2199 Extinction

Twenty years earlier....

          I open my eyes to find myself back on Natatilis. I get off the floor and look around. I seem to have arrived in some back alley, with no passersby. Thank goodness for that one. I start walking around, trying to get a sense of the hour. Feels odd being here after so many years. But I have a job to do, no time for reminiscing. I pass by a small shop selling thermal suits, a group of various species stand outside, talking. I catch a fragment of conversation as I pass by, enough to realize that the Copaie are already looking for the princess. Which means, we are already looking for the princess. Fortunately, it sounds as if they have just started the search. I pick up my speed, trying to remember where we found her.

            I think it was a restaurant? What was the name of that stupid place? I think it started with a G? An L? No, that doesn't seem right. Maybe it was an F? Fren, something. Something Fren? Frengrens? I think that's it. I spot the restaurant, several feet ahead. I'm so lost in thought, trying to find a way to keep the past from repeating, when it happens. I run into someone. I don't mean I bumped them as I pass. I mean full out, my body slamming into their body, and both of us hit the ground. I pull myself back to reality and realize that I've run into Malum. I should kill him, here and now, that would certainly fix all of my problems. But without just cause, I would most certainly be facing my own execution. And I can't give my reasoning, because then I would have to reveal the fact that I've been time traveling. That revelation would also bring about my own execution.

          "Looking for something?" Malum asks, getting up off the floor.

          "You, actually." I say, also picking myself up off the floor. I quickly decide on a course of action. Hopefully I don't get myself killed.

         "What can I do for you?" He asks.

          "Do you know where the princess is?" I ask.

          He folds his arms across his chest before answering, "Yes, I do. But I am certainly not going to tell you."

          "Look, I have no intentions of harming her. I'm not even asking you to tell me where she is. I am just here to give you a warning. In addition to Soltig hunting for the princess, his daughter and two friends are looking as well. One of these friends, happens to be a Talfarian."

           I see Malum's eyes, momentarily darken before he is able to wipe his face clean of emotions. "And why should I believe you?"

             "Because if you don't, your princess could end up dead. I have no interest in another bloody civil war. I have no interest in watching my people die all because I didn't keep the Talfarian princess out of the hands of my own people." I say. It's a lie, of course, but I'm hoping it's convincing enough for Malum to move the princess, elsewhere.

            "Hmph." He grunts, uncrossing his arms. "I'll keep her safe, but be warned, if I see you near her, I will kill you as well. Never can be too sure of a person's honesty."

              He's questioning my honesty? After all the lies he has told? "Right, well, I will go distract my own people, and you get her out of here." I turn and run off, trying to find my younger self.

            I don't stray too far from the restaurant, knowing that if Malum doesn't believe me, we will find the princess, here. Wait. If Malum did believe me, I should be returning to my younger self. I sit down outside of a nearby bar. It's loud and the constant crowd outside of it, is the perfect cover to see what happens. I wait for a long while before I realize that I am still here. Either Malum didn't believe me or something else needs to happen to change the course of events. Great, now what do I do? I start scanning the crowd, keeping my eyes open for my younger self. I spot someone familiar, slowly working his way through the crowd.

             It's been twenty years since I last saw him, but I remember that face, it's Amlican. I look to the restaurant window, and see Malum and the princess sitting inside, still eating. If I don't do something, he's going to find them, and everything will remain the same. I need to distract him, somehow. But what can I do, in this crowd? And then the answer comes to me. I jump up, and run full speed into him, hitting his arm as I passby.

             "Hey! Watch it!" Amlican shouts. "Sorry guys, some idiot nearly ran into me. I don't know, maybe they aren't here. Wait!"

            I am too far away to hear the rest of his conversation. I turn back around to see what's happening. I see Amlican stop and talk to someone. I bob my head around trying to see who. I finally catch sight of his talking partner, between the crowd, it's Malum. I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. All of a sudden, Amlican falls to his knees, and I am momentarily confused. What the? I see a brief glint of something in Malum's hand and then it's gone. Amlican falls to his stomach, and I can see that he is barely breathing. Malum just murdered him, in plain sight! Why is no one stopping to help? Did I just get Amlican killed? I start trying to push through the crowd, but my vision starts to fade as Amlican takes his last breath.

             "What? Did someone run into you, again?" I ask stifling a laugh, as I walk a lap around the store. Wham! I double over as if someone had punched me in the gut. My stomach starts to churn, making me feel sick. I haven't felt this way since I was pregnant with Ikonyn. My daughter was an easier pregnancy. Wait. Ikonyn? Daughter? Pregnancy? What in the world? Where did those thoughts come from? I am bombarded with a barrage of images, memories, and I don't move until they stop coming. I straighten up and take a couple of deep breaths. I time traveled, again. So, does that mean, Amlican is dead?

           "Amlican? Where are you? Are you alright?" I ask, worried. Instead of reassuring words, I receive only silence. Where is he? Where is he? Frengrens. I take off in the direction of the restaurant from my memories.