The world had not changed, but many things in it had. The inexorable forward march of time always brought about change, and in the face of that change, thirteen seconds wasn’t always enough. Outside, the world was the same place it had always been, but as it always did, time made the world look different, time made the world feel different. Some were able to take in a breath for the first time in years, others found themselves cut off from air entirely.

Isaac sat on top of a stack of boxes, one leg hanging off the edge. He watched Sera, who was moving the last of her things out of the house. They didn’t speak, he watched her, and she did her best not to look at him.

Sometime in the next few minutes, she would be leaving, and he needed to figure out what he was going to say. Sera didn’t want to hear anything from him, not since he had made his decision.

It wasn’t the first time they had been angry at each other, it happened plenty as children when Edgar pitted them against themselves. Though he had been able to get them to fight and argue, as siblings often did, he had been unable to break down the bond between them that had always kept them together.

Thinking back on it all, Sera was the reason Isaac had ever gotten into the mess with Tyloki in the first place. It was to protect Sera that drove him, and now she would be leaving. Isaac had made choices to save Sera that he wasn’t proud of, and he wondered if he would be able to make the right choices in her absence, or if he would continue on the same as he always had.

Selfish.

Sera walked slowly, carrying only one thing at a time, giving Isaac a cold shoulder but also giving him time to think.

Leg swinging back and forth in the air, Isaac knew it was time to talk.

“I can’t say I’m doing anything grand or special.” Isaac said, but Sera didn’t look at him. “I’m just doing what seems right, now. I know I get mixed up on that sometimes, but I can’t stop trying.”

“What seems right, Isaac?” Sera said, putting a small box down. “This city is full of terrible things. Dad, Vassals, psychopaths, monsters. Every day it’s some other catastrophe. That’s why we were all leaving. Now you and Rufus are staying? No, I don’t believe it. It’s the same suicidal nonsense that you kept from me all these years.”

“Suicidal nonsense? I was protecting you. Everything I did.” Isaac said, slightly hurt.

“I didn’t need you to live my life, Isaac! You needed to live yours.” Sera said, stomping her foot for effect.

“That’s what I’m doing now. And I’m glad you’re leaving here, but it isn’t because bad things happen in this city.” Isaac said.

“You don’t have to stay here to live, Isaac. We’ve earned a pass, we can leave and start over like we planned.” Sera said.

Starting over was what Isaac planned to do. But it wasn’t by leaving the city. Knowing Sera would be somewhere else was as comforting as it was terrifying.

“If I go, you won’t be able to start over. No matter how many times I shake him, whenever I think Edgar isn’t behind my back anymore, there he is. You moved on a long time ago, and I’ve been holding you back. I need time to figure it out, to get rid of him once and for all.” Isaac said.

“If you live that long.” Sera said.

“Sera, bad things don’t happen in this city. Bad things happen to me. If I go with you, they’ll just follow. I can’t explain what I saw in the vault, I don’t have the words, but I know I can’t leave yet. My part here isn’t done.” Isaac said

“Your part here. You aren’t playing a part in a movie, Isaac.” Sera said.

“That’s why it’s so important. I have to be better than I have been. I can’t sacrifice more to save less. And that’s why I can’t do it around you. I’d always sacrifice anything for you.” Isaac said, jumping off the boxes.

It was the house they had bought after Edgar died, and they would be renting it out in their absence. Isaac had the choice to stay, but he decided against it. There were other places that would be better to stay at. Either way, he had a few more days to move his things out, he was in no rush. This house had been his home, and in the time following Edgar’s death, it had been where he spent most of his time. It had been, if not boring, at least calm and quiet.

“What about Rufus?” Sera asked.

“I don’t know what’s going on with him.” Isaac walked over to Sera. “You’ll have to talk to him about it. I can only speak for myself, and it’s been a long time, but I feel like saying something.”

“What are you going to say?” Sera said.

“I’ve been living down in the darkness for a long time, and when I met Tyloki, I started to claw my way out. Between you and Miria, I realized that it’s not my time to come out of the darkness yet. There’s a lot of other people in here with me. I need to raise them out first, before I leave it behind.” Isaac said.

“You are not the same Isaac who tried to call out sick from work a year ago.” Sera said.

“Things change.” Isaac said, nodding.

“Just don’t lose yourself in there. Those people you want to save aren’t more important than you are.” Sera said.

“That makes me wonder, is everyone worth the same?” Isaac asked. “I wouldn’t exactly put Dominic up there with them best of them.”

Sera winced and looked at the floor. “Dominic needed someone to save him, but it’s no one’s fault that he wasn’t. He had Basel, he had friends. I don’t think what happened to him was Tyloki’s fault. After seeing what Tyloki put you through, don’t you think it was a good thing that he turned Dominic away?”

