Disclaimer: These characters belong the Oxen Free game and to Night School Studio.

Hello everyone, I'm back and writing some Oxen Free this time. Let me just say there will be some pairings in this story but I won't say who (I think it's better if there's a little bit of surprise).

Youtube channel: Feedingfrenzy91

Alex lay in her bed. Ren lay next to her. The two had been gazing at the ceiling for at least 5 minutes. It had been 4 months since the island experience and yet the two couldn't quite get it out of their mind.

In truth it was a once in a lifetime event… or at least Alex believed it was. Part of her felt like the entire thing had been one big moment of déjà vu. Even the sunken seemed to have known her. Their first interaction was "Oh it's you, again." It was like they knew her. Then again they were ghost so maybe they had some supernatural way of telling who she was.

Only God truly knows. She thought to herself.

"Still thinking about it huh?" Ren asked beside her.

"Yeah, you?" She asked back.

"Nah, I'm thinking about Nona."

"Of course you are."

Alex Sighed, Ren was nothing if not single minded. He had been thinking about Nona ever since she left for Art school about a month prior.

"Think she's thinking about me?" He asked.

"Not a chance." Alex quickly replied. "She's probably drawing some hot naked male model as we speak."

"Yup, and thinking about me the whole time." Ren slyly replied.

Alex gave him a slight shove with her elbow.

"Tomorrow's the big day." He said.

"Yeah, you told me like three times already." Replied Alex.

"I'm just so excited to see her again after all this time."

"It's been a month."

"It's felt like a year."

Alex sighed again. There was no calming Ren down. Tomorrow he would get on a plane and God willing be with Nona for the weekend. Might as well let him be excited.

"Big brother entering… better make yourselves decent." Michael said as he came through the door.

Normally Alex would jump whenever she saw Michael again, but in the last few months she had gotten used to him being… well alive.

"You realize if you were any other guy I would have to punch his teeth in right?" Michael said as he neared the bed.

"Good thing I didn't give you a reason to." Ren Replied.

"Yeah, he had his chance and blew it." Said Alex.

"What?" Michael asked as he plopped onto the bed next to Ren.

"In 5th grade." Alex continued."

"That doesn't count." Interjected Ren."

"What doesn't count?" Michael asked. His body going closer and closer over the boy lieing in bed next to his little sister.

"Nothing, it was just a kiss." Ren told him.

"You kissed her!?" Replied Michael as he grabbed Ren and put him in a head lock.

"It wasn't like that." Ren pleaded.

"You threw up on me." Said Alex as she watched the two boys go at it.

"Okay this is getting weird." Michael said after releasing Ren.

"It was weird alright." Said Ren as he caught his breath.

"Listen back in 5th grade…" Alex began. "…Ren and I both had never kissed anyone, so we decided to try it out, but immediately after the kiss Ren let loose his lunch all over my shirt."

"I was just nervous that's all. It was my first time." Said Ren.

"It was mine too…" Alex responder. "…and imagine the memory of your first kiss being soiled almost as bad as my shirt was that day."

"This is greatness." Michael commented.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

"What was that?" Asked Alex as she rose from the bed.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

"Sounds like it's coming from the attic." Michael answered.

By now all three had rose from the bed and began making their way to where the sound originated.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

The sound was getting louder.

"Must be a raccoon or a squirrel or something." Said Michael as they approached the attic entrance.

"I am brave!" Ren exclaimed "I shall be the one to take on the intruder!"

"Thanks, but I think I got this." Replied Michael as he pulled on the rope and let the ladder to the attic down.

"Thanks, you wouldn't believe how difficult that is to do from the other side."

Alex didn't recognize the voice, but she did see a man begin to descend down the stairs and head straight for Michael, who had leapt back surprised.

"What!?" Michael Shouted. "Who are… what are you doing in our house!?"

"Relax," the stranger replied. "I'm here to help."

"Alex call the police!" Michael screamed at her.

"Don't bother." Said the strange man. "I won't be here that long."

Michael stood in front of Alex, who had yet to move. Ren did the same.

"Who are you!?" Ren asked. Alex could tell he was trying to sound brave but his voice cracked slightly as the words left his mouth.

"Doesn't matter." The stranger replied. "What matters is what I can do for you."

"Either get out our house or we'll call the cops!" Michael shouted at him. The man seemed unfazed by the threat.

"Perhaps I should start over. I am here to help you with your island problem." He said.

Alex felt a sharp tingling in her spine. "How do you know about the island?" She asked. "Are you one of them?"

