Revival

## Characters Involved

* Gagan
* Fletcher Vireo
* Felicity Vireo
* LeFaux
* Kiemo
* Roxy
* Summer
* Armand

## The Event

The event began immediately after Fletcher's death with Gagan moving Fletcher's body to LeFaux's laboratory. Felicity notices that Gagan is carrying Fletcher and rushes over, immediately terrified. She wants to believe it isn't really happening and offers to help, claiming she wants to see Fletcher's face when he realizes Felicity knows he's faking it. Gagan, full of grief, tells her he's really gone. He laments that he wishes he'd done more, blaming himself for not being back in time. Gagan is very lost in blame while he also confesses to Felicity that Fletcher admitted that he was in love with Gagan. Felicity still doesn't want to believe this is really happening but knows it is impossible to believe anything else as she sees the wound that killed her brother. She doesn't blame Gagan though despite the tensions between the two and blames Kiemo instead. She also seems surprised that Gagan didn't know that Fletcher liked him. Gagan confesses he thought they'd have more time to work through things and that Felicity was right about Gagan being a bad influence. Felicity finds it in herself to disagree. She won't ignore research and evidence. Before she can hear more about Gagan's feelings toward Fletcher, a portal opens up to take them the rest of the way.

Upon getting there, Armand is there, having come over from trying to heal Fletcher's wound that killed him previously. Kiemo and Summer are there with him and look like they'd rather be anywhere but there with the professor and adult scientist. They don't really get a choice in the matter. Kiemo tries getting out of it, assuring them that Fletcher somehow had it coming in order to save his own skin. He doesn't get very far as LeFaux threatens and guilts him. Gagan, meanwhile, is confused about LeFaux's process to preserve Fletcher's body and keep him from decay in a pod. Felicity is equally confused but demands that LeFaux cure and fix Fletcher because she needs him as does the rest of the school. Even Gagan. Though they don't get an answer as they wait at the pod alone. Gagan lifts Fletcher into it and continues to be confused about Fletcher being able to be saved. He shouldn't be able to be and he doesn't share Felicity's optimism. Felicity doesn't believe there's nothing, hoping to trick herself into believing that she can't and won't be alone. It can't happen and she urges everyone and herself to do something. She can't accept no for an answer because of the implication. Gagan doesn't say much other than apologize and take the Kiemo Shank for himself. Felicity confesses the value of that particular knife and while they wait, they reminisce for a bit as Felicity tries to comfort him.

LeFaux during some of these moments, continues to threaten Kiemo and assure him of his guilt in the whole thing and how being young doesn't excuse him. He also threatens Kiemo by throwing a scalpel at him, telling him that if he wants to be a murderer, he's got his chance. And LeFaux won't be generous and keep from holding him accountable either. Kiemo sinks into further doubt and despite having the choice of suffocation should he not kill LeFaux, he isn't sure he's able to kill again. He doesn't like losing control of the current situation and that he was terrified enough of killing one person. This implies he hadn't killed anyone before Fletcher. Not as directly anyways. Instead, despite it possibly costing his own life, he begs LeFaux to heal Summer instead of him and leave him to his own devices. He claims Summer was innocent and she didn't kill Fletcher. For this reason, Kiemo wants her to be saved. He wants to be able to save her. LeFaux calls him out for wanting mercy when he himself wouldn't show it. Instead of letting Summer die after LeFaux threatens to attack her, Kiemo takes the hit as she did for him. He declares that if LeFaux wants to hurt someone, fine, he can hurt Kiemo. What he doesn't know is that Summer isn't actually there and LeFaux is just trying to break him. Kiemo, despite being in pain, admits he won't stop defending Summer after all of this and won't let go of his hatred of Gagan. Gagan who represents what he isn't, what he doesn't have, and how easily he could and can fall. He also is surprised at just how wrong he was for why people liked Gagan and Fletcher over him and as he collapses, the pain becoming too much, he starts to reflect and realize where he could've gone wrong. He realizes he messed up and was a hypocrite because the day showed him he cared about people too. There was no weakness in that. Only his weakness had gotten people killed.

Meanwhile, Armand, Gagan, and Felicity continue working on saving Fletcher in the pod. Cliff joins them soon after. They discover and are told that Fletcher is stuck at absolute zero and is completely frozen. He couldn't move even if he was alive and is stuck in that state. Gagan, even if he wanted to stay, chooses not to and takes the Kiemo Shank with him while leaving alone time between the cousins. Felicity makes one last attempt to assure Gagan and herself he'll be okay and recover. Gagan just promises that he'll be okay himself and that's all he can promise.

Gagan makes the mistake of returning to the dorm Fletcher and him shared and discovering it as they left it, feathers and the messed up bed still there. It was just as it was left and Gagan has a slight breakdown blaming himself for not protecting him more. Gagan tries to wash away his thoughts with a bath only to leave for the cafeteria. Dr. Berris is here and the researcher seems interested in Gagan's abilities when it comes to fighting. He sees Gagan as an asset and it was impressive how he mauled Kiemo and Summer both. As Gagan tries to brush off the researcher, Dr. Berris follows him anyways, wanting more information from him. He confesses to letting Kiemo rig the event because of the reaction Gagan would have to it. If Kiemo and Fletcher thought, whatever made Gagan fight well would come out and he'd be able to get more information. More research. Gagan is upset that this is the reason and turns on Dr. Berris. He blows up at the researcher, mentioning how much he put into protecting Fletcher from Kiemo and the researchers decided to let Kiemo rip him apart just to see what would happen. Gagan also brings up the ethics of the situation, but once again, Dr. Berris feels confident that no one will know about the whole thing. Or that it won't matter because the research is too vital. He also declares it was more moral because Kiemo wouldn't have had the chance to kill Fletcher because Gagan would've helped them just as hypothesized. Gagan seizes Berris at this point and the researcher is shocked but impressed too. He claims that this was just an experiment and Gagan should know how important those things are. Not caring should he break his hand, Gagan punches the wall three times in retaliation and anger. He lashes out in grief and brings up the questions everyone has about why they are there. Dr. Berris only smiles, removing himself and stepping away, making no attempt to answer anything.

