ã€ŠBeyond The Logos - Episode 2 - Duskã€‹


 ad finem | Prologue

    The world ended.

    Of course, that statement''s validity depends on how you define world. Humanity''s world ended in 2042. To the rest of the galaxy human immigration finally took off; some species like the Yeltians wondered if they would ever leave their planet. Some might say that the humans had their destruction coming; they deserved it and then some. Others like the Illith sympathized with the Humans when they lost their way. Modern historians would argue that the destruction of Earth was the catalyst for the next step in human evolution. They say that 2042 was the year humans became what they were destined to be; ditching their former bodies to cybernetic hosts that could survive the extended years traveling space.

    The humans spent the better half of a century as a slave force for a rebel Lunfilios faction on Charon¡ªone of Pluto''s moons¡ªbefore a hero faded by time liberated those enslaved. The survivors were guided to a magnificent rock which eventually became a communal planet neutral to many nearby races and clans named Sayar. Nobody knows where the hero went; he simply vanished.

    Humanity reconstructed their society from scratch. They soon adapted to their surroundings, eventually creating a new capital on Sayar named Atmos. Their economy grew and underwent an industrial age by the twenty-third century. Humans had restructured their lifestyle since leaving Earth. The only one left with any memory of life on Earth was the elected council member, Andrew Cress. He was revered as a just ambassador for all of humanity for five millennia. It isn''t until the year 7,423 that a human unlike most others wakes up on Sayar¡ªa previous inhabitant of Earth.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Alex Sharpe lived on Earth during the 1970''s and found her way into a dubious cult named Next Level led by a science professor by the name of Noah Marshall. Not much is known about Mr. Marshall and his cult except what has been resurfacing to Alex''s consciousness over time. Her spirit somehow woke up in the body of a mysterious vagabond that went missing for the past seven years by the name of Roland Duschand. Possibly worst of all is the sudden revival of Cross, the leader of the mechanical Dromedan race who wishes to see the entirety of Sayar burn. He seems to have a connection with Alex as the essence that he awoke to was a desire to search out for her.

    With one end comes a beginning; a new life on Sayar meant to stop the threat of the genocide. The year is 7,423, and we resume in the small fortified bunker just on the outskirts of what used to be Pandera City, Sayar''s capital. Alex has traveled with Jesse Anderson, the Messian head of the archives for Pandera and an overall expert on galactic history. He¡¯s appointed himself as Alex''s guide through her new life. This trip led to the death of a Breeton soldier¡ªBartz¡ªto an ambush led by Cross. Morale has dropped from the looming threat of war, but hope still survives as long as the will to continue fighting burns inside the hearts of those of Sayar.

    A will Alex knows all too well.

 Chapter 21

    You stand in a world of nothing. The physical intangible. Your mind has become your one solace since you awoke on Sayar, the one thing you know that is yours amongst all of the foreign you''ve been forced to accept. You''ve lost nearly everything from your time, but your memories have been returning, chunk by chunk like a giant magnet sweeping a minefield.

    Part of you doesn''t want it all to come back, each piece that comes back only remains as a bitter reminder of what you had lost and a grim punishment for the choices you had made back on Earth. Little of that matters right now. You stand face to face with the man you''ve been living, the man you were since you woke up. Roland Duschand stares back at you from the white void, his blackened pupils staring holes into you.

    ¡°What''s happening?¡± You ask, noticing your voice isn''t that which you''ve been hearing as of late, it isn''t Roland''s voice. It''s your voice. It''s a little deeper than you imagined, but not as deep as Roland''s. It feels right and you must be looking absolutely crazy.

    ¡°Inheritor,¡± Roland says, unmoving, unblinking.

    ¡°What?¡± You ask, trying to take a step closer towards him. His entire figure shorts out like some old television, and then he''s kneeling down with his arms cradling his knees and staring towards your feet, motionless as if someone had pressed pause.

    ¡°Inheritor. Take it, take the key,¡± he says, his lips pursed open, but still unmoving. You feel a chill run down your spine as the words practically spill out of his being. You stand right before him and kneel down yourself, bending to his level.

    ¡°You''re Roland Duschand, right? The owner of the body I woke up in?¡±

    Roland looks up slowly and you see the black pupils draining to a bright bluish color. ¡°You are the one I''ve been looking for. I give you...mine.¡± Roland begins sliding away. He remains kneeling, but he moves further and further away from you. You stand quickly and try to run after him. It doesn''t seem to help, he is moving faster than you, and you cannot seem to catch up.

    I give you...mine.

    Your vision fills with a burning white triangle. Gold lines the outside which seems to pulse outward like it were breathing. You go numb. A flash sparks across everything and everywhere. A word burns into your mind:

    P U L S E

    Your eyes open and you''re kneeling behind a boulder that''s easily five times the size of you.

    You''re standing next to a crouched Roland Duschand. He''s wearing a familiar black skinsuit that is emblazoned with gold down the arms and white down the torso. You remember it is the same kind of garb that Piscar wore. Beside Roland stand three other figures wearing similar skinsuits and carrying the wave guns that you saw Jesse use on your trip for the medical supplies, the ones that shoot the waves.

    ¡°Roll-Man, what are our options?¡± An Illith asks, standing beside a humanoid figure wearing a helmet. Roland peeks out from his side of the boulder, you follow his motion and find yourself looking higher and higher to see a landmass reach high into the sky. It''s not quite a mountain, but it''s not quite a hill either. It''s almost like a plateau that was carved out. On the top of it you see bright lights flickering every few seconds. Then at your side an explosion rights out and sends dust and dirt flying everywhere. Roland backs up and you can see him exhale as the blast narrowly missed.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Our plan is to make forward progress. Tania, you and Barax flank the eastern side.¡± He then looks to the masked soldier next to him, ¡°You''re coming with me,¡± Roland says.

    The Garexian beside them nods its large head and looks to Tania, ¡°I''ll cover you.¡± Tania nods and climbs up onto his back.

    The masked man jumps to Roland''s side and presses a hand up to the side of the helmet, lights around the rim glow as it speaks, ¡°Roger sir, on your mark.¡± Roland regards him and tosses on his helmet he left lying by his side. The lights shine on again and he makes a sort of sign with his hand and the two groups branch off. Tania holds onto Barax''s back as he leaps across the battlefield in front of them. The enemy, whomever that may be, lie at the top of the plateau. They''re at the advantage with the height difference.

    Roland dashes out behind a natural land formation that rises up and acts like a shield. He turns around it and sees Barax and Tania in the distance. They''re dodging stray fire from the beings up on top, but it doesn''t last for long as a green pulsing beam catches Barax''s leg. He stumbles and falls, rolling, knocking Tania off his back. She falls further ahead. Two beings shoot off the top of the cliff, soaring down before slamming into the earth. They''re Dromedan units. These monsters are almost twice the size of the Mark I units, a shined metal armor juts out at sharp angles and jet boosters retract into its body.

    Roland and the masked soldier take action, running from the safeguard to reach the Dromedans. The masked soldier dashes, pressing a section of his suit as if it were a button. The helmet lights up blue and the gold sections of his skinsuit also glow blue. He begins to speed up and passes Roland.

    ¡°No! Don''t go in straight!¡± He calls out, but the masked soldier doesn''t hear. ¡°Damn kid is going to get himself killed.¡± Roland flips a switch on his gun and aims toward the plateau. The gun begins to vibrate and a chunk of stone from the ceiling underneath the hollow begins to vibrate with it, snapping free and beginning to fall.

    Time begins to slow. Everything is happening at once as the scene sets up. The first Dromedan unit raises its rifle towards the fallen Tania, Barax hopping upward, not caring that his entire left paw had been seared off and cauterized to a stub, the masked soldier dashing in closer towards the Dromedan, the stone above falling faster now, and Roland watching from his place.

    The blast fires from the Dromedan''s gun, Barax throws himself in front of the fire, it makes direct contact and burns through his suit like it were paper. The masked soldier slams into the first Dromedan, offsetting its balance, then aims his gun at the second and pulls the trigger. The Dromedan begins vibrating violently and shatters amongst the waves. Roland yells into his communicator and too late does the masked soldier realize the stone above him.

    The boulders smash into the ground and pull up a cloud of dust. Roland presses his finger to his suit and also begins glowing a sort of bluish tint, dashing his way a figure skater might skate across the ice. He finds the Dromedan crushed by the boulder entirely. He kicks it aside and then finds the masked soldier underneath one of the boulders; it''s pressed on the both of his legs. You also see that his helmet had been cracked from the impact and underneath you can make out the face of a younger Jesse Anderson. A trail of blood lingers from his lips, but his chest is still rising, he''s still alive. Well, of course he''s alive. It isn''t him dying you''re worried about. ¡°My legs!¡± he screams in between breaths.

    ¡°It''s okay. The Dromedans have been taken care of and we can get you medical attention A.S.A.P.¡±

    ¡°I can''t feel my legs! I can''t feel my legs!¡± Roland presses another section of his suit and it glows red where it had once glowed blue. He reaches down for the base of the boulder and begins slowly moving it upward, and then he begins to struggle as he rolls it off of Jesse, finally letting it go and catching his breath. ¡°I...I can''t feel my legs,¡± Jesse cries out once more.

    The memory skips. You see a worried Roland, sweat-crossed face sitting with his hands on his head kneeled over. You hear screams from inside a small tent just behind him. ¡°Hold still! You need to keep still while the Teriat is inside of you or else it could reform wrong!¡± A man calls out from inside the tent. Another scream. ¡°Doctor, you''ll have to subdue him. He''s resisting too much.¡±

    ¡°On it.¡±

    There is a final scream and then it fades out. The world fades to black and the memory ends.

 Chapter 22

    This is where you''d normally wake up. Everything would be fine and you''d wake up to see Hatta or Jesse sitting beside you, but that isn''t what''s happening. Everything is dark, blank, almost like when you saw Roland Duschand, if that was even him and not just a figment of your dreams. It''s up in the air really which it could have been.

    You feel a cold wind by your ears, a weird sucking sensation at the nape of your neck. It crawls upward as you feel it enter the open hatch on the back of your head, you see that you''re back in Roland''s body, which is weird considering you''re in your own mindspace, but then again, it''s not like you looked at yourself earlier with Roland so it''s also possible it was just two figures that happened to look like Roland Duschand facing one another.

    The wind sends a cold shiver down your spine as it keeps getting sucked into the back of your head, everything comes at once, and you almost lose it all. You breathe slowly as it all pours in like water retreating into a vase, being played back in reverse on an old VHS tape. What Hatta did, what you all did by updating your core, it''s working.

    You remember.

    You see the mansion alongside the other people you know so little about all around you in the ceremonial room. You''re standing in between Noah Marshall and Devon Campton, both simultaneously the people you want to see nothing more of but can''t help but look.

    Both you and Devon still look like you''re in your late teens, it probably isn''t too much later than the last memory you saw. Bonnie stands beside Devin, and next to him is Sherry, the blonde who looks to be only a few years older than your younger self. Craig is next to her, he looks like he grew more into himself and is now standing a little lanky next to Sherry¡ªhe looks to be around sixteen. In the middle of the hall stands Dante. His hair has whitened since the last time you saw him, what must have been at least a five year difference.

    You''re all dressed as close as can be wearing dark colored sweats, a black hoodie, and dark shoes. Noah steps forward. The room is silent¡ªnot even the wind from the window dares howl into the night. With great restraint Noah says barely above a whisper, "Brother Dante, we are summoned because you have a request, is this correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. My tests have come back positive. I fear that my vessel may not last me much longer¡ªthey give me about half a year max.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Noah says.

    ¡°I would like to advance to the next level. I am ready to advance before it is too late.¡±

    ¡°Well then it looks like things are going to move quickly. The rest of you will get to see the process in full,¡± Noah says, his eyes scanning across the room before stopping back on Dante.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been a good friend, Dante, and we will miss you, but you shall be the first to welcome us on the other side.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Dante says, his voice breaking. He sounds so...happy.

    ¡°You¡¯ve kept your duties in your sickness and in health. For your reward you may wish for one thing,¡± Noah says, ¡°and I will try in my best efforts to grant it before your ceremony.¡±

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Dante nods his head once. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve always known how sex is a precious tool for preserving seeds into the next level left exclusively for you¡ªas you say sir¡ªbut I¡¯ve been conscious about my chastity my whole life, even before finding your ways. I was always waiting for the one special person, and you know what? I think that I¡¯ve found her, and in the most unsuspecting of places¡ªhiding in plain sight as they say,¡± he says, wiping a tear from his bushy cheeks.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve never shared these feelings, dear friend,¡± Craig says, his head turns to one side.

    ¡°It¡¯s you, Sherry,¡± he says, the both of his hands clasping together and his demeanor shifting from a man in his late fifties to one in his mid-teens. ¡°I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you throughout these years, and I haven¡¯t felt this way about anyone else in my life. I do so hope I can express these feelings better to you in the next level, but for now, my wish is to be able to share my love with you once in this life.¡±

    You can feel vomit rising to your throat. You expect a horrid scene of the young Sherry to deny the old man¡¯s sexual request, but all hope for any normalcy has gone out of the window the second this mansion was involved. Noah Marshall nods his head and Sherry smiles, looking to Dante with a sparkle in her eye. ¡°The family accepts this wish, and we shall leave you to your deed. Remember the vow we all take,¡± he says.

    Dante holds up his right hand, ¡°I shall not plant my seed.¡±

    Wait...only Noah was allowed to ejaculate? That seems highly odd, considering by this point your count was up to two. Your eyes go straight to Devon. You¡¯re not sure how you¡¯re feeling about him. There¡¯s a mountain of emotions just waiting to explode on him, but it would serve no purpose¡ªhe isn¡¯t real. It¡¯s when you focus in on him that you notice there¡¯s a small blue rock hung up on a cord around his neck. It looks like it''s in rough condition, but otherwise okay. You think it looks familiar, but you don¡¯t know why. You don¡¯t remember seeing it on him at any other point...but then you do.

    Flashes run through your mind, the memories you¡¯d seen all before of you and Devon together¡ªand as if it¡¯d been there all along, there is the small rock hung around his neck. There¡¯s only one memory where it is not, the one of you both in his bedroom playing with the action figures, but you can see it sitting on the table beside his bed. Just what could this mean...and why are you noticing it just now? The only thing you can think of is that maybe whatever had been prohibiting your core from acting at full capacity had something to do with repressing the blue crystal, but you do not know why something so specific would be held back. Nonetheless, wherever it came from, you believe it has some significance. If only you could figure out what.

    "Alright, everyone, let us leave Dante to his reward. We shall go retire to the training chambers to prepare a sermon and plan for the celebration." Noah says, bringing you back to the initial memory. "Once you two are finished you may feel free to join us."

    He nods and places his arm around Sherry''s waist. It''s so thick that you feel he could probably wrap himself around her three times over like a snake. You and Devon are the first to walk out¡ªyou see him reach for your hand¡ªwhen you don''t take it he takes yours with a tight grip. You look like you''re about to pass out, he doesn''t seem to notice. You all walk out of the room into one of the hallways emblazoned by ornate tapestry and a carpet that seems to dance along the ground.

    ¡°I...I have to use the bathroom,¡± you say, your voice sounding weak. You break free from Devon and begin jogging down the hallway. You try to follow yourself, but something''s...off. You can''t move, only watch. Your focus is driven towards the stone hanging around Devon''s neck. You aren''t the only one, as Craig¡ªnow behind Noah¡ªseems to have taken notice as well.

    "I don''t think I''ve ever seen you wear that around here before. Isn''t that something you should have tossed when we gave up our wealth?"

    "This isn''t like that. I don''t keep it because it''s expensive. I keep it because my best friend gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°You mean...?¡±

    Devon nods, ¡°Yeah, it was how I met Alex.¡±

 Chapter 22

    This is where you''d normally wake up. Everything would be fine and you''d wake up to see Hatta or Jesse sitting beside you, but that isn''t what''s happening. Everything is dark, blank, almost like when you saw Roland Duschand, if that was even him and not just a figment of your dreams. It''s up in the air really which it could have been.

    You feel a cold wind by your ears, a weird sucking sensation at the nape of your neck. It crawls upward as you feel it enter the open hatch on the back of your head, you see that you''re back in Roland''s body, which is weird considering you''re in your own mindspace, but then again, it''s not like you looked at yourself earlier with Roland so it''s also possible it was just two figures that happened to look like Roland Duschand facing one another.

    The wind sends a cold shiver down your spine as it keeps getting sucked into the back of your head, everything comes at once, and you almost lose it all. You breathe slowly as it all pours in like water retreating into a vase, being played back in reverse on an old VHS tape. What Hatta did, what you all did by updating your core, it''s working.

    You remember.

    You see the mansion alongside the other people you know so little about all around you in the ceremonial room. You''re standing in between Noah Marshall and Devon Campton, both simultaneously the people you want to see nothing more of but can''t help but look.

    Both you and Devon still look like you''re in your late teens, it probably isn''t too much later than the last memory you saw. Bonnie stands beside Devin, and next to him is Sherry, the blonde who looks to be only a few years older than your younger self. Craig is next to her, he looks like he grew more into himself and is now standing a little lanky next to Sherry¡ªhe looks to be around sixteen. In the middle of the hall stands Dante. His hair has whitened since the last time you saw him, what must have been at least a five year difference.

    You''re all dressed as close as can be wearing dark colored sweats, a black hoodie, and dark shoes. Noah steps forward. The room is silent¡ªnot even the wind from the window dares howl into the night. With great restraint Noah says barely above a whisper, "Brother Dante, we are summoned because you have a request, is this correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. My tests have come back positive. I fear that my vessel may not last me much longer¡ªthey give me about half a year max.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Noah says.

    ¡°I would like to advance to the next level. I am ready to advance before it is too late.¡±

    ¡°Well then it looks like things are going to move quickly. The rest of you will get to see the process in full,¡± Noah says, his eyes scanning across the room before stopping back on Dante.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been a good friend, Dante, and we will miss you, but you shall be the first to welcome us on the other side.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Dante says, his voice breaking. He sounds so...happy.

    ¡°You¡¯ve kept your duties in your sickness and in health. For your reward you may wish for one thing,¡± Noah says, ¡°and I will try in my best efforts to grant it before your ceremony.¡±

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Dante nods his head once. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve always known how sex is a precious tool for preserving seeds into the next level left exclusively for you¡ªas you say sir¡ªbut I¡¯ve been conscious about my chastity my whole life, even before finding your ways. I was always waiting for the one special person, and you know what? I think that I¡¯ve found her, and in the most unsuspecting of places¡ªhiding in plain sight as they say,¡± he says, wiping a tear from his bushy cheeks.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve never shared these feelings, dear friend,¡± Craig says, his head turns to one side.

    ¡°It¡¯s you, Sherry,¡± he says, the both of his hands clasping together and his demeanor shifting from a man in his late fifties to one in his mid-teens. ¡°I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you throughout these years, and I haven¡¯t felt this way about anyone else in my life. I do so hope I can express these feelings better to you in the next level, but for now, my wish is to be able to share my love with you once in this life.¡±

    You can feel vomit rising to your throat. You expect a horrid scene of the young Sherry to deny the old man¡¯s sexual request, but all hope for any normalcy has gone out of the window the second this mansion was involved. Noah Marshall nods his head and Sherry smiles, looking to Dante with a sparkle in her eye. ¡°The family accepts this wish, and we shall leave you to your deed. Remember the vow we all take,¡± he says.

    Dante holds up his right hand, ¡°I shall not plant my seed.¡±

    Wait...only Noah was allowed to ejaculate? That seems highly odd, considering by this point your count was up to two. Your eyes go straight to Devon. You¡¯re not sure how you¡¯re feeling about him. There¡¯s a mountain of emotions just waiting to explode on him, but it would serve no purpose¡ªhe isn¡¯t real. It¡¯s when you focus in on him that you notice there¡¯s a small blue rock hung up on a cord around his neck. It looks like it''s in rough condition, but otherwise okay. You think it looks familiar, but you don¡¯t know why. You don¡¯t remember seeing it on him at any other point...but then you do.

    Flashes run through your mind, the memories you¡¯d seen all before of you and Devon together¡ªand as if it¡¯d been there all along, there is the small rock hung around his neck. There¡¯s only one memory where it is not, the one of you both in his bedroom playing with the action figures, but you can see it sitting on the table beside his bed. Just what could this mean...and why are you noticing it just now? The only thing you can think of is that maybe whatever had been prohibiting your core from acting at full capacity had something to do with repressing the blue crystal, but you do not know why something so specific would be held back. Nonetheless, wherever it came from, you believe it has some significance. If only you could figure out what.

    "Alright, everyone, let us leave Dante to his reward. We shall go retire to the training chambers to prepare a sermon and plan for the celebration." Noah says, bringing you back to the initial memory. "Once you two are finished you may feel free to join us."

    He nods and places his arm around Sherry''s waist. It''s so thick that you feel he could probably wrap himself around her three times over like a snake. You and Devon are the first to walk out¡ªyou see him reach for your hand¡ªwhen you don''t take it he takes yours with a tight grip. You look like you''re about to pass out, he doesn''t seem to notice. You all walk out of the room into one of the hallways emblazoned by ornate tapestry and a carpet that seems to dance along the ground.

    ¡°I...I have to use the bathroom,¡± you say, your voice sounding weak. You break free from Devon and begin jogging down the hallway. You try to follow yourself, but something''s...off. You can''t move, only watch. Your focus is driven towards the stone hanging around Devon''s neck. You aren''t the only one, as Craig¡ªnow behind Noah¡ªseems to have taken notice as well.

    "I don''t think I''ve ever seen you wear that around here before. Isn''t that something you should have tossed when we gave up our wealth?"

    "This isn''t like that. I don''t keep it because it''s expensive. I keep it because my best friend gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°You mean...?¡±

    Devon nods, ¡°Yeah, it was how I met Alex.¡±

 Chapter 23

    You wake up in the med bay. The metal ceiling bends over you like the claw in some old arcade machine. To your right is Hatta''s bulbous body. You slowly sit up and everything begins to move, the colors of everything begin to shift and then back¡ªeverything goes mute and then back. ¡°Testing, testing. Do you read me?¡± Hatta asks.

    ¡°I...do,¡± you say.

    ¡°Good! So I didn''t mix up ya'' vocal chord with the smell sensor. You would have suffocated if so.¡±

    ¡°Well...that''s good to know. Where''s...Jesse?¡± You ask, looking around you to find the med bay empty besides you two.

