Jana and Jeremy watched as a person, shooting through the sky at incredible speeds, flew above the town, hovering around for a moment.

“That Bitch!” Jana growled. “That’s her! Why the fuck is she here?”

Jeremy slowly said, “She chased us to Iraq, so…it makes sense.”

“Tch! Maybe we knew, but I never guessed she’d be this damn persistent. Just what business could she have that makes her travel thirty-thousand kilometers on our tail?!”

“I don’t know. Can she even find us around the streets?”

“She has Recognition, like me and your sister. She’s probably already located me.”

“Of course she does…” he muttered inaudibly. “Jana, please don’t get into a fight with her,” he pleaded.

She looked at him with indignation. “Do you think I’m going to fight another super psychic just cause’ I’m a bit mad?”

Yes, I do. “Not exactly, but please don’t.”

“Again, I don’t intend on it.”

The woman landed in the street not far away. She fell into a gait toward the two, the crowd parting for her. She walked gracefully, though somewhat relaxed, and stared forward with a serious expression.

Jana threw her chair to the side and walked to meet her, glaring.

The woman wore a rainbow-colored cloak, with various badges, both meaningful and vain, adorning it. Her silky, light brown hair was splayed over the hood behind her, and fluttered gently as Jana’s artificial wind poured from her body in anger. Her expression was calm and confrontational as she met Jana’s eyes then glanced to Jeremy. Her skin was somewhat dark, though it was difficult to tell if it was a tan or not, and her posture was almost hesitantly commanding. An aura of bent light emanated from her imposingly, despite the white wind blowing from Jana.

“Jana,” she said, acknowledging her.

“Parkarka,” Jana responded seriously.

The tension wasn’t just evident, it was palpable between their two interlocking auras.

“Pancake girl,” Jeremy said, waving to her from behind Jana, hiding how nervous he was.

“Wh-what?” Parkarka said, her serious expression gone into soft, genuine confusion. “Did you just call me pancake girl?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “Your name sounds like pancake.”

“Erm…I suppose? W-who are you again…” she squinted. “Oh! Jeremy! I’m sorry, I’ve only seen your face once.”

“It’s fine, I’m pretty forgettable, so I hear.” Jeremy took the time to take a bit out of his neglected gelato.

“Why did you chase me all the way fucking here, Parkarka?” Jana said, before stomping on the ground, preluding the creation of a dome of ice, separating them from outside viewers. “What could be that important?” her voice echoed through the chamber as her pitch lowered, matching the ice’s frequency to echo about.

“Jana, there’s no reason to be aggressive like this,” Parkarka insisted. “I’m not here to scold you or anything.”

“Not here to scold me? Why would you say that unless you thought there was a reason to say that?”

“Look, I don’t know what I did to you in the past to make you hate me so much,” she said, her voice growing hoarser, “But let’s not put that ahead of being civil.”

“Sure, ‘civil’,” Jana said, relaxing by putting her hand on her hip, instead of baring her teeth, though still speaking with snark. “What might have brought you to me on this fine day, madam?”

She shook her head. “I’m just…checking up on you. What’s been happening?”

“Happening?” Jana glanced to Jeremy. “Not really your business.”

Parkarka sighed with frustration. “It is my business. What have you and Psychi’s brother been doing, traveling the world? You were clearly trying to get me off your tail, too. What’s the point?”

She glanced at Jeremy with a confused expression, an expression he reciprocated, and said, “I dunno what the hell you’re talkin’ about. I just went to where I needed to go.”

“Then why did you go over the Pacific then up from there?”

“Cuz I felt like it?”

“And why did you go from the hotel to here of all places?”

“Cuz I needed to? Plans changed?”

Parkarka clicked her tounge, rolling her eyes. “Piss…” she whsipered. “Fine, so it was a coincidence. Did you seriously need to hang up on me? I needed to speak to you.”

“Speak through my secretary, idiot. Or better, just wait for me to get back home.”

“You left your home immediately after Psychi disappeared.”

Jana’s eyebrows narrowed. Is it just me, or is that phrasing strange? After a moment, she said, “Or, even better, just,” she shrugged. “I dunno, don’t.”

Parkarka covered her face with her hand, left speechless. “Look, it was…I needed to…” she sighed, a strange expression on her face. “I just…wanted to know what happened to Psychi.”

She squinted. “Scuse’ me? I don’t know anything more than what’s on the internet.”

“But- no, I needed to confirm what happened before the green light.”

Jana glanced back to Jeremy with a suspicious expression. “What do you mean…” she said slowly.

