Companions Chapter 25: Showdown
#25 of Companions
[Companions Chapter 25]
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WARNING! The following text contains explicit adult subject matter. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, then you must stop reading now. The author has taken steps to ensure that this story does not appear in any subject-inappropriate or age-inapropriate forum. This version has been posted with the author's permission to Yiffstar.com.
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* _COMPANIONS_
* by Evoquus
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* (c) Copyright 2003, Evoquus, All rights reserved.
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* Feedback is appreciated: [email protected]
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Rating: NC-17 for explicit sex: M/M, Human-Stallion-Mare, Anal, Oral
Chapter 25: Showdown
"Slow down, Rocky. In fact, just stop altogether."
"What is the matter Shianna?"
"You're forgetting why you're here."
"I thought I was here to show you a good time."
"You're here to spend time with your son."
"Oh... Doesn't this count?", he said, nuzzling her neck while absent-mindedly grinding some more.
"Settle down, loverboy. Talk to your son."
"All right... Hi Tantau."
"Hi Daddy. What are you doing with Sugar Mommy?"
"Sugar Mommy?" chuckled Rovaun.
"It sounds more pleasant than 'Surrogate Mommy,'" she explained.
"And more sweet," he nuzzled, coaxing yet another blissful sigh from her.
Shianna's redirection of Rovaun's attention from herself to Tantau was not entirely altruistic. During the hour they had spent making love in his garden, she had climaxed often, and he had climaxed twice. Technically, Rovaun's spouse had given permission for only one more. So the longer the stallion gabbed with his son, the longer she could honorably enjoy the dick inside of her.
She harbored no ill will for Tantau, for indeed he was the son of the love of her life. Nor did she wish any evil on Danny, for she had known for centuries that he and Rovaun would be one. She was fully aware that her time allowed with Rovaun this day was a generous peace offering from his spouse, but other than feeling good for a couple of hours, nothing had really changed. There was little that anyone could do about her terribly self-destructive envy that the tiny life inside of her recharged every time he innocently said hello. Her only hope of maintaining a long-term relationship with the father was to give the son all of her love without poisoning him with her own jealousy of the other biological parent. It was a conflict she could live with, because there was simply no other way.
Rovaun listened proudly to Tantau's songs that he learned from Malaya and joined in with his son when singing the refrains. For a brief moment, he considered teaching him Josh's song, but decided against it. He'd learn it soon enough from Tattoo. His son then asked about his brother and his Mommy. Rovaun promised him that he would meet up with them in a couple of hours, but it turned out to be a promise that he would not be able to keep.
Shianna was the first to notice the black stallion approaching from the woods. "Varyl!" she gasped.
Rovaun turned in his direction, then dismounted. "I do not believe so," he said ominously.
"Your Eminence," he bowed, "this is not how it looks."
"Rovaun," said Mourne, "whether it is or not, is not my concern. I request that you accompany me."
"What is this about?"
"Destiny."
Nervously, Rovaun looked back at the mare.
"What about Shianna?"
"Hers as well, but it is only your assistance that I require for now."
Rovaun gave the mare an anxious hug. "Go back to the clique. I am sure everything will be all right."
The two stallions disappeared into the woods, leaving Shianna, once again, all alone.
Azgard and I sat impatiently awaiting Fred's decision.
"How long has it been?" I asked.
"A minute later than the last time you asked."
"So what is that, sixty-three now?"
"Affirmative."
"Dang. I really didn't think it would take this long."
"Perhaps he is waiting for me to go to him."
"Maybe you should. I know! You could take his backpacks to him in case he's hungry."
"That would provide me plausible deniability. An excellent suggestion, Wraith. Can you help me with his packs?"
I strapped Fred's gear onto his back. "What's your plan?"
"Be irresistible."
"Good plan. And good luck."
Peacefully chewing on a long stem of grass, Fred sat under a shady tree not far from where Azgard had left him. He did not look at all like someone who was conflicted with incompatible life decisions. As Azgard approached, he welcomed the stallion with a friendly smile.
"You look like a horse who lost his rider."
"Did I just find him?"
"Yeah, I think so," he said, looking away to admire the scenery some more.
Azgard found his lack of enthusiasm unsettling. It was not clear whether or not he had made a decision yet. "I thought perhaps you might be hungry."
"No," he said getting up. "But I AM thirsty. Thanks."
He pulled off his canteen and shook it, hearing its depressingly cavernous sloshing.
"Shoot," he said, finishing it off. "Got anything to drink around here?"
"I can offer you a warm beer."
Fred coughed a spit-take, spewing out the last few drops that were left, then looked long and hard at his Companion. Now having no doubt about his sense of humor, he broke into a belly laugh, flinging his canteen over his shoulder in order to give his Companion another hug.
"The only thing I love more than a Clydesdale, is a Clydesdale with comedic timing."
"Ba-domp... teeeessshhh."
"Ugh. That's the worst rimshot I've ever heard."
"Have you sorted through your feelings, Companion?"
"I have now. You are a dream come true, Azgard - a dream that I didn't even know I had. I can see myself spending my life with you."
The stallion whinnied and danced, being careful not to step on any toes.
"But I still want to be human and live in a human world," said Fred, letting go.
Azgard settled down, unsure as to what that implied.
"I don't mind going camping once a year, but I can't live out here like Jerry and Danny."
"Are you saying that we can be together only once a year?"
"No. I am saying I want you to come live with me."
The stallion stared silently at him for all of a nanosecond. "Of course I will come live with you!" he whinnied.
"Great," cheered Fred, "unfortunately, I live in a third floor apartment."
"I don't mind," said Azgard, obliviously.
"I know you don't," he chuckled, "but others might."
"What others?"
"Other tenants who aren't even allowed to have hamsters for pets."
"But I'm not a pet. I'm your mate."
"And we'll have to keep that under wraps, too, but I don't expect you to give up everything for me. I'm willing to let you visit your friends, here, anytime you want, but when you're with me and there are other humans around, you're just a good-looking, well-mannered horse. Okay?"
"I could not ask for anything more... Well, I could, but I won't."
"The first thing I have to do when I get back is look for a more affordable place in the country and horn in on some other equine vet's territory." He looked at the stallion, contemplating his financial future. "You know, that essence of yours could come in handy. If I perform a few miracles on the local livestock, my practice instantly becomes booming and profitable."
"I am uncomfortable with that idea, Companion. I do not wish to be bonded to ordinary livestock, and accidental pregnancy is both highly likely and highly disastrous."
"You're still going to make me a fortune somehow," he grinned.
