by Ramy Vance
Suzuki looked down at the tea leaves settling at the bottom of his cup. They looked like they formed a skull. “You’re sounding kinda grouchy. Everything okay?”
Sandy sighed and slammed her hands on the table. The table shattered into dozens of pieces, as did the room they were sitting in. Now they were floating through space, both of them sitting in their chairs, planets and stars flashing past them. “I’m just sick of being here.” She groaned. “José hasn’t been back in, fuck, I don’t know, a hundred-something years. I’m so fucking thin, I feel like you could just push your hand through me.”
Suzuki reached out over what felt like lightyears and rested his hand on Sandy’s shoulder. “Hey, Sandy, it’s going to be okay, you’re going to get through this.”
Sandy threw her arms up like an angry teenager. “I know I’m going to get through it. I already know how it ends. All of this. I just want to go home so I can try to remember.”
“Well, how do you get home?”
“I have to wait for everything to die. Every fucking star. Ugh, do you know how fucking tedious it’s been? But at least I know, you know?”
“Know what?”
“Know how it all ends. Oh, and I guess you’re gonna make it this time. See you in a little bit, dude.”
Suzuki felt the stars melt away and a strong tug on his stomach, and then he spilled out into the real world.
Suzuki woke up surrounded by Mundanes. He was in a thatch-roofed hut on a bed of straw. His back hurt, and it felt as if someone had covered him with hot coals. His throat was sore, and when he tried to talk, all that came out was a raspy cough.
Beth leaned over and clapped Suzuki on the back. It looked like it was supposed to be a sign of comfort, but Beth’s no-nonsense attitude made Suzuki feel as if she were just trying to help him keep from choking on his own spit. He knew there was something he had missed. There was a block of time he couldn’t remember, replaced by what felt like an age with Sandy that he remembered almost crystal clear this time.
Suzuki rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away the remnants of what he had experienced with Sandy and get the feeling of stardust off his eyelids. “So, who’s going to fill me in on what’s going on? I’m pretty sure I missed something important.”
Stew knelt next to Suzuki, smiling. No matter how annoyed Suzuki was with Stew, he could never stay mad at the guy when he was smiling. No one could. It was like Stew’s secret weapon—a disarming smile that also managed to make you feel stronger, make you feel like you were capable of anything. “Dude, you got to stop coming so close to dying,” Stew joked. “You’re starting to make me feel like a shitty friend for not rescuing you sooner.”
“All right, all right. I get it, I get it. Sandy was saying the same fucking thing.”
The Mundanes looked at each other. “Did you just see Sandy?” Diana asked.
Suzuki nodded as he tried to stand. Beth gave him her hand, and he pulled himself up with her help. “Yeah, just before I woke up. Why?”
“Sandy’s outside. The Smuggles said she’s been here for a while, but she won’t talk to anyone. She only smiled at us when she saw us. But if you just spoke to her… Anyway, she’s here. And we have things to talk about other than Sandy. We have a massive problem on our hands.”
“What’s new?”
“Chip has been going over—”
“Wait, could you guys please tell me what happened to me first? I know you’re all getting pretty used to saving my life, but I still want to know some of the details.”
Diana started speaking, and Beth held out her hand and cut Diana off. “You got infected with Dark One genes. Almost became an angel. Chip and Diana made some weird leech thing and shoved an SD card in you, and your body absorbed all the material instead of creating an angel. Now you have some of the Dark One’s genes fused to yours. Then you didn’t die. Got it?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? His genes fused with mine?”
“Something like that, but bonus, apparently you should be able to control anything with his genetic material. Kind of like an angel-caller or something. Sick, right?”
Suzuki pulled off his HUD and opened up the SD slot. He could see the new SD card. It wasn’t hard to notice. The card looked like it had been shoved into the slot and had exploded. Black gunk was coming off the card and smoking from the HUD’s heat. “This looks super gross,” Suzuki muttered.
Beth crossed her arms and sucked on her teeth while she waited for Suzuki’s attention. “Are you done having an existential crisis now? We need to brief you.”
