Amber, Lana, Maxwell, and Shari all reappear where Maxwell’s lab used to be, lying at the bottom of a large crater. They pull themselves upright, Maxwell’s ears twitching.
“You have been granted access to seven new files… Gorlac and the crown, logs one through seven,” Lux announces as Maxwell stands. “Though logs three through seven appear to be corrupted, do you wish to hear the first two logs?”
“Can you… put it on speaker or something?” Maxwell asks, causing Shari to turn to him.
“I am now on speaker,” Lux replies, prompting Amber and Lana to turn towards him as well.
“Log one. My name is Keven, and I am a researcher at Athrin’s tower,” Keven’s voice states, sighing. “The year is twenty-one-hundred, and I have discovered something, something I believe to be capable of truly saving us from falling into obscurity. This relic, I have named the crown of saviors. It appears to multiply power tenfold when worn, though it seems to take over the mind as well. So far, we have tested on ten different subjects, using a new subject with every breakthrough we make… Subjects one through four were control cases, with no serum. Their bodies had been completely encased in a dark energy, and their teeth had become large, rectangular slabs. While in this form, their physical capabilities had skyrocketed, and in case four, the subject was given enhancements beforehand. All four attempted to breach containment, with the last one developing new abilities, seeming to combine their enhancements with darkness. The first two died after ten point five minutes of wearing the crown. With the third, we attempted to remove the crown early, but doing so caused their bodies to be ripped apart. Subject four managed to survive twelve minutes before collapsing, dying only ten seconds later.” A faint click of a pen can be heard as Kevin takes another slow breath.
“For subject five, we built a serum, a green liquid we synthesized in the lab that the crown showed an aversion to, the base shaking when put near it. We instructed subject five to ingest the serum before putting the crown on,” Keven adds, the pen clicking again. “When subject five put on the crown, they remained fully aware for around three seconds before the crown took over their mind. Subject six was a similar story, only they remained aware for eight seconds. For subject seven, we managed to have the serum remain present throughout the entirety of their time. While their mind became overrun after about fifteen seconds, their body managed to survive half an hour with the crown on, and the process of their mind being taken over took much longer after the serum stopped offering full protection fifteen seconds in, taking around four seconds to spread through their body. Subject eight remained aware for thirty seconds, and the process of possession took ten. Subject nine remained aware for the same amount of time as subject eight, but the process of taking over their mind took a full forty seconds. When choosing a candidate for subject ten, we had failed to check for enhancements beforehand, so when they put on the crown, and the serum’s protection ran out forty seconds in, they breached containment,” Keven mutters, the sound of a chair being pushed aside being heard.
“After finding their way outside, they released a sort of… beacon. At first, we didn't think much of it; we assumed it was a desperate cry for help from some entity inside the crown… but the next morning, a strange, slug-like beast made of a black liquid burst into the lab. Its smile, filled with rectangular slabs for teeth, was covered in blood, and it had four large claws that floated around it, built out of small cylinders. Luckily, we had transferred the crown temporarily after the incident, placing it in a safe house in case the beacon had meant something. It attacked the facility, killing fifty of the sixty members and injuring five others before leaving. This entity… was named Gorlac, according to the research we did. Before this, none of us had ever seen a demon before, so the sight of it caused quite a lot of discord between us. According to stories from people in other realities, Gorlac claims to be a demon of war and has even enticed a few world leaders to trigger nuclear warfare. We will be halting the crown experimentation for now… but I shall continue working on the serum, even if human experimentation has been barred temporarily.” Maxwell takes a slow breath, glancing up at the truck just outside the shallow crater.
“And how about the second file? And can you work on getting the rest of them uncorrupted?” he asks, Lux’s pupil flickering green as Maxwell begins approaching the side of the crater, starting to walk up the small slope. The others follow behind him, staying close so as to be able to hear Lux before it starts playing another recording.
“Log two,” Keven’s voice announces, the sound of a pen clicking being heard again. “I had managed to trace the origin of the adicic residue left behind by Gorlac, giving us the coordinates to their home reality… or at least the home reality of the residue. Unfortunately, our attempts at traversing from one reality to another have been… expensive. Each portal must be made with the specific reality we plan to visit in mind, and we just did not have the materials to make another. Instead, we had attempted to gain a glimpse at Gorlac’s home through the remote manipulation of a mind inside that reality. To avoid boring the boss, we will skip the specifics and just skip to the part where we succeeded.” Maxwell stops beside the truck, turning to look at Amber, Lana, and Shari as the recording continues.
