• Published 9th Dec 2014
  • 4,524 Views, 664 Comments

Old Scars, New Chances - Arcticbrony



Ethan Summers is a Pokémon caretaker that has been hiding from the law for several years. But when Arceus sent them to a new world, he finds himself teamed up with an unusual and unwanted partner. And running away from his problems is not an option

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Chapter 39

Author's Note:

Editor's Note MoldyShishkabob :"Merry Christmas, everyone! … Wait a sec. Happy New Year, everyone!"

So, yeah, happy "late" new years from me too everyone^^

I apologize for this late chapter... over a month, I think this might be a new record for me. But with all my exams happening just before the holidays and then there was the holidays themselves... it has just been a few very hectic weeks, i'm sorry.

But we are finally back^^ So yay for that.

And as always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated:twilightsmile:

Peaceful.

That was how she looked when Ethan entered the room and carefully closed the door behind him. The usual sterile smell assaulted his nose, and the soft breathing of Olivia was the only audible sound. She was asleep, though not by choice. Mary Care had told him that she had to be sedated. After she woke up, the doctors and Mary had apparently asked her a few questions, and she had plenty of her own. But it was not long before she had begun to struggle.

Looking around the room, Ethan could spot a few burn marks on the walls, and ceiling. Luckily, no one had been hit by her lightning, so no one had been hurt from Olivia's, most likely unintentional, attack. From what Mary had told him, it seemed more like a panic attack.

He really was not sure what to expect, there could have been a number of reasons for her to have started panicking like that. He had gathered a small pool of information from what Mary and the doctors had asked, but he needed to talk to her himself to get a proper picture of the whole situation.

He sat down on a small chair next to her bed. It was difficult to think that someone as tough as her had succumbed to something like drugs. Of course there could have been any number of reasons that had led to it… though one possibility stood out among the others. Being taken from Earth and put into a new world, a new body. He knew how stressful it had been for him, but he had his friends and family there to help him through it for the most part. It was not too difficult to imagine that Olivia had failed to handle that stress, especially if she had been alone. The drugs would have dulled her mind, possibly made it easier for her to cope with it all.

Ethan looked down on the small vial he held in his paw. They had started to grow all kinds of berries at the hospital. They did not know if they would have any effect on ponies yet, but there was no disputing how helpful they were when a Pokémon was injured or sick in some way. That particular vial was filled with the juices of a pressed Chesto Berry, something that the local Chansey had given him.

He used his other paw to tilt Olivia's head back, and open her mouth slightly before he poured the small vial’s content down her throat. The effect was almost immediate, and Olivia started coughing straight away. Her eyes slowly opened as the coughing died down; the sedative that had been used on her was quite strong, so it would still be in effect to some degree, at least.

Olivia stared up at the ceiling with half opened eyes and her breathing had calmed down after her coughing fit.

“How are you feeling?” It was the kind of question that doctors and psychiatrists almost always asked, and the kind of question that a lot of people hated answering.

“I… I’m f-fine.” Olivia spoke, her speech was slightly broken, and it was easy to hear that her throat was parched. But what was most interesting to Ethan was the fact that she was still staring up at the ceiling, one of the first reactions that people usually have when hearing a new voice is to look towards it. Olivia had consciously decided to not look at him… interesting.

“Are you sure?” Ethan paused for a moment to see if she would object or do anything at all. Instead she only kept staring straight up at the wall. “Because under the circumstances, I don't think anyone would be fine.” No response at all. “You were found passed out, having overdosed on a… drug from our old world.” It was small, but he could see a small shiver go through her whole body. “Heaven's Glow… quite the dangerous narcotic, especially if it were to be introduced into a new world like this.” The same twitch came again, and she had grimaced ever so slightly too, but only for a split second.

There was something that he had said that was bothering her. “Now, I am not the police, so I am not going to go any deeper into that subject.” Even though he really wanted to. Releasing such a narcotic that had been made and intended for Pokémon upon Equus could have potentially been disastrous. “But there had to have been a reason that you went to that drug. Something must have driven you so far, that it seemed like a good option, a way to take the pain away maybe… do you want to talk about that?”