Suzuki was surprised he wasn’t as disgusted as he thought he was going to be. Over the last couple of weeks, he had gotten used to the idea of his body not being quite what it used to be. The dragon Ashegoreth had blessed him with the boon of dragon’s blood back at the Battle of the Defense Rings. Suzuki still didn’t know what it meant, but that had been hard enough to wrap his head around. At least he knew the Dark One’s genetic material wasn’t going to hurt him anymore. And, oddly enough, it also made him feel somewhat connected to his enemy. He had no idea why that was anything but a disturbing idea.
Suzuki placed his HUD back on his head. “All right,” he said. “What’s the juice?”
Diana stepped forward, pushing up her glasses and giving Beth an annoyed look. “As I was saying, Chip brought along the datapad we found in the facility. While you were recuperating, she went through and discovered more information. Unfortunate information. Apparently, this is not the only facility that is experimenting with the Dark One’s genetic material. It is the only facility that went under. There is at least one more, to the east of here, on the adjacent island. It is fully operational and has nearly three times the subjects. The only recorded test subjects are humans. The Dark One must have made them his priority since he was having such issues with controlling humans before. It would be wise to assume there are members of other races there as well.”
Suzuki nodded, remembering the different races he had seen under the Dark One’s indoctrination at the defense rings. It had sickened him. The orcs weren’t even aware they were under mind control. No one did. That was when it had dawned on Suzuki that he was killing people who didn’t realize they weren’t living anymore. Either way, the Dark One was still robbing people of their lives.
Diana continued speaking. “In accordance with a request from Beth, we’ve forwarded the information to the military as well as Myrddin. We have yet to hear back from either of them.”
Stew was walking back and forth in the small hut, his head nearly touching the top of its ceiling. It was evident he was frustrated. “Honestly, we’ve been on hold for nearly three fucking hours!” he exploded. “For people trying to figure out how to defeat the Dark One, they sure as hell like to take their time making people wait around for them when we have important information.”
“It’s not much of a problem coming from Myrddin. This is the way MERC works. We don’t have to wait until an official lets us know what we’re allowed to do. We see a problem, and we go for it.”
Suzuki headed for the door of the hut before turning to face the rest of the Mundanes. “So, we’re going after the base, right? Let’s get going. First, though, I need to speak to Sandy.”
Diana raised her hand to halt Suzuki from leaving. “Just a heads up,” Diana started. “She’s…a little bit different than when she left.”
“How different can she be?”
Suzuki stepped outside the hut. He was instantly answered.
Sandy was sitting in front of a fire, directly across from him. Her skin showed the signs of intense magic use. There were cracks all over her, similar to wrinkles. It gave the look of thinness, of frailty, as if she could be knocked over by a strong wind. Her hair had gone white, and her eyes were glassy, opaque, and white. She smiled when she saw Suzuki. “Oh, Suz,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re finally awake.”
The rest of the Mundanes came out after Suzuki. Stew rushed over to Sandy and wrapped her up
in his arms. “I’m glad you’re finally talking,” he said through tears. “How come you didn’t say anything to me when you first got here?”
When Stew let Sandy go, she slowly floated back to the ground, her feet lightly touching it as if she could go flying off at any second. “A safety precaution,” Sandy explained. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, or at least it isn’t the same time. It’s difficult to explain, but I have stood here many times. This is the first time Suzuki didn’t fucking keel over on me.”
Diana motioned for the Mundanes to take a seat around the fire. “It’s storytime, Sandy,” Diana said. “You have a lot to let us know about, no doubt.”
Sandy nodded as she crouched in front of the fire. “Too much to explain.” She sighed. “I’ll start with the easiest one. I’m ninety-nine percent sure I’m your Sandy, the Sandy from this reality. I remember all of you, and it felt right when I got here. But the Dark One came for me, and he obliterated so many different versions of me. Most of the versions of me are dead. For now. Secondly, I can’t use magic anymore. I haven’t been able to since I got back. I don’t know what happened, if I burned myself out or something, but my magic is gone. My connection with my familiar is still here, but it’s like I’m running on a dried-out fuse.”