“If he turned Dominic away because he was too weak…” Isaac said.

“I think that says something about you. Something I’ve known, but you need to show to everyone else. Show it to the people you want to save.” Sera said.

Sera glanced at the time on her LINK, and she took a deep breath. “I’ve got to get going or I’ll miss the train. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”

“And then you’ll call every hour after that.” Isaac smirked, gently shoving Sera towards the door. “I’ll lock up when I leave, don’t worry. Get out of here. I’ll follow when I’m ready.”

Sera walked towards the door, and she glanced back before she walked out. Her face showed the same hardships Isaac himself had experienced, and somehow, she came out in better shape than he had. It wasn’t because of his interventions. It was something about life, about the universe, that she understood, and he did not yet know. It was a thing that couldn’t be explained in words, and couldn’t be shared between two people. It was something that Isaac would have to find on his own.

After finishing at the house, Isaac locked up and went to waste more time. He was wasting time because things had changed, and they hadn’t coalesced again into anything worthwhile. They were still in the quiet after throes of a cataclysm averted. That wasn’t to say that some of the change hadn’t been devastating. Isaac let himself in to Miria’s apartment, so he could feel that devastation.

It was eerily quiet, as quiet as his empty house, as quiet as the inside of his head. It was unnaturally still. Everything was exactly as Miria had left it, and it would stay that way. Isaac had wealth, if nothing else, and he would pay to keep Miria’s apartment untouched until the day she returned. He was unlikely to return again himself until that happened.

Since he wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon, he wanted to remember what it all looked like. It would remind him what he was fighting for. The living room was cozy, a sofa just the right distance from the screen where they would have watched movies and TV together after long days at work. Every little detail was just so Miria, her tastes showing through clearly, a blend of modern design and classic aesthetic.

The bedroom fit a bed large enough for two, and they would have shared nights here together. They would have fought over the usual, pointless things, they would have made up and made love here. The bathroom was small, they would have waged war over it. Isaac didn’t care about the small closet space, he would have gotten a dresser for his outfits, which would have been chosen by Miria, no doubt. She had a better eye for it than he did.

The kitchen was small, but they would have been fine. He would have cooked for her, he would have learned to cook for her. She would help him, teach him the basics of cooking that he had never learned. They would clean up together, or maybe he would clean up while she sipped on a glass of wine.

This apartment would have held so much emotion, all sorts, good and bad. It would have been the site of lives well and fully lived. It would have been salvation for two secretly broken people who filled in the shattered parts of the other. Would have.

Instead, Miria had vanished, and all that remained was a swirling black mist, an eddy of what might have been. It was still there, days after she disappeared. Isaac stood in front of it, staring at it. The mist shimmered, made up of billions of minuscule particles of light and darkness, every lost moment another grain of black sand. The texture of it reminded Isaac of Nova, the synthetic soul sphere.

Hesitantly, he reached his hand into the mist, afraid that all he would do was wave it away, ensuring that those lost moments were gone forever. He found himself somewhere else.

Much the same as when he touched the Nova sphere, Isaac was somewhere else, inside his mind. It was the same sensation as being in the Indicia world, with Tyloki, or inside his own head. He knew his physical form was still in Miria’s kitchen, but he was elsewhere. A vast expanse of open air, but unlike any place he was familiar with.

The sky was filled with purple and blue, pale ghosts of color floating out of the ground and up into the air, out of sight. That was it, nothing else, just purple and blue light, and Isaac.

And Miria.

She stood a few feet in front of him, staring at him stoically.

Isaac stared back, unsure of how to move forward, to reach her, to touch her.

She smiled.

Isaac moved, stopping in front of her. He was going to devote his life to finding her, and here she was, right in front of him. He just needed to figure out how to bring her back with him, and all those moments, all those what ifs would be his again.

“Miria, what is this place? Where are we?” Isaac asked.

“I don’t know.” Miria said.

“Neither do I. How did you get here?” Isaac asked.

“I don’t know.” She said.

“I’m going to figure out how to bring you home.” Isaac said, looking around desperately for anything that might help.

“Isaac, listen. I’m here to tell you something.” Miria said.

“What is it?” He asked, turning his attention directly to her.

“I’m not Miria. I’m just what’s left. Residue. Miria is gone, and she isn’t coming back.” She said.

“What are you talking about?” Isaac didn’t want to believe it. She was standing in front of him, how could it not be her?

“You can’t save everyone, Isaac. Sometimes, people just fall through the cracks.” Miria said.

