Intermission 2
January 11, 2026
1:08 P. M.
Anthony Johnson’s private office, Icy Sherries Publishing Division, Oregon
That’s it! That’s all folks! Season 1 of the Mercenary’s Salvation is done! Thank you for reading and see you all next year…
Are the words I want to say as I stood around with a plate of cake, munching away as my partner flower demonstrated that even as a plant, he too could put the sugary sweetness down. With my own feet on the table, an act I’ve done maybe three times since the closet became my own little room, this was the closest thing to a corporate party that me and my whole single employee would ever get.
It was only a matter of time before we heard a knock at the door, the blue haired head of Sherry popping in. Her morning must have sucked, because she was wearing her usual knight, warrior swordsman whatever you call it outfit; a blue tunic with a purple and crimson cape extending from her shoulders. Kind of like Lu-
“Finish that sentence and you’ll be losing more than an eye, Anthony.”
“Wow. What set you off?” Flow asked, plunging his face into vanilla and cinnamon cream after. One thing to have a cinnamon pie but cinnamon cake? That was just a bit too weird, even if it was cake. Too bad we couldn’t afford another.
“Those bloody English Hounds. They blew up a cruise liner today.”
“That’s not that bad, all things consider-”
“Three members from the board of directors were on that ship.”
Oh. Maybe me and Flow would actually get paid more now.
“Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. Please tell me the book is done. I need to put something behind me already.”
I raised a fork, took the biggest bite I could, and glanced hard at the flower to answer. Might not have been the most courageous thing to pass the puck, but at least Flow was smart enough to BS on the spot.
“It’s done… ish.”
“Doneish? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Flow laughed childishly, a bit more like an animal grunt than anything else, and stabbed the nearby journal with his fork. While I anticipated Sherry yelling at us for ruining such a priceless possession… it seemed, in the end, it was nothing more than an old dusty book to be thrown away not that its contents were extracted.
“Seth died before he had the chance to finish it.” Flow began, maneuvering the fork to open the pierced pages to the end. “That last chess match, how he died, any goodbyes he had to say… they’re not there. He didn’t have time or room to record them; unless we get something else, then his ending is ours.”
“… So… if you knew how it ended, you’d be able to finish it?”
Not sure where this was going. “Of course. I wouldn’t be editing it from the viewpoint of Seth, but I could write an ending. Not like I haven’t been doing enough of that for the last two years.”
“I thought it’s been four.” Flow croaked, an evil smile on his lips. Freaky how quick that flower can turn.
“What do you call an elephant and a rhino? I’ve been jumping between times, dimensions, realities… I’m still not sure how much we reset after that whole Ete incident. I’m just going off of how much older I am physically.
“That’s not the point though. We got a video or something we can watch?”
Sherry shook her head, closing the door as she did. Pressing her ear against it, her vampiric powers allowing her to confirm no one was near enough to be listening in, she moved away from the wooden barrier and knelt beside us dynamic duo, at a near whisper as she explained
“… My FTM power is unrestricted time travel. Victor’s ships may be able to go left, right and diagonal, but I can go backwards and forwards in as straight a line as I want. I can send you two dorks to watch the game on the condition you won’t do anything to disrupt it.”
“Wait. You can time travel? You really are Lucina’s person-”
Guess It let the birdie out, the woman back handing me out of the chair and to the carpet floor. It’s one thing to get hit by a girl; it’s another to get your face smashed in by a mutant vampire. Hitting the floor in a crumpled heap, I was dazed and dizzy to the point of being unable to say anything besides an incomprehensible sound that resembled laughter from a mad man. Then again, that might have been what Flow was doing as he danced about in his pot, nearly knocking it over from the sheer ferocity of his laugh.
I would file a complaint if I wasn’t scared her father would kill me for it. Alucard, not Seth.
“So. Anything else you want to tell the audience, idiot.”
“… No, my Führer. May your… wisdom and beauty… be known throughout… Topeka Kansas.” I replied, pulling myself up as I continued to bounce about back and forth. With a sore cheek that shone a bright red, it seemed the sight of pain was enough to abide the anger of my kind and gracious protector; no other violence would come my way.
Though, that didn’t mean Lu- Sherry was done. Raising her hand to a wall, she flicked her fingers as her Blue eyes flashed once, the Red beneath bursting through the contacts for a moment as she made use of her powers. While I don’t know if she used a word like many of her vampiric compatriots, the end result was still the same.
A portal, similar to the ones I’ve seen Richard and his fellow heavenly host use in service of our cause, appeared. On the other side was stadium seats, pertaining to that stadium I knew Seth had hosted his tournament at. A bridge to the past, made by nothing more than what seemed to be a sixteen year old girl.
“Sherry. Will you marry me?” Flow asked, impressed. The woman shook her head, replying
“No. Seems I’m promised to someone else… anyway, you’ll find Richard on the other side. When you’re done, have him send you back. I have things to do and I don’t want to follow you through.”
“What? You can’t make a portal remotely?”
“Do I look like a god?” The woman asked, quickly adding “Don’t answer that. With that settled, get going. This isn’t as easy as it looks to hold open.”
So I obeyed. Walking forward, grabbing the excited flower by the pot as we began another adventure, we leapt through the portal to the other side of time… and found ourselves able to write the true final chapter.
The last duel between Seth and-
Times of Peace: Volume 1 of the side adventures to The Mercenary's Salvation Page 66
