Love Across the Deep Space

zayne raised one of his brows as he silently asked greyson who the little girl was.

“it’s… she said she’s your daughter?” greyson asked, just as confused. 

huh? 

“daddy!” the girl runs to his chair, jumping on his lap, sniffling and nuzzling against zayne. she couldn’t be older than seven. 

zayne awkwardly places a calm hand on her head as he softly shushes the scared child. 

“i… i tried checking the pediatric ward, i thought she was confusing you with someone else, but her name wasn’t on the list of admitted patients. she was adamant on seeing you.” 

greyson pauses, seeing the resemblance before he clears his throat. “i’ll leave you two alone.” 

zayne nods as he softly turns to the child. 

“hello there, can you tell me who you are and where you’re from?” the girl pulls away from her chest and zayne’s eyes slightly widen at the resemblance. 

the girl has dark hair, hazel-green eyes, and her lips form into a pout the same way that yours did when you didn’t get your way. but zayne says nothing, not wanting to assume anything. she pulls away, sniffling. zayne plucks out a few tissues on his desk and dabbing it gently to her tear-stricken face. 

“i-i’m zia.” she says through hiccups, clutching at zayne’s coat. “i’m from—” zia recites his address, causing zayne’s comforting hand to freeze on her back. nothing was adding up. 

she recited his address perfectly yet zayne has never seen her even within the neighborhood much less in his house. 

“when is… your birthday?” zia answers, but zayne furrows his brows as she cites a year that was a decade from now. 

“and your parents?” zayne didn’t know why his heart started beating quickly, greyson said that he was a father—although he was just as confused about the situation, an answer from the girl before him would clarify his questions. 

“my daddy’s name is zayne li… my mommy is—”

the door to his office opens. 

“dr. zayne? greyson told me you had company over, i brought you lunch!” you say as you walk in the office, stopping at your tracks as you see a little girl with him. 

you open your mouth, ready to ask a question only to be interrupted by little legs running towards you. 

“mama!” she latches on your legs, you let out a surprised sound before letting zayne take the food that you brought, you kneeled down, gently petting her hair. 

“hey there.” you say gently, not wanting to startle her. she looks up at you and you bit back a gasp as a carbon copy of zayne’s eyes stared back at you. 

“mama…” her eyes welled up with tears once more. jumping to hug you properly, the motion caught you off-balance, landing on your butt with a dull thud as you embraced the little girl properly. 

you looked up at zayne for answers, his face mirrored yours, you were both clueless. zia turns back to zayne as if she remembered something.

“my mama… my mama’s name is (y/n) li…” she said. 

your eyes widened, warmth flooding onto your cheeks. 

you looked at zayne to see a faint redness steadily rising to his face. 

you say nothing. 

zia jumps off of you, a locket bobbing out from her shirt catching your attention. 

the heart-shaped locket opens due to the force of zia’s actions, showing a picture of an older you and zayne holding her as a baby. 

you freeze, the action does not go unnoticed by zayne who helps you stand up. his eyes flit towards the direction that you were looking at before he freezes as well. 

“mama? papa?” zia’s innocent voice cuts through the silence. you and zayne look at each other, not knowing what to say. 

zayne coughs awkwardly, eyes not meeting yours as he gestures towards the food you brought. 

“how about we eat for now?” 

the three of you settled by his desk, asking zia questions, nothing too complex as to overwhelm her, but enough to grasp the current situation. 

zia explains that she was playing outside the house when suddenly she was floating through space, and suddenly in linkon park. but she didn’t recognize any of the stores that surrounded it. only the street names so she did her best to look for the hospital. 

“but why the hospital?” you asked, wiping a stray crumb by the corner of her mouth. zayne was entranced at the sight of you falling into the role of her mother. his heart thumping in his chest that he refuses to acknowledge. 

“papa said… if i ever get lost in linkon, find a way to make it to akso. akso is safe. because papa is there.” zia recites her dad’s words. while zayne may not know her now, it did seem like something he’d say in the future. 

it was silent for a few seconds before zia talked about herself, from her interests to her school life, to her life at home to which zayne couldn’t help but ask her a few questions about it. mostly to make her forget that she was scared and mainly purely selfish intentions. 

he can see you raise a brow but he pays no mind as he asks zia. 

“are you happy?” 

a big grin breaks out of zia’s face as she nods with vigor. 

