Break this Breaking Point

“Mariana,” The scientist murmured, 

“Are you ready? I want to get this over with- the sooner he’s disposed of, the better.” The woman beside him brushed her hair, and sighed. 

“Yes- Honey, are you sure you want to do this?” She paused, looking at her husband.

“There’s other ways to resolve this- a lawsuit would do it, or if you just talked to Orion…”

“I need to squash the bug before it bites,” Arche replied simply. 

“I’m not letting all that I’ve worked for fall over some… Some stupid ex-coworker! He’s not important enough for people to care what happens to him, and I have the money to cover this up,” he growled. Faustus frowned.

“… Alright. Give me your rift device,” she sighed. The man obliged, as his wife opened a portal. Arche furrowed his brow as he leaned in to look through. 

“This is the wrong- Ack!” He was shoved from his home dimension into the darkness of the void, falling and landing and struggling all at the same time. He looked back towards the portal, trying to rush back in, but it was closing. 

“Mariana, what are you doing?! Stop!! No, you don’t understand- Don’t leave me here!!”

He cried out, but time and space answered to no one. He was left alone, in the darkness of nothingness, and he fell to his knees, confused and afraid. 

This had to be a mistake. Yes, she would open up a portal and come back any second now to grab him. She didn’t mean to push him through- no, it was a mistake. She must have just bumped into him. After all, she knew how important it was to ensure Orion couldn’t use his technology…

He waited, and waited, and waited. As time passed, or it felt as though it did, he began to doubt himself bit by bit. But it didn’t make sense. Maybe it wasn’t an accident- but why would she trap him here? They loved each other, and although lately her temper was shorter with him, she wouldn’t leave him like this. No, it was a mistake. Time works differently here- maybe only seconds have passed for her, and she’s trying to open another rift. The scientist took deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm himself. 

“One, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen…” As he murmured to himself, a familiar set of footsteps approached. 

I was wondering when you would arrive.

Arche looked over his shoulder, stopping his counting. He peered up at a friend of his- oh, thank god. He leapt to his feet, his eyes meeting that of the gigantic fox in front of him.

“You- You’re here, oh, I’m so happy to see you,” he sighed with relief. 

“Faustus made a mistake, and now I’m trapped here. I need your help-“

It was not a mistake.

Arche paused, and shook his head. 

“It was- she wouldn’t leave me here. We were trying to get somewhere back in my dimension, and-“

You have been consumed by madness. You are unfit to hold the power that you have.

The man couldn’t comprehend what Nogi was saying. He took a deep breath. 

“I… I don’t understand. If I don’t get back to my dimension, if I don’t stop Orion-“ The fox sat their rear legs down, looking upon Arche with a fixed gaze. 

Your children will be safe. Nobody will hurt them. The enemy that you fear no longer exists.

The man backed away, starting to shake. 

“No, no, you don’t get it- you just don’t get it! When the public has access to such power- when other people have that much money and authority, they’ll-“

They will threaten your position in power. But that does not mean they will hurt those that you love. You have lost yourself to insanity, Arche.

The man shook his head violently, his breaths fast and shallow. He was looking around frantically, for some way out, for some type of help. 

“They’ll slaughter them like pigs- you don’t understand, they’ll come for Sammi, and Matilda, and-“

The war is over now, friend. You need to let it go.

“… And Bailey, oh god, Bailey- and Benjamin too- oh, Christ, Bailey is too young to fight back, she’ll-“

You didn’t mention Nick.

Arche fell silent, his eye wide, as he stared back down at his feet. Nogi continued. 

Orion and Mariana will keep them all safe, but you are not the man you used to be. You are a shell. You cannot let yourself love those close to you. I cannot let you leave here until your power is stripped from you. You’re a danger to yourself, and to everyone around you.

Arche slowly sank to the ground, and put his head in his hands. 

“You don’t know what you’re doing, you fool- you moron- you have no idea what you’ll cause!!” The man was crying now, and Nogi gently patted him with their paw. 

I know what I am doing. This has been a long time coming, Arche. I am sorry. But this is what is best for you. I cannot let you act like this any longer. I know what you have done to yourself.

The man sobbed, and tucked himself into his knees. 

“They needed to die- they were threats!! If I left them alive, they could have…”

Out of every version of you that I’ve observed, you are the only one that actively kills other versions of yourself. They are of no harm to anyone. You are driven by fear.

The fox lay down next to Arche, as the man shook violently, gasping between sobs. 

“Those people- they’ll kill everyone I love-“

Those people were you.

“But they’re dangerous-!!”

You are dangerous.

The man wept, and his shoulders shook as he did. His chest heaved up and down, the silence of the void ripping through his ears. He gasped for breath. 

“But Sammi-“

Enough. He is safe. I have a friend for you.

The fox looked up towards the pitch black sky, and sat up, before ripping another man through space and time. Oh. This guy. 

Arche looked up slowly at the man that was just flung onto the void in front of him. This man was crying too- albeit, likely for different reasons. He gasped, his hair a mess, one of the two horns on his head broken. Arche frowned, and snarled. 

“This is no friend of mine.” Nogi lay back down, and pawed at the demon. 

He is like you, in many ways. You have become nearly identical to him. The only thing that separates you two is your motives. Arche growled. 

“I am better than him- I will always be better than him!” The demon pushed Nogi away, and stood up slowly, before turning to Arche. 

“You will never be better than me,” the demon snapped, approaching the scientist. Arche’s face twisted into a snarl. 

“You’re a failure of a father- I did better for your son and for your wife,” he fired back. The demon scoffed. 

“And look how that turned out for you, asshole. You’re uglier than ever. I can’t say that you were every good looking in the first place, but now you’re even more of a mess. You deserved whatever happened to you,” Bryce sneered. Arche threw a punch, but the demon caught his hand. 

“Let me guess; I was right about Sammi, and now you’re fucked over in some way.” Arche huffed, and shoved Bryce away. 

“He has done nothing wrong. He acts out of kindness. He’s a good man.” Bryce chuckled lowly. 

“I don’t believe that for a second. Look at you; look at that hideous scar on your face.” Arche threw another punch, this time hitting Bryce in the chest, causing the man to stumble backwards a bit. 

“He didn’t know what he was doing- he only tried to help other people, you bastard!” Bryce wheezed, and laughed. 

“I knew it. I fucking knew it. I was right- and now you’re stuck with me and whatever fuckup Sammi made. You think torturing me would stop me from being right?” Arche snarled, and started to run at Bryce, but Nogi picked the scientist up by the back of his collar, and held him with their mouth. 

Enough. You are both here for a reason, and it is my duty to ensure you are both contained here. While it is entertaining to watch you fight, it does become annoying. We are going to play Mario kart.

Arche struggled, looking down at Bryce. 

“I’ll fucking kill you, you pathetic worm-!!” Bryce rolled his eyes. 

“Right, sure. How long is he going to be here? I hate it already.” Nogi sat Arche down gently. 

He will be here as long as it takes for him to become human again.