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Who says what is legend and what is fact? Look at me, my friend, and tell me that a year ago you would have believed any of this possible. - Drake Ducaine to his longtime friend, Lin Gander Fact is only what we know, Legend only what we remember, myth only what we have forgotten, and magic only what we don't understand.
The Blood of Ancients
Chapter One: Things to Do in Interdimensional Limbo When You're Dead
At first, he only wanted the pain to go away. After a few minutes of this, memory started to return, and he decided that, compared to the alternative, pain was a bloody good thing to be feeling right at that moment, and promptly stopped complaining.
Unfortunately, the return of his memories prompted him to get a move on. This was an emergency, after all. He just knew Taunny would be giving him grief for taking up time in her infirmary while she and the others were forced to help clean up the mess Draggy had made during his little rampage. Besides, if he was still here then something had gone very wrong. The High Lord could still be free as well, and causing trouble for the others. Seeing as how his current situation had been brought about because he was trying to protect his teammates, he figured there was little to no point in lying about while they faced danger without him.
There was really only one problem with that, he realized suddenly; he wasn't lying down.
He wasn't really standing up, either. In fact, he had no idea just what exactly he was doing, but whatever it was, it was starting to worry him.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
And shut.
He counted to ten, changed his mind, then counted to a hundred.
He tried it again.
Nope, still no luck. He made it a thousand this time. In French.
This time when he opened his eyes, there was only darkness, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the stars, it had only been a hallucination.
"You finished denying reality yet?" A mocking voice cut through the darkness from behind him. "Or should I make myself comfortable?"
I am not going to cry. I am
not. "You are dead.""That's what I've been told, yes."
"If you are dead, then I can't be talking to you, now can I?"
"Well, technically..."
"I am not dead!"
"How else could you be talking to a dead guy? Take a good look around, kid. This isn't exactly Ducaine Primary, if you catch my drift."
"If I am dead," he said slowly, "and I'm talking to you, then I must be in Hell."
"I had a feeling you'd say that." The voice was amused now, almost fond.
He closed his eyes again. It really wasn't worth the effort. "I don't suppose you could just let me be dead in peace, huh?"
"No, afraid not."
Yeah, that figured. With a deep sigh he pressed his hand over his eyes. "You know, I had a foster father once who told me he'd see me in Hell. I said, I'll see you there first. Please tell me he's already dead. I'd hate to be wrong about something like that. I'd have to listen to him gloat for all eternity, and frankly, even Hell isn't that cruel."
"You aren't in Hell."
"You know, I think that's the first time you've said something that I've actually wanted to hear."
"Oh, yeah?" the voice challenged. "What about the whole 'I've joined the resistance and I've come to rescue you from this disgusting pit' thing?"
"Well, I was pretty happy to hear that."
"See?"
"Until you told me you were leaving me behind."
Silence for a moment, then, "Okay, that's a point."
"Where are we?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Nosedive McDrake opened his eyes again, then turned around. He found himself face to face with the owner of the voice he'd been, unadmittedly, relieved to hear. "I want to know, Canard."
Canard O'Mallardson told him.
Canard looked exactly like he always had looked, before the occupation. T-shirt, pants, sneakers - except they weren't called sneakers on Puckworld, they were just rubber-soled shoes - every inch the well-respected honor student. He stood with his hands in his pockets, head cocked, watching Dive with a look midway between worry and amusement. "Welcome to Limbo, kid."
"Care to elucidate?"
Canard raised a questioning eyebrow? "Elucidate? I see Tanya's been a good influence on you."
Dive resisted the urge to point out that, genius or not, Tanya's stutter usually prevented her from using any word with more than two syllables and that contrary to popular belief, he was fully capable of using a dictionary. "Canard, please, tell me what's going on here. How did I get here? What about the High Lord? Wildwing and the others?"
"Relax," Canard said soothingly. "All right, I'll tell you everything. But I can't guarantee you'll like it."
"I've been hearing a lot of things I don't like lately."
"Yeah," Canard said softly, "so I've noticed." He straightened abruptly. "Come with me."
Dive watched him start to move off, then, with a shrug, followed.
