lisende’s expression changed, her smile widening. “Nick, I didn’t expect to see this version of you ever again. I know you told I would, but with alternate universes, it’s not that simple.”
It was still lisende’s voice, but the accent had changed. Amy’s held a hint of the Florida woman whose blood she’d used to learn English.
“Amy? This is so weird. Did you go ho afterwards?”
Amy nodded, “I’m not sure how much I can tell you, but yes. I did. It wasn’t easy, and sotis it hurt more than I want to say, but it was worth it. Look, if I have second thoughts before going back, and I will, tell to go.”
I blinked, “Of course. I know you want to go. I don’t think I’d be able to stop you.”
She sighed, “It’s not that simple. I liked you because I liked Nick from my own universe, but I t him a day before I left. I've known you for years, and for all I knew, he might have died sending here. Plus, for all I knew, my family might be dead or my sister might have been influenced to hate … I wasn’t sure if I had anything waiting for there. I did.”
Nodding because she’d see that through armor, I said, “This isn’t so kind of Back to the Future thing?“
She laughed. “Do you want to talk about dated references? That’s pretty dated. And you know what? You still reference that movie.”
“Oh,” I said. “I suppose that would be like recomnding a clay tablet I once loved reading in Sur.”
“Right. Except Sur was closer to you 8000 years ago than Back to the Future is to now.”
Her grin faded. “I’ve got to give lisende her body back. This is her ti. I’m of the past. Good luck.”
I asked, “Is it different being on the advice-giving end? Are you keeping things from her, too?”
Her face had shifted back to lisende’s before I finished.
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lisende nodded, “She is, but they have their reasons. She never told you because she didn’t know it, but the past Bloodmaidens rival the Artificers in knowledge. They’ve killed artificers before, but they don’t tell everyone.”
She frowned, adding, “They only told a few weeks ago. She told you centuries ago, but not until after she was dead. She never knew while she was alive.”
“Oh,” I said, “that’s so weird. It’s not weird that they kept it to themselves, though. ntioning them to the wrong being has end-of-the-world potential.”
“I know. For the last few weeks, all we’ve been doing is preparing for this and watching for you.”
“? Oh right. I told everyone what I rembered.”
The room shook and continued shaking for a full minute as more thunderous noises ca from outside. Cracks opened in the walls and “windows,” both repairing themselves as I watched, while red sand fell out in chunks to be absorbed by the floor.
I didn’t fall, but I could have. I looked over at lisende, “Wow. Do you know what that was?”
She pursed her lips, hesitating on whether she could tell , but then spoke. “Destroy knows what you are, and I an literally you. They know that you’re the immature form of the current version of you, and if they kill you everything falls apart.”
I thought back to the battle, “That would explain why they all ca for up there—”
A doorway-sized hole appeared in the wall, and I stepped through. I appeared to be about forty-ish with a few white hairs scattered in the black; I still wore a version of the Rocket suit. It was still golden with black accents and a black “R” on my chest. I’d even kept the Art Deco feel of the original, even if it wasn’t exactly like the one I wore now.
From the way I moved, I guessed that I wouldn’t recognize the technology underneath it anymore.
The other hint that it was ca through my Artificer senses. I felt a link. It reminded of how I felt when I’d encountered Kee and recognized Lee even in other forms, but it also reminded of my connection to Daniel when we were in range of his telepathy.
Although I couldn’t feel it before he’d stepped through, I also felt power and that I had access to more of it than normal. It felt like a simring heat in my chest.
Future said, “I know what you’re experiencing. It’s a lot, but you’ll get used to it. I’m doing my best to make sure you don’t get too much at once.”
It was more energy than I’d ever had before, more than I’d dared pull in, and I had no ti to experint with it.
He smiled, “I’ve been teaching people like us to use our powers while preparing for all of this. You can handle more than you think. It’s going to be okay.”
“Now you know how I feel,” lisende said, but her voice had Amy’s tone.
In that second, everything around faded, and I felt myself dropping. My own voice sounded in my head, “Let it happen this ti. It should be fine. Well, unless you’re an alternate where it didn’t.”
I lost contact, and darkness enveloped .
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