The Golden Hope

by Elliot Bowers

Chapter 21

There was so much light from the glow that it was just a bit difficult to see even what was in front of them. Gally and Kyrie moved forward, going forward before something blocked their way. They tried pushing and found that hard to do. There were handles to doors—a perfectly ordinary set of pull-open doors. They pulled, the way opening for them both. When they stepped through the glass-and-steel doors, the glow faded enough them to…see where they were.

They had stepped upon green carpeting in a vast indoor place, like that of a small aircraft hangar. Even a small aircraft hangar was still large. Way up, two stories above, was a slightly arced ceiling made of a white substance that seemed to be colored fiberglass or some substance that resembled it. Whatever it was, it let in sunset-colored sunlight, added to the florescent illumination.

Here at ground level, things were more mundane. In front was a circular desk, some casually dressed professionals working at computers behind there. Beyond them were sets of bookshelves… There were probably thousands of books on those shelves, all of them looking new. At the far end was floor-to-ceiling annealed glass windows let in even more of that sunset-colored light outside, sunlight filtering through evergreen trees, a copse of trees outside.

Gally could barely believe the sight of this. Having gone a world away and traveling hundreds of miles, why end up in a place that looked ripped from Zalem? But Zalem was in a different universe, and this place did not feel like the right universe for that place. Also true was how the people at the circular desk--all of them adults--had no marks impressed their foreheads as all adults of Zalem do.

There was also the feeling that something was not entirely real about this place--as if it was an elaborate cosmic stage-set. Having traveled this far could give a person a sort of other-worldly sense of things, a sort of feeling when reality was or was not quite what it ought to be. Gally looked to Kyrie.

Kyrie was still looking straight ahead, said to Gally, "This bears a great deal of similarity to the royal library--save the lack of a mezzanine-style second floor. Another dissimilarity would be how there are no servant gynoids. Or it may be that those over at the desk may be humanoid robots that serve the purpose. In referring to purpose, we must have come to this place for a reason." The princess turned to look into the eyes of her companion. "Are you able to sense it as well?"

Gally noticed that Princess Kyrie's eyes had taken on a bright sunrise sort of color--as if her irises had been replaced with a gold mechanism. They also looked very shiny and had a subtle brightness to them. True, Kyrie's eyes changed colors seemingly at random, but Gally was never able to find out whatever it was that caused her eyes to do so. Now came the impression it had something to do with their proximity to where they were supposed to be going.

And here they were--a place that looked so normal and yet felt abnormal. Something was here. Or something had brought them here. Across the way, the handful of people--if that was what they were--present were simply going about their business in tapping at a computer and organizing books brought in. But overall, it felt as if that something was waiting for them.

Obviously, the thing to do now was get over there and ask some questions. Side by side, the girls went across carpeting to get over to that circular desk over there. The seemingly human entities were still doing whatever they were doing right up to when both the girls were just a step away from the circular desk itself.

The nearest of the seemingly human entities was an elegant-looking, tan-skinned young woman dressed in blue jeans and close-fitting sweater, her tan-toned face framed with long dark hair. Almond-shaped hazel eyes regarded the newcomers—almost catlike eyes. An ever-so-slight smile came to her delicate lips. "We welcome you to this place. What may we do for you?" Her head tilted sympathetically to the right, that dark sweep of hair shifting slightly.

What was it in that smile? Gally did not think it to be an especially malicious one. Since the cyborg-girl had several hundred years of existence and just about that much experience in dealing with human beings, it meant being able to read into that expression. It was the sort of understanding smile that adults gave to young children who did not understand things.

Despite not being an especially tall girl, Gally was not one to be patronized. Perhaps the seemingly human being was perhaps trying to assess abilities and weaknesses based upon appearances—as one would do prior to attacking. Just in case, Gally's hands went to her hips and then down to the sides of her thighs to where her daggers were strapped to her thighs even if they were not there anymore, her fingertips instead touching the smooth skin of her thighs.

