chapter sixteen
We were doing it. I was excited, I was scared, I was... a little uncomfortable, I was sharing one of those little train cars with easily 30 other people. As the train slowly made its way down the tracks, the sun dipped below the horizon, almost as if it realized that trying to do a dramatic climax scene in broad daylight would be a bit of a drag. I was sitting between Memmi and Shim on the ride back down, and surrounded by a ton of other people, some of which I recognized and some of which I didn't, some of them were people I had spoken to once like Late-Stage Capitalism Boat Guy (remember him?). I turned to Memmi. "So do you think it'll go well?" I asked.
"You're asking me?" she replied, "this was your plan!"
"I know, it's just... you've seemed so smart."
"Tammy, child, I only seem that way because I've stayed confident in my decisions. That's how I've stayed such a powerful metamancer, I've been confident in the choices I've made, the words I've said. You might have noticed it was hard for you to keep an illusion up, it's because you've doubted or second-guessed yourself in doing so. Don't, it's as simple as that."
"Um, gee, thanks?" I replied.
I understood Memmi's intent, but I felt that how she had worded it came off a bit... odd? And besides, she's doubted herself, like, nine times in the past couple weeks! Shim was leaning on my shoulder, not-quite half asleep, but getting there. "Shim, aren't you worried about... you, know, the Lizi--"
"Ah, whatever, if people think differently about me hanging out with the girl who's crushing the Nexus, that's their loss anyways!"
That's... one way to put it! I was still super nervous, I didn't think I could do it, but I was glad to have some company for this. I spent maybe six pages worrying before realizing that I had done so, and cut them to get us right to the train pulling back into the station. As I stepped off into the darkness, of the now-unlit station, I heard the sound of shuffling footsteps.
A large towering figure with bright lights in its eyes like before. I faced it down. "Hey, you!"
It turned towards me. "▓▓▓▓▓!" it exclaimed.
"I'm... I'm not afraid of you!" I replied, afraid of it.
It lumbered towards me. "▓▓▓▓ ▓▓, ▓▓▓▓▓▓!"
"Oh no you don't! You're getting real dialogue, and you're following my script!"
"Oh, word? Good heavens!" it exclaimed before disintegrating.
As the black grime crumbled, a figure stood in the middle before slumping over onto the floor, out cold.
It was Kroff.
I rushed towards him, but Memmi pushed me away. "Bit and I will figure out how to help this chap, just keep going on!"
Knowing Kroff was in all that really scared me. These were my friends, some of them, and it hurt just that much more because of the backstory he had told me. I had to keep going, but I was worried. I hope I wasn't hurting them, and I hope they weren't being hurt by the Nexus. Another figure in the main lobby approached me. "░̢̧͖̻̺░̛̗͎'͏̩͖͜͟░̛̙̞͙̬̤̫͈̱́͞ ̞͝░̱̣͚̥͉░͏̢̼̪͍̖̬░̞̞̫̳̳̩ ̶̞̜̪͕̩͎͕̜̯́░̨̤͓͟ͅ░̛͚̙̦͓̘̞̱̗ͅ ̘̺̠̺̩̫͞ͅ░̨̝́͠░͔̝̬̭̱͈̣̖░͏͘͏̥͚░͕͔̝͇̯̫̝!͉̬̣̼̳̳͢͝
"Try this, instead!" I replied.
The Nexus cluster thing made a noise not unlike a beep and a click, and crumbled, revealing the͘҉͚͉ ̸̢̛͚͍̣̪p̶̞̦̝̝̭̮̜͇ę̤̩̼̦͉̳̥͚r̛̻͇̠̱̥̤͝s̵̻̜͉̣͔̰͕̭̤͡o̡͖̻͖̰͟ͅn̢̖̭̖̲̘ ̷̡̮̫͉̫͉̳̹̜͢i̴̹̬̦͔̹͍͘͞ͅn̴̤͈̣̭s҉̨̘͙̯̯̼̰̗͠i̵҉̤̮̥d̴̖̲͇͙̫͈̼̗̺e̷̢̹̭̙̝̲
It wasn't working the way I had hoped. "вєgσnє!" cried someone behind me.
