Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How long has it been for them, already? As it turns out, you quickly lose count in a time loop, in part to try to remember more important events, and simply to not go insane from the ever increasing number. Sometimes, it’s easier to go into denial about your mental state when you don’t truly keep track of everything that’s been happening. But their feelings eventually caught up to them, sending an alarm to their brain.

As they were exploring Giant Deep’s statue workshop, it hit Pebble especially hard: Their loneliness in a loop no one’s aware of is starting to weigh on their shoulders. Well, almost no one is aware, safe for one person. The obvious next step, once they’ve figured out what was going on in there, was to visit their recently made time pal.

“Hey there, time buddy. How has the loop been treating you?”

Pebble sat cross-legged next to Gabbro’s hammock, getting ready to dump most of their knowledge to their friend. Quite frankly, they didn’t know nearly as much as they wished, but they could name a few things: The existence of the Eye of the Universe, the distortion warps, a few Nomai constructions such as the hanging city, and most recently, the statue workshop information.

“Whoa there, pal, that’s a lot of information at once. You’ve really been working hard, haven’t you?”

“Not really?”

“You know, there’s no rush. We have as many shots as we want. You could, y’know, take a break here and there.”

Pebble didn’t really like the idea of spending too much time idle with their own thoughts, lately. Doing something, having a purpose gave them a sense of control over their own life, which the loops made them feel ripped from. Then, they got an idea.

“Hm… Mind if I spend a few loops with you then?”

Gabbro turned their head to them, mildly surprised, but didn’t hold any judgment in their actions.

“Sure thing. It’ll give you a short vacation. Come by anytime you want to chill out.”

Pebble smiled under their helmet, content with the current deal: a place to rest, with someone else to distract their thoughts. As they were going to dump more information, Pebble heard a familiar explosion noise, and knew not enough time was left. They better not exhaust their chatting possibilities while the world is ending.

Into the next loop, they immediately flew back to Giant’s Deep. As always, they flew without thinking much. They’ve already felt on autopilot using their ship for a while now, even without using the eponymous tool. Landing not-so-safely, but still landing on Gabbro’s island, Pebble came back to their senses and sat by their friend. For once, they were the first to initiate a chat.

“I wanted to share a few more discoveries, but the supernova reached us. As I was going to say-”

“Shush.”

“Huh?” Pebble was taken aback by Gabbro’s rejection.

“Didn’t you come here to rest? You’re just going to tire yourself out by talking all the time.”

Pebble definitely didn’t like the prospect of having to be alone with their thoughts again.

“What- What else am I supposed to do?”

“Just… listen? To the rain, to the wind? What d’you think I do here, all loop long?”

“I… guess so.”

“You don’t seem thrilled. If you want, I can start rambling about quantum mechanics.”

“... No thanks, I’m not really interested. I’ll try to do what you suggested.”

Reluctantly, they laid next to the hammock, and looked at the sky. They tried not to think much, but their best efforts were met with backlash from their mind. Quickly, it all flooded with various thoughts about a mix of the most random of things, and a longing for something more to their life, lacking a spark they once felt. Progressively, they felt more and more disconnected from everything: their body, their surroundings… And while they disliked losing control, unfortunately at the moment, it was beyond them to regain it back. They weren’t sure if seconds or minutes had passed, but they eventually became aware of Gabbro’s flute, and as if something shifted inside them, they asked Gabbro something.

“How can you stay so calm when your mind can wander in so many places?”

“The answer seems obvious. I meditate, take deep breaths…”

“Could you teach me?”

While surprised by their eagerness, Gabbro obliged, and the next loop went by without Pebble even noticing. Upon waking up at the campfire again, they were mildly confused by their latest actions. As Pebble headed to their ship, they hesitated to go back to Giant’s Deep, not wanting to lose control again. Yet, once inside the hull, they automatically drove there without asking themself further questions. Getting out of their ship, as the sight of Gabbro came back into Pebble view, they felt at ease again. Sitting next to them, they asked with a newfound interest.

“Hey, could you tell me about these quantum mechanics, while I try to lightly meditate again?”

“Woah, you’re sure you’re good there, buddy? I never saw you so calm before.”

They didn’t give it any second thoughts. “Yeah, I’m good. Lay it on me.”

And so went the following few loops. For an unknown reason, they felt very serene around Gabbro, something Pebble didn’t agree with upon waking up at the start of every loop. But they figured it was silly to argue with themself, and were in part motivated by curiosity of whatever was happening to them. It was a strange sense of attachment, one they never felt before. Their first thought obviously went to being in love, a feeling they never really felt, or paid any attention to. Pebble felt oddly reassured to think they simply fell in love. They… always felt weird for being completely disinterested in the subject, and it gave them a sense of control again. It was strangely nothing like other people described: no butterflies, no blushing… But Pebble heard it was “complicated”, which they sure believed, so it surely must be that.

However, after a few loops, they woke up rather confused, more than usually at least. The latest loop, the quantum caves of Ember Twin came into a short conversation, and they claimed to be interested to visit them. While they loved space exploration, at this very moment, they felt no need to get involved with anything quantum. This feeling often appeared after the lengthy conversation the two would have, which Pebble would often have no interest in upon coming back in time, sometimes forgetting smaller parts of it. But they figured this time around, as they promised Gabbro they would leave them alone, they’d have to visit another planet. Frankly, they were unsure why they kept visiting them, so a fresh change was welcome, in a way.

Powering up their ship, they headed straight to the Ember Twin’s caves. Seeing the Sun station from afar gave them a vague idea to try to land on it, a ridiculous idea they silently mocked upon exiting their ship. However, once inside the caves, the distracting hike they thought it would be, quickly turned into a nightmare. Everything moved around as they turned, they quickly lost track of where they were going, and before they realised, sand was filling in quicker than they realised. They started panicking, searching for any way out, but the quantum mechanisms decided to mess with Pebble, this loop. As they realised their crushing fate, panic overtook them. Until it didn’t anymore. They haven’t died yet, and their fate wasn’t looking any brighter, but something clicked, and they felt oddly calm. A singular thought came into their suddenly clear mind.

“Meditate, now.”, and so they did.

The next loop began, and Pebble didn't even feel panicked. If anything, the one feeling that overtook them was calmness. For once, they weren’t confused about their latest actions, either. If anything, they were confused about their usual avoidant behavior. They looked at the sky, and thought to themself about staying at Timber Hearth for the loop, chilling a bit. There was no rush, right? They stayed maybe a minute or two in bed, before Slate caught up to the unusual behavior.

“Are you going to sleep in through the big day, Hatchling?”

“Why not.” They answered, casually, taking Slate by surprise.

“And I thought you were excited for your first launch! Surprises me, coming from you. You know, the launch codes aren’t gonna get themselves.”

Right, they don’t know Pebble already has had them, for multiple loops. But perhaps going to the museum would give them an opportunity to slack off some more this time. It’s been a while since they last went, after all. After a short walk, they reached their destination. Pebble found Hal and Hornfels by the Nomai statue with now open eyes.

“Hey pal, how’s life treating you?”

Hal turned around, before greeting them. “Hey, it’s… you?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Pebble noticed Hal was staring oddly at them, before they noticed their unusually casual posture, which they quickly corrected by awkwardly crossing their arms.

“Um… Oh, look, you gotta see this! The statue opened its eyes!”

“I know.” Pebble’s answer threw off both Hearthians. They quickly tried to change subjects to distract the two confused glances. “... so, anyway. I had a question about the quantum shard. It originates from the quantum moon, right?”

“Yes? I mean, of course it did, but… I thought you didn’t care much about that sort of stuff.”

“That’s funny, because now I do.” They replied, regaining their previous posture.

“We are doomed, the newest recruit has turned into a smaller Gabbro.” Hornfels jokingly commented.

The comment made Pebble feel oddly warm, it simply felt right. This feeling was however cut short by Hal’s hand on their shoulder, looking at them straight in the eyes.

“Hey, buddy. Pebble. Are you sure you’re fine?”

Before suddenly, everything felt off. Their posture felt off, this situation felt off, their previous thoughts felt off. Overtook by confusion, Pebble blinked a few times, before asking in a very confused tone.

“Huh… what’s happening?” Unfortunately, the comment only made the two Hearthians look further concerned. “I mean- I know what’s happening, I just… I think I gotta go?”

Pebble awkwardly made their way back down, rushing to the launch pad. They stared at it incredulously. It’s been a while since they last lost control to this extent, and it made them terrified. Why, what, who? … Well, perhaps the “who” part could be answered. Entering their ship, they rushed straight to Giant’s Deep. Landing in a hurry, they got out of their ship, only to find themself staring at Gabbro upon getting out. They internally tried to fight the usual feeling that made them lose control on this damned planet. Despite their various facial expressions being hidden by their helmet, their pal noticed something was up.

“Hey buddy, stuck in place by gravity? No, seriously, what’s up with you?”

Pebble snapped out of their internal argument, approaching Gabbro.

“I- I don’t know! I just- lost control, I guess? I was in the museum, saying nonsensical things, and, and… I think it’s your fault.”

Gabbro tilted their head, before acting fakely hurt. “My fault? How could you! …But I’m interested in hearing you out. Did I make you go insane?”

Pebble held their breath in, before sighing. They had to tell the truth.

“I think I am in love with you.”

“Excuse me?” Gabbro got up from their usual laying position, now sitting in their hammock. “I thought you were one of those people to never feel love.”

“I don’t know. You just seem to live permanently in my head. When I am with you, I just change everything I am, and become like you. Usually, it goes away, but when I woke up this loop, it happened again. I have obviously fallen for you.”

There was silence, quickly followed by laughter from their time friend.

“What- is that not what love is?”

“Hahaha- No, pal, that’s not what love is. Quite frankly, I have no idea what it actually could be, but it’s certainly not romantic feelings.” They paused for a bit, thinking to themself. “But maybe, as you put it, I live ‘permanently’ in your head one way or another, certainly.”

“Why?”

“I have no clue! Perhaps you needed your time pal to follow you around? Or maybe your brain needed some sort of ‘brain buddy’? Actually, does the reason why even matter?”

Pebble lowered their head, ashamed. “Well, yes. I need to know why you’re quite literally inside my brain.”

“Perhaps you should worry more about having a version of me inside your mind, rather than why it happened.” Gabbro’s comment left Pebble thinking. “Hey. Have you tried to establish contact at least, or anything of the like?”

Pebble shook their head a no. “Why would I?”

“Because you two share a brain?”

“Us two? But it’s only my brain.”

“Obviously, you’re not quite the only one in control there. Now, it doesn’t hurt anybody to say hi, does it? Come on, sit next to me and try to focus.”

Pebble perplexedly sat in the sand, not far from the physical Gabbro. They didn’t like the prospect, but they figured the one to have started it all probably had better knowledge on the matter. They focused a bit, thinking to themselves.

“Hey… Mind Gabbro or something, are you there?”

Nothing. They relaxed in return, before an almost intrusive thought hit them.

“Looks like I am.”

“Huh???”

Pebble was deeply confused. The thought didn’t come from them directly, but still felt it had an intent an intrusive one would not have. It wasn’t the first time they experienced it, but they usually repressed it. They followed up with another question.

“How did you arrive in… my brain?”

“No clue.” Mind Gabbro paused, before continuing. “I might be a mind picture. A representation of how you saw Gabbro at a given time, turning into a kind of mind buddy.”

“But then, how did you gain consciousness?”

A short pause. “Do you ask yourself how you gained consciousness?”

“Not really, I was just born.”

“And I don’t know any better than you. I exist, and that’s all I know.”

Pebble felt upset, before looking back to the physical Gabbro.

“Have you gotten in contact yet?”

“I suppose so. But they don’t know why they exist.”

“As I said: does it truly matter?”

“I…” Pebble sighed, again.

A familiar boom was heard in the sky again, urging Gabbro to say their final words.

“Well, looks like that’s it for this loop. But your adventure with mind-me is only starting. So, just like how you would be friendly to your pal, will you treat your head buddy with kindness?”

As the blue light reached Giant’s Deep, Pebble closed their eyes.

“I’ll try.”

