Mortality Chapter 14
#14 of Jason Wolfe: Mortality
Chapter 14: The End of the World
Day 23
Destiny... fate... reality...
All were cruel... and they sucked.
Here he was... Standing on the battlefield to decide the fate of his world and Jason Wolfe was facing off against his former lover... and the man he had proposed to at one point. Jason had their life together all planned out... the names of their kids... their dream house... everything...
They were going to be happy together...
Bad enough that Connor had sacrificed himself to stop his grandfather, Titanitus, during the Descent Incident but now he was also N9 the Neutral!
A No One...
... and a No One attacking Enria!
Jason's mind was reeling... More than that... it was overloading!
But unlike his other overloads, he was fully aware... fully conscious... and fully awake to hear his heart breaking into a thousand, ragged shards that dug into his body and left him bleeding from the inside. He felt his knees go slightly weak and himself getting a little shaky.
This is a dream... I was knocked out and I'm dreaming...
... it has to be!
This can't be real!
"C - C - Connor...?" he stammered.
Connor Stark, standing in N9's black armour with that ominous cloak billowing out behind him, sighed loudly and turned his gaze away. His eyes were filled with remorse... and a tinge of sadness... But Jason could also see that there was a deep-rooted determination in them.
The tiger wasn't going to back down.
"Hi there, Big Wolf..."
Jason's broken heart twitched painfully at the sound of the nickname. Memories of their first time together... every instant that Connor called him that not only in reference to his size in muscle but also in the size of his endowment. He recalled all those instances when they would be together... the fight they had... Homecoming... Their bonding with Dan... and lastly... Connor's passing.
All Jason could muster was... "Why...?"
Connor grimaced and bent down, picking him his mighty blades. "R3 brought me back... right on your wedding day. I was there."
Jason's heart jerked painfully.
He saw that...?
Why didn't he come out...?
"I saw how happy you and Brett were..." Connor continued sadly. "...And I saw that you had moved on...You were happy... and hell, you even had a son!" He chuckled softly. "There at that wedding... everything was perfect... If I came in... I'd ruin everything. I didn't want that for you."
"So you want to destroy us all instead!?"
"NO!" A surge of black winds erupted from Connor, knocking Jason back a few paces. The tiger grimaced and shook his head. "No... What I wanted was to move on as well... I obviously didn't belong on Enria anymore. R3... offered me a job."
"As a No One!?"
Oddly enough... It as fitting.
Connor Stark... a mortal who was completely obliterated from existence... only to come back, pieced together by a semi-divine being. He had died... and put back together... but when he came back, it was to a world that no longer had a place for him but in memory...
Connor...
"Yeah... as a No One..." Connor replied grimly. The tiger readied his swords again. "And as a No One, I'm going to fulfil my duty!"
What!?
Connor surged forward, blades singing through the air and leaving a trail of eerie, black feathers in their wake. Jason scrambled back, dodging the blow and barely managing to keep his head on his shoulders. The No One swung both swords upwards. Jason somersaulted backwards, landing with his back turned to Connor and shot down the street as fast as he could.
A shadow crossed over above him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Connor in the air, wings unfurled.
CRAP!
Connor pulled his wings away from his back, drawing those twin, black blades and bringing them crashing down.
Jason dove.
BOOOOM!
Jason's face gazed the rough, cracked concrete, tearing fur from his flesh and sending wave of fresh pain across his body. He pulled himself from the agony, rising to a crouch, gripping Nadir tightly.
Connor rose from the small crater he had created.
"What duty?" Jason demanded through clenched teeth. "It's your job to protect existence! How could you possibly want Enria to be destroyed!? It's your home!"
"I have no home."
Connor surged forward, his entire body erupting into a burst of black feathers. Jason brought up Nadir in defence. He expected a clang when Connor's swords struck his own but it never came. The feathers flew past him...
His senses screamed.
SWISH!
Searing pain erupted across his back and he toppled forward. Even without looking, he could feel the twin cross shaped gashes running across his back and his life slipping between the torn flesh, blood seeping into his clothes and fur. The ground came slamming up against him, the pain of impact dulled by the agony across his back.
"Fight back!" Connor demanded. "Are you seriously all that Enria can bring up!? Are you the only defence this world has against us!?"
Jason was too hurt... too heartbroken to say anything.
Connor...
I moved on... but I never forgot about you...
You always had a home...
"... my heart..."
Connor flinched. "What?"
Jason's regeneration was kicking in and the pain was slowly subsiding but it didn't cure him of the terrible weakness that was overcoming him. He tried to stand... but his limbs wouldn't respond. The temptation to fall asleep... to close his eyes and drift into endless slumber was so overwhelming.
"You always had a home..." he whispered. He wasn't even sure if Connor could hear him anymore. "... In my heart."
His eyes closed...
There was a surge of pain against his chest and his eyes flung open again.
The ground was left far behind him, he was soaring through the air, a bloody gash across his chest. Vertigo threatened to take him but fear replaced all feeling when he realised he was soaring far above the rest of the city. For an instant, he could see all of the ruined Newroads... everything that had been his home...
There was Newroads High School... he could even see his home... the park... the mall... and the beach...
He reached the zenith of his forced flight and began falling back down...
A fist caught his throat, stalling his descent. Connor rose in front of him, black wings spread ominously and his emerald eyes cast down at him with sadness... and pain. Jason didn't have the will to choke... His vision was blurring and his limbs were starting to feel numb.
