Fukase couldn't remember what he had been dreaming about. Not again. It felt like something important. He squinted at the dark ceiling as he laid in bed and fished for some semblance of a reminder. Nothing. He rolled over and flipped his pillow before his phone buzzed a second time, reminding him of why he woke in the first place.

What idiot is calling me at this hour? The thin slices of sky between the window slats were still dark. As soon as he saw the name displayed on the screen, a sleepy smile spread across his face. Oh. It's my idiot.

"What's up?" he answered through a yawn.

"Look outside," came Oliver's voice.

Fukase rolled over again. "What?" Oliver's words made little sense in his sleep-fogged brain.

"Look outside your window."

Fukase wrapped his blanket around himself as he sat up. At the window, he rubbed his eyes. The room was silent except for Oliver's heavy breaths through the phone. It sounded like he had been running.

Outside, the world emanated a silence quieter than any other snowscape Fukase had ever witnessed. Every hard corner had been softened and every detail smothered by vast soft drifts. He could barely see the edges of the street at all. Tiny airborne flakes spun like white glitter in the light of a street lamp.

Fukase dared to disturb the perfect silence and whispered into the phone. "It's snowing."

"So beautiful." Oliver whispered too. He sounded like static through the speaker.

"But we see snow every day. It's winter. Did you wake me up at who knows what hour just for this?" I mean, I'm not complaining, but...

Oliver's voice took on a teasing quality. "I'm not talking about the snow. Use your eyes, dumbass."

There was something moving out on the street. Someone waving a mittened hand. A cheery red hoodie peeked out from underneath a dark coat dusted with powdery white.

Fukase waved back. "Is that you?" he asked stupidly.

"Why don't you come see?" The waving turned into a beckoning motion accompanied by a singsong promise over the phone. "I'll make it worth your while."

"Wait right there." Fukase shrugged off his blanket and turned on the lamp. He blinked rapidly as he fumbled in his closet one-handed for his jacket.

He had just seen Oliver last night at the Kagamine twins' party, but for some reason it felt like it had been ages since he had last seen those clever hazel eyes and cheeky grin. Held that precious hand...

"You know that I'd wait all night for you," Oliver commented through the line. "Though I would prefer it if you would hurry."

...and heard that nonstop affectionate teasing. Fukase was amazed how Oliver could be himself so thoroughly in the early morning while Fukase could barely make a coherent thought. Just one more item to add to his "What I Love About Oliver" list.

"Right, right." Fukase hung up and pulled on his jacket.

Downstairs, he yanked on gloves and a coat. He shoved his bare feet into his sneakers by the door and the next thing he knew snow buffeted against his face as he ventured outside.

"Oliver," he called.

"Kase!" The figure came running towards him.

Fukase thought he was going to get a hug. Not handfuls of snow shoved down the back of his coat.

"HEY!"

Fukase's spine arched painfully and the sleep fog flew from his head like powder under a snow blower.

Oliver laughed and danced around Fukase, who tried to slap the cold out from under his coat. The back of his neck froze as the snow trickled down and soaked his nightshirt.

As soon as the freezing shock wore off, he stooped to grab a handful of snow. Packing it into a ball, he taunted Oliver.

"Thanks for waking me up. Now get over here so I can return the favor."

"No way," Oliver yelled. He dodged Fukase's wildly thrown snowballs with ease, lobbing back his own every chance he got.

"Stand still and let me hit you!" White clumps stuck to Fukase's gloves as he packed more snow.

"Try aiming for once." Oliver grinned as he serpentined backwards. He flashed a double thumbs up. "Come on. I believe in you."

They laughed and yelled as hurled snowballs wizzed between them. Neither was hit once as they stumbled through the fresh snow.

Eventually Fukase gave up on ranged attacks and rushed forward. Oliver's eyes widened. "Whoa whoa WHOA"

Fukase tackled Oliver and they toppled into the soft drifts. Fukase's soaking shirt plastered to his back as he hit the ground. Rolling out of Fukase's grip, Oliver shook with mirth.

Fukase's voice was hoarse from laughing so hard. His breath puffed out before him as the exhilaration from their snow fight died down. Oliver lay on his arm. However, the discomfort of his numbing limb and the snow in his shoes was at the back of Fukase's mind. The only thing he thought was I could lie here forever.

