The living room the group found themselves settling in was warm and cosy -even with the dark aesthetic. The black fabric of the sofa and chairs was soft to the touch, and it was the type that you could sink into when you were sat down upon it.

Chequered blankets lay across the couch, and when Tails sat down – he grabbed one to wrap it around himself. It was going to be a long meeting, so why not get comfortable?

"Here you are!" Amy smiled down on him, holding out a mug of peppermint hot cocoa. "Whipped cream, marshmallows, and chocolate shavings – just how you like it."

"Oh, heh-" Tails was just slightly embarrassed at how childish his drink sounded when said aloud, but gratefully took the mug from her hands. "Thank you, Amy."

The fox gazed into his drink, but then flitted his attention back to Amy. "Hey, uh… did you notice anything-?"

"- About Knuckles?" To the fox's surprise, Amy finished his question for him. "Yeah." She continued. "There was something off – it was subtle… like, uh-" She snapped her fingers in an attempt to word it correctly. "Like his chest wasn't puffed up proudly like it usually is, you know?" To demonstrate, she sucked in her breath and puffed up her own chest – putting on a steely expression.

"Huh, I mean… maybe I picked up on that." Tails shrugged uncertainly. Amy at last released her breath as more of their friends made their way inside.

"All Omega wants to do is fight, and I keep telling him that if we continue to spar – he'll waste all his ammo. I don't know when any of us are next going to get our hands on more ammo, and I certainly don't want him wasting it all in case we end up in an actual brawl-" Rouge confessed her woes to Shadow.

"BUT DESTRUCTION." Omega countered from behind his teammates.

"You'll only be using your hands and claws to destroy anything from now on." Shadow commanded. "Unless I state otherwise."

"NO."

Shadow stopped and stared at him for a long five seconds, leaving everyone in the room waiting in anticipation.

He then turned around to Rouge. "I tried."

"Wow." Rouge uttered in disbelief. "Some team leader you are!"

"You frequently say that you're the actual team leader, while I am just the figurehead." Shadow pointed out. "So, it's your job – is it not?"

Rouge slowly shook her head. "You are so petty."

"I think I've earned the right to be." Shadow said, leaning himself against the wall. "Where are the others?" He asked Amy and Tails.

"Silver and Blaze were just catching up!" Amy smiled. "And Knuckles said he needed some air, so he'll be here soon." As Amy said this, Rouge took a seat on the armrest furthest away from Tails – while Omega sat down on the floor next to her despite his awkward proportions – angrily folding his arms like a toddler.

"We're here!" Blaze called from the entrance. "Pardon our tardiness, for we were engrossed in our conversation."

"Oh, pardon our tardiness!" Rouge mocked in jest, putting her hand on her chest as she spoke in an exaggeratingly posh accent. "We were far too enraptured by the heavenly perfume of the roses amidst the chilly dawn-!"

Tails giggled. "Rouge." He tried to get her to stop, but it was hard to fight the urge to laugh.

Blaze's cheeks tinted red. "My apologies – it is not my intention to come off as haughty." She said, bringing her hand to her face.

"You're alright – I'm just messing with you." Rouge smirked. "In fact, I wish that at least half of the men in my life could speak with such prose… but beggars can't be choosers…" Rouge pouted, resting her cheek on her hand.

Silver was amused by the exchange, sitting down on a smaller couch beside the rest of them – inviting Blaze to sit down next to him. "Well, I'd imagine anyone who grew up in a castle would speak a little differently."

Blaze sat down slowly, willing to let the conversation move on. "And what of Knuckles?" She asked, looking around.

"Here."

Everyone's heads turned towards the echidna as he walked in the room. He successfully managed to avoid eye contact with anyone until Tails waved at him. "Over here!" He patted the space next to him, indicating for Knuckles to sit.

The echidna obliged, giving a smile to Tails.

"Hey, Knuckles~"

Knuckles' pupils shrunk in horror upon hearing the bat speak to him. His eyes darted to her, which was a big mistake.

"I've missed you…~" She grinned smugly.

"I haven't." Knuckles replied quickly.

Amy decided to interrupt before the conversation turned into a fight. "Right, well uh – I should get everyone else's drinks ready. You guys can start talking! I can hear from the kitchen-" She informed them quickly before then speeding off.

The room grew quiet as they all waited for another person to start talking. Shadow stepped up to the plate, walking to the centre of the room.

