Katawa no Tasogare [Twilight Zone Crossover]

[Episcia]

"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to Man. It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition; and it lies between the pit of Man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."

-Rod Serling
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Alright, here we go. After watching the first season of The Twilight Zone, I can't resist making a crossover between it and KS. Essentially, this fanfic will comprise of TZ episodes rehashed, starring KS characters.

Each episode will comprise of parts - very much like how TZ broke up episodes into segments to make room for advertisements. Of course, they will be variable in length, so this fanfic may expectedly be packed with short "minichapters", as they can be called.

No warnings needed.

I also apologize for my rusty writing skills.

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Episode 1: Where is Everybody?

[A deserted road, overlooking rice paddies. A young woman with purple hair, scars covering half her face and arms, walking hesitantly along the road. She often takes glances and squints around her, apparently looking for someone.]

We are looking at a female Asian, age approximately eighteen, height approximately 5'5". As to her name, where she is, and what she's doing there - this even she doesn't know. All she knows is she had a companion - a tall, blonde girl named Lilly - and she parted from her some way or the other. Hours of wandering have led her on this road, a road leading to a small town deep in the foothills and mountains of Japan.

The place is here, the time is now, and the journey into the shadows that we're about to witness could be our journey.

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Part 1

Loneliness.

That was the feeling most prevalent in the worried heart of Hanako Ikezawa as she trudged on the seemingly endless road. It was midday, and the heat and dust dampened her spirits even more.

Lilly, her blind companion, was nowhere to be found. Hanako can't even remember where they parted ways - she can only remember searching for her on this road, nothing more.

One thing Hanako had noticed was the lack of people - there were man-made structures, indeed, but not one person in sight. If she was still in Yamaku, such solitude would have been a relief - in this case, it gave her apprehension.

She was most worried about Lilly - in such an unknown environment, the blind girl would lack all sense of direction and be prone to incidents. For all she knew, Lilly may have bled to death, barely conscious in a ditch, her cane nowhere to be found, moans of pain, whispering a name-

No! I shouldn't be thinking of such terrible things. Hanako shook her head in an effort to get rid of the image, and walked on.

There's no use to worrying, she thought. If I can make it to town and have a search and rescue party for Lilly, everything will be alright.

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Hanako sat down in the bus shelter; the heat had gotten unbearable, and if she tarried, the sun may as well have claimed her for itself.

I must be close to town, she mused. Wherever there are bus shelters there are towns - and there I can get people to find Lilly.

She stood up and looked outside, along the road. A signpost for a town, previously unnoticed, told her that she was near. She continued on with heightened fervor, infused with the hope of Lilly's rescue.

You will be alright, Lilly. I'm coming for you.

[Mirage_GSM]

You're switching between past and present tense every second sentence here...

[Episcia]

Ugh, I thought I got rid of those! I'll go and look over it again.

[Oddball]

I'm can't decide whether I prefer to think of Kenji or Mutou taking Rod's place.

[Episcia]

Mutou all the way.

Kenji would be the guy from Escape Clause. Yes, I will make that episode in time.

[Episcia]

Alright, part 2. I hope I don't regret posting this in the morning.

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Part 2

[The same road as before, now leading into a small town. Storefronts that line the road seem to have been abandoned very recently - a fruit store with a full outdoor display, a teahouse with its door ajar, a convenience store stocked with items.]

What Hanako thought would be her and Lilly's salvation had her more panic-stricken than before.

The town seemed to be completely empty, devoid of all people. Only the steady noise of the air conditioning of the houses filled the otherwise silent scene before her. No cars ran, no bikes passed by, no pedestrians walked along the sidewalks, no shopkeepers swept their storefronts. There was not even a cat, dog, or bird in sight or hearing - it was as if the entire biological presence in this world was simply wiped out, leaving only her and Lilly in an inexplicably abandoned Earth.

I haven't looked inside the shops yet, she thought. Maybe everyone is inside - I would head inside, too, with this heat.

Her forays into the shops dismayed her further. A visit into a fruit store ended up to be fruitless, as the shopkeeper seemed to be away - she took an orange and placed some money on the counter before she left, just in case the shopkeeper ever came back. It was then that she felt a misgiving, a paranoid feeling - she shook it off, eating the orange as she left, heading to a tea shop on the other side of the street.

The distraction of the orange's sour-sweet taste did little to help her nerves as she continued into the teahouse.

"H-hello? Is anyone in?"

The teahouse gave Hanako an impression of being abandoned just before she arrived - cups of tea, some of which looked full and steaming, some of which still not out of their tea cozies, dotted the room; half-eaten pastries lay alongside them. As she milled about the room, she gasped and yelped in surprise as a kitchen timer went off behind the counter. She pushed the counter door open and entered the kitchen.

The kitchen was full of signs that people worked here very recently. The sound of kitchen noises filled the room; cakes lay on tables to be topped with icing; mixing bowls full of cake mix - one of them still had a mixer running in it. An apron lay on the floor in a crumpled heap, as if it was dropped.

There's something very wrong here, Hanako thought as she looked around the empty teahouse. This isn't right! It just is absurd. It looks like everyone disappeared, just before I came in here!

"A-anyone? Is anyone h-here?" The worry and apprehension showed clearly on her voice and face. "I-if you are playing a j-joke on me..I don't l-like it!"

No response.

"S-stop this joke! Sh-show yourselves!"

Still, no response. The possibility fully formed in her mind - a thought that shook her to the core.

Are we alone?

She ran outside and frantically looked around - no one in sight, no sounds heard. The sheer terror of the thought struck her, and she froze in catatonic horror.

Lilly? Where are you? I need you..

I don't want to be alone!