Kaleidoscope XV

One Girl in All the World

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Public Services Ward II

Vapor Furnace Prime, Legend Class Mobile Station

Open Space Between Arcturus and Murphid, Boötes Constellation

19:21, 36/2/2

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"What the hell is up with the doors?" Artemis slammed his back against the wall to peer through the gap in a sliding interlock door. "Did you do this, Ashe? Why are all the major paths closed off?"

Ashe overlaid her avatar on Arty's vision, a probing paw resting on the sliding door as an artifact of her former blindness. "I didn't do it, though I probably would have if the girls didn't beat me to it. With intruders and explosions possible, closing all the bulkheads is the safe thing to do."

"Well it's making things slow when time is an issue. We still need to find Flynt before--"

"Oh, he's here. He knew we'd meet in the middle, so to say." Vixellyn stepped through the interlock door and groaned at the equally annoying inner doors that blocked their path. "Okay, enough of this." She closed her eyes, then fluttered them open as the leftmost door blinked out of existence. "Hurry. I'd like to bring it back in case there's damage later."

"Considering that's a part of me right now, I'd appreciate it." Ashe brought up a map of the ward and highlighted a section with a flood of dots moving across it. "The enemy has breached the bulkhead from Cargo Six. We are..."

Vix waved a paw and filled out the remainder of the small map as well as color coding it. "We're in the green area. Enemies are in red. The others from the Volk are in yellow... here and here. We're all in this area. The stage is set--but what's the script?"

"We give Gaia the boot. How the hell do you stop someone like her though?"

Ashe set the map in the corner of Arty's field of view and reappeared further down the street. "This Gaia is outside of my expertise. Perhaps there is someone like her we could study?"

"Gaia is Eve's counterpart from another universe. You're right though..." Arty checked the map and noticed a specific yellow dot had turned violet. "Thank you, Vix. Eve is just down two blocks from here. Let's meet up and figure out what the hell can kill one of... her."

"Well that's normally not useful information when she's typically unique. Agreed on the research, however." Ashe pointed down the street, using herself as a guidance post for the others. "Perhaps we should find a place to stow our injured? Miss Cherenkov compromises our fighting strength, sorry to say."

"I'd carry you to hell and back if I could, but sadly I think Ashe is right. Do you mind staying safe with someone from the Volk?"

Cheren ignored her pain and improved her walking form, relying as little as possible on Arty's shoulder for support. "And let you run off never to return? If you win or lose, it'll be with your djinn helping her master."

"But you recovered your memories, Cher. That agreement isn't--"

"You will always be my master, as long as it means we get to stay together. Damn the reasoning."

"Careful, son. That's how you get a wife." Iolvin jogged over to his son from further up the road and pulled him into a shoulder hug. "You found them. Good boy. Good."

"I'm insulted you had any doubt there."

"Yeah, well we had a bit of resistance so I might be a tad biased." Yoyo leaned his other shoulder forward and exposed a burn on his back. "Fucks have plasma and acid weapons apparently. Maybe we just need to show them some good ol' gunpowder and see how that works for them."

Ashe shook her head and sighed. "Please don't scratch the paint, you dufus."

"Ouf. Is that Prisma? No, that voice..."

Ashe waited for Yoyo to discover his Slate was being commandeered and then quietly greeted, "Nice to see you again, big brother."

"Ashe? No way!" Yoyo darted his eyes about hoping for an image to go with the voice but didn't let the lack of visuals deter him. "So the little genius finally did it? Ellie brought her back? Does she have a body, or... is she...?"

"Dad, Elliot is gone. An assassin came for Ashe and... well..." Arty reached for Albedo and hid behind her as Excelle caught up to her master. "Al here revived Ashe though. She's helping us control the station. Are Michelle and Mikhaila doing the same?"

"They are. This is their station, after all. I'm surprised they gave anyone else their level of clearance though, even Ashe."

"They always trusted Ashe. Maybe her permissions were honorary in her memory?" Ilaria swooped behind her twin brother and bopped him with the end of her bow. "So where is she? Our little sister is back and you're hogging her?"

"She's still part of the computers in the station, Aunt Ari. She can Link through my Sense though." Arty cringed as the bare hint of an explosion sounded from the other side of the ward. "Enough small talk. Where's Eve?"

"Way ahead of you. She's the only one that can probably kill Gaia. We can still slow her down and weaken her, so anything we can do to give Eve the advantage is now our goal." Ari looked back as the others began moving out. "Do you guys have information on Flynt's whereabouts? If we can find him with a small team we might be able to stop this skirmish before it even begins."

