A/N: Hiya out there readers! This is a new series called Constants and Variables. Hopefully You all enjoy it and understand whats going on!

Also! The Verb tenses to change alot in this one (you'll see why). enjoy!

"I raise you fifty." You declared lowly, dropping the bills on the table and bringing your gaze up to your opponent.

"…I…Ms. (surname) I already owe you enough don't I?" He gulped.

"Well you should have thought about that before gambling away your life savings Mr. Johnson." A smile graced your ruby red lips as you laid down your cards, another winning hand, "I expect you pay off that debt by the end of the month. If you don't…well…I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

The man shakily rose and left the back room of the bar, you grabbed the wad of cash from the center of the table and counted your earnings, yes this would be enough for rent, groceries, to pay your guard, and perhaps some left over for a treat. This was your life; you were a "Shark", a debt collector. You lent out cash to gambling addicts, watched them lose it all, and then asked for it back, with interest. Most of your clients couldn't pay you back, which left you with a nice array of "compensation items". Jewelry from wives, stolen radios, watches, anything you believed would satisfy the debt.

You were leaving the casino like you owned the place. A strong hand tapped your shoulder; you turned to see a bulky man, probably in his forties, behind you.

"Evening ma'am." He spoke gruffly, "Need an escort?"

"Oh no. I already have one." You smiled; the man roughly grabbed your arm.

"I insist."

"AUGH!" You awaken from the nightmare with a scream and instinctively feel your right side, "Right…that was 1908…4 years ago…." You wipe the sleep from your eyes and look around at your small apartment, the clock next to your bed reads 10:50am.

"Shoot!" You declare to yourself, "I forgot the alarm again…" You fling the sheets off of your bed and run to the small bathroom in your apartment, quickly washing off your face and changing into your uniform. You dash out the door, locking it behind you and nearly trip into the lobby.

"Late again (name)?" The landlord laughs, you force a guilty smile and pace out the front door, your heels clacking loudly against the steps outside.

You quickly walk down the sidewalk to the trolley-stop and wait, tapping an impatient foot against the pavement. You glance at the clock next to the tracks. 10:55, it takes an hour for the trolley to reach your next stop, you look down the tracks to see the electric railcar bustle to the platform. As soon as the brakes screech to a stop you hop onto the railcar along with a few other passengers and were off.

The wind feels good as it rushes past you; the soft chatter around you is soothing and almost has you forget that you're on the verge of being late for work. You definitely prefer this life over your old one. You look out the open window at the buildings and people passing by, the sun warming your arms as you lean over the windowsill. Nothing is going to ruin this day, even if you're now probably late.

The trolley slows to a stop in front of the hospital; you stroll off and into the large building. Past the double doors, doctors scurry across the pristine floors, clipboards in hand, and apathetic looks on their faces. You walk up to the front desk to the secretary.

"Cutting it close today (name)." She scolds, not looking up from her papers.

"Yeah. I had a nightmare." You try to excuse yourself.

"Excuses, excuses"

You huff and turn on a heel, casually making your way to your station. This is your life now, a nurse in a large hospital, tending to patients, filing the occasional paper, assisting doctors, something much tamer and safer than before.

The outpatient beds are nearly empty today, only a few are occupied since those beds have curtains hanging around them. You watch as some of your co-workers stroll about laxly from bed to bed, a few with coffee in their hands. Yes, today is going to be nice and easy.

"Ah, (name)?" One of the nurses asks as she walks up to you, "You…have a patient request…" She finishes, looking just as puzzled as you and points to a bed in the far right corner of the room. You just nod and swiftly pace to the bed.

"Won, wins, will win." A male voice chirps. You raise a brow and look over the man. He is dressed formally, his ginger hair is slicked back cleanly, and his hands are folded on his lap, "My sister believes that you cannot change the inevitable."

"Because you cannot." A female voice seems to echo from the next bed over, she looks identical to the male, down to the clothes, the only difference being she has a skirt while he has slacks.

"Excuse me?" You purse your lips in confusion and look between the twins.

"I do believe we have found the one—"

"Or will find the one." The female seems to correct her brother sharply.

"Hm, no. This is it. The one."

"Excuse me." You raise your voice, catching the attention of the two "patients", "I believe you are looking for the sanatorium, which is in the other wing of the hospital. I will gladly escort you if you so desire."

"Ah, but before you do," The male twin starts, "Answer me this. When you add a constant—"

"And another constant—"

"What do you get?"

You shake your head and furrow your brow, confused at the question, asking it again in your thoughts.

"Um…A…constant?" You answer quizzically.

"See brother?" The female chimes up.

"I disagree; the only outcome is a variable."

"I think you need the sanatorium more than I." She states, rising to her feet, patting the sheets off out of courtesy.

You stand there, utterly baffled at what the two were blathering on about.

"What an odd pair" You ponder, letting the twins finish their conversation.

"—but enough about who's right or wrong, she's the one, end of story." The male turn to you and pulls out an envelope from his breast pocket and holds it out to you. You hesitantly take the envelope and look at it, your name is written on the front in fancy script, you flip it over and open up the flap. Inside you find two tickets for the airship, a certificate stating you won an "all-expenses-paid" trip to the floating resort city of Columbia, and a note. You unfold the paper, it reads:

(name),

You (were, are, will be) part of a change. My sister (did, does, will) not believe me when I (told, tell, will tell) her you (were, are, will be) important. Even if we (were, are, will be) one in the same person. You (had, have, will have) a small frame of opportunity when it counts, make use of it. Remember, when two constants come together, the only variable is the outcome.

