2014 ~ The Old World

Ally Fae

Colors spilled across her vision as the humming sound grew all around her. The sounds came from all angles and felt like they were bouncing off the inner walls of her head—reverberating off of one another and multiplying in volume and depth with each point of contact. They encircled her as the voice—the wail that she had heard previously became clearer and louder. Sarah said that she would be seeing elements of her life—of her memories—but where had this screaming originated from?

She tried to pinpoint it—but felt every time that she got close—it so maddeningly changed location. It was like it was reacting to her efforts to find it. She felt the dizzying effects of trying to locate it that she gave up and closed her eyes—trying to center herself back to her own body.

The colors began to slow around her as she began to see a laboratory of a different kind spill out in front of her. It was less metallic all around—it looked like something that came straight from the old world—hardwood walls decorated with fine carpets and a dip in the center of the room. On the other side of the room stood a gathering of white coated scientists who were standing in front of a machine that didn’t look too different from the very pod she had entered.

A man with a thick goatee and heavy specs stood at the center of the project and it was clear from their body language that they all stood under him. There was something familiar about the energy in the room that she couldn’t quite place a finger on.

“Open the chamber, testing shall resume,” the man called, typing some things down on a computer in front of him. “We’re going to be testing for reactions to Lantrate and Dicoberene, round one.”

Ally tried to move to get a clearer look at the screen, but she was unable to do anything but move her head. There is a thinner faced dirty blond haired man who drew her attention next—she wasn’t sure what it was about him, but something about him was drawing her attention and focus—in a way much different to the man with the goatee. She was wary of that man—but the thinner faced man looked like someone who had appeared in her dreams—the kind of face you see after interacting with people all day—someone you never met in person but imagined seeing. There was an interesting aura about him—but associating with the other man was not reassuring.

“Daniels,” The man with the goatee said. “Bring in subject the first,” his eyes didn’t lift from the screen.

The colors began whirring all around her once again—the bodies shifted to blobs of whirling colors as the lights spun around herself. She was feeling nauseous as they started to slow once more and she saw the entire scene shift before her eyes.

Some of the familiar faces from the previous scene were present—but some—most notably the man with the goatee were not present. The room was different—it was not the laboratory she was in before and nor was it the laboratory back in Achrom. Instead it looked to be a meeting room—one that would not be uncommon in some small business.

The meeting room looked to be on the second floor of whatever building they were now in. It was a small square room that looked like it was hit with the budget-cut hammer. It had a small rectangular table fit better for a church benefit than an official meeting room with small fold up chairs scattered about.

“Uh, nice place,” one of the scientists she had seen in the other room said, looking around. He was a darker skinned man with his hair cut short and close to his head—thin wiry frames rested on his nose and he had a nervous look about him.

“Yeah, it's small, but it works,” a woman had responded. She was wearing attire similar to the other scientists, but she hadn’t remembered seeing any women in the previous room. Her hair was shoulder length and blonde—her blue eyes looked sharp and her gaze mostly kept to the man called “Daniels” who was sitting down at the far edge of the table.

“Is this really what Valhart is funding? I think there was more put into a children's birthday party,” the man called Daniels had joked.

“Well, they don't study isotopes of human genomes at birthday parties,” the woman joked back, but Ally noticed more of a sting in her reply. There definitely seemed to be history between the two of them.

“Hope not, that'd take going to the swimming pool to a whole new level,” the third man laughed, although it was clear the other two didn’t get the joke. “Gene pool guys, come on.”

Daniels looked to the woman, “I forgot to mention, he does that sometimes.”

“Make bad jokes?”

“I think that's an insult to bad jokes,” Daniels said.

“Okay, okay. Let's skip the part then where I pull out the real jokes and get on with this,” the third man said, shaking his head.

“Right, I'll be right back, stay right here,” the woman nodded and stood up to leave the room, leaving the two men alone together. There was an awkward silence in the room for a couple of seconds as they each waited for the other to start.

