Reoccurring Nightmare

[Tabs]

Tabs had slowly become less and less invested in the dog debacle as time went on, as indicated by his head slowly turning away. Something else was of far greater interest to him. Any presumptions of being the “good cop” propagandist had melted away. Shadowy lids squinted over eight eyes that gradually turned from pale pink to a glaring red. The back of his suit began to distort as coarse hair on his spine straightened like an animal raising its hackles.

His mind was going a million miles a minute. The Producer told him he could have Earth. It promised him it would not interfere. It promised.

While Tabs’s body had become completely motionless, his screens flashed to what appeared to be an overhead view of the immediate area, almost like a GPS. The image rapidly zoomed out until the whole city was visible, then the country, then the globe, then the solar system beyond. All the while, an orange wedge indicating the current location remained hovering over the third rock from the sun.

A movement. Claws clenched until a watery red-purple liquid began to drip from his palms. His arms shook. Brown hairs began to poke through the orange silk of his suit as they stood on end.

“kssshhh-- kk-kksh-kssh-kkshhhh--”

Red static periodically distorted the view on his screens as the air around the abomination grew hotter. Tabs was furious.

[Marius]

Marius was silent, not moving, save for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. As he observed the events in front of him, he had paid no mind to the dog trying to make itself known to the rest of the group; Lindsay was much more interesting.

He was lost in his own thoughts as he tried to ascertain just what kind of creature Lindsay was. Certainly not type of demon. He was an expert in that field (at least where he is from), he would certainly have remembered or felt if it was one of his own kind. Besides, the vehicle behind her was also an indicator of her origins.


The thought of space travel was still something he never even wondered about. What it would be like to live among the stars--

“Extremely. Earth doesn’t exist anymore. It was torn apart by a cosmic being not ten cycles ago. There is no planet Earth."

Marius slowly tuned back in as he heard Lindsay speak. What did she say? Earth, destroyed? His lips pursed, the mention of a 'cosmic being' is something similar to the power he's looking for, but for it to destroy the world? No, that isn't what he wants. As Marius opened his mouth to ask for Lindsay to clarify, she went into her ship, skulking into the darkness.


He sighed, looking at Crow with a quirked brow. "What do you make of this?"


The scholar tugged his collar as he felt the air get hotter.

[Nasira]

Nasira had been taciturn for the whole exchange. Crow had everything under control, so the overseer chose to observe and provide backup in case "negotiations" went south. Her face had been a semblance of calm, betraying nothing as she silently looked over Lindsay, taking in her unusual appearance, the way she moved, the way she spoke and her ship.

"PEOpLE hAvE UndEr EstImAtEd mE bEfOrE. BUt OnE thIng yOU nEEd tO rEALIzE Is I LIft. I wAnt tO mAkE thIs Army thE bEst."

Nasira's eye twitched in annoyance, shedding her impassive front. Lindsay's big, glossy yellow eye rolled, and Crow sighed beneath his mask. Only Chloe could make an alien crash-landing in what was essentially their backyard all about her. Small wonder people underestimated her. 

Lindsay's form shifted like honey dripping off a spoon to grasp Crow's arms. Nasira blanched, but it soon became perceptible Lindsay meant her vizier no harm:

"—͚̪̪̤ ͔̫͓i̗͝d͚̥ ̳y̥̹̣͇ọ̡̯ṳ̰ ̠̣͔̙͚͈j̷ṵs͎͍̙̤̖̩͢t҉̪̦ say? This planet. What did you just call it?!"

The urgency of Lindsay's tone made Nasira feel uneasy. What was it about their planet that had Lindsay so worried?

"Earth doesn't exist anymore. It was torn apart by a cosmic being not ten cycles ago. There is no planet Earth. Unless...impossible."

Lindsay released Crow and fluidly returned to her ship.

Nasira was at a loss for words. Lindsay's clarification had raised more questions than answers. It was unlikely she had confused their planet for another. What were the odds of an inhabitable planet sharing the same name? And this "cosmic being" was going nag at the back of Nasira's head like a mosquito.

She crossed her arms and looked off to the side as she waited for Lindsay to return.

[Crow]

  Crow's brow made an unseen arch as Lindsay slipped - or rather, flowed - into the belly of her ship. He felt the tension ripple through his compatriots, and kept his movements still as not to create any further concerns. A cursory glance through his posted scouts told him what he wanted to know of the others' thoughts on the matter. Nasira's expertly masked unease, Marius' tensed but nonetheless piqued curiosity, and Tabs...

  Crow found himself a little surprised. Tabs was such a jovial creature, even when faking it. Crow didn't yet know what other kind of master that he answered to, but one servant could recognize another. Whatever particular knowledge Tabs possessed, Crow of course intended to learn, but that would come on its own in due time. For the time being, Tabs was unmistakably livid, and Crow's hand lifted to gently, delicately rest on the television monster's shoulder.

  "Easy." His voice was surprisingly soft, perhaps even a little for himself. "We don't have all the answers just yet." 