Skin, yes Gally had skin. Looking down with undisguised wide-eyed surprise, the cyborg-girl saw that her body did not seem to be that of a cyborg at this time. It now had an appearance more befitting a young woman—a young flesh-bodied person—than that of a fighting cyborg. Her clothes had changed as well: shorts that went well up to show much of her bare legs, a sleeveless black silk blouse that clung to her torso—especially around the flatness of her abdomen, leaving her slim arms bare. The outfit was complete with small dark shoes on her feet worn with little white footie socks, a purse slung over her left shoulder—a purse that was just so light that it barely felt there at all.

Regardless of what was now there, the blades were not. No blades, no exoskeletal alloy over a fighting cyborg huntress' body, the only similarity left was that of her physique having the same slender and feminine proportions. And now Gally could feel everything—the small air currents that fluttered through the air, playing against her legs and arms, the way strands of her own dark hair touched her own cheeks, the way her clothes fit to her body of vulnerable skin.

Yet something gave Gally the impression that this body was not really a human one—merely one matching Kyrie's: a synthetic-flesh type body, human in appearance. Inside of her was still some kind of machinery inside—synthetic skin over artificial muscle tissue. In that her body was different now, this was very much like that dream, though her outfit was far from being scandalous.

Kyrie gave Gally a certain look, eyes wide while giving a nod. Yes, Kyrie had noted the obvious change in Gally's appearance. But it was also true that the pale-haired princess did not wish to raise a stir. That was easier said than done, since it wasn't Kyrie who underwent the radical transformation.

Could this body keep her brain alive for long? Gally did her best to keep from making any verbal outbreaks of fear, closing her own hands over her mouth. To have one's entire physiology transform in a second was not something to be taken lightly. The cyborg-girl had changed bodies before, but all of those past bodies had been of the reliable metal-type. Such metal-type bodies were made with technologies that had been in existence for centuries, at least in her universe…. Was this at all her universe--only set in the past?

Kyrie spoke to the seemingly human entity, knowing full well that the entity was no more human than a synthetic body being real. "We have come in search of something deeply desired. It is of such need as to resolve an entire world of problems, so to speak. Would such a thing be available?"

The beautiful female entity gently answered. "We have everything that you could ever want when it comes to answers. It is just a matter of knowing specifically whatever it is you really need. For example, one who seeks solutions could want an entire thousand-page volume on the history of mammals…when all one truly needs is just a solitary page."

Meanwhile, Gally could still feel the panic rising within her mind—a brain that maybe was not in the best of situations. Was this place set in a far-distant past? Or was this a radically different future? Where or when the Hell were they? And was there ever a chance of Gally ever getting back home?

This whole place, this library,itcould be just another one of those dream places created by some kind of trans-dimensional anomaly. The entire place could flicker out of existence. Gally could exactly imagine that sort of thing happening, the entire place disappearing, leaving them to go tumbling into an infinitely dark void between the universes. Human beings in such circumstances would starve to death. Since falling into Kyrie's party, however, something had happened to Gally to make her not need to consume food or water to feed her still-living brain. If this place was to flicker out of existence and send them tumbling through an infinite void, how long could a person retain sanity—never starving to death, never dying since swarms of nanobots within her body would revert any affects of suicide? Yes, indeed, the huntress' sense of reality was going faster downhill than a nuclear-powered sports car with the brake lines cut.

"I accept what must be given to me," said Kyrie very carefully, staying in the role of speaking ambiguously. To just come out and ask for that lost artifact would be stepping outside the façade presented by these entities. They had their reasons for generating this place. They also had very good reasons for what they were doing. Continuing with the illusion, Kyrie asked, "Where would one find, shall we say…texts and information on resolving fundamental issues?"

