Mother Alternate
Finality Chapter Ten: The Garden of Everything
It was a grove.
Plants of all sizes, shapes, and colors
sprouted from the grass. A few trees
cast their shadows over the lush, green pasture, although even a few rays of
light were able to poke through the massive majesty of the branches. Off to the right was a pillar of white stone,
although the top had been broken off, and it rested a few feet away. To the left, barely visible behind a large
tree, was a statue with a missing arm.
Off to the distance one could make out a temple-like structure, overrun
with weeds and vines. Closer than that
was a stone podium. And on that podium
was a young man, perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a yellow and
blue striped T-Shirt and blue shorts.
His short, black hair was ruffled by the wind
as he stood on the podium, his back to Julian.
It was not until Julian let out a huff, product of the fatigue caused by
his long run, that the boy turned to look at him. He had a placid smile on his face and there
was a pleasant timbre to his voice when he spoke.
“Ah, you’re here!” exclaimed Ninten as he
stepped off the podium and greeted his guest. “I’ve been waiting!”
Julian raised an eyebrow and went to meet the
young man. “Ninten…” he whispered incredulously. It was almost too surreal to believe.
Ninten let out a soft chuckle and put his hand
on Julian’s tense shoulder, leading him to the podium. “We have much to
discuss, you and I,” he said. “There are many
questions that you want answered. Fortunately I can do just that.”
By the time Julian reached the podium, he was
able to spot something unusual—at the very center of the circular platform was
a small, round pool filled with water.
Hovering silently above the pool was a blue crystal, rough and uneven in
shape, which seemed to emanate light from the depths of its core. It looked much like a coarse, upside-down,
solidified teardrop, with dozens of indentations and cracks, like a jewel
waiting to be refined.
Julian raised his hand to touch the crystal; it
was just screaming to be touched, for Julian to feel it with his
fingertips. As his trembling hand came
ever closer to the jewel, Ninten turned away and stretched, breathing in the
fresh air of the grove. “This place is beautiful, isn’t it? Quite
unbelievable…and just in time, too! It seems as though our guest has arrived.”
Julian snatched back his hand and whirled
around to see Diva at the entrance to the grove. Their eyes met for a single second, after
which Julian stepped in front of Ninten and pushed him back with his arm.
“Stand back! She’ll hurt you!”
Ninten shot a confused glance at Julian, and
then chuckled. “Oh, my…what are you doing?”
Julian didn’t answer. His hand began to glow, after which the green
swatches of the Aswer materialized, then solidified until the glyph took on its
Gleyd form. Julian hopped off the podium
and took a few steps towards the advancing Diva, then swung the Aswer forward
and fired a tentative shot. Diva merely
twisted her body to the side, and the shot flew into the distance harmlessly.
“I don’t think you should be doing that,” said
Ninten casually from the podium.
Julian turned briefly to glance at Ninen. “What
do you mean? I can’t just stand here!”
“Well, you should…”
Julian shook his head and raised his other
hand. “PK Freeze!” he called, and an icy wind began
swirling around Diva. When the spell
dissipated Diva was covered in frost, and Julian took the opportunity to rush
up to Diva and punch her face. After that
he retreated and held the Aswer at the ready.
Diva merely shook it off, and then countered
with her own Freeze spell. Julian called
up a shield to block the blow, charging up the Aswer while he did so. When it was ready he moved it forward.
“PK Aswer…Gleyd Form!” The glowing shield shot forward at
a speed so incredible even Diva would be unable to dodge it. Instead she raised her hands in front of her
and caught the Aswer head on, producing a surge of psychokinetic energy that
rushed all over her body. The power
struggle continued for a while until both parties backed down simultaneously;
Diva fell to the ground, and the Gleyd Aswer rushed back to Julian’s side.
Julian used the pause to turn to Ninten. “Why
won’t you help me?!” he demanded. “Diva could kill us all!”
Ninten’s only reply to this was complete
shock. He cocked his head to the side
while he crossed his arms.
“Help you?
Why would I help you destroy my own creation?”
Julian’s eyes grew wide and his jaw
dropped. He was so surprised that he
didn’t even see when Diva hit him with a beam of concentrated energy, sending
him sprawling to the ground. When he got
up he rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Your…creation? How?!”