“We only managed to intercept one small creature, one that appeared to have had a link to Gorlac before we entered its mind. We could not control the beast, but what we did see told us enough to name the reality. The ground consisted of nothing but dark ash, with heavy clouds of dust drifting through the air at all times. We saw lakes of black liquid and gray, twisting trees that grew in random directions, covered in spirals. There was no sun, no moon, and no stars, just a constant flow of dust. In the distance, we could see what appeared to be a large collection of floating black spheres, but we had lost connection before the creature could get close enough for us to gain a clear view.” The recording stops as Maxwell turns to Amber, eyeing the crown in his hand.
“So… where to?” Maxwell asks, looking up at him.
“I… don't know,” he replies, turning to Lana.
“We… have a house… we kind of gave up on hiding underground, and decided to try our luck staying in Amber’s old home a few years back. Maybe we could go there?” Lana mutters, turning to Amber. Amber looks up at the sunset, then to Maxwell.
“Yeah… you can stay with us for some time, until you choose a more comfortable place,” Amber adds.
“That sounds good for now,” Maxwell replies, his gaze shifting to the truck as he grasps the door. “I already know where it is, so I’ll drive.” he pulls open the door and climbs into the driver's seat, turning to watch as the others enter the vehicle as well. Amber sits next to Lana in the backseat, his ears twitching as the doors slam shut.
“I can get you something to connect the crown to your belt,” Maxwell adds as the car hums to life.
“Should we… start telling people that Maroon is gone? I feel like that would be a good idea,” Amber adds, looking out the window as Maxwell drives across the grass towards a road.
“Let’s return home and get some rest… then we can go around and tell people. What matters is that everyone is safe, so we don’t need to worry about them getting hurt,” Maxwell adds, the truck bouncing slightly as it drives over the curb. Amber looks down at his arm, feeling it.
“Before I put on the crown… That robot broke my arm… But now it’s healed,” Amber mutters, taking a deep breath. “When we get home… there’s something I need to do, something I can't put off…”
“Do whatever you need to… There doesn't seem to be much left to do now anyway, other than protect the crown… so I’d say that you can do whatever you like,” Maxwell adds. Amber nods to himself, glancing out the window once again as they drive through the city.
“Hey, Lux, how long do you think the files will take to be uncorrupted?” Maxwell asks, staring at the road.
“A few minutes, though, genetic data from Gorlac’s body and other things might be needed to fully uncorrupt the data to the point where I can open it, due to the way my system is coded,” Lux replies as he continues driving.
The truck screeches to a halt in front of Amber’s house, the town around them quiet as Maxwell pushes the door open. He climbs down onto the pavement, approaching the house as Amber, Lana, and Shari do the same.
“I, for one, am excited to get the internet working again,” Amber remarks, turning as Amber exhales.
“I’ll… be back later tonight,” he mutters as Lana turns to him. He reaches down, moving the crown to his side before adjusting his belt, looping it over the black surface, the crown being held in place by the leather.
“Just… be safe, alright?” Lana replies, watching as he turns to the road.
“I will be, don't worry,” he adds, beginning to walk down the street. He takes a deep breath as Lana turns back to the others.
“Well, Food isn't plentiful at the moment… but I have some tea,” Lana announces, approaching Maxwell and Shari.
Amber walks through the road, staring at the concrete as he exhales.
“I… don't understand…” he mutters to himself, glancing down at the crown. “It was so… fast. Maroon was such an unstoppable threat… And then Fuerza came along, and... had to hold back to avoid killing her. It feels too good to be true… The thought of life returning to normal just like that, after ten years… doesn't feel possible. I never even got to have my eighteenth birthday… ‘Two more years,’ I told myself… ‘Just two more years until I get to build my own house, just like everyone does.’ I had so many ideas… I was so… I… took everything for granted, and now… I’ll never get to do that… so many kids won't get to do that… because I don't know there’s anyone left that even knows how to build a house. He takes a trembling breath, reaching up and wiping his eyes as he looks up at the road before him. “I’m in pain… I feel exhausted and miserable, I want to go to bed… But I have more important things I have to do.” Amber continues to walk, sniffing as he closes his eyes for a moment.
After a little while, Amber steps onto the sand of a playground, approaching a plastic slide, stumbling slightly. He takes a deep breath before reaching forward, turning his hand upside down, and gently tapping his knuckle against the blue surface. He gently hits it four times, pausing before knocking three more times… a faint click then echoes from the slide, the structure sliding aside, a man with light brown fur and short blond hair standing in the hole below it, looking back up at him.
