Fantasy Vs Reality | The Tear

30: Time For Some Planning!

~~A/n: Wow! 30 chapters! I honestly didn't think I'd get this far in the book, but here I am! Thanks for all the support! Sorry if the pace is going REALLY slowly, this is my first book I've ever written and shared to the public, it's scary to think about! Fun fact, I had originally written this in 2nd-Person, so if you see any mistakes, then you'll know why. -_-

~~

"So it's all true then." Jacob said, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the metal ceiling. He looked more relieved than he had since I first met him.

I sat down in a chair in front of his desk and filled him in with everything that Coal told me. I even told him about how Coal thought that I was a professional human creating blueprints for the spaceship. It was really odd, and Jacob was definitely thinking the same thing.

"We are going to have to speak with Marcus about this." Jacob said standing up. "This can not wait until everyone wakes up. Follow please."

I nodded, suddenly wondering what on earth- or... the spaceship, Marcus would do to me once he figured out I wasn't actually Storm and I was actually some lost, scared, and insecure human who just wanted to go home. A young human who felt trapped and was thrown to the wolves... heh, literally.

I followed Jacob through and we eventually came to a series of doors that went down a narrow hallway. Sort of like the one I went into after exiting my- Storm's- our room, but it looked more... professional. The tech here was more advanced.

Jacob quickly rapped on the door with his knuckles. There was a plaque on the door that read "Marcus V." After a moment, a tired, droopy-eyed Marcus opened up the door. He was rubbing his eyes vigorously, trying to wake up. I had figured he hadn't slept very much since the pirates tried to attack us. I was right.

After a moment he gestured us to come inside and Jacob pulled out some of his blue steaming coffee from his coat and handed it to Marcus. "This is what has been keeping me awake lately, thought you might need some too." Jacob said in a low voice to Marcus, who drank it thankfully. Within several seconds, Marcus was no longer half asleep.

"Alright..." He said, clearing his throat. "What... is going on? What are you two doing up at this hour? And why are you..." Marcus' expression changed for a moment. "It- it's not Coal is it? Is he okay? Wha-"

Jacob shook his head as Marcus began panicking. Jacob made Marcus sit down, he and I did too. "No, it's not about Coal. It's about... something that we've... found out." Jacob glanced at me, I realized that he wasn't going to tell Marcus about me not being Storm, he was going to just mention the disturbance within the universe. I nodded.

"It appears that when Coal- disappeared after I fell into... the coma, he- found something that... created a- a Tear between our- two universes, this one, and another one." Jacob jumped in, catching Marcus up on everything, altering the story just a little so that it didn't mention me.

After a moment, Marcus looked thoughtful. "So... you're saying, that if we don't find this 'star' thing, then the two universes will... collide and blow us to tiny, itty, bitty, pieces? Where's the research to prove this Jacob?"

"You'll just have to trust me that we aren't going on some wild goose chase." Jacob said sincerely.

I piped in. "If we don't get to the star then everything will end and... it won't be pretty either way."

"But... what are you going to do once you find the star? How are you going to close this... Tear?" Marcus said, Jacob and I glanced at each other.

Neither of us had thought of that.

"Well... err-" I stammered. "We... we'll have to destroy it I believe."

Jacob nodded after a moment. "Yes, destroying it will be the only way to solve this. We could get into a lot of trouble... messing with something like this. Death penalty if we get caught but... it would be better to know that we've at least saved the two universes-"

Marcus held up a hand, interrupting Jacob. "You forget that I'm the captain of the Omineon Space Ship, and I'm a highly known person in all of the Neon Empire. I have certain... ways to... pardon people and... give them access most people... would generally not have access to."

I smiled. "Marcus, you're the best-"

"Not yet I'm not." Marcus growled in a low voice. "I will need to talk to some people in high places first, it will take some time. Besides, I like this universe just as much as you do. I don't want to see it blown to smithereens." Marcus smiled tiredly and stood up. "So this star is located at the Tri-Search Retro Hub... hmm, yes I can make this work." Marcus fell into deep thought for a few moments.

There was a long, awkward silence as I sat in the dimly lit room.

"Once we get past the Neon Research Station, then we'll make our next stop near the Hub, and we'll have a select group come with us to figure out the exact location of the star. Coal is going to have to come and..." Marcus stopped. "I'm going to think about this for a little while. We still have time before the Tear gets too big correct?"

Jacob nodded. "If I'm correct, we have roughly two weeks to find the exact location and destroy the star, where..." Jacob glanced at me.

Where I would have to find a way to let my soul through, but not Storm's. I thought. It's going to be trickier for me than most other people... fun.

"Where...?" Marcus asked searchingly, looking between me and Jacob. "Is there something I didn't understand correctly?"

Jacob blinked and glanced back at Marcus. "Oh no, you know everything that needs to be known. Don't worry..."

I blinked too. "Yeah... don't worry about anything else for now. Think about it, and once we get near the Hub, let us know what's going to happen."

Marcus stared for a moment. "This isn't going to be easy mind you, and don't hide anything from me please. I have the right to eject you all in the airlock if necessary." His face was blank for a moment, then a teasing smile jerked on his lips. "Jokes aside, we will need to continue our missions like everything is normal."

I nodded. "Yes, I understand that. And the duties on the ship will always be top priority, but..." I hesitated. "Sometimes... things need to be rearranged and put in front of the lives of the crew, especially if it means saving trillions and trillions of people."

Marcus shook his head. I thought he was disagreeing with me at first, but then I realize that he must've been disagreeing with something he thought of himself. I would probably never truly know, because he said, "We'll stick with the current plan in order to give me some thinking time. This is very sensitive information that must not be spoken of to anyone else... I'm sure you both know this already, we don't want to start a universal panic, let alone start panic within our crew. Our family."

"Yes, that is definitely something we've already thought of." Jacob said standing up. "We'll leave you to think now. Tomorrow I assume we'll be arriving at the Research Station?"

Marcus nodded. "Unless something else comes up first. Go get some rest. We'll talk more about this tomorrow."

Jacob and I left, Marcus gave back the empty container that had the coffee in it, and Jacob ushered me to my chamber. "I'll let Sylvia know of the plan, get a good night's sleep. Maybe... Storm will give us more information on the subject tonight?"

"So you've figured that part out." I said crossing my arms and leaning up against the wall of my room. "When did you find out that Storm is still here too?"

Jacob scratched his head uncomfortably. Pushing his glasses closer to his face. "I err... might've heard a little bit of your conversation with Coal earlier."

I nodded. "I figured as much. Can't resist eh? I don't blame you, I've listened in on too many conversations when I was littl-" I stopped, then continued with something else. "Just be careful, curiosity killed the cat." Jacob gave me a startled look and I quickly corrected myself. "It's err- a human saying... heh."

"Right... well..." Jacob said turning to close the door behind him. "Talk to you later. Come visit Coal tomorrow, I'm sure Marcus will be there at some point to fill him in on the details."