My third eye kept popping open. This was a problem.

I could see through it just fine, and the brain surgery Grunkle had done on me had made it incorporate into my normal vision pretty smoothly - hell, it probably improved my depth perception - but I'd ended up tying a Perception ability to it that was causing me some confusion.

Nusos had a fourth-dimensional shape to it. I couldn't stop seeing it.

It was better if I kept my threadsight off. If I had the threadsight on, I kept catching little purple lines everywhere that hinted at some complex pattern. The walls, the placement of the doors, the location of the furniture; I walked into one room and immediately knew that the large chair had been moved since the room was generated, because it didn't belong there. I had to move it back because it was bothering me so much.

Even without threadsight, I couldn't shake the feeling that I should be able to know things about the next room before I stepped into it. I didn't, not actually, but it felt like I should. I had a playlist of songs on my old phone, the same one for ages because I didn't have money for a music streaming app or anything, and it got to the point where even if I didn't consciously know what song was next I would start humming it a fraction of a second before it started. It was a lot like that.

First, I tried to find Tony. I knew what the hallway we'd been in had looked like, and getting back there would help me link back up with the others anyway. But in Nusos it's very hard to find anywhere twice, especially when there are multiple copies of very similar rooms - possibly even the same exact room from different times, I wasn't certain how that worked.

In theory I should be able to navigate really quickly without anyone else picturing a conflicting path, but in practice I had just had a near-death experience and gained a magical organ in my head. I was not thinking clearly, and it probably didn't help that I was specifically searching for a friend that was almost certainly dead because of me.

Eventually, after stumbling into some kind of nest full of giant blobby things that looked like daddy longlegs made of tar and having to run blindly through a bunch of rooms to avoid being swarmed and devoured, I gave up. It had been well over an hour, if Tony was unconscious with a hole in his head he was probably already gone, and if he was awake he had most likely stumbled off somewhere, maybe even out of Nusos.

I found a large women's restroom, the kind you'd expect to see at some big place like a mall or stadium, and opened the door to Earth. I was... in an airport terminal. Sure. Fine. I made sure my guns and knives were properly concealed, and stepped through - I wouldn't be staying, I just needed to be somewhere without monsters so I could make some calls and sit down for a minute.

I quickly became aware of the fact that almost nobody was speaking English, and using the various signs I determined with a high degree of certainty that I was in France. I bought some food and a soda, sat down at a little table, and connected to an open wifi network so I could start messaging the group.

Connie: I'm alive and in France, Grunkle is dead and in hell.

Katrin: I can't call you Katrin: Never mind Zoey explained Katrin: You're prepared to let us check you for a third eye?

Connie: So about that Connie: Grunkle is dead dead but I killed him in my memory palace and the eye is still in me Connie: Not sure how to prove this but I can still pop out my ghost if that helps

Errod: I TRUST YOU COME BACK TO AROMA ARRIVAL ARIZONA WHY DOES THIS DEVICE HATE ME

Connie: How does he type in all caps even with the autocorrect Connie: That's skill

Zee: Where Tony? When did he get grabbed

Connie: Can't find him Grunkle made me walk but he had hole in his head from eye so presumably dead

Errod: HE WAS A GOOD MAIN Errod: MAN

Katrin: I'm so sorry. Just come back to Arizona and we'll pick you up.

Zee: Errod is yelling at his phone and at the general concept of trying to offer condolences over text and he sounds like a boomer thought you should know Zee: But for the record this is fucking awful Zee: I really liked Tony

I ate, all the while focusing on keeping my third eye closed and briefly failing a few times for a split second. When I was done, I bought a shitty souvenir from a gift shop - at least the prepaid card was working here, even if the prepaid phones couldn't do roaming - and then used the bathroom before diving back into Nusos. I couldn't find the office we'd used the last few times, unfortunately, which was probably in part because I was still feeling really distracted.

