Suit of Space

[Katz]

A few months had passed since my last encounter with anything from the King's Continuum. Winter had crept up over my town, everyone decorating their houses and yards with festive adornments. Ever since I dreamt that I was inside of an hourglass, my nightmares disappeared. The Cosmos suit was away, collecting dust in my closet. As far as I was concerned, Cosmos was dead and Amy was back in charge. And because nothing in my life can remain normal for too long, tv cut to a breaking news report. I was relaxing on my couch, eating a crispy sugar cookie. Todd Jacobson, a reporter who had deemed me a hero, was reporting on the beach that was an hour or so away from my house.

"Todd Jacobson, live here on the Cerulean Shoal Beach, where something odd is happening. Early this morning, four stone columns starting rising from the sands. The beach has been cleared, due to threat. The sand around these structures seems to be impossible to be disturbed, so we don't know how far down these pillars go. Right he-" Todd couldn't finish his last sentence when he was rumbled to the ground and the earth started shaking. As if taunting the report, the columns rose far out of the ground. The columns were around the perimeter of a larger structure, carefully built out of stone bricks. Two spotless flags decorated the front, covered with symbols I didn't recognize. A large wooden door was at the bottom, being thrown open. So much for a normal day!

Todd and the news team left after that. Before they did, Todd called for Cosmos. I was ready, and ran upstairs. I threw my closet door open, quickly getting dressed in the Cosmos suit. I balled my fists a few times and floated downstairs. Normally, I would've just walked downstairs, but my parents were home and didn't know that I was the town hero! After I went out of the door, I started speeding. Gravity wasn't a problem, and I was at common building height. People filmed me and tried to get my attention, but fame didn't get to me.

My mind was exhausted from focusing on my gravity for so long, so after crossing a few town borders, I took a break. I landed near a quiet, wooden shop. I stepped inside, to be greeted by the dumbfounded owner. She instantly recognized me as Cosmos and started talking about how much of an honor it was.

"I'm Danielle Connors, I own this shop." She spoke in an apparent Minnesotan accent, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm flying to take care of the big castle," I pointed to her tv which was muted but on the news, "I got exhausted. I just wanted to grab a Pepsi."

I grabbed at my pockets, before I remembered that I had none. I didn't bring any money.

"Don't worry about paying." Danielle noticed my worry, "It's on the house."

I thanked her and quickly went outside. I managed to pry the suit off, and I downed the entire drink. I threw the bottle into a nearby trashcan and suited back up. I got back to flying, and made it to the beach fast. The fearsome castle was now hovering far above the beach. I had to focus incredibly hard to let gravity put me high enough up. With what little energy I had left, I flew to stairs leading to the open doors. I expected the Dark Lord to jump out and kill me when I stepped in, but it was very comfortable. The inner stone was very smooth, and vases and paintings covered the area. There were doors on either side of the back, in the middle a piano.

A small child-like monster was playing the piano. He was purple with combed green hair. He wore a T shirt and shorts.. The music was upbeat, but it seemed creepy. I tried getting the monster's attention, but he acted like I was invisible. After a minute of not knowing what to do, I went to the right door. It lead to upward stairs, I slowly walked up them. The spiraled high. I pieced together that they were the tall pillars. After what felt like hours of climbing, I was at a window, overlooking nothing but a 75 or so foot drop. I went to turn back when I noticed that the stairs disappeared after I used them. This drop was even farther.

A stone cylinder started rising through the empty staircase. It reached the top of the hollow pillar. I assumed it was done, but then it started moving again. Filling in the space I was standing in! Would I rather be forcibly shoved out, or jump on my own terms? I decided to jump. I closed my eyes and leapt. I landed on level ground... I was standing on air! The transparency of the world around me started to fade out, and within seconds I was inside of a dark black room. 3 pairs of pure blue - even where the white should be - eyes lit up the room. Slightly over them, a regular pair opened.

"How did you find this place?" The closest figure to me asked.

"It was on the news..." I said, taken aback by the simple question. Quickly, candlelight filled the room and I saw the full scene. A large figure sat on a throne at the back, guarded by three blue eyed knights. In front of the knights was someone dressed in a puffy white outfit, the person who asked the question. He was covered in yellow scales, despite his human eyes. A fluffy white hat was crooked on his head.

"Dammit, Retri." The large man in the throne's voice boomed, "I told you the humans would notice."

