Frank unlocked the door to his apartment. They all shuffled in, the silence heavy and awkward. Sophie, who was waiting in the kitchen, saw them and froze.

  She saw Frank, his face bleeding. She saw Lucy, a girl she'd only heard about in whispers, trembling.

  And then she saw Daniel.

  Lucy was staring at Daniel with pure terror. She hid behind Frank, her eyes locked on the man who wore the Prince's face.

  Frank's hand was on his gun, his eyes narrowed, ready for a threat.

  But Lucy, instead of just crying, went very still. Her trembling stopped. Her head tilted slightly, as if she was seeing a puzzle she couldn't solve.

  She looked at the man by the door. He wasn't the Prince. The Prince was arrogant. The Prince was in control.

  This man... this man was pale, shaking, and staring at the floor, his eyes hollow.

  She remembered. This man... he looked terrified. He looked like he had just seen a massacre... a massacre committed by him... and he was just a watcher.

  The Prince walked over to Daniel and pointed at Sophie. "Oh. That girl over there looks fine, Dan."

  Daniel flinched, turning his head.

  "You should try your way with her. I can teach you, if you want."

  "Shut up, man," Daniel whispered, rubbing his temples.

  Frank, Sophie, and Lucy all looked at him. He was talking to an empty corner.

  "Hey. Don't talk to your other half like that. It will hurt my feelings."

  "Do you even have feelings?" Daniel whispered.

  "Yes, of course I have feelings. I'm just too shy to show them."

  "Just shut up."

  "Okay, stupid. Fun-breaker."

  Daniel sighed and rubbed his temples.

  Frank was just watching him, his face a mask of exhaustion. He'd just watched the kid have a full, whispered, one-sided argument with a wall. "Are you alright, kid?" "No, I'm not," Daniel said, collapsing on the sofa. "I need to get this... thing... out of my head”

  "Again! You talk about me like I'm a 'thing'! I told you; I AM a King! You don't get it!"

  Daniel just ignored him. Sophie looked at Frank, her face pale. "Frank... what happened?" Frank just stared into the middle distance, eyes seeing too much. "I got my daughter back, Sophie. Just... that. And we got a terrified kid... and a King... in our house."

  Sophie looked around the small apartment, confused. "...Sorry? Where is the 'King'?" Frank sighed, and just pointed at Daniel's head. "In his mind."

  "Bingo! That's what I am. The brains, bro." Daniel watched as The Prince's "hallucination" walked over to the television, his face pressed almost to the glass. "Anyway, what's this thing? It's showing... moving men. Are they trapped inside?"

  Daniel just stared at him. "It's called a TV, 'King'."

  ...Daniel was just staring at the TV, where the Prince was still inspecting the "trapped men."

  "But how do they move?"

  "It's just a lot of images, side-by-side," Daniel whispered. "By an optical illusion, it makes you think they're moving."

  "Well. That is great sorcery."

  Sophie walked in. "Anyway, I've got dinner done. We should eat." "Yes," Frank said, rubbing his face. "We should do that."

  They all sat at the table. Frank and Lucy were silent, poking at their food, still in shock. Daniel was just trying to eat.

  "Disgusting."

  Daniel froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. "What is disgusting, 'King'?" Daniel thought.

  "The way you eat. Don't you have any manners?"

  "Sorry," Daniel thought, gripping his fork. "But I wasn't raised in the palace."

  "But you are my physical representation. You should represent me in the best possible way."

  Daniel almost laughed, a small, bitter sound. "Bro, if I showed them what 'real you' is, they would kill me just to kill you."

  "And I wouldn't let them. Or you. I wouldn't let you kill yourself."

  Daniel paused. He looked at the Prince's "hallucination," who was now sitting in the empty chair at the table, looking at him with cold, analytical eyes.

  "You are highly valued by me, Daniel. So don't be like you are... dirt."

  Daniel looked down at his plate. He'd lost his appetite.

  "Well," he thought. "That would have been nice. To be dirt."

  ...They ate in silence. Daniel was just staring at his food.

  "...don't make yourself feel this low. You know that I love you."

  Daniel just stared at his plate. "You... what? You have feelings?"

  "Bro, I already told you. I have feelings. I'm just too shy to show them."

  "So can you be... 'too shy' to live?"

