Lynn hung holding on to everything. Space was easy to hold on to, it was like a burden that she had always had, easy and comfortable. Other things were more difficult to hold onto, thoughts were one of them. Every time she tried to grasp a though it fluttered outside of her grasp, elusive and impossible to capture. Another was her memories. She had trouble remembering the events that lead up to this, or anything at all from before now. Holding onto her self was the most difficult. Who she was required her to hold on for her life, if she let go for just a second she didn’t know if she would be able to catch it again.
Her senses were distorted too, at least that was what the scraps of her memories told her. However the empty place that she stood in seemed normal now. Everything was blank in every direction. The only thing that existed in this place was the wall. It stretched up higher then she could see and to either side. She looked back over her shoulder and could see something else. There was another wall behind her, however this one was not nearly as tall and had a hole in the center of it. Now she remembered, she had broken down that wall to get here. How could she have forgotten that.
She looked back at the wall in front of her. What was she supposed to do now.
“Are you afraid?” The voice was her own. Her looked up. There was a ledge on the wall in front of her. On the ledge was herself, looking down at her. However this version of her was slightly different. She looked older, longer hair, different clothes. Lynn wasn’t really that surprised to see herself. It almost seemed normal.
“But beyond that was exists something I should never touch. That is forbidden territory, a place that no human should tread.”
The older Lynn sat there looking down. Out of all the differences that Lynn’s eyes were the most different. They were deep, so very deep, like a galaxy could be lost inside of them. “How do you know? No human had crossed that wall before. Nobody knows what is beyond it. Don’t you want to find out what is behind that wall. Don’t you want to touch the stars instead of just reaching for the moon?”
“Why do you desire to see what is beyond that wall?” Asked Lynn.
“Because I am the you that has seen beyond that wall. I have seen what is beyond this wall and I want you to see it as well.” The older Lynn reached behind her hand lifted a hammer and threw it down to younger Lynn. “Don’t you want to protect everyone, to save everyone?”
Younger Lynn looked at the hammer and lifted it slowly. “No. You know those aren’t my feelings.” The older Lynn smiled from up high. “Everyone has their own life to live. I can’t save everyone. All I can do is live my life and deal with the consequences. If the pain people are suffering is my fault then I must also fix it. That is the duty of being powerful. However it is not my obligation to save everyone, they need to save themselves. Otherwise they will never be able to find happiness.”
“Then does your happiness lay beyond this wall. Is that why you have continued to break wall after wall approaching here? Is it to find your happiness?” Asked the older Lynn.
Younger Lynn shook her head, “I don’t know know.” Then she smiled, “But I think that is rather the point isn’t it? I think that if we knew where to find our happiness then life would be a little boring. This was is much more exciting.” She hefted the hammer onto her shoulder, “You know, I may have already found my happiness but there is a problem. This giant wall is blocking my view. Don’t you think my mind would look a lot better without this nasty thing blocking my view?”
She looked back up at older Lynn but she was no longer there. Perhaps she had never been there. After all both of them were Lynn and there was only one of her. She lifted her hammer and swung it against the giant wall.
Then her memories returned in a rush. The pain and pressure of the space rushing in around her. Then, amazingly the pressure began to weaken. She almost though she was imagining it. After an eternity of pain the pressure couldn’t weaken. But it did. Slowly, ever so slowly, the pressure weakened more and more. Eventually sight began to return to Lynn who had been doing everything off feeling for ages.
The first thing she recognized was the setting sun. Then strangely she thought she could see the stars beyond the sun, but that was impossible. Space around her tingled, that feeling that could only be described as normal. It was something that she hadn’t feel in ages. It took her a while longer to realize that everything seemed small. Then she realized that she was in the air, floating, flying. Her mind wrapped around that for a second and once it did she began to fall. She plummeted toward the earth before finally catching herself. She hung suspended in mid air again still uncertain what she was doing. The then moved herself to the room.
There she stood for a moment overlooking what used to the the reactor building. Parts of it were torn up and seemed flung around like piecemeal. She looked up again at the sun and stars. Was it possible that she was dreaming.
“Are you alright.” Came a voice from her side. She looked and saw Rose standing next to her. Rose’s cloths were dirty, torn, and burned in several places but the Phantom Thief outfit was still mostly in tact.
Lynn didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure if she felt alright or not. She was dreadfully tired but at the same time she couldn’t stop her mind from racing forward. She asked the first question that came to her mind, “Can you see the stars?”
Rose looked up at the sky and then back at Lynn, “No, it is still fairly bright. Are you sure you are alright. That stunt you pulled didn’t mess with you eyes did it?”
Lynn returned her gaze to the sky. The stars, she could still see them. It was like the sky was gone from her vision, leaving only the universe in front of them. “Maybe, but I will be fine. It is probably better this way anyways.”
“Well, then. Since that is taken care of we should to look for Emiray. She is probably in the reactor room.”
“Wait,” There was a voice from behind them. There stood Svenn, he had a look of loss on his face, “What should I do?” His face strained like he couldn’t express what he was feeling any better then that. His entire life had collapsed before his eyes and he didn’t know what to do anymore.
“How should I know?” Asked Rose, “It’s your life isn’t it? Probably turn yourself over to the Student Council. They might lighten your sentence if you do that now.” Svenn slouched, still uncertain about what to do. But it was too late for him to ask anything else. The two of them were gone. Even with the lingering connection to his network Svenn hadn’t been able to detect Lynn’s departure. Something had changed about her, yet Svenn couldn’t grasp what it was.
Inside the reactor room was almost empty. Nestled against the reactor wearing an old coat that was far too big for her was Emiray. She was still unconscious. Lynn kneel beside Emiray and looked at her arms. They were burt and swollen. It would certainly leave scars of some sort and Emiray would need to see a doctor soon. “Thank you. I would never have been able to do this without you.” Said Lynn. She turned her head toward Rose, “You either.”
Rose however was walking toward the front of the machine. She checked her watch and smiled. “Perfect timing, like usual.” She reached out and pulled the Euclidian Key from the socket that was holding it. She slipped the Key into one of her pockets and pulled out a note.
It read “The Phantom Thief Rose has stolen the Euclidian Key.” She set the note where the Key was and then walked back over to Lynn. Then she pulled the Key back out of her pocket and offered it to Lynn. “I believe that this is yours.”
Lynn looked at it. She passed her hand over it and there was a tiny silver of metal in her hand. Lynn broke the circuit in half and tossed it to one side, “You can keep it now. After all a Phantom Thief can’t escape without taking her prize.”
Rose smiled back, “Just so.” Before slipping the Key back into her pocket. She gave Emiray a look, noting the coat. “I will have to thank Inspector Grim.” She then turned her back on them and began walking toward the exit to the room. She wave behind her, “A Phantom Thief shouldn’t stick around the scene of the crime. But take care, tell Emiray that she is welcome to come visit me any time that she wants, you too. We can steal something again together some time.”
And the Rose had left. It wasn’t quick as sudden a disappearance as when Lynn vanished but it made her feel a little bit lonely. She had once wondered how lonely she would continue to be as a powerful Esper. That was no longer an issue for her. She held Emiray for a second staring at the husk of the Ark Tunnel Reactor.
Then she opened the spacial tunnel and brought them straight to the hospital. The distance was fairly long and previously she would have gone there is several shorter teleports to make sure she could tell where she was going. This time however she could simply bring them there, she hadn’t realized it had been so easy.
They stood in the lobby. Lynn holding the unconscious Emiray upright. “Um, I don’t suppose you could see to some intense burn wound? She is in a rather bad state?”
There was a moment of silent.