So...Yeah...
YAY! :) Hahahaha.... I'm happy, because
MY WRITER'S BLOCK IS GONE AT LAST! :D
I have the whole rest of the plot written in my head, including an epilogue! Now I just have to get it written out on the computer...
And I finally updated! I think that after this, there will be one more chapter, and then the epilogue, and then it will be finished! One thing though: I am not planning on a sequel. Sorry.
Just the same, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :) Please Read and Review!
Disclaimer: I do not own YW. Neither does anyone else, except for Diane Duane. Let's keep it that way; she writes it best.
Chapter 11—"Let's Do This"
They all turned around, startled by the voice.
Roshaun instantly tried to stand in a defensive position, but almost fell. Dairine caught him as gently as she could, though he obviously weighed more than she did.
Hey, Dairine said, it's okay, relax. He's like our BFF now.
Um…what's a 'BFF?' Roshaun asked, confused.
It stands for 'best friend forever,' Dair answered, feeling slightly stupid.
I see…
"Hi!" Dairine said to the dark Power standing before them, waving a little. "So," she said conversationally, "How's life? …Or death? …Or whatever it actually is that you are in control of now?"
It scowled. Then Its tone changed considerably.
"This is no time to joke," it said, "I don't even know how I got here. I just read from the book, and then…I was here, with him." It motioned towards Roshaun.
"But now, we have a problem."
"And what is that?" Nita asked.
"This universe is on overload," The Lone Power said; "Because there are so many sentient people inside this universe at one—the maximum limit for this universe is three people—and because of that, it can't decide what to change to."
"And that's a problem…why exactly?" Kit asked, no one hearing Dairine and Roshaun gasp in unison.
"It's a problem because the frame of the universe weakens considerably when the limit is breached…it's supposed to be impossible!" Dairine explained.
"But since we transported in together, the universe couldn't keep just some of us out," Roshaun continued from where Dairine left off.
"Then why can't we just transport out again?" Nita inquired.
"Because," Dairine sighed, "With the universe in this state, a transit would break the frame, and it wouldn't work, anyways!"
"Well then, what can we do?" Nita demanded.
"We can…um…" Dairine trailed off. Finally, she turned to glare up at the Lone Power. "Well? What do we do?"
"Panic?" It suggested.
Panic now and avoid the June rush! Fear death by water…
Nita looked hurriedly to the others, but they hadn't changed at all. Their expressions were still the same.
"Uh…guys? Did you hear that?" She asked nervously.
"Hear what?" they all asked in unison.
"I just…thought I heard something…" Nita's voice trailed off, as she looked towards Kit. He looked back, and she felt him entering her mind a little. She replayed the sound of the voice in her memory. Kit gasped.
"Wait—was that?" He couldn't finish the sentence, he just stared at her.
Nita nodded. "Yeah, I think it was her."
"How?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think-"
"Maybe…"
"Geez, is this what conversations sound like when you start sharing your thoughts? No thank you; I'd rather make sense," Dairine commented.
"Sorry," they both said, and shared a small glance.
"So would you lovebirds mind telling us what the heck is going on?"
"Lovebirds?" asked Roshaun, looking curiously at her.
"Not now, Ro," Dair said.
"May I ask that you would please not call me 'Ro,' Dari?"
"Aw, they have nicknames!" Nita snickered.
The glare that Dairine shot Nita was fiercer and scarier than any attempt by the Lone Power. Nita flinched visibly, and inched slightly closer to Kit.
"Dairine…" Kit said, almost as a warning, "Nita thought she heard the voice of a very familiar macaw…"
"Wait…you mean, The One's Champion? Not here, surely?" Roshaun asked. "I thought it had left this world."
Yes, I did. But have some faith; I do, in fact, have the power to come back…
"Uh, Nita?" asked Kit nervously.
"I heard that too. Do you think it was her?"
"It sounded like her, alright."
Idiot wizards…If I didn't know better, I'd think you were all blind and deaf!
"Yep, that was definitely her," Kit added.
"Well…Tell her I said hi?" suggested Dairine.
Hello, yourself.
Nita laughed at the look on her sister's face. "So you heard it that time?"
"Yeah."
So…
This time, Roshaun and the Lone One flinched as well.
Can you all hear me?
"Yes," they all replied.
That's very good. Now then…The universe you're in seems to be having some problems, is that correct?
"Yes."
Are you in need of assistance?
"Oh gosh, you sound like the tech support people at the Manual software service number!" Dairine cut in, "Can we hurry it up? We need help in here!"
Ah well. I'll be there in a second.
"Wait, you will?" Kit said, surprised
"Yes!" the voice said aloud.
A brilliant flash of orange-red, a blinding burst of pure sunlight, and She was there.
"It is good to see you all again," she said, nodding slightly to all of them. "Ah—Brother! A surprise indeed…"
"Sister," the Lone One answered; Its voice a bit cold. But It smiled a little anyways, when The Champion put her arm around Its shoulders.
