A pop-whoosh sound erased the chaos as a murky silence descended around Krone and his doppelgänger. He seized the opportunity, spun around and grabbed the barrel pressed to the back of his neck and yanked forward. His armored captor leaned forward, muscles tensing in response, and Krone let go. His bug-eyed captor landed hard on his back, weapon falling between them. Krone reached down and snatched it up.
Chaos filled the clearing as prisoners and captors alike fled in every direction. The two men standing at the center of the action heard little. A strange orb cloaked them from the outside world.
Eve bounded across the clearing, bounced off an invisible surface, and tumbled away. She popped up, jagged teeth bared, and spotted another target. The soldier fired. She leapt into the dense air and a moment later, splattering blood painted a green jungle red. It ran down the invisible surface surrounding Krone and his tormentor.
Krone turned the gravity rifle on his upended attacker and touched the barrel to the tip of his adversary's pallid nose. "Suck ass. I should tunnel your fucking skull."
The commander croaked out a sarcastic laugh, squinting eyes meeting squinting eyes, pulling himself off the ground. "Go for it," he taunted.
The challenge made Krone's blood boil. His chest thudded, finger twitched on the trigger, but the thought of blowing his own brains out gave him a moment of pause. Would killing his doppelgänger end him too? He didn't know for certain. The two men stared at one another as Eve bounded around them in a rending dance of death and stray weapons fire.
"Gutless piece of shit. You're nothing without a gun," the commander said, thrusting his armored chest plate against the tip of the barrel, shoving Krone back.
"You'd know better than any," Krone replied, pushing him back with a mirrored expression of anger. His teeth ground together, lips trembled with rage and venom contorted his face. Krone hated who he had become. And the Necromonger standing before him was a glaring reminder of what they had done to him. What he had done to himself. Selfish, cold and cowardly.
The commander grimaced at Krone as if looking at a nasty turd smeared on the bottom of his boot heel. He jammed his chest against the barrel again, taunting Krone to shoot. "Put it down, chicken shit. You will not fire. We can finish this like civilized men."
"Are you seriously using that bullshit line on me? Me!" He shook his head in disgust. "We are fucking idiots. It's obvious why everyone wants to punch us in the face." Krone said, tossing the rifle to the Commander. The Commander looked at the rifle, shock becoming dark intent.
The commander turned the weapon on Krone. "And you call me an idiot."
Krone smiled, pushed his bare chest against the barrel, returning the challenge. The commander squinted and sneered.
In the distance, a massive storm front darkened the sky above the beach and a screaming shockwave like an exploding volcano caused everyone to cover their ears in pain. Eve froze, inches away from her next victim. Inside the dome, the muffled sound drew the commander's attention. He looked over his shoulder. "It appears our lady has entered the fray."
"Then it is time to run."
"We are safe for the moment. She is still in transition."
"Transition or not. She will kill on sight."
The commander turned the weapon on Krone, thumbed the safety off, and shook his head in disbelief. "Did you believe I'd fight fair? I don't need to kill you to win. I just need to slow you down so I can get away. A single shot to the foot."
"Predictable," Krone said, flashing a toothy grin that soured the commander's blustering good humor. He held out the weapon's power pack, and the commander made a grab for it. Krone jerked it away. "Based on the sounds coming from the beach, our time has run out."
The commander grabbed at the pack again, and Krone lobbed it into the dense underbrush. Gone for good. "Brother, you're proof personified. We're slow on the uptake. So… try to get this through your thick melon. If you slow me down and she kills me. You die, too."
"Fuck," the commander blared, peering from the underbrush to the all but useless club in his hands. He glared at it, weapon vibrating in his white knuckle fury, eyelids twitching and teeth clenched. "Why did you do that? It's useless now. You idiot."
"Your rat bastard master will show up any minute to protect you. I'm sure he still needs you."
The commander looked around, saw the dripping blood, and his pallid face turned white.
"But hey," Krone said, not registering his fear. "Silver lining. Even if he doesn't make it in time, at least one of us can say he isn't a bootlicker."
Krone's mirror image hauled the dead rifle back over his shoulder, preparing to drive it into his face and caught the tip of an armored boot in the groin for the effort. The commander froze like a paused video, eyes bugging out in an oh shit parody of pain. As he slumped to his knees, the rifle slipped from his grip, sticking barrel-first into the ground. Trembling hands slid to his screaming balls as the commander wretched almost hard enough to eject his swelling testicles. Snot poured from his nose, mixing with tears of agony and dripped onto his thigh armor. "You fucker," he said in a croaking whisper.
