I stare in silence. Time had frozen, particles of dust and dirt lay suspended in the air alongside Avery and Shaz. Sitting before me was a new arrival, someone I hated, someone that could never leave my mind, shaping all my actions and decisions for many years.

Yet, I could not feel rage, damn it that I wanted to. Instead I could only feel an uncomfortable sense of relief now that I had a way out of this impossible situation.

“You’ve been working hard.” Dundee says in the likeness of Taiga.

“Why me. Why do you go out of your way to torment me specifically?” I immediately ask.

“I don’t, not you at the very least.”

“Then why haven’t you wiped my memories, or let me die, or just left us alone. Why did I of all people have to meet you?”

“I dunno, I guess I just found you interesting.” He gives a non-committal answer. “But I have done nothing but help and be lenient to you. Your biggest tormentor is yourself and you know it.”

“Don’t lie…” I squeeze my fists in anger then drop my eyes. “Without you everything would have been fine.”

“Really?” I could feel Dundee metaphysically raise his eyebrow behind his mask. “You, who could not even live without your brother, stuck to him like a leech, would be fine right now?”

“I don’t care, anything would have been better than ending his life. Also.” I grit my teeth. “There’s no way he would have agreed to give up his life so easily so you must have manipulated him as well.” I begin pacing around aimlessly.

“I think you underestimate how guilty your brother felt about you after he returned back home.” Dundee replies. “He thought he ruined your life by spoiling you so much with you being such a mess without him.”

“I won’t believe anything that comes from your mouth.”

“Don’t be dense.” Dundee then shakes his head and then goes quiet. “I don’t typically manipulate memories and emotions, I can, but… I don’t like it, you know why?” For once Dundee’s human side seemed to crack through.

“People are interesting you know. If everybody just became a branching personality of my own mind, as if they were dolls... Well, it would be like I’m just talking to myself.”

Why?… “Are you… Lonely?” I say hesitantly.

Dundee stares at me for a couple of seconds. “No comment. Now, didn’t you want to ask me a favor?” He changes the subject abruptly.

“Oh, that’s right.” I growl under my breath, then take a deep breath. I would not lose any sleep if this murderer was a little sad, no point in digging any deeper.

“Send me back, back when we’re still on the river; I can get us out.” I then say.

“Are you sure?” Dundee says to my supreme annoyance.

“What do you mean ‘are you sure’ are you fucking—“ I internally slap myself and quickly calm down.

“Yes, please send me back.” Enough of this clown, no point in entertaining him.

Dundee then side eyes me, not responding for a couple of seconds. “I can do you one better. I’ll send you back a week before Actla’s death.” He drops these words out of nowhere.

“…” In that instant, all of the systems in my body freeze, my lungs, my heart, my mind, everything.

“No— Right now?”

“Yea, it’s your choice, but if you leave now Yeluh will kidnap your friends over here, and I’m sure Torika told you all about what the red division does to their prisoners. Especially Yeluh.”

“I mean, time is a fickle thing. If I save Actla Taiga will never get his powers right?” I say in desperation.

“If it’s not Actla it’s going to be someone else, that’s for sure.” Dundee surprisingly says.

“You… Aren’t going to deny that I’ll be able to save Actla? Your old self is still there isn’t he?” I ask slowly, I had lost all my fighting spirit towards Dundee and could only feel confused.

“My old self will most likely find your situation interesting enough to give you a choice. I know you think I’m being cruel by making you decide between saving these people or your brother, but I’m afraid that’s the only way you can so and so, ‘win.’”

“So-” My vision becomes unfocused and I stare at the ground. I have a… way? A way to fix everything?

“Then how about you? How about you take care of these three instead? You definitely have the—“

“No, I’m afraid you don’t understand, the only reason you can save one, is by abandoning the other. If I end up saving these three, you will not be able to strike a deal with my old self. He will not agree to anything unless you sacrifice something else you value.” Dundee repeats this for a second time and only now did the realization dawn upon me.

“Oh.” I look at Avery, frozen in time, her eyes were open, gazing into the distance, terrified beyond belief. She didn’t know what was going on, everything just went wrong in the span of a couple of seconds, and then there was Shaz, lying limply face-up on the ground, he was clutching his chest tightly, presumably dead from an induced heart attack.

I look away, feeling a new weight that was dropped onto my shoulders

“So that’s your decision…” Dundee murmurs before extending his hand, now feeling a distinct tug of dissociation from my body.

“What changed between present and old you? Why are you giving me a choice now?” I could hear a twinge of shame in Dundee’s voice when talking himself.

“You’re interested enough for the real truth?” Dundee asks politely.