I thought about places that were distinctly part of Arizona, but frankly that was hard. Most of the places I'd spent time in were pretty generic, or worse they were part of a chain that was literally the same everywhere. Finally I remembered somewhere I'd used before - prior to having my memories wiped.

I found it fairly quickly, thanks to the awful child-made murals on the walls that were supposed to be sweet but - especially in a dark room - looked more like something meant for a horror movie. It was this shitty little community center, right down the street from Bill's house. The place was closed, since it was still Thanksgiving, but breaking out of somewhere is trivial; probably I set off some sort of alarm, but I kept my face covered and it's not like I'd damaged anything.

I pulled out my phone, ready to call and ask to be picked up, but then I realized I should get further away from Bill's house first. Certainly it would be ridiculous to walk any closer to it, even though it was just a block and a half away. That would be stupid. Even if Greg was still off dealing with the damage to his vault, which he surely was, Bill might be there - and Bill was still at least partly working for Greg, with who knows what kind of oaths and shit.

Tony had been able to sneak really close to Bill's house though, when he was recharging the Planar Lodestone. So clearly there weren't any wards that would detect magic items or people coming nearby. Not that that made it a good idea; just because I could get away with walking past his house didn't mean there was any good reason to do so.

Although... arguably it would be good to know if Greg was there. And if Bill was there. If we knew where they were, we'd know they weren't out looking for us. And if they actually were out looking for us, they wouldn't be at the house and so there'd be no risk. Which meant that either it would be totally safe, or I'd gain valuable information.

Also, while I'd been thinking all this I'd already crossed half the distance.

The house came into view, and it looked... just so fucking normal. That didn't seem right, or fair. It should be glowing, or on fire, or surrounded by monsters I couldn't see until I learned magic. Actually... I turned on threadsight, and confirmed there was nothing visible. If it had been earlier in the day, maybe I would have seen a massive bunch of fate threads all attached to Bill - but now, even if he was in there, they'd be pointing to the items I'd stashed in planar storage so I wouldn't see them.

I should, theoretically, still be able to see the one that they were so scared of. It certainly hadn't jumped to me, since I didn't have any new threads, so even if Greg's toy broke it would need to be going to one of them. Or human Callie, or Zoey, or... nah, it would be me. I was sure of it. As I got closer I still didn't see anything, though if it was only one thread on this world it would be possible to miss it if it was going out the back of the house. I didn't think that was it, though. Bill's car was gone, and the door was hanging a little bit open as if he'd tried to shut it but was in too much of a hurry.

Well, that answered that. Time to go.

Time to go.

Come on, Calliope, start walking.

Wrong way, Calliope, that's the direction the house is in. I shouldn't do this. There's nothing to be gained from going inside. And yet... I was going to. Fuck, Katrin was going to kill me if she found out. I pushed the door open and walked in, and suddenly felt light-headed. It was so intense that for a moment I was sure it was some sort of magical attack, but then I just started crying out of nowhere and I felt, somewhere inside, the truth that this was all me.

I didn't even know why I was crying, not really. Was I sad? Angry? All my brain was doing was yelling "EMOTION!" with no further context. I was Feeling Emotion. Emotion type not found. I found a whole Thanksgiving feast laid out, barely touched and very cold, and on impulse I ducked into the kitchen and grabbed a plate so I could fill it up. I popped it in the microwave and headed to my room while it heated.

Everything was just as I remembered it, and in fact it was just like it was when I first saw it in my memory palace. The bed, the desk, the dresser, the television, the crack in the ceiling. Fucking surreal, to be standing there in person after all this shit. I grabbed the boxed set of Jake Ross books that was still sitting there, minus the third volume of course, and then poked in the drawers.

There was a shirt I remembered and really liked, so I took that. A composition book full of cringey Jake Ross fanfiction which I also tucked into my bag. Not a lot else. Some snacks were still in my food stash, but badly expired, and there were lots of little things I didn't really care about. I heard the microwave beep and turned to leave, but noticed something I'd missed - there was a wrapped present sitting on the chair behind the door.

