Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire: Through the Fire and the Flames We Carry On

Back again for part 3

• Pulling the same bluff as yesterday, Eggo simply responds.* Hit me. * As casually as they would playing a low stakes game of blackjack at the casino. They do however listen to her, and guide their hand down to their pussy, slipping two fingers inside to curl as the air continues it's work on your clit.* You're going to soak the bed, one moment. * The portal pulls down and disappears, leaving us on the beach without the blanket.* Now what was your question? Oh yes. Last night, you made me cum deep, deep inside you. I loved every second of it, up until the moment you launched an invasion.

Eggo looks back at Kara, an eyebrow raised as they look over her face. It looked flushed, but also pained. They wave away their magic, giving her a moment to rest as they let themself fall back into the warmth of the beach. Well, who am I to disagree with that, you have been in my mind after all. Not even I can unravel that mess, try as I might. I'm not even sure what you saw in there.

Amen to that. Eggo sighs, putting their hand above Kara's. They recognise the look in her eyes, it's clear to Eggo that she is looking right through them. There's something dark on this womans mind, no spell or smile will break it. These people have such short lives, yet it is poetic that so much of this time is spent in dispair of how that time had been used. The scars of tragedy are all to clear behind her eyes. Eggo rolls over, resting a hand on her opposite shoulder as they put their forehead against hers. I'm sure you saw a scar or two inside me, whether you realised it or not.

Though her eyes had shone red at Eggo earlier, they had not been in the right state of mind to fully recognise its meaning. There's a shimmer of crimson, a flash of maroon, and a lick of vermilion in the rolling seas of her irises. The lights begin to consume them, until their vision is tunneled by the light. Kara appears to be walking towards them through it, and their hand disassociated from their body reaches out to her palm up. A wave of blue suddenly shoots through the tunnel back towards hits source, then green, grey. The colours bleed out and swirl. Am I... falling forward now? The tunnels shades into purple as Kara's hand finally finds it's way into Eggo's, and everyone tumbles down.

Eggo looks at the door in front of them, rubbing their eyes to try to remove their greyscale vision to no avail. Prone on the floor and inexplicably now clothed, they look up at Kara only to see her clad in fishnets and leather. Are we back in my memories? No, this isnt a place I remember. I'd remember a greyscale world... Wouldn't I? Unless... Kara's gasp confirms their suspicions. Clambering up from the floor, they finally take a good look around. Kara... Where are we right now?

You didn't need to say sorry for taking me here. I suppose it's only fair, since you got to see mine. Thank you for inviting me here. Eggo says, clearly naive to the fact that them being here is a complete accident. The bright colours eminating from the room entice Eggo, leading them to walk up behind Kara wrapping an arm around her waist. Peering into the memory over her head, they smile softly and laugh. A friend of yours? She looks happy, I wonder what you must have done to make her smile so.

Your parents? *Eggo asks softly, embracing Kara from behind. They know how difficult it can be to go back and see the older memories, of reminiscing about times when one was happy and unbound. The yearning to feel that innocence again. There had been days when Eggo hadn't cared what they were, or why they had been able to do what they had. To be as cute and as chaotic as one wished. But even in that, they had been alone - at least as far as they knew. If they had had a family like this, they would never know. Yet something in this memory made them want it. A simple domestic life. That was the reason they had settled in EF City after all. A tear comes to their eyes, and they find themselves unknowling beginning to squeeze Kara in their embrace. Lifting the pressure immediately, a meek "Sorry" escapes their lips.

Eggo stands out in the crowd, as any tall person would, watching the small people seemingly walk through them. They notice Kara is fixated on a girl looking very similar to the previous. Is this your life? I must say I'm curious. Everyone seems to revolve their lives around big events and feelings. You tend to forget the simple day to day pleasures like those. Just walking and talking. It doesn't mean much in the future, but in this moment that conversation is everything to you. Eggo smiles, finding the lighter side in Kara's memories. Loving parents, an exciting life. Yet a dark presence exists in her life. What - no, who - happened to you Kara? They think as they look down to see a tear forming in Kara's eye. They don't swab it away yet, they don't think she particularly needs a finger to the eye in this moment.

Eggo pauses for a moment as they watch Kara walk into the next room. Yet this one didn't yet feel complete to Eggo yet. They kneel down in front of the young Kara, analysing her face. This was indeed her, from what seemed to be a better time. Kara's words ran through their mind. At a quick glance, it would have appeared she was apologising to her friend. That a rift had grown between them that couldn't have been repaired. But Eggo had spent too many nights thinking about what they may have said to their younger self, of how to avoid tragedy and pain, and to apologise for their future. This young, bright girl would grow up to be the woman who felt so cold in their arms. Eggo thought for a moment, before attempting a small bit of magic inside Kara's mind. They didn't knoe how it worked in here, if they had pulled something from nothing, or had stolen the item from another memory, but in an instant a small glass prism appeared in their hands. A ray of hope, for when you need it most. They whispered, closing the young Kara's fist around it. Taking a deep sigh, they stand up and pace towards the door Kara had slipped into, unsure of whether they were so eager to explore her psyche.

Eggo grips back, but does nothing more. Curiousity runs through their mind about what had been on the paper. Had it been a confession of love gone awry? Or had it been the final goodbye of someone who had been a close confidant? The temptation to walk over and read overwhelmed Eggo, but looking back at the woman who held their hand so tightly persuaded them not to. The trauma on her face was clear. She didn't want to be here at all. No doubt she had pondered how this moment could have been changed. How if this girl Delores had felt differently about her how she could have lived her life. The deep sadness in her soul had been revealed, and Eggo could do nothing but stare at her. Not in pity, though an element of that shone in their look. But sadness took precedent, seeing that sweet girl still under Kara's skin, beaten down by life. Trying to muster something to say, Eggo mutters out a phrase only loud enough to hear. You were worthy of her love. It's a shame you never found out.

