" I don’t know… What should I call you?" Commander asked his older self
"Call me Andy for simplicity's sake, and I’ll call you Commander; I know we prefer the latter. But in this case, it’s simpler."
" Alright. God, time travel and alternate realities give me a headache." Commander said
Andy replied:
"I would imagine. So, how is your timeline different?"
Commander went on to explain everything he had been through as part of Auru: the rise and fall of Asmund, the fall of Auru, and its rebirth.
"So how is your timeline different from mine?" "How is the blight back?"
"Well, it’s a long story."
"I got time. I don’t know when Preksak is going to arrive to murder me, but I could use the rest. Tell me."
Andy sighed and beckoned for Commander to follow him out of his room and follow him out into the hall.
Andy then started to talk as they walked.
…
"Well, for one thing, Auru never existed here. These people—Jedoi, Wizardteepot, and Benged—never came here. The founders of what would become Auru instead went to Garama to found Edgewind."
"That exists in my timeline, Andy. A lot of the old members of Auru went there after it fell. I went there myself."
„Well, it went on to have the role that Auru has in your timeline. The centre of lore, history, monarchy, and drama, I loved it."
„How did you end up in Mimiga?"
„Well, Dafyish found me running one day after being hunted down by Opyc from Hilo. I stumbled across a cave entrance to the town and fell in. There, he found me and brought me in."
"The biggest question I have though... is how did the blight return?"
"Well, it was because of us."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I’ll show you."
…
Andy brought Commander down the long, white concrete hallway to what looked like a medical facility.
"Your technology is far more advanced in your timeline than mine." "How is that possible?"
"You must have come from the distant past. What seems like the future to you is already the past for me. I’ve been alive for nearly 10,000 years now. You don’t look a day past 7,000, Commander."
Commander feeling self-conscious about some of the grey hair in my beard caused Andy to laugh and slap his hand on his back:
"Don’t worry, we age up fine."
"That’s good to know... but how did the blight return?"
Walking further along the corridor, they came to a massive open space. White walkways were everywhere, with lots of people on them. They were in a cave that was dug out, and glowstone lights hung from the top. A fountain lay at the bottom of the cave, along with a garden and what looked like residential areas. They were in the heart of Mima.
"Well… Nearly 5,000 years ago, we found a piece of the artefact under Mimiga. We don’t know how it got here, but we immediately summoned Cryptite to look at it."
Pulling out a tablet, Andy handed it to Commander.
"Watch," he said.
…
It had been a long day in the mines of Mimiga. Andy wiped the sweat off his brow and put down his miner’s helmet.
Tapping Dafyish on the shoulder, he mentioned it was time for them to leave. Their shift was about to end. They were going out to drink afterwards, and Andy was eager to leave the mines. He no longer yearned for them.
"Come on, man. Can we just go?" Andy asked
Dafyish ignored Andy and kept on hacking away at what looked like a vein of iron.
A sudden flash of blue light occurred when Dafyish struck it. This caused Dafyish to go flying back and hit the wall behind him.
"I don’t think that’s iron." Andy said
"No shit, Sherlock." Dafyish said
Peaking out of the corner was a piece of the artifact.
"Get the boss." "We need Crypt on this."
…
Andy went on to further explain that when Cryptite himself showed up, it was too late. Thanks to Dafyish’ actions, the blight had already spread throughout the mine. It then rapidly spread across Kalros in a matter of days. And unlike before, the blight had the ability to travel via water. Loka had been conquered by the blight in less than two weeks. They only managed to survive by locking down Mimiga and not allowing anyone or anything in. They also bombed the mine to prevent it from spreading into Mimiga.
"But was it not lethal like the last time? How did you survive?"
"It had a 65% lethality rate. 90% of the population of Loka died within the first month after the outbreak. Those who survived, well, they turned into this."
Stopping in front of a glass barrier with no light behind it, Commander looked in.
Something jumped at him, and Commander looked on in shock.
Fungi and mushrooms grew out of their heads, and their bodies looked like they were slowly being overcome by them.
It was Thanielle.
"What the hell happened to her?"
"When the infection is not treated right away, people turn into fungi themselves... We do have a vaccine... but it wasn’t made in time to save everyone."
"Why are you keeping her alive then?"
"She’s the source... of our vaccine."
Commander looked at Andy in shock.
"Why are you keeping her alive like this?" "This is cruel and inhumane!"
