Book 3: The Sorrowful Archivist

Remorse

Falling. Alex Thompson was falling for the third time. The white void contained a new person for this 'collection'. Maverick almost blocked them out completely, writhing in frustration with his paws covering his ears. But he could still barely see them every once in a while.

That was when it started again. The voices invaded with their horrid whispers of 'you killed them' and 'they didn't deserve this'. Their maddening assault continued as Alex fell further into this madness. He wrenched his eyes shut, plugging his ears in a sordid attempt to block them out. That was when one more silenced them all.

"Continue your journey, Alex..."

Portal Hill - 10:20PM

All stood calm amongst the wilderness around the portal. Crickets were singing, a few small animals roamed about in search of food. It was lovely and serene until a blinding flash from the titanic device sent someone through.

Alex fell to the ground with a heavy 'Thud!' His chest ached from the unexpected impact, not that he had time to care. The Administrator was waiting for him, and he'd be damned if he gave her the chance to kill him. He pulled his rifle from his bag and observed the tree line...

Unfortunately, the threat didn't come from there. The instant he felt a hand, he whipped around to strike. His rifle's magazine slammed into the Administrator's face and knocked her over. Scrambling back up, she was met with the barrel.

"This ends now." Alex growled menacingly. His victory would be short lived, however, as a loud snap! sliced the side of his neck open. More bullets would end up blocked by his shield as his adversary bolted. The sound of galloping signaled Remy's rapid approach. Alex's survival instinct kicked in, with him whipping around, rifle at the ready.

"What in the world is- eep!" Remy snapped backward the instant Alex expressed hostility. His face was plastered with paranoia and... something he couldn't place his claw on.

"Damn it all... you scared the hell out of me." The human pinched the bridge of his nose. It definitely looked as though neither were prepared for each other.

"You scared me with that... whatever it is." Upon the dragon's remark, he started putting the weapon away.

"Sorry about that. Something was trying to attack me a few moments ago." Alex spoke in a half truth. He really didn't like doing that to these people. If only the Administrator wasn't out for his blood for whatever reason...

"Look, are you the person Reza asked for or not? This-"

"Reza Izquierdo?" Alex cut poor Remy off, to which he gave a nod at least. "Then yes. Sorry for the interruption. Shall we?" He gestured toward town. A minute or two into their walk, he started feeling remorse for his earlier hostilities. Jumpy or not, Remy didn't deserve that. "Hey... sorry for earlier. I shouldn't have attacked you like that." Alex apologized, sorrow consuming him. His company sighed before turning to look at him.

"It's okay, I guess. What would even possess you to do such a thing anyway? Or bring that thing with you?" The dragon pointed his head at the rifle on Alex's back.

"I've... been rather jumpy lately. Someone was stalking me back in my world. The best way for me to feel safe was to start carrying a weapon around. Maybe I'll get some peace of mind during my stay here." Alex adjusted the weapon as he spoke. Its gentle movement messed with the chest rig it hung from, causing a need for readjustment every once in a while.

"I hope so. That kind of behavior could get you in serious trouble." Remy chastised. It only made his company feel worse for earlier. Then again, he definitely deserved it. That was one of very few times he pulled a gun on a civilian...

The rest of their walk went by in complete silence. Remy was still simmering from the rude encounter, and Alex was trying to figure out a way to make up for said encounter. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with the postman.

"Here we are." Remy said simply as they came up on the apartment building Alex called home for... a good while now, actually. The human stopped his companion so he could fish around in his bag.

"Sorry, I just need to get something." Alex apologized, pulling out his nightshades. Their lenses turned everything pitch black for the moments he gave Remy the go-ahead. He pushed the door ajar and flipped the lights. Alex smiled victoriously as the previously blinding brightness was handily suppressed. Remy gave a strange glance at him before starting in on the place.

"Okay then. Make yourself at home. You'll find the place is fully stocked as well, and there are contacts for- oh. Officer Maverick. What are you doing here? Like, at all?" Remy was surprised by the new arrival. True to his word, a certain silver dragon stood in the doorway.

"I was out on a walk and saw the door open. It seemed strange to me, so I went to investigate. Now we're here." Maverick explained simply. Alex didn't take the bait, though. He knew exactly why that dragon was here.

"I see. Did you want to walk back to town with me? I was just finishing up with the Ambassador here." Remy proposed, to which his new company gave a gentle shake of the head.

"I'm afraid not. Now that he's here, I wanted to speak with him, give him a welcome of my own." Maverick declined. His reasons seemed off... but the archivist wasn't about to anger a police officer.

"Just be quick. I'm sure he's tired after everything that's happened." Remy ordered calmly to a short nod. And with that, he was out the door and on his way home.

"I appreciate the save back there." Alex thanked his guest calmly as he strided over.

"Yeah..." Maverick allowed himself to sit down and think of what to say next. "Looks like we were screwed in the end, huh?"

"Reza is unpredictable. We had no idea what he would've done. At least we got him, right?" The ambassador tried to help ease his ally's sorrows to no avail. His normally focused eyes were swimming in a variety of emotions.

"I guess. What do you think happened after we left for the next part of this hell?" Maverick inquired, a morbid curiosity among the storm in his mind. Even Alex himself wasn't sure how to answer that. He knew from Mongoose about the comet, but promised he wouldn't tell anyone unless he was capable of saving them.

"I... don't know. Does it matter when there's no longer anything we can do?" He fired back sorrowfully. It was a painful truth, but also a necessary one. Maverick should've known these consequences by now.

"I suppose not. So what do we do now?" The dragon expressed another concern, one which would be taken care of by another entering the room.

"We form a plan." Alex began. "One to take care of this once and for all. I'm getting sick of these time loops as well."

"Whatever gets life back to normal." Maverick retorted bluntly. Both ends of their frustration was beginning to grow clear by that point.

"Alright, then. So here's what I'm thinking. We get some others for-"

"Why do you want more people involved? Just us both took him out without issue." Maverick interjected in the discussion, causing his company to cock a brow with a deadpan look.

"We also blew up the lab in the process. We need that for the plan to work." Alex replied with great annoyance. While he was pinching the bridge of his nose, his gray ally was preoccupied with what was said.

"What do you mean by that?" He pressed darkly. "You'd better tell me before I start breaking bones." There was no way in hell he was about to be shut out of this. It was clearly important, and the only person who could help was stonewalling him.

"I'll tell you when the time is right. Right now, we need to make sure that lab stays intact. Got it?" Alex said darkly. His seriousness bounced off of Maverick's hide without very much impact. He just let his head fall in a half-hearted nod and left. So much for formulation. Left alone with his thoughts, Alex went over how he should behave in the coming days, along with how he'd make up for his paranoid attack on Remy...