The Persistence of Memory
By
Deborah J. Brown

A Wild Arms III Alternate Universe story: Wild Arms III is copyrighted to RPG Dreamers and Sony.

Chapter 5: Beginning at the Beginning

Somehow we always seem to end up in this town, Virginia thought as she gazed around the dusty streets and run-down buildings of Little Twister. A place where law and order took a backseat, Little Twister was home to those who simply couldn't fit in elsewhere. No town in Filgaia was perfectly safe for four people with a price on their heads, but at least the people here tended to mind their own business. They especially minded their business when it was obvious they'd be putting their skin at risk by not doing so, and if Virginia and her friends hadn't exactly tried to gain such a reputation, they were still considered something the smaller fish in the pond had best leave alone.

"I still can't believe a scientist would have lived here," Gallows muttered and Jet rolled his eyes. "Well? I can't! A gambler, yeah. Someone here once said Janus was from this town. That I can believe."

The blue haired man sauntering beside Virginia grinned. "Yeah. My kinda place, this. Bet there's a fight every night and a whore in every man's bed." At Virginia's glare Janus tried to look innocent and failed. "Sorry, Princess, but it's the truth."

"Which?" Virginia's tone held an acerbic note. "That this is your kinda place or that there's a whore in every man's bed? Including yours, no doubt?" As Janus' yellow eyes shifted away with an embarrassed air, Virginia sighed. "It's not that I disagree, Janus. I just wish you weren't so happy about it."

The blue haired man's voice was distant as his gaze drifted over the town, looking at the hard, dusty, road and the weathered wood of the houses. "Didn't say I was happy about it." Turning to look at Virginia again, he added wryly. "Amused, yeah. We've all established that I'm not exactly the nicest critter ever to walk this world." He cricked his neck, stretching the joints as he turned and started into town. "Besides, you have to laugh. It's the only way to keep from crying."

.oOo.

It took Virginia almost a minute before she hurried up to catch up, by which time Janus was standing at the doorway of one of the older and more dilapidated buildings. He gazed at the wood, frowning more to himself than to the girl who'd come up beside him. "Familiar," he muttered. "A tiny bit of memory retained?"

Clive's quietly erudite voice interjected, "A distinct possibility. If I understand the way nano-machines operate, I believe each unit may contain infinitesimal quantities of memory, along with the knowledge of their function in your structure." The archeologist resettled his glasses, looking at Janus with a thoughtful expression. "This would explain why you are so malleable to the memories and concepts that Virginia holds regarding your personality – if not why Virginia alone can affect your self-image. Your present appearance consists of myriad tiny nano-machines, but for the most part are empty of the memory of who you truly were, having been rebuilt by those nano-machines you abandoned when you escaped us in Yggdrasil."

Not entirely surprisingly, the big Baskar was looking puzzled. "Uh I don't understand." He rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed look, silver lock drooping a little in the hot sun. "I thought he couldn't remember because the only things left of him were what Ginny remembered."

Jet rolled his eyes, the pale haired youth looking a trifle disgusted, much to Janus' amusement. "Gallows. That's what Clive just said. Most of Janus' body got rebuilt by what he left back at Yggdrasil, when Virginia's mind initiated them somehow. So he just has a little bit of memory – a lot of which got over-ridden by Virginia."

It wasn't hard to realize what Virginia was thinking. The girl's blue eyes were sad as she gazed at the doorway, avoiding Janus' eyes. He decided that lecture time was over and patted her on the shoulder. "Ginny, it's done. No point in wringing and worrying the past."

"Yes, but"

"Don't make me get sarcastic and snarky, Ginny. Let's get a move on." Janus turned and used the Dark Spear to bust the board nailed over the doorway off, his action attracting only brief notice from the man who was supposed to be the sheriff.

A laugh escaped Gallow's throat. "Y'know, I think Siegfried might have had a few things to say about using the Dark Spear as a crow bar."

