by Melanie Ray
Yed ducked his head down. “Is she ready yet?” His voice had a bit of dryness in it.
“Yep.” Danva removed the white cloth covering her. He helped wake her up.
Yed smiled as he heard a groggy sound. For the first time, he looked over at the white sheets where his childhood friend had laid. “Ezra?”
“Protector Yed?” Ezra felt her head. “Is everything over, can we go back to the kids now?”
Kids? Yed felt his heart lose a beat, maybe she hadn't lost everything. “Yeah. Tiger and Carress will be happy to see you.”
“Tiger and who?” Ezra didn’t recognize the names. “I meant Xiam and Muin.”
Yed’s grin faded to a look of disappointment. “We can go back to them now.” He should be happy she survived and was alive, and he was, he was! He was ecstatic that he could see her again. It’s just that, she lost...
“A yellow house? An Earth? I don’t understand anything.” Ezra whined. “I’m old? What?”
Yed knocked on the tower door. “Just trust me, I’ll stay by your side, okay?” He looked at Xiam as he answered the door. “Xiam, I’ve got some news.”
“You’re holding my sister's hand,” Xiam pointed out.
“Yed always holds my hands when I’m nervous,” Ezra said as she looked at Xiam. “You’re shorter than me, but you’re older. Yed’s right, isn’t he?”
“What?” Xiam looked over at Yed in confusion.
“She survived the surgery, but she lost a lot of her memories,” Yed confessed. “She thinks she’s a kid again.”
“Oh.” Xiam looked at Ezra. “Ezra?”
“Xiam.” Ezra held onto Yed’s hand tighter.
“What’s going on?” Muin gasped as she saw Ezra. “Ezra how are you?”
“Muin, Ezra lost a lot of memory.” Yed said. “She thinks she’s a kid.”
“Huh?” Muinela looked sadly at her. “Ezra?”
Ezra held on even tighter to Yed’s hand. “I don’t know what to do, Protector.”
“A step at a time,” Yed led Ezra in. “Our kids are in the corner.” Yeah, that was the trickiest part of all.
“Hi.” Ezra waved at Tiger and Carress. “I’m your mommy?”
Tiger and Carress looked at each other, and back at Ezra.
“What’s wrong?” Tiger looked over at Yed with considerable suspicion.
“She thinks she’s a kid.” No matter how many times Yed had to say it, the realization of what he said refused to wear off. “She thinks she’s a little older than you.”
“Are you playing with blocks?” Ezra bent down on the ground and grabbed a block. “I played blocks with my younger brother and sister. I helped Xiam make buildings and stuff.”
Tiger and Carress looked at each other again.
“Well.” Tiger shrugged his shoulders. “Why not? A new playmate. So, do you want to watch some cartoons with us?”
“No more TV, you guys are hooked on it,” Yed warned them.
Tiger, Carress and Ezra all whined.
“Just a little bit? I didn’t see any cartoons all day,” Ezra reminded Yed. "I've had a really rough time. Please?"
Yed closed his eyes briefly and tried not to let his emotions show. “You’ve been a good girl today following directions. Some TV won’t hurt.” He grabbed the remote, turned it on and walked off in a hurry. Tiger hit it on the head. Ezra wouldn’t be playing mom, she was nothing but a playmate to their kids now.
“Wye.” Muinela saw the hurt as he walked by her. She looked over at Zaria. “I think I should talk to him, just a bit.” She watched Zaria nod and followed after Yed. “Wye?”
Yed stopped and looked at Muinela. "You still call me Wye, I thought you said you were remembering. Isn't that why you wanted to take your whole family away?"
"I remember," Muin finished, "but eh, you'll get it one day." She hit him on the shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"She’s a kid,” Yed said, not wasting time. He looked at the ground. “She’s nothing but a kid now. All that time, all those years, I get her back to them and you and-” He banged his hand against the door. "For what?"
“Can her memories come back?” Muinela asked. “Wye?”
