I was still very on edge when we returned to our horses and started to make our way home. I wanted to be rid of all the ominous thoughts that hidden room had brought forth, though I couldn't seem to be.

Seeing my name penned on that paper had sent an indescribable feeling washing over me. It felt like I'd been punched in the gut, and all my air was replaced by ice. Like the room was far, far too small, and then too immeasurably large at the same time.

I could tell I'd just learned something crucial, but I didn't yet know what it meant.

Lukas had given me the paper he'd taken from the room, though I wasn't sure how much good it would do. No matter how many times I reread the words, they didn't become any less confusing.

Timelines.

What in the Overworld could that possibly mean? I knew what a timeline usually was, but this seemed to be implying something very different.

Not to mention the 'Primum Movens' thing. I'd been so freaked out by seeing my name there that it wasn't until later that I put the pieces together. It was in plural, so there was no way I was the only one of these 'Primes'.

Whatever that meant.

Lukas and I were both significantly quieter than we had been on the way there. That was understandable, though, since we now had something new weighing on our minds. For the most part, our conversation was limited to one of us pointing out or asking something, and the other replying in a few words.

Now, I would've been fine if this pattern had continued the whole way back, but as we were almost in the last stretch of the journey, Lukas just had to complicate things.

"So, ah…I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but I think this probably oughtta be addressed."

"Yeah?" I asked, slightly testily.

He shot me a look that was half concerned, half nervous. "You seem really…upset, by me being with Aiden, and I just…I'd like to know why."

I sighed, shifting my position in the saddle. "Do we really have to be talking about this right now?"

"Yes. Whatever your problem is, this whole thing isn't just gonna disappear because you don't wanna discuss it."

I could tell he was feeling pretty defensive about this, which wasn't a good sign. Him being aggressive usually led to me being aggressive, which turned into both of us getting mad.

Fine. He wanted to open this can of worms, so be it.

I hadn't replied, so Lukas continued with a small sigh. "Look, I can tell you don't like him. That's...I mean, that's fine, it's your opinion. I just don't know why."

I snorted. "Oh, yeah. It's not like he's ever done anything wildly horrible to me."

Lukas shot me a stern look. "Okay, really? You don't think this might be a little long to hold a grudge?"

"I don't know, Lukas. How long do you normally hold grudges against people who've tried to murder you?"

The severe expression lowered into something more resembling a glare. "As long as necessary. He is not the same person who caused all that trouble, alright? I swear it."

"Yeah, keep saying that." I snarked. "Where's your fuckin' proof, Lukas?"

The blond man turned to look ahead again, still scowling. "He's my boyfriend, and I love him." he said through gritted teeth.

"I said proof. Give me some logic, not emotions."

"Okay, how 'bout this? It's been seven fucking years, and people have the goddamn ability to change?" he retorted.

My only response was another disdainful huff. I knew I was edging into jerk territory, but I was a little too pissed-off to care too deeply.
Lukas was misinterpreting what I meant. Yes, Aiden had caused a lot of trouble for Sky City, but that wasn't it. Even before that, he'd always been a problem. I'd never seen him do anything even remotely nice, and this change made me deeply suspicious. I was afraid that
Lukas was letting his heart get in the way of his common sense, but I didn't know how to say it.

We went back to travelling in silence, at least for a few minutes. Until I finally said, "I don't think you really love Aiden."

"What the hell do you- why do you think you know about this?" he stammered, voice radiating anger.

"I'm not claiming to know anything; I'm just saying that he's a dick. And you know he's a dick, he's always been one. So sure, I don't know shit about whatever weird relationship you two have now, but I know that he spent years reveling in the fact that he is the dickiest person I have ever-"

"That's not a word. Also, please stop saying 'dick'."

"I think you're missing my point."

"And I think that if I am missing it, that's because it's apparently getting buried in profanity."

"Fucking god, Lukas, it's because I can't even think about your dick-of-a new boyfriend without getting mad. My point is, until I get an
actual reason to believe that he's not here to somehow fuck things up again, I don't wanna deal with him! Or any aspect of your convoluted fucking love life, for that matter!"

"You are practically impossible to talk to, you know that?"

"I just don't trust him, and I'm not sure why you do. He tried to kill you too, remember?"

Lukas's expression turned to something sadder, a little more desperate. "Seven years ago, Jess. I'm telling you, he's changed so much. What happened to your policy of giving people second chances? I mean, seriously. You'll trust Romeo, but not Aiden?"

I jabbed a finger at him. "I am not trusting Romeo. Did you notice how soon I sent him down to the Underneath? No. I wouldn't trust that man to hold an iron ingot. And I don't trust Aiden not to do something to you."

"Do something to me. Like what?" Lukas scoffed.

"Oh, I dunno. Mess with your emotions and break your heart?" I snapped back. "You don't really need that to happen again, do you?"

