As soon as the yellowed-eyed freak monster man thingy perished, the mirror I was so pleasantly in shattered, spitting me out at the bottom of the center tower. I fell forward and caught myself with my arms before I faceplanted onto the cold, wet ground.

My vision was blurry for a moment... but I could see all the tribesmen from my tribe gathering, and they appeared to be readying magical attacks.

However, my first thought wasn't how did I get here. It was where is One.

"H-Huh...?" I muttered, blinking a few times, not even sure how I had gotten there. "Where's-"

"BLUMIERE?!" Someone suddenly cried.

Blumiere... oh, right! That was me! It felt odd for someone to call me by that name. Almost unnatural now.

My first thought was that the voice belonged to One. I thought that One must have saved me, and was calling out for me now. But... it couldn't have been him. He never ever used my name. He actually hadn't said it even once. I wondered why. I did tell him my name when we first met, but he always chose to call me by my number instead. It was odd, to say the least.

But whoever cried out for me couldn't have been him. The voice was too deep anyway.

I blinked a few more times in confusion when I suddenly felt something grasp my arm and yank me up to a standing position. 

Their grip hurt. Definitely wasn't One. When One grabbed me, it was comforting. Yes, he'd hold my hand tightly when we were in danger, but it would never hurt. 

This hurt.

I quickly gasped but relaxed as soon as I looked up and saw the familiar blue eyes.

I didn't know what I felt. But I wasn't feeling the way I expected I'd feel.

"D-Dad?" I asked as he quickly and firmly pulled me away from the scene. "W-What's going on?!"

"What are you doing here?!" He scolded, dragging me away from the tower. "I thought you were locked up, safe. You're supposed to be in the woods."

"I-I came to find you! I got my powers, Dad! See?" I exclaimed, making the black blobby thing appear in my hand, smiling. The first thing I wanted to do upon seeing him again was show him my powers and earn that proud look in his eye. I wanted to see him look at me the way One looked at me. 

He paused, raising an eyebrow at the black mass floating over my palm while I waited for a reaction. 

But... he didn't quite look impressed like I thought he would. "...Is there more?" He questioned under his breath. 

I felt my heart sink.

Was he expecting more? Was it not enough?

Why wasn't he ecstatic to see me or my powers? Why wasn't he beaming with joy? Did I do something wrong?

"Whatever, you must clear the area. There's been a one spotted. We're overloading the tower." He explained, placing a hand on my back and nudging me away.

"WHAT?!" I cried, forgetting the feeling of disappointment I was just feeling and replacing it with worry. "No, no, no! You can't do that! He's my friend. He's helping me!"

"FRIEND?!" My father shouted, stopping and turning so he could grab my shoulders and kneel down to my eye level. "Blumiere, that MONSTER is incredibly unstable. He could destroy us all."

"That's not what he's gonna do though!" I argued, for once talking back to my father. It felt scary, but it also felt nice. Like I had gotten stronger. Beforehand, I'd never even think to question him. "He's-"

"I'm not letting him get away because of something as silly as sentiment again." My father spat.

Why did he say again?

"Dad-"

"The yellowed-eyed monster the child was with on the roof. Did that...that... thing touch you?!" My father asked me. He spoke with a condescending tone, almost as if he thought I was an idiot. I didn't quite like it.

"Y-Yes..." I muttered, before shaking my head and clearing my throat. "B-But I'm fine now! I-I'm okay! Really! One must have saved me-"

"Do you know what that thing was?" He asked me, again in a still condescending tone. I hated when grown-ups spoke like that.

I paused, then gulped and shook my head. "N-No. It just... came out when One touched a mirror."

"EXACTLY!" My father exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders tighter. "Son, that monster represents what that child could grow up to be! It came out of a MIRROR! It's HIS reflection!! Which is why we can't let that child live on and grow up!"

Was that true?

No... no way. One's eyes weren't yellow. His skin wasn't pasty grey. He wasn't some monster who would try to hurt me. That thing locked me away in a mirror. But One? One would never hurt me. He said never wanted to hurt anyone!