"I had a home there," the tiger murmured softly, "but there just wasn't enough room."
Connor's fingers loosened around his neck... and Jason felt himself plunge to the ground...
Falling...
... Not sure where... but he was falling...
It was odd...
As he fell, the darkened sky brightened... The sun blazed high above him and its warming touch soothed his wounds. The buildings of Newroads stood tall and proud and he could see the distant mountains and the vast ocean, clear as ever and shimmering in the golden glow of the sun.
SPLASH!
The shock of cold water woke him, bringing a sense of awakening and renewed energy into him. He twisted in the salty water and broke the surface of the ocean. Gasping, he glanced around, looking for Connor... but all he found was Newroads... as he remembered it.
What...?
A sharp whistle caught his attention and he glanced towards the shore.
Sam... no, R3 stood there, waving at him. Sam's bright smile was on his face and he was waving.
"Come on!" R3 shouted excitedly. "It's finished!"
Jason's eyes travelled all over the vast city that was his home... Everything was in place... Just as he remembered it. His heart skipped to his throat and he swam towards the shore, pulling himself from the ocean's waves and staggering towards R3.
"My reality...?" he asked softly.
"Yup!" R3 answered, grinning broadly. His eyes were shining just like Sam's... In fact, they were Sam's eyes... They didn't have the eight-pointed stars for pupils R3's normally had. "What do you think?"
Jason took one more glance around... but shook his head. "It's not what I wanted..."
R3 looked surprised. "Really? Why not? Did I get the sun wrong? Too big? Wasn't the water warm enough?"
It made him chuckle that he had managed to worry the Writer of Reality. "No... It's just..." He paused. "It's just empty... There's no one here."
"Oh that," R3 chuckled, taking his hand and guiding him to the low wall where they sat down. From somewhere deep in his starry cloak, he pulled out two plastic cups filled with an assortment of ice cream with a drizzling of red topping, a cookie wafer and a plastic spoon. He handed on to Jason. "Don't worry about that. When you get it, you'll be able to fill it with people."
Jason took the ice cream. There were three flavours. One was red, another was light green with darker green flecks inside it and the fourth was an odd bluish-white colour. "I don't want to make people... I want the people I grew up with..."
He took a spoonful of the red flavour. A sharp spike of sweetness finishing with a slight tang of sour. Raspberry.
"You can always make them that way, you know," R3 replied, eating his rather rapidly. Sam's tail wagged excitedly behind him. "Build them from your memories and everything."
"It just won't be the same..."
He tried the green flavour. A refreshing burst of sourness ending with a tingling of sugar. Green apple.
"You could always invite people into your reality. Like how you got people to write their names in Legacy."
"I don't know... It doesn't seem like the people I want to be in here with me are going to be the same... Connor... He just isn't the same anymore... Dan... if he goes back to being F6, I don't know if he'll have time... And the ones I know won't change will probably have their own realities... Only Brett would be here with me..."
He tried the third flavour. It was a sparkling sweet taste like someone had managed to turn sugared carbonated water into an ice cream.
"What is this?" he asked, taking another bite. It was pretty nice.
"My favourite ice cream flavour," R3 replied with a grin. "Crystal Bloom. Back on my home reality, there's this cavern in the middle of a mountain. There's a dead tree at the centre but all around the tree, these crystal flowers grow. Their petals are transparent and when the light hits it just right, it glimmers like the most beautiful diamond. But they're as soft and velvety as any flower. Their petals also give off that flavour when used in cooking."
Jason glanced at the blue flavour and smiled. "Wow..."
"And you should know by now that you can't stop people from changing," R3 said with a smile, setting down his plastic cup. He was finished. "When you write your story, everyone writes theirs too. Connor wrote his while you weren't looking. You can't blame him. He has to move through doors just like everyone else. You can't expect him to wait for you."
"Why didn't you tell me he was back?"
R3's smile brightened. "Because he asked me to." The No One reached over and rested a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Jason, I know he keeps telling you that it's his 'duty' to do this but you know it's a load, right?"
Jason shook his head. "I don't know... He's not my Connor anymore."
"Of course he's not!" R3 laughed, patting Jason's cheek lightly. "But he is still Connor." R3 placed a hand on his chest, indicating his heart. "No matter how much the mind and body changes, the heart will always remember. Regardless of time and space, regardless of status and memory and regardless of reality, the heart will always remember.
"Do you wanna know why my throne is covered in chains?"
Shrugging, Jason said, "Sure."
"Because a person's reality is their heart," R3 explained. "When a mortal accepts their own reality, they are in essence becoming true their heart completely and utterly. Those chains don't represent a person being bound down by others but rather they represent the connections that the heart makes. Beneath those chains, there's nothing. Those connections are a person's heart."
Memories of his conversations with those he cared about flooded him...
Kevin: "...we all live in the same place, under the same stars and in the same reality."
Chris: "The heart sees what it wants to see... and it's only when we have many hearts combined as one will they see the true path."
R3: "A person's reality is not the air they breathe or the earth they walk upon. It is their perception of the world."
And... Sam: "We carve our path through the forest of doors but ultimately, it is our choice whether we want to open that door and step through, because most of the time, there's no going back....
"But we always have to remember that there's someone waiting on the other side of that door and in order to truly appreciate the change beyond, they have to open it for us. We can't force our way in."