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The wrapping paper was covered in pictures of colorful balloons, and there was a little tag attached that said "Happy Seventeenth!" on it. Huh. I put that in my bag as well, and hurried downstairs. Bill had a little chalkboard in the kitchen that I would always write inappropriate things on, and I noticed as I walked past it that there was a doodle in the corner - some badly drawn cartoon person that was clearly supposed to be Bill.

"I'm too scared to watch Cabin in the Woods", a voice bubble proclaimed.

I erased the text and replaced it with "I'm Greg's bitch" and added a little cloud coming from his behind so it would be clear he was farting, and then added a note under the shopping list that said "thanks for T-day dinner, keeping the plate". Finally, I pulled out the phone that we'd planned on leaving for Greg and tucked it behind a stack of napkins.

With one final look at my barely-remembered home, I walked out the door. I was almost shaking with adrenaline for some reason as I walked, but that didn't stop me from eating. Even reheated, it was fucking delicious. I moved quickly, and by the time I was done with my stolen dinner I was far enough away that I felt like I was in the clear. My brain was still racing, not sure if I should be yelling at myself for going anywhere near that house or proud of going in and reclaiming my Jake Ross books or sad that Bill hadn't been there or relieved that Bill hadn't been there or... yeah.

I ordered a rideshare, and waited in a Circle K parking lot for it to arrive. I messaged the others and let them know I was on my way, confirming that they were at the motel, and then paced around a lot. It didn't help that the wrapped present kept crinkling. The car finally arrived, and he didn't look thrilled that I was bringing a dirty plate with me but he didn't say anything.

When I finally arrived at the motel and walked in, I was immediately encased in a force cage. I just sighed. "Hey guys," I said, "I'm going to pop my ghost out now." I did, and everyone looked at each other as if waiting for someone else to say something. "If that's not enough then I'm going to need you to decide what else you want from me, because I'm not standing in a magic box for the rest of my life."

The force walls vanished. "Sorry," Katrin said, "we're actually not sure how convinced we should be by the ghost. It certainly seems like that should prove it, but..."

"No, I get it. I can't think of anything else either though, because he could access memories from his host. Honestly, for a moment there when I thought he was going to win I was about to burn out all my memories so he couldn't have them. Anyway, you're going to just have to trust that it's me."

Errod shrugged. "I can't imagine Grunkle would walk back in here. Why take that risk?" He turned to me. "Are you okay, Callie?"

I felt... like I was on autopilot, watching myself do things. I'd killed Grunkle and abandoned the search for Tony and gone to France and visited Bill's house... and it all just felt like checking things off a list. I didn't feel like trying to explain all that, though. Instead, I looked Errod up and down. "You still look like shit. How is Matlyn?"

He grimaced. "Not great, but she's awake. We think there's organ damage that Katrin's spell couldn't properly heal. Nothing that's going to kill her, but... she should see a proper healer as soon as possible. I think we need to go back."

So no change in the plan. That still left us in a strange place, with Greg not dealt with. "Okay," I said, "we can message Bill tomorrow and try one last time to work things out before leaving." I didn't mention that I'd been there, but they didn't ask. Probably they assumed I just meant messaging him on his regular phone, which - to be fair - was probably an option. I was still glad to have left that prepaid behind though, since there was part of me that worried Greg was doing stalker shit like checking his calls.

One of the Zoeys, her sister Emma, and Matlyn were all in another room, but I caught the others up on the fight with Grunkle. They made me show them the eye, of course, and we speculated on whether or not anyone would come after me thinking I was Grunkle - it wasn't clear if anyone was still trying to collect that bounty he'd mentioned, but I suspected it was why he'd just hid on a mountaintop for so long. Normally we would have had some fun with the fact that I'd gained a fucking eye, but the mood was dampened by Tony's absence. Eventually we went to sleep, and I had extremely jumbled dreams about Bill apologizing as he force-fed me turkey that was actually, somehow, illusory food Greg had made.

