1:2:4 Underground (Part 2)

Lore awoke, gasping for air, terrified for a brief moment. They jumped from the bed, ripping the duvet from around Char exposing her to the cold of the room. Lore was feeling it too as the cover had come from around them and landed at their feet. They stood, poised and ready for an attack that would never come. They blinked deeply as they finally, properly, woke up.
“Morning.” Char smiled before checking her wrist. “Definitely good morning.”
Lore had calmed down slightly but their breathing was still faster than usual. “Morning.” They forced themselves to slow down.
“Tolan’s in the other room. They came in to check on us about ten minutes ago. How’s the head?”
Lore massaged their temple. There was no reason for it apart from them thinking it may help them think. “Better. Still feel a little shaky but better.” Lore looked to their Breacher. “We should get dressed, Undulia gave us twenty six hours and we’ve just spent seven of them sleeping.” Lore bent down and threw Char’s clothes onto the bed before beginning to dress themselves.
Char watched them for a moment as they pulled their trousers up. She knew about Lore before they knew about themselves and she always had an image of them in the back of her mind but the person before her, they were nothing like that image. The reality was better than the memories. She couldn’t stop herself smiling. “You do realise it’s three in the morning?”
“Tolan seems to know the importance of our mission if they were here before we woke up.” Lore shot a worried glance. “I don’t know what Undulia’s going to do to this place if we don’t get her something before our time’s up.”
“Come on then.” Char wrenched her shirt over her head.

They peered their head into the main office to find Tolan in conversation with Destiny. “So, how much do they know?”
“Not a lot.” She shook her head. “They managed to bluff their way past Undulia based off of a skimmed memory from just before the war but apart from that, nothing.”
“The war?” Tolan looked up from their desk.
Destiny shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, it’s happened now.”
Lore entered the room. “Sorry to disappoint. It’s just that Illia sounded like an easier starting point than the other planets.”
“Don’t be.” Tolan’s voice was warm. “To be honest, you might have chosen the best planet to start with anyway. I’ve got something I’m supposed to give you. Should be here soon.” Tolan smiled. “Oh, before I forget. Try these on.” They handed Lore a pair of glasses. They had a thick black frame with a slight, finger-tip sized recess by the hinges.
Lore donned the frames. The world cleared up its act. Things in the distance that had once been difficult to focus on became clear. “Thanks.”
“Well, there’s more to them than that.” Tolan went to grab Lore’s wrist was denied. “Press and hold your Breacher’s activation key until you see the rotating arrow.” Lore did as instructed. “Now tap your glasses here.” They mimed the action where their glasses would have been if they wore them.
A double tap spread a blue light across both lenses before a heads up display came into focus. “Wow.” Lore scanned their eyes across the lenses to see what information they had access to. “Compass and a square?”
“That square is a map of the local area. I’ll get you our map of The Conglomeration so it’s up to date for you but most of the time, the mapping is done automatically.” Tolan chuckled. “Helps if you ever forget where you’re parked too.”
“Thank you.”

Char joined them, making the small office feel even smaller. “Morning.” Her greeting travelled around the room like a boomerang.
“Right then, since you’re both here, I’ve got a bit of housekeeping to do.” Tolan span on their stool and retrieved a tablet from their desk. It was almost exactly the same as the one in Destiny’s hand. “Lore’s asked me to ask you a few quick questions before sending you on so…” They waited in silence for the tablet to turn on. “Ok.” The screen illuminated revealing a familiar interface. “Question one: Have either of you experienced any strange temporal anomalies outside of Breacher travel? Have you encountered any other Lores or Chars?”
Char shook her head but Lore had to think about that. “They shrugged. “When we were on the station, I was seeing double but not… it’s hard to explain.”
“I’ll mark that as a yes. They never put maybe on these things.”
“Question two: Are you both wearing your rings?” Tolan looked at their hands. “Yes. And last question: Have either of you ever heard of the Reaper?” Nothing. Tolan smiled. “Good.”
“Hang on, the tablet mentioned an amulet of the Reaper?” Lore started. “Any relation?”
Tolan gave back a confused and worried expression. “Not to my knowledge.” They thought they better investigate more thoroughly. “How about the angel of time?”
“It rings a bell.” They thought for a moment before rifling through their bag. “There it is.” They removed the book. “Angel of time!”
“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’ve not read any of it…” Tolan looked through the notes on their tablet. They located the correct contingency and opened it.
“When have we had time?” Char and Lore spoke together.
“You’re time travellers. Time is not an object.” Tolan pointed to Lore’s Breacher. “I assume it works?”
“Well, yes but…” They seemed embarrassed. “We are still working out who we are…” Lore looked to Char for support. They should have thought of that.
“Fine, I’ll give you the basics. The Reaper was an important figure in the nomadic Quatarrian culture. The nomads called them the Weilyter, The Beholder. Their myths believe that The Reaper has been or will be present at every important event in history. They believe that they were watching over as the three year month progressed.”
“I’m sure we would have noticed an angel of time… Unless they can turn invisible?” Char snarked.
“I wouldn’t be so sure. The legends say that The Reaper isn’t always active. It says that The Reaper could be present, watching, without anyone being aware, and that The Reaper could be anyone but that person or people would only know as they would always find themselves drawn to the heart of coincidence.” Lore and Char looked to them confused. “Bad things would constantly happen around them.”
“I assume this Reaper has some sort of power. If a person found themselves always in trouble, how would they activate them?” Lore had opened the book and was flicking through it, stopping to look at the pictures.
“There are always two. Sometimes three, sometimes more, but there are always at least two. The person in our hypothetical universe would have to find their pair.” Tolan stopped.
“And… Then?” Char gestured for them to continue.
“They would need to share a bond…” Tolan looked distracted. “Excuse me.” They walked hurriedly towards their desk. They pushed aside a pile of books and tapped at the monitor of a hidden terminal. They checked their watch. “Early. They must have gotten Magpie under control.”
“I’m sorry?” Char tried to get Lore’s attention but they were too engrossed with their book.
“Come with me. I’ll show you why you’re here.” Tolan made their way to the door.
“Wait… You have the sword?” Lore returned the book to their bag.
“No.” Tolan looked as though Lore had randomly burst into song. “What sword?” They shook their head. “Come with me. You’ll like this.”

They led them to the main area of The Conglomeration and down the spiral walkway three levels. They were closer to the bottom but it was still not visible in the darkness. Unlike Celreagaire, the streets were bustling and full of the natives. They were hulking beings with coarse white fur covering them from head to toe. They looked almost like polar bears, being nearly the same size too, walking exclusively on their hind legs but with faces closer to a distant ancestor of humanity; the fur thinned around their faces with leathery peach skin peeking through. Recessed under a deep brow, cyan blue eyes; their eyes were entirely blue save their massive, black pupils floating across them, allowing them to see even in the darkest parts of The Conglomeration. They passed closely by a couple who were carrying a coffin sized container between them. Tolan nodded their head as they passed before gesturing to Lore to turn down one of the many side streets that had started to appear as they progressed deeper down the spiral section of the main chamber. The opening to the side road was significantly slimmer than the ramp. This area was populated entirely by humans who flinched or fled as Lore’s party walked towards them.
“Most of them are political ‘prisoners’, forced to live here because they’re different or because Undulia didn’t like them. There are over a hundred and seventy humans living here.”
“That’s awful.” Char watched as another couple ducked into a doorway to avoid her.
“We’re in here.” Tolan unlocked a door and held it open for Lore. There was a green plus by the door made up of the word doctor written in every human language. Apprehensively, Lore entered the room; something worried them.