"First of all," Canard began, "I'm dead. I'm not really dead, but I'm not alive. When I jumped into Limbo, I fully expected it to be the last thing I ever did, especially once that worm got a grip on me." Dive could see, from the closed expression on Canard's face, that it wasn't an experience he cared to talk about and if Dive pushed, he'd only succeed in making Canard uncomfortable. "I was hurt, badly, but the worm apparently decided I wasn't worth the trouble. It took off and left me be."
They walked for a while longer, though how time or distance could be judged in a place that was a dark void was beyond Dive. Canard seemed to be gathering his thoughts, and Dive got the distinct impression that it had been along time since Canard had had anyone to talk with. "I learned the hard way why Limbo made such an excellent prison. It's almost impossible to survive here. The Saurians had supplies, technology, and a large population to help them overcome, but I was on my own, with nothing more than the shirt on my back. I couldn't go to the Saurians for help; I decided early on that I'd rather starve to death than place myself in the hands of Dragaunus' followers. I just... floated around, to be honest."
It was like water, he thought he could almost touch the air around him, if only he could get up the strength to just reach out. Colors danced by, twisting and turning, blending together. There were colors of the purest shades, and some he couldn't even recognize, and which his mind almost refused to accept. He saw mountains and rivers, cities and vehicles, trees and animals, all mixed together. Wild animals roamed through the cities while a car tried to drive up the side of a mountain. The part of Canard's mind that wasn't totally consumed with pain realized that the scenes were only a part of Limbo, pieces of the non-reality that surrounded him.
Then the pain reasserted itself as the main force on his mind, and he lost consciousness.
He didn't know how long he remained that way, drifting in and out of consciousness, only that each time he drifted back to awareness, the scenery had changed.
It was some time later, a day, a week, a year... a decade; Canard couldn't tell the difference anymore; when he saw the Saurians.
There were only two of them, both dressed in the uniform of the foot soldiers. In his condition he was unable to obey his mind's desperate commands to run, hide, get out of there before they saw him. He watched through pain glazed eyes as they approached. But his fears were apparently unfounded; the Saurians passed him by without a glance.
They didn't see me,
he realized dully. Maybe Limbo is messing with their heads as much as mine. He didn't have the chance to examine the thought more closely as consciousness once again fled and left him unaware in the darkness.Again and again, the situation repeated itself. Canard would find himself directly in the path of a Saurian ship, or mere meters away from a Saurian scout, but each time the Saurians changed course, or ignored him. He wanted to understand what was happening, but his injuries were only getting worse, an the lack of food or water was wearing him down even more.
Therefore, it really didn't come as much of a surprise when he started seeing things.
He awoke to the colors and the pain for maybe the hundredth time, or maybe only the tenth, and found himself facing a little girl. She looked familiar, but everything was blurred at the edges. He blinked a few times, and saw his little sister. "Jenne?" he gasped. "Oh, stars, Jenne?!"
The little girl smiled at him, and took a few steps closer. Canard was confused by the clothing she wore, a loose-fitting white silk blouse, a flowing white silk skirt, silken scarves draped around her throat and wrists. All were delicately embroidered in gold. Her long blond curls flowed over her shoulders and down her back. Her ears, throat and fingers were adorned with gold jewels. She looked like a princess out of a fairy tale. "Jenne?"
Her steps were delicate and small, but she reached his side quickly. A gentle smile graced her beak and she knelt beside him. "I'm afraid not, Ashed. The face you see before you is one I took from your dreams. I use it only so you will not be frightened by the sight of me."
To Canard's pain-drugged mind, this didn't do anything to clear up his confusion. "I don't... Jenne? I was... so worried. What about Avi and... the others?"
She sighed gently. "I can see this discussion is not going to be very productive while you are still so weak. I shouldn't do this... Not before you understand the consequences... But then, what's the point of making the rules if you can't break them every now and then?" She smiled, and lay a hand against his brow. "Sleep for now. When you awaken, you'll feel much better."
Canard let the sound of her voice lull him into sleep, his young sister's face the last thing he saw for some time.
When next he awoke, he knew something had changed. For the first thing, he wasn't nearly so hurt as he once had been. For the second, he was tired. Tired in the way you are when you oversleep, or after you've been sick for a long time. He opened his eyes and saw only the same thing he'd been seeing since he made his choice and threw himself out of the Aerowing. How long ago? Not too long, if he was still alive.
