3.2.1

Content warnings: passive suicidal ideation, descriptions of a prisoner’s injuries (detail below; skip if you prefer surprises)

• Passive suicidal ideation, in that a character believes they don’t deserve to live.

• Descriptions of a prisoner’s injuries from an outsider perspective

~.~

When Silpa walked into the kitchen at 3 AM, they expected to find it empty. It was around the time in the week when the others started to give in to the need to sleep, so it was nearly silent in the pocket dimension. The only one who should’ve been awake, by Silpa’s calculation, was Haku, and Haku avoided the kitchen like the plague.

Silpa blinked a couple times, then shook her head to clear her vision. She hadn’t slept in a week, so maybe she was starting to see things. Or maybe, just maybe, Haku was actually sitting at the kitchen table.

Well, okay, sitting was a strong word. “Slumped over, face down, probably asleep, with a blanket over their shoulders” was more accurate. Ven was sitting next to them with clear concern on their face.

“Again?” Silpa said flatly.

“Yeah,” Ven sighed. “Again.”

“I see.” Silpa walked past the table into the kitchen proper. “How long did they spend in the mindscape this time?”

“Sixteen days,” Ven said miserably.

Silpa whistled. “New record.” She started rifling through the cabinets in search of something to eat. The shelves were mostly bare, but that was to be expected, since Kai had been too busy to swing by the grocery store last week.

“This is the third time in the last two months,” Ven continued, voice trembling. “It’s almost like they’re trying to drive themself into the ground.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Silpa interjected, fishing a granola bar out of its box. “I think they’re just upset about Max’s betrayal. Reasonably so. You would be upset, too, if you had failed to predict something that big.”

“It wasn’t their fault!” Ven cried. His voice was loud enough to startle Silpa into dropping her granola bar. “I just don’t get why they’re doing this!”

Silpa paused, halfway towards reaching for the fallen snack. Then, with a sigh, she closed the cabinet and turned to face Ven.

“I do.”

Ven cocked their head to the side in confusion.

“I was in their shoes once,” Silpa clarified. “Told early on that I had been chosen for greatness, and then killed before I ever got the chance to come into my own. That should’ve been the end of my story.”

“But it wasn’t,” Silpa continued, hopping onto the kitchen counter. “Suddenly I was back. Except everything was different—hundreds of years different. And Jinal was doing so much on her own and all I could do was watch. I wasn’t strong enough to help even though I desperately wanted to. If anything, I only slowed her down. How do you think that made me feel?”

“Oh,” Ven said quietly. “Everything you’re saying applies to Haku.”

“Exactly,” Silpa said with a nod. “When the rest of you were brought back in a last ditch attempt to save Jinal from certain death, Haku was the only one of us who didn’t know how to use their powers. While the rest of us desperately planned to save her, all Haku could do was watch. That’s why, as soon as they got their future sight, they practically begged us to let them be our future guide. They were nine. Haku was nine years old and looking at the death of the only person they knew and the possibility of that outcome was real and imminent.”

Silpa’s gaze fell to the floor. “My childhood was like that too. Jinal was my lifeline and she was constantly in danger. It almost felt like—like she had brought me back and I didn’t deserve it. Like I was living on borrowed time and I needed to prove, somehow, that this time wasn’t wasted on me. I felt like I had to spend my second lease on life earning the right to live.”

“But—“

“I know,” Silpa interrupted. “I know that’s wrong. But...” She gestured to Haku. “They don’t. They’re still trying to earn their spot at the table.”

“But that’s silly! It’s been 500 years!” Ven protested.

“Sure.” Silpa shrugged. “But you know as well as I do that living a long time doesn’t magically make your issues go away.”

Ven opened their mouth to retort, then fell silent, seemingly unable to summon the right words. With a sigh, Silpa hopped off the counter and walked over to the fridge.

“Want one?” she asked, pulling a bottle of iced tea out of the fridge. Ven’s expression morphed into one of disgust. A half smile crossed Silpa’s face as she shut the fridge.

“I don’t get how you can drink those,” Ven huffed. “The caffeine doesn’t even last long enough to do anything!”

“For the taste,” Silpa said with a shrug.

“The taste! Are you serious?” Ven said indignantly. “At least drink good tea!”

“This is good tea,” Silpa shot back, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“It is not,” Ven argued. Silpa opened the bottle and took a sip.

“You spend too much time around Kai.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re being too picky about your tea.”

“Wha—are you calling me a tea elitist?!”

“No, you just called yourself that.”

“Silpaaaa!” Ven puffed out their cheeks. “Stop messing with me!”

“I’ll think about it,” Silpa said smugly.

“No you won’t!” Ven tried for a glare but landed somewhere closer to a pout layered over a reluctant smile.

“You’re right, I won’t.” Silpa took another sip. “Got you to smile, though.”

Ven groaned. “That’s what you were trying to do?”

“Nah.” Silpa grinned. “Just trying to defend my tea.” Ven narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he turned back towards Haku with a sigh.

“Well, thanks for caring,” Ven said sullenly. “And thank you for caring about Haku, too.”

“Of course,” Silpa said gently. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”

An awkward silence settled over the pair, and Silpa took that as her cue to leave. She crossed the kitchen with every intention to return to her workshop, but as she reached the exit, she found herself turning back to get one last look at Ven. The younger immortal was adjusting the blanket over Haku’s shoulders with a sad smile. The worry on his face now carried traces of a deeper sorrow—the kind of heartbreak that comes with knowing that you cannot ease your loved one’s suffering. Silpa’s expression softened.

“Are you going to be okay?” Silpa asked.

“Yeah,” Ven said with a nod, still looking at Haku. “I’ll make sure Haku gets some rest.”

“I’m not asking about Haku,” Silpa said, giving Ven a knowing look. “I’m asking about you.”

“I…” Ven worried their bottom lip with their teeth. “I’ll be okay. This conversation gave me a lot to think about, but I feel like… I feel like I can do a better job supporting them now. So I’ll be fine.”

Silpa pinched the bridge of her nose. This kid was so, so bad at taking care of himself.

“Whatever you say,” Silpa sighed. “Just don’t try to shoulder everything yourself. That’s Haku’s job.” Ven let out a weak laugh.

“I won’t,” he said quietly. “And I won’t let them do that, either.”

Silpa sighed. Somehow she doubted both of those statements, but some problems just couldn’t be solved that quickly. With one last look at Ven, she left the room.

~.~

Karyme awoke with a start.

She was used to dreaming of the others, of course, so dreaming of someone else’s memories wasn’t a new sensation by any means—but it was always disorienting, and it always woke her up earlier than she wanted. Karyme glanced at her phone, hoping this time would be different, then fell back onto the bed with a groan. She was awake a whole hour before her alarm.

