Breathe (by Lauv)
"You're my all and more. All I know you taught me, yeah . . ."
After spending the entirety of Friday and Saturday morning wearing the Golden Fleece like a cape, Kiel could confirm that he was already feeling much better. His strength had returned, but it was still less so than normal. His body no longer shook, and his heart didn't race out of control, which was a relief. The color had returned to his face, and he had less trouble walking around now.
To add to that, Bethany had stopped by his house this morning before her book club meeting, dropping off some fictional medicine that he could take. Much to his disappointment, she'd placed the Golden Fleece back into the book it came from, claiming that he'd been wearing it for too long. He wished he could've worn it longer. Nothing, not even a spell had given him that kind of strength. But he had taken more of those recovery pills, which were helpful in boosting his energy.
Kiel was very glad that he was feeling renewed. Unlike the past week, he felt hopeful again. He'd been worried that he'd feel this way forever, which definitely wasn't the right way to live. Drinking 5-Hour-Energy had been the wrong choice, he knew that now. But it was his only option. He hadn't known where else to go.
Telling Bethany what he'd been hiding had surprisingly turned out to be a good thing. After he fainted, that had been the only option left anyway. There wasn't much he could do besides let her help him, now that she knew the truth. It was either that or let himself get worse, and he'd rather get his strength back. There wasn't much he could do to help himself.
Kiel was planning to tell Owen later today, once he was done being homeschooled in the morning. He wasn't very happy about that, but it had to be done. Keeping secrets from his friends had been a mistake, and he underestimated them. They would always help him, no matter what mistakes he made. If he refused the help, he might never recover, and he wouldn't be able to live much longer without it.
Despite his wariness to tell Bethany about his situation, he was glad that he had. He'd been planning to tell absolutely no one, because he was worried what they'd think. Kiel Gnomenfoot, weak? They'd laugh.
He thought Bethany would've judged him harshly for his actions, but he was pleasantly surprised at her reaction. While she had still reacted pretty badly, she hadn't thought any differently of him. That was the only reason he hadn't told his friends. They knew him as Kiel the hero, not as the boy who was weak and close to death.
Kiel never wanted them to see him as weak, since they were his best friends. Really, he never wanted anyone to see him that way. It only made him uncomfortable. But he realized that those things didn't matter. His friends had always been by his side, and they'd only want to help. They wouldn't think of him any differently, because he was still the same person that he'd always been. This realization made him feel a lot better, to know that his weakness didn't define him.
Once he returned to the fictional world, he didn't think this wouldn't be a problem anymore. At least, he hoped so. For now, however, he was already feeling better. A lot of his strength had returned, making him feel nearly back to normal. Everything would be fixed in no time. Well, almost everything. There was still the factor that he might disappear, but he was less worried about that. He wouldn't disappear if he stayed here for a bit longer. Plus, he had the medicine to help him out, so whenever he felt weak he could keep taking that.
He'd only be here for a day or two longer, and then he'd be back in the fictional world before he knew it. That was enough to send a rush of excitement through him. He'd gotten bored of the nonfictional world, and he was ready for an adventure, no matter how dangerous it would be. He couldn't wait to get on with it and go back to the life he'd been missing. It was time to go home and put a stop to Nobody's evil plans, and have fun while doing it.
Truthfully, he was a bit nervous about fighting Nobody, since the last time had resulted in making Nobody angry . . . which resulted in Kiel nearly getting killed by Oliver Bines. But that was when he was alone. He was weaker when he was in the nonfictional world.
This time, he'd be in the fictional world. Once there, his magic wouldn't exhaust him and his body wouldn't be weak. He could finally show off his skills again. He was amazing at fighting when his strength was there, so he nothing but optimistic about this. He was absolutely certain that everything would work out for him, including his friends and the rest of the worlds. The fictional world would be saved in no time!
The only problem was: that time wouldn't be for another few days, and Kiel was bored from sitting in his house for two days. He'd never really understood the concept of grounding, which was what happened to Owen, but he fully understood how he felt now.
No one liked staying at home, and Kiel was no exception. He wasn't the type of person to stay cooped up in one place. He preferred seeing the world, since there were always new things to see in the nonfictional world that he'd never seen on Magisteria.
Deciding that since Bethany wasn't here, and since he was strong enough to leave the house, he could distract himself by walking around town. Since he'd been here for so long, he had a good sense of direction so he wasn't worried about getting lost. He needed something to do, anyway. All he'd been doing for the past day and a half was take medicine, which was pretty boring in itself. He'd perform magic in a heartbeat, but he didn't want to risk his condition further.
Kiel chose a long, winding street that he'd never taken before. It felt refreshing to see something new aside from the houses and trees that were already in his neighborhood. The sky was filled with clouds, looking like it was going to snow or rain. For some reason, walking in the cold didn't really bother him as much as it used to. He preferred the warmer, more comfortable weather, but he didn't particularly mind this either. He often enjoyed it, because he could walk past the houses that were adorned with Christmas lights and decorations of snowmen and reindeer on their lawns.
Before coming here, he'd never seen anything like this before. Magisteria — including Quanterium — never had decorations like this. He liked it, but he didn't understand why Earth was so avid about decorations and holidays. He knew the holidays that Owen had told him about: Christmas, New Years, Easter, and Halloween.
According to Owen, Halloween was the most important, so Kiel agreed that was true. He'd heard many, many stories about it, but never had he experienced it on his own before. He wasn't sure when Halloween was, but he hoped he wouldn't miss it for Owen's sake. Holidays were foreign to him, and he hardly understood what the purpose of them were. Back on Magisteria, nothing was celebrated since the two planets were always in war.
Kiel didn't even know when his birthday was, which shocked Bethany and Owen immensely. Not many citizens celebrated theirs anyway, but most of them knew when their birthdays were. But how could he know? It was pretty much impossible to guess when it'd be. And really, why did it matter so much that he knew what day he was born? Once a year was finished, he usually declared himself a new age.
Oh, wait, so maybe he'd be sixteen right now, since the new year — at least the Earth version — had happened. Huh. Everything was confusing now. Now it all made sense! That was why birthdates were important!
