The group reached the other Gate on the next night, after a long and hard day of walking. Even with his enhancements, Victor still felt tired by the end of it, thanks in part to his lack of sleep.

It also didn’t help that the Professor’s droning made for a real sweet lullaby as they walked. But in the end; they reached the Gate, and Victor stood up a bit straighter. The next part of the journey was going to be more treacherous, and fraught with danger.

“I think I finally understand it,” Professor Cooper said before they entered the glowing beam of light.

“What are you on about, Professor?” Victor asked.

“Tell me of that monster you spoke about before the previous day?” Professor Cooper asked.

“The Mirror?” Victor guessed.

“Exactly! You said it mimicked a person’s abilities, didn’t it?”

“Their Seeds, but yeah.”

“Was the person this ‘Mirror’ mimicked somewhat gloomy and scatter-brained?” Professor Cooper asked.

Victor couldn’t very well tell them who the Mirror had actually belonged to. It’d cause problems if they ever talked about it near Loki himself.

“He was gloomy, yeah, but more… aimless than scatter-brained,” Victor admitted, keeping the details light.

“Then the Mirror didn’t just copy his abilities. I hypothesize that he copied the person’s psyche as well.”

“The Mirrors are a person’s reflected personality. This isn’t new, Professor,” Victor told him. Though he was growing impatient to get to the city, he let Cooper continue.

“But that’s just one thing, Victor. Why only this one? So, I thought to apply the same logic to the other monsters we’ve faced. I don’t think a Mirror is the only monster based off of human thought. I think it’s all of them.”

“Huh?” Victor struggled to find the words.

“This can wait until we get the kids,” Isabelle intervened.

“Wait, I want to hear this,” Victor told him.

“Those Vintarics eat weaponry, and they’re a warmongering race from what we’ve seen. What are they, if not just a twisted version of an army and soldiers. Instead of thriving on warfare, they thrive off the weapons used to wage it.

“A Metamorph is unrealized potential. It can take in materials and form itself into whatever possible, but in its base state it is malleable.

“If the Daughters of Mara exist, I see no reason for other deities to not as well. They’re our thoughts, concepts and fears manifested, our Vices you may call them,” Professor Cooper finished in a huff.

Victor just stood there absorbing the information. He looked down at his chest, where his Seeds were beating steadily. He should’ve known from the start. If the Seeds could be based off of a single concept, what was stopping the monsters, no, Vices from following suit.

“These Vices… were made by us?” Lillie asked.

“Maybe… But I see no reason for our allies to be so few then.”

Victor stifled a bitter chuckle.

“Watch the news any before the Fall, Professor?” Victor asked him. “Plenty of reason for the evil ones to win out over the good ones.”

But that didn’t change the fact that the origin of the monsters was humanity itself. Whatever they had a concept for, existed in the world. they’d seen a dragon pass overhead a long time ago as well. Something straight out of Lord of the Rings, and he’d simply chalked it up to the other world’s weirdness.

Victor took a look around the world once again with the rest of his allies. Was every step he was walking on made of human thought as well? Were the flies and deer and animals that seemed no different from earth the same thing?

He had seen mostly American animals within the Gate and now he knew why.

“We have to share this with everyone…” Lillie said quietly as they stalked through the Gate.

“I will,” Victor promised her.

Washington came into sight afterwards. Instead of the dark purple sky they’d see in the other world, they could finally stare into the black of a normal night sky. Victor saw a few stars hanging on top of there, and wondered to himself whether the Altesians of Angel Heights were being literal when they named their Angelos as Stars.

When they did end up in the city, it was just as abandoned as it had been the last time. Victor knew where the base of the survivors was and so this time around, he just waited at the group home for Jared to arrive.

The kid came gauntleted in his armour. When Victor stood up from the steps of the Group Home, Jared pointed the tip of his sword at him.

“Put that down, kid. I’m here to help you,” Victor claimed.

“We’re friends of Amadeus,” Isabelle added.

But the teen kept looking upon them with suspicion. Isabelle’s appearance didn’t help a bit, so Victor fired off a few facts instead.