Karyme was not usually an early morning riser. Her plan had been to wake up around 7:30 am or so—they had all agreed the previous night to be ready to continue the soul hunt at 9 am, and even with the shared bathroom situation, 7:30 would give her plenty of time to prepare. Clearly, her brain had other plans.

Karyme sighed and slipped out of bed. No use crying over spilt milk.

The bathroom was blessedly empty, and Karyme took her time in the shower. As she relished the warmth of the water against her skin, she couldn’t stop thinking about her dream. The dreams she usually had of the others—or of the Ennead in prison—were random and sporadic. This dream, though, had felt intentional, as if Silpa had planted it there on purpose. Karyme’s gaze flitted towards the bracelet on her wrist.

What are you trying to tell me?

Karyme frowned and turned the shower off. She wasn’t sure of the answer, but it was probably wise to share what she’d seen with Peter, Juli, and Dani. She had a hunch that this information about Haku’s mental state would be useful to them somehow.

Unlike the bathroom, the kitchen was not empty. Joshua was sitting at the table with a laptop and a cup of coffee. There were a couple pop up boxes in the corner of Karyme’s vision—likely elaborating on his thoughts, his emotions, what he was looking at on his laptop—but Karyme kept them closed. Joshua was entitled to his privacy.

“Good morning,” Karyme sang.

“Morning,” Joshua grunted. He didn’t so much as look up at Karyme in greeting, but that was okay with her. She knew he didn’t mean any harm by it—that was just how he was.

Karyme entered the kitchen proper and started digging through the tea collection in the top cabinet—which, according to her power, belonged to Kai. Kai had good taste in tea, but most of it was loose leaf, and Karyme was a little too tired for that today, so she settled for the first tea bag she could find: earl grey.

With the help of the electric kettle, Karyme finished preparing her tea, then slid into the seat across from Joshua with mug in hand. She wasn’t hungry right now, and she had plenty of time to think about food later. For now, she had a different mission.

Karyme retrieved a thin metal disc from her pocket. As soon as she placed the disc on the table, it expanded outwards, and metal rods and panels popped out from the disc, folding together to form a laptop. Joshua blinked.

“What is that?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Silpa’s laptop, apparently,” Karyme replied. “Don’t ask me how it works, and don’t ask me where Joel found it.”

“Joel found it?” Joshua’s frown deepened.

“Sure did!” Joel’s voice rang through the kitchen with startling clarity. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Joel.” Karyme turned to greet the teenager with a smile, but the instruments in his hands made her pause. “Are those guitars for Guitar Hero?”

“Yeah!” Joel said excitedly. He held the two plastic guitars in front of him with a grin. One was a solid yellow, and the other was red with white accents. “I think they’re the originals, too! You know, from last century?”

Karyme clicked on the pop up box around the two guitars and used a pinch and zoom motion to get a closer look. The paint was worn and chipped in places, and the whammy bar on one of the guitars was broken, but they were overall in excellent condition for their age. The red guitar was marked with the year 2003 and the yellow one with the year 2005.

“Looks like you’re right,” Karyme remarked, closing out of the pop up boxes. “ Where did you find these?”

“In the living room! There’s a panel on one of the bookcases that opens up to reveal a video game cabinet,” Joel explained. “It’s pretty hard to find if you don’t know where to look.”

“I see.” Karyme briefly wondered which immortal would have kept these. Her bet was on Ven. “Were you thinking we could use this for our collab stream?”

“Yeah!” Joel exclaimed, leaning the two guitars against the wall. “I think playing a super old version of Guitar Hero would fit both of our brands, and I know both of us have experience with the game.”

“You’re dragging Karyme into one of your streams?” Joshua said dryly.

“I’m not dragging her into anything!” Joel protested, sticking out his tongue. “It was her idea! Karyme’s done plenty of collabs with streamers before.”

“You have?” Joshua turned to Karyme with a blank stare.

Karyme grinned. “I’m on the admin team for a website dedicated to archiving old media—things like TV shows, video games, movies, and comics. We also try to preserve the fan culture around those things so that future generations can remember what it was like. Sometimes I’ll collab with streamers and artists to raise awareness of the work we’re doing.”

Karyme conveniently left out the fact that this was her side project. She would rather die than have anyone here find her main blog and attached fanfiction account.

“It’s a super cool project!” Joel cut in. “Did you know that the first version of Just Dance didn’t have a built-in song recommendation system?”

“No, I didn’t.” Joshua took a sip of his coffee. “Since you’ve had time to think about streaming, I assume you’ve also had time to learn how to multiply matrices?”

“Jooosh,” Joel whined. “You can’t be serious! The world’s in danger and you’re worried about my pre-cal grade?”

Joel had been trapped in the pocket dimension for nine days, and with no indication of when the outside world would be safe again, Joshua had enrolled Joel in online courses to keep him up to date. Joel, understandably, was less than enthused about this, but Karyme had to admit that Joshua’s foresight was impressive. It was admirable, really, how far Joshua would go to try to give his brother a normal life.

“School is important,” Joshua said simply.

“Oh, come on!” Joel turned to Karyme with a frown. “Can you believe this guy?”

“Ohhh, no, no, no, don’t go using me to get out of this,” Karyme said with a knowing smile. “School is important, and if I had the money for it, I would go back and get another degree.”

“You’re kidding me.” Joel groaned. “I’m surrounded by nerds!”

Karyme laughed. “How about this? If you finish today’s homework before dinner, we can figure out the logistics of the stream afterwards, okay?”

“Fiiine,” Joel pouted. “I guess that’s fair.”

As Joel left the kitchen, presumably to go start his homework, Karyme was filled with a wave of affection for the teen. She could see why Joshua was so uptight all the time. If she had someone like that to protect, she would be anxious, too.

“He’s a good kid,” Karyme said earnestly, turning to Joshua. “You did a good job with him.”

Shock flickered across Joshua’s face for a split second. Then, his face settled back into its usual grumpy scowl.

“I didn’t do much,” Joshua said roughly, sinking into his chair. There was a brief pause as Joshua debated his next words. “Thanks for humoring him.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Karyme said warmly. “Really. And—” Karyme unlocked Silpa’s laptop with a few keystrokes. “You should take credit where credit is due.”

Joshua didn’t respond, but as Karyme began to sort through files on Silpa’s laptop in search of something useful, she couldn’t help but smile. Joshua would never say it, but she had a feeling she’d earned some of his approval today.