At that, Sandy looked down at the wand in her hand. She rolled it over in her palm. Her face looked crushed.
It was difficult to understand Sandy not being able to use magic. Since she had come to Middang3ard, learning magic was almost the only thing Sandy had cared about. And Suzuki had seen she had an amazing knack for it. Everyone had. Diana had even taken Sandy as her protégé. Now Sandy was saying she couldn’t even cast a spell. Suzuki was surprised she wasn’t doubled over crying.
Diana, who was sitting next to Sandy, took the woman’s hand. “I know this must be hard.”
Sandy wiped a tear away. It turned to salt in her hand, and she flicked it into the fire. “There is still magic in me. At least, that’s what Fred said.” At the imp’s name, she looked at Suzuki and shook her head.
Suzuki knew what she meant, and nodding solemnly, asked, “Did he die well?”
Sandy nodded. “Heroically, but that’s a story for another time. Right now, I need to think. To try to figure this out. I don’t understand what’s going on at the moment, but I will. More importantly, I found information about the Dark One. A lot of it is difficult to put into words. Everything I saw is still a little confusing, but I know where he came from. You guys remember your Norse mythology, right?”
There was silence amongst the Mundanes. The answer seemed pretty obvious.
“Are you guys fucking kidding me? We’re in a realm called Middang3ard, and you didn’t even think to give yourselves a refresher course? Some fucking nerds you are. Well, tell me if the name Odin jogs your memory.”
The Mundanes collectively mumbled to cover their ignorance. Sandy sighed in irritation. “All right, I’m not going to give you all a fucking lesson in Norse mythology, but I’ll explain what I can. Odin is the big god of Norse mythology. But there are like a thousand different versions. And that’s just in our reality. Try to imagine how many different versions there are throughout the different realities. One of those Odins came from a reality with three others. The main one, Bolverkr, went insane and consumed the other two, which only fucked his mind up more. He hung himself on the World Tree to gain more knowledge. You know, typical Odin shit. But this time, the World Tree broke reality, and he ended up in the place between realms. That was when he got an idea. He started traveling through the other realms and kidnapping the different Odins. For the last who fucking knows how long, Odin has been crucifying different versions of himself on the World Tree and devouring them. Who knows how many he’s eaten, but it’s making him stronger, and, obviously, bat-shit crazy. Anyway, now we know his name.”
Stew spoke up before anyone else. “What are we supposed to do with his name?” he asked.
Sandy laughed almost maniacally, the laughter of someone who is very aware they are closing in on their edge. “No fucking clue. That was all José told me. Find his name, and that was it. Now that I know his name, I can’t use magic, and I’m intimately aware of what it feels like to see yourself die. Remember how into necromancy I used to be? Fuck that shit. I’m never fucking with the dead ever again. Shit is just too confusing.”
Suzuki looked at the rest of the Mundanes. He knew he should say something. Everyone already looked beat. It wasn’t that they had gone through so much, other than Sandy. It was that they didn’t know where they were going. There was usually more structure to their quests, an end goal. Right now, it just felt like they were caught in the wind, following the lead of a dead man who only spoke in riddles.
Truth be told, Suzuki didn’t think there was anything to say.
He trusted José.
Even if he didn’t understand him.
And he assumed the rest of the Mundanes did as well. “All right, well, let’s figure out how we’re going to get to this facility. You got the coordinates, Chip?”
Chip nodded that she did.
“Cool. So, what are our options?”
Diana stood and stretched before pointing to the dense jungle. “We should speak to the Smuggles,” she suggested. “They tend to be helpful in a pinch. Come on.”
Diana led the Mundanes into the jungle. It did not take long to find the Smuggle village, despite its size. It was something akin to their lunchtime, and they had gathered around a small fire and were talking excitedly. When they saw the Mundanes, they grew even more excited. The elder Smuggle ran forward, nearly skipping with joy, exclaiming, “Mundanes, Mundanes! It is good to see you return!”
