Dark Fall II

Part V: The End

Chapter 36: What Archimedes Forgot

(1)

It was like he was falling and spinning at the same time.

But it was not even quite that.

It was as if the room was a giant kaleidoscope and he was being tumbled around with it, helpless, along for the ride and barely able to move his body. He couldn't even tell if he was in a waking or dreaming state at any given moment. Could easily be either, he thought.

It was like being caught in a perpetual, lucid half-dream state where reality could not be easily discerned from fiction. More than once he thought that perhaps none of this was real and he'd been dreaming the whole time.

How much time had passed by this point? He wasn't sure. It was the strangest feeling. It was like time was slowly losing all its meaning. Past, present, and future were fading away. All that was left was simply eternity. There were no parallel universes and no alternate timelines by this point. All was simply one. He knew this was the way it always had been. It was the way it would always be.

Everything was hazy, yet his mind was clear enough. He'd forgotten nothing of what had transpired before.

The cultists had locked him in the brig, in a cell, guarded by one of those blasted electric barriers. Zack had mostly laid on the cot the whole time. It was hard to get up and move around. It felt like everything was constantly in a shifting state, and if he were to try to move, he'd go tumbling to the ground and lie there for several (hours? days? weeks?) before slowly crawling on the ground and pulling himself back onto the cot. To move a great deal would make him nauseous, though strangely, he hadn't thrown up so far. In an unusual way, it felt like the nausea had moved past his physical self and penetrated much deeper.

Shifting… yeah, sure, everything was shifting… into another dimension. Or dimensions. Or maybe he was, in fact, actually dreaming after all.

At some point he realized it seemed he hadn't eaten nor drank in an eternity. But at the same time, it also seemed like it didn't matter so much. In a strange paradox, he felt strangely hungry, yet not hungry at all.

And amidst it all, a million thoughts were passing through his mind. But he had the strange sensation of not being able to tell whether they were thoughts or dreams. It was a sensation beyond describing to himself. But the experience had been going on nonstop, in this near-timeless state in which he could barely move or sit up.

He thought (or dreamt) a million different things of his life, his life before, living in the Tipton hotel, his brother, Cody, Maya, the ship... the S.S. Tipton.

At some point a particular set of memories emerged, and he had a sudden epiphany.

It was the memory of the day that they had passed through the Bermuda Triangle, which had just happened to be on Zack and Cody's birthday. They had gotten into a particular nasty spat that day, so much that they were refusing to speak to each other. But then, suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, it had suddenly gone away and they had made up on the spot.

Zack knew why, now. He could see it, clear as day.

The ship had passed through a parallel universe while they were in the Bermuda Triangle. He could see the memories of both universes as if they followed a simultaneous sequence. He had forgotten the memories of the parallel universe the moment the S.S. Tipton had passed out of it, but in this strange world in between dimensions, he could remember them now.

When the ship had passed through, truly, everyone had sensed something strange. Woody was going on and on about space aliens. In the parallel universe, the key difference was that Zack and Cody had been separated from birth and had never met. And both of them just happened to be on the ship at the same time. There was also an ironic role reversal: Zack was the total nerd in this universe, and Cody was the highly outgoing, bad-boy persona type as well as a total player and an utter jackass. They had finally become good friends by the end of the memories and the ship had passed through the Bermuda Triangle, exiting the dimensional rip, causing everything to return back to normal, save for the recent memories from the parallel universe that remained deep in their hearts, in their subconsciousnesses.

Zack could remember these things now. Was that a parallel timeline, one that didn't actually exist? Or was it just as valid as this one?

He closed his eyes and put his hand to his head.

He wanted to calm the spinning… to not feel like he was constantly being torn apart into thousands of little pieces without end. But the feeling would not assuage.

He could only lay there and take it until such time as Archimedes reared his ugly head and made the next part of his plan known.

For the most part, all Zack could do was lay there and think over and over again:

Maya…

(2)

And then suddenly it didn't seem as bad.

Everything was not spinning so much. That strange feeling of constantly descending was lessening. Though it had not left completely, it was stabilizing.

It was then that he suddenly realized that he could move now!

Slowly, he started to sit up.

He realized that his body felt strange. He looked at himself, at his arms, his legs…

Curious, he reached down and pinched himself. It was a strange sensation. It hurt, but not in the way he expected. He was aware that he was feeling the pinch more with his mind than with his physical body.

He didn't know what to make of it. In a strange way, it felt as if he were in a strange new setting not unlike being underwater, but in a very different sort of way.

It was then that the door leading into the brig corridor opened, and Archimedes Demarion walked in, smiling (sneering) at Zack as he stopped and stood in front of Zack's cell.

Zack instantly felt a strong rush of intense rage at the man as he stood to his feet.

