“Seems like you didn’t need our help after all.”

Shadow and the rest of the Council members were looking at me with a grim look, although there was a hint of amusement in the eyes of the ones, I was familiar with. Looking back at Frank and Frost, I could see that Frost had given up all signs of struggle, almost happy at being rescued from certain death at Frank’s hands.

Frank, meanwhile, was struggling against the bindings that held him, enraged at being denied his revenge. I looked back at Shadow, wondering what her intent was in treating Frank the same way as Frost. Seeing no explanation forthcoming, I asked her, “Why have you captured Frank? In case you didn’t get the memo, he’s on our side.” I couldn’t keep the frosty tone out of my voice when I remembered the fact that the Council had a traitor in their ranks. One they had yet to discover.

“He doesn’t seem to be in control of his emotions or his actions right now. And also, his ability seems to be affecting everyone around here, which could potentially be fatal. In case you haven’t noticed, his abilities are not having any effect now that he is isolated in my shadow.” Shadow replied, not noticing my displeasure or choosing to outright ignore it.

Now that I did have a hold on myself, I did notice that I wasn’t under the influence of Frank’s ability. Nodding at her, I turned and walked towards Samuel, having no desire to continue my conversation with Shadow now that the situation seemed to be under control.

Samuel stared at me for a long time before asking, “Are you ok? Sorry, it took such a long time. Surprisingly, it takes a long time to convince people that someone they consider a comrade is, in fact, a traitor.”

I couldn’t keep a smile off my face at the evident sarcasm in his voice. It seemed like Samuel also held the same opinion of the Council as me, which was pretty low at this point. For an organisation supposed to protect the interests of the Untethered on this planet, I’d think they would do a better job at checking the histories of who they inducted into the Council. I didn’t think anyone who would kill their brother out of sheer envy was necessarily good candidates for the position.

Samuel and I proceeded towards Frank, eager to see him released. Frank was still thrashing about in the shadow cocoon, eager to escape so as to have his way with Frost. I was really worried about how much his mental state was affected by these events. Especially since he too had come back from a near-death state. The betrayal of his mentor, his being almost killed by him for his abilities, then being denied the opportunity for revenge. All these events would be enough to send any person into a spiral.

I looked towards Shadow and asked her, “So what happens now? How long are you going to keep Frank like this? And what are we going to do about Frost?”

It was Light who answered my question, however, saying, “There’s no ‘we’ here, David. Frost was a member of the Council, making this is an internal matter for the Council. And while you’re a prospective member of the Council, you aren’t one yet. Leave this to us.”

Those words sent me into a rage I didn’t know I was capable of. Barely keeping my voice level, I asked him, “And what do you mean by that? In case you haven’t realised it yet, Frost tried to kill all the Untethered here. He tried to kill us and steal our powers. So, don’t give me that nonsense about leaving it to you. It stopped being an internal affair for the Council the moment you allowed a traitor to join the Council.”

Light gained an affronted look on his face and was about to reply when Shadow butted in, no longer content to watch our interaction from the side-lines, “That’s enough, David. Control your emotions. The Council has a set of procedures that are specifically put in place to deal with this sort of situation. We might have been fooled by Frost, by putting him on the Council, but don’t think we are so inept that we can’t give him his just punishment.”

I was getting quite frustrated with the direction the Council seemed to be taking in this matter, especially since I held them partially responsible for this whole fiasco. I couldn’t help but feel let down by their desire to take this matter out of our hands when we had been the ones at the crux of it in the first place.

“What about Frank? I’d rather he not spend any more time as a caged animal.” Frank had calmed down somewhat and seemed to be listening to our conversation half-heartedly.

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen to Frank. The problem is that his circumstance is pretty unique at the moment. And also, I couldn’t help but notice that his abilities seemed to be reminiscent of someone who we of the Council held in high regard.” Her reply wasn’t enough to satisfy my curiosity though. She seemed to be rather vague and was trying to avoid the question.

“Yeah, yeah. Frost said something about that when Frank first displayed his ability. What I want to know is what’s going to happen to Frank now? Despite all your reassurances, I notice that you still haven’t released him from your shadows.” I was vehement in my desire to know what they were planning in regard to Frank.

I was quite annoyed with the manner in which the Council seemed to be handling this whole situation. Instead of the benevolent side that I had witnessed during my visit, they were dealing with this fiasco like a bureaucratic organization, that is so prevalent in the real world.