"You say this like it's a bad thing?" Janus asked, grinning back. Of all of Virginia's companions, he understood the big kid best. Didn't always like or agree with him, but they had a similar sense of humor sometimes. "'Sides, strictly speaking this thing is just a pale imitation of the original." He pushed the door open and bowed elaborately to his companions. "Come into my parlor?"

.oOo.

At first it seemed as if they'd run into a dead end. The house that Janus had seemed to recognize was a single room, emptied of furniture, its one bookcase broken and shattered on the ground. Sneezing, three short sharp little sneezes, Virginia took a swallow of the water Clive offered her and shook her head. "I don't" Before she could finish her sentence, though, Janus had walked to the far wall and pushed under the window as hard as he could.

A small hidden doorway creaked open, leading into a narrow flight of stairs. "This side's against the wall around town." Janus gestured with one hand vaguely and Virginia realized that the passage was actually cut into the stone outside, concealing it from prying eyes. "Effective," she murmured. "And a bit tight."

"Yeah. Gallows may regret all those pancakes he keeps having for breakfast." Janus' grin made the bigger man cross his arms and look away with a disdainful expression. "Once you get in, I don't think it'll be so bad." He shuddered suddenly, not with fear or cold, but with a kind of confused look on his face. As Virginia reached out, concerned, he smiled. "It's just the strangeness, all these teeny little memories trying to come back. Goose walking over my grave."

It was Jet who nodded understanding. "I felt that way at Leyline. Don't really remember a thing about the place, but I knew it like the back of my hand. Weirded me out, really."

"Hey, maybe it's for the same reason. If this was where Janus was born, that is." Everyone looked at Gallows, who backed off hurriedly. "It's just an idea."

With a laugh, Jet went over to the doorway and started scooting himself in. "We're just in shock that you managed one that actually made sense."

It was an effort for Virginia not to chuckle at the offended expression on Gallows' face.

.oOo.

The stairway down opened out fairly quickly into a much more comfortable passageway. As the group moved through, however, Janus found those flashes of memory increasing, to the point that he had to stop and force himself to focus.

"Do you want to stop for a minute?" Virginia's worried tone made Janus smile as he shook his head wordlessly. She continued, blue eyes concerned, "Don't push yourself, Janus. You just barely got a human shape again."

A small grin crossed Janus' face, a strong sense of the peculiarity of being 'mothered' by the woman who had more than enough reason to think of him as not much better than a pain in the arse. Well, she'd probably say neck, but she'd be thinking arse. "I'm fine, Ginny. I'm not tired, just remembering." He glanced down the hallway. "Lab was this way."

As Janus walked through the hall, closely followed by the others, he shook his head. "Tsk. Leave the place for a while and the housecleaning 'chines go on strike." He rubbed a bit of rust off the wall. "Look at this. Pete'd have a fit" He choked, the memory of a young voice in his ear. 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness, Janus.' 'Yeah, Pete, but I haven't noticed any Gods hanging around, lately.'

"Pete?" Virginia's question broke into Janus' reverie. "Inkapilia?"

"Mmm," Janus agreed. "He was a bit of a neat freak, I think." The memory was so fragile, a tiny thread amid a mostly blank tapestry. Are more pieces of me finding their way back? Or are these memories left behind when I duplicated myself? Either way, it was sort of like uncovering a ruin, one grain of sand at a time, haphazardly moving from one area to another. And why does thinking of Pete make me so damned sad

A hand touched Janus' arm and he turned to look at Virginia. "It's okay," he reassured the girl. "Nothing horrible happened here. I'll be all right."

.oOo.

Virginia wished she could believe her companion's reassurance. His yellow eyes had a haunted look, as if the echoes of the past were causing him a sorrow that he simply couldn't face and couldn't explain. No, not just as if. This place troubles him. She really couldn't blame Janus for being bothered, either. If they'd figured things out right, this had been his home once, before the disaster at Yggdrasil.

"Janus? Do you remember anything yet about how you came to work for" She hesitated. It surely was too soon for him to remember. Indeed, he might never be able to recover those memories.