Isaac was speechless, confused, his mind and heart racing, trying to understand what was going on.

“You’re not here, I’m not here. I’m just a message, like a recording.” Miria said.

“You’re not a recording. You’re talking to me.” Isaac said.

“I know what Miria knew, I feel what she felt, but I know that I’m not her.” Miria said.

“Then where is she, if you’re not her?” Isaac asked.

“I don’t know.” She said. “I won’t be here for long. I just wanted to let you know that I would have fallen in love with you.”

“I could’ve fallen in love with you, too. That’s why you can’t be gone. I’ve never loved anyone who wasn’t family. You were different.” Isaac said.

“Not could have. Would have.” Miria said.

“Miria…” Isaac said. He placed his hands on her shoulder and pulled her in for a kiss. He closed his eyes, and then he felt nothing.

Opening his eyes, he was in the kitchen once more, and the black mist was gone. The possibilities had dispersed into the ether, floated away, far out of Isaac’s mortal reach.

The next occurrence to suck the air from Isaac’s lungs was a phone call. As the day wore on, and he became weary of the changes, he started to make his way back to the Registry. If he had been back sooner, it may not have been a phone call that brought about the change. He may have been there to see it in person.

Sauntering slowly down the tranquil streets of a city recovering from a heavy storm, of a people hiding from the cold wind outside, Isaac’s LINK began to vibrate. He didn’t look to see who was calling before he answered it.

“Hello?” He asked casually. He had wiped the last of his tears for Miria away a few blocks before.

“Isaac.” Rufus said his name in a way that immediately signaled that something was wrong. He relished it, said it with the longing of a brother who has been away from his sibling for too long. The sorrow of a man who has some news to deliver.

“Rufus? I’ve been trying to call. Sera’s been trying to call. She wanted to know if you were going with her and the rest of the family.” Isaac scolded.

“I’m not going.” Rufus said.

“No shit, we gathered that.” Isaac said.

“I can’t go.” Rufus said.

“Same as me.” Isaac whispered.

“Wait, what? You’re not going with her?” Rufus said.

“I can’t go, not now. With what happened to Riley, and the number of Collars we lost at InCorp, and Miria…” Isaac trailed off, distracted by the pain in his chest.

“I guess I couldn’t convince you to go if I tried.” Rufus said. “Just be careful. No more suicide talk.”

“Actually.” Isaac said, and he stopped walking, looking up at the Registry tower looming at the center of the city. “Actually, I was thinking maybe we could team up. I’ve found myself without a team, remember?”

“No go, little brother.” Rufus said. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Isaac shielded his eyes from the brilliant reflection of the setting sun gleaming from the glass tower.

“Listen, before all of this, I was doing some undercover work for Chase and Canaan. I’d gather intelligence from the local vassals, bring it back to the Registry.” Rufus said. “Namely, Freeman’s faction.”

“You worked with Freeman?” Isaac asked, not sure what Rufus was getting at.

“Not exactly. But sometimes, I had to trade information to get information. I had to be a leak.” Rufus said.

“But you were doing it for Canaan, right? So anything that happened would be his fault.” Isaac said.

“The truth isn’t that simple, Isaac. When Freeman came to the Registry, Chase emptied out the Registry’s prison. Not only did Freeman’s Vassals run amok in InCorp and make us look incompetent, but we also unleashed a plague of magic powered criminals on the city. A lot of them probably fled Bastion, went to the Brink, but we’ve lost a few of them. They’re gone. The public is going to want us to answer for that.” Rufus explained.

“None of what happened is your fault. How would they even link it to you, anyway?” Isaac asked.

“It seems that someone broke into Freeman’s house and uploaded the identities of their members and contacts to the internet. My name wasn’t in there, but my face was. The city needs someone to answer for everything that happened. The Registry needs a villain to offload the blame onto, to keep their respect and show they aren’t completely incompetent.” Rufus said.

Isaac stared at the bright building, lowered his hand and let the sun sear his eyes. He squinted against the painful light. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault as much as it isn’t mine. And honestly, I don’t know how this is going to play out.” Rufus said.

“I’ll come help. We can all talk through it. There’s no way I’m letting Canaan throw you to the wolves over this.” Isaac said.

“Canaan isn’t the Director anymore, Isaac. This isn’t Canaan’s decision.” Rufus said.

“I’m going to get you out of this. I’ll do something.” Isaac insisted.

“I’m not the one who needs your help. This city needs someone like you. There’s Miria to think about, not to mention all the escaped prisoners. You need to focus on recapturing them. As long as they’re running around, no one is going to forget about what happened. I’m the fall guy. Maybe I always have been.” Rufus said.

