Hells clacked on pavement. Breath heaved.

  Silently, quietly, she looked around the corner.

  No, no, no. More patrols from Jacques Gele trying to find her. Different way. She must find a different way.

  She wove through the alleys and streets, checking, straining, listening, looking. Slowly, she lost the patrols. They wouldn't come this way. No, never. This was the homeless district. All homeless people lived here so the government could keep an eye on them. Sad. They were people too. Shouldn't be treated like animals in a zoo, yet they were. At least they did have basic amenities provided for them.

  But that wasn't her purpose here, oh no. An unregulated time portal. She knew one lay here. She knew it. All 'mancers knew of the portal should they need an escape. Like she did now. She couldn't stay here. They hunted her like she was their prey. She escaped the torture, but she needed to get away. She needed the Time Witch. The Time Witch would help her.

  She made her way through the dark, dingy alleys. People stared at her. She looked worse than even they did. She wore only a single black, tattered dress, a stark contrast to her once-white hair that now appeared grey in the dim light of the alleys. No bathing for months. She couldn't escape the dungeons until now. She had to be careful, oh, so careful. She fought for the Empire, but she bore no ethis. The Guild would find out if she used her magic without one. Then the penalties. She couldn't stand the penalties. She would be stripped. Stripped of everything. Careful. So very, very careful to not use her magic until she could find an ethis. Hopefully the Time Witch would have one.

  She slipped into the window of a basement and found the portal there. It glowed a faint white. She hesitated, swallowed, but then darted into it. Soon, she found herself faced by a beautiful castle. Cars flew around, hustling and bustling. It was civilisation. The city she knew was no longer her home. This was another world entirely. The white stonework almost hurt her eyes. Darkness. She had grown so used to it. So to be in the light...

  She approached the gate, shoulders dropped and gait weary. Guards looked at her. "Have you an appointment with the Time Witch?" one asked.

  "Please, let me see her. I need to escape. Please." Getting audience with the Time Witch... So very difficult. She needed it though. The scars on her body and her mind... She needed to get rid of them. She needed to raise an army against the master of the coup, but shattered, too shattered... Her mind couldn't handle it. She needed a chance to heal first. "I come from Acaniel. I'm an Imperial technomancer. Please, let me see her..." Tears welled in her eyes. She needed this. Dirt clung to her body and hair. How pathetic she must look to them. No longer an aristocrat but a political prisoner. She needed to escape for a time. She would return in time but...she just needed a chance to heal.

  "Unless you have an appointment, we can't allow you in." The tears rolled down Weiss' cheeks. no. She needed this... All she needed was a chance to heal. That was her only request.

  "I believe I do have an appointment with her." A soft voice made everyone turn to attention. A woman stood on the other side of the gate. Her long, blonde hair and soft smile fluttered Weiss' heart. The Witch herself. "Please, come in." The gate opened and Weiss followed the woman inside. Tire. Exhaustion clung to her. She needed to rest, heal her weary mind and soul. She expected to head to the throne room, but the woman turned down a wing of the castle and led her to a bedroom. "Please, take care of yourself for a day or two before we speak. You need it."

  "Thank you..." The tears turned from frustration to relief. Sleep evaded her for months. All she expected was people bursting into the room at any hour of the day to torture her, keep her on her toes. Not all was physical; some was psychological. The sleep deprivation, the food deprivation... All designed to wear her down bit by bit over time. Months. That was all she knew about how long she'd been down in those dungeons.

  The Time Witch smiled and bowed before leaving Weiss alone. Meal? Bathing? Rest? What should come first? All of it sounded too good to her. She'd been deprived for so long. She wanted to do it all. Getting presentable probably stood at the top of the list. Yeah. The clothing barely covered her. It barely covered the essentials. She looked so disheveled. She looked so terrible. So she made her way to the bathroom. Opulent didn't describe it. Even the bathrooms in her home weren't this showy. But this was the Time Witch. She needed to impress the guests that stayed for a time. She could at least see shampoos and such offered. She let the shower run and started cleaning herself. The tub would be too full of grit and grime should she have an actual bath. This was the best option.

  After she finished the heavenly, long-overdue shower, she blinked when she saw a soft, white nightgown on the sink. She changed into it, hair hanging limply just below her ears. When she entered the bedroom, a meal sat on one of the nightstands. The Time Witch's magic seemed impressive. Considering she had so much power over time and space, though, it did make sense. She ate until her heart's content then laid down in the bed, the exhaustion claiming her quickly.

  ?

  Weiss' eyes cracked open and she frowned when it appeared to still be daylight. How much time passed since she fell asleep? She hadn't paid attention to the clock when she'd arrived; far more pressing things weighed on her mind. Regardless, food waited for her on the nightstand. Relieved, she ate some. The sweet fruit practically melted in her mouth and soothed her battered, scratched throat. So many long hours of crying between sessions…

  She pulled up her sleeve and looked at her arm. Scars of all sorts criss crossed her skin. Burn marks, whip marks, electricity, and far more... Such cruelty and barbarity, she didn't understand. How could they be so barbaric? Torture had been outlawed in nearly every country. Yet Gele's men had used it on her. Anger burned in her heart toward them. Her mother, her poor mother... She knew not what fate awaited her family. Neither Winter or Willow ould go quietly; she knew that. But where were they? She had lost touch with them during battle one day... Her ethis had been taken from her and, thus, her direct connection with them. And she hadn't been able to find another one that hadn't been used... Oh, she worried for them so.

