I didn't think twice about if I should or if it would work. Heck, I didn't consider the consequences. I reached for Lucia and accessed my baby's power at the same time to send all of us away. Only Lucia disappeared, and I was left behind, staring into the black eyes of pure hatred.

"Your world?" I said around a suddenly dry throat.

"You're not human." He said, narrowing his eyes and ignoring my words as he scanned me. "What are you?" He whirled a finger, and I watched a pen form from the air as he scrawled something invisible into the air.

"Not a God." He was mumbling out loud, and I fought the desire to call out to Mordecai. Didn't Acuzio say that any God worth their salt would try to curse me due to my familial ties to Mordecai? Was this dude a God?

"You have divine blood, but you're not a demigod, so it's distant…" Gavin said while half circling me several feet away. He stopped abruptly and froze as if he spotted a monster. Wait, why was he recoiling from me? "You're related to that thing! No wonder you came in and wrecked my perfect world. That flying rat is a plague!" Gavin had dropped the pen and tugged on his hair as he fell to his knees. He mumbled incoherently, and while he did that, I tried to teleport my way out of this area. Rex had it on lock because I couldn't move my body. I also found it hard to connect with plants in Gavin's presence. It was like he was a block for my powers.

I was forced with only one option now. I had to engage in conversation with Gavin. Seeing this version of the man I had known until now was strange. "Do you mean…" I started to say Mordecai's name, but Gavin's screech stopped me.

"Don't say its name or that plague will come down to taunt me! You need to leave this world so I can reset it how it's supposed to be." Gavin said, apparently coming up with a plan.

I didn't like this plan any better than the thought of him trying to kill me. If I left, everything would reset. There's no telling where I would end up.

I didn't even get a word in because Gavin was already doing his thing. Words started to swirl around him, and I watched, fascinated, as he tried to send them my way. They exploded into dust before they could touch me, and he glared at me as if I had done this on purpose.

"I want to leave as well," I said as I attempted a smile. "I've tried, but I can't while I'm pregnant."

His soulless eyes dropped to my belly, and I covered it with both of my hands.

"I don't have time to wait for that to come out of you. And it would only offset the balance even more if it did." Gavin said with a sneer. "You don't belong here. This isn't a world for adust freaks like you. My perfected creation is yet again ruined by that flying plague rat. Why me?" Gavin unraveled, and it was quite a sight.

How was a man I was so afraid of before so utterly ridiculous? He wasn't crying like a grieving or mourning man. He was acting like a caricature of a widow who lost everything in her husband's will to the maid. It was woefully unmoving.

He looked out at me from between his fingers, and I caught the sly glance he had shot my way.

"Dude, I don't know how to undo any of this, so you don't need to perform. I literally can't leave." I said, trying to stop him from acting out even more.

Gavin tsked and stood up, wiping himself free of dirt and leaves. His tears had been as fake as his act because his cheeks were dry and his eyes spiteful. "I can't kill you or send you away, so I'll have to find another solution to solve this problem."

Wait, Gavin couldn't kill me? That was news to me. "Why can't you kill me?"

His lips thinned with displeasure as he snootily said, "I can't kill you because you are the last mortal relative of that plague rat's kin. There's a pact among us higher Gods. Given how far back related you are, an extra special clause is in place. You are protected by this cursed clause for cases of descendants like you." Only he said the word you as if it were a slur.

"I'm no…" I stopped myself from saying I wasn't the last mortal relative of Mordecai. There was no telling what could happen if I did. "Not sure about all that, but how do you know?"

"Your name is written in the book." He said, exasperated. "And before you ask, I know because I can read your soul. The soul never lies, Gwendolyn Girru."

A sliver of fear made me break out in a cold sweat. Gavin knowing my name brought more credence to his madness. This was also the second divine being who said I was the last living descendant of my family. Mordecai being the first…there had to be some kind of misunderstanding, right? My grandma and brother were still alive in the library…right?

I tried to run away again. I had no nearby trees to commune with, so I was forced to tap into my baby's powers again. Sadly nothing happened and I gulped as I rubbed my belly. Your father is unreasonable. I mentally said to my future child.

"Why can't you approach me?" I said this as I stared at the distance Gavin was keeping between us. Before, in the second timeline, he had reached for me to send me away. He also went out of his way to come with a group of people in the dead of night. He was able to wipe the memories of Adam and Nips but didn't touch Grandpa Evans or Wyatt. Grandpa Evans was created by my family's magic. Didn't Wyatt make a deal with Mordecai? What if that protected him to some extent.

"Does my familial magic have to do with that? Can you not use your powers on me because of this clause?" I said when my thoughts had gathered enough to speak out.

