by SK Benton
After calling out to Liliana via their comms (and waiting the customary fifteen minutes for her to show up - muddy, with twigs and moss sticking out of her glossy black hair), the Gunnarssons shook hands, waved goodbye to their new friends and allies and then disappeared.
Jennie and Liliana both believed they were going directly to the castle, but instead found themselves in Max's new apartment in the Hub. It was more modern than anything in the castle, and had furnishings similar to something one would have on 29th century Azul.
"Papi, why are we in the Hub? Can you not easily bypass it?"
"Yeah sweetie, why here? What's up?" asked Max's beautiful dega wife.
Max sighed and sat down on a plush, orange-colored couch. Then, putting his head in his hands he told them his plan.
"Jennie, remember how I promised you we would do whatever we could for that Josh Mannheim fellow?"
"Um, yeah, I do. Why? What's up, Max?"
"He's dying. His heart's about done, and he only has days to live. Gabriel did some recon, and he's in the military hospital in New Sydney."
"Oh no. Oh my god, and I haven't even let Becky know I'm alive and I… sharga."
Jennie felt guilty for not having contacted her former roommate and best friend ever since she left on the Old Earth mission over a year before. She had done so for Becky's safety, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
"I spoke to Pops and we need to bring them in. Now, if they refuse I'm good enough with temporary mind wipes to --"
"No, love," interrupted Jennie, as she picked little pieces of forest out of Liliana's hair, "they won't refuse. I know them. They're smart and they know what's happened. They'll come along. But can Draagh cure Josh? Is it a for-sure thing?"
"I don't know, but I trust him with this sort of thing more than anyone else in the galaxy."
Jennie plopped down onto the couch next to Max and rested her head on his chest. Closing her eyes, she dreaded the thought of Becky's response to her roommate who had basically abandoned her months before.
"Mami, I believe in Grandfather. Do you not?" asked Liliana.
"Yes, yes I do, honey. You know, you are such an amazing little girl. Come over here and snuggle with us," said Jennie, as she opened her arms out wide. Liliana sauntered over and gently climbed onto the couch in between her adoptive parents, and the three took a timeless little nap before heading on to Azul.
###
The Gunnarssons slipped into Josh Mannheim's room in the New Sydney military hospital. Initially, they were hidden from view by an invisibility cantus, keeping them from tripping any alarms or startling the occupants of the room, but to their dismay no one was there.
"Oh crap, the bed's gone. That means he's been taken somewhere," exclaimed Max, obviously concerned.
"Sweetie, someone's coming. It smells like….Becky. Oh wow, I never really smelled her before, but I can tell it's her. This is bizarre."
"Everyone on the comms, right now. We don't want to give the poor girl a heart attack," commanded Max. "Jennie, I'm going to make you visible once she's in the room. I'm also going to create a sound shield and run a recursive loop of some footage on the surveillance cams."
Becky Branson entered the room, wearing a tired, preoccupied face. She had apparently left a personal item in the quarters, and once she picked it up and turned around she became alarmed - the door was shut, but she hadn't shut it when she entered the room. Then, as if by magic (which it was), she was staring at an extremely healthy looking Jennie Escalante, albeit with longer hair and a bit more tan to her complexion.
"Jennie!" she gasped, not knowing what else to say while nearly falling down. Jennie ran over to her best friend and helped her to sit in a chair.
"Becky, I promise I will explain everything to you, but first I have to know - where is Josh? We came to get you guys. We may be able to cure him."
"Jennie - the feds came and questioned us. They actually hurt Josh. They were looking for you, and now you show up out of nowhere and --"
"Becky, stop. Where is Josh? Tell me now!"
"You said we - who are you talking about?"
Max figured that the woman wouldn't answer any questions until she got her own answered, so he made himself and Liliana visible, startling the woman even more.
"Who are you? And… where did you come from?" she hesitated.
"My name is… unimportant. Do you want your boyfriend to live?" demanded Max, behaving more like his uncle Gabriel, as he needed this information immediately.
"My husband. We… were… married a while back."
"Congratulations… now, where is he?"
Jennie felt a rush of electricity course through her body, caused by Max's monotone, down-to-business mannerism.
"Papi, perhaps the nice lady needs someone to be kind to her," said the newly visible Liliana, as she approached Becky and began to gently stroke the woman's forearm. While Max and Jennie watched, they could barely detect a beautiful, blue glow around Becky's arm, as the young girl manipulated magic particles into a soothing stream that acted as a natural sedative. The little lycan/mage was putting her nascent power of suggestion to good use, and it was an amazing sight to see.
"Hello. My name is Liliana. I know you are Becky and a very good friend of Jennie's. We want to help Mr. Josh, so please tell us where we can find him, ok? Then we will all go have a nice dinner together."
Liliana was so smooth and sweet that Becky almost seemed hypnotized. She nodded her head slowly, and taking Liliana's free hand into hers, she said, "He's in OR-3578. The doctors are going to attempt some radical surgery, but I think it is more of an experi… hey, where did the man go to?"