"I'm going to kill you!" Zack said coldly to Archimedes.

"Come now, Zack, we are both smart enough to know there's not a damn thing you could do to me at this point! So don't give me that! I am here to give you the audience I know you've been wanting since the last time we sat down and had a leisurely chat back in Fetch Rock. The final ceremony will begin soon, and the time for asking questions will be all over. So, for the moment, ask me anything, and I'll answer whatever you want to know!"

Zack's fists clenched. He wanted nothing more than to jump up and pound at the electric barrier, no matter what it might do to him. But he restrained himself.

"Where's Maya!" he half-yelled, the question coming out as a half-guttural growl.

"She is safe. She is alive. She is quite well. Isn't that the answer you wanted to hear?" Archimedes said, speaking with that all-too familiar pompous, regal tone.

"Where is she? What have you done with her?" Zack yelled louder.

"Now, it may displease you to know that she's had a bit of a change of heart since you saw her last in your quarters. I had to help her with that, I'm afraid. But now she's all better, and quite on my side by this point!"

Zack's rage was nearly beyond containing. He was poised to explode. If only he could get his hands on Archimedes Demarion right now! He was going to utterly tear him limb from limb at the very first chance!

Archimedes continued: "There is a very complex incantation I am preparing. I need her energy to help me open the hole and summon something through it. It's going to be a most glorious birth!"

"Who are you! I demand you tell me the truth!"

"Don't you know by this point? I am Cain. That is my real name. I was one of the first human beings to ever inhabit this world after the fall of the Old World. I am the son of Adam and Eve, one of the firstborn of this world. I have perpetuated my existence for hundreds and thousands of generations, passing my soul from body to body, co-existing with the darkness at different points in between lives and states of existence."

Zack shook his head. "You know what? I don't even care who you are anymore. Whether or not what you are saying is true doesn't even matter. But I know this: you may act so smug and think you're so damn powerful, but when I get out of here, I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I'm going to find a way to beat that damn smug look right off your face!"

Archimedes laughed. "I almost wish you would!" he said jovially, highly amused. "How long have I wished to come across someone who could stand up to me, even a little, for nothing more than curiosity's sake! But no one ever has! No, really! Do try and stop me! I'm curious if, in all of history, such a thing is has ever been possible! In all the thousands of years I've existed, not one person has ever been able to raise their hand against me, not one single person! And it's not even just because I have the mark of El! Actually, it's funny! I've gone out of my way more than once to test the Sevenfold Curse and allow a few people try to actually try to physically harm me. See, here's the thing! The Sevenfold Curse actually works! You bring any physical harm to me whatsoever, and the Sevenfold Curse will ensure you have more harm done to you than you could ever do to me! Isn't it ironic! You, on the side of light, fighting against me, the darkness! But even God fights for me in a significant way and will fight against you should you dare to lay a hand on me!"

"I'd still like to test that theory! I'd rather kill you and sacrifice myself than let you bring harm to one more person!" Zack challenge him.

"If you really want to stop me from harming people, take it up with God!" Archimedes said, waving Zack off with his hand. "He's the one letting all this happen! The one you're not sure you even believe in and have chosen to side with!"

"There's a lot of things I don't understand." Zack said gruffly. "But I know right from wrong. And I don't really know or understand what 'God' or the 'Light' or whatever is really doing in this world, but I do know that clearly you're on the side of wrong, and I know you can't go on doing the things you have been doing forever!"

"But I shall! I'm about to plunge the entire universe into darkness!"

"You think so much of yourself, don't you! You can't do shit! You're just a tiny little man, trying to play God, and biting off far more than you can chew." Zack yelled at him.

"I am God!" Cain said. "I am one of the high gods of the universe, and I am your God. I have authority over demons to make them do my bidding. They bow down to my every will! This authority was given to me by a true God most high. Soon angels will even bow down before me as well!"

"You're deluded! You're seriously messed up in the head if you buy that lie!"

"And yet, everything's gone according to plan thus far! Imagine that!" Archimedes said triumphantly.

"Except for the ghosts in the Fetch Rock lighthouse you could never control." Zack said.

Archimedes lost a little of his grin. "They were never beyond my control. They can't do anything that I can't undo. They can't do anything that I can't control."

"Funny. Because it seems even Oliver Drake is working against you."

"I knew you would come to the DEOS facility! I used them to lure you here. Is that what you were referring to?" Archimedes snapped back.

Zack's stomach sank at the thought. Archimedes, or Cain, or whoever the hell he really was, might be telling the truth. But there were a few other things…

"That didn't stop them from making the lighthouse come on at unexpected times, or them switching the lenses beyond your notice as a way of getting the attention of the townspeople!"

"I have told you already! Nothing has happened that isn't under my control! There was not a single thing that happened that surprised me or caught me terribly off guard. I have used it all to my own ends. All of it contributed to the timeline I was trying to create."

