The green leaves drifted through the air before their destination tree fully came into view. The lower base of its form was stripped down and pale while it's upper half mushroomed out with a darker coloration and twisting branches. The other trees of the forest parted, as if giving the cork tree a large space to breathe. The area had always fascinated Gerard.

He pulled Frank into the clearing before halting their trek. "Great seer!" He called out. As he did, he released Frank's wrist and stepped forward. "Great seer, I request an audience. It is Gerard of the Way Wielders." He listened closely after speaking, feeling his magic rise up his neck to coat his ears for an advantage, but heard nothing in response.

"I need your guidance." Gerard called out again. He bit his lip before continuing, "I messed up. I messed a lot up, and I don't know to move forward."

This time, the rustling of leaves caught his attention. He brought an arm up in front of his face, resting his fist on the top of his head. He felt his magic flow down from his ears, to his shoulders, to his forearm. Once in place, a shield of glittering pink spread in front of him. Just as his magic finished its barrier, Gerard could feel the rush of another's magic rush past him. Small clouds of yellow knocked off of his shield before fading into the air.

Ahead of him, the cork tree began to shift. It's large base widened, revealing an opening where two figures stood in the shadows.

Gerard let out a sigh of relief, but didn't put his shield down. "Please, give me your guidance." He knelt down, lowering his head as well. His shield tightened around him, watching the figures that were emerging from the tree.

The figures emerged from the tree, revealing themselves to the light. One with dark hair stepped ahead of the other. "You ask for guidance, yet you bring a Force soldier to our sacred land." He glared at Gerard in a way that seemed to bore through his shield. "What games do you play?"

"Please, I can explain." Gerard looked back to Frank, who was still standing. His eyes, however were a blinding yellow with his eyelids hanging low. He had been hit by their magic. Gerard turned back to the figures that had emerged from the tree."He is part of the reason I need guidance. I was captured and was locked away from my magic, but then it broke through and I-I used what they used on me on him-"

The second figure stepped up to where the first one stood as Gerard spoke. He placed his hand on the darker haired man's shoulder, seeming to bring him some ease. He then took another step forward, letting his hand fall to his side. "Enough." He interrupted Gerard as he continued forward. His yellow eyes held a kindness as he gestured for Gerard to rise to his feet. "I saw your arrival, I just wasn't sure when you would come like this."

Gerard rose to his feet. He released a breath before lowering his arm. Though it protested within him, his magic slowly began to lower the shield. "Please, Patrick, I need your help." He held his hand out. "Both of us need your help."

Patrick nodded. He took Gerard's hand. As he did, his eyes flared a brighter yellow. Gerard momentarily had magenta encapsulate his vision before it faded into a pale pink.  He could feel the magic in his fingertips brushing against the magic within Patrick's.

"Which future have you gotten yourself into?" Patrick asked with a sad smile.

"I don't know." Gerard shook his head. "I really don't."

"Your magic shows distress." Patrick commented. He brought his free hand up to trace his fingers along Gerard's jaw. "An anger. Confliction... from you." He pulled his hand away and placed it on top of the one that held Gerard's. "And something else."

"Can you help?" Gerard asked. He squeezed Patrick's hand. "If not me, can you help him?"

Patrick looked behind him, towards Frank. "Why a Force soldier?" His question was softer than his partner's earlier tone.

Gerard looked down. "I think I made a mistake."

Patrick hummed before releasing Gerard's hand. "We can sort that inside." Gerard looked back up as Patrick stepped back. "Take his hand to guide him." Patrick gestured to Frank, "I fear he may fall if I fully release him in his state."

Gerard nodded. He quickly hurried to Frank and took hold of his hand. "I told you we'd make it to someone who could help." He whispered as he pulled Frank forward. The other boy didn't respond. He seemed lost in a dream.

Gerard lead Frank forward towards the tree. Ahead, Patrick had taken the darker haired man's hand and was pulling him back to the spot they had emerged. Patrick was speaking to him as they walked, but Gerard couldn't hear what they discussed. He watched the disappear into the darkness of the tree. As he and Frank approached, he allowed his magic to coat his eyes so that the darkness was dampened.

As they entered the tree, Gerard slowed their pace. The small interior lead to a downward set of spiraling stairs. "Careful." Gerard warned as they began to descend the stairs. After a few steps down, the tree behind them began to shift and seal, cutting off the natural light. Thanks to his magic, however, Gerard didn't have much of an issue as they continued down. He wasn't sure how the other boy was currently affected by Patrick's magic though, so he remained cautious for Frank.

