"Okabeeeeeeee! Don't leave me! I was there all those times for you. You were there for me as well, when I thought my world was shattering into a tiny million pieces and no one was there for me anymore. Yet you were! I don't know what is happening to you right now but I want to help! Don't leave me in the dark again when I'm right here! I'm here for you Okabe!" I hear the muffled words from Kurisu just as I begin to close my eyes in defeat. That means she remembers! A rush hope flows through me but it is soon to be replaced by a dark force. My phone slowly drops from my grasp as my hands dissolve. This continues down my arms and through my legs. My body is leaving me. The last thing I see is the faded crimson of Kurisu's hair, silky and long as it flows down her back. The image of a beautiful, red waterfall. Only, I cannot help but notice the slightly different shade of tights she is wearing.

So, this is what it feels like to leave the world. Wait a sec, why am I staring at the ceiling in the lab? Am I on the ground? I try to lift my arms up but I seem to have no arms. I try to look at something other than the roof and corner of the coffee table but I have no eyes. I listen for Kurisu in despair but I have no ears to listen with. Have I moulded into the floor or something? Have I melted away like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz but there was a slight dilemma and my pupils are left on the floor, still alive, looking for my soul?! No, be reasonable, Okabe, get a hold of yourself. At that moment, I see Kurisu lean into view, about to grab whatever I am off the floor. She holds me for a while then presses some buttons, as if she is making a phone call. Hang on, buttons? Phone? Call? I dropped my phone near the table, probably facing with the screen upwards, most likely at the position I am at now......... is there the possibility that I am inside my phone?

Meanwhile, at the other end of Kurisu's call......

"Hey Kurisu, huh, yeah I just dropped out with Okabe, everything okay around there?" Daru asks.
"Oh wow, yeah, well that sounds just like something he would do. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well tell me when he gets back, alright?" Ending the call, Daru sighs tiredly. What has got to him now? He thinks. Sure, its usual for him to run off and help people in need, but in the middle of a phone call? That seems a little off, even for him.

"You still want your meal, meow?" Faris questions Daru. She has been waiting patiently at the side of the table.
"Of course Faris, how could I reject the one in the cute cafe outfit?"
"Here you go then!" Faris presents the food. The smell is practically radiating off the plate.
"Thank youuuuu Faris!" Daru starts to dig in straight away. He has had a very long day, with the fear of SERN on his trail and whatnot. The thought of being caught by them had scared him so much, he asked Mayuri to go home, lying to her saying that he wasn't feeling too well. She insisted to stay as nice as she is, but somehow he convinced her to leave.

Back at the lab, Kurisu began to tidy up. Her hair still felt odd even though she was used to straightening it and her tights felt like they were sticking to her like glue. After about half an hour in the bathroom, she came out feeling refreshed and like herself. Herself being Kiryuu Moeka. Known by Okabe as Shining Finger.

She glances over at the phone near the table with a slight smile.

Finishing up his meal, Daru's phone starts to ring. Thinking it is Okabe, he hastily grabs it from his pocket and answers with his mouth full.
"Helmph?"
"Oh good God you answered Daru! I really need help, Okabe has disappeared somewhere and someone came in and I feel like it was a dream but I don't think it was and"-
"Woahhhh, this is Kurisu right?" Daru demands.
"Yes. Who else would it be?!" Kurisu exclaims.
"Ok well, you did just call me a little while ago to say that Okabe burst out on one of his crazy missions and you couldn't stop him so......."
"When was this? I never called you! Anyway I NEED you to come here now because I have absolutely no idea what is happening", Kurisu insists.
"But you said to wait for......"
"Just come!"
Beep. Beep. Beep. Kurisu has finished the call.
"What even was that?!" That was the complete opposite of what she said before!' Daru shouts at his phone as he hastily prepares to leave.
"Everything okay, meowster?" Faris asks, her face smudged in worry.
"Yeah, but something is up with Okabe so I'd better be heading out", Daru explains.
"Hope things get sorted out with him!" Faris quickly waves as Daru ducks out of the cafe.

Chilly winds rip through Akihabara, rising through the coats of the crowds and sending shivers though those who thought it was going to be a warmer-than-usual day. One of these people is Daru, who is silently hurrying back to the Lab. A flourishing market is in town this particular day, making it more troublesome for him than it already is. He passes people who he will never meet again or perhaps live in his dreams forever as background figures. The stalls seem never ending and in a few instances he begins to wonder if he is being controlled and made to wander through the whole market before reaching where he needs to be. Deep in his thoughts, he obliviously passes Moeka who still has Kurisu's tinge of hair colour dyed in her own hair and with Kurisu's jacket on. Two souls hurrying in the same manner, to opposite destinations. Eventually, Daru reaches the dark door of the precious Lab.

...§...§...