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Chapter 20: Awakening

“Hehe, that will be a lot of fun,” Vidar whispered to Leofwine as he opened the door to the medical ward and stepped closer to the still snoring Völundr. “Would you look at that, sleeping like a little babe.”

Leofwine shook his head and leaned against the wall. “This will backfire. You should know that it will.”

“Pfft, he is fast asleep, so what can he do?” the wolverine gave back with a cocky grin as he took a brush he carried into the ward and dipped it into a small vial of fluorescent, pink color. Carefully, mostly because he tried to withhold a laughing fit, his hand led the brush over the tusks of the boar, continuing then with the lips, and as a final touch he drew an inappropriate image on Völundr’s forehead.

“Huh? Are you two checking on Ophania?” the gruff voice of Patrick called through the floor as the large bernese approached the room and glanced at the two mustelids. As he saw the boar however, he bursted out in laughter and sat down on a chair.

And, not to the surprise of Leofwine, who shielded his eyes, Völundr woke up and glanced around in a confusion. “Wha-? What time is it? Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner?”

“Nah, it is time to look at a mirror, beautiful,” Patrick teased the boar and grabbed a small one from a desk. “Your friend here gave you a quick overhaul with some lip gloss and lip stick.”

“A what?” rather confused by the dog’s amusement, the boar took the mirror and moments later smashed it on the ground while glaring at Vidar. “You got three seconds. After that I will rip your ass off and hang it up on a wall.”

Gulping at the threat, Vidar did not waste any time to run out of the medical ward, his initial joy of the prank replaced by a fear for his own life.

Meanwhile, back at the top of the Strayer’s headquarters, the investigation team of Anna and Co. returned, with the leonberger helping a rather disempowered Aldric to sit down on a chair. “Okay then, we need to get the terminal of the Central, and that ASAP. Who wants to test out some shotguns?”

“I want,” Lucille spoke and raised her arm. “It is not like I will have much chances to ever use one of those again.”

“I think she meant testing them on people,” Crawford concluded with a frown. “We cannot just go in with weapons raised, you know. They have most certainly a severe advantage and if we explain them the dire situation we are in, maybe they listen.”

Anna snarled at him. “As if. You have to live as one of their labor forces to truly understand how evil they are.”

“The Empire of Urbulchem has a massive slave market,” the otter now protested and crossed his arms. “Yet, one of our best friends was from there, and openly embraced the thought of cultural exchange and most certainly treated everyone well. Just like some Imperials might be nice, you have to look past something as superficial as species or heritage.”

The leonberger shook her head and grabbed one of the shotguns nearby. “Since you say that he was such a person, he probably died. Those exceptions of the rule are to faint to count on. If needed I will storm the Central by myself and you guys just stay here. Frankly, considering none of you ever held guns, I ask of you to do that.”

“He is right however,” Aldric commented as he glanced at Anna from his chair. “And frankly, the solution of violence only causes more problem. I can understand that you feel vengeful, considering your situation. But blind emotions will only fool you and lead you to make bad decisions.”

“Bla bla,” the canine grinded her teeth and went towards the door. “While you talk, I will take action and solve this issue once and for all.” Shortly after she entered the elevator and left.

“A woeful situation,” Tychon stated and sat down next to Aldric. “The path she walks will lead to death. That much I can assure. I wish that it was not the case, but she lacks the wisdom to see that.”

Lucille sighed and grabbed one of the shotguns of Anna. “I cannot say I am innocent of that, considering I did run into a few dangerous situations head on. Endangering Khaba several times.”

The fruit bat snickered. “We learn by experience that temperance is a virtue that will keep us in balance. However, it is useless trying to change her mind. It will not be a pretty outcome, but it is something we have to accept.”

“If she fails, then things will get really troublesome however,” Crawford intervened. “We would have to get there ourselves, and good luck trying to convince them after a bunch of thugs came in to take control of the place.”

Aldric nodded. “Alas, we do have the means to take them down, if the need should arise.” He glanced at Khaba. “You know what the daemon I summoned spoke of. About the one who ruled Pandaemonia, before a Sovereign took the throne. If I understood correctly, it means you are the reborn form of a being that once ruled over all daemons.”

A confused smile came over the fruitbat’s face. “It is a weird thing to consider, but after my Aether Focus turned the darkness around me into a new body to surround my own, it does all add up.”

“It also is quite efficient as a means to fight,” Lucille applauded her beloved and patted his head. “If it comes to it, we are prepared.”

Tychon chuckled and then got up from his chair. “You two are quite a couple. Well, we have to see how things go. Even if I wish we could do something.” He then walked closer to the windows, just to stop as the elevator came back to their floor.

Vidar huffed as he tumbled out of the machine and hid behind several crates at the side. “Pretend I am not here.”

“I tried that for months, and it did not work,” Aldric cynically commented as he looked at the wolverine. “Okay, what did you do this time?”

With a whisper, the wolverine tried to voice himself. “I may have drawn something on Völ’s forehead while he was asleep. And well, I managed to have him lose me at the tenth floor, before I took the way up here to hide.”