He waited for her to throw insults and angry remarks at him, to break down into sobs as her emotions overwhelmed her, or to even possibly assault her. He had seen them all before, drug addicts were always someone you had to be vary around, especially since there was little way to know how they would react when they were forced to face their actions. But the silence worried him. He had never encountered something like that before with a patient like her. This was why he did not take humans as patients, their minds were so different from his usual patients.

“I am here to help you.” He said, his voice gentle and calm. “But there is nothing I can do for you if you don't talk to me.”

“Why.” It was whispered so low, that even with his improved hearing he had just barely caught it. “Why should I tell you anything? Why should I speak to you at all?” What intrigued him the most was how calm her voice was. “None of it matters anyway.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, curious about her choice of words. Did the old saying, “calm before the storm”, apply to people as well?

“What do you mean?” She repeated quietly, a concerning grin beginning to grow on her face. “What do you mean?” A bubbling laugh started in her throat and flowed out into the room, her huge grin matching the laughter. But it was not the fun kind of laughter that you shared with a friend, no it was something much more unsettling instead. “That should be obvious!”

Her head snapped to the side and Ethan could see the sheer amount of stress she was undergoing by the look in her eyes as she stared into his.

“Because this is all a dream.” She chuckled, and Ethan could even see that her left eye was twitching slightly. “And my own mind is asking itself what it is talking about. This is just too rich.”

“Why do you think that this is a dream?” She believed her own words, that much was easy to understand from the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes.

“And now I am asking myself even more questions. Fine, I will play this game for now.” She laughed again, her paws was holding her chest, as if the laughter would explode out from it if she did not keep it contained. “It is because this is too crazy and surreal to believe.” She took a few deep breaths as she forced herself to calm down, though her grin still remained. “Ponies… Talking ponies, this new body of mine. Of course it can't be real. And I would never do drugs, never, so that only leaves one real option.”

She… she really was believing what she was saying. His mind raced and he remembered one of the moments where Vernus was teaching him about the different kinds of drugs that he had invented and produced… sold, and their potential side effects.

“You… what is the last thing that you remember?” The answer was already pretty obvious, but he had to hear it from her, he had to make sure.

“The last thing… last thing…” Olivia calmed down completely, her face returning to stare up at the ceiling as her grin disappeared. “Paperwork, I was doing my paperwork. We had caught some bastard that enjoyed beating his Pokémon, but we had done a mistake, so I had to make sure that he did not go free on some minor detail. Afterwards I… afterwards… I must have fallen asleep by my desk again. Because that is it.” And with that Ethan's fears were confirmed.

She did not remember any of it. Waking up in a new body, on a new world. Arceus making his announcement. Those last weeks, they were gone. To Olivia, none of that had happened. One of the worse side effects of Heaven's Glow… memory loss.

It was no wonder that she believed that it was all a dream. It had been too much information to take in all at once, too much to believe. It was quite a natural defence mechanism… it allowed her time. Time to properly work through all the information that she had been fed.

If her mind had not done that… well. Her mind would have most likely been left broken. Left her insane. The brain is quite brilliant in that way… but it also meant that he had to be the one to break her out of the little illusion that she was currently living in. He had to be the one to make her believe.

“Is that what you believe?” Ethan asked. “What you truly believe?”

“Of course it is.” Olivia huffed. Of course it was true to her. It was her reality, it was what had to be true. Her mind currently refused to let her believe anything else.

“I see.” There was many ways that he could go about convincing her that it was not a dream. Some of the ways were more delicate than others, some carried less risk for her mental state. But the longer she remained in her delusion, the harder it could become for her to accept reality too. There really was no right choice in the current situation.

Ethan believed in his knowledge. He had treated several, if not hundreds of patients, all suffering from different kinds of problems. And the accumulated experience from all those years had taught him to trust his gut in situations like the one he was currently in. And it was with that in mind, that Ethan reached out… and slapped Olivia.

He had not held back either, and had it not been for her fur, a solid red mark of his paw would have been clearly visible on her skin.

Olivia reeled back from both the shock and the pain. Her paws immediately went up to the spot where she had been struck. There was a moment of disbelief where she barely moved at all, she just nursed that spot and stared blankly out into the air.

“Y-you hit me?” She finally spoke.

“I had to do something.” Ethan leaned back in his seat. He did not like having to resort to such a thing, but it was the most effective. “Does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, you asshole, you hit me!” And the slap had another effect as well, it really woke her up. She was still groggy from the sedative, and the aftereffects of the drug had not left her. But the current spurt of anger made her forget and ignore what it seemed like.

