Hey all,

Sorry, it's a day late, but life throws a curveball sometimes, Here's the next one, Hope you enjoy it.

Episode 26 - Waking Nightmare

"Hey wakey, wakey," a gentle voice echoed.

Sitting up with a start, Max frowned as she examined her surroundings, wondering where she was. Everything was black, nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small patch of grass. It looked… familiar.

"It'll come back to you," the voice reassured soothingly. "It can take a while for the memory block to wear off."

A few moments later, two brown leather chairs appeared, followed by a brightly colored rope like structure. Stood by a chair was a blonde young woman, who approached Max with a smile.

"R-" Max began, catching herself as a further flicker of recognition flashed in her mind. "Nona…? Wait, how do I know that?"

"Give it a minute," Nona assured, extending her hand to help her up.

"How did I forget?" the brunette asked, the memory of her prior visit resurfacing. It felt like yesterday.

"I told you, it takes a few minutes to wear off," the blonde answered, giving her a quick hug. "Enjoyed your RnR, I see."

"Uh, you can… see what I've done," Max mumbled, blushing at the thought of being watched.

"Kinda in the 'Watcher' job description, Max," Nona chuckled softly. "I do try not to be too intrusive. Although, you haven't been making it easy for me. You've been practically glowing these past two weeks."

"Well, I've been, um, happy," the young girl stammered, feeling a light blush on her cheeks.

"Hmm… I can tell," the blonde smirked, leading her over to the leather chairs.

They both sat down, making sure Max remembered everything from last time before they proceeded.

"So, I'm pretty much immortal, right?" she concluded.

Nona tilted her head from side to side, shrugging. "More or less. You won't age, at least. As we've already discussed last time, there are… other ways to die."

"And Chloe?" Max asked, hopeful. She didn't want to live forever if the bluenette wasn't by her side. No point.

The older woman's face crumpled slightly. "Still working on it. I can't see a logical reason to keep you separated, but… the others seem less convinced."

Noticing the mild frustration, Max figured it was a good idea to change the subject. "Before, you said something about you guys keeping the balance… the balance of what?"

Nona's irritation faded. "Guess a little history lesson is in order. A long time ago…"

'In a galaxy far far away…' Max finished wryly in her head.

"Note to self, don't start history lessons with the opening line to Star Wars," the other woman chuckled to herself.

"You know Star Wars?" the brunette probed, confused.

"If you know it, I know it. No secrets between us," she replied with a playful smirk.

"Oh, dog…" Max blushed as she tried to suppress a few stray thoughts about her blue-haired girlfriend.

"Too late for that," Nona teased playfully. "Don't worry, I don't peek… often. Honestly, it's just nice to see you happy for a change."

"Well, of course. I have Chloe and it didn't cost half a town of people…" Frowning, Max corrected herself. "Okay, half a town, but people are safe… mostly."

"You went above and beyond, Max. I'm very proud of you." Nona's expression matched her words. "Now, where was I… Oh, yes. In a galaxy far far away," she repeated, making the brunette roll her eyes. "Before we ascended, we weren't all that different from you. Living normal lives, working, playing… among other things. Things you've only just scratched the surface on."

"Can we please not talk about... that?" Max mumbled, blushing even harder.

"Sorry, can't help it," the blonde chuckled. "Like I said before, I don't get to do this much anymore. It gets kinda lonely up here."

"What about the other Watchers? I heard them," the brunette recalled.

That made Nona scoff sarcastically. "Yeah, because they really know how to party. Besides, it's more a jumbled mess of many now. They keep merging together. Apparently, it helps with communication or something. Think Borg from Star Trek, totally killed any form of socializing."

"I… had no idea," Max replied sympathetically. "Sounds boring."

"Boring doesn't even begin to cover it," Nona revealed, clearly frustrated by her situation. "And they keep trying to get me in on the mass melding. Sorry, I like being me."

"Well, I suppose I can handle a bit of teasing, then," the young time traveler reluctantly conceded.

"I'll try not to abuse my power," Nona reassured. "Anyway, back in the day, it was called Witchcraft. We lived in a time of peace and prosperity… and we all know how those kinds of stories go. Darkness arrives, good people suffer, war and grief overwhelm the lands. Pretty standard stuff. Even with our powers, we couldn't foresee or stop it… until someone with a very rare gift managed to locate and contain the cause of our strife."

To Max's left, a shapeless black liquid oozed up from the ground. Several limbs, a toothless mouth, and a single large eye appeared. The appearance was… unsettling, enough to make her want to ignore it. "What is it?"

