B 3 C 29: IT’S ABOUT THAT TIME AGAIN

At Lu’s insistence, I take my leave again. I find myself glancing back at Linti and Teuila who are alternatingly spending accelerated time in thinkspace, and rolling back and forth while embracing each other. They playfully punch each other once in a while, but they’re laughing as they chat about anything and everything. This is the kind of image I want to burn into my mind if death is how I pictured it so long ago, the last image in your eyes. When I was drowning on the Night of High Water, I saw Teuila looking back at me with so much tenderness behind the fear in her eyes, but I’d much prefer her joy.

As I leave these amazing people once again, I find myself pondering inevitability. The Roc was inscrutable in its warning, as I come to think about it. A countdown, then something that always had to have come to pass. What really was the point? Could I have prevented it? Should I have given up everything to stand guard over the obelisks? Should I have killed Mataalii before he got the chance to break them? I know the answer is no. That’s why Luni couldn’t tell me anything about Mat before things happened.

Speaking of Luni, Lu is fast, incredibly so, but even her travel speed with her Seven Leagues Songs wouldn’t have let her cover much ground. The day she said she had to leave to save all of our lives is the day I earned the time skill. Just before Teuila died, over and over. If the obelisks held some entity at bay, they might have contained powers. Was Luni preventing an obelisk from breaking? Did she break it herself? Did she prevent Mat from gaining the time skill? I imagine he’d use it to disastrous effect, ignoring any warnings to not use it.

I meander around the Nagas’ society in draconic form once again, I wave at some familiar faces, Dehlia included. I hide from some other familiar faces, members of the Black Fangs. If someone’s going to be arriving, and it isn’t Luni, since she’s already here, it’s likely to be Lil coming in from the air. I keep my gaze trained skyward towards the northeast. If Lil was moving towards the inhabited Miracle Oak when they started heading towards the Nagas’ city, that’s where they would be coming from.

I take off into the sky to get a view above the canopy. Lil can probably see my soul presence painted all over the place if they’re really coming. I practice blasting lightning into the sky, and breathing fire and ice. I think my breath skill doesn’t quite reach fifteen feet yet. Yeah, it definitely doesn’t reach past my danger wrap sensory range. I need to train it more.

Suddenly telepathic thoughts hit my brain like the screaming impact of a freight train, “Buddy! So much weird stuff is going on! My soul went all weird for a minute, then it stopped acting up, then I thought I heard you, and Lucky almost jumped out of the sky in the direction of your voice! I missed you pal, what’s going on?”

Oh Lil, it’s really you, it’s really you. I scan the horizon and spot a tiny reddish dot. I rocket in its direction and we tackle each other out of the sky, laughing as I cushion our fall with JT inventory magic.

I blubber, “Lil, Lil I’m so glad I get to see you before the end, I’m so glad, so so glad.”

Lucky and Lil alternate licking the tears off my face. I can’t help laughing as I shove Lil’s big draconic mug out of my face, but they still sneak one or two more licks.

Lil suddenly pauses to ask, “The end of what buddy?”

I frown, remembering, “The end of the world. We woke something up. Well, Mataalii did. It’s like some kind of God of Fire, it’s so big that the volcano in Fire Biome is just a small part of its back, a dorsal ridge, it was some kind of continental sized dragon or something.”

Lil exclaims, “Hubba hubba! I wonder if I can get that big if I try hard enough! Ya think it’s possible?”

I facepalm, thinking Lil missed something in translation, “Lil? End of the world buddy?”

Lil responds, “Ohhhh, yeah, yeah that’s pretty rough buddy. But, well, do you?”

We both burst into laughter, Lil can be such a goon. Lucky plops into their spherical shape in my lap, and Lil joins them.

I collect my thoughts, “But seriously buddy, we have to hurry, I don’t know what to do about the end of the world, but I’m pretty sure the books are an important part of it. You know that one is yours. Apparently the second book belongs to Lucky here.”

Lucky barks almost as if confirming it. That’s, huh, odd. Is Lao going to be okay without her hunter? I suppose Jazharn is getting friendly with Dream. Jaz is pretty powerful, and she probably wouldn’t want to see any of Dream’s family get hurt. Adom and Sofu supposedly think of me as a rival, so they’d probably prefer it if I didn’t come back heartbroken, incapable of fighting. I think I can rely on them to defend the humans and critterkin if for no other reason than that reason alone. Maybe they’d even do it to show me up, prove that they’re better than me by being able to protect my family? One can hope.

