Billy's heart had filled with dread when he'd been called up for another mission. So soon after he'd gotten himself very nearly executed and incinerated, and with a large portion of his close friends currently on the verge of death. He hated to leave them
( ... )
"We'll succeed," Sakura said, catching her fellow crewmates words, turning toward him. "It's not the only possibility, but it's the only option." To be this close, to have found those who could break the clock and restore everyone's lost time? She refused to believe in their failure.
So she smiled, nodding toward the caves. "That's our final hurdle. Ready for it?"
"Precisely," Billy whispered, looking up at the ship looming overhead. Up there, second by second, his friends and girlfriend were rapidly losing their lives to the whirring of the clocks. "We should be a large enough team that one of us can succeed."
He eyed the caves with her, steeling himself for a walk into the unknown. "The only option is to be prepared, right? So. Let's go."
If only this were just an exploratory mission. He'd love to get to know this planet and its mysterious creatures without the time-crunch, he really would.
"Right," she said, starting forward. "No time like the present."
A pause. "There are way too many idioms that reference time, did you know that?" She shook her head, torn between being a little amused and a little more worried.
"A reminder that we're negotiating with beings with thought patterns very different from our own," Billy swallowed, gazing up at their destination as he walked.
"Nothing's quite the same. My sense of time has been completely warped since joining the crew...and now we're on this world where time means something entirely different, and our friends are experiencing it in reverse. Makes it difficult to have a continuous relationship."
This was why they needed to end the strangeness and end it quickly.
"Time could be tricky enough back home. Then there's the ship, and then everything recently... the fact I can't even tell you how long this has been going on says something. I'm not quite sure what," she added. "Only that I prefer when we're all moving forward through time or anything else together."
Which they would be. One of them would be able to get the dragon's negotiating. From there? Success. "Good luck to you," she said, smiling. "Any idea which cave you're aiming for?"
"I hear you," Billy agreed. "I'll look forward to the return of forward-flowing time." If they did so...that would mean the world, wouldn't it? To have everyone safe and sound.
"I think I'm headed that way," he gestured, pointing toward Metronome's cave. "Where're you going to try?"
The world and then some. Sakura was becoming attached to her fellow crew members, despite the fact they were all at heart strangers to her. It was an odd, if expected, reality.
Looking back at the caves, she motioned to the one next to where he'd gestured. "Might as well try over there." Analog's home, as she'd learn fairly soon. "With how many people we've got down here, I figure that's at least three of us to a dragon, if it's one dragon to a cave."
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So she smiled, nodding toward the caves. "That's our final hurdle. Ready for it?"
Reply
He eyed the caves with her, steeling himself for a walk into the unknown. "The only option is to be prepared, right? So. Let's go."
If only this were just an exploratory mission. He'd love to get to know this planet and its mysterious creatures without the time-crunch, he really would.
Reply
A pause. "There are way too many idioms that reference time, did you know that?" She shook her head, torn between being a little amused and a little more worried.
Reply
"Nothing's quite the same. My sense of time has been completely warped since joining the crew...and now we're on this world where time means something entirely different, and our friends are experiencing it in reverse. Makes it difficult to have a continuous relationship."
This was why they needed to end the strangeness and end it quickly.
Reply
Which they would be. One of them would be able to get the dragon's negotiating. From there? Success. "Good luck to you," she said, smiling. "Any idea which cave you're aiming for?"
Reply
"I think I'm headed that way," he gestured, pointing toward Metronome's cave. "Where're you going to try?"
Reply
Looking back at the caves, she motioned to the one next to where he'd gestured. "Might as well try over there." Analog's home, as she'd learn fairly soon. "With how many people we've got down here, I figure that's at least three of us to a dragon, if it's one dragon to a cave."
Reply
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