RoR3 -Ch8- (Patreon)

Getting back to his car, Warner popped open the center console and grabbed the tissues. Looking into the rear view mirror he wiped at his face repeatedly. Getting everything off of him that he could see or find.

Even then, he still felt disgusting and dirty. The lingering injustice from War clung to him. Like the leftover sticky mess from Maya’s fingers when she was a little girl.

Shaking his head, Warner stared into the mirror. There was nothing physically left over on him that he could see. Nothing that stood out or caught his attention.

The problem was he could still feel it though. Sense it.

Like a lingering after-taste.

Sighing, he picked up his phone and stared at it.

He half expected Daria to text him, or had already texted him.

Nothing happened. Nothing came through nor was there anything existing.

“Uh,” Warner said aloud, still gazing at his phone. “Daria? My little fruit-loop? Any advice there?”

Nothing changed.

A frown formed on his face and Warner unlocked his phone. Opening it, he tapped into his contacts and dialed Daria directly.

Ringing several times it was picked up far later then he expected.

“Oh! Hello! Whats… what’s up? I didn’t expect you to call or anything,” Daria said in an excited and curious way.

“Ah, sorry. I was expecting that you’d know what happened just now,” Warner said, suddenly feeling very confused. “I just had a run in with an existence greater than my own. Was hoping you’d have some advice.”

“I’m… I don’t see anything right now. Nothing at least that I haven’t before,” Daria said slowly. As if she were inviting something to happen as she spoke. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anything.”

“Alright. I’ll call around to a few people. See if I can’t meet them in person. Not something I want to discuss over the phone,” said Warner. He was concerned that someone could be listening in to his phone. Just because he was helping the Fed as Yellow-Eyes didn’t mean he wasn’t immune to being wire-tapped as Warner.

“Makes sense. We’ll talk more about it when you get home,” said Daria. “Bye for now my love. Be safe.”

Warner grunted at that and hung up the phone. Flicking through his contacts he found the most likely person to give him information next.

Tapping “Aunt Decima” Warner held the phone up to his ear.

It went straight to voice-mail.

Letting the phone fall down from the side of his head, he tried another. This time hitting “Aunt Stacia”.

Not bothering to lift the phone this time he heard it immediately click over to voicemail without ringing.

“Okay, what the fuck?” cursed Warner.

Selecting “Uncle Sam” as the next person to dial, Warner tapped speaker phone and waited. Hoping he’d pick up.

Once again, it went straight to voice mail.

“Something’s wrong,” grumbled Warner as he moved one person up on his contact list. If Uncle Miles didn’t answer, or didn’t have any information, Warner wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Thankfully it actually began ringing. Warner immediately pressed it up to his ear and listened as it rang. Looking out the window he looked without direction across the tombstones.

Four rings in and Warner was getting nervous before the line suddenly popped.

“Hey, Mitch, how are ya?” asked Miles on the other end of the line.

“Oh, not too bad. Just uh… things… have… happened. Things I’d love to talk to you about in person,” Warner confessed. “Any chance we could meet up? Now?”

“Uh, sure. We can do that. Come to downtown. I have a storefront we can meet at. It’s just a used bookstore. Not much business,” explained Miles. “Let’s me ‘lose money’ as a writeoff while keeping a place I can use.”

“Right. Text me the address and I’ll see you there,” said Warner, turning on the car at the same time. He didn’t want to sit around here any longer. Not after War found him here.

***

Warner pulled up in front of the used book store. Flipping the engine off, he turned and yanked the keys. Stuffing them into a pocket he opened the door and got out quickly.

Forgetting to lock the car Warner rushed toward the door and pulled it open with almost too much force. Moving inside he found Miles standing at the other end of the building. Watching him from a doorway that was open.

Despite the fact that Miles appeared to be in his mid-thirties Warner knew better. The light-brown hair and brown eyes belied the fact that this man was millions of years old.

Old as mountains and continents, in fact.

Moving toward him quickly Warner gave him a tight smile.

“Wait till we’re in the office,” Miles said and hooked a thumb backward toward the room behind him. “We can talk freely in there without anyone being able to listen in.”

