Ten had been meditating for what seemed like hours, eventually losing his focus.

“How long has it been?”

“It’s only been 40 minutes…”

“What?! I swear it’s been at least three hours already!”

Q sighed and shook his head.

“And here I thought things would be slightly easier because you’re missing one of your senses… I guess the mind is just not that simple…”

“Meditation is only effective when a person has completely cleansed their psyche of all worries and distractions… It seems that there’s still something weighing you back…”

“Of course… there’s still so many things I’m unsure of… whether or not Kal is dead… why Zena didn’t recognize me… I don’t even know if my hearing will ever return… How am I supposed to get rid of all these racing thoughts, when they’re constantly clinging to my mind every minute of the day…” Ten looked down in disappointment.

“The reason why this phase of the training is much more difficult than the first is this… Training one’s body is simple and straightforward… Consistently performing strenuous exercises is guaranteed to develop your muscles and athleticism over time… but there’s a cap to just how far you can go… however, the mind is a different beast…”

“It has an infinite potential to transcend that of logic and physics… it is not bound by things like gravity and other physical forces… as a result, training one’s mind requires intangibles like conviction and fortitude… you’re unable to make progress because your mind is still immature and filled with doubt…”

“Are you saying there’s no way to fix this?”

“That’s for you to answer…”

Ten looked down again. He understood what Q was saying. But the recency of everything was still fresh in his mind. When would he finally let go of the past? If it wasn’t now, then when? He wanted to get stronger, to be able to meet Zena again and perhaps learn some more about this mysterious and fragmented world he’s found himself in. What other options did he have?

Over the next several days he continued to meditate all day long while practicing breathing techniques with Q. But he just couldn't make any meaningful progress. The more he tried to force it, the worse the outcome. Training the mind was no easy task, even for a former hero of Ten’s caliber.

One day, Wolf had returned from his important AA meeting. He had made an announcement about the future of the association and moving forward. Mentioning things like transforming public perception and a new set of weekly operations they were preparing to implement.

“I see you’re doing well now.” Wolf said to Q.

“It’s all thanks to Mag’s cooking.” Q chuckled.

After a long and awkward silence.

“Anyways, I’ve decided to start Ten’s training in your place.”

“You waited until I returned to tell me? You could have just sent me a message-”

“R-really? Sorry about that… I just thought that ever since the incident, you wanted some alone time…”

“It’s not that big of a deal… really.” Wolf calmly replied.

Another awkward pause.

“But are you sure Q? This is the first time you’re training a new recruit ever since what happened between you and Da-”

“I know…” Q cut him off before he could finish the name.

It was a name that made Q’s heart churn with an indescribably sadness. His one and only true love, who had met a tragic fate at the hands of a crippling drug addiction. A result from his carelessness as a trainer which had caused him to quit for an indefinite amount of time.

“But it’s about time I move forward… I can’t linger on the past forever… it’d be a bad look for the vice captain of the fourth after all.” Q flashed a weak smile.

“That’s good to hear

“So how’s the training going?”

Another long silence.

“Well anyways… you see…”

Q began to explain Ten’s predicament to Wolf. The black plane with Ikara, the sudden loss of hearing, and the assumptions he had arrived at. The tension in the air was slowly replaced with a hum of curiosity.

“An ability to sync consciousness… and in doing so, can allow him to learn a new inscription…” Wolf repeated intriguingly.

“The problem is with his sensory deprivation training… considering the recency of everything that’s happened, he’s having a tough time focusing and entering into a true meditative state.”

Wolf began to rummage around in his coat pockets.

“These might help.” Wolf said, pulling out a small ziploc bag filled with pills.

Q’s eyes widened in horror for a second but he managed to calm himself down. The sight of drugs had always terrified him ever since what had happened.

“W-what are these?” Q asked, trying to maintain his composure.

“I was adamant about giving you this, but now that you’ve turned over a new leaf…”

Q hesitantly looked at the bag of pills in Wolf’s hand.

“Don’t worry… they’re completely harmless. They simply help relieve anxiety and stress with no harmful side effects… and most importantly, they’re non-addictive. You can take some yourself, if you want.”

“I see…” Q grabbed the bag and stuffed it into his pocket.

He despised drugs more than anything else, but he knew that they were a necessity in this world. The third phase of training, called sensory overload, utilizes a concoction of drugs in order to stimulate the trainee’s senses to their limits. He had been hoping that Wolf would take over for the third phase, but that was no longer the case. Just as Ten needed to change, he too needed a change. And these harmless pills were the first steps to achieve such a goal.

***

The next day Ten was once again attempting to enter into a pure meditative state. Wolf would drop in every now and then to observe from afar.

“Argh… still no luck…” Ten groaned in desperation.

“Here take some of these… they might help” Q said, holding out what appeared to be a capsule. He was using the special translating device again.

“What’s this?” Ten asked.

“It’s called a drug. Considering you came from a fantasy protocol, I’m assuming you know what potions are?”