“It's good to see that you made it out, Mason,” Daniels said.

“You too, Greg. I'm sorry I didn't find out sooner about you and Gavin, if I'd known I would have done something,” Mason said.

“I know, and I would have found a way to call you guys if I had the opportunity to.”

Mason nodded, “I know, we're going to find a way to stop him, I promise. So...that’s her, huh?”

He shook his head, “No, that’s Samara. One of her friends who was on her side during the divorce...and, well, one of your coworkers now, too.”

The door behind them swung open, just barely clipping the chair that sat in front of Daniels. Greg Daniels...why is that name so important to me? How do I know that name? The woman named Samara returned to the room, two older men and another woman who immediately stared daggers at Daniels walk in behind her.

The first man was larger and looked to be of Hispanic descent. His hair bunched up around the side of his head, inconveniently leaving a bald spot right on the top of his head. The second man was leaner. He had gelled up hair that looked overdone and then some.

“Okay, everybody,” Samara was speaking to those who had just entered, “...this here is Mason...uh,” Samara began, and then started snapping her finger to try and remember.

“Radica,” Mason finished.

“Hold on a second, I thought you were familiar,” the gelled guy said, stepping forward. “You were a part of Just Cause, weren't you?”

Mason looked closer at Gel-Guy and saw his eyes widen. “Barry? What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you. Looks like the good old US of A don't care about the returning vets, huh?”

“Does everybody here already know each other and I'm just out of the loop?” Samara asked.

“Navy Lieutenant Mason Radica, he served with me in Panama back in 1990,” Barry said.

“And Army Captain Barry Rainwater, you almost got your leg blown off near the Marriott Hotel.”

“Guys, I'd really love to hear you catch up on old times, but we have more pressing matters here,” the bigger guy said.

Daniels mouthed to Mason, “You were in the Navy?”

He nodded tersely in return.

“Okay, Barry here is our head engineer. If anything goes wrong with our equipment he's the guy you go to. He's a real genius with electronics,” Samara said. “And this is Salvatore, he is our lead on microbiology.”

“It's good to meet you,” he said. “Sal Muhn as in moon, please don't mispronounce and confuse me for the fish,” Sal said with a heavy accent.

“And it's nice to meet you as well,” Mason nodded.

“And I'm sure Greg’s told you about me,” the last woman said—her eyes were a piercing green and her darker hair hung past her shoulders. “I'm Lorraine,” she extended her hand.

“I've heard you were really smart and good at what you do, Mrs. Daniels,” Mason shook it. This seemed to make her smile, if only slightly.

Daniels made a look she couldn’t quite parse.

“I'm here from the western branch same like Greg because of Jack Adata,” Mason began. “I presume you've gotten everyone up to speed so far, Greg?” Mason asked.

He nodded.

“Excellent,” Mason said.

“Yeah, that slimy ass-clown is going to be buried six feet under if I can get my hands on him,” Sal said.

“Right, well, that will be a little hard considering any injuries he's sustained in the past year he's been able to heal at an accelerated rate. His body suffered a fourth degree chemical burn when all of this started and came back like it was a mosquito bite, we cannot under any circumstances take that lightly,” Mason said.

“Okay, and you mentioned earlier that he was getting stronger, mind explaining?” My father asked.

“Yes, this compound, Radical-9, we named it after the elements that melded together before they exploded out: Radium, Dicoberene, Calcium, and Lantrate. These four created the monster we know as Jack Adata today. When he first was irradiated we didn't know the scope of what he would become...almost.”

“Almost?” Barry asked, “What do you mean, almost, Mason?”

“Greg, when we took Jack to the hospital and you were in the room with Dave, you told me about this feeling you had, correct?”

Daniels nodded his head, “Yes, I was in there and I felt absolutely crippled from head to toe. For ten or so minutes it felt like all of Jack's anger and despair was pouring out of him and into my soul. I still remember how cold to the bone I felt.”

