Meerjou brought up a good point. If Synth and Stellarax were in danger, it could be bad news overall. But what can we do? We're already headed for Indiana. If they're still in Massachusetts, this could end badly. Rory thought.

"So it's really just a free walk from here to California? Sounds kinda boring if you ask me," Pyraxis sighed, cracking her knuckles and stretching her arms.

"Are you complaining about less work?" Rory asked sternly. Pyraxis tightened up, fixing her laid back posture at the sound of Rory's threatening voice.

"Psh, no sir!" she exclaimed. Kitty barked at her, and snapped at her hand, close enough to make her jerk back. Rory tossed Kitty a treat which he caught in his mouth on the fly, giving Pyraxis a death stare.

"You're training him to snap at me?!" Pyraxis asked.

"Yup. Someone's gotta keep you in line," Rory grumbled. Rory kept walking, when he kicked something. He tried to ignore the ridiculous faces Meerjou was making, trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?!" Pyraxis exclaimed, looking down at Meerjou who was dying of laughter.

"You- pfft," Meerjou couldn't even manage a sentence before straight up collapsing on the ground laughing.

"There is nothing in the Living Web that is that funny!" Pyraxis exclaimed. Rory turned around, and stood over Meerjou as she laughed her ass off.

"You- You got- PFFT HAHA!" Meerjou laughed. "You're idiots!"

"What-" Pyraxis started. "OH! HAHA!" Pyraxis began laughing just as much as Meerjou.

"Get up. We don't have time for this," Rory grumbled.

"We all have time for a little laughter," a distorted voice said. Meerjou and Pyraxis' faces started to distort, and so did his surroundings. Oh, yup. I'm going insane. I thought it would be a lot more gradual but nope! I've gone insane. Rory thought. Everything started spiraling into a pitch black.

What the- no, this isn't insanity. It can't be! Rory thought. Then what is it?! He felt something wrap around his foot, and tug him down.

Rory struggled to free his foot, but everytime he moved, it got tighter, and tighter, until he realized it was pretty hopeless.

"Rory..." a raspy whisper sang.

"This is so random," Rory said out loud, not sure if he was being dragged across a surface or just being dragged downward. After a while, he lost sense of time. There really wasn't anything around him to visually stimulate him either. So eventually, any fear or curiosities he had faded into boredom. "Where are we going?" he groaned.

No response.

The whispers continued though, whispering his name to the point where it was just white noise. "How long have we been here?" Rory asked.

Again, no response. Rory sighed, and started making random noises to entertain himself. "Mooshlop. Arvleglofle. Hevergblegh. What is the capital of house," Rory grumbled. Truly at rock bottom in terms of entertainment.

"Why me?!" he shouted into the abyss. "WHY ME?!" he screamed, desperate for an answer. At this point, he couldn't even tell if he was being dragged or not anymore. Maybe his foot was free!

Rory squirmed a little more. His whole body was now wrapped up in a black vine. Oh shit. Rory thought. He knew if he struggled at all he would probably suffocate.

Was he even alive at this point? He didn't know. "Ughhh. Leave me alone," Rory groaned. I mean, I'm pretty alone right now. Rory realized. An untold amount of time passed when Rory was fully encased in the vines. He'd accepted death, and stopped complaining all together, settling in to take a nap.

"RORY!" the voice snapped. Rory's eyes shot open in surprise, and he looked around to see the vines were gone, and he was back in the real world. He felt a hand land on his shoulder, and instinctively punched whoever it was in the face.

They caught his punch and moved his fist. A familiar face beamed at him.

"Ello!" Synth smiled.

"What the-" Rory breathed, laying his head down. "What the hell just happened?!" he asked himself.

"Uh- you passed out. For like, seven hours," Synth explained.

"Seven hours? Hah. No. He passed out for a day," Stellarax said from over Synth's shoulder.

"Well, I was asleep so it doesn't count!" Synth pouted.

"Where's Kitty?" Rory asked with a sigh.