He tried to stand, not sure how he could if there was no ground beneath him, but somehow it worked. He was shaky, his legs still weak, his head still pounding from exhaustion, but nonetheless a hundred times better off than he'd been the last time he opened his eyes.
Speaking of which... The memory of Jenne's presence returned and he glanced around. He knew it had to be a dream, a hallucination, how could Jenne be in Limbo? The knowledge didn't stop him from looking, though."Welcome to the waking world, Ashed."
The voice was not familiar, but the face attached to it was. "You're not Jenne, are you?"
Whoever she was, she had the decency to look sorrowful. "I'm afraid not." She gestured to her own face and explained. "I knew you to be injured and frightened. I borrowed a face from your memories, one you thought of fondly, so that when I approached you, you might not fear me. I did not realize it would hurt you so much to see it."
Canard forced himself to relax slightly and he offered a tentative smile. "It didn't hurt, not really. Just... disappointed."
"Was she of yours?"
"Of mine?" Canard repeated softly. "She was my sister."
"She is lost to you?"
"Yeah," Canard sighed. "She is. One way or another."
"My apologies for the sorrow I caused. It was not intended. Shall I chose another shape with which to communicate to you?" One hand ran through a strand of hair. "You are no longer as scared as you were last time. It is no longer necessary to appear this way."
The hesitation Canard felt was only temporary before he forced his emotions to the back of his mind. "It doesn't matter at this point. You may as well stay as you are."
The girl nodded. It struck Canard that she looked shy, uncertain, like she was afraid. "What should I call you anyway?"
"Your kind," the little girl told him, "has long called me Carae."
"Carae?" The name was familiar, but distantly so, like a half-memory from childhood. "Carae was a fairy tale," Canard said slowly, the memories returning to him slowly. "Queen of the magic realms and guardian of all heroes. The legends say she protected Ducaine against Keroth."
Carae smiled gently. "Most of your legends are based in fact, though the actual truth long lost. I am the ruler of this realm, though your people stopped believing in it's power long ago. You stopped believing in me, for that matter."
Legends, stories, fairy-tales... Canard felt like his life consisted of no truth any longer. Only myths. "Where am I?"
"Don't you realize, Ashed?"
"Who is this Ashed you keep mentioning?" Canard demanded. "And where am I?"
"Ashed is another piece of the forgotten legacies." She smiled at him. "Ashed will stand with his greatest enemies for the sake of all he has ever loved. Ashed is of this place."
"This place?" Canard prompted.
"In millenium passed, this place has lost its true name. For now, know only that you have entered Limbo."
I suspected as much.
"Why are you calling me Ashed. If it's part of some sort of legacy-""It is!" Carae burst out. "Haven't your people retained any of the truth? Don't you have any idea of what you must do to regain the balance?"
Canard's patience was wearing paper-thin. "What truth? What balance? Carae, you're speaking to me in riddles!"
Carae, a creature Canard would once have sworn could not exist outside a child's book, shook her head sadly. "A great battle is coming, and you shall be a soldier on the front lines. It will be up to me to teach you."
"Teach me what?" Canard demanded, fear, confusion and hope warring within him. "What battle is coming?"
Carae smiled sadly and lay her hand against his cheek. "The battle for good and evil. The battle that has occurred for countless millions of years. The battle between the Chosen. And you, Ashed, will be right in the middle of it, alongside those you hold dear."
What followed was months of training, teaching, learning. Under Carae's tutelage, Canard learned more about the history between his world's and the Saurian's than he had ever believed possible, things that had been corrupted over time, and even more that had been long forgotten.
Carae dropped the image she'd taken, leaving Jenne to Canard's memory and assuming the face of the magical Queen she was believed to be. She wasn't a Puckworlder, or a Saurian, or anything else for that matter. Her form was one of magic and energy. She existed as a soul without a body. In order to interact with him, she took on a solid form, that of a Puckworlder, but Canard thought her natural form was more beautiful than anyone she could have found in his memories or imaginations.
They trained almost without stop, and while Canard noticed that he never ate nor drank, and rarely ever rested, he said nothing, knowing sooner or later Carae would tell him, or he'd discover the reason himself.
