Enid hugged Miko kissed her, Hazel snatched her and ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead. Amee gave Enid one last hug. Enid laughed.

“Yesh it’s only going to be a fifteen-minute dip into limbo to make sure the targeting is working. We’ll be fine guys.”

Amee pointed at Enid’s bag.

“And you are bringing your pack of everything because?”

Enid shrugged.

“I’m going to do some shopping while I’m in Atlantis of course.”

“Shopping? Everyone is frozen in time there if you’re too be believed.”

“Shoplifting? Looting? Archaeology, call it whatever you want my beautiful wife.”

Enid hugged Amee and the pair kissed. Hazel made a gagging sound.

“Yesh its not enough I have to hear you going at it all night now you’re swapping tongues in public.”

Enid grabbed Amee’s rear tightly and glared at her daughter. Maria coughed politely.

“Okay, dimensional portal is active.”

Everyone looked through it and there stood floating in space was barely held together reality pillar.

“Oh well here goes”

Enid glanced at Hazel.

“Helmet on.”

“Mom, we know exactly where we’re landing this time.”

“Ya, still helmet on kid.”

Hazel’s helmet formed as did Enid and the pair held hands and ran towards the gate. There was a flicker and it went offline. Amee looked at Maria.

“Get it back. What happened?”

“Just a blip Amee. I’m recharging capacitors, with the new capacitors and antimatter generators, shouldn’t be more than a few minutes.”

Amee had her hands folded around her elbows. It had been so long since she’d allowed herself to love someone, in the two months since Enid and herself had eloped and been married she hadn’t let her leave on any missions, but with assurances the Silwrath were very far away, and wormhole beacons at three separate colony worlds she knew it was time for Enid to start fixing the past again. She kept pacing back and forth and glancing at her holo-phone then to Maria. She looked down at stepdaughter Miko who had created holographic dinosaurs with her play set and was making roar sounds while chasing them with wolves. She also had a strange imagination. The girl had started calling her momma already. Click, click, click her heals echoed in the Project: Blackhole gate room. She tapped her holo-phone and looked at Maria who was typing furiously on her keyboard.

“Got a lock on the reality pillar, opening now.”

The gateway flared to life and the reality pillar was easily visible, but no sign of Enid or Hazel.

“They aren’t there Maria, where is my wife?”

Maria closed the gate way and started touching her ancient silver crucifix. Amee fought the urge to go look over the dark-haired woman’s shoulder. If there was a person in the world that loved Enid as much as her, it was the pale former necromancer.

“Maria?”

Miko looked up at Amee.

“Momma okay.”

Miko pointed at one of the wolves in her playset.

“Momma, Hazel.”

Amee crouched and picked up the two-year-old and Miko gave her a tight hug.

“Everthin okay momma.”

Miko patted Amee’s cheek then touched one of her tears.

“No cry. Momma okay.”

Amee looked at Maria who looked up from her controls.

“I’m just going to target Enid.”

Amee took a deep breath while bouncing Miko, more for her own comfort then the toddler, who seemed quite calm with the situation. Several minutes passed and the gateway lit up again. This time it showed a green field and several stone round houses. A red wolf wandered out and then Hazel. Who was dressed very differently when they left. The red wolf shifted into Enid who was naked and filthy and had twigs and other debris in her hair.

“Thank god we found you! Are you okay? What happened?”

Enid looked at her wife, walked over to her and gave her the biggest kiss.

“I don’t want to talk about. Shower.”

She pointed to the exit and walked into the halls naked. Hazel also quite filthy but was fully clothed in furs and the like she shrugged at Amee and Maria, kissed her baby sister on the head and whistled. A raptor came with a beautiful rainbow pattern along its neck and flanks came through. Hazel kneeled down and it licked her face.

“That’s a good little Daisy. Lets go find you some fake meat.”

Maria, and Amee were staring at the scene with a small bit of shock, a bit of horror. Miko was bouncing in Amee’s arms and clapping. As if she knew what was coming all along.

“Daisy!”

Maria hopped in front of Hazel.

“Slow down there, what are you doing with a dinosaur on the station?”