Chapter Text

Pebble woke up once again next to the campfire. They didn’t immediately get up, taking some time to make sure what they experienced wasn’t only a vast joke.

“Psst, Mind Gabbro… Do you still exist?” They thought, expecting at best nothing, or at worse a “Yup”.

“Why would I not exist anymore?”

This wasn’t quite the expected answer, confirming two rather scary assumptions: not only did Mind Gabbro still exist, but their thought pattern was an independent one which Pebble could not control.

“I don't know. I thought perhaps I was being silly, last loop. You’re only in my mind, after all.”

“I can take over and show up outside of your mind, if that’s what you want.”

“...No thank you.” A pause. “So, what now?”

“Weren’t we exploring Ember Twin’s caves two loops back?”

“We?” Though it was unusual, it's true that using “we” made sense now. ”Uh, I suppose so. But the sand crushed me- well, us to death. Can’t really avoid it.”

“What about getting out of the caves before the sand rises too high?”

This made way too much sense for an idea Pebble didn’t think of directly, yet still somehow appeared in their collective mind.

“That’s… yeah. But what are we gonna do for the remainder of the loop?”

“I dunno, meditate?” Pebble wasn’t too convinced, which Mind Gabbro picked up on. “Or, you know, there’s someone hanging on Ember Twin, we can go visit them.”

Pebble was disturbed an entity stuck in their head could immediately tell how they felt or what they thought, but tried to stay in denial about it.

“Chert, right? …We could do that.” They both looked up at the sky. “Speaking of, we should head out now, before the caves get clogged with sand.”

Pebble and their mind buddy went up the launch pad, straight to the ship. As Pebble drove there, it almost seemed like Mind Gabbro wanted to ask them something, but couldn't quite find the words. Well, whatever, they'll ask later. Landing on the Ember Twin, it took them an embarrassingly long time to find the cave. A bit too long, leading them to only arrive there when entering would lead to their likely demise. Pebble tried to not think it out loud, but…

“You think it's my fault we're late, huh?”

“You- why did you put your nose in how I felt?!”

“Can't really help it y’know? Besides, you've been doing this as well, without realizing it.”

Mind Gabbro sure had a point there, much to Pebble’s disappointment. They tried to focus on something else…

“What now?”

“Didn't we agree on visiting Chert?”

Pebble was surprised, almost mildly offended their brain buddy remembered so easily something that got out of their own mind. They didn't want to face it, but the whole experience was quite eerie.

“Alright, why not.”

The both of them headed to their friend’s camp. Once in sight, Pebble’s body stopped walking, interrupted by their mind companion.

“I'm not really interested in chit chats at the moment, don't be surprised if I stop talking.”

“Isn't your whole deal that you're stuck in my mind with me?”

Mind Gabbro felt confused. “Not necessarily. I wasn't always there these past few loops, was I? Neither were you.”

That last part stung Pebble. “Neither was I?”

“You weren't really ‘there’ when I was in control last loop, were you?” Mind Gabbro felt how Pebble was upset. “Anyway, I'll let you go do your thing, the clock is still ticking, after all.”

Pebble sighed out loud, before heading straight to their camping coworker. Approaching them, Pebble waved at Chert, who waved back, before resuming playing their drum.

“Hi, can I sit there?” They asked, pointing next to the other astronaut.

“Oh, it’s you! Sure, you can, welcome to the Hourglass Twins.”

Sitting next to them, Pebble prepared themself for a lengthy conversation, only to be met with a stunning lack of conversation starters. They figured perhaps for once, their mind buddy would come to be useful for Pebble.

“Hey, have you got any conversation ideas?”

Silence.

“Mind Gabbro?”

They couldn't be gone, could they? Even if Pebble didn't quite get used to their mind friend, they knew deep down they didn't quite vanish, but was still unavailable at the worst possible moment. Pebble looked around, and noticed how Chert looked busy, and wasn't likely to start a conversation themself. Speaking of their work, perhaps there was a way to start a chat.

“What are you doing out there?”

In truth, they didn't care a lot, but they didn't want the awkward silence to continue, and a vacation from their chaotic thoughts was welcome, anyway.

“I originally came here to update our star charts, but…”

As the explanations went on, Pebble felt that familiar disconnection from everything, most likely from boredom. Then, remembering how it ended last time, they quickly came back to their senses. The loop wouldn't end in too long, anyway. …Which also meant Chert would start panicking, increasingly so. Pebble themself weren't the best at handling someone else’s issues, especially when they knew everything would be “fine”, being stuck in a time loop. Something Chert would never understand.

Waking up in the next loop, they figured they had no choice but to come back. They haven't gotten to do anything last time, after all. Heading back there, while in the spaceship, they were greeted by a familiar head voice.

“Hey there, mind buddy.”

“You're only showing up now?”

“Rude. But I told you, I didn't plan on staying while you chatted.”

A question came to Pebble’s mind. “How did you come back?”

“I dunno, I just did.”

“Thanks, helpful as always.” Pebble thought to themself.

“No problem.” They forgot Mind Gabbro could still hear them.

Landing on the red planet, the two rushed to the cave, arriving early enough this time around. They could only barely visit a district of the Sunless City, before sand overtook them. Thankfully, they could flee in time, and found themselves once again with nothing to do, in a mid-to-late loop. Pebble knew heading to see Chert would not be any different than last time, with them not remembering the loops.

“That is, unless you were the one to change something this time around.” Mind Gabbro commented.

“Like what?”

“I dunno, being actually interested in what they're saying?”

“I'm not sure I'm exactly receptive at the moment.”

“Then you can zone out as well.”

“I don't think you get it. See how it ended last time?”

“Yes, and? D’you want me to do it for you or something.”

“Pfff, sure.”

Though their answer was sarcastic, it was followed by the same feeling of losing control that was too frequent to their taste as of late. Before they could fight back, something in them shifted, and Mind Gabbro was in control again. They headed to the same camp as last time, before spontaneously sitting next to Chert.

“Hey there, pal.”

Chert was taken aback by the sudden casualness from their coworker, but welcomed them back either way. Mind Gabbro figured they could ask them about the quantum caves. Unfortunately, they didn't have much information on them, having never visited them. There went their one conversation starter. They concluded they could always go and ask about their work again, even if Mind Gabbro wasn't the most interested. They could just zone out, anyway… At the very least, when the time came to face a panicked Chert, Mind Gabbro was much more skilled to handle the crisis. It still wasn't pleasant, but not excruciatingly painful either.

Onto the next loop, Mind Gabbro instinctively called Pebble back, who didn't seem quite as relaxed about the situation as they were.

“Please, tell me there's no ‘Mind Chert’ hanging out in my head now…”

“None spotted or to be signaled, buddy. Y'know, you should relax about this whole ordeal. I don't think we'll gain every Hearthian to have existed in our brain. And even if we were to have a few more, where's the big deal?”

Pebble didn't quite agree with Mind Gabbro being so comfortable in their very own mind, and was still scared about new people doing the same. Well… they didn't like to admit it, but they began to get used to their so-called “mind buddy”. Perhaps, just perhaps, it wasn't so bad to have someone else alongside their journey. Maybe, just maybe, not being so lonely was better?

“Aw, getting sentimental there, pal?”

Nevermind. Well, the two of them still had a Sunless City to explore, so Pebble headed back to their ship. Thinking to themselves during the trip, Pebble came to an agreement.

“Mind Gabbro, I think we're going to have to go there a lot more than I first thought. How do you like the idea of splitting the task between us two? I visit the Sunless City, and you spend the rest of the loop with Chert. I… can't exactly deal with their mental breakdowns easily.”

A pause, followed by a short answer, “Sure.”

Pebble was surprised how quickly they agreed, expecting at least a little fighting back. Was it that easy to agree with someone else sharing your mind? Either way, they didn't have much more time to think, arriving at Ember Twin, and regaining their senses. As it turns out, the agreement they made would become very useful for both of them. Pebble was at ease from knowing their mind buddy would cover their hard part, and Mind Gabbro was glad to not fight with their mind pal anymore. Pebble however struggled with their timing on the Sunless City, leading them to have to come back over and over again, across multiple loops. But at least, they had an objective, something to keep their mind busy on, a purpose. On Mind Gabbro’s side, they felt they didn't do quite as much during their time with Chert, not that they minded, chilling out being their speciality. In fact, as the loops went by, they felt more and more in harmony with their new friend.

“The world is ending, you're right. I, too, was panicking at first, but… you're not going to believe me, I know, but I like to think we're in a time loop.”

On their final Ember Twin loop, as Pebble finally finished exploring the Sunless City as well as a few additional places, their mind buddy finally found the perfect words in order to comfort Chert.

“I like that idea…”

And as the Sun gave its final breath in a beautiful show of blue, the two travelers felt a strange sense of connection. Chert, while still resigned, felt a little more understood, while the other one felt happy enough to have found a friend they could identify with.

The next loop came, and upon waking up, they felt a strong sense of… emptiness. They had visited everything they could on Ember Twin, they had no other excuses to head out and visit Chert, head out and stare at the dying stars.

“Perhaps we could visit the museum again, they should know a thing or two about stars.”

“Oh, that's a good idea, Mind Gabbro! But… I'm afraid to lose interest in them again, to fight myself again about it.”

“... Fighting yourself, huh…”

They were rather confused by Mind Gabbro’s answer, and despite their best effort to not panic their head buddy, the reasoning behind their answer eventually leaked to them.

“... Oh. Oh no. Oh no no no.”

“Hey, calm down. Sure, it might be weird at first, but you quickly get used to this body.”

“I… I didn't want this to happen! What if Pebble finds out about me?”

“Then that's their problem. Mind Chert, if I can call you that, it's not your fault for existing.”

“It doesn't change anything! Pebble doesn't really like you, right? They wouldn't like me either, they…”

“Hey Hatchling, everything’s good? You've been staring in the void making some random expressions for a while now.”

Although they didn't have a physical form, Mind Gabbro and Mind Chert felt they were staring at each other. They knew it, Pebble was about to come back. They could feel it. However, before they could fully come to their senses, Mind Gabbro got an idea. Heading to their ship, they launched into orbit, right before Pebble fully came back in control.

“Wh- What’s going on? What did I miss?” Pebble asked in their initial chock.

“I'm driving us to Giant’s Deep. I think the physical Gabbro could help us with it.”

“With…?”

Quickly accessing the collective memory pool, Pebble understood. But unlike any expectations of violence Mind Chert had, they simply answered with a sigh.

“I… I guess I should have expected that, but…”

Before they could finish, Mind Gabbro finished their safe landing on the island, and the three of them got out.

“If this isn't my time buddy! …or buddies, perhaps? Anyway, what's bringing you all here?”

Pebble took over in order to talk. “Looks like I gained someone else. And Mind You drove me- well, us there, because they thought you would have advice.”

“I see. Who's the lucky one this time?”

“Lucky one?”

“Your mind buddy. I know you're not actually falling in love anytime soon, pal.” Gabbro snickered.

“Right. They sound like some sort of Mind Chert. And I- we have no idea why we keep gaining these people.”

Gabbro thought for a bit. “And what exactly is the issue with them?”

“I don't know, isn't it obvious? I'm not me anymore, it feels like my body doesn't belong to me anymore.”

Gabbro sighed, before sitting up. “Buddy, you know, identity is a very fleeting thing. You could argue the person you were a few years ago has long since died. You are bound to disagree with yourself at some point.”

“Maybe, but it's all happening at once. I am not me anymore, while I still exist.”

“And how do you think the others experience it? Don't you think they feel the same way?”

“But- I'm the original! It's my body!”

“...Well, not anymore, it seems. Besides, were you truly the original? Are you still the child who was born into this body?”

Pebble was upset, but there was no point in arguing, when they found themselves agreeing with the other party, much to their dismay.

“Hey Pebble, could you let your Mind Chert out a bit for me, perhaps? Only if they feel like it.”

“I don't know. It scares me.”

“They’re not going to turn on you and kill everyone, right? Worst case scenario, I'm here.”

Pebble looked away, before communicating to their mind buddy still in the background to take the lead. The strange sensation came up again, which they started to get used to.

“...Okay, if I'm right, I think I am who I think I am.”