The image of the two of them standing together was definitely a complicated thing to behold. The One's Champion was radiating a sort of nectarine-colored light, whereas the Lone Power was still giving off a little bit of darkness. It was completely contradictory, and yet, somehow completely in harmony. They canceled each other out, yet made the other shine brighter.
"Uh…" Dairine said, shaking her mind from the sight before her, "Are we going to get out of here, or not?"
The Champion laughed; a delicate laugh that seemed to flow like liquid silver off of her tongue.
"All right, then. But where to start…" She mused.
Her eyes glazed over with a translucent blue film, as She seemed to be staring into space, concentrating. Then, the film just evaporated into nothingness, and she blinked several times before speaking to everyone.
"Right. Well, there's really nothing else we can do for this universe. It's been causing trouble since it was created, and now that it's falling apart…the best thing that I can do, is destroy it so that it doesn't have to suffer the pain of dying, anymore."
Kit gaped. "You're just going to…destroy it?"
"It's really the only thing that we can do, when it's gone this far," She explained, pulling what looked like a cell phone, or maybe a PDA out of an otherspace pocket.
"But what about all of the living organisms?" Kit questioned incredulously, gesturing towards the vague fish-shapes in the water around them.
The scene suddenly faded back into being the city, with its many buildings and crisp air. The wizards and Powers stared at the landscape as the change took place.
"All of the life in this place will be moved to Timeheart," answered the Champion. "It will be alright. Really, loosing this universe isn't much of a loss."
She scribbled out a quick sentence on the PDA screen using a stylus, and silver-blue light came pouring out of the device in strands of words.
The blueness coated every surface around us, seeming to be a flexible grid that form-fitted around everything except them.
"Well, come on, then," Peach said, and with her hands, tore a hole in empty air. You could actually hear the fabric of space tearing as she created an opening large enough for everyone to fit through.
Dairine and Roshaun were the first to go through; leaning against each other, they seemed to be trying to keep the other one from falling apart.
Nita, Kit, and the Lone Power stepped through next, and instantly turned back to see what the Champion would do.
Peach took a breath, and then held out her hands. "Cover your ears," she advised, "This may hurt a little." And then she began the spell.
Nita squinted her eyes shut in pain, and backed off, into Kit's arms. The spell sounded like music, like most of them did; but if the spells they had done before were classical music, than this was the loudest heavy metal in the worlds.
It clashed and resounded throughout the entire universe, sounding like pain, anguish, and destruction. The wizards and Lone Power closed their eyes, shielding their vision from the screaming that seared the air.
It was four torturous minutes later before the spell ended. They finally had the courage to open their eyes, and blinked at the scenery, or lack thereof.
"What…" Kit breathed, feeling around him with his mind. The only thing he could see in the total darkness was the glow of the Champion.
"Light," said the Champion, and the world brightened.
"So…is this?" Kit stuttered, too stunned for words.
"Yes," Peach confirmed, "This is how those empty universes are created; those places you like to experiment with. They were all created from universes that once were, but could no longer exist as they did."
"So all of that empty space…that's all dead universes?"
"Yes."
"I had no idea…that there were so many…" His voice faded.
"They build up, over times. It's all about transcendency, and time travel theory and all of that." Peach focused in on Kit, and began part of an explanation.
"Do you remember that multiple-universe theory that claimed that there were an infinite number of universes nearly identical to our own, where just something small was different in each one? For example, a universe where someone's personality was a little bit different, or where a name or place was changed. Or," She mused, "Where someone important lived instead of dying…"
Kit blushed, and looked away. "I created that last one," he said, a little regretfully.
"I know you did. I'm just using it as an example, in this discussion. Anyways, most of those universes in that theory were in fact created by younger wizards who found a way into the empty universe space. They wanted something changed, and so they changed it. It's really all that simple."
"What about the theories that even book characters are real, in some universes?" Nita asked, always wanting that one in particular to be true.
Peach smiled to herself over a private joke that she was reminded of, before answering, "That one is more real than you think…"
Silence was everyone's confused response.
"We need to get home," Nita stated most obviously, staring at the Champion.
"Alright, alright. Oh, Great Hound?"
Yes, Picchu?
And Ponch was suddenly there, his mind-voice addressing the Champion.
"They need to be taken back to their own universe," She said, smiling at him.
Does your brother come too?
"I…I think not."
Okay. Kit?
A leash suddenly appeared in Ponch's mouth, and he whined like a puppy wanting to be let outside. Kit's heart felt like breaking at the sound. He'd really missed Ponch.
Gingerly, he took the leash in his hand, and held Nita's in his other one.
"Let's Do This."
So that's the end of that chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you thought of it: too long, too short, not enough detail, too much detail, bad, good, sad, pathetic, enjoyable, strange, weird, the author is insane, etc... Any comment is welcome! :)
Until next chapter,
Techno-Poet