Chase's new Apartment:

All the furniture was second-hand or made from cardboard. Tiffany's former tent decorated the master bedroom, and they slept inside on blankets.

When he slept, everything looked like a movie, and he stood by and watched it, but he couldn't change anything.

*

Chase dreamed about a baby, and he saw himself hold her. "I'm sorry little one, but your mother and I didn't work out, but I'll love you forever."

Tiffany hugged this future Chase from behind. "She's so precious, and I don't understand why Phyllis would choose death over taking care of this little girl."

The movie in Chase's mind shifted, and he witnessed Phyllis climb into the work house vat through the pipes, and heard her scream. Her watch turned on. Ghosts emerged from the vat, splitting into copies.

The temporal watch glowed on each of the ghost's wrists.

One of the spirits found Grew-Ella and shot her with a laser gun, and time restarted again. The ghosts surrounded him.

"Why can't we kill Grew-Ella?" one ghost asked another.

"Because we are dead," another one said. "And there must be death or the cage, and there is no other way out."

"We should save Grew-Ella," Phyllis of six years prior said. "Go to the beach where the time loop started, where Grew-Ella's ashes will be spread!"

"But I don't want to," Chase begged.

The ghost of Lana grabbed onto of the spirits and both vanished.

Chase woke up.

*

The Florist Shop:

Dot's temporal watch turned on. "I remember more, but only because I'm closer to the event." Her body yanked through time and space, and she stood inside Quig and Grew-Ella's kitchen and watched them.

They held a tablet computer in front of them, and their bodies slowly unfroze, but they didn't see her.

"Thank you all for finishing the quiz. I checked over the answers and awarded bonus points for anyone who found the added typos in the text," Grew-Ella said.

"We'll give you an extra three days to turn in your short stories, but tomorrow you'll be writing microfiction." Quig turned off the screen.

"I graded papers this morning, so we have the rest of the day all to ourselves." Grew-Ella wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

"Whatever will we do with our time?" Quig held Grew-Ella close to him, but he jerked his head and squealed. "Don't startle me! Dot, how did you break into our apartment? Can't you knock?"

"I thought I had camouflage mode on. It must have flicked off." Dot examined her watch.

"Why do you even have a camouflage mode?" Quig grimaced.

Grew-Ella's phone rang, and she trembled as she answered. "Hello, Chase. I thought it would be my sister."

"Is it my fault because I shared one of my visions with Ida?" Chase asked her.

"No, I think it's your dreams that will help me save her," Dot said before Grew-Ella could.

"I texted my ex-wife the new contract last night. We'll meet the day after Christmas..." Chase paused for a moment. "Avery contacted me last night, and I'm in." He hung up.

"Dot, remember the plan; only you are immune to truth potions," Quig said. "Just show up the day after Christmas, and play along."

"That was a joke, but I'll show up at Christmas too, just in case," Dot said.

Dot's watch lit up, and she ended up back in her apartment.

*

Weeks Later:

The snow had finally melted into puddles, and trees were chopped and moved.

"Why are you here?" Yoleta asked.

Dot opened her eyes and she stood inside Yoleta's tacky castle.

"To protect you, I guess," Dot replied.

They rode a crystal elevator to the fourth floor with her. An image of a dagger slashing at Yoleta while she slept on her waterbed interrupted Dot's thoughts.

"Don't go in, assassins are inside," Dot warned Yoleta.

Slowly, they entered her bedroom. Pink curtains waved, but no one hid behind the sheer material.

The closet wasn't originally part of the room.

Dot performed a wall run, her fingers dug into the ledge; she pulled herself up with her body weight, and her furious eyes took surveillance as she crouched on top of the closet roof.

Startled by the noise, the men emerged with laser daggers in their hands.

Dot swung down and kicked the two muscular men in their heads before climbing up again.

"Wow, and you were the student that I thought was a clown. I should've given you an A instead, but you still deserved to fail the first time." Yoleta whipped out her laser gun, hidden in her pocket. Her strong fingers pulled the trigger and fired on them, hitting them and burning their exposed flesh.

