Cassandra Pendragon
I expected to be thrown into another memory, but I was wrong. The next thing I knew was the soft embrace of a fluffy blanket, the sounds of a moving airship and the smell of seasoned wood and hastily prepared food. I was in a small cabin, similar to the one where I had found Ahri in. The sky behind the one small window was black but I could see one star or the other blinking at me uncaringly. As soon as I opened my eyes everything I… we had been through came rushing back and despair, grief and rage welled up once again. The emotions hit me like a truck after the blessed silence I had experienced during my talk with Lucifer.
For a moment I was literally stunned, tears leaked out of my eyes while I laid on my cot motionless. Images of burning trees, mutilated kitsune and Greta’s empty eyes rose within my mind and I couldn’t shove them away. I started to cry in earnest, my body trembled with every heartfelt sob. The memories were much too strong and I even forgot where I was while I had to relive the last night from the first attack to its hellish conclusion. I might have started to scream along the way because the next thing I knew that was real was a warm body, clinging to me, whispering words of encouragement into my ear.
Ahri laid on top of me, she held me tight in the middle of a ravaged cot. My wings were extended and circled around hers, our tails were entwined and I could see the red imprint of my palm on her cheek. Her eyes were full of worry while she stared down at me. The chilling air that came in through a perfectly symmetrical hole in the wall made me shiver as it touched my sweat drenched skin. My heart was pounding fast and I still felt the urge to run, to fly, to fight but it was subsiding by the second while I gazed into her eyes. I lost myself within them, like a deep forest lake they seemed to swallow my fear, my panic and I regained a modicum of self control. She whispered into my ear: “are you back? Can I let go of you now without endangering the rest of the ship?”
My voice was hoarse as I replied softly: “I’m back but I’d very much prefer it if you wouldn’t let go of me just now.”
She smiled and settled down by my side. With a rushing noise her wings disappeared but I could still feel her arms around me and the warmth of her tails against mine. Slowly my heartbeat calmed down and I managed to take in what I had done to my cabin.
The cot was in shambles, only the mattress was still intact the rest had been smashed and cut into small pieces. The walls, floor and ceiling bore deep gashes, narrow and black like someone had dragged a glowing knife along them. Of the wardrobe, I suspected had been in the corner, nothing remained but an armful of kindling. Several holes had been punched or stabbed threw the cabin, one of them showed the night sky outside, directly below the window that had miraculously escaped the destruction. The door was closed and we were alone but now that I was more aware I could here the quiet voices of people, talking outside. Judging from their timbre and echo, they maintained a respectful distance to the door.
With a thought I retracted my wings as well, turned around and buried my face in the crook of her neck, the fur on her ears tickled my cheek lightly. Tears were still gushing from my eyes but I didn’t even try to hold them back. I cried in Ahri’s arms until a leaden silence was all that was left within me and I slipped into a dreamless sleep.
When I woke up again, I found myself in the exact same position, still wrapped tightly around my…friend? Considering who we had been and how much history connected us the word friend seemed hardly appropriate anymore. Whatever she was to me, I felt better, much better. In her embrace I could keep the rising memories at bay and was even…happy? Yes, I was happy. Shaken and grief stricken, certainly, but the warm and fuzzy feeling within was definitely happiness. The smile that involuntarily tugged at the corners of my mouth when I opened my eyes and saw her face almost touching mine was also a strong indicator. While my eyes roamed over her familiar figure I felt my thoughts divert, rushing back to what had happened, my conversation with Lucifer, what might have occurred while I was unconscious and how we were supposed to go on. But I didn’t intent to face my problems just yet. I was more than content to simply lie by Ahri’s side and count the number of freckles I had never realised she had. I shoved the lump of unanswered questions and burning emotions back down and slowly I started to relax. I focused on her slow and steady breath, the warm and soft feeling where our bodies touched and what she truly meant to me. Finding out that your best friend is the one person you thought you were in love with can cause quiet a lot of turmoil, after all.