Lil begins to explain some things that happened in my absence, “So, so buddy, pal. Luna is going crazy without Luni or you around. She’s sitting on anyone who will stay put. Like, She seems really lonely, and like she knows something bigger is going on. Maybe she felt the same thing I did? When did you say that big thing moved? I think that’s around when my soul went wonky, and when Luna was most zany.”

Lil also shares, “And, um, is it weird that I think we have a human family member now? I mean, I guess it’s not that weird that we have a couple of dragons, a bunch of otters, cats, a bear, hound, and a couple of beavers. We thought you were human for a while. But like, Jaz and Dream actually joined the family pile last night! Dream was scowling the whole time, but I half think that’s just how her face is. Even when she’s telling happy stories before we sleep. Jaz was enamored, I think they’re practicing some kind of sign language, or wind magic, or something. Blossom is starting to get the hang of her vines and stuff, she can even make them sprout flowers now, instead of just big roots, or thorns.”

Lil ponders before continuing, “Oh, oh yeah, Fawn, when you’re not there she’s on Agwai and Laomati nonstop when they’re free. When they’re not, it’s like she has a line of humans lined up for snuggles. I think that tons of them are crazy about her. She loves up on anyone who treats her nice. I saw her hiss and roar at someone once, just once. That guy never went back to her tent. I’m guessing he was a jerk, because she loves everyone, she’s just so kind and cuddly! I know how much you loooove to snuggle up against her buddy, eh, eh?”

I flush with embarrassment and noogie Lil, grumbling that they could spend more time focusing on their own snuggle time rather than worrying about mine. Still, I missed Lil, I don’t want them to feel like I don’t want to share affection with them. I mean, we fell deeply in love in another timeline. I know they only tease me for fun, they don’t mean it hurtfully. We love each other.

Lil nods, “Yup yup, and, and, uh, oh! Six is, um, ‘seeing’ a camel lady and a human guy? Like, It’s the first time that Blossom and Six aren’t doing everything together. I’ve seen the three of them exercising together. The camel lady is the buffest of the three, hehe. Then they, um, there are some herbs, I think Six gets Blossom to grow the herbs or something. They buy some apples, and they burn the herbs in the apples as they sit around together, passing the apples back and forth. I have no idea what that’s about. But they look so blissful and peaceful when they do it. The human guy doesn’t even know what Six and camel lady are talking about, but they’re all holding hands and laying across each other and stuff after working out.”

Lil continues, “Oh, oh oh oh, Sir Reginald, he got Priss to smile! A few times. I think she’s finally coming around. Mostly now that the humans have a shot at a peaceful home, but also maybe because other-Reggie is kind of a fun old guy sometimes. He’s very, uh, dutiful and stuff, but he likes to play cards, and invites big groups. He even learned to tell stories like the critterkin by listening to Bettie talk about what we do, so they’ll play cards and he’ll tell stories while they sit around together. That’s how he got Priss to smile, he invited her out, or made her come out or something, and showed her that the humans are still enjoying life, or something.”

Lil chews on their tongue for a bit while gazing around, seemingly trying to remember something, “Sugar is starting to get a bit, um, she misses you. She’s I dunno, maybe jealous of Magnus? Like her twin never has time for her any more, and that sucks. If you never made time for me once you met Teuila, I’d be crushed. Wish I could do something for her. She enjoys smashing down the shop every day and building up the new one, but it seems like it’s exhausting her, since she has to sprint from one end of the camp to the other like twice a day. ‘Naia and M^2 are teaching some of the humans to dance. Lao um, had a proposal? For Agwai. For some reason it was a big thing. She heard about some humans doing it, and said it seemed fitting. I don’t know what she proposed, but when Agwai learned what it was, they were really happy.”

Lil sticks their tongue out while continuing to ramble, “Nnn, ‘n’ there was other stuff, with like, the old cat doctor, him and Alice started working together in the um, infirmary tent. Sometimes she pets him, and he complains, saying he’s not a kitten, but he still purrs, it’s funny. The spheriform cats are always just everywhere. Olioli chases them around, and they chase him back. I know how none of us are really ever children, since we have all these memories and all this knowledge when we spawn, but they act like a bunch of kids having fun. I think it’s cute. I’m glad that none of the big things happening have stopped them from having that, y’know? I do miss our pond though pal. It was all ours.”

