Save State Hero -Ch29- (Patreon)

Edmund lifted his rifle and held down the trigger. Emptying the magazine before Zeus even appeared.

So that the moment he did, nearly every round hit him. Quite a few slamming into his head, in fact.

It did absolutely nothing.

The rounds mushroomed and fell to the ground at his feet even as he launched his attack. The hefty and ugly attack destroying Ryker exactly as it had every other time.

The simple reality was that Edmund just wasn’t quick enough to do anything about the situation. That even if he acted instantly, there was just wasn’t enough time for him to do anything.

His reflexes, senses, and abilities didn’t lend themselves to this situation.

On top o fthat, his save-states were all red bordered and looked to be problematic. This was the only stable one he had, though he could see there was some definite damage to it.

“God damnit!” screamed Edmund and throwing his rifle down on the ground. It clattered to the floor and bounced over to where Ryker’s corpse was smoking.

Sitting down on his rear end Edmund put his hands to his face and let out a pained sigh. Shaking his head he tried to think about how he could actually go about saving Ryker.

Everything he’d tried had ended in abject failure. There wasn’t a single idea left in his head that he felt like he hadn’t tried.

Or several variations of it.

Just shooting at Zeus had been him running out of ideas in how to fix the death moments before it happened. He just didn’t have enough time.

“Oz, if I load the armory save-state, that’ll break it, right?” Edmund asked.

“One moment,” Oz replied. “Yes, it’ll break.”

“I could put another save-state down right after I loaded though. Right?”

“Correct. It would also likely only survive one load, however. Any save-state made before the most recent event, chronologically speaking, will only survive a single load. There has been too much damage to reality due to Claire’s attacks. Claire is at a level that could be classified as being higher than that of a god’s in many ways, less so in others.”

“See, that right there… that’s why you don’t want a harem. The only men or women who would willingly get into one are broken in the head.”

“I’m fairly certain that Edmund’s bias against a harem is becoming apparent in Edmund’s stated opinion. I’m well aware that while there are those who aren’t ‘right in the head’ who choose a harem, there are many who are perfectly capable and normal life-forms.”

“—LL YOU ZEUS! I’LL KILL YOU! MURDER YOU! LIAR! TRECHEROUS!” screamed Claire.

“Oh my fucking god, Claire, shut the fuck up. I’ll save Ryker as soon as I can. Just turn the volume down for once, alright? Shit,” grumbled Edmund.

A crackling noise suddenly boomed out directly in front of him.

Flinching at the sudden an unexpected racket Edmund looked up.

The beautiful and clearly insane Claire was standing in front of him. Her eyes were wide and gazing down at him in a way that made him feel as if he was in danger.

“You… can save Ryker?” she asked in a fractured whisper.

“Yes you beautiful psycho. So knock the fucking noise off already. I’m already spent and burnt from trying to save him something like three-hundred times,” growled Edmund.

Claire suddenly grinned at that and let out a soft laugh. She got down in a crouch in front of him, peering at him.

“If my daughter wasn’t already seeing someone, I’d try to convince her to ask you out. You seem like the type of man needed to deal with… my family,” Claire murmured. Her eyes skittered in short hops, clearly looking across him and his face.

“I’ll pass. I’ve got a girlfriend. Or at least I think I do. I’m a one woman kind of guy. Too weak to handle more,” Edmund answered.

“Mm, I’ve heard that before. I said the same, once. Now I just want my Ryker back. Even if I have to share him with every other woman on the planet,” Claire whispered. “You can save my Ryker?”

“I think so. Going to keep trying till I do,” Edmund confirmed. “Its just starting to wear on me. Doesn’t matter what I do, Zeus kills him. He’s moving too fast.”

“Ooh. Ooooh! I know who you are! I know what you are!” Claire declared with a laugh. “Yes! I can see it! I see the truth in you and what you are, what you’re doing.

“Hm. Hmmm. Hmmmmm! How can I help you. How how how… oh. Your seed. Your seed comes with you. Follows with you? Yes? Yes.

“I’ll make a few quick modifications to that with a couple of spells and—”

As claire finished speaking a few crazed runes appeared in the air between them, scrabbled about, then fizzled away into nothing.

Well… unsurprising they failed.

Fucking nutter.

Though… what seed is she talking about? Is she talking like… old school “my seed”? We getting medieval porno in here?