    ¡°Oh, mistah Anderson is goin'' grocery shoppin'' for little ol'' me while I finished up on you. I had to trade the groceries I had already gotten for some of the newer parts for your upgrade. It''s weird though, there''s a tiny little hole there in your core, never done seen anything like it before.¡±

    ¡°Hole?¡±

    ¡°Right near your memory banks, I assume something''s missing there, but whatever it is it seems to be an optional piece, considering you''re walking and breathing now.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe so, but what am I supposed to do until he gets back?¡±

    ¡°Walk around a lil'' and see how everything feels. You''ve been upgraded to the most recent software and should be feeling better than ever, however it might take a bit to get used to.¡±

    You slowly slide your legs over the table and your thoughts are not of your body, but instead of Jesse. He lost his legs while in the army, but he didn''t ever seem to mention that, or the fact that he knew Roland personally. When you first asked him about this body, he said that it belonged to a hermit named Roland Duschand. When you spoke with the council you heard about a philanthropist named Roland Duschand. In his memories, you saw an army captain, Roland Duschand. Which one is the true Roland? It seems hardly anybody knows who the man was.

    And now you can only think of how Roland knew Cross. At least, you remember him saying that they had met once¡ªwas it possibly when he was in the army? You''re not sure, but now that you''re remembering his memories as well as your own, maybe you can get the answers to these questions.

    Maybe it was Hatta''s adjustments that unlocked Roland''s memories, which means he might be somewhere inside this body sealed somewhere. The idea sounded stupid, but it was all you could go on. You walk around just fine, everything feels normal, which is good to say for once. Hatta regards you with a smile...at least, what you believe is a smile. ¡°Well, if that is all, why don''t we go find mistah Anderson and see if he completed my errands?¡±

    ¡°That sounds good to me,¡± you nod.

    You both exit the med bay and make your way back towards the market place. There are lights placed across the top of the various stalls that shine out across the way. The natural light has since faded and without these supplemental lights you''re sure it''d be pitch black down here. ¡°He should be near the meats. I sent him a list of things to get,¡± Hatta says.

    ¡°And what else was on it?¡±

    ¡°Meats. Wasn''t you listenin''?¡±

    ¡°Well, I assumed there might have been...¡± you say before trailing off, realizing your words might get you into some trouble.

    ¡°You know, before youse two found me I was going to try some of those there vegetables to see what all the hype is about. I guess me havin'' to sell ''em for your head chip being upgraded was a sign to stay far away from ''em,¡± Hatta laughs a storm so wild you feel like you should wear a raincoat.

    Interrupting your thoughts is the sight of Jesse dragging what looks to be a cornucopia behind him. Inside seems to be stacks of pink and red slabs of meat. He wears a disgusted frown as he nears, his cheeks are puffed out from holding his breath. You don''t understand until he nears you that you smell the rancid odors that emanate from the cornucopia. And you just got used to Hatta''s foul stench, unfortunately. Hatta strolls over towards him and lifts the cornucopia over her shoulder with little effort. Jesse lets out an exasperated sound and turns to you, smiling once he sees you. ¡°Hey, you''re awake.¡±

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess I am. That upgrade helped in more ways than one,¡± you say. He notices the tone in your voice and nods his head. Hatta, on the other hand seems more preoccupied with her food.

    ¡°Well, now that my errands are now complete I am going to go enjoy a light snack,¡± Hatta begins. ¡°It was nice to meet you, but I must get back to my work.¡± Hatta stumbles off with cornucopia in hand. You turn to watch her fade into the crowd of people, knowing that work is only going to entail that snack of hers.

    Jesse walks up to you and looks you up and down, ¡°Did the update make you remember more about your life?¡± He asks.

    "You could say that.¡±

    ¡°Well it''s good because I did.¡±

    ¡°I...there was a lot of troubling memories that came to the surface.¡±

    "Oh? How troubling are we speaking? Like, embarrassing childhood stories interesting or traumatic teenage heartbreak troubling?" Jesse says with a small smile, one that''s just eager to push your buttons. And yet, you can only reply back with a smile, as that''s how you''ve gotten this far in life, even when you''re about to talk about awkward subjects.

    ¡°There was this blue crystal that appeared in all of my old memories, I don''t know where it came from.¡±

    ¡°Blue crystal? Sounds a bit like Queoquartzite. Granted, I don''t believe Earth had the conditions to properly harvest the stuff.¡±

    ¡°Really? What, is it some sort of alien exclusive material?¡±

    ¡°Queoquartzite is a crystallized energy source found on planets that reach absolute zero temperatures. Nastor is one such planet, there are even places on Sayar that reach the desired climate for Queoquartzite creation.¡±

    ¡°Why does it need to be really cold?¡±

    ¡°Really cold is a bit of an understatement,¡± Jesse says. ¡°With absolute zero comes the perfect storage of energy. Since it''s at a standstill, all the potential energy surrounding the elements are able to be modified without any outside interference. Queoquartzite is pure, solidified energy.¡±

    ¡°I bet it''s much better than what we had back on Earth,¡± you say.

    ¡°Something like that,¡± Jesse muses.

    ¡°There''s another matter...I saw you. Rather, I saw what you used to be when you were back in the army."

    His figure understandably droops. You know he wasn''t up for divulging the specifics back when you were coming back from Bunker 32, but now that you know at least in part what he went through you feel you could possibly talk it through with him. Anything to help, really, as he''s been such a big help to you thus far. It''s only fair that you try to help him in some way.

    "Oh, and what did you see?" He asks, expecting the worst.

    You walk a bit closer to him and place your hand on his shoulder, a move stolen from your father, you remember. He always used to do that to reassure you that everything is all right, you would give anything to feel it one more time.

    "I saw you in some sort of canyon, you were ranked with the guy that owned this body, Roland Duschand.¡±

    "And you''re wondering why I didn''t tell you that I knew him," Jesse says like a school child caught cheating on a test.

    "Sorta, but I was more concerned with that happened later on."

    "My legs," he says.

    "When you told me about the Teriat and I asked if it hurt, you told me that Taylor had gone through the experience. That wasn''t you speaking as a friend, was it?"

    "No, you''re right. Taylor never had to experience the Teriat, that was my personal pain I was telling you about."

    "Why did you lie?" You ask, a question so poignant in delivery that you wish you could take it back.

    "I didn''t want to show you my physical pain. It isn''t an easy thing to talk about, and I guess I didn''t want you to see me any differently. My legs are still fully functioning, even though they aren''t really the ones I was born with."

    "Trust me, I know how that feels," you say, matter-of-fact. "So why then did you lie about Roland?"

    "Just like my how I lost my legs that day, another part of me was seriously damaged."

    "Did Roland do something to you?"

    "He broke my heart."

 Chapter 24

    Suddenly the air around you seems to leave. He seems not surprised by your own. "Assumed differently? That''s okay, most people do.¡±

    "You didn''t tell me because I''m in his body."

    "Correct," he says, quieter.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t know. If I did-"

    "You would have been magically transported into someone else''s body?" He says with a small smile.

    "I...wow I wish high school prepared me for this situation."

    "High school?"

    "Huh, I think I finally stumped the historian," you say.

    "I really do apologize for not telling you," he says.

    "No, no. It''s okay. I understand why you didn''t. It must be weird seeing him again, but not as him."

    "If I''m being wholly honest with you, that''s the main reason why I decided to help you, back when we first met."

    "You say that as if we''ve known each other for a life time."

    "It can certainly feel like that sometimes."

    "I''ll be honest too and say that I''ve found it easy to connect with you too, and that all means so much in a time like this," you say.

    "That is understandable as well. I hope you forgive my needing to protect you, that''s something that I feel that was left over from another life entirely."

    "It is okay, I''ve needed it. Practically have to learn how to live again."

    "You''ll get there," he smiles. It makes you smile back, and it feels good. Just then there''s a vibrating sound, Jesse reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tiny device, you assume it to be some kind of communicator based on its circular shape. "Yeah? What''s up?" There is a moment of silence. Well, not entirely silence, as the marketplace around you is as bustling as ever, but for all you care about it could be totally absent of any sound.

    "Are they okay?" Jesse asks, you see his eyes shift to the left and then to the right. "Okay, okay. We''re heading up now. Save us some seats," he says, and then presses a button on the communicator. He turns to you and his once kind face turns serious, "We have to get back to the main chambers. There''s trouble."

    You straighten up and nod your head as you both return through the marketplace. The hustle and bustle now seeming like a sort of distraction. Once back at the elevator the tension is so thick in the atmosphere that it could constrict you if you breathed too heavy. The two of you seem to be some of the last to enter the room, it is a rectangular room filled to the brim with seats also filled with bodies. The room is raised near the back as your vision focuses to see Cardus and Khap-Ar.

    It is the first time you''ve seen the Lunfilios since your time at the Capitol and you stare wondrously at his almost glowing form. If given an eternity you''re sure that you could stare at it and never get bored. It seems to swirl around like a vortex of gelatinous goo.

    "Now now, if you would find your seats we have very important matters to discuss. That means you two as well," Cardus calls out over the crowd of aliens. It took quite the amount of time to hit you, but these were aliens to you...or rather you were alien to them. At least you had some sort of Earthly concept to grab onto, even if it is an intergalactic one.

    You and Jesse find two seats just behind a pair of Fal'' Z?Ar. You can hear one of them whispering to the other, "How much are you willing to bet that Khap-Ar''s up there to do some more damage control for the Lunfilios?"

    "I''d wager that''s a pretty safe bet."

    "It just irritates me how we''re supposed to pretend that what they did never happened. When the Dromedans became a problem we took action."

    "It''s all political jargon to me. If it were me on that there council I would have done something about them. Exile or something like that."

    "You and me both."

    "Excuse me, but what are the both of you talking about?" You ask, before realizing that you weren''t a part of their conversation.

    "Oh?" The one on the left responds. He looks back to you with his grimy purple eyes. "Are you blind to what the Lunfilios have done as well?"

    "Now''s not the-" Jesse begins.

    "The Lunfilios were responsible for the universe''s largest slavery movement since the beginning of time," The Fal'' Z?Ar interrupts.

    That''s right, you remember now. Andrew spoke of that when you went to speak with him about Earth''s destruction. He told you that Khap-Ar''s son, Khap-En was the one responsible for the destruction of Earth, masterminding it since at least the early 1900s. It led to the death of nearly all of humanity. Those that weren''t killed were enslaved on one of Pluto''s moons, Charon. They were only freed when Andrew''s best friend and humanity''s hero stepped in from out of nowhere apparently and broke up the colony. This seems to be common knowledge here, and yet you''ve noticed that tensions with the Lunfilios seem to be as high as the day the Earth died. You remember the people you saw before you went to the Capitol, even they seemed to share some disdain for them.

    "All right, now that we are all ready," Cardus calls out over the crowd. The Fal'' Z?Ar quiet themselves, turning to look towards the podium. "We are in an emergency situation, Piscar Okset, Ambassador and High Councilman of the Messian people has been abducted. Our report says that while out scouting a Dromedan attack force ambushed his team and killed the rest of his squadron, leaving him on the brink of death and stealing a wounded Piscar off to parts unknown."

    "It''s truly quite tragic, you see? Nearly an entire squadron eliminated and its leader stolen away. Our only clue is that they flew northward, but that doesn''t give us enough information," Khap-Ar says, shifting into the form of Piscar. "So, our reason for assembling you all here is for a single reason...the rescue of Piscar Okset." The crowd begins murmuring now, and you hear passing complaints and scared sounds. There are few with bravado to boast about their own skills, but mostly you hear hesitation.

    "We''re not planning on throwing caution to the wind, however, so we''re assembling together different rescue teams that will scour different sections of local areas before moving forward. We''re not going to force anyone to join up unless we''re short. So keep that in mind and also keep in mind all the work that Piscar has done for our society if you decide not to join up," Cardus says.

    "For those interested in the job, stand now and make your way towards the front of the room." There are a few who stand up immediately: A tan-skinned Breeton, a Fal'' Z?Ar who looks more glowing than a peacock, and a Garexian in the front row stand to action. There is a hushed silence as the crowd no longer whines or boasts, but sits quietly, hoping more stand up so that drafting isn''t required.

    You stand up.

    You know you aren''t trained for combat. You know that you have no clue what you''re doing, but you also know that someone''s life is on the line. You cannot sit by idly. Jesse looks shocked, but there is a glimmer of pride as he works his way up to stand beside you. "I must admit, I should have seen that coming," he whispers into your ear.

    You can almost see a ghost of a smirk from Cardus all the way from your seat near the back. Some others join in response, there''s a Pamen sitting, now standing in the middle of the room, his pitch black body towers over the rest of them around him. Some more stand up and all said of the eighty some people packed in the room approximately thirty are standing.

    "Excellent," Cardus says. "We could probably split into six teams of five and start with the north and then branch out from there. The rest of you, you''re dismissed."

    </a> Those that are sitting now stand and begin shuffling out of the room. You notice that the two Fal'' Z?Ar that had been sitting in front of you are at the front of the line of those shuffling out. You look over to Jesse and come in close, "Where do you think they''ll send us?" You whisper.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    "I don''t know specifically, but I''m hoping for Potsberro, the Garexian capitol. The place is warmer than here and I''ve been meaning to get some sun recently," Jesse grins.

    "Now," Cardus begins, his voice echoing more throughout the chambers as more people leave. "If you all would like to join up here we can sort into the teams, and maybe you can introduce yourselves to each other if you''re not in the know?" Cardus asks. You know the last bit is for you, and you appreciate it.

    You both make it to the front. You recognize one face amongst the crowd and it is one you''re not keen on remembering.

    "I can''t believe the Min is Man enough to volunteer," the voice so deep it could only belong to Tomboss rings. He''s the Breeton chief of police, so it isn''t surprising he''s willing to risk entering combat, but the odd thing is that he has the time to go on some mission like this. You would think that a chief would be loaded to the max with work detail.

    "Hey TB, nice to see you have the time to help the cause," Jesse says with something you liken to sarcasm.

    Luckily for him Tomboss didn''t seem to pick up on it¡ªor chose not to. ¡°Grim and Gram are picking up the slack back at the department for me, They''re the new deputies considering the las'' one got crushed on that attack."

    "I''m sorry for your loss," you say.

    "Oh, don''t be. The guy was two half seconds away from me shoving a block of stone down his throat anyhow. Nothing more than a brat who tried constantly to overstep his own boundaries."

    "Ah, I...see," you say..

    "Anyway, I actually must thank you. You helped minimize the casualties and in turn minimize the amount of paperwork I have to do."

    "Hold one one second, this is the one who saved the council during the attack?" A plump green Psarcian asks.

    "Yes, this is the human that saved us during the attack," Pamen says.

    "Oh cool!" An Illith, the only one you notice bursts in. "I wanna go with you!"

    "No, I call first dibs on the team!" A Garexian growls.

    "Okay, okay, let''s calm down now," Cardus interrupts. "We''re going to have order in this process. Also, it should be obvious that we''re going to be splitting up into many different teams, not one super team all hogged around Alex."

    "It would surely defeat the purpose of splitting up, don''t you think?" Khap-Ar says. ¡°Besides, as one of the organizers, I get to call first dibs on being on a team,¡± he says, chuckling and morphing into your shape. You stop breathing as you see Roland''s body in front of you, but it only lasts the moment.

    ¡°You...want to join me? I...I''m not sure I would be of any special help,¡± you say.

    ¡°Ah, but your heroism at the Capitol isn''t why I am choosing to join you. You pique my curiosity,¡± he says, morphing back into his gelatinous body.

    ¡°I do?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. What I see in other people isn''t there when I see you, your core.¡±

    ¡°What''s he talking about?¡± The Garexian asks.

    ¡°What you see in other people?¡± You ask, ignoring the complaints of the Garexian.

    ¡°Lunfilios don''t see as we do. They''re capable of feeling the waves of sentient creatures,¡± Jesse explains.

    ¡°So like a bat?¡± You ask, but before you wait for them to ask what a bat is, you explain, ¡°So it''s sort of like echolocation?¡±

    ¡°I see you get the idea. Waves are our existence, through them we feel and express who we are. Everyone''s waves are a tiny bit different, and that''s how we learn to identify others. You are different, moreso than what I expect.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°Everyone here has a sort of signature in their waves, it''s almost like a mark that is a remnant from when your waves came together, when you came into this existence. Yours are marked for a time long passed.¡±

    ¡°So, you know that I''m not from this time? Like, know?¡±

    The crowd is taken aback by this, before you can even begin to sigh an explanation out Cardus begins hushing the crowd. ¡°I should have known that''s why you raised your hand back at the Capitol,¡± Cardus says. ¡°Back when we were voting you seemed so sure of yourself when you vouched to further hear his story.¡±

    ¡°There was something that interested me about you from the moment you entered that room. I knew you weren''t from here and weren''t really Roland Duschand.¡±

    ¡°If you did, why didn''t you speak up about it?¡± Jesse asks, surprising you. ¡°I mean, I''d forgotten about that completely, and it almost turned out bad.¡±

    ¡°That''s simple. Even if Alex here wasn''t from our time it didn''t make the reason that you stood in that hall disappear. You said that and were ready to accept it. If the rest of the council was ready to hand down judgment I would have agreed. Since so many raised in favor, I chose to act on my own morals and agree there.¡±

    ¡°So you went with the crowd?¡± Jesse asks.

    ¡°I''m sure you know of how my people are thought of Mr. Anderson¡ªthe things people say. I''m not in a position to swim against the tides. It is fortunate for you they were in your favor. This doesn''t change my appreciation for your actions or my desire to travel with you. Maybe I can find some way to make peace with my decision,¡± he says, you can almost see a frown swirling around inside his body out of a darker material.

    ¡°I don''t have a problem with any of you,¡± The Illith says, ¡°but I know there are a lot of people out there that do.¡±

    ¡°You don''t have to make anything up to me, I''m not some hero. I know that sounds self deprecating, but I mean it. I was at the right place at the right time. I''m glad that you were okay, but I want to do something that deserves this treatment. It''s like you said, I did what I did, and one action doesn''t absolve me of everything.¡±

    The group falls silent.

    ¡°So please, if you want to be on my team, do it because you want to help me find Piscar, not so you could work alongside a hero, because I can assure you that you''d be disappointed. I don''t even know how to fight,¡± you say.

    After an awkward silence, Khap-Ar moves forward, ¡°Now I know I want to join up with you. Your waves are sincere. You know you aren''t the best suited for the job, but won''t let that stop you. That''s courage, and what I saw in you back then.¡±

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about with all of this I''m no hero business, but I feel the same, and have come with you this far because of that. I know what you did was wrong, but you''ve also done right since coming here," Cardus says.

    "We agree with them. Do not forget that we are still owed a team up with you," Pamen says.

    Jesse shrugs, "I''m just here to see how many Dromedans you blow up.¡±

    You hit him as he springs forth a smile. "Thank you. It means a lot to me what you''re saying. I want to be able to live up to these nice things that you''re saying. I think I know who I want on my team, if you''ll have me," you say.

    "Go ahead and pick, we won''t be offended," Khap-Ar says.

    "Most of us won''t," Jesse says.

    "Jesse and Pamen, you two are for sure coming along. Khap-Ar, I would like to talk to you more about waves along the way, so I would also like to go with you, and...you," you point to the Illith."

    "Me?" She asks in a voice you would only give to a chipmunk.

    "Mhm, only if you want. I want to know more about this world and the people who live inside it, and the only way I''m going to do that is interact with as many people as I can.¡±

    ¡°Okay! Yeah, I wanna go. My name''s Sen, by the way.¡±

    ¡°It is nice to meet you.¡± You turn to Cardus, ¡°I think you should lead a second team, since we''ve already gone on a trip together, and I''m sure whoever is there could also use your leadership," you say.

    "You kept me in total suspense there team captain," Jesse says.

    "I''m no capt-"

    "Ha, I''m just messing with you. You''d need to outpace me to even come close to something as honorable as team captain. But we''ll see. Maybe once we''re done with this I can get you some training in," Jesse winks.

    "Mr. Anderson, I hope you know I''ll be taking the role of captain, unless you wish to do this outpacing here to prove you''re more capable?¡± Khap-Ar slides up.

    ¡°Uh, I''m good, actually. Feel free,¡± Jesse droops.

    ¡°And for you,¡± he turns to you, ¡°you can learn along the way. No true way to learn how to fight then to be in a fight. Come on, let''s go gear up and find us a route."

    ¡°I''ve been really excited to gear up!¡± Sen near screams with palpable excitement.

    You begin walking away from the rest of the group, a cell separating from its main body.

    ¡°Oh?¡± You ask.

    ¡°Everyone who looks to our armed forces always sees their uniforms as these strong and durable things, but I''ve always loved the design of them. How they change a group of nobodies into a team perfectly coordinated.¡±

    ¡°We would much rather be safe from firepower than be pleasing to the eye,¡± Pamen says.

    ¡°Well it can totally be both!¡±

    Jesse comes close to you, ¡°Honestly, I couldn''t care much either way. I certainly didn''t expect to be suiting up again anytime in my life.¡±

    ¡°You didn''t have to volunteer,¡± you say.

    He looks back up, ¡°Yes I did.¡±

    "We''ll probably head up towards Gaos if you want to head up near the deserts of Abu Kheppi," Cardus calls back from the group.

    "Why do you get first dibs?" Khap-Ar asks, not turning around.

    "Seeing as I''m the one taking the Psarcian, I am going to say that we get first dibs out of any arid areas." Cardus says.

    "The Pscarcian has a name, and it is Petsun." he glubbers out. ¡°I agree though. Deserts are far from my style, unless you all want to be carrying around a deflated sack of flesh on your search."

    "Fine, fine,¡± Khap-Ar mutters out like a small child. ¡°Let''s go with that, and you," Khap-Ar points a swollen appendage out to a Garexian beside Cardus. "You can lead the third team, Tav. We''re going to the outfitters, I''m sure you can figure the rest out amongst yourselves."

    The others work themselves into formations of five. You hear names and see faces but little of it actually sticks. If anything, this is a reminder to work slowly at learning. Too much at once is overload, and you might as well learn as much as you can seeing as you''re staying in this new world. You might as well make the best of it.

    You continue walking.

 Chapter 25

    Khap-Ar shifts into a humanoid form you don''t recognize as you walk through a door. He''s got a burly build with a clean face. His eyes are bright and his smile wide. ¡°We''re going to need to outfit you all with enough to keep us all alive, this isn''t just any old delivery mission."

    "I''m ready," you say.

