Part 3:
"So now tell me what the hell is going on. You know something, don't you, Lady?" Jet snarled as a heterochromatic teen served him red wine, of all things. He was raised on cheap wines and homemade pastas because of his family's poverty. Back in 1961, that was considered food for the poor; now in 2021 that was considered "rich people's" food- well, expensive wine and chef-made pasta.
He had been sired from Italian grandparents who were immigrants to America a while before he was born; he always considered himself very American, though. He did have a fondness for wines because of his family's traditions; it was about the only thing he wanted to keep as a tradition from his crummy family.
His dark thoughts over his abusive family shifted towards Ivan. He remembered it wasn't polite to stare at miss-matched eyes as the teen, named Watanuki, tried to serve him some fancy, Japanese hors devors. Jet shook his head, more focused on the wine.
"You are having difficulties moving past your birthday. You're trapped in a small sliver of time, and you'll keep reliving the same twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-nine seconds over and over," Yuuko said. She was the woman who owned this strange shop. She picked up her glass of wine and took a demure, savoring sip. Jet had scoffed when she had claimed this was a wish shop; he still felt this woman was just like a sideshow act at some strange carnival.
"Listen, I got a bump on my head yesterday, but that doesn't mean I'm a dumb candy-ass that believes in wishes. And I'm not a PSYCHO!" Jet howled, but then gulped down his glass of wine. He held out the glass towards the teen with the bottle. The heterochromatic teen filled the glass again, and then respectfully stood behind Yuuko's fainting couch where she lounged.
Under her hard gaze Jet admitted, "Okay, okay, I seem to remember the same day over and over, but each time it's slightly different. Details like the movie I watched or conversations I had are slightly different, but it's always the same type of things happening. It's happened twice now."
The wish shop owner sipped her wine and said, "You've actually relived the same day fifty-three times."
"What?! How's that?! Fifty-three times?!"
"Yes, and you're about to fall back into the loop and relive your very horrible birthday, yet again. Complete with a hangover and that special bruise on your head," she informed him in a firm, but bland way.
Jet gulped down his glass of wine, letting what she said sink in. His eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. I never told you today was my birthday in the first place." Then Jet shook his head in confusion. "No, it can't be. Yesterday... was my... birthday..." He then looked at the paper calender on the end table and swallowed hard when he read February 2nd. "Wait a minute... but I know it's February 3rd! I'm just going to go to the Magic Pan and call him on this stupid prank."
"Who would that be!"
"That rotten bastard, Albert Heinrich, that's who! He's somehow convinced everyone I know to play along with his sick joke."
"So you still don't believe you'll have the same terrible night, wake up tomorrow, and relive the same day all over, Jet Link?" Yuuko asked not thawing her stern expression. "So did Herr Heinrich go to all the news stations in Japan and get them to play this prank, too? The radio stations as well?"
Now Jet felt dumbfounded and a little embarrassed. "Okay, you have a point, Lady. But how did you know about the TV and stuff? How did you know I was trying to figure this all out using the news?"
She gave a slight smirk, another sip of wine, and then said, "Someone you know made a wish and paid the price for it fifty-three days ago, in spite of the great cost. It was a tremendous wish he asked that I grant, but he willingly accepted the price."
Jet swallowed and obnoxiously waved on another glass of wine. He gulped it down and got another refill from Watanuki. He said, "Alright, who convinced you to go along with this joke? It was him, Heinrich, wasn't it?"
Jet watched Yuuko's crimson eyes drift towards the end table with the paper calender. He gasped now noticing a silver chain with a dented, gold wedding band on it like a damaged pendant. Jet felt cold dread come over him as the color drained from his face. Albert never took that off.
He tried to dismiss the presence of the necklace as a fluke, or that his head was just starting to get buzzy, and he was starting to feel lightheaded. "No... that's his. He'd never let that go. Not ever! For any reason."
"He used it to save your life once when facing 0011. That's how it got dented. Now it's being used to put your life in stasis because of your stubborn nature. As long as you reject him, you'll be trapped in the place you are now."
"Yes, but," Jet fumbled, his mind numb, "he still wore it after that night he fought 0011. But then," Jet shook his head in confusion, "he wasn't wearing it last night when we were watching a movie. Wait! I kind of remember watching a movie with him, but it's so fuzzy. We didn't have that much wine! Speaking of which..." He held out his glass and Watanuki refilled it, giving him a cross look.
"That's because it's the start of the loop." She then turned her head towards the teenager now standing behind her couch. "Take note, Watanuki, the beginnings are never clear, but the ending memories are always sharpest in a time loop."
