Today was the best day for Lewis and Simone. They were celebrating their actual wedding anniversary away from the children. It was decided their second wedding would be their day with the children but today was just their day. Simone’s hair was in a gorgeous updo with delicate green gem hairpins. A pearl necklace was adorning her neck with matching earrings. Her dress was a favorite from their first year today. It had off-shoulder straps that matched the light pink sweetheart bodice. Small roses and leaves were embroidered across the sleeves and across the top of the bodice while a larger rose and its leaves were down the center of the bodice meeting yet another rose that flourished into the smaller leaves and roses across the top of its skirt. The skirt was a forest green that had a fullness to it.

She looked much more elegant as they walked into the Wandering Swan together. Mia had a long braid over her shoulder with many flowers decorating it. She wore a simple white halter top that cut deeply down to her naval. It made Simone envious when she just glared at Mia. Mia looked down at her bust and gave a sly smile.

Even after having the twins Simone’s bust was still modest which was amusing to Lewis but he didn’t dare say it out loud for fear of what Simone would do. That was one button he wasn’t going to press with her.

Simone was holding onto Lewis’s arm as he escorted her. “Happy anniversary dear…” There was a smile on her face as she reached up and kissed him. Mia clapped happily as they moved to their table. “The twins were very, very upset today. They really wanted to be with us and weren’t taking no for an answer.”

“The boys?” Mia wrote and held up her chalkboard.

“No, Lila and Janus… They’ve been bratty lately more than normal. It’s awful.” Mone frowned a bit. The dinner went well as Simone cut a piece of apple cake with her fork and held it up to Lewis. “Ahhh…”

Mia looked at the display of love and then looked down at her plate. She took the whole plate and held it to Xeik’s face and opened her mouth.

“…” Simone looked over and started to laugh while Mia blushed. “Mia… Is that how much you love Xeik? You will give him all of your cake?” Mia nodded fiercely. “I love Lewis like that too but you need to cut it up so he can eat it properly…” Mia blushed more and put the cake down before forcing the fork full of cake in Xeik’s face.

The whole anniversary had been planned out. The Wandering Swan was just the start of the parade of things that the two couples were going to do throughout the day. Raile had reserved one of the top locations; a spa resort for the evening with an unlimited open bar. And the best part? No Rhenakos.

Raile had made that a promise.

Lewis was enjoying himself, and it showed. Even Xeik could tell, despite the fact that Lewis’ smile was always on the creepy side. The two had come a long way since they had met, and this anniversary was almost something of a celebration on how far they had all come. That was why Angela had practically shoved Mia and Xeik out of Elysia, insisting they all have a grand time.

The conversation was light, but at the mention of the twins, Janus and Lila, becoming much brattier, Xeik sighed. “Those two are still the biggest mystery of it all. There’s no telling what’s going on with those two. It’s one thing for twins to be so close, but those two are on a completely different level.”

Lewis nodded, “The other day, Janus and Lila were in separate rooms, but they played an entire game of chess. Lila won… I could feel it through the resonance. It was honestly impressive.” The ex-assassin barely knew how the game worked, but the two were practically bouncing letters and numbers back at each other rapid fire. Their intelligence was, at times, terrifying.

Simone seemed distracted, and the resonance between her and Lewis seemed to waver for a moment. Lewis looked to Simone, confused, and she stared back at him, equally confused.

“Are you two okay?” Xeik asked, concerned. Something about them was off. The color from Simone’s face drained, and she gripped her head.

“No,” she said, her voice a whisper. “I can’t…”

Lewis seemed to be affected too, wincing in pain. Black fire erupted around Simone’s hand, and she jumped up, startled by it.

“But I-” She started to try and put it out, but it only grew. “Lewis? Help!?” But he couldn’t. He was having his own issues, black flames sprouting from his arms as he tried desperately to bat them out.

At once, Xeik jumped up, striking Lewis and Simone back to back with a forceful palm straight to their chest. The two collapsed, and the flames dissipated from their bodies, but the black flames were spreading across the Wandering Swan.

Xeik closed his eyes, “Ang, need a hand here please. I can’t stop this!”

Almost immediately, Angela appeared, snuffing out the black flames.

“It’s nice having you on call, you know,” Xeik said as he looked over Lewis and Simone. “What…even is wrong with them?”

Mia was on the move at once as she practically threw tables out of the way of the fire until Angela showed up to put it out. They were all scared and Simone and Lewis were on the ground. The group was staring at them but Angela was already on the move as she was pushing tables together after putting out the fire. “It’s the twins. They got mad they couldn’t see Lewis and Simone. It started to loop… The twins are sulking and upset at themselves now.” Which meant that Angela hadn’t arrived in time to stop it because she had ambushed the twins.

