Somebody Stop Him [A Progression Fantasy Epic]

"I had a dream in which I was… Bob Proverra," Io finally said. "A man who was once an unstoppable superhero…"

"Really?" I squinted at him. "And what did you think about that?"

"I have far more memories as an Omnid," Iogann said sagely. "I am the current me, not the me of my past lives. The mistakes and troubles of my past do not define me. I seek to learn from them and move forward."

"Aww, aren't you a clever cookie," Mags petted Io. "This is why I like you."

"Did all of you dream about your past selves?" I asked the others.

"I was a human hero named Chalice," Magdaline nodded.

"I dreamt of being... Verse Twenty-Four-Nineteen," Kat said idly. "An Equalizer Enforcer. I'd like to get a null-railgun, I think. It would help me protect you all better as your Knight."

"I'll see if I can get one for you, through the Rainbow and Thunder Omnicorp," I smiled at her.

"Thank you, Martin," Katherine smiled back at me, her expression almost like the girl I remembered from another life.

"Aiiiight, we're gonna shower and then we all breakfast!" Vespera declared and pulled me into the bathroom.

Feeling extra refreshed after a long, hot shower of getting scrubbed and scrubbing my 'ship mates, we joined the others in the lounge area of our dorm room.

After we were all dressed and ready, we headed downstairs.

As we reached the Foxglen Den common room, we spotted Christi Negal there, fluttering around with her usual boundless enthusiasm. The Cherufe was handing out colorful brochures to the Silverfox students milling about, her fiery hair flaring with every gesture.

"Good morning, everyone! Good morning friends!" she chirped, her voice echoing through the Den. "Did you all sleep well? I hope you're excited for your first and also not-first class day at Skyfall Academy!"

She spotted us and practically bounced over, her pink and black skirt fluttering with her energetic movements. "Alex! Cinder! Vee! Mags! Io! Lilith! Perfect timing!"

Christi thrust a brightly colored brochure into my hand from a stack in her hands, dispensing more brochures to everyone. "Here you go!"

I stared at the brochure in my hands 'Celestorm and You: A Student Guide to Navigating Dimensional Shifts!'

"The Omnithornian Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs put these together overnight! Super informative! It explains everything about the Celestorm, dimensional shifts, and how to… adjust your expectations for the newly rewritten timeline!" The Cherufe declared jovially.

Cinder stared at Christi with a look of surprise as she accepted her brochure. "Christi? What are you doing here? Aren't you Student Council Secretary? Shouldn't you be… you know… in the Student Council office? Or… in Pyroclast?"

"I am! But I'm also your rep!" Christi beamed even brighter, her hair flaring a bit hotter. "Got sorted to Silverfox yesterday! Isn't it awesome?!" She gestured around the light-colored Foxglen Den with an expansive wave of her arm. "Turns out, the Slayer Sword thought I was… 'cunning' enough for this House! Who knew?!"

"You? Silverfox? But… you're like… the least cunning person I know, Christi. You're practically a walking ray of sunshine!" The Quetzi-girl said.

Christi just giggled, unfazed by Cinder's blunt assessment. "Well, maybe I have hidden depths! Maybe I'm secretly a master strategist, just waiting for the right moment to reveal my cunning plans to the world!" She laughed, glancing at me.

I winked at her. Christi had indeed been a sneaky Omnid who had arranged all of my classes together with Cinder's just to get us to become friends.

"Anyway! I'm here to welcome you all to Silverfox and to give you the official First-Year Orientation spiel! Are you ready to be initiated into the cunningest, cleverest, most strategically brilliant House in all of Skyfall?!"

"Born ready," Vespera grinned, striking a dramatic pose. Magdaline nodded slowly. Lilith just raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on her lips. Io nodded.

"This is bullshit," Cinder huffed, crossing her arms. "Did the Slayer's Sword glitch out or something? How does this chatty demon not get sorted into Pyroclast?"

"Maybe she likes someone here?" Vespera elbowed Cinder. "Isn't that how you ended up in the fox-den? By following Lexxy?"

Cinder replied with a deep growl.

After Christi's enthusiastically chaotic orientation, which mostly consisted of rapid-fire chatter about Silverfox House, the best spots in the Foxglen Den, and the importance of 'embracing your inner fox', everyone from Silverfox was led by Christi into the Refectory.

The atmosphere in the dining hall was subdued. Many students were clustered in groups, chatting amongst themselves, their eyes occasionally darting towards the Omnithornian officers who were still stationed at the entrances.

After our breakfast, we headed towards our first class of the day: Advanced Xenobiology with Dr. Greyfield.

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Dr. Greyfield seemed utterly unfazed by the dimensional shift. He was already in his office, humming to himself and arranging various crystals. As students filed in, he beamed at them, his red eyes gleaming behind his thick, dark glasses.

"Good morning, class!" he called out cheerfully, as if nothing unusual had happened. "I see you all made it through the night in one piece! Wonderful, wonderful! A new semester, a new timeline, a new… dimensional reality! Oh, the possibilities are simply boundless!"

He paused. "Speaking of boundless possibilities… has anyone noticed any… unusual physiological changes since the Celestorm?" He peered around the room expectantly. "Any unexpected sprouting of tentacles? Sudden urges to speak in forgotten languages? Existential dread manifesting as… sentient furniture? Curious dreams of past lives? Do share! I'm always eager to collect more… first hand data!"

The class remained mostly silent, a few nervous coughs and rustles the only responses. A purple Tanystropheus in the front row nervously adjusted her neck collars.

Dr. Greyfield sighed dramatically, a sound like air hissing from a punctured balloon. "Ah well, perhaps the truly interesting changes are… internal, subtle. No matter! Today, class, we shall delve into the very essence of Omnid physiology! And what better time to do so than in the wake of a reality-altering Celestorm?!" He rubbed his spindly hands together with glee.

"Given the… temporal and spatial disruptions, and the… shall we say, fluid nature of current events, we shall postpone our study of interdimensional parasites for a bit," Dr. Greyfield announced. "Instead, we shall focus on ourselves! Yes! On the magnificent, multifaceted, mystically marvelous Omnid body! And how it interacts with… well, everything! