Onboard the Wicked Sister:
Zoe: God, my head is killing me... Are you still in there? No? Huh... Why does that make me more concerned? ... Why am I talking to myself?
Hiiri (to Zoe): Zoe? ... I know you're awake. This is just temporary, alright? I won't be here any longer than necessary. But, you need to get the chip out of your head. It's how your Hiiri is going to return. Do you understand?
Zoe (to Hiiri): ... But, you're Hiiri & you're here, now. God, this headache is killin' me.
Hiiri (to Zoe): Look, I'm basically you from another timeline. Time is fracturing because of Franklin & George. It's made it possible for me to jump over here... But, I need your family's help in fixing the problem. Someone here is going to try to do the same thing but we can't tell who... Just sleep & I'll give you your body back as quick as I can, ok?
Zoe (to Hiiri): Yeah, right. I have heard that before.
Hiiri (to Zoe): The headaches are just going to get worse if you keep fighting... You are so stubborn.
Zoe (to Hiiri): Well, if what you say is true than you ought to know.
Meanwhile, at Tesla's Monastery; Colorado Springs, Colorado, American Colonies:
Nathaniel: I'm coming already! Jesus Christ keep your goddamn... (to Victor) Victor? ...What's going on?
Victor (to Nathaniel): Hiiri made an appearance last night.
Nathaniel (to Victor): Where?
Victor (to Nathaniel): In Zoe...
Nathaniel (to Victor): Titty-fucking Christ... Alright. Lemme get dressed and say goodbye. Is she alright? No one got hurt, right?
Victor (to Nathaniel): Everyone is fine. Hiiri claims she wants our help. She said she's from another dimension.
Nathaniel (to Victor): ...That's a new one. (to Aiden) Hey, sexy. I gotta skip breakfast. Victor wants my help with Zoe. Hiiri showed up.
Aiden (to Nathaniel): Oh... You'll be careful, right? And, call me if you're in danger?
Nathaniel (to Aiden): You're goddamn right, I will. Promise I'll be careful. It's fucking Hiiri. I love you. I'll be back as soon as I can... (to Lily) I see you skulking over there! Gimme a hug. I wasn't gonna leave without saying goodbye. Keep on eye on your dad for me, OK?
Aiden (to Nathaniel): I love you too.
Lily (to Nathaniel): I will... Is Zoe going to be okay?
Nathaniel (to Aiden & Lily): We'll make sure of it. Don't worry. I love you too, Lil' Bit. I'll be back soon.
Lily (to Nathaniel): Okay, Daddy. Be careful!
A minute later, in the hallway:
Victor (to Nathaniel): Ready? Prep yourself. I'm skipping us to the Sister, and she's in-flight...
Nathaniel (to Victor): Oh Jesus. I hate it when you do this shit...
Victor (to Nathaniel): One, two, threeeee... Bloody bollocks!
A moment later, onboard the Wicked Sister:
Nathaniel (to Victor): Ouch... Still haven't gotten the hang of that yet, huh?
Victor (to Nathaniel): No, smartarse. Hand me that bottle of painkillers, will you? Zoe's in the brig. I should go relieve Felix.
Luc (to Nathaniel & Victor): Will you two stop screwing around? I'm having a very hard time keeping Felix calm & reasonable.
Victor (to Luc): I can imagine. I've got him. I'll... Shite. I dunno. I'll figure something out.
Nathaniel (to Victor & Luc): Tell him to give me a couple of minutes, if you can. Oh... Here. Keep an eye on this shit. Whatever I go in there armed with is more likely to get used on me.
Luc (to Victor & Nathaniel): Alright. I have to go help Yuki down in the engine room... She said something about the portal generator acting up. Probably having to do with our unwanted guest... I'll put your stuff in the weapons cabinet on my way down.
Victor (to Luc): Hiiri said something about someone fucking with the portals. (to Nathaniel) ...Are you SURE you don't want a weapon? Or 5?
Nathaniel (to Victor & Luc): Nope. Take them anyway. See you soon.
Victor (to Nathaniel): Whatever you say, mate. Be careful.
A few minutes later, in the brig:
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Hey, freakshow. You couldn't let us have a quiet couple of months, could you?
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Yeah, I thought it was dull as dishwater around here & said to myself 'Gee, you know what would really brighten my day? Hiiri invading my skull.' I thought we had taken care of this, already... Didn't we?