Max had slipped out as soon as he heard the room number. It was in the same hospital wing, and he was immediately by Josh's side. Luckily, he arrived before any of the barbaric procedure had been performed. Looking over at the fire alarm, Max blinked and caused it to activate, which in turn forced the doctors to evacuate the operating room.
"Fire alarm? Good diversion, babe."
"Got him. Stay there. I'm taking him to the Hub and then I'll be back for you. Lili, please make an invisibility cantus like I showed you, ok?"
"I already have done so, Papi. Please hurry."
Transporting the completely sedated Josh was easy. Max slipped to the Hub, where he had a room prepared. The Hub was an excellent place to perform the surgery, being a timeless realm, and Josh would basically be in a moving state of suspended animation. Left alone, his state would not worsen nor improve while there.
"Draagh, I have him. Are you ready?" asked Max over the comm.
"We are already here, my boy," stated the old mage, who was standing in the makeshift operating room along with Michael and Gabriel - Max's father and uncle, respectively.
"Cool. Ok, I'm going back for the girls. See y'all in a sec."
Max slipped out and into the hospital room. Liliana's cantus was completely effective (and quite impressive), so it was easy to gather them all together. But first, he wanted to give Becky the chance to grab anything from her home.
"Becky, we'll explain as we go, but you can't stay here. We'll return after a while, but it's totally dangerous right now. So, before we go, is there anything you'd like to get from your home?"
"Where did you go? Who are you?" she asked, nearly delirious from confusion.
"Baby, can't you just conjure anything she needs, like supplies and stuff? She's not taking this well. I know her like a book. She won't shut up."
"Baby? Huh? Jen, are you with this guy? I mean, he's hot, but where's Ryder?"
"Dead. I'll explain later. Max, get us out of here."
"You got it, amorcita."
Becky Branson-Mannheim found herself in am exceptionally-bright, but normal-looking apartment, aside from the fact that it lacked an outside view or windows of any sort. She looked at the young man and the little girl who were with her best friend, trying to piece things from her last few moments together. Before she could say anything,
Draagh came into the room, wearing long, flowing white robes, which in itself caused Becky to gasp slightly. Even in robes he was impressive, with his long, gray hair and thick mustache braided into his beard - not a common sight on Azul or any of the moons.
"Hello! You must be the female companion of this fine young man. I am Draagh, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance," said the old mage, as he gently put his hand forward.
Taking his hand and shaking it lightly, Becky looked around and blurted out, "Where are we? Is this the hospital? Jennie, where were you? Who's this little girl? Who's the hot guy? Who's the old guy?"
Before Becky could ask another question, Josh walked into the room, looking more fit than he had in months.
"Heya love of my life. I think this fellow cured me."
"Oh yes I did, yes I did, indeed. You are now quite cured; you are welcome," added Draagh, with a comical wiggle of his brow.
Becky ran into her husband's arms and started to sob, holding him tight. After a few moments, Jennie gently led the two over to a plush, orange couch and prompted them to sit down. Once the woman had calmed down, and Jennie had her attention, she began explaining things.
"Becks, I went on a mission to capture a missing military figure. The guy who invented the SSCC technology, Max Gunnarsson."
"He's the bastard who turned Josh down for that division. I'd love to get all up in his face…and … uh-oh," she said as she slowly turned with an awkward expression and looked at Max, "you're… Gunnarsson, aren't you?"
Max found himself in the very uncomfortable position of having to admit to being that very same bastard.
"Um yeah, that's me. Hello. And contrary to popular belief, I do not tear up plush unicorn dolls or steal candy from little children. That's just vicious."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. Where are we?"
Becks, we are someplace outside space and time, and it would take a long time to explain, but I think Josh has been cured, am I right? Like, we can leave now and go to Krynos' castle?" asked Jennie as she turned to Draagh for an answer.
"Yes my dear. This nice young man is quite cured, and we can now go eat a proper dinner," responded Draagh.
"Pops, where are Michael and Gabriel?" asked Max.
"They went directly back to Vera, my boy. They are quite busy these days, and are hell-bent on victory. I believe that this whole situation has brought our family much closer together."
"I'd like to think so, yes," said Max.
"Jennie, so you are with Max Gunnarsson? And how did Ryder die? His father runs the entire system now. You could have been rich!"
Becky was always one to ask many, many questions and this day was no different, but Jennie always had a way of putting things into perspective.
"I'm married to Max. Ryder was a tool, so I killed him, and now we're going to where Max and I live. Oh, and this is our daughter, Liliana."
"Huh?" they both squelched simultaneously.
Liliana curtseyed, as she usually always did when making a proper introduction of herself.
"Greetings best friend of my mother… and her epidermically-challenged mate. I am Liliana Gunnarsson, lycan, mage and adopted daughter of Max and Jennie Gunnarsson. I do hope that we can become very good friends. And you can help me feed my pets on occasion, which is quite fun."
"Oh my god, you are so adorable! Jennie, you adopted? And you got married. Wow. To the biggest traitor Mankind has ever known, even! And what's a lyco, and a… huh?"
"Baby, Commander Gunnarsson is no traitor. You know all that Johnson stuff is a bunch of crap," added Josh while looking at Max appreciatively, and then pulling his wife up from the couch.
