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Author's Note

5/11/2021: New chapter.

Yep, so turns out I discovered this lovely VN recently as of the publishing date and was instantly floored by the concept, premise, characters, pretty much everything. As such, I couldn't help myself but write up a scenario for a concept I found immensely captivating. I think my previous works speak for themselves, but I have an unhealthy relationship with time manipulation and this fandom strikes at it in a very believable way.

Any who, about the actual fic. I'm not going to lie, I'm not quite sure how I'm going about this or if I'll stick with it. Either way, I aim to make this enjoyable for anyone that stumbles upon this relatively small fandom.

Also, this has True Ending (and Secret Ending) spoilers for readers who stumble here with only one or two playthroughs. Stop right here if you wish to avoid. Otherwise, continue on, you have been warned.

-`.'-

Return to Sender

-`.'-

Data Entry, [ERROR: REMOTE CON. OFFLINE]

I'm writing this in hopes it'll resolve something.

The Chicxulub Asteroid is about to make contact and we're just about ready to close off the portal for good. We managed to get the majority of the dragons through the portal to live in our present time, all safe and sound. However, I refuse to believe this is the best course of action. Sorry for using my sociology credentials here, but Izumi definitely didn't consider the cultural tensions of dragonkind and humanity. They're similar to be sure, what with their civilization sharing a multitude of common tropes associated, but our social cues are so very different from theirs that I can't imagine someone not to get angry after the initial excitement ends.

Having dragonkind, with all their different species and politics, work together with us, the creators, be all fine and dandy after their own world's destruction, rebuild our own crippled world with no bumps on the road? I'm sorry, I just can't see it being that easy or transparent. We already have racial tension in the present world to contend with, and that's not including the raiders and vagabonds that live on the fringes of Bastion. Adding homesick dragons with different cultural views to the mix will only worsen the conflicts.

Simply put, I don't see a peaceful long term goal for the dragons in our world. Heck, they might even go back to being enslaved by us! No one but I or Reza would've seen how their world worked after all, and only a sketchy month's worth at that, so it's natural that eventually us humans would conform them to our needs sooner or later.

Or maybe I'm overthinking this because this is literally the final hour, if not the final minutes before the asteroid wipes everything out and makes my venting moot.

I digress...

I know Izumi claimed she sees this path to be the most promising; to have humans and dragons live hand in hand. I didn't have the heart to tell her though at the time... How could I, as I watched her speak those dying words in that forest clearing? It was a betrayal to her wishes. But still, maybe, just maybe, this timeline I'm in isn't the first one where this exact scenario occurred. Maybe I'm the second, the third, or heck, the hundredth? Who knows how many restarts other timelines have gone through to get here? God forbid only one instance of this specific timeline is happening as I write. Maybe there's even another version of myself writing this exact message at this exact hour?

Time travel is weird and I don't quite understand it...

Anyways, I sincerely hope I'm not being an idiot and about to screw everything up back to square one. I'm no time travel genius, but I suspect my assumption about multiple instances occurring to be true. How else would I know each and every single dragon on a deep personal level in this timeline as of this writing? For the record, I barely interacted with any of them besides the ones in charge of that investigation with Reza and his killing spree. That asshole... hope a raider gets to him when his ass is tossed from the city.

Oh yeah, Reza. Just in case this reaches to another version of me that has absolutely no clue what the heck they're reading, which is why I'm even writing to myself. Don't trust him at all. In fact, alert that dark grey dragon next to him when you first see him. His name is Maverick and he works with the police force. Tell him that Reza has a gun and is planning to steal more generators than the one we get from Anna along with eggs from the hatchery before high tailing it to the portal leaving you all for dead. Who knows, maybe the events that play out will change dramatically enough to save both worlds with just that one simple change.

PS: Wouldn't hurt to keep this message and edit it if necessary, just in case you need to resend this in your own timeline if all else fails again.

Can never be too careful...

Signed, your time traveling self,

Marcus

[MESSAGE SENDING...]

[MESSAGE DELIVERED]

[MESSAGE RECEIVED..]

-`.'-

It was sudden; visions of cosmic proportions whisked by that reminded him that, yes, he was actually doing this and that, yes, he was about to, in fact, be in an unfamiliar place inhabited by supposed dragons. Dragons! If that alone wasn't enough to make anyone's insides churn, it was also the fact he was specifically hand chosen by the council to make sure a trade agreement could be made.

