The Sphere of Time

by TIME, S. O.

  Belly full, I sink back into my seat-bed and almost immediately doze off again.

  I’m jolted awake when my holo buzzes loudly, shaking my entire arm with it’s vibration. My eyes fly open in surprise, and I have to flail a bit to keep from falling off the seat. I shake my head to clear away the adrenaline and look at the message.

  Welcome home! We have lots to do, but for now, I need you to press on the center of your condenser.

  It’s from Aldrea.

  I quickly look around, but no one seems to be paying me any attention. I lean over and type a reply.

  Is something happening? Why do you need me to press my condenser?

  Her reply comes instantly, as if she’d prewritten her response.

  Just hurry and press it! I need to see if this works or not before setting up for plan B.

  Plan B?

  JUST PRESS IT!

  I feel the back of my neck with my fingers and come around to my condenser. I don’t feel anything particularly strange about it, but I reach the center of it and press down. Nothing happens for about half a second—and then the entire helo starts shaking and we lose altitude, fast.

  We hear a startled yell from the cockpit. Hitori grabs hold of her armrests as her body is pulled upwards. I have to grab the sides of the bed—now quickly folding back into a seat—to keep myself from flying up to the roof of the helo. Isao’s aide lets out a short yelp as she clings to her seat as well.

  “What is going on?” she shouts into an earpiece.

  “Well, reboot the system!” she snaps a moment later.

  We continue to drop for a few seconds longer before the helo stabilizes and levels out. We all look at each other in shock and surprise, breathing heavily and holding onto our seats for dear life.

  “I told them I didn’t want to be in this thing!” the woman shouts, knuckles white. She calms herself and regains her composure.

  “Are you both alright?” she asks us, her polite smile reasserting itself.

  Both Hitori and I nod.

  “Good. Let’s buckle up!” she says with forced cheer as she hurriedly clips the crossed belts on her seat.

  I turn to Botan and Alma—both still very much asleep. Fortunately, their pod hooks into the floor of the helo. It doesn’t appear to have moved in the slightest. Once everything has settled and we’re all buckled in, my holo goes off.

  Thanks for your help! See you soon!

  End of message. Puzzled, I reply,

  What did that button do?

  I receive no reply. At least I know now that we’re close enough to receive signal. Moments later, my holo begins to buzz with message after message from Kou, Aldrea, and Hana, the time stamps reaching back to just moments after Hitori and I disappeared to the Fall. I can’t even check the messages because of how fast they’re coming in. Missed calls and unanswered messages fill my screen.

  We’re back, Hitori’s safe. Is everything alright? I send Kou once my holo finally calms down, but receive no reply. I look over to see Hitori rummaging through the messages that she’s received as well.

  We reach the outskirts of the city, and I relax slightly as the now familiar skyline comes into view. But my ease doesn’t last. Something’s wrong. Many of the art holograms have been turned off, and lights are out in most of the towers. When I look down I don’t see any performers out or people walking around. A few of the streets are marked with long black scars, as if from some kind of weapon blast. It’s completely deserted.

  “Where are all the people?” Hitori asks.

  I can sense activity building up in her energy. The aide doesn’t respond, but her jaw tightens. Hitori turns to me, as if I might have more answers than she does.

  “We’ll figure this out once we get home,” I offer, working to keep the tension from my voice.

  Hitori remains quiet. I look back through Aldrea’s recent messages, but I can’t parse anything new. Is she waiting for us at the university? I thought she didn’t want to risk Kou finding out about her. We’re about ten minutes out when we hear distinct chatter rising from the cockpit. Then the helo takes a sharp turn to the left, shaking us along with it.

  “This again?” we hear from the cockpit.

  “Is everything alright in there?” the aide says into her earpiece, her energy spiking. She must not get a response because she unbuckles herself and heads over to the cockpit’s entranceway. As soon as she gets to the door, the helo shakes violently from side to side, sending the unfortunate woman flying against the sides of the helo. The shaking stops as abruptly as it began and the aide lies motionless on the floor. I pulse out to her—she’s still alive.

