Issue 33: Mission of Mercy
Triad Sector Alert: Any and all demis able to survive in Space please report to the closest military outpost. Magical Tier Rank 2 and above needed for Weave monitoring. Soul Layer Wardens activated.--ANN Special Report (Territory Update)
Send out every priest we have. Renew all wards. Protections. No stone shall go beyond our sight. The enemy is already at our doorstep.--Holy Seat of Avalon, St. Darius Cathedral
Chronos controls all of them. I felt it even as Crossguard removed the remaining metallic shards.-- King Arthur, Protector of All Realms of Camelot
Once more into the Black. Not as the Banner. Eventually I’d be able to balance both parts of my life.--Private Musings
The Jupiter Rising
Stone Reaches, Sector 587
The band was back together. There was an advantage to having our secret IDs obfuscated once more. Meant I could have whomever I wanted on my ship. No one would bat an eye at a General’s daughter pulling in some favors to get what she wanted. This time around I even enjoyed having a proper military career with the Outer Terran Corps. Specializing in scouting missions of a classified endeavor. Once the Banner had reoriented in the minds of the general population my alternative cover alongside Dexter’s had integrated properly with our Murphy life within this cycle.
Reality shifts. I didn’t try to keep track of it all.
Our overall history had remained nearly flawless. Expect this time we had gained memories of growing up properly alongside each other with mom, dad, Zack….so many siblings. Yet there was a set not recalled by anyone but myself. Gwen, Tobin, and Jace. The Void Man whispered mentally, >>In the end? You shall choose.<<
They served as the mortal eyes of the Oversoul. Broken up to understand the threads of those who lived upon the physical plane.
Taleer linked in from the mid decks. “Should be quite the sight!”
Lorain turned from the sensor array, “Right where General Murphy said it would be!”
Eddie had activated our stealth suite even before we had left Earth. My Typherian grandparents had joined us. Citing the desire to get out into the expanse once more. J’dax had joined us as well. It was a regular picnic!
M’taris swiveled in her grav chair. She pointed out, “Double check all suit seals!”
“Diamonds!”
She took it upon herself to fix my flight jacket. “Even you!”
I got it. I had become so accustomed to not hiding my Banner abilities that I had gotten out of practice. Jacob’s mirth was evident. His thumbs hooked into his belt. “Grandmothers will...”
Anna’s heels clicked, “Will what?”
Jacob finished, “...forever hen peck things!”
He made a few hearty clunking noises.
Anna put on her Speaker gloves one at a time.
“Just you wait!”
Samantha elbowed me, “Get a move on Captain Cosmos!”
∞
Augustus bounded a few feet ahead.
His space suit a deep red color. White highlights along the back. His ears swiveled in a set of plexicrete triangles. A clear fishbowl helmet. Most considered it a classic callback. I fought the urge to fly strait away to scoop up the adorable corgi. He barked rapidly. The sound carried over the team coms net.
<<Cooper told me what to look for! Yes he did!>>
His nub of a tail thudded against the restraints of the suit. I added another dollar to the Murphy Jar of Earth Bardaxian cuteness. Dad and my Typherian aunt still donated to the Curse Jar. Mom’s image materialized in the corner of my eye.
//You don’t have to do that all the time dear. Its not like we are hurting for money.//
I pursed my lips. Whistled a jaunty tune.
Mom crossed her arms. //...and all the world’s a stage….// She shot me a fond glance before cutting the transmission.
Nola was to my right. Alongside Eddie. Doc brought up the rear while Horus and Taleer kept watch on the left flank. The Stone Reaches. A massive asteroid belt that circled three stars. White dwarfs all. The one we landed on held an extra feature. Augustus circled the lip of a crater. The barks gained volume.
I murmured, “Who’s such a good boy?!”
He tilted his head to the side. <<I am!>>
I peered into the dark.
I froze. “Oh.”
One massive silver-gray and black eye stared back at me.
∞
The Titan known as Little Soul unfurled from her resting place.
>>Ahh. Eden Primary. I welcome you.<< The hybrid demi leaned in. By the set of her shoulders the Titan could tell she was straining to detect others within the layers of All. The power brimming of the Avatar of All muted by her remaining mortal shell. >>Always a good idea. Never know who else may be watching!<<
The Titan yawned. Then shrank to the size of a Golden Retriever.
“I welcome the crew of the Jupiter Rising. Learn what must be!”
The world shifted as she brought them forward.
New Ashbury Datacrux
Museum of Heroes
February 28th 105,490 A.C
Eddie blinked.
His hidden sense went bonkers. His wife shot him a concerned glance. Crowds of people moved through the exhibit. Species she didn’t recognize. One man in a yellow and black demi suit appeared next to them, “Yes! I didn’t think I’d be so lucky! This way!” He beamed at the rest of the Jupiter’s away team.
