Eunoia

by R J Johnson

Kline looked down and around at the various stones covering his body that granted him the incredible powers he’d been using. “Can you argue against it?”

  The pontiff continued his examination of Kline and the stones on him. “You draw your powers from another source other than God. I believe you to be the most dangerous man in all of history.”

  “Sort of an anti-Jesus?” Kline quipped. “Then perhaps I am the second coming that your people have all been waiting for.”

  “If that is so,” the pope began, “What are you waiting for? Why haven’t you destroyed this world yet? You may as well complete the work God has set you out to do.”

  Kline watched the man across the desk, trying to detect any hint of fear. But there was none to be found.

  This annoyed Kline more than it should have.

  “I’m here for one reason,” Kline said.

  “And that is?”

  “Upon this rock, I shall build my church…” Kline whispered to the pontiff.

  The pope’s eyes grew wide and shook his head. “I’m sure I have no idea…”

  “What makes you think I’ll believe anything you have to say?” Kline waved his hand at the door. It swung open with the Swiss Guard holding a simple oak box. The guard approached the desk and set the box down in between them.

  “Thank you Salvatore,” Kline said to the guard. “Your mission is now over.” Kline snapped his fingers and the guard dropped dead, his body falling with a quick thud next to the pope’s chair.

  The Holy See watched as Kline killed the man next to him, with no regard to the office or the man in front of him.

  “You’re no man.” The pope whispered. “You are the devil himself.”

  “I do believe you’re onto something your holiness,” Kline replied with a slight smile on his face. The billionaire leaned forward and opened up the box.

  Inside was a small clawlike stone, brilliantly blue, that seemed to brighten up the room around them. Kline smiled, feeling the power join with the rest of his stones. He now held ten stones. He was now closer than ever to his goals. With this stone, he instinctively knew he would be able to easily free the time travel stone, still trapped in the paradox in Hong Kong.

  That left one final stone for him to find.

  The pontiff cried out and leaned forward quickly, trying to grab the stone before Kline could take hold of it.

  But Kline was too quick. He snapped his fingers and the holiest man in the Catholic church was frozen in place.

  Kline stood, taking the stone out of the box, and sliding it into his pocket. “You should know, I’ve decided to keep you alive as a symbol for your people. Tell them what I am, and what I can do. Allow them to make their own choices.”

  “But for now, I must return to my search for the rest of these stones.” Kline bowed slightly to the pontiff and turned to make his exit. The pope’s forehead now covered in sweat as he attempted to come after Kline.

  Kline felt the power of the tenth stone begin to flow through him. It was unlike the rest of the stones. There was more raw power contained within this stone than all the rest combined. He had no idea what it did, but that would come later.

  What was important was the feeling the stone gave him now. It took him a few moments to figure out what he was feeling. But it was the stones calling out to each other, searching for their lost brothers. There were two stones remaining out in the world, and now, thanks to the combined power of ten stones, he knew exactly where the last two were.

  One was still caught in the paradox/black hole in Hong Kong.

  And the second…

  Kline smiled. He knew exactly where he was going now.

  The billionaire turned back to the frozen pontiff and smiled. “Thank you for the hospitality your holiness. But I must be going now.”

  The Pope strained to follow Kline and try to retrieve the stone from him, but it was impossible. He was stuck and could not move thanks to the stone of control.

  Kline watched the world’s most powerful church figure become powerless in front of his very eyes. There was nothing the man could do. Which meant there was nothing anyone could do to stop him now.

  Kline disappeared into the ether, leaving the pontiff behind.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, Emily, the Old Man, Scott and Christina held what they would later refer to as the “’87 powwow.” It was their attempt to plan out the next two decades of their lives.

  “You each have a stone yes?” the Old Man asked the trio.

  Scott and Christina glanced at each other. “I’ve got the shapeshifting stone,” Scott said. He felt for the stone in his pocket and he felt the stone react to his touch. The familiar feeling of power and ability rushed through him and he shuddered.

  The Old Man turned to Emily who nodded to the table.

  “The time traveling stone,” Emily said. “Just those two for now.”

  “And a third will be along shortly,” the Old Man said. “But that’s up to you three.”

  “Mind telling us what to look for?” Scott asked. “You know, without the whole paradox thing?”

  “You’ll find it soon enough,” the Old Man said dismissing him. “You don’t need my help.”

  He turned back to the three of them, “Besides, what matters is keeping you around this age,” the Old Man said, refusing to be diverted

  Scott’s eyes narrowed. “We’re not going back?” He motioned to the time traveling stone. “Why don’t we just go back to Kline’s time now and finish the job?”

  “You know why we can’t.” The Old Man sighed, rubbing his face. “Besides, the 90’s aren’t that bad.”

  “It’s not that,” Scott replied hotly. “We know where the stones are, we can just get them ahead of Kline…”

  “Which would create a paradox,” the Old Man said. “You can’t risk humanity that way. I have a plan.”

  “Great plan,” Scott snorted. He stood and began pacing in the living room staring him down. “I’m beginning to understand why Alex never really trusted you.”