~.~

Walking through a village marketplace in Fiji, Juli decided, was very different than perusing the black market. For one thing, the goods were all bright and colorful and positioned to catch the viewer’s attention. Rows of wooden stalls with fabric roofs flanked the cobblestone path, and each seemed to sell something different: baskets laden with fruits of varying kinds, painstakingly carved wooden statues both miniature and gigantic, awe-inspiring tapestries woven from the finest thread. Everything, too, seemed tied to the local culture—or at least to the vision of culture that the town constructed for starstruck tourists. It was fairly crowded here, even though the sun had just barely risen.

So, Peter, Juli said mischievously, elbowing Peter as the trio passed a fabric stall. How much do you think that tapestry over there is worth?

Hmm, that’s tricky, Peter mused. He stroked his chin, as if he had suddenly grown an ostentatiously long beard. Maybe… one point five MJs.

Oh, really? Juli asked. I thought it would be at least two.

MJs? Dani frowned. What’s that mean?

Morgan Jackets, Peter said with a sage nod. It’s a good currency measure, don’t you think?

Now, now, let’s be fair to Morgan, Dani chided, and for a second, Juli thought they were in for a lecture. Morgan’s jacket was extremely expensive. There’s no way that tapestry costs any more than one point two MJs.

A grin split Juli’s face. So ya do have a sense of humor! Good t’know.

Just because I’m goal-oriented doesn’t mean I can’t laugh, Dani grumbled. Especially if it’s at the expense of rich people.

Amen! Peter cheered. Glad we can agree on something.

Juli didn’t hate Morgan for being rich—not really—but dreaming of Morgan’s life while growing up dirt poor had been tough at times. It was hard not to be a little frustrated when you saw the big boss’ daughter complaining about her closet full of dresses when you were barely able to put together three outfits.

So, Juli said, shaking those thoughts away. Since Glasses Man’s soul fragment is probably up for sale here, what’s the game plan?

Haggle, Peter said sagely.

Don’t ya need money to haggle? Juli asked, frowning. Like, no market guy worth their salt is gonna give you merch for free.

No, I think Peter’s onto something, Dani replied, stroking his chin. We haggle for something else as a distraction, and Peter floats the marble away.

This place is touristy enough that you should be able to speak English without any problems, Karyme chimed in. So at least you won’t stand out.

Juli jumped. Sometimes he forgot that Karyme was watching them. She had been pretty quiet this morning, but Juli figured she was probably focusing more on the other team, since the other team was supposed to get attacked soon.

Peter led the trio down a side alley into a more shaded part of the market. Here, the crowded buildings almost blotted out the sun, making it harder to inspect the wares properly.

That’s the one, Peter said, jerking a thumb towards a nearby stall. It seemed to be a stall focused on selling pottery, laden with a variety of animal figurines, bowls, and vases. The stall was manned by a middle-aged woman dressed in a flowery blue gown. Her gaze held a certain level of shrewd acuity in it.

Mkay, Juli confirmed. Target sighted. Just let us know when you’ve got the goods.

Will do! Peter gave Juli a thumbs up. Happy bargaining!

Peter darted into the shadows, and within seconds, Juli lost track of him. They weren’t worried about that, though; Peter might terrorize a couple people along the way, but Juli trusted him to get the job done.

Sooo, I’m assuming you’re good at this? Juli asked, turning to Dani. A devilish smile crossed Dani’s face.

Leave it to me, Dani replied, cracking his knuckles. Just follow my lead, all right?

Juli was suddenly very afraid for the shopkeeper.

“Hello,” Dani greeted, approaching the stall with Juli in tow. “I was looking for something with a turtle pattern. Do you have anything you would recommend?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” the shopkeeper said warmly. “Take a look here.” She retrieved a set of turtle figurines from behind the counter, all painted in different colors. Juli didn’t know anything about pottery, but even he could tell that the craftsmanship was impressive. The figurines were probably no bigger than a spoon, and yet the individual markings on the shells were so detailed.

“Hmm.” Dani perused the wares with a frown. “None of these are quite to my fancy, I’m afraid. Do you have anything pink?”

“No,” the shopkeeper replied. “We use natural paints derived from the materials around us. There is nothing in the area that could create a pink hue.”

“Unfortunate,” Dani lamented. He picked up a turtle with a blue shell and golden markings for closer inspection. “I suppose this one could do, except…” Dani narrowed his eyes. “No, no, never mind. This one is defective.”

“What?” The shopkeeper scowled. “Give me that.” She snatched the figurine from Dani’s hands. “What are you referring to?”

“Here,” Dani said, pointing to a spot under the right side of the turtle’s shell. “It’s chipped.” Juli squinted. He could not see anything wrong with that spot, and he doubted Dani could, either.

“You are seeing things,” the shopkeeper said sharply. “That spot is smooth.”

“Hmmm, are you sure?” Dani countered. “I think your eyes are deceiving you. Right here, see, the shell shouldn’t curve like that.”

Wow, Dani, I didn’t know you could act like a rich entitled customer, Peter chimed in.

Oh, hush, Dani said crossly. Did you get the soul fragment?

Yep! Peter said cheerfully. Got it a while back, actually. It’s starting to glow, though, so you might want to get somewhere more isolated.

Well, thanks for the timely warning, Juli said dryly.

“This is ridiculous!” the shopkeeper snapped. The pure venom in her tone startled Juli out of their thoughts. “What do you know about these things?”

“Enough to take my money elsewhere,” Dani said coolly. “We will be leaving now. Have a nice day.”

Dani led Juli away from the stall without waiting for the shopkeeper’s response. Juli’s vision was already starting to go fuzzy around the edges, and they could feel the vision starting to take over. Dani cursed under his breath. The two were practically jogging by the time they reached a suitably deserted alley, and then the vision ambushed them before they could even catch their breath.

~.~

Haku stared in horrified awe at the scene before them. Everything was on fire: their house, the neighbors’ house, the house across the way. The air was thick with smoke and heat, and Haku’s eyes stung with tears, but in Haku’s six-year-old mind, the village was only a secondary concern.

Haku let out a whimper and crawled over to the spot where their parents had stood mere seconds ago, before the fire had enveloped them too. There was nothing left of them except for twin piles of scattering ash. Haku clawed at the charred grass in despair as if that would bring their parents back, their whole body trembling with raw emotion.

They were gone. Everyone was gone.

With an anguished yell, Haku collapsed in on themself, burying their tear-stained face in their knees. They couldn’t understand it. Everyone and everything had been swallowed by dark flames, flames unlike any Haku had ever seen, but somehow Haku was still standing.

They should be dead. They deserved to be dead.

“Now, now, there’s no need for that,” a voice said calmly.

Haku’s head snapped up. A man had approached without Haku’s notice. The man’s silhouette was fuzzy, indistinct, almost blurred at the edges, and his skin was an unnatural dark gray. His jet black hair hid his eyes from view. Dark flames swirled around the man’s hands, leaping at anything that got close.