Love or even falling in love had always been an idea to me, more than anything else. For as long as I could remember I had always lived with the conviction that there is someone out there, my damsel in distress whom I would find one day. I had never seriously thought about what I would do when I actually did find her and now she was lying on my cot. While I studied her features I came to realise how similar to Aurora she actually looked and I had to wonder how I could have been so blind as not to realise who she really was. Maybe that was the problem. Aurora had always been an abstract ideal, someone to dream about, to long for, but Ahri was real, someone I knew, I had spent time with, someone I cherished but in a totally different way. Could I even love her while I still clung to the image of Aurora I had been carrying around with me for my entire life? Usually people fell in love, the heat of the moment and nature’s influence made it a whole lot easier, and after they had spent time with one another and defined their relationship, made memories and faced challenges together they would slowly come to love one another. To decide that the flaws and strong points of the other person complemented one’s own and that you needed the other person to live a happy life required time. Time spent together, as a couple.
I had none of that. My underlying character was that of an ageless adult who had already spent aeons with Aurora but I couldn’t remember most of that time and my body was still closer to childhood than adulthood so I didn’t feel much in terms of bodily desires. To top it off I wasn’t even sure I truly knew the person in my arms. All I had were dreams, maybe even from another life and the last few days. I hadn’t been blind, I had realised that our relationship changed after my birthday and especially during the fight for our home but how could I know that it was love I was feeling and not a mixture of finally having found someone I had been longing for for all my life and the projections and feelings from my past I thrust upon her, knowing she was Aurora? Or the simple fact that she had provided a pillar of support and strength throughout the most trying time of my life? Did it matter?
She made me happy. Right here and right now. Period. Mustering all my courage I leaned forward just a little bit and kissed her lips hesitantly. Her eyes flew open and once again I lost myself in their green depth. Her smile illuminated the whole room. “Hi there.” She whispered against my mouth. “How long have you been staring at me?”
“How did you know?”
“Most of my memories are sealed again but I guess I retained more about our last life together than you did. You don’t face trauma directly and prefer to concentrate on things that make you happy directly afterwards. And you never had the courage to simply take what you want. There were always other things to consider. I know you pretty well in your new skin, too, and that hasn’t changed.”
“Is that good or bad?” She was lost in thought for a moment.
“That you don’t want to dwell on what happened to us for now is rather healthy, I’d say. As for the rest… it depends. Usually it’s good, it makes you considerate. But I don’t want you to start second guessing me or our past. It is what we make of it. Do you like me?” I wasn’t prone to fits of childish behaviour but I had to giggle.
“That’s the second stupidest question I have heard today.” She pouted: “only the second?” I kissed her again. “You’re right. It’s definitely number one. Of course I like you, you already knew that. But I don’t really know in what form anymore. You’re amazing, beautiful and have always been there for me. I always thought we were best friends but I never imagined anything else. Now I have a whole plethora of feelings bubbling inside of me when I see you. Most of it is happiness and hope but there is also a lingering anger and I know that’s due to our past but I can’t remember it. I’m feeling like I’m at the end of a road, not the beginning and I don’t know how I got there. When I look at you I feel…lost. It’s like…starting a story in the middle. You know that things are the way they are but you don’t know why and you lack the natural connection you’d otherwise have.” She had listened closely but the longer I spoke the more pronounced her smile became.
“That’s exactly what I meant. You’re worrying too much about inconsequential details. Here, let me show you.” Her tails circled around me, she hugged me tightly and her silky voice breathed into my ear: “it’s not rocket science. If you feel better now than you did a moment ago all that stuff doesn’t matter. Memories and understanding need time. Spend it with me.” My heart was beating faster again but this time I quite enjoyed the sensation.
“Since when have you become so wise?” A sheepish look crossed her stunning features before she replied:
“That’s a rather long story but I had some very vivid dreams after I passed out. It’s hard to say but I think I really was Aurora for a time, the few memories of my life didn’t matter compared to the endless years Aurora roamed the cosmos. Most of it is gone now, but I still feel more like the person I used to be, like I dreamed her life and can’t recollect the details but still feel the way I did during the dream, if that makes any sense.”
“I think I understand. You are still the same but your perspective has changed. I’m just wandering, have you always liked me in the way you do now, even before you knew about our past?” I wasn’t sure but I thought she blushed a little.