“yes! mama and papa always give me cookies and candy whenever i ask!” she beams and lists off everything she loved about her parents. how they always read her stories before bed. how they always showed up to her recitals, how zayne always tutored her with utmost patience while you intervened with snacks and a quick game to take a break… 

“—and mommy and daddy alway do kissies!” zia shudders in mock disgust. “they think i don’t notice but daddy’s cheeks always show.” the little girl giggles.

you and zayne don’t look each other in the eye. but you could tell that he was having the same reaction as you. 

you perk up as you feel a different vibration in the air. wary of wanderers, you subtly twist your wrist to activate your hunter’s watch. zayne seems to feel the same disturbance as he flicks his hand, tiny particles of ice flurrying through the air. 

a portal warps open and you instinctively push zia behind you, your arm raised to cover her as the portal materializes. 

“zia! are you here, baby?” you gasped. you hear your voice. slightly older but undoubtedly you. 

your suspicions were confirmed as you see yourself through the portal, you looked older yet the same. beside your future self stood zayne who looked restless. worried for his daughter. aside from that, zayne looked healthier. his cheeks looked fuller and his eyes brighter.  

zia lets out a happy noise as she ducks under your arm and runs towards the portal. you instinctively reach out, fearing that the portal was a trap but your version’s zayne pulls you back, letting the girl run to her parents. 

“mommy, daddy!” your future selves kneeled down to her height to embrace her. your future self couldn’t help but place a tender kiss on her cheek while a tear slips from your eye. the older zayne looks at the two of you. 

a look of realization flashes in his face, but he says nothing, only smiling at his past self and letting out a nod before he focuses on his daughter, his hand overlapping yours, the gleam of a wedding ring catches your attention before the portal slowly closes. zia’s tiny “bye mom and dad!” the last thing the both of you hear before the portal closes shut. 

silence. 

neither zayne nor you could find the words to say, to talk about what happened. it takes a while for the both of you to realize what had occurred. 

“well…” you cut the tension with an awkward laugh. “quite an eventful lunch, huh? what a spoiler for the future.”  

with zia’s voice gone, you can hear your heartbeat pound loudly. three years from now, you would be a mother to zayne’s child. you would be a family. you would be his as he would be yours in holy matrimony. you can’t say the thought doesn’t make you giddy. you hoped that zia wasn’t an elaborate prank that you and zayne were the unlucky victim of. 

zayne stays quiet, as if thinking of his next words. 

“i…” zayne starts, clearing his throat and adjusting his tie, cheeks flushed red. 

“if zia is truly from the future then…” he looks deep into your eyes. “i can’t wait.” 

you couldn’t help the bashful smile that breaks out on your face. 

“neither can i.” you admit. 

zayne’s lips twitch upwards into a small smile as he gains courage from your words. 

“then… would you like to get dinner with me later, after my shift?”

you nod, smile still on your face. 

“of course, doctor zayne.”

sylus: 

“stop pretending, sylus. you know why i’m here.” you say, gun raised at him. sylus smirks and raises his arms in mock surrender. 

“the protocore you needed was faulty, i had to get rid of it. there was no poi—” “i’m not kidding around, sylus!” you cut him off, finger on the trigger, ready to pull at any moment. 

“i know, sweetie.” 

“don’t call me that.” 

you hated the way sylus chuckled at your response, clearly not taking you seriously. 

the two of you freeze as you hear a commotion from outside the room, sylus pushes you behind him, his evol flaring up as his energy-infused tendrils are on display, waiting for whatever intruder awaits the two of you. 

deciding not to waste time, sylus follows the sound of the noise— where luke and kieran could be heard grunting, fighting against the intruder with a tone of disbelief. 

intrigued, sylus pushes the door open with you in tow, the two of you anticipate a crowd of delinquents who managed to get through sylus’ top notch security, or underworld leaders that had unfinished business with the head of onychinus. 

what the two of you weren’t expecting was a teenage girl who looked amused as the mask-wearing twins dangled in the air with what looked to be a replica of sylus’ energy evol. 

rarely does anything manage to catch sylus off guard. but seeing a teenager with your hair color and the color of his eyes made his mouth drop for a split second. 

the teenager looks at you then at sylus, a soft smile forming on her face. 

“i knew i’d find you guys here.” 

sylus glances at you with his peripheral. your jaw was dropped, hands shaking as you clutched your gun by your side. 

the teenager raises her arms in mock surrender before letting luke and kieran down with a thud. 

“i can explain.” the teenager says. “don’t be alarmed…” she starts. 

“my name is athena. i’m… i’m your daughter from the future.” 

