-I’ve been keeping an EYE on you-

---

(Back to Bill's POV)

I sheepishly made my way home. I'm really the worst aren't I?

Leaving everyone, running away for my own selfishness. Really, if I wasn't capable of going home at whatever time I wanted, I would have left them all alone for months and months…

...of course, I'd already left them alone for years and years after Pynelope died. I groaned and pressed my hands against my closed eye. Why was I such a mess? This was going to be so awkward! But I couldn't just… put it off. Not when it had been so long. I missed everyone. I checked the time to see when I was. Chronologically speaking, it was...

...a month after Pyrone's death.

A cold emptiness was all that remained of my despair over this fact. But I couldn't run away again. I went home. I only hoped everyone could forgive me. My stupid selfish behavior. My coping mechanism that involved attaching myself to more children and put myself through that pain all over again--

--why was I so stupid? Why did I keep doing this to myself?

The Death Star was quiet. I could Feel everyone here though. Off in their own rooms. That… was good? It gave me the chance to go see Pyronica first. I still landed on the ground and walked. Just to stall. Down the corridor. Onto the platform with wheels to slide over and connect with another hallway. Up the stairs that led to the downstairs floor. Standing beside a bookshelf and tapping a hidden switch to open the slide leading down another floor. And I was there. I was in front of her door. The ground felt so cold. I lifted a hand to knock, and trembled. Stupid hand, just go! Just do it! It wasn't hard! It shouldn't be.

Thud. Thud.

I couldn't bring myself to knock, so I hit my face against the door instead. It hurt. I deserve this pain.

I could hear shuffling. The door was pulled open and I got a look at my best friend for the first time in years.

...I couldn't stop myself.

"Wow. You look like shit."

...great job Bill.

Pyronica's face twisted into something truly ugly and her flames turned blinding. I braced myself with a force field before she pulled her leg back and gave me a savage kick, punting me down the hall. "FUCK YOU BILL!" She screamed before slamming her door shut.

My orb of protection rolled to a stop and I winced. I walked back over, safely inside my hamster ball of energy. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I swear!" there was no response. I really messed things up. I sat down in front of the door. "Py? Please? I'm sorry. Not just for that just now-- I'm sorry for everything." I rubbed my eye. No. No crying. Not now. I didn't deserve to cry. "I'm sorry for leaving, again."

I really made a bad habit of this, didn't I?

"I'm sorry for being mad, and for running away. I'm sorry for being a stupid idiot. I'm sorry for leaving you alone--"

The door slid open so fast it slammed into the side of the wall and cracked it.

"Yeah. You DID leave me alone." Pyronica hissed out at me. She was spewing fire everywhere, burning and crackling. "Did you think I didn't care? Did you think I wasn't in here screaming myself to sleep?! Did you think I didn't need you here with me?!" her voice didn't crack, it shattered along with whatever composure she had. My sister, in all but official Decision, fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry." I couldn't think of anything else to say. I popped my protective bubble, knowing that she might try to smack me again, but I could take it. And I probably deserved it. I carefully walked up to her and placed a small hand on her leg. "I'm sorry. I'm here now. I'm finally here. D-do whatever you feel you need to me. If that'll make you feel better."

But she didn't try to kick me again. She didn't even react to my hand against her. She just continued bawling her eye out. The way her cries would cut off as she gasped for air made my non-existent heart hurt. I walked closer and leaned against her, stretching my hands out to hug her. "I'm sorry." I repeated. I didn't know what else to say.

She cried for a good long time before it finally went down to shuddering breaths. I noticed Hectorgon and PaciFire peeking from down the hall. Of course they heard the crying. Their rooms were the closest. The red alien hopped down the hall towards us. He grimaced. I wasn't sure how to react either, to be honest. I hadn't seen them all in so long. Pyronica was still letting out wet gasps. I floated into the air, holding her hand. "Hey, you want some tea?" I asked.

She didn't respond with words, but she did take a few steps when I tugged at her hand.

I managed to get her down to the kitchen, her hand gripped mine in a way that I probably wouldn't be able to get away from. I was pretty sure she was afraid I would leave again if she let go. That only made me feel worse. Since she wouldn't let me go, I stretched out my other hand to reach the kettle to boil some water for tea.