The PDA's, which contained all human knowledge, for the exchange of their seemingly technologically superior, self sustaining generators.

He didn't need to be told twice the importance of such a task. Even the PDA's themselves were enough for the raiders back home to scavenge ruthlessly for. Getting these generators from this other world was the only way to save their crippling society from killing each other off. Assuming of course the generators wouldn't also be used as a display of power to fuel the fire that already burned the entire world.

But he had no time to ponder such depressing facts. Not when he felt like he was being rocketed forward by some unknown entity. Torn apart violently in multiple directions before coming whole again. It wasn't painful, but the sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life. Having never used something like this before, he assumed this was a normal occurrence and hoped no repercussions would come from the distortions that warped around his being.

The visions became more chaotic and intense. Each passing blur imprinted something in his mind that felt familiar, disturbing, and shocking. This went on for what seemed like eons, even though it only happened in a split second.

And then everything stopped.

...

The first thing he noticed were the sounds of crickets chirping. Surprised to hear such a noise so clearly, he tried to open his eyes only to be met with a blurry vision and the feeling of his stomach forcing back up bile. He closed his eyes and tried to hold on to his composure at the sudden influx of nausea.

Next he tried moving his arms, he felt the belt and pouch secured around his waist that carried the valuable PDA's underneath the cloak he wore. He tapped his dress shoes to hear a metallic clang signifying he was on the portal's platform still. Yet he could still clearly hear crickets and a slight breeze as if he was outside on a normal day.

He let out a breath he didn't remember holding in. The ringing in his head was beginning to diminish along with the sudden nausea. He concluded it must be one of the side effects from the portal. He opened his eyes to find his vision was slightly better, but he could not make out anything in the haze his eyes fed him. He frowned, blinking constantly in an attempt to get his eyes to readjust. They must have been constricted from all those flashing lights just before, no doubt.

As his vision cleared, he felt his stomach do another flip at what sat on his haunches right in front of him. Wearing nothing else but a white collar, a burgundy tie, and an unmistakable pair of round reading glasses, it was most definitely a pearly white dragon and it was smiling! That was fast... Then again, he figured someone would have to be waiting on the other side. That didn't stop him from backing away instinctively in primal fear.

The dragon spoke calmly and in a friendly manner immediately from his reaction, "In the name of our people, I bid you welcome." He paused as he examined the human with a small smile with his blue eyes.

It spoke! Although he should've known better since he was specifically briefed that they obviously could. They clearly understood them so it was only natural that they also spoke the universal language.

The dragon continued on past the human's speechlessness, "If I may introduce myself, I am Remy, your guide and ambassador, a representative of our council."

His perplexed gaze turned to a heavy grimace as he put his hand on his temple at a sudden intense tinge. A bright flash of light appeared in his mind and he felt like he was just struck in the head with an incredibly dense and durable baseball bat. He grunted in pain as he stepped further away.

The white dragon, Remy, gave him a concerned look. The small smile he had curled downward in uncertainty. "Sorry, I imagine you might still feel the effects of the teleportation. Drowsiness or weakness is not unusual, as is fainting and spontaneous emptying of your bowels, bladder, or stomach. I suppose headaches or migraines as well. How do you feel?"

He groaned, putting his arms back down limply to the sides. He raised his head, examining the white dragon's features as the familiarity kicked in. Those oddly placed horns, those weirdly shaped ears, that blush that was easily visible on his white, scaly snout despite the darkness of the night. The human gasped, but closed his mouth quickly to hide it.

Did I... remember Remy? Did I actually travel back in time and retain my memories? Wait, why am I here? Why am I meeting Remy for the first time?

His hand quickly went under his cloak and white collar shirt to feel around his neck. He didn't feel anything there... He immediately knew the implication that meant.

"Do you require rest?" Remy asked, his voice laced with worry.

He shook his head, forgetting completely he was acting oddly in front of the dragon who had never met him before. "I'm fine, I think," he replied, cracking a small smile and brushing himself with a quick wave of his arm. "Sorry about that, I wasn't prepared for the portal I guess."