“…Yea.” I say hesitantly, a far cry from my attitude a minute ago.

“I do it to…” Dundee falters and pauses on that word.

…

…

…

“Hmph, I guess I do it just to screw with you.” Dundee twists his hand and sends me whirling across time and space.

What? I blink a couple of times. Sand and dust running through my hair, the sun beating down on my face, it was a landscape I was all too familiar with.

I look down at my body, taking a look at my hands and arms. My dense and toned arm muscles had completely vanished, replaced by a thinner skinnier… and shorter arm.

I frantically pat over my face and belly. Whoa Wait! I trip over my leg as my sense of balance completely distorts, getting adjusted to my new weight.

Ah! I stumble over a ledge right in front of me, plummeting down an unknown height. Why am I on a rooftop??

I realize it midair.

I hear a sudden gasp, sand splaying all over the air as feet dig into the sand. Just before I hit the sand a familiar pair of hands intervenes, stopping me before I hit my head.

“Are you okay?!? Polly?”

The wind blows against my hair and face as time crawls to a stand still. I did not use Anku, I did not have any special time powers like before, time simply stopped.

“I’m… I’m doing fine.” I smile from ear to ear to my brother, Actla.

I sit there gleefully listening to stories of Actla’s adventures through the desert, just as I did years ago.

“It turns out the people causing trouble were actually from Lysteria. They wanted to create an outrage and make Shesu take a side by pretending to be from Oliviand.” Actla suddenly deviates from his old words, ending the story early.

“Anyways, enough about me, you seem… different.” He says with a curious tone. Rather than the fearful tone from before.

I smile then stand up, twirling around on my tip toes before grabbing my brother’s hand. “There’s a lot I want to tell you, but first, let’s go see mom and dad.” I have unfinished business with them.

“Oo, I also want my hair cut, it’s getting way too long.” I say as I drag Actla by the hand.

Things are going to be different this time.

“Whoa, what in the world happened to you, slow down! I can’t keep up!” I run across the streets of town joyfully. I hadn’t had energy like this in a long time. Also despite shrinking back to a fourteen year old I still had the Anku and skills of my grown-up self, which meant I was almost as physically capable as well.

“I’ve been practicing ya know?” I duck and weave under surprised townsfolk, like a little rat scurrying through the street.

But also, I wanted to be the first one in that door, for the longest time I was too scared to talk to my parents. Now I needed to prove to myself that they were nothing to me.

However I do eventually slow down as I skid down my neighborhood. Actla quickly catching up from behind.

“You’re faster than me, how’s that possible?” Actla pants, out of breath.

“I want you to come up with some theories before I tell you later.” I say with a mischievous undertone. I was relatively talented, but it took years of pain in The Eye to get where I was now. Nowhere even close to someone like Taiga. Improvement like this was bound to raise some eyebrows.

…

I quickly shut out my last thought and look forward. I could feel nothing of my old whimpering personality still inside of me. Instead it was replaced by a smoldering fire.

“Hey Actla.” I say while still staring at the door.

“Yea?”

“Do you still hold a grudge against mom and dad like you used to?” I ask a question I was always too afraid to ask before. “Because I still do.” I knew for a fact that they heard my voice from inside as well.

Actla slightly gapes his mouth in surprise. “Wha- What are you talking about?” He nervously chuckles.

“I know you can hear us, come outside you freaks.” I say something I was REALLY afraid to say but always wanted to say.

“Hah?” Actla could only gape at me.

“You finally got a spine haven’t you?” Dad comes out with his fist in his palm. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to have to put an end to that.” He cracks his knuckles and walks forward.

“Wait, no! She’s just being-“ Actla tries to come between us, but I walk forward as well and gently push him out of the way.

“Thanks, but it’s my turn to take care of you.” I smile at him and then lunge forward at ludicrous speeds. Dad only had time to step back in surprise before I jumped up and slugged him across the face, overpowering him in an instant. I wince as my shoulders and joints immediately over-stretch from not being used to my capabilities, but the release of satisfaction is well worth it.

“Always wanted someone strong didn’t you? That’s why you guys tortured Actla and me for years to qualify us for Agate status. Well you guys got one! You fucking did it!” Only I failed, I couldn’t take the hellish eat, study, train, sleep regime and broke down, turning me the way that I was.

Mom quickly comes out and gasps at the scene. “Who? What’s going on?!?”

I immediately eye in on her and also begin walking forward.

“Polly!” Actla roughly grabs me from behind and shoves me away. “Cool down! Please tell me what the hell happened because there’s no way this is you right now!”

“You were worried about me right?” I say quietly. “Worried that I was hopeless without you?”