While the kettle sat over the stove, I pulled out the teapot and rummaged through the cabinets. Which tea to brew? I had some Snavendder Ment. That might work. It was a calming-type tea. Heck, I think I needed some too. I wasn't nearly as okay as I looked. Hectorgon and PaciFire sat down around the table, neither of them saying anything. The kettle hissed and I took it off the flame to begin brewing.

Click. Tap. Pour. Tink.

No one was saying anything.

I served the tea silently.

Sip. Slurp.

I twitched. The silence was getting to me. "So… how're you holding up?" I finally asked. Pyronica slurped her tea loudly again, making me wince. I noticed her watching my reaction and she took another loud deliberate slurp. I spasmed. "AUUUGH! Stop that!" I whined.

Well at least that got a chuckle out of her. But she still slurped the tea while she laughed again, bubbling the liquid until it spilled over the edges of the teacup. I groaned. "Stoooooop~ you're making a mess!" I saw PaciFire and Hectorgon hiding grins behind their cups. The jerks.

I didn't comment on the fact that she still hadn't let go of my hand.

Pyronica put down her cup and poked at the spilled tea. "...I'm still mad." She said at last. I nodded. "You have the right to be." We sat in silence for a bit, broken only by the spilled tea sizzling up under her finger. Occasionally the others would take a sip from their cups. I waited. Pyronica groaned and slumped over on the counter. "Are you mad at me?"

"...no." I told her. "I was, at first. But I stopped being mad years ago."

"Then why didn't you come back?" She didn't look at me.

...I suppose I had to tell the truth. "I was scared."

"...you're always scared." She pointed out. Yeah. Couldn't really deny that. "I'm sorry." I squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry I ended up leaving you all alone." her and everyone else. I just… Couldn't. I wasn't in a good place. Still not. But I'm doing better.

"...you're really not mad?" She questioned. I shook my head. "It's been years. It doesn't stop hurting, but I don't blame you, and I'm not mad either." All I felt about it now was a cold emptiness that sometimes threatened to overtake me. So I did what I always did, distracted myself. Hanging out with Seb in a domestic day-to-day was… nice. As much as it hurt to know that I would lose him someday as well. That was for future me to worry about.

Pyronica sighed. "I haven't stopped hurting either." She laid her head down on the tabletop and looked miserable. "...maybe I shouldn't have had kids..." I floated closer and leaned against her. "Don't ever regret it." The idea of never having known them… that was worse. "It was worth it to have known them. I'm sure of it." I had to believe that.

"Maybe… I dunno anymore… I thought I could do this… but..." Pyronica's hand tightened around mine. "After Pynelope died, I thought to myself...so this is how it feels…" She murmured. "I thought it would have felt like when I lost my mother… but it's not like that at all." She shook her head. "It's so different. Like… sometimes, I think they're still kids, small enough to fit in my arms…" she took a shuddering breath. "I can't believe they're really gone…"

"...how do you feel?" I raised my other hand to rub soothing circles along her back. The Cyclopian pressed her eye shut. "...angry. Mostly. I guess." Ah, well, I could understand that. She opened her eye to glance up at me. "I was angry when Pynelope died, angry at her for being so flame-damned stubborn. I was also angry at the people who killed her…"

"...I should have left you a few of them." I realized. Pyronica shook her head. "Naw, as great as it would have felt to eat her murderers, it wouldn't have helped at all. Plus I would have gotten arrested and you'd have to bail me out again." she joked lightly.

She ran a hand over her face, evaporating her tears. "Wow, just listen to me. Me. Of all people, not wanting to kill and eat people? I really have gotten old."

I nudged her, "Immortality be like that sometimes. Besides, you're not old." She chuckled. "Bill, I'm like billions of years old. I'm old." She sobered. "Ugh… never wanted to grow up like this." She poked at the table. "Can we go and do something fun? It just hasn't been fun around here without you."

A fun distraction? I could do that.

"Have I ever brought you guys to that planet made of blocks~?"

---

"...well. That happened." I stared down at the crater that used to be a mountain until Pyronica dropped a few hundred TNT charges onto it. "I know you wanted to clear the land to build that roller coaster, but… couldn't we have used the mountain as a base for building?"