"I'm not so sure of that. Flynt came to this ward knowing we were meeting here. We'll just need to fight until we find him, I guess." Another explosion but with much more substance rocked Arty's chest. "They're not against blowing up the place to find him first. We need to get moving."

"We agree there. I see you found some weapons. Need anything else?"

"Luck, five crates worth." Arty pulled Cheren around his side as they started moving. "Cher could use some kind of guards, too. She's not in fighting condition."

"We could--"

"She's not sitting this one out. At least give her a gun or something."

"She can take mine." Ari pulled out her pistol Mjolnir and placed it in the djinn's paw. "Eighteen shots in it, and it's ready to shoot. Watch where you point it, honey."

"So I just--"

"Ah! Finger off the trigger!" Ari grabbed the pistol and repositioned Cheren's digits. "You can slide your finger down and fire easily like this, but you don't want to accidentally shoot someone like Arty here. The last thing we need is someone getting their--"

A flash of light beamed into Ilaria's neck, sending the otter to the floor along with her brother. "Lulu! Shit, sis! We need a--!"

"I'm g-good..." Ari crawled to the side of the street to use the buildings as cover, the others grouping around her as she held a plasma burn on her shoulder. "That was fucking close. Did you know they had snipers?"

"Never seen any. Those plasma shots are usually slow to fly, too. Here." Yoyo untied a smaugh off his arm and wrapped the cloth around his sister's shoulder. "At least we sort of match, eh?"

"That fucking hurts, Yoyo. Thanks, though." Ari checked their position but ended up groaning in defeat. "I don't know this ward so well. Is it similar in layout to the first?"

Ashe nodded and pulled up her map. "Ah, I understand. Let me do some trigonometry."

"Finding the guy? That's a start. How do we deal with him though?" Arty tapped his rifle's muzzle against Ari's recurve bow. "You can't use that without both arms. Who else is a good shot?"

Iolvin pulled his hybrid railgun rifle from his back and engaged the power supply. "I could take out one or two, even with my own busted arm. The problem is they'd never set up just a few snipers given we haven't taken any out before. There's probably a whole squad or two of them."

A different projectile snapped into the neck of one of the Volk's marines, a long needle poking right through the gap in his armor. Excelle shook her head at the loss and banged the coif of her own armor. "They've found the weaknesses in your defenses and are targeting them. They've probably been studying us for a while now."

"Got it. I'm certain the two shooters were grouped here." Ashe pulled up a hologram on a nearby street sign in addition to Artemis' higher fidelity overlay. "My recommendation is a dispersed explosive or anti-personnel device, though launching such an attack is harder while pinned."

"Looks like a recessed location. They're hunting us from a hide." Yoyo held the scope of his rifle up and examined the position on the map closer. "We don't need to launch anything. Lulu, give your girls a few grenades."

"And put them in the line of fire? No. I can't ask them to do that." Ari looked over to her twins and immediately frowned at the four fragmentation grenades in their paws. [You always listen to Yoyo... Fuck, even when I don't like it...]

[We'll be safe, mom. We'll just open a portal above them barely long enough to get the job done. They're not expecting bombs from above.] Mikhaila moved closer and gave her mother a hug before piling the explosives together. "Lahv ooh, mahm."

"Damnit. You know I can't argue when you say that. I love you too, honey." Ilaria smirked and added a concussion grenade to the small pile. "Might as well make it worthwhile. Careful, now."

Mikhaila nodded to her mother, then to her twin sister once she had a grenade ready. Michelle opened the first side of the portal on the concrete and Mikhaila connected it to the far side, her one paw pulling the pin from her explosive. She held the grenade over the hole only a second after it opened. The grenade fell, but the unexpected happened as it bounced off the hard concrete. A moment later Mikhaila crumpled to the ground, a footlong crystal spine protruding from her forehead.

"M-Mik..." Iolvin spied the sparking grenade and prioritized kicking it away, holding up a large shield of solidified air to protect his niece from the ensuing explosion. "Fuck! Mik! We need a medic over here!"

"No... My baby..."

Michelle pulled her limp other half into her lap and pet her between her ears. She shook and cried, but soon slid her sister to the side to hold onto Iolvin's side.

"Michelle... Damn, I can't even..." The otter held his niece close as she let out an ocean of tears, only breaking his attention long enough to shut Mikhaila's vapid eyes. "What the fuck just happened? How...?"

"They... They were baiting us into trying that. They were ready for it the whole time." Nadiya carefully hobbled over, her heart regretting that decision upon getting a closer look at her niece. "They've been playing the long game. Rook takes knight..."