“I… I think it would be best if I told you my story instead of answering that straight away. But before we get into that, let’s get something to eat. Aren’t you famished? We have been on this cot for over a day now.” Even though I was pretty sure she was playing for time and wanted to collect her thoughts before we continued our talk I didn’t call her out. Firstly I completely understood where she was coming from, having first hand experience of how memories can change you. And secondly I wanted to look for my mom and brother before spending another day locked up in my cabin. I was quite sure her story wouldn’t be told in a few minutes. Also, I indeed was famished. I didn’t know how long exactly I had been out of it but now that I thought about food, my stomach was rumbling like an avalanche. And lastly I needed water, I was thirsty, true enough, but I had to clean myself thoroughly. I didn’t smell, per se, maybe a little smoky, but I was still covered in ash and blood and that had to change. Preferably sooner rather than later. “I’d love to” I said while I slowly extracted myself from her embrace.
That led to another surprise. Instead of four I had to wiggle five tails out from under her. I hadn’t felt the transformation nor the new appendage before I saw it. I wiggled it experimentally and it moved naturally, as if it had always been there. I recalled Mephisto’s explanation about the different stages of my development and a smile sprang to my lips. I could finally channel energy through my body and into my wings!
Ahri had caught my movement and tugged on my new tail lightly. I blushed immediately, I wasn’t really embarrassed, I just wasn’t used to the feeling and it was a rather intimate gesture. She laughed at my red cheeks and said:
“Just as fluffy as the other ones. No need to be embarrassed.” That didn’t help at all and I was well on my way to turn into a tomato which of course made her laugh even harder but she never removed her hand.
“Go on, try your wings, I know you’re itching to. I’ll watch.” I was hesitant. First of all I didn’t know what would happen if I channeled energy through any part of my body and secondly I was still distracted by her dexterous fingers that kept brushing my tail. We had been closer on the cot but this felt much more deliberate. “I…umm… you’re distracting me!”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“…not really. It actually feels quite nice. You just took me by surprise, that’s all.” I turned around halfway so my back was facing away from her completely and unfurled my wings. With a slight rush of air silvery light filled the cabin. The first thing I realised was that I had much finer control over my wings. While the sensation had been a bit fuzzy before and I had had to concentrate to move each wing independently they now literally followed my will. I didn’t have to think about a movement, it just happened, like each single step just occurs while you’re running and thinking about where you want to go.
My second sight had also tremendously improved. I didn’t have to close my eyes anymore, the information I could gather with my wings was simply there as soon as I concentrated on an object. I could tell its density, its magical properties and even feel faint energy signatures from the people who had touched it in the past. Like fingerprints I could “see” these signatures all around as soon as I focused hard enough. The information I could gather from living things was even more detailed. I could, for example, see the faint traces of transcendent energy that coursed through Ahri’s body and mingled with her soul, mana and life force. I could see the fiery essence of her wings within her and I could see her burning core. With a little effort I even saw a little of her surface thoughts. She was staring at me intently and for a moment I glimpse my own image in her mind. It made me blush again. I knew I was pretty but I was damned sure I was neither as beautiful nor as alluring as the girl she was seeing. But I wouldn’t complain.
When I accidentally brushed over a wall I also realised that my perception of matter had changed. It was now nothing more than information, I knew the wall was sturdy and that it was there in my way, but I could move my wings through it just as easily as I moved them through air. There was no resistance, I didn’t have to apply any force, my wings simply slithered wherever I wanted them to and cut everything in their path.
And finally I felt my core. For the first time it was more than just the sensation of an ocean of energy, ready to smash its restraints and burry me under its weight. Now it felt like a part of me, friendly and tame. I could dip into it without any fear of drowning. I could channel it along my meridians, throughout my body and into my wings, directing it to my skin, my muscles or different organs. With nothing more than a thought, transcendent energy rushed from my core and into my wings. The light within the cabin changed and I felt space and time bend around my wings.
