"Well.... maybe, maybe, not." he replied.

"Part of my powers is that... time doesn't really function the same for me." he told them.

"It's hard to explain, but there's a chance I may just... disappear... from the world altogether." he muttered.

"Not knowing for certain is the worst..." Jackson commented.

"But I'm willing to take that risk." the man declared.

"Ever since Hank and my niece died, I've done nothing but rue this world." he responded.

"They didn't deserve to die. Hank was too nice, kind and gentle... and my niece was too young to have her future taken from her." he told them.

"I will gladly disappear to change that." he said.

"But that means this timeline will vanish altogether, right?" Jackson then asked.

"...nothing would make us happier." Sierra's friend responded sincerely.

Jackson sighed.

"I'll do it." he said.

"If it stops this world from coming to be... stops this senseless death and violence... then yes. I'll do it. If you are will to, effectively, sacrifice yourselves for this." he told them.

"We are." Sierra's friend replied.

"Indeed." the other man confirmed, before thinking about something.

"Hmmm." he mumbled.

"You may need some sort of proof... a verbal phrase or code... for Hank." he said.

"Just to cement that you're right."

The one with the time travel powers thought for a moment.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

"Hank and my niece are really close, actually. And he's her godfather." he told her. "When she was little, she always thought he was a big teddy bear protector." he said further.

"So tell him to please continue to be her teddy guardian." he said.

"Sleep." the man responded.

"Sleep?" Jackson asked.

"Sleep." the man confirmed.

"Once you are unconscious, I will send you back to a time when the two of you are asleep in the past." he explained.

"Trust me... it's not pleasant to actually be aware of the time travelling itself." he muttered.

"I see..." Jackson muttered. "And if we're not sleepy?" he asked.

"I have some... sleep aides... that can assist with that." Sierra's friend chimed in.

"Right then." her friend said.

"I guess.... we should start..." he muttered.

"Indeed." the man replied.

"You two. Get comfortable." he told Jackson and Sierra.

"I need to prepare." he said.

Jackson looked around, before seeing a pile of rags and garb beside her.

"Sure." he said.

"That'll work." he muttered, as he went and laid down on them.

Sierra's friend then made his way over with a jar.

"Ready to sleep?" he asked.

"I am." Jackson responded.

When she stepped out into the night, she saw someone was out there.

She couldn't see who, but she could guess.

He was looking at his hands intently. Studying them, almost.

And it looked like he was oblivious to the world.

"......." Jackson was silent as she asked her questions.

"Well, the answer to your second question is, upgraded." he told her.

"As for your first question... I don't know." he admitted.

"I feel... weird." he muttered.

"Like... not right, but at the same time, right." he said.

"It's... I dunno, hard to explain." he then sighed.

"What about you? Are you okay?" he asked her.

"It feels like it was all a bad dream." Jackson responded.

"Except... it feels too real to be." he said.

"Yet... well, here we are, and my memories are so vivid." he reasoned.

"It's... surreal." he mumbled.

"To be given a second chance like this..." he went on, trailing off a bit, and then shaking his head.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful this world was." he then sighed.