Arc 2, Chapter 10: We all Start Again

There was something oddly inauthentic about Steven’s presence that Jacob couldn’t quite put his thumb on. Maybe it was the way he spoke, the way he smiled, or the way he moved, but it all felt forced, as if acting friendly didn’t come naturally to him. It clearly wasn’t a lack of confidence.

No, it was something else.

“I’m sure you are all eager to begin tonight, but the service will properly begin in an hour. For now, feel free to chat amongst yourselves while we prepare to begin the opening hymns. The doors are closed, so please, stay here.”

Why would they close the door? was Jacob’s first thought. Since when do churches do that? Jacob couldn’t really recall going to church often in his past life, but he was pretty sure people were supposed to be able to come and go as they pleased.

“No turning back now,” the Persian still sitting at the table commented. “Well, what are you waiting for? Distract him.”

Maxie nearly jumped, as if he forgot who he was supposed to be helping. “I’ll, uh, get on it.”

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“Maybe.”

“Arceus… Alright, you’d better get a move on. Once services start, there are going to be quite a number of people in the back running things.”

“Got it…” Maxie mumbled. Do I just go up there and talk to him? Anabel did say to keep him in the foyer, so I guess that could work.

 

Cautiously, Maxie made his way back to the front of the building, feeling a small amount of discomfort towards his role in all of this. He knew what he was doing was probably dangerous, but he figured it wouldn’t be that bad when he agreed to it. Now, he was starting to have some doubts.

Slowly, he approached Steven, who appeared to be mid-conversation with a few of the priests.

“I’m telling you, sir, we need to get this squared away by tomorrow, or—”

“Whatever mess Envy has gotten himself into is his own fault. We’ll keep to our own affairs. Knowing Pride, he—“ Steven spotted Maxie. “Ah, hello there, Maxie. You wanted to talk, yes?”

“T-That’s correct, yes.” Why am I so nervous? Jacob wondered.

“Then why don’t you come over here?” Steven said, gesturing to a room. “We’ll be able to talk unimpeded. There will be no distractions.”

“…I suppose so, yes.”

Maxie couldn’t help but notice the fact that the priests closed the door behind him as he entered. The room itself was surprisingly cozy—two couches, and a table between them. The noise of the festivities outside barely made it in as well.

“I imagine you have some ‘plans’ for how this conversation was going to go, so let’s just make one thing crystal clear before we continue.” Immediately, Steven’s entire demeanor changed. The smile was still there, but all of the warmth behind it was gone. His stride slowed, and his voice did as well. “You have absolutely no power here.”

“What?” Maxie asked. He’s onto me, isn’t he?

“You heard me,” Steven replied. “If I had to guess, Blaise came to the conclusion that whatever happened to your mother started with me, or one of my men. And you, fool that you are, decided that that just couldn’t stand, so you came barging in here hoping to ‘catch’ me. Of course, your efforts are wasted. You will bring no harm my way because you cannot. You will not be able to even extract concessions from me, because there is no leverage you can possibly have over me. Nothing. So please, try your best.”

“…Did you just admit to doing it in front of me?” He doesn’t know about Anabel’s plan. Just gotta keep him talking.

“Perhaps. In a sense. But it doesn’t matter. Do you know why?”

Maxie was silent.

“Because I can do exactly the same thing to you as I did to your mother.”

“W-what?”

“That’s right. You’re in my cathedral, you know. Do you have any idea how easy your death would be to cover up? If I was you, I wouldn’t press your luck. Unless you’ve got some ace up your sleeve, I would head on back out there and enjoy the food.”

Maxie paused before giving his response. He didn’t want to die, certainly, but something inside of him managed to suppress his fear. He felt an urge to keep the Archbishop talking, to keep helping Anabel as long as possible.

“If you’re just going to hit me with all of this…” Maxie started. “I suppose I do have a question for you. You’re not in any rush, are you?”

Steven snorted. “Well, no.”

“Why? Why’d she have to die?”

“The answer will disappoint you. It may even force you to do something you might regret.”

“Just lay it on me,” Maxie said, sounding almost desperate. “I can take it.”