“I believe that this was the first instance of his enhanced psyche reaching out. That ability to project emotion onto others like that, it's astounding,” Mason said.

“And come to think of it, it was after that moment that Dave started acting strange, as if he had been Jack's right hand pup,” Daniels said.

“Maybe whatever you felt he did too?” Sal asked. “Maybe it hit him harder and he got scared.”

“It's possible,” Daniels said.

“Then there was the freak out in the lab,” Mason began. “Jay, our friend back in Denver was asking Jack if he was all right, he was acting strange and paranoid, so it seemed okay to ask. Jack nearly had a meltdown and threw a glass canister from his side without even touching it. Later on he used this ability of telekinesis to rip away chunks of a wall inside of our building to find a room hidden away on everything but the blueprints.”

“So, it's more than just what you imagined in the beginning,” Samara said.

“Way more. That was after a few days, mind you. Let's take it a year after—his body is dying, plain and simple. It cannot handle the Radical-9 that is in his system, much less the fact that it seems to be multiplying at an exponential rate. The more that multiplies the stronger his abilities become, the stronger he becomes the scarier he is, the less like himself he is. The less his body can handle it.”

“Okay, so then the solution just seems to be to wait it out, right? Eventually it will be too much and he'll just keel over, am I right?” Barry said, leaning against one of the chairs, supporting his head up with his right arm.

“Initially that is what I thought too, but there is a big problem with that,” Mason said.

“What's that?”

“Radical-9 is a very reactive compound, as we've seen first hand, Greg. If his body shuts down from all of it in his system he will become a makeshift bomb.”

“What?!”

“The concentrated amount of Radical-9 in his system all thrown together in someone as big as him would be enough to go nuclear. Just think of how badly we were hit with the very minimum of what this stuff has to offer.”

“So basically our options are to wait and die or attack him and die,” Sal said.

The people all around began to shift and swirl around as the colors began to mix and return back into the swirling mix around her. Her mind was racing as she was trying to piece together the information, but so little of it made sense. There were so many names that she was trying to keep a hold of...and yet two people hung fresh in her mind—Greg Daniels, and this...Jack Adata. She was sure with how they were talking about that man that it was the man with the goatee...the man who was running those tests.

Radical-9...just what was Radical-9?

The colors grew colder, the colors were shifting harder and she felt the time shifting on the next scene that played out before her.

2044 ~ The New World

She was overlooking the peak of a mountain as a familiar crimson sky streaked across the horizon. She was back in the new world, and standing in front of her was...Allison Fae. The Allison Fae that was originally from the time she traveled to. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her up close—her hair had grown long and fell past her shoulders—it had darkened with age. She was wearing the same kind of garb she had seen when they were back in Enforal—the copper colored top with the brown shawl hanging over it—she was bearing the long spear she had used as a weapon.

She looked pained—stressed and otherwise beaten to shit. It did little to see herself like this, even if she ideologically opposed her mission.

She saw what her older self had been looking at—digging into the mountain from the peak was Sakonna, a scaled body ending in a barbed tail that looked to be as thick as a tree trunk. And now she realized that this must have been just around where that vision came from—of her older self flying alongside Sakonna. Allying herself with the Creatures of the Night.

This was the most integral memory of all—she immediately discarded the lingering thoughts—if at least for the time being. She was going to finally learn why her older self had allied herself to these causes. She was finally going to learn.

She noticed the dragon emitted a glowing, ethereal quality about the skin underneath the scales that instantly reminded her of the golden wolf she had spent so much of her time searching for. She looked up to herself and saw that similar look in her eyes. Was she thinking the same thing? She took a step closer and found that her older self had taken the same step in turn.

Razor sharp claws slashed and tore at the earth and the face at the end of the long neck was like that of a performance mask. She felt frozen to the ground as it turned to face her—she could see the vapor from her heavy exhale in the wind.