  The prince sighs leaning forward. "Eat, dull. You really make me angry."

  "Well," Daniel thought, A small smile drew on his face. "That is my job, King."

  "Haha. Real funny, Dan."

  Frank just watched. The kid was sitting there, a full-blown argument playing out on his face—a wince, a small, bitter smile, then exhaustion.

  "Are you fine, kid?" Frank said, his voice low. "You've been talking to this... monster... a lot."

  The Prince, who had been "sitting" in the empty chair, sat up straight.

  "HEY! I am NOT a monster! Tell him I don't like his tone."

  Daniel sighed, rubbing his head. He looked at Frank. "He's... he's telling me he doesn't like your tone." He looked back at his plate, and then added quietly, "...Frank, just... don't talk about him. He doesn't like you."

  "Bingo. I don't just 'dislike' him... I hate him. I want to kill him."

  Daniel flinched.

  "But that's a secret, Dan. Just for you."

  "Okay, King," Daniel whispered.

  They continued eating—or acting like they were eating—until a voice broke the silence. It was a little muffled, but it could reach the living room. "What is this sound?" Daniel asked.

  "Go and look. What are you waiting for?" The Prince's "hallucination" stood up, pointing for Daniel to move.

  "The kid," Sophie whispered, her face going pale. "I... I didn't feed him." "The 'kid'?" Daniel said. "It's an agent," Frank said, his voice flat. "A Type 3."

  "DANIEL. We need to get to him. Now.

  The prince stood up. "He may know where Mary and Maryal are."

  "I need to see him, Frank," Daniel said, standing up.

  Frank was confused at first, But he too tired to argue. "Okay," Frank said, "Why not."

  Frank opened the basement door. The voice was still shouting, but it was understandable now. "HELP! I AM HERE! KIDNAPPED! SOMEBODY HELP!"

  "Shut up," Frank said, walking down the stairs. "No one can hear you from here."

  John, tied to the chair, looked up.

  "Well, hello there. You got John himself."

  "Wait," Daniel thought, "is that the kid you scouted?"

  "Yes. It's him. ...Hey, let me talk to him. Sorry, I know this makes you tired, but you're going to sleep anyway."

  "Okay," Daniel whispered.

  Daniel's body relaxed, and then his eyes snapped open. And the a smile drew on Daniel's.

  "John," the Prince said, his voice smooth and cold. "The son of the drug dealer. What a pleasant thing to see."

  "What the h—"

  "Language here, John," the Prince said. "We aren't in our world anymore. So be a good guest."

  He picked up a hammer from a nearby toolbox. "Now, little John. I just need you to answer this: did you kill innocent priests while I was... away?" He tapped the hammer's head.

  "No!" John said, terrified. "No, I didn't, Princ—"

  The Prince moved. He slammed the hammer down onto John's arm.

  John screamed. Frank tried to stop him, but he was too little.

  The Prince was a blur of violence. "WRONG. ANSWER," the Prince roared. "I don't like liars. DID YOU KILL THE INNOCENT PRIESTS?"

  John, sobbing, his arm shattered, nodded. "Ye-YES! I DID!"

  "WHY?!" the Prince screamed, his rage as if it became a gas that filled the small room. "DID THEY KILL YOUR MOTHER?”

  “OR DID THEY MAKE YOUR FATHER SELL DRUGS?”

  ”DID THEY MAKE YOU A KILLER?"

  “DID THEY DO ANYTHING OF THE THINGS I JUST SAID?!"

  "No... no, they didn't..."

  "THEN WHY DID YOU KILL THEM?!" He raised the hammer again, and slammed it down on John's other hand.

  John, sobbing, his hand shattered, looked past the Prince. "WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING FOR?" John screamed. "STOP HIM! STOP THE PRINCE!"

  Frank took a step forward, his hand moving to his gun.

  "Don't move, Frank," Frank froze. "This is something personal," the Prince said, not looking at him. "Or... I will make your cute, little daughter scream in pain."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Frank's hand slowly moved away from his gun.

  "Thought so," the Prince muttered.

  He turned his full attention back to John. "Anyway, my star boy. I scouted you from the sewers. I gave you everything. But you didn't value that enough."

  "We give you power so you can bring justice to who is evil."