"He's out with Meerjou and Pyraxis. They're out getting more food," Synth explained.

"And they took Kitty with them?" Rory asked.

"Well, we're kinda out of money. So they're hunting in a nearby forest. They figured Kitty would be helpful for that sort of thing," Synth shrugged.

"In the meantime, we're getting you away from the knot," Stellarax said.

"The knot?" Rory asked, sitting up.

"You fell into a time knot. We didn't know they existed on Earth. Considering it was a supposedly 'stable' planet," Stellarax explained.

"A time knot?" Rory asked. Still just as confused.

"It's a place in a time web where two Timelines collide. Allegedly, you can travel to a different Timeline using one. You could also get stuck and die," Stellarax said.

"How did I-" Rory started.

"It can be as simple as touching it. And it seems that you kicked it," Stellarax said.

"Wait, so there's time webs, time lines, time knots, universes, galaxies, solar systems and planets?" Synth asked.

"Time knots are at the bottom of the list in terms of size," Stellarax said.

"Why is the world so damn complicated?" Rory asked, cupping his face in his hands.

"Yeah, speaking of complicated things. How did you even fall in the first place?" Stellarax asked.

"I kicked it?" Rory said.

"Yeah, but usually only Weavers come out unscathed. Rory's brain froze. His thought process stopped entirely, too afraid to think anything. "Rory?"

"Rory.exe has crashed! Please reboot and try again," Synth said in a monotone voice. There was a long pause between the three of them. Rory chose his next words carefully. Desperate to dance around the subject.

"How'd you even find us?" Rory asked.

"The fate stone led us to you guys," Synth said. "It also gave us a plan to take down Jicknox!" Synth grinned, whispering the plan into Rory's ear.

"Rory. Stay on task. How'd you survive?" Stellarax asked. Rory's brain froze again, and suddenly, he couldn't seem to think, or maybe he just didn't want to.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged. That was the truth. He wasn't sure how he survived. He wasn't even fully sure if he had survived yet. Maybe I'm dead. Rory wondered. I don't feel dead though. Would I feel dead if I were dead?

Stellarax sighed.

"That's okay, as long as you're still here," Stellarax said, sitting down on a log.

"Can I do my lesson thing now?" Synth asked Stellarax with anticipation.

"He just woke up-" Stellarax started.

"What-" Rory started.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Synth smiled, sitting down next to Rory.

"No, Synth. That's a no," Stellarax said, rubbing his eyes.

"Ugh... fine," Synth groaned, standing up and crossing his arms.

"What've you guys been doing the whole time?" Rory asked.

"You're talkative today. We've been looking for you guys," Stellarax said.

"Oh," Rory said, now feeling bad for somewhat forsaking them. There was a long pause. "Where are we?" Rory asked.

"A place called Colorado," Stellarax said.

"But we'd just gotten to Indiana," Rory said.

"What do you expect us to stop? No, we had your corpse so we carried you. 'Your highness,'" Stellarax spat scornfully. The idea of being carried made Rory uncomfortable.

"Yeah, speaking of all that stuff, can I sleep now?! We've been traveling forever!" Synth complained.

"Only after you eat this deer we caught!" Pyraxis exclaimed, emerging from the trees carrying a doe.

"I- I caught some wild berries!" Meerjou exclaimed. Kitty prodded up to Rory and dropped him a bird.

"Good job," Rory said, patting Kitty on the back.

"Aye! I'm the one who caught a whole ass deer!" Pyraxis exclaimed.

"You can fly, Kitty can't," Rory grumbled.

"And? Deer are still hard to catch without a range weapon," Pyraxis said.

"Kitty caught a flying creature. Kitty can't fly. You caught a land creature, you can fly," Rory grumbled.

"Would you two just stop arguing?" Meerjou asked with a sigh. Everyone was silent. The hoots of owls and chirps of crickets hummed quietly throughout the forest. "Rory, are you alright?" Meerjou asked finally.

Rory shrugged. "Can't tell if I'm dead or not,"

"What do you mean you 'can't tell?'" Meerjou asked.

