Two weeks.

I was in there for too long. Not much point in telling you about the fights I had while I was there, how I teamed up with Grey. All that matters is how I got out.

A day before my confrontation with Shamrock I was lazing about their HQ, or at least the one in ‘goldeye city’.

They had me on a team with this world’s version of people I know, like Clover and Feoli. Grey said it would lower Unity’s suspicions if I attended meetings and stuff as normal. I assumed more leniency would be afforded to him, with him being a member of the inner circle of the organisation.

Despite living there as long as I did, I only learned what felt necessary, like what Hand-Made’s powers are.

There was the fairly obvious one, teleportation, I didn’t check any of the ‘databases’, I was frightened away from that source by how quickly she caught onto Grey’s research material being taken out.

I’m glad I didn’t, because after having a talk behind the safety of Grey’s walls, I found out what her second ability was, as well as the ‘database’ .

“It’s her brain. In a roundabout way.”

I left my index finger on the page of a dusty tome he had me reading through, on the section detailing the effects of despair on your relationship with the Dark Gods. Apparently they’re into that.

I raised one brow and lowered the other, “She’s a robot?”

He shook his head. “In a roundabout way, I said. That would be literal, direct. I find that the two abilities that make a third worlder are typically the same ability manifesting within two of the archetypes I mentioned previously. Of course, you can have multiple abilities manifest within one archetype, Axel Right being an example of that: Programming and robotics; an ability solely present in his thoughts, the mind.

“Hand-Made is an example of the former, she can teleport herself, along with objects and others: body. But she is also capable of teleporting information, things like security footage, government records, their systems are built to allow her access to all of it, as soon as a violation of conduct, or wanted criminal is found, a transmission will be sent directly to her brain, or whatever she really has in there.”

I feigned disinterest, “I only really asked for the last bit, you didn’t have to lecture me.”

“I’m telling you what you want to know. I worked with Green his entire career; I know for a fact that you still have questions you want to ask me.”

I didn’t, at least, I didn’t want to shift our focus off me getting out of this reality; whether it is another universe or just an illusion. I knew it was wrong to play into this, because the only thing I knew for certain was that this was all to make me ‘happy’. It’s just a bad move to follow breadcrumb trails like this.

“What does that mean though? Your ‘mind’ is just electricity burning and passing through bits of your brain, and last I checked, my brain is a part of my body.” I had closed the book and wheeled my chair over to him by this point.

“No, it’s not exactly… It’s tricky to explain, but they are ‘archetypes’, an example of a larger grouping of things. Body is flesh, adrenaline, your basest instincts. Mind is thought, memory, ideas. Soul is more esoteric, naturally. It is a measure of energy, but no weight or physicality. It doesn’t grow, it stretches and wains as you age, it simply is as it is. It cannot be broken with brute force nor by ordinary institutional methods. I’d say the soul embodies the will, it allows you to be reasoned with, and above all else, the part of the psyche that reminds you that you are you. It’s the core. At least that’s how I’ve heard it.”

I dropped my slightly aloof pretence, he further elaborated.

“Of course, this isn’t just categorisation for the sake of bureaucracy, there is a far deeper cosmologically meaning to all of this, but far more relevant to us human beings, it highlights your enemies’ weaknesses. Someone who’s primary and secondary ability is embodied within the body archetype, is going to be tougher to defeat through physical means.”

I thought back on my abilities, the match ups I’d had. My primary is obviously a ‘body’, and if I had to guess, I’d say SP2 is a ‘mind’, given that I might not actually have a soul.

I reflected on my encounter with Sym-29, his matched mine, though I beat him in body by taking him by surprise before he had a chance to dematerialise. He beat me in mind, probably one of the reasons he needs his opponent to be unconscious to upload them.

Thinking back it was my SP2 that got me out of there, so I guess I beat him in mind too. Though I wish it had kicked in sooner, although I don’t remember much of what he did to me, I know it was hell.

Well, Lechoslaw Limorilow’s mind ability is shaping up to be just as bad, if not worse.

“Enough. I- I’ve begun rambling. Sorry, but I’m certain that I was the Grey chosen out of infinity to be your companion, due to my habit for going on about the occult, a subject you seem to have an intrest in too.”

I almost went red. Realising that I had once again fallen for the temptation this place had presented before me. It became harder and harder to remind myself that this place was an attack, sometimes I’d find myself chanting it as a mantra, though it almost never fended off this feeling.