“I want to…know your recounting.”

Jana reeled her head back questioningly. “Sis, all I did was punch her a hundred times, get nauseous, then fall down. You probably saw it: I did something dumb, and I hit Psychi as she tried to help me back up.”

That seemed like news to Parkarka, who looked inquisitive.

“Did you not see the other video?”

“O-oh, there’s another one?”

“Yeah. There’s runes and stuff. If you want, you can look at it and ‘scold’ me for acting dumb or something. Maybe not now, though.”

“Huh…b-but anyhow, I wanted to…”

Jana tried to think through everything she’d heard. Parkarka is more assertive than this. It’s the same as it was back then. She can’t give me straight answers.

Jana spat to the side. “You think you’re real neat, huh?”

“What?”

“’What’” Jana said in a stupid voice. “How fucking dumb do you think I am? You’re avoiding actually explaining what you’re doing here.”

“I already told you, J-”

“No, you didn’t. Just because I’m not humanity’s fucking ‘saviour’ doesn’t mean I can’t see through you.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“No, no I just…”

“You just what?”

She looked to the side. “I just…don’t want…”

“To tell me? Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Parkarka. I’ve noticed how you’ve acted since The Catastrophe. Something’s up, and you’ve lied to me.”

“About…what?” Parkarka asked, her eyes widening as her tone grew strange and inscrutable.

“I dunno, but I cut contact with you because you wouldn’t give me a straight answer. I made that very clear.”

“It’s just-”

“Just what?!” Jana yelled, placing her hand on her heart. “It’s just that my sacrifices weren’t enough to know the truth? It’s just that you don’t give a shit about me or anyone, and choose to feel good over being good. Or maybe it’s just that I’m too weak to be part of your little secret?”

Parkarka looked to the side with a pained expression. “No, no, Jana, it isn’t like that-”

“That what is it, HUH!?”

“I…” Parkarka began, not meeting her eyes still. “You…saw that light, right? That green light in the video?”

Jana narrowed her eyebrows. What does that have to do with anything? “Yeah?”

“What do you think about it?”

Jana squinted. “Umm…I dunno, it sure looks like it came from another world.”

“Hmm…”

Some time passed as Parkarka thought, Jana showing a surprising level as patience while Jeremy accepted whatever would come to pass, and continued eating his gelato. May as well avoid the butterfly effect.

As the pause continued, Yellow, who had silently watched their confrontation from the edge of the dome, said, “Maybe she will finally reveal the truth about Azad.” He chuckled. “I’d love to see that.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy whispered.

Yellow shook his head. “We will learn soon enough.” He held out his hand, and suddenly a thin, ornate sword appeared in it, materializing from yellow light. Markings were etched into the steel, and writhed as though they were alive. He slowly walked past Jana with it, holding it out intimidatingly.

“Yellow, what in the world is that? What are you about to do?” Blue said, straightening out of his own relaxed posture in concern.

“This won’t harm her in any way,” Yellow assured him, walking forward. The two onlookers stared at him, shocked, as he prepared to thrust it into the unaware psychic, who suddenly looked about, concerned. “It will simply pry the truth from her gut.” Just as the sword stabbed through her, she muttered, “What…”

The sword phased through her, yet moved as though it had hit something physical, before Yellow riped it out with a sharp tug.

As the sword did, her expression quickly changed, immediately pained as though she’d felt the attack. It then melted away, to Jeremy and Blue’s relief, into one of emotional pain, as she shook her head. “I-I…” tears began to drip from Parkarka’s eyes. “I don’t…I didn’t want to lie to you…”

“So you were…” Jana began with vitriol.

“I-I can’t…” she almost appeared to hurl, as though she were sick, her eyes unfocused. “I can’t tell you…”

“What is it?!”

“Please…I don’t want to tell you…” Tears grew in her eyes as Parkarka’s hands gripped each other for comfort, and her hair stopped flowing, her barrier being raised. “I-I can’t afford to…”

“TELL ME!”

Parkarka took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. “I…I can’t tell you here-”

“Even under the ice? Fine, we’ll go somewhere else.”

Parkarka nodded, then before Jeremy could say a thing, the two super psychics burst through the dome of ice, and Parkarka flew away.

“Jeremy,” Jana said sternly, remaining to break apart the structure for him. “Stay here.”

She flew away, toward the mountains.

“The fuck was that?” Jeremy said to Yellow, outstretching his arms disbelievingly.