Even if he wanted to, though, he didn't think he could ever find out his true birthdate. He was a clone of Dr. Verity, so technically hadn't he never been born? Dr. Verity was also a man who Kiel doubted had ever written the date to anything, since he was unarguably insane. There was no way he'd ever find out what his birthday was, much less any other important information.
As he wandered around, Kiel amused himself by imagining the hypothetical conversation he'd have with Dr. Verity. It'd start off like: "Oh, hello Dr. Verity, my arch nemesis and clone! Funny question . . . what day was I born?"
Dr. Verity would respond with crazed laughter, and then some idiotic comeback. Kiel would never get the answer out of him. That man was too insane to communicate anything properly. None of what Dr. Verity said made any sense, except for the fact that he only cared about wiping out Magisteria. Kiel couldn't remember a single time he'd had a normal conversation with the evil scientist, nor did he really care to. It wouldn't get anywhere.
Kiel found himself wondering how the crazed scientist was doing, anyway. Was he still alive? Last time Kiel had seen him, he'd locked him in the Source of Magic with his own bomb. He couldn't imagine Dr. Verity escaping a trap like that, but if he had, did he know about Nobody too? And if he did, which side was he on?
That brought another question. Which side would the Magister be on? It sent a shiver down his spine just to think about it. Nobody was just as powerful as the Magister was, since he could rewrite himself to be anyone. With his magic, the Magister would be a just as powerful ally.
Had the Magister actually somehow escaped from the book that Bethany had left him in? He remembered Elijah saying that the Magister had been working with Nobody, but was the really true?
Despite the Magister's evilness when he'd tried taking over the nonfictional world, Kiel couldn't imagine it. This was about his own world, not about some other one. His old teacher had made a lot of errors that Kiel was unable to forgive him for, but he couldn't imagine him ever doing something so evil. Would the Magister be that cruel to want to destroy the fictional world, too? And why would he do that?
The Magister had wanted control over the nonfictional world, but he never wanted to destroy his own world. Well, at least not Magisteria. From what he'd unfortunately learned, Kiel could assume that the Magister would destroy Quanterium in a heartbeat. He'd heard that from Bethany and Owen, not from the Magister himself.
If that was the case — that the Magister was on Nobody's side and wanted to contribute to destroying the worlds — he wanted to hear it for himself. Despite everything, there was still a small side of Kiel that wanted to trust the Magister. Years of apprenticeship just didn't go away like that, even if he disliked his former teacher now. He really hoped it wouldn't be true. Kiel hoped that the Magister would've learned his lesson from the first mistake he'd made.
As he walked, he hummed a tune he'd heard from one of the many German songs he'd listened to when he came to the nonfictional world a few months ago. The music he'd heard in Magisteria was nothing like what he listened to here. And the music wasn't played on the Nalwork like how the nonfictional music was played on the Internet. He didn't listen to music very much, but he liked what he heard when he did.
Music wasn't popular at all back in his home planet, which Kiel found surprising because it was so captivating. The first time he'd heard Pop (was that what it was called?) music was when he was driving in the car with Bethany and Owen, and a catchy song had played on the radio. It was the first song he'd heard that came from a machine instead of a musical instrument. He wasn't sure what any of the songs were called, but he liked trying out the new ones that he happened to come across.
Kiel continued walking, unsure where he was going but not really caring where he ended up. He had his teleportation button with him, so if anything happened he could easily teleport back to his house.
He turned the corner of a busy street and was surprised that he spotted Owen's neighborhood just up ahead. This wasn't the usual route he took to Owen's house but he had somehow ended up here anyway. Kiel hadn't been planning to see Owen until this afternoon, since he wanted to wait longer before he told Owen the truth.
He didn't want to scare his friend, but there was no other way around it. He'd have to tell Owen the truth eventually, and right now seemed like the best time. It would be a good idea to get this over with. Kiel had told Bethany the upsetting truth, so he could tell Owen as well.
He didn't like how vulnerable this situation put him in, to admit how he'd been feeling. It was hard enough the first time he'd genuinely asked for help. He was used to hiding his weaknesses and trying to overcome them in his own. He had to remind himself that that was the wrong idea in this case. Thinking he could handle something so dangerous had been a huge mistake that he hoped he would never make again.
Kiel just didn't want to upset Owen with the news that they'd have to go back to the fictional world within the next few days. Owen had been trapped in Pick The Plot for three entire years, and he had returned merely a week ago. He hadn't been home for very long. Kiel wished they could've had more time to relax and have fun, but there was only so much time before the fictional world crumbled away and Nobody took control.
Owen would understand; he always did. He had lived to the very end of Kiel's journey, making him braver than even Kiel sometimes was.
With these thoughts in mind, Kiel made his way over to Owen's house and knocked on the door. He heard Bark Vader's loud barks coming from the other side of the door, but no other noises besides that. He waited for nearly a full minute, his face flushed from the cold. The door was finally opened by Owen, who greeted him with a goofy smile. "Kiel!"
"Hi, Owen!" Kiel stepped into the house and ruffled his friend's wavy hair, an action that'd he'd started doing now that he was quite a bit taller than Owen.
"What are you doing here? I'd love to hang out, but I have school right now. I'm not exactly allowed to see anyone until I go to the library," Owen reminded him, pointing towards the kitchen. His face brightened. "But we can hang out at the library if you come over in the afternoon."
Kiel glanced over Owen's shoulder to see Ms. Conners seated at the kitchen table, staring at them. He looked back at Owen. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you. Right now, if your mom allows it."
Owen's expression turned serious, and he looked at his mother. "Can me and Kiel talk real quick?"
She nodded. "I'll give you ten minutes, but that's it, boys!"
"Thank you!" Owen said. He hurried up the stairs and into his bedroom, Kiel following behind him. Once they got inside, he slammed the door shut, his broken arm swinging in the process. At the sudden movement, he winced a little and grabbed his broken arm, gingerly holding it in it's cast.
"Is it healing alright?" Kiel asked softly, staring with concern at his broken arm.
Owen forced a smile. "It's getting there, thanks. I'm supposed to get the cast off in six weeks at the earliest. Hopefully, if it heals that fast." He looked at Kiel. "Um, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Kiel frowned, mustering his courage before he spoke. "Something has been happening to me ever since you came back to the nonfictional world. I didn't want to tell you . . . or Bethany, but I was left with no choice. It's kind of serious. My stuff started to disappear out of nowhere, like my cape and my belt. I became really exhausted, and every method I used to solve it didn't make it go away."