"We already know how each of you arrived here." He said, cutting to the chase. "Silver. Recount your experiences from the beginning."

"It is not too late to turn back, you know." Tikal coaxed gently. "You need not risk your safety for me."

All the hinting and persuasion in the world would fail to deter the robot, who continued on their course despite knowing where the destination actually was.

"Metal..." Tikal sighed. "I'm sorry – I suppose I'm… failing to understand it all." She began, giving up on trying to make the robot leave – and instead ask him about some of the questions that had eaten away at her. "You served the doctor for so long and with such vigour, and yet – you've moved on to a new purpose so quickly – was it… just that easy for you?"

Metal Sonic stopped in his tracks, and he sharply turned back to her. Blades of grass were all being blown forward in the wind around their feet.

"Do you feel no attachment to the purposes you are assigned?" Tikal tilted her head.

The robot responded by tapping his chest twice, each tap letting out a metallic clang.

Tikal pondered the gesture for a few steady seconds. Perhaps due to being trapped alongside the mute Chaos for thousands of years gave her a knack for picking up on the subtleties of body language – and that was why she was able to understand him.

"You believe that as you are robot – there is no heart to speak of, and you feel no emotions towards the paths laid in front of you."

Metal Sonic nodded.

"I would… feel inclined to disagree."

He folded his arms.

"You have tapped into Chaos Energy before, have you not?" She asked.

Metal nodded.

"Such an act cannot be performed if the wielder lacks a heart." She pointed out. "It is so stated in the ancient mantra itself."

The robot scratched behind his ear; despite the fact he couldn't have felt an itch.

"I think it's a common misconception that for one to use Chaos Energy… their heart must be pure, and their intentions golden – but I have since learnt that is not the case." She explained softly. "A heart simply means the presence of a soul – someone who can feel a great passion for the things they want to achieve."

Instead of making any sort of gesture – he didn't move an inch, his gaze fixated upon the echidna.

"So, you must feel a passion towards something… you have to." She smiled. "And I'm curious as to what that is."

He was still frozen in place.

Tikal looked down but found herself quietly chuckling. "I suppose us organic beings often lack that knowledge of ourselves too." She admitted. "I understand if you struggle with the question… but I do implore you to think on it." she said. "My apologies for stepping over boundaries… I have just never really gotten the opportunity to speak with a robot before."

Metal Sonic turned back around, done with the conversation – quickly walking onward once again.

"I thought now would be a better time than any, but perhaps not…" Tikal's eyes fell with disappointment, nothing ever seemed to go in her favour lately.

Oh well, it was hardly Metal's fault for not knowing those answers.

"So, let me get this straight." Rouge said. "Silver met up with an ancient echidna and Metal Sonic – and they found a magical train that takes them to whoever they desire – on the way they encountered Shadow and Knuckles – the former finding himself literally drowning in the past lives and memories of the Guardians, while the latter found himself being trapped in the body of the first Guardian for an entire year while living through the massacre of his people… I'm interpretating that right, yeah? I'm not drunk?"

"Yeah… that's the summarised version." Silver nodded awkwardly before then taking a sip of his tea.

"The summarised version…" Rouge repeated in exhaustion.

Amy had long since abandoned her coffee on the low glass table in front of the couch. It was turning cold, but Amy didn't care. She was sat beside the echidna on the couch, both her arms wrapped tightly around him – and she wasn't about to budge anytime soon. Once she'd heard of Knuckles' predicament – that was it. She refused to let go – saying that this super long hug was going to make up for all the ones he had missed from her.

Knuckles had done his best to squirm away, but upon realising that wasn't going to be an option – he sat there and allowed her to keep holding him, although doing his best to ignore her in a futile attempt to cling to the last remains of his dignity.

The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of everyone.

"And while all that was happening, Sonic's found himself in a timeline where Eggman took over?" Amy spoke worriedly. "I… hope he's okay, and I hope that signal comes sometime soon so we can all talk to him…"

"It only comes when he's dreaming, and his dreams don't seem to last all that long. It isn't the best form of communication, but it's something at the very least." Silver assured her.