“Rufus, where are you? We need to talk about this in person.” Isaac said.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m already gone. Stay alive, okay, Isaac?” Rufus said.

His brother told him to stay alive. Not to find happiness or purpose. He told Isaac to stay alive, as if that was the next step in what Isaac needed. As if happiness could only come after that. Or maybe as if happiness wasn’t attainable at all.

“I’m going to-” Isaac said, but he stopped when the audible click signaled the end of the LINK conversation.

Another change, another person lost. The sun would be gone soon, and the moon would come out, mocking Isaac with all of its twinkling companions. The moon was never alone in the night sky. It existed in the darkness, along with everyone else.

“We need to reacquire Dr. Noether if possible, but we have progressed to a point where we don’t essentially require him anymore.” Parker said.

“Yes, sir. Nova is functional. There are a few kinks to work out, but we don’t need Dr. Noether to fix them. A few months from now, the city will be able to meet Nova.”

“Good. Magic without restraint.” Parker let the words linger on his lips indulgently. “I want to get Dr. Noether back so he doesn’t spill the beans to the Registry. It wouldn’t hurt us too much, and the Registry is a laughing stock right now, but why deal with bad PR if we don’t have to?” Parker asked. His LINK vibrated. “Excuse me.”

Stepping away from the engineer he had been speaking with, he narrow his eyes at the name on his LINK. Answer it, he walked casually to where he could afford more privacy.

“Alyssa, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Parker asked, hand in his pocket as he walked down the hallway, dodging construction workers and their tools as he went. Instead of his security uniform, Parker was dressed neatly in a new suit.

“Well, well, well, President Parker.” Alyssa said with gravitas.

“Why call me? Why not tell me where you are and we can meet for coffee. Maybe get a drink. Repeat the last time we went on a date? You got quite loud.” Parker said.

“Tell you where I am? Nah, I’d rather not. I’d rather you be looking over your shoulder every day, like I have been for so long.” Alyssa said.

Parker walked past the door to his office, which now read President Parker in place of President Shaw.

“I’m not afraid of you, Alyssa. So pardon me if I refrain from looking over my shoulder. But if I do find you, expect me to pay you back for the bump on my head.” Parker closed the door to his office and froze as he saw the chair was facing the wall.

“If you find me, by all means, feel free. Listen, I don’t know what you did to President Shaw.” As Alyssa spoke, Parker made his way across the room, towards the desk. He reached his hand out, placed it on the side of the high-backed chair. Spun it around.

“And I don’t care. What I want is to be left alone.” The chair was empty.

Parker let out his tense breath and sat in the chair. He kicked his feet up on the desk and resumed his smug expression. “I’ll leave you alone for as long as it takes me to find you.”

“No, you’re going to leave me alone. That’s why I’m calling.” Alyssa said. “The people of this city, the employees of InCorp, most of them don’t know what really happened. They didn’t see what I saw in that vault. And I intend to keep it that way.”

“If you think promising to stay quiet is going to keep me from hunting you down…” Parker said.

“No, that isn’t what will keep you from hunting me down. That’ll be something else.” Alyssa said. “Grab the notepad from the desk, write this down.”

There was no notepad on the desk, but Parker recalled seeing one in one of the drawers. He leaned forward and decided to humor her. Reaching out, he yanked the top drawer open. A loud click issued from the drawer, and the sound of a pin scraping on metal. A grenade rolled towards Parker, bounced off the front of the drawer, and came to a stop on top of the notepad. Parker considered jumping away from it, but that would have done little good to help.

“I’m waiting, write this down.” Alyssa said.

“What the Hell is this?” Parker growled, pulling the inert bomb from the drawer. “You think you can scare me with a prop?”

“That is a real bomb, I assure you. I was just kind enough to disarm it. What you should worry about it how I got it into your desk, rigged it up with an explosive, in the first place.” Alyssa advised.

“I’m not afraid of you.” Parker insisted.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me, President Parker. I want you to leave me alone. What I want you to be afraid of is every door you step through, every drawer you pull open, and every package you receive in the mail. If I notice you looking for me, Parker, then tick tock. Tick tock.” Alyssa hung up.

Much as InCorp found itself without a leader after Shaw’s disappearance, the Vassals were lost without Freeman. Many of the Vassals in the city operated independently, they didn’t follow Freeman’s lead, but the old man had gone a long way towards keeping them safe and hidden, regardless. The Vassals of Freeman’s faction were even more lost without him. They lost their base of operations, Freeman’s mansion, and their funding from Freeman’s coffers.

They were scattered.