A shrug as Janus sauntered down the hall, pausing long enough to bang on the wall under a flickering bulb. "Dang it, we never did get that thing to work right," he muttered. "No, Ginny. I doubt I'll remember anything about them here." He paused, adding, "Well, I remember being scared of them."

Gallows made a startled sound and Janus turned a wry grin his way. "What? You think I wasn't able to be afraid? Or is it the admission?"

The big Baskar rubbed at the back of his neck, tangling his fingers in his long dark brown hair. "Well, both, actually."

The expression on Janus' face turned thoughtful, an expression Virginia found herself liking, oddly enough, even though the thought caused him to glance her way with a quick grin before returning to his considerations. "Fear." He gazed directly into Gallows' eyes. "Yes. I was afraid. My life meant something to me, if not to those three bastards. I'd seen too many people I loved die on me. I wanted to live. I wanted to live without being forced to do what other people wanted me to do. And I didn't know how." He shrugged, tossing aside the thought with a casual air. "Come on. Enough introspection. That's not my style anyway. Let's see what we can see."

.oOo.

Pete Inkapilia's laboratory went deep and with only the stairways for access it took almost half an hour for Janus and the others to make their way down to the main level. Though Gallows chafed at the time it took, Janus was rather glad of it. Each step of the way aroused new bits of memory, new pieces of the puzzle that he'd become. Though not enough to count as more than nuances of personality, Janus found himself feeling sadder and lonelier every step of the way. He'd been happy here, content in his place. I lost something important, here. Someone important.

Keziah's name kept worming its way into his head. She'd been here too. Both down in the lab and up in the town above them. Pete's girl. But I liked her too. Apparently Janus simply had the worst luck when it came to love. He managed a sour grin, then pushed the doorway open into the main lab.

"What the hell?"

.oOo.

Virginia peered over Janus' shoulder and stared at the two men who were bent over the main computer. Dario? Romero? "What are you two doing here?"

"Boss?" Dario blinked at their former compatriot with startled eyes as Janus stalked forward towards them. "But you told us t'handle this place. And why're they with you?"

"I. Told. You?" Janus' voice was strained, cold and deadly in its tone and entirely clean of its usual hick accents. "Explain."

Romero shrugged. "Y'should know Hey. Ow!" The man rubbed his head ruefully where Janus had smacked him. "Janus!"

The deep breath Janus took was loud and obviously intended to calm. Equally obviously it failed as the blue-haired man yelled, "TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" At Virginia's hand on his arm, he glared angrily at her. Except beneath that anger was fear. Something was worrying him. Still, he said, more quietly. "C'mon, guys. Pretend for a moment that I have no clue what you've been up to since Ka Dingel. Give!"

Slowly Dario answered, "We looked around fer ya fer weeks. Finally found ya up at Laxisland. Ya told us ya needed some stuff from here 'n sent us t' get it."

From Janus' expression, one would have thought he'd swallowed a sour lemon. "Laxis land"

"Yeah. Ya were sick. Guess ya got better, huh, boss?"

The sour look got even worse and Virginia thought Janus was ready to explode. Instead, with a quiet that seemed all the more frightening for its silence, he murmured, "How do you know that was me?"

Dario shrugged. "Well, ain't like yer clone knows anythin' about us." He faltered and Virginia couldn't blame him. Janus had turned whiter than paper, eyes so wide she was sure they'd fall out. At the same time Dario stepped back, paling himself. "Yer the clone, aintcha?"

.oOo.

The world was falling down around him. Janus simply stared at the two men he felt he ought to know. Men he'd worked with for years. Men who were, if not equals, allies and friends. There was an odd feeling that they'd been the only friends he'd had for a while. They and. It was no use. He couldn't remember. Couldn't prove himself to be anything more than the clone the man had just accused him of being.

And I guess that is all I am. The real Cascade is alive. All I am is his leavings the bits and pieces put together from her memory. He stumbled backwards. Turned and ran.

"JANUS!"

