Naoto ran.
He ran as fast as his short legs could possibly go. How hadn't he realized it sooner? They weren't her friends anymore. Not since she started hanging out with him. So why would they want to talk to her, alone, outside where no one would interrupt? They said it'd only be a few minutes. It's been twenty by now.
Everything hurt. His legs and feet were getting sore. His lungs burned. But still, he ran with everything he had. He knew where they'd taken her. That abandoned old house at the top of the hill, three blocks away from school. They took him there many times before.
He finally reached the place. Quickly catching his breath he steeled his resolve and kicked open the door...
But there was only darkness...
...
"Please, remember."
-
Nino Andel, age 25, opens his eyes only to see the ever-familiar ceiling of his room. Laying on his bed, he looks to his right at the digital clock resting on his nightstand only to find that he has once again been brought back to February 16th, 2028.
"...Again," Nino sighed as he sat up and got out of bed. "Fuck me."
Six years ago he had found himself on this alien planet along with many other people from all around Earth, including his older half-brother, sister-in-law, and niece.
Although he doesn't remember much of his life on Earth due to amnesia, he does know that it was rather dull, with his only motivation being a potential future as a marine biologist. He had just started his second year in university when an accident involving a prototype time machine he started working on the year prior occurred. Why was he working on such a thing? Even he doesn't know, though he feels it's somehow connected to the death of a person he may have known. Unfortunately, the machine was activated long before it was ready, and instead of sending him through time, it affected hundreds of millions of people from around the world and sent them all to some planet that was possibly millions of light-years away from their home.
By some stroke of luck, the alien race referred to as the They, which had been visiting the planet for thousands of years had aided them in starting new lives. Over these six years, the Tortugan nation was established, a military force was formed, and people started expanding further inland into the world where they found themselves. Even with the help of the aliens, the young nation still had a long way to go before they could be considered to be on the same level of advancement as the people of Earth. The current head of the nation is a man by the name of Erik Niccals, though Nino had originally placed himself under that role since he had been the reason they were here in the first place. At the very least he didn't have to do much other than oversee the young nation's progress and deal with affairs regarding the They. After Erik took over two years ago, Nino went to live with his brother, and upon entering a state of depression after realizing he may never see his parents or sisters again, locked himself up in his room, only ever coming out to get food and use the restroom.
And then the day came that Nino finally came out of his room, February 16th of the year 2028. Little did he know that he would come to hate this day with every fiber of his being. How many times has it been that he's looped back to this exact day of this year? 63, no, 67 times at least. No point in just lazing around and waiting for the inevitable. He had tried that before but in the end, things always went the same way. Every single time, the world would start to fall apart and Nino's family would be threatened by a murderous, time-manipulating freak, leaving him to face the killer until time reset itself. He had even tried just giving up and letting himself get killed, only for time to reset before the killer could land a blow on him. It was almost as if... Regardless, Nino stuck by the idea that doing something, anything, was better than doing nothing.
After going through his normal routine, which consisted of making his bed, brushing his teeth, and taking a shower, Nino got himself dressed into some navy blue jeans, a black turtleneck sweater, an olive green jacket over it, and his favorite black tennis shoes. Finally ready, he grabbed some bags and went down the stairs straight towards the front door, deciding not to risk going to the kitchen to pick up a light breakfast. If he was lucky he wou-
"Uncle?"
..Shit.
Nino stood there completely unmoving. He remembered how she cried when that... thing nearly took her father's life. His brother's life. He remembered the fear in her eyes as Nino battled with a monster. He didn't want to show her his pained face.
"Are you ok, Un-"
"Rose! Breakfast is ready. What are you eve- oh! ...Nino?"
It was none other than Nino's older brother Inaki who had spoken. There was no point in trying to avoid this anymore. Putting on a bored look on his face, Nino turned his body to them, though never once did his eyes land on them.
"Hey bro."
"...H-hey. It's been a while since you came out of your room. Feeling better?" Inaki asked, concern clear in his voice. For some reason, it irritated Nino.
"Haha, yeah," Nino chuckled awkwardly. "I guess you could say I finally came to terms with everything that's happened. Anyway, I'm going out for a while."
"A while? Like, how long a while?"
"...Dunno. Maybe a few weeks?" Nino shrugged. He wanted to get out of there.
"A few weeks? And you're not taking any extra clothes?" Inaki's concern was replaced with curiosity.
"Nah. I was planning on buying some new clothes anyway."
"Right... Well, have a safe trip then."
