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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 100 Plots Within Plots

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Chapter 100

Plots Within Plots

The moment I saw her laying on the emergency room bed, my breath froze in my chest. My entire body constricted as I just saw the pain, she was in. Even though she was in a coma, it was clear that there was a struggle going on, under the surface of her skin. She was battling something, but her mind and body could not seem to win.

Seeing her, I forgot almost everything. I forgot where I was, how I got there. In that moment all that mattered was her. I ran to her side, at least that is the only thing I can call that. One second, I was at the door to her room. Then the next, I was by her side.

BOOM! BOOM! RUMBLE!

The ground was shaking from the apparent war that had started going on outside. I was marginally aware of the explosions, but for the moment, the only thing that mattered was Jess.

I knew this wasn't my Jess, there were subtle differences. My Jess had a slightly darker tan, no doubt from being in the light more recently. My Jess also had a few slightly darker freckles due to the same sun tanning. But she was Jess, for that there was no doubt. I grabbed her hand, and instantly began checking her vitals with my Healing-X. Immediately it was apparent that what I had heard was correct, she was healthy. Beyond healthy. From a physical standpoint she was the picture of health.

That just meant that there was one reason that could have started this whole event. Her mind.

Focusing on her mind, I felt a surge of nerves. This was my first real time using the power, Mind Heal. The last time I even tried to use the power, I felt a backlash of pain from my own mind. That alone was enough to make me stop. The reason why I stopped on myself, well I would like to say it was due to not wanting my personality to change. That I thought I was a perfectly well-adjusted person. But those were just excuses.

I was frightened of what I would find. Also, there was a bit of truth about being afraid of what I might turn into, but that was really a minor concern. Once you open Pandora's box, there is no putting back the monsters that come forth. Funny, only now when I think about it, do I realize the true irony of the whole parable. The fact that at the time, Hope was a monster. The fact that it being at the bottom of the box, almost implies that it was the first monster that was meant to be sealed away. That Hope when left unchecked is a monster that is responsible for more misdeeds and destructive actions than any of the other monsters.

Focus! I yell at myself mentally.

Then with that I take in a deep breath, then let it out.

Mind Heal.

At once I feel a mental connection to Jess' mind. Well, this Jess' mind. I am at her core, at her very being. I really wish I had practiced at least once, or wish I knew what I was doing here. Here in her mind, I can see everything.

I can see the memories. I can see the faint traces of where the different time loops have merged. Each time loop has their own separate stream of memories that have been compressed. At least I think they are compressed, but then I look further into her past, to see her memories as a child and I see the error of my thoughts. The earlies childhood memories have been compressed until they are little more than a minor clip. Parts of the past that can be summarized in one five-minute montage. Her first day drawing. The first time she went to a live concert where she fell in love with the violinist.

Seeing the violinist, I know something is wrong. The face is all distorted, and blurry. But even more so, I see the face of my brother super imposed on the image. Well not my brother, I must remind myself, but Wizard me's brother from this universe. It is faint, like a smudge has been added to the original. I focus on the image and imagine wiping away the smudge. After a few seconds, the imposed image of my brother's face is removed. Then, staring back at me is someone who looks an awful lot like me.

"Uncle Lou?" I ask, suddenly wondering about my uncle who had been gone for years.

Then a deeper fear strikes me, since I look so much like him, will I become him? I remember the intense desire to leave when the trees began bombarding me with thoughts. Shaking my head, I continue.

I find signs of memories either being overridden with the face of my brother, well the Chet Goldman from this universe. It is probably best that I get a degree of separation early. I can't become too attached, this isn't my universe, and as much as I'd hate to say it, this isn't my Jess. No, I am merely an observer here. A traveling physician, and I need to be mindful of that.

With that, I continue, finding more memories that were sealed away. A quick glance shows that these were intimate memories of Jess and her former lovers, up to and including me, well noodle armed me. But a quick glance shows that they are all still intact, so I move on.

The more I look the more I see differences in attentions. Older memories were either sealed or had a faint glossy coat on them to change them. This was a rather smart ambiance to show the aging of memories in the mind. The further back you went, the harder certain details were to make out.

The newer memories however were altered very forcefully. If the older memories only needed to add a thin layer of slime; and yes, anything with my brother's face on it could be considered slime, up to and including his own body. The newer memories were more forcefully changed, I guess it is the fact that new memories are stronger and harder to manipulate, as such the changes looked like they were burnt in. Almost as if he first tried to glue his own ugly mug over a more childlike version of my own face. Then super heat them until the corners melted and was left with nothing but his face super imposed over stick boy's body.

These took time to erase and fix.

I spent hours just fixing the memories, but finally I felt confident that all the altered memories were fixed. Then came the hard part, finding the embedded memory commands. This is tough as we all have our own personal commands that we have. Get up, get dressed, go to formation. Those were the key for any Academy Cadet. Those were clearly ones she was ingraining in her own mind. Then from there, I could see other commands and desires in there.

No more chocolates, unless Kyle, no Chet, is being an asshole.

There it is. I saw the first sign of manipulation in her core being.

With this as my base line, I could then start to see more and more signs of where Jess' mental commands went. I kept it solid, as I began hunting down more and more of these rogue batches of code that were within Jess' mind. To my defense, this was a different mental resonance, and thus slightly harder to pick out. At least, they were harder to pick out at first. But as I got used to it, finding the glowing signs of this type of psychic resonance became easier and easier.

Then finally I found the command that started the whole coma.

You will devote yourself fully to Chet Goldman. Going out of your way to greet him every day with a smile, wishing nothing more than to please him thoroughly every day. You cannot live without Chet Goldman's approval.

That was it, the entire command just felt sleazy. But I think it was that last part of the command that really set this whole coma in motion. Looking at the command it was sloppy, far sloppier than the other commands that were written. I almost wonder if Chet wanted this to be found. Or rather, I wondered if the Celestial puppet master that was piloting Chet wanted this to be found.

It was at this point that I realized how powerful mind manipulation was or could be. I mean the command literally meant she would die or be forced into a coma if she couldn't get Chet Goldman's approval, or if he died. Then, an even more nauseating thought filled my mind. What if he put it there as a contingency plan, one last Fuck You to his brother. A brother who would surely go out of his way to kill Chet, or maybe insurance that in the case Chet met an untimely demise he would suffer for his actions.

The entire thing was sickening.

Still, I kept the base code for the moment. For the moment it was the only thing letting me work within her mind freely. I went through her memories a few more times. I found a few items here and there that needed to be fixed up, a few odd and end commands that made no sense. Then I found the ultimate command that sent a shiver down my back.

