~ • ~

I have the same dream every time I close my eyes. Clear, yet behind a mosaic blur of my own subconscious.

A sunset, painting over a wet black road.

The clouds, painting the sky like a maze.

It's always so beautiful... until I feel that kick to my stomach.

"What's your parents gonna say, now that your house burnt down?! What a loser!"

"I bet it was your fault! Got mad after that dad of yours left, huh?! Whiny bitch!"

I couldn't do anything to stop their kicking.

No... I chose to lay there. I deserved it, after all.

"I almost feel bad for you! Loser! Loser!"

"Why don't you just disappear along with that loser dad of yours, eh?!"

It's all my fault. I'm the one who did this to myself.

I'm weak. I have no dreams. No ideals.

Just... some cog in the machine.

WHACK!

WHAM!

BAM!!

Tears flooded my eyes.

Blood, spilled from my nose and mouth.

Taking a bath in the red that came from me... why was it oddly soothing?

POW!

BAM!

It was... the first warmth I've felt in a long long time. So soothing...

If I died here, I'd be happy. Dying, just to feel this warmth for one last time, forever.

Please. Please...

"Hey!"

A girl's voice called out to me, making the kids who were kicking me stop dead in their tracks. They turned to her with a smug grin.

"Oh? Is that Terra's girlfrieeeeend?~"

"Ha, good one! Like this rat would have any luck!"

She began to walk forward, only her lower half being visible to my hazy eyes.

In the blink of an eye, she took them all out on her own. I couldn't even process what happened, slipping in and out of consciousness.

Standing there triumphantly, she put her hands on her hips, watching the bullies take off running in fear.

"W-We'll get you back for this!!"

"Yeah! J-Just you wait!!"

She turned to me.

Her hair was golden, as if bathed in pure sunlight. Her eyes, red like wine.

"Are you alright?"

...I cried.

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Trying to speak seemed impossible. My voice was too broken to make a sound.

I reached out to her with my hand, but as I did, everything began to fade white.

My thoughts raced in that instant.

"I wasn't born with a dream. An ideal to fight for."

"A husk, with no will, but to survive."

"But if I were to have one dream..."

"It would be to live, and make it up to her one day."

~ • ~

Terra's eyes slowly opened, seeing his hand reach out to the ceiling of a white room. The beeping metronome rang in his ear— steady but slow.

He slowly looked down, finally grasping the situation he was in. Hooked up to IVs, a heart monitor, and laying in a comfortably warm hospital bed. Cozy.

"Where... am I...?" he asked himself, looking towards the windowsill to see vases of flowers and balloons, as well as cards. Every single one says "Get Well Soon".

"...When did I get so popular?"

"You made a name for yourself two weeks ago."

Terra turned to the door, seeing the Commissioner, standing pleasantly welcoming with more flowers in his hand. Needless to say, he wasn't prepared for visitors.

"We got that Rat, right? Basilis?" Terra asked, breaking the ice with business.

"Yes. Basilis was recovered. You all did very well." the Commissioner answered, sitting down next to Terra's bed with a warm smile. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions. Ask any, and I'll answer to the best of my ability."

Terra's eyes narrowed skeptically, then he finally spoke out, closing his eyes.

"You said it's been two weeks? How's everyone else looking? Are they alright?"

"Indeed. Compared to everyone, you, Celeste, and Frenético all suffered the most damage. Thankfully, you will all be making full recoveries. Truly a blessing."

Terra sighed with relief, laying his head back on the bed gently.

"...What about Vio? Where is she?"

Answering his question, she poked out from inside the Commissioner's chest pocket.

"Weren't you supposed to be careful out there?" she asked with cynicism. "If you would've died out there, how do you think I'd feel not even being there by your side? We made a promise, right?"

As if being caught red-handed, he scratched the back of his head, snickering shyly.

"Yeah. I made sure to keep it, even if I was unconscious."

Before Vio could call him out once more, the Commissioner patted her head gently, calming her down. Thinking it, Terra then opened his eyes once more.

"Just what did I get myself into? Being a Plague Doctor?" he asked.

The Commissioner let out a gentle laugh, hiding it behind his hand.

"Oh! That's a loaded question, I apologize. I suppose the best way to describe it is — well, always expect the unexpected. A vast majority of who works with us here happen to be human, however those that go out to the field... have become Afflicted."

He walked over to the window, opening it and breathing in the sight of the morning cityscape dew. A gentle mist brushed against his face from the cold fog.

"Ever since the Plague was discovered in Beowulf years ago... everything changed. A power — the Arcanes — that graced every human who explored their dreams, seemingly became abundant with corruption. Nightmares, you could say.

The Plague. An incredibly addicting mineral drug. Even just after one minor dosage of it, it completely alters the human D.N.A, turning one into a manifestation of their opposite."

"Their opposite?" Terra chimed in, raising a brow.

The Commissioner stared out at the sun, being blocked over by a cloud.

"Metaphorically speaking, let's compare one's Arcane with the Sun, and our bodies are this planet. That star provides us with light, with warmth; it allows us to live. However... the Plague is like this cloud here. Blocking the sunlight, and bringing about something not quite favorable. As clouds form more and more, soon does rain. And with rain..."

He then closed the window, before the rain could enter its way into the hospital room.

"Comes the closing of the window to our ideal."