I couldn’t help but wonder whether this was the real Council, whether my previous dealings with them was just a façade to try and gain the trust of the Third-slotter. It seemed like you could change dimensions but you couldn’t escape politics.

“We will have to take him to the Council headquarters. I am sure you have noticed, but his powers are quite dangerous and they seem to be out his control at the moment. We’d like to help him control his ability so that no harm comes to bystanders due to the passive release of his ability. I can’t be sure, but his powers could also influence ordinary mortals, which would be bad news for everyone involved.” Shadow replied conclusively this time around, probably sensing my annoyance with the whole situation and the Council in general.

They seemed to be really interested in his ability, almost as if they saw him as the second coming of their heralded hero. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. Would Frank really be comfortable accepting help from an organisation that had his former mentor as one of its members? I decided to voice these concerns to Shadow, as I was quite hesitant to leave Frank in the hands of the Council. Whatever trust the Council had cultivated in me had eroded due to the events immediately following my exit from the Council building.

“You seem really interested in him since you witnessed his ability? Any reason?” I just couldn’t hide the scepticism in my voice.

Shadow gave me a wry grin before replying, “In case you haven’t noticed, we are short one Council member now. Frank is experienced enough and his abilities are powerful. I am hoping he can take up the mantle that his so-called mentor seems to have abandoned. We have been monitoring him for a while anyway since he was the chosen successor for Frost.”

I could nod noncommittally, not really interested in prolonging this conversation. I just turned and went towards where Samuel was, but not before saying, “I am coming too if only to verify the truth about your statements regarding Frank’s care and Frost’s punishment.”

I didn’t bother to wait for a reply, choosing instead to talk to Samuel. Samuel just looked at me with concern before we went inside the club building that belonged to Frost. Looking around, I couldn’t help but wonder if this place would continue to operate now that its owner was as good as dead. And if it did, who would run this place? Hearing the Council’s intentions, I didn’t think Frank would have the time to and I couldn’t think of another candidate. Maybe Samuel. I didn’t think I would come to this place any time soon if it did manage to continue operating.

Samuel decided to break the silence between us, probably noticing my sullen mood, “What a day, huh.”

I could just nod at him with a wry grin on my face, not wanting to say anything. I would have much rather been alone at the moment, but I needed to wait for the Council to finish their work here and take Frank to the Council.

Samuel wasn’t giving up on the conversation so soon. Seeing that no response was forthcoming from me, he continued, “Sorry about not believing you from the start. I should have known that you wouldn’t lie about this sort of stuff.”

That did get me to talk. I didn’t want him to feel guilty for anything that had occurred that night, no matter how trivial his overall involvement might have been. I said, “I don’t think I would have believed myself, to be honest. You don’t need to feel bad about that.”

Samuel could just nod gratefully at my reply. He didn’t say anything after that. After all, the art of conversation wasn’t one of the strengths of the grim warrior. I just revelled in the silence in the club as it gave me time to mull over the inner turmoil I felt at the events of the last few days.

Only two days might have passed since I exited the Council but it honestly felt like a lifetime ago that I was arguing with Emma and wondering if she had any nefarious intentions. I had gone over the same day twice and although I had managed to avoid the catastrophe that had been the first run through the day, I just didn’t feel the sense of accomplishment I thought I would feel.

I had to admit that I was weak and had been plain lucky in some matters. I couldn’t do anything of consequence the second time around, even though I had the advantage of foresight. If it hadn’t been for the sudden unlocking of Frank’s ability which had tilted the balance in our favour, nothing would have changed. I didn’t think my core would have withstood another transportation through time or even if I would have travelled through time this time around.

And that brought me to the crux of my biggest problem. My ability. I wasn’t any closer to understanding my own ability than I had been when I entered the Council and started my training. How did my power work? How did I manage to travel through time or even reverse time? I still wasn’t close to figuring out the answers to the questions that were plaguing my mind.

While I was going through the events of the last day in my mind, I suddenly remembered someone. I asked Samuel, “Hey, what happened to Tom? We left him after you nearly pummelled him to death.”

Samuel dissipated my worries though, saying, “Don’t worry. I told the Council about Tom. They sent people to retrieve him too. I don’t think he would have moved much after the beatdown I gave him.” He finished with a savage grin on his face which I couldn’t help but return.

That was when Light entered the club and said, “It’s time. We are going back to the Council headquarters with Frank and Frost. Samuel, you should come too.”

I nodded at Samuel and we both got up to follow Light, who had already left the club after saying his piece. It seemed like it was finally time to conclude this whole episode with Frost.