Chapter Summary: Wally and Abby follow Henrietta into the desert in search of an ancient drug that may have the ability to return their memories. Abby has an unexpected revelation.

Content Warning: Underage drug use: Hallucinogenics.

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Code: [RESTRICTED]

Operation: S.P.I.C.E.

Spiritual

Piquancy

Invokes

Colorful

Enchantment

Written by OfficiallyWrong with properties owned by Tom Warburton

And Cartoon Network

Episode 16

LOCATION: DYSTAL CITY

Although the morning star rose over the Dystal City skyline, you would never know it. The black smog that coated the area was something of an enigma to those who lived there. Many did not even know the daylight existed, nor did they particularly care. The city was a perpetual state of stagnation, one where one woke when they woke, and slept until they had enough energy to wake again. The residents of the city did not have need for a morning star, no desire for blue skies that blossomed into technicolor. There was no sensation of passing time for them to be concerned of, no cares of what was to come next. The Teens blessed with immortality had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and did not bother to step outside of the city's walls to ask themselves whether or not this mysterious natural light could be seen. Those who did venture out of the city, never returned. Or if they did, they would surely not feel the same. It was at the point where the residents believed that the sky would always be black, the moon and galaxy were mythology, and the only thing giving the city its rhythm was the exchange of sensations brought about by altered consciousness and the unified circadian clock by which they operated.

This made Abby and her friends all the more like outsiders. For when the time came to awaken from their comas, the rest of the city was entering its own. They had somehow made it back to their ship before the cycle had ended, and if undisturbed would sleep another few days before realizing that the daylight was not coming to resurrect them.

Wally had passed out somewhere in the bathroom. Kuki and Hoagie slunk their way to the captain's quarters sprawling out by the open viewing platform. Kuki's head on his chest, his mouth drooling on the glass.

"Such ein shame," Henrietta shook her head, not hiding her growing grin as well as she assumed she was. She watched as Abby tried to wake up Hoagie and Kuki, who were unresponsive. "Not'zt I am surprised. Some teens just can't hold zeir intergalactic liquor."

Abby sighed, stepping back and crossing her arms. "Four'a us, one'a her, he says."

Henrietta kept her smile, rapping her arm around Abby's shoulder, pulling her in close. "Looks like you and I vill be spending some alone time togeth—"

"Wait!" A loud voice came stumbling out of the corridor, followed by thudding footsteps. Wally burst through the entry way, fully dressed and wide-eyed. "You're not leaving without me, are you?!"

Abby smirked at Henrietta, whose jaw was on the floor. "Wouldn't dream of it."

He let out a sigh of relief. "That was some night last night! Phew! I thought I was gonna be smashed for days."

"We all did," Henrietta added. "Did you not vant to maybe rest?"

"You kiddin'? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Wally's smile was infectious.

Her lips curved downward. "You don't feel sick?"

"Nah. I never get hung over." He noticed Kuki and Hoagie. "Oof. They ain't wakin' up for a while." He walked over to his girlfriend, poking her in the cheek. "Kuki...Kukiiii." He beamed. "This is great!"

"Great?" Abby was confused.

"Yeah!" Wally had a little too much energy. "Love her, but Kuki's always naggin' me about smokin'n stuff. Not exactly someone you want on a drug adventure, am I right? I'm a free man for the day!"

Abby and Wally both looked at Henrietta until she broke. "Ugh. Fine," she said. "But vee are taking my car."

Twisting her car keys in her hands she pressed a button calling the beast. It dove out in front of the ship, visible from the front window but only just. Wally squealed with excitement, ran to kiss his girlfriend goodbye and rushed downstairs. Abby left the two a note on one of the various rolls of toilet paper left on the ship stating they would be back and the three exited the ship. Wally pressed his hands against his face as he saw the tall hummer-like car towering over them.

"Wow!" He exclaimed. "That is so cool!"

Henrietta shrugged. "Oh, Zis? It's nothing. Vait until you see vhat she can do." Her pride was welling up.

"I call shotgun!" He practically danced to the vehicle. He started to sing, loudly and off-key, pretending he was holding an electric guitar. "Drug adventure! Gonna get high!"

Abby walked briskly after him. "Uh, no. Nobody's gettin' high."

"Drug adventure!" Wally sang, not really listening. "Gonna eventually get high!"

"...no."

Wally sank. "Aww, come on."

"I don't care," Henrietta said. "Do vat you want."

Wally gestured dramatically to her, his eyes wide. Abby conceded, but informed Wally that the point of the trip was not to indulge in their own pleasures, but to find a solution to their problem, which he begrudgingly agreed to despite his intense curiosity.

As they rode out of the city, a small line of blue appeared over the vista. As they approached, the line thickened until a quarter of the sky was taken over. The concrete turned into white sand, then red rock, and finally red sand as the path into the unknown revealed itself. It was like driving through a dark tunnel into the light. Even though for Wally and Abby it had only been a few days without what they knew as "day", it still shocked their system to see it. New possibilities were on the horizon.

Their journey was soundtracked by Wally's excited singing and fake guitar riffs.

"Drug adventure! In the desert!

Drug adventure! With big cars and lesbians!

Drug adventure! It's every Rock'n Roll Man's dream!

And I can smoke whenever I want! WHOO!"

"Abby ain't a Lesbian."

"-Yet."

"Not how that works."

An hour passed, and Wally had finally calmed himself down enough, and was baked enough, to enjoy the ride without talking. The heat from the now direct light seeped into his body like healing energy. He could see the mirage lines forming in the distance and thought he could feel them around him. He was in a cartoon oven, with steam rising from his body like a magazine cookie sheet. Mmmm. Cookies. He should have thought about that before he got in the car. This alien plant he was smoking was similar to weed in the sense that it made him insatiably hungry while also bringing extreme flavors to the surface of his palate. It was different, however, in the way that it felt more expansive, all the pleasure of a good high without the need of being anchored to the floor, which depending on the strain could really exhaust the body. He just felt light. And good. Really, really good.

"So," he finally asked once there was a lull in Abby and Henrietta's conversation. "What's this cinnamon stuff do anyway?"

Henrietta was leaned back in the driver's seat. He could tell she had been waiting to tell them the whole time. "Oh, Mein Junge. It's not about vhat it does. Vhat matters is how much cash you can get for even ein shred of it. Ve'll be the richest people in all the Galaxy. Compared to zat, vhat does it matter?"

Wally grimaced. "So, you don't know, or you don't want me to know."

Henrietta laughed. "According to ancient legend, zere vere five spices whose trade controlled ze galaxy's economy. Before zey switched to crystals. Saffron, Pepper, Vanilla, Cardamom, und Cinnamon. Of zese, Saffron was ze rarest und most expensive. It is found only in ein flower vich is said to grow in ze highest peaks of ze tallest mountains. Zey vere vorth more zen gold. Its properties vere said to give ze consumer the ability to turn zier thoughts into reality. Some even believe it has ze ability to grant eternal life."

Abby's turned over. "Eternal life?"

Henrietta grinned. "Ze had to get zeir immortality from somevere."

She pouted. "I guess."

"Children vould use Vanilla to make iced creams und bakwaren," Henrietta continued. "Its sveetness was so legendary'zt it vould attract all manner of beings to it, und it gave such ein intense sense of pleasure'zt ze user vould find all ze meaning in life zey were looking for."

Wally felt his jaw dropping.

Abby rolled her eyes. "You tryn'a tell me one of the original four ice cream flavors is actually a space drug?"

"Spice, mein Abigail. Not just ein drug." Her grin widened as she looked at Wally, who was hanging on her every word. "Zey called it ze ultimate medicine. It could heal any injury, trauma, emotional pain..."

"Whoa..."

"Oh, please."