“Hey, Mind Chert. How’s you?”

“Hm. I'm a bit lost, if I'm being honest. I woke up this loop, feeling empty, then scared of Pebble hating my existence! And now, I just don't know how to feel.”

“I see. Y’know, Pebble’s not a bad person, and if I'm being honest, they seem like they're having a rough time. But I'm sure they're not gonna hate you, they just need time to adapt to change.”

“That's a comforting thought.” Mind Chert lightly snickered to themself. “I also feel a longing for what I once liked. I know I may only be a “picture” of the real Chert, but I still feel a connection to what they like.”

“That seems simple enough for me to fix. Just do what you like.”

“Good idea! But… What about Pebble?”

“Pebble needs to accept you as their equal. You three need to find a way to get along, sharing a body and all. Say, how about you set yourself an objective to beat as a team?”

Mind Chert nodded. “Thank you! We… will try.”

Chapter Text

After Gabbro suggested they might need to spend time alone with themselves, the pebbles went back by their ship, staying idle in order to have a proper chat. Mind Chert, still in control of the body, started playing around with the Signalscope.

“Hey…” Pebble began thinking, pausing in order to find the right words. “Um. I’m sorry, I suppose. I didn’t want to seem like a mind dictator.”

Mind Gabbro got the vague feeling that Pebble was only apologizing because they got confronted by their physical counterpart, which they picked up quickly.

“No! I… I mean, it may seem like this. But it made me think, seeing you and me as a team… maybe it’s not that bad of an idea.”

“You finally got it, glad to hear it.” Mind Gabbro was relieved, feeling sincerity from Pebble’s words. “We still need to find something to work on together, which I’ll admit isn’t my strong suit.”

As Mind Chert switched the Signalscope into quantum fluctuations, they came into the discussion.

“Hey you two, pay attention! Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“More like hearing, no?” Pebble teased.

“Well, okay. It’s coming from the largest cyclone, it seems.”

Mind Gabbro’s attention was picked. “Now that’s some interesting stuff. How ‘bout we set visiting this as our team goal?”

“I can drive us there.” Pebble offered.

The other two agreed, setting up a new objective. As Pebble took over once again, a strange feeling of satisfaction took them by surprise. Getting rid of your desire for control isn’t as easily done as said, and they still enjoyed being the one to guide their body. Still, they couldn’t let their mind buddies down, they were right there after all. Getting back into their ship and buckling up. Taking a quick look, they figured accessing it from inside the planet wouldn’t be possible. Their pilot instincts kicked in, and they flew straight into space. But even with three known people and four eyes, this wasn’t enough to prevent one stupid mistake from happening.

“The lights’ gone?” Mine Gabbro innocently asked.

As the pebbles unbuckled, they quickly realized what was up.

“Not just the lights, the ship is gone!” Mind Chert exclaimed, facepalming internally.

The ship had hit the Orbital Canon Probe, going out of the atmosphere. Talk about one terrible timing.

“Hey, the ship didn’t explode, this time. Might mean we still got a chance, maybe if I…”

Before they knew it, the pebbles were heading straight back into Giant’s Deep with only a jetpack to boost them. Arriving with way too much momentum to survive the crash, they barely made their way into the water, saving their lives. Regaining their way back to land, only Gabbro chose to comment.

“Well, there goes the stupidest stunt I’ve ever seen.” They turned around to the larger cyclone, still in view. “And we didn’t even get in.”

Before anyone else could comment on a thing, the sky went dark, followed by hues of blue, followed by the familiar vision of a mask.

“Wh- What happened?”

“That's what we were going to ask, pal.”

“At least, we are in an actual time loop… I didn’t think the newest recruit would be so reckless!”

Pebble chuckled to themself. “Well, I suppose flying is my way to express my frustrations, the one moment I can let go. But anyway, we should get going.”

The three pebbles headed to the now intact space ship and flew back to Giant’s Deep. They didn’t land in the right place on the first try, but quickly located the cyclone, and could land properly on their second attempt. Getting out of the ship, Mind Gabbro asked kindly if they could take control of the body for once. Pebble hesitated, but ultimately obliged, leaving their mind pal with the commands as they entered the Tower of Quantum Trials.

“Enter this place without friends, huh… Too bad, I have to remove you both from existence.” They commented.

“It also says ‘his or her’, which aren’t words we use.”

“Just kidding, Mind Chert.”

“And I was just teasing!”

It took Pebble by surprise how the two had failed to communicate their intent, despite sharing a body. Mind Gabbro continued their walk into the building, passing the first trial without any struggles. Then, something hit Mind Chert as they all successfully solved the second floor’s puzzle.

“Are you two thinking what I’m thinking? The wandering moon!”

“The quantum moon, you mean? I tried to land on it, but-”

Then what they meant hit Pebble. Of course that’s how you land on it, by taking a picture! Except… they didn’t even figure it out on their own. It was their mind coworker. Someone else, despite sharing the same brain, found out first. They didn’t know if they were impressed by their brain’s ability to handle several people, or disappointed in their own stupidity.

“Come on, you’re not stupid.” Mind Gabbro reassured. Pebble chose not to respond.

Completing all four trials, Pebble was able to gain back control over their body, and headed back excitedly to the ship. Finally, they could reach the elusive quantum moon. Unlike the terrible luck they were (quite literally) hit with last loop, they were able to immediately spot the wandering planet located around Giant’s Deep. A quick picture taken, and onto the moon they went. Landing there got them to slightly damage the hull as well as the landing gear.

“Safe landings as always I see.” Mind Gabbro lightly mocked.

“A ship not destroyed by the end of a loop is a badly used ship!”

“I disagree, but let’s get going.” Mind Chert said as they started to unbuckle them, met with backlash from Pebble who wanted control at the moment.

Getting out of the ship, one of the first things that came into their sight was the quantum shrine. To test out the quantum nature of the place, Mind Gabbro moved their head around, making the shrine move places.

“Yup, this place is quantum.”

Having found the shrine again, the three pebbles rushed to it like a child rushed to a present. And they were gifted when Pebble instantly recognized the sixth symbol inside the shrine.

“The EYE?” Pebble shouted out, surprising their buddies.

They rushed to close the door, and turn the light on and off again. It only took them two tries in order for the indicator to land on the desired symbol. As they were about to get out, the three of them felt an uniting feeling of excitement. The door slowly opened… before Mind Gabbro started laughing hysterically.

“WHAT?!” Pebble shouted again, dumbfounded.

Of course, they were met by an obstructed door. As Mind Gabbro calmed down from their moment, Mind Chert noticed something on the wall. And untranslated Nomai writing they skipped in their excitement. Getting their translator out, Mind Chert quickly picked up on what was going on.

“We haven’t seen any ‘rule of the sixth location’, have we now?”

“I didn’t find any from the trials Tower, at least. And I’m pretty sure to have read everything.”

Pebble was hit by a memory. “I know I heard of another quantum Tower, the Tower of quantum knowledge. But I could never reach it, and it’s in Brittle Hollow…”

“What exactly is wrong with Brittle Hollow? Black hole aside, that is.” Mind Chert seemed to not be able to access Pebble’s reasoning.

“You know. There’s Riebeck, and I don’t exactly want a new person there.”

“And what’s wrong with new friends?” Mind Gabbro answered, almost offended.

“We can always avoid them.” Mind Chert noted.

“You’re right, I think that’s what we’re going to do. Though, I think by the time we reach it, it’ll probably have collapsed and disappeared. Better meditate?"

“On it.”

And before they knew it, the next loop began. As soon as it started, the pebbles launched into space, aiming for Brittle Hollow. After they landed in place, Pebble, still in control, exited the spacecraft, going down the underground tower’s stairs. As they set foot on the bottom of the building, Pebble pointed at the broken path before them.

“I guess there’s also this issue with Brittle Hollow. Everything’s in ruins.”

“There HAS to be a way… hm…”

“Hey.” Mind Gabbro interrupted their two mind friends. “Maybe it’s the right time to take a break. I wanted to talk to you two.”

Pebble looked around for a clue, but with none in sight, they decided to go along, and sat on the ground.

“Alright. Mind Chert, I wanted to tell you, I’m glad you found your way to fit in with us two. Pebble might not admit it, but it’s great having you around.”

“Why, thank you!”

Meanwhile, Pebble felt a clear sense of disappointment in themself.

“And, Pebble. You’re not stupid. Team effort means we each have our own mission, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, but…”

“But it’s ‘your’ brain?” Mind Gabbro understood Pebble’s thought before they could communicate it. ”It’s our brain, pal. We found our way out in the end and that’s all that matters. Besides, you found some solutions yourself. None of us can be perfect, so let’s be imperfect together, alright?”

Pebble noticed their left arm autonomously started gently stroking their right arm in a soothing manner. Or perhaps it was one of their mate’s doing? But before they could ask anything about it, the ground below them started shaking, before the pebbles fell straight into the black hole. Shortly after, they found themselves in orbit next to the white hole, in zero gravity…

“Wait! That’s it!” Mind Chert commented.

The pebbles looked up, realizing the obvious: They could simply navigate to the top! Pebble could have sworn their Mind Chert suggested a mind high five, which they indulged in. They wasted no further time, and went up the tower using their jetpack. Once they reached the right floor, they immediately started searching around. Only a minute or two after, they hit the jackpot.

“North pole? Makes sense.” Mind Chert commented on their findings.

“I actually remember landing on the south pole when I was in control, now that they mention it.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get that quantum moon!”

Pebble nodded along Mind Gabbro’s suggestion, but noticed their mind coworker’s disapproval.

“I think we’ll need, I don’t know, our ship?”

Pebble mentally heard their mind buddy chuckle as they externally facepalmed. Looks like they had a White Hole station to find. Unfortunately for all of them, Pebble was much less confident using their jetpack around than their ship. Well, except for the latest loop, for some reason. But they managed to reach the station in under five minutes, and were teleported back to Brittle Hollow. Once there, a revelation hit Pebble.

“Wait. Wasn’t our ship parked on a part that was destroyed?”

Their two companions couldn’t help but agree, having witnessed the same events. There goes their quantum moon adventure for the loop. Pebble thought perhaps they could meditate, and looked internally at their Mind Gabbro for approval.

“I’m thinking of something else. Perhaps it’s our chance to get rid of your fear of new people, and try to talk to Riebeck like a normal Hearthian?”

“Isn’t it a useless risk?”

“I’ll bite: what risk are we taking?” Mind Chert sided with their mind buddy. “I don’t think we should see people as risks, I have to agree with Mind Gabbro.”

Perhaps they were right? Perhaps this fear has overtaken them a bit too much. They were also in a one versus two in this debate, discouraging them from disagreeing. They audibly sighed due to their own stubbornness getting to them as well. Off they went, finding a way underground to reach their fellow astronaut, and attempt to have a talk with them. Spending a bit too long to properly find the proper path, they eventually found their friend, perhaps a bit late in the loop.

“Oh, you launched!”

Phasing through their initial “dialog”, Pebble tried to chat by themself, encouraged by their two buddies in the background. Having already exhausted most of their chat options in their earliest loops before the incident happened, they tried to find more “exotic” topics. Of course, they could now mention the Sunless City, or even what they could assume of the quantum moon pilgrimage. But of all of these options, they chose…

“What would you do if you had several people in your mind?”

“That’s, um, an interesting question there! I never truly thought about it… I am okay being alone there, I think?”

Pebble thought in return it seemed scary, much to their own surprise. It wasn’t even someone else’s thought disguised, they knew it was genuine. Riebeck continued.

“Maybe it could be useful, now that I think about it! You know? Someone to bring along who might not be so scared of the vastness of space. Maybe someone to visit the hanging city with? Oh, speaking of- do you know what it is?”

Pebble vaguely remembers visiting it many and many loops ago, but with the latest events, they actually forgot most of it. Perhaps showing the Hanging City could also be a good way to bond with their buddies, after their quantum adventure? They both seemed to agree in the background. Back on the topic, perhaps this also was their cue to switch on more normal topics with Riebeck. As the conversation went on, Pebble could feel their fear decrease. And as the loop finally ended, they knew their fear was overcomable.