“Okay, I am not quite sure how dire this picture must have been, but he probably won’t be hurting you too badly,” Lucille stated calmly and sat down. “What did you draw?”

“Um well, you see, I may have,” he was however interrupted before he could say what he did, as the door to the staircases sprung open.

Völundr was furious, his eyes looking around the room and his nose ready to find the scent of Vidar. Much to his dismay, it was now quite obvious to everyone what image was drawn on his forehead.

“Okay, I take my statement back,” Lucille spoke still calm about the situation. “It was nice knowing you Vidar.”

The boar now approached the crates where the wolverine was hiding and pushed them aside to drag the burly mustelid up on his feet. “Okay, you know what comes next.” Without even waiting he spun Vidar around and gave him a kick in the rear, which send him right back to the ground. “Now I need a washcloth to get this shit off my face.”

“There is a bathroom right next to the elevators,” Crawford pointed out as he tried to hold back a laughter about the scene that played out before them and the obscene image on Völundr’s head.

Cursing somewhat inaudible, the porcine disappeared behind the door and smashed it shut.

Vidar meanwhile crawled from the ground towards the table and tried to pull himself up. “Totally worth it.”

“At least until he throws you out the window,” Lucille stated and giggled. “Anyhow, we have managed to find out how to activate a massive machine, and Anna is on her way to activate it.”

“Sounds good. Where is the catch?” the wolverine asked as he glanced into the round. “Do we even have to do anything?”

Aldric shrugged. “Not for Anna, no. But, Fionnbharr got stuck in an anomaly, and I am pondering how we can get him back.”

Tychon frowned and got closer to the badger. “Without time-based magic, I cannot recreate the process, I fear. Have we any other options available to us however?”

“Not really to this degree,” Crawford commented as he pointed outside. “I am lucky enough to find enough parts to tinker some small devices, but for a gateway between realities it will never be enough. How about Aldric’s shamanism abilities?”

The badger shook his head. “Without Fionnbharr, all I can see is the layer of spirits. So that won’t be an option either.” He sighed and got up from his chair before he noticed something. “Wait, the Sovereigns are beings that exist outside the dimensional layers. Crawford, can I borrow the book you have?”

The otter gave the little hand booklet to the shaman in an instant and smiled brightly. “Quite a smart idea to use an artifact that contains a lot of forgotten knowledge. It did change its pages depending on my interests, which is mechanics and technology. For you, it may actually give out different results. It is genius actually.”

“I will hope so,” Aldric gave back and walked towards the elevators. “If you need me, I will be in my room. Inform me right away, if we get information on Anna’s little crusade.” And with that he opened the book and started browsing through the pages to find an answer for himself.

Fionnbharr felt something touching his forehead. It was not putting much pressure on him, though it did feel somewhat uncomfortable as it felt damp on his fur. He moved his hand to get rid of it, and noticed that it was a wash cloth, which someone had put on his head.

“Ah, excellent, you have woken up,” a mechanical voice spoke, and it took Fionnbharr a bit to adjust his eyes enough to notice that a two-meter-tall being made out of metal and resembling a red avian stood next to his bed. “You were only out of commission for about an hour, which is quite good for someone who got stuck in a dimensional overlap.”

“What in the name of Dadga,” the albino shook his head and touched the forehead of the android, letting images of its past flash in front of his inner eye. “That is, quite weird. You were put together and started moving around?”

“The name is Ju-Jak by the way,” the machine introduced itself. “And yes, I am build by people to be as intelligent as the average man. Not that it would mean much.”

Fionnbharr shook his head and just got out of the bed and walked towards a door. “So, I am stuck in your reality then? This is bad, really bad.”

Ju-Jak gave off a bird-like noise. “Oh no, Min-Ji and her father are already working on it. Don’t worry, they are brilliant minds. After all, they build me and my three brothers.”

“Lovely,” the badger said in a mix of relief and frustration. “So, you are looking after me?”

The android chirped in response. “But of course. I am programmed to guard people. And to play computer games with Min-Ji, a function she programmed in all of us.”

“I have no idea what half of,” Fionnbharr just stopped himself from talking more to the talkative machine and stepped outside to follow the next-best organic scent. After a while he reached a door, and knocked at it.

Min-Ji could indeed be heard from behind it, groaning aggressively. “For the love of God, that goddamn script kiddie!” That was followed the noise of something being thrown, and the door opening. “Ah, you are awake! Excellent, because I wanted to ask you so many questions.”

“May I start?” the albino pleaded with a tired look in his eyes. “I may start with asking about what the heck happened and what we are going to do.”

“Restarting the machine, I would say,” the girl replied and crossed her arms. “And that will take at least half a day, so you may as well enjoy the stay.”

Another chirp of Ju-Jak could be heard in the distance, and Fionnbharr’s left eye twitched. “I have been awake for five minutes and I am already wanting to drown that living bucket.”