"But Pepper? Pepper was ze real favorite."

Abby grinned. "Was it a hot commodity?" Wally looked at her with judgement. "What? Numbuh 2 ain't here."

"Saffron may have been ze rarest spice in ze trade," Henrietta explained. "But pepper vas ze real ticket. See, not everyone vanted ein spiritual revolution. Zey vanted to feel alive. Explorers traveled all over ze Universe searching for it, selling it, putting it in zeir food. When it touched your tongue BOOM! Such flavor. Like a vorld of flavor in ein single bite. Zey even say it gave great...pleasure," she winked at Abby. "Which is ze real reason it vas in such high demand if you ask me."

"You know, for somebody who don' t think it's important to know what these drugs do, you sure know a lot about them," Abby said.

"Me? No, my expertise is candy. You know zat." She brushed back her blonde hair. "But I dabble in ze dark culinary arts every so often."

"Tell me the other ones!" Wally jumped up and down like he was ten years younger.

"Cardamom comes different in colors, black und green. People on zis spice claim to have, what is it, ze...outer body experience?"

"Out of body experience," Abby helped her.

"Da! Travel to ze ozer plains of existence, even to ozer dimensions of our reality. Do I believe in zis? I don't know," she admitted. "But zis is the legend."

"And the Cinnamon?" Abby was starting to get curious now.

"Little is known about it," Henrietta admitted. "Ze ancients hid it away once ze crystals vere discovered. Spices became legend, und of ze legends least is known of ze Cinnamon. What I am told is zat it reveals truth. Not very popular against other spices for'zis reason. But not as difficult to come by."

Abby leaned back for a moment, thinking. "If it reveals truth...that must include memories, right?"

"This is all so bloody cool," Wally was still in the emotional high of it.

"Ve are going to ze temple, said to lie under ze sands of zis desert. I have been tracking its location for quite some time," Henrietta said. "I am unsure if zis vill solve your problem, Abigail, but if vee can get ze spice from ze keepers of ze temple, well, you von't need to vorry about Earth any longer. You can buy your own planet und live zere."

"Private planet! Yes!" Wally sang into the sky.

But Abby wasn't too impressed with the idea. "Wally, do you have the communication device I gave you?"

Wally wiggled his ears. "Right here."

"Good. I gave one to the others in case somthin' goes wrong." She eyed Henrietta.

"Nozing vill go wrong."

"You said the same thing in Guatemala," Abby said. She wrapped her arm around Henrietta's shoulder. "And we all know how that turned out."

"You must admit, zo," she grinned back. "Zose caramels vere delicious."

"Unlike you, Heinie, I actually know how to control myself."

"On some zings, Abigail," she admitted. "But zere are some areas of temptation even you can't resist."

Abby shoved her shoulder, standing up. "Watch the road." Then she went to the back of the truck, climbing out the back seat to sit in the trunk area.

"Road? Vat road? I could swerve into ein ditch und ve'd still be on ze road."

She was left alone with Wally then, who was watching the scene with one eye and gazing along the horizon with the other. Her elbow was propped against the open window, the breeze blowing her thin hair around her peachy white skin. Wally wondered if she would get a burn. He checked his own skin, which was already beginning to crisp.

"So..." he at least wanted to attempt conversation. "You knew us before, then?"

"Yes." She didn't extrapolate.

"You ain't in the KND though."

She scoffed. "Heavens no."

"How do you know Abby?"

"Ve have ein lot of history," she said simply. "I was zere long before you und vill continue to be long after."

Wally tried not to take offense to her words. "You must've known Nigel Uno then."

Henrietta stared stone cold into the distance. "In ein vey."

Wally took a drag from his joint. "What was he like?"

"Pompus," came her immediate and distant reply.

"Ooh. Not a fan?"

"He had nerve." She licked her lips. "His leadership tasted like ein strong punch in ze arm. Forceful. Single-minded. Not my favorite, but not ein flavor you forget."

The car bumped over a rock, forcing Wally to put down his legs. Henrietta wasn't affected by it.

"Jealous much?"

She huffed. "I'm plenty jealous, Junge. Of many reasons. But no vay vould I waste my vell-deserved jealousy on someone like Nigel Uno." She snarled. "He isn't vorth it."

"Seems you feel that way 'bout all of us," Wally said. "Tryin'a steal Abby from ya. You must think we're all buggers."

"Und here I 'sought you vere dim-vitted," Henrietta said, slightly impressed.

"There's a light on in there somewhere."

Henrietta pursed her lips. "Abigail vants vat she can't have," she said. "She'll never vant me so long as zere's somzing furzer out from her reach. Und ven she has you und leaves you...vell, don't say you veren't varned."

Wally frowned. "Abby ain't gonna do that."

"Zat boy took everyzing," Henrietta explained. "You may sink zere's somezing left in zere for you, but zere isn't. I spent years listening to her cry over him. Years of offering mein shoulder vich she never used und my advice, vich she never took. I vas never enough. You? You definitely von't be." Her eyes squinted in the sun as she drove. "Und once he's back, all zose years will have been vorthless. Und sov'll you und your little team."

"Well, maybe you don't know her like you think you do," Wally replied, grouchily.

"Fine. Live in ze fantasy." Bump. "It's only a matter of time."

It was quiet. "She didn't, like, love him nor nothin?" he asked. "Did she?"

Henrietta sighed. "I don't know vat it vas."

"Glad to see you two gettin' along," Abby's grinning face popped back in. "Henrietta, you playin' nice?"

"His flavor's still too strong for me," Henrietta whispered. "Too much...fire."

"Wally, you good?"

"You know it, Boss."

"Cool. Abby's gonna be on lookout. You never know what kinda creatures live out in the desert."

She left again.

"You're wrong," he finally said.

"Ve'll see," she said back.

"So that's why I can hear your accent!" Wally exclaimed.

"Da. Your brain recognizes ze Deutch but as many vords as you can guess through clues."

"Bloody brilliant."

There was a mirage of heat coming from the top of the sand, making it appear as though the desert was somehow covered in water. Wally decided he liked the desert, full of little creatures he couldn't see, lurking beneath the hot sand. Not a body of water in sight. He would rather die of heat stroke than drown. He gazed back out the window, a black dot appearing over the horizon.

It was approaching at an alarming rate. Another mirage? Deserts were so cool. But then that dot multiplied into three dots as they appeared larger.

"Are you seein' this?" Wally asked.

Henrietta had a pair of binoculars she used to look behind her. She threw them down and floured the gas.

"Heinie, what gives?" Abby called from the back.

"Zose are Tilian bikes," she explained. "Not good news."

"What are Tilians?"

"Teens who feel zey have nozing to lose," Henrietta explained. "Zey are violent for ze sake of violence."

"What do they want with us?"

"Zey're probably bored," Henrietta said.

Wally looked at her skeptically. "Bored? They just ride around on bikes attackin' people cause they're bored?"

She grinned. "Vouldn't you?"

"I mean sure it's fun to pull up a nerd's undies every once in a while, but-"

"Wallabee I vas being facetious."

"How do we lose'm?"

"I don't see how vee can," she said. "Ze ruin is not for ein few miles und there are no rocks, no dunes, nozing."

Abby grabbed a sniper-looking weapon from the back of the car. "You always make me do the hard stuff," she muttered.

"Only because I like to see you sveat."

Abby kicked Wally's seat. "You get the back, Wally. I'll take the top."

The Tilians were not very cleverly named, Abby discovered, because they resembled very reptilian creatures, at least from where she was standing. Abby set up her gun aiming steadily. Her adversaries were holding clubs and whips, slashing them against the ground barbarically.

"Alright!" She heard Wally behind her. "Finally, a weapon my size!" He shot it into the air as a warning shot, hitting the windshield of an approaching bike. His face flattened. "Paint?!"