Azgard was not amused. "Companion," he said sternly, "our relationship will not be opportunistic in nature. The existence of Hipponaur must remain a well-guarded secret. Otherwise, other ruthless humans WILL find an opportunistic means of exploiting us. Do I make myself clear?"
"Okay, okay," backed down Fred, "not all of my schemes are brilliant. I'll be the first to admit that."
"I am serious, Companion."
"I believe you, and agree completely. I was just thinking out loud, and I swear I will never bring it up again." Fred held him close to emphasize his own sincerity. "I'm not stupid, Companion. I recognize what you are and what I discovered today: a treasure so valuable that it makes all of the Pharaohs' haul as worthless as a penny in the gutter. There is nothing I won't do to protect it, and you just gave me all the justification I need to selfishly hog it all for myself. I've got you. I want for nothing."
"Yes, Companion," he whickered. "I am all yours."
"All of you?" he said, tenderly kissing him.
"All of me."
"Even the really big parts?" said Fred, quickly heating up.
"Even the biggest part."
The biggest part came out to prove his point. Fred looked down to admire it.
"I see that your corpora cavernosa have intumesced again," he cooed.
"Oh, yes, Companion. Talk dirty to me."
"You want dirty talk?" grinned Fred. "I'll give you the filthiest oral exam you've ever had."
Crawling underneath the stallion, Fred slowly ran his tongue along the right side of the huge shaft. Starting from behind the glans and heading toward the root, he pointed out interesting spots along the way. "All along thith thide of your penith ith your corputh cavernothum."
When he ran out of cock, he switched to the other side and headed back to the fun end the same way. "And on thith thide ith your other corputh cavernothum."
The stallion whinnied and shivered, trying to remain still while his Companion orally tortured him.
"Up next, the corona glandis..."
Again with his tongue, he drew a ring around the widest perimeter of the inflating crown, then continued the lesson.
"... which, when engorged, opens up the fossa glandis, here."
His tongue went deep inside, encircling, stimulating, and tasting the fleshy bowl that surrounded the strong thin nozzle poking out of the center. The stallion whimpered with pleasure as the human mysteriously triggered nerve endings that only fired during the final stages of mating.
"The reason that feels so good," he said, pausing to torment the stallion some more with his interminable anatomy lesson, "is because normally, the only thing that ever finds its way into the fossa glandis, apart from a naughty tongue, is a mare's cervix. Which feels like this."
Wetly licking his lips he pressed them into the quivering sexual crater. Azgard squealed and thrust a couple of times, but Fred was not flustered.
"And if the mare's cervix is here..." [licked another circle inside the bowl] "... then that means that the urethral process, which is this thing..." [wrapped his lips around the nozzle] "...is snuggly wuggly inside the entrance to her uterus, which tells the stallion it is time to ejac..."
The pupil ending the lesson a few syllables early, but judging by the way the teacher guzzled it all down, no points would be taken off. When the stallion was empty and his Companion full, he sat down on his haunches to level a discerning eye at this man who knew too much.
Fred wiped off his mouth, unantagonized. "I minored in equine reproduction. It was the only class I never had any trouble staying awake in."
"Anything else you would like to tell me?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I've had a lot of practice."
The stallion gave him a hug. "I wish to minor in human reproduction. And have a lot of practice."
The two explored each other's mouths some more, but the make out session was cut short when Fred noticed five Hipponaurs and a human heading their direction.
"For being in the middle of nowhere, it sure is hard to find some privacy."
Azgard turned toward the approaching herd and became very agitated.
"What is it, Azgard?"
"Something is not right, Companion. The Hipponaur in front should not be here."
Fred recognized the one in front until he also recognized his identical twin behind him. It was still easy to tell the two apart, because only one had a busted jaw, thanks to his big harmless Companion.
"I am Mourne," said the leader.
"I am Azgard, Your Eminence," bowed the Clydesdale. "It is an honor to meet you."
The awkward silence that followed was broken by Mourne. "And your Companion?"
"Oh,... This is Fred Crump, Your Eminence. He is my Companion," he said confidently.
"Fred McHenry," his mate corrected. "It is an honor to meet you." Fred bowed then whispered to his Companion, "I can hear him, Azgard."
"You can thank the results of your filthy oral exam," his Companion whispered back.
"All of you, please come with me," commanded Mourne.
Varyl positioned himself and entered a trance, then Mourne stepped into his left side and vanished.
"Oh my... Azgard, what's going on!?"
"I don't know Companion, but we have to follow him."
"No we don't!"
"Yes we do," said Jeremiah. "You don't say 'no' to Mourne." He was the next to enter the portal, followed by Parceph.
"But where are they going!?"
"Did Mourne say anything to you, Husband?" I asked.
"No Companion, and he made it clear that Shianna was not welcome. It appears that only mated couples are invited."
"If that's true, Fred," I said, "then Mourne has validated you and Azgard. That is a tremendous honor."
Azgard hugged his mate proudly, but Fred wasn't quite in the mood.
"I don't care who validated us. I'm not going anywhere! Who is this Mourne creep anyway?"
"Fred, have you ever wondered if there's a God? He just went that-a-way. I recommend you do likewise."
"I am going, Companion. For me, please come along."
It was a tight squeeze for the Clydesdale, but Azgard managed to crouch his way into the portal.
"You're up, Fred. Just follow Azgard through and you'll be okay."
Clenching his teeth and his fists, Fred finally gave in and crawled into Varyl while muttering an inaudible obscenity. It was just me and Rovaun left. I gave him a Hipponaur hug.
"Ready for another adventure, Husband?"
"As always, Companion, but the fact that Mourne has involved himself makes me very uncomfortable."
"Don't worry about it. We're his buds. After you."
Rovaun stepped through. I stuck in a front hoof and said, "See ya, Varyl."
"Good-bye, Wraith," was the ghostly response.
I didn't think much of it until I was inside the cobalt blue portal. I turned around to stick my head back out and ask Varyl if he had meant that to sound as final as it did, but I was shocked to find no exit where I was standing - the tunnel behind me stretched backward to infinity. There was no going back, and like Rovaun, I too felt very uncomfortable. The only thing keeping me from an all out panic was the sight of my Companion who was still moving forward ahead of me. I wasted no time catching up to him.
When we exited the portal via Mourne, I resisted the temptation to ask him how it was that he could walk through his own tunnel. Instead, I glanced around to verify that we were again on his plateau, as the color of the portal had suggested. Except for the soft moan of a cool breeze through the grass, the place remained eerily quiet.
"What's this about, Mourne?"
"When all have arrived, I shall explain."
