RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Writer's Block Hero Revolution [Obsidian Illumination Part One] #8

Two huge, wooden oak doors suddenly appeared before Tobias, Larry and Mxy. They looked like they were built for 20-foot-tall giants. One said "A" and the other said "B"...

Larry: "Well, there's something you don't see every day."

TC: "I dunno. Is it me, or is this place getting stranger by the minute?"

Mxy: "It's you."

TC: "..."

Mxy: "No, you're right. The weirdness is rising. It almost feels like home."

Larry: "What's that clicking sound?"

They all look up and see a counter counting down from 12:34... 12:33... 12:32...

Larry: "Hey, what do you think will happen when that counter reaches zero?"

TC: "I don't want to stick around to find out, frankly. That Time Trust guy said something about us having to get out of there before then."

Larry: "Through these doors? But... which one should we take?"

TC: "I don't know..."

BING! A sign suddenly lit up underneath the counter. It said:

"You must choose the door of exit. Once that choice is made, you cannot choose the other. Choose wisely, and choose quickly."

Larry: "Well, that's just great."

TC: "We'd better get the rest of the guys and blow this taco stand..."

Chance left the comatose body of Ma Kalunga sleeping where she lay, and he went off in search of his teammates. He had seen Mxy nearby, but somehow the landscape had changed again, and he was separated before he had a chance to rendezvous with him.

Maybe that was for the better. The issue of Shirley was weighing heavily in his mind, and he knew that, when he finally got back to his own world, one of them would have to break the truth to Mick, that the two of them were in love. It would not be easy.

The possibility that there was no going back to his own timeline never even occurred to him...

He began going back to the place where he had left Danny, Tobias and Larry, but all the corridors and walkways had changed and altered since he'd left them. He couldn't recognize anything.

Okay. No more relying on my skills. I've got to just trust my dumb luck.

Chance closed his eyes and began running blindly, his hands reaching out to skim along the doors through one of the hallways in the castle. He figured that somehow he would find the right place to turn and begin his search.

And somehow, it worked...

"Hey! Uh... you!"

"Danny!" Chance said. "Found you at last. Where's TC and Larry?"

Danny stood there with a confused expression on his face. "Do you have any idea who this guy is, Hal?"

"It's me, Dan... Kristofer Schanz... Chance!"

"Right. You're the dead guy Pete always sees. Where is Pete anyways?"

Chance looked around. "Uh... I'm not sure. He was hovering around a minute ago. Perhaps he's just sulking."

Danny threw up his hands, rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. Let's just go and try to find the others. I thought I heard Dirk and Grimm fighting the Scorpion Brothers and Knell somewhere around here. Sam's gotta be around here somewhere, too. I'm sure Pete will show up just in the nick of time, as usual. TC and Larry went missing a while ago, and I haven't seen Mxy, Naecken or Turkish for some time."

"Just stick with me, Daniel," said Chance, taking off again. "We'll find them just as easily as I found you."

"There is/was/will be no need for that, Kristofer Schanz." came the metallic voice of the Time Trust android.

"My alternate future/past/present selves are bringing/will bring/will have already brought them here by the time you locate them all."

As they spoke, multiple doorways appeared, each with a Time Trust android walking out from behind one of them. Followed by the androids were: Grimm, Sam, and Dirk from the first door, T. C., Mxy, and Larry, from the second, and Turkish from the last.

The three new Time Trust androids walked to the center of the room where the original awaited them. They continued walking, merging together until they walked into the original Time Trust, becoming one with him (it?).

"And now, my friends," the android called them "friends" more out of programming than actual politeness or friendship, "Which door will you choose?"

I'm awake. This shell is old, tired. I must have a new one soon. This body has served me well for the last ten years. But like the others, it too is deteriorating, due to my needs. All the preparations have been made. I must call my "wife" into the room.

The old man reaches over and presses a button on the side of the bed. There is a buzzing sound and a voice is heard over slight static.

"Yes, honey?"

"Could you come in here? I don't think I have much longer. . .and I want to say goodbye."

"I'll be right in."