It was what Canard thought was several months after their first meeting, when he finally got his answer.
"There are seven Chosen," Carae told him solemnly. "Seven who will stand against the imbalance, and restore stability and peace to the galaxy. Who they are is always different. In times long passed, so far forgotten that I doubt any but I remember them, your people were the evil. Now you are the force for good. Each new generation decides in their hearts what they will stand for." Her smile was mischievous. "Although, I do admit to a bit of tampering here and there. Unfortunately," the brief moment of levity was gone, replaced by a sadness that seemed to reach to her soul, "I cannot undo all the evil that has been done. My powers are limited outside of my realm. I have seen much that I wish could have been prevented. You, Ashed, are my chance to cleanse my soul. Fate heard my sorrow, and delivered you to me for teaching."
"How can I help?"
"You knew nothing when you came here. Even the little you did know was mostly wrong. Had you come here at the time of the battle, you would not have had the knowledge to stand as you must. By being brought here early, I can give you all the learning you must have. My teachings are given to you because you will fight the battle that will undo what has been done. You will help the healing begin. To aid in that is my greatest wish. Thank you, for giving me the chance."
"Maybe you'd better thank Fate, then" Canard said quietly. "I did only what I had to."
"Your actions brought you to me, as you should have been. And in doing so, you saved those who would stand with you."
Canard raised startled eyes to hers. Never before had she mentioned the six other Chosen who would stand with him at the final battle. "Carae? I don't understand. You mean-"
"I can feel the souls of those who pass through my realm," Carae told him. "And as I said, I have a skill at knowing who will stand and for what. I have followed Ducaine's descendants for generations, millennia. You did not know that three of them stood at your side when you chose to sacrifice yourself?"
"No," Canard said softly, the implications of that weighing heavily upon him. "The descendants of Ducaine himself? Three of them?"
Carae smiled benevolently, in the way Canard honestly hated. "They will stand alongside you when the time comes. Your sacrifice was for more than you could have imagined."
"By the stars..."
The glance Carae gave him was sympathetic now, and filled with understanding. "They don't yet know what it is they face. Soon, though, the truth will come to them.
How, I don't know. They are far from home, surrounded by a people who know nothing of your people or your customs. Somehow they will learn, but I fear that they will not be prepared as they should be.""They made it then?" Canard hadn't asked once about the fate of his teammates, fearing that Carae's near-infinite knowledge might not extend that far, fearing even more that she might know the answer, and that it would destroy his last shreds of hope. "Carae? They made it?"
"I wondered how long it would take you to ask. They made the journey safe and have begun to make a new home for themselves on a world far from their origins." She shrugged. "All things considered, they're doing remarkably well."
The emotion pressed against Canard's heart until it was almost a physical ache. Carae rested a hand on his shoulder. "You are mourned still, Canard. And remembered."
"Can you-" his voice caught in his throat and he forced himself to continue. "Can you tell me what happened?"
She smiled widely. "Better than that. I can show you."
"Show me? How?"
Carefully, she took him by the hand. Canard had become used to the magic that permeated this realm long ago, and was no longer surprised by anything she did. Even so, the images that began to dance through his head were not what he expected. "Stars," he breathed as the image of Wildwing and Duke l'Orange suddenly focused in his mind. "I didn't expect you to just-"
"What did you expect?" Carae asked pointedly. "A magic mirror? A reflecting pool?" Her point made, she fell silent as he filled his mind with thoughts of the friends he'd long resigned himself to never seeing again. With Carae's help, it was like he could see into his former teammates' souls and he smiled at what he saw there. Duke was pretty much the same as always, although Canard was sure he'd never seen the man smile before. Tanya was actually outside her lab? Willingly? Amazing. He'd like to meet the miracle worker who'd accomplished
that personality change. Mallory had lost the hardness that had made her seem so much older than she was. Grin was... well, he was Grin. Canard hadn't known him that well before, and didn't understand much about him now. Dive was healthy and happy, which was something of a miracle in itself, and Canard silently thanked Wildwing for forcing him to bring Dive into the resistance. Wildwing...His oldest friend had changed a lot in some ways, and not at all in others. He could see the strength of character that made Wildwing one of the best people Canard had ever known, the hidden weaknesses, the self-doubt and self-blame that had plagued him for most of his life. He saw with startling clarity the deep bond between him and his brother, a bond that Canard had once envied, even resented to a degree. Now, seeing how much Wildwing depended on that bond, Canard thanked the stars that it existed still, and breathed a silent prayer that Wildwing wouldn't lose that any time soon.