"Eh~" Pyronica shrugged. "I just wanted to watch it blow up." Well, that was fair, I too, was mesmerized by the explosion. It's a good thing there weren't any living animals or people in that area.

Xanthar was rolling around in the flower field I built for him. He really liked it. I also showed him how to punch something until it popped into a smaller block he could pick up and place down wherever he wanted. He built a cave and put some lava inside it. Where he found lava I wasn't sure. The planet being made of cubes made it more difficult for me to See anything with my usual cheat methods. Hm. The triangles I built worked, but they didn't form naturally.

Teeth was chasing down the 'sheep' with some shears in one hand and some color dye in the other. I wasn't sure what he was collecting all that wool for, but he was getting lots of exercise. Kryptos was staring at the block of dirt in his hand, going crazy trying to figure out how this all worked. "It doesn't seem to weigh anything when it's not connected to the rest of the planet. Theoretically, I could dig up the entire planet and carry them all." He made a shuddering gasp. "But then how would it work? There would be no planet to stick the blocks back onto?" He placed the dirt back down and then punched it until it popped out again. "How the fuck do physics in this dimension work!? What the hell was the AXOLOTL thinking?!"

Huh. Now that he mentioned it….

This dimension was...

Ah… did Ax make this place just for me to play with? A sandbox dimension where everything could be broken down and built back up? A dimension where physics doesn't… Work the same way it did in most of the multiverse?That was kinda cute. But whether Ax created this world for me or not, I planned to play around in it!

If I didn't know better, I almost think that Ax made this place as a distraction for me.

Well, it was certainly a distraction. I could see Pyronica cackling as she chased some 'chickens'. I liked seeing her smiling again. Was this just a bandaid to cover the hurting she and I were still feeling? Yeah… but any sort of joy was better than just being miserable all the time. I would… have a talk with her later about what she's been doing since I was gone. For now, I just wanted to have fun with my friends again. And when the fire died down and Pyronica seemed quiet, I flew forward to show her some other cool thing I found. Ah… the only thing missing is Creepers and I would have my own Minecraft dimension. Hm~ well… it shouldn't be that difficult to create a Creeper? They're just a mobile plant creature that explodes. I've created an acorn puppy before, this shouldn't be all that different. I could even make it so that the explosions didn't kill people.

I grinned as I built this new organism and sent it wandering off to where Teeth was gathering wool. Oh~ I was so evil.

"Hey, what's tha--"

BOOM

Was it mean to laugh? I couldn't help myself.

---

I returned everyone home and was prepared to go to sleep, snuggle with Xanthar and go back to Seb's side while I was asleep here. I was thinking I'd do some kind of sleep and wake and sleep cycle between my dimension and his. But I didn't get to do that.

Time Baby finally called me up for the first time in a while. Uuuuugh. What does he want? I told him I wasn't gonna kill people for him anymore!

"THIS JOB WILL BE DIFFICULT. IT IS IN THE 3RD DIMENSION." He said the instant I materialized before him. Was he really talking to me like he expects me to still be working for him?!

My first thoughts were, 'Goddammit not again!' But I also wanted to know what he thought was so important that he was bothering to call me. And in the third dimension again! I hated doing jobs there!

"What's the issue?" I asked carefully. I wasn't going to kill any human. He should KNOW this.

I know Time Baby cannot see the dreams I give people. His Sight only sees the physical world. He can only see the actions people do, not the thought process behind them. Whereas I, as a creature of the mind, am very much aware of the desires that drive mortals to do all SORTS of stupid things. (Doesn't mean I approve or understand why they're dumb enough to do those kinds of things, but hey~ you win some, you lose some.)

"ATLANTIS IS PROGRESSING FASTER THAN IT SHOULD." He was… pouting?

I blinked in surprise. Well he's not wrong. The scientists at Atlantis understand me better than the majority of humanity at this point in time. I get a 'sinking' feeling (NO. Bad Bill! No puns at a time like this.)

"Let me guess. You want them gone?" I sighed. Probably should have figured this. Atlantis was 'supposed' to have been destroyed right? Fuck. I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached.

"DESTROY THE LOT OF THEM. THEY ARE THROWING OFF THE BALANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH. IF LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES THEY WILL GAIN SPACE TRAVEL WITHIN A FEW CENTURIES."

