Exhaustion crawled down Stella's body as she walked through her front doors. Today was a complete shit show. A string of robberies in District 6, at the same time as a school bus of children being kidnapped in District 8, and a monster attack in District 5. This whole week it had been like that, as if all the world's criminals conspired to start acting up all at once, and every day, they were upping the intensity. The annoying thing was that though the [Heroes] saved the day, most of the criminals somehow evaded capture, in the most random ways. The association was getting overrun. She didn't know what was going on.

Prediction was supposed to make things easier for them, but there was only one Lucy to go around, and she couldn't predict everything. So now [Heroes] were required to go on patrols, to maybe get some clue as to what was happening. Luckily, Stella could fly. She felt bad for those who were stuck on the ground, having to drive to where they were going, stuck in endless traffic.

After an entire day of stopping crime, Stella only wanted a soak in the bath. She'd spoken to Vacek earlier and suggested they recall some of the [Heroes] who had been sent to other planets, either for punishment or for hero work. Vacek wouldn't hear of it. He seemed like his mind was far away, and he clearly suspected that there was a conspiracy going on, but he couldn't articulate what it was.

Stella didn't like to play politics in the [Heroes] association. Her parents had been deeply entrenched in that, and that was part of the reason they'd died. She'd told herself she wouldn't do the same and leave her children motherless. Besides, she didn't trust herself enough to be in charge of all those [Heroes]. She barely trusted herself to be in charge of herself.

So, she didn't want to challenge Vacek, but more and more senior [Heroes] were asking her to step in. After all, before Vacek, it had been her family who were in charge of the Hero's association. Stella always told them she didn't need more workload, and she would hate having to go to Fae Planet more than she already did. She didn't mind the Fae, but being around them all day, guessing the hidden meanings behind each communication, could get exhausting. It was bad enough that the ambassador, who'd promised her he would leave today, had instead extended his stay by a few more days.

If it isn't one thing, it's another.

Stella was already dreaming about the soothing jets of the hot tub as she ascended the spiral stairs of her gothic mansion. Somewhere around the second floor, she heard a door close and someone call out, "Mom? Is that you?"

She turned in time to see Torin approaching, pad in hand. She frowned. "Hey. Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Yeah. Took a slip to come back for some things I forgot." Victoire was only about 44km away, on a mountainous island just off Capital City's coast. Torin already had fire-flight (something Stella herself hadn't mastered till she was eighteen), so it probably took nothing for him to return. Stella was, however, shocked by a different part of his statement.

"You forgot something?"

"Yes."

"You forgot something?"

His face heated. "Yes."

"Sorry." She snorted. "It's just that I never thought I would see the day when my meticulous son had a brain fart." She ruffled his hair, and he pressed his lips together, fixing his hair the second she dropped her hand.

He thrust the pad at her midsection. "Did you watch this?"

She glanced down at the pad and saw it was the highlights of a fight. The title caught Stella's attention first: LEXIE SPARROWFOOT UNLEASHES HELL ON HER OPPONENT. It already had a bunch of views, even though it had only been uploaded a few minutes ago, and was marked as a 'hotly trending' video.

Without waiting, Stella played the video. She watched as Lexie skated around the other girls' bullets, smiling as it reminded her again of Lara. The smile dropped as the fight stretched on, and she watched Lexie display increasingly impossible feats. And just how many cards had she seen shatter in Lexie's palm?

"That's a lot of cards, isn't it?" she murmured.

"Yes," Torin said. "My tutor didn't spend much time on card magic, but the average card mage only activates 3-5 cards an hour."

"Hmm." Stella kept watching. The other girl said something she couldn't catch, but she saw Lexie's eyes change, fiery with rage. She saw three cards shatter in Lexie's hand almost back-to-back and saw Lexie point.

The PHORB mics were able to catch the blood-curdling scream the other girl let out, even as she curled onto the ground, convulsing.

"What the hell?" Stella murmured. It didn't stop there. She saw the confusion, the fear, and the regret on Lexie's face as she ran to the other girl. The magic-canceling silvers came on, but the torture continued. Lexie's face turned frantic as the medics questioned her.

Then, finally, Aiden ran onto the stage and spoke to Lexie, holding her. He didn't seem confused at all. He seemed like he knew exactly what had happened.

Stella's expression turned grim as she eyed her son.

"Do you think he's doing something to her?" Torin asked, and though his expression was flat, she knew him enough to sense the concern in his voice. Lexie and Torin had only played together once or twice when they were younger, but Stella had always suspected that there was a bond there, particularly given how fragile Lexie always seemed. Perhaps it raised his protective instincts.