"We're all here. I was the last one through."
"No, one couple had arrived before you. They are off in the distance there. I believe you met them."
"Is it Josh?" I asked excitedly, then galloped off before waiting for an answer.
"No."
When they came into view, I could see that they were not Josh and Daniel as I had hoped. They were Daniel and Rovaun. At the sight of me, the stallion took a defensive posture to protect his human Companion. I slowed to a canter then stopped a respectable distance away from them and stepped out.
"Remember me?" I waved.
Rovaun whinnied in confusion.
"See? I told you he could do that!" said Daniel.
"Is your Companion with you?" asked Rovaun.
"He's back with Mourne and the others."
"So there are two Rovauns here?" grinned Daniel. "That has some interesting possibilities."
"Quiet, Companion."
The stallion came up to me and sniffed my virtual and Hipponaur bodies.
"This is most discomforting," he said. "Two smells: one I am extremely fond of, and one I loathe with every molecule of my being. I do not know how your Rovaun can stand it."
"My Rovaun feels the same way about your Companion," I chuckled.
He snorted, finding that difficult to believe. "My Companion told me a fantastic story of seeing himself climb out of Zhorelle's body. I assumed it was an hallucination, but your soul really does reside there."
"Yes it does. Your Daniel's soul could end up in your Zhorelle, too, or even in you. My Rovaun scanned me just before I died. I recommend not waiting until the last minute."
"Understood."
"Hey Danny, come over here for a second," said my human counterpart.
"What's up?"
"Something spooky."
"My Companion feels... disturbed... about a plot of land. It would be interesting to note if you feel the same way."
"Shut up! Now you've given it away. Over here."
He stood by a ring of stones in the grass that was about eight feet in diameter. The ten unremarkable hunks of granite spaced equally apart were each roughly the size of a bowling ball. Twenty yards to the west was a foreboding precipice. Though I could not see over the edge from where I was standing, I could tell that the drop was nearly vertical. I walked up to the ring as a Hipponaur.
"What is this?"
"Step inside."
"Why?" I asked, leery of my other self's intentions.
"Oh don't be such a wuss!" He entered the circle, and when he didn't explode, vanish, or drop dead, I reluctantly joined him.
"Do you feel that?"
"I... don't know. I think I feel something." I couldn't explain it, but I had to get out of there. Hiding my angst not very well, I exited the circle.
"I asked Mourne what this is," said Daniel. "He said it's the Wraith's grave."
My mane bristled instantly. "What do you feel when you stand in it?" I asked.
"I don't know. Weird and uncomfortable, like something inside me telling me to clear off."
Rovaun walked into the circle. "I sense nothing here."
Curious, I stepped out and approached the circle as human, but the sudden dread I felt at the circle's perimeter prevented me from entering it at all.
"I can't... I can't go in. There is definitely something here, something terrible and familiar, like my own death."
"Yeah, but it's just a vague feeling."
"It is anything but vague!" I swept my foot over the innocent-looking grass between two stones. "Could this be my grave?"
Daniel picked up a boulder and examined it. "These rocks haven't been here for more than a few days. Look at the grass underneath. It's mostly dead, but there shouldn't be any growing there at all. And the ground hasn't been turned up, so no one has been buried here recently."
"Not recently, or not yet," I wondered. "We should get back to the others." Mostly I just wanted to be anywhere but where I was standing.
I led the trio back to the main party. My Rovaun met up with me, surreptitiously glancing back at the other two.
"Companion," he whispered, "is that the same Daniel that fell into our world last week?"
"Uh huh."
"Then that must be my other lecherous self with him," he sneered.
"In the flesh."
"You stay away from him!"
"Husband," I chuckled at his jealousy, "he finds me loathsome. It won't be a problem."
"Loathsome!" he snorted, turning to challenge his twin, who stopped and thwacked his tail.
"Is there a problem?" he said, calmly.
My Rovaun gave him a thwack of his own, and then turned back and snorted, "No."
"I see we have a quorum," said Mourne, when all four couples were finally together.
"Can you please tell us what this is all about now?" I asked.
"In a moment, Daniel. I am still expecting one more couple."
"The quorum is still light," I said under my breath. Then it occurred to me who the last couple might be. "Is it Josh?" I asked excitedly.
"The universe does not revolve around you," Mourne said, putting me in my place.
I looked down, feeling like a dork. Who was I to question anything that this supreme being did? In the grand scheme of Mourne, my wanting to see Josh again was well off the bottom of his list of things to do today.
"It is going to be a long fifty-one weeks," said my husband, sympathetic to my obsession.
Whenever I lamented about Josh, Rovaun always knew exactly how to deal with me. Instead of exhibiting jealousy, he'd exhibit compassion, thus reminding me of what a great guy I married. I knew it was manipulation, but it was well-intentioned and always worked. Good for him.
"You know what, Husband," I nuzzled, "I'll probably forget all about him in two."
"Azgard," whispered Fred to his mate, "have you ever been here before?"
"No, Companion."
"Do you know what's going on?"
"No, but whatever Mourne has planned, you should be honored and proud to have been chosen by him to participate. You have been given a chance to shape your own destiny."
"Is that why I'm so scared shitless?"
Azgard held him close. "I'll protect you."
"Well!" said Jeremiah breaking the glacier-thick ice. "While we're waiting, how about some introductions. "I'm Jerry, and my Companion is Parceph." He extended his hand to Daniel, who shook it.
"Danny," he said cordially, "and this is Rovaun."
"Don't they already know each other?" whispered Fred.
"Evidently not."
Rovaun addressed Parceph. "How long has he been your Companion?"
"There's more than one answer to that question," replied Parceph. "But the answer to the question you're really asking is: Yes. He is my Companion from two hundred years ago."
"Extraordinary."
Daniel extended his hand to Fred.
"We've met," said Fred.
"No, WE'VE met," I said, stepping out for Fred.
Seeing two identical Rovaun's hadn't thrown him nearly as much as seeing two identical Dannys. He returned the handshake, muttering "Fred," but not entirely sure anymore if that was, in fact, his own name.
"That Danny and Rovaun are from a parallel world," I explained to him.
"Of course they are," he said blankly.
"You haven't met my Rovaun," I said. "Rovaun, this is Fred, Azgard's Companion."
"Hi," said Fred, pretty sure he was lying in a hospital bed, doped up on thorazine.
"Congratulations, Azgard."
"Thank you, Rovaun."
"I want to go home now."
"Shh, Companion," said Azgard, hugging him some more. "I know this must be terribly confusing. Please be patient."