Gavin's face turned bright red with the sheer force of his rage. "If I got to you sooner, I could send you off without breaking the clause." His dark eyes settled on my belly, and I covered it more thoroughly as if that would protect it.

What was so different about the here and now? Was my pregnancy really protecting me from Gavin due to this clause? I didn't want to point out that this wasn't my real body; a baby in this form wouldn't be connected to Mordecai. It was better to distract him from the cracks in the clause.

"So you can erase memories. Why can't you erase mine or anyone created by my family's magic?" I said, bluffing as I crossed my arms and lifted my chin defiantly. I was assuming at this rate. Based on this wild creature of a man, if he genuinely wanted to erase Grandpa Evans' memory, he would have. Instead, he went for Adam and a dog. His power was limited to some degree.

Gavin froze at this and dropped his leftover theatrics to stare me down. It was frightening as the man from my childhood returned in full swing. His posture straightened, his eyes darkened, and his mouth thinned at me. "Have we met before Gwendolyn Girru?" He said. His serious expression matched his calculating gaze.

I shrugged but thinned my lips to stop myself from giving anything away. "You tell me. Can you?" I said.

"The better question is when have I tried? Where did we meet?" Gavin asked, just as determined to get his own questions answered.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I made a face and shrugged, like hell I would give him any information. Gavin was batshit crazy, and he had a vendetta against Mordecai and now me. I understood now why he never attacked me head-on. Gavin couldn't directly hurt me, but he could bring others to do the job. And he could hurt me by making those I love forget about me.

"I understand now why M…" I started to speak, but Gavin shouted loudly and rather alarmingly over me.

"Destroys your things. You're a brutish asshole!" I stopped short of saying Mordecai's name on purpose and continued my sentence.

"Just because I can't hurt you doesn't mean I can't make your life unpleasant," Gavin said with narrowed black eyes.

"I've made your work a mess and did you one better. I'd have pity on you if I didn't see the damage you wrecked. If you're the one that was fucking with the way this world ran, then you deserve pain."

"This is my world to do as I see fit. I'm writing this universe's origin story, which requires tweaking." Gavin said with an expression of annoyance.

"Your world?" I tried to contain my surprise.

"I have been nurturing it for thousands of years," Gavin said.

"No, my ancestor made this world. My uncle told me that." I said. Acuzio might have disappeared, but I believe him over Gavin.

Gavin's face drained of color, and his mouth trembled as he searched for words. "I took over this world after Caelestis passed away."

There was actual pain on this face this time. He must have known Caelestis.

"So that's why my magic could undo yours. This was never your world to begin with. It was my ancestral aunt's," Acuzio said his sister created this world. He didn't specify which one. So it wasn't Mordecai but my ancestral aunt who made this world? This is why the celebration in her honor was so much.

"Your real name isn't Gavin, is it? What is it?" I had to know who this man really was. Gavin was clearly not his name.

"Ew, when did I say my name was Gavin?" Gavin said with a sneer.

Shit. I had yet to learn who I was really talking to. There were hints, of course, but nothing like what Mordecai gave me. Mordecai was playfully teasing me, but Gavin hated me with the bitter passion of a scorned lover. He wanted to cruelly mess with me and not feed me helpful information. If he could hurt me, then he absolutely would.

Recklessly, I took out the jar containing Mordecai's black and white seeds. I tossed them at Gavin. None of the plants I tried to attack him with before he appeared worked. The trees and plants from the Unruly forest had succeeded in attacking him with the others in the asshat brigade. My family's magic created the forest, meaning it was from another world. Maybe only something from another world could hurt him.

My bet paid off. The jar smashed on the ground, and the shards of glass were temporarily free before the seeds exploded and grew. I watched in awe as roots and leaves grabbed the shards to chuck them at Gavin. Each shard of glass was blocked by splotchy acid that melted the attack midair.

All too familiar acid frogs appeared to do combat with the plants that combined were now the size of a mini truck. The two plants had thick stems that grew into their width until they nearly blocked Gavin from my sight. A blazing silvery blue overtook the plant's pale green color until every crevice of the plant glowed.

"That fucking bird," Gavin said as he watched his frogs slaughtered.

He wasn't looking at me, and his expression was the same one that twisted his face when he spoke about Mordecai.

What if Mordecai was in charge of my plants in moments like this? Each time the frogs were nearby, the plants did things I didn't command...but how was Mordecai doing it?

I looked down at my hands and saw them moving without my consent...Mordecai must be on my person still. Oh no, I gave him permission to my body. The exact words that I used were: I grant you permission to my body.

The desire to flee was overwhelming, but my ability to do so was limited. I had but one option, and I gave in like the soggy cookie I was. "Rex!" I shouted his name, and as much as I wanted not to see him, he appeared instantly. He was facing me, and he was rocking a rather rugged-looking beard. There were shadows under his eyes, and his hair was mussed.

