October 4, 2015 – Sunday, Morning – Sunny

"Allie, how are you doing on finding F.Z. on Visage?" Lydia texted Allie as she laid down on her bed. After a moment of looking out the window to see a white car pass by, Allie responded with,

"I found the people on her list, but none of them mention her anywhere. All their posts are about other things, and I've been looking as far back as I can. I don't know what to make of this – the only reason I can think of is that F.Z. deleted her account with the Deep Wipe option enabled, which would've removed any instance of her profile from showing up in others' posts, and forgot she did so." Lydia sighed. No one really understood how F.Z.'s memory loss truly worked; somehow she remembered she had a Visage account, but apparently she didn't get back the memory of herself deleting it.

"Let me know when you're finished. We'll go tell her what happened."

"Okay. By the way, I thought you were going to stay in the valley."

"I didn't want to wait. Time moves more slowly here than it does over there, remember?"

"Yeah, you're right. Well, I'm done now. Let's go." Lydia went back into the valley and found F.Z. sharpening a piece of quartz with her fingernails. Allie arrived a few seconds later, still holding her pen and notepad.

"So? What'd you find?" F.Z. asked. Allie glanced at Lydia, and decided that she was going to speak first.

"Are you sure you didn't remember deleting your account? I found the people you were talking about, but there isn't a single mention of you anywhere. Either you never talked to them, or you got rid of your account using the option that removes all traces of your profile from the site and you forgot." F.Z. rolled her eyes and flung the piece of quartz away.

"You've got to be shitting me. Why is it so damn hard to find my own fucking name? And why would I delete my account? I don't put up with other people's shit, and it's not like I would've done something illegal or whatever to get my account deleted by Visage. That doesn't sound like something I would've done." Allie looked down at her notepad, making circles around the names with her pen.

"Well... it's also possible someone hacked into your account and deleted it – but there's no way to prove who did it or if it was even what actually happened." F.Z. crossed her arms, looking over at Lydia and softening her expression.

"Do you have any idea what's going on, Lydia?" Lydia shook her head.

"I'm as clueless as Allie is. I guess we'll just have to wait until the next Idol shows up so we can defeat it and gain some more of your memories back. Hopefully there'll be something we can work with still in the back of your mind." F.Z. clicked her tongue, formed a piece of quartz in one hand, and opened a portal for the girls.

"Yeah, I hope so. Thanks for trying, anyway. I'll see you two whenever."

October 5, 2015 – Monday, Early Morning – Sunny

Lydia and Gerald said little to each other on the way to school. Gerald had decided to listen to his own music, his earbuds creating a wall of sound that Lydia couldn't pierce except by shouting. When they got to school, Gerald took his things and went off on his own without saying a word to his sister.

Well, looks like I got what I wanted... just not how I wanted it. The silence would be so much sweeter if he wasn't still mad at me. It's just awkward and tedious knowing he won't at least say something to me.

As she approached the entrance she always used, she saw Jacob waiting by the door for her. He had been listening to music and pulled out his earbuds when she got close enough to him.

"Lydia. Hey." He put the music player away in his pocket and opened the door for her.

"Thanks. How are you doing?" The two of the began to walk down the hall.

"I'm... okay. Sort of thinking about what I'm supposed to do with myself now." Jacob looked over at her. They were pretty much the same height at around five feet and three inches and Jacob was pencil-thin, which was one of the reasons Lydia and the others had thought he was a freshman.

"You mean about Lana?" Lydia asked. Jacob sighed briefly, and nodded.

"I went and faced my Idol, and that helped a lot, but it still hurts. It hasn't actually made the pain go away. I... you and the others are the only ones that understand me. Most other people, they still see me as this shorty, this artsy wimpy guy who doesn't know how to keep a girlfriend. They wonder what she ever saw in me." He glanced at the spot that he remembered waiting for Lana at when she told him to meet her at this entrance; she had hitched a ride with one of her friends since her truck had refused to start that day and said she was going to show up at the east entrance. As he remembered, he had actually seen Lydia that day too, talking to one of the fundamentalist Christian girls that came here.

"It's not like I can show them what you guys saw. I did better than guys like me usually do! I had a girlfriend! It's not my fault I can't drive yet." Jacob glared at an imaginary person standing against the wall.

"You shouldn't let other people determine your self-worth. Listen, Jacob – you're the only one at this school that knows anything about... my past." Lydia looked around to see if anyone was listening. There were a few other people in the hallway, but they were all focused on their own things – looking at phones, talking to their friends, or studying notes.

"I don't feel comfortable talking about it in the open. We should go to the library." She walked down the hall and led Jacob to the school library, where she could see a few people at the tables looking over their notes or reading books.

