Frank is still there, in front of you, and while questions to this point have been fruitless, it's entirely possible he has some knowledge you haven't wrung out of him.

: So uh, could you give me some of those tokens the others have?

Frank looks over Machinegun Axel, as if judging him.

: Hmm... no.

: What? Normally there's some sort of dice roll involved.

: You are strong enough without those tokens. Plus, you just assume that I was the one who gave them to you all. Why would I have any?

: ... fair enough, but what about what you were whistling?

Frank just ignores this question. He doesn't even dignify it with the acknowledgement that he heard the question asked.

The hours dragged on. You felt like it had actually been weeks since you began conversing with Frank. Time has crawled to a stop, and you are becoming bored with the tedium of this space, even though you have a stranger in your midst.

Ruukan decides to utilize this time, honing their fire techniques.

Ruukan rolls 1d20. Rolls 17. Success.

Ruukan makes a nice big fire for everybody. Unfortunately, there's nothing for the flame to catch on to, so Ruukan has to continue to hold the fire for as long as he wishes it to burn. Frank takes this opportunity to take a seat, and look at the fire burn.

: I don't think I've told you this yet, but you three are an interesting group.

You perk your ears. Frank hasn't really been the conversational type, and hasn't exactly offered up any information. Desperate not to screw this up, the three travelers fixate on Frank, without having said a word.

: You all have at least a vague idea of how you got here.

Frank points to Machinegun Axel.

: You fired a mana bullet, which went horribly wrong, and lost your guns.

Frank nods in the direction of Syrenne.

: You were f***ing around with ruins, I'm not sure what you expected.

Then he stands up, and looks down upon Ruukan.

: But your story is the strangest of them all.

He closes his eyes, and thinks before he speaks further. The atmosphere is so tense, you could cut it with a knife. He glares, and you think he is mad.

: You seriously mean you ended up here because you... fell asleep.

You all faceplant into the void.

: At least the other two have stories that make sense. They were messing with the arcane. You just... fell asleep.

: Yeah, basically. There was also an annoying banana involved, but let's not mention him.

: I just kind of wonder where your previous companions went. It's like they just stopped existing one day.

: Yeah, it was kind of lonely for a while. I miss some of those guys.

: Some?

: Yeah, there was this awesome Japanese pirate named Daisuke, that served under my friend Puckman.

: I see. And he vanished too, obviously.

A few minutes pass.

: I have a theory.

: Please, tell us anything you know. I'm all ears.

: It ties back into why this guy is here.

He says this, pointing back at Ruukan.

: Have you tried just manifesting these people you miss so much?

Ruukan sits there for a few minutes. He realized that in the entire time he'd been here, while he'd wished for companionship, and even tried to wake himself up to no avail, that only recently did he believe it was possible this world was the reflection of their psyches.

: I take it I just touched upon a nerve.

Ruukan decided that it was time to take a chance.

: OK, what do you have in mind?

: I want you to close your eyes, and remember everything about that pirate you just told me about. Everything. The way he looked, the way he talked, and what his role was in your story up to this point. Then I want you to will it into existence.

: Wouldn't that be the same as wishing?

: Not at all. A wish may come from the heart, but if this truly is an extension of your psyches, the answer lies elsewhere... your head.

: How is wanting something with my head any different than wanting something with my heart?

: This isn't about want. This is about will. You aren't wishing for Daisuke to return. You are telling this world that Daisuke exists.

: Just try it, Ruukan. We have no better options.

Ruukan closes his eyes, and remembers Daisuke. How he nobly followed Puckman. How he only spoke in Japanese. How he mostly just agreed with people. How he was once brainwashed into doing things he didn't want to do. How he smelled. Which was kind of weird, but Frank did say "everything".

Finally...

: Sōda!

You cannot believe what you are seeing. Or hearing. What the f***?

Ruukan then wonders if Daisuke is actually his original self or is this place just capable of producing representations of the things we think about. (Like the difference between a image and a projector making the image etc)

Regardless Ruukan then simply states that maybe this happened because he doesn't actually sleep that often.. and when he does awake from his sleep he usually feels like he's been through the wringer physically and mentally.

Also he feels a bit relieved that his fire magic seemed to do at least something without catastrophe.

If I ever make it back to the real world, I need to hone my social skills. Even if my bullets are now words, I can't miss my target and taint my name.

Frank just said I'm strong enough on my own. That was kind of unexpected, but even more was the fact he knows why I'm here while I only have blurry memories. I'm not surprised I could get here because I tried to fire something I shouldn't, in fact I prefer that explanation over having been picked by a playful God or something along the lines.