Archimedes was handling himself well. But there were a few things Zack needed to know, and this was the prime time for finding them out. He needed to be certain. He needed to press Archimedes just a little further, to try to touch on a nerve just a bit more.

He had to think, think!

Suddenly, something else popped into his mind.

"So, let me see if I have this completely straight. Over the many thousands of years, you have incarnated in different bodies, usually the bodies of children, while waiting for an opportune moment to screw with the world and use DEOS to send a sentient space explorer pod into a black hole in order to capture an extra-dimensional being that would alter the timeline properties of this world for you to tap into a limited amount of power related to this multiverse thing, including a limited ability to see multiple timelines and all their possibilities simultaneously. Then, you had this place built, over a portal you could use to open and summon this Abaddon being inside yourself. To do this, you need yourself, an Enterer, several Magicians, of which my wife is one, as well as Oliver Drake, a Seer, fueled by the power of the being attached to Malakai, and finally, you're planning to mindwipe me and force me to use my powers as a Connector to bring all this energy together to open a portal. Then you're going to use your powers as an Enterer to summon Abaddon into this world through yourself, and you're going to rip the multiverse wide open and corrupt it with darkness. Have I got it right so far?"

Archimedes was not smiling. He was not saying anything. He was simply looking at Zack. He seemed to have no response.

"How on Earth did you know that…?" But he seemed to have caught himself.

"Don't you know? I discovered it on my own." Zack said. "But if you really have the powers you claim to have, you can also probably also see when or where I might have come across this information. But you can't, can you?"

Archimedes simply looked at him with a cold expression. "No, Zack. You figured it out all on your own as I intended. Nothing happened that I didn't orchestrate."

"Then how did I find out?"

"You deduced it from my writings you took from Fetch Rock. Good going, Zack. You must be so proud of yourself."

Caught. Archimedes was clearly trying to regain his composure and save face. Zack had caught him red-handed in his lie.

"I didn't figure it out, truthfully. I had a few visions of Atlantis. And Ivan Krovst explained to me everything."

"Ivan Krovst…?" Archimedes looked at Zack curiously.

"One of the staff researchers on board!"

Archimedes made a pfh sound and waved Zack off with his hand. "There was never anyone with any such name on board! Now you're just making stuff up! Trying to counter me with your own mind games! Not a bad play, Zack! But it's not going to work!"

"No mind games involved! He's a Connector, too, of a different and much rarer class. He was a staff member here. Quite coincidental, don't you think? He told me that in this future I don't win, sadly. So that should make you feel good. But it's funny, because you also didn't know he was talking to me nor that he was even on board! In all of the parallel timelines, you never known. He slipped me something from a parallel universe that ended up on me when I passed through time, the Hadden goggles I've been using all this time. How funny! An inter-dimensional loophole! I wonder how many more there are and which one I might use to defeat you!"

"I gave you those goggles on another timeline! Me! Not this Ivan fellow you're making up!" Archimedes railed at him, betraying a sudden intense agitation.

"Oh, yeah? And where was this timeline?" Zack pressed him.

"Here! On the DEOS facility!"

"But that timeline never came into existence! And yet I ended up with them anyway! Can you explain that to me?" Zack spat at him.

Archimedes opened his mouth, but suddenly looked clearly stunned. It was like he'd just realized there was a sudden inconsistency he'd not noticed nor ever considered before.

Zack felt a sudden surge of empowerment upon seeing that look. It was immensely satisfying confounding Archimedes in his own tracks, even outright disturbing him.

Zack decided to continue and tear him further wide open.

"Are all the different timelines running through your head boggling your mind so much that you've lost the ability to see things happening between the lines anymore? Surely, you're not all powerful like you wish you could be. I want to know something: If your god is so powerful, why are you still so weak? Shouldn't you have seen that something didn't quite add up if you really had that much power? Is it possible that even though I'm supposed to lose in this timeline, I can still stop you? I wonder. Does it create terror in your heart to think of things that way?"

Archimedes only glared at him. "There is no way you are going to outwit me with this nonsense! If this is the best you can do, then I'm afraid you're out of luck, Zack!" Spittle shot out of Archimedes' mouth with every venom tinged word.

"I just have one more question! Tell me honestly!" Zack said, not letting up. "You didn't want to take vengeance on my brother because you felt you had enough people to complete your little incantation. But it's still bothering me: With all you've done thus far, it still seems odd to me that you didn't use him in some way to further get to me. Did you really let him defeat the demon in the Tipton Hotel just to create a specific alternate timeline? It just seems strange, with all you've done so far to mess with everyone."