I nod somberly at Lil. I miss it too. I’m fairly positive that we’ll never get it back. At this point, I’m worried about whether or not we’ll even be able to keep any place in the world habitable. Here’s hoping these books contain some secret or some power.

I march Lil and Lucky through the city streets of the Nagas’ town, watching as the evening fire caster lights all the gas lanterns with a quick double spell. Hm, there’s an odd congregation in that building on my left. I swear I see more than one Black Fangs tattoo. Hopefully they aren’t going to cause trouble for Dehlia. I’ll try to warn her on our way back into the temple.

After I warn her, Dehlia telepathically sends, “That is odd, we don’t have any laws against it, but they would normally be more careful than to be seen grouping up. They’ve lost some popularity of late, so have become a tad more shadowy. It almost seems too bold. I’ll stay on guard, I’ve actually cashed in the chit Lil had given me, I’m sorry to have used it so early, but it has afforded me some safety and authority against the actions of the Black Fangs. Thank you Reggie.”

Dehlia turns to Lil, and they share some telepathic communication that I’m not privy to. They then, ah, yeah, uh, wish each other luck in the reptile fashion. Gosh that is really intimate, with the tongue and the auditory orifices. I fan my collar as I try to gaze anywhere else while I wait for Lil to finish. Lucky just wags his thick, tapered tail in hound form, panting like any normal pupper would as he gazes back and forth between me, and Lil.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I reach up to scratch Lucky’s chin, and hold out my arms. I’m trying to indicate that he should shrink back down so we can enter the temple. Lil finishes and hops into my arms along with Lucky, and I continue marching back through the upper temple down into the temple of time. I must seem crazy, coming and going from this temple repeatedly all day today.

Let’s see, we have Lil, Lucky, and four others, one of which is me, could we operate the books? Unlock some sort of secret when all six are brought together? I pick up the pace and rush us back into the temple.

I enter to see an odd scene before me. Teuila is standing back raising an eyebrow as Linti leans towards Luni, her legs draped along the ground behind her as she lays somewhat parallel up Lu’s legs and lap. She’s nose to nose with Luni, while Lu sits against a wall. Lu is blushing furiously, and she pushes Linti’s face away, but in a playful fashion. Lin grins and nips at Lu’s hand with bared fangs. Lu recoils in a bit of panic, and that’s when Linti strikes, stealing a smooch on Luni’s cheek at the corner of her lips.

Linti laughs as she exclaims, “Three me, zero you Lu, get your head in the game!”

I flush with heat as I drop my draconic form. Just what kind of game were they playing? I’m hesitant to ask. I think it’s kind of like slaps, or slap fight, whatever that game is called. Red hand, hot hand, slapsies, chicken maybe. Ah, yeah, that makes sense, it’s to make the other player flinch and then steal a kiss while they’re distracted. That sounds incredibly fun, win or lose, but I’d like to get around to saving the world now.

I announce, “Hey, um, hey guys. Lil brought Lucky, I don’t even know how or why, I’m not going to ask. But um, we know, or think we know, that Lucky is book two’s owner, and we know Lil owns book one, and I own book five, so maybe uh, if Te takes takes book three or four, and Lu takes the other one, and Lin takes book six, we can maybe use them somehow?”

Linti announces, “I’m down, a few minutes ago I thought the world was ending, so I was trying to steal another one of your girlfriends Shellcracker. Kidding, I kid, I kid. Mostly.”

Luni blushes as she cups Linti’s cheek and gives her a tight hug with her free arm. Luni drags me into a private telepathic communication to complain, “I hate that she’s so confident and cheeky and fun and pretty. Stupid gorgeous cat lady. Ugh, it’s not fair.”

My mental avatar raises an eyebrow towards Lu’s and she blushes and plays a Shellcracker Family Slap Fight with my face, until both of our avatars are laughing and I’ve caught her hands. We spent a few precious seconds in accelerated thinkspace holding hands, fingers interlocked.

When we drop out of thinkspace, I watch as Teuila hauls off and punches Linti while laughing, then she scampers over to my left side to take my arm and snuggle against me as we walk towards the pedestals. Te blows a raspberry at Lin as we pass, and mouths, “Fat chance.” Seemingly in response to Linti having hinted that she stole Teuila from me. Lin rubs the back of her head in chagrin, her joke having backfired.

As we’re about to pass, I swipe an arm around Linti’s waist and drag her in for a hug so the three of us can walk together, and motion for Linti to grab Lu. The four of us walk with Lil and Lucky bouncing between our heads, as our arms are wrapped around one another’s waists.