This place is an extension of our psyches, Daisuke appears out of the blue... This means we can manifest things in here if we "convince the world" of their existence. And I wasn't aware Ruukan is actually a veteran, his attitude of giving zero f***s about everything truly hides any and all intentions.

I shall refrain from manifesting weapons for now as I see no use for them, though that pirate would surely love what can I craft for him if he's truly a comrade. I will only sit back and continue watching the show, Frank is finally sharing his knowledge and we should not do anything that changes his current mood of helping us out. I want to see what else can we discover by his side and get to know the new recruit.

I'm still not too sure about being able to create a permanent fixture through the manifestation of our imagination, it seems a little too good to be true, but at the same time, wouldn't we just be able to manifest ourselves an exit home? That's what's bothering me. Daisuke might only be a temporary occurrence but if he isn't Ruukan might just be more powerful than he's letting on. I'm not too sure what to think of this strange, to say the least, pirate... While I do know I was exploring ruins I wonder what would happen if other explorers tried to scavenge those same ruins, would they also appear here. This is all too weird and it's all seemingly pointing to Ruukan. This is one crazy reality, I didn't sign up for.

: Sōda!

: Is... is that really you, Daisuke? Or are you an illusion?

: s***sumon ga rikai dekiru ka wakarimasen.

: Say something only Daisuke would know.

: Watashi wa Daisukedesu.

Daisuke then shrugs.

: Ugh... I really need to get more sleep. Good sleep. This isn't good sleep. This sucks.

Everybody sits in silence for a moment, pondering what they should do next, now that they have grown in number. What was once a lonely existence for Ruukan has become festive. What was once one became three, with the addition of Machinegun Axel and Syrenne. Then three became four, with Frank showing up to the party. Then four became five, as Daisuke seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Daisuke took a swig of imaginary beer, as if on autopilot. He would have loved a beer, but this place has no beer. Food. Drink. Anything.

Your stomachs begin to rumble, as you realize that you haven't eaten in a long time, especially Ruukan.

Or did you imagine it?

Ruukan recounts how long he's been in stasis. He never asked Machinegun Axel or Syrenne what year it was.

: Say, guys, this only came to mind... but what year was it when you left?

Both Machinegun Axel and Syrenne respond at the same time.

: Year 17 AL

: 2020.

Then Daisuke shrugs.

: Zero.

The party was shocked... did Daisuke just speak English?

As they rushed him, he threw his hands up.

: Nandeshou? Watashi wa `zero' kara kite iru to itta!

You don't know much Japanese, but you have more or less figured that the Japanese word for zero is... zero.

You begin to settle down before you realize all of you come from different time periods. Ruukan never told anyone which year he came from, but he knew he came from year 0. He decided to keep this information to himself for now, as he felt it would come in handy later on.

Then everyone's eyes fell to Frank... or where they thought Frank was. The man had been strangely quiet. Like he was kind of quiet before, I guess, but now, he was even more silent. Almost as if he'd disappeared.

Actually, on second look, it appeared he had. Frank was nowhere to be seen.

We come from different time periods? Man, this is getting way too crazy. We are now on a different dimension where timelines can overlap themselves and... Bah, no point on trying to understand, let's just go with the flow.

Ruukan holds an ace up his sleeve as a veteran, that's for sure. He managed to somehow summon back a comrade, which means there is a way out of here, but did Ruukan actually find that way out or was he trapped here all along until we two arrived? Too many things to think of, and not all of them seem to have a good ending. We should probably start thinking about sacrifices, if the time has to come...

Frank has vanished the same way he appeared. I won't rack my brains and come up with theories about this, all that matters now is that we're back to being four. I hope Daisuke and Ruukan don't make a team and leave me and Syrenne behind, we should work as a team to find a way out (at least those of us that actually want to get out).

I honestly don't know what to do at this point. We're at a dead end here, and once again, we rely on someone we just met, whether it's an old comrade of Ruukan or not. Maybe I should try to materialize something like Ruukan did, but what exactly could I call forth is an answer I don't have. And exploring some more in this wasteland with no clear direction to see if we stumble upon something or someone like happened with Frank is more a random thought than an idea.

"Well this is certainly an unusual, but somehow par for the course situation i've found myself in"

Ruukan asks the other two members (not daisuke) If they were perhaps hoping/wishing if there was someone here to help us in this predicament when it happened.

"If Frank simply appeared and then disappeared.. Perhaps we're in a place that can replicate our wants if we desire it enough.. But it can't cope with more than 1 humanoid, so the older one gets removed, Sounds crazy i know.. but i'm used to crazy.. and sometimes the most illogical answer is the most logical of all!"

After saying his piece Ruukan simply back to doing what he does best.. which is not whistling at all.. .