The golden sun rose up over the horizon, illuminating the crumbled Iron Doom. Acronix opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the light. He sat up with a yawn; looking around. He was alone. Krux wasn’t there.

‘Did he leave me alone again?’ He wondered.
Just then, Krux walked through a door into the cockpit with a big stretch. “Why did I let myself talk you into not including a bathroom on this thing?” He groaned.

The younger sibling cracked a smirk. “You also turned down my idea to include a hot tub.”

“Yes, but that’s not necessarily essential.”

Acronix rubbed his sore shoulder and twisted his arm around to loosen it up. “My joints beg to differ. Steaming hot water sounds wonderful right now.”

The older twin looked out the Doom’s mouth curiously. “Well, there’s a creak not far from here if you want to wash up, however, it’s anything but warm. Trust me.”

Acronix declined the offer and asked if they figured out what time period they were in. With all the wandering Krux had done, he felt like he had to have found some type of clue. But for some reason, he couldn’t. There were times he thought he found something that pointed to them being in the past, and then he’d find something that argued future. But the strange part was, they seemed to be the only ones there. No one else seemed to be anywhere near here. There was the abandoned village, but that was just it; it was abandoned. No one lived there anymore. It was like all other people had vanished. Krux was definitely more introverted, but even this was rather concerning. There’s always been a line between quite time, and too quiet. And this was the latter. Krux turned his attention to a machine integrated into the wall.

“Also I couldn’t help but notice that you included a coffee maker in the wall. I don’t remember approving that in the blue prints.”

“One, I don’t tell you everything. Two, it was entirely essential.”

The older brother playfully scoffed at the sentence. Of course. Because in terms of what’s most necessary, a coffee maker takes precedence over a bathroom. Good to see where his priorities lie. Admittedly, Krux lived off of caffeine, so it was actually quite helpful. Even if he was rationing it; drinking it once every 3 days, rather than 5 cups each day. The museum curator act might have evolved into something he learned to enjoy over the years, but the amount of paperwork that came with it hurt. He originally despised the taste of coffee, but it got to the point where he drank it so much that he doesn’t mind. Still prefers green tea though. There’s also a lot of regret on the end of letting Acronix try it; it’s obvious his body can’t handle it very well. Even though Krux didn’t think it was possible, he managed to get even more hyper. He shuddered at the thought.
‘Never again.’

Acronix looked outside with genuine curiosity. He tried to stand up, but the wound on his side fires up with vengeance. He lets out a cry as he grimaced in pain. Krux carefully laid him back down, like he was a fragile glass statute. He told him not to dare move like that again. Well, at least until he gets better. For now, the injury still seemed to be pretty bad; even though he swore it was feeling better. Krux wasn’t an expert at sewing, so he wondered if his rushed and possibly sloppy stitch work was to blame for the longer healing process. Well, since it had been a solid week, he should probably check on it and possibly change the bandages anyway. So he did. The blood-soaked swathes were removed and the laceration was cleaned out properly this time; since last time was a desperate attempt to quickly save him from bleeding out. Acronix recoiled when his brother got close to the cut with the wet rag. He begged to him that he was fine, but Krux knew better, and cleaned it out anyway; of course, trying to make it as painless as possible. The younger sibling yelped and flinched with every stroke, becoming increasingly horrified with the amount of blood the rag was cleaning up. Of course, it was all dry, old stuff that was left around the wound, but it still terrified him. The elder brother finished sterilizing it so it didn’t get infected, then wrapped him back up in new bandages. After all was said and done, Krux looked like he was hit with an intensely depressing moment; he just stared down at the metal floor.

“Are… you alright?” Acronix questioned; even though he already kinda had an idea of the answer.

Krux closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he walked over to the control panel and leaned against it, looking outside.

“No.”

Truthfully, the flat way he responded startled Acronix. He was expecting him to hide the truth and say yes. But he didn’t. “I.. I don’t know. I guess being in an increasingly hopeless situation is just bringing some things to light that’s all.” The feeling of dread and the weight of mortality was truly beginning to sink in. He was an elemental master, which made his lifespan much longer than others, but the thing with the twins powers was that they needed each other. If it had only been one baby born, they would have gotten all the time powers. But that wasn’t the case. There were two of them. And unlike Kai and Nya, who inherited different powers, instead of Kai, the first born, getting both- was because they were born at different times. AND, two different elements were involved. But Acronix and Krux… they were twins. Both in the womb at the same time. Time is ONE element. The elemental power had no choice but to divide itself amongst the two. It was one power split in half. They quite literally needed each other; if one were to die, the other could very well have their powers suspended. Even just plain old stop working. Unfortunately though, now, they didn’t have their powers. Calling themselves elemental masters was more or less a lie now. That, combined with the fact that he was separated from his brother for so long, meant he aged faster. It, at first, shocked him; but once facing the facts, it made perfect sense. Plus, it did well in tricking Ray and Mya into thinking he was just a random guy. But from the first wrinkle, he began to truly let the topic of mortality sink in. Something he had never worried about prior. Being with Acronix again made him feel stronger though, weather is was the last remaining glint of power inside them reconnecting, or something entirely different- it was true. Perhaps the other twin felt the same. Krux snapped out of his trance when his brother yelped again. He spun around to see Acronix propping himself up against the wall. The older brother ran to his side. “What are you doing?! I told you to stay laying down- not to sit up! Do you WANT your wound to reopen?! Cause if that happens, there’s no saving you again…”

Acronix let out a defeated sigh. “Please don’t do what you did back then… and in the war. Not just because of this.”

“What?...”