“Yeah, unfortunately Cheonglyong is helping out my father, Bae-ho is doing police duty, and Hyeon-Mu is, I have no idea actually,” Min-Ji apologized and gestured the badger to follow her. “I probably wish I could tell you about space travel, but that stuff is actually a bit complicated. The short version is, you will be unnoticeable, because there is a world somewhere with folks that look almost like you. Only the colors of a badger are inversed, but your albinism makes that way easier to sell.”

Fionnbharr pretended as if he understood and just followed Min-Ji into a room, which was apparently a bathroom. “So, um,” he scratched his chin. “Are you just too polite to insult me?”

“Meh, you seem to bathe. I just got some more modern clothing for you,” Min-Ji pointed at a few clothes on the side and then looked at the badger. “I leave you alone while you get ready.”

The young prince looked a bit dumbfounded at the clothes, but as soon as Min-Ji left the room, he quickly took a look and decided to get ready.

Vidar still felt a pain in his backside as he was wandering down the floor to his and Leofwine’s temporary place. As much as it hurt, he still grinned as he entered his room, before stopping all of the sudden and turning his gaze to the door of Aldric.

The badger, safely behind the door, was still reading through the book he borrowed from Crawford. With a sigh, his eyes wandered over the many different pages the book showed to him, but his eyes closed more frequently and eventually he closed the book and shook his head. “This is bad. I understand too little to help you, Fionn.” Absentmindedly, he stashed the book away under his cloak and opened the door.

“Look up!” Vidar quickly called as the shaman left his room, only to grin wickedly as he pulled a robe.

Reacting to the input of the wolverine, Aldric did look up only to find himself hit in the face by several liters of water, while a bucket containing those fell perfectly to get stuck on his face.

Vidar had to hold his stomach as he broke out in an obnoxiously loud fit of laughter. “That went even better than expected.”

“This is the third time you did that joke,” Aldric remarked angrily as he pulled off the bucket and hit Vidar in the face with it, before casting a wind spell to dry himself, and blow Vidar off his feet. “I usually try to avoid getting angry, but you still manage to piss me off!”

“Aw, come on, it is funny,” Vidar replied as he got up again and put his hands on Aldric’s shoulders. “I mean, you are the serious one here, so you need to lighten up.”

Aldric groaned and hit Vidar in the gut with his index finger. “Do not tempt me to forsake years of mental training by kicking you in the balls. Because right now I find Lucille’s methods of dealing with problems quite appealing.”

“You and Völundr,” the wolverine laughed. “Actually, I probably should still look out for him. He is really mad right now.”

“In that case, avoid the medical wing,” the voice of Seraph called through the hallway as the husky appeared from the kitchen. “By the way, I think you dropped something.”

Vidar glanced on the ground, and noticed that Aldric dropped the book of Crawford. The book laid open, showing pictures of several mythical, serpentine creatures. “Hum, what is that?”

“Well, a book Crawford gained from one of the Sovereigns,” the badger stated as he picked up the book and looked at the page. “It is supposed to adapt with the interests of the reader.”

The wolverine arched an eyebrow. “Well, that is something new about you. I actually figured you were more into, books. And some weird game.”

“Clearly Leofwine could not get you invested in it,” Aldric jested as he looked over the chapter in the book. “Alas, it is quite curious that these pages came up.”

Vidar had to suppress a chuckle. “Maybe you secretly want to become a damsel in distress?”

“Better than a dumbarse in distress,” the shaman gave back as he browsed through the chapter. “Besides, the Gray Star is a mechanical dragon, so that could be it.”

Seraph scratched his ear for a moment. “Well, I suppose you two got an interesting conversation there.”

“Hum, this one is strange,” Aldric stated as he placed his thumb on the picture of a wingless serpent, with several features resembling those of different species, including antlers and a lion-like mane. “Even more so, a few strange symbols are located under its feet.”

“Let me take a look,” Seraph now approached the two mustelids, and scratched his nose. “Ah, I see. It is actually an older form of script that has been used here. Probably no longer in use in your world.”

Vidar crossed his arms. “In other words, it is useless, isn’t it?” he asked before gazing at the book.

“It might not be,” the husky answered as he took the book in his hands and leaned against the wall before pulling out a phone and holding the camera at the symbols. “The Athena System identifies this as a name. Shimizu Yamato.”

Aldric had to hold his forehead for a moment before taking the book back from Seraph and tearing out the page. “I will keep this one for now, until I know the meaning of it. For now, I do need to talk with Crawford.”

In the meantime, Fionnbharr had changed his clothing to those that Min-Ji gave to him, very much however in reluctance however as he stepped out of the bathroom and looked at the waiting girl. “Thanks for the outfit. However, won’t I draw attention as an albino?”

“A little, but we did not make it this far by being total jerks about the appearance of others,” Min-Ji said as she pulled Fionnbharr behind her and wandered out of the house. “Or well, looking at your universe, we also made it this far by not trying to bypass human rights by making demi-humans and because we don’t allow morons to be in an executive office anymore.”