"Oh no." He responded. "I'm just someone who is able to help you."

"Help us with what!?" Michael exclaimed. "It's over."

"No, it is not." The man responded. "It hasn't been over since she opened the source."

"But I closed it." Replied Alex.

"Yes, for now." The stranger said.

"Enough of this. Tell us who you are or…" Michael began but was cut off by the man in front of him.

"I know, I know you'll call the cops. Listen if you want to know the truth then meet me tomorrow at Mia's all Italian cuisine. The one by Ren's house."

And with that he turned and headed back up the stairs.

"Wait!" Shouted Ren. "How do you know where I live?"

"At 2:00pm." Was the only thing the stranger said before he disappeared back into the ceiling.

Michael walked up the ladder cautiously, and looked around. He then turned back the Alex and Ren.

"He's gone." Michael said as he came down and retracted the ladder thus closing the attic once more.

Alex contemplated what had just happened.

"No!" Michael said firmly as he walked up to her.

"No, wha…" She began but Michael cut her off.

"You are not going to meet him tomorrow." He told her.

"I have to."

"Why?" Asked Michael.

"He knew about the island, not to mention he just appeared and disappeared in our attic. Maybe he can help."

"Help with what?" Michael questioned.

"What if he's right about the source. What if I didn't really close it?" She asked Michael.

"It doesn't matter." He replied. "We're never going back to that island."

"What if they can affect us whether we're on the island or not?" She asked him.

"Have we been affected since we left that place? No." Michael responded.

"I've had some pretty scary dreams about it." Butted in Ren.

"You have pretty scary dreams about your neighbors' chi Wawa." Michael darted back at him.

"Hey that dog is freaky!" Shouted Ren.

"Guys!" Alex screamed causing them both to turn to her. "I have to know, if the sunken are still out there I have to know. I'm going!"

"Then I'm coming with you." Michael firmly stated.

"You can't you have that job interview tomorrow." She stated.

"I can miss that." He replied.

"No, you can't!" She snapped back. "This is your dream job."

"And you're my sister!"

"But I'm not helpless!"

Michael paced around the hallway for a moment. He was obviously frustrated with how she had reacted. Alex knew he was just trying to protect her, but she also knew if she didn't meet with that guy tomorrow she'd regret it. She was going even if it meant by herself.

"Ren can you go with her?" Michael asked finally.

"I'm heading on a plane to see Nona in the morning. Definitely have to tell her about the mystery man in the attic. Hmm… that'd make an interesting book title." Replied Ren.

"Alex please…" Michael began

"I'm going!" She shouted at him before he could finish.

"Fine!" Michael shouted back. "but at least don't go alone. There has to be someone you can get to go with you."

Alex thought to herself.

She didn't have to think very long.

She knew just the one.

The restaurant was surprisingly empty. Usually they'd be packed for lunch right about now. Alex wasn't sure why there was only a few people here, but it was nice.

The restaurant had been there for over nearly 70 years. It held the record for oldest restaurant in the entire town.

Despite it's age the owners were constantly updating the place. Alex's mom always said that erased the Italian feel, but Alex liked it. She felt the more modern feel differentiated the place from basically every other Italian restaurant she'd been to.

"Hey there." A familiar voice said.

She looked up to see Jonas.

"Hey, thanks for coming." She replied as he took the seat in front of her.

"So, has he shown up yet?" He asked.

"Not yet." She replied.

"Who is this guy anyway?" Asked Jonas.

"He just showed up in my Attic, then disappeared." She replied.

"Sounds about right." Answered Jonas.

"We've seen stranger things." Alex Affirmed.

"So should we order something or…?" Jonas asked but Alex wasn't focused on him.

"So you showed up." Said the man from the Attic.

Jonas turned to his left. Alex hadn't noticed him come in, but then again just appearing places seemed to be his forte.

"This him?" Jonas asked.

"Jonas right?" said the man. "Nice to meet the dynamic duo."

"Dynamic duo?" Asked Jonas.

"Wait, that wasn't this time around now was it?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Alex.

"You know what, this will all be easier if I just show you." Said the man. "Follow me."

The man turned and headed for the door.

"Should we follow him or…?" Jonas asked.

Alex stood up.

"This is why we came."

Jonas felt slightly uneasy. The man had lead them to the side of the restaurant and simply stood with one hand pointed seemingly at nothing.

"Sometimes it takes a few seconds, it'll be up soon." The man said.

