Reversal: Chapter 25

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REVERSAL
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25
REGRET AND RUIN

Heartwing found himself wrapped in a world of warmth and sleepiness. It was hard for him to stay awake. All he could really feel was…arms. Arms lovingly wrapped around him.

"What's…what's going on? Where…where am I?"

Birthflesh.

"What…who?" Heartwing slowly opened his eyes wider and wider, seeing the arms that were holding him tightly. "What's going on? I…I…"

So sleepy. So very, very sleepy…no, NO, he had to stay awake. He tried to get his eyes back open, but there seemed to be a film before his eyes that made everything so blurry. He could barely make out the texture of the arms, but…there was something off about it all.

Birthflesh. Little birthflesh.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Heartwing murmured out, feeling the arms tenderly squeeze him, a soft cooing echoing through the air.

Birthflesh…have given my old home new life. Little birthflesh. Soon, whole world will need you, birthflesh.

"I…I can't move." He mumbled. He could barely see what was in front of his face, but he could almost make out a form that was slowly rising up…and he could recognize it. "…you?"

Other world's flesh…is not pureblood from you, Birthflesh. But once all but those here are good little eggs, it will begin. The transformation will take place, and little eggs will become beautiful brood.

"No, no, you can't, please, you're killing them-" Heartwing began to scream out as more arms began to wrap themselves around him, the warmth rising in his body as his voice became suffocated.

Sleep, little birthflesh. Sleep. The voice whispered, becoming almost high-pitched…childlike…

"No…"

Sleeeeeeep… The voice insisted, it's tone rising, becoming like foul static.

"…n…no…"

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

…

…

…

…The Infection. There was no better word for it. Whether it was spread by viral means or a pathogen was still up for debate. Whether an unfortunate could get infected through direct contact or not was a matter that still confused the Majestic Council, now diminished by the loss of the Caterpillar, the White King and, earlier in the week, the Red Queen's death, killed during a freak accident some distance from the battlefield.

It made one delusional, see things that weren't there. You heard very strange noises and sounds. You saw things that were impossible, disturbingly twisted. Innocent people could see others as monsters if the Infection set into them, and then, in the end, it claimed what remained of their humanity…transforming them into one of the very monsters they saw others as.

And, most tragically, a terrible bout of Infection had come to Yurp. There were less and less survivors by the minute. Though the former Red Queen had been swiftly delivered to the safehouse in Manhattan that Manifest, "The Hand of God" had set up, along with a large amount of the "best and brightest" of Yurp…there was little hope for the country. The war they had raged was over.

It would all be over soon.

"As the person whose children fought against your daughter and her forces, I want you to know that I couldn't be happier you lost the war." Junior said snarkily to Melanie as she sat, dignified and quiet, drawn to full height as best she could in a chair in the dining room. "As a believer in democracy and rule of the people, I couldn't be happier that Yurp's "chosen by god" queen got to eat a big fat helping of crow that was so huge she choked to death on it."

"…she's waiting for the "but"."  Green said angrily, giving Junior a deathly glare as she put down her fork over her hash browns and folded her arms.

"So am I, baby." Junior chuckled, Green slapping his face. "I needed that." He mumbled apologetically, as B gave him an angry glare from behind the white mask he wore on his nigh-featureless face. "Even if your daughter was a horrid, pretentious, stuck up, pompous gypsy-murdering ass who had the GALL to think God wanted her-"

A large tray of butter, with the butter still atop it, smacked squarely into Junior's forehead, Esther von Hayden-Muir lowering her arm and grinning triumphantly as Erick nodded in approval.

"Nice arm!" Daveigh complimented as she sat near her "mom", feeding her baby some mashed peas as Ashton poured her some orange juice. They'd all been nice and safe in Manhattan, they weren't afraid of anything here. Not if they were together.

"Little league. She made every pitcher her BITCH." Erick said proudly, ruffling his daughter's hair.

"I deserved that too." Junior mumbled as the butter dribbled down his forehead.

"Ya sure did, ya great big galook." Esther, aka the "Reversed" Empress of the Major Arcana, Lilo Pelekai, snapped at him, one eyebrow raised as she folded her jacketed arms across her chest.

Junior wiped the butter off with a single paw and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "What I'm trying to say is that, as a CATHOLIC, know that I feel very, very guilty about all of those feelings, Red Qu-"

"Just call me Mel." Melanie Jones's reversed counterpart insisted quietly, sighing as she poked at her scrambled eggs. "…my daughter's gone because she's lost."

