The two of us went out into the city. One said that there were no more big buildings to go through like the Lab or the Factory, which made me very glad, even though I could tell that it had clearly made him nervous. He seemed to be almost afraid of being out in the open. But I was fine with being outside.

I knew we were near my tribe now, which comforted me. I was almost home. I was almost to safety.

I'd be seeing my dad soon. And maybe he'd be happy to see me. Maybe he'd hug me and tell me everything I'd want to hear. And maybe when I showed him my powers he'd look at me with pride in his eyes.

But... what if he didn't?

I hadn't really thought of it before, but what if he didn't look at me the way I wanted him to? What if he didn't want to see me? Then what would I do?

"Are you ready to be home?" One asked me as we walked outside and through the dark alleyways of the silent city, One doing his very best to stay in the shadows and out of the moonlight.

"Yeah... I think I really am," I admitted, still asking myself 'what if' questions in my head. "Although... it feels weird."

"Really? How so?" He questioned, cocking his head to the side as we snuck around in the dark..

I paused, still walking while I thought it over. I honestly wasn't sure how to answer. I didn't want to explain my fears of not being welcomed back to him, because I already knew what he'd say. He'd tell me that he was sure my father missed me just as much as I missed him and that everything would work out. I knew that he'd say that because One had a generally optimistic mindset, thinking the best of the situations given to him. He didn't complain about the hand he was dealt, but instead found ways to make the best of it.

"I guess... it feels less like I'm going home... and more like I'm leaving it," I admitted, talking before thinking.

"Really?" He asked, tilting his head at me. I think I could sense something in his tone. It was like a repressed joy. Something about what I had said made him happy, but he was hiding it.

I could see why he was hiding his joy. What I said gave him hope. Hope that I'd possibly choose to stay with him instead. He took what I had said to mean that I felt like I was at home when I was with him, and that made him happy. But he hid his happiness because he knew  it was selfish of him to feel happy because of that. It was selfish of him to want that, when he knew how much I wanted to go back to my father, and he knew it. 

And... the small part of me that wanted to stay with him was selfish too, because he risked his life countell times to help get me home. We couldn't just throw that away. He worked so hard to get us here so I could see my dad again. 

"Yeah..." I trailed off, before shaking my head and changing the topic. "But enough about that. Where will you go when I'm gone?" I asked him, hoping that he wouldn't point out the subject change and just go along with the conversation, which luckily he did.

He just shook his head, lightly laughing to himself. "Well, my home isn't one place. It's the whole world. I think first I'll find a way to save that girl. The one from the factory. Then, I'll save all the bullies at that lab. After that, I'll return to the woods and free all the caged and captured animals." He shrugged.

"Still planning on bringing the sun back?" I asked, frowing slightly as he didn't mention it. Perhaps it slipped his mind, as he seemed to have quite a long list of things to do before that.

"Yes." He quickly replied. "Always."

I paused, taking a look at his wrist, then back into his mind.

A one, according to the tribe, is capable of great power. They'd have the potential to destroy everything, kill everyone.

But... that also means that they'd have the power to save everyone. To actually bring the sun back.

I couldn't wait for the day he did. I couldn't wait to feel the sun on my face. I didn't care how long it took him, I was excited for the day he would pull it off. I had full faith he could.

I'm going to be completely honest, I was grateful that I was nearly home, but a part of me really didn't want to leave him. A part of me really did want to stay with him and watch as his powers came in. Look at him the way he looked at me when my powers came to me. I wanted to watch as he brought the sun back. I wanted to continue to follow him. 

I wanted him to be my older brother. He was so brave and strong. He helped me feel safe and important.

It was like he was everything I hoped to find when I got home.

We could see a few tribe members... but not everyone in the tribe knew me. Most were against the idea of children, so I didn't go up to any of them and ask them to escort me home, knowing that they often had violent ideals. My father had always warned me not to talk to or interact with anyone without his supervision. 

One seemed much more or edge being out in the open. He took extra caution to stay within the shadows as the moonlight desperately searched for him, trying to expose him. He didn't say a single word when people were nearby, taking extra caution. It was almost like he was afraid. He was deathly silent, until he wasn't.

We were walking through the town until he suddenly grabbed my wrist, making me jump slightly.

"What? What is it?" I whispered, fearing that we got caught or something, when he pointed inside a building across the street.

From the window, I could see that there was a mirror inside.

Oh...

I could see what he wanted. He wanted to get over there so he could do his weird mirror thing and open the door at the end of the hallway. 

Maybe opening the door would give him his powers. He had no idea why, but he felt the NEED to find out.

However, there were people in the streets. Was he really willing to risk getting caught for that?!

