“Will you help me save my world?” Her words echoed in my mind as I stared at the spectacle before me. My gaze firmly fixated upon her hand, which now she held firmly at her side. With effort, I tore my attention from her hand to her face. Worried eyes locked onto my own, expectant of my answer. My heart pounded wildly in my chest as my mind reeled from the impossibility that had been dropped right in front of me. My mouth felt as if it had been filled with sand.

Magic! Thats what that had to have been. The lightning, the fire, and the ice! All formed within seconds of each other. But that was impossible! Magic was always just a pipe dream, a superstition drawn from folklore from days long past when we didn’t know much about the world. It didn’t actually exist in our world…and yet, there it was. An impossibility made reality right in front of me and all I could do was gape as words failed me. Thoughts within my mind became difficult as each thought felt as if it were trudging through a sea of waist-deep sludge.

Christy wasn’t Christy at all, but Caramelina from the game? She called herself the last survivor of Churros? Churros wasn’t actually a game, but a real world? And above it all, she wanted my help? So many impossibilities that the logical part of my mind screamed that I was dreaming. And yet, it wasn’t a dream. This was real, and I had been shown the evidence right in front of my eyes.

“I don’t…” With an iron grip, I clenched the bars along the edge of the elevator to keep myself steady. “I don’t understand…” I managed to utter after taking a few deep breaths.

“You’re taking this much better than I did all those years ago.” Caramelina smirked in self-derision. “Perhaps before we continue, we should have a seat?”

“Y-yeah…good idea…” Slowly, I set myself upon the elevator floor.

“I had meant a chair in a nearby room, but this is fine I suppose.” Caramelina smiled as she sat across from me.

The two of us sat in silence as we regarded one another. Slowly, my mind recovered from the initial shock as the aches began to set in from over-thinking. Thoughts, questions, and assumptions all sped through and collided within my skull without mercy.

“How are you here?” I questioned, breaking the silence and putting to words the biggest question in my mind.

“You asked about the ending to The Siege of Churros during our meal.” She closed her eyes, reminiscing. “The truth is, beyond the events you saw, I don’t know what happened afterwards.” She sighed as she slumped against the elevator wall. “From what I know, a fellow Magi cast a teleportation spell in an attempt to save their own life. And, as best I can tell, it reacted violently with the gathered energy, as well as the influence of The Rift. The blast knocked me unconscious, and when I came to I found myself in your world. Your Earth.”

“Mmmmm…” I scratched my head in thought, “So what is Churros exactly? Another world in our universe? A different universe?”

“We believe it to be Earth in an alternate reality from your own. One where magic is allowed to flourish.” She held up her hand and a small ball of flame popped into existence. “This is all I can do in your world unaided. All my power amounts to the ability to create a flame the size of a golf ball.”

“We?”

“I have a colleague of sorts who…well, he knows a lot about these sorts of things. Hes a bit of a strange one at that. And yes, he does know about my situation.” She answered before I could form the question.

I rubbed my head in an effort to calm the ache that continued to pound in my skull unabated. “I…don’t know what to say.” I sighed, “It all just seems so…”

“Impossible?”

“Yeah.”

“I know how you feel.”

A brief silence returned between us as I did my best to digest all the information I had been given.

“I’m grateful.” Caramelina began, breaking the silence between us.

“Grateful?” She nodded,

“I could have died in that explosion, James. Yet there I was, thrust into a strange land. A young girl in tattered robes walking along a foreign road made of strange black rock in the middle of the night. The next thing I knew, bright lights approached from behind as a loud horn-like sound broke the previously silent night. I’m ashamed that in that moment I froze in fear as a loud screeching sound came from the coming lights. I thought it was a monster at first.” She laughed in self-derision, “It was my first encounter with a carriage that hadn’t been pulled by Gingerhorses. I was amazed at such a thing, even as a man and a woman barged out, the man gesturing wildly as he shouted while the woman ran towards me speaking words I did not understand. As she looked me over, speaking in an alarmed but calm manner, I felt safe.”

“Jeane and Riley Horderves.” Caramelina nodded,

“Yes. They became my adoptive parents.” She smiled fondly. “They took me in. Fed, sheltered, and taught me. I owe them everything, and so I used everything I learned to repay their kindness. After graduating college I had started my first company, which received great success. Now they will never have to work again.”