He didn't so much as glance in Gavin's direction, and Gavin was trying desperately to get a look at Rex's face. His back was turned to Gavin, though, and Gavin was avoiding my vicinity with all his might still. That didn't stop Gavin from trying to catch a look.

"Wendy," Rex said, and his voice was tired. He cupped my growing stomach with both hands, and a part of my heart's guard cracked at the action, even as I reprimanded it. Rex was likely trying to strengthen the anchor he set down, but maybe…no, I cut that thought off to meet his dark, liquid eyes.

His endless orbs showed care and concern as he looked at me, and I found myself weakening. I could tell myself this was not Adam relentlessly, but I am weak. My hands covered his, and a silent understanding passed between us.

Rex scooped me into his arms and teleported the two of us away without another word.

We wound up back at the Sakura Haven home, but it was very different from the last time I saw it. He had taken us to the master bedroom, which looked the same, but the view outside was vastly fresh. There were more people, and they looked more fortified, like the house. I spotted Lucia and Wyatt in the front yard, and my shoulders relaxed at the sight of the two. Lucia was safe. My gambit worked, and Wyatt had found her, of course.

"What happened while I was gone?" I said, eyeing the changes with apprehension. It was better to focus the conversation on all of that instead of any questions about what Rex likely heard.

Rex looked down at me but said nothing.

"I'm going to go take a bath," I said, slipping out my walk-in closet and entering it anxiously. I shouldn't be surprised, but Rex followed. It was likely for the better that I didn't land in the space without him. I could have taken a tumble. This way, I entered my walk-in closet with him holding me.

Rex was silent as he took in the overly feminine space that was supposed to be sacred to me alone.

"Put me down," I said, tapping his shoulder. Rex wordlessly did so, and I scurried to the bathroom. I meant it when I said I was going to take a bath. I was more aware of how badly I looked with dirt caking my skin. I didn't want to fathom how I smelled, too. I purposefully stopped breathing through my nose to avoid this reality check.

I started the bubbling water. I slipped my bathrobe on a hook for easy access and a towel for my hair. My soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotions, and exfoliators were next.

I did this all while avoiding the mirrors.

I couldn't escape seeing the extent of the damage forever. My skin was caked in dirt. Why on Earth had Rex held me so gently when I looked like a swamp monster? I changed course and let the bath water run while jumping into the shower. Dirty, thick water slumped off my skin, and an embarrassingly long time later, I was clean enough to mull about in the bath.

I had just slipped into the bathwater when the door opened, and Rex appeared.

"Wendy." He said, and I gulped and covered my body in the thick bubbles.

I started to babble unstoppingly like a small brook becoming an overfull riverbank. "I'm going to assume you heard everything I said to Gavin, including my true name Rex. I thought his name was Gavin. He used it in the third timeline before, so I've just been calling him that. He's clearly not human and the weirdo who was shuffling around moments in this world like a scriptwriter. He erases memories, so be careful not to let him touch your head. I didn't find out until-"

"Wendy."

That was all he said, and I lifted my eyes cautiously to meet his liquid orbs. Rex was solemn as usual, but something else was in his eyes. He dropped down to the ground, and I watched breathless as his eyes ran over me. "Don't disappear like that again."

I opened my mouth to ask him if he could track me in the trees, which was good information to store for later. But his lips collided with mine, and the words I wanted to say disappeared into a gasp. His hands roamed, and my brain almost turned off as I felt his body press into mine.

None of this was right; the warning bells were blaring to snap me out of my desire for human contact. My horrible sluttish body was silenced as my brain took over. It was fairly easy because the way Rex was kissing was all wrong. It would be hard to replicate years of connection. I pulled away and desperately tried to silence my rapid heartbeat.

Rex wasn't unaffected either, and I spent a few precious seconds watching his ragged breath shake his body.

"I can't be yours, Rex," I said, trying to swallow the pain for both of us. I pleaded with my eyes for him to understand.

"Give it time." He said, not bothering to step out of the bath, but vanished from my sight.

The bath was no longer comforting, and I slipped into my bathrobe and towels. I took time to lounge about in the closet area going through clothing. I barely glanced at what I ended up putting on. It was a decorative maternity jumper, and faithful to his word, Mordecai's gift grew with my belly.

I hadn't seen it in the mirror in however long I had vegged out, but I could see it had grown. "Hello." I sang to my tummy, and I could feel the baby wiggle in return. I spent countless minutes singing, talking, and poking my baby.

I waited until I felt refreshed and calm before leaving the walk-in closet. Or rather, I tried to.

Fuck. Rex had trapped me in my walk-in closet.