Chapter 47: Going Home

  I heaved a sigh of relief as I emerged from Aura’s dungeon. Half of me expected her to ground Bori and not let her return to Albion, and I couldn’t blame her if she did. I endangered my daughter, and for what? To save the stupid universe? Hardly an excuse.

  I managed three steps toward the house when Isa came barreling out of the back door. “There you are! I thought you abandoned me.”

  “Wha? No!” I balked, backing up a few steps. “We dropped you off so Nax could go home, and it’s safe here.”

  It turned out there was no danger in the Thief’s Corridor under Xanadu but I had no way of knowing that at the time.

  She glared for a few more seconds, before relaxing. “I suppose I should forgive you since you came back for me. You did come back for me, right?”

  “I, uh, yeah,” I replied. “Of course, I did. Do you want to come back to Albion with me?”

  She hesitated, looking over her shoulder. That’s when I noticed she wasn’t alone. Zelle was with her.

  Isa started to answer, but Zelle rolled her eyes. “She chose you, Alex, so you better take good care of her. If you don’t, I’ll come up to Albion and castrate you.”

  “Zelle!” Isa snapped.

  “You’re always welcome in Albion, Zelle,” I said, hoping to extend an olive branch.

  She shook her head. “No, I can’t do that. Now that I know Isa’s okay, I think I’m going to make another adventuring group. Perhaps down in Celestea.”

  Isa marched back Zelle and hugged her. “I’m going to miss you.”

  Zelle kissed her on the cheek, whispering. “Don’t be a stranger, kid.”

  I gave them space to say their goodbyes before heading for Helen’s restaurant with Isa. We walked, even though I could have teleported. After a while, she took my hand. I smiled and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  “What made you decide to go with me?” I asked.

  Isa smiled. “You never gave up on me. Even when I hated you for resurrecting me. You came for me and even reunited me with my parents. I’ll admit, that whole thing went wrong when you lost Nax and Zelle’s souls, but you pulled yourself together and got them back.”

  “So you aren’t mad at me anymore?”

  Isa giggled. “I was never mad. Not really. The goddess Elysiana told me I’d have resurrection sickness for a while. She told me not to make any permanent decisions about my life until it wore off.”

  “You mentioned that before,” I said, remembering Pi also used the term when he woke me up from a deep sleep.

  She nodded. “For a while, I thought you resurrected me on accident, and I wasn’t meant to be here. Now, I’m starting to see I have a choice. Besides, my parents didn’t even go to the afterlife. They’re off living their new lives on another planet somewhere.”

  “I bet we can find them,” I said, grinning at my newfound ability to prowl the cosmos.

  While you can indeed travel to Pangaea, you will be unable to detect reincarnated souls without searching everyone on the planet.

  Doing the Pi check on an entire planet sounded tedious. I wondered if they would tell me if I asked, if they even remembered who they used to be.

  Fortunately, Isa shook her head. “No, I don’t want to disturb them. They should enjoy their new lives. I’ll make a new family here on Gaia.”

  Part of me perked up at the thought. She noticed and smirked. “Easy there, tiger. Let’s take things slow this time.”

  The thought of what I put Isa through made me want to laugh. She went from a relatively safe life to chaos as she chased me into a dungeon the first day we met.

  “That shouldn’t be too hard,” I said. “We just have to keep you away from dungeons, and…”

  “No!” she replied fiercely. “Just keep me away from psycho ones like the one that killed me, and keep leveling me up so I’m strong enough to take care of myself.”

  Her words filled me with a warmth I hadn’t felt since she died. “I’d love that.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  It was no surprise that the other players were all still eating when we returned.

  “Are you ready to go?” I asked when I realized they all still had plates heaped with food.

  Helen walked over and whispered in my ear. “They say you’re paying.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Figures. And they each just got a bag full of gold. Oh well, you know I’m good for it.”

  “You’re too nice,” she replied, patting me on the back. “I was about to make them all do dishes.”

  I laughed, and that got the attention of everyone at the table.

  “Dude!” Michael yelled, standing suddenly and knocking a plate of half eaten food to the floor. “This is delicious. Why is this in your part of the kingdom?”

  “Time to go,” I repeated, ignoring the comment. “Tell me where you live so I can drop you off.”

  “Wait,” Darrin said. “I want a doggie bag.”

  “Not on my dime,” I replied. “If you want food to go, you pay for everything.”

  “Ugh,” Darrin’s lip curled as though he smelled something bad. “Fine. Whatever. Just give me a lot. My family needs to try this.”

  I thought it was going to take time for Helen to make more food, but she had it ready. She held out her hand and each of them deposited a gold coin. She then laughed and handed them a stack of silver each.

  “It isn’t that expensive,” she said. “My food is affordable for everyone, no matter what walk of life you come from.”

  “Thank you,” Darrin said, smiling for once. “I know what it’s like to not have food. I wish we had someone like you in my neighborhood.”

  I pointed at the BUFF. “That someone can be you. If you spring for the interplanetary version, you can summon food from Gaia.”

  Darrin gasped. “Michael. Let me see that magazine real quick. I need to subscribe.”