"Maybe," she said. "Either way, I'm going to talk to Vacek. Aiden cannot continue to get away with this. Enough is enough."

Aiden made Muan tea.

It gave him something to do during the brief reprieve while they let Lexie digest everything she'd just learned. When he slid the cup in front of her, the soothing scent had her shutting her eyes, remembering a simpler time.

Unfortunately, with all these discoveries, that time was long gone.

Her thoughts flitted from one thing to the next, with no resolutions, and right now they considered this: if her soul had been here for years, kept in some vault, then it meant that this whole transmigration matter had to have happened years ago. It wasn't just a year that had passed since she'd died on Earth 2. It could have been several, at least nine (since Lexie Sparrowfoot was two years old when Aiden merged their souls). It could have been decades since she left home.

Everything and everyone she knew from Earth 2 could already be…gone.

Lexie squeezed her eyes tight, swallowing. No, she couldn't think about that right now. She needed to understand first, to know where she stood, before contemplating her way up.

"The Chosen Souls program," Lexie finally spoke again as Naem sipped his tea and smacked his lips. "Do you know anything about it?"

Aiden shook his head. "Not much. Cecilia wasn't as free with me as she was with your mother, and though your mother might know more, she didn't tell me. All I know is that it's a program where deceased souls from other dimensions are collected and kept in storage for a limited time. They must be used within that time for some unknown purpose, and if not, after the time elapses, they will be discarded."

"Discarded? How?"

"I assume they just let it fade away," Naem chipped in, cradling the tiny teacup in his giant hands. He made an expression of disgust. "Wasteful."

"Naem is probably right," Aiden said. "Cecilia mentioned that there was an eighty percent attrition rate amongst the souls collected. Most of those souls ended up not being utilized before their time was up, and yours…you had a few more years at most, so there was a chance you wouldn't be..." His face was sorrowful once more as he shook his head. "I know that doesn't make what we did okay, neither does it give us any right. We were desperate parents who did an evil, wicked thing to revive our daughter. Despite that, I don't regret it."

Lexie stared at him. Once again, she knew she should muster up some sense of betrayal. Maybe she was just so overwhelmed with everything that happened today, she couldn't find it within herself to feel mad.

It wasn't like he killed her or took her soul from Earth 2. She hadn't consented to anything he'd done to her, but then again, she hadn't consented to her soul being a part of the Chosen program either. Nothing that had happened had happened with her in mind. Her soul had just been taken by Aiden and the ISTS, willy-nilly, without considering what she would have wanted to do with it.

She should be mad. But she was numb.

What was the alternative? Fading away? No longer existing and being nothing to no one?

That didn't seem much better. It was worse, actually. She'd never given much thought to what happened in the afterlife, whether one went to heaven or hell or got reincarnated. But if reincarnation did exist, wouldn't she prefer that?

That was essentially what had happened, right? What difference did it make whether it was Aiden who'd triggered it or a higher power? She wouldn't have had a say anyway.

Lexie shook her head. This wasn't the time to be thinking about it. It may just be her anxiety of talking, wanting to excuse Aiden for his inexcusable deeds.

"We were going to tell you what had happened," Aiden continued. "When you were older. After the first memory loss incident happened, we did tell you what just to soothe your panic, to explain where you were and what had happened to you." He swallowed. "You didn't react well to it. You ran away and kept doing so multiple times. You almost got hurt again. Eventually, you calmed down and adjusted as your memories of us returned. Still, that was very traumatic for you, and so we decided we would only tell you when you were older, or simply wait for the memories to come back."

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Lexie swallowed. She did wish Aiden had told her that he already knew who she was, as that would have saved her more than a little emotional turmoil. Nevertheless, she understood why he didn't.

"So my memories of everything in this world since I was two...they'll come back?"

"That's what always eventually happens," he said. "Eventually, your memory returns. You start seeing me as your dad again, and Lara as your mother. You remember all the times we had. Then, just when we relax and think this time will be different, a soul injury occurs, and the cycle begins again. It's happened four times."

Lexie thought about all the incidents where something had felt familiar, but she'd brushed it off. She thought about how she'd known where Uncle Max's guest room was, about the sensation of hugging Emma, about that stranger she'd felt an instinctive fear for. Was that all her memory? Were they returning, would the cycle repeat?

"Hopefully, with the Eldritch essence binding both souls, it won't happen again," Naem said as though he could read her thoughts. "Which is another reason why I don't think we should restrict it."

Aiden pressed his lips together. "We'll see." He faced Lexie. "I know this is a lot to take in. We can stop at any time you want and continue later."