Cassandra PendragonI felt powerful. My wings burned behind me and the half lit cabin was illuminated as if under a midday sun. Every movement of my wings distorted the air and I could feel them slicing through space itself, phasing in and out of reality according to my whims. It was exhilarating. If only I had been able to access my core before. So much of what had happened could have been prevented. Uninvited memories rose up as I saw the faces of the dead before me again and smelled the burning garden and the decayed stench of the curse. From one second to the next I was reduced from an angel to a quivering mess of tears once again as the shadows of the past day held me prisoner. I couldn’t escape and fell to the floor, withering in imagined pain. I was insensible to my surroundings while the fit lasted but I had to endure every moment of it wide awake. I saw the grotesque sacrifices below the ritual chamber, I had to walk among the cursed kitsune and Greta’s burned out eyes appear
Cassandra PendragonThe bath was located a floor above the stone chamber. It was a medium sized, circular room, full of vapour and the scent of soap. Flame less lanterns provided light and four round washtubs filled the interior. A cleverly designed arrangement of pipes delivered warm water directly from the large furnaces below and a small stove in the corner kept the air warm. Wooden tiles covered the floor, the walls and the ceiling. They shimmered slightly, the coating that prevented them from rotting away in the moisture made their surface reflective. The ship had three levels, the stone chamber and auxiliary machines took up most of the lowest level, the bath, storage and a smithy were located in the middle and the cabins, where I had woken up, as well as a common room were directly below the deck. Xorlosh had led us to the stairs I had seen before, pointing out the door to his cabin on the way so we would be able to find it later on, and down to the second level. The stairs le
Cassandra Pendragon“If I may,” Astra interrupted him, “we think it more prudent to finish with the introductions beforehand. It would make any decisions much easier if we were to know our allies and their background. While we know the others we haven’t had the pleasure yet to meet the young princess Cassandra.”“Again with the stilted speech,” Xorlosh grumbled, quietly enough that we could choose to ignore him.“Aspera and I are sisters, born on the Green Island far to the north, a good century ago,” Astra continued without batting an eyelid at the dwarf’s theatrics. “We lived in the kingdom of the five families for the last 20 years, together with a small community of elves that were never interest in the rather political lifestyle back home. Allow us to express our deep felt condolences for what you have lost, all of you. We share your grief, for we as well called the island our home and lost dear friends in the fires of war.” They both stood up and bowed deeply from the waist, fir
Cassandra Pendragon“Precisely,” Xorlosh continued. “There’s also a logistics problem. While we have an artefact onboard that collects moisture from the air and provides us with enough water, food is scarce. Right now we are still sufficiently stocked for the next couple of days, but we’ll run out sooner or later. Free Land is 4-6 weeks away, if the air currents hold and my map is at least somewhat accurate. We’ll have to refill our supplies long before then or we’ll soon have to draw straws for rations. As you can see,” he pointed to the blank spots between our position and Free Land, “I have no clue where we might find a suitable place along the way. This means we either follow our prey closely and hope they have to replenish their stores as well somewhere along the way or we invest the time to search for ourselves. If we decide to do that, we’ll have to start soon, tomorrow at the latest, I’d say, otherwise we might still run out before we can restock. The thing is, if we dally too
Cassandra PendragonFor the next half hour we managed to retreat into our own little world without any worries of what might be and had breakfast in bed. We talked about insignificant things like the armour Aspera had worn and if its style might be suitable for either of us and we laughed a lot when we imagined Xorlosh wearing it instead. Not until we had finished with the meal and were comfortably sipping on mildly spiced tea did we get around to talk about more serious topics. While I was smiling contently and snuggled deeper into the cushions, Ahri suddenly touched my arm gently and spoke in a much heavier tone than before:“Now that we have a quiet moment, I’d like to tell you my story and what I know about the Arete family and my past. Would you like to hear it?” I sat up straight.“Of course. But why do you sound like you’re on edge?” She gave me a coy smile.“You’ll know soon enough. Well, here it goes…” she spoke passionately, at first, about the small colony of kitsune far to
Ahri AreteThe room had only one door that lead into the great library. It was a thing of massive gold, etched with runes and spells but most of them were just for show. If someone got that far, a few enchantments wouldn’t pose a problem. I quickly strode over and knocked, twice, on the door. A resounding boom made my ears ache and sparks of greenish energy traveled along the glyphs. I could hear retracting bolts and sliding chains and with a shudder the golden portal opened slowly. I squeezed through and found myself in a cold crystal cavern, the floor, walls and ceiling made of the same dark obsidian as the outside of the fortress. A variety of gems sprouted all over the cave, like bamboo shoots rising from the earth. They grew fast enough that I saw faint movement form the corner of my eye. They shimmered slightly and filled the cavern with dancing shadows and fleeing lights. The centre of the cave was occupied by a deep pond filled with a milky liquid that glowed ever so slightly