"I’m sorry, Commander. In order for us to survive, hard choices must be made."
"But she deserves mercy."
"I know. But the priority of saving our species and the world is paramount to the rights of others. I am also pained by the choices I will have to make today in regards to you."
"The sacrifices I’ve had to make over the years, the people I have forced to kill in order to save our civilization. It haunts me deeply, Commander. I question why I'm still alive. The guilt I feel over us being responsible for the return of the blight It is all my fault. I’m sorry I have to do this. "
"What do you mean?"
Andy held Preksak’s compass in his hand and said:
"You gave us the one thing we need to escape this cursed world—Preksak’s compass. With this, I can take my people, and we can start a new life."
"I have no problem finding you a new place to live... but I sense you’re holding back something."
"You can’t come. You’ve been infected by the blight. You, Sku, and Scooter represent a danger to everyone and everything. You must not be allowed to leave this universe."
"But you have a vaccine!" "You can save us!"
"I’m sorry, but it’s too late. I will make sure you feel comfortable in your final moments."
Andy beckoned for guards behind him to grab Commander.
"Take him to see his friends and make sure they’re comfortable." "It breaks my heart to have to do this."
…
Commander was taken to a holding room, where Sku and Scooter were. Both were talking to each other. The holding room looked like your typical jail cell, with white concrete walls and metal bars. Commander was shoved in by a less than kind guard.
"So you learned the truth, eh?"
"Yes. They caused the blight to return. That’s why Mimiga is still around... and the experiments they’ve done on people to get a vaccine."
Scooter spoke up:
"That’s not true, at least not the latter." "They don’t have a vaccine."
"What do you mean?" Sku asked
Scooter said:
"They lied to you. When I was in the hospital, I overheard them talking about vaccine trials. They said the latest one failed. It was their last shot."
"So, are we infected?"
"No. Because of the temporal mechanics of the compass and the shard, we’re somehow shielded from it. When I looked into their system and saw the blood tests on us, they determined that the properties of the compass somehow protected us from the infection."
Commander thought about the stories he heard about how Preksak became invincible when he was wielding his compass. Because the three of them had been exposed to it, they were protected from the blight.
"Andy is wanting to use the compass to escape to a different reality. One without the blight." Commander said
"We can’t allow them to do that. If they do, the whole of the multiverse is at risk of letting the blight spread. Trillions would die."
"The blight did kill lots of people. But the ones it left behind... well, they are the real monsters."
"Why?"
"People infected with the blight live a normal life, but when they die, they turn into fungus monsters." They also have a subconscious desire to spread it any way they can, when they are nearing the end of their lives. Andy isn’t just wanting to find a new reality to live in, he wants to spread the blight unwillingly. Andy is on the verge of death."
Commander and Sku fell into silence at the revelation of Andy’s action.
"How do you know this?" asked Sku
" When they healed me and they weren’t looking, I got into their computer system, and I saw the truth as plain as day."
"Dear God, we need to stop him. But how do we escape?"
"And most importantly, who are you, Scooter? Why were you in Preksak’s Dark Spire?"
Scooter sighed and stood up.
"I am one of the first slicers. I was with Cryptite when we were first battling Preksak. This was before the Battle of the Spire. I remember giving up my life to stop one of his bombs from going off. All I remember before I supposedly died was a massive fireball and a mysterious hand reaching out for me."
"It was Preksak. He... tortured me for years. And I know his grand plan. We must get the Guardians back."
"What do you mean, Guardians? They’re all gone or are slaves to Preksak." Sku said
"No, we must get the original Guardians. MagPieMan, Diabolical Mech, Mopb3, and Gallius are the only ones capable of stopping Preksak.
Commander replied:
" But I thought they were figures of myth. But I thought Preksak was the same until yesterday. Where do we find them?"
"Well, that’s what the compass is for." "We can track them and find them."
"But Andy has it. And he represents just as big a threat as Preksak. We also don’t know how far behind Preksak is from finding us. What do we do?"
Commander stopped to think for a minute:
"The most immediate threat is Andy. We need to stop him and get the compass back. That’s the way to solve the bigger issue at hand, Preksak."
"But how do we escape?" Sku asked
Suddenly the jail cell was plunged into darkness, and flashing red lights came on. A voice came through the loudspeaker.
"Warning, intruder alert. They are unauthorized robotic beings that have breached the base. Get into battle positions, lock down all stations, and prepare for battle."
The speaker fell silent after that.