I sighed, probably brought this on myself for giving them access to my knowledge and power. This was all my fault. Death's only real job is doing Fate's dirty work. He gets to sit on his high chair and pretend he is blameless as the blood stains not his hands, but mine.

Wow, I get poetic when I'm annoyed.

Frankly, I didn't want to do this. But considering the current king of Atlantis was trying to take over the world or something… Uuugh… yeah, probably shouldn't have left them alone for so long. Uuugh~ But I didn't want to have to watch over them constantly to make sure they behaved. That wasn't right. They should be free to do what they wanted and THEN get punished by me afterward for the stupid shit they pulled! Eh… I guess this would be the punishment, huh?

But still, I got that Deal with Time Baby to do something about this in exchange for another Favor. "You don't care if they live or die, so long as they no longer advance in technology, right?" Might as well get confirmation so Time Baby can't call me out on it later for doing something he didn't actually hire me for. Besides, I did want another Favor.

When I trade in a Favor with Time Baby for a friend, I'm not just ensuring that they will be left alone by the Federation so long as they don't get caught in the middle of a crime. I free them from Time's tyrannical grip. They are my friends until the end of time. Even with my powers constantly healing any damage to their physical bodies to prevent aging, I wanted assurance that Time wouldn't take them from me…like my children were. As the Federation and most of the multiverse knew, I would do anything for my friends and children. I pardoned Pynelope's killers up until she d-died for real and wasn't there to stop me anymore.

It's why so many people in the universe wished for my favor. I could feel their intentions. Their greed tastes wonderful but I can't let myself indulge. It's like eating sweets. They're yummy but I know they're bad for me. But gaining a Favor from Bill Cipher was probably more sought after than one from Time Baby.

I shook off those thoughts and blinked to Earth. I had an entire nation to destroy. And I'm going to find a way to do it without killing anyone. After all, he didn't ask me to 'kill' anyone, only to get rid of Atlantis…

---

As I watched the wave approaching the grand city, I felt my guilt stirring up again. This wasn't right. There were so many innocent citizens who had no knowledge of technology. They weren't a threat to Time Baby's precious future. But they would be punished along with everyone else. Their country would be destroyed and their knowledge stripped from them.

I watched a young child, no more than 9 years old, cry as he clung to his mother. She was holding him close as she stared at the huge wave approaching the city. The Queen of Atlantis had activated their protective force field around a small area of the kingdom. The despair of the entire city filled me. It made me both agitated and giddy. I giggled at the ticklish feeling (unable to fully block it out while I was in the Mindscape), even as my mind screamed in sympathy for their pain. Well, time to put my plan into action. Phase one, flood the kingdom. Phase two, save the people.

I entered the minds of as many people as I could, altering their perceptions so they could see a ghostly figure of me floating before them. I didn't have much time until the wave hit.

"Do you wish to live?" I asked them firmly, appearing before them as Jan because I was NOT in the mood for dealing with people freaking out over a talking triangle right this second. Besides, I was counting on Jan's charm stunning them enough to listen to me. Jan was always good at getting what he wanted, one way or another. People had trouble refusing me. (Actually, now that I thought about it, isn't that kinda dangerous? Focus Bill! Worry about my enchantment of sentient life forms later!)

"W-what?" They all gasped at me stupidly. I did NOT have TIME for this!

"If you wish to live, just take my hand. Give yourself to me and I will save you." I held out my hand, flickering blue flames wreathing it. A Deal was one of the few ways to get around my limitations in the 3rd dimension. I was already straining to reach all their Minds at once. The barrier the Queen of Atlantis made could only protect a tiny portion of the country. There were thousands more people that I had to save.

A woman grabbed my hand, she was afraid (panicked and fearful, staring at the quickly approaching wave of certain death) and didn't have time to fully understand what she's just agreed to. That was fine. Made my job easier.

I turned her into a fish.

This Deal was an agreement to give themselves to me. It was permission to let me manipulate their bodies as I wanted. I continued. I shook their hands as they accepted. I saved as many of them as I could. I turn them all into fish. Thousands of people. Thousands of Deals. I was buzzing inside but I didn't care. I was going to save ALL of them.