"Thanks," Nino said as he quickly turned to the door and opened it. Just before he went outside he said, "Tell Julie I said hi." After that, he stepped out and the door shut behind him. This time he wasn't going to wait. This time he was going to attack first.
...
This time he will be the hunter.
-
-February 17th-
Stepping down from his Jeep, Nino walked towards the burger joint he had stopped at, silently observing the people around him. Stepping in, he got straight into the line and started thinking back to what's happened since he left.
A day had passed since he left the capital city and in that time he had traveled south to the port city of Nuevo Paso, where one could make their way to the mainland. Everyone that made up the now expanding nation first found themselves on Tortuga Island, which was about the size of Earth's Greenland. According to the They, the mainland was incredibly vast and mostly unexplored. Nino had recently gotten a lead that suggested his target could be found here, so he was keeping an eye out in case he spotted them. As he said to his brother before he left, he also stopped at some stores to get some new clothes, along with some other things he thought could come in handy, such as-
"Good day sir. Can I take your order?"
Nino was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the employee at the counter speak to him. And now he realized that the line was much shorter than he had originally thought and he didn't even have an order ready yet.
"Uh, yeah, give me a sec."
"Su-... Wait, are you Nino? Like the Nino Andel?" The employee asked with clear excitement in his voice. Other people in the restaurant started turning their heads.
"No, I'm not," Nino responded while keeping his eyes on the menu.
The employee wasn't convinced. "Really? You look and sound just like him, though."
"Ugh, I am not the person you think I am." Nino was starting to get irritated. Finally deciding what to get, he looked down at the employee and said, "Look, let me just g-"
"No seriously, I know you are him," the employee interrupted. Big mistake. "Nobody's seen you for two years man. Where've you been, anyway? Hiding away at ho- WUAHH?!?"
Nino had grabbed the guy by the collar and pulled him over the counter. Looking at his nametag, he spat out, "Look, Caesar. I don't like people who don't know when to shut up. Now if you don't want me to wipe this floor with your blood then I suppose you zip up that filthy mouth of yours and get me my bacon cheeseburger, fries, and lemonade. Understand? Oh, and add in some chicken nuggets, yeah?"
Caesar simply nodded his head, prompting Nino to put him down, take some cash out of his wallet and leave it on the counter, and walk to an empty table. He only had to wait a few minutes before his meal arrived, which he dug into rather quickly. Just as he was finishing, he noticed a young woman enter the building.
She had straight, dark reddish-brown hair that reached her elbows and wore a light blue jean jacket over a black turtleneck, dark grey shorts, black leggings, and dark brown boots. Nino could tell she was around 5'6", half a foot shorter than him. She was also noticeably pretty. She had fair, smooth skin, her lips were thin and red, and her round eyes shone like emeralds in the sun. Truly, this wasn't someone that one would forget easily even after seeing them just once. Anyone else would have simply thought that she was just a nice, young lady. Not Nino.
For Nino, this person was his Hell.
"That was easy," Nino said to himself. Though his blood was already boiling in anger at just the sight of her, he was very much pleased with how easily things turned out for him.
She had gotten into line and was looking around when her bright eyes landed on Nino's sharp ones. She immediately froze when she realized that he was staring back at her. Nino sighed as he got up from his table, threw away his trash, and started walking toward her. But before he could get within ten feet of her she bolted straight for the exit.
"Wha... Oi! Get back here!" Nino yelled as he ran after her.
They both exited the restaurant and he chased her down the block until she turned into an alleyway. Unfortunately for her, this was a dead end. Before she could react, Nino had already caught up to her and pinned her against the brick wall of a building, all while making sure she couldn't fight back.
"Finally," Nino spat, his eyes glowing red with rage. At the same time, his entire right arm was coursing with purple lightning. The girl's eyes widened with fear. "After all the suffering you've put me through, I will return the favor! Mark my words, you are going to Hell, Andr Saness!"
...
Just as Nino had said her name, everything stopped and the world around him went dark. It seemed as though only he existed in this void. There were no walls, no ceiling, no floor. Just emptiness. Or so he thought. Unable to move, he was helpless as somebody's arms slithered around his back and held him in an embrace. Then a beautiful, feminine voice came from right beside his left ear,
"Please remember. Andr is not your enemy, but your friend. I know it will be hard, but you must trust her."
"Y-you..!" Although he didn't have a physical body with which to speak, it seemed that the mysterious existence could hear his thoughts. "What do you mean Andr is not my enemy? Do you have any idea what she has done to the world? To me?!"