She looked over at the brown-haired librarian – the one that Damien had mentioned was his boss, Ms. Reed. One of the words that he had used to describe her was "emo", a word that she wasn't sure fit the thirty-something behind the counter. She was on the computer, looking with a half-lidded expression at whatever was on her screen. She wore a black polo shirt, had multiple piercings on her ears, and wore dark makeup around her eyes. She didn't bother to even glance at the two of them as they came in.

She's a little different-looking from the other staff, but she's not exactly what I think of when I hear the word 'emo'. She's certainly not like a couple of the students who come here, at any rate.

Lydia turned her attention to one of the tables towards the back of the library. She led Jacob there and sat across from him.

"What I was going to say is... I know what it's like to have everyone's eyes on you, to have people never leave you alone. You remember what I told you, right?" She stopped, not wanting to voice it out loud again if she didn't have to. Jacob nodded.

"Well... the police filed it as an accident. It was an accident. But that didn't really matter too much; because I didn't try to stop him from going on the rapids that day – because I willingly joined him, it was partially my fault that he died. The people of my hometown never let me forget that, and I think it was half the reason we left – the other half being that my dad took a really good job in Houston. It stopped being really bad once I got into high school, but every time the anniversary of that day would come around, people would shy away from talking to me for a while. I was always going to be the girl that could've prevented Alex's death and chose not to." She had looked at her fingernails most of the time she was speaking, and only looked up at Jacob when she was done speaking to gauge his reaction. He looked sad, as if he was imagining what it would have been like.

"Oh. I'm sorry you had to deal with that for so long... how did you deal with it?" He asked. Lydia took a moment to think of a response.

"I just... at first, I kept trying to tell the people I went to school with that it wasn't my fault, that while we were stupid for going that far down the rapids alone, neither of us meant to put each other in harm's way. I kept trying to push people away, but all that did was draw more and more attention to myself. My parents and Gerald, they were the only ones that really believed me at first. I remember that my dad told me about how even though I'll never forget what happened, it was better for me to focus on my future instead of my past. My mom told me about how poisonous gossip was, that it made old wounds fester long after they should've closed up. Together they taught me how not to let other people's views of me hold me back." Jacob saw how she looked up and past him, probably remembering those days as if they'd happened only yesterday. There was really something special about this girl, he knew it – which meant that she was definitely someone he had to get to know better.

"Do you think you could teach me that, too?" Lydia blinked. She looked back down at him and saw him beginning to lean forward towards her, as if he was itching to get started right away. All the lessons her parents had taught her in the last four years weren't exactly written down in a twelve-step plan or anything...

"Sure. I can try, though I don't know how much of it will make sense since your situation's different from mine." Jacob smiled, and nodded.

"That's fine! I just need to know I'll have your support. I know there's stuff about me that needs to get better, but I don't want to have to change who I am to be happy." He said. Lydia heard the sound of shattering glass and saw the world around her come to a standstill again. Yet another tarot card appeared in front of her, this one probably the most obvious one since F.Z.'s Moon Arcana: the picture of the sun against a pink background, with the Roman numeral for the number nineteen at the bottom.

Thou art I... and I am thou...

Thou hast established a new bond...

In thee, the Beholder's sight grows ever clearer...

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Sun Arcana...

Jacob's Arcana is the Sun. It's... supposed to be symbolic of joy, optimism, and happiness. He definitely seems optimistic about becoming a better person, and considering how many paintings in his dungeon were of Lana, he was probably really happy with her, at least for a while.

The card disappeared and time resumed its normal flow. The warning bell rang in the background, prompting Lydia to get up from her seat.

"Guess we gotta get going." Jacob said, standing up and putting his seat back in its original spot. The two of them made for the entrance along with the other students in the library.

"Hey, we should all hang out sometime. I know the group's all busy with their own activities, but the only time we're all together outside of school is when we're doing QIB stuff." Lydia glanced at Ms. Reed, who was watching all the students leave with narrowed eyes, as if she was grateful that they were all going away.

"That's not true. Sometimes we go to the Halborne Mall to get new clothes. Well... okay, technically that's also QIB-related because of the enchantments, but it's not the only reason we go there. You're right, though. We do need to do something normal as a group again." Jacob nodded. Once they got to the stairs, Jacob stayed on the second floor and watched Lydia go down.

"Well, I'll see you later! Have a good day, Lydia!"

"You too!"

Monday, After School – Sunny

"So, Lydia. How are you doing today?" Lydia turned around to see that Carla was once again speaking to her alone, after everyone else on the dance team had left for the day.

"Okay. And you?" Carla shrugged, running a hand through her dyed red hair.

"Same as you, okay. Heard anything from Dawn lately?" Lydia rolled her eyes, which Carla saw and smirked in response to.