“My seed? I don’t—” Edmund stopped mid-sentence as he finally realized what Claire meant. “Yes. Ellie’s seed. It comes with me everywhere. Why?”

“I can help with that!” Claire promised with a laugh.

Dot was staring at him with wide almost unseeing eyes at the moment from only a few feet away.

Runner was on the other side watching with apprehension that was obvious. From how he held himself to the wrinkles in his brow.

“May I, can I, should I?” Claire asked in a musical way. Several more spells simply came and went between them.

“Yes, yes, yes?” Edmund answered.

“Oooh. Oh ho ho ho ho. Shirley, dear, once this is all done, we need to find one of our family members for him,” Claire said and turned her head, looking over to where Shirley was perched over Ryker’s body. “I’m sure you have a few daughters that’ll need an understanding hand.

“That or Ryker and I will just have to have more children so I can make Edmund become a family member! That’ll be fun, fun, fun?”

“She won’t remember any of this. Nor will you,” Edmund explained.

“Ahhh, yes, yes, I see it now. I see it. You little spider. Spinning your web everywhere. Creeping and crawling about. Yes,” Claire agreed with a small nod of her head. “I am entirely at your mercy. Your power is absolute. Yes, yes. I see it.

“How fascinating. Ryker did this, didn’t he? Runner probably pushed it through, but Ryker set it up. Set you up. My curious and clever farmer. My Ryker.”

The last was said with a strange hiss.

“Edmund should load quickly. Claire isn’t known for remaining coherent over long periods of time. It is unknown if Claire will suddenly kill Edmund,” warned Oz.

Err… yeah.

Yeah. Alright.

Edmund opened up his power-set once again.

The Ryker save as he was calling it now had a red border around it.

Fuck!

“To be fair, Edmund has loaded the save-state over six-hundred and fifty times,” Oz confided. “It was already fracturing when you loaded it this time.”

Edmund grimaced, and just sat there. Staring at his save-states.

“Edmund should load one more time, drop a save-state as Edmund loads, and then move into the mission proper,” advised Oz. “Edmund can consider how to save Ryker while pushing ahead with the mission.

“Edmund can also return to the Armory save-state and progress from there. There are other options available that aren’t just limited to utilizing this save-state over and over.”

Thinking on that, Edmund couldn’t deny it sounded like a good idea. Probably the best idea he had given the situation.

If it went real wrong he could load up from the armory, move forward, and drop a much closer save-state. Though he was somewhat concerned that he wouldn’t be able to stop Claire from attacking the way she had earlier.

If she did, that’d likely create the same distortion in reality that he’d already gone through.

“Oz, if I went through an older save-state and lived through Claire’s attack again, would it do the same damage as last time?” Edmund asked.

“I… ah… ah…”

Er, what? No immediate answer?

“The damage caused through Claire’s attacks are cumulative,” stated Oz after a short delay. “Reliving the same save-state again would increase the amount of damage that’s occurred. Should Edmund go through that life again, it is very likely Edmund will experience a confluence of echoes, as well as a guarantee that there will be a loss of information.”

“How much loss of information…?” Edmund asked, not really wanting an answer.

“It would be foolish to speculate.”

“How much?” pushed Edmund.

“At least one universe, at most several,” Oz relayed.

Several… universes? As in an entire existence?

What… the fuck?

Edmund dipped back out of his power and looked at Claire.

“Claire, your batshit attack broke the world. Any chance you can fix what you did? Or tell me how to stop you from doing it on the next pass through?” Edmund asked.

Claire blinked, grinned, and shook her head. The look she had on her face looked like it might crawl away to the back of her head considering how her features were twitching.

“No. I’m sorry. I’m not right in the head. I’m my not right head I’m not right. It’s all not right. I know the truth. You don’t. Runner does. A few of them do,” Claire accused, her head turning to look at a number of people around them. Then she started to laugh. “No way to fix the not rightness so that it was more stable not rightness. Sorry, Edmund future son-in-law.”

“It can’t be fixed,” confirmed Runner. The god had crept up on Edmund and Claire and was now crouched down low next to the two of them. “You uh… you’ve been rerunning this scenario for a bit.”

Edmund blinked and looked to Runner.

Of course he’d know.

He’s god.

“Oz says I should move forward and then come back later,” Edmund threw out almost recklessly. Right now he needed answers and he didn’t really have any of his own.