"Sakonna, It's been a while," The older her said.

The dragon stopped digging, she could feel the air crack with energy. It was as if a presence turned inside the beast, yet the dragon itself did not move. “Allison Fae, you still yet live.”

“You knew as much. You don't need to feign surprise.”

"Regardless. It brings me interest to see how you've grown. You are far from the scared little girl who I met in that desert. It's good that you did not bring the human up here. I would have had no qualms about ending their life for coming up here. I have a feeling they would have been able to make it to the top."

Was this the first time she met Sakonna since that day? That was the day she came to this time—when she had sent Arianna—her daughter—away to be safe. She trusted Sakonna because she had no other choice. She trusted her because she wanted to trust Issachar. Was this why she aligned herself with her, even now? After all this time?

"But yet you won't fight me," the older her said.

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"Of course I am able to fight, but I would not kill. And you similarly would not do the same, because you know that it would result in the death of all of those down below and then some. This world has seen enough fighting, don't you think?"

Ally looked at the conflict that played out behind her older self’s eyes. She saw a familiar powerlessness that she desired to have lay remaining at the bottom of the grave she used to imagine herself in. And then suddenly—she realized she couldn’t sense Jace around her—and reasoned that even though she was not the same Allison—that she should have been able to sense him.

And that was when she did—it was faint—but he was still there. Deep inside her—but not...her eyes scanned and fell to the lance—and then she understood. All at once she understood and knew that lance wasn’t just any metal...and it wasn’t just metal.

"I desire to see each of you punished for the pain you have caused, the lives you have taken, and the blatant disregard for life that you carry.” the older her said. “However, I cannot kill you as you say. So I shall continue to find a way to stop you that does not involve such."

"You have other desires, do you not?"

The older Allison swallowed. "I also desire to find Issachar."

"Still a desire to see the vessel, is that it? Even in your most honorable of motives you still allow your personal goals to intermix."

Ally then further understood—this Allison sacrificed everything to see Lilly again. She never stopped searching. She never got to see her again—and she never would. Lilly was dead—the only thing that remained was her carcass being carted around by Issachar. It was in this that she understood why Allison—why this Allison would do what she did.

She took in a deep breath and watched as the scene started to blur all around her—spilling into the multitude of colors again. She looked down toward her hands and thought.

I...am lucky. I have taken a different road. I have forged a new path, and I think...that path is healthier. I see what obsession could have led me toward. I see what I would do...to you Jace—all in order to satisfy my own selfish desires. Those dreams I used to have—those feelings where I would give anything to see you again.

She blinked and knew that she was dangerously close to letting the same thing happen—she was at another crossroads—and supposedly the end of that crossroads awaited just outside this pod.

Felix.

She was determined to learn from her mistakes, and in order to do that, she had to learn from herself. She looked back up and saw that the colors started to slow once more. There was still more for her to come to terms with.

2045

She opened her eyes to darkness. She didn’t know where she was, but she saw the older Allison once more. She was holding something in the palm of her hand—she couldn’t see what it was exactly, but saw between her fingers a red light started emitting,

The Red Monolith.

The older Allison turned her palm over and suddenly Ally heard a voice surround her—unsure if its point of origin.

“I am memory given form by your intense emotions,” the voice called out. “You lock yourself away and yet it gives me the perfect place to hide and to be—to gain strength and through me be your downfall. I am beyond your experience—beyond your time.”

Beyond our time? So this voice came from...before? The old world?

“You existed in the time before…didn’t you?” The older her said. “You came from that old universe—that same one Alex came from?”

Alex…?

The figure appeared in front of them—it was a teenager—a boy. Ally saw that his eyes were ringed red—crimson irises staring daggers into the older Allison. Darkness surrounded the both of them until they were standing in a pitch black void.

“I am memory. I contain memory. I seek memory.”

