As she looked at the open door, someone walked past, and looked at her.

"..." they were silent, looking her up and down.

"Hello." they greeted her.

"How are you feeling today?" they asked.

"...please tell me you're not feeling chaotic, or like you've lost yourself." they then said further.

"You know what will happen if you try to step out of that room."

As soon as she tried to put her foot through the doorway, she was hit with a blast of mana.

It didn't hurt her, and it was localised to her, but it was a massive pulse that caused her to be flung back several feet.

And she landed harshly on her ass.

The one that had seen her winced when they saw this.

"Ooooh..." they murmured.

"Are you all right?" they asked her.

They nodded in response.

"Yeah." they said.

"I felt a little pressure, but I'm okay." they told her.

They then paused for a moment, looking her over.

"...you seem... different." they commented, scratching at their chin. "A little more composed than as of late." they continued.

"Something happen?"

The person looked... extremely confused for a moment. They had this look that stated that they felt like she should already know this. Which meant two things; the first being that they didn't know the 'swap' had taken place, and the second being that they were decently close to her. Or to Vic, anyway.

"Er... all right..." they said.

"What happened? People started changing. They started to become more feral. Less rational. Until they finally seemed to become animals... and then their bodies changed. They started being able to absorb mana from other people." he told her. "Other living things." he said further.

"As for my opinions... the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." he then told her.

"Do I think this was started by your sister and Kiah Remmington? Yes." he said.

"Do I think they intended for this? Hell no." he insisted.

"...I want to believe that Alice is still out there, though. I want to see her again. If nothing else... so I can finally tell her what I've wanted to for a while..." he then admitted, which was when Vicki truly recognised him.

He looked far different, but this was a man that both she and Alice knew. His name was Taylor, and it seemed like he had developed a crush on Alice.

Taylor was stunned for a moment, almost shocked by her reaction and questions.

"...what?" he muttered.

"Well, I remember that you told me that you were... wait..." he then mumbled, before stepping forward quickly, but stopping at the doorframe.

"Wait, wait, wait." he repeated.

"You were saying that you were going to try and bring your past self here!" he recalled, showing her that Vic had trusted Taylor with the information, at least.

"Is... did you... did SHE... succeed?" he asked.

"Are you... Vicki from the past?" he asked further.

Taylor looked away for a moment, clearly flustered and embarrassed, before clearing his throat slightly and looking back at her.

"Hi." he responded.

"And yeah... yeah, I'm alive." he said.

"And the barrier on that door is supposed to prevent any with the 'infection' from getting out." he then explained. "The reason you're allowed to stay here is mostly that, and how you are... or she was... whatever... working on a solution to this mess of a world we find ourselves in." he said further.

"Regardless... she was successful..." he mumbled.

"Maybe there IS some hope..."

"I think he does." Taylor responded.

He then paused and looked around, before stepping through the doorway.

"Admittedly, he and Vic talking about it seemed like more theory and such." he admtted.

"...weird to hear him called 'Ash' though." he then said. "He usually went by 'Jo'." he informed her further.

"Anyway... I'm sorry you have to see this world." he apologised to her.

"It's... horrible, to understate it." he finished, his tone heavy.

Taylor shook his head.

"No." he said.

"I don't." he lamented.

"If I did, I'd be trying to go there. I have to find her. She has to know that not everyone blames her for this, or wants to harm her or exact revenge or justice or whatever." he said further.

"...I've been trying to find her, too." he then went on.

"But every time I try and scry, it just points back here. I suspect that the barriers are messing with the scrying and just causing it to hone in here." he shrugged.

"If you want to." Taylor replied.

"Anyway... I should go." he then said.

"I need to make sure the barriers and barricades are holding firm." he told her.

"General security stuff at this point. Life-or-death, but... general security." he sighed.

"I hope you succeed." he then said further, making his way back to the door.

"This accursed world needs to die."

Taylor shook his head.

"Don't apologise." he said.

"I still have time. It's why I came by here." he told her.

"To see how Vic was doing. And... well, it ended up being how YOU were doing." he reasoned.

"Regardless, the barriers and such are fine, we just check up on them routinely, and everything was 100% last check." he assured her.

"Anyway, good luck." he finished.