“Am likes little bunny rabbits, he sleeps deep enough you could fire a cannon and he wouldn’t wake up, and he’s a hopeless romantic,” Victor told him. “That enough?”

“Well… did he tell you my name, then?” the teen asked.

“Jared. You’re the only one who got away, I’m guessing. They got Yvette, Tiff, Jaune, the twins and the rest of them,” Victor said.

Finally, the boy was convinced, but confused. He let down his blade and dismissed the gauntlets in a puff of magic.

“If you’re with Am… where is he?” he asked hesitantly.

“He’s-”

“We’ll tell you once we rescue the rest. We don’t want to worry him, right?” Victor told him.

“Right.”

Victor placed a hand on Jared’s shoulder and guided him down the street. He glanced back at Isabelle and shook his head. Don’t let him know.

She grimaced, but followed behind them. Victor took them both to the base of the Washington survivors. There, he met up with Lillie again and they caught up.

There wasn’t much time to waste, and Victor wanted to get the kids out quickly for what came after. Jared would grow curious about his big brother’s location, and the longer he kept the boy in the dark, the harder it’d be on him once he found out.

****

Hemotep didn’t expect the invasion. And though Victor lacked some manpower this time around, he still made it to the Vice’s chamber’s quicker than him. There, they ambushed him and trapped him within the panes.

He didn’t have the power to summon storms like Amadeus did. Instead, Victor applied Slowdown and then Speedup to paralyze his enemy in time. He shot through the Count’s heart and drained him of the enhanced ichor before pelting him with thunderbolts and bullets alike.

The Vice perished quickly. And Victor freed the kids once more. That wasn’t the hard part for him, though, it was what came afterwards back at the camp.

****

“Where is Am?”

“Yeah, where is he?”

“Come on, tell us!”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The kids crowded around Victor and Isabelle. Their hearts grew heavy from the pleading, and some of the kids were beginning to sob. Even Yvette was scowling, though her lips were quivering with a realization the others hadn’t reached.

Victor exchanged a look with Isabelle and the both of them nodded.

“Sit down, kids. We’ve got some news for you,” Victor told them.

Yvette helped them out with placating them. it was hard, and once they were settled, they stared at Victor alone.

“Sometimes in life… things happen that you’re not prepared for, but you kids already knew that. People leave and they don’t come back for reasons… you know that too,” he hated the words even as they left his mouth.

He wanted to say the truth. That he could walk through time and bring back their big brother. That Amadeus wasn’t truly gone. But instead, he had to lecture a bunch of orphans on loss once more, as if they hadn’t enough in their times.

“Amadeus told me about you all when we first met. He kept smiling through the worst things and that made me respect him even more, because I couldn’t do that. And I think he could smile so easily because he loved you all, and he always had you in his mind,” Victor told them.

“But… Amadeus passed away. He was attacked as soon as the Fall began. We tried to rush him to a hospital, but there weren’t any, and I failed to save him. I’m sorry.”

The first sobs came from the five-year olds. After that, it spread to the older ones until the room was drowned in shouts and screaming. some of the kids kicked and punched at Victor, and he took the blows regardless.

Somehow, they still hurt despite his Seeds. He let them blow out their frustration and tried to separate it from his mind. To not think about it.

They’re not aware of the resets. Their feelings don’t matter. I just need to wait and save him in the next one…

He tried to close his heart to the cries over and over until Alex raced into the room with her curly hair bobbing behind her.

“What are you doing? Why are they all shouting!?” She asked them.

She had to wade through the crying children to reach the solitary Victor.

“I had to break some news to them…” Victor explained without looking at her or the kids.

“We don’t have the time to deal with this, Victor. Vintarics could be here any moment if they keep going. Get them to shut up!” Alex growled at him.

Victor nodded solemnly and tried to stifle Tiffany’s cries, but the kid wouldn’t listen.

“Tif, please, I know it hurts but you have to be a bit qui-”

His voice was drowned out by more of her shouts. Victor winced at the volume and grabbed the little girl’s arms. That made her lash out even more, and Victor had to struggle to hold her in place.