"Hang in there, Fred," I said.
"Is that supposed to be happening, too," he said, pointing out a very unusual localized disturbance. Next to Mourne floating six feet above the ground, a shimmering pinpoint of white light began to spread open.
"What the hell is that!?" I freaked.
"Make room," said Mourne, stepping a few feet away from it. I merged with my body eager to comply.
An unmistakably equine nose poked through the hole and squirmed to break through as if birthing from an invisible womb. As more of the head emerged, a white outline swirled around it, and I recognized the energetic lumens as those of a Sentinel's portal, but this astounding Hipponaur didn't need a Sentinel to get here. Something told me we were about to meet God's God.
Mourne stood by patiently as the mare's head entered this world, but his tail twitched out of character, suggesting either his own trepidation, or concern for the safe arrival of this visitor, which was clearly struggling to come through.
I did not recognize this Hipponaur, but what was particularly unnerving, was that she did not act like a Hipponaur at all. She behaved like a frightened horse, braying with jitters as if being forced through a burning doorway. As the white outline widened to include her chest and front legs, another spot of light appeared above her, and then another equine nose poked its way into our dimension. When the second head emerged, hovering disembodied over the back of the mare, both Rovauns whinnied violently at the sight of the Hipponaur who was in charge.
"Who is it?" asked Daniel to his mate.
I knew who it was, and the sight of him on top of his mare flooded my head with nightmares forgotten not nearly long enough.
"Rovaun," I said, with constrained horror, "is that your son?"
The rest of Bouceph pushed himself and the mare he copulated with through the portal, which closed behind him once the last of his tail came through. He was not as heavy as I remembered and his testicles were intact - a condition I did not leave him in since our last encounter.
"What an entrance, eh?" he laughed. "Hi Mom and Dads!"
"Show some self-respect!" snorted Daniel's mate.
"I've got plenty of self-respect," he said, finishing up his humping. "It's you cocksuckers I don't give a fuck about. Okay, here we go..." He raised his head and tail skyward. "Yeeeaaaaaahhhhhhh."
Immediately after climaxing, he carelessly dismounted, pulling out most of his seed with him. The mare walked off to graze, still dribbling out her backside.
"You have been mating with a common equine!" chastised his father.
"She's anything but common," he laughed. "She's the perfect mate. No sass, no kids, horny twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, one thousand years a millennium..."
"He raped me," I said trembling under my breath.
"Companion..."
"I remember..."
"This is not the same Bouceph, Companion."
"He raped me and linked with me... and I became... Zhorelle! Fuck! I'll KILL him!!"
"No Companion," he said, hugging me. "It's over. Varyl erased Zhorelle completely from you. You are Daniel Racher, now."
"And Tattoo... He destroyed Tattoo!"
"Tattoo is fine, Companion" he desperately consoled. "It won't happen again."
"But Tattoo knew. He knew it was Bouceph even before you did! And he was terrified... Tattoo, are you okay?"
"Yes Mommy."
"Does anyone here frighten you?"
"No."
Rovaun heard that response and agreed it was inconsistent with conventional wisdom. Tattoo had a sense for Bouceph, and though his memory had been wiped clean, that sense should have remained. The stallion turned to the thing masquerading as his son and demanded to know, "Who are you!"
The other Rovaun decided he would like to know that answer too.
"I'm your son Bouceph," he said slyly. "Don't you recognize me?"
"You are not Bouceph," snorted my mate. "Bouceph can barely find his own ass."
"Ha-ha-ha, you're right about that, Pops. He was quite a moron. Do you suppose it was genetic?"
"What have you done with him!"
"He's long gone. The spirit was weak, but fortunately for me, the flesh is still very willing, so I moved in. Fits like a glove, don't you think?"
"And I ask again, who are you!?"
"Do names really matter?"
"I know who it is," snarled Parceph. Jeremiah shot a startled look at his mate, never having heard his Companion sound so murderous.
"I do too, Husband," I said, coldly.
"Do we know each other?" asked Bouceph's interloper.
"I killed you," I said, making it clear that I would do it again in an instant.
Rovaun dropped his head. All he had done for me, had now become undone.
"I assure you, I am very much alive."
"You are Garson."
The stallion looked flustered for a moment, then shrugged. "Alternate timelines. I'm still getting used to the idea. You have me at a miniscule disadvantage. This is the first time I have met any of you, though I know Rovaun and Zhorelle by reputation, of course. I'm especially fond of yours, My Dear."
"SHUT UP!" shouted my mate.
He turned to Parceph. "And you bear sour feelings for me as well?"
"Fuck you."
"Tsk, tsk. Well, who needs friends when you're omnipotent. Shall we get on with it, Mourne? I have seas to part."
"As most of you are aware," said Mourne, getting on with it, "you are all part of a vitally important experiment in Varyl's domain. It is time to see the experiment to its conclusion."
Garson and Fred were the only ones not to react to that revelation. Fred I could understand, but Garson's demeanor suggested that he already knew why he was here.
"I cannot maintain the parallel worlds of Hipponaur, anymore. They have increased beyond my ability to keep track, and if something drastic is not done soon, there will be no future for anyone when the last world fills up. Amongst you five candidates, there is one of you who is the true Wraith. The Wraith's timeline will survive, the others will be recycled."
"What the hell does THAT mean?" I gasped.
"It means exactly what it sounds like, Daniel. The timeline that has the best prospect for a future will be allowed to continue. The rest will be prevented from ever occurring. By conserving timelines, a finite resource, Hipponaur can continue until the sun explodes, which even I cannot prevent."
"But what about the other timelines? What about Josh?"
"Josh was never part of Varyl's domain. That timeline you helped to create will be prevented, I'm afraid."
"NO!"
"Daniel, it is not as heartless as it seems. By preventing that timeline, Rovaun will not have died. The single timeline that survives today will be beautiful for all. Branches that lead to despair and destruction, both Human and Hipponaur, will be nipped in the bud. Of all potential timelines, there is one that is the brightest with the most hope for a beautiful future for all. There is no point in maintaining any other."
"But who are you to decide which timeline is the brightest!?"
"I am Mourne."
"Excuse me, Mourne, Sir," said Fred. "Aren't most of us from the same timeline already?"
"Jeremiah is not from your timeline."
"What about me and Daniel?"
"You and Daniel are in the same timeline as of this moment."
"You mean, something happens to one of us?" he asked, but got no response.
"Mourne," I said, "you sound like you already know who the real Wraith is."
"I am not certain yet who shall be the Wraith. You are all here for that to be determined."
