Week 42.1 – Blow’d Up Real Good

Previously: Twain used the Cup of Regret to go back in time and meet Yi Fan on the night she first captured him, where he kissed her and told her he loved her. And now…

She pulled away from him again. “How can you love me? I’ve never even met you.”

Twain took a deep breath. “Okay, this will be hard to understand. I’m from the future.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I really am.”

“That’s not hard to understand,” she said.

“It’s not?”

“I don’t believe it, but I understand it,” Yi Fan said.

“I can prove it,” Twain said. “As soon as we’re done talking, head down that way and you’ll run into a guy trying to sneak into the City of the Moon.”

Yi Fan’s head snapped around to search for the intruder.

“Relax. It’s me, but you know, Past Me,” Twain said. “Or Present Me, or whatever. Just make sure you capture me alive.”

“What if the Ghost decides to kill you?” Yi Fan asked.

“He won’t,” Twain said. “He still has a use for me.”

Yi Fan looked confused, but before she could say anything, he silenced her with another kiss. “Look,” he said, “I know this doesn’t really make sense now, but even if you don’t believe me, there are just three things you need to do to make sure everything works out. First, capture me over there in a minute. Second, you need to make sure you’re in the right place at the right time in a few weeks.”

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]You want to warn me about something awful that will happen to us that you don’t know exactly how to avoid, so you’re leaving it to me to figure out. Did you ever stop to think that I might figure the best way to avoid this thing is to avoid being with you?[/blockquote]He quickly described the yurt where he was picked up on his return and the alley where he’d met her again. “You have to make sure that happens.”

“But if you’re a fugitive fleeing the Czar’s men, how do you know I won’t just arrest you again?” she said.

“I can’t tell you why you won’t,” Twain said. “But you won’t.”

Yi Fan looked taken aback by his absolute confidence. “And what’s the third thing?”

Twain shook his head. “I can’t tell you exactly what to do, there,” Twain said. “I can only warn you…”

“Wait,” Yi Fan said. “Something bad happens?”

“Not if you…”

“No, stop,” Yi Fan said. “I don’t want to know.”

“You have to know,” Twain said, “so you can…”

This time, Yi Fan’s lips silenced his. When he pulled away, he asked, “Seriously, you…”

She put her hand over his mouth and said, “Stop talking. You want to warn me about something awful that will happen to us that you don’t know exactly how to avoid, so you’re leaving it to me to figure out. Did you ever stop to think that I might figure the best way to avoid this thing is to avoid being with you? That I might sacrifice love to save myself? Do you have any idea how lonely I’ve been since this thing happened to me, and now you want to destroy my one chance to end that loneliness by telling me…”

“Okay!” Twain said, yanking himself free of her grip.

“Get out of here!” she snarled, swiping at her eyes. “Because I’m going to hit one of you in about five seconds, and you don’t want to be the one I pick!”

Can Twain find another way to save Yi Fan, or is she doomed? Join us for the next exciting episode!

To read from the beginning, click here…