Sunsets in Paradise (Sanders Side's Simulation AU)

Simulation.

"Doctor Picani," The man was tall, with glasses hanging low on his nose. "You have been called upon by the council of secrecy."

Picani rests his hands on his lap. "I understand," he says. "That this is for a serious matter?"

"Yes," the Man pushes his glasses back to stare down at the doctor. "We trust you will act unusually seriously for this. Having seen previous documents, I understand this may be hard for you."

"No, no, not at all." Picani smiles. "It's a rather simple matter, Sir, time changes us all."

"And what a lonely time it must have been," a woman behind the man said, peering over a clipboard. "Without your friends?"

"I have missed them." He says. "Though I cannot say that they have ever truly left me."

"In a simulation," the woman says. "They have no idea of this world."

"When we discontinued the process of simulation splitting," The man in glasses began. "We intended to pull the players out before they could blend into the simulation. Your friends disobeyed, or failed to get out quick enough. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Picani smiled. "My friends failed to get out of a simulation designed to fix their problems."

"To fix Thomas' problems." A person in a beanie said. "To get Thomas to be stable." They added.

Next to them, another person, with multicoloured hair and eyebrows, lay on their shoulder. "There wasn't any other way to fix it."

"I understand," Picani flashed the two a smile. "That you were both close friends of Thomas'?"

"Yes," The person in the beanie said. "Joan," They gestured to themselves, "and Talyn," They gestured to be person with multicoloured hair. "You might remember?"

Picani sighed. "All too well." He says. "It's nice to meet you in person, Joan, and You, Talyn."

The man in glasses cleared his throat. "The point of this meeting has been to make the point clear," he says. "The point being that you will be sent into this simulation to not only retrieve all the sides, which will then form Thomas upon outing, but the man sent to get him- Remy."

"I understand," Picani smiled. "You made it clear."

"And upon his outing," The woman behind him piped up. "Remy's, of course, you will then be sent back to where you were summoned from, and this line will be reset. Do you understand?"

"Reset?" Picani echoed. "Sir, I don't quite understand."

"Your existence will cease. In order to set the line straight, we must make exceptions," He said. "You were summoned from a series of Thomas' videos, as had the sides been. Remy was summoned from a series of shorts. You will be sent back there, and if your existence fails it will not have been in vain. You will be remembered. But the line will be set straight."

"This will be nothing but an odd dream to Thomas," The woman said. "You will be nothing but an odd dream."

Joan looks over at Talyn. "We'll get Thomas back, though?"

"Of course." Picani looks over at them. "I'll bring him back."

"And you agree with the consequences?" The woman says. "You swear you won't differ from your goal?"

"I swear." Picani says.

They give a weak smile.

The woman puts her clipboard down. "Then it's decided." She said. "We launch you in tomorrow. If you, between now and then, tell a single soul not in this room of this arrangement, you will be eliminated. Whoever you told will also be disposed of."