"You are confused, Nino. Confused and hurt. I understand your pain but believe me when I say that the Andr you hate is an imposter. It is evil and must be stopped, but you need her to do it."
"H-how do I know what you're telling me is the truth?"
"...You'll just have to trust me."
"Trust you? I don't even know who you are!"
"When the time comes, you will know my name. It's all there, in that head of yours. You just need to get the memories flowing again."
"..."
Remember who you are and why you are here. Save her. Save me. So please, my love... Remember."
...
Though he couldn't move, Nino's mind was still as active as ever. As the arms that were holding him slowly released him and his senses came back to him, he thought, 'Who was that? Love? What the hell did that voice mean by that? Wait no, that's not important right now. Andr is my friend? But then why would she come to kill those I care about so many times? Friends don't do things like that, right? But then, if there's really an imposter... No, it can't be that simple. There has to be more to it than that. There's no way an imposter could mimic Andr so perfectly. And then there's the stuff about my memories. Is there a reason this whole mess happened in the first place?'
"Nino?"
A voice halted Nino's thoughts, making him realize that he was still in darkness because his eyes were closed. Opening them, he found that he was sitting on the ground with a concerned-looking Andr crouching in front of him. Andr, who had caused him to become so full of hatred, was looking at him with concern. Could... could the mysterious voice have been saying the truth? Was this girl the heartless killer he had fought so many times before? Gathering his thoughts, he came to a conclusion. There was no way he'd be trusting her anytime soon, so he was going to keep a very close eye on her. If what the voice said was indeed the truth, then he needed to stick around this girl. And unless the voice said any different, he was going to make sure Andr stayed as far away from his family as possible.
Having made up his mind, Nino stood back up. His sharp, dead eyes once again locked with her own bright, lively ones.
"Oi Andr. Let's talk, yeah?"
...
...
"Huh?"
"What do you mean huh, huh?"
"Well, I... um... What happened to you trying to kill me?"
"Kill you?" Nino looked somewhat confused by her question, which confused her even more. "I was never going to kill you. I was going to rip you to shreds, drag your soul down to the deepest pits of Hell, and torture you there for the rest of eternity."
"R-right. So... why aren't you doing just that?"
Nino paused, thinking about how he should answer. She would probably think he's lost it if he told her a voice in his head told him not to kill her. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, "Because as much as I hate your very being, something tells me that maybe, just maybe, you aren't the person I think you are. You most definitely are the one that keeps coming and threatening my family, but for all I know, and as strange as this sounds, you might just have a good reason for it. I still don't quite understand your intentions, nor do I trust you in the slightest, but I am willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself."
"W-wait... What are you talking about? Why would I threaten your family?"
Nino gave her a nasty look. "Trying to play dumb now, bitch?"
"What?! No, no! I swear it wasn't me!"
"Then who the fuck was it?!" Nino asked, his voice strained from trying to keep his anger down. "You've got a face I'd never forget, so who else could it be, huh?!"
"I- I'm not sure... Yet! But I really do mean it when I say I would never hurt you or your family. You all mean too much to me. I want to help you," Andr said with a sincere look on her face, causing Nino to falter.
"We mean too much to you? What are you talking about?"
"...You really don't remember?" Andr asked, her voice low. "You and I have always been close, Nino. And your family too. To be honest, I really wanted to see you again, but I wasn't sure how to approach you since I knew you were dealing with a lot. I was surprised when you suddenly showed up, and then that angry face you made at me... I guess I just got scared."
"..." Nino remained silent in thought.
"Nino?"
"...Fuck!" Nino yelled while throwing his arms up in the air. He then started pacing around. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to trust you. Something really does tell me that you aren't the monster I think you are, but it's your face I saw so many times! It was your voice that kept mocking me every time! I just don't even know anymore! Argh!"
Nino collapsed onto the hard ground. Andr calmly approached him and knelt down in front of him, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes.
"I'm so sorry. I'm not really sure what you've been through, but I wish I was there to help you before." Andr then pulled him into a deep embrace, causing him to blush lightly, as he wasn't used to such intimate acts. "I'm here now, and I swear that together we will stop this monster, whatever they are."
"...T-thank you," Nino's voice came out as a whisper as he hugged her back. They stayed like this for a while until Nino realized what he was doing and quickly but lightly pushed her away from him, turning his head to hide how red his cheeks were. "This remains between you and me. As far as anyone else is concerned, I never broke down and shit, ok?"
