Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

“Do you remember what happened 10 cycles ago, right before I disappeared?” I asked, it was about time I explained some of what happened to my friends. Perhaps not everything about Noe or anything that could compromise my long-term plans, but enough for them to understand what’s going on in the short term.

“Ah, you’re finally comfortable enough to talk about that…” Big Bob answered with a nod, “I was wondering when you’d bring it up, but it’s an unpleasant experience all around, so I don’t blame you for keeping quiet until now.”

“I wasn’t around back then,” Xalla said, “And all the files I had about the event’s either incomplete or redacted. What happened…?”

Big Bob sighed, “It’s not surprising that you couldn’t find much info, it was one of the largest catastrophes that Central’s ever experienced in its history. It’s also the point where the current Overseer started to lose support, so you can imagine why he’d want to keep things under wraps.”

“Was it that bad?” she asked again, “All I know was that Central had to restructure a lot after, and there were some new changes to the Origin Matrix as a result.”

Bob laughed, “Changes, eh? That’s one way of putting it.”

Big Bob finished the last of his food and shook his head, “No, Origin was damaged after that, so badly that it had lost a majority of its functions; how that happened, no one really knows, although I have my guesses…”

He looked at me with a knowing grin.

“Alright, I’ll admit it,” I said with a wry smile, “I did have a hand in crippling the stupid Matrix. I left it one final goodbye present for screwing me over like that.”

Xalla looked shocked as she tried to sort through so much new information, “Wait, it did what? How? Or, I mean, why? And how did you manage to hurt something as powerful as the Origin Matrix?”

Big Bob answered for me, “I guess someone who started working at Central after its restructuring wouldn’t know, especially if you were in a place like Xolloid, but the Origin Matrix used to be quite the menace back in its heyday.”

“Yeah, the damn thing had a hand in every major operation in the multiverse,” I added, “Outside of special cases like our hometown, of course.”

Xalla nodded, still not quite understanding what we were talking about. I don’t blame her, the whole situation back then was so chaotic that trying to explain it concisely was impossible. I wasn’t even sure of all the events that took place then, and I had been the one to orchestrate most of it!

I used all my senses to ensure that we were not overheard and burned a few more of the Director’s charms just in case. The next bit of information that I needed to share was sensitive. Xalla noticed the change in my posture and nodded slightly.

“Anyway,” I continued, lowering my voice, “Let’s just say that there was a handful of powerful individuals that were not happy with the way that Origin was handling things; it had become too powerful, too quickly, and it would be inevitable that it would outgrow the constraints that Central had placed on it.”

Big Bob nodded, “We only realized how out of hand it became when it was almost too late. It had several universes completely enthralled, and it was only expanding its resources further, all while Central’s command structure was happily unaware that their creation was going haywire. That’s why you should never trust idiots with technology, it’s so easy making something powerful, but they never think about the implications of their creations.”

“So what did you guys do?”

“Well,” I answered, “It’s not my place nor Bob’s to speak about the others and the specifics, but we quickly understood that fighting against the Origin Matrix directly would be next to impossible, even with all of the resources at our disposal.”

“Right,” Bob muttered, “I often forget how bad it was compared to its crippled form now.”

“So we had to strike it where it’s most vulnerable,” I continued, “At a location that it didn’t have full control over, at least not at that time.”

“You mean Central?” Xalla inferred, “Wait, does that mean…”

“Yup,” I said with a nod, “We were part of the reason why Central’s at war at the moment, although I can’t take all the credit for that. The Overseer was already playing with fire without my intervention, all I had to do was provide the spark to set things up. While I can’t go into the specifics, at least not here, not in the heart of Central’s grasp, but let’s just say that we weakened the Origin Matrix considerably by striking at its databases.”

Xalla looked at me with amazement as she processed all the implications of what we did. I wasn’t worried that she would judge me for bringing about untold destruction as a result of my actions, justified or not, as she was a Xollon, and instead, she looked at me in awe.

“Wow…” she muttered in fascination, “You should have told me this stuff sooner! I would love to pick your cortex about the specifics, I’ve never had the opportunity to engage in a full-scale war myself, and Rogue never tells me any of the specifics when I ask.”

“And that leads to the crux of my current predicament,” I answered with a deep sigh, “I didn’t get out of that scuffle unscathed.”

Big Bob nodded slowly, “I was afraid that was the case. How bad is it?”

“Wait,” Xalla interrupted, “Everything about the actual incident’s covered up, what actually happened then?”

I shrugged, “Origin figured out who was the main cause of its troubles, and it retaliated.”

I could see that Xalla wanted to ask for more, but she understood that it was not a topic that I would like to relive. And it was true, I had lost so much in that moment, things that I could never get back even after 10 cycles of rest, I still felt bitter about the whole situation. I had underestimated just how much Origin had grown, and that was also the point where I realized the limits my old body had. It was a learning experience, albeit a bitter one.

Thankfully Xalla didn’t press the issue, and that’s why I liked her so much, she always knew when to respect my boundaries.

“I see…” she muttered, “Sorry for interrupting, please continue.”

I nodded, “No worries, I’ll fill you in on the rest when we’re somewhere more private, you deserve to know the whole truth… but just not now.”