Jason looked up, staring into the suddenly setting sun...
He... He understood.
"A reality..." he whispered. "It's your heart... and your heart is made up of all the connections you've made..." His eyes flicked to R3. "All those chains... they are your heart!"
R3 beamed. "You got it!"
A flurry of white feathers erupted from around them, spreading out and washing all over Newroads. Suddenly, countless people occupied the streets. Each of them not a clone or an image of the people in Jason's life... They were those people... Their connections he had made. All of them were beaming at him, smiling brightly and each of them slowly began to applaud... They were cheering him on. Every battle he had fought, he had always carried them with him.
He knew... that no matter what happened, his heart would keep its connections.
Even if he died... those connections would always keep him safe, holding him together...
His identity wasn't just made up of his thoughts, his feelings, his actions or the consequences of those actions. It wasn't just the doors he opened or the path he made... it was the people he walked with, those he met and bound himself to.
They held his reality together.
A smile crossed his features...
He stood up.
"Something on your mind?" R3 asked innocently.
"Yeah," Jason replied with a grin. "I know how to beat Connor."
****
Day 24
Brett lashed out with lances of darkness.
H2 easily knocked them aside and sent serpentine red-black belts straight at him. Cursing, Brett dove into the darkness and erupted right behind the No One. A belt wrapped around his limbs and throat, holding him up into the air by a whole metre.
"C - C - Crap..." he choked.
WHAM!
A huge mass of red and muscle crashed into H2, sending the No One crashing to the ground. The belts around Brett loosened and he slipped into a shadowy form to stand right next to Warren who was breathing hard.
"You look like the world just fell on you," Brett chuckled.
"The Riley building," Warren answered grimly. "Close enough."
"Where's Robin?"
The dragon didn't get to answer as H2 rose to his feet, belts lashing out and seizing two buildings, lifting them up from the ground and several metres into the air ominously.
Warren began staggered back. "Aw shit..."
Inspiration hit Brett. "You can control metal, right?"
H2 threw the buildings...
"Yeah...?"
BOOOM!
The two structures surged towards them, crashing into one another and sending glass shards the size of cars everywhere.
"Buildings have metallic frames."
A huge mound of concrete, glass and metal crushed -
That same inspiration hit Warren as those two buildings came crashing down towards them. The big dragon grunted and threw his hands forward. The two structures suddenly stalled in midair, held in space thanks to Warren's amazing powers.
Taking that as a cue, Brett ran forward, slipping into the darkness and sliding between the buildings and erupting beyond them, lunging at H2 who remained standing impassively. Both his arms transformed into dark swords and he brought them crashing down on the No One of Chaos. H2 merely lifted his claymore and -
WHAM!
... kicked him back.
Brett hit the ground gasping.
Brrrrrrrr....
The earth suddenly shook.
Without warning, the ground around Brett instantly shot into the air, suspended by H2's belts. The rock slab had to be about a hundred and fifty metres wide, perfectly flat and rising to several hundred metres into the air. H2's belts hovered around the edges, forming tall, red-black pillars with jagged edges, preventing him from escaping.
One of the belts suddenly twisted towards him and lunged forward.
Brett gave a cry of shock and rolled to the side as the belt bit into the rock beside him.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
He arched his back in agony as several of the belts bit into his body, blood flowing freely as his Hellhound form dissipated around him. The pain was unbelievable as the belts twisted in his flesh, causing him to writhe in agony.
"Perish now, creature of utter darkness," H2 uttered ominously.
Brett grit his teeth as H2 loomed over him, levelling that claymore and aiming it directly between his eyes. He tried to fight... but the belts had pinned him to the ground and the pain was practically paralysing.
In the back of his mind, he couldn't believe this was the end.
In the front, he cursed H2 for being so narrow-minded.
In his heart, he apologised to Jason for being unable to be there for him...
"Jason..." he croaked.
BAM!
H2 gave a cry of agony and staggered back, dropping his claymore and clutching his one, exposed eye. Blood was seeping between his fingers. The rock platform staggered in the air and the belts restraining Brett suddenly balked. Brett painfully prised them off him as the platform plunged to the ground.
Not exactly sure what was happening, Brett mustered the last of his strength, summoning his Hellhound form one last time and lunged at the distracted H2. An ear-splitting roar rushed out of his throat and he seized the No One and drove his fist right into the Harbinger of Havoc's chest. His fist transformed into a blade, plunging right through flesh and bone.
"I'm more than just darkness!" Brett roared. "And it's all because of my mate!"
"Brett!"
Robin was standing on the top of one of the still-standing buildings, her rifle in one hand and Warren right beside her.
Grunting, Brett threw H2 to the ground and ran off the edge of the platform, spreading his wings. He didn't have enough strength to keep himself aloft for long but he managed to land directly behind his two friends, collapsing to the ground, his shadowy form dissipating.
Warren and Robin rushed towards him, turning him on his back to inspect his wounds.
"Are you alright?"
Brett nodded grimly. "What... Where did you...?"
Robin smiled faintly. "I went to fetch an old friend," she answered. "Then I came back and found that the building H2 tossed at you was actually the Riley Building and I got my rifle back."
The pieces fell together...
Robin made one hell of a shot.
"That was certainly impressive."
That wasn't any of them.
H2 overed at the edge of the building, completely unharmed.
Brett felt his heart sink.