“See, Pebble? We’re in the next loop, and no Mind Riebeck to signal on my side.” Mind Gabbro teased.

“Neither on my end!”

Pebble chuckled to themselves, getting a raised eyebrow from Slate. Well, looks like it’s time. Get up, Pebble, you have a quantum moon to explore.

Chapter Text

Heading to their ship, the pebbles cooperated to find the quantum moon as soon as they could. This surprisingly took under a minute.

“There, by Giant’s Deep!”

Getting Mind Chert’s command, the pebbles headed toward the wandering moon. Getting a little silly at the commands, zigzagging in order to keep the moon in sight, firing a well-timed scout, they finally were able to land properly on the planet with minimal damage this time around.

“Glad to see you having so much fun, pal.”

Pebble chuckled at their mind buddy, before exiting the spaceship, heading to the north pole of the planet. Mind Gabbro couldn’t help but spin around in a silly way as they reached the border. Entering the shrine for the first time, their next stop was Timber Hearth’s orbit. This time around, the north pole was reachable, observing the tower in its newest state, they aimed for the sixth location. After a few on and off games with the lights, the indicator finally set itself on the Eye of the Universe. Opening the door revealed the dark blue, decluttered path.

“We did it!” Mind Chert exclaimed.

“I’m glad to have seen this with my own four eyes.” Mind Gabbro commented.

Pebble smiled externally, before they went forward to explore the other side of the moon. They didn’t expect much more from an astral body that only took the form of its orbit. They were even less expecting to witness an actual, quantumly alive Nomai. Pebble and Mind Chert froze in their steps.

“Now, that’s an interesting sight.” Mind Gabbro commented, as they approached the Nomai, taking the lead.

The strange being started making communications rock, which Mind Gabbro chose the “Identify” and “You” first.

“Solanum? That’s the name of the girl from Ember Twin.” Pebble remarked.

However, quickly followed by this comment, remembering Ember Twin, seeing someone they could communicate with… Pebble got a bad feeling. They noticed their mind buddies’ attention shifting to them. For once, they’d probably have to do something out of their comfort zone.

“...I’ll leave it to you two, mind friends. I don’t feel so good, and I don’t trust myself.”

“All fine, buddy.”

“Take care of yourself, Pebble!”

Letting Mind Grabbro at the foreground, having spent overall more time with them, Pebble could feel their own presence shifting away, until the overall awareness shifted to the two remaining buddies.

“Solanum, huh…” Mind Gabbro grabbed the “Me” stone, contemplating the situation.

“We need to ask them, or maybe her, more questions.”

As both of them went to work, they gained important information on the Nomai herself and their circumstances. But they quickly got lost on which questions they asked, sometimes getting duplicate answers. Losing track, they decided to settle on the “You” and “Me” stones, giving them an interesting answer.

[...I hope you won’t mind if I think of you as friends.]

“Friends? How did she…?”

“Dunno. Perhaps it’s that obvious. Or a quantum mechanic I didn’t know about yet. We’re on the quantum moon, after all.” Mind Gabbro looked up, and stared at the collapsing sky for a few seconds. “Do you think the same as me?”

“In all honesty, that sounds like an idiotic stunt. But it’s also a huge opportunity… I think I'll take the risk. Let’s meet the Eye of the Universe.”

As they went on, Mind Gabbro stopped in their tracks.

“Shouldn’t we call Pebble back? I think they deserve to see it.”

“If you know how to, I am all for it! I feel they have been more accepting, recently…”

Mind Gabbro started to think intensely of things Pebble would enjoy: space exploration, mysteries, the Eye… Letting go of their own sense of control, they slowly felt the feeling of their friend returning.

“Welcome back, pal. See, trusting us wasn’t so hard.”

Pebble smiled. “Thank you”, they thought in their most genuine tone yet. “Jumping into the Eye, huh? Are we all ready?”

After two mind nods from their buddies, they made the jump of a lifetime, helped by the power of their jetpack. Getting closer to answering one of the biggest questions of the Universe… until they were met with a disappointment only comparable to being unable to access the sixth location. This time around, Mind Gabbro didn’t even feel like laughing. They could only find a few words to say.

“Well, this is awkward. Meditation time, I suppose?"

“...Sure.”

Waking up into the next loop, Pebble was basically pouting.

“Now, thinking about it, that makes sense. Wouldn’t the Nomai have done the same to find the Eye, otherwise?”

Mind Chert’s comment didn’t help with Pebble’s destroyed hopes.

“Excuse me… But did we not plan on visiting the Hanging City?”

“Good plan, Mind Chert.” Mind Gabbro got up to head to their ship.

Mind Chert was confused by the attribution of the idea. But perhaps they thought quicker than they could catch themself. Reaching the ship, the pebbles confidently launched back into space, racing to Brittle Hollow. The ship, upon landing, was lightly damaged again.

“Do you always damage your ship in the same manner, Pebble?”

“You should know by now, Mind Chert! I like flights to be amusing, you got it?”

Mind Gabbro felt weirded out by both of their friends. They couldn’t figure out quite what, so they decided to simply let it slide. They instead focused on unbuckling and getting into the Hanging City. On their hike to their destination, they felt Pebble’s presence strengthen a little.

“See? We don’t have a Mind Riebeck, they would have probably shown by now, otherwise.” Mind Gabbro joked.

“Don’t jinx it.” Pebble half jokingly answered.

Reaching the information rich Nomai ruins, they all started visiting it, for technically the second time. Pebble regularly commented they knew most of the things, skimming over them. They quickly reached the classroom, falling on Solanum’s presentation.

“Oh? Were they- I mean, was she also a part of the Hanging City?” Mind Chert asked.

“Yes! I have memories of it.”

“Yeah, you already knew it, we got it bud.”

“They are fond memories, in truth.”

“Someone’s letting out their inner Riebeck.” Mind Gabbro joked again.

“No, this isn’t what I meant to share. I…”

The group was rather confused at their leader’s actions, until they were hit by a flash. A vague memory that may or may have not existed. A classroom, filled with young pupils, who weren’t of their own species. Its point of view tells them the one standing before them must have been young as well. They looked at the wall they were standing in front of, before starting to write in strange lines. Though they couldn’t actually read it if they saw it with their own four eyes, they knew what it meant, “Formation Of This Universe”. As the quick flash ended, the three pebbles were unsure of what they felt, until a fourth voice spoke.

“...I apologize, I should not have had such a thought. I should be going away, I…”

“Wait, here, please, don’t go!” Mind Chert shouted out in their mind, understanding what happened earlier.

As all the mess took place in their head, Pebble half intentionally hit the wall next to them, breathing heavily. No. This couldn’t be happening, Not again. Even less with someone from a species which is…

“Alright, I’ll take the lead. Time to pay a visit to the real Gabbro.”

Mind Gabbro took control and rushed back to their spacecraft, as the back of their mind was filled with chaotic feelings. A fearful Nomai, a disappointed coworker, a betrayed pal. They reached their shuttle a little halfway into the loop, taking a direct flight to Giant’s Deep. Safely landing on their physical counterpart’s island, they quickly tried to make sense of the situation.

“Hey, Gabbro. You probably guessed it, but we got a new one, and Pebble is losing it because she happens to be a Nomai.”

Gabbro stopped playing their flute, and turned their head towards the pebbles.

“I’m not going to figure out how you got a Nomai in there, but y’know I won’t judge. Besides, what’s wrong with having a Nomai as a head buddy?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Pebble took the control back. “They’re- They’re a dead species! Isn’t it extremely morally wrong?”

“... Do you pretend they are more than the reflection of your vision of a Nomai?”

“No…?”

“Do you go at random Hearthian, bragging about having an actual, living Nomai in your head, not giving any context about the complexity of their existence?”

“No, of course not!”

“And I’m not even going to go over if you wanted it or if it was an accident, because who cares. Minds are an odd thing, you shouldn’t beat yourself up because your brain has whims.”

Pebble felt a tug in their stomach. “No, it’s not just that…”

“Then what else?”

“In… in the Hanging City, we got a flash, a… memory? Of what she might have experienced. It felt wrong, to get a memory of something this body never lived through. It creeped all of us out.”

“And?”

“Don’t you get it? I’m going insane! I’m having a weird spiritual experience with a dead Nomai!”

Gabbro rested their arm on their forehead. “Buddy, we became pals because we both had spiritual experiences with a rock shaped like a face! And we’re both in a time loop, as well. A memory that’s not yours is not the weirdest thing I’ve heard yet. Besides, it doesn’t have to be spiritual, it could always be your brain making up something to comfort your newest recruit.”

“... What if I wasn’t ready for them?”

“Hey, what happened to the team effort you agreed on?

Pebble lowered their head. It’s true, maybe they failed their head buddies. Maybe they were an awful mind dictator, after all. Maybe…

“Speaking of, any stories about what you three- well, now four did? I’m all ears.”

Pebble clenched their fists. “They’re not important. I…”

Gabbro grabbed their flute back with both of their hands. “No need to stay if you don’t feel good. Take time to relax in your spaceship if you need alone time, maybe meditate.”

“Hah. My spaceship… you noticed, huh?” Pebble chuckled, before rambling in their spiraling. “It’s the one place I can let go of everything. The one place I can lose control without fear. The one place where I’m confident.”

“You should probably be more careful if it means not literally crashing on my…” Gabbro cut themself mid-sentence. “Hold on. Let go?”

“Yes? That’s what I always do, there.”

“... I see.” Gabbro resumed playing their flute.

“Huh? See what? Gabbro?”

“... Buddy, I can’t tell you everything. Not when you’re in this state. Just… go relax in your spaceship, please.”

Pebble was for once deeply hurt by their friend’s behavior. It was already frustrating enough to feel alone in this time loop, and now they’re hiding things about Pebble’s own mind? Just because they’re “in this state”? Pebble rushed to their ship and flew out of anger, flying around Giant’s Deep, not going out of atmosphere, not knowing where to go. Quickly, they got pestered by their own personal Gabbro.

“If it can comfort you, I have no idea what physical Gabbro meant by this. I mean, sure you fly recklessly-”

“I don’t even know why I like to fly like this! Is it because I’m a bad person?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Listen…” Mind Gabbro reassessed their words. “Whatever, focus on your flight, I’d rather not crash.”

“I’d rather stay in the background when flying, as always.”

“Background? You’re not actually in control? I mean, who…” Mind Gabbro’s spirit sank as they thought. “... Nevermind.”

“What do you mean, nevermind? Are you going to be as insufferable as the real you?” Pebble was getting increasingly angrier, as they got an idea. “You know I can see your thoughts, right?”

Mind Gabbro tried their best to flee away from being conscious at all, the same way Mind Chert and Mind Solanum went away during the internal storm. Despite their best attempt to flood their thoughts with something, anything other than their revelation, it was the same game as not thinking of the pink elephant. Pebble was able to make out a singular idea. A Mind Feldspar.

“WHAT?!”

Understanding immediately the implications, Pebble’s anger brought them to the foreground, taking out whoever was actually flying for them. However, before they could realize it, they were heading straight into a cyclone. A reversed one, sending them straight under the current. As their ship crashed below Giant’s Deep, Pebble let go of the commands. They were shaking, realizing the anger they felt, the violent acts they had, the actions against their own safety. Against their very own mind buddies.

“...Buddy?”

To Mind Gabbro’s call, Pebble could only answer a singular thing.

“I’m a mind dictator, a mind criminal…”

They couldn’t do anything but curl up and start crying for who knows how long, until a familiar explosion covered up the sound of their mind.

Chapter Text

Pebble didn’t bother to get up, or to even open their eyes. They hoped Slate wouldn't notice they were actually awake, they didn’t want to be annoyed by anyone. They didn’t want to hear a sound. Not again.

“It’s maybe not the right time-”

“It’s not.” Pebble cut off their Mind Gabbro.

“...but, you should probably rest this loop. I’ll let you do whatever you wish. If you need me, it’s not like I can hide far away. See you, Pebble.”