Remy took a few moments of contemplation before smiling widely back enthusiastically. "Well I'm glad to hear that." He shifted about facing the familiar cluster of buildings the human knew his copy would be staying at. "Maybe we should go before it gets too dark. Come with me, please."

They silently made their way past the eerily empty green field surrounded by bushes and trees that gave off the familiar scent of fresh summer air. He took the chance to peek where he knew would be the dragon in charge of tonight's patrol. It wasn't any dragon he recognized, to his surprise. It wasn't Maverick, Bryce, or Sebastian anyways, that's for sure. The figure stood on two legs. They weren't hunched over like a runner, nor were there any trace of a pair of wings. The figure actually appeared to be fully clothed and geared.

How odd...

Soon enough, they found themselves on a trail that he also knew would pass by the farmlands. He didn't say anything to Remy on their way through the outskirts. He was too preoccupied going over what he recalled. He knew Izumi would pay him a visit to kill him tonight because that's what she did every single timeline where the original appeared. Though he did recall some variation where it was the opposite and he killed her. Entirely in self defense and when he was ignorant about the time travel shenanigans of course.

Shoot...

Too bad he's not the one that had the necklace she relinquished. Otherwise he was sure he could live and play a part here and not let his alter ego take the reins. He wasn't going to deviate though, knowing the stakes at play here. At least he knew this version of himself would be dying to a better cause. Beats being mauled to death by a dragon, shot by Reza, or dragged in an alley back home to some raiders for the PDA's.

It's funny, he knew some people back home would instantly cripple at the thought of multiple copies of themselves being killed off, nevermind just existing. Existential crisis notwithstanding, he surprised even himself at his own resolve that he was going to die. Perhaps it was the past memories of all of his other deaths. He knew what to expect.

He hardly noticed the trail had turned to red bricked streets with businesses on either side. Not that he could see them clearly in the darkness anyways, the streetlights were completely devoid of power as they usually were in his first hour here. His thoughts of imminent death halted when Remy had stopped in front of a very dark plaza. The silhouette of the apartments loomed over them contrasting on the starry night sky.

Remy turned his head and gave Marcus another concerned stare. He could barely make out his blue wavering eyes. "Are you sure you're feeling well?"

He realized he hadn't been following the script as he should. "Yeah, I'm still kind of in awe at what I'm experiencing right now."

Remy gazed a moment longer before diverting his attention to the apartment complex furthest in. "Understandably this must be troubling for you. It was for your colleague as well."

That's a new piece of info, not that it would do him any good. He suddenly wished he knew for certain if his alter ego got his memories back as well. Or did the portal suck away his memories like all those other times? Thank goodness for his own PDA, he trusts that his ignorant self would take the message to heart.

Remy had reached the furthest door in the plaza and used a shaky forepaw to manipulate the door handle. Marcus waited for him to open the door proper before he stepped in the dark living space after Remy. He heard Remy shuffle in afterwards, closing the door behind, before an audible click of a switch sounded illuminating the familiar space.

It brought him some solace in these last moments he knew he had.

"This is where you will live for the time being," Remy began with a bright smile. "It is fully stocked, but in case you need anything else, I left you a note with a few phone numbers."

Marcus examined the apartment the best he could taking note of the minimal, but tactful interior design. The upper walls were painted in a light shade of green that perfectly complemented the browns and blues the floors and furniture provided. A pair of sofas, a coffee table, and a comfy chair sat to the side next to a wall full of windows. He could see the portal even from here despite how dark it was.

Further inspection led to the discovery of the familiar bookcase along the perpendicular wall. He sadly knew all the contents within each title. The rich mahogany construction called to him to examine regardless, but he knew it was no use. What a tragedy, already caught up with Remy's top picks before he even settled.

"It is getting rather late, so I will have to take my leave now," Remy said, getting Marcus' attention back in the process. "In any case, someone will come and meet you tomorrow morning."

He mentally sighed, but made sure not to show any discomfort now, lest he changed how this cycle would go. "Thank you, Remy. Have a good night."

Remy nodded, a smile splayed on his maw. "Until we meet again." With that, he turned with a flick of his tail. He clumsily took the handle once more, pulled the door inward the best a four legged beast could, and briskly stepped out to the darkness outside closing the door behind with a tail wrapped at the handle.

