Harrow was a doctor.

Harrow was a doctor?!

Marc fought against the guards that grabbed him against his will. Harrow on the other (a very different version of him, all tidied up, with glasses and an academic outfit) warned the nurses to be gentle. As if he cared.

Marc pushed one of the adversaries away while managing to bite the other and get free me from their arms. At this single opportunity, he ran away as fast as he could.

The empty and haunting white hallways seemed like an endless labyrinth, and the nurses were still after him.

Marc chose a random path despite them and continued, but they were not far behind.

That's when something held his arm, pulling him inside a room and closing a door

He looked finally in front of him, her chocolate brown eyes sinking into his, as he was completely mesmerized ( also surprised) by her figure.

-Shh.-She told him and pressed his body cornering a wall, trying to don't show their silhouettes through the glass part of the door.

He could listen to her heartbeat and feel her body against his, for an instant in that madness he felt real. He could feel that he wasn't insane, that the reason for his clarity and dreams was there. She brought him back to his senses.

The nurses passed fastly and Mira stepped away,  as Marc tried to recover from having her so close.

-What have you done now?-She asked with his arms on her waist.

-Mira!-He hugged her desperate. She carressed his back gently.-Thank God, I...Harrow...and this place-

-Are you alright?-She lifted one eyebrow confused.

-Yes, now that you are here.-He looked into her eyes.

She caressed his cheek and gave him a soft comforting smile, he closed his eyes for a second absorbing her comfort.

That's when they heard something knocking, a sound of something bumping into a structure. Locked somehow.

Mira parted from him, and behind her, a huge sarcophagus lay on the ground.

-What is that?-He asked her.

-I don't know. Maybe you should open it.-She suggested.

He glanced back at the structure, approached it someone yelled to be freed, Marc pushed with great strength the opening, revealing a person inside.

The person yelled, jumped outside, freaked out shook hands in the air. Until their eyes stabilized at Marc.

-Marc?

-Steven!

They ran towards each other, wrapping themselves into a tight, melancholic, and heartwarming hug that was long needed.

Then, Steven parted, quite confused yet surprised, looking at his other persona:

-How is this possible?

-I don't know.

Steven looked around and stopped suddenly when he saw Mira.

-...Mira?

She opened a warm smile, and he ran towards her arms, hugging her right, as if she was a teddy bear and that he would never let her go. Closed his eyes, trying to believe that it was real.

-I thought I lost you.-He muttered with his face buried in her shoulder.

She pet his head, and he looked at her with great amusement and admiration, taking her hands and kissing them delicately.

-Wait, what did you say?-Marc asked him.

Steven glanced at him perplexed.

-What?

-You said that "you thought you lost her"?

-Um...yeah

-What is the last thing you remember?

Mira let his hands go, and Steven started thinking deeply until he said finally:

-Harrow shot us.

-YES!-Marc jumped, celebrating to be finally understood.-Yes! Exactly. Alright.-He reached for the door- We need to get out of here. Come on.

The two followed him, as they walked silently through the hallways.

-Mira, do you know the way out?-Marc asked her.

-Wait out?-She asked him confused.- What are you talking about? There's no way out.

Steven and Marc exchanged suspicious glances which were interrupted by loud sounds as they passed by a room.

Another sarcophagus shaked violently, yelling to be freed. It was quite scary.

-You should open that one too.-Mira suggested.

-Nah, I don't think so.

They hear some thudding. The three of them stop. A silhouette is seen through the door, which slowly opens and reveals...

A hippopotamus?

-Hi.-She waves.

-AHHHHHHHHHH!

Steven and Marc shout desperate.

-Hi.-Mira waves back.-Can you both stop?

The screams faded after some seconds, Marc leaned on Mira so he wouldn't fall, and Steven affirmed the words to himself so he could believe the situation.

-Are they always so intense?-The hippo asked Mira.

- Who, them? -She managed to put Marc back on his feet.-Yeah, pretty much.

The two were now quite calmed down. The hippo continued:

-So, are you two, like, twins? -She pointed to Steven and Marc. They did look the same, only their sweater colors changed.

-No. -Steven replied- Well, yes, sort of.

-Okay, great.-She looked at Mira- And you are...?

-Oh.-She smiled and wrapped her arms one in Steven's and other in Marc's arm-They are my boyfriends.

Steven and Marc messed up on explaining and exchanging awkward glances, but Mira and the hippo seemed pretty chill about the situation overall.

-Good for you.-The hippo complimented- Okay. That's cleared this whole situation up for me.

-That makes two of us. Just a second ago, I thought I'd been shot to death. -Marc told her.

-Oh, gosh! This will really bake your noodle, but I think you were just taking a little time-ouraid you're quite dead. - The hippo told them. Steven and Marc turned perplexed.

- I'm sorry, what?-Marc questioned.

Steven was still trying to take in the butter truth, as reality fell slowly on them.