Ilaria finally found the will to move, cradling Michelle into her bosom. "Gods, I... I should have stopped them! I should have--" Michelle fell limb for a moment, then tensed with her heightened strength to break her mother away. She pulled an arrow from Ilaria's quiver and pointed it to her own forehead, drawing her mother's protest. "No! Chelle, you don't--!"

Just as the sharp arrowhead touched fur it vanished into ether, Vixellyn holding up a paw to blink it into another universe. "She wouldn't want you to do that, hon. Your sister would want to see you live a long life."

Michelle shook her head frantically, at first seemingly out of despair but soon with a sense of fear. "No, this is different. They shared something special, and whenever they were apart they weren't fully present." Yoyo restrained his niece in his hefty arms as she started foaming at the edges of her mouth. "I'll watch her... them. The rest of you need to find Flynt before we fall completely into their trap. And... be careful. I don't want anyone else to lose a twin today..."

Ari picked up her bow and stood tall, far too pissed off to care about being shot. "Clockwise, through the vehicle registrar. We'll sneak in below them faster than they can flee and blow the fucking building down. Cid, you have any toys?"

"I... I have a bit of RDX, but not enough to--"

"Don't fucking care. We'll make it work. Use that amplifying power of yours or something." Ari pulled Artemis to his hindpaws by his scruff. "You can unlock doors. Lead everyone else in the search while we distract them."

"Y-Yeah. Sure thing, Aunt Ari." Released from the submissive stance, Arty rebalanced his rifle and jogged back to the peripheral troops. "Vix, you couldn't do anything? You're basically a god! Why--?"

"Because even a god respects the power of the soul." Vix nudged the panthott to keep him moving until they cleared the line of fire. "There was nothing I could do or I would have. All we can do now is keep others from suffering the same fate."

"But--"

"Ah, the source of our power. Souls are such powerful artifacts." Glitch sat with her legs through the carry handle of Arty's rifle, gesturing to Ashe from her odd vantage. "You can make and break objects, concepts, or even lives. The one thing that's more powerful than any facet of reality is the will of a soul..."

"Where the fuck were you? We could have--"

"Art, quiet. We're all sad and angry, so there's no use in sharing the emotion." Vix took a deep breath and sat on the ledge of a window. "You're wondering why I don't just blink Gaia away, make her and our problems just vanish. Besides the fact she'd just find her way back to our universe again... it's because I can't. Affecting people or phasing away random items is one thing, but causing someone to not exist in this world? No, they have to do that of their own will. I can't do as I please with people, like their souls are anchoring them from my power."

"Willpower leads to creative solutions. We figments are fed by such innovation. It's like we're tied to it, to the glamour." Glitch flickered away and reformed to her full size. "Look, we can't affect that which gives us power. We can only make little changes that guide others into doing what we want. Vix may be the most powerful in the Nexus, but the Nexus and its inhabitants still power her."

"I fear I've made too many small changes where Gaia is risking larger ones. She's been playing dumb whilst learning our weaknesses, and look where it's gotten us." Vix took a moment to breathe deeply. "Playing god is what's gotten both sides into this mess. Trying to control the universe even more will only add fuel to the fire. We probably can't defeat Gaia outright, but we can maybe find a way to stop her from fucking up our universe."

Arty offered a shaky paw to the vixen. "That's the plan, right? We find Flynt and keep him away."

"And what, keep running our whole lives? No, have our grandchildren running in fear? Gaia and Flynt are probably immortal, or at least close enough to outlive our kind." Vix slowly stood with the helping paw and picked up her shotgun. "No, we won't rest until we have reason to do so. There's too much damage already done and fighting isn't an option either. No... We need to confront her."

"Already tried that. It didn't work out so well, remember? We ended up fleeing to the Nexus--"

"Don't remind me." Vix groaned at the reality and started moving to an alley. "We were in Gaia's realm and she had the upper paw. She's not on her own turf anymore... She's on mine. This will work. Trust me."

"I do. You have a better grasp on this, so lead the way." Arty jogged up to the alleyway and flagged down a few marines to join his group. "I'll be right by your side the whole way, Vix."

"That's what scares me, because you're all I have in this universe." Vix perked her ears partway through the alleyway and brought her weapon to her shoulder. "That's a hell of a sound. What do they have that makes that whistle?"

"Whistle? Arty watched Vix's ears crane in a very specific direction, then checked a few dogs in his new unit that exhibited the same quirk. "I'm not hearing anything."

"Well I do." Nadiya readied her mechanized bow until an arrow clicked into position. "It's incredibly loud too. Get ready for whatever this is... outside the alley if possible."

"A dog whistle? Wait..." Arty tapped Vix on the shoulder as they came to the next street. "Flynt has that Astral with him, right? Gimbal?"

