Subject Zero: CONFIDENTIAL (Short Stories)

Adventure Book (10)

     THE MIRROR PORTAL IN THE SCHOOL IS CRACKING!

     I suggested it would be a good time for F to take H on that journey he's been talking about while I puzzle over this problem. If the mirror breaks, all the madness of Beyond's planned eternity will come spilling into the Mirror World!

     In order to seal the mirror for good, it is going to take an adhesive of unearthly strength. I must return to the school.

The enormous scale of the entire interior would be impossible to capture on these pages. But here are a few of the more intriguing aspects of the school.

A school this big has not only climate control, but also actual full-blown weather. I spotted levers for sunshine, rain, and even snow. Not sure what the tornado button is for... Maybe a quick way to wipe out the students in case of a mutiny?

Of course, I doubt that I will have time to show this to H on his first trip to the school. We'll read up on how to retrieve an adhesive, and I'm thinking of discussing an apprenticeship offer with him this afternoon. If luck is with us, the security system is still defunct...

THE WORST HAS HAPPENED! BEYOND HAS BEEN LET LOOSE IN THE MIRROR WORLD!

I don't know who got hold of the key to unlock the portal (E had hidden it) or who Beyond deceived, but right now it does not matter.

I pray that if we fail, others will take up this fight. The fate of the World, the fate of the entire Universe, depends on it!!! This may be the last time that I write in this journal, or any journal, ever again. I know I have made many mistakes in my life, but I pray that I can finally make things right.

     H's fears are unfounded. All I feel toward him is brilliance and pride. He is a wiser man at sixteen than I was at twenty-five. Although he has made numerous mistakes in the past, he has an incredible future ahead of him — one in which he will hopefully avoid repeating my terrible errors.

     Looking back on my lifetime of catastrophic mistakes, I realize one great pattern in all my follies. I thought being a great man meant being alone. Apart from the crowd. I bristled at the idea of sharing my accomplishments with anyone. I shunned my allies so I could explore the Dream World, and I shunned V for having the sense to try to stop me from dooming the world.

     Even when I was given a second chance, I still held others at a distance. If I had been able to widen my circle of trust... If I had believed in the Palm Reader's prophecy sooner, we might have gathered everyone together and banished Beyond before he was able to strike. I just couldn't get over the idea of myself as the lone hero... and it will be my allies who pay the price.

     "Trust No One." What an absurd and paranoid idea. Trust shouldn't be given unconditionally, but it should be given a chance to be earned (this is exactly what I could've learned from Death's and F's past bond if I had paid close enough attention). There is strength in having the humility to work with and sacrifice for others — a strength I now realize was in A all along.

     A.L. will be the woman who saves the world, not me. I've spent so long apart from her, I almost forgot how she is the most selfless person I've ever met in any world.

     Thank Balance she is safe... for now. And I vow to spend the rest of my days making sure she will never be hurt by Beyond.

     There was someone else I needed to make amends to... my old partner, V.