Eggo puts the pieces together quickly, but says nothing. This is Kara's journey, and they are only a passenger not here to pass judgement. This young girl holding their hand needed only comfort if she were to keep moving forward. A memory comes to mind, and Eggo pulls Kara away from the door. Still holding her hands, they sit in front of her not worrying if she would do the same. I don't remember when this happened, I have no time frame for anything past the last 5 years if I'm honest, but the year at least was somewhere around 800 ad. There was a boy, a boy I cared for deeply. So deep in fact that I no longer cared if we were caught. I had lost track of the times we were in. We were caught. Only I escaped. I always wondered if I could save him, if I could listen to my own advice and not be headstrong enough to think I could have come out in a time so unprepared because it had been so normal for him. The past can be changed, but the people we were can't. Otherwise we can't grow into the people we are now. You probably don't take much comfort in knowing that, but know at least that you are not alone in thinking how the past could be changed. There is much I would redo if only I understood how

The storyline was starting to shake Eggo to the core. He had seen Kara naked. There were no stretch marks, no signs that she had been in the later stages of pregnancy. Eggo had enough details to start filling in the blanks of Kara's story not yet seen. She had been pregnant, and now she serves someone who will push her to such extremes without any semblance of doubt. The two were connected certainly, and Eggo almost didn't want to know how. But they were stuck here with her, and it is clear Kara needs to explore her past more than she is letting on. Eggo does little more than wrap their arms back around the girl, swabbing her cheeks with their thumbs to clear any tears that may have been wept as she watched.

So, she is who you were afraid of. The woman who sent you after me. What a piece of work. Eggo wants to say. The story has become mostly clear in their head now. There's a 1000 things they could say, to bitch about the woman who had such a profound effect on Kara's life, to comfort Kara from what happened to say it isn't her fault. But none of these things will help so long as Kara can hear herself scream. Eggo drops to one knee in front of her and clasps her ears in their hands. A little bit of magic helps to create a seal and cancel out the noise as Eggo stares into her eyes. Though trying to be stoic, every emotion they are feeling can still be read in their eyes. Sorrow, pity, the need to care and the need to help, with a hint of understanding, confusion, terror, and something that even they cannot read in their own thoughts. Once the screaming finally stops, they unclasp her ears and simply say. I'm sorry.

Eggo pulls Kara into their chest, forcing her to look away from what happens next. You've been through so much Kara. Please, let me carry the burden of watching this one. What you do from here on out isn't you. It was coerced. You wouldn't choose to do this if it had just been you, would you?

Eggo pauses for a long time after watching the scene, taking in every aspect that they possibly can. The pacing and depth of Kara's breath. The look of fear on the two men's faces. The determination of Desdemona's face. You... You don't want to go back to her, do you? Eggo hopes the answer is no as they watch the memory loop over again, however the looming issue of the child may still sway her answer. The baby was stolen from the womb, surely it should be dead? Yet magic seems to be at play. If they can bend time and space to their will, it stands to reason that the baby may still be alive. Or at least, Kara may believe it still to be living.

Eggo closes the door this time, muttering a simple "I see" under their breath. They pull Kara closer encouraging her to cry on their shoulder as they begin to lament. What has happened to you is a travesty, but it is also something you will never want to forget. Believe me, you do not want to forget the pivotal moments that made you who you are today. Take that advice from someone who has. You have been forced down a trial of pain and fire, and you have still managed to make it through. What matters more is how you choose to move forwards. A great philosopher once told me that through the fire and the flames we carry on, that every tribulation thrown our way can be overcome and that we can ultimately come out better for it. But you have to want it Kara. You have to want it.

Eggo pauses for a moment to ponder on the girls words. It seemed important in this moment to choose words very carefully. This wasn't the first time they had had to talk someone down, and they didn't want to fail somebody again. You're right when you say you are that girl. You have done everything you have shown me and likely more. Do you want to know why everything got so freaky in my mind? It's because I was afraid of what you might find. Sometimes, when you can travel through time, you meet yourself. I once met myself in a trench in 1945, wearing a uniform that I despise. I think it's safe to say the other me despised the uniform I was wearing too. All I know is that both of those me's would have done terrible things. But I learned to atone for both, and to grow and move on from such a painful meeting. I know it isn't what you went through, but I'm sure you can appreciate what I am trying to tell you. We can't always justify the bad things we have done. But leaving after the bad things have happened gives us no time to grow, and leaves our legacy as just being that person. Be patient with yourself, and seek to grow and to forgive, and who knows what might happen. All I can say for certain is yes, that girl was and still is you. But she didn't deserve everything that has happened. She was young and she was still learning. I think she still is today

We never know we are spiraling until it is too late. We often tell ourselves otherwise to keep ourselves sane. Yes, you could have responded differently. But you made the choices you did. You don't have to forgive her for it, you only need to accept what you have done. If you don't, it will always eat you up inside. Taking a moment to breathe, Eggo runs their fingers through Kara's hair, managing to create a short braid to keep her hair from sticking to her face in strands. The fact that you are sorry tells me one thing. You don't have to do this alone. Not anymore. The glint in the young Kara's hand suddenly raises a question in Eggo's head. She was never really given that, but it exists now in her memories. Will she remember that prism once we leave? Egoo shakes their head, trying not to deal with such existential thoughts when trying to help. Amen to that Kara, but one small thing. How do we get out of here? I've never exactly had to leave a mind before

(What a scene)