  "YOU LIAR!" John shrieked. "YOU TOLD ME THEY WERE BAD PEOPLE! YOU MADE ME KILL SCIENTISTS! SCIENTISTS! THE ONES WHO WANTED TO STOP THE WAR!"

  The Prince didn't even flinch. He just tilted his head. "Stop the war? So, even when he died, he was liar."

  "John, think with me for a second." He started to circle John's chair.

  "I suppose the man who could say that with a straight face... is JJ? Am I right?"

  John just stared, terrified.

  "So, JJ told you he was stopping the war," the Prince mused.

  "But maybe you should have asked him why he got a villa after two days of 'work'... when he'd just been transferred to 'develop new weapons' for the Type 3s."

  He leaned in. "Or maybe you should have asked him why his ex-wife was found killed... the very same night she 'discovered' a new way to make Type 3s teleport faster."

  The Prince smiled. "He wasn't a 'scientist,' John. He was a thief. And a murderer. Just like you."

  The Prince stared at sobbing John.

  "Anyway, I didn't come today for that, John... but I can't stay like this for much longer. Daniel would be mad."

  He blinked.

  Daniel gasped, his eyes his own. The hammer slipped from his numb fingers, clattering to the floor. He stumbled, his whole body shaking, and leaned against the wall, barely able to stand.

  "What... what happened?" he whispered.

  Frank just stared at the scene, The air smiled of iron, and the hammer had a new mark on it."...I don't know, kid. I just don't know."

  Sophie ran down the stairs, saw John crying, and saw the bruises and shattered bones on his arms. She ran right past Frank and Daniel and immediately started treating him.

  Daniel, horrified by the scene, just turned and walked upstairs, his legs trembling.

  "Hey, Dan."

  Daniel flinched. The Prince was leaning against the apartment wall, looking exhausted but pleased. "I have a surprise for you," the Prince said. "It's outside."

  Daniel, confused, opened the apartment door. Sitting on the doormat was a small, intricate, beautiful... dragon. Made of a dark, shimmering glass.

  "What the heck is that thing?"

  "Call it an... apologizing gift. For your efforts. You did well."

  Daniel looked at the dragon. "How...?"

  The prince sighed, pushing himself from the wall. "It took a lot of effort for me to move that. Glass is harder to control here. I can't do... what I did in my last world."

  Daniel picked up the small, heavy object. "...Well. I guess... thanks."

  The prince smiled. "You learned how to say 'thank you.' Thank god. Anyway, go to sleep. I'm tired. And you are definitely tired."

  Daniel got inside the house, where he found Lucy sitting on the floor, just looking at a wall. He sat beside her. She immediately got up and moved away.

  "What do you want?" she said, her voice small. "I just... I wanted to know how you see me." Lucy looked at him for a long time. "I see... a person. Torn in half. Between a monster... and a normal, scared person."

  Daniel sighed. "Well... that is pretty accurate." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, glass dragon. "Here. Take this."

  "What is this?" "It's an... apologizing gift. If I scared you. At the bar. When I... when the mirror..."

  She took the dragon, her fingers tracing its glass wings. "No," she said, so quietly he almost missed it. "You weren't scary. You were... you were the only person who came to me when i was trapped. The only one who made me see people again."

  Frank coughed from the kitchen. Daniel flinched.

  "What the heck frank i was going to get popcorn." The prince said.

  "So... I should go," Daniel said, standing up. "Go back to the bar."

  "Which bar, kid?" Frank said, walking out. "No. You're staying here."

  Daniel looked at him, confused. "You're staying here," Frank said, his voice a but his words different. "I'm not going to feel safe about you staying alone... with that monster in your head."

  The prince chuckled. "As if he could do anything to protect you. Besides, you're like my brother, Daniel. I'm not going to hurt you."

  Frank pointed to the sofa. "You can sleep at this sofa, kid." "Okay," Daniel said.

  Sometime later, everyone was in bed. The apartment was dark. Daniel was just about to fall asleep...

  "Hey. Dan. Get up. Quick." "What do you want?" Daniel thought, his eyes still closed.

  "Hey, so... I can't sleep alone like this. Not without a woman. So do something about that."

  Daniel didn't answer. He just put the pillow over his head and continued sleeping.