She was following him, which only made him run faster. He had to. Had to get away from the obvious truth. He had no idea where to go and no idea what to do, but he had to get away. Instinct made him turn down one corridor, then another. Until he slammed his way through a doorway into a bedroom. Trapped.

Panic left him as suddenly as it had appeared. Something about this room felt right. Felt safe. He stood there, staring blankly. A woman's room, decorated with soft drapery of a rose pink and lavender shade. A shelf filled with books, a dining table, a door leading to a bedroom, A couch, with big soft cushions, a vase with a single wilted flower. An ARMs - nearly identical to his own - hanging on the wall, unused for years. Make him pay attention, Kez honey. It's not like he doesn't love you; Think of me as your little brother. I'll watch out for you; You're beautiful tonight. If he doesn't notice that, he doesn't deserve to.

He stopped in the doorway, aching from the very center of his being. Keziah. This was her room - though he'd spent a fair amount of time there too. She'd been in charge of teaching him, because while Pete had been the one with the smarts to create him, he hadn't the patience needed for lessons, nor the skills. Pete had never had much in the way of people smarts and couldn't have fired an ARMs to save his life. They'd been one big happy family, though.

Moving slowly into the room, he traced his finger through a fine patina of dust, paused to gaze at a picture on the wall. Two men with a lovely young woman between them. The one on the right a studious looking man with light hair, dressed in a white lab coat, the other himself, gold eyes amused and mildly self-mocking. The girl's face was heart-shaped, with blue eyes and blonde hair. She was dressed in leather pants and a loose fitting rough shirt under a fringed cape. The face was familiar, the face of the woman working in Little Twister's one hotel.

"She looks like Claudia!"

He nodded at Virginia's exclamation, forcing himself not to look at her, another memory coming to him. Keziah's face. Keziah's voice. But not Keziah. The only thing he could remember was kneeling in this room and weeping for everything and everyone he'd lost. And that's the only reason I remember it at all. Because bits and pieces of the real Janus Cascade were left here.

"Her sister?"

"Her name was Keziah," he said quietly, gazing down at the picture, fingers rubbing gently at the small ring on its chain around his neck. "A Drifter working for the Council. Like Janus. Pete's girl. Janus loved her, too."

.oOo.

Virginia realized why Janus was talking about himself in the third person before she opened her mouth to put her foot in it. Instead she watched him, standing straight and lonely in the middle of the room, staring at the portrait of his past. He seemed to radiate a hollow, empty, feeling, a devastation so deep that she wondered if he could recover.

"We don't know that that other Janus is the real one," she said finally, refusing to let him drive himself any deeper.

"It makes sense though. I didn't know there was another. I didn't know about this place until your father told us about it. Everything I know. Everything I remember. All of it is just the memories of a pile of nano-machines. I don't exist. I'm nothing." His voice was raw and agonized.

A part of her wanted to reach out and just hold him. Another part wanted to slap him for being a whining angst-puppy. She did neither. "You exist," she said firmly. "Wasn't it you who said you could deal with just being a copy?"

He snorted. "Yeah? Well, we've already established that, whatever else I am, I'm an inconsistent mess of ideas and emotions."

"Welcome to the human race, Janus. We all are." It occurred to Virginia that, for all his understanding of how people worked, all his skill in human interaction, Janus had certain blind spots about what it meant to be human. Or, at least, an ideal image of being human. She said as much and when he stared at her blankly, added, "When you, or whomever the old Janus Cascade was, realized that it wasn't possible to be a perfectly upright man did you ever consider being something in-between? Not perfectly good and not rotten?"

He continued staring at her. "I..."

"You don't have to be perfectly selfless and you don't have to be perfectly selfish, Janus."

Irritably, but with an undertone of humor, Janus grumbled, "Why the hell do you have to go and make sense, Ginny?" He looked at his hands and shook his head. "I look human. I feel human. Guess it's high time I acted it?"

Virginia nodded emphatically. "You can act human when you're looking demonic too, by the way." At his chuckle, she smiled. She'd managed to get him out of his sulk. And without fighting with him, too. That was, in itself, a small triumph. "So, what do you want to do now? Do we go on with what we were doing? Find out more about who you were? Or do we decide that you're not really Janus and figure out a new identity for you?"

