#111

Susie scratches the area around her eyes as she sits at Madame Levingt's table. Just days ago, You had sat here, eating German food prepared from Klaus. Doctor Kai does the cooking now, and his food, at least in this personality, isn't very good. But it's better than nothing. It's been long since the group has had food and sleep.

You himself is in another room. Madame Levingt is working on his cybernetics without Doctor Kai's consent. Klaus is with her, watching intently.

“You're wondering what I'm doing to him,” she says. To this, he nods. “I'm working some magic on his armor. Trying to boost it up. I can turn the battery on his back into a fuel collector, rather than just a fuel source. He'll draw ambient energy from The Cascade itself. Next, he needs patching up for once this is over. I'm making the plates regenerate his injuries...”

Klaus says nothing, too consumed with too many worries. But he stomachs these easily, as is his nature. He's seen worse days, and You has too. Being maimed and soulless isn't going to keep this boy down for long.

“I'm also going to bump his ignition abilities. When the battle comes, he—and we—are gonna need 'em. Plus, I'm incorporating this...” And she holds up the flash drive. “...into his chassis. In essence, he'll become the Imperial network. He'll be able to interface with any computer at a distance, almost telepathically.

“When I'm done, I figure I probably should tell the others that that battle is on the way.”

Once more, he is silent. And You is, too.

Eventually the trio does walk out. Kai was using his cooking as a focus to reach out and touch the minds of his brothers. He senses Lord Kletus (the third Lord of the family, after Lords Klaarghus and Kai—the Emperor, that is, via one of the many lame Imperial titles) wander from the Old Man's encampment out somewhere in Britain. He is confused and has only partially regained his humanity after long treatment. But the Inspector is waiting for him. He had ignored the distress cry to hunt his prey instead, and now he smells the blood of the Son whose engine had broken apart the walls between these universes to begin with, freeing ancestral demons. Within seconds, he is gone, and the circuit is now very close to completion.

But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, Kai realizes, even as he sweats in what must be the heat of the stove, and not the coming shadow of the Old Man. The Inspector will feed for some time in Scotland. Perhaps he won't be involved in the attack. Even the combined forces of The House and You's new body would be taxed taking down the Inspector. He doesn't know to what degree, or in what aspect, Mary will fight. Her range is infinite, but he never doubts her powers. She only shirks her duty when destiny prescribes it; and even then, she has a form or three that can change the spin of fate.

Mary clears her throat, and everyone turns to look at her.

“The Empire will be coming to New Cenabum to look for You,” she says. “The Emperor intends on capturing his son, his wife, and your father, Susie, and so he'll be leading the forces moving in this area. Perhaps not personally, but there will be a strike in this area.

“None of you have to fight if you don't want to. You—him—and I will lead the battle. As you know from the incident in the Red Tower, You is now very, very powerful—and I have some skill myself. But like I said, you can stay here—this shop will be protected, and so you won't risk anything by staying here.”

Jacob stands up immediately. “I'll fight.”

Mina nods to this too.

Susie also stands up and grasps Jacob's shoulder. “I've got almost nothing left now, except my friends,” she says. “If they're going, I'm going too. Even if some of them...aren't the same.”

Mark pauses for a second before he briefly waves his hand in affirmation.

Doctor Kai looks at them all, and then looks at You. He says nothing, and even to this narrative his feelings remain a guarded mystery.

“What time can we plan on the assault?” Mark says.

“Anytime,” she replies. “The Empire can move about as fast as they wish, though I doubt their portal network works after they destroyed the two other universes. Our universe is currently cut off from the rest of existence.”

Jacob and Mina have only allowed her to finish that sentence because they're shocked. “Destroyed the two other universes?!” they shout in unison.

Mary gazes at them in shock. “I assumed you knew!”

“We knew the Earth had been destroyed,” Jacob says.

“...and everyone on it,” Mina adds. She stifles thoughts of other loved ones that she doubtlessly had; and Jacob does the same.

“In your universe, the Earth was a keystone. With it gone, the universe was much more unstable. It still had a few billion years remaining in its lifespan, of course—but otherwise, a direct strike could have broken it apart...”

Jacob slumps back in his chair. The thought of being one of two survivors of an entire planet was weird enough. This is different.

Mina sighs. “I suppose it doesn't matter much,” she says. “Once the Earth was gone, our entire world was already lost.”

“It matters more than you know, though. We have reason to believe that the energies from Universes Beta-2 and Beta-4 are being siphoned, to be turned into raw fuel power. Probably to serve Inspector Fox. After this battle—if we make it through, which I have good reason to believe we will—we have to find and destroy the collection device. We cannot allow either Fox—or, in an unlikely scenario given the circumstances, the Emperor—to become stronger.”

“There are more universes out there, though, right?” Susie asks. “We're not the last one! There's got to be an Earth-Beta-1 out there somewhere. And probably an Earth-Alpha, I'd figure.”

Mary grins. “That's true. However, Earth-Alpha and Earth-Beta only come into all this if we lose. Universes Beta-2 through Beta-4 were, by the nature of their creation, severed from the rest of the Multiverse. Earth-Beta-2's Ultra devices, maybe, could have allowed us to get to Earth-Beta—as risky as that is, given what's happened there—and from there, to the rest of the Multiverse. But that's no longer possible, for now. When this is all over we can gain access to the other Earths for whatever purpose, but there's no time right now to reestablish contact.”

“What would even be the point of leaving our—micro-Multiverse?” Mark asks skeptically.

“Speaking very informally, we call the system of three universes that we're presently in a Cascade. Doctor Kai and I have good reason for leaving the Cascade, and that's to investigate the Syzygy that created these Cascade universes to begin with.”

“A Syzygy?” Mark raises his eyebrow. “What's tha...”

The room suddenly shakes. Mary's eyes are not scared, but flash with urgency. “They're here. If you're going to fight, you must go now. I'll be with you.”

Everyone seizes their respective weapons, which had been recovered from the Red Tower, and begins to head out. However, Mina pauses for a minute as she sees something.

“Hey, Levingt?” she asks. “How are the dual revolvers here? I was hanging onto them when I...died.”

“They're magic,” the hairdresser replies. “Also come back to you. Like boomerangs. Still, they must have...imprinted on you? Normally they'd appear back to Kai, but instead they've found you.”

Mina loves this concept at once as she takes them. She quickly joins her friends in the street, followed closely by You.

Instantly, the light drops to red, and the smell of the air is that of ash. The Empire isn't losing any time. But then again, neither are they.