I still had no clue what was going on.

"Your majesty," The thin lizard one spoke, "I wasn't sure and we needed to erect the castle. At least we drew the attention of the human who knows of us!"

The large one stood from out of his thrown. I realized he wore a large crown. A brown bear wrapped around his large head, which was coated with a serious facial expression. He appeared to be human except for his razor sharp teeth. He stood at around 9 feet, and had wide shoulders. A red cape was tide at his throat, draping at his backside. Under it he wore solid gold armor and silver boots. A belt was tied at his waist, with what appeared to be a lance holstered. Then it clicked in my mind... I knew who he was... He was King of the Continuum!

"Amy Caulfield!" He shook my body during a handshake, "Pleasure to meet you! I'm King Ragnar, but I'm sure my tortured guardian already told you that."

He spoke of the Grand Elder. I finally realized I was in no danger, and lowered my tension. The lizard one was named Retri, and everyone acted as though the blue eyed and armored knights didn't exist. After small talked, I asked King Ragnar who they were.

"Ah," The King's voice was constantly menacing, "Those are the three Cobalt Advisors of Destiny."

"Yes," Retri explained, "these three knights have limited sight in the future. They can only speak of the future and can only speak when they have to!"

"So all of that makes sense," I thought about all of this, "But I still have one question. Why am I here?"

"Because you're part of our team," The leftmost Advisor spoke.

"Aye. You're the only person that the Dark Lord has contacted except for his henchmen and victims." The middle Advisor explained.

"So it's the four of us versus an all powerful monster?" I asked.

"Well... No!" King Ragnar boomed, "Retri and myself have a kingdom to overlook, but you and the Cobalts have an elite team."

"Oh boy! Are they other awesome continuum warriors?" I got excited.

"HAHAHA!" The King's laugh could've shook the universe, "Where's team chemistry if you don't even know your teammates? I assure you... You've met all of your team already!"

"It's true," Retri confirmed, "I hope you're ready for a cheery reunion."

---

Tnemges Eramthgin:

"Something sacred.

Something created.

Something misguided.

Something generous.

Something talented.

Something famed." The Dark Lord's voice wasn't malevolent for once.

"That's your team."

What?

[Katz]

"So of course," King Ragnar told me the next morning after I had some time to rest, "you and the three Cobalt Advisors of Destiny are part of the team. Remember, they're not big talkers, and you'll notice that one of them never talks. He's never said a word in his life, but he can throw down in battle."

"And," Retri spoke, "are you ready to learn of your other team members?"

I nodded, which cued Retri to glance at Ragnar. Retri nodded, and Ragnar stood up.

"First teammate," King Ragnar's voice boomed, "Treff."

The name was unfamiliar, but the pair of royal members had told me I'd know everyone. After a few seconds, I heard footsteps and someone else stepped into the large room we were in. It was the person who was playing the piano when I first came into the castle.

"Meet Treff!" Retri filled in for King Ragnar, who was stroking his beard, "A rhythmically advanced musician of our land. He can play any instrument in the known universe. He doesn't talk much, but he'll chip in every once in a while."

"Like now," He said immediately, sticking out a purple hand to shake mine. Once we shook, he fell back into silence.

"Next team member," Retri said after a minute, "Danielle Connors! Or should I say, Ophorum?"

The shop owner who gave me a free soda walked in, a grin on her face. Her body turned into a gray, clay-like substance and she morphed to look like King Ragnar.

"Heyo, kid! Bet you're glad to see ME the most, huh?" The false king spoke, perfectly mimicking Ragnar's voice.

"I'm so confused... I know you were at the shop, but... Are you a man or a woman?" I asked with full confusion.

Ophorum thought for a second, then morphed into Retri.

"I am nothing," He quickly spoke before shifting into a mirror image of myself, "and I am everything."

"Ok," I wasn't satisfied with the answer, "what does your natural form look like?"

Ophorum relaxed and molded into a light grey blob with holes for eyes and a mouth.

"Pretty beautiful, huh?" Ophorum asked with sarcasm, "I was born a perfectly healthy monster, and grew strong and powerful. One day, a familiar purple lord of evil came into our continuum and tried to melt me. I kept my will to survive, and now I can become anything. I didn't expect to come to much use until King Ragnar told me that one of the Cobalt's said I was part of the prophecy."

"Prophecy?" I asked King Ragnar.