When the last Herald falls, you will gladly sacrifice yourself as the conduit for power against the Behemoth. You will not tell Kyle Goldman about this, nor will you show any signs of what your combined powers are doing to you. This will be your final sacrifice and showing of love to Kyle Goldman.

"What the fuck?"

I tried to remove that command, but it was different than the others. First the handwriting was too bubbly, too flowing, then there was the fact that this one glowed with a golden light. Seeing that light, I felt my own memories come flooding back. Memories of how baubles using the same glowing light shone brightly, then how I was powerless to act against those commands.

This was bullshit.

No, this was beyond bullshit.

Then I thought back to the alternate universe, the one where Alien Jess and I fought the Behemoth. I remember her also looking a bit weaker. At the time I chalked it up to her having been recently impaled, but what if there was more to it than just that? What if there was a reason my Healing took so long to work on her?

At that, I feel a slight simmer of anger welling up inside of me.

"Is that really the fucked-up future that awaits me?" I mutter to myself.

Badump. Badump.

I know if I still had my wings they would be vibrating violently right now. It is probably good that I managed to change that part of my body. Otherwise, I would likely have to deal with quite a few questions.

I do one last look around and see that only the two commands still stand. The one that was easily noticeable about not being able to live without Chet Goldman. Then the other darker command that was hidden in a dark recess of Jess' mind.

One I can easily remove, almost too easy now that I know what that bastard of a Celestial was capable of. Then the other, the one written in golden power that I can't even fathom moving.

"FUCK!"

I can't do it. I can't bring her back, just to let her commit suicide to a Behemoth. I would never forgive myself if I let this happen. I take one last look at the bubbly script of the second command, the permanent command that is etched in Celestial power.

That is when I realize why the writing seems so familiar. That is Jess's handwriting. The bastard mind controlled her and made her write the command with her own hands. This was a failsafe, a way to make sure I couldn't just get rid of this command by exposing the last Chet Goldman as a Celestial puppeteer.

This meant I was down to one last option to fix this. One last option to correct all this bullshit.

Releasing Jess' hand, I open my eyes.

Gasps.

A lot of people look at me. Wizard me looks to be the most expecting.

I just shake my head. Then turning to Rayquel, I demand. "Take me to the general."

"But you haven't fixed her yet."

"And I won't." Then I paused, as I remember I met the general multiple times in my past loops. Focusing on my residual psychic resonance on her, I decided to let my own self out.

Total Recall.

Poof.

I was in the hospital room with a still comatose Jess one second. Then in another wing entirely with the General.

"So, you have come to save the day after all." General Tigran, of the fourteenth universe begins.

"Shut it!" I demand, as I stare at the General who is clearly wasting away before my eyes. My mind is still trying to go through everything I can to unfuck this situation, but I keep coming up with little more than I originally planned to do.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As always, thank you for reading.

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

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Chapter 101 Temporary Resets

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Chapter 101

Temporary Resets

Poof.

I appear in a hospital room, next to a nearly translucent General Tigran.

Whir-shur.

The sound of an automatic breather is attached to the otherwise perfect porcelain features of the space elf. As I enter, I must have set off some sort of automatic light. As the lights go brighter, causing General Tigran to turn my direction.

"So, you have come to save the day after all." The General begins, as if I had a choice.

I did, and still do. But I couldn't live with myself if I chose to let this whole universe suffer. Nor could I live with myself if I let this universe do what it apparently intends to do to Jess.

I remember the glowing text written on her mind, in her own flowing script.

The words are of course written in angelic energy.

"Shut it!" I snap back, I am too tired and frustrated to even deal with this at the moment. Then on a whim, I take a moment to investigate my own mind.

Mind Heal.

There are a lot of scars, after dealing with the Celestial Chet Goldman's work, the work of my brother is rather crude in comparison. Looking at the differences, Celestial Chet wanted everything to be erased, or at least left it so any damage caused would be easily repaired.

To contrast with that, my own mind had scratching and markings that looked like a feral animal wandered in and started clawing at things just so they could.

I see the images my parents, their soft kind faces. Then I see how I was almost encouraged to avoid them all this time. I feel somewhat sick at the revelation. I knew they were good people, but why didn't I go to them? Why didn't I ever try to improve my relationship with them.

Then I see what I have been looking for, or at least what I felt had been there the whole time. There, right in the middle of my mind is a dense twelve layered wedge of knowledge, created from golden energy. I too have been mind corrupted, worse I think mine was actually done as a means to help me. Though having that many memories and experiences thrust upon me was too much.

Still, I awaken from my own personal reflection and realize there is almost no difference between these Celestials and Heralds. They both try to fuck with our lives, Heralds physically, while Celestials mentally manipulate us. Honestly, I don't know which is worse, both are deceptively devious.

Still, I open my eyes, and stare at the General before me.

"You have come back to us. Does that mean you are ready to do what must come next?" General Tigran asks, as my eyes lock onto hers.

Rage.

Rage and anger.

I try to fight against such basic emotions. Generally feeling that they are unproductive emotions, then nothing good ever comes from acting upon rage. But right now, I can't help but feel my own blood boiling at the look of contempt coming from the General.

"Let me guess, this is some game to you? Some form of entertainment? Some sick perversion you and your kind have created to pass the time. Set up infinite universes, set pawns up for failure and then laugh as universe after universe burns down around you?" I ask, chest heaving as I try to contain my rage I am feeling.

General Tigran just shakes her head, and with that one gesture her face seems to age ten years. Well ten human years, I am not quite certain how ten years would look to an Endarian, probably nothing more than a slight shading of the skin, normally.

"No." Her word is hollow and defeated. "We fight a never-ending war. One where we are constantly thrown in with less resources, less training, while the forces mounted against us always gain more. They always extend further. Then the pieces we must work with, most don't even realize the importance of their actions until it is too late. Then there are those who realize their importance and either choose to fight against, or help. Those that fight against us, well, we have learned to take drastic actions with them. Then those that try to fight with us, well they are the ones who are killed by either the enemies, or their own forces for being crazy. Either way, it is a never-ending battle where we constantly lose. Then if we do win, the resources that we gain, are minor. It's not like we can take you to an alternate universe to fight our battles for us. We must take our victories where we can, in the generations that we can. Or make hard decisions to reveal everything, knowing that should we fail, another universe will fall."

She pauses as she stares off into the distance. I see the look on her face that tells me she has said too much or has come dangerously close to saying too much. I can almost see the moment she chooses to change the subject.