"Shadow Fiend," Nona answered simply. "This is the only image we have. That feeling of not wanting to see, that's how they stay hidden. They feed off negative emotions: hate, guilt, regret, anger, despair. Like greedy leeches, they latch onto a host and feed until there's nothing left."

An involuntary shudder worked its way down Max's spine. "What am I supposed to do against something I can't even look at?"

"You've already been fighting and beating them, Max," Nona began to explain, noting the other girl's confusion. "When you… gave up Chloe, do you remember what that felt like?"

"How could I forget…?" Max mumbled, feeling the faint grip of hopelessness at her heart. "Wait, are you saying one of those… things attached to me?"

Nona nodded. "Pretty sure, yes. Those Chosen are given their gifts to instill hope in the hopeless, give people faith and pull them out of the darkness. While we can't kill the Shadow Fiends, we can keep them at bay. Left unchallenged, the world would be an infinitely darker place."

Biting her lip, Max thought it all over. "So, my job is..."

"To help those who lose their way, mostly other Chosen by helping them stay true to themselves. In turn, they help so many other people in their lifetime," Nona clarified, crossing her arms.

"How will I know who…?" Max began, getting cut off.

"You'll be drawn to them naturally. From time to time, I'll give you a heads up, although…" Her expression turned troubled as she shuffled in her chair. "Not everyone can be saved, Max. No matter how much you plan."

"You lost someone. A chosen," the younger girl concluded, getting a sad nod in return.

"Recently, too. I tried everything to keep her safe. Just needed to hold on a little longer until you arrived." Nona's shoulders slumped with defeat. "That's why the other Watchers refused to move your test. The loss made them panic, I think."

"Until I arrived? Who… was it?" Max asked, something deep inside suggesting she already knew the answer.

Sighing, Nona gestured to her current form. "You're kinda looking at her. It's part of the reason I chose this form, to remind myself."

Blue eyes widened. "Rachel… she was a Chosen. What was her power?"

Rubbing her face with her hands to pull herself together, Nona continued. "A powerful one she didn't even know she had. Simply put, she could inspire those around her, brighten their lives. Unlike your power though, she wasn't born with it. It gets passed on."

Everyone Max had spoken to had nothing but good things to say about Rachel Amber… except for Victoria and her crew, although that was down to jealousy. David too, but he was hostile to literally everyone. Every rule had its exceptions. All of this might explain her uncanny ability to blend in with any social situation.

"I don't think I'll be telling Chloe about that just yet, might still be a bit... raw. And I don't think I could ever tell her about William..." The moment the brunette said that, she felt guilty for trying to hide the truth - however painful - from her girlfriend. "Is that wrong, to keep it from her?"

"You think she would blame you?" Nona asked, genuinely curious. From what she had seen of Chloe Price, it could go either way. She knew that even if the bluenette said she blamed Max, she wouldn't mean it.

"No... yes, I don't know. I sorta do. I mean, I had the chance to change it... but I couldn't. I won't let her go," Max stated with immense determination.

"Max, she won't blame you. You had no control over it." Nona's expression softened, letting out a sigh as she leaned back in her chair. "Look, Max. We... the other watchers and I, haven't sealed someone's fate like that since just after we ascended. It was a unanimous decision to allow people to make their path, their own destinies. When they started talking about sealing William's fate, I objected as you know. So, instead of out right sealing his fate, they compromised. Leaving you the choice - Willaim, or Chloe."

"How could they do that? It's an impossible choice," Max all but growled, angry at the shitty hand she had been dealt yet again.

Shaking her head, Nona continued softly. "One you made Max. And I think you and I both know that William would have chosen the same, so too would Joyce. I can make you one promise, though... It will never happen again so long as I'm around. It was cruel and unnecessary in the end, but they wanted to make sure you understood the complications of going back too far on your own timeline. A day or two at most. A week is pushing it... but then you always were one to break some rules, when a certain bluenette was involved," she finished, almost sounding proud.

"I don't always break rules when Chloe's around," Max defended feebly.

That made the blonde girl scoff. "Oh REEEALY? Wine tasting, stargazing when you're supposed to be sleeping."

"We did actually sleep then... okay, we fell asleep on the roof," the time traveler conceded reluctantly, unable to help the slight smile at the fond memory.

Also smiling now, Nona continued to go through the long list of questionable rule-bending. "Breaking and entering... several times. The same building twice, late night swimming, an RV, a... fucked up bunker. Theft of money, twice."