“and we’re supposed to believe you just like that?” you couldn’t help the defensiveness in your tone as you move to raise your gun after seeing her reach into her pocket. 

athena pulls out her wallet, opening it with a soft smile before facing the wallet front, showing the family picture that was displayed on the leather. in order to not cause alarm, she uses her evol. her energy manipulation making it float towards sylus’ direction, he takes it without much fanfare. 

in the picture was a family. 

where an older you and an older sylus stood in the middle, his arm was wrapped around your waist, pulling you close against him, athena stood on your right, a soft smile on her face as she raised her hand into a peace sign. sylus looked at the camera with a real smile on his face as he had a toddler perched up onto his hip— who seemed to be his carbon copy but with your eyes. if you squint, you can see a small bump on your stomach— possibly a third. 

“looks legit.” you hear luke whisper over to kieran. you didn’t even need to glance back to know that kieran smacked the back of luke’s head, the startled ow! told you enough. 

sylus’ face remained blank as he scans the picture before he closes the wallet shut, tossing it back to his future daughter with a steady aim. 

for a while there was silence, before your eyes widened. you become the wife of onychinus’ leader? the very man you swore you hated? 

“you’re meaning to tell me… i let him…” you point insultingly at the brute beside you, who scoffs at your reaction. “make a family with me?”

athena raises a brow, an upturn on her lips as if she was smirking. “i did not expect you to be like this before having me.” she walks around the base, as if she were at home and plops down at the sofa.

“pray tell, how do we act around you?” sylus asks, clearly invested in talking about his future with you. 

“gross.” athena rolls her eyes as the word leaves her lips in a playful way before looking at the two of you with a soft smile. “but… our family is really happy. we’re safe, healthy, most importantly, happy… but.” 

“but?” you echoed, she smiles bitterly. 

“mom, the reason i’m here is because a deal went wrong.” sylus freezes from beside you. 

athena breathes in deeply before explaining. she nods slightly in gratitude as she is served tea by luke and kieran, who you did not notice has left the room to get refreshments.

“sherman...” you perk up at the familiar name. one of sylus’ pawns, a dealer within the n109 zone, someone that sylus kept because he was useful. 

“dad never really let us in his business, he kept us safe and informed yet never within the circle of operations, so i didn’t know who he really was.” athena looks up to stare sylus down. 

“sherman betrays you in the future, dad. that’s the reason i’m here.” sylus nods slowly, gesturing for her to go on.

“he sided with EVER, he wanted us to be weakened so he decided on making sure that if he were to strike against you, it would be where it hurt the most. it wasn’t supposed to be me here, it was supposed to be simeon.” athena looks down on her lap, fists closed tightly, slightly shaking. the two of you could only assume that simeon was the child that sylus was carrying in the picture.

“simeon is barely five. sherman knew that the gun would transport him to the deepspace tunnel with no direction. he expected simeon to die in the tunnel because what knowledge does a toddler have to navigate the deepspace?” athena laughs bitterly. 

“right at the last second, i threw myself in front of him. i’d rather it be me than my baby brother.”

you and sylus look at each other, then back at athena who didn’t want to face either of you. 

sylus walks slowly towards her, his hand placed on her head gently causing her to look up at him. he gives her a nod of acknowledgement. 

“you did well. i’m proud to have you as my future daughter.” athena shakes her head, a smile on her face as she laughs slightly. “don’t get sappy on me, dad.” athena looks to luke and kieran before a smirk appears on her face. 

“you guys were weak, by the way. but don’t worry, you will get better in the future.” the twins let out offended gasps. 

“we could’ve attacked harder, but when we saw your eyes, we were shocked.” kieran explains as luke nods. “it was scary! we’ve fought off many people but we froze when we saw you.” athena nods before she looks at you. 

you still slightly as she stands and walks towards you. you didn’t know what it was, maybe it was instinct that you opened your arms and welcomed her into a hug that she fell into. it felt familiar and warm, something pounded in your chest that you were too terrified to acknowledge. 

“give dad a chance, okay? he’s not all that bad… a bit… much. but he always had our best interests.” athena whispers and you hummed, taking in her words as she pulls away. 

she winks at you. “you and dad are disgusting together.” you let out a short laugh at that. 

truthfully, as much as you hated to admit it, sylus was good looking. he was also reliable and strong and— you were not about to look at him with a different light right now. snap out of it.

a disturbance in the air crackles before a tunnel opens. 

“missus, are you here?” luke jolts as he hears himself through the tunnel, he was about to step closer when kieran pulls him back. 

athena drags you and sylus closer before she embraces you both tightly. 

“i’ll see you on the other side, okay?” athena pulls away with a smile, the expression contagious as you find yourself smiling back at your future daughter. 

“can’t wait.” you reply as she pulls away to call back at the tunnel. 