"Right, they..." Vix grew a smile and shared it with Arty with a kiss. "Brilliant! She's sending out a distress call for us. If there's one thing Gaia isn't good at doing, it's picking up on subtle vibrations and kinetics."

"It's coming from over that way." Nadi pointed her weapon to a civic hall building before she started jogging to the far side of the street. "Keep out of sight in case the snipers can still see us. With any luck we'll get there first."

"I don't think that's the case." Arty raised his rifle to rest his sights on Gaia just outside the building. "She's on Flynt's trail already. Maybe we can sneak around her while she's searching?"

An incredibly loud explosion shook the entire ward, shattering thinner windows. "Or we could just let big sis distract her for us." Nadi beckoned the others over while Gaia walked toward the explosion's center and the building falling nearby. "I'm glad those fucks got theirs. Rest in peace, Mikki."

"Someone get the others on radio. We need to confirm the snipers are down before we go near this meeting hall." Arty sprinted once Gaia was out of sight, stopping himself before he entered the field of view of the former sniping lane. "Let them know Gaia is headed their way so they can keep tabs on her as well."

"Mum?" Leannan clutched a control on her neck tried her throat mic. "Mum, you there? If you can't respond, Gaia is headed your way. Be safe."

Caitlyn hid behind her sister and practically balled herself up. "This doesn't feel right..."

"Mum always watches herself. I'm sure she's just unable to speak."

"Oh, I'll say that's an understatement." Gaia walked back tensely slow, pacing herself and holding something above her while she searched for the meerkat. "I don't think she'll be joining you, little girl. Just come out and you can go meet her."

"Bitch is taunting us now?"

"Taunting? Oh, please. I never mince words." Gaia randomly homed her eyes on Lea and fixed their gazes. That raised paw lowered to her muzzle, then with a click Lea's radio sounded, "Your mother won't be joining you again in this life. You can join her, however."

"You..." Lea stood tall from her cover, pushing her sister back before they were both spotted. "You liar! Your games won't work on us agai--"

The object in Gaia's paw landed by Leannan's boots, consisting of a utility satchel, a radio, and a saturation of violet blood. "I don't like to repeat myself." The jackal sauntered closer, enticing the frightened little soldier to do the same. "I suppose it's fitting; Your mother managed to blow herself to pieces in dozens of other realities, so why not this one as well?"

"Bloody hag! I'll have your head!" Lea raised her submachine gun and let loose a smattering of small shotgun shells. "Arty, leave her to me! Get to the objective!"

"We can't--"

"I'll keep her busy! Just go!"

"Oh, this should be entertaining." Gaia picked a slug out of her black torso and inspected it briefly before flicking it aside. "I never liked her, in any incarnation. Now I'm curious how she actually managed to find a mate in this one reality. Care for an interrogation, little girl?"

"I just care to see you die!" Lea pulled her magazine clear of the gun's loading well and nudged over to the second mag taped on the side. "Let's see how you like a good shock!"

Gaia stifled a laugh as two dozen taser rounds stuck onto her skin. "I do admire a good joke. But didn't you know there's supposed to be a punchline?" The jackal raised her arm and shifted it into a long javelin, spearing clear through Leannan's shoulder so her weapon flew out her paws. "Oh, there it is. Good showing, th--"

"No!" Cait broke free of the group and ran to her sister's side, trying desperately to use her healing magic even with the offending black spike still inside Lea. "Stop! Don't hurt my sister! P-Please, I'll do anything!"

"I don't... understand..." Gaia retracted her weaponized arm and nearly fell over in shock, inadvertently Linking to her opponent. "How could that... that woman have... children with Carbon and me?"

"Lea!" Caitlyn lit up her sister's arm with magic, a warm glow signalling the start of a proper recovery. "I've got you, sis. I'll heal you. Just h-hold still." The glow picked up a notch once she knew what needed to be done, Cait looking over to the petrified jackal with tears in her eyes. "Th-Thank you. I don't understand b-but... Thank you."

"No... It's nothing..." Gaia slowly walked past the sisters, pausing at their side to contemplate the situation. "I'm sorry. Go. Get away from here and... be safe."

"Why?" Lea craned her head even as her sister fought to keep her down. "Why don't you finish it? You took our mum, but not us?"

"I'm sorry. I was wrong to make fun of her. She... was the best version of her I've found, and she deserved better." The jackal trudged onward, each step holding newfound weight as she approached her ultimate goal. "I'll make this worth the loss. You can come with me when I'm done here."

"You'll never be like mum!"