He sighed. "It just made me feel worse, and I don't think I'll make it if I stay here much longer. I have a feeling that I'll disappear, just like the rest of my items. I think it's because the fictional world is weak, and it's been growing weaker ever since Nobody split the worlds."
Owen's eyes widened, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Kiel swallowed hard, gazing at the worried expression on his friend's face. "I'm sorry, Owen. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. I thought we'd have more time to do fun things together. I thought I could handle it, but I couldn't."
Owen sucked in a breath. "Kiel . . . wow. Oh, my god. I'm really sorry. I wish I'd known earlier. That sounds awful." He shook his head in disbelief, visibly upset. "Does Bethany know?"
"Yeah," Kiel breathed. "I happened to faint on Thursday, and she saw me. She gave me some fictional medicine, which has been helping me feel much better than I was earlier."
"But you're still feeling weak," Owen observed, and it wasn't a question. Kiel slowly nodded. "It makes sense that only fictional medicine would help you. The best thing we can do now is go back to the fictional world. We shouldn't wait."
Kiel raised his eyebrows, feeling surprised. "But you just got home."
"I know," Owen said quietly, looking down. "But I knew we'd be going back eventually, to stop Nobody from destroying everything. I just didn't know that the fictional world was getting so weak. We gotta save you before you disappear, before the entire world disappears!"
Kiel smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better now that he'd told Owen. "Don't worry. We'll save the world long before that happens."
"Yeah, I hope so," Owen said, but he looked unsure. "But we have to come up with a plan before we leave. We can't walk into another one of Nobody's traps. He's beaten all of us before."
"Exactly. Which is why we won't let that happen again," Kiel replied with a wink, which seemed to relax Owen. "We'll come up with a solid plan, and then? The three of us will go to the fictional world and show Nobody who's boss."
Owen smiled. "Yeah!
As soon as Bethany returned from the book club, she made a beeline for one place in particular, not wanting to delay this any longer. After reading what her mother had said in the Doc Twilight comic book, she'd been wanting to contact Murray Chase. Today, that was exactly what she'd do. Of all the nonfictional people, he could certainly give her some answers pertaining her life. Most importantly, about her father and the night he'd gone missing.
Also, since her mother wasn't . . . the most available person . . . to talk to, she'd find some other way to get information.
Bethany had never talked to Murray before, not face to face. She wished she could've met him earlier. She probably had when her father had been here, but she didn't remember him. After her father's disappearance, Bethany's mother had kept Bethany separated from everything that had to do with her father — which was entirely rude, by the way. She didn't know why her mother had kept information like that from her. It was ridiculous, to not tell her own daughter important things like who her father was and who he'd been friends with.
If Bethany had known all of this, she would've been able to take her father home a lot sooner, before Nobody decided to split her apart and torture all of her friends. It would've saved her a lot of time if this had been solved before she was twelve.
Not only did she want to talk to Murray about her mother, but she wanted to explain the situation with Nobody and ask him about Mason Black. If the author of the Doc Twilight comics was still captured by Nobody, that could be bad news. If he was captured, who knew what Nobody was doing to that man? There was also a chance that Mason Black was back in the real world, so maybe she could talk to him too. She had to figure this out, and fast. Kiel's life depended on it, so this would have to be quick.
Bethany passed neighborhood after neighborhood before she made it to Ditko Drive, the street that Murray Chase lived on. Last time she'd been here, Kiel had led her nonfictional self to Jupiter City. And the time before that, she and Owen were going on a mission to save her father.
This was the first time she'd be coming to his house alone, and it was also the first time she'd have a real conversation with him. That thought made her nervous. Then again, what didn't make her nervous? It was becoming rarer and rarer that Bethany ever found himself not worried. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time that she wasn't worried about something.
"Here goes nothing," Bethany whispered to herself as she walked purposefully down Ditko Drive. She kept her eyes trained on the house at the end of the street, butterflies swirling in her stomach. This wasn't the time to back down. She needed to talk to Murray, since he was a friend of her father's.
She took a deep breath before climbing the porch steps and knocking on the door. It seemed that Kiel had ended up fixing the door. She hadn't remembered him doing it last time she was here, but she'd been pretty exhausted back then. With the state she was in, she probably wouldn't have been able to tell if Kiel had quickly fixed the door. She couldn't imagine what Murray's reaction would've been if he came home and saw his entire front door was destroyed.
A few moments later, the door opened, and Bethany found herself staring into the eyes of the man from the picture — the one from her fourth birthday party. He squinted, almost as if he didn't recognize her. "Bethany?"
Hi," she said. "Can we talk? I mean, if you're not busy right now."
Murray smiled, stepping back to allow her space. "No, I'm not busy. Come in. I was just doing some illustrations anyway."
"Okay." Bethany slowly walked inside, looking around at the small, cramped house. It looked exactly the same as the last time she'd been here. The picture from her fourth birthday party still hung on the wall, an ever-present reminder of the horrible day that her father had disappeared.
"It's nice to officially meet you," he said, closing the door behind them. "I've been friends with your family for a long time. The last time I talked to you was when you were three!"
She raised an eyebrow. "Even my mom?"
"Yes." He laughed a little. "I know she can be strict at times, but we've been friends for years. I'm not sure why she's against you jumping into books, but she's been that way forever. Don't take it personally. She just doesn't trust the fictional world that much. It can be dangerous."
"Tell me about it," Bethany muttered. "I have so many questions. I don't even know where to start. So, what did my father do when he was, you know, in the nonfictional world?"
"Well, he spent most of his time with you and your mother. I used to come over your house, and only your mother would be there. She'd say, 'You just missed them, Murray! Christian and Bethany jumped into another book!'"
Bethany laughed, feeling suddenly nostalgic. She would give anything to jump into books with her father again. Anything. Somehow, talking about him like this made her feel a bit better about everything. Talking about her father was off-limits with her mother, since that always made her mother feel sad. It made Bethany even more desperate and excited to see him again once she went to the fictional world with Owen and Kiel. This time, she would bring him home. At all costs.
She pointed at the picture. "Where did you get this?"
Murray followed her gaze. "Oh, that? I figured you'd notice it. Your mother sent me that picture."
