Annihilation Series-Searching for a Hero (29 page)

“I didn’t want to startle you.”

She looked at him and he was amazed at her green eyes that seemed to look into his soul. He could only stare at her and she slowly shook her head, “I thought you came here to talk.”

“I’m sorry; your appearance surprised me.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know what I was expecting but you just…surprised me.”

“Say what you have to say and leave.”

Ping walked over and sat down on the ground beside her. He took a deep breath and shook his head. He slowly stood and started walking away. “I thought you had to talk to me.”

Ping turned, “It wouldn’t do any good.”

“And what made you realize that piece of information?”

“Because you’re just like I was when they came to me to get me to follow my destiny. Nothing they said mattered and I could have told them at the start that they were wasting their time. They didn’t listen. I can see you’ve already made up your mind and I don’t want to make this worse than it is.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Don’t thank me. You’re going to hate me later on.”

“Why would I ever do that?”

Ping looked in her eyes, “When everyone you love is killed, you’re going to hate yourself for not doing what you should. You’ll blame me for not making it clear what was going to happen. After they’re gone, you’ll realize that you should have followed your calling and they would still be alive.”

Ping turned and started walking away and she yelled, “Tell me what happened to you to make you so bitter.”

Ping stopped and lowered his head. He slowly shook his head and Dahlia could sense his immense sorrow. “They died because I was unwilling to do the things that would have saved them. Even when I decided to do what was asked of me, I only did it in half measures and I lost the woman I loved.” Ping turned and looked at Dahlia, “You will also eat from that plate.”

“Why do you want me?”

“You are the chosen one to lead us in this fight. Without you, we will lose.”

“But I’m nothing special.”

Ping could only stare at Dahlia and realized she wasn’t much older than Victoria. Dahlia said, “I’m twenty years old.”

“Did you see my thoughts?”

“No, I saw your expression; you think I’m too young.”

“You’re only three years younger than I am.”

“I thought you were much older.”

“It’s not the time; it’s the distance.”

“You’ve been through a lot.” Ping nodded. “Tell me about your civilization. Tell me why you came here looking for me.”

Ping smiled, “You might be here a long time.”

Dahlia laughed and said, “Humor me.”

Ping told her about how her ancestors had been transported from his universe. He answered her questions and then he told her about the founding of the Stars Realm and the first psychic couple that made it all happen. She asked questions as he continued the story and he told her about all the wars and struggles the Realm faced in its history.

He told her about Scotty Robbins and the forming of the Bristone Empire. She was fascinated by the Zord and thought they must be magical creatures. He told her about the demons and the two wars fought against them. She stopped asking questions and he told her about how his Creation was being destroyed by powerful, evil civilizations that were far more advanced than the Realm. Every time the Realm faced destruction, someone arose that led them through the fight to salvation. The forces that made the universe function would seek to balance good against evil and the savior would arrive to do what had to be done.

He told her about the destruction of the final evil civilizations and the peace that followed. He said that the peace was broken by the Slegan but they were just a pawn to assist in meeting the coming invasion from her universe. He then told her what had happened to him since he realized the giant Northern Mountain Cats started looking for him. He told her about his refusal to do what was necessary and as a result, Jodie and Mios were killed by the Black Ships. He told her he refused to send the Realm’s ships to her universe until he had found her and as a result of that delay, Nicole had died.

She listened and both of them lost track of time. Finally he finished and said, “That is what led me here. I learned that there are no accidents. Once I saw that, finding where you’re located was easy.”

Dahlia stared at Ping and after a long moment she said, “You decided that once you found me and I took over, you could go and get yourself killed.” Ping’s eyes narrowed and he felt a flash of anger. Dahlia said, “What were you planning to do when you leave here?” Ping remained silent. “You were going to drop your friend off and go take on the Black Ships single handed. Your duty complete, you could join your friends in death.”

Ping took a breath and blew it out forcefully. “I’m going to make them pay for what they did.”

“That’s a very short sighted way to do it. However, I don’t think I’m the one you’re looking for anyway.”