“Let go of her,” Yvette told him. her eyes were red and puffy from tears, but she took Tiffany in her arms with a gentle touch.

Eventually, the little girl stopped crying as much and braced against Yvette instead. She helped the others as well, and eventually the noise died down in the room, replaced by soft sleeping sounds.

Yvette had a blanket rolled out over them and Victor and Isabelle helped to cover the kids. And then Yvette just watched over them silently, leaning against a table with shaky arms.

“I should go. If they wake up and see me, they might…”

“That’s probably best… Thanks for saving their lives,” Yvette told him. She had none of her usual harshness about her then, only vulnerability.

Victor left the room and heaved a heavy sigh along with Isabelle. She stalked off to another part of the building, and he was left alone for the night.

****

When Victor woke up the next morning, he found the kids sulking by themselves. They refused to eat rations or even talk with Yvette. She tried to coax them into eating but was blown off at every opportunity.

Walking into the room made it worse for Victor, because some of the kids up and left right then and there. Yvette walked over to him and offered some of the rations to him as well.

“Don’t mind the kids. They’ll be better soon. Here, have something, you need to eat too,” she told him. Victor nodded and took the protein bar from her.

He knew he needed to take them back to Angel Heights, but the problem came in the how. They wouldn’t follow him back without Amadeus with him. Instead, of pondering the question over in his mind, Victor went out on a mission instead.

There was a warehouse full of non-perishable food that he and Lillie were tasked with bringing back to the camp.

During it, they found a crate of candy bars that hadn’t expired. Lillie looked over Victor’s shoulders at the candy and offered him some advice.

“You should give some of those to the kids. It’d make them happy.”

So he loaded it up on the panes Lillie used to carry the food and took it back. There, he grabbed a few and brought it over to Max and Minnie.

The two of them were playing with toys but their hearts weren’t in it. When Victor came over, they turned their heads away in a huff.

“Come on, guys, don’t be like that. I brought you something,” Victor said with his hands behind his back.

He showed the Snickers bars to them and they greedily plucked it out of his hands.

“I’m still mad at you!” Max proclaimed, even as he bit down on the candy.

“Yeah, we are!” Minnie added.

But the twins were still in his pockets now.

“I beg your forgiveness, really, I do. Is there any way I can make it up to you?” Victor asked.

“Well…”

****

Chasing kids was annoying because of how small they were. Chasing them when they were magically enhanced to be faster was worse.

“Get back here!” Victor shouted as he tried to grab at Max. but the boy was too quick, and slipped right between his arms.

Sure, Victor wasn’t trying a hundred percent, but it still annoyed him to be outwitted so easily. Max, Minnie and Duke all laughed in high-pitched voices as they ran around the room, under tables, over boxes and across chairs.

They tired the Timewalker out until their Speedup ran out, and when it did, grabbed and pulled on Victor’s arms.

“Again! Again!” Minnie begged as she put her head under his hand.

“Come on, I need a break between those, alright?” Victor told her.

“Just one more, come oooon!” Max added, and Victor had to relent.

He felt more tired out by the end of the game of tag than he had after fighting through a horde of Vices. After that, Dudley approached him and nudged a bit to get his attention.

“I saw you using those super powers. Can you help me with something?” the boy asked shyly.

“Sure,” Victor replied with a smile.

****

“Alright, Dudley, here we are,” Victor said as he let the boy down off his back.

They were in a library in the middle of the city, and the boy looked on in amazement at the collection.

“Thank you, Mr. Amadi!” Dudley said as he ran between the shelves. Victor followed slowly behind, a hand on his gun in case an unexpected guest showed up. But none did and the only thing they found between the cases were books.

Victor helped the boy reach whichever sections of the library he wanted as he gathered together the books.

“This one has pictures so Duke will like it. This one Yvette can read the babies to put them to sleep…” He said as he constructed a tower Victor would have to carry.

“And this one is for Jaune, so he learns some new recipes,” Dudley finished.