Poor Gally… Yup, those brake lines were cut, lines of sanity going whoops…! Her delicate hands firmly over her own mouth could just barely keep little worried sounds of psychotic panic from escaping. All the strong lines of logic and progress were going twang-g-g-g, one strand at a time. And her mind was on that downhill road, not too far from the bottom. At the bottom was a metaphorical cliff—like the sort found in Western animated cartoons--those damned cliffs seemingly everywhere, where hapless characters fell off the screen to make person-shaped craters in the ground. Guard rails would help, but those things were gone with the wind, baby!

"Ah-h-h… That would be 'philosophy' or 'metaphysics,' in the nonfiction section," said the female entity. "Looking there should give you what you need. Simply go around this desk…" Turning halfway to the left, one of her arms outstretched, left hand pointing to some of the bookshelves stretching off deeper into this huge and museum-like place. "There would be anything someone in your position requires."

Someone in my position, thought Kyrie. A normal librarian would not make such a cryptic statement, a statement somewhat outside the role played by the entity. It was like a windowshade opened just enough for a slit of sight to pass by. But if one looked carefully enough, one could see through. Kyrie did see through, seeing and understanding that the long-sought artifact was indeed here. It was all the confirmation needed. "I thank you," said Kyrie.

"You're welcome!" smiled the entity in the shape of a human female. "It's what we are here for… Oh, speaking of help, this may come as a bit nosy… But is your friend alright? Perhaps a fear of impending darkness?"

When the entity said darkness, Gally's eyes snapped to stare. I never said anything out loud, went a thought. Yet the librarian somehow knows exactly what is playing through my brain right this moment. Still shaking with shades of panic, Gally lowered her hands from her mouth and stared at the female entity—the one pretending to be a human librarian.

The beautiful entity smiled and pointed to some place behind Gally. Turn around… Behind you, meant the gesture. Gally carefully did so, knowing full well that something dark and terrible was behind her…

Standing behind them all this time was her. It was indeed the dark-haired harbinger of trouble--the nameless girl only seen in glimpses and fits during the journey. Except, every time they saw them, it was around moments of the worst sort of trouble. The worst sort of things happened when there was the idea of her simply being present. The girl was barely there all of this time. Now her presence was real and definite--the source of so much trouble. The only difference was how her black leather jacket was gone, her half open blouse, putting more of her body on display. A darkly beautiful smile on her red lips, and the dark-haired nameless girl began to walk deeper into this library—an exaggeratedly seductive strut in her walk, her leather skirt barely long enough to cover her buttocks, a sway in her hips as her legs seemed to stroke along in her moving. And as the nameless girl walked away, so went Gally's sense of panic.

That panic was replaced with anger. Kyrie nodded. "We must follow her," came the gentle pronouncement of the princess. "There is more to her presence in this place than we understand at this moment."

…

2.

…

The girls did so, following where the nameless girl went. Deeper within this well-lit and spacious library, near the window, there were circular wooden tables of a sort that Gally had seen before. Except these circular wooden tables did not look as if they were sitting around for a few centuries for the next set of people to sit at them. These tables were new, all polishd and shiny, the wood itself of a light golden tone.

There was only one person around here to enjoy the space. That would be her, the dark-haired girl in black leather mini-skirt and white blouse. Yes indeed, the nameless girl was just sitting down pretty as can be, a book in front of her. The nameless one was looking perfectly innocent.

Gally's lips flexed into a frown while her eyes angry. Gally wondered what would happen if someone was killed in this place. Rather, what would happen if someone tried to kill the nameless girl and all the damned trouble that came from her? Then no one would ever have to worry about her causing trouble ever again.

The nameless girl put a bookmark in the dark book being read—a bookmark with a cute anime character on it—before looking up to stare at Gally. Now one could see that the nameless girl's eyes were infinitely dark, darker than the depths of the universe itself. There was not even a reflection. It was as if the nameless girl had two miniature black holes where her eyes ought to be. One could not take one's eye-focus away from them.

When the nameless girl spoke, it was in a manner of speaking somewhat similar to Kyrie's: delicate, refined and with a slight undertaste of sharpness. "I take it that you shall comport yourself in a refined manner, hmm?"