"…I'm sorry." Junior apologized gently as one the Manhattan dragons brought in a large plethora of drinks, others putting away the already-cleared plates. "I was really insensitive."

"Ya THINK?" Ashton snapped. "I've got another tray of butter right here, buddy…just say the word, Esther! Just say the word!"

"I hope I never have to go through what you did, and I apologize for my remarks." Junior informed the former Red Queen, putting a paw on her shoulder and patting it.

What none of the individuals in Manhattan knew though, was that this was not Junior. Regent, the Cracked, had disguised himself as his better self, had taken Green away for one purpose and one purpose only: to take everything that had belonged to Junior's life and make it HIS.

The real Junior was near catatonic with grief, staying in the room where his daughter had died, and unable to move from a chair, despite urging from everyone around him. Nobody felt it safe to leave him alone, out of fear he might commit suicide. Now it was King's attempt to try and sooth Junior's soul as the serpentine magus sat next to Junior on the floor, seeing the vaguely hamster/rabbit/rodent thing stare sightlessly at the wall, not really seeing anything but his daughter.

"Junior. Please, talk to me."

Nothing but silence.

"Junior, I have lost my own children. Not once, but twice."

"…"

King sighed deeply and put one hand on Junior's shoulder. "Believe me. It does eventually get better. Not with time, but with the love of those around you. We're strong together, we'll get you through this together."

"…"

"Junior, please, just say something."

"…you don't…KNOW…what I'm going through." Junior hissed angrily. "I was always, ALWAYS there for my children. I helped Ann through school. I taught Charles and Zeri all they know about law and order! I was a tender father to Izzy and Judah! I supported Remiel through the Seminary and supported Ember's desire to leave home and pursue her dreams! You didn't even know where your children and your wife WERE, you just assumed she left!"

He stood up, eyes blazing as he pointed down at King, his long antennae lashing at the air behind him. "You DON'T understand what I'm going through, King! NOBODY does right now! And nothing you or anyone else has to say is going to make me feel better!"

"I have something that'll make you feel focused."

King and Junior turned their heads to see, of all things, Sari, nursing a sore cheek. "What happened to you?" King asked, a concerned expression on his scaly face.

"Just had some trouble with a freakin' dragon. Now listen. Junior. Regent has Green at Manhattan."

"…what." Junior stated, his voice dead, low…and soft, with an edge.

"He wants what you have. That includes children."

"…WHAT."

"You'd better get going pretty damn quickly if you wanna stop this. He doesn't know about Izzy yet either, so-"

"I'm going to gut him like a pig!" Junior snarled furiously as he tore out of the room, growling furiously as King and Sari looked from each other to him, King biting his lip.

"How the devil do you know all about this? How do you always know so much?" He demanded at last, pointing a black claw in her face.

"…because I need to fix this." Sari murmured quietly, holding onto herself as her voice slowly dropped, the princess president tapping the floor with her bare feet. "…because I HAVE to fix it this time. This time I've got to get it right."

"Get-what're…" King's eyes widened. "You're a chronokinetic, aren't you?"

"For you, this is all happening for the first time. But we've had this conversation NINE times. Sari informed the serpent anthro. "I tried to go help Heartwing, but if I do that…I'll kill everyone in Manhattan, the only people who are…well, I guess "right"." She sighed. "Right because they weren't really born in this world from anything natural, but from what's in Heartwing."

King raised an imaginary eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"…King, the Infection…there's something I should have told you a long time ago. Something you need to know…about this world." Sari said as she slid down the cold wall and onto the floor, holding her head in her hands and shaking it back and forth. "Ohhhh…DAMMIT!" She yelled. "GOD…damn it! I know so much…and yet I keep finding out I can do so little!"

King gently sat down next to her and patted her back as the pink-haired girl continued to speak, her voice still quiet and subdued. "It ain't fair." She murmured. "…it just ain't fair."

Meanwhile, B rested one hand against the wall, gripping his head in one hand as his mask lay on the floor of the bathroom he was within. He could hear him.

He could HEAR Heartwing. He could hear them all, truth be told. Hear them crying and begging and sobbing.

