"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place." Zen Proverb

"I knew you'd come," Denovo said. My skin crawled at the sound of his voice. He leaned against the padded wall on the far side of his cell, watching me with an apparent air of indifference.

I snarled, "Of course you knew. You know everything, right?"

"I should put you on salary. That's how well you've carried out my plans," Denovo said.

"I wouldn't be so smug. You're the one in the cell," I said.

"Ah, yes, but you're in here too. I might add, you're in here without my brother standing guard." I couldn't help but glance at the door. Denovo caught the motion and grinned slyly.

"How long do you think it will take your followers to figure out they don't need you?" I said, following the script I'd created in my mind. It turned out to be harder to stick to my plan than I'd anticipated. It was easy in theory to tell myself to stay in charge of the conversation. The execution proved more difficult, standing face to face with Denovo.

"Do you ever wonder what's happening with the rest of your family? You know, the ones still...." Denovo paused for an excruciatingly long moment before finishing, "On Earth."

It was apparent he meant for me to fill in the blank with alive. I refused to let him pull me away from my purpose.

"Your rebellion won't last without you at the helm, and Gemini isn't about to set you free," I said, knowing Denovo thought he was the only person smart enough to lead the Severants.

"Whether or not Gemini sets me free, the Penitents will fall. There's nothing he can do to stop it. I should be thanking you, Rory," Denovo said.

"Go to hell!" I snapped, instantly regretting my loss of temper. The plan was to stay in charge. Flashes of emotion only showed weakness.

"Hell isn't part of our beliefs, although you make an interesting point. I can certainly relate to the concept of Hell since it's where my people have been living since the moment the gates between our worlds closed."

Something resembling sincerity had crept into Denovo's tone, stirring up an unexpected sense of sympathy I needed to quash.

"What if the people you left in charge fail? Don't you think the Penitents will put up a resistance? Your minions won't be smart enough to stop them. Either way, I think you're full of shit. You used the court proceedings to put out the accusation that I brought myself here. If that's true, what exactly have you done that shows real power? You say I can open rifts between worlds without even knowing I'm doing it, while all you can do is terrorize teenagers. You're a joke."

Denovo glared hotly for a moment before resuming his amused demeanour, but I couldn't help noticing his clenched fists. He reminded me of internet trolls who confused dispassion for objectivity. Lack of emotion when making an argument didn't automatically give you the win, just like adding LOL to the end of everything you wrote didn't make the other person wrong due to histrionics. The insight gave me another tool to use against Denovo.

I flashed a smile at Denovo, taking note of the corresponding twitch of his eye. "Never have I set eyes upon anyone more gullible than you. None of it was true," he said.

"That's interesting. So I'm not responsible for your cure?" Denovo shifted his gaze so that it landed on my shoulder, the same thing that had gotten me accused of lying so many times. I couldn't help wondering if people like him were to blame for that.

"Everything I told you was part of a plan to confuse your testimony. Nothing more," Denovo said.

"Huh. Do you want to know what I think?" I said. Denovo avoided my eyes, making me think people being uncomfortable when someone wouldn't look them in the eyes came from situations like these.

"I think you're lying," I carried on as if I hadn't noticed. "I always assume you're lying, but it matters to you to be convincing. You need me. The reason I know you need me is that Casper is alive."

Denovo smothered me with an oily smile. "If that's true, you've already pointed out how I have control over you," he said.

"So you're saying we have each other over the same barrel? You need me, and I need you not to hurt Casper?"

I swallowed the bile that had crept into my throat, pushed my hand out from the long sleeve of my sweater to reveal a Bubble Popper clenched tightly in my grip and aimed it at his head. The weapon was the same kind Gem had used to demonstrate how something so tiny could rip a hole right through someone. I felt a little guilty for using Gem's annoyance after what happened in the grotto to get enough time alone to steal the gun, although not enough to change my plan. It made me happy to think that Denovo would imagine his life ending because of a tiny weapon wielded by an insignificant little girl.

His eyes widened as I pressed the weapon against his forehead, but this loss of control was fleeting. "You aren't going to use that," he snarled.

"I can't let you keep hurting Casper. I also can't save him by agreeing to something that would endanger my world. On the other hand, this would all end right now if I were to put a hole through your head."

The pale spot on his forehead grew as I pushed the weapon into his flesh. He didn't flinch. "You should put that down before my second self decides to start playing with your friend again. That's right. He's watching."

"At least I know now for certain that my theory is correct." I dropped Bubble Popper to my side.

Denovo laughed. "You're going to try to pretend you predicted that?"

"I guess that leaves me with no choice," I said as if I hadn't heard Denovo.

I ran my fingers over the knife concealed in my pocket and considered one more time if this plan made sense. Denovo had told me that I'd brought myself here. If that was true, there might be a way to replicate that event in reverse. Denovo had once claimed the gate between our dimensions opened because he'd used Casper to manipulate my emotions. Could I stake Casper's life on a half-baked plan that was rooted in the word of a villain? Then again, Gem had told me I made things happen just by thinking about them. That seemed to bolster Denovo's believability.