The greatest change was the connections being formed between Wildwing and his teammates, the trust he gave them, and the responsibility he obviously felt for them. Canard had known Wildwing for a decade and in all that time he'd learned that Wildwing's trust was a hard thing earned. Responsibility... That was even rarer. Wildwing had grown up trusting only his brother, and refusing to allow anyone else in. It had been a long and rocky road to travel before their friendship reached the point where Wildwing trusted him, where he felt some responsibility toward him. Canard wasn't sure there had ever been anyone besides himself and the McDrake's who had been afforded that honor. Now, it seemed Wildwing had chosen to allow a few others into his world, into his heart.
Finally knowing that his friends, his teammates, were all right took a weight away from Canard's heart that he'd barely realized was there. "They're all right," he said quietly, the joy he felt filling him. "They're all right!" He grabbed Carae around the waist and swung her around. "They made it! Wing and the kid and Mallory and the others! They
made it!" He laughed out loud, euphoria bubbling through him.Carae laughed with him and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as he swung her. "Canard! Please!"
Still laughing, he acquiesced and released her. "Thank you, Carae. Thank you." He couldn't find the words to express the gratitude he felt in his heart. He didn't need to though ,Carae could read his heart itself.
"It was the least I could do. A warrior needs to be strong of heart and soul, and your worry was plaguing you so that you might have faltered at a crucial moment."
"For whatever reason, Carae, thank you."
"You can see them again," Carae told him, "whenever you wish."
"Thank you."
Carae shook her head and smiled nervously. "You may not wish to thank me when you understand completely. You won't need my help to see the other worlds, Canard. With your own power, you can send your sight to those you care about."
"I know." Canard saw the startled surprise on her face and chuckled with fondness. "Really, Carae, I am not blind. I knew that I was changing. When you healed me, something happened then, didn't it? You changed me?"
Her nod was brief and her eyes never met his as she explained. "I am sorry. I should not have done it, not without explaining what the consequences were. But you were so injured." She raised her head and faced him. "I wish only that I had come to you sooner, but I dislike the Saurians. They are an unwelcome intrusion into my realm. A cancer. I avoid them whenever I can. But when I realized you were there, and that you feared them, I masked your presence. Still, I did not come. Outsiders have proven to be disastrous to me in the past, and I hesitate to reveal myself to any, even those who mean me no obvious harm. By the time I realized how bad your situation was, you had almost died. I tried to explain, but you were so far gone. You believed I was your sister, my words were nonsense. I couldn't let the Ashed die, so I risked your hatred to save your life."
"I'm becoming like you, aren't I?" Canard asked softly.
"You are becoming part of Limbo," Carae told him. "Part of me. We are one and the same. You will draw your life from the Limbo, and you will be bound here until you die. You will have some advantage over me. You will be able to survive outside Limbo for a much longer time that I could. Otherwise..." her voice trailed off and she looked away from him, ashamed.
"Hey," Canard reached out, and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Carae, I understand why you did what you did. It
had to be done, didn't it? If the Ashed is to be of this realm, then I guess he really has to be of this realm. I rather figured that's what the deal was when I stopped getting hungry."Relief was etched on every feature. "I hoped you wouldn't hate me."
"On the contrary," Canard told her gently. "I owe you my life. And a good deal more. Thank you."
"Yes, well," she looked away, flustered and Canard felt a tenderness toward this woman. So old, and so young at the same time. "Ashed, the time is fast approaching, and you have much more to learn. Let us return to your training."
"Of course, Carae."
Canard regarded the young man across from him, seeing that the boy was watching him in anticipation of the next part of the story. It was a pity really, that things were going to get decidedly less pleasant. "It's not the entire story," he shrugged, "but it's a start."
"What happens next?" Nosedive asked curiously.