Ninten shrugged. “Is it really so hard to
believe? You should have guessed by now…after all, you and I are the only ones
that have access to this place. Logically it should follow that Diva’s entrance
means that she is somehow linked to me.”
Julian grunted, and then leapt into the air as
Diva charged him. While he was in
mid-air he fired a volley of PK Beam attacks at Diva, who dodged them. When he landed he rolled to the side to avoid
a swipe of Diva’s hands, then came up to her from behind. He then immobilized her by grabbing her arms
and lined her up with the Aswer.
Finally, when the attack was ready, he commanded the Aswer to fire and
he jumped out of the way. He landed on
the other side of Diva, where the Aswer was.
“I don’t understand…” he said. “How did this
happen? Why did this happen?”
Ninten stepped down from the podium and walked
up to Diva, who was just now getting up. “It’s simple, really. I had to figure
out a way to manage things on Earth while I stayed here, in Magicant.”
“But then…what about the Starmen? The aliens? Did you create them too?”
Ninten nodded. “Ana, Loid, and Teddy were more
than willing to believe me when I told them that their ‘enemy’ came from outer
space. Just goes to show how gullible humans can be...”
“Oh sure, I had my moments…moments where I
could leave this place unattended. But
in the end…” Ninten stepped on the podium again and touched the crystal. As he did so his eyes glazed over and his
lips curled into a sickly grin. “I have to stay here…this belongs to me.”
Julian let out a growl. How could it be that,
this whole time, Ninten was the one behind everything? Why was he doing this?
What was so special about this place that it would drive Ninten to attack his
own friends…
All those questions were shoved aside as Diva,
on Ninten’s mental command, rushed forward to attack Julian. The human boy jumped to the side and lunged
towards the alien/specter while her momentum still carried her forward. Mercilessly he drove her face-first into the
ground, firing beam after beam at the back of her head. When he was done he jumped back. Just as expected, Diva got to her feet,
albeit a little more slowly this time.
“Oh, no…I think it’s going to take more than
that,” said Ninten, eyes still locked on the crystal. “Much, much more…”
Diva dived towards Julian, who wasn’t fast
enough to react. Diva’s hands grasped his throat and launched him into the air,
signaling the beginning of an aerial assault.
Julian braced himself and blocked the three punches that flew at him as
Diva rushed up from below, and then tried to initiate his own attack, which was
blocked as well. After exchanging a few
more blows, both combatants fell to the ground.
“Why are you doing this?” barked Julian as he
stumbled, causing a few drops of sweat to fall from his forehead. “Why are you
attacking your friends?”
Diva retreated to Ninten’s side, while the
young man stepped down from the small altar. “I told you…it’s quite simple. I
attacked them to get to you.”
“What?!”
“That’s right. The World Device, the prism,
everything…it was all a plan to get you here, where I needed you. When I
visited
“After exploring this place I came upon this
grove…and I knew that it was meant for me. I used its power to create this
castle, from which I could survey the world I created. And then I saw you, a
little boy living in Snowman with immense psychic powers…powers so great that
they would eventually lead you to this place…to take it from me.
“So I devised a plan. I created the prism,
planted it for Loid to find, and waited. Then I had Diva contact that scientist
in Ellay so that he could build the World Device, all as I shaped Magicant into
a world fit for me, complete with a group of subjects to follow me. Of course, everything went according to plan
until you ran from Snowman…I was surprised to find that you could resist my
influence.
“That didn’t matter much, though…I knew that
eventually you would find your way here, like it or not. So I waited, and here you are. To tell you
the truth, I wasn’t planning on letting your little friends get this far…Schneider
must have left a glitch in the World Device’s programming.”
Ninten walked up to Diva, and she bent down to
meet him. Tenderly he touched her chin
with the tips of his fingers, and brought her so close to his face that their
lips were nearly brushing. All the while
he was smiling.
“Oh, well…no matter.”
Immediately Diva took off in Julian’s direction
and punched him, then backhanded him, sending him flying. While he was in mid-air Diva launched a ball
of PSI energy at the boy, hitting him head on.
Julian crashed into the pillar, breaking it in two. The upper half smashed into the ground,
taking out several helpless plants.
Julian then fell limply to the ground.