"What will be up soon?" Asked Jonas.

"You'll see." Was all he got in response?

"Who are you anyway?" Jonas asked.

"Name's Leon." The man replied without taking his eyes off… whatever he was focusing on.

"Are you one of them?" Asked Jonas.

"One of who?" came the reply.

"We've already been over this." Alex butted in. "He says he's not one of those things."

"Then ho…" Jonas started but stopped as he began to see what Leon was doing. Right in front of Leon's hand some kind of passage way began to open. It appeared to be a small light at first, but got larger and larger within a few seconds, until it seemed big enough to walk through.

"What is that?" Jonas Asked.

"She knows." Replied Leon. He was referring to Alex.

"Where does it go?" was all Alex asked.

"To a place where I can show you your past choices." He responded. "And not just the ones made in this timeline."

"What do you mean by this timeline? I don't understand any of this." Jonas said frustrated.

"You will, if you enter. The choice is yours. I'm going in and you can choose to follow or not." Said Leon. And with that he entered the vortex.

Alex began to move but Jonas caught her by the arm.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"I'm not sure about anything." She answered. "But like I said in the restaurant. This is why we came."

Jonas looked at the vortex then back at Alex. He nodded. Then she grabbed his hand and the two of them, entered the passageway together.

The other side didn't look like Alex expected it to. She thought she would see the USS Kanaloa like the last time she had entered a vortex, but this was more like a hall of mirrors.

But instead of seeing her reflection she saw herself at different moments on the island. Not just her, but all the others as well. However, something was off about the images she saw. Many of them were choices she didn't remember making. Some seemed to be the same situation but would lead to different outcomes. One even was a picture of them on the boat, but Clarissa was suspiciously absent.

"What are these?" Jonas asked next to her.

"They are your choices." Answered Leon.

"We didn't make all these choices." Said Alex.

"But, you did, just not in the most recent loop."

"What do you mean by loop?" Asked Jonas.

"Well a time loop i…" Leon began. "…Actually this will be so much easier if I just restore your memories. Now stay still this may sting a bit."

"Restore our memories?" Alex asked.

"Sting… What ar.. ArghHHhhhhhhHhHh!"

January 23, 1943

"USS apoka you are cleared for docking." Maggie said over the radio. The response was an all-clear form the captain"

It would be the last call Maggie made that day. It was finally time to go home. These triple shifts had been killing her. Just as she began to stretch out on her chair, her replacement walked in.

"Having a nice relaxing day are we?" Anna asked.

"Shut up, and get on the radio." Replied Maggie.

Anna was quick to do so.

"Any contacts from the Kanaloa" She asked Maggie.

"No, Henry didn't' contact me." Maggie replied as she grabbed her coat and prepared to leave.

"I didn't say anything about Henry." Replied Anne.

"You didn't have to." Came the reply.

With that Maggie headed out the door and onto the sidewalk. Her home was only a short walk away. In truth her legs felt good walking after mostly sitting down for 18 hours. The blood was circulating again.

"Nice night isn't it?" Asked a male voice to her left.

Maggie jumped slightly. She looked to her left, to see a young man in uniform, but he didn't belong to this base.

"Leon!?" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Just relaying a message." He responded.

"Where'd you even come from?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, over yonder." He said not really showing any specific place.

Maggie let out a sigh. "Well come on then, no good if someone sees you out here with me." She said finally.

"Of course, better to be as discrete as possible I suppose."

Present day

Alex grabbed her head. It was still pounding. It felt like someone had jabbed a needle in it and just kept pushing, but her head didn't pop.

"Alex!" Jonas screamed only causing her further pain. "Are you okay?"

"Not even close." Alex responded. "Please stop screaming."

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

Suddenly Alex began to feel relief. Her head began to shrink inwardly and the pain gradually went away. The feeling made her dizzy however and she collapsed slightly. Jonas caught her though.

"Alex!" He once again shouted, but it wasn't as bad this time.

"Sorry about that." Said Leon from in front of them. "I forgot there were so many memories."

"What did you even do?" Jonas asked him.

"Just give it a minute." He replied. "Take a deep breath and try to tell me what you remember."

Alex thought to herself. At first all the memories were sort of muddled together, but as time went on they formed a more coherent pattern.

"I…" She began but stopped.

"Take your time." Leon encouraged her. "What do you remember?"

Alex took a deep breath and then she spoke.

"Everything. I remember everything."

Thank you all who made it to the end.

May God bless you all.