Part 9: The Red Line

The atraxxans dragged Oliver, Marcus, and the wing guy, still bound by the sorcerer’s spell, past the black-market pizza kitchen into the other room, a concrete, empty room with a drain in the middle of the floor and dim fluorescent lights. They prodded the hostages with spears and pointed sticks, as the squealing beebo wriggled in the webs at the corner of the room, attempting to break free. Two massive, snarling arthropods growled and hissed at the scared creature, held on chains by atraxxan guards. The dark mage repeated a series of hisses and clicks, an ancient incantation in a long-dead language. Terror filled the frail, trembling wing guy’s eyes, as one of the hunters sized up his face, holding the curved, venom-soaked blade up to his nose, neck, and jawline.

Oliver glanced at the one holding him at gunpoint, their cluster of cold, black eyes staring down at him. He noticed a grisly scar running down their abdomen. He recognized this one as the one he’d shot back on his first day. If he wasn’t so terrified, Oliver would have been laughing. Marcus was right. This was how they were going to die. Right here, in this room.

The creature in the webbing continued to flail and squeal.

KRAK!!! The one pointing its gun at Oliver glanced over, vaporizing it with a single, deafening shot. Oliver’s mouth hung open, as he thrashed around in terror. The wing guy let out an anguished cry. He looked up at the spot where the critter was, as his face fell to a look of awe. The atraxxan captors, one by one, followed by Oliver and Marcus, looked up as well. Where the beebo had once been, sat a crackling ball of intense, radiating energy, which filled the room with the glow and intensity of a tiny star. Before anyone could react, it flew across the room in a burning, thunderous bolt, obliterating one of the large, segmented beasts and zooming out of the room like a rocket, burning a hole through solid concrete as if it were cardboard.

As soon as the dust settled, all hell broke loose. The sorcerer, distracted, dropped their focus on the incantation, as the spectral webs dissolved into nothingness. The guard let go of the other starving arthropod, which went into an uncontrollable frenzy. Oliver fumbled for his gun, as a hail of wanton gunshots rang out across the cluttered room. Marcus jumped onto one of the atraxxans, clawing and biting at them, as before Oliver could react, a second one plunged a poisoned knife into him several times. Marcus roared in pain, as the snarling beast charged him and began tearing him up with its mandibles like a ragdoll. Oliver let out a hail of blasts from his pistol, but they bounced of the creature’s armored carapace, doing nothing. The one with the scar charged Oliver.

“Marcus!!!” The wing guy slipped out amidst the chaos and bolted, as the magic user shot a bolt of darkness right past him. The scarred one slashed at Oliver, barely missing him. Oliver felt the wind from the rushing blade on his nose as he leaned back. They grabbed Oliver’s hand as he fired his blaster, sending a shot of energy straight through the pulsating, obsidian stone on the sorcerer’s staff. They let out a screech, as several tormented spirits erupted from their staff, flying around the room in disoriented circles like bats. The spirits, blood red and filled with supernatural rage, passed through the bodies of the  atraxxan cartel one by one, turning them all into hollow, salt-like statues, frozen for all eternity in terror. Oliver grabbed onto Marcus, attempting to drag him out, as the carapaced beast was grazed by a rogue specter, turning into salt and shattering into pieces as Oliver tugged Marcus free of its grasp. He struggled with all his might to drag the bear, who was twice his size, attempting to get to safety.

The wing guy, having steeled his resolve and having had a change of heart, ran back into the foray, a rogue spirit zooming by his head, and helped Oliver drag Marcus. Marcus seized and foamed at the mouth, as the venom surged through his bloodstream.

“Hang in there, mate.” The two carried Marcus out with a great deal of effort, as the wing guy grabbed a blaster rifle off of one of the dead atraxxans. A looming figure, an atraxxan hunter with a high-tech weapon of some sort, attempted to ambush Oliver and Marcus from the other room. The wing guy fired a high-powered blast at them, hitting them between their many eyes, before turning around and firing several more shots back into the room they came from for good measure. The teenager then continued to help Oliver drag Marcus out of the cave.

The two stumbled out of the secret door, running and tripping over their own feet until their lungs collapsed. A shrieking, blood red spirit hurtled out behind them. They jumped as it flew past them, off into the distance, searching for an afterlife to bring it peace. Marcus rolled onto the floor as Oliver and the wing guy fell prone. The artificial moonlight and the fresh air were overwhelming to the husk of a kid, whose breath was heavy, as he laid on the floor, taking it all in. He laughed with relief, his vision blurry with tears.