That I was right at home.

One possibility that came to mind was that this was a result of me co-opting this Me’s body, but after Grey’s lesson, I’m now thinking it’s Green's soul that’s doing this. Making me feel so laxadaisy.

I promised Grey, “If I ever find you getting off topic, I’ll try and set you straight. Just do the same for me, ok?”

Then he did it.

I’d say it was eerie, creepy even, if I hadn’t gotten to know the honesty behind the bone white face.

Grey smiled.

“Of course. Maybe you don’t know Shamrock, but that’s what partners do.”

This brings us back to my position at the headquarters. I was reminiscing on the cult histories we’d been researching, a dead pan glare fixed on the tiled roof above.

Suddenly, as heart racing as a gun shot, I felt Clover lean into my ear and whisper something.

I didn’t hear what she said, there was something electrifying about her hot breath passing my ear, the brief moment her hair stroked against my neck.

I shot out of my seat and scolded her, “Don’t d-do that! Christ! Don’t you know not to sneak up on people?”

She curled her lips, “What?? You liked that, didn’t you?? You freaken' perv!”

My face went red, as I tried to fumble out a response that would completely shut her down. But I couldn’t.

If I’ve learnt anything from this place, it’s not what a soul is, nor that the multiverse is real, it’s that you can try to repress any feelings you have, but they’re still there, aren’t they?

I’m 18, and I have spent years trying to get rid of deprived stuff like this. Judging from my relationship with Clover here, those feelings have devolved, frustration has built up over time to the point that the only girl I have any kind of relationship with get’s hit with it. That’s the only reason we’re like this, she’s been pinned with my bull crap.

This is my fault. I’m glad that I found out about this before doing anything too weird or embarrassing to the real Clover.

Too embarrassing.

Suddenly I remembered when I asked her if she thought I was attractive. Steam began to shoot out of my ears.

“Not many people are here today, huh? Feoli and the others are out on a mission with Hand-Made, most of Unity proper is looking for Shamrock, Axel’s busy with that experimental chassis…” She clasped her hands in front of her and cat walked up to me.

This is an attack, I reaffirmed, this is an attack.

Her smile curved further, taking the same shape it had a few days before Valentine’s when she was talking to Axel.

“Come on…” She said, “Doesn’t have to be for long. We haven’t done anything in weeks.”

I hate to admit it, it makes my skin crawl, but this did break my mantra.

I began to think, wouldn’t it be best if I did fool around with her? Grey said to try and act like Green would, it would be suspicious if he ignored his beautiful girlfriend. Yeah, and while I’m at it, I’ll be able to release some of this frustration, which will improve my relationship with the real Clover, no more awkward silence while we bum about town, we can just talk.

Not to mention, this is what I want isn’t it? Regardless of whether this is an attack or not, it doesn’t matter, this place is meant for me, it’s meant to be enjoyed. So what if it’s an attack, I can take it, I deserve to take it. After all the shit I’ve been through, Valentines, the Pooka, there’ll be plenty more examples after I get out of here.

Go ahead, say it, say yes, once you get out of here, you aren’t getting this chance again, and I’m not talking about breaking her pelvis.

I can handle any attack.

But this…

This isn’t right. No, this is downright evil.

This… is not my world, it’s not my Clover, and it sure as hell isn’t me. Whether this is a hallucination or not, it isn’t real.

“I can’t- I don’t have the time, I’ve gotta meet up with Grey about- about the Shamrock case. He thinks there might be some clues left behind- you know, after that monster attack in South America.”

She called me out, “You sure as hell didn’t look like you were in a rush a minute ago. Explain this much to me Green, why are you acting weird?”

I tried to skirt around the subject, “Weird? No, I don’t know what you mean, I’ve just been busy with work, you know how much of a hard ass Grey can be.”

“Don’t do this,” She pleaded, “Don’t fall back on… shutting yourself off. You’ve come so far since we first met, by now you should know that you aren’t alone. You never have been.”

I didn’t want to lie to her, not after that teasing smile had fallen away. Now she was Saoirse, a person who genuinely cared about me.

“I… Sorry, but I wasn’t lying, it really is work…” I put on a frown, spoke with a serious tone, and spouted out something that sounded important, “… I’m being considered for a spot in Unity proper.”

Suddenly, the girls face shifted from simply being concerned for a loved one, to shock and horror, “You’re replacing Grey! Are you even allowed to talk about this??”