“We’re going to need to cut the resonance between the twins and Lewis and Simone. The hole that was present in both the couple and the children has both vanished. It must have just happened and is why the twins have been VERY bad recently. It was creating a feedback loop that was negatively affecting them all but I didn’t notice until I felt Lewis and Simone lose control,” Angela was throwing her hair up and she was taking off her jewelry throwing it across the room.

“Quickly now Xeik and Mia. Move those two to these tables. I’ve sent them into a dream dive again for the time being until I can cut the resonance link. However, to ensure things are going well I am sending you two in with them. Mia are you ready.”

Mia nodded and pushed two more tables as she picked Xeik up and threw him on one. “I hope you both understand that what we are protecting Lewis and Simone from is something that lurks deep within Simone. Simone should know what to do but… My powers here are limited and we don’t have the time to transfer them to Elysia. So you are going in and we will be communicating through Xeik.”

It didn’t take long for Angela to transfer Mia and Xeik into the dream dive as well. The room they found themselves in was lively but the more Mia looked at it the more she was actually alarmed. There were several different Lewis and Simone copies. Various ages and some knew each other and some didn’t.

“You need to go to a room NOW and stay there,” one of the Lewis’s was yelling at a Simone who was puffing up her cheek.

“WHY? I don’t even know where I am! I would rather you chop off my leg!” The younger copy of Simone yelled.

“NO ONE IS LEAVING THIS ROOM,” the dominant presence of the actual Simone cast itself over the room like a dark shadow. She was up on a throne on Lewis’s lap. “Xeik, you have five seconds to tell us WHAT THE FUCK just happened.” Now that they got a good look at the interior it was Auclair castle but instead of the portrait of the last king. It was Simone and Lewis. Simone’s temper was bad but it was probably because of the feedback from the twins.

Xeik was ready for whatever they had to do. It was all very straightforward. Dive into Lewis and Simone’s dream world, and keep the peace. It was not unlike the time Lewis and Xeik had ended up in Simone’s mind when that crazed woman went after Lewis after poisoning Simone. Except this time, he had Mia.

The thought of Mia being there should have worried Xeik, but instead he felt almost calmed by it. Having her by his side would mean all the world to him, and probably help him deal with the tribulations that were about to occur.

Xeik and Mia found themselves standing in the entryway of a grand castle, a foyer lined with grand braziers lit with azure blue flames. Red and gold embroidered carpet was laid over a black marbled floor, leading up to what appeared to be several matching loveseats, and a massive throne.

It took Xeik a moment to realize that this was Auclair, though there were some minor modifications. It was the Auclair that Simone and Lewis would have wanted, if the kingdom were still alive.

The Divine Mender walked up between the loveseats, and looked around. There was a familiar face, a young Lewis who seemed small and withdrawn. This was the boy that had been rescued from the streets, and was still coming into his own. Next to him was a brash looking Lewis, who seemed almost angry.

“Ah yes…that makes sense,” Xeik said. “A memory of who you used to be. The one wh-”

“You? YOU!?” Lewis said as he drew a dagger. “You self righteous idiot. You think you can just walk in here and suddenly spit your stupid ideals?”

“I tossed out of the guid for going on a killing spree…” Xeik finished with a sigh. He looked up to Simone as she demanded silence. There was another version of Lewis who had been fighting with a younger version of Simone, and that had evidently been the trigger for the true Simone’s outburst.

“Well, I don’t have the details of it all, but your resonance is creating a feedback loop because of the twins,” Xeik said. “Short version, Angela is cutting the cord. Long version is-”

“Please don’t start,” the true Lewis replied. “We’ve got enough to deal with.”

“What do you mean, enough to deal with?” a voice asked from behind Xeik and Mia. The Divine Mender turned around, and his eyes widened. A younger version of Xeik was there, a happy smile across his face. “I’m sure we can figure it out if we just work together, right?”

“Okay…this is…unexpected,” the true Xeik said.

Simone was leaning on the throne with her hand under her chin as she stared at the younger Xeik, “Fucking fantastic Xeik and younger Xeik.” She pushed herself off of Lewis’s lap and made her way down. “Here’s how to solve this. It’s not working together. Stay the fuck inside this room or you will die. Do you understand me?”

“What’s outside this room?” A younger Simone was looking up at herself. “When… You are me… but when did I become so angry?”

“You don’t want the answer to that question. Actually both of them. Lewis nearly got killed the last time we opened that door so everyone stays here. There’s no telling what will happen if we actually let one of our younger selves die right now. It could have an impact on our mental selves. Xeik keep your monk self near you and away from younger Lewis. Younger Lewis STOP threatening YOUNGER Simone. YOU STOP CRYING,” Simone yelled at another Simone who didn’t know what was going on.

“AND IF YOU SO MUCH AS GIVE ME ONE OUNCE OF ATTITUDE I’M THROWING YOU INTO THE WALL,” Simone turned and pointed her finger at the younger Lewis who had given Xeik issues.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” The Lewis replied to her.