"Nothing you probably haven't heard already. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. I get a kick out of the bullshit she comes up with, so I thought maybe she'd have said something interesting to you. Guess she's finally starting to learn that you're not gonna budge. You're pretty firmly on my side now." Lydia watched Carla's dark brown eyes focus intently on her, like it was a look of possession. She was testing her, trying to see what her response was going to be.

Another move in this game of theirs. I'm starting to get fed up with being treated like just another piece on a chessboard. I still don't understand what Carla's motives truly are. I want some answers.

"I'm not on anyone's side, Carla. Why are you so interested in me, anyway? Is it just because I'm new to the school? Why spend time after practice talking to me when you could be doing anything else? Have you talked to any of the others on the team like you've talked to me?" Carla raised her eyebrows, still smiling. She certainly didn't seem displeased that she was being questioned, but since she didn't respond, Lydia continued.

"I don't really want to be a piece in your chess game. I'd like to think that what you said to me when we first met about us being friends is true, I really would. I just need to know what I am to you. Am I your friend, or not?" Carla crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly. Her smile faded.

"It's because you say things like that. I don't think I've met anyone that has your perspective on things. Yeah, at first it was like you said, interest in the new girl. I wanted to see if you'd start something, or if you'd just be another team member I didn't have to worry about. I figured a girl from the boonies would've tried to be all peace, love, and harmony with everybody, but you didn't do that. You showed up, did what you're supposed to, and left without really making anything other than small talk with the rest of the team, like you had better things to do. That got my attention. You know what else got my attention?" She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips.

"I heard that you stayed behind to console my enemy after I'd laid into her. Dawn told someone in my network, which of course meant it got back to me. That was when I knew that yeah, you didn't give a damn about who was right or wrong. You did what you wanted to anyway. You weren't scared of us. Normally, that would mean I'd bury you – do whatever I could to make your life hell, so that you wouldn't be a threat to me anymore. But you don't care about how you look to the other girls, or the guys, or pretty much anybody. You aren't interested in taking my place, in being popular – I've heard about your friends. You hang out with that nerdy chick Allie and her not-boyfriend Damien, with Nathan even though he quit the football team, and now you're even talking to Lana's ex-boyfriend Jacob even though he's a loser. It's like you're... above it all somehow, and now that you've confirmed that for me by saying you're on no one's side, I can say with confidence that yeah, you and I are friends." Lydia now felt that even though Carla had just answered all her questions, what she said only raised even more questions than before.

"Really? So the only reason you're not bullying me is because I don't care about being popular, because I don't want to 'take your place?' Since I'm not your enemy, that makes me your friend? I would've thought that me hanging out with a bunch of people not in the 'in crowd' would've made me a loser, too."

"I feel like you assume I'm like those cheerleader bitches on TV. I'm real, Lydia. In the real world, people don't act like they do on TV. I do care about people trying to get ahead of me, and I'll do whatever I have to in order to stay ahead. But you're not even running the same race as me. I hate the idea of wasting time and resources fighting people that aren't a threat to me. My parents taught me that if I want to be successful, I have to be able to understand other people, know how they work so I can take what they teach me and use it to further myself. I respect you because you don't put up with people's shit, just like me – except you have different priorities. I want to see for myself what those priorities are. You and I are both busy with our own stuff, so we don't have very many opportunities to hang out together – but now that we've leveled with each other, I'm willing to make some time if you are." Carla pulled out her phone from her purse, opened a new contact on it, and gave it to Lydia.

"Here. Give me your phone and we'll exchange phone numbers." Lydia looked around for her bag and retrieved her phone from it, giving it to Carla and putting her number in her phone. The girls got their phones back and Carla turned around to leave.

"Maybe we can go to the mall together this week. I've been dying to check out the new arrivals at Everlasting, and I'm curious as to what your style's really like. I'm gonna go. I'll text you sometime." She left the changing room. Lydia looked down at Carla's contact info in her phone and shook her head softly.

She's something else. She says her parents taught her that understanding others is important, and yet she doesn't seem to- well, no. No, I actually think she does understand that she bullies others to put herself above them. She never said that she was taught to be nice to the people she was trying to understand – she probably thinks most people have nothing to offer and because I'm different, that makes me worthy of her respect since I apparently have something to teach her. She doesn't like any of my friends, but what she doesn't know is that she and Jacob have something in common – that they are both looking to understand something from me.

Lydia left the changing room and noticed that Dawn wasn't in the practice room today. She didn't feel like speculating about where the other girl was, and instead turned to look at herself in one of the many large mirrors on the wall. Now that the cold front had come and gone, the weather had warmed up to where it was now comfortable for her to wear skirts again. The past few days had made her feel like wearing something that stood out, and so she had decided to wear all white with the exception of her blue hair ribbon – a white sleeveless top, a white pleated skirt, and a pair of white flats that she hadn't worn in months. The outfit was probably worthy of being enchanted, now that she thought about it.

