Then

San-Li hated Joe the minute she saw him.

Mad Jack had given her a modified dream catcher in order to spy on his nephew and catch him off guard. She barely got anything at first but soon she started see that he was having visions of 1480s England. She needed more money anyway to make rent so she decided to use his janky pocket to warp there ahead of time and make some money.

Not even a week later she saw him in the throne room, making the rookie mistake of talking to people outside of the class he was posing in. Everything about him reminded her of Nathan. His easy gait, his relaxed manner, the flash of his eyes and his smile. He even had that same layer of sadness over his features that Nathan had once he became Warp Wizard. And worse of all, San-Li could practically feel the Warp Wizard's time magic brewing inside of him. Which meant that Nathan was probably... dead.

She did notice one crucial difference between them though. The future Warp Wizard seemed to have two friends with him. Good. Friends meant weakness. And if there was one thing San-Li knew was how to exploit a man's weakness.

She walked up behind him while he was talking to himself and caught him completely by surprise. She suppressed her hatred the best she could, but she still saw some fear in his eyes. As San-Li spoke to him she was also pleased to notice how his eyes lingered over the front of her low cut dress.

Typical. She resisted the urge to laugh in his face and continued to toy with him. She gave him little hints and clues that she knew who he was, and he took the bait hook, line, and sinker.

She was able to separate him from his annoying friends with little difficulty and once they were alone she tried to get The Book from him by force. And she would have gotten it if it wasn't for Fina intervening. Poor, stupid girl. She was naive and stupid to think that the Warp Wizard would be loyal to her just because of their bond. Fina would have to find out the hard way that Warp Wizards are just heartless bastards.

San-Li had admittedly lost her temper when The Book and her vengeance slipping out of her grasp and their first meeting eventually escalated into a fight. His stupid friends kept getting in her way, and she accidentally cut down Fina, but she almost had The Book in her hands.

Unfortunately, San-Li had underestimated the magic laying dormant inside of Joe and was badly beaten by him. Not only that but it came as a rude shock when she found the ban still active even after Nathan's death.

But she wasn't giving up though. She swore vengeance on her family's murder and The Book seemed to be the only way. And she had her own personally vendetta against the Warp Wizard. So San-Li relished the fear in Joe's eyes as she laid a knife against his little sister's cheek and swore to get The Book from him.


Now

San-Li drifted back to consciousness and found herself laying on the couch with a damp cloth over her eyes. Someone had taken off her jacket and folded it under her head like a pillow. She sat up with a sharp gasp and automatically placed a hand on her stomach.

"Easy." Fred said gently, handing her a bottle of water. "Here, Fina said that you should drink plenty of water."

San-Li took the bottle from him and guzzled the water down eagerly. Fred was watching her with pity which made San-Li shift uncomfortably. She ignored the obvious question in his eyes and went over to where Joe and Fina were arguing with Joleena standing by silently next to Joe.

"Joe please, San-Li is obviously in trouble and we have to help her." Fina said angrily. "I mean look at her she's pregnant for goodness sake!"

"I don't care." Joe folded his arms stubbornly. "Besides, what does her being pregnant have to do with anything? She could be using it for an excuse to trick us for all we know."

"It's not a trick, I swear." San-Li said coming up to him. "Just let me explain myself."

Joe snapped his attention to her and his fists lit up with magic. "Why should I?"

San-Li could feel panic rising in her throat and her heart started to hammer. But surprisingly it was Joleena who laid a calming hand on his arm and nodded for him to let San-Li speak.

"Fine." Joe said lowering his fists. "Explain yourself."

"Alright." San-Li took a deep breath and started confessing. "When I was ten my entire family was murdered. But it turns out that my baby brother survived and is being held captive the people responible. And the only one who knows where they're keeping him is... Mad Jack."

"What!?" Joe and Fred both yelled at the same time.

Fred stared at Joe in horror. "B-but, I thought you killed him years ago!"

"I thought I did too." Joe shook his head wide eyed. "I mean, I couldn't control my magic and there was an explosion and-and when we didn't find his body..."

"I don't know what happened but Mad Jack is very much alive." San-Li sighed and winced at the slight pain in the small of her back. "And he won't tell me where my brother is unless I get The Book for him. I'd fight him myself but in my condition..."

She felt her face heat up from embarrassment as Joe's gaze fell to her slightly protruding stomach. She tried to pull down her mid-drift to cover the bump as much as she could.

"But wait..." Joe looked back up at her and narrowed his eyes. "How do you know Mad Jack in the first place?"

San-Li bit her lip and looked down in shame. "Because... I was working for him to steal The Book in the first place."

"I knew it!" Joe yelled.

He grabbed her by the collar and glared at her, his eyes glowing a dangerous green. San-Li pushed down the sheer fear she felt and glared back at him. Fred jumped up from the couch and looked back and forth between them.

Fina gasped and tugged at Joe's arm. "Joe don't! The baby!"

"Joseph, stop it immediately!" Joleena yelled dislodging his hands from San-Li's shirt. "Fina is right! If anything, we must consider San-Li's delicate condition!"

Joe took a deep breath and with some effort his eyes returned to normal. He took a step away from San-Li and wrapped an arm around Joleena's waist.

"I know I'm a horrible person for keeping this a secret for so long." San-Li put her hands protectively over her stomach and fought back tears. "But I swear, even before I found out that I was pregnant I was planning on quitting the time thieving business for good. But..."

San-Li gave Joe a determined look even as tears ran down her cheeks. "My mother died trying to save my little brother's life and I refuse not to do everything I can to save him. And if you help me save him... I'll forever bond myself to serve and protect you."

She held out her hand to him and Joe stared at it with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

"Really?" he said raising an eyebrow. "You'll do whatever I want and you'll obey me without question? One hundred percent loyalty? No more manipulation or lying from you?"

"I'll be physically incapable if that is your wish." San-Li nodded.

"Deal."

Joe grabbed her out stretched hand and a bright green light burst out from their clasped hands. San-Li hissed in pain and when she pulled her hand away there was a mark on her palm.

"Thank you." San-Li said giving him a small bow. "Now we need to warp to Mad Jack's lair and take him by surprise. It's located-"

"I know where it is." Joe interrupted irritably and warped all five of them away with The Book.