.oOo.

It was frightening to realize that not only could he choose his future Self now, but that he was the only one who had the right to. Virginia was making it clear that it was all up to him and the understanding that he was the master of his own fate sent chills up his spine. Still, the mind that had once been Janus Cascade's was sharp and more than slightly cunning. Clone or not, that mind was still part of who he was and was still capable of planning and scheming.

"Find out more," he said finally. "I look like Cascade. I feel like Cascade. I don't know if I am Cascade, but I don't know if the other one is either. For all I know, we're both copies and he just figured things out sooner. Whatever the reasons, he and I will need to come to terms. And before I do that I want every advantage I can possibly have."

Virginia had that look on her face and he didn't need their link to know what she was going to say. Before she could open her mouth he added, "If he's Cascade, or even a reasonable facsimile, he's going to be doing the same, Ginny love. And depending on how he's decided to be, that could be a bad thing for my continued health and well-being. Much less my continued survival."

It was obvious that his beloved didn't like it. Equally obvious that she had to acknowledge that as the truth. The bits and pieces that had made up Janus Cascade had been complex and confused and some parts had been quite a bit worse than he was now. "It's obvious," he added reassuringly, "That he's up to something. Sending Dario and Romero here's sorta a big clue. I don't necessarily want to fight him for the privilege of being Janus Cascade, but I don't want him getting any ideas on being the one and only."

She nodded. "Do you want to use a different name?"

He straightened. "For the moment, I'm Janus. Not the only one, but damned if I'm going to drop a name I'm used to just because someone else out there shares it. After we meet... if I'm still around... I'll decide what to do."

"Right. I'll talk to the others. I'll help you, certainly. I owe you that much. It looks like things are getting dangerous, though, depending on what sort of person that other Janus is. So I'm going to let them decide what they want to do." Virginia smiled wryly. "Though I'm betting they'll come along."

Janus couldn't help but agree. "It's better than hiding under a rock from the Ark of Destiny folk," he added.

.oOo.

Pete Inkapilia's work room was at the bottom of the complex, reachable only by an elevator that responded to Janus as if he belonged there. To Virginia, it was yet another bit of proof that he wasn't just a mass of someone else's shattered memories. Janus obviously disagreed, but refused to fight about it. "I'm just saying it doesn't prove a thing, Ginny love."

It was aggravating, especially because Virginia had to admit he was right. Jet added, "Does it really matter, anyway? Whatever he is, it's getting us in." The young man rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you two are over-thinking things."

"I have to agree," Clive murmured as the elevator drew to a halt. "It cannot be denied that our Janus here is a real person..."

"And a real pain in the rump, sometimes," Gallows interjected and received a glare from his three partners. "What?"

Laughter echoed in the elevator, surprising Virginia. She kept forgetting how calmly Janus took insults. She sometimes wished she had that talent. "When you got talents, kid, go with 'em." Janus shrugged, "Don't sweat it, gang. It's not like I don't know I'm a troublemaker. Or parts of me was... or..." His voice faded away as the lights came on in the large room beyond, his gold eyes widening with a startled look in them. "Oh yeah."

Virginia followed his gaze but couldn't see what it was that was making him so excited. The room beyond wasn't much different from any of the other laboratories they'd been in before. Well, cleaner, certainly. A set of machines were working their way from one end of the room to the other, one sweeping dust, another sucking it up and a third wiping the floor. A large empty glass jar stood across from her, similar to the ones Malik had used for his mother's clone, or those they'd seen in the lab where Jet had been created. Beside it stood another, smaller, glass case. This one, however, held a familiar looking weapon.

Janus' bayonet.

.oOo.

Moving slowly, feeling foolishly certain it would disappear if he rushed in, Janus leaned the Dark Sword against the nearest wall and slid the case open. "They fixed it," he murmured, caressing the stock, feeling the living metal respond to his touch. He glanced over at Virginia, who'd come to join him while the others explored the room curiously. "It got smashed at Ka Dingel. I... sort of... remember bringing it here for the machines to fix."

