Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

Where did Prota come from? Could John really tell her story like this? In the first place, he himself didn't know that much about her past. All he had was the story Zero had told him, and even then, he'd been warned that it wouldn't be entirely accurate.

He looked at the child-like person in front of him. Her face was young, but her eyes were old. An expression of understanding built upon hundreds of years of wisdom. Someone who'd matured over a long life, unlike himself. She would keep something like this a secret, right?

"I don't really know," John admitted. "I found her homeless. She was pretty dirty. From what I know, her village was attacked when she was a child. Her parents died, and she was accused of using demonic magic to kill them. She was shipped off, didn't know what to do, and then… well, I think you get the rest."

"I see."

Was that it? John held his breath.

"Is that truly all you know?" Sofya said carefully.

"I mean, she's just a little kid," John protested. "Forget all I know, that's probably all she knows. She was, like, five or something. How much does a child of that age even remember?"

"I see. And you know nothing of the incident?"

John shook his head. "I don't even know where the village she came from is."

"Have you asked her as to its location?"

John shook his head again.

Sofya nodded slowly, processing the information. John really hoped she couldn't read minds. If she could, then it was all over. Thankfully, everything he'd said so far made perfect sense. It wasn't as if any of it was suspicious or inconsistent. In a sense, he was telling the truth. He was simply omitting the part where Zero had been the one to tell him all of this.

"Hey, I don't really mean to bother you or anything, but… why? It's just, you know, these are pretty strange questions."

Sofya raised an eye. "And you think your sister, a human being able to use the magic of dragons, isn't strange?"

"Uh… yeah, fair enough."

The dragon sighed. "I understand your desire to protect your sister, but truly, I am merely trying to figure things out. After all, Scholaris is a place that shouldn't be vulnerable to these kinds of attacks. Such an incident as this is incredibly rare. I will be interviewing other students, as well as the professors, but it seems you know the most out of everyone."

John nodded slowly. "Oh. Well, uh… that's all I got."

Sofya stood from her seat, turning to leave.

"Thank you. I think I have a better understanding of things now."

"Yeah? So what does that-"

"I would recommend using your safety devices to return to your professors. They must be worried about you. I have some things to do."

With that, she vanished. Teleportation, maybe? John didn't know. The worst part was that he hadn't even seen her fight. He would've appreciated it if he knew what kind of fighting style a dragon had. He shook his head. No point in lingering over what-ifs. There were too many things he had to think of now.

Were the professors also cultists? Was Lupin keeping an eye on him because of Prota? What did the headmaster understand?

One thing was for sure. This was no conclusion of any kind. This was just the beginning of much more to come. No questions had been answered, and a plethora of them had risen up instead. Why demonic cultists? Why now? Was this something meant to be part of the [Plot], or was the involvement of such a group entirely foreign?

Were there connections to Doctor? Or was the Town of Beginnings an entirely separate issue? He held his head. It was too much. What had been simply worrying about Lupin's vague speech now extended to wondering which parts of the [Story] had been tainted by him and which parts were still going according to the original [Plot].

He'd induced the butterfly effect without even knowing what the original timeline was.

"John?"

Prota's voice called out from the woods. He sighed and got to his feet, kicking the wooden chair to the side. Making his way toward his sister's voice, he found her wandering around, her hair and face streaked with dirt. There was a hole in the centre of her dress, as well as a hole that was mending in her cloak. It seemed she'd been pretty badly injured, but she was fine now, and that was all that mattered.

"Hey," he said with a weak smile.

"John!" she cried out, barreling into him and holding him tight.

He returned the embrace. "We won, I guess."

John looked up into the sky, where the gaps in the leaves revealed a setting sun.

"Um… what now?" Prota said quietly.

She looked up at him, waiting for instructions. The problem was, John had none to give.

"We're supposed to go back. But, uh… I don't think we can."

Neither of them had their safety devices on them, and in John's case, it wouldn't have worked anyway.

"I'm sure they'll come pick us up once they figure out we haven't returned. Come on, let's go back to our camp."

Without another word, the two trudged back to their campsite. John would've been lost were it not for his map, but the system was really coming in handy here. In half an hour, they were back at their familiar double tent and fire pit. The supplies sat neatly, as if they'd been waiting for their return. Such a sense of familiarity made one forget there'd been a powerful battle just moments before.

