The cooler Daniel.

By the time we reached the Kikuno house, they'd absconded already, setting fire to the whole place.

I sighed.

What was Daniel even thinking?

I mean I knew what he was thinking setting their apartment on fire. Invisible fire too.

He wanted to rob me of any access to their work.

But what I didn't get was what he intended to do by dragging his mom into this shit?

If he took her to another dimension, her illness would only get worse. And if he left her here, I'd get to her or she'd die either way.

Unless she was in on it?

Nah. I doubt it. She wasn't the type.

She probably figured that her son had already fucked up and pulled him out before he made it any worse.

A victim of circumstances so to speak.

Pitiful, but she chose to stand against me.

And it wasn't as if I was going to let her live long. Once she finihsed her research, I'd have killed her anywa-

Oh. So that's why he's here.

Well shit. But I don't think I'd be stupid enough to leave Daniel alive, if I killed his mom. It was evil overlord 101.

Never spare the tiger cub. It will certainly grow up and seek revenge.

Daniel would die. Which means something went wrong and he came back because I messed up. Or maybe he just came back not knowing who I was, just thinking that since I was a traveler from another world I must be the cause of his mother's demise?

That seems more likely

Actually, didn't he say, 'You must be Jay Walker' as if he didn't know what I looked like or at least what I looked like before.

Hmm....Yeah. I think I figured it out.

In his timeline, I must have met his mother the day of the Welters game and offered to heal her. She would have refused, neither trusting me nor wanting to take time off of her research.

And when she went home that day, she must have told her son about me and my offer in passing. Or maybe she said it on her deathbed with regret and he misunderstood. It doesn't matter how he learnt of my existence. Even if he heard it by hearsay.

What matters is this.

She completed her research and ended up dying.

And once she was dead, I must have taken her research for myself. Or maybe I even killed her but left Dabiel alive. Maybe I couldn't find him or maybe I couldn't be bothered to hunt him down because he was not a threat to the me of that time.

No. That's stupid. I wouldn't do that.

Why would I overcomplicate things for no reason? Especially when there's so much danger involved.

Think, Jay, think!

What could I have done wrong....?

I couldn't find anything I could have messed up. Not a single thing.

Unless.....I wasn't the one who made the mistake.

I narrowed my eyes.

What if my base assumption is wrong? What if he isn't the Daniel from the future of this timeline but rather from a previous timeline?

That would explain him not knowing what I look like.

But then why was he after me?

On principle? That every threat to his momma needs die.

Or maybe it was someone else's mistake.

He did seem vengeful. Like an eye for an eye type.

The only question is.....who else but me?

I sighed.

Who knows at this point.

I'll find out eventually when I hunt him down.

And whatever his reasons, I WILL hunt him down. No matter what.

He will suffer for his actions.

Though, that latter part does worry me a bit.

What's important now, is to reverse engineer his time magic so I can sniff him out.

And with the whole apartment and his reasearch burnt, there was no trace of his magic left.

In this time at least. But there was one way to find out more. From his research in another time.

Probably won't work, because you know, time wizard.

But won't hurt to try.

"Kady, the time camera?" I requested.

I had called on her for a favor. One she happily obliged out of gratitude.

I smiled as she handed me a small yellow film camera.

The Time Camera. A magical item enchanted with the ability to look across time. Like a time bridge but instead of taking you to a set point of time, it gathers the light from said point of time and shows it to you in the present.

I knew she was a good investment!

I brought the camera to my eyes and looked through it, snapping pictures of the apartment.

Nothing.

Pure blackness.

I sighed.

"What else was I expecting?"

"What did you see?" Kady asked.

"Nothing." I replied, handing the camera back to her, but Margo snatched it up.

"Oh it's really nothing? Is this thing broke?"

"It's brand new." Kady replied.

"It can't be nothing. Everything exists at some point of time, right?" Eliot wondered.

"It's not gone. Just our sight into the past is blocked. He censored the whole apartment from time. Nothing less to be expected of a time wizard." I explained.

"Then....now what? Are you just going to let him go?" Yue asked.

"No. I will hunt him down. But first, I need to prepare. I can't have a repeat of the same incident. Daniel has all the time in the world, being a time traveler and what not. So I need to be quick about it before he realises that I'm still alive. And for that I need to confirm something...." I turned around, fixing my gaze on a spot down the street. A figure shuffled, startled and made to bolt but telepathically stopped him.

"Don't even think about it. Daniel." He froze in his tracks, and I could feel his blood freeze.

"Come. Talk to me. I promise I don't bite."

Yup. It was a young Daniel. The son of Sonia Kikuno.

Usually, I'd just kill him and stop the time loop. But that thing he said. The implications of someone else being here bothered me.

So I wanted to confirm it.

Was the Daniel that attacked me this one, the one from timeline 40 or one of the earlier versions of him from one of the other 39 timelines.

There was a simple way to know.

By talking to a younger Daniel.

The younger Daniel slowly came closer, carefully casting Fergus's Spectral Armory on himself.

A phantasmal suit of armor appeared on his body and his personal wards went up before he even dared to come into range.

Smart brat. He must be talented too.

