International Legends

Chapter 25 - Leo

A timeline spiraling out into multiple directions. That is what it looked like after Jasper finally woke up crying after being hungover. I myself was too drowsy, so it was no surprise that a Grim Reaper such as himself would still be a bit tipsy while he digested the alcohol. Was he really human, or "Wyorm" (as the 'Wizards' like to call it), some kind of zombie, or something else entirely all-together? It wasn't entirely clear.

So when Jasper knocked on my door in the morning, with my bags barely packed for the upcoming Emgralore trip, he was gesturing wildly to a whiteboard from last night whereupon he drew the entirety of the multiple timelines.

"You see?" asks Jasper, gesturing to what seems like one squiggle diverging in 7 different squiggles, that they all have their own individual hair follicles stretching outward from beyond the 7 different pathways. "This is what I saw. When I was with Mom."

I stare at it, trying to make sense of it as Jasper tells his whole story about pausing time.

"Why didn't you think to take us?"

Jasper is unable to respond, as if he's thinking this over.

"We gotta tell the others," I say "I'm sure they would understand."

Jasper crossed his arms quickly and shook his head.

"No, you don't understand, we cannot under any circumstances tell anyone. Under the assumption they believe us they'd shut down. For example  imagine Carmen finds out this would be like a bombshell to her. Any more triggering in regards to her father would make her clam up in confusion or strike out in anger."
Okay got it I say tell no one. I mainly agree because I am too tired to argue and I want willing to risk freezing anyone up if that's what could happen.

I didn't understand it though. I tried to make my peace with Jasper's loneliness and inability to connect with Carmen, but I ended up spying on her instead. Looking into the navigation room, I could see very clearly that Carmen looked lost and confused. As if she didn't understand the situation that she had put herself into.

Then there was Axel and Sol. The two brothers were deep in conversation, Sol had bandages on him from the attack. They seemed to be pondering how the alter of the Time Queen had gone ahead and stabbed Sol . It must have been so hard for Axel to have the woman that he loved back in front of him, but instead it was someone else, a soul that could hardly recognize him one that hated his brother too. It was hard to tell if souls existed at all, or if we were just as we are physical bodies who are separate being from another.

...

Upon our re-arrival in Planet Deorum, we are greeted by a ton of the Gods and Goddesses, all who looked like they were contemplating our competency and our ability to handle this situation. I don't care - I am tired. They remind me of the people I used to work for in marketing. The long line of Millennial has-beens and wanna-be's that felt as if they could tell someone their worth based on their bottom line.

I'm tired. I'm just so tired as the three of us (Ozara, Jasper, and I) walk into the center of the court-room. We are the only ones holding up this nightmare now. It's as if everyone else has accepted their fate - even the bird-kid Axel. Sure, he looked up at me as a father-figure, but even now he seemed more ready to give up his fight than to give it a chance.

"Alright," says Odin, banging his gavel at the start of court. "It appears that you took the mighty Cronus and he was triggered by his own lust for power. Could there have been any reason that he was so triggered by this situation due to the context of this mission?"

Already, the victim-blaming. It made sense that the Gods and Goddesses would justify their own divinity in the same way Wizards and Witches did:
    1    That they were misunderstood.
    2    That they were divinely appointed.
    3    Somehow that the whole entirety of operations depended upon them.