by Jamie Hawke
Frank grinned at that, then ran out to kill more pirates. Whatever they did, they couldn’t let these bastards near his other self and the fight with the Pirate King. He wasn’t about to let history get messed up, not now that he’d actually reset his own timeline. In a sense, he knew it could be done.
The first few pirates fell easily enough, the others on his team moving in and out of the shadows to strike. When the Vikings arrived, they came in with a bang—explosives that must’ve come from the steampunk world, Frank figured. The ledge where Rose had just gone collapsed, another Viking about to throw something in that direction. Another had a sort of axe that had clockwork patterns on the side, and some sort of strange spiky contraption where the axe-head would be. A third had managed to grab hold of Keisha, kicking her leg out, about to slice her neck open.
If ever there was a need for moving fast, this was it. He remembered his latest skill, the Branching Paths, and applied it. Everything moved in slow motion, versions of himself attempting to stop it all, to help everyone they could.
One version had him attempt to stop the man with the throwing device first, but as he turned back to Keisha, she tried to strike her captor only to have her throat sliced open. Frank stared in horror as she died, but it was only the blue ghost of what could come to pass… he hoped. The second path had him save her first, but in the process the spiky axe that seemed to be coming for him instead got Shadow as he moved in to help Rose. The third had Frank throw himself at the axe-wielding Viking, but that one showed him getting hit in the head with that thing.
None of those sounded great, but the blue was fading, so he figured that meant he had to choose. Seeing as the other two definitely resulted in loved ones being killed, he charged the man with the axe, shooting as he did so at the one with a likely explosive, while tossing a smoke bomb Keisha’s way. Nothing said he had to follow the branching path narrative exactly, and the bullet hit the pirate—rather, the explosive device that he had been about to throw, causing his hands to explode and him to burst into flames. Smoke burst out from the other direction, but there was no time to see if Keisha got out of that situation. He’d have to trust in her, and hope this spiky axe-thing didn’t kill him.
Shadow was there, grappling hook taking hold of the weapon as the spikes grazed Frank’s hair. It pulled out some of his hair as it was yanked back, but otherwise the modified axe didn’t do shit. The Viking’s mouth dropped, eyes wide as Frank’s katana slid up under his leather armor, spilling his guts. Shadow finished the man off, burying the spikes from the axe deep in the man’s skull.
Because Frank had stopped the bomb guy, Shadow hadn’t needed to try and interfere, meaning he was here to help! Frank frowned, glad he wasn’t dead, but wondering about this Branching Path skill and how it could be more useful. He shrugged, supposing that at least seeing possible negative outcomes of each option was a good thing.
Still, if he could upgrade it, he would. At the moment, however, he had more pirates and Vikings to kill. Temra appeared at his side, shooting several projectile blowdarts from her glove, giving him a grin as she did so, and then turning to strike down a pirate with her sword.
Frank returned the smile, moving past her to strike down a Viking. He was relieved to see Keisha there, two swords flashing and swiping through the enemy like the badass she was. Badass, and alive. A good combination.
Soon they were all in a line, his team and his grandparents, and they’d cut down the last of them.
Frank spun, pulling out his compass as it vibrated. He was glad to see he’d leveled up again, and felt like he damn well deserved it. This was a big one, in his mind—level thirteen! And apparently the compass agreed, because it had awarded him three points to assign. He looked over the stats and skills, seeing that Branching Path wasn’t actually upgradeable. That being the case, he put a point toward Awareness in hopes it would give him a spidey sense or something like that, then Aim and Shield. He wanted to go for more stamina and strength, but felt the skills were more important at the moment.
LEVEL: 12
STRENGTH: 140%
BALANCE: 130%
STAMINA: 140%
ACTIVE SKILLS: Awareness 2; Crafting 3
PASSIVE SKILLS: Aim 3; Shield 6
SPECIAL SKILL: Branching Path
They turned in time to see that Rick—the Pirate King—had taken the other two stones and compass, vanishing as he had in Frank’s timeline. For a moment they all watched themselves in the aftermath, but Frank was the one to clear his throat and say, “We need to get into position to meet up with M&M. Let’s get to it.”