I didn’t know this system well enough to understand that Green would be replacing Grey.

Nor did I think anything would be wrong with me talking about the subject with someone else. It’d been two weeks since Hand-Made told me about it, and I hadn’t thought about it, let alone talked about it with her since then.

“Excuse us for a second, Rabbit.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, we were outside, atop a sky scraper. A crash of wind blasted into me chilling me to the bone, though it was certainly aided by the shock of teleporting.

I gritted my teeth as I collapsed to the floor, spinning my head around to find her.

Hand-Made stood solid, I’d say she was like a statue as she posed with her fists on her hips, if it weren’t for the fact that her long slight-blue hair was whipping wildly in the wind. She was wearing her silver costume, the rubber-like material giving off a slight golden shimmer in the sun.

Though she shouted, she kept her nonchalant tone, “You were doing great up till that last bit, Green. We’re going to have to do this now, Rabbit’s trustworthy, but just in case Grey was listening in on you, like me, we’ll have to go now. Where’s your suit?”

I stammered out its location, and she was gone, leaving me there alone with my thoughts for a few seconds.

She was listening in on my conversations? Since when? Since my birthday party? Before that in this world’s timeline? That sure as hell doesn’t sound like the type of universe I would like to live in.

Have I changed it so much? Had she, like Grey, noticed a change in my behaviour? Had I thrown a stone into the water with my response to joining Unity? If I’d known Grey’d be losing his job, then I’d have said no.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Perhaps it was earlier than that, when she was alerted to Grey taking out those files on Shamrock. Either way, this mess was my fault, I’d rocked the boat.

It was at this point I decided it would be best to explain the situation to Hand-Made, even if I didn’t trust her entirely, even if it went against Grey’s advice.

She finally popped back in, my bag in hand. “Get changed now, we’ll handle the press conference right after we deal with Grey.”

“A-alright.” I decided to hold off, until I had Grey to help me explain the situation. “Before we, uh, inaugurate me, can we have a second to talk to Grey? I think we’ll all need a minute to explain things.”

She jerked her painted lips into a smile, “Of course. There’ll be time.”

Without even touching me, we were instantly transported again, this time appearing in Grey’s hideout. He didn’t hear us at first, his focus was on the text I had been reading the other day. It was me who gave us away, an awkward twitch of surprise against the floor.

He whipped his head around, shut the tome, and kicked himself from the chair. Again, we teleported, out of sight but still in his complex, and not far enough away that he couldn’t hear Hand-Made.

“Is that any way to treat an old friend, Lecho?”

He replied, even I noticed a tension in his voice while I was still feeling the effects of the heroine’s ability. “Maria, I didn’t know it was you, forgive me. If you’d let me know you were coming-”

She interrupted, “If I’d let you know I was coming, you probably wouldn’t have any of those old books out, right? Where did you get those? They must be ancient.”

He was hesitant to reply, I could tell he was stalking the area by a change in the echo, “I’m sure you know, I’ve been looking into Shamrock, looking into possible avenues for him to have gained his power. If you look at one of these texts, you can see for yourself.”

She laughed, as she once again teleported, “You’re acting like I’m accusing you of something Lech! No, I know more than that, Limorilow, I know what’s in those pages. Let’s just say I had a little lantern shine some light on your ‘dark’ past.” She punched me on the same spot she had two weeks ago.

I felt my arm, the slightest bump.

She teleported something into me before? She was listening, or rather, perceiving through it.

Then she already knew everything me and Grey had been talking about, after the party.

“He played his part well, and he’ll be rewarded with your seat. While he talked to you in here, I was looking into your past, I found out about all those nasty little cults. Another thing I know? Is that bad habits, like smoking, you tend to drop them around twenty-something, you go straight, get a better job, cut yourself off from that past. You continue on for ten or twenty years…”

She teleported again.

“… until you see a young man who was just like you. Someone who has their whole life ahead of them, they’re filled with that youthful will, it pushes them to do whatever they want, regardless of whatever rules are in the way, because of that attitude, that rush that comes with youth. Kids. They have a sort of power in there rebeliousness. In Shamrock’s case, literally. You admire it don’t you?”

It was a few seconds later that the lights were shut off, I realised he was using the same technique he had on me.

“You think I’m going through a mid-life crisis,” The voice boomed from all around.

“Worse, Limorilow.”