  "Ahh... are you like... gay, bro?" The prince said while laying on the floor next to Daniel.

  Daniel, his face still in the pillow, didn't move. "How the heck," he thought, "am I supposed to get a woman now? At this hour?"

  "Good point. If I was in my world, I would have went and did a 'maid hunt'."

  "To be honest... it was like a dream, that you could get any woman... but it wasn't right.

  The prince sighed. "Well, it's not 'right' for you. you are hopeless man. go to sleep."

  "Yeah, right, King," Daniel thought, a small, bitter smile on his face. "Go find a woman yourself."

  He paused.

  "Oh... sorry. You don't have a physical body."

  "You son of a—"

  "Good night, King."

  And for the first time, the Prince was silent.

  They woke up, as Daniel thought, "like a bird getting back into the cage."

  Sophie made breakfast but when she glanced her hands shook.

  Daniel was in the bathroom, splashing water on his face.

  "You should try a different haircut, you know."

  Daniel flinched. The Prince was "standing" right behind him, "inspecting" his reflection.

  "You'll even come with me in the bathroom?" Daniel thought. "Are you gay?"

  "I was just saying I want a woman last night. How can I be gay? Anyway, maybe you should change your hair color."

  "To?"

  "Blonde."

  "Nah. That wouldn't look good on me."

  "Okay, maybe you should change just the tips."

  "...Well, that is actually a good suggestion, Prince. But we don't have the tools to do that here. So just remind me."

  "Sure will, bro."

  Daniel sighed. "So... can you like... be invisible or something? I'm trying to pee, if you don't mind."

  "Well, I can get out of the whole bathroom, if you want."

  "You son of a—"

  "A King. I am the son of the King. Anyway, see you, Dan."

  After Daniel got out of the bathroom, he bumped into Lucy. "Oh, sorry."

  "Watch where you're going," she said, flinching.

  "I said I'm sorry, Lucy. I was drying my face."

  "Okay," she said, her voice small. "Sorry. I'm just... a little nervous."

  "We all are, Lucy. Not just you."

  "Yeah... anyway, thank you. For that... that figure."

  "One sec. She liked my figure? So even your 'lover' loves my doing."

  The Prince's "hallucination" clapped his hands, looking smug. Daniel just ignored him and walked to the table.

  Sophie gave each their plate normally.

  Except Daniel. Her hands started shacking giving him the plate.

  They started eating. Frank was just staring at his plate.

  "You know, that Sophie makes some good food."

  "Yeah, I know," Daniel whispered. "Well, anything is good. I didn't eat when I was in the bar, except junk food."

  "Junk. Like you."

  "Haha. Real funny."

  Frank looked up. He asked the question that everyone wanted to say, but no one had the courage to ask. "So," Frank said, his voice a low rumble. "What are we going to do now?"

  The words were a knife. The Prince immediately gave Daniel his "lines."

  "So, say as I told you. 'We are going to try and find Mary and Maryal... or I will kill Lucy and such.'"

  Daniel took a shaky breath. He looked at Frank. "He's... he's saying we... we need to find his sister. And Mary."

  "And how? frank said, "should we know their location."

  "We ask John." the prince said.

  "We ask John," Daniel said, out loud.

  "So go and interrogate the kid," Frank said, already starting to get up.

  "No!" Sophie said, her voice sharp. Everyone looked at her. "You don't go," she said, staring at Daniel. "You were... you were going to kill him last time."

  "I... I won't kill him," Daniel stammered. "I wasn't in control!"

  "What the heck, Prince?" Daniel thought, frantically. "We said we don't use violence!"

  "Nah, don't worry about that. That 'thing' doesn't 'talk' unless he feels fear. Plus, I won't kill him. I know where to hit."

  "Yeah, all of that... but if you take control... don't hit him to death. And don't use violence.

  Deal?" The prince sighs. "Deal ... Dan."

  Daniel closed his eyes.

  "Boom. The Prince is back," the prince said.

  Frank's hand went to his gun.

  The Prince walked past Frank and went right to Sophie. He took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you, my lady, for that great breakfast," he smiled.

  "Sorry that my other half doesn't have any manners." He then looked at Frank. "So. Shall we move?"

  "Yeah," Frank growled. "We should."

