A Love That Destroyed Time

by Melanie Ray

  Tiger hissed angrily from inside the cage. This can't be it. We've survived through everything. This can't be the end, not like this. Not by a Pink. Carress screamed as she saw the knife. He wanted to grab her and tell her everything would be alright, but for once, he couldn't say that. He always knew his enemy, studied their weakness before he got into a situation. He had one minute for a brilliant idea to hit his head. Once Carress was plucked out of the cage, she was done for, he didn't have much time. He tried to hang on to her hand, but it was pulled away from her as she was grabbed by the Pink. As tight as he had tried to hold on, a kid's tiny grip was no match for a Pink. He felt tears threatening to fall as his sister was being dangled in the air by only her throat. In the enemy's other hand, he had a thick knife that glistened sharp as a razor blade.

  Wye had no idea what he was doing as he grabbed the Pinks knife and stabbed him in the leg, turning it. The Pink didn't scream in agony but crumpled to the ground. What creature wouldn't at least yell after that? Wye didn't have time to think about the answer as he removed the hand from the little girl's throat. "It'll be okay." He felt her grip, tight with fear practically choking his neck as he went for the Pink's keys. Wye went over to Tiger and picked him up too. Although reluctant, the boy didn't struggle as he placed them into the vehicle's passenger seats. He moved over to the driver's seat and looked at what was in front of him. "Okay..." So, one thing that wasn't like Earth. Damn. "These are keys, keys have got to go somewhere. Aha," he slid them into a bottom jack and turned.

  Wye drove the truck over the hill as fast as he could. He only slowed down to pick up X. Something told him that Pink would not be down for long, neither those Sleeks he had taken care of. "Get in the back, X, hurry." X didn't understand, but with the vehicle still moving, he listened and jumped into the unlocked cage.

  "How are they?" X asked right away.

  "Them? Oh. Yeah. Sure. They’re fine." Wye's breathing was raspy. "Can't say the same for me."

  "Did your memories come back?" X asked.

  "No, but fighting strategies and biting remarks hit me like crazy," Yed whined as he smacked his head. "I feel so messed up right now. I mean I-I-I-with the fighting, and how the hell I know how to drive this thing, it's..."

  "Well, I'm glad your survival instincts kicked in," X sighed in relief. "I tell you, Pinks are hard to beat. If you didn't figure it out we'd all be hurt. Er, I mean killed."

  Chapter 33

  A VIBE

  Xiam stared at Wye. His breathing was still raspy, and his eyes were wide. With instinct taking over his body, his mind had gone on auto. He was only now comprehending everything he did. His attention moved to Tiger and Carress who were playing with Cooey and Zar. Then his eyes moved to the left of the room where Grammy Fornot and Grammy Happy were both having a delightful discussion. I am glad they are alright. It's just...he looked back over at Wye who was taking deep breaths. Then he glanced back at Tigeravich and Carressella. How was he going to tell him those were his?

  "Okay, for the record, I hate instinct." Wye groaned as he grabbed his head. "It gives one heck of a headache." He looked over at Xiam. "At least we got your sister's kids. X?"

  "Yeah," Xiam nodded his head. "Good to see them again. They sure have gotten big."

  "Wish I knew," Wye stretched his arms, he wasn't used to his body suddenly knowing martial arts. "How come I only know how to fight when my life's in danger? I mean memories disappear, yeah, but people are going to remember that stuff even with amnesia. Right?"

  "I don't know. Remember Wye, we're not actually human. Different rules apply." X glanced back at Tiger and Carress

  "Was I closer to those kids?" Wye asked. X turned his head in surprise. "I mean, I don't know..." He gestured over to them. "It's like old friends you haven't seen in years, although not really. I don't know how to describe it. I don't have the same vibe with Cooey and Zar. I mean hell, they're okay. I wouldn't think about torturing them like the people in Aryu," he laughed. "Anyhow, does that make sense, or is this planet messing with my head again?"