This has to work, right? We’re six people with magical telepathic bonds, and books that respond to some of us with our memories. Something has to happen, right?

TQ awaits us in the pedestal room, they nod approvingly, but they’re reserved. There’s something they know that they’re not telling me. They lean against a wall nonchalantly. That’s not the pose of someone who is sure that six people are about to save the world.

We set up all the books, except for the book Luni is carrying. We wait expectantly, each of us with bated breath.

We get into position, and Lu announces, "I'm going to put the third one here, you're going to see that nothing happens yet, and I'm going to take number four, and you can't ask any questions."

I look to TQ who just shrugs. I roll my eyes at TQ but I halfheartedly smile at Lu. I trust her. No questions asked. She's right though, nothing happens when the final tome sits upon its pedestal. I try not to panic. I thought this was it. This had to be it. What did TQ say about souls? The five souls of origin, and the original soul? What does that mean? Somehow Lil is the original soul, the first. While I’m pondering, Luni picks up the fourth book and begins walking away.

I approach the third book and trace my index finger around its edges. I swear a voice in my mind slowly cries out two words, “June, Selena.”

Luni twists around from where she was walking away and snaps, “Hey, hands off!”

Blushing, I back away from the book as I gaze after the trio of gals. Luni escorts Teuila and Linti out of the temple with the fourth book. I don’t know if they’re going to the Lavaborn Alliance to continue setting up a settlement as if nothing is wrong, or what they’re even up to now. Apparently Lu must have made them agree to something before I got back. They didn’t even have to exchange words to know what to do.

I cry out, “Well what the crap!?”

TQ chuckles behind me, and says, “It’s not yet over, there is much more to come. You’ll be back when you understand. Well, when you understand what you’re really up against, to some degree. Before that, of course, you have to convince the fifth soul, hm, fourth, fifth, something like that, the one that you don’t have. I’m surprised this time around you tried the cat woman again. I suppose I shouldn’t be, she does seem to be one of your favorites.”

Lil and I leave the temple of time together, with TQ waving fondly behind us. TQ said we’d be back when we understood, after we’d convinced the last of the five souls of origin. This time around? Does TQ have the ability to view all the failed timelines? Why didn’t future me send those logs back? Oh, right. I don’t trust myself. I only trust Luni with that information. I’d act on it, and screw things up.

There’s a static hum in the air, a familiar electric charge, and the faintest hint of ozone that reaches even my anosmic nose. I suppose that means Linti is taking the gals somewhere. Actually, there’s a cacophony of commotion echoing down the halls of the temple as we approach its top to exit it. I swear those are the sounds of a battle. A battle!?

Lil and I begin rushing hurriedly towards the exit, to survey the chaos. There are members of the Black Fangs, and non members fighting side by side, they’re facing, facing, they’re, they’re facing members of the Black Fangs? Wait, half of them, their eyes. No, no, no no no.

I crumple to my knees as I hyperventilate, my mind spirals out of control. The red eyed entity. Day One. My vision tunnels as my pulse threatens to blow my eardrums. The painful ring of tinnitus tries to drown out even my thunderous pulse. I can feel something striking me, maybe nudging me, but I can’t respond. Worse, my nightmares are new, they’re not focused on me. The maws, all the dangerous creatures in the world, everything distorts to chew, stomp, burn, and destroy all those around me, and all those I love. Dehlia, Elder Sthenic, Lil, Lucky, and Szintoc are all nearby, and they’re squashed underfoot as a massive titan crushes us all. It grinds us beneath its heel, its foot then opens into a toothy maw and it sucks us up to swallow our destroyed forms. Yet the world isn’t finished with terror, it chews us up and spits us into a battle against dozens of hateful naga whose torsos open into toothy grins that chew down on us.

It barely even needs to move and it finds Linti carrying Teuila and Luni away, it turns them to ash with a single breath. My ear canals are swollen in bursting pain. My eyes are bulging out of their sockets but I can only see the tiniest crack in the stonework where I lay crumpled on the ground, fetal.

A scream of a familiar voice snaps me to my senses. A collar of molten stone lands around Dehlia’s shoulders, I instinctively freeze the area, trying to save her from being melted through as it sizzles into her collarbone. Another glob of molten stone that had been aimed at her head freezes and slams into her face as solid pumice.