Yellow shrugged, sitting by the table as his sword dematerialized. “All I did was make her feel guilt. Deservingly.”

“Guilt over what exactly?” Blue asked inquisitively.

Yellow clicked his tongue, leaning on his sword. “You will see.”

“Did you at least follow the script?” Jeremy said.

“Dunno. Don’t care.”

Jeremy stood, sliding the gelato away. “Alright, whatever, let’s just hope we don’t get cucked by a butterfly, and get some help.”

“So what is all of this about?” Jana asked.

She flew above the misty forest, her face taught as she met Parkarka’s eyes. Something is off here, but I can’t tell what.

“I-Jana…please, if I tell you this, don’t tell anyone.”

She crossed her arms. If I don’t agree, she probably won’t tell me. But what could be so secret? “Fine, I won’t.”

“Jana…when-when The Living Catastrophe died…’

As she realized that the secret’s story started here, Jana’s eyes dilated in trepidation. Wait, where is this going with this?

“He had killed…everyone. Even Shuneal, who I worked with down to the last minute. He had been weakened so far that I could finish him off, and I did exactly that…” Parkarka’s fingers twitched, her face revealing no specific emotion, despite how clearly defeated she looked. She looked up. “I had him in death’s grip. I had defeated him, and I was this close to killing him…”

No. No. No. No. No. Nononono…

“But-” Tears began to appear in Parkarka’s eyes. “Despite everything that happened, something interrupted me. A green light, before I could do anything…”

Jana’s mouth fell open as she realized what was being said.

“It covered him, and he- I tried by best to stop it, but...”

Jana stared at her, tears forming in the younger woman’s eyes as well. “You- you’re telling me that you knew he wasn’t still out there?”

“No, not exactly!” Parkarka said defensively. “I don’t know.”

“He’s some other world’s buisness now,” Jana said, as though it was some revelation she spoke to herself.

“Other world? What are you-”

“Why?” Jana said with unmuddled confusion. “Why didn’t I know this? Who else knows?”

“It’s just me-”

“Just YOU!?” Jana yelled, baring her fists, trembling in rage and leaning forward imposingly. “NO, YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.”

“I don’t know what happened to him- He just disappeared!” Parkakra said, defending herself frantically.

“Yet, nobody knows. Not a soul in the world knows what happened when you were with that cunt, because you-” Jana paused. “Why…? Why wouldn’t you tell us?”

“Because I didn’t know what had happened to him,” she explained. “If I said some green light had made him disappear…people wouldn’t believe he was still alive.”

“You…” Jana was speechless. “You lied to-to everyone? You…had the audacity to claim he was still alive and out there, to everyone, because…I don’t even know why.”

“If people thought he was dead, nobody would prepare for him!” she said, slowly regaining her wits. “If I didn’t lie, we wouldn’t be nearly as ready for him as we are now! We still don’t know what happened to him or Psychi!”

“Yes we do, you fucking bitch!” Jana roared. “He’s in another damn world, and Psychi’s trapped in there with him.”

“Another- what are you talking about!?”

“I’ve had enough of this…” Jana said darkly. Suddenly, before Parkarka could realize what was about to happen, a large chunk of ice formed in the air, and flung toward her, slamming against her barrier and sending her tumbling into the fogbound forest below. Jana loudened her voice through a practiced utilization of telekinesis. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

She slowly rose from it, looking injured in some way. She couldn’t meet Jana’s eyes. “I didn’t want to do it, Jana.”

“Didn’t want to do it? Really? You didn’t want to lie to every person in the world, for…for something petty?”

She looked down with a pained expression. “We needed to be prepared…in case he ever came back”

“NO, PARKARKA, YOU WANTED TO BE IN FUCKING CONTROL.” Jana roared, tears falling down her face as dozens of massive, pure ice crystals formed behind her, transparent and rotating. “You…” she said just quietly enough for the other woman to hear. Slowly, she continued, scorn, hatred, fear, sadness, and anticipation forming into her words. “you ruined my life.” The ice shot toward Parkarka at the speed of sound, only for most of them to be evaded by the other psychic, two grazing against her barrier.

“Jana, we can’t figh-”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

More ice crystals appeared, and continued the assault, the three-meter long bullets raining upon her. Parkarka sighed tensely as they formed. “Fine.”

Just as it seemed one would hit her, a shield of white, amorphous light incinerated the first bullet, then she lounged toward Jana, weaving through her attacks, and tried to crash into her with the shield.

Jana kited her backward, throwing ice from all directions as they descended into a calamitous battle.