    You''re then led throughout the innards of the bunker, small interconnected hallways that trail through for what seem like eons. Doors line the walls that you assume have something equally interesting behind them, however you pass on until Khap-Ar stops and turns towards a larger door on your left. Sen and Jesse catch up from behind. Before you can ask where Pamen is, he rises out from the ground beside you, shorter than you saw him before.

    "You seem surprised."

    ¡°That''s his natural state of being,¡± Jesse says.

    You turn to give him a dirty look, ¡°I just didn''t know that you could change your height?"

    "This form is the absence of light concentrated into a shape. We can project it however tall or short we desire.¡±

    "Was wondering how you got around some of these hallways."

    "Khap-Ar, I was wondering if you could explain a bit of what''s in this room. If we''re going to be a team we need to all be on the same page," Jesse says.

    "Well of course, is that all right with the rest of you?" Sen nods and Pamen doesn''t move to answer. "Okay, this is our outfitters. We need to be organized, uniformed, protected. We can''t go out there in civilian wear. So, we''re here to get you in line with some of the latest gear. I know you all aren''t army, but you won''t have to be to wear what''s in here," Khap-Ar explains. He presses down on the bar that is used as a knob and pushes in, revealing a pretty small room on the inside, a far cry from all of the rooms you had seen prior. It has some bathroom-styled stalls in the back the room and some seats dotting the sides. "What you''ll do is step into the stall and you''ll see a keypad, follow the instructions on it and you''ll be all set.¡±

    "I''ll go first," Sen says. "I''ve admittedly always wanted to see how I''d look in Power Armor."

    Khap-Ar lifts his arms like a bouncer letting a V.I.P. guest into a fancy club. Sen walks in like she has been dreaming of it her entire life, and who knows, maybe this stuff is so spectacular that she has? It makes you think back to the gear you saw Jesse and Roland wearing in that memory. That must be the Power Armor that you''re going to be stepping inside of, although it was more like a power skin-suit than armor.

    You hear some faint clicking as you step closer to get a better look. There is a bright light that spills out of the bottom of the stall, it glows a bright blue before dimming, and then the door opens. Sen stands right in front of you in an Illith sized version of the suit. It''s got the lined recesses that mark the suit in a now dormant golden tint. You remember those as the lines that glow with the different color based on what attribute the suit was enhancing, at least that seemed to be how it worked. You were correct in it being the same thing, though.

    "See? It''s not that hard. You next Pamen?"

    "No need," he says.

    "Ah, right. The uh, no clothes thing. Well, I''ll say I''m kind of sorry that you don''t get to enjoy good fashion," she says, stepping out of the room beside you.

    "Well, I guess you get to try next, Alex, unless Mr. Anderson wants to get his feet wet once more?" Khap-Ar asks.

    "I''m quite all right with putting it off until the very last possible moment if that is okay with you," Jesse says.

    "Nervous about going out again this way?" You ask.

    "Something like that," he says, and before you can ask for more you can feel the brusk push of Khap-Ar''s lumberjack arm on your back. He shifts into the shape of a Psarcian, green and spotty all over. You stumble into the room and nearly slam your face into the wall, your arm latching out and bracing against it before you do.

    The door shuts behind you and you balance yourself upright. The only other thing in the stall is a keypad just as Khap-Ar had said, except it seems to be near your knees. You''d have to bend down to get a good look at the screen.

    Must be how Sen was able to reach it, you think, but surely this isn''t an Illith only stall? You nudge the bottom of the device with your foot and notice it moves upward with a little resistance. So, it adjusts with height, that actually makes more sense than your previous idea.

    You bend down and pull it up towards you and can see a complicated design that almost looks like a blueprint of Sen. She must not have fully backed out of the program because she was so excited. You admit that you''re kind of excited as well. Something like this was far from reality back in your own time. The closest thing that you could call anything like it would have been the suits from Tron, although they didn''t do anything near like what these could do, and you only knew of so little you think. Of course you remember Tron and not anything else important. If only you could trade your movie knowledge for something more useful.

    You press down on different parts of the gadget to get any kind of response. There doesn''t seem to be any buttons beside one on the underside, and that only makes the screen go black. When pressed again it returns it to the same display it was on before. In short it did shit. Surely there weren''t things like this in Star Wars. Maybe Luke could have just used his force powers to will this thing to work. Somehow, you manage to make the image move by pressing your finger on the screen. What will they think of next?

    You manage to move the diagram of the Illith out of the way and see some boxes on the right hand side of the screen with different labels on them. They seem to have one for each race, so you press your finger down on the "Human" tab. Next pops up two more inputs which show a sort of silhouette of what looks to be a boy and a girl. God this is such a pain in the-what do I put here? I mean, I guess boy since that is the body, but does it really even matter when the body''s not even technically human?

    You press on the boy tab and some more options pop up. You feel like you''re back in school with all of those tests. You remember those more than well, and each one seemed to only exist to stress and belittle. The options this time show different sizes, you see some words in the top left corner of the screen saying "Body type." You select the one that most fits Roland''s figure, tall and not too thick. If anything you remind yourself of your father, passed too soon and gone from this world.

    The room begins to glow around you through tiny little buds that are embossed on the walls, too small for you to notice when they were blank, but now they look like a million tiny eyes all showering you in their light. You look yourself up and down as you see your body begin to change, as the blue light envelops you it covers you all the way from your neck to your toes in a black sheen. It hugs close to your body, and then the light works its way like tiny concentrated lasers now, etching into the suit the recesses that shine a bright gold.

    Finally, a white ring around your torso is emblazoned on and the light dissipates, leaving you in awe. The door opens and the rest of the others look you up and down and you can see Jesse perk up as he sees how far your jaw must be to the floor.

    "Wow."

    "All right, I don''t need to hop inside since I can change into it whenever I need to," Khap-Ar says, and as he does the casual clothes that hugged admittedly big biceps transform into the Power Armor.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Looks like you''re next up, Anderson."

    "Alright Alright Alright," he says with some weird inflection you don''t understand. Maybe he was trying to make a reference to you, but you nod your head as if you got it. "I''m goin'', I''m goin''."

    Jesse walks into the room past you and the stall door shuts behind him. A few seconds later and the blue lights begin pouring out from underneath the door again. It opens no more than five seconds later and out steps soldier Anderson, just as you saw him in the memory albeit older and less crushed.

    "We all good?" Jesse asks.

    "Last time I saw you in that uniform, Mr. Anderson I recall you spewin'' up half of your guts. Are you sure that you''re good?" Khap-Ar asks, in a holding-back-a-joke kind of way.

    "Right as rain," he replies.

    "We are all set. Have been, will be," Pamen says.

    "Yes yes, we know you''re all set. That''s one thing we can count on in this life besides eventual death, Pamen being organized," Jesse says.

    Sen laughs at this and nods her head, "I''m ready too. Are we off to secure our visors next?"

    "It''s almost like you''ve been waiting for this day," Jesse says, walking beside you."

    "Is that the helmet thing?" You ask, feeling a little dumb.

    "Yes, it connects to the suit using light energy, the lights that course through those grooves in your suit are constantly emanating throughout your body." Khap-Ar explains.

    "It connects to the helmet to give you a heads up on what''s around you, radar of other life, tracking, all kinds of useful stuff."

    "It''s only the latest in Palmeter technology!" Sen glows.

    "Palmeter?"

    "The organization who created the helmets and suits, they''re a function of C? that work and develop high tech gadgets of all kinds." Jesse says. "Civilian stuff mainly except for these two."

    </a> "Excuse me, but there''s more than just C? there now," Sen pouts.

    "Right, well Palmeter was kind of exclusive since it''s origin, only more recently allowing more kinds of people to partner up for them. But the suit and helmet are before that time, so when I say they are C? inventions..."

    "I just wanted to let ''em know..." Sen trails off with her tiny arms crossed.

    "That reminds me, about this suit. I uh...heard that you can do some pretty amazing stuff with it?" You phrase your question specifically.

    Khap-Ar smiles and then shifts into the shape of Jesse, looking more like him when he was back in the army all those years ago. You wonder how many years it actually was, it seemed to be enough to shorten him a few pegs. "There is a button on the palm of your right hand and sensors on the tips of each of your fingertips. If you press a finger to your palm it activates your Power Armor."

    "I''m going to assume those sensors are exclusive for people with hands like ours, right?"

    "You''d assume correct, show ''em, Sen."

    Sen holds up her tiny mitt and you can see four little stubs off of her hand. There''s also a circular pad divvied up into fifths in the palm of her hand.

    "You see, it isn''t just size that the machine accommodates for, accessibility is everything."

    "So there''s five different sensors, what do they all do?"

    The sensor on your pinky finger controls your physical strength. Tap it to your palm and the gold trims on your suit will glow a fierce red. You can lift things up to five times your own body weight. It won''t be painless, but there is no easy out," Khap-Ar says.

    "Okay, ring finger?"

    "Your trim will glow white, matching the glow around your torso. That controls your inner body gravity. Tapping that will allow you to alter your gravity in reference to the planet''s core. You can exert less gravity and float, or exert more, but not too much. If this power were unlimited you''d completely destroy Sayar''s core if your center of gravity ever exceeded it."

    "So it''ll make me a little heavier?"

    "It''s quite helpful if you travel through the Westerwinds, Fal'' Z?Arian homeland. It''s name is no lie, having a solid foot on the ground will save your behind someday."

    You nod.

    "Your third finger controls your speed. Tapping that one will turn your glow-"

    "Blue..." You interrupt. Noticing his surprise, "uh, lucky guess?"

    "Right...well, tap that finger and the waves in your body vibrate faster than normal, you are literally faster at everything. Energy consumption as well, don''t go all willy-nilly with this one, it''s the perfect tale of the fool who abuses the speed function and suffers the consequences." Your eyes unconsciously shift to Jesse, and he seems to know it. He ducks his head down to avoid the stare. "The fourth, your index finger, controls your waves. Your suit will glow with a purple color. Your waves are the reason you''re standing. It includes constant and consistent access to your vitals, recommended medical action in the case of emergency, tracking of any of your squadron, and is your primary source of ammunition for our WaveBlasters."

    "The guns that shoot out the waves?" you ask.

    "Right on point. You''ll be using this one frequently if you wish to fire your gun, but I don''t think you''ll be using one of them right away, but in due time," he explains.

    "Okay, fair enough. What about the last one?"

    "The last one controls your suit''s defenses. Your suit will glow green and shut down any other currently activated sensor. It needs the full attention of your waves to conserve any bodily harm. Of course, this wouldn''t prevent damage to your facial area, but that''s what your helmet is for. Now, if you''ll walk with me, we can all go and get our own."

    "Yes, finally. It''s so boooooring waiting for you to finish your explanations," Sen says.

    "I''m sorry for making this take so long," you say.

    "No no, you''re fine. I''m only teasing," she says.

    "Or is she?" Jesse adds with a cock-eyed grin. You shoot your tongue out at him, and realize it stopped being cute when you left your teenage body. To avoid the awkward response you begin walking and as if choreographed, everyone else joins in, sparing you the embarrassment. Sen chuckles and Pamen walks past all three of you, even past Khap-Ar.

    "What''s his deal?" You ask.

    "He''s just like that. Can''t blame Pamen since they''ve known about this stuff since it first came out ages ago. I''d be a bit bored too if I had to sit through each and every single time someone learns about some of these."

    "Ah, that makes sense I guess, how long ago were the armor and helmet made?"

    "The armor came first," Khap-Ar says, walking past another big door on the left like the one you all just came out of, but he doesn''t stop, instead he effortlessly shifts back into his gooey form. "They were made around sometime in the late 6800s I believe? The original idea for ''em, at least. I don''t know how many versions have come out before this, but there''s a solid near six hundred years worth of them. The helmet came out a ways into the 6950s. The idea was there for almost as long as the suit, but nobody, not even the C? could figure out how to comfortably power and use such a helmet."

    "I see, it''s so weird hearing something like that said so casually, six hundred years worth of improvements."

    "To be fair you could say that it is weird for a human to be saying it''s weird. You''ve had improvements for going on five thousand years since you''ve arrived on Sayar, seven thousand if you want to count your intergalactic history."

    ¡°All right now everybody. We''re wasting precious time that Piscar could be using to gamble, chop chop,¡± Khap-Ar says.

    You follow and find another door like the first you''d seen.

    ¡°Shenanigans aside, here we have the helmet storage. It''s kept in this room here because the heads up display tend to get synced out of whack being so close to the changing rooms back there. The constant scanning releases a slight amount of radiation, nonabsorbent in your bodies, I must add, but it does some wonky things with technology. That''s what the big metal door is there to help keep track of,¡± he explains.

    ¡°Still think the walk is a little unnecessary,¡± you say.

    ¡°Just like a human,¡± Pamen says.

 Chapter 26

    ¡°Maybe you''d like to be the first to try one of these on?¡± Khap-Ar says, grabbing a visor from inside a box. It looks just like the one you''d seen in the vision, it seems very little updates were made to the helmet''s physical design since Jesse last wore it. The actual visor of the helmet is separated from the base and you guess that once it is on is closes tight,

    "Sure, lay it on me," you say.

    "Lay...? No, it goes on your head," Sen says, a confused look spilling over.

    You shake your head, "Sorry, human expression. That''s what I meant, let me see it," you say.

    Khap-Ar nods and hands over the visor. You hold it in your hands, it''s a little heavier than you expected it, but it isn''t too bad. "You just press the button in the back there and hold it over your head, parallel to the markings there on your neck," Jesse says.

    You do as he says and place the helmet over your head. You see only through the small gap where the visor would slide into place. It is then illuminated, you assume by the markings on your very own neck. The helmet seals tight as it connects to the markings like magnets, the visor slides down and you can see a very dimmed version of the bunker before you. The lights come on and everything is clear, the Heads up Display bringing up all different kinds of information.

    "Okay, now that it''s on you''re going to see a bunch of different blocks of info. Your communications, current life signs, weapon status, and environment information is all located there, I''m sure you can piece out which one is what from that info?"

    "I think so, yeah.¡±

    You look around in a hurry, your mouth moving faster than your eyes. The communication line is on the upper left hand corner.

    ¡°This is your team''s information, and where you can access direct communication if vocal isn''t a possibility."

    "Okay,¡± you say, ¡°and I assume that each team is logged differently from one another? You wouldn''t want interference from other''s teams lines, right?¡±

    "Correct," Khap-Ar says. "Each communication channel is given a specific frequency, and we''ll log in to there and all be on the same line." Next to that in the upper right hand corner is the environment info that he mentioned. "That helmet will also measure the current air levels. They''re outfitted with sensors that help detect if sectors become too toxic for certain species to survive in.¡± Khap-Ar explains.

    ¡°I see,¡± you say.

    Next your eyes move to the bottom left. This must be what keeps track of your personal life signs. ¡°That one,¡± he says, following your eyes, ¡°is your total body health. Again, this is found through the waves in your body and how the suit and helmet sync up to them. If your body is injured or not at peak condition, that number decreases, should it reach zero...well, it should be obvious.¡±

    ¡°And the last one here deals with my weapon status?¡± You ask, looking. It''s only reading ¡°UNPAIRED¡± at the moment.

    ¡°Correct. Each WaveBlaster is uniquely tuned to each soldier''s waves. They''re how we track how many we have out in the field. Also, you would only be able to operate the weapon that is paired with your system,¡± Khap-Ar says.

    ¡°What if you get in a situation where you need to use another weapon?¡± You ask.

    ¡°Easy, you don''t get in that situation. For the purposes of our army, there is extensive training to cover any emergency situation even if you were to lose your WaveBlaster. For our purposes, this is why we''re only using them for protection in a search and rescue, and not full assault.¡± Jesse adds.

    ¡°The route we''re going to take through Abu Kheppi is one few would take, it''s a large desert with frequent dust storms and lightning strikes-nothing our suits can''t handle, but it''s one that Dromedans don''t tend to travel around. Electricity tends to shut them down so they avoid it altogether,¡± Khap-Ar says.

    ¡°Why would we go to where there aren''t any Dromedans at?¡± Sen asks.

    ¡°Abu Kheppi is not our destination¡ªmainly the safest path to our destination.¡±

    ¡°That being?¡± Jesse asks.

    ¡°We''re headed out towards Andem.¡±

    Andem? The last you heard of that place it was completely decimated after the discovery of Sayar''s core.

    ¡°You think he''s been taken there?¡± Jesse asks.

    ¡°It''s a possibility. No one''s been around the site since the accident, so we don''t know what''s around there. We''re going in to investigate.¡±

    ¡°I understand that we''re volunteering because the army cannot be everywhere at once, but why are we the ones headed to ground zero?¡± You ask.

    Khap-Ar looks over to you and his smile fades, ¡°There is a chance that Piscar is not even on Sayar anymore, and a fraction of our force is committed to that very notion. You may have been stuck to Earth back then, but it is much different here. We have dozens of millions of planets around us, plenty enough which have reported sightings of Dromedans.¡±

    ¡°Makes you feel pretty small, huh?¡± Sen says.

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I guess,¡± you say.

    ¡°Well, guessing isn''t going to get us any farther, so why don''t you all grab a visor and let''s get going. I''m sure Pamen isn''t too keen we''ve already spent too much time here,¡± Khap-Ar says, tucking one under his arm.

    The time it takes for you to get outside again feels almost too long, the air felt stale inside of the bunker. You each received a personalized WaveBlaster, Jesse showed you how to pair it to your system, and even let you test it out on an empty box that lie sitting in the corner of the room.

    ¡°There is minimal training required for operation of the WaveBlaster, but don''t take that to mean it doesn''t take skill. Locked on the wheel there right by the handle are the makeups of various Dromedan units. Being able to switch them on the fly to accommodate for whatever you''re shooting at is something you''ll get used to, but that''s assuming that we dive head first right into a Dromedan war-field.¡±

    ¡°I''ve seen my sister use hers from time to time,¡± Sen says, inspecting hers around all over. ¡°She was in the army directly under Entria Brant, you know.¡±

    ¡°That''s surprising, considering Entria''s not particularly fond of weaponry as it stands,¡± Jesse says.

    ¡°Why''s that?¡± You ask.

    ¡°She''s a big nature freak,¡± Khap-Ar starts. ¡°The existence of something that even has a chance of destroying the environment is a cause of alarm to her.¡±

    ¡°She''s not dumb, though,¡± Jesse adds. ¡°She understands that they''re also our biggest advantage against the Dromedans.¡±

    The ability to annihilate our enemy since their waves do not change, as machines they remain the same since the moment they were constructed. If only taking care of Cross were as simple, whatever is allowing him to be alive...whatever intelligence that powers him makes him just as immune to the WaveBlaster as we are.

    By the time the sun flashes on your skin again it feels refreshing. You met up with Pamen and like Khap-Ar had predicted, nothing but irritation met your rag-tag group as you filtered out of the bunker. Unlike when you head out towards the other bunker, now you face north. The forest lies in front of you like before, but it soon ends with the trees dotting less and less of the ground around you. It soon begins to crack in the ground and hints of blue begin to speckle the ground. Out in the distance you can see a sprawling desert full of sparkling blue sand in the sunlight. By your feet you see a scurrying armor-plated insect that almost looks like a scorpion on steroids.

    ¡°You ready for a practical demonstration of your suit, Alex?¡± Khap-Ar asks.

    You nod your head, and you watch him shift back to the human shape as he presses two of his fingers down to his palm, the trim of his suit highlighting blue with hints of white. ¡°The sand is very deep all around Abu Kheppi, a lot of it is quicksand, Normally Sen and Pamen wouldn''t have any trouble for this since they don''t have to touch the ground, but for us land-dwellers that means risky business not knowing if our next step will be our last. So, if we increase our speed and combine that with our gravity switch we should be able to avoid falling in.¡±

    ¡°Speed and low gravity, got it,¡± you say.

    You do as he says and press your ring and middle finger to your palm and you can feel the energy billowing inside of your body as two icons appear on your display, a blue boot and right beside it a white arrow pointing upwards. You look to Pamen, and he sinks into the ground as if he was nothing more than a shadow.

    ¡°He''ll meet up with us there, the sand doesn''t lend too many opportunities for a shadow to cast,¡± Khap-Ar says.

    ¡°Come on, if we''re going to go we should do it now,¡± Jesse says, putting on his helmet and activating his speed. In an instant the scene from before flashes across your eyes and you see him moments before he''s to be crushed. It lasts only a moment and you''re back. A remnant thought returns from earlier: ¡°Right near your memory banks, I assume something''s missing there, but whatever it is it seems to be an optional piece, considering you''re walking and breathing now.¡±

    Something''s missing. You didn''t press it then, but it''s been bothering you just so slightly in the back of your mind. Something''s missing from your core, and you think that this might be the key to figuring out the rest of your memories. The upgrade must have unlocked something inside of you, and there must be something...else. Maybe once you find Piscar you can figure out the large and the small of it.

    You nod your head, and Jesse is the first one to start running, dashing across the ground with each footprint leaving only a slight impression onto the sand. Sen dashes out next, her small body gliding out. You begin running next, the wind braces against your body and the sand feels like clouds underneath your feet. You can see Khap-Ar behind you, and there is a rushing liberation that peaks up through your body as you dash up the crest of a dune in front of you.

    You dash to the lead of the pack and use your speed to launch yourself into the air, momentarily forgetting any and all responsibility in the world. Up, up and higher you go, a solid fifty feet in the air sends your insides for a loop. You hang for just a moment until the ground begins to shake. A gigantic claw explodes out of the sand, just perilously missing you and slamming down to the ground below. Sand flies into the air and the others strafe to the left to avoid being squished. You float slower to the ground at the top of the hill, your heart is pumping harder than you would have imagined.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± You ask, Jesse catches up to you first. His eyes are wide and it seems that he knows just as much as you.

    ¡°I...¡± he says, out of breath. ¡°What the hell?!¡±

    Sen stops right by you and begins moving again. ¡°Come on, are we going to wait for that thing to come back?¡±

    Khap-Ar doesn''t even stop as he dashes right by you. You and Jesse begin running, and there''s another, higher dune in front of you. Behind you the claw reemerges, and with it comes a gigantic machine, crablike in form with a snake''s end. It slithers to the surface and collides with the ground with a terrible sound. Its only claw is much too heavy for it to raise it for an extended period of time, it throbs as if it were made of flesh.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± You hear. You notice it''s coming from Sen, but at these speeds it should be impossible for you to hear her, but then you remember your communication systems.

    ¡°I don''t know, run!¡± Jesse calls back. ¡°It''s much too large to shoot at, we just need to get out of its way.¡±

    ¡°Khap-Ar, do you know what that thing is?¡± You call out.

