The Nibiru Effect

Memory 96

I stare at the beam of energy. It's beautiful, yet terrifying. I can't help thinking of what Avalon told us when we first fell into her trap. She claimed Nibiran energy had been building within the Mountain of Fire for years. I also recall her mentioning something about the release of energy being linked to the eruption of the dormant volcano. But the worst part of all was her claim this blast of energy would cause a tear in the fabric of time and space. If that's true, I'm about to witness the emergence of the Chicxulub asteroid. In other words, it's the start of the end.

I stare at the beam. Higher and higher it rises until it vanishes. But still it keeps going. And going. And going. It's not until the earthly reserve of Nibiran energy runs dry that something finally happens.

The tip of the beam, which by now has reached outer space, explodes in a flash of white. Momentarily blinded, I blink furiously. By the time my vision returns, the world has changed. A massive tear has appeared in the sky. It's so massive it has to be measured in kilometres, not metres. The energy feeds the expansion, making the tear grow in both length and width. By the time the last few shreds of Nibiran energy are spent, the crack has quite literally split the sky in half. But that's not what worries me.

Out of the tear emerges the largest asteroid I have ever seen. It's bright red and so massive it barely fits through the fissure. And it only gets bigger as more and more of it is revealed. Only a portion of it is visible, yet already it's massive enough to wipe out all living things within a ten-kilometre radius. It's such a horrifying sight it's almost beautiful.

It's happening exactly as Avalon said it would. And there's nothing I can do to stop it. I'm not sure how long it will take before it reaches us, but I don't plan on sticking around to find out. Jonn and Kara are most likely dead, and Avalon is no longer of any concern to me. All I now care about it finding my mother's ring and opening a portal back to my time.

I glance around in search of my ring. There's no way Avalon held on to it throughout all of this, and with a little luck, it's still around here somewhere. If worse comes to worse, I can always try to steal Avalon's.

I don't find the ring, but I do come across Jonn's knife. I pick it up and continue my search. The more time passes, the less likely I am to find it. I'm just about to give up when a voice reaches my ears.

"Are you looking for this?" asks Avalon. I look up to find her showing me her ring. "Or maybe this," she adds, waving around my mother's time travel device.

"Give it back," I growl as I take a step closer. I'm surprised by the lack of vertigo—after all, I'm standing on a metre-wide stone doughnut with nothing but a plummet to certain death on either side—but too much has happened for me to care about such trivialities.

"Don't come any closer," warns Avalon as she outstretches her arm. Her hand now hovers over empty space. One quick movement is all it will take to send my mother's ring tumbling into the volcano.

I stop. It's the last thing I want to do, but I don't have a choice.

"It's not too late," says Avalon. "Come with me. Give me my powers back, and I promise to return you to your time."

It's a tempting offer, but accepting it would be an insult to Jonn and Kara's memories. They gave their lives to get me here. I can't betray them, even if it means giving up what I care about most.

"Never!" I respond, taking another step forward.

"Too bad," says Avalon as she drops my ring.

"NOOO!!!" I yell as it plummets into the volcano. I almost follow it with my gaze, but I catch myself just in time. The last thing I need is to lose my balance and fall in after it.

My ring is gone. As devastating a blow as this is, it relieves Avalon of her leverage. Now nothing stands between me and revenge. Nothing, that is, except for Avalon herself.

"You're dead," I growl as I take another step.

"I don't think so," she disagrees. She twists the first of the two triangles that adorn her ring. One more and a portal will open, allowing her to escape.

My anger fades, replaced by fear.

"You c-can't just leave me here," I blurt out. "I'll die."

"That's a possibility," admits Avalon, "but I suspect you'll find a way to survive."

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm not," she admits, "but I have faith. And the next time we meet, your powers will be mine."

I expect her to twist the second triangle, but she doesn't. Instead, she takes a step forward and topples off the edge of the tower. I watch, stunned, as she plummets. Strangely, the height doesn't seem to affect me. I watch, unbothered by the precariousness of my situation, as Avalon drops. I'm just about to look away when a portal crackles to life mere metres before her. A split second later, she gets swallowed up by it and vanishes.

I can't believe it. She got away. I could try to jump and hope I land in the portal, but the odds of success are slim. Not to mention the fact that my acrophobia has finally caught up with me. My vision swims, and my head spins. I look away just in time. By the time I recover enough to muster another look, the portal is gone.

It's official. I'm trapped.