  A soft knock came on the door, making Weiss tense. Magic pulsed through her hand, her breath raised several pitches. "Who's there?" Whenever someone came to her door, there was only one thing that could happen... She knew what would await her. With her magic no longer suppressed, she no longer knew fear.

  "Weiss." The Time Witch's voice carried through the door, just loud enough for her to hear. Oh. She powered down her magic and dropped her sleeve.

  "Come in." She should have suspected it to be the Time Witch. But the past few months of conditioning... She knew only to expect torture. To drop that thought would take time. Hopefully she hadn't offended the woman who so graciously took her in despite her appearance and having no prior meeting.

  The woman walked in, long, blonde hair flowing down her back. A girl with cat ears and dressed in black walked behind her. The black-haired girl's ears twitched and swiveled, her amber eyes locked on Weiss. "Blake, she bears you no harm. She's in dire straits as you are. You're safe from every conceivable danger here. No mortal and override my power." The girl didn't relax despite Salem's reassurances. Her hand twitched, obviously wanting to go to the sword by her side.

  With that, Salem turned to Weiss again. "How did you sleep?"

  "Surprisingly well..." It confounded her. Nightmares marred her mind every time she attempted to sleep in the dungeons. No rest came despite her best efforts. "How long was I out?" She ought to have paid attention to the time of her arrival. But she hadn't. Basic necessities outweighed something as frivolous as time. Food, sleep, and being clean weighed her mind the most at that moment.

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  "Probably a good day. Judging from our physical and mental shape, your body finally collapsed on itself. Be at peace, Weiss. You don't need to worry about pressures of the mind here. The nightmares were blocked by the magics that protect this plate." Weiss cringed a little. So the Time Witch had seen through her... She hated the nightmares. They concentrated in her mind each and every time she closed her eyes. Worries of her family and replaying the various tortures she endured. She couldn't let go of them. They might torture her for the rest of her life…

  She nodded and sighed. "Apologies, Your Grace.... I apologise for showing up with no prior appointment, but it was this or I got captured by Mister Gele's men..." She frowned. "Do you know the goings on Acaniel?" Would the Time Witch know? The multiverse was a vast place. How could one person possibly take on the entire breadth of that? It seemed impossible. Chaos and upheaval existed on every plane as far as remained aware. Some were worse than others though…

  Salem gave a solemn nod. "Yes, I unfortunately do. The Empire you belong to is in a time of great turmoil. Unfortunately I don't know your story other than you were treated poorly enough to suffer nightmares by your own testament. What happened if you feel you can share it? I won't force you to but...most people come to this place for some form of healing, be it mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical. From the looks of it, you could do with a bit of each area." Her expression truly reflected worry. She squeezed her hands together, eyes soft but understanding.

  Weiss sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "Mister Gele's coup has been ongoing for a few years now and I allied with the Empire to fight for Acaniel, my home kingdom. My mother and sister were taken. I'm not sure what's happened to them since I lost my ethis quite some time ago. And...I was tortured. I'll leave it there." Delving into those memories... No, no, she couldn't. The terror they instilled in her... She refused to break, but the repercussions still existed. She remained surprised her mind hadn't completely shattered entirely. Only thoughts of her mother and sister kept her sane. As well as keeping the code of ethics for the Guild forefront in her mind. No matter what, to break the code... She couldn't. She couldn't stand to be stripped.

  Salem walked over to the bed and sat next to Weiss, then pulled her into her arms. "Such brutality at such a tender age... Nobody should have to go through that. You poor child. No wonder you're so thin... Technomancers aren't usually the most fit individuals, but you're practically skin and bones." She wished she could return to her previous weight... She already lacked the fat reserves for normal life. She weighed a mere sixty-five pounds. Her metabolism skyrocketed every time she took on a new branch of magic. It burned so many calories... Now, she shuddered to think what her weight stood at. She needed to put on more weight before she could return and take on Gele again.

  "I'm in desperate need of mental and physical healing..." She couldn't deny it. She knew she probably appeared practically a skeleton. They gave her only bread and water a few times a day, just enough to keep her going. And she was pretty sure it was never at the same time, either. Her sense of time shattered long ago. She attempted to try to retain it, but no, they refused to let her. The exhaustion didn't help matters either. She needed more sleep. It waned when the coup first started, but in the past few months... Nonexistent.

  "While I can offer you safe haven for now...I think I know a better place for you and Blake to go to. A safe place with no wars. Though, you know the cost for my help." Weiss frowned at that. Temporary loss of something important. Usually an ability of some sort. She nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Where you're going, magic won't be necessary, so I would ask you to give your powers up until you've felt you've recovered enough to return to your world. It may take months or years, but you'll get to recover."

