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TimeLord told him that it was going to be difficult.
“I know it’s going to be difficult,” He sighed, looking at the Chemy on the card. “But I have to do this.”
He knew he was not alone.
His past self had the same support network he himself had.
He had his mother, until he—
Until.
He had Renge and Sabimaru - they were there, even if they had their quirks, they were supporting him back then, and then until—
…
Until.
He didn’t want to think about the teachers - he didn’t want to think about all of that.
So he forced himself not to think about it.
He didn’t want to think about the older alchemists, Minato and the Dread armor forming around him, and didn’t want to think of Kyoka and—
And.
He didn’t want to think about them.
Things were fine, until they weren’t, or he was just too naive and stupid to realize they weren’t.
Maybe he should have told Kajiki too. Maybe he should tell his past self to bring Kajiki into the team sooner.
Because when he finally did, by that time–
…
By that time, things weren’t fine.
And—
And.
He knew it was going to be difficult.
A lot of it was going to be difficult.
It was difficult traveling back in time to the past, seeing the city when it wasn’t in flames. It was difficult, and he deliberately avoided going around—
He avoided going close to home.
(He didn’t want to see the building before it was on fire, before the—
Before all of that.
So he decided not to go to his home, his past self’s home. That was a choice he made.
He couldn’t go to the Academy - in the future, it was locked away from him, and then destroyed, warped into something none of them recognized.
He couldn’t go there because of many reasons. Couldn’t go there because Geryon and then—
And then.
So.
He didn’t go home and couldn’t go to the Academy, but there were some parts of the past he could not avoid.
Obviously he had to warn his past self.
He had to do that, without ending his own transformation.
And if he was around his past self, if he looked after his past self, giving him a push he needed—
He would see the support system he once had.
Renge and Sabimaru and—
And…
And…
He remembered Spanner burning.
Spanner burnt in his own anger, and for a while he still kept going - he was burning in anger, and he would use his own fire to burn the enemies down, and there was no way to calm him down.
They couldn’t get through to him.
But—
But Spanner was still around a lot of times, burning himself to fight their enemies.
“I’m older than you two,” He sneered. “So better if you follow my lead, don’t you think.”
“You are not that much older,” She rolled his eyes. “So really, we can all just work together.”
“What a joke,” The corner of Spanner’s mouth twitched, as if fighting a smile. “Better not get in my way.”
Neither of them had a home anymore.
So they had to run, and hide, and the three of them stayed together, and Spanner burnt, but he burnt dark, and it kept them warm but it didn’t keep them safe.
But it kept them together.
It kept them together, until his own flames killed him. Until he burnt out, but the two of them held onto his hands as he passed away, even if it burnt both of their hands.
Spanner’s flames burnt them just as they consumed him, but they didn’t let him go, and even as he screamed at them to go, his hands were gripping onto their hands.
And her - Kudoh, Rinne, she was—
She also was—
After Spanner burnt, both of them were often in their Rider forms more.
Easier to hide their faces behind the masks, fight when they needed to.
They only took off their transformations rarely, when they could hold each others hands, as their burnt hands were slowly healing.
And he held her in his arms, as she also died.
She died untransformed, and he was also untransformed then, holding his hand.
“I found him—” Rinne whispered, her shaking hands pushing the card into his hand. “You can— figure it out. But be careful— time traveling is—”
TimeLord also sounded worried, as his hands trembled.
“But—”
“We can win this,” Rinne insisted. “I know we can. But we have to— we just have to—”
She couldn’t finish it.
…
So he just had to find that Gotcha, right? Wasn’t that the point of it all?
Find that Gotcha, and help his past self find his Gotcha.
And if it works—
…
What would happen to him?
He didn’t take off his transformation after Rinne had died.
Spanner burnt from his own flames, and Rinne burnt from the enemy’s flames, and he— and Hotaro—
If the past changes—
What will happen to him?
But he had to try.
Had to try, right? Right?
So he went to the past, and watched them. Watched Spanner struggle, but his flames weren’t burning yet. Watched Rinne try to cling into her power, hoping for it to come back for her.
He watched them and wondered—
He wished—
He remembered holding their hands. He remembered the way Spanner would scoff, but after a while, he stopped pushing them away, even if his own flames were killing him, he allowed them to go with him, the three of them fighting together, and he remembered Rinne’s smiles and determination and knowledge and the way she could figure out what to do sooner than either of them did.
He remembered them, and wished—
…
He looked at his past self. Already attached to her, to Kudoh, to Rinne, his friend and partner and other half, the two of them already on one wavelength, and he saw his past self being frustrated by Spanner, but still ready and willing to help and fight, to protect and save. And he knew himself enough to know, that if… when Spanner starts burning again, he won’t have to do it alone, and Rinne would get her power back, and—
…
Maybe they’d be able to hold hands without burning each other this time.
That sounded like a fine future, right? Definitely a gotcha worth chasing. He’ll gotcha them, their hands, and all the Chemys too.
Big shot alchemists, all of them.
Nobody could see his smile behind this mask either, just like they couldn’t see his expression when he looked at his past self, and the people around his past self.
…he did wonder about that new future, though.
That was a daybreak he probably wasn’t meant to see.