“You,” Haku growled, hurriedly wiping their tears away. “You did this!”

“You were taking too long to decide,” the man replied with a shrug. “I told you I would burn everything down if you did not come with me. What did you expect?”

Haku stayed silent. They wanted to scream, but guilt settled heavy in their chest, suppressing their words. Their parents had warned them against talking with strangers, so when the man had asked Haku to follow, Haku had fled—and now everyone was paying the price.

“I am a generous man, so I’ll offer again,” the man said smoothly. “Your soul for the safety of the rest of your village. What do you say?” The man extended a hand towards Haku with a sly smile.

Haku didn’t spare a thought for the man’s offer. He had killed their parents. He was clearly a bad man—not to be trusted.

Haku bit the man’s hand as hard as they could.

It wasn’t like biting into flesh. Their teeth clacked against each other, as if passing through mist. The man laughed.

“I see how it is,” he said coolly. “I will take your soul by force, then.”

“No!” In a flash of blue light, a woman appeared from thin air. She had dark skin—darker than Haku’s—and long, black hair in a ponytail that reached past her waist. Haku couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she looked too young to be an adult. She stood between Haku and the man with her arms outstretched, as if to protect Haku.

“I won’t let you do this, Yaran!” the woman growled. The man—Yaran—regarded the woman with a scowl, his eyes flashing a dangerous red.

“This is none of your business, girl,” Yaran said coldly.

“It became my business as soon as you tried to kill an innocent child!” the woman shouted. “I won’t let you do to them what you did to me.”

Yaran opened his mouth to reply, but the woman didn’t wait; she held a hand in front of her, and then a blast of sky blue light hit Yaran right in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Before Yaran could recover, the woman conjured a translucent blue barrier around herself and Haku.

“Hey, listen to me!” she said firmly, placing a hand on Haku’s shoulder. Her gaze was fierce as she looked Haku directly in the eye. “Your parents’ death isn’t your fault, okay? It’s his.”

“They’re dead,” Haku whimpered. It was the only coherent thought they could put together. Their parents were dead.

“Yeah,” the woman said quietly. “I’m sorry.” Her gaze held a deep, inexplicable sadness, and Haku didn’t know anything about this woman, but it was enough to make them want to hug her.

Yaran fired a beam of dark lightning at the pair, but the attack glanced harmlessly off of the shield around them. Jinal shook off her aura of sorrow.

“My name is Jinal,” she said, extending a hand towards Haku. “I know this seems like a silly time for introductions, but…”

A drop of water fell onto Haku’s nose from above. And then another, and another, and another. When Haku looked up, the sky was much darker than it had been just minutes earlier. A light drizzle began to fall around Jinal and Haku, dousing the remaining flames.

“It’s raining,” Haku whispered.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Jinal said lightly. “I just learned how to summon rain last year! Didn’t think it would come in handy this quickly, though.”

“You made it rain?” Haku asked, their voice small.

“Yep!”

Yaran fired another blast of dark lightning at the shield, but Jinal clapped her hands together, and a pulse of blue light radiated outwards from her core, strengthening the barrier. This lightning attack, too, fizzled out before it could reach the pair.

“Haku,” Jinal said, kneeling down so she was level with Haku. “It’s not safe here. I can get us out of here, but you’ll have to trust me.” She extended a glowing blue hand towards Haku.

“I know that this is super scary for you,” Jinal continued, “and I know that you have nowhere to go now. But if you come with me, I promise to keep you safe from now on. Do we have a deal?”

Haku hesitated. They weren’t supposed to go with strangers, and Jinal was a stranger. But as Haku looked from the dying embers around them, to the shadow man who wanted to kill them, to the fierce compassion in Jinal’s gaze, the choice was clear. With a deep breath, Haku took Jinal’s hand, and in a flash of blue light, the pair was gone.

~.~

Juli let out a slow, shaky breath. They could hear the staccato beating of their heart in their ears, and their mouth was dry with fear—not Haku’s fear, but their own. Yaran’s flames were just a smidge too close to the fire that had eaten Juli alive in Dimension X, and although this memory—unlike the last one—hadn’t involved being incinerated, it was still enough to cause Juli to panic.

Juli hated that.

Fire should not be making them so scared. Fire was theirs to control! This new phobia was silly, and irrational, and Juli hated the knowing look Dani was giving them.

Are you okay? Dani asked.

Yeah, yeah. It’s just—Glasses Man watched their parents die, Juli deflected. That shit sucks.

Uh-huh. Dani narrowed her eyes. Shit sucks indeed.

Eh, it could be worse, Peter said nonchalantly. He wasn’t standing anywhere near Juli and Dani, but his voice rang clearly in their heads. If you’re ready, we should head to the next location before Sniper catches us.

Yeah, okay. Juli fished their teleportation crystal out of their pocket with a miserable sigh. Maybe the next memory would be better.

~.~

When Rae had given them coordinates in the middle of the ocean, Peter had fully expected the soul fragment to be underwater, so it was a nice surprise when the trio ended up standing on a cruise ship instead. It wasn’t even a luxury liner, so Peter, Dani, and Juli didn’t stick out too badly as they navigated the halls of the ship. Peter couldn’t really understand the appeal of a vacation like this. He would never willingly pay money to trap himself in a metal box thousands of miles from civilization with no avenue for escape. It seemed so short-sighted, really, but who was Peter to judge?

Luckily, it was still morning in this time zone, so the ship was mostly deserted until they got to the restaurants and shops. As they approached the center of the ship’s activity, Peter’s bracelet pointed towards the breakfast buffet, so he quickly materialized three wristbands to allow the trio entry—and that’s where the trouble began.

It’s over there, Peter said bluntly, pointing towards a table of teenagers.

There were nine of them crowded around a single table—for some reason, they had not seen fit to push two tables together, so half of them didn’t have chairs of their own.

In the chair furthest from Peter sat the tallest guy in the group. He had the shittiest neon green hair dye job that Peter had ever seen, and his glasses were askew, owing partly to the guy in his lap, who was by no means a small person. Aforementioned lap guy was probably only a couple inches shorter than the first dude. Their hair was dark with the tips dyed blue, and their eyes were two different colors—not that Peter could tell what colors, because both eyes were squeezed shut as the two teenagers shoved and kicked in an attempt to knock each other off of the chair.

In the chair to the left of the brawling boneheads was a girl who basically looked like punk come to life, with dark eyeliner, multiple piercings, and wavy black hair in an undercut. She was having a good-natured conversation with the guy next to her, who had elected to do an awkward floor squat instead of pulling up a chair. He had a fluffy red mop of hair, and you could see his muscles even under his sweatshirt. Every now and then he shot a concerned look towards the center of the table—which was understandable, really, given the fact that two people were sitting on the table, back to back.