"I'm not sure if I'm alive or dead,"

"Okay, well, do you feel like- sick, or..." Meerjou offered.

"No," Rory said dryly. "That's what's making me unsure-" Rory started, interrupted by Pyraxis punching him in the gut. "Ow," Rory winced, holding his stomach.

"Raxy!" Stellarax snapped.

"I'm fine-" Rory said, gasping for air.

"Yeah, see? He's fine, just knocked the wind outta him," Pyraxis said, gesturing to Rory.

"What was that for though?" Meerjou asked.

"Rory, alive or dead?" Pyraxis asked with a grin.

"Alive. Wish I were dead though," Rory spat, finally catching his breath.

"Aw, c'mon now! There's still so much to live for!" Synth exclaimed.

"That's great. I don't want to live for it," Rory spat, crossing his arms and sitting down.

"But you gotta," Pyraxis said. "Cus, everyone else wants to live, and a lot of other people want to live, and they're all counting on you to live," Pyraxis pointed out. "So just hang in there will ya?" she asked, starting a striking a match and lighting a fire. Rory stared at her.

"What?" he asked dryly.

"Yeah, what you just said, kinda didn't make any sense," Synth shrugged.

"I failed English four times, okay?" Pyraxis grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Four? Heh, I failed five times!" Synth exclaimed.

"I didn't even take English," Rory grumbled.

"You guys failed English?" Meerjou and Stellarax asked at the same time.

"Jinx!" Meerjou grinned.

"Meerjou why-" Rory started. Meerjou covered her mouth.

"I forgot! I-" Meerjou started, fear and guilt filling her voice.

"Knock on wood," a voice laughed from behind them.

Jicknox had returned.

"Uh- TAKE THE DOE AND GIVE US A HEAD START ASSHOLE!" Pyraxis shouted, throwing the limp body of the doe at Jicknox. Jicknox caught the doe, and sighed.

"No," he said dryly.

"Hey Jicknox," Rory started as Jicknox turned his head to stare at Rory. Pyraxis flipped off Jicknox, and started flying away.

"WHAT?" Jicknox snapped. His breathing quickened, frustrated that Pyraxis had escaped. Rory walked up to Jicknox, and stood right within his grasp. Jicknox didn't grab him, only looked down at Rory with a small smirk.

"What was death like?" Rory asked, looking up at him.

"I'll answer your question, if you answer mine," Jicknox said. The others started running away, except Kitty, who honorably stood by Rory's side. "What did your mother do to you... to make you so..." Jicknox started thoughtfully, kneeling down, and lifting Rory's chin. "Cold?" He paused for a moment, then stood up. "I mean, usually my method of torture is to take what people love most and destroy it but- Kitty won't let me kill him, and you-" Jicknox sighed. "There's nothing else!" Rory sighed, and clenched his fists.

"My mother was evil. If I had to sit in a room with you or her, I'd pick you," Rory started, staring up at Jicknox. "She'd let other people torture us for profit, and just when I thought: 'It's okay, because she loves us,' she'd stab one of us in the back so hard we'd bleed out. I used to take pride in calling myself her son. Now though? Now I wish I were never born as opposed to being one of hers," Rory said. "I was too naive to see what was hidden under her thick facade made of oil and lies. I'd like to think I'm older and wiser now, but truth be told nothing's changed,"

"And you told me... all that, just to know the answer to immortality?" Jicknox asked.

"No, I told you all that to know what happens after death," Rory snapped. Jicknox laughed.

"Rory, if you know what happens after death, you have no reason to fear it. If you have no reason to fear it, the gods see no purpose in killing you, and who's to say I know what happens after death?" Jicknox asked.

"You died," Rory said sternly.

"My soul was tangled with Fate before my creation. I was blessed, Rory Jelikaro. Your mother, was blessed by Fate, and so were her sisters," Jicknox grinned.

"Well then..." Rory grumbled, looking down at the ground. "Where the fuck is Fate?" Rory asked, looking back up at him.