Marcus continued to seize on the ground, the pink, bloody foam trickling out of his mouth, the whites of his eyes a dark red. Oliver shook Marcus, feeling for a pulse.

“Come on, mate. Stay with us.” He felt for a pulse, shaking Marcus. His heart was pounding. “Please! I’m not losing you out here!” The wing guy crawled on top and slipped something into his mouth.

“Shh shh shh, easy man. Easy.” Oliver looked over, surprised. “Give it a few minutes.” Oliver looked up at the kid, surprised.

“What is that? What did you give him?” The wing guy said nothing, as Marcus began to relax. “What did you give him?!”

“Moss.” The wing guy stood up, as Oliver tilted Marcus’ head to the side and kept checking his pulse. A tense silence followed, as Marcus slowly began to stabilize. Oliver looked Wing Guy over.

“Are you injured?” Wing Guy shook his head. Oliver glanced at Marcus, before back at him. “Why did- why did you give him moss?”

“Why are you so focused on the moss when we’re still out here in the open? Shut up and help me get him to a safe spot!” Something in Oliver finally snapped.

“You don’t get to tell us to shut up after we just got you out of that place!!! Our friend is messed up!!! I’m trying to get out of here just like you, and I need to know what you put in his bloody mouth so we can help him, or so help me I will drag you back there and stuff you back in that bloody cage myself!!!” The wing guy immediately backed off, as Oliver realized what just came out of him. He immediately looked down. “S-”

“Okay, jeez. Calm down. It was growing on the wall of my cell.” He looked around, making sure that no one followed them out, before he continued. “I ate it, to survive. They… tortured me with their painful venom. When I started eating this strange moss, I noticed the venom’s effects weren’t as bad. I had to- I had to pretend I was still poisoned…” Olivers ears sunk. Who would do such a thing to a kid, let alone anyone? The wing guy and Oliver both looked over Marcus. “Let’s hope it works on bears.”

Marcus moaned, as Oliver ran towards him. “It’s alright, mate. I’m here.” He looked over at the wing guy. “There’s a first aid kit in the car.” The wing guy ran over to the trash outside of the restaurant, fishing around the top, and found a half-empty can of cold soup, which had been sitting in the garbage for hours, and a rotten, half-eaten apple-like fruit. The soup dribbled down his shirt as he drank, before he ravenously devoured the fruit. He finished up, wiped his mouth on his hand, and threw the can to the ground.

Marcus sat up, regaining his motor function bit by bit over the course of the next minute or two.

“…’d we… win…?” Oliver smiled.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Right on.” Marcus’ back began to throb, as the initial adrenaline wear off. Oliver looked over at the wing guy, sighing with relief and laughing. The wing guy was right in front of him, alive! They were all alive! Marcus struggled to get up, before he winced in pain and sat back on the ground. “I feel like I’m being hit with a hammer all over,” he sluggishly mumbled. He spit out a chunk of moss. “Gross.” He looked at the Wing Guy’s hand.

“Alright, let’s see the damage.” Wing Guy held out his mangled hand, which was missing its index finger. Oliver and Marcus both winced.

“Gross!”

“Gnarly!”

“I think it’s infected. I don’t know.”

“Stay here,” Oliver said to Marcus and the Wing Guy. “I’ll grab the first aid kit and patch you guys up.” Oliver knew they would both require professional medical attention, and likely a stay in the healing tank. As he turned around, several enforcer vehicles pulled up to the scene. Oliver sighed a bit of relief, as the enforcers got out and scanned them with their large, owl-like optics.

“Hello, Oliver Henry, Bo Shuo Chang, and Other. We are investigating a noise complaint and suspicious activity in the area.” 

“Please, you’ve got to help us! They’re in need of medical attention, and these guys, they kidnapped our-” Oliver paused, as he saw Wing Guy behind the enforcer, terror in his eyes. He desperately shook his head. Oliver tilted his head in confusion.

“Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands. Come with us for evaluation, so we can gather a report of what happened and determine the level of medical attention you need.”

Oliver suddenly got a weird gut feeling. None of this made any sense. Why were there so many enforcers here for a noise complaint? Why weren’t they waiting for an ambulance if they needed medical help? Something was off. The wing guy desperately drew his hand back and forth across his throat, as he attempted to mouth something, as an enforcer walked up behind him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder contrasted with its large, emotionless optics and its robotic grip. The enforcers jabbered with one another as they spoke through their antennae. Oliver took a step back.