Many centuries from now, the descendants of these first Magic fish would become the merfolk. But that's a different story.

---

I was, for lack of a better term, exhausted. I had to use a lot of power AND make many Deals all at once. I felt all strange inside. Right, dad didn't want me making multiple Deals too close to each other. Eh~I'll be fine. I'm gonna make sure not to each any people. Eat any people. Eat. Yes, that's what I meant. I mean, NOT eat. No eating people. Got it. God I'm exhausted.

I drifted home and found Xanthar shuffling around his pillows, waiting for me. "Hey buddy~ sorry 'bout that. Got a last minute job…" I yawned. Stupid Time Baby…

Xanthar ran over to FOOMF me into his fur. Yeah, I know. I patted his face. "What do you wanna do tomorrow? Wanna play Minecraft some more? Or maybe something else?" Frankly, I was too tired to go back to Seb's place. Just wanted to sleep. Xanthar snuffled, letting out 'Joy' and 'Eagerness'. Looks like he didn't mind whatever we ended up doing, so long as I was here. It was cute, but I was a little worried. I didn't like the idea of Xanthar missing me so much when I was gone. It didn't feel right to me. Everyone else seemed to be able to get on with life without me… but he can't. And that really worried me. I've noticed this before, but I never really stopped to think about it. It was making me more anxious. I didn't want him to miss me so much. I didn't want to be the cause of his distress. I thought about Seb and Blue and how much I wanted to be with the both of them. But I couldn't be with everyone all the time all at once. Splitting myself like that would only make things harder on me.

...and now I was thinking about how Seb was expecting me back. I had to go home to him too. But I also had to be here. And Blue was still trying to make his dimension safe for me as well.

There were too many things I had to do. Places I had to go. People I loved and wanted to be with. Why couldn't we all just… be together?

...was such a thing possible?

Could I somehow… merge the dimensions? Or would that cause everything to break apart? I felt like it would be a bad idea.

I didn't want to think about the things that worried me. I just wanted to be happy and have fun. Why was that so wrong? Uuuuurgh. Fuck it. I'm tired. I'm not thinking clearly. I'm gonna go to sleep. Xanthar and I settled down in his pillow nest and I kissed him good night, turning my eye into a mouth briefly. "We can everyone else tomorrow what they want to do." I murmured.

---

"I wanna see the third dimension." Kryptos said simply.

The eggs slipped off my spatula and fell back into the pan. I stared. "Oh. Ah… any particular reason?" I was expecting people to want to play in the Minecraft dimension some more, or explore some other new place. But… Kryptos wanted to see the third dimension?

The compass nodded. "That's your precious favorite dimension right? Where those… humans live?"

"Ah. Yeah. Humans are native to the third dimension." Even though humanoids existed in other dimensions all across the multiverse. They looked human-ish. But they weren't. A good example would be Teeth's people and the colonies they formed together into. Or that Eclipsa girl and the other Mewmans. But they were an odd case. Some Time shenanigans, portals and magical mutations and--

I paused as I realized something. Human-ish. Ah. Oh. So that meant that… oh. Ohhhh... So that was why brother felt genetically familiar--

"Bill? Bill?" I blinked to see Kryptos waving a hand in front of my face. "Oh. Sorry, I got lost in thought." I rubbed my side. Kryptos snorted and grinned at me fondly. "Yeah, I noticed." He took the plate and spatula from me. "Here, I'll serve breakfast today. Go sit down." He lightly nudged me to a chair to sit. I settled down and thought back on the original topic. "I don't mind taking you all to the third dimension. If you don't mind being pulled out of your bodies."

Keyhole winced. "That sounds painful." I was quick to assure him, "No it doesn't hurt at all! It just feels a little weird. But there's no pain since you won't have pain sensors anymore." The only thing that could hurt them was mental attacks, and seeing as I was the only other thing powerful enough to do such a thing in the Mindscape, well, I wouldn't let them get hurt. Pyronica looked interested. So did 8-Ball. And Kryptos was definitely on board for this adventure considering he was the one to ask. Xanthar raised his hand too, to give his input of affirmation to this field trip.

Hectorgon shrugged with a, "I'll stay home, thank you very much." He flicked through screens on his Com. "I've got a date."