Jensen took the opportunity to kick back and take a short vacation. He spent some time on the beach just outside of Bastion, which was less of a sand beach and more of a rock filled crag land, but Jensen found it peaceful.

When he came back to the city, he spent time in his apartment, but not alone. With Sev. They spent a lot of time together, time they hadn’t had since he became a pawn in Freeman’s game. They would be together until they were too exhausted to be together anymore, and then they would go again.

For a few days, Jensen lost himself in absolute pleasure, his self-awarded reward for a job well done. When the act began to become tiresome, Jensen decided he needed some flesh blood to keep it interesting. He wasn’t bored with Sev, he just wanted to add another person to spice things up.

The best place to find someone on short notice was the bar where Jensen waited out the storm at InCorp. It had been quiet over the week, especially since Jensen had been out of town, but Jensen had hopes it would pick up again soon.

He couldn’t even get through the door. The place was packed.

Jensen squeezed through the crowd, made his way to the bar. He wanted to figure out what was going on. The place had never been this busy before. There didn’t seem to be any order to the chaos, so Jensen climbed up on top of the bar to get a better look. He recognized most of the people in the room, and they were all chattering loudly. They were Freeman’s Vassals.

As Jensen looked at the Vassals, they looked back at him. Slowly, they began to turn and the noisy chatter died down into a whisper, which gave way to silence. Jensen stared back at them, not realizing at once that they were all watching him.

“Uh, hi.” Jensen said.

[Uh, hi? I’m embarrassed to be your Indicia.]

Shut up, Sev.

The room burst into life again, every person trying to talk over every other person. They were shouting, and it was all unintelligible.

“Shut up!” Jensen screamed as loud as he could, holding his arms out at the bar patrons.

Again, slowly, the room turned its collective attention to him.

“What are we doing here?” Jensen asked. “You, tell me.” He pointed at a man standing in the front row.

“Freeman is gone. He was the leader of the Vassals in Bastion. So many of us have no place to go anymore. We’ve got no leader, no money, no homes, and no plan.” The man explained.

“Okay.” Jensen nodded slowly. “Okay, I get it. Well, we are definitely over the allotted number of persons allowed in this building, so let’s start a safe and orderly exit.”

The chaos began again. It took Jensen a moment to get it under control once more. If he wanted to get a drink and find someone to take to bed in peace, he would have to solve this problem first.

“No leader, huh? What about Freeman’s lieutenants?” Jensen asked.

“They’re gone. They either died at InCorp or left the city with tails tucked.” Someone answered.

“Alright, so who was the highest ranking person left from Freeman’s group?” Jensen asked.

His stomach turned over. Everyone stared at him. They would expect the highest remaining underling to become their new leader. They would expect it from him. As he stood on the bar and stared at the army of aimless Vassals, for who he had no plans or ideas, the fact that they expected him to lead them wasn’t what surprised him the most.

The biggest surprise was that he didn’t say no.

Wind buffeted against the temporary Lightglass shield that took the place of the shattered windows at the back of the Director’s office. The yellow shield flickered against the winds, but otherwise, those standing inside would be similarly protected from the weather outside as they would be if it was regular glass. Near the windows, a new desk had been placed where Canaan’s had sat, a replica, but noticeably different. It shined with a quality of newness, it was easy to see that it had never been used before. The drawers were empty, the top was clean and uncluttered. It was ready and waiting for use.

Standing in front of the window, peering out at the city skyline, Archer felt unsettlingly similar to Canaan. As a Director, Canaan had been willing to do what it took the keep the Registry in control of the city, even if it put other people’s lives in danger. Watching and planning for years, Archer had a few different ideas.

The world had indeed changed for Archer, who glanced around and felt simultaneously claustrophobic and free in the marble office. It was a large chamber, larger than was necessary for a simple desk and view of the city. The only furniture that remained from before was the bookshelf along the side wall. They were Chase’s books. The kangaroo was a bookworm.

Things were simple for Archer, it was not difficult to discern from good and bad. He wondered if Canaan had trouble differentiating them, but that didn’t matter. The city was safe for now, though it had gotten a new infection when it was wounded, and it was an infection he would see to quickly.

The prison below the Registry was barren, save for a single inmate, and it pained Archer to put Rufus there. It was only for the time being, as they struggled to get the Registry back on its feet, and to gain back public support. Regardless, it wasn’t Archer’s idea.

“You’ll see. It’s necessary.” The kangaroo mimicked Archer’s stance, staring out the window.

It was hard not to look out at the view, to try and forget the job at hand.

“I know that it’s necessary.” Archer said with a nod. “But I will get him out of there as soon as I can.”

“Might not be as soon as you want.” Chase said.