They felt the presence slowly dissipate, before they were back in full control of their body for the first time in a while. Maybe a few loops ago, they would have thought how it was a win, a good thing. But now, they weren’t so sure. The memories they made with their mind buddies, they felt real. Their mental friends, they were real. And now… they have strained that link, out of fear. Because they were so obsessed with numbers! They didn’t even let the time for two of them to introduce themselves, before pushing them away. Will they ever go past this terrible first impression? Will they ever come back? Before they knew it, Pebble was crying audibly enough for someone else to notice.

“Hey, what’s up with you? Got a nightmare?”

Hearing their voice, Pebble got up without a word, walking away.

“Hold on, are you not even going to explain-”

“Please. I need to be alone.”

“...Fine, if you say so.”

Going up the village’s path, Pebble wiped away their tears in order to not worry anyone else. They were struggling to find a peaceful place where they could cry properly without being found. Most empty spaces were roads that could be taken anytime by other villagers. Pebble ended up giving up on that idea, thinking to themself as they walked. They couldn’t call their buddies anymore, they messed up far too much for that, didn’t they? Calling them just because they felt guilty, what a pathetic leader they were… if they were even deserving of that title. What did they exactly do in order to have that power? Be the first one in there? Things have changed since then. As they reached the museum, they saw two worried Hearthians in front of a statue with open eyes. Maybe they needed to talk with someone…

“Hey, I was just about to come find-”

“Hey Hal. Can you please come? I need to talk to you in private.”

Their friend was surprised, but listened to Pebble’s request. They went up to the observatory, asking Hornfels to stay on the bottom floor.

“Is it about the statue?”

“No, I uh, don’t know anything about it.” Pebble lied. “It’s about something I’ve been thinking about these past few… days?” Pebble couldn’t just say “past few loops”.

“Oh, I know. You’re getting cold feet about your launch day? I didn’t expect…”

Right, the launch day never happened to them.

“No, not that. You know it’s my dream to fly.”

“Right, that's not the Pebble I know! So, tell me- what is it?”

Pebble gathered up their courage. “What… what would you do if you had… people? In your head? And you hurt them, like a lot.”

Hal smiled, almost fondly. “It’s been a while since you last mentioned people in your head.”

Huh? “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“You know I don’t have the best memory, that’s why I asked for a logging system in my ship.”

They chuckled. “As expected. When we were kids, we would play games where you pretended to be Feldspar on a mission, and I would pretend to be Hornfels, communicating from the observatory. You would always say that you were letting your ‘mind Feldspar’ out to play.”

“A mind Felsdpar…?” Pebble didn’t know if they were actually surprised, or if it only made sense.

“That’s how we dubbed them! You would always start acting like them, speaking like them as much as you could as a young hatchling- it was so fun! But when they went, well…missing… you became so obsessed about ‘control’ this, ‘control’ that.”

Upon hearing about their old buried memories, tears began forming again in the corner of their eyes.

“Hey, hey! What’s up my friend?” Hal put their hand on their buddy’s shoulder.

“I…” Pebble tried sniffing away their tears. “I treated them wrong, Hal. I was an actual dictator! I…”

Their friend took them in a hug. “You’re not! You were, I don’t know, stressed out about your idol being, well…” Pebble returned the embrace with quite a lot of strength.

“But… our memories were real… They- They were real!”

Hal started petting Pebble’s back. “I know. You also used to say that. But! You know, you can always… call them back?” They let go of the hug.

Pebble wiped away their tears. “I don’t know… would they forgive me?”

“I have zero idea what you could have done to be so wrong. Even then, you seem VERY regretful, I’m sure your mind Feldspar would forgive you! And you two are sharing a mind, better forgive each other, right?” Pebble showed a slight smile. “Anyway, wouldn’t you want to fly? Wouldn’t your mind Feldspar want to fly as well? So go get these launch codes, my friend!” They finally cheered.

Pebble nodded. “Thank you very much, you always find the right words.” They answered, sincerely.

Going downstairs and taking the path to exit the museum, Pebble faked getting the launch codes from Hornfels in order to not raise further suspicions, before heading back to the launch station.

“Feeling better now, new pilot?”

Pebble nodded to Slate, before heading to their ship. Realising it would be suspicious to stay in there, not heading anywhere, Pebble powered up the engine, before reaching the closest planet they could, the Attlerock. They made sure to land somewhere isolated, inside the large crater. Staring at the vastness of space for a bit, they thought to themself. Getting to explore the galaxy all alone was already a scary promise, so getting the entire Universe to save as well made it even lonelier. It could have been anything but lonely, if only they had accepted their buddies from the start. And during a certain time, it was fun, right until the storm. To these thoughts, Pebble vocalized the most prominent feeling they had.

“...I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

No answer. They would have rather had been told every single one of their flaws than to be met with utter silence. Were they truly gone, just like that?

“Me? Gone just like that? No way that’s ever happening!”

An old thought pattern they didn’t properly hear in years resurfaced. Oh my stars, finally! Pebble’s eyes lit up.

"It’s you! I’m… um… I really am-”

“I get it, you’re sorry and all. No need to wallow in self pity, little buddy.”

Pebble chuckled. “Then welcome back.”

“You truly think I was gone? Who’d you think you let so willingly control your ship nearly all this time?”

“Right.”

“There’s still someone you need to welcome, y’know. As long as you know how to bring her there.”

“Her…?”

Pebble then remembered about pronouns. Right. They focused on everything they knew about her: the Sunless city, the school district, the quantum moon… Letting go, they felt her presence strengthen. They tried to leave her space to talk. Not getting any answer, they tried to kickstart a conversation themself.

“I’m… I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m sorry for acting violently. I’m sorry.”

A few seconds of silence followed, but Pebble could sense Mind Solanum was searching for her words.

“I will forgive you. I may experience confusion about all that is happening, yet I seem to share a large part of your memories. I can recall a true desire to change for the better.”

“Thank you. Hold on, are you… still confused?”

“Somewhat, I would say.”

Pebble felt awkward. They didn’t know how to exactly explain everything at once. Maybe if someone else was good at explaining stuff…

“I volunteer!” Mind Chert exclaimed, coming back from their mental hideout.

“Go on, I’ll give you the controls.”

“Thank you! Well, hello there, Mind Solanum! What is confusing you so far?”

“Uhm… Oh, well, I am quite unsure.”

Mind Chert thought to themself for a bit. “For starters, we are five different people sharing a singular body. We have no idea how we ended up here, surely a need from Pebble’s mind. We all go by our names adding the word ‘Mind’ in front of it, except for Pebble. Any questions?”

Mind Solanum internally nodded. “Do we have a collective name to go by?”

“Good question…” Mind Chert tried to get an answer from Pebble, who internally shrugged. “Hmm. How about ‘the five Pebbles’?”

“This seems to be quite the silly name! I like it.”

“That’s Pebble approved.”

“And Mind Gabbro approved as well.”

Pebble seemed to think “Where did you come from?”, to which Mind Gabbro responded “I dunno.”

“Represents us well.” Mind Feldspar commented last. “Then that official makes us the five Pebbles!”

The five Pebbles clapped their hands once, as if trying to high three. Mind Feldspar continued.

“Now that the emotional chit chats are done, how ‘bout we do some exploring?”

“On the Attlerock?” Pebble questioned.

“There’s still my pal Esker hanging out there, right?”

The four other Pebbles laughed it out. Of course they forgot about Esker. Getting out of the ship and not paying much attention to who was actually controlling the body, Pebble found themself once again at the foreground, probably out of habit. But it wasn’t as dramatic as the other times, it seemed they were finally learning about internal teamwork. Reaching Esker, they were greeted first.

“Oh, hey, it’s you!“

With greetings out of the way, Pebble asked whether it was lonely up there. After Esker prety much admitted to spying on everyone, Pebble corrected their question.

“No, I mean, does it get lonely… in your head? Also, I can’t really approve of spying on us.”

“That’s not spying, it’s- wait, in my head? Now that’s a bit of a strange question. How can you be lonely in your own head? Aren’t you supposed to be alone?”

Someone in the back of Pebble’s head thought “Maybe that’s why we forget about you.”, making Pebble chuckle a little.

“Uh, you’re good there?”

Quickly shifting from amused to shameful, Pebble tried desperately to change subjects.

“Um… Was that you whistling? I mean, a few moments ago.”

Esker then explained a bit about the instruments and the signalscope. Though the five pebbles already knew about it, they decided to go to the north pole anyway. Well, try, at least. Right at their destination was the Eye signal locator, which wasn't exactly normal.

"Eh... I think I got my north and south pole mixed up again." They paused, before approaching the device. “Right… I never knew where that ‘Eye of the Universe’ was before I became aware of all of you. And that locator…” Pebble turned on the machine, putting the orb on the Eye logo. “Doesn’t work either.”

The five pebbles sat down, letting go in order to hear each other better. But one look at the sun from afar told them they probably had less than a minute left.

“So… what are we doing next loop?”

A pause, followed by Mind Feldspar’s words.

“I know, that’s a fresh and painful memory, but did you not go under the current of Giant’s Deep last time, Hatchling?”

As the sun entered supernova, the five pebbles agreed on their next stop. Waking up, Mind Feldspar realised they were the one in control. They took the change to fistbump Slate as they left, much to their friend’s surprise. Once in the ship, they headed to their goal planet.

“To make sure we are all on the same page: we have to go through a reverse turning cyclone, right?” Mind Chert questioned.

“That’s right!” mind Feldspar confirmed, maneuvering into Giant’s Deep atmosphere.

It took them under a minute to find one of the rarer cyclones and to reach below the impassable current. Exiting the ship, the five pebble quickly realised a major issue: The electric barrier. Observing it for a bit, Mind Feldspar quickly got a quirky idea.

“The jellyfishes!”

“Huh?” Pebble questioned.

“They do have a point. They are able to get through.” Mind Chert agreed.

“Worst case scenario, we die and are brought to the next loop.” Mind Gabbro casually commented.

Having two confirmations to go through, Mind Feldspar quickly got under a jellyfish, patiently waiting for it to get under the barrier. As it was crossed, they headed toward the Nomai door, entering the underwater building. Identifying the nature of the building, Mind Solanum felt naturally pulled toward the commands, walking around a building her physical self hasn’t ever gotten to see. Picking up a projection stone, as text appeared on the wall in front of her, she was filled with disappointment.

“I… I cannot read Nomai text. How is it possible?”

“You have to use our translator tool for that!” Pebble explained from the background.

“No. What I meant to say is that I cannot understand my own native language.” She looked away in shame.

“Listen.” Mind Gabbro began. “You may not have gotten the memo with… the incidents… but, you only are a picture of what we saw of your physical self. You still have the abilities of the body you live in. Don’t beat yourself up over something you physically can’t do, will you?”

They then pet their own shoulder, in order to reassure their mind buddy. She chuckled at the sort of silly gesture.

“Thank you very much!”

She picked up the translator and started reading, getting bits and pieces of information. Noticing the large mechanism in the very same room, she started turning it on it.

“Over 9 million…?” Mind Chert quietly commented.

Mind Solanum turned on the second mechanism, then the final one. Before even reading the text that appeared, she got a strange feeling about the symbols in front of her. Reading the text itself got her over the moon.

“E-excuse me?!” She exclaimed, before making a large jump. “They have found it! Oh my stars, they truly have found it! I… I am so proud of-” She cut herself off, remembering the fate of her clan. “...They may have not found it themself, still, I am very proud of my clan. Of ourselves.”

Mind Solanum showed a bittersweet smile, before being pestered by Mind Feldspar.

“I don’t wanna ruin the mood, but I’m pretty sure our ship’s got no way to read these coordinates!”

She lowered her eyes, before feeling someone got an idea in the background. This got confirmed by Pebble’s next words.

“... the Vessel. We need to check it.”

Chapter Text

The five pebbles quickly realized finding their ship against this loop would be a pain, having left it somewhere they forgot about under the current, leading them to agreeing to meditate until the next loop. Waking up once again, their personal Feldspar took control of their body, to nobody’s protest. All they knew about the Vessel is that it’s inside Dark Bramble, no one else was crazy enough to fly there. Powering up the systems, they were on their way.

“Exactly, how are we going to locate the ship?” A perplexed Mind Chert asked.

“Hm…” Pebble thought. “The escape pods had a distress signal. Perhaps the vessel has one too? The ship has a Signalscope we could use.”

