There was nothing Radjerd could do to stop it.

His joints are in shock, the ability to move impossible. He watches helplessly as both Cordelia and Calista fall into the void.

Then, nothing.

Radjerd finds himself on the ground, gripping the rug beneath him. He eases his fingers from the fibres, his mind is blank. Was any of this real? Did he just watch the two of them fall into nothingness? Were they dead? It didn't matter that Radjerd hadn’t known them for very long; his chest fills with worry for their safety.

A sudden thought hits him. Calista has a watch. A functional watch. Which meant she’s not from this dimension. Then where was she from? Why was she here? If she rescued him from Willa Corp, what did she know about him that he didn’t?

The instinct to run for help is strong, but Radjerd isn't sure how to proceed. This wasn't a normal circumstance. He had to tell someone, but if Aleck knew of Calista's watch, the consequences could be disastrous. He may have been a different man, but Radjerd couldn’t fully trust him. There was also Fitz. He's already going through enough. He can't bear to put his friend through more heartache.

Radjerd musters the courage to leave the room, his palm sweats against the door handle. He hadn’t realized the door was closed; maybe that’s why no one else came to their aid. Radjerd had barely heard Cordelia’s voice until he entered the room himself. He hurries downstairs to the sitting room. Merise still remains, her gaze refusing to leave her lap. Her eyes are red and swollen as if she had been crying. Radjerd's disgruntled; he can't communicate with her through normal means, she didn't understand St. Antillan. He needed to find Fitz. Radjerd turns around, leaving Merise to her thoughts. Being here didn’t do him much good.

Now, where the hell did Fitz go?

Radjerd stops the housekeeper that passes by; praying that he could understand his language. But, that wasn't the case as the man in scrubs just stares at him in confusion. Dammit.

Radjerd has an epiphany; Phoebe. How the hell could he forget about her? She's the one he should be going to. Radjerd re-routes his course, searching for the bob-haired brunette. He needed answers; now.

It takes Radjerd a bit, but he manages to find both Phoebe and Aleck outside, cordially talking on the steps of the manor. Radjerd doesn’t want to intervene, he’s nervous about how Aleck will respond. If he knew his daughter blipped out of existence; who knows what measures the older man might take to get her back. He had to talk to Phoebe alone.

<You alright?> Phoebe tilts her head up, noticing Radjerd immediately.

<There’s something I need to tell you, but Aleck can’t be here when I do.> It’s fortunate the older man can’t understand St. Antillan. Radjerd’s still not used to it.

<Okay, now you’re worrying me.> She gets up, kindly telling Aleck she needs to address something with Radjerd alone. He respectfully gives them space, a stroke of luck—finally. Once Aleck leaves, Radjerd collects himself as he eases onto the steps. At least the weather was nice.

<How long has Calista had a watch?>

Phoebe’s face whitens.

<Please, don’t deny that she does. I saw her use it.>

<What do you mean you saw her use it?> He can hear Phoebe’s voice dry out.

<Her and Cordelia got into a fight, and my guess is that Calista used the watch to flee from the scene. It was a clean fracture, and closed up soon after the two disappeared.>

<Oh fuck!> Phoebe tenses, soon rubbing her fingers through her hair. <Where was this?!>

<Cordelia’s room.> He answers.

<I should have never left Calista alone, especially with Cordelia. I’m a god damn idiot!>

<Why?> When he doesn’t get an adequate response, he asks, <Who is Calista?>

<My cousin…I don’t know how we’re going to get them back—using any device here might create the same effect that the watch had in your and Fitz’s reality.>

<That’s not good enough, Phoebe. She was holding a gun at Cordelia.>

Phoebe squeaks.

<Who is she?> Radjerd orders, his tone growing impatient with each second.

Phoebe’s pained as she looks away.

<Please tell me—I’m worried about Cordelia’s safety.>

<Even if Calista was out to get her, there’s nothing we can do. But I can promise you this—Calista wouldn’t harm Cordelia, I’m sure of it.>

<Not convincing.> Radjerd growls. <Give me one good reason why I should trust her, especially when I saw her with a gun.>

Phoebe lets out a frustrated sigh. Her brown eyes lock with his violet ones. <Do you really want to know who she is?>

He nods, haunted by her sudden calmness. Phoebe had heard what he had said, right? Maybe the woman’s in shock herself.