"Don't worry, Rory. I'll make sure it isn't too painful," Denovo said.

The sound of his laughter pushed me over the edge. I crouched, pressed one hand against the stone floor and ran the blade of the knife across my thigh. It sliced through my flesh, releasing a gush of blood down my leg. In my imagination, Casper's face became a universe at the center of my body. As his face expanded, so did the universe—growing until everything was pushed out, including pain. A bright light radiated around me.

I closed my eyes until the brilliance that irradiated my eyelids faded. Opening them, I saw a man standing frozen in front of me. He didn't get a chance to react. I lifted Bubble Popper and used it to burn a hole through his skull. A scarlet blossom bloomed from the back of the man's head as displaced blood and brain tissue sprayed against the wall. The only thing that kept me from vomiting was telling myself it was a painting—an abstract work of art in hues of red and gray matter. Fresh stains obscured the older ones. These walls had seen blood before.

Something moved. I screamed, spun around and spotted Casper chained to the floor. "You killed him," he croaked. I dropped the gun and stared for a moment, frozen at the sight of him. The reek coming off him slapped me on the face from across the room. If you took Munch's Screaming Man painting and carved into granite, it would resemble Casper's face. It wasn't any wonder, considering the bruises and cuts that marred his skin.

My throat constricted as panic seized me. I pushed my words through the tightness. "I didn't have a choice. He was a killer. He'd have killed us both if I'd given him a moment to realize what was happening."

"Thank you," Casper said, putting my fears to rest.

I rushed into his outstretched arms. Trying to get closer, we squirmed together until a grimace crossed his face. I gasped and moved away.

"Please don't. Your touch is the only thing convincing me that you're real."

"I'm real," I said, putting my hand on his chest. "You can feel me, so I have to be real."

He shivered. I slid closer until our hips touched. We stretched our legs out in opposite directions on the floor. "How did you get here," Casper finally asked.

"I know I shouldn't have gambled with your life, but I didn't see any option. I couldn't trust Denovo not to hurt you. I also couldn't let him destroy our world. I got to thinking about how Denovo told me my emotions created an energy that changed the membrane between the dimensions. That made me think of the observatory. It had felt like my hand was conducting current when I'd touched the ribbon of darker coloured stones that ran through the center of the wall on the second floor. It reminded me of the way the dark stone around the grotto felt when I went swimming with Gemini. At first, I'd thought the prickling across my skin was from—

But I remembered that Gemini had said Conception once had been a place where people passed through to Earth using an energy convergence. It seemed like too much of a coincidence: Dark stone at the observatory and dark stone there."

"So you thought the observatory was made of the same stone as the caves, the same way the wardrobe the Pevensies climbed through to reach Narnia was built out of wood from a Narnian apple tree?" Casper said.

"Right. It also makes me think about the images Blue showed the court of you with a bag over your head. You were standing in front of this cabin. I remembered how the dark stone running through the chimney and the center of the cabin had caught my attention."

"You're right. That seems like a coincidence," Casper said.

"I got to thinking about how Gem said I make things happen just by thinking of them, which made me remember something he used to tell me when I was a child: Imagine your emotions as a universe at the center of your body. When you get angry, imagine the universe shrinking. Focus your mind on making it smaller."

"Following all of these branches somehow brought you back to the trunk?" Casper said.

I gave him a little smile. "That's how it works. I know it doesn't make sense, but I put all of it together and decided to make you the universe at the center of my being; imagine you growing until your face pushed out everything except a bright ray of light. I had the idea that being in physical contact with the stones might help. I also figured that if there were any truth to what Denovo had said about using you to manipulate my emotions, I'd need a way to access extreme emotion in a hurry. That's why I cut myself."

"You came up with all of that in a matter of moments?" Casper said, staring wide-eyed.

"It took longer than a few moments. I must have subconsciously been thinking about it for a while. I had a lot of dead time once I was safe in Conception. At least I did after the grotto," I said.

"You're so—Wow!" Casper's eyebrows compressed as he spotted the bloodstain spreading on my pants. "That's more than a scratch you gave yourself. You need pressure on that!" He pushed his hand against the wound.

"Look at you," I pulled his hands into mine, "worrying about a little cut on my leg. I won't allow you to take care of me. Where are the keys? I'm going to get you out of here, and then I'm going to take care of you."

He pointed at a spot on the wall where the keys were hanging. I ran to retrieve them. While I fumbled to open the lock, he said, "I heard your message. It was quiet, and not quite your voice, but I knew the words were from you. Rory, I won't let you take care of me." The lock gave way, the cuffs dropped to the floor, and Casper pulled me onto his lap.

"Why won't you let me take care of you," I whispered, fear clenching my throat.

Casper gave me a soft, tender kiss. A moment later, the tenderness turned into hunger. It didn't last long. I pulled away at the look of pain that crossed his face. "elnkádánįln," he said.

