Part 10 - The Greatest Sin

Chapter 171 - Time Is Supposed to Heal

Miles and Max had walked along the highway for nearly half-an-hour before coming to an exit ramp. At the top was a gas station under a brand neither had seen before.

"Are we still in the same world but in the future?" Miles asked.

"Imma be honest and say I have no idea. Hang on, let me try something."

Max stopped walking and bellowed:

"Paar! Thur! Nax!"

Miles raised his eyebrows as Max sat down and patted the railing beside him saying the spider should do the same.

"What did you do?" Miles asked, glad to be able to take a rest.

"Every dovah's name is a shout. I called Paarthurnax."

"Not Odahviing?"

"Odahviing doesn't have two wings to fly to us. Paarthurnax does, if he's still alive. He's the most likely out of all of them to be, being the pacifist who stays out the way. In some ways he's kinda like you."

"I'm not exactly a pacifist."

"You get what I mean."

Miles glanced at Max's arms, checking if the soul stones were still there. They were, much to his relief. Max looked down at them too, pulling Grace's blue and silver stone out its slot. Miles came up with a question, but he debated whether to ask it or not for a few moments. Eventually he settled on asking:

"Why do you love Grace so much?"

Max frowned, slightly confused by the it for a moment. Then he put on his thinking face for a few seconds. Finally, he replied with:

"Why do you love Mum so much?"

"She's strong, cool, we kinda have this understanding about each other you don't really get with normal friends."

"That…wasn't exactly the answer I was hoping you'd give."

"It's not a Hollywood movie; I'm not gonna give you the perfect lines to set you up for a speech."

Max chuckled, then smiled sadly.

"Me and Grace were friends since elementary school. We had our ups and downs, but we figured them out. She was there for me, I was there for her. We know what we've both been through and we know how to work round the scars that stuff's left behind. That and she's the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"What sort of scars would you have to work round? I mean, me and Gwen knew talking about people we've lost was a sore subject, so we didn't talk about it unless it was bothering one of us."

"The same scars you've been asking me about for ages now."

"The drugs thing?"

"Yeah."

"So…you just agree not to joke about drugs?"

"No. It's more than that. It's mostly the bit you don't know yet."

Miles paused for a few seconds, then said:

"Tell me about it."

Max closed his eyes and seemed to be weighing it up. Eventually he came back with:

"Do you remember I went on a school camp when I was fourteen?"

"No. What happened?"

"I was dared to do something that seemed normal at first but turned into something that changed me. But hell, where were you to help when I needed it most? You used your influence to extend the prison sentences on the people that did it, but after that you just turned a blind eye and left Charlotte to help me through it."

"Is that the time that makes you feel like I neglected you most?"

"Yes."

Miles put the current evidence together in his head. This event was the key to getting Max to forgive him; he was certain of it.

"So…were you dared to take drugs? Wait…no…you didn't want to take them."

"It's the sort of dare you say no to. Hopefully, anyway."

"I can't figure this out."

"The actual dare wasn't bad, except breaking the 'no leaving your hut at night' rule."

"So you left your hut at night and were forced to take drugs. Did you walk into a gang or something?"

"Mmhmm."

"What did they make you take?"

"A bit of everything. Alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, maybe some LSD. Oh, and let's not forget the AMN-C227."

"What the heck is AMN-C227?"

"The amnestic gas released by SCP-939. There was always a very specific spot in the subway station near Visions Academy where I had a severe sense of Deja Vu."

"How'd they get that?"

"No idea. The Legion kept the whole Deja Vu side-effect's meaning under wraps. Guess people just like being ripped apart by ugly red talking things."

"I'm sorry. Finding this out makes me mad at myself and at everyone who played any part in it."

"Pfft. You think they drugged me for the sake of it? You've only got half the puzzle. But please…not today. We're stuck together in this place, and I don't want to fight anymore. Not after what you said in the Void."

"What bit did I say that changed that?"

"That you didn't want to be Spiderman anymore, even if it meant you didn't meet Mum. That struck a nerve and I realised you're just human at the core. You refuse to take lives not just because it's a spider person's obligation, but because you could never bring yourself to do it. And it reminded me I only have one Dad, and it's not the one I grew up with."

