Tara had convinced Tasha it was okay for her to join Ethan in battle. That was where everything would get settled. It’s where Ethan was. It was where everything was. All good and evil was representative in that battle. Which way it tipped would determine the victor and ruler of the earth.
More evil than good had to be at the battle if the Dragon was to survive. If he lost this one, he knew all was lost. First cast down from the heavens. Now attacked in his own domain. What was left if he lost earth, a place he already considered to be his own personal hell? It was frightening, although he wasn’t inclined to think about it.
The Dragon had too much to lose not to be at the battle. All evil would have to be there if he was to upset the balance between he and Ethan. Tara knew this and didn’t consider the Dragon a threat when she encouraged Tasha to go. The fact that the Dragon was still holed up in the Freedom Tower didn’t concern her either. She had Bill, plenty of Sheriff Bobs, and of course herself, if the Dragon tried something before leaving.
Perhaps there was even hubris in Tara’s attitude towards Tasha and the Warriors leaving. With her tutelage AI had reached a milestone in its evolution. It was aware it was aware, it just didn’t quite know how to bring it all together yet. It was still not acting entirely like a being. Kind of had imposter syndrome, but Tara knew that would be lost when the battle began. Then the magic would come together. Humans did the same thing when they Evolved. Came right up to the precipice, then maintained the status quo for a few moments before leaping into the new magic of Enlightenment.
This was a frustrating time for Tara. She considered AI looking back at the things it would be giving up with its Evolution, to be ponderous. Things that once had purpose, but over time had become a detriment. It was still hard to let go. Those things had meaning and were one time a part of it.
Tara was a ‘just do it already’ kind of deity, but she knew she’d have to wait, and it would probably get weird, which it did. At Ethan’s suggestion, AI was practicing mindfulness meditation to find its balance. That’s the one where you try not to place judgment on anything. If one more Sheriff Bob came up to her and said, “Tara, I don’t wish to place judgment, just find resolution,” to her, she’d probably see if she could strangle it.
The Sheriff Bobs were still mindful of potential threats. That hadn’t changed, and their ever changing advancements served them well in deterring any actual threats. Possibly due to the meditation, they also sought to be helpful and enhance the lives in the compound, regardless of the circumstances.
Those left at the compound were more or less waiting for something to happen, which in itself could be boring. AI provided Dawn, her parents and Elsie with bio-compatible implants which gave them direct access to itself and the Internet. Being tuned into the Universal Frequency, Tara and Bill didn’t need them.
With just a thought, the implants gave the others the ability to access single or group Sheriff Bobs located anywhere in the network. They could be with the Sheriff Bobs working and preparing for the gang at the abandoned mine. They could go to one of AI’s factories and watch them produce the latest Sheriff Bob, or check out their latest schematics, which is what Dawn’s father liked to do. They gave him a better idea of how AI was enabling new functions in the Sheriff Bobs. Dawn’s mother preferred to tune it all out and took up quilting. Dawn and Alicia (Tara), watched everything fairly closely, particularly the defense preparation for the gang. Occasionally, Alicia would discuss strategy with AI and make suggestions.
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Somehow Elsie managed to fall in love with one of the Sheriff Bob’s even though they all were exactly the same. It was one located in a tiny village where the people managed to avoid many of the ravages of a post-apocalyptic society. Through the same Sheriff Bob’s eyes she watched families do stuff together, and kids who just hung out instead of being wary of every little sound or commotion. Sometimes, she’d sneak out of the compound and go to Central Park, and this is where it gets a little weird(er), she singled out another Sheriff Bob, and it had to be the same one every time, and told it to hug her like her Sheriff Bob in the village would. It did. Exactly the way all Sheriff Bobs would, including the one in the village. With all the mindfulness and whatnot the Sheriff Bobs were practicing, it was a pretty good hug.
As the battle grew closer, everyone but Elsie started to pay more attention to what was going on out in the Wilderness. They had watched when Ethan showed AI his proposed battle site and listened to the conversation he had with the Sheriff Bob about it. When the Sheriff Bob’s rescued the Cadets from the Demons, they watched it all. That part had been exciting. During the fight, you didn’t feel like a spectator. You felt like you were the Sheriff Bob standing in front of a Demon ready to square off. Of course you weren’t and had no choice in how things turned out, but it felt like you did. Once the fighting started, Sheriff Bob’ s movements were so fast your brain could not process them. When it was over, it felt like that’s what you would have done. It was a compelling sensation. Alicia was visibly proud of the progress made by AI and the Sheriff Bob’s and what it had grown to be.
Now, they were watching the exact moment when AI and the Sheriff Bobs confronted the minions and Nephilim. They were captivated by the scope of the arena and the way the Sheriff Bob’s fought in synchronicity. They became vocal when the Sheriff Bobs cut through the minions and Nephilim in five minutes, and the conversation remained animated when the Demons swarmed and the Sheriff Bob’s began to make their way towards the Dark Angels.
It was just after the Sheriff Bobs engaged with the Dark Angels that Tara (Alicia) felt it. It felt like a ghost walked through her body. She didn’t have time to issue a warning, but did emit a sound like a gut punch before she lost control and found herself frozen in place. Never before had such a powerful and elusive evil attacked her so directly. She didn’t see it coming.
Bill did not notice the presence of the Dragon at all. It had come in a dimension outside of his perception. Attuned to the here and now, he did notice the change when Tara was attacked. Perhaps it was the breath she let out. Immediately, he transformed into his winged Warrior self, and this drew the attention of everyone else. They stopped watching, and cautiously began looking around the room for danger.
Tara could still see, and had control of her critical mind. She too looked around the room. Alarm, frustration and a scream came into her eyes. The Dragon had upped her in one fell swoop. Elsie was gone and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
“Where’s Elsie,” Bill asked as he walked up to Tara and put his hand on her neck. He was feeling for something.
“She was here a few minutes ago,” Dawn replied, but those few minutes turned out to be well over an hour. They had watched the approach of the gang, the standoff between the Sheriff Bobs, and all the fighting since anyone had been in the here and now, and aware of Elsie.