I finished it, woot. Now back to procrastinating on the story I'm supposed to be writing.

Eagle bangs on the door of the hotel room.

"Fizz, open the damn door already!"

Fizz groans loudly before the door is opened.

Alieen huffs at him.

"It's not only your room."

Eagle pushes Alieen back a bit and gives Fizz a quizzical look.

"Come on, man, what's bugging you? You haven't been yourself today."

Interloper rolls his eyes and grumbles.

"Seems in-character to me..."

Eagle turns to him and waves him off.

"Not really, he doesn't storm off like that."

Fizz rubs his eyes and steps away from the door.

"Just... Come in..."

Interloper enters the room and stands by one of the beds.

Eagle walks in and hops on his bed.

"You good?"

Fizz glares at him.

"No, and you should know that already."

Eagle raises his hands up defensively.

"Hey, just asking."

Interloper sits next to eagle, gesturing for Kaurna to do the same.

"If I had to guess, it's Sarah-related?"

Kaurna nudges him.

"Straight to point, huh?"

"I figured it must be."

Alieen shrugs.

"It's very blunt."

Fizz lies back and sets his cane down.

"It's a lot of things, although Sarah is a big part of it."

Eagle nods.

"Well, what can we do?"

Alieen makes a noise of approval.

"There has to be something."

Interloper points at Fizz.

"And don't shut us out this time."

Eagle chimes in.

"Please."

Fizz sits back up and groans.

"You guys can't do anything, although I would prefer it if you stopped calling me evil."

Interloper frowns.

"I don't call you evil..."

Kaurna points to the cane with a somewhat worried look on her face. "I only called the cane evil."

Alieen scratches her head and sighs. "I did once…"

Eagle hisses through his teeth. "Not. Helping."

"Sorry, just proving his point."

Fizz nods and points to Kaurna with an annoyed look.

"I would also prefer it if you didn't call me fuckhead."

Kaurna is about to say something, but Interloper interrupts her.

"Alright, we'll apologize for that. IF...you promise to stop acting like one."

Eagle puts his head in his hands.

"This is not what I was hoping for."

Interloper scoffs.

"Well, he does some dumb shit."

"We all do!"

"And he rarely, if ever, apologizes."

"But what do you expect from him?"

Interloper pays that question no mind and continues.

"And he locked us in a room because we kept one secret from him."

Fizz cuts in.

"I don't usually do stuff like that..."

Interloper still doesn't stop.

"But he can keep all the secrets he wants from us! Fizz, if you want us to trust you, you need to trust us."

Eagle starts to argue back, when Alieen slaps a hand over his mouth.

"Fizz, I'm not sure what kind of a person you really are, but from what I know, I certainly don't want Josiah around you for these reasons."

Kaurna points to the cane again.

"Darting for starts."

Alieen nods in agreement.

"What she said. You also gave him beer."

Eagle moves Alieen's hand.

"That was all my fault, okay?"

"Still, he went along with it. Encouraged it even."

Fizz picks up the cane and looks it over, causing Kaurna to scoot torwards Interloper a bit.

"I try to save the darts for a last resort, and the drinking was out of hand, granted-"

He's cut off by Kaurna shouting in his face.

"You shot me after fight ended! And when we were getting service menu!"

Fizz puts the cane down and does a finger gun motion at her.

"Fight to win, that's what you said."

Kaurna growls.

"Fight was over!"

Alieen puts a hand on kaurna's shoulder and sighs.

"The service menu, that was too far."

Fizz gestures to himself and Eagle.

"You were gonna ruin our fun! Besides, they went along with it."

"Maybe, but a last resort? Really?"

Interloper grumbles.

"Fun being code for the road to cheating..."

"You're one to talk!" Fizz retorts.

Aileen turns to Eagle.

Interloper throws his hands up as Kaurna gives him a funny look.

"I did not participate!"

Alieen stares at Eagle.

"You went along with it?"

Fizz rolls his eyes and stands up again.

"I didn't mean then."

Eagle stutters when Alieen turns back to Fizz.

"Are you kidding me?! Then when did you mean, huh?"

Fizz rolls his eyes and lazily gestures to Interloper.

"I was talking to him."