“Very well then,” Steven said with a chuckle, turning around. “Where to begin… I’ve got friends in places you wouldn’t expect, you know. Including the other side of the continent. Including this one man whose name I can never get straight, so… we’ll just call him E.”

“E?” Maxie asked.

“Yes, E. Now don’t interrupt me. You should be grateful I’m even telling you this. Anyway, E was interested in the affairs of the Isles for his own personal gain. I told him to back off, but he… hasn’t been listening. He just seems to love to be in control, you know. And, well, he started talking to your mother.” Steven turned back to Maxie. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“My mom died so you could get back at some random person? Are you serious?”

“It was a warning. What happens in these Isles stays in these Isles. That’s been the rule for decades, and I’m not going to see it changed. Now go. You got your answer.”

Maxie felt almost insulted. To think that his mother had died for such a nonsensical reason… “You’re awful.”

“I know that.”

“You can’t have seriously ordered someone’s death for a reason so minor, so incidental—”

“I think you should leave soon, human.”

“…What?”

“You heard me. I know things. Lots of things. Now leave, unless you want to learn a few more.”

It was worded like a threat, but the prospect made Jacob insatiable. He had to know more.

“How could you possibly—”

“Ten.”

A potent cocktail of fear and curiosity flowed through Maxie and Jacob. Did they leave? Run? Or accept the consequences? Take on all of the risk in the world?

“Nine.”

Maxie’s breathing started to get heavier. The situation was almost paralyzing.

“Eight.”

Do something! Damn you!

 

“Seven.”

Finally, Maxie’s survival instinct started to take over. He started to turn around.

“Six.”

Slowly, Maxie started to back up. He had to get out of here, this was way too dangerous—

“Five.”

But what if we get something out of this? Maybe—

 

“Four.”

Maxie’s retreat slowed. He needed to know, Jacob had to know—

“Three.”

Jacob’s unwillingness to leave paralyzed Maxie at the door. All they had to do was open it, and they were out of this mess—

“Two.”

But what if— Maxie heard footsteps coming from outside.

“One.”

Without warning, the door swung open, and a few priests rushed in, a captured Heracross in tow.

“Sir! We found this one sneaking around the back! He was in the archives!”

Steven slowly walked over to the Heracross, who seemed to be paralyzed, most likely from the Pachirisu among the priests.

“…This is one of Anabel’s men,” Steven noted. “That’s odd.”

“We overheard him mutter something about ‘the distraction’, sir,” a Flygon said. “We think he’s not the only one.”

“A distraction, huh…” Steven slowly turned to Maxie. “I see now. You’re the distraction.”

“I… I don’t—”

“Quiet. Wanting to extract concessions from me is one thing, but your real goal was to keep me talking, wasn’t it? Clever.” He leaned down to the prone Maxie menacingly. “I could let you go… but who knows what you and Anabel might get up to together? That’s a partnership I can’t allow to happen, if it can start like this.”

“I-it was only a one time thing, she—”

“I said to be quiet. You would do well to listen.” Steven put a palm over Maxie’s head. “I think it would be much easier if you were on my side. Don’t you agree?”

The sensation that Maxie felt next was indescribable.

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When Maxie awoke, his entire body felt like it was made of cement.

“Uhhhhgg…”

Slowly, he rubbed his head and opened his eyes. To his surprise, he found that he was not, in fact, in a prison somewhere, but back in Blaise’s home. What the hell did Steven even mean by ‘on his side’? I mean, I don’t feel any different. A little tired, maybe…

 

After quietly getting his morning routine done for the day, he stepped outside of his room to discover that, once again, he was the only one home. I guess Blaise wanted to get out early just like yesterday… Did I oversleep?

 

…I should probably tell him what I learned.

 

Almost idly, Maxie pulled a bagel out of the cupboard, and started nibbling on it. These bagels are pretty good. We should get more.

 

Maxie, finding himself unusually bored, decided to sneak back off to Wally’s hotel. I wonder if I’m gonna find myself doing this every day. After a long wait, Wally finally came down.

“Hey,” Maxie said. “You wanna do something again today? Last night was rough.”

