by P. S. Power
Not that he loved the idea of going and fighting to the death, but for that part of him to suddenly stop, without warning, well, it had been the most important thing in his life for too long, hadn't it? It was why he'd stayed alive in the first place, after what had happened to him with the police. With Jeff Shaw in particular. If he would have picked doing anything else, other than what he had, back when he'd had the chance... Then the world wouldn't be trapped just then, would it?
It was pretty clear that Brie knew what he was thinking, and she was gently shaking her head over it, but no one else seemed to notice that in the slightest, did they? It was true though. If he'd made other choices, then they'd all be safe now. Not that a lot of them weren't safe anyway, but the future would have kept on going. Now, eventually, it was going to simply stop for the humans of his reality.
So he needed to die.
Maybe he could just go away though? Go to some different world, where his power wouldn't simply grab hold of things again, forcing the entire thing to his will, now that it knew that was possible? Brian hated feeling like a pawn, but also didn't want to risk going off to a different reality, just to do the same thing again. If it was a part of him that would doom any world he was in, then he had to be stopped, didn't he?
That meant he had to die, didn't it? It was the only sure thing he could count on working. Well, Braid would need to go first, but if that didn't work, then he'd have to die as well. Not that Brian couldn't hang on for a bit and test things out, at that point. Really make sure he needed to die first, before doing something that final. It wasn't a thought that made him happy, but he could live with it, he decided.
That got him to smile.
"Devorah made a mistake, didn't she? To get what she wanted, she created me. But self-sacrifice is hard to beat. She did too good of a job that way. I can't help but fight against the death of the world, no matter what it might cost me. I can't even see how anyone would ever do anything different than that. So, in that way, I guess she created her own foil. I may have been, or might still be, her tool, but I won't let that stand."
It was tempting to just pull his nine and put the business end in his mouth, but he was out of bullets, and hadn't rearmed yet. That would be helpful to do soon, wouldn't it? Not that he was going to go and fight, or manage to kill himself. No, he was going to need help doing that.
"Let's get with the people from Hobb's world. They might be able to help us organize things. I think they're all over at Mary's, except for Hobbs." He'd be there, with the others from the IPB, since Brian had brought him back in the group that had Bridget and Tobin in it. Denis too, come to think of it. That was an unlikely group, but they all seemed to be friends.
Without waiting for anyone to ask him what he wanted to do, Brian got up and left. No one tried to follow him, even though he'd meant to invite them all to the meeting. They would need to be in on the whole thing.
Wren and Coordinator were manning the phones at the front desk. Her beaked face and blue feather and hair mix was really working for her that day, so Brian waved to her as he moved past. She was busily talking to someone, who sounded more than a little agitated.
Still she didn't try to stop him, so he kept going. If she needed him to help her out, there would be a sign of that. He hoped.
Hobbs was with most of the others, in the dinning tent. The place was packed, so the selfless man sat on the ground, listening to the others with a smile on his lips. His red beard and hair had grown back from the last time he'd cut them, but now he was dressed in clean and new looking clothing. Not the old things that had been his habit before.
Seeing him, the man stood.
"Advocate Yi."
"Advocate Hobbs"
The other man shook his head, his smile fading. "Nay. I've been removed from such posting, and calling. I am but Hobbs now. A man with no purpose."
Brian smiled then and shook his head. Then he snorted, making it slightly mocking.
"Not exactly true. The world you saved may have kicked you out, and your old order may have been forced to let you go, but that doesn't remove you from being important here. You saved lives today, and are needed now to go and help me work out how we're going to defeat Devorah Timberland. We seem to have some people from your world in on this. Including her niece. I'll explain when we get to Mary's, if you're willing to go?" It wasn't like he'd force the man. Still, he was freaking Hobbs. The man would no sooner back down from an uncomfortable task than Brian would have.
"Aye then. I will do what I may to protect this world. My new home. Even if these others seek to shun my aid." There was no doubt about that, from the sound of his voice.
It was probably correct, too. The people from that world were as close to hidebound as any he'd ever met. They all had a single idea about what they should be doing and any variation from the norm was frowned upon. Harshly.
Brian collected some others first, since there were people that should be there, even if no one else knew it yet. Bridget and Mark, along with all the people in the office. Marcia, Kevin, Rachel and Brie.
That Brie wasn't her real name seemed likely, but he didn't push her on it. The woman had lied to him the entire time they'd known each other, after all. Not on purpose, perhaps, but it had still happened. They'd known each other for years, but that didn't mean he really knew her in the slightest, did it?
When they got to the coffee and donut place, Mary's, it was closed, and all the people from the other reality were in the living room of the house out back, sitting in near silence. They were all dressed up like they were ready to go to a sci-fi ren fair, except for Mary and Liz, who were in jeans and t-shirts.
The rest of the room looked away from Hobbs however, as if required to shun him. For the crime of saving the two children that had eventually led to them helping return full power to their dying land.