Andr giggled. "So, are we friends again?"
"Er... we'll let time tell. I don't completely trust you just yet. I'm sure you understand why."
Andr nodded.
"Good. However, if it turns out that you are that monster and are lying to me, then I swear that you will feel nothing but pain until the end of times, is that clear?"
"Absolutely!" Andr smiled. "I promise I won't let you down!"
"Tch, whatever." Nino, smiling, got up and started walking out of the alley. She followed. "C'mon. My Jeep is over here. I'll catch you up on the details as we drive."
"Uh, sure. But can we go back to that restaurant first? I haven't eaten all day."
Nino stopped walking and just looked at her for a few seconds before answering, "We have food for the trip. Plus we can always hunt for something."
"Please?" she pleaded.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he gave in, "...Fine."
They made their way back to the restaurant, where Nino noticed Ceasar looking nervously at him. Shrugging, he went to get a table while Andr went to order. He didn't wait long before she joined him and sat in front of him. Not even three minutes later and Caesar came with both her and his own food and sat down at the table with them.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Yes?" Nino asked with a bit of annoyance and confusion.
"Hmm?" Caesar hummed.
"Why are you sitting with us?"
"Oh, uh... Andr asked me to sit with you guys and since it was time for my break I accepted. I assumed she told you beforehand."
Nino turned his gaze to Andr.
"Sorry, Nino," she apologized, averting her eyes. "It completely slipped my mind."
"Whatever. So you two know each other?"
Caesar answered, "Uh, yeah. She's a regular here, and being a small town we quickly became friends. She's a great person, you know?"
"Sure," Nino said, not really sure.
"So what about you two? How do you know each other?"
"We're old fr-," Andr tried to say before Nino interrupted her.
"Acquaintances," Nino said with a straight face. "To be honest, I hardly really know her because I have no memory of her so I can't say that we're friends just yet. But that's not really important, is it? Andr, are you sure he should be here while we talk?"
Caesar raised an eyebrow in response but still waited to see what Andr had to say. The girl in question took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding. Even more surprisingly, Nino didn't rush her.
"Um...," she started, quickly glancing around to see if anyone else was listening in before continuing, making sure to keep her voice down, "Ceasar is different, like us. He's not... normal."
"Huh?!" Caesar was offended by what the girl had said. "The fuck is that supposed to mean? I-"
"Not so loud Caesar, you'll attract everyone's attention," Nino whispered while raising a hand to quiet the blonde down.
"...You don't like drawing attention to yourself do you?"
"No, I don't Caesar. Andr, I appreciate you getting straight to the point, but what exactly do you mean by that?"
"I'm sure you've noticed that nobody really had powers and stuff until after we arrived here on this planet, right?"
"Yes, but as far as I can tell almost everyone now has at least one superpower. What makes us three so special?"
"While we all have, uh... magic, it's called magic, and we three have something more than that. We are what are called Authority holders, or just Authorities. We possess the oldest and most powerful magic in not just our universe, but all Creation."
Nino and Caesar sat silently, pondering what Andr had just said. Suddenly, Caesar's eyes widened.
"We're gods?"
"Uh no. Not quite. I mean, I suppose when you compare us to just about anyone else we could be called gods, but the correct term would actually be titans. See, at the very beginning, the original titans were made by The Creator to serve as the, um, guardians of all Creation. They were made to preserve the natural balance and defend from Chaos and Evil. Eventually, they died but have always come back through a cycle of reincarnation. Now we are the new titans."
"The Creator?" Nino asked with a deadpan look on his face. "This all sounds like some plot for a weird fantasy story. I know what we talked about earlier, but I don't know if I can believe you without some sort of proof."
Caesar nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Andr. We might be friends but that all seems very farfetched."
"...Proof eh?" Andr gave them a smirk. The two guys looked at each other nervously, Nino thinking that she was going to do something stupid and draw attention to them while Caesar was scared that she was going to start messing with reality.
As they sat there waiting to see what Andr was going to do, Nino briefly felt a surge of energy emanating from the girl in front of him. The power felt so familiar and yet there was something different about it. That's when he noticed it. The line to order had instantaneously shrunk by two-thirds, and the people who were barely going to sit down were already a good way done with their meals. Those that hadn't even been halfway through their food were either already leaving or already gone.
Suddenly another restaurant employee walked up to the table. "Yo Caesar, your break's over. You comin' back to work?"
Caesar gave his coworker a blank stare.
"The hell? It hasn't even been six minutes, I...! Wait, when did my food... But it was right in front of me... I barely even touched it."