“yea! i’m here, luke.”

you can hear a sigh of relief from the other side as athena steps inside the tunnel, a serene look on her face as she waves goodbye at the two of you. the tunnel fizzles closed until only stray sparks remain and silence ensues. 

sylus turns to look at you, an amused glint at his deep ruby eyes. 

“can’t wait, huh?” 

“i will kill you where you stand, sylus.”

“no need for violence, sweetie. i too, can’t wait to see where the future leads to.”  

rafayel: 

you noticed her before he did. 

it wasn’t unusual for adults and children to be fixated with rafayel’s artwork, admittedly, at times you find yourself entranced by a few, attempting to interpret its meaning only for rafayel to brush you off and say that you’re overthinking it, cutie. 

but this was different. in front of rafayel’s painting stood a viewing bench that was occupied by a girl that couldn’t have been older than thirteen. she had her hood pulled up, hiding her features. she didn’t seem to be bothering or paying attention to anyone as her body was fixated in front of rafayel’s painting. 

longing. as per rafayel’s title. you once questioned him about it to which he only smiled and shook his head, expression solemn. 

“i don’t know… it just felt right.” you only nod, agreeing with his logic. 

art didn’t have to be complicated, it just had to portray meaning, despite whatever interpretation it was.

“raf.” you poke at the artist who was scanning the room, grateful to have finished making his rounds and rubbing elbows with the rich. 

“bored already, cutie?” he teases. you shake your head as you point towards the direction of his painting. 

“you want me to talk to you about the painting techniques i used? oh, cutie. i knew you were interested in my technique.” you scoffed, shaking your head as you clarified. 

“no, rafayel. i’m referring to her.” you say as you point out the little girl in a soft tone. “she’s been looking at the painting since we’ve arrived.” rafayel takes a closer look, squinting his eyes. 

“are you sure she isn’t asleep? maybe she’s just appreciating my artistic techniques, unlike someone i know…” 

you shake your head before rolling your eyes at him. “still. it’s been hours… did she come with anyone?” rafayel furrowed his brows. 

“i didn’t even notice her here.”

the more rafayel looks at her, the more he feels the pull to approach her. and without even realizing it, he sat beside her on the bench. 

he tilts his head at the painting, squinting his eyes to see if there was a misplaced smudge or dirt that he didn’t notice. just to get an idea of what she was looking at. 

“what’re you looking at, buddy?” he asked, finally turning to the hood-covered girl. 

the little girl stays silent for a few seconds before opening her mouth. 

“the painting…” rafayel perks up, listening intently to the child. 

“is it about me?” 

huh?

“hehe~ of course!” rafayel attempts to appease the kid, not wanting a crying child in his exhibit. 

“anything can be about you if you put your mind to i—” he gets cut off as the child finally faces him. 

his eyes stared back at him and deep strands of purple framed her little face. from her neck, rafayel could see scales, scales that he knew all too well. 

and with a closer look, he realizes that the scales match the colors he used for the painting. 

rafayel stares wide-eyed at the girl. he’s known every surviving lemurian, but not her. and what are the odds she had the same eye and lip shape as you? 

the girl, seeing where rafayel was looking, quickly slaps a hand on her neck, covering the exposed scales.   

rafayel coughs once, before his eyes search for yours. he quickly does so and he signals for you to get to where he was to which you do with a quick stride. 

“this is miss bodyguard… she can help you look for your parents. you’re lost, right?” 

you bit back a gasp as you take in her appearance. she was adorable, her face shows that she grew up with the finer things and that she was not told no in her life. 

“i’m not lost…” she mumbles, yet she takes your hand and squeezes it tightly. you were surprised at how cold her hand felt, the child’s breathing was slightly panicking by the second as more scales appear on her face. 

your eyes widened, clearly seeing that the new scales were affecting her. you looked at raf and he nodded, wordlessly leading the way as you carried the little girl to the room allotted for him. 

“do you know what’s happening… ms…?” rafayel asks as he kneels in front of her as you settle her on the couch. 

“mira.” she says softly, voice almost a whisper. “what a pretty name.” you say, smiling softly as if to assure the child. 

mira looks around the room, her gem-colored eyes scanning the room meticulously before she stops at the gemstone that was halved and turned into powder, most likely as pigment for rafayel’s work. 

her feet take her there and before she could touch it, rafayel’s hand stops her. 

“raf—”

“you’ll burn your hand if you touch it, missy. only lemurians can touch this.” rafayel says, his tone playful but you knew that he meant it. 

mira shakes her head and reaches out for it once more. 

