He goes silent for a long time, looking away from Rei to the tabletop, the mug in his hands, the wall behind her, anything. It's a ludicrous suggestion, completely untenable, the kind of thing some hack would write up in those trashy tabloids. It's also the only thing that makes any sense.

"You think so, huh," he murmurs finally. "We're actual, literal aliens." He lets out a short, humorless laugh. "Maybe the Vista City Arcane wasn't just pulling stuff out of its ass after all."

He takes another gulp of his cocoa, wishing it was something a little stronger. "If that's true, though - why? Why would they wanna kidnap and brainwash a bunch of people just to be rockstars?"