“A tantrum?” Aris asked, surprised. “I thought you were on her side.”

“Of course I’m on her side,” Body snapped. “Were you even paying attention? We were all One, once. We were all the same thing, the same being. There were a lot less arguments back then, let me assure you.”

“But you disapprove of what she’s doing,” Aris said. “Because you sound like you do.”

Body gave an annoyed look and crossed his arms. “Disapprove? Sure. I just want it all back to normal. No more tantrums, no more Parts giving powers to Gaians, no more drama. We could have just left it all alone and just existed but for some reason we had to complicate everything by splitting apart. The longer we spent apart, the more individualistic we became. Nothing good comes out of original thought, I tell you.”

“Surely you see the hypocrisy in thinking that as an individual,” Aris pointed out.

“What would a mortal know anything about hypocrisy,” Body snorted. “Why would a child know anything about anything?”

“Heel entrusted me in stopping you, so maybe I do know something about something.”

“Heel was an idiot with delusions of grandeur,” Body snorted.

“All Parts used to be one being, so are you just calling yourself an idiot?”

Body rolled his eyes, his liquid black eyes roiling disturbingly at the movement. “Look, kid, there isn’t an insult you can throw at me that Mind already hasn’t during the eternity we have spent together, even while she’s sleeping.”

“She doesn’t treat you very well.”

“She’s never treated any of the Parts very well,” Body said. “I don’t remember… but perhaps even when we were One, she didn’t treat us very well. Sometimes having a thought is more powerful than reality.”

There was a beat of silence. Aris could hear faintly the sounds of someone wailing and screaming, but it sounded very far away and perhaps three rooms over. That made no sense because there were no rooms in this strange place of shelves. She recognized the voice as Mind’s.

“If you’re tired of it all, you can leave,” Aris said.

“Even after separating, Mind, Heart and I were all very close,” Body said with difficulty. He had lost the sarcastic edge that he usually spoke with. “I guess… I guess Mind and Heart were closer. They were two sides of the same coin. Sometimes it felt like they never separated from the One. Heart is gone, now she only has me. I can’t leave, not when it all ends.”

“What do you mean when it all ends?”

Body glanced at her, black eyes swimming. “Mind, Heart and I were close because we were - are - the most powerful Parts. Mind and Heart could affect the thoughts and intentions of Gaians… or humans. I, in turn, am able to affect the lives of the Parts. It means I have the means of killing the Parts.”

When it all ends. “You mean Mind wants you to end it all after she’s done destroying Gaians?” Aris said coldly.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Including her. Yes.”

“That includes you.” Aris was about to give an exasperated sound when she caught the look on Body’s face. “Moon’s mercy, you don’t want to.”

“Of course I don’t want to,” Body snapped again. “Like I said, all I want are things to be back to normal. Preferably back when we were One and not thinking about Gaians or humans or whatever nonsense that brought about all this bullshit in the first place.”

“But that’s not possible anymore.”

“No. It isn’t.” Body looked miserable. He hunched slightly, leaning against a shelf for support. “Heart changed us for someone else and now we can’t go back to the way we were before. Happy. Complete.”

“So you accept what Mind is doing to my people,” Aris pushed on.

“I never cared what she did to your people.”

“You should now. Because when she’s done she wants to end it all with you, as you’ve told me.” Aris shook her head. “Why the apathy? At least Heel did all that he could to stop her. At least one other Part helped my brother. Why do the other two and you don’t do anything?”

“The Hands tried to help, in their own way. But they are not as forward thinking as the Feet.” Body shrugged. “Perhaps when Heart died she passed her empathy to the two of them. They have been relatively useless in this whole ordeal, worried only about passing favors to the Gaians like they used to. And I… I can’t do anything.”

“You’re one of the most powerful Parts.” Aris tried not to sound like she was taunting him.

“You don’t know what it’s like constantly being under Mind,” Body said heatedly. “I had always been under her control… I had most power over Heart and she to Mind. We used to hold sway over each other. It was supposed to balance things out. But now…”

“Mind blames you for what happened, doesn’t she?”

“Of course she does. I ruined it. I was supposed to be able to stop her.”

“Do you think you and the rest of the surviving Parts deserve to die because of it?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know anymore,” Body said, voice breaking. He leaned more heavily against the shelf.

“Do you blame yourself for what happened?”

Body looked up, expression startled. His black eyes swam faster than normal, as if fighting back some sort of emotion. “I supposed I do,” he admitted.

“If Heart was here, she wouldn’t want you to die. She wouldn’t want Gaians to die. Her sole purpose of splitting from the One was to experience life among the mortals,” Aris said. “Heart loved all of us. She loved life. I think you know that too.”

Body was silent for a long time. Aris patiently waited beside him. The muffled screaming and crying had gone quiet and there was nothing to listen to in the endless room full of shelves. “Yes,” Body finally said thickly. “I think I do know that. I thought I didn’t want to go with Mind’s plan because I was afraid of dying. But now…”

He straightened to stand without the shelf’s help. His expression returned to that of a stoic middle aged man’s, eyes still black and swimming.

“I’m sending you back,” he said resolutely. “To Mind.”

“I know,” Aris said, smiling slightly.

“You’re just being facetious now.”

“No, I’m serious. Why else would you save me earlier?”

Body was silent.

“You and the Parts all love Gaians… or humans in your own way. Maybe even Mind, in her own twisted state. If what Heel said was true then my brother and I were created because of his love for my people.”

“Yes. I see that,” Body said quietly.

“Send me back to her,” Aris said, putting a hand on Body’s arm. “I’ll make things right again. I’ll try. It’s what I’m here for.”

Body covered her hand with his own and nodded. The world rotated right under her feet and the space full of shelving disappeared as her body plunged down into the ground again.