“I’m your god damn wife.”

“Then wouldn’t you not hurt me?”

“I don’t think you understand that I don’t give a fuck as long as you aren’t my Lewis,” Simone looked coldly at him. “If I knew it wouldn’t hurt him I would toss your ass out of this room. The same goes for myself.”

“SIMONE THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Mia suddenly yelled and everyone who knew her stood in shock, “I…”

“Mia…” Simone calmed down and stared at her. “You just spoke.”

“So? What the fuck does that matter?” The edgy Lewis asked.

“Because… Slavers cut out her vocal cords… It’s how Xeik found her.” Simone answered before looking back at Mia. “So… This is what Mia sounds like…”

“Do you have something wrong mentally? You were all pissed off a second ago and now you are fine,” another Lewis asked.

“Do you want to fucking die? I don’t mind… Lewis let me do it.” Somehow Simone knew that Xeik wasn’t going to let her hurt her own husband.

“Do you want to fucking go!?” The edgy, younger Lewis snapped back with a crazed look in his eyes. “I’ll stab you right here and ri-”

“Now, can’t we just…put the weapons down and-,” the younger Xeik started to plead. It was astonishing at how much he thought he could get away with here, all with the power of friendship.

“Fuck no,” the slightly older Lewis said with a smirk. “There’s more of me than you, so that means we can kick your ass. Or better yet, we can just get rid of you entirely!”

The true Xeik was enamoured with the fact that Mia had spoken, but the constant chatter between all of the younger versions of everyone was starting to get out of hand. As he tried to get Mia to talk again, more scattered arguments started to grow.

One of the younger Simone’s was tugging on a Lewis, trying to pull him back from attacking the younger Xeik. Everyone was still arguing, and the noise in the room was starting to grow.

“One second,” Xeik said as he smiled at Mia.

He spun around and waved his hands, “Everyone, if I can have your attention please! If you would all kindly shut. The. Fuck. Up.” The Divine Sands scattered about the room, creating amplification runes as a blast of powerful paralysis magic crashed through the room, locking everyone except the true forms of Xeik, Mia, Lewis, and Simone in place.

He turned back around as silence fell, and with a smile looked upon Mia. “Now…please let me hear more of your beautiful voice.”

There was a gagging noise behind him, and Xeik glared back. “I might not kill you, young Lewis, but I sure as hell don’t have any qualms about disabling the use of your arms and legs.”

The true Lewis smirked, “That was impressive, Xeik, I-”

“Shut up, Lewis,” Xeik called back, still keeping his attention on Mia. This was all he seemed to care about for the moment.

Mone made a face and started to laugh quietly to her Lewis as her eyes glowed the azure that showed they were communicating. It must have been something funny before Lewis was chuckling too. However, Mia was blushing and looking at Xeik.

“I…” She looked up at Simone for encouragement who nodded at her. “YOU ARE MY MOON!” She yelled with courage at Xeik as she bounced on her toes. “I LOVE YOU!” Everything she wanted to say and she was having a hard time actually saying it to Xeik now. “YOU ARE THE BEST HUSBAND!”

Mone put up her hand, “That’s cute but I will stop you. Xeik is the best husband for you. Lewis is clearly the superior husband.” Mia huffed at Simone.

“He’s just a grumpy grandpa.” Mia crossed her arms at stared at Lewis.

“I’m younger than Xeik!” A younger Lewis yelled.

“THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU AREN’T A GRANDPA STUPID LEWIS!” Mia pointed at him. “Tell him, Simone!”

“It’s true we do have five grandchildren now. You are in fact a grandfather.”

The true Lewis thought about it for a moment, and nodded. “Mia’s right. That’s true. I am a grandfather.” Simone stood up and Lewis followed, the two stepping down from the throne. “But now that everyone is a little more cooperative, I think we should set some ground rules.”

The younger, misguided Lewis pointed his dagger at the true Lewis and Simone. “You died and made yo-”

The true Simone closed the gap between her and the edgy Lewis in an instant, and disarmed him, throwing him into an armlock. “You were really, really annoying, you know that?”

“I do,” Lewis replied with a smirk. “You calmed me down a lot.”

“I did what!?” A younger Simone replied, turning bright red.

Xeik sighed, “How the hell did you two manage to even get together in all of this?”

Lewis shrugged. “Anyway, let’s set some ground rules. First, let’s get names out of the way.” He pointed at the edgy Lewis, who was still locked in place by Simone. “You were right before I met Raith. A wild and edgy version of myself that had no idea what he wanted. We’ll just make it simple and call you Edge.”

“Like fucking hell you wi-” He started, but was cut off with a scream of pain as Simone tightened her lock.

“The youngest version of myself is quiet enough. Mouse will do. And the older version that was…for lack of a better word, ‘tamed’ by Simone…we’ll call you Snow.”