"There has to be something we can do to help Sonic." Tails pondered, bringing his spare hand up to his chin. His other was situated behind Knuckles' back – even if he wasn't being as overt as Amy, he wanted to assure his friend that everything was okay now. "I'm wondering that if there are two versions of everything now… then could there be two versions of the Chaos Emeralds." He theorised. "But at the same time, the emeralds could be a constant across universes…"

"I think there's a more glaring question." Shadow said to the fox. "Why do you reckon this timeline is messed up in the way that it has? This world is broken, and I cannot think of a logical reason as to why."

Suddenly, Tails loudly sniffed.

Shadow's eyes widened in confusion, wondering if he had just made a child cry by asking a question.

"Tails, it's okay…" Amy began, but Tails interrupted her.

"Just- Let me put it like this-" Tails took in a deep breath as he composed himself. "It's like… if you were to put two plus two into a calculator… and it spat out a cheese sandwich at you."

"I… don't think I'm following." Shadow blinked.

"Two add two… does not equal a cheese sandwich, Shadow." He said, his lips beginning to quiver. Shadow suddenly realised the fox's eyes were actually tearing up. "And calculators… calculators can't even make food! The math isn't mathing, Shadow! Nothing makes sense here!"

Shadow glanced over the shaking fox. "Huh…?" Even he was bewildered.

"I did warn you." Rouge whispered to her friend.

"Timelines should not be this confusing!" Tails insisted. "There are billions of timelines that exist, all branching out from each other. You may have chosen to have cereal for breakfast in one timeline, but in another you chose to have toast! So how do you even create a new one? Surely a timeline where Sonic had never been born a timeline where Eggman had won would already exist! So why create a new one?!"

"Because such timelines never did exist."

The group looked around at each other in confusion when they couldn't identify who had just spoken. They couldn't identify the condescending, dry tone. All their eyes eventually drifted upwards towards the staircase – and they were all startled by the figure they saw making their way down the steps.

It was an echidna with teal fur, he was very tall but very lanky compared to any sort of echidna they had seen before. His outfit consisted of a pristine white toga and golden jewellery dangling from his dreadlocks and his neck. The toga even had gold floral patterns sewn into the bottom of it.

His fur was shiny and fluffy – all evidence to show that he was well-groomed, but his appearance was brought down by the dark circles under his eyes and the frown he wore.

Knuckles stared at him with his mouth agape.

The echidna made it into the room, remaining at the bottom of the stairs – far from everyone else. "I can't tell which one is more tiring to me – sitting down and explaining everything to you, or watching you run around like headless chickens trying to figure it out yourselves…"

"Where did you… come from?" Blaze asked with concern.

"I've been here the whole time." He said as though it was obvious. "I just hid whenever you all tried to inspect the rooms…"

Setting aside that revelation, Amy tilted her head. "Why did you… not say anything?"

"I just didn't feel like talking." He replied. "Introducing myself to so many people at once seemed like such a hassle, and I wasn't sure if you're all that important anyway. But now your other friends have arrived, I've taken a little more interest." A small smile crept on his face.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Rouge asked.

"Ugh, so many questions all after the other-"

"Nakum." Shadow interrupted, answering the question for him. "One of the Guardians in the past."

Knuckles found himself in a bind – he had so many questions he could ask, he could practically bow at their feet… but knowing he had been disgraced, what right did he have-?

"Widely renowned for making up prophecies from the emerald to make his own life easier before running off with another mobian and abandoning not only his duty – but his wife and child." Shadow finished dryly.

Oh.

"Well, when you say it like that…" Nakum frowned. "Those prophecies I made up kept the clan from making stupid decisions, and my wife and I didn't really love each other anyway – because turns out, I liked men the whole time-"

"But you… left your kid?" Silver raised a brow.

Nakum thought about it for a second. "Well, we all make sacrifices…"

Blaze's face twisted with disgust, and everyone else shifted their gazes around – feeling too awkward and uncomfortable to speak. Shadow's expression remained impassive, and Omega had zoned out a long time ago.

"How did you even know that about me, anyway?" Nakum asked. "Most of the echidna history has been lost to time, since the Clan kept on insisting on refusing to share any of our history with the world…" He spoke bitterly, as though it were a sentiment he particularly disagreed with.

"I was wondering if you knew as to why. I was given visions of every single Guardian's life prior to ending up here."

Nakum squinted at Shadow, and then let out a snort of laughter. "Oh, that's funny."

Everyone waited for him to elaborate – but instead he switched the topic.