Virginia looked like she wanted to point out that that was more proof that he wasn't just a copy created by her memories but stopped herself in time. He grinned. "Yeah, I could be picking those memories up from whatever the real Janus left behind, last time he was here. And the other Cascade may remember it too. This may have been what Dario and Romero were sent to get him. If it is, it's his misfortune and my good fortune that I have it now." He shrugged, picking up the bayonet and grinning at it happily. "Hullo love. Miss me?"

"Y'know, that thing has got to be the biggest case of overcompensation I've ever seen, Janus." Virginia was apparently settling for returning snide for snide, something he could deal with a lot better than the sympathy and concern she'd been radiating up until now.

"Hey!" Clive's voice from the other side of the room elicited two grins in his direction. "I think I've just been insulted."

While Janus and the others laughed at her, Virginia struggled to regain her composure. "Clive, you're the tallest of us. That shotgun of yours is big, but it's not taller than you are. Janus here is shorter than you are and his gun just as big! If that isn't overcompensation for something, nothing is."

Still laughing, Janus carried the gun across the room to the doorway he knew led into the testing range. "Sure it's overcompensation, Ginny my love, but it's fun overcompensation." As she gave him that look of utter disbelief that he'd come to regard as almost as good as fondness he tossed her a pair the ear protectors sitting on the table near the door. "Here. I'll show you."

.oOo.

Virginia glanced at her fellows. Gallows and Jet were following her but Clive just sort of waved her on as he examined the computer against the wall. Then she went into the long room and watched Janus carefully and lovingly load his weapon. He really could be such a big kid when it came to fighting. She could almost sense his pleasure in the near ritual of arming himself. Then he hit a button that set a target shaped like one of the monsters they'd fought near the Fortune Gear temple sliding back and forth.

As he raised the bayonet in one hand she quickly put on her ear protection. It was just in time as the ARMs fired across the room, its bullets striking the target with the precision she remembered. The look on his face was joyful, as if, for the first time, he really was feeling himself. And maybe he is. The Dark Spear is a cool toy but he was made for that rifle and it was made for him. He obviously missed it. No matter how much fun he had cutting things up.

As if he couldn't help himself, Gallows moved into position beside Janus. Janus glanced at him momentarily, moved sideways and muttered, "Left arm, near the elbow." Gallows took the shot, blowing the target away easily.

"Right antenna," the big Baskar answered, and Janus raised a brow, then took the target out. A moment later, Jet was on his other side, joining into the game. Virginia couldn't help herself, she moved forward and took her own turn.

"Can't you speed this thing up?"

"The switch is on your side. Turn it right for faster, left for slow. Better turn on the automatic reload, too or we'll be outta target." Virginia followed Janus' instructions then focused on what she was doing. It felt good, in an odd way, to just settle into the pattern of firing. No one getting hurt, no one in any danger. Just the continuous 'bang' 'bang' 'bang' of their ARMs.

At last, though, the targets stopped coming and Janus sighed. "Going to have to refill, looks like." He stepped back and grinned that grin at Virginia, who found herself unable to avoid grinning back. "See what I mean, though?"

Virginia holstered her weapons and shrugged. "Okay, so I'll admit that that's fun. Doesn't mean I think you need a giant ARMs to get anywhere." She stepped back, startled, as he swung his weapon down and handed it to her. "What?" The rifle was surprisingly light and easily held, considering its size.

"Try it."

Now that was just silly. ARMs had to be specially configured to the wielder in order to be fired. That was why Jet had had to have a specialized ARMs made from the planet's lifeforce just as her pistols were made to be compatible with herself. Well, strictly speaking, they were made for Daddy. It's just because I'm his daughter that I didn't need to have them reconfigured. "Janus..." she started to protest.