She snickered, “You haven’t been the same physically since getting that pace maker. You’re slower, and it’s not just that you’re slower than you were when you were younger. It’s that in comparison to the rest of Unity, you’re decaying. You’re experiencing a crisis of faith, your faith in yourself, in the system… When the present fails you, the only place you’ve got to go is the past. Your’s just so happens to be filled with extra-dimensional beings that can promise something more.”

Grey laughed into the speakers, while I was being pulled around be Hand-Made, along with realising I had been very wrong about her intentions, I also realised that something was off in Grey’s breathing.

“Hahaha… Of course, you would look into the past, Maria. Your regressive. This world has become a revolving door. All that changes is who’s on the main team, who’s at the top. We’ve become complacent. Slowly, we’re growing ignorant to people’s intentions in favour of how we perceive them. Shamrock is a vigilante. He operates outside of the government, but why’s that such a bad thing? He hasn’t killed anyone. Is it because it makes him unpredictable? Haha… I’ve been a part of the system, and you’ve never found out about any of the horrible things I did back then. You hate the idea of him, because he’s the future. I place my hope in somebody, anybody escaping, to become a single unit, rather than a Unity. Someday, people will do… good without you… preaching.”

The blackness went silent.

The fight had begun, I thought.

Hand-Made moved through the dark, the blue glow of her costume and visor briefly illuminating her surroundings as we moved through, again without touching me, we were teleported.

I tried to pick the right move to make, deciding on when to attack her. I first broke down what I could figure out from the few times I’d seen her use the ability.

The time she had teleported me before getting this bump in my arm, she was touching me, and every time we’ve rematerialized, I have been right beside her, physically touching her.

The conclusion I eventually came to was that she needs to touch somebody to teleport them, I made the assumption that whatever she put in me counted as a part of herself, probably an example of her second ability, her ‘computer brain’ might be connected to it, giving her my location, and who knows what else.

It was likely enough that this thing communicated sound to here, but then I started to wonder, what about my heart beat, my nerves, could she observe those? She couldn’t ‘observe’ my thoughts at least, or she’d have known I was watching her openings.

If she knew my location then it’s likely that she’d be able to tell if I’m throwing a punch at her.

I realised I’d need an opening from Grey, to make it look like I was reacting to him, instead of clobbering her over the head. If that didn’t knock her out, then I’d have to tear this thing from my arm. It’d hurt like a bitch, but I’d have to do it sooner or later.

At that point I thought me and Grey would be going on the run for a while.

I waited and I waited for Grey to come, judging from Hand-Made’s posture, I could tell Grey was an outright better fighter, his lack of powers being the huge disadvantage, but it had led to him developing ways around opponents.

It’s the sort of hero I thought I’d become, in a world without powers.

But still I waited. Time begun to pass, eventually my heart rate began to slow down, as Hand-Made announced, “You might as well turn the lights on, Grey. I already know exactly where you’re lying.”

And the lights did come on.

And then she teleported us.

He was collapsed on the floor, the bulk of his black suit rising and falling irregularly. One of his arms was splayed, the other he was lying on.

There was a harshness, a struggle in his breathing, as more and more sweat built up on his face. I bared my teeth and went wide eye’d nearly popping them from my skull. I at once noticed that they had started to wet as well.

“I did tell you… You haven’t been the same since getting that pace maker. I took… precautions. Put counter measures in place. I felt guilty at the time, but I’m glad my concerns were justified. At first, I was just prejudiced to your past as a vigilante, then I got to know you, and I became anxious. Then I got to know the real you, and my worries faded.”

He was still conscious, just barely, “Dwuu… wa… any… real…? S-Sam…”

I rushed over to him, Hand-Made watching over, “Grey, I-I d-didn’t know, I-I… Ye- yeah, please, God…”

He groaned, “No…” He flopped the splayed arm, and I looked over to it, “It… Irminsul- Irminsul is at fault… If… real… It can be… Unreal. Off…” I tried to make sense of what he was saying, then I looked at his hand, two fingers still reached out. I looked away from him, blinking my eyes.

“I understand your sympathy Green… Sam.” Hand-Made put a hand on my shoulder as she tried to pull me away from him.

“But this is how things had to be. He was a liar. And he did a lot worse. This was a debt that he needed to pay sooner or later.” I got up from my bent over position, shook.

I walked over to the desk he was sitting at, the point the hand motioned to.

“A liar? Anyone could tell you he was honestly trying to help people when he put that mask on.”