“On second thought… I think we’ll be alright-”

“You’ve experienced a medical emergency. One of you has been kidnapped. Do not worry, Oliver Henry. We are now conducting an investigation. Come with us for evaluation.” 

Oliver backed up, as the enforcer stepped closer. One of the enforcers caught Oliver’s eye, scouting the area with its standard-issue sublimator rifle. Hang on. He looked past the enforcer in front of him, who held out a stiff hand, to the rifle Wing Guy had dropped on the ground, the same one he’d grabbed off the dead atraxxan. He didn’t remember them having guns and technology of that caliber in their homeworld. Suddenly, it clicked. It was the same kind of gun! And the bird with the enforcer jabber back in the forest, kilometers away from where they encountered the atraxxans! The fur on Oliver’s neck stood up, as the enforcers helped Marcus to his feet.

“Come with us for evaluation.” Oliver’s heart pounded. Suddenly, the wing guy dove for the rifle.

“RUN!!!” He fired off shots in the air, as Oliver and Marcus took off running, as fast as their bodies could carry them. The enforcers mobilized rapidly as the wing guy scrambled desperately, like a scared, flailing animal. Their antennas buzzed with jabber, as they divided in perfect formation with their stun batons at the ready.

Oliver and Marcus split up, climbing over the wall and going around, while Wing Guy ran straight for the car. Marcus grabbed Oliver and hurled him over the wall, as a well-placed shot hit right where he had just been. Marcus rolled down the wall like a giant bowling ball, tumbling onto the floor as they both booked it. Oliver fumbled with his keys, dropping them on the ground, on a sewer grate.

“Nonononono stop!!!” The keys balanced precariously on the edge, landing just perfectly so that they didn’t fall into the hole. Oliver’s heart was ponding as he grabbed them and unlocked the car, the enforcers quickly coming closer.

The wing guy hid behind the car as Oliver and Marcus regrouped.

“Get in!” the koala yelled. They all clambered into the car, as the little, white beebo scurried out from its hiding place underneath the car.

“Hang on!” The wing guy bolted out of the car, quickly calling it over. It ran over, chittering a distressed squeak, as it jumped into his arms. They slammed the door as the vehicle pulled in front to block them, blasting a car with a pulsing blast of energy, which knocked it back.

“No!!! Come on!!!” Oliver desperately tried to start the car.

“It’s a pulse jammer, man, it won’t start! Any Nth dimension crystals in that engine are fried!” Marcus yelled. Suddenly, the car managed to start, as Oliver peeled away without even putting on his seatbelt.

“This car is ancient, remember?!” Oliver pressed his foot to the gas pedal as the car sped off.

The enforcers were hot on their tail. The car lurched and jolted, the electronics of the vehicle being slightly on the fritz after the hit from the pulse jammer. Oliver gripped the steering wheel as hard as he could, as he looked in the rear-view mirror.

Clank-clank-clank-clank-clank-clank-clank-

The odd sound grew closer, as Oliver looked in the rear-view mirror. He saw a group of large, round optics peering out from the night, as his rear lights illuminated the figures of several enforcers, all chasing the car on foot, as more vehicles peeled out.

“Go faster, dude! They’re gaining on us!”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Oliver dipped in-between cars, nearly wiping out several times, as the car swerved and screeched wildly. He wrangled the steering wheel, fighting to keep control. The enforcers vaulted over and rolled under vehicles on the road, keeping up with superhuman speed and agility. The ear-splitting wails of sirens blared through the streets. Everyone in the car panicked. Oliver glanced behind them, and let out a startled yell, nearly losing control of the car. One of the enforcers was right there. Suddenly, a large thud hit the back of the car, as the enforcer vaulted over the vehicle behind them and grabbed on, punching a hole in the rear window. Oliver swerved, trying to get it off, as more approached.

KRAK!!! KRAK!!! The wing guy blew two giant holes in it, as it tumbled back, a useless heap of metal, further obliterating the back window. A voice blared from the vehicle, as their glowing, white optics glowed red.

LETHAL FORCE IS NOW AUTHORIZED.

Welp. There was no going back.

A hail of plasma bolts fired at the car, with two shooting straight through the car and grazing its occupants.

“Turn on hover mode!”

“It doesn’t have hover mode!”

“How does it not have hover mode?! All cars have hover mode!!!”

“It doesn’t have a hover mode, alright?! It’s just a car!!!”

The large, tank-like enforcer truck caught up to them, as more enforcers took shots at the car. The wing guy desperately tried to keep the beebo calm, to avoid another plasma rocket inside of the car, as the animal bounced and scurried about.

