It only took us two weeks to get to the coast of the country we were in. We stopped once to restock and refuel. Once we got to the land’s edge, Betti stopped the camper and she looked over to me and then back at the button. She nodded and I reached over and pushed the button. The camper began to sway. I looked outside and wings were coming out of the roof. The camper lifted off the ground and pontoons replaced the wheels. The front of the vehicle stretched out and so too did the front console inside. The front panel now resembled that of a cockpit on a commercial jet. Propellers had appeared on the wings and I thought I heard a new engine starting up behind us.

We began to move forward. “You should put your seatbelt on,” Betti said to me.

“I’m fine with what I’ve got, thanks,” I said. I kept peering out of the window at the land’s edge. Suddenly, the plane shot forward like a bullet. I was thrown against the back of my seat violently.

“I told you so.” Betti was trying to hold back a smile.

“Yes, yes, you’re so wise,” I joked.

We took to the air and leveled out. I looked out the window and the land faded away behind us. Right in front was the vast and seemingly endless ocean. We were on the final leg of our journey to find the wizard’s stones.

For the first time since leaving home, I thought about what were Sora and I going to do. With Sauza and Todrick gone, we no longer had a home to go back to. That made the both of us orphans at the ripe old age of twelve. Maybe if Sora and I asked nicely, Betti would take us in.

It took us fourteen hours to get to the area the scanner showed for the stone. We found it at the bottom of a giant lake. Betti, being a former swimmer, could hold her breath for about four to five minutes, so she retrieved it for us. It took her six minutes to bring it up and Yukon was getting worried. I was about to jump in when she broke the surface of the lake and took in a massive amount of air. She held the stone up in triumph and the rest of us applauded.

This particular stone had a reddish tint to it and was as smooth as freshly blown glass. Getting that stone meant we were done with finding them. We finally had all four of the wizard’s stones. And now that they were all together, they started to glow. We could also hear a faint humming coming from the stones. It was a pretty sound.

We stayed the night beside the lake and figured out our next move. “So what do we do now? Are we going straight to your house Betti?”

Betti looked at the ground and moved the dirt around with the toe of her shoes.

“Betti?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. We should go back to my home. I want to see if the wish is going to work.”

“What about you Yukon; what are you going to do now?”

Yukon patted Alistair’s head and then looked up. “I wanted to seek out Master Chow. I heard that he was the world’s greatest and strongest martial artist. I would really like to improve my technique.”

Sora perked up at the mention of Master Chow’s name. “Ooooo; that would be so awesome! Could we do that too James?”

“Well, he was our fathers’ teacher and there were some things we weren’t taught; but we need to help Betti first,” I said.

Yukon was a little upset. “I guess we could wait. I don’t even know where he lives. Speaking of living places, where do you live Betti?” He was looking at Betti and she looked back at him. Since we had retrieved that last stone, she had been pretty distant. Yukon gave her some space. Who knew he could be so sensitive?

“I and my family live in the city of Westlake in the nation of Paredia. That’s also where Coates, Inc. has its central offices and labs.”

“How long will it take for us to get there?” I asked.

“We have to refuel first, but after that, by air it will take us about fourteen hours. The nearest town to us right now is six hours away however, so it will take us another day before we get there. I really hope my mom can hold out a little longer.”

Yukon got up from the stump he was resting on and went to sit next to Betti. He grabbed both of her hands and said, “She will be just fine Betti. With these stones, you have saved her life. She will be so proud of you.”

Betti looked up into Yukon’s big brown eyes and smiled. A second later, she pulled him in real close and they kissed. I had no idea Yukon could be so sweet; or perhaps he was just being a sweet-talker. Either way, it was still a good thing what he did for Betti.

Sora looked away and blushed. I just smiled and silently applauded them. That had been a long time coming. I would never understand why it had taken them so long. I guess that kind of thing took time.  Look at Jason and I.

The two of them ended up sleeping in the same tent that night. Sora and I slept in the camper. The next morning, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, relieved myself and then took a shower. Sora was still fast asleep when I came back out so I went outside to check on the love birds. When I opened the door, I saw them by the lake. They were gazing at the water and were locked in a very loving embrace. Yukon stood behind Betti with his arms wrapped around her and Betti was pressed up really close with her head resting on his shoulder. Right then I hoped that they would last in this reality. On the show they didn’t make it. However, on the show they didn’t have a real connection. Now it seemed like they did.