“Amber! You're alive!” they announce, their voice a whisper. “Some kid named Adam said you stayed back and confronted Mark.”
“It doesn't matter,” Amber remarks, taking a shallow breath as he lowers himself into the opening, landing beside them. “Sit with me.” Amber slides to the floor, watching as they slowly do the same.
“Is everything alright?” they ask
“Danial… I have good news, probably the best news you've ever heard in your life,” Amber mutters, looking down at his hands.
“Then… why do you look upset?” they reply.
“Trust me… I’m anything but upset about this,” Amber adds, looking up at them with a soft smile. “I’m… just still processing everything.”
“Well, what’s the news?” Danial asks, staring at him.
“Ammolite… is gone,” Amber answers, taking a slow breath. Danial exhales, staring into Amber’s eyes as he processes his words.
“Ammolite… is gone?” Danial repeats, grasping at the dirt beneath him as Amber leans back against the wall. “How? You’re saying that Maroon, Mark, and Shank are… what, dead?”
“It’s… complicated,” Amber answers, closing his eyes. “Maroon and Mark… are no longer here… and they never will be again. until everyone is settled, that’s all that needs to be said.”
“And… what about Shank?” Danial asks.
“Shank… is on our side… has been the entire time, apparently,” Amber answers, opening his eyes and looking at Danial again. “And… just to let you know… She goes by Shari now.”
“So… that’s it? We’re… free now?” Danial asks, his hands trembling slightly. “Should I go tell everyone this? Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Amber answers, his breathing somewhat heavy. “Go tell everyone that it’s time to go home.” Danial stands, exhaling sharply as he looks around. He then looks back at Amber, watching as he continues to sit, his breath becoming heavier.
“But… It’s mostly thanks to Maxwell… You know, the guy from the books,” Amber adds, inhaling. Danial nods, watching as Amber pulls himself to his paws. Danial grasps the dirt of the wall beside him, taking a shaky breath.
“So… It’s really happening? After ten years, it just ends? I… This is amazing! I just… have a hard time believing it,” Danial mutters, swallowing. “But… I trust you, Amber… We’ve been good friends for the past seven years. I wouldn’t have been able to find so many people without you.”
“You built the place. I would never be able to do something like that,” Amber replies, grasping his head as a faint pain radiates through his skull. “And I forgot to ask last week… How many people are in the shelter now?”
“About four hundred,” Danial answers, looking back at the tunnel behind him. “It really was a miracle that this park was built over some abandoned… basement-like thing.” Amber turns back to the opening, reaching up to grab onto the ledge.
“Before you go,” Danial adds, placing a hand on Amber’s shoulder. “When you brought that kid, Adam, I decided to start expanding deeper into the building… I found some things… some really weird… worrying things.”
“What did you find?” Amber asks, turning to him.
“I found a new floor beneath the one we used to build the homes, and it was filled with glass tubes, tens of thousands of them. Around half of them seemed to be broken, scattered around at random, but the ones that weren’t…” Danial begins, fidgeting with his hands. “There were decaying skeletons in them… Variant skeletons… skeletons that seemed to belong to variations that don't exist. Variations like snow-leopards… and some reptiles. I haven't told anyone other than you about it yet, but I also found another skeleton propped up against the wall. It didn't seem to belong to a Variant at all. It had no snout, no tail, weird, elongated paws, and was carrying this strange object.” Danial reaches into his pocket, pulling out a rusty pistol, the handle covered in dark sand.
“I… saw something kind of like that,” Amber mutters, stepping closer as he stares at the gun. “It was… some kind of weapon.”
“A weapon? Where did you see it?” Danial asks, holding it out to Amber, who gently grabs it. He lifts it to his face, staring down the rusty, broken barrel.
“It's… a long story… and I don't want to make anyone wait down here any longer, so come by the address I told you I’m staying at once everyone is outside, and I’ll explain everything,” Amber adds, returning his gaze to the ledge as he starts to pull himself up.
“Alright, I’ll get everyone out… but afterwards I want to know everything,” Danial remarks, watching as Amber climbs onto the surface. Amber turns back to Danial, watching as he starts moving down the tunnel. Amber pulls himself upright, looking down at the gun in his hand before shoving it into his pocket.
Amber takes a sharp breath, the pain in his head intensifying as he reaches up, grasping onto his skull and stumbling back.