“This is Daisy, she’s harmless…”

“What happened?”

Hazel scratched the back of her head. Her matted filthy, unkempt, usually well braided hair shifted as a mass.

“You know what I don’t feel like talking about it either. Here.”

She threw a data crystal to her Aunt.

“Uh I was supposed to keep a holo-journal for school so umm, if you could, watch it, tell my teacher I completed the assignment satisfactorily but you can’t share it because it’s classified that would be awesome. Thanks Aunt Maria, gotta go, Daisy is starving! And I am dying for a pepperoni pizza.”

The teenage girl and her pet dinosaur walked out of the room leaving a confused Maria and Amee in their wake. Maria looked down at the data crystal and up at Amee.

“Well…guess there’s only one way to find out.”

*****

Journal of Hazel Aurelius, Uh, sometime with lots of dinosaurs and ferns.

Day 1:

Its day one and I’m finally getting off of this ice ball. Mom and I are going hunting demons, I cannot wait. I mean pepperoni pizza is amazing, school is okay and the movies, how did I live without movies. But seriously mom has been having all the damn fun. Meeting dinosaur people, fighting giant dinosaurs. Fighting dragon men. Finally, I get some action again. Feel like my sword arm is getting rusty with all this sitting around talking. Okay so we’re not hunting demons, we’re going to Limbo to test this stupid gateway thingy. Anyway, probably need to erase this later because this is all classified, gah this is to be the worst journal in the history of journals. Tomorrow Hazel edit out everything but this – I woke up, I ate breakfast, I went to school, had a date, got yelled at for getting home late, went to bed.

Day 2:

Pluto Station! That big ugly battleship that mom captured is still here. Cerberus is out of dry dock. Pizza sucks and comms don’t work for four hours of the day. Aunt Maria totally promised me I could shoot the turrets this time. Okay shot the turrets I want a set for me…something portable I can just imagine those demons faces when…splat. Oh well Limbo in half an hour. Future me – Edit out the rest and uh, watched a movie today, then end.

Day 3:

Soooo, mom says this is not limbo. That there are no animals in Limbo. I figured something went wrong when we started falling as soon as we jumped through. Apparently that isn’t supposed to happen. Sure glad mom told me to put the helmet on, I landed in the grossest pool of sludge. Actually remember to erase that last part before anyone reviews this, can’t let mom know she was right. She might get ideas. Anyway it stunk, I stink. Mom said it was diarrhea from something. But like…what has shits that big? Edit – uh dinosaurs. This place is full of dinosurs we are so screwed.

Day 5:

Didn’t get to journal yesterday was too busy hunting with mom. And uh trying to figure out why she umm wouldn’t shift out of wolf form. So she’s mortal…and we’re really screwed because like, she is the only one who can use the ritual to get us outta here. Hunting didn’t work out so well, the big plant eaters can outrun us and know the terrain.

Day 6:

Mom is really cranky. Like cranky for her. I think we’re going to be stuck here for a while. Mom says Aunt Maria will open a gate to her eventually, we just have to be patient. Hunting went better today, we ran down a couple of raptors that seemed to be away from their pack. Used their bodies to funnel one of the brontos into a dead end. Mom got the throat. We ate really good today. Probably will for a few days.

Day 20:

Sorry journal, got distracted. Living here is super hard. No other humans around, just mom and she’s stuck as a wolf. Spirit-born language is pretty limited but we can communicate. She’s pretty upset she got me stuck here. I tried to tell her its okay I came because I wanted too. Pretty sure its good I came because like, given enough time I’m sure I can learn the spell to get us home. Or at least somewhere else.

Day 45:

So I finally figured out why mom is stuck as a mortal. Either she is refusing to admit it to herself, or like, she just doesn’t want to admit it to me but she’s totally preggos. There was this guy, Daniel? She met him on Titan. Anyway he came over and…I’m pretty sure her and Amee and him did the dirty. Not sure how well this is going to go since Daniel was a human and mom is stuck as a wolf. Wolves were not meant to give birth to eight pound baby humans. Sure glad I spent all that time helping deliver babies back at the village.

