“I guess this is really it this time,” Haha said as he disappeared too. Belamie pitched forward.
“Uncle Chuck!” Matt called. “Don’t go!”
Uncle Chuck was still stumbling around with Albert attached to his leg. “It’s okay, Matty,” he said calmly. “I’m just going to the next adventure. You gotta stay and finish this one.” And he disappeared. Albert fell in a heap on the floor.
Matt gasped and clutched at his head. He started to shake.
Gone. All of his family was gone now.
“What happened?” Jia asked.
“I don’t know,” Belamie said. “One moment they were all sitting there, normal as can be, and the next they were . . . fading. We tried to help them, but there was nothing we could do. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Matt had. “It’s Vincent,” he growled. “He erased their existence.”
“Erased their existence?” Belamie said. “That’s impossible. Not without . . .” She trailed off, glanced at Albert.
“I told you,” Albert said. “I told you all along. They’re lying to you. They brought you here under false pretenses.”
“Albert . . . ,” Jia said, her voice full of disappointment.
Albert said nothing, only stuck his nose in the air.
Belamie looked at Matt. “It’s true then. Vincent really does have the Aeternum, doesn’t he?”
Matt looked at his mom. He could see there was no hiding it now. The cat was out of the bag. “You have to understand,” he said, “that’s not what you wanted. Before all this happened, you were fighting against Vincent. He’s the enemy!”
Belamie shook her head. “Vincent would never hurt me. He loves me. And I love him.”
Matt felt like he was going to vomit. “No, you don’t!” he shouted. “You chose someone else! Vincent went back in time and destroyed your family and made it so you can’t even remember them. You can’t even remember that I’m your son! That’s the truth.”
Belamie’s gaze drew inward, like she was searching for the truth. Matt thought he might have convinced her, but then Albert had to open his big mouth.
“If you didn’t want any of this to happen,” Albert said, “then how come you gave Captain Vincent the Aeternum?”
“What?” Belamie snapped.
“Albert,” Jia said in a warning voice. “Stop.”
“He did!” Albert said. “I saw it with my own eyes. So did Jia.”
Matt shook his head. “It wasn’t supposed to be that way. None of this was supposed to happen.”
“It seems that it was supposed to happen,” Belamie said. “It looks as though this is exactly how you wanted things to be.”
Matt shook his head. “No. I didn’t. And it isn’t how you wanted things to be. Can’t you understand? You left Vincent. But he changed everything. He erased your husband, and the twins . . . my brother and sister”—he tried to remember their names—“Corbin and Rita? Casey and Judy? No. those weren’t right. It was all shrouded in fog. “He erased them! He’s changed your entire life when you didn’t want him to!”
Belamie pressed her fingers to her temple. “But it isn’t my life. Maybe it’s your life, but it isn’t mine, whatever you say. I didn’t choose this.”
“But you did choose it!” Matt shouted. “Maybe not now, but in the future you choose it. You chose my dad. You chose me. And my brother and sister.” Why couldn’t he remember their names?! “You loved your family more than anything in the world, and you would have done anything to protect them. You did. You gave up everything—the Vermillion, the Obsidian Compass, your quest for the Aeternum, saving your parents. All of it. For us. Because you love us. But I guess you don’t anymore. You don’t care about me or my dad or . . . or . . .” He slammed his own fist into his head. What were their names?! “All you care about is power and immortality.”
“And what’s so wrong with that?” Albert said. “What is a ‘family’ but just a group of people guaranteed to let you down? It’s better this way, you know. You should be grateful.”
“Albert, how can you say such a thing?” Jia said, frowning. “You saw the Hudson family before this. You know how close they were, how much they loved each other. You can’t possibly think what Captain Vincent has done is right.”
Albert seemed to hesitate just a little, but he held his head high. “It doesn’t matter what I think. I am not a traitor.”
“No,” Matt growled. “You’re just a pathetic loser.” He lunged at Albert, tackled him to the ground. Matt was not a fighter, but he felt something crack open inside of him and the rage poured out like the fiery breath of a dragon.
“Stop!” Jia shouted. “Matt, stop it!”
Matt didn’t hear her. He punched and slapped and clawed with everything he had. Albert mostly tried to protect himself. Only once did he retaliate, weakly swatting at Matt’s neck and head and then curling up into a ball as Matt pummeled him.
“I got it! I got it!” Albert shouted.
“No, you don’t,” Matt said. “Not yet.” He continued to hit Albert until his mom pulled him off. Matt twisted free but lost his balance. He stumbled sideways into a table holding a porcelain vase. The vase fell and shattered.
“I got it!” Albert shouted. “Let’s go!”
Matt pushed himself off the ground. Porcelain shards bit into his hands, but he hardly felt it when he saw the scene before him. He felt at his chest. The compass. Albert had gotten the compass! He must have pulled it off him while they were fighting.
“Hurry! Let’s get out of here!” Albert handed the compass to Belamie who immediately started turning the dials.
“Mom! Don’t!” Matt shouted.
Belamie looked at Matt, and a shadow of regret flickered over her face. “I’m sorry, but I’m not your mother!”
She made the final turn of the dial. She reached out for Albert, took him by the hand. Albert looked at Matt and smiled triumphantly.
“Mom! Mom!” Matt ran to her, tried to grab on to her, but too late. She and Albert disappeared.
Matt fell on the spot where they had just been. “Come back!