  They opened the basement door. John was sitting there, ice bags near his shattered hands. "Look what we have here," the Prince cooed. "The JOHN himself. I hope you didn't miss me much."

  "Y-you!" John screamed, trying to scramble away. "No! I can't take it anymore! Just kill me! Kill me already!"

  The Prince ran at him and gently touched his cheek. “No, no, don't cry, John. I would have done that already... but I made a deal with my 'bro' to not beat you to death.”

  And not to use violence... unless needed. And I think if you don't talk... it will be needed." "What do you want from me?" "The location of the Princess.“

  “And Mary, the daughter of Leo’s house." "Where should I know where they are?" The Prince slowly closed his fist. "Maybe this... will help you remember."

  "Okay! Okay!" John yelled. "When I fled the Mirror World, I saw them! In the 'Between.' I think... they were arguing."

  "Not again," the Prince sighed, annoyed. "They were arguing because one wanted one location, and the other wanted another. Right?"

  "H-how did you know?"

  "I am the Prince. Anyway, describe the location that each one of them went to."

  "One... one of them went to a place with water.”

  ” An ocean?"

  "No, it looked like a... a lake."

  "A lake?" the Prince said, looking at Frank. "Do you know places like this?"

  "There are a lot of places with lakes," Frank said. "Be more precise, John," the Prince commanded.

  "A banner? Something to make this place findable."

  "I... I know they had the 'Yellow Claws' gang's cars there."

  "Yellow Claws?" the Prince said.

  Frank froze. "Yellow Claws," Frank said. "It's a gang. In Florida and California. And... from that 'lake' thing he said, it's Florida. How many cars?"

  "Like... twenty or something."

  "I know that place," Frank whispered.

  "Very well," the Prince said, clapping his hands. "We should go there. See? When you don't make a fuss, no one gets hit."

  "Yes, Prince."

  "That's what I like to hear. Anyway, let's go, Frank."

  "Go where?"

  "To Florida. Isn't that the place?"

  "Yes," Frank said, "but Florida is very far from here."

  "And where is the problem?"

  "It takes time here to travel, Prince."

  "And where is the problem?"

  "We can't just leave Lucy and Sophie here alone," Frank growled. "I just got her back."

  The Prince rolled his eyes. "You can take them with us, if you want. It will be like a... vacation."

  They started to walk upstairs, locking the door.

  "What are you even saying?"

  "I want to go to Florida, Dad," Lucy said.

  Frank looked at her. "I know, Luce. But you just came back."

  "And that's why," she said. "I want to have a vacation. Go and see the ocean. And... have fun."

  Frank sighed and looked at Sophie. "And you? What do you want?" "Well... I can stay, if you want..."

  "Man, Frank," the Prince said.

  "I thought you had your way with women. She is saying, dumb-dumb, that she wants to come. But she's too shy because she thinks she'll be a 'weight' on you."

  Frank sighed, his eyes full of hate for The prince. He swallowed the insult. "Then you should come with us, Sophie."

  The Prince "exhausted" sigh. "Oh, sh-..." he said, rubbing his temples. "Daniel... he would be exhausted. I'm... I'm really sorry, Dan."

  He closed his eyes Daniel collapsed back into his chair, coughing, his whole body shaking, trying to catch his breath.

  Sophie immediately grabbed a glass of water and gave it to him. Frank just stared at the wall.

  "Yeah... thanks, Sophie," Daniel panted.

  The Prince was sitting on the arm of the sofa, looking at Daniel.

  "I am sorry, for real. I just got carried away."

  "Man," Daniel thought, his head pounding, "you're going to kill me next time."

  "Not to that extent. Anyway, as for an apology... I'll tell you a secret."

  "Which is?"

  "Did you know that I had a son? ...No more information. Just that."

  Daniel froze. "You... you had a son? ...I feel pity for the little thing." The prince shrugged "Don't be. Most likely he's dead."

  "And you just say it like that?"

  "I didn't really see him. Plus, he hated me. His mother hated me. So, most likely, he just wanted me to drop dead."

  "Well... that is sad," Daniel thought. "But most of the people here want that, too."

  The Prince looked at him. "But do you want that?"

  Daniel was silent for a long second. "...When I first 'met' you," he thought, "I thought the same. But now..." He looked at his hands. "...Now, it's fifty-fifty. You... you really helped me have some courage."

