A Love That Destroyed Time

by Melanie Ray

  "Maybe." Ezra didn't hide her own suggestive smile. "Oh, who am I kidding? With everything going on, it'd never happen."

  "Never say never." Muin passed her in an almost stuck up trot, then shot back on her other side whispering in her ear. "It's a little different when you're actually wearing the ring. You might want to get your own cage soon after all."

  "Muin!" Ezra was almost shocked at her sister as she tried to catch up with her back to home base.

  "Hang on, Yed!" Zaria warned him as Yed tried to climb the tank wall. "You're fine. Your back's been adjusted, that's all."

  That's all? Yed tried walking around on all fours, and looked toward Zaria. Yep. He hadn't been killed or stuffed. He had become a pet that walks on all fours. "Ezra? Muin?"

  "Both already out and about." Zaria stretched his front legs. "Muin loves the attention, and it gets her extra food."

  "Well, she is going to have to get used to not getting it." Yed started examining the tank. "We're getting out of here."

  "Oh, thank you! I have been hoping you'd say that." Yed moved slightly as Zaria almost hugged him. "Hard to shake hands."

  "Try next time." Yed went back to looking at the tank. He could escape, he could see flaws from that very spot. However, escaping on all fours wasn't an option. He wouldn't live his life like that. "At least everyone's safe."

  He heard sounds from an open gap and watched as Muin and Ezra walked in. They were in some sort of togas like him. It seemed to cover the essentials, but Muin had more practice. He could feel his cheeks get warm.

  Stop, she was uncomfortable enough. He turned to look away toward Muin.

  "Welcome!" Muin bounded over to hip, reminiscent of a puppy. "Glad to see you're okay. You'd be better off if you brought your children though."

  "We're getting out, and we're going back." Yed wiggled his nose. Ezra was still strong, and now they had a tank with no fresh air. Not good.

  "Probably not going out. They have another tank ready for you, if you and Ezra want your own," Muin said. "They are big into privacy. I think they are hoping we'll have more kids in the future."

  "Endangered species list," Zaria groaned the words. "Apparently off of Pagnia, we are expensive and rare. Tourism has gone up for Fala."

  Yed watched Zaria's nose wrinkle. "We'll want our own."

  "Really?" Muin was disappointed with the decision. "You could wait a little while. You just got here. A day won't kill you."

  Yed looked toward Muin, remembering when she was M-Win. "I don't mind visiting." He didn't mind at all. Muin was a breath of fresh air, the very essence of his Earth days. But Zaria was wrinkling his nose. They could be looking at divorce if Zaria became consumed with Ezra's smell. "I can inspect these cages better with us separate." It was a bogus excuse, but they'd have to accept it.

  "Okay." Muin lied on the ground next to her husband. "Balafa will be down tonight with grub. Call him Master Balafa and be respectful. He'll take you out and put you in a different tank. Maybe you'll be beside us, or maybe you'll come for running and viewing during the day?" She looked toward her sister. "I guess a good idea."

  Ezra seemed to try and hide herself. What was that about?

  Yed didn't go out and present himself, choosing to stay back with Zaria. Muin convinced Ezra to go, and it didn't seem like a bad idea. Something decent in the tank for acceptable behavior might need to last because he wasn't going to be well behaved for long.

  "There you go. Your own tank, and I will get collars tomorrow."

  Yed bowed toward Balafa along with Ezra. He tried to keep from growling. Collars. He began to inspect the sides of the new tank.

  "Yed?" Ezra questioned him.

  "Your scent made me want to get a different tank," Yed said guessing what she wanted to ask. "I don't want Zaria doing something against his judgment. Your pheromones can get extremely strong." He tapped on the glass in different places.

  "Yed. You threw something back at me."

  Yed stopped tapping. He had assumed that the ring didn't make it far enough back, and that's why she had been there. "I did."

  "I have it," Ezra went over to him. "They put it on a chain. I knew it was the only thing you had, so I wanted to save it for you." She bent down and tried to slide it off. "I don't know how to do this exactly."

