Chapter 8: A Shift in Perspective [ENDING 3]

"Wow. That was good," Time Rune exclaimed in awe.

    "Sheesh... You have a problem." Time looked at his counterpart with a disturbed expression on his face.

    "You're just mad that I'm more interesting than you," Time Rune said, smirking mischievously.

    "M-hm, whatever you say," Time excused with a slight chuckle, turning away.

    "It's not just 'whatever,' Time!" Rune threw a small rock at his parallel, who caught it, unamused.

    "You're not slick, Time Rune."

    "Fine, fine..."

    A moment of silence. These bits were normal occurrences, especially when Time or Time Rune were scanning the different timelines.

    Suddenly, the Washable Kingdom guardian had an idea. Was it strange? In a way, yes, but that didn't matter. "Hey, Time?"

    "Mm?" Time glanced at their equivalent.

    "What if there's a timeline where... both the collector and Markery win? Like, both of them have an outcome that they're satisfied with?"

    Time considered this for a while. "That's... actually not a bad idea." Pushing his glasses up again, he opened the graph of all the timelines to try and find a suitable one.

    "Told you I have good ideas!"

•————————————————————•

Once the final bullet hit, your opponent fell to the ground in defeat, but not death. You decided to wait a bit before you let joy seep into you, just in case this was like the first phase of the battle.

    Dark Markery stood up, a bit pained. You tensed, suspecting another phase of the fight. However, your suspicions were wrong. Instead of more attacks; more torture, you were delivered a smile. "Dang. You've got skill."

    This confused you a lot. "Thanks... But weren't you trying to murder me?" you replied, perplexed.

    "Oh, right," Markery exclaimed. "Well, all of that's over now." He opened up a sort of holographic blueprint, and clicked a couple of things. This format reminded you of the Player GUI, except way more complex. There were more buttons and settings than yours — just looking at it made you even more confused.

    After a while, the bars of Purple's cage opened, and he bolted out and hugged you. "Thank you, Y/N," he muttered.

    You hugged him back, smiling happily. Now, you let your joy seep in. "You're welcome, man."

    "When we get back to Spawn, I'll make sure to give you the badges and Halo, okay?" Purple told you. Hearing his words made your skin prickle with excitement. Even having physical contact with Purple filled you with joy and accomplishment.

    "Hey, sorry to break up this moment here," Dark Markery began, "but I suppose I have a couple things to explain." He walked up to Purple as soon as he retracted his embrace. "Just to clear things up, I'm Dark Markery — previously known as Lilac Marker. I've been through a lot these past few years, and... really, it's a long story."

    "Lilac..." Purple muttered. "That name rings a bell, actually."

    "I guess I have to explain this whole thing to both of you, don't I?" Dark Markery — who's name you now knew was Lilac — realized. He chuckled slightly.

    "I guess you do," you replied. You've already gotten some information from Foliage, and that weird door at Spawn; what's the harm in a little bit more?

    "All right. I'll just send us back to the Mainland first."

    You nodded, then registered was he had said. "Wait, you'll do what—?"

    With a snap-like click, the three of you were back in the Mainland. The vibrant colors of Spawn were surely a refreshment from the dark hues in the Dimension of Darkness. Two very similar badges swirled in your vision — one with Speedrunner inscribed, and the other with Dark Markery. It would probably take you a while to get used to the sudden name change.

    "Real quick before I explain everything; check your Halos menu, Y/N." Markery offered. Usually, you wouldn't trust anything that came out of the mouth of someone like him, but you had the instinct to trust what he told you.

    Opening your Halos menu, you noticed a new one in your collection. A dark purple aureole with the title: Mayhem. Equipping it, you saw that it somewhat represented the Dimension it was based off of. It gave you the same foreboding vibe you had felt in the original place, but it was lessened — mainly by your pride.

    "Now that you've found that out," Markery began. "I suppose I should start, right?"

    "Ooh, yes please!" Purple sat excitedly on the top of his Pedestal. You took an area on the first elevated platform, while Markery seated himself on the second.

    "All right, then," Dark Markery smiled. "It all begins right where we stand now..."

•————————————————————•

"What?! Why'd you close it?!" Time Rune exclaimed disappointedly. "It was just getting good!"

    "You already know what happened before Lilac became Markery, Time Rune," Time explained.

    "Yes, I know that, but why can't I just listen in! It's not like they can find us, anyways..." Time Rune crossed his arms, obviously upset.

    Time sighed, exasperated. "I'll reopen it at a later date, Time Rune. You, however, can go back to your previous point in time."

    "Ughhhhhh, fine. You're no fun..."

    "I'll contact you whenever we can look again." Time moved his glasses up a notch. "Just don't get into any trouble. And stop taunting Dropout!"

    "Never!" Time Rune left quickly, jumping into a goldenrod portal.

    Time sighed. In his dimension, the concept of time itself stood still. Like everything, it had pros and cons. Pro: It allowed Time (and occasionally Time Rune) to search through different timelines, watching and scanning them for either entertainment or for work. Con: neither of them could tell how long it had been.

    So knowing when Time Rune should come back would be a tricky thing to figure out.

    Oh well. He'll calculate something eventually.

Word Count: 964