  "I like your honesty, Daniel. You are really like me."

  "How?" Daniel thought.

  "I was also a relying son. On my father. And he would hit me... just for asking for help. I thought it was because he was 'raising' me.”

  “But he just wanted to have all the time in the world to have sex with maids. The filth."

  "Don't you do that, too?" Daniel thought.

  The prince smiled. "No. I had sex with maids... and then I freed them.”

  Daniel processed this. "...Well. That is a good thing. And a bad thing. At the same time."

  "Well, it was more of a trade. You give me your body... and most of the time, she actually wanted to have sex... and I give you your freedom."

  He "leaned" in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. "Anyway... I don't want to talk about that now. We have much more important things to do."

  ...They were all sitting at the table.

  Sophie looked at Frank, her face a mix of confusion and anger. "Why didn't you punch him?" she said, her voice low. "When he... it... said you were 'dumb'."

  Frank just stared at his coffee, he didn’t blink. "Because," Frank rubbed his face.

  ”he would have killed Lucy. And you. And I would have broken Daniel's nose."

  Daniel, who had been staring at the wall, flinched. "...One second. What did he say to you?"

  Frank looked at him. "He said I was dumb."

  Daniel's face went red with a mix of anger and embarrassment.

  "Prince!" Daniel thought, his voice an internal scream. The Prince's "hallucination" was sitting on the kitchen counter, idly swinging his legs.

  "What?" "Did you call Frank 'dumb'?"

  The Prince just whistled, looking up at the ceiling, trying to look innocent.

  "Did you?" Daniel thought, his voice got a bit louder.

  "Yes, I did. Because he really is."

  "Didn't they raise you in a palace? Like, no common sense? No manners?"

  "Hey. I just don't like dumb people. And I just pointed out to him why he is dumb."

  "You're saying that to the guy who just bought me clothes?"

  "The one who is letting me and you live under his roof? The one who has Sophie here—and do you even know what it means for someone to let his wife make us food?”

  “He protected me, before you showed up!"

  The Prince was silent for a second.

  "Okay, fine. I'm sorry." He walked over to the front door.

  "Here. Give this to Frank. It's outside. Go get it."

  Daniel got up, confused. He walked to the door and opened it. Sitting on the doormat was a new glass figure. "What the..."

  "It's a cool figure, don't you think?"

  "A... a glass gun."

  "He really likes his gun. He's always holding it when I'm near. So, give him this."

  "Don't you think he's holding it to kill you?" Daniel thought, staring at the glass gun in his hand.

  "I know. But it's the only thing I could think of. So just give it to him."

  Daniel took the glass gun. The others—Frank, Sophie, and Lucy—were just staring at him, utterly confused.

  From their view, Daniel had just had a 10-minute, silent argument with an empty corner, then walked to the door, and was now holding a glass gun.

  Daniel walked over and held it out to Frank. "Here. Take this. It's an apology... from the Prince. For insulting you."

  Frank looked at the object. "...A glass gun."

  "Sorry," Daniel muttered. "He's just... a weird guy."

  "Hey! I am not a weird guy!"

  "Yeah, yeah, I know," Daniel whispered.

  Frank took the strange gift and set it on the table.

  "Anyway. So, what now?" Daniel said.

  He looked at Daniel. "Here's the plan. We're going to Florida. But we need to prepare. We leave in one week.”

  "Okay," Daniel said. "Anyway, I'm... I'm going to the bar."

  "No," Frank commanded. “You aren't. You're not going anywhere alone. And you shouldn't be drunk with that thing in your body."

  "Relax," Daniel said. He looked at Frank with a tired smile. "If I'm drunk... he's drunk, too. He's affected by what happens to me."

  Frank stared at him. He let out a long, slow sigh.

  "Well... that is something." Frank stood up and grabbed his coat. "Ahh, fine. I want a beer too, anyway."

  They got to the bar, and Daniel breathed in the stale air. He felt like a soldier who just got back home.

  "Hey, welcome back," the bartender, Michael, said.

  "Yeah, thanks," Daniel said. "The usual for you both?"

  "Yes, the usual." The tequila and the beer came.

  The Prince looked at the tequila, his face twisting in disgust. Daniel noticed this.