“Keep that thing still!”

“I’m trying!!!” A panicked and chittering squeaking filled the tiny car. “Gah!!! It bit me!!!”

“If that thing goes off again, we’re all DEAD!!!”

“I know!!! You’re not helping!!!”

“Both of you shut up!!! Let me think!!!”

The car flew onto the ramp, squealing onto the expressway. Two more enforcers approached the car, firing into the car right between Oliver and Marcus.

“GAHHH!!! Grab onto something!!!” Oliver slammed on the breaks as the two enforcers slammed into the back of the car, caving it in and sending them hurtling forward. What was left of the two pursuers went flying all over the road. Oliver slammed on the gas pedal, his tires squealing and burning smoke, as their car shot forward like a jet. Wing Guy’s rifle clicked.

“I’m out of ammo!!!” Oliver turned to Marcus.

“Grab my blaster!” Marcus looked at it, hesitating, as he went to reach for it, before lurching forward. The car flew past the exit, despite Oliver’s erratic attempt to get over. “Dammit!!! I missed the bloody exit!!!”

“Just take the next one!!!”

“No dude!!! Stay on the expressway!” The three shouted as the large, tank-like truck once again caught up to them.

“It’s on our ass, dude!!!”

“I’M! GOING! AS! FAST! AS! I! CAN!!!!!”

The car pulled onto the chrome bridge above a seemingly bottomless abyss. The truck rammed against the tiny hybrid, grinding it against the force barrier as sparks flew. Eventually the car began to permeate through the barrier as Oliver tried to push back. A hail of blasts riddled the side of the car through the firing ports on its side, the deafening sirens drowning out all three’s frantic yelling and bickering. Marcus backed away from the edge and into Oliver, as he desperately clung to the wheel.

“Give me that!!!” Wing Guy grabbed the handgun off of Oliver’s hip and began firing at the side of the truck, through the window. An enforcer leapt onto the side of the car, putting its hand through the steel door. The wing guy attempted to fire at it, his shaking hands missing every shot.

“Ugh, motherf- they make it look so easy!!!” The car was stuck precariously on the edge. The truck swerved back, ready to ram the car off once and for all. Oliver slammed on the brakes, as the massive truck swerved ahead, plowing through the force barrier with its momentum and hurtling to the bottomless abyss below.

The enforcer lurched forward, ripping a hole in the door. It held on, jamming its stun baton into the wing guy’s side. He let out a cry, as his body seized up, the crackling volts and blinding flash of the baton causing him to lose all inhibitions. The beebo began to let out a distressed cry and glow. Marcus turned around.

“Don’t you dare!!!” Marcus grabbed the blaster, shooting the robot several times, before grabbing its stun baton and driving it through its optic. The enforcer crackled and stuttered as they peeled away. Marcus leaned forward.

“I’m feeling light-headed!” Oliver remembered that Marcus was still losing blood, and coming off of the poison’s effects.

“Don’t look down!” The car pulled off of the bridge with a thump. Marcus looked at the hot barrel of Oliver’s pistol, hesitating, before pressing it against the wound on his back, unsuccessfully attempting to cauterize it. He screamed in agony as Oliver swerved.

“Ah! That was right in my ear!!!”

Wing Guy attempted to speak, the drool filling his mouth as his muscles spasmed. Marcus moaned in pain, as Oliver swerved to avoid pot shots. A whir grew louder overhead, as an enforcer surveillance drone was hot on their trail. Oliver’s sensitive ears rang.

“We can’t keep this up!”

“What?!”

“I said we can’t keep this up! You’ve only got less than a quarter tank left!!!” Oliver looked over at the little red icon. Since learning what ‘red’ even was thanks to the magic stone, Oliver had come to learn that red usually meant bad.

“Any ideas?!” Marcus looked at Oliver with a serious desperation.

“We can’t stay here, dude. We’re fugitives!” Marcus’ ears lowered at the thought of being wanted in his own home. Oliver noticed the Bongo the Gorilla statue in the distance. He knew roughly where he was.

“The 7550 gate!”

“Dude, are you crazy?! That’s suicide!!!”

“We’ve got to get to another dimension!!!”

“Not through a designated government gate!!! They’ll be waiting!!!”

“Any other ideas then?! We can’t stay here!!!”

Oliver squealed through the exit, blasting through a nine-way intersection, the enforcers in hot pursuit.