"What is the Wraith, Azgard?" whispered Fred.
"It is a human who will change the destiny of Hipponaur. Until now, I thought it was Danny."
"You don't think so anymore?"
"I'm afraid not."
"You think it's Garson?"
"Heaven help us if it is."
"What about the Wraith's Companion," asked Jeremiah nervously.
"The Wraith and his Companion will both return to the surviving timeline."
Jeremiah sighed with a small bit of relief.
"Don't hold your breath," smirked Garson.
"All right, so what do we do?" asked Jeremiah. "Audition for the part?"
"My role is observer," said Mourne. "I shall decide, based on what I see. The true Wraith will know how to reveal himself to me. Until then, I suggest you work it out amongst yourselves."
"Work WHAT out?" asked Fred. "I don't even know why I'm here!?"
"Then we're down to four," said Garson. "Anyone else without a clue?"
Garson's mare came up to him and stuck her ass in his face.
"Beat it," he said, biting her tail.
She whinnied and jumped away, then settled down and lifted her tail for Rovaun.
"I said BEAT IT, WHORE!!!" Garson delivered an invisible wallop to his mare. Her head swung violently away from him followed by the rest of her body which crashed painfully to the ground. "How dare you present to anyone else!"
Dazed but not severely injured, she recovered and staggered away.
"Isn't Hornietta something," he grinned. "I made her what she is today - always looking for love in all the wrong places. Dumb as a post, but that's how I like 'em."
He delighted in hearing himself brag, and though no one expressed an interest, he continued to tell her story.
"She's got a granulosa cell tumor on her ovary that's constantly pumping out estrogen. Makes her always in estrus, always smelling like that. Mmm-mmm! I knew I had something special when I found her."
Rovaun bent down to verify that Garson still had a full set, then said, quite puzzled, "Bouceph's essence should have cured her."
"Thank you, Rovaun, for pointing out my genius. Before fucking her even more senseless, I took the precaution of injecting my essence directly into the tumor. And voila! The tumor became the most vital organ in her body. It not only survived, but now thrives keeping my mate doped full of horny hormones. It's great having a cunt who'll never say no."
"Especially to a prick! I can't understand why you're standing here with the rest of us. Mourne, a future with Josh has GOT to be brighter than a future with Garson."
Mourne replied, "Who is more likely to have the ability to prevent a nuclear holocaust in the future, Garson or Josh?"
Garson grinned proudly, his impressive mental prowess obviously not gone unnoticed by Mourne.
"Who is more likely to CAUSE one!" I said.
"Touche," said Mourne, wiping the grin off of Garson's smug mug. It was still anyone's game.
"Look folks," said Garson. "There's one thing I know for certain about the Wraith. The future of Hipponaur ain't gonna be queer. I'm the only straight one here. What are you, a man trapped in mare's body!? Holy fuck! Just shoot me."
"Because you're a man that prefers to fuck female equines, you should be the Wraith?" asked Jeremiah derisively.
"That's one reason, to perpetuate the species."
"Well, congratulations, Einstein," said Fred. "A lot of good that'll do you with a sterile mate."
"That's right, jackass, and because you saw to it that she'll never ovulate again, you're the only one here who CAN'T get her pregnant. Her womb is perfectly compatible for carrying any of our offspring."
The stallion raged. "THEN HERE'S ANOTHER REASON!"
He whipped his head around clobbering everyone within a ten foot radius, including Mourne, with an invisible sledge hammer. Not only were we all knocked flat, but we continued to be held down by an unseen ton of bricks dumped on top of us. Fred and Jeremiah were in particular trouble, being unable to breathe under the stress of Garson's mind.
"Pardon me, Mourne," Garson said. "I need to control my aim a little better."
He released Mourne, who then stumbled back to his feet without comment and stepped out of Garson's firing range while the rest of us remained paralyzed. To my and Garson's surprise, I could still emerge as a human, his mental domination not having been calibrated for virtual reality.
"What the fuck!?" he said in dismay, as I walked right up to him and decked him, knocking him off his feet in one virtual punch. Normally, I wouldn't kick a man when he was down, but in this case I was happy to make an exception. I slipped on a beautiful pair of steel-toed boots and stomped him.
"Let" [kick] "every" [stomp] "one" [fox-trot] "go!" [fandango]
The whimpering stallion released his captives, and my Psycho gave him one final full-swing kick to the jaw, making a very satisfying crunch as the bones fragmented under his skin.
The howling Hipponaur writhed in agony, then scrambled to his feet when he noticed the mob getting to their own. Warily, he backed away from us toward Mourne, perhaps seeking his protection, but then changed his tactics and disappeared through an instant portal.
All of us stood on guard, looking around for any sign of him, but for now it appeared he was gone.
"This isn't over," warned Parceph.
"You can stop this, Mourne!" I said.
"Why would you want me to do that? Do you not believe you are winning?"
"Winning? Winning what!? The world's most chicken-shit brawl? I won by kicking him in the head when he was down - what a lovely hollow victory that is. How can I die honorably now?"
"Death before dishonor?" he said. "Not a very practical motto, is it. You accused Varyl of being dishonorable. Would you have wished him dead, first?"
"No, of course not. The world is much better with Varyl in it."
"So we do what we must to protect our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves from whatever threatens us, even if it might be considered dishonorable. I doubt if the others here have any regrets."
"That was a mighty fine jig you danced on his head," agreed Jeremiah.
"I hope breaking his jaw was a good idea," said Fred, breaking ranks.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." I turned my Psycho to Mourne. "And now, what must I do to save Josh and Danny from YOU?"
"As I said before, that version of Daniel will never exist, because the timeline in which Rovaun died will be prevented. Your Companion will never make that fatal decision. You should be happy about that."
"But Josh came over in MY timeline! What happens to him now? You showed me his future and now erase it the same day!? What am I supposed to believe?"
"I concur with my Companion, Your Eminence. Why show him a fabricated vision of his destiny?"
"It was not fabricated, Rovaun. It was a true vision taken from a timeline in which I did not transmit the dream. I had merely offered it to Daniel as a simple gesture of gratitude, but showing him his future created the parallel timeline from which you and he come from now, and that was the proverbial last straw. By my own doing, I made the situation worse, so no more Mr. Nice Guy. It is time to save our futures, but I need the true Wraith's help to do it."
"Well, count me out. I don't want any part of preventing perfectly good timelines that already exist!"
"As you wish. I cannot force you to participate. Perhaps it is best that you go. When Garson returns, he will likely have fortified his defenses as well as his grudge against the person who broke his jaw. I wouldn't want to be in your horseshoes."
