Chương 82: 81-Under New Management

The Losers plodded back to the entrance to the Black Tower. They were totally clean of Dissonance. Whatever the Keeper had done in the past had also been reversed: Essentials did still want to murder them, but no more than usual. They were exhausted, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Jenna wanted nothing more than to curl up with Billy and sleep for a few days and forget all about this sorry affair. Her mind went back a few days, to when Exchange explained his plan.

"The Compendium can't be destroyed," Exchange said.

"That is a fact—a fundamental truth of the universe."

"So we are not going to destroy it: we are going to create it. You will understand what I mean when you are faced with the choice." And he said no more, in his usual, infuriating, prophetic routine. Jenna had finally understood what he meant when she had to use the Andara poem to break free from the Widow's memetic attack: words without beginning or end, forever trapped in an endless time-loop.

The Compendium had become an impossible object that could not exist outside that loop: Billy had to give it to Dawn, so that it could go down the ages until it returned to Billy's hand so that he could give it again. And so, ad infinitum.

"I am giving all this some thought, Jenna," Bob said, panting at her side.

"Can't Necessity just send someone to the past to make this not happen?"

"No, Bob, he can't. Think about what Exchange has achieved: returning the Icosahedron to the past has guaranteed every exile to Limbo throughout the artifact's history. Changing that means erasing each and every Limbo exile—it just can't be done. The Icosahedron is gone forever, trapped in its loop."

"How do you think Necessity will take it?" asked Billy. He still looked deeply shaken.

"Well, I guess we will find out tonight," Jenna answered, smiling at him. They started walking down the slope into the hidden underground lake in which the Keeper dwelt. Something was bothering her, but she could not put her finger on it. Suddenly, she realized what it was.

"Damn," Jenna swore.

"Exchange did not give us coordinates to return to the present. We are going to have to deal with the Keeper, just after we broke all his plans," she said, musing as she inspected the lake.

"Damn fine. Now we have to wonder about both of them. I hope the Keeper is not too pissed off."

"The Keeper is not. As a matter of fact, it is quite grateful," the young, girlish voice they had associated with the Keeper sounded inside their minds. The insectoid dragon broke the water's surface. It looked calm and relaxed. Almost happy, Jenna would say.

"When I told you I could not help but try to stop you, I was telling the truth. My nature compelled me," the monster explained to them.

"Secretly, I was rooting for you. This whole universe has been in debt ever since it was created. A debt to itself. You have helped pay that debt today. The Compendium still can't be understood, but at least it can be explained—we are in the green again. For that, you have my thanks."

"Did we succeed?" asked Bob.

"Did we stop Limbo?"

"Yes and no, yes or no, yes but no, pick whatever you want," answered the dragon.

"They are all true."

"The future was set in stone before. This universe was fated to be devoured by that dark reality we know as Limbo. Now it is not. Nothing is fixed. I had to break time to try to stop you, and What Will Be has split into What Could Be and What Could Have Been. Many more passageways now lead through my house, into worlds of possibility. I no longer have the power to close them, not after you returned the artifact. The old rules are gone, never to return. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

But the fact remains: the debt is gone, and I owe you. As proof of my gratitude: a gift. Coordinates to your home."

"Oh, a free trip," said Jenna acidly.

"So generous, we do not have to pay to return home, and all we had to do was save the whole fucking universe. You are so invited to our wedding," she added.

"You told me we were already married," protested Billy.

"Yes and no, yes or no, yes but no, pick whatever you want," Jenna grimaced.

"How can the Keeper say that crap without sounding like an asshole? It just does not work for me." One hour later, they were back in Babylon. Jenna hugged her sister and mother and recounted what had happened to the Council. Faces were serious.

"This is it, then," Dignity said.

"We are gambling everything on the chance that he does not destroy us out of pure spite."

"He won't do it out of spite," Dawn added, "but he could well decide we are part of the problem more than the solution."

"Do not forget there is a third faction: Exchange does not work for Necessity—he has been helping us, more than once. They took down the Federation, the Immortal Hit Squad, and the Answer's gates," Alarel said.

"And yet, they are not friends," Dignity added.

"They have made that clear from the beginning." She sighed.

"We do not know what we are walking into tonight."

"I have a favor to ask, Dignity," Jenna told her as soon as she caught her alone.

"We are exhausted. Let Billy and me have this afternoon for ourselves. If we are attacked, we will be here, but we need some time out."

"But of course, sweetie," Dignity answered, fondly caressing her cheek. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"I will take care of everything. You don't have to be here if you don't want to. I will warn you through the Blood Link if we need you." Bob saw Billy and Jenna leave together. The rift would reappear in one hour. Everyone was nervous. He tried to make some small talk with Alarel, but neither of them was in the mood. Seconds crawled by until finally, the rift appeared. Necessity was sitting on his throne, the entire Coven at his back. Bob could dimly make out Exchange amidst the rest of the Immortals.

Dignity and Dawn walked slowly until they were near the rift.

"I assume you know what happened. The Icosahedron is gone and will not come back. It is forever out of your reach," Dignity began.

"So, no, I am not going to give the artifact back to you."

"You took my daughter from me once—do you remember the words you used to justify yourself?" Dignity asked Ahura.

"My name is not Cruelty. My name is not Whim. My name is not Sadism," Dignity recited from memory.

