The clockwork machine is crying. I feel it. Hear it. The sound of its whirring, struggling, malfunctioning gears hit my ears as I push through the dimension-portal. I thought if I'd step into the building and out of the rain, I'd be out of the storm. That isn't the case.

Earth's soul is brewing its own storm. The flickering stars, once beautiful to look at, are exploding in the air, turning to dust and smoke. And from the smoke falls tiny drops of grey water, like tears of a dying heart.

I frown as I look at the space above me. If I had just done my job, this wouldn't have happened. Earth would've progressed normally. The year 2018 would've been saved. Yet, after my neglect... I'm not sure how far this damage has gone.

"But I can fix this," I whisper to no one, turning my gaze away from the dirt in the air and over to the machine in front of me. Parts of the face have fallen off, exposing the wires and emptiness inside of it. As I approach, I can see the vast abyss behind the number three. A roar erupts from inside the hole. I gulp but reach for it without fear. "I can fix you," I say to the clock.

As if it hears me, it seems to respond. The minute hand jerks. The second hand screeches as it struggles to move. But it's the hour hand that grabs my attention, the only fully functioning piece of this machine. It moves, the point of its tip scrapping against the clock's face, too heavy to move. And when it lands, the thump it makes hits me. I feel it in my core.

I lower my hand to my side and move around the clock. "I'm sorry," I say to it. The box with the replacement piece is still where I left it. Reaching inside of it, I pull out the second hand. My thumb slides against the golden stem as it extends in my hand. "I should've placed this piece days ago."

Another thump. Another roar. The clock vibrates, shuddering against my touch as I grab onto its side to pull myself up. "If I had fixed your second when I first came, you'd be okay now."

My foot finds a nook to push off of and higher I go, up the side of the clock. To keep from falling, I press the second hand down the back of my shirt. I feel it stick to the top of my pants, securing itself. While I'm glad I won't lose it, I'm mad at myself.

My fingers grip a rounded edge along the side of the clock as I climb higher. "You'd be the normal old and cranky Earth every Cog knows," I grumble as I pull myself up again. And again. "Humans wouldn't have been bothered with the storm outside."

The clock trembles. Another roar bursts from its injury, but louder this time. It echoes around me, shaking the entire room. My foot slips as I lose my balance. I shoot both of my hands out to grab another edge and grip it tight.

I'm too high to fall now. Glancing down at the floor below me, I realize a fall from this height can kill me. Did I climb this high so fast? Sweat trickles down my brow.

The clock trembles again.

"I hear you," I say, pulling my gaze up from probable death to look at the clock that needs me. I lift one hand to pull myself up again and when I grip its edge, my other hand strokes its face. "I'm going to fix you. Finally."

As I climb my way to the top of the clockwork machine, bits of its dying soul hit my face. My mouth. The taste is sour, the smell I can't describe. I bite the insides of my cheeks as I reach and grab the final ledge. "I'm sorry I took so long," I whisper as I swing my leg over the top. "I had my reasons..."

Securing myself so I can't fall, I look down below at the portal that remains open. I can hear the storm outside, the rain as it slaps against the building. Biting my lip, I listen closer, hoping to hear Luz so I know she's safe. But I don't hear her, or a Hions.

Just the wind. The storm. And the clock beneath me.

I pull the second hand out from under my shirt. "I know you're just a machine, maybe you wouldn't understand," I say as I look down at the clock's face. The second hand, stuck near the number three, screeches as it attempts to move. To keep it from struggling, I press the back of my foot against it. "But my reasons were valid."

The clock trembles as it unleashes another roar.

I laugh, shaking my head. I lean over slightly to grab hold of the second hand's top. "Your planet is beautiful, mesmerizing, impactful." With a deep breath and a grunt, I pull at the broken piece, yanking it free from its place. "It captivated me the moment I landed here and..."

I thought back to that morning, to the moment I saw Luz. Nothing in my life compared to that moment, not even the first few seconds on Earth. Her voice, the way it calms me. Her smile, effortless and so exquisite. She welcomed me without even trying. And I... Luz was... is...

"Franklin Cog, you have a communications request," the device in my ear says.

Lifting the broken second hand over my head, I let it fall behind me, down to the floor below. It lands with an echoing ding. "Not now," I say as I reposition myself above the clock. The new, shiny, functioning second hand vibrates as I inch it closer to the clock. "Working."

"Franklin!" As if the device in my head ignored what I said, Leader Mikel's voice erupts in my ear. I hiss as he shouts, "Franklin Cog! What are you doing?"

I shake my head to dull the ringing. Don't be so loud. "Working," I say through clenched teeth. "I didn't patch you through, Sir."

"I don't need your permission," Leader Mikel says. "We have revoked your Cog authority. In fact, you're no longer employed by the overlords."

My gaze shoots up for a second as what he says echoes in my ears. I am no longer a Cog; they have stripped away my authority. At this point, I'm simply a Brigon on the wrong planet, illegally repairing a machine I shouldn't be allowed to touch.

But I have no choice. I look back down at the clock, adjust myself once again, and bend down. The second hand slides down my arm and wrist as I try to slide it into place.

"All you had to do was address yourself to Galaxy Enforcement, Franklin," Leader Mikel says. "Explain what you've done, show your identification watch, and maybe... maybe—"

"Maybe what, Sir?" I grumble as I lean forward some more. Replacing the piece isn't as easy as pulling off the broken one. "Or should I not have to call you Sir anymore, hm?"