Zack suddenly felt the questions he'd just asked were rather strange in this case. There had been no particular reason to bring them up. But Archimedes simply looked at Zack quizzically, as if Zack had just asked the most nonsensical questions in the world.

"I'm really not sure what you're getting at at this point, Zack. I came down here in order to give you a chance to ask real questions, to tell you the things you wanted to know before the end, out of a rare show of genuine courtesy. And you respond with all this drivel? Now you're going to talk about some non-existent brother somewhere? Let me make something clear to you: I play the mind games with people! I am THE master of it! I have had practice for well over thousands of years. And now you're trying to turn what I'm best at around on me? Give me a break!"

"What do you mean by 'non-existent brother?' I'm talking about Cody! My brother, Cody! My actual, breathing, real life brother! The one I grew up with! We lived in the Tipton Hotel for a few years! We cruised the world on the S.S. Tipton attending Seven Seas High when we were teenagers! He lives in New York with his wife and kids as a doctor! Several decades after George Tipton summoned something out of a hole underneath the Tipton Hotel in another timeline, Cody was the one who outsmarted and stopped it! I'm asking you, why did you leave him completely alone? With you nothing is ever simple. You have to have some ulterior motive with him as part of your plan."

"You don't have a brother, Zack! You're an only child! Always have been! My patience is over. I've had it with your childishness!" Archimedes said, frustrated.

Zack couldn't think of anything to say for a few second, truly uncertain whether Archimedes was being serious with him at this point. A little confused and unsettled, he pressed in further.

"Who, then, stopped the summoning in the Tipton Hotel that went awry and changed history?"

"We stopped it! My Order! It wasn't part of the plan! We got it under control."

"Why did you let it get summoned in the first place?"

"It wasn't intentional! When it happened, some thought it could lead to the Glorious Appearing we'd been waiting for. I let the portal remain open to test that theory, for the others' sake more than anything else. I knew it wouldn't work, otherwise I would have already such a thing myself. But they wouldn't believe me."

"But Cody sealed the portal and changed history, not you nor your cult."

"If there had been any such thing, I would have logged and documented it with my own hand! I would remember it!"

"But you did! In Fetch Rock, when I went through your writings, you wrote a detailed report on it all! You mentioned Cody by name! It was all in black and white on the pages!"

Archimedes didn't respond.

"I dare you! Check your writings! You'll find it written there, by your own hand, exactly as I've said!"

"I've had enough of this!" Archimedes said disgustedly.

Zack was simply looking at him. "You really can't remember, can you? Messing with the timelines really has messed with your mind, hasn't it? You can't even remember simple things that have happened anymore!"

"Perhaps the shift in between realities is messing with your mind, Zack. Perhaps it's not me, perhaps it's you! Perhaps in another timeline you really did have a brother named Cody! But it is irrelevant! I should have realized you'd be like this! At any rate, little matters anymore. The ceremony will commence very soon. And we will finally be done with all of this!"

Archimedes' words struck Zack forcefully.

It was something he hadn't considered: the fact that he remembered things a certain way while they were shifting in between multiple realities. What if he wasn't the he that he thought he was? Or, even, what if Archimedes wasn't the Archimedes he thought was standing before him! Or… or… maybe he didn't really have a brother named Cody! But he was certain he did!

The thought took over Zack by force, paralyzed him, though he tried his hardest not to show it.

Archimedes seemed to have noticed the change in Zack's emotional state. But he continued glaring at Zack nevertheless, no smile or familiar sneering grin cracked his lips. "I'll call for you when it is time. Perhaps in the meantime you can try to get your head together and regain your real memories. Perhaps even pray to the God that's going to let me win!" Archimedes turned and walked out the door. Zack didn't say a word.

He slumped down onto the ground.

He thought about his brother, Maya, everything that had happened. His memories were still strong in his head. They still felt like his memories. They seemed perfectly real. But how was he to know for sure?

He looked at his hand for a few seconds, as if trying to decide in his mind if it was really real or not.

He remembered Ivan saying to him: "You are the 'you' that God has a plan for. Nothing that is happening without purpose. Do not worry about whether you are the 'real' you or another you is the 'real' you. Just do the things that you need to do with the knowledge that you are definitely real."

"Is that the case, huh?" he softly whispered to himself.

Well, if that was the case, he was going to have to carry it out to the very end, wouldn't he? No matter what was real… no matter whether he was or wasn't the Zack Martin he thought he was… no matter even if he did or didn't have a brother named Cody like he thought he did.

The only thing that mattered at this point was stopping Archimedes by any way possible!

He reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out the computer device. Inside it was still the computer chip Ivan had given him.

"Just get close and press the icon, huh?"

If he could only find a way to get to Fetch Rock! If he could just his way out of this place, this strange space in between dimensions, he was certain he would have a shot!

He was just not certain how he was going to do it at this point.