"...was I foreshadowing something when I said I wanted to take a vacation at the end?" John muttered, looking at all the food they'd stockpiled.

Now that it was just him and Prota, it would definitely last them the rest of the exam duration. Even if the teachers waited that long to come and get them, they'd be pretty comfortable for the time being.

"Man. I'm hungry. I guess being on the verge of dying does that to you," John sighed.

He tossed a bunch of sticks and logs into the fire pit, motioning for Prota to light it. Soon, they had a roaring bonfire going, a pot of stew sitting to the side.

"John was expecting this?" Prota said quietly as she watched their food cook.

"This? Not to this extent, no," John said, shaking his head. "Those guys were ridiculously strong. That one thing, that creature, that alone was stupid. But four of them?"

This was definitely another case of his involvement. Or, well, was it? Destiny was growing, but he had yet to have any spurts of growth. Perhaps John's involvement had created a more natural sense of progression, rather than the typical near-death experiences a [Protagonist] might experience. Well, it didn't matter. If [Deus Ex Machina] energy wasn't involved, he didn't particularly care.

He sighed as he leaned back, propping himself up with his arms. The sun was half below the horizon, casting its golden rays over the sea. Yellow faded into orange, which faded into pink, finally disappearing into the dark blue night sky that was slowly creeping to overtake the sky.

How strange. Everything had started abruptly, and less than an hour later, it'd ended just as suddenly as it'd begun. Now, here they were, watching the sun set as a simple chicken soup cooked. All in a day's work.

"Prota," John said suddenly. "Do you know of any other strange power you might have?"

"...no," Prota said, shaking her head.

John was a little curious, but he didn't let it show. "Ok. Tell me what happened after I passed out."

Prota nodded, explaining in her short, abrupt sentences what'd happened. How she'd used Soul Steal, how it hadn't been enough, even with the Frozen Bullets, even with her ability to slow down her perception of time, and how she'd been forced to run away after that.

"I, um… I passed out after that," Prota said awkwardly. "And then I woke up."

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John leaned forward, holding his head in his hands. She did have something. He didn't know what it was, but it was some kind of power she wasn't aware of. From what he could tell at the end of her story, she hadn't eliminated either foe, yet Sofya had said she'd killed one. That meant she'd done so without realizing it.

In a way, it was almost like a deus ex machina. Some kind of crazy, stupid solution just so they could escape this dilemma without dying. Was Prota simply capable of fighting unconsciously? Had a third party come and intervened? Or was it something more than that?

Well, he'd find the answer eventually. This was wishful thinking, but then again, John wasn't one to shy away from such a mentality.

"Well, the principal came and beat the enemies for us. She said you killed one," John explained. "So… you know. If you remember anything, that would be useful."

Prota's eyes widened. Her? Really?

"I had to tell her about your past, though. It's, ah… well, it doesn't look like she's going to do anything about it."

"John-"

"Don't worry, I didn't say anything about, uh… us, I guess. Just a rough idea of your past. Sorry about that. She's a dragon, though. She knew you used Soul Steal. I can't really lie to her when she already knows what's going on."

He sighed. He hoped that was true. It would be rather embarrassing if he'd been outbluffed by a [Character]. It'd happened to him in the past, but that didn't make the possibility any better.

"She was pretty impressed by you, though. And, to be honest, I'm pretty impressed, too. You did a good job of fighting off that thing. You've grown a lot, Prota."

She beamed as her head came to rest on his shoulder. The two let the sun shine onto their faces as the soup began to bubble. Ladling the food into the empty cans, they gave a little cheer before digging in. It wasn't anything amazing, but with how hungry they were, it might as well have been the best meal of their lives.

"Man… what an exam, huh?" John sighed in contentment as he wiped his mouth.

Prota nodded sleepily. The fire had died down, but the warmth was still quite comfortable. The crackling of the flames made John long for something like a ukulele, but he couldn't pull something like that out.

Instead, he stood up, stretched, and looked around.

"I'm heading off to bed."

Prota's eyes went wide. Did she just hear that right? John was going to be early?

"I'm tired. Come on, I'll see you in the morning."

With that, he really did head off into the tent, still dirty and bloody, but it seemed like he didn't care about any of that. Prota couldn't help but stare, thinking he would come out, but after a while, it seemed like he was really asleep. She could even hear his soft, regular breathing if she listened closely.