25
Waiting in the rowboat for the prearranged signal from Milly, Frank and the others waited, watching and discussing what would come next.
“This boy you mentioned,” Frank said, turning to his grandparents. “It’s possible he’s the one in that room, the fourth-dimension place.”
“Likely, even,” Shadow confirmed.
“Then that’s where we need to go next. Or at least, I do. Temra, you’re able to see where hot spots are?”
She shrugged, pulling on the monocle. “I was able back in the other worlds. And…” She froze, nodding. “One’s appearing in the ship right now.”
Frank frowned, turning to take in the ship and wonder about that. “No way it’s a coincidence.”
“Could be a trap,” Rose pointed out. “If it’s him, he wants you there.”
“But he was helpful. Could be again.”
“Or we could’ve played right into his trap.”
“Who was he, exactly?” Frank wasn’t about to go running into anything without knowing more details although he was already taking up the oars to make it to the ship.
“Just an assistant,” Rose said. “As far as we knew, anyway. But now that it’s all coming together, I… I should confess something.”
All present turned to her, waiting.
“Confess?” Shadow asked.
She nodded, slowly picking her words. “He… Merin was his name. He had been tinkering with our machinery. I caught him, thought he’d just been curious…”
“But now you wonder if he played a larger hand in all this.”
“More than that. I wonder if it’s because of him that we were able to discover how to capture the light, after all. How to bend it to alter time and reality. It wasn’t like… I mean, we were trying, but not long after that moment is when we got it to work.”
“Well… damn.” Shadow leaned, back, hand going to the hilt of his sword and fingers moving along it as he thought. “I’d say this is a very real possibility.”
“And we have to assume that, if he was responsible, and if this is him, he has some big plan in the works.”
“Maybe,” Frank chimed in. “Or maybe he’s just messed it all up in a crazy accident.”
The words were more hope than anything else, and everyone there seemed to know it. So, he was relieved when he saw Milly appear at the window of the ship, her hand resting on the edge with a beckoning motion before disappearing. It was time. “It’s that, or head straight to WWII. I, for one, would like some answers.”
“Agreed,” Temra chimed in.
“Let’s make it so,” Shadow replied.
They reached the ship and began to scale the hull, reaching the indicated window and pulling themselves in. It was the bedroom, currently empty, but a moment after all of them had piled in, Milly and Mary stumbled back, clearly nervous.
“You made it,” Mary said.
“This is… strange, to say the least,” Milly added, eyeing Frank like she’d seen a ghost.
“They—er, we… bought it?” Frank asked, and then chuckled at the absurdity of the question. Of course they had, as that version was him, and if anything had changed, he would’ve remembered it or thought differently on the subject.
“That was fucking intense,” Milly said with a sparkle in her eyes as she looked at Frank. He had a feeling she didn’t mean only the fighting, but perhaps the fun the
y’d had after.
“Aye.” Mary hitched her thumbs in her belt and ran her tongue along her teeth. “But what now?”
“Now…” Frank took out his compass and looked it over. “Now we put an end to all of this.”
Rose went to the door, leaning against it, and grinned. “Teddy must have his mind quite dizzy by now.”
“Teddy was damn confused when we explained where we were going,” Milly said with a chuckle. “It was kind of fun, actually.”
“Everyone’s ready? Rose pushed off from the door, looking around at all of them. “We don’t know much, except that a point is about to open here, one that will bring us to some strange place only Frank has been to.”
“What sort of strange place?” Milly asked.
“I believe it’s the future, or some other sort of… place, maybe another dimension.” He grimaced, realizing she wouldn’t have any idea what a dimension would mean. “There’s someone there, someone who’s giving me guidance, but he might have a larger hand at play.”
