Jack, after seeing the mystical properties of Cocoon's tome, dropped it off at an APD station. The officers, too, were quite surprised to see a realm within the book, through the portal, generated by a form of energy beyond their comprehension.
"We'll need to look into this in greater detail," the station captain said to his subordinates. "Call up Special Investigations. We're gonna need to give this thing to some of their best scientists and engineers to analyze."
"Yes, sir!" A lieutenant responded.
(XXXX)
William and James both picked up on Jack's trail, discreetly following his pickup truck in William's SUV. All the while, James used a portable radio to alert any members of the Harmonious Guard in the vicinity of Atlanta of what was about to happen. Luckily, there were responses from high-ranking American HG officers, with affirmation that they would take necessary action to notify the local law enforcement and infantry preparations.
Once they saw that Jack dropped off the tome at the police station, William pulled into the parking lot, only being sure to head inside once his stepfather left. Upon entry, James stepped ahead.
"I'll handle this," he said to William.
With that, he approached the officer posted at the metal detectors.
"Do you have any business here?" The officer asked.
James held up his PMC identification badge. "Jessie Günther, Harmonious Guard. Let us through, now! We don't have time to dawdle!"
"Stop!" The officer shouted, shoving the German back as he attempted to pass. "That tells me nothing. Nobody's allowed inside without authorization!"
"I'm the commanding officer of the PMC I just mentioned," James explained. "That means I outrank you. And now, under my authority, I am authorizing the Guard to assume jurisdiction over the Atlanta Police Department, and local County Sheriffs' offices, in response to an imminent crisis."
The officer glared, putting a hand on his service pistol. "I'm going to have to ask you people to leave. You don't just come in here, and start telling us how to-"
At that moment, the cop's radio blared.
"...All units, be advised, the Harmonious Guard paramilitary corps has assumed emergency jurisdiction over the Atlanta area," a senior officer spoke. "All officers are to adhere to the orders of any commissioned officer of the Guard that identified him- or herself. Senior staff, acknowledge."
The station guard, now flabbergasted, returned his focus to James and William. The former folded his arms, tipping his head forward.
"Now," James said, "it looks like my request is now an order."
"A-ah, yes..." the officer said, stepping aside, "...go right ahead, sir..."
(XXXX)
"We'll need to have a full spectral analysis of this thing, given the strange phenomena happening within it," one officer said, looking at the tome inside of a holding cell.
Given that it was a very unknown type of object, they wanted to ensure it was secured, in the only way they had, from anything that could harm the station personnel.
Out of nowhere, William and James burst into the room.
"Harmonious Guard!" James said, holding up his ID. "Give us the tome you just obtained! Hurry!"
All of the officers looked up from what they were doing as William stepped forward.
"What the hell are you doing in here, kid?" The captain asked.
"Listen," William said, "the creature inside that tome is going to come out in a few minutes, and when she does, the only thing that's going to stop her from completely leveling this city is me. So, you need to let me talk to her."
The captain narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about? That cell's made of reinforced carbon steel. Whatever sort of 'creature' you're talking about won't be getting out."
"She can!" William explained. "She's able to use magic; those steel bars won't stand a chance of containing-"
"Captain..." one officer spoke up, looking at the monitor of an EM scanner, "...I'm getting some frequencies from the object that... uh... I can't even make sense of this..."
Everyone looked at Cocoon's tome, within the cell, humming and glowing a malevolent green. It slowly ascended off the floor, its light rapidly pulsating. And then, out of nowhere, a beam shot up from the open pages, breaking through the ceiling of the holding cell. Everyone in the room jumped and staggered back as it happened.
Outside of the police station, the jet of light condensed into a physical form, manifesting as a ghostly, gargantuan representation of Cocoon, hovering high above the building. Dark storm clouds filled the partly-cloudy sky, sending off a series of lightning strikes. Cocoon had assumed a very monstrous form, looking as if she was made of thick, black gas, with glowing green, angular eyes.
"YOU WON'T KEEP HIM FROM ME!" The changeling queen's voice resonated loudly.
(XXXX)
Marlene, Clara, Mark, Jon, Eric, and Mrs. Milton all quickly realized what was happening when the storm clouds appeared, seeing the ghostly form Cocoon had taken as a result of her unstoppable rage. All of them immediately went back to William's house as the changeling queen started firing off magical bolts, amplified in size and intensity to fit her upscaled form, destroying infrastructure.