"You know, this used to be easier. In generations past, the victories would come, and we would move on with our days. Only a few universes like the one you are currently from had any major setbacks, with the world trees being destroyed. Still, we are forced to fight these battles over and over again, until finally the universe you are in dies, and is then used to spawn more monsters that can be fed from any universe. It is a sad truth, that we are all destined to lose eventually. The only true difference is that this time we have you, and you can stop it all. At least for one universe, you have the cheat with you." She states, a look of determination filling her eyes.

"You mean Jess. I refuse to let her die like that!" I nearly snarl. This isn't even my Jess, but I refuse to let such a fate befall her. Again, I might mess it up in my own universe, but here and now I can do this one thing right.

She shakes her head, weakly.

"No, the supreme Artifact. The one you were told that you would know what to do with, when the time came. You do still have it, right?" She asks, then stares at my chest. Well not my chest, but just above my chest. Then a slight look of panic takes her. "You do have the artifact you were gifted, right?"

I instinctively reach up to my neck, to the spot where the three stone necklace once sat. The same necklace that I gave to my Jess, so she could be separated from the time loops with me.

"Wait, that bauble, that's what it does?"

"Behemoth Slayer." She says with a nod. As she speaks the word, I feel an instant sense of recognition in the word. "It is a onetime use artifact but will instantly kill any behemoth that has been exposed."

"Any Behemoth?" I ask.

Cough. Cough.

She nods, then coughs wildly. I recognize that cough, it is the same one all Celestials get when they say too much. She wasn't supposed to tell me that. Or at least she was not supposed to tell me as much as she did.

I look at her, then realize even now she is still trying to tell me how to win.

"That's it, there is no other way? Only one way to kill the Behemoth, well two with the artifact?" I ask.

With that General Tigran nods, not saying a word. Though I can tell even this conversation has had its effect on her. As she has seemed to age drastically before my eyes.

As if we were both having the same thought, she speaks. "The other heralds have all been killed. If you are going to do something to be a hero to this universe, then I suggest you do something quickly."

Hearing her words, I see a glint of steely resolve in her eyes. She is ready for this.

"You are ready to die?"

Scoffs.

"I will die here, only to be reborn into a new role. Where I will attempt to save yet another universe from this same fate." She says, looking away. A sense of cold longing filling her gaze. That was the look of a warrior who had been put into too many battles and war zones time and time again.

"So be it." I say, then channel energy into my Revelation Sight changing it from just a passive ability into its active form.

The golden light that surrounds general Tigran is faint, I get the feeling that if I had waited any longer, then she would have been wisped away without offering any benefit.

The second she is exposed; time begins to travel backwards. Instantly I feel the minds of slimy monsters off in the distance and all around. In this moment I am both everywhere and nowhere at once. Here I can sense every slimy herald mind that has died in this time loop. The sad part is, I don't know when, nor where this time loop will take me, so I must move quickly. I feel the binding of my soul begin to fade, as an empty hole fills within my chest. Simultaneously, I feel eleven slimy minds appear for a fraction of a second. But that is long enough. I crush all eleven.

Eleven?

I wonder, why there are so many. But then I realize a few are from my own universe. I know there should have been at least two from my universe, but there are more.

As soon as the last herald pops out of existence, the general who is still lying in the bed lets out a long sigh. "Thank you. With the heralds gone, the Behemoth that appears will be a minor apocalypse and not a fully fueled form."

"What?" Is all I manage to ask.

"Suffice it to say, that should a fully formed Behemoth get summoned, your universe would not have been safe. But we managed to prevent that fate in both universes." General Tigran said, as her eyes closed, and the last vestiges of golden Celestial energy faded from her body.

The mutterings of the dead and dying. I think to myself. Then I stop to look at the world around me. This time reset was short, but somehow eventful. I even see the two minds of the Celestials, Tigran and the one that puppeted my brother, both of which are now free floating. For a second I think about destroying them too, but then think better of it. I still don't know what to think of this whole war thing and my place in it as a simple pawn, but I can't let them die. Not here, not when they are all that will likely stand in the way of the next invasion, and it is clear there will be another one.

So many thoughts happened, that I almost failed to notice when my body and the events around me started to change. Then, I felt my body stretch and expand back out to its original form, the form with wings. At first, I was concerned that my uniform would rip and tear, but fortunately that too was switched out for my Guardian flight suit. I awoke to find myself behind the wheel of my disabled ship.

"We did it! We won!" Jess shouts happily in my ear.

Hearing her voice, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Kyle, are you there?" She asks, a note of panic in her voice.

"Yeah, I am here. Though my ship is disabled." I admit.

"I don't know how you did it, but you killed him."

"What?" I ask.

"You killed him. Admiral Lemitov is dead, better still he changed to his full form before you killed him." Jess admitted.

Hearing that, I realized there were a lot of herald minds from my own universe that had appeared. A lot of minds that I had never felt before, yet their vile form was readily apparent to me, even from a great distance away.

I almost wondered if it was all a dream.

But then I realize there was still a system message letting me know I had done something truly amazing.

Title Gained: Herald Slayer X16. Herald Slayer X5: You have killed sixteen legendary Heralds of the apocalypse. You have managed to kill them in such a way that they will never respawn in any time restart. For this you gain a blessing. All attributes increased by 5% (X16 for a total of 80%). You are now 160% more resistant to all Herald events.

Looking at the title, I realize it is basically a waste, I am now effectively immune to the works of the Heralds, but if I have my guess right, the heralds are all dead.

Now we are moving to the end game.

"Father is correct. While the last of the Heralds have been killed. We are now forced to battle the last hurdle for this apocalypse." Prime states.

Somehow hearing my tree, well the one I think of as mostly mine; I feel a slight sense of relief.

"Don't worry father. I always knew I was your favorite." Prime says to me.

With that, I let out a long sigh.

The best turd floating in a pond is still just a turd. I think to myself.

"What is Prime talking about?" Jess asks.

"The ancient nemesis has awoken." General Tigra…no wait General Fellina states, stupid multiple universes, and their stupid redundant names for the same people.

"What?"

"The Behemoth, will soon be summoned."

There is still so much to do. I have my own universe to fix, but I also realize that with the reset everything I just undid with Jess has been undone. Worse, that whole thing with having to re-neuter my brother in the alternate universe is still a thing.

I might have gained some breathing room, but it will mean nothing if I must sacrifice Jess to do so. Or if any universe must sacrifice Jess.

While I owe nothing to Wizard me and his universe, I can't help but feel that I should do something. Even the Jess from the fifteenth universe deserves her own chance at happiness.