A young woman in her mid to late twenties walked into the dark room and stood next to the bed where the feeble old man lay patiently waiting. She had long, dark hair and wore a red jacket and mini skirt with a dark blouse.

"Come here, my dear. Lean in close. . .there is something I must share with you."

"All right." She did as the old man asked her to.

"Kiss me."

"Okay." Inwardly, the woman was repulsed by the thought of such close physical contact with this man, but she thought of the monetary gain she would have when he was gone and did as he wished.

As their two lips met, the old man grabbed the young woman around the throat with both hands and her eyes were forced open. As her eyes opened, a yellow light seemed to flow out from the old man's eyes and into hers. She struggled for fifteen minutes until finally, the old man's hands fell away limp. She stood up, straightened her clothing and walked out the door.

The old man was dead.

The oak doors loomed high above the ground. They looked thick. Sturdy. The kind of door you wouldn’t want to fall on your car if it fell out of a plane- the bill from the repair place would be ridiculous. You’d much rather they fell on your neighbour’s car (you know, the guy with the dog who craps all over the place).

Those kind of doors.

One would almost describe them as majestic. If one were given to throwing adjectives around.

And, for the first time in a while, the whole team was gathered. In front of these doors. Trying to decide which one to go through.

“Yup… those are certainly some very big doors,” Tobias said. Sam nodded, Tobias having made something of an astute observation.

Danny just looked at the doors, without saying anything. They were the way out. The exit. The reset switch on this stupid adventure that ended in more injury than it should have.

He was about ready to pass out. The pain from his broken rib and wounded side were, rather unsurprisingly, getting worse. As opposed to getting better. Danny may be a medical oddity, but it still fucking hurt when he got the shit kicked out of him.

…both by his enemies, and his best friend.

Danny glanced momentarily at Sam, then returned his gaze to the doors.

Despite his injuries, and the fact that he was seconds away from passing out due to extreme blood loss, he stood. He stood in front of the doors, and in front of his team. He felt confident, and thought that he had every right to, after the way he dealt with Kalunga. Tricking her. Poisoning her. Knocking her out. Taking her out of the picture in what he thought was a rather clever fashion.

Little did Danny know that she would apparently get up, brush herself off, and wander off on her merry way to new adventures, with no sign that she had ever been poisoned and knocked out, right after her confrontation with Danny. Completely disregarding, and making irrelevant, Danny’s achievement and his time and energy. But that was how things worked here in the CASTLE OF CROSSED DESTINIES. It’s mysterious. Mysterious and spooky. Very spooky.

“Um… can anyone tell me what the hell Under-riffic Underoos are, and why a talking TV screen is trying to sell them to me?” Came Dirk’s voice from the back of the group.

Danny turned. Sure enough, one of the floating billboards from his time was hovering around Dirk.

The Castle of Crossed Destinies was apparently…crossing destinies. As the name would suggest.

Danny was starting to get the fact that time didn’t exactly go in a straight line here.

He walked to the billboard. Punched it. It fell. He walked back to the front of the group.

“I fucking hate those things,” Danny said. He paused for a moment, looking up at the doors. They had to make the right choice. And make it now. He looked back at his team, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar coin.

“…what are you doing?” Tobias asked.

“Deciding which door to go through,” Danny replied.

“…by flipping a coin?”

“Exactly.”

“Good to see you have a solid plan…”

“I thought so,” Danny said.

He handed the coin to Kristofer Schanz… aka Chance. It struck Danny as odd that when he ran into Chance just then, they’d acted as if they never met before. But he distinctly remembered meeting Chance before, when he ran into the possessed Tobias and Larry. But then... the CASTLE OF CROSSED DESTINIES is very spooky and mysterious and all that.

“You seem to have Pete’s luck powers, Chance… flip the coin. Heads we go through the right door, tails the left,” Danny explained. “That is… unless anyone objects to this plan…”

Nobody said anything.

Chance flipped the coin. It landed in his left palm, then he turned it onto his right hand. He slowly uncovered it.

“Tails,” He said, looking up at Danny.

“Okay… looks like we exit stage left…” Danny said, gesturing towards the door on the left. He stepped forward, and opened it.

They all walked through.