"No... No, I won't." Gaia walked up to a sealed security door and grumbled, "Apparently my own reality's counterpart is useless. That AI is still being a bother." She punched into the door's locking mechanism and slowly ripped the whole assembly wide open. "No matter. I've finally found you, my prey."

"Shit! She's in!" Artemis fired his rifle in two bursts, plinking metal on and around the walking singularity just enough to annoy her. "Vix, you better figure something out, and fast."

"Art, you'll only get yourself killed. Let's try my way... Remember my idea?" Vix gave Flynt a nod and slowly bridged the gap to meet Gaia in the middle of the large assembly hall. "Let's talk."

"Your comrades don't seem as courageous or possibly stupid as you. This should be interesting, strange girl." Gaia looked to a nearby row of seating and picked out a spot. "You want to talk? Talk."

"Thank you for the opportunity. Right. Where to even begin...?" Vixellyn took a seat of her own, using the proximity to examine the dark jackal and her gilded trim patterns for any possible tells or helpful information. "You want Flynt. Why, exactly? You mentioned you needed him dead, right?"

"I did, and at the time I meant it. Now, I'm not sure that would be best..." The corners of Gaia's muzzle twitched briefly to a frown as she re-worded her answer. "For the sake of some people I've wronged, it might be better to try another way. I'd rather not add to the damage and destroy their universe."

"I knew you weren't pure evil. You're just... determined." Vix relaxed a bit as the enigma opened up, then tensed as the doors flew open with a veridian explosion. "Art! Buy us some more time!"

"I'll try--"

"Get away from her!" Iolvin limped through the threshold with a malfunctioning, jammed leg and a severely injured Zoë hanging from his good side. "After what she did to Adri I'm about to take her head clear off her shoulders!"

"Dad!" Arty ran to his father and simultaneously supported him while holding him back. "What happened to Adrian? Fuck, what happened to you?"

"Adri is... gods..."

"Iol... vin..."

"I know, hon. Hold on just a bit longer."

"I love... love you..." Zoë slipped from her husband's arms and fell to a knee, holding herself upright with her estoc stabbed into the ground. "I'm glad I c-could... protect you..."

"Cait! Where the fuck are you?" Arty clutched the human and helped her keep balance. "God, you're bleeding so much..."

"She did this. Her damned assassin--" Yoyo grabbed his rifle hanging from his shoulder and quickly fired a charged shot through an oncoming acid thrower before he could release his payload. "Her assassin... stole my Adri from me..."

"You need to... pay attention to what... what y-you have and not... what you don't." Zoë tugged on her husband's belt, drawing him down for a brief kiss. "Don't live in a dark past, Iolvin."

"Arty?" Caitlyn stumbled through the adjacent doorway and immediately fell to her knees for Zoë. "Damn... this is bad. Relax, hon. You need to stop moving or you'll lose too much blood."

"I'll be damned if I lose another mate today." Yoyo joined his wife on the floor, choosing to cradle her rather than his weapon. "Do what she says, Kiddo. Stay with me a little longer."

"I'll t-try, but--"

"No excuses. I love you too much to let you go."

"<That's a good sentiment, but don't you die yourself.>" Excelle defensively backed herself against her master's side, grabbed his rifle, and set it in his paws. "<If you die, I die. Don't let your guard down.>"

"She can...?" Arty noticed a hacked together collar device on the gnome and looked to Ashe. "You're doing the reverse translation? Thanks, Ashe."

"At'ta girl." Yoyo readied his rifle for another shot, then took the bent sword from Excelle's hand and replaced it with Zoë's fine implement. "Do what you can, Shorty. Give us a little space."

"Ahem."

"Ah... R-Right. Sorry." Vix turned her attention back to the task at paw. "How can we resolve this without more bloodshed?"

"Considering my forces appear to be victorious, I'm not sure you're in a position to bargain." Gaia looked behind her shoulder at the battle outside the doors. "In truth, I have... grown weary of this struggle. Surrender this Flynt to me and the fighting will end. All I desire is to restore my dear Carbon, and I can do this in my own reality."

"We don't want to lose anyone else. That includes Flynt." The vixen crossed her arms as she fell deeper into thought. "What exactly do you need from Flynt? You wanted to kill him, so what could you get out of him if he was dead?"

"My Carbon is held within that being. Releasing him here would destroy your reality, at least I'm pretty sure of that. Perhaps just moving Flynt to my reality would be enough to restore my Carbon though... maybe at the expense of yours, but that's a bargain I'm willing to make." Gaia settled her eyes on the desperate druid healing the wounded. "I've given up on restoring my whole reality. Flynt can live there with me and I can have my Carbon back. Perhaps we can start a family as well... Th-That's all that matters to me."