"She did?" Bethany reached out to touch the framed picture, brushing her fingers against her father's red hair.
"Yeah." He coughed. "She gave me some pictures to keep shortly after your party. As you probably could imagine, I wasn't allowed to go back to your house. I could only watch over your family from outside." He moved to stand beside her. "It must be hard, being separated from your father again."
"It is," she whispered. "But I got to spend a lot of time with him in Jupiter City, when I was separated." She looked over at him. "What happened after I turned into light?"
"Let's sit," Murray said, leading her over to the living room, where they both sat on the couch. He placed his hands on his knees. "Well, your father turned back into his normal form after being the Dark, which you already know. We didn't get much time to talk, because Nobody showed up. He sent me back here before I could do anything."
Bethany's eyes grew wide. "Are you kidding? I didn't think he would've showed up so soon. And then after that he — he separated me?"
"I honestly don't know," Murray said. "But yes, I'm assuming he did. It wasn't long after before I saw you — your nonfictional half. After watching over you for a while, I realized that you had been separated. I can only assume that Nobody did it. His plan all along was to keep the fictional world away from the nonfictional one."
"It was him," she said, nodding. "I know it was. No one else would do it, and no one else wanted the worlds separated except him."
"Makes sense," he said in a quiet voice. He said nothing for a few long seconds, simply staring at her.
Bethany frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing," Murray said, waving her off. "It's just that . . . you used to be such a carefree kid. I feel like you seem . . . worried now. Not that I can blame you, with your father being in the fictional world and all."
"I'm fine," Bethany assured him. "There's just a lot of stuff going on right now. Things have been crazy lately. I've just rejoined myself, so now I'm trying to figure out my life. I'm getting myself back in gear before I go jumping into books again. Me and my friends are also going to head to the fictional world in a few days, to stop Nobody."
He looked shocked. "You're stopping Nobody? Just you and your friends? Bethany, that's incredibly dangerous. I don't think he can be beat. He's far too strong. I know you've been through a lot, but I'd hate to see you in more danger."
"I know. Me too," she said. "But the fictional world isn't doing so great. Nobody has this plan to turn everything into pure possibility, which will wipe out the entire fictional universe. All of the characters are going to die if I don't stop him, and my father is still there. He could disappear too." Her voice grew quiet. "I need to bring him home, once I defeat Nobody."
Murray's eyes regarded Bethany which much sympathy. "I also think you should go. But you have to be very careful around that villain. Before you do anything, maybe you should consider talking to your mother about everything that's happened. You've been hiding this for years, but I don't think you need to keep it a secret anymore, now that you've found your father. She could help you."
Bethany found herself nodding, even though she was lying again. Either way it would be a bad idea. But now that she thought about it, her mother knew more than she let on. If Bethany opened up to her, her mother might as well.
On the other hand, her mother would never let her step into the fictional world again if she told her everything. But maybe it would relieve some of her burdens. Maybe she should just tell her mother everything, and make her deal with it. And then she'd get the answers she wanted about her father.
"I don't think that's the best idea," she said finally. "I need to defeat Nobody, whether she wants me to or not. She would only hold me back from going, and I can't have that happening. And I still need to bring Dad home."
"Right. But I don't think she'll be against it if you tell her about your father. She doesn't know where he's been. She'll want you to take him home."
Guilt blossomed in Bethany's chest, but she brushed it away. "Yeah, she will," she agreed. "But then she'd still keep me from going. I've been hiding the fact that I've been jumping into books ever since I started doing it, because I know that she would stop me."
He sighed. "You don't know that for sure."
"I think I do. She told me that she doesn't want me jumping into books!"
"I can't change your mind? I really think that you should communicate with her. Just let her know what's been happening. It couldn't hurt."
She shook her head. "Sorry, Mr. Chase."
"Alright." He grimaced, then smiled at her. "I tried. I know I can't stop you from heading into danger, but try to be careful when you do, okay?"
Bethany nodded.
"Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Murray asked. "I'm always here to answer anything you have questions about."
Bethany paused, thoughts racing through her head. Where to begin? There were so many things she hadn't known about, and there were still so many things she had yet to learn. There were years and years worth of questions, all bottled up ever since her father had disappeared from her life. She knew that no one would be able to answer them except her father and mother, who had lived through it all.
"I'm not sure," she said. "I feel like none of them can really be answered, not until my father comes home."
"And he will," he said, nodding. "I know he will."
Bethany swallowed hard, unsure what to say in response to that. She wanted so badly to believe he'd come home. It was all she'd ever wished for. She rose from her seat. "I have to go, but thank you for talking with me, Mr. Chase. Seriously, thank you."
Murray waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I'm here to help."
Smiling, she walked to the door and opened it. Then, something came to her mind. She whipped around. "Wait! What happened to Mason Black? Is he here, in the nonfictional world?"
He looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"He . . . he got captured by Nobody," she said. "I'm not sure how long ago it was, or if he ever returned.
"Oh," Murray said. He scratched his chin. "I never knew about that. If he got captured by Nobody, I really don't think he'd be here. Unless he came back."
"Do you think he returned here?" Bethany asked.
"He might've. Why do you ask?"
She shrugged, but an idea was beginning to formulate in her head, one that she hadn't fully grasped yet. "I was just wondering." She opened the door the rest of the way and walked outside.
"Be safe!" he called out after her. "Stop over my house if you need anything. I'm only a few neighborhoods away."
Bethany looked back at him. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. See you later!" With that said, she shut the door and was once again alone in the cold February air, her breath coming out in clouds. There was only one thing left to do, which was to head home. She needed some time to be alone, to think and recharge. She wanted to spend at least one last day to herself before they left for the fictional world. Could anyone blame her for that?
Yes, Kiel was still in danger, but saving him could wait until tomorrow. Bethany needed to figure everything out, more in her own mind than anywhere else. There was so much going on, and she needed a few hours to do absolutely nothing.
After that, a trip to the library wouldn't be a bad idea. She needed to figure a plan out for what they'd do once they got to the fictional world, but it'd be best if she jumped into a few books first, as a practice run and a way to clear her head. Then, once she was done, she'd talk this whole plan over with Owen and Kiel. Right now, it seemed like the most reasonable thing for her to do.
