Room 07, 61st Floor, New Moon Plaza Hotel, California
2:39 a.m, December 22nd, 2028
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Celes held her head down to the sink and splashed her face with water for what felt like the thousandth time in four days. It was a wonder her skin wasn't washed off yet.
What had happened to her was simply ridiculous, yet she had no choice but to accept it.
Were she one of those severely mental 'Paradise Seekers', she would have realized and jumped at the chance of rebirth days ago, but a trick was the first and most logical answer she could think of with her years of experience.
It could be a Phantom Butterfly…or a Mirror Hell Devil…or possibly a Dream locust! But…none of them could make such a detailed world and trick her brain to this extent.
As a fourth-ranked Card Lord, she had already begun to strengthen her soul subtly and her senses couldn't be that easily manipulated without a trace.
After four days, the reality was concrete.
This wasn't an illusion.
But even then, she had a hard time accepting it.
Leaning against the sink, with the water dripping down her chin and long dark hair, she stared blankly at the mirror, her mind whirring for more reason. Suddenly, something floated to the surface of her consciousness.
Since this is the past...
She immediately dashed out of the bathroom and raced for her phone. Grabbing it, she dialed a number, slightly trembling as she waited for the call to be picked up.
"Jasmine... are you…ok…Sis?" Celes asked. Her voice couldn't stop trembling, despite mustering all her strength to hold it back.
"Sis?" came Jasmine’s sharp tone over the phone. "What drugs are you on Lady Celes? I'm busy."
Hearing that voice followed shortly by the beep of Jasmine hanging up, Celes was sure this wasn't an illusion.
Jasmine should be dead.
As siblings, naturally she and Jasmine were at each other's throats on a regular basis, but at this time, if Celes remembered correctly, they were supposed to be in a month-long feud caused by Jasmine going against Celes without letting her know. When she found out Jasmine went against her words, she tattled to their father. Of course, he gave Jasmine the ‘talk’, fueling their little fued more.
Such petty squabbles were the last thing they remembered of each other, until…
Celes shut her eyes tightly as the memory came flooding back. She couldn't bring herself to think of what happened and of her sister's desecrated body.
Trying to shift her thoughts away from the gruesome details, she remembered another member of her family who she needed to call.
"Wait! Mom," she gasped.
One of the biggest regrets of her life.
She quickly dialed another number, saved as Rebecca Greymore and not something like ‘Mom’.
"Hello?" A soft voice answered the phone with audible surprise after the second ring. "Celes, is it really you? What's with the sudden call — No, it doesn't matter. Is everything ok? Are you —?" But she was quickly cut off by the dial tone.
Somewhere in the city, Rebecca Greymore tucked her chestnut hair behind her ear before replacing her hand on the steering wheel to round a bend. Her phone was still on, now sitting in by the gear. She had answered it upon seeing the caller ID, but the call had ended as quickly as it began.
Rebecca parked a few seconds later and looked at the screen in a daze, the caller ID "My lovely Celes" displaying the minute call length.
"Celes..." A soft murmur escaped from her lips. Was it a mistake? Or was one of her daughters really open to talking to her after all these years?
She desperately hoped so, but it felt too good to be true… It was probably a mistake.
Back in the luxury hotel room, Celes stared at her mother’s picture in her phone, remembering the voice that had just filled her ear. She could no longer help it, her trembling fingers spread their disease to her body as she shook violently.
Tears burst like a dam.
"Mom!" she cried out, sinking to her knees. "Mom! Mom…"
How was she so cruel before?
Resenting a loving mother simply because she didn't love her father as much as they did, and the fact she and her sister were born as test tube babies? Rebecca was a mother who loved them and supported them!
Covered in shame, Celes couldn't even speak to her when she got the chance to say all she wanted to say now. It was blocked in her throat, forming a painful lump that synchronized with her heartbeat.
She slumped to lay against the floor, drowned by the memories and regret of her foolishness. Her tears continued to stream out the sides of her eyes as she now stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.
"No. I have a chance to make things right…" she murmured, realizing the opportunity her regression had brought.
Her voice started bolder as the realization hit her deeper, daring to be a reminder of her commanding tone as the Blue Phoenix. "I will make things right. Mom, Dad, Jasmine, this entire city; I will save them all!"
Thinking of those tragic scenes and the horrific fate that lay in wait for her loved ones and the city she grew up in, Celes hardened her resolve.
With knowledge of the future, she would be a fool to not capitalize on it. As one of the peaks of humanity and the few who ascended to the rank of 'Lord', even heading her own stronghold, she was fully qualified to save an entire city. She would not lose any of them. Never again!
