--=-Chapter 53: The First Virtue--=-

Hands wouldn't tell me how he'd rescued Larry from his looping death of driving into the vortex— or when. Still, I had some guesses. The use of a memory crystal to change Hands's spawn point, then illusions at the start of a loop to make Larry and Steve swerve away from the vortex, and more memory crystals to change their spawn points. I doubted it was quite that straightforward or clean, especially since people could only enter Hands's domain if they'd experienced traumas.

It might be a little cynical, but I couldn't help but notice that, done right, Hands would end up with a trauma crystal for each person he housed in Dreamland. Then again, I already knew him to be pragmatically cold. He also had more uses for the crystals than anyone I'd seen. It made me wonder how much Sori had shown him and what happened to end that partnership.

"Larry," Hands said, "confirm for our guest that you were in control of your own body in our recent scuffle."

"You don't need to bother," I interjected. "Everyone here is obviously dependent on you. I've no doubt they'd say whatever you wanted. Not that I don't believe you; Guy's surprise at being unable to return to his body was convincing enough. I have more questions, a lot more really, but if you aren't the one setting me up, I need to find out who is." I’d been distracted by one unexpected event after another, something all too common on this side of the apocalypse, but I knew the clock was still ticking. Jessica and Nia were still missing and Guy was still out there with a clump of my fur, ready to make another victim.

"Ah, then that brings me to a decision," Hands said. Trees creaked and swayed in the otherwise quiet park, devoid of insects and birds. Together with the dark and green sky, it felt like a storm was imminent. "Are you more trouble for me in here or out there?"

I half expected thunder to follow his words.

"Hands, come on," Larry said, surprise evident in his voice.

"It's not a simple matter, Larry. Our freedom requires Oberon's Shadow."

"Is that why you've been such an ass?" I asked. "I don't have any particular attachment to that shadow, except that someone's using it to attack my friends and allies."

"You say that now, but while freeing their minds, you'll no doubt find your past memories, at which point, I doubt you'll be as willing to give me the only escape hatch."

"Why does it have to be one or the other? Why are you in such a hurry? You realize we're in a time loop, right?"

Hands raised an eyebrow. "Where the fish are always fresh. When you find yourself in a god's larder, don't wait around just because you like the cold."

"You realize that outside Forest Lake isn't going to be a paradise, right? The world's infrastructure is likely destroyed. We aren't anywhere near the ocean. Getting there could easily be more than your followers can manage. Society, collective will, teamwork, they are the pragmatic choice."

Hands sighed, shaking his head. "I told you, this is how you always are. There's always someone else to save, something else to accomplish or to plan for. We've had this argument before. I've no doubt that it was someone you tried to help that stole your memories and your Shadow. I've told you repeatedly that there's nothing here for you, nothing here for any of us. Without survival, nothing else matters. It is the first virtue."

It was my turn to sigh. "I... just…. don't believe that. Or maybe, rather than my life, the thing I want to survive is my humanity, no offense."

"Oh, but I am offended. Humanity was what saw me born into captivity. You can't simply ignore the parts you dislike when deciding what it means to be human. It's not inhumane to keep intelligent creatures locked up for all manner of reasons. Humans do it for food, for safety, from prejudice, and for politics. Humans imprison sapient beings, even their own kind, for entertainment and curiosity. Personally, I'm not a fan of humanity, and I'm not overly concerned with preserving yours or anyone else's, not at the cost of my own survival or freedom." Hands said.

I found myself wondering if I'd be able to use emotional illusions inside Hands's Dreamland. I was pretty sure Hands wasn't using the Shadow to set me up or steal people's wills at this point. If he was right that my Shadow was the only escape anyone in Forest Lake had, then he was also right that I couldn't just give it to him and the dozen or so people he was harboring in his domain. "What about a compromise. I don't even have the Shadow at this point, but if either of us gets it, we work together to save as many as we can."

Hands and I had gradually begun squaring up against each other, all but forgetting about Larry, who looked awkwardly between us. "I'm probably not needed for this."