“My dad says no.” Yed looked at the dent he put in the door, ignoring the pain in his hand. Last time he did that, it was a mirror. Ezra came in and helped him bandage it up back then. “She’ll grow up over time again. She’ll miss playing mom, but she’ll play with her kids nonetheless. I guess I’m on my own.” He looked at his hand, a few splinters already causing bleeding. Ezra wouldn't be there this time to scold him.
She wouldn't scold an adult.
//.We Interrupt this Program for An Important News Bulletin.//
Yed stopped dwelling on the past and looked over at the TV. He knew what those words meant. He listened as did everyone else. The waryes’ had started to take over Africa. Topics and discussions were coming up about where they came from and how to stop them.
Muin looked over at him. “Wye, you don’t think they know they are aliens?”
“Earth recognizing aliens? No, probably think they’re massively disturbed terrorists,” Yed said. “Earth is in a heap of trouble.”
“What’s the plan?” Xiam came over with Iri. “Yed?”
“Plan.” Yed looked at his hand. His pathetic, bleeding hand. “There is no plan." He would have to come up with something soon, he had to stop the madness while it was small.
“This piece goes...ummm...here?”
Yed looked back at Ezra. She was putting a puzzle together with Tiger and Carress. He couldn’t help as he drew closer to watch her. A round piece, obviously belonging on the outside of the kid’s puzzle was giving her problems. A round piece. He watched as Carress took the piece and put it on the outside.
“It’s rounded,” Carress smiled at Ezra, “so it goes on the edge.”
That’s a twenty four piece puzzle. That’s a kid’s puzzle. Yed closed his eyes and tried to repress what he just saw. Ezra’s mind had regressed to a child, but even Carress knew where that obvious piece went. Her mind was not only regressed as a kid, it was damaged. He bit his lip and tried to turn away. “So ummm...” He gulped. “We’ll do something. I’ll figure out something, somehow.”
Xiam looked over at Ezra and must have felt pain in himself too. “No way to get her back?”
Yed rubbed something that was bugging his eye. “No.” He cleared his throat and went back over to everyone. “Any ideas?”
“No mom, that doesn’t go there. That’s not rounded. Maybe we should get a smaller puzzle for her, Tiger,” Carress said.
That was it. "I gotta go." Yed couldn't take much more. "I'll talk to Bibble, I just-I'll do something, okay," He yelled as he headed for the door.
"Yed, wait, we didn't mean you were on your own," Xiam said meeting him at the door. "We can all come up with something."
"I already am."
Yed looked over at his father who spoke up behind him. His father was coming up with something? "What?"
His father picked out a piece of the time machine from his pocket. "The death trap is worth the risk now."
"No. Way." Yed put his hands out. "No, you don't."
"I am responsible for your care. I didn't know about extra transporters, that is my fault. As such, the enemy is here now, and you know your little planet cannot take them." Danva stood up. "I'm going back to Bibble's."
"I will take care of it, I promise." Yed said.
"All the same, it is a plan B," his father countered.
"This isn't plan B, this is plan psycho," Yed complained. "It never worked."
"The bugs should have been fixed. Bibble is smart, maybe she could figure out the concept," Danva said. "If you come up with a plan son, great. If not though, I would put my life on the line for this. Damn it, we deserve a planet where we can live in peace with our families! Call me selfish if you want. But I'd rather have that, and I'd die for it. I want my peace again and if I need to use Cattral II or III I will."
>
"Danva," Litalia groaned. "Please don't play hero. Danva!"
"Let him go." Yed shook his head. He knew his dad, he'd never do it unless he had to. However, Xiam now had his attention. His father didn't know what he'd done. "I'm sorry, Xiam."
"Cattral II or III?" Xiam asked. "What does he mean by a Cattral II or III? Why is a time machine called Cattral?"
Yed looked at his feet. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "They named it after the first victim," he said in a lower voice so no one but Xiam heard.
"My father?" Xiam whispered back. "Used a time machine? Why did you say victim, I already knew he was probably gone. Yed?"
"He was charred, nothing left of him." Yed took a deep breath. "Sorry, brother."
"Oh. Oh." Xiam leaned back. "At least everyone else had quick deaths. He got the wrong end of the stick. He just had to be the testee."
"Not everyone's ready," Yed warned him as he gestured back to Ezra.
