Chapter -47-
Temporal Providence
GreatFox Flying Fortress,
Lylat…
Panther Caruso held his hands outward in front of his ship and turned to face Miyu. "And then Panther leapt off the top of the Fichina dome, through the hole in the top, and landed upon the highest building, the news, whatever local channel they are, and fought lizards stationed there. It was both daring … and sexy. Panther dispatched the lizards with haste, then hurled himself off the tallest building on the planet, trusting only in his very personal relationship with kismet and fortuity. His parasail pops open, with a silk rose embroidered upon the top. The control cables resembled thorny stems. Panther then spies a card game table, far below, with his exceptional eyes, and lands upon the first guard, using the sheer power of his legs to snap the man's neck. He then uses his shotgun, acquired from the rooftop guards, just moments earlier, and blasts a second guard away from the card table."
Miyu eyed him, leaning back against the obsidian-painted fuselage of Panther's Wolfen. Her head rested against the bottom of a rose decal, painted just beneath the cockpit canopy, and extending down the hull's armored plating. "How did you hold the shotgun and parasail cables? Did you tuck the shotgun in your pants or something?"
Panther chortled in a soft guttural tone at the base of his throat. "No. little space flower. Panther has large hands. Surely, my dear, you've noticed by now, how they make you feel tiny and demure in his grasp…"
Miyu replied with a wry grin. "Go on, then, oh mighty prancing galactic toreador."
"Mm, yes. Panther has once fought the Monarch Bulls of Fortuna for sport. But back to the story of how Panther saved Vivian Hare from the clutches of evil … Panther first snapped the neck of the lizard upon whose shoulders he landed, and then he shot the second man. The Desperado Rose used the shotgun barrel to push down the cards in the hands of the third lizard, across the table. A pair. Perhaps it was two pair; it was not a memorable enough detail, for it was a losing hand of the unworthy. Panther then picks up the cards, face down on the table at his new seat, and has a heart flush. Panther's suite. A straight flush beats any pair except for your pair." He down-nodded, gesturing to Miyu's breasts.
A male voice came from somewhere behind Panther's fighter. It reverberated off the hanger deck and ceiling. "Hey! Puss 'n Doofus, shut up. The only reason you 'rescued' Vivian Hare was to set a trap for me. And I'm still alive. Some bounty hunter assassin you turned out to be." Marcus McCloud came out from around the Wolfen, arms folded across his chest. "I hope you figuratively raised your level since then, because I'm sending you and a wingman of your choice to find out what happened to Kyong Adler. He escaped the Venom prison transport ship. All we know is that it wasn't any crew members aboard the ship; they're all accounted for by surveillance system footage. Somehow, someone broke in, rescued Adler, and left with him in an instant. You choose who flies with you; take anyone you want."
"Panther seems to remember meeting you on the field of battle and sparing you because you were … crying. Very unmanly."
Marcus narrowed his eyes. "I seem to remember having just murdered who I thought was my mother to save the life of my team, because I sensed her intentions to 'destroy' Fichina, Corneria, Sauria, and more. If a man cannot mourn his own mother, then the man is emotionally damaged. If someone cannot handle me at my absolute lowest moment, then they don't deserve to have my help or respect when I am at my absolute best."
Panther eyed Marcus for a moment. A smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle. "Mm, and the little kit's balls finally drop. I didn't notice at first, for your voice is still that of a whiney boy. Perhaps, one day, you will speak with an earthy baritone voice as Panther does."
Marcus could sense Panther's unspoken thoughts … he felt Marcus was weak because Fox McCloud was weak, at least in Panther's opinion. Panther also felt that he should have been the father of Krystal's child, but Panther didn't dare speak that opinion in front of Miyu. Marcus shook his head with a smirk. "Yet, the big kitten won't fight the 'little kit.' Why is that? Is the 'mighty prancing galactic toreador' not a fierce enough warrior to defeat this lowly 'little kit,' or something?"
"Do not use third person. You do no justice to the art of narration. Stick to what you do best … cry and annoy. No need for further self-humiliation." Caruso gaze cut to Miyu. "As one can see, Panther is a natural poet and a master of rhyme."