“We gotta go black market!!! I know a place out in Sector 4011, they might be able to help! You’ve got just enough gas!”

“Then it’s worth a shot!”

“Follow my directions!”

The heavily damaged car continued speeding along, as Marcus shouted directions amidst the engines and gunfire. A well-placed shot had taken the rest of Oliver’s back bumper off, and another left a burning hole perilously close to the gas tank. Wing Guy ducked down below the seats, avoiding shots to the back of the car. The drone followed them with laser precision. An object struck the side of the car with a thok, as a tracking device buried itself into the side of the car.

“We’ve gotta lose this drone if we have any hope of getting outta here!” Marcus yelled.

“I’m working on it!” Oliver drove on the wrong side of traffic, swerving in and out, while the drone stayed on them like white on rice. Several enforcers with jetpacks flew in and escorted the drone, firing at the car from above. The three delivery drivers turned fugitives knew they were running out of options- and time. The pointy red hand on the gas gauge drifted closer and closer to the dreaded E. Oliver’s turns were erratic and desperate, as the enforcers followed suit with acrobatic precision and an unyielding endurance. At this point, they had raised enough hell to be considered a serious threat, which meant that the enforcers weren’t holding back.

Just as Oliver began to question his luck, suddenly the wall approached faster than Oliver could react. He slammed on the brakes, bracing for impact, the occupants of the car all screaming bloody murder as the tires screeched. The rubber of the tires wore away onto the pavement, as the car slammed into the wall. Oliver saw stars as he lurched forward, as the Wing Guy grabbed the beebo by the scruff, to keep it from becoming a projectile. The car ricocheted in the other direction, spinning out and hurtling towards a building.

Oliver shook it off and scrambled to regain control, fighting desperately against the laws of physics. The brakes ground down onto the road, as he twisted the wheel with the weight of his entire body. Marcus reached over and yanked the emergency brake, as the car hurtled and skidded, stopping just short of the apartment complex. Oliver closed his eyes, bracing for certain death, but slowly opened them as he realized he was still alive.

There was no time to celebrate. He slammed the car into reverse, backing into the enforcers, who shot the back of the car to pieces as he pulled away. The car was shaky, and horribly damaged. The modified gas pedal dropped, as Oliver stretched down to reach it with his tip toes. The bruised and battered koala knew he didn’t have much longer in this thing. He considered surrendering, but he knew there was no going back. At best, they’d be locked away for a long time, in one of Mobius’ worst prisons. At worst, they’d be blown to bits on these streets, or disappear entirely. This was now a game of survival. The drone’s camera and trackers honed in on the car, analyzing its every angle, as the jetpack enforcers aimed their rifles.

BANG!!!!!

Before anyone could react, a clean, well-placed railgun’s bolt from an unknown vantage point ripped through the drone. It shook and sputtered violently, before a thunderous explosion rang out and sent the drone hurtling towards the ground below in a fiery crash, which shook the earth and sent debris and flaming fuel spraying all over the streets and through the windows of surrounding buildings, taking a large number of enforcers with it. The remaining few fell back, attempting to call in backup and contain the wreckage. A chunk of shrapnel tore through the rear passenger window and lodged itself into the glove compartment door. The driver’s side mirror was ripped off the car by the blast.

Oliver paused for a second, questioning what in the world just happened, before he stared ahead and took charge of the wheel, not dwelling on it. Marcus and the wing guy looked back, stunned, as Wing Guy let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Special delivery, assholes!”

Oliver wasted no time, following Marcus’ sporadic and conflicting directions. They eventually slipped away as they pulled onto a series of winding sidestreets. Suddenly, a familiar dinging sound came on, as the car slowed to a crawl. Oliver panicked. No no no no no!!! The three started to curse and freak out, as the last of the car’s gas sputtered out. They were sitting ducks, with a tracker deep in the aluminum of Oliver’s wrecked car. Suddenly, Oliver remembered a trick his dad showed him.

“The gas cap! Marcus, quick, unscrew the cap! It’ll buy us a few more kilometers!”

“Wha-?”

“Just trust me!”

Marcus stumbled out and quickly unscrewed the gas cap. The wing guy tried calming the beebo down and holding it down as it wriggled in a panic, its body crackling and glowing. Oliver and Wing Guy screamed, as the teenager began rubbing the spot behind its ear flaps. It hissed, slightly calming down, as it sprayed black ink all over him and the back seats.

“Come on, come on, come on… it’s okay, you’re gonna be okay, don’t kill us…” It began to calm its rapid breathing as it closed its eyes. Marcus tumbled back into the car.