The dreams were bad enough that I briefly worried I'd had my memories fucked with again, that Bill's house hadn't been empty and something had happened there - but I spent a little time in my memory palace testing things to the extent I could without divination, and it seemed clear that I really had been alone. I drifted back to sleep for another hour, but overall I didn't get a lot of rest. I wasn't looking forward to traveling through Nusos with Matlyn still in bad shape, and my third eye itched - probably from the low-mana environment considering it hadn't felt that way in Nusos - and I was ridiculously nervous about calling Bill.

As everyone got up and got ready, I stayed in bed and tried to tap into the collective consciousness. I'd templated tons of things while on Earth, from junk food to random toys, and my memory palace was cluttered with stacks of little archived items. But I hadn't yet tried to grab any kind of biological knowledge, and with some of us injured I was realizing that might be important. It took about fifteen minutes to really get what I wanted clear enough in my head, but I finally started to gather a detailed image of what a human body should look like - a complex question, considering the massive differences between any two people.

What parts were fundamental? What uncommon variances were actually beneficial? If you could build a perfect person, what would it look like - and how much of the answer was driven by biases and bigotry? No two Olympic athletes looked the same, and objectively most of them were well outside of normal, but they were all looked up to. But also, you couldn't possibly combine those traits; there were different kinds of muscle, different benefits to being short or tall or dense or light or whatever. Some things were genetic, some things were developmental, some things were conditioning... but as I felt the information flowing through me, I managed to tweak my own self-image somewhat.

My mind was getting more substantive; not to the extent Grunkle was, but closer to my ghost. With that, I found I could add more detail to its form for some reason. Interestingly, the third eye wasn't there but the hole for it was; clearly there was some division between the eye and my body. Was that because the eye wasn't truly physical matter? Probably. It was close, clearly, but it was like the furniture in Nusos and would eventually break down without a flow of mana.

I didn't want to close that hole up, since the eye was part of me now, but it did make it hard to align my body with this rush of information. I skirted around it, making sure the rest of my body was properly refined, but in the end I'd already been in pretty good shape. The minor tweaks I was making would, probably, make me a little more athletic and healthy over time - but it wouldn't be anything superhuman. When that was done I made some simpler templates that I thought might be more directly useful for healing, focusing them on the proper functioning of various aspects of the body. Katrin had some medical textbooks, which would probably be more useful in the long run.

Finally I was done, and out of excuses. I pulled out our last unused prepaid phone, dialed the one I'd left in Bill's kitchen, and put the call on speaker. It rang several times, and I was just about to hang up when the call connected and Bill's voice came through, shaky and out of breath. "Calliope? Is that you?"

I didn't say anything.

"I... talked to Greg," he said, "and eventually pried the truth out of him. I know you didn't mean to damage the back vault, that you were going to leave it alone. I appreciate that. But this is the problem with fate, it finds opportunities to force things. Greg was able to stabilize the hawsepipe, so we're safe for now, but... if it had fully broken, you would have been in serious danger. You also would have been stuck here on Earth - going back would have killed you. I can't say more than that."

He sighed. "I'm glad you're okay. I've... re-negotiated with Greg, and further limited what he can do. As long as you stay at least five miles away from the self storage building, and avoid Greg, he won't be able to harm you. That includes the other Calliope, and the Carmichael family. It's been so hard to win ground with Greg. I still can't say much about it. I want to be able to tell you, I've always wanted to tell you, but... even after all these years, my hands are tied. Every time there's an opening, every time I think I have leverage, something gets in my way. Maybe that's another thing fate is trying to prevent, maybe if I'd been able to just talk to you this all would have gone better."

I still didn't speak.