Faced with the ever-growing list of borderline - in some cases actual - criminal activity, Max shrugged. "In my defense, most of that was to uncover what happened to Rachel and Kate."

"I'm not judging you, Max," Nona reassured, rolling her shoulders. "The point is, you have always, and will always willingly push yourself and break the rules for Chloe. Given the same opportunities, she would do the same for you. And if she had been put in the same position you were, she would have chosen the same path... and probably kicked up a much bigger stink about it too, I'd wager."

"Chloe vs the gods...I can actually see that happening" Max chuckled, the mental image of that showdown materializing in her mind.

"I wouldn't want to judge that one..." Nona added, from her expression obviously imagining a similarly intense and amusing scenario. "Try not to think about it too much. Give it some time and then tell her. Six months, a year, whenever you feel she would be ready to listen. She won't blame you, Max... and if she needs someone to blame, she can blame me, okay."

"Not like she can come up here and give you a piece of her mind," the younger girl pointed out.

"Maybe not yet, but who knows," Nona mentioned, distant and thoughtful.

"You mean... but how?" Max frowned, wondering how that meeting could even be possible.

Hazel eyes met blue, deadly serious. "Max, you've accelerated so quickly with your gift. It comes out different in each chosen. None of the others ever managed to share their memories with another person, for instance. Or use photos to travel back in time five years. Guess that's your brain's way of overcomming not being able to see the timeline like you can now."

"Wait... I've done things my predecessors couldn't?" Max asked, not sure how to feel about that. Normally, she might be happy but... the new extensions of her powers - the photo rewind in particular - had screwed her over.

"The memory... shadow walking I think you called it... Nope, you're the first. The photo jumping, like I said, it was your brain's way of overcoming an obstacle. You seem good at that sort of thing," Nona explained, sounding mildly impressed.

"Always was good at puzzles, and computer games, although Chloe used to say otherwise, usually due to her cheating." When it came to the blue-haired punk, cheating was a given.

"I recall a few incidents of that, yes," Nona added with a slight smirk. "Well, I think that about covers most of it... And our time is up yet again, it seems," she mentioned sadly. "I won't be wiping your memory this time, though. Until next time, Max. I'll be watching," she finished with a wink as everything faded.

"You're just gonna make me more self-conscious than I already am," Max muttered, wondering how the hell she was supposed to do anything with Chloe without feeling super embarrassed.

"It's fun watching you blush," Nona replied, echoey yet clearly amused.

"Why should I care?" a somewhat familiar voice - maybe belonging to a woman - echoed around, angry then emotional. "I didn't even get a chance to…"

Silence, as if half of the conversation was lost to the void.

"Then WHY didn't you TELL her. It's SUPPOSED to be your job, isn't it?" she snapped, fuelled with rage.

Nothing, then faint crying. Getting louder and louder, more desperate and heart breaking.

"I don't… care about the… others," she muttered bitterly between sobs. A few moments later, the voice was laced with confusion. "What… is this? What's happening to it?"

Again, no words or other sounds for a long time, like the person was listening to someone.

"So… you're saying there's more. Other chances?" she inquired, hesitant. Finally, the fury reached breaking point, erupting like a volcano. "But it's not fair... No, I DONT WANNA HEAR IT! I… I didn't even get to say... goodbye." All that followed was a pitiful, body wracking sob filled with despair and pain.

Waking with a start, Max shot upright almost headbutting a worried looking bluenette. "Just for the record, I'd much prefer a morning kiss to a headbutt. You okay?" she asked, putting her arms around Max's shoulder.

"Uh, yeah. Just… a weird dream," the brunette replied, still very confused.

"Seemed like a nightmare to me," Chloe added, giving her a searching look. "You were crying and muttering about... I'm not sure what you were saying, to be honest."

Max shook her head. "No, that… wasn't me. I was just talking with... That had to be a dream, but that other part… that felt real enough."

"So, you had two dreams then," Chloe summarized.

"I don't think the first one was a dream... Oh god, that means..." Max groaned, visibly blushing recalling Nona's teasing remarks. 'I'm gonna need a serious talk with her about that.'

"What kinda dream? I better have been in it," the bluenette smirked suggestively. "Don't hold out on the deets."

Rolling her eyes at the insinuation, Max sighed. "Um, sort of. You're gonna be insufferable after I tell you…" Before, Chloe had told her that she was born to do this… how right she was.

There's some food for thought.

Till next week

Peace out