Now that he was alone, he knew he didn't have much time left before Izumi would come by. He suspected she was probably here right now waiting for him to go to bed. He glanced over to the windows expecting the sounds of footsteps. Sure enough, he heard them loud and clear through the still air the apartment possessed. He even heard the slight rustle of bushes right by the windows. He didn't bother prolonging the antics, he was going to meet Izumi right now.

He opened and stepped through the entrance back into the night sky. Not wanting to alert Remy, in case he was still nearby, he whispered harshly to the corner where the bushes rested. "Hey, Izumi, I know that's you, come out."

Several silent seconds passed before he heard the bushes rustle again. He then saw the familiar woman reveal herself from the corner with muffled taps of her boots. The light from the apartment flashed on her features to showcase the same fatigued expression she usually wore.

She was incredibly pale, almost like a ghost. Her pale skin matched her equally pale hair. It wasn't blonde, but also not brown either. Maybe a touch of ginger, he wasn't entirely sure. Her hair was also incredibly short, almost tomboyish even.

Her overall getup wasn't much better. She shared a cloak just like he did. Beyond that similarity, she wore what looked to be a jumpsuit. Perhaps the very same jumpsuit she had worn ever since she started tampering with this specific point of time. The blue and white markings probably signified a position she once had back on the science team she mentioned.

She examined him with interest with her brown eyes, brows furrowed only slightly. "How much?" she asked, emotionless and plainly.

He didn't need any clarification, he knew perfectly well what she was asking for. "Everything," he replied back with a stoic expression of his own. "Where's my other copy?"

At that she raised her brow, a small smirk appearing on her dry lips. "Wow, I suspected there was going to be more this time when the other you had that necklace."

He nodded in understanding. "I remembered as soon as Remy introduced himself, but I suppose this isn't the first time."

She hummed, her eyes traveling to the apartment and then to his waist. "So you know what must be done."

He followed her gaze to the pouch secured on his belt. "Yeah," he said with a resigning sigh. "Do you have anything to make it quick?"

She lowered her head with a frown. "I do have Reza's gun, but..."

He nodded, he knew where the grizzly deed would be performed. "I see..."

She raised her head back up, her expression turning back to the same blank stare. "As for the copy, he's in the bushes right now, knocked out cold of course."

He nodded knowing what she was implying. "Right, let's get to it then."

A small smile formed on her lips at that.

-`.'-

He awoke to the unfamiliar ceiling baring down at him. Last night's dreams were especially vivid. He saw faces, places, and scenarios play out as if they actually happened. An entire month's worth of events, all condensed into one singular dream. He leaned forward from the rather large blue bed with a yawn.

He regarded the dream. It was very strange upon introspection. He saw different dragons, all of which he somehow knew deeply, in all these different places. Remy, Sebastian, Maverick, Adine, Anna, Lorem, Bryce, Emera... this confused him greatly, knowing these names off the top of his head.

...

He suppose the dream must've left an impression on him. It's very rare, but he has had dreams before where he remembered a name or two. Besides Remy, he's one hundred percent positive he has never met anyone by those names before. Sebastian and Anna were common names back in his world though, perhaps colleagues from simpler times?

Ultimately, he shrugged it off and slipped off the bed. He examined the bedroom to find it relatively empty and dimly lit. Beside him a mahogany dresser sat with two doors perpendicular to each other. One of them was slightly ajar showcasing a dark bathroom.

What caught his attention next, besides the light fixture, was a digital clock upon the dresser. He knew it must be one just by the overall design. A radio button, an alarm button, and all the other inputs one would care to personalize a clock so they wish to.

7:04 glared from the screen.

He decided to make his way to the bathroom after pondering about the details of the dragons' perception of time. He fumbled for a switch, and with a click, revealed soft shades of red and purple aligned around the tiled floor and walls. The light fixture was embedded into the corner wall. LED lights he assumed, another noted surprise. It wasn't too much longer when he gazed into the mirror at the other end to find the splitting image of himself.

He was an average build, typical of human males. His face was clean shaven, slightly toned, and slightly round but not long. The white collar shirt he wore was slightly ruffled from being slept on. It wasn't tucked in properly either to compliment his dress plants. His brown eyes inspected his unkempt hair. It was a mess, as was his face. It was like he fell in dirt somewhere between last night and waking up.

