Part 2

Martin stared at the sky. He closed his eyes. If he thought hard enough, he could imagine being in the flight deck, Douglas at his side, and Arthur and Carolyn bustling about the cabin and galley. GERTI humming beneath him, the sheer freedom of flying, everything that he had loved- but that was gone now. He opened his eyes with a sigh, letting his gaze drift away from the open air above him. Turning to look at his surroundings, he found them to be the exact same as the last time he had checked. Basically a transparent reality stuck between 'here' and 'there'. A sort of purgatory, where he didn't really exist anywhere, just floating in a strange state of living but not being alive.

Time did not pass here. He was not connected to the real world. And without that connection he could not watch over MJN. A captain, lost without his crew. Martin let himself drift into thought. The reason for his nonexistence being the foremost thought on his mind. The disaster, the deal, the disappearance...

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Martin blinked. He valiantly attempted to keep the tears that had gathered in his eyes from falling. God, he had never felt so completely hopeless before. Then again, he supposed that somewhere in the back of his mind he had always known MJN would fail. The company was consistently on the brink of ruin, the plane was consistently falling apart, and clever as Douglas was, he still had his limits. So naturally, one final accident had left GERTI inoperable and all of them unemployed.

Well technically, Martin still had a job, as flying was just a hobby, and without the demanding schedule of MJN to cater to, he could easily get by just fine with Icarus Removals. But it was the rest of the crew that had Martin feeling helpless. Douglas, for all his assurances otherwise, could not afford to be without a job. He was currently struggling to keep his head above the water and from what Martin could deduce, he wasn't succeeding very well. As for Carolyn and Arthur, they had lost their house and Carolyn was looking for another job, as Arthur wasn't much help in that department. Arthur himself was just so terribly un-Arthurish that Martin got upset just thinking about it. And maybe others would say to stop worrying about them when his own situation wasn't exactly ideal, but he was so used to it that he really couldn't care less about himself. MJN were his only friends and he cared for them more than his own family. So of course, if presented with a way to make it better, he would leap on the opportunity.

"A witch."

"That is correct."

"You're an actual, 100% legitimate witch? As in, magic and whatnot?"

"Basically, yes. Has your dull human mind finished absorbing this information yet? I'm a busy woman. Go on and make your wish already."

"R-right yes. I-I have and um, wish. Right."

If asked later, Martin would say that he would never have even fantasized such an occurrence. But it seems that for once, luck was on his side, and saving the random woman from the oncoming car had been a blessing in disguise. Being told he was now owed a large favor wasn't too shocking by any means, but being told the woman was a witch and would grant him any one wish was a little more mind-boggling. But deciding that it couldn't hurt, Martin took the event in stride, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth. And really, wasn't he just thinking how he would do anything to help his friends? So of course, the wish was obvious. He found himself explaining MJN and their current situations, before stating what he wanted.

"I want things back to the way they were for my friends."

The witch raised a delicate eyebrow.

"A wish that's not self-fulfilling. I always liked variety. I can do this, but understand that this is a big wish and I am a witch, not a fairy godmother. There will be conditions and to fix such a dire situation, a price is required."

"Name them."

"No hesitation. You're an interesting man. The only way to possibly fix this predicament without royally screwing things over on a cosmic level is to send you back in time."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Quiet. Of course it is, it just requires a price, which I was getting to."

"O-oh, right, sorry."

"Anyway, I send you back, but you have to find a way to prevent that accident from happening to your plane in the first place. It's the only way to ensure things will stay on the course you want. And you'll likely only have about three days time to do it."

"Three days? Christ."

"Exactly. Messing with the time stream means you need to fix things quick. However, that's not all."

Here the witch hesitated, almost apprehensive to continue. Martin frowned, but nodded for her to continue.

"Your wish was for things to go right for your friends. Just your friends. If you fix things, you're changing fate. Fate will want compensation. I'm afraid you will be that compensation."

"What do you mean?"

Martin felt dread coil in his stomach. Of course he would give anything for his friends, but if this compensation was eternal suffering or something...

"In exchange for your friends retaining their stable lives, you will be swallowed by the fabric of reality."

Dead silence. Martin stared wide-eyed at the witch, mind repeating that last sentence over and over again in a futile attempt to process the enormity of what he was to sacrifice.

"So I'll be...wiped from existence? Permanently?"

"Basically."

"God. Seems quite harsh."

"For what you're changing? Not really. Keep in mind, wishes come true, not free."

"Of course."

Martin bit his lip, deep in thought. He desperately wanted to fix things for them, but to lose his very existence was- god he didn't even want to think about it. But one thing had to be clarified.

"Will they know? If I'm wiped out, will they remember me?"

"I don't know. They might, they might not. And this is only if you manage to stop the accident at all."

"Right. Well-" Martin swallowed thickly. "I accept. I accept all the conditions and the price. Send me back so I can save them."

"Very well. Good luck, Martin Crieff."

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A blinding light, a dizzying moment where he thought he was falling, a dull thud as he landed, and suddenly Martin jerked awake on his bed in the attic. He blinked rapidly, letting his vision adjust to the light. Had it worked? Was he really back? A sudden ringing sound pierced the room. He rolled over and picked up his mobile.

"Hello?"

"Martin, hurry up and get ready will you? We have a last minute booking today to Seoul of all places. Some rich businessman needing a last minute ride or something."

Martin felt his breath catch. The flight to Seoul...that was three days before the accident that had ruined MJN. He was really back.

"Martin? Martin, are you there? I don't have time for you to laze about, this client is paying us handsomely."

"R-right, right, sorry Carolyn, I'll be there soon."

Carolyn hung up without any further comment, but Martin kept the phone pressed against his ear and tried not to cry. He never thought he would miss getting snapped at by the CEO, but there it was. Still, he pushed himself up and out of bed, swiftly getting ready for the coming flight. He needed to get this over with and try not to be too distracted or draw suspicion from Douglas. He sighed. He had a lot of work to do, and a whole lot of things to fit in before he ceased to exist.