    ¡°No, I''ve never seen anything like it.¡±

    You reach the end of the slack and begin rising up the hill. There''s a loud whirring sound behind you as the beast opens its eyes, metal contraptions hung by the wire that reveal piercing green things that begin glowing a blinding white. You turn back around, not wanting it to catch up to you. Jesse reaches the top of the hill-more like a mountain- just after Khap-Ar and Sen. He reaches back around and bends down and ex

    The sound behind you increases and you reach your arm up. Your hands connect and instantly you''re bathed in light, the crab-beast expels a sort of laser from its eyes that bathe you in brightness. You scream out once and with another second you disappear.

    You disappear.

 Chapter 27

    You wake up smelling charcoal, a smell you haven''t recognized in quite some time. You sit up. It''s dark outside¡ªthe only light spilling in comes from the stars. Pamen lies beside you, unmoving. You seem to be on a clifftop, stiff stone supporting your weight. You roll over, peeking your head over the side of the cliff.

    The crater is much bigger than you imagined. It stretches out for miles. Inside what remains of what you assume is Andem is a pulsing sort of sac. It''s cracked as if you ran strips of dynamite across the crust of the Earth and all at once set them off. White to green back to white-the light spills into the atmosphere above. You stand to your feet and almost fall back, feeling dazed and confused. Your team display shows that the others are still alive, their life signs show they''re unconscious. Their location is still a mystery. Footsteps behind you tense up your whole body. You turn around to see Cross standing right behind you.

    He glares at you¡ªa horrible stare, ¡°Well, I''d love to say that this is surprising seeing you here, but we both know that you can''t leave things well enough alone, can you?¡± He asks, his voice a sword against stone.

    ¡°Was that yours?¡± You ask, standing fully and taking in a deep breath. Everything inside you still feels so weak, but you stand at odds. You imagine a sort of crooked smile come from his face, but know even if he wanted to he''d be unable to make the gesture.

    ¡°You mean my son? He''s quite the charmer, ain''t he?¡±

    ¡°Your...son?¡±

    Cross looks downward and then back up to you, ¡°You don''t think I gave birth to such a beautiful boy?¡± He offers a small laugh. ¡°Looks more like his mother anyway.¡±

    ¡°You''re crazy,¡± you say. Slowly you bring your pinky to your palm. Your trim glows red and you dash at him, feeling the strength coursing through you. He raises an arm and the blue crystal in his chest¡ªthe Queoquartzite¡ªbegins glowing and he pushes once against your chest, shoving you back, sending a trail of dust to fly upward. ¡°What...is this?¡± You ask.

    ¡°Physical strength means nothing if you don''t have the courage to use it.¡± He walks over closer towards you, stopping right before your face. ¡°But you weren''t ever brave, were you?¡± He bends down slow and brings a fist down to your head, it sends the helmet slamming down to the ground and cracks the screen. You''re disoriented as he nears close to you, and with methodical precision, ¡°I know who you are. You see, it bothered me endlessly¡± he picks you up by your collar, ¡°you were the first thing that I saw when I woke up. I''d known of you, Mr. Duschand¡ªand I know that he''s in there somewhere, so don''t you worry¡ªbut it''s you that caught my attention.¡±

    ¡°Wha-?¡± You manage to get out before you''re hoisted up further and tossed through the air off of the cliff. The world is spinning around you before you stop all at once in Cross''s grip. He''d followed you down and grabbed you before you hit the ground. You''re dizzy as your vision straightens.

    ¡°Back at the Capitol I knew something was off. Mr. Duschand has been missing ever since our last fight, there was no way he could have returned from where I sent him, and yet there he was standing right in front of me.¡± He drops you and kicks your side, knocking you to your side. ¡°Lo and behold I see what''s going on,¡± he walks closer to you¡ªclutching your stomach in pain is your only response. ¡°That''s when I fully realized that there was something else¡ªsomeone else inside me too. I felt angry with you, more than I''ve ever felt for anything in my entire life.¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°YOU DON''T GET TO SPEAK.¡± His voice cuts your soul. You reach for your WaveBlaster. He grabs it first, hovering back up to the edge of the cliff. ¡°Well there is the tool of the hour. It''s a shame I had to crush your friend''s old ones, but I''d only then got the most glorious idea that required one of them.¡± Cross says, a terrible humor snaps to his voice like a magnet.

    You don''t know what to say. Is what he saying true...that there''s someone else inside him¡ªthat he''s just like you? All you can do is watch with unadulterated horror as he admires the gun in his hand like a small child.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°You must be so confused,¡± he says, turning his head ever so slightly, ¡°to think that you''d end up here of all places.¡±

    ¡°I don''t understand,¡± you say firmly.

    ¡°Why did you do it?¡± He asks. When you don''t give him an answer, he strikes louder, ¡°Why the fuck did you do it?!¡± There''s a bright red glow from his eyes, but then they fade. ¡°You...don''t even remember, don''t you? That''s it then? No! It''s not good enough!¡± He screams, slamming you hard to the ground. Immediately you''re dragged back up, ¡°So sorry about that. They got really angry with you and I couldn''t hold ''em back. I thought things were different. I''m really in love with this feeling,¡± he says, in everything but smile.

    ¡°You wouldn''t let that slip if you didn''t want me to ask, am I correct?¡± You yank off the now-broken helmet and toss it aside. He drops you down and you land somewhat balanced.

    ¡°My, my. Look whose human thought processes saw them to the truth. Yes, but I didn''t bring you here to reunite. Think of it as a tease and nothing more. I brought you to give you a demonstration.¡±

    ¡°Of what?¡±

    He holds up the WaveBlaster in one hand while taking his other to his chest, ripping at the Queoquartzite. He breaks off a chunk with a grunt and shoots off into the sky, traveling down towards the crater.

    You run to the edge of the cliff, watching as the lights in the crater begin to glow brighter. Behind you the ground shakes. You turn and see Pamen behind you, his body distorting as if he were a television receiving static. You activate your speed and lower your gravity¡ªyou need to stop whatever he''s doing. You back up some to give yourself a running start, but as you do a massive light shines brightly into the night sky. It fills the planet with light all around you.

    Looking back, Pamen seems to have disappeared without a single sound. Cross reappears right in front of you, you''re too shocked to move, ¡°How many do you think there were?¡± He asks.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That detestable creature of the dark. How many bodies do you think it had on this planet before I just wiped them clean?¡±

    ¡°Wiped them clean?!¡±

    ¡°Modifying your weapon allowed me to tune it to a very specific wavelength, the one of your friend¡ªthat is, if you were really friends yet,¡± he says. ¡°This planet is really something special, you know. It''s core is very reactive to certain stimuli, it can even act as an amplifier for weapons like yours.¡±

    ¡°That light in the sky...that''s not Pamen, is it?¡± You ask.

    ¡°The very one in the same. Pamen''s right on Sayar''s front doorstep. So, when I just activated it''s universal extinction code by using their singular existence against them, the whole shebang goes sheboom.¡±

    Universal extinction code. The way he so casually tosses it around as if it were a newspaper he''d read before. And then it hits you the reality of what just happened. Pamen was gone. There was no rain, no tears. There weren''t even any final words. You didn''t even know the first thing about him and now you never would.

    ¡°Now what?¡± You look at him. ¡°Are you here to break me? Make me cry? That isn''t happening, because you''re going to be stopped. Maybe not by me¡ªhell, most likely not by me. I''m not trained for any of this, but you''re not going to get away with this...even if you kill me.¡±

    ¡°Kill you? I don''t want to kill you. Don''t you see? There isn''t any way in the world I could ever do that. I can''t live without you, and you without me...but you''ll soon figure that out. We should get going, your friends should be arriving soon once they see the light show.¡±

    ¡°And you think I''m letting you leave that easy?¡±

    He cocks his head ever so slightly, ¡°It''s as you said, you aren''t trained to fight. You can come with me awake or unconscious, it doesn''t bother me personally, but I''m sure they''ll get a kick out of hitting you a bunch.¡±

    ¡°And where are we going?¡± You ask, realizing your situation.

    The red eyes stare into yours and the almost-smile forms, ¡°Don''t you ever stop asking questions?¡± It hits you seconds later that he hit you. A harder-than steel punch that sends you backwards. You''re immediately supported by him behind you¡ªhis speed is incredible. You feel his hand at the back of your head and in another moment your world goes dark.

    ¡°I''m going to make you remember.¡±

    ¡°I''m going to make you remember...everything.¡±

    ¡°Everything about what you did.¡±

    ¡°I hate you.¡±

    ¡°I love you.¡±

 Chapter 28

    It''s a cloudy Sunday. The light rain from the night before had coated the grass in a glowing dew. Your tiny shoes trample over the blades of grass as your mother scolds you for getting your nice shoes wet. She called them nice, but you only knew them as your church shoes¡ªyou''d only worn them during the wee hours of Sunday morning and nevermore.

    Your father¡ªfaceless as any other¡ªpicks you up and places you around his shoulders, a smile covers his face and you both laugh. He suggests to your mother that they take a trip to the fair¡ªthat you would love to go see the petting zoo that they have.

    ¡°Well, I don''t see a problem with it,¡± your mother says with a tone she said often when there was in fact a problem with something. What the problem was, you don''t know, as the topic isn''t touched again.

    You''re taken home and your mother helps you undress out of your nice clothes into something more fitting a young child. She picks you up and brings you to the mirror beside the bed. The only thing wrong is that you aren''t looking at Alex Sharpe in the mirror, but instead Devon Campton.

    What?

    Your mother, her face begins filling in like an etch-a-sketch and you can see it isn''t your mother, but actually Devon''s mother, Clara Campton. Something must be wrong, maybe you''re misremembering things. Then everything flashes in at once. All the memories you had seen up to this point have always featured Alex Sharpe and Devon Campton. Each and every single one. If you can make sense of this, you weren''t able to follow yourself when you ran off in the mansion in that last memory because it hadn''t been you running off.

    All of this time you''ve gone off of the assumption that you were Alex Sharpe, best friend of Devon Campton, but what if the opposite were true? What if you were¡ªthe horrible realization sets in that all the things that you had been judging Devon for¡ªjoining the mad cult and acting so idiotic. Raping you for heaven''s sakes. All of that-

    No, that can''t be. You would know if that''s who you were, right? You knew right when you saw Alex that that had been you, right?! Doesn''t that count for anything?! What if you were wrong? Oh gods what if you were wrong? There''s a horrible feeling inside you that you can only give one meaning. Some part of you deep down understands it as the truth. You need to dive deeper, learn more.

    The memory continues, the fair is set up with huge tents embellished with golden adornments that are tacky in any age. Stalls of various use and wonder line the street as people fill in and scatter amongst each other. You''re led by your father''s hand¡ªyour mother is nowhere in sight¡ªand you stop by a balloon cart with a rather plump man with long blond hair standing beside it. He smiles down at you and hands you a smaller red balloon, causing you to shake your head. He exchanges it for a bright purple one that you seem satisfied with. You hold onto the string of the balloon tighter than you ever remember holding onto anything. You really liked that balloon, never wanting to ever let it go.

    The two of you stop at a ring toss game, and standing beside your father is a face you didn''t expect to see, it''s your¡ªyou mean Alex''s mom. Clutching her leg is the tiny figure you''ve come to expect as yourself, even if that is incorrect. There is no recognition on your face, this must be where you two met. You step up to the edge of the plate, eyeing a giant teddy bear that sits precariously on the top shelf of the prize wall. It''s a stuffed brown thing that looks like it''s seen better days, but you remember that inner desire burning inside you to win that bear.

    It must be won.

    In order to win the bear you earn a total of twenty one points. There are four rows of bottles lined up with four bottles in each column. The bottles closest to you are worth one point each, the next row up are three, then five, and finally seven points in the way back. You have five rings with which to make an even twenty-one. What seems like basic math to you now confuses you then, you look up to your father to ask which rings to throw. You seemed to have confused the bottles having different point values with the rings.

    ¡°It doesn''t matter which ring you throw,¡± Alex speaks up, studying the rings in your hands.

    ¡°Hey now, that was rude-¡± Her mother says to her, then looking back up towards you and your father, ¡°sorry about that.¡±

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Your father smiles a warm grin and chuckles, ¡°Oh don''t apologize. They''re a treasure,¡± he says, ruffling your hair.

    You don''t like that he ignored your question, so you push one of the rings into his stomach quick. ¡°Dad...¡±

    ¡°Try to aim for those back ones, Dev. They''re worth the most points,¡± your father says before looking back over towards Alex''s mother.

    She''s a young thing of twenty-nine, her dark hair is shoulder length just barely bouncing off of her sundress. She grants him a smile and then returns to Alex after she tugs on her dress. You hear a clank as your first ring smacks the bottle in front of you, falling to the ground below. The worker behind the stand holds back a laugh as you haphazardly toss the second ring. Your father intervenes, offering his hand. You give him one of your rings, ¡°Don''t mess it up, Dad,¡± you say.

    You remember it being one of the first jokes you told. Granted, it wasn''t really a joke more than a sarcastic remark, but your father would recant it to your mother as ¡°the funniest damn thing he''d heard in a while.¡± He takes aim and tosses the ring back, it swirls around the rim of the bottle before falling to the ground senselessly. He shakes his head, ¡°Damn thing''s rigged,¡± he says under his breath. You toss the fourth ring just like he did, emulating his stance as you toss the ring across. Just like your fathers, it swishes around the rim before falling off.

    You shake your head, ¡°Damn things....rigged,¡± you say, finding the words. This makes Alex smile, and you''re lucky that her mother didn''t hear you cuss, that would have probably been the end of that. You extend your arm and hand her the last of your rings. ¡°Here, try and win that big bear,¡± you say before walking off to join your father. The irony is lost on you that you handed her a losing game, there was absolutely no way for her to win that bear with the hand that you threw, but for all you knew you just gave up the winning throw.

    The rest of your day seems to fly by, you come in focus as the sun begins to hang lower in the sky. You look positively exhausted from your long day. Your father looks beat as well as you both walk through the exit of the fair. You stop right by your car, a beat up old Volkswagen. There''s a loud scream behind you sounding something like ¡°HEEEEEEEY!¡±

    You and your father stop in your tracks as you see Alex running towards you. She catches up with you and holds out her hand, breathing in heavy breaths.

    ¡°therewasanoldmanwhosaidto-¡±

    ¡°Hold up, you''re that girl from before¡ªwhere''s your mother?¡± Your father asks. He doesn''t wait for an answer. He makes a motion you only understand as ¡°stay here.¡±

    Alex looks like she''s caught her breath, ¡°You gave me that ring earlier,¡± she says, lowering her head. ¡°I wanted to say thank you,¡± she says in a much quieter tone. This confuses you, by this point your father has explained to you in laughing tone that your actions were little more than sympathy.

    ¡°It wasn''t anything,¡± you say.

    ¡°Oh, I know. I lost the throw like you did, but there was an old man who saw what you did. He came up to me while my mommy was somewheres else¡ªtold me that I should thank you, and then he gave me this,¡± she says, shaking her outstretched hand once more. In her palm you can see a glowing blue rock dangling by a taut cord like a necklace. The rock itself is oblong, no specific shape comes to your mind, but you know where you''ve seen this rock before.

    ¡°It''s super shiny,¡± you say, reaching for it.

    ¡°Uh uh,¡± she says, pulling it back. ¡°He also said that you had to be my friend,¡± she says.

    ¡°Oh, really? That doesn''t sound like something an old man would say.¡±

    A look of laughter runs across her face, ¡°No, but I made you think so, right? Ha ha ha! All he said was that he was sorry, but I told him that he didn''t have anything to apologize for!¡±

    ¡°That''s strange,¡± you say ¡°but I guess I''m okay with being your friend. Is that okay with you?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I guess. If I didn''t come over here then I might have to go back and say sorry myself. I don''t really want to do that soooooooo here you go,¡± she extends her arm again and you find yourself doing the same, and she lets loose the blue crystal and watches it slip into your fingers. You find yourself staring intently at it. It doesn''t look as dull as it did in your previous memory, the luster is magnificent.

    ¡°There you are!¡± Alex''s mother calls her as she approaches with your father. ¡°Oh, sorry about this, uh-¡±

    ¡°Mark,¡± your father adds.

    She nods, ¡°She doesn''t usually act up like this,¡± and then turning to her, ¡°what were you thinking? You could have gotten lost...or worse!¡±

    Alex looks to her mom with a shrug, ¡°Sorry mommy, I was on a mission.¡±

    ¡°Well considering that the two have met...maybe we can schedule a play date at some point for them?

    Their adult conversation loses your interest as you look at the crystal in between your fingers, its glow entertaining you. The world around you begins to fade as if smeared by a painter destroying their next work. You see cracks within the darkness and the only light that you see comes from the blue crystal between your fingertips. You walk up to the cracks, and all at once it shatters.

 Chapter 29

    Sirens.

    You think you hear an ambulance, such a familiar noise. You want it to come closer. You want it to come just a tiny bit closer.

    You''re almost there.

    You''re much older. You look like you''re in your mid twenties if you had to guess. It''s not the facial hair that you''ve grown that catches your attention¡ªor the glasses you''ve grown accustomed to wearing after your vision started to go bad¡ªa condition you inherited from your father no doubt, but it''s instead a tiny speckle of dried drool that runs down your lip off of your lip. Drool that sputtered up when you were dying. and now remains on your body after the horrible fact.

    Devon Campton it''ll read on the autopsy. Yours won''t be the only one filed, not even close. Bonnie & Noah Marshall, Dante Ramsey, Craig Portsmouth, Sherry Chimes, plus several others whom you never met.

    You remember.

    March 18<sup>th</sup>, 1997. It was a nice breezy morning, you woke up feeling particularly energized.

    Alex was gone.

    You two had a falling out almost ten years ago¡ªnot long after your last memory at the mansion. She lasted another four months before breaking down and leaving the family. You tried to reason with her, but she just wouldn''t listen.

    You remember getting angry.

    Really angry.

    You tried calling her every day. Nobody ever answered. You couldn¡¯t leave to look for her. You loved him. She left. You loved her.

    It was an impossible choice then, to leave or to stay. You''re sickened by that knowledge, knowing how stupid everything sounds, and yet you still made it. How could it have gotten so messed up? Time begins to rewind, the drool on your lips begins to re-salivate and slowly climb up back into your mouth and the life returns to your eyes. You float back up to your feet like a street performer and reach for your stomach and then throat as you begin to spit up the pills you''d downed in ritual to Noah Marshall. You move your arm to your eyes and then away as your tears are sucked from your sleeve up your cheeks and back where they began. It all goes backwards until the phone comes out¡ªeverything resumes when you press the dial button.

    The phone begins ringing, you''re alone in your bedroom in the lofty mansion¡ªlong upgraded from the shared room of years past. You''re sweating profusely and pacing around with the large phone craned in the small of your neck, pressed up against your ear.

    ¡°At the beep please leave your name--¡± the automated voice calls out.

    ¡°Fuck! Alex you stupid cunt answer your goddamn phone!¡± You call out, breathing hard. ¡°I''m sorry, look, I''m sorry for what I just said, but you need to answer. I know it''s been a long time since we talked but you need to pick up your goddamn phone.¡±

    There is silence as you reach your desk on the end of the room, lying on top are three pills of varying shapes and sizes. ¡°Listen, if you won''t pick up, which I know you will eventually, then I''m gonna start getting mad. I really fucking hate it when you ignore me. Gosh, I''m so sick of you when you do this, you know?!¡±

    ¡°No no no no no,¡± you say to yourself, putting the phone away from your ear. ¡°Gosh, I''m sorry. Alex I''m so fucked up and I''m in too deep. I don''t know what to do. Is that what you want me to say? Do you want me to beg? I beg you to pick up your goddamn phone because I need to talk to you! If you don''t then all of this will be your fault.¡±

    A bell rings off in the distance, once, twice, three times. You look off through your window to the balcony in the center of the courtyard. Bonnie''s figure is silhouetted by the moonlight behind her as she rings the bell. This was the signal that Noah had prepared for the beginning of their ritual. Once the bell had rung three times each of them would¡ªfrom their own quarters¡ªingest the three separate pills and supposedly move on to the next life. ¡°This is all your fault, you fucking cunt. I did everything for you, and you threw it all away like it was nothing. After all of this I kept your present to me¡ªyou know the one. Consider this the end, I''m through. Fuck you.¡±

    With that you toss the phone at the wall. It smashes against it and falls to the floor in two pieces. You realize the blue crystal is nowhere to be seen, so you must have been true to your word that it had been gotten rid of, but you''re curious to where it went. You wipe the tears from your eyes and snatch up the three pills in your hand and swallow them whole. You remember the seizures, the spasms. You remember how much it hurt and what it felt like to die. And then you woke up.

    Cross stands in front of you unmoving, watching your every move. Behind him is a giant wall with many markings that are unfamiliar to you. They''re carved into the wall and glow with a bright blue light. You look like you''re in some sort of cavern with a ceiling that doesn''t seem to end.

    ¡°Welcome back.¡±

    ¡°There''s too much,¡± you begin, ¡°too much to even say. I''m sorry.¡±

    He cocks his head, ¡°You''re apologizing to them? I guess that''s nice enough, I doubt they forgive you, but it''s nice.¡±

    ¡°I''m Devon,¡± you say, coming to terms with it.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°That does seem to be your name, the one called Alex confirms it as fact,¡± he says, a tone almost cordial.

    Almost.

    ¡°I brought you¡ªAlex that is¡ªinto that mess. I raped you. I pushed you away, and I blamed my death on you,¡± you say, it coming together like a giant puzzle. Pieces remained shrouded in mystery, but you''re starting to see the bigger picture.

    ¡°You''re getting there,¡± he says.

    ¡°Why is this happening? Why is all of this happening?¡± You say, your voice breaking. ¡°I don''t want to be here, I just want to die,¡± you say, expecting tears, but none come. ¡°I''m sorry. I can''t say I didn''t do it because I remember it. I remember feeling what I felt when I did it. I''m sorry,¡± your head falls, but you realize your entire body is restrained in a position not unfit for a crucifixion.

    ¡°You asked me earlier if I wanted to make you cry¡ªto break you if I recall your exact words,¡± he says, pacing to your right. ¡°No, that isn''t my purpose, but I can say it''s a very big motivation for Alex. Me? I''m not so emotionally attached. Although we do go great together, her determination and my strength,¡± he says.