Not waiting for Warner to respond to that Miles turned and entered the room. Warner simply followed along behind and only paused to pull the door shut behind him.

“So, who’d you meet? And how’d it go?” asked Miles, moving over to take a seat at a small table with three chairs at it.

“War. I met War and… I think she’s insane,” replied Warner, going to sit down across from Miles. “She said… a lot of very crazy shit. Like, broken in the head kind of crazy shit. Then she bit her lip hard enough to start bleeding all over.

“The stink of injustice on her was wretched. Absolutely wretched. Old as could be and still violently awful as the day it was done. Of absolute betrayal.”

“Indeed,” Miles said, looking somewhat surprised. “I never thought War would come looking for you. Not you, Warner. Warin, certainly. She knew him and had a grudge against him. But you?

“Other than holding the right of retribution you’re not that much of a target for her. Or at least, so I thought.”

“Well, she showed up,” grumbled Warner.

“What’d she say exactly to you?”

“That I was her opponent. That she wanted me to fight her. Fight her while we had sex. That whoever won would be the concubine of the other. A lot of nutty shit like that.

“I mean, I can’t deny I’ve got a soft spot for the weird, look no further than Daria, but this was some next level insanity for me. Her blood tasted and stunk of smoke and ash. What do I do?”

Miles sighed, looked up to the ceiling, and scratched at his face.

“She’s drunk on power. The whole world is at war. There really isn’t any place that it isn’t anymore,” muttered Miles. “Even this country is at war with itself. Their politics are completely bipartisan now to the point that party lines on both sides use their ideals as weapons and shields.

“Even if was for the betterment of their country, those two sides would rather fight one another with their stances. There is no middle ground in their war. Each side has their soldiers and their battles.”

Warner felt a lot like an unheard voice without volume as Miles spoke. He knew exactly what the man was speaking of.

While Warner had no mind for politics and didn’t get involved, he knew without a doubt that Miles was right. Both parties were in a full on engaged conflict with the other and there seemed no way for them to back up and start over.

“Taking it to a global scale it only gets worse. There’s even a belief that humanity is nearly at war with the earth itself. We’re lucky, very lucky, that the Fed and the Para officials spent so much time trying to make sure the two sides could connect as they did.

“That would have just been yet another war. So… yes. War is incredibly powerful right now. Stronger than anyone on the Originator’s side by a great deal,” continued Miles who then let out yet another sigh. “If she’s marked you as her opponent… there’s not much we can do. She’ll start a ‘war’ with you one way or another. You’re better off engaging her directly if she does appear.

“Just keep in mind she doesn’t gain anything from winning, or losing. Only the continued struggle.”

“She gains power through war and the struggle,” Warren parroted back. “Does… that mean she betrayed the Originator just to keep the whole war going?”

Miles went still at that question. Remaining completely motionless for ten seconds until he finally dropped his chin to his chest and looked at Warner.

“I swear… if that’s the only reason she kicked off this whole mess… then… then… I don’t even know how angry I’d be, but I’d be really angry,” Miles said in a low voice. “This whole mess is because of her. If she did it for the sake of empowering herself and nothing else… I don’t even… I don’t-”

As his words trailed off Miles lost control over his emotions. Warner could tell just from the way the man looked but there was something else.

An ironclad control over his power and presence was part of who Miles was. It was just something you could feel being around him and knew it was the truth.

In losing his control on his emotions, he lost control over even that.

Warner was blasted fully by it.

Including all the wrongs and transgressions Miles had done. Of which there was a great many.

Atrocities, murders, assaults, robbery, intimidation, firebombing, and a varied number of awful crimes that Warner couldn’t even attribute a name to.

All done for the sake of the “Originator” but still terrible and disturbing things. None of these were ordered or commanded for him to do, however. Nothing was forced upon him.

Where Seville had a great deal of injustice wrapped about him, he also suffered a great deal of injustice done to him.

Miles was nothing like that. He was a mountain of in justice second only to War.

“You’re as guilty as she is,” Warner said as his power involuntarily flared up inside him. It filled him without him even wishing it to. “Miles Dennis Campbell, you are a sore upon the world and have committed crimes untold in number. If the Originator could see what you’ve done… he would weep for you.