“You know what I mean! Every time I got hurt, or you thought I was going to, you’d throw yourself off a bridge for me. I understand that it’s because we’re brothers- and I’d do the same for you, but you’ve always taken it way too far. Ever since I can remember, you’d always take it to the max! ….. And more often than not you end up forgetting to help yourself entirely.” The twin looked at his brother, who was covered in dirt and had dark circles under his eyes; making a ‘case and point’ face. Krux looked down at his dirty, sloppily bandaged hand. It was bruised, being almost sickening shades of purple and red. The ring finger was the worst, being completely bandaged; and a sick ran up the top of it to act as a split due to it being bent at a strange angle before. It was definitely broken, so he didn’t try to move it, but he also had been disregarding it so he could focus on…. Oh. He saw what his brother meant now. Yeah. But he didn’t choose to do it, at least not fully. It was like it was programmed into him. It was… instinct. He glanced back up at a worried, yet serious Acronix.

“I understand.”

The two sat in silence for a moment before Krux spoke up to change the subject. “So! I bet you’re pretty hungry, huh? I bet there’s still a granola bar or something left in the bag.”

The younger sibling smirked for a brief moment before looking sorrowfully at the ground again. He was the one who packed the bag. He only packed enough travel snacks for about 3 days tops. And keep in mind, they’re SNACKS- not meals. He would’ve brought so much more than that if he knew they’d be stranded somewhere. If what he remembered packing was true, and it HAD truly been a week, that meant his brother must be absolutely starving. Of course, he would do everything in his power to hide it… That’s probably what he had meant by-
“being in an increasingly hopeless situation is just bringing some things to light.”
He was talking about his temporality.

Death’s whistle was becoming more and more clear. It became louder with the day, and it scared him. His life was beginning to flash before his eyes. He knew that the hourglass was running out, and began to regret the bad choices he’d made in his life. Acronix couldn’t help but wonder if one of those regrets was saving him. He was completely useless at the moment, unable to even move much; and so much supplies went into helping him. Maybe if Krux let him die last week, he’d still have most of the medical kit and water supply. Maybe he’d even taking better care of himself. The twin doubted his brother would even mind. After all, he had gotten so much colder in the years he was absent. Perhaps their bond was permanently broken when he couldn’t come with him those 40 years ago. Krux told him not to let go of his hand when they got warped into the time vortex, but his grip slipped. He let go...

Maybe his friendliness was all an act. Maybe he really didn’t care about him… maybe…

The awful thoughts that filled his head were silenced by something hitting his lap. A granola bar. Krux had tossed it to him, and was now walking away. Krux left through the elevator door, which wasn’t functioning as an automatic lift, and used the rope he attached to the components to lower the lift down. Not a sound escaped his mouth while he did so. It seems that he was focused on not looking back at his brother too.

Maybe he WAS regretting saving him… Perhaps he truly was just an inconvenience. Slowly dragging his brother down. Acronix took a bite of the protein bar, quickly realizing how starving he actually was. It was gone within seconds. That wasn’t a good thing…
The younger brother stared at the ceiling with worry. Oh, First Spinjitzu Master, they were both doomed. They were going to die trapped here. Wherever and whenever here was… Years from now people will come across two skeletons, both backs toward one another. They’d all know that the two died on shaky terms. Or, alternatively, they’d find their remains hugging, and know they parished brothers. Regardless of how it was to play out, it ends the same for them. Dead. Dead painfully, and soon.

He refused to let it be the first image. If they were truly going to die soon, he was going to do so just as they swore to in the Serpentine War; as brothers.
It was incredibly difficult, but Acronix managed to stand himself up against the wall and make his way to the lift. He winced and grimaced at the pain as he did. When the elevator reached the exit of the Doom, he saw a sorrowful looking Krux looking out at the sky. He didn’t know Acronix was there, so his mask wasn’t on anymore. He held his stomach as it audibly growled loudly. He WAS hurting…

The young twin toughed through the agony and walked towards his brother, who by the time he was feet behind, noticed him. His face went pale as he lunged over to stop Acronix from falling as his legs gave out. “What are you doing here?! What part of ‘stay laying down’ don’t you understand?!! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” The older brother scolded. “I can’t have you dying on me!”

Acronix hung his head in melancholy. “But I am. We both are… That’s why I’m here. To apologize……. I.. I’m sorry…” He got choked up to the point of not being able to talk; tears rolling down his face. “Y- you’re right…. You shouldn’t have s- saved… me… It’s all my f- fault!.......”

At this point, both of them were on the grass; the younger collapsed and sobbing into his twin’s shoulder. Krux was confused, but still hugged him in an attempt to calm him down. He stroked his messy black hair while he tried reasoning with him. “Hey… it’s alright. I got you. None of this is your fault! And I have no clue what you’re going on about with the whole ‘me regretting saving you’ business… Of course I saved you! We’re brothers! And we’re not gonna die. I promise you I won’t let us. I won’t let you…”

Acronix swallowed another whimper and choked on an unwelcome sob. His green and blue eyes glistened with tears as he looked up at his brother. “You’re not mad at me then?”

“No. I’m not.”

The younger brother sniffled. “But we’re both starving. What’s your plan?”

Krux let out a long sigh. “I…" He paused. "I’ll tell you tomorrow. Right now, let’s get you back inside so you can rest.”

Truth be told, he most certainly did not have a plan, but he wasn’t about to tell his poor brother that after what just happened. He was gonna fake it till he could make it. That was always his motto. Plus, he was smart, he knew he'd figure something out... eventually. Hopefully very soon.

Acronix partly knew he was lying about the plan, since he never waits to share a scheme. But, he took comfort in knowing that Krux truthfully cared about him so much.

The two managed to get back in the cockpit, and Acronix’s head was soon placed down on his blue travel pillow. His brother laid down next to him, closing his tired eyes. It was only sunset, but they were both exhausted, so they turned in early and fell asleep.