Welcome to Sealantis

chapter 14: wrapping things up like a debbie snack

"So, have any questions?" 

Honestly? I had no clue where to begin. Blossom and Christina had basically admitted to time travel, proved it by teaching me time travel, and now I had access to everything they'd learned over... 

"Just how old are you guys?"

Christina sighed in disappointment and Blossom laughed.

"Christina, you owe me a milkshake, dear."

"Dang it!" Christina banged her fist on the table and maneuvered around my wheelchair, presumably to get that milkshake. "Why couldn't you have asked about the clams? I could have sworn you would've wanted to know about the clams!"

The clams?

With a jolt, I realized something: I could save the clams. Well, theoretically. I wasn't sure how well they would do in the fourth dimension, but...

"Age is a tricky thing. I've lived countless lives, living story to story. When you're more familiar with the fourth dimension, I'll teach you a pretty nifty trick that has kept my body youthful. Christina's a natural with it; she's probably more around thirty years old if I had to guess, but she likes the twelve-year-old version of herself because -"

"Because I have way more energy, way less backaches, and a whole lot more sympathy from strangers as a kid than I ever got from being an adult!" Christina finished Blossom's sentence and stuck the milkshake right in her face. "Here, your milkshake." 

Blossom took a long draw from the dessert. It looked good... good enough for me, in all my dairy-intolerant glory, to try it anyways.

"What kinda milkshake did you get?" My voice sounded wistful, even to me.

"German chocolate, with chunks of peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake and chocolate chunks throughout. It's Blossom's favorite, and Mikey's special. He only makes it for his mafia crew and me, so whenever I lose a bet, Blossom has me go fetch her one."

I nodded, salivating. "That... Wow. I want some."

Christina shrugged. "Tis the curse of being dairy free. I can't have it either, and no matter where I go in time and space, nobody has even come close to matching the level of decadence."

I nodded in solidarity and returned my wistful gaze to Blossom, who was in her own world over there.

"She's not gonna answer your questions anytime soon, by the way, so you're stuck with me for now," Christina added. "What's happened so far in your story?"

"My... story?"

Christina turned pink. "Yeah, enough time travel will get you viewing everyone's history like it's another story. Blossom usually gets on me for being so brusque, but... you're traveling with us, so I thought..."

I smiled gently. "No worries. Um, my story has been..." I paused to contemplate my life. It was weird. "Well, the day I found out they were draining the lakes, I quit school and started training Harry and Edward to take on the government. We joined forces with two schoolmates, who were actually merfolk...." My eyes burned as I remembered Andy's smiling face and Trident's teasing demeanor. "Andy, she... she had this pet bird named Kiwi, and..." My voice wavered as I remembered the tragic events of the accident.

Christina placed a hand on mine. "Hey, no worries, I'm sorry I asked. It can be hard to remember that stuff." She reached into the air and produced a tissue, offering it to me.

"Thanks," I muttered, taking the tissue.

"How about I tell you some fun facts I've come across in my travels instead?" Christina asked, concern evident in her face. "I can tell you why the sky is blue-"