    ¡°Her...that''s the first time you said her.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. I''m getting privy to the memories that you were just shown¡ªthey''re kept secret from me normally, something I don''t fully understand, however. But I must say, you are a fine piece of work, and to have a creature such as you in the body of a supposed hero of this world is almost too sweet to not frame in a picture...which is subsequently why you''re hanging here now.¡±

    You feel useless as your body refuses to move even a single muscle.

    ¡°Don''t even bother. You''re being restrained by Arc Light restraints. Strongest in the galaxy, only the best for my prize shot.¡±

    ¡°Why don''t you just kill me? Let her take over and kill me and be done with it?!¡± You scream, louder than you intended.

    He walks up right to your face, ¡°Because, Devon. I don''t ever want to be done with it,¡± his eyes glow a dark shade of red.

    ¡°What happened to you,¡± you say, not wholly a question.

    ¡°I think residing with me has something to do with that,¡± he pulls back, ¡°The fact that I have dominant control suggests that the others within us control a factor of our personality and emotion¡ªthem being her outbursts and your sudden morality.¡±

    ¡°You think Roland is still inside of me?¡± You ask.

    ¡°It makes the most sense out of anything I''ve seen today. Those with the stronger will take dominant control, while the other inside controls their emotions, morality, general personality. So somewhere inside you Mr. Duschand still waits, he just doesn''t seem to be as willing to talk.¡±

    Your sudden morality. It hurts to come to terms with the fact, but what he''s saying does make a sort of sense. Knowing the things you did and the justifications you made for them, it could only be now that you''re listening to someone else''s morality that you see things so differently.

    ¡°I have many things in store I need to take care of before I plan to have more fun with you, so I''m going to be taking my leave,¡± he says, you don''t care to respond back. ¡°However, before I go, I do want to introduce you to a friend that''s been listening to our whole conversation,¡± he says as he takes out a tablet and holds it right in front of your face, pressing a button on the side that holds it in place in the air. The screen turns on and suspended just like you are is Piscar, he''s beaten and bloodied, but you can see his chest rising up and down ever so faintly. ¡°Enjoy,¡± Cross says before jetting upwards through the darkness. You lose track of him after a few seconds.

    Piscar''s alive. Good. You don''t know where either of you are, bad. You''re both restrained with no visible way to escape, bad. You''re still alive, still debating. ¡°Hey, can you hear me?¡± You figure you might as well give it a shot. If he could hear you as Cross had claimed then maybe he could help you come up with something. Granted, if he could come up with something to get out, he probably would have been able to get out before you even entered, but maybe there''s something the both of you can do¡ªanything to keep your mind busy and away from your guilt. Anything to save hope. You have to believe that there''s a reason that you woke up inside Roland Duschand, that you were given a second chance. You have to cling to it with all of your life, or at least what''s left of it.

    ¡°You''re the one who saved the Capitol,¡± a voice so quiet that under normal background noise you wouldn''t have heard it.

    ¡°It''s good to see you breathing, sir,¡± you say.

    He chuckles, you can see the glimmer of his teeth shine as he slowly picks up his head. You can see he''s missing an eye, blood had dried down the left side of his face where it once streamed. ¡°It''s half good to see you, but not so much in this context.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not, but I still think we can find a way out,¡± you say.

    ¡°We''re not getting out, not with these Arc Lights. Think of them like magnets, with our waves as specifically coded magnetic material.¡±

    Shit.

    ¡°O-Okay, well, Jesse and the rest of the team I came with will find us...wherever we are, and they''ll find some way to get these things off of us, right?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?¡±

    ¡°Both?¡±

    Another chuckle. ¡°Even if they found us they wouldn''t be able to unlock these things. There''s a reason they''re banned throughout the galaxy. They''re not cheap, either, so Cross must really intend to keep us here as his portraits. What for, escapes me.¡±

    ¡°Aside from being just like, evil?¡± You say.

    ¡°Well, I figure that''s how he was able to muster up the willpower to do it¡ªmaybe even that friend of yours inside of him?¡± You wince.

    ¡°What I want to know is why. He must have some plan up his sleeve, maybe-¡± The screen flutters with static, cutting out the audio. Cross flies down and hovers just in front of Piscar, making sure to look back at the screen, the eyes flash once before he turns back around. He raises his right arm, you can see golden marks line his body, marks you recognize from the very same power armor you''re wearing. The walls around them begin to shine, the carved letters on the wall in front of you begin to glow with the very same light. The lights fill the screen in front of you. Piscar''s scream is cut off before the lights fade.

    Cross is the only one left standing in the room. Piscar''s restraints have fallen to the ground, and he looks back to the screen just before it cuts out¡ªhe must have smashed it. You''re left to your lonesome wondering if Piscar''s still alive. You hope that was just some fancy teleporter, but something in your heart tells you that probably isn''t the case.

    Your head drops and you close your eyes.

 Chapter 30

    There''s a raking sound¡ªalmost like claws on a window pane. You pick up your head, mentally preparing yourself for another emotionally draining meeting with Cross, but the slender figure doesn''t appear. Instead it''s a bird. Golden feathers and a wingspan that stretches past your entire being¡ªplumed tail feathers that reflect the light of the wall behind it. All things considered, it''s the most Earth thing you''ve seen thus far, and brings a smile to your face subconsciously. This you can understand, this you know. It may not be exactly like any bird you''ve seen, but for the moment that doesn''t matter. It floats its way down to you, the scraping sound you heard being its talons raking down from above; there must be a point where the ceiling dips in almost like a tube.

    The bird comes to eye level, you can see that its sparkling eyes are two different colors¡ªa bright blue in one and hazel in the other. The small gusts of wind fanned on you from its beating wings brings a chill up your spine, it grips its talons to your legs which makes you wretch in the restraints. The pain''s sharp, you try to shake the bird off, but it doesn''t let go. ¡°Stay still.¡± A familiar feeling spreads through your body, hearing voices inside your head. Wow, you know a situation''s messed when hearing voices in your head''s a good thing.

    ¡°I''m here to help.¡±

    The bird turns its head and pecks once at your forearm, you scream out when the white blood substitute begins pouring out. What kind of help is this? The bird pecks again, its beak like a drill into your arm. You scream even louder as it goes in faster and harder. You look away, you can''t watch your final moments¡ªyou''re feeling hot, going to pass out. Seconds turn to minutes, and it feels like your whole body is on fire. Everything hurts. Your legs hit the ground.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Confused, you open your eyes and notice your left arm dangling from the tether above you. The bird had severed your arm, you''re shaking as your brain tries to make the connection, blood drips slowly down from your stump arm onto the floor below. Something is different about your new body¡ªblood would be gushing out of you if you were normal. Maybe how these bodies are constructed leaves less blood in the exact same places?

    The pain begins immediately as the bird begins on your right arm. You fall completely as the bird separates you from your other arm. You''re lying on your back, staring up towards the darkness above.

    ¡°You''ll live through this. Just keep breathing.¡±

    The bird''s voice is a smooth sound that massages your mind. You feel its talons latch into your body, you wince as your breath is sucked out of you. ¡°The pain is unavoidable, I apologize.¡±

    Your body goes limp in the bird''s grasp. You remain conscious, watching as you''re lifted into the air. The bird flaps its wings and you both begin rising through the darkness above. The bird immediately raises its head and the plumes of each of its feathers begin to glow a radiant light in the dark. You see a circular vent in the ceiling¡ªthe escape. You''re flown through the vent and the bird picks up speed, faster and faster it flies upward through the shaft. The wind is smacking across your face, making it hard to breathe. It isn''t long before you lose consciousness.

    ¡°We''re almost there. You¡¯ll understand very soon.¡±

 Chapter 31

    You hear a soft rumbling, a disturbance to the otherwise peaceful nothingness that clouds your mind. Light flows and ebbs, taunting your consciousness. So slowly. Faster it comes through like a pendulum set on the timetable of a cuckoo clock to alarm you awake, but every hour it fails. You remain acutely aware of your own unconsciousness, yet unable to do anything about it.

    Silence. The rumbling has stopped, but then it is replaced by a steady pace. Thump thump, thump thump. You think it is your heart beat, but then you remember that you don''t have a heart anymore¡ªthe human bodies as of late as an unnecessary organ. What could it be then? Thump thump. It grates into your soul. Thump thump. It drives you crazy. Thump Thump. Then there is one that seems to go on rapid fire; a crazy thump-thump-thump-thump that vibrates your entire core. In your mind''s eye you see a creaky wooden floor. That must be where the sound is coming from, and sure enough you can see one of the floorboards rattling to the beat. All at once its gone and your eyes open slowly,

    The overhead lights are a bit blaring at first, and they don''t seem to be dimming anytime soon. The silence around you is gone, the thumping is gone, and thank god for that last one. You feel your arms and that''s when it hits you¡ªyou feel your arms. It isn''t any phantom pain, not a tale of what once was, your arms are sitting right by your side as they should be. You''re sitting in your room in the bunker.

    Surely it all couldn''t have been a dream? The expedition and the sand worm...even you don''t have that kind of imagination. But here you are with both of your arms. This is the time where you expect Jesse to walk in the room¡ªto somehow magically know that you''ve woken up¡ªand tell you that you were right. It had all been a bad dream. Your past life all a dream¡ªyour time as Devon all a dream.

    No one comes through your door.

    After ten minutes of waiting in silence you finally swing your legs over the side of the bed, feeling oddly nostalgic for the very first time you woke up in this world much the same way¡ªa peaceful bedroom in a land a million miles from your home. That reminds you of the case of Roland''s secret hideaway, how he was able to go missing for seven years. It has something to do with that room you woke up in¡ªthe room nobody else could see from the outside. Maybe once this is all over you can go back to investigate.

    Maybe, if Pandera weren''t in ruins.

    Standing to your feet, you feel a sudden lightheadedness that passes quickly. The silence pervades through your room and you cannot stand it any longer. You turn the handle of the door and step outside¡ªthe layout of the bunker is still fresh in your mind. You take the path down towards the common room, not a soul remains in sight. It''s the quietest you''ve seen the bunker.

    The common room is similarly empty. "Hello? Is anybody here? Jesse? Sen? Khap-Ar?" You call out, framing your hands over your mouth to amplify your voice.

    When nobody answers back, you run into the room that Andrew had been staying in¡ªempty. The room next to it¡ªempty. The entire bunker looks like it had been abandoned completely. The third room on the right hand side of Andrew''s isn''t wholly empty, a hand-held tablet rests on the bed. You pick it up in your hands, its curved display rests comfortably in your hand. It looks like whoever had been staying in this room had been using it like a journal.

    Curious, and with that as your only justification, you begin to read:

    1

    The days are long, the training hard. My mind grows bored. My body grows even more tired. We fight this war

    and we cannot win, but yet we try. How long must we fight until we realize that fighting an enemy that cannot die is futile? The commander''s delusional by keeping us in here. He''s delusional for sending us out there.

    By day we fight a war against an enemy that can rebuild itself overnight. By night we hide out in abandoned bunkers praying that the menace holds out on killing us.

    Nine''s going a little stir crazy down here, and I can''t say I blame him. With all that fur on his body and the sweltering heat that stays down here I''d be itching to leave as well. Well, I should get some rest, maybe I should continue this more often, so when we''re all eviscerated by the Dromedans. I''ll have something to send to my family. Keep Teddy warm for me, Isa.

    -Five

    The end of the document leads into a whole host of entries. You decide to take the tablet with you, but you really should keep moving in case you find someone. Skimming the other articles seems to show that the writer, this mysterious Five, is really critical of everyone and everything around them. You also see that they call themselves Five because of their rank in the army, this all but confirms that this war that was written about in the first entry is the very same one that first caused the end of the Dromedan race.

    It does make you curious on why someone seven years later would still keep a journal open like that¡ªunless the owner happened to come across it and decided to skim it like yourself. You make your way to the elevator¡ªthe very same one that you and Jesse went down to meet with Hatta. You find yourself pressing the button and feeling a sort of warmth on it as you let go. Looking back at the journal, you find one that''s dated, the very first of its kind.

    242

    Day 19 | Month 3 | Year 1999

    I know not where I am.

    I want everything to make sense. I woke up.

    I woke up and nothing makes sense.

    Nobody is around. Why isn''t anyone around?

    I dare not step outside these walls for I fear

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    what I might find. If any government

    spies can read this information I beg

    you dearly to at least explain to me

    what kind of torture I must be

    forced to endure. This bunker denies the

    most basic of my human rights.

    I do not even know why I am in here.

    Bonnie, if you can ever read this message¡ª

    and dear God I hope you do,

    know that my mission was a failure.

    My mission was¡ª

    It''s the first entry out of all of them that is dated, and the last entry out of hundreds. It wouldn''t make sense for someone to start making entries and then after dozens upon dozens of entries to only start dating without any warning. This likely means that there is in fact two people writing these entries. And that''s the thought that freezes you in your tracks as the elevator doors open up. You can feel your breathe begin to slow to a near halt as your eyes read and reread the entry over again.

    "There is no way...there is no goddamn way!" You find yourself screaming. But the pit of your heart knows what this means. Somehow¡ªsomeway, what has happened to both you and Alex has also happened to a face you had hoped to all gods that you wouldn''t see again. Noah Marshall is here, somewhere. That thought makes you sick inside. It''s one thing after another, and you''re not particularly sure that you can handle it.

    You stand in the elevator still, the doors still open as ever. You take another look down at the tablet and scroll all the way back to the very first entry, rereading it carefully for any identifying features. Nothing. You step out of the elevator, scrolling through the entries one by one again in an obsessive manner. Anything to point you in the right direction. You pass by the medical bay¡ªthe beds are all empty, a fact that would alarm you more if you weren''t scrubbing through hundreds of journal entries at once.

    You can''t even believe the date attached to the one with Noah, he must have believed he was still in 1999. He did mention how nobody was around these bunkers at that time¡ªjust like Five had previously. You remember Jesse mentioning that the bunkers were used prior to the fallout, although you never did hear many specifics.

    ¡°War is hell,¡± you say, stepping out before finding your way to the large marketplace. The lot is barren, you expected as much to be honest. A chill run down your spine as you finish. You look around you, waiting for someone to reveal their terrible practical joke. "Ha, gotcha! Made you believe that someone was actually writing these things right to you!" They''d say.

    That is, if they actually existed.

    You walk over to the west-most wall placing your hand against it and slouching over, breathing in slowly. You run your hand through your hair and then all at once you want nothing to do with it. You scream to the top of your lungs, hopefully if you scream loud enough someone will come down to chastise you. Scream. Disgruntled, you move to walk back to the elevator. Heading back up you think maybe if you leave the bunker you can find someone outside who can help ease your mind. The elevator rises and then the doors open with a short clang. Unfortunately, the exit to the bunker''s been completely sealed off. A giant silver plate rests on the hatch that leads towards the outside world.

    You think even if you had a million years to wear it down it wouldn''t move an inch. You backtrack now to the medical wing on the first floor, back to where Jesse showed you where the stockpile of foreign and not-so-foreign medical supplies is. There doesn''t seem to be any way out from there either. You find another plate latched onto a large door at the end of the hall, but again you don''t think that you''re even close to strong enough...Wait! You''re still wearing the power armor!

    It had slipped your mind entirely. You press your thumb to your palm and you feel the sudden weightlessness you''d expect from an astronaut. Ha, what a twist of fate. Unfortunately, this isn''t the one you are looking for. You press your thumb to your palm again and instantly hit the ground hard. Now what one was it again? You try your index finger next, and see the red glow filling your trim. ¡°Okay, now with this I should be able to¡ªWow...I really miss having Jesse around to bounce my ideas off of.¡±

    You take in a breath and move towards the plate. If your guess is right you should be able...to...lift. You''re grabbing the plate by both sides, but it doesn''t move an inch. You''re pulling with all of your¡ªand the suit''s¡ªstrength, and it still doesn''t budge.

    You let go and wipe your face with your hand, and then an idea begins to form. You walk away from the door and then turn around to face it. You press down your middle finger¡ªactivating your speed. You begin running towards the door¡ªfaster and faster until you''re right before the door and you press down two other fingers to increase your gravity and your strength. You brace your shoulder and slam into the plate, bursting through it like a bullet from a gun. You fall on your face, but you''ve made it through. On the other side is a hallway that ends in a large door and forks off to the right.

    You pick yourself up and look behind you at the silver plate, it curls outward and shows the hallway to the medical bay outside. You smile and chuckle as you feel some sort of pride for figuring it out. Actually doing something and having it work out is really cool, you think.

    You keep moving forward to the door at the end of the hall. There is no handle¡ªno hand scanner or knob. You have to lean into it, and hard, to get it to move on its hinge. Inside rests a row of bookshelves stacked full with all kinds of different books, and just in front of the mini-library sits an ovular desk with a strangely human computer resting on top of it.

    You walk closer toward the desk and look just past the computer at the books, this time in more detail. You recognize them¡ªat least some of them¡ª1984, Salem''s Lot, One Flew Over the Cuckoo''s Nest, and even Moby Dick. You remember reading some of these books when you were younger. You turn around now to the computer, finding its power button right on the face of the monitor. This whole room is like a place out of another time...your time.

    The screen flickers on with a dull hum, a password prompt is the only thing on the screen, the cursor blinking in and out slowly. Crap. You don''t have the password. Why would you? It''s not like it''s the first time that you''ve been locked out of something because you didn''t have the key.

    Key.

    Your mind flashes once and you instantly remember the vision of Roland Duschand. Your fingers flutter on their own, finding the keyboard down below the monitor¡ªhidden underneath a portion of the desk that slides out.

    Pulse.

    You click enter and the prompt disappears, shining white text takes its place. "Delta Key Entered. Welcome back, Mr. Duschand." The desktop is brought up and it only has a few icons spread around it.

    "Soldier Database" catches your eye first, but there are others around it, "Journal.txt", "Instructions.txt", and "Watch_Me.avi." Feeling an insurmountable uneasiness about it all, you decide to click the video file first. A window pops up on the computer, the screen is all black for about ten seconds.

    "If you''re watching this...then you''re probably looking for some answers," A voice says. The grim face of Roland Duschand fades into frame, and he''s fiddling with a small cube in his hands absentmindedly. "You''re probably so very confused about what''s been happening to you¡ªso confused on where and when you are." He takes a deep breath. ¡°Well let me let you in on the secret.¡±

 Chapter 32

    ¡°My name is Roland Duschand. I''m a commander in the High Sayarian army, Panderan Unit.¡± Roland says with a smile, there''s something...warming about it, but you can''t put your finger on it. It isn''t like seeing yourself in the mirror, even though you''ve been living in this body for a while now.

    ¡°I''ve recorded several videos, some of which will never be seen by a single soul, and that is okay. The Anthropic Principle assures that this¡¯ll be the one that you need to see. I know that doesn''t mean much to you right now, so let me explain. I did say that I''m a commander, but that is not my only calling. I''m also tasked with fixing our timeline,¡± Roland trails off, looking off camera.

    Fixing our timeline?

    ¡°Time runs in many directions at once. Your time runs alongside mine like an island on your blue planet. It may seem like we''re worlds apart, but that is because there hasn''t been the proper transportation. I have that transportation from a friend of mine here, of which I have no doubts that you may run across on your time here on Sayar. He likes taking the form of different animals, I''m sure that this may ring a bell?¡±

    He must be talking about the bird that saved you from that cave. So, that was really a person that could turn into a bird? That doesn''t sound like anyone you know. It actually sounds more like a Lunfilios since they are shape-shifters, so maybe he''s talking about Khap-Ar? Then again, you don''t even want to think about how many Lunfilios are out there in the world, narrowing it down to a single one would take an eternity''s luck.

    ¡°The transportation I''m speaking of resides in the room just outside the one you''re in now¡ªdown the hall there is a gigantic machine. It is used to access all times. I personally don''t know how to use it, but I''m assured that once you''re to use it you shall know what to do. Anyhow, that''s not the part that is important right now. There is a poison that is causing havoc on our timeline, and we have found that it has begun near your time. If left undeterred your time would shatter, and trust me it looks way worse than it sounds.¡±

    Our time would...shatter?

    ¡°Traveling to other times is a very dangerous activity, as the person who travels to other times is not intended to belong to those times. Now, the act of existing in a time not your own is not harmful to the timeline. This we''ve confirmed, and fortunately so. But of course those with ill intent who are in other times do tend to be bad news. There was such a person who had traveled from our time to yours¡ªthey stayed for almost a hundred years on your Earth. He was a Lunfilios who went by the name of Khap-En, I''m sure you''ve heard of him as he''s regarded as a universal terrorist in our time.¡±

    ¡°Is he causing some trouble in my time?¡± You ask, forgetting you''re speaking to a video.

    ¡°His actions led to the destruction of Earth, and he has been properly punished. We thought that would put an end to the poison in your time, the temporal disturbance, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. We guess that he must have left something back in your time¡ªsomething strong enough to cause this much disturbance¡ªmaybe something planned on his part or maybe a simple accident. Whichever one it may be, it cannot be left alone.¡±

    He looks to the side one more time and takes a deep breath. ¡°This is where you come in. In our time, you''re long dead, it is the year 7,423. Of course, that is the year that you woke up in. Right now, you¡¯re in what we call a pocket dimension¡ªa separate existence built to look just like our time. Of course, it isn¡¯t filled with life, but it isn¡¯t meant to be. My friend set it up as a location for me to train, physically, mentally, the whole thing so I would be ready for my journey.¡±

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Like a rift in time?

    ¡°This pocket dimension exists outside of our own time¡ªnot affected by the passing of time or by the events of our time. I trained here for seven years in our time. Now your biggest question is of course, ''how did I end up in 7,423?'' That''s a simple explanation. My friend and I organized a plan to eliminate the poison from your timeline. I am to use the machine in the other room to travel to your time and seek out the disturbance and eliminate it. My friend sought me out for my combat prowess and high charisma¡ªI can talk myself out of several hairy situations. He saw that I was most fit for the job. I obliged, and currently as of this recording I''m preparing the final stretch before I use the machine to head back. The machine my friend calls ICARUS sends my consciousness to any time that is plugged into it. It runs on our special Infinity Core¡ªInfinity Engines¡ªso powerful it could power your entire planet¡ªit''s that strong.¡±

    You''re still not sure of why this concerns you.