The badger laughed. “So, basically you avoid that fools ruin the system. Seems reasonable.”

“It kind of is,” Min-Ji agreed as they were walking down the street, bypassing all sorts of folks, most of which seemed to belong to the same species as Min-Ji, but some were of a different origin. “My father is interested in the history of other worlds, to see how our own world developed as it did in contrast to parallel versions. Of course, the most fascinating thing he discovered was that apparently magic exists, at least in some realities.”

“Well, I can open portals,” Fionnbharr told her as they passed by some restaurants. “If I know how the place I wish to go to looks like. But frankly, we only know that it is some form of energy.”

Min-Ji chuckled. “Not quite. It is actually a neutral type of particle, which could not be discovered due to its properties being so different to anything we knew about.”

“Keep in mind that my world is not that advanced,” the albino reminded Min-Ji as he was observing some of the alien folks around them. “Aether might be a mystery for a later generation to solve.”

The girl giggled. “Aye, the Primary Directive. You are already here, so you may as well enjoy all the knowledge you can take back home.”

Fionnbharr shook his head. “Well, I do have to ask. Your species seems the same as the one I saw in my visions of a past that must have been millions of years ago. Yet, in our world, your kin seems to have lost its hair and lacks a certain vitality.”

“Probably a lack of oxygen,” Min-Ji suggested and shrugged. “Apart from the assumption that maybe the dimension of time might be different, I suppose it is more because there was no need to evolve. Just like other species remained the same for millions of years, we remained the same. The humans in your world meanwhile destroyed their planet, and had to adapt. Uh, is evolution already a concept in your world?”

The prince shook his head. “I did have my ideas due to seeing the world of the past, but I never really shared that. Mostly because I am not quite sure why and how that process exists.”

“Mostly so that life can adapt to changing environments. Here we just adapted the environment instead, so no need to adapt ourselves,” Min-Ji spoke and chuckled. “That is the really simplified version.”

“Simple enough,” Fionnbharr gave back as he and the girl walked down the street, before Min-Ji stopped and dragged him into one of the shops.

“I got an idea,” she told him as she had him take a seat on a couch with table and talked with a waiter, who was apparently a sapient, giant arachnid. “Alright, we may have to wait a little, but we can bide our time until father is finished.”

Fionnbharr looked a bit weirded out by the arachnid waiter, but then saw around himself and concluded that he was probably just as alien to the place. “So, what are we doing here exactly?”

“Eating some classic American food,” Min-Ji replied with a chuckle. “I could probably go for something regional, but I really think you need more weight on your bones. You look so skinny.”

The albino shrugged. “True. I am not against something to eat really. But, I do have questions to ask. Namely, what do you personally know about E.P.O.S., and what is the machine in this reality?”

Min-Ji chuckled. “For starters, he is one of the four Polaris Weapons, as they were originally called by their inventors. His actual name is Thuban, like a star in the constellation of Draco. Guess why he got a dragon design.”

“Obviously to go with the theme,” the badger concluded. “So, why was he made? Why do you think he destroyed the menni’s empire in our reality?”

“His purpose is to protect the planet,” Min-Ji stated as she played around with her hair. “Maybe that is the reason. After all, you folks have not yet reached the industrial age, which gives the planet plenty of time to recover. But it might be that Thuban himself simply despised the menni. After all, he was given a free will.”

Fionnbharr scratched his muzzle, before the waiter returned with two glasses of a colorful softdrink, which the albino sipped from quite hastily. “Goodness, I really was quite thirsty. But in regard to this reality, what do you think keeps Thuban from doing the same as he did in ours?”

“Probably the fact that we managed to not devolve completely thus far,” the girl answered. “Don’t get me wrong, we are far from perfect, but we have done our best to ensure this world would become better. If the masses drown in apathy or follow the loudest fool, such times can quickly come to an end. We have to be vigilant to what happens in the world, and do what we can.”

The prince had to chuckle for a moment. “Quite a positive philosophy. I can get behind your thoughts, it is all about working towards the changes you wish to see.” He then folded his hands and closed his eyes. “Once I will be back where I came from, I will face the fears I have, and ensure that they remain nothing but an image. Thank you, Min-Ji.”

“Um, you are welcome. I suppose I make for a good motivational speaker?” Min-Ji jested as she drank from her glass again. “The future is not yet written, but we all have the pen in our hands. Let us make history!”

In the city of Adamas in the other reality meanwhile, Crawford read through the pages that appeared for Aldric while writing down several numbers on a piece of paper. “This might be a perfect lesson why you need to share knowledge. I was only interested in the systems behind the Grey Star, but that alone only yielded the info on those systems.”

“Maybe it is good that my interests go into the Arcane and spiritual,” Aldric spoke as he saw the otter write down several complicated formulas. “If the book changes based on the reader’s interests, maybe your interest in tinkering and mine in the arcane were needed.”

Crawford stopped for a moment, pondering about what the shaman said before continuing. “That seems plausible, actually. Maybe if we let Lucille in on this we get some weapon blueprints.”