One was a lanky guy with dark coiffed hair and freckles across his pale face. He was speaking in an animated voice to the hamster cupped in his hands. Peter was fairly certain that sneaking animals on board was a crime, but he was no snitch. The other person on the table was a short kid with copper colored skin and chin-length hair the color of cherry kool-aid. They were gesticulating wildly as they lectured the person in the chair in front of them about the orange marble in their hand.

The person in the chair in front of Kool-Aid Kid seemed less amused. He looked like he had the constitution of a Victorian peasant, with pale skin and a dark bob and permanent bags under his eyes. Every few seconds he sighed and adjusted his red-tinted glasses. The girl in the chair to his right was filming the whole thing on her phone with a dazzling smile on her face.

It was the kind of chaos that made Peter feel at home. He’d never met these people, but Peter had a feeling that in another life, he would have fit right in.

Okay, okay, this isn’t the worst case scenario, Juli said weakly. At least we’ve found the marble, right?

And how in the hell are we supposed to convince those kids to give it to us? Dani grumbled.

Theft? Juli offered.

Well, yes, Dani said thinly. But Peter can’t just float it over to us with telekinesis like last time. As soon as one of us touches it, we’ll get a vision, and we don’t need to be jumped by the damn naval police for illegal power usage while that’s happening.

We’ll have to talk to them, I guess, Peter said with a shrug. Ask nicely, you know?

Yes, because teenagers love taking orders from adults, Dani grumbled.

Peter doesn’t look like an adult, Juli pointed out. Like, you and I definitely do, but Peter doesn’t.

Exactly! Peter grinned. I’m going to go gather some intel. You two stay here, and if things go south, you can bail me out.

Fine, Dani said thinly. Just be quick about it.

Dani and Juli walked over to a table on the outskirts of the restaurant, near the door, leaving Peter to his own devices. He surveyed the table of teenagers with a frown. It would be silly to approach them without an attack plan.

Peter, before you go—I think this cruise has youth entertainment activities, Karyme chimed in. Things like team scavenger hunts, game nights, and the like. My power is telling me that these teenagers haven’t signed up for any such activities, but I thought I’d tell you just in case.

That’s actually really good to know. Thanks! Peter said cheerfully. One other question: are the two kids fighting over that one chair trying to kill each other or kiss?

I’m not going to snoop on random civilians! Karyme said indignantly.

So even your power can’t figure out whatever those two have going on, Peter noted. I see.

No, Karyme groused. It can’t.

Well, that was unfortunate, but Peter decided to stay away from that chair as much as possible. He didn’t need to poke that mess with a ten foot pole. He materialized a blue marble in his closed fist as he approached the table.

“—should not eat that,” Victorian Peasant Guy said heatedly.

“Lawrence, my good man! Where is your sense of adventure?” Kool-Aid Kid replied. They held the orange marble in the air with an aura of reverence about them. “This marble was clearly sent down from the gods!”

“Oooo, a gift from the gods,” Videographer Girl snickered. “Tell us more, Rory.”

“Please don’t encourage them,” Lawrence groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“I am so glad you, at least, have an inquisitive spirit, Alexis,” Rory said solemnly. “Now then. Let me explain. When I approached the buffet table with voracity in my heart, I thought to select a pastry to satisfy my needs. There were many options! It was quite the conundrum.”

“Idk what you’re talking about, the custard ones are the best,” Hamster Guy called over his shoulder. He nuzzled the hamster in his hands. “Perses agrees, btw.”

“Ohhhh my god,” Punk Lass moaned. “Dick. Did you seriously bring your illegal hamster into the damn breakfast area?”

“Please, Mo,” Dick said haughtily. “Perses deserves to enjoy the delights on this cruise as much as the rest of us.”

“...And you’re taking him along so he can steal stuff for you,” Mo said flatly.

“Maybe!” Dick grinned. “If I really wanted to steal stuff, though, I would just ask Nick.”

“Where is Nick, anyway?” Awkward Floor Squat Guy asked, frowning. “He did come with us, right?”

“Who knows, Bryce,” Alexis muttered. “We’ll probably learn where he is when the fire alarm goes off.”

“In any case!” Rory continued. “I retrieved a delectable strawberry confection and returned to my place atop this hallowed dais. But soft! What awaited me was not a strawberry but this orange marble, as if it had been artfully plucked and deposited atop my meal with purpose and care. Clearly the gods are testing the limits of my courage!”

“So you’re going to eat the marble to prove your bravery,” Alexis finished. “I see, I see.”

“Glass isn’t edible!” Lawrence groaned.

“Not with that attitude, it isn’t,” Dick said sagely. “The limits of the human body are not as strict as you think. I, for one, believe in Rory’s vision!”

Peter suppressed a laugh. As much as he wanted to see what would happen if someone ate a soul piece, that would probably be bad for the fate of the universe—and maybe also bad for Rory. It was time to step in.

“Good morning!” Peter greeted, calling attention to himself.

“Hello, fellow denizen of this lovely watercraft!” Rory boomed. “How can we assist you on this fine day?”

“Just ignore this guy, Rory,” Lawrence sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He probably wants to sell us something.”

“Aw, c’mon, I haven’t even said anything,” Peter said with a frown. “Besides, I’m not just over here to make conversation. You have something I need.”

“We’re broke.” At some point, Cabbage Head and Lap Guy had stopped trying to kick each other’s teeth out. They were still a tangle of limbs, but now they were directing their shared animosity in Peter’s direction, instead.

“That makes two of us!” Peter said cheerfully. “Or, uh, nine of us…?”

“Just tell us what you want,” Cabbage Head snapped. His expression had morphed into one that was fiercely protective. Peter could tell immediately that he and Cabbage Head were not going to get along.

“The marble you’re holding,” Peter said, gesturing towards Rory’s hand. “I’m doing the scavenger hunt of the day, and it’s one of the items my team needs.”

“What?” Rory let out a theatrical and entirely too exaggerated gasp. “How can this be? Was the prophecy a falsehood all along? How am I to—”

“I’m not asking you to leave empty-handed,” Peter interjected. “See, my team specifically needs the orange marble, but the other team needs the blue marble. And I happened to find the blue marble, so…” Peter extended his hand. In his open palm sat the blue marble he had materialized earlier.

“You are proposing an exchange!” Rory exclaimed. “I see! How curious!”

“Not so fast!” Dick said quickly. “Allow me to appraise the goods in question. There are tricksters about, you know, and our Rory deserves only the fairest of trades.”

Before Rory could react, a hamster scampered up their arm and spirited the orange marble away. A second hamster skittered over to the corner of the table closest to Peter and stared at him with an imploring gaze. Peter rolled his eyes and handed the blue marble over to the hamster.