I closed the door behind me and they both looked in my direction. “Sorry guys; I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You aren’t disturbing us. We were just looking at the water. Did you sleep well?” Betti asked.

“I slept like a rock to be honest with you,” I said with a smile.

They laughed.

We all talked for a little while and then Betti and I started preparing breakfast. Sora came out when he smelled the food. That was so like him.

After eating, we got everything ready for our departure. It didn’t take us that long to re-store our gear and when we finished, we headed out and made our way to the next town. We had to stop to resupply and refuel for the long journey to Betti’s house. It took us five hours to get to the town and another hour for the preparations. We also got extra fuel canisters because we didn’t want to stop anywhere else before Westlake. After that we headed out of town and Yukon let me push the plane changing button again. I could be a kid when I wanted to be. It had its advantages.

We headed southeast over the ocean. I saw several small and some big islands on our fourteen hour flight. Someday I hoped to visit a few of them.

The water looked so crystal clear. I would love to go snorkeling in that. I went snorkeling once in Florida when I was fifteen. It had been so much fun, even if it was in the Boy Scouts.

The city of Westlake was finally in view and we made our descent. From our height I could see so much of the city. It reminded me a little bit of what Houston looked like; a lot of sprawl. I could see the downtown area full of a lot of tall buildings. They were run of the mill buildings but the condos were the real sight. There were two spiral-shaped ones, one that resembled a cube, but all were ultra-modern works of art. Even the smaller buildings farther out had a futuristic edge to them. This society was more technologically advanced than my own.

The city started to disappear behind us and we entered the suburban area. The houses were very nice looking, but still we kept flying. As the houses thinned out and got bigger, I saw a mammoth of a house looming in front of us. It was on top of a hill looking down on the rest of the houses. The mansion was about four stories high and was about one acre long. It was the color of a radish and brick mixed together. I had no idea what to call that match up. It had large picturesque bay windows on the bottom two floors and smaller but single-paned windows on the upper two floors. The grounds were well maintained with lush foliage and manicured trees. When we flew over the house, I saw a pool twice the size of an Olympic one. And at the edge of the pool, there was a waterfall from a man-made mountain about ten stories high. Also, the house was half as wide as it was long. The house, in short, was amazing! I couldn’t believe that Betti grew up there. Save for a few mannerism quirks, she didn’t behave like a stuck up socialite. She was pretty down to Earth.

Betti circled the house area one more time and then made her way to a helipad off to the side of the massive house. She flipped a switch and the wings spun upwards so the propellers were now also facing upwards. We hovered over the pad for a few seconds and then Betti brought us in for a very smooth landing.

A man in a white lab coat headed in our direction. He looked very similar to Betti but significantly older. That must have been her father Dr. Bolivar Wool Coates. Betti rapidly unlatched the seat-belts and ran for the side door. Just as she opened the door, her father reached the camper. “Daddy!”

“Hello my little princess. I’m so glad you made it back to us, and not a moment too soon. Your mother is not doing well,” he said.

Betti went outside and gave her dad a big hug. He hugged her back with much love. I looked at that exchange of affection and felt a tremendous sense of loss. I missed my two dads. Hell, I missed my family and friends from the other Earth too.

I miss our dads James, Sora thought.

I was just thinking the same thing my brother. I undid my straps and went to stand next to Sora. Yukon got up from the dining area with Alistair in tow.

Dr. Coates looked at us as we exited the camper. He smiled and extended his hand to me. “Thank you so much James for bringing my daughter back safely.”

I was a little surprised. How did he already know my name? I knew I had never met him before. “You are very welcome sir, but how do you know that I’m James?”

“Didn’t Betti already tell you? We’ve been in constant communication since the day she left. We talk every few hours.”

I was still confused. What was he talking about? I looked at Sora and Yukon and they shook their heads. Alistair did the same. I asked Betti, “When were you talking to your father? I never saw you on the phone or anything.”

Betti just smiled. “I usually spoke to my dad when everyone was asleep or out getting supplies.”

“And still, we never once caught you on any communication device. How is that possible?”

“You were right Betti, he is a smart one. James, you’re thinking too linearly about this. Your journey was hundreds of miles east of here. Obviously there is a time difference. You all could easily have been asleep when I was talking with my daughter and you wouldn’t be the wiser,” Dr. Coates said.

“I guess that’s true. Oh well, it’s not that important.”

“Correct; now let me meet these other two fine companions of yours. You must be Sora. It’s a pleasure to meet you my boy.”

