Zephyr's office was small and lacked decorations. It was perfectly organized, with a small stack of papers on the desk and two chairs, one on each side. The desk and chairs matched, both made with a dark red tinted oak wood.

She sat down and gestured for Amanda to do the same. Then she pulled out a white envelope with Amanda's name- her real name- on it, and handed it to her. "Yesterday morning, Phoenix came to me and gave me two letters. One with my name, and one addressed to you. She explained that one of her contacts had given it to her. Before I explain anything, you need to read yours."

"Alright..." She ripped the top of the envelope open and pulled out a folded letter.

Amanda,

Zephyr will explain what's going on, but I'm writing this myself to make sure you know the important things. I'm sure you're confused and probably scared right now, and I am sorry for that. When I invented time travel, I never actually intended to use it. But when Akram began to research it as well, he forced my hand. I traveled back in time, and created something to bring Wren- the older you- back with me.

However, because two of the same person can't exist in the same timeline, you were sent forward in time to take Wren's place. As of right now, the world is being led by the man I mentioned earlier: Akram. Wren leads a rebellion in the future that opposes Akram's tyranny. Your life will be in danger almost constantly. I apologize for that as well, but all of this is necessary.

When things start changing in the world around you, don't freak out. It's just the timeline shifting as Wren and I try to fix things on our end. Just lay low and try to avoid causing too much trouble. No one but Zephyr can know about what's happening. Akram can't know that I've mastered time travel, and he can't know that you aren't Wren either, because if he finds out that you're leading the rebellion and you're vulnerable, he'll send everything he has at you.

Stay safe,

Dylan

Amanda's eyes scanned the page several times before she said anything. Finally, she faced Zephyr. "So... this is... I'm... from the past?" she asked. "It's not amnesia or anything... I'm a time traveler? This isn't some sort of weird joke? What did yours say?"

"Mine explained the time travel and basically warned me that you'd be extremely vulnerable."

"I'm vulnerable? What about those people I killed? I literally woke up surrounded by bodies, on top of a guy I'd just stabbed in the chest. It's like some sort of bad movie. Wait... I'm leading a rebellion?" It occurred to her that she didn't know how to lead. She was just fourteen, and certainly not a leader of any sort. "I can't lead!"

"Calm down, okay. I'll try and help you out with that... but you cannot tell anyone about this. We can't let this get out or the president might find out and try to take you out while you're still adjusting to all of this."

"He knows who I am?"

"Not exactly, but giving him any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, is a bad idea. He could probably find you with just your face, not to mention if he got your name. So just... no telling anyone."

"Okay.... So how am I going to know who people are when I don't remember anything?" Amanda asked, leaning back in the chair and trying to relax.

"I'll point out the people you know, but it's going to take a while for you to remember everything. People are used to you knowing them and greeting them, so you'll have to think of some reason why you can't remember their names, but friends are the most important thing. We'll deal with them first," Zephyr replied.

Her fingers tapped against the desk and she stared down at them, a slight frown on her face. "You already know Panther. If you meet someone with black hair and purple eyes, that's Shadow. You should be able to recognize your siblings..." she frowned. "Although you probably won't have their code names. Let's see. Abigail is Hawk, Andrew is Cheetah, Anne is River, Aaron is Ajax, and Alicia is Kitten. Got that?"

Amanda frowned. Shadow, Hawk, Cheetah, River, Ajax, Kitten... Shouldn't be too hard to remember. "I think so," she said.

"Good. We'll need to work on training too. I don't want you going on any more missions until you've re-learned all of the hand-to-hand combat and fighting techniques. Otherwise you'll get yourself killed. We'll meet at 0600 hours tomorrow morning to start working on that. Until then, just pretend you know what you're doing. I'll show you your quarters after I talk with Ajax."

"Is that everything?"

"Yes... wait no. Meals are strictly scheduled, so if you miss them, you miss them. Be at the mess hall by 0800 hours for breakfast, 1200 hours for lunch and 1800 hours for dinner. You should probably go... explore or something. I have to get a report from Panther and Ajax."

"Alright. I'll go see if I can find the mess hall I guess," Amanda said, standing.

She left the room and headed down the hall, eventually finding herself in an armory of sorts. She was looking through the various weapons when someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned and found a tall young man watching her by the door.

His black hair and purple eyes caught her attention first. It was the first time she'd ever seen someone with genuine purple eyes. This must be Shadow. She wondered how he got the name. Maybe it was his hair. Or just his ability to sneak up on people.

"Hey Shadow," she said, setting down a throwing knife.

"Wren," he replied. She studied him, noticing his slight frown, a cleverly concealed expression of concern.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. She leaned back against a shelf and tilted her head, trying to figure out what was bothering him.

"No... well... maybe. I don't know. It's just that Psychic hasn't returned and she should have been back by now. She told me it would only take a week, but it's been at least a month. Her time-lines have never been this far off before. I think she's in trouble," he said.

Psychic? What's with the nicknames around here?

She could tell he was worried, but she wasn't sure what his connection to Psychic was. "Well... Has there been any word yet?" she asked after a moment of thought. "She should have contacted someone by now."

"She would have sent her information to Zephyr, since she heads this kind of thing, but Zephyr hasn't gotten anything. I thought maybe you would know... but if she didn't send you anything either then something's definitely not right."

"We could send out a team to look for her," Amanda suggested, not sure what else to say.