“You brought two hamsters?” Lawrence said tightly.

“Of course!” Dick said indignantly. “Perses and Asteria are not to be separated. You know this!”

“We’re going to get kicked out,” Lawrence said miserably. His fake red glasses hit the table with a clank as he buried his face in his arms.

Peter, Dani hissed. What are you doing over there?

Humoring them, Peter replied. Patience is a virtue, you know.

“Well, Richard, what is your expert opinion?” Rory asked. Dick held the two marbles in front of him, one in each hand, and squinted at them with intense concentration. Finally, he lowered his hands.

“I think,” Dick said firmly, “that the orange one will probably taste better. It has a more lustrous sheen!”

Peter was not easily frustrated, but he was filled with an inexplicable urge to throw a book at Dick. Instead, he let out a dramatic sigh and closed his left hand into a fist behind his back.

“I was afraid you would say that,” Peter lamented. “I guess I will have to sweeten the deal.” He extended his left hand, palm open, revealing a green marble this time. “Did you know that green and blue marbles complement each other nicely?”

“Wait,” Lap Guy interjected, eyes narrowed. “Why are we eating glass again?”

“Not we,” Bryce corrected. “Just Rory.”

“Right,” Lap Guy said slowly. They raised an eyebrow. “Why is Rory eating glass?”

“Emil!” Rory said with an affronted gasp. “Were you not listening as I regaled all of you with my exciting tale?”

“Nah, they were too busy trying to give Pierce a black eye,” Mo said nonchalantly. They took a sip of their smoothie. “Doesn’t look like either of the lover boys succeeded.”

Cabbage Head (presumably Pierce) made a strangled sound. “I’m not—”

“Well then!” Rory said with a dramatic flourish. “If Emil and Pierce were not listening, I will have to recount my exploits once more!”

“That’s great and all,” Peter interrupted. “But I’m on a tight schedule here. Do we have a deal or not?”

“Allow me to inspect this green marble of yours,” Dick said smoothly, holding out a hand.

“Whatever you want, dude,” Peter sighed. He handed Dick the marble. As Dick grasped the green marble, however, he lost his grip on the other two, and the orange and blue marbles hit the tile floor with a clink. A split second later, there was a skittering sound and a rustle of tablecloth, and a tenth kid popped out from underneath the table. His tousled mop of brown hair almost hid his eyes from view.

“Wow!” the kid said, voice full of astonishment. “I didn’t know orange candy could fall from the sky!”

“Oh, there you are, Nick,” Dick said lightly, grinning down at the floor. “What are you doing down there?”

“Oh, Dick-senpai!” Nick said happily. “I was chasing after Chrom.” As Nick extracted himself from underneath the table, his hands became visible, and Peter realized that Nick was holding a small spotted weasel-like animal by the scruff of its neck.

“You brought your civet?” Pierce hissed. “What were you thinking?”

“He wasn’t. Hope this helps!” Alexis said through gritted teeth.

For some reason, Alexis was still videoing the entire encounter with her phone. Peter briefly considered the negative ramifications of having his face on video like this—and then he decided that the video probably couldn’t significantly enhance The Necromancer’s ability to find him.

“Okay, so disregarding your absolutely 100% legal pet situation,” Peter said with a grin. “Can I have my orange marble? I’ll throw my silence in as an add-on bonus for this awesome 3-in-1 package!”

“You can have whatever you want,” Pierce said miserably. “Just don’t tell the staff about Chrom.”

“Pierce!” Rory protested. “Think about the damage you are doing to my personal mythos!”

“There, there,” Bryce said gently, placing a comforting hand on Rory’s arm. “You can reconstruct your personal mythos with the blue and green marbles.”

“Fine,” Rory said with a dramatic sigh. “You heard him, Nick. Give this young wanderer the treasure he sought. The orange marble shall be his.”

As Rory finished their monologue, all eyes turned to Nick—just in time to watch the teen pop the orange marble into his mouth.

Peter wasn’t in the mafia for nothing—he was used to things going wrong. While the teens stared at their friend in horrified silence, Peter grabbed the soul fragment with his telekinesis and yanked until the marble came flying out of Nick’s mouth.

And now Peter was the subject of the teens’ awe as he guided the marble to his hand. Already, it was starting to pulse with orange light as it hovered in his palm, and Peter had the feeling that he wasn’t going to be able to walk to a more isolated location before the fragment combined with the core in his bracelet.

“Can you do me a solid?” Peter asked, looking over the teens with a grin on his face. “If someone tries to shoot me, push me out of the way, will ya?”

Before any of the teenagers could respond, orange light burst from the marble and flew into Peter’s bracelet, and the vision overtook him.

~.~

Voices swirled around Haku as they slowly rose from the depths of sleep. The sounds were indistinct but still far too loud, and each one sent a sharp pain through their head. Everything felt distant, detached, and when Haku tried to move, there was a brief moment where their limbs wouldn’t respond. Panic surged in their chest. Apparently that was enough to break through the haze, and on their second try, Haku was able to shift into a sitting position.

As soon as Haku moved, the voices fell away. Experimentally, Haku cracked their eyes open. The light was so impossibly bright, and their head was pounding too much for them to really keep their eyes open. They squeezed their eyes shut with a soft moan.

Someone spoke, addressing Haku directly, but with their eyes closed, Haku couldn’t identify the speaker. Haku didn’t recognize the voice. Haku didn’t recognize the language. Panic caught in their throat.

“Oh, one second. You speak… Fijan, right?”

This time, Haku understood the words, and that alone helped them breathe a little easier. They forced their eyes open a second time, and the pounding in their head was almost bearable now as they looked around.

Haku was sitting on a bed—or, well, that was what Haku assumed the object to be. It was unlike any bed they had ever seen, with padding and fabric that was practically alien to Haku, and the frame was made of wood. There were ten such beds arranged in two neat rows, one on either side of the room. Most of the beds were empty now, though the state of the sheets made it clear that this was not always the case.

There were a handful of other people in the room, but Haku was too distressed by their surroundings to count them. What Haku noticed right away was the translucent, misty quality of the walls, which seemed to be made of clouded rainbow glass. Haku looked down and was dismayed to find that the floor was made of the same cool, smooth substance.

“Good morning, Haku.” Haku stiffened. A girl with brown skin and warm brown eyes sat on the edge of Haku’s bed. Her long, curly black hair was pulled back by a purple bandana, and her clothing was so much thinner and more revealing than any outfit Haku had ever seen.

“My name is Silpa,” the girl said gently. “I am a friend of Jinal’s. I know your name because she told me about you.” At that, Haku relaxed a little bit—but then they tensed again as they realized that they couldn’t remember how they got here. They started to walk through what they could remember.