"Well, yeah!" Abby called down. "What'dya think was in it?"

"We ain't gonna be able'ta take down—"

"Hang on I can't hear you!" Abby switched on her communication earpiece she got from Dystal City. "Turn on your hearin' device."

Wally did. "Good?"

"Perfect."

"How we suppose'ta fight these guys with paint?"

TEEN TERRITORY ARTILLERY: P.A.I.N.T.G.U.N.

Pelleting

Anyone

In

Near

Terrain

Goes

Unnervingly

Numb

Abby squinted. There was something moving under the sand, coming right for them. Her eyes widened.

"Heinie!"

The car swerved, narrowly avoiding the torpedo as it exploded blue dust. The Tilians gave a battle cry and revved their engines. She went to turn her hat around, but realized it was already turned to protect her forehead from the heat. Force of habit, she guessed. She held her head and leaned down at the window.

"The hell was that?"

"Smoke screen," Henrietta said. "Don't worry, zey vill not paralyze you. Zey may make you ein bit dizzy."

Abby sat back on the car. "Wally you hear that?"

"Don't touch the blue shit. You know, it ain't hard to figure out."

It was difficult to get a clear shot, but Abby and Wally managed to at least stave them off until they reached the rocks. She fired a few rounds, managing to at least knock the head of the pack off their course.

"Ve'll lose zem in zere," Henrietta called out the window.

She took a hard turn.

"Excuse me! I'm up here!" Abby shouted.

"Zere!" Henrietta pointed toward the cavern of red rocks in the distance.

"Looks more like we'd be at the disadvan—"

A shadow appeared over her, a bike flying over her head. She aimed in position, fired, but hit the bike. The hog fell over the car and Heinie turned a hard right to avoid it, the left wheel lifting off the ground. The Tilian had jumped off the bike and landed on the roof of the car.

"Abigail?" Henrietta called. "I heard some—"

She watched the bike fall in front of the car, unable to avoid it, she rode over it, knocking Abby off her feet, sending her sliding across the roof. She managed to catch onto the side of the car, continuing to hold onto the gun as well.

"Abigail!"

The Tilian grabbed her and pulled her up by the arm. Her falling off the car wasn't fun enough for them she supposed.

Abby couldn't get a clear enough shot, so she whacked the being with the back of her gun. It barely made an impact. They swung their bat, but she managed to dodge just enough so that she didn't fall off. She kicked it out of their hand, putting the barrel of the gun to its chest. Firing, she kicked the being off the back, another shot fired completely paralyzing them as they crashed into the rolling sand.

Wally shot a few more shots but was becoming frustrated with his poor aim. This was something that should have still come naturally to him, yet he could not figure out how to properly work any of these weapons. He could get them when they came closer to him, though, as one was just about to. In their hand, they held another smoking blue grenade. Wally held his breath and shot at the grenade. Having no luck, he finally took a metal ball he found rolling around for some reason and threw it at the Tilian. It was a perfect shot, right in the hand. They cried out as the ball exploded into a splotch of green paint.

"Get in!" he heard Henrietta shout.

The two of them climbed inside.

Henrietta grinned. "Last one's mine."

The car rolled over the rocks as they entered the canyon-like ridge. The rocks were sharp but she maneuvered them like a pro. The bike went to the top, passing the car with ease.

"What are you up to?" Abby looked at her friend skeptically.

"Just watch und be amazed," Henrietta winked. She rolled up the windows. "I like to end mein battles with ein splash."

Henrietta lifted a metal latch as the bike came to jump. A little closer, her hand was positioned over a lever.

"Zis is mein favorite part," she whispered to Wally.

The bike approached, the Tilian holding their club ready to swing at the windshield. Then, almost as though an airbag went off, the car screeched to a halt. A firecracker sound came from all ends of the car as about twenty metal balls, like the one Wally threw, flew into the air. Without warning, they exploded, casting the entire area in rainbow paint and causing the Tilian to fly backwards.

The three waited in silence for something more to happen, smelling the burned rubber.

"You don't zink I survived out here so long due to mein negotiation tactics," she said proudly.

"That was...so...cool!" Wally flung his hands in the air.

"Why the hell didn't you do that before?" Abby asked, giving her an annoyed look.

But Henrietta simply grinned. "I told you. I like to see you sveat."

"Zis is it," Henrietta said, the two following behind her. "Ze Temple of Damanhet. Ze last known spice temple in existence."

They looked up at the tall red rocks, smoothed by the hands of Alien beings. There were markings all over the walls, but not random. Abby assumed it was some kind of language. Stories, most likely, like those passed down in the hieroglyphs of Egypt. She put on the glasses they had gotten in Dystal City, walking up to the rock. They had left the car back a few miles, having had to hike through the rocks deep into the salt of the earth to find this place. All they had with them were one P.A.I.N.T.G.U.N. each and pouches of water. Abby also brought the Tilian club for insurance.

"It's like an ice cream temple," she said.

"What the blazin' hell's an ice cream temple?" Wally asked.

"I mean..." She climbed onto some of the higher rocks. "I think a password opens it. "This part tells the story. But it's so ancient none of the words translate, even with this thing." She took off the glasses and placed them back in her shorts pocket.

Wally nodded, lighting another joint.

"Ain't you had enough?" Abby asked. "I need you to focus."

"Abby, trust me. I'm way more focused when I'm high. Besides," he said. "Ain't no way we can read any'a this crud anyway. May as well just bust the door down."

"And desecrate a sacred temple?" Abby crossed her arms. "Boy, you must be high."

"High."

"Yes."

"No."

"No?"

"No, listen," he said. "What'd they say the Cinnamon was for? Somethin' about truth." He wandered over to the rocks with Abby. "It looks like these guys are offerin' somethin' as a sacrifice to the temple. Maybe that's how we get in."

"Great," Henrietta jeered. "You volunteer zen?"

"I mean maybe it ain't a password that opens it but some kinda ritual." He pointed at the image of a light-like being holding something up to the sky.

"A purification ritual," Abby said. "To enter the holy place."

"Smoke."

Abby felt uncomfortable. "Wally, you know how I feel about—"

"You don't gotta do it. It's only gotta be one of us." He stepped into the corner. "This looks like it's a chimney or somethin'. And look. Brush." He took out his lighter, putting out his joint for the time being. It was strange, he thought. He felt as though he had been there before. Like it was calling to him. This place made him feel more at home than any place on Earth did. There was a peace about it, a stillness. He lit the twigs, fanning the smoke up through the chimney. They waited there for a long time, and just as they were ready to try something else, the ground began to rumble. The walls of the temple parted, a smell of incense wafted over them as a cloud of smoke covered the passageway to the temple.

Wally went first, then Abby, and Henrietta. As they passed through the smoke they could feel their bodies tingling, as though it were moving through it.

"Zis place is giving me ein rash," Henrietta complained.

"Got a flashlight?" Wally asked.

"No, but you got a lighter," she said as she tossed him the Tilian club. "Goin' old school."

As they walked, there were more markings, more drawings, all ancient stories about the spice trade.

"How'd you know what to do to get in here?" Abby asked Wally.

He shrugged. "I just sorta did."

"Hello."

The three turned around, nearly dropping their torch. A short little Alien with a white robe greeted them.

"Kill it vith fire," Henrietta whispered.

But the being smiled. "Do not be afraid. We have been expecting you."

Abby lifted a brow. "You have?"

"Who is vee?" Henrietta asked.

"The Tribe, of course," the being said. "We could sense you from a great distance and knew you would be coming here for wisdom."

"Actually, we're here to—" Wally stared but Abby kicked him to shut him up.

"Hide. We were attacked. By the uh, gang with bikes," Abby said. "There are more of you here?"