“Go!!! We’re almost there!!!”

Oliver struggled to start the car, as it shakily accelerated. One of the tires was shot, as it hissed air. The metal rim ground against the ground as Oliver pulled away, before reinforcements swarmed the area, wondering just who fired that fateful shot.

The totaled car sat in the parking lot of  Grits’ Garage, deep in the slums of Sector 4011, as Marcus took the crowbar out of the trunk. They had barely made it into the parking lot. Had this place been one block further, they wouldn’t have made it. Marcus inspected the car door, finding the tiny tracker.

“Hey, how much do you care about this door?” Oliver struggled to find an answer. It was the last one that hadn’t been badly damaged, but at this point, what did that matter? Before Oliver could truly respond, Marcus buried the end of the crowbar into the side of the car, and peeled back the metal. Oliver cringed at the sight of it, as Marcus ripped out the tracker, before dropping it into a manhole. He threw the crowbar into the trunk, as he put a hand on Oliver’s shoulder.

“It’s bad enough we’re bringing a hot car in here.” Marcus was still badly injured. They all were. But Marcus was still running on adrenaline. He needed actual medical help. Oliver grabbed the first aid kit from the open trunk. Suddenly, he dropped it and ran to the mangled passenger door, before pulling the chunk of steel out of the jammed compartment door and pulling it open with all of his strength. Inside was the little, black box with his father’s ashes, which he took with him to the land of the dragons. He sighed a massive sigh of relief, as a wave of emotion hit him. He inspected over the box, noticing the large scratch on the wood. His eyes bulged, running his thumb over the scratch, before tucking it in his hoodie pocket, grabbing the kit, and running inside with Marcus and the Wing Guy.

“How did you say you knew this place?” he asked Marcus.

“Oh, me and my buddies used to sneak off to the X dimensions for a good time when we were his age.” He gestured over to Wing Guy. “Heh, I used to come home so messed up. One time I thought I could fly, rolled right off of the roof of my parents’ place and busted my wrist.”

“Ouch.”

“Dude, nice.” Wing Guy held out his fist, which Marcus bumped. “What? I’m not his mom.”

The three clambered in, with the beebo clinging to the wing guy underneath his shirt. Oliver walked up to the desk, where the terrible-looking animatronic mechanic stood at the counter.

“HELLO. WELCOME TO GRITS’ AUTO. I’M THE OWNER,… GRITS. WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE ISSUE?” Oliver looked down, trying to jog his memory.

“Er… my highlander’s been shaking a lot, I think one of the rotors is warped.” Marcus leaned in on the counter.

“Also, he’s been having issues with the driver’s side lock.” The animatronic moved back on a conveyor belt behind the desk, as the floor lowered to an underground building. A being best described as a wad of pulsating tentacles sat at the control panel, doing ten things at once, as a long eye-stalk peered over at them.

“V. Been a while.” They spoke in a garbled, unintelligible tongue, in which a voice from a mechanism on the control panel interpreted their speech.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve bringing in a hot car and a live pest here, you know.” They looked over each of them, one by one, narrowing their shifty, yellow eye as Wing Guy stepped back.

“Sorry, V. We’re in a bit of a pinch-” They spoke over Marcus, waiting for the device to interpret their speech.

“I’m aware. We get the news down here.” The machine’s tone was neutral and emotionless, though there was clear annoyance in their tone and movements. “Soon they’ll be putting out quite the reward for you.”

“Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but we have a massive situation, we caught heat, and we need to disappear and fast. Think you can help us out?” V pulled up a screen, looking over the car’s info as they pondered the situation.

“Is this the ‘highlander’ in question?”

“Yeah.” They sat, twitching a tentacle back and forth with contempt as they weighed their options. Oliver’s eyes wondered up, focusing on the automatic turret mounted on the ceiling for security purposes. He gulped, stepping back.

“I better not find a tracker or any kind of bug in there.”

“Already been taken care of.” They typed in some basic information.

“Fortunately for you, this doubles as a legitimate business practice. I can tell your car is totaled just from the camera. How you even got it here is beyond me. Thing’s a fossil as is. We’ll fix it up enough to be drivable. Key word, drivable. Not sustainable. Enough to get you to where you need to go. In the meantime, you can wait in the back.” They gestured to a safe room. Oliver’s stomach dropped, as he considered the thought of having to flee Mobius, of starting all over again when he just started his life back up.

“Thank you V.”