"What makes you think that coward is coming back?"
"He is not about to leave his beloved mate behind."
Fred led his Companion away from the others to talk in private. "Azgard, what are you and I doing here?"
"You are a candidate, Companion," he said proudly. "You are here by Mourne's request. I am here as your Companion and counsel."
"Then counsel me on what to do."
Azgard shuffled nervously. "Unfortunately, I do not know what Mourne is looking for."
"It sure looks like this is really just between two candidates. The rest of us are merely spectators."
"Since we do not know Mourne's agenda, it is quite possible that the candidate that shows the most restraint shall be the Wraith."
"But that's stupid. Any idiot can stand around and do nothing."
"I do not believe that Mourne personally collected a bunch of idiots. My advice to you, Companion, is to be yourself. If you are the true Wraith, then it is meant to be. Don't do anything you would not normally do. If that means standing passively by the sidelines, so be it. If you are the true Wraith, then that is what the true Wraith would do in these circumstances."
Garson's mare cautiously approached Azgard and lifted her tail. The embarrassed Clydesdale politely said, "No thank you," then encouraged his Companion to return to the rest of the group, followed closely behind by Miss Lonelyheart. Despite being an ordinary equine, the mare still had real emotions, and it was painful to watch her beg in shame for a quickie, and even more painful to watch her deal with rejection as one-by-one every stallion turned her away, every one except Parceph. When she presented herself to him, he trotted around to her front and hugged her, linking with her to calm her tormented soul. Her tail came down, and for an infinitesimal segment of her never-ending life, she knew a moment of peace, and I'd swear it looked like she was crying.
"My poor dear," he said sadly. "What has that monster done to you."
"GET OFF OF HER!!"
Suddenly airborne, Parceph landed on his side twenty feet from where he had been standing two seconds earlier. Garson stood by Mourne again with a splint holding his jaw together. "Did you miss me?"
The rest of us found ourselves immobilized where we stood, but not in an immediately life-threatening way. Evidently he had learned moderation in his absence.
"That was a pretty good trick," he said, walking up to me. "Is this how it's done?"
A man emerged slowly from Bouceph's shell, and I felt my own energy being tapped as he did so. I recognized that face, and I recognized that chest in which I had planted a shotgun a little more than a week ago, and I recognized the steel-toed boots, which were mine.
"You're a quick study."
"This is trivially easy. I'm embarrassed that I never tried it before. Now if you don't mind, with the aid of your fine new boots, it will give me great pleasure to break every bone in your body."
"I have something of yours as well." I pumped his shotgun and pointed it at Bouceph's head. "Recognize this?"
"Shit!" Garson ducked back into Bouceph and released everyone. "You wouldn't shoot an unarmed horse, would you?"
"Why not? I shot you when you were an unarmed human."
Azgard stumbled, suddenly feeling woozy.
"Are you okay, Azgard?" asked Fred.
"I don't know. I feel strange."
"Put the gun down, Danny," demanded Fred, concerned that this standoff was somehow affecting his mate. "Let's all calm down and talk about this."
"Stay out of it, Fred. This is just between me and him."
"And me," said Parceph. "If you don't kill him, I will."
"Mourne! Do something!!"
"I am doing it."
Garson's loathsome grimace returned, looking more evil than ever through his disfigured jaw. I needed to wipe that grin off of his mug, so I used a shotgun blast to do it. There was a bright flash of electric light around his head, but somehow he remained standing. I pumped another shell and aimed again, but when the light faded, I saw that my efforts were in vain.
"Level ten force field," he continued to grin. "You should watch less 'Gunsmoke' and more 'Star Trek.' Now THAT was a show written for a Hipponaur brain. Phasers on stun."
He sent out another blast with added lights and sound effects knocking over everyone except Mourne and my virtual self. He still didn't know how to deal with me, yet.
"Attack me again, and I will set my phasers to kill."
I lowered the gun. There was no way to beat him this way. He had spent far more time developing his mental abilities, and there was no doubt at all that he would soon kill everyone here, starting with me. Mourne brought us all here to determine who the Wraith was. That was no longer my agenda. I had to stop Garson from destroying everything, and the only way to do that was to sacrifice us all. I couldn't save myself, nor Tattoo, nor my husband, nor anyone else that Mourne had brought here, but there was one beautiful destiny I could save. I pointed the gun at Mourne, and pulled the trigger.
"NOOOO!!!" shouted Garson, as the great Hipponaur collapsed, blood pouring from the large smoking wound in his side.
"Companion, what have you done!"
"Have you lost your mind!?"
I knelt down to Mourne. "I did what I must," I cried. "I'm so sorry."
The oldest Hipponaur exhaled a final incoherent grunt, then his mortal wound glowed white with swirling light, imploding in on itself, sucking the body through its own internal portal. In three seconds he was gone, and where he had fallen individual blades of grass, suddenly relieved of their burden, daintily sprung erect to greet the violet sky that signaled the coming of dusk.
"You IMBECILE!" shouted Garson. "Now we're all stuck here!"
"You too?" I said feigning surprise. "I thought you could come and go as you pleased."
The furious stallion emitted a psychotic growl and then took off. His mare caught up with him, but he wasn't in the mood, sending her tumbling to the ground with another mental assault.
"Bastard!" muttered Parceph.
"Well this is just great," said Fred. "Does anyone see a bus stop anywhere?"
I turned to my husband, who acted like I was a complete stranger to him.
"Companion..." he said, unable to fathom my actions.
"I had to do it Husband," I cried, pleading for his understanding and support. Rovaun shook his head and turned away from me, and I never felt so alone.
"Husband! It was the only way!!"
He didn't respond. Azgard, too, looked down, ashamed to know me.
"Garson had to be stopped!" I shouted in hysterics.
"This has nothing to do with Garson," said my husband coldly.
I stared at the others, my mind only now considering the consequences of what I had done. With my adrenaline rush fading, all that was left was emptiness. The smoking shotgun fell impotently to the ground, and the enormity of what I had done suddenly hit me like a wrecking ball. I killed Mourne. For a purely selfish reason, I killed the past, present, and future of Hipponaur. I killed everyone's destiny.
I dropped to the ground and tried to cry, but my conscience wouldn't allow me the luxury.
"Oh... fuck," muttered Fred in disgust.
Jeremiah stood scratching his head, not quite sure what to make of any of it. Danny and Rovaun held each other, equally dismayed at how different two identical people could be.
"I'm sorry..." I said to myself.