Krone leaned over, quite pleased with himself, toes throbbing in sync with his heartbeat. He wouldn't give his doppelgänger the satisfaction of knowing he hurt himself. Besides, the dent in his adversary's titanium cod plate made the dull ache of bruised toes all the better. "It's about time somebody did that to one of us," Krone said. "Lord knows we've had it coming for years. Not that anything will be cumming for you soon."
"Bastard," the commander muttered, pulling the dented crotch plate off and throwing it at Krone. It missed by a kilometer, bouncing off the inside of the dome.
"Consider that an impromptu experiment. I wanted to see if you got hurt, if I'd feel it, too?"
"Then why aren't you on the ground in agony? Because I know you broke a few toes."
Krone looked in the bushes and sighed. "Should have never thrown that power pack away."
"What are you talking about?"
"Simple," Krone explained, leaning down to meet his watering eyes. "I can't feel your pain, but you can feel mine. I'm not connected to you anymore; but you're still connected to me. So, if I die; you die. But if you die; I live." He stood up, stared down with an unreadable expression, and studied the weapon. He spoke as if addressing the weapon, "I can take this rifle and bash your brains out, and never have to worry about hurting myself."
The commander tried to roll away, but his heavy armor and lack of adequate groin protection worked against him. On his second roll, he landed on an upturned root and howled in agony.
Krone felt nothing. Except for the excited knowledge, he was free of the Lord Marshal's influence. And the monster he had become.
"I'm glad we don't go commando." Krone said, staring at the commander's underwear. "Balls out is no way to fight."
"Asshole."
"I'm confused," Krone said. "What part of this is upsetting you? The boot in the nuts, or knowing you can't kill me?"
A cough came from behind Krone, giving rise to an icy shiver that raced up his spine. An uncomfortable pressure built in his head and his ears popped as if he were taking off in a plane.
"Look who finally showed up," Krone said. He didn't run. Where could he run to? Where could any of them run to? Monsters and villains trapped them in the center of a dead world. But the only thing that mattered to him was that he was sick of running. He had run his whole life. And where had it gotten him?
The commander stopped screaming and peered up, sporting a look of dread. He groaned, half in pain/ half fearing what was about to happen. He had nowhere to run, either.
"If I have to stand here for another five minutes listening to your pathetic battle of wits, I will end you both myself," the Purifier said, gesturing the commander to get up.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Krone asked, turning to face him.
"Do I look dead?"
He looked him up and down. "One can hope."
The Purifier regarded him with a killing look. "The version you met earlier was not me."
"Looked like you. Sounded like you. I mean, just saying, call an asshole an asshole."
Although the Purifier pretended to ignore him, Krone saw his gloved hands ball into fists. "That version was from another timeline. A time before the traitor. When my emissary died, I was… protected."
"Of course. You can't even die right."
"Heroes do not die."
"I know little about heroes, but I know a lot about villains. And I can assure you, you're no hero. You're a fucking monster."
"Be that as it may," The Purifier replied, throwing up a warning finger. "I do not care what has happened since your arrival. You still work for the Lord Marshal. And you will fall in line. Both of you. Or I will empty your brain pans and use you like sock puppets."
"Go ahead," Krone said, slapping his hand away. "I dare you. Let's see what the Lord Marshal says about that. I don't work for you."
The Purifier gestured up at the sky, pointing at something on the other side of the galaxy. "They are out there right now. The family you abandoned. Still very much alive. And I am the only one who can give them back to you."
Krone glared at him, feeling the crushing weight of guilt slam down on him. The implication was clear. Fall in line and receive a reward.
"So, you can send me back to watch them die again."
"I cannot prevent the destruction of your home world or make you choose a different path. But a clever man could go back and move his family before the coming destruction."
"That would irreparably alter this timeline."
"This timeline is fucked beyond repair."
A second, visceral and violent scream shook the jungle and Purifier said, "Time has run out on this little shit show. It appears as though Kearyn convinced Lilith to create some abomination from hell. And now her only purpose is to kill every human she can get her hands on, including you, me and the Lord Marshal." He looked at Krone. "Time to make your choice. Who will you stand with?"
"He kicked me in the nuts," the commander coughed the words out as if ratting out a sibling.
The Purifier shook his head in disbelief. "Did you hear anything I just said? Lilith has combined the time streams. She created some twisted super being to seize power."
The commander moaned, still cupping his throbbing crotch.
"Get up." The Purifier hollered, kicking the commander in the boot. "You look ridiculous down there. And I'm amazed it took this long for someone to give you a much needed vasectomy."
"He kicked me in the-"
"They'll heal," the Purifier snapped, cutting the commander off.
"But will his ego?" Krone asked.
