there was the ever shrinking form of that odd girl, and on the other, just a crowd of people he could disappear into. This wasn't his problem, he didn't have to be here...but, then again, what else was he gonna do?

"Are you sure about going back?" He asked, suddenly appearing beside her. "What if they had infiltrated the police, and are basically immune to any law enforcement? What if their boss is a superpowered baddie?"

[Rosetta Ryley]

The man reappeared right next to her, but knowing that he could teleport around, she wasn't caught off guard. Though she wondered why he stuck around. Probably to make sure she wouldn't get herself killed? Nah, she didn't need anyone doing that for her. She could take care of herself just fine.

He asked her if she was sure about going back, enumerating some of the things that the gang might have up their sleeves. "Corrupt authority isn't anything new, and a super powered-baddie? You make it sound like a Saturday morning cartoon. But to answer your questions, I'll just react to the situation when it presents itself. It depends on what I have to deal with."

Skidding to a stop on the corner, she could see the accident site, and how the police had already closed the area. "Wow... they work fast... Great... if they see me, they're going to ask questions... Hmm..." Rose looked around, and was glad to see that the scene was fairly contained, and not too many people were observing from too far away. "I need this to be quick... Wait here... You should be unaffected from out here," she told the man before throwing her hands in front of herself. The scene of the accident seemed to warp a little before everyone and everything there stopped. The people, the birds in flight, the dust.

Without saying much, she ran towards the scene and quickly looked around for her glasses, which didn't take too long. The frame was cracked, and so were the lenses, but all that was important to her was that she got the glasses back. Not wasting any more time, she ran back to the corner, and the scene came back to life as if nothing happened.

Realizing that the man would try to help fix her glasses when he saw the damage, she preemptively said, "It's alright, I'll fix these myself." She gave him a smile to let him know that this was something she wanted to do herself, and not come off as unappreciative of his help.

[Sleep]

Stand not to many feet behind Shirou and Rosetta, was one of the last remaining, ever-lingering, nobodies. Sleep. He had done his best to mind his own, but when a taller man rocking some slick pajamas had warped beside a girlwho had just crossed the alleyway he stood in. His curiosity took the betterment of him. He pulled in and listened to what he could, then when they stopped at a crash site, Sleep tilted his body to see around Shirou; The Underlord. The nobody himself was actually quite impressed to see reality warp as it did, hence he stayed watching instead of running off.

When she returned and still hadn't noticed his presence he spoke up. "That was something... I do not see everyday... What are you, some kind of wizard? First one of you wisps into reality from no where, and then the other bends it like taffy." Sleep put his weight on one foot, as he looked them boh up and down. He wasn't very experienced in showing his emotions, but he was naturally a decent person. If not some times being a little oblivious or skeptical of things. "Something about all of this is telling me that you two, are from different worlds."

[Professor Velox]

Shirou watched in calm silence as the girl asked him to stay back and proceeded to stop the entire space of the crime scene. She skipped over casually, plucked her glasses up, and then came back. Interesting. It resembled time magic, but was actually that of Space. Shirou himself used Space primarily, but never in that way. Not that he never thought of it, but it wasn't his style.

A new voice chimed in, somebody inquiring who they were and noting that they were from different worlds. "I suppose you stole my line," Shirou said dryly with a faint smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. The owner of the voice was a young man, somewhere between a teen and an adult. Judging by his perceptiveness, Shirou figured he wasn't your typical normal citizen. People tended to ignore weird and magical things that happened while milling about their normal days. People who were more invested in the supernatural side of the universe were more inclined to picking it out, like when you learn a new word and then you notice how much it's mentioned there after.

"I'm from a place usually referred to as Olympus." Shirou shifted his gaze from the girl to the newcomer as he spoke. "Surprised to find a nobody hanging around a big city like this," Shirou said, grinning as he revealed that he knew that about him*. "Not causing any trouble, are you?" Not that Shirou would do anything. Not really his problem or his responsibility.

*Shirou's skill Spatial Awareness allows him to detect the elements and other traits of somebody who is nearby.

[Sleep]

E-eh?! Sleep, nearly stumbled over himself, as he leaned back. His blank face showed only skepticism, there wasn't much else a nobody like him could show! Seep looked off to the left, then dipped his head with a slight chuckle. It was mostly fake of course, but Sleep had grown very talented over time. Especially with imitating realistic emotional flares, or facial expressions. "Ah, so you knew from just a look, huh? What gave me away?.. Most people do not even know what a 'Nobody' is. Let alone being able to pick one out of a population." Sleep explained. He then allowed water to synchronize from the particles hovering around his fingers to swirl into the shape of a worm, or serpent-like construct. The worm then encircled the boy's open palm, and slid down until it was nothing but a liquid bracelet. Sleep took his free hand to point at it while, staring Shirou in the face, attempting to see if any of what was being said made sense to him. "One day, I woke up being able to do things like this with water, and that was it. Aside from not being a shell with no feelings, it isn't so bad."