"I must remember to keep an eye for snipers," the No One chuckled darkly. "However, you have lost. Look."
All eyes went to where H2 pointed...
Crrrrrack!
The crumbling crystals around Devastation was hard to miss.
Chris' time was up!
Brett's eyes widened. "Oh no..."
****
Jason gasped and spluttered, cold, salty water spraying out from his muzzle and onto the sand.
It was a bit of a shock finding himself on the same beach he had just left but now in the desolate Newroads. He shook it off and grunted, rising to his feet and feeling the weariness start creeping into his being. However, despite that, his heart pounded strong in his chest, pumping strength into his every fibre of his body and filling him with determination.
"I knew you weren't dead."
Jason didn't need to turn to his right to know that Connor was right there beside him. His eyes were fixed across the beach, past the low stone wall, across the street and to the small cafe where he had first met his son.
"You were always too stubborn to just die," Connor continued, sadly. "Jason... Just... give up. Rest. This reality doesn't deserve to exist... You've earned the right to your reality already. Just leave this place so you can stop suffering."
He continued to stare at the cafe... remembering Sam...
After a few seconds, he turned to Connor with a smile on his face. Zenith and Nadir appeared in his hands with a flash of light and dark energies. Connor looked so pained and disappointed.
"I'm part of this world, Connor. I can't give it up. And so are you... and that's why you feel you have to destroy it."
He noticed the tiger flinched.
"What?"
"Our hearts bind us to the people we care and love," Jason explained, still smiling gently. "Even those we hate, our hearts bind us to them. No matter what happens, even if we die, even if we come back after dying, our hearts maintains those bonds. You can feel it too. Even if you are a No One, you're also Connor Stark. You're Enrian too and it's because of that you feel you need to destroy our home."
"You're not making sense," Connor snarled, pulling his wings from his back and summoning his swords.
Jason brought his swords up and ready for battle. "You think that now you're a No One you have sever all ties with your past! I don't know what else you've been through since we last met or the wedding but whatever happened, you tried being a No One but you've always felt Enria tugging at your heart! It's been reminding you of what you've lost, everything that we had and could never have!
"Now you think that by destroying it, you'll free yourself of that!"
WHOOSH!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Jason blocked all of Connor's attacks - the overhead blow, the horizontal swipe and then the cross-slash. He didn't move an inch and remained standing even as the sparks from their blades sizzled against his fur.
"A No One can't let his heart interfere with his judgement!" Connor shouted, surging forward in a flurry of black feathers.
As before, the feathers washed over Jason, forming a suitable distraction. Jason crossed his swords across his back -
CLANG!
He felt Connor's swords pressing against his neck... but not biting into it.
"You're wrong," he replied softly. "A No One rules by their heart. R3 does. The chains of his throne...? It's the bonds he forms with others. Every chain, every link, is a person that he has met and touched. They form his heart just like it does with everyone.
"Trying to make yourself heartless will only confuse you."
A cry of frustration heralded Connor leaping back, abandoning his attack. Jason turned around to face his former lover.
"How can you trust your heart when it hurt you so badly!?" Connor cried. His swords merged back into his pair of black wings and he dove into the ground, darkness pooling where he disappeared.
Jason felt the darkness bubbling at his feet. He took one step back.
WHOOOSH!
Connor burst from the darkness mere inches from his face and rocketed up into the air, black feathers sweeping around and darting towards him like a thousand black arrows. Jason didn't fight back. The arrows just landed around him, never once touching him.
"The reason your heart is hurting is because you're denying it," Jason answered. "Connor, just stop this. It won't be the future we imagined together but we still have a future together. Our hearts are connected."
"I don't want them to be connected!" Connor cried, tears welling in his eyes. He pulled his wings back into swords and dove, bringing them down in a crushing overhead blow.
Jason dove to his right as the blow split the earth, cutting right through the sand and creating a tremendous ravine that sliced into the ocean. Sea water poured into the ravine, the earth shaking from the aftershock.
"That's a lie," he said. "You just think that because you're a No One, we can't remain connected. That a No One is destined to have no connections at all. But R3 has tonnes of connections. Infinite."
"I'm not R3!"
Connor flung around, sending a wave of black feathers straight at Jason. The sharp, blade-like feathers sliced through the air with an eerie wail. Jason drove Nadir to the ground and the black sword transformed into a long pole that thrust him into the air, vaulting him over the wave of feathers and away from Connor. He landed securely on the low stone wall separating the beach from the road.
"You don't have to be. You're mortal. Just like he is."
Connor growled. Black flames erupted from around him in a tight circle, the eerie tongues bobbing in the air and flaring with his frustration. "I am also the No One of Death! Death can't be subjective! I can't judge! I can't favour!"
"Says who?"
For a second... Connor faltered... Then he shook his head. "Says the fact that good people die for no reason!" He surged forward, the flames encircling him in a burning black barrier.
Jason somersaulted off the wall as Connor burst through it, the flames melting the stone into molten rock. He danced back deftly, avoiding Connor's burning barrier and vicious slashes with his two swords. There was a lamppost that remained standing despite all the devastation around them and he jumped towards that, nimbly scrambling up its length as Connor slice right through it.
The world took a tilt backwards as the lamppost fell but he quickly threw both Zenith and Nadir into the air and grasped the lamppost in both hands, snatching it from the air and bringing it crashing down upon Connor.
WHAM!