"Anyway, as I was saying – I simply could not go on watching like this, or you'd never figure anything out." Nakum leaned his back against the stair newel post. "Sonic's very existence and his fight against Eggman is an absolute point in time, they are always destined to clash regardless of the timeline – therefore, every single timeline guarantees that hedgehog's existence. It was depicted in Angel Island's murals – if you ever bothered to look."

"So, Eggman needed to create what's essentially a fake timeline in order to create one where Sonic didn't exist…" Tails said, wrapping his brain around it all. "But how could he have even got around that?"

"Well, it became considerably easier when you all destroyed the God of Time." Nakum remarked.

"Huh?" Amy narrowed her eyes.

"Do you mean Solaris?" Silver spoke up quietly.

"Obviously. But I suppose he's known as the Sun God or the Dimensional God sometimes… he was the God of a lot of things, you know."

"We defeated him to stop the world from being destroyed!" Silver exclaimed, almost spilling his tea over himself.

"Jeeze, it was almost like the planet was supposed to die or something." The offhanded way Nakum spoke shook Silver to his core, made visible by the way he sunk into the couch. "But you put up the good fight, your planet is still alive – but unfortunately you made time considerably more vulnerable to manipulation – as there isn't really anyone around to fix things anymore."

"Only because we destroyed Solaris was Eggman able to create the Time Eater to… well, manipulate time." Silver sighed.

"Precisely."

"Are we supposed to know who Solaris is?" Rouge asked Silver.

Silver held his hands up. "Please don't- ask me this right now-" he told her, getting a little frustrated.

"Is that why this timeline is all wrong? Because there is no God to ensure the world remains stable?" Blaze asked.

"Oh, no – that's because this timeline's existence is being drained and fuelling the existence of the new one – the Time Eater acting as a sort of funnel. Essentially, we're all fading away as we speak – and as more time goes on, the more stable that timeline becomes – until eventually we fade away entirely, and that one is the only timeline that remains." Nakum explained.

The room fell silent. They all needed a moment to process what they had just heard.

Their world had a time limit – and it was constantly ticking down.

"So then… how do we fix it?" Amy asked.

Nakum shrugged. "I dunno, Chaos Emeralds?"

It seemed like he had about as many ideas as the rest of them.

"Well…" Tails gulped, trying to regain himself after the bombshell Nakum had dropped on them. "Do you know if there are two sets of Chaos Emeralds – one in the old timeline, one in the new?"

"You're right – two sets." Nakum said. "Luckily you won't have to look too hard for our ones, but unluckily – you have The Council to deal with.."

"Elaborate." Shadow said.

"I'm getting there. You're all so impatient." Nakum huffed. "The Council are made up of the Echidna Guardians that didn't become corrupted or disgraced… so as you can imagine, there aren't very many." He said. "In death, essentially they became Demi Gods – ready to protect the emeralds in the case of massive world-ending scenarios that the living can't handle on their own – such as this."

"And you're not one of those echidnas?" Blaze questioned.

"Nope. I mean, I got my powers, but I never used them and I just… couldn't be all that bothered with the job. I passed them down early onto my only son, and lived a peaceful life on the surface until I eventually died. Then I woke up to a host of echidnas being mad at me and calling me unworthy – and then before I knew it was punished – my soul cursed to walk the planet in isolation along with the rest of the bitter spirits. So… that was fun." He added sarcastically. "Wouldn't recommend, honestly."

Rouge rubbed her temples in irritation, getting impatient with all the knowledge being bestowed – and yet they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. "So, what's the situation? Can you take us to see The Council or not?

"Do I have to…?" Nakum groaned.

"You can either choose, or I'll make you." Shadow threatened.

"I HAVE MISSILES AND I AM NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM." Omega reminded him.

"Seriously?" Nakum shook his head. "Always with the violence, I can't stand fighting – I just never seen the point…"

"So, you've made your choice then. You're helping us." Shadow said with a glare.

"Well, it's not much of a choice is it when you're threatening me?" Nakum pointed out. "But fine, I will help you out… don't expect me to go in there with you though, because they all kind of hate me."

"That's fine." Tails said. "If we require the knowledge of an echidna, we've got Knuckles on our side to-"

"What makes you think he's going to have an easier time?" Nakum asked to everyone's surprise.

"Because he's not disgraced." Amy pointed out obviously.