“Exactly.” Ethan smiled. One of the reasons why he had slapped her was because of the spurt of adrenaline she would receive, kickstarting her systems and making her more attentive and awake as a result. Making it easier for her to think for herself. The other… “And you can't feel pain in a dream, now can you?” Was to prove to her that it was not a dream. Give her a cold, hard fact that she could not refute.

“I…” All her anger drained away as she stared at Ethan. “B-but.” She looked down at herself, at her own paws. She slowly lifted one of them up to her face as she began to inspect it.

“I know that it is a lot to take in but-”

“NO!” Olivia shrieked from the top of her lungs. “It can't be real. I was working, I…” Her head snapped to Ethan. “M-my partner? Where is my partner?” Her eyes were desperate. “He is not here… No, he would never leave me! This is not real. It can't be. It's just a nightmare, it's just a nightmare, IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE!” She was screaming louder and louder as she trashed around in her bed. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Olivia! You need to calm down!” Ethan was already up and were holding her down. Sparks of electricity began to jump over her fur, her instability was feeding her electricity.

“No! You are all lying. You are trying to trick me, I know that you are!” She continued screaming, and the sparks were beginning to hurt Ethan as he held her down. This went south, fast. “You can't be telling the truth, you-” Olivia's whole body paused, her expression frozen. She slowly looked over to where Ethan was holding a small syringe. “You can't…” Her head fell down against her pillow and the rest of her body quickly followed suit.

He had hoped that he would not have to sedate her again. But things had just gotten out of control so fast. Escalated beyond what he had imagined, what he had planned.

“I have… a life.” Her voice was growing weaker. “My job, my… partner.” The light was leaving her eyes. The sedative was taking control. “Had… this is...not my… life.” A single tear rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow where it was absorbed by the fabric just as she fell asleep once again.

“Sleep well.” Ethan gently pulled her blanket over her and straightened it. “We will be here when you wake up… you are not alone. You will get through this.” He waited for a few moments as he looked down on her.

It had been hard for everyone when the… event had happened. When they had been ripped out from their lives and was handed new ones just like that. But they had lived through that, seen it with their own eyes. It made it easier to believe… to accept, and to move on.

That privilege had just been revoked from Olivia. It was like she had never gotten it in the first place.

Ethan left the room without saying another word. He had failed her.

Humans were not his thing, and he had known that coming into this situation He had told the others that. But that did not change the fact that he had done absolutely nothing for Olivia. In fact, he may have made things worse. He had been a fool… he should never have come in the first place.

“Fuck!” Ethan slammed the door shut behind him. His emotions were overflowing, and he did not know what to do.

His body felt heavy as he walked over to one of the nearby walls. His steps were slow, and it felt like he was leaving a little bit of himself behind with every step.

He closed his eyes and let his head rest against the wall. “I should never have come here…” He muttered to himself. “But I did, and now she paid for it.” True, what had happened might have happened anyway. But that did not change the horrible dread that Ethan was feeling.

“Arceus damn it.” He turned his back to the wall and slowly slid down. “Damn it all…” His ears were hanging down, covering most of his body and his knees were held up against his chest.

“Ethan?” He looked down to see that Chii had snuck past his ears and were currently looking up at him.

“...” He had lost his temper… he had lost his temper in front of Chii. She was scared, and he could not blame her. He had been a fool. “Sorry, Chii.” He reached down and rubbed the fur on her head, and smiled when she leaned against his touch. “I'm sorry that I let you see this.” He had completely forgotten that she and Mary were even there when he had left Olivia's room.

“What's wrong?” Her voice was full of concern. Hell, he probably looked like a wreck. Olivia was the one who was in a bad spot… not him. But even so, he could not help but feel a certain warmth well up inside his chest. He loved his family with all his heart, they were always there for each other… no matter what. “Is Olivia okay?”

He did not want to answer her. But he knew that he had to. She was concerned for both him, and for Olivia. It was the kind of Pokémon that Chii was. It was a wonder that her big heart could even fit inside that small body of hers. “No, she is really not… and I'm not sure if she will be.”

“What do you mean?” That's right, Mary was there too. She had been the one to ask him for help in the first place.

“I'll tell you late-” He was starting to say, but a small par hit against his chest, stopping him.