Continue? There was more?

She didn't know how much more she could take.

Could she even trust what Aiden was saying, because he had a pattern of telling her half-truths or saying he didn't know something, only to find out later that he did.

Aiden comprehended her expression. "I understand if you don't trust me, Lexie. I know that I've never been totally honest with you. And if I'm being honest, I probably never will be. Not with everything, at least. If I think the truth will hurt you or put you in danger, I will conceal it to the best of my abilities. I will do everything, everything to keep you safe. The one thing you can always be sure of, honey bee, is that I love you. I have always loved you, my dear one, both sides of you, whichever is in charge. You're my daughter and you always have been."

Lexie got choked up at that. She let her gaze drop from Aiden's before he could see the emotion in them. She supposed it was easier for him to accept Lexie as she was, even with Lexie's Evan's soul. After all, Lexie Evans had been in the picture since Lexie was two.

This is so crazy to think about. I don't even know who I am, how to refer to myself anymore.

The strange thing was that she didn't feel like she had two souls. She felt like she'd always felt, one soul, Lexie.

She was just Lexie.

She told Aiden as much.

"I don't feel the other Lexie in me," she admitted. "Lexie Sparrowfoot, that is."

Aiden smiled indulgently. "There is no feeling the other Lexie. That's not how it works. You're both Lexies. Your souls were weaved together seamlessly and become more integrated as time passes. You're not supposed to feel another presence there unless the seal is disturbed. It's simply you."

Lexie swallowed and nodded, but it was hard to wrap her head around. Yes, she had some leftover sentiment from Lexie Sparrowfoot, but she still felt predominantly like Lexie Evans. Maybe that would change when her memory came back.

"I have memories from my past life," Lexie said next. "Are those real?"

Aiden looked to Naem, who answered, "Most likely. Your soul hadn't been in stasis long enough to suffer severe memory loss, although you may have some holes in the memory of your past life."

Great, she thought. Just great.

"What about my past life…the family I had…" She swallowed. "I mean, given how much time has passed…"

"Time is funny, especially across dimensions," Naem said. "It's not as linear as we think it is."

The tiniest thread of hope bloomed. "So, is there a way to communicate with my family there, even though it's been years?"

"Possibly," he said, and relief flooded her. So there was a way to talk to Logan after all.

She glanced at Aiden for permission and he gave her a wain smile.

"I don't mind. Far be it from me to begrudge a family reuniting. I can help you if you want."

"I'd like that." Her hope grew. She still planned on asking Isaac about how to connect the phone inter-dimensionally, but she could use Aiden's help here as well.

Now that she'd solved that part, she got back onto the main topic.

"Is that why I wasn't getting the whole concept of Fae intent?" Lexie asked. "Because of the Eldritch part of me."

"Maybe," Aiden said. "However, it could just be a normal thing. A lot of people have issues with intent, which is why most people don't bother making new spells, and cards are usually just created from derivatives of older ones. But you did struggle with it for an entire year, and then suddenly you got it without effort. That should have raised my alarm bells, but I never thought anything like this could happen."

Lexie swallowed it. She didn't know what to say now. Her mind was being besieged from too many directions, and she didn't know what to think or ask or do.

Aiden reached across the table, holding out his hand. Without hesitation, Lexie reached out and let him hold her hand.

Even with all the shocking things he'd told her, she still trusted him not to hurt her.

Yearning lit his gaze as he said. "No matter what you think or feel or do, you're my daughter, Lexie. I will always be here for you, whatever decision you make. Even if you hate me for it."

Lexie exhaled and finally squeezed his hand back. She'd always just assumed that she'd popped and taken over the current Lexie body, booting the other one out. Now, she understood she was both Lexies, everything was different. Her relationship with Aiden now had a different tone to it.

Now, she understood why Tate had given her that look when she alluded to him being here for a year. He probably hadn't been here for a year. He'd been here since he was young, too, possibly for his whole life.

Was Tate a combination of someone else's soul, too? Somehow, she doubted it. Aiden had broken the rules with Lexie's soul. Tate and the other Chosen were probably placed in soulless bodies and had a guide and a purpose and all that stuff, which suggested they were fully integrated into the program.

Lexie was the only chimera, which was probably why she didn't have a guide, and it was also why she had two pre-affixations.

Lexie wondered if Max or Emma knew. She didn't think so. Those two weren't as good at acting as Lexie's father was.

"One more thing," she said. "In the interest of revealing secrets…what was your crime? Did you really open up a dungeon to bring my mother back? Are you trying to do it again?"