For the first time, she was the one sitting outside, staring at the stars. There was a little blip of orange, as if the sun were putting up one last valiant effort to keep the day in control, but now it was time for the night to rule. A soft breeze blew through her hair, forcing her to push it out of her eyes. She closed her eyes, savouring the quiet.

She wondered what was in store for her now. Draco still needed to be dealt with, but somehow, his little bullying game seemed insignificant compared to what she'd been through. Well, nothing like a little life-and-death scenario to put things into perspective. She was a little worried about what'd transpired between John and the headmaster. She also wondered about the strange power nobody knew about, not even herself.

Did it have something to do with that strange voice that'd helped her out so many times in the past? It hadn't shown up this time, especially when it'd mattered the most, and yet she'd somehow pulled through anyway. Had it been the voice? Or was it truly just some power she didn't know of?

She slapped her cheeks and shook her head. She'd work it out with John. She trusted that he'd know what to do, that he'd figure everything out. The only thing she needed to deal with was Draco, and now, she felt confident in doing so.

Still, she wasn't nearly as tired as John was. She went over to the ocean's edge and took off her clothes, using water magic to purify the salt water and pour it over herself, scrubbing the dirt and blood off of her body. Come to think of it, it was the first time she'd bathed in a few days. Still, no amount of filth would compare to the day John had found her.

She cleaned her clothes using the same method and then used a combination of fire and wind magic to blow them dry, before going into the other tent to dress up again. Feeling warm and clean, she snuggled into the blanket, letting her head hit the pillow as she sank into a comfortable sleep.

~~~

Prota was woken up by the squawking of birds. The sun was shining through the tent, but today, she could take her time getting out. She slowly wriggled out of her blanket, stretching as she yawned, rubbing her eyes. Still half asleep, she opened up the tent to find John in fresh clothes, completely clean, sitting on the edge of the beach with a fishing rod in hand.

"Morning," he nodded as she stared.

She looked down at her own ripped clothes. How had John cleaned up so quickly?

"There's fresh clothes for you in my tent. Plus a swimsuit if you wanna go into the ocean or something."

Prota nodded, heading into the tent to find a fresh new summer dress, a simple pair of sandals and a straw hat with a flower tied to the side. To the side was her swimsuit. She'd picked it out a while ago, but they'd never had the opportunity to use it. Come to think of it, did she know how to swim? She'd seen others in pools, and it looked simple enough, but could she do it?

Well, that was a question for later. Wearing clothes that hadn't been worn down to bits, she stepped out, the hot sun beaming down on her.

"I've been fishing for a bit, but honestly, I don't have the patience for this," John grumbled, tossing the rod to the side as he got up from his spot. "Hungry?"

Prota nodded. John had already prepared some food. She'd been expecting some more of the canned food, but instead, she received a plate of eggs, bacon and freshly toasted bread. She looked down at the meal, then back up at John.

"What? No one's gonna be watching us, not after everything that's happened. It's how [Stories] work. Come on, we're entitled to a little break, right?"

Well, she wasn't going to say no to good food. She dug in, savouring the feeling of eating a solid meal. The pasta was ok, but there was something about freshly made food that couldn't be beaten by any kind of pre-prepared food.

"Ah… I think we're the last students on the island. We won't have to go back into the jungle… to be honest, I don't know what to do now."

John put his plate down, staring out into the ocean.

"I'd like to play around a little there, but there's not much to do. I also don't know if there are beasts or anything in there. I have something planned for tonight, but what're we gonna do in the meantime?"

John sighed, reaching into his pocket dimension again. It seemed like he was going to regret what he was going to do next.

"Well, it's a beach episode. I couldn't avoid it, right?"

He pulled out a watermelon and a big stick.

"Here. Let's teach you some fun games, ok?"

~~~

Over the course of the next few hours, John showed her everything he could think of. They tried smashing watermelons and building sandcastles. Games like volleyball and tetherball were possible to an extent, and simple activities like jumping over waves or burying somebody under a pile of sand were easily accessible. They were simple activities you might find on any beach, but that didn't take away from their entertainment level.

"There's some other fun things," John was saying. "Like surfboarding, or jetskiing, but I think even the [Author] would get a little annoyed if I pulled out large machinery out of my ass."