It was Bit! The Nexus crumbled away, starved of its power, now a mere puddle of blight unable to hurt Tammy.
"Thanks, Bit!" I replied.
"Don't mention it," she said, dragging away the afterward resident buried within, "they're definitely still alive, maybe injured, Memmi is checking in on the situation, but we're holding on to hope."
I pressed on out the door, to find a whirlwind of Nexus around us. It suddenly dawned on me just how much trouble I had gotten myself into, but I was still determined to win this one. "You're not getting out of this so easy!" I exclaimed.
I felt a bit bad that this epic climax was nothing but one liners followed by things instantly working, but that's how metamancing works, apparently, go file a complaint with the author. I focused my attention on a hovering mound of Nexus stuff, and within a few second it broke up and sifted to the ground, immobile.
Out of the mess rose Constantine! I hadn't thought of this guy in a while, and honestly thought his character arc was over. Maybe the actions that unfolded were part of some sort of symbolism thing, but no, there he was. "Tammy, what the heck is going on?! Where's the Green Tower's server?!"
"You got my name correct!" I exclaimed.
"Look, Tammy, I mean really look, we're having this sort of moment right at the climax! This isn't the time for that!" he exclaimed.
I had nothing. Another bit of Nexus approached, and another, and I found myself surrounded. I had to defeat them with metamancing if I wanted them truly defeated, and that's when it struck me. What keeps them alive is the metamancing. To starve all this Nexus, the solution seemed simple.
We needed to get rid of Metamancing.
"Excuse me, what was that?!" someone said.
It was Memmi this time, stepping out of the station. "Look, Memmi, there's no other wa--"
"Metamancing is literally all we have going for us! We're just some boring story otherwise! We're not ditching the gimmick, that's a stupid ending, Tammy!"
"But it'd--"