"Oh? Oh." It suddenly dawned on Nakum. "Well, now I just feel bad – I don't want to be the one telling you all this."

"Telling us what?"

"Amy." Knuckles said, speaking for the first in the conversation. "What Nakum is trying to say... is that I was deemed unworthy as well."

The group all sat up in their seats in shock, beginning to talk over each with their questions and reassurances directed at Knuckles. Nakum flinched at the sudden rise in noise in the room, but it died down once Knuckles spoke again.

"Guardians, when they turn 18, go the altar to claim their Guardian Powers that have been used for thousands of years to protect the Clan. I went and… well, I didn't receive them. I'm guessing that the voices I heard then were the Council… berating me for my failures."

"What failures?" Amy questioned indignantly. "I couldn't think of anyone more worthy than you!"

"Leaving the island so often, losing the emerald on several occasions…"

"But that shouldn't mean anything! The Council just sound like-!"

"- Idiots! I know!" Nakum finished for her, even though that wasn't what she was going to say. "For some reason they just refuse to ever break tradition and it's the most infuriating thing," Nakum turned his attention to Knuckles. "Listen, from one disgraced Guardian to another – just don't let those echidnas get to you. The Council are just a big, massive waste of space. But unfortunately, they exist and are an obstacle – however, you've got one thing that's in you guys' favour."

Their ears all perked up. "Shadow here was given visions of the past Guardians as a means of preparation and knowledge – which basically means – they like you more than an actual Guardian." Nakum told Shadow. "So, if you ask for them, they might be willing to lend."

"What?" Shadow spoke through gritted teeth.

"And let me guess – you spent some time in Viracocha's body and saw the massacre and blah blah blah-"

Knuckles nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that's like – supposed to be a punishment or whatever to guilt trip you and remind you why Guardians are important apparently – I don't know though, I just didn't care when it happened to me."

"I'm starting to wonder if you even care about anything." Blaze glared. It was evident that the man was getting on her last nerves.

"Not much honestly." He admitted. "I just don't have the energy, especially after existing for hundreds of years. And on that note – I think I've dumped enough information on you for today… so I'm going to have a nap." He informed them with a nap. "Goodnight…"

Without wasting a beat, Nakum slogged his way up the stairs – dragging his feet. It was a bit of a wonder as to how a dead guy could be so tired, but it wasn't a question anyone was going to give much thought to.

"My… my brain hurts." Silver confessed.

"You aren't the only one…" Rouge mumbled.

"Knuckles." Amy squeezed onto her friend tighter. "I assure you, from the bottom of our hearts, that you are fully deserving of those powers and your Guardianship-"

"Amy, it's fine." Knuckles said, giving her a nod. "Just like Nakum said – why does their opinion matter?"

Amy peered closer at him, making it clear that she didn't fully buy his show of confidence. "And you're not just saying that…? Despite how important being the Guardian has always been to you?"

"I can still be a Guardian – with or without the powers, right?" Knuckles pointed out. "And even if they don't think I'm suited for it… I guess it's just their loss, really."

"And you don't feel at all bad about the fact that your ancestors seem to prefer Shadow…?"

"I want nothing to do with your job, echidna." Shadow interjected. "You'll be keeping it, no matter what."

"Then there isn't a problem." Knuckles smiled. "Yeah, sure – I was bummed about it, but I've had enough time to mope around – and crying about it doesn't ever change anything."

"Neither does bottling up your emotions though." Rouge spoke up, standing up from the armrest. "So if you've got problems – talk to your friends about them, alright?"

Everyone was surprised when Rouge of all people showed concerns for Knuckles' wellbeing, even Knuckles himself. He stared at her blankly. "Of course- Of course I will."

"Hmm." Rouge frowned, and everyone could tell her hum was sceptical. She decided to shrug and turn to her teammates. "Well, you two – unfortunately our only way forward seems to be a meeting with The Council to get our hands on the Chaos Emeralds."

"Is it not peculiar that they have had the emeralds in their possession this whole time, and yet have seemingly done nothing to actually deal with the crisis?" Blaze brought up.

"I'd wager they're probably operating by some rule. The dead cannot interfere with the living, or something like that…" Tails suggested.

"You know, I feel like we're glossing over the whole – our timeline is being absorbed into the new one… shtick." Rouge reminded everyone. "We're on a time limit, which also means Sonic is on a time limit – and somehow I think that him finding the emeralds is going to take a long while if that world is as shitty as it is."