"""Ooooooh~""" Teeth, Pyronica and I chorused. "Who are they? Are they cute? Are they angular?" I teased. Hectorgon chuckled. "It's not a romantic date." he laughed at our disappointed """Awwww….""" before taking the plate Kryptos handed him. "I have to meet up with a business partner."

"Uuugh… business meetings…" I grumbled before thanking Kryptos for the plate of food. "Is it important?" I asked next, just in case this was something I had to worry about. Hectorgon shook his head. "No, just negotiating some payment for a commission. A long term project, as it were."

"Oh?" I asked as I scooped up some of the eggs and plopped them into my eye-mouth. Hectorgon shook his head. "It's all rather boring I'm afraid. A job's a job." He reached out slowly, making sure I knew he was doing so, and patted my side. "Don't let me stop you kids from having fun."

"Kaaaay~" I chowed down on my breakfast in earnest. It was decided that Kryptos, Xanthar, Pyronica, 8-Ball, and I were going to the 3rd dimension after breakfast. (Toobie wanted to come, but they were much too young for this.) The others refrained for one reason or another. I got everyone settled down in the living room in comfortable positions before our field trip. If they were going to leave their bodies behind, they should at least be comfortable.

Alright. Let's do this. I pulled and was rewarded with everyone's Soul/Minds tugged from their bodies. It was very careful work, unhooking a Soul from their body without killing them. But their Souls were old and strong, they easily held together. Their bodies were pretty much just sleeping now. Kryptos gasped, patting himself down and looking at his body. "This… is the Mindscape?" He looked around. "Amazing. So… this is where your true form exists…" He trailed off when his gaze landed on me. I hadn't really bothered to adjust my 'mental' form so I guess he might not have recognized me. I 'looked' down at myself. Yeah. I was just a swirling mass of energy right now. I pulled myself back into my triangle form. "Alright, is everyone ready?" I asked. Pyronica grinned. "Dude. That's cool." She floated forward, waving her arms a little. "Oh, this is weird." She overshot me and twirled around. "So…" She looked around. "Is it… always… so quiet?" I shrugged. "Kinda? We're the only ones here. I think there might be more people, Souls, here, but I haven't really met anyone else." Kryptos was still staring at me.

"What?" I wiggled under his gaze. He seemed to snap out of it. "Sorry, just… did you know that your colors shift rapidly?" I blinked. Well, I was an ever changing mass of energy sooo… "Kinda?"

He let out a chuckle. "It's very pretty." He gave my form a slow look up and down. "I wouldn't mind if you allowed me to see it more often." I felt rather flustered. Ahhh! I can't handle compliments!

As I turned away and tried to focus on teleporting us to Earth, I noticed Pyronica nudge Kryptos with a grin. "I know which pick up book you got that one from~

---

I teleported everyone to the Earth, looking fondly down at the place. I really couldn't wait for it to grow. Even with the upsetting things that happened the last time I was here, I was calmed by the knowledge that at least I managed to save as many people as I could.

(Discounting what I had to do to create the wave to destroy Atlantis to begin with, that was… an entirely different matter.)

Atlantis was gone, but that didn't mean the rest of the world wasn't working on advancing their own civilizations. People were switching from stone tools to bronze as they learned to do more with what they had. How far were we from modern day? I was so impatient for all this.

Kryptos stared down at the blue and white planet. "So… that's the place you're so fond of?" He floated closer. "It's… not bad looking." He admitted. What in cheese did he think it was supposed to look like? I stretched out my hands to hold onto everyone. "Come on, you can see more if we're down there." we all flew down, past the void of space and into the atmosphere. Down past the clouds. I could see the landmass approaching, a breathtaking view of the continents being awash with light as it turned toward the sun for its day cycle.

My friends watched the sunrise with me as we were low enough to the ground to appreciate it. 8-Ball broke the silence, "That's pretty." I laughed. "Yes it is. Come on, I'll show you guys around."

I took them to Egypt, why wouldn't I? There were cats there! I liked possessing people to pet the cats. But possessing the cats was almost more fun. Because I got all the headpats! I wondered if my friends would like being cats. Kryptos was squinting in the bright sun reflecting off the sand. Pyronica looked right at home. Deserts were the main biome on her homework. I could tell she liked this place immediately. Xanthar ran around, shivering as the humans walked right through him. "Yeah, we're in the mindscape, can't be seen, heard or felt or anything. Not unless you're possessing a body."