There is so much to do, but so little time to do everything. Or maybe too much? I really don't know how one would describe the feeling of constant give and take that comes with constant time loop restarts. I also wonder how the General managed to get all of the heralds to be revealed in her universe?

Or better still, what happened to the final three heralds from this universe? Was it finally an act of the Gods being benevolent? Or is there something more?

Regardless, I am not going to be any help to anyone in this piece of junk.

Total Recall.

Poof.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As always, thank you for reading.

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Interlude XI

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Chapter

Interlude XI

Dr. Thurston Charleston panted rapidly, as a surge of excitement filled him.

"It worked." He said out loud to only himself. As if only now that he said it, did it become real. But it was real. All the heralds were dead. He had done his Full Reveal, which caused the final three Heralds to be revealed.

Of course, there was wild pandemonium at first and a lot of news sites all began blaring the news of the three people who had all transformed into monsters right before their very eyes. Then there were battles, so many battles being filmed as the denizens were all but unable to stop them.

That's when the Dwenvarian's queen bro consort made her move. With a simple snap she took out half of the universe's fighting force. Shaking his head, Dr. Charleston still thought that was the most devastating attack. The attack took out several key fighters all at once. Rayquel, Goldie- formerly the Goldhammer, General Sharma, and nearly 42% of the universe all died.

Then the forces aboard the flagship with Admiral Lemitov managed to kill the Herald that had been posing as Admiral Lemitov.

This started a chain reaction where the final two Heralds were killed, sacrificing their own health to release a fully charged Behemoth Prime to the universe.

That was a moment that caused Dr. Charleston to question his competency. A fully charged Behemoth Prime was nearly impossible to kill. Only a true sacrifice of both Kyle and Jess would have been enough, and only if they gave everything, they had that first strike. To do anything less, well that would have given the Behemoth Prime the chance to develop an immunity to their attack. Only a first time, full sacrifice would have been enough to stop the beast once and for all.

Fortunately, it had been undone, when Kyle Goldman managed to reset time by ousting the other Celestial Leader in the alternate universe.

By his resetting of time, multiple things happened. First the sacrificing of the final two Heralds never happened, meaning that they didn't summon down a Behemoth Prime. Then even more miraculously, that boy managed to do the impossible, he once again killed off all the dead heralds, making it so they didn't reappear with the reset. This meant, they couldn't sacrifice themselves to summon a fully charged Behemoth Prime.

Of course, there were unintended consequences.

There would still be a mass omen of what would come. While they had averted a major tragedy in avoiding the end with the Behemoth Prime. The universe still gave its warnings of what would come next.

As Dr. Charleston continued moving, he felt his body begin to grow excessively tired. Being a Celestial, he was immune to the powers of the Heralds, meaning that even though his persona was that of an only child, he was immune to the devastating attack of the Dwenvarian Queen's Bro Consort.

This also meant he was able to witness everything that happened, during the moments before the reset.

He got to see the moment the Behemoth Prime was summoned into this universe. Just thinking about that spectacle caused his legs to tremble and shake. He knew it was bad, something terrible. He had been trained for just such an event to be inevitable. But to study about it and to see it in person were two entirely different things.

Legs still trembling, Dr. Charleston made his way to a coffee shop that had the news on loud enough to drown out most of the idle chatter going on. Of course, one quick look around at the people who all had their eyes glued to the image relays showed they were all talking about the news.

"Can you believe that?"

"It is the end of times, I tell you."

The people were talking in near hush whispers, not wanting to drown out the news anchors from giving their speeches.

"…Again, there is a massive stillborn epidemic. This is an epidemic that has hit every known species of space faring races. We are not quite certain where, nor why this happened. But there is some good news. This tragedy didn't affect every pregnant mother. We are still trying to piece together what happened to cause such an event, but we can only identify one characteristic between all the known victims. They were all first born children…"

"So, there is the warning. Now all we can do is wait for the inevitable…" Dr. Charleston began muttering to himself at the news. It was just as he had expected, a sad day. One that spoke of the impending doom the universe still faced. He was so lost in thought, that he almost jumped out of his skin when a waitress came to take his order.

"Can I get you anything?"

Jerking himself upright, Dr. Charleston felt his heart lurch in his chest at the sudden scare of being interrupted so quickly.

Badump. Badump.

"Oh my." Dr. Charleston said, reaching up to place a hand over his heart, as if that would help keep the beating organ within his chest. "You scared me." He said, though that caused even more confusion to cross his face. As he had never experienced such an emotion before. He had heard about it, heard it described to him in detail during his sessions as a doctor. But he had never felt that emotion before. This was something new, something he had never expected.

The waitress just stood there with her hand over her wrist recorder, ready to input his order. Looking up at her, he could get the distinct trace that she was a little annoyed by his wasting time. With that he felt a little embarrassed, and finally managed. "Yes, could I have a coffee, black?"

The waitress took his order, then left.

As she left Dr. Charleston let out a long sigh as he still felt his heart slowly winding down. "This job is going to be the death of me." He said, then he watched as a scary looking man in a complete business suit with shades and a vintage hat walked by in front of the window.

Seeing the man, caused Dr. Charleston's reflexes to constrict in a panic. This was so odd, that he just sat silently staring at the man as he walked by. Only once he was fully gone from view, and Dr. Charleston was certain that he had not been seen inside the little coffee shop, did he let out a breath.

"That was too close." He said, as he felt his heart once again begin to speed up.

Feeling his chest once more, he wondered. "What is happening to me?"

He felt like he was dying, but that shouldn't happen. His kind shouldn't even feel chest pains, but he was currently.

"This is so odd…"

***

MEANWHILE, the Celestial Extractor walked down a busy street filled with panicking people. It was the end of times. That much was clear. This was the final calm before the storm as it were. Now the masses of people that still existed would be put to the final test. A test to avert the calamity of death for a few more millennium. A way to reset the clock of fate.

But the man in the business suit still had a purpose. He still had a task. To extract his brother in arms, before it was too late. Before he and his kind lost another brother to the fading effect. It started first with emotional attachment to the people they had been subjected to save. Then finally they would make more and more irrational decisions based on emotional states. Then finally they would rebel against orders. From there an extractor had a very limited window with which they could retrieve their brother or sister in arms, before it was too late, and they were gone to the winds of time.

With the end nearly here, he had gotten word that two of the remaining Celestials had already abandoned their cover and returned home. That just left the one, the director. The fact that he was still alive, and working was apparent to everyone.