Interloper grows confused.

"When, then?"

Fizz scoffs.

"At the mall? You did an awful lot of staring at Ash after all."

Interloper sweats a bit and turns away from Kaurna, who frowns.

"You did indeed..."

"C-can you blame me?! She wore almost nothing!"

Kaurna blushes a bit.

"At least you had faint at me..."

Interloper blushes with her.

"Y-yeah..."

Eagle waves his hand at them and stands up to face Fizz.

"Still, that's off topic. Fizz, would you stop shutting us out? That's what we wanted to talk about."

"Do you want to hear about every problem I have?"

Eagle pokes his chest.

"Yes, frankly, we do!"

Interloper gets up and pulls Eagle back.

"It doesn't have to be every problem, but the major ones we need to hear."

Eagle pulls his arm out of Interloper's grasp.

"We care about you, why would we not want to hear about your problems?"

Fizz taps his cane on the ground.

"Because there are so many, and that kind of puts a damper on things."

Eagle sighs and sits back down.

"At least do what Interloper said and tell us the major ones."

Fizz holds out a hand and starts counting fingers.

"Abandonment issues, nightmares, looming threat of my fiance's death, immense guilt, is that enough for you?"

Interloper gives a somewhat guilty look.

"...Kind of..."

Eagle looks confused.

"Guilt of what, killing people? Because yes, that is quite enough."

Interloper sits back down as well.

"Which one's on your mind now?"

Fizz flops back onto the bed.

"The guilt, particularly."

Eagle gestures his hand in a circular motion.

"Guilt for...? We need answers if you want us to help."

Fizz sighs.

"...That would take a lot of explaining. The bottom line is I accidentally got someone killed and it's coming back for me."

Eagle groans.

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

Interloper slaps him lightly.

"Who was it?"

Eagle pushes Interloper a bit.

"I thought you already dealt with that?"

Fizz spins his cane.

"Terry, guy I knew way back..."

Interloper hums.

"Never heard of him..."

Eagle looks up in thought.

"I heard he died in a duel."

"Oh, that guy?"

"Fizz, were you a second?"

"A second?"

"For the duel."

"Not sure what that is..."

Fizz shushes them.

"No, but I apparently was the cause."

Interloper scoots forward.

"How so?"

"I accidentally got the two fighting again."

"Oh..."

Eagle scoffs.

"And this is biting you how?"

Alieen cuts him off.

"The girl found out and now she's extremely pissed?"

"Yep."

Interloper shrugs.

"Well, she doesn't exist in this universe, right?"

Eagle nods.

"You're safe here, or should be."

"Unless she is getting back at him in other ways..."

Eagle winces.

"That wouldn't be good..."

Fizz takes a drink of water.

"I allowed Terry to visit back after I found him here. It just kinda... Hit me I guess."

Interloper holds his hand out for him to stop.

"Wait, if you allowed him to see her, why's she mad at you? You reunited them...right?"

Eagle nods I agreement.

"Yeah... They should be happy."

"I had to pull him back here, universe laws and whatnot."

Alieen snaps.

"Then pull her here! If we can be here, can't she?"

Fizz scoffs.

"She can't just disappear from my universe like that. I allowed visits, but that's all I could do."

Alieen points to him in confusion.

"But you do..."

Eagle gestures to the rest of them.

"And so do we."

Fizz waves them off.

"No one cares if I go missing, everyone just assumes I'm off somewhere."

"But what about us?"

"And you two aren't staying here every night."

"Uh, yeah we are. Well, not every night..."

Interloper nods.

"Pretty much..."

Eagle motions to his bags.

"For this trip we are, at least."

"It can't be permanent, is what I'm saying."

Interloper puts a hand on his head.

"...But how is she causing trouble for you? Is she trying to kill you? Because...well...you know..."

Fizz shakes his head.

"No, she triggered my guilt. It happens sometimes."

"Ah..."

Eagle gives him a smile.

"Don't be guilty, you didn't know they'd have a duel, right?"

Interloper seems even more confused.

"What were they even fighting about? How were you involved?"

Fizz grinds his teeth a bit.

"Long story... And he sent me a letter before he died that said it was my fault."