“Meaning what, exactly?” Mary asked this time.
He shrugged. “I’m figuring it out along with you all.”
“Right, then. Let’s get to it.
Esmerelda glanced around the ship. “Too bad we don’t have a moment to get some alone time, first. Last time we were here…”
“Last time you were here was only a few minutes ago for us,” Milly pointed out with a chuckle.
Rose cleared her throat, frowning. “Please, not… I mean, we’re his grandparents.”
“Clearly,” Mary said, teasingly.
Temra was the one to clear her throat this time, and when they were all looking at her, she said, “Now. Now’s when it has to happen.”
“Now?” Frank cursed, quickly bringing up the travel option of the compass, not having to tell it where to go. The ship seemed to spin around them as it activated, much like the Space Needle had, and then they were gone in a burst of light.
When the light faded, they were all in that strange room he’d been in before, floating in the midst of the star map.
Again, the form was on the other side of the counter, a silhouette against the light. It was staring at them, hands on the countertop, waiting.
“You’ve returned,” the raspy voice of the figure said. “And… are ready?”
“You’re not Merin,” Shadow said, voice firm. A declaration, not a question.
“No.”
“Then who?” Rose asked. Frank tried to step forward, but found himself unable to move, to lunge for him and attack. To do anything, really.
“Relax, Frank,” the man said, and yes, he was sure it was a man now. “You’ll understand all in due time, but first, the boy, as you call him, is still out there. Hurry.”
“Where?”
“I can track him, but that is all. He won’t return here, not when he knows I await him, with this.” The figure picked up a gleaming dagger. When turned, Frank saw it also had a line of red light down its side, and strange encryptions. “It will end him, but you have to get him back here. Understood?”
Frank looked around at his ladies, then his grandparents. No, he doubted any of them really understood, and he certainly didn’t. Not the full picture, anyway, but enough to go on for now.
With a nod, he said, “We’ll do it.”
“Of course, you will,” the man said and then set down the blade, instantly activating some sort of portal that whisked the group out of there in another blast of light.
Frank was going to some unknown time and place to fight this boy, Merin, if he understood correctly, or trap him and bring him back to this point. It didn’t make a lot of sense yet, but the pieces were coming together.
In that flash of light, he caught a view of the man there behind the counter, then quickly turned to see if the others had noticed. He had no way of telling because the light overtook all sight. They were whisked away from that spot, that place with its weird star map, that fourth dimension plane.
Taken away from the only other version of himself that he knew to exist.
Epilogue: Book 3 Preview
It had been himself he’d seen, right? Now that Frank was in the darkness, about to find out where they were as his eyes adjusted, he wondered. It had definitely looked like him, but… Could that make sense? In recent days, he’d come to learn anything was possible.
What would Temra think? Could this be her version of him? He’d seemed sickly, his voice raspy… maybe injured? Maybe at death’s door?
Their surroundings becoming clear. Pillars of fire highlighted plumes of smoke, giving the whole place a sort of creepy, though almost welcoming, warm glow. Like the city was a bonfire on the beach on a cold night. Shadows darkened the nearby streets further, and a large dirigible passed by, complete with Gatling guns at the sides and steam pouring out of the boiler at the rear.
“Crafting,” Frank said with a look around and checking his compass to see that, indeed, the map showed several loot crate locations, “has potential to be damn fun here.”
“A lot of this world can be fun,” Temra said, turning to give him a very seductive look. He had to ignore the fact that his grandparents were nearby.
“Is there a place we can lie low?” Rose asked.
“My home was attacked, but…” She glanced around, then motioned for them to follow. “There was a place, a guild safe house, and maybe… It’s worth a shot, anyway.”
“So, this is your world?” Shadow asked. “You’re certain?”
“From what I’ve seen,” Temra replied, “nothing’s changed. It’s exactly as I last saw it.”