Owen sat at the checkout counter, staring blankly at his math homework as he tried to do some problems. He had three years worth of school to catch up on, and since he wasn't even allowed to start school yet, well, that meant he had no free time to do anything except work or study. He was working on Algebra I, since he'd missed his math classes from seventh grade up until tenth grade.
Someone placed a large stack of books on the counter, and Owen quickly moved his math packet out of the way. He peered over the side of the large stack, only to see a young boy, maybe ten years old. Owen forced a smile. "Do you have your library card?"
The boy silently nodded, sliding his library card over to Owen. He scanned it and handed it back to him. "Have a good night."
"You too, mister," the boy said, then proceeded to fit the stack of books into his small hands and walk out the door without dropping a single book.
"Impressive," Owen muttered to himself. He adjusted the strap of the cast that engulfed his broken arm, taking a moment to observe his injury. After a week it still wasn't healed. He had never broken a bone until now, so he assumed it would heal within a few weeks. He was unfortunately mistaken, and now he would have to wait a long time until his arm fully healed. He wondered if he would ever be able to sketch again, like he used to do in class.
"I'm going to start closing up," Owen's mother said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Start putting these books away. And only use your good arm! No injuring yourself further!" She pointed at an enormous pile next to Owen, which he'd been ignoring all night.
He started to object, but caught sight of her face. Even when she didn't act like it, she always looked worried. She was especially clingy ever since he'd come home. He wished she wouldn't be. It only reminded him of how much things had changed in the past years he'd been gone.
Owen nodded, and she smiled, then headed into her office. Bending down, he carefully picking up a small portion of the pile, using his left hand, elbow, and chest to balance them out. As quickly as he could, he placed the books back on their shelves. He then went back to the large pile and picked up another five books, balancing them once again in his left hand. Just as he finished with the last book, something on the shelf above him caught his eye.
It was a Kara Dox book.
Owen's eyes widened, and he automatically reached up for it, taking it off the shelf and looking at the cover. His heart quickened at the sight of her. She was smiling mid-run, with the same pink hair and the same jumpsuit. He traced a finger over her face, his heart aching painfully. It had been Kara who had gotten him through the hard times in the Time Security Agency. It had been her who helped him when he was having a panic attack. It was her who prevented him from feeling helpless, when he was close to losing hope.
She understood him, and she protected him . . . but she was gone now. And he missed her. He hoped she was okay after getting taken by the time agents. There were times when he almost thought he saw her, like when a girl's pink hair in the library caught his eye, but it actually wasn't Kara. Sometimes it felt like she was still around, but she never was. It amazed him how close they'd become after only a week (well, three years) of knowing each other.
The fictional would was going to die, slowly but surely. The signs were there. Owen should've realized it sooner. He never believed anything that severe would happen to the fictional world, and yet, it had. Since Bethany had been rejoined, he thought they'd have some leverage over Nobody. He didn't think it would matter if they waited a bit longer before going on the next adventure, but he was wrong.
Kiel had nearly died because the fictional world was growing weaker. Owen's friends needed him, now more than ever. He couldn't let Nobody take control over the world he loved. He was only an ordinary kid, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.
"Um, excuse me?"
Owen turned around to see a girl, maybe a few years younger than him. She tilted her head. "Do you work here?"
"Oh, sorry!" Owen exclaimed, hastily putting the Kara Dox book back on the shelf. He scolded himself for getting so distracted. He hadn't even heard anyone come in. "Uh, yes, I do. Do you need to find something?"
"Yeah. Do you know where the Kiel Gnomenfoot books are?"
Owen grinned. "Of course. Right this way." He walked over to the fantasy isle, the path engrained in his memory. He'd been here so often that he knew where pretty much everything was, most importantly all of the fantasy book. They were his favorite genre, so it came to no surprise that he knew this section by heart.
Glancing back at the girl, he pointed to the Kiel Gnomenfoot books that were packed tightly against one another in the shelf. "There they are. Have you read them before?"
The girl shook her head. Owen reached over, plucking Kiel Gnomenfoot: Magic Thief from the bookcase. He handed it to her. "You'll love it. It's about these two planets called Magisteria and Quanterium, and they've basically been rivals for generations, since Magisteria uses magic and Quanterium uses science. It's an amazing series."
He put his finger on the cover, showing her the picture of Kiel. "This is the hero — well, the main one — Kiel Gnomenfoot. He's from Magisteria, and he has to go on all of these quests to find the keys and . . ." At the look on the girl's face, he stopped talking. Whoops! It was hard to control himself when introducing others to his favorite books.
"You spoiled a lot of things," the girl said, wrinkling her nose.
"Not really," Owen said. "Everything I told you should be on the summary."
She flipped over the book and looked at the summary on the back, then looked back up at him. "You're right. It's all on there."
"See? Then I didn't spoil anything!"
"You could've."
"But I didn't."
The girl hugged the book against her chest. "What was that book you were looking at earlier? When I walked over you got scared and put it away."
"What?" Owen frowned. "Oh. That was um . . . that was just a Kara Dox book."
Her face brightened. "I love those books! Books about time travel are my favorite kind. How did you like them?"
A blush crept to his face. "I haven't read them yet."
"You haven't? Why not?"
"I guess I never was interested enough," Owen said. "I prefer fantasy books."
"Well, you should read them. They're as good as you said the Kiel Gnomenfoot books are," the girl said. Without another word, she walked back towards the checkout.
As Owen watched the girl leave, he felt guilty for some reason. The feeling had never really left since Kiel told him the news about his condition. He didn't have a clue about it until this morning. He felt even worse because Kiel had decided to hide it for the sake of Owen's happiness.
It was true that he was content here. In the real world, he was safe and at peace. But he knew that he never would be truly at peace if he didn't go back to the fictional world. The break had been nice, but he was ready to go back. He couldn't stay here just because it was safe. He wanted to help his friends and their world, and he had to take down Nobody before he ruined more lives . . . if that was even possible. It had to be.
He wasn't sure if he could do anything to stop Nobody, but Bethany certainly could. Where was she, anyway? Owen was becoming increasingly frustrated that she hadn't stopped by. He'd called her from his mother's phone, but she hadn't answered or called him back. And she hadn't come to the library at all today, which was unusual for her.