"Oh, we're flyting, now?" Marcus cleared his throat into his paw. "Let's see. An epic rap battle of insults, right? I can do this. Um, how about … it's funny you have no money, you spent it on your ship. If manliness means 'a family man', then Panther, you're a bitch. Feel free to prove me wrong and raise a family. But you'll never ever balance that and save the galaxy. I've done it once before, and I'll do it once again. I make it look so easy; my critics give me tens. And while we're being honest, you're pathetic and you're sexist. Now do us all a favor and stop hitting up my father's ex's."
Silence.
A rare Cheshire smile spread across Panther's muzzle. He reached over and gave Marcus a firm pat on the shoulder. "As I've said earlier, young man, your balls have finally dropped." Panther turned to Miyu. "No use regaling you with the exploits of one Panther Caruso. Perhaps you would like to join me and see these grand adventures for yourself, no?"
Miyu shook her head with a dry chuckle, amused by the two peacocking and butting heads. She turned to McCloud. "Marcus, that was pretty amusing, kid. Don't worry, I'll keep the kitty out of trouble and on task."
"Thank you, Ms. Lynx."
"Any time, honey. Tell Fara I said 'hey' since you'll see her before I do. Tell her … tell her I miss my friend." Miyu turned to Panther and hooked a thumb over her shoulder. "C'mon, Wing Commander."
Panther grinned. He bent at the knees and leapt upward, to the side of his ship, and into his cockpit. He reached up and pulled the canopy shut and booted the computer systems to start his pre-flight checklist.
Miyu turned back to Marcus again. "It's ironic, since you're also dating one of your father's ex's. I wasn't going to say that in front of Caruso, though."
"They didn't break up; she died, and he got married. But I see your point. I was trying to work things out with Violet for my kid … but Violet got weird and distant. I'm just glad she's found someone who makes her happy. But what I have with Fara? It took us both by surprise. However, it unfolded slowly and naturally."
"Honey, you've been with her for a year. You're going to have a baby together in the middle of a war. You didn't even get married first. That's not 'slow' or 'natural' speed. I'm not judging you, I just have a different opinion on slow and naturally unfolding relationships, because I'm older than the two of you. But you're happy, and you found your soulmate, and I'm happy for you. Good luck, honey. I'd better head to my ship."
"Take care, Miyu."
"You, too." She turned, blew Panther a kiss, and headed for her own ship.
X
X
An hour later,
Great Fox…
Marcus paced the hallway just outside of sickbay. He looked up at Falco Lombardi, coming up the hallway. "Hey."
Falco furrowed his feathery brows. "What's goin' on?"
Marcus sensed that Falco was suspicious of why the fox was pacing, paws behind his back, just outside of the med-bay, and he decided to be honest. "No secrets, but I'm out here battling my shame. I asked Fara to warn Andross that Kyong Adler crashed nearby. She wound up fighting Adler."
"I heard that piece of trash was arrested and put onto a prison ship. Look, I dunno what you're ashamed of, but whatever it is, you can't let that crap get in the way. You gotta stay totally focused on being the best badass around. Look at me? No secrets, completely unashamed of everything in my life. And I challenge anyone to say different."
Marcus stopped his pacing and faced Falco.
Falco scrunched his brows. "What? You think you know something about me?"
"The only thing that seems to bother you is that you have a grandparent who is a pheasant named Edward, which makes no sense since that's where you got your red markings around your eyes, which you are proud of, Falco."
Lombardi grimaced. "Man. You had to reach deep for that one. I'm a goddamn raptor, a'ite? Pheasants are pussies. They're also one of the last avian types to evolve the ability to have live birth. My ancestors or whatever … they used to lay eggs up until around two-or-three thousand years ago, see, and the pheasant types that my grandfather came from? Yeah, they're nearly extinct. Pussies. So, you keep that between us, you got it? It's bad enough your mom knew it."
Marcus stared at Falco in silence.
Falco grimaced. "What's, uh, what's your freak-out? Y'know, since we're sharing 'n all."
"Fara … well, I think it's personal right now, actually."
"Oh. Shit. She thinking she might've lost the baby fighting Adler? If that son of a bitch hit her in the gut…"
Marcus lifted his paws and stopped Falco mid-sentence. "The handheld scanner she used to give herself a quick exam showed that she was still generating pregnancy hormones, but the scanner couldn't detect the fetus. They're not always the most accurate things, so she's having Farrah give her an exam using the medical equipment in the sickbay."
Falco frowned. "I'll keep that between us."
"You'll tell Katt. But that's okay. She's your wife. Just … no one else for right now, okay?"