Connor dodged to the right, a trail of black feathers following him. He made a beeline for Jason who swung the lamppost. N9 the Neutral's black fire barrier burned through the lamppost easily and his blade came crashing around Jason -
CLANG!
Jason caught Zenith and Nadir at the last possible second, blocking Connor's attack and sweeping past his former lover, swords lashing out to catch Connor by surprise. N9 staggered forward, his barrier of ebony fire dying as he clutched his side.
"Do you think death favoured you when he took your life and brought you back?" Jason asked, his back turned to Connor. "Even death has a heart, Connor. You have a heart."
Connor growled and glared at him. "I have a heart because Enria still exists... If I destroy it, it'll stop the pain..."
Jason shook his head. "No it won't. It'll just hurt more."
"What do you know!?"
WHOOSH!
All air was suddenly pushed out of Jason's lungs as he was hurled high into the air. A sense of a déjà vu hit him as he remembered behind hurled into the air before being knocked out again and having his talk with R3. He was sure Connor wasn't about to show him mercy this time. Lightning-fast, he released his two swords. Zenith shattered into its ten shards while Nadir turned into black liquid, wrapping around his torso and seizing the ten shards of its bright counterpart. They formed a pair of white and black wings around his body, keeping him aloft as Connor rose to meet him.
"I've lost people I cared about in my life, Connor," he said grimly. "I know the pain of losing someone... I also know the desire to destroy the source of the pain and agony."
He recalled his encounter with Alexander Devries... His rage... his lust for vengeance...
... and his eventual revelation.
"Taking out the source of the pain will only leave you empty. It's either you bear the pain or you come to terms with it."
"So you want me to go back in time so that you and I will be together!?" Connor roared, black winds encircling his body. "You think you'll be happy then!?"
N9 wrapped his wings around him, becoming a black feathered torpedo that surged forward. Jason mentally commanded his wings, dodging upwards before turning back and grabbing Connor's wings. The No One balked in the air, unravelling his wings in surprise. Jason drove his knee straight into Connor's back, driving them both crashing to the ground with a -
BOOOOM!
The shock of the impact left his ears ringing. Ignoring it, Jason jumped off Connor's body and landed in some well-trimmed grass.
They were at Newroads High School... specifically in the football stadium where he had professed his love to Connor. Where Rex Cumulus, Titanitus and Flame Runner attacked and Connor revealed he was actually Raging Tiger. It was after that event that he fully committed to Connor and they went to Homecoming together.
He smiled at the memory.
"You're thinking about moving backwards, Connor," he said softly, hearing Connor rising from the small crater. "You have to keep moving forward. You can't change the past. Regardless of what happens, your heart will always remember. If you destroy Enria, it will remember. It will remember what we had together. It will remember that you and I both moved on."
"So what the hell am I suppose to do!?" Connor shouted, summoning his two swords again. This time, he pressed the hilts of both weapons against one another. As he pulled them apart, a long, solid, black pole was revealed. His two swords suddenly became a double-bladed scythe with the edges of the weapon on opposite ends of the weapon and curving in opposite directions.
"I can't undo the past and I can't live with this pain!"
"Why is it hurting?" Jason asked genuinely.
"Because I don't have you!"
Connor lunged forward, sweeping his double-scythe around wildly in a mesmerising dance-like combo. Jason's two swords returned to their original forms as he quickly jumped and dove away from Connor's attack. N9 gave a cry of frustration and hurled his scythe forward, the blade spinning wildly and slicing right through the emerald grass.
Jason rolled away. The scythe sped past him, cutting through the already derelict Newroads High School and causing the remnants of the school to crumble. It quickly came flying back and Jason dodged the return attack.
"You still love me?" Jason asked softly.
Connor shook, the tears evident on his cheeks now. "I do... Of course I do... But... you're so happy with Brett... I can't take that away from you..."
"Then why are you trying to?"
The No One shook... "I don't know!" he cried, clutching his head. "I was just... I was just angry... I saw what was happening... I thought... the world was trying to tear you and Brett apart again... I was angry that you found happiness and everything was turning to hell again! A world that causes you to suffer doesn't deserve to exist."
Jason smiled gently. "So you did this all for me?"
Connor's emerald eyes met with his... While no words were said, the truth was there.
Connor... You're still the same person I met all those years ago...
Jason chuckled, beaming at his lover. "See? You do have a heart."
The tiger grit his teeth and readied his weapon. "But no future."
Shaking his head, Jason said, "You do have a future. You assumed that I wouldn't welcome you back? Connor, I may not be able to love you the same way I love Brett but you're in my heart. You always will be. But so is everyone here on Enria. Enria itself is in my heart. If you can't stand to destroy me, can't you see why I can't let you destroy Enria?"
...
Connor grunted. There was conflict in his eyes... Eyes that were quickly shut... The tears stopped and N9's body lost its insecurity and shaking.
"I've... I've been looking at the world without listening to me heart..." Connor murmured. "And the more I tried to ignore it, the more my heart kept shouting and it made me make some pretty dumb mistakes... Thank you, Jason... I think..." - He opened his eyes, those emerald green orbs bright, clear and just the way Jason remembered them -"I think I know what I have to -"
Connor stopped in midsentence.
What..?
Jason blinked... Connor wasn't looking at him... but somewhere behind him. Curious, he turned around... Fear seized his heart in its cold grip.