They had been attacked. They had been attacked, and the monsters had cornered them in the shed, and they had been so scared, and then they had lost control, and then orange light had—

“Haku,” Silpa said softly, startling Haku out of their thoughts. They scrambled backwards in the bed, tears streaming down their face.

“How?” Haku croaked. “How am I here?”

“That’s… complicated,” Silpa said with a frown. Haku hated it when adults spoke like that, as if they couldn’t understand.

“Where’s Jinal?” Haku asked. Jinal was the only one who had ever been honest with Haku. She was the only one Haku could trust.

“That’s…” Silpa bit her lip. “Let’s start with introductions, and then we can tell you where she is.”

“No,” Haku said firmly, wiping away their tears. “Tell me where she is.”

She’s been captured by Yaran, kid.

The voice projected directly into Haku’s head. Haku suddenly felt cold. Jinal was in trouble. Jinal was in trouble, and Haku couldn’t do anything to save her.

Haku’s gaze snapped to the source of the voice: a tall, dark-skinned man with close-cropped hair and a thin scar running down his cheek. The man was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Haku shrank under the man’s intimidating glare.

“Mateen, calm down! They’re just a kid!” A teen elbowed the young intimidating man hard enough to make him flinch, then shot Haku an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”

“Introductions,” Silpa repeated, squeezing Haku’s shoulder. “Not all of us speak Fijan, but we should be able to make up the difference with telepathy. Once we’ve finished that, we’ll talk about how to save Jinal. Sound like a plan?”

Haku nodded mutely. Their brain was struggling to keep up, but this, at least, was information they could process.

I’ll go first. The speaker this time was a young man dressed in flowing green robes. His broad nose, high cheekbones, and shiny black locks gave him a regal appearance, but his eyes were kind. He was sitting on the bed closest to Haku alongside two other people.

My name is Kai, the young man said, bowing his head. I am the fifth to bear Yaran’s curse.

I’m Minerva! the woman next to Kai chimed in. I’m good ‘ol number three! Her bright pink tunic popped against her caramel-colored skin, and her hazel eyes shone with mischief. Most striking about her was her dark hair, twisted into the dreadlocks.

My name is Ven, and I’m number four. I hope we can be friends! The third person on the bed was probably the only person in the room who looked even close to Haku’s age. She had amber colored skin and dark hair reaching down to her chin. Even as she spoke to Haku, she continued to rest her head on Minerva’s arm.

N-nice to meet you, Haku mumbled. Silpa squeezed their shoulder.

I’ve already told you my name, she said with a warm smile. I’m number nine, by the way.

I’ll go next. I’m Ridwan—the eighth of Yaran’s unlucky victims. The next person to speak was one of the only two standing people in the room. They had a buzz cut, and their dark skin was almost the same shade as their gritty tunic. Notably, they continued to glare at the man with the scar, even as they spoke to Haku.

I’m Mateen, the man with the scar said. He seemed completely unbothered by Ridwan’s animosity. I’m number six.

And I’m Felix! The boy who came to Haku’s defense earlier shot Haku a grin from underneath a mop of thick black hair. As for my number, I’m… Felix started to count on his fingers, but Mateen cut him off.

Ten, he said bluntly. You’re number ten.

Right! Felix squeaked. A blush rose in his terra cotta cheeks. I knew that!

Haku frowned. Number seven was missing, notably, but everyone else in the room was among the first ten of Karai’s chosen soldiers. There had to be a reason for that.

Okay, Silpa said with a nod. That’s everyone. So. Let’s talk about the current situation.

Haku, Kai said gently. What year do you think it is right now?

It’s… Haku’s mouth was suddenly dry. Why would Kai ask? It’s 59 AD.

That is… a normal response, Kai said slowly. He paused, as if trying to figure out what to say next, and Haku could feel their panic returning. That is not the right answer.

What year is it? Haku said weakly. Dread settled in the pit of their stomach.

It’s 1450, Silpa said softly. You’ve been dead for 1400 years.

The scene shifted from the pocket dimension infirmary to the kitchen table.

“All right. That settles how we’ll get into Jinal’s containment cell,” Kai said firmly, placing a pin on the map. They looked around the table for confirmation.

“Finally,” Mateen grunted, leaning back in xis chair. “I thought we were going to be stuck on that forever.”

“We would’ve figured out a plan of entry sooner if you hadn’t insisted on trying to martyr yourself at the outset,” Ridwan said thinly, sending Mateen a disapproving glare.

“What are you implying exactly?” Mateen shot back.

“Oh, nothing,” Ridwan sang.

“Don’t nothing me,” Mateen said coldly. “I’m not deaf.”

“I’m just stating the facts,” Ridwan said casually.

“Hey, at least I’m trying to come up with ideas!” Mateen argued. Xis hands clenched into fists at his sides, and xis eyes flickered red for a brief second.

“H-hey,” Ven said meekly. “Maybe we should—”

“You know,” Ridwan interjected, “there’s no need for you to get so angry.”

“And there’s no need for you to be such a dick,” Mateen snapped. Ridwan’s expression turned dark.

“Like you’re one to talk,” they growled.

“This, coming from a coward?”

“What did you say?”

Ridwan slammed both hands on the table in anger, and Haku was so startled by the noise that they were yanked out of the mindscape. They glared in Ridwan’s direction. Before their death, Haku had just barely learned how to get into the mindscape, so it wasn’t exactly an easy feat for them to achieve. In other words, Haku needed all the practice they could get.

After all, if Haku couldn’t reliably enter the mindscape, they wouldn’t be able to help Jinal.

With a sigh, Haku closed their eyes and brought their focus to the image of an orange flame flickering in a dark room. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

As Haku’s breathing evened, the image of the flame grew brighter, and they pulled tongues of fire towards them, letting it meld around their form like taffy. With a slow exhale, Haku opened their eyes.

Mateen and Ridwan were still yelling at each other, but Haku could barely hear them now. Nothing else had changed; the seven immortals were still crowded around a large circular table in the center of the room. Ven and Felix had positioned themselves between Mateen and Ridwan and were desperately trying to get the two to calm down. Everyone else was ignoring the argument; Minerva and Kai were poring over a map while Silpa sharpened a sword in the next seat over. Everything was coated in a red tint—a sure sign that Haku had slipped into the mindscape once more.

Suddenly, an image of Jinal flashed across Haku’s view. Haku froze. It felt too good to be true, but this was exactly what they needed. Haku willed the image to expand so they could get a better look at the wayward vision.

Jinal was hanging upside down with her legs tied to the ceiling and her wrists anchored to the floor. Her hair was shorter than Haku remembered—probably shoulder length, though it was hard to tell. Purpling bruises dotted her jaw, and her left eye was swollen closed and crusted with blood. Her ratty clothes were coated in a mix of dirt and dried blood, and her cheeks were drawn.