Maybe it was the country-like air here, he figured.

Wait...

He saw something around his neck. He didn't remember wearing anything like that before. He took his hands to pull out the necklace in full and examined the material. One of his brows rose as he glanced at the locket at the end of the chain. The initials 'IO' were engraved on one side with the other side having the initials 'MO' etched into the surface.

Feeling a sudden dread wash over him, he looked over to his watch and, fiddling around with the device, summoned his logs. What he found confused him and made him very anxious.

What am I reading?

The message was lengthy, apparently written by himself, and also read as if the world was about to end. He skimmed it a few times, reading names and events that were going to supposedly play out.

Maverick? Anna? Those are two of the names from my dream. He frowned, his eyes going back to the mirror to examine more of the dirt and grime on his features. Is this for real?

If he was to believe his own writing. He had somehow transported back to the prehistoric ages if the asteroid namedrop was true. Time to rule out one possibility. He opened another data entry submission, typed a random word, and saved it to himself.

...

Data Entry, [ERROR: REMOTE CON. OFFLINE]

Test

[MESSAGE SENDING...]

[MESSAGE DELIVERED]

[MESSAGE RECEIVED..]

...

He expected the result. He looked around the bathroom with this new realization. He thought very hard about his knowledge of prehistoric times. Dinosaurs, fossils, genetics...

...He couldn't think of a reason for this not to be a possibility.

-`.'-

The rest of the early morning went by with a few more problems. Upon taking a shower, after first checking to see if the water was okay to even step in, he realized whoever supplied the apartment did not give him any shampoo. He had to make do with a single body wash with an image of what he presumed to be glistening scales plastered underneath the product name. 'Guaranteed to make your rough edges smooth to the touch!'

The next problem was when he got out. No towels, not even a rag or two to help! He was pretty much forced to dry out feeling every single breeze hit him. Once he was sure he was dried enough by standing arms stretched in the middle of his bedroom, he made sure he looked as presentable as he could with what he had. Remy said someone was going to pay him a visit after all.

Using his hands as a lame attempt of fixing his hair since his accommodations also didn't supply a brush, he heard the doorbell ring. With a sigh, not at all satisfied with how his hair displayed, he walked briskly past the bedroom, through the living room, and to the door.

Taking the handle, he twisted and pulled open the door. He was met with another dragon, a tan one at that. The dragon adorned a police hat, lavender eyes, a creamy neck that extended down its belly, and a blush across its snout. He had no idea what kind of formal greeting to give the dragon.

Thankfully he didn't need to, the dragon spoke first hesitantly. "H-Hello, you must be Marcus. I'm Sebastian, and I'll be your escort..." he paused, fidgeting nervously with his outstretched claws. "...Or s-security, I suppose. I usually work for the police, though." He extended his claws to Marcus. "Nice to meet you."

Marcus' eyes widened slightly. The dream, the message, the series of names he knew. Sebastian... He recognized this dragon. He recalled his card game. He relived the moments where he died on patrol guarding the portal.

His head hurt slightly from the information overload.

Sebastian, arms still extended, cocked his head slightly with a frown on his maw. "Uh... are you okay, sir?" he asked nervously. "I uh, wasn't sure how to introduce myself."

Marcus jumped slightly from Sebastian's words. He had completely forgotten where he was at from the short burst. He glanced over to the dragon's stature to confirm to himself that this was the same dragon from that dream. The same elongated posture and everything. Almost like he was a raptor depicted in old books, but with horns. He took his own hand and grabbed a hold of Sebastian's claws. He could feel the individual bumps and roughness his scales brought, just as he recalled.

He didn't say anything, too flabbergasted and anxious at the mixed signals his mind was relaying to him. Sebastian gave him a strange look, taking it upon himself to initiate the handshake that Marcus took.

"I was briefed you were distraught upon first contact, sir." He pulled his claws away gently from Marcus' loose grip. "Don't worry, we're not dangerous," he added with a small smile.

Marcus had no idea what to say. His mind raced through possible scenarios. He had to think of something quick though, otherwise this whole deal would start with a sketchy bump.

He mentally recomposed himself, relaxing his eyes back to how they were before. "Sorry, I'm still not used to seeing dragons," he said with a smile back. "You said escort?"