I shook my head in fear, not wanting to believe what he was saying.

One would never turn into... into that thing. The thing that took me away from him. He would never do that. Right?

Right...?

... He was a one... so if he wanted to, technically he could. 

But no, NO! One would never.

However... people change. This world is cruel. What if it got too dark for him? What if it broke him?!

No... no. It couldn't. One was unbreakable.

"B-But..." I squeaked, arguing with myself in my mind. "But..."

"No buts. We have to take care of this. Just... go home, Blumiere. I'll deal with you later." My father breathed. He let me go and turned to walk back to the tower, leaving me alone in the rain.

I always did hate being alone.

I didn't know what to feel. I wasn't sure if I was still dazed from being trapped in some mirror, or devastated about the fact that reuniting with my father wasn't everything I dreamed it would be, or afraid of what One could turn into, or horrified about what the tribe was planning to do to him. There were too many emotions in my mind, all screaming at each other.

... I had to save One, right? I had to help him. There was no way he'd become that thing. He didn't even look anything like it. He didn't even have yellow eyes. His eyes were dark brown. Trust me, they were the only part of his face I could always see, so I knew what they looked like. My father must have been lying.

I stilled, looking down at my hands. I could still feel the energy, like the magic pulsing within them. Only, it was different from when I was facing the teacher. 

It was a different energy from the black blobby energy.

This was less about stopping someone and more about getting somewhere to save someone important to me. 

Should I, though? If my father was going to blow the building, getting in there to save One would probably be dangerous.

...Yes. I had to go. I knew One would do the same for me in a heartbeat.

And besides, if I didn't save One, then who would bring the sun back? 

So, I squeezed my eyes shut and focused harder than I ever had before because I needed to do this. I needed to get to where I needed to go. 

Suddenly I felt my surroundings flip, landing me right on top of the tower, right next to One.

I could see him, bowing his head and facing out to the city, where the sun would have been set had it been there, over the western horizon. He had something in his hands, but I couldn't see what.

"Oh my Grambi, I did it!" I whispered under my breath. 

One suddenly inhaled sharply upon hearing my voice, quickly turning to look at me and shoving whatever was in his hands into his back pocket.

"SIX YOU'RE OKAY!" One suddenly cried, his face relaxing with relief. 

Six... it felt good to be called Six again.

Not a second later I could feel his arms latch around me, hugging me tightly as if he was afraid the wind would blow me away from him forever. "I-I was so worried!! You're not hurt, are you?! Did the guy hurt you?!"

He stuttered. He stuttered before, but I wasn't around to hear it. This was the first time I had actually ever heard him fumble with his words.

It was odd, to say the least.

"No, no, I'm fine," I assured, hugging him tightly back and squeezing my eyes shut. "It was just scary. Being on my own..."

"Aw. Did someONE miss me?" He asked, lightly laughing to himself.

"Very much," I genuinely replied lightly smiling and wiggling lose of his grip. I didn't even care that he made a stupid pun. I was just happy to see that familiar...

Wait...

"One?! Where's your bag?!" I suddenly exclaimed, sounding more shocked than I meant to upon seeing his extraordinarily ordinary face. There were still cuts on his cheeks and forehead. Some had scabbed over while others seemed fresher. I could also still see bruises and scratches along his neck from the lab, still looking quite painful. It's a marvel how he managed to never complain about them.

"Oh, that? I don't need it anymore," He shrugged with a bright, comforting smile. "I decided that don't need to hide from the world."

He looked different than he was before. It honestly felt like he was a completely different person without the paper bag. Yes, I had seen his face a few times before, but this felt... more different. His not wishing to hide felt odd.

He also looked different. I wasn't sure how yet, but he looked less like himself. Maybe it was the way he held himself. But something was off...

However, when I looked at his smile, I could see that he was still the same person. The same One I knew from all this time. And I didn't have the time to worry about anything now. We had to leave, and fast. "That's great," I quickly breathed, taking his hand. "Now come on, we gotta get out of here!"

