[There seemed to be no question about it--he'd been disconnected. No matter how he tried, Diarmuid couldn't contact him. And oh, had he ever tried. He'd tried, tried and tried again, all for nothing. And if he'd been disconnected, that meant there was nothing Diarmuid could do anymore. And that was how he'd come to resign himself to quiet contemplation sitting on the roof of the temple in the middle of the night.]

[It wasn't fair--no, it wasn't right. He would have been fine with the unfairness of it all if he had been the one fated to die. But this was simply wrong. Of the two of them meant to die at the hands of a cruel and traitorous Master, why should it be Diarmuid Ua Duibhne who survived? What was he next to the Hound of Ulster? Nothing. He was just a coward who could only run away, and yet he was the one to live while Cu Chulainn was left to an unjust and unfitting end.]

[And of course, of course the community would be there to record him when Diarmuid just wished to be alone with his thoughts. Was it out of a sadistic desire to show he was in pain? Or was it a way of pushing him into reaching out to his friends and allies in such times? It...was alright if he did, wasn't it? Would they think less of him, knowing he was just a weak coward who thought himself a knight? Perhaps he deserved to be thought of that way.]

Some of you...were meant to die in your respective worlds, were you not? I know it is not solely myself who evaded such a thing.

Do you ever wonder why? I wish to ask if any of you have ever stopped to think 'why was I able to be saved' when so many others on or off this community are not? What makes those of us that are spared different from those that are not? Is there rhyme or reason behind it, or are such choices made only by a community with the power of a fickle and selective god?

I want to understand. I want to know why...why-...

Why was it me rather than him?

[Even heroes had heroes of their own, people they admired and looked up to. Since Diarmuid was a child, there had been no knight greater in his mind than Ireland's Prince of Light, the greatest defender of Ulster. Diarmuid carried fond memories of hearing tales of his exploits exchanged among the Fianna, and vividly recalled dreaming of being a knight even half as loyal and courageous as he was.]

[But now he knew he wasn't and he never could be. What was Cu Chulainn renowned for? Being an impenetrable defense for Ulster, for sacrificing everything to protect his homeland? And Diarmuid? He was famous for stealing a woman and running. Pathetic. His life had no right to take priority over Cu Chulainn's, and the fact that Diarmuid survived while the other Lancer would not was inexcusable.]

[It simply was not right, and yet this was one injustice even a knight of the Fianna could not correct.]

Would you rather stay a member of the community for the rest of your life or leave it right now, if you had the choice?

In related news, yesterday was my four-year anniversary of joining it. Congratulate me or give me condolences depending on your view.

[A boat can be seen sailing through what appears to be some green slime... although anybody who knows about the human body may recognise that you're now seeing inside of it. What's that tour boat doing there...?]

[A pair of green blobs dressed as tourists are with Cosmo and Wanda and one of them speaks.]

For a germ you certainly ask a lot of obvious questions...

[Cosmo pops up and replies.]

We're not germs. We're magic!

[The male tourist blob takes a photograph of the fairies. The lady blob speaks up.]

Well, we're the stomach flu. We're contagious... Watch and learn.

[She touches some vertical part of the body and it all turns a sickly green.]

How many of you have attempted to change your futures due to information discovered from this... nexus? Has it been successful? Or did it crash and burn?

[He's curious, quite honestly, but nothing is going to change his course of action. Birkin is already beginning to make progress, and things are going smoothly. A definite deviation from his original plan, but he didn't get this far without learning how to adapt.]

One cannot deny that this opens a whole new window of opportunity.

[The video starts off with her laying there in her bed, sleeping. There doesn't seem to be anything special going on at first, but then suddenly, Athena flings herself up into a sitting position with a loud gasp. She pants heavily, clenching the blanket with her hands. A moment passes before she lifts a hand to her face. Tears have been rolling down her cheeks since the moment she was jolted awake.]

I'm...crying?

[She sniffles, wiping at her cheeks in a futile effort.] This is a bad omen...