Xalla gave me a comforting shake of the frill, “It’s fine, Walter, take your time; I can’t imagine it being a pleasant experience to relive.”

“Thank you,” I said quickly, “And about my injury…”

Bob and Xalla looked at me with concern; I took a deep breath and explained.

“When I was caught up in that blast that took out most of Central’s home galaxy, my physical body was damaged almost irreversibly.”

Xalla winced, recalling what she knew about that incident that led to the complete erasure of an entire region of space. She wanted to say something else but chose better of it.

“Anyway,” I continued, “It wasn’t like I was completely unaware of the consequences of Origin finding out about my plans, even if I didn’t expect its retaliation to be so complete. I had contingency plans in place, but that confrontation forced me to abandon most of my physical form and enter into a healing sleep of sorts. Without going into specifics: I had to wait a long time before my contingency plan could come into fruition and a new body could be found that had the potential to house my consciousness.”

Xalla frowned, “Wait, so that means your current form…”

“It’s something that I made,” I answered with a sigh, “It’s not my original form.”

“But what about your Xollon body?” Xalla added, “There’s no way you could have made that, there was nothing fake about it, and those scars…”

And here was the crux of the problem. I couldn’t explain my second soul title without divulging information about Noe, and that was something that I couldn’t do under any circumstance. She was my only weapon against all the problems that I’d face in the future, and any risk of her existence linking with me must be avoided. I couldn’t tell her that I wasn’t a Xollon in the first place, as much as continuing that particular lie would hurt her in the long run.

“I was injured, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not healing slowly,” I lied, “My Xollon form is reintegrating into this new physical shell, but you can imagine why this would be problematic. I can go into my Secondary form for short bursts of time, but even that would be taxing to my recovery.”

“And definitely no prime form,” Xalla winced, “Yeah, that can’t be pleasant… is that why you have to go back into dormancy?”

I nodded, “Yes, the human shell can’t handle all the information and higher functions of the Xollon, and I have to rely on this body for my recovery due to the nature of my injuries.”

Which wasn’t the complete truth again. It was times like this that I wished that I had been a Xollon in the first place, it would have made things so much easier. But if was that easy to hijack one of their kind, then they wouldn’t be the Apex species.

Big Bob and Xalla did not look pleased about the state that I described myself to be in. They were worried about my well-being, and that made lying to them all the more painful.

I continued, “Well, things should look up once I stabilize further; the Ascension process is greatly speeding up my recovery, so don’t look that worried. I made this body so that it’s more resilient than the average Aspirant, but even that has its limits. I’d still be sleeping if things weren’t so dire right now.”

“I see,” Big Bob added, “That would explain quite a lot. How limited will you be once you’re forced back into hibernation?”

“Severely,” I answered in truth, “I’ve recovered a lot since then, but don’t expect much beyond what the current humans can do. I can still access some of my Xollon abilities, but even that will be limited.”

“And you managed to accomplish all this with those limitations?” Bob asked incredulously, “Damn… the Overseer’s screwed.”

Xalla chuckled, “He is indeed. How long before you have to sleep again, Walter?”

“A few Earth weeks perhaps,” I shrugged, “I can probably stretch that time if I had to, but it’d mean more time recovering.”

“Hm, then let’s keep that deadline to two weeks,” Big Bob muttered, “Let’s not tax you more than necessary. That’s about how long the two of us can be out here without someone noticing anyway.”

“Yeah,” Xalla agreed, “And I don’t think anyone can stop us if we’re working together. It’ll be like the three of us going on an adventure, just like the Aspirants! I’ve always wanted to see what life’s like on the other side! It’ll be fun!”

I chuckled; it’s just like Xalla to find the best aspects in any situation. And I think I agree with her; I can’t think of a better way to spend the fleeting moments of my early awakening with friends old and new. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a chance to simply enjoy life for the sake of it.

“Wait,” Xalla added, “There’s one last thing that’s bothering me about all this.”

“What is it?”

“How come you’re still so respected within Central? Surely someone would have realized what you’ve done 10 cycles ago, right?”

I smiled, “That’s the best part, Xalla, before my injury, I made sure that Origin could never tell anyone about what had truly happened. As far as Central HQ’s concerned, everything that happened was a result of the new war, and I was just an unfortunate casualty.”

“That also meant that none of his allies knew what had actually happened either!” Bob added with a shake of his head, “Damn near gave me a heart attack when I heard the news. Although I knew a stubborn scoundrel like you wouldn’t stay missing for long.

“But 10 cycles though?” he shook his head and sighed, “Let’s just say it’s good to see you around again. I missed our little adventures together, Walter.”

“It’s good to be back,” I grinned, “And I don’t plan to be going anywhere soon this time ‘round.”

Our conversation diverged to something more light-hearted after that, and the three of us simply enjoyed a quiet afternoon stroll in the fields surrounding the Main Stage. Gone were the serious topics that I was sure were still on everyone’s minds, and we allowed a rare moment of peace and quiet on those sprawling open fields. Before I knew it, dusk had arrived and the three of us were just moments away from the Restus’ home.

I guess it was time to go back to work, although I think I’ll enjoy it this time with a pair of trustworthy friends by my side.

 

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