If at First

It was raining. Minutes ago, the sky had been perfectly clear, the sun in the sky, but then Reality came and created a cloud and that cloud had decided now was the perfect time to relieve itself. Defeat was often odourless but on that day, it had a twinge of petrichor.
Time returned. It let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry.” It started. “I thought I had told you.”
Piper was going to say something but they had become enamoured by the figure they had slumped next to. A vision of beauty, embodying the exact purity she represented. Brian rose from between the two and the moment was lost.
“My cousins weren’t too keen on fighting after I found their dad’s endgame. So they were going to throw the fight. We win, very nice, thank you. He goes home empty handed and we save reality.” Time paced anxiously. “We have to win next time. And they can’t pretend like that. I told them that they only had one strong actor, the rest needed work but they wouldn’t listen. They let her lead at least but still.”
“Slow down.” Lore grumbled to their feet. “What’s this about an endgame?”
“My Uncle has taken to chasing legends. He believes that outside of our reality, is another reality. Only he’s not powerful enough to ‘break the barrier’ if one even exists. The walls of reality are at their thinnest at the centre, so he was going to combine his own power with my father’s to hopefully prove his theory.”
“So what if he’s right?” Char reached for Lore’s hand.
“If he’s right then it changes everything for them. They’ve been told that their mother created their reality, fifty two perfect multiverses for her fifty two sons to shape and rule, no more, no less. If he’s right, it means chaos.”
Lore slowly nodded their head in understanding. As they raised their head one final time, they caught a glimpse of the spot where they stood while they ‘resurrected’ their army. A faint shimmer clung in the air, like rising heat, seeing it ignited Lore’s arm. “What does your theory say lies outside of our reality then?”
Time shrugged. “More of the same. Between each universe is an endless and lifeless expanse called the void. Outside of reality would just be void.”
“My rift scar, it leads to the void doesn’t it?” Cogs were turning in Lore’s head.
“Yeah…” Time wasn’t quite sure where this was going for once.
“I spent ten years studying reality. Gathered readings with no understanding of what they meant. Now I think I have an idea.” Lore stepped over Piper to get closer to the spot. “The void isn’t completely empty. Well, it is but it isn’t. Contained within the void is the run off of reality.” Lore scanned the fracture. “Fantastic.”
“What?” Time’s patience was wearing thin.
“The rift if bristling with energy. Dark matter from every reality. The shells of each universe maintain a constant equilibrium so that there is enough dark matter to stop them from falling into the void…” They paused. “Your uncle’s right.”
“Sorry what?” Time wasn’t the only one confused. “Try again.”
“Why would the rift need dark matter? It makes sense that it’s present within the universes to maintain their outer shells but, if the void is endless, why does it need dark matter? You see reality like bubbles in water but in actuality, it’s more like Russian nesting dolls.”
Time hadn’t considered that. Neither had Lore initially. It was Piper who had first gave them the idea.
As a baby, Piper would always talk in his sleep. To most parents this would be a cute if not minor inconvenience on their way to a good night’s sleep but with a child who could see the future, it was often a little more than mere babbling. His first words were the usual mother and Lore but after that, his vocabulary blossomed. There was little time to enjoy this as in his sleep he spoke of the horrors of his future and Lore’s. At nearly a year and a half, he started rambling about reality. At seven, he hit his major breakthrough; with the authoritative tone of a middle aged physics professor, he began talking about a region of space that was empty but not quite. It was then that Lore began to consider the multiversal theory. It was akin to them discovering water displacement or putting pen to paper regarding gravity. Using his ramblings, Lore constructed a small device that could pierce the veils of the universe. And they did. Manipulating dark matter, they tore a pinhole in the universe. Like a chip on the window screen, they knew that something larger would happen if they didn’t turn back. Nine years but they had an idea as to how to save their allies.
Back in the present, Lore finally realised that it was their words that had inspired them. And that realisation had done it again.
“I know exactly what we need.” They took a quick head count. “That was pointless.” They said to themselves. Char was looking increasingly worried. “How many clones did you say we could handle each?”
“Fifty two. Why?”
“We’re going to give your uncle exactly what he needs. Fifty two, times one, two, three…” They counted on their fingers. “Ten.” They smiled at Char. “We’re going to need a few more clones.”
Piper jumped to his feet. He extended his arm towards an equally eager Varkral. “I know exactly where we need to be then.”
Time held its hands up in defeat. “Fair’s fair but I hate being kept out of the loop.”
“We’re going to prove your uncle right. Tell your cousins that when we next meet, they need to hold hands and join the circle.” Lore winked as they made their way to Varkral. “Who’s your source?”
“Count again.” He smiled. Piper joined in. Then they too cottoned on.
“You’ll know her when you see her.” Varkral gave a knowing grin much to Piper’s annoyance. It wasn’t nice being on the receiving end.
“That makes eleven.” Lore grinned. “What makes you think she could do it?”
“She’s broken the multiversal barrier. Not enough to get herself through but enough to get messages out. She can help us.”
Lore nodded. “See Time, hope.” And with that, and a purple flash, they were gone. A Superior Intelligence.