Day 110:

Its been a while, Sorry Mrs. Mullens, totally meant to keep this up. I’m long past how many days I needed but since I have no one to talk too, well maybe it will keep me sane. Mom is pretty depressed lately. Barely talking to me. She’s been trying to teach me magic so I can do the ritual to get us outta here, but I am not the best student.

Day 111:

I am on hundred percent sure I could write a very through essay on dinosaurs of the…is it the Jurassic Period now. I mean for one thing the ones from that really cool movie with super handsome guy totally not true to real life. The walls would not be big enough or strong enough. Also I could give pointers on what to hunt and what not to hunt. Mom has gotten way more hungry lately. We’d been taking down smaller animals and such, mom says the big ones take too much energy but today she demanded a bronto. I like the meat from those, once you get through the scaly hide it is really good meat. Made some steaks. Oh yes and fire is an effective means of warding off the really big predators. Mom says there’s something called a T-Rex. Bigger than a house. Haven’t seen one. Oh, dinosaur eggs are great if you fry them up. Totally tasty. Like a massive chicken egg.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Day 112:

Went out scouting today, found a raptor nest. Eggs had hatched most had left the nest. No parents anywhere to be seen. I think we killed them yesterday to hunt that bronto, like I said before best way to hunt the massive plant eaters is to use raptor bodies to funnel them into a place where mom in wolf shape and me in half-shape can take it down. There was one runt left. Barely alive. Mom said to leave it, that we had no way to feed it. Dinosaurs make milk by the way, that was a new thing we figured out a several weeks back. Taste like ass but it sure is filling. If you mix it with the right berries its tolerable. I found the dead mother and extracted the milk, hopefully its not going to make baby ill.

Day 117:

Daisy, that’s my new pet raptor, is getting really big really fast. Had to hunt down another horn head. Mom says they are triceratops, whatever, it had milk and the meat was good. Mom refused but I guess she is four months pregnant and seems to be carrying a human fetus in a tiny little wolf body. She says Daisy is waste of resources and time that I should be using studying the spell to get us out of here. But like, I cannot study all the time and Daisy is adorable, she has this pretty rainbow pattern. Smart too, hangs on my every word. She’s young but I caught her to fetch already. Mom says dinosaurs are too stupid to train. I love my mom but sometimes she’s an idiot.

Day 134:

Had Daisy for two weeks, she’s still drinking milk. Mom is furious because I’m spending more time hunting for milk producing momma dinosaurs then studying, but I’m not going to let Daisy starve. Never had a pet before, mom never let me, but I mean what’s she going to do now? She’s stuck as wolf and a mortal. On the subject of mom she is getting REALLY big. I’m not sure she’s going to make it to nine months.

Day 135:

Mom is sleeping a lot today, guess she’s hit that my back hurts part of the pregnancy, donno never been pregnant, unlike her Miles and I used protection. I don’t think I can get pregnant in the past, its like my body wants food and water but, that’s it no…cycle. Anyway Daisy is doing great today but is also sleeping a lot. I think she knows mom is pregnant and other then drinking milk she’s been all over her. Mom is too tired to complain and feels like Daisy’s trying to protect her. Kinda bored, mom is too tired for lessons, I’ve finished all of the work that got sent with me and Daisy is to busy playing momma bear for my mom. Decided to going to the spirit realm. We have a really nice clear water spring flat surface I can see myself in. It didn’t work! Like what the fuck? Its like it wasn’t there. So, I tried summoning a spirit, like any spirit at all even the trees won’t talk to me. Tried to use the abilities I was taught by the spirits, nothing. Its like it doesn’t exist. I tried to talk to mom about it and she growled at me. Oh well.

