20: FRACTURES
They took Michael back to the others at their hideout, and began to explain what happened. They didn’t bother moving again as they realized that Millie could sense their movements through the dimensions the same way they could. Michael was shocked even more when he met Penelope, and Starchild. They then told him of their mother’s kidnapping. He had already known of course. The other children were very glad to see him as well, after all any additional adult support was much welcome.
He was just starting to get fragments of the story, when Starchild, who had gone back to her search, said; “I think I found where they’ve been going to.”
“Can you sense anyone?” Tristan asked right away.
“No, the pedestals are not in use right now, but there seems to have been a lot of recent traffic, and some leading from here.” She answered.
Shen Dao was very thoughtful. “We must take great caution in our observation of the spire site. I am sure they have made preparations for us.”
Tristan, Penny, and Starchild nodded. They and Shen Dao were the ones to go take a look.
Michael asked, “Are these the ones who took your mother?”
His son nodded.
“I’m going with you then.” Michael informed them.
Shen Dao asked Tristan what was going on, and he explained. The old man then had Tristan translate to Michael that he should stay and guard the children on this trip, but when they had a rescue plan; they would definitely need him along then. Michael saw the logic in that, after all this was just a scout mission.
After the four of them transferred to a location a dozen shifts away, they stepped down for a moment.
“The next spire is connected directly with their hideout I think.” Starchild said a little unsure.
“Remember to just look from the connection point, do not will yourself through.” Shen Dao explained. “We must be very quick, and then retreat back to the others as fast as we can, in the event we are seen.” He finished.
Tristan, and Penny nodded. Starchild smiled.
With that, they all stepped back up on the pedestals, and shifted again.
At the next spire, they looked all around through the different ‘doorways’ around them etched in golden light.
Starchild said, “There, that one.”
Looking through they saw several of the apes’ figures diving and scurrying about excitedly, and then they saw Millie; she was fiddling with something on her wrist. Beyond her they saw a couple apes each holding Jackie, and Jennifer in front of them as they backed up against the clear cathedral wall; and beyond the wall they saw nothing but a vast ocean. Something moved by the old Witch’s head, and then another quick movement. Then they could see two metal spheres moving through the air above her head.
Millie smiled wickedly, and motioned for the observers to join her.
“Oh no.” Shen Dao said. “We should go now.”
“But they’ve already seen us, let’s just look for a minute; try to find their weak spot.” Tristan said.
When Mille saw that they weren’t going to shift, but just look; she grew a furious look on her face, and then she grabbed the all too familiar purge generator from her belt. She angrily pointed it at them.
“Hurry!” Shen Dao urged, and they shifted back to their previous location.
“Keep going!” Shen Dao yelled, and they quickly shifted back the route whence they had come again.
A bright burst of energy hit them as they entered that last ‘doorway’. Suddenly they were in the other dimension, not just passing through a rift in it as they should have been, and they were really moving too. It felt oddly familiar to all of them, as each indeed had been actually in this place before, and they all quickly realized they were being flung through time again. Starchild sensed this right away, and centered her mind. Then she began to pull all their energies together around her centered self, and she started to guide them. They felt her take control, and all willingly let her, as they could sense she knew the way. Starchild was very familiar with the other dimension, as it had been her playground since before birth. She inherently understood the bizarre seeming directions, and could will her mind to anywhere, or any when; and with their bodies dematerialized this meant she could lead them through this realm in verity. Starchild guided them safely back to their hideout in the present.
The rest of the group thought nothing out of the ordinary when the four scouts returned; until just after their arrival that is. The sky seemed to brake open high above them. It was as if someone had ripped a sheet of paper, but that paper happened to be the sky itself, and it was left torn. They didn’t see stars or space beyond the tear either, just some strange changing patterns of almost every color and shape. These shapes were mixed with areas of pure blackness, in a very fractal seeming pattern.
“Shen Dao, what’s happening?” Penelope called out.
“Oh no! It’s that rebel, she’s going to destroy everything!” he sounded genuinely worried.
“What do you mean, everything?” Tristan looked troubled.
The old man’s eyes grew round. “I mean everything! The whole of reality.”
“How can that be?” Penny required.
“Tristan, what’s he saying about this?” Michael jumped in.
Tristan looked at him with frightened eyes. “It’s bad, dad.”