"He's not here!" Marlene said to all of them upon searching the small house. "And neither is the book!"
"Did you see where that monster appeared from?" Eric said.
"William must be downtown!" Clara said.
"Come on!" Mark said, making his way back to his car. "Let's go toast that bitch!"
(XXXX)
William and James both made their way out of the station, and by then, several police units already mobilized to try anything they could to neutralize Cocoon.
"Let's hope the law enforcement don't get carried away and open fire on her..." James said.
William rushed back to his SUV. "C'mon! We gotta hurry before she destroys the city!"
With that, James got into the passenger seat, and the two sped to the district where Cocoon was currently engaged in her rampage. Right now, she was knocking down buildings, tossing vehicles around, and hurting many civilians. People ran as fast as they could, as there was a massive, gridlocked traffic pileup.
William and James both abandoned the car in the first parking lot they saw near a hardware store. From there, they proceeded on foot to the area Cocoon was. On their way, however... they both stopped upon seeing a particular injured person.
It was Jack. He seemed to have run his truck off the road and crashed into a telephone wire pole, before tumbling out of the vehicle. James immediately kneeled next to him, taking a quick look at his injuries. William stood over the two, and Jack happened to shift his eyes onto him, as he was still conscious.
"What happened with you?" William said. "And moreover... what the hell were you thinking, not listening to us?"
"...You..." Jack mumbled, "...you... did this..."
William narrowed his eyes. "What?"
Wheezing, Jack responded: "...If you just... did... as I said... everything... would be better... for everyone..."
"Oh, bullshit!" William shouted. "If you kept your abnormally-large nose out of my business, none of this would've happened!"
"But never mind that right now," James said. "You would do well not to move around until assistance arrives, given your condition. In the meantime, William and I must ensure Cocoon is stopped before she destroys Atlanta... and quite possibly the world."
With that, the two abandoned the injured man for the time being, and focused solely on the immediate matter. They made it to the central downtown plaza of Atlanta, where there were sparse civilians, all running about randomly, while heavy law enforcement activity, both the police department and Harmonious Guard PMC, covered the area.
However, there were some there were people willing to actually stay and see what was going on. Particularly...
"William!" Marlene called.
William's eyes went wide as he turned to see who spoke to him, in a familiar voice. "Mom!"
Marlene, Clara, Mark, and Eric all came to the scene where Cocoon went on her rampage through Atlanta.
"What's going on?!" Clara asked.
"It was my stepdad!" William said. "He made Coony angry! Now, she's going to destroy everything before taking me back to her realm! But I think I can stop her!"
"How?" Marlene asked.
"I'm not exactly sure..." William said, clenching his hands into fists, "...but I need to try!"
"At this point, it's all or nothing!" James said.
With that, William made his way forward, toward the dark, cloudlike manifestation of the changeling queen, with James following behind. There was a massive amount of wind blowing around, the clouds above spiraling malevolently, like something out of a fantasy film. As they approached, a police cruiser pulled up in front of them both, blocking their path. The officers stepped out, rushing toward them.
"You shouldn't be here! It's not safe!" One officer said.
"Order your men not to shoot her!" William said. "You'll only make her angrier!"
"SIR!" The other officer yelled, pointing at him. "You both need to get to a secure area!"
"STOP!" William urged, grabbing the officer by the collar and pulling him to make eye-contact. "LISTEN TO ME! I know her personally! Everyone in this city is going to die if you don't let me talk to her!"
"And the Guard PMC has assumed emergency command of this operation, and over the local authorities," James stated. "I am the commander of the paramilitary corps, Jessie Günther. Anything I command must be strictly adhered to! So... let him do what he must."
The officers, after a bit of hesitation, reluctantly stepped aside and allowed William to step closer to the threat they were specifically told to direct people away from, the heavy wind whipping his hair and jacket around. As he approached, however... he prepared himself, and everything around him, in a way most other people would be incapable of.
"Let's hope this works..." William said, taking a moment to focus, "...don't fail me now!"