Sora approached Dr. Coates shyly and blushed. “It’s nice to meet you sir.”

“Hi, I’m Yukon and this is my best friend Alistair. What’s up?” Oh that Yukon. He was always so well-mannered. That was sarcasm by the way.

The doctor laughed. “You are just as funny and cute as Betti described you.” Dr. Coates pulled Yukon closer and said, “And if you hurt my daughter, they won’t find your body.” He let go of Yukon’s hand and smiled at him and walked back to Betti’s side. Yukon had a look of pure terror on his face. It was hilarious.

As we walked back to the house, still talking among ourselves, a young man came outside through the big bay doors leading out to the patio. He looked to be about Betti’s age. As he got closer I noticed he had black hair. It must have been Betti’s twin brother Jason. “Hey guys, I’m Jason. Betti has told me so much about -----. James, is that you?”

I stopped dead. I couldn’t believe it. I ran to him screaming his name. “Jason; oh my God, it is you!” When I got right up to him, I stopped. There were subtle changes, but there was no doubt in my mind. “It totally is you! I can’t believe it!!”

Jason grabbed me and picked me and began to spin me around. He laughed from pure unadulterated joy, but I had begun to cry. I rested my head against his shoulders and was truly sobbing like a baby. “No, don’t cry my love. We’re together again. This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”

“I’m not…c-crying… f-from s-sadness. I’m just s-so happy I…c-can’t contain it. I’ve b-been looking f-for you for a really l-long time.”

He stepped back and got a really good look at me. He wiped a tear from my face. “I’ve been looking for you too. And, I am so sorry for what I did. I really should have paid more attention when you were training me.”

“It’s all right Jason. We’re together again and that’s all that matters to me right now.”

Dr. Coates looked dumbfounded. “Uh, what’s going on? How do you two know one another when you’ve only just met?”

Betti let out a little giggle. “It’s really a long story daddy. I’ll tell you all about it at dinner.”

"Yeah Dr. Coates," James began.  "You’re thinking too linearly," and everyone laughed.

Sora walked up to Betti and she put her arm around him. He smiled at me. Yukon folded his arms and nodded in approval. I didn’t actually see any of what happened. I was too wrapped up, quite literally, in Jason’s arms and my head rested on his shoulder. Betti told me what happened later on. As everyone else went inside, Jason and I stayed outside to catch up.

He began. “So, how long have you been on this Earth?”

“I guess on this planet for about eleven and half years, but I started on a dying planet and then came here. The journey from there to here was probably about six months.”

“So what, you’re Superman now?”

I laughed. “I’m nowhere near that strong. Now, how long have you been here?”

He looked at me and then down at his feet. “Well, I’ve been here for sixteen years.”

“You’ve been here that long?”

“Yeah, I have. I don’t remember the first few years, but when I turned four, all of my memories came flooding back. It was probably because that was when you arrived in this dimension. I tried telling someone, they all just thought I had a vivid imagination. They then gave me an I.Q. test which put me at a genius level. Not on my dad’s or sister’s level, but I’m still way up there. Where we came from, I was just barely above average, but I guess I got some of my father’s genes. The father you just met, not the one from our world.”

I laughed again. “I figured that much out for myself. Go on.”

“Both Betti and I graduated a year ago from college. That’s when we found out our mother was sick. I was going to start looking for you, but I couldn’t leave her side,” he said. His mood changed after saying that.

“I’m sure if your mother hadn’t been sick, you would have found me eventually. But it doesn’t matter; we’re together now. I mean, we won’t be able to be a true couple for a few years. A sixteen year old and a twelve year old being together doesn’t seem right. None of that matters, however, because we found one another and that makes me really happy.” I grabbed his hands and he smiled. “Sorry to change the subject, but I need to know something. Do you still have your powers here? I only have the powers of my race from the planet that blew up, but none of my angel powers except for telepathy. They seem to be buried deep down and I can’t access them.”

Jason got up from the bench we were sitting on and he caressed my cheek. “Stand up babe.”

“What is it?” I said as I stood up.

“Come with me.”

He led me to the back of the mansion to a big open area. “What are we doing here Jason?”

Jason stopped walking and then got into an offensive fighting stance. “It would be easier to show you than to tell you.”

I studied his form while I too assumed a position. It was pretty good. I didn’t spot many openings. Someone had taught him really well. While I was admiring his form, in more ways than one, he came at me with a left jab. That was just a feint because he was already crossing with a left kick which I countered with a kick of my own. Just an instant before our legs collided, I jumped backwards and out of the way.

