TRINITY TOWN, 12 YEARS AGO

Gaia's patience is waning by the minute.

"Come on, Logic... You said you were going to escort me to the station today!"

All of that she thought was Logic's fault, but it wasn't. Logic's portal suddenly stopped working. He sits in the dream world in silence, having visited to fetch something he thought he should return for her. In his hands is Gaia's first animatronic: Fauna.

...The changelog has been written on.

UPDATE 168.1

Dream Creatures shall be restricted entry to Timeline-2 and shall stay in the Dreamworld.

"Ugh, screw this." Gaia said, impatiently walking away. She never looked back and went straight for the train station, the comic book with her face advertised with full force. She conceals her identity by hiding her head in a blue hoodie; her face mask covering her face. Only two things were necessary: Her two eyes on the road.

Then, Security.

"Take off your hood and your mask, mamsir." The guard asks as she does a thorough inspection of her bag. However, she doesn't listen.

"I said take it off." He demandingly reiterates again. She takes a deep breath and reveals her face to the guard.

"Ah, you must be Gaia Logic! Here for a world tour to promote your comic book?"

"Guess you could say that... Are you finished?"

In the meantime during her inspection, the passengers start looking at her all of a sudden. She's there: The main character of the prologue of that game franchise she helped make.

"Crap." Gaia cursed. The inspector had finished piling up her bag, but it was too late. The people were piling up.

"You can't mistake it! She has to be the self-insert character!"

"She looks pretty..."

"Can I have your autograph please?"

"I~" She says, stressed out. "I'll kill you if you don't get out of the way!"

The people can't help but think that what she said wasn't serious, but instead, was a publicity stunt.

"She's even in character when she talks..."

This sudden herd of people unknowingly attracted a man to interfere with the crowd.

"Okay, okay! That's enough! Miss Gaia won't be entertaining any questions. Please disperse!" He says, dispelling the crowd of people stationed at the boarding gate. She thought she was going to be safe, but then she saw a familiar face.

"Thank you, whoever you are~"

The man gripped her tightly. In slight shock, she looks at the man's face.

"...Zikh?"

Off they go to the gutters of the station. No people, no animals, no sound. Just silence stifling the wind.

Then Zikh punches her in the face. Knocked down, wreathing in pain, she angrily looks at him.

"What did you do that for!?"

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Oh, you forgot what you did ten years ago? Do you want me to remind you how TERRIBLE of a person you are?"

"I'm not... who I was ten years ago~"

He violently grabs her by the neck.

"You murdered a consul-general!"

"..."

"We've been looking for you for a decade now, but you're sly. You thought you were a genius for escaping Timeline-2 once every two years? You're the type to forget we have guardian angels everywhere." Zikh says, confronting her.

"...Tell your guardian angels they did a terrible job looking for me."

Zikh thought to himself that Gaia wasn't taking her seriously.

"You know where this is going, right, FC? The games are over. We're taking you home." Zikh added...

Into the sack, she goes.

"Tiny? We caught her. Announce the update maintenance. We'll be there in an hour."

For ten long days, you guys held her captive in her room. You barely treated her with respect. You all completely forgot you're angels once you guys set your eyes on her.

10 DAYS LATER

A malnourished Gaia is reading her old kill list.

"...Little old me wanted Zikh dead for a ball throw."

The door gets unlocked. Zikh makes his way into her room and offers her a plate of food. Roasted chicken, sour cream potato fries, and a bowl of ice cream.

"Huh, it's a miracle they granted my request, knowing you guys never fed me anything in the past ten days."

Then, silence.

"Enjoy your final meal." Zikh says, walking away from the room.

She can't seem to gripe over the fact that she used to be a monster back when her brain wasn't tamed. In my eyes, I can't help but think that she didn't enjoy her last meal thinking about that.

Then, the time for her death began. She was escorted to the Garden of Eden, raised on a pedestal, with dozens of angels looking directly at her. In front of her? A glass of milk.

From the side are the three consul-generals. Cider begins to talk.

"You have escaped our gaze for ten long years, our Forbidden Child." Cider said with an estranged look on her face. "Such a shame that it all ends like this... I was even the person who first convinced Krill to raise you."

She walked closer to her.

"I heard you had a good life. A stable job, a trustworthy therapist... You even have a flowery child you called your niece."

"Pital..." She concerningly said.

"...You've changed, and I commend you for that. However, you still can't escape your punishment for your heinous crime... "

Cider looked at the angels in front of her.

"For your moral efforts, Heaven shall grant you one last request; any request that doesn't promote harm."

"...What's with the sudden easygoing attitude, Cider?" She replied. "Ten days of nothing, then a VIP status out of nowhere. Alright, then. I'll take advantage. "

She looked directly at Archimedes, the consul-general of death.

"Promise me in my next life that I'll find myself back to Pital and Louie."

"...You won't remember anything." Archimedes replied.

"That doesn't sound like a dealbreaker to me."

"I can't promise you anything..." He answers.

"That's more than enough of an assurance."

"Now die." Archimedes said.

Gaia walked towards the table and picked up the milk in front of her, drinking it without hesitation. She drank it whole, not a single drop left in sight.

Gaia dropped the glass to the floor.

She looked back at her experiences with Logic, and how he's been there every step of the way. From her psychotic episodes, her gradual change, her graduation, and even her big break.

Then, her final words.

"Just a little fun fact about me..." She said, the angels listening attentively.

"In an alternate universe, I would've killed you all."

One last smile, from a child with a broken mind.

Exit, Gaia.

PRESENT DAY

The masses are staring at Iggy with a depressed look on their faces.

"...And that's the whole picture." Iggy says, finishing the story. "What she committed was detestable, but her journey to change is something everyone should appreciate and commend."

Everyone gives Iggy a round of applause.

Louie clears the tears in his eyes. "Well said, kid." He lies down on the ground, having felt at peace for the first time since her disappearance.

"I finally know why, Gaia. I finally know why."

Pickle, who is still at the table, is listening attentively. "So that's the story..."

"Yeah. I guess that fills in everything." Zikh replies.

DINNERTIME

The pit keeps growing, now three feet larger than it was. Iggy, Pickle, Louie, and Cider are having dinner together with Lorde and Royal. On the dinner table are roasted chicken, sour cream potato fries, and a bowl of ice cream.

"So, have you thought of any solutions, Follower's friend?" Cider questions Iggy.

"Not yet..." He replies. "The lava pit is too big, and if we managed to dry it up, we still have that eel to defeat."

"Bummer." Pickle replies.

"...If you can't think of any other ideas, perhaps we have no choice but to drop more people into the pit." Cider remarks.

"No. We can't do that!" Iggy shouts at her.

He calms his nerves down and breathes in.

"I'll brainstorm for ideas later. Pickle and I will do everything we can."

"When shall we expect your participation?" Cider queries Iggy.

"...We start tomorrow at sunrise."