Terra watched the rain drip against the glass slowly, before it began to crash down in a mild storm. His eyes lidded slightly, growing numb to the white noise that danced in their silence.

"There was a time I almost took it. The Plague."

The Commissioner glanced over at Terra, listening closely.

"For as long as I can remember, I've never felt... like I had a dream. A goal. Anything. All I've ever known was to survive. To live, purely off of instinct."

"You fear death."

"...Not death. What comes after it."

The two stared at each other, before Terra curled up into a ball on his side, staring out the window.

"When the time came where I thought it was time I'd give up on everything... I had a bag in my hand. That red rat skull on the outside, and the bright red crystals inside. Before I could take any though, I had a run in with some bullies.

I... was in middle school, at the time. Sixth grade. The day before, my entire world came crashing down on me. They sat there, mocking me. Beating me... I thought I would die. I wanted to die. But... I still cried. I was scared. Scared of what would happen when I did... But then, one of my classmates came to save me. A girl with long blonde hair, and eyes... red, like wine."

His eyes had widened, hearing Terra mention that. Chills had run up the Commissioner's spine, as he covered his mouth with his hand.

"Elise..."

Terra looked up at him, his eyes looking aghast as well. Needless to say, they were both surprised. Words wanted to escape them in that moment. Something. Anything.

Vio alone could poke her head out from inside the Commissioner's pocket, aghast with shock.

"You... knew her...?"

A sad smile forced its way across his face, turning away from them with a softer voice.

"That was my daughter. Elise Jackson... A girl always on the pursuit of justice, after witnessing the opposite in this city." he answered, trying his hardest not to let tears fall from his eyes. "I lost her some time ago. If I had known she had touched the heart of the man who came to me today, I would have given you a proper introduction sooner."

He turned his gaze over his shoulder, his eyes dead like fish; a complete reversal to his usual jovial presence.

"My name is Pierce Jackson: leading officer of the Plague Doctors. You may know me as the Timeless Eye."

Both Terra and Vio felt sweat run down their head, frozen in both awe and fear. The name of Timeless Eye was known by just about everyone in New Baltin, if you can read and write, let alone hear his tales from others.

"The man who singlehandedly stopped the destruction of the Entertainment District...! The one who killed over two-thousand men with the fabled Regicide?!" Terra asked quickly, too caught up in his disbelief to realize he was shouting.

"Yes yes... I am the very same."

"The man who can predict the future of any person he sees?!" Vio quickly chimed in, sparkling with excitement.

"Eh... Some things are best left as tales."

As they both stared at Pierce for awhile, he awkwardly clears his throat, narrowing his eyes towards the injured man and his blue fae sister.

"Since you know of me well, I'm sure I should make my intentions aware to you more clearly. You see, I am a retired man. Working as a commissioner is all I can do at my ripe age, as much as I wish it wasn't the case."

He began to walk up to Terra.

"I know you have no where else to call home. No where else to go. You were desperate to live, and you came to me. Why?"

Terra's expression gently went from awestruck to serious, yet unwavering.

"What do you mean...?"

"You came to the police. Namely, the Plague Doctors. The very same people who wanted to arrest you, and hold you captive for your numerous crimes against humanity; especially in aid of the Overseas Dealer, Basilis. Were you so desperate to run into the firing squad if it meant to leave the hang-man's gallows, just to experience the same fate?"

Terra's eyes widened for a moment, before a shadow cast over his face. He was thinking of a way to answer him...

"In the end, you chose what you believed to be the lesser of two evils. Did you know what we are, and what we do? You don't even know how to use an Arcane, and from what you've told me... you don't even have one. So, answer me this.

What is your end goal?"

The dream circled in Terra's mind. On and on. On and on.

"What are your intentions with this association? To "cure" the Afflicted? To fight for justice?"

Finally, something broke free from him.

"I'm not living for something as noble as justice. Nothing as selfless as heroism. Nothing as cruel as murder. All I want is to live."

He couldn't hold it back any longer, looking up at Pierce with eyes that could lead a world.

"Does a life only matter if it has a dream?!"

Pierce was unwavering, but internally, a stirring grew within his stomach. A sensation he hasn't felt in what has felt like a millennia.

"When I get asked time and time again about Arcanes, self-worth, anything — I just need to know... why it matters so much to everyone?"

Flashes of fighting with Joker plagued his mind.

"Why can't someone like me just preserve myself to the best of my ability?!"

Flashes of walking forward, towards the trap that set them all to the arena.

"Why is it when I try, I always bring those who have a dream down with me...?"

Flashes of the Plague Doctors being defeated.

"I know I'm a swindler. A thief. A street urchin..."

Flashes of Terra, fighting against Basilis with all his might.

"But dammit... I don't need a dream to be honest with myself! You want to know my end goal?!"

Flashes of Terra, throwing Basilis off of the nosebleeds into the water. Flashes... of him defending against Atlas' final attack.

"To live for life itself!!"

Pierce stood there, silently. Raising a hand, he gently placed it on to Terra's head. The sunlight crept through from the clouds, making the rain begin to fade away. The room was filled with a bright orange incandescent light.

"...A noble dream, that is. To live."

Pierce's eyes lidded with sadness, a twinkle of light gleaming from the edge of his iris.

"I hope she can help you achieve that one day."

Not a word was spoken once more.

. . .