"Yeah, a'ite. I understand. Look, don't stand out here and let that shit eat'cha up. Get in there with her. And, look, Fara's a tough girl. I ain't seen her lose a fair fight yet. I'm telling you right now, if she can beat Adler's ass, she can beat whatever's going on in that med-bay. Now, go on."
"Farrah's apparently very by-the-book when it comes to medical subroutines. She asked me to stand outside. I sensed that Fara just needed a minute to be confronted with whatever news came her way, and I'm going to stand out here and give her that minute. Goddess knows she's earned that."
"Oh." As an afterthought, Falco asked, "Did you talk to Crimson? It's good to make sure you don't bottle shit. I've done that, and it made things jacked up when I was your age, y'know?"
"Crimson? Why would I tell him about this, right now?"
"Because, dammit, he's your best friend 'n all that. You and him still tight?"
"We haven't caught up in a while. He's embraced the military lifestyle, mostly to piss off his family."
"Heh. Exact opposite with me. I was raised by a gang, and the only reason I left is because they wanted me to grow up and consider joining the military. So, I became a mercenary instead. Look, kid, no matter what happens with this Fara thing … you got this, a'ite? If she is bad, you hold her, you make her feel loved or whatever, and you try again. And if everything turns up sunshine and flowers 'n shit, then hey, that's cool, too."
Marcus forced a weak smile. "You're better at giving advice than you think. Stop second doubting yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, stop sensing my emotions 'n all. I got a rep to uphold. I'm gonna jet; I got a second patrol coming up. Also, them Locust freaks are getting restless, just sittin' out there."
"They're waiting for the rest of their race to show up. We only dealt with the scouts. It means we're running out of time. I hope my parents will hurry. Speaking of my parents, mom was recently reminded that she's still a solid ten Cornerian years away from menopause. She's got the baby bug because of playing with Jaye. Now she wants another."
Falco eyed Marcus for a moment. "I heard a rumor that there's some sort of prophecy that one of Fox's grandkids will sacrifice himself to save his siblings and the rest of Lylat from those Locust schmucks. You don't, uh … you don't suppose the prophecy could be about that kid, and not you, right?"
Marcus frowned. "For all we know, if Fara does have a miscarriage, that could be the prophecy fulfilling itself, right there."
A grimace forced its way onto Falco's beak.
Marcus returned the frown.
Awkward silence.
Falco hooked a thumb over his shoulder and opened his mouth to try and find a way to bow out of the conversation.
"You're good," said Marcus. "Go on and get ready for your next flight."
"Yeah. Thanks. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, okay? Best I can do."
"Thanks. But I'm sensing some pretty heavy emotions from Fara right now. I think it might be too late for finger-crossing."
"That can't happen to Fara."
Marcus blinked. "How do you mean?"
"Other than taking a sniper round through the gut and having to spend the next few decades asleep, and then having to play catchup with the times … she's been an unstoppable force. Hell, she even beat Adler face-to-face, and I heard that guy fights dirty. She's a friggin' superhero. She…" Falco trailed off. He looked down at his hands, realized they were clenched into fists, sighed softly, and opened them. "I gotta go get ready."
Marcus sensed that Falco was uncomfortable with the topic. He cleared his throat and asked, "Who are you flying with?"
"Katt and I got an escort mission – your old man and his group are scheduled to be coming back through the gate soon. Me 'n Katt will meet them and guide them back here and make sure they won't be shot at by anyone."
"Got it. Thanks for being on top of things while I'm unfocused right now."
"Yeah, kid. If things turn out the way you sense, then, well … I'm sorry, kid. Fara's gonna be a wreck for a while. Keep her focused on the fight, not the heartbreak or whatever. You know what I'm saying, right?"
Marcus nodded. "Yeah. I follow. Talk things out, so that if she's pregnant again, we have a plan, but while she's in mourning, I need to keep her focused on saving the galaxy until we're all safe enough that she can sit down and process the grief."
Falco didn't know what to say about literally anything. He grimaced a bit, then spoke in a sullen tone. "Hang in there, kid." Falco made his way down the hallway on his way to the flight deck.
Silence again.
Marcus reached up and pressed his palms into his face, rubbing firmly with a soft sigh. After a moment to compose himself, he stepped into the sickbay and approached Farrah and Fara.
The first thing he noticed was Fara's pants and shoes sitting on the exam bed; she stood adjacent to the bed, leaning against it.
The hologram turned to face Marcus with a frown. She opened her mouth, but then decided against speaking. Instead, she shook her head with a frown.