With intense concentration, blocking out everything around him, he invoked his probability-altering ability. With his eyes still closed as he channeled it, he extended both arms out to their full span, pushing his power to extend to as far of an omnidirectional radius as he could make. The strain this took on him, however, giving such a large population and piece of land good fortune, resulted in him receiving a migraine and nosebleed.
Amidst some frantic debate with her acquaintances, Marlene noticed her son approached the dark, spectral form of Cocoon.
"William!" She called, extending an arm but not walking forward. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"It's okay!" William called back over the wind. "I'll be fine! She won't hurt me!"
He then stood directly below Cocoon as she pulled back, ready to charge at a high-rise building.
"COONY!" He called up, over the wind, to his demonic lover. "COONY, IT'S ME, WILLIAM! IT'S YOUR WILLY! PLEASE, STOP AND LISTEN!"
She seemed to hear him, as she froze, glancing down to see him right below her. William took advantage of her attention, and kept talking.
"Please, don't do this!" He pleaded. "I'm here, Coony! See? I wasn't taken from you forever!"
Her angry, glaring, glowing eyes gave way to an expression of remorse. As this happened, she descended, lowering herself to the ground. The wind became less turbulent, and everything just seemed to fall more silent.
William reassuringly placed a hand on her massive, smokelike hoof (which felt surprisingly solid), in the hope that he could settle her down.
"You've..." he spoke, calmly, while looking up at her, "...been a bad girl... haven't you?"
Cocoon slumped remorsefully. James and everyone else stood where they were, watching.
"I know you did what you did for me," William said. "But, remember what James said... it's not okay to hurt others."
James received a transmission over his secured radio.
"Sir," a Harmonious Guard officer spoke, "Commander Terrance Olson of Unit Alpha speaking. We have a clear shot at the vital areas of the creature, and can perform a simultaneous sniper barrage. Permission to proceed? Over."
James held the transmit button on his transceiver. "Negative. All units, standby. Do not engage without my authorization. Over."
"Copy," the unit commander responded, "we will await further orders from you, sir. Over and out."
Cocoon pursed her dark, smokelike lips for a moment, before she spoke.
"Willy..." she uttered, her voice amplified as if over a stadium loudspeaker system.
"I'm here, Coony," William said. "And like I promised early on in our relationship... I would do anything and everything for you. I wouldn't let them take you from me forever. I'm sure James would've been more than willing to have your tome brought back through his connections and clientele."
Tears welled in Cocoon's large, glowing eyes. She hung her head down in shame, closing her eyes and mouth. "...I'm so sorry... to everyone..."
She then powered up her horn, creating a brilliant green glow that cast on the low clouds. James was quite taken in by the spectacle, along with Marlene, Clara, Mark, Jon, and Eric. In fact, the few remaining civilians in the area all stopped and watched as the green light increased in intensity. However, everyone soon had to look away as it enveloped the whole area.
(XXXX)
William and James both found themselves floating in an abstract void, brimful of dancing light patterns all around. Cocoon, now back to her regular size and form, hovered right in front of the two. The changeling queen looked, needless to say, fairly upset.
"I made..." she said, sighing, "...a terrible mistake."
A sad look filled William's eyes.
"I should've have been so short-sighted as to do what I did," Cocoon continued. "And now... I've brought devastation to your world, Willy."
"Coony..." William began, reaching toward her, "...I don't blame you. It was my idiot stepdad. He tried to drive a wedge between us. But I would've fought to get you back."
"I know," Cocoon said, sulking further. "But... I was just so angry that he would do that. I just wanted to punish him myself."
"Vengeance never achieves anything good in the long run," James said.
Cocoon took a deep breath. "And that is why... I must undo the damage I have inflicted."
James nodded in approval. "Good that you are willing to make amends to our people."
"However," Cocoon said, "they will never know of it, with what I must do."
"Hm?" William hummed.
"To accomplish my redemption..." the changeling queen said, "...I must turn back the clock... reverse what has happened... and let the rest of the humans of Atlanta live in blissful ignorance of the tragedy that could have been."
"What?" William asked. "Go back in time?"
Cocoon nodded. "But this spell requires an immense amount of potential energy... and the only source with enough intensity would be the tome in which my prison world resides."
It was from this that William and James extrapolated what she had in mind.
"Y-you mean...?!" William uttered.