Commander thought, "What the hell do we do now?"
"Call me Andy for simplicity's sake, and I’ll call you Commander; I know we prefer the latter. But in this case, it’s simpler."
" Alright. God, time travel and alternate realities give me a headache." Commander said
Andy replied:
"I would imagine. So, how is your timeline different?"
Commander went on to explain everything he had been through as part of Auru: the rise and fall of Asmund, the fall of Auru, and its rebirth.
"So how is your timeline different from mine?" "How is the blight back?"
"Well, it’s a long story."
"I got time. I don’t know when Preksak is going to arrive to murder me, but I could use the rest. Tell me."
Andy sighed and beckoned for Commander to follow him out of his room and follow him out into the hall.
Andy then started to talk as they walked.
…
"Well, for one thing, Auru never existed here. These people—Jedoi, Wizardteepot, and Benged—never came here. The founders of what would become Auru instead went to Garama to found Edgewind."
"That exists in my timeline, Andy. A lot of the old members of Auru went there after it fell. I went there myself."
„Well, it went on to have the role that Auru has in your timeline. The centre of lore, history, monarchy, and drama, I loved it."
„How did you end up in Mimiga?"
„Well, Dafyish found me running one day after being hunted down by Opyc from Hilo. I stumbled across a cave entrance to the town and fell in. There, he found me and brought me in."
"The biggest question I have though... is how did the blight return?"
"Well, it was because of us."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I’ll show you."
…
Andy brought Commander down the long, white concrete hallway to what looked like a medical facility.
"Your technology is far more advanced in your timeline than mine." "How is that possible?"
"You must have come from the distant past. What seems like the future to you is already the past for me. I’ve been alive for nearly 10,000 years now. You don’t look a day past 7,000, Commander."
Commander feeling self-conscious about some of the grey hair in my beard caused Andy to laugh and slap his hand on his back:
"Don’t worry, we age up fine."
"That’s good to know... but how did the blight return?"
Walking further along the corridor, they came to a massive open space. White walkways were everywhere, with lots of people on them. They were in a cave that was dug out, and glowstone lights hung from the top. A fountain lay at the bottom of the cave, along with a garden and what looked like residential areas. They were in the heart of Mima.
"Well… Nearly 5,000 years ago, we found a piece of the artefact under Mimiga. We don’t know how it got here, but we immediately summoned Cryptite to look at it."
Pulling out a tablet, Andy handed it to Commander.
"Watch," he said.
…
It had been a long day in the mines of Mimiga. Andy wiped the sweat off his brow and put down his miner’s helmet.
Tapping Dafyish on the shoulder, he mentioned it was time for them to leave. Their shift was about to end. They were going out to drink afterwards, and Andy was eager to leave the mines. He no longer yearned for them.
"Come on, man. Can we just go?" Andy asked
Dafyish ignored Andy and kept on hacking away at what looked like a vein of iron.
A sudden flash of blue light occurred when Dafyish struck it. This caused Dafyish to go flying back and hit the wall behind him.
"I don’t think that’s iron." Andy said
"No shit, Sherlock." Dafyish said
Peaking out of the corner was a piece of the artifact.
"Get the boss." "We need Crypt on this."
…
Andy went on to further explain that when Cryptite himself showed up, it was too late. Thanks to Dafyish’ actions, the blight had already spread throughout the mine. It then rapidly spread across Kalros in a matter of days. And unlike before, the blight had the ability to travel via water. Loka had been conquered by the blight in less than two weeks. They only managed to survive by locking down Mimiga and not allowing anyone or anything in. They also bombed the mine to prevent it from spreading into Mimiga.
"But was it not lethal like the last time? How did you survive?"
"It had a 65% lethality rate. 90% of the population of Loka died within the first month after the outbreak. Those who survived, well, they turned into this."
Stopping in front of a glass barrier with no light behind it, Commander looked in.
Something jumped at him, and Commander looked on in shock.
Fungi and mushrooms grew out of their heads, and their bodies looked like they were slowly being overcome by them.
It was Thanielle.
"What the hell happened to her?"
"When the infection is not treated right away, people turn into fungi themselves... We do have a vaccine... but it wasn’t made in time to save everyone."
"Why are you keeping her alive then?"
"She’s the source... of our vaccine."
Commander looked at Andy in shock.
"Why are you keeping her alive like this?" "This is cruel and inhumane!"
"I’m sorry, Commander. In order for us to survive, hard choices must be made."