"Then in the brief moments we have with him, we have to do our best to guide him!" Tails said with determination.

"Then how shall we move forward?" Blaze asked.

"We wait." Amy said suddenly. "Listen, I know that we don't want to wait due to our ambiguous time limit – but Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver have only just returned to us. We have a whole day and a whole night ahead – and we can convince Nakum to take us to the Council tomorrow morning. I want the boys to get some rest before then, and I think we all deserve the chance to talk to each other."

The mentioned three looked between themselves.

"I don't mind." Silver shrugged. "I could do with a lie down to be honest…"

"Sure, I mean – resting's whatever." Knuckles said.

"Okay." Shadow agreed to Amy's suggestion. There was something a bit more hoarse about his tone, and Rouge seemed to pick up on it when her ear flickered.

Amy then broke out into a smile. "Great to hear. Because honestly? I think we all need some time to process everything we've just learned today…"

Night had descended upon the manor. As the world was breaking apart, the group had found themselves all sharing their bodies' weird experiences. They recounted the fact they never felt hungry nor sleepy anymore. Sleep had become a source of mental rest rather than any physical need.

Shadow did not need to eat or sleep for long periods, and thus had never actually felt hunger before. However, he had admittedly gone without sleep for far longer than he was supposed to – and the affects had been swift.

Shadow had agreed to the idea of rest for the group's sake. The information they had been given by Nakum was a lot to take in…

He was certain that his headache was only getting worse.

Shadow almost found himself tripping in the darkened hallway. Over what? He wasn't sure. His own feet? He was rarely ever this clumsy…

Shadow at last made it into a room that he thought wasn't occupied – his suspicions were proven wrong when he switched on the light and saw Rouge's head resting on the pillow with the rest of her body hidden under the duvet.

"You okay?" Rouge asked in a whisper at first as her eyes adjusted to the new light.

"Rouge?" Shadow questioned. "I thought you were downstairs with Omega."

"I was until Omega and Blaze started talking about flamethrowers and probably other arson related crimes, so I decided to get some beauty sleep." There was a brief pause. "You sound rough, by the way."

"Headache."

"Bad one?"

"Getting worse."

"Water and painkillers?"

"Taken them."

"This place has painkillers?" Rouge asked in slight disbelief.

"It seems to be inexplicably holding all the supplies one would need in a kitchen." Shadow told her.

"Weird… but helpful." Rouge admitted. "Get some sleep then."

"Hmph."

"Don't argue with me, I know you have nothing better to do."

"Fine…" Shadow's breath rasped, and he turned to head out again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rouge asked him.

"To… find a bed?" He looked back at her over his shoulder, baffled.

"Jeeze, Shadow – this bed is five times larger than me; I think there's enough room for you somehow."

As Shadow's brain began to throb even more relentlessly, the hedgehog could not find the strength to protest. His stomach began to churn.

He couldn't even find himself strong enough to stand. His knees suddenly felt wobbly, like jelly – and he quickly grabbed hold of the dresser. Rouge noticed this right away as well as seeing the hedgehog's eyes begin to cloud over. She threw the covers off of herself and ran to help Shadow.

She held him up, refusing to let him fall to the ground. "Damnit…!" She whispered. "You're alright… I've got you."

Her heart pounded with worry for her friend. This wouldn't be the first time he'd passed out, but this was definitely the first time she hadn't been able to identify a specific cause.

Shadow's eyes shut, and his body grew limp. Rouge scooped him up in her arms before gently making her way to the bed and gently placing him down.

If this didn't all go away after a good night's sleep, Rouge wouldn't know what to do…

Hello! A bit of a smaller chapter again - but chock full of answers! The gang have figured out the general nature of the timelines and know what they now need to do. Meanwhile Metal and Tikal have a heart-to-heart - and Knuckles continues to bottle his emotions, and Shadow has inexplicably fainted - because I love ending chapters on such a sweet note...

My apologies for the exposition but I tried to keep it lighter and more fun with the introduction Nakum! I don't usually like making OCs but Nakum is such a little bastard man that I hope some will at least find entertaining lmao

But as always, let me know what you thought of this one in a review! Action and tension picks up the next time we see this crew :) But as always, thank ya'll so so much for the support so far! It means a lot :) But for now, I'll see ya'll later!