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[At first, there's nothing visible on the feed, and the only thing audible is two moogles conversing.]

He looks dead if you ask me, kupo.

Maybe we should poke him with a stick and see if he moves, kupo?

Kupopopo! Not me! He looks shadier than a Treno pickpocket. You want a knife through the gut? Look at the weapons he's carrying!

I don't think he can attack anyone in that condition, kupo. I'm amazed he made it this far.

[Then the camera cuts the banks of the healing spring in what had formerly been Evil Forest. There's a trail of blood from the edge of the water, leading to a body entirely in black nearby, motionless and ravaged by multiple wounds. There's even a tear in his face mask, though it's not enough to reveal his identity. The only thing indicating the man is still alive is the shallowest rise and fall of his chest.]

Does anyone know this guy, kupo? I think he's a new arrival.

I think he's crazy, pulling himself out the healing spring like that. Does he have a death wish? We should shove him back in, kupo.

[Finally, the figure speaks. His voice is hoarse and fainter than is normal from blood loss, but his meaning is clear enough.]

Leave me...

Kupo! He's alive! Run! [The two startled moogles scurry to hide behind a tree, one of them still clutching the Sky Phone, and the feed ends.]

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[Vincent, unlike some of the others that responds, realizes pretty much instantly what Shadow means to do here. He isn't sure he agrees with it any more, though. So he addresses the moogles.]

Let me talk to him.

Maybe you can talk some sense into him, kupo!

[One of the moogles flits over to Shadow with the phone. For all intents and purposes, he looks awful. What little skin is visible beneath the mask has a deathly pallor, and blood still trickles along one side of his face. He wasn't in the spring nearly long enough for it to make much difference.

But it doesn't seem to concern him much. When the moogle approaches he stares at the Sky Phone, sizing up Vincent on the screen. Even through the haze of pain, he can tell it's no one he recognises.]

[Vincent stares without speaking for a moment, observing the injuries and whatever else can be seen of Shadow through the video feed. Eventually, he gestures toward those injuries, an glances past Shadow toward the spring.]

You have a choice.

I made my choice...

[There's a barely suppressed wince. It's painful to talk, much less move.]

You made it in a different world than this one. The situation has changed.

Changed?

[Forgive him if he doesn't quite grasp the concept when only half conscious. A moogle helpfully interjects.]

This is Gaia, kupo! This world's different to yours.

[Shadow's eyes flick to the moogle, but as ever they're devoid of any emotion. His world, other worlds, what did it matter?]

This world has a habit of bringing back the dead anyway.

[Shadow makes a sound that might be either an ironic snort or a pained grunt. He'd be a little more sceptical if he hadn't just helped to strike down an insane demi-god. As it is, nothing can really surprise him.]

Then death has lost interest in the chase...

This place is close to a second chance. It can't change the past... but some things can be different. If you make the attempt.

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