Flipside

Part 4, Part 2

"I'm so tired..." Groaned Pepper.

"Why the hell are you tired now? It's three in the afternoon!" Mallory asked.

"We stayed up all night running from people with black blood!" Gemma screeched.

"Followers?" Sasha gasped. "What are they doing at the plane of duty? How did they get there?"

"Maybe they came through the pool, like we did." Marsha shrugged.

"You..." Charles whispered. "You goddamn idiot! You created a paradox!"

"I did?"

"As if there's someone else with your super-rare power nearby. Of course you did!" He shouted.

"Calm down, even if she did make a paradox, why is that so bad?" Gemma questioned.

"You've screwed us all, Marsha! Now I'm forced to work with you to close the gap for the sake of the world and my pride!" He groaned.

"Relax. Maybe this will count as retribution enough to be a member of society again!" Mallory laughed.

"You can't kill a reaper, and you think you can save the world?" Charles glared at her.

"Charles, calm down please. We'll fix this-" Gregory started.

"How? How the hell can we fix this?" He laughed in a hopeless way.

"In my history books, then it states that the Empress of the Sea said-" everyone groaned, but Gregory continued. "Said that she wished better luck next time on Andreas, while not believing he would ever be free to move again. Therefore, I believe she was referencing his only remaining relative- you! It is your destiny to save the world from its own destruction. It is your destiny to finish what your guardian started!" He announced dramatically.

"You can't believe that I can actually-" Charles started yelling again, and Gregory reached behind his ears. "Damn you, Gregory." He purred.

Literally.

We've gone over this before.

"Who's Andreas?" Dante asked.

"You don't know of Andreas Johnson? Why, he's only the greatest leader and revolutionist to ever live!" Gregory turned to him excitedly.

"He isn't really. Gregory just likes him because he raised us as kids." Charles said between affectionate rumbles.

"Me and Charles are what are called Hybrids, a combination of humans and animals." Gregory began.

"Wait, how does that work?" Gemma butted in.

"It has been a while since I've read about the Plane of Duty, but I think I remember that you guys reproduce differently. We, at the Plane of Magic-"

"I don't need to hear about this." Pepper interrupted.

"Right. Sorry. Either way, the humans and the Hybrids were at war because the Hybrids were mutants. When he was only in grade two, a then-normal boy named Andreas Johnson met Louise. Louise was soon taken away by the humans. So Andreas decided to change things. He started a revolution, and eventually won, at the price of the love of his life and his freedom." Gregory sighed.

"It wasn't actually very cool." Sasha whispered.

"I'm going to bed. G'night." Pepper yawned, flopping onto the prickly grass. She was soon joined by everyone else.

***

"AARON, HURRY THE HELL UP OR I'M LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!" Mina screamed.

"I'm coming, but they have these cool hats-" Aaron called back.

"That's it. Goodbye." Mina pushed the switch forward and the airship took off.

"Is he coming?" Genevieve asked, turning to Jaden

"Yep." Jaden laughed. Mina pulled down her goggles and looked down to see Aaron with his wings spread, flying towards the airship. He quickly flopped down at Genevieve's feet and tucked his wings behind him.

"That's sort of dangerous. I don't care if you're a flier. It'd be annoying if you got injured so bad that you could die again, if you could die in the Plane of Death." She said, offering a hand to help him up.

"I've been doing it for one hundred and sixteen years, Gen. If it was that dangerous I'd have died by now." Aaron paused. "Just because you're Miss Paradox 1918 doesn't mean you know everything."

"Even Jaden is happier than you, and he's still sulking over his girlfriend." Mina countered.

"Let's split up you and your soulmate for a hundred years and see how you feel." He snapped.

"Wait. A hundred years since we had our whole paradox adventure thing?" Mina became serious for a moment.

"Yeah." Jaden nodded.

"That means that it's restarted. There's a new group of people who need to use their powers to stop whatever's going on there." She muttered. "Any idea who it could be?" They all turned to Genevieve, as she had travelled back in time to join them. It was an accident with her paradox powers, after she freaked out when she lost her vision.

"I don't know, my little sister?" She joked, smoothing her magenta dress with the paradox symbol on it.

"Don't joke around, Gen. That could be who it is." Aaron sighed.

"One second. Give me a name and physical description." Mina said, putting her fingers together to form a circle. The orange Sight insignia on her tank top began glowing as she prepared her powers.

"Um, Marsha Salamanca Smith. She has auburn hair, green eyes, a long nec-" Genevieve started.

"Shut up. I see her." Mina closed one eye and stared into the hole between her hands. "She's in the Plane of Magic with some other kids. She hasn't passed the Trials yet."

"What are the trials again?" Jaden asked.

"God, Jaden, you're so forgetful." Eric facepalmed, appearing from the hatch that lead to the mechanics of the airship, covered in motor oil as usual. "The Trials are a thing you do only in the Plane of Magic. You have to navigate a maze with some sort of temporary disability, and when you're done with that, you go through Transition Pain and your clothes change to the colour of your power, along with that power's symbol. That's why your shirt is teal with a Rejuvenation symbol on it."

"Shut up, Eric!" Genevieve hissed.

"Why?" He asked. Genevieve glared in his direction. The Trials were so traumatizing for Jaden that they wiped it from his brain. However, the procedure had a small impact- Jaden was now forgetful, with a permanently damaged mind.

But didn't they all?