The TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

A Story of Mantra and Black September

By Aladdin and Christopher Leeson

Posted 02-03-25

Chapter 16

NEW PROBLEMS FOR OLD

By seeking and blundering we learn.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[A NOTE to readers. I will have to suspend my uploading of the TWILIGHT OF THE GODS for a while. I'm not sure how long that will be. Hopefully, it will be only for a month or so. I will make an announcement here when I see myself clear to post Mantra's adventure again. Why the suspension? Well, instead of slackening off, my other commitments are becoming heavier these days. That's not all bad, because some good things are shaping up. But to take advantage of them, I have to do considerable preparatory work. That means I need to free up more time and am unable to continue to work on TWILIGHT at present. This is because the unpublished portion of TWILIGHT exists in an early rough draft state and I have to put a lot of time into each new chapter. But I remain very dedicated to posting this superior novel by Aladdin and I will resume work on it as soon as possible. Fortunately, I have another story ready to post here at BC. Most of it is polished already, and the rest of the story is far along in the polishing process. It will not take long to offer it in highly polished new chapters for BC. It is called "JOSETTE'S STORY," A PREQUEL TO "A SOCK IN THE MOUTH," a chapter in the "DARK OF THE MOON" novella. "Dark of the Moon: A SOCK IN THE MOUTH" is already posted here at Big Closet. Of all my recent works, it is one of my favorites. In a month I hope to start uploading chapters of JOSETTE'S STORY for the entertainment of the BC readership. Now let's get back to Mantra's ongoing adventure:]
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I didn’t reach the flaming tower. I was suddenly in the command center of Gabriel’s Time Capsule. Startled, I looked about and saw him standing across from me.

"Mantra, you've been taking unnecessary risks," he scolded. "I had to bring you back to save your life."

I rounded on him. "I was the one saving lives! What do you do to snatch me out of mid-air?"

"Teleportation technology is elementary compared to time travel. The moment after I transported you, the Avengers received an alarm that Nemesis was approaching Earth. The heroes are even now committing themselves to the fatal battle destined to destroy not only them but the timeline universe they occupy. If dare not remain where we are,or we will be destroyed, too. The Capsule's self-preservation AI will take us about from this doomed from this timeline any minute now."

“You mean everyone I just saved down there is going to die, anyway?"

"The possibility is close to one hundred percent," he replied. “If this timeline has a version of Amber Hunt, she will not be able to save the universe any more than the Main Bough's version of Amber Hunt can save the Main Bough.”

That he “allowed” me to visit? The jerk had shanghaied me into that miserable place without any “by your leave” on my part! "Listen! For a change, why don't you tell me something that will cheer me up?" I asked.

He gave a faint smile. "You'll be glad to know that you have people waiting outside that hatch door who are very relieved that you've returned safely."

He opened the portal, and the three kids came rushing at me. Jamie grabbed my cape, and Evie's arms were tight around my neck. Gus stood off, looking uncertain.

He looked so much like his father, just as tall though thinner. But the senior Gus wasn't so emotionally constipated as his son. I have sometimes wondered whether it was his parents' divorce that had damaged him. I reached out to him over his sister's shoulder, and he took that as encouragement to step closer. I put my gloved hand behind his head and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his forehead. I remembered how much I had liked to be kissed by my own mother in my twenties.

I heard Gabriel’s footsteps and looked back. "If we can't save anybody,” I asked, “what have we accomplished by coming here in the first place?"

"There was never any possibility of saving lives in that universe, not unless we brought a few of its people into our Time Capsule. Our only purpose in going there was to observe and learn."
"What have you learned?" I asked."

"The most confounding thing I've learned is that Amber Hunt has escaped!"

I glared at him like a grizzly bear. “What? I went through hell to capture her, and you let her slip out the back door already?"

“In a metaphorical sense, yes. I'm very sorry."

"What I'm sorry about is that you have me convinced that you're smarter than you are!" I told him.
“Recriminations are not productive, Lukasz. But I still have more to tell you. The Reality Gem vanished with her. Possibly, it had even encouraged and instigated Amber's escape. It's bonded to the young lady, as you know."

“Do you think they'll remain together?"

