Ascension (rough draft)

14. Two of Seven

Bright Defender didn't waste a second as it poked its head up from where it was sleeping on the hill, looking directly at me, then at everyone else, then at the items on the ground.

"It is Zyx. Well, two pieces of it anyways," Bright Defender informed us.

"Two of seven!" I exclaimed, "How are we supposed to find the rest?!"

"Well, we know two are with the Sarim and that one is in a 'place we cannot reach'," Supernova said knowingly. "Remember what the Oracle told us?"

"Yeah," I responded. "But there are still two far out there in the depths of the Universe! And one of them we can't even get!"

"Well, yes, but it's a start, Relativity. We have two, and we know the locations of two - technically three - more."

"Whatever. It's a big Universe, that's all I'm saying." I turned to Bright Defender. "So how do we put it together?"

"How should I know? I was asked to guard it, not build it. You figure it out, because we're done here," it remarked, and with that statement, launched into the air with the other two at its tail. I stood there, dumbstruck.

"Well that was helpful," Quasar said sarcastically as he watched the Wyrms fly off.

"They were stupid anyways," I concluded, trying to take down the wall of irritation rising around him.

"Guess you're right. But what now? Seriously?"

"Well, they said it was fractured into pieces..." I looked over at the two shining objects. "They must connect together in some way."

"Good idea, but how?" Supernova pointed out, and I shrugged.

"I don't know, but we can try..?" I suggested, picking up the bracelet from the ground. It wasn't very heavy, despite its size, and bent fairly easily, though it was very thick and tough looking. The rings hanging off one end were no indication of how to work it, and the thick, pale, spiraling designs all around the cuff had no purpose. I placed the bracelet on, the rings dangling over my elbow, and stuck the wings on top, balancing them precariously on my arm. As soon as they hit it, though, they folded, pointing towards the rings.

"Did you-" With a clang, Quasar was interrupted by the sound of metal hitting the ground. "-do it?" He finished half-heartedly. I sighed, because all of these puzzles were ruining my working brain cells.

"Your turn," I said, passing it over to him.

Nothing worked. Once again, it was all a waste of time. 

"WHY WON'T THIS STUPID BRACELET STAY IN ONE SPOOOOT!" Lysha shouted as she attempted to jam the wings into the cuff. As I watched, the bracelet seemed to slide away, never allowing the wings to scratch or bend while Lysha worked them inside. "GAH!" She yelled, tossing the pieces to Supernova, who stared at it, puzzled.

"We've tried wearing it, we've tried throwing it, we've tried lighting it on fire- What could we have possibly missed! I feel like the answer is going to be incredibly simply and make us all feel incredibly stupid. What are we missing!" Supernova shouted at it, throwing them to Quasar.

"I'm not going to figure this out! You knew that the moment I suggested we spit on it and attach it to the tree!" He cried at her. "You think my ideas are going to work?" Quasar threw it to me next, and I didn't even bother to catch it.

"Just because I opened the sphere doesn't mean I can put together a bracelet and a pair of wings!" I screeched at him, and he put up his hands in mock surrender. 

"I'm just saying! You're good at these puzzle type things so... I don't know!"

"This is not a puzzle! It is literally a couple of chunks of metal trying to look like a magical artifact that is partially in possession of one of the most powerful races in the Universe! And, to top it all off, we are a bunch of crazy people, one of whom is a cyborg, another a human, another a Time Lady, and one more a crazy guy who walks around in people's heads!" I was breathing hard now, and raised my hands as if to ask 'anything I missed?'