    ¡°My consciousness would need somewhere to go to, as my body cannot follow¡ªthat is how we avoid the problem of merely existing causing temporal disturbances, as nothing new is actually gained in the destination time...it is swapped. So yes, you were the candidate that we had chosen. It may hurt to hear this, but you were chosen because of the way your life ended¡ªand your relationship with those around you. We were looking into your mentor, Noah Marshall, because we had learned that he was in direct contact with Khap-Ar for a majority of his young life¡ªspending his time being taught things he should never have had the chance to know. As it turns out it seems someone on our end went and beat us to the punch¡ªMr. Marshall is in our time, but without knowing who it is we have little chance of doing anything about it. My friend is going to be keeping a close eye while I head to figure out also what they are intending to do.¡±

    You peek down at the tablet and take a deep breath. It makes the most sense, but it doesn''t make things any less crazy.

    ¡°We cannot predict our own future, however hard we may try. Technically, ICARUS grants us access to all times, but my friend has vehemently warned us against seeking our own futures, so now we look to the past. When our job is complete I shall return to our time¡ªMy friend will recall my consciousness using ICARUS and our minds will swap back to their intended places. Unfortunately for you, however, we had to return to the moment just before your death¡ªdelaying this moment in time until its owner returns.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry to be the one to say it, but this was how it had to happen, it is where the signal of the disturbance is the strongest, and our best shot at finding it. When I finish my task we will both return to our lives. You will have to return to that moment. I''m telling you this because I''m going to need you to trust me, because you have access to ICARUS there, and you have full ability to tinker with it however you may please. My friend was hesitant about it, but I helped convince him to give you a choice for once in this matter. You can choose to find the way to reverse my decision and swap back now...or you can choose to trust me and let me finish my mission. Choosing to tinker with ICARUS could work to your benefit¡ªyou might find a way to swap your consciousness with a past version of yourself¡ªmaybe even before you made any choices you regret, but let me say that doing so would irrevocably lose any precious time that we have left in finding the disturbance, not to mention you''d be stranding that version of yourself to the year 7,416 without any explanation.¡±

    ¡°I know it isn''t an easy choice, I''ve placed you in an impossible position, and for that I am eternally sorry, but I ask that you make a choice that you would be proud of. One that could help everyone in this universe and the next. My time here is about finished, I shall leave you to it. If you decide to leave ICARUS alone, there should be someone arriving in the bunker you''re in shortly who can help you with the next step. If not, if you do choose to return home, well, I hope that you''re able to solve whatever problems you have there before time collapses. Maybe you''ll get to see her smile before it ends. Devon, I bid you adieu, my journey is just about to begin,¡± he nods his head and walks off camera, turning it off for good.

 Chapter 32

    ¡°My name is Roland Duschand. I''m a commander in the High Sayarian army, Panderan Unit.¡± Roland says with a smile, there''s something...warming about it, but you can''t put your finger on it. It isn''t like seeing yourself in the mirror, even though you''ve been living in this body for a while now.

    ¡°I''ve recorded several videos, some of which will never be seen by a single soul, and that is okay. The Anthropic Principle assures that this¡¯ll be the one that you need to see. I know that doesn''t mean much to you right now, so let me explain. I did say that I''m a commander, but that is not my only calling. I''m also tasked with fixing our timeline,¡± Roland trails off, looking off camera.

    Fixing our timeline?

    ¡°Time runs in many directions at once. Your time runs alongside mine like an island on your blue planet. It may seem like we''re worlds apart, but that is because there hasn''t been the proper transportation. I have that transportation from a friend of mine here, of which I have no doubts that you may run across on your time here on Sayar. He likes taking the form of different animals, I''m sure that this may ring a bell?¡±

    He must be talking about the bird that saved you from that cave. So, that was really a person that could turn into a bird? That doesn''t sound like anyone you know. It actually sounds more like a Lunfilios since they are shape-shifters, so maybe he''s talking about Khap-Ar? Then again, you don''t even want to think about how many Lunfilios are out there in the world, narrowing it down to a single one would take an eternity''s luck.

    ¡°The transportation I''m speaking of resides in the room just outside the one you''re in now¡ªdown the hall there is a gigantic machine. It is used to access all times. I personally don''t know how to use it, but I''m assured that once you''re to use it you shall know what to do. Anyhow, that''s not the part that is important right now. There is a poison that is causing havoc on our timeline, and we have found that it has begun near your time. If left undeterred your time would shatter, and trust me it looks way worse than it sounds.¡±

    Our time would...shatter?

    ¡°Traveling to other times is a very dangerous activity, as the person who travels to other times is not intended to belong to those times. Now, the act of existing in a time not your own is not harmful to the timeline. This we''ve confirmed, and fortunately so. But of course those with ill intent who are in other times do tend to be bad news. There was such a person who had traveled from our time to yours¡ªthey stayed for almost a hundred years on your Earth. He was a Lunfilios who went by the name of Khap-En, I''m sure you''ve heard of him as he''s regarded as a universal terrorist in our time.¡±

    ¡°Is he causing some trouble in my time?¡± You ask, forgetting you''re speaking to a video.

    ¡°His actions led to the destruction of Earth, and he has been properly punished. We thought that would put an end to the poison in your time, the temporal disturbance, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. We guess that he must have left something back in your time¡ªsomething strong enough to cause this much disturbance¡ªmaybe something planned on his part or maybe a simple accident. Whichever one it may be, it cannot be left alone.¡±

    He looks to the side one more time and takes a deep breath. ¡°This is where you come in. In our time, you''re long dead, it is the year 7,423. Of course, that is the year that you woke up in. Right now, you¡¯re in what we call a pocket dimension¡ªa separate existence built to look just like our time. Of course, it isn¡¯t filled with life, but it isn¡¯t meant to be. My friend set it up as a location for me to train, physically, mentally, the whole thing so I would be ready for my journey.¡±

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Like a rift in time?

    ¡°This pocket dimension exists outside of our own time¡ªnot affected by the passing of time or by the events of our time. I trained here for seven years in our time. Now your biggest question is of course, ''how did I end up in 7,423?'' That''s a simple explanation. My friend and I organized a plan to eliminate the poison from your timeline. I am to use the machine in the other room to travel to your time and seek out the disturbance and eliminate it. My friend sought me out for my combat prowess and high charisma¡ªI can talk myself out of several hairy situations. He saw that I was most fit for the job. I obliged, and currently as of this recording I''m preparing the final stretch before I use the machine to head back. The machine my friend calls ICARUS sends my consciousness to any time that is plugged into it. It runs on our special Infinity Core¡ªInfinity Engines¡ªso powerful it could power your entire planet¡ªit''s that strong.¡±

    You''re still not sure of why this concerns you.

    ¡°My consciousness would need somewhere to go to, as my body cannot follow¡ªthat is how we avoid the problem of merely existing causing temporal disturbances, as nothing new is actually gained in the destination time...it is swapped. So yes, you were the candidate that we had chosen. It may hurt to hear this, but you were chosen because of the way your life ended¡ªand your relationship with those around you. We were looking into your mentor, Noah Marshall, because we had learned that he was in direct contact with Khap-Ar for a majority of his young life¡ªspending his time being taught things he should never have had the chance to know. As it turns out it seems someone on our end went and beat us to the punch¡ªMr. Marshall is in our time, but without knowing who it is we have little chance of doing anything about it. My friend is going to be keeping a close eye while I head to figure out also what they are intending to do.¡±

    You peek down at the tablet and take a deep breath. It makes the most sense, but it doesn''t make things any less crazy.

    ¡°We cannot predict our own future, however hard we may try. Technically, ICARUS grants us access to all times, but my friend has vehemently warned us against seeking our own futures, so now we look to the past. When our job is complete I shall return to our time¡ªMy friend will recall my consciousness using ICARUS and our minds will swap back to their intended places. Unfortunately for you, however, we had to return to the moment just before your death¡ªdelaying this moment in time until its owner returns.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry to be the one to say it, but this was how it had to happen, it is where the signal of the disturbance is the strongest, and our best shot at finding it. When I finish my task we will both return to our lives. You will have to return to that moment. I''m telling you this because I''m going to need you to trust me, because you have access to ICARUS there, and you have full ability to tinker with it however you may please. My friend was hesitant about it, but I helped convince him to give you a choice for once in this matter. You can choose to find the way to reverse my decision and swap back now...or you can choose to trust me and let me finish my mission. Choosing to tinker with ICARUS could work to your benefit¡ªyou might find a way to swap your consciousness with a past version of yourself¡ªmaybe even before you made any choices you regret, but let me say that doing so would irrevocably lose any precious time that we have left in finding the disturbance, not to mention you''d be stranding that version of yourself to the year 7,416 without any explanation.¡±

    ¡°I know it isn''t an easy choice, I''ve placed you in an impossible position, and for that I am eternally sorry, but I ask that you make a choice that you would be proud of. One that could help everyone in this universe and the next. My time here is about finished, I shall leave you to it. If you decide to leave ICARUS alone, there should be someone arriving in the bunker you''re in shortly who can help you with the next step. If not, if you do choose to return home, well, I hope that you''re able to solve whatever problems you have there before time collapses. Maybe you''ll get to see her smile before it ends. Devon, I bid you adieu, my journey is just about to begin,¡± he nods his head and walks off camera, turning it off for good.

 Chapter 33

    You sit in silence. Not thinking, not wondering, just total silence. Your neck cranes to see the open door you came in. You can almost see out the hall where Roland said that ICARUS machine would be. You stand up, walking out of the door like you¡¯re in a dream. Everything feels fifty pounds lighter. You step outside of the door and look down the hall¡ªit is barren except for a lone metal door at the end. Human sized, no less.

    You take a deep breath and bring your arm up to the handle, hesitating slightly as you press against the cold metal. The handle shakes in your hands and you let it go, throwing yourself against the wall and shouting out. ¡°No! God damn it! Damn it!¡± You slam your fist against the wall. ¡°You give me a way home finally, and you tell me that I¡¯ll be ruining all of time if I take it?!¡± You scream so loud it hurts your throat. ¡°Fuck you Roland! Fuck you!¡± You slam your fist again, wiping away a stray tear.

    You throw open the door and find the cylindrical chamber that houses ICARUS, it¡¯s a massive behemoth of a machine, cords that extend higher than any ceiling you¡¯ve ever known. It¡¯s got a touch pad interface on the front of it and large cables that run off to a room just behind it. You walk up to the machine and press your finger on the screen, hearing Roland¡¯s words echo in your mind.

    ...but I ask that you make a choice that you¡¯re proud of.

    Proud of.

    Your hand trembles, until finally you fall to your knees and cry. It comes out in spurts at first but then evolves to a full out bawl. ¡°I hate everything. I hate myself, is that what you want to hear?! I hate it! Hate what I did!¡±

    A decision you can be proud of.

    You sit with your back against ICARUS, wiping your eyes with your sleeve. You blubber out a sort of half-sneeze-cough hybrid and you look up towards the infinitesimal ceiling. ¡°Do your thing, Roland. I won¡¯t stop you. I¡¯ll stay...I¡¯ll make you proud. I¡¯ll make me...proud.¡±

    You stand to your feet and walk out the door, closing it for good on ICARUS. Stepping back into the computer room you notice that the tablet has gone missing. You remember setting it down on the desk right in front of the monitor, but there it remains no longer. You see the video prompt has been closed out as well. You remember that there were other files on the computer! It would have bugged you to no end if you left without checking those.

    You click on Instructions.txt and another window opens up, showing a dedicated schedule. It is full of different exercises with explicit instructions how to perform each one. Scrolling down you see a bunch of directions for brain puzzles. It almost looks like the schedule that Roland might have followed, he did mention he was here training for seven whole years, which would explain his disappearance back on Sayar. Because you¡¯re not on Sayar anymore, at least for right now. You close out of the window and move on next to Journal.txt. It looks like Roland kept a personal log of each time he exercised and trained with that bird-fellow. He must have been just as unsure about this whole thing as you are. He was a commander at war, sure, but he didn¡¯t know anything about time travel. It makes you appreciate the smile in the video a little bit more.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Closing out the journal you open the program of most intrigue, the soldier database. Your fingers move automatically, searching through the listings.

    Soldier 001: Roland Duschand

    Rank: Commander

    Specialty: Reconnaissance

    Height: 1.8 m

    Weight: 86.1 kg

    You scroll down and see entries for Barax and Tania, the Garexian and Illith you remember seeing in that memory. Number four is a name you don¡¯t recognize, and then a horrible feeling in your stomach forms when you guess which name is placed at number five.

    Soldier 005: Jesse Anderson

    Rank: Private

    Specialty: Speed Arts

    Height: 1.87 m

    Weight: 81.64 kg

    Jesse is Five.

    You find yourself on the ground, not realizing how you got there. You must have fallen¡ªeverything feels faint as the words run across your face like Olympic athletes. His face flashes in front of your vision and you feel a strong sickness flow through your body.

    "If I''m being wholly honest with you, that''s the main reason why I decided to help you, back when we first met."

    "You say that as if we''ve known each other for a life time."

    "It can certainly feel like that sometimes."

    "I''ll be honest too and say that I''ve found it easy to connect with you too, and that all means so much in a time like this."

    "That is understandable as well. I hope you forgive my needing to protect you, that''s something that I feel that was left over from another life entirely."

    Another life entirely indeed. You make a move to stand up.

    ¡°As it turns out it seems someone on our end went and beat us to the punch¡ªMr. Marshall is in our time, but without knowing who it is we have little chance of doing anything about it.¡±

    But just how long had Mr. Marshall been on Sayar? Was it before the accident...or after? Does it change who Mr. Marshall is as a person? No, not really. He¡¯s still the last person you ever wanted to see, after yourself of course. But Jesse is the person you want so see most your one friend through this whole ordeal, this whole shit-show..but then again, that¡¯s what you probably would have said back then, right?

    No, you need to focus. You can confront Jesse when you see him next. Roland mentioned that someone would be arriving in this bunker...but how? The entire place was sealed off the last you checked. The door in front of you opens slightly and you freeze up, instantly looking toward it. The door inches opening, pushed only by the golden plumes you recognize from your prison. All at once the left wing begins glowing with a white light and begins shifting shape. The golden bird steps fully into the room and shifts its form into a sight more familiar.

    It is a young man, he looks to be in his early twenties. A head full of dirty blond hair kept scruffy. He¡¯s standing with his hand on his side and looking out with a dutiful sort of smile. ¡°So, you¡¯re the legendary Devon Campton. I must say, I have been waiting to meet you for a very long time.¡± He then flashes a bright smile and cocks his head.

 Chapter 34

    ¡°Excuse me? I thought that you were going to be a Lunfilios,¡± you. say, confusion beginning again.

    He takes a step toward you, ¡°Right, because of the changing shape thing? I get that. Lunfilios may claim they can freely and fully change their shape, but their greatest secret is that they really are only able to change between forms of bipedal beings¡ªtheir DNA is unstable and it¡¯s cost them some folk who try to change their body too much and they find they cannot revert¡ªterrible thing, really,¡± he says.

    ¡°Okay, but you¡¯re able to freely change your shape? You¡¯re human, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no.¡±

    ¡°If your goal was to confuse me further than you¡¯ve succeeded.¡±

    He offers a small laugh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I truly am, but I¡¯ve been in your shoes before, and I was always curious how it felt on the other side. I see there¡¯s a certain sort of excitement...¡± he says, looking off into the distance. ¡°Right, sorry. I was just thinking of times long past. Anyway, answers.¡± He says, cutting himself off. ¡°My name is Gavin, and I¡¯m here to help train you.¡±

    ¡°Train me?¡±

    ¡°Roland is assisting me in your time, currently, but you know of course we have our own troubles here concerning the Dromedans.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, considering you saved me from imprisonment with Cross.¡±

    ¡°And not just Cross,¡± Gavin says.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± You ask, a hurt look on your face. ¡°In fact, how do you know about everything that you do? Knowing about the past, this pocket dimension, hell about me?!¡±

    He holds out his hand, slowly. ¡°It¡¯s okay, take a breath, Devon. I will explain everything to you, I¡¯m not going to leave you hanging anymore, okay?¡±

    You do as he asks and take a deep breath in, nodding your head.

    ¡°Feel free to ask me anything, and I shall try to the best of my ability to answer any remaining questions you have,¡± he says.

    ¡°Okay. Uh, the first thing I¡¯d like to know is about you. Who are you? Besides like...giving your name,¡± you say.

    He smiles small, ¡°This relates back to when you asked me if I was human, also. So I¡¯ll answer both questions at once.¡±

    You nod.

    ¡°I was born human, yes. Born in 1999 to two parents and lived...well, I got through. It could have been an easier life, but I wouldn¡¯t trade it for the world.¡±

    ¡°Wish I could be that confident,¡± you say.

    ¡°It comes with time. I know that¡¯s what everyone says, but it¡¯s true.¡±

    You nod an uncertain movement.

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m hoping the name Radical-9 might have some importance to you?¡± Gavin asks.

    ¡°Yeah...Andrew¡ªthe human ambassador on Sayar told me about it.¡±

    A soft smile crosses Gavin¡¯s lips¡ªan almost involuntary smile. ¡°Is he well?¡± He asks with a certain quietness in his voice.

    ¡°Yeah, he is. You know him?¡±

    He looks at you for a second and then pulls back. ¡°We¡¯ll get there,¡± and then smiles wryly. ¡°Radical-9 didn¡¯t just affect Andy. I was affected too, in fact, we were pretty close.¡±

    ¡°You...were his best friend,¡± You say, coming to the realization.

    ¡°That¡¯s what he said? That¡¯s so...¡± he trails off, the smile coming back. A second after it arrives he shakes it off and his usual composure returns. ¡°Circumstances led my mind to be separated from my body. I¡¯m sure Andy¡¯s told you of how the Radical-9 enhanced his mental capabilities. It was a similar situation with me. Back then I understood it as traveling to multiple realities. I didn¡¯t understand it fully. I do now. It¡¯s as you heard on the video¡ªour time is like an ocean, and Radical-9 was like a boat. My original body¡ªthe body I¡¯d known for twenty years was vaporized in an explosion in 2018¡ªthe event that first showed me my abilities. My body since that point had always then been like the one you¡¯re in now. You could even say that I was the...prototype for the cybernetic hosts that every human now resides in.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how you¡¯re here now right? How you¡¯re here past Earth¡¯s...¡±

    He chuckles slightly, ¡°It¡¯s a tough grab, I understand, but yes. When someone dies, their consciousness returns to a collective unconscious.¡±

    ¡°A what?¡±

    ¡°Outside of our time is an entity called The Pit. Think of it like a library of human consciousness. Your heaven¡ªhell¡ªpurgatory, whatever you want to call it. Your identity¡ªyou as a person enters The Pit like a lost library book, finally being checked back in. Your self is stored to live out in your own personal afterlife and the physicality of your soul, what your soul is is wiped of all of its memories, and returned into our world as a new person.¡±

    You nod your head, ¡°It¡¯s a lot like reincarnation, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Except that the old you is stored forever in The Pit, forever to live in whatever reality they choose to exist in.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I think I get that. You mentioned that your body...exploded, right? So according to you your consciousness or soul or whatever should have been returned to The Pit, right?¡±

    ¡°Normally, that would have been the case, yes. And that¡¯s where the machine in that room over there comes in,¡± Gavin says, pointing towards the hall where ICARUS resides. ¡°That machine was built by the man who infected both Andrew and Myself with Radical-9. He used it to transmit visions to my body back in 2018. They were memories of my past¡ªoriginating from the year 2060. It had been my future self¡¯s own memories. When I died, back in 2018, my soul wasn¡¯t just mine¡ªit still had those lingering memories that ICARUS had sent back. My soul intended to return to The Pit, but it was interrupted¡ªICARUS had called the thoughts it had sent out back.¡±

    He paces around the room and looks up and then back down, ¡°Along the way my consciousness bonded with them, almost acting like a repellent from its original course. The Radical-9 must have spilled over too, bonding to my self wholly. And so, ever since, I¡¯ve been able to travel between the oceans of our times.¡±

    ¡°You just magically have a body ready for you whenever you land?¡± You ask.

    ¡°No, if only life were that pleasing. Imagine being able to switch bodies at will¡ªalthough I fear you¡¯re already experiencing that sensation.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not too thrilling.¡±

    ¡°Right, right. Well, this is the body that I woke up in that first time I ever Jumped-that¡¯s what I call it, by the way. That¡¯s thanks to the man who started all of this, of course. The body was specially designed to host my consciousness. It¡¯s like a toy robot and I¡¯m the battery,¡± he says with a smile.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Okay. So I get who you are, at least a bit more than I did before. But I still don¡¯t understand how you know so much about everything. Like, I understand you¡¯ve had a lot of time to learn things, going off of the assumption that the body you¡¯re in doesn¡¯t age,¡± you say.

    He nods.

    ¡°Right, but how do you know like...about The Pit, the afterlife? You never went into The Pit, never saw that so like...how would you know?¡±

    ¡°Right right. So I know this because the time in 2018 wasn¡¯t the only time that I died. Eleven years later in 2029¡ªthe apex of the conflict with the man that started it all, I risked my life to stop my future self¡ªstill a problem, mind you. This time, I died outside of time. Our fight would have been similar effects to our current stitch in time if I let it continue¡ªmy future self was of course not supposed to be in 2029, so we took it to the time outside of time¡ªa dimension outside of dimensions. This is where The Pit resides.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a very brave soul,¡± you say.

    ¡°We both died that day, but we didn¡¯t return to The Pit, instead we were spoken to.¡±

    ¡°Spoken to? By who?!¡±

    ¡°What religion are you?¡± He asks, out of nowhere.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°What religion? Because you may or may not take this next piece well depending on what religion you follow.¡±

    ¡°Uh, I never really...uh, my mother was catholic. She was very proud to be pious.¡±

    He nods, ¡°Well, there is a god. But he¡¯s not like anything you¡¯ve read about. He¡¯s also now dead. That¡¯s kind of my fault, but I had good reason.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait, you killed god?¡±

    The question makes him smile. ¡°Reminds me of a book I read a long time ago. Yes, if you wish to put it that way. I killed God. He spoke to me and my future self¡ªnow two wholly different beings stripped of everything but our souls. Our memories and identities were locked in The Pit at this time. I¡¯d forgotten who I was completely and wholly.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how you know...¡±

    He smiles, looking down and putting his hands at his side. ¡°His name was Friedrich¡ªgod or whatever you want to call him. Not a good man¡ªbut not necessarily a bad man. He was a man, let me say. He could foresee all times¡ªsee the future. And he saw it his duty to make the future unfold. If that meant stopping World War II, well he¡¯d see that it would happen. If it meant kickstarting the events that would lead to the destruction of Earth, he would see that it would happen.¡±

    ¡°Not a really personable guy, right?¡±

    He shakes his head. ¡°No, not really. This is where we go back to my second death. Both myself and my future self¡ªhe called himself Micah¡ªwe were made into angels for god. Sent into different times and meant to play roles to make sure that his future played out exactly as he planned.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like you need to write a biography,¡± You say, smiling for the first time in hours.