"But she deserves mercy."
"I know. But the priority of saving our species and the world is paramount to the rights of others. I am also pained by the choices I will have to make today in regards to you."
"The sacrifices I’ve had to make over the years, the people I have forced to kill in order to save our civilization. It haunts me deeply, Commander. I question why I'm still alive. The guilt I feel over us being responsible for the return of the blight It is all my fault. I’m sorry I have to do this. "
"What do you mean?"
Andy held Preksak’s compass in his hand and said:
"You gave us the one thing we need to escape this cursed world—Preksak’s compass. With this, I can take my people, and we can start a new life."
"I have no problem finding you a new place to live... but I sense you’re holding back something."
"You can’t come. You’ve been infected by the blight. You, Sku, and Scooter represent a danger to everyone and everything. You must not be allowed to leave this universe."
"But you have a vaccine!" "You can save us!"
"I’m sorry, but it’s too late. I will make sure you feel comfortable in your final moments."
Andy beckoned for guards behind him to grab Commander.
"Take him to see his friends and make sure they’re comfortable." "It breaks my heart to have to do this."
…
Commander was taken to a holding room, where Sku and Scooter were. Both were talking to each other. The holding room looked like your typical jail cell, with white concrete walls and metal bars. Commander was shoved in by a less than kind guard.
"So you learned the truth, eh?"
"Yes. They caused the blight to return. That’s why Mimiga is still around... and the experiments they’ve done on people to get a vaccine."
Scooter spoke up:
"That’s not true, at least not the latter." "They don’t have a vaccine."
"What do you mean?" Sku asked
Scooter said:
"They lied to you. When I was in the hospital, I overheard them talking about vaccine trials. They said the latest one failed. It was their last shot."
"So, are we infected?"
"No. Because of the temporal mechanics of the compass and the shard, we’re somehow shielded from it. When I looked into their system and saw the blood tests on us, they determined that the properties of the compass somehow protected us from the infection."
Commander thought about the stories he heard about how Preksak became invincible when he was wielding his compass. Because the three of them had been exposed to it, they were protected from the blight.
"Andy is wanting to use the compass to escape to a different reality. One without the blight." Commander said
"We can’t allow them to do that. If they do, the whole of the multiverse is at risk of letting the blight spread. Trillions would die."
"The blight did kill lots of people. But the ones it left behind... well, they are the real monsters."
"Why?"
"People infected with the blight live a normal life, but when they die, they turn into fungus monsters." They also have a subconscious desire to spread it any way they can, when they are nearing the end of their lives. Andy isn’t just wanting to find a new reality to live in, he wants to spread the blight unwillingly. Andy is on the verge of death."
Commander and Sku fell into silence at the revelation of Andy’s action.
"How do you know this?" asked Sku
" When they healed me and they weren’t looking, I got into their computer system, and I saw the truth as plain as day."
"Dear God, we need to stop him. But how do we escape?"
"And most importantly, who are you, Scooter? Why were you in Preksak’s Dark Spire?"
Scooter sighed and stood up.
"I am one of the first slicers. I was with Cryptite when we were first battling Preksak. This was before the Battle of the Spire. I remember giving up my life to stop one of his bombs from going off. All I remember before I supposedly died was a massive fireball and a mysterious hand reaching out for me."
"It was Preksak. He... tortured me for years. And I know his grand plan. We must get the Guardians back."
"What do you mean, Guardians? They’re all gone or are slaves to Preksak." Sku said
"No, we must get the original Guardians. MagPieMan, Diabolical Mech, Mopb3, and Gallius are the only ones capable of stopping Preksak.
Commander replied:
" But I thought they were figures of myth. But I thought Preksak was the same until yesterday. Where do we find them?"
"Well, that’s what the compass is for." "We can track them and find them."
"But Andy has it. And he represents just as big a threat as Preksak. We also don’t know how far behind Preksak is from finding us. What do we do?"
Commander stopped to think for a minute:
"The most immediate threat is Andy. We need to stop him and get the compass back. That’s the way to solve the bigger issue at hand, Preksak."
"But how do we escape?" Sku asked
Suddenly the jail cell was plunged into darkness, and flashing red lights came on. A voice came through the loudspeaker.
"Warning, intruder alert. They are unauthorized robotic beings that have breached the base. Get into battle positions, lock down all stations, and prepare for battle."
The speaker fell silent after that.
Commander thought, "What the hell do we do now?"