The water lost it's shape and making a splash on the concrete. Sleep then spoke again, both hands at his side. "Trouble isn't really my thing. I don't really know what an ambition feels like, so... All I do is walk around, and document the irregularities in myself that I can find... Or distinguish, mmm, that's a better word for it. That I can distinguish." Sleep offered a dry grin, though his eyes were aimed at the ground. "Sometimes I  feel like a human, so it's best I get those down on paper."

[Rosetta Ryley]

Rose whispered a drawn-out cuss upon being found out by another person that she was not from there. The man who had helped her before admitted to being from Olympus, a place she had once secretly visited for the sights, and also to see one of her friends compete in the arena. She had guessed the man was not from here, so it was no surprise for it to be true. After a quick thought, she came to a conclusion that telling either of them about her home world would be a little risky, so she simply nodded and said, "I'm currently residing in Deep Space, and it's not necessarily bending reality... never mind." she started to say, but didn't feel like explaining it too much.

She noted everything the new guy said. A Nobody, eh? Before leaving their world, she knew nothing about Nobodies, but after world-hopping for over 20 years, she knew exactly what they were and how they came to be. "Your past self must have had an affinity for that element. How far back could you recall anything?"

[Professor Velox]

"Let's just say I have a knack for those types of things," Shirou said with a wave of his hand after the nobody inquired how he knew. Through his words, it seemed like this guy had only recently become a nobody, or had a hard time accepting that he was one. Shirou had one experienced the life of a nobody, went by the name of Caelestis. It was who his AI was basically, well, based off of. It also seemed like the girl was aware of nobodies as well, which meant she probably knew about heartless. Made sense, since she most likely encountered them in her travels.

"And what brings you to this city?" Shirou asked as a follow up to the girl's question.

[Sleep]

The Nobody looked from both of them as they spoke, soaking up the dialogue like a sponge. He put a hand at his side, while the other hung loosely. "My death." He said flatly. "Nothing more, and nothing less." He then paused before speaking up again to the girl, "I only learned I could do these things after someone opened my eyes to the brighter sides to what it was. I don't know if it has anything to do with who I was or not-- sad thing is. I'll probably never figure out what the connection is. But I have plenty of time on my hands; so I won't push it." His attention drifted back to the Underlord. This guy seemed like the type Sleep wouldn't be fond of battling. He was so quick to make questions, to direct points, and he had a powerful presence. It was very strange... Not even magic was required to figure that much out. "Well, why do birds fly? Why do dogs bark? If I'm a nobody, surely it's only natural that I drift... Wouldn't you say? And what about you two? Why'd you come here?"

[Rosetta Ryley]

"That's probably true. " It didn't seem like Nobodies age normally. At least the ones she had encountered. Well... encountered and didn't try to slice her up into tiny little pieces. It must have had something to do with their past lives, yadda yadda, that sort of thing.

So the guy was a drifter? Not really surprising. With nowhere to call home, there really wasn't an option, except for drifting. But according to their scouts, Nobodies had a world they had apparently conquered. If nothing else, this guy would have some place to visit that would have people like him.

But to answer his queries, she simply said, "Sightseeing. Then things got complicated..." The blood on her shirt, and a faint trail of red from her head down to her cheek would have indicated an incident, and with the scene of a car crash behind them, it would have given hints on what had happened. Whoever was behind the wheel of that car must have been so confused when they suddenly disappeared from thin air. Made her want to come back just to read the headlines.

[Professor Velox]

Shirou raised his eyebrows as the nobody continued to speak. His answers seemed to be quite melodramatic. He must have been a teenager when he became a nobody. He smiled as felt a slight pang of nostalgia. Shirou had been like him at one point, a long time ago when he himself was a teenager. Though, this nobody has it pretty rough. Shirou, more or less, chose the adventure and the esoteric. Seems like the nobody had just been unlucky. Even with no heart, currently at least, he must feel pretty lost.

"I, uh, am also here on sightseeing. Sorta," Shirou said with a shrug, averting his gaze. He didn't want to tell these two that he had come here just to be lazy, even though his attire probably already said that. "I got distracted when glasses over here got hit by a car, picking fights with gangs."

[Sleep]

Sleep listened to them both speak, nodding at their answers. Casual adventuring was pretty common, maybe one of these days if the Nobody himself was feeling that kinda thing, he'd give it a try too. It had been twenty years since he woke up with no heart after all; perhaps it was time he move out of his slump of rocks, and into a bigger chair. "That's awful she got hit by a car, but at least you have a new story to tell. Right?" Sleep said, gesturing to the firemen rushing about behind them. The male  brought a hand to his neck as he paused. Gazing off at the humans while they performed their duties of extinguishing the flames. Then he turned his attention back furthermore, with another empty grin to slide across his lips. "I call myself Sleep, if you were wondering. Maybe if we run into each other again one day, we'll remember each other. That would be nice. Are you guys... A couple?"

[Rosetta Ryley]

"As if I'll be telling anyone I got hit by a car," she said, sighing. Not going to lie, she was a little bit careless of the whole thing. But at least the girl she was saving was alright. Maybe best she get some people to make sure the girl stayed that way. People who openly fire at others in broad daylight was a problematic group that must have an eye out.