I could hear her fold her arms, “Sam, you can’t know that. All of this occult paraphernalia, you can’t tell me you don’t understand how dangerous all of this is. How tempted he would have been to go back to it all.”

I analysed some of the things sitting in front of me, there was a dagger and one of the books, a volume I hadn’t read yet.

“He hated himself. The person he was, the person he might have become had he went a step further. But He didn’t. That’s why I need to go back home.”

She was a little confused, “What are you…”

I stabbed myself in the arm, wedging the lump free.

I screamed out as loud as I could in an attempt to force myself through the pain.

“I AM SHAMROCK! I AM NOT A SUPER HERO YET, BUT I SEEM TO KNOW A HELL OF A LOT MORE ABOUT IT THEN YOU DO! IT’S ABOUT TRUST! AN UNSHAKING WILL TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT! YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN IT, IF YOU DON’T, THEN THERE’S NOTHING ‘SUPER’ ABOUT YOU! SAVE AS MANY LIVES AS YOU WANT, WHEN YOU PULL SHIT LIKE THIS, YOU’RE NO DIFFERENT FROM ANYBODY ELSE! I’LL NEVER LOSE TO SOMEONE AS WEAK WILLED AS YOU! FUCKING COME AT ME YOU BI-.”

She closed the gap, grabbing me by the wrist.

Then we were just outside the mansion, she was overlooking a cliff face, and I was hanging off of it.

“Do not fuck with me Green. This isn’t the time.” She seemed more serious now than when she killed her team mate, “You can’t face the real world with such unrealistic ideals, and you sure as hell can’t be a part of Unity as long as you support the memory of a terrorist.”

I grappled onto her outstretched arm, kicking at the air as she held me at arms-length. She’s done this before; I could tell from her unshaking resolve. I couldn’t see how far the drop was from the way she was holding me, but it couldn’t have been a short one.

“I don’t want to do this to you Sam. You have so many people who care about you. I’ve met your parents. I know Clover’s crazy about you. Grey was an old man; nobody will care that he’s gone. He was in the ninth position for Christ’s sake. Do not go throwing away your future.”

It was at this point I wished I had that book, for all I know it had some kind of incantation to get me home.

I threw my legs up, my more gymnastic body allowing for me to reach her arm and wrap my legs around.

She tumbled off the cliff, the both of us tumbling through clouds, “Fine. I’ll see if I can hook her up with one of those Russian kids to make this up to Clover.”

We teleported again, landing in a city, she used me to break her fall. I coughed blood up as she and the fall crushed me into the pavement.

I held on.

It was a sizeable drop, but not high enough to kill.

Next, she took me to the site of a blizzard, ramming me through snow and ice that had built up on the ground.

I unhooked one leg, and started kicking her in the face as my body screamed out.

Then came a desert, which finally broke my grip, the harsh contrast of the two elements gave me the sensation of exploding, switching between two locations of varying heights was bad enough, this was unbearable.

She was still holding onto me by the wrist, licking a trace of blood from her busted lip. “You were pretty good after all.” I clenched my free fist and threw it at her.

She simply jumped on her feet.

And teleported us somewhere cold again. Time seemed to slow as I watched her bob up, her hair bouncing with her, before she disappeared.

I again began to fall, looking down at my destination, I could see the curvature of the earth.

I could see it all.

I don’t know how high up I was, but I was at a height that wouldn’t kill a human being from the cold.

If I had to guess, I was probably in the stratosphere. Though I've that's just a guess.

As I was falling, I wondered if I could survive such a fall with my durability. I was starting to miss it now, more than anything.

I had once considered that ending my life might bring me back to reality. It would explain why this reality was so perfect for me, as a way to stop me from dying accidentally, or trying to go down that route.

But if it didn’t work for Bill Murray, probably won’t work for me, right?

I don’t know if I was beginning to burn up from the fall or not, my body had gone numb, I couldn’t even feel the cartoonish force pushing my skin around as I started to fall faster and faster.

Then it stopped, I don’t know when, but it stopped.

My eyes were forced open, allowing me to make out a blurry, colourless out line through what little tears I had left.

“You did well Shamrock. You’ve managed to remove us from Irminsul’s attention, whether you intended to or not. Here, we are finally safe.

The accent felt foreign now, it was Irish, not from Kerry, but it was a voice from home.

It was a girl’s voice, but not that of any I’d met before.

