After about a week of me lying around, feeling like I was either going to die from breathing or boredom, X reluctantly relayed a message to me from Oz. He finally had the chance to check the SD card that we went halfway around the world to find, completely based on a random reoccurring nightmare that I was having.

Frowning, I realise that that version of Anne seemed to be leaving me alone. Remembering the repeated nightmares made me grimace. Did it sate her? At least for now? Or will she start attacking me again with the many malformed bodies that made me watch and chase at it like a starved dog on a chain. I also realised that I lost her letter and it was probably swept away like rubbish by now. My jaw tightens at the thought that I had lost that connection to her past self. The past Anne that knew that this right now was my present.

I wanted to bolt for the nearest elevator and run up to see the footage. Even though I felt like there had to be something, there was still this nagging in the back of my mind that thinks that there was nothing on it. I bite back on my molars to suppress it, feeling like I'm about to go crazy if I don't check it now.

It didn't take much convincing for me to get up off my ass, even if it's at a slow pace. I even needed help from X to put on a hoodie and he was now hovering around me just as badly as Lady has been. I stare at them both, "Oh for the love of- I'm not some old frail lady that's gonna displace a hip. It's a walk not a triathlon and I promise I won't run up the walls."

"I'll keep that in mind," X states back. "However...considering your current record, you care little for your own wellbeing and do not seem to notice...danger where it strikes. You give more away than you take, you will find that there is less to give and even less to keep. Consumed until none will be the contingency. The light will fade."

I hold back a sigh, because filling my lungs was a bit difficult at the moment. It was slow going, walking through the endless dark tunnels that made up the Abandoned Grounds that was basically an unused subway line that that goddamn Viking converted into his own little hidden underground network plus gym and pool. Now also a secret small medical bay. There's probably a spa somewhere and some sort of rustic theme park.

I watch X's back as he had taken the lead. I had nowhere to go but this reminded me of the time when we were stuck in the tunnels on the other side of Bolin. That endless darkness that only lead me to kill Zoe. I still feel the pain now, squeezing down tightly, constricting my already broken and tired heart.

Urgh, I'm gonna get heartburn at this rate.

After a few more turns in the Tunnels of Doom with only a few ceiling lights guiding me enough so that I don't trip every three seconds, I notice a familiar turn as we head towards a station. The attendant room looked way too familiar for me to misplace the endless days inside that darkness.

"Is that where we were before?" I ask out loud.

"Yes" X said simply, not even pausing as he walked up the steps onto the platform.

Then we were close to the elevator.

Seeing the familiar bright green light and shut steel doors, I push myself a little just to get there faster. As if to agitate me further, X took his time to summon the damn contraption.

The door eventually open and I almost push him on. As we all crammed in with Lady at the back, her thoughts quiet behind my own racing and impatient ones, X pushes a button to a floor I don't remember seeing and the doors slowly close.

Standing there, I realise how much having a broken ribcage saps your strength to just walk around. My breathing was shallow as I couldn't breathe as deeply as my body needed and the pain killers only dulled so much of the pain.

"...This is not a good idea..." X mumble, his eyes keenly on my face.

I look back at him, "Has that ever stopped me before?"

"...No. But it warrants voicing that it is unwise."

I smirk back, "Can't help it."

"That I can agree with."

The elevator dings and opens onto a very dark and unfamiliar floor.

Empty...cold. Not a place to linger long. Lady's ears immediately flatten as we step into the dull darkness. I could hear low humming of something like a large computer system. As my eyes began getting used to it, I could see bits and pieces of things lying around the place. It was an entire floor of an office building, completely hollowed out, save for a desk at the far end, housing three large computer screens and a comfy looking office chair in front of them. Everything else was weird random electrical and mechanical bits and equipment that I couldn't even try to understand what each thing did or where it was supposed to fit. I swear some things in here were probably spare parts for the airship...

"Welcome to my lair." The voice in the darkness made me jump.

I turn to see Oz, the jingling pirate, coming over to me with the usual grin plastered on his face.

More like a junkyard to be honest.

"Oi oi, I see that look on your face. It's my personal space and I'm letting you see something not many can."

"A lot of people can see it," Seth mutters while walking towards us. "They just don't want to trip over in all this junk."

"Shut ya trap, brat and get back to checking the system."

"I've checked it five times. It's fine. Anyway, how are you, Kae?"

I shrug, "Could be better. You?"

He grins, "Better than you that's for certain. Who'd have thought that you could do all that shit and save the grumpiest kid on the planet. Though, I wonder about what you've just done..."

"What?" I frown.

"It seems Hanna and X have known for a while that you can take on someone else's injuries and now..." He shrugs, "I'm just hoping that not too many around us get the sudden bright idea to use you like a quick-fix. Or worse," his eyes become instantly cold, "you think that you can become the quick-fix."

I turn back to X, "You've...known?"

"Why do you think he's been keeping you down underground when you get yourself into so much trouble? We can't hold you in the medic bay. You can ask Hanna more about it but she has said to me in passing that with your presence on that floor, a lot of things go much more smoothly."

"At first we thought it might be something like a good luck charm superstition bullshit sorta thing she got goin on but..." Oz mutters, somewhat annoyed.

"Hanna wanted to observe this further, the thought of saving more lives...lessening the burden of pain...slowing the flow of blood...who wouldn't want to try? So many die so easily...forgotten to a thankless cause. Die as ghosts...not many know of their existence. But Hanna was blinded for a while...she could not see the price extracted when so many were saved. You...weren't healing. So, I moved you." X finally sounds out. "Even with your stubborn regeneration...it was in a standstill until I got you far below."