“Sucks to hear that, but sure.” Wally paused. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘again’? We didn’t hang out yesterday.”

“Wally, what are you— Nevermind. Let’s just go hang out somewhere.”

Chills ran down Maxie’s back.

“Is everything okay?” Wally asked.

“Things were rough and I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just move on before it eats me alive.”

“…Okay, dude,” Wally said.

Eventually, they made it to the same park they had yesterday around noon.

Maxie felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

“This park looks nice.”

“You said that yesterday, before we ran into Anabel.”

For some reason, Wally didn’t seem to hear him. “Do you wanna pick flowers?”

“Dude, last time we did this—” Maxie found himself suddenly cut off by something deep inside of him. Something… unnatural.

“What?” Wally asked, seemingly confused.

“Nevermind,” Maxie said. What the hell is going on here?                                                                                                                

 

For a short while, Maxie watched as Wally picked flowers. All the while, something kept nagging at him. There was something deeply, terribly wrong with this picture.

“Excuse me?”

Maxie jumped at the sudden voice. When he turned, he saw a Thievul, with a slight smirk on her face.

“Anabel?” Maxie asked. “What are you—”

“Ah, so your uncle has told you about me, hasn’t you?” Anabel said, interrupting. “That’s good. I have a proposition for you.”

“What are you talking about?” Maxie asked “Yesterday—”

Maxie was about to find out what was wrong.

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---

When Maxie awoke, his entire body felt like it was made of cement.

“Uhhhhgg…”

Slowly, he rubbed his head and opened his eyes. W-what just happened? Last I remember, I was talking to Anabel, but…

 

He found that, once again, he was in Blaise’s home, in his room.

“What the hell?” Maxie said, out loud. This was odd, for sure. Maybe Wally saw him pass out and took it upon himself to carry Maxie back, but if he did, Maxie wouldn’t be able to see the morning sun creeping through the room’s single window. Was I really out an entire day? Jacob wondered.

When he opened the door, he discovered that he was once again alone. Starting to distrust his surroundings, he meticulously combed over the entire room. As far as he could tell, everything was in order.

Then he got to the cupboard, where the bagel he had supposedly eaten still sat.

Maxie started breathing heavily.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK

 

Maxie picked up the bagel, filled with apprehension. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he—

He needed information. Aggressively, he took a bite out of the bagel and used his blessing.

!dt Steven Snorlax

Steven Snorlax

Age: 59

Qualifies for Typing Magic

Wields the Medallion of Sloth

Ability: Thick Fat

• Insulates the user from extreme temperatures.

Constitution -> 9/10

Physical power -> 9/10

Physical resistance -> 9/10

Special power -> 6/10

Special resistance -> 10/10

Agility -> 6/10

Stamina -> 9/10

Intelligence -> 10/10

Charisma -> 8/10

 

Known moves:

• Tackle
• Protect
• Body Slam
• Giga Impact

 

The Snorlax who leads the League of Heavenly Kings on the Eyelash Isles. Secretly also a member of Calamity, as the Prophet of Sloth. Usually relies on the Abilities of his medallion to help him in combat or in other situations.

 

Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Now what the hell is a Medallion of Sloth?

 

!dt Medallion of Sloth

 

One of the seven Medallions of Sin currently in existence. Its first ability allows the user to create and control invisible hands that can travel any distance without sacrificing any control. The second allows them to instantly kill anyone they touch, putting them into an infinite time loop that starts at the morning of the day the ability was activated, and ends at the end of their lifespan. The loop may restart prematurely if the victim attempts to reveal any information they learned from the time loop to anyone else. The loop may only be broken if the user is killed.

 

Okay, that’s my situation.

 

…What the fuck do you mean I’m in a time loop?

 

Maxie was still very much panicking and unsure of what to do, but the information provided by his blessing calmed his nerves somewhat. That didn’t solve the issue of determining what on earth he was going to do about any of this, though.

For what felt like ages, he paced around the room, mostly wasting time, and being generally distressed.

Do I try killing him? Do I run? Do I hide?

 

Is this really just going to go on forever? Am I functionally immortal now?