He guided them to the 34th level. A silver sphere had encased them.
“Temporal rules! I am a member a Knight of Avalon as well as a Protectorate member.”
He flashed the dual rings around his neck.
“This way!”
Eliza nodded. Her expression priceless.
∞
“You mean my brain won’t be scrambled to the Ouro barrier and back?!”
“Not this time!” The man’s cheerful response made me let out a burst of laughter.
“Someone out there must really love me. This time.”
The sphere opened up to reveal a massive room.
Three hooded figures rose from the floor. Their robes a simple white with golden sashes about their waists. Doc sucked in a breath, “Their faces!”
Tobin smiled. >>This is what they see.<<
Gwen and Jace also had the cosmos swirling about their features. Much like the Void Man.
Gwen raised a simple golden rod.
“Three questions.”
I scooped up Auggie. Tobin rested his sword lightly on Taleer’s right shoulder.
Taleer asked, “How do we negate the Devourer’s domain?”
Tobin replied, “By the one who holds both Thrones.”
My Markav friend stiffened. It only lasted a few heartbeats but when he recovered he glanced at me. His eyes searching. “Creator preserve us. It was never a Throne to rule….”
Gwen scratched Auggie’s chin, “No need to ask your question little one.”
∞
Lorain Lanis knew what Taleer had seen.
She had been forced to watch as well. Eliza would rescue her “brother.” The shell that would change the course of everything. Soul wards clung to Murphy’s demi uniform. But she was out of phase. One moment the Banner? The next she took on the silver and gold. An awakened form that none had expected to see again. The final form made Lorain advert her eyes. She didn’t want to dwell on it. Why did it always come back to those burial robes. Not even the style of the new cycle. It was House Ayeer once more. Entwined with Urraden symbology.
“You wear the skin of my sons!”
The Mother of All was in the form of an old crone. Hair brittle. Yellowed eyes sunken. Sallow skin. Her nails dripped with crimson miasma. It was the only way Lorain’s mind could interpret the entity within Chronos. Within all the evils of the Universe.
Eliza sucked in a breath. The ice blasted the crone backward.
Even as she reached for Dexter.
Chronos manifested. His wasted form twisted. Shadowed fingers brushed against the exposed flesh of Dexter’s ankle. Chronos seethed, “That one was always mine!” Thoth smiled as his dear niece pulled him from the fire. He had all he wanted. Lorain watched as the threads she had imbued into the shell activated. Preventing Chronos or Thoth from warning their dread Mother.
Lucifer dived from above. His blackened blade angled for a killing blow.
∞
Jonas “Eddie” Olsten clapped his hand over his mouth.
Was that the only way?
Hidden threads glowed. Twin souls. One to the Dead. One to the Living.
The Void Man leaned in. “To you we give a command.”
Eddie stiffened as the Oversoul’s mandate flowed through him.
Three Sons. United by Blood, Terror and Bone.
A Sickened Mirror to Mortal, Weave and Soul.
Hidden Sight shall pull the strings. Healer’s wings sail beyond.
Mirror’s Mask shall enthrall.
Nola bowed her head. “As you will it.”
She clutched her family mirror. Passed down through each cycle.
Of all the races theirs was the most ancient. Renewed through all the epocs. The Shield Worlds had always been their dominion. A way for all Three layers to communicate. The Three turned towards her. “A mirror unto the Cosmos. Gaze now and see the Final Tapestry.”
∞
Gwen smiled up at me. Water flowed from the walls. I inhaled the calming scent of lilies. Auggie stilled in my arms. Then he headbutted my chin. <<All darkness shall fade. The Vigil remains!>> A pinprick of light grew as I closed in.
I stepped through.
Below my feet the curvature of every planet phased into existence. Not just ones I knew.
Voices yet to be born.
I watched as endless shield worlds released their charges unto the tapestry. Filling every corner of the Universe with life. Dexter and Captain Overwatch guarded my back. My hands changed. Human, Icath, Bardaxian, Tarvellian, Hatheon, Litari. On and on.
Thoth snarled, “LIES!”
I blocked his strike. Dexter gripped Lucifer’s wrist while Overwatch met Chronos’ blast of fury with one of golden rays. Lucifer brought his sword down. Intending to cut through us all. “What use is the Oversoul without her!”
∞
Taleer watched as Eliza froze in place. The other two robed figures waved their arms and they were within the main foyer of the museum. Their true forms masked. Taleer saw his reflection in the waters of the central foyer fountain. Human.
Lorain pointed. At the center was a series of statues.
An automated masculine voice reverberated, “The Golden Redeemers. Last Line of the Vigil!”
Star took point. Her gaze locked on the horizon. To her left Yak’tish had his spear raised. Lorain was crouched in a firing position to Star’s right. As the Puzzler circled above them. His duel blasters pitched forward. Void Maiden and Judgment stood back to back as effigies of Brood Seed came at them from all sides. One boy raced over, “This part’s the best!”
