The Tokyo 7-Eleven smelled like burnt matcha instead of strawberry syrup. Lisa-prime's new third eye pulsed as she read the neon sign outside:
**"WELCOME TO LOOP 5999"**
A shadow moved in the frozen foods aisle.
*"Took you long enough,"* sighed a voice like shattered glass.
Lisa-6000 leaned against the slurpee machine, her body flickering between:
- A child in a bloodstained hoodie
- An old woman with golden wiring for veins
- A *thing* with too many joints and Wraith's smile
*"They're harvesting *time* now,"* she said, tossing Lisa-prime a *severed finger* with Rabbit's tattoo. *"You've got three loops left to stop it."*
---
### **THE NURSERY IN THE WALLS**
The backroom freezer opened into:
**A. Version 1:** A 1950s American diner where a woman with Lora's face served *liquid memories* in coffee cups
**B. Version 2:** The Arctic facility's meltwater tunnels, now filled with *floating children*
**C. Version 3:** A blackboard scrawled with *"DON'T TRUST THE TIGER"*
Lisa-6000 grabbed her wrist. *"Watch."*
The walls bled into a new scene:
Rabbit-0 (age 6) sat cross-legged in a white room, drawing the same stick figure *thousands* of times. Each version had:
- Lisa's knife
- Lora's scar
- His own *missing* left eye
*"He's not the key,"* Lisa-6000 whispered. *"He's the *artist*."*
---
### **LORA-9'S GAMBIT**
The flamethrower-wielding medic kicked in the door, her barcode *glitching* between numbers.
*"We *leave* now,"* she ordered, firing at Lisa-6000.
The ancient Lisa *caught* the flames and *ate* them.
*"Still predictable,"* she chuckled, then turned to Lisa-prime. *"Ask her *why the loops smell like lavender*."*
Lora-9's eye twitched. That was enough.
Lisa-prime stabbed *both* of them.
---
### **THE REVEAL**
Dying, Lisa-6000 gasped:
*"Check *your* scars."*
Lisa-prime rolled up her sleeve. Beneath the 404 tattoo, tiny numbers counted down:
**LOOPS REMAINING: 2**
Lora-9 coughed blood. *"It's not a time loop. It's a *selection process*."*
The freezer door creaked open.
Rabbit-0 stood there holding a crayon.
*"Who's ready for *show and tell*?"*
---