“What’s that short for?” Snow asked.

“Snowball. The bird,” Lewis replied. He looked to Xeik. “And your younger version. We’ll call him Dawn, after the guild.”

“Works for me,” both of the Xeik’s replied at the same time. Some things never really changed.

“And why do we have these stupid names, and you get to keep yours?” Edge asked, glaring through the pain.

“Because it’s obvious that we’re the truest versions.”

It was the first time that all of the true versions of themselves had been present during a dream dive. Perhaps all of the work they had done during previous ones had finally paid off. The other rooms were locked, and all of their dark secrets were sealed away. Both Lewis and Simone had their own demons, and they had dealt with them. Now, they were content with keeping them out of the way.

Lewis looked to the line of Simones, who seemed to be expecting him to name them as well. “Well, you’re obvious,” he pointed as the Guide was practically hopping up and down. “Guide.” He smiled as she spun around.

“Who are you?” Lewis asked as he looked at a younger, more well dressed Simone.

“I’m..,Simone?” she replied. This version of Simone seemed depressed. “I just want to go home to my husband. But I…I don’t think he likes me…” She looked down.

“That’s the first Simone you ever met. And killed,” the Guide said. “The Baroness.”

“Baroness it is,” Lewis replied. “And you?”

The next in line was a young Simone, even younger than the Baroness. She seemed skittish, but content. “You named my Lewis after Snowball. I’m surprised he didn’t get mad.”

“Right…the tower. Uh…”

“Damsel!” the Guide said with a grin. “Cause she’s a princess in a tower, guarded by a fierce dragon.” She gave Snow a wink.

“Now, the other two. The Princess…since that’s definitely what you are,” he said to a younger, child Simone. “Innocent…before things went wrong. And last…”

Before he could name the last Simone, a blade came from the dark, aimed at the Baroness Simone. On reflect, Lewis caught it, just barely saving her.

Another Lewis rushed the group, and was immediately thrown down by Xeik. “Another one!? Just how many versions of all of you are there!?

Lewis walked up to the younger version of himself. “Ah yes…the Assassin. Trained by Raith. All you cared about was power…”

“And you let your heart get in the way of a job,” the Assassin spat back. “Weak…”

“Oh, I am gonna have fun with this,” Mone smirked a bit as she let go of Edge and disappeared.

“I felt… KILLING INTENT XEIK!” Mia flailed. “Where did Simone go.”

Simone appeared by the assassin and started to disarm him. “Boo.”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” He was screaming as she grabbed him and floated down using her wings. Dragging him behind her she looked back at him.

“Do you want me to break your limbs? Or are you a fucking idiot?” Her eyes got really dark as she stared at him. “You already killed me quite a few times. Dozens of times. Hundreds of times depending on if we are talking about the dream dive. Don’t you get it? You aren’t strong enough to kill me on your own. Weak heart wasn’t what got in the way of killing me.”

She continued to drag Assassin behind her and left him next to the others. “You were human! You had no abilities whatsoever?! Were you hiding it?!” He was yelling at her.

“No.” She looked at him. “You made me a harbinger of death.” Her eyes with Lewis’s were glowing a bright azure. “And in exchange, I made you so much stronger than you were. Are you done with your dumbass questions now?” She pouted up at her Lewis. “I really hate younger you.” Lewis reached over and patted her head.

Damsel was backing away from Snow now, “You… You killed me? Why am I here?” She was spooked.

“Not again…” Simone popped behind her younger self and snapped her neck effortlessly. “You know what to do Snow.” She dropped the girl’s body on Snow and walked away.

“What the fuck!?” both of the Xeik’s said at the same time. Mia looked absolutely startled, clinging to her Xeik. Edge was watching, horrified at what he had just seen, and Assassin looked confused. All of them had just watched Simone basically kill herself.

Snow nodded, and knelt down. Damsel’s body started to glow, and with a burst of mana, reformed. Her eyes opened as she looked up at Snow, who produced an amulet. “Here we are, Simone…shhh…” The amulet glowed, and at once she passed back out.

“What the fuck…” Edge replied. “You know…that was kind of hot. I think I li-”

“I will kill you,” Lewis said as he pulled out a dagger.

“Really? Jealous of yourself?” Xeik replied with a smirk. So this was what Angela had meant by keep the peace. After the initial shock of watching Simone kill Damsel, it was easy to piece together what was happening. Simone had been immortal due to a curse, after all. This was her resetting the memories.

Edge crossed his arms, “Fine. Maybe I’ll go play with one of those girls over there, then… you brought that one back, right? I wonder if I can kill her multiple times…could learn a lot…”

Snow stood up, and glared at Edge. “Not a chance…”

Assassin was getting up, still recovering from Simone’s surprise attack. “Protecting a target…just how far have we fallen?”