“As if she needed those,” Aldric commented as he peeked over the pages. “Plus, we already get a weapon out of this. A giant, metallic, potentially world-shattering dragon.”

Laughing at the remark, Crawford leaned back and looked over what he wrote down. “You seem excited about that last part. But then again, the designers probably found dragons to be cool as well.”

Aldric made a wry face. “Please keep this to yourself however. I would like to keep this to myself.” He scratched his forehead and looked slightly embarrassed.

“I will take it to the grave,” Crawford told the badger as he placed the paper back down and changed around some numbers. “Why would it bother you anyway?”

The shaman shrugged. “Say, what was the usual reaction of people, when they found out you were a genius with an interest in something rather obscure?”

Pondering about that question, the otter replied, “They called me oil-tail, scrappy, and predominantly made fun of my weak physique and shorter stature.”

“There are a few things people throw at my head from time to time, and it has to do with reptiles,” the badger told. “Needless to say, I ended up making them regret it.”

Crawford laughed. “Imagine the possibilities I have for my own revenge. Oh boy, so many ways to give those people their own medicine, consisting of physical and mental pain.” He grinned wickedly at that thought, before he noticed that someone else had entered the room and stood behind him and Aldric.

“I got to say however, I got my own little dragon up on my shoulder,” Lucille spoke as she leaned herself on the badger, while Khaba rested on her shoulders. “So, I kind of get the appeal.”

“How long have you been here?” Aldric asked as he scratched his forehead. “I could not hear, see, nor smell you in any way.”

Khaba snickered. “Around half-an-hour. We two are practicing a bit of a symbiotic fighting style, and with my magic and her agility, it is working out quite well.”

“You two are quite the power couple,” Crawford commented as he put down the papers and smiled into himself. “Well then, you can use it in practice. Right now, I need everyone upstairs so we can head out to the Central Tower. It is time for us to wake up the Gray Star.”

“Exciting,” Lucille replied with a smirk on her face. “We will get the others. It is time to end this Aleftav once and for all.” And with that she already left the room and headed downstairs.

Aldric meanwhile massaged his temples, before turning back to Crawford with a worried expression. “The situation at the tower probably has escalated by now. Any plan how we can end their fighting?”

“Actually, yes,” the otter answered. “I saw that the elemental container of Khaba’s grandfather was empty after what happened on back then. And well, I conclude that he absorbed all the elementals. Plus, he can have his darkness spells take over matter, so he can stop them easily”

The badger’s eyes betrayed that he was surprised. “Darkness spells are not quite so strong usually. I do have to say, it is more than just impressive.” He scratched his nose before turning his gaze to the elevator. “Anyway, we should head downstairs and prepare.”

Crawford nodded as he got up and followed Aldric into the elevator. Once the machine was moving downward, he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “You know, the downfall of the civilization of the menni and the humans before them. It makes me think what the future will have in stock for us. Will we do the same mistakes, will we end up destroying ourselves?”

“It could be,” Aldric gave back as his answer. With a sigh he moved around his staff somewhat and looked at the display for the current floor. “The short answer that I can give is that it depends on our own decisions. We saw another possibility of a world, where a tragedy like in ours never happened. That should be prove that there is a glimmer of hope.”

The otter laughed. “Quite the philosopher, aren’t you? But it seems plausible that we need morality in progress as well. Hence, I do not want to return to Meresteria. I have learned of things the world is not ready yet, so I will remain here, and see if after all is over the city can be rebuild again.”

“Be honest, you just don’t want to give up all the technology around you,” the badger spoke with a more amused tone in his voice.

Crawford sighed and crossed his arms. “In a way. I know Leofwine will freak out, and Lucille, well, not entirely sure. But, I am serious about it, you know. Up on the surface, I always just was a misplaced tinkerer. While other young men chase woman, or wrestle each other down for whatever reason, I never had interest in either of those things. Leofwine may have thought it was hard to hide his sexuality from the village folk, but I had to endure just as much mockery, because I was not a manly man to those bastards.”

Aldric leaned against the wall and glanced at the elevator lamp. “It must be pretty horrible, if you want to stay here.”

“If all works out, we can rebuild this city,” Crawford spoke firmly. “I already learned so much about the technology, it would be like leaving a limb behind, if I was to return above. I simply would not feel like I belong. Just like always.”

The shaman chuckled. “Fair enough, so what are you going to tell Leofwine and Lucille? You know at least your older brother will freak out about this.”

“Yeah, he probably will but,” Crawford groaned in frustration. “For the love of all gods out there, we are all adults, so we can walk our own paths!” Before he was halfway done however, the elevator was already open, and he looked perplexed ahead of himself.

Lucille and Khaba already were downstairs, with the former leaning against the wall with a grin, while Khaba hung from a broken lamp at the ceiling. “Guess whom I ran into? Tychon ported me here, and is now getting Vidar, Leof, and Völundr.”