  She had it. She had the Protector ring around her neck. Yed didn't say a word as he tried to help, but it was too hard. Even the dexterity in his fingers had been affected. "Just, keep it for now." She was wearing his Protector ring, after all this time. It didn't mean anything, she didn't understand the importance behind it.

  Still. She was wearing his ring.

  "Okay." Ezra sat back up as she could, fidgeting her position. "Sorry, I'm trying."

  The strange clothes didn't cover everything, no matter what she did, something was showing. Yed moved back toward looking to the tank. "Don't worry about it." He went back to tapping glass. He realized he'd been tapping the same area, and he was wasting time. Ezra's clothes and the fact she was wearing his ring were weighing heavily on his mind.

  Did she truly not know what it was, or did she say that so they wouldn't have to talk about it?

  He tapped the glass in a couple of other places, before finding it's weak spot. Like the other tank, he could break out, but not the way they were. He needed to find a way to reverse the surgery.

  Chapter 75

  GUY’S POWER

  Xiam held Tiger closely to him, trying to burp him.

  "Can I play outside, Xiam Uncle?" Regwallis tugged on his shirt. "Please?"

  "Only if someone comes with you," Xiam said as he was rewarded with a burp. He sat his nephew back down, gazing at his wife. Iri was playing with Carressella on her lap, making her giggle. He'd be happier when Yed and Ezra got back with Muin and her family, but his wife was sweet with the kids. She had always wanted kids, but he had never been eager to jump on that dad role.

  With the world practically ending, kids didn't look possible, but at least she could help raise the ones around. After all, if this were the only safe place left, they wouldn't be able to go anywhere else.

  "Help!"

  Xiam heard the call, but the Protectors that had come with them moved first to the outside, getting there first. Outside, a Waryes had King Regwallis in his grasp.

  "Let King Regwallis go!" One of the Protectors demanded, drawing his weapon. The other followed the same lead.

  "Ooh, such violence. I hope he's okay."

  "Yeah." Xiam looked behind him, back to the front, and then behind him again. Where had he come from? "Who are you?"

  "I don't know." A warno, full fledged warno smiled back at him. He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. My chains started to dissolve on the way here when I fell into a puddle. I don't think we have anymore, but maybe just having the Protectors around will make you feel better?"

  "Who are you?" Xiam knew Yed must have forgot to clue him into something important.

  "He's okay," Iri said. "We have Protectors around, and he doesn't have a weapon." She scooted toward Xiam and whispered low, so that the new warno couldn't hear. "He was the waryes prisoner. Somehow, he changed and doesn’t remember anything about himself."

  "Uh, no?" Xiam looked toward his wife. "That's impossible."

  "Ezra was hiding in the basement, a little afraid of the new Protectors that showed up." Iri cleared her throat. "Her pheromones were strong, and the next thing we knew, he had turned. Yed's been keeping him chained up."

  "A waryes turned into a warno?" Life just took another hefty turn. This big friendly guy, with the kind smile and calm manner, had once been a vicious waryes. "Okay? We should find a way to chain him back up."

  "Xiam Uncle!"

  Xiam didn't like that. That wasn't help, and the Protectors should have made quick work of the waryes. There was no need to be concerned. King Regwallis should have been brought back in already. He should have.

  So why was he calling his name?

  "Xiam Uncle!"

/>   Xiam, Iri, and the unknown warno looked out of Golden Wood. The Protectors were on the ground, dead. King Regwallis held his hand out to them, trying to get help. He was in the middle of the ground, the waryes no longer around.

  Xiam was questioning his actions. If Protectors couldn't handle what was outside, what chance did he have? But King Regwallis was only a boy. He was the last piece of royalty to the Warno Kingdom. Without him, there would be no more kingdom. "Stay here, Iri."

  "No, Xiam, too dangerous. We don't know what killed them." Iri patted a Chronicle on the door. "Please, we're safe here. Don't go out."

  "King Regwallis is in trouble, or hurt."

  "The Protectors are dead! He is the last piece of the Warno Kingdom! Without him, we unquestionably become nothing." Xiam looked out toward the king. Everything inside of him screamed it was a terrible idea, but he couldn't let anything happen to Regwallis. "Your Majesty, I'm coming."