  Of course he'd sense it. Every warno on Pagnia had a pull of unconscious affection to their young. Most creatures in fact felt some sort of affection, so what would he say? Telling him won't be good. He needs to remember at his own pace, and this is going to put a strain on his mind. X looked back over at the kids playing with an old washing machine Grammy Fornot brought out for play. They will be here, they're safe. Not yet, Xiam. Xiam shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Wye, you knew each equally. Probably the planet messing with your head again, maybe trying to say something." Speaking of saying something, his first priority was to talk to Tiger and Carress. They hadn't been eager to see anyone but Cooey and Zar, having already bonded. "Hey, Tiger? You and your sister, want to come in the kitchen with me?"

  "No," Tiger said casually until Grammy Happy gave him a look. "Yes, come on Carress."

  X looked back at the door, making sure Wye didn't follow through. He smiled at Tiger and Carress as they took a seat. "Okay, first of all. I'm happy you're okay."

  "Okay," Tiger simply said.

  "And, um, you know how Wye stated earlier back he was your mom's Protector?" X coughed. "Well, he is, and he is...and you know, we honestly need him to concentrate on getting your Aunt Muinela out and everyone safely back to Earth. That's our planet, where there's more peace than war. We can live our lives in more comfort than here too."

  Tiger tapped his fingers. "Okay."

  Carress still wasn't saying anything, and Tiger was not an easy kid to talk to. "Yeah, well, long story short. Wye is your father, but you can't tell him. The inhibitors power still doesn't have complete control and a crash as large as this might burn up his brain for good."

  "You mean?" Carress spoke up, her voice still soft and almost too dry to hear. "That's our dad?"

  "No fooling?" Tiger clicked his tongue. "Oh."

  "He's my daddy? I mean, our father? I-what do we call him?" Carress looked over at Tiger. "How do we act? What do we do with a dad?"

  "Parents are not something..." Tiger shrugged his shoulders. "Hell if I know, Carress."

  "Nothing. Just call him Wye," Xiam stated. "He can't know he's your dad yet." He looked at Tiger. "And don't use hell."

  Tiger chuckled, "I've said worse."

  "Well that stops now," Xiam warned him. "I am your Uncle, and you are my responsibility. Little warnos shouldn't talk like that."

  Carress gasped lightly while Tiger raised an eyebrow at him.

  "Oh, I mean Rings. Kids, specifically should not talk like that." Xiam forgot about the warno word. It was still hard to believe the name of their race was now a taboo word. "It doesn't matter if it was okay in the past, it's not okay now. Got it?" Xiam looked over at each of them. "You understand though?"

  "We can't tell the amnesia guy he's our dad," Tiger said, summing it all up. "That's fine. We don't know how to act with parents anyhow."

  Carress was quieter. "...okay, Mr. Xiamipoc."

  "Just call me Uncle," Xiam said patting her hand. "I'm your Uncle Xiam."

  "Okay Unc." Tiger seemed to have little problem with the situation, while Carress seemed more unsure.

  "Oh, my head." Wye groaned as he saw the kids and Xiam return from the kitchen. "Did you see anything that might be good to eat in there? I am getting tired of those same omelette things over and over." The boy gave him a strange look and went back over to play with the other kids again. The girl however didn't move. She was giving him a weird, conflicting look. "You alright, kid?"

  Carress nodded her head. She came a little closer. "Yes, Mr. Wye."

  "Oh don't call me that," Wye said as he took his hand off his head, "call me Uncle Wye. Or Unc, the others do." Carress still seemed apprehensive. "I don't bite, you know. That statement back there in that old house was more of a spook. I mean, I don't bite anymore." He watched as she started to ease away. "You don't have to leave, kid. Uh, Carress." Wye couldn't explain it. The vibe he felt toward Tiger and Carress grew
stronger the closer they came. His instinct kept telling him that he needed to hold her, but he didn't even know this child. "Do you want to come over closer?"

  Carress nodded and moved closer. She looked back at X a second, and finally arrived at his knee.

  Wye smiled at her and patted her head. "Want to know a secret? I can't stand a lot of kids. You though, I think I like you." He rubbed her head. "Take that as a compliment. People I don't like end up in unhealthy predicaments." He touched her nose lightly. "You look like a human kid, except for the tail. That thick black on your head is fading off, did you know that?" He touched her hair. "You've got curly red hair. Really red."

  "My momma had my hair," Carress said almost too soft to hear.

  "Well, she must have been a looker," Wye laughed. He looked at her tail. "Your color's showing through at the end too." He touched her tail softly. "Wow kid, it feels like a chinchilla. That's soft."