“Why did you back off?”

“You know the reason. I didn’t want you to shatter my leg.” What was that exactly? Did I just have a psychic flash or something? “I didn’t use any of my real strength in that attack, but you secretly used all of yours.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m still working on that. But, that was what I wanted to show you. I don’t have any of my magic, but I have a lot of strength.” He was beaming with pride.

“So, you did keep some of your abilities; that’s good!” I just have telepathy and the like.

That’s good to know. It’s been forever since we’ve spoken like this. When did your telepathy come back?

I gave him a look and he backed away. It must have been a weird look. “What are you talking about? I never lost it. I told you that I’ve had it since I was an infant.”

“Are you serious?!? If that’s the case, why haven’t you tried to contact me? Was your power too weak or something?”

“That’s not fair. I never stopped looking for you; ever! I do admit that when I first got here, it was pretty weak. I couldn’t hear more than a few miles and there wasn’t anyone around where Sora and I lived except for our fathers. But as I told your sister not that long ago, I tried every single day.

“As I got older, the range of my power grew, but I still never heard your thoughts. Even now, until we touched on our reunion, I still couldn’t hear your thoughts.”

Jason thought, How is that even possible? He looked more confused than ever. “So, you haven’t heard me thinking about how much I missed you until a few moments ago?”

“That’s correct. A few years ago, I heard your twin sister thinking about a new car your father would be getting soon. I didn’t know it was Betti, but when I met her for the first time, I knew that I had heard her thoughts before. I knew your mother was sick before you did because she was thinking how she was going to tell you all the news.”

“I wonder why that is. Maybe it had to do with the spell.”

I shook my head. “That’s not possible.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Your spell was designed to move us to this dimension, not to change us or suppress our powers. This is the work of something else, or…someone else.”

“Someone…? Who has the power to do something like this?” Jason had become very agitated.

“If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it was Janus.”

Jason’s jaw hit the floor. “You don’t mean God did this to us, do you?!? Why would He do that? Why change us and keep us apart? What is the purpose?” He went from agitated to livid in the blink of an eye. I never knew he had it in him.

I walked back to the other side of the house and sat back down on the bench. Jason followed me. “Before I left heaven after being reborn as an angel, Janus told me that I needed to get stronger. Not only did I need to get stronger, but I had to be stronger than He was. He also said something would present itself to help me with that task. This has to be it. Obviously He twisted the spell you cast.”

Jason had finally begun to calm down. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. We’re together now even if it will be a few years before we can re-consummate our love. I’m, for the most part, a patient guy.” He giggled at that. “But, when do you suppose we’ll be able to return to our own world?”

I thought about it for a second and then said, “I imagine we could return as soon as we get our powers back, but I want to see this thing through to the end.”

“How come?”

“Because, the longer we stay, the stronger we will get. No time will pass in our world because of the spell, so we can take all the time we need.”

Jason gave me a kiss on the cheek. God I have missed that. He said, “That works for me.” He turned around and walked towards the door.

“And by the way…”

Jason turned around. “What is it my love?”

I smiled and walked passed him. “I’m a dragon.”

He stopped dead in his tracks. I turned back, grabbed his arm, and pulled him inside.

Interlude

Janus was sitting at His kitchen table reading His Universe Gazette. It’s something the angels put together to keep God appraised of the goings on in the cosmos. Obviously He didn’t need it, but He considered it a pleasant distraction. On one of the television monitors in the kitchen, James and Jason walked into the Coates’ mansion. Janus looked at that and smiled.

God’s Jason walked in a few minutes later still wearing his pajama bottoms. Janus noticed Jason’s bare chest and shook his head. “No matter how many times I see you half naked, I just want to throw you down on the ground and completely ravage you.”

Jason had a smirk on his face. “Well what’s stopping you babe? I’m here for the taking.”

“Um, we have to go to work right now. Why aren’t you dressed?”

Jason shook his head and let out a bark of laughter. “Fourteen billion years since you took over and you still consider this a job. We’re the rulers of the universe. You are our king and you behave like a CEO. Don’t you like what you are doing?”

“I love it! It’s clearly what I was made to do, but…”

Jason sat next to Janus at the table. “But what honey?”

“I just feel like we failed. Why couldn’t we find the solution? Why is it so hard to maintain all of this? I don’t think we were given enough time or information. And now, we have to trust the fate of the entire universe on an untrained warrior who will have even less time to figure things out.”