"No," she said, "we're not doing the lame sacrifice thing, and that's final, it's overdone."
"Then what's your solution, then?" I replied.
ᏒᎥᎮᎮᏋᎴ ᎦᏒᎧᎷ ᏖᏂᏋ ᏋᏗᏒᏖᏂ ᏖᏂᏋᏕᏋ ᏇᏒᏋᏖፈᏂᏋᎴ ᏂᏗᏁᎴᏕ, ᎴᎧᎧᎷᏋᎴ ᏖᎧ ᏗᏁ ᏋᏖᏋᏒᏁᎥᏖᎩ ᎧᎦ ᎴᏋᏕᎧᏝᏗᏖᎥᎧᏁ!
Another cluster of Nexus crumbled, and several more followed suit. "So what's happening with the--"
"--the others? We're taking the recovered people to the train and letting them recover there. It's stopped, it's not going anywhere."
"Ah, alright, let's keep g--"
"--let's get going, Tammy!" Constantine exclaimed, launching himself towards more of the Nexus.
We raced after, sending cluster after cluster to the ground, and as we approached the docks, there was more and more to compete with. Finally, it seemed it was all swirling around, and one more figure stepped out of the Nexus. It, too, f̢̻̣̭͉̲̼̘̓́͐̏̒ͭ̈́̚͡e̸̽̊ͨ͐̀̚҉̹̜̰l̬̿ͧͥͅl̵̡̮̥̳͚̂̃ͣ̉̓ͧ ̰̦̱ͮ̑ͬͩ͑ą͉̹̖̜ͧ̐͢p̲̟͕̩͎̥̪̬ͨ͂͆̂̃͠͠ạ̦͍̹̗̓̋ͣ̉͌r̢̟̺͕̥̈́ͣͬ̽̆͠t̐̒̀́̈̄̀҉̛̰͖͡ ̴̩͍̥̙̘̱͔̝ͦ̿̇̍ͯ͂̉ͅa̷̧̪ͫ̀n̬̤̝̆̄̀͠ d̷͇̹̬̼̫̞̙̰ͬ̑̓̽̊̎ͣ͋ͧ̆ͩ͛̃͒ͪͯ̋ͣ͠ ̷̡̢͎͍̣̦̭̻͖̠͔̘͚̯̤̲͚̟͐̋͂ͤ͋̐̔͊ͬ̑͌͒͛̐ͩ̉́s̷̞̭̭͙̳̺͖̠̙͍̓̐̐̀͛̎̇ͣ̚ẹ̵̶̱̲͓͔͓̩͓̱̥̦͓̤̱̓ͥ̌ͪ͂̀ͯͭͫͬͦ͒̐͌t̅̓ͪ̉͋̂ͧ̍ͣͬ͛͆͋̿ͥ̿͏̴̛͕̗̻̩͚͍̯t̨̖͉̩͚̲̗̟̙̫̗̦̠̟̮̪̱͓̓̽̾͛̀͟͠l̥̫̮͈̥̫͕̝̺̙̬̗̆͐ͯ̽͛̓͛͊ͬ̐͛̈̓́͟e̞̮̜̻̞̞̩͈̠̲̣̬̙̞͈͎̓ͨ̊̿ͬ̾ͤͯͦ̃̈́̇̔ͮ̽̚͜ͅd̶̂̃ͤ͂ͦ̄̌̍͝҉̹̭̹͕̮͇͉̖̰̼͓́ ̧̨̛͎̩͉̳̭̰̘͎̼ͧͩ͗̅ͯ͌͌̎̚͠͡ͅo̅̐ͮͥͮ͏҉͏̫̲̺͙̙̳̟̩͚̪̩n̷̰͓̺͉̭̫̺̞̭̲͇̗̣͇͖̜̦̦̿̏̀ͤͧ̌́̊̉ͤ͂ͦͮ̓̓̒ͨͧ͛͠ͅ ̛͂͆̿̏̀͏̷͉̭̞̱̮̰̪̝̜͠t̷̵̸̗͉̝̱̺̘̩̮̟͉̜̩ͪ̾͗̌̅̕h̛̭̖̲̘̣̫͈͇͓̻̝͕͂̈́̍ͪ͐̄̿̎́ė̶̢̟̟͙̻̳̗̗̬̝̮̟̯̰͇̝͖̠͈̗ͥͪͥ̔̂̍̆͂ͫ͑ͦͨ͢͜ ͋͗̉͌͡͏͚͖̙̤̱͕̙̬̮̲͇͙͇̪̲͕g̴̢̛̭̜̗̝͖̻̠̫͕̺̓̆ͦ̔͂ͨ́͞ͅr̵̸͕̦͇͔͍ͫͭ̇̅̿̉̐͐ͅȯ̴̥̣͓̯̱̺̦̦͍̺̘̪̠̌̀̂́́u̵̧̨̪͇̻͖̜͖͖̻͕̭̥̗͇̻̱̰͌͐̀͊ͤ̏̐ͪ͐͂͘͢n̡͒̈̉҉̭͕̥̭̥̮̠̼̫̻̺͇͞d̶͍̝̫̤͉͖̠̞̳ͤͨ͒ͭ̓ͫ͡
That wasn't working. "Memmi!" I exclaimed.
ᏖᎧ ᎴᏋᏕᎧᏝᏗᏖᏋ ᏝᏗᏁᎴᏕ ᎦᏝᏋᏋᏕ ᎴᏋᏕᎧᏝᏗᏖᏋ ᏂᎧᎮᏋ, Ꮧ ᏖᎩᏒᏗᏁᏖ'Ꮥ ᏒᏬᏝᏋ ፈᏬᏖ ᏕᏂᎧᏒᏖ!
Only a small piece of the Nexus disintegrated, revealing a facewith a somewhat sharp jawline, sandy blonde hair, and a jaded, piercing gaze. Horizon had a detailed description of me, and Scott was going to work for them. I pounded the desk first in anger, then in sadness, this revelation that Calvin Riddick was standing before me hit like a bus.