I felt a nose on my neck, but it wasn't my husband's. I looked up to see Parceph, the only friend I had left in the universe, but one friend was an infinite order of magnitude more than none, so I got up and hugged him while I could. He hugged me back and this empathetic stallion sucked all of my sorrow away.
"I think what you did was a crapshoot at best, Danny, but the dice are still rolling. We could still come out winners."
"Parceph, it wasn't just to save Josh. It was to stop Garson, too. You know what kind of a person he is."
"Yes I do, Danny, and I agree with you. He has to be stopped and hopefully you succeeded in doing so. How did you know that shooting Mourne would trap him here?"
"Every time he came and went, it was within Mourne's vicinity. And when he emerged wearing my boots, I felt him using me to do it. Most of his abilities he steals from others."
"That still makes him a formidable adversary, using our own strengths against us."
Fred turned to Azgard. "He used your bug barrier."
"I feel fine, now, Companion. What you suggest is quite possible."
"He is going to be difficult to kill," said Parceph.
"Hey, Buddy," said Jeremiah, "do you really think killing Garson is a good idea? I mean, seeing as we are all alone out here, don't you think we should bury the hatchet and work together to survive?"
"Burying the hatchet in Garson's skull is the only way we are going to survive, Companion."
"We're all going to die, thanks to you," said irate Fred.
"Maybe so, Fred. I don't know."
"Maybe not," said Parceph with a tone of optimism that caught everyone's attention.
"Danny, how would you describe your dealings with Mourne?"
"I don't know, he's so hard to read."
"Would you say he is forthcoming?"
"Not at all. He's been manipulative and devious, but also kind and generous."
"When he allowed you to bring my Companion to me, do you think he was being manipulative and devious, or kind and generous?"
"The latter, obviously."
"I'm not so sure," said Parceph eyeing his Companion.
"What is it, Guy?" said Jeremiah, nervously.
"A clue to Mourne's agenda. There is a reason he allowed you to come live with me."
"Wasn't it just because he was being nice?"
"I think there is more to it than that, Companion," said Parceph enigmatically. "Until now, I was wondering why Mourne had invited my Companion and me to his party. Now I know why. Does anyone here speak Sumerian?" The question could only be directed at Azgard and the two Rovauns, who looked at each other but otherwise remained silent.
"Well I do," continued Parceph, "and so did Mourne. And unless I am mistaken, the last words he spoke were Sumerian."
"What words?" asked my husband.
"His last words to your spouse, Rovaun, spoken in a dialect that he was reasonably certain Garson did not know."
"What did he say, Mate?" asked Jeremiah.
"It was his response when Danny said he was sorry for shooting him. Roughly translated, Mourne replied, 'Don't be.'"
"That could mean anything," said Fred. "He was probably trying to say, 'Don't be an asshole.'"
"Or it could mean that Danny did exactly what Mourne brought him here to do: stop Garson. And the only way to do that would be to eliminate his primary means of transportation. I don't believe Mourne is dead. I think he took himself out of the game, but the game isn't over yet. He told us we were a quorum before Garson arrived, and he brought each of us here for a reason. I believe the reason Mourne allowed my Companion to live with me, is so that I would accompany him here today to translate Mourne's final words."
"Isn't that a bit of a stretch, Mate? To go through all of that rigmarole just so you can translate two words that no one's sure what they mean?"
"I think those two words were enough, don't you? It's us against Garson, and Mourne's final message indicates that he is rooting for our side."
After considering Parceph's argument, my husband turned to me and offered a warm apology which I gratefully accepted, the Fates finally allowing my tears to flow onto his loving shoulder.
"I believe your intentions were honorable, Companion. Forgive me for denying you."
"I just pray Parceph is right," I sniffled.
"All of us are still in terrible danger and we must stick together if we're going to get through it, especially you, Danny. You've got to be strong. There will be plenty of time to feel sorry for yourself later."
"As usual, Parceph," I said, sobering up, "your wisdom pulls no punches. Everyone, I'm sorry for doing this to all of you, but if Parceph is right about Mourne, then I think we have a fighting chance. Mourne has never done me wrong."
"If this is just about Garson," said Daniel, "why did Mourne involve all of us? Why not just kill Garson himself and be done with it?"
"It's not his style," I explained to my other self. "We make our own destiny."
"WE?" said Fred incredulously. "Who's WE? You made that decision for EVERYONE! I didn't blow anyone away, today. I didn't kick anyone in the jaw."
"I did," said Azgard, looking sternly at his mate. Fred remained open-mouthed, but nothing came out of it for a while.
"All right," he eventually said. "I have made my feelings known. I'll shut up now."
"No, Fred," I said. "Maybe that's why you're here, to offer alternatives. Go on speaking your mind, just try to keep it constructive, okay?"
"I'm getting hungry," said Daniel. "Any ideas how we get back?"
"Maybe we don't," said Jeremiah. "Maybe this is the future of Hipponaur right here. There's enough genetic diversity among us to start a new race. Maybe this is what Mourne meant when he called us a quorum. This here could very well be the final timeline."
"But I'm starving!"
"Hush, Companion."
"No, Danny's right. We need to find food and shelter soon."
"Look around, Jerry," said Fred, pointing out with both arms the miles of nothingness. "Welcome to The Flat Earth."
"There's a steep drop-off a couple hundred yards to the west," I said. "There might be a cave or something."
The eight of us headed toward the rapidly falling sun that foretold the unpleasant possibility of a long and chilly night.
"Are we still on Earth?" asked Daniel.
"I think so," I said. "I've been here a couple of times before, but I never went exploring. For all I know, we could be in the Hollywood Hills. Sunset Boulevard might be just over yonder."
"Not likely," said his Rovaun. "The terrain and plant life are not typical of Southern California. We could be somewhere in the Midwestern United States."
"Oh great."
"You won't starve to death, Companion. I can keep you well fed if necessary."
"No offense, Rovaun, but sometimes I'd just rather have a chilidog."
"I'm in the mood for prime rib," said Jeremiah.
"Alaskan king crab," chimed in Fred.
"Mama Jarma's Cajun Jambalaya!" was my two cents.
"Yeah, that sounds good, too," agreed my other self.
"Banana split."
Everyone went suddenly quiet, never expecting to hear those two words out of my husband. Azgard, Parceph and the other Rovaun seemed particularly disturbed by it.
"What?"
"You like banana splits?" Daniel asked his own mate.
"How should I know? Ask him."
"Trust me," said my mate to his.
"But you also like Zhorelle," he countered.
"Trust me on that, too."
Fred meandered away from the group luring Azgard into another private conversation.
"Well, here we are, just as hypothesized," he said.