Jet had no idea what she was talking about, but the heterochromatic teen just nodded as he opened another wine bottle. She then looked at Jet again and said, "So you aren't fond of this time loop?"
"No, I ain't! This is like being back with the..." Jet clamped his mouth shut quickly and sipped on his wine in spite of his buzz. "Never mind," he mumbled.
"The Black Ghost?"
Jet's stomach fluttered in panic. "How do you know about them? And also... how did you know about 0011? Do you know what I am?" he asked in a shaky voice.
"You feel trapped, once again, in a life not of your choosing," she said. "And, yes, it was done by Albert Heinrich. He had me cast the wish."
"So he trapped me in some sort of demented time loop, if I was to believe you, Lady? I'm not sayin' I do, but... well... I've had some strange things happen to me in my life. Hey! And wait a minute! The Black Ghost?! I never once said a thing about them, either. Heinrich knows better than to spill that information to a stranger."
Then, every sort emotional pain he'd experienced since coming in contact with the Black Ghost flared up. If this whole thing was true, Albert had committed the ultimate betrayal Jet could ever feel. He had put Jet in a type of supernatural cage, and Jet's heart always beat fiercely against being caged.
"Why? Why would he do this to me?" Jet raged and gulped down more wine, his head getting fuzzier. "Why would he give you his wife's wedding ring for a wish? That's very important to him. There is nothing more important to him than that ring." Jet was embarrassed by his bitter tone he couldn't contain; it made his feelings too obvious.
Why was his jaw clenched and his eyes getting watery? He wasn't some stupid candy-ass! He swiped his sleeve across his face and shook his head at his irrational fantasies that kept trying to force themselves into his awareness. Jet said through clenched teeth and with balled up fists, "There's not anything more important to him than her! Her name was Hilde! If this is a wish shop, why didn't he wish her alive?"
"She is extremely important to him, but he knows the truth of this: once someone is dead, they can never return. The living must continue on and find a way to find a return to joy, or at least, comfort."
"So your saying Heinrich is putting aside his past?"
"Not entirely. The reason he asked me to create this time loop was because something happens to you at midnight on your birthday. The same thing that had happened to his wife. His heart couldn't bear the same pain twice, so he found my shop and made the wish."
"What do you mean the same thing happened to his wife?"
"You know, but you won't connected it until later, but now I want my payment for breaking the time loop."
"What the hell?" Jet said as the blood rushed away to his face. Then he sneered, "What the hell do you want, Lady?!"
"Your pride. You have to stop rejecting his overtures at romance. Otherwise, you'll be trapped for a very, very, very long time. As you progress through the time loop, you must change the things that certainly happen over and over."
"Like what?"
"You'll know as you change the day as it occurs. Start with something small and work your way up to accepting that date he offered you."
"What?! Date? No fucking way!"
"You can't do much better." Then Yuuko chuckled. "I mean, with your temperament, it's not like you have a lot of choices in romantic partners. Besides, Herr Heinrich isn't horrible looking; you could certainly do a lot worse."
"Hey, just because he's got a... Never you mind, Lady!" Jet shook his dizzy head and said, "Let me get this straight. To get out of this time loop thing I have to go on a date with that jerk?"
"Not just any date. A good, first date. One that will lead to more. The price for this wish is giving up your pride and accepting him. Your pride is something you cling onto with tenacity. You consider it the only thing not stolen from you by the Black Ghost, therefore, it's the only thing of value you posses and can use to pay the price. From now on, you'll start clearly remembering each time you relive this day. You need to take control and change details, slowly. All the ones you say repeat themselves, change those, until you can bring yourself to accept his company for one blissful night."
Jet growled, set aside his empty glass of wine, and stood on wobbly feet. "Me and Albert? What do you think I am? I ain't like that! It ain't happenin', Lady!"
Jet stormed out of the wish shop grinding his teeth, his blood just rushing in anger. How would that woman know about what was deep in the pit of his stomach? She knew too much, and it was spooking him. Could she be right? No, he shook his head furiously as he ran to the sidewalk.
Rain had started, and he was starting to get drenched. He looked behind him and gasped when he saw an empty lot where the wish shop had stood. He started trembling and then started when a car horn blew. He flinched and swirled to see Joe in his Maserati.
Joe's window lowered slightly. "Come on, Jet. Get out of the rain. Everyone is expecting you at the Magic Pan."
Jet shivered and asked dryly, dreading Joe's answerer, "Why are they expecting me?"
Joe gave a warm smile and opened up the passenger door. "Your birthday party, of course."
Jet's stomach clenched as he got into Joe's car. "Yeah... my birthday party, of course."
"Oh... not again..." Jet murmured, sitting up in his bed and rubbing the fresh sore on his forehead.
To be continued.