That was me. Rather, him. I didn't know how to respond at the moment. Calvin had become the "host" for the Nexus, and it was using him as a character to tra̰ͫ̀͟͡͡ͅn̤̰̞̲͍͐ͭ̾͑͐ͯsͥ̇͛͂̅͏̮c̛̫̟͎̩ͪ̈́̌ͣͫ̀e̺̠̳͓ͦͥ̉ͨn͋ͦ̇̇ͬ̄͑͞͏̡̮̘͖͕͕̥̘d̡̜̫̄̔̋̐̂ͪ͠͞ ̥̞̣͇̦̦̂͋̅ͦͥ̅͝ͅf̶̗̱͓̿̀ͅŗ̴̂͋͑ͫ̍̋̀҉̱̺̤̠̳̩̯o̧̩̠͉̠̾̐m͉̝̹ͥ͋̿̑̌͡ ̰̗̥̹̲̺͕̣̂͌̈́̿̄͜a̙͔͖̻̎̋̍̇̓̅̂̚ ̡̥̪͈̳̰̱̏͊͒ͯ̄͠ć̮͕̞̪̍̎̊̊ͮh̟̝͈͖̪͑̂̓͘a̧̙̮̪̤̙̻̱͇ͥ͊̎̄ͧ́̈́͘ŗ̥͚͉͇͕̲̖̥͌̒ͮa̵͈͕̠̙ͫ̎ͣ̊́ͫ̂̚c̵̸͓̖̖̹̺̱̘͎̲ͭ͘t̢̡͙̩̩͍̱̫͐ͨ̾̽̾͗̒ͫͅe̴̫̘̪̤͕̰̍͋̄̈͊ͯ̑͝r̡̦̟͓̭ͦ̒̈́̽ͅ ̸̵̱̝̅͜i̵̴̬̠̦͕̻̺̿ͨͭͮ̔ͬn̳͆̅̀̕͟ţ̘͕̳̪ͨ͊ͯ̓ͦ̃ͪ͐ͅo̱̪͓̝̣̘̼͊͐̂͛̍̕ ̵̺̤͎͛͛ͤ͐͠a̯ͮ̓̄ͫ͟͢ͅn̒͑͠҉̩̳̹̩̖ ̢̠͚͔͙̣̩̏̒͘ä̷͓̘̊u̴̦͚̮̗̅̓̇͊͗͑ͦͧ̃t̴̗̼̐̏ͫ̊̅h̡̘̞̘̥̀͊ͫ̆̊̈́̕ǫ̶̖̑͞r͚̟͉͈̊́̿̑ͪͬ̇͆̚͘.̤̻͚̯͈̥̺̦͆̉̑ͬ̈̅̑ ̵̨̨͓̝͓̲̌ͥ͋ͥ͌̾
Ȧ̏͆͏̶͙͎̗̞͓̥̬̳̬͎́͢͜ͅ ̵̨̻͙̳̩̹̟͛̿̑ͯͤͭ̾͗̎ͩͥ̾͛̑ͭ̂͛̋͢s̸̪͉͔̫̼̺͎̱̣͚̯̫̙̾ͦͥ͂̐̈͗̊̏̀́͟ͅt̅͋͛ͣ̓́̕҉͙̣͙͉̺̙̦͎̩̜̲̭͚̠͚̞̖͟ͅͅo̴̶̧̺͈̺͇̹̖͔̖̳̣͌̄̒͊͌̉́͒́⎕̷̧͔̪͙̯̳̰͕͕̹̥̽ͪ̎ͩ̒ͥͥ͂͗̾̈́̓ͫ̍ͬ̀̚͢͠y̷̛͈͚͇̖̹̲̰̮̼̬̭̩͕̠̙ͯ̍̿̑̈́̅͜͢͞t̸̯͓̥͈͙̽͂̉̒ͨ͂͆̓̕⎕̧̛͎̝͙͖̗̙͍̺̖̫̘̮̯͔̇͂̐̔ͧ̑ͭ͛̈̓̾ͭ̑͑ͩͤͯ͐͛͢ĺ̥̯͓͚̳̺̺̯̫̍̅ͥ̔͝⎕̵̻̫͈͇͕̱̟͉̖̝͇̯ͣ̀̈́ͭ̀̀ͣ͋͛ͫͭͭ̀ͨͧ̈͌̔́͘͝ͅę͕̜̮̼̙͇̯͈̦̙͎͔͕͈͔͒͂̉ͯ̅͂͐͆̈̀͝ͅr̶ͫͦ̀̑ͫͣ̎͡҉͏͇̱̘̩͇͍̣͕̻͕̩̗̟͝ͅ.̴ͩͣ̄̋ͪͯ͏̢͎͉̳̻̻̻͔̣̻͎̯͙̱͞ͅ
"Stop this!" I replied, watching as the N̶̖̠͙e͙͕̫̫̭̰̩⎕̼̣̬̪⎕̯͉͙s͓̼͚͎̼ ̝̦̥̠c̢̳̩r̮̯̻u̶͖̘͔⎕̢̬̖̤̹b̲͚̯̺̩l̲̝̻͓̙͚⎕̻́⎕̬̩͓ ͙⎕͖͙̝̭̭͙͞⎕̬̦̻̼̼̰ ̫̦̥̝͍͢ͅ⎕̟̝̩͖̻͈̟͠⎕̧͚̳͔̪̭͕̳█̼̭̺̩̭͞ͅ⎕̸̻͚
I felt a shift, almost as if what the Nexus had done to the story had caused a word processor to crash, like, thirty times.