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Yeah. I thought so too, but clearly not. How are you holding up? I know how much you fucking enjoyed it the last time.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Yeah, it's just lovely. I have a killer headache. She keeps telling me that if I let her take over, it'll go away & she'll give me back my body as soon as she finishes her "mission"... Oh! And, she says she's me, Nate, from another timeline. Sooo, there's that... How are you?
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Her mission? What? She run outta puppies to strangle in her own timeline? We're good. Heh. Lily is still bugging us for a brother.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Heh... You're seriously thinking about it, aren't you? OW... God. Do you have any painkillers?
Hiiri (to Zoe): Look, Zoe, I really need you to stop playing family reunion & help me. The longer you fight me, the less time I have to fix--
Zoe (to Hiiri): Shut up! Just shut up! You have done this shit to me before. Pretending that you were nice & meant no harm, so NO. HELL, NO.
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Fuck. She isn't kidding around, is she? Your nose is bleeding.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Is it? Well, that's just awesome... She said there's a chip in my head that Maladori left. That's how she was able to get in. I don't know how much longer I can fight her, Nate... I'm really scared.
Nathaniel (to Zoe): I know. You're gonna be alright, OK? ... Lemme talk to her.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Okay... If I don't come back, make sure Felix is alright for me.
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Please. You'll be back. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you Potters are too fucking stubborn to stay down.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): That is definitely more true than you know... Oh my, Nate, look at you! You're so skinny & are you wearing a a t-shirt? Wow. This place is so odd. Zoe said you wanted to talk to me. I hope you can talk some sense into that stubborn hard head of hers.
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): Lemme guess. In your reality, I'm a big fat guy who wears suits. What's your game plan this time, Hiiri?
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): You're not fat & you're usually in a lab coat, though... And, we're going to go through all this again. Look, I'm not your Hiiri or at least, the one in this timeline. I'm what Zoe would be if she was trained by Maladori & CLANNG... I met someone. he helped me change my wicked ways. I know this all comes as a shock, but I AM trying to help. Our timeline is all messed up because Franklin took George to the Portal Island & put her into them. Skippers can't skip. There's massive catastrophic disturbances going on across the world. Airships with portal generators went haywire & started crashing. Our Nate & Persephone created a device to see into the other timelines. Glimpses mostly, here & there. This is the only one we found that had a #5 clone with the chip still in her head & with the same potential issue. Someone has been testing the same theories as Franklin but we weren't able to see who. So, I came to enlist your help. Do you realize what will happen if there are two fractured timelines caused by portal degradation?
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): Not really. Your Nate's the brainiac. Not me. Time collapses?
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): In a manner of speaking, yes... Both timelines would cease to be & then it would cause a ripple effect, eventually collapsing everything... Every version of this world would be gone. Essentially, leaving a black hole in time & space. At least, that's how our Nate explained it to me.
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): You gotta know how nuts this all sounds. For one: me? In a fucking lab? I didn't make it past the 10th grade.
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): Heh. Our Nate skipped most grades & went straight to college. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Damn it! You told me it was going to be hard to get any of you to believe me… If I could I would offer up some sort of proof but our worlds are slightly different… Shit. I am so royally screwed… in the ass with no lube.
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): ... What did you just say?
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): … Which part? The part about you telling me that it was going to be hard to get you to believe me or the screwed part? Because honestly, I can't really see the significance of either.
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): Heh. The part where you bitched about being fucked in the ass with no lube. I spent a lotta time with Hiiri. I never heard her say anything like that.
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): Oh… Sorry. I've clearly been hanging around Victor too much. He swears like a damn sailor… Now, do you believe me?
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): Does he? Maybe... Lemme talk to Zoe. Letting everyone see she's alright, and that you're not pushing her outta he own head, will go a long way helping us believe you're not here to slaughter us all.
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): Okay… But, we really need to find out who's trying to recreate Franklin's portal experiment… Heh. At least you don't have that ridiculous mustache…
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): I had a mustache? What? Was I trying to look even MORE queer?
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): You were trying to look older.
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): ...You're sure this other me is as smart as you think he is?
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): Heh. He's super smart about a lot of things… Fashion is sadly not one of them. His boyfriend, Timothy, is always teasing him about it.
Nathaniel (to Hiiri): Timothy, huh? Jesus... As fascinating as Bizarro World is, I gotta talk to Zoe. And Felix is gonna want to check on her.
Hiiri (to Nathaniel): I'm going, I'm going...
Zoe (to Hiiri): <yawn> Nate? Are you okay? How long was I out? Are we dead?