  “Trust is earned, there’s no shortcut on that.” Christina’s voice rang out in the living room, and her tone was clear. The Old Man’s mystery had run out of novelty. They needed to know what they had been fighting for all along. That there was a plan in place.

  She stood and began to walk to the Old Man. “You say you’re here to help us. We’ve seen you do a lot over the last forty-eight hours and now…”

  Christina paused and turned to look at her friends, “And now you’re telling us we have to spend the next twenty years of our lives hiding? To not do anything to help our friends?

  “Your energy has been tied to the stone,” the Old Man told them. “You’ll find your aging slowed if you stay within a few miles of the stone.”

  “But I was hoping…” Scott trailed off. “Why can’t you just drop us off at the nearest authority figure in 2012?”

  “Because that’s not how things are supposed to go,” the Old Man replied quietly.

  “That’s not good enough,” Scott snapped. “If you’re going to force us to relive the horror that was early nineties television, I’m gonna need a better reason.”

  “You have changed Scott,” Emily said quietly.

  These were the first words from her all morning and Scott was surprised to hear from her.

  “What…” Scott swallowed. He was very suddenly afraid to ask the next question. “What are you talking about?”

  Emily glanced at the Old Man who nodded.

  “When we were captured in San Francisco, the Old Man took you to Hawaii…”

  “Right,” Scott said beginning to get impatient. He nodded to the Old Man. “You needed my help to set Christina here free.”

  “We met another Scott and Christina,” Emily said. “You… helped us. You came with the healing stone, and your shapeshifting stone, and the fire stone, and you helped us.”

  Scott grew pale. Christina glanced over at her friend. “Well, what happ
ened?” she asked.

  Emily stared at Scott, unsure if she really should tell him the truth.

  “What happened?” Christina repeated, sounding alarmed. Scott raised a hand, as if calming her down. “No!” she swatted Scott’s hand down. “Tell me what happened goddammit. I’m tired of being left out of the loop.”

  Emily stared at the carpet, speaking in a monotone. “Alex was dead. I mean, really dead. Kline had captured the plane, and we were about to crash. Alex tried standing up to Kline, but without his stone, he didn’t last long.”

  She turned to Scott, her eyes shining, looking grateful. “Then you and Christina came and rescued us. We battled Kline, and somehow, the man was able to get the drop on you.”

  Scott released the deep breath he had been holding in while Emily had run down what had happened – or rather – will happen to him in the future.

  Scott turned to the cupboards, searching through them, mumbling to himself. Christina and Emily glanced over at him, looking concerned.

  “Need some help finding -?” Emily started.

  “Booze!” Scott shouted through grit teeth. He found the cabinet he was looking for and took the bottle of rum, taking a swig directly from the bottle.

  “Scott…” Christina warned.

  Scott held up a finger as he took another drink.

  He finished his latest drink, and turned to the Old Man.

  “What happens to Christina?”

  Christina glanced over at Emily, and then quickly looked away. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer to this either.

  “I’m not sure,” Emily said. “We lost contact with her in New York after she went looking…” she glanced over at the Old Man. “Well, looking for you.”

  The Old Man nodded as if it everything said so far made perfect sense.

  “Taking Kline down is all that matters,” the Old Man said. “I realize I’m asking a lot from you – especially with what you know now about your ultimate fate.”

  “It won’t be easy. It definitely won’t be pleasant. But it will be necessary if we are to save the world from Kline’s misdeeds with the twelve stones. You’ll be helping bring the world into a reality you can’t even begin to imagine.”

  “And how do you know that?” Scott replied hotly.

  “I’ve seen it.” The Old Man replied. “Take all the best parts of humanity and imagine that expanded by a hundred fold. People helping those less fortunate because it was easier than ignoring them. Generosity, love, kindness. Those emotions win the day. And it all happens now because you helped take a stand against Kline and what he stands for.

  “But there’s no guarantee that the future I saw is what will happen. You need to make choices that help create that great future too. I can’t do it alone. None of us can. We build that better tomorrow together.”

  Emily, Scott and Christina looked at each other, thinking about what the future might mean if Kline wasn’t stopped.

  “Instead of imagining the future as what’s possible, imagine it as what it should be.” The Old Man finished.

  They absorbed the Old Man’s words for a moment, thinking about what it would mean to once again live out their lives for the next twenty years in hiding.

  “I guess it won’t be so bad. The internet will come around in the next five years or so…” Scott grumbled.

  Christina glanced over at Scott and nodded her agreement. “I’ve been meaning to catch up on my reading too anyway.”

  The Old Man turned to Emily, who was still looking out the window at the field of snow in front of them. “And you promise Alex is safe for now?”

  The Old Man nodded. “I can promise you this. You WILL see him again. And I know he’s very much looking forward to seeing you as well. But, he’s preparing for something bigger than anything else anyone has had to face before.”

  Emily’s mind was running with all sorts of thoughts. But it ultimately came down to one thing: Kline was dangerous, and needed to be stopped and if that meant she had to relive the nineties all over again, then that is what she would do.