"Please. Please, STOP." He whispered to the darkness, the silence giving him an answer he knew he had only one thing to say in response. "I can't help you yet, please…."

The silence returned, demanding, practically screaming for him as he shook his head back and forth.

"Please, PLEASE, stop. There's…there's too many of them…please, just sleep…just SLEEP."

…

"Sleep…please, just sleep…please…"

"…help…please…" Heartwing's whisper echoed again and again, pitiable and tearful.

"Please…please, there's too little of me…too little of me…someone, please…" Blacky murmured, the Force of Fate unable to stop the tears from coming. "Someone please, help me…"

…

…

…

…things were going topsy turvy for Junior, and Sari was about to drop a bomb in terms of revelations. But they weren't the only ones who'd had big issues to contend with. Far from it.

Grey Nicholas Pelekai had seen foul, unnatural beings enter his world from another. There was no contact with either Heaven or Hell. Nobody around the world seemed sure of what was going on, an air of uneasiness and doubt filling people's hearts. And then…there was the other thing…

He paced the parking lot in back of his convenience store, hands behind his back, brow furrowed as he grinded his considerably sharp and deadly teeth. He was in the midst of a moral dilemma, because you see, one of the hands behind his back had just been used to make a long-distance call. In fact, make several.

The conversations had all gone similarily.

"I know this is an unusual question to ask, but…it's about your animals. Have they been doing-"

"You would not BELIEVE what I've just heard!"

"It is simple remarkable, Mr. Pelekai. Absolutely remarkable."

"Bloody amazing. Simply bloody amazing, these two sheep actually-"

"Never heard a FOX talk to me before! Ranku practically screamed like a girl!"

"I think I may have to cease my dining upon the flesh of wombats from now on if all shall try to beg for their lives with a thick Newcastle accent the way that one did."

"…Grey? Grey, you still there?"

All the calls always ended the same way. With a very quiet…almost awed, yet almost scared…

"…I'll have…to call you back…"

The cricket and his friend, the deer, were sitting in the parking lot with him as clouds idly puffed by on an overcast day. The issue at stake was whether or not Daniel, the deer was going to LIVE. Grey was positively starving. He had to cut costs somehow to stay in business and buy nice things for his family. He had to have an edge in the market, and food was one of them. He lived off a diet of Icees, the occasional homecooked meal from his parents, and what he could get from nature, wild animals included.

But now nature seemed to be talking. Now nature was becoming sentient. His evening MEAL was sentient. He couldn't just eat something that was capable of debating whether or not it should be eaten!

Could he?

"This. Shouldn't. Be happening!" Grey yelled angrily, tugging at his ears as he let out a long, low groan and stomped his taloned foot. "Why?! WHY can't things just be simple? Why'd you have to start talking?!" He snarled at the deer, who looked slightly hurt by the words, and slightly disgusted by the spit flying in his face. "You're a freakin' DEER, it's not like you…UGH." He turned away, resting one clawed hand against the back of his store, growling angrily.

"Go on." The cricket spoke up. "It is not like he…what?"

"…can you sing? Can you compose a symphony or a song? Can you tell jokes or stories or anything? Do deer have anything close to "culture"? A person living in a shack in a tree in a loincloth might not be able to spell the word "Extrapolate", but he can still do basic math, he has speech patterns, he has SOME civilization, even if it's bare bones! But…but an ANIMAL?" Grey asked, gesturing back at them, shaking his head. "No, NO. This is just too much. It's all too much, first my family goes missing, then YOU start talking as those THINGS pop up in town and-"

"But you're an animal." The deer reasoned.

That…had not been the right thing to say.

Grey hadn't WANTED to look the way he did. He had not WANTED to transform into this Experimental-esque thing. He had rummaged through garbage, eaten wild mushrooms and slept under trees and cars because he'd refused to steal from others or break into their houses during the days when he'd had nobody to turn to. Long, lonely nights spent just WISHING he had someone to talk to about what he'd been going through, yet still trying desperately to just stay…HUMAN…to just stay GOOD and to not break the law or hurt people…

And now to just be called another animal?...by a dumb DEER?

Well, said deer soon found himself being throttled as Grey's eyes bore into him. "I'm a human that just LOOKS animalistic." Grey growled. "I am the bestial side incarnate, but I am still part of humanity and always WILL be!" A dark, terrible urge was rising in him, one he was slowly finding harder and harder to ignore.