Julian fired a lop-sided beam in a futile
attempt to hit Diva, but he was stunned and the shot missed its target by a
wide margin. Diva retaliated by throwing
another attack, hitting its helpless mark and causing him to yell in pain.
Ninten walked towards Julian while he locked
eyes with him. The same, placid look
that had been plastered on his face since their meeting was still there. As Ninten got closer, Diva raised her hand,
ready to deal the final blow. When
Ninten was just behind his avatar he giggled.
“Good-bye…Julian…”
Julian squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for
Diva’s final attack.
It never came.
“Ah, an unexpected guest! This is a pleasant surprise!”
Julian slowly opened his eyes and looked
towards Diva. Standing in front of him,
blocking the blow that would finish him, was Dual Proghauser. She held her psychic sword in front of her
horizontally and stopped Diva’s arm from striking, although it was obviously
taking a lot of effort. After a moment
Diva retreated and Dual relaxed, turning to look at Julian.
“Are you alright?” she asked simply. Julian nodded in response, and then got up.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as Lisa
dissipated the sword.
Lisa didn’t answer and instead pointed at
Ninten. “You are the cause of all of this,” she growled.
Ninten nodded his head. Apparently he took it as a compliment. “I’m
flattered that you could make it. Siding with you was not a waste of my time
after all.”
Julian was now more confused than ever. According to Ninten, only he and Julian had
access to this place. That meant that
Lisa was connected to either one of the two.
But then, how was that possible?
“Oh, no, Lisa isn’t connected to either of us
at all,” said Ninten, apparently reading Julian’s thoughts. “You see,
initially, I was to lure her to this place as well. She was nearly as powerful
as you were, and she was a threat to my plans, just like you. But then I
decided that instead of opposing her, I’d use her to destroy you. Either way,
one of you would be out of the picture.”
Lisa let out one of her characteristic
chuckles. “It seems like a lot of trouble just to get rid of two people. Why
not do it directly through the Diva?”
“Ah, but you see, I just don’t want you
destroyed…” Ninten’s smile grew wider, “I want you absorbed. I want to use your powers to feed this place…to make me
grow stronger.”
Lisa’s smile faded and she snarled at Ninten
and Diva. “You disgust me. You destroyed your friends and family, all for your
personal gain…”
“Yes, I did…but then again, so did you. And
when you think about it, so did Julian. We’re all a lot alike, aren’t we?”
Lisa’s nose flared and her eyes grew as she
yelled in rage and lunged towards Ninten, arm reared and ready to strike. Instantly Diva stepped in front of her master
to protect him. Lisa tried to jump over
Diva in an attempt to attack, but Diva was too quick. In a flash she was able to grab the girl and
fling her to the side. It was so simple
that Ninten didn’t even bother to comment on it. As soon as she landed, Lisa scrambled back to
Julian’s side and summoned her sword, which she held at the ready. Julian, who had recovered by now, joined the
warrior.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked as Lisa was
about to charge Diva a second time. “Why are you helping me?”
Lisa turned and shot a short, sweet smile at
Julian. “Because, finally, I understand. Dumbkoff…” With those final words the
fighter formerly knows as Dual Proghauser initiated the final attack on her old
mistress.
Dual’s agility was far greater than that of a
normal human, and it showed. This time,
Diva was almost unable to keep up, and soon Lisa was able to land two blows
with her blade—one on Diva’s cheek and another on her arm. However, Lisa’s previous wounds hadn’t healed
completely, and soon she lost her energy.
Diva lashed out at her, and Lisa was thrown to
the side, unconscious. Then Ninten
turned to Julian. “And now, for the other one…”
It was then that Julian saw Diva’s wounds,
which were oozing an inky black, and spotted two identical wounds on Ninten’s
body. They were the same size, shape,
and depth. Julian gasped.
Ninten didn’t create Diva. Ninten was
Diva.
Now you know the
truth…
You are the only one
left who can stop this…
…gr…we…self…
Julian breathed deep and relaxed in an effort
to gather his energy. “Part of you is still good,” he said solemnly. “The part
that’s been communicating with me…the part that hasn’t been affected by this
place…it’s still in there, somewhere…”
Much to Julian’s surprise, Ninten responded by
throwing his head back and bellowing a loud, hearty laugh. “Oh, please!” he
said in between fits of laughter. “You can’t be serious! Nothing is beyond my
control!”