She heard many voices overlap inside her head—the name Devon rang out most of all. And then another image flashed in her mind—the face of the golden wolf overlapped the boy’s face, and she understood this boy was Issachar.

How...is that possible? So, the Creatures of the Night used to be people from the old world. Her mind began racing, and then again the name Alex rang into her head, and she saw the phantom’s mask of the dragon. So, it’s Sakonna, then…

“You still know so little about the memory of this world,” Devon said, his eyes still seeing past her—through her. “There is another shade you have been blind to. Another memory.”

Devon faded and suddenly the world filled in around her. The sky filled in with a starry cosmic indigo that faded to black as stars flittered across the sky. This was not the sky she was used to in the new world—but that of the old one. They were not on Earth any longer—and around them the metallic hull of a ship out in the vastness of space connected and latched itself around them like a diorama. Shelves rose up and Ally saw they were stacked with books from side to side. There was a window set into the wall. It revealed a starry backdrop—but space outside is a long-since foreign black and blue void. The stars shone brilliantly from the metal hull the compound existed from.

Another shade you have been blind to—a memory.

Two figures stood opposing one another, and Ally figured the one on the left looked somewhat familiar. He looked to be middle aged—dirty blond hair hung carelessly at the nape of his neck—his eyes were different colors and in those eyes she reflected she saw a familiarity to Greg Daniels. It wasn’t him—but there was an uncanny likeness in his demeanor that was so similar. The rightmost one stood moderately tall wearing non-descript clothes and had dark hair kept short on the sides. He looked noticeably younger, but there was an air of authority about him.

Two things then happened in quick succession—the name Gavin echoed in her mind—said by Greg himself back in the meeting room all those years ago, and then the outline of a form overlapped with his own face—it was the golden gecko that she had seen in her youth in the memory that Issachar shared with her. This was Ormus...this was the Creature of the Night that delivered her unto that doorstop that fateful night in Nassau.

Was this...her father? Her mind was racing...and before she could think too long on it, the man spoke.

“You have to forgive my doubt, but it sounds…well, I’m going to be honest. It sounds crazy.” His casual tone implied they’ve talked at great length previously. Just what power did this other person have—to be seen as this figurehead of their movement? She saw her older self lean in, and she tried to step closer to hear their conversation easier, but she still could not move from the spot she stood.

“Would it really be something I came up with if it wasn’t?” The other man offered a laugh.

“As fair a point as that may be, it doesn’t change my own. I need to hear it from you. I need to know you’re going to see it through.”

“Have you no faith?” The dark haired man countered. She saw a mischievous look in his eyes behind the glasses that hung on his nose.

Ormus chuckled. “I think we both know that answer. Faith is best left to the dogs. Come on, spill it. I can’t bear the anticipation.”

The dark haired man offered a wry smile. “I see. You’re right. You know, you’re closer to my own mind than I think sometimes. Okay, let’s take a seat first. It really is a lot.”

Ormus walked across toward a counter-top and went behind, bending down. “You want the usual?”

The dark haired man shook his head. “No, that’s fine. If you want to, I can wait.”

Ormus nodded and he bent down out of sight.

What kind of plan would the two of these have together? And if this was Ormus, did that mean the dark haired man was also one of the Creatures of the Night? He almost seemed like their leader.

“The amount of work necessary to return...I wonder if this will be worth it.” She heard deep in her brain. Ally saw that the dark haired man hadn’t spoken—they were his stray thoughts.

Ormus returned with two drinks in his hand. “Brought you one anyway, don’t forget to tip.”

A shallow smile crossed Z-One’s face. “He’s come with me this far and now I’m about to ask him of the world. He doesn’t deserve this.” He accepted the glass and the two of them stared deeply at one another. It was an invitation to drop the heavy news, and so he did. “So, you’re going to be the only one that remembers. You might have already guessed that seeing as nobody else is here with us having this discussion now.”

Ormus took a deep breath. It was measured, but she saw how the light in his eyes was taking the realization.