What could she be doing right now that was more important than talking to Owen and saving Kiel before he disappeared? Owen had to see her, and they needed to come up with a good plan for how to stop Nobody. Kiel was currently resting at his house, so he obviously wouldn't be accessible. He hoped she'd come to the library tomorrow, because they couldn't delay this. The fictional world and their best friend's life was at stake!
"Owen!" his mother called from across the building. "Come on! I'm about to turn the lights off!"
Casting one hopeful look over his shoulder to make sure Bethany wasn't climbing out of a book, Owen accepted the disappointment that followed and rushed to the exit. "Coming!"
On Sunday, Bethany was more than ready to jump into a book again. Or so she hoped.
She'd stopped at Kiel's house again to check in on him and give him some more medical supplies. It seemed to be building his strength back up, which made her relieved. She didn't want him to suffer anymore than he already had been. Although he still wasn't back to normal, this delayed the process of him disappearing.
They'd probably be going to the fictional world today, so they wouldn't need to wait around anymore. They could finally get going.
She was in the library that afternoon. She'd been there for about an hour, scanning the isles for books to jump into. Owen wasn't here yet, so it gave her some time to practice. She definitely would need it, since she hadn't jumped into one for a couple of years.
After finding a remotely unthreatening-looking book called The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Bethany held the book open and set it on the floor, staring down at it. She lifted her foot, hesitantly sticking it in. Just as her foot started to pass through the pages, forming into various words like "toes" and "heel", she quickly yanked it back out. She was shaking all over. She didn't know why.
Jumping into books used to be so easy and effortless. And now that she hadn't jumped into one for a few years . . . well, it sounded silly, but she was afraid to. She didn't know what would happen if she jumped into another book. Could she still do it as effectively? Would Nobody try to separate her again?
A few minutes later, Bethany found herself in the bathroom, splashing water onto her face. Leaning forward against the countertop, she stared hard into the white, porcelain sink. She forced herself to take slow, focused breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. After all the nervous breakdowns she had over the past years, this exercise was something she'd learned would calm her down.
She pressed her fingers into her temple, trying to massage away the negative feelings. Why did she feel this way? How could she be afraid to jump into a book? She had this power — this gift — and she was throwing it all away because she was too afraid?
That was ridiculous. She couldn't be this selfish. She was the only person with this ability, and she had already survived this long with it. She didn't want to feel this way, but for some reason she did. Why? She didn't have a clue.
Kiel had come here for one reason: to rejoin her two halves so that her powers would be redeemed. She needed to jump into a book. She had to, if she wanted to save Kiel, defeat Nobody, and find her father.
So why was she still shaking?
Bethany willed her feet to move, to go back into the library and jump into that book. It wouldn't be that hard. It wasn't even a horror book! But her feet didn't move an inch, and at that moment she knew that her fears had gotten the best of her. She hardly understood why she was so scared. It didn't make sense. She sighed heavily and turned back to the mirror to stare at her reflection. She looked just as miserable as she felt.
A short time later, Bethany was sitting back in the library, though for an entirely different reason. She was in the children's section, which seemed to be the only part of this place that never failed to comfort her. She distracted herself by writing bullet-points about Nobody, who she knew she would have to face eventually.
The more Bethany tried coming up with ideas, the less they came to her. There had to be some way to stop Nobody. Bethany knew that she was probably the only person who could have a solid chance at stopping him. By existing, she was a threat to him. She needed to figure out a plan, or a weakness that he had. Something was staring her right in the face, but she needed to figure out what it was.
"'Featureless body, manipulative, feels threatened by half-fictional girls,' Owen's voice rang over her shoulder, making her jump. "Are these notes about Nobody or Kiel?"
Scowling, Bethany snatched her notes away and shoved them into her backpack. "Very funny."
He took a seat across from her, setting a bag of schoolbooks on the table. "My mom makes me work on this when I'm working at the checkout counter," he explained.
For them, this was a usual hangout spot. While Owen was being homeschooled, he also worked at the library in the afternoons. This gave Bethany a chance to see him, which was always a relief. She had come here the moment she finished up at Kiel's, to do homework and maybe even some book-jumping . . . but the second idea obviously never turned out.
"You didn't actually come over here to do homework, did you?" Bethany questioned.
He shook his head. "I've been wanting to talk to you since yesterday. Kiel stopped by and told me what's been going on with him. I feel so bad that I didn't realize it sooner."
"I felt the same way," she said. "It's okay, I have a plan . . . but it'll mean that we have to go back to the fictional world tomorrow or the next day."
"Okay." He nodded. "I was going to say the same thing. We need to get back right away."
Bethany blinked. "I thought you'd be against it."
Owen looked mildly offended. "No! I wouldn't be against it. It's a good idea, and we gotta save Kiel before he gets worse. That is the most important thing . . . along with defeating Nobody."
Bethany smiled a little. She hadn't really wanted to return to the fictional world right away either, but they both knew it was necessary. Saving Kiel was the most important thing, and then they could figure everything out from there. She just hadn't expected him to want to go, after all the pain he'd gone through in Pick The Plot. It was nice to know that he was willing to go.
"Despite all the awful things he's done, I have to admit . . . my life has improved in some ways since Nobody split me in half," she told Owen, placing her hands on the table. "Not the forgetting stuff part or the Nobody taking over the world part, but my fictional self got to be with my dad. The nonfictional half of me was here, of course, but it wasn't as bad because for a while, my life was normal. For once, I felt normal."
"Yeah," Owen said, looked down. "I get what you mean, but we can't forget all of the bad things Nobody did to us. He'll do worse things if we don't defeat him soon." He shuddered.
"I know. Like destroying the fictional world," Bethany said. "That's why I'm making this list, but I don't think he has weaknesses. Got any ideas?"
He scratched his head, looking lost in thought for a moment. "Huh. I don't know. He can rewrite himself into anything, which gives him a definite bonus. He could basically do anything he wants. He could do the same thing that he did to me, but I think that when you face him — you'll have a much better chance of fighting him than I did."
"Don't say that, Owen!" Bethany said, surprised he would even think that. She looked him in the eyes. "You tried everything you could to save me. Nobody is too powerful, and it's not your fault that you couldn't stop him. We'll be ready this time. We both have the superpowers Charm gave us, so you have just as much advantage as I do."