"Where are we, Companion?"
"Alone together on an uninhabited planet."
"We are not entirely alone."
"I wish we were," he said, caressing his stallion as they walked.
"It is a big planet, Companion. I'm sure we could claim a continent or two."
"Danny has made some very poor decisions in the short time I've known him, but he was right about one thing: When you meet your soul mate, you just know."
"You firmly believe we are soul mates now?"
"I do, and there is no logical reason for it. Azgard, I see and hear all of these other amazing stallions and then I look at you and suddenly they're all gone. There is no reason for me to feel so passionately about you and no one else. There is something inexplicable about you that tells my brain, 'That's the guy.'"
Azgard stopped to smile at him and to soul mate some more.
"This is the guy," Fred sighed, while they hugged and kissed.
"You da man," whickered his mate.
"You're funny, did you know that?"
"A sense of humor has eluded me for most of my life. It is possible that it has moved into the vacancy left by my Primitive."
"I'd say you traded up, then."
"Our destiny will be beautiful, Companion, I can feel it. But right now we must work with the others to achieve it. Once the danger has past, then you and I can go off alone if you so desire."
"I don't wish to become a recluse," said Fred. "I was just having a romantic thought about a horse I can't believe I'm falling for, and I wanted you to know that. Shall we rejoin Gilligan and the other castaways?"
Azgard dropped down to allow Fred onto his back, then quickly caught up with the others.
When we reached the miniature Stonehenge that was purportedly my grave, I stopped and waved a virtual hand over it.
"It's still here," I said.
"What is?"
"Something deja vu bad."
Daniel confirmed it too, but evidently we were the only two who sensed it. It could very well be what Mourne said it was, or it might very well NOT be, because Mourne said it was.
Jeremiah looked over the edge of the precipice and made a whistle like Wile E. Coyote plummeting to cartoon death. I peaked over the edge and half expected to see Rovaun's garden below, but there was little more than desert scrub at the bottom of the three hundred foot drop.
"It doesn't look promising," said Jeremiah. "Maybe if we follow it for a couple of miles we'll find something."
My vertigo encouraged me to step back a more comfortable distance, just as four feet of the ledge gave way. Jeremiah leapt to safety, dangling for a second off of the newly-formed cliff edge before scrambling up and over.
"Oh, so close," said Garson as he approached, his mare keeping a respectable distance behind him. He and I faced each other on either side of the grave.
"You could have killed him!"
"That would have been an unexpected bonus. I was only trying to kill you."
"Why didn't you just push me over, then?"
"Where's the sport in that? Besides, your demise is going to be much more personal."
"Spread out, everyone! He can't control all of us."
The others attempted to carry out my command, but Garson stopped them in their tracks.
"We're on to you," I said, stepping out with the shotgun. "Mourne was, too. That's why we're a quorum. The only reason we're all here is to see to it that you don't go anywhere."
"Then you'd better take your best shot now because I don't plan on sticking around. In a day or two I'll be able to go wherever I want without Mourne's help. Leave me alone and I'll let you live on this lifeless dirt pile. Pester me, and I won't."
He was bluffing. I knew he wasn't strong enough to attack all of us and defend himself at the same time. That was why Mourne brought eight of us, and since Garson currently held us all immobilized, that meant he was vulnerable.
"How is everyone feeling?" I asked, really interested in only one response. When Azgard said he felt fine, that confirmed my suspicion. Garson's shield was down.
Without another thought, I fired the shotgun at him, but instead of a deafening blast, everyone heard a comical burp as a harmless cork on a string popped out and swung flaccidly from the barrel.
"My gun, my game," he grinned stepping out of his body. "And thanks for making it easier for me to kill you, now. I hope you like sunsets as much as I do."
I turned to see the sun low on the horizon and started to feel its gentle tug. In a minute it would be tugging like a tornado. I ran to my body to merge back inside but couldn't get in. Somehow he managed to lock me out.
"Tattoo, help me!"
"Oh no you don't," he said, grabbing me from behind. Snaking his arms under mine, he held me from behind in a virtual full nelson.
"You're watching the sunset with me!" he said, forcing me around to face it.
"Then you'll die, too!"
"I don't think so. I've got a very strong link. Even now I don't feel the sun's pull at all, but I can feel it yanking your leash. If it weren't for me holding you back, you'd be flying away right now."
That was an exaggeration, but in a few moments it wouldn't be. I hooked my left leg back around his and brought him down onto his shoulder blades with me on top of him. Then I flipped over and grabbed his right arm. The next thing he heard was the ratcheting sound of handcuffs binding us together.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he wheezed.
"My cuffs, my game. Let me clue you in on virtual reality." I slugged him in the stomach. "It hurts."
I dragged the coughing, gasping man to the edge so that the grave lay directly between us and the Hipponaur previously known as Bouceph. It was time to bury the Wraith.
I pulled him to his feet. "Let's go swimming." Then flung us both over the cliff.
His maniacal laughter suggested he was not the least bit concerned as we plummeted. I, on the other handcuff, was terrified that the jump was a few seconds too late, for we didn't fall straight down, but were pulled westward toward the sun. If we drifted too far off course, my plan would backfire, and it would be over for everyone.
My link snapped first just as the bottom of the sun flattened on the horizon. I was free of my chains and wanted nothing more than to be where it was always warm, bright, and peaceful. And the sun granted my wish.
Strangely, my soul remembered the last time I dove into the sun, but that sunset had been false, and ultimately lost me interest. Thank Heaven that would not happen this time, for this sunset was clearly below the horizon. As I headed straight for it, I felt an overwhelmingly profound peace, but I was not accelerating as fast as I should have been, and I could see no earthly or unearthly reason for it. Though I traveled faster than the Earth's rotation, whatever held me back prevented me from achieving escape velocity. The end result was that from my perspective the sun came back up over the horizon, and at that moment, it curtailed its influence and I suddenly felt another powerful force pulling me backward. As I retreated, the sun dropped down again, pulling me forward, and to my horror I realized I had discovered a new limbo for lost souls, forever circling the planet on the edge of sunset.
Aching for solar paradise, I reached out for it, but it ignored my yearning. And to make matters worse, it began to recede. I found myself moving backwards in full view of my proper destiny, swimming against a cruel riptide that would not let me know peace. The sun continued to set without me, abandoning me, and as I returned to a cliff I heard the culprit's voice repeating over and over, "Find Mommy... Find Mommy... Find Mommy..."
[End of _COMPANIONS_ Chapter 25: Showdown]
[Next in series: Chapter 26: Homeworld]