The Nibiru Effect

Memory 77

Arko is dead. I stare at his body for the longest time before accepting the fact that he's not coming back. Jonn and Kara seem equally stunned. He may have betrayed them, but he was only doing what he thought was right. Not to mention the fact that he was a close relative. He was an uncle. A brother-in-law. A friend. But now he's none of those things. He's dead.

It takes a while, but Jonn finally explodes.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he bellows.

He yanks his knife from its sheath and, ignoring the spears that stand between him and his target, lunges forward. Spearheads whistle through the air, but Jonn skillfully dodges them. He takes one step after another, each one bringing him closer to the object of his wrath.

Avalon isn't afraid. She stands her ground, an amused smile curling her lips.

An arkane steps between Jonn and receives a powerful right hook for his troubles.

Jonn takes another step. Two more and he will reach Avalon.

Another arkane intervenes but gets taken down by a well-placed kick to the privates.

The grey-haired soldier takes yet another stride. One more and he will be within striking distance of Avalon. He's just about to close the gap when three arkanes jump him.

Jonn dispatches one of his attackers with a well-placed jab of his knife, but the other two quickly overpower him. Within seconds, he's being forced to the ground. Moments later, no less than seven arkanes are upon him. In seconds, he's been disarmed and bound.

"That's better," says Avalon as Jonn is pulled to his feet and shoved back into the circle of spears where Kara and I remain captive. "Now let's talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," growls Jonn.

"Are you sure?" she teases. "I'm willing to answer any question you may have."

Jonn is too proud to ask the question that's on all of our minds, but his daughter isn't.

"Why did you kill him?" asks Kara. She's crying, but I see no tears. Arko may have betrayed her, but she still cared for him.

"He served his purpose," says Avalon with a nonchalant shrug. "Also, he was beginning to think too highly of himself. I couldn't let his inflated ego stand in the way of my plans."

"You didn't have to kill him," growls Jonn.

"What else could I have done?" asks Avalon. "Told him to go home? Come now, we both know death was the only option. And, once I fix the past, he will come back to life, along with everyone else."

"I suppose you plan on killing us too," says Jonn.

Avalon nods. "Of course. Why else would I have gone through the trouble of luring you here?"

"Let's get it over with," says Jonn. "There's no point in delaying the inevitable."

Avalon chuckles.

"Where's the fun in that?" she coos. "I've been looking forward to this moment for a very long time, and I'm going to enjoy every sweet second of it."

Avalon's motives are pure, yet her good intentions must have gotten skewed somewhere along the way because she now acts like a complete maniac. She isn't doing all this out of mere righteousness. She's enjoying it.

Jonn's desire to move things along is admirable albeit foolish. We've come too far to give up. Not only did we succeed in completing our original objective—locating Avalon—but there may yet be a chance for us to escape. Avalon's time travel ring is within reaching distance. With a little time and a whole lot of luck, there's a chance we can steal it and escape this time. The thought of abandoning the korrigans and arkanes fills me with guilt, but their fate will be sealed if my friends and I perish. If we survive, there's still a chance—a small one—we can help them.