"Are we there yet?"
Buku was the only one that had revived from a sudden loss in power. The Maltese Cuckoo was supposed to maintain all functions against the dampening power of Pangaea's atmosphere. Evidently a certain alien Grey miscalculated somewhere. Having crossed time to the nearest point possible to locate the missing passengers of Flight 312. He might have pinpointed the time frame but not quite the location. Who placed a jungle where the desert should have been? With its power fluctuating the navigations lost trajectory and the Cuckoo found its flight plan skimming the tree line. An inevitable crash in the dense forest left everyone shook up.
"Everyone alive?" Obadiah Ridge holds his head feeling woozy. Calling out to his band of wayward Time Travelers at the mercy of their sudden and disastrous landing in Pangaea. Peering out the cockpit window all he could see was tree branches. Not good.
"Milo fuck up." The Grey lifts his head then drops it back down into his arms.
"YOU DON'T SAY!" Renee Ramse pulls herself together and searches for her baby. Strapped in extra well he should have made the ride safely. Fear caught up when she realized he was not in this special seat, "JIMMY JACK?"
"In with the dragon." Psi Chii revives and senses the baby's thoughts.
Renee bulges her eyes, "You're kidding me."
"He is quite safe. Cano is fond of James."
"This coming from a woman who can't leave her sword at home?"
"I...I forgot. A lot was going on. Like surviving against REGION." The Chinese beauty regrets her mistake. Knowing that a massive paradox will undoubtedly rear its ugly head once it meets its twin here in Pangaea. Too late. Use it wisely she thought.
"James? Come on out Baby." Renee crawls to her hands and knees to peer into the tiny holes built into the specialized pet taxi. She wanted to open the door but the tip of Soultaker dissuaded her.
"While your baby is safe we would not be."
"Give me back my baby you damned Dragon." The Mother snaps viciously. This found the tips of her hair sizzled by an obnoxious flame the size of a blowtorch escaping the tiny vault. Falling back patting her hair she hears Young James Jack Ramse scold the Dragon with a very strict "Bad Puff Puff." The end result led the baby to teleport outside the crate once more and into a toddlers crawl toward his relieved Mom. Renee rolled to obtain him into a smothering hug. He had soot spots all over him. No burns however.
"Tough kid." Buku puckers, "Reminds me of me. Diaper and all."
Behind them Obadiah unshackles his safety gear and slips from his seat with a strain. Wincing at his shoulder he carefully looks to the left of the women. Reaching Serena Dorsey he checks her pulse, "Her Grampa sure packs a punch. Serena's still out."
Leaving her for the moment he returns to Milo whose seat was twisted pinning him against a control console, "How about you Lightbulb? Any cuts and bruises?"
"Milo fine. Just dazed and confused. Love that movie. Buku? We got pot stashed?"
"As if I'd leave my bong. Should I fire some up?"
"Nobody is getting stoned. Come on! It's obvious you landed us just fine. Maybe a bit upside down but we're alive." The General offered as he again attempts to peer through the density of tree branches shrouding the front window, "All I see is a Rain Forest. Question is are we lodged in the trees or are they covering us after a nasty skid. I don't wanna open any door and drop fifty feet into God knows what."
"I can go. I can handle a fall. Invincible remember?" Buku flexes a muscle then narrows his eyes, "Ow!"
"Quit being a whiner." Psi Chii swats him with her free hand, "Buku's fine he's just goofing off."
"Hey! I like showing off my sensitivity. Even if I am indestructible."
"How exactly are you indestructible anyway? What's with everyone getting super powers? Even the baby can Teleport. You two are Telepath's. One a Genius, the other a trained Samurai. Serena's an alien Princess with a power ring that we don't even understand. That only leaves Renee and I to rely on our Military experience." Obadiah shakes his head. That said experience was good enough for him.
"I was born this way." Buku shrugs, "Coo Chii there too. Milo three. Serena? Sure, four I guess. Baby makes five. He's a Reflection though. Those guys seem to evolve a bit over the centuries."
"Some yes. Others no." Milo adds, "Milo need to think. Need cocoa. Oreo's good."
"Stop thinking with your damned chocolate addiction. Let's check outside and see the damage. I for one want to know if we're able to fly this crate again or whether we go on foot from here on out."
"I don't want to expose my Baby to anything dangerous out there. Why did I even join this group? The Pryce's were supposed to look after him."
"They made a choice Ramse." Obadiah sighed, "Gave us the precious moments we had to escape REGION. We lost a few good people."
"SeVen?" They hear Serena coming to. Obadiah eases back to her side and comforts her as best he could. She wiggled her jaw like a drunk, woozy and confused. As her eyes draw first light she spots the General fawning over her, "Where are we?"
"WELCOME TO PANGAEA!" Milo throws his arms wide while dangling, "Not so glamorous as WELCOME TO JURASSIC PARK."
"We made it back in time? SeVen?" She blurrily looks around her.