I probably should have teleported the two of us out. If I was smart, I would have done that. But, I was a child who had just realized that ability, so I didn't think I had the power to teleport others as well. One also didn't think he had the power to bring me through mirrors with him, so we were pretty much doomed to run if we were going to get out of this together. While we ran, we both explained pretty much everything that had happened while we were separated to each other. I told him that my father was planning on overloading the building with magic as a way to get rid of him, which was why we needed to leave. He nodded and explained his encounter with 'the man' as we ran down the stairs and through the building, hoping to escape before it was too late.

That's when we heard the first boom. It sounded like a large bomb exploding. The whole tower shook, walls started falling.

It was so loud that it physically hurt and left a white noise ringing in my ears. It had reminded me of the gunshot going off when we had killed the hunter. Both were so loud and horrifying.

I remember One grabbing my shoulders and quickly pulling me to the side just before some falling debris hit me. "KEEP RUNNING!" He urged, shoving me forward, his voice sounding echo-like and distant with all the booming and ringing going on in my ears and mind.

So we did that. We kept sprinting, hearing more and more blasts go off from below. The building began to come down on us, but we didn't give up. I could hear his voice behind me, yelling things like, "Keep running," and "don't look back, Six! I'm right behind you."

I trusted him.

I trusted that he was right behind me, so I listened to him and didn't look back.

I...

I wish...

...

I'm sorry. It is hard for me to remember things like this. It hurts to remember things like this. 

Sometimes I wish I could forget. 

And sometimes I hate myself for wishing that I could forget because One doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

But I wish...

I wish I had looked back at him. I wish I had more time to memorize his face. Even now when I look back on my memories with him, I only truly remember his voice and his eyes since he was almost always wearing that paper bag over his head. I wish I spent more time, memorizing his stance, the way he held himself, his manner of speaking, his hair, his scars, everything.

From the moment he broke down that door to the room I was locked in, all that time ago in the woods, I should have started memorizing him. I should have taken his face in more the first time he showed me it, instead of just dismissing it as average. I thought that there was no use in memorizing his. But now, I can't even remember any special features. I can't even remember what he looked like other than an average human, and I hate myself for that.

I wish I had memorized him so he'd be harder to forget years into the future. But back then I thought that I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting him. I thought that he would always be out there, somewhere in the worlds.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I didn't look back. I trusted him. I continued running, hearing and feeling blast after blast. Listening as more of the building began to fall apart all around us.

The lights all flickered and the world shook. The floor beneath us cracked and broke. It was like the walls were breathing and dying, magic pulsing from them, making our vision blurry. 

I could feel it. I knew One could feel it. The magic burned like it was trying to eat us away. It was trying to swallow us whole.

"KEEP RUNNING!" One's voice echoed behind me. "KEEP GOING SIX!"

It sounded further and further away by the minute, but I could still hear him. I could still sense him behind me. We were still okay. 

We were going to make it. I was determined for us to make it.

The stairs stopped for us while we were still about seven stories up off the ground, not because of the building's design, but because they had broken, so we had to cut across the tower. Most of the floor had fallen away, leaving what looked like a catwalk like-bridge in the middle. The floor had crumbled away all around. A purple glow had filled the area. It was hot and felt like a burning fire. I was finding it harder and harder to breathe by the minute.

There was a fire escape on the other side of the room, across the catwalk-like bridge remaining. But below us, there was nothing but fire and magical explosions. They were huge, filled with magic pulsing and overloading, enough to kill anyone in an instant. There were small embers of magic even in the air surrounding us. 

We had to get out of there, and fast.

"GO!" One shouted behind me, still sounding a few meters behind. "DON'T LOOK BACK!"

I listened.

So, I ran across, feeling the thin weak ground crack and crumble from beneath my feet. However, luckily, it allowed me across, just barely being strong enough to support me and grant me safe passage.

I was going to make it. I was determined to make it.

I sprinted across, taking one last step and making it to the more stable side of the room, reaching the fire escape and turning around, watching as One ran to catch up from behind me, his trenchcoat flowing behind him. 

On his face, a smile. He was smiling because he knew I made it. 