He shared a look with Naem. Naem turned away first and focused on his tea.

Aiden sighed and nodded. "Yes. I created dungeons to find Lara."

"Dungeons?" Lexie gaped at him. "Multiple?"

"I helped," Naem said before Aiden continued.

"Yes. It was necessary at the time because the dungeons I created could only last for mere minutes to hours, and I needed to find something in there."

"The core?" Lexie assumed. "Is that why there are so many unstable dungeons now?"

"No." Aiden shook his head firmly. "That has nothing to do with me."

"But you said…I mean I heard that improperly created dungeons can cause magical instability."

"They can, but I did not improperly create any dungeons." For the first time, Aiden gave Lexie an amused smile. "Lexie, though I was an Archmage and did a bit of everything, portals were kind of my specialty. It was my research topic while I was at Victoire, initially studying the limits of teleportation, and then venturing into how dungeons can be used as pocket dimensions to teleport. I discovered then that all living dungeons are linked to a separate world, called the Other, which helps sustain them and also helps them communicate with each other." He touched the band at his neck. "Your mother and I, when we got married, also got a life-linked gem embedded into each of us. It means that we're always able to tell when the other person is dead or alive. When she disappeared, I sensed she was alive in that dungeon, and I would have done anything to find her. I kept creating dungeon after dungeon, trying to find the access point to the Other so I could communicate with other dungeons and find her. On my last try, right before the Hero's Association caught me, I found it. I also felt her life gem turn off." Grief rippled across his face. "The pain was unimaginable. I thought I would never recover from it, but I did. I tried to put it out of my head, and then, randomly, a few months ago, I felt her gemstone flicker back to life. Just a little bit, but just enough to make me suspect she was still alive. And that wasn't all. I was seeing her in my nightmares as well, vivid ones, ones that I don't usually dream up on my own. I thought I was going mad." He sighed. "But now that I think she might be alive, I have to take the chance. I'm sorry."

"It could be a mistake."

"It might not be. Your mother was a…very difficult person to kill."

"She was quite good at killing, though," Naem commented.

"What does that mean?" Lexie asked.

Aiden shook his head. "Your mother trained as a child assassin. It made her tougher than most. She left that life behind her, but...that was another thing I was saving till you were older."

"Well, you can tell me later," Lexie said. "I don't know if I have that in me right now."

Aiden nodded. "Anyway, the point of that story was to say, I've studied dungeonology for most of my life and had Naem as well for help. I know how to make perfectly stable dungeons."

If anybody else had been telling her this, Lexie wouldn't believe it and would call it stupid arrogance. At this point, though, there was nothing she would put past her powerful father.

"So when I asked if you deserved the punishment," she said. "I asked if what you did was bad enough to warrant tilling bands, why did you tell me yes?"

"I said it because I've done a lot of things that deserve punishment, including what I did to you. Additionally, creating dungeons isn't a victimless crime. It's very mana-intensive, and external mana is finite in this world, which is why things like dungeon creation are heavily regulated by the Fae. The system considers all available mana before it doles out rankings. So my actions directly led to fewer people awakening with powers than there should be."

"So your crime meant that there are more mundanes than there should be?"

He nodded, and his gaze did not seek repentance. Not in an arrogant sense, but more so in the sense that he didn't think he deserved forgiveness. "I'm a Villain, Lexie. My bands and the title were both well-earned."

"But you plan on doing it again?"

"Yes. The major problem with what I did before was that I opened up way too many dungeons because I couldn't find the access point. But on my last one, I found it. So this time, I only need one dungeon to stay open long enough for me to find Lara and get her out of there.

If she was still in there. Lexie wasn't so convinced.

She stared down at her linked fingers and thought it was probably time to admit something. "The cards I created, I did it in inactive dungeons."

"Yes, Naem told me."

Lexie shot Naem a look of betrayal.

Naem was unrepentant. "You should have made me swear an oath of secrecy or had me remove the memory and store it somewhere else. You know I can't lie."

Lexie sighed. She felt so drained.

"You can rest for now, honey bee," Aiden said. "We can talk about that later."

Lexie nodded, not resisting as Aiden carried her up to her room to lie down. She would ask him about the welcome screen and the cell phone later. Right now, she could see that she had several messages and call notifications on her system screen, but she left it on DND, because she didn't want to talk to anyone. There was still so much to think of.

Lexie was staring at the roof, lost in her churning thoughts, when she heard sounds at her window.

She glanced up to see a familiar figure perched on her windowsill.

"Xena," she whispered.

The other girl grinned. "You know, you should really learn to lock this."

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