"Ok, I can buy into that. So, tell me, Liliana, what kind of pets do you have?" asked Becky, apparently having forgotten her question regarding Liliana's claim of subspecies and skills.
"Oh they are so wonderful. Hermes is my favorite. They are genetically-modified, ultra-intelligent, fresh water great white sharks that live in the moat and guard our castle."
"Wow, for reals? And you live in a castle?" asked Becky.
"Yes we do, Bestie, and so shall you, at least for a while. Now let's go. It's dinnertime."
"Sharks. This is gonna be fun," mused Josh, as Draagh tamped his staff onto the floor
Chapter 3 - Welcome to the Castle
"Well, here we are," said Jennie, as Becky and Josh stood outside the castle's main gate, their jaws agape in awe.
"This is like a holo-game, but real. Wow, so where are we, and how the hell did we get here?" asked Josh.
"I brought us here via what is called a four-dimensional slip, my good friends. We have travelled through space and time, and are currently on what you call Old-Earth, but in the future - the 43rd century, to be precise. This is the castle of my very good friend Krynos, the king of all you survey. Well, right around here. He is not king of Azul, and certainly not of Vera, but here… yes, he is king."
Jennie gave Draagh a sharp look, hoping he hadn't been sneaking off to get loaded, as he usually did when there wasn't much going on.
"43rd century. Like, how is that possible?" asked Becky.
"Time travel, babe. Now, everyone we ever knew is dead. Isn't that right?" Josh was willing to accept their place in space/time, but didn't quite understand the mechanics of it.
"No, no, Josh. Time is more like a bicycle wheel - a hub - that's where we were, and then there are the spokes - those are the timelines, and they all run concurrently," said Max.
"Oh, so what you mean to say is everyone back home is still alive? And dinosaurs still roam the earth, just in a different timeline?" asked Josh.
"I told you he was smart," thought Max, over the comm.
"Yes, Josh, that's basically how it is. Now let's get inside. We'll brief you on everything that's happened, what we're doing and how you can help. I hope you like elk. It's on the menu tonight."
"Oh, we're both vegans now, so we'll be fine with a simple salad," said Becky, which caused everyone else to burst out in laughter, making the newly-arrived couple look slightly hurt.
"Oh, this is gonna be great - vegan lycans. How long you think that'll last?" asked Max.
"Honey, they're normals - they don't carry the recessive lycan gene," responded Jennie.
"I know! We're gonna turn them!"
"Oh, it is my turn! I want to be the one to bestow the gift upon your friends, Mami," added Liliana, quite excited.
"Um, guys, we have some potatoes I think. Krynos isn't into the green stuff, really. Plus, there are some dietary requirements we have in this world. I'll explain it all to you as we go along," said Max, while the group headed up to the main hall.
Josh and Becky sat at the massive table that the Gunnarsson family had basically owned since they made the Rhönen their home over a year prior. No one else ever sat there, such was the respect that the castle residents had for Max, Jennie, Draagh and the rest. Josh was looking around with a great amount of interest, taking everything in, from the archaic flames that dimly lit the interior of the dining hall, to the heavy oak doors that went off to parts unknown. He had a great interest in ancient Earth history, just like Max had, but his went further, and into a particular genre of holo-vid games, in most of which he was a grandmaster champion.
"So Max, tell me, you really did see my name on the request list for the SSCC department?" asked Josh, as he nibbled away at a hastily made salad of purple potatoes and some dandelion greens.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I knew of your qualifications, but wasn't allowed to select you due to your medical condition."
Josh nodded, but gave Max a slight look of incredulity, prompting Jennie to add, "Josh, it's true. When I first met Max I asked him about you --"
"Yeah baby, right after you tried to shoot me in the face…"
"Max, don't go there, please. That was a long time ago." Jennie retorted.
"Yeah Jennie, why don't you tell us how you guys met and all. I mean, this is all pretty amazing. I want the whol
e story. You know, all the salacious details and such," said Becky, who had a nose for drama and gossip. Jennie then began with her version of how she and Max had met; starting with the moment she left the apartment she shared with Becky over a year before.
"So, now you're a werewolf and you fight with swords? And Max is all that, plus he has wings and can do magic? That sounds pretty incredible," responded Becky, after Jennie had recounted nearly their entire tale, this time without the assistance of Krynos and his exaggerated claims of wanton, sub dimensional DNA and timeline-altering violence against Ryder Johnson.
"It is, but I believe Max and I were destined to be with each other," replied Jennie, causing Liliana to burst out, "I am also a part of that destiny. Is that not correct, Grandfather?"
Draagh, immortal Primulus and grandfather to Max, merely grinned and nodded to his beloved great-granddaughter and pupil in the ways of magic.
Ruffling her hair up, Max smiled at his precious child and said, "Sweetie, it was written in the stars that we were to be a family."
"Josh and I want to have kids one day. But things are so messed up on Azul I don't know when that will happen." Becky appeared to be a bit more somber by this time, but her face carried a slightly worried sincerity to it.
