"And after that accident? What happened then?" Croissant Cookie asked curiously, sitting down in a puffy chair in the Director's office. Timekeeper Cookie chuckled, crossing one leg over the other in their own seat.

"Normally, that'd be it. I'd stop telling you about myself, because everyone deserves to have secrets!" They grinned a little bit. "But, since you've been so insistent and cooperative, I suppose I wouldn't mind telling you about what happened to me next."

Croissant leaned forward, looking interested. "Then tell me! It's not every day you find out you have an alter ego, anyway..."

"Very well... I'll simply show you what happened." Timekeeper stood up, using the Sonic Embroider and, before Croissant could resist, the two of them vanished.

Croissant opened her eyes. She and Timekeeper were now in the time rift Timekeeper mostly called home, the various gears and orange hues of the rift almost a welcoming sight. But something was different, and Timekeeper pulled her behind a gear, peering out from behind it at someone else. Croissant followed their gaze, and gasped.

The person they were looking at was none other than another Croissant Cookie, sporting the same yellow eyes as Timekeeper did, and who was clearly struggling to withstand the pressure of the rift. Croissant opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Timekeeper.

"That is my past self, weathering the time rift's effects. Of course now, I can filter out those same harmful effects, but back then... not having protection against it was nothing short of painful." Timekeeper almost sounded remorseful at that. Were they remembering the pain?

The past Croissant grunted, and sat down shakily, clutching the Sonic Embroider with both gloved hands. Her left eye was squeezed shut, and she was gasping, trying not to scream. The present Croissant, behind the gear, winced and looked away. "It... had to be hard, right? To go through all that just for..."

Timekeeper Cookie didn't respond for a second, their gaze fixated on their past self. But eventually they smiled, and looked down. "Recalling it, no, not really. I had thought it was worth it, to break out of monotony. Remember, I did not have a Timekeeper Cookie of my own to change that course of events."

Croissant blinked. Was... was that why Timekeeper Cookie only struck then? Pinning the disrupted timeline on Gingerbrave... was that all a ploy to... keep Croissant from following exactly the same path?

"W-Wait, Timekeeper, did you-" Croissant was interrupted by the tip of the Sonic Embroider nearly plunging into her neck, and the mechanic gasped at the sudden movement. Timekeeper Cookie gave her a dangerous look.

"You may be my apprentice now, but don't make assumptions like that. It was merely a coincidence that I happened to create that entire incident right about then." And yet, Croissant didn't believe them. Not entirely. Especially considering the way their expression wavered, and their arm slightly shook... no, Timekeeper Cookie wasn't entirely careless after all. They clearly didn't want Croissant to feel the pain of the future. Not like that.

"Okay... I believe you." It was a white-faced lie. But Timekeeper seemed satisfied, and sat down on the Embroider, smiling.

"That's good! Now, for story-time." They leaned back, almost in a relaxed manner. Croissant sat up, still glancing at the struggling past Croissant, who had put a hand over her closed left eye. Timekeeper chimed in.

"There's a reason why I was clutching my eye." Timekeeper pointed to their own left eye. It was currently covered by an eye-patch of sorts, though it was made in a way that made it look like an eye itself. "My left eye is... powerful. I can see all possible timelines with it. That's why it stays under this eye-patch."

Croissant frowned. "How does that even work? There's so many timelines..."

Timekeeper nodded. "Exactly the point. There's so many, in fact, that one could find themselves in quite a lot of pain if heading somewhere with too many possible events. And so, I had this eye-patch made. The TBD didn't understand why I needed it, but they supplied it regardless."

"And if the time rift's effects caused it..." Croissant put her wrench to her chin. "I'm guessing it also changed your hair and skin, right?"

Timekeeper smiled. "Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Yes, the time rift altered my skin and hair, turning it grayer and more puffy, respectively. It was almost as if the changes were making me more immune to the time rift's effects! Which they were. And eventually, the changes were too noticeable. I couldn't hide them anymore."

Croissant nodded solemnly. "And that's when you left."

"Precisely. I bid my garage goodbye, and left forever, changing both wardrobe and name. I haven't seen anyone from that timeline in such a long time! Though I'm sure they don't remember me anymore. I happen to be an anomaly in itself, after all." Timekeeper sighed, resting their head in their hands. "I don't miss it. It was too boring."

"I see..." Croissant stood up. "I think I get it. You stepped in and caused the incident right before I would've done the exact same thing you did. And then you offered to guide me to get the power you have. To make things easier for me."

Timekeeper's smile faded, and they sat up, looking a bit uncomfortable. "We Croissant Cookies are always too perceptive for our own good, aren't we? Though... yes. You're right. I fancy myself a pioneer in this type of context, and making you get through it the difficult way feels almost... boring! And it would've taken far too long. So simply guiding you through the process would've sped things up! And yet, you still rejected the power." They sighed, though they didn't seem so upset. "Of course, you offered me a twist I never even expected in return, so I wasn't even angry!"

Croissant didn't reply. This all sounded... right. Timekeeper really did hate monotony over all else, even if it meant doing bad things, like messing with the timeline... and Croissant felt similarly. The TBD is fun to be a part of, but it sometimes fell into a loop...

The mechanic reached forward and shook Timekeeper's hand. "Hey, I won't make this future monotonous. You can count on that."

Timekeeper Cookie stared back at Croissant, almost shocked. Though it was hard to tell, considering their eyes... but they responded in kind, shaking Croissant's hand as well. "A wonderful promise. Perhaps I'll hold you to it, then."

Croissant gave them her classic confident smile. There was no telling what exactly would happen, but she knew that it definitely wouldn't ever get boring; not when she and Timekeeper were working together.