“Amber…” a slow, deep voice mutters, the sound distorted. Amber looks around, his vision tunneling slightly as a faint laugh echoes through his mind. “Do not waste… your energy… You already have so little left…” Each word causes a sharp pain to shoot through his body, his eyes flickering with golden light as he stabilizes himself.
“You’re going to need it…” the voice adds, the darkness of the night seeming to pulsate around him.
“Where are you!” Amber shouts, stumbling forward.
“Inside your head, Amber,” the voice mutters as his eyes flicker with golden light. “But unfortunately… as you might know… memories, and that which makes you who you are… with your kind, is not stored there… That… would require me to access thy soul to alter… and with such a godly substance inside… My power cannot breach through… just yet,” The voice adds. Amber takes a step back, his eyes quivering with golden energy. “But what I can do… is find my way to your home… your world… because the energy needed to do so… has been prepared for the past ten years.”
“What do you want?” Amber shouts, blood dripping down the side of his head as he pulls his claws away. He glances down at the crown, reaching down and grasping it. He shouts, pulling his hands away as dark electricity shocks him, Fuerza’s voice thundering through his mind, screaming no.
“So how about you run… and see if you can make it home before I arrive… see if you can protect your friends,” the voice mutters. Amber stumbles back before sprinting forward, running into the road as dark laughter echoes around him.
“But think about it… You could only truly protect your world from me… if you make me agree to it,” The voice continues as Amber sprints through the road, his eyes continuing to flicker as he clenches his jaw. “Maybe we could make a deal of sorts… I would agree to your terms… I could even protect you world for eons… and all you would have to do… is hand over the crown.” Amber closes his eyes, the light shining through his eyelids.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“You only have three options… You either continue running, tiring yourself out for a fight happening nearly half a kilometer away, or you could stop… and we could come to an agreement… granting your world not only mercy… but also protection. And then there is the third option… the crown. Perhaps Fuerza could try its luck against me… perhaps you truly are the perfect vessel… but I digress. Make your choice now, as I am tired of speaking to you.” Amber continues sprinting through the road, the flickering in his eyes becoming faster and brighter as he opens his eyes. Amber stumbles slightly, catching himself and beginning to run again as the voice laughs.
“And you have made the wrong choice… if you wish to reconsider… Just call my name…” the voice finishes, growing silent as pain continues to radiate through his skull.
“Fuerza! Talk to me!” Amber shouts, his breathing heavy as he is met with silence. ”You spoke to me before! When I was being attacked by that damn robot, why can’t you do it again?” he grasps the crown, squeezing his eyes shut. Amber slams against the front door of his house at full speed, cracking the wood as he is thrown back, opening his eyes as the wind is knocked from his lungs. He hits the ground, small gold particles in the air dissipating as his eyes remain open in shock. His gaze shifts to the door, his shaky hands grasping the concrete as he turns, glancing at the road behind, a trail of golden plasma lingering in the air, stretching between where he was when he closed his eyes and where he is now. He stares at it for a moment before the trail collapses into itself, vanishing completely. His gaze shifts back to the door as it opens, with Maxwell standing on the other side, staring down at him.
“Amber? Is everything okay?” Maxwell asks, looking at the splintering in the wood, furrowing his brows. Amber’s breath remains heavy, forcing him to take a breath between each word as he speaks.
“He’s… coming… Gorlac is… coming… right now,” Amber gasps, his shaky hands still clamped onto the corner of the concrete step beneath him. He slowly sits up, his breathing quick and shallow as a faint laugh echoes from the darkness, Gorlac’s voice slow and deep.
“You could have made this easy for yourself… You could have made me agree… to any of your terms… You could have given your world… divine protection… and you still can… but until you do that… You being alive… stands between me and my purpose,” Gorlac mutters, his rectangular teeth becoming visible through the dark, long concrete slates forming a smile stained with blood. Maxwell takes a shaky breath, turning to the interrier of the house.
“Lana! Shari! We need you, now!” Maxwell shouts as Amber struggles to pull himself to his paws.
“Why… do you want… the crown so bad?” Amber mutters, still out of breath, as a pair of red, vertical, oval-shaped eyes appear above the grin.
“My goals… are far beyond your understanding,” Gorlac adds, slowly slithering forward, his frame a towering two and a half meters tall. Gorlac’s form, a heap of dark, pulating energy, shakes with raw power as a trail of black is left in his path, a small, slug-like tail dragging behind. Lana catches herself against the door, turning to look at Gorlac as Shari steps out onto the porch.