Nathaniel (to Zoe): We're not dead. Calm down. We just talked. You've been under for about an hour.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): … Oh? That doesn't sound ominous, at all. On the plus side, my headache seems to have gone away.
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Yeah. Hold on to that thought for a bit... I think she's telling the truth, Zoe. For one, she talks a whole hell of a lot more like you than Hiiri. Acts more like you too. She said she was raised by Maladori and CLANNG 'til some guy helped her get out, but that's not the biggest thing... She was talking about Ragnarok. She didn't call it that, of course... If she really is clone 5, and not Hiiri, she wouldn't know about it. Nobody would.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Ragnarok? Like the Norse myth about the end of the world?
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Yeah. Like that exactly. It was a plan that only Maladori and Hiiri knew about it, as far as I know. ...It was the end plan. The game, set, match plan, you know? They both seemed to think it was too extreme. I always wondered what kind of clusterfuck was too much for those two, and where the hell they got it in the first place. It was something that was supposed to ground all the skippers and close down all the portals. Hiiri said in her time Franklin did it by using George. Sounds like it grounded all portal transport alright. It also caused an EM pulse and fucked their timeline. And now someone is trying to recreate his experiments here.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): Well, that's just fucked up… Who would be crazy enough to do something like that? And, you want me to let her stick around so she can help, don't you?
Nathaniel (to Zoe): I can think of a couple of people who might be nuts enough, but they're all dead... She said if someone succeeds in recreating that experiment this reality, and all like it will cease to exist.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): So, that's a yes, huh? … Okay, I'll do it... Can you go get Felix? I'm sure he's been freaking out.
Nathaniel (to Zoe): Yeah. I'll go let him in and let Victor and Luc know what's going on. ...Fuck this is bullshit.
Zoe (to Nathaniel): You're telling me.
Meanwhile in the engine room:
Luc: What the hell!?! (to Yukiko) Yuki? Did you just see that?
Yukiko (to Luc): Of course, I saw it, you bloody twit! … Sorry. This whole thing is a bit beyond my ability as a mechanic. I just hope we can get back to the monastery soon. I don't know how to work on the portal generator.
Luc (to Yukiko): You're doing just fine… C'mon, let's take a break. I'll buy you a drink.
Yukiko (to Luc): Heh… Ass.
Luc (to Yukiko): It's a family trait. ;-P
A little while later, in the brig:
Felix (to Zoe): Zoe? ...Are you alright?
Zoe (to Felix): Yeah… I'm just peachy keen. I'm sorry for all the drama. I thought we were dealing with Hiiri & apparently, we're dealing with me… Which doesn't make this any better or easier. Are you okay, sexy man?
Felix (to Zoe): ...No. If you ever, EVER think something is wrong with you again, and you tell your brothers or cousin to wrangle me away rom you, I will lose my bloody shit. Are you sure you're OK?
Zoe (to Felix): No, I'm not okay. I'm freakin' the fuck out. But, I AM sorry for upsetting you… Hiiri is awful. I didn't want to hurt you or worse. If I came back to discover that I-- She did something to you, well, I just don't think I could handle it. Did Nate tell you what's going on?
Felix (to Zoe): Yeah. He told me... Come here.
Zoe (to Felix): … I know it's the right thing to do. But, I can't help thinking that it's a trap, I'm going to wake up & everyone I love is dead because I stupidly let her takeover… But, Nate seems convinced that she's me and not Hiiri and that I'll be fine… I love you. You know that, right? If she says anything awful to you or tries to kill you, you can take her out. I mean it. I know you won't… But-- Hell, I'm a mess.
Felix (to Zoe): I love you too, pretty lady. And no matter who is in your brain, you won't kill me. Mostly because I'm fairly certain I can take you in a fight. :-P
Zoe (to Felix): ... You're very funny. :-P
Felix (to Zoe): I'm hilarious. It's why you love me.
Zoe (to Felix): Heh. You just go on thinking that, sexy man... You should really stop flirting with me while I've got a visitor in my head. I don't want her getting any ideas.
Felix (to Zoe): ... She can tell what you're doing?
Zoe (to Felix): I don't know. When Hiiri appeared when I was younger, she could. But, this time seems different on so many levels... Oh, to hell with it! Come with me, Felix. I am not letting any Hiiri dictate my life... even if it is me.
Felix (to Zoe): Lead the way... I love you. Nothing had better happen to you, gorgeous.