"When the Dark Lord first visited my domain," King Ragnar explained, "the three Cobalts came from out of their mystical abode to tell me about the threat ahead. They said destiny would bring a human with superior knowledge and powers, and if so, they could do one of two things. Lead us to victory, or bring forth the downfall of the universe. Before we worry about such issues, they told me that you would have a team. It would consist of the three of them, yourself, Treff, Ophorum and some... others. The fact that Ophorum happened to be surveying the town at the same place that the Grand Elder was left at the same day that the royal musician, Treff, decided to join Retri, myself and the Cobalts is no coincidence. But for the final two team members? Only you can bring them."

"I'm not sure I understand," I was trying to take all of this in. If I screw up the mission against the most powerful being ever -- the universe is destroyed?

"Hold out both of your hands," Retri instructed me. I did as he pleased and extended both of my arms, "focus deeply... Let your mind be a leaf in the wind and think about anything. We'll just wait."

I started thinking. My brain swirled down into pure darkness. I felt as though I was asleep, and although I was conscious, I couldn't open my eyes. I was sitting down, chatting across the table from someone I didn't know. I was eating meatloaf, discussing some current event. Fate grabbed at my hands excused me from the table.

I got up, started walking and opened the door out of the restaurant. As I was walking outside, I glanced to my right and saw something... The Grand Elder. At the sight of him, my world collapsed around me and suddenly I was much smaller than the rocky head, and the slit along the bottom half of him was a cavern. I walked inside, where I was greeted by a shadow of the Dark Lord. I punched at it, and it collapsed. The statue started glowing and my hand started getting hot.

THE WORLD STARTED GETTING HOT! MY SUIT WAS OVERHEATING. A large black hole was forming, and it was boiling me. I started to lower my arms -- I realized they were both forming the same black hole.

"No Amy!" Retri's voice cut sanity back into my panic, "If you let go now, it assures the destruction of everything!"

I continued keeping the portal up, despite the immense heat. With a scrape, the Grand Elder statue, from wherever it was stored, shot out of the black hole like a bullet. My suit cooled down as it started closing, and I knew my task was done. Until, another figure jumped out. He blended in with the shadows.

"I've been in that place for too damn long for you to close my last chance out," He spoke. When he stood, it was unmistakable. A battered, muscular Brandon Gold. Brandon was the first person to be absorbed by a black hole, and had sold Uranium and Brainwave readers to Liam.

"And Iron Man is still using my equipment, huh?" Brandon raised a fist towards me.

"What is this man doing here?" King Ragnar spoke in a deeper voice than he ever had, "He's not part of the prophecy! He's... He's...-"

The silent Cobalt raised his arms, freezing time itself. I looked around and saw that everything except for the 3 of them, King Ragnar, and I were frozen as if nothing happened.

"He's the final team member. We can restrain him at Amy Caulfield's request, but after we restart the flow of time, our expedition must start." A different Cobalt spoke.

"Restrain him. I wouldn't trust him if my life depended on it." I spoke in a surprisingly cold tone.

"As you wish," The third Cobalt spoke, pulling cobalt handcuffs out of nowhere. He clasped them around the frozen Brandon's wrists. I saw a key briefly, but the Cobalt sent it out of existence.

After time was unfrozen, everything continued. Everything went by in a haze, and suddenly we were on the sands of the beach. The Cobalts led us under a weak spot in the sand and we were in old tunnels. We continued moving on for days. At night we'd eat -- the Cobalts could make food out of thin air - and tell stories and sing songs. Brandon stayed isolated, twiddling with his Cobalt imprisonment.

We reached a point deep within the tunnels where we'd occasionally hear distant footsteps or voices.

"...you idiot! If we d... ill stop us, this is v... ortant" We heard, being cut off, one day. But then, we heard the crackle of electricity. Something in the tunnel flashed, and standing in front of us was... The Dark Lord!

"Yes," He answered a question no one asked, "I am physically in the human realm. Construction of my hourglass is nearing completion. I can stand here and talk briefly, but I'll fizzle back to the continuum before I could do much. So instead of fighting like a fool, I'll tell you guys something. This cavern branches off into many different sections. My hourglass is in here, along with every single monster that is working with me. You can stop them, the Cobalts will speak if I'm lying."

Silence.