 

After the longest time, Blaise walked down the stairs, causing Maxie to jump a little.

“Maxie?” he asked. “What’s wrong? You look… disheveled.”

“N-nothing…” Maxie replied. “I’m just… pacing. You know.” So much for telling Blaise what happened…

 

“Huh,” Blaise simply said. “Well, you enjoy that, then.”

“I will,” Maxie replied. “It’s, uh, fun.”

“Have you eaten anything?” Blaise said. “I brought home some food.”

“I had a bagel?”

“How long ago?”

Maxie looked at the clock on the wall. “Uh… a few hours ago?”

Blaise chuckled. “Come help me unpack these.”

Maxie liked having such a normal interaction with Blaise, but it did almost less than nothing to ease his worries. He had no idea what to do, and he would not for a dangerously long amount of time.

He did not go outside for the rest of that day.

---

When he finally woke up the next day, he still wasn’t feeling great, but he wasn’t quite panicking anymore.

I should really try to do something today… But what? That was the question. He had a feeling he was screwed either way, but there were still so many unknowns.

Almost absentmindedly, Maxie picked up a newspaper off of the ground. This would not help.

‘Anabel Thievul Found Dead in Apartment’

 

‘Last night, Anabel Thievul was found dead in her apartment room. She was found hanging on a rope, apparently committing suicide after sustaining what appears to be several severe injuries and destroying most of her apartment. She-‘

Maxie stopped reading. Oh my god, that’s my fault, isn’t it? They killed her after finding her out! What if they come for Blaise too? Or Wally? Oh God it’s all my-

 

M-maybe they’ll leave those two alone… It felt almost like a coping mechanism, but Maxie needed to calm his nerves somehow.

Maxie threw the newspaper behind him, almost frustrated.

…Should I try killing myself to save her?

 

Would that even accomplish anything?

 

It was a harrowing thought, but it was occurring to Jacob that this was a very real option.

I need to clear my mind somehow… Eventually, Maxie made his way to that fateful park. It was an oddly serene place, which helped a great deal to calm him down. If he didn’t take a moment to reflect, he may have gotten a stomach ulcer.

Maxie sat down in the grass.

He took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

He closed his eyes. It was time to go into the tank.

!dt Medallion of Sloth

 

One of the seven Medallions of Sin currently in existence. Its first ability allows the user to create and control invisible hands that can travel any distance without sacrificing any control. The second allows them to instantly kill anyone they touch, putting them into an infinite time loop that starts at the morning of the day the ability was activated, and ends at the end of their lifespan. The loop may restart prematurely if the victim attempts to reveal any information they learned from the time loop to anyone else. The loop may only be broken if the user is killed.

 

The fact that it’s a genuine death at the end of every loop seems important, but I have no idea how to take advantage of that, so let’s set it aside for now.

 

…I could probably control when and where the loops restart, couldn’t I? That sounds very useful.

 

Is this a blessing in disguise?

 

…But what if I die of old age?

 

I… don’t want to live like that.

 

So I have to kill the Archbishop, then.

 

It scarred Jacob a little how easily he came to this conclusion, given the circumstances, but he really didn’t see another choice.

How would I even go about doing that, though? Taking him head-on will probably end like last time. I’m not even a very good fighter. I’m not exactly suicidal, either.

 

…I need help.

 

But from who? Wally? Blaise? Both of those seem like terrible options! Wally’s ability to fight was questionable at best, and Blaise would almost certainly be opposed to the idea.

Not seeing a way forward, Maxie stood up again…

“Oof!”

…And bumped directly into Wally.

“Dude, watch where you’re walking…” Maxie said reflexively.

“Urg…” Wally groaned. “Maxie? Where were you yesterday?”

“…I was in a funk,” Maxie replied honestly, but carefully.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Wally asked.

“No,” Maxie said quickly. I need to be very careful what I say to anyone else. I still don’t know where exactly the line is drawn. “You wouldn’t get it…”

“…Okay.” Wally stared off into the distance. In every direction, there were buildings. Some tall, some small. But they were surrounded.

“You ever feel suffocated?” Maxie asked out of the blue.