"We see the next step. Look here." Canard gestured in front of him.
Dive looked, and seemed about to object when suddenly he paused and said only, "Wow."
"You see it?" Canard asked. The boy nodded, still staring at the sight before him. Canard nodded. It took something to see beyond the black void, to see the colors that were the truth of Limbo. The Saurians hadn't quite gotten it down, and they'd had thousands of years. Dive seemed to have gotten in with only a few moments of effort. Definitely a good sign. He'd had some training then. "Welcome to Vek Kandrith."
"Main Citadel," Dive translated effortlessly, still staring at the scene before him.
Saurian cities could never be accused of being beautiful, or even aesthetic, but they could easily be spectacular. This one fit the final category quite well. However, it was a far cry from the great metropolises of ancient Sauria, with the grand architecture, sweeping bridges and towers that reached high into the heavens. Vek Kandrith had been created almost immediately after the Saurians had been banished into this realm; the eighteen command ships, carrying the eighteen Lords and their families had been painstakingly joined with the Command Ship itself, which carried the High Lord Keroth and his family across the distance between Sauria and Puckworld. The nineteen joined ships were surrounded by a fleet of fighter ships that formed the outer defense. It was a scene that had awed Canard on first sight, and now apparently had the same effect on Dive.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Canard shook his head as he gazed upon the sight. He had to give the Saurians credit for ingenuity. It was brilliant way to survive in a realm where there were no planets, no solid ground. The Saurians had been unable to find a world to colonize, so they had simply made one. "Anyway, I didn't bring you here to admire the scenery. Follow me." Canard set off again, with Dive following behind. They worked their way around the back of the city, somehow covering the distance in only a few minutes. Canard knew that time and distance were far from constant factors in Limbo, but it still took him by surprise sometimes when he realized just how relative things were. Speaking of which... "Dive? How long have I been gone?"
The question took Dive by surprise, but he answered quickly. "More than a year. Ummm, we've been on Earth for about fifteen months, and the calendars are pretty much the same as on Puckworld."
Canard nodded. "I figured about that long, but there aren't any ways to mark the passing of time here."
Neither said anything for a while, then Dive spoke softly. "We'd all pretty much given up hope, y'know? Even Wing."
"I know."
And that was it for light conversation.
Canard led them closer to the city. "They won't see us," he assured the younger man. "I can cloak us." The section of the city he wanted Dive to see directly ahead. "Su endreke."
It took a second for Dive to recognize the Saurian terms this time, but he did. "The... shipyards? Right? They're building ships?"
"A lot of ships," Canard stressed. "Not scout ships or living ships, either. Battleships."
Dive watched the activity that consumed the shipyard, Saurian workers and mechanoid drones scrambling back and forth as they worked on the construction of a new ship. "This is bad, right?"
"Very bad. Since I arrived, they've built enough ships to conquer a small solar system. And they were working on building up their fleet long before I showed up. At this point, they could take most of our allies. The Kendar, the Messari, even the Hidra and they're almost as violent as the Saurians themselves."
Dive was starting to look a little panicked. "Earth is nowhere near the Hidra! They're not even close to the Kendar and they're practically obsolete! Dragaunus could take the entire planet with just a few ships. A fleet like you're describing... The humans wouldn't stand a chance!"
"I rather think that's the point," Canard said dryly.
"How are they going to bring the ships out of Limbo?" Dive asked. "Dragaunus' dimensional gateway was destroyed the last time he tried that."
"You really think there's only the one?" Canard scoffed. "Dragaunus was testing the prototype, that's all. It has since been improved and built on a massive scale. Each battalion has one built into their flag ship."
"By the stars. They could pass through any time now!" Dive stared at the shipyard. "Earth, Puckworld, wherever they want to go, they're practically there already. And no one knows they're coming!"
"Exactly," Canard said softly. "They're planning on joining Dragaunus on the planet you were all stranded on. Earth, isn't it? Once they've taken that world, they plan on returning to our own universe and finishing what they started with Puckworld."
"We can't let them!" Dive turned on him desperately. "You wouldn't be showing me this if there wasn't some way to stop it! What do we have to do, Canard?"