-But... I'm dead? -He looked at Marc- We're dead?

They instantly turned to Mira, Marc held her shoulder.

-Wait, if we're dead is Mira-

-Oh, no, don't worry,  that's not your Mira.-The hippo told them -I actually... I have... -She started to search for something inside her pockets-Hold on a sec. It's been a minute since we've had a soul pass through here. Bit distracted... Excuse me. -She took a piece of paper from it - A-ha! - She cleared her throat Okay, here we go. Welcome, gentle traveler... Travelers, to the realm of the Duat.
-Duat? -Steven gasped- The Egyptian underworld.-He pointed to the hippo- This is Taweret, goddess of women and children...

-Oh my Shiva...!-Mira fangirled with him.

-Uh-huh...-Marc nodded pretending to understand something.

-She's guiding us through our journey to the afterlife. Wow.-Steven added.

-Okay. Right. So, this is the afterlife? The afterlife?
-An afterlife. Not the afterlife. -Taweret corrected. -You'd be surprised how many intersectional planes of untethered consciousness exist. Yeah.Like the Ancestral Plane. Oh! Just gorgeous. -She distracted herself for a moment- Anyway. I do actually have cards for all this if you just wait, and... I'm sorry. Wait... Bye. ( Gasps softly ) Okay, so... -she threw many pages off her material on the ground to search for the correct cards - Because the Duat's true nature is impossible for the human mind to comprehend...
- Right. -Steven nodded with full focus on what she said
-You may perceive this realm as something more easily recognizable to you.

-Uh-huh. A psych ward's a first for me, but, hey, we can roll with it, right? -Taweret said optimistically.

-Why would we imagine this realm to be a psychiatric hospital?

-Because you are insane.-Mira mocked unbothered.

-Are you sure she's not the real Mira?-Marc asked Celtic-Sounds like something she would say.  Marc exhaled- But she's right, I mean, this talking hippo, talking dead bird, you're outside of my body now. And now the afterlife, right? That's the reality and this...-He shakes his head.-That's the reality and this...

-But Marc. -Steven tried to speak.

-The hospital. That's the imagination.

-Sorry, he's... -Steven tried to explain to Taweret.

-Oh, man. Dr. Harrow's right.

- Dr. Harrow?-Steven asked offended.
- This is an organizing principle.
-Is he a doctor now?

-He had always been.-Mira told him.

-What? No, look, Hospital version of Mira...-He said clearly and slowly to her.-He isn't a doctor, he's a very dangerous man. Marc is not on his senses now.

-I'll prove it to you. -Marc challenged approaching a door about to open it- So, like, right through these doors, for example, we go through here, there's gonna be patients, and there's Crawley probably -He opened the door- about to yell bingoOH, my God! Oh, my God! -He freaked out. In front-What is this?

-This is the underworld.-Steven said.

In front of him, a huge desert stood, while they were inside an important boat and a dark shade of purple in the sky.

-I'm not crazy.-Marc gave a soft broken smile.-I'm dead.-He looked around.-Wait, where's Mira?

-As I said, the Mira you've met here is not the same as the one you know.-Taweret explained.-This is the one created by your mind,  your consciousness.-She continued.- She's a fragment of your perceptions and memories.

-An exact perception of her.-Steven spoke amused.

-So she talks, and thinks, and it's hot just like her?-Marc questioned.

-Marc!-Steven called him out.

-What?

-She's a woman, not a cup of tea.-He said. Marc rolled his eyes-But...you're not wrong.

That's when it clicked.

-Where did you say we're going? -Marc questioned.

-We're sailing to A'aru. To the Field of Reeds, right, Taweret?-Steven looked like those nerdy kids in class who knew all the answers to a test.

- Ah, so he's the smart one, hey? -Taweret concluded- Well, if your heart's balanced in life, then you will spend eternity in paradise. The Field of Reeds. But before we get there, I've just got to do a quick little... -She put her hands in front of his chest and just like magic, dived them inside, taking both their hearts out, painted in pure white color. -Oh, goody! It worked! Look at that! - She celebrated- Here was little old me worrying I'd blow your chests wide open.

-Sorry, what? -Marc questioned as Taweret led their hearts and put them in a balance- Wait, what's she doing?

- She's weighing our hearts on the Scales of Justice and the Feather of Truth.-Steven explained- You see, the ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the sign of who you really were in life.If the Scales balance by the time you end the journey, then a soul is permitted to pass into the Field of Reeds.

-What if they don't balance?

-You get thrown overboard. Whoo!-She exclaimed- The dead will drag you down into the Duat, where you will remain forever, frozen in sand. No unbalanced souls on my boat. Them's the rules. -She tried to nota freak them out, evento though that was impossible- Fingers crossed for you guys, hey?

-I don't care what this hippo says. There's no way we're ending up down there. And we're not going to the Field of Reeds, either.-Marc told Steven.

-All right. What are you proposing?