ᏗᏁፈᎥᏋᏁᏖ ᏉᎧᎥᎴ ᏦᎥᏁᎶ! ᏕᏋᏗᏝ ᎩᎧᏬᏒᏕᏋᏝᎦ ᏗᏇᏗᎩ, ᎦᏝᏋᏋ ᎦᏒᎧᎷ ᏖᏂᎥᏕ ᏒᏋᏗᏝᎷ!
Again, a small segment of the Blight crumbled off of Calvin, revealing black streaks down my neck. And a̧̭̠̝̝̐̽̒ͭͧ̑̚ṡ̖̻̤̥̠̰͓͌ͯ̕ ̱̦̗͕̤̄͋͌́t̮̙̘̟͈̮̠̊ͤ̈́̋ͣh͍͇̠͙̺̣͒̈́͆̕ê͝ ͈͈̺̦̖͜ͅṙ̡̭̲͐ͬ̐͐̓e̤͕̲̽š̗̖͇̜̙̪͈t̺̻͕̱̒ͨ̆ͨͬ̿ ͈̤o̫̯͉ͦ̎̏ͥ͒͗f͍̻̈́̊ ̘͍̥͇͆t̝̓h̤̙̟͈͙ë̢̬͈͔́ͣ͑ͮ̈́̆̐ ̗͈͉̱̙ͨ̿̊̈̉̄N͕͓͡ẻ̗͈̈̎ͣ█̪̼̒█͏͔̮̱ͅs͔͙ ̪͖̫̙ͦͮͮc̘̭͍̼̥ͭͥ̆ͬ̀̄͝r̵̠̻͔̄ͨ̑͐ǘ̳̭̆̂̏͌̏̃ m̷̡̭̪͇̫͉͉̳ͩ̒̒ͪ́͑͂͑ͤb̴̹͕̳̗̗̺͖̘̗̻͛̂͒ͫ̒͜͞l̶̛̤͚͙̦̲̺̞͍̦͙̻̲̰͖̹̟̞͌̆ͥͮ̔͌̐̄ͯ̎̄̾̋̎̚e͆̄̊̌ͮ͒̍ͬ͒̆͏̠̘͔̱̻͇͉̼̹̱̞͢d̵̢͈͎̮͙̥͓̹̯͇̺̙̦̗̬ͥ̏̑͗̌̓̈̽ͫ̐ͯͥͪ̒͡
"This isn't working!" I shouted to Memmi.