"Flynt and you'd forsake my Carbon for this?" Evelyn stepped through the rear doors and gave her brother a grazing hug. "You don't know the power you're wielding. What if both our Carbons are lost? What if Flynt dies? What if the unthinkable happens and we all die?"

"No, that isn't possible. I'll have my Carbon back. The other consequences do not matter to me... for the most part." Gaia stood and entered the open area of the room, prepared to fight. "I thank you for showing me that we can have wonderful children. If there's no other proposals, I demand that you hand over Flynt."

"And what about his feelings?" Eve nudged her gray-furred snout over to Gimbal as she moved to meet her counterpart. "Flynt has a love of his own. He has a life of his own. You don't have the right to steal his freedom."

"He opened up his freedoms to attack the moment he stole them from countless other realities. His birth meant infinite more deaths!" Gaia stepped face to face with Eve and stared her down. "I am fully in my rights to end him here and now, to restore what he destroyed!"

"And I'm in my rights to end you." Evelyn formed her fist into a chisel and cleaved away Gaia's similar spiked arm. Now with the upper paw she grabbed her evil clone and held her in a secure bear hug. "Quill! You're up!"

The bird-like alien silently fell from the rafters and formed a wing full of ink needles. With swift jerks of her wings the foot-long daggers one by one punctured Gaia's torso, drawing cries of pain from the darker jackal. "Damn you!" Gaia refused to take her treatment idly, shifting her leg into a blade that severed a plane between the matching jackals. "You'll pay for that, you damned thorn in my side!"

"Crap!" Eve toppled backward without proper limbs supporting her. "Arty, shoot her! Quill's weapons can stop her from shifting!"

"So she can break? On it." Artemis checked his rifle, but his father passed his much more powerful railgun to his son. "Dad, I don't know--"

"You know how to wear this family's honor, right?" Iolvin guided the rifle into his son's paws and placed them on the special dual-safety trigger. "Pull both at once and do us proud, son."

"For Uncle Adrian." Arty lifted the rifle and pulled both triggers, the rifle lighting with sparks as it let loose a heavy slug--and recoiling from bad posture into Iolvin's head hard enough to knock him out. The slug punched into Gaia's midsection amid a dozen needles, then shattered both itself and the jackal's black body into hardened flak. "Bingo! Fuck you!"

"You... filthy mammals..." Gaia's upper torso slammed on the ground, but now with the bulk of needles blown away her body began to melt and rejoin its other parts. "You're only delaying the inevitable. Sooner or later I'll win. My Carbon will not be imprisoned in that--"

"You know, I think you're right." The phantom copy of Sydney gracefully strode into the room and picked up Gaia's spiked arm just before her molten self could reclaim it. "Maybe I should let him go free."

"Wraith! What is the meaning of this?" Gaia flowed and surged closer, desperate to regain enough mass to reach the nimble meerkat. "Stop what you're doing right now or I won't--"

"Bring back my family? Yeah, that was apparent from the start of that chat you were having." Wraith reached her target, pressing the point of her Gaian lance into Flynt's chest. "This was all a ploy, one to get only what you wanted. You've been blinded by selfish dreams. I even think you've forgotten my two rules."

"No! Don't you dare!" Gaia strained against the needles remaining in her body, then redirected her form to wrap around a more proximal target. In an instant the needles liquified, the straining form of Quill going limp as cracks lurched beneath her amorphous cloak. "I won't let you or anyone else stop me!"

"First, anyone that does evil eventually tastes my blade."

The unrelenting surge of Gaia crashed forth, a wave breaking rapidly in Wraith's direction. "Die!"

"And second," the meerkat shoved the lance forward into Flynt's petrified body in punctuation, "don't ever cross me."

"No!" Gaia's tsunami wave bled away into the frail form of a pure black jackal, the enigma using the last of her will to hold Flynt's limp body. "What have you done?"

"I can't kill you, but I can kill your dream." Wraith twisted the lance and hiked it deeper, then dropped it and walked away without regret. "Now we're even." She locked eyes on Artemis and pulled out a knife. "TIme to move on to other debtors."

"Carbon..." Unwilling to quit, the lifeless husk of Flynt's flaming body slowly absorbed into Gaia's own body. "I'll be one with you, even if it means our end."

"What? Damn, you greedy whore..." Wraith threw her blade into Arty's arm as she skittered away. "Your family first, handsome. Watch your tail..."

"Why? You could have lived in his honor instead." Vixellyn fell to her knees beside Gaia as she consumed Flynt's remains. "I didn't want it to end like this. Not like this..."