Marcus' heart sank. He stared at the hologram for a moment … the fact Farrah had nothing to say or add was indicative to the gravity of the situation.
Farrah side-nodded at Fara, whose head was tilted down, gaze upon the deck plates. The hologram gestured discretely for Marcus to attend his vixen, and then faded away to give the two some privacy.
Fara's lips were pursed in a thin line of threat. Her ears were a bit lower than normal. Her eyes burned figurative holes into the flooring. Her left arm was across her flat torso, awkwardly holding her right elbow in an extremely vulnerable stance. She leaned against a hip-height bio-bed, with her tail partially curled around one knee, and her feet pointed inward at one another.
Marcus sensed that she felt as exposed as she looked. He approached the exam table and opened his arms.
Fara, still undressed from the waist down, hid her face into Marcus' chest and sobbed softly.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her face close to his chest. He could feel wetness through his shirt and fur after a moment. He rested his chin upon the top of her head. Even his passenger, the Krazoa spirit that inhabited his body, was at a loss for how to handle the situation beyond patience, empathy, and quiet reflection.
Silence.
Fara's left ear flickered from the sound of electricity passing through the electronics of the light fixture in the ceiling. She said nothing. She simply clung to Marcus as if hiding her tears from the rest of the galaxy.
The quiet was maddening, yet, somehow, it was also a slight comfort.
X
X
Meanwhile…
Krystal McCloud looked around the living, breathing planet of Cerinia. She knew it was some sort of test of the mind. She figured she was still sitting at the heart of the chamber with Fox, but possibly in some sort of meditative trance, she was aware of her situation in the surprisingly realistic daydream. She felt lucid. She remembered the Krazoa spirit touching her shoulder with one of its glowing ghostly tendrils, and then she was here. On Cerinia. But … when?
She could read street signs, recognize number patterns painted on the curbs in front of shops, and she saw signs of live, including plants and lights. Furthermore, she didn't feel as though she was in a trance. She felt as though she could function as if she was there … in the past.
She looked at her smartwatch, and opened the settings app, but it was unable to find the Lylat GPS network, nor was it able to find any WiFi or Bluetooth connections apart from the personal communicator in her pocket. The device was nothing more than a glorified wristwatch.
She approached a local store owner, sweeping the doorway of their store. "Excuse me." She blinked at the sound of her voice … she spoke Cerinian, and it sounded almost foreign to her ears.
"Oh! The daughter of the Cardinal Sun, to what do I owe the honor?" said the man. His matching blue fur was a much shorter length than her own, and the white brandings, which peeked out from beneath his short sleeve shirt, were far less complex than her own.
Krystal suddenly felt silly. She'd not been addressed by her markings in decades. "I'm having such a moment right now. Can you tell me the date?"
"Dyruna four, Keenar. Are you all right?"
Krystal laughed nervously. "Oh, tickey-boo, mate. It started as a holiday, but I turned it into a sabbatical, and I lost track of days. Funny how we came to rely on technology just to know the date and time, isn't it? But I really needed to unplug for a few days and tarry about by the stream with a tent. Back to nature and all that. But I couldn't be sure that I hadn't come back a day early or a day late."
"Oi, love, you just need a cuppa to get your head sorted."
"Oh, that'd be brilliant."
"You fancy a bit of tea? I'll put some on, if you've time."
Krystal laughed in a good natured way and reached up to rub the back of her neck … something she'd adopted from her husband over the years. "That sounds lovely. Wait. Did you say Dyruna four, Keenar?"
"Yes, ma'am. Trash collection day in these parts. Sounds like you need a good faff to get at yourself. A vacation from the vacation, y'know?"
Krystal rubbed her face. "Okay, this is embarrassing, mate. But I need to be honest, here…" This was some sort of test in her mind, right? She couldn't have possibly gone back in time to the day it all happened. Krystal decided to be anything but honest; she put up mental barriers and said, "While on my camping holiday, I hit my head and … yes, I'm fine. But for a few hours, I lost my memories. I'm still getting it all back. Jostled my marbles, and still counting'em to make sure I have what I started with, you know?"
"You're hard to read. You sure you're all right?"
"I'd love to stay for a cuppa, but I need to hurry to the capital and find my parents."
"There aren't many active Cardinal Sun members. Who are your parents?"
"Marcus and Kurisutaru."