“I am trusting you with a lot. You were the first...you have to understand.”

“I assumed…but I also feared. Is there truly no saving their memories? I can’t think in good conscience of wasting so much life.”

The dark haired man sat firm and spoke in a measured tone—it had been rehearsed privately, no doubt. “We’re going to have to be patient with them. ICARUS only gives us so much leeway. I can only bring you fully over. The others will be with you, physically. They’ll be with us, together…it’ll just take some careful planning to reunite their memories over.”

“Only gives us so much…You made it. What do you mean, leeway?” Ormus was letting his emotions get the better of him—this was why the dark haired man had practiced his own words. He knew he would react this way.

“I may have had the idea, but I think we both know that it wasn’t me who made it.”

“Well, technically,” he retorted. “But don’t you have the power to fix that? You surely must have the ability to make it so they could all make it through.”

“You know I have lost control of this ride a long...long time ago.”

“If I could affect things on such a granular level we wouldn’t be here in the first place. I would have been able to save her.”

Ormus sighed. “Lindsey, right? Listen, Andy’s made his peace with it. Sure, it’s taken…a long time, but everything worked out, right?”

More names I can’t place to faces...just great.

The dark haired man made a sad sort of smile. “That’s the thing I like about you. You always without fail come back around to being the optimist. Even after I put you through so much. I wish I could say that I felt the same way. To this day I regret her end. I regret the pain I caused; the pain that was caused to me. I didn’t make her end—I simply saw it and recorded what I saw.”

“We all miss her, but people die. That’s life.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” the dark haired man said. “The Monoliths...they are our hope.”

Ormus paused and looked down to his drink—a golden drink that now looked as appetizing as swamp water. “So, we’re really doing this, then? We’re really restarting all of creation just to undo this one mistake?”

That...is a bombshell.

“Surely you know what lengths you will do for the ones that you love. I love all of you like my own. I will do anything to make things right. Is Devon ready?”

Ormus sighed. “Nearing. And you’re sure he’ll make the right choices?”

“I know him like I know myself—like I know all of you. It’s like I said. I see things. I record them. They happen. He’ll make the right choices. ICARUS will install a new universe—as we are now will be overwritten, and we’ll immediately start our new plans. And then eventually…”

“Eventually…?”

“I…admit I haven’t seen that far yet. I have seen scratchings—moments. I’ve seen fragments that I believe I can connect to what I desire, but if I’m being perfectly honest…I can’t see it all. I won’t see it all without them.”

“It all leads to the end...that final confrontation with Allison...unless history has changed...oh…” the dark haired man thought, and suddenly Ally’s hair was standing on end.

Just what could this person have to do with me? Did the older me hear this? She looked toward her older self and saw she was instead studying Ormus—her attention was pulled away from the dark haired man.

Ormus looked at his companion and cocked his head. “You’re back to riddle-speak. Them?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just…thinking out loud. You’ll see them, I’m sure. I don’t have all the details yet, but they will be here, and they will help me see more clearly.”

“If you’re sure,” Ormus said, taking a swig of the drink in the glass. “I have no choice but to follow.”

“You always had a choice, Gavin. But I know which one it will be.”

Gavin. His name is Gavin. So then her theory on this man is correct. This...could in all likeliness be her father—then that would go on to make the man she saw before—Greg Daniels, what? Her grandfather? So many things were running through her mind and she tried to take a step back to come to terms with everything that she was seeing, but she still could not move.

“If that’s all then I’m going to go now.” Gavin said. “I…have someplace I wish to say good-bye to. If this really will be the end.”

It was so strange...learning his name. Would that then make her Allison Daniels? She wasn’t sure if she liked that. Something about it seemed...off. I still can’t reason that versus the name that I have chosen to stick with—Allison Fae feels right. Jaclyn and George are the closest things to parents I have come to treasure.

If only I could...wait a moment.