    He smiles back, ¡°Heh, I guess so. Don¡¯t think anybody around here writes in English I¡¯m afraid, the language had long died out and I never really got into the new lingo.¡±

    ¡°Well, I know one person, Andrew actually has him writing his life story,¡± You say.

    His smile fades and he looks off to the distance. ¡°Andy...for all that I went through I could never imagine the kind of suffering he went through alone. All these years I played a role I never knew myself in and he was dealing with all of this. Lindsey...may every and anything rest her soul. She was Andy¡¯s wife, and you couldn¡¯t find two people more absolutely in love with each other. When she passed he lost it¡ªlost himself like I did. He did things he regrets, but most of all I did things I regret, not being able to be there to help my best friend. He lost the both of us in the same day.¡±

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t choose to go,¡± You say.

    ¡°I kind of did,¡± Gavin says, quieter. ¡°I knew what I was doing the second I jumped. I made it back, yes. I found out that I was slowly gaining pieces of my memory back. I realized that things couldn¡¯t go on like they had so I had to do something about it¡ªinnocent people were dying left and right because they had to, and nothing was being done about it. So, I did something about it.¡±

    ¡°And you killed god?¡±

    ¡°It came in flashes. A hot burning mess that didn¡¯t feel like a victory, but just like I¡¯d finally taken out the knife that had been stuck in my back for the beginning of time. And then everything around me began to shake...The Pit was dying. I thought that I messed everything up¡ªI¡¯d messed everything up by trying to do the right thing, but then I just knew. I took the mantle, I stood at the edge of The Pit and I accepted the role.¡±

    ¡°You...you¡¯re the new god?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not omniscient. I don¡¯t know everything like he did. I¡¯m not all powerful. I was human, and now I have the responsibility of everything on my shoulders.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re...God,¡± You say, not being able to get over it.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he says with a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m God.¡± He walks closer to you, ¡°Is there anything else you would like to know?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I think I know the answer. Andrew told me of the time you two met up again. It was quick, but he told me about how you died...for a third time, I guess.¡±

    Gavin takes a final step toward you, leaning on the desk between you both. ¡°Andy never deserved anything that happened to him, but it happened so he had to deal with his situation in anyway he could, turn to those who were there when those who could have helped him weren¡¯t. Khap-En happened to be that soul, orchestrating the largest slave movement since the beginning of time, and Andy was at the helm of it¡ªunaware of it until the very end of it all.¡±

    ¡°A tool to be used,¡± you say.

    Gavin nods, ¡°It was then under my care to stop Khap-En¡¯s plan. Of course, this led to a fight with my very best friend¡ªhe believed me to be a fake made to mess with him. I fully understand his confusion, I couldn¡¯t bear to tell him the truth¡ªhis sister didn¡¯t come back. His wife didn¡¯t come back. How could I tell him that I did, and that I had to stop what he had been doing? He seemed to understand when the fight was over, and that fact broke my heart. It seemed to be the thing that woke him up from his sorrow, as backwards as that may be.¡±

    ¡°He mentioned that from that moment he dedicated the rest of his life to atoning for his mistakes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Andy I knew,¡± Gavin chuckles. ¡°But, that is the story of us.¡±

    ¡°I think that is all I had questions on, maybe aside from what this training would be here.¡±

    ¡°Well, I would be here to train you to be used to your body. Roland¡¯s body has been kept in top physical condition due to his military training, but to you who has had zero of any of that, it is almost worthless. The training is to help accustom you not to just your body, but to any body you may be transferred to.¡±

    ¡°Woah woah, what do you mean other body?¡±

    ¡°Well, accidents happen, and should Roland¡¯s body die, and you¡¯re able to secure a new body¡ªbut I don¡¯t plan on letting that happen, of course.¡±

    ¡°Right...¡±

    ¡°Once your training is completed¡ªhowever long that takes¡ªI shall bring you back to the normal flow of time where you shall return at near the point in which you left.¡±

    ¡°Wait, but didn¡¯t Roland have to train for seven years?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I had to keep his pocket dimension located in the normal flow of time so that he could travel to your time directly after his training. ICARUS won¡¯t work when it has no time to connect to.¡±

    ¡°So the whole make a choice you can be proud of thing was a lie? ICARUS wouldn¡¯t have worked here at all?¡±

    ¡°Not entirely. You still made the choice, and you¡¯re still here and motivated, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°But Roland lied.¡±

    ¡°Pretty much. Under my instruction, but I¡¯m afraid this falls into category of ¡°needs of the many¡±.¡±

    You nod your head, ¡°I know. And I don¡¯t fault you for doing it. It still just stings a little bit, you know?¡±

    ¡°I understand. I wish you could have it both ways. Being where I am, I have full access to interact with the world around me, but the one thing I learned right off the bat is that I should only intervene when the balance begins to shift¡ªcataclysmic events threaten the horizon. I¡¯m still only one man, and I cannot afford to care as that man for every calamity in history. Were I a god proper¡ªomnipotence and omniscience, I would make everything a paradise for everyone¡ªbut that¡¯s not what life is about. I know there¡¯s an afterlife where those who deserve peace can get it. I also know that meddling too much in affairs throws everything off balance in the worst possible way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot you¡¯re being asked of,¡± you say.

    ¡°I¡¯m not being asked anything. I¡¯m just trying my best not to become a mad god is all. Help when I can, but not totally dominate for one side. I¡¯ve read all the books and seen all the movies where someone in my place finds their power too satisfying¡ªthey lose control and become the next person you need to stop. You don¡¯t have to worry about that, I¡¯m not going to be the next Friedrich.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me upstaging you¡ªI wouldn¡¯t want to be god if I got the chance. Maybe you could...I don¡¯t know, maybe find a way to automate it and find the time to return to your own afterlife...after this is over, I mean.¡±

    ¡°This is never over,¡± he laughs. ¡°It just changes names and faces.¡± He walks towards the door, turning his head to the side, ¡°So, I think I¡¯ve talked enough for the day to last a millennia. Why don¡¯t we start on actually doing something?¡±

 Chapter 35

    The First Day

    You start off doing exercises foreign to your spirit, but not to your body. Gavin coaches you on the side as you go in for your second push up. It¡¯s a lot easier than if you were to attempt it in your old body, but it still is going to get real tiring real fast. Fifteen minutes pass and your arms start to buckle underneath you.

    ¡°This body may not need to build muscle, but you have to get used to using what you have. That¡¯s the downside to these bodies. They have predetermined limits. You can¡¯t get stronger than what was designed. A subtle hint of how humanity is handling being not on Earth. Your brain can handle only a finite amount of information. You need to find a way to be comfortable within your limits¡ªand then break them.¡±

    ¡°Break them?¡± You ask, your arms buckling more than the entire state of California. ¡°How am I supposed to do that when you just said my body¡¯s got limits out the ass?¡±

    ¡°If I tell you then how are you supposed to grow? I can¡¯t give everything away.¡±

    You groan and push up. ¡°Five...hundred.¡±

    ¡°Good. You¡¯re about a quarter of the way there,¡± Gavin says, bending down to eye level. ¡°We still have many things to do today, so I hope your schedule is cleared,¡± he grins.

    You take a deep breath and let yourself down, taking in another breath and then pushing up again. ¡°Five-oh-one,¡± and continue forth.

    An Hour Later

    After your push ups, you¡¯ve resorted to sit-ups. You don¡¯t know which is worse to be honest. You hated doing sit ups in gym, but push ups are looking so bad to you know you think you¡¯d rather jump off a cliff. But you¡¯re already feeling exhaustion hit in after only fifteen sit ups, a fact you can tell Gavin knows with the wry smile on his face.

    ¡°Come on, you¡¯re almost done. Only forty five more minutes to go.¡±

    The Second Day

    You wake up in a haze, everything around you paints itself as a blur of whites and purples, but then you realize that you¡¯re outside¡ªlooking up towards the sky. Gavin¡¯s sitting out on the grass beside you, looking up at the clouds. ¡°Could you imagine how easy it would be if everything were like this? Just...existing? Boring, sure, but nobody¡¯d fight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d think it were like a prison, personally. A prison painted with rainbows, kind of like the extra kick in the teeth...Hey! Wait a second! What if we use this place as a sort of prison for Cross? So like we could find a way to contain him so he doesn¡¯t hurt anyone else?¡±

    Gavin smiles. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you came up with the idea so fast. It took Roland about a year to ask me that.¡±

    ¡°He asked you too?¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I know this place looks like it¡¯d be the perfect hell for someone so careless about life, but the truth is I cannot sustain this place forever. Especially holding it outside of time that we¡¯re in now¡ªit¡¯s taking up nearly all of my strength.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    ¡°You see, I could hold him here in theory, and you would never have to deal with him again. But problems wouldn¡¯t magically be solved, someone or something else would take his place eventually, and I would be too busy with holding him here that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to help if this next problem were worse than Cross. And let me say¡ªnot to toot my own horn¡ªbut Sayar¡¯d be ash if I hadn¡¯t intervened in my small ways over the years.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. Man, this can never be just a one, two solution, can it?¡±

    ¡°Plus...I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like to find some way to reconcile with Alex, am I right?¡±

    The question takes you off guard. ¡°I...I never got the chance to properly apologize.¡±

    ¡°I know the feeling. While we cannot seal him away, we can try to see if we can¡¯t get you that closure.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Gavin,¡± you say.

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me just yet. I haven¡¯t done anything. In fact, I think you might be saying just the opposite considering what exercises you¡¯ll be doing today.¡±

    ¡°Should I be scared?¡±

    ¡°Very much so.¡±

    Thirty Minutes Later

    You run behind a tree to catch your breath, bending over because it is too hard to even breathe. A loud crack explodes behind you as the tree catches aflame. Fireworks crackling of the burning twigs like it is the Fourth of July back on Earth.

    Gavin flies in like some superhero, a molten substance in his right hand. ¡°Come on now, Devon! You¡¯re going to be in combat sooner or later, and running won¡¯t always work.¡± He lets the substance drop to the ground¡ªit bounces and expands like a purplish net of glowing goo. Splashing over your feet like a pool had just been emptied five feet away from you¡ªyou cannot move. Your legs are stuck to the goo and it burns at your legs like tiny knives that have each been heated and sinking themselves into your skin. You scream out as your hand rolls instinctively, your anti-gravity activating, lifting you up like a balloon. Faster than you can think you activate your shields¡ªcutting off the gravity and ending the pain as it forms around your feet. You land hard to the ground below, standing on top of the goo, but not feeling it, as if you were in a jar.

    ¡°Good, your reflexes can use a little fine tuning, but you do have them, at least.¡± He says, vanishing from view.

    ¡°But not ready yet,¡± he says, behind you now.

    You turn around too late, he kicks you hard in the back and you fall face first into the goo, loosening the grip on your hand and lowering your shields.

    ¡°That one¡¯s gonna hurt for a while,¡± Gavin muses.

    Five Hours Later

    You sit on the grass, never in more pain in your entire life. Even when Gavin was pecking your arms off, you have never been in this much pain. Your left eye has stopped functioning¡ªit only shows darkness. Your right leg has been burned fully to a stump. Your breath stops at points and you really think that it might be the time, but then it starts back up and you close your eyes and just breathe.

    ¡°Well, you did a little worse than Roland on his second day. He only lost the arm, but I will say that you did better than I expected!¡±

    ¡°Than you...expected?¡± You say, barely able to form the words.

    ¡°Yeah, for a punk who cries over a girl I¡¯m sure you would have just dropped after the first fireball.¡±

    ¡°Listen...I know you¡¯re trying to get me mad to provoke me to showing you how unstable emotionally I am. You know¡ªso I can see how much more I have to learn. I¡¯m sure I still have lots to learn, but I can¡¯t be unstable right now, I¡¯m too tired. Too...¡± You say, falling under.

    ¡°Hm, asleep already. You¡¯ve got that up on Roland. He cut me open when I did this routine,¡± He chuckles. ¡°Sleep well. We¡¯ll begin again tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 36

    One Month Later

    I have to activate speed. Run past the trees, through them so he cannot get a clear sight of me. Switch to shield to predict the explosion at the end of the clearing. If there¡¯s no explosion, then hold it for ten extra seconds for the second firing¡ªa trick meant to catch me off my guard. If there¡¯s no second firing immediately transition from shield to anti-gravity and speed, jump as high as I can before the plasma-goo catches my legs.

    A fraction of a second later I see a lock of his hair and I¡¯m sure what drill this is now. Okay, aerial assault means that next comes the freezing of that plasma stuff¡ªhe¡¯s going to--

    I feel a terrible weight on my back as Gavin appears above me. I see the whirring lights swirl around me as he kicks hard and I fall. I land hard, smashing my right arm, broken for sure. I think my legs are also busted, they aren¡¯t responding. I scream out¡ªmy face burns against the molten goo as it latches on, grappling closer as if it were alive. In another second it is gone¡ªit is all gone, the pain, the plasma, my wounds are healed. Gavin is standing above me, his arms crossed and a semi-aloof look in his eyes.

    ¡°You were planning. Over-planning, to be precise.¡±

    I stand, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the point of all of this? To prepare me for every possible fighting method?¡±

    ¡°Not even close. I¡¯m but one person, surely I don¡¯t fight like every other threat out there in the universe, and especially not like Cross. I¡¯m doing you a favor here and nearly broadcasting anything I do, Cross won¡¯t be like that. You¡¯re here training, learning the basics.¡±

    ¡°Burning my face off thousands of times is the basics?¡±

    ¡°Yes, in fact it is. You are getting better at general combat strategy, and you¡¯re reacting better to surprises. I can¡¯t prepare you for everything, but I can do my best.¡±

    ¡°How much longer do we have to do this?¡±

    ¡°Until you¡¯re ready, and then we move onto the next step.¡±

    One Year Later

    I¡¯m waiting. My knuckles dig into the soft soil as I kneel¡ªwaiting for the signal¡ªthe sign that the games would begin. That¡¯s what we¡¯ve called them, our matches. Our tests, my training. I¡¯ve thought about nothing else, could not afford to think of anything else except for how to win.

    I have tried over one thousand games. I have tried to win at least one. I have lost each and every single one. I¡¯m getting better, even I see it, but it still isn¡¯t enough. It isn¡¯t enough to best someone who can vanish out of sight instantaneously¡ªor someone who can conjure up a plasmic substance that eats away at skin¡ªor someone that has had thousands of years of fighting experience to be able to predict any kind of attack.

    And yet I¡¯m here. I¡¯m challenging god. I¡¯m running out of time¡ªI need to think of something fast...something new. I need--

    The gate unfurls, Gavin¡¯s pulled out all the stops after half a year. We¡¯ve each got tiny domes we start the game in now that unlocks at the mark of his choosing.

    I stand still, a wicked idea forming in my head. It¡¯s certainly new, but I don¡¯t have much confidence in its ability to work. I stand and begin walking out of the dome. The wind starts slightly...it only usually starts if he¡¯s planning on setting the trees on fire in the forest¡ªit helps the fire catch and drown me out in smoke. Of course, that¡¯s if I choose to meet him in the forest. There¡¯s several different kinds of biomes in this dimension¡ªsomething not quite like Sayar. The forest is right next to the tundra, which itself is beside a sort of dark-matter like environment. I can¡¯t really explain it well in words, I¡¯m sure Gavin¡¯d have the right ones to describe it. Fortunately, he just may since that is where I plan on going.

    My previous attempts all had me trying to use my own knowledge to my advantage¡ªtry and beat him with what I know. Who knows, maybe I would get lucky and he¡¯d make a mistake?

    No.

    I cannot count on a mistake. If I count on a mistake then I admit that I am not ready. I admit that I am not strong enough or not smart enough or--

    Or anything. I must keep pushing, and I must win. And to do that I have to exhaust every possibility, even going in blind. Gavin had mentioned that I had been planning too much. A subtle hint that this might be the way to go, or it might be the start. Whatever it is, I refuse to believe there is not a single way for me to win. I am going to win, and I am going to be ready.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    The walk is a quiet one. It¡¯s always been a quiet one, the wind is nothing more than a play on Gavin¡¯s end¡ªit¡¯s wholly silent, not like real wind in how it would tickle the edge of your skin. It¡¯s not whispering its desires in your ear. It¡¯s the slightest movement in the trees as their skeleton branches bend, begging me to step inside so they can show me their true colors. I refuse their call. I¡¯ve learned that the forest is not the way to go.

    I look towards the tundra next, an open environment that I have no place to hide in. There have been many an open confrontation in the tundra, all have led in my failure. The only thing I would be able to do different is walk forward and surrender. That¡¯s an idea I haven¡¯t tried yet, but only because I seriously doubt that Gavin¡¯s looking for someone who¡¯s willing to give up. None of that those who know when not to fight nonsense.

    The dark matter field is another story entirely. A pitch black biome with mountainous terrain. I reach the dividing line in between it and the tundra. A finer line couldn¡¯t be found in nature. The ground¡¯s dark¡ªI take a soft step across the line, hesitance stalls me. I find that my foot sinks into the ground. I lose my balance and fall over into the ground.

    E?very?thing? is? ?dar?k.? W?h?er?e? a?m ?I?? I? ?c?an?''t? b?r?e?a?t?h?e?. ?T?h?e? ?d?a?rknes?s? t?urn?s? ov?er ?an?d? ?I''m st?a?n?din?g ?on ?a? ha?rd ?s?u?r?f?a?c?e, ?I? ?c?a?n?''?t? ?t?e?ll? wh?a?t?''s? g?oin?g? ?o?n.

    ¡°So you decided to try something new,¡± Gavin says, appearing.

    "??????W??????h????a?t????? ??????i?s?? t??????h?????i??s?????? ???W??he?????r?????e??????..???????.???????p??????l???????e???a????s??e? ??m???????a?k???e???? ???i????t??????? ????s?????t?????o???????p?.? ???????I???? ????c???a?????n???? ???f?e???????e???l????? ?????m?????y????? ???v???????o???i?c??e?.? ???I?? ????c???????an?''???????t???????..?.????"?????? ?H?e??? ???????g??????r???????a????b???s?????? ??????h?o?????l?????d?????? ?o?f??? ???????m?e????? t???i??g??????h??t?????,???? ???????p????ull??????i??????n??????g? ????me????? ??u????p????,???? ????w???e? ??f??????al??l?? ??u??????p??? ??????t??????o???g?e???????t?he?????r?????? ??????u????n?????t???i????l???? ???we? c????r????o?s???s?? ????t?h?????e?????? ???t????h???r??e?????s???????h??o??l?????d?????.?????

    I roll as I land, taking in the biggest breath I had ever done. The world¡¯s spinning. I regain my senses. There is a reason he took me out of there so quickly. If it would kill me he¡¯d let it and I¡¯d be back at it again tomorrow like nothing had happened. Something about this place makes death not mean anything, that much I¡¯ve figured. But it¡¯s his direct move to avoid having me there has something to do with it. Every other time he would genuinely indulge me in my efforts before he slammed them back to me tenfold.

    He¡¯s set up a puzzle for me to solve, and it has to do with that place. I stand to my feet, going in without a plan, jumping head first into the darkness.

    I f?e?el ?t?he b?r?u?sh?in?g? co?l?d ?a?ga?inst? m?y s?p?ine?,? i?t ti?n?gles? e?v?e?r?y? co?r?ner of? my? ?bod?y?. ?I r?e?a?ch? ou?t? my ?ha?nd?s? and ?lat?ch? ?on?t?o? splo?t?c?h?e?s? ?o?f ?d?a?rknes?s, ?c?l?i?m?b?in?g? ?d?ow?n as? if? i?t ?w?er?e a ?rock? ?w?al?l. I f?e?el? Gavin?''s ?arm? ?g?r?ab? ?my? l?eg, pull?i?ng ?ba?c?k?w?ar?d?.? I? ?a?ct?iva?te? my g?ravi?t?y,? ?in?cr?ea?s?i?n?g? i?t,? m?or?e th?a?n ?I e?v?er ?h?a?ve? ?befo?re.? I? ?n?e?ed ?t?o? b?r?e?ak? ?m?y? ?lim?i?t?.

    There¡¯s a cleansing warmth. Everything moves into one, closer and closer to me¡ªI feel constricted¡ªI feel faint. Everything moves toward the center¡ªme. I breathe it in and blink, The darkness is gone. The world has turned itself right-side up, and Gavin stands next to me, a smile on his face.

    ¡°Congratulations, Devon, you passed.¡±

    ¡°Passed? What did I...do?¡± You ask.

    ¡°You took the dark matter into your system, absorbed it, converted it, and if I were any normal being I would have been joined in there with it¡ªcompletely vaporized as Gavin. Lucky for me, but I am proud that you have been learning, even if it had taken a year.¡±

    I stand, feeling a new sense of power within me, ¡°You¡¯re saying that I did what Roland did in seven years?¡±

    He puts a hand on my shoulder. ¡°No, not quite. If I let you back out into the world now you¡¯d be not much else than a killing machine. You¡¯ve learned a lot this past year, but not how to deal with your emotions.¡±

    I say nothing.

    ¡°You can¡¯t go out into the world without a plan, and you cannot over plan. The fine line doesn¡¯t exist just within combat strategy¡ªyour sense of self needs that fine balance as well. Tell me, what would you do if you saw Jesse Anderson here, right now?¡±

    The question catches me off guard. I look down and then back up to the sun, high above us both. Thinking about it, it looks a lot like the sun had back on Earth. ¡°I...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re angry, betrayed. You feel hurt, sad, powerful. Those emotions mix as well as gasoline and a lit match.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m here, though!¡±

    ¡°Well, here, being Sayar, well no not entirely.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, I know that but like, my life would have been so much better if I hadn¡¯t known him and...ugh he knows! He knew since the very first time I told him who I was!¡± I say.

    ¡°These are the kinds of emotions that I am going to need you to work through, and just like this, you shall be given all the time in the world, as they say.¡±

    I walk past him, still looking up at the sky, the peace is almost an insult. ¡°I¡¯m going to chalk up you knowing about that to your godly knowledge?¡±

    ¡°I know a lot of things. Many of them I cannot speak about.¡±

    I nod, turning back toward him. ¡°When can I start?¡±

    ¡°I think you should rest a night. Come meet me inside the bunker tomorrow. I¡¯ve had quite enough of the sunny days,¡± Gavin says, fading to nothing.