Cassandra PendragonWe stayed in bed a little longer, simply enjoying each other’s company but we couldn’t shut out the world forever, no matter how much I wished for it. Just when I had finished telling Ahri about my conversation with Lucifer my mom knocked on our door:“Good morning, are you two awake? Can I come in?”“Sure,” I replied while I simultaneously snuggle deeper into the blankets, I hadn’t gotten around to putting my clothes back on, yet. My mom rushed into the room like a whirlwind, most of her energy and spirit obviously restored. She closed the door behind her and scrutinised the bed, Ahri fully dressed on her side and me hugging the blankets closely, our tails tightly entwined. I was already preparing for one of the more embarrassing moments of my life, but my mom didn’t say a word. With a slight smirk she waltzed over to the table and dragged a chair around to the bed. “Don’t get up, just stay comfy. Is the tea still warm, by any chance?” I shook my head. “No matter
Cassandra Pendragon“Huh, I see. Doesn’t change much for now though, does it? Just something to keep in the back of our minds before we do anything rash.” Xorlosh scratched his beard. “If they sail past Free Land we’ll know for sure anyways and still can decide what to do about it, can’t we?”I shrugged and Ahri nodded, we couldn’t think of anything we might be able to do as well and we had already talked his morning. I had hoped Xorlosh would have an idea, though.“Did you see their flag back then by any chance,” he asked. Hesitantly Ahri replied:“Yeah… it was black with a large white skull and crossed bones below. And the sails were dark red, all of them.” Xorlosh’s brow furrowed and a furious fire ignited in the depth of his eyes.“Really now, that changes things. First of all, well done, you did the world a favour with every single one you killed. Would you kindly tell me exactly what happened?”“You know them?” I blurted out.“Not me, nah, but me little brother here had a run in
Cassandra PendragonHer eight eyes followed me wearily while I rose ever higher into the air, my wings slithering around the statue like the coils of a hunting serpent. I could feel the enchantments and spells the dark granite had been imbued with give way without offering any resistance and slowly the inner working of the statue became visible to my second sight. Most of the magic wasn’t actually in the legs, they had been crafted as conductors and to inflict pain but the truly ingenious parts were hidden in the torso and head, both of them ablaze with the energy that flowed through them. The way I saw it, everything Shassa could offer, from her life force to her soul, could be torn from her and channeled through the legs towards the centre of the statue. What I thought to be the seed would then start to fill with power and once it had accumulated enough, a purified pulse of what I suspected would be transcendent energy, was going to be sent towards the head. An intricate array of e
Cassandra PendragonUnbelievably, the body was still moving, faint twitches and the occasional shudder made it obvious just how much pain she was in. Crap, I could already feel the urge to help her, to free her of her binds without any form or reassurance or gain on my part. Pity was a damned nuisance.“Great, now what?” I mumbled.“Don’t be daft, I know you can cut through spells. Go ahead, you’ve done it before, haven’t you?” “And then? Do I shake you until you wake up?” She rolled her eyes and that was quite the spectacle, like a wave that ran across her face.“Heal me enough to communicate but not more than that or you might come to regret it. You can do that, can you not?”“I hope so, probably… maybe? Uh, won’t there be two versions of me, anyways?”“No, the path you’re trying to reach hasn’t been walked yet, it’s just a dream of the universe in a way. It’ll become reality once you cross over, there won’t be two versions of you but I’m not sure where you’ll end up. You could also
Cassandra PendragonOne might ask why I had said eight legged monster, there hadn’t been much to see after all, images don’t usually linger on the edge of dreams but the longer I communicated with Shassa, the more real everything appeared to me. From exchanged memories lived through between two fluttering thoughts the scene around had developed into the grey of the mind scape, a place I was starting to get familiar with. I had a body and sensory impressions but there was nothing there except for a hazy silhouette, still hidden behind a veil of fuzzy thoughts. With every contact, every exchange she had become clearer until I saw her for the first time and the disembodied memories flowed together to show me whom I was dealing with. Her body was that of a huge spider, bloated and black with red markings in the shape of a reversed cross on her back. Eight bowed, chitinous legs held her upright, each one of them at least 2 metres long with a sharp, deadly claw at its end. Her torso ended