  “Hey are you okay? Wake up! Hey!” Hitori shouts. She tries to unbuckle her own seatbelt, but it doesn’t come loose.

  “What is happening? Let me out!” She fights to get free with no luck.

  I try to take my own seatbelt off with no luck either. We’re stuck in this helo as it continues to fly in the direction of the mountain and away from the university. I look out the window and notice we’re closer to the ground. I can make out trashed intersections full of debris from nearby stores and restaurants. Windows have been smashed in and the sidewalks are littered with protest signs.

  We fly up toward the opening in the trees in front of the Kurosawa mansion and touch down a little rough, but unharmed. Our seatbelts finally come loose and we’re able to get out. Hitori runs to the aide and immediately tries to heal her when the side door slides open. Hana is standing outside. Three healers rush into the helo. One begins working on the woman with Hitori while the other two run into the cockpit to check on the pilots. Hitori leaves the healer to his work and turns to Hana, who rushes up to us and hugs us both. She’s shaking.

  “I’m so glad you’re both safe.” She lets us go and takes a few steps back. “Welcome home,” she says with a forced smile. The bags under her eyes appear heavier than ours and her hair is a complete mess. Her energy thrums with a variety of emotions, but she’s doing her best to keep a straight face.

  “Can you please tell us what’s going on?” Hitori asks. “What was that back there, in the city? Where is everyone?”

  “We certainly do have a lot to talk about. Please, come with me.” Hana turns around and starts toward the mansion.

  “What about Botan and Alma?” Hitori asks.

  Hana stops for a second and turns around. “We already know about them. They’ll be taken care of, I assure you.”

  Hitori takes one last glance back and nods. We follow Hana inside. I turn back as we walk and see the pod being elevated out. The woman and the two pilots are placed in pods of their own.

  The mansion is empty. No children running around or people walking back and forth; even here it’s deserted. Hana leads us to the conference room where I hid the recording plant with Aldrea. I’m somewhat surprised to find Aldrea’s hologram inside—whatever protocols kept her out have been disabled. Her familiar absence of energy stands there, watching us as we all enter. I sense her energy residing deeper in the facility, humming with anxiety from her usual room. Whatever has happened is big. Big enough that despite everything Aldrea’s been through, she’s still shaken by recent events.

  At first she tries to display her usual giddy smile and attitude, but it soon crumbles and she grimaces.

  “Eiji, we need you now more than ever.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  H ana walks over to Aldrea.

  “Please, take a seat,” she says as she sits down. We do.

  Hitori gives Aldrea a brief, uncertain look, but she doesn’t ask any questions.

  “What’s going on?” I ask. “Why is no one outside?”

  “Isao has begun what I and the Council have always feared the most. He has initiated a military coup.”

  “What?” both Hitori and I shout simultaneously.

  “Why would he do that?” Hitori demands as her energy flurries with activity.

  "The day you disappeared, multiple portals opened around the
university riot. Isao was certain that it had something to do with the Fall, and he deployed a massive force to search for you."

  "What's wrong with that?" Hitori asks. "He was right—we were at the Fall."

  "The problem is that he acted recklessly and without the Council's permission. His recent defiant behavior and secrecy coupled with his orders to send such a large portion of our defensive forces away from Maluii right as portals began appearing was selfish and negligent. Soon after they left, more portals appeared—and these ones brought nymians."

  I glance at Hitori and see a mix of shame and horror in her eyes. If nymians came through while half the military was out looking for her...people must have died. I didn't dare ask how many.

  Hana shakes her head as if to clear it and continues. "The Council ordered Isao to recall his troops and stand down. He responded by bringing them to the Hall of Justice. He then 'secured' the council members for their own safety and declared martial law."