  Weiss' insides froze at that. Her magic...? It meant everything to her. She understood why the Witch chose it... "A world where magic won't be necessary? No wars?" It sounded like some sort of child's tale. Magic permeated every bit of Acaniel and the other nations in the world. How could it not be important? Technomancy was her identity. She started at the Guild as a mere toddler. Games helped build powers and control at the youngest ages. To lose such a core part of her... She couldn't... Yes, it would return one day but...to potentially go years without it? She just...

  Salem nodded and smiled at her, warmth in her eyes. "There is magic in that world, but it's nothing like you know. And it's buried in ancient history. It's a relic of a bygone era. You may meet a few magic users there, but they'll tread lightly with it. Respect them and they may yet teach it to you, but don't count on it." Weiss nodded and sighed. She hated this. To lose her magic... But she wouldn't need an ethis as long as she didn't have her powers. No worrying about the Guild, no worries about being stripped, no worries about ethics, or anything of the like... Maybe not having those worries would help aid in her mental and emotional recovery... She could be...normal. A thought completely foreign to her.

  "I suppose..." She held her hand out, a small orb forming over her palm. Salem ran her hand through it. Cold washed through Weiss, a part of her leaving. Emptiness... The only way to describe how she felt. She felt empty. How did people without magic walk around feeling like this? To think she might go years like this... She didn't want it at all. The powers would return in due time, though. Once she felt settled, she could reclaim her powers.

  Salem turned to look at Blake, then glanced at Weiss. "I'm sending you both to the same place. My policy is to never send anybody without someone they can rely on. You've both been through terrible coups, so you can understand the other's plight to some degree. I think you'd make good companions."

  Blake sighed, her cat ears flattening against her head. "So what will you take from me? But why send me with a human?" Her tone held only accusation. Weiss flinched a bit. Racism no longer existed on Selia. But did it on Blake's world? That seemed the only answer... Why else be so aggressive about Weiss being human?

  Salem stood and reached up to Blake's head, the black-haired woman flinching away. Salem's hand came down and Blake's cat ears sat in her hands. Blake actually hissed and Weiss was pretty sure that her hackles raised. "My ears! I can't hear anything!"

  "Where you're going, you won't need these. Only humans exist. Well. You'll see what else exists there once you arrive." Salem smiled, though she returned to Weiss. She put her hand on Weiss' head and warmth radiated through her body, though it failed to quell the emptiness that the lack of magic brought. "Roll up your sleeve." Weiss obliged and tears sprang to her eyes. The scars... The scars vanished. The Witch healed them. She thought they would remain forever... A sign for the rest of her life of what she endured.

  "Thank you... Thank you so much..." Those scars would have forever tortured her had they not been healed... Scars could be so very difficult even for the most advanced of healers to hide or get rid of. They remained one of the few things magic struggled with. She still bore the mental and psychological scars of the torture. Those would remain for the rest of her life, no doubt... Still... She wished to return to Acaniel and depose the madman that upset them so. But healing came first. A place without strife felt unreal...

  "It's a free gift." Salem smiled at Weiss, then offered her a hand. "We'll get you two dressed in clothes for this new world, then I'll see you off. I could offer you haven here but communities will be far better than isolated healing on your own." Weiss nodded at the Time Witch's words. That made sense. Nobody could harm the Time Witch. Nobody would be foolish enough to go after her. Even Mister Gele's lack of intelligence respected the Time Witch. Her escape couldn't be found. She loved that she escaped so cleanly... If only her other Imperial-aligned technomancers could reach her... Maybe they did...

  They headed out of the room and through the castle, though Weiss' cheeks took a faint pink hue. She wore nothing but a nightgown. Nobody seemed to pay much heed to them, though. Servants offered the Witch a dip of their head, then continued on with their duties. Eventually, they reached a room with a large set of double doors. The Witch opened them and Weiss' eyes widened. So many styles never before seen... Beautiful clothes. She missed the fine silks and velvets she wore before all of this went down... She came from wealth and she wore it quite literally. Then again, real silks and fake were indistinguishable at this point... Nobody could tell one from the other. But she still wore real silks most of all cloth. She enjoyed the sensation so much.

  The Witch led them to a corner where much lower-quality clothes sat. All mass produced, no doubt. Simple t-shirts and jeans. The woman handed them clothes and sent them off to a changing room to check their sizes. The cloth itched Weiss' skin. Silk was so soft and smooth compared to the itchy polyester and cotton that lower people wore. But she would need to blend into the masses... Silk would stand out so much. Polyester and cotton were necessary. Then again, maybe she could wear linens instead? So much easier on the skin than polyester. At least as far as her skin went.

  After some fussing, the woman packed bags for both Weiss and Blake, then led them to a room not too far away. A massive time portal rippled through the air. The Time Witch set some coordinates on a number pad, the portal pulsing red. "Now go you two. You will see what awaits you. Don't be afraid. All will become known to you shortly once you arrive." Weiss glanced over at her shoulder at the Witch and the woman smiled. Weiss hesitated but nodded before stepping through the portal with Blake in tow.