“What’s going on? What is that?” Lana asks, watching as Gorlac’s grin grows. Maxwell’s ears twitch as Lux chimes. Lux’s pupil pulses purple, beginning to speak.
“Log seven should be uncorrupted within the next few minutes.” Gorlac blinks slowly, four identical claws emerging from the side of his body, floating beside him as he snarls.
Amber takes a step back, turning to Lana.
“What… do we do?” She turns to him, her guitar forming in her grasp as she looks back at Gorlac.
“I don't know.” Gorlac slowly places one of his claws against the brick wall beside him, moving closer as energy circles inside his eyes.
“What does he want? Why is he so slow?” Shari remarks, turning to Amber as he answers.
“The crown, he wants the crown… and I don't know why he’s moving so slow.” A low laugh emanates from Gorlac as his claws close, the one against the barrier effortlessly tearing through the brick, leaving behind an afterimage of dark energy before they open once again. Gorlac blinks, his left eye slightly delayed.
“I fail to see… how you… would make a suitable vessel… for Fuerza,” Gorlac mutters, his teeth quivering as he speaks. “Much less… its master… I barely sense anything inside you, nothing stronger than Keven… and you saw how he was handling it.” Dark electricity strikes the ground around him before he suddenly lunges forward, sliding across the dirt and killing the grass before swinging one of the floating claws. Amber jumps back as Lana’s guitar appears in her grip. She swings it at the claw, her instrument bursting against it, sending it hurtling into the ground as the concrete breaks apart. The hard shell breaks away, revealing a stream of blue electricity that pulls chunks of stone from the steps, quickly rebuilding the claw as Amber grasps onto the appendage.
Maxwell watches as a small sliver of pink energy intertwines with it, seeping below the surface before another claw smashes against Amber’s face, throwing him back as a third clamps around Lana’s shoulder. Maxwell’s blade hits the hard limb, clanging against it as Shari rushes towards Amber. The hand around Lana’s shoulder rips towards Gorlac, throwing her onto the grass as the claw releases her shoulder and stabs into the ground around her neck, pinning her down as Shari smashes her blade against the hand floating before Amber. Lana reaches up, placing her hand against the claw before her guitar appears, overlapping with it for a moment before bursting, sending it flying back, crashing against the bricks, the electricity becoming slightly pinker as it pulls some of the energy from the blast into itself before ripping chunks from the wall to rebuild the shell. Maxwell leaps over the railing as Gorlac clenches the claw above Lana. he swings it towards her, Maxwell’s blade crashing against it and shoving it aside before it stabs into the ground right beside her. Maxwell grabs Lana’s hand and pulls her to her paws, causing her to stumble back. Amber raises his arms, a claw crashing against him, causing him to close his eyes as it pushes him back slightly. It then freezes, prompting him to open his eyes as Gorlac emits a low chuckle.
“This… is not going at all… how you made me think it would…” Gorlac mutters, the hand beside Lana ripping from the dirt. Her guitar appears in her hand before she swings at the claw. It suddenly snatches the instrument, tearing it from her grip as she stumbles forward. Shari attempts to stab one of the hands, only for a black rope to shoot from the concrete porch, wrapping around her arm and pulling her to the ground. The hand squeezes the guitar, causing it to burst, the blue electricity absorbing some of the pink as the shell is swiftly rebuilt. Gorlac watches as Shari pulls against the rope, another wrapping around her neck as more start emerging from the ground, wrapping around the four of them and pinning them to the ground. Amber is forced to his knees as Gorlac’s grin grows. He slowly starts to approach, looking down at him.
“You made a fool out of me… You made me think you might be a band of demons… of the mimic variety perhaps… Which would limit what I could use against you… as most demonic attacks… do not work… against other demons… since they can absorb the energy. I do not know how you broke Fuerza away from me,” Gorlac begins, his hands slowly starting to drift back to him. “But you are not a demon… nor are you a god. There is nothing you can do now… because you… no longer have anything left to bargain.” One of Gorlac’s hands moves towards the crown, a rope spreading over Amber’s mouth as the other three claws slowly begin merging with Gorlac’s body, a small flicker of pink falling from them. Amber pulls away from Gorlac, the ropes, holding him in place as the crown shakes. Gorlac exhales as his claws are submerged into his body, the remaining one clamping around the crown. He rips it away, tearing through the leather as his grin widens, pulling it towards himself and beginning to raise it over his head. Before he can make another move, his claw tenses, shaking as the crown falls, missing his head and hitting the dirt with a thud, his grin faltering.