The crystal holding down Devastation had started crumbling. Huge chunks of the blue-green crystal was falling off the metallic surface of the heavily-armed castle. Cracks were appearing all over the crystal surface, falling down to ground with its groans echoing across all of Newroads.
"I see it now..."
Huh...?
Turning back to Connor, he saw his tiger had lowered his weapon and was smiling.
"R3 is such a bastard sometimes," Connor chuckled. Locking gazes with him, Connor said, "Jason..." Connor suddenly brought up his weapon again. "Defend yourself!"
His heart skipped a beat. "What!?"
Connor lunged forward -
SWISH!
Jason shuddered...
...
_Zenith_was embedded deep into Connor's chest.
It was... it was déjà vu...
No...
It was just like on Reprieve...
Connor never put up a fight... He didn't intend to fight Jason...
But then why...?"
Connor chuckled and fell against Jason, black feathers erupting from his body, his form wavering.
"No!"
"Don't worry... I'll be fine..." Connor muttered. "This is just the quickest way back to Naught..."
Jason's mind reeled. "What...?"
Connor shook his head grimly. "I need to get back to the others... Gotta stop them... Tell them I'm switching my vote."
His heart skipped a beat. "You mean...?"
"No. D8 was just like me, Big Wolf. He's not listening to his heart. He's acting on it but not listening to it. He'll fire Devastation even if the vote is against him. I can rally the other No Ones against him but with almost everyone still preoccupied, it might not be in time.
"Get to Devastation, Jason. If you can convince D8 the same way you convinced me... Then I'm sure you'll save Enria."
D8, that bastard!
Despite the grim warning and his former lover fading in his arms for the second time, Jason grinned. Tears were running down his cheek.
"Glad to have you back, Connor."
"Thanks for letting me in."
*****
Jason's legs were pumping hard but despite all his speed and remaining strength, he wasn't going to make it in time. Almost all of Devastation was freed!
Goddamnit!
I didn't get this far just to lose!
Willing himself forward, he surged through the streets, praying that he could get to towering armed castle in time. His heart was pumping at a thousand beats per second and he was rapidly expending his supplies of energy.
God... I hope I have enough to fight D8 if it comes to that...
His injuries were also reminding him he wasn't exactly in the best of shape...
A loud roar met his ears and he groaned.
God... What now...?
Suddenly, a black motorcycle came zooming out from an alleyway, a familiar figure riding the monstrous black and white machine with a wolf-motif.
Robin!
"Get on!" she cried.
The instant, she passed, Jason leapt into the seat right behind her, gripping her tightly as she gunned the engines and zoomed across the streets faster than he would have on foot. Relief washed over him, easing his heart slightly. Maybe by a beat or two but it was still pounding against his chest as he watched Chris' last defences crumble bit by bit.
"What happened to H2!?" he shouted.
"Dunno!" Robin replied over her shoulder. "He just suddenly said that something happened to N9 and he left!"
Connor's vote...
"N9 switched votes," Jason replied.
"He did!? Then D8 doesn't have to attack!"
"He doesn't have to but he will anyway!"
"That bastard!"
"Yeah, that what I thought too."
A large crystal slab suddenly dropped from Devastation and even from his distance, Jason could see the enormous castle's guns freed.
Oh dang...
"Robin..."
"I see it!"
Lasers came shooting out of the castle...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
....smashing into ground around them and creating enormous craters. Robin swerved and drove through the debris, fire and dust.
BOOM!
"Whoa!" Jason cried as a ball of pure energy destroyed a building right above them. They cleared the building easily.
_Devastation_was looming closer...
But how are we gonna get up there...?
"Robin, how...?"
"We got that covered!"
Huh?
Then he saw it.
And grinned.
"You guys are the best."
He saw Robin grin back at him. "Just don't let us get destroyed, Wolfe!"
Robin drove the motorcycle straight towards the tall metal ramp, dodging the rainstorm of lasers that bombarded them from all directions. As they zoomed towards it, Jason noticed the figure standing right beside the ramp, sticking out a single flat palm.
Jason bent to the left -
Smack!
... and gave Dan a secure high-five.
They zoomed up the ramp -
BOOM!
Just as a laser smashed into the edge.
Crap!
"Get ready to jump!" Robin shouted, gunning the accelerator.
"What!?"
"Trust us!"
Us...
He grinned.
The instant they hit the edge of the ramp, Robin hit the brakes and Jason felt himself get thrown right over her, speeding straight towards Devastation. There was no way he would make it... Not a change in hell...
"Jason!"
He glanced to his right just as Warren came speeding towards him, carried by Brett!
Brett released Warren and the big, red dragon cupped his hands together, forming a secure foothold. They crossed paths in that instant, Jason planting his foot securely on his friend's hands.
"Go for it!" Warren shouted and pushed up with all his might.
Jason felt himself zoom straight upwards - straight towards Devastation.
Brett flew right beside him, grinning broadly even through his Hellhound guise.
"Save us all, Jason."
Brett seized his arm and flung him around once before hurling him straight towards Devastation, towards the gaping hole in its side.
THUMP!
The sound of the lasers firing around him suddenly died... and Jason was plunged into eerie silence... Countless live wires flicked everywhere, debris resting in all directions from A11's sacrifice. The crystals were shattering around him.
Grimly, Jason summoned his two swords.
"Let's end this."
****
Dan stood watching his son disappear into the bowels of Devastation...