"But humans are animals."

"Humans are PEOPLE. I am a PERSON. People are capable of rational thought and comprehension! People can write stories and make songs and create dances and sand castles and Icees! People care about more than "What do I want to eat" and "How can I survive"! Animals only think about those two things! People need MORE from life because they put more INTO life! You're NOT a person!" He roared in the deer's face, a furious, glaring hatred rising in him. To think that this…this stupid beast was trying to put itself on HIS level just cuz it could talk?!

"Now hold on, I-" Daniel whimpered, trying to stand back.

"You're FOOD! AND I'M HUNGRY!"

The cricket gasped and leapt off his friend's head as Grey's tongue licked the deer's face before it slipped under Daniel's chin, his upper jaw stretching behind the deer's head, biting down and through the antlers. The deer's was is blasted with hot, moist bull breath as smacking, slurping, fleshy sounds fill his ears, as Grey nipping his mouth to close around the deer's head. Soon the deer's head was slipping into his throat and all was going dark as his head was encompassed by the slimy, slick, and powerful muscles of Grey's gullet,  the deer's shoulders scraping gently against Grey's teeth as he kept swallowing, swallowing the deer down inch by inch. His warm drool oozed down the deer's body as his jaws reach the deer's chest, tongue happily licking and sliding around against Daniel's flesh, tasting it, pushing and swallowing as the deer's rump slid into his maw. He tossed his head up, jaws slurping the legs down, letting out a happy burp as he rubbed his convulsing stomach, Grey letting out another loud, rumbling belch.

"LEMME OUT!" The deer screamed over and over.

"Just relaaaax." Grey cooed, rubbing his belly.

"PLEAAAASE! LEMME OUT!"

"This won't take long, if I want it to be over quickly, and I promise, you won't feel anything. It'll be like going to sleep. All you'll feel is a little tingling, it'll be like sinking into a nice, warm bath." The grey-furred ¼ Experiment, ¾ Human offered in that same, cruel-yet-comforting tone.

"Please…please, I'm not..." The deer began begging as he tried to uselessly strike the slimy stomach walls, a daze slowly misting over his mind. "P-Please lemme go…you have to…"

"Why should I?" Grey asked quietly, solemnly. That same, cruel urge was still rippling through him, hooking its claws deep into him. "You can't create anything that'll make the world a better place. Can you write a song or create a cure for a disease? Can you tend to a garden or create a church or a hospital? You're not a human being. You're not a person."

"Give me some TIME and I COULD be!" Daniel sobbed.

With that, Grey stiffened, eyes bulging as he drew in a harsh breath of air.

Give them some time…

"…I wanna stay. I can stay for you, can't I? Please, can't I just stay?"

In that instant, a deep, terrible guilt filled his body as he thought the final thoughts of Kualili, the White Knight…who had died, tearfully wishing he could have been better than a simple beast…wishing he could have stayed with Vladdy…wishing he could have been better than-

…Stitch. Oh, Stitch.

"…I've been so freakin' dumb." Grey muttered, coughing slightly before he let out a loud, roaring HUUU-LUUAGGGHHK, the deer being forcibly ejected from his mouth, dropping to the parking lot, heaving as he struggled to get back up. "So freakin' dumb. He had time to change. He had the potential to change. All things can change if they get the chance. You, those few others, you're just the start, this won't happen overnight, it didn't for my cousins, but…but you deserve the same chance he got."

Grey covered his face with one hand, sighing heavily. "I can't…I can't close the door on someone who needs a chance to prove they can be…good. And you and the others…you deserve that chance the way my cousins deserved it. One day…I could be calling you Ohana, couldn't I?"

"Word of advice: family doesn't stick family in family's mouths." Chester chuckled a bit.

"I am SO, SO sorry." Grey apologized, shaking his head back and forth. "I'll go get you a towel, Daniel."

"And a salt lick?"

"I'll getcha TWO."

But before he could, the Heavens above them parted. Beautiful, dazzling light streamed down from the heavens above as the Earth shook beneath their feet. The wind began to gust furious zephyrs that swept through them and sent leaves cascading into the skies as the unmistakable sound of giant, tolling church bells echoed through the air, Grey's eyes widening along with countless others at the beings that were descending from above and ascending from below.