The pin started to drop. Words echoed in her mind. They were the words of Leptous—the Elemantic who she now had its power coursing through her veins.

Ormus is a shadow I have been plagued to share an existence with. You are hesitant because you believe this a journey to kill your father. Be not concerned—as that shadow that wears a human face is not your father. And to make it clear, I am not your father either. We are both shades of a man that used to live on a world similar to the one you do—but specifically not the same. That man...he was your father.

“Is there really a difference?”

All the difference in the world. Think on it, what connection do you have to this shadow? What relationship do you think you will forge with a monster like that? A monster that has left you for nothing and with nothing...do you kid yourself to believe that it would drop its ambitions to be your father?

This is her father, and this is the being that would then go on to split to become Ormus and Leptous. He was not yet Ormus...now she understood. This was his humanity—and this plan of his to restart the universe—to eliminate the old world to usher in the new was what fractured his identity.

She now understood. Father, I knew before that it was going to be my mission to put an end to yours—I had made a pact on that notion, but now I know the true course of my target. This man you have associated yourself with—this creator. He foresaw a final confrontation with me, and now I understand I am to meet him with the fullest force of my power.

She closed her eyes and opened to a new scene—she felt in her heart that this would be the final memory. She saw a sliver of land floating in a boundless blue sky. Cherry blossom trees were taking root and the blossoms themselves were fluttering in the sky, hanging suspended above two figures in the distance. The older Allison was no longer around, and her movement was no longer limited. This...was different. She had a strange feeling about these memories that weren’t hers—she shouldn’t have been seeing this, but then she understood it probably was because of her pact with Leptous—with the Elemantic half of her father.

She saw one of the figures was her father—he looked like he had when she had just seen him in the library with the dark haired man. This must have been where he headed off to just after having the previous conversation. The last important talk with someone before the universe was to be reset.

Standing opposite him was a woman—she looked like she was in her early twenties—probably just old as she had been here. This concerned her and she looked back to her father, but then noticed that he looked to be the same age—instantly younger and his dirty blond hair was brighter.

Her hair was red and shoulder length—her eyes were bright and staring at him.

“Tell me, what would you name her?” Gavin asked. His hands were interlocked in the girl’s.

“You know it to be a girl?” She asked, and by looking into his eyes she then knew it too. “Allison. I’ve always loved the name Allison.”

Ally choked up, she didn’t dare move to miss a second of their conversation.

“I would see to it that she carries your name, but I’m afraid I do not know what will happen when…” Gavin trailed off.

“When all this ends?”

He nodded slowly. “I will carry all of our hopes. If not with me, then with her.”

What is your name...Mom. What name did he wish me to have? What…

And through her desires, a second, deeper, more familiar voice rang deep in her heart. It was the voice of Leptous.

Iris. Her name was Iris McCallum.

McCallum.

She looked up and saw her mother was frozen like a statue. A tear ran down her father’s cheek and he turned away, fading from the landscape. She looked at her mother one second longer, and knew what she wanted to do.

The world around her faded—and she felt the world grow cold as the colors began to swirl once more until they combined into a darkness that consumed her whole.

~...~

There was a mechanical sound and then light pierced the darkness as the door to the pod opened and slid across the surface.

She stood out as her eyes adjusted to the light and saw Sarah standing on the opposite side of the room, overlooking the information on the central processing unit.

Allison waited a moment, her mind was finally beginning to slow to a halt, and she was finally able to resonate with the idea of her choice. Her eyes opened—her irises were tinged with a notable golden light. Jace faded in beside her, and to her other side she felt the presence of the Elemantic—she felt even more resonant to his abilities.

“You...are different,” Jace said.

She is at peace.

“Oh...he’s here with us now?” Jace asked.

“It’s a long story Jace, you should be able to access those parts of my memories now—he’s a part of me. I get it.” She thought back to him.

“I see...I’ll look over that now, I think the grand poobah wishes to speak to you about your results,” Jace faded. Leptous remained by her side.