<…I should be honest with you.> Phoebe sighs, folding her hands together. <What I’m about to tell you is going to sound hard to believe, but I feel like you should know.> Her teeth clench together as she takes a deep breath, <Calista’s your daughter.>

Radjerd scrunches his eyebrows, <My what?>

<I know, I know.> Phoebe grimaces as she speaks. <I wouldn’t believe it either if I was in your shoes—even with what I know. But it’s confirmed, we were able to do a DNA test while you were in our facility. It’s a perfect match.>

<But that doesn’t make a lick of sense—she said she was related to—> Radjerd falls silent, the conclusion he comes to nearly knocks the wind out of him.

<…And that’s why I guarantee you that she wouldn’t lay a hand on Cordelia.> Phoebe winces. <I…I get that the two of you just met, and I can only imagine the awkwardness of it all. You wanted the truth, however…>

Radjerd shakes his head in disbelief. His gut churns with queasiness.

<Do you need proof? Aleck should have the papers.>

<…Aleck knows?>

<Yes, it’s what we were talking about before you came outside. Calista told him of her heritage when the two of you arrived last night.>

Radjerd nods but doesn’t feel his head move. This was all…so surreal.

<If she and Cordelia are in another plane of existence, I don’t know if there’s anything we can do right now. We’ll have to wait until they return on their own.>

<…Why did she come to this time?>

<I can’t tell you the reason why she’s here. I’ve already skewed the future enough by sharing with you what I did. I hear the beach does wonders for calming the mind. Why don’t we go there for a bit; just to calm down.> Phoebe stands up, offering her out.

Calm down, that’s rich. Phoebe didn’t just find out she was the father of an eighteen-year-old psychopath. If he didn’t see the watch in Calista’s hands, he wouldn’t have been able to believe her story. Yet, somehow, he’s able to believe Phoebe’s story.

God, what the fuck?

Radjerd takes Phoebe’s hand and allows her to escort him to the beachside, both of them silent on their walk. They sit on an ornate bench, Radjerd brushing back his hair as he attempts to make sense of this all. When he builds up the nerve, he asks Phoebe, <What can you tell me?>

<About Calista I reckon…well, she has a high opinion of you. I mean she risked a lot by sneaking you out of Willa Corp, did she not?> Phoebe chuckles lightly. <Not that I agree with her decision, but maybe it was for the best. It forced me to be honest with you.>

<But, you specifically told me that I couldn’t trust her. I can’t imagine you were making that up just for fun.>

<I was worried that she’d do something reckless.> Phoebe rubs her palms as she laughs wryly, <Which, I was completely right about.>

<…But Cordelia and I are from different realities—how is it possible that we had a child together?>

<Please, I’m sure I don’t need to get into the specifics of how babies are made…even though I’m not much of an expert on the matter.> A sad sigh escapes Phoebe’s lips. <I won’t lie, I kind of wish I was in your shoes.>

<Why on earth would you want to be in my shoes?>

<I wanted children my whole life, but I never thought that possible when my stepson passed away. My husband’s…quite older than I am and had started a family when he was younger. When he wanted to try for a kid, I was overjoyed, but it seems that’s not in the cards for me.> She wipes the moisture from her eyes. <I never used to believe it until I married my husband, but family is everything. My husband and I have shared loss, and I would give anything to mend his pain. But a baby can’t replace a lost life I suppose…>

<Oh…I’m sorry to hear that.>

<It’s why I felt for Calista. She wanted to find her father so much, that she risked it all.> She stops herself, <I told you too much.>

If Calista wanted to find him, that meant he wasn’t present in her life…that hits him, hard.

<That can’t be possible. My own dad did that to me, there’s no way I would have done the same…>

<You didn’t know about her.> Phoebe sniffs. <She made that clear. It’s why she wanted to see you, to keep you by her side. Please don’t ask me to tell you more. I don’t want to jeopardize the poor girl’s future more than I already have.>

<I understand.> As much as he could. If he had known earlier, maybe he could have tried to smooth things over. He was starting to lose his prior perception of the black-haired girl, a fondness for her replacing it. The wooziness was still there, but if she risked so much to find him, there had to be a reason for it.

<Phoebe, are you sure there’s nothing we can do?>

<I understand your eagerness, but I don’t know how we can. If our watches are unstable, our reality could end up just like yours did. Calista knows what she’s doing, this isn’t the first time she’s operated the watch.

Radjerd sighs, Phoebe’s right.

All he could do was wait.