A sad look crossed her face as she continued her story, “I had been transported to a good home, but it never truly felt like home. I was brought to this wondrous world of metal and light. A world that didn’t know the taint of the Gobblors. A world where carriages pulled themselves, and some flew through the sky like the Gingerbird Man. A world that had done away with hunger and famine. A world where every day wasn’t a struggle for survival.” She sighed wistfully, “A world that made me realize that everything I knew was but a small grain of sugar in the vast ocean of what your world had accomplished. I, once one the most promising pupils of the Fructosian Magi, felt small in the face of everything your people had brought into existence. All without even a drop of magical ability in your veins. A world full of people who dared to dream and strode forth until they made those dreams reality.”

“While I was in schooling, I knew what I had to do. I had to acquire someone with that same strength of will. That relentless drive to accomplish their goal no matter how insurmountable the objective. But I needed money and a plan. After many years of tireless effort and planning, I had met a disgraced scientist by the name of Erik Krasston.”

I recognized that name. “Wasn’t he the man who had a theory for bending space, allowing for instantaneous transportation between two points in space?”

“The one and the same. It was his idea to create a game that mimicked my own world. And so I left my old company to start a new one. Together, we created the Siege of Churros for the sole purpose of finding an individual like yourself. You are not the first person I’ve contacted James, but you are the first I have told all of this.” She sighed, “The others I had interviewed only saw me as a way for them to put their foot in the door. A quick shot to success and wealth.”

“Mmm.” I nodded in understanding. My ex had been the same.

“I ended up thanking them for their time and told them to look forward to our future products. I judged that they wouldn’t be able to accomplish what I asked. But you’re different James. You aren’t here for wealth or prestige, you only sought answers to the game’s ending and now you have them. So I must ask you once again, will you help me save my world?” She asked with her head bowed towards me.

And there it was. A question with a world’s worth of weight behind it. I could accept, and try my hand at saving a world. Or I could decline, and continue to live my normal life. If I said yes, would I truly be able to help? I know if I decline I would always look back at this moment and think ‘what if’. My head pounded in frustration of weighing these two choices in my mind. Could I help save a world that wasn’t my own? I didn’t know what to think. There were more than a few things still bugging me that I had not had the answers to. Answers I felt I should have before coming to a decision.

“Did you cut my internet connection during my stream?”

“I-” She uttered, caught off guard by my question. “In a way, yes. It was Erik acting at my behest.” I nodded, I had a feeling she was behind that.

“You do know disruption of a public service is ten years imprisonment minimum, no matter how small the offense right?”

“I would suffer any hardship to save my world.” Her voice radiated determination.

“What would helping you entail exactly?” Her entire face lit up with joy. “I haven’t said yes, I’m just asking questions.” I quickly noted to her. Her enthusiasm didn’t fade.

“We would need time to prepare.” She spoke rapidly, “I would need to teach you my language, both written and spoken. We would have to constantly review everything about my world until you know it better than your own. I would also send you to professional training for actual fighting experience and physical fitness. A game is a poor substitute for real world experience, though you’re much more fit than previous potentials.” She smirked, “But if you accept, Erik and I could go ahead with our plan.”

“You seem to rely a great deal on him.”

“Yes, hes quite the interesting man. Though a bit of a troublemaker at times.” She smiled, reminiscing.

“You asked if five years would be enough, what did you have in mind with that?”

“We…theoretically have a way to get you to my world five years before the invasion.”

“Theoretically?”

“Its never been tried before.”

“So you’re pining all your hopes on an experiment. Cant say I like the sound of that.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could guarantee more.”

“Why haven’t you tried sending yourself back then?”

“I wanted to. But it was Erik who convinced me to gather support. If it were up to me, I’d already be back in my world with a wealth of knowledge to use against those invaders.”

“Why didn’t you ask Erik to join you?” She shook her head,

“He has too many attachments to Earth to leave. A wife and two daughters. I couldn’t take him from them.”

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Taking a deep breath, I asked my final question.

“And what if I decline?” All the energy in Caramelina quickly deflated.

“Then I would have to go back to hoping for someone that will accept. But if it takes too long, I will go myself.” She whispered. “All I would ask that you kept everything we discussed tonight private.”

She had laid everything bare and now it was up to me whether to accept or decline. Chills crashed through my body at the sheer weight of such a decision. I wanted to decline, I truly did. It wasn’t my world. It wasn’t my problem. But how could I merely stand on the sideline and say its not my fight? How could I continue living, knowing full well I could have done everything in my power to help countless people? Could Caramelina and I truly save an entire world? My father had always told me, ‘If you want something done right, you do it yourself’, but I’m sure he didn’t have this in mind when speaking those words.

“Caramelina.” She looked up at me with defeated eyes, as if she had already guessed my answer. Who in their right mind would accept such a request? Guess I’m just not right in the head then. “We may not be able to save your world Caramelina, but I’ll be damned if we don’t at least try.”