Then his smile grew sickeningly wide and his
eyes shone with madness. “And now, I’ll prove it to you.”
Reacting instantly, Julian manipulated the
Aswer so that it met with Diva’s powerful psychic attack. The entire grove shook under the collective
powers of both warriors as Julian’s Gleyd Aswer and Ninten’s avatar
clashed. For an eternal moment,
everything seemed to freeze.
Then the Aswer began to crack. Julian’s breath became ragged as the [key]
splintered and shattered, losing strength until finally it broke into millions
of fluorescent fragments. His heart
stopped as he saw his weapon disappear, until Diva’s attack rushed through and
connected with his body, driving it to the point of death.
Everything in the grove fell silent as Julian
fell to the floor, defeated.
***
<Julian…>
<Julian, can you hear me?>
Through the darkness came a soft voice…a
familiar voice.
Gleyd…is that you?
<You fought valiantly, my friend…but you
still don’t understand.>
What?
A faint light came from far away and poised
itself next to Julian’s limp form, floating in the dark void.
“I’m sorry, Julian, but we couldn’t hold her
off,” said Vee. “It’s up to you now…you know that, right?”
Vee…
Another light joined the first.
“I never really said it, but I wanted to thank
you…” said Joshua. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what my life would have
become…”
Joshua…
Finally, a third light joined the others and
spoke softly to Julian.
“Julian…do you hear me?”
…Peel…it’s you…
“No matter what, I’ll always be with you…” said
Peel softly. “Nothing can separate us…”
I’m sorry...I failed
you…I failed everyone…
“That’s not true. You haven’t failed yet…”
Just then, a fourth, dimmer light approached
the fallen Julian. The four lights
surrounded Julian.
“There’s a reason why the World Device brought
your friends to this place…” stated Ninten—the real Ninten. “I’ve been
corrupted by the power of Magicant…but you can save me if you could only
understand…”
Understand…what? I
don’t know…
The four lights revolved around Julian,
creating a ring of golden light that eventually enveloped Julian.
“That’s why we’re here…to help you…”
“Don’t give up yet…”
“There’s still time…”
“Julian…”
Darkness was replaced by light, then by
color. As if Julian magically attained a
newer, higher plane of existence, he could suddenly feel everything and
everyone. Every presence, every thought,
every soul flew into and out of him…
And then Julian understood…
***
Ninten clasped his hands together to rid them
of dirt after having hauled Lisa’s unconscious body from the tree where she lay
to the stone podium. He let out a
content sigh as he did so, for he knew that everything had, in the end, turned
out exactly as he wanted it to.
At least, that’s what he thought until he
turned and found Julian standing a short distance away. A look of determination was decorating his
face.
“You just never give up, do you?” said Ninten
with a smile. “I guess I’ll just have to show you again.”
Ninten glanced at Diva, and she fired a ball of
energy at Julian. The latter of the two
didn’t budge. It was much to Ninten’s
surprise, then, that the ball of energy bounced harmlessly off Julian.
“Hmm…” Ninten’s eyebrows raised and his smile
wavered. He commanded Diva to fire
again. Three more beams were shot out,
yet all of them bounced off an invisible barrier that surrounded Julian. Still Julian did not move.
For the first time Ninten’s smile faded. This time he grunted as Diva began attacking
with greater force, until she was throwing everything she had at the boy. His fists clenched and his lips curled into a
snarl as nothing was able to hit Julian, who began advancing towards Ninten threateningly. Now desperate, Diva fired an extremely large
ball of energy at Julian. He, in turn,
merely stopped and held out his hand, catching the attack in his hand. Then, as carelessly as he had stopped it, he
sent it back at Diva with twice the force.
The avatar was unable to evade the attack, and she was hit head on. Her body fell to the floor at Ninten’s feet,
motionless. For a moment, Ninten stared at the ground where his Diva lay,
immobilized, without any real reaction.
Slowly, though, his mouth dropped open and his breath quickened.
“How…can this…be?” Ninten dropped to his knees
and took Diva in his arms as his brow furrowed. “I…have the power of
Magicant…no one is more powerful than I am…” he stood, Diva still in his
arms. Tears were flowing from his eyes.