ᎦᏒᏋᏋᎴ ᎦᏒᎧᎷ ᏖᏂᎥᏕ ᎷᎧᏒᏖᏗᏝ ᎮᏝᏗᏁᏋ, ᏖᎧ ᏂᎥᎶᏂᏋᏒ ᏂᏋᏗᏉᏋᏁᏕ ᎩᎧᏬ ᎷᏬᏕᏖ ᎶᎧ, ᏰᏋᎶᎧᏁᏋ ᎦᎧᏬᏝ ᎴᏋᎷᎧᏁ, ᏖᎧ ᏰᏒᎥᎶᏂᏖᏋᏒ ᏕᏋᏋᎴᏕ ᏇᏋ ᏕᎧᏇ
The figure pulled out a worn, rusted gun that I had to look over again. My father's pistol was something he was proud of, and it being in my hands made me both nervous and proud. It was a crowning achievement, and it was vaguely terrifying to be looking down the barrel of it. That said, it was rusţ̵͔̦̏̇͑̌ͬe̟̖̔̀̊̌͞d̷̫̦̲͙̭̍͒̑̐͑ͩͣͬͦ,͇̪̩͈̬̖̆ͩ ̷̨͔͉̘͛ͦ̒ͩs͇̬͔͍̺̀͆̑̉ͧ͂͘͜͠o̜̟͙͉̓̽ͥ̿ͣ͡ ͚̠̲̘͕̙̓̒̂ͩ̕Í̢̨͉̙͔͖̫̣̳͋ͨ̎ͬ̈̚ ̱̪̹̘̏̋͆̏d̼͔̤̮̘͋̿̄̓̎̚i̴̛̗̖͕̼͎̫̝͗̈́̃ͅd͙͔͈̘̪͖̗͊͋̎͋̃ͣ̽ͯͧ̀n̵̡͖͔̘̙̗̘͇ͨ͐̽ͯͭ̉̇̈́̒̕'̣̠̰̻̞̯̖̈́̽ͬͣ̋̈̕͡t̃ͣ̎̈́̍͏̺̝̙͈̙͉̺͡ ̴̩̽ͦ̒ͯ͗h̨͉̼̭̖̉͌̊ͅa̢͈ͨ̓̉ͦͮ̚͝͡v̷͚̪͆̄́̂͒̊̿͌ͅe̡̯͍͈̲̱͕̙̾̎̌ͦ͑̌͟͜ͅ ̸̵̢̼̣̆ͬ̉ͬͫ̆͆́t͈̗̟ͫ̓ͬ̈͛̈ͨö̒ͣͭ̐͋ͬ̽̾҉̡̞͕͓̰o̵͚̫̳͈̍̐͋́͋̒̏͜ ̱̰̟̝̱̜̲͎̓̅͟m̟̱̰͕͚͎͓̾̔ͮ͢͠ȕ̳̣̓̒͒͆ͮ̂̓ͅc͎̲̞̤͚̑ͣͤ̀̚͡h̭̥̯͚̖̤̓̾̍͂̿͊ͬ͝ ͙͉̰̮̺͊ͮ̀͡t̗̀̅̌ͧͭ̑o̧̬ͯͩ̇̀͠ ̃ͯ̈́̍͋̔͗ͣ̚҉̖͙̫̜ẃ̝̬̦̺͖̒͊ͥ̀o̶̦̭̓̒̓̉͗́͂ͮ͝ŗͪ̑͞͏̙̰̯̱̺r̞̻͙̮̘̟͍̞̿̀̈͑͊̉̒͠y̶̶̯̺̝͓̯̠̱ͥͨ͌͗̆̓ͭ̿ ̢̧͎͎̩̘̃͗̊͑̀͆̉̚͡ͅa͍̘̎̀ͣ̾͋̇͂ͤ́̕b̧͔͉ͣͣ̓͂̌ͯͅo̧̼̲̟̒ͬ̈́͗͌́͊ͧ̚͠ư̸͚̖̹͊̄ͧͯ͛t̰̩̺͎̭ͩ̃̿̎ͧ͝
T͚͔̙̙͊ͦ̑ͫ͆̚̕Ḩ̮̻͍̄͛̅ͮE̳̮̮̣̼͕̫͈ͪ͋̿͌̂̚͜ͅ ͕̥̬ͣͯͪͥ͞͞ͅG̭͚̰̩̣̦̠̓̀ͥ̓ͣͫ̕U̠̰͚͉̥̱̥̣̼ͫ̍N͉̈́̐̈́͋͗̉͟ͅ ̪̟͓̳͔̼̗ͤ̌͑̍̎̿̋W̵̛͇̟̦̺̲̣̝͙ͧͯ̕A̋҉̖̕S̷̼̥̅ͧ̈́ͯ ̢̰͙̤̖̥̻̀̃ͪ̀̀ͯ̀Ĉ̮̭̲̗̪̇͗͠L̼̮̟̫̯̲̣̗̽̇͋̑ͧ̚E̬̼̻̬̥͙͓̝ͩ̆ͮ̈́Ȁ̛̹̤̖̞̲̙̆ͪ̎̂N͊ͭ̿ͪͥ̀͏͓̘́
Oh no.
