The next month and half flew by. Parker ended his days exhausted from trying to remember what all happened in his classes and how he could fly under the radar so no one suspected anything. Caleb was the hardest to fool because he knew him the best.
Parker thought that being three years older than everyone in his classes and the fact that he had actually taken all of these classes already would give him an advantage, but apparently the time on Earth 2 was enough to make him forget all of that stuff.
Alexis seemed to completely ignore the fact that he was a different Parker like she had originally pointed out. He wasn’t sure if that was just a defense mechanism she used to help herself not completely wig out at the fact that “her Parker” had for all intents and purposes died. Parker didn’t know if she thought about it that way, but he definitely had on several occasions.
By now, Parker was feeling much better with his Imperials than he had at the end of the second term. When everyone was around, he did his best to keep his abilities equal to those around him, but when he was alone or with just Alexis, he could train with his true power. As far as the things he could do went, they weren’t much different than what his classmates could do. But the sheer power behind those same skills was drastically different.
He also showed Alexis how good he had gotten at his Space Imperial through the years as well. At first she wasn’t overly impressed with him because she could accomplish the same things, however after a while she realized it seemed like he could do it for however long he wanted.
Parker loved the fact that they were getting back into a normal groove. There were times he could tell that she struggled with it, but overall she seemed to embrace the new Parker. He also promised to stop saying that he loved her until she said it to him. After saying it a few times, she asked him politely to stop as it made it a little harder. She had to get there on her own terms.
———
“All right everyone, gather round,” Master Kingston said as the class began to surround her. She had her back to the woods out in front of the castle. Wind blew around at a steady speed, making it a little tough to hear her speak. “We’re going to have a competition here.” Murmuring broke out around the crowd. “Outside of this mountain, there is a world for you and once you’re in it, you’ll need a job. One job that exists is being responsible for helping maintain the secrecy of certain species.”
“What does that even mean?” Vaughnn spoke up from within the crowd.
Master Kingston chuckled, “Well, for example, at the base of this mountain is at least one Petra Ingen.”
“A what?” another student shouted out over the wind.
“A giant rock monster,” Master Kingston said very matter-of-factly.
Several of the students began laughing after she said it. As if what she said couldn’t possibly be true. They stopped walking at the edge of the woods.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Vaughnn said. “There’s no way we wouldn’t have heard of something like that before we came here. Someone would’ve been bound to see something with the way the internet is now.”
Master Kingston started to laugh. “These are creatures that do everything in their power to stay hidden from the rest of the world. Some of the creatures you’ve heard of through myths and legends. For example, bigfoot, the Lochness monster, pegasus, and chimera. These are all things that people have believed to be real but never been able to prove of their existence due to how well they stay hidden in secluded areas.”
“So you’re trying to tell us that they’re all real?” Vaughnn couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“Well, not all of them, but a fair few. And one of the jobs that Imperials take on after learning how to master their skills is to aid in the protection and control of these creatures. Many people choose to simply have families and live normal lives, however, many choose this career path. These are the times that we need to begin training for, which is why we are here.”
“So what’s the competition you mentioned?” Emma Blackwell asked.
“Somewhere in the woods is a small animal called a Tilik. The first group to retrieve the animal will be the winner and will receive a reward.”
“What’s the reward?” several students shouted simultaneously.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The master thought for a moment. “I’d say a week off of homework is a worthy reward, wouldn’t you?” More muttering broke out amongst the class as she described the reward.
“This isn’t a fair contest though!” Vaughnn shouted yet again. “Those three have a distinct advantage. They can freeze time!”
Parker couldn’t believe the déjà vu he was feeling. This conversation was nearly identical to the one he remembered. “Afraid you’re gonna lose?” Parker taunted.
Vaughnn stared at Parker and squinted his eyes. “No, but I’d like to face you on even terms. Make it fair, no freezing time.”
Parker was ready to agree to his terms but in the next moment, he vanished.
———
Parker landed in a snow mound that was as deep as he was tall. He superheated his body out of instinct and the snow around him evaporated, hastily causing steam to rise through the air.