It was an experience that seemed indescribable in its joy and happiness. Grey found himself slowly falling to his knees as tears began to brim in his eyes. "I…I can't believe it…"

"But you do believe it." He spoke to Grey, smiling simply and giving the ¼ Experimental American ¾ human a small nod. "You've always believed in me and what I stand for, no matter how terrible life may have gotten for you."

"I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." A gentle, tender hand on his shoulder. "Justified by your faith, your strength, your love."

"My GOD…"

"We've got so much to talk about. And there's so many people I want you to meet." He chuckled, gesturing with one hand at the plethora of both heavenly and diabolical hosts behind him.

"We've got a lot to talk about, Grey." Staccato said cheerily as he stood with his fellow archangels, giving a big thumbs up. "So much to catch the world up on. Mostly about the "thou shalt not murder in God's name" thing."

"And I've got a few friends I think you'd be interested to see." Snizzi added with a big grin as he patted one such "friend" on the back, trying not to touch her wings. Lillith, Slayer of the Firstborn, was very sensitive, after all.

"We've come here because the boundaries of this world are being ripped open stitch by stitch. Now, more than ever, people need certainty and purpose…now, more than ever…we shall justify faith." He proclaimed.

…

…

…

… "You should turn on some lights. You're going to ruin your eyes." Green remarked as B looked through a seemingly-empty warehouse, eyes intently gazing around the room as his black-cloaked body stayed rigidly in one place.

"I thought a bartender such as you enjoyed the dark." B said in his unique, strangely unsettling voice. It was somewhat childish in tone, and yet…etherealness filled it.

"Junior's down the street looking for someplace we can eat a nice vegetarian lunch together, but I saw you ducking into this place, even if nobody else did." The brown-haired pastel-tie-dye-wearing Experimental American said, frowning as she rested her black-clawed hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly as she raised one finger and formed a small burst of flame with her pyrokinetic abilities.

Light illuminated the room as Blacky slowly removed his mask, chuckling as he turned to Green. "I am quite fine, really. I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need your help."

"You're an Ideal. Your idea of "fine" is usually everyone else's "perfection", so drop the "distancing" act and just tell me what you're lookin' for. What's new, pussy cat?" Green chuckled.

"What's NEW is that THIS is what was here until last night." Blacky said, holding up one paw and blowing purplish dust through the air, the dust flittering about and forming into the outline of definite shapes…specifically, the shapes of two dragons…and one president.

"…well." Green said quietly, raising an eyebrow.

"The shining light of their soul, kokoro, left a residue. They were all here together. For some reason, Sari didn't let Heartwing go, or he'd no doubt been at breakfast with us, cooking chocolate chip pancakes for us all."

"There's gotta be SOME reason-"

"There IS. She can't help him."  Blacky murmured as his tone became solemn, sad…and he suddenly began to sniffle. "And I can't either." He realized. "…all my power, and I can't, HE'S keeping too close an eye on him. This town's safe right now, as long as there's nothing to keep HIM from-"

It was then that a loud, roaring cry echoed through the air outside and Green and Blacky bolted out to see none other than the Lord of the Obscured himself, the Jabberwocky, slamming his clawed fists into buildings, towers and halls toppling as dragons ran for their lives alongside the terrified refugees from other countries that had been shipped in. The Best and the Brightest of the world were all running for their lives. Truly, fear was universal.

"Distraction. Yes, yes, this could work." Blacky thought to himself.

"He dares pull this sort of thing here? NOW?! Oh HELL no!" Green roared out, clenching her fists as she activated her inner gravitational control powers…

Or rather, TRYING to. The headache struck again and she let out a scream, falling to her knees as she gripped her head. "It's…oh GOD, it feels like I've got a thousand knives sticking into my skull!"

"I'll take care of this." Blacky muttered darkly, putting his mask back on as he rose into the air, slamming a fist against the Jabberwocky's cheek, sending the enormous, pale-skinned dragon reeling back and away from a crowd to fall squarely on Times Square. All of the square shook as the Jabberwocky glared up at Blacky, who held his fists tightly as burning energy swirled around them.

"I've grown tired of waiting. He intends to kill me anyway before he deals away with the Cracked. So why not go on my own terms?" The Jabberwocky hissed as he grabbed ahold of a large street lamp and batted Blacky back through the sky as he chuckled, his voice like a thousand cockroaches all hissing together.