Apparently, he was, because without saying anything he suddenly darted across the street, completely leaving me behind.

"One!" I whisper-screamed as he jumped swiftly through the open door and hopped inside without making a sound. Me being too afraid to move yet just watched from the other side of the street as he rush right up to the mirror, stepping inside as if the mirror wasn't a mirror but an open doorway.

"...Dang it, One," I hissed, looking to my left, then my right. Luckily, the coast was luckily clear for a moment, so I followed across, swiftly getting inside the room as well and waiting.

From my view, it just looked like he was standing in the mirror. Only this time, I didn't reach in and pull him out, remembering that he wanted to see what was at the end of that hall.

So, I let him be.

One of the biggest mistakes of my life.

He said that he ran through the hall, further than he had ever gotten before. The hall looked the same, still lined with mirrors which showed slightly distorted reflections of himself. Sometimes he was weird different clothes. Othertimes, his reflections had different skintones and eye colors. But the one thing each mirror's reflection had in common was that they all showed him.

He continued to run, finally reaching the door. He wasn't sure what he expected to be beyond the hallway, so a part of him was excited. A part of him was eager to open it.

He gently pushed the door open to see...another mirror?

"Huh...?" He questioned, tilting his head at it. Only... instead of seeing another distorted reflection of himself... he saw nothing.

"Hmm..." He hummed, carefully taking a step forward and touching the mirror, feeling the cool glass. That's when an image formed on it all of the sudden.

But it wasn't him.

It was a someone he had never seen before. It was a grown-up. 

He cocked his head to the side. Why was a grown-up trapped inside this mirror, waiting to be let out?

The man sat on what looked to be a small chair inside the mirror, then stood up. He had not one, but two glowing yellow eyes. He wasn't super tall, but he was taller than One. He was also super thin. He wore what looked to be an all black cloak and had medium-length black hair which was loosely tied back. His skin was also a pasty grey.

As if on cue, the hallway  One was in seemed to crack, fracture lines forming around it, sounding like breaking glass.

"W...what are-" One started, 

When I suddenly panicked and pulled him out, causing him to fall backward and hit his head on the floor, back in the real world.

I knew he wanted to stay in there and figure out what was behind the door, but I couldn't take it anymore. I panicked.

"One...?" I asked, reaching for him as he started shivering. "Are you okay-"

I was suddenly cut off by the sound of hands on the unshattered mirror. Unlike last time, this time the mirror didn't break. It was still standing strong, even though I had pulled One out of it.

The hands pressed themselves to the mirror on the other side. They were dark, black gloves covering them, making me jump back. 

One covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, as if he was hearing something. As if he was afraid.

"W-We gotta go!" I cried, reaching down and grabbing his arm and forcing him to get up. "Come on!"

One hesitantly nodded, and together we ran through that abandoned building, trying to find a place to hide while the man seemed to step out of the mirror, slowly and calmly walking after us.

He occasionally would teleport a few feet forward, walking through walls like some sort of ghost. It was oddly unsettling.

"What is that?!" I cried, running while still grasping One's wrist.

"I don't know!" One exclaimed, finally seeming to become alert again. "He was what was at the end of the hall!"

"You freed him?! Why is he after you then?!" I cried. If One freed this... thing, then shouldn't it be THANKING him?! Why was everything always out to get him?!

"I don't know!!" One yelled in response as we continued sprinting until we ran into what looked to be a bedroom. I quickly let him go and ducked under a table while One slid and hid under a bed. 

There, we silently waited while the man slowly walked in, seeming to look for One.

I paused, thinking that we were safe when the table I was hiding under was suddenly knocked over, exposing me.

I squeaked in fear a tiny bit, but tried to remain calm.

Luckily, all the bad guys didn't care about me. It was One they were after, so I was safe, right?

....

Right?

One's eyes went wide from under the bed, as he reached his hand out to me. Only instead of me grabbing it, I felt something else's hand on my foot. I gasped and turned around, eyes widening at the big, scary monster. 

"NO!" One shouted, crawling out as the monster suddenly picked me up by my foot and teleported away, seeming to vanish just like that. He didn't even flip as he teleported like my dad and most members of the tribe did. He just vanished, with me in his grasp.

....

I remember things going black. I couldn't recall what was what. It was cold, it was dark, and I was afraid. That's all I could remember.

But One? 

He quickly slid out from the bed and brought his hands to his mouth, completely and utterly alone now. The world seemed silent. 

"SIX?!" He called, desperately turning around himself. "SIX?! WHERE'D YOU GO?! SIX?!?!"

He began to tremble, having no idea where that man had taken me. Having no idea what had happened.

Was this... was this his fault?