The being grinned. "Oh, yes. We have been here for many, many millennia. Watching over the temple and continuing the sacred traditions of our ancestors." They waddled along the ruins. "I will take you to Leoor. They will care for you while you recover. You must be very special. Only the truly worthy may enter this place."

Location: DAMANHET TEMPLE, BACCHANUS

Damanhet existed below the sandy desert floor. Deep in the bellows of the red and gold rocks, long caves intertwined like an underground labyrinth immaculately decorated with geometric tiles. They traveled through market places filled with fresh fruits and baked breads. The air was sweet smelling but not like the intoxication of Dystal City. It was like being in a warm kitchen when goods are baking in the oven. They followed the short Alien who waddled over the protruding rocks and crystals in the flooring. Abby was starting to feel uncomfortable with all the curious eyes glomming onto her. She had been away from home too long. Away from humans too long. She missed the comfort of their faces, being able to blend into a crowd. She looked over at Wally, who unlike her was absorbing everything as though he were a child in an amusement park. That, at the very least, made her smile. Henrietta, despite never being there, walked around like she owned the place with cheeky confidence. Abby rolled her eyes. All these years, she was still trying to show off.

They were led to a temple. It towered above them, embellished with gold lining and what their guide had called healing crystals. Abby did feel a little better just being in that place. They didn't have anywhere to go, or any worries about the outside world. Everything was peaceful there, unlike Dystal City where loud noises and flashing lights made her ears and eyes bleed, zapping more energy than it gave. The inside of the temple was painted in more bright colored patterns and geometry. The ceilings almost shot into the sky, candles lining the hall leading to the sanctuary. It was a portal to heaven, Abby thought. If such a thing could exist.

They arrived at the sanctuary where they saw a white-robed Alien, who appeared to glow like an angel. Not a fake glow, one that radiated from the core. Every once in a while, the white light would almost look green, no...blue. Purple? It was impossible to describe. Abby couldn't stop staring.

"Leoor," the small Alien guide said. "These outsiders have come seeking wisdom."

The being turned, their face more radiant than their back. They smiled. "Come, my children. You have come from so far and are so weary. Come and rest."

"They were attacked by the Tilians," the guide said.

"I see. Then you must rest all the more."

The luminous being, Leoor, spoke with the authority of the masculine and the tenderness of the feminine. Abby found herself blushing deeper the more she heard it. Inspired by its beauty, jealous of its freedom. Leeor's eyes peered at her and she wanted to cover herself. It felt as though it were looking deep into her essence. Again, if there was such a thing. She was starting to question herself. This place, these people, they were doing something weird to her brain. But, she supposed, what else was new?

"Thank you," She said, stepping into the sanctuary and approaching Leeor. Bowing her head in respect, she sat before them. Henrietta and Wally followed, ending up on either side of her. "Master Leoor," she began. But the being placed a hand up to silence her.

"Leoor. We are our own masters here," they said with kindness.

Abby's cheeks were hot. Her stomach twisted as the shame began to build. "Leoor," she tried again. "We have come from a very long way to get here. And, uh, we..." The smell was getting to her. Or was it the heat? "We are on a journey to...well, it's a long story. See, we kinda— never mind the point is—"

Wally leaned in a concerned whisper. "Abby, what's up with you?"

"N-nothin'! Abby's fine. Never been better. Leoor, we, our planet is in trouble. Not the planet itself. That's ain't what I meant."

Wally's eyes were saucers. "Uhh."

Abby shot up, stopping her nonsensical rambling. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" She turned around and started to walk out of the sanctuary. Leeor simply watched. Just outside the sanctuary, Abby paced back and forth, her mind running wild. Her hair was a mess. Her skin was rough from the trip. That was no way to present herself to a being like Leeor. That was odd. She never cared about what others thought of her appearance. But here, she was insanely self-conscious. She frowned. Here. She wasn't even supposed to be here. And now that she was here, she couldn't formulate a sentence to get herself out of here. Of course. Since Aqueous she hadn't been able to do anything right. No, from the beginning she couldn't do anything right. She didn't want to do this anymore. She wanted to go home.

She just wanted to go home.

"Earth Alien."

Abby spun around on her heels. "Huh?!"

Leoor's smiling face greeted her. "It's alright. What you are experiencing is natural."

Abby blinked. "H-huh?"

Leoor took her hand and Abby thought she would melt. "Come."

"O-Okay..."

As they walked back to the others, Leoor explained themself. "These crystals are healing. They heal not only physical wounds, but the ones deepest inside us. Darkness and negativity must rise to the surface before it can be purged, you see. Unfortunately, the City dwellers have drained the crystals of their properties and are using them for...entertainment." They let go of Abby's hand. "They can bring bad energy to one's endeavors if not careful."

Wally grimaced. "You mean our bad luck is cause'a some magic crystals that some other asshole stole?" He leaned in again. "Abby, these Aliens are bonkers. You sure about this?"

"The crystals read energy," Leoor said. "And they will deliver that energy ten-fold. If the energy is bad, the crystals will draw it out from us, healing us in the process. The longer you stay here, the longer you will show the sides of your personality you want to keep hidden."

Wally and Abby were found their eyes drawn to Henrietta, who was picking her teeth with her nail. Quickly she realized what was happening and pulled it out. "Let's make zis quick, zen, shall we?" She stood. "Ve need—"

"I know why you are here," Leoor stated. "And while I understand your haste, I cannot give you the Cinnamon."

Wally flopped over, his head landing lightly on the stone. "Figures."

"Leoor," Abby found her voice again. "We know the importance of the Spice. But we promise it will be in good hands. The fate of our known world depends on us getting that spice. Even if it was just a little bit..."

"I know you are telling the truth," Leoor stated. "And yet, I cannot simply give you the Cinnamon. It is not a tool to be used as a means to an end. It is life giving, and it reveals our deepest truths, truths perhaps we ourselves do not wish to see. To receive the Spice, you must respect the Spice."

Henrietta scoffed. "Respect ze spice..."

"This girl wishes to sell it for gains," Leoor said. "And you feel it a means to a accomplishing a goal. Nothing more." They looked at Wally. "He is the only worthy one of you."

"Who...me?" Wally's jaw dropped as he sat back up. "I'm the worthy one?"

Leoor nodded.

"Alright! I'm the chosen one! Take that! Who's Number Four Now!"

"Course it's drug-related," Abby jeered.

"How do you know all zese things?" Henrietta asked. "You read minds?"

Leoor smiled. "I am an Intuit. We cannot read minds, but we can read energy. Like the crystals, we are conduits for dark and light energies that shape our Universe. What you call...cosmic background radiation. That is how I know to call her a she," they said pointing to Henrietta. "And him a 'he'," they pointed at Wally. "Even though our culture has no need for such labels." They went back to Abby looking slightly curious. "You, I am not sure. Perhaps you are not sure?"

Abby froze. There was a short pause as the others looked at her with interest. "Just Abby's fine," she said.

"Whoa!" Wally gasped. "Can you tell me my future!"

"The future is an illusion. The past is malleable. All that is, exists in the present."

"...Oh." Wally's brain tried to wrap around Leoor's words.

"If you wish to obtain the Cinnamon," Leoor told them. "You must first accept the Cinnamon into your life. Allow it to guide you through your journey."

Abby glowered. "Wait. You want us to..."

"Yes!" Wally jumped up. "Drug adventure! Gonna get so high!"

"N-no," Abby shook her head. "I don't...isn't there some other way I can convince you?"

"It is not me you must convince," Leoor replied.

Abby's face flattened. "Right. How bout they do it and Abby watches."

"You must all undergo the ceremony if the Cinnamon is to leave with any of you. Please. Sit."

