A droplet of water plops close by, splashing my shins lightly.

I look above as water collects through the hole in the ceiling. “So that skylight was actually a drain…” Our little home base down in the sewers had been flooded after the rain, little damaged however since Shaz had the foresight to put everything important on an elevated shelf.

Still, what the hell were you planning to do if it rained when we slept. I pick up a soggy bedsheet and flap it against the wall.

I look around for a couple moments, then click my tongue and drop the sheet back into the water.

I walk away, leaving the door slightly ajar for draining. I glance back and then walk away into the dark.

Suddenly a small light lights up the walls. I look down to see Avery’s finger wrapped in a small fire as she wades into the room.

“It is you.” Avery says in a tired voice, after which the fire extinguishes.

“I didn’t know you knew any magic besides water.” I comment quietly.

“I had to learn a little bit of everything growing up. Mostly just some basics for everyday life though.” After which an awkward silence.

“What’s next?” Avery asks.

“I don’t know. I haven’t had to do anything like this before.” And if the future is already set, how am I supposed to change anything?

…

“…” Avery makes a little noise but goes silent again.

…

“I’ll find you a safe place to stay at. All I care about right now is that nothing happens to you.” I say coldly, tone not matching the message. “Let’s take what’s important and get out of here for now.”

Avery stumbles onto her feet. “You sound. Kinda. You know… Distant. Did… Did I miss something?” Avery says, carefully choosing each word.

I begin stuffing food and various devices into a large bag. “Are these important?” I hold out some tools.

…

”Um, I don’t think so.”

I set them back down and continue working.

”Are you able to tell me anything? It’s fine if you can’t say anything, just… Let me know.” Avery redirects the conversation back.

“What would you do if you found out?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything unless you tell me… Sorry.” Avery apologizes to me. For some reason.

“I see, then I’d rather keep it that way.”

The air between us grew more and more strained, attempts to communicate broken up by awkward pauses and uncomfortable silences.

”Blueprints yea?” I grab a stack of papers from the shelf and turn to Avery.

”Yes, they’re important to Shaz for—”

”Let’s get out of here.” That was uncouth of you wasn’t it?

But Avery simply shrugs off my interruption and looks around.

As I haul the bag over my shoulder. I look at Avery grabbing a metal box off the shelf.

”What is that?”

”Something Shaz was working on that would allow us to pass through the rift.” Avery briefly explains. “It doesn’t work right now, but it has its uses.”

“… Sure.”

We then leave the base.

The two of us shuffle through the sewers for the next 20 minutes, neither of us talking.

“I’m lost.” I finally announce.

“…” Avery doesn’t respond.

“You’re still with me right?”

“Oh, um yes. I just zoned out. Sorry, I can lead us out.” Avery says casually as the tunnel lights up once more with her finger. Much to my great annoyance.

“Oh, was I close?”

“Hmm? Close to what?”

“Well, if you know the way out then I must have been following the right path if you’ve been following me all this time… Right?” Anger seeps deeply into my voice.

“Well that’s uhmm… No, not really? I thought you were taking a different way out.” Avery’s voice begins to waver.

“Damn it, damn it, Damn it!” I suddenly punch the wall to my left, dust and stone crumbling under my fist. “What the hell did I choose!?” I cover my ears with my arms. “Why can’t I remember?”

I had him, I had all that I ever wanted right there. I was on the cusp of taking my life back, and yet… This stupid girl, this stupid girl who would blindly follow me even if I was leading her in the wrong direction. I chose to save her for some reason. What’s the justification? I can’t remember. Why would I do this?

“I’m sorry.” Avery finally says.

“Sorry for what?” I say, annoyed by yet another one of her panicked apologies

“Whatever happened… I was probably at the center of it wasn’t I? I don’t remember very well… But I think I’m good at reading situations.” Avery says with unexpected sincerity.

… I turn to her. “It’s not your fault, don’t worry.” I just can’t help but blame you. I say the second part silently.

Just. Like. Before.

I’m being unreasonable here. I shouldn’t take everything out on Avery who’s more confused than I am. There’s nothing she could have done either back then.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Yea, sorry, I was out of line. I apologize.” I continue on. “I’ll tell you everything.”

And so, in the darkness of the sewers, I recant all about Yeluh, the death loop, and their deaths; however, I leave out everything related to Dundee and my past. Avery stays quiet and doesn’t interrupt a single time.

“Okay. Then let’s find Torika so we can rescue them.” Avery unexpectedly says after I finish summarizing.

“You aren’t going.” I immediately shut her down.

“I’m a Tetsudo. They won’t know how to deal with me. I… I can freeze them for you!” Avery’s enthusiasm began showing through.

“Absolutely none of that matters when you can’t fight in the first place. Stay here and stay alive.” I say.

“All I gotta do is point and fire. I won’t get close.” Avery fake punches the air with enthusiasm, her thumb tucked inside her fist and her wrist limp.

“I promise you whatever you’re thinking about right now is nothing like what fighting is really like.”

“How many people have you killed?”

…

Finally Avery doesn’t respond.

“I mean, Taiga doesn’t kill either right?” She says.

“Taiga would have died twice already if he were a normal person.”

“Okay, then I can do it. I just have too…” Avery hesitates. “I can do it!”

“What is ‘it?’”

“You know…”

“Yea?”

“Kill.” Avery doesn’t hide her cringe upon even uttering the word.

“Right… Let’s find someone to kill then.” I begin walking away.

“What?”

“We’re going to go outside, drag a stranger from the street, and murder him or her.”

“Wait what? No!?”

“Oh you want something a little more morally tasteful? How about we walk around at night until we get attacked by a mugger or something?”

“What are you talking about?! Stop it, we don’t have to do any of that!” Avery cries. “I just… Just let me help in some way alright?”