Dot kicked the man from behind.

A man tore the stiff plastic mask off his face and fled down the stairs.

The other assassin climbed up to reach Dot.

She punched him four times and knocked him off. Being festive, she hogtied him with seven yards of Christmas ribbon and brown twine from her holiday closet.

Dot and Yoleta delivered him outside Silvan-Mack's bedroom with a Christmas card that Dot wrote, but she added Lana's name to memorialize her.

Silvan-Mack read the card.

*

Dear Silvan-Mack,

You violated Yoleta's blood contract, but there might be a place for Junior in her administration when she wins. Karen and Grew-Ella were never a threat to you, but the prophecy of you dying in a heap of garbage will come true. Yoleta is sending you to Workhouse Prison 34. It's a recycling plant, but she'll be merciful, and you will receive 9 years in prison.

With Imperfect Kindness,

Lana

*

Yoleta's guards lunged at Silvan-Mack from their hiding places and dragged him off. A tiny scream left his quivering lips.

Christmas Break: Moth Kingdom Fun Zone:

Grew-Ella sat on an orange-colored velvet couch that ran the length of the wall. Neon lights glowed on the ceiling.

Quig stood with Betsy and clutched her hand.

"I have my dad back." Betsy ran to Grew-Ella. "Can I call you Mom Grew-Ella?"

"Yes." Grew-Ella hugged her.

A muscular workhouse leader exited the bathroom. "Why are guests bringing their brats?"

"My daughter is not a brat," Quig said.

"It's a family fun zone and a Gotcha day party; what do you expect?" Dot asked. "Stop whining and hang out in the adult karaoke room."

"That is no way to talk to an assistant workhouse leader. I was forced to come here because Phyllis wants Betsy to be her ward."

Six other workhouse leaders flung themselves on the man, rolled onto the ground, and they punched each other.

Postcards written on Lana's typewriter flew into the air, a smiley face etched on each card.

Security detained them and took Grew-Ella to an empty laser tag room. The purple floor tiles glowed with each step in the maze.

Phyllis placed a hand over Grew-Ella's mouth, but it went through her flesh. "It's going to be your life for Silvan-Mack's." Her skin became translucent.

This wasn't her sister, but some sort of dead thing, hovering in the shadows.

Grew-Ella kicked her, but her muted green heel went through the spirit.

The creature shot Grew-Ella and nothing happened.

She dropped her weapon and Grew-Ella snatched it. The weapon felt real.

"Why can't I kill you?" The phantom faded away.

Dot phased in and out and came back with Chase. "Chase and I figured it out."

"She can't kill you because she's partially dead. Her ghosts are using time travel, not her, those little ghosts in Quig's apartments, all dead versions of Phyllis. Some good and some evil. It's like time split her into pieces," Chase said.

Dot spoke. "All Phyllis's time magic went to Chase, and her spirits are bouncing around like a pinball machine, interacting with a living version of her. She's annoying even in death."

Grew-Ella hyperventilated.

Dot hugged her. "Grew-Honey, I'm sorry. I use humor and directness to cope, especially when creeps are threatening someone I care about."

"You mean I creep like me." Yoleta walked from around a neon green corner. "Can Phyllis be saved? If she can't be saved, maybe I can't be either."

"That is up to her," Chase said. "She shouldn't have taken the device when the time magic went to me because she was too unclean, but I learned I'm not special. I was just in the room."

"You're special, and the magic must realize how badly you want to help," Dot said.

"If I'm elected, I want to offer Phyllis Eliot a deal," Yoleta said.

"What do you want from her?" Dot asked.

Yoleta's face hardened, and her mouth turned downward. "Convince Phyllis to destroy the temporal watch before she dies and give up all her evidence against the other workhouse leaders. Silvan-Mack refuses to talk, and if the workhouse leaders aren't stopped, nothing will ever change."

Chase lowered his head. "I see a split future. One where Grew-Ella's sister dies and one where she goes to prison. There are no other timelines left because Phyllis has gone too far, and she'll never fully walk away."