The Purifier glared at them, almost losing for words. "It is becoming apparent you are the same pain in the ass as your counterpart." He threw an angry gesture towards the commander and kicked him again. "Now get up, or I'll leave your sorry ass here forever."
"I vote we leave his ass."
Dahl, Carolyn, and Boron burst into the clearing. "She's coming." Carolyn screamed and rampaged past them.
"A time will come for you to choose. For all our sakes, I pray you make the right choice," Purifier said, and vanished with a pop whoosh.
"Fucker left us," the commander said.
Krone yanked his mirror image to his feet. "Predictable."
_________________________________
The world spun around Moss and he fell on his knees, almost losing his lunch on the sand. When focus returned, he stood up, finding himself standing on the island beach, peering out at the high cliffs across the wide sea. How did he get there? In the near distance, sweltering heat waves rose off the white beach, creating an eerie, shimmering mirage. At the distortion's center, a thin black line rose like an undulating snake. As it drew closer, it widened out, morphing into a tall, willowy woman in black. Lilith stepped forward as if passing through a fun-house mirror. Form taking shape. Gone were the blonde hair and suntanned features. The woman he had fallen in love with was back. A guilty part of his mind wished she had stayed away.
"It's time to go," Lilith said, walking up in the jet black armor he hoped to never see again. The unreadable stare of her former self struggling to maintain a clinical detachment.
"You could have given me a little warning."
"I gave you something better," she replied, gesturing at the pristine suit of armor and fully loaded sidearm on his hip.
He and Lilith had spent the last ten days getting to know each other. During that time, the galaxy, the mission, the monsters and the mayhem had faded into a blissful background. They were just two people reconnecting on a paradise beach.
"The good times are at an end."
He saw the fork in the path ahead of them and wanted to grab her, shake some sense into her before it was too late. But he only managed a weak sigh. The look in her eyes revealed her mind. There was no need for telepathy. The fantasy was over. Time to return to the horrors of the future.
For the last two days, the guilt of abandoning his teammates to an inhuman hellscape that had stolen any restful sleep, turning his dreams into nightmares where the ghosts of his fallen team chased him through dark tunnels, armed with guilt. "I know."
"If we stay longer, I may never return."
He said the words, knowing they were a lie. "This isn't your fault."
She smiled and shook her head. "I created this mess. It's up to me to make it right."
The striking change in Lilith's demeanor was unwanted. An hour earlier, she had never been happier. But now, the old Lilith had reemerged and taken control, and Moss didn't like what he saw. In all the time, he was with Lilith. They hadn't talked about her powers. He wasn't stupid; he knew she had unnatural powers. They all did. But unlike the others, he ignored the obvious, choosing not to discuss it. In truth, he didn't want to know, and she didn't want to say. It would have changed the way he saw her; the way he felt about her and the way she treated him. But there was an unforeseen problem with the uncomfortable silence. The absence of questions and answers had given rise to a barrier between them.
Since his arrival, that barrier had vanished. They were free to love without uncomfortable truths getting in the way. No timelines, no lies, no plans. Just Lilith and him.
But there she was, standing in front of him with that headstrong expression she got when things were about to get infinitely more complicated. He considered turning away and walking off down the beach before the last ten days went to shit.
"Just listen-"
"Go where?" he snapped, letting out his full anger. The sense of uncertainty in Lilith's voice brought a lump to his throat.
She drew an x in the sand between them with the tip of her boot. "Here. This is where my sin takes shape. This is where I become a monster. He weaponized my arrogance, and I became his trap. I am not the answer to fixing the problem. I am the problem. What I did to stabilize the streams also made any further attempts on my part irrelevant. You are here to fix the problem."
"You knew this was coming."
"I did," she admitted. "But I made a critical error." She paused, looking out to sea to avoid his eyes and her shame. "I allowed myself to fall in love with you."
Her admission of guilt sent a shiver up his spine. His Lilith would have never admitted she had made a mistake. "How is any of this possible?"
"You never wanted to know before."
"It never got me killed before."
For a long while, Lilith stared across the sea, fixating on the high cliff that had claimed his life and deciding what to tell him. After a while, he thought she would not answer. But when she did, her words were not what he expected.
"People viewed space travel as fantasy. But even with FTL ships, it became clear distances limited travel." She turned to him, sadness contorting her slender features. "So, we developed a way to travel through subspace, halving the time needed to move between systems. Even at our current levels of technology, reaching the closest galaxy is impossible. It would take generations to make the crossing. And with little understanding of what lies between, there is no way of calculating survival rates. It would appear we are prisoners of time and space."
"What does any of that have to do with this?"