“Can I say that I very much prefer him over Septimus,” Aldric carefully whispered as he looked around. “That will be the last time I bring up that name, I swear.”

Lucille nodded. “Though, they are the same person, they are not at the same time. In respect to him as an ally and friend, I will call him the best fox on the globe.”

“Thank you,” the voice of the fox replied as a portal opened and Tychon stepped through it with Leofwine following him. “I do appreciate the compliment.”

Khaba moved his body forward to get his face closer to the others. “Where is Vidar actually? Shouldn’t he be with Leofwine?”

“Um, he said he was preparing a little gift for Aldric,” Leofwine told the bat and then turned towards the badger. “Something about having found out one of your innermost secrets?”

“Well, I might as well say that I do have an affinity for draconic stuff. Your sister and brother know it, your future brother-law as well,” Aldric remarked with a sigh.

Leofwine tilted his head a little before turning to his siblings and Khaba with a serious face. “The chances that whatever Vidar does will be unsuitable for your eyes is quite high.”

“After several months in Urbulchem and Hela? Honestly, I am quite indifferent about anything that you, or Vidar, can throw at me,” Crawford disagreed.

His brother however shook his head. “I will apologize in advance Aldric. Please leave him in one piece however.”

“I will consider it once I see what he is up to,” the shaman replied in a clearly annoyed tone as he waited for the wolverine to show up.

Lucille however now walked towards her younger brother Crawford and tilted her head in a playful manner. “So, what was your little freak out about?”

“Um, well, I was,” the younger otter was looking around as if he could escape the situation, but then sighed and straightened his stance. “You know, I never felt very much like home in Topaz Lake, and I also have no idea what to do once we are back on the surface.”

She nodded and then looked over to Leofwine, whose ears were clearly held in their direction. “Elaborate, pretty please.”

“I don’t want to return,” Crawford said truthfully and turned his ears away as he knew exactly what would follow.

Leofwine furiously approached him and Lucille and stomped on the ground with his foot. “Are you insane! Why would you stay in this place, where half of the population would want to kill you?”

“I don’t want to,” Crawford took a deep breath. “I don’t want to return because I have no place back home. My mind, all the ideas, all the concepts I have in it, it is all worthless once I am amongst people, who could not even grasp the simplest of such things.”

“Still, you are throwing everything away for a ruin, a damn ruin!” Leofwine remarked as he tried to locate a window to point towards to.

Lucille however now cleared her throat and got closer to her older brother to slap him in the face. “Now, calm yourself down, you are going back to being the overprotective moron that I and he wanted to escape from.” She then turned to Crawford. “Although, he has his points, considering this place probably will require years of work to be in a safe condition, you are old enough to know what you want, Crawford.”

“But Lucille, he,” Leofwine groaned. “Damn, aren’t you also angry about this decision? We will never return here!”

She nodded. “Leofwine, you made your first steps to learn that you sometimes have to let things go, if you love them. I know what this means, but I am reasonable, and I want our younger brother to make the decision that he thinks will make him happier.”

A sigh escaped the older brother, and he shook his head and turned around, clearly in a disagreement with his sister and younger brother.

Around ten minutes later, Völundr caught up to the others, and waved with a friendly smile at them. “Seraph said he would take care for his wife while we go out and save this damn world’s ass.” He then pulled out a gun from his belt and handed it to Lucille. “He is also borrowing you this thing here.”

The female otter grinned as she took the weapon and stashed it safely away before giving the boar a hug. “I am going to have to say him thanks, if I get a chance to use it.”

“Only someone is missing now,” Khaba spoke as he playfully swung around with the lamp. “Vidar, where art thou?”

Tychon shook his head and opened up another portal and stuck his head through. While nobody could hear him talk, he was soon pulling back and crossing his arms. “Okay, he is done.”

A moment later Vidar came through, holding a folded piece of paper in hands and a cheeky grin on his face. “Hey Aldric, I got a little present for you.” He swiftly handed the paper over to Aldric and giggled as he waited for the badger to unfold it.

Aldric moved the paper carefully apart, and turned himself so only he could see what the wolverine drew. What he saw however made him quickly drop his usual content expression and caused his eyes widen in wrath, though under his stripes his skin was flushing. As he exposed his teeth he disintegrated the paper with a spell and got closer to the wolverine. He was about to say something, but then swung his kneecap into Vidar’s groin and walked past him. “I told you I would do this, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t think you meant it literally,” the prince gave back as he shielded the body part the shaman unceremoniously harmed.

The anger in Aldric’s face went as swiftly away as it came, and he then laughed as he leaned on his staff and pulled out a potion to hand it to the wolverine. “You made me actually lose my temper. Anyway, sorry about that.”

“Go fuck yourself,” the prince whispered in pain as he downed the potion and relaxed as the pain disappeared.

“Considering the picture, you drew,” Aldric shrugged. “I better save myself the snarky comment. We don’t have enough time.”

The rest of the group looked at each other in a mix of amusement and confusion, but eventually they agreed with the badger and headed outside.