“No, you tell us now!” Chii huffed. “I want to hear it too... ”

“It's not a pretty story. There is no happy ending here.” He had wanted to wait to tell Mary so that Chii would not overhear it. But she had seen right through him. She was an insightful little thing… in a way, that made him proud.

“I know…” She looked away for a moment, her ears laying flat against her head. “B-but I want to know anyway… I can take it.” But she was also extremely sensitive. Though she was right… she deserved to know.

“Okay, you win. C'mere you.” Chii let out a small and cute surprised yelp as Ethan grabbed her and stood back up, holding her in his arms as he did. “Olivia is not okay because… because she does not remember coming here in the first place. She does not remember that she left Earth in the first place.” Mary did a sharp intake of breath as she understood what this meant, Chii on the other hand… was a little confused.

“What do you mean?” She asked as she struggled out of Ethan's arms, and climbed up to his head.

“She has memory loss… how?” Mary inquired

“I recognized the drug… I have seen its effects before.” And treated them too. “Memory loss is one of the more serious side effects that it can have… she does not remember coming here, or getting a new body. Needless to say, she did not take it well.”

“Oh… b-but she will get her memory back, right?”

“I don't know, Chii… maybe.” He knew a little on the subject, but not nearly enough to make a proper statement. “I think we will head home now.” He said to Mary who looked up at the two of them. “There is little that I can do for her… she needs some proper care, someone who is trained to deal with cases such as hers. That is not me. If I continued… well, I would probably do more harm than good.” Even more harm than he had already done that was.

“Y-you can't do anything else?”

“No, I'm afraid not.” Ethan shook his head. “I hope that she gets better and receive proper care… but I should not have anything to do with it.” He could see how disappointed Mary was… and he could not blame her. “You take care now… and if there is anything else that we can help with… just ask, okay?”

“Y-yeah… okay.” Mary nodded, her eyes fixated on the floor. “You take care now.”

“Bye, Mary!” Chii yelled and waved goodbye to Mary from her comfy perch. “She looks sad.” She commented to Ethan once they had made some distance between them and Mary.

“She was so sure that we… I would be able to help her with this. She put too much hope into one basket, and it backfired.” A tired sigh escaped past Ethan's lips.

“Oh… is there anything we can do for her?” Another smile graced Ethan's features. Chii always wanted to make everyone around her happy, it was a wonderful trait of hers.

“We can go to check up on her later tonight to see if she is okay.” Ethan suggested. “Would that be okay?”

“Yeah!” Chii cheered happily. “We can bake a cake and surprise her.”

“Yeah, I'm sure that she would love that.”


Ethan and Chii left the hospital after having informed the doctors about how their visit had gone. Ethan had stressed the importance of getting her some proper psychological help. From the sound of it, they would have to bring in a specialist from Canterlot. He just hoped that it would be enough.

He had also stressed the importance of how dangerous it could be if the drug that had ruined Olivia got out in Equestria. He had originally wanted the syringes and any remains of it destroyed… but that would have been meaningless. If Olivia had made it herself, then it was not hard to think that there was others out there that knew how to make it. Besides, the doctors and scientists could use the remnants of the drug to better figure out how to treat Olivia. And future cases too as they had told him.

It was dream thinking… but Ethan hoped that such a thing would not be necessary.

“What are you doing here?” But he did not have much more time to think about that, because just outside the hospital, they encountered another familiar face.

“Hello there, Protocol,” Ethan greeted the police pony, and Chii waved her paw in a small greeting too. “We… we were…”

“We were visiting Olivia!” Chii blurted out. Ethan had been taking too long with his words so she had taken the matter into her own paws.

“And why, exactly would you do that!?” Protocol almost sneered. “What was she to you?”

“Hey!” Chii was looking down at Protocol with a frown on her face. “She was a nice person… of course we would see if she was okay.”

“She is right, you know.” Ethan agreed with Chii. He had been initially taken aback with Protocol's aggressive approach, but Chii's retort had stopped that. “That and Mary Care asked me to check her out to see if I could help her.”

“I… I apologize for my behavior.” Protocol stepped back and shook his head, the angry expression from before suddenly gone, or at least suppressed. “So… how did your visit go? Can you help her?” Ethan had known that Protocol and Olivia was somewhat close, friends he had guessed, he did not know either of them too well personally. But seeing the kind of reaction Protocol had when he confronted them confirmed it.