“miss mira, you’re–” “i’m the sea god’s daughter.” mira cuts him off.

rafayel freezes in shock. mira takes the opportunity to get ahold of the gemstone on his desk. 

a bright light blinds the three of you as mira takes out a fishtail that she kept hidden in her small satchel. 

“the sea god’s daughter…” rafayel trails off, you look at her then back at raf as a sharp pang hits your chest. 

you knew that what you and rafayel had was strictly business, yet you couldn’t overlook the fact that the two of you flirted here and there… and with all the time spent together, how come rafayel never told you. 

but as you look at rafayel and see the look of confusion in his face, you begin to wonder if the child is only confused. 

mira falls to her knees, her breaths quickening and you find yourself supporting her with a hand on her back. 

“mama…” she whispers at you, you shake it off, thinking that the haze of the scales growing on her was hindering her mind. you let her clutch your hand, only to be shocked that she triggered your resonance, the two of you feel the progression of scales slow down. 

“papa…” she reaches for rafayel who still seemed lost in thought, but at the sound of mira’s voice, he shakily holds his hand out. 

“...feel weak— …need to go back…” you and rafayel were confused at the words leaving mira’s mouth, she gestures towards the gemstone that she dropped. rafayel takes it with his free hand. mira tells him to coat the fishtail with the gemstone powder and rafayel does so, albeit hesitant. 

a blinding light blinds the three of you, and you find yourselves transported under water. you can hear rafayel let out a gasp as the three of you were inside a bubble. 

looking outside, you can see why rafayel gasped, you were in lemuria or what could only be described as such place based on rafayel’s previous stories. 

you see mira swimming away and the bubble follows her lead. 

you suppress a gasp as you see her swim towards a merman that was gigantic. before you could express your shock to the lemurian beside you. you see him focused, it was on the second look at the merman did you realize that the two of you were staring back at an older— no, another version. older for sure, yet this version had long hair and a tail that was almost your size. 

“papa! mama!” you turned your head to the woman approaching the duo, you finally gasped as your familiar features mirrored your own, yet it was older, softer. 

you can barely hear what mira was saying but you can see as she points to the bubble that you and rafayel occupied, the parents— which you now concluded was a future version of you followed her finger, and with a softened smile, your future self waved at you, causing a deep feeling to settle in your chest, yet you couldn’t pinpoint which emotion it was.

it takes a second for the two of you to be thrown back into your current timeline. the same bright flash brought you back to rafayel’s waiting room.

from a distance, you can hear thomas’ calls for the artist, whose hand you were holding tightly. 

the two of you looked at each other, not saying a word, before he broke it with a small smile. 

“so… looks like you liked me a little too much, cutie.”   

“if that timeline is real, you’re the one carrying her. like a seahorse” you say your face burning as you turn around and leave him in the waiting room. 

“?! that’s not how it works, cutie!” 

xavier: 

the wanderers were closing in. backup was coming but you and your partner had no idea when. the battlefield felt like a hydra wherein one dies, three more take its place and at this point, it wasn’t a battle of strength, but of stamina. 

the wanderers were weak, yet there were so many that you felt your composure slipping. 

it took a sloppy shot for the wanderer you were up against to charge at you with an angered cadence. 

you grunt as you managed to finish it off, finding yourself back to back with xavier who was busy with another luminivore. 

“are you alright?” xavier asked as the wanderer evaporated. you turn to face him, giving him an acknowledgement before you braced your hand on his shoulder to fight the fast moving luminivore behind him. a shot resounded from your hunter’s gun. 

xavier immediately pushes you off to fight off the other wanderers that spawned. 

it seemed endless. you lost count how many the two of you fought. the call for back-up felt like hours ago. 

the two of you were so caught up with fighting that none of you felt the crackle in the air. 

“mom watch out!” you turned around to see a man, pushing early twenties with the tip of his sword right by your face, an evaporating wanderer caught in the middle of it. 

mom? you were confused but had no time to think as you shot another wanderer. you sense another hunter in the area, you turn around to see another man with a sword similar to the other stranger’s. 

confused, yet grateful for the added manpower, the four of you cleared the hunting zone. the gigantic luminivore, having no smaller ones to absorb, was weakened and taken down without a hitch. the protocore it released clasped tightly in your hand. 

when the adrenaline wore off, you thought back to the man who called you mom. you looked at him with a confused expression, having never seen him in your life. 

he bore platinum hair, his eyes the same color as yours and his sword looking to be made out of luxurious alloy. beside him, stood another man who looked like him but with a different hair color, his cheeks were rounder and he was slightly shorter, but it was clear to you that they were twins. 