  Hitori slumps, dropping her head into her hands. "How could he…"

  I reach out to touch her shoulder, but she doesn't seem to notice. Hana remains quiet for a moment, allowing us to process. Before long Hitori looks up again.

  "Please continue."

  Hana nods.

  "There was resistance to his declaration on a number of fronts, but he has the loyalty of most of the veterans and many of the students and graduates. I have managed to rally the peace officers and the dissenting veterans and students, but we are quite outnumbered. Isao has control over many sections of the city—we've been able to secure the southeastern third thanks to the shields I've been working on, but now..."

  "What is it?" I ask.

  "He must have recalled his forces since Hitori was found. Once they return, we won't stand a chance. Worse, we know that his soldiers have been powered up somehow. My best guess is an experimental serum. I was sure Isao was working on it behind my back. I never imagined he could have been so far along. It makes the users' condensers more effective, but it may be making them unstable."

  Hitori and I share a worried look.

  “Back when we were rescued, Eiji and I both saw the red users,” Hitori says. “They were much stronger than usual and were taking nymians out like they were nothing. But toward the end, one of them started going crazy and attacked us. He…he killed one of his teammates as we made our escape.”

  Hana’s eyes widen and Aldrea’s hologram pales.

  “That’s...even worse than what we’ve seen here,” Hana says. Her jaw tightens in anger. “This is beyond foolishness—to experiment on his troops like that is inhumane. We need to find a way to retake the city before the rest of his soldiers return.”

  “But how are we supposed to stop him?” I ask. “If he’s in charge of the military, what options do we have?”

  “We have this.” She leans forward and gives me a new remote. “Go ahead and try it out,”

  I nod and press the button. With a low hum a powerful violet shield envelops me. My hair stands slightly on end, as if drawn by static electricity. Ripples of blue and red light undulate over the shield.

  “It’s reflective and can self-repair while activated. I was able to make numerous advances thanks to the data I received from the prototype you were using. Quite the upgrade wouldn’t you say? We’ve provided all of our peace officers with those, and we’ve been setting up larger, non-mobile versions along our perimeter and over shelters. I’ve got my aids manufacturing more as quickly as possible.”

  Hitori’s energy flurries once more and she looks to Hana. “Wait, is that why Kou’s not here? Is he out there setting up shields?”

  Hana hesitates. “Not exactly.” Hitori’s eyes widen. “Isao may be the largest concern right now, but he is not the most immediate. As I said, the portals have begun to spit out nymians.”

  “You’ve sent him after nymians?” Hitori asks, horrified. Hana smiles weakly, but her energy hums with fear.

  “Sent? You know my son, Hitori. I couldn’t keep him away. And much as I hate to see him in danger, the truth is he’s one of the best we have. Our own troops consist mainly of peace officers. They’re handy with a stun baton, but they’ve never been trained to deal with this kind of assault. Kou, and the few veterans and students on our side are necessary to keep the nymian numbers down and protect the citizens as they move to the shelters.”

  The words sound forced. Hana’s obviously trying to convince herself as much as Hitori.

  Aldrea and Hana turn around in their seats as the lights of the room go out. The panels that make up the wall behind them become screens showing the layout of the city. Small groups of red dots are scattered over the map.

  “If you look here,” Hana says, “you can see portals have been opening in small clusters at random locations, though mainly in the center of the city. These—” she presses something in her hand and a number of squares light up blue “—are our peace officer stations, most of which were designed to have direct access to shelters underground that connect with one another.” She taps something else and an orange line appears, segmenting the city in two. “These are the current areas of control. It’s not nearly as clean as this line, but you get the idea.” She points to a building that lights up yellow. It’s right on the orange line. “Kou is here by the university with the other students we’ve managed to keep on our side. You’ll both rendezvous with them to help evacuate civilians to shelters.”

  “I appreciate the information, but why bring us here? You could have relayed all of this in the field” Hitori asks, struggling to hide her impatience.