"First off, Amy, you must carry the Grand Elder on your back." The Dark Lord ordered me around, to my disobeying, "Cobalts, speak if I'm lying."

Silence. I groaned and took some rope from the Cobalts and tied the Grand Elder to my back.

"Before you can stop the hourglass, everyone here will have their personal talents tested." The Dark Lord spoke, in a now weary tone. I wanted to ask him many things, but before I could, he fizzled out of existence.

"Come on guys," Ophorum clapped -- he had taken the form of a young man with slicked back blair hair and bushy sideburns. He wore a fine black suit with a deep blue tie -- and led us forward, "We've got a universe to save!"

---

Tnemges Eramthgin:

"Can you really save the universe?"

"Can you really stop me?"

I was sitting down, in front of a door. I opened it. King Ragnar greeted me and told me to stop my greed. Even in my dreamscape, this made no sense. I walked further out into a forest. 7 grey trees stood tall, their branches flailing slowly. Attached to the leaves were artifacts.

This scene repeated after that, several times. I couldn't control my body, and I had to let this happen over and over. Ragnar, the trees, all of this. Until one time, the nightmare started with a slow music box tune. The room was much bigger, and I had to walk longer to get to the door. When I opened it, King Ragnar's body was a white silhouette, and he didn't speak.

The trees were shaking intensely, and as soon as I approached them, they melted. When the pulverized goop feel to the ground, there was a gruesome revelation. Haunting each of the trees was a dead, fellow team member. I walked up to the last one, the Grand Elder, and sat down. I got interrupted by movement beneath me, something coming up from the damp soil. When I backed away, a small sapling sprouted up. The leaf only held a mirror, with my face staring out of it. My tree.

[Katz]

[Turtlesauce]

Whoaa, whaaat.

Hyping it up, I see

[Rocket]

is that a chef, he's a fuckin cool chef

[sane]

That Star Wars poster parody tho

[Katz]

That Star Wars poster parody tho

Well the series name is the perfect length to parody The Force Awakens logo, and since it's about space and the next episode lines up with the current Star Wars episode, I figured it made sense.

[Katz]

You feel you're finally ready...

The beginning of the end is at hand.

---

A new day came after exploring the sand tunnels. The heroes underground weren't aware of the turmoil that was happened on the surface. As the Hourglass was nearing completion, the sky had been cast into darkness over the entire planet. The hopeless feeling of the universe being at the whim of a monster was now known to everyone, the centerpiece laying at the beach. Worldwide electricity went down, and no one left their houses.

"This isn't good for them," Retri sighed to Ragnar in the castle, "we can always go down and help them."

"No." The king spoke, sorrow but firmness in his tone, "It is not my place to interfere. While my domain is at risk, the physical damage is on Amy's realm. Her team's destiny is them and only them facing the Dark Lord. To interfere is to mess with the strands of time given to me by the Cobalts."

"As you wish." Retri groaned, "But there must be something we can do!"

"All we can do now is watch them and hope." King Ragnar said, pointing to his ball of crystal. It was a gift from the Cobalts. It's their parent. Sure it wasn't alive, but it had knowledge of the past, present, and future, and gave its divine powers to three beings, to experience life through them. As long as King Ragnar thought of the heroes, the ball would project visions of them.

--

I had just woken up and was stretching. I wore a loose fitting white shirt and jean shorts. While in the suit, my clothes had to be thin or she'd overheat herself. I cracked each of my fingers and then suited up.

"Finally!" Ophorum moaned jokingly. Out of all my traveling companions, Ophorum was the friendliest with me. The Cobalts and Treff kept to themselves, the Grand Elder either couldn't or didn't want to use his telepathy and Brandon and I didn't get along. Ophorum was the only one who spoke freely and liked me. Our path along the tunnel made many twists and turns, until we made it to a doorway pouring into a bigger room.

"Here we are," I said, "the first chamber."

When we last spoke with the menace we were on the hunt for, he told us that our unique skills would be tested. Based on what he said, we thought them to be rooms. And we were right. We stepped in, fully focused. Suddenly, both the entrance and exit to the large room slammed shut with impenetrable steel doors. At the same time, a small blue child sank from the ground.

"See... See a bee!" He said, then disappeared.

"What? Is someone here good at killing bees or something?" I asked.

"Nope," Ophorum answered for everyone, "but I know it's my room."