The door to the room slammed open, and two figures in dark clothing rushed into the room. When Haku saw their faces, they couldn’t help but gasp. Somehow, although Haku could’ve sworn Silpa and Minerva hadn’t moved from their spots at the table, they were now in the same room as Jinal.

Silpa swiftly untied the chains around Jinal’s wrists while Minerva took care of Jinal’s ankles, cursing all the while. Jinal mumbled something that Haku couldn’t catch. Suddenly, a current rushed across the floor, shocking Minerva and Silpa, and the pair fell to their knees with a cry. Before Haku could even process what they’d seen, the scene faded away, leaving Haku dumbfounded and confused.

“Haku, is everything okay?” Silpa asked. Haku jolted to attention, and the red tint of the mindscape dissipated in a puff of smoke.

“I-I think I just saw something,” Haku said shakily, rising to their feet. At some point, Mateen and Ridwan had stopped arguing, and they were both looking at Haku with concern. In fact, everyone was looking at Haku as they walked over to the table, trying desperately to calm the trembling in their knees.

“What do you mean?” Silpa asked.

“I saw—I saw you, Silpa,” Haku stammered. “And, um, Minerva. And you were with Jinal…” Silpa’s expression hardened.

“Haku,” she said gently, “I am going to need you to tell me everything you saw.”

“What? Why?” Haku asked. Silpa and Kai exchanged looks.

“Haku, what you saw… that was probably a vision of a possible future. If so, that means your future vision is finally setting in,” Kai explained, setting the map in their hands on the table.

“Future vision…” Haku murmured. Their resolve hardened, their features settling into a determined glare. “I’ll tell you what I saw on one condition. Let me help rescue Jinal.”

“Absolutely not,” Silpa said immediately. “It’s way too dangerous.”

“I’m not asking you to take me along,” Haku clarified. “I’ll just slow you down. But you need someone to stay here and guide you with their future sight.”

“No,” Silpa repeated. “Ven can handle that, or Felix can do it. You’re young and inexperienced—you don’t need to put yourself under that kind of mental strain.”

Haku bit their lip. They knew Silpa was just looking out for them, but they wanted to help. No, they needed to help. Why else would Jinal have brought them back to life?

“For what it’s worth, I think we should let the kid help,” Mateen offered.

“Mateen, Haku is nine years old,” Silpa said emphatically. “The answer is no.”

“At nine years old, Felix was already guiding me with future sight, and he was doing a damn good job of it, too,” Mateen said with a shrug.

“I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Mateen,” Ridwan grumbled, plopping down in their seat. “We’re breaking into one of Yaran’s strongholds. That is no easy feat, and our chances of winning go down significantly if we leave Ven or Felix behind.”

“Haku has seen one future vision,” Kai pointed out. “There’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to teach them to smoothly flip between timelines before we have to go rescue Jinal.”

“I can learn,” Haku argued. “I’ll work hard! I’ll do anything you tell me to, just please let me help.” Kai shook his head.

“I’m with Silpa. Absolutely not,” Kai said firmly, arms crossed. Tears pricked the corners of Haku’s eyes, but they did their best to hold firm.

“Please,” Haku pleaded. Their lower lip sank into a pout. “Jinal is in trouble, and I can’t—I can’t just sit here knowing that.” Kai looked away.

“Kai!” Minerva berated, elbowing him in the arm. “Look at how much this means to Haku. Can’t we give them a chance?” Kai and Silpa exchanged looks. After a brief pause, Kai turned to Ven.

“Ven, you have experience with using your powers from a young age. What do you think?” Kai asked. Ven cocked their head to the side in thought.

“I think,” Ven said slowly, “We probably need Haku to succeed. But… looking into the future is dangerous. It can mess you up—and permanently. Haku…” Ven turned to the younger child, their expression grave. “Are you willing to take that risk?”

Haku nodded.

“I’ll do whatever’s necessary to save Jinal,” Haku said firmly. “I owe Jinal my life.”

~.~

As worldly sensations came back to Peter, he did a quick inventory of his thoughts. He wasn’t sure what this whole resurrection business meant—he’d have to ask Karyme about it later—but what he had just seen clicked neatly with what Karyme had told him this morning about her dream. Haku’s guilt complex was clearly related to the fact that they had been killed at a young age and then brought back to life a millennium later, surrounded by people who knew more than they did.

Peter was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand patting his back.

“Wow, you were really out of it,” Nick said lightly.

“Yeah,” Peter said with a frown. He scanned the room for Juli and Dani and found the pair blinking awake right where he’d left them. It looked like no one else in the restaurant had noticed anything awry, and Peter couldn’t identify any new arrivals to the restaurant during the vision, which meant the Soul Stealers probably weren’t here quite yet—but they would be soon.

“Sooo, all that glowy stuff and the floating marble trick. You’re like, actually an important hero, aren’t you,” Alexis guessed, tucking her phone into her pocket. “And that marble was not a scavenger hunt item.”

“Hero is not how I would describe it,” Peter said with a shrug. “For your own safety, though, I’d suggest not mentioning any of this to anyone. I’ve got a bounty on my head.”

“Right,” Pierce said tightly. “A bounty.”

“A bounty? How did you acquire such a nefarious reputation?” Rory practically had stars in their eyes, and it looked like it was taking everything in their power not to ask more questions.

“The less you know, the better,” Peter said bluntly. He fished the teleportation crystal out of his pocket and twisted the two ends to activate it. Normally, he wouldn’t use something like this in public, but by his calculation, they were running low on time, and the teenagers had already seen him use his telekinesis.

“Wait, Marble Man!” Nick cried. “A good luck charm!” As orange light engulfed Peter, Nick hurriedly slipped something into Peter’s hand. Peter was gone before he could ask what it was.

When he arrived in the Pocket Dimension, Peter uncurled his fingers to find a small orange bracelet, like the kind made with those rainbow loom kits. It was nothing more than a trinket, and yet… Peter couldn’t remember the last time anyone had given him something like this—something that was uniquely his. And from a stranger, no less.

“What are you smiling at?” Dani asked, squinting at the bracelet.

Peter blinked. He hadn’t even noticed the smile on his face until Dani had pointed it out.

“Nothing,” Peter said, slipping the rainbow loom bracelet on, right next to the soul bracelet. “Nothing at all. Where are we going next?”

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Several character cameos in this chapter:

• Pierce borrowed from earthytruce

• Emil borrowed from starzy

• Alexis borrowed from kris

• Rory borrowed from mika

• Dick borrowed from julian

• Nick borrowed from yohan

• Mo borrowed from crow

• Bryce borrowed from RJ

• Lawrence borrowed from shive