EPILOGUE

The huge oak door closed behind them as the heroes fled the Castle of Crossed Destinies.

The Time Trust, having been unseen by any of them, became visible for a moment.

"You have chosen... wisely," he said, to no one in particular, and turned around expectantly as if waiting for others.

The counter above the doors now said 2:34... 2:33... 2:32... 2:31... 2: 30... 2:29...

Several doors opened up, and through them walked several haggard-looking characters. Just as they were looking up at the doors that said "A" and "B," too tired to think of which one to take, Door A -- the one the MBL had taken -- vanished, leaving only Door B. No choice at all for them.

They walked reluctantly together towards the door and pushed it open, some of them cursing silently for being manipulated by this "Mr. Smith" with the promise of revenge and reward. Some of them vowed to themselves that they would be back. They would have their revenge. Others remained silent and just wanted to get away from this place of defeat. One or two of them were missing, having made their escape by other means. None of them walking through Door B knew where this was leading them, but it was likely to leave them far away from their enemies somehow. Good. That would give some of them time to make their plans, plans which could not fail next time.

The door closed behind them. And it vanished just as the other one had.

The Time Trust remained behind as the counter ran down to zero.

The Castle of Crossed Destinies then vanished.

Was it gone forever? No. It would always exist and always had. But it had been greatly abused of late. It was time for it to disappear for a while and make itself inaccessible until the time it was destined to appear again. Such was the nature of the Castle of Crossed Destinies.

******

If the MBL had been expecting a crowd of cheering fans upon their return to their own realm and La Perdita itself, they would have been sorely mistaken. They were all too exhausted to even think about such things, though.

And so, the whole group hiked down the mountain (they weren't very high up), past the destroyed remains of their van, and walked into town towards their apartment. Even Tobias Christopher trudged along slowly. The MBL was used to strange things happening without explanation. Thus, those who hadn't already been told didn't bother asking who this tall blond guy was who was traveling with them as if he were already a teammate of theirs. And those who didn't know what had happened to them didn't even think about where Naecken or Pete were.

The team were within one block of their apartment building, when they noticed people pointing up in the sky.

Looking up, they saw what the Perditians were seeing: Seven small figures flying as if in formation like a flock of birds... the largest at the head, and two rows of three behind him in a V-shape. Behind them the last rays of the sun shone brilliantly against the ever-receding storm clouds. A rainbow topped off the effect, reaching, it seemed, from one side of La Perdita to the other. It was magnificent.

The people on the street began getting excited, and shouts could be heard among the murmuring:

"Hey, it's the PSI-Unit!" a restaurant owner said while outside to bring in the sandwich-board used for advertising at the sidewalk's corner.

"Look, Mommy! I wanna be just like them!" a little boy said as he rode in a grocery-laden shopping cart pushed by his mother.

"That Devlin is soooo cute!" one teenage girl said to her friend, who giggled knowingly.

"Cool!" a couple of neighborhood kids said as if in stereo.

Several cries of appreciation could be heard, until finally the crowd started cheering and clapping as the PSI-Unit flew slowly by and waved at everyone as they did so. These were their heroes. And somehow they knew, now that the storm was over and the feeling of dread that had gripped the island had gone, that they had saved La Perdita once again!

The MBL went completely ignored, except for a few wary glances thrown towards the strange assembly, particularly the skull-faced Grimm.

"Well, how do you like that?" Larry said. "We almost got our cans blown off back there, but we're getting the cold shoulder, while THEY get all the glory!"

"Ehh... whaddaya gonna do?" said Mick, having already turned back to his human self again. He was more interested in having his own little reunion celebration with Shirley.

The group walked up the front steps of the 14-story apartment building at 56 Oakwood Avenue (where, during the time they were gone, Kit had brought in some repairmen to repair all the damage that had earlier been done) and breathed a sigh of relief as they did so. None of them said a word to each other as they each went to their own apartment or place of rest and had a much-needed nap.

Any unfinished business could wait until tomorrow...

THE END

EPILOGUE TWO

FLASHBACK

MARCH 5th, 1995

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

"You have the diamond then, Mr. Montag?"

