Life crouches over Kikito’s crumpled figure on the ground. I rush forward with a yell but she throws her hand back to me. Her expression is completely benevolent. Peaceful enough to stop me in my tracks. Kikito gives me an expression of pain, confusion, and anger. Life turns back to him and cups his face in his hands.

“I know that was cruel but I won’t do it again. Can you focus on it?”

“Why the arm you psycho!” Kikito manages to say. Her grip tightens.

“Get a hold of yourself. You’ve already died today. This is nothing. Focus on it. When you feel something pull within you harness it and tell it what you want it to. You want to to heal you.” Kikito’s eyes widen.

She steps back. Kikito grunts into a sitting position, gingerly nursing his arm into his lap. He puts his good arm over it and closes his eyes. A flock of crow’s feet nestle into the creases of his eyelids. Flickers of blue shoot out from his fingertips, floundering several times before catching and blazing in a small inferno over his broken arm like water in a flood. the light makes it impossible for the arm to be seen until suddenly the light extinguishes and Kikito falls back. Both arms hit the ground without a whimper.

“Why didn’t you cut him instead? You didn’t have to break it,” I say.

“You’re right,” she replies and doesn’t elaborate.

After a few minutes he sits up again, waving both arms around with ease. His eyes nearly pop out. “Cooooool,” he mutters and looks at her, “what else can I do?”

“See into your species’ past and future. You’ll have to figure out what and when you’re seeing but with time it’ll become easy as breathing. I’m not sure what else may develop. Normally it’s dependent on who made you.”

“Who made ‘em?” He asks and then give me a double glance. “Are you saying Kev?”

“There’s no denying that him resurrecting you has had an effect on you, but no one has been brought back from the dead before. Energy that’s been condensed into a singular consciousness isn’t repairable. What metaphor do you use: trust is a mirror? So are souls. No one’s had the strength to put them back together since Inbetween.

“Power is cultivated as a lineage with us. Our celestial creations have a tendency to be stronger than us in their maturity. Inbetween was already capable of everything the Repression could do when they were killed.”

“Who killed them?” I ask.

Her face hardens. “We need to find the Tides. I can answer more of your questions along the war. There’s a lot more I have to tell you,” she chuckles, “in a way, I’m excited to tell you about our history. It makes us feel closer to being one.”

“What about me am I one with you guys too?” Kikito interjects.

“You’re your own being, Kikito. You’re the first prophet to grace the world in many millennia. Hopefully you’ll be a harbinger for millennia to come.”

Kikito looks down at his hands with renewed excitement. “So what do we now? How do we find the Tides?”

Life sits down and gestures to join her. “It’s going to be a team effort. Kelvin has a connection with her and you’re connected to him as well as your ability to see into anyone presently placed in the universe. She’s not exactly in the linear universe anymore but it should still work. I can be a conduit to make both of your efforts stronger. We’ll need to hop around to find a weak spot to break through. Kikito can you visualization where Dark was when it got to the Tides?

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

“Not exactly. It’s more like a feeling than anything else. I can describe it to you if you want.”

Life sits down and gestures us to join her. “It’s going to be a team effort. Kelvin has a connection with her and you’re connected to him as well as your ability to see into anyone presently placed in the universe. She’s not exactly in the linear universe anymore but it should still work. I can be a conduit to make both of your efforts stronger. We’ll need to hop around to find a weak spot to break through. Kikito can you visualize where Dark was when it got to the Tides?”

“Not exactly. It’s more like a feeling than anything else. I can describe it to you if you want,” he replies.

“I can do you one better. If we touch while you focus on it you may be able to share that feeling with me,” Life says. He nods and extends his hand. She hugs him instead, wrapping him in her arms and resting her head on his shoulders. Sparks of blue and purple fly from them for several minutes while they remain united. I watch on admiring the small fireworks show. It’s the small things, right?”

Finally she lets go and processes the information. Kikito has a small sweat broken across his forehead. I expect him to ask if it worked but he’s looking at her with tears in his eyes. She puts her hands on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry you haven’t had time to grieve.”

“I can once it’s dead,” he says quietly.

“You will,” she says and turns to me, “I got. It’s clear on the other side of the Ways but we’ll be able to get through. Most of the subterranean creatures here tend to stay out of the way.”

“Shouldn’t be anything we can’t avoid, right?” I ask, realizing halfway I have no idea what I’m talking about. She’s started running and we’re forced to follow or else be left in the dust.

“I can listen for anything big and bad, including your monster. I’m hopeful it hasn’t found a way in yet but its entire purpose is to find us because we have pieces of Inbetween’s remains. I’m a fraction of the actual entity and you’re going to be its host.”

“I’m not sure I got any of that,” I say.

“When your friend’s grandfather came to the cave he nearly roused the Repression and the remains of Inbetween, but he fled before it came to fruition. And when you performed your little spell you completed that process. That creature that ate Greg was made to find and take us back to her, which involves being absorbed by her. Considering how powerful a being Inbetween was, it’s a bad thing to mix fire with, well, a bomb.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” I demand.

“Find Mirana and we find the Loomer. Then we can find the rest of Inbetween, resurrect him, and destroy her so she can’t do it again.”

Kikito furrows his brow and says, “If we can resurrect this thing then why not show its parent it’s okay now?”

“Don’t think I haven’t tried. I approached her once. I thought I could bring her to her senses but as soon as I entered the city it started twitching. It produced a creature at that time; tall and gray with a whirlpool for a head. It’s been millions of years but I can still hear the screeching digging into my head.” She shudders. “If they’re anything like us then it’s still around.”

We fall into silence after that. She leads us around the Willways for a time. Kikito keeps up with her while I hang back. I’m preoccupied with these tunnels so large and ancient, but they feel faintly familiar. The roof towers high above us in its biggest channels but never shrinks small enough to prevent a baby Godzilla from barreling through. Their electric blue hue couldn’t be replicated. The closest thing I can think of is the blue nuclear reactors give off. You couldn’t drive a hundred miles without one blazing on in the distance.

I’m so enthralled in my thoughts I don’t realize we’ve stopped until I smack into Kikito’s back. I see the large hole once I get my bearing. A large tear in the stone revealing a window to starless sky. Small waves brush against the rip’s shores but no water spills over. We’re stare until Life’s takes the reins. She approaches, putting her hand into the void and puling it back. Once she’s satisfied with examining she looks at me.

“This is it. I didn’t expect this so proceed with cautions,” she says. We both he takes the first step and disappear into the void. I go next, Kikito right behind me.