“That infernal device she has created, it must somehow be fracturing the very thread of order in the universe.” The old man brooded.
“What is that stuff?” Penelope asked, pointing up at the strange phenomenon.
“Hun Dun; it is the primal chaos that exists before the order in our reality.” Shen Dao answered.
“So if that gets bigger, it will destroy everything?” Penny was clearly frightened.
“It could replace it, but it is the same effect.” The old man was most grave.
Tristan spun to his father. “The old Witch is doing it dad. She could destroy everything. We’ve got to stop her now!”
Michael agreed, “Let’s take our chances.”
Shen Dao again tried to calm them down. “Did you see those metal spheres floating in their hideout?”
“Yes Shen Dao.” Tristan said.
“Those are sentry drones. They will blast anything that enters the spire.” Shen Dao went on, “And very quickly I might add.”
“So we’ll take those out first!” Penny was ready.
The old man shook his head. “Besides that, you wouldn’t even be able to complete the shift, as the rebel would use that infernal device on you as you tried.”
That shut them up. They knew Shen Dao was right, and they didn’t want another ride into the future, or the past. That last call was close enough, and if Starchild hadn’t been with them….
“What can we do then?” Tristan became frustrated, and the others saw this, although they had not been privy to the conversation.
“I take it there’s problems again?” Michael stated more than asked.
His son confirmed with a nod.
William wanted to help. “Why won’t your idea work?”
Tristan explained the situation to William and the others. Will’s mind went to work. He called on his crack team of commandos to help formulate a plan. After several minutes they came to a conclusion.
“We need a diversion.” William informed the adults.
“Yeah, but what?” Tristan questioned.
“It’s too bad that you can’t shift into their hideout away from the pedestals. Then we could set up a diversion.” Joshua mentioned.
That got Tristan thinking, and he asked Shen Dao if there was any way that he could self-shift. The old man confirmed what he’d already suspected; that the Pearmainians had lost that ability eons ago. Shen Dao asked in return if he thought that Penny or he might be able to. They said that there was no way without the power from the spire.
Tristan said that even though she was quite powerful, he was sure she couldn’t. That would take just too much energy. He quickly added that even if she could, that he wouldn’t send her in there alone, or otherwise.
Sarah and Starchild were sitting facing each other. They weren’t talking to each other, they were just sitting and staring.
“Sarah. What are you two doing?” Leena asked.
Michael began to worry about this too. “What are they doing?”
No one could answer.
After several moments, Sarah blinked, and turned to Tristan. “I know how to get there without the spire.”
Everyone was silent.
“Starchild showed me a picture in my head of where their hideout is, and I saw there were oceans, right?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, I saw an ocean in the background; outside of the spire.” Penelope confirmed.
“Then I know how to get there.” Sarah was confident.
Tristan looked at her strangely. “Just how are we going to do that?”
Shen Dao started asking Tristan and Penny what was going on, as he could tell by their expressions that something was afoot.
Tristan shrugged his shoulders, and looked to his daughter. She wore a knowing smile, but said nothing.
“The Breack Kreel could take us.” Sarah stated.
“What?” Leena laughed.
Joshua’s eyes were getting bigger by the second. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
Sarah nodded once, as if a matter of fact. “Yes. They could take us. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”
“But how Sarah?” Becky asked.
“They can do what you all are talking about, and they could take us with them.”
The revelation stunned her, and then Leena remembered what Sarah had told Chirp Swee about the Kreel not being from the Cracowck planet.
After the children told the adults of their encounter with the Kreel, Tristan explained what he knew to Shen Dao, who became very excited upon learning of the contact made with the Kreel. William and his team went to work with the new possibility, and soon they had what appeared to be a workable plan.
Michael watched the whole thing transpire. “Simply amazing!” He said of the children.
Just then the sky ripped in another section, and Shen Dao told them they must hurry.
Leena turned to her brother as they were about to leave, and become separated again, but this time on purpose. “Do you think the portals are safe?”
“I sure hope so Sis.” Tristan told her, and then gave her, his father, and most especially his daughter big hugs. “Take care of my little girl!” He charged Michael.
Michael nodded as he slung one of the fire ball weapons over his shoulder. “With my life son.”
Fractured Worlds (Book 1 of the Fractured Worlds Trilogy) Page 20