  Xiam took off in a full run, but heard running from behind. He had no time to look back or scold Iri for following. King Regwallis had to come first. When they reached him, they wasted no time. Iri picked him up, noting his leg was hurt. "Don't worry, Regwallis, you're safe."

  "No, he's not."

  Xiam felt a chill go through him as he felt someone's breath on his neck. He had not felt that since the war. He slowly turned around and saw a waryes. "Iri, run. Take him and run."

  "Xiam-"

  "Run!" Xiam shoved the waryes. It wasn't an action that would do anything. He wasn't fighting some scared warnos for a car with Zaria. He was alone, with a waryes. He looked around and realized more were coming up on the sides.

  With the last moments he knew he had, he chose to watch his wife run.

  Run, Iri.

  Run.

  The unknown warno watched everything happen. He didn't want to go out there either. The female Iri was still a distance away, trying to shelter King Regwallis. He kept his eyes on her, hoping she'd make it. The enemy was faster though. Who were these cruel enemies? These warnos locked him up because they were scared, and he didn't blame them. He had tried being friends with them, but until he knew what he was, they didn't trust him.

  He took a step outward, but even if it were a full run he couldn't save the poor female. He watched as she let go of King Regwallis.

  He was still terrified. The unknown warno placed his hand out. If only there were something he could do. If only he could protect the boy, but he was scared. Nothing he can do. He felt a sprinkle land on his shoulder, and watched as the sky turned grey.

  It was a beautiful afternoon before, how did everything change in seconds? He felt something inside him stir. Something new. He lifted his left hand toward the clouds, an odd thought striking his head.

  "Cast it!" He heard a shout from a distance.

  Going with his gut feeling, he shot his hand down toward the enemy that was coming after the king.

  The unknown warno jumped back! A bolt of lightning shot out toward the enemy. The excitement caused King Regwallis to run again. Once he was back inside, the unknown warno ran with the boy backward into Golden Wood.

  They waited, but no one came in. The unknown warno moved forward again. The enemy was outside the doors, but wouldn't move in. "That's right. Stay out," he said bravely as he went back in.

  King Regwallis shivered in a corner. The unknown warno came over and wrapped his arms around him. Poor boy, going through that. He'd already had the unfortunate displeasure of losing his father. Now his Iri Aunt and Xiam Uncle were gone.

  He heard one of the babies start to cry, and turned to see the baby named Tiger trying to turn over and crawl. With no one around, he was now responsible for two babies and the young boy.

  Hopefully, the other Protector came back soon with the female.

  Yed's pacing had been slow. He had been checking corners of the tanks, finding all the weak spots. He kept his ears open to anything Balafa said, but so far, there was no reveal. How would he get them out any time soon, if he didn't get them changed back? He had picked up some noise about their transporters though. Although their little one was destroyed, they were in the equivalent of a King's home, and a transporter wasn't far outside the doors.

  So far, that was the only decent news. Ezra tried to engage him in conversation a few times, but eventually stopped when he warned her it wasn't a good idea to keep that up. He was stuck with her pheromones in a sealed off tank. He had it miserable enough, without hearing her sweet voice.

  "Yed?"

  Still, he couldn't wholly stay away. She had a small walk area he preferred she be in during the day, but she still needed to eat at night. "Yes?" He coughed. "Hurry the request up, Ezraponia."

  "How is it coming?" She strolled over toward him. "Any luck?"

  "Have you heard Balafa say anything about reversing our surgery?" Yed tried to smile, but failed. "No, no luck." He tapped on the tank. "I could bust us out, but not without reversing this process. If we leave like this, we'll stay like this."

  "Mm." She moved back, and tried to put her hands up on the glass. "At least we can see Muinela and her family."

  She missed and worried about the kids. "I told you," Yed reminded her. "It could be awhile."

  "I know, but I didn't want you coming alone." Ezra pulled her hands back down. "My knuckles are getting calloused."

  "That's okay. The tougher they get, the better we'll move like Muin and Zaria." Yed tapped on the glass again. "It was nice talking to you, but you have to get away from me, Ezra." His voice became more stern as he moved away. "I'll talk to you later."