Before I could ask if he was certain, he shrunk down and changed forms into a bee. He started buzzing around and flying, checking every crack, crevice, nook, and cranny of the room. He halted back near the group and reformed to his dapper humanization.

"I can't find anything!" Ophorum sighed with defeat, "What could it relate to?"

"I don't know," I was puzzled, "but everyone spread out and check around the room for clues!"

And when our search couldn't get any worse, it did. We started hearing a loud scraping noise. No one knew what it was. Until, we noticed that the side walls were getting closer to us. Ophorum turned his arms into long concrete pillars and and stopped the walls from crushing us.

"Perks of having a shapeshifter," He mentally patted himself on the back. While that held up for a while, spinning drill-like spikes emerged from the walls and almost dug into Ophorum's hands. He noticed quicker than any of us and retracted his arms, turning them back to normal.

"Why is my life so weird?" Brandon asked, breaking his silence, "I'm about to die like a fuckin' action movie while some aliens are taking me to a giant hourglass to stop a Knight in shining lavender from destroying the universe."

That got most of us down, as we realized our journey was finally over. The end of an entire team.

"Anybody else find it odd that the exit GREY door has WHITE bars in the windows?" Treff said from nowhere.

"What are you getting at?" I asked, seeing no purpose in his question. He advanced toward the doors and ran his hands over the several bars. Each one played a tune that filled the entire room.

"Bingo," Treff grinned like he just defused a bomb. He pressed a bar, pressed it again, pressed another bar, and finally pressed his last one. The exit door slid up and the walls stopped cruising towards us.

"He didn't say see see a bee, like a looking at a bug. He said C C A B, like Piano keys. This was my room." Treff explained his stroke of genius. After that, we were lead through more tunnels as everyone fell back into intense silence. Eventually, we made into a Monster Pub. Monsters of different shapes, sizes, colors, and everything were all sitting around. They drank purple colored ale and played card games.

For some reason, the bartender motioned for us to come over. He had an incredibly raspy voice.

"Hah, the Savior Lord almost thought you jokers wouldn't make it outta that first chamber. You guys gotta get better at puzzle solving if you wanna save your little planet. Anyways, the out of order unisex bathroom leads to the tunnels for the next chamber. Have fun." He informed us. This all happened very fast, but we didn't argue and went through the door.

These tunnels were made of a darker, harder sand. It wouldn't be much longer. We reached the entrance to the next puzzle with great timing. This time, it had an actual door, which looked exactly the door to a house. When we opened it up, we were blown away.

"No fuckin' way." Brandon looked amazed.

---

Tnemges Eramthgin:

I was back in the forest where I saw the trees representing the dead bodies of my companions. Someone was watering a garden. An old man. Before I could talk to him, he turned into the Dark Lord, and I noticed he was watering the plants with the sands of an hourglass.

"Tomorrow," his whispered, "one of your own will perish."

He vanished like a ghost, and the garden disappeared. I was walking along a pathway. I thought something was surrounding me from my peripheral vision, but when I looked dead on, all I saw was blackness.

Why are you doing this?

The path stopped at a large structure with five curves protruding from itself. Fingers. The structure was a hand. There was an opening, which I was knocked through. When I looked behind, I saw myself. The person who pushed me in was me. I was on a water slide, and I was back to when I was a little girl.

What purpose does my torment serve you?

The other me kept going straight forward, but I veered off onto a darker segment of the water slide. It ended and I was on my feet. I balled my fists, and yelled out to the monster I knew was lurking in the shadows.

"Why did you bring me back to my first nightmare?" I shouted with pure hatred.

"Because I gave you some advice when you first came here, and you ignored it. I told you to stop it before it started." He explained.

"Stop what?! Being specific could help you for once in your awful life. So right now, tell me what the FUCK you're talking about!" I exploded, uncorking 13 years of unused anger.

"Hmm..." He was taken aback by my tone, "Nah, I'm good."

I really hate you with all my heart. What purpose do I serve to you?

[Turtlesauce]

This lived up to the hype <3

You're a great writer, Luddy

[Katz]

This lived up to the hype <3

You're a great writer, Luddy

I'd just like to point out now that in the teaser poster, the sky is black and the only person outside is the one person not too afraid or bound by anything to go outside.

Let's just say everything is subliminal.

Edit: Forgot to say thanks! I'm always trying new things and improving, so compliments help fuel me to write. I hope that with this much support, I'll continue writing far into the future.