I didn't understand his words, but I didn't need to. "It means we'll take care of each other," he explained. I gave him a light kiss on the cheek. His expression turned grave as he asked, "Is Denovo still a threat to us?"

"Denovo kept talking about how he made a cure. With any luck, he didn't get around to using it on himself. Hopefully, he dropped dead the moment I shot his second self. I don't happen to believe he was telling the truth about having a cure. I'm just one girl. They're an entire movement. Anything I can do, they can do better, so why should they want to get me back? The only thing I regret is being forced to leave Dad there," I said.

"Your dad was there?" Casper's eyes widened with shock.

"The Ministry had him hidden somewhere. Gem didn't know where, or he'd have brought him when he took me. I had to tell myself that if my plan worked, it wasn't like I was leaving my dad in any worse of a position. On the other hand, I'd know there was a chance of getting him back, once Gem found him. There'd still be a chance to bring him home. Thinking my dad would insist I leave helped. Since I feel like everything that's happened to you is my fault, it's easy to imagine him feeling the same way."

Casper pointed with his lips at visible wounds under his ripped shirt. "None of this is your fault," he said, "And you better not be thinking I'll let you go back there alone if you get the chance to go back for your dad. I told you, we're going to take care of each other."

I wanted to tell Casper that I didn't want to put him in more danger because I was already carrying enough guilt on my shoulders. I'd sent enough lives careening sideways. The gleam in Casper's dark eyes told me it would be a waste of time. Instead, I traced the lines of his face. Stubble rubbed roughly against my fingers. "Okay, Casper. Go clean yourself up. I need to find out if I can talk to Gem," I said.

Casper hobbled to the bathroom. As the door swung shut, I concentrated on Gem and called out to him. He suddenly appeared.

"Is he dead?" I said.

"No. My brother is still alive," Gem said, hiding his feelings behind a stone mask.

"Remember how you used to get me to calm down? You taught me to imagine emotions as a universe at my core," I said.

"Yeah, I remember," he said with a smile.

"I couldn't shake the thought that I'm from two worlds, and that was somehow important. I will always be in one dimension, and have another contained inside of me."

"Science doesn't function on metaphors," he said.

"Maybe it doesn't, but when I focused all my metaphorical energy on this metaphorical ball, I made something real happen. I made the dimension inside of me trade places with the one outside my body. That's a fact," I said.

"And now you're there. You're away from me. Rory, I don't want you to be on your own," Gem said.

"I'm not alone. I have Casper," I said.

Gemini continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Every human you come into contact with could be an unintentional spy. You might think someone is human when they're not."

"Keep Denovo under your control. Stop wasting time watching me. All those methods you told me other Incepterrians use to block out humanity: You need to start using them. You also need to keep looking for my dad," I said.

"Is this about Casper?" Gem said.

"Kind of," I said quietly, "But it's also about the two of us. What we have isn't natural, especially for you. I've been on my own, or at least I felt alone at the time. You haven't been alone since you were a child. How do you know what you want? One minute you say you're uncertain, then you kiss me. I'm too familiar, like a bad habit."

"That's not how it is. I care about you," Gem said.

He sounded panicked, but I kept digging. "If you had a choice, would you still care?"

"Of course. Nothing could change that," Gem said.

"The way things are, we'll never be sure," I said.

"Please, don't make me do this," Gem said desperately.

"I've made up my mind," I said.

"Okay. I'll do my best to block you out, and I promise that I'll keep looking for your father, but be careful. There are Incepterrians on Earth, and they might be able to communicate with Severants on our side. Even if they aren't communicating, every human you meet could potentially have a Sentinel feeding information to the Severants," he said.

The water stopped running in the bathroom. "Casper will be out soon. Try to remember that no matter how bad things get, a single man can't corrupt universally. It might feel that way, but it's never happened."

"How am I supposed to make peace with the fact that the evil man in question is my brother?" Gem said.

"I killed a man," I said, nudging my chin toward the body strewn on the cabin floor. "That's something I'll have to know about myself for the rest of my life. He deserved it, but I pulled the trigger. Besides, I'm the wrong person to ask about coping. Repression is my favourite approach."

"We're both walking away with blood on our hands," Gem said.

I stared at the blood drying on my hands and knew it would be there long after I'd washed. "The ironic part is that Denovo blames me. I'd be willing to give him anything he needed for his cure if I could only be sure he wouldn't hurt humans once he had it."

"He must already have what he needs," Gem said.

"You're assuming too much. Guard Denovo, but don't jump to conclusions." My concentration broke as the door to the bathroom opened. I turned back to see Gem was gone. I didn't call him to return. Words wouldn't make this easier, and goodbye felt too final.

"Are you ready to go home?" Casper asked. He looked like laundry that had been pounded clean against river rocks. I glanced once more at the spot where Gem had disappeared, then I took Casper's hand and let him lead the way out of the cabin.

The End