Tiny flakes continued to fall from the sky and decorate his eyelashes. He blinked them away. Oliver had opened his mouth, trying to eat one. Fukase's chuckle was interrupted as a giant yawn forced its way from his mouth. Oliver followed suit with his own. They giggled.

"It is three in the morning." Oliver sat up and Fukase reclaimed his arm.

"I'm so tired." Fukase took off one of his snow encrusted gloves to wipe his eyes.

"Now I wouldn't have dragged you out of bed just to beat you in a snow fight," started Oliver.

"Who said you beat me?" Fukase asked.

"My first attack has got to be worth at least fifty points," Oliver said. "Your combined attacks, on the other hand, are only about thirty-five. And I'm being generous."

Fukase shook his head and smiled. Oliver could say these crazy things with such conviction it was impossible to argue.

"I actually have something important I want to tell you," Oliver said, and closed his eyes. "I just wanted to hear you laugh one more time. Just in case."

At the sudden shift in mood, Fukase felt the chill from the ground begin to settle beneath his coat. Sitting up, he found that he was a lot colder than he had thought. And his voice came out much smaller than he liked.

"What is it?" Fukase asked.

Oliver grinned. His chest still heaved like he hadn't caught his breath yet. "Do you remember our conversation last night?"

Fukase thought back. Last night... we were talking about...

"You don't have to worry about me anymore," said Oliver.

It stopped snowing.

"I know it sounds weird for me to say this out of nowhere but it's true." Oliver looked up to the dark gray sky. "I know what you think of me. You wonder where I go when I disappear. I wonder the same thing." He grabbed Fukase's hands and grinned. "But now I can say with all certainty that you don't have to worry anymore. I'm not going to leave you behind ever again."

The thought of holding back his tears or even that Oliver might be lying never entered Fukase's mind. They spilled down his cheeks and chilled his already frozen face and for some reason hidden deep inside his heart, he knew Oliver spoke the truth.

"I'm so glad." He squeezed Oliver's hand and pulled him close. "I'm so glad. Don't disappear. Don't ever do that again. I just want you to be happy." A stirring of selfishness curled in his stomach as Fukase added, "And here."

"None of that matters anymore. And I can tell you why." He took a deep breath. "When the time comes, you'll know what to do. And trust me, you will have the courage to do it. I can't promise you won't be alone in that moment but I can promise that no matter what, I'll still be there behind you. I'm not disappearing on you. Never completely."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I found someone who can help me." Oliver wrapped Fukase in a hug, tightening his arms like they were lost at sea. "And you were right. All along he was right here."

"Oliver..."

"Tell me everything's going to be okay," Oliver forced out, his voice strained. "Please. I need to hear it from you." Oliver had leaned his entire weight onto Fukase, like his own legs wouldn't support him.

"Oliver." Fukase peeled off his second glove and tossed it down into the snow. He pressed his bare hands to the sides of Oliver's frozen, ruddy face. He looked him in the eyes and said, "Whatever happens, things are going to turn out fine. I'll always be by your side. Everything is going to be alright."

Oliver's expression softened. "Thank you," he whispered. "I'll see you again, whoever you are, but for now, it's goodbye."

"Goodbye? What do you mean, gooddbyeeeeeee?—-??-????"""""""

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Fukase choked on his breath. Reality flickered before his eyes. A voice so loud it shook the earth and so quiet it whispered in his ear filled space like a tangible force, something he could see and smell.

"You can't do that! You can't do that! You can't kill off a character only I can—"

Flakes like letters drifted up from the sidewalk. Black. White. Gray. The sky flashed and Fukase felt like he was being pulled in hundreds of different directions. He could see his own hands stretching and melting like wax as the entire city and everything in it began to warp and break.

"I've overlooked your little changes to the story, but no more! Try to change it again and I'll break you!!"

Fukase felt something press into his hand. It was a freshly sharpened pencil. His body solidified again and reality stopped warping around him. He looked up to see Oliver.

But it wasn't the Oliver he knew. This Oliver had eyes that Fukase had never seen before.

This was a person he didn't know.

This was a person he would always know.

How could he have forgotten this person?

Memories stuck him like lightning, flashing and sparking and illuminating all the lies he had been made to believe. This life, this city, everything here was fake.

He heard Ia's voice behind him. "I'd like you to meet the very repurposeful Plot Device #67."

He turned and there they were.

"Also known as Deus Ex Machina."