"In the beginning, time travel was fantasy. But as subspace travel emerged, there were those who hypothesized there must be a region of sub-time. A dimension outside the laws of physics where spacetime flows in all directions at once. A place where one can enter or exit any time stream, at any time and come out anywhere."
"From your current demeanor, I hypothesize this mythical realm is no longer a theory."
"The underverse."
"What's with you people and all the spooky names?"
"Is that what I am to you now? You people."
He caressed her cheek. "What you are is my people."
She smiled and returned the caress. "Unlike subspace, where anyone can venture. The underverse destroys living tissue. To combat those destructive forces, scientist combined the strengths of a thousand apex predators into a master species immune to the negative effects of the region."
"And that helps how?"
"Raptors contain human DNA." When she saw his confusion, she added, "Scientists created raptors to allow humans to access the underverse. This world protected the obelisk and raptors for this very moment. Within this paradox, humans, raptors, and hybrids became the same species. We are bound by an engineered ancestry that created human time shifters."
"So… The obelisk is a time machine?"
"No. It is a portal to the underverse. A nexus in our shared histories. The obelisk is the paradox. And if you destroy it, you may break the curse that binds us."
"No pressure then."
Moss peered inland and saw a dense bank of fog descend the volcanic mountain. Large gulls circled the rim, diving in and out of the wispy clouds. A dark feeling touched his heart and drew a frigid chill over his skin. For the past week and a half, he had avoided looking at the island. "We're already here, aren't we?"
"It's not where we are, it's when we are."
"Okay," he snapped, frustration tainting the word. "When are we?"
"When you fell, I pulled you here to save you. I made certain sacrifices."
"Sacrifice," he repeated, glaring at her. "If saving me was a burden, why did you bother?"
"Reasons and science," Lilith said, staring at the island, refusing to look at Moss. She said nothing, but a mixture of sadness and shame transformed her face.
"Of course," Moss replied. "You died. I died. Who knows how many others have died? And still, the mission comes first. Right? It's always the goddam mission."
"You're the only one who died?"
"Is that a joke?"
"I do not believe any of my personas have a sense of humor."
"And maybe if they did, shit wouldn't be the way it is."
"Perhaps," she admitted. "But the future of humanity depends on what happens on this island." Lilith said, turning to Moss with a pleading look. "No matter how much I love you, I have to atone for past sins."
Moss stared at Lilith, the realization that everything was about to change. He didn't want to hear anymore. He wanted her to shut up. She was dismantling his frail illusion: one nail, one board, one lie at a time. She wasn't a new Lilith; she was the same old Lilith. Conniving, calculating, and everything he had ever wanted, and nothing he could ever have. He despised M6-117.
"No matter what plan we devised to seize the obelisk, each time we tried, we failed. But we persisted. We endured an eternity of disappointments, failures, and defeats. Until it became clear, my mistake on that cliff was the moment that robbed us of the one key component necessary for success. My impulsiveness robbed us of you."
"Lilith," Moss said, touching her shoulder. "What happened on that cliff was not your fault. It was mine. I got careless. I needed to get down, I needed to get…"
"To me." Lilith said, finishing his sentence. A small smile flashed across her face. "I was the careless one. And you were the one who paid for it."
"Let it go."
"When you live as long as I have; there is much to let go."
"Maybe you should start from the beginning."
"M6-117 is a Dyson sphere. And at its core lies a white dwarf. The power of that dying star powers the device everyone wants for themselves."
"The obelisk."
"No. The AGI within it. The most powerful mind ever created. It controls this system and every time stream that passes through it. As we approach the machine's heart. It allows me to draw you through time with me. I can use my body to shield you from the harmful effects of time travel."
"How many times have we warned you about fucking with time?"
"That's the problem. Once you begin, you can never stop."
"Then why go back at all?"
"In the future, you die there." Lilith said, gesturing at the distant cliff he had refused to look at since his arrival. "Right there. But your distance from the nexus made bringing you back impossible. We are outside the normal time streams. The only way to save you was to enter this time stream at the beginning and wait until you arrived. Our streams needed to merge. Only then could I draw you back."
"Exactly when are we?"
"We are three and a half billion years in the past. Paused on the day when this system went online."
"You've waited here all this time?"
"It was the only way to save you. To save us. No matter what you may think of my actions. I am not a monster. I can love. Am I not worthy?" Lilith said and turned away from Moss.
"You are, and I'm still here."
"You should run away while you still can."
Moss smiled, caressed her neck, and kissed her. "If only my heart weren't already yours."
"The," she said, offering an apologetic smile. "It's time."
He looked up at the cliff across the sea and a sense of dread bristled the hairs on the back of his neck as his stomach flip/flopped. When he opened his eyes what he saw was beyond explanation.