Kill you thought Gally. And the moment that Gally thought that, the girl's lips flexed into a smile, though her eyes did not match the expression. Then a tinge of headache preceded…the worst sort of coursing fear that Gally ever felt before. It made her stagger once, her legs suddenly too weak.

The anger at this insane entity, whatever her nature was, kept Gally standing upright even while it seemed as if all kinds of things were going wrong inside of her own body. To bow down to that sinister girl and her intents would be surrendering. Yet Gally knew that the nameless girl was winning without even moving to attack. It must be an especially powerful fighting technique: fighting without even moving.

Once upon a time, in Gally's world, there was a radically powerful fighting technique called hertza haeon--used by flesh-bodied human beings to hold their own against cyborgs. This allowed human beings to attack from a distance. Even then, the hertza haeon technique required immense control and actual movement on the part of the user.

Yet the nameless girl was not moving at all. There was just her body being posed, sitting down and looking, her eyes staring. As Gally's body began to go numb and her vision fade into darkness, things began to slip away.

The synthetic-bodied huntress did not wish to be defeated by the nameless girl and her unknowable abilities. If Gally's body and mind failed now, then there would be no one left to stand by Kyrie's side. "I…surrender…"

A gentle shake of her head, dark hair rippling, the nameless girl kept her lips stretched in a smile. "It is not so much surrendering as yielding." That smile went away. "Your quest will go on."

And the sense of draining energy…went away as it did before. Now everything felt as fine as nothing happened at all. It could have just been any old typical day and moment, nothing out of the ordinary other than being in some kind of alternate universe set up by cryptic entities. No, there was nothing bizarre about this in the least.

"Feel free to be seated any moment you so please," said the nameless girl in putting her book to a side. Gally and Kyrie moved to sit at two chairs that so happened to be there at the circular wooden table. Kyrie performed a curtsey before sitting—fingers at the sides of her skirt and one leg behind the other, dipping once before being seated. Gally simply sat down before anything else happened to her.

"I could begin by asking if you deserve it. Both your hands are especially soiled with the blood of thousands. In some worlds, even the killing of just one alone is worth death. Does this mean that you both deserve to be killed thousands of times over?" Her lips flexed into that smile again. "So red, your hands…"

A deep crimson took Gally's attention away from the amazingly dark eyes of the one sitting across the table. Looking down, it was sight of her hands coated with the red liquid of mammals. It looked so incredibly out of place in this environment—everything else so neat and professional. This, even her hands had the look of someone trying to use the famous red fluid like chemical hand-wash.

"Just kidding," said the nameless girl, those infinitely dark eyes of her looking shiny for just a moment. Gally looked down at her hands once more. Once again, her hands were a clean and perfectly white-cream tone that matched her face. "Seriously… Did you mindlessly believe that the prize would just give itself up easily to just any haphazard and motley party of three? It is an object of civilization progressIt can turn any subject into a super-hero. The Golden Hope can turn a princess into an empress. In short, it is an ultimate power. I mean, really…"

Gally was trying to understand the nameless girl--such a person of contradictions. Here was the nameless girl claiming to be someone who said to be about hope and progress, yet her presence only brought about the worst of circumstances. Her talk was that of being all things good, and yet her actions were in all things evil.

"I deny and refute that accusation," said the nameless girl, those dark eyes of hers angry--seeing but not caring for the look of surprise on Gally's face. "Of note, I was merely present during certain eventualities. Yet let it be known that my presence was more indicative of red trouble to be had--as opposed to being a catalyst for the latter. Your attitude is the equivalent of certain messengers in a fallen world ."

A sound of wind picked up, howling just outside the grand floor-to-ceiling windows. Sunset light still shone through trees beyond the grand windows, the trees fluttering furiously in the swift-moving natural air-currents, shining through trees being shuffled in the breeze. The nameless girl continued. Saying, "Once upon a time, the rulers of a certain world had the habit of executing messengers of unfavorable tidings--even if heeding such messengers would have been immensely beneficial. The truth would disappoint, but the truth could be used to bring about success even if there was none. Was I not beneficial in some way, being a potential bearer of your success?"