She watched her reflection stare back at her. It blinked when she blinked, breathed when she breathed, moved its head when she did. For some people, many of which she knew personally, it was in doing these normal, ordinary things that their idealized selves replaced their reflections, drawing them into the valley and pitting them face to face with their Idols.

I have one too, don't I? Everyone has an image of what they think the best version of themselves is, and the valley takes hold of that and makes it into an Idol. But because of Philemon, I can look into mirrors all I want and I will never see that other self replace me. I'm special, aren't I? I'm the girl who lived, the girl who leads a troop of people who fight with their other selves against something that's out to corrupt people using their own perceptions of themselves.

Why do I do this? Why did I agree to become the Beholder? Because if I hadn't, I would've been drawn into the valley and forced to face my Idol with no help? When Philemon saw the future, did he see me give into my Idol and decided that was unacceptable? He could've saved Lynne instead, protected her from her Idol and made her the Beholder so she would never have started Sycophanta, but he chose me. Was it because... in that other future, me giving into my Idol means I become the leader of Sycophanta instead, and for some reason or other am so good at it that no one can stop me?

I don't know. I have no idea what's really going on, and I have no clue how I would contact Philemon again to ask him. Perhaps... I should ask Igor. If anyone would know how to get ahold of him, it'd be his servant, right?

At that moment, a blue door came into being in front of her, seemingly replacing the mirror she had been looking into. It was another door to the Velvet Room, the one that Igor had promised would come when she needed it. Lydia nodded, walked forward, and went inside.

When she entered, she looked up to see Igor's ever-present grin once again, his wide-eyed stare on her as before. Victor was standing next to him as always, and bowed to her as she looked to him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. How may we be of assistance to you today?" The golden-eyed attendant said to her. Lydia looked at Igor and said,

"That door I was looking for finally showed up at my school. You were right, it came to me when I needed it most. I have to ask you something, Igor. Do you know how to contact Philemon?" Igor closed his eyes for a moment. He spoke as he opened them up again, saying,

"My master works deep from the space between dream and reality. He is freely able to move between the two, but he is the one who chooses when and where to go. He is, of course, always aware of what is going on with you; however, I cannot say what will cause him to speak to you directly." Lydia looked down at the table, disappointed.

"You can't tell me... because you're not allowed to, or because you honestly don't know?" She asked.

"I am but merely his servant, my dear guest. His will is beyond my understanding. However, do not fret. I can sense the many questions that weigh heavily upon your mind, and though the aid my assistant and I can offer you is limited, I can assure you that the answers to your questions do exist, and that you will find them as long as you continue to search." Lydia was silent as she took in Igor's words. She glanced at Victor, who had been nodding along in approval.

"If I may, I think this is one thing that perhaps you and I have in common, Lydia. We are both possessed of a desire to search for answers about the things that were thrust upon us. I would like to remind you that I am still able to leave this room and experience your world – I will be able to explain more about the similarity then. In any case, would you like to make use of our services?" Lydia shook her head.

"Maybe later. There's a lot I need to think about right now, and I don't feel like doing fusions or enchantments. Victor, I'll take you up on your offer – not now, but soon." She got up from the chair and made for the exit.

"As you wish, then. We look forward to seeing you again."

When Lydia left the room, she turned around and saw that it was indeed still there, in the middle of the array of mirrors in the practice room. As she was thinking that it was going to be a nuisance to have it block her view during practice, the door turned completely transparent, its color and glow disappearing with only its outlines remaining.

That works. So, I can't talk to Philemon directly unless he wants to, but he's always with me, which means he can hear what I'm saying in my head. Philemon, when we do get a chance to speak face-to-face again, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. Until then... I guess I should thank you for keeping me safe from my Idol. It's not something I want to think about too much. I already do enough thinking as it is.

A/N: Five weeks since the last update. For a while I had had trouble figuring out where to go next, and I had both my birthday and Thanksgiving to contend with last month, which slowed down progress even further. If you haven't seen it yet, I started an offshoot of this story called All the Myriad Ways, which is meant to hold the other alternate timelines, viewpoints, and other stuff that doesn't fit nicely into the main story. Want to see what some of the plot points from this story would be like if Alexander was the protagonist, not Lydia? Go check it out!

SakuraDreamerz - A plot twist? Hm, I wonder what you came up with...

October Autumn - Don't make me spoil the story ahead of time, lol. I always thought Shadow Yu would have served well as a bonus boss. Kind of like Margaret, but without the instant-kill Megidolaon.