“So then,” Fionnbharr crossed his legs as he leaned back on the couch and took a deep breath. “Do you have any questions about our world, which might come up?”

Min-Ji nodded. “More or less, I am also curious about you as a person. What can you tell me about yourself?”

The albino was slightly startled for a moment. “Um, well I am prince of Scathsolas, a seer, and that is about it really. I don’t do many things that make my life more interesting.”

“Clairvoyance does sound interesting actually,” the human replied as she took a sip of her drink. “Hmm, tell me the future of one of your friends as an example.”

Fionnbharr tilted his head and sighed. “Can’t say I read the future like it was a line in a book. It is a mess, because all possibilities are laid out before me. The past is an easier thing for me, and well, as a result I do know that my friend Aldric has a thing going for reptiles.”

“Reptiles?” Min-Ji arched an eyebrow, but did only drink some more as she observed the badger.

“Due to our city being somewhat cosmopolitan, we have a few exotic citizens,” Fionnbharr explained. “He kind of mistook a male monitor lizard for a female, and asked him out. Due to the fact that he mixed up the gender, it was a rather awkward situation for the both of them. But well, he was fifteen.”

“Well, he looked adolescent to me, so that must have been a few years ago,” a smirk came over the girl’s face. “Won’t he be mad, if he finds out you are spreading that story of him.”

The albino nodded. “Will he ever find out? But well, despite having asked out someone he barely knew, once they started to get to know each other it worked quite well, until,” he sighed and shook his head, “it turned out that said monitor lizard had a few misadventures without Aldric knowing.”

“Is that why he looked so reserved? I mean, I am not sure if I can tell it right, but he seemed to be quite unemotional,” Min-Ji asked curiously.

“Oh, no he was that ever since he was born. He does only show emotions in very few moments,” the albino explained. “I think you may have found out by now that there are people, who are simply not emotionally explosive. He is one of those.”

Min-Ji chuckled as suddenly something began to ring and she pulled out a cellphone from her pocket. “Speaking of rationalists, I got a message from Cheong. Dad’s done with the machine.”

“He is?” the badger got back up and looked over to the waiter. “In that case, should we pay up and head back?”

“I’d say so,” the girl replied as she pulled out a card from her pocket and swiped it through a device at the side and types in something. “Okay, done.”

Slightly wondering what the human just did, Fionnbharr followed her outside and back to the building that he remembered waking up in. After passing the entrance door and heading down a set of stairs and passing even more doors, they came to a hold, and ended up in a metallic room, which was illuminated by several displays.

“I am back,” Min-Ji spoke into a microphone at the wall and waited for a few seconds. “Come on, you overpriced metal snake.”

A few moments later another set of doors opened, and another machine, resembling a serpentine being, though with a full set of four limbs, stepped through. “Ah, excellent. Your father has managed to set the data in order to send him back to exactly his own reality.”

“Good, so if you excuse us Cheong,” she now dragged Fionnbharr with her and headed deeper into the laboratory, until eventually they reached a bright room in which a single man was working on a massive machine.

“Ah, good,” Min-Ji’s father turned around, revealing his middle-aged, yet still quite healthy face. “Sorry about the incident earlier. I should have reworked the security protocols some more to prevent someone ending up here, but I will do that once I fixed the current dilemma.”

Fionnbharr blinked twice, and then looked at Min-Ji. “He said he wants to bring me back home, right?”

“He did,” she assured him and crossed her arms. “It should not be too difficult. You step through the rift, you are back home. The science behind that is complicated, but not the act.”

The badger nodded, and looked at the machine while his heart began beating faster than usual. “Alright, so it is time for me to head back. And well, I think right now I have learned what I needed to learn. Time to put it to good use.”

Min-Ji’s father coughed with an uncaring expression and pressed a large button on a console, causing the machine to start and minutes later create a portal in front of itself. “As long as you don’t build some weapons of mass destruction, I am okay with that.”

“You know, it would be fun, if we could meet again, but” Min-Ji shook her head. “No, I suppose it was a fun little excursion. But you got your own troubles to deal with. So, farewell!”

“Who knows what the future will bring, if even for me it is not coherent,” Fionnbharr spoke softly. “Good bye, and until we meet again.” And with that he jumped through the portal, and soon found all his senses fading away. This lasted for a minute or so, until he could feel solid ground beneath his feet. He found himself in a large room, and in front of him was an assortment of monitors, all depicting battles on the outside.

A chuckle came from behind the albino. And as Fionnbharr turned around, he saw a face, which he only saw once before. Yishai stood there, not in the shape of an arctic fox, but a blonde human with beige skin. “It seems you have returned here once again. Outside the tension of decades of slavery are unleashed, and both sides experience losses and pain. Your friends are on their way here, but they cannot hope to stop it either.”

“So, what do you suggest I do?” Fionnbharr asked with a sorrowful expression. “If what I saw is a possible future, what does it mean?”

“It means nothing, as it is not yet written,” Yishai replied as he held out his right hand. “You hold the future in your own hand. And you can make the nightmare remain as such. The means to do so are now within your grasp.”