He had made a mad desperate gamble, using the Full Reveal, something that should only be done in desperate times. Or when you have a plan. As it turns out, his little brother clearly had some type of plan in mind as a reset happened, and then all the Heralds were dead. The Behemoth Prime had been removed, and now were just the omens that led up to the regular Behemoth, the one that was more easily destroyed.

Seeing the results, the Celestial Extractor couldn't help but feel a little impressed. In fact, when he brought in his lost brother, he would recommend him for a promotion. Well, a promotion after he was re-indoctrinated into the way of things. He clearly had out of the box tactics and techniques that were needed for success.

Success that should be lauded and replicated. Of course, all of this was only possible, if he was pulled in before the Behemoth was slain. If he wasn't extracted before that point, then he dies forever.

This was a fact that was kept from him, well from all Celestials entering the field. While the Extractor could understand the rationale for why this fact was hidden, it still didn't make this moment any tougher. The knowledge of the wasting was kept a secret to prevent Celestials from jumping ship too early. Or worse, being too afraid to go to a universe in the first place. That hesitation could be the difference between saving a universe or letting one fall. In the end, it was decided to keep the details of the wasting hidden from everyone, so they could avoid causing widespread panic within their operatives.

With a breath of cold resolve, the Extractor decided to redouble his efforts. He would remain here until the very last second possible, to save his wayward brother.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

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Chapter 102 The Calm Before The Storm

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Chapter 102

The Calm Before The Storm

There are a lot of things I can do. A lot of things I need to do. I should check in on Jess, to make sure she is okay. I should check in with Prime to see if anything has happened with the rebooted timeline.

But what do I do? Well, I check in on my ex, because yeah, that never ended poorly for anyone.

Poof.

I appear next to Goldhammer, an old grizzled Dwenvarian with a long silver beard. Seeing him, not her, causes me to pause for a moment. I wanted to say something, but my voice got caught up in my throat.

"What the hell are you doin' 'ere? Just who the hell are ya anyways?" Godlhammer asks with a clearly drunken lilt to his voice. They are already rising from their seat, though there is a clear wobble to the strain that their legs are having to adjust to.

"Nothing." I say, though I feel, well, I don't quite know how I feel, at the moment. I decide to leave before the drunken Dwarf thinks of me as a resting place for his battle axe.

Total Recall.

Poof.

I once again teleport away, but I am so lost. I had all the time in the universe to check in on Goldie, to see how she was doing. But now that the opportunity is denied from me, now is when I choose to feel empty?

I really hate myself sometimes.

Honestly, I don't even know what caused me to want to check up on Goldie but doing so was clearly one of the worst things I could have done at the time.

"It's okay father. I should have told you." Prime states.

This conversation too takes me a minute. "How are you able to converse with me all the way out here?" I ask.

I am on the human world. Again, why my flustered mind chose to be here, as an immediate extraction point, I don't know. Looking around, I see that I am at the hill where I have had so many memories in this lifetime. This was the hill where I played for Mel. This was also the same hill where I teleported after defeating my first Herald in this universe. The same hill where my mechanoid space suit was reduced to sludge.

So many moments have all come here.

Then I realize one thing. I am technically AWOL, a deserter. Worse I am a deserter, one who joined open conflict against the First Fleet, and am now on the very base that I was assigned to. Yeah, not exactly a master criminal.

Total Recall.

Poof.

I leave before I have a chance to be captured. Not that it will matter here shortly. Soon the universe will end, and I will have to sacrifice Jess to avert the universe destroying Behemoth.

Everything I do, have done, and seemingly will do. They are all so pointless.

"Father. You need to calm down."

Now, I am going to tell you one thing. Regardless of whether it is true or not. Telling someone that they need to calm down, is never a way to defuse a situation.

"Stop. Just give me a second." I say.

Then after I say those words, I realize that same second will just be taken away.

"Are you okay?" Jess asks over my headset.

I want to yell at her, to tell her obviously I am not okay. But I don't know. I am tired. Oh, so tired. This universe, these time restarts. Ones where everyone and everything changes, then gets unchanged in new and crazy ways. It is too much.

First, I had been avoiding Goldie because I didn't want to deal with the complications of being a possible father.

"You already were."

"Can it!" I state.

Then there is the fact that my entire life is one lie. I look back into my mind and see the golden wedge of information that has been pushed into my brain. I remember being so angry at first, when I first got out of the Temple, but that was likely just a symptom of having something so massive crammed into my mind.

Then there is the question of who or how that got there. It is Celestial in origin, meaning one of the four remaining Celestials likely crammed it in there. But why? What was the purpose?

Then I realize, it was always about me. Making me into the hero of this story. I was always meant to be the side character, the one who didn't matter. The one who would be sacrificed in the end.

Breathing.

I can hear Jess breathing on the headset, a subtle reminder that she is there, waiting for my response.

"Yeah," I begin, but instantly I feel terrible for lying to her. "No," then I realize I am half relieved that my one-time encounter with Goldie wasn't an issue.

Then another question hit me.

"Wait, how is Goldie, or Goldhammer back to being male?" I ask.

"I think I know. If you will let me answer, father?" Prime states.

With that I pause.

"Yeah, and sorry for being so abrupt with you." I respond back to my rebel tree.

"Apology accepted. I can tell that you are feeling lost right now." The tree starts, but quickly begins to get to the point. "While you were gone. The Herald that kills all first-born children used their power. That was a devastating attack, likely one meant to weaken the universe of its protectors. During that one strike, several heroes were all taken out. Rayquel - the Iron Butterfly, and Goldie were both killed in that one strike."

Hearing this, I remember a dream where Goldie was held tied up to a tree. Then a Dwenvarian snapped their fingers and killed Goldie.

"Yes, father. That is the same even that your vision warned you about. Well, the only problem was, by killing the mother, the child was also killed. Today countless women are awaking to find that they are still alive but the child they carried has died. Unfortunately, since knowledge of the time loops is limited. Very few people can realize just what happened." Prime begins.

"Who knows what really happened?" I ask.

"Sadly, I think it is left to just us, the two Jessicas, and now General Fellina thanks to my telling her. Everyone else, well they are just dealing with the aftermath." Prime states.

Hearing that, I sigh.

"So, Goldie turned back into Goldhammer once her child was gone?" I ask.

"Yes. It appears that whatever magic the Celestial Mel used, forced an evolutionary change on Goldhammer. Thus, when the final anchor of that magic was removed. Goldie was able to revert to Goldhammer, if only temporarily."

I shake my head.

"Wait, shouldn't he still have noticed me? He did have the child for a bit in this timeline, right?"

"Oh, I think that is due to his inebriated state. He likely thinks a lot of humans all look the same."