"Serena? Focus on me." Obadiah gently pats her cheek to gain her attention, "SeVen sacrificed himself along with your Grandparents. Even the dog died. All to get you to safety. We are here for you."
"Big happy family we." Milo adds shaking his head. He seriously needed chocolate.
"No! They can't be gone. I have no one left."
"Your biological Mother is out here somewhere Serena. We're going to find her." Psi Chii prompts, "I've been scanning the vicinity. There is life outside. The jungle is teeming with living creatures."
"Oooo! What's a Giant Sloth thinking right this minute?" Buku brightens up.
"That you're an idiot." The General growls, "No humor at a time like this. If you're scanning the outside telepathically Psi Chii, what's our human population looking like?"
"Millions. All around us are humans. Most of them appear to be only thinking about building something. About hunger. About serving...Lord Dorsey?"
"Dorsey?" Serena mutters, "My Father is out there?"
"Slow down Serena. We all know what that Man is capable of." Renee issues a warning.
"More you not know Ser'Ena..." Milo mutters, "Milo learn something from Diary. No time to enlighten until now."
"What did you learn?"
"Daddy have bad reputation. Not talking Joan Jett but Blackheart none less."
"Spit it out Milo." Renee coddles her baby with a growing tension.
"Know who he really is..."
"You do? Who?" Serena pleads with her eyes tearing up.
Milo clears his throat, "Dorsey...Roman soldier who speared Christ in side."
"The Wandering Jew." Obadiah narrows his eyes, "That actually makes sense. If he's immortal until the end times he's probably been involved in everything. Cast out to wander the world."
"Right! It how he collects relics." Milo adds.
"Yet, you possessed all religious relics in 2022 when we left." Psi Chii recalls.
"As told Obie...He have. I have. He have. I have. Time loop."
"Doesn't that mean we beat Dorsey?" Buku scratches his head, "How can you have them unless he loses them."
"TIME!" Milo unsnaps his seatbelt falling to the floor upside down, "Out of whack a doodle."
"Never going to understand any of this crap." Renee rolls her eyes.
"CRAP!" Jimmy Jack blurts out. It was cute but did not thin the tension in the room.
"Bad word." Renee pouts toward him as if hurt by his swearing. It was then she realized he had done just that, "Stating the obvious are you? Okay, let's go find the diaper bag."
At their feet the Pet Taxi tosses and turns dramatically. Buku plants a foot on it to keep it silent, "Cano's hungry. What we gonna do about that Boss?"
"Galley cabinet. Cereal box say Cotton Balls." Milo points threateningly, "Bring back Oreos or die."
"Sheesh! What good are cotton balls? Ohhhhhhhhhh!" Buku grins, "Evil man Boss. You shrunk down a herd of sheep didn't you?"
Obadiah Ridge could only lift a brow. Insanity lingered all around him. Only the beginning.
Many miles South...
"My love?" Briar pauses confused. The desert floor invigorated by her every step. Her sudden stop nurturing an oasis of bushes that thrive and wilt the moment she steps beyond their space. It was beauty while it lasted, "I can no longer hear your call. Have you abandoned me?"
If she only knew the truth she would feel very insecure in her new form. Inhabiting the body of Madigan Ridge in itself was all new to her. Amid this Host she felt true mobility. A life only questioned. Having been a captive aboard the Ganthorian Garden and locked away in an artificial atmosphere of their alien devices. Now free she wanted nothing more than to experience life. Real life. As near as possible. Drawing upon the emotions of those around her the only way to form identity in this new world. Although her own existence had a mind of its own, the residue of Madigan's brain still resided within her long deceased corpse. Somehow this strange new world allowed her body to avoid decay. It merely ceased function. Like a treasure trove awaiting to be opened to the delicacies within.
Aimless in her direction she changes course. Feeling a sudden calling elsewhere. Forsaking her love now waning she is drawn to the green. Sensing a large habitation many miles hence. Smiling she continues her trek, "There you are my Love. Briar comes."
She was as changeable as the wind off the desert. A breeze that guided her. As did the foliage in her wake. As did a certain roar of a white hot beast. Hearing nothing but her calling she progresses even as a dust cloud develops and sand is kicked up under white hot tires. Cutting her off the 1971 Dodge Charger swerved to a devastating halt in front of her. Only then did she stop to tilt her head.
"Friend Briar within Friend Madigan where goeth thee?"
From a lowered window on a drivers side door leers out a Roman Centurion without his helmet on. It would not have fit beneath the roof.
"Hello. Gaicazar was it?" She smiles brightly.
"Aye! I am off to Eden. Have thee sensed God as I?"
"My love awaits me. God is his name? I thought his name was Jack. I have heard your friends whisper it. He is love?"
"Indeed. Join me Friend Briar. I shall get us there far faster than ye may walk."
The passenger door swings wide on its own offering her a curious entry. Hesitant she traipses slowly around the car reaching out to its own exhilarating light.