“Huh?”

“Like the whole world is closing in on you, yet you’ve got every option in the world at the same time?”

“Hm…” Wally mused. “I guess so, yeah?”

“That’s how I feel right now,” Maxie said. “I don’t know how else to describe it.”

There was a silence between them for a while.

“Do you ever wonder what might happen if we actually killed someone?”

“What?” Wally asked, seemingly a little shocked. “Where is this coming from?”

“I don’t know,” Maxie replied. “I just think that the world would be a little better if some people didn’t exist.”

“You can’t just kill someone, Maxie.”

I guess he’s staunchly opposed, too… Maxie started walking back home.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“I need to think about a few things,” Maxie replied, not even looking at Wally. “See ya around, dude.”

As Maxie walked, he continued to contemplate what to do.

Who would I even ask? Clearly, it needs to be someone who has a bone to pick with the church, but I feel like I don’t know anyone like that willing to kill. Surely…

 

Anabel.

 

But she’s dead.

 

Damn it… I wasted yesterday.

 

I-

“Ah, there you are.”

Maxie found his thoughts interrupted by a voice he absolutely did not want to hear. He whipped around, and to his horror, saw a certain Snorlax behind him.

“Do not be alarmed. I have no intentions of harming you. At least, not today.”

Maxie was still very much alarmed.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m talking to you right now. As it happens, I am aware who I’ve cursed.”

The archbishop paused, but Maxie did not take the opportunity to comment.

“I don’t know what happened, exactly, but I do know… some things.”

“What are you getting at?” Maxie snapped.

“Just letting you know that you’ll be reborn if you die of old age. So there is no escape. But I can make life easier for you.”

“Fuck off.”

“How rude. You haven’t even heard what I was going to say, you know.”

“Which is?”

“All you have to do is swear unquestioning loyalty to me, and then you’ll get what you want. More or less, anyway.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You’ll break eventually,” Steven replied casually. “Just know that if you pick a fight, you’d be fighting for the opportunity to die.”

Maxie paused. He suddenly found himself almost unreasonably angry. What a pompous asshole… I’ll make him pay! Feeling an odd confidence within him, he spoke.

“Wanna answer a question for me?”

“Oh?” Steven replied. “Ask away. It won’t matter.”

“How the hell did you know I was a human?”

Steven paused, and looked off to the side, as if he was pondering something. “Did I let that slip? Maybe I was trying to blackmail him? Hm…”

“Answer the question.”

“Such energy. And for a disappointing answer, too…” Steven sighed. “I just get little glimpses of the lives of the people I curse. Nothing much, really… I just saw that little tidbit. You were an entertainer, I think?”

That was disappointing… Jacob admitted. “…I’m leaving.”

“You were allowed to do that,” Steven pointed out. “It’s not like I was stopping you, you know.”

Maxie stormed off without saying anything else, and headed straight to Blaise’s place.

“Hey, Maxie,” Blaise greeted. “Did you read the news?”

“Yes, actually,” Maxie replied. “Guess we know who the culprit is now, huh?”

“You’re… oddly energetic.”

“…Yeah,” Maxie replied.

“Did you have a good day?” Blaise asked.

“Not particularly, no.”

“Hm… you know, if you think you want to head back and wash your hands of this whole ordeal, now is a good time to do so.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

Without another word, he headed into his room and closed the door behind him. It was time to start formulating a plan.

This timeline is probably already a lost cause… Unless I can find someone willing to do a hit on the Archbishop, that is. Not likely.

 

He opened up his journal, and prepared to jot down whatever he could think of, but immediately hit a blank.

Where do I even start with something like this? I think I might be totally alone…

 

Could I write down the knowledge I got from my blessing?

 

That might trigger a reset. Plus I could just access that information anytime I want, right?

 

Maxie’s mind was drawn to Anabel. She probably wasn’t going to be much help when she was dead, but maybe her allies were still kicking?

He didn’t know where to go for something like that either, though. Who would I even turn to if I wanted to do something like that?

 

…She was alive days ago.

 

Jacob realized what the easy way to get in contact with Anabel would be.

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