Chapter 11: Whole new world

Perspective: Destiny


Midday had settled in nicely. The sun sat right in the middle of the sky like a lightbulb dangled from the heavens. Okay, maybe not perfectly at the centre. Destiny struggled to look at it directly, her eyelids drooping instinctively to protect the eyes beneath when she tried. However, it was boiling the top of her scalp, so it might as well have been directly above. Destiny wiped the sweat from her brow and readjusted her satchel just as she entered the old Sovereign camp. She heard the clink of glass as she hitched the strap back up.

She had a mind to give the old corpses a burial one day, but for now she found them darkly nostalgic. It occurred to her that this feeling probably didn't fall under the categories of "normal" or "healthy" and filed it in the "for discussion" folder.

Anya phased into view as Destiny approached the hill the portal crowned. Her blond mop of hair, grey hoodie and blue jeans were unchanged and did not move in the cool breeze. Destiny tightened her ponytail and marched up, dumping the satchel at the foot of the portal. She sat down, beaming.

"Well, don't you look cheery," commented her past self. "What's happened."

"A lot," said Destiny. "I'm running some combat classes with the magic-users and they're going well. Tryon and Rose handle most of the talking, I just have to hit, burn, freeze and impale stuff."

"Nice," said Anya with a downward curl of the mouth.

"I'm also actually spending time around the shelter like a normal human being, instead of huntress-ing it up all the time. I actually read a book for once."

"Start to finish?" Anya cocked an eyebrow.

"Skipped the middle but I read the ending."

"Nice," she said with a further downward thrust.

"And, of course, that weird Steve guy I told you about - the other one - showed up. Y'know, the one who appeared outside my window that one time in the Tower. Yeah, I've told you about that. He's shown up for the first time in ages with that fortuneteller guy. Now, he's given us some info and... I'm getting a chance to get back at those douchebags from the Tower tomorrow."

"Nice."

Anya's eyes lit up with ghostly bloodlust.

"I also," Destiny paused and reached into the satchel, "Managed to convince Lucy to let me swipe these."

She pulled out a unlabeled glass bottle full of light-brown liquid. There were ten or so others in the bag.

"Nice few beers. Our favourite."

"Wow," said Anya with the eyes of a proud parent. "It's all coming up Destiny these last few days. Aren't you luckier than a leprechaun?"

Destiny floated a hand just above Anya's shoulder, pretending to hold it and being careful not to let it pass through.

"Luckier still, Anya dearest. I'm going to get a little drunk up here for the next few hours, then wander home with enough time for a good night's sleep."

"This is officially the only time I will call day-drinking the responsible option."

The two giggled and then settled down. Destiny stretched her back out over the portal frame until it clicked.

"So," she said. "I was just walking up the hill and was thinking about maybe burying some of those Sovereign corpses, but then I felt kind of nostalgic-"

"Okay, before we get into the therapy session and my unqualified ass tries to fix your brain, I actually have some things on my agenda. You mind?"

"Sure thing," she conceded with two thumbs up. "Shoot away, Anya."

"First of all, be careful out there tomorrow. Mess them up good, but don't overextend yourself and make sure you survive. Unless the Ender is there. Kill that bitch something fierce. Or Glibby, I guess. Either's good."

"Gotcha. Save my energy for the big one."

"Second, look me in the eyes," said Anya with gravity, leaning in close. Her face was the embodiment of intensity, until it suddenly loosened, and she drew back into vague confusion. "The other week, when that green furball fell from the sky, did you talk to his sword? Is-is that who Kir is?"

This slew Destiny. Howls of laughter tore off across the land.

"Hey, it's been bugging me ever since!" Anya huffed. "You only ever tell me about you, I'm trying to fill in the blanks."

"I'm sorry!" Destiny cackled. "I'm sorry, the talking sword's just the least weird part of my current experience. There are so many weirder elements."

"I doubt it," Anya challenged with a cock of the eyebrow.

"Well, one of our party members is a thirteen-year-old demon-wizard who won't stop summoning fast food."

"Not weirder than a talking sword."

"Okay, my current boss is a big, millennia-old reptile-man, whose sister is some sort of terrifying magical anomaly. We had an election and I had to choose between that and a guy who works for, wait for it, Herobrine."

"Oh my Notch!" Anya groaned.

"Not the one you beat, apparently Herobrine's pretty cool on other worlds. I voted for his employee, Kay. He tries too hard, has no regard for his own safety and he draws power from a sentient book but apparently, he really tore things up back at the village. Would've done a good job but it's not a big deal."

Anya paused, laughed and then concluded: "I cannot believe you."

"I can't either," laughed Destiny. "It's a whole new world out there."

She swigged her beer and raised a toast, "To the revolution!"

"To the revolution!" Anya agreed.

The sun blazed on, searing and angry.