"Uh dude, you feeling ok?"
"...No. Tell the boss I'm heading home for the day, will ya?" The coworker nodded and left. "Can we continue this conversation somewhere else, please?"
"Sure."
The three got up and left the building, Nino leading them to his parked Jeep. Everyone entered, Andr in the passenger seat and Caesar in the back.
"What did you do, Andr?" Caesar asked, still trying to make sense of what they just experienced.
"Time skipping," Nino said before Andr could even open her mouth. He looked her in the eyes. "I want you to be absolutely honest with me. That... thing that threatened my family was also capable of manipulating time. Are you sure you aren't connected in some way?"
"I promise you I am in no way related to that monster. Or at least not in any way that I am aware of. You aren't the only one that has trouble remembering things after we got here. Many of us have some form of dementia. But it does answer some of my questions. You can feel time resetting?" Nino nodded, starting up the engine and driving out of the parking lot.
"I don't just feel it. I see it. I remember every single loop we've gone through."
"I see. Then you know that we have been in a time loop for quite some time now. I'm the one who has been activating the reset, but the reason was that I was trying to stop something else that has been causing reality to fall apart. I'd let it do its thing hoping it would leave a trail to follow, but I haven't had any luck, forcing me to reset the clock before reality was completely done for. I think that something may just be the monster that's been after you, Nino. It's going after Authorities, but not for their power. It's like it only wants to destroy."
"Wait, is it possible this thing has already killed me before?" Caesar asked. "Cause if that's the case, doesn't that mean it has an Authority of its own? You said Authorities are the most powerful form of magic, so killing someone who wields such power would be very difficult to do, right?"
"Maybe..."
Nino spoke, "It never killed me. Hell, it never could get close to me, but it sure does like to come back after dying. There was one time when I considered just letting it kill me, but I guess Andr saved me by activating a reset, so thanks for that."
"See! I am on your side!" Andr then said in a more somber voice, "But please don't do something so stupid again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
Caesar sent a glance at Andr from the backseat.
"...Don't worry. I won't. By the way, I assume that your Authority is that of Time, correct? I doubt that's something basic magic can accomplish."
"Actually, I have two, but I know nothing of what the other one is or how it works yet."
"Hmm. So what Authorities do Caesar and I have?"
"No idea. I can feel the power of your Authorities, but I don't know what they are. There's even a possibility you can't use them yet."
"Why wouldn't we be able to?" Caesar asked.
"Because they're not active yet. And before you ask, no, I don't know how to activate them either. Nobody does. It's just something that may or may not happen in time."
"Well ain't that great. What about that Creator you were talking about earlier? What's that about?"
"The Creator is... I actually don't know. All I do know is that he put us here to make sure His Creation isn't destroyed by Evil or Chaos. This was revealed to me through Time, as though it was an integral part of my existence as an Authority."
Caesar asked, "So I know you said that the proper term is titans, but would it be wrong to call us earthly Archangels?"
"Not really, I guess. But like, what is your obsession with being some sort of heavenly being?"
"The idea just sounded cool."
Nino and Andr both just silently laughed at Caesar.
"Before I forget, I just want to warn you both that although we have a responsibility as Authorities to protect reality, we don't necessarily have to."
"You mean we can just choose to continue to be normal people?" Caesar asked, to which Andr nodded. "...Nah, I think I've had enough of that. It's about time life got a little exciting for me. Dangerous even."
"Same," Nino said with a smile. "And I guess you could say we have our first assignment; stop that thing from killing us Authorities and figuring out a way to destroy it in the process. Haha, for the first time I feel like we might actually get somewhere with this problem."
"Great! In that case, my Authority is telling me we should head to the mainland. There are other Authorities waiting for us there."
Nino, Andr, and Caesar all looked at each other with genuine excitement on their faces. Nino was finally going to end his nightmare. Andr was finally reunited with Nino and was going on an adventure with him. Caesar was finally going to be free from his mundane everyday life.
Nino quickly spun the steering wheel around, turning the Jeep around to face the harbor. They could see the water ahead of them, ships making their way back and forth.
"Alright amigos, let's go on an adventure! Beyond those waters is a world even I know nothing about! Who's ready to go?"
"You know I am!" Andr exclaimed.
"Hold on, I have to take a dump before we go. Oh, and also some medicine for motion sickness..."
...
"Goddammit Caesar! You ruined the moment!"
"Sorry guys, haha. I'm just kidding with you all!"