  Once they were done, I repeated the question. “Okay, who’s first? I need to know where you live.”

  “Austin, Texas,” Darrin said.

  I took them all into the void before taking my time finding where they lived. The first challenge I came across was figuring out where Earth was. Pi made it easy by providing a red line through the cosmos to a nearby solar system. Once I got there, it was easy to figure out which one Earth was; the third planet from the sun.

  Would you like me to plug his address into the GPS?

  “You come with GPS?” I was becoming more impressed with Pi. “Now that I have primordial blood, do I have that ability?”

  Pi appeared beside me, a hulking shadow in the darkness. “No. GPS is a feature of the system. I can access it to help you find locations, though.”

  “Do it!” I replied and a glowing red dot appeared on Earth. I pushed it and we reappeared in a quiet suburban neighborhood.

  I sucked in a breath of air, realizing it was my first on Earth in years. The blue sky seemed brighter than Gaia’s green atmosphere, and the gravity felt lighter. I was no longer the same person I was when I left.

  “How do you know where I live?” Darrin asked.

  I shrugged, not wanting to tell him about Pi. “I don’t know. See ya.”

  I was back in the void before he could object. Then I realized I hadn’t asked the others where they lived. Since I could choose anywhere, I went to Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit my old home. There was a car in the driveway. It didn’t matter, though. It wasn’t my home anymore. Home was Albion.

  “Okay, who’s next?” I asked.

  “Where are we?” Michael asked.

  I sighed. “This is my old home, in Charlotte.”

  “This is where you lived?” Isa asked, her voice filled with awe. “I like your planet. It’s pretty.”

  I winked at her. “I’ll give you a tour sometime.”

  Alan stepped forward. “I live in Oregon, in a town called Corvallis.”

  “Coming right up,” I replied, and once again, we were off to the void.

  Pi marked his location without my asking, so I dropped us in front of his house.

  Alan didn’t question it, waving goodbye as he walked off.

  “Next,” I said, looking at Michael expectantly.

  “Minnesota,” he replied. “Twin cities.”

  A couple of quick jumps and we were at his house. He sighed. “You know, now that it’s over, I think I’m going to miss Gaia. Do you think I can come back sometime?”

  “Well, you’re awakened now,” I replied. “Anything’s possible. By the way, Melvin said this planet has a council and everything. Maybe there’s a magic world you can join.”

  “Hmm,” Michael rubbed his chin. “That sounds fun. See you on the flip side, hopefully.”

  “See you,” I said, turning to Primith. “You’re up next.”

  She smiled. “I live in Ohio. You can do the rest, right?”

  “Right,” I said, heading to the void for one final pit stop.

  Next thing I knew, we were out in the country, looking at a tiny house by a river. A dog barked in the distance, and the front door swung open. Four kids in various states of dress rushed out of the door, screaming. “Mommy!”

  I smiled at their reunion. Primith scooped them all up in a massive hug and said, “I missed you guys!”

  “They missed you too,” her husband said, walked up behind them. “You missed a few visits.”

  “I know,” Primith replied, looking at the man affectionately. “I’ll tell you all about it later. I’m home…for good this time.”

  “Don’t be a stranger,” I said.

  Primith smiled. “Don’t worry. I think I’ll be bringing the family to Albion for a vacation soon. Tell the knights to get ready for the maelstrom.”

  I grinned back. “I will. Alright, you two, ready to go home?”

  Isa and Carlito nodded. A quick hop through the void, and we appeared in dramatic fashion in the throne room of Camelot Castle. Several knights drew their swords before sheathing them when they realized it was me.

  Ceru heaved a sigh of relief from the throne and said, “Thank the gods. You’re safe.”

  I smiled. “Told you I would be.”

  “As expected of my Chonu,” she replied.

  I didn’t see Cobalt with her. Behind me was a line of people, and I realized she was meeting potential citizens.

  I walked over and gave her a kiss. “I’ll come see you once I’m settled in.”

  She nodded, smiling and looking over my shoulder. “Your Chana has been busy holding court every day. I should be done by dinner.”

  “Sounds good,” I replied. “I’ll help you with this once I’m settled in.”

  Isa took my hand as I left the throne room. I looked over my shoulder to see how Ceru reacted, but she was already busy with the next person in line.

  “Where’s Carlito?” I asked, realizing he’d vanished.

  “He went to check on Amberly,” she replied. “He still wants to take her back to Earth.”

  We headed to my room. It felt strange coming back after so long. I plopped down on my bed and wondered how long it had been since I relaxed. It felt like all I did was scramble to save my friends, and the universe, anymore. Isa gave the bed a wide berth and sat on a plump couch by the fireplace.

  “Do you want your own room?” I asked.

  She tilted her head back to look at me. “That depends. How much traffic does this room get?”

  “Not a lot,” I admitted. That part of my life had simmered down a lot since moving to Albion.

  Isa thought about it before replying. “I think I’d like my own room. For now, at least.”

  “Sure,” I replied, sighing.

  “That doesn’t mean I won’t visit!” she laughed.