"That's true, my brain damaged sister that thinks she's a kid, how could she cope?" Xiam muttered. "I'm going to go see Muin now."
"Yed? You need to stop your father," Litalia pulled on his arm. "Can you talk some sense into him?"
"He won't use it because it doesn't work." Yed rubbed his nose. "I don't have time to play in science fiction land, I have to actually come up with something that works in the real world. Best place to attack would be the most powerful places, so they should be around the powers. The White House, maybe, around here."
"Yeducavich Smilliat," Litalia hit him on the back of his head. "You're father is putting his life on the line, and you're shrugging it off like a joke. Do you remember the kind of warno he was? He never backed down. He even came after us as impossible as that should have been."
Yed looked back at her. "Ugh. Fine, why not waste time with a W class Protector? Not like I have to figure out a plan to save my planet currently."
"I know you are not yourself because of the girl," his mother said. "She was sweet, and I'm sorry she isn't coming back, but you need to deal with it, and do what you can now."
The sirens went off as attention was paid to the TV again.
//.We Interrupt this Program for An Important News Bulletin.//
This warning placed everyone in a complete stop. Yed had no choice, the waryes would not waste time like he had been hoping. There was no time to come up with a plan, waryes were attacking the White House. Eyewitness accounts and injuries showed him where they stood. The waryes were simultaneously attacking, there wouldn't be only a couple. It was a whole fleet.
"Get over to the transporters," Xiam demanded. "We need to get out of here, there's no telling what kind of power they've got."
"Did the Earth have a lot of technology?" Iri asked. "Advanced?"
"No, but we've got guided bombs, missiles, and poisonous terror recipes you can't imagine," Muin said. "Humans will kill themselves and the planet before they'll surrender."
"Back over to Pagnia, I agree. We can come back when we figure something out, this place is about to explode." Iri tugged on Xiam. "We need to go."
"Bye TV," Tiger waved at the TV and shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, easy come, easy go."
Yed didn't say a word as some of them headed to the machines, while some of them stood around.
"Wye? Do we go? We can't abandon the Earth, its home." Muin rubbed her head. "Although it's going to be attacked massively. What should we do? What about the ID's? No, what about Earth? We can't just leave, but I bet there will be a nuclear war coming. Humans are dumb idiots, you know they will start setting them off."
"This planet is no longer safe," Latitia announced. "Yed, please go get your father."
"Yeah, get dad and get back. We need to get out of here," Phaver said. "Being on a planet after a gigantic war is a lot easier than surviving on a different one during it."
"Wye? What do we do?"
"Yed, stop standing around and get your father!"
"We can't leave Earth, we're just beginning again."
"It's too dangerous here, right Yed?"
"Yed?"
"Wye?"
"Yed."
"Yed, what do we do?"
"I don't know," Yed finally yelled as he grabbed his head. "I'm not perfect, I'm not a hero! I know a little bit about how to fight, that's it! I'm an average guy, I’m just me." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry Muin, I'm only one guy. I can't take down an army of waryes. In all honesty, I could barely take down one."
"So." Muin looked at him head on. "We're leaving? Everything, we're not even going to try to save it?"
"How?" Yed asked her. "I was there in The Great Destruction, and I couldn't do a damn thing. The longer we stay, the more risk we'll be found, and our families will get hurt again, if not killed."
"Such violent language," Latitia scolded.
"Violent time." Yed gestured to the back. "Half of you, get in one transporter. I'll go fetch my dad, then the rest of us will go. The transporters still land in the Waryes Kingdom. The area is unsecure now, but be careful. Don't forget to take shavers for your tails."
"How would you know?" Xiam looked at him with a not so sweet curl of his lip. "You took off again without telling us?"
"Ezra needed advanced equipment," Yed said, "and I didn't want to make anyone worry. It doesn't matter, now go. I need to get my dad."
"Don't take too long, Wye," Muin warned him. "Even if you're not my brother, you're still my ol' friend."
Yed nodded, a little confused by the statement but didn't ask about it. He took off out the door, intent on finding his father. His mom was right, they might not be attacking now, but Bibble's lab would be a prime spot to hit if they knew about her. Her dictator and entrepreneurship was the last chance for the planet. Earth was small potatoes, not many planets would exactly wish to fight money over it, but the waryes would leave nothing to chance.