Ahri AreteThe smell wasn’t as bad as one might imagine. The continuous scrambling and scratching was another matter. The noise produced by an army on the rise was horrific, a constant, piercing pressure against my ears that made it impossible to focus on anything but the moving assembly of spare parts and limbs before me.Mordred and I had retreated under the shadow of the statue, Reia alongside Shassa’s withered body between us. Eight stone claws pinned her to the ground and even though the wounds had dried up long ago a distinct metallic odour still lingered around her prone form. Her eyes were closed, shrivelled and blind, eight deep holes on top of her head like windows to an empty room. Reia was still and pale, her mind had fled from the sensations that were racing through their connection, from the pain that had flooded her once the spell had started working. Viyara was hovering in the air, sparks of magic running along her talons and fangs while she surveyed the amassing hord
Ahri AreteHer knees buckled, her wings vanished and she fell. I was barely fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground but with a few frantic wingbeats I managed to sling my arms around her lithe body before she could add another injury to her growing collection. I was still angry, nay, furious and maybe a little shocked but when her soft curves came to rest against my chest and her fluffy tails circled around my middle reflexively I couldn’t help it, my anger melted like snow under the midday sun and I was simply happy to hold her again, dirty and mangled as she was. She wasn’t wounded anymore, as far as I could tell but her skin had a feverish colour and heat radiated off of her as if she was still fighting for her life, spasms making her muscles twitch against me constantly. Her body was liberally coated with the remains of her rampage, but the few untarnished spots showed the same alabaster hue I had come to know so well but now there was distinct sheen of silver to it,
Cassandra PendragonNope, neither sunshine nor rainbows but at least I didn’t find myself in the middle of the ocean. When I had stepped through the portal, a brief moment of vertigo and disorientation had led me into an atrium, for want of a better word. From the corner of my eye, I saw a doorway and the first steps of a wide staircase that vanished into the earth. The walls were bare but polished stone, a reflective surface crisscrossed with lines of shimmering metal, glowing faintly in the dark. Behind me the energy of the portal still hummed reassuringly, my way back was still open. Unfortunately I couldn’t quite concentrate on my surroundings, a still bleeding corpse in the middle of the room commandeered most of my attention.There, practically at the centre of the chamber, laid a chimera, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent. Black blood oozed from deep gashes in its hide, some clean and narrow, others wide with frayed edges. It looked like the
Cassandra PendragonCould it possibly be meant to connect to someone else rather than something else? I had always wanted to learn how to heal, after all. Mephisto had basically told me that my new body would be formed in the image of what my soul desired, without the rationalisations an active mind would use to ignore the sometimes darker nature of what I might long for. If that was true, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to imagine that I had given myself a way to restore what shouldn’t be lost. Unfortunately I didn’t how I could try it out without a Guinea pig. Right then, every time I wanted to move my energy through the wing, I encountered a resistance, a blockade that wouldn’t allow my powers to pass. It felt like knocking at the door of an empty house, in theory it was supposed to open but someone was needed to turn the key and invite you in. For now, it wouldn’t be more than a fancy streak of colour among the silvery torrents of energy.Much more confident than I had been two min
Cassandra Pendragon“You’re a bloody idiot, that’s what you are. But you got balls, at least metaphorically, I’ll give you that.” “Thanks, by now you’ve repeated yourself enough times as well that my tiny brain can retain the information.” I was long past the initial rush of gratitude I had felt when I had first regained a resemblance of consciousness in a grey world of nothingness. By now I was mainly annoyed and a little worried.Unbelievably my stunt hadn’t been the end. I should’ve been dead, my very personality obliterated in the truest sense of the word, my core clean for another spin of the wheel but… I wasn’t. No thanks to my efforts as Mephisto kept on reminding me. He had saved me, in a way. The unbound energy that had been released in the chamber prior to my temporal displacement had been more than enough to reconstruct his reservoirs and the interwoven sparks of transcendent energy had allowed him to perform a miracle, his words, not mine. He had come to when I had collap
Cassandra PendragonI was somewhere in between. I could still see the circular chamber as an afterimage of sorts while I struggled with the sensations my own body was providing me with. Every muscle and tendon connected to my wings was burning as if it had been dunked in acid and I could feel torrents of blood gush down my back, a warm stream of sticky liquid that formed a dark puddle beneath my feet. I couldn’t remain upright, spasms raced up my legs and along my back and I collapsed face first into my own blood. My wings felt like they were about to be pulled out of their sockets, a much stronger force than I had ever experienced had taken hold of them and was constantly trying to rip me a part. My ingenious manoeuvre had worked, I was in my own time stream and still anchored in the alternate version. Unfortunately that also meant that right now my wings were the only thing connecting two separate streams. In a way I was a stick thrust between two wheels. If the wheels were turning