"It's just that—"

"Yes?"

Abby swallowed. "I ain't never...Abby don't..." She felt her heart pounding in her chest, beads of sweat all over. "It ain't for me."

"You are searching for something," Leoor said ethereally. "You have been for a very long time. I can sense that it is very important. The Cinnamon could give you the answers you seek."

"A-Answers?"

"The Cinnamon reveals truth, my love. Only those with purity in their souls, however, can accept truth." They smiled. "So. Are you willing to accept the truth of your life?"

Abby thought she wasn't, but something deep inside nagged at her. Something not in her mind, but in the pit of her stomach.

"Okay," she said. "Show me."

"For the Cinnamon to accept you," Leoor said, pacing between the three humans, who were now sitting cross-legged on the sanctuary floor. "You must relax the mind." White purifying candles were lit all around them. The energy in the air was light. Though they felt anchored to the ground, it was as though they were floating. "The mind lies to us, but the soul will never lie. Therefore, to hear the soul, you must quiet the mind."

Henrietta leaned over to Abby, whispering. "This is a load of—"

Abby hushed her.

"Take a deep breath in." They did. "And out. Allow all the tension to leave your body. You will have thoughts. Quietly observe the thoughts as though they are passing in a stream. Do not attach to them. Simply observe."

Abby tried to calm her mind. And at first, it was peaceful. She wondered what a completely silent mind would be like. She must have experienced it at one point. Perhaps a long time ago back in Sector V. Back when everything was the way it was meant to be. She opened her eyes, finding herself getting lost in the memories, pretty sure that wasn't what she was supposed to be doing.

She looked over at Wally, who whose eyes were completely closed, his mouth slightly open. It was as though all the tension in his body had evaporated. Leoor was observing him, smiling brightly. He was a natural. Abby smiled. At least one of them was. Her eyes shut again.

Okay, Numbuh 5 don't think.

Don't think.

Breathe.

Don't think.

But then again, what was the purpose of this? Clear her mind? She shouldn't be clearing her mind at all. She had much more important things to do, real people to save. She was wasting time, not that she had been doing a particularly fantastic job already. Her breath caught in her chest. More thoughts flooded in and she was the ball of sticky tape they stuck to. The more she rolled over to another subject, back to breathing, the more the thoughts stuck to her. She tried to pull them off, but that only made it worse. This was awful. She sucked at this. She sucked at everything. Everyone was going to get hurt and it was all her fault. Stupid Numbuh 2, for making her come here. She could feel eyes looking at her, all over her. Her body tingled and not in a good way. All this, for what? For who? For Nigel?

She grimaced.

For Nigel.

How many things...had she done for Nigel?

How long had she been waiting now?

Didn't he know she was waiting?

Didn't he care?

And then a swarm of images took over her. Horrifying, pleasant, everything in-between. But above all, feelings. Deep feelings she never knew were there. Feelings of betrayal. Feelings of anger, of resentment, of hurt, of joy, of nostalgia, of pain. Memories.

It was her.

This was all her fault.

"Abigail," a tender voice said. A hand touched her leg. Abby opened her eyes to see Leoor looking concerned. "Breathe."

But Abby stood to her feet. "I can't do this." She didn't realize how out of breath she was. "Abby ain't some hippie dippy woo-woo person, okay? In real life that ain't how it works. You can't just get all zen and forget about your goddamn problems. I am on a mission to save my planet, to save my people and you think I should sit here and be calm?"

"Breathe."

"I'm tryin'a prevent a war here!"

"Breathe."

"You think I asked for any'a this? You wanna know the truth? Here's the truth! I don't wanna go on this dumb mission! I gotta! I gotta because no one else is gonna fuckin' do it! All those kids..."

"Breathe."

Her hands fell over her face. "Why me? Why does it gotta be me? Why can't I just be happy? Every time I get close I see his face in my mind." She inhaled and swallowed again. The air was dry. "Fuck this. Fuck all this." Her arms fell. "I..."

"This is good, Abigail," Leoor said. "Be honest with your feelings."

She inhaled again, deeper, exhaling before speaking. "I don't wanna see him."

The Alien nodded. "Mmm."

"I'm...I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

Abby clutched the sunglasses. "That the world's gonna end," she said quietly. "That somehow...he wants this to happen. That I won't be enough to stop it. That I'm not enough...that I was never..."

"Fraulein," Henrietta, who was awake, reached a hand out to her but retracted it when she saw Leoor step forward.

"When we dwell in the past," Leoor said. "We allow it to take our power." They took Abby's hands, allowing her to sit once again. A healing white light was emanating from them. "Memories are beautiful things, but often they constrict us into certain beliefs. About ourselves and about the world. You have suffered greatly. You feel as though the world is on your shoulders."

"Well, it kinda is," she grumbled.

"No," Leoor shook their head. This got Abby's attention. "That much is an illusion, a story. You have placed this burden on yourself."

Henrietta grimaced. "Zat's ein bit harsh."

"Harsh words said with love can be great healing talismans."

Henrietta rolled her eyes. "Oh, brozer."

Abby crossed her legs once again, Leoor's healing hands placed on her chest. "Letting go doesn't mean giving up the things you value," they spoke with kindness. "But allowing them to move through you. You have decided to give away your power, but you can just as easily take it back. This boy, your memories, your past, they are not your happiness. How you remember them is not the full truth. You are allowed happiness. You deserve happiness. And happiness comes from within."

"That Cinnamon stuff really works, huh?" Abby chuckled.

"That was not the Cinnamon," Leoor explained pleasantly. "That was entirely you." They grinned. "And the crystals, of course."

Abby closed her eyes again.

"Breathe. Accept. Accept what you cannot change. Embrace what you can."

Abby could breathe again.

"It is time," Leoor said. Abby felt a ceramic warm cup placed in her hands. The smell wafted up to her nose, filling her with peace. The vapor was hot and rich with a familiar smell.

Abby's lips turned upward.

Cocoa.

She brought the cup to her lips and drank the soothing liquid. It ran down her throat through her body as she felt a pulse moving up and down her spine. She waited, but nothing happened. She drank more, but still nothing. Maybe she had already purged what she needed to in order to move forward. Perhaps the Cinnamon had nothing left to show her.

The cup fell to the floor, Abby's body going completely limp. She collapsed backwards, falling into Leoor's arms.

Wally awoke with the bright light glinting in his eyes. He was surprised that he did not feel nauseous, as his previous experiences with hallucinogenic drugs often made him feel that way. He felt the particles around him, all vibrating. He didn't know where he was, but he knew he was no longer at the temple. He called out for Abby, but there was no response. Not remembering much about what happened after he closed his eyes to meditate, he figured he simply dozed off like an idiot. The light from the sky was refracting in a different way, not streams but waves. His hand shielded his face. His attempts to sit upright were met with failure. It was at that point he decided he had no need to get up.

That hippie Alien would come get him eventually.

Buzzing his lips together, he peered into the blue. He wanted to see if he could find the different shades of sky. He remembered some chick in his literature class rambling on about poetry once. He didn't like poetry really. It was like pretentious songwriting but with no music, and the music was the best part. That made him a hypocrite, he knew that. But still. He sniffed. He remembered the girl going on about a poem she had read in one of those new-print poetry journals. He didn't remember the poem except for one line.

Blue is a unit of time.

Blue is unit of time? The hell did that mean? But as he attempted to look at the shades of blue in the sky and recounted how colors on drugs were often changing all around him, how other people didn't possibly see the same blue he did even on the daily without drugs, and how blue was an illusion anyway, he started to, at least a little, understand what the poem was talking about. What did he know about the world? Clearly not very much. He didn't even know about his own childhood. Memories were always playing tricks on people. It was one of life's great mysteries, really. How anyone could believe in anything with brains the way they were. Hoagie had explained to him while they were working on the recommissioning module once, that memories were always changing and that was why it was very difficult to bring them back. It was not so much that the memories had been taken from him, as much as they were changed to fit a false narrative. Wally got that. That was how fascists stayed in power, how people gave their souls away to things that weren't any good for them. Minds were...what was the word he used?

