Chapter Five: 300 AF

Reunion

Vanaheim

'Each reunion is a twist of the knife. The joy is ephemeral; it leaves fear in its wake...

A fear that too soon the time will come when you must bid farewell again.

Yet you cannot help but long for the next encounter.

Humanity's great frailty... We prefer past happiness to future uncertainty.' Echoed the voice of Reaper within the crystal pillar.


Even as upheavals transforms the world of man. Nature tirelessly weaves her tapestry. Vanaheim survives amidst the decaying cities of Asgard. This was once a protected wilderness zone, and even without the Immortal overseers, the landscape flourishes. Yet amidst the teeming growth, the seeds of destruction are being quietly sown.

Muntantomatoes are the mutations that arose suddenly in Vanaheim's Waterscope nature preserve. Researchers believe that the creatures feed on the crystal latticework that runs through the interior of Asgard and helps support it in the sky.

There are rumours of a particular specimen that absorbs others and grows to prodigious size. Evidence of the creature, nicknamed the 'Royal Ripeness,' has been found in certain video fragments, although serious scientists remain sceptical that it actually exists.

'So this is what the end of the world looks like...' Aporia joked as he and Sparrow stood looking down upon hundreds of monsters all going the same direction.

'Are they going to destroy Asgard?' Sparrow asked in fear.

Aporia answered. 'I don't know. But if the world ends here...my future should never have happened. Which means there must be a way to stop them.'

However, as Aporia began to plan, once again Sparrow began to feel the familiar headache, which had her fall to her knees in pain.

'Sparrow?' Aporia retaliated. 'What is it? What's wrong?'

'The daughters of the sundered New Domino are sacrificed to beasts that warp time itself.' A voice chanted within the mind of Sparrow. 'The pillar crumbles to ashen sand, and down to Earth Asgard does fall.'

Aporia continued to shake Sparrow. To try and put her back into her normal state of mind. But Sparrow was seeing flashing images of a monstrous beast attacking someone who is very close to her heart.

'No!' She screamed, soon getting to her feet and running off, leaving Aporia wondering what she may of saw.

'What did she see?' He asked to himself, following her. 'Was it a vision? Does Sparrow have the same power as Eurea?

But why? Why did she react the way she did?'

As Aporia caught up to Sparrow, the rumours of this 'Royal Ripeness' appeared to have been true as it towered over them. Mini Flans were being consumed by it to make it grow more.

'Wow...' Aporia muttered in awe. 'That is one gigantic monster.'

What was discovered next was either a miracle...or an accident...

'ARGH!' A man screamed. 'SPARROW!'

Sparrow ran towards the man, shouting the name of...

'Crow! Is that really you?!' She exhaled. 'I... I can't believe it!'

Crow was weakened by the attacks of the monsters and he placed his hand upon Sparrow's pale cheek, not truly believing if this was real or not.

'Am I...Dreamin' again? 'He asked rather quietly. 'Dream or not, you gotta get out of here!'

As Crow got to his feet, the Royal Ripeness was to attack them both, only to then have Aporia interrupt it by attacking head on.

'I'll give you a hand! 'Crow insisted.

'No, I'll hold it off.' Aporia argued. 'You get outta here.'

'Hey, you kiddin'? With Sparrow watching? I don't think so.' Crow replied stubbornly.

Aporia shook his head, agreeing they fight the Ripeness together. However, through the battle with what was certainly bigger than the three of them, the Royal Ripeness just didn't appear to weaken.

'This jelly bean's ticking me off!' Aporia raged. Though with a team effort, and with the magic that Crow had for some reason gained once again, they managed to kill the Ripeness. So they thought, as then, the Muntantomatoes then formed together to build up the monster once more.

'It just won't stay dead!' Crow complained. The three of them decided to retreat for now, even though Aporia agreed that this giant Mutantomato could even be a Paradox Effect and once defeated, it could reveal a Piece of Asgard. Though Crow wanted to stay and fight, Aporia had to drag the bewildered man away.

'Listen. Hotheads who can't back down don't last long in this world.' Aporia told Crow.

'Maybe.' Crow countered with a quick laugh. 'But sometimes, you've gotta make a stand.'

'You're not listening to me. Us humans aren't strong. We die easy.' Aporia retaliated.

'Well, some of us are tougher than others.' Crow coolly replied. 'Anyway, thanks for the help. You got a name?'

Aporia rolled his eyes at Crow and turned away.

'Err...This is Aporia.' Sparrow finally spoke. 'And this is Crow. We're getting married!'

'It's on hold for now...' Crow admitted which Sparrow sighed too but did agree with.

'You know, somehow I didn't expect you to be such a hothead.' Aporia muttered. 'All I've heard is what a great guy Crow is. And look where you are, all the way in the future.'

'I'm sorry, who's the hothead?' Crow argued. 'What were you thinkin', bringing Sparrow out here?'

'Guess what, Reaper.' Sparrow said to herself in her head. 'I found Crow again...He hasn't changed a bit, still as reckless as ever, still doing his own thing.

