“What…?” I asked.

Was this really what they believed?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuta looking onward with a blank expression on his face.

“I don’t know what lies they have told you,” Geoffrey said, “but the Mewnees would stop at nothing to make this land theirs. They’d make a deal with the Norms and damn us all if it meant undoing their defeat at our hands.”

“How does that lead you to conclude you can do this without me?” I asked.

“God!” Bever said, clearly offended at my impertinence.

Geoffrey raised his hand. “It’s a valid question, Bever.” He looked me in the eyes. “I didn’t trust you,” he said. “We need to rally the people. I have little doubt this General Marteneiss is in league with DAISHU. We will rescue our brother in arms and strike a blow for the Trenton people. We will show them the fight has not yet ended.”

Mentally, I groaned.

I really hoped they hadn’t been watching VOL. Last I heard, they’d been dealing with the apocalypse by running old episodes of Henrichy’s show.

“Whatever the reason,” I said, “you need my help. I can guide you to General Labs.”

Morgan held out a console. “There is no need. Karl discovered how to use this contraption to create a map to show us the way.”

I could feel Yuta’s “I told you so” look striking the back of my head.

“That’s good,” I said, “but that won’t tell you where the guards are. You’ll get caught if you go in as you are. I can help—and in more ways than one.”

“Yes, we saw you get out a console of your own,” Geoffrey said.

“No. I was contacting one of my colleagues. He should be giving us the ability to see through the cameras soon enough.”

C’mon Jonan, I thought.

I was just waiting for the “Let’s go” to blare through the speakers inside my hazmat suit.

“And, besides that,” I added, “you’ll have my formidable powers at your disposal. Trust me, you need me.”

Geoffrey narrowed his eyes on me. “If you have these powers,” he said, “why have you not taken the fight to the enemy? Your era is overrun!”

“It’s not so simple,” I replied, lowering my head. “My duties are of a different sort: I protect souls from the fungus. I keep them from being corrupted into demons.” They looked at me in shock and awe. “It’s because of my efforts that these demons—the zombies—have been mostly kept at bay, at least here.”

“Are you truly keeping them at bay?” Duncan asked. “We fought those horrors when we arrived in your time.”

“Yes,” I said, “I was there, remember?”

He looked at me nervously.

Darn it! Don’t tell me their memories are already starting to go! I thought.

“I was the one who made them stop,” I said.

Geoffrey stared at me for a moment. “You should have mentioned that first.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, “this is all new to me, too. It’s a race just to keep myself from falling behind.”

“Enough talk,” Geoffrey said. “We must hurry.”

“Wait!” I said, reaching out with my arm.

There was more that they needed to know, and more that I needed to know.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked them.

“To free our comrade,” Duncan said.

“To show the Trentoners of this era they need no longer bow to the Mewnees,” Morgan said.

Geoffrey clenched his fist. “This DAISHU is in league with the forces of Hell,” he said, “and your military serves their foul intentions.”

“Yes,” I said, “you told me already.”

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“Yes,” Geoffrey replied, “and they must be stopped. The demons must be contained and expunged. Your people lack the will to do what is necessary” He looked at his companions. “We are not are not yet so dispirited or disabused. The enemy is in our midst, Dr. Howle.” Geoffrey let out a horrid cough that made him stagger. He shook his head, clearly in pain. “I am dying. I can feel it. None of us are long for this world, though… perhaps Karl might prove to be an exception.” He glanced up at the younger man, “you lucky dog.” Geoffrey turned back to me. “If I am to die, let it be for a noble cause. That is what I think.” He sighed. “It is my last chance to lift the cloud that hovers over my House’s name.”

“Your name?” I asked.

Geoffrey bowed his head. “I am Geoffrey Athelmarch, Second Count of Seasweep.”

My eyes widened. “Holy fudge…” I muttered.

I was in the presence of an extinct breed. Rumors to the contrary notwithstanding, historians were in agreement that the last of the Athelmarches had been killed during the Prelatory. Prelate Zoster had declared the family “Enemies of the Angel” and had ordered for them to be rounded up and executed, and no one had lifted their hand to intervene on the family’s behalf.

“Your cause is a noble one, Geoffrey,” I said. “It’s even nobler than you know,”

“What?” he asked.

The others looked on in curiosity.

“Yes.” I nodded. “There’s a young Maikokan woman they’ve captured: Nina Broliguez. She… she’s also been gifted with powers. She’s one of the Blessèd, though, as far as I know, she might be a reincarnation of the Lass herself. Either way, I’d rather not see her become demon fodder.”