Her thoughts suddenly spun on who to first get on her side, someone who could give her some assistance with her preparations as she couldn't do many things alone, nor did she have much time before the end of the world begins.
She quickly called her best friend, explaining as much as she could without sounding absolutely crazy. But unfortunately, she couldn’t escape sounding absurd.
"Extraordinary Cards? End of the World? Alien Races? Secret Realms?" Minnie’s voice grew in concern as she head Celes quietly hum in confirmation of the the things she echoed. After a short moment passed, she asked, "Sweetie, are you on drugs? Did Morgan finally drag you to a party and slip some in your drink? Or is this your way of revealing you have a gamer boyfriend? If it’s a boyfriend reveal, then let me just say it’s about time! Being single for so long will —"
"Minnie!" Celes cut her off in a solemn tone. There wasn’t a hint of amusement in her demeanour. "This is serious."
There was a pause. Deep breaths were carried over the connection, as if bracing for something.
"I'll be right there."
Celes heaved a sigh of relief, as her future right hand and the brains behind the operation, Minnie could be counted on. Minnie had saved Celes’s neck time and time again, and the shelter would have been flattened several times over without her help.
***
"So, let me see if I'm understanding correctly," Minnie started as soon as she walked in, her blonde hair in a high ponytail. "You came back from the future and the world ends? Is that why I haven’t heard from you in days?"
Minnie was a lively young lady, wearing pink shorts topped with a red blouse and finishing it off with purple high heels. Of course, we can’t forget the pink skull necklace that rested on her sizeable chest. She crossed her legs and made the sofa her home, not knowing how happy and relieved Celes was to see her and her eccentric wardrobe choices again.
"Yes," Celes answering, taking a seat next to Minnie. "One week from now—no, it's been four days since ‘I’ technically got here, so…three days from now?" She paused and confirmed the calculation before continuing.
"On December 25th, 2028, at approximately 10:15 p.m, the world will come to an end. The time will be a bit different here in New Roselee, though. These strange disasters that have been occurring are all precursors to this. The weird behavior of animals, terrible weather displacing millions around the globe, and sightings of strange debris and celestial bodies in space… They are not made-up events or unrelated; they are signs."
Leaning back against the sofa, she rubbed her face with her palms, letting out a soft breath as she tugged at her memory. "The spatial fabric of this world has already begun to become unstable. Three hours after the Genesis Card Fall, three days from now, the portals will open, Earth will expand, celestial images will appear in the sky, and cards will have descended on the planet. Four days have passed, so you should be clear of the trend currently forming. It all leads to the end of modern times. Some disasters have yet to happen, but they will in these last 3 days."
Minnie nodded quietly, listening attentively at the recollection.
"The alien races from beyond the portals and mutant animals are the biggest threat," Celes informed her. "But in some ways, they are dwarfed by the Prime Terraforming Event that occurs at the same time. This is when the earth expands and the lands and seas shift, mountains rise, and the landscape is changed forever. Before the apocalypse, just some precursor disasters reaped countless lives as we see on the news, but even though such feats like these cut down the global population by a lot, the terraforming will similarly reap countless lives before the fighting even begins. We are lucky to be in one of the few 'complete cities' and even then a piece of the city is separated, but we are in a better position than cities sunk to the bottom of the ocean or split in several pieces and tossed around."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Celes's face was downcast thinking of all the casualties and crying children, mourning parents, and displaced regular people with their hopes extinguished just to be hit with an even worse calamity soon after.
Minnie's eyebrow twitched. If she hadn't pinched all over and checked if this was her dear friend Celes with the perfect body and personality of a prude, she would wonder if she had been replaced or if this was a fever dream. But as her best friend, Minnie could tell when Celes wasn't joking. She wasn't even the type to make such sick jokes, not to mention interrupting her at work.
"So, on top of the dead we see on the news now…there will be even more later?" Minnie asked, still poking and pinching Celes’s arm for good measure.
"Yes, much more. Beyond your wildest imagination," Celes replied, brushing her hands off from pinching her flesh.
"Is it worse than a zombie apocalypse?" Minnie asked, looking up when the response was delayed. Seeing Celes nod, her eyebrows further knitted tightly in a frown.
"And these cards…" she kept asking, "they give us the power to survive and fight back against all foes? And they are omnipotent? Really?"
Minnie obviously couldn't instantly accept such big news of a ridiculous nature. Just one was hard to believe as it was, but the combination was bat shit crazy.
"Without them, we humans would undoubtedly be extinct," Celes answered. "Even with many races not being hostile to us, the few that are could easily wipe us out if it weren’t for the power of our Card Masters."