To their mind buddies’ suggestions, Mind Feldspar turned on the tool.

“You have to switch frequencies-” Pebble got cut off.

“Hold on. Isn’t that a harmonica? Coming straight from Dark Bramble.” Mind Feldspar mentally asked their buddies if they could follow this path. “Alright, change of plans. This is a major discovery right there!”

Going inside the hellish planet, they found with surprising ease the nod where the noise originates from. Luckily enough, they didn’t encounter any Anglerfishes by their trip. Entering the nod, the five pebbles were surprised with the corpse of an Anglerfish. Good, it's dead. But inside it… Mind Feldspar couldn’t quite process it immediately. Was it their physical counterpart, safe- well, “safe” and alive? They felt conflicted, they had been shamed into hiding due to the disappearance of this very Hearthian, was that all for nothing? But of course, seeing them right there was reassuring. They stood in the ship for a bit, before getting out of the ship hesitantly, approaching the surprising presence.

“Whoa! Where’d you come from?” Feldspar seemed almost as surprised as the five pebbles.

Alright then. It’s not a dead person playing harmonica, but the actual, physical Feldspar. Their mind counterpart was quite glad to witness it with their own four eyes, though a part of them felt it wasn’t too surprising they survived. They approached them, waving and sitting next to them.

“Got stuck in Dark Bramble as well, huh?” The Feldspar from the five pebbles commented.

“I think it’s quite obvious. Long story short, my ship got destroyed on impact with this fish’s corpse as I was navigating through this thorny planet.”

“That’s not too lucky there. Hey, our- I mean, my ship hasn’t been destroyed yet!”

“You’re right, you win this round, Hatchling. Say, why the hell did you decide to come to Dark Bramble of all possible planets? How long have you been traveling out there, actually?”

“I heard music from the Signalscope, so I decided to follow it. I was searching for Nomai pods, but…”

“I’m quite glad you stopped by, then! Don’t get me wrong, I like the peace here. But you for once don’t pester me too much. At least not today.”

Mind Feldspar smiled. It was nice to know the hearthian inspiring their very existence was doing decently well. They didn’t have much else to say, and understood the desire to be left to your own thoughts, sometimes. There’s probably a reason they didn’t ask for help yet, that is if the radio signal didn’t break with their ship, or wasn't obstructed by Dark Bramble’s nods. Either way, their thoughts about seeing their physical counterpart alive brought them a strange feeling of uneasiness that seemed to steem from another mind buddy. They weren’t quite familiar to them, making the guessing game easier: a non-familiar entity who felt uneasy about their source being alive or not, was more than likely Mind Solanum.

“I know you might, or actually do feel guilty from being the counterpart of an actually quantumly dead person. But that’s not your fault… Hey, you know I thought that was my case too until now, right?”

She didn’t immediately respond, searching for the perfect words. “I do understand. Still, I am now left as the odd one out.”

“Okay, alright… Can we do anything to cheer you up?” Mind Feldspar wasn’t the best psychologist.

“I’d truly like to know what happened to the Vessel. I feel it would give me not only closure, but a way to see the Eye with my own sight, using our newly found coordinates.”

“To the vessel it is, then!”

Mind Feldspar waved at their source, before getting back inside the ship. Getting out of the nod, they paid close attention to any Anglerfish presence. Thanks to Pebble’s extensive search of the Ember Twin, they knew not to make any sound around them. Using the Signalscope, they were able to finally find the distress beacon they were searching for. After a few minutes of navigation however, they hadn’t found any Vessel, only an escape pod.

“Right… I didn’t think to tell you I only saw escape pods have a distress beacon. Not that we ever found any Nomai Vessel yet.” Pebble apologized.

“... I still want to explore this part of the story. It may not help me find the Eye, however, I will be able to acknowledge the roots of my source.”

Leaving full control to their mind buddy, Mind Solanum was now the one leading the exploration. Approaching the third escape pod, she started translating all the texts she could find. She felt her curiosity slowly being replaced by fright, understanding the truth: None of the Nomai from this escape pod are likely to have made it out alive. She ever so slightly started to feel a knot in her stomach.

“Hold on, are you sure you wanna continue? I feel you are about to cry.” Mind Gabbro worriedly commented.

“I… I know. However, none of the corpses are in my sight. Perhaps we can find them. Perhaps we could find the Vessel, too.”

“As you wish.”

Following the trail of light, it wasn’t too long before the harsh reality appeared before her eyes, reaching the Nomai grave. Now fully shaking, she tried her best to translate the last text she found. She barely could finish reading it, before bursting into tears. Nobody knew what to say or how to react in order to comfort their buddy.

“It’s okay, you can cry. Take your time.” Mind Gabbro simply advised.

She cried for a couple of not so precious minutes, before asking for a favor.

“I… I think I am in need of rest… C-Could you please do your best in order to find the Vessel, for me?”

“Of course. We’ll try.” Mind Pebble assured.

As they felt the aura of their buddy fade away, Pebble took a quick glance at the translated text, thinking of what to do. They always liked puzzles, so it quickly came to them to shoot their scoot inside the seed.

“And now, we just have to follow the signal.”

“Quite the smart move.” Mind Feldspar added.

Them and Pebble went back to the ship, and started collaborating their flight to the Vessel, between plot armor and strategy. After a few minutes of fright and near-deathes, they couldn’t believe their eyes: an actual Nomai Vessel, right before their sight, though a bit rusty. Pebble got out of the shuttle and carefully entered, searching for the command room. Their trip was quick, but met with immeasurable disappointment. It appeared that what looked like an energy generator was broken. Neither Pebble nor their buddies remembered seeing anything like it anywhere. Well, Pebble did find warp core parts at the high energy lab, but none with this exact shape.

“Good thing Mind Solanum left… It would have only broken her more.” Pebble thought to themselves.

They sadly got back in their ship, looking at their ship log, trying to find a purpose to go on.

“We… haven’t found much related to this ‘Ash Twin Project’ yet, have we now?” Mind Chert asked, showing up.

“No, I didn’t understand a thing going to the Ash Twin itself… Is the project even on the Ash Twin?” Pebble doubted.

“Do we have many more leads? The world is about to end again, either way.” Mind Chert argued.

Pebble thought, as the supernova reached them. Maybe they had a point, after all. Waking up under the stars, they went to their spaceship as usual. Leaving the honor to their Mind Feldspar to drive as always, they arrived on the sand-filled planet in no time. Parking their ship somewhere the sand won’t attract it out of the planet, they got their feet out on the ground.

“I suppose all we can do now is… wait. Some structures appear when the sand goes out, and that’s all I remember.”

“I suggest we only stay in one place, that way we don’t get too distracted.” Mind Chert suggested.

Waiting for the planet to reveal itself, Pebble was left alone with their own, collective passing thoughts.

“You don’t seem quite as scared as you first were, buddy.” Gabbro joined in the waiting.

“I guess I’m not anymore. Funny, isn’t it?”

“What I meant is that I’m proud of you. You have come a long way since you first started discovering us.” Mind Gabbro sincerely shared.

Pebble chuckled. “I wonder how the me from a few loops ago would react. If they even still exist, that is.”

“Y’know, you can both change as a person and have different people in your head. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Right.”

They exchanged a few more meaningless thoughts as two twin towers revealed themselves before them. Pebble chose to enter the intact one, the broken one likely not being functional anymore. They looked around, and noticed a warp pad on the ground.

“Don’t these work by aligning with their planet, or something?” Mind Gabbro asked.

“I think so.” Pebble confirmed to their Mind Gabbro as they stepped on the pad. “But what planet?”

Pebble looked up at the ceiling. They heard the sand column arriving, and before they knew it, they found themself teleported on the neighboring planet, the Ember Twin.

“What the-” Pebble was confused.

“Looks like this one was programmed on Ember Twin’s warp pad.” Mind Gabro remarked.

Stepping out of the pad and back on it before the planet stopped aligning with the Ask Twin, they got teleported back to the tower they came from.

“Okay, but look. There is another tower next to it, what could it be for?” Pebble wondered, tilting their head.

“Maybe it’s broken and they had to rebuild it in another twin tower.” Mind Gabbro didn’t know any better from their memories.

“When you say twin towers, I would think this one is for the Ash Twin itself.” Mind Chert joined the conversation.

“But… How can a planet align… with itself?” Pebble was further confused.

“Maybe it’s always active?” Mind Gabbro headed to the pad after their comment, but didn’t get teleported anywhere.

“Or maybe it’s broken, as the tower itself suggests.” Pebble dryly noted.

They sat there, trying to think, or perhaps waiting for something to happen. Within 4 minutes of thinking, they still could not find a clue. This however didn’t seem to please everyone in the body.

“How long are we going to play the waiting game, exactly?” Mind feldspar asked.

“I…” Pebble cut themself, hearing the sand column arrive. “Hold on, we need to hide.”

They got up and hid under a small, still standing roof. They watched as the sand column went by. However…

“Hide? How about we make things fun?” Mind Feldspar got an idea.

Taking over the body, they rushed to the sand transfer, unknowingly being teleported right where they aimed: inside the Ash Twin Project.

“EXCUSE ME?” Pebble yelled.

“I can’t believe this stupid stunt is how we got in.” Mind Chert sounded almost disappointed.

“Hey, in order to be a good pilot, you gotta have good reflexes!” Mind Feldspar proudly announced.

“That only makes sense. The planet actually aligns with itself when the sand comes by.” Mind Gabbro concluded.

Pebble ended straight to the text needing translation with their tool. One by one, they started decoding the messages on the walls, as everything fell into place. That is, until one particular line of text came up.

[YARROW: Pye and Idaea have worked hard on the Sun Station, and it at last is complete. If everything goes as planned, this structure will prompt the sun’s explosion (...)]

Pebble let down the translator before even finishing reading it, as they felt a strong feeling overwhelm them: unmatched rage.

“ARE THEY SERIOUS? THEY’RE THE REASON WE KEEP DYING? THEY’RE THE REASON THIS IS HAPPENING?”

“Hold, please calm-” Mind Gabbro was cut off.

“Calm down?! CALM DOWN? I- I literally just found out they’re causing US to die over and over again! HOW can I stay CALM?”

Pebble didn’t even bother to read the following texts, only making a singular statement.

“Mind Feldspar, you know what to do. Our next stop is the sun station.”

Chapter Text

Of course, Pebble’s understandable yet infuriating reaction didn’t quite sit well with everyone, including their internal pilot.

“Hold on there, Hatchling. I may like taking risks, but that’s just insanity.”

“And? Do I SEEM like I care? Are you even ANYTHING like the REAL you, huh?”

Mind Feldspar seemed hurt by that comment. “And what if I’m not like the ‘real me’? Are you gonna kick me out? And it’s not like my physical counterpart ever landed on the sun station.”

“If I can’t kick you out, I can still repress you.” Pebble threatened. “But anyway, who cares. It’s not even about you acting out of character. It’s about our SURVIVAL. It’s our LITERAL SUN being blown up by NOMAIS!”

Mind Feldspar sighed out loud. “Fine. I’ll try, to get out of this mess of a time loop. But I’ll be expecting an apology from you.”

Getting out of the Ash Twin Project, they angrily approached their ship, before buckling up sloppily. Not only were they angry with the revelation, but Mind Feldspar was also infuriated with Pebble’s behavior. This reflected very well in their flying, nearly flying straight into the Ember Twin. Approaching the sun but failing to get its station in sight, they lowered their ship a little. The ship moved unexpectedly fast, attracted by the gravitational pull of the sun. And the loop was already over. Waking up under the night sky, Mind Feldspar could tell Pebble was still angry at them.

“What, thinking you could’ve done it better? How about you do it then, Hatchling?”

No answers, followed by Pebble’s presence progressively dissipating. They probably didn’t have anything to say or even wanted to stay. Fine then, let’s die as many times as it takes to fulfil that stupid buddy’s wish, and perhaps save the world along the way. Reaching the shuttle, Mind Feldspar felt another presence, but not nearly as infuriating as the last one.

“Hey, mind some advice?” Someone not quite identified asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Just take some deep breaths, alright?” Mind Gabbro was for sure the one speaking there. “You won’t ever land on the station if you’re all angry, no offense.”

