This Is How You Lose the Time War

Red executes her missions and suffers the pain of Blue’s loss. The Garden’s agents are after her, but she doesn’t care. She would kill herself if it didn’t feel so cowardly after the death Blue suffered. She hides in a subway station and sees a mural that reminds her of Blue and prompts her to sort through Blue’s last letter for hints that she may still be alive. She concocts a plan: to collect pieces of Blue left in time so that she can become Blue enough to infiltrate Garden and help her survive the poison. Red becomes the seeker.

Red performs autosurgery and breaks the Agency’s tracking tools. She follows herself back through time, becoming the seeker she feared all along as she gathers pieces of Blue. In the strand where Red had managed to grab the seeker’s hand before, she sees now that she was just trying to offer herself some comfort, but she still breaks her hip in the fight. In the letters, Red thinks she sees hints that Blue knew all along that this would have to happen, but the hints are so small that Red can’t decide if they were intentional. Once Red has consumed every piece of Blue she can find, her body grows new organs and grows a second skin over hers, transforming her into Blue. The Agency senses her betrayal and sends soldiers to destroy her. She escapes her pursuers by crossing into Garden, disguised as Blue.

In Garden, Red manages to pass by eyes that search for deception. She tries to find Blue from the memory she mentioned in one of her letters. She finds Blue where she is growing up as a young soldier of Garden and kisses her. Blue’s teeth cut Red’s lip and then Blue licks up the blood, which carries in it a taste of the poison she’ll later encounter, as well as a small virus that will function as the anti-venom that will eventually save Blue’s life. Blue is very sick, and Red’s disguise is seen for what it is. Garden attacks her, but Red escapes and attempts to go back home because she’s not sure where else to go. She moves between strands eventually right into Commandant’s grasp.

Red is imprisoned in isolation by the Agency. She is tortured day and night for information, and Commandant is getting tired of asking her questions. Commandant threatens to have Red taken apart, but Red doesn’t care. A guard escorts Red back to her cell, where Red finds a piece of paper. It’s a letter from Blue, who is amazed by Red’s efforts and as a result of those efforts, is still very much alive. She discusses how they made each other—Red made her with her infection, and Blue made Red with her reaching out and loving her. She doesn’t care about Garden or the Agency anymore. She just wants to be with Red and have a little house with dogs tucked away somewhere in time. She has given her five minutes to break out of her cell and includes instructions on how to do it. This is how they win the time war: together.