“You can’t defeat me! No one can! Not with my power!”
Julian shook his head and lowered his gaze.
“You’re wrong,” he stated simply. “You don’t understand…”
Ninten grew furious. “Don’t…understand?” He
sobbed, almost pleadingly. “Don’t
understand?!”
Julian raised his head once more and smiled. “You
don’t understand…that the greatest power lies within yourself.”
With those words he lifted his right hand, now
devoid of any marking. His palm began glowing a bright gold as Julian poured his energy into this
new power…soon a set of all-too-familiar, golden swatches formed in the air in
front of him. These were different,
though…they weren’t part of an object that was handed down to Julian…this Aswer
was a creation of his own.
Julian held the golden Aswer at the ready and
took a few steps towards Ninten. “I’m going to finish this…I’m going to destroy
this place so that no one can be used by it again.”
Ninten, eyes still riddled with tears, began to
chuckle silently to himself. “…you think that just because you hurt Diva you
have the right to do this to me?” his body and Diva’s began to glow. “You think
that you can take this place away from me?! Do
you?!”
Julian said nothing as Ninten and Diva
dissolved into one form. The two facets
of a single person melded, creating a more powerful, more sinister being. When the fusion was completed, a newer,
renewed Ninten touched ground. His skin
was deathly pale, and his hair was now the same color as Diva’s. His eyes had gone from brown to jet
black.
Ninten bared his teeth at Julian and raised his
claw-like hands. “Die, Julian!!”
Ninten charged at full speed towards Julian,
screaming bloody hell. Julian did not
move—instead he sent a mental command to the Aswer, which began to glow even
brighter. As Ninten got ever closer, the
Aswer became that much brighter, until tiny photons began swirling around the
central circle. The glyph vibrated,
resonating with unknown forces, calling them to Julian’s aid.
Once Ninten was upon him, Julian closed his
eyes. “Good-bye, Ninten…” he whispered.
With that the golden Aswer fired a beam of
energy so large and destructive that it literally enveloped Ninten. The sheer power of the attack blew down every
plant, broke every branch, and ripped every blade of grass…even Julian was
nearly knocked down by the power of his own attack. As the beam hit the Ninten specter it almost
tore through his body.
After the attack Ninten stayed like that for a
second, hovering in mid-air. A confused
look was plastered on his face; he didn’t know what to make of this
situation. But then he gasped as his
body began to disintegrate…the power he so cherished was draining from
him. His hair and skin went back to
their normal colors as Diva’s translucent ghost was ripped from his body. It remained for an infinitesimally small
moment, in the same position as its master…then simply vanished.
Ninten’s eyes welled up with tears and he
smiled as Julian dismissed the Aswer permanently. His arms hung open, and his legs were spread
out. Oddly enough, he was laughing. He laughed until his body withered away and
disappeared, his essence turning into tiny particles that were carried away by
the air. Julian couldn’t help but feel
sad as he stepped up to Ninten and held out his hand in an attempt to touch his
now-fading form. Then he heard the same
presence, Ninten’s, in the back of his mind.
Thank you…thank you for
saving me…
With those last words, Ninten died. And for the first time in many months, Julian
felt at peace.
As Julian tiredly limped over to a tree stump
and sat down he could feel that something had changed. Whereas before Ninten’s wishes controlled
everything in Magicant, now it seemed like there was nothing to rule over
it…Magicant needed a master…someone powerful, who could watch over this place,
protect it…then it would belong to him, yes…
Julian bolted up from his resting and clutched
the sides of his head. No! What am I
thinking?
At that precise moment Julian felt a new
presence in his head…a presence much more sinister than anything he had ever
felt. It called out to him, seduced him,
and lured him over to a place where…everything could be his…where he and Diva
could live, forever…
No. It’s happening
again…Julian shook
his head and tried to force the presence out of his mind. What will happen if I let things begin again? Will I be the one to
resurrect Diva? Will I create the same illusions? Will I betray my friends,
like Ninten did…?
Finally Julian shot a determined look at the
crystal, which was glowing an eerie, enticing
blue. The hidden core of the crystal called
to him, hypnotically.
No…I will not.
Julian walked up to the podium and bent down,
shaking Lisa slightly.