"That'd make you Krystal, but you're far too old to be Krystal."
Krystal grimaced.
"Oh, ma'am, I meant no disrespect."
"No, I'm not insulted. Might I ask a strange question?"
"Standing here with retired royalty, whilst sweeping in day old denim and shirt … this day couldn't get any more … well, strange, but I sense you're being completely honest about your identity. By all means, Ms. Krystal, ask your strange question."
"Do you have children?"
"Two litters," said the man. "Four are pilots in the transportation business, and two are pilots in the luxury cruise liner industry. The other six are less exciting, like m'self."
Krystal took a deep breath. "Call them immediately. Tell them it's an emergency. Have them combine their ships, head for the two piloting the starliner … er … cruise liner … and get as far away from planet as possible. Food, water, whatever they can pack in under an hour. I'm not trying to be alarming, but they should endeavor to bring everyone they can find and get off-world as quickly as they can."
The man blinked and stared at her. He offered his paws outward, palms up. "May I?"
Krystal took his paws, leaned forward, and touched her forehead to his.
A few seconds later, he staggered back, gawking. "You're from the future, after the world ends?"
"I … I am. You need to hurry to save your family. Please. Be well. I need to get to the capital."
"Thank you. I won't forget you." He dashed back into his store, leaving the broom in the doorway, and hurried to his phone.
Krystal turned and hurried for the teleportation hub a few blocks away, which she sensed from the shopkeeper, who apparently used it often.
A local transit hub teleported her to the master hub at the heart town, which took her to the city hub.
It was strange to see people going about their daily business. A few extra sensitive empaths stopped to look at Krystal in passing. A few of them sensed her intentions and quickly dropped what they were doing to call family.
Krystal gently pushed through the throngs of people using the main transit hub to get to work or whatever they did with their lives. She used her retinal scan to charge transit fees to her active account, from this time period, and teleported through the network of hubs until she made it to the capital city.
She hurried through the town to the senate building and made her way through the lower levels. It was just as she remembered it; laid out the same way it looked when she took Fox on a tour of the empty building in the future. But it was filled with people. She politely excused herself telepathically while making her way through the hallways to the stairs.
She took them two at a time, using all her knowledge of shortcuts through the old buildings … buildings that would stand the test of time better than its people in the days to come.
She made her way up to the upper levels and was stopped by a guard. "Ma'am, there's an emergency session; I can't let you go past this point."
"This is going to be difficult to believe but…"
"Krystal?"
She turned to the voice of her mother. Her heart leapt and sank at the same time. "Mom…"
Kurisutaru frowned. "Krystal, you look … my age, but I'd know your mind anywhere. And you're wearing my tierra but … how can we both have a one-of-a-kind tierra? What has happened? Make me understand, please."
Krystal took her mother's paws and leaned forward until their foreheads met. The tierras brushed together, one above the other.
Silence.
Kurisutaru recoiled from her daughter. "I … today?"
Krystal nodded. "Dyruna four, Keenar." She turned to the nearby guard and said, "Go. Spend time with your family. If you have connections to leave the system via space travel, get as much as your family to safety as possible."
The guard turned to face Kurisutaru. "Ma'am?"
Kuri nodded. "Go. Take as many as you can with you, but don't create a mass panic, else there will be chaos, and that will do more harm than good."
"I understand, ma'am." The guard turned and left his post.
Krystal clasped her mother's face. "I don't even know if this is real. I was just standing here, decades in the future. There's an ancient temple at the equator, a few stories beneath the ground in an area that should have a high-water table, but is otherwise … look, doesn't matter. I was just there. And now…"
"I saw when we joined just now. It was a lot to process … the Krazoa, the Lylat system … everything you've experienced. Your hurt, your anger, your children … your … grandchildren. My great … grandchildren. The very notion the oracle saved your life … it's so much to process. But apparently we have no time to catch up. How can I help?"
"Leave! Save yourselves!"
"I cannot, Krystal."
"What?!"
"You see your experiences exactly as you remember them, my beautiful girl. But I see them differently. You see your escape from Cerinia, where you had to leave family behind. I see in your memories that your ship was pre-prepped, loaded with all the things needing to be saved … and it's painfully obvious who put them on your ship without your knowledge."