  "Thanks," Carress smiled. "I guess I might be a catch when I get older then."

  "Icky," Tiger walked over. "No way, no one's going to want to touch your tail."

  "Hey, you are way too young to talk about touching tails," Xiam came over and looked at Wye. "Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just, when we get a certain age, we aren't supposed to touch each other's tails. It's, at that age..."

  "Oh, I get it," Wye moved his hand. "I guess I could see something to that. Some people do have foot fetishes, so okay I'll shut up now." He stared at Carress and Tiger again. His instincts were getting stronger to hold them. The boy would never go for it, probably try and scratch him. Carress though had her little hand on his leg. Oh heck, he didn't know the rules of the planet but screw it. He picked Carress up and put her on the right side of his lap. "There you go, comfy?" He looked over at Tiger. "You want to-"

  "No," Tiger beat him to it. "I don't." He looked over at Carress, "but I'll do it for a cookie."

  "Bribery for affection, you sure you're not from Earth?" Wye picked him up and placed him on his left lap.

  "Oh my goodness, I wish I had a camera."

  Wye looked over and saw Grammy Happy almost in tears, while Grammy Fornot was patting her eyes. "What's up with you two?"

  "They're sticklers for family moments," X said uncharacteristically quick. "You're their Uncle, after all."

  Wye didn't quite buy it. X looked guilty of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He put him out of his mind for now and paid attention to the new visitors on his lap. "You should feel honored, I've never let anyone sit on my lap before. I mean, there was this one time, but she wasn't interested and-whoa, detoured discussion again," he laughed. "Sorry. Hell, I'm not used to talking to kids."

  "Well, hell, we're not used to talking to you either," Tiger said as he winked at X.

  "Wye," X rolled his eyes. "Try not to cuss in front of them. As warnos, we never did. It's seen as-"

  "You just did," Tiger pointed at him. "Again. You said the W word."

  "Well the W word is our last name on Earth," Wye informed him. "So get used to it."

  "Just don't cuss Wye. They will model grownups," X answered. "Especially you. I mean because you're their uncle."

  "Yeah," Wye felt Tiger getting restless and sat him back down. "The cookie's IOU."

  "What's an eye-oh-ewe?" Tiger asked. "Are you wimping out?"

  "Dang Tiger, where are you from?" Wye chuckled. "No, it means I will get you a cookie next time I have one."

  "Oh." Tiger stretched his tail and arms out. "Carress, come on. Time for bed."

  "Bossy," Wye commented but Carress moved off his lap. "Get good rest." As he watched the kids take off he looked over at X. "I think I'm possessed, something's not quite right in my brain when I'm around them. Not crazy wrong, but wrong. What the hell?"

  "It's just your imagination," X said.

  "Yeah, sure, that's why I never felt like hugging the last relation in my line? Remember Normal?" Wye shook his head. "No, there's something else strange about them. They have some power too, did you see them clear that enemy at that old house? Or jump over logs? That speed too for running, not normal."

  "Oh," X blinked. "I didn't think about that. Our enemies do move like that, but not pure warnos. You're right, that is odd."

  "See? It's not in my head," Yed said. "Something funny about them." He rubbed his head. "They have the right idea though. It hasn't been an easy day. I think I'll cut out soon too. Just one question?" He pointed to the kids. "In Earth terms, these kids are all confusing. They move and talk, well like kids, but they're all as short as toddlers. The boy has got one rebellious attitude, almost like a teen. Cooey's got some of that teen finesse too. So?"

  "None of the above," X sat down beside him.

  "Then explain."

  "Why?"

  "I don't know, I just want to know." Wye said. "I know nothing about this planet except my race is almost gone, and there was a massive war that wiped them out. I mean, tell me something."

  X picked up one of the kids' ball and rolled it between his fingers. "Oh, I get it. Well, kids here aren't human. We're not human, Wye. Humans go through the stages baby, toddler, kid, teen, adult. We only have three because our brains are different. We have baby, kid and adult. Babies can't walk, talk or understand for about ten years. Since they can't do much, they stay in the home with their moms and dads, easy to control. Once they start to talk, they develop so quick there's not an in between stage. Then kids move to the Dens to be around other kids because their brains aren't developed and the inhibitor doesn't affect them until they are older." He smiled, "basically, they are like us when we were in Aryu." He looked back at the ball, "then around two hundred years they settle down and become permanently like us. Their thoughts line up, they aren't overactive, everything's peachy. Okay?"