The Nobody introduced himself as Sleep. The root word of a gerund that is listed among her hobbies. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Rosetta, but friends call me Rose." Nodding towards him to punctuate her introduction, but her attention turned to the other man upon asking if they were a couple. She gave the man a look over and giggled. "No, we're not. We just met today. Besides, he looks like a man who is already spoken for."

[Professor Velox]

The nobody introduced himself as Sleep. An interesting name. The Underlord wondered if he came up with it himself or if it was given to him. The girl's name was Rose. Shirou still wondered how she recovered so fast from the wounds from being hit by a car. Was it Space magic? Was it even magic at all? Questions, questions.

"My name is Shirou," he said, following the trend of introductions. Sleep then asked if he and Rose were a couple. Shirou frowned at the notion in slight befuddlement, though Rose answered before he could. "What about me makes me look like I'm taken?" Shirou asked, looking down at himself. It was true. Technically.

[Sleep]

Sleep managed to make a bigger smile, as he looked between his companions. He was somewhat starting to understand why humans liked socializing. Sleep then spoke up for Rose about why he looked the part of a husband or 'taken' by another female. "Maybe she is promoting the idea that you are handsomer than the typical man she sees." Sleep answered, as he looked at his own clothing, as if to compare himself to Shirou's lazy attire preferences. "You have me beat, even in your pajamas Shirou."

[Rosetta Ryley]

What made her think he was taken? She scratched her head nervously, but slightly blushed when Sleep answered for her. "N-no no no!" she quickly said before any of them got the wrong idea. "Th-that's not it at all!" Realizing that she came off as defensive, she cleared her throat to give herself what little time she could afford.

"It's just that I've been around my fair share of fathers and father-figures, and I kinda found this certain vibe that they have in common." That was her explanation, if it could even be called that. "If nothing else, I'd say its a sort of a sixth sense."

[Professor Velox]

Shirou found himself quite amused when Sleep tried to reason it out before Rose could. This kid was a charmer. Shirou decided that he liked him. And even more to his amusement, Rose got somewhat flustered by his suggestion and quickly explained herself, saying she had a familiarity with fathers, which was pretty on the nose.

Shirou sighed and dropped his head, suddenly emitting an aura of pathetic sadness. "Some father I am, Hoshi won't even come with me on a simple trip to the big city. And Sotiria hasn't been home years, like is she dead and I'm just a horrible husband for not looking for her or knowing, man everything sucks," he muttered, suddenly forgetting where he was or who he was with. It was if he had melted down like liquid, now sitting on the sidewalk where they were, hugging his knees, which were drawn to his chest.*


*this is meant to be a humorous/non-serious kind of sadness/reaction

[Sleep]

"Shirou, I'm sure your daughter is just trying to see where she fits in the worlds, but on her own terms. If there's any one thing I know about humans, it's that freedom is an important thing to them. Maybe she just wants to see that for herself. In action.. This doesn't mean your daughter doesn't love and want to hang around you-- it just means she's trying to cope with the realization that you can't be a shelter of her's forever. It's apart of growing up when a child starts to get rebellious." Sleep rested a hand on Shirou's shoulder.

The Nobody then frowned, and looked down at the ground, the aura surrounding Shi was pretty intense, and Sleep honestly was ony speaking on theories. He hadn't had a loved one. Or even a single friend his entire existence. But; that wouldn't keep him from trying to cheer this man up.

Do unto others, as you'd want done unto you... Right?

"Your wife is out there too? Well, I can't say for sure how guilt feels but-- it's never to late too start an adventure for your lost loved one's. I don't mind helping out if you ever get that urge to do so." The nobody looked up to Rosetta, almost begging for her to speak-- though he didn't say anything. He hoped she could catch his message, however it might be a hard one to catch seeing is how Sleep was still learning how all of this stuff worked.. It wasn't that The Nobody was awkward or anything, but because he knew that a nobody couldn't possibly understand.. Not even a little bit. But that the girl, being closer to sentience than he, probably had much more experience with surreal emotions and a family.

[Rosetta Ryley]

Rosetta had a nervous look on her face as Shirou went full-on depression mode on her. Crap, she really didn't expect this kind of reaction, but no worries! She can find a way to diffuse the heavy atmosphere of parental dread! And with Sleep setting up the stage quite nicely with reassurance and some pep talk, it came for her time to say something.

Although, it might have been better if didn't.

"Sleep's right! Kids go through their rebellious phase eventually, so its normal for them to be acting out when they reach a certain age, and a few rough waters in marriage doesn't necessarily mean everything's over. I mean it's not like you've abused your wife or daughter in any way, right? Or went on a rampage and shot them all at home-- err... uhh... that came out wrong..."

With a sheepish look on her face she tried to smile to hide how much she was going to kick herself later. It was all going fine before she had to ruin it. "What I meant to say was, they might hate you now, but they might get over it... That didn't sound any better at all..."

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