“None taken.”

“And about Pebble… They need to apologize for sure, and they’ll do so when the right time comes. Maybe once we’ve ‘saved the world’.”

“They should have apologized last loop. And even then-”

“Deep breaths, remember?”

Choosing to listen to their mind buddy’s advice, Mind Feldspar focused on calming down, until they felt actually ready to fly. Their second attempt quickly had proven itself to be unsuccessful, but they had learned something along the way: They could perhaps use the gravitation attraction in order to surf on the sun? Another rough wake up, another round of deep breathes, and back they were in space. This time, they managed to actually surf on the sun, but barely missed the station. Back to the start of the loop, back in the spaceship, back in space again. But this time around, combining every part of their gained knowledge, as well as a bit of plot armor, the landing on the sun station was a success. Mind Feldspar raised their arm in victory, and exited the ship as fast as they could. They realized the last hurdle on their way: Flying inside using their suit. Thankfully, this one didn’t need any additional loop, Mind Feldspar felt particularly confident with their jetpack. Once inside, they felt another presence make its way in their head, the immediate feeling of anger being very telling.

“Don’t you have anything to say?” Mind Feldspar asked, almost dryly.

“Thank you?” Pebble answered, getting a sigh out of their mind buddy. “Well, sorry, I guess. I’m still angry about the sun, but I suppose I shouldn’t have taken it out on you…”

“I’ll accept it. We have a galaxy to save, after all.”

Inside the room, there were no visible switches, leading two of the pebbles to start reading around. Pebble felt their anger rise as they read how enthusiastic the Nomais were to blow up the sun, THEIR sun. Heading to the next room, there were two rather unpleasant surprises for the pebbles.

[Star has reached end of natural life cycle. Now approaching red giant stage. WARNING: Evacuate Sun Station.]

“Natural? Because they think their technology is natural?” Pebble thought, not quite knowing where the dread in their body came from. They couldn’t be misunderstanding it, there was no way.

Pebble half angrily took the projection stone out of the dead Nomai’s hands, setting it down, getting their translator out…

[YARROW: What happened? Did the Sun Station not fire?]

“Well, it… fired now?” Pebble’s anger was almost entirely replaced by terror.

[PYE: It fired, Yarrow. But it failed. The sun barely responded; there were infintestimally small surface-level changes, but they were barely visible, even to the third eye.]

Reading the full sentence, Pebble felt their mind speed up. This had to be a misunderstanding. There was another conclusion at the end of that exchange, right? They finished translating it, rereading the whole thing, but… The only thing they could do was to come back to earlier’s text.

[Star has reached end of natural life cycle. Now approaching red giant stage. WARNING: Evacuate Sun Station.]

And from speeding up, their personal thoughts went to a halt. Pure nothingness.

“M-Mind Feldspar…?” No answers. “P-please… I’m sorry… I…”

Falling to their knees, their translator falling to the ground, it was Pebble’s turn to be a sobbing mess. And when they needed them the most, their mind buddies were nowhere to be found. All, safe for one.

“Pebble… I truly feel sorry for you and your kind.” Pebble didn’t feel identifying the presence immediately, merely accepting it.

“This was all for nothing… We’re… we’re going to…”

The presence thought. “It is tragic, it is sad. Yet, do we have any other choices? My kind did not get one, either…” Mind Solanum tried to relate.

“What was it even for? What were my… our efforts for? What is there left to do…?”

“I am perhaps going to sound selfish. But possibly, inside the Ash Twin Project… Could we find the resources to find the Eye?”

Pebble tried to wipe a few of their tears, stopped by their helmet. “Finding the Eye… It means everything will end. It means… we only get one shot.”

“The choice is a heavy one to make. Still, I hope you take this last possibility into account.” Mind Solanum asked Pebble for, as the sun station got engulfed by the naturally dying sun, resetting the loop.

Back to the campfire, once again, after who knows how many loops since the first time the sun blew up. The pebbles just stared at the sky, left speechless by the shock. Before Slate would start to worry once again, as per habit, they went to their spaceship, not even bothering to launch into orbit, it’s not like Slate had the launch codes anyway. They needed something, anything to get the will to go on, or perhaps the will to finally let go of their now seemingly useless lives. Or, perhaps, if they decided to follow their mind Nomai’s advice…

“We need a plan.” Pebble announced.

“Will you truly go seek the Eye, Pebble?” Mind Solanum asked.

“I don’t see anything else worth the trouble. Everything is…  well…”

“Then I am eternally indebted to you.”

Pebble smiled at the thought of making their buddy happy. “It’s only normal. But… I’m not sure how to make sure we can make this work out. Are we even on the right path?”

Them two began feeling another presence join the conversation.

“We just have to check the Ash Twin Project again. As long as we don’t break anything, we are not committing to it yet.” Theorized who they assumed to be Mind Chert.

“Good idea. Then… we’ll try to fly there.”

Going out of Timber Hearth and reaching the Ash Twin after maybe a minute of flying, they noticed the towers had started to get out of the sand, but weren’t fully revealed yet. Parking their ship away from the sand’s trajectory, they rushed to the broken tower. Waiting only a few minutes, they found themselves inside the Ask twin Project, just like the first time. Before heading toward the orb controllers however, Pebble decided to finish translating the texts they neglected to translate last time.

[YARROW: These words are difficult to write: The Sun Station did not work.]

“That’s about what I thought…” Pebble sighed.

Not paying attention to the projection stones, once done with translating the wall, the pebbles headed to the Nomai mechanisms.

[WARNING: Removing the core will disable the Ash Twin Project.]

Pebble gulped, before opening the core of the Project.

“This is it. This is exactly what we saw on the Nomai ship.” Pebble realized.

Getting ready to jump without even disabling gravity, Pebble was stopped by yet another mind buddy.

“Hold on. We don’t have to do it now.”

“What do you mean? In case you didn’t get the memo, our world is dying. Nothing has a meaning anymore.”

“I’m not claiming it’s not dying, only have you thought to perhaps train before jumping straight into the most dangerous planet there is?” Someone who Pebble identified as Mind Gabbro scolded.

“Mind Feldspar could do it just fine.”

“Did you ask them first? In fact, perhaps you should ask everyone what they think of it, and if there’s anything they’d want to do before going on a literal suicide mission.”

Pebble found themself agreeing with their mind pal.

“Alright, maybe you’re right… Um. Does anyone have any objections, or I suppose anything they’d want to do before we go?”

Pebble could feel their buddies think, oddly enough.

“While I am infinitely grateful to get to witness the Eye, I wish to find out what happened to my kind.” Mind Solanum softly asked.

Pebble had not a clue how to help her, but understood the motivation. They used to be curious about it as well, before learning of the truth.

“Anyone else…?”

“I’ll just take a loop to chill.” Mind Gabbro answered.

“I want to tell our story to my physical counterpart the time of a loop.” Mind Chert asked for.

“And I’ll be on training duty to get inside Dark Bramble.” Mind Feldspar added lastly.

“Alright, alright…” Pebble thought. “I think we will start with our Solanum’s request. It will probably take the longest time to figure out. Any… clues? On how to find out?”

“Hm…” Mind Solanum pondered. “My kind has explored the comet lastly mentioned on these walls, while we haven’t. Hypothesis: Perhaps we could find any kind of leading clue there.”

“I trust you, then. There’s probably enough time left for us to visit it.” Pebble let the control to their mind Nomai.

Mind Solanum made sure to close the device of the Project before taking the warp pad out. Getting to their ship, she felt hesitant.

“Could I be assisted? I don’t feel confident about flying this kind of spacecraft.”

“Here you go.” Mind Feldspar helped out.

Quickly landing on the Interloper, which its trajectory was nearing the sun, Mind Solanum found herself close to the now melting patch of ice leading inside the comet. She shyly got in, making sure to look out everywhere for any clues. A worrying amount of ghost matter was everywhere around the intruder comet. Reaching the core, Mind Solanum found two dead Nomais, one of them trying to escape.

“Oh… Oh goodness, no…” She thought to herself.

Getting to the recordings, the four other Pebbles didn’t know if they should leave her space to read, or if they would be needed anytime. Reading further and further, recalling the general presence of ghost matter in their solar system, everything clicked… And it was now Solanum’s turn, again, to have her whole world shattered. Pebble took back control of the body, feeling how upset Solanum was, and began bringing them back to their ship. On the way, the three other buddies came to comfort her.

“I’ll let you know, being upset is more than okay, especially after what you discovered.” Mind Gabbro affirmed.

“At least, a part of your physical self as well as you, the mind buddy, got to survive a little longer!” Mind Feldspar clumsily tried to help.

“If it can help you find closure, your kind and our kind neither really got to choose when it had to end.” Mind Chert comforted.

“Thank you… Thank you very much…” Mind Solanum was still upset, but felt thoroughly supported. “It may not dissipate my grief wholly, yet I am still grateful to have all of you around.”

Pebble smiled at the mental support that was happening up there, as they reached the place the exit should have been. Should, because of course, while they were busy at the core, the ice grew back on the Interlopper. Perhaps it was time, again, to meditate.

Chapter Text

Under the stars again, for one of the very last times, Mind Gabbro took control of the body.

“After what just happened, I think we deserve to relax for a loop. I suppose it’s my turn to get my wish done, then.”

They looked around, but quickly decided Timber Hearth wasn’t the place to stay. There was nothing wrong with this planet, but they were starting to miss Giant’s Deep, which would be their next stop. Flying there with no hurdle, not even needing their mind pilot’s assistance, the first island in sight was, quite ironically, Gabbro’s island. Not too bad of a choice, perhaps it would give them a last bit of closure before their last mission.

“Hi there.” The pebbles’ Gabbro greeted their physical counterpart.

“Hey, pebbles, nice to see you again. Who do I get to talk to?”

“Gabbro. So, you, kinda.”

“Neat. You’ve been gone for a while, huh? What did I miss?”

“A lot, believe me. Right when we last left I think, it turns out we discovered a final hiding buddy, that being a Mind Feldspar.”

“I’d assume it did not go well.”

“Not in the slightest, it was a mess. Until Pebble apologized, and we actually made up, somewhat.”

“I knew Pebble wasn’t a bad person, but it took lots of time. How many of you are there now?”

“Five total. But buddies weren’t the only thing we discovered. Let’s cut the chase: The world is ending as soon as the time loop stops.”

Gabbro shifted in their hammock. “And any clues when it will stop?”

“In a few loops. We agreed to sacrifice everything to find the Eye of the Universe, because there was no way to stop the supernova, anyway.”

“So you finally found more about this Eye, huh? ‘A few loops’ should be enough for me to come to terms with indefinitely dying, probably. Go ahead.”

As expected, Gabbro didn’t mind too much the pebble Gabbro’s revelations, and their conversation quickly died out as Mind Gabbro could relax to their physical self’s flute playing next to them. They probably themself had come to terms with the nearing end as well, as they entered a meditating trance… And there came the next loop, after a dozen meditating minutes.

“Whose turn is it?” Mind Gabbro asked whoever was lurking around.

After a few seconds of silence, an answer. “I think I will volunteer.” Mind Chert offered.

“Alright, you’re the leader now.” Mind Gabbro left the control to their buddy.

Once in their ship, before going into the skies, Mind Chert tried to call someone else from the back of their head, thinking of familiar sights in order to trigger them…

“I think you are here now, so let me explain why I called. I think you need closure, and perhaps you could find it along with me and my physical self. What do you think, Mind Solanum?”

She mentally smiled. “Thank you so very much. Seeing the Eye itself will help bring me closure, still I accept your offer, Mind Chert.”

Flying to the Ember Twin in a rather calculated manner, they landed next to the other traveler’s camp. The pebbles’ Chert tried to think on how to explain their adventure without getting their physical self panicked. After all, to their point of view, the time loop didn’t exist, and they were unlikely to believe them. Approaching the short Hearthian, Mind Chert engaged in conversation first.

“Hello, hello. I had something to share with you, but I know you won’t take it well. Could you promise me to try and… stay calm?”

Chert tilted their head. “Hello there. I’m not quite sure what you are talking about, but I suppose I can try. Go ahead.”