... he wasn't sure what would happen...
Chris was going to fade soon... and when that happened, D8 was sure to pounce...
Robin, Brett and Warren all stood beside him... watching anxiously upwards at the towering, metallic castle...
None of them noticed the dagger he was holding in his right hand.
****
Day 25
_Devastation_was simply enormous.
Jason wasn't sure how long he had been running through the corridors but he was sure he was running upwards, towards its core. It seemed like an eternity since he had started running his situation wasn't getting any better.
He had long left the destroyed part of Devastation so he knew he was making progress...
Every now and then, he would see a screen showing a view of somewhere outside Devastation. Almost all the crystal was gone... Chris was going to fade away completely soon!
The sound of machinery powering up and pure energy hit Jason's ears.
I don't have much time...
His shoes stomped hard through the metallic hallways of Devastation, his arms pumping. In one hand he held a white and gold blade, Zenith, and in the other was a black sword with a surface that looked like it contained ebbing black water, Nadir. Tears were flowing from his sapphire-blue eyes and his injuries were screaming.
Every step he took, every leap and bound, was for those he cared about.
His father, Dan...
His mate, Brett...
His best friends, Warren and Robin...
His son... Sam...
... and his long lost love... Connor...
Connor...
His next step was suddenly too much for his right leg and his limb gave way, sending him crashing against the metallic ground. The two swords in his hands clattered to the ground... and he suddenly felt hopelessness and sorrow take him.
I'm not strong enough...
"I can't do this..." he murmured. "I can't do this alone..."
Every time... Every time he had fought and won, there was always someone there to support him... Someone to lend their strength to his... But this time... he was alone.
Alone in a massive cannon aimed at his home threatening to destroy the entire reality... The existence of his reality rested on his shoulders... He was weak from his previous battles, emotionally heartbroken and there was nothing more he wanted to do than just to stay there, face pressed against the cold, metallic floor and accept destruction...
"Don't tell me you're giving up."
Jason started.
I know that voice...
He looked up.
Sam stood there, smiling as brilliantly as he always did.
But... That can't be...
Sam held out his hand. "Come on, dad. You gotta know that he's just like any mortal, right? Sure he has the power to destroy a reality but he's just like you and me. He can be stopped. He can be swayed. Part of being a mortal is changing and accepting change."
Jason just gawked...
But...
Sam's hand reached out and seized Jason's. The warm contact filled Jason with sudden strength and he found the strength to rise to his knees.
"We're all mortals," Sam said, grinning and bending down to pick up Zenith and Nadir. He handed the sword back to Jason. "There are no gods." He tapped the side of his head. "Remember that, okay dad?"
Jason ran the thought through his head...
Right... Only mortals...
"And you're never alone," Sam continued. "As mortals, we're all bound to each other whether it's because we share the same sky, follow the same rules or..." His son poked Jason's chest, just above his heart. "... because we're all connected by the bond we share. No one is behind you, dad." As if on cue, images of all the people he cared about appeared around Jason, each one reaching out and resting their hands on his shoulder or back.
"We're all standing right here beside you," Sam said with finality.
Nodding, Jason bolted through his son, the apparition vanishing in a burst of light. He shot through the metal hallway, hearing the noise of the monstrous machine gathering more and more power. A light came from the end of the path and he increased his speed, lengthening his strides.
As the blind caressed his black fur, he steeled himself for the battle he knew was to come and burst into the room beyond.
"D8!" he roared, erupting into the massive, white chamber.
Sitting on a massive, metallic throne hooked up to countless wires that twisted into the walls of the chamber was D8 the Derelict, No One of Energy and the one who had sought to destroy Enria for so long.
The tank-like No One was dressed from head to toe in thick, silver armour, his features concealed by a pointed helm with three horns, two jutting out from his cheeks and a third from his forehead. All three curled forwards and pointing where he was looking. Mounted on his shoulders were two massive cannons and normally, there would be eight wires sprouting from his back and tampering off into space before disappearing into nothingness. Those wires were hooked up to Devastation... D8's ultimate weapon... Being inside Devastation, those wires were merely hooked up to his throne.
"You are far too late, Jason," D8 said darkly, lifting a hand into the air. "Enria's fate is to be destroyed as was decreed by R3 the Writer of Reality. Accept your fate."
Jason readied the blades in his hands. "Fate is the path you carve out in the sand for yourself! Destiny is the path carved by others and free will is the power to choose one or the other! I choose to live, D8!"
D8 chuckled. "Regardless of what path you choose, it will all come to the same ending. Perish."
The No One lowered his hand.
The entire structure shook and Jason was knocked off his feet by the tremendous quaking. He heard more and more energy gathering, the force causing his fur to stand on end and his flesh to prickle. Gritting his teeth, he staggered to his feet and charged at the No One sitting on the throne.
"I won't let you destroy my world!" he roared, leaping into the air and bringing his two swords crashing down against -
CLANG!
... bright, crystal electrical barrier around D8.
Jason was thrown back and slammed hard into the ground, gasping as his head slammed against the metallic floor.
His eyes widened...
Above him was a massive screen showing Enria and Devastation... The essential beauty of the blue and green planet was marred by the massive, silvery tower that was the titanic space cannon that was D8's weapon...
He saw Devastation fire...
"NO!"
****
Warren held Robin...
Brett whispered Jason's name...
Dan Wolfe... pulled the dagger up in his hand and closed his eyes.