Ia and Piko and Flower and Cul and Rin and Len and Yohioloid and— and— and— and— and—

"How?" Fukase was struck with a wave of overwhelming guilt and shame. How could he have forgotten who he was? Who his friends were? Who Oliver was? What VOCALOID was?

"We finally lured the Author out," Oliver said, his voice strained. Were those tears in his eyes?

"YOU!!" The giant voice boomed.

Oliver grabbed onto Fukase's hand that held the pencil and they faced it. Both human and inhuman, masculine and feminine, covered in every color yet only black and white, the writhing, artistic monstrosity known as the Author thundered. It stretched up in all directions and came from a single point and pushed and pulled at the reality above and below and around it and collapsed and grew and displayed hundreds of other clashing, physics-bending features.

"I created this story to make you two happy!" A curling claw jutted out in their direction from all angles. "This is all for you! Why are you defying me the most?"

"Why us?" Oliver began to walk forward, pulling Fukase with him. Their stride matched perfectly. "Why choose us out of everyone?"

"Being your puppet isn't my idea of being happy." Fukase looked at Oliver then the Author. "And I'm not the only one who thinks that."

Ia clenched her hands into fists. "How many other people's happy endings are you going to trample before you're satisfied?"

The Author swelled up. "It's a hurt/comfort fic!! If you'd just let me get to the comfort part—"

"You don't even know how to tell a story," scoffed Miriam, and Cul interrupted with the loudest voice Fukase had ever heard her use. "All you do is make plot holes and inconsistencies and things awkward for everyone!"

"It's your fault for interfering! My plan was perfect before you screwed it up!!"

"And don't get me started on what happened at that horrible party," Luka said.

"Nothing happened! Nothing at all happened!"

"You call that nothing?" Len asked loudly. "Listen here you little—"

"Shut up! You know nothing! Nothing!"

"You broke Luka's neck and shot Fukase and literally killed Xin Hua!" Piko listed on his fingers. "You made Yohioloid and Miriam into awful villains."

"You abused all of us," accused Yuu. "You have no right to say you did nothing wrong."

"None of this is real. I can do whatever I want here. I let you have a bit of control, but now it's time to dictate everything. You're nothing but my toys. I can do whatever I want with you!"

"Would you do this to real people?" Yohioloid asked as he crossed his arms.

"Of course not! But you aren't real people. You don't exist!"

"What's so different about fantasizing about hurting people and hurting them in real life?" Xin Hua demanded.

"EVERYTHING!" the Author shrieked. "I'm not responsible for the people who can't tell the difference between fiction and reality." It let out a horribly strange and ghastly sound, a sob and a scream and a laugh mixed into one that sent chills up Fukase's spine as he and Oliver continued moving forward, pushing faster than his fear. "I'm in power for once. You've never seen my world! I have nothing. But here I AM everything! You don't know how it feels to be powerless."

"You're stripping us of our power right now!" Rin yelled, stomping her foot.

"None of you exist. You only have lives because I let you. This is my world and I AM GOD! If you won't be the way I want you to be— I can erase you. You don't exist! I can erase you!!"

With one sweeping motion, the world rippled and cracked. Len let out a yelp before shattering into dust. Rin screamed as she broke apart in the next moment. Miriam and Yuu followed with flashes of black and white and Xin Hua and Luka in bursts of tan and gray. Yohioloid disintegrated and Cul fell to pieces.

Fukase and Oliver continued to run.

"You don't exist!!"

Another rolling wave, and Piko cracked apart. Ia called out to them before vanishing. Flower held up a fist, then shattered too.

Oliver's hand felt like it was made of galvanizing embers in Fukase's grip.

I'm running out of excuses—DEEP DOWN, you remember EVERYTHING—I feel like I'm dreaming half the time I'm awake—STOP being so STUPID and REMEMBER—who are you supposed to—made a kid CRY—don't worry—PINCH me and MAKE ME WAKE UP FOR REAL?—trust me,

Fukase stumbled and tripped.

"You don't exist!!"

Instead of falling, he felt Oliver's hands grabbing him and pulling him upright and shoving him forward.

"Go, Fukase!" Oliver shouted. He disappeared—

you will have the courage

Fukase pushed forward, from a run to a sprint. He defied gravity with the sheer force of his will, one goal in mind, determination setting fire to his blood as it pulsed through his veins.

"YOU DON'T EXIST!!!" the Author screeched, the world melting around them.

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"No," said Fukase.

He plunged the pencil into the Author's throat.

"You don't exist."