"You will NOT be harming anyone here." Blacky, aka B, said coldly. "I enslaved Cloak's body. I made him beg for an end I never really gave him. You're no stronger than him. You're just a mad dog." The cloaked Force of Fate shot forward with a power fist that slammed into the Jabberwocky's forehead, knocking him back some more as building walls were scraped away, the enormous dragon laughing as his wings spread wide.

"Finally, something we agree on! Like I NEED a reason to kill someone. Like…say…YOU!" Jabberwocky laughed, his spiked tail shooting forward and aiming at Green, who was still clutching her head…

Only to have a sudden large burst of acid slough down atop it from the roof above as Junior, aka Regent, lowered the barrel he'd summoned up with his Temperance powers, glaring furiously at the evil counterpart to Heartwing. "BEGONE, Obscured. I'm not letting you harm her!"

"They are nothing. None of them matter. Not even her. Let her die. Let them all DIE!" The Jabberwocky roared out, holding aloft a claw and tearing through the air as a rippling shockwave of energy pulsed out to slam into the roof Junior was on. Junior, or rather the Cracked, leapt clear off and landed by Green, quickly picking her up.

"Once more I sweep you off your feet." He chuckled as the Jabberwocky's tail lashed out, tossing pieces of the roof in their direction. "Makes me think back to our honeymoon. We had people throwing chunks of roof at us THEN too." He added as he ducked to avoid one such chunk, tearing down the side street and past Manifest, who was directly traffic…or rather, REDIRECTING everyone to be directly behind him. He had a plan.

The Jabberwocky pulled his jaw down as if it was made of elastic material, a disgusting, slimy ooze of dark, rotting, liquidy flesh and gore billowing out from within as dark smoke rose up from his gullet. The sun began to become extinguished, a visible choking sound echoing through the air as Manifest swept his arms to the side, the burning, caustic slime passing away from the Manhattan residents behind him, including an enormous amount of camera crews who were capturing the event for all the world to see.

B glanced left and right. He couldn't find the Jabberwocky, but he COULD hear Heartwing's choking cries. He knew where Heartwing had been moved to, and dove up through the air towards the sun as the Jabberwocky lunged at Manifest. The World was busy now…it's heart was under attack…Heartwing would be free.

He…would…not…be…silenced!

Manifest raised his fist up just in time as Blacky's fist found the mark.

THRUCKA-KRAAASHK!

It was like a thousand bones shattering as the Jabberwocky began to slowly peel apart into little, tiny chunks, his eyes opening wide in horror as everything that he was slowly fell to the ground, piece by piece as Blacky carefully caught the falling Heartwing, who's scaly, almost cooked-over body fell into his arms, heaving and wheezing as the cloaked figure descended towards Green, who held a cold dish rag over his head as she and "Junior" quickly escorted him towards a nearby free clinic.

And as for the Jabberwocky…little remained, save for his eyes, which stared up, widening slowly as Manifest raised his foot up.

They squished like grapes below him as he turned around to face the crowd, nodding solemnly.

"You need fear your enemy any longer." He said calmly.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore." Blacky told the green-scaled dragon in his arms tenderly. "There may be so little of me…but it's enough this time…it's enough."

The cheers of the people of Manhattan were deafening, but the reporters still managed to catch Manifest's "good side" as news of him single-handedly saving the "hope of the world" began to be broadcast across the globe…but the real Junior, watching on a ship heading for New York City, narrowed his eyes, holding his jacket close to him as he thought about two things.

One, about the sight of his wife and that imposter being caught in the background of the CBS news…

And two…the weight of the revolver he held in his vest pocket.

…

…

…

…King folded his arms, tapping his foot as Patty stood by his side in the private bathroom that Sari was using for her test. She'd gotten a sample of blood and flesh from Patty and was trying to view it under a microscope. "Take a good look." She informed the serpent. "A good, careful look."

Her voice was like the one of a doctor who had to be the one to give the life-changing news to a couple. The BAD kind of life-changing. King hesitated for a moment, unsure if he really wanted to take a look at the samples Sari had brought, one batch being his wife's…

The other two being of a normal person from THIS realm, a test sample…and a sample of one of the Infected.

But his inner medicine man won out and he stepped up to the microscope, comparing the flesh samples. Odd. There was a strange sort of texture just barely visible on the flesh of the "normal" individual from the Reversed world…it was as if that person's flesh was made up of a veil of words that every so often flickered out of the corner of your eye. You couldn't see it directly, not at all, but every so often…

But the blood was what made him reel back in horror. For the blood sample of his wife…was a fine, normal-looking match.