To think I spent all that time worrying about him. Stupid me. Guess I'll never learn.'

Sparrow then went on to explain to Crow how she and Aporia met and how they ended up where they are now. 300 years into the future.

But now, Aporia had insisted that Crow explains how he got here.

'Why did you up and leave Sparrow?' Aporia asked. 'What are you doing, fighting here in the future?'

'Reaper appeared in my dreams too...'Crow quickly answered. 'Can you believe it?'

'You saw her!?' Sparrow asked in amazement.

'She told me I had to protect Asgard. 'Crow explained. 'So I started jumping through time, checking things out. I learned that the giant jelly bean back there knocks Asgard down.'

'According to the stories I heard, back in my own time, Asgard was brought down by war.' Aporia told.

'Well, there's more than just one cause.' Crow said.' Did'ya see what that monster was doing? It's melting the crystal of the pillar, bit by bit.'

'But Luna and Akiza, they're inside it!' Sparrow pointed out.

'Yeah. So Asgard starts to get unstable.' Crow continued.' People feel the tremors and begin to panic. Next thing you know, everyone's fighting each other.

Now, I don't have a choice...My Mission is to stop that thing for good!'

Mission... Did Crow mean that in a way that he is an Im'Mor again? But how? When the Immortals are no more... But Crow's here because of something Reaper said in his dream.

'West confirmed it for us...' Sparrow then went on to say. 'He said that Reaper is alive, somewhere out there in Valhalla.'

'Okay, what? You met West?' Crow asked in surprise. 'Well, if he says she's doing alright, you've got nothing to worry about. West's a smart kid.

Listen, Sparrow. I've got an idea. How about putting up your search on hold for a spell. Right now, it's Akiza and Luna who really need our help.'

'And if the pillar continues to be damaged like this, Asgard will start to wobble and shake.' Aporia confirmed.

'We have to do something about that Mutantomato...' Sparrow stated the obvious. 'West told us to try and protect Asgard. I think that's what Reaper, Akiza and Luna would want too.'

'None of this makes sense.' Aporia then said. 'There are thousands of monsters appearing out of nowhere and they're fusing and creating a beast that shouldn't exist.

I believe it could be a Paradox Effect, so we'll need to do some time travelling to fix it. Which also means a Piece of Asgard needs to be found first.'

'Reaper, did you meet Crow in his dreams?' Sparrow spoke in her mind again. 'Is there a reason why you can only talk to us when we sleep?

Crow hasn't changed one bit, even though its been years since I last saw him. He's still as hot-headed as the day we said goodbye. It makes me so mad. But it's a relief too. I've been caught up in the fate of the world for so long. It feels good to worry about the simple stuff. Being with Crow helped me forget about what the future might hold.'

Now, the three began to search for a Piece of Asgard. The Mutantomatoes still appear to be heading in one direction, and to Crow's belief, they could be being attracted to what they are trying to find. Though the three had to climb trees and swing on vines, they finally retrieved their Piece of Asgard, which seemed to be and egg. Perhaps an egg. But the egg was crystalized, reminding Sparrow of her deep slumber when she completed her Mission as an Im'Mor.

'I've seen crystals like this before...' Crow admitted. 'Right, Sparrow? You remember, don't you?'

'I remember...I cried a crystal tear.' She replied.

'Sparrow, you know what it's like, don't you?' Aporia then asked. 'Being turned into crystal.'

'Yes, I know.' She muttered. 'It was the loneliest, scariest moment of my life. But it's alright. I think I dreamed the whole time. But they were good dreams. Dreams about turning back to normal. Being with my friends again.'

'I hope that's true.' Crow said. 'I hope Akiza and Luna are dreaming right now. I hope they're happy in there.'

'In the future, there was a legend. ' Aporia stated. 'About how the 'Daughters of the Goddess' saved Asgard.'

'They would of been the first to tell you they weren't Goddesses. Not the type.' Crow admitted.

The three of them now began to head back to the Gate and find out how to stop the giant Flan.

'I wonder where this one goes...' Aporia said upon arrival.

'Oki-doki. Let's go check out the future!' Crow said aloud.

Aporia replied quick. 'Not you. For every road, there's a different Gate. Somehow, I don't think this one's yours.'

'You mean Crow can't go through?' Sparrow asked.

'Just watch me.' The man said stubbornly, but the Gate pushed him back.

'Okay, not my Gate. I can take a hint. Guess I'm staying here then. Don't do anything I would. You take care.'

'You're the one who's got to look after himself.' Aporia pointed out. 'We won't be here to bail you out next time. So don't go chasing any more monsters, you hear?'

Sparrow then gripped Crow's hands. 'Crow, we mean it. No heroics, okay?'

Though Crow just gave a simple shrug and as soon as Aporia and Sparrow went through the Gate, what did he do? No, he didn't run towards the Royal Ripeness; he pulled up his sleeve only to reveal...the mark...of an Im'Mor.