"The day that the Carmichael girl disappeared, if I'd known at the time what had happened... I assume you came back to the house through Nusos that night, but I had no idea. I opened that side door to take the trash out, and there it was... this long hallway stretching off into the distance. I thought it was yet another magical thing finding me, I didn't think for a second it was because of you. That's why I suddenly decided we needed to move, you know. I wanted to keep you away from all that, wanted to keep you safe. But you were already searching for your lost classmate in a monster-infested maze, even though she'd always been pretty nasty to you."

Zoey scoffed. It wasn't loud, but it must have carried through because Bill chuckled. "Hello, miss Carmichael. I owe you an apology as well. For what little it's worth, it cost me quite a bit to negotiate Greg down from just killing you. Of course, that promise expired once you helped break in to his vault - but as I said, you're safe again now."

"If he does anything," I said, voice cracking, "I'm coming back and burning it all down. All of it. I'll be checking in, and if Greg - if either of you, or Greg's fucking goons, or... hell, you'd better hope nobody I know gets in a totally normal car accident or something, because I'm going to assume anything bad is your fault and light the whole world on fire."

"Hey kiddo," Bill said, "I... you should be careful with that kind of talk, you're dealing with fate now. It will happily kill your friends and frame Greg if that's what it takes to make you set it free. But I'll tell Greg, I'll make sure he knows you're serious. I think he does - you scared the shit out of him last night. You said you'd come back... I assume that means you're leaving Earth. I can't blame you, and frankly things aren't great here right now, but... be careful, please. If... if this ends well, if we can get rid of this thing and everyone is safe... maybe I could visit you? I've never actually been there, you know. Not to the prime plane. We could... if you're willing, we could start over and -"

I hung up the phone, and turned it off. "Let's go. He's... he's telling the truth, I think. That video I found, of Greg interrogating Zoey? He tried to order someone to kill her, and some sort of oath stopped him I think. Plus, the memories I've recovered... I think he just fucked up and let Greg make an unbalanced deal with him. We should go, get Matlyn to a healer and start trying to figure out how to fix this shit."

Errod put a hand on my shoulder. "You're sure you don't want to talk to him? This might be your last chance, we don't know what's going to happen at the Grand Alignment."

I nodded. "I'm... I can't. I don't know. Maybe I should, probably I should, but..."

He waited a moment in case I was actually going to finish the sentence, and then just squeezed my shoulder.

Zoey shouldered her bag and looked around the room before nodding, seemingly satisfied she hadn't left anything behind. "My other body is in there saying goodbye to Matlyn - she's awake, just feeling terrible - but she'll be ready in a moment."

Oh, right. Goodbyes. Fuck, I hate those.

I called human Calliope, and let her know what Bill had said. I also pulled out my scissors and tried to cut the thread connecting us, but it slid through the scissors even when I tried to reproduce what I'd done to Grunkle. Of course, Grunkle's thread hadn't been on the fate layer, but still... it felt like I should be able to do it. It was possible the scissors had some sort of cooldown, or that I had to be in the right mindset, or... well, it was something to think about. The actual goodbyes with her were minimal; I'd already been avoiding talking to her, because I felt like the exchange when I dropped her off with mom had put a nice bow on things.

Parting with Zoey took longer, with her calling me goat licker again and hugging me way too tightly. "Don't worry, Catastrophe and I are going to fix some things around here. If you come back to visit, it'll be a whole new Earth."

Everyone else had gathered, with Errod practically carrying Matlyn. I opened the door to Nusos, and people started filing through. Matlyn looked at me, pale but still smiling as always. "Do you know where we're headed?" she asked.

I did. I'd looked up a spot ahead of time, before we left on this trip. The wards on the city walls were powerful, but just a few miles away someone had set up a waypoint specifically for Nusos and I'd purchased detailed pictures of the interior - there was also a small fee for leaving through there, but we had the money. "We're going to Good Charl," I said, "to get my airship. And then I've got to see what the Queen of Candles left for me, and try to talk to a god."

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