Gally noticed in the periphery of her sight that Kyrie was staring. Not that Gally could read minds like that entity across the table, but the way Kyrie stared was her way of telling somebody to be careful.. In this scenario it was the huntress being told to be damned careful. But how could one keeps one's own mind from going off on deranged tangents? Her mind could drift to wayward thoughts like cherry-flavored rocks on a highway made of glass or burning buses being driven by teams of gophers in little flame-retardant suits. Things happened to one's own thinking exactly when one did not want them to do so.

Also true was that Kyrie was largely staying quiet throughout this conversation. It was probably the same reason why the nameless girl was not giving her a Hell of a hard time. There was something to this nameless girl that made her an antagonist rather than an ally. Was that a sparkle of something in those orbs of sight, something like amusement? It was hard to tell.

Or perhaps… Gally smiled and tried thinking something. Could that nameless girl really read minds? On that, Gally tried thinking of something nice and sweet--like dark chocolate candy bars of long ago, or hot chocolate. It was once a time of her being with friends and talking about anything. That was back in Scrap Iron City--so far away, too far away and a lifetime ago. Yet it was so beautiful in that moment, everything seeming to be fine and well in the world . That was so even if things were okay for just a little while.

"You are beginning to understand," said the nameless girl. "A phrase goes, Be careful for what you wish. It just may come true." The nameless girl's fingertips tapped the table a few times. "The artifact which you seek may be the object of your heart's desire. When I say the word your, however, whose heart's desire shall be fulfilled?

Just then, another one of those haphazard images just popped into Gally's mind for seemingly no good reason at all. It was….one of a naked androgynous patient atop a hospital table--a tube stuck in his or her chest. By androgynous, it really was impossible to tell if the patient was male or female. But there was no doubt that the tube in the chest was trouble.

It was not a professional-looking medical sort of tube, either. That sucker was a grimy, nasty sort of thing that looked as if it was used to pump motor oil or something--the sorts of tubes used by big hairy coveralls-wearing mechanics, the sorts of guys with names like Gus or Joe who worked on great big machines.

Somehow, Gally's mind was taken there…which now became here to her. What would happen if…? Before being able to stop herself, her hands wrapped round the nasty rubber tube before giving that thing a nice yank.

The obvious began to happen. The patient atop the table began bucking and jerking all around… All the dark fluid inside was beginning to come outside--spurting and spattering all over the damned floor and the table and--by golly--some of that wet red stuff f actually plopped wetly against the ceiling sort of like the way an old-time freshly drilled petroleum bursts with the fluid … Hot damn, we've got a gusher!

Something snapped Gally out of that scene—bringing her mind into here and now. Kyrie was staring at her. The nameless girl was doing so as well. Kyrie was sympathizing, but Gally knew that the nameless girl was fully responsible for that hallucination.

A pout came to the nameless girl's lips. It was exactly the mocking sort of gesture of one in a position of dominance; the nameless girl could afford to be mocking. No, there was more to it than that… "Why do you condemn me so?" asked the nameless girl. Her left hand came up open--showing a palm. "I merely serve that which fate serves." The nameless girl then closed that left hand, index finger out to emphasize a point in the conversation. "Did you truly believe that the path of your quest was wholly of your own free will and doing? Did you not think that there were others in service of your trials? I say again: Hate not the messenger…for the messenger bears hope." Her eyes gently turned down, focused on the surface of the table. And what it faded into view could only be one thing.

A wonderful glittering glow came from the wonderful object--illuminating the table better than any lamp ever made for this glow was one of the most beautiful things ever. Though the sunset-toned light outside shone beautifully between boughs of evergreen trees and through the picture windows, it was not so bright and beautiful as what appeared. Suddenly everything felt good and wonderful in the presence of this precious golden object.