He got something for every kid in the group home, but most of all himself. There was about a dozen mystery detective novels, half of them Sherlock Holmes.

“You can carry all of this, right?” Dudley asked him.

“Sure, I can,” Victor lied.

Victor had to tie together all the books into a cloth bundle and carry it over his shoulder back to the base. When they arrived, the other kids eagerly rushed to grab at comic books, novels and magazines.

They sat down and started reading, and Victor felt a bit better seeing them in such high spirits.

****

Late at night, Victor and Isabelle were tasked with putting the kids to sleep. Yvette was off in the other world, looking for Seeds of her own so she could be more valuable. Jared and Lillie had gone along with her, and they hoped to bring back something worth the trouble.

So, Victor was stuck with lullaby duty. Yvette had given him a few tips on the matter, but he still felt awkward taking care of the children.

“…. And the Hornless Unicorn learned that, even though it was different, that didn’t mean it was any worse than the others. The End.”

Victor closed the storybook in front of Tiffany’s eyes. The little girl yawned with her eyes closed and he glanced over at Isabelle. She was soothing Duke and Max, growing tired herself.

“You know, Mr. Victor, you suck at telling stories,” Tiffany said as she snuggled into her blanket.

“Thanks, kid.”

“Am always told them with sounds. Like ‘Bow!’ and “Pew!’.”

“I’ll make some sounds next time,” Victor promised.

“You don’t need to. Am did it because he thought we liked it. He always did things like that.”

The little girl fell asleep there, smiling and comfortable. Victor stayed like that for a while. Always did that, didn’t you, Am?

****

Victor brought the ingredients into the base and placed them on a table near Jaune. The Puerto Rican boy was working on an electric Stove that Victor was helping power with a battery.

“Thanks for those.”

“Need any help with the preparation?” Victor asked him.

“Uh, could you cut those onions and carrots, please?” the boy asked while he salted some water.

The both of them worked in unison to prepare lunch for the children. It was a treat that Alex had allowed, and Victor promised he’d try to do something similar for the rest of the camp.

Jaune dumped hard spaghetti into the salted pot of water and slowly let it boil. Victor chopped the vegetables and peeled the cover off of the frozen meat. Eventually, the meal started coming together and their stomachs started growling.

“Thanks for doing this,” Jaune told him before it all ended. Victor smiled at the kid.

“It’s not a problem.”

“I know why you’re doing it. Because Am did all of this for us too,” Jaune said. But it wasn’t out of resentment.

“He did a lot for you guys. That’s what the other kids tell me,” Victor replied.

“More than a lot. He was the heart of the family…”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save him, Jaune… I-”

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault. The others probably know too, now. But I still miss Am,” Jaune confessed. There were tears welling up at his eyes and he wiped them away on his sleeve.

“Am was our big brother. Yvette tells me it was worse before him. No one talked or played with each other. And then Am came along, six years old and he’d lost his parents too. He didn’t have any other family apart from them, so they sent him to the Group Home. He was funny, kind and happy all the time. Yvette says it was annoying but she was smiling.

“I don’t know how he did it all, being so sad. But Am kept a smile, and he made us smile. When he left, we thought we’d never see him again. But he kept calling, kept visiting. He never forgot about us, not our names or how we looked, even if months passed. He deserved better…” Jaune said.

There was silence for a moment, then.

“He did. He deserved so much better,” Victor said. “He was…”

My best friend. He’d had acquaintances since Charleston, even a few work buddies he hung out with. But Amadeus was the one who had helped Victor through those first loops. If Am wasn’t there, Victor wouldn’t have been able to make it to the end of the first reset and get his Timewalker Seed.

Not for the first time did Victor feel a deep sadness. He would have to wait years to see the man again.

“You’ll see him again, Jaune,” Victor promised.

“What? How?”

“I don’t know. But I promise, you will see him again,” Victor said.

“…Thank you, Mr. Amadi.”

They plated up the food for the kids afterwards. They enjoyed the spaghetti and Yvette returned in time to have it with them. Seeing the kids in such a happy mood, she smiled a silent thanks to Victor.