"Franklin, now isn't the time to—"

"No." The second hand is just inches away from its place. "Now is not the time to tell me I'm fired. I'm well aware I won't have a job anymore. But this clock, this is important."

"If it was important, then you should've fixed it days ago!"

Inhaling sharping, I sit up. My arm aches, the second hand heavier than the broken one. Makes me wonder how long had it been malfunctioning. It was practically weightless. This piece... I lift the new second hand and look at it. This... isn't going smoothly.

"You're just like your father," Leader Mikel says.

I look away from the second hand and down below, at the portal. Water has splashed against the side of the building. A car must have rushed by, spreading a deep puddle onto the sidewalk.

"Your poor mother..."

"Don't speak of my parents," I say, biting the insides of my cheeks. "You have no right to speak of them."

"I'm only speaking the truth, Franklin."

Beneath the clock, the floor rumbles. Cracks appear along the stone. I watch it slowly split, red light emitting from beneath the surface. Red and dangerous, like an anger I feel brewing in my heart. "You don't know the truth." I lean down again, groaning as I stretch out my arm once more. "You don't know my family."

"Do you know what your father did, Franklin?" Leader Mikel hisses.

I grunt, bracing both of my legs to keep me steady. I press one of my hands flat against the clock's face, the other holds the functioning piece. It inches closer to the middle, almost attaching with the force of Earth's soul. But I'm just too far. I need to be closer.

"Franklin, your father was an amazing Cog, dedicated to his job," Leader Mikel says. "But Earth swallowed him whole. Him and his needs."

I hold my breath, swallowing the air I had taken in.

"Like you, he lay his eyes on a human and—"

I yell as I stretch my arm out as far as I can. I attempt to slap the second hand against the face, but it doesn't latch on. It slips out of my hand and falls. My yell turns into a scream of frustration as I slam both of my fists against the clock. "Why are you telling me this!" I yell at Leader Mikel. "Let me do my fucking job!"

"I'm telling you this because your father couldn't do his job either!"

I can't listen to him. But I can't block him out, either. I bit my lip as I climb back down the side of the clock to grab the piece I need.

"Earth is a disease, do you understand, Franklin? It grabs you and makes you think of things that aren't important. It makes you forget what matters. It's the only reason the overlords can't let it go. They don't see the rust its accumulated, the toxic waste it unleashes into the universe!"

I climb down far enough, and with a small hop, I land beside the clock. The floor beneath my feet cracks further. I feel the heat pushing up from the Earth's core.

"Your father would agree with me on this. At every meeting, every call, he said I was right. I thought he'd be the one to finally help me and speak out against the overlords and this stupid planet, but you—"

"I see what my father saw," I say as I see the fallen second hand. It glows bright against the cracks in the floor. Red shimmering on gold, it calls to me. My fingers itch to grab it. "I see a planet worth saving. And..."

I pause and turn back towards the clock. As another piece falls from the clock's face, I think back to everything Leader Mikel ever told me about Earth, about what he just said about my father. Holding the replacement piece up to my face, I look at it, then I turn, looking back at the old, broken piece. "You said my father couldn't do his job? What was his job on Earth?"

Leader Mikel scoffs in his language. "He, like you, was to fix the second hand on Earth."

I lick my lip free of sweat. It's getting hot in here. The air is thick. The heat coming up from the cracks release steam. "And you said he didn't?" I look back at the clock. "Who fixed it?"

Leader Mikel doesn't say a word.

I laugh. "No one did, did they, Sir? Earth has been struggling this whole time."

"Franklin, you don't understand—"

"No, I do." I do, because it all clicks in my head. The condition of Earth's clockwork machine isn't because it's old. It's because no one wants to touch it. Anyone who lands here falls victim to the planet's simplicity. And that's why the overlords can't let it go; a treat they can't be rid of. The idea that Cogs are assigned to this planet like a revolving door is a lie, all to make me accept the case. To make me think I can do the job my father couldn't.

"And you needed me to fix this because you thought I would be different. Obviously, I'm not." I hold the second hand in a tight grip. "And to think I've been mad at myself for thinking I was selfish. Yet, I'm not. Everyone feels this way here."

"Your father abandoned you and your mother for that blasted planet," Leader Mikel snarls.

I turn and look back at the open portal. I hear the Hions, at least one of them. They're closer than I thought, but it's okay. I smile, waiting for them to appear.

"Did you hear me, Franklin? You and your mother struggled because—"

"We didn't struggle." I face the portal. "You and the overlords took care of us. Trained me to take his place." I laugh. "If you wanted to keep me from my father's sins, then why bring me here? Why let me step foot on this planet?"

I see the Hion. Its Kaliga is raised, pointed at the door. Its red eyes peer at the portal, sensing me inside this place. I point the second hand towards the doorway as if it were my weapon. In truth, it can be, because I have nothing else.

"Franklin!" Leader Mikel's voice is distorted in my ear.

If I'm to go down on this planet, it won't be by the blast of a Kaliga.

The portal allows the Hion entrance. His finger is ready to pull the trigger. And I'm ready to defend myself.

But the blast I hear isn't from its weapon. It belongs to another. My eyes widen as the Hion falls to its knees, red eyes dull and black. Behind it, no longer hidden by its size and shadow, is Luz. She has a gun raised, pointed. Smoke leaks out from the barrel.

She smiles at me. And I at her.

If I'm to go down on this planet, I will fall victim to this 'disease.'