"Even with my wings and glowing hair and eyes?" I ask, remembering that I once again need to change my appearance back to be a regular human once more. Speaking of that, while I have the moment, I decide to do just that.

Master Tier Shapeshifting.

Within seconds, I feel the wings dissolve into my body. Then I feel glow of my eyes and hair slowly dwindle until I am normal. Well, I still have different hair and eyes than I began life with, but they are at least normal shades.

Once again, I am in a space suit that has back slits for air to come through and blow on my back.

"…Could be something."

Only once I am done, do I realize that Prime has been talking the entire time. I am about to ask them to repeat, but I decide to just call it a day. I am exhausted, both physically and mentally.

To me, I fought a space battle. Went to an alternate universe, healed Jess, reverted time. Killed eleven Heralds who were left unprotected. Then ended up back here.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask.

"Not much we can do but sit back and wait for the Behemoth to show." General Fellina offers.

So, she was also listening in on our conversation the entire time.

I nod.

I have made a lot of teleports in quick succession. I never realized just how taxing they were. Or maybe I just didn't realize how taxing they were, after I was already near the end of my physical and mental limit. Regardless of the case, I felt hollow.

"Father, part of why you might be feeling hollow now, could also be related to the fact that you had your pair bond broken. Thus, a void filled within your soul for so long, is now missing."

"Oh yeah, missing part of my soul. Forgot to add that to my list of why I am so tired." I state. Then I let my body collapse to the ground. I don't even know where I am, not truly. I just chose a place that was not going to incriminate me as a military deserter.

"You are on my home planet, in the garden. If you turn around, you could see me." Prime states.

With that, I nod. So that is why her voice seems louder from here.

Magical Resonance.

There is a spell that is opening nearby. I am so tired that only after a few seconds do I realize it is a teleportation spell.

Seeing the spell, I almost groan, wondering if it is the Blundering me from the fourteenth universe coming back to claim I didn't fix his Jess. Of course, any work I did would have been undone with the reset. Surely the General would have realized that. She just used Wizard me to get me back to their universe. So, I could kill all the heralds during the time loop reset.

I honestly don't know how to feel about that. It was a brilliant maneuver, to be honest. Gather up your enemies and take them out with one shot. The only problem, it was done under false pretenses. Now both of us feel betrayed.

"Correction father. Now that the pair bonding has been reset. The knowledge that Kyle had of the time loop is gone. He is unaware that he was able to bring you over to his universe."

"Of course, more time loop BS. Honestly, I don't know half of what I've broken and half of what I've fixed by now." I answer.

"Well, it will be okay, for I am here with you." My Jess says, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah, don't worry. We will see this through till the end." Sexy Alien Jess says, as she sits down on my other side. "Oh, you got rid of your wings?" She says with a slight pout.

"Yeah, I just want to go around for a bit as if I am a normal person."

"Hah!" My Jess scoffs.

"So, you two remember everything?" I ask turning my head to look from side to side at the two of them.

"Yes." They say in unison.

I try to pause and understand what made them so unique. "Wait, so you remember because of the necklace?" I ask my Jess.

She strokes the necklace, the one that I apparently can use to kill the Behemoth without letting Jess sacrifice herself, then replies, "yes."

Then I turn to Alien Jess. "Now, I must ask. How did you retain your memories through the time loop?"

"Because I am a guardian." She says, as she flaps her wings vigorously.

Thinking about it, this makes sense, as the trees that defy the confines of the time loop will be able to fill in their guardians as needed. Then a question fills my mind. "Wait, why didn't Rayquel remember the time loop?" I ask.

At that question both Jesses just shake their heads.

"Because she died."

"Oh yeah." I say, then I remember I heard that exact statement earlier about the deaths from the first-born killing herald.

With that all worked out, I lean back and let my back rest against the soft alien grass of this planet.

"What do you want to do now?" My Jess asks, staring down at me.

"Me? I just want to lay here and take a nap." I admit.

With that my Jess and Alien Jess both relax a little and decide to lie down next to me.

It is a perfect moment.

Then, I feel something tickle my back. Something that almost feels like a blade of grass moving. I ignore the sensation. Until I feel a second one, and then a third one.

I lurch up to a sitting position.

"What?" Jess asks, also sitting up.

"Ants." I say, as I begin trying to reach behind me to brush away the tiny invaders.

I turn to look and sure enough. I chose to lie down on the one ant hill in the garden, apparently. Yeah, that's my day so far.

Jess helps swat away the offending ants, while Alien Jess just laughs.

I get up and move. Making sure to find another soft patch of grass to lay in. One without any ants or ant hills. Then after finding such a spot, I sit down and relax. The two Jesses also follow me, taking up a spot on both sides of me. Then I just lay back and try to enjoy the moment.

This moment was in a word, perfect.

After a few moments, I found myself nodding off and enjoying a nice afternoon nap.

And that was how I spent my final few hours before the apocalypse truly began.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As always, thank you for reading.

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Chapter 103 Times Not to Plan For Retirement

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Chapter 103

Times Not to Plan For Retirement

I awoke to find that only my Jess had remained by my side. I was somewhat alarmed and somewhat relieved that Alien Jess left. I was alarmed in the fact that I completely missed the moment she left. I was relieved in that I had a chance to watch my Jess slowly awaken.

We wouldn't do anything. We were after all out in the middle of an Endarian garden after all.

"Don't worry Father. I will watch over you two, while you two consummate your feelings for each other one last time, before the end of the universe."

Yep, not only am I in the middle of a garden run by voyeurs, but I have the ultimate stalker tree watching over me. Any hint of wanting to consummate anything was thrown out the window at that revelation.

"Father! You don't have to be such a prude. It's not like it isn't anything I haven't seen before." Prime said indignantly.

"Would you feel the need to give pointers?" I asked, while raising an eyebrow as I looked back and found the tree that was talking to me.

Seeing the tree, I was sort of shocked. Here it was, this loud-mouthed tree was right there before me. The only problem, the tree was little more than a sapling. A few dozen inches tall with a handful of leaves.

"If I thought there would be ways to improve, then obviously I would offer guidance. That is what a world tree does, they guide their flock." Prim answered.

I shook my head.

"When did I go from being your father, to your flock?" I asked.

"You have always been both to me."

"Of course." I muttered, as I relaxed my body. I apparently was too late, as I turned to look and see Jess's beautiful eyes staring back up at me from my arm. Suddenly I was even more annoyed at the stupid tree for taking away that otherwise perfect moment.