  “We should probably find our own place…” Emily said softly, still looking out the window.

  The Old Man looked relieved at Emily’s suggestion as Scott’s face lit up.

  “I know just the place.”

  “Yeah? Where are we gonna get the money to pay for it?” Christina replied.

  The Old Man smiled and waved a hand. Suddenly a pile of money appeared out of nowhere.

  Scott looked over at the Old Man, “Any chance you can whip up a Lamborghini or something else cool for us to drive?”

  The Old Man laughed, “Yes, I can. However, I think you’ll be better off in something less conspicuous.”

  Scott looked down at the huge pile of money and back at the Old Man. With this kind of cash available to them, reliving the nineties wouldn’t be so bad.

  “So what do we do now?” Scott asked the Old Man.

  The Old Man shrugged. “Wait for your moment. You’ll know what it is when it comes. Until then, I suggest living the fullest life you possibly can.”

  “What about the stones?” Scott asked.

  The Old Man shrugged. “There is a stone you can retrieve, but you’ll have to wait until the spring. It’s buried under too much snow at the moment.” The Old Man glanced up at Onyx Summit and smiled.

  Scott slapped his head. “Of course there’s a chamber up there. That’s where Alex’s stone must have come from.”

  The Old Man didn’t answer, displaying only the mysterious smile that had been on his face since he appeared.

  “I must leave you now and continue with other things,” the Old Man announced.

  Emily caught the Old Man’s robe, cocking her head, looking concerned. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  The Old Man looked down at Emily, his smile turning sad. “Like our friend Alex, this is a journey I must take on my own. I will see you again soon. Try and stay out of history’s way.”

  Scott and Christina nodded quickly, and stepped back from the Old Man. Emily glanced at the Old Man and for a moment, felt a rush of familiarity. It was almost as if she knew him from somewhere.

  “Take care Emily,” The Old Man said with a gentle smile. “Stay safe.”

  Emily nodded. The Old Man straightened his back and nodded his goodbye to the trio of friends.

  And just as suddenly as he had appeared, the Old Man was gone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The ten stones he carried told Kline everything he needed to know. There was no need for ancient manuscripts, or highly paid contacts within the government. The stones wanted to be reunited and all he had to do to find the final two was listen to what they told him.

  Kline stared at the ten stones in front of him, watching them pulse with the incredible energy he’d come to expect from them. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind, and visualizing what he wanted most.

  The final two stones.

  The images came in flashes at first. Glimpses of some faraway place, far from civilization.

  Kline concentrated harder, willing the images to take form and show him where to find the eleventh stone.

  The stones pulsed and an image appeared once again above the circle of stones Kline had created. It was a mansion, surrounded by miles upon miles of desert. Kline stared at the luxurious home sitting in the middle of nowhere, his brain recognizing it from somewhere but, he couldn’t quite place a finger on it.

  Kline willed the memory to surface, to give him the location of the huge home that he was certain he’d seen before.

  But where?

  He looked down at his stone of strength, and suddenly, it came to him.

  Kline smiled, and gathered up the stones, placing them carefully within his jacket pocket. He closed his eyes, and disappeared from within the penthouse office in New York, instantly appearing halfway across the world in front of the mansion that perfectly matched the one he saw in his vision.

  Once upon a time, it had
been a sprawling estate, filled with every conceivable luxury. However, it was a strange monument found in the middle of the North African desert, miles away from anything that could be considered civilization.

  Likely it had been a vanity project of some long dead millionaire. The home had existed for over a century, built to withstand the harsh desert sun and conditions. But, even now, it demonstrated its age, rundown and desolate.

  Kline stepped forward, recognizing the estate, despite the fifty-year gap between visits. After all, how could he forget the place where he took his first life. He stepped through the massive double doors, barely hanging on by its hinges, his boots echoing through the expansive marble hallway.

  Kline took stock of his surroundings, his eyes narrowing at the dust, and furniture that lay askew and badly beaten up. Over the years, scavengers had ripped the place clean of anything valuable. All that remained was trash and the barebones of a once sprawling home.

  He moved through the kitchen, finding the door to the basement, the stones his pocket telling him he was getting closer to one of their brothers.

  He pulled the cellar door open, tearing it off the rusted hinges easily. But he hadn’t needed his stone of strength for that. The house was decomposing so badly he was surprised the foundation was still standing.

  The basement was covered by a thick layer of sand, covering the floor and everything else in the room. Kline brushed his suit off, and then gave up, knowing it would be impossible to stay clean in this environment.

  He closed his eyes and allowing the stones to guide him. The crystal chamber was located behind the eastern wall in front of him. Kline moved to the wall and smiled, punching a few holes in the crumbling concrete in front of him.

  It didn’t take long for the last crystal chamber to be exposed in front of him. But, this would be the most dangerous part of the endeavor.

  Kline reverentially removed every stone he had collected over the last few days, reliving each victory as he placed the stones carefully in a row, on a table besides the now exposed crystal chamber.

  He removed his clothes and stood naked as the day he was born.