“Unh…was…wo…” slowly the argent fighter came to,
only to be led off the podium by Julian.
She tried to voice a comment, but Julian didn’t let her. Instead he walked back to the altar.
“Julian…what are you doing?” asked Lisa as
Julian stepped up to the crystal and placed both hands on it. Julian replied simply by turning to her and
smiling.
“Please take care of them,” he asked.
Lisa looked quizzically at Julian, but the
reason for Julian’s actions soon dawned on her, and her eyes grew wide. Instantly she nodded and turned to run
towards the castle, but not before she called out to Julian:
“Thank you, Julian…” she said. “I’ll never
forget you.”
Julian nodded without turning.
Once Lisa was far enough away, Julian turned
his focus back to the crystal. It was
funny…that this thing was what led Ninten to insanity. The power of Magicant tainted him…eventually
he would have destroyed everything, just to prevent anyone from reaching it…and
now it was trying to get Julian to do the same.
Julian grunted and began to force his own
psychic energy into the crystal, causing it to rumble. He never thought it would come to this…it was
too bad…he really wanted to see the others one more time…
Vee…Joshua…Peel…I’m so
sorry…you’ll be sad because of me…
The dark power of the crystal cried out in fear
and agony. It tried to force itself into
Julian’s mind again, to try and prevent him from ending it…but Julian’s mind
was made up; his resolve was too strong for the dark power of the grove. With one final mental push, Julian squeezed
the crystal, and it shattered.
Instantly, the very physical foundations of
Magicant began to crumble as the dimensional nexus began to disappear. A white light consumed everything in the grove,
until even the very podium he was on vanished…
The floating debris of the castle faded slowly into
the void, until Julian was the only thing left in Magicant…until he himself
started to disappear. He could feel
every atom in his body being ripped apart—funny…it didn’t hurt at all…the
emotions that were now swirling all over Julian’s psyche made the pain vanish.
As everything crumbled away, Julian closed his
eyes…
He visualized himself at home, sitting with his
mother and his brother. Beside him was
Peel, who held his hand warmly in both of hers.
She was wearing the hydrangea blue dress he had bought for her
once. Her head rested on Julian’s
shoulder.
On the other side of the room sat Joshua and
Vee, who smiled at him. Joshua’s hair
was combed neatly, and the monkey Kir was perched on his shoulder. Vee looked very pretty.
Ana, Teddy, and Loid stood behind them, all laughing…even
Loid, whose traces of anger and strife had been erased, was revealing the
sensitive, kind boy that lay underneath.
Teddy had his glasses off, and Julian could see his blue eyes. Ana held her bonnet in her hands, like
always.
Even Lisa was there, with her parents, who were
now fully healthy and smiling…Lisa’s hair was no longer silver; it was now the
same color as her mother’s. Dr.
Schneider leaned on his cane with one hand while he laid the other on Lisa’s
shoulder.
Julian squeezed Peel’s hand lovingly, and then
looked to his friends. Finally he looked
towards his family. They didn’t look sad
or angry at him…instead they smiled like the others, and Julian’s brother
hugged him warmly while his mother took his head in her arms.
Then everything faded to black…
Mom…Chris…everyone…I’ll
miss you all…
The world of Magicant disappeared. The human being known as Julian disappeared
along with it.
***
“Teddy! Over here! I found them!”
The ex-gangster turned at the sound of Loid
calling his name. At the moment he was
standing on a rocky slope somewhere near the
Slowly Teddy made his way up the slope and
joined Loid, who took the brief respite to slip his glasses off and clean them
on his shirt sleeve, although the tattered, dirtied shirt did little to clean
the lenses. Neither he nor Teddy had had
any rest these past few days—after clearing the city of stray Starmen, the pair
had decided to try and find their erstwhile companions on
Loid led Teddy from his vantage point to a
small clearing beside the lake, where there were four bodies covered with
scratches and bruises, their clothes in tatters. Teddy was able to recognize three of them as
the unconscious forms of Peel, Joshua, and Vee, while Loid focused on the
familiar face of Lisa Schneider. Julian
was nowhere to be found.
Both boys kneeled down and propped up the
children, who were just now coming to.
They let out groans and winced in pain, living proof of the hardships
they had suffered in the past few days.