Lil cries out, "No! Sexy snake buddy!" Dehlia tumbles down the temple steps, fritzing slightly. TQ checks her pulse and then shakes their head. My eyes go wide. I didn’t even notice TQ had followed us. TQ looks solemn, somehow their expression hidden beneath the brim of their hat is saddened in some way that I can tell.

I call out, "No, but, but she didn't derez." I panic as I scramble down the steps towards Dehlia, Lil, and TQ.

TQ responds, "Sorry, not dead, barely, but I don't think she will wake any time soon, possibly ever. A coma I believe you call it."

I honestly didn't even think a critterkin could fall into a coma, with how our biology differs from humans with its semi digital nature, the videogame-ish healing. This is just too much. I have to put everything into hunting down Mat. He's just getting stronger.

For the moment though, it’s utter chaos. Lluxop and Rastoc are fending off the hostile members of the Black Fangs. They’re protecting innocent Nagas, scriveners and crafts-folk, and other non-mages. They’re, oh no, that is a mass of lava, and they’re so far away. The idiot took out his own forces. There’s so much devastation, a third of the entire town is in smoldering ruins. Stonework continues to melt and spread its heat nearby. I, I need to do something. I have to save these people. The few that are left. Mataalii rings a bell, and takes something from the derezzing forms of Lluxop and Rastoc.

Lil cries frantically for me, “Reggie, Reggie I, I gotta help Dehl! Reggie, do something, please, anything!”

Panting, gasping for air, I try to reclaim my senses. I rocket around the city extinguishing fires and solidifying molten stone. I try to soothe burns and set bandages, salves, and medical supplies near Nagas that are wounded but not quite derezzing, hoping that their healthier neighbors and friends can tend to them quickly.

I gulp breath after breath as I frantically seek every last spot where I could possibly be of help. I cast my gaze about, searching for Mataalii but he’s nowhere in sight. There are no more Black Fangs left, at all. Both the hostile, mind-altered fraction of its members who were under sway of Mataalii, and those that defended their home are all derezzed. Why was he ringing a bell? Was that some sort of come-hither call for his lava? Was he summoning what’s left of his troops? Was he just trying to, I don’t know, troll us? Wait, where are the chameleons under Lil’s sub party? Why are there so few!?

I clutch my chest and wail in agony. My mind is so torn in tatters that I drop my draconic reptilian form without thinking as I assume my most muscular, tallest form. I pound the pavement with my fists over and over, adding more and more force with every smash. I can feel my bones slowly shattering in my knuckles as I cause a larger and larger crater below me.

All of a sudden, a scaled hand closes around one of my wrists, and another, and another joins the first, and on and on. Soon I’m restrained by scaled hands. Oh no, oh no they’re going to want to kill me, I’m softskin in their midst. I don’t want to hurt them. They’re, wait. One coils down behind me and hugs me as others begin applying bandages to my fists, using some of the salve and bandages that I had personally handed out.

I try to extend a tiny web of sparks to those around me, so that I can understand if they speak. There are murmurs, mostly of gratitude, thanks for my attempt. Some are saying they’re lucky they didn’t lose four champions in a single night. They recognize that Lil and I are a pair of the doubles sport champions? Oh wait, my soul is a dead giveaway as to who I am, so is my hair.

Luni begins walking back into town from the north with Linti and Teuila, not hidden at all. Somehow her music sings out to the Nagas around me. I drop to my cherubic form as I sit with my knees huddled to my chest. The Nagas part, allowing Linti to scoop me up. The gals take me to the southeast corner of the temple, where Lil is fretting over Dehlia with Elder Sthenic. I suppose TQ told Lil where to head.

I’m lost inside my mind. What is even the point of struggling against inevitability when we’re also suffering pointless losses to a spiteful once-brother? It’s not like I can even track him down to put an end to his hatred once and for all. Wait. He had a bell, and he took something from the blessed of Quetzalcoatl. Maybe I can get some spell or something from one of the Nagas to be able to track one or the other.

Yes, somehow, I’m certain that that has to be the case. Something like that has to be available in this city of wonder. Not only that, I’m certain that no one would begrudge me for borrowing it or using it up, to avenge their losses.

Wait! Maybe I should send a message back to past me, to be outside to prevent this atrocity! I feel like I just saw one of the three gals shaking their head at me out of the corner of my eyes. Only Lu would respond to a thought like that. I have to trust Luni. I, I need to avenge the Nagas. I need to stop Mataalii before he finds the Fairies’ settlement and destroys the Miracle Oak, along with our family and all the refugees. We won’t even last to the end of the world if I don’t take him out first.