Eagle frowns.

"He sent a letter?"

Interloper continues his line of questions.

"How'd you get them fighting again?"

"Reminded him of how much of an egomaniac she had been. He just... Got up and walked away. Next thing I knew, he was dead."

Eagle stares in surprise and Interloper sighs.

"Fizz, just let it go. What's done is done."

Eagle nods.

"There is nothing you can do about it, so stop dwelling in the past."

Fizz shakes his head.

"Easy for you to say..."

Interloper takes a deep breath.

"We all have regrets, Fizz... Things we wish we could change... But reality is we can't."

Alieen nods.

"Believe me, there is plenty I wish to erase from my past. What you think was a good childhood never really was. Not only that, but I did some pretty bad stuff in the army before Josiah saved me from the hypnosis."

Interloper sighs.

"And I haven't gone by my real name in years... I'm called an Interloper for a reason..."

Fizz smirks a bit and sits up fully.

"And what reason is that, since we're sharing?"

Interloper goes silent as all eyes on the room fall on him.

Eagle nudges him.

"Come on..."

Kaurna looks at him with a curious look.

"Inty?"

He sighs.

Eagle crosses his arms.

"Look, Fizz told all his shit, now it's your turn."

Interloper huffs.

"Well, look at it this way... You know how I have these powers? That I burnt out?"

"Yeah...?"

"How do you think I got them? Any guesses?"

Eagle thinks for a moment.

"A freak accident or something? The typical story for this?"

Interloper shrugs.

"Truth is...fuck if I know. They just showed up one day. Suddenly, I have powers I can't explain, nor know how I got them... Then, suddenly, you may cause something bad to happen, and make it worse trying to fix it, to the point where everyone's afraid of you, so you just...leave... So I left my original universe..."

Alieen nods.

"I've been discriminated against just because I'm an Octoling, I can understand part of where you're coming from."

Fizz looks at his cane.

"I'm getting to that point, I think. I have a lot of people afraid of me after the robot attack became public."

Eagle hums.

"Yeah, that makes sense... But they don't know the real you."

Interloper continues.

"Well, long story short, I travelled through several universes, trying to find a place I belonged, but never did...I never belonged...nor was I wanted...I was just that...an interloper... It got to the point where I stopped trying to hide it... I eventually started interacting with this one universe...a lot... But I never interacted with its people... At least...not in a way they'd remember..."

Kaurna hugs him.

"So yeah, I have trust issues too..."

Fizz gives him an understanding look.

"You and I have a lot more in common then I thought."

"Yeah, except you have friends in your world... You guys... You're all I've really got..."

Eagle playfully shoves him.

"Isn't that better than nothing, though?"

Interloper sighs.

"Yeah... I just...cared less after a while..."

Fizz scoffs.

"It's better than having a hundred enemies, that's for sure."

Eagle glares at Fizz.

"Look, I know Fizz isn't optimistic, but I am. I look at things brightly. I know that it may be bad, but it can get better."

Interloper smiles.

"If anything, I felt more alive after first burning out my powers after my argument with Fizz."

Fizz nods.

"You're welcome, I think..."

"There we go, there's a bright side to that!"

Interloper looks at his hands.

"Well, I'll just keep these powers under control for now... Too much and I may do something stupid again..."

Eagle high fives one of his hands, earning a blank stare from Interloper.

"Yeah, but you know your limits, that's good."

Kaurna, who hasn't stopped hugging Interloper this whole time, squeezes him.

"Yes!"

Fizz finger guns him.

"It helps having other people with powers around."

Interloper smiles back at him.

"I guess it does..."

Fizz takes another drink and tilts the glass to him.

"I can do more than I let on... But that's not important."

Interloper chuckles.

"You think that's weird, Kaurna's the first person in a while who knows my actual name..."

"I am?"

"Yes..."

Eagle laughs.

I don't think that's wierd because of some of the shit I've seen with you guys.

Kaurna giggles.

"I still say inty!"

She hugs him even tighter.

Eagle rolls his eyes and chuckles.

"Yes, you do."

Fizz leans back a bit.

"It must be nice..."

Eagle turns back to him.

"What, having somebody?"

Fizz nods.

