ALL NOVEL Loop 254 - Part 115
“Okay, new rule for future loops: We need at least Bill, Andy, Ralth, or Andrew to stick around the Void House,” Cal said as he looked at the assembled brainpower in the situation room. Other than Fulginanis, he wasn’t sure any of them had any idea how to help the rapidly worsening situation.
“Agreed, but we will have to work with what we have. What can we do?” Stan asked. He may have left his kingdom of squirrels behind, but his voice still carried the authority he had become accustomed to using on Pluto.
“The realm is destabilizing, and we need either a massive source of mana or Oakbert to prop it back up, and while I believe I’ve located him, I doubt he will be willing to help,” Fulginanis answered.
“Wait, why not?” Cal fired back.
“He is the only thing holding Ethel’s form together. What power she pushed through herself was enough to dissipate her being on a universal level. If he stops holding her together, she will be gone entirely, even in the next loop,” Fulginanis explained.
“Oh, she did all that to try to save me?” Cal didn’t really need an answer; he was just surprised she had the power to do anything for the creature he had met. He looked around the room, making eye contact with each person briefly, silently begging for an answer. They needed Ethel, and Bug considered her family.
Unexpectedly, Onelder, of all people, held his gaze. “So ya just need the right mana source to hold this realm up, right?” The alien asked, turning his sight to Fulginanis.
“Yes, and I am already aware of the abilities of your gauntlet. Even if we had a source for you to add to, we don’t have anything strong enough to be the anchor to hold the realm together,” Fulginanis answered.
“Sure ya do, well maybe. We got Cal here with a world seed. He can’t remove it or even really use it without nearly killing himself, so we need someone or something capable of channeling that level of mana out of him. Sounds like work for a legendary sword with its own core. I’m going to need Frank and Melissa ta do this, and even then, there’s a good chance I’m still going to die, so promise me you will take care of my brother. He’s kind of an idiot without me,” Onelder said, standing up as he spoke.
“Of course we will. What exactly do you need?” Cal responded. He was willing to forgive the Cyclopean all his murders if he could pull this off.
“Cal, come take me from your father. Albert, go pull Frank from Ethel. If he resists, tell him I need his help, and it’s the only chance we have to save her. Jen go find Melissa. Stan, load up Captain Lightspeed with as much mana fruit as you can. I apologize for taking over, but we have a tiny window for success here, and I have done the calculations to refine Onelder’s brilliant plan further,” Excalibur’s voice boomed across the room, reaching everything.
There was a sudden flurry of actions as no one questioned their orders. Excalibur was laid on the table as Stan ran from the room, followed by Albert and Jen. Cal approached the sword and lifted it up. “Now what?” He asked.
“Now I apologize for the pain you are about to experience,” Excalibur’s words were followed by every nerve in Cal’s body screaming in pain. It felt like someone was taking a razor blade to every one of them at the same time, slicing them apart. He crashed to the ground, wriggling in pain.
“What the fuck ya doing?” Onelder yelled at the sword.
“What I have to, there is no time for a natural bond. I have to rewrite his mana channels to do what we need them to do, and you are likely the only one besides me who truly understands just how powerful a world seed is. I still do not understand how his body can even contain it, but it does, and we will use it to save our ally,” Excalibur said as lines of yellow mana erupted from his blade and dug into the still-screaming Cal.
Stan was the first to reenter the room, riding Captain Lightspeed, who was pulling a cart of mana fruit. “Is he okay? What happened?!” Stan yelled as he spotted his son.
“He will be once we are done. Force one of the fruits into his mouth; Onelder, eat a couple yourself. Stan, once Melissa arrives, have her heal Cal, but only until he can stand up. Have them both eat several more fruits. Cal will argue about the risk. You need to make them do it anyway. I will be stitching up his channels manually for the next few minutes. As time is limited, do not allow anyone to interrupt,” Excalibur said.
“Understood,” Stan replied. He grabbed a mana fruit from the cart, bent over, and looked into his son’s pained face. “Did you catch any of that?”
Cal managed to stay entirely aware of the situation despite the immense pain and forced his mouth open as a sign of assent. He felt the familiar tingle of the juice and the power of the mana flow into his core. Whatever Excalibur was doing became easier to handle with the addition of the fruit. The pain didn’t vanish, but he was able to push some of it out of focus.
“Melissa, I need you to heal Cal just enough so he can stand up, no more, and then eat some of these mana fruits,” Stan said to the woman as she raced into the room with Jen.
“Sure, whatever you say,” Melissa rolled her eyes but did as she was asked. Cal felt more of the pain recede, not fully gone, but enough that he was able to climb to his feet with only some difficulty. He grabbed two more mana fruit and began to chow down. Excalibur may have expected him to argue due to his previous experience, but he also had Ethel’s voice louder than ever in the back of his mind, telling him to shut up and do what people ask for once, and he wasn’t going to argue with her while she was on her deathbed.