Day 140:

So ya, mom did not make it to nine months it was more like four and a bit. It’s a boy? The birth did not go well. Not at all. It was a crazy light show. Like I’ve never seen it. Mom’s eyes glowed green and blue. The trees around us three like six feet ferns. Animals that we’d killed suddenly popped up alive. There is more going on with her then she is letting on, and has been since Egypt. I thought mom and baby were dead. Baby’s full grown! I’m guessing like 11 pounds. Eleven pound babies were not meant to come out of female wolf bodies. Mom is okay now, she won’t talk about the light show. Mom tried to feed him but she couldn’t, he refuses wolf tit. I tried to hunt down some milk, but I couldn’t because I have no place to put the baby. Daisy brought us back a small…pig thing to eat but it was male. So apparently mom can talk to dinosaurs, but trying to explain to Daisy we needed milk for the baby. Is difficult. I mean I suppose I could talk to dinosaurs to if the spirits existed. Mom tried to teach me this ritual she learned from the Winter Wolf, to make me produce milk, but uh, she doesn’t seem to understand that there are no spirits.

Day 141:

Baby has been crying constantly. But we have no milk. Not like there’s a store we can buy it from, goat or cow to milk. I milked mom, used one of her old synth-o bottles, baby refused. She is producing milk but he just won’t drink it. Mom is very frustrated she is still stuck as a mortal. Its like whatever is doing this doesn’t understand it doesn’t matter how much milk she makes, he isn’t drinking it. Mom got insistent I try the ritual about noon. It didn’t work. But the oddest thing happened considering I hadn’t been able to summon a spirit, but this horn-headed dinosaur spirit popped up and started speaking to me. She heard my cries for milk and said she would help her mother. She was talking about mom. No idea why like a week ago, no spirits now the world is full of them. Anyway she told me what I was doing wrong and well, me whose never been pregnant, doesn’t want to be pregnant, now has a kid sucking on my boob. Also my baby brother won’t leave them alone, completely obsessed with them the moment he tasted the milk. Mom tells me that is pretty common.

Day 160:

Baby brother, who I’ve named Lucas is growing superfast. I hate this nursing thing though. My boobs are all swollen, they keep dripping and I’ve gone through like twenty of mom’s tops. I’ve given up and just used some the hide we were tanning to make a shelter into a really rough loin cloth and top. Though mostly I’ve just been going topless. Lucas keeps coming on up to the milk bar. Kid is ALWAYS nursing. I can’t get a moments peace. Daisy has been super helpful and now the stuff I learned from the spirits is working, I can talk to her. She’s been playing sheep dog to Lucas. Pushing him back into the camp when he toddles too far. I’m not sure, but I’m fairly sure twenty-day old babies should not be walking on their own. I wonder how long before he stops nursing. I want my boobs to be my own again. I sure wish mom had told Daniel to stick it in her…ugg never mind mom is giving me a look gotta go.

Day 180:

Lucas is like the size of a three-year-old and he still keeps grabbing my chest. I’m pretty sure I stopped nursing before this when I was a baby. Okay maybe I was more then forty days old but he’s like talking and shit now. LEAVE MY BOOBS ALONE! Ugg, well we don’t exactly have a ready supply of fatty milk and I know kids need that from my health class so my milk has to do. I swear though I’m gonna summon a spirit and ask them to find me a cow! Because I don’t want to be the cow in this relationship any longer.

Day 190:

Ya I got tired of it, I finally did it summoned a spirit and demanded it find me something with milk that Lucas could drink. So I found this….thing. I mean It could be a cow…if it was like less spiky and hairy. But I tested pasteurizing the milk. Worked great, found like six of them so far and built a pen for them. Shifted to wolf form, marked the territory with mom. Got myself a regular dairy farm. Lucas is still growing really fast but at least my boobs are safe from molestation. And hey the milk isn’t bad. Thinking of trying to make some butter too. Used the trick Winter Wolf taught me to set up a sort of spirit powered fridge. Also got a smoker going. Lucas has taken to eating more meat then fruits now. Kid can drink a lot of milk though.

Day 220:

Lucas is like…seven? No idea why he is growing up so fast. He’s super big though, like tall as mom. Kid is going to be seven foot tall. Got two more cow-things. Had to kill some males, they make really good steak. Daisy chased off a large predator, didn’t get a chance to see it, clever girl, pretended to be part of a pack and kept coming at it from different sides. It seemed to think the better of attacking a pack of raptors. Also she hunts with mom I very well, has adapted to wolf harrying tactics really well. Though most of time we leave Lucas with her she’s really good with him. Nudges him back to camp when he wanders off. I feel like his mom. I’m too young to be a mom. I wish mom hadn’t gotten knocked up before we got stuck here!

