[Audio]

[neverfeltthatway]

[For once, Armin sends only his voice and not his image over the network - something anyone paying attention might note is unusual, if not without precedent.]

Hello, everyone. I... I have the list of Travelers who disappeared this jaunt. Meaning they've probably either gone home, or they're stuck in a dungeon somewhere and they'll turn up again later.

It may not be a complete list, but... it's the closest I could get. [He takes a deep breath.] Here goes: Giovanni, Kain, Ravit, Ace, Shuu, Quinn, Ruvik, Souji - er, Souji Okita, that is - Tsurumaru, Annabel, and Ky.

I'm sorry.

Comments

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin lets out a frustrated sigh.] We know so little about what they want. My instinct is that, with this competition between them, they're not looking for others to fill the ranks. But it's just that - instinct. No basis in fact.

[Armin didn't like that any more than Naoki did - but they're past that now, and as such, barely worth thinking about. Or at least, not on the level of their current problems. So Armin doesn't respond to that part, only giving it a spare stray thought before moving on.]

[leftbehindagain]

[Naoki shrugs.] I don't think it's a war. If it were, they wouldn't care so much about finding people who suit them.

[...Well, okay, ROSE kinda... chose poorly, for the most part, and from what Naoki knows her marking Armin was more out of necessity than anything. But he trusts Sun's word over hers any day.]

We don't know what they want, but that means we can't rule out the possibility they want replacements, or the chance they don't.

[neverfeltthatway]

I don't necessarily think it's a war. Or at least, not a war as we understand it. But there's no question there's some form of competition.

[Whether ROSE chose poorly depends on what she chose them for.]

That's what I meant. I don't think they want replacements, but we don't know anything. [Instinct isn't even nearly enough reason to rule something out, or even offer it less scrutiny.]

[leftbehindagain]

Well, yes. It would've been difficult to get through the Grid and not see that. [And of course people were worried about outright war after the Devil showed up.]

We'll find out sooner or later. That or Naoto'll figure it out three jaunts before they even want to insinuate it.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin just nods. They don't know enough to draw any more reasonable conclusions - what else is there to say?]