“No, I tried but… there is little that I can do for her.” Ethan could not meet Protocol's eyes. Especially not since he was her friend. “Do you know what condition that she is in?”

“...No, I did not have an opportunity to come before now. How is she?” It was a strange sight. Ethan was so used to seeing Protocol as an iron pony, rarely even showing any emotions. But at that moment, he looked so fragile.

And so Ethan filled the police pony in on what had happened during their visit. How Olivia had reacted to the news, and how she had gone into panic near the end where he had been forced to sedate her for her own safety once again. It was easy to see the pain on Protocol's face as he listened to Ethan's story. And while it was faint, Ethan also saw that the anger from earlier was bubbling up once again. Protocol tried to hide it, but the signs was there. Too obvious for someone trained to see them to not notice it.

“You said that the drug that did this to her was called Heaven's Glow, correct?” Like his usual self, Protocol did not hesitate, not even after having heard all that. Ethan was sure that he urged to run in and see his friend, but he held himself back because there was more that he needed to know.

“Yeah… the doctors analyzed the remains in the syringe and a Chansey recognized it. There is no doubt about it.” And he had confirmed himself when he had seen the state that Olivia was in.

“I see… and memory loss is a side effect of this drug?”

“In rare cases, yes… only when taken in large doses though. To be honest it is a miracle that she even survived with how much she had in her system.” He had read the reports. It was sad to see someone go to such lengths. He had not wanted to think about it earlier… and he definitely was not going to say anything to Protocol. But there was a chance that she had tried to kill herself.

“And how do you know this?” That… was an unexpected question. Ethan found himself having been thrown slightly off by it. Why would he even ask a question like that? “I don't imagine that it's common knowledge.”

“No, you are right there, it's not.” Ethan found himself slightly stumped by Protocol's question, whenever the reason for it. It was not like he could tell him the truth that the creator of that drug were living under the same roof as him. Or maybe he did not need to lie after all… a little manipulation of the truth would do. “I know about it because one of my earlier patients had been taking the same drug and ended up in the same situation as Olivia.” He did not like to lie if he did not have to, so a part of the truth would do just fine.

“The memory loss?” Ethan nodded as Protocol thought about it for a few moments. “Is there any way to reverse it?”

“I…” That was a difficult question for Ethan to answer. “I can't really give you a definitive answer.”

“What do you mean?” Chii chipped in.

“I’m sure you know about some of the powers that Psychic types have by now, right?” The question was directed at Protocol, who nodded in response.

“Yes, Olivia told be about all that.” He knew, that made it a little easier for him to explain.

“Then I'm sure you know that some of the more powerful ones can directly influence the mind of another. In theory… a powerful and skilled Psychic type could restore memories that have been lost or locked away for some reason.” It was something that they had looked into when Vernus had told him about his own lost memories. “But,” he hated to shoot down Protocol's hope just like that. But things were just not that simple. “It's not something that I would recommend.”

They had looked deeply into that option. Talked with powerful Psychic types and their trainers, with medical professionals, other psychologists who had more experience in the matter… and seen first hand what could go wrong when a Pokémon tampers with the mind of another.

“Had the memory loss been induced by another Psychic type, then I would have recommended the idea in a heartbeat. But this happened naturally. If a Psychic type would go into her mind and forcefully try to restore her memories now… well, it is likely that it would do more harm than good. She is not in a state where she can handle such an invasive intrusion… and I'm not sure if she will be.” The patient that he had seen where it had gone so horribly wrong had been completely braindead. “It is not my choice… and not yours either. But if you are going to suggest this idea to her, then you should know of the risks. She has lost a few weeks, and that has left its mark on her. But with time, she will recover. Maybe not completely, but she will get better. And that's better than losing her forever, right?” He truly hoped that he had managed to dissuade Protocol from that idea. Especially since such an forceful intrusion could cause much more trauma than she currently had.

The mind is a delicate thing, extremely fragile, and tough at the same time. With time, and proper care and assistance. It can recover from almost anything on its own. Ethan had always favored the more traditional methods when it came to treating the mind. Not because he had anything against Psychic types, no, they could be of great help in many cases. But because the risk was not worth the gain. Destroying someone's mind… that was easy. But healing it, that was hard.