She looked up and saw Sarah picking her own head up from the central processing unit to her. “This…” she began, “is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Sarah looked up to her, “You have unbounded amounts of latent abilities within...come here.” She motioned for her to approach.

Ally crossed the distance and Sarah had the list pulled up and it certainly looked like the data had filled out more based on the results of her time in the pod.

“This here should look familiar format wise...but all this,” she pointed toward the bottom, “is what has been lurking within you.”

Ally squinted her eyes and read it from top to bottom.

Name:

Allison Fae

Height:

5’6”

Age:

21

Weight:

132 lbs

Rank:

Chromage

Abilities:

Yellow [Telekinesis (Minor / Major), Teleportation, Camouflage, Enhanced Dexterity, ???]

Purple [Conjuration [Minor | Major | Advanced], Arcane Sensitivity (Advanced), Emotional Sway (Soothe / Incite),

Blue [???, Postcognition]

Red [???, ???]

Green [Dispelment, ???]

Gray [Immunity to Poison, Immunity to Extreme Heat, ???]

White [???, ???, ???]

Black [???, ???, ???]

“This is...a lot,” Allison said, reading over the list. “And so much of it is censored.”

“Not censored,” Sarah said, looking at her with incredulity. “Unknown.”

Allison looked in Sarah’s direction. “What…?”

“You have more inside you than anyone I’ve ever come into contact with...any one of our Archromages has but a fraction of this talent—Chromages even less so. And, well, you’ve seen my own sheet.”

“I don’t even know how to react to that—there’s some stuff here I had no clue on.”

“I understand it is a lot to take in, but I think this changes things immensely.”

“In what way?” Allison asked.

Sarah’s eyes were darting around the results like she were voraciously studying it—as if by searching deeper into the words hidden meanings would reveal themselves. “I still need to think about that.” She shook her head and blinked. “Don’t mind me—I’ve got more to research than I was planning. My time here is going to be doubled at this point. But we shouldn’t dawdle—I promised we’d reunite you with the one you sought to see.” She turned and began typing on the keyboard she conjured in front of her. She stopped typing and looked over her shoulder, “What was his name?”

“Felix,” Allison said.

Sarah looked to the side as if placing the name and then nodded. “Talented Chromage. Got a knack for reading minds, though. Often when it’s not invited.”

“Yeah, bad habit of his.”

Sarah resumed typing, and screens appeared before her eyes as she scanned them over, and then nodded to herself, then closed out the whole array. She turned slowly, “Listen...I know you have things you wish to do, but I fear there is not going to be a chance that I get this situation to ever come up again—after you meet up with Felix, could you return here? There’s a small project I’d ask for your assistance on.”

“Project?” Allison asked.

Sarah nodded. “I’ll explain more then, I promise it isn’t for want of keeping secrets, but it wouldn’t do much but offer up more questions and I figure the last thing you want to do now is sit around and answer more questions.”

“Would this project require a lot of my time?” Allison asked.

Sarah thought on it for a moment, but then shook her head. “No, I don’t think it will. Without your help it is something I can manage on my own, but it would take significantly longer and would require a lot more than I presently have available—whereas I theorize with your help...it is something I can finish up in no time.”

“I’ll think about it,” Allison nodded. “And not because I want to be difficult.”

“No no, I understand,” Sarah nodded. “You should be on your way—Felix has been summoned and shall meet you out front—I assume you can handle navigating your way out yourself.”

“Same way I came in, shouldn’t be too hard,” Allison said. She turned on her heels, and Sarah called out to her.

“Oh, and, I hope those memories weren’t too hard on you—in the pod I mean.”

Allison stopped.

“I know facing your past can be quite...traumatic for some. If you ever need a place to talk, there are plenty of people who might understand the situation, present company included. So do not feel ashamed about opening up.”

Allison walked out and said not a word further. The door closed behind her and Sarah was left to her own devices.