“I hope so," said the little man. "Because without Amber, the Time Gem, and the Reality Gem all working in tandem, they cannot destroy the Nemesis array. If the Main Bough collapses under Nemesis’ attack, it will take the Tree of Eternity with it, not hundreds of years from now, but immediately."

"Is the Time Gem gone, too?" I asked.

"Fortunately, no. The Time Gem remains with us, at least for now. It's created its own bond with Jamie and hasn't seen fit to abandon her yet. But it must leave soon, if it is to rendezvous with Amber Hunt and the Realty Gem on the Main Bough. That attack will not save the situation, but it will delay the collapse of the Multiverse for over two hundred years."

I didn't want the kids to hear this doomsday talk. "Evie, Jamie, Gus, Gabriel and I have to major duty grown up talk right now. Please give us some privacy."

"Hey!" said Gus. "I'm legally an adult!"

I wasn't sure how he came up with the idea of law in the lawless world he grew up in. But whether he knew it or not, that world was gone. "Please, Gus, trust me," I said.

Sourly, he left the control deck, followed by his sisters. Jamie, just orphaned, still looked sad, but Evie glanced back at me and tried hard to smile.

"Do you have any more good news to dispense?” I asked Gabriel. "If you know how to fix this disaster, fill me in on it before I develop ulcers!"

"The VIGOPS has no explicit recommendations for any new course of action. Unfortunately, our original plan was fatally flawed and we have to change our approach to the problem

"Duh! I'm no Big Brain like you, but I've already guessed that much on my own! Do you have a new plan, or are you waiting for inspiration?”

Gabriel shook his head. "There are various possibilities, but if we pick the wrong recourse, there may not be enough time left to reverse course.“Time is short and we must test as many of our options as possible before...before the fatal instant."

“Well, then let’s get a move on! By the way, what's happening in Zero Time right now?"

"Presently, the Ultra Force is trapped in Sersi's Soulscape pen. She is doing the bidding of the Ego Gem. As part of its scheme, the Ego Gem intends to use the UltraForce to lure Loki into a trap.”

“You've said that the Avengers will join with the UltraForce and do battle of Nemesis. I met two Avengers’ time clones in the world we last visited. But where are the real Avengers right now?”

"In Zero Time, the Avengers have not yet left their home realm, the Scaffold Universe. Soon they will enter the Main Bough in an attempt to rescue Sersi. They do not know yet that she has been possessed by an evil influence. Shortly after they arrive, the Grandmaster will induce Loki to accept a sporting challenge, the Avengers against the UtraForce, and the prize to the winner will be the seventh gem—the Ego Gem—. When Sersi touches Loki, the Ego Gem that possesses her will take power over the six gems that Loki holds. That will initiate the creation of the all-powerful Nemesis."

“The Grandmaster?” I echoed, my brow furrowing. “Who’s he?”

“One of the oldest beings in the Multiverse,” Gabriel explained. “A cosmic game player who enjoys pitting mighty beings against each other.”

I crossed my arms, my mind racing. “So, if Sersi is the Ego Gem’s puppet, shouldn’t we be trying to keep Loki out of her grasp? At the very least, shouldn’t we warn him?”

“Loki is... difficult to guide,” Gabriel said carefully. “As the god of lies, he assumes everyone is lying to him. His ego makes him susceptible to trickery, but negotiating with such a one is nearly impossible.”

I sighed. “Gabriel, I’m no match for these ancient gods and cosmic entities. I've been trying as hard as I can, but what good have I done so far?”

He smiled faintly. “The VIGOPS has recommended you as my optimal companion for this mission. Collaborating with you has strengthened my agreement with its prognosis."

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t soft-soap me. If luck is all we have to depend on, we’re in trouble.”

Gabriel chuckled lightly, his calm demeanor infuriatingly unshaken. “Luck is a vital element in any plan. And if anyone has luck, it’s you.”

I glared at him. “If you’re counting on me to pull off the miracle that you and your VIGOPS can't deliver, yo have to be dumber than you’ve been acting lately.”

His smile didn’t waver. “What can I say? Holding onto hope, however slim, serves one better than embracing despair.”

I turned away, my mind racing. Hope or no hope, I damned well knew we were running out of time—and options.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 17