Dad groans and slowly attempts to gets up, spitting out a bloody tooth. “Where…. When did you learn that…?” He slowly picks himself up.

“Polly this is not how you… Did Dundee have something to do with this?”

My skin quickly turns cold. Huh? I try my hardest to stop my hands from shaking. That’s strange, I thought I got over this a long time ago.

I chuckle nervously. “He isn’t important.” However, I break eye contact for a split second, and that’s all it took for Actla to nail me.

“He is very important, to everything and everyone. You know that.” He says in a very stern voice.

“Hold on, hold on, who is this Dundee you two are speaking of?” My dad gets up. “What has he done to Polly?”

“I think they’re talking about me gramps.”

I swivel around immediately, where—

“Over here.” I turn around to a finger pointed at my nose.

“You really think you’re gonna do something don’t you?” A looming shadow, blocking out the sun from behind me stood Dundee in his old form and body, holding a finger to my nose with his thumb pointed up, as if it were a…

“Do you know what this hand sign is?” Dundee asks curiously

“It’s a gun isn’t it?” I say defiantly. “A weapon that was invented in another world, shooting a sharp cylinder that can kill with the squeeze of a finger.” Something I heard from Taiga’s story when we were still in The Eye.

“Mmhm, that’s correct. I’ve traveled many worlds, stumbling across some variation of it many many times, and it always fascinated me the most out of all the weapons I’ve come across. It only takes a single pull of the trigger to end someone’s life, no matter the gap in skill or strength. It’s the great equalizer.”

“So? What’s your point?” I notice that time had stopped once again, Actla, my parents, every grain of sand had been suspended in motion except for me and Dundee.

“You already know what I’m talking about. Since it seems you’ve found a gun yourself, a gun your brother will pay the price for.”

Taiga huh?

…

“Lame.” I say after a short pause. “Go on, stop reading my mind and lets talk. I want to strike a deal.”

“Now, why would I do that?” Dundee says annoyingly.

“Because you’re just an addicted junkie trying his best to find new and exciting situations and stimulants isn’t that right?” I say with a vicious undertone. “After playing God for so long you’re bored of being too powerful.”

Dundee stares at me for a couple of seconds.

“Damn you’re right; it is boring when you know everything.” Dundee shakes his head at the ground, mocking, pretending, I’m not too sure.

“Okay, let’s talk.” He brings his hand onto his mask, taking it off.

…

…

I open my eyes to the rain starting to come down, I knew I had gone through this experience hundreds of times already, but for some reason it felt very unfamiliar at the moment.

“Why am I back here.” I murmur. Something happened, I knew it, but there was now a clear void in my mind between then and now.

I would soon feel an overwhelming sense of urgency overtake me, as I subconsciously reach for Avery’s hand.

“Huh? What are you?…”

Adrenaline, Oxidase, Beta Lactamase, anti-histrogens, a cornucopia of various drugs flood both our bodies, some I wasn’t even aware existed, unfamiliar knowledge of disease somehow implanted into my mind.

Avery gasps from shock as a plethora of side effects wrack her body from the inside out, but it was just enough to ensure no major long-term damage.

I grit my teeth as my body responds the same, but I have to pull through, I need to get this girl out of here.

“What are you…” Shaz says before his voice fades out. For the final time, Taiga and Shaz fall down. Both of them, I would have to abandon if I was going save one person.

What deal did I make with Dundee? Why would I willingly choose to forget what happened?? Or was it not by my own choice? I clear my head, deciding to think about it later as I grab Avery and sling her over my back. Immediately disease began to synthesize within my own body, yet all of them were counteracted immediately, antidote after antidote.

150 meters, 150 meters, 150 METERS. I begin to keel over as pain wracks my body, the antidotes rapidly fading. However, once I was 150 meters away, supposedly Yeluh would no longer be able to control his Sananku anymore due to distance, and we could finally get away.

I scream as blood begins coming out of my eyes. I was used to this level of pain, but right now was different. Right now, someone else’s dreams also depended on me, and I would not sacrifice it for my own selfishness.

I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you, I’m going to fucking tear your throat out Yeluh. I chant this in my head, distracting myself as I slug through the mud. My vision a mixture of rain and blood as water dripped down into my eyes.

I grab onto a tree as my neck was getting too tired to even lift. My legs wobble as I desperately claw myself forward. In a last ditch effort I throw myself forward thumping onto the ground. I carefully catch Avery as she tumbles against the ground and lie down face first exhausted.

After a couple of seconds I lift my head up. I’m not dead, which means that we’re out of range…

I gingerly pick up Avery who was gently sleeping now and trudge forward.

I need to find Torika.