 Chapter 37

    Three Weeks Later

    I know you might be confused. I was too, at first at least. I mean, waking up and having someone watching you is a really frightening thing to learn. I didn¡¯t know at first, to be fair. It was more of a...feeling. Like that feeling you get when you wake up and you believe that at least a dozen of escaped fugitives are raiding your home. That absolutely nothing is sacred.

    That¡¯s what I felt like, and I tried my hardest to ignore it, to believe that nothing else could be wrong. I mean, I was living on an entirely different planet after all. Forgive me my panic.

    I first came to terms with your existence the day that I woke up in the bunker¡ªafter Cross had destroyed Pandera. A lot of things were going on at once and in my silence, in my mind¡¯s eye I came to the one thing that seemed like a solid foothold for me to grasp onto. There¡¯s someone else here with me. I don¡¯t believe I know you. If I did back when I was on Earth; if I maybe had a chance encounter with you at the fair¡ªor if you were a classmate of mine I never really spoke to¡ªthen I apologize for not getting to know you. Although, maybe it was better off in those days.

    Let me explain. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been following thus far, and have some questions. I¡¯m going to take some time right here before I wake up fully to put your mind at ease. Your ease is one of the most important things about all of this, because I need your trust¡ªwithout that we all lose.

    So, for the past three weeks I¡¯ve been going over everything with Gavin, talking about everything related to Alex, Noah, Jesse, all of it. I¡¯m feeling a little bit better. I mean, I still feel a little guilty, but Gavin said that was normal. He told me to channel those kinds of feelings into doing her right¡ªfinding a way to stop Cross.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    He also let me in on a secret concerning Cross. So, you remember that whole portion back in Cross¡¯s cavern, right? Like, once he sacrificed Piscar and the cavern¡¯s walls begin to glow with all of those runes? Turns out that¡¯s a really bad thing. It has something to do with seeking out each of the twelve original heroes. And as far as we both know, Pamen and Piscar are both kaput. Now, when I finish my training here I¡¯m going to be returning back to Sayar¡ªback to the point where we were taken out of time. Gavin¡¯s going to be unable to help us from that point onward¡ªhe needs the time to recover from keeping this dimension open for so long.

    As far as I know, you¡¯re going to be accompanying me along. And now is the point I address your question, ¡°Why did you switch from the second person perspective to the first?¡± Well, that is because I have finally¡ªfully, accepted that you are here with me, and all of these yous and yours aren¡¯t fully correct anymore. So, I¡¯m making things easier for you. I did mention earlier that I needed your full trust in me, and I did mean that.

    It seems that you¡¯re not with me in the way I imagined. When Gavin explained the concept to me I was originally imagining another person¡¯s soul being mixed in somewhere in my body¡ªlike there was a two-for-one price at a flea market.

    No.

    This situation is a bit more complicated, I¡¯m afraid. You¡¯re the one who literally decides if my story continues. By continuing on yourself, by trusting in my ability to be able to make things right and to make up for my mistakes, by turning that page, you give me the strength to continue on.

    I know I have no right to ask you for anything¡ªyou¡¯ve seen what I¡¯ve done and who I was. I don¡¯t deserve any of it¡ªany of this second chance business, but the way things turned out¡ªI¡¯m here. And if there is a way I can make things better, I want to try. So I ask only the one time. If you are here with me for the long haul, turn the page and continue my story, because it¡¯s time to wake up.

    Time to wake up.

    Time to-

 Chapter 38

    I wake with a start. I¡¯m inside the bunker I¡¯ve called home for the past year. Time doesn¡¯t feel the same to me anymore¡ªthe only way I can tell the days apart is by sleeping¡ªnight never comes, of course. I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the small metal bed, reflecting on the very first time I had woken up in this strange world¡ªand even the first time I had woken up on Sayar. It feels like it had been only yesterday that I had seen that crazy ornate wardrobe and Roland¡¯s face for the very first time.

    I stand up and stretch, ready to take on another day. Unlike the physical training, I haven¡¯t been repeating the same task ad nauseam every single day for three weeks. I¡¯m thankful for that. Stepping outside¡ªI find Gavin already sitting at the table, just as I had every other morning. He¡¯s munching on an apple, that changes. He¡¯ll change the fruit around to whatever suits his mood. He¡¯ll offer one to me, I¡¯ll decline. He knows this body cannot digest food¡ªhe¡¯ll offer to change that here, and I¡¯ll refuse.

    ¡°I want to do something different today,¡± he says.

    I¡¯m surprised he said it first.

    ¡°I...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m human too...sorta. I get bored too, and I wouldn¡¯t be doing this every single day if it weren¡¯t necessary,¡± he says, taking another bite. He chews and finishes, ¡°We¡¯re going to be taking a look at some of the hidden variables in our grand equation.¡±

    ¡°In English? Or...Sayarian?¡±

    Gavin chuckles. ¡°The name for the language is Krande. At least¡ªthe Messian language that everyone else subscribes to in public use. Each race has their own distinct language. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know all of them, but Krande¡¯s the one I know most about.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention that you didn¡¯t know the language?¡±

    ¡°Do you know how to speak Japanese?¡±

    ¡°Uh...no.¡±

    ¡°But you know of Japanese, right? The people that speak it, the general sound of the language?¡±

    I nod, thinking about it. ¡°Yeah, I guess I understand that.¡±

    ¡°Now, that¡¯s not what we¡¯re going to be discussing today, not even close. We talked about a lot these past few weeks about everything that you know about the situation¡ªthe things that you¡¯ve seen.¡±

    ¡°I know...I¡¯ve been here,¡± I say, giving him a sort of half-laughing face.

    ¡°Today we¡¯re going to talk about the things that you don¡¯t know. We¡¯re going to use ICARUS.¡±

    ¡°ICARUS? I thought we weren¡¯t going to be traveling back in time?¡±

    Gavin finishes his apple and stands up. ¡°Yes, I mentioned that was the only thing ICARUS did, but that was so you didn¡¯t overload right in front of me. ICARUS is truly a wonderful machine. It¡¯s an acronym, you see, it stands for Infinity Core Amplifier of Research Under the Sun. Fancy name, not my idea. Anyway, the only important part is that first, Infinity Core. Our infinity engine here is also programmed to be able to simulate memories.¡±

    ¡°Simulate?¡±

    ¡°ICARUS is a lot like The Pit, it has a database of human life programmed into it. It isn¡¯t as sophisticated enough as The Pit to be able to hold all kinds of life, even Infinity Engines have finite space,¡± Gavin explains. ¡°It records their life from beginning to end¡ªof course I had to borrow some reserves from The Pit for souls who passed before its creation.¡±

    ¡°It can simulate the lives of the people it has recorded?¡±

    ¡°Precisely.¡±

    ¡°One question,¡± I say, standing up ad looking straight at him. ¡°If, say, we were in a simulation right now, how would one know that? Like say, if this dimension out of time were just a simulation?¡±

    He turns on his heels and his smile grows a little wider, ¡°You ask all the right questions. Roland never questioned the validity of my claim. Yes, you are correct, you are currently experiencing a simulation right now¡ªthat is how your body is able to be reset every time you die and you failed your physical tests. There is no time outside of time¡ªsuch a thing is impossible.¡±

    I laugh, looking back toward the table, bracing my hands on it. ¡°Is there ever a time where you¡¯re going to be able to tell me the truth? Am I going to constantly be fed half-truths until you seem it¡¯s right for me to learn the next piece?¡±

    Gavin takes in a deep breath, his smile fades. ¡°That¡¯s kinda my job, Devon. I get where you¡¯re from, but I need to do this. If I told you everything from day one you would not be able to handle it all. Your mind would work so hard it would shut down, it would kill you.¡±

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°I understand that it just...¡± I squeeze the end of the table, hard. Gripping it helps center my breathing. ¡°There¡¯s no time...outside of time. That means time has passed while we¡¯ve been in this simulation, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This is why I mentioned that ICARUS is mainly used to view memories¡ªvignettes. Short lapses of time, because the amount of energy it takes to power ICARUS--¡±

    ¡°Infinity Energy.¡±

    ¡°It...¡± He pauses, looking for the words, ¡°it takes a lot of time for longer memories. The ratio isn¡¯t 1:1. Every day spent in ICARUS¡¯ simulation is about two and a half days in the real world.¡±

    ¡°Two and a half days? That means that more than two years have passed in the real world?!¡± I ask, finding my hands gripping the table harder out of habit.

    ¡°...It¡¯s more like three. Just a little over three years.¡±

    ¡°Three years...wow,¡± I say, taking in a deep breath. I close my eyes and we both stand there¡ªjust breathing. Not saying a word and not moving. I open my eyes and stand straight¡ªsomething I learned in this whole therapy process. Standing tall helps me feel like I belong¡ªeven if I don¡¯t in the slightest, but it helps.

    ¡°Do you need some more time to take this all in?¡± He asks, crossing his hands.

    I shake my head, licking my lips, ¡°No, I think I¡¯m good. I¡¯ve lost almost five thousand years, three is nothing,¡± I say, flashing a smile.

    Gavin shares his and he motions me to follow. ¡°Excellent. So, now that the big secret is out, we aren¡¯t going to be using ICARUS but reusing it¡ªtransitioning from this simulation to one based around Alex¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°Alex? Why her?¡±

    ¡°We know why you arrived in this time, and we know that Noah Marshall entered this time via Jesse Anderson¡ªthe reasoning we may be unclear on, and we¡¯ll tackle that I¡¯m sure¡ªbut the big question I want to get answered is how Alex managed to get to our time.¡±

    ¡°Well, that means that Cross must have used...¡± I start, but then I realize the inner complications to that answer. ¡°Cross couldn¡¯t have used ICARUS...because he¡¯s still here. His consciousness is merged with Alex¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    I nod. ¡°Now, are there any secrets I should know about before we go do this? As much as I understand why this had to be done, I much rather like being prepared for things that come. You don¡¯t have to tell me everything, but I would at least like to know if there is anything that I still need to know.¡±

    ¡°Devon, there¡¯s always something new to learn. I¡¯m sorry, but saying anything about the future is like Timeline Ruining 101. I have trained you for this past year now to help you get caught up¡ªto be able to roll with the punches as they come. That will have to be my answer.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Now come on, we¡¯ve got a mystery to solve.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right behind you, Shaggy.¡±

    We walk into the cylindrical chamber that houses ICARUS. I¡¯m looking once again at the mysterious machine, a work of god, truly. I then realize that in that moment I want to talk to Alex more than anything. A longing packed away for years reopened. Maybe this was the key to the last of my training, but right now I want nothing more than just another sunny day in Alex¡¯s back yard. A chance to fully apologize and fix what went wrong. I¡¯d give anything.

    Gavin turns to the machine, moving to the screen and adjusting various levers and key-presses until they are just right. He begins typing some more onto the screen and then all at once the clacking stops. He looks up to me slowly, ¡°Since we¡¯re going to be switching memories, the rate of time will flow just the same as it is here. You won¡¯t be missing anymore large gaps in time, but I do want to warn you that it is going to be a different place you return to, once you do return, that is.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to be cautious, I don¡¯t know what is going on out there, I can only assume that Cross hasn¡¯t been stopped.¡±

    ¡°I know. Are we ready to go memory hunting?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Yes, Alex¡¯s memories have been pulled up. She does not need to be dead for her simulation to work for us, thankfully.¡±

    His words silence you. Two words you would do anything to see far apart: Alex, and Dead.

    ¡°Right, poor taste. Anyway, if we were in the real world, this is where I would hook you up to the machine. There would be a large cord...ah, here it is!¡± He says, grabbing for a large cable that leads to one of the rooms behind ICARUS, ¡°This would go in the back of your head¡ªis...currently in the back of your head. In the real world, at least. Me, well I have to do a little fancy footwork with my Jumping ability, but the outcome is the same. Since you¡¯re already in here, there isn¡¯t any need for that.¡±

    ¡°Why tell me, though? If it¡¯s like, not what we¡¯re doing now?¡±

    ¡°Sheesh, first you tell me off for not telling you--¡± He says, rolling his eyes.

    ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t mean it like that!¡± I sputter.

    ¡°I¡¯m just messing with you. I do have a sense of humor.¡± He says, chuckling. ¡°I told you because that is how you know that it is a simulation. When you wake up you will be inside this bunker with that thick cable attached to your head. Your core shall be right beside you, it¡¯s important that you grab that and re-insert that back into your system before you unplug yourself.¡±

    ¡°What happens if I don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Your core is like a vacuum for your consciousness¡ªwhat allows you to stay in your body. If you unplug from ICARUS without it, that¡¯s it for you. ICARUS redirects your consciousness right back to The Pit¡ªIt¡¯s game over for you.¡±

    Game over, huh? Well, as if the stakes weren¡¯t already high enough. Then again, it doesn¡¯t really change much, as I planned from the start to do anything to make things right.

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re ready then,¡± Gavin starts.

    ¡°I am. Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    He nods his head and pulls down a lever beside him. The main tower of ICARUS begins glowing with a white light, blinding at first, but not totally. My head feels lighter at first but then I notice a tug at the back of my head if only for a second as the world around me begins to shift. My body begins to melt away into the mess of colors. The last things I see before I go under are Gavin¡¯s eyes. Staring at me, unblinking. Assured.

 Chapter 39

    [January 1<sup>st</sup>, 1986]

    Fluttering. Rain. Cold wind. The cold crunching of snow. All of the sensations come at once, rushing into Alex¡¯s body. She takes in a deep breath as the tears fall off of her cheeks. Tears mixed with blood. She¡¯s wearing nothing more than her light petticoat and the skirt she¡¯d been given to wear by Noah. Certainly not winter attire.

    Stupid stupid stupid stupid. God you¡¯re so stupid! She thinks. Why did I have to say that? Why did I have to be so stupid? Now I¡¯m out on New Years Day without anyone to give a single fuck.

    ¡°NO!!¡± She screams out as loud as she can, beginning to shiver. She falls to her knees and cries into the snow. She¡¯s cradling something in her closed palms.

    Behind her sits the illustrious Marshall Manor. This had been the last time that Devon had seen Alex until their meeting on Sayar five thousand years later. She didn¡¯t know it then, but he was staring out at her from the window of the very first floor¡ªexactly where their last fight had taken place:

    ¡°This isn¡¯t right, Devon! It hasn¡¯t ever been right but we were so fucked up we couldn¡¯t know it!¡± Alex screamed, having enough of what Noah Marshall had to offer.

    ¡°Alex, please keep your voice down. We have a home here. Okay? No matter what happens we have a place here, we belong here.¡±

    ¡°No! No we don¡¯t. This place is fucking insane and I can¡¯t stay quiet anymore, Devon. I¡¯ve stayed quiet for too long. For way too long.¡±

    Devon looks away from her, ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± he says quietly.

    ¡°What?¡± She says, a hurt look crossing her face.

    ¡°I said I¡¯m done. I¡¯m done trying. I¡¯ve tried this whole. Damn. Time to be your person. I¡¯ve given up my whole life to grow with you. I helped you when you were at your worst, but it seems like that isn¡¯t worth anything, huh? Go.¡±

    Alex looks at him with a hurt, confused look.

    ¡°I said go! Get the hell out of this house! I don¡¯t want you! I don¡¯t want you here anymore! Leave like you said you never would!¡±

    ¡°Devon...I couldn¡¯t mean what I said. I¡¯ve been afraid for my life for the past five years. You can not play the guilt card on me,¡± she says, hurt being replaced by newfound courage.

    Devon turns around, nearly stumbling over, ¡°Listen. Go. Just...get the hell out of here. I don¡¯t...need you.¡±

    ¡°Devon.¡±

    ¡°Go...please. Just go,¡± he says, not turning.

    She turns to walk toward the door, but a slight hesitation stops her. She turns around, ¡°So, this is it. You¡¯re really done...you¡¯re going to just let everything end like this? No matter how much better you think you¡¯ve gotten since you¡¯ve come here¡ªyou¡¯ll always be Noah¡¯s bitch, stuffing you like his pig until you finally learn that all of this is a scam.¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    He¡¯s breathing heavy now, shaking, even. He reaches up and grabs for the cord around his neck, yanking on it until it snaps. The crystal necklace dangles at his side¡ªthe shining blue alluringly calling for attention.

    ¡°You¡¯re nothing but a cunt,¡± he says before his face grows grotesque and he lobs the necklace right at her.

    She sits in the snow with a bloody nose, broken from the impact. Crying her heart out as she clasps the necklace in between her fingers, memories of the past flashing through her mind as she wonders where it all went wrong.

    She stands back to her feet, running further into the cold winter morning. Running and running without end, passing not a single soul. She had no journey¡ªno goal¡ªno life to return to. Her mother and father were both dead. No siblings to speak of, and no goals in life to pursue. She was no longer a person, she hadn¡¯t been since she stepped foot in Noah Marshall¡¯s mansion. She just kept on running. She ran until her feet would allow her to run no longer. She collapsed on the side of the highway as she was slowing near the corner, falling finally into a ditch.

    She could cry no longer, run no longer, feel no longer. Her whole body ached and she only wanted it to stop.

    A L E X

    She woke to her name being called, moments before death most likely. She knew she was going to die and now she was hallucinating. There was nobody awake at this time of morning. Not even on the highway, the whole world had become silent to her pain.

    I T I S U N F A I R

    It was unfair? What had been it, specifically? Life? Alex could testify to that, she slowly did what motion she could in her ditch. She nodded.

    I T I S U N F A I R

    The voice in her mind was more reassuring this time. It was almost like a soft pillow she were resting on. ¡°Yes...¡± she strained. ¡°It was unfair.¡±

    Y O U D E S E R V E J U S T I C E

    ¡°Justice?¡± Alex asks, ¡°Yeah...¡±

    She feels a warming sensation in her hands, she looks into the crystal, a smile forming on her face. Inside the crystal looks like a man made out of metal, he offers her warmth and she decides to take it. She feels her body glow with a magical warmth she had been missing for a long time. It is a nice transition before her body grows cold for a final time.

    The crystal¡ªThe Queoquartzite would glow for a final time, as a sort of light draws from Alex¡¯s body, her skin grows white and she lies silent, for good. A body enters the frame, a slender Noah Marshall walks the side of the highway, getting closer and closer towards Alex. He strolls right up toward her body and bends down, picking up the necklace in his own hands. Noah Marshall at this point of course was not Noah Marshall, but Jesse Anderson. The real Jesse Anderson. He pockets the necklace and turns around, promptly. He walks back toward the mansion, beginning to whistle a tune with a spring in his step.

    MONTH 14 YEAR 7,420

    Nastor. A terrible planet full of terrible miscreations. The birthplace of the Dromedan race in the ancient past. Only a single Dromedan remains alive, the Mark VI unit, dubbed Cross. The unit had spent a copious amount of time semi-conscious. Aware of his own existence yet unable to do anything in regards to it. His Queoquartzite reserves were empty-starved by the Sayarians in the Great Sayarian War.

    Suddenly, a flow of energy returns to his systems. A spirit from five thousand years in the past has suddenly filled his circuitry. Dreams of a Devon Campton fill his mind¡ªoverload his systems. Nothing else matters than this Devon. The force is extremely overbearing¡ªemotionally unstable. This won¡¯t do, if he is going to regain his strength, he cannot have a child making war with his own consciousness at every step of the way.

    Eventually, the child¡¯s emotions regress towards the passive part of his systems, but the spirit of the Queoquartzite recharges his systems just enough to move his body. He wastes no time in leaving Nastor¡ªa ruined wasteland thanks to the Sayarian War. It had previously been a lush planet filled to the brim with life and plenty of Queoquartzite reserves.

    Cross¡¯ exploits in search for more Queoquartzite allowed rumors to spread¡ªDromedans were rebuilding themselves, and rebuilding themselves they were, but nobody thought much of any truth to the rumors. They had lost the war and been eliminated completely, after all.

 Chapter 40

    Day 2 Month 16 Year 7,426

    I wake up in the bunker. A heavy force is pulling on the back of my head, I lay inside a pod that is shaped almost like a bathtub¡ªmy arms hang on the outside as do my legs. It almost feels like the pod were shaped for someone much smaller than me. There¡¯s a sudden realization that I¡¯m out of the simulation. I feel a sort of loneliness¡ªGavin wasn¡¯t going to be here from this point onward, I feel like I didn¡¯t even get a chance to say good-bye to him. I guess that was what his eyes had been trying to tell me before we looked at the vision.

    I just wish I had some sort of closure. But that isn¡¯t the most important thing right now, the most important thing is getting out of this thing¡ªfinding someone I can trust¡ªlike Andrew, and telling him what I know. I turn to see my core sitting on the armrest at my left side. Ah, right. I don¡¯t want to forget this. I take it in my hand and reach around to the back of my head, finding the place it goes just above the cable. When it is inside I pull on the cable, short bursts of pain shock through, but I get it out and it drops to the floor with a heavy sound. I close my head up and look out towards the bunker, the door is open¡ªjust as I had left it in the simulation. It¡¯s not as roomy here, the faint orange tint to the lighting is replaced by a mossy sort of green. An obviously used feeling rushes past me. I walk into the hallway and find the olden-computer room that I had talked with Gavin so much in absent from the real deal..there was no room just right of ICARUS. I turn left at the fork and continue back toward the main belly of the bunker. It is similarly empty like I had seen so often before. I would be lying if I said I didn¡¯t wish there was at least Cardus here to keep me company.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Looks like I have to find my own company. I make my way through the living quarters towards the boarded up elevator, the silver plate is as present as it had been in the simulation. I had always assumed that these plates were up before their transformation into full bunkers, and not after.

    Habit guides me as I use my gravity, speed, and strength to beat down the plate. It only requires one try as I have gotten much stronger since my last attempt. I know what I¡¯m doing now.

    The plate falls and slams to the ground, next to me. I¡¯m not afraid, I¡¯m not backing down. I step onto the elevator platform and press the switch heading up.

    My name is Devon Campton, and I used to be afraid. I used to be scared, and I used to make all of the wrong choices. I take full responsibility for my actions, each and every single one, and I¡¯m here to make a difference. I won¡¯t let you down. You or Alex. Things are going to be different now. The elevator has almost risen to the top. I can feel a sort of anxiety as it nears. My breath is kept calm, my training wasn¡¯t for nothing. I can do this. I reach the top, and there is one final barricade in my way, a door has been placed at the entrance of the bunker. It looks like a door from my time, oddly enough. Maybe it¡¯s Gavin¡¯s last joke as a true good-bye, a gift from a fellow sort-of human. I smile as I grab the knob, twisting it in my hands, I throw the door open. Thank you for believing in me.