"No, wait, please, Larry." Hands said. "I'm curious about your opinion on the matter."

"I... I don't want to die, and I don't want to go back to being trapped in that pickup truck. By the time you saved me, I knew I was going to die, but I couldn't change anything. I was stuck watching my life amount to a few panicked seconds. No offense, Oberon, but you couldn't save me. I don't want to go back to that."

"If you try to save everyone, you could cost those like Larry everything." Hand said.

"But how many more are in situations like Larry's?"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"I don't envy them, but neither can I take responsibility for all the world's suffering."

"You don't want to accept responsibility for all the suffering, but you don't seem to mind adding more."

"I've spent my life in a cage; perhaps the world has suffering coming. Your greed will cost us all. Lest you forget, let me remind you that the silver eye is also after your Shadow. If it's found a way to track you, it may know the moment you regain control of it. I doubt you could stop it from 'fixing' its apocalypse."

"Maybe, but if he can't find the Shadow now, I don't see why that would change just because I had it. And if he'll know when I find it, he'll definitely know when you find it."

"Which is just one more reason I plan to leave immediately after finding it."

"I'm going to be honest: I trust the eye more than you. I've seen more altruistic behavior from Sori than I have you."

"That's not fair," Larry said.

"It's fine, Larry. 'Sam' here wants to believe he's different, but his perspective is as limited as everyone else's."

"I, uh, realize this might not be the best time. But maybe I could offer a compromise." Sori's voice said from empty space next to us."

I swore and then swore again as the world went mad. Tentacles erupted from the ground and began grasping at empty air.

"I'm just here to talk!" Sori said, his silvery eye appearing amongst the waving octopus-like limbs.

The sucker-covered tentacles swung toward the god, but he seemed to disappear and reappear a few inches out of the way.

Gunfire echoed across the space as Hands and Larry started shooting guns that appeared in their hands.

Sori let out a cackling laugh, flashing around like an anime character. "Man, you are all so predictable. Hey there, Sam, I see you've made some new friends."

Walls of stone rose up in the distance and charged toward us, as though intending to block off Sori's retreat.

"Hey, Hands, if you stop trying to trap me for a second, I think you'll like what I have to say." He said, flying over the walls and circling behind Larry.

Larry spun in alarm and surprise at Sori's voice coming from behind him unexpectedly; his gun fired early while pointed at me. That or he'd managed to predict Sori's appearance right in front of me.

"Ow, son of a bitch." The eye said as the bullet deflected away."

Sori blurred again, and blood exploded from Larry's neck, his head suddenly replaced by a silver orb.

"Dammit, everybody calm the fuck down, I'm just here to talk."

Larry's body slumped to the ground before fading away, blood and all.

I assumed by 'everybody' Sori just meant Hands, since I'd been caught off guard by the sudden violence and manifestations, and Larry was dead… or at least gone.

It was Hands's turn to vanish, followed a moment later by everything else in the domed commune. Hands, the houses, the garden, and even the surrounding fields all disappeared without a trace. Only bare stone and the churning skies were left behind. Well, and me.

"It was a mistake to come here, orb. This is my domain. Here, I'm the god." Hands's voice said, coming from every direction at once.

"Ooo, scary!" Sori said, his voice sounding more excited than anything.

"What about Sam? he didn't deserve to be vanished like the rest of your friends?"

Sori disappeared, and I suddenly felt a blunt impact against my gut, like I'd been punched by a massive iron fist. It was accompanied by sounds of multiple explosions.

"Yikes! Sorry, Sam," Sori said as he lifted me up into the air by the stomach. "That was too close."

Below me, the spot we'd just been standing was destroyed, torn apart, and cratered. Explosions continued to chase Sori and my helpless form through the air.

"Whee!" Sori said as I tried to regain any semblance of control.

"Are you done yet, 'Floppy'?" Sori called out with a chuckle. "Don't you think that's a stupid name, Sam? He's lucky I changed it. Can you imagine a dolphin without hands, just flopping around on the ground? Too lame."

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