“Zena used them all the time during our adventures…”

“Well these are pretty much the equivalent of potions. They come in a variety of forms and have many different effects. Some can grant immense power but at great costs, while others are much more tame and safe. Taking this will help get rid of those negative thoughts that are holding you back.”

Ten looked at the small pill, he was still a little hesitant. Could his deep-rooted problems really be solved by taking such a simple capsule? Q noticed that Ten was still doubtful, so he closed his eyes and reluctantly swallowed the pill in front of Ten.

“See?” Q said, trying to hide his own insecurity. He had cemented his own resolve to move forward, he couldn’t turn back now.

“Nothing weird, I feel completely fine.” Q smiled.

“I suppose… if it’ll help then I’ll give it a try…” Ten said as he took a pill for himself.

After a couple of moments, Q’s tense body had relaxed and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. He had taken the first step forward in conquering his fear of drugs. The world seemed a little more colorful and lively than what he had been accustomed to.

“Are you feeling it yet?” Q asked, turning towards Ten.

His eyes were closed shut. Q tried waving his hands in front of him, he even poked his cheek a little. No response. Ten had entered into a completely deep meditative state.

All of a sudden, the world around Q had faded into a dark black plane. He began to grow a little anxious, was this the effect of the drug? Or was this… Ten’s inscription?

***

Q began to look around curiously and nervously. Ten was silently sitting in the center of the black plane continuing to meditate. Q tries to shake him awake, but Ten wouldn’t budge at all.

“Was this the black plane he was talking about?” Q murmured to himself.

All of a sudden, the faint echoing of footsteps causes Q to turn around.

It was Ikara.

“Hey vice cap!” Ikara greeted him cheerfully.

“I-Ikara…” Q’s voice cracked.

“Been a while hasn’t it?” she smiled.

Tears began to well up in Q’s eyes as he ran over to give her a big hug.

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t able to…”

“It’s fine… you don’t need to apologize…” Tears began to well up in Ikara’s eyes as well.

“But if I had… if I had been stronger… if I hadn’t been so caught up in what happened to Daphne… maybe…”

“It’s ok… what happened to Daphne had a huge effect on me too ya know? I couldn’t have imagined how you must have felt…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry” Q continued to weep as he grasped Ikara in his arms.

“Like I said… I forgive you!” Ikara pushed Q away in embarrassment.

“How do you think Daphne would feel if she saw us right now?!” She said in a slightly flustered tone.

“Daphne…” Q repeated the name.

“Ikara!” The voice of a girl echoed throughout the void.

“Speak of the devil…” Ikara commented.

Q instantly recognized it. It was Daphne’s angelic voice.

“Daphne?! Daphne, where are you?!” Q began to shout as he frantically looked around.

“Not yet…”

“Huh?”

“She said she doesn’t wanna see you yet… not the state that you’re in right now…” Ikara replied.

Q dropped to the ground, his eyes widened.

“I came here to tell you… Things are only just getting started… You must’ve realized it by now…”

Q was still on the floor, shellshocked.

“The next phase of Ten’s training… won’t only be difficult for him… but for you as well…”

“I…”

Ikara walks over to Q, crouching down in front of him.

“You can do it… we believe in you…”

Ikara puts a hand on Q’s shoulder.

“Both me… and Daphne…”

After a long silence, Ikara finally gets up and begins to walk away. Q was still too stunned to say or do anything.

“Good luck vice cap…”

By the time he snapped out of it, Q began shouting, desperately reaching his hand out “WAIT-”

***

Q found himself back in the abandoned junkyards of Sensory City where he and Ten frequently trained. It was already dark out. He continued to stare at his hand which had been reaching out towards Ikara and Daphne’s voice. It felt like he had just woken up from a bittersweet dream. As his senses returned, he had clenched his hands into a fist and his eyes sharpened with a new resolve.

“Daphne… Ikara…” He muttered.

The device he used to talk with Ten began to chime with an alarm.

“It’s midnight?!” Q exclaimed looking at the time.

On closer inspection, he noticed that the date was off too. It had been three days since him and Ten had taken the pill.

“That doesn’t seem right… is this thing broken?!”

“Hey…” a voice interrupted him.

Q turned around. It was Ten. He still had his eyes closed and was in the exact same position he had been at the beginning of the training.

“Can you keep it down… I’m trying to concentrate…”

“W-wait… d-did you get your hearing back?”

Ten flashed a slight smile of achievement as he opened his eyes.

“Only slightly… my hearing is still distorted and difficult to tune…”

Ten had completely surpassed Q’s expectations from that of a single pill. Just what the hell was this miracle medicine that Q had been avoiding all of these years? Was it the combinatorial effects of the drug and Ten’s special inscription which interfered with the very passage of time? The memory of the black plane seemed so fleeting in the grand scheme of things.

“What was it called again? That potion… No, that drug you gave me… it really did work…”