When they reached the end of the steps, they were in a large space with crystals that poked from the earth above them. The crystals glowed basking the room in multicolored lights. There were three arches around the space they occupied, each emitting a different crystal glow.

"Seer?" Gerard called out, looking between the rooms.

Instead of a response from Patrick, Gerard was answered by Frank's hand grabbing hold of his own. He turned, surprised, but Frank's eyes were still half closed and glowing yellow. He began taking steps toward the middle arch, leading Gerard with his slow movement. Gerard followed taking in the smoothly carved walls as they entered the new room.

The new room was spacious. It's walls and ceiling were carved similarly to the previous space, with crystals of yellow and green poking through the dirt. A bed of moss rested near the entrance while, further in, a group of chairs with moss cushions circled a round table. Shelves with tomes and smaller items lined the wall opposite the entrance. Plants of different colors sprouted from the ground in varying degrees of patchiness around the room.

Frank released Gerard's hand and turned to the bed, immediately upon entering the room. He sat down before letting himself drop to his side and shut his eyes.

Gerard stood near the doorway, unsure where to go. He was considering stepping back into the main room when a hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump.

"Don't worry, we're safe here." Patrick laughed as he stepped beside Gerard. He gestured to the table ahead of them, "Shall we sit?"

Gerard nodded. "Thank you... but what about him?" He looked toward Frank's resting figure.

"I'm no longer holding any influence over him." Patrick replied as he moved towards the table, "His mind seemed exhausted, which is why I was afraid to release him before having him somewhere safe."

"How could you tell?" Gerard took a seat that would allow him to keep eyes on Frank and the doorway during his conversation with Patrick. "When I tried to snap him out of it earlier, his mind seemed like a dark, jumbled mess."

Patrick nodded, brow furrowed. "It still was very dark... Like he was lost." He tilted his head at Gerard, "Is that part of your mistake?"

Gerard glanced toward Frank. "He can't hear us, can he?"

Patrick turned toward Frank as well. He extended his hand, holding his palm toward Frank. A shimmering yellow danced in the air around Frank like a bubble. "No, he can't." Patrick replied. He blinked uncomfortably as he turned back to Gerard, shifting in his seat. "You can speak freely."

A sigh of relief brushed past Gerard's lips. Then guilt for feeling relief. His magic bubbled within him, only adding to the confliction he felt. "I stabbed him with something back at that Force base when I was their prisoner."

Patrick raised an eyebrow.

"It was what they used to suppress my magic." Gerard explained, "When my magic was able to breathe again, it was so angry. I-I couldn't stop it when I took that poison and stabbed it into his chest." Gerard brought his own hand to his chest as the words toppled out of his mouth. He lowered it quickly, letting it thud against the tabletop. "I-uh... then I kinda kidnapped him and made him help me escape but he has this new pain in his chest and a whole messed up thing going on there."

Patrick nodded. "So do you think that stab is what caused his current condition?" He asked.

Gerard rubbed the back of his head. "Well, he didn't start getting weird like that until earlier today."

"Care to explain?" Patrick rubbed his temple as his nose scrunched.

"Well... I mean, I got angry and we started fighting..." Gerard mumbled, keeping his gaze on the table. "I said something that made him snap then he just kind of..." He trailed off, holding his hands up.

Patrick shook his head. "What do you mean by snap?" He held a hand out to Gerard, palm facing up. "I'm losing touch with the moment and your evasion isn't helping."

Gerard reached out and grabbed his hand. He could feel his magic shoot to his fingers to connect with Patrick's. Patrick visibly relaxed when their magic began to to interact. As a seer, Patrick could get lost in the past, present, or future without something to ground him to a fixed point. There was only ever one at a time, and Patrick's birth followed the passing of the previous.

"I'm sorry, it's been awhile." Gerard blinked, letting the light pink of his magic cover his vision. "I've been... anxious. I really didn't know if I was going to get out..."

Patrick shut his eyes. "Countless futures saw you getting out." He reassured. When he reopened his eyes, the yellow of his magic burned bright as the sun. "It was just a matter of which one you chose."

Gerard laughed. "Oh, how mystic of you, seer. I appreciate your wisdom."

"Laugh all you want, but you still followed a better future's path." He squeezed Gerard's hand before pulling his hand back.

"Did I always end up here?" Gerard pulled his hand back as well, but let it rest on the table. He glanced toward Frank. "Was he always with me?"