Locking eyes with Jess, she smiles coyly. Then biting her lip for a second she adds her thought. "You know, I wouldn't mind one last romp. Even with the tree watching. What do you say?"

Seeing her like that, I am almost tempted, but then I just get disgusted by the thought. "Eww, who would want to have sex, knowing their kid will not only watch, but offer criticism?"

At that mental image, Jess laughed while also looking mildly disgusted at the thought.

"See?"

"All right fine." Jess said, but then pulled me in for a hug.

We stayed like that for a moment.

Just when I was going to suggest we go to a different room to try something, my thoughts were interrupted.

"They have arrived." Sexy Alien Jess said. It was clear from her mannerisms that she was sent to collect us.

Well, I guess it was best that we didn't act on our impulses, anyways.

"I would have delayed them, Father."

"So, you could watch."

"Watch over you. I would have watched over you."

I tactfully decided to avoid continuing this conversation and in turn decided to follow Alien Jess. Well not before I regrew my Metallic butterfly wings from my back. I even let my hair and eyes go back to their normal electric colors.

Master Tier Shapeshifting.

The entire process was relatively quick by now. Only taking a few seconds at most.

When I was done, I turned to my Jess to see her expression. She had her mouth slightly open in shock.

"What?"

"That was so cool. You had this whole Butterfly Werewolf vibe going on and it was just sexy as hell."

"Butterfly what?" I ask.

"No, she's right. It was pretty hot." Alien Jess adds.

I turn to her, but then stop. "You realize you two are effectively the same, right?"

"Father, can you stop flirting and start leveling up so I can grow with you?" Prime offers.

"What?" I ask, but then I remember an earlier comment about Prime's growth being related to my leveling up.

"Father. I need you to level up, so I can gain sympathetic energy. Since you are a guardian of mine, I will grow as you grow." Prime offers, as if I am a particularly slow child.

Perhaps I am, but that is no way to speak to your parent, right?

Shaking my head. I just wave a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah."

At this point I remember that I now have a third class that I can use to gain levels for myself and for Prime.

Trying to remember back to that weird pocket dimension shop, I pull up my status screen. Half expecting to only find my original two classes available.

Name:Kyle GoldmanAge:18Race:Half-Human*Mage Class Type: Prime Support (Omega)

Level: 51

Certs Remaining: 0 (of 52)

Mental Class Type: Psionic Prime (Omega)

Level: 51

Certs Remaining: 0 (of 52)

Spirit Class Type: Spiritual Augmentationist (Omega)

Level: 1

Certs Remaining: 0 (of 1)

Surprisingly, there is still the third class. I was also relieved to see that it was evaluated as an Omega class. That was not something that was provided in the descriptions. Then again, I wonder if all the classes there were technically considered Omega Classes. Something I might want to check out if I ever find another such shop.

There is one nice thing about the new class. In that both powers I have for the class, are considered Passive.

Spirit Attribute Augmentation: 99+%Spirit Power Augmentation: 99+%

The Spirit Attribute Augmentation was meant to improve my Attributes by a tenth of my Spirit. With this I expected my Attributes to be nearing the maximum allowed for my current levels. But I was shocked when I saw that all of my Attributes were close to the initial level cap for my level. I was confused for a moment, but then remembered that the 40-point limit was just on my base Attribute, not my base plus modifiers.

AttributesFree Attribute Points: 0

Physical Attributes(40)Strength31Dexterity39Agility49Endurance32

Mental Attributes(40)Perception39

Intelligence:

54Willpower54Power105

Spirit:17

Seeing my Attributes, one word came to mind, "how?"

But then I remembered my title I had improved.

Title Gained: Herald Slayer X16

Herald Slayer X16: You have killed sixteen legendary Heralds of the apocalypse. You have managed to kill them in such a way that they will never respawn in any time restart. For this you gain a blessing. All attributes increased by 5% (X16 for a total of 80%). You are now 160% more resistant to all Herald events.

I still had the ten percent penalty from my Celestial Slayer Title, which should have brought this down by 10%, for a total of a 70% increase. This was noted in the fact that my yet untouched Spirit attribute was at 17. Which then provided another 17% increase to my attributes, on top of everything else.

I was close, so close to having headaches from having my Intelligence and Willpower not being enough to cover my seemingly endless Power Attribute score. Just three Power Attribute points separated me from being a fully capable Guardian, to being a disabled husk of a warrior.

Still, I had goals. My first goal would be to improve my Spirit Attribute as much as possible as it seemed to affect my Powers twice. First in the Attributes being increased. Then a second time with the fact that it also applied a 17% bonus to the effectiveness of the Powers I wielded. Now that it was certain that my cap level was only on my base Attributes, increasing spirit seemed like the best use of any current or future Free Attributes.

Basically, the way I had it set up, it was the equivalent of compounding interest. With that in mind, I went to a weapons rack grabbed two solar chargers that I placed on the inside of my wings.

Why the inside of the wings? Well, it was where Rayquel and Alien Jess, both placed theirs. After seeing the location, it made sense. This way the packs would be protected from the potential stray shot or shrapnel, thanks to my wings. Then it would also be able to gain light from various angles as I bent and flexed my wings.

Ultimately it was a good spot and I decided to follow my fellow Tree Guardians.

Seeing Rayquel, our eyes locked for a second. Then she looked away. There was clear tension there for a moment, and she almost looked like she wanted to drop it, but then thought better of it and came over.

"Look. I, well…" She began, not quite looking me in the eyes. Finally, after a second, she turned her face up and locked gazes with me. "I just wanted to say thank you."

I must have looked confused because she quickly continued.

"For bringing us back. For bringing me back. I don't quite know what you did, nor how you did it, but thank you."

Oh, she was talking about bringing her back from death by the Herald. "Wait you remember?"

I ask, suddenly wondering why Goldie, well Gold Hammer didn't remember me.

"I don't, not really. But Prime was able to share what happened. He showed how you stopped them, not just this time, but for good. Thank you." Rayquel said, as she nervously pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

I was about to say something, but Rayquel's eyes shot forward and she immediately looked cowed. "Well, bye." She managed before she ran off.

I was about to wonder what had happened, when I turned to find Jess standing there with an angry expression on her face as she scowled at the retreating back of Rayquel.

I was about to ask her what that was about, but she changed in a bi-polar second. "You ready?" She asked in a surprisingly sweet voice that seemed to mask the previous scowl she had on her face.

"For?"

"To drive us around in your electric shoot-me-now lime green cruiser." Alien Jess said, coming up and surprising me from my other side.

I turned back just in time to see a slight scowl on Jess's face. A scowl that she quickly removed as she smiled brightly at me.