"Yes, Willy..." Cocoon said, somberly, "...to restore things as they were, and to avert any catastrophe that results from this, I must make use of the energy that links the tome to your world. From there, it could possibly be destroyed, or otherwise rendered useless."
"Coony, no!" William interjected. "You can't do that! I... I need you! I love you! After everything we've been through... y-you'd just go and... run the risk of tearing us apart through some sort of interdimensional lottery?!"
He began to let off tears. After such a harsh life, he finally found the one thing he needed... but now, she was insisting that it be taken away from him.
"Why can't my love give you the power you need? Can't we just do that?" He asked.
Cocoon shook her head, frowning. "...Love power alone is insufficient for this type of transcendent magic. I'm afraid this is what must be done, for the safety of mankind. Exposing them to a force they cannot comprehend... I'm sure you're aware of the dangers it would implicate, with what just happened."
"...C-Coony...!" William sobbed. "...I don't wanna l-leave you...! Th-there's... gotta be... another... w-w-way...!"
Cocoon simply gave a weak smile, tears filling her eyes. "Willy... you remember from the Star Trek movies you showed me, what Mr. Spock said? The needs of the many..."
William's eyes went wide. "...Outweigh the needs of the few."
Cocoon nodded. "Or the one."
James decided to give his input as well. "I know this must be hard for you, William. And none regret it more so than I... but I hope you would find solace in knowing that I have been in such a place before."
William shifted his teary eyes to the German paramilitary commander.
"When I lost my dear wife, Lena, and my child..." James hung his head, "...I felt like I lost everything, period. For a while, I had little personal incentive to keep going. But... I kept on going, and eventually, came to terms with what transpired. I was able to find things that matter to me, things to pursue... and that stemmed from my sense of altruism, as well as humanitarianism. And with what Cocoon has in mind... I believe it is a noble thing to do, sparing the world of the potential perils of magic misuse."
The more William thought about it, the more he was able to see why this might be the best thing to do, all to keep the people of his world safe. But...
Cocoon's horn flared, conjuring the tome that held her world in front of them.
"Now..." she began, "...I will perform the spell, which will take me back into my world, but still with all the magic you provided to me, Willy. I can restore it to how it was prior to Jack Poole stealing the tome. And as for you two... you will be dropped at the points where you were prior to Willy's discovery of the book."
"Coony..." William said, tear streaks running down his face from his eyes.
Cocoon propelled herself forward, and when she was close enough, wrapped her boyfriend in a warm, tender hug. He wrapped his arms around the base of her neck, gently running his fingers through her mane.
"W-will I... ever see you again...?" He asked.
Cocoon rubbed his back with a hoof. "I promise, Willy... I give you my unbreakable word... that I will do anything and everything to find a way back to your world... restore the link... and have you as mine once more."
The changeling queen could not hold herself back any longer, and began tearing up as well. James watched all the while, not saying a word, but still feeling empathically sad for his two friends, and personally sad for having to part with his new, nonhuman friend as well.
"So..." she said, separating from William and hovering back behind the tome, "...it's time."
Cocoon powered up her horn once again, and the tome opened its pages. A radiant, golden glow appeared within the pages, creating a spiraling, vertical vortex of energy. William froze, his sad eyes wide as ever, as he watched.
"Coony...!" He said.
"One..." Cocoon spoke, still performing the spell.
"Coony, wait!" William said, reaching toward her. "Can't we just wait a little while?"
"...Two..." she continued.
Desperate, William tried to make a break for his lover... but was held back by James.
"How do you know you'll find a way back?!" William asked, helpless against the much-stronger German.
Cocoon opened her eyes, looking right at him, and whispering the final word as everything fell silent: "...three."
A bright, white light spread all throughout the void the trio found themselves in. Everything was quiet. Still. Lifeless. Neither William nor James had any sensory input, nor sense of time, for what felt like an eternity, yet only lasted a few seconds. Soon enough, however, things slowly came back into focus...
For those who are a bit worried here, don't! This isn't Cocoon's final appearance for the story, nor her final interaction with William and James. Sorry about the long wait; school starting back up in a chaotic state due to the pandemic restrictions, as well as writer's block. :P Anyway, hope this story is coming together nicely for the close!