"What do you make of this?"

  Crow gave only a slight hum of thought.  With the same hand, he raised it again to wave down a nearby Legionnaire.

  "Bring me a few maps of our humble little planet, won't you? Even a globe if you must." He gave a brief pause, then continued. "And I think some star charts would help our cause as well." He sent the soldier off with his orders, then resumed his original position.  They likely could have relied on Tabs' displays alone, but Crow was particularly fond for leaving as little margin for error as possible.  Multiple sources were always beneficial, so he would wait.  Undeniably he was curious enough to venture inside the ship after their guest, but thought better of it. Until Miss Curie could be counted as an ally, Crow could only be so trusting. Which wasn't much.

[Lindsay Curie]

It’s only a few moments before the alien returns from the darkness, nudging a few of the strange, goopy creatures on the floor out of her way. She grumbles slightly, tossing one of the few things in her grip towards no one in particular. The flat object freezes midair, then simply unfolds, expanding into a platform of what seems to be hard, solid light. With the new platform erected, she seems to begin sorting through the objects she’s brought out, mumbling to herself quietly.

As she works, the tiny, dark creatures that seem to inhabit Lindsay’s ship are becoming braver. En Masse, they seem to test the harsh light of the Arabian Peninsula, giving soft, curious squeaks in the process. When a number of them seem to tumble down the stairwell, however, the squeaking becomes distressed. The few that can’t make it back up the stairs scramble, instead taking refuge in Crow’s, Lindsay’s, and even Tabs’ shadows. Strangely enough, it doesn’t seem the alien minds.

When the Legionnaire returns with the aforementioned charts and maps, the object are simply snatched from them, data added to the growing network that the creature seems to be weaving in front of them. A tap here, a slide there, and two screen materialize in front of them, each one bearing a planet. One is definitely Earth. The other is... similar, but not exactly the same. The continents are much smaller, and the wrong shape.

Lindsay steps back slightly, a hand over where her mouth should be.

“Mh... Computer, begin rolling back data on Subject B. Rapidly, if you will.”

The non-Earth begins shifting onscreen, as if flying back in time. Biomes and weather curl and shift, oceans change their shape, and continents begin to slide away from one another.

“... Stop. There. Overlay data.”

On command, the two screens merge into one, each projection falling into place with the other.

A perfect match.

“Tell me, have your Humans colonized Mars yet? Or made first contact with the Anelidas? Terraformed Jupiter’s skies?”

Despite the fact that the creature’s eye hasn’t strayed from the projection, one can’t help but feel scrutiny as she speaks. Her tone is cold and sterile, surgical and precise. Every mote of data is being categorized and calculated, stowed away for one reason or another.

[Marius]

Marius' brows furrow as he watches Lindsay do her work. He had seen many in the Legion use technology more advanced than what he was used to, but this was on an entirely different level.

“Tell me, have your Humans colonized Mars yet? Or made first contact with the Anelidas? Terraformed Jupiter’s skies?”

Marius' eyes opened slightly, a bit of red poking between his eyelids. "Pardon me...?" What Lindsay was suggesting was...impossible. To him, at least.

He studied the tone of Lindsay's voice. She was serious. Gravely serious. He didn't have an answer to her questions, glancing over to Crow before giving his best answer. "I...do not think so." His tone was uncertain.

In his mind he had replayed her statement of the Earth being destroyed. He still could not believe it.

He refused to.

[Tabs]

Tabs had gone almost blind with rage, although why was apparent only to him. Regardless of this metaphorical blindness, his eyes would occasionally flicker across his displays for a split second: that’s right, all eight of them -- ten -- twenty -- hundreds. Wait.

A hoof slammed the ground. Screens reverted to an abstract mess of warbling shapes in technicolor hues.

“It said only It could bend the fabric of spacetime. Only It was allowed to alter the past. To lay It’s probing hand within any bubble beyond the edge of being It chose. Only It could traverse the timelines. It would not tolerate any other. It and only It,” voice had been gradually lowering, as if being altered by a modulator.

It seemed like neither time travel nor multiple universes was the foreign concept to Tabs. The way he spoke, it was like he knew such things were fact. He was more than willing to accept those as the subject of the misunderstanding. That wasn’t what was causing him to lose grip on reality.

Tabs’s body flickered, twitched and distorted, as if taken over by some sort of computer glitch -- even though he was clearly standing in the real world. His appearance restored itself… mostly. A dark brown mucus-like fluid started to run down the front of his shirt and drip down his legs. His body had become more grey in color. Each face, whenever it wasn’t distorted by static, turned a glaring red. Tabs reared with his back straight.

“ LIAR. ”

Without even the slightest indication what he meant, he whipped around, massive tail swinging out behind him, and began to briskly walk in the opposite direction. A hoof caught the ground but he quickly recovered.  He purposefully ignored everyone else, until haphazardly snarling;

“Excuse me, but We need to talk.”

Tabs’s body glitched again, briefly turning unrecognizable before flickering into nothing. He was gone.