He remembered this perfectly. Lara just teleported him so she could explain everything that she knew. He saw the puffin and the bird with the beautiful tail and before he could turn around he heard Lara.
“You’re here to talk.”
Parker almost laughed. More like he was here to listen, but he knew this was his time to flip the table on her. “Yeah, you know what, I am here to talk and you’re going to listen.”
Lara shook her head in surprise and then gestured for him to continue. Parker was a little thrown off by this. He had expected her to argue about that. “I know about Master Terra, I know what your plan is to stop him and I know that your plan only ends in death and suffering.” The look on Lara’s face told Parker that he had the upper hand.
“How could you know anything?” she asked.
“How could I know that Master Terra plans to kidnap Hailee? How do I know that you’re planning on creating an entire second Earth where only Imperials exist? How do I know that you feel non-Imperials don’t deserve to live? Don’t worry about that. Worry about the fact that I do know and the fact that I’m going to stop you.”
Lara stood in stunned silence. Parker could tell that she was completely off of her game now. He had to do this perfectly otherwise, who knew what would happen?
“This can go one of two ways, Lara. One, you continue like you planned and I kill you to save everyone else. Or two, you listen to me and we stop Master Terra together.”
Lara stared at him for a moment and then vanished. Parker quickly reached out to sense her core and found it quickly. She hadn’t gone far. He teleported and landed on the dock in the small town they had been above. People milled around oblivious to the fact that two people just appeared out of nowhere.
Lara’s eyes shot open as she saw him appear in front of her. “How did you…”
“You need to decide. Will it be option one or two?” Parker cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered, “I suggest option two.”
“Fine,” Lara squinted her eyes and agreed. “Option two.”
Parker couldn’t believe that she just listened. Something had to be going on. He understood that she was thrown off, but there was no way she should just be agreeing to him right now. This dock they were on was where she went on her tirade about how non-Imperials didn’t deserve to live and then proceeded to try to show how they were truly monsters at heart.
“Let’s go somewhere warmer to have this conversation,” Parker said and then they were sitting on a beach. The sun was covered by clouds but the temperature was significantly warmer.
Lara looked around and didn’t see any people. “Where are we?” she asked. “What is this place?”
“Just a secluded beach,” Parker said. He didn’t admit it, but this place had way more meaning to him than it being just a secluded beach. In the distance, Parker could see the cave where he held his Alexis for the last time. Where he’d been before he jumped back in time.
Lara seemed exasperated by this point. “Explain how we can stop him and save Hailee.”
Parker noticed that she wasn’t stuck on the idea of not being around the non-Imperials after stopping Master Terra. It had to be because he didn’t allow her to torment the people on the dock like she had last time. He wondered for a brief second how her not doing that, changed the lives of all those people on the dock.
“Okay. I know you plan on using Hailee and I to create Earth 2.”
“What’s Earth 2?” she asked.
Parker realized he’d called it what they just decided to refer to it as. “Never mind. Regardless, I won’t help you do that. I also know that Master Terra plans on getting rid of all us Omnis.” The look of disbelief on Lara’s face was priceless everytime to Parker. “We aren’t going to let that happen. Not this time.” It slipped out before he could stop himself.
“You’re not Parker,” Lara said. “At least, you’re not my Parker.” Parker tried to say something but she cut him off. “I had my suspicions a little bit ago when you stood up to me. My Parker wouldn’t have done that and my suspicion grew even more when you teleported to me. This just confirms it.”
Parker didn’t know what to say to her. He stared at her silently. Something had to happen. He had to turn the tide back in his favor. “I know everything I know because I’ve lived it. We CAN stop him.”
Before Parker could say anything else, Lara vanished. Reacting immediately, Parker reached out to sense her core but he couldn’t find it anywhere. Was she hiding it or was he just not strong enough to feel it from how far away he is?
“Shit!” he yelled at himself. How had he been so careless? He’d gone so long with his friends and not giving anything away.
Parker walked along the beach toward the cave. The closer he got to it, the faster his heart raced. When he entered it, the sun broke through the clouds and shined brightly through the openings in the cave ceiling. He stared at the spot that he had held his Alexis for the last time and started to cry.