“Father never wished for such things to be done for him. Never. Not even Uncle would condone such actions and we both know he was far more… cynical, than Father.

“What have you done?”

As if Warner’s words were a bucket of water dumped over a match, Mile’s snatched up his control. Burying all the evil he’d done once again. Pushing it down deep inside himself where Warner couldn’t feel it.

But it was too late. Far too late. Warner knew a great deal of Mile’s wrongdoings.

“You slew Bodil’s grandfather,” said Warner in a soft voice. Slowly, he shook his head, looking upon the other man with pity. “He was no soldier in your war with the Silent One. He didn’t even know there was a war. You murdered a man who was only doing what he believed to be his job. No different than an ice-cream truck moving about the neighborhood.

“Your evil has unmade your very soul, Miles. Father will weep for what you’ve done and look upon you with disappointment. I suddenly think that maybe… maybe I want no part of your war. No part with you or what you’ve done.

“The stench of your deeds are second only to War. Even Seville had the stink of Evil in a lesser amount than you do and he’s your enemy. He serves the Silent One, yet you are worse than he.

“You are no different than War. This… that’s… you’re not something I can be around as I feel sorely tempted to judge you. Judge you and attempt to end your sorry excuse for a life that could never be redeemed. I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

Miles was staring at Warner with wide almost unseeing eyes.

Getting up, Warner left without looking at Miles again. The man was responsible for a great deal of suffering. A near endless amount of it.

The very same man who caused Bodil so much distress.

Begging the power inside him to let him walk away from Miles, Warner kept going. Opening the door, he felt it when the desire from Retribution was mad clear. To turn around and punish the man outright.

Vengeance had a similar need though it was considerably more urgent and violent.

Redemption cared not at all as it had no idea how one could ever redeem one such as Miles.

“Mitch—”

Warner pulled the door shut behind him the moment he felt Vengeance and Retribution recoil at Miles using his true name. Both powers released their desire momentarily, then retreated.

Acquiescing to Warner’s wishes, they allowed him to leave without fighting him.

By the time he exited the front of the bookstore he’d managed to wrangle his emotions into a semblance of order. Or at least, enough that he was no longer “Yellow-Eyes”.

Making his way over to his car he got into it.

Sitting there, he had no idea what to do next.

Right now, his world felt incredibly unsure. The only things he knew were that those in his immediate circle loved and cared for him. That they were certainly working in lock-step with him, though he couldn’t count on anyone else.

Even Sam and his aunts were unreachable which meant they were probably in some sort of situation themselves. Except they also worked with Miles quite often.

Sighing, Warner put his forehead to his steering wheel, closed his eyes, and thought.

No matter which way he came at the situation, there were only two things that came to his mind. Two people, that is.

“Architect, Ryker, Uncle, I want to talk,” Warner said in a quiet voice.

Instantly, Warner felt himself yanked straight out of the world and deposited somewhere else. Somewhere that shouldn’t, couldn’t, possibly exist.

A space between the world itself and somewhere else.

“Well hello there, Warner!” said a voice a second before the image of the Architect appeared. Waving a hand at Warner he stood exactly in the same way Warner remembered him.

The architect’s brown eyes that were nearly black stared at him with more than a little humor.

His straight black hair lay flat on his head. Though it had a strange “about to go bad” look to it. As if his hair was naturally wild.

Out of nowhere, as if a lock had been undone, Warner had new memories. Memories of spending months and months with this man. Going on camping trips, going to movie theaters, countless experiences. Spanning a great number of years as if he grew up at the same time.

Memories of going with Ryker and Runner to see countless worlds and locations that made his current view of the universe very small.

“Well, that was certainly exciting to see Warin handing you back your life, wasn’t it?” asked the Architect. “I really hadn’t expect that at all. You really did a number on redeeming the big lug. Ya know?”

Opening his mouth, Warner felt very strange. Something was wrong.

This was different.

None of this was what he’d been expecting.

Ryker had addressed him as Warner, not Wally, Warner, Bob. He was also talking about the fact that Warin had given his life over to Warner, of which the original message knew nothing.

He’s… here. Isn’t here?