They were currently sitting on beach towels under an umbrella, eating the watermelon they'd broken open earlier. To someone who'd never had watermelon, it was an absolute treat. Prota was also wearing sunglasses, something she found incredibly amusing, but she'd decided to keep them on anyway.

"These are things John did… on his Earth?"

"On a lot of Earths," John shrugged, taking another piece of the green and red fruit. He took a bite, savouring the crisp coolness of the flesh. "These kinds of activities are common in a lot of worlds, actually."

"John's Earth sounds fun," Prota said wistfully.

John felt a pang of pain go through his heart. Prota on his Earth. That… that wasn't possible. She wasn't real. But what about the alternative?

Prota on any Earth.

Would such a thing ever happen? He had a feeling he'd be leaving this world behind as soon as he was done with his mission. And if Prota were of this world, then she'd probably be left behind as well. It made sense. Why would the [Author] sacrifice his old world, only to allow him a companion from a new one?

Still, one hope remained. [Destiny Bond]. [Resets].

"If you're going to care for Prota… take care of her well. Don't half ass it."

Zero's words. What did they mean?

"Well, that's why we're doing this stuff now, right?" John said, tossing the rind to the side. "Plus, the nice beaches on Earth are always super crowded. Having our own space like this… maybe this is what billionaires feel like."

"Billionaire?"

"Oh, that. Well…"

~~~

The sun was beginning to set, and John was rummaging in the tent, likely looking for whatever he'd promised for that night.

"Hey, Prota."

She nearly jumped as Zero popped out, floating around. Well, if he were here, then the teachers definitely weren't watching anything.

"You know, you still have your ring on."

Prota looked down at her hand to find that she did, in fact, have her dimensional ring on. All it contained was a camera and some empty space for photos, though. What was the point?

"Do you know what people usually take pictures for?"

Prota shook her head.

"It's to keep memories."

Memories? What did Zero mean by that?

"Well, it's a way to sort of freeze a moment in time. You'll always be able to look at the picture and remember this moment. As time passes, you might start to forget things. But pictures are kinda like a way to say, "hey, I was there." To bring yourself back to the past and remind yourself of what happened."

Prota fed a little mana into the ring, and the camera popped out. She put her eye to the little window and aimed, looking out to the sea.

"But… don't you think here is a good place to take a photo?"

Prota looked around. Golden skies, blue waves, white sand… yeah. It was pretty.

"Alright, I found- oh. Right, I kinda forgot about that," John said, putting a bag full of stuff down. "Hey, let's take a picture!"

For once, John was agreeing with his soul. He picked up the device and positioned Prota away from the camp, with the setting sun on her back.

"This is a good spot… and, done. Ok, ready?"

John put the camera up to his face, and a small click sounded to announce that the picture had been taken. He took the photo out and shook it, the image slowly appearing as whatever strange magic that was needed did its work.

"Um… with John," Prota said as he handed everything back.

"What?"

"Take one with John."

"Uh…"

John looked around, but it was a little hard to tell how to set this up. The camera didn't have a timer or anything, and there was no one to ask.

"Well, I guess this'll do."

John stood beside Prota, grabbing her shoulder with his left arm. Holding up the camera with the right, he aimed it toward their faces, finger on the button.

"Zero, this good?"

"Yeah, looks fine."

Another click, another photo. He handed the camera and the photo back to Prota, who put the camera away but held onto the piece of paper. The image slowly came to life: a grinning John, his scarf fluttering in the wind, as Prota stared into the camera with her usual blank face, but her eyes were filled with joy. Her white hair was being tossed about by the wind, but it somehow just made the picture even better. The sunset in the background, the white waves, the shining ocean…

Her lips curled upward.

"Come on, Prota! Check this out! They're called s'mores, you take a marshmallow, and- wait, ok, so this is called a marshmallow, you…"

Tucking the picture away, she ran toward the campfire.

~~~

Night had fallen. A letter had arrived via pigeon stating that a boat would come by to pick them up the next morning. John had once again gone to bed early, leaving Prota to stay out alone for the last time.

The full moon shone overhead, casting its silver light upon the small beach they'd called home for the past few days. Prota's ring shimmered as she withdrew a single photo.

She traced John's face, grinning away like a fool.

She wondered when she'd see that face again.