"As energetic as her, yes."

"Oh, yeah, I bet it is."

Alieen flicks eagle's ear.

"Hey, what about me?"

"Nothing, you're fine!"

Fizz snickers.

"You're not as energetic as kaurna, basically."

Interloper smirks.

"Oh yeah, she ran all around town... And wasn't exausted just yet..."

Kaurna giggles.

"Really good stamina!"

"Yeah..."

Alieen nods.

"I wasn't too exhausted, but cod, that girl can run!"

Kaurna smiles happily.

"I practice every day!"

Interloper bites his lip a bit.

"And it shows..."

Alieen chuckles a bit.

"I can tell."

"Aileen, if you did that daily..."

"Hey, it's kinda hard when you're trying to overthrow a government, okay?"

Interloper turns back to Fizz

"...Speaking of stamina and energetic... I'm guessing a certain someone is feeling less so? And the situation doesn't seem to be getting better, Fizz?"

Fizz sighs.

"No, not at all. I checked on her last night, she could barely move."

Eagle stares at him in surprise.

"Oh, fuck... That's... Wow..."

"And Zoey's solution?"

Fizz shakes his head.

"She's going as fast as she can, but..."

Eagle nods slowly.

"It's not...fast enough."

"How long does she have?"

Fizz shrugs.

"I don't know."

Interloper goes silent.

"Well then... I'm not sure how much saying 'I hope she'll pull through' will accomplish... Other than some emotional support..."

Fizz scoffs.

"Which won't work anyway..."

Interloper slides over and sits next to Fizz, leaving a disappointed Kaurna.

"Situation's seeming more hopeless, huh? Can't say I have any ideas... All I can do is send her my best wishes... And hope for the best..."

Eagle nods.

"Yeah, same. I'm surprised you care so much."

"She's his fiance, so yeah..."

Eagle winces.

"Oh, wow..."

"Heck, it was pure luck she was brought back at all..."

Eagle scratches his head.

"Yeah, although I'm sure her staying like that would've been better for his emotional state."

"Can't say for certain...Fizz?"

Eagle scoffs.

"Look, he nearly killed himself the first time, what do you think he'll do next?"

Interloper shakes his head.

"He can't even do that..."

Eagle throws his arms up.

"Fucking... But there is no bright side here! It's just...nothing... Sad..."

Fizz looks down in sadness.

"Augh, I can't take it!"

"Josiah, calm down-"

"You want me to calm down? This is my friend we're talking about here, who's going through an extremely hard time, and you want me to fucking calm down? Fine!"

He storms off

"Josiah! Come on! ...Sorry about that, guys."

Interloper nods.

"It's fine..."

Alieen stands up and starts after him.

"When he gets worked up, he tends to just...snap."

"I see..."

"Don't even know where he's going... I need to go after him. Don't know what he'll do."

Interloper nods while Fizz continues to be silent.

"I'll be seeing you two then, sometime later..."

"Bye..."

Alieen leaves the room.

Interloper shakes his head before turning back to Fizz.

"Sorry if we weren't any help, Fizz..."

Fizz shrugs.

"It's fine, I haven't been in my right mind for years anyway."

Interloper pats his shoulder, and Kaurna speaks up.

"If we can do anything to help, fizz, we are willing to..."

Fizz nods.

"I know, but there's nothing you can really do."

"Well, anything to help you feel better..."

Fizz smiles a bit.

"Go enjoy your night, that's enough for me. ...Maybe we can go out tomorrow? To the town?"

Interloper nods.

"Okay."

They both get up and walk to the door.

"Hey Fizz?"

Fizz turns to them.

Interloper gives him a playful slap to the forehead.

"That's for indirectly Eel-blocking me."

Fizz chuckles.

"Just go and fuck her already, it's the perfect time to."

Interloper's face gets red.

"H-how about we head back to the pool?"

"S-sure thing, Kaurna... Bye Fizz."

"Bye."

Interloper and Kaurna walk out and close the door.

They head back to the pool area.

"So...you think things will get better?"

"I am uncertain... But for now, let us have some time to enjoy ourselves."

"Heh...alright..."

Kaurna smirks and pulls Interloper into the sauna.