“I’ve got a series of destinations which are tougher to track. Buys you some time to start a new life and maybe learn to lay low for a change, unless there’s something specific you had in mind.”

Marcus thought for a minute, scratching his head as he browsed the list.

“There’s always 57O-732-”

“I’ve got an idea.” Marcus and V both turned to Oliver in anticipation. He mulled over his options briefly, before handing V a slip of paper from his pocket.

“Think you could bring us here?” V unfurled the folded up piece of paper with their tendrils and squinted at the coordinates.

“That’s a tall order.” They crunched in some numbers. Oliver knew this was their best bet of coming up with a game plan, of getting some sense of safety and calm, which Marcus and Wing Guy desperately needed. It was all Oliver could think of. “I think I can work with this. So one way, four occupants counting the beebo as an occupant-”

“I mean, I wouldn’t consid-”

“Counting the beebo as an occupant, to these coordinates plus basic service to make the car temporarily functional. That’ll be 30,000 Mocred, cash.”

Oliver’s eyes watered. That was nearly four grand in Aussie dollars. Marcus looked shocked.

“I’ve added an additional fee since I’m harboring fugitives and dealing with such a hot vehicle.” Marcus’ ears lowered.

“Dude, we don’t have thirty thousand MoCred.”

“You’re clearly in a desperate situation, just by looking at you. You’ll find a way to get the thirty thousand. If not, then best of luck to you all.” Marcus looked at Oliver, growling to himself as they called Wing Guy over. After much deliberation, the three reached an agreement. Oliver sold what was left of his car to V for scrap value, and the three chipped in a pretty penny to cover the remainder of the cost. It was more than they had room to spend, but it was a matter of survival. V collected the cash and the car, and got to work.

Oliver sat in the safe room, pouring alcohol on Marcus’ wounds as he stitched them up. It was a temporary fix, until they could get access to proper care. The wing guy still looked like he was on death’s door, and Oliver was banged up pretty bad. His arm and side began to ache horribly, and he felt nauseous and fuzzy. He wondered if the crash had given him a concussion. It was nothing short of a miracle that they were all alive right now.

“So wait, why are they still working on the car if they’re selling it for scrap?”

“We need a vessel, just like normal gate travel. If you tried to go in without a car or something to protect you, you’d get disintegrated or mutated into a horrifying abomination.”

“Oh.” Oliver’s stomach dropped. The bandaged-up panda chuckled to himself.

“Dude, how many felonies did we just commit?” Marcus started counting to himself, as the wing guy sat in the chair, malnourished and filthy. He gently took the beebo out of his shirt. A brief silence loomed over the room, filled by the wing guy.

“I still can’t believe you guys busted me out like that, that was really cool.” His face was worn and aloof, but his eyes shone with gratitude. The situation had started to dawn on them as they finally had a moment to collect themselves.

“Yeah, you want to tell us what all that was about?” Marcus asked the human. Wing Guy mumbled, looking around. Oliver looked at the Wing Guy.

“Do you happen to know anything about the enforcers, or those atraxxan fellows?” The wing guy looked over his shoulder.

“I can’t say.” Marcus scoffed.

“You don’t think we deserve to know what’s really going on here, considering our entire lives are now ruined?!” Oliver looked at the wing guy intently.

“You can tell us, mate. What’s going on?” The wing guy leaned in, lowering his voice.

“Fine. If you must know, I stumbled upon something I shouldn’t know and I’m in too deep.” Before Oliver or Marcus could ask for more details, the wing guy began talking a mile a minute.

“It’s all a conspiracy. Those spider-looking guys were working with the enforcers as an underground network of hunters, in exchange for funding and protection to their underground pizza-smuggling ring. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s all true. Their homeworld was destroyed, and they spared the strongest and let them operate as trackers for the High Council. You have to believe me, dude!”

On any other day, this would have sounded crazy, like he was some sort of unhinged red-piller who’d gotten himself too deep in a swamp of conspiracy theories, but after what they had witnessed, and knowing what happened to Dimension 44M-470λ, there was an undeniable plausibility to his words. This was more than Oliver had ever heard him speak. His usually deadpan face was wrought with fear, as Oliver and Marcus simply saw a scared kid in front of them.

“Wait, hang on,” Marcus cut in. “You’re saying the Mobian High Council had an entire universe destroyed?” Wing Guy looked down, gripped with his sickening nerves.

“It’s not just that one… Do you even know how Nth dimensional crystals are made? How a hub like Mobius is even powered?” Oliver and Marcus blinked.