Lukas's entire body went visibly rigid, and he returned to looking directly forward, his mouth set in a firm line. I knew full well that I'd just crossed a barrier, but at the moment I didn't really care.

What made that particular blow so underhanded was that I didn't fully know what I even was talking about.
All I knew was, something had happened between Lukas and Petra. I wasn't sure if they were actually dating or not, but a few months before, both of them had entirely freaked out, at exactly the same time.

That was when Petra had started staying away from Beacontown more, and probably when she got mixed up with Stella and Champion City. That was when Lukas had really become a hermit, spending nearly all his time in his little house by the woods.
That was when they'd both started finding excuses not to be around the other.
There'd been some kind of falling-out, though neither of them would tell me anything about what had happened. Actually, they both had gone to great lengths to deny that anything was amiss, which only made it that much more obvious.

About a week or so after that, Lukas had announced his relationship with Aiden, which made me even more suspicious about…well, everything. Not only did he appear to be in a rebound relationship, but that relationship was with someone who had been beyond notorious for causing trouble.

"Quite frankly, I don't think you're really qualified to have an opinion on this." Lukas contributed testily.

I let out a slightly malicious laugh. "Since when does being aromantic impact my ability to tell when someone's bad news? If either of us were biased, I'm pretty sure it'd be you. You're the one screwing him, after all."

He turned red, then venomously hissed, "You know what? Fuck. You. You don't even know how hypocritical you sound, calling Aiden out for being a jerk."

He adjusted his grip on the reigns. "Have fun trying to figure out your little timeline mystery, 'cause you're not getting any help from me."

With that, Lukas dug his heels into his horse's sides, urging her into a trot, then a gallop. I watched him ride off, still fuming.

After he was out of view, I let out an aggrieved sigh. I wasn't even sure how that argument had escalated so fast, but I knew it would
probably be a few days before he was willing to speak to me again. Unfortunate timing, considering what we'd just found, but our friendship had survived worse.

I tried to let go of my frustration as I rode back towards Beacontown, but the fight just kept coming back to me. I knew I'd gone too far, multiple times. I didn't know what had been up with me recently- I'd been too irritable and argumentative for anyone's good.

Maybe it's loneliness, I considered. Or stagnation. You've been in the same place for too long, doing the same things day after day, and it's getting to you.

But I knew that couldn't be it. I'd been leader of Beacontown for years now, and this new antipathy had only started in the past few weeks.

I loved my town, and I loved doing everything required of my leader position. I didn't want to abandon it, so that couldn't be the source of whatever was wrong with me.

Plus, I wasn't alone. I had Radar and Lukas by my side (most of the time), and the friendly support of many Beacontown citizens. Most of the time, I was entirely content.

My thoughts wandered dully as I approached the gates of home. I hadn't been that far away when Lukas had left, but the very last leg of the journey had felt longer without him. Like the day before, I put Inara in her stall and returned to the Order headquarters, though that day, Radar was nowhere to be found.

This wasn't entirely unusual. As my Co-Hero in Residence, he ended up taking care of almost as much stuff as I did, especially when I left town.

I went into my office and flopped down at my desk. I retrieved the paper from my inventory and was about to set it down when I suddenly got the feeling that there was something wrong.

I looked around, frowning. Nothing seemed immediately out of place, but…something about the room was suddenly setting off my something-is-weird-here instincts.

Still a little suspicious, I placed the parchment on my desk and examined it again.

Constants. Variables. Deviations. Primes. All the talk about timelines. My name, scrawled in bold red ink.
Things that all had to be clues, pointing to some big answer that I couldn't yet see.

The door suddenly slammed open, and I jumped. Radar leaned inside, grinning when he saw me.

"Jess! You're back."

I offered him a small smile in return. "Yep. Come on, you know I wouldn't just disappear."

He shrugged, then seemed to remember something. "Where's Lukas? Did he already go home?"

I sighed. "Something like that."

Radar gave me a suspicious look, and I caved. He'd gotten uncannily good at interpreting my more evasive answers. "We kinda got into a fight, alright? On the way back, he just…brought up something he shouldn't've, and everything went downhill from there." I summarized halfheartedly.

"Oh. That's, uh…that's unfortunate. Well, did you find anything, at least?"

"Uh…yes, actually." I did my best to describe the contents of the hidden room, the treelike chart, painted words, and the way the dozens of mismatched papers had been pinned to the wall.

"I only saw one paper that made even a little bit of sense, so I brought it back." I finished, handing the parchment to him. His dark green eyes widened as he read over the list of words, but I hardly noticed. I'd suddenly just realized what had seemed off to me when I'd first entered the room.

"Hey, Radar, you didn't happen to move anything on my desk, did you?" I asked casually.

He looked up at me, his mind obviously still processing the paper I'd given him, and shook his head. "Nope. Why?"

Why? Because the map- the same map with the false town that I'd searched for yesterday -was gone, just as completely as if it had never been there at all.