He couldn't remember.

He felt smart on drugs, he mused. Smart enough to actually comprehend Gilligan's constant scientific ramblings to a degree. Sure, he didn't understand the science part, but that was just as well.

Blue is a unit of time.

If blue couldn't be seen, and blue couldn't be touched or tasted, then, he guessed blue was a sort of...experience. What the mind saw as blue wasn't what blue was at all. But when it happened, blue, he couldn't deny that that was what it was. Maybe, he thought, there was no time. Maybe time was like the color blue.

The hot sand rubbed against the back of his arms.

Drugs were a trip, man.

There was a dark cave, and around them figures marching in and out, up and down. Young bodies pushing wheels of radioactive green. Abby couldn't see their faces, only the green and the black silhouettes. Marching, wheeling, like Sisyphus. Pointless labor. The scene changed. It changed to tubes and young bodies strung up to computers, screens flashing static all around her. The children were faceless too. But Abby knew just because she couldn't see their faces didn't mean they were actually faceless. A great tree. And beneath that tree...a river. A sparkling river sucked up into more tubes and pushed through buildings and into cocktails that met the lips of hungry Adults who licked their lips and sucked it like a vacuum.

There was a hand...grabbing onto hers tightly. Desperately. She couldn't see it, but she knew she couldn't let go or something horrible would happen. As soon as she realized it was a hand, it slipped out of her grasp. She called out into the pitch-black darkness before waking up in a dark room. Her arms were heavy, weighted down by chains. She looked down at her body, which was tucked close to the wall. Around it, a white jumpsuit blocked her skin from breathing. Paralyzed, she just stared at the stone floor, the tiny light from the door the only window she had to the outside world. The light got thicker, brighter, as the door opened. A shadowy figure loomed tall over her, casting her in total darkness. She could, however, see the syringe in their hand, the liquid inside a glowing neon green.

Abigail Lincoln

A dark voice spoke from nowhere.

I want you to remember this day...

As the day you lost.

The needle of the syringe pressed deep into her skin. She screamed, but a hand was clasped over her mouth.

Not your movement.

Not your team.

More images flashed. Too fast to see, only just fast enough to feel.

You. Lost.

Abby shot up, her stomach churning. Her skin was sweating from every corner. Her hair stuck up on all ends. With labored breaths she looked around, noticing her hat set nicely on the sand. Left, right. There was nothing. The temple was gone. The images were as well. A dream? A vision? She held her stomach, leaning over and upheaving into the sand. Brown sludge fell from her mouth tasting acidic. When she was finished, she wiped her face and stood. She brushed off the grains. What was this? There was nothing. Every corner, she was miles away from any sort of civilization.

"Leoor?" She called. But there was no response.

She peered at her hands, then at the ground, which was making patterns much like the ones in the temple. Geometric shapes, moving through each other like a kaleidoscope. The sand danced. Browns, reds, flecks of gold, all flowering together in the same pattern. It moved as though there were creatures buried just beneath the surface. She thought she could feel it moving, breathing. One foot in front of the other, she stepped, snatching her hat from the ground.

"Leoor. This ain't funny," she grumbled.

You have set your intention.

Abby halted, spinning around in every direction. "Leoor! Hey! You...you there?" She couldn't speak well. Her voice was rummy, how she imagined drunkards talked.

Yes, Abigail. I am here.

"Where are you?"

I am communicating with you telepathically.

She pursed her lips. "That's fancy."

This is where I leave you.

"Wait! Hold up a minute! You can't—I'm in the desert!"

You must trust that you will make it back. Trust yourself, Abigail.

This is your journey. It is not mine.

Do not worry. No harm will come to you. You are safe.

"No no no no no no!" Abby ran to what she thought of as a more open space, even though it was really all the same from an objective point of view. "You ain't goin' nowhere!"

Trust the Journey.

"Psh...the journey." She was pacing back and forth now, sand flowers growing all around her. They weren't real, of course. Just more illusions. "I never asked to go on a journey!" she slurred into the sky. "I never asked to be flung to the otha side'a space! You think I got time for a journey? Children goin' missin' every day you think I got time for a fuckin' journey? What time is it?" She looked around again but gave up immediately.

With her hat in hand, she walked through the desert, continuing to talk to the sky.

"People dyin'n you wan'me to go on a journey. You donno what that means so how you gon' tell me what to do? Hm? You think it's gonna help anybody? You think I got time to think about this crap? It may be all sunshine n' rainbow monkeys where you are but that ain't what it's like on Earth. Can't expect you to understand. You're probably a weird Alien Angel. I don' believe in Angels. I believe in Aliens cause I seen em. Gotta be Aliens. But Angels? God? You want me to think about God, Leoor? How bout we start with child abuse? Hm? How bout we start with hunger? Oppression? War? God. Angels. The fuck has time for that? What time is it?"

She inhaled, putting her hat on, brim in front.

There is only one time.

"Oh, great. That's the part you respond to."

Past and present are an illusion.

The only things that are real are in this moment, and in this moment, there's only one question that needs to be answered.

Who you are.

"Who I am? Seriously?"

Listen to your inner voice. Feel the what the Universe is trying to tell you.

"Who I am. That's the Universe's concern? Not, y'know, the struggles

mankind or nothin. Just who am I? My identity?"

What is it you want, Abigail?

"I want to not be trippin' no more that's what I want," she growled. "I dunno what I want! What I want is...it don't matter what I want! I ain't some white sweet sixteen princess askin' for a pink Mercedes. I already know why I'm here! I had that figured out since day one."

And yet you are unhappy.

Abby stopped.

Ask the Cinnamon.

"You gotta be shittin' me."

Nothing is a coincidence.

You are here because there is something you need to hear.

Abby's eyes rolled into her head. "Okay fine. How do I do that?"

There was no answer.

"Mother'a sweet baby Jesus." She continued to walk through the sweltering desert. There was a carton of water on her waist, filled to the top now. She put the water to her lips and continued onward. As strange as it was, she just needed to continue on. As she walked, her mind settled. The area was pretty, not that she was in any position to stop and gaze at it. Was the answer in the patterns? The colors maybe? She stared at them for a long time, but nothing came to her. Just molecules. Illusions. Molecules.

It was all pointless.

What she wanted was to end the suffering. She wanted to end children's suffering. To give them childhood, real true childhood, creativity, power. Freedom.

Freedom.

Not the freedom to do whatever you want without any regard for others. The freedom to choose. Nigel chose space. That was his decision. For some reason she struggled to accept that. Why? She held the idea that life wouldn't be the same without him, that her team wouldn't be the same without him. And indeed, she was right. They weren't the same without him. But, they weren't the same anyway. It wouldn't be Sector V without him. But there hadn't been a Sector V for a long time. The one that existed now only was there because she made it. She had been waiting for him to come back and restore everything to how it was, but at this point she had accepted that how it was wasn't what she always imagined it was. Different. And what was would never be again.

"I wanna choose for myself," she spoke into the empty air. "I wanna choose myself."

But was there even a such thing as choice?

It wasn't Nigel's face she was seeing as she spoke anymore. It was her sister's.

Cree had betrayed her. Cree, her sister, her closest friend, her family. Cree was afraid. And Abby was afraid of becoming like her. Or worse, of that perhaps she had had good reason for what she did. Coming to that understanding now hurt more than ever, because she could feel everything that Cree had felt back then and was probably still feeling. Only Cree fought with the wrong tools. She went against everything she ever believed in. She betrayed her. And Nigel...

