Joon and Maia ran. Through shadows, darkening shapes- they were running through tunnels, pursued by... what? It didn't matter, just running...
Joon awoke with a start. They were deep underground, dark. A fire, shapes moving in the shadows. Hillier awake as well.
From somewhere they could hear gunfire. Muffled explosions.
It had all gone wrong.
What were they doing here?
He should never have come. Joon- another Joon, from somewhere else- had lured him here, and now he was several centuries ahead in time.
2472.
It hurt your brain to think about.
Stella, everyone back home, were dead and gone. And Maia... he had to get back to Maia. The temporal distortions, whatever... if he was with Maia, nothing else mattered. If the world ended... he could face that if he had her.
Come hell or high water... he had to get back.
Hillier was talking to Valerus. That in itself was mind boggling. He remembered, not long ago, how she had killed him. A different him. Her dark form, crouched over him, only her eyes visible. Blood. Now they were chatting.
"Drunk on the wine of time travel," he was saying. "They can do it, so now they can't stop." Hillier was nodding. Her kind could absorb the memories and knowledge of the people they killed. Psychic vampires. She had part of Valerus in her. A different Valerus.
Trish came up. "It's time," she said. She had a bandage over the nasty cut she'd taken on their way here. Her face would be marred. Some wounds... didn't go away.
They rose, groaning. Was there ever an end?
But now they were done running. Now they were going back. Back to Sanctuary.
Enough running. Whatever came, they would face it together. There was hope that Trish could get through to Yvette, to Jack, that they could work this out. Maybe drive a wedge, save the program before the Scholars destroyed it. Joon wasn't even sure the program could be, should be saved. All he cared about was... Maia. Getting back.
Joon awoke with a start. They were deep underground, dark. A fire, shapes moving in the shadows. Hillier awake as well.
From somewhere they could hear gunfire. Muffled explosions.
It had all gone wrong.
What were they doing here?
He should never have come. Joon- another Joon, from somewhere else- had lured him here, and now he was several centuries ahead in time.
2472.
It hurt your brain to think about.
Stella, everyone back home, were dead and gone. And Maia... he had to get back to Maia. The temporal distortions, whatever... if he was with Maia, nothing else mattered. If the world ended... he could face that if he had her.
Come hell or high water... he had to get back.
Hillier was talking to Valerus. That in itself was mind boggling. He remembered, not long ago, how she had killed him. A different him. Her dark form, crouched over him, only her eyes visible. Blood. Now they were chatting.
"Drunk on the wine of time travel," he was saying. "They can do it, so now they can't stop." Hillier was nodding. Her kind could absorb the memories and knowledge of the people they killed. Psychic vampires. She had part of Valerus in her. A different Valerus.
Trish came up. "It's time," she said. She had a bandage over the nasty cut she'd taken on their way here. Her face would be marred. Some wounds... didn't go away.
They rose, groaning. Was there ever an end?
But now they were done running. Now they were going back. Back to Sanctuary.
Enough running. Whatever came, they would face it together. There was hope that Trish could get through to Yvette, to Jack, that they could work this out. Maybe drive a wedge, save the program before the Scholars destroyed it. Joon wasn't even sure the program could be, should be saved. All he cared about was... Maia. Getting back.