Owen smiled. "Thanks. I'll try to be useful when we get there. Somehow."
"You already are," Bethany said. At the disbelief in his eyes, she added, "I'm serious. You know more about books than I ever have. You know pretty much every book in this library, and you have your time powers! Why wouldn't that be useful?"
"I don't know." He sighed. "I'm just not a hero like you or Kiel. I couldn't even escape from the book that Nobody trapped me in. I tried to contact you so many times while I was in Pick The Plot . . . but it didn't work."
Bethany bit her lip. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Owen. If only I'd been faster — I swear I would've — I know I would've gotten you out of that book the moment you got thrown in there." She shuddered, anger building up inside her. "Nobody deserves to suffer. After what he did to us, he deserves it."
"Tell me about it! Especially after he separated the worlds and you."
She nodded. "So I guess that leaves us with no other option, then. I thought we'd have more time before . . ." Bethany looked around, making sure that no one else was listening. As far as she could tell, though, they were only surrounded by books. "When do you think we should go?"
"Just like you said," he replied. "I think it'll be best if we leave tonight or tomorrow, once we make some type of plan. Nobody probably expects us to come after him, but I'm sure he won't expect it if all of our fictional friends are with us. It'll give us the element of surprise, you know?"
Bethany smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"I agree!"
"But," she said. "We're not . . . we're not bringing Kiel."
"What?" Owen looked both hurt and shocked. "But he's a magician! And more importantly — he's our friend! Why wouldn't we bring him?"
Bethany only shook her head. "We can't bring him, okay? I'm not letting anyone else get hurt."
He raised his eyebrows. "Except me?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm only letting you come because you're already talking with me about it, and because I know that if Kiel comes, he'll try sacrificing himself for us and we can't have that happening. Plus, he's fictional. If the fictional world happens to . . . disappear, what if he does too?"
"We're not going to let that happen. We already talked about this! He needs to go back to the fictional world. It's the only way we can save him."
"I know —"
"Besides, you're only half nonfictional," Owen pointed out, giving her a reproachful look. "What if half of you disappears too?"
"I don't know if it works that way," she said quietly. "Either way, we're not telling Kiel about this."
"Why not?"
She sighed. "You . . . you just need to trust me on this. I'm not being reckless anymore. We have to come up with a plan to defeat Nobody before he destroys the world."
"Yeah, but our plan would be a lot easier if it involves Kiel!" Owen said. "I get that he needs to rest, but we can't just leave him behind! Being in the fictional world is going to help him, Bethany! He sacrificed everything to come here."
"Fine," Bethany said, not having the energy to argue anymore. "So, what do we do? How do we defeat Nobody?"
"I don't really know, but I know that we can figure it out if we have help. We're going to need it. We can team up with all of our friends, and with their help I'm sure we can figure something out. Each of us has some type of power, so we'll be like Marvel! There's no way we can face Nobody without some assistance. Teaming up is what superheroes do best."
"But we're not superheroes."
"Right. Not all of us," Owen said, glancing down at his arm. "But I think this is a great plan. We can go to the fictional world tomorrow, once we're ready, and then we can group our friends together." He slowly started to smile. "I wasn't before, but I'm actually kind of optimistic about this. I think we'll have a good shot if we're in a group."
Defeated, she leaned back into her chair. "Okay. I guess we should have our friends with us, but I also don't want to risk anyone's life in the process. We'll have to be careful."
"Of course we'll be," he said. "It'd be worse if it was just us two. There's no way we could defeat Nobody ourselves, without outside help."
"Yeah," Bethany whispered. "Let's start planning this. I'll feel better if we have some sort of plan that we're going to follow."
Owen took out a notepad and pencil and they began brainstorming ideas for their plan, jotting down notes every now and then. They talked long into the afternoon, mulling over everything that happened and everything that probably would happen. Eventually, they came up with a decent plan about what they would do, but Bethany doubted it was very good. She kept this thought to herself, though.
At one point, a brilliant idea came to Bethany's head, but she didn't say it aloud. What if she contacted the author of Nobody's story? Owen had told her that Nobody's author was a guy named Mason Black. What if she could figure out a way to defeat Nobody all on her own?
She'd talk to Mason Black, and he could reveal Nobody's greatest weakness. The problem would be solved, and Bethany could save the fictional world without making up an elaborate plan. She wouldn't need to get anyone else in danger, either. She figured if she dragged her friends with her it would only make things harder.
"Owen?" his mother called in a worried tone. She came around the corner, an all-too-familiar worried look on her face. "Ow — Oh, thank god. Good. You're here."
Bethany felt a pang of sadness for Ms. Conners. Since Owen wouldn't be starting school until junior year, his mom wouldn't let him out of her sight. The three years of him being gone had taken up a hole in her heart, and even Owen's presence took some getting used to for her. She would always be traumatized at the idea of Owen leaving her again, which was why Bethany was reluctant about taking him on a mission to defeat Nobody. Ms. Conners would probably kill her if she found out Owen was missing again.
"Hey, Mom!" Owen said with a smile. "Me and Bethany are just hanging out."
"Oh. Alright." She looked a bit anxious, but she smiled. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be working later tonight, so you'll have to order in some food. Pizza . . . Chinese . . . whatever you want. Are you okay to walk home with Bethany?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. It's a short walk."
"Okay. I'll see you later tonight."
She walked away, leaving Bethany and Owen alone in their own thoughts. At this point, they could understand and read each other quite well, so they didn't need to ask what the other was thinking. They knew just by the feeling that hung in the air. And as for Bethany, she felt guilty.
"Owen —" she began.
He shot her a look. "Stop. It isn't your fault that Nobody threw me into that book."
"But it is!" she protested. "Your mom is always afraid you're going to run away again, because of what Nobody did — what I did. If we hadn't gone into the Doc Twilight comic books then everything would be fine. My stupid, reckless attitude ruined everything, and I wasn't smart enough about it. I know you blame me for it. I can practically hear you thinking it! If I had just stopped jumping into books, we wouldn't have had this problem. Nobody wouldn't have gotten so powerful, I wouldn't have been separated, and you wouldn't have been in that book for three years! And Kiel —" Her voice caught in her throat. "Kiel lost his magic because of me. He got captured by Nobody because of me! And he had to create another link to the real world because I let Nobody split me apart! So just admit that you're done with being my friend because you know what? That's what I deserve."
