THE MOMENT
"The end of the universe?" Ruin asked. "What does that mean?" The tall, broad vampire stood in Turbo's garage while the teen was busy at his work table. Turbo invited him to discuss their latest piece of information.
"I don't know," Turbo shook his head. "Crystal got a few other answers from Monday; but, she didn't elaborate on the 'end of the universe'. The only thing Monday said about it was, 'it's self-explanatory'."
"That doesn't help," Ruin shrugged with a sigh. "Was there a time frame at least? Though, I don't know how to prepare for the end of the universe...," he said.
"According to Crystal, sometime at the end of May. So we only have a few months to come up with a plan. Do you think Helios has any useful info?"
"Probably not," Ruin shrugged and blue text began to glow on his wrist as he sent a Whisper. "But, I'll ask anyway."
"No, I"m not busy at all! What's up!!??" A black portal opened next to Ruin at the same moment He and Turbo heard the question. A glistening, dripping-wet, white metal cart rolled out of the portal with a large CRT sitting on it. The TV was on and a golden, faceless mannequin stood in a white void with a red towel wrapped around his waist. A puddle of water formed at his feet while he stood there waiting for an answer.
"I know you're only a low-level A.I. at Sharp Development," Ruin said. "But, is there any chance you know anything about the end of the universe?"
"Sure," the mannequin on the screen tugged at his loose towel to keep it up, then he crossed his arms. "Which time?"
"It might be clearer if we say the end of the multiverse," Turbo said. "We don't mean the end of a single universe,.. it sounds like they're all ending."
"Yeah," Helios nodded. "Actually, hold on." Helios walked forward as if he approached the camera; then, he covered the entire scene with his hand for a brief moment. When he moved his hand again, he was dressed in a red suit. The white void was replaced with a bustling cafe. Helios sat in a booth and nodded at Turbo and Ruin.
"I've been around for seven reboots so far; so, which time are you asking about?"
"Of course it's happened before...," Turbo sighed. "Well, we'll get back to that right now. I guess we're asking about the 8th time; the next one coming up. Is there anything we can do to be ready? Or, even stop it?"
"Not a thing," Helios shook his head. "Ms. Sharp's plan is already in motion. There's nothing to be done, unless...," Helios shook his head as soon as he head the thought. He hoped to drop it; but, Turbo was ready.
"Unless what?? You have an idea?"
"Idea?" Helios chuckled. "No. A hare-brained scheme, maybe. But, I wouldn't call it an idea. It was just a ridiculous thought."
"We need everything right now," Turbo said. "Even if it's ridiculous."
"It's beyond preposterous is what it is...," Helios added. Turbo and Ruin waited silently for the rest. "Fine...," Helios grumbled. "But, don't laugh at me; I already told you it was stupid. It wasn't even a real thought, just a random connection my mind made...,"
"Please, Helios," Ruin said. He had his own goals he was working towards and he hoped they'd grown close enough for him to sway Helios.
"So, the train of thought went something like this," Helios explained. "When I told you Ms. Sharp's plan was already in motion, a funny thought happened. What if you beat her to the punch? She already has the date planned for the end of this universe; it would ruin her plans completely if it happened off schedule; ahead of time."
"Your plan to prevent the end of the universe is to make it happen sooner?" Ruin asked. Helios threw his hands up in exasperation.
"I TOLD YOU it was dumb," he whined.
"No...," Turbo shook his head. "It's genius...,"
"What?" Ruin asked.
"What?" Helios asked at the same time.
There's something there," Turbo shook his head. "We don't need to end everything; we just need to find a way to disrupt her plans enough; this is good," he said. "Thank you, Helios. So what can you tell us about the other reboots?"
"Which one?"
"All of them," Turbo replied. "Anything you can tell us; no matter how general or detailed. We need to learn whatever we can about what happens when Ms. Sharp reboots everything."
"Oh," Helios nodded. "Then, you only need to know about the last couple of times; that's easy enough. The key to everything is a section of time that's known as 'Aurelio's Sun'...," Helios said.
"Wait, go back," Turbo interrupted. "Why only the last couple of times?"
"You said you wanted to know about how Ms. Sharp handles the process, right?" Helios asked.
"Yeah, but you said you've been through seven reboots...,"
"Obviously, Ms. Sharp wasn't responsible for the ones before," Helios said. Turbo was a smart kid and he knew he lived in a strange universe that could end on any day. He knew there were a lot of unknowns in the universe and tried to take the unexpected in stride. But, he wasn't prepared for the casualness of the statement, nor the actual reality that the words revealed. He knew the name, it haunted his thoughts like a ghost. He'd been chasing it, and even managed to make contact through a friend. But he knew there was more to why he knew the name. There had to be a reason the name came to mind when his thoughts were still.
"Those were done by Ballisea."