What did it look like? It was an object placed upon a gleaming golden circular base about the size of a person's palm, a hemispherical globe of polished diamond-glass over it. Inside was a glittering mechanism beneath a circular device that looked a great deal like a clock. And though it glittered and glowed, it was a nice and soft sort of glittering and glowing--through which one could read the engraving set in front of the object's mechanisms as set in the base: Hope and Time.

Even though Gally had never exactly seen the Golden Hope before, there was no doubt in her whole brain that the thing atop the table could only be that. That gentle, wonderful feeling was somewhat like how Gally felt when first meeting Kyrie years ago--that feeling of goodness. Except now it did not even feel as if this happened over the course of years. It felt as if this all began yesterday.

All the wrongness could be made to be over now, all the troubles, all the hurt and the suffering of a world… With the Golden Hope in their possession, they could probably even figure out a way to restore the sun of Kyrie's world. There was no doubt at all about that.

Also true was how bringing it back to Gally's own world would have probably done a great deal more—especially since the situation seemed so damned helpless. That object, in the right hands, it could probably turn the cyborg-girl's world back to one before all the environmental catastrophes and interplanetary warfare wrecked things. Why did Princess Kyrie's world deserve it? So thinking, Gally felt herself reaching for the beauty of the artifact…

Yet…no. This quest was not about saving her world. The Golden Hope did not belong in any old scrap yard. Gally suspected that there was maybe a way back home with that object in her possession. Yet then the object would fail to serve its own purpose. It was meant to be for the sake of Kyrie's world. Also true was how it could maybe cease being what it was--or maybe just vanish. The rules are different in these other worlds. Not for me, not for us, thought Gally sadly. It is not for us at all.

It is not for me… As Gally sadly lowered her hands, Princess Kyrie reached for the object atop the table and carefully lifted it by its base. The glow brightened, also…making Kyrie become bright in some way. It was suddenly as if the princess had no shadows at all, everything about her being illuminated. If Kyrie was beautiful before, now this was her being radiantly and amazingly so.

"We shall return," said Kyrie, the words simultaneously forming in Gally's mind. Even the way Kyrie spoke was even more beautiful now. Gally could not help but agree. Those in possession of the Golden Hope were almost totally irresistible. No could have been an answer, but Gally did not even want to think about that.

When Kyrie stood, Gally did the same. With a slight soft sunset glow covering everything, they began walking away from this table to approach the glass-and-steel doors. It was getting dark out there, but they were bringing the light…

…

3.

…
The two girls were walking in a place between worlds--neither here nor there. Everything was in a faint and wonderful glow, hard to see anything. One could not be sure if there was really anything here at all. There was some kind of solid flooring underneath their feet, at the least. It was a hard shiny floor of a black and white squared pattern, hard and polished, yet very comfortable to walk on. How could something be both hard and comfortable at the same time? Beyond that, everything else was lost in some sort of golden glow. Some kind of distant thrumming hum permeated everything. Something was familiar about this place

Gally took in a breath, inhaling something warm. It was not air but something else. That was because there was no real air in this place. Instead, there was something else to breathe--more of that wonderful glow. The cyborg-girl had some kind of worry since even her own electromechanical body needed to take in air for the sake of her human brain--not as much as a flesh bodied human being and all that, but something with oxygen in it. Even that smog-ridden airborne chemical swill known as smog would do in that it contained at least some level of the big-o. The cyborg-girl raised her left hand…and saw that it was still the synthetic-flesh type--and also bare.

Looking down, Gally saw that her body really was of a synthetic flesh type. That was apparently easy to see in that her physique was barely clad in the same gown of that dream--two silken straps that crossed diagonally over the fronts of her breasts, meeting at her hips where there was a skirt of two slits at the sides to expose much of her legs. Instead of being dark, this outfit was one of gold.

It ought to be a downright embarrassingly indecent dress, exposing so much of her body But here, it felt good. On her exposed skin was a feeling of the soft and air-like glowing substance. If someone could make sunset-light into matter, store it in a chemical of gaseous form and pump it around, this would be what it felt like.