“Oh, why not?”

“All of these heroes you’ve described had rather remarkable psychic abilities, unless you’ve not been honest about them.”

“No, everything I’ve said is true.”

“Well, I am able to sense danger and move out of its way and I do have a limited ability to levitate small objects. But that’s it. I don’t have any other psychic abilities and quite frankly, I’m not all that.”

Ping extended his hand; Dahlia smiled, “You think you might release me if we touch.” Ping shrugged and she reached forward and took his hand. She suddenly yelled, “Boom!” and Ping jumped a foot in the air. Dahlia laughed and said, “Nothing happened. Like I said, I’m not much.”

Ping sat down and shook his head. How could he have been so wrong? Suddenly, a blonde woman appeared who looked like she was in her mid-thirties. Dahlia jumped and Ping said, “I guess I wasn’t wrong.”

Danielle looked at him and smiled, “No, you’re not wrong.”

Dahlia looked at Danielle, “Who are you?”

Ping smiled, “She is Danielle Gardner, the first Queen of the Stars Realm.”

Dahlia shook her head, “You would have to be older than fifteen thousand years!”

“Actually, it’s closer to twenty thousand years. My husband and I had our life extended. However, I can see that I need to clear up an issue before you make a huge mistake.”

Dahlia shook her head, “Hey, I don’t possess any psychic skills. I’m not who you think I am.”

“And what psychic skills did I have?”

Dahlia looked at Ping and raised her eyebrows. Ping said, “You were able to see the truth in any situation; you were telepathic; you had the ability to move objects…”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What!?!”

“When I became Queen of the Stars Realm, I could only see the truth. That’s it, nothing else. When Atlas gave me the ability to hear Tag’s thoughts, that was the only other psychic skill I had and it was done through technology. I’m still not telepathic with anyone but him.”

Ping shook his head, “But I’ve always been taught that you and he were the most powerful psychics ever born.”

Danielle waved her hand in the air, “That’s all hog wash.”

“But your husband has never been defeated. He’s the Realm’s ultimate warrior.”

“Well, I have to admit that no one can defeat my husband in one-on-one combat. He does have some superior skills in that area. But most of my children and most of the psychics that came later had much stronger psychic talents than either of us.” Dahlia stared at the pretty woman and shook her head. Danielle smiled, “What made us so dominant during our reign were two skills that the two of us possessed. Tag could see trouble coming and I could see the truth. It was those two things that allowed us to guide the Realm through its most difficult times in history. Danielle turned to Dahlia, “You can see danger coming.”

Dahlia shook her head, “Yeah, but that’s all I can do.”

“You also see the truth.”

“What!!”

“Ping, is what she said about you true?”

Ping looked at Danielle and then at Dahlia. He nodded and said, “I must confess that it is.”

Danielle looked at both of them, “It is those talents than will guide you in the coming conflict. If you choose to ignore your responsibility, don’t do it by lying to yourself. You are called to lead the fight and Ping is going to be there to defend you against all that come to kill you.”

“I’M WHAT!?!”

“Tag defended me while I made the decisions necessary to lead the Realm. You will be her defender and that is what your real calling is all about, Ping. You are going to have to accept that duty just as she will have to accept her responsibility. The coming conflict needs both of you.” Danielle disappeared.

Dahlia looked at Ping and saw him shaking his head and staring at the ground, “I can’t do this anymore.”

Dahlia felt his pain and saw herself in him. She smiled and said, “Hey, that’s my line. You need to come up with your own.”

Ping raised his head and looked at her. He tried not to but ended up smiling. “What are we going to do, Dahlia? I’m so weary of this.”

Dahlia pursed her lips together and blew out a breath, “I guess misery loves company. I don’t want to have any part of this but I can see you really believe it has to be done.” Ping nodded. “I guess seeing you not wanting to do this allows me to see myself being selfish. If you can do this, I’ll do whatever I can.”

“I haven’t done a very good job of defending anyone.”

“If you think about it, they died when you weren’t present. I suspect they would be alive if you had been there.”

