Time Looped

"Choose!" Ely shouted, slamming the maw of a giant wolf with a thirty-pound dumbbell.

The crunch of shattered bone mixed with a yelp, as the monster pulled back.

"Just pick one! It doesn't matter which."

"Don't rush me!" Danny snapped. "We've never gotten this far before. If I can figure this out, we might—"

"There isn't time!"

Ely made a high somersault in the air, landing on the monster's spine.

The crimson glow faded from the beast's eyes as it let out its final breath. The smell of ozone filled the air. The black fur covering the monster faded away, becoming transparent.

"It's one of these two," Danny said, eyes darting between two subway columns. "I'm sure this time. All I have to do is—"

Four arrows split the air, piercing the girl's chest. There was a dull sound, after which patches of blood emerged through the white blouse round the shafts that were sticking out.

"Ely?"

Danny turned in her direction, but it was already too late. The strength leaving her, she collapsed on the giant monster corpse.

"No!" Danny rolled to the other side of the nearest column. He couldn't see the archer, but knew he was there, preparing for another shot. There'd only be one chance to get out of this. All he had to do was make the right choice.

One out of two options. There was a fifty-fifty chance to get it right. Not the best odds, but he wasn't going to get anything better.

Stretching out, the boy touched the mirrored metal surface of the column. Scratches spread from his fingers causing the metal to twist.

"Come on, come on!" Danny whispered, tensely looking around.

Meanwhile, the scars formed words.

"Damn it!" Danny shouted. He had been so close and yet so far away. He had wasted months, severed friendships all for this one chance! Now he had to start everything from the beginning and he didn't think he had the strength for it.

Another dull thump sounded. Looking down, Danny saw the tip of an arrow sticking through his chest.

"Shit..." Danny coughed as he collapsed on the floor. This was one outcome he hadn't imagined.

Silence filled the subway. The intense fighting had only left piles of bodies behind. The giant wolves were slowly starting to fade away. The humans weren't.

What the hell? Dally wondered. Was that it?

The purpose he, and the others, had gone to rewind time was to remove Danny from eternity, and that had just occurred. It was beyond anticlimactic. All this time he had worried whether the skills and items he'd obtained would be enough to win him a victory against Daniel, only to see it happen moments after getting here.

A single figure appeared at the top of the stairs leading to the subway platform. It was wearing a hooded cloak going all the way down to the ankles. From his current location, Will wasn't able to see the face. The angle at which the metallic columns were at made it impossible. Still, he had enough self-preservation skills to move to the side, preventing the archer from seeing him. Seeing Danny and Ely, he knew that the skill had triggered, rewinding time to whatever moment eternity had decided. That meant that he and Lucia hadn't met yet.

The figure made its way down the stairs to the subway platform. It had a bow, all set to fire an arrow if necessary. Step by step the archer walked up to Danny's body, then shot another arrow in the boy's head.

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"That's for my brother," Lucia's voice said.

You killed him? Will wondered.

That was wild, but also didn't make sense. If the archer had removed Danny from eternity, why she had gone through all the trouble to rewind time? On that note, where was her old version?

"Lucia?" Will whispered, looking around.

The surrounding space was the same endless whiteness that he had come to expect, only this time it was filled with hundreds of mirrors. Each was an exact match to the one in the real world, allowing Will to pear in. No wonder Dany had been able to keep an eye on him back when he was still a reflection.

"Luke," Will whispered again.

Removing the arrow from his teeth, the boy hastily checked his mirror fragment.

"Shit!" Will hissed.

The noise caught the attention of the archer. Leaping to the side, she shot two arrows in the direction of the column. Fortunately for Will, the arrows only shattered the actual object, causing all four respective mirrors to disappear. It was nice to see that her destructive power hadn't diminished, though also unnerving. Anyone could tell that this version of the archer was a lot jumpier than the one he had gotten to know. It was as if she had just started to learn the ropes.

A message suddenly appeared in front of Will's eyes. The next thing he knew, he was back in the school's bathroom. The difference was that he remained on the wrong side of the mirror. Also, Danny was standing on the other side, staring at him intently.

Shit! Will reached for the arrow.

Just as he reached it, Danny struck the mirror with his hand. A spiderweb of cracks appeared on the reflective surface, along with droplets of blood.

Breathing heavily, Will remained on the other side, holding the binding chain and the arrow. Every instinct in his being told him to go on with it. And yet, in the back of his mind, a voice cautioned him to wait.

The door to the boy's bathroom opened.

"I knew you'd do this," Ely entered. Not at all concerned that she wasn't supposed to be here, the girl closed the door.

Conceal! Will thought out of habit.

"So, you fucked up. Won't be the first time." The girl glanced at the mirror, then at Danny's hand. "I'm not taking you to the nurse again."