“It’ll be whenever I say it is.” Archer said.

“Easy there, tiger.” Chase condescended. “Your name might have Director in front of it, but don’t forget who is in charge here.”

“If I had known that the Director was a figurehead, I might have not angled myself for the position.” Archer said.

The kangaroo snickered, but didn’t share what he was thinking about that.

“I’m in charge for a reason, you know.” Chase said.

“No doubt to keep humanity safe. But what happens when you keep everyone safe? Shouldn’t humans be allowed to govern themselves?” Archer asked.

“Oh, no, no, no. I’m not after power or control. But I do want to keep humanity safe. Every decision I make, every decree, is to that end.” Chase said. “Canaan was simply a loyal follower with aligning goals.”

“And when he couldn’t be of use to you anymore, you ditched him.” Archer said.

“He resigned. And he appointed you as his replacement. Between you and me,” Chase leaned over to whisper to Archer, “You aren’t missing much with Alkaid. He’s got it for Isaac. Must’ve hurt just a little, your Indicia falling for a different human.”

“Alkaid and I had a professional relationship. We were both helping each other reach the places we wanted to be. This is that place for me, so I don’t regret anything.” Archer said.

“Where did you help him get?” Chase asked.

Archer took a deep breath and turned, leaning on the desk, looking at his office. “Tell me why.”

“Tell you why...end of sentence?” Chase asked, turning around with him.

“Why did Rain sacrifice himself for this room?” Archer asked. “He wouldn’t have done what he did without a good reason. And you say that your aim is to protect humanity. So tell me why. I need to know, I am the Director.”

Chase chuckled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell you. Well, rather, I’ll show you. But once I show you, you can’t go back.”

“Back to what?” Archer asked.

“Before you knew.” Chase said. “I said my goal is to protect humanity. That isn’t strictly true, my goal is to protect this world from any threat, inside and out. Humans and Thralls.”

“I’ve never thought it was possible to go back. Every day comes and goes, you can’t ever go back to a wasted day, and you can’t redo a bad decision.” Archer said. “So you’ve got to use all the time you’ve got, and you’ve got to make all the right decisions.”

“I couldn’t agree more. In this case, the definition of ‘right’, though, might vary from yours. It’s something you’ll come to understand, as Canaan did.” Chase hopped across the office, towards the bookshelf. When he came to it, he stepped to the side and pressed his paw against a nondescript spot on the marble next to the bookcase.

Archer followed him but kept a step back.

The bookshelf slid silently to the side an entire length, revealing flat marble behind it. Chase pressed another spot on the wall, and curiously, a crease appeared in the marble, a door the same size and shape as the bookshelf had been. The door slid sideways, disappeared into the wall.

That was the moment that changed Archer the most. It was the second that the world changed, when he began to understand that sometimes, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ weren’t so simply defined. Light illuminated Archer’s face as he took in what he saw, and his jaw gaped. Chase gave him a moment to adjust.

When Archer glanced at the kangaroo, he felt a drop of water rolling down his cheek. “But…”

“I know.” Chase said.

The kangaroo gestured, ‘after you’, and waited for Archer to walk into the light. Archer obliged, stepping forward while still transfixed by the light. Chase followed closely behind.

“It’s called the Index.”

The world hadn’t changed, but so many things in it had. The world was still full of magic and wonder, of which some people were aware of for the first time. For others, the world seemed to have dulled, become cold and lifeless, empty of hope. Each individual person wasn’t important enough for their personal changes to matter to the world as a whole, but to each person, it appeared as if they were living in different worlds.

It had been a day that would change how the people of the city moved forward, it had changed the course of their futures. But whether the day came to pass or not, it had not been inevitable, the world would have kept moving on, time would have kept passing, regardless of the follies of man. Nothing was inevitable except the passing of time, and even the powers of the Indicia weren’t strong enough to change that.

Every choice that they had made led to this place, for better or worse. It was impossible to see the future, because choices had yet to have been made. That didn’t mean that those choices wouldn’t be made, they would have to be made, because time wouldn’t stop for anyone. In hindsight, many would regret the choices they made, they would be disgusted by who they became, by where they found themselves.

It was simple to look back and blame a single choice, but it was the amalgam of decisions that brought them into the future together. Making the right choice for one person may have hurt another, choosing incorrectly had, at times, led to a better possible future.

Simply enough, sometimes your own future is decided by the choices made by another.

Isaac let out a prolonged sigh as he stepped into the hallway, surprised to find that the lights were out. Not that it mattered, the sun outside was starting to give him a headache, so he didn’t mind a bit of darkness. On his way to the team briefing room, he thought about who the team even was anymore.