***

Cordelia crosses her arms, her stomach’s in knots. Her and Calista were sitting in the back of her grandfather’s limo; the older man opted to sit in the front with his driver. Apparently, this was common for him, as the two were close friends. The downside was, she was stuck in the back with Calista.

Yet, one thought can’t leave her mind; she’s going to meet her seventeen-year-old mother. Or, she’d be seventeen in a month or so…god…it’s just so disorienting. Cordelia doesn’t know how to hold it together. She glances over at Calista; her expression crestfallen. What does she have to mope about?

“Hey,” Cordelia speaks, the silence boring her. She needs a distraction or else she might puke. “So how did you end up with a watch in the first place?”

“It’s from my grandfather,” Calista says shortly.

“And he just gave it to you without reservation?”

“No—well—not exactly. I borrowed it.”

Cordelia frowns. “Stole it, you mean.”

Calista shoots her a dirty look.

Cordelia shrugs, “You’re not proving me wrong.”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Well, that’s rude.”

“That’s all you’ve been to me since the moment we met eyes,” Calista grumbles under her breath. “I can’t say I’m that surprised though, you’ve always been tiresome.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Calista’s hit a nerve. “You’re lucky that I let you stay in my family’s house.”

“No, Aleck did. You would have had me thrown out.”

“Because you’re acting shifty. My father’s a gullible man, it’s not the first time he’s been taken advantage of.”

“You mistrust gullible for kindness. Not everyone’s out to get you, Cordelia.”

“What’s your deal?” Cordelia huffs. “Just tell me what’s going on, and I’ll drop the subject.”

Calista shakes her head. “You address me this rudely and expect I’ll share? You really don’t know how to talk to others, do you?”

Cordelia pouts. “Fine. I’m sorry if I overreacted—I’m just nervous about meeting my mom so young, you know?”

“I can only imagine how that must feel…” Calista nods with sympathy. “But, if I tell you, you have to promise me that you’ll be on my side.”

“That depends on what you’re about to tell me.”

Calista leans over, but not too far as to make herself obvious. “I know this is going to sound bonkers, but…we can’t trust Fitz.”

“Why, because he’s from some broken dimension?”

“Fitz is going to try to rope in a bunch of you to help him fix his dimension. You’ve seen his video, right?”

“Yes, I have seen it. I think Fitz knows that it’s dangerous to return.” Judging by the terror she saw on the man’s face, it was clear he wasn’t planning to revisit his dimension.

“Right now yeah, but what will happen when he gets comfortable? He might try to convince Radjerd to help him, and that could be the last we’d see of them. Both of them will die.” Calista’s voice is heavy with emotion. “Radjerd won’t see reason because he’s Fitz’s best friend, but maybe you can get through to him.”

“You haven’t talked to him yourself?”

“I wanted to—believe me when I say that—but Fitz is someone he’d die for.”

“Wait—how do you know this?” Cordelia asks with concern.

“I’m not from your time.” Calista sighs. “I can’t tell you more than that. But Cordelia, after we get the watch charged, I…would appreciate your help. If we prevent Fitz from going back to his dimension, I promise, you won’t hear from me again.”

“So you’re a time traveller…from the future?”

“Kind of, but it’s a bit more complicated than that—and don’t bother asking me for specifics because I’m not going to tell you.” Calista warns her.

Cordelia rolls her eyes. She’s not going to beg for information. “Very well. Did you tell my father of your origins?”

“No, but I was going to get there. I was trying to separate Radjerd and Fitz for the time being, but all I’ve seem to do was make things worse. I’ve left the two alone.” Frustration builds within the black-haired girl.

“You should have told me sooner.”

“Yeah, because you would have believed me.” Calista crosses her arms as she turns to look out the window.

“Well, maybe not right away but that would explain a lot. Yet, I’m still curious—how the hell did you convince my mother to take Radjerd home in her vehicle?”

“Long story.” Calista sighs in resignation. “Maybe I’ve been a bit unreasonable with you. For someone who’s been recently exposed to time travel, you’re been coping quite well.”

“…Thanks.” Cordelia can’t help but smirk.

Calista smiles back. “When we’re at Willa Corp, I’ll see about finding a way to charge the watch.”

“And I’ll chat with Merise. Thank god Cornelius is giving me an introduction.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“Hope you’re right.” Cordelia leans back in her seat. From her peripheral, she sees Calista’s arm sticking out.

“Truce?”

Cordelia smiles as she takes Calista’s hand. “Truce.”