"I... can feel you... We're whole again, Carbon..." Gaia looked down at her gentle conversation partner, then over to her pseudo-daughter once she realized her mistake. "You have the power to save them. Bring our girls to a reality that's safe. Please, I beg of you."

"Flynt and I are bound to all realms of our Nexus. There is nowhere safe, not as long as we exist to destroy them." Fully enveloped, Flynt's body forced Gaia's core to swell and glow with a release of unknowable power. "We're out of options. May you learn from your greed and mistakes in the next life, because your time in this one is over."

Artemis growled as he stood, the pain in his arm nowhere near enough to distract him from his fears. "Vix, don't talk like that. You're scaring me."

"I foresaw this outcome. I'm scared too, Art." Vixellyn looked up to Artemis with tears pouring down her face. "I'm sorry. I have to do this."

"Vix, no!"

"I'll miss you, Art."

"No!" The panthott sprinted to his saddened friend with all his might, but upon an arm's reach she fell forever out of touch. As Gaia reached her bursting point the pair vanished from existence, leaving Artemis to fall on his tear-strewn face. "Vix! Come back!"

Evelyn crouched over the young hero and offered him her only reformed paw. "It's alright now, Arty. We'll be fine."

"Fine? Vix is gone! Flynt is gone! How is that fine?"

"Vix? Flynt?" The gray and silver jackal quirked her head in absolute confusion as she lifted the broken hybrid. "I don't think I follow. Who are they?"

"Who? Flynt is your brother! He... was your brother..." Artemis stood in awe as he surveyed his friends and family, all of whom shared a befuddled expression. "You all know Vix! She's the fun, silly, happy... beautiful... brilliant fox of my dreams..."

"Son..." Iolvin rubbed his swollen forehead and groggily regained his senses. "I'd be sure to remember if you had a mate. That's a father's best dream for his sons."

"But... I'm not crazy, I swear!"

"You are to them." Glitch stood beside the panthott and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Vixellyn chose not to be a creator anymore. She doesn't exist here."

"Glitch! So I'm not losing my mind!" Arty latched both paws onto the figment's sides and stared into her eyes projecting as much hope as he had left inside him. "Tell me you can fix this. How do we still know about her?"

"Vix forgot one key part of her plan, that not one iota of her memory can remain for her goal to be met." Glitch broke free of Arty's hold and dusted herself off. "I just happened to be here still, and you just happen to be my current creative. You've got your muse... so what's left is yours to decide, my Artist."

The Nexus

The Corner of Time and Space

---

"Wake up, my dear."

"What?" Vixellyn fluttered her eyes open to a sea of endless black. She looked around and found herself caught in something, sitting upright to find she was half her normal size and in someone's lap. "Where is this? I feel like I've been here before."

"My poor Llyn..." The voice immediately cued tears in the vixen's eyes, only emphasizing the impact as she turned to meet the beautiful red panda cuddling her. "We've been waiting for you so long, dear."

"Nobody calls me that anymore. Who...?" Vix froze as her eyes adjusted to the low light of her surroundings. "This isn't happening..."

"I'm not the one in control of how we meet, dear." The red panda carefully adjusted to expose a similar-aged fox grasping at the handle of a bulkhead door. "We're both here though. We want to help you through this tough moment."

"Mom... Dad..." Vix stood, now realizing she was in the same child's body she occupied back when this memory was real. She stumbled through the dark cargo container and pressed her paw to the porthole window between her and her father. "Even here you're still struggling..."

"You're the one making him stress, Llyn."

"This isn't the real world." Vix reached for the sealed door, her body suddenly back to her adult form. The handle moved with ease, allowing her father to pour through and give her a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"You ain't kiddin' honey." The fox struggled to pick up his daughter by her shoulders, settling for a solid, deep hug. "We've been waitin' in this Nexus of yours. It's mostly been a cozy place."

"We've had a great view watching you grow up." The red panda joined the hug from behind, the Trotter family together again after the longest separation. "We didn't want to see you come here at first, but joining us in this Hall of Martyrs is better than other options I suppose."

"Hall of Martyrs?" Vix waved away her sad surroundings, a field of white blinding her from the dozens of souls it hid. "I've been here before too. What is this place?"

"A place you made for us, and those like us."

"When someone gives 'mself so another can keep breathin', they end up here."

"It's a safe place for them to watch their loved ones, a reward for their deed so to speak." The red panda guided her daughter to spy several other souls, Vasily in particular giving Vix a salute for saving his grandson. "When we're satisfied we can choose to move on to the next life, I suppose. I'm not sure what comes next, only that there is a next."

"Then... I saved them? Can I see?"

"I'm... not so sure about that, honey." The fox gave his daughter a soft kiss on the forehead. "We were only able to watch you. Now we can't see shit."

