Apparently Bob wanted to throw Jack into space immediately. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. Jack was still damaged, and the idea of his body breaking down in the middle of empty space was less than ideal.
Even ignoring his body issues, there was still the matter of the on-fire mercenary camp. Jack still held everyone in cacoons, and if he suddenly left then the situation would likely turn into a bloodbath. Jack had to be careful about how he handled this, so his first step was to find Jeler. Jeler was lying on the ground, held in place by the blue screen. Jack released him, and the animalus stood slowly, holding a wounded arm as he looked at Jack. His eyes focused on the black cloak that Jack wore.
"I see you figured out your butterfly powers." His voice was quiet and unreadable. Jeler had only seen a vague representation of Jack's cloak before, and Jack had deflected at the time. There was no deflecting anymore.
"Yeah...did you hear everything?" Jack couldn't meet Jeler's eyes, afraid of what he might find there. He had abandoned his friend, left him to fight a losing battle.
Jeler reached out and pulled Jack into an embrace. Jack was stunned for a moment but found himself quickly reciprocating the hug. "I'm glad you're okay." Jeler sounded choked up as if he was suddenly releasing pent-up emotions. He released Jack but held him by both shoulders as he stared down. "It doesn't sound like we have much time. Let's grab the bore-bots, then Riniox. We can get you fixed up while deciding what to do next."
Jack nodded, glad to have someone else take charge for the moment. Jeler quickly located Dirge, having Jack free them from the screen binding the bore-bot. Then, fetching Reph and Glimm from the basement, he had them start fixing Jack up while he searched for Riniox. People had been flung at random by Bob, and it took a few minutes to locate her.
Jack manipulated Alpha according to her orders, freeing the mercenaries that Riniox knew were loyal to her. She kept everyone present separated from Jack and the bore-bots though, as if worried that some of them might suddenly change their allegiance and attack him. When all the loyal mercenaries had been freed, Riniox ordered them to quickly put together a shelter where they could store prisoners. It seemed as though she was planning to keep all the betrayers and members of the church locked up here until Jack returned.
Mills was an issue. Conventional bindings wouldn't be enough to prevent him from casting magic, and Riniox no longer had the option of rotating out guards who could use the [Point Defense] skill to restrain him. Jack still didn't know why Mills had joined with the church, and no one dared to free his hands enough for him to sign out the reasons. The hateful stare Jack received from the man served to demonstrate that it must have been truly important to him though.
At Riniox's command, Jack released prisoners one by one from their cacoons, though he kept their hands and mouths bound in screens. They were bound and gagged and then moved to the temporary shelter. The Arch-deacons both seemed shook by the conversation between Jack and Bob, as if their entire worldview had just been shattered in an instant. This was contrasted by most of the other members of the church's followers who all raged and glared at Jack hatefully.
Jack was worried that the mercenaries wouldn't be able to handle their captives, but Riniox assured him that she knew what she was doing. Once all the work was done, an uncomfortable silence returned to the area around Jack. The bore-bot trio didn't speak to him as they worked, and Jack honestly didn't know what to say to them anyway. Hopefully, the tension would ease somewhat by the time he made it back here.
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Jack paused at the thought. Made it back here? He was going to Earth...He was going home! He might be able to leave and go reclaim some of the life he had left behind. No more God threatening him, no more playing deity, or worrying about the fate of millions of people. He could just leave it all behind.
Jack looked to Jeler, but the animalus was scanning the camp, obviously on the lookout for any potential dangers that might still be lurking around. Jeler had become a more trusted friend to him than anyone from Earth. The mercenaries had been good to him as well. He had truly made a difference in the lives of these people, hopefully for the better. Could he really just give it all up, and walk away from the most important thing he had ever done? He didn't know.
Reph suddenly stood. "It's done." Then the bore-bot turned and walked away from Jack. Glimm and Dirge followed, both glancing at Jack before turning away from him. Jack watched them go sadly, he hoped that whatever he accomplished on Earth would help resolve their issues.
Bob placed his attention on Jack, the now familiar feeling of static electricity settling onto him. "It is time. You will need to surround yourself with divine power, much like the cacoons you made before. That should protect you from the harshness of empty space."
Jack turned to Jeler. "I don't know how long I'll be gone...I don't even know if I'll be allowed to come back." He clenched his fists, sudden sadness threatening to overwhelm him. "You've been a loyal friend to me, and I don't think I could ever repay you."
Jack lunged forward, pulling Jeler into their second embrace of the day. "Thank you, Jeler." They hugged for a long moment before separating.
Jeler smiled down at him, wiping a small tear away. "Thank you, Jack. I hope to see you again soon."
Jack commanded Alpha to form a cacoon around his body, larger than the ones he had made for the prisoners. If he was going to be stuck in this thing for awhile then he wanted to have some space to move. Once the room-sized blue oval appeared around him, he nodded to Bob through the opaque surface.
The wind began to whip loudly around the cacoon, and Bob's attention fully settled onto it. The blue surface sparked with electricity as small arcs shot off its surface to strike at the ground nearby. Bob lifted his cloudy arms, his body a mass of swirling, dark smoke as he visibly strained. Clouds began to gather overhead as Bob brought more of himself to bear.
The cacoon lifted from the ground and flew into the sky. Jack stumbled inside, quickly biding himself in place with blue screen so that he wouldn't smash against the edges of his craft. He flew up and away from the mercenary camp, getting his first real glance at the rest of Drowl. The inverse planet loomed high over him, and he could see unnatural geography dotting the landscape. It was as if someone had let their imagination run wild, and then turned every thought into reality.
Tall pillars of sand dotted the deserts, oceans seemed to have hills even without any wind, and floating islands in the sky dotted the horizon. Jack beheld it all with wonder. He flew over villages and cities, he saw massive herds of beasts roaming the land, and he could see their destination. A large indentation in the landmass, like a bowl that began at ground level. The inside of the bowl was a city, a massive one that filled the miles-long indentation in the land. At the center of the city, at the very bottom of the bowl, was a massive castle with a hole in the center of it.
The castle was incredible, towers and massive walls dotted its surface, decorative statues and architecture covering every inch. However, where a more traditional structure would have had a central tower, this was the opposite. A clean-cut hole ran through the middle of the building, like someone had taken a giant hole puncher and used it on the structure. From the height that Bob carried him, Jack could see that the hole tunneled through the planet, and darkness was the only thing on the other side. As he watched, he realized that he could see hints of stars peeking up through the hole, and he realized that this was where he would be leaving the planet.
Bob spoke, and somehow Jack could hear him over the rushing wind. "Beg for their intercession, Jack. I suspect that they will act, but I fear they will act contrary to our desires. They will sense you when you draw close enough to Earth, but I do not know how long the journey will be. Stay strong. I will see you again someday."
Without any warning or additional fanfare, Bob thrust out his arm and threw Jack's craft into the hole in the world. The light of the white sun left him as he passed through the surface of Drowl until all he could see was empty space.