Which made some sense, after all. It had been the political choice of the ruling families and no one from there wanted to challenge them on the idea. Not directly. In that place when someone said you had to do something, you either went along with them, or beat them in a fight over it. They weren't beyond bringing in armies for that purpose either, so just being a powerful individual didn't mean you could ignore what you were told to do. With Hobbs it had been the entire ruling body of their world making the decision. So being seen to back Hobbs was probably a bit like spitting into the face of every powerful being from their entire reality.
That was sad, for his friend, but a thing that Brian could understand, in abstract.
Brian quickly went over what he knew, hitting the fact that it was him, his power that was locking things in place. Managing and maintaining the flow of the world, even down to the smallest of things that could be changed.
"Which means a few things. First, I need to make sure that Braid is taken out, somehow. I can do it, I think, but I don't know if that's really possible. Most of the times she's fought any of us, we've played right into her hands. Bridget here broke her legs, but even that seems like it was all about influencing the future to her own ends. The only other thing that makes sense, is killing me. That will stop my power from being used to influence things, and allow the rest of you to stop her."
It was funny, but half the people in the room nodded, agreeing that it was sensible, and the other half looked... amused by the idea. The ones that thought it was the right plan then glared at the others. Bridget was part of that group, and the ones that thought it funny were all on the other side of things.
Miranda Timberland chuckled though.
"I think not! Mary Wyrdcraft, will you take this man away for a time? A week or two will be enough. Seek a world that is not our own, but where you may both thrive. First though, I fear you must suffer great pain for a time, Advocate Yi. I cannot see why, but that is the only way for a true split to happen. Can you explain this?"
It was mainly guess work, but he could, and did.
"When I force a change to the plan, I experience great discomfort
. I was planning on finding someone, and taking him prisoner. He's a bad guy, and would die next week if I did things on Braid's schedule, so it should mess with the plan a bit. I think the pain is my own power trying to fix things again, even as I try to change it. Is that what you mean?" He looked at the woman, who seemed almost Native American in appearance. Like her aunt, he realized.
That got a slow nod, after a few moments.
"It's hazy, since the one path is very clear here, but the closer we get to doing things differently, the more likely it will be that I can sense and guide us accurately. Or perhaps you'll be able to do such? We should start there however, since it will be important to the future of this land. Do we have a proper cell to place this evil villain in? Without such, he will need to be killed. That is clear."
Brian was slapped with pain over those words merely being spoken, but Marcia informed them she could have something built in the next day or so. That was the sort of thing she was good at, Brian knew. Getting things done, that most people would have thought of as difficult, if not impossible. Then, having a cage constructed to hold what was essentially a normal man wasn't that big of a deal, was it? It would mean that Brian was going to be in pain the whole time, but he'd live.
Or not.
It felt pretty bad already, and there were limits to what a person could functionally take and survive. Plus, he didn't know that it was just discomfort, did he? It was very possible that he was hurting because his body itself was being torn apart.
Either way, he was willing to give it a try, because he had literally nothing else.
That his entire life had been a trap, designed to control the entire world, and kill more people than he would have ever imagined being responsible for, was simply just that horrible. It was bad enough that he sort of wanted to die, just to make certain Devorah couldn't keep using him.
As it was, Brian wasn't totally certain that she wasn't still calling all the shots, managing them all from a distance, making escape from her clutches impossible. So far she had been, his entire life, it seemed. Even from the time he was a little child. Really, from before he was ever even born.
There was nothing he could do about that, either. It simply was. Every bad thing that had ever happened to him had a cause. Braid.
Worse, she hadn't even done it because she hated him, or felt he deserved to be punished like that. No, it had all just been about getting her way. Making the world smoother, cleaner, to her internal vision.
Talk about selfish things to do.
Blinking, and knowing he had a little time left before he had to do anything, since they really did need a cell to hold Shaw in, he stood up. It hurt. Everything inside of him was aching the entire time, since there was a real plan to change reality in the works. It was enough that he wasn't going to be able to do much of anything for a while, he didn't think. No, all he could do was hope that the others would follow along with what he told them to do, no matter what it did to him.
Rather than try to act brave or strong, he merely stood for a while, until Bridget came and took his hand. Her palm was smooth and warm in his. He had calluses, but she didn't. That was thanks to the rate she healed at, he knew. That, and how tough her skin was anyway.
"What now?" Her voice was tiny sounding, and not as bold as it normally was. Scared, he thought. Of all of them she understood that he might not make it out of the situation alive. Why that was, Brian didn't really understand. Maybe the rest of them actually did, but were pretending not to? Bridget was perhaps the only person he knew that wouldn't lie to herself like that. Not for long.
"Now? If I can manage it, I think I need to go and visit with my parents. That... won't be fun, since we haven't spoken in years, but if this all started when I was a kid, then they might have information I need. If not, I should still deal with things there."
To his surprise, Mary stood up, to go with him, and so did Brie.
Trivia was the only one smiling though.