"For you, Jason..."
He plunged the weapon deep into his heart...
A titanic roar shook the entire reality in tandem with the tremendous explosion of Devastation's main cannon firing. A brilliant, snow-white wolf with six pairs of wings - one pair white feathered, a second black and webbed and the last merely just skeletal - leapt into the path of Devastation's cannon, his billowing, black cloak fluttering as he held his hands upwards and -
WHAM!
... caught the tremendous beam of energy in his hands.
"I am F6 the Patriarch! And I deem this reality worthy of existence!"
****
Jason felt tears welling up in his eyes...
"No... Dad..."
Dark chuckling filled his ears and he spun angrily towards D8.
"How idiotic," D8 said. "To waste his energy on just a single shot. Now he must return to his world to recuperate and he will not have time to block the second shot. A shot that can be fired at my whim!"
Rage built in Jason.
"I won't let you!"
He grabbed his sword -
... and a armoured hand blocked him.
Jason froze...
Even D8 stopped.
A familiar, starry cape met his gaze... white-gold armour... Sapphire-blue eyes beneath a mysterious helm...
"R3..."
R3 nodded and turned quietly towards D8. Every sound in the room had fallen silent.
"That's enough, D8. You set out to humiliate Dan but only have proven your own fragile state. You have become obsessed and obtained a god-complex that is dangerous to all No Ones. Stand down."
For a moment... D8 actually looked like he was going to retreat...
"No!" the No One of Energy cried. "Cannot you see, R3? Enria deserves to be destroyed!"
"Why exactly?"
"Because he exists!" D8 pointed accusingly at Jason.
R3 glanced at Jason... and for some reason he couldn't fathom, Jason just knew R3 was smiling at him. "I see no problem with that."
"He is an abomination! A creature that was never meant to be! He is F6's sin! He has tainted Enria with his existence! He and this world must be destroyed!"
"A feeble argument," R3 said, regarding D8 coolly. He folded his arms securely. "I have returned and the other No Ones have recast their vote. Only you seek to destroy Enria, D8. Your rash, biased decision in overruled. I allow that you have been listening to your heart but it was you who involved Enria.
"If you had not unleashed the Malefactors and left F6 to deal with the consequences of his actions, none of this would have happened. You blame Jason's existence or perhaps even Dan for the state of events? Remember that I made a deal with Dan. A deal that would have secured the future of Enria. However, when you unleashed the Malefactors and I was forced to counter, you caused a severe imbalance and started the series of events that circled Jason's life."
R3 held up his fingers. "If it were not for the Malefactors, Kevin Riley would never have caused the Descent Incident. If it were not for the Malefactors, Brett Sykes and Warren Bladebreaker would never have been infected. Similarly, if it were not for your interference, many of the No Ones would not have voted with out. Sam Wolfe would not have died because Alexander Devries would not have had sought revenge against Jason and this K12 would not have attacked. H2 would have no reason to attack. S-Zero would not have sought out the three beings in Enria because I would not have excused myself from duty thus unleashing said three individuals. The world would not have been cast into disarray and W7 would not have tried to reorder it.
"However..." R3 lowered his hand and was smiling again - Jason just knew it. "On the other hand... Things couldn't have gotten any better. After all, if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here right now."
What...?
What does all the craziness in my life have to do with R3...?
Then an old thought entered his mind...
... a thought he hadn't entertained for a while.
Oh my god... If none of that happened... then R3 wouldn't be around...
... I wouldn't be me!
I'm R3!
Is that why my reality is a mirror image of Enria!?
"I will not listen to a broken creature!" D8 shouted.
Jason faltered.
Broken...?
"That is correct!" D8 snapped, smugness in his voice. "I know you are not the true R3! You are an imposter! Whatever happened to my lord, I do not know but I will ensure that I destroy you alongside Enria!"
The fake R3 sighed. "Great... I was hoping I could do this in private but I guess there's no helping it..." He held up a finger. "Just hold up for a second, okay, D8? I've got one last thing to do..." Turning to Jason he said, "Jason, I've got a favour to ask you."
Nodding numbly... Jason said, "Yeah...?"
R3 held out his hand. "Can I have my heart back?"
Um...
Jason held up Zenith and -
He stopped...
... a new thought entered his mind...
... something that had never occurred to him...
No way...
Slowly, he lowered his two swords... and reached for Chronicle around his neck...
... it can't be...
Sam said... "And keep my heart safe, okay dad? I'm gonna need it back later."
He slipped the pen from around his neck...
It was a pen that could alter the realities of others... He had used it to alter his own reality...
There was only one person who could alter reality like that...
... He... R3 is...
R3 took the pen from him and straightened, pressing it against his chest. Blinding, golden light erupted from the contact and he heard D8 gasp in surprise. A pair of brilliant, white wings erupted from R3's back, surging out from beneath his starry cloak. As the light faded, the feathers dropped from off the wings, revealing the skeletal frame of the appendages to be made completely of chains...
Chains of the heart...
Chains that R3 used to fly and soar...
"R3..." D8 gasped.
Slowly... R3 reached for his helmet...
... and pulled it off his head.
...
Jason's heart stopped... but he still managed to utter one word... A name, actually...
"Sam..."
Sam Wolfe glanced over his shoulder, grinning as he always did - bright, cheery and seemingly tearing through all the darkness.
"Good to see you again, dad."