A burst of pink energy shoots from where the claws had entered his body, ropes of the color flailing before another blast shoots from the entry site of the other claws, creating three large gashes in the dark energy on his sides, the red in his eyes retracting slightly as the energy spreads throughout his body. Lux’s pupil flashes purple, enlarging slightly as it watches. Pink electricity rips around Gorlac’s body, shocking the ground with enough force to generate wind around him. Gorlac shouts in anguish, the midsection of his body being torn apart, waves of pink shooting through the thin gaps in his teeth. He looks down at himself, then to Lana as the concrete around his hand crumbles, the electricity being forced back into him. Pink electricity starts to shock his teeth, tearing apart chunks as the ropes begin to dissipate.
“Perza,” Gorlac exclaims, his eyes quivering with fear, his grin shattering with a loud crack, falling to the floor as he turns back to the crown, trying to move, pink chains shooting into the ground around him, pinning him in place. Lana stares at him as the ropes fall to the floor, turning to dust.
“What’s happening?” she mutters, watching as Gorlac turns to Amber, beginning to speak, his voice coming straight from the vibrations on his body. “I will come back… Once I’m back to full strength, I’ll return. If you try to run… if you try to hide… I will not play the patient game any longer… I will tear apart your world until I find you. And if I don’t find you here, I’ll tear apart your neighbors… and then their neighbors… and then theirs. Trillions will die, so in the time it takes me to recover…” Gorlac looks down at the pink energy eating the darkness on his body and chaining him to the ground before looking back up at Amber.
“You'd better make the right choice… and hand over the crown… otherwise… I do not care how weak you might be… I will use everything I have to rip you apart.” Gorlac’s eyes slowly merge with his body before it collapses, splashing to the ground in liquid form as the mixture of pink and black slowly eats at the dirt. Maxwell pulls himself to his paws, staring at the liquid as he takes a shuddering breath.
“What… Lux, how long do we have?” he mutters, his ears twitching as Lux speaks.
“I am unsure. Gorlac did not give a timeframe… though the log has been uncorrupted, would you like to hear it?”
“Give me a minute,” Maxwell remarks, watching as Lana and Shari stand. “Let’s… let’s all go sit down inside… on the couch, so we can listen to the recording.” Amber glances at the road, noticing a pair of eyes staring at them, the silhouette of a Variant peeking from behind a building as Amber stumbles to his paws, turning to Maxwell.
“Alright… Let’s do that, but I need to rest afterwards… Everything hurts.” Maxwell nods, glancing around before speaking.
“Hopefully, this log will help us… or at least give us some information to work off of.”
Once inside, Amber slumps against the couch, taking a deep breath, watching as Maxwell sits on the chair across from him. Shari and Lana take up the remaining two spots beside Amber, staring at Maxwell, who speaks.
“Lux, play the recording.”
“Log seven. Today might be my final log for a while, after making a log every day straight for a very long while,” Keven’s voice whispers, closing a door. “Echor is knocking on my door, and Athrin is ignoring my calls. Gorlac has been attacking us every month for the past ten… thousand years. Athrin moved all of us to another reality a few weeks ago, but I saw something… I saw Gorlac… show genuine fear a few years back… During the logging of a reality… the furthest one yet, we found a small artifact… a pair of small gold peramids. We had no idea what it did, or what it was, but we put it on a pedestal with the rest of the relics. The following month, when Gorlac attacked again, he passed through the hall of relics. I had gotten locked inside and was watching from inside a vent that had been blocked off, just using it to hide. I saw him turn to it… this harmless pair of golden pyramids, only about the size of my hands… and he just completely freaked out. He immediately backed away… and then started to speak. His voice was incredibly deep, like two stones being ground together. Once he started to back away, I began recording. Here is the recording I took.” Gorlac’s voice then begins playing, accompanied by the sound of Keven’s breathing.