Krystal brought her paws to her muzzle. "This is real. This is happening. If what you're saying is … if you're saying that you're the one that preps my ship because you knew, in advance, what was about to happen, then it's not because you learned Doctor Andross was about to destroy Cerinia … it's because I'm really here and you learned about the end of our world from me, and you prepared me with exactly what I would need to survive but also not so much that I would make the wrong choices. Oh, my God. Why don't you simply come with me?"
"Krystal, you need to focus on your future. I need to stay here and focus on discretely helping the future of our race leave as quietly as possible, since it would be impossible to save everyone."
Krystal's heart sank. "I don't envy your job. Selecting those who are young enough to have children or recently had children, and putting them on a starship, as the people of Lylat call such vessels, and getting them off the planet in just a few hours."
"I … wish I could spend more time with you. But every minute I am not focused on my next task is a family that will die. Forgive me, Krystal. I will put my tierra on your ship when you arrive and hide it, as I see you will find it and wear it and honor it. I will get you back into space as quickly as possible, then get back to putting young couples onto a space fairing cruise ship. I love you. Be well."
Krystal's eyes welled up with tears. "Why did the Krazoa send me here? Just to tell you this? To see how I deal with loss? Am I supposed to experience dying here? What's my purpose? To say goodbye?"
"You will one day say goodbye to me, through the Krazoa spirits at the palace, when you and your husband rekindle your love. I saw that in your memories, as well. Mm, I doubt any of those things would be worth the Krazoa spirits test or time."
"Test … or time … maybe this is some sort of … test of time? Maybe I was sent here to fix things?"
Kurisutaru shook her head. "The 'cure' to our solar star that works in the future may not work until the body of the star has cooled. Whatever the situation is, a very important fact remains … there is little time to do much more than prepare to the best of my ability, because saving you saves Cerinia."
"But what am I supposed to do next? Telling you, or rather, showing you the future didn't make me go back to my time. I must still have a purpose for being here."
"Perhaps this … this Krazoa spirit … wishes to make you understand that you are the future of our people. Your children are the future of our people. The fact you found an entirely different race with whom you can procreate … with whom you are genetically compatible … it's … it must be divine providence." Kuri withdrew a Biro pen from her pocket and jotted something down on a small notepad she had in her other pocket. She folded the paper in half and placed it into her daughter's paw. "Memorize that. Now, Krystal, I must go. I have to prepare those who are to survive."
"But…"
"Don't be sad. I've lived my life. It is time to ensure others of my race live their lives. And, of course, you. Young you. I love you." She telepathically spoke of her love, her mother's pride, and the honor she felt for being the one to mother the savior of Cerinia.
Krystal's eyes welled up with tears.
Kurisutaru kissed the side of her daughter's face and hurried off to find Marcus.
Krystal stood alone in the hallway. She buried her face into her palms and bawled for a moment. She took a moment to get the grief out of her system, took a deep breath, and exhaled sharply through semi-clenched teeth.
"She gave her life finding young Cerinian couples to put on a starship to save their lives. To save our species. I can't let her die for nothing. I'll find them. I'll find my people. I'll find them for her." She removed her tierra and looked down at the green stone set in the headdress. "I vow it. I cannot let the Locusts finish Cerinia's people. I must save them."
Without warning, the senate building dissolved into light, which faded to darkness.
Krystal opened her eyes, facing the Krazoa spirit and, beyond, by the far wall, she saw Fox. She looked down at the Krazoan tendril that was buried inside of her torso, overtop of her heart. It eased free and returned to float behind the spirit.
"That was…" And then the tears came. She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it. She was filled with hope and grief and love and sadness all at once.
"Krystal?" Fox approached his wife, quick to note her expression. "Wait, what happened? You only had your eyes closed for … maybe two seconds."
She rubbed her eyes with her velvet padded palms. "What?"
"Tops. Two seconds, tops. You sat down, you closed your eyes, you made a face as if you were hit in the stomach, then you stood up with tears in your eyes. What happened?"
"I just spent over an hour on Cerinia during Dyruna four, Keenar…"
Fox blinked. "Wait, what?"
"The day Cerinia … died."
Fox pursed his lips. "You were … it was just two seconds!"
"I don't know how Krazoan technology works." She reached into her pocket and withdrew the folded piece of paper given to her by her mother. "Oh, my heavens…" She put it back into her pocket and glanced at her smartwatch, then she reached for Fox's computerized gauntlet and held them one above the other. "An hour and twelve minutes difference. My smartwatch hasn't found the Lylat GPS network, and it won't self-correct it's time until then. So, as you can see, the smartwatch went with me." She lowered her left paw and turned to the spirit. "How did you do that … all of that in just two seconds?"