Day 365:

So, I haven’t recorded a holo in a very long time, because Lucas is a bloody handful. He’s like the size of a ten-year-old now. He is reading so damn much. Asking a lot of questions too, like why can’t he change into a wolf, ect ect. I have put off the questions, I keep hoping mom shifts back to human and her old vampire self to answer all the questions or just take us home to Aunt Maria and my new stepmother. I think I could cast the spell now if I needed too but neither mom or I want to waste grandpas blood on a fuck up. Besides we’re not sure how Lucas would survive the trip. I’m not sure he’d adjust well to the future. Kid is a savage, already made himself a spear and started hunting things. Oh I made butter! Well I made that like months ago but it turned out good. We found some…roots that can pass for potatoes and it goes well with them. Mom has been bored, and demanding I collect samples of everything and put them in jars in her pack. I mean…all this stuff is extinct so I see her point. But gah days and days of collecting. She’s been exploring planets too much now everything is a potential cure for something something. Oh, ya so the reason I made this is because its been about one year since we got stuck here in the Jurassic Period. Lets hope the next year is less…hard? Oh and Daisy says hi, as you can see’s licking my fact and tugging on my hair.

Day 506:

Lucas’s birthday today. Kid is a teenager now. Has started asking about mating. I’ve avoided answering questions because he’s getting grabby with me. He’s also my size now. I punched him yesterday when he tried…anyway, I am sure it’s absolutely normal behavior for a teenage boy raised in the middle of a Jurassic period jungle. I think he learned his lesson, he may be bigger than me, but he wasn’t trained by ninjas and samurais. God if this was a movie I would call it farfetched, and stupid. How screwed up reality is compared to fantasy. I miss ya Miles.

Day 545:

Lucas had his first change, guess’s a wolf-born. Camp got attacked by a T-rex today. Finally saw one, kept saying I wanted too. Got Tinkerbell, one of our cows-things. Got lazy and didn’t keep territory marks up. Poor Tinkerbell her calves are going to be so sad. Anyway, had a good brawl going with it in half-wolf form. Was a heck of a lot bigger then me. Daisy tried to help but I mean she’s tiny compared to it. Mom got tossed into a tree, broke some bones. She’s healing fast, like she always does. Honestly thought I we were pretty fucked. I mean I’m good at fighting but…seriously it was the size of a god damned house! It had me on the ropes slammed me against a tree, we cracked it in half and broke my spine. Next thing you now this red furred half-wolf comes out of nowhere and leaps on its back clawing at its eyes and tearing at its throat with its teeth. God damn kid saved my life. Guess I don’t hate him or mind that he was sucking on my boobs for six months.

Day 600:

Lucas is getting really handsy now. Suggesting that if we’re stuck here then we should mate. Mom tried to talk him out of it but he got really made and stormed off when I was like no dude you’re my brother that is disgusting. That was the last straw I need to get somewhere where there are other girls. Doing the ritual to make a doorway tomorrow. Mom agrees with me. Lucas is like almost an adult now. He’s much bigger than me, if he forces the issue, one of us is going to get really hurt and it ain’t gonna be me. Mom also thinks if we time travel it might stop his rapid aging, she’s concerned he’s going to die of old age in a few years.

Day 750:

So…I did the ritual with the doorway. And we are no longer in a jungle! Buuut we are in a stone age village. Mom says its near her birthplace. She says its way before my cousin Jesus was born. Like thousands of years…we kinda made a bit of a showy entrance. There were guys in leather and horn hats but otherwise naked doing some crazy ritual with women…on a hill type thing. Anyway, they were treating me like I was someone named the silver lady of the hunt. Translator took a bit to kick in but…anyway so apparently I’m a goddess here? They are an odd bunch, you’d think they were spirit-born because they can summon spirits and interact with them. Though I think they misunderstood me to be the mother of the spirits, cause that’s mom, obviously but I’m not complaining, getting free clothes, food and umm plenty of female attention for my brother, who I am happy to say is not even looking at me anymore. Unfortunately men in the village do not appreciate his…lustfulness? There have been a few fights, but once they figured out he could turn into a ten foot tall red furred killing machine…things calmed down. I’ve managed to convince everyone that mom is my pet. Daisy has adapted well to the change in climate. I was worried about her, do need to keep the round house warm though when it gets cold. She spends her days by the fire if its winter. Which it hasn’t been for several weeks.