It was a sad thing, but she got the idea. He had to go and make his peace now, since there might not ever be another chance. Before... Well, he'd always thought that he'd either have more time, or that the end would come suddenly for him. Now... He was watching it close in on him slowly. Like a cancer eating his flesh away, one day at a time. Stealing his dignity. His control over himself.
Worse, no one else around him was really going to be able to understand that, until it was too late, were they? Except Trivia, and maybe Christian Pours, if she ever bothered to come around. He kind of hoped she wouldn't. They might not be friends, but things were painful enough inside him now that he didn't want her to have to feel it too. Not that he was letting it show.
Brie knew what he did, but didn't have to feel it, he didn't think. She spoke, using that tone that people did when they spoke to the dying.
"I can get that idea. Let's do that. You need practice finding people at a distance, anyway."
Which was true. Because in the end, that part of his power was what just might save them all. If he could make it work correctly.
It was a part of him though, and the one bit of his power that no one else seemed to have accounted for yet.
Unless Braid had, and was just pretending not to have noticed it, of course. So far she hadn't left him anything else, had she? Just one trap after another.
Without any end in sight.
Chapter nine
There were four of them there when he got to the old house.
It was the place that he'd grown up in, so wasn't that hard for him to find. He'd located his mother directly, since she was going to be the hard one for him to face. His father had always been cold and distant, so it was easier to think about confronting him. Mom...
There had been a time when he'd thought she was wonderful.
After all, she'd spent all that time with him, making sure he learned what he needed to. Except that wasn't the truth, was it? In the end he'd been a project for them both, and nothing more. At least as far as he could tell. A trophy that did calculations, and math tricks to amuse their friends, mainly. When he'd gotten sick enough of it, and left college eventually, they'd stopped talking to him altogether. Neither of them had so much as picked up a phone in all the years since then. Six and a half now.
It felt like longer, at least to him.
The door of the house was the same.
Clean and white, being well cared for, like it always had been. That was a thing that they'd always been good about. No matter how busy they got, they worked in the garden, and kept things clean inside. It was tempting to just turn around and leave, but there was no time left for that kind of thing. The pain in his soul increased, because this was another thing he wasn't supposed to be doing, wasn't it?
Brian could feel that one. It wasn't exactly some subtle or easily missed thing. Before he could let himself suggest a phone call first instead, he went up to the door and knocked. It was dark out already, night coming early this time of year. There were sounds from inside, and he recognized the voice of his mother, if not what she was saying, exactly. When the door opened, he had to keep himself from stiffening up.
Her face came into focus first. She looked fine, really. Like his mother, except with a smile on her face. That fell off as she saw who was standing there. Sure, he'd changed, but it wasn't exactly like she wouldn't get who he was. No matter what else, she was his mother.
They locked eyes, and he didn't bother smiling. He was past being angry with them, he knew. If she was mad at him, well, she could eat that for a time, since he didn't feel like putting up with that kind of garbage any more. He needed some information, that was all.
So he nearly threw her to the side, aiming a blow for the nerve line under her jaw when she jumped in to hug him. She didn't notice it, since Bridget took his left hand as it moved in, getting what was going on before he really did. Her body moved, because she wasn't very big, but she could stabilize herself in space, using her flying ability, so Brian was just wrapped up by his mo
ther, rather than starting out the evening with an assault.
That was a better way to begin a family reunion though, so he let it go on for a moment.
"Brian! I thought you weren't talking to me? You didn't call."
Because of course his mother would start out with an accusation that made him look guilty. He, of course, had to be the one responsible for everything, didn't he?
"Nope, that was always the other way around. I believe the exact phrasing was 'you're no son of ours'? Anyway, this is a bit more official than me just coming to visit. What do you know about a woman named Devorah Timberland? She was my tutor, when I was little?"
His mother, who was an intelligent woman, looked at the quasi military uniform he had on, and realized that the tiny red headed girl had one on too, and frowned. It wasn't a good look for her. She was a young woman still, he realized. It wasn't a thing that he'd ever thought of before, being that she was his mom, but her face held only a fine trace of lines, and she was in her early forties still.
He'd been dating a woman older than her, by over a century. Compared to that, she was practically a kid. So was he, which made him wonder how Mary put up with him. Glancing at her, he noticed that her eyes were hard, and not all that happy to be meeting his mother.
The man that came into view was slightly older looking. He was dressed in a soft blue sweater, and slacks. There was a polite smile on his face, but he wasn't Brian's dad. This was some white guy. He was bald, too. Which probably made him seem older than he actually was.
His mother, Lyn, turned to look at the man and held her hand out automatically. Probably meaning that he wasn't just there to tune the piano.
"Brian... This is my husband, Ronald. I..."
The man looked baffled at least, making two of them. Still, Brian had an edge there, since Proxy was used to living with strange things taking place all the time. It wasn't that hard for him to put it all together. If this was her husband, that meant she'd divorced his father, sometime in the last six years. Or the other way around. That was enough time for lives to move on. That no one had bothered to tell him about it, well, that wasn't too shocking, was it? They'd been estranged. The big thing was that the man looked shocked to see him there.