He moved behind her, hands adjusting her position. It was a startlingly familiar moment and it took her a moment to realize why. There wasn't the same size difference but a strong male hand on hers, supporting her arm and guiding her aim... just like her father used to do so long ago. She nearly leaned into him but forced herself to hold still. "I can't fire your..." Her finger pulled the trigger and she felt the weapon respond to her as if it were her own.

The last remnants of the target were shredded away by the blast.

.oOo.

"All right, Janus. Give. You knew I'd be able to fire that thing. Why?"

The five of them were settled around dining table in the living quarters that Janus - sort of - remembered as being his own personal space. Janus kicked his feet back, feeling rather pleased with himself. The memories were coming a bit clearer now, a bit more certain, and it made him feel more confident in himself. Copy, clone or all that was left of Cascade, he had a life and a purpose. And a past. Even if it isn't entirely my own.

"I remembered another little bit of trivia," he answered, patting his rifle and grinning at her. "Remember where the nano-machines came from that I was built from? Not to mention Baby here?" At Virginia's puzzled look he rubbed his hand through his hair. "Ginny, love. Your father, or whatever that was we met up at Yggdrasil told you. He donated them from his ARMs. You were so busy worrying about how to get me fixed that I guess you didn't listen close."

A frown crossed Virginia's features, then her eyes widened. "Oh you're right." Then her expression shifted as another realization hit her. "Janus, is that why I'm the only one who can... affect you?" At his grin she dropped her head forward, obviously at a loss for words. When he started chuckling she lifted her face and glared at him. "What? What's so funny?"

"Well..." He couldn't help it. "I'm your ARMs. Want to fire me?"

When she smacked him upside the head, he started laughing in earnest.

.oOo.

It took Virginia several minutes to fight down the blush that suffused her cheeks. She didn't dignify Janus', or her companions', howls of laughter with any further remarks, however, simply turning and - as coolly as she could manage - asking Clive, "Did you find anything interesting?" To her irritation, it took even Clive several minutes to recover from the moment.

Finally, eyes turning serious from behind their thick lenses, Clive shook his head. "Every computer in the place is in the same state the ones we found elsewhere were. Bits and pieces of data, tantalizing hints of what happened." He sighed, disappointedly. "The problem being that we really didn't need to know most of what I found there."

"Most?" Virginia asked. "That suggests you found at least one thing."

Going to the computer, Clive opened up the box that he'd taught Virginia and the others was called a 'printer'. "Here," he said. "Look at the roller." When Virginia got up and joined him, she saw there were words hammered into the black cylinder, barely legible owing to other words beneath them. It would have been impossible to read if those lower words were different from the upper, but the line was the same, repeated over and over and over again, all around the cylinder.

"Janus. Everything going wrong. Get Keziah. Get out. Betrayed. Doran. Betrayed. Get out of town" Janus' voice was harsh and strained as he spoke the words that he apparently didn't even need to look at to know. "I tried, Pete. It was too late by the time I read your message. She was already gone." His laughter had died away as quickly as it had started. "You. Changed. Everyone. Changed. The whole damned world. Changed. And only me and those three bastards to remember the way things were."

Virginia put a hand on Janus' shoulder and was surprised when he didn't refuse the gesture. He managed a smile at her, though his gold eyes had a suspiciously damp look to them. "We know what Yggdrassil's crash did already. Leehault. Malik. Melody your father. They managed to escape. I watched everything change around me and couldn't figure out why I wasn't affected." He looked at his hands. "Everyone who knew anything about Yggdrassil were turned into whole new people, their minds and their thoughts remade. Only their bodies remained." He swallowed. "Claudia's not Keziah's sister, Ginny. She's Keziah's body, walking around with a whole new person inside her. Just like Pete... became." He choked, "...Just like everybody in this town. It wasn't always the way it is now."

Big hands pushed downward on the table as Janus rose to his feet. "I think, of all the things I don't want to remember, it's that. I was so excited over my ARMs just now, I was able to ignore the other memories here." He sighed, shook his head. "Let's go. There's nothing else we're going to learn here."

To Be Continued...