Suddenly, she realized.

Nigel was just a projection of that betrayal. Except now, Nigel was acting like Cree. He was afraid of growing up. He always had been. He even left everything behind to try and prevent it. And somewhere along the way, Abby had told herself that he left because of her. That she wasn't good enough to be the leader he was, wasn't good enough to convince him to stay. That because she had failed so many times, because she had failed him so catastrophically in the beginning, that she was in some way responsible for him. That she was responsible for all of them. That if she was more important, Cree wouldn't've left. That if she was better at her job, her friends' lives wouldn't be in danger. It was true that if she hadn't intervened with the others, things could have gotten out of hand, and Abby was not the type to leave things like that to chance. What she did, she did because she cared deeply about them. But it was tearing her apart. She didn't want to let go of their friendship. She wanted to stop worrying that one day everything she ever loved would disappear.

Because that tended to be the pattern with her.

Cree. Then Maurice and the rest of the old Sector V. Nigel. Rachel. Hoagie. Wally. Kuki.

You can't have only one reason for living.

She'd fucked up this whole life thing big time. Was there even time to turn around and start over? To let go of what had been and embrace the new? Was it somehow a smudge on her childhood to do so? And what was childhood anyway? Was it not a state of mind? Or maybe a construct? If that were the case, why did it exist only for kids? Maybe, she thought a little too hard, that was the whole point. Childhood, genetically speaking, had to be by definition for kids. But childhood the concept was just...

Abby felt her body get lighter. In the end everything was just, as in just a construct, just a molecule, just a thought. And yet the justs of the world were sometimes the hardest things to come by. Did she just want to be happy? Could the world just be happy with her? Is that peace? Is that why they call it just?

If the KND was just an idea, she could change it.

If Nigel was just a person, she could face him.

Couldn't she?

She kept telling herself why she had to do it, the reasons why it always had to be her, but it didn't have to be her. Why did she want to do it?

That answer was easy.

Because sitting around gave her hives.

She hadn't been waiting for Nigel, she had been working diligently on protecting the things she knew were important. And he was doing the same. The only issue would be if their respective things would become the same thing, or if there would be war. In the end if everything was just molecules, then there was no reason for her to be afraid of him. After all, he was her friend.

Perhaps no longer her best friend as he once had been.

But her friend.

What did she want? Who was she? No, she thought. The better question is: who are we?

A sentence popped into her head.

Five words only.

The only thing left to do...was figure out what they actually meant.

As she wandered, she began enjoying the light on her shoulders and the moving colors and shapes. It was cool how the mind desperately wanted to make patterns of everything. Cool, Abby grinned.

She hadn't felt cool in a long time.

A figure appeared in the distance, lying in the sand, arms and legs stretched out. At first, she thought it could be a mirage.

"Wally?"

The figure lifted its head. "Hey, Numbuh 5." And fell back down.

Abby blinked. She was still in the peak of her trip, so maybe that's why she didn't react with any kind of outward surprise. "Oh. So you remember."

"Sorta."

Abby sat down next to him.

"I can see all my memories," he said, lifting his hand up into the air. "But they're like...little bubbles floatin' round." The hand swiped across the blue backdrop like a screen. "Been tryn'a catch one but I ain't had much luck."

Abby chuckled. "You'll have'ta tell Numbuh 2. He loves bein' right."

Wally gasped. "No way! He'll never leave his room! He'll just wanna work and work and work."

Abby shook her head, knowing that was probably correct. "So? You catch any truths?"

"I'm sorta reliving my whole childhood here," Wally told her. "How much more truth could'ya catch?" But he stopped for a moment in thought. "Blue's a unit of time."

"...Huh?"

"Yeah, I dunno."

Abby lay next to him. "Abby's decided she needs a tune-up," she said after a while. "Been collectin' dust too long."

"I just wanna lie here forevah and evah."

"We got a job to do."

Wally frowned. "Numbuh 1."

"Yep."

"Crud. I kinda hope Numbuh 2 doesn't fix the recommissioning module. I'm still kinda mad at Numbuh 1, you know? I know it ain't really fair to be but, I still am."

"Nice to know Abby ain't alone then."

"It's not like..." He tried. "I don't wanna see him or nothin'. I do. It's just...the whole thing's sooper weird. Look't me, Abby. I got spiked up hair and Kuki and me...when did that happen, y'know? Jus' like yesterday I thought my biggest problem was whether or not I could keep my dodgeball champion title and now poof, we're almost to college. Well, you are. I ain't doin' that scam."

"Time flies."

"I'll probably punch him in his dumb face."

"You took it harder than all of us," Abby said. "Numbuh 1 was your first. I dunno about Numbuh 3, but Numbuh 2 and I...we'd been left before. We knew how to cope. For you..."

"That ain't it," Wally said. "It ain't that he left. It's when he left."

Abby's face softened.

"We had a year. Just a year left to be togethah. He could'a waited."

She sighed. "It was a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"They wanted him, they would'a waited," he insisted. "Everythin' went to crud that year. Startin' with him, and then you bein' Soopreme Leader, and after Numbuh 2 lost his dad and—" Wally stopped. "We all went a bit nuts let's just put it that way."

"No way Nigel could'a known any'a that was gonna happen. How could he?"

Wally was quiet. "He could'a said goodbye."

"He did."

Wally huffed. "Well, he could'a done a better job of it."

"You can tell'm that when you see'm."

"Yeah, if I don't strangle him first." Wally exhaled deeply. "Numbuh 5, I gotta ask...before I forget all this happened." He adjusted himself a bit, his bum starting to get hot. "I forgot what I was gonna ask."

"I think I got a truth," Abby said. "Ain't so sure what it is quite yet, but it's there. You know what I mean?"

Wally nodded. "Fly fly awayyy," he tried very poorly to sing. "No, that ain't right. I forgot."

But Abby simply stared into the sky. She could see little flecks of gold rising around her. Her mouth opened.

"Why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly

Why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly

Ain't no room enough for holdin'

All those tears you gonna cry"

"I forgot you sang," Wally said, his head lying in the sand.

Abby tried to turn her head, but it was so heavy she had trouble. "I forget sometimes too."

Abby felt the warm sand in her hair, the hot sun on her skin. The sky was so blue like a gemstone. The particles in the air formed geometric shapes that flowed in and out of each other like an animal breathing. Like the sky was breathing. She lifted her hand, the vibrations giving her the illusion of brushing fingers against atoms and molecules, the very fabric of the universal tapestry. Her other hand felt the sand, every grain molding around her. Laid to rest, she thought. Encased in gold. A proper burial.

"You know what?" Wally said after a while, his words slurring more than usual. "I think I finally understand the Beatles."

Abby slapped her hand over her palm, laughing.

"What?"

She didn't stop laughing.

He shook his head back and forth. "Nah nah nah nah! Trippin' in the sand!"

"Sometimes," Wallabee said, kicking his feet. "Sometimes I think I should just be high all the time. Cause if I were high all the time, I wouldn't be a disappointment. I'd just be high."

"You're not a disappointment," Abby said, also sitting up.

"Up until this point, I didn't know what to do with my future. I wanted...I wanted to marry Kuki but that was it. I didn't know what job to get or what life to live. I didn't know, and I didn't wanna know, you know?"

"Mmm."

"I ain't so smart, and I ain't so dumb. I thought this mission'd give me a life purpose. Fuck, even the Toiletnator's got a life purpose. And whaddo I got? I got a country-fried brain and a doomed relationship. I'm like a golden crisp."

"You and Kuki ain't doomed. Don't ever say that again."

"All high school relationships are doomed. It's in the...statistics..."