8-Ball looked around. "Ain't that kinda boring?" He waved a hand through another person. We were in a marketplace. There were so many people here. Humans. But there were also cats, milling about all around the area. I saw one snatch up some dropped food and dash away. The humans didn't seem to mind. They looked quite fond of the animal, even stopping to pet some that got close enough. I was glad to see that the cats here knew the humans well enough to be comfortable with that sort of physical contact. It meant my attempts to get the animals worshipped as they should be were working.

Speaking of worship...

"Hey… any of you guys wanna get pampered?" I eye-grinned at them all. Xanthar immediately bounced in place (though with the whole floating thing, it was more like he undulated) which was a definite yes.

It didn't take all that long to teach them how to enter a cat's body. Animals could allow us in via a Deal or simply from a negotiation. I promised the cats plenty of fish and a loving home for each of them if they allowed me and my friends to wear them around for a while. I helped everyone get settled into their own cats and relaxed into my own. Oooh~ I missed being a cat.

Now. Time to look fucking adorable.

---

Xanthar loved being a cat. To the point where I think he might want to try this again sometime. He discovered he loved belly rubs in a cats body just as much as he liked them normally. 8-Ball was licking himself, having too much fun doing so. I was a bit worried (and weirded out) by how much he liked it. Pyronica was having a blast, chasing down mice and other small animals to devour. Kryptos was lying beside me, pressed close. I heard him purring. "Are you having fun?" I rubbed my head against him. "Yes~" He purred, "I missed you." He sounded rather wistful. "Are you staying this time?"

....ah. How did he notice?

I'm… well… I've been living with Seb-"

"Is that the brother you've told us about?" Kryptos asked, pawing at the sand. I shook my head, the movement looking odd in my cat body. "No, but yes. Seb is another brother. It's complicated. But the brother I talked about before is Blue." I laid my head down in the sand. "I… want to go back to them." I admitted. Kryptos sighed. "So you're leaving again?"

"Not for too long. I'm working on making my transitions between dimensional sets more seamless. So that I can sleep here to wake there and vice versa. I don't know if it'll work, but I want to try." I wanted to be with everyone. Is that selfish? Kryptos sighed. "Well… I don't know how you do the things you do, but I'm sure you'll be able to do it." He nuzzled me. "You're brilliant. You'll figure out how to do it." He sounded a little sad though. "Do you really have to leave?"

"....I love my brothers. I love being with them. But I love you all too." I muttered. "But I can't be with you all. I have to pick and choose. And I don't like that."

Kryptos smiled and wiggled over to drape himself across me. "Nothing wrong with wanting everything." He purred. "I want you to stay with me." He was so close, so warm. "But I know you need to go. You start slipping out of focus with reality if you stay in one place too long, no matter how happy you are to be there. Even here, with us. And… that's fine, you know? It's part of who you are." He sighed. "It's why I love the time we spend together." then, quieter, "I'll take what I can get. I want all of you. But that wouldn't work. Even if I got you for myself, you would still leave. Because that's who you are. You'd get restless. Unhappy. No matter how much you loved us. But I suppose that might be what draws me to you, wanting to have someone that I could never have..."

I looked over. "Kryptos?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just talking to myself." He rumbled. I didn't really get it. But I had gotten partial permission to leave if I needed to. And... well… I promised Seb I would be back. I promised Zach and Zoe. Well. I could do that tonight, after we got home and had dinner. After everyone was asleep.

After I fell asleep.

---

I left while nestled in Xanthar's arms. Heading for the Exit door beside the stage/bedroom. My security settings were still here. I did a check over before I went through. Safety first after all. The Void was silent. I floated over to Blue's Door, wondering if it was safe yet. It wasn't. Fister was apparently still there. Or maybe he hadn't managed to bring him back yet. Either way, I couldn't go over. That was fine.

I gave Blue's Door one last fond look before going for Seb's Door.

I could make this work.

I could have all my family with me. Even if it meant I had to go back and forth. I wanted to have everything. That… wasn't wrong. It shouldn't be. Not when all I wanted was love.

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