End of Days 10: End of Days
continues from part nine Part 10: End of Days Everything had come down to this. Quinn couldn’t quite understand it, but as she ran through the ruins, her boots struggling through the sand, a calm descended over her, as if she was subconsciously aware that it would lead to this. Her whole life, her experiences, everything, had led to this moment. She was fighting to stop a madman from trying to enslave not only one universe, but countless others as well. The fates of countless beings rode on her shoulders… her, a middle-aged dominatrix with a slightly bad back, and a scroll she had no idea how to use. The calm allowed her to disregard that last fact as she finally reached the base of the pyramid and leapt on. Adrenaline flowing through her veins, she easily scrambled up, and started to climb the massive blocks before her, ignoring the rough stone that tried to cut into her hands and feet, which were protected by her boots and rubber suit. Down below, she could no longer hear Anubis fighting the others, but she didn’t dare look back. She didn’t have time to look, didn’t have time for anything, other then to climb towards her destiny. The roar of bandages reminded her that she would have to climb fast. She had managed to climb halfway up when Targonamey floated even higher off the top of the pyramid. Vikki almost stopped moving, fearing that he would spot her and use whatever spells he had on hand, but she knew there was no time to do even that. She had to keep climbing, no matter what. But Targonamey had seen her, and though he would take no action to stop her, he had others who would. The last of his cranes shot down towards Quinn, bandages stretched between its feet. Quinn saw it coming, but there was nowhere for her to run as the creature knocked her down, then leapt onto her back, managing to roll her over again and again as it wrapped her up, like a spider wrapping up it’s prey. Quinn lost her grip on the scroll, which fell from her hands, and bounced down the blocks. “No!“ Quinn shouted, struggling to reach out to it. But the crane had wrapped her arms too tightly, and she was helpless as it applied a final layer, then grabbed hold of Quinn’s mummified form, and flew up towards Targonamey. It hovered before him, dangling Quinn like a trophy. Quinn struggled, kicking, trying to break free of her wrappings. “How fitting,“ Targonamey said, not bothering to look back at Quinn. She was beneath him now, barely worthy of notice. “It appears that the storyteller has a most sick sense of humor.. .the very first creation, and the very last creation, together at the end of all things. And even now, at the end, you still do not understand,“ This time Quinn didn’t try to argue or reason with him, struggling to escape her wrappings. “I should have expected a lesser being like yourself to not understand,“ Targonamey said, and for the first time since Quinn had heard his voice, he sounded… sad. Targonamey looked up to the heavens, to all the universes before them. “But no one can understand… no one but myself… I alone fully understand the magnitude of all this.“ Quinn kept struggling, refusing to give up. Targonamey turned, and looked at Quinn. “Do you not understand, Quinn?“ he asked. There was no anger in his voice, no hate or displeasure; only sadness and grief. “You are not wanted,“ Targonamey said. “You are worthless. As am I; as is every single being in all of reality. Our god, our creator, has no more interest in us. We have been cast aside, discarded like garbage in the streets. None of you know this, and in a way, I envy you for it. You don’t understand the crushing despair of knowing your creator has abandoned you. Look!“ Tagronamey pointed to the universes stretched before them. “Look at them all! Full of life, full of beings who are only playthings, toys for some being we cannot see or even hear. And now they are about to be destroyed, and taken into nothingness, because the storyteller is tired of us, all of us! His children, who are being thrown over his shoulder without even a second glance, left in the mud and the rain. Unloved, unwanted!“ His face contorted in anger. “I will not go quietly into the nothingness! I will rage against it, even to my dying breath! If our creator doesn’t want these worlds, then I will take them, and I will do better then he ever did! I will become a god, and I will never discard my charges, or my rule!“ He leaned in very close. “None of you understand, and none of you ever will. But I will make you understand! I will force you to learn that we are but toys! And that among us all, only the strongest, the most worthy, will rule and dominate!“ He spun, and spread his arms and staff. “Do you hear me, great storyteller?!“ Targonamey shouted to the heavens. “Do you?! I, Targonamey, your first creation, your first toy, now declare this to you! I will not exist for your sick pleasure anymore! I will no longer be yours to abuse as you will! I will take this realm as my own! And as you leave forever, know that I will dominate the others, take your place, and make them despise you forever more!“ There was no answer, no voice descending from above, no great shining figure of light to answer Targonamey. And for a moment, the man floated, and watched, and waited. That waiting gave enough time for Quinn to act. Having been unable to free herself, she now turned to more drastic measures. Thus, she opened her mouth, and bit down on the crane’s leg as hard as she could. It squawked and spun, loosing its grip, and sending Quinn flying. She hit the stones and bounced, rolling down the pyramid, each blow knocking the wind out of her. Terrified, screaming, she kept falling, a mummy helpless to stop herself. Then, as if a hand had come down, she gently came to rest halfway down the pyramid. Stunned, she looked around, unable to believe what had happened. At her speed, she should have gone all the way to the bottom, and possibly broken every bone in her body. Yet, she had stopped. There was a roar. Turning, Quinn saw that the bandages had reached the base of the pyramid. And though she couldn’t see around the structure, she somehow knew that the bandages from all over the world had reached its base, leaving the pyramid as the sole island amongst an entire planet of white. The sky roared, the sound of machinery and gears breaking down growing ever louder. “No!“ Targonamey shouted. “You will not rob me of my destiny! Not now!“ Raising his staff, he yelled out in ancient Egyptian, and even from halfway down the pyramid, Quinn could feel the power in his words, as they swept over her. Glancing up to the sky, Quinn whispered, “I don’t know if you can hear me or not, or if you’re even real… but I could use your help.“ With a thunderous blast, a shaft of bandages shot out from Targonamey’s staff, and headed up into the sky, quickly spreading out, and invading each universe, and beginning to mummify it, as the bandages had mummified this one. “Please,“ Quinn pleaded, struggling. If there was ever a time for a miracle, this was it. “Quinn!“ Turning her head, Quinn saw Vikki climbing up the pyramid, Gromet right behind her, and Anubis behind him, enraged beyond all measure. “Vikki!“ “Hang on, we’re coming!“ She had only taken another step when bandages shot towards her like a rocket. Only at the last second did she leap aside, just missing them. But the bandages instead found another target, grabbing Gromet. Like Xesex before him, Gromet was yanked towards Targonamey, the bandages wrapping him up faster then the eye could follow. And then, like a tongue yanking a helpless fish into a waiting mouth, Gromet was absorbed into the bandages in Targonamey’s robes. “Gromet!“ Quinn shouted. “No!“ The bandages came again, once more aiming for Vikki. Again she managed to dodge, and again the bandages caught unexpected prey, this time grabbing Anubis. The Egyptian god of the dead roared and fought, but even he, a god of old, who had seen so many tales, was helpless before the bandages. And as he had done to so many others, he was mummified, wrapped head to toe in an inescapable cocoon that he could never escape. ...