[h2][right]Guilt //[/right][/h2]

With a flick of her wrist, Guilt summoned a pocketwatch into her hand. Two hours, thirteen minutes. That was how long it had taken her just to find her way back to Epic City. Damn the Island for dumping her in that wasteland. If she'd known the direction to go in she could have made the trip in a matter of minutes, and now she'd already wasted so much time.

Guilt was perched on the edge of a skyscraper, a monolithic building of steel and glass. Anywhere else in the world such a building would be pockmarked with holes and covered in vines, but the High kept things in shape here. Just another reminder of the depraved luxury these people lived in. Habitually she scanned the streets below, but for once crime wasn't on her mind. Even with all that extra time to think she still had no idea what threat was approaching, or if the Island was just f*cking with her. No, the Island was not known for being capricious. It wouldn't be in character for him to do something like that. But even so.... now that she'd actually made it to the city, what could she do? How could she prepare for something, when she didn't even know what it was?

Sighing, Guilt put her head in her hand. How come in this city of luxury she was the only one this exhausted? Not that she would dream of partaking in such decadence, but it would be nice for things to slow down a little bit every now and then. Just so she could get ready for the next day.

[You know what he said, right?]

A girl sat next to Guilt, feet dangling over the edge. She wore a white t-shirt with the logo of a forgotten band on it, coupled with a light blue skirt. Her face was frustratingly familiar. Of course, Guilt knew they weren't a real person. They didn't have a 'distortion field', and physical objects moved through them like they weren't even there. Which they weren't. But even knowing that Guilt had to keep reminding herself. It was certainly an illusion befitting of the High.

[He said you'd survive, if you stopped being Guilt. If you turned into Maya again.]

Nothing moved for a while. Claire was a constant presence in her life now, and had been for the last 36 hours, approximately. Sighing, Guilt tried to ignore this constant pest. She had to think of a plan, and this waste of mental space wasn't helping in the slightest. To stop being Guilt... what a stupid idea. She might as well decide to stop needing this gas mask, or to stop being covered in scars. Guilt was her now. After everything else had been worn away, Guilt was what was left. To try and deny that, to try and be something else, was just an exercise in futility.

After a period of blessed silence, the illusion spoke up again.

[This isn't something you can deal with alone.]

Again with the pointless words. There was nobody left. Everyone on Guilt's side was already dead.

[That's not true. You know that.]

Silently, Guilt looked to the side. It was true that not everyone in this city seemed hostile to her. And, with no idea what was even going to happen, there wasn't really anything else she could do right now. But still, to look for help? Surely she could solve this herself. The heroes of this city were weak and inexperienced, used to a world where you had a choice in when to fight. Where you could go to sleep safe in the knowledge that you would wake up in the morning.

No. Guilt stood up, having finally come to a decision. She wasn't going to ask for help, but she was also supposed to be a hero. Even if she hated the luxury these people lived in, hated their ignorance to their own privileged lives, she had no intention of watching it go to hell. Even if she hated it, this place was the safest place on Earth. One last place for humans to prosper. To ignore these people, to leave them up to their fate, would make her no better than the monsters outside. She would deliver a warning to the people of this city, and allow them to prepare for themselves.

Vanishing, Guilt moved to retrieve the supplies she would need.

[hr]

About an hour later, neon signs had been placed in various locations throughout the city. Each was brightly lit up, and would remain that way for 24 hours. They read "Trickster, meet me where we spoke last." Each was signed with the letter 'G'. A meaningless message to most, but her intended target would know what it meant.

Of course, Guilt wasn't one to make the same mistake twice. With her powers she had carved a series of letters into the wall of a building, before removing them a minute laters. "I'll remove them in 24 hours". She had no intention of pissing off the Island twice in a row. She doubted he would be any friendlier the second time around, and had no intention of testing her suspicions.

She would wait at the train station, hidden on a nearby rooftop. It was uncertain whether Traveller would actually show up, but this was her best bet at attracting the woman's attention. Admittedly, Guilt wasn't very good at the 'people' thing, resorting to such strange measures when most would have just asked around. As Clair was more than happy to remind her. But, she argued to herself, there weren't exactly many people left to hone her skills with, after all. When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. The same kind of thing applied to her powers, more or less.