In the year 1803 A.D., the Mississippi Purchase was made. What followed was, at first, nothing majorly different from what you would expect. Then came the Civil War. The war did not end with peace, and the South succeeded in their plans to secede from the North. From there, it was all downhill. Wars lasted longer than they should have, and the wrong people almost always won. Technology advanced unevenly, with emphasis being placed on warfare and less on utilities. Food was scarce and people often starved, save for those important few who could afford to eat and live in luxury. Governments became oppressive, and people were subjugated and slaughtered if they were to ever disagree with the accepted norm. It was, to put it simply, a dystopian hellscape. By the 2140s, there were several resistance factions, all working toward the same goal: A better world than the one they lived in.

One such faction was known as the Bureau of Time Travel. They were one of the luckier ones. Having discovered the secret of time travel, they sought to change the world for the better by altering the past. In the process of doing so, they began to discover the many branches in their timeline. There were small branches caused by the simplest of things: which ice cream flavor a random person decided on, whether or not a political figure wore a different colored tie, and so forth. Then there were what the Bureau called "pivotal points". Major events that, depending on how they turned out, could change the course of history in vastly different directions. Whatever had brought about the timeline they lived in hinged on one of those pivotal points. The only problem was, which point was it?

In came a boy no older than 16 named Vinnie Dakota, the son of a Bureau member that had been assassinated by the government. He claimed that he was close to figuring out the pivotal point behind their grim timeline, and wanted to help. The leader, a young man named Daniel Block, had a feeling Dakota was mostly driven by vengeance. He decided to bring him on anyway. Dakota was assigned to go through their databanks and compile everything he knew, seeking out that vital branch and how to change it, while the rest of the Bureau would continue to gather intelligence.

On field missions, Block was often accompanied by his partner: Anthony Mahlson. Block and Anthony were nigh inseparable. There was a degree of trust between them that was almost unheard of in the timeline they lived in. One could always count on the other to watch his back, and would always do the same in return. Their camraderie wasn't limited to missions, either. Even during their few hours of downtime, Anthony and Block could be seen talking together, joking and sharing rations. What they had was more than just trust. It was friendship, and perhaps even love.

One day, the pair of them went on a mission to the past. Their mission was to retrieve a vital flash drive believed to hold the data needed for Dakota to finally pinpoint the divergence point of their timeline. The boy had worked for three years to get to this point, and now victory was finally within their grasp. The mission went by quickly. They infiltrated the building, retrieved the flash drive, and got out, seemingly home free with almost no difficulty. If only it could truly be so easy.

Anthony and Block were ambushed by government agents shortly after leaving the building. Taken by surprise, they had the disadvantage, but they fought back nonetheless. They were each able to take out one agent, reducing it to a two-against-two. Now, they had a relatively even playing field. Anthony was able to defeat his assailant, but Block was not so lucky. He continued to fight back, though, ordering Anthony to go on without him. He was knocked to the ground, and when it seemed like the agent was going for the killing blow, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the end.

It never came. Two gunshots rang out, one after the other, and Block's eyes snapped open. He couldn't feel any pain, there was no gunshot wound on his body. When he looked up, it was clear his assailant wasn't so lucky. An angry red stain was blossoming from her chest, her grip on her gun loosening before she collapsed in a heap in front of him. Block didn't need to turn around to know who had saved him. He stood up and turned to praise Anthony for his assist, but the words died before they even left his throat.

Anthony stood in place with wide eyes, his hand pressed against his stomach. He had already dropped his gun from the shock. "Daniel..." He croaked out, slowly removing his hand from his torso. It came away bloody. Anthony had been shot. "Anthony!" Block's whole world felt like it was falling away, and he ran toward his partner as Anthony sank to his knees, gasping in pain.

"Hold on, Anthony, I've gotcha!" Block gripped onto Anthony's arms, guiding him to lay back against the wall. Anthony's hands were shaking, and his breathing was becoming ragged and uneven. Their eyes met, and somehow, both of them knew it was the end. Block swore under his breath and pressed his hand against the wound, trying desperately to stem the flow of blood. "Dammit, I told you to go on without me. You have the flash drive, you could have gone ahead and saved the future!" He scolded, icy blue eyes locking on Anthony's grey ones.

A grim chuckle escaped from Anthony's throat, followed by a cringe of pain as the movement sent his insides spasming. Even Block's stern glare couldn't stop the smile on his face as he responded, "What- and just let you die? We're partners first, Block. Partners have to watch each other's backs."

That earned him another glare from Block, this one more saddened than angry. Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes, tears that he blinked away as soon as he realized they were there. "That doesn't mean getting yourself killed for my sake!" Block's voice wavered, and he shook his head, trying to put all his focus on stopping the bleeding. If only he could get the blood flow to stop, he might be able to save Anthony.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like he'd be able to in time. Anthony's eyelids were drooping, and he was on the verge of passing out at any moment. Block stiffened as he noticed this, shaking him awake. "Hey, no, none of that. I need you to stay with me, Anthony. We're gonna get out of this together."

"Ah... Alright, Danny boy." Anthony blinked at him through tired eyes, a bittersweet smile on his lips. Block went back to trying to stop the bleeding, keeping pressure on the wound. Despite his best efforts, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Anthony felt his consciousness beginning to fade, even as he fought to keep his eyes open for Block. He wasn't going to make it, and he knew it. They both knew it.

Reaching his hand into his pocket, he pulled out the flash drive and pushed it into Block's hand. "Daniel... make sure this gets back to Dakota. I'm sorry, but it looks like we really will have to part ways here." He murmured through the haze of pain and dizziness, meeting his partner's eyes. Block froze up, and stared at Anthony for several moments, trying to process what he was telling him. Anthony chuckled and slumped back against the wall, shaking his head. "I know, pretty hypocritical of me, isn't it? But you have to go on without me. You'll be okay."

Block gripped the flash drive tightly in his hand, staring at Anthony as though he'd grown a second head. Slowly, he shook his head, tears slipping down his cheeks. "No. No, Anthony, I'm not going to leave you here! There has to be some way I can save you, there has to be..."

The pair of them flinched as they heard shouting in the distance. The enemy had backup on the way. Block's heart stuttered in his chest in panic, and he kept staring in the direction of the noise. Anthony reached up and cupped his cheek in his hand, guiding Block to look at him again. A faint smile crossed his lips and he spoke, "Go. Go save the world, Danny boy. I believe in you."

With that, his eyes drifted shut, and his hand slipped to the ground. Anthony Mahlson breathed his last. Block remained paralyzed with shock and grief for several moments. He let out several soft, choked noises that could have been sobs. He couldn't believe that his partner was gone, just like that. It took the shouts becoming louder, for someone to yell 'they're over here', to snap Block out of his trance. He jolted into action, eyes wild with panic as he looked around. Quickly slipping the flash drive into his pocket, he gave Anthony's body one last look before fleeing the scene.

He despised having to leave his partner's body behind. His partner, who had sacrificed himself to save him, after everything they'd been through, was gone. Block almost couldn't believe he was dead. He made it back to the future, delivered the flash drive to Dakota, and even then it still hadn't quite sunk in. It took until the Mississippi Purchase Prevention mission for it to really hit him that Anthony was gone. He was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

Block resolved then and there to never let himself get close to anyone like that again. He didn't think he could handle going through that pain again. They had changed the future, saved the world from a living hell, but at what cost? Some days, Block found himself wondering if he was entirely sure it was worth it.