That or he set up another set of messages much later.

Given the way Ryker was watching him, Warner suspected it was the former though.

“You’re… actually here, aren’t you, Uncle?” Warner asked after wracking his brain for an answer. His voice felt tight. Like a bowstring strained that’d been pulled taught to the point of breaking.

“Got it in one,” said the man and held his arms out in front of him. “It’s really good to see you, Warner. Or should I say, Mitch. Admittedly, I only ever saw your name as—”

Warner stepped forward and went to hug the architect.

Amazingly, he found that Ryker was corporal. He really was here.

Trying to crush the man in that hug, Warner just held onto him.

“I remember everything,” Warner said in a whisper.

“Oh, oh, uh… mm… that’s good,” said Ryker in a somewhat awkward way. Then he put his arms around Warner and hugged him back.

“How are you here? I thought you were locked out,” Warner asked, letting go of Ryker and taking a step away. Reaching up he wipes at his face, displacing the tears that were falling.

“I am. That isn’t actually changed. I just… pulled… you out. No one will even notice,” said Ryker with a casual wave of his hand. “Not that big a deal. I promise. You just seemed like you really needed a break after you found out Miles going all Ahab.

“You know, that whole Campbell family is like… three bad choices away from going full on super-villain. Something really wrong with them but I can’t really find anyone else that can do the job they can. Well, I take that back, there’s others, but they’re equally problematic. You’re like the only kid in class that pays attention and does all his homework.”

“So… Miles really is that guilty?” Warner asked.

“Of course. He’s lost sight of the fact that the difference between Runner and Zeus is precisely why Runner left. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice everyone to that goal,” said Ryker. “In fact, I even cautioned Miles to do nothing out of the ordinary and that given enough time, things would swing back the other way. Much like a pendulum.

“And since your uncle Sam didn’t fuck things up, that’s happening. In another year or two, the trap will be fully sprung. Zeus will be unable to resist when we attack. It’s one of the reasons I’m able to be here.

“He’s right and properly fucked at the moment. Srit is having a god-damned field day with him. We’d have already taken back most of the worlds Runner lost to him if it wouldn’t free up resources for him.”

“Things are… things are going in the right direction, then?” asked Warner. Right now he needed reassurance of any type.

“Oh yeah. I mean, I got bored for a while there and wasn’t watching for a couple hundred thousand years but yeah,” Ryker said with a chuckle. “My trap is working perfectly. Zeus is being ground to a standstill.”

“Trap. Could you… explain a little?” Warner asked. He knew he was probably asking for quite a bit but he was genuinely curious.

Pursing his mouth, Ryker looked to think on that.

“Its kinda simple, really,” said Ryker with a shrug of his shoulders. “Your world is a trap. From the ground up. It was literally designed to need constant maintenance and upkeep. That or a super secret special button that would bring everything back into order that a certain incubus wasn’t supposed to find.

“But anyways! Yeah, constant upkeep. Zeus can’t keep up with all the needs anymore. He’s just… you know what, it’s like a computer with way too many programs open. He’s run out of ram and can’t do shit, now.

“I just made it so this world would keep opening more and more programs. So many programs. Programs until his computer grinds to a damn halt and he gets a fucking blue screen of death.”

Ryker began to laugh at his own words, nodding his head at that.

“Oh. I… this world is… everything, then.”

“More or less. I mean, once we spring our trap, all hell will break loose. Chances are Zeus will probably finally figure out what happened and disengage. But by that point the war will have started,” Ryker explained. “We’ll be going after countless worlds. After his armies and abilities to make war. At the same time others will be going after what gives him his godhood and immortality.

“It’s likely we’ll have two teams of people on the ground who will be looking for certain core worlds where Zeus has really set himself up. Where he put part of who he is, into. We’ll have to dig him out physically from those worlds.”

Warner nodded his head, then shook it. He didn’t really understand all of it, but he was glad to hear it. It sounded as if things were on the right track and path.

“Can we just talk about what’s been happening to me now? And War?” asked Warner.

Deflating at the question, Ryker sighed and nodded his head slowly.

“Yeah, let’s talk about War,” grumbled the architect.