Suzuki knelt in front of the Smuggle leader and bowed slightly. “We’ve come to ask a favor of you. We know your magic runs deep through these jungles. We need to get somewhere fast, and we don’t know how. Do you have any way to?”
The elder nodded gravely as he scratched his long white beard. Then he snapped his fingers, turned to the blonde female Smuggle, and whispered into her ear. When he returned, he pointed at Sandy. “This one has been outside the village for some time. We could feel her very strongly. She can work with us for your purpose,” the elder said. “Bring the skull!”
The other Smuggles ran deeper into the jungle and returned in a couple of minutes. They carried the polished skull of Azrael on their shoulders. “Fearsome creatures,” the elder said. “Fast and fearsome.”
Sandy stepped forward and picked up the skull. “Yeah, and pretty dead. So what?”
“Not dead for long.”
“Ugh, I literally just said I was done with necromancy. Besides, I can’t even use magic. What am I supposed to do?”
The elder shook his head as he motioned for Sandy to return the skull to the ground. “The dead do not know magic. The dead know only the dead. You know the dead. Now I will speak the dead tongue to you. Then you will speak the dead. You will speak all the dead. Come. Come.”
The elder stood on his tiptoes until Sandy got on her knees and bent over so he could speak into her ear. Her eyes grew wide as the elder spoke. As the elder whispered to Sandy, the cracks in her skin began to fade. Her hair darkened, even darker than it had been before, as did her eyes. Then the elder stepped away and said, “You now have the tongue of the dead. Speak now the dead tongue. Speak now the dead tongue.”
Sandy stood straight.
She cleared her throat as if she were going to give a speech.
What came from her mouth was a song.
It was soft and gentle like a breeze, full of warmth and life. And as she sang, muscle and nerve wrapped around the battle cat’s skull as bones pulled themselves from the ground all around in the clearing. Bones and skulls rose from the ground, tendon and sinew attached, and skin sprouted as if it were grass, then the fur grew in.
Before the Mundanes stood Azrael and five more battle cats. They were all about the same size as Azrael and just as fierce-looking.
Beth approached one of the cats cautiously. As she stepped forward, the cat lowered its head and pounced. Before Beth could attack, the cat had knocked her over. The rest of the Mundanes drew their weapons, ready to attack.
Then they heard Beth laughing.
The battle cat was licking her face with its tongue and purring loudly.
Suzuki couldn’t help but laugh as he put away his axe and approached the cat. “Thank fucking God.” He petted one of the battle cats. “Such a relief that something doesn’t want to kill me.”
Stew was already wrestling with one of the cats on the ground. “These are so much better than axe-beaks. So much better!”
Suzuki turned to Diana and Chip. “So, what happened to the facility?” he asked.
Chip laughed as she pointed toward the volcano they had come from. Bright hot red magma was pouring from the tip of the volcano. “We accidentally popped the lid off the fucker.” Chip cackled. “Don’t worry, we checked with the Smuggles, and they’re going to be okay. Apparently, most of the life on the island is immune to lava, even the daft plants. All right, guys, I’m loading all your HUDs with the coordinates. Let’s see just how fast these things can go!”
Suzuki grabbed the fur of the battle cat. He wished it had reins or something to make riding easier, but the cat didn’t seem to mind the scruff of its neck being pulled. In fact, it was the exact opposite. The cat turned around and slurped Suzuki across the face. “Well, let’s fucking hit it!” Suzuki shouted as he pulled the cat in the direction they wanted to go.
The battle cat bounded forward much faster than Suzuki had expected. He had to grip the cat’s fur tightly to keep from flying off the damn thing. The cat was sprinting at a breakneck speed into the jungle, leaping between trees before flinging into the branches for a few minutes, then leaping back to the ground, hardly losing any speed, purring loudly as it ran. Suzuki cast a glance over his shoulder to see how the rest of the Mundanes were doing.