Seeing her like that, I smiled and then grabbed her by the hand. "Calm down. I am all yours." I said.

At my touch, she visibly relaxed, but only slightly. It was clear that she was feeling somewhat defensive about everything that was going on.

"We'll be okay." I said, as I patted her hand.

With that my Jess just nodded her head, while looking down at her feet. It was clear she felt a little embarrassed at how she was acting.

WHISTLE!

There was a sharp piercing whistle made by people I could only wish to imitate one day. We are talking about the shrill, ear-piercing whistle that causes everyone to turn and look. The type of whistle that would make even a boiling kettle jealous. When I looked to the source, I was surprised to see that it was General Fellina, more impressively, she managed to do that shrill of a whistle without even using her fingers.

"Listen up." She shouted, and with that everyone began to stop what they were doing and prepare for the briefing.

"We are at the end times. We are in what is called the initial surge. According to the ancient text, and from our inter-dimensional expert." She said the last part while pointing to Alien Jess. "This is a trial of attrition. One where we will be whittled down by wave after wave of low to mid-level Prolaxian monsters. Expect the smaller weaker monsters to appear at first, but as time goes on, they will be replaced by stronger and stronger versions. This is meant as a way to power us up. Use the certs immediately upon getting them. Do not plan on saving a few for a rainy day, for retirement. Today is that rainy day. Retirement will be when you die. Do not waste certs by holding onto them. Don't worry about taxes. Don't worry about saving a percentage for the government, for the military, or whatever. Use them when and wherever you can."

A slight pause as she let that thought sink in.

"Until this is over, so long as we kill the Behemoth that will eventually follow the waves upon waves of monsters. There will be no taxes on certs gained for this battle."

"WOOHOO!" A loud cheer rang out from a few of the soldiers.

General Fellina took the cheer in stride, before continuing. "Of course, if we don't win, then you don't have to worry about taxes either. Either way the mission is still the same. Go out, kill Prolaxians, then spend your certs while you can."

"Any questions?"

"How long until this Behemoth thing appears?" One soldier asked.

"Twice as long as the time we had to wait. Which as the sacred world tree has informed us was a little over twelve hours' time. Meaning we can expect to be in battle a little over twenty-four hours, before the main boss appears. This will be a test of Endurance and mental fortitude. I would suggest a few of you place some of your Free Attributes there, if you aren't planning on doing so already." General Fellina said.

I of course heard the comment, but then thought my method of improving Spirit was still the way to go.

"Any questions?" General Fellina asked.

True to the ancient military doctrine of never asking questions, the room was silent as the grave.

"Then dismissed." A slight pause as everyone began to turn away. Before I could go anywhere, the General Spoke up again. "Goldmans, over here."

I was confused for a moment, but then saw that the two Jesses started moving forward almost instantly. They only paused when they looked back to see that I was still standing still.

"Come on." My Jess said, as she waved me forward.

At that, I felt somewhat excited by the fact that my Jess wanted to carry on my last name. I started moving forward, and we all started moving as a team. Confused I turned to Alien Jess.

At my glance, Alien Jess fidgeted with a strand of hair, but then quickly looked away. "It's not what you probably think." She said.

"My brother?" I asked, already understanding the look of guilt and shame on her face.

"I guess you do know then." Jess said, a bitter look causing her lips to scrunch up in disgust. I was about to say something to her, something that would hopefully make her feel better. But I was cut off as the General also took the time to come towards us, cutting our walking distance in half.

"Good. You made it." General Fellina began, as the three of us came to a stop right before her. "Now I am not going to beat around the bush. We have modified your ship with the best in heavy weapons. Both Jesses will have the ability to pivot and fire at the enemies from all different angles. So long as you watch your fuel levels and maintain a direct line of sight with a star, you should be able to last the full time. You are our ace in the hole. We are counting on you three to take down the Behemoth when it shows."

I am about to protest, but then my Jess moves for a second, drawing my attention to her. At which point she reaches into her space suit and pulls out the odd necklace from around her neck. Seeing the necklace, I realize this is it, it all comes down to this one last push. Survive for twenty-four hours, use the necklace save the day and the universe, like a boss.

At least that is the plan. Or at least that should be the plan, but out of the corner of my eye I see Alien Jess fidget slightly. That is when I remember my true plan, it will take a lot of luck, and quite a few things to go right. But if there is a chance it can work, then I think it will all be worth the shot.

Taking the necklace from Jess, I nod to her, then strap it over my neck and let it dangle under my space suit. The minute I let go of my suit, I feel the necklace pinch into my skin, a reminder of its weight and importance. I pat the necklace, knowing that it is a onetime use artifact, meaning I will need to be perfect with my use of the necklace.

"You two, in particular." General Fellina continues her briefing once the necklace is secured on my personage. Then she points to both Alien Jess and me. "You two, need to level up as much as possible. Your levels and fates are directly linked to Prime, the more you two level, the stronger and more resilient Prime will become."

With that we both nod. There isn't much else for her to say.

She of course gives the patented safety tips. "If it looks dangerous run. Your ship is more important than the rest of the fleet. Additionally, the rest of the fleet will be there to make sure you and your ship survive."

Only now at this moment do I realize that General Fellina is also decked out in her own space suit.

"Wait, are you going to join us?" I ask.

"Of course. No point to remain in the back now. Besides when the end times come. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that I saw the end of time from a front row seat."

Hearing the General speak, I couldn't help but shrug at her enthusiasm. Who was I to judge the way others wanted to spend their possible final moments.

"Well, who am I to judge. I too will be living out my fantasy as well. Piloting my own combat ship, with the woman I loved by my side, and a possible back up just in case."

Double Punch.

Both Jesses punched me at nearly the same exact time, on opposite arms.

"Oww." I asked jokingly, but I really did have to apply a slight Heal to Alien Jess' punch area.

"You all should go, before you are taken down by Friendly Fire before you even reach the battlefield." General Fellina began.

"Tell me about it." I said, rubbing the area on my left arm, where My Jess punched. I was not even going to acknowledge the other Jess' punch as being more painful. I also tried to pretend like it was easier to move my still stinging right arm. Man, she can punch.

"I didn't say it wasn't warranted, Mr. Goldman." General Fellina added.

I would have said something back, but we were already well out of normal talking range. With that I decided to let her win this round, as we headed towards our finally fully utilized three-seater combat modified space craft.

This was going to be fun.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

Happy Thanksgiving, and as always, thank you for reading.

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Lykanthropy

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11/24/2022, 10:46 PM

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