- If it comes to it, kill the hippo, steal the boat.

-Kill?-Steven gasped horrified.

-Um, fellas?- Taweret asked them.

-What? Why is it doing that? Why is it moving like that?

-I don't know. I do not have a card for this. Oh. It's the hearts. They aren't full. And trust me, I'm a goblet half-full kind of gal, but... It's like they each feel incomplete.

-What does that mean?

-Without balanced Scales, the Duat will eventually claim your soul.

-Do you have any other suggestions?

-This boat contains all of a life's memories. Now I don't know what you two guys have been hiding, but my advice, get in there and show each other the truth. Balance your Scales before we arrive at the Field of Reeds, or your souls will be destroyed.

With those words, Steven and Marc entered again through the doors they arrived, back to the Asylum.

-Yeah, all right. So how are we supposed to do this?-Steven asked nervous.

-Not sure. -Marc retorted thinking.

-You think Mira's all right?

-Yeah, for now. And knowing her, she'll go on a suicide mission to stop Harrow herself.

They both stopped. Damnit, Mira for sure would do that.

-That means we better hurry, doesn't it?

-That means we should do what's possible to return to her...

-Don't. Just don't say it. -Steven retorted, refusing his idea.

-I'm just saying there is one hippo and two of us, and this ship can't be that hard to steer-Marc suggested -So... And we don't have to actually...

-Have to what? Kill the Goddess Taweret? -Steven gasped terrified.

-No, just, you know, find me a rope and...-Marc gestured killing with his hands-... Yeah.

-Or we can do what she says, and help each other uncover whatever it is that we're hiding, apparently.

-Steven, I don't know about you, but my memories are a fricking mess.

-Yeah, mine, too.-He spoke with sadness as he took a glimpse into the doors wigh many images.

-You guys!- A familar voice popped behind them.

Steven gasped as two arms embraced around him and a smiley face showed up behind his shoulder. How could she be so similar to her?

-Mira, hi.-He blushed.

-It's not Mira, remember?-Marc said grumpy, trying not to soften himself just by her sight.

-Right, I forgot...-He muttered.

-Where are you going now?-She asked with a smile. -Take me with you!

-We are leaving and you're staying, that's it.-Marc said as he dragged her away from Steven.

-Aw no, Marc, you said you wouldn't push me away!-She whimpered.

He exchanged looks with Steven feeling embarrassed. That sentence really affected him.

-I'm not pushing you away, I'm just...

-We need to look through our memories for something to level our balances. Could you help us, Mira?-Steven interrupted him.

-What?!-Marc shouted. -No, she's not coming.

Mira gave little jumps and grabbed both their hands, her skin was soft, comfortable as a real one and her eyes shined with joy.

-Of course! Why didn't you say sooner? Follow me!-She started walking foward pulling them along.

-Steven!- Marc growled pissed off, trying to catch him but Mira standed between them both.

-Hey, don't touch him.-She called him out. -Be a good boy, Marc, please behave.-She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

His cheeks flushed, hot red, barely could move. Steven chuckled softly, and with that being said, they continued walking.

-Here.-She said as they arrived at a dark area full of corpses sitting by tables. -I can't go further than this, loves.

-Mira, what is this place?-Steven questioned as Marc wandered remembering each face. -Marc?-He stopped tonthink for a moment -Are these...people you killed?-He spoke horrified.

You could see the pain reflected in hia eyes. Steven remained quiet for a moment, the scales suddenly appeared, shaking, almost balancing as they moved further.

-What are we supposed to find here?-Marc looked at Mira but she remained silent, just watching them by the door.

-Uh...who's that?-Steven pointed to the end of the room. Both of them turnes their gaze to where he pointed. A little boy. -Marc...why is there a child in a room filled with people you've killed?

Marc suddenly felt nervous, he shaked his head a little and quickly turned to Steven:

-Steven, no...look don't go near him.

-Go near him, Steven.- Mira's voice echoed at the end of the saloon serious. They looked at her, the atmosphere became tense.

-No, Steven, don't.-Marc said.

Steven didn't listen to him, instead waved at the boy.

-Hey little man!- He approached him sweetly.

-Steven, no.-He glanced at Mira who only standed there silent, felt angry at her for a second.

-What's your name?-Steven asked the boy but he quickly ran away past a door.- Oh, hold on there...!

-Steven, wait, wait!-Marc said trying to stop him.

-Follow him, Steven!-Mira shouted.

And, as she said that, the museum shop's worker ran after the boy.

-Ugh, fuck off, Mira!-Marc yelled, but when he turned around she wasn't there anymore..-Mira...?-He glanced to the door where Steven left. -Damnit, Steven.

Following Steven and the boy, Marc would relieve his past and reveal secrets once buried into his mind. Svars that were once open, hoping to escape that place filled with pain of the past.

Now Mira? Well, the real Mira had sone hard problems to deal with.