“A valid plan. I mean… you’ve noticed that you keep a portion of your strength and growth when you revert, haven’t you?” offered Runner with a laugh. “Felix already demonstrated that you can shift some things around and bring them with you.

“It wouldn’t be possible to have that seed trailing you along otherwise. Would it not?”

Blinking owlishly Edmund stared at Runner for several more seconds before he shook his head in admission. He hadn’t noticed that at all.

“Move forward, grow, expand, then move back. I’ll spend some time seeing if I can’t shore up… reality… so it can handle a few more passes,” Runner offered while pulling the portal stone out of his pocket. “Claire can even help me. Can’t you, Claire? All for Ryker?”

Claire was staring at Runner and looked frightened and angry at the same time.

“I-for my Ryker. Yes! I’ll assist. I think the two of us can probably fix it. Maybe a little,” Claire conceded.

“What… what’s going on?” Alina asked, sounding frustrated and confused. “Don’t you understand what’s going on? Ryker just died! Dot ran off! Everything is just… it’s wrong!”

Edmund hadn’t noticed Dot leaving, but Alina wasn’t wrong. She’d slipped away at some point.

“Ugh… hm,” Runner mumbled and then looked to Edmund. “Well, you were planning on going by yourself through the portal, weren’t you? You go ahead and figure out what you can.”

How’d he know that I didn’t want them going?

But it wasn’t alone.

So he isn’t aware of my thoughts but maybe part of what I’m planning?

“Alina Devan Fusch, will you come with me?” Edmund asked, looking to angelic vampire.

“Oh, he hit her with the full name,” Runner quipped. “Do you think he’s figured out of the wings are handholds?”

Claire clicked her tongue, than surprisingly laughed.

“I can see why you and Ryker get along. Damnit. I missed out far too much,” said the woman, suddenly sounding and looking more sane than he’d seen of her.

“I mean… Zeus was in your head, Claire. It’s not entirely your fault,” offered Runner. “Ryker never gave up on you though. One of his stipulations was we had to eventually rescue you.”

Taking in a soft breath Claire then coughed delicately into her hand.

“Yes, that sounds about right. For whatever reason he always had a strong fascination in me. Anyways,” Claire murmured and looked to Alina. “Off you. Don’t make the mistake I did.”

Alina opened her mouth, her elongated canines visible. Then she nodded her head, her mouth snapping shut.

“Off you go then,” Runner murmured and pointed at the now forming portal.

Alina grabbed Edmund by the collar of his armor, slapped his empty rifle against his chest, and dragged him away. Not waiting for anything else to be said.

“So! Sounds like I won’t remember any of this. I’m feeling far more… myself… in the moment, too. Pity,” Claire remarked, looking to Runner.

“Zeus lost his hold on you and… uh… well… you fell in the web, as you described it,” Runner murmured. Edmund wasn’t sure that was what was actually said given how quiet it was said.

“Ah! Surprising. Interesting as well. I wonder what’ll change in the future,” Claire said, much louder than Runner’s own voice. She said something else but Edmund didn’t catch it.

Whatever it was, it made Runner laugh uproariously.

Then Alina pulled him through the portal and dropped let go of him. A second later the portal snapped shut behind them. He hadn’t expected it to do that which meant Runner had deliberately done that.

They were now in a location that seemed to be a field of never-ending chairs. Chairs of every type and color.

From strangely artistic that could barely be called a chair, to a simple wooden barstool, and everything in between.

“I want answers… and now, Edmund,” Alina growled and spun on her heel. He was suddenly face to face with a golden eyed beautiful vampire that had blood splattered up one side of her face and into her hair. “Especially with you throwing around my name like that. A name I most certainly didn’t tell you.

“That and I’m kinda pissed Dot ran off and you didn’t even chase after her.”

“Right… okay. Yeah. I can do that,” Edmund started. “We’ll start with my power, I guess… and you know what, I did chase Dot. Several times. She just slapped me every time I ran her down and then blasted me with magic.

“Nearly killed me once. Anyways… my super power—”

It took Edmund ten minutes to convey everything for her to understand it. Then only a few questions he had to answer for her to grasp the entirety of the situation.

When it was all said and done it hadn’t really taken that long.

All the while they’d marched through the empty landscape of chairs.

Endless rows of chairs.

Though it looked to Edmund as if she had a question she wanted to ask, but couldn’t.