“You can help out by surviving alright? Cause I really might lose my mind if you die after all I’ve been through.” I swing around angrily, causing Avery to shrink back.

“I… I’ll… Okay.”

Taiga

What the fuck is going on?

I keep my eyes closed and my breathing steady, hoping to appear unconscious as I was before.

Shaz was next to me. I think. My hands and legs had been tied together, and my mask was…

Forty feet away, across to the rooms to my left. I had recently been able to feel its location without my mask on somehow.

“Hey, are you awake?” Shaz nudges me in the shoulder and whispers something.

“You were awake this entire time?”

He continues whispering, but I can’t hear him due to my poor hearing.

“What did you say?”

“I said! I think we’ve been captured by the Iquen!” Shaz seethes through his teeth.

“Then, all I gotta do is wait for my mask to come back. We’ll be fine, relax.” I focus on my mask, willing it to return to my side.

From getting thrown around a hurricane, getting surprise attacked by Polly, finally the kidnappers caravan. My mask always came back with perfect timing. It’s happened three times already. It’s time to take a hint. The more I will get my mask to return the faster it happens. It’s conceptually linked to me.

I visualize my mask on my face, phasing through the wall, rounding the corner and pummeling through the metal bars.

…

…

“AHHHHHHH!” My focus is interrupted by a sudden scream and bang from the rooms next to ours.

“What the…” The banging continues.

“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! I HAVE TO AGHHHH.” The yells continue as loud thuds could now be heard as the man punches the wall repeatedly, the thuds soon turning fleshy.

I stop thinking about the mask and just stare at the wall in shock. As soon as I stop thinking about the mask the thuds and screams abruptly stop.

“Shaz? Did you hear that?” I turn to Shaz, who was crouching down rubbing the floor.

Wait… I feel the floor around me as well. “Is this black metal?” I ask Shaz.

“Yes.”

“I thought it was insanely expensive, how is it possible to make an entire cell out of it??”

“It’s not, it’s just a very thin layer spread across the floor.” Shaz stares at the ground, deep in thought.

“Hm?”

“Stop talking and don’t reveal anything technical. I don’t know how you aren’t feeling it, but they’re trying to get information out of us.” Shaz starts sweating, before he starts poking down on his neck. More specifically a pressure point, if pushed hard enough on both sides, can cause a loss of consciousness.

“Punch me right now.” He says. “Don’t argue, please—”

I reach forward and smack him right in the jaw as soon as he says this.

“Ow! What are you doing? Don’t hold back, don’t tell me you’re this weak without your mask.”

“I’m fucking trying!” I smack him again, this time spinning around for a kick as well.

What are we doing? This is completely pointless.

“You missed you blind fuck!” Shaz squeezes his eyes shut in pain as he continues to block his brain of blood.

Shaz is not thinking clearly right now, and neither am I.

Suddenly the room begins to fill with smoke, almost immediately I could feel a rise in drowsiness as the air reaches my bloodstream through my lungs.

Shaz grimaces and shuts one of his eyes, he looks at me before covering his mouth with a fist.

“We’re… Stay strong.” I quickly figure out what Shaz was trying to communicate and grunt at him as we both go down.

“Been a while since we’ve had to use a traditional anesthetic. Never seen anyone with no Anku.” In my final waking moments the door opens and a tall shaded man walks in.

A sudden fear grips my heart. A fear that completely overrides the effects of the sleep gas. I bring my hand up to my face and blink.

My mask simply appears, no logic based in reality to its appearance just like with Polly.

“Interesting.” The man holds up a hand as I spring at him, a new vigor driven completely by fight or flight. In the air, I wind up my arm, but quickly feel as if a hundred pound weight was dragging my entire arm down. So… Slow, I didn’t feel this slow before… It’s like… My body’s been…

The man catches my fist effortlessly and smiles.

“Any other powers you want to show me? Or is Anku really the only thing in that mask right now?” He asks.

This guy knows about the mask’s abilities, why does he know?!

Don’t reveal anything about yourself.

Shaz’s words resonate and I stop struggling, letting weakness take me under.

“I can make things a lot easier if you cooperate. Don’t be a hero.” I hear the shaded man’s final words before I lose myself.

Avery

I stare at my palm, making, reforming, and melting an icicle over and over again. The wooden floor underneath me drips with water.

I just gotta get it sharp enough to pierce skin.

Polly forbade me from coming but… I have to help back. They both stepped up when I needed help so I have to return the favor.

I wince as I visualize myself launching the cold pike into someone’s body. In my thoughts I could see the blood slowly seeping through, turning the water red, the gap in flesh fully visible through the transparent ice.

After that the ice would shatter, shards cutting even further into the exposed flesh, melting and frosting, freezing vessels and organs until they’re rendered useless, rending from the inside like a trapped snake grafted into your skin, scratching and squirming and—

Suddenly the door beside me rustles. I yelp and hurriedly fall to the ground desperately mopping up all the water back into my hand.

“Sorry to bother, but that Shesuan girl asked for all meals to be delivered to the room?”

“Yes, yes! Just leave it on the floor, I’ll pick it up.” I respond as water dries up from the floor.

“Okay.” The servicewoman responds simply. I hear a thump as the tray’s placed on the ground and footsteps as the woman behind the door walks away. I feel my racing heart pounding through my chest.

I ball my hair up into a fist in frustration. I shouldn’t fight, I have no experience and I’ll just drag her down. It’s good that you know your limits. Yea, it’s good that I don’t make the same mistakes that other people–

No! That’s the mindset that…

I interrupt my thoughts before I spiral and take a deep breath.

I take another deep breath.

Right.

All I have to do is make some ice, then launch it.