Shawn felt the world come back into focus for him. He tried to get his bearings only to pale when he knew exactly where he was. Looking out from this asphalt hill that he used to walk home on all those years ago, he looked out at the city from which he and Anisa could see conflicts between costumed heroes and robotic fiends that could use skyscrapers as toothpicks. They would watch from the sidelines, safe in their suburb, making impossible promises of what could be. Just two friends enjoying the spectacle. Shaking the nostalgia out of his eyes, he turned his attention to the finer details. Again, this skill of his seemed to pay off as he began to see the smoothed edges and missing details that seemed to populate before his eyes. Taking a deep breath, the scent of lost summers filled him. Still, more than that, the smell of rubble and dust and the mesquite of human bones. Feeling something watching him, he began to see this new land for what it was and decided that there was only one place he could go. Further into the mouth of the lion or a safe haven, either result would give him something to work with so he rounded the corner and opened the door to his childhood home and found the results disorienting but unsurprising.
“There you are, you asshole. Explain yourself.” The door had opened to an old weathered martial arts dojo, thick with the smell of incense attempting to cover the sweat and mold, with his former student Douglas glaring back at him. The man was ten years his younger and in his early twenties still. Kid had started out so polite and reserved but after a few months of training began speaking this way to him and only him. He didn’t know if it was supposed to be out of love and he didn’t care to ask. Either way, this was no illusion. The Martial Master wanted answers and Shawn had no intention of just playing his stupid games.
“Witch ripped open reality and threw us in here. What else is there to say?”
Douglas gave his usual glare and spoke with skeptic scrutiny, “Really? Because the fact that you are here and I’m here means that odds are you did something stupid again and that I’m going to have to clean up the mess…. AGAIN!” He paced the room as Shawn sighed and waited for the kid to get it out of his system. “But what did I expect from Space Hobo. What’s next? What new pain in my ass are you going to share with me?” This wasn’t going to stop as soon as Shawn wanted.
“So, pop quiz. Where are we?”
The kid growled, “The dojo you and I met in. Where else?” Of course he was so mad at Shawn he couldn’t notice something so obvious. He thought about telling him but the kid read his expression and elaborated, “We are in some kind of illusion, shared hallucination, or realm of memories. Haven’t figured out the exact nature, but the taste in the air and the lack of weight when I move tells me that this isn’t the real Dojo. It hasn’t been like this for a long time.” His dour tone betrayed the kid’s doubts. It was his fault that it ended up like this, but if he hadn’t shown him the way he would have been lost. The kid spoke again, “Okay, so by your lies of omission, I’m guessing you pissed off this ‘witch’ or killed someone she knew, but why would she punish me too then?” Shawn tried not to beam with pride as his student used his training to figure it out. “Wait, you didn’t…” his eyes narrowed, “You dick. You gambled with her and lost.”
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“Jury is still out on that last part.”
Douglas growled, “You cyclopean douche. What was the bet and why involve me?” He always liked when the kid started calming down. The insults became a lot more creative, like a barometer for his progress.
He was so busy basking in his student’s progress that he didn’t notice the rookie enter. Dean opened a sliding door, his shoulder length greasy hair framing his boyish face. The rookie let out a long sigh and shrugged, “Sure, why not.” The rookie waved lazily with one hand at Shawn, “Hey, chief. Cap having an episode again?” Shawn nodded slowly. “Kay. You have any idea on how to get out?” A shrug was enough response for a continuation, “Cool. Am I the only one who can feel that? No? Good.” Shawn blinked in confusion and the rookie sighed again, “A pull on my soul. A siren call. Like someone left the radio on at my house and I’m lost in the city.”
Closing his eyes to see if he could feel the same feeling, his concentration was broken by Douglas. The kid spoke with cold realization. “You found a way to save her…” The kid dared not look to confirm his theory. “Okay. Makes sense, Scarface. That said, how do we put this right? Fix history?”
“We don’t. This is history now. Our only options are stay or find a way home.”
Trying to focus on the sensation again, the rookie spoke as calmly as usual, which made focus easier, “Chief, if we can’t fix history, someone is gonna have to clean up. You got an idea for how we do that?”
“Anisa can handle it. She is made of the same stuff.”
The rookie shook his head, “Is this the time to remind you that we had each other? We are talking 20 years of baton passing, team building, and un-retirement. She can’t match that on her own. Especially all at once.” Realizing the rookie had a point, he thought about what to do before realizing what the sensation was. The rookie nodded quietly, “I can tell it isn’t here, but I feel it. If she finds it…” Shawn couldn’t help but smile at the idea, amazed again at the rookie’s out of the box thinking, he nodded. Getting a nod in response, the rookie called out, “Yo, Cap. You feel that? Think you can use it to find her?”
The kid seemed to snap to attention before tapping his chin, “I never met her. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Start by focusing on where it began. The Dragon Gem. If you can touch it, even with your mind, we would have somewhere to go.”
A shadowy figure stepped into the courtyard, a dark cloak obscuring their full appearance. “You three cast shadows a mile long. This realm is too welcoming for those like you. Survival will come from solitude.” The three of them readied themselves for a fight as the figure raised their hand. Darkness didn’t just pass over the world but became the world, like a tidal wave claiming the shore.
And just like that, in a dark cold moment, Shawn was truly alone. No sights. No sounds. No smells. Nothing but solitude. The longer this darkness stretched out before him, the more he felt the same he had since the moment he started this road. Truly and completely alone. And again he heard his heart asking him the question.
What can you do?