“The… Golden… Star? This… makes no sense; it’s been lost… for eons,” Gorlac’s voice shouts, filled with terror as the sound of Keven’s breathing halts for a moment. “I… don't understand! How did… how is this possible?” Keven’s voice then cuts in again, a faint knock being heard in the distance, as if someone was knocking on his front door. “After this, I started experimenting with it, feeding it energy. Over the next ten years, I watched as it slowly became more unstable… and eventually appeared to stop taking in any more energy. I pulled the pair of pyramids apart and saw an orb of silver energy inside, energy I cannot describe beyond that. As I stared at this… beautiful mass… I heard a voice… and I know it wasn't in my head, because I could hear it on the recordings as well. This voice called the Golden Star the eternal prisons of the god, a one-way entry to a place called the void, made to contain any entity, living or not, able to overpower even a being of celestial blood. It was an opportunity, so I immediately went to ask Athrin to allow me to summon Gorlac… to permit me to use this on him so that I may begin experimenting with the crown once again. The fucking bastards didn’t even allow me to contact Athrin directly and immediately shut me down. They demanded that I show them how it works, so I played the recording of the message for them and then demonstrated it. The energy inside made the instructions very clear… Twist the pyramids in opposite directions, then pull them open, keeping one edge from each together to direct the beam of energy in a specific direction, or to keep it closed to use it like a grenade. I did what they asked, and used a powerful enhanced as a test subject. The beam not only completely erased them, but also erased everything less than four meters behind them, just completely deleting them. There was no heat, no cutting, no noise, just a perfect, entirely smooth hole in the ten-times-reinforced, bomb-proof, fucking… nuke-proof glass behind them, as well as the metal behind that. It turned out that doing this would reset the charge, reducing it back to zero. That alone would have been devastating, but after seeing it, this power scared the higher-ups; they locked the Golden Star behind a series of seemingly random realities, storing the coordinates to each of them inside a small, outdated disk that they built guardians to protect, to keep away from any not deemed a god, or a higher-up. I was furious and decided to start researching the crown again… in secret… but they haven’t caught me yet, so I have no idea why Echor is trying to arrest me.” A loud blast can be heard in the distance, causing Keven’s breathing to halt for a moment. “Lux… send this to Athrin’s database… keep it encrypted, and only decode it when I personally give the order… make sure nobody is alerted to the file being added… and attach the coordinates to the old base to the file, as I believe that’s where they are keeping the coordinates to the first trial.” Lux dings as the recording finishes, beginning to speak. “There is a set of coordinates attached to the file, which can be inserted into the map for directions to a specific reality… would you like me to take you?”
“No, not yet,” Maxwell mutters before looking up. “We… all need to discuss this… in the morning.” he looks around, watching as Amber, Lana, and Shari stare at him. Lana takes a deep breath.
“So, in the morning… we discuss a plan?”
“Yeah, that seems to be what we have to do; we’re all exhausted,” Maxwell answers, pulling himself to his paws. “Amber, Lana, this is your house, right?” Lana glances at Amber, watching as he takes a slow breath.
“It’s more Amber’s house,” She adds, watching as he looks up.
“It was my parents’ house, but I don't know where they are, so we’ve been staying here… you can stay as long as you need, there’s enough guest rooms for both you and Shari. But before we go to bed, I want to let you know something.” Amber hesitates for a moment, glancing at the boarded-up windows. “Now that Maroon is gone, people will be moving back into the houses, and a few might come here, to the town, since the buildings in the city are all torn apart.” Amber takes another slow breath, turning to Maxwell. “I don't want to bother you, but next time you get a chance… I would like to ask if you could get power back on for the town.” Maxwell glances up at the lights, clicking his tongue.
“Speaking of power… how does this place have any?” Maxwell questions. He looks back down at Amber as he exhales.
“I have a generator out back, with batteries that should last us another few months… but it’s pretty small,” Amber answers.
“Yeah, I can get the power back on, but it might take a while, depending on how much free time we have between searching for this… Golden Star.”
“Thank you,” Amber adds, watching as Maxwell turns to a door across from the kitchen.
“Is that room free? I’ll need easy access to the running water for my work.”
“Yeah, it’s… It’s free, it’s right next to Lana’s room, though.”
“Don't worry, I can add soundproofing, so she won't hear me while I work.” Lana pulls herself upright as Maxwell finishes talking before Shari does the same.
“Well, that’s that, you’ll get the room next to mine, and Shari, you can pick whichever room you like, but Amber’s is the one at the end of the hall,” Lana adds, watching as Maxwell begins walking towards the room he picked. Lana and Shari do the same, Lana heading to hers as Shari explores the two remaining rooms.
Once everyone else is in their room, Amber takes a shaky breath, the light flickering overhead as he looks down at the glass table. He stares into the eyes of his reflection, watching as a small flicker of gold appears in his irises for just a moment.
