(Modern dimension)
The house had finally grown quiet.
Footsteps faded. Doors closed softly. Distant sounds from the kitchen stopped. Even the lab machines seemed quieter tonight.
Inside Erika's room, the air felt heavy.
Scott sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Erika stood near the window, her hands resting on the frame, staring at the moon.
After a long silence, Scott spoke again.
"Do you really want to go back?"
His voice wasn't loud. It wasn't accusing. It was uncertain.
Erika didn't answer immediately.
She watched the moon carefully, as if it held the answer.
Scott swallowed. "I know you already told me. I know you have responsibilities. I know you're a general and all that. But this question… it keeps coming back to me."
Still no response.
"Maybe it's selfish," he continued quietly. "But I don't want you to go."
That made her blink.
She didn't turn toward him, but her expression softened slightly.
After a few more seconds, she finally spoke.
"It's not about wanting, Scott."
He looked up.
"It's about needing."
She turned around slowly now.
"If I stay here, people there will suffer. If I go back, I might lose everything here."
Scott stood up.
"Then let me come."
Erika frowned slightly. "Come where?"
"To your dimension."
He stepped closer.
"I want to see it. I want to understand you. Not just stories. Not just explanations. I want to see the sky you grew up under. The palace you protect. The battlefield you fight on."
There was a strange mix of excitement and emotion in his voice.
Erika studied him carefully.
"If Jimmy and Rebecca accept," she said slowly, "you can come."
Scott smiled slightly. "You think I can't convince them?"
"You can't even convince your mom to let you skip dinner."
Scott laughed quietly.
"Brainwashing is an option," he joked.
Erika shook her head lightly.
Before either of them could say anything else, Scott glanced out the window.
"Wait…"
Erika followed his gaze.
Allen was climbing the stairs to the rooftop.
He moved slowly — not angrily, not aggressively — just… quietly.
Scott looked at Erika.
"Let's go."
Rooftop – Under the Same Moon
The rooftop was cool and open. The city lights below were distant and small compared to the wide night sky above.
Allen was already seated near the edge, one knee raised, his arm resting on it.
He was staring at the moon.
Completely still.
Scott stopped for a moment.
A memory flashed in his mind.
The first night he saw Erika sitting like that. Silent. Distant. Listening to something invisible.
He leaned slightly toward her.
"What kind of brains are you people built with in your dimension?" he whispered.
Erika gave him a confused look.
"You fight like warriors," Scott continued. "You talk like you're made of steel. But at night… you sit under the moon like it's the only thing that understands you."
Erika looked at Allen again.
He wasn't moving.
"He's remembering something," she said softly.
Scott nodded. "Just like you used to."
They walked forward slowly.
Alan definitely noticed them. His shoulders stiffened for a second.
But he pretended he didn't.
"I saw that you saw us," scott said casually. "Don't try to ignore us. We're not some strange creatures."
Scott added lightly, "Yeah. We're not aliens. We're humans."
Allen slowly turned his head.
"I'm way better than you," he said coldly.
Scott blinked. "Wow. That was direct."
Allen stood up slowly.
"Your world is soft," he continued. "You debate. You hesitate. You question everything."
He looked at Scott directly.
"In my world, hesitation kills."
The wind blew stronger for a moment.
Erika stepped closer, her voice calm.
"And yet you're here. Sitting quietly. Not fighting."
Allen's jaw tightened.
"That's different."
"How?" she asked gently.
He didn't respond.
Scott stepped beside Erika.
"You know what I think?" he said. "I think you're more similar than you want to admit."
Allen's eyes flashed. "Don't compare me to her."
"Why not?" Scott challenged lightly.
"Because she hides things."
Erika didn't deny it.
"Yes," she said simply.
Alan blinked, slightly thrown off by her honesty.
"I hide things," she continued. "But so do you."
The moonlight reflected in his eyes.
"You don't know me," he said quietly.
Erika's voice lowered.
"I know what it feels like to lose someone."
That made him freeze.
Scott felt the shift in atmosphere instantly.
The rooftop no longer felt tense — it felt fragile.
Allen looked back at the moon.
"In my world," he said slowly, "the moon was the last thing I saw with my father before he died."
His voice wasn't angry now.
It was tired.
Scott didn't interrupt.
Erika stepped beside him — not too close, not too far.
"Did you talk to him?" she asked softly.
Allen nodded once.
"He told me to be strong."
His fingers clenched slightly.
"And now I don't even know if I failed him."
Silence.
The city noise below seemed distant.
Erika looked at the moon too.
The wind had slowed.
For a while, none of them spoke. The moonlight washed over the rooftop, pale and calm, as if it had heard countless confessions before theirs.
Allen finally broke the silence.
"Tomorrow," he said quietly, still looking at the sky, "we go back to our dimension."
Erika didn't interrupt.
"I thought about it," he continued. "When we return… I will get my answers."
His voice wasn't filled with rage anymore. It was steady. Focused.
"I'll find out who lied to me. I'll find out who manipulated the truth. I'll find out how my father really died."
He paused.
"And if someone is lying now… I'll know."
Scott watched him carefully. There was determination in Allen's eyes now — not blind anger, but a need for clarity.
Erika stepped a little closer.
"You will get your answers," she said softly.
Allen glanced at her.
"I promise you."
The word promise lingered in the air.
"And I request you," she continued gently, "when the truth comes out… accept it. Even if it's not what you expected."
Allen didn't respond immediately.
He turned fully toward her now.
"Truth doesn't scare me," he said. "Lies do."
Erika held his gaze.
"I don't lie about death," she replied quietly.
Scott cleared his throat suddenly, breaking the intensity.
"Okay," he said, clapping his hands once. "Since tomorrow is interdimensional travel day, I'm going to pack my things."
Both Allen and Erika turned toward him at the same time.
"I don't feel great about your arrival now," they said together.
They both froze.
Then they looked at each other.
Scott blinked twice.
"…You two literally said the exact same sentence."
Allen frowned slightly.
Erika crossed her arms.
Scott pointed between them.
"Same timing. Same tone. Same attitude."
Allen and Erika both replied instantly—
"No."
Again, at the exact same time.
Scott's mouth slowly curved into a grin.
"You share braincells. Accept it."
Allen rolled his eyes.
Erika looked mildly annoyed.
Scott backed toward the stairway dramatically.
"Don't worry. I'll pack something cool. Maybe snacks. Maybe weapons. Maybe both."
"You're not bringing snacks into a war dimension," Allen muttered.
Scott shrugged. "Energy is energy."
He started going down the stairs, still smiling.
"Try not to fight while I'm gone," he called out casually.
His footsteps faded.
Silence returned.
Now it was just the two of them.
The night felt different without Scott's voice filling it.
Erika exhaled slowly.
"Take your time," she said quietly.
Allen looked at her.
"You don't have to trust me tonight."
She turned slightly toward the stairway.
"But tomorrow… we go home."
The word home sounded heavier than usual.
Allen stepped closer to the edge of the rooftop again.
"Home," he repeated softly.
They began walking toward the stairs.
Just before stepping down, Allen stopped.
"…The moon looks the same in both dimensions, right?"
Erika gave a small smile.
"Yes."
"Good," he said quietly.
And they both went downstairs — not as enemies, not as friends — but as two people standing on the edge of truth.