“Now that we have been rendered imperceptible to him, we can do what we do best-”

I slowly regained my sight little-by-little. I could see the stars, and the horizon burning behind the blurred figure.

“-We can cheat. Fight dirty. Remember, this is how we have always won.”

I wanted to know If we were dead.

“No, we’re still alive, don’t try to do die again, at least not in Irminsul. It’s hard enough saving you in The Pointless, imagine how frustrating it is to do this. Please try to stay focused.”

“Okay,” I thought.

“It’s time to do what we do best Shamrock… Lie. Steal. Plot. Connive. Deny. Rock. Sham. Cheat.”

“This is who you are.”

“This is who we are.”

“Overcome as much of this as you can. Pleasure. Lust. Warmth. Hope. Happiness. Good. Content. Self. Strip it away.”

“Till there’s a void.”

“Till there is less than void.”

I could see them now.

It was Shamrock. Well, it wasn’t, I’m Shamrock.

But they were there, holding me like an infant with one arm, the other was holding onto the tassel at the top of my mask.

Then they pulled it off.

And I saw their face.

“HAHAHA.”

Clover covered her mouth, trying not to break the tension in the room.

Lechoslaw Limorilow watched me, as I at once became aware of my ability to breathe.

Falling to a knee, I could finally, finally, look my enemy in the eyes.

“How long were you there for?” He asked, but he didn’t care. He knew the sort of torture he had subjected me to, he’d probably been through it himself, if Grey’s story was real.

“You- You tell.”

No light escaped his eyes, he didn’t even bat an eye. I found myself disturbed, that the face of the man I’d been working with for half a month was being worn by a monster.

“Just a second.”

I looked to Clover. She had finally shifted her gaze off the movie, finally taken notice that the fight had only just begun. She read it from my expression, and from hers, I found that she was at least frightened for me.

“Two. Weeks.” I made my contempt for him clear by enunciating my words.

“That long? You must have a weaker will than I originally thought. Or perhaps too strong a sense of self-conceit.”

What? Was there a clearer way to get out of that mess? What the fuck does conceit have to do with traveling across universes?

Unless I was right the first time. That it was an illusion that I let myself get tangled up in.

“You bastard… You really think… I’ll just let you toy with me? That I’ll just let you have your way with my mind? I’m going to put an end to your sick illusions.”

He raised a hand stiffly, “Calm down for a second and listen. That wasn’t an illusion. What you saw was as real as you or me. If you didn’t realise that… then you must be an even smaller minority than I thought. Few people come back, fewer still cheat their way through it.”

There was no way. I was shaking.

Did he know about what had happened?

Did he know about what was under that mask?

His eye’s twitched to the door on my right, “Regardless of your… personal circumstances, I think it would be best to reiterate the message until you fully understand. This world is pointless. Intentionally I assume. The sooner you realise that in the grand scheme of things your hopes, your will, your soul, your love, that none of that has any true meaning behind it… Then I believe you will understand the little purpose the Mountain can bring you.”

I don’t know what signal he gave, but through the door on my right blasted out a wall of flesh knocking the door open and sweeping me up like a wave.

Noah hadn’t built much solidity; I was able to fight back a little, occasionally forcing a fist out of him, peaking into the grungy hotel room.

I briefly freed my upper body, declaring to the dark figure, “I’ve been through too much to let you win now!”

Finally, his face changed. It was minute detail, but he squinted his eyes slightly.

“You don’t seem to understand, all of that? That attack you suffered through? Every pain and pleasure you encountered? That was a single second of our time. Brought about by a simple phrase.”

His tone once more felt like it was from a smiling face.

“And I told you that we would be here for a while. I have many gifts left to give you.”

I looked to Clover one more time. She turned away from me when I did.

“Hero, I give you the world.”

I once again threw an unfamiliar sheet off my body, still fighting Noah.

.

.

.

The room I was sleeping in was illuminated by a sharp glare from the sun outside. I knew what was going on this time around, there was really no reason for me to be so cautious. I knew that where ever I was it was made in my image. Stalking over to the large glass screen door, I first noticed the giant expanse of water, the blue being analogous to the orange of the rising sun.

Then I saw who was sitting there on the balcony. I winced as I opened the screen door, averting my gaze to my new body, perhaps built better than the other Me’s.

Maybe that just came with the age of my host.

Once the door was open, I could hear a murmur from the bundle in the woman’s arms.

My spirit was once again crushed, my face misshaped, not by an attack, but by a gift.