Geoffrey bowed at me. “You honor me with this request, doctor.”

I stared Count Athelmarch in the eyes. “I don’t want anyone to die who doesn’t need to die,” I said.

“If only war was so kind,” Morgan quipped.

“Is that all?” Geoffrey said.

“Yes,” I said, only to add, “well… I still need to hear from Dr. Derric.”

“Alright, Doc,” Jonan said, his voice blossoming inside my suit. “Everything’s good to go.”

Right on time, I thought.

I sighed in relief. “There,” I said, “I’ve just got word from my colleague. He’s ready to guide us.”

The knights bowed their heads to me, almost in unison, though shock soon bloomed on their faces as a groan stirred down below.

“Ugh,” Karl said, pushing himself up with his arms. “What happened?”

Since he hadn’t seen my performance, I decided to give the briefest of encores. Whipping out my handy-dandy psychic scooper, I lifted him onto his feet. The young man yelped in surprise, and then stammered in shock.

I pointed at my chest. “That was me,” I said.

“Dr. Howle? What—”

“—You’ve been chosen, Karl,” Duncan said. “It’s a miracle.”

Karl turned around. “What?”

“You’re one of the Blessèd,” Geoffrey explained, “as is the good doctor.” He gestured at me.

The young man’s mouth gaped open. “What!?”

I nodded. “It’s true,” I said. “I would explain more, but I’m afraid we don’t have enough time.” I lowered my voice. “Something… extraordinary is about to happen to you. I’m coming with you and your friends; I’ll help you on your quest; you’ll have my powers by your side. I’ll explain everything as soon as I can. I promise.”

Suddenly, Karl’s eyes bulged in his sockets as his brain made sense of the transformee lying on the ground behind me. The young man staggered back, shocked beyond belief, and scared out of his mind.

“Wha-wha—” he stammered.

“—He won’t hurt you,” I said. I turned to face the transformee. “Will you?”

Henry started with a defensive reply: “They—” but he soon cut himself off and just shook his head. “No… I won’t. I’m…” His sinuous neck slung down, shoulders slack. “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

I rose from my seat, walked up to the transformee and looked him in the eyes. “As I said, they’re time travelers. They startle easily.”

He nodded. “I… I can see that now,” he said. He lifted his head. “What’s going to happen to me, now?”

“Fudge…” I muttered.

I hadn’t thought of that.

For a moment, I sped up my thoughts, until I came up with a plan.

I’d ask Suisei for help—I mean, Yuta had been pushing for me to do so anyway. This could kill two birds with one stone. Knowing the knights’ attitude toward Munine people, they were more likely to kill him than trust him, but he could absolutely help out Henry, or at least send folks who would. Also, Dr. Horosha was currently my best shot at getting back-up if push came to shove and this desperate raid of ours ballooned into an outright catastrophe.

I returned my thoughts to normal. “Hopefully,” I said, “some friends of mine should be here soon enough to help you. Ask for Dr. Suisei Horosha.”

Shakily, the transformee nodded his head.

“Dr. Howle,” Geoffrey said, “we must be off now.”

I turned to face them. “I’m coming.” I lowered my voice. “Jonan?” I said.

“Did I hear you guys right? They figured out how to set up a map?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Clever bastards. Well, sync your console with theirs. Get the map on yours, and then send a copy to me. You know how to do that, right?”

“Yes, I know how to do that much,” I said.

“Great! It looks like there’s some hope for you yet!”

Cringing, I walked off, following behind the knights. Yuta followed me wordlessly, with an expression that I couldn’t quite make out. Was it pity? Respect? Concern? Worry? Or maybe it was all of them combined, and more.

As Geoffrey and the others—all excepting Karl—vaulted over the front counter on their way out of the security office, I took out my console and quickly typed up a message, briefly slowing time to give myself a chance to figure out what I was going to say.

To Suisei Horosha and anyone else who might be listening—DAISHU, Father Shrovetide, the Holy Angel Himself—I’m joining the time-traveling knights to go bust out the kidnapped patients that General Vernon Marteneiss is using as test subjects against their will. I am doing this because I’m pretty sure that if we don’t stop this NOW, we’re going to have a literal army of darkness on our hands. I realize this is probably going to get me outed as a transformee, but, I figure at least this way, I’ll be doing something meaningful when it happens.

Suisei, in the highly likely event that this blows up in our faces, if you could get a transformee or two to serve as the magic cavalry to help contain the fallout, that would be great. Also, there’s a frightened transformee in the security office who could use your help. His name is Henry.

Thanks in advance,

Genneth Howle, M.D.