"I lost it." Danny slowly pulled back his hand.

"You think?" Ely laughed, looking at the mirror. "Coach will go crazy again. Good thing that—"

"I lost my class." Danny interrupted her. "I'm not a participant."

The following silence was so intense that even Will could hear himself breath. The horror on Ely's face was such as if she had realized she was talking to a living corpse.

"Danny…" she began, afraid to look him in the eyes. "I'm—"

"Don't say it. Just…" He turned around, looking blankly in the window. Her hands were trembling, and it wasn't only because of the pain. "Find a way to get me back," he whispered.

Ely remained where she was, silent.

"There has to be a way back. Some loophole that will let me—"

"Stop!" Ely raised her voice. "Just stop."

Now it was Danny's turn to remain silent. For several seconds, he stood there, then slowly turned around.

"So, you broke your promise, after all."

"You know the things I've done for you, so don't give me that!" The girl wasn't having any of it. "There's no way back. Don't you think Alex would have found it if there was?" She paused. "Don't you think I'd have brought Jess back if I knew how."

"It's for their own good. I need to finish this. We need to finish this. Do you think you can manage on your own? Having two classes isn't the same as having two people."

"That's not what you said when you sacrificed Alex."

"Don't compare the two. What's done is done. You've got a choice now. Help me. That's all I'm asking."

You actually betrayed them, Will thought. Danny really was the shithead everyone said he was. Without the roguish charm the class provided, he came off as an egotistical jerk. It was a wonder that eternity let him join in the first place, going to show that it wasn't a good judge of character. Other qualities had to be involved. The worst part of it was that he was also going to betray Ely. From Will's perspective, that was a given. He had seen it happen; unless his rewind changed reality.

This was the first time he was brought back to a point before the start of his loop. It meant that a lot of things no longer applied. Or maybe that wasn't true. At the end of the day, he wasn't technically brought back, only his reflection was. Will remained on the wrong side of the mirror, invisible to normal people. Danny had stared right at him and still was unable to see him. That meant that his past normal self also wouldn't be able to.

"Please, Ely." Danny went up to her. "I need to get back." He grabbed hold of her hand. "You know I have to be."

"I don't know," she said.

"I'm not asking you to do it this loop. I know this me is fucked. But if you find a way to get me back, the looped version of me will return. I'll be whole again."

"You know what you're asking. It won't be easy after what you did."

"Yeah." Danny forced a laugh. It was obvious to anyone that he was barely keeping it together. "Get to the ranking phase. There will be a loophole there."

Danny swallowed. He had been told multiple times that the ranking phase was unlike anything else. Observing the conversation, it was finally starting to sink in. The current level boosts and powers were nice and often overpowered, but it was in the ranking phase that one obtained abilities that could bypass the rules of eternity. There, one could obtain the power to shove someone out of eternity. It only stood to reason that there had to be abilities that would bring someone in. It would explain how all the archer siblings had joined eternity. Chances of that happening "naturally" were rather slim.

"I'll try," Ely said.

"That's all I ask." The rogue moved his hands towards her chin, but Ely pulled away.

Something had happened between them. Cynically, Will was convinced that he was using her like he had used everyone else, including himself.

"Only an idiot would trust him," he said.

That proved to be a mistake. While Danny had lost the ability to hear reflections, the same couldn't be said about Ely. Faster than the human eye, she reached for her wristwatch and took out a sword knight's sword from inside.

Will barely had time to leap away from the mirror entrance, then the weapon flew by, missing him by inches.

"What the—" Danny began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Get out of here!" Ely stood in front of him. A second sword was in her hand. "I'll deal with this."

The former rogue didn't need telling twice. Now that his life was threatened, the rough-man act had completely disappeared. The conniving puppet master had been reduced to a sacred teenager running to save his life.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Will hissed as he leaped to his feet. He just had to say something. And of course, leave it to Ely to pick it up. The girl had been a pain ever since he'd known her, especially after joining eternity. Why couldn't this have been Jess?

Reaching into her watch, Ely grabbed a small circular disk and slapped it onto the nearest mirror. Instantly the mirror shattered, and not only it, but all four mirrors in the bathroom.

Will felt an invisible force grab him and pull him out of the mirror realm. It felt as if he had been sucked into a vacuum, only in reverse. His lungs almost burst, getting reaccustomed to breathing air. The boy's sight blurred, trying to process the full scope of eternity. Purely thanks to his air current sense, was he able to notice a sword heading his way.

Will leaped back just in the nick of time. By then, his eyesight and other body functions had almost returned to normal. He could see Ely standing in front of him in the combat posture of a knight, a sword in each hand.

"Who the fuck are you?" she asked.