“The… confluence of echoes you described,” Alina finally got out, as if the words themselves had been held back by her teeth. “Were there any lives where we ended up… with each other?”

Ah?

Ah.

Ah… I… ah.

Edmund felt his tongue cling to the roof of his mouth as if it didn’t want to move until his brain had caught up. Then his thoughts started forward once again.

“Yes. There were times that we ended up together,” he confirmed and couldn’t tear his eyes from what looked as if someone had attached a giant dildo to a wooden chair.

Huh.

Well.

Someone had fun with that one I guess. Seems a bit of an odd one out here though. Then again… a lot of these look like used chairs.

That means that they haven’t all been here forever.

Why the fuck would someone set this up? It’s fucking mad.

“Kids?” Alina asked.

“What? There’s kids here?” Edmund replied, his rifle snapping up to his shoulder in a hurry.

“No. I mean… did we have kids?” Alina asked in a tentative voice.

An odd memory surfaced from deep within. A memory of having to try often with Alina to have kids as she wasn’t sure she could have them.

Given what she was.

They’d ended up with two, though with a considerable amount of effort on Edmund’s part. Not that he complained at the time.

“We often had two. Took a lot of work. Neither of us complained about it,” he said quietly. Admitting to a woman you were only fairly close with that you knew her intimately, repeatedly, and put kids in her, in a different world, wasn’t an every day conversation.

“Oh. Oh, good. I can have kids,” whispered Alina and then followed by a chuckle then a hitch in her breath. “Wait, did I ever have kids with anyone else?”

Edmund blinked at that and searched his memories.

He had no knowledge of her ever having kids when they hadn’t paired up.

“Not that I know of?” he answered.

“Then you obviously used your power to make whatever low percentage chance it is to actually happen. Damnit,” Alina hissed with a small shake of her head. “Oh, what’s this? Something different? I thought it was just a really big chair.”

Ahead of them was a small, simple, wooden doorframe. It look rather small and cramped. Like they could get through it if they got on their belly and crawled.

Or had someone else push them through, or pull them out the other side.

Considering he couldn’t see through the other side yet it was a doorway that was freestanding, it was obviously their exit.

This was their destination.

“At least we found our exit,” Alina bitterly complained. She’d clearly been rather bored wandering through this.

A man popped out through the doorway.

He was covered in blood, both of his eyes were missing, and it looked as if there was giant claw marks across his face. He squeezed, struggled, and pushed at the dooframe.

Trying to wriggle his way out and to the side Edmund was on.

With a massive convulsion the man let out a groan, then a massive amount of blood was spewed out of his mouth. As if something has blown up his heart and lungs from the inside.

The man had gotten his shoulders past the doorframe and was now partially wedged against it. His armpits resting against each side.

Letting out a loud groan he laid down on the grass and lay there. Twitching to and fro.

Something than shook the man as if it had a hold of him on the other side.

As if pulled by a great deal of force, the man’s arms were forced upward with terribly cracking noises.

Then he vanished through to the otherside of the doorway.

“I… I think I’d like to walk through the sea of chairs a bit longer,” Alina remarked, looking to Edmund with a pale face. “See if there’s another exit.”

“That’s a vibe I can appreciate,” muttered Edmund.

But he knew better.

Ryker didn’t do anything by half measures.

If they were here, they were here to likely take the first door they came across.

“Fucking crying shame that this really is our exit though,” Edmund continued after a pause.

“I’ll… go first then. Just make sure you pay me back on my next life if I get stomped on or whatever,” growled Alina getting down on her knees next to the doorframe.

Adjusting her clothes and the sword she’d brought with her, she looked nervous.

Then she looked up at him and her eyebrows went up.

“I ever do this before?” she asked suddenly, motioning down to her kneeling position.

“What… err… this? I mean… on my birthdays and stuff like that. You weren’t really into it,” Edmund replied. “Uh, I mean, you always did it really well when you did it, that is. You just weren’t into doing it outside of special occasions.”

What a weird question to ask. I guess it’s because we were talking about kids and stuff.

“That’s not what I— I deserved that… I… I deserved that,” hissed Alina who then got down on her hands and knees and went through the doorway.

“Oh, you meant this moment in time. Nope. First time,” Edmund said and then put his hands to Alina’s rear end and began shoving.

The quicker she got through the better.

“Hey, hey! Watch your fingers you—”

Alina got her feet under her and scrambled through. Leaving Edmund with memories of how her rear end felt.