"My name is Necessity."

"I hope those words were true, Ahura, because there is no longer any valid reason for us to be enemies. We all want to protect the universe, but we disagreed on how. Now there is no possible disagreement. There is only one way—our way."

"We must face Limbo and defeat it. If that is also your goal, we will fight at your side."

"And before you answer, remember we have defeated you not once, but three times."

"Tell me, Ahura, can you afford to spurn our help?" ◇ Jenna slept soundly, her head on Billy's chest. An old nightmare returned, one that had been plaguing her for weeks but that she always forgot as soon as she opened her eyes. Paul was stalking her, mocking her, using her weaknesses against her.

"Immortals sometimes share with their Champions some of their abilities, including that of reading system logs," Paul told her. His tone was calm and easy, as if he were commenting on the weather with another parent at a school activity.

"I can't read yours, though. Something about you being an Abomination, or whatever Irony calls you three."

"So I read those of your friends and coworkers. Nice stunt you pulled on Rosita. I laughed a lot when I read it," Paul continued.

"She did not appreciate it as much, though. She killed herself, you know." Why was she having this nightmare every night? What was her unconscious mind trying to tell her? She knew it had nothing to do with Rosita—Paul had just made that up to laugh at her. The dream's colors started to fade. She knew that meant the nightmare was going away. In five seconds, she would not remember she had had it. Until tomorrow night. There was nothing she could do about it, really.

As Paul's face began to fade, she briefly thought about Dignity, Bob, and her Elven family, waiting for the rift to appear. Waiting to confront Necessity. There was something about that room. It was related to the dream. Suddenly, Jenna knew, and her eyes sprang open. Dignity had lectured them about everything they had learned from the Federation's defectors in that very same room.

Lots of hogwash, with some interesting tidbits, such as the fact that when a system is activated, everyone gets a log except Essentials and Abominations. This information came from Necessity himself. It was all related, she suddenly knew: Paul, the logs, all the strange happenings around the Coven—they were different facets of the same puzzle. But how? ◇ Seconds crawled by as the Coven waited for Necessity's answer. It never came. A new voice spoke before he could answer.

"I am afraid we shall never know good Necessity's decision now. It does not really matter. He is water under the bridge now." All the Coven Immortals turned around towards the new voice. The only one who did not look surprised was Exchange, who knelt on one knee to receive the newcomer—his master had finally come.

"Who the hell is that guy? And how has he entered Nowhere? Only Immortals can access it," said Obviousness.

"Yes, yes, I know. But there are exceptions to the rule," the stranger said.

"I should well know, as I designed them myself." Something jogged Dignity's memory. Hadn't Exchange said rules became fuzzy when his master was around? Who was this guy? How did he have such strange powers? He looked like a pretty average person. There was nothing outstanding about him. The stranger ignored the gaping Immortals and approached Necessity until he was standing just in front of him.

"So we meet at last," the newcomer said.

"For the first and the last time, though." Necessity said nothing—he studied the stranger.

"You are probably wondering what is going to happen to the Universe now that we no longer have the Icosahedron. You should not. It is going to be entirely my problem, as the new head of the Coven." There was a collective gasp around the room. The sheer bravado of the man!

"You would do better to reflect on how the recent changes affect your quota. There is no longer an artifact to take care of. You can no longer export the system to other realities. There will be no more Omegas. Do you really understand what this means for you, Necessity? You are no longer needed," the man finished. Necessity tried to say something but he could not. A hole opened right under his throne, and tendrils erupted from it, dragging the throne—with Necessity still seated on it—into Limbo. The hole closed.

No one dared break the silence. Exchange approached the dais on which the throne had sat and placed a portable chair on it.

"A bit pedestrian, but it will have to do for now," the newcomer said as he sat down on it. Then he smiled at the Coven.

"I am looking forward to working with all of you," the stranger said, smiling. The smile did not touch the eyes, though. ◇ Jenna paced around the bed. She knew she almost had it. What was it? What was so important about what Paul had told her? Then she understood her mistake. It was not what he had said. It was what he had not. Paul was like a piranha; he smelled weakness and used it as a weapon. Jenna's mind went back to her fight with Brinkman's psychic representation in the House of Jennas.

"God, it is always you. It is always you. Andara used you against me, and that thing in Bjarfalla. You were there, in the inside-out palace, and you are here in this poor girl's mind."

"You are the deepest scar life has ever given me. My most painful wound. I am sorry I did not kill you when I had the chance." Why hadn't Paul used Brinkman? Why did he not know her psychologist existed? There was only one possible explanation—Dr. Brinkman did not have a log. But that meant… Jenna gasped, suddenly understanding it all. She now understood where those strange powers came from and what role Brinkman played. She ran from her room, heading toward the council hall. She prayed she was not too late.

She burst into the room just as the newcomer was addressing both the Immortals in Nowhere and the mortals on the other side of the rift. She already knew what she would find, but even so, she felt a chill creep down her back as she recognized the Coven's new leader.

"Dr. Brinkman?" she gasped. George Brinkman looked at her through the rift. He looked delighted she had come. That was probably not good.

"Ah, Jenna, so good you could join us," he said.

"There is no need to be so formal. We have known each other for years, and I am no longer your therapist. I think we should be on a first-name basis."

"Call me Nerf."