The Horse’s Mouth

Banged and bleeding. The EMT’s were as delicate as they could be but it still hurt. The wound was unlike almost anything they had ever felt and being unable to express their discomfort only made it worse. Lore was riding a gurney around the hospital as visitors, patients and doctors alike were parted to make way. Between what Reality had shown them and their vision after that, they had had enough of being pulled around. They looked to the crystal and a thought slowly crept into their mind. Starting as a whisper and growing to a scream,  they had the overwhelming urge to destroy it. Their arm unrestrained and with the doctors unable to pay too much attention to them, they raised their metal fist and slammed it down on the gem. The shattering sound of metal on glass froze all that heard it, turning their head to the source. One of the attending nurses shrieked in terror as Lore sighed in relief. The pain was gone, the bleeding stopped. Nothing made sense. Shards of crystal littered the floor as Lore attempted to dismount the rolling bed. They rubbed their new wound a few times then set about cleaning up their mess. Normally they would have whistled or hummed but given their inability to talk they thought it pointless. Char, who had decided to run ahead, had become impatient. She turned the corner with extreme speed to find a corridor full of gawping humans. At the centre of the silence, her partner. They were in a world of their own, content with cleaning. Char approached them and put her hand on their shoulder. As she did, Lore’s legs extended at full force. After peeling them from the ceiling, Char temporarily dismissed the attending staff.
“Lore, are you alright? Can you hear me?” She huddled close.
“You’re alive.” Lore whispered. They smothered her face in kisses. “By the gods you’re alive.” Their whole face lit up as they continued kissing her. “I… I thought…” They couldn’t finish their sentence. It was too hard.
“We’re alive.” She nodded. “After the crystal exploded, we separated, remember?”
“I saw everything.” Lore’s eyes widened. “Our reality and every other beyond it.”
“It worked then?” Char joined them in wide eyed wonder.
“Paper. Paper.” Lore mimed grabbing paper as Char scanned the corridor for anything to draw on. “Thank you.” She handed them the consent sheet and pencil the doctors had given her. “This is our universe.” They drew their first circle. “And in our multiverse, there are fifty one more.” They drew another five circles then replaced the rest with ellipsis. “Then, at the centre of reality is a unique universe.”
“Ok…”
“Reality, creator of The Cornerstones sent the other Lore’s to live in these other universes. Most of them are dead. There are only three of us left. Three Lores, Three Chars.” They drew three more circles. “They live in these universes.”
“Why aren’t they in line like the others?” Char had too many questions but she felt now wasn’t the time.
“They’re decaying universes. Universes that are unstable. They’re poised to collide with our universe. If they do, it’s going to do a lot of damage and destroy the decaying universe.”
“So how do we stop them?”
“We stabilise the universes. Whatever that means. That’s all Reality told me.” Lore paused. “There was more. After Reality sent me back, I got a glimpse at the central universe.” Char’s interest was showing through her concern. “It was a single planet, without time but where it led was more important. Fifty two more universes.”
“More?”
“Yeah, I don’t remember much from there but it was terrifying. The most scared I’ve ever been. Just looking at those universes filled me with fear. I think there’s something coming. Something big that Reality didn’t want me to find out.”
“Let’s get you home hey?” Char helped Lore up. “I’ve left Pip with the clones so there’s a good chance we don’t have a home anymore but…” She chuckled. Lore nodded, standing.
They rubbed their shoulder, surprisingly, most of the wound was already healed. Scars from the shattering crystal surrounded the original wound like fractures in their arm’s skin. Char examined the rift. “It’s not going to get any better.” Lore rubbed their arm. As their fingers crossed the tear, it began to glow. Remnants of the crystal flaked out, tainting the pure white glow with their purple hue.
Char led them to an alley beside the hospital before getting ready to Breach them home. She had the coordinates prepared but as she went to activate her Breacher, she realised she was already home.
“Did you do that?” She looked to an equally stunned Lore.
“Maybe?”
“Yes.” Pwy’he was standing right in front of them surrounded by his impressed clone siblings. “It’s the scar.”
“And how do you know that?” Char narrowed her eyes.
“He’s right.” Lore removed the crystal shards from their pocket. “Is Destiny about?” The clones looked about themselves.
“She’s getting me a drink I think?” Curves looked to her watch. “See, there she is.” Destiny stepped out into the garden with two interestingly garnished juices. She handed one to Curves, keeping the other for herself.”
“May I see your ring?” Lore held the crystals next to Destiny’s outstretched arm. “Look, we changed the crystal when we charged it. It must have taken on some of the rift’s properties.” Pwy’he nodded along. “And that’s how you know. Because I’ve just worked it out.”
“So the teleportation?”
“It seems we’ve accidentally created an active rift in my arm. It may only be linked to a few familiar places,” They disappeared then reappeared on the roof. “but who knows?” Lore chuckled as they returned to the garden. “There’s a lot we don’t know about the workings of the multiverse and I don’t think we’ve got long.” Lore appeared by the garden door and waved for everyone to follow.
“That is going to get on my nerves really quickly.” Lore jumped, kissing her on her lips before returning to the back door. She couldn’t stay mad; picking up the pace, she returned the gesture. Pwy’he joined them and wrapped himself around them both. Jumping off point.