  "Why do you look like you just saw... well, that?" Daniel thought, a small, dark smile on his face.

  "Because I drank fine wine in my old world.

  “And here I am, because of you, drinking old tequila. It stings.”

  “It burns the throat."*

  Daniel took a long drink, his eyes watering. He smiled. "That is exactly why I love it."

  "What the heck? Are you a psycho?"

  "Yes," Daniel thought, taking another drink.

  "Because I'm sharing my body with a psycho."

  "Bro, I'm talking for real. You like pain, or something?"

  "It's not that. It's just... a new feeling. Rather than the normal wine."

  Daniel threw back half the bottle.

  "Yo! Relax! You drank half the bottle already!"

  Michael, the bartender, was staring at Daniel, confused. He leaned over to Frank, his voice low. "Hey, Frank... what happened to the kid?"

  Frank just stared at his beer. "Nothing. He just... became a normal person, I guess."

  Michael shook his head, looking back at Daniel. "A 'normal' person? Frank, he's... uh... he's talking. To that empty chair."

  Frank just took a sip of his beer.

  "Oh, right," Michael said, changing the subject. "Congrats on finding your daughter, by the way. I wasn't here when she got back."

  "Yeah, I know," Frank said, he looked at Daniel, who was now having a silent, bitter argument with an empty seat. "Thanks anyway."

  Daniel finished the bottle and signaled for another.

  The Prince raised both of his hand. “Stop. No way I'm having another."

  "Why?" Daniel thought.

  "Because it BURNS the throat, you masochist!"

  "What is that fancy word, 'masochist'?"

  "You're just... dumb. You don't know English, either."

  The prince stared at Daniel for a long second.

  "Just a question, Daniel. What are your qualities? “

  “What is it that Lucy should love you for?"

  "...To be honest, I never asked that question to myself"

  ”Didn't I say you were hopeless? I had three things that people called 'cool qualities': 1. I had a good-looking face. You look like a dumpster because of how much you drink."

  "Hey! I just didn't have a home! I didn't have a shower!"

  "That's even worse. How could Frank even sit next to you?”

  "...I found a fount—"

  "Okay, just STOP. Please. Don't make me imagine it.”

  ” 2. I had good charm. You can't even speak three words without 'uhh...'"

  "Of course! I don't want to sound dumb!"

  "Don't try to force it. You are already dumb. It's a talent you have."

  "Okay, a-hole."

  "Well, this 'a-hole' at least showers. 3. I had money and power. You don't have a house. Even your drink is being paid for by Frank."

  "It won't be like that for much longer. You need to find a job. You need to make some money. If you want to marry Lucy... or even try to see Mary."

  "Yeah... about that girl. Why didn't you just marry her in your world?"

  "She thought I was a monster. I had to give her time... but time was a luxury we didn't have."

  "And now you think she'll just... love you? And marry you?"

  "Well... I think after what she's seen on this world, I'll be her hero."

  "Yeah, yeah. Of course, Prince. ...Another tequil—"

  "NO. I said no. Get a beer."

  "Okay, man, relax," Daniel said, to the empty chair. "I want a beer."

  "Changing it up, Daniel?" Michael, the bartender, said.

  "Yeah," Daniel said, looking at Frank. "Change is good, right Frank?"

  "Yeah," Frank said, his eyes on his glass. "It's good."

  Daniel took a sip of the beer. "You know," Daniel thought, "Frank sometimes makes me feel like I'm looking at a void."

  "Yeah, sometimes I feel that, too."

  "Maybe the 'change' he was talking about is him changing the shade of black." The prince said.

  "I didn't know you could say jokes. That... that actually has some humor to it."

  "No, I always did. You're just too stupid."

  "Thanks, mister perfect."

  "Okay, kid," Frank said, finishing his beer. "Enough drinking. And arguing with... that thing."

  "AGAIN! You call me a 'thing'!"

  "Sorry, Prince," Daniel thought, already standing up. "Don't be mad. This time... for me."

  "Okay. Just for you, bro."

  They got back home. Or maybe... they got back to the blackhole.

  The home didn't have the warmness as it once did.

  It was cold. Sophie made the food, but as a duty, not out of care. And Lucy... Lucy just stared at the ceiling.