“w-who are you?” you didn’t mean for your voice to falter but it was surreal to see a set of twins that eerily looked like your partner in crime. 

speak of the devil, xavier hurried to your side once he made sure all wanderers were nowhere to be found in the perimeter. 

xavier pauses as well, his grip on the lightblade that was hidden in his back, prepared to strike if your back-up was actually enemies in disguise. 

the shorter twin raises his hand and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, a shy smile on his face as he looks at you with a guilty expression. 

“okay so…” he trails off, as if trying to find an explanation to who they were. “you're not gonna believe this but…”

he places an arm around the taller twin. 

“we’re your sons from the future.”

what the fuck?

you could feel the strength in your legs falter for a split second and xavier had to support your back as you stared at the twins with a widened gaze. 

sons? future? with… xavier??? 

your blue-eyed partner only looks at them warily, seeming to not believe the twins, only for his eyes to flit towards the tassels of their swords, his eyes slightly squinting as he recognizes his family’s insignia. it wasn’t concrete evidence, yet it was enough for the hunter to hear them out.

“and you are?” xavier asked, the older twin stepped forward, his head dipped down before he tilted up, looking xavier right in the eye, blue eyes mirroring his. 

“lumiere.”

silence. 

the atmosphere was tense and you felt xavier tense up from beside you. xavier’s mouth opened but before he could say anything, the younger twin bursted out laughing. 

“leo, that was good!” the twins gave each other a high-five before turning to face the two of you once more. 

it seemed like even in the future, xavier still cannot hide his disdain for his alter ego. 

“i’m milo.” the younger twin introduces himself in between his giggles before he gestures to the older one who looked at xavier straight-on with a smug expression on his face. 

“this is leo.” milo gestures to him. you nod slightly, still starstruck before introducing yourself and xavier. 

milo nods. “we know. you’re our parents in the future after all.” 

you furrowed your eyes, still confused at his statement. yet with the way their uniforms were slightly different and how the two of them did look like they lived in a different era, you bit your tongue. 

you wanted to find out more yet before you could, a gasp escapes your lips as a lightblade was pointed at your sons. 

“xavier!” 

“who sent you?” xavier asked, not joking around. 

the twins hold up their arms in surrender, not making any violent reactions. 

“we don’t know how we got here ourselves. but, we suspect it was the protocore.” milo explains. “this isn’t our timeline—” that much was obvious. “we’ve been lost for the past week, we believe the key back to our timeline is in the protocore in your hand, mom.” 

being called mom by a pair of twins that look your age was definitely unsettling. 

“and why should I believe you?” xavier asks, the grip on his lightblade tightening. 

 the twins look at each other then back at xavier before they gestured towards their own swords. 

“you gave us these swords when we expressed that we wanted to be like you.” milo sheepishly explains, flustered at expressing admiration towards their father. 

xavier’s careful eyes examine the markings of their swords before they fall towards the star-shaped tassels that decorated the handle.

he lowers his sword, convinced but not entirely. 

you flinch and let out a yelp as the protocore you held turned hot. your partner immediately turns to your side as you throw the protocore to the ground.

the yellow gemstone twitches before it cracks, interrupting the air with a tunnel that showed another timeline from the side. 

“leo, milo, are you here?” you hear a feminine voice call out. you see her step out a moment later and you gasped at how much she resembled you, same eyes, same lips and same puffy cheeks. 

“stella, it’s dangerous out here.” leo, being the eldest, scolds. stella pouts before she realizes that you and xavier watched as the siblings bantered. 

“mom, dad!” stella launched herself into your arms, a smile appearing in her face. 

“that is stella… the youngest… she’s a great marksman like you, mom.” milo introduces, you concluded that he was the chattier twin– inherited most likely from you and leo stays silent on the side, more xavier than your genes. 

“you’re so, so pretty mom, i knew i got your genes.” stella teasingly winks and you couldn’t help the chuckle that leaves your lips. 

the tunnel crackles once more and the three snap out of their trances. 

“it was nice meeting you, young mom and dad!” milo teases before he grabs stella away. “we have to go now, we’ll see you for dinner!” stella waves goodbye before the two of them enter the tunnel. 

leo saves himself for last, ensuring that his two younger siblings have entered fully before giving the two of you a gentle smile paired with a wave. 

“i’ll see you soon, mom, dad.” 

then the tunnel closes shut, leaving you and xavier in the now quiet battlefield. 

without your children’s presence, you can hear your heart beat get louder at the thought that in the future you would be married to your coworker. 