"And this goes there, along with that." Bibble handed Danva a screw. "The paths along here are messed up, they should have crossed here. Hand me those primitive pliers, a hard thrusting turn should do it."
"So you think this is it?" Danva asked one more time. "I don't honestly want to fry myself for nothing. If I do, shoot me."
"You don't trust me? I can see what they are doing, I did not build this wrong," Bibble humphed. "Fine surgical skill, but you're still not the brightest bulb in the pack. Now turn those wires to the right-"
Yed headed for Bibble's, with some resistance. While he was heading deeper into the city, others were trying to get out. Where did they expect to go? They should be hunkering down in their houses with what limited weapons they had, not try to escape. Then again as he watched high wires falling down in the distance, perhaps they knew better. Had another report come on, were they attacking major cities? Deciding that walking around cars that were bumper to bumper was nearly impossible, he dealt with the yells and shouts as he jumped from car to car.
When he saw Bibble's place in the distance, he increased his speed with adrenaline. The lab was on fire, and he needed to hurry. As he reached the lab door, it was hot to the touch. Not caring about the third degree burns, he opened it and looked inside. "Bibble! Danva!"
"Yed..."
Yed heard his voice faintly to the right of the lab. He saw nothing but an overturned shelf that used to line the entire wall of the lab. "Hello, dad?"
"Yed..."
He headed over towards the top of the now fallen shelves, and saw his father stuck below. "Dad!" He quickly tried to lift the shelves.
"No good, Yed. A million things are stabbed in me beneath anyhow." Danva took a hard swallow. "This is the lab shelf, there's no telling what's poking. My vision is funny."
Yed tried again to lift it. He had no idea how much weight the shelf had on it, it had been one of the epicenters of Bibble's chemical storage. Earth chemicals and otherwise. The shelves themselves were oak and tough to carry all the weight Bibble always piled on them.
"Listen to me, son. I need to tell you this." Danva gulped. "I'm runnin
g out of time."
"I can get help, I can get this thing up," Yed insisted as he tried to pry it up.
"Yed, listen." Danva moaned in pain. "Son, I programmed the Protectors. They didn't die back in the war, they are in the Waryes Kingdom. In King Fayu's special force."
"It's okay, I forgive you. You had no choice," Yed said, "don't worry about it."
"No Yed, you don't understand." Danva moaned again. "Get them."
"Well we're going back anyway, why not stop by and say hello?" Yed joked. "Come on Dad, you've got to get up. I need to get help."
"No, Yed! It's not the weight. Trust me, it's the chemicals. My insides are burning," Danva whined in pain. "Please, Yed, it's too late..."
Yed tried one more time to take the weight off, but he knew his father was right. "I can't leave you here, we are all together again. You can't give up on me."
"Yed, you can't go back to Pagnia now." Danva tried to turn his head. "Right, turn to your right." Yed turned and saw a waryes was unconscious in the corner. "I cornered him before this happened. I was a W class after all and he was out of his element." He moaned again. "Waryes want to leave because Pagnia is dying. They've abused it too much. They don't know why, but it has to do with taking too much inhibitor. The balance of the planet is unstable, and it's ready to blow. That's why they want your planet, so they can survive. Don't let anyone go back."
"Pagnia is going to blow?" Yed looked back at the unconscious waryes. "That's why they want this little planet so bad because they don't have many options." He hit his head. "Dad, half of us have already gone back."
"It doesn't matter." Danva looked at his son with pain in his eyes. "Find Bibble, Yed. She can get it to work now; you have to be the one. You have to take the risk. You have to go back to the past."
"That's impossible. I'm not gonna bother explaining physics to you," Yed shouted with his own heart in pain. "Not here, not now. We need to go back, we need to-"
"Pagnia's gonna blow and the Earth will be trampled becoming the new Waryes Kingdom. You can't escape it this time Yed, none of us can." Danva stopped moving his head as he looked straight at Yed. "...up to you...this is my dying wish...what I can't..."