Sweet Dreams,

R. Lutece

"What?" You look up to find the Lutece twins gone, "Odd pair." You mutter to yourself before turning to tend to other patients and go about your regular duties.

"Nine o' clock; see you!" You bid farewell to your coworkers and head back to the front desk, the hospital had quieted down and the only noise is the secretary typing away on the typewriter.

"I'm requesting a week-long vacation, starting tomorrow." You state confidently to the secretary who just glares at you.

"Why?" She asks and resumes typing up the daily reports.

"Because I haven't taken a vacation since I started working here three years ago, and just last week you had me on double-shifts every day."

"Your paycheck." She sasses back and rolls her eyes as you triumphantly leave.

Once outside you look up to the cloudless sky at the floating lights of the city up above then close your eyes and sigh, recalling your knowledge of the city.

It was ten years ago when the city was launched into the skies. Four innovators with the help of one of the brightest physicists the country could offer created the floating resort of Columbia. It was said to be a flying paradise, people from all over paid outrageously to spend even a day up in the clouds. You had even heard of people moving up into the sky. At one point in your past life you considered spending a week or two up there when the city made its route over yours, but you had debts to collect and people to rob. You had a few "friends" who had gone up though and said that it was like nothing they had ever seen before.

"Well of course, have you ever been in the sky?" You would always laugh in reply.

But now, you are going to be up there for a week, for free! You giggle to yourself and skip to the trolley stop, singing cheerful tunes as you wait. The night is still as lively as ever, and a part of you has the urge to go out and exploit people for all they're worth.

"No…" You remind yourself, bringing a hand to your right side, "Not again."

The trolley rolls up to the stop and you step on, sitting next to a random person.

"Nice evening, isn't it?" He mentions to you, his voice striking a familiar chord, "Are you headed home?"

You turn your head to see the male Lutece smiling slightly in your direction.

"Actually, yes." You confirm, brushing off some imaginary dust from your uniform, "Thank you for the tickets."

"They are yours anyways."

"Or will be." You hear his female counterpart chime.

"Oh no." You mentally prepare yourself for the banter to come.

But it never does, once again the two seem to vanish into thin air. The bell on the railcar chimes, signaling your stop. You depart the vehicle and practically skip back to your apartment.

"You seem awfully cheery." The landlord smiles as you dance into the lobby; a few other residents look at you as if you were mad.

"Luck was on my side today! I got two tickets for an-expenses-paid trip to Columbia!" If anyone was trying to ignore you, they weren't now.

"Wow. Two?! How'd you manage that one?" Your neighbor asks as she rocked her newborn baby in her arms.

"Just…luck." You'd rather not say "Oh just some odd gentleman who spoke in riddles gave them to me".

"Wow…So…do you 'ave a 'special someone', whose gonna get the other one?" The landlord laughs as he softly elbows your side.

"Ah…well…There aren't any dates on them, so maybe I'll just go again." You watched his expression fall slightly, "But I need to pack my things for tomorrow. Good night everyone." You bid farewell and walked up to your apartment.

As you lay down for bed, thoughts were swimming in your mind, keeping you awake. You stare out the window and smile, just thinking of all the things you were going to do up in the sky. Your eyelids begin to grow heavier as they close, but not for long it seems.

A bright white light erupted in your room and opens up and revealed a group of girls smothering something in the water. You watched the scene before you unfold; soon the girls began to vanish, one by one. You found yourself drawn to this portal of sorts as you slowly trudge towards the light.

"You (had, have, will have) a small frame of opportunity when it counts, make use of it." The voice of the one Lutece echoed in your mind.

You thoughtlessly wander through the light into this new "world" and to the spot where the girls are. You felt something bump into your leg. You looked down and saw a man submerged in the water. Panic set in as you frantically grab the drowned man's arms and with adrenaline-fueled strength, pulled him out of the portal and into your apartment. The light behind you faded, but you paid it no mind, there was an unconscious man on your floor now.

Your nurse training kicked in, quickly you tore open the soaked shirt and pressed your ear to his chest.

His pulse was faint and weakening.

You immediately resorted to chest compressions, counting to yourself "one, two, three, four…" all the way up to thirty. You pinch his nose and move to do a rescue breath. But before you even tilt his chin up…

Guh-HAHCK!

He rolls over and coughs up a good bit of water and passes out. You checked his pulse again, this time it's stronger and a little faster than normal—probably from that sudden outburst. You jumped up and ran to your bathroom, collecting all your towels and covering the now shivering man in them.

With that all done, you tiredly trudged back into bed.

"Some dream…" You yawn to yourself as you fell back asleep.

So, how'd you all like it?
Don't worry, there will be action and violence!
And fluff! Lots of fluff!
Comment, rate, review~

Note: No, I am not abandoning GaR if you are reading that too. There's just a severe lack of DeWitt x Readers. And this will update a lot slower than GaR since thats first on my priority list.

Booker, the Lutece twins, Columbia (c) Irrational Games
Story (c) me