Fergus's Spectral Armory is not an easy spell to cast. At his age, that's the mark of a genius.

"What do you want? And what happened here?"

"That's actually why I called you here, Daniel. Let's talk....."

.

"I don't believe this. Why would I ever do that? That sounds crazy. I mean time travel? The risks alone..." The younger Daniel rubbed his temples, exasperated at his older selves actions.

We were sitting in a cafe some ways from his house, and briefing him on the situation.

and the results.....

This is interesting.

Looking at how horrified he is of his future self's actions, it doesn't seem like he's the sort to do something like...well, this.

It makes me even more curious.

What led him down this path?

Why was he doing this?

Did he really change that much in a couple of years?

"And why kidnap my mother? If he truly cared about her he would just grab you and leave." He said, worry clear on his face, "Why take her? She will only suffer more from the displacement! It can't be right. I wouldn't do that."

"And yet you did." I pointed at the video playing on my phone. My glasses had recorded the whole thing as well as analyzed the device he was using, the time travelling, dimension hopping Stoppard Cube.

Given enough time I could reproduce it.

Now, to confirm my suspicions.

"So I have a request for you." I added.

'What? A pinky promise that I won't do it again? You guys being here is worsening my mother's condition. If ....if anything happens to her, I don't know if I'll do that, but I will certainly do something." He snapped from the tension.

I can understand.

Losing your house and your mom to your future self is a lot to take in.

"No. You won't. Because you won't need to, Daniel. I will find your mom. And I will cure her. I promise you that.

That's why I initially approached her in the first place anyways. And if I don't, feel free to come back in time for revenge. But I know this. Neither you, nor I want that to happen."

He frowned.

"Maybe not now but..."

"You won't, Daniel." I put a hand on his shoulder, "Because you're a good kid. Your mom said as much. And because you won't need to."

I handed him a card and a package.

"That's my card. Call me if you need anything. And that little baggy has the keys and cards for one of my safehouses. You don't have a place to stay, do you?"

His eyebrows went up in realisation and I chuckled.

He'd only just thought about it?

He was greener than I thought.

"Thought so. Use it for now. I'll get you a proper apartment later."

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, confused.

I just shrugged.

"Because he's a big softie." Eliot poked my in the side playfully.

"It just doesn't sit right with me to see a kid be out onto the streets. Not if I can do something about it."

Also, because I can use it to keep and eye on him, in case future Daniel or Sonia contact him, not to mention, steal his research when he recreates it

But I'm not going to tell them that.

"I'm 17." He frowned.

"So is my little brother. And if he was in your place, I'd want someone to extend him the same hand." I told him.

It still didn't convince him, but then Kady huffed and spoke up.

"He's just weird like that. Don't mind him." She said, leaning closer to him.

"I think he has a hero complex." She whispered into his ears.

"No I don't." I pointed it out.

"Jay....shy." Yue giggled, "Shy in bed too."

"Yue!"

Finally, Daniel smiled, and took the bag from my hands, thanking me.

"I don't know what to say.... thanks, I guess." He said, putting it into his backpack.

"Don't mention it. If you learn anything else, call me." I said, turning arpund to keave when he called out.

"Wait!" He said, grabbing my shoulder, "Let me help."

I raised an eyebrow.

What?

"I am the greatest expert on me. And horomancy. The...the cube. I am working on one right now. I think I'll be able to help track the other me down."

"Really?" I asked.

Wow.

I did not expect that.

He'll just help?

No questions asked?

Is he just naive or what?

Because I know he sure isn't that stupid.

But eh, why look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Yeah. I don't want to just sit and wait while you guys do all the work. I want to help too." He said, bowing, "Please."

"Alright. I'll get you a workshop too. Send me a list of what you need by tomorrow."

Margo pulled me aside at that.

"Are you sure?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"He's a kid."

"I'm 17! I just look young." He interjected.

"And we won't take him into battle. He can be the man in the chair for us. Like Oracle and Batman."

"You're not Batman." Margo pointed out.

"No. But you certainly are." I complimented, just to get her out of my hair.

Margo, fell back, flustered for the briefest of moments before regaining her composure.

"Well, if you keep him safe, then I suppose it's fine. But don't expect me to babysit him." She huffed cutely.

Man she was such a nerd when it came to comics and manga.

And even though she didn't show it through her hard outer shell, I knew she'd come in clutch if younger Daniel needed it.

I smiled.

"Alright then. It's decided. I know where to go. But for today, let's go home. I think I need a drink."

"Truer words have not been spoken." Eliot cheered.

I checked my time-space fuckery detector one more time for any changes in the timeline and lo and behold.

Nothing.

And I had my proof.

It wasn't this Daniel.

No. It was a Daniel Kikuno from another timeline.

Good. Then all I need to do is hunt him down. Timeline by timeline.

And I knew how to find out which timeline he came from.

Because there was one man who had lived through all of them to the fullest.

One man who was always in the know of magical society.

A man I would question. Tomorrow.

Because his office hours were over and he was a stalwart believer in not working past five.

___________________

Extra chapter for 200 powerstones.

Not feeling well. Will write regular chapter tomorrow.

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