Past winding roads and a hill lined with houses that led to a lake at the bottom, Frank noticed a group of people huddled up, a roar of laughter coming from them. Temra glanced back his way, saw it, and nodded.
“It’s not all gloom here, as you might think by the mood of the steam and lights, or even the way the stars seem to get blocked from view.” Sure enough, the sky was heavy with clouds, not a star to be seen. “Storytellers are rampant here, and I’m guessing that’s old Traybon the storyteller earning his rent at the moment. He always used that spot around nightfall.”
They walked on for a bit, when she chuckled. “There was a story he told once, when Frank was with me… Er, other Frank. We’d stand there, listening, his arms around me, and…”
She lost herself in silence for a moment.
“The story?” Esmerelda asked.
“Ah, yes. One about a distant kingdom, a boy who died only to come back as a dragon, but controlled in an evil way. When he overcame the evil, he left our world to discover that life and death were illusions, that ‘dying’ was simply another way of reaching different parts of our vast universe, where new wars were waiting.”
“Sounds insane.”
“Exactly.” Temra chuckled. “The old man’s stories are so out there, you can get lost in them and almost forget whatever mundane problems you’re dealing with at the moment. He has a way of taking you to these other worlds, to whisk you away as if you are the warrior, the dragon, the fairy princess.”
Frank listened with a pleasant smile, knowing he would’ve liked those days, being able to hold her and stand around, listening to stories. Maybe they’d have them again, her and the other ladies, when all this was over.
Rose was apparently having similar thoughts, because she said, “It was like that for us, before all of this time travel started. Your grandfather and I,” she glanced at Frank, taking Shadow’s hand, “we’d dive into our work, but when we were home it was all about the latest radio drama.”
“And there were the films,” Shadow said, nodding. “Gone with the Wind was one of your favorites, right?”
She took his hand and kissed it, but the talk of the past got Frank thinking.
“So, to be clear,” he said, eyes wide as he took it all in, “we’re not going to World War II?”
“That’s a good thing,” Rose replied. “Although it’s still possible, I’m t
hinking it’s not necessary.”
Frank nodded, somewhat wondering what it would have been like to have really been there, but also terrified at the prospect of being caught in the middle of some slaughter while storming a beach or who the hell knows what.
They passed under a stone walkway. A man smoking a long pipe and wearing a three-piece gray suit nodded their way, eyeing their clothing suspiciously. Frank looked around to see that the eight of them were in a mix-match of pirate and ninja outfits, and even Temra looked out of place with her waitress ensemble from the Space Needle. At least she had the equipment to fit in, though, and soon had adjusted her clothing to more closely resemble what she’d worn when they first met.
Moving past the side of a building, they found a waterway, on the other side of which were several homeless or feral-looking gang types, lounging around and watching them pass. One called out, jeering, and Frank was glad to leave them behind, as a stench—either from them or more likely from the water, if that’s what it was—reminded him of moldy pastrami.
They’d reached the edge of the building when he noticed someone coming at them, the words, “No fucking way,” carrying on the wind.
Next thing he knew, the figure had lunged for Keisha. Esmerelda pushed through, knocking the figure down, and then Frank was at her side, sword drawn, staring down at…
Esmerelda?
“What—what are you doing here?” she asked.
Frank turned from her to his Esmerelda, then to Keisha. Other Esmerelda’s eyes flashed hatred when she turned to look at Keisha, but her eyes returned to Frank and she waited.
“Temra, get us to that safe house, now,” Rose said, nodding for them to hurry. The others from across the water were standing, paying them more attention than was wanted. “We can discuss this there.”
Frank couldn’t fucking wait. Apparently, neither could this other Esmerelda, because the minute Frank lowered his sword, she was up and coming at him. He almost defended himself, but she was too fast, hands on his face, lips pressed to his, forcing her tongue into his mouth. He spluttered, stepping back, confused, and the look of confusion and betrayal in her eyes broke his heart.