I had nothing to respond with. I did this on a subconscious level as well? I've only ever done it twice but even when I sleep? What about 'stubborn regeneration'? Sounds like I don't die so easily. Like a cockroach.

Dreamer eats dreams. Dream Eater. Takes away everything. ...Takes away the noise. Only quiet left. Dream Eater wants silence. Peaceful quiet and can only get it if Dreamer hurts himself to get that quiet. Lady tries to makes sense of my current inner turmoil.

I really am a freaking monster.

"But anyway, we ain't here to talk about that," Oz breaks the tension. "You're vertical enough but it looks more like you're gonna fall flat on your face at any minute."

"And yet you still ask of me to take him here," X mutters.

"Mate, the SD is in this system. Nothing down below is connected to this main systems and besides, I thought he might want to see it first before I start using it for the facial recognition shit. Plus, I read somewhere that it's good to walk around a little with broken ribs."

"Could have just downloaded it to the systems below."

"No. The programs below are still too unstable to be used like a normal computer. Something may go wrong and we could lose the data to that mess. Come on," he walks towards the three screens in the middle of the room.

We follow him, well I do rather slowly. I already have trouble walking on a flat surface, now there's junk everywhere for the bonus level here that I can only make outlines of.

"Sorry about the dull lighting, idiot over here likes it like this," Seth says.

"I don't enjoy the glare," Oz snaps before sitting down in his comfy office chair that he swings around on. "Alright, now because this is Old World tech, my systems can only run it on a screen. He puts the mouse cursor over an icon on the screen, "Ok, kid, good news, there was something on the card and I'm showing it to you for the first time. No one else has seen anything. Not me, not Siem."

I felt my breath dwindle as he double clicks on the file.

The screen loads up something black before my brother's drunken face completely over takes it.

"Hellllooo? Is this working?" His breath fogs the lens and he quickly rubs it away. "Oook cooooolio! Red light is good. I'm good. We all good!"

He then flicks it around to the front of him, meeting face to face with a window looking out in the pitch black of night. It then moves rather swayingly towards the stairs and down them into the familiar living room of the holiday house.

"Oook, Kagen! I found this, ain't it awesome, batteries still workin and everything!"

And...there I was a younger me looking really annoyed at the camera, "What are you doing now?"

"I found dis upstairs and it works and its recording! Ain't it awesome."

"...If you hold it without swaying, sure. Now get it out of my face."

Cody switches the view to face his merry face, redden by liquor, "Ok, let's do it properly! Hellloooo," he waves at the camera. "I'm Cody Ježek this shithead is Kagen, my little brother. Say 'hello' Kae."

He flips the view again until it was in my face and practically looking up my nostril, "'Hello Kae', now get it out of my face, you damn looney before you wear it!"

"He's very catty." He quickly flips it back to himself before staggering into the next room, "Anne? Annie?"

"Yes?" a younger looking Anne looks calmly up at the camera.

She was so tiny...

"Say hello."

"Hello. What are you doing?"

"Making memories."

"Uh-huh...your head is too muddled...are you drunk again?"

"Yes I'm not."

She rolls her eyes, "Kae will be angry."

"He's already angry. Anyway, this is my baby sister, Nicol-Anne...we call her Anne. Where's Makky?"

"Watching the fire for me."

"Oookie dokie, I'm gonna go look for him!" The camera then speeds off into the lounging area, "Makky? Say hello to the camera."

"Where'd you get it!" Markus's little voice chirps up the minute he sees it, immediately wanting to take it from Cody's hands.

Cody gave it to him, "Careful." Before the camera switches around looking at a slightly swaying Cody, a little off centre.

"This is so cool!" Markus voices excitedly.

"What are you two up to?" The younger me comes into an off focused shot, looking down at Markus holding onto the camera.

"Have you seen this!" Markus chirps.

"Yeah," my younger self hesitantly smiles.

"Markus put it on the coffee table!' Cody announces like it was his best idea ever before shouting, "Anne!"

"What now?" Anne's voice appears off camera.

"Sit on the sofa! You too Kae!"

"No."

"Yes," next thing you hear is me struggling while Markus sits on the sofa, patiently watching us while Anne comes sitting in next to him.

Then Cody comes tumbling down with me in a headlock.

"Get off!" I yell, giving up.

"Anyway, this is all of us in the camera at once. Good idea eh?"

"It's not that sort of camera!" I snap at him between the tangle of limbs.

"Isn't it?" Cody genuinely asks, rather confused even though he had a good hold over me while I'm still struggling.

"I swear alcohol stops that brain cell of yours. I'm going to douse you in it and set you on fire!"

Anne actually smirks a little while I finally give up. "Ok, that's enough, Cody, he's going to lose consciousness if you keep going." She stands and presses the button to switch it off.

The screen jumps and it's her face again, the background was of me, Cody and Markus al sleeping on the sofa, "Hello, Kae...I'm sorry. I know you need this...please find it and don't cry...you couldn't have stopped any of this. Even if I told you...we would still be like it is for you... this. I hope this helps...even if it's to keep the memory of us." She smiles sadly at the screen, "I'm...scared, I'm not going to lie about that...but I know it's nowhere near as much as you are right now when you're watching this in the future so...I know I need to be brave and I know you'll find us...somehow. I can't see that though but I know you, Kae. I'm sorry and it's not your fault. Please don't think it's your fault."

The screen goes black.