“so… that happened.” you tried breaking the awkward tension. 

xavier only replied with a hum, one that you tilted your head at, wanting to know his thoughts. 

“i always thought we’d have more.” 

what?! 

“do you wanna get hotpot after we report this to captain jenna?” xavier asked you, yet you only looked at him with disbelief. 

“are you not weirded out about our future children appearing in front of us? how are you so calm about this? weren’t you just doubting them minutes ago?” xavier shrugs at your question. 

“i’ve got sufficient proof that they were telling the truth.”he responds. “besides. them appearing makes fighting for the future worth it.” he indirectly confesses. 

“what?” bless your soul. 

xavier shakes his head before walking away. a secret smile on his face. 

he’d face a thousand more wanderers if it meant that his future would be the way he saw, hopefully stella wasn’t the last. 

caleb: 

caleb feels like you’re being watched. 

which was rich coming from him. 

but he’s already taken two detours, yet the eyes on your backs only seemed to stare harder. 

he smiles at you. his hand gently patting your head. “how about you go and buy us some slushies, pips?” you tilt your head in confusion, looking at the long line for the slushie stall before pouting. 

“‘leb the line’s too long.” you whined, caleb only chuckles. “come on, pips. you know i love their honey apple soda. plus, you can use your charms to get a free upgrade.” you roll your eyes at him before huffing and begrudgingly agreeing. 

once you turned around, caleb walks away with a calm cadence, away from the crowd and somewhere most civilians wouldn’t walk near. 

he could hear footsteps trailing behind him, for an untrained ear, it wouldn’t be alarming, but caleb has tracking every small sound his ears could pick up. once he reaches a point in the forest beside where the pop-up fair stood, he unleashes his evol, he hears the stranger grunt as the force of gravity settles on their shoulder. 

for a little fun— also a bit of a power trip, he wills his evol to lift the stranger up by one foot while one dangles in the air. 

caleb counts three seconds before turning around, only for deep purple eyes to stare back at him. 

“what the fuck.” caleb says as he looks at the stranger who could pass off as his sibling. 

no. it couldn’t be real. this is a sick experiment that EVER sent as a last ditch effort to catch him off guard and take you away from him. he won’t let them. 

he won’t let th— 

“wow, you look stupid hanging out like that, flynn.” caleb flinches as he hears another voice speak up, in his shock, he waves his other arm to attack the stranger, only for the stranger to skillfully dodge his offense. 

what?

“woah, nice try there, dad!” he hears the stranger mock him. he faces the second stranger, his evol raring to go once more only for him to accidentally release the first one dangling. 

the second stranger had your eyes. 

a loud oof! was heard as the first stranger fell on a patch of leaves that were conveniently on the ground. 

the second stranger laughs and taunts the first. only for the two of them to let out a yelp as caleb uses his evol to pull the two of them together, in front of him. 

“who are you?” caleb asked. the two strangers look at him then at each other, debating on how to answer. 

yet when seconds passed and none of them spoke up, caleb tightened the invisible restraints like a snake’s chokehold. 

“alright, we give!” the older one says, caleb raises a brow but eases the hold, just a little.

“i’m flynn.” he introduces himself then turning his head towards his brother. “this is axel.” 

“and why were you following us around? what do you need from us?” caleb’s voice hardens once more at the thought that the two boys would be after you. 

“we mean no harm, promise!” axel says, grunting as the hold tightens once more. “let us go, we’ll explain!”

caleb, knowing that he could easily take down the two of them if they showed any violent tendencies, let them go. the two of them heaved deep breaths before smirking. 

“damn dad, never thought we’d be on the receiving end of that.”

“i’ll do it again if you don’t start explaining right now.” caleb threatens and axel lets out a sound of defiance, not wanting to feel restricted again. 

“okay. don’t be scared.” axel starts, only to get nudged by flynn in the ribs. “that’s a terrible start to an explanation, axe!”

flynn shakes his head before clearing his throat. “he’s right though, dad.” caleb’s brow twitches at the title, yet he bites his tongue for now. 

“don’t be alarmed… we’re from the future–”

“what?!” the three of their heads snap towards a new voice— you. 

due to your shock, you almost dropped the sodas, had it not been for caleb’s evol stopping the spill. 

his evol seems to be working overtime today. 

you marched towards the three men before stopping in front of axel, your expression in awe as you reached out to touch his cheek. 

“wow… you look like me.” you say without thinking, flinching backwards as you realized how weird it sounded. 

“i’m saying!” axel agrees, smiling the same way you did. you turned your head to flynn before gasping. “holy shit you’re a mini caleb.” flynn smiles and lets his hair be ruffled by you. 