"So, like… How do these cards work? Is it science, or…magic?"
Celes shrugged but still provided an answer. "Our scientists have surmised that cards hold countless mystical powers and make the impossible possible. If there was something impossible, then it’s merely our ignorance and lack of ability.
"Elemental Cards, Spell Cards, Transformation Cards, Summoning Cards, Tool Cards, Domain Cards, Talent Cards. You name it. They come in many forms and offer great power, matching that of fictional superheroes, and even beyond."
Minnie blinked rapidly, trying to keep up with her trance-like friend.
"Sadly, even in the end, humanity fights among itself with this great power. Men inflict great amounts of torment and suffering on their fellow men. Warlords ruling streets and districts, revamped concentration camps, selling people as items in slavery, rape, plunder, pillaging...The malice of human beings took many forms in the last days. The apocalypse movies and TV shows are child-friendly compared to the horrors that will happen in real life."
"This is a lot to take in, that's for sure," Minnie chuckled nervously. "If I wasn't sure you're my favorite melon eater, then I would think you belong in an asylum!"
"This isn't all some elaborate joke, is it though?" Minnie asked after a thought, playing with her bright ponytail. "I'm warning you right now, Tess Celes Greymore Litvia!"
Celes raised her eyebrows when her full name was called, an amused smirk tugging the side of her lips, daring Minnie to continue.
"If you are playing some sick joke then I will never forgive you!" Minnie's clear blue eyes rested on Celes's face as if to pick up on any telltale signs. She had already been stuck at home, juggling school and work responsibilities, but now she was implicitly being asked to drop everything for a few days which can greatly affect her review, grades, and pay.
As a self-sufficient woman not relying on her parents, also on bad terms with her family, she would rather not have to beg or borrow money. With consecutive days of absence, she would definitely lose her job if she went chasing after some apocalypse prank.
"I would never.” Celes was back to being stone serious again. “I swear, if I'm lying then I should be struck by lightning and be cursed to be stuck in a vegetative state on a hospital bed." Celes matched her friend's gaze and couldn't help but feel lucky she had such a reliable friend that she could always count on no matter the situation.
It was decided; she would ensure that her friend became a 'King' and even higher.
They would become stronger together and not be separated like in the past, due to Minnie's inferior natal card. Adventuring and saving the world, they will do it together like in the beginning and forever after!
After hearing such a solemn vicious oath, Minnie was finally put at ease, but her heart was still troubled by other matters, like certain details Celes had shared about the future she came from.
"Your sister and my mother… Did they really... have that done to them?"
"Yes," Celes answered in a somber tone.
"Even Xia was…” Minnie muttered, mulling over what she had been told. “I can't imagine how scarred she was afterwards."
Celes heaved a sigh. "It haunts me that I couldn't stop any of it..."
"Then I guess we should make a hit list. Scum like those should have a date with some medieval punishments," Minnie said, gritting her teeth as she thought of the tragedy.
The thought alone was enough to make her blood boil. She really couldn't imagine it actually happening. She thought of her favorite apocalypse weapon; a bat with barbed wires. She would definitely give those scum a taste of pleasure between their legs. Let them see a real big and fearsome rod!
"The future seems horrific, but fortunately for us we have you as the cheat code to this cruel new game," she grinned. Her heart was at ease thinking of this. Knowledge was power and this knowledge brought power comparable to several nuclear bombs and missiles if what Celes said was true. Cards... Were they truly that amazing?
"So, what's the plan?" Minnie looked to see a now smiling Celes.
"That's what you're here for."
***
They spoke in hushed tones, even though they had no reason to be as they were so high up in the building.
"The Medallions, and grabbing suitable cards from the Genesis Card Fall you mentioned are obviously top priorities," Minnie began, "but creating the shelter and protecting our close family and friends will be difficult without extra preparations."
Celes nodded. "We can't take in everyone at such an early stage. That would spread us too thin. A hundred able-bodied people and extra family members should be the max initial resource size."
"To feed and protect such a group, we need a lot of food and a good shelter,” Minnie pointed out, scribbling into a note. “I can already think of a few ways. We also need to remember to store resources for expansion."
Celes nodded, taking notes as well.
"Choosing who to save and bring with us initially, other than family members, won't be an issue with your knowledge," Minnie continued. "But before any further plans... We need to convince your family and mine that we're not crazy. That’s the tallest hurdle. Even though I still find it hard to believe, I'm choosing to trust you.”
This made Celes crack a smile, mouthing a ‘thanks’.