Ping’s eyebrows went up, “Is this part of your ability to see the truth?”

“Is it true?”

“I guess it is.”

“What does that tell you?”

“That I can’t let you out of my sight if I’m going to defend you.”

“I don’t know about that; I’m going to need some privacy.”

Ping turned beet red, “Of course, I understand that. I didn’t mean every moment.”

“Oh be quiet. I know what you meant. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do to make sure Mios and Jodie weren’t in danger?”

“I’d keep an eye on them and make sure I could get to them at a moment’s notice.”

“I suspect that’s what you’ll do with me as well.” Dahlia paused and shook her head, “I still don’t see how I’m going to make any kind of difference.”

“Honestly, I don’t either.”

Dahlia opened her mouth and said, “Hey, you’re the one that came looking.”

“I know, I know. I guess this is a voyage of discovery. We’ll find out as we go.”

“Do you have the authority to do anything we see that needs doing?”

Ping lowered his eyebrows and looked at Dahlia through them, “I command all of our military forces.”

Dahlia tilted her head, “Well, I guess that’s a step in the right direction. Now you need to go with me and do the hard part.”

“What is that?”

“I’ve got to convince my brother and sister that we are going to have to give you our secrets and that I’ll be leaving with you.”

“Leaving with me? Where are we going?”

“You’re going to take me to this Realm of yours so I can see if for myself. Your story has me extremely curious and I know that will be the only way to get Tess to fully trust you.”

Ping smiled, “Are you ready to go back to the control room?”

“I guess.” Ping held out his hand and Dahlia took it. An instant later they were in the control room. She looked at Ping and said, “You are going to have to teach me how to do that!”

Ping laughed and looked at Sprigly, “Can you make her a wrist unit?”

Sprigly saw Ping’s smile and hoped his friend was back in the land of the living. “I’ll have one coded to her by tomorrow.”

“We need it sooner, if possible; we’re leaving.”

Tess stood up, “And just where are you going?”

“I’m going to their universe to confirm that what they told us is true. I’ll be sure to make some recordings for you.”

Tess stared at Dahlia, “Do you trust him?”

Dahlia looked at Ping and smiled, “I didn’t at first…but I do now.”

Tess looked at Ping, “You will keep her safe!”

“You’re the second person to tell me that today.”

“Who was the first?”

Dahlia said, “The original Queen of their Realm.”

Sprigly jumped up, “Don’t tell me you met her!”

Dahlia looked at Sprigly and saw his animation, “I did.”

“PING!!”

“Hey, I had no clue she was coming.” Dahlia looked at Ping and he said, “Sprigly has a huge desire to meet her.”

“Give it time. You’ll meet her.”

Ping and Sprigly stared at Dahlia and she saw their stares. Her eyebrows went up and she shook her head, “I don’t know how I know it, but I do know it’s going to happen. Maybe there is something to what she said.”

Sprigly’s branches had blooms appear and Dahlia looked at Ping, “That happens when an Algean is happy.” She smiled and thought the blooms smelled wonderful.

• • • • •

Tag looked at Danielle and took her in his arms as soon as she teleported in, “Well?”

“He’s found someone.”

“Is it the one he’s called to find?”

“How would I know? I just know he thinks it is and she needed a little prodding to cooperate.”

“What if she isn’t the one?”

“Then he’ll stumble on to them. You know it’s unavoidable. He has to believe she’s it or he’ll go out and get himself killed.”

“Did you see that in his thoughts?”

“I did. I also told a little fib.”

Tag shook his head, “That’s not like you.”

“I just told them I could only hear your thoughts.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“And they believed it?”

“Well, I didn’t have telepathy for the first six thousand years.”

Tag tilted his head, “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. What do you think they’re going to do when they learn all of the Realm’s ships are going to be forced to leave that Creation?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“Dear…that bridge is not that far away.”

“We’ll hope something happens between now and then.”

Tag shook his head, “That doesn’t give us much time.”

“I know.”

“
I
’m leaving, Ping.”