However, the floor had fallen away after I ran across it, leaving a gap we both knew he couldn't cross. He couldn't make that jump. 

So, I quickly rushed to the edge and kneeled down, holding out my hand to him, ready to catch him as we had done time and time again.

I...

I have replayed this next moment in my head hundreds of times... wishing it had a different outcome. Each time wishing for a better ending. And every time I remember it, I think that maybe it'll be different this time. But it always ends the same way. I know how it ends. It'll always end this way.

No matter how much I want it to change, it'll always be the same.

Time seemed to slow down. Everything seemed to slow down. 

It was like it was just us, and the whole world was watching. 

The roof of the tower was gone. There was fire below, and a bright moon above, casting the spotlight onto us.

He nodded at me, running and jumping, flying through the air and reaching for my hand, just as we had done time and time again.

...

I caught him.

...

And there we were, me holding him by the wrist, and him looking up at me, a relieved smile on his face because he thought he had made it.

"Nice catch, Six!" He chimed, letting out a sigh of relief. "I knew you could do it!"

I smiled back at him, returning the relieving feeling. Then I took a deep breath, gathering my strength so I could pull him up to safety. 

But... then I looked into his eyes.

...

Funny... 

...

Before... when I thought there was something different about him... I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But now... now I could. I could see what had changed.

It wasn't his stance. It wasn't his face.

It was...

There was... 

There was a small yellow iris in his left eye.

Son, that monster represents what that child could grow up to be! It came out of a MIRROR! It's HIS reflection!! We can't let that child live on and grow up to become that!

I slowly frowned down at him, furrowing my eyebrows, almost in horror.

I was suddenly feeling... afraid. I felt afraid, as the thought finally processed in my mind.

What if my father was right?!

All the adults we had come across... they were all afraid of One. They all feared him above anything else. They all wanted to get rid of him... because they knew what he'd become. There was a reason why all ones were to be terminated. 

They become... well, THAT.

"Six...?" One asked me, his smile not fading. He didn't seem scared. He was just confused by the horrified expression on his face. He wasn't worried about himself, but about me. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

I blinked a few times, shifting my gaze from the yellow iris in his left eye to the wrist I was holding on to.

Or more specifically, the number engraved on it.

"Oh no..." I whispered, looking back to his eyes. Back into that small yellow iris. 

It hadn't been there before. His eyes used to solely be that gentle brown color. The yellow was new. 

Perhaps it would grow once he realized his power. 

What if... what if my father really WAS right. What if One would turn into that monster once he fully realized his powers. Perhaps that was why everyone feared him.

"Six...?" He asked again, smile staying for another moment, but eventually fading when he started trying to get a better read of the expression on my face. He didn't realize what was going on. He was just confused, trying to read what my horrified expression was saying.

"I... One..." I squeaked, my voice so soft that it was barely audible. I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes.

What was I doing?!

He didn't look hurt. He didn't look upset. He didn't look worried. Just so confused. 

"Blumiere...?" He whispered back, his voice soft and gentle. He frowned slightly at me, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. 

I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't realize what was happening. He didn't know what was going to happen. He had full faith in me.

Hey, you'll catch me, I know you will. I have faith.

That hurt. More than my dad ignoring me. More than the years I spent alone being tested and researched. It hurt more than anything had hurt me before. His faith in me burned more than the magic did.

I slowly shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut and allowing a tear to fall.

Then, I let him go.

I opened my eyes to see his face as he went. 

His eyes went wide as he slowly fell away from me, an utterly betrayed, shocked, horrified look on his face.

I had never seen him look at me that way before. 

I remember staying like that, watching him for every moment I could. I watched as gravity pulled him away from me, all the flames and magic circling around and consuming him until he was out of sight forever.

I remember that I sobbed, allowing real tears to fall in after him. 

In the moment, I could justify what I had done, but I still cried. I knew that this was what the world wanted. What everyone wanted. 

What my father wanted

But... it wasn't what I wanted.

 Yet, I did it anyway.

...

After a moment of sobbing to myself, I stood up, waving my hand and teleporting to safety, leaving him behind forever.