Teddy hoisted Joshua in his arms and cradled
his head with his muscular hands as the wild boy regained consciousness.
“Where…are we…?” he croaked.
“Relax, kid…” replied Teddy’s rumbling voice.
“You’re safe now.”
Vee crawled out of Loid’s arms and sat up on
the cold earth. “What happened? Are we on Earth?”
Loid raised a confused eyebrow. “What do you mean,
‘on Earth’? Just where were you? What happened?”
Vee raised a hand to rub at a large bump on her
forehead. “It’s a long story…” Despite the pain she managed to force a smile.
“It’s good to see you again, Loid,” she said.
After making sure that Vee was alright, Loid
crawled over to Peel and slipped off her goggles, which were now cracked and
useless. “Are you okay?” he asked. The
girl replied by wincing once more, but after a moment she too sat on the floor
with her legs tucked to the side. “I’m fine…” she managed to say.
Then her eyes widened as her mouth formed the
words she was terrified to say. “Where’s Julian?”
Teddy and Loid exchanged glances. Teddy looked at Peel and shook his head
solemnly. “You four are the only ones here,” he muttered. “We didn’t find
anyone else.”
Vee looked up at her rescuer. “Four? You mean…”
her suspicions were confirmed as she followed Teddy’s gaze to Lisa, who sat a
few feet away, nursing her own wounds.
“Lisa…you’re here…” Joshua raised his head from
Teddy’s arms to shoot a confused look at his former nemesis. “But
how?”
Lisa didn’t respond. She merely averted her gaze and lowered her
head while she clutched a bruised rib. A
long, dramatic pause followed as everyone present watched Lisa. Eventually Peel got up and limped over to
Lisa, her eyes showing both consternation and anger.
“Lisa…where is Julian?” she asked softly.
Lisa didn’t answer.
Peel bent down and grabbed Lisa by the collar
of her shirt, hoisting her up. Lisa
gasped sharply in pain, but still remained silent. “Tell me what happened to
Julian!” demanded Peel. “Tell me now!”
Lisa raised her free hand and placed it on top
of Peel’s tight fist. Slowly she shook
her head. “I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I tried to help…but in the end I wasn’t
able to do anything…”
Peel’s jaw dropped. “No…”
“He told me to take care of you,” continued
Lisa. “I tried to stop him, but…”
Lisa’s voice trailed off as Peel dropped to her
knees, still clutching the lower part of Lisa’s shirt. She closed her eyes in an attempt to stifle
the tears, but Peel’s painful wails soon got the better of her, and a lone tear
trickled down her cheek. Joshua began to
cry silently into Teddy’s chest while Vee, who was leaning on Loid for support,
sniffled dejectedly.
Lisa kneeled beside Peel and put her arm around
her. “I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I’m so sorry…”
***
Julian’s mother had just cleared the table when
the doorbell rang. Chris was sitting in
the living room, staring absently at the TV.
Both mother and son looked like they had seen better days; the past
month had been especially taxing. It was
the kind of exhaustion that one feels when one finally relinquishes hope and
succumbs to the grief.
“Can I help you?” Julian’s mother
cracked open the door of her quaint home in Snowman and peeked out into
the crisp afternoon air. Standing on the
porch were two girls and one small boy.
The girl closest to her had shoulder-length auburn hair, and she sported
a cute hydrangea dress.
“Good afternoon,” said the girl, hands clasped behind
her. “My name’s Peel…these are Joshua and Vee.”
Julian’s mother opened the door fully, letting
a gust of cold wind into the house.
Simultaneously, Chris stepped out from the living room. “I’m sorry…do I
know you?” she asked. “I think you might have the wrong house…”
Peel’s expression didn’t change. “No, this is
the place. You see, we have some information on your son…”
Julian’s mother’s hand shot up to cover her
gaping mouth. “You…know about Julian?”
Peel nodded. “We were…with him…these past months.”
Julian’s mother stepped to the side and ushered
the four children inside. Immediately
she sat Vee and Joshua beside Chris while she took Peel’s hands in hers and led
her into a chair. “Please tell me…what do you know about my son?”
Peel sat down beside Julian’s mother, and then
took a deep breath while she steeled herself.
Then she began telling the story of how she and Julian first met in that
dark alley in Merrysville all those months ago.