Just like the sample that matched the "Infected" human from this Reversed world.

It couldn't be. He compared the "Infected" blood to the "Normal Human" sample…again, he saw the veil of words, but…but there was nothing wrong with the Infected sample at all. Nothing. No veil of words was present. It looked perfectly normal, how could blood from somebody who turned into one of those THINGS look like that unless-

"There IS no Infection, is there?" King finally spoke up.

"No." Sari murmured. "…no, there isn't. Those people aren't being turned into monsters. They were monsters to begin with. They didn't know it for so long, but when those in this world "get" it…and have no reason to resist…no reason to remain good…"

"Manifest isn't "curing" them. He's just keeping up an illusion…he kept everyone's mind off of really looking AT the infection and towards what HE did…" King went on. "Redirection, all of it. Sari, tell me!" He whipped around and grasped her arms. "You know how this ends, don't you? What's going on? Is Junior going to be alright? What is Manifest's plan?"

"…it's the World. It's ALWAYS the World." She told him quietly. "…I can't beat him, he's got an avatar in every Infected and there's so damn MANY of them now and I…"

The tears trickled down her cheeks. "I don't think we can fix it."

King held her shoulder as he sat her down on a nearby chair. "Tell me everything." He insisted. "Go back to the beginning. How did this happen?"

Sari wiped her eyes on her arm, taking deep, long breaths before she finally spoke, softly, quietly, sadly.

"Evanescence and I found each other. We were lost…separated from the people we loved, just trying to discover where we belonged. When HE died, the boundaries between the worlds shifted a little, and the two of us found ourselves slipping into this realm. In fact, even know the rules of reality are shifting about!

I was young. I was really, really young…and I found myself replacing someone just like me. Once I arrived in this world, it was as if they never were. I was bothered by that…bothered by how I could see what people REALLY were when nobody else could…

I would have grown up terrified if not for Evanescence. She and I joined, and we could make ourselves look exactly the way people expected us to look. Nobody was any the wiser over what we really were. And with my powers slowly manifesting, I realized I could do so much once I realized I could turn back time!

I WANTED to go back twenty years. To be back with my dad. Instead, I couldn't go any further back than THREE years. And ironically, in just a little over two years…the Infection would spread to everywhere but here. Manifest is going to literally be the world's only hope. They'll all turn to him. And then…with the power he'll gain from that…he'll turn on all of them, and destroy this world."

King sat patiently, folding his hands in his lap as he listened. He was, in a way, horrified by this revelation. Manifest had always seemed so trustworthy, so upstanding, and yet…hadn't there been that little nagging doubt in the back of his mind? That maybe this white-haired do-gooder was too good to be true? Why else had he collected all the pieces of the Seal-

The Seal. Oh no. There was still two pieces left. And a question…a question he loathed to hear.

"…how many more months until the Infection spreads to the rest of the world?"

"It'll be the 5th of November." Sari muttered, looking down at her watch. "Manifest just saved all Manhattan from the Lord of the Obscured. He'll be holding a big party for Esther and her father at the safehouse…and he'll have The World kill her there, whilst Junior deals with his other self. I try to stop him. Blacky tries to stop Manifest after he saves Heartwing. But we always fail. And when those we're all lying dead by night's end…the radio waves will grow silent…the televisions will show nothing but static…and Manhattan will be surrounded by a world of the corrupt."

"Nothing ever changes?"

"I've TRIED other things before. I tried to kill him, but even when I DID kill him, he's back in less than a year, like a damn comic book villain!" She yelled angrily, punching the wall and gritting her teeth. "I don't know what I'm gonna do! Even WITH my piece of the seal, B's piece and YOUR pieces, the Seal of Metatron can't stop-"

It was then that an idea came to her. "That's it." She whispered quietly, coldly. "I should have seen it."

"What?"

"What IS time, King? I'll tell you…a railroad track. We're on a section of track: the fifth of November. And up ahead of us is another section of track called the sixth. What if I could curve the track? Have it be the fifth over and over again? Yes…" A horrible, foul smile spread across her face. "He'll never come back to life. The Infection won't ever spread…because I'll live the fifth of November all over again, again and again and again and tomorrow will never come!"