Her eyes widened in shock. Her mouth opened, closed, and opened in repeated motions, like a fish out of water. I felt a great weight lift from my shoulders as I stood up and held out my hand towards her. Gingerly, she took hold of my hand as I helped her to her feet. Her eyes flooded with sweet tears as she rushed towards me and embraced me. Hot, sticky tears soaked my suit as she sobbed into my shoulder.

“I’ve waited so long to hear those words.” She managed to say in-between sobs. I was thankful that we were alone in the building, as her wailing pierced the silence of the night while she cried into my shoulder.

“Sorry it took so long.” She laughed,

“Ever since I was ten years old, when I came to your world, I hoped to hear those words.” She spoke, her words muffled by her face upon my shoulder.

“Ten years old?! Wasn’t your in-game character fifteen?”

“Sixteen.” She sniffled, “I had to change my own age to get past the censorship laws.” I couldn’t help myself, I began to chuckle. My chuckles quickly turned to laughter. And my laughter was soon joined by Caramelina's.

It wasn’t until almost eleven at night that Caramelina had calmed down.

“I still have one last thing to show you.” She spoke as she punched her ID into the elevator. A small panel with a single button opened below the floor selections which she pressed. The doors closed with a hiss, and we began our descent towards the first floor. And then the first floor passed us by.

“Hey what-”

“Basement.” She stated as we descended further and further. “Only Erik and I can access this section of the building. Its our secret project and the key to getting back to my world. Its also the reason why I asked if you’ve experienced Deja Vu earlier.” Before I could ask the question forming at the tip of my tongue, she held up a hand. “You’ll understand shortly.” The doors clanked open as she spoke.

A short passageway walled and floored in rubber led to a high-security doorway not ten feet from the elevator. The two of us walked side by side as we made our way towards the door. A faint tingle in my head quickly turned to erupting pain in my skull as we made it halfway to the door.

“Wha…what the hell is this?!” I yelled out as I clenched my head. A wave of nausea erupted from my stomach as I fell to my knees. My mind felt as if it were splitting in half. Caramelina knelt worriedly next to me, speaking words that I could not hear as I began to see.

I saw Caramelina open the door ahead of us, her lips moving as she spoke to me. I followed her with ragged steps, my hands firmly clenched to my head. Together, the two of us entered the room and a stranger met us inside. A man that Caramelina seemed to know quite well and angrily yelled at. The man laughed and began typing on a control panel. In an instant, I saw myself standing as if the pain had never been there in the first place. The vision went on and on with no end in sight.

“Are you alright?” Caramelina worriedly asked. “I don’t understand, the room shouldn’t even be working at this time. Erik had already gone home…” She mumbled to herself as she walked forwards. Slowly, I rose to my feet and followed close behind, clenching my head from all that I was…remembering. That was the best way I could describe this strange feeling. It was as if I were living a memory I never knew I had. Except that memory hadn’t occurred yet. It was Deja Vu on steroids.

“Erik? Man about six feet tall? Blond hair, green eyes, with a shaved face? Yeah he’s here.” I uttered through clenched teeth. Caramelina’s expression rapidly contorted into a snarl.

“That man. I’ll give him a piece of my mind…” I’d have laughed were it not for my head thumping uncontrollably.

“Whats going on?” I gasped as the vision kept moving forward. My mind was screaming at me being in two places at once and yet only in one place in reality.

“This room was designed by Erik and I.” She spoke quickly as we moved through the passageway. “Call it a little piece of Churros. This is what it will feel like as a Seer within my world.”

“A Seer?”

“One who can see the future.” She began, “They were rare in Churros. Most are driven mad by their visions, and those that don’t end up taking their own lives to escape them. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the vast majority of people in your world possess such a ability, only for your world to hamper it.”

“Is it magic?” I asked with gritted teeth.

“I…I’m not sure honestly. Possibly? It was never considered such when I was at the Fructosian academy. Though, some may call it a sort of brain hiccup though.” She smirked and punched in her ID to the door.

“Greetings esteemed colleague and her chosen hero!” A man shouted with acclaim as the doors opened.

“Erik what the hell are you doing here at this hour? And why did you activate the room without notifying me? James here didn’t even have a warning for Cinnamoca’s sake!” Caramelina fumed.

“Hahaha!” The man posed before typing on a control panel and the massive migraine vanished as if it had never been there to begin with.

“Are you okay James?”

“Yeah, I’m good now.” I took in a few breaths to steady myself.

“See? The boy’s fine!” Erik grinned. “Of course, I knew he’d be fine way ahead of time!”