Princess Kyrie was still there at her side. Her outfit was very much like Gally's, though of a different color. Her outfit was more of a deeper orange, a contrast to her creamy paper-pale and glowingly moonsilk-white hair. Held gently within her hands, close to her navel, the artifact was a bright glow. It was hard to tell what it looked like at this point because the thing looked like a hand-sized blazing sun--like looking into the sun, too bright to look at.

They were going back. Princess Kyrie began to take steps to the left, small bare feet stepping on that strange flooring. Gally followed the princess. It was like following that glow. There was nowhere else to go. Not yet at the least, was the thinking…

…

They faded back into…the throne room of the palace--this grand indoor place with the high-up ceiling and vast marble floor, twin thrones at one far end. In returning, the girls also reverted to the same physical form as before. Gally could feel her physique revert to the armored metal-type form, the black synthetic leather bodysuit clinging to her body, calf-length boots on her legs. Princess Kyrie's outfit was again the short-skirted traditional outfit of a princess in this land. Of course her body was still the synth-flesh type, disarmingly and inhumanly beautiful. No real-bodied human could probably be that beautiful. In her hands, the Golden Hope had gone from that sunset orb of light back to that glittering golden clock-like object in the little glass case.

"My dearest sister!" came the call of Princess Dahlia over by the twin thrones. This time, Dahlia was on her knees and head bowed. "The glow of it is far too much for me. I beg of you, be careful with the glow of it."

Upon hearing that bitch'svoice, Gally's hands went to the sides of her thighs where the left and right blades…should have been. There was nothing there but the straight smoothness of synthetic leather over armored legs. A look down only showed that the dual blades were in fact gone.

"What is this?" was her whispered reaction. The precious and powerful dual blades that had served the party of three for so long, in their presence since the beginning of the quest…were just gone. It wasjust like the morning after a dream in which a child reaches for a toy, only to find that it only existed in the dream. Even the thigh holsters to contain the blades power were gone.

Only after that momentary shock did Gally understand. The blades were with the party during the quest. That was, they existed…for the sake of the quest, the party of three. Therefore there was no further need for them to exist--just as there was no longer a reason for the party of three to exist. Yet just because the cyborg-girl understood did not mean that there was some kind of emotional acceptance of what the Hell just happened to those ultimately powerful blades. The weapons had served their purpose, and now they were gone, just gone…

Switching the Golden Hope to her left hand, Princess Kyrie approached her sister. "Indeed, my sister, I have returned victorious in attaining this most precious of artifacts. It is that which was lost and has been again returned. Behold an ultimate power!" That said, Kyrie raised the artifact above her head.

…

The effects were far-ranging and well beyond this palace, beyond the city, even beyond the mountain atop which the capital city was built. Out here in the wastelands, the mountain range was off in the distance. One of those mountains was cut flat at the top and had the capital city built right on it… The muties did not care much. Whenever their random stupidity prompted them brought their eyes close to there, they much preferred to not look. Right now, though, the dumb-assed once-human creatures were running along their merry way…when something felt very, very wrong.

"Erp?" voiced one such creature--something that could have been a business manager at one point in its existence but was now just as mutated as the rest of its crew. Then came…a flare of energy that washed over the land. The muties felt an electric tingling all over themselves just as those looking in that direction began dropping dead.

"Orp-porple! Egglesplorkle!" declared a humanoid creature in janitor's clothing. It then turned to run out and away from the capital city. Even though it would eventually die…again, it still ran. So did all the other muties.

They started running fast, and they planned on running far, far away. They decided that it would best to not be anywhere close to the capital city any damned more, not even close to the isolated human settlements. That was because all settlements associated with the kingdom were also giving off aspects of that glow. And this was only a beginning. No more mindless destruction for them! Their hijinks were at an end, probably forever.