The spirit replied in an earthy surreal sounding voice, which reverberated off the walls of the chamber. "Krystal of the Cardinal Sun, you were not here. I sent you, body and all, through time to fulfill the prophecy of saving yourself and your people."
Fox opened his muzzle to argue. "But she was here the entire…"
Krystal reached over and quieted him with a simple touch. She kept her gaze on the spirit. "I … so I have to know … is my life left up to fate? What about all the lives in this universe? Is it all fate?"
"For as much freewill is possessed by the living, there is also some fate, in which we, people, must take part. Time is like a geodesic line in which people stand together at the market, and during the time you stand in that line, you play your 'part' in life's line. You have the freewill to sit or stand while in the line, you have the freewill to complain about the line. But you follow the line until you have had your turn at the front of the line. Once you have fulfilled the obligation of whatever reason you had for being lined up, your life is once again yours to do with as you wish. We all stand in a line during moments in our life, some longer than others. But our lives are not spent always standing in that figurative line. Fate and freewill are intertwined together, giving us both choice and purpose, together."
"So, it wasn't some sort of trance or astral projection?"
"No. Krystal, you went home, mind and body, complete as you are now. You were quantum entangled to this moment in time; I was your anchor to this present, your present, so that upon your return, you would be exactly here."
"Why did you need to act as an anchor if I didn't need one to go there? I'm not questioning you; I just want to know how time travel works."
"As planets move about their system's star, which moves through space, the planet is not in the same place at two points in time. I did my best to project you to the surface of Cerinia in the past, using mental math to estimate your placement in the galaxy, so that you would not be underground as you are, now. But I see, now, that you were half-a-world away upon your arrival. The science is rather difficult; I apologize. However, bringing you back to your present is much easier; I act as your anchor to this place and time."
Krystal murmured softly. "Therefore, I returned at the exact moment I left."
"Yes. And because you returned to the exact nanosecond of your departure, your mate has perceived you to have never left. There was no perturbation."
Fox furrowed his brows. "I thought … but Slippy said it's not possible. He said there was some sort of chronology protection theory that proves time travel is impossible."
"Time travel cannot be conducted by reactor or machine, only by singular bodied persons, and only with what they wear that touches their body at the time of moving through the temporal quantum foam between the layers of linear spacetime, or as I call it … one's reality present."
"So, to be clear as glass, I returned here exactly when I left, so it appeared, at least to him, as though I never went anywhere?"
"Correct," said the spirit. "I had no control over what you did, or how long you stayed. I left that up to fate."
"Oh. I … I thought you waited until I learned what I have to do before bringing me back."
"I do not know what occurred on your journey. That was for you, and you only. It was personal, and I did not experience it with you until your return. The fates apparently wanted you to save your people. Will you?"
"Do I have a choice?" she asked.
"It was your fate to go back through time. It was your fate to learn what must be done. However, you have the freewill to act on that information."
"I understand, now. I was standing in a queue, but now I am not. It is up to me to act on what I've learned while standing in the queue."
"Precisely."
Krystal rubbed her face. "Can you send me back in time to another period?"
"I can send anyone back, one time, to a period of their subconscious choosing. That is what you … or the fates … decided upon. I cannot send you back to any other time anymore. Temporal travel is difficult on the genome of the living. By moving through time, and then back, your genetic code has been slightly altered. It can only happen once for the living."
Krystal rubbed her face with her palms. "Fox, I saw my mother. We spoke. There should be people that need our help, and perhaps they can help us as well."
The spirit asked, "What will you do with them after you have dealt with the Locusts?"
"They will live here, on Cerinia. Their ancestral home."
"I wish to return to my ancestral home."
Fox and Krystal exchanged glances. She stood up and opened her arms. "Come with me. I will take you home."
"Thank you, Krystal of the Cardinal Sun." The spirit turned about and sank into her body.
Her eyes gave off a violet glow. She turned to Fox and said, "Now I'm ready."
Fox bit his lower lip followed by a nod. "Those people, if we can find them, will need a leader."
Krystal frowned. "But my home is with you."
"Well, uh … I guess … once the Locusts are defeated, I guess I'm moving here with you for as long as you prefer. But you'll always have a home in Lylat, as well."