Jason had a look of concern. He thought about what Janus said. It had been bugging him for the last couple of centuries. “Janus, something has been bothering me.”

Janus got up from the table and set his paper down. “What is it babe?”

“I know that you can see the future, but how much of it can you actually see?”

Janus stopped what he was doing and looked at Jason. “You ask me this after how long? I can see everything.”

“What does that even mean?! Do you see everything as it unfolds? Do you see every permutation of the future? How does it work exactly?” Jason asked.

Janus sighed deeply. He started to look every bit his 30 billion years; minus any wrinkles of course. He snapped his fingers and they were suddenly in the Universe Observation Room. Jason was now totally dressed in his God Robes. They consisted of purple slacks with a black cassock. On top of that was a purple sleeveless surplus with green and gold embroidery. It was tied together with a purple-gold sash around his waist.

Inside the U.O.R. was a giant lattice like structure of the universe. From it, one could see the groupings of the galaxies. It was very similar to a very complex spider’s web. Jason and Janus were the only two in the room. Janus held up his left index finger and a spark became visible on the tip of that finger. He walked over to the universe and pointed his finger at a big cluster of galaxies. The energy shot into the galaxies and they changed shape and got closer to one another. “To answer your question, I show you the universe. You of all people know how complex and highly structured the universe is. Not just this one, but every universe.

“Before I became God, I could see every possible outcome that could affect this massive structure. I had a constant migraine because it changed almost every day. But once I became God and absorbed all of the other god’s knowledge, I saw the true future. No matter what we do to fix or change the universe, I know what will definitely happen in the end.”

Jason turned to look at the universe and then he looked back at Janus. His expression was hard to read, but Janus thought he looked confused. “Is that why you’ve been depressed these past 200 years? Does something bad happen?”

“I don’t know what happens.”

“Wait…what are you talking about? You said that you could see the definite future.”

“That’s right, but I can’t see past the point where James takes over. I’ve been so depressed because I don’t know if anything we’ve done will work.” Jason looked down and then let out a huge sigh. Janus got next to him and then put his arms around his husband since before time began….again. “Don’t you become depressed. That’s my job. And it doesn’t mean what we’ve done is unimportant. All of it matters, but I don’t like wasting time and I definitely don’t like not knowing.”

“I guess things are really bad if God himself doesn’t know something.”

“I know, right?!?” They both laughed.

The U.O.R. had no doors or windows, so when Janus and Jason left together, holding hands, they walked right through the wall. Once they reached the other side, they were on angel level 100. The two of them made the rounds saying hello to everyone and everyone in turn said hello back. They exited the building and went to the park on that level. Janus led Jason to a nearby bench and they sat down. “I don’t want you to think that our jobs have been meaningless. We have done some really great work. This was a marvelous universe. It was so much better than the last one.”

Jason had a hard time figuring out what to say. He knew there was another reason that Janus was upset, but he didn’t know how to get Him to fess up.

“You could just ask me you know.”

Jason shook his head in frustration. “I really hate it when you do that.”

“I know; that’s why I still do it,” Janus said smiling his devilish grin.

“Though, you are a clever one. There is something the matter, but it is about the future.”

“What is it?” Jason asked.

Janus grabbed his husband’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. He whispered in Jason’s ear, “I can’t tell you. I’ve been sworn to secrecy. All I can say is that the universe will be destroyed no matter what we do. And, we make it worse by eradicating the old universe and making a new one every time.”

He scratched his head and tilted it to the side like a dog. “I don’t understand; who has sworn you to secrecy? Is there someone above us?”

Janus shook his head back and forth, but then put a finger to his mouth to tell Jason not to talk. As far as we’re concerned, there is no one above or below us. We are the first and the last; the beginning and the end. However, there was so much more I wish I could have told you. When James comes to end our reign, all will be made clear.

And with that, Janus led Jason out of the park and they went back into the office building.

Later on that day, they met up with Sonja and Ganu. They had a lengthy chat about an uprising in the outer belts of the Andromeda Galaxy and how it could affect the cosmos. Jason kept looking at Janus during that discussion because he wasn’t sure this would really do anything. Janus just nodded his head in acknowledgement. He understood Jason’s concern, but psychically told him this had to happen.

The gods decided to send one of the arch-angels to resolve the issue. Other than that, it was a normal day in Heaven. For now, all eyes were on James to see what he would do next and if he really could change things. If he did, hopefully they would be for the better.

Next Chapter: Off to see the wizard