Day 775:

So I figured out…that Stonehenge was my fault, well our fault? You see that hill we appeared on…ya…that was a place of spiritual power and now, now all the surrounding settlements are obsessed with it. People built a shrine to me there, have little carved stone statues of me, Lucas, Mom and Daisy. Their shamans, I guess they’re called druids here? Keep coming to me for advice and to summon spirits. They seem frightened I’m going to leave them, and lets face it if I can get back to the land of peperoni pizza I am totally going. God I miss Miles and pizza. Not going to let any of these Stone Age dudes near my holy place…if you know what I mean. There has been no lack of applicants though, but I’m kind of liking guys with good breath and all their teeth now. I guess the 29th century has corrupted my sensibilities.

Day 890:

Mom is really really mad at Lucas. He’s been…busy. He has no less then fifteen women pregnant! Mom says we’re screwing the timeline up. That god damn kid is going to start a whole new tribe of wolf-born all on his own. What’s worse he’s been breeding with female wolves! The letch. I guess six simulated teenage years stuck with his sister and mom left a lot of pent up…excitement. Mom is demanding I talk to him, but its not like he listens to me. Mom is pushing me to perform another ritual. She is sure if we can get outta here she’ll get her powers back. There have been a lot of wolves male wolves sniffing around the village too. Mom is a wolf and she has no powers whatsoever and she’s bound by wolf hormones. Daisy and I have managed to keep them away and mom contained when she’s in heat but gah I’m not sure how long I’m gonna stay sane. I want my cranky, bitchy red-haired human mom back! Mom I miss you. Please get your powers back soon?

Day 900:

Almost three years…and how long has it been here? I love you Miles but even these stone age…guys are starting to look inviting. I just want to go home. Mom got out of her cage today. She was getting rather rude. She’s in heat. I managed to scare off the two male wolves that came sniffing around. I swear another fucking heat I’m done, she can go have puppies for all I care. Lucas omg has three kids, spirits know how many on the way and he’s still sniffing around more partners! Also he is refusing to come with us when we go. Says he has mates here and doesn’t want to leave. Mom when she’s not in heat is not happy with this. I myself can see it. I mean no way he fits in in the 29th century. I mean the whole save humanity have babies thing he has that down, but he likes hunting too much. He fits in here. Boy is like a barbarian, and not the kind that lived in my village.

*****

Pluto Station, 29th century, CO’s office.

Amee was sitting on a cabinet behind Maria’s desk, Maria was in her chair and they were both staring at Maria’s holo-display blankly. Neither knew what to say after watching. Maria looked back at Amee feeling like a bit of her soul died for what she just put her sister through. Amee eventually rubbed her face with her hands.

“Fuck.”

Maria just nodded in agreement. Amee crossed her arms, with her hands folded under her elbows like she would typically do when she was deep in thought. Maria pulled out the data crystal and put it on her desk staring at it like it might bite her.

“Poor kid.”

“Poor Enid she was stuck as a wolf for almost three years.”

“She’ll be fine, she’s been human for a lot longer than that. Hazel through…”

“Hazel is a resilient girl. I bet all she is thinking about now is…doing something with Miles and eating pizza.”

“Probably, but Enid’s just lost another kid.”

“Well, in many ways Hazel raised him.”

“Sounds like she’s pretty happy with his choice.”

“Ya. Enid probably blames herself. Such a…mess.”

“You better check on your wife, my advice as her sister, just let her talk about it in her own time.”

“I’ll call and erm arrange a counseling session or three for Hazel.”

Maria stared at the data crystal and nodded.

“So are you writing her teacher or am I?”

“Umm, you do it, benefits of being the commander in chief, shit rolls down hill and you’re at the bottom of this particular one.”

Maria made a face and tapped her word processer.

“Yes ma’am.”