Sitting on the floor, back against the door to the briefing room, Riley sat staring blankly forward. He didn’t turn to look at Isaac.

“I’m sorry.” Isaac said. They hadn’t spoken in person since Isaac had visited Riley in the hospital the week before. The words he said didn’t seem enough, but he didn’t know what else to say.

After a long, quiet moment, Riley let out a fake laugh. “Sorry.”

Isaac stood, watching Riley, but he didn’t say anything.

“Sorry?” Riley asked.

“Yeah.” Isaac said.

Riley laughed, it was painfully fake.

“Look, if you need me to get in there to get your things…” Isaac offered, holding up his guest pass.

Riley stood up, revealing dents in the door behind him, no doubt punishment he had dished out on the door for not allowing him in. The doors were locked by their magic signatures, which Riley didn’t have anymore. “You want to let me in?”

“Yeah, so you can get your things. Riley…” Isaac said.

“Another decision you want to make for me, then?” Riley said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Isaac said.

“You don’t? Allow me to explain then.” Riley spat, glaring at Isaac. “You had a choice. You could have come help me, alone, against Freeman, save the city or the world or whatever the Hell was going on. Me! Alone!”

“Riley…” Isaac said.

“Shut up! No, you went to InCorp, to help the army of Collars fight second rate security forces and a ragtag group of gutter rat Vassals. Where, Isaac,” Riley’s voice rose to a shout, “where do you think you were needed more?!”

“I had to go to Sera.” Isaac said.

“Sera! Isaac, there was an army! Rufus was there! She would have been fine without you. You didn’t do anything there that someone else couldn’t have done. But here, maybe if you had been here, maybe you could have…” Riley was shaking, his face was red.

“That isn’t true. I stopped the AI.” Isaac defended himself meekly.

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it, Isaac. No, I don’t want you to let me in here to get my stuff. I guess I was just waiting here for you to show up.” Riley said.

“Well, I’m here.” Isaac said.

“Good, so listen closely. You’ve got problems listening to people that have advice for you, so I’ll try to make this as clear as I can.” Riley stopped shouting and spoke slowly, carefully. “I don’t ever want to see your fucking face again.” Riley pushed Isaac out of the way with his shoulder and didn’t look back as he walked down the hallway.

“Riley!” Isaac called after him, but he didn’t pursue.

Instead, he leaned on the door where Riley had been sitting. He pressed his palms against the metal, it was warm from Riley’s body heat. Riley was right, of course, what happened to Rain may have been avoidable if Isaac had come to their assistance instead. But Isaac had no way of knowing what would happen if he went to InCorp instead of the Registry.

Because of that choice, Riley and Rain were gone.

Archer was the new Director, which meant that there was no one on Isaac’s team anymore. Isaac wasn’t even a part of the team, with Tyloki in a Lockbox. Isaac’s heartbeat picked up, and he started to slide slowly down the wall. He pressed his fingertips into the blue collar brand around his neck. If he had kept Tyloki around, how much of this could have been avoided?

He made the decision to get rid of Tyloki, and now Archer and Alkaid were gone.

When he broke into Freeman’s house, he uploaded their database onto the internet. And because of that, Rufus was gone.

Miria had vanished, and though that was not his fault, it was still his responsibility to find her.

Sera and the rest of his family had moved to another city.

As Isaac sat on the floor of the hallway, breathing rapidly, he realized that everyone was gone. Every single person that mattered to him had either died, walked away, or been taken away. He had never been so alone.

Riley, Rain, Archer, Alkaid, Rufus, Miria, Sera, Dominic.

Tyloki.

Isaac couldn’t stop his mind from racing back to the beginning, to try to find the moment where it began, the choice to blame for everything that came after. He had no way of knowing what would come after, but it was still the decision at the heart of it all.

Elsewhere, in another world, a massive black wolf sat in solitude, leaning his back against a rock, enjoying the coolness of it. His whiskers twitched.

Isaac and Tyloki, they sat separated by the walls of reality, by the distance formed by their hatred for each other, and yet they found themselves in the same place, sitting back to back on either side of an impenetrable wall.

Isaac knew which choice he had made that led to everything. It led to Dominic kidnapping Sera, to Archer becoming Director, to Rain’s death, and Riley’s despair. It led to Isaac finding a new reason to live, and then having it yanked out from underneath him.

He closed his eyes and tried to will it all away, to put it back the way it had been before. But there was no hope of that, because once time passed, it was gone forever. He went over the moment again and again, trying hopelessly to make a different decision. Trying to change everything.

“I accept.”