Patrick shut his eyes again. "In any escape, you would find your way here." He hummed for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table. "I don't see him as much... but I'm also unfamiliar with him, which makes him harder to see."

"So I could have gotten out without..." Gerard took a longer look at Frank. Could he have escaped without him? Could he have left him behind somewhere to keep him from whatever was happening to him?

"It's best not to dwell on the possibilities. What's written is written, it's the current path that now can alter your future." Patrick sighed. When he opened his eyes, their brightness had already dulled significantly. "Right now, you have him. So let's focus on that."

"Right..." Gerard turned back to Patrick. "You're right. So, what can we do about it?"

Patrick sighed. "Just from what I've felt during my brief guidance, there's something wrong. That much is apparent. A dark cloud hangs over his thoughts, keeping them..." He paused, tilting his head as he turned towards Frank. "...Disconnected. Muddled together." He tilted his head to the other side. "It's so curious. What could have gotten so deep into a Force soldier's head?"

"That magic suppression is the only thing I really know for sure." Gerard rubbed the back of his neck, "But they could have done anything to him in their sick bay. I didn't see all of what happened there."

Patrick pushed his chair back from the table and rose to his feet. "I can try and figure it out."

Gerard rose to his feet, brow furrowed with worry. "Your partner would kill me if I let you look into a Force soldier. He already wanted to kill him outside."

"To be fair, I still want to kill him."

Gerard snapped his gaze to the room's doorway. Patrick's partner stood there, arms crossed as he looked to Patrick.

"I already told you, something's different." Patrick didn't look directly at his partner as he addressed him, "Do you really not trust me, Pete?"

"My trust in you is as strong as our sun's light." Pete uncrossed his arms and pointed at Frank's resting figure. "What I don't trust is him. Their Force has taken so much from us. What if they take you? What if no one is born to replace you?"

Patrick shut his eyes. "All realities in one future or another." He said after a moment. He reached out to his side, grabbing hold of the chair he had been sitting in to lean on. "As all things are."

Pete crossed the room and took Patrick's free hand. "Can't shelter be enough?" He asked as he held both of his hands around Patrick's. "Can't you just let him be, or guide Gerard to his aid?"

Patrick shook his head. He opened his eyes, which were once again burning brightly with the color of the sun. "You know I can't." He whispered.

Gerard turned to look towards Frank. The soldier hadn't moved beyond where he had come to rest earlier. He had sunken into the moss of the bed, letting it cushion him into place. He seemed so small in that moment, sick in a way that Gerard couldn't aid. Sick in a way that might have been Gerard's fault...

"Gerard."

He turned back to Pete and Patrick. Pete's gaze was cast to the ground, brows furrowed. Patrick wore a frown, but quickly shifted it to a small smile upon meeting Gerard's gaze. "Will you please wait with Pete just outside? I need the air to concentrate."

Gerard nodded as Pete released Patrick's hand and moved swiftly across the room. He followed, keeping his eyes on Frank until they were back into the main entrance room. Pete crossed his arms and leaned against the wall just outside of the room they had exited. Gerard moved beside him.

"Of all the things to bring here," Pete shook his head, "you bring our greatest enemy."

"It's not like I meant to keep him around!" Gerard argued, "It just, kind of, happened."

"You just kind of happened to make a pet out of an enemy soldier?" Pete uncrossed his arms, letting them slap against his legs. "That makes sense."

"He's not a pet!"

"He's dangerous." Pete glared at Gerard. "His people are dangerous. Look what they've done to our planet. Look what they've done to our magic. You and I both know Patrick very well may be the last seer of this world."

Gerard cast his gaze to the floor as his magic brushed against his fingertips. He knew all too well. If things continued as they were...

There was a yell from the room Patrick and Frank were in. Pete was around the corner in an instant with Gerard just behind him.

Patrick was on the ground, holding his head and breathing heavily as he propped himself up with his other limbs. His eyes were wide as he stared down at the dirt floor. He didn't even react when Pete dropped down beside him and pulled him close.

"What happened?" Gerard turned to Frank, who seemed unchanged where he rested.

Patrick shook his head. "I've never felt someone burn as bright..." A few more puffs of breath escaped his lips, "Not since..."

"What are you talking about?" Pete cupped Patrick's cheeks to turn his face toward his. "A Force soldier can't burn."

Patrick shook his head, though he didn't get much movement with how Pete was holding his face. "I don't know."

Gerard gulped, looking between the two on the ground and Frank on the moss bed. He had definitely messed up worse than he thought.