…

…

…

…Regent grinned inwardly, a deep, peaceful look of joy on his features as he looked across the bed, thick red blanket draped over him and Green as his antennae under the covers twitched slightly. He wasn't sure why…but whenever he was near her, he felt so…comfortable. Safe. Happy. Here, in this moment, he had everything he wanted.

"That was wonderful." He whispered happily. "It feels like this is a moment of peace in a hurricane…the eye of the storm, an eye so large it'll never end…and I don't ever want it to."

"I know what you mean." Green admitted with a slight chuckle before she sighed, leaning on her right side, looking at the walls. "But I keep feeling that…that there's something I'm forgetting…something important."

"All I want to remember is this moment for the rest of my life." "Junior" insisted as he beamed at her, stroking her back. "Oh, you're so beautiful, Green. So absolutely beautiful…"

He stood up then, heading for the bathroom to do his business, closing the door and looking in the mirror…

As it reflected his true, armored form. He gasped in horror, clasping his paws over his mouth. What in the…how?

"You could have done it. Why did you settle for less?"

"No, not yet." Regent insisted to the reflection. "Not yet! This has to be savored, I want her to trust me, to love me! I can't just take it from her!"

"You want to be like him. But you're better than him." The reflection chuckled coldly, steepling his pointed nails. "Don't you want a child like the ones he has?"

"I want her to love me." Regent whispered as he took off the mirror, putting it backwards and sitting on the toilet as he held his head in his hands. There was little need for the manipulation of emotions he was so good at now…everyone practically worshipped the ground Manifest walked on, especially after this most recent development. Nothing was stopping him from finally having a family…having a son to carry on his name…or a sweet baby girl…

But he kept thinking about Green…kept thinking about Judah and Izzy, off in foreign lands…and for some reason, every time he thought about Izzy, a dark, terrible emptiness welled up in his heart. A feeling so big and terrible it made him want to cry.

He had wanted to be just like the newcomers. Just like Junior. To feel and do as they did. But he knew the truth…and it made him sick of himself. Even though the wine no longer dribbled down from empty eye sockets...Regent's eyes, when unguarded, were still monstrous. And he kept seeing them every time he looked into the mirror.

Even if he ended up having Green bear him a son or daughter, he knew it. He knew he didn't want them to look into his eyes and see that monster.

He thought long. He thought hard.

And he thought about the about the weight of the revolver he held in his vest pocket on the chair outside…

…

…

…

…Junior gripped the railing of the ship, looking left and right, sighing quietly as he leaned against the railing. His ears drooped down slightly as his tail shifted back and forth, shivering slightly. It wasn't that the chill of the ocean was getting to him. It was Oskar's stories.

Oskar had been the only one in Yurp to get out before…the end. Josef was trying to work things out with The Communist Party, the fate of his people at the forefront of his mind just as the fate of Yurp was at the forefront of Oskar's mind. The Yurpean's wrath was staved…because they now had an Infection to halt. One that Oskar knew they couldn't…that's why he was here.

And his stories about the…THINGS…walking the streets where he'd once gotten his daily scones from gave Junior unease.

"I'm sorry for telling you all this, I know it must be unsettling to you."

"I've seen and heard worse." Junior insisted. This was true…but Oskar's tales WERE bothering him. He kept worrying about the others, how long before Carolina and Lewistania were claimed by the Infection? He trusted King's magic to get everyone to safety if the need arose, but even that great magician couldn't mass-teleport entire populations…

Oskar then began coughing heavily, sticking his head over the railing as he let out a horrible burst of phlegmy mucus from his mouth, Junior patting his back…realizing how COLD Oskar felt…

And feeling something.

A bump. There was an unmistakable bump in the middle of his back. As he slowly passed his paw down Oskar's back, Junior's hair stood on end as he felt several ridges of bumps passing underneath.

"Oskar." He whispered. "…Oskar, you're Infected."

Oskar slowly turned to look in Junior's eyes, tears brimming in his own, his pupils beginning to turn soulless and empty, the vitreous fluid gaining a bloody tinge to it.

"It hurts." He whispered. "…it hurts so much…"

Junior knew, then and there, that if he didn't do something fast…nobody on that ship was going to live.

He thought about Oskar…about how his tomorrow would never come…

Because he was also thinking about the weight of the revolver he held in his vest pocket.