…

Back here, though there was no overt physical change in the appearance of things—something had changed. And something else was going to change. Gally looked on as Kyrie took the final few steps towards Dahlia--the kneeling princess looking up at the approach of her twin. Kyrie knelt down as well. With her left hand still bearing that artifact, her right hand went beneath Dahlia's chin. Both girls moved to slowly stand together, eyes locked in focus. It was Kyrie that initiated the next move--leaning forward with lips parted to give an open-mouthed expression of deepest affection.

"We rule together, sister," said one to the other. If Kyrie or Dahlia, it was now impossible to tell. The voice heard was neither the delicate tones of Kyrie's voice nor the deceptively poisonous suprano of Dahlia's.

Gally suddenly could not tell the difference between the two. There was such a feeling of shock and betrayal at this development. Of all things, of all that had been caused by Dahlia, how was it to come to this? "No…" whispered Gally before realizing her thoughts were said aloud. It was too late to not say it aloud. It was also too late for everything.

"It is so," said one princess. "So comes the realization that rulership together is vastly preferable to division. It is best for all the land for those of the royal family to be united in purpose."

"And we are one and the same in our purpose," declared the other princess, her voice sounding exactly like the one on the left. "Would anyone have it any other way? This land has been far too divided for far too long. It is deserving of cohesion--be it by any means necessary."

"That said, will you stand by us, Huntress?" asked the princess on the left. "Continue to ally yourself with us. You will be rewarded and blessed by way of the artifact. Otherwise, you could be viewed as an opponent Be with us…forever."

Forever… Too many people before said that to others without really meaning it. Cities fall, people die, and whole damned planets eventually fall to ruin. In Gally's homeworld, all of that happened prior to her existence. Back there, forever really only meant so long as people's lifetime extended. But in this land, the rules of reality are different. There could very well be forever.

Being forever here would mean dealing with dark strangeness of haphazard holes in reality and a degree of unpredictability. One minute, a person could be traipsing along and minding one's own business. Then something would slip out of a gap in reality to raise some Hell. The War of long ago was terrible to the point of permanently infecting and weakening the very fabric of reality. And to forever deal with that.

There are other worlds. Just the existence of this one was proof enough of it. Maybe some other worlds would be just as darkened and ruined. Maybe they would be even more infested with monstrous grotesqueries than this one. Wherever they were, they would be better than this one of betrayal.

"No, thank you. I refuse what you offer," said Gally, getting up from her kneeling position. The sickening and dizzying feeling of betrayal still stayed with her in standing up to approach the place where the throne-room doors were blasted earlier. It hurt even more, emotionally, to turn her back to both princesses--whichever one was Kyrie.

Gally had been with Kyrie, so close in company. So much had been done and sacrificed. Now neither princess was distinguishable from the other, neither rescuing. And from the way Kyrie had just locked lips with Dahlia, rescuing would be the farthest thing from her mind for quite some time.

It was therefore time for Gally to be gone. Her own footsteps brought her to this palace. And it would be her own footsteps that took her away from it. Those two could do what they wished. As for her, it would just be a matter of leaving. Just walk away from it all before the hurt of betrayal grows too deep. The cyborg-girl almost expected something to strike her in the back or something else to happen. Both princesses had abilities to strike from a distance—be it with electromagnetic telekinesis or by way of summoned energy. Either one could be used to temporarily kill her, prior to being resurrected by her body's nanotech swarm and deal with the problems again…

Just walk away. They let her walk away, leaving this grand place, stepping outside the grand open way where the throne-room doors once stood. Her slow footsteps made for passing through the corridors that led to the sub-basements and radioactive dungeons. And the elevator doors opened to let her in.

In the sub-basement B6,there was that red-lit corridor and the room with light pouring out of it. That would be the place where Doctor Nova had turned on that machine, the one allowing a person to step out of this reality and into the place where the Golden Hope once was. The light was no longer that of the golden glow but was another tone altogether. Stepping into that other-colored glow, Gally let it take her away from this place. Wherever it would take her, it would be better than being in this place—anywhere but here.