The room darkened.
A holo sparked to life.
They saw Arthon running full tilt towards the space bridge, “All demis to the upper platforms! Activate your Pharu shields!”
A note popped up. //Pharu shielding. Reversed engineered from 12th and 14th cycle data matrix libraries. Tarvellian system engineers had kept such caches locked within each Turning. In preparation for 9th Circle Eden Core breaches. Historians often indicate that most information was never truly lost but hidden in such a way to serve the Protectorate throughout time and space.//
Arthon held his right arm to the sky.
Energy surrounded him as a beam sucked him up to a massive mech. Its markings etched with Muthra protective wards. Signals pinged. Everyone was picking up arms. Reservists, wives, grandfathers, grandmothers. Anyone with the will to fight. This was the final battle. All across the cosmos every sapient being followed the lead of Earth.
Star plunged her hand into a rift. Black Scrawl pulsed across her face. It enveloped her as she shouted. The holo enhanced. Translating the words.
You will not have us.
The timestamp indicated that only 3 minutes had passed before she came barreling out of the tear. Her cape torn. Her eyes blazed with that cosmic fire Lorain knew so well.
The boy next to them whispered, “There! You see it?” Through the torn fabric they all saw it. A white and black Ouroborous encircled her arms. Doc reached out to pause the holo. She maneuvered it so they could see Star’s back. The twin tails coiled down her spine. The child tugged on Lorain’s coat, “You see it too!”
Faint tracings of Light Shaman power rippled across his cheeks.
He recited the words in a clear tone, “By the way of Two Thrones shall we encompass the Sky. Imprison the Mother of All. By Avatar Alone. Blood shall call to blood and purge the Empty into the Realm of the Black Sun.”
Eddie resumed the holo. Star crossed her arms. Her lips moved.
Her Ayeer eyes were streaked with flecks of gold.
Urraden blood cleansed.
Dexter joined her. His Dawnbreaker uniform scuffed.
One hand bled openly. The Ouros upon his form were gold and copper.
Dexter summoned a trident. Its colors shifted to match the Ouro upon his skin.
Star manifested a spear. Its shaft pitch black. While the spearhead glimmered pure white fire. Demis filled the void around them. Earth’s cities bloomed against the night. Domes of silver fire as protective spells repelled the corrupted from all sides. The Banner’s uniform shifted. A hybrid of that silver ensemble and her traditional cape and pauldron.
Twin voices boomed, “The Wall Endures!”
They shifted their attention to the remaining threat.
The N-Typha Urraden Fleet.
Hextor Urraden bellowed, >>Misbegotten Mongrels! DIE!<<
The child looked up at Taleer, “All Shall Rise.”
Taleer nodded, “All souls as one.”
The Three pulled the Jupiter crew back but not before Lorain saw the little boy bow. His fist over his chest. Those eyes peered into her. Through her. A memory flared bright. Charon! He said, “As long as you believe? The Lights will carry them all home.”
∞
Gwen, Tobin and Jace placed the slumbering forms of Eliza and her team upon the lift. Auggie trotted alongside. >>Thank you!!<< He circled repeatedly as the lift shifted. The walls faded as time resumed. The rocky surface and dim glow of three dwarf stars resumed. Eliza snapped awake first. The crater where the Titan had slumbered had vanished. Her memory remained. She reached Nola and Eddie first.
Horus indicated, <<Lost contact for 1.4 minutes. Updating Jupiter Rising.>>
He floated in place. His golden iris expanded, <<Resuming normal record keeping.>>
∞
I flopped onto my stomach as Lorain examined each node.
I bit my lip to prevent myself from squirming. A tickling sensation beyond any known reason. Her eyes were glued to her readout screens. She tapped her stylus rhythmically. My mind drifted. So many moving parts that the Three had to pre-load our brains with different warnings. Jupiter flicked the coms a few times before noting, <<All crew requested for command level meeting. ETA 15 minutes.>>
With one final sweep Lorain eyed me critically, “You need more protein.”
I floated from the examination bed. Throwing on my uniform as needed.
Doc adjusted my collar. Her hands moved to my neck. “The nodes are expanding. Not in size. Volume. Just how much are you supposed to hold?” My mind locked onto Thoth’s hideous visage. Chronos leering over Dexter’s crumpled form. Lucifer’s black matted sword descending.
“I think I have an idea why...” She pressed a finger to my lips.
“Meeting first. Theories later.”
I replied quietly, “As the Wall Endures.”
We walked hand in hand through the pristine corridors of the Jupiter.
She paused before the main doorway. “May the Light carry us home.”
The phrase soothed me.
I was the Wall for most people. For me? Everyone else was the Wall.
They would guide me home. No matter what.
Issue 32: Here
Issue 34: Here
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