"Well, statistically speakin' you n' Kuki were never supposed'ta see each other again at all. So fuck statistics."

"Yeah! Fuck statistics! I never even went to that class!"

"I dunno bout life purposes, but if it wasn't for you our team would'a totally fallen apart after Nigel left. You're the one who kept everyone together. Insisted we do group outings n' stuff. Kept me from reelin' back too far." She groaned. "I still reeled back too far, but not so far cause I got reeled back in and that's why we're here now."

"Ugh. I went all mushy, didn't I?"

"You were always mushy." She poked his stomach. "Mushy gushy lovey dovey wovey!"

"Stop!" he whined. "That's harassment! I'm gonna sue you..."

"Promise to tell me again," he said, his head now on her lap. "Tell me when I forget about Numbuh 1, okay?"

"Promise."

"No secret keepin'."

Abby stopped for a moment. "There's gotta be some secret keepin'."

"Why?"

"Cause...cause it ain't right goin' around blabbin' other people's secrets to people, even if they are friends. Got it? So you gotta promise me you won't pry into no more secrets if I promise to tell'm to ya."

He stuck his nose up. "I'll promise now but I won't remember."

"But I'll tell you all about Numbuh 1. As much as you wanna hear."

"...you didn't love him or nothin'...did ya? Like love love."

"That ain't what Numbuh 5 meant."

"Oh, come on!" he cried. "Just tell me. You nevah told me!" He looked up at her, gasping. "Your hair has sparkles in it."

"It's sand."

"Nah nah nah nah. Hair caught in the sand."

They both forgot the previous conversation topic.

It was about another hour before Leoor found them in the desert, their bright light drowning out any and all shadow.

"Hey!" Wally tried to grab them. "It's the shiny thing."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I found blue," Wally said. He grabbed Abby. "N'I found this one right here. I'm gonna keep'r."

"I got sand all up everywhere."

"Glad you had fun," they smiled. "Let's retire to the temple. You both did wonderfully."

"Hey!" Abby jumped with only her bottom, excited. "Numbuh 4! We did it! We did the trippy thing and we passed the test and we'll fix the recommissioning module and save Earth!"

"Speak for yourself!" he said. "I'm a natural. Leoor told me so."

They returned to the temple, their pupils still dilated. Leeor sat them next to each other in the sanctuary, where they spent the rest of their experience silently gazing into the tile work on the ceiling. It as though there was nothing to do, nowhere to go, that all the structures that be were dissolved and they were sitting in the oneness of time and space. Abby would recall later, as Wally's head nestled into his shoulder, that he said something about dying. But at this point, to live or die was just the same.

When they came down, they were given water and a stick of Cinnamon.

"Look. We did it," Wally said, waving the stick around. "You did your first trip."

"First and last," Abby stated.

"You sure?"

"Abby can figure out their own truths from now on."

It was at that point that Wally forgot what had happened almost entirely, but somehow Abby remembered bits and pieces. She remembered colors and shapes, and some kind of deep resolve had come over her. As though she knew she was, for the first time in a long while, in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

"Thanks for sharin' the experience with me," she told Wally.

"Don't get all sappy on me now. I was just startin'ta respect you."

Suddenly, there were loud stamps marching in as a frazzled Henrietta, covered head to toe in sand, stomped into the room. Her eyes were blood-shot, wide-open.

Abby grinned. "How'd it go?"

"Mph," She huffed sitting her butt down on the cold tile.

Leoor gave Henrietta her well-earned Cinnamon, but she was still too upset to really register.

"The Cinnamon has placed a heavy burden on you," Leoor told her.

"Yeah, vatever," she griped. "I'm moving half-vey across ze galaxy."

Leoor approached Wally then.

"Wallabee Beatles," they said. "Could we speak a moment in private?"

Wally wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, but he nodded and left the two remaining humans alone to talk. They didn't at first, but after enough space had made things awkward, Henrietta finally spoke.

"So. Vat did you see?"

"I don't remember most of it," Abby admitted. "But I think I know what I gotta do now." She looked at her friend. "Startin' with you. I know I ain't been the best friend to you these last few years."

"Understatement of ze century."

"But I care about you, Henie. I want you to know that."

Henrietta smiled, relaxing a bit. "Offer still stands. You und I. A whole Universe full of candy never before tasted by humans. We could leave right now und never look back."

"You know I can't do that."

She smiled knowingly. "Vell, vas vorth a shot."

"It was fun, though. Hey, now you got that Spice, maybe I can come visit you on your private planet."

"He isn't invited." She pointed at Wally.

"You know, I think deep down, you actually do want to be friends with us." Abby nudged her. "You just won't admit it."

"Friends vith'zem?" She scoffed. "Don't make me laugh, Abigail."

On the ride back from the temple, Henrietta drove. Wally sat shot-gun, and Abby went to the back to be on lookout.

"Aren't you going to ask?" Henrietta posed to Wally, who was staring out the window with his feet annoyingly propped up on the dashboard.

"Ask what?"

"Vat I saw."

This surprised him. "I thought you didn't wanna talk about it?"

"I am curious as to vat you saw," Henrietta said. "Ze mind of Wallabee Beatles must be ein interesting place."

"Just a bunch'a past-life junk," he said. "Nothin' helpful."

Henreitta was quiet. "I saw ze future."

"What was it like?"

"I don't know. But zere vas green. Ein lot of green."

The car bumped over a sand pit. The candy hunter barely reacted.

"Do not tell Abigail. She may read into it."

That was when Abby popped her head in. "Don't tell me what?"

Wally looked at Henrietta. "Nothin'."

"Hey Wally," she said. "Come sit back with me a sec?"

The two of them sat in the back of the car. She waited until they were comfortable, then she proceeded to tell him what he always wanted to hear: the truth about Numbuh 1. She said they had a lot of time, and they did, she she managed to get through the majority of the story, even the unsavory parts. By the end, Wally was stunned. He didn't know where to go from there.

"So. That's it."

She closed her eyes, feeling the hot sun's rays start to cool. After a while, she spoke again.

"They say you don't know what you got till it's gone, right?" She smiled with only her lips. "It ain't true. I knew what I had, enough to know it wasn't gonna last. It's like the whole world's tellin' you to let go, but for some reason you just can't. And you sit there wonderin' if it's you or the world that's lost their mind."

"Fuck the world." Wally said, taking Abby's hand gently. "I believe in you."

She looked at him with kind eyes. "I know. You always did."

They rode into the setting star, like an old western.

"What did Leoor want to talk to you about?"

"You know what? Let's just enjoy the sunset."

Location: DYSTAL CITY

Back in Dystal City, the car parked in front of the club where they had been before. The sky was tar black once again, music blaring. Abby missed the peaceful dessert, but she knew they would soon be on their ship to the G:KND soon.

She checked her pocket and pulled out the small hard surface. She froze.

"What's ze matter, Abigail? Missing something?"

In her hand was a twig.

She turned to Henrietta, who was standing on top of the car, grinning at her waving around a bag with the Cinnamon sticks. So that was the game, huh?

"Very funny, Heinie. Give it back."

"I don't know vat you are talking about."

"You want me to come up there?"

Henrietta jumped down from the car. "I'll make it easy for you."

Abby cocked her neck. "You gotta do this every time, don't you?"

Wally gasped. "Are you gonna fight? Yes! I mean oh no."

"Please, it won't be a fight," Abby chuckled. "I can kick your ass twenty different ways, Heinie. You know you ain't got no chance."

"Neither do you," a voice said.

Abby's heart stopped.

"You never had a chance."

She slowly spun around, seeing a figure come out of the bar, their body encased in shadow.

...

"Maurice."

END TRANSMISSION

Listen to "Blackbird" by Nina Simone here: watch?v=139fXzrRjyc