"Honey, watch your muzzle. She's still our little girl." The mother clutched her daughter's head to her bosom and coiled her fluffy tail protectively around her before breaking the news. "You don't exist in reality now, Llyn. You don't have ties to the real world anymore."

"But... I just made friends. I need to go back to them." Vix stared at her father, unable to meet his knowing eyes. "I need to help Cheren! I... I at least need to say goodbye to Art! I know what I did, but... I wish I didn't!"

"Oh dear... That boy isn't..."

"That boy isn't going anywhere." Artemis blindsided the vixen with an embrace, lifting her up with enthusiasm. "I'd follow you anywhere, Vix. Anywhere."

"Art?" Vix shoved her tear-welled eyes into the panthott's fur, desperate to hide her emotions. "How are you here right now? It's impossible."

"I had a little help." Arty lifted a paw and a smiling figment met it for a slap as she flew by. "Thanks, Glitch."

"And thank you for being so damned interesting."

"Glitch... But she doesn't have the power to undo what I've done." Vixellyn pulled her head back and stared at her friend through oceans of tears. "I wiped myself from existence. If you're here... you'll suffer the same fate."

"We'll suffer it together. I'm fine with that. I realized I only want to be with you. I love you, Vix." The confident panthott fell to a single knee, drawing a yip of joy from the red panda. "Vixellyn, let me have your paw in marriage. It may not mean much here, but I'll regret if I never ask--"

"Yes!" Vixellyn desperately wiped away tears atop a beaming smile. "Of course, Art! Of course I'll be your wife!"

"We... We'll let you two lovebirds have some space." The red panda finally found her husband and embraced him, the smiling pair dithering away in a haze of light. "Our little girl grew into a wonderful woman, didn't she?"

"Oh, mom..." Vix looked back to Arty, the two holding paws and gazes together. "I always wanted to... to speak up and..."

"I'm an idiot. I should have realized my feelings sooner. How could I have waited until you were gone?" Artemis stood into a kiss, bending Vixellyn back as he enjoyed his first true act of love. "So... You're a god, right? Does that make this marriage officially ordained? We're mates?"

"I... guess it does. We're mates, until death do we..."

"Vix? What's wrong?"

The vixen held her paws limp in her mate's for a moment, then pulled him into a more tender kiss. "I'm beyond happy. This is the best moment in my life. It's just that I don't have a life... and you do."

"What? I don't understand."

"What's a marriage without family to share it with?" Again Vix gave her mate a kiss, a far more desperate affair. "I'll always remember this moment, Art. You've made my short existence worthwhile."

"Vix, you're scaring me again. Why are you saying this... and smiling?"

"Because my husband broke the rules of reality by sheer power of will alone, just to see me again. He took the largest leap of faith in all of reality for me." Vixellyn squeezed her mate's paws and slowly released them. "And now I have to do the same for him."

"No... Not again. I'm not losing you twice, Vix." Arty tried to run into his mate's arms, the distance between them stretching infinitely to keep them an arm's width apart. "Don't do this! Don't leave me alone!"

"I've taken more than I can afford of our universe. I've just got a few errands to run." Vix crossed her arms around her chest, holding herself tightly. "But I've got a loving husband to come home to, so it's okay."

"I don't want to leave you!" The gap gradually widened, the fog of reality building between the lovers. "I'll never stop searching for you! Vix!"

"Art, love... I'll always be here, in your heart." The haze grew thick, allowing only silhouettes of mates to commune. "Don't forget me. Keep me close and remember this moment. Promise me you'll remember."

"I promise!" The haze darkened, slowly giving way to reality as the curtain of Artemis' eyes lifted. "I promise, my wife."

"Wife? Damn, you really did hit your head there. Try not to fall directly on your face next time." Nadiya gave the dazed panthott laying in her lap a pet as Caitlyn mended his wounded arm. "At least you're having good dreams. Remember it so you can tell me later, okay?"

"Yeah... I'll remember. I'll remember as long as it takes."

Cait paused her magic momentarily to check her patient's cognition. "Are you okay? Any blurry vision? Headache?"

"Yeah, I... I think I'll be okay. Everything will be okay." Artemis looked around at the family surrounding him, then down to his outstretched paw at a red crystal held inside. "With enough willpower we can make any future we wish."

"Yeah, he's lost it. Found a pretty gem though." Nadi pulled that paw up for a closer look at the glowing crystal. "Is that yours? It looks magical."

"No, it's not mine. It belongs to someone special." Artemis clasped the charm as Nadiya attempted to snatch it, holding the blood gem to his heart. "And I can't wait to give it to her myself."