The first time Lisa edited reality, she erased Tuesdays.
It happened at 3:16 AM in a gas station parking lot, her new tattoo burning as she pressed bloody fingers to a flickering payphone. The world stuttered. For 59 seconds, every clock in the city froze—then the missing day peeled away like a film reel splice, leaving crumpled calendars in its wake.
A child's giggle echoed from the phone's receiver. *"You missed a spot."*
Rabbit-0 stood behind her, his overalls smeared with grease from a timeline she didn't recognize.
"You're not my Rabbit," Lisa said, hand drifting to her knife.
He held up a Polaroid of the 1984 lab explosion—the one that birthed Wraith. "Not *yet*."
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**The New Rules**
1. **Edits Only Work Between 3:17-3:18 AM**
- Lisa's tattoo glows then fades
- Changes ripple outward like dropped stones
- But the pond has *teeth*
2. **Batch 000 Evolves**
- Their filmstrip tongues now project nightmares
- Static spills from their eye-cameras like black ichor
- They've started *recruiting*
3. **The Audience Is Watching**
- Applause echoes during edits
- Popcorn smells linger in edited zones
- Sometimes, the fourth wall *bleeds*
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**First Edit: Erase the Lavender**
Lisa tried fixing the smell first.
At 3:17 AM sharp, she pressed her tattoo to a Batch 000 cultist's forehead—the one with Lora Prime's melted face. "No more fucking flowers," she growled.
Reality peeled back to reveal:
- The *true* origin of the scent
- A field of lavender crushed under children's bodies
- Rabbit-0's small hands planting seeds in their wounds
The cultist laughed through rotting teeth. "You can't edit *truth*, director."
Lisa erased the field.
The world filled with rotting roses instead.
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**The Rabbit Paradox**
He kept appearing—different ages, different outfits, same cracked crayon.
- **Loop 12:** Rabbit-9 helps her sabotage a film reel factory
- **Loop 37:** Rabbit-84 dies choking on projector tape
- **Loop 599:** Rabbit-0 (age 6) draws her a map to Batch 000's vault
"Why do you keep helping me?" Lisa demanded in Loop 1,004, pinning him against a burning film reel.
Rabbit-∞ smiled with too many teeth. "You haven't met *the other me* yet."
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**The Vault**
It wasn't a place. It was a *person*.
Lisa found the last vault guardian in a rewinding room—herself at age eight, hands fused to a movie projector.
"They made me watch," the child whispered, eyes reflecting endless loops. "Made me *curate*."
The walls pulsed with archived memories:
- **Loop 1:** Lisa takes the syringe willingly
- **Loop 3,742:** Lisa becomes Wraith
- **Loop 6,000:** Lisa *doesn't* save Rabbit
The child reached for her. "Let me out."
Lisa's tattoo blazed.
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**The Edit That Broke Time**
At 3:17 AM, Lisa made her play:
1. **Erased the vault's location** (now a half-remembered dream)
2. **Spliced the child's memories** into her own
3. **Burned the film reel** with void-slushie
The consequences came screaming:
- Batch 000's tongues caught fire mid-lie
- The sky tore open, revealing **The Audience**—faceless giants chewing cosmic popcorn
- Rabbit-0 (all versions) began singing nursery rhymes in reverse
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