“What’s… happening to me…” he mutters, slowly blinking as he exhales. “I don't… understand… why can't you talk to me… Fuerza?” he glances down at the crown, his claws grasping the cushions of the couch. He pulls his hands away from the fabric, staring at them as they shake. His eyes continue to flicker with golden light, slowly intensifying as his claws retract back into his fingertips. His breathing becomes heavier, and tears start to form in his eyes before he swallows, clenching his fists. He puts them over his eyes as he opens them, his breathing getting shallow. He stares at the table through the gaps between his fingers while his glare slowly shifts to the kitchen, then to the large hole in the wall. His gaze starts to become distant, no longer focusing on anything as he inhales slowly before holding his breath for a moment, his eyes remaining open and unblinking. His claws press against his skin, the golden light in his eyes becoming still, pulsing gently. For a moment, the sound of the fan in the kitchen becomes muffled, his vision blurring.
A knock echoes from the door, the sound startling him slightly, causing him to exhale sharply, his eyes blinking rapidly. The gold color vanishes as he blinks, his breathing quick and heavy as his eyes focus on the table once again. His breath remains slightly choked and stuttered before he exhales one last time, looking up at the front door and pulling his claws away from his face. His shaky hands grasp the armrest before he pushes himself upright, stumbling slightly.
Danial stands outside the door, taking a deep breath as he hears Amber grasp the knob from the other side. The door is slowly pulled open, revealing Amber behind it, his breathing still heavy and his hand clutching the doorframe as support.
“I… came over a few minutes ago… to ask you about Maroon. What… happened? What was that thing? And… are you okay?” Danial questions, watching as Amber remains still.
“Huh?” he mutters, staring at Danial for a moment before speaking. “Oh, Yeah, I’m… I’m fine, and… come in, I’ll explain everything.” Amber’s breath remains heavy, his grip on the frame causing the wood to splinter slightly.
“You… look awful,” Danial mutters, staring into Amber’s eyes. “How about you… come knock on the door across the street when you’ve gotten some sleep and have time… I’m staying there… with my… fiancé.”
“Your… what?” Amber mutters, looking at the house across from his, a faint candlelight being visible through the boarded-up window. “You're… getting married?”
“Yeah, she… That woman you rescued about a year back, she and I just… really clicked… and we both thought any chance of things going back to normal was impossible, so we went a bit… fast, knowing that any day could be our last. I wanted to tell you, but you never stuck around, and I was still so stressed. Being the doorman can get nerve-wracking, as any sound I hear could be Maroon about to bust in.”
“I… I'm happy for you, and… thank you for giving me time. I'm exhausted. Some crazy things have happened since… yesterday… or maybe two days ago.” Amber glances up at the night sky, inhaling slowly before looking back down at Danial. “How… how long ago did it happen? How long have you been engaged? I'm surprised you didn't tell me when I visited.”
“I would have, but… she proposed right as I was walking back to make the announcement, and you were already gone when I ran back out. It was… so unreal. First, you tell me we’re all free, and now I'm engaged. Today has been overwhelming, but… amazing.” Amber gives Danial a small smile, glancing at the house across the street.
“Maxwell should be getting the power back on, but it might take a while. Are you okay without lights until then? I know the bunker had a pretty beefy generator.”
“Oh, yeah, we’ll be fine, getting a high-quality bed and a bathroom is luxurious on its own after all this time. Honestly, I considered joining you here a few times, but I… couldn't risk Maroon finding us. Staying up here was… super dangerous.”
“You said I found her about a year back… Who was it again?” Amber asks, grasping his head.
“Yeah, it's fair you wouldn’t remember, you've found at least… eight hundred people. Her name’s Vivian… Vivian Crystal. She has purple and white hair, and dark brown fur… anyways, I hope you get some rest. Goodnight, Amber,” Danial remarks, watching as Amber nods.
“Congratulations, I’m happy for you, goodnight,” Amber adds, slowly starting to close the door.
“Oh, and by the way… she would love to meet you and Lana, perhaps we could all go to dinner sometime, a double date,” Danial adds, causing Amber to freeze, his face turning slightly red.
“Lana… She and I aren't dating,” he answers, looking away as Danial starts to speak again.
“Oh? That’s… surprising… just how happy you seemed when mentioning her, I assumed you would have been.”
“Just… keep your voice down when saying something like that. I need to go to sleep, goodnight,” Amber adds, slowly closing the door as Danial turns away, approaching the steps. Amber shuts the door, leaving Duncan alone as he walks down the stairs. Danial whispers to himself as he leaves, moving towards the house across the street.
“Get some good rest, Amber… It sounds like you deserve it.”