"Follow me." Canard thought for an instant, felt a shifting and in an instant he was somewhere else. Instead of standing before the shipyards he was no standing amidst the colored sky a few hundred meters away from a colossal fleet of ships. There were so many they all but blocked the mixing colors and ever-changing background that made up Limbo's reality. He was alone, but by the time he realized he was, he wasn't anymore. Dive appeared as suddenly as Canard had, looking disconcerted. He took in the change of scenery and stared at Canard in amazement. "How did you do that?" he asked excitedly. "Tre always said teleporting was all but impossible anymore!"
"First of all, Tremaine didn't know the half of it. She knew enough to give you guys some warning, but the whole truth was beyond her. Second of all, I didn't to anything. You managed just fine by yourself." Canard smothered a grin at the shocked look on Dive's face.
The younger man shook his head in denial. "No way," he insisted. "I don't know how to teleport, Canard."
"Neither did I, when I first got here," Canard shrugged, dismissing it. "I, well, to borrow a phrase from Tremaine, I triggered you." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, kid, but you're going to need the knowledge in a minute, and I didn't have time to teach you the old-fashioned way. I promise, I won't picking through your head without permission on a regular basis."
Dive regarded him warily, and Canard wondered what was going through his mind. "All right. So this means I can teleport whenever I want?"
"Yeah. I planted the base knowledge in your mind. It'll be like instinct. It's not the best way to do it, but-" Canard shrugged again. "Like I said we're low on time. Fortunately, you already knew the basics of forming a teleport portal. That is how you brought Dragaunus here."
"I copied the pattern from when he was 'porting his stupid drones and fireballs all over the place." Dive frowned. "Wait a minute. Where is the High Lord?"
"Gone. His time line was destroyed. He ceased to exist." Canard grinned darkly, "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
Dive blanched. "Then the others? Tre and Canard and Drake?"
"Yeah, them too." Canard saw the mournful look that crossed Dive's face. "For what it's worth, they knew what was going to happen when they chose to come back in time to warn you. They went into this with their eyes open, hoping they could make a difference."
"Yeah." Dive sighed. "Okay, I see the need for messing with my head. I don't like it and I'll probably deck you if you ever try it again, but I see the need. What's going to happen?"
"Watch," Canard took Dive's arm and turned him to watch the fleet. "This is Dragaunus' armada. Our Dragaunus, not the High Lord. These guys are preparing to enter into the human's solar system. With their help Dragaunus will be able to conquer the world in a matter of days."
"Humans are tough," Dive objected. "They'll fight..." His voice drifted off. Canard was shaking his head. "We fought too, kid, and we had much higher technology than the humans do. Even if the humans manage to set up an underground resistance, Dragaunus will still have control."
"Can we stop them?"
"Not at this point." There was a flash of light, and they stood watching silently as a gateway began to form. "From here on out, we're working damage control. All we can do is head them off at the pass."
"Then let's do it!" Dive turned to Canard. "What do we do? Catch a ride with one of the ships?"
"You're not thinking like a son of Ducaine," Canard said firmly. "We teleport."
"Teleport?"
"Teleport." Canard faced Dive squarely. "We couldn't stop them from leaving. You're not that strong, not yet. And even if you were, Carae insists it's not our place to stop them. What we can do, what we have to do, is stop them. And the only way to do that is to follow them back into the Outside. I can teleport myself, but not that far. My abilities are weakened drastically the farther I get from Limbo. You have to do it."
Dive wasn't looking too steady at this point. "I don't know about this Canard. I've never done this before. And I still get worn out easily."
"We'll be linked," Canard assured him quietly. "Combing our powers will give you more stamina, more strength. The two of us should will be more than strong enough to make it."
Dive hesitated, then nodded firmly. "Right. I'm in. Tell me what I have to do."
"Concentrate on your home base on Earth," Canard instructed. "I'll do the actual teleporting, using your knowledge and power to do it. Ready?"
"Whenever you are, man." Dive braced himself, not sure what to expect. "Man, Wing's gonna freak."
And they were gone.
Darkness and light merged into one and then faded into a void of cold whiteness.
No,
Dive realized dully. It's snow.He had just enough time to register the presence of a human boy staring at him in shock before he collapsed.
Continued in Trials Chapter Two: First Strike
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