Minnie smirked and carried on with her survey of the situation. “Getting them on board will be very difficult, and without their cooperation, saving them will be much harder, especially since my family and I are not on speaking terms. Moreover, some of yours and mine are not in the city. We need to get them here ASAP."
"Yes. I was trying to avoid thinking about that. As expected, even you find it difficult," Celes added. She had too little time after her inner turmoil to make structured plans. The shock from regressing still hadn't faded yet, so someone level-headed like Minnie, adaptable to all situations, was best suited to draft the plans.
Minnie heaved a sigh, rubbing her forehead as she muttered, “I wish we had more time…”
"I'm sorry,” Celes apologized. “If I hadn't been out of it for four days, we would have more time." Guilt was starting to spread within her. She had been given the privilege of going back in time but wasted four precious days in denial.
"No no, it's okay. Like I keep saying, it's really hard to believe, even for me. For you, it must have been crazier. In a future like that, this situation is a wild dream for many. Thinking it's fake when it happens is quite normal."
The end of the world… Who would believe it? People had become too desensitized to crazy predictions and various other factors. These past four days made many ask that question, but how could they truly understand what the end would entail? Old folks like their grandparents were also very thick-headed.
"Tricking them is obviously the best option to guide them to act as we wish, but unfortunately, our families are used to our quirkiness and are too smart to be easily deceived. You also have Aunt Sheril and your sister, and I have my entire family due to that 'incident'."
Celes completely agreed. Her sister and she were in a fight right now, and Aunt Sheril was evil in flip-flops with mustard-colored nail polish. Her father was an ex-soldier, private investigator, and doctor. He was so outstanding that people often asked if he was real or made in a lab, which irked her underlying issues from being a test tube baby.
In retrospect, she was more open-minded now, almost 24 and mentally mature. Her family was also wealthy, from old money, and their values were hard to change. Their minds were sharp from being trained from an early age. She knew her father well, and pulling a fast one on him would be extremely difficult.
They spent the next few hours brainstorming ideas and occasionally writing down things to use later on after they crossed this first hurdle.
"I got it!" Minnie suddenly jumped up excitedly.
"What is it?" Celes quickly asked.
"We'll make renovations to a storm house shelter and tell everyone we're doing a charity project to help local homeless children. We need a large crowd to qualify for a government grant to expand to Africa to help even more people!”
Celes frowned thoughtfully as she tried to process this, but Minnie didn't stop.
“Tell them it's a class effort,” Minnie continued, her blue eyes lighting up in excitement, “and everyone is bringing their families, even the university president! It also doubles as my research for my major under the family relationship theme, so we need every family member to be present. It's very on-brand for you and me and our extra 'charitable' university."
"Your major is accounting, though?” Celes pointed out. “And didn't you say the university's charity events are just facades where rich people show off their money only to put it right back into their pockets, looking like chipmunk-ape hybrids in dresses and suits?"
Celes chuckled, finding the irony in the situation.
"Well, even now, the charity is still not a charity but a cover. Family studies is a minor here, didn't you know? As for the poor children in Africa and the homeless, well..." Minnie's voice slowly grew to a whisper.
Celes quickly touched her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Minnie had a tender heart that ached for the less fortunate. She would help whenever she could and volunteered at orphanages and elderly homes. It wouldn't be easy using charity as a cover.
"Don't feel too bad. It's necessary to save all of them. It's for their survival, even if we use the less fortunate in vain."
While she wasn't proud of it, such tactics were frequently used in her time as ruler. Even Minnie grew to do so frequently. Using just their names was pretty tame. Understanding her friend's current innocence, Celes tried to cheer her up.
"Don't worry. The children in Africa are safe. The Elephant Spear, or Adebiyi by name, is one of the thirty-six known True Lords in the last days, with his territory in former Africa. With him at the head, the little children should be fine."
Minnie looked up at her friend with a smile. Celes always knew what to say to cheer her up.
She was tempted to ask what a True Lord was, but knew what to prioritize.
"We'll stock up on snacks and drinks to really sell it. It doubles as a perfect excuse to stock up a lot without drawing too much attention. There's plenty of room for all our friends and family. Then when the time comes..."
Celes picked up, "We lock the doors and break the news. It's not a perfect plan, but it's our best shot to quietly gather everyone safely ahead of time without causing total panic."
Minnie smiled supportively.
They both tacitly avoided discussing the logistics of buying a lot of food to store, which obviously couldn't be hidden. Some would definitely remember it post-apocalypse and come to their doors.
Celes took a deep breath and steeled herself." Okay, let's do this."