Protocol was silent after that lengthy explanation. His brow furrowed and Ethan could see that he was thinking about what he had just been told.

Seeing Protocol like that made Chii jump down. She looked up to the police pony, who did not even seem to notice her as she walked over to him.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she tapped him on the leg.

“It was just a lot to take in and consider.” Protocol sighed and shook his head. “So, yes. I am fine.” That had been the answer that Chii was looking for, and a broad smile appeared on her face as she got it.

“It will be okay. Olivia still has you.” That however, surprised the iron pony that was Protocol and he looked down to the little Skitty with big eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“She may be in a bad place right now, but as long as she has good friends, everything will be okay in the end!” Protocol did not know it, but Chii spoke from experience. It was words, pure from the heart.

“She is right you know.” It was obvious what Chii was talking about, and maybe she had a point as well. “She might have lost her memories, but she is still herself. She will struggle with the aftereffects of the drug for years, and there is no guarantee that her memory will return…” He paused for a spell as he thought back to what he had said earlier. “This might be the only proper advice that I can give for her regarding her treatment.” He had Protocol's full attention now. “Spend time with her. You became her friend once, I am sure that you can do it again. So what if she never regains those memories… help her make new ones. I… I know that it's not much, and probably not what you wanted to hear… but it's the best advice that I can offer in this situation.”

“Yeah!” Chii shouted from the top of her lungs, Ethan's words having put some new energy into her. “You care about her, and she needs you right now. That's the only thing that matters!”

“I think we will go now though, we have delayed your visit enough.” Ethan stated as he picked up Chii again. “I hope that things work out for you.” Ethan smiled and nodded to the police pony who nodded back.

“Thank you for your kind words, little one.” It was faint, but Chii noticed a small smile hiding behind his mask of steel. “And you too caretaker.”

“You are welcome!” She cheered back as she and Ethan started walking away. Neither of them noticed that Protocol kept looking after them for a good while, his eyes glues onto Ethan as they disappeared into the distance.

“Thank you, indeed…”


It was much later that evening, after everymon had gone to sleep and finished their daily activities that Ethan got an opportunity to talk with Vernus… alone.

“What's up?” Vernus asked, and tried to keep a straight face. He was more than a little nervous. Ethan had just dragged him outside so that they could talk in private. He just hoped to Arceus that it was not about the ranger.

“I went to see the ranger that was found a little earlier today.” And already Vernus felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest from beating so hard. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“No, I haven't really been keeping up.” Keep your breath steady and mind calm. Those were the words that the Leafeon kept repeating to himself in his thoughts. “What happened?”

“She had overdosed on a drug from our world, one that you should be familiar with. Heaven's Glow.” Screw staying calm, Vernus wanted to scream. It felt like Ethan was torturing him. “It is one of yours is it not?” Then again, it is a little hard to stay calm when it feels like there is a Snorlax sitting on your shoulders.

“Um… Y-yeah, it's one of the ones that I made.” He could not know, there had to be some other reason for Ethan to suddenly bring that up. He just had to hold out. “What about it?”

“Did you ever pass on or sell the recipe?” And just like that, it felt like several tons of weight lifted off his shoulders. “We think that she made it herself but… I want to know how common knowlege of it would be.”

Vernus let out a mental sigh. Ethan was not suspecting him for anything… that was good. As much as he hated, despised lying to him… it was necessary.

“Yeah, I sold the recipe.” Vernus started. “It was never that popular when I was making and selling… not to mention that the side effects were too severe… so I sold it off.” It felt good for him to finally tell the truth. He was good at lying, a near master at it. But that did not mean that he enjoyed it. “Other than that, I don't know. It was never the most popular of drugs, even after I sold it off. But the recipe could have spread anywhere after that, sorry.”

“Yeah, that's what I feared.” Ethan sighed. He slumped down next to Vernus, looking up at the midnight sky above. “I just hope that no one else ends up getting hurt because of it.”

In hindsight, Vernus really regretted having parted with that recipe. He may have been the one that used it on Olivia this time… but anyone from their world could technically know of it. He should have kept it to himself… kept it secure, like the rest of his creations.

“Yeah…” Vernus nodded as he laid down next to his best friend. If he could still call himself Ethan's friend. They had meant well, but just like always, he was the one who was dealing with their messes. “Let's hope.”