The two pebbles sat down next to the astronomer, Mind Solanum watching from afar as their Chert led the conversation.

“You might have noticed a few dying stars by now. The world… it’s not doing well. It’s actively dying.”

Chert retreated, taken aback by the blunt, yet scaringly accurate statement.

“Wait, what do you mean by this?! I don’t think I can just believe that out of the blue, but there has been a surprising amount of supernovas lately… what makes you believe this, traveler?”

Mind Chert looked away. “You aren’t going to believe me, I assume. But we have been stuck in a time loop for quite a while, which only us and Gabbro are aware of, thanks to Nomai statues.”

Chert looked around, confused, trying to process whatever they meant. “The whole ‘time loop’ story aside, why did you say ‘we’ are aware of the time loop? I am not aware of any kind of rewinding timelines.”

“This is what I wanted to talk to you about, this loop around. We, and I mean I, haven’t had a singular mind for a longer time than we thought.”

“I…” Chert paused. “I don’t know which story is the most unusual between a time loop, and this. Of course it would logically be the time loop, but I have never heard of the second one either.” While surprised by whatever their fellow traveler was ranting about, interest was clearly heard in their voice.

“I can tell you about both, we may have about a dozen minutes left.”

“Go ahead.” While uncomfortable by the doomsday talk, Chert allowed their coworker to continue their story.

Mind Chert proceeded to explain in synthetic terms the Eye of the Universe, the Ash Twin Project, and the death of their sun, insisting on the time loop part every time they felt their physical counterpart starting to worry too much. Chert was reluctant to believe them at first, but seeing the growing red star before them was only affirming the other’s story. A few minutes were left, and so the Pebbles’ Chert decided to go for their confession.

“And I just wanted to let you know, at least once… but, this whole story of having multiple facets of me, of us… it led, among others, to have me, a facet based on you.”

Chert didn’t respond immediately, looking away. Mind Chert was worried they might have overshared with this one. After a couple of agonizingly long seconds, they gave their honest thoughts.

“It’s surprising. I felt a sense of… kinship with you? Yet, you are so different.”

“Different, huh… Well, there is this other person in the background, even if she didn’t say much.”

Chert looked at them. “I don’t want to be rude, but I still think you are a different person.”

“I… I see…”

“Sorry, I did not mean to hurt you! You see, we just don’t have… the same life, you know? And you have all of these ‘mind buddies’ making our two lives very different.” Chert tried to reassure, getting no response from their mental counterpart. “I suppose you, who is fine with the world ending… perhaps you should be fine with your connection with me changing. You’ve changed, and that’s okay, is it not? Not that it truly matters at the end of times, does it?”

Mind Chert smiled under their helmet. It looks like it was their turn to be comforted. “Thank you.” They sincerely spoke, before staring together at the dying sun, soon to be a supernova.

After yet another painful supernova, they woke up again. Before getting up though, a soft voice spoke.

“Thank you a million times for letting me witness this conversation. I think I, too, needed to hear this revelation about change.” Mind Solanum thanked Mind Chert.

“Well, no problems, I’m happy to help!”

Getting back to their ship, they waited for their Feldspar to wake up again, in order for them to start training to get to the core of Dark Bramble. Although first of all, Pebble showed up, prompting their Chert to ask a question they hadn’t considered yet.

“Hello, Pebble! I just realised, you haven’t made your last wish yet. Do you have anything in mind?”

“Not really…”

“We still have time. You can think about it while Mind Feldspar trains on Dark Bramble driving.” They felt a new presence join them in their mind. “Speaking of the wolf…”

Mind Feldspar clapped their hands once as they got in control. “Ready, everyone?”

“Yes, I think.” Pebble assured.

“I think I will leave you two at it, see you!” Mind Chert left.

“Then let’s get straight to it!” Feldspar launched into space, driving straight into Dark Bramble.

Noticing their staggering speed, Pebble wondered. “Have you ever used the autopilot in your life, or?”

“I am the autopilot, Hatchling!” Mind Feldspar joked.

All of this show time, only to get eaten by an Anglerfish in the first nod.

“Whoopsies.” Mind Feldspar thought upon waking up.

“I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have done any better.” Pebbled commented, getting a kind chuckle from their Feldspar.

Back to Dark Bramble, this time around, the Vessel was found effortlessly. Once they reached the Nomai ship, Feldspar chose to get in a meditative trance. Waking up again, they autonomously went back to their ship.

“Wait, you just succeeded, are you going to do it again?” Pebble asked, confused.

“Hatchling, it’s the whole fate of the Universe being at hand. I may have my strong fits, but I want to be more than ready for this trip of a lifetime. Got it?”

Pebble ended up agreeing. Surprisingly, even after their fight a few loops ago, the next couple of test flights went surprisingly smoothly. It was just like the old times, when as a hatchling, Pebble would play with their Mind Feldspar. This thought gave Pebble a warm feeling, and to their Feldspar, a reassurance about the state of their healing journey. On their last trip, Pebble wondered:

“Say, did you really want it to be the very last thing you do in your life? Continuously drive into Dark Bramble?”

Mind Feldspar smiled. “I’m doing it for us. And seeing this ‘us’ is healing, is enough of a motivation for me to do this as my final wish.”

“Huh. I think I would have much rather taken a day to see our home planet one last time.”

The pebbles’ Feldspar tilted their head. “Then how about you do just that? You didn’t know what to do, after all.”

“I literally never thought about that…” Pebble mentally facepalmed.

Waking up for one of the last times under the night sky. Stars, oh stars was it finally happening. Pebble gulped, as they got up, waving at Slate before pretending to get to the launch codes. They could not shake the fear from their body, as they ascended to the highest point in the village. They sat there, admiring the now sunny view. They tried to guess what their Gabbro would tell them, and they tried to take some deep breaths, which they failed at.

“Let me show you.” Mind Gabbro showed up, and started actually helping their buddy calm down.

“... Say, do you know where the others are?”

“In our head obviously, why?”

Pebble smiled in slight embarrassment. “I want to be with everyone for this last loop. I want to enjoy everyone’s presence.”

“Getting emotional and all over there, Hatchling?” Their Feldspar commented, getting a playful sigh out of Pebble.

“I hope you aren’t fighting over there!” Mind Chert intervened, just in case.

“I have been observing them, I can affirm they are not.” Mind Solanum reassured.

Pebble smiled, warmly. In this moment, they felt appreciated. Surrounded. Loved. They may have had their differences, but at least, their final voyage was going to be cheerful enough. Speaking of…

“Do we have a plan?” Pebble asked.

“Outside of me flying to the Vessel, we haven’t. Want to make one?”

“I guess so… any wants from anyone?”

A bit of thinking around their head.

“I wish to fix and enter the commands on the Vessel.”, Mind Solanum asked.

“I can help and tell us when exactly to go to the Ash Twin to have a minimal wait.” Mind Chert suggested.

“I’ll be here for emotional support” Mind Gabbro affirmed.

“Then we can work with this. But… who will retrieve the core from the Ash Twin Project, and who will explore the Eye, if we can reach it?” Pebble wondered.

“I guess we should explore the Eye all together. And as for the core… I believe it’s up to you.” Due to the amount of people in their head, Pebble struggled to say who was talking.

“Hah, thank you. I like this idea…” And Pebble watched the sun for the last time, before starting to meditate their worries out.

And finally, it was their last wake up under the stars. The five Pebbles got to their ship, not flying immediately, waiting for their Chert’s instructions. About 4 minutes in, as the towers started to reveal themselves and the planet was aligned with Timber Hearth, they gave the go. Flying with remarkable carefulness, they managed to park just in time next to the entrance of the Ash Twin Project. In the meantime for its opening, Mind Gabbro took time to reassure everyone it was going to be okay. Finally, as the sand got out, it was Pebble’s time to shine. This time around, making sure to disable gravity, they heard mental cheers as they grabbed the Advanced wrap core. Making their quick way out, the five of them turned at the sun one last time, before rushing to their ship. Mind Feldspar’s turn came, as they sped through space to the cursed planet of Dark Bramble, passing all the Anglerfishes with ease. Finally nearing the Vessel, Mind Solanum took over, putting the core at its right place. Seeing the coordinates panel open, she entered the coordinates just right.

“A conscious observer is about to enter the Eye… What may happen from now on is entirely unknown. I am truly glad to have met all of you is the last message I wanted to get across, in case we were to not make it.” Mind Solanum announced.

Their mind buddies agreed with her, before she was left with only one possibility: Go to the Eye. In the span of a few seconds, they found themselves at the other side of the galaxy. The Eye of the Universe was before them. Exiting the ship, they approached the imposing place. Pebble tried to communicate, but could not find any words to think. They still felt each of their buddies’ way to express their feelings, but no verbal communication went through. Nearing the core, and falling straight into it, they appeared in the museum.

“Hello…?” Pebble finally could verbalize out loud.

However, their mind was empty. All of a sudden, they could not feel any of their buddies. They rushed to the top of the place, before being sent into a strange forest of dying stars. They could feel tears forming in their eyes. No. They didn’t make it that far only for everyone to just disappear. Not now. Not after all of this. They sat on the ground, their head buried in their legs. They nearly started crying, before they felt a hand on their shoulder. Raising their head, they were met with a familiar Hearthian.

“If this isn’t my time-mind buddy!” A now physical Mind Gabbro announced.

Pebble almost jumped out of place. They instinctively tried to grab their hand, which was indeed something they could feel, not any kind of hologram.

“How about we go and try and find the others before they find us?” Gabbro suggested. “I’ll go to the campfire, and you’ll go into the woods.”

Pebble nodded, as the two of them divided their attention. Pebble wandered in the now dark forest, until a voice called out for them.

“Pebble! Over there!” Mind Chert called, who Pebble nearly missed, their head looking at the sunless sky.

“Hi Mind Chert- or maybe just Chert?” Pebble questioned.

“Just Chert is enough in this place, I’d presume.” Chert turned around. “I was trying to follow an instrument's sound, come!”

The two of them started exploring the forest further, finding themself getting closer to the light of the campfire, before encountering a rather tall figure.

“Pebble, Chert! It is you two!” Solanum nearly cried.

“Sola!” Chert waved as they rushed to her.

Solanum tilted their head. “Can you still understand me under this newer form?” She asked, not even processing the new nickname.

“Looks like it.” Pebble confirmed.

“Perhaps we should go to the campfire now, it’s quite nearby.” Chert suggested.

The three of them neared the light, before being greeted by two waving presences sitting down and grilling marshmallows.

“I see you found Feldspar?” Pebble asked.

“Congratulations on not being blind.” Feldspar lightly mocked.

Gabbro got up from their seat. “In order to celebrate this…” they opened their arms, ”Who wants to hug?”

Everyone looked at each other, before collectively agreeing. It was a little awkward, but it was a sincere collective hug that lasted a good few seconds. Each letting go of the embrace, they weren’t quite sure what to do next.

“How about we start making some noise?” Feldspar suggested.

“Don’t you nearly all lack your instruments?” Pebble asked.

“We can improvise. We try to sing, hum or tap our own melody.” Gabbro suggested. “And since we don’t have anyone who plays the lead of our song here, you should do it, Pebble. Come on.” They encouraged.

Pebble smiled nervously, before starting to hum the melody. Gabbro quickly followed by whistling their part, right before Feldspar started singing their notes. Chert started tapping their part with their hands, and finally, Solanum, the only one with a sound making tool, started playing her own melody. The awkwardness subsided, and each and every one of the mind buddies played enthusiastically, as some sort of portal started forming above the campfire. They progressively stopped their song, staring at the orb.

“Whatever lies beyond it might be the last thing we ever witness. Are we all ready to make this leap of faith?” Solanum asked.

Gabbro extended their hand, which Pebble and Chert grabbed. Solanum grabbed Chert’s other hand, and Feldspar grabbed Pebble and Solanum’s hand. Collectively nodded, Pebble started counting.

“Three. Two. One…”

And they all jumped forwards, attracted by the gravity of the portal. Everything got distorted, before they collectively saw a new beginning. And from the state to being multiple, to each having their own body, they all returned to being none.