  "I don't want to." Ezra moved closer. "Yed, you'd never hurt me."

  "Don't question the power of pheromones." Yed looked back toward her. "I did once, and look what happened? Wake up and find out I'm a father. Not going through that again."

  "That was different. Different pills, and it affected me too." Ezra moved over toward his side. "If I had been unaffected, you wouldn't have hurt me."

  "I have a high tolerance, I'm not immune." Yed struggled to look at the tank. "Just, please, go."

  Ezra shrugged. "I know you'd never hurt me, but I guess...it does make it harder to be around me?"

  "Yes!" Yed didn't mean to yell, but she got the hint, and he didn't want her to forget it. "Yes. Now go. You and me, alone in a tank. It's just not acceptable."

  "I'm sorry." Ezra looked toward her chest at the ring. "I better go then."

  Mercifully, she leaves. Yed moves to lie down for awhile, but sees Balafa enter. He has someone new with him.

  "Now, my sweet Muin, people love her. The new ones, not so much. I don't even know the name of the other one." Balafa steps over closer. "This one just taps on the tank all day or lies down. The other male lies down frequently too. Between them though, I do love little Muin. Plus, her kids? Fantastic, they can grow up right here."

  Yed stayed still. His back had been to Balafa, so he must have figured he was asleep. There was something odd though. All the Fala people had talked more like a gaggle of teenage girls on Earth. Even the king had not been immune. Or so he thought. In that whole speech, he had sounded intelligent, with no extra words.

  "It is a tough call. These two seem to be at odds, never staying in the same room too long. They get along, but there is no chance of breeding between the specimens. Now the other two, there is undoubtedly a chance. This one right here?"

  Yed felt a small tap on the tank next to him.

  "This one right here, at least he moves. The other one is always so depressed. I can't have everything, and it would be an acceptable sign to our ally to give up a pair."

  Give up a pair? Yed stayed dead still.

  "Tell Marlama we'll be sending them two potential breeding pair, along with the minerals that keep them intelligent. They can use them for their museum, or experimenting. Whatever they wish. Oh! Do not send them pink or red mineral, only the green. The colorful mineral is quite rare, we were lucky to attain some."

  "When should I inform they can
pick them up?"

  "They are sending an ambassador soon through the transporter. We'll talk and then pack them up in the morning for him."

  "Before or after the Earth observers return?"

  "Quiet, simpleton, the ambassador is coming. Turn droll. Why, hello ambassador! Welcome to, like, Fala or whatever!"

  They used their language intelligently among them, but used something casual and limber around others. Actually, that was brilliant. Two languages. One stale with fa and la and other simple words repeated almost boorishly. The other, constantly adapting and growing. The enemy would underestimate them more. His ears were tuned, picking up on all the subtleties. The Fala language was more like a fine wine. They had hints of english in their language, along with a touch of pagnian and a few others. Their language actually grew with exposure to other planets. Fascinating.

  This is not a planet they could risk being on. Yed had assumed they wanted them as pets, especially when their ambassador had said so to King Sheward. From the way they spoke, he knew this was more than a pet arrangement. They must have known something about the future and the waryes taking them out. They must have known about the planet eventually blowing up in eighty years or so.

  They were grabbing warnos before they became extinct. Yed started to get images about Zoos on Earth. They wouldn't stop the waryes, but they were trying to preserve what was left. In fact, he'd lay odds that after the war, the Fala probably came and scooped up at least a thousand survivors, if not more.

  Was that what actually happened? Had they been entirely wiped out in his real time, or did Fala grab them, saving them as animals? Selling them through different planets, and populating them elsewhere?

  Balafa wasn't even underestimating Yed's talent in the tank, that must be why they had unnecessary surgery! He knew they wouldn't leave. Yed held his head down lower. He wouldn't win this battle completely.

  He did not want to do it. He had stayed there specifically because he needed to know how to reverse the surgery, but there wasn't time. After Balafa and the ambassador moved, Yed got up and tried to run. Muin was better, but like Ezra, he was getting calloused.

  He stumbled a couple of times, but found Ezra, not far. "Come on! We're busting out, now."