Sebastian nodded, his smile fading. He clasped his claws, rubbing his fingers slowly. "Yeah, we're going to visit the plant where they are making your generators. They have some news for you, or so I've heard. Reza will be there too."

Reza...

He pondered only slightly if he should tell Sebastian the piece of information on his own PDA. Announcing this news didn't seem like the best course of action given the context.

"Sounds great," was all he said.

Sebastian turned about, his head held up high. "Just follow me."

He checked his belt to make sure the pouch was still neatly secured before following along, closing the door behind with a soft clack. The early morning air invaded his nose, the scent of dew washed over him and made him think of the summer fields he used to play on when he was a kid. Now that it was actually light outside, he could finally observe his surroundings in full.

They were currently in a beautifully decorated plaza. More apartment units were clustered around that reminded him of the fancy complexes before the sun flare happened. He lived in one such place before when he was working on his masters. The company was strict on appearance and would evict anyone who dared tarnish their appeal.

As they made their way through the plaza and onto the cleanly paved streets, Marcus realized he had not seen a single vehicle yet in the supposed industrial section of this town. Shops and businesses littered the corners with no space for any kind as such. Also no one appeared to be out and about. The area was a ghost town. The early morning sun felt a little bit colder in retrospect.

Several more turns on different streets were made with the same scenario. Sebastian was quiet the entire time. He would periodically raise his neck and scout around as they walked. Marcus had the impression the dragons had set up a specific path for them.

Probably to avoid conflict, he reasoned. Made sense, himself and Reza were the only humans in this world. We're the aliens to them right now, not the other way around. He thought back to his own world and how humanity would engage with dragon ambassadors. Probably with a lot more caution, not that Sebastian seemed to be acting cautious enough.

His thoughts of political powers and secret agents stopped when he noticed, after another turn, two figures standing at a distance. One was unmistakingly another hulking grey dragon while the other was humanoid, he could already make out the toned skin of his old friend, Reza.

He had one of his hands on his own pair of dress pants. They both wore the same attire, his white collar shirt was way more presentable than his with hardly any creases. He had an impatient expression, like he had been annoyingly waiting for hours for the pair to come.

The other dragon seemed to share the same sentiment. He stood at an arm's distance from Reza. His red eyes narrowed at Marcus, his features turning slightly scrunched as if the dragon whiffed a foul scent. He would've felt slightly intimidated, if it weren't for his head flashing him memories again.

Memories of this grey dragon, Maverick, not trusting him and sprawled on a tiled floor with a bullet wound to the head. They were brief and spontaneous, but it was enough for him to stagger a little in his pacing. Same with Reza, he saw the moment of betrayal and multiple instances of him slumped on some wall in a long hallway.

He must've walked funnier than he realized because Sebastian turned his head and gave him a concerned stare. "What's wrong?"

Marcus recomposed himself again. "Sorry, a short trip," he thought quickly.

Sebastian glanced briefly at the two ahead before returning his gaze. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you either," he said with a small smile before facing front. "He's a bit grumpy though, just so you know."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied knowingly.

When they reached the two, Reza was quick to relax his posture. Marcus glanced over his person. He wore a belt like his, a gun holster on his right thigh. The very gun that has murdered so much in different timelines. He was beginning to understand where the message, the dream, and the memories were coming from.

He was a time traveler disguised as an ambassador for humanity. No doubt other tidbits of his memory would unlock as he re-met the dragons he knew. How should he go about this? Should he make his moves now, or play it out to reacquire the memories? He felt in his gut that this was most likely the first time this version of himself was aware of the events that were about to unfold.

"Hey," Reza greeted with a cheeky smile.

...He was going to make this work. Still, he had to be careful. One small slip-up and this entire cycle will devolve into who knows what. He figured, as the message had concluded, there were probably multiple instances of the same thing happening at the same time.

He decided right then and there he was going to change how these events play out. What else had he to lose? He knew there was at least one timeline out there where humans and dragons lived together via the message.

But in the end he wanted to pick the perfect time. A first meeting is hardly a good time. He was an ambassador for a reason and earning the dragons distrust now would jeopardize anything to do with trade agreements his world desperately needed. He would play along, for now.

"Reza, long time no see," he replied back with a cheeky smile of his own.