She hadn't realized she had started crying, and the library had gone utterly silent. Owen was staring at her with wide, horrified eyes. Shaking her head, she slammed her palms on the table and stood from her chair, quickly scooping up her backpack.
"Bethany! Wait!" She had sprinted halfway across the library when Owen caught up to her, grabbing her by the hand.
"What?" she demanded, attempting to yank her hand away. Tears streamed down her face.
"Stop blaming yourself every time something goes wrong! You know why you kept jumping into books? To find your dad. And you found him, because of how determined you were! Without you jumping into books, we wouldn't have become friends —"
"Yes we would've."
"The only reason I wanted to be your friend in the first place was because you could jump into books."
She laughed, choking back a sob. She didn't know how much she had to hear this from someone else until now.
"Also, we wouldn't have become friends with Kiel, or Gwen, or Charm." He smiled a little at the last part, making Bethany wonder if he still had feelings for her. "Book-jumping is your entire life. Nobody is just some villain who wants control of the fictional world. It isn't your fault. It isn't."
"But it always feels like it is." Bethany's voice came out more like a whimper, and she wanted to yank her hand away and run out the door. She wanted to run forever until the sun set and rose again the next day. But she didn't.
She allowed herself to be pulled into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around Owen. She rested her head on his shoulder, slightly leaning over since she was a few inches taller than him now. Emotions welled up inside her: anger, frustration, depression, sadness. They had been bottled up for so long, and they poured out through her tears. She cried as silently as she could, but she couldn't suppress the wracking shudders that went through her body each time she took a breath.
"It isn't your fault," he said again, rubbing her back. "All of us make mistakes."
At his words, she held onto him tighter, silently thanking him for being such an amazing friend. Bethany wanted to believe him, but she didn't know how. Her whole life seemed to be mistakes, one after the other. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of her. Everything that had happened to her father and her friends was because of her jumping into books.
When her crying fit was over, she pulled away from Owen, wiping her nose on her sleeve. His eyebrows were scrunched, and there was a frown on his face.
"Let's get going," she said, her voice shaky.
"Are you sure?"
Bethany nodded numbly, but it was a lie. She was far from okay. She felt so depressed that her entire heart might burst. She couldn't help but think that everything she had done up until now was her fault. The only thing that made her feel better was the thought of defeating Nobody, the villain who had taken her friends and memories away. And once it was over, she would finally bring her dad home, and she would vow to never lose sight of him again.
Owen nodded, mirroring her expression. He led her outside, and they both walked through the sliding doors, staring at their feet. "What I said wasn't completely true. We didn't have to jump into books to become friends, you know."
Bethany looked at him, sniffing loudly. A small smile grew on her face. "Of course we didn't. I have no idea why I never wanted to be your friend before. It would've been nice to have someone for those years after my fourth birthday party."
He smiled back. "Hey — I just had a great idea. Do you want to jump into Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Maybe grab some candy? It would be good to take our minds off of this Nobody stuff. Ooh, or can we swim in the chocolate river? I've always wanted to do that!"
Bethany pointed a finger at him. "You are not swimming in that chocolate river. But sure. It's been a while since I've jumped into a book for fun."
Owen grinned, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes! Let me just text my mom. I'll tell her I'm stopping by your house to hang out or something. Who knows how long we'll be in there — eating free candy, no less!"
She laughed. The idea did sound tempting. And it would definitely distract her from her worries. She didn't know why, but all of the sudden, she felt like things would be okay. She'd have a nice break, and then tonight she would go see Mason Black, then hopefully would defeat Nobody all by herself.
Bethany patted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, I give in. As long as we don't interfere with the main characters or change the story. I don't want to deal with more than we've already been dealing with."
Owen laughed, and so did she. Although, for entirely different reasons. "After everything we've been through, I thought you were past all your rules."
Her laugh died in her throat. "If you think I'm past that, you're dead wrong. We still have to be careful."
"But wasn't it you who became friends with Gwen, a main character of her series?" Owen crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow. Despite his attempts to look serious, a smile fought its way to his face.
"That's different," Bethany protested, her face heating up at the mention of Gwen. "I needed her help when we went to Jupiter City to face the Dark. Her series didn't change at all, since it was at the end of her books." Then she smirked. "But wasn't it you who practically threw yourself all over Charm, who is also a main character of a book series?"
Owen blushed crimson, quickly looking away. "Bethany! That's crazy! I didn't throw myself —"
She hit him in the shoulder. "Relax. I'm kidding! Actually, not really. You do have a huge crush on her. Well . . . at least you did. You still do, right?"
"Yeah, of course I do," he muttered, kicking a pebble with his shoe. His face was still bright red, and his head was hung low in embarrassment.
"What about Kara?"
Owen's head perked up, and he looked her in the eyes. "What about her?"
She shrugged. "I don't know . . . when I was reading Pick The Plot, I got the idea that maybe you liked he—"
"NO!" Owen shouted loudly in her ear, making her jump. "Let's, um, not talk about anything you may have read in that specific book, okay? Do you know how messed up that is? That isn't cool. You were reading my mind."
She couldn't help but smile. "Owen, I already read your mind even without the book. I know you well enough that I can sense when you're going to mess up in a book." She had meant it jokingly, as a way to ease the conversation, but her statement seemed to make everything worse.
If it was possible, Owen crossed his arms tighter over his chest. "I don't mess everything up," he whispered, staring at the sidewalk again.
Then, she realized her mistake. She remembered what she had read in Pick The Plot. All of Owen's insecurities were laid out, in page form. She never realized that she could relate to him until then, because contrary to popular belief, Owen had negative thoughts about himself, just like Bethany did. But she would never understand the depth of what he'd been through, and she felt bad about that. He was her best friend, and she wanted him to have more confidence in himself.
Bethany reached over and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that. It's not true." He gave her a surprised look, and she sighed, forcing a smile. "How about some Willy Wonka?"
Owen returned the smile, making her feel a bit better about things. She didn't want to mention anything about her being scared to jump into books, but as long as her best friend was with her when she did it, she didn't think it'd seem so bad.
"You're my all and more. But I need room to breathe, yeah . . ."