“You…you what?!”

“I foresaw everything that would happen today, yesterday while you were working!” The man grinned.

“You knew that we would find James? And that he would accept my plea?” Caramelina growled, “And you didn’t tell me?!”

“Pay attention Jamie boy, this bit is important!” Erik grinned mischievously, “Your first lesson in changing the future! Also known as knowing when to not alter it!” He shifted his attention towards the woman staring daggers at him with crossed arms. “Dearest Caramelina, what if I had told you of our friend here, hmm? You would have approached him differently. Perhaps with far more confidence, as you would be assured it would be a surefire thing? But, said confidence may not have been able to shift his disposition towards helping you. In fact, it could very well have been your very desperation is what drove him to act!”

“I have a question for you.” I addressed Erik as Caramelina mulled over his words.

“The answer is training, my boy. With enough practice, you’ll be able to stave off the constant visions by training your mind to subconsciously block them. Caramelina has told you of her people’s Seers going loony and killing themselves, but this room here will help so you don’t! We have the advantage of turning off this room to allow our minds time to breathe as we learn how to filter out these constant visions. Though I will admit, getting to that point is quite difficult, it took me nearly three months to be able to do it!”

“And how did you go about doing that yourself?”

“The scientific method my boy, trial and error!”

“He locks himself in this room for hours at a time everyday. He does it everyday for the past few years.” Caramelina turned to face me, “It’s something you’ll have to master before we can attempt our journey to Churros. Otherwise…”

“I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“Well I’m glad introductions are over, I’ll be heading home now. I don’t need to see the future to know my wife is going to kill me for working late again. See you both later! Ta-ta!” The man scrambled out the door and rushed to the elevator in a mad dash. He turned as he reached the elevator, waved, and was on his way.

“How did you get him to sit still long enough to help you?”

“I asked him if he believed in magic. He called me foolish and ranted about how it was unscientific. He changed his tune pretty quickly.”

Not long after Erik had left the scene, we made our way outside the building. Caramelina had offered to pay for a hotel, but I declined. I had to go home, shower, catch some sleep, and put in my thirty days notice at my work. After saying my goodbyes, I entered the air-shuttle once more and sped off into the night towards my home. Complete exhaustion gripped my mind as the comforting sound of the humming engine lulled my consciousness away.

The heavy scent of smoke crashed into my nostrils as an unbearable heat assailed my entire body, waking me from my peaceful slumber. Gone was the sound of the humming engine, replaced by the roar of a massive fire. All around me, wooden buildings were consumed by flames that licked at the night sky. Clouds of smoke billowed into the air as the flames raged and buildings collapsed. Keeping low, I moved through the cobbled streets, doing my best to avoid falling debris. Occasionally, I’d rush towards a street only to find it blocked by a burning collapse.

Minutes seemed like hours as I traversed through the hellish inferno. Other than the crackling of flames and the thunder from collapsing buildings, there was no sound. No people yelling, no children crying. Just a hellish landscape devoid of all life burning to the ground. Time had no meaning as I rushed from street to street, coughing from the smoke all around me. If I didn’t get out of here soon, I’d die from the smoke inhalation.

Marshmallow walls arose in the distance as I made my way through the city, and with no better landmark, I made my way towards them. The closer I came to the walls, the less smoke there seemed to be. My breathing eased and the heat faded when I had finally broken through the inferno that had consumed the entire city. Gasping for breath, I inhaled the cold, clean air. With curious eyes, I glanced along the marshmallow wall, looking for an exit. I didn’t have to look far, the walls had been destroyed in many sections. Piles of chocolate rubble formed massive mounds on the inside of the walls, as if they had been broken through.

I jogged towards the nearest hole in the wall and peered outside the ruined city. Barren landscape stretched as far as the eye could see. Not a single blade of candy grass, nor a single sprinkle tree for miles and miles. A cloud of chocolate dust drifted across the land, kicked up by a gust of wind. Claws dug in to my shoulder from behind. Before I could cry out in pain, the claws ripped sideways, spinning me around to face my attacker as my arm was ripped from it’s socket.

“You will change nothing.” A Brute-type Gobblors uttered before sending it’s claws towards my face.

Reflexively, I reached for my face, only to find myself in the backseat of the air-shuttle. My entire body was drenched in sweat from the nightmare I just had. In a practiced manner, I took a few sets of deep, calming breaths. I had had nightmares like this before, years ago. Merely a dream affected by self doubt and fear. I knew this dream wouldn’t be the last, I’d have plenty more ahead of me.

“I will change nothing?” I mused with a smile as the shuttle descended. I was finally home. “Just watch me.”