Two words that had changed everything. From that moment on, Tyloki or not, Isaac was a Collar. No matter how much or who he lost, there was no going back from that.

For the first time in his life, Isaac felt significant, that his life and choices carried weight. It was a weight he didn’t want to carry. He wanted to be unimportant, he wanted to be irrelevant to the world, unable to change the course of events as they marched forward through time.

He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t go back. So if he was going to be significant, there was only one way to go.

Isaac would have to move forward. He would have to be important. He would have to be a hero.

“What do you think you are doing? What do you think gives you the right to come here?”

“I want to make it right.”

“You want to make it right? I do not care which petty human problem you think you can make me fix. It is none of my concern.”

“Everything is different. It’s all changed.”

“Everything does not change. I will never cease to grow tired of your hyperbole. Run away, boy.”

“I’m not a boy. Not anymore. And every time I’ve tried running away, it hasn’t exactly worked out for me. I’m done running.”

“You have said so before.”

“You’re right. So my words don’t mean anything. You’ll just have to let me show you, instead.”

“I do not have to do anything.”

“You’re always trying to argue. It’s a figure of speech.”

“Say the words that you mean, nothing more or less.”

“I want another chance.”

“I have no desire to spend any more of my time on you. I could live forever, and every moment of my time would still be worth more than you.”

“I’m done talking with you about my worth. It doesn’t matter. You’re strong. You could do great things, no matter who your Collar was. The only other option you have is to wait until I die on my own.”

“A pittance of time.”

“And how do you know that you won’t die along with me, even if I die of old age? That’s what I thought. You want to make sure I don’t die and take you with me? You’re the only one strong enough to keep me alive.”

“I have no interest in keeping someone alive who is so selfish they would sell out hundreds for no benefit other than to play the part of a public hero.”

“You’d give your own life to hold a moral high ground?”

“If I am tied to you in any way, I am already doomed. But I appreciate the morality lecture, you suicidal runt.”

“Maybe living for so long has confused you, so think about it. Even if you die with me in a few decades, you’ll still have time to save others. You’ll still be able to make good on your promise to Jin.”

“Do not dare to guilt me with Jin’s death yet again. I have done my part since the beginning of this world’s existence. I have saved more lives than you have any concept of. If your fragile mortality drags me along, you will be the one to blame for every life I could have saved for the rest of your world’s time.”

“If there’s guilt over Jin’s death then it belongs to you. I’ve got no part in it. For someone who chides me enough for running away, you still seem pretty stuck on Jin. He’s gone, has been for a long time. You need to move on.”

“I took care of who is responsible for Jin’s death.

“Did you? The Thrall that killed Jin, it showed up at Alyssa’s house, served itself up to us. The Thrall that attacked InCorp had something to do with Freeman’s plan to assault the Registry. How?”

“I killed the creature responsible.”

“If that were true, why go after Dominic? Because there’s a Hell of a lot of blame to go around. There’s someone else, or something else, responsible. You can see it as well as I can.”

“He pissed me off. You piss me off.

“Stop it. He was partially responsible, so was Jin.”

“Yes, humans are often terrible creatures.

“If there is someone else, I’m the only chance you’ve got to find them.”

“You want me to come fight your battles for you again.”

“No, but I need your help in order to fight my own.”

“You severed the connection with ease before, did you not think once about how incapable you are of fighting your battles on your own then?”

“Then, I wanted to be incapable of fighting. That was before Rain…”

“Before he died to save you humans and your world. To fix more problems and destructions your kind was going to bring on itself. Surprised that he was the one to die first. At least you got one last good fuck in, hmm?”

“Somehow, I thought you’d be proud.”

“Nothing makes me proud like having to sit and watch you on all your little dates, yet dealing with resistance, reluctance, and scorn whenever I try to help.”

“We’re not getting anywhere. I should have known this is as far as I’d get. Still, thought it was worth a try.”

“Nothing has changed. You do not want me around as anything other than an ally in battle. You shut down and stiffen up the moment you think of me. You want my strength. You still resent me.”

“Why should I think any better of you? You expect to treat me the way you do, I should love you for it? But here’s what kills me. You’re wrong. I do think differently of you than I used to. You only need take a look.”

“I do not need your love.”

“And I don’t need yours. Look, I’m not here to argue. I’m offering you an opportunity. There is no way for you to turn it down and make it my fault. You always talk so big. Show me why everyone whispers your name with apprehension.”

“Would you have done it?”

“What?”

“The lighter. Would you have done it?”

“I don’t know.”

“So you have changed.”

“That’s what I told you.”

“I am done being gentle. If I did give you another chance, we would have to start over again. At the beginning.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Kneel.”

End of Book One