Krystal beamed. "Oh, thank you Fox. I haven't made up my mind one way or the other, but it really means a lot, having that option available. I could make you ambassador to Lylat, and we could erect a permanent jump gate, and establish import and export with Corneria, Titania, and all the rest. Just a thought. Then you'll never feel too far from home."
"Home is wherever we're together."
Krystal's bright smile broadened further, and then it faded away to a wry grin. "You read that on a home décor sign when strung along for a shopping trip with me? Really?" The amused smirk melted into a genuine smile. "Ah well, you're a fighter pilot, not a poet, and the fact you remember that and brought it out just now … that was rather clever of you."
"Well, it stuck with me because, y'know, I could identify with the sentiment."
"Okay, that was brilliant. Good recovery."
A door at the far end of the room opened.
Krystal reached for her husband's wristband gauntlet and scanned it. "It's … vacuum sealed. No bacteria in the air. Thank goodness. And … according to this, the device … the part … it is in that room." Her eyes glowed with a brilliant shade of violet.
Fox nodded firmly.
The two headed into the new room to retrieve the device within.
It sat on a stone alter, with the center hollowed out to the shape of the device.
Krystal approached the pedestal first. She slid her paws beneath the lengthy pole, dressed in runic etchings, with a non-descript coupling at each end, and in the middle. It had what looked like a handle about a third of the way down from one side, which appeared to be hollow, as if it could hold a magazine or some other object. She passed it to Fox, who inspected the interior.
He noticed the hollow handle as well and peered inside. "Well, it's not for a clip; there's no chamber area inside the handle. So maybe this is where a battery pack goes, or it's where another section slides into this one to attach together. Probably the latter."
"I'm proper chuffed we managed to sort this. Let's get back to Lylat and collect them all, like the creatures in my Pocket Monster video game.
Fox chuckled and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. He paused and eyed Krystal. "Can your friend send me back to warn my mother to skip that appointment the day she died?"
Krystal's muzzle opened to speak but her voice sounded ethereal and ghostly. "I can, yes. But if your father climbs beneath the vehicle the following morning, and detonates the device, she would do everything in her power to keep you from following his paw prints to the academy. You would grow up in the tyranny of Imperial Corneria. You would know little more than the awkwardness of your father's killer sending you into combat missions in hopes that each would be your last to end the legacy of your father's bloodline. Is that the life you want?"
"Yeah, but now that you've told me about that, I can make sure it doesn't happen that way."
"Fox McCloud each living being is capable of travel to and from a point in time. Would you not rather save that chance to warn yourself of a misstep, should you or your loved ones die in the upcoming war against the Locusts?"
Fox bit his lower lip. "So … you're saying if my wife or kid die, you'll let me go back and warn them?"
"Only once."
Fox nodded. "All right. Yes. I'd rather bank a mulligan than to try and mess with a historically defining moment in my life that could lead to things happening differently."
"I will extend the same curtesy to your son should you parish in combat."
Fox nodded firmly. "I appreciate that. Are there any downsides to Krystal's time travel? Should I have her checked out in a sickbay?"
"It can cause cancer, but as I am now joined with her, I am correcting that damage while inhabiting her body. I will need a few days to make enough repairs to her genome to guarantee she remains cancer free. Please, do not die or allow anyone close to you to experience death prematurely, as I need to remain focused on Krystal's treatment for several days. I would like to get started, now. Farewell, Fox McCloud."
Fox stared at Krystal with his muzzle slightly agape.
Krystal cleared her throat. Her voice returned to normal. "Oi. That was … awkward, yeah? All right. Let's find Slippy and pop back to Lylat. No time to spare."
Fox nodded firmly. "No time to spare. You keep Andross away from that guardian of time you have in your body. If that kind of power fell into the wrong hands, they could screw everyone. In fact, you jkeep him protected for a while, and when we have a chance, we'll either return him here or put him in that portal on the top of Krazoa Palace."
"Agreed." She reached into her pocket and withdrew the piece of paper written by her mother. "C'mon. I know what frequency my people are using, now. Let's put a message out there, and then hurry back to Lylat."
Fox nodded in agreement and the two headed back for the lift from which they came.
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Author's Note: I guess I lost some readers after the last chapter? Lmao. Ah well. After I finish this, I'm going to finish my Legend of Zelda piece, The Links of Time. Then I'll throw myself back into line-editing my original series and prep it for publication.
To the three of you still reading (at least the three I know for sure), thanks for hanging in there! We're almost to the finish line! Woo!