Meanwhile, LeFaux has woken up and Felicity has remained by Fletcher's side. He brings up time travel as the only possible way to get Fletcher back completely at this point. Felicity thinks this is stupid and won't work, but if it is the only way, she'll allow it. Even if it relies on Kiemo being a decent person. She and LeFaux finish the math required together and get everything set up. She's a little upset Gagan is chosen to be the one to go back in time, having the knowledge that Fletcher died at one point while the other universe would have no idea. She wouldn't exist in a reality with Fletcher alive and she had to accept that. Felicity builds the rest of the machine alongside LeFaux, waiting for Gagan to return. When he does, he's briefed on their plan. Gagan promises to do the best he can and Felicity puts aside her distaste for Gagan, knowing he makes Fletcher happy and that's all she cares about. She allows herself to remain in a time where Fletcher is dead while Gagan goes back to save him. None of them will remember Gagan existing. She also laughs at his joke about being the man to "went back to never come back" and wishes him luck. He disappears and takes control of his past body, ready to start a new timeline. He contains all his memories of what had just happened and enters time right before Fletcher is killed. Time does not like being tampered with though and he is confronted with time ghosts along the way.

Gagan is portaled away and is met with the lab back in the old timeline without blood or Kiemo around. There is a time ghost here demanding why Gagan is tampering with time. Fletcher has an angry time ghost that threatens Gagan, it existing more as a manifestation of Gagan's guilt as it urges him to confess why he let him die. Gagan forces himself to ignore what is going on, focused on saving and protecting Fletcher to prevent a future he is now aware of. He briefly has an argument with LeFaux over why he'd come and manages to push onwards. The time ghost of Roxy tries to stop him, telling him about a reality where he died instead of her, showing off deep gashes down her neck. Gagan is distressed by this, remembering her outfit as the one she'd had on their last night together. But his mission is too important for him to stop. Gagan gets to the infirmary, reaching the bed Fletcher will soon be placed on and laying there waiting. Fletcher and Roxy's ghosts continue to torment him throughout the ordeal, Roxy commenting more on LeFaux while Fletcher wonders why he would've have been left for dead again and again. Gagan struggles to keep his mind clear during this and block out the ghosts. When he goes to reach for the bracelet to stabilize things, Roxy's ghost goes to slip it away as Fletcher's ghost mocks him. However, they don't get far before the time ghost of Kiemo appears. Kiemo threatens the other ghosts, ordering them to return the bracelet to Gagan and stop tormenting him. He threatens to fight for it, hardly believing his words as he prepares to battle the other ghosts for his rival.

Roxy tells Kiemo he has the most reason to want Gagan and Fletcher dead. It's weird seeing him defending both of them. Roxy slips it into her pocket after she speaks. She tells Kiemo that if he decides to interfere and not let Gagan die in their place. Roxy won't die this time. Kiemo, despite wanting control over his life and to escape the people who did so much to him, can't have Fletcher or Gagan die and does what he thinks is right while having control over this moment. He's fighting for that more than anything and he doesn't have a better outcome. Kiemo attacks ghost Fletcher to protect Gagan while Roxy attempts to crush Gagan's chest and tries to convince him that he was responsible for her death. She won't let him move on in this form, trying to prioritize her own survival. Kiemo stops fighting Fletcher, breaking away from him and getting Roxy away from Gagan. He snaps that she's not who Gagan thinks she is and that he needs to stop being dumb and help. Kiemo keeps sparring with Roxy, mocking her for wanting to stop Gagan and believing it's because she feels threatened by Fletcher. Kiemo takes this time to rebuke Gagan in his head for picking someone who was so strong and stubborn and would be able to put up a fight. Just had to make things difficult for him. Kiemo assures her he won't give in to a pretty face though and continues his attack even without his knives. Kiemo obviously doesn't want to help Gagan and finds it exhausting but for a better future for him and for him to assert one last bit of control over his situation, this is his best option. Kiemo moves to kill the ghost of Roxy so Gagan doesn't have to and it is the only way to ensure his safety. He takes a risk, not caring should he injure or kill Roxy and swipes the band himself, snapping his jaws down around her throat. It's unknown if he killed the ghost or not.

Kiemo gives Gagan the bracelet and things start to return to "normal." Kiemo realizes with what he chose to do, he gave his life up in the past reality and seeing Fletcher appear in that bed, just for a moment knowing Gagan will protect him and Kiemo still got to control his own life, even for a moment. It brings him some peace and he relaxes. He made the better outcome for his now current self and only hopes that version of him lives to notice it. Kiemo dies here wishing Gagan some luck and hoping he made the right call before everything is up to the tiger again. As Kiemo never confronts Gagan twice that day, he believes he killed Fletcher and doesn't go after him again. This comes to backfire as Summer dies of her wounds Gagan inflicted as they got infected and Kiemo finds out Fletcher lived. Kiemo grows even more furious at Fletcher for cheating death and Gagan who killed someone he vowed to protect. Kiemo in this reality, does not see the nuance in any of this and his time ghost version would only be disappointed.

Offscreen, Gagan and Fletcher had some kind of reunion after Fletcher woke up, Fletcher believing he had never died and Gagan had saved him. Of course, Gagan could just smile, knowing he was the only one who knew just how true those statements were. Or how close he and the world had come to losing the boy forever.