  "They are hyper, I'll give you that, but they don't seem disturbed," Wye said.

  "Well, they're about eighty." X took the ball out of his hands. "The inhibitor starts affecting them around fifty, so they're not quite half crazy anymore."

  "Weird," Wye picked up the ball X was holding. "I guess besides the tails I thought we were like humans. I always thought I was." He looked back over at X. "What about Tar?"

  "Oh full fledge human, just crazy." X said.

  "Okay, then can you answer this one too?" Wye spinned the ball on his finger. "This place is like Earth. I mean not completely, but the past especially. That washing machine they pulled out looked an awful lot like one from Earth. I half expected to see a logo on there I recognize. Clothes are like on Earth too. Even this whole cocky monarchy, it's an Earth thing."

  "It's not, actually." X leaned back. "Do you remember before we went crazy and we went to McDonalds?"

  "Yeah, sure."

  "Then we went to France and they had one?"

  "Yeah."

  "We even traveled to Japan and found one?"

  "Well, yeah."

  "It's intergalactic trade. When we were big enough, before the troubles with the waryes, we were involved in intergalactic trade. The best inventions and ideas flow between corporate planets. Some ideas work, some don't. Our monarchies worked because we weren't so, well, mean spirited. We're peaceful, not like humans so monarchy didn't work so well for all of them. Everything from cars, music, even comics are shared across the galaxies. The closer you are to certain planets though, the more benefits you get from each other. Even isolated planets like Earth are allowed to be involved for two thousand years until they decide whether to expand their planet's distribution or not. A rule for new planets, although they are limited in what they may trade or receive." X whistled. "Don't want to visit Fala, I wouldn't understand a single concept." He began to fade off, "we haven't exchanged as much in recent decades and I'm sure nothing's changed now. I would say that Earth's more technological than us." X took a deep unsteady breath. "An isolated planet is more evolved than us."

  "Didn't mean to touch a nerve," Wye said. "Just thought if aliens existed they'd have their own technology. Sha
ring, really?"

  "Yeah, why not share? Trading and borrowing new ideas helps build new empires or even newer planets like Earth."

  "Never thought of Earth as new."

  "Trust me, it's new. Barely anyone recognizes it."

  "Are there other aliens there?"

  "Oh yeah, of course. Good, bad, and other."

  "Great."

  "There are even humans that don't realize they have alien descent."

  "No kidding?"

  "No kidding."

  "Then how old is Pagnia?"

  "Pagnia's not new. It's been around." X faded off again. "It used to be great, Wye. You should have seen it back then. We had real lives." He tapped the side of a couch. "I had a wife."

  "Oh," Wye took his eyes off the ball to look over at X. "Sorry."

  "Don't be, I'm not. Iridescent Vallencio was the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't have changed a thing between us, even if I knew." X covered his eyes a moment, "I uh, I think it's time for bed too, Wye. Night."

  "Hey, X?"

  "What?"

  "I didn't have a wife, did I?"

  "No," X said. "No, you never got married. Protectors weren't allowed to get into relationships."

  "Oh yeah, I can sort of remember someone saying something." Wye held his head. "I've got a clearer head now. I can concentrate, but sometimes I'm still out of it. Then again, sometimes I become something with supreme knowledge only a warrior would have. It's weird. I still get weird voices sometimes too." He shook his head. "How about one more question? How did things go between us? When you became Xiamipoc on Earth you called me a drunk. Was that-"

  "We didn't get along," X said. "Nevermind Wye, you don't need to know."

  "Yeah, I don't need to know anything. Tell me some basic facts but won't go much more will you?" Wye accused him.

  X sighed, "Right now you need to concentrate on becoming Smilliat and getting Muin out. That's all"

  "Says you," Wye shot back, "because you’re the almighty, omnipotent guy who remembers. Why can't you tell me anything about me? The old X would never have hidden anything from me."

  "Didn't hide anything," X repeated his statement. "Wye Warno is my friend but Yeducavich Zuffel Zinfan Smilliat is not. He hid things, bad things, and unforgivable things."