  “I need Eiji’s help with something here. I couldn’t risk losing you in the city,” Hana responds.

  “Which is why I had you press the button on your holo,” Aldrea says with a faint smile. “It gave me access to that helo from the inside. Then all I had to do was bring you here.”

  “Chives will be waiting for you outside, Hitori.” Hana continues. “He’ll take you to Kou. Eiji and I will be right behind you.”

  Hitori’s energy lights up at the mention of Kou. Her expression remains serious, but I smile slightly at the hidden glow.

  We make our way outside, uneasiness settling over the group as we step back out into the clouded daylight. The pall of anxiety reminds me of what I felt at the start of all of this, lifetimes ahead in Vale. The kind of feeling that tells you something terrible is coming, and there’s nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. In silence, we make our way out of the garden to where Chives waits beside a transport pod. He nods at us and stands at attention. With his stiff posture, polished uniform, and serious expression, he seems nothing like when I first saw him interact with Kou.

  “Well, this is where we part. But not for long,” Hana says. Hitori nods and interlocks her fingers as she walks toward Chives.

  “Oh, and Hitori, one more thing,” Hana continues. Hitori turns as Chives opens the pod door. “Take care of Kou for me, okay?”

  Hitori’s energy briefly lightens again. “I will. He can’t live without me,” she responds with a smile. She turns to me with that same smile and waves. I wave back, and Chives waits for her to sit inside before he bows to us and heads inside the pod himself. With a faint hum, the transport pod speeds away, soon vanishing down the mountain. Right toward what looks to be our toughest battle yet.

  “Are you ready?” Aldrea asks. Both Hana and I turn to her as she appears beside us.

  “About as ready as we’re ever going to be,” Hana replies with her tired smile. “Eiji, we need to stop the nymians from getting through those portals. Do you think you can close them like the one in the lab?”

  My first instinct is to reluctantly admit that I can’t help. My powers as Death have only decreased since I arrived. But with a sudden glimmer of hope, I remember that this isn’t actually true. I did get some of my powers back—from closing the Tear from the lab explosion.

  “I—yes. I think so,” I reply.

  “Good. Then let’s head out,” Hana replies.


  “Wait, are only the three of us going? Alone?” I ask as another transport pod pulls up beside us. I cringe slightly at the fear in my voice, but I can’t help the sudden frantic beating of my heart. The memory of nymian claws in my flesh and Botan’s mangled arm rise unbidden to my mind.

  “Yes, it’ll be just us three,” Hana says, her tone impatient.

  “But considering—I mean, there may be nymians out there, are you sure you won’t reconsider calling for some red users?”

  It’s when I ask this question that Hana’s energy spikes violently, and though her demeanor doesn’t change, I can feel a vortex of emotions in her energy.

  “All of our forces are already out there. They’re out there with my son. The people on our side are relying on the idea that my shields can protect us. They believe in the idea that humanity can continue to thrive without weapons or destruction. What message would I be sending them if I called for reinforcements at my side? What kind of mother would I be if I only let Kou take the risks? ...I’ve already failed him by letting things escalate this far.”

  “Doctor—”

  “Don’t. I’m sorry.” She takes a deep breath, and her energy settles. “I know we aren’t equipped for combat. Our role is to go in, close the portals, and move on. If an area is too hot, we’ll leave it be. Let’s just get this taken care of.”

  Her words steady me, and I swallow further protests. She’s right—we all have our role, and this is the best way I can help. And maybe, if closing these portals can restore my energy—we might really have a chance of ending this peacefully.

  We get inside the pod and face each other so we can talk. In front of us is a transparent screen that displays the same information on both sides once activated. The map of the city comes up and is filled with different colored dots and larger swaths of color denoting territories. “The red dots you see here display confirmed portal locations. We’re a few minutes away from the first one. There’s no activity detected there, so we should be fine,” Hana says as she puts on a heavier set of boots.