Keia

Chapter 34: Pre-Loop (Odessa)

A month has passed. Oliver hasn't slept, and their health is getting worse. They don't get out of bed anymore and can't seem to focus enough to do anything. I find them crying often when they think I'm not home. They are unhappy. I am unhappy. They gave me the proof I needed that it was magic, and I did the best I could to try to find a solution. 

"Oli what do I do?" I whisper to them, gently putting a hand on their leg. Oliver grumbled and bunched up the blankets in their bed.

"You couldn't find anything from the sources I gave you?" Oliver swallows and frowns. "Then we only have one choice."

"You have a plan?" Oliver chuckles a little.

"Yes, for once I have a plan." Oliver raises their hands from under the covers, their arms shaking from fatigue. "If I can take you back... maybe you can stop who did this to me." The clock ticks behind us, and the room smells like sweat and tissue paper. "Lepprick Mei." 

"Lepprick Mei?" I ask. Oliver nods and rests their hands back down again. 

"He is some dark entity of peace... he must've seen me as some kind of threat and cursed me." Oliver exhales through their nose and nods. "I was just trying to get the same thing he wanted, just a calm and peaceful like away from magic like this."

"If you could go back, why haven't you stopped him?" 

"Going back in time myself would likely kill me when I'm like this. Even when I'm healthy, my body begins to go pale and my lungs scream when I try to breathe."

"So.. you send me back in time and I assassinate him?" I ask.

"It'll never be that simple, he's too dangerous. Try to move the strings of fate enough to get somebody else to do it." Oliver frowns a little and rolls over to face me. "Please be careful." I stay silent for a moment and nod my head.

"I will be."

My first loops were very difficult. I had to find out who was involved with Lepprick, and who he was working with. Lepprick's goals seemed to focus very heavily on a group of teenagers. I found myself trying to guide them to finding out about Lepprick and his plans, and eventually killing him. In some timelines, I'd convince Zack to pressure somebody into killing a friend and trying to get them to succumb to rage and attack who ordered it. I found that Keia was at the blade's end for a lot of these timelines. I used this and a variety of other methods to attempt to kill Lepprick, but there was always somebody in my way. A young girl named Robin. She seemed to have some kind of looping ability as well and went out of her way to stop me at every turn. If only she understood. We battled for many years like that, loop after loop. I don't feel great about the things that I've had to do. The people I've hurt. I look at my past actions and I weep with remorse. Robin may never see me the same way again. 

"I can't seem to figure it out.." I whisper to Oliver. They are far worse than ever before, the constant use of their magic draining the life from their body. They were so thin their ribs were pressed against their chest, and their arms could barely be lifted. Like a living skeleton..

"I can give you one big reset.. remove any loopers from the equation. I won't be able to make anymore loops after that, so I pray that you get it right..." Oliver coughs dryly.

With the loop reset, I thought I had it figured out... no more loopers left in the equation. Yet, somehow more magic got involved and I found myself stuck in the loop all over again. Andy, that boy. He had some kind of ties with Lepprick this timeline and found himself looping every time Keia died, and in the process making her aware of the loops around her. That's how I found myself on the road that night, stepping my way in front of Andy's car killing Keia and Andy like that. Sometimes I wonder if love is worth it anymore and if I'll ever truly be happy. Robin doesn't seem to remember our battles but has faint memories and instincts to guide those around her. So many got involved.. so many died by my hand. I'm sorry for all that I had to do.