“By drawing power from the Nth dimension through technology and magic-”

“No, you idiot! There is no Nth dimension! It takes the power of entire universes to power a hub world as advanced as this. Mobius’ energy committees draw energy from the fabrics of select universes it can access through ancient cosmic tech. Those universes eventually die off and collapse in on themselves, as the energy is used to access gates to other worlds. Hundreds of universes are destroyed to sustain hundreds of thousands!”

“How did you find all of this out?” Oliver asked.

“I was searching for that video with the Lord Uberkill guy, who turned out to be another you.” Marcus flinched, as Oliver dabbed his wounds with more alcohol.

“Sorry mate.” The wing guy continued.

“It turns out his world was destroyed too, to power Mobius. The Uberkill Gang was on a mission to destroy Mobius from the inside, to avenge his world and stop the cycle.” Marcus looked taken aback. The wing guy looked straight at him. “Tell me, you would’ve done the same thing if Mobius were destroyed, wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t kill innocents, dude. All these people here are just trying to live their lives, but that’s neither here nor there!” Doubt flashed in his eyes, as the wing guy’s words cut through him. Neither of them wanted to believe anything he was saying. Oliver was horrified. So many universes, filled with all sorts of life, billions of years of evolution, seemingly endless, rolling landscapes, people just like him… wiped from existence. All of it to power a hub which was really just a blip along a sea of infinity.

“I’m going to be sick… mate we’ve got to spread the word!”

“No! We’ve gotta get outta here! This is bigger than you, dude! Bigger than me, or anyone!” Marcus sat silently. Oliver couldn’t help but feel powerless. He knew deep down this kid was right. The wing guy’s face fell into a familiar, distant scowl. “This place is crap. It always has been. I was, I don’t know, trying not to get you two roped into this, but now you are, and if we stick around here, we’re dead. We’re not wanted here, anyway, so I say good riddance.”

As Oliver and Marcus sat silently, with Oliver trying to protest but not finding the words, the buzzer on the door sounded. The three unlocked the waiting room door and headed back to V’s control panel. They handed Oliver back his Queensland license plates and registration, as they babbled into the interpreter.

“The car’s ready to go. I just gotta finish programming the gate. You sure this is the place?”

“Positive,” Oliver replied. They finish crunching in the numbers.

“Okay, just as a heads-up, you’re using far less stable tech to access an unsanctioned wormhole to this dimension. Obviously there’s risks of complications. There’s about a 2% chance that something goes wrong, and your vessel is stranded outside of reality in an endless void, or you’re all reduced to molecules, et cetera. In a clunker like this, I’d increase those odds to 9 or 10 percent. I’d say don’t come crying to me if that happens, but odds are you’d all have died horribly, so…” Oliver felt his anxiety spike, but it wasn’t like they had a choice. “Anyways, we’ll drive the car in, drop you off at the gate, we turn the car around and head back. Act natural. Don’t do anything dumb. We never met. Got it?” Oliver and Marcus nodded, as the kid waited on his phone.

“Thanks for driving us in despite the odds, V. I really appreciate it.” Oliver smiled, as they let out a bizarre sound, almost akin to a laugh.

“Oh, I’m not driving you. I’m not stupid, nor am I desperate. Your driver’s waiting in the car.” Marcus reached out to shake V’s tendril.

“Alright, V. Pleasure doing business with you.” They wrapped their shimmery, almost metallic, green tentacle around Marcus’ hand. They pressed a button as the ceiling opened up, raising them back to the garage front. They walked out back and saw a familiar, shoddy-looking animatronic standing there.

“HELLO, IT’S ME, GRITS OF GRITS’ AUTO. READY TO GO?” All three gulped, as Marcus leaned over to the others.

“Welp, we’re dead.”

The car sputtered and rolled forward into the shaking, red portal. Oliver shook in his seat, gripping the box in his pocket. The wing guy reached under his shirt, petting the fluffy beebo. Marcus looked in the rear-view mirror, at the home he was leaving behind. His ears lowered. A sense of finality washed over him. The car rolled through the crackling gate, as all of the occupants closed their eyes and held their breath. As they slowly opened them up and took a breath, the sunlight poured into the car through the windows. They got out, as the car turned around and drove back through the gate terminal. Crowds of people of all walks of life walked through around them, as a line of vehicles slowly exited the portal, one by one. Marcus and the wing guy looked around, still battered and frail.

“Woah, it’s like a time capsule. Where are we, dude?” Oliver’s mouth curled into a faint smile.

“Sydney.”