"I could lead it," he suggested. His worry was obvious, and it made her hesitate. Even with her fourteen year old mind, she knew that it would be dangerous to allow him to go on the mission. If whatever connection he had to Psychic caused him to mess up, everyone could end up paying the price.

"I... don't think that would be a good idea," she said after a moment. "If you got distracted by your connection to her, you could get everyone killed. I don't doubt your skills, but I don't want you to get in there and make the wrong decisions because someone you love is in danger. You should talk to Zephyr about a rescue team if a message doesn't come in, but you need to stay here."

He nodded, accepting her rationale. For a moment, he looked like he was going to leave, but then he turned and faced her again, a frown on his face. "Are you okay? You seem... different. Less like the fearless leader you became and more like the... younger, compassionate you. I thought... well I just thought something might be going on. Is River in trouble? I know you worry about her..."

"No, everything's fine," Amanda promised. "Don't worry about me, go help Psychic."

He stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her, but finally nodded and left.

***

The mess hall was packed when Amanda found it. Conversations melded together into a constant buzz of noise that filled the air. The room hushed a little as she entered, but it returned to normal volume when she got into line to grab food.

Most of the food was fresh goods from a garden and simple, canned foods that were heated up and thrown onto plates. She grabbed one of the plates and put the food on it, careful not to take any more than what everyone else was taking. Then she moved toward the tables, spotted one that was empty except for another woman around her age and headed for it, sliding into a chair and setting her food down.

She watched the other woman silently, trying to get a read on her. Long blonde hair was braided down her back, its color so light it almost looked white, and her eyes were a brilliant orange gold that surprised Amanda. A bracelet with five little charms on it hung on the other woman's wrist. There was a gold dragon and a red dragon, a little charm with a girl on it and another one with a boy who was strikingly similar to the boy. The final charm was the simplest: just two rings bound together.

Amanda got the distinct feeling that this bracelet was important to her companion, and opened her mouth to ask about it, but decided it would be better not to.

The other woman spoke first. "Captain," she said simply, her voice neutral and unfeeling. "Can I help you?"

Amanda looked at her food. "No. I just thought I would eat here today," she replied.

The other woman nodded and poked at her untouched food. Then she stood. "Well if you don't need my help, I'll be going," she said quietly, and left. On her way out, she dropped her tray on another table, next to a young looking boy, who eagerly took it.

She's hurting, Amanda decided. She'd never battled depression before, but the signs were too obvious in this woman's case. The expression she kept on her face- cold and calculating- was enough to see that something wasn't right. She was hiding behind the facade of a calm, emotionless person, but inside she was falling apart.

She looked down at her own tray of food, suddenly depressed. The more she thought about the woman, the more depressed she felt.

Zephyr slid in beside her a few moments later and Amanda turned to her. "Who is the younger woman? The one who wears the charm bracelet?" she asked.

Zephyr took a bite of her mashed potatoes. "That's Phoenix," she replied when she was finished chewing. "She's not someone you'll manage to befriend, I don't think."

"Why not? What happened to her? Why is she so... hurt?"

Zephyr turned to Amanda. "I don't know the whole story, but I know this: she was married, before she came here. She had kids and two friends who were incredibly close to her. She lost them all in one day because of Akram and she's been reclusive ever since. People say she rarely sleeps, and I've seen her wander the halls at night all the time after curfew. She gets night watch a lot because of it, but she never says anything. Never complains. She's in Supai, but she isn't like the others. We all know each other; rely on each other. Everyone trusts her with their life, but they don't know her. She doesn't socialize and refuses to get close to anyone."

"Why do you call her Phoenix? Did she choose the name?" Amanda asked.

"No. The most talking anyone has ever heard from her was when she went to Kitten to join the rebellion. After she applied and got in she stopped talking to people when it wasn't necessary. She has a thing for fire though, so people just started calling her Phoenix and it stuck. I think she likes it, but it's hard to get a read on her, so I don't know."

"She looks so lost."

"You can get a read on her?" Zephyr asked, frowning at her food.

"It's not that, it's just... her expression is too neutral. It reminds of how I felt after moving. Do you think someone could help her?"

Zephyr shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on whether or not she's ready to let someone help her. If she isn't ready to let people in again, no one will persuade her. But she's been here a year with no change, so I highly doubt you'll be able to do anything."

Amanda thought about that and decided that she would try anyway. "No one should suffer a burden like hers alone. I'm going to try."

Ajax slid into the other seat next to her. "You talking about Phoenix?" he asked.

Zephyr nodded. "Wren thinks she can help," she told him.

He snorted. "I doubt if anyone could get through to her, let alone you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda demanded, crossing her arms.

Ajax shoveled a bite of food into his mouth. "Let's face it, you aren't the same gullible, freely-giving person you used to be. You changed when you took over the rebellion. Sure, you're still nice, but you aren't that nice anymore."

Zephyr looked between them, sensing a bit of a sibling rivalry about to start. Sure enough, Amanda took the bait. "I may have changed, but I don't think I changed that much," she insisted

Ajax just shrugged. "Ask Zephyr. She'll back me up."

Amanda looked at Zephyr. "I'm not too harsh... am I?" she asked.

Zephyr shrugged. "Probably not. Everyone seems to like you and you're good at leading them. Plus, it's a good thing you aren't as easily brought in by sob stories as you used to be."

"But... well..." Amanda stopped, realizing that arguments would be useless. They knew her better than she did, at this point, and it was probably better to just listen to them. "Well fine, but I'm still going to help Phoenix," she conceded.

Ajax grinned. "Have fun with that."