Grissom Montag smiled as he tossed the L'tl Tse Oto diamond into the air, catching it with the same hand. Emir Zayed looked a bit horror-striken, but was none the worse for wear. Grissom knew what this diamond meant to Zayed... he just liked to toy with the Emir's affections.

"This what you wanted?" Grissom replied casually, rolling the gem in his three-fingered hand.

"Indeed," Zayed replied, looking a bit flustered. He straightened his robe and cleared his throat. Grissom also noticed that his eyes seemed to roam around the room, taking special care of where all of his armed guards were stationed. Foretunately, Griss had already taken note of these positions when he walked in. As such, he could be assured of their positions while still remaining inconspicuous.

"May I...?" Zayed said, holding out his hand. Grissom held his position and smiled broadly.

"May you... what?" he said, winking obnoxiously and leaning his head in a bit.

"May I see my prize?" Zayed asked, rolling his eyes a bit.

"Certainly," Grissom said, making no motion to move at all. "As soon as I get my money."

"Yes, yes... of course," the Emir snapped his fingers as two men, each carrying a black briefcase, stepped out from beside Zayed's throne. Walking up to Grissom, the two men placed their suitcases on the ground, opening them, as Grissom stooped low to look at their contents.

"Fifty million U.S. dollars, I believe, was the agreed upon price?" Zayed asked, never taking his eyes off of the diamond.

"Sure was," Grissom said, trying not to look impressed at the blasphemous amount of money he was getting paid.

"Would you like to count it?" One of the briefcase men asked.

"No..." Griss said, smirking. "No, that... that looks like it's about enough..."

"And now," Zayed said, a touch of impatience in his voice, "may I see my diamond?"

"Sure thing, Your Emir-ness," Grissom said. The second of the briefcase men extended his hand to act as a middle man. Grissom, however, had better plans.

"Think fast, Zayed!" Before anyone could stop him, Grissom tossed the diamond into the air, sending it straight for Zayed. The Emir grasped at the diamond clumsily as it slipped past his fingers and landed with a slight WHIFF! on his lap.

"I have killed men for less," Zayed said, glaring at Grissom, his face becoming a little red.

"Yes, but I'm betting those men never gave you a diamond like that, did they, Zayed?" Grissom said, closing his two briefcases.

"No..." Zayed said, picking up his diamond. "No, I don't suppose so..."

"Well, Your Emir-ship, if that concludes our business, I guess I'll be out of your hair..." Montag said, picking up his briefcases and heading for the door.

"Just a moment, Mr. Montag!" the Emir called out, causing Griss to glance over his left shoulder at the enthroned Emir.

"Yeah?"

"I have another job for you..." Zayed said, smiling.

"Sorry, Zayed," Grissom said, turning back toward the door. "I'm officially retired..."

"Guards," Zayed said. As Grissom approached the door, he heard rifle clicks sounding from all sides. He turned to see every armed guard in the throne room aiming a gun at him.

"I can... make it worth your while, Montag," Zayed said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had just threatened the man's life.

"Look, Zayed," Grissom said, turning around. "It's not about the money this time. It's a... personal reason."

"Very well," Zayed said, looking directly into Grissom's eyes. "I am afraid that I cannot allow you to leave alive..."

Without hesitation, Grissom leapt into the air, tossing his briefcases at the two guards nearest him, sending them to the ground. With the greatest of ease, he began to cartwheel across the room, dodging the gunfire from Zayed's guards. Ducking behind a pillar, he pulled three throwing knives from his belt and tossed them behind the pillar without looking. Three THUDS! later and Griss was crawling up the pillar.

Reaching the top of the pillar, Grissom pulled out a small gas canister from his belt, pulled the pin with his teeth and tossed it into the center of the room. As Montag's Homemade Peppered Tear and Knock-out Gas filled the room, Griss pulled a small gas mask from his pack and pulled it over his face.

Leaping into the center of the room, Grissom recovered his briefcases and nodded to Zayed, who sat blood-shot, bleary-eyed and unconscious on his throne.

"Nice doin' business with you..." Montag mumbled through his gas mask as he left Zayed throne room... and went about his life...

END FLASHBACK