The albino turned around, and a moment later he noticed a second, rather small terminal placed next to the one controlling all the monitors. It was however seemingly in a state of disrepair, having been violently destroyed. “They tried to prevent Thuban from being summoned ever again. However,” he now held out his hands and focused. “They did not count for me.”

Moments later the terminal began to change, seemingly reassembling from the pieces, and returning to a state prior to its destruction.

“And now, it is time to wake up the dragon!” with his fist clenched, Fionnbharr swung his hand down the controls, and hit the massive button in the middle.

Outside, only a few moments later, Tychon led everyone through a portal, while Khaba casted a spell to remain hidden. The fox glanced towards the Central Tower, and frowned as he saw that the battlefield was already littered by bodies. “Damnit, we should have come sooner.”

“We cannot change that, but we can end this stupidity now,” Lucille spoke as she lifted up Khaba on her shoulder and folded her hands. “Ready?”

The fruit bat nodded and swiftly flew towards the sky scrapper, all the while channeling immense amounts of magic as a dark fog engulfed him and the entire area around himself.

Anna was amongst the fighters still standing, yet incidentally she was about to shoot one of the tower guards, a frightened german shepherd, with her shotgun as everyone’s weapons were pulled away, and a dark mass began to bind their arms and legs to immobilize them. “What in the name of motherfucking God?”

“Kind of saved my life,” the shepherd said and sighed in relief. “No hard feelings, really. I just prefer my head on my body.”

“And how you do you prefer your dick, because after this it won’t be attached to your body anymore,” Anna threatened him.

The male dog shuddered. “Okay, whoever saved me, please could you get me out of here?” He glanced around, and as soon as he saw a group approaching, his eyes widened. “Oh fuck, it’s that stripeface again.”

“That’s Aldric for you,” Khaba spoke as he formed a small shadow figure from the shepherd’s chest to talk to him. “Also, be glad we showed up, because else you would be pretty dead, wouldn’t you?”

Anna snarled. “What the fuck guys? We had it already! Give me five minutes, and this is all over.”

Khaba glanced at her. “Nope, you were sending your men to their deaths, and killing a lot of other people. All because you are unwilling to compromise.”

“I will compromise your face after this,” she threatened but then found herself quite tired from standing in one spot. “Alright, you got my guns anyway. Let’s get this over with.”

The bat loosened his shadow grip on Anna and chuckled as his true body emerged from the dark mass. “Wonderful. Now, follow us to the inside, and let us find the guy in charge.”

“You guys are killing me,” the leonberger complained as she looked at the rest of the group and crossed her arms before wordlessly wandering towards the tower entrance.

Inside Cervantes waited already for them, crossing his new body’s fingers as he saw the attackers enter the building. “It would see we have lost. No more guards, no more weapons, nothing.”

“Too bad I need to put a bullet through a server to kill you,” Anna spoke as she clenched her fists. “We need to head to the terminal for E.P.O.S., or else this planet is done for.”

“Aleftav, I know,” the scientist shook his head. “The terminal was destroyed because we feared the machine. It is impossible to repair in time to stop Aleftav, so we may as well just give up now.”

Aldric frowned as she got closer and grabbed Cervantes by the collar. “Tell us where it is. We got Crawford with us, he can repair it most certainly.”

“Not in time,” Cervantes replied. “Aleftav will arrive in three hours. Judgement Day is upon us.”

Groaning in frustration, the badger threw the menni to the ground and turned to the others. “If this is true, then we are indeed in a bad situation.”

“Think a little more positive, will ya?” someone spoke from the elevator door behind the front desk. Fionnbharr stood there, with his hands found in his new pockets. “I fixed and activated the damn machine.”

“Fionn,” the shaman looked at the albino with a smile forming on his muzzle He quickly rushed over him, and pulled him into a hug. “Thank the gods, I was so worried about you.”

Fionnbharr grinned and turned closer to Aldric’s ear. “Also, we should probably get down on the ground before Thuban shows up.” And just a moment later the ground below them began shaking.

Everyone did as they were told, while the speed that the city was moving caused several lose items to fly around, before everything came to a hold. Only a minute later, this was followed by the sound of metal being torn apart coming from the outside.

“What in the name of,” Anna got up immediately and rushed outside, with everyone following. As she looked at the sky, her jaw dropped as where formerly the dome covered the city, it was now replaced by the light of the real sun. “This is, beautiful.”

Tychon glanced around, and then turned towards Fionnbharr. “You said you activated the machine, right? Do you think,” he could not finish his sentence as a massive shadow was cast upon the city.

A massive machine, featuring the body of a dragon, hovered in the sky, blending out the sun and looking down towards the earth. Its eyes were glowing in all colors of the rainbow, the wings of the opposing colors black and white, and its size beyond that of any living creature. “Do not be afraid. Listen to my voice, easy your mind, and step forward. A force of uttermost destruction is on its way, and I shall be your sword and shield to battle it.”