Ꮧ ፈᎧᏇᏗᏒᎴ'Ꮥ ᏖᎧᎧᏝ, ᎦᎥᎶᏂᏖ ᎦᎥᏒᏋ ᏇᎥᏖᏂ ᎦᎥᏒᏋ, ᎦᎥᏕᏖᎥፈᏬᎦᎦ ᏖᎧ ᎦᎥᏕᏖᎥፈᏬᎦᎦ
The gun vanished, which would have hurt the person I was years ago, but didn't now. I steeled myself against the foe, and took a step forward, but was cut off by the sound of someone rushing in.
"Ｇｅｔ ａｗａｙ ｆｒｏｍ ｍｙ ｆｒｉｅｎｄ!"
Shim barreled through, pushing me aside, and tackled the Blighted Calvin Nexus Host Thing, ripping at the eerie muck while screaming. After a few moments of tearing away at it, it began to reform, spreading up her arms, but she kept screaming and clawing. I stepped in to try and help her, but she snarled at me. I recoiled at the sound, it was rough and scary, and she continued to claw and fight but I could tell she was beginning to slow down. Memmi stepped in. "Shim, Shim, please, what..."
Before she could get her fifth word out, Shim slumped face-first into the muck. I stepped in. Much of the Nexus that was on Calvin was gone, and what was left was slightly discolored and eaten down to the bone on the left arm. I sighed, it was so strange to see, that was me at one point, and this is what was left. I then looked at Shim, who was covered in the Nexus and still screaming, trying to find some energy to fight. "Memmi..."
Nҽɯ ϝʅҽʂԋ ιʂ αɳ αɳƈԋσɾ ɳσƚ ɱσʂƚ ʂυιƚαႦʅҽ, ϝɾҽҽ ყσυɾʂҽʅϝ ϝɾσɱ ƚԋιʂ Ⴆʅҽʂʂҽԃ σɳҽ, Ⴆҽɠσɳҽ ƚσ ƚԋҽ ҽαɾƚԋ ϝɾσɱ ɯԋҽɳƈҽ ყσυ ƈαɱҽ!
The Blight crumbled off of Shim, leaving behind a puddle. Shim suddenly shot up, giving a gasping breath, and then grinned her teeth at me. "I did it, Tams!" she exclaimed.
"You... you sure did," I replied.
Someone tapped my shoulder, and I jumped and turned. It was Bit, who was looking at me with an intense look. "So that's it?" she said.
"Yeah, I guess we did it!" I replied.
"No, that's... that's you, then?" she said, pointing at what was left of Calvin.
"Yeah, I guess... so this is it, huh?"
"I mean, we could try to repair him."
"You could?" I replied.
"Tammy... every part of the last nearly 40,000 words should have sold you already that things are... how should I put it... a bit "off-kilter" here in the afterward. We can do it. Are you willing to believe we can?"
"Sure," I replied, thinking of all of the amazing hospitals the place had. I don't know what they do in there, though, I'm no doctor.
"Well, thanks for believing, then," she replied.
Kroff took a few feeble steps into the street, rested as much of his hand as he could on Bit's shoulder, the two exchanged some words, and he lifted the remains of Calvin Riddick up off the ground.
I looked around at all the Nexus goo. There was a whole lot of it, how were we going to contain it all?
"I dunno," Bit said, "I guess we'll see what we come up with in the final chapter."
She gave me a bit of a smug grin, but I only caught half of it when Shim tackled me to the ground in a hug. "I did it, Tams! Well, Bit did it, but this was my plan!"
"It was?"
"No! She came up with it but let me take credit for it, Tams, and we pulled it off, thanks to you and Memmi!"
She squeezed me even tighter, and I tried to tap out. "Too much?" she asked.
"No, it's fine," I said, struggling, "it's just... the Nexus sludge is in my hair again, I need to get this washed."
"Well, I'll let you two... er, figure this out," Memmi said, "I'm going to go check on the others, and, eh," she continued, taking a bottle out of a pocket on her robes, "ease my spirits."
Jev and Shaw met Shim outside, and the three of them picked me up and carried me back to the metro station.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
