Original timeline

UHoT Timelab

About an hour or so later, the preparations were finally complete.

"That should do it. I don't think we can improve the code any better than this," Diina told the krewe.

Zigg paused to relax from his terminal. "And the waiting game begins."

Lynni is drinking some water over by a window as Ellie watches the QTT cube. With each passing minute, she thought the chances of Azeena and Selene's safe return might decrease. Azelia and the others entered the lab.

"Sorry about earlier. Didn't realize we were that loud," Azelia said.

Diina just smiled and waved it aside. "We just finished making our changes. All we need now is a solid signal from either of them."

She didn't have to wait long at all. After a few minutes of silence, the QTT registered a VM signal detected in the spacetime continuum. It put everyone on alert. The krewe moved faster than ever since the project first began. Lynni dropped her water and hopped in her terminal seat.

"It's from Unit 02-A," Ellie reported. "Azeena!"

"Zigg, lock on to her signal!" Diina ordered.

He entered commands as fast as his short fingers would let him.

"Come on, come on!" Diina insisted.

"Just a few more seconds," Zigg told her.

"Frequency overlay in place and stable for about 8 more seconds," Lynni reported.

The anticipation was killing Diina. "Zigg!"

He finished his part. "Do it!"

Diina entered a quick command of her own and pressed a big round button to complete it. "Transmission in progress!"

Alternate timeline

The Grove

Selene forced herself up to her feet as Azeena finished charging the Signet. Selene managed to run a few steps before the Signet fired where she was sitting. The blast was not at full strength and the shockwave from it knocked her down. She rolled over on her back as quickly as possible.

Kira and Azelia was also beginning to get back up. Kira saw Azeena and Selene a short distance away. She started to go help Azeena but Azelia grabbed her boot and tripped her. Their punching brawl continued.

Azeena noticed Azelia's greatsword was close to her and picked it up. Selene tried to get up but Azeena stepped on her bad arm upon arriving at her location, causing more pain to the shoulder. She raised the greatsword overhead using both hands, with intention of driving it through Selene's skull.

Azeena had to be stopped. Selene turned her head away with eyes closed and raised her right forearm over her head and braced herself, fearing for the worst.

At least ten to fifteen seconds have passed. Nothing happened yet.

Selene decided to open her eyes and see what was causing the delay. She did so and very slowly turned her head to look at her, lowering her forearm for a better view. Azeena was just standing there in that same pose, staring at the VM unit on Selene's arm.

However, Azeena's face was different. Her temper has been greatly reduced almost to a calm-like state. The glowing of her eyes was not as bright. The expression on her face was one of great confusion, as if something was affecting her mind.

Azeena then slowly lowered the greatsword off to one side of her and dropped it. She then reached down and gently grabbed Selene's forearm by the hand. With her other hand, she helped Selene slowly get back to her feet, not taking her eyes off of the VM unit. Selene herself was just as surprised. Has Azeena somehow managed to regain what was left of her sanity? Selene then looked over at Azelia and Kira, who stopped in wonder of what would happen.

Kira especially was now more calm. The reduction of Azeena's corrupted power levels had spread to her, making her less rebellious.

"What's... happening to me?" Kira asked.

Charsi slowly sat up, also affected by the reduction. "Ow, my head."

Selene believed they would no longer be a threat to anyone. Everyone was getting to their feet.

"Pl... please... for... give... me," said Azeena.

She then repositioned herself to view the VM unit so the control panel wouldn't be upside down to her. The expression of confusion was still there on Azeena's face. She was trying to understand something but wasn't sure how. Azeena began slowly pressing buttons on the unit's panel. It didn't appear to be random because Selene recognized what was being entered.

"These look like Diina's equations," Selene said. "How do you know them?"

Diina's plan was a success. Azeena received the modified reconfiguration codes but because of the absorbing part of her corrupted energy, the knowledge was absorbed directly to her mind. From Azeena's subconscious point of view, Diina represents the modified codes, who appeared out of nowhere to blast Evil Azeena with a meteor shower, knocking her out, and then restored the good side's health before disappearing herself, thinking EA is dead.

"We... do not... belong... here," said Azeena, continuing to work. "Not... our... time... line."

"Yes, I already figured that was the case," Selene informed her.

"This... will... send... us... back... home."

She finished modifying the unit and started working on her own. A countdown timer displayed on Selene's unit panel. The timejump sequence is set to automatically activate in one minute and cannot be turned off. Selene turned her attention to the others.

"We sincerely apologize for all the chaos and confusion our presence has caused everyone. It was not intentional. We are moments away from leaving," she told them.

45 seconds remaining.

Azelia had a tear in her eye. "Do you really have to go?"

Selene paused before answering. "Like she said, we don't belong here." She then looked over to Azeena. The guardian was just standing there with her finger over the control panel, not pushing anything. Her eyes had the look of concern in them.

30 seconds.

"Azeena, what is it?" Selene asked her.

She paused before responding. "Can't... remember... how... to... finish... this." In her mind, Evil Azeena is starting to wake up again, groggy and disoriented.

Selene got closer to view Azeena's unit panel. Everything had been entered except for two things. The spacetime coordinates of the original timeline and the countdown timer. She can still activate the timejump but the destination will be random.

15 seconds.

"Try to remember! You have to!" Selene pleaded.

Azeena tried to think for a few moments. "It's... gone." The knowledge has faded away into oblivion. They looked at each other. Evil Azeena's head is almost cleared.

"Tell... sisters... I... love... them."

6... 5... 4...

Selene didn't know what to say. With Azeena's memory of the codes now forgotten, her corruption power levels were slowly rising again. The red glow of her eyes began to glow brighter.

3... 2... 1... timejump sequence activated.

In a brief flash of light, Selene disappeared with a pop of the air around where she stood. Azeena is now struggling to concentrate but it was a losing battle. With the last fragment of her free will, she manually activated her own unit, disappearing in another flash of light.

In her mind, the evil side grabbed the good side's head with both hands and twisted it almost 180 degrees, breaking her neck.

For the first time that she can remember, Kira began to cry, knowing she will never see Azeena again. Azelia noticed it and embraced her. To the mesmer's surprise, Kira did the same. A new beginning and possibly a new friendship.