Z kneeled beside Lilly, golden tears staining his usually bright face. He was crying more than he had ever cried, that much he was certain of. It was just his luck, he finally got the chance to tell Lilly how he felt, and he couldn't save her.
Outside of the still-sealed bridge, came three knocks. Z's head shot up towards the sound immediately.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"Hey! Get help! My friend is dying in here!" he shouted, trying to get the attention of whoever was outside.
Once again came the knock.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"I heard you the first time, I can't open anything!" Z shouted again, frustration filling his voice.
A shot of thin, red energy shot through the outer shell of the bridge, clean into the room and narrowly missing Z. Out of habit, he rolled under it and raised a fist to the hole it came through, before remembering he didn't have his powers.
Lilly still wasn't breathing, and although Z's powers weren't working, his brain was on overdrive. He estimated she would have approximately 4 hours to get a sufficient amount of air back into her lungs if she was going to survive.
The energy beams continued to shoot until a clear rectangular doorway was visible. Z hoisted Lilly's body onto his back and quickly backed up against the wall next to the door, as the metal shell is kicked in. Harsh blue sunlight streams into the room.
A man about the same height as Z walked into the room and inspected the inside, somehow not noticing Z and Lilly behind him. He wore silver armour over a blue suit, in one hand he had a sword and in the other, a briefcase. His hair was messy, unkempt, and blue.
He turned his head. His jawline was strong and defined, his mouth was perched into a sick, twisted grin. A part of the room ahead of where the man was looking lit up as if the man was scanning that part of the room. The light on the wall was in the shape of a butterfly
Z's eyes widened as he realised who he was looking at, his mind wandered back to how X described The Butterfly just after their meeting in Atlantis. Z silently rushed forward, summoning all his strength and knocking The Butterfly on the top of the head, sending his body crumpling to the floor, unconscious.
Z immediately rushed out of the opening, and out into a harsh mountainous landscape. It was a desolate world, where every plant was dead and the light of the twin blue suns streamed down onto him, blinding him and scorching him through his clothes.
He held tight onto Lilly's body, travelling the landscape of the planet for over an hour. That meant time was running out and he had to act quickly. He took a deep breath and kept it in his mouth for a few minutes. He breathed it out slowly and muttered aloud to himself.
"Air density 20% lower than Earths. This won't be enough..."
He pulled a small machine with an antenna attached to the end from his waistcoat pocket and flicked a small switch next to the cracked screen. It scanned for anything within a 100m radius. Inside, he was hoping for a miracle. He couldn't lose her like this. Not after all this.
BEEP.
The scanner showed a small but faded blip about 20m from him, meaning there was some form of structure. He kept walking for what felt like a lifetime, in reality however it was only just about over 45 minutes. The clock continued to tick.
He happened upon the source of the blip, a destroyed shack, obviously made by someone who was stranded out here. Constructed out of moulded sand, rocks, and animal remains.
He walked inside and immediately noticed a large metal machine with an oxygen mask attached. He couldn't be sure, but it was worth a shot at the least.
He gathered chairs to form a makeshift bed and lied Lilly down in it. He attached the oxygen mask to her head. He walked to the machine and placed a hand on the power switch. He looked up, and for the first time in his life, he prayed.
"Oracles if you're listening, I'm stranded on a planet, I don't know where, I don't have my powers, and my friend is dying... Please, let this work..." he spoke aloud as he pulled the lever, the pipe the mask was connected to inflating and deflating as oxygen was pumped into her system.
Z sat on a harsh rock on the other side of the room, watching for a sign of life. Was he too late?
Wind barraged the tent from outside, Z mustn't have been paying much attention, he didn't remember it being windy when he went in. A gust of wind blew through the tent, disconnecting the hose from the mask.
Lilly's body began to spasm, as the air stopped pumping into her, and her body went into shock.
"Today REALLY isn't my day!" Z screamed as he struggled with the now viciously flailing oxygen pipe, trying desperately to reattach it.
He finally took hold of it, summoning all his strength to push it back into where it was meant to be and twist it tight so it was secured. Lilly began to return to normal.
He closed the crippled doors of the shack.
For the first time in his 1,000 year lifetime, he was unsure. Uneasy. Something felt off. All of this felt like it was piling up. He was scared, and he was strong enough to admit that. Everything he had gone through had shaped him into a strong person, but he was still scared of everything to come.
He felt as if everything was swirling around him. The Butterfly. Lilly. The Planet. Predator.
He walked out of the tent and into the air outside. He braced himself but.
"No wind...? Where'd all that wind from before go...?" he posed aloud. A lot of things weren't adding up.
As if it all of this weren't enough, a burst of light erupted from the hut, smashing the only window that hadn't been shattered.
"For the love of the Oracles, what now?" he yelled exasperatingly as he ran inside to check on the source of the light.
He walked in to see Lilly missing. He lost her. Again.
"Lilly?" he asked the room, hoping she was just joking and hiding somewhere.
"Lilly!" he yelled when he realised she was actually gone.
"I wouldn't bother looking for her. They took her." A voice rang from outside.
"Today is officially the worst," Z replied, recognising the voice.
The Butterfly strolled into the room, his sword and briefcase in hand.
"I suppose that wind was you?" Z asked him, visibly angered by The Butterfly.
"Au contraire brother. That was them."
"Who the hell are They? No-one likes the pronoun game you play."
"I can't tell you. I'm from your future. When the time comes for you to know, you'll have to explain it to past me. Suffice to say, when the time comes, we'll have a common enemy. Of course, that's long in my past. I'm just here to do what I was told."
"Since when have you been good at doing what you're told?"
"I just told you all of that time travel gibberish and that's the part you focus on...?"
"Shut it."
"Find Lilly, Z. Only then will you learn more. I've restored your powers to you."
"Why are you helping me? I was powerless, you could have very easily killed me."
"Terms of parole, unfortunately. Not much to be done."
The Butterfly reached out a hand. Z hesitated, then took it.
The Butterfly flipped Z off his feet, slamming him into the ground and placing a heavy foot over his throat.
"Oh, and one more thing. Everything you know is a lie. Your tiny, myopic little universe you hold so dear is about to be flipped on its head."
YOU ARE READING
Tales of the Oracli - (almost) COMPLETE EDITION
Science FictionI was writing this book for many years and have since decided to turn the series and all my plans for it into a comic series. As such, I have decided to publish all the work I had done on this story for the world to see. I hope everyone enjoys!