Miles nodded and smiled.

"That means a lot, Max. Thanks."

"They say time's supposed to heal things. It didn't for me, so fate found a different way to do it."

Suddenly, there was a roar in the sky. The pair looked up to see Paarthurnax circling overhead. The dovah landed heavily, causing a car to have to swerve round him.

"Krosis. [Pardon.]" He said after it, then turned to Miles and Max. "Drem yol lok, Dei Volente, Vonun Bormah. Climb up; we will find a quieter place to talk."

The spider and God climbed on Paarthurnax's back. The dovah spread his wings and took-off, heading towards a nearby hill.

A couple of minutes later, Paarthurnax landed at the top. There were a few people around, but when they saw the winged beast touch down they scarpered. Some screamed, but Miles noticed none of them pulled out their mobile phones to take photos or anything. He also noticed their fashion sense seemed stuck in the 80s. He and Max dismounted and walked round to the dovah's head. Paarthurnax lay down. Clearly his age was slowly catching up to him. Miles patted his snout.

"How's life?"

"Zu'u los fin laat. [I am the last.] Even for a dovah, to be the last of your kind is lonely. I spent much time in solitude atop the Throat of the World, but in those times I had the comfort of knowing that I would one day lay eyes on my kin once more. Now there is no such comfort, only faaz…pain."

"You're the last dovah? What happened to the others? I know about the green ones, obviously." Max pressed.

"Odahviing left the Island to fight beside the Sunor rebellion. Yolsotwuth fought beside the Dovah King and the Tuta. They battled fiercely in the siege of the Imperial City. In the end, Odahviing was slain by his fellow dov. Yolsotwuth was taken by his injuries on that same day as I watched."

"Did you fight?"

"I have refrained from interference in the affairs of mortals since the end of the first Dragon War unless it is the will of a High Elder God. I returned to isolation atop Dovah Island after the Vonun Bormah's disappearance."

"Who won the civil war?" Asked Miles.

"The Fanor-Sunor alliance. After the fall of the Tuta Empire and the death of my kin, belief in the High Elder Gods decreased, albeit making a return not so long after. Soon, I was left alone in my meditation and I have awaited your return."

"How long were we away?"

"Two thousand years."

Miles' eyes widened in shock.

"Two…thousand years? How?"

Max ignored him:

"What about the High Elder Gods?"

"Dea Judicium holds an iron grip on the throne of the world, and has done so for many thousands of years. Of the others, I do not know."

Max nodded, then sighed and sat down on a rock.

"So I was right: she did something when she was banished. Time's supposed to heal itself, but it can't do it when there's a High Elder God holding the tear open."

Miles looked between the dovah and Max, then asked:

"What do we do now?"

"You were there when she was banished: why?"

"Why was I there or…"

"No, why was she banished?"

"She wanted you dead and to take away my free will. I told you."

"You told me the second bit, not the first. But it makes sense going off the second bit. Any ideas why she wants me dead?"

"No. But she wanted Hermaeus Mora's throne."

"Don't we all."

"I don't."

"Nor do I wish for such responsibility." Added Paarthurnax.

Max gave a weary grin, then started pacing.

"Maybe we should go and see her?" Miles suggested.

Max burst into a fit of laugher.

"You know she'll just gut you like a fish, right? Then me too, probably."

"She'll know we're back, though, right?"

"Maybe. Probably. So we have to find a way to protect you."

Miles raised his eyebrows.

"Wow, you've really done a U-turn."

"Like I said: I only have one Dad. As for what we do…" Max stopped pacing and turned to Paarthurnax. "Any idea if the Sword Perilous survived?"

"Ni. But the hands that forged it may."

"How? Death died with the rest of reality."

"Ni. The hands that forged it in words."

Max groaned.

"I'm not going anywhere near Null. He killed Charlotte."

"Then I'll go." Miles replied, raising his wrist to show his slightly battered, but still functional narrative watch.

"It's all we've got. But if Null kills you…Can I let you go alone? No. But Charlotte…was an accident. He said it was, anyway." Max reasoned to himself.

"Is that you saying you'll come with me?" Asked Miles.

"Yep."

"Cool. Good old family road trip or something."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Skyrim