“pips… you can’t be serious.” caleb says, exasperated at how easily you believed the two strangers who did look like the two of you combined. but with the way you grew up with wanderers and evols, you weren’t about to think that time travel wasn't real. 

“caleb, you can’t be serious.” you retorted, caleb’s mouth drops open at the audacity of you to make him look like he was the crazy one for not accepting. 

“look at him! he’s a cuter version of you!” you say, pinching at flynn’s cheeks. the aforementioned laughs and caleb fights the urge to roll his eyes. 

“pips—” you ignore him in favor of making the two sit down on the clearing, your hands occupied by theirs as you asked them how their current life was. 

caleb, with a frown on his face, sits down close behind you, your back pressed against either of his thighs as he listens to your conversations. 

from there, he notes that flynn was born nine years later, and axel followed after two. flynn trained to be a pilot yet axel followed your steps into becoming a hunter. caleb mindlessly traces circles on your knee as you listen intently to their stories. 

“and auri is—” “auri?” caleb voices out, the first time he made a move to show that he was listening to the conversation.

“woooow dad.” flynn said sarcastically. “you decided that now was the time to contribute?” 

“i will ground you.” caleb threatens, flynn rolls his eyes, a habit he most likely got from you. 

“auri is the youngest… for now.” 

“auri— aurielle is the family’s princess.” axel explains. “right now, she looks like you, mom. she has a bit of an age gap between us.” 

“for now?” you echoed, eyes widening. 

"for now." axel nods. "dad's been wanting another mini-you... he's practically begging for another girl."

you glare at caleb who was innocent for now.

caleb perks up, wanting to know more about his future princess, begins asking questions regarding the youngest. 

the two boys could only roll their eyes at their future father’s enthusiasm. 

“wow, she’s not even here but she already has you wrapped around her finger.” axel teases as flynn shows the two of you a picture of her. 

indeed, they were right. aurielle looked like you at the moment but her eyes were the shade of caleb’s eyes. the picture depicts her lips in a bright grin as she bites a gold medal between her teeth, an achiever. just like you. 

caleb’s lips form into a small smile as he stares at the picture then back at the two boys. 

“are you happy?” caleb asks, making the two sons look at each other. “with your lives. i mean.” 

the boys nod, getting the meaning behind caleb’s words. 

“we’re happy, we’re safe and protected.” flynn answers. 

“and we grew up loved.” axel adds. your lips formed into a pout at his words. 

“and auri?” the two boys groan playfully. 

“for sure a princess. you threatened her junior high dance date once.” you snort at that statement. 

it definitely sounded like something caleb would do.

a beeping sound interrupts the future family’s banter. axel looks at his hunter’s watch before looking at the two of you apologetically.

“it was really nice meeting the two of you when you were young. but…” axel gestures towards the watch’s countdown, the time blaring a bright 00:00. “we have to go.” 

you pout but let go of their hands once the four of you stood up. 

“we’ll see each other in a bit, mom.” the boys pull you into a hug. 

if caleb didn’t know that they were your future children together, they would’ve been suspended once more in the air. he didn’t get to say that as a joke as after you, the two of them jumped on caleb’s arms, laughing as the disgruntled colonel lets out a groan.  

“see you, dad.” 

“say hi to auri for me.” caleb teases, the two boys roll their eyes before agreeing. 

not even a second later, a portal opens. from the other side, you and caleb could see how comfortable the atmosphere was, it looked warm, a home. your future home. 

from the side, caleb can see a family portrait on the wall, the five of you with big smiles as you posed funnily for the camera. 

the two of them enter and the tunnel closes without fanfare. 

when the tunnel finally fizzles out, you feel a light smack on your head. 

“ouch, caleb! what was that for.” 

“you trusted them too easily, pipsqueak.” caleb clicks his tongue as you pout.

“well excuse me for being excited about my future.” 

caleb.exe stopped responding. 

you. the girl he protected all his childhood and grew up with, was excited for a future with him?

caleb never let himself imagine that kind of future. he never thought he deserved it. 

you tilt your head, an ugly frown on your face. 

”it’s only natural, right?” your tone turned cold, both of caleb’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

“why, did you want to marry anyone else?” you asked, your lips forming into a pout that caleb knew was the one you use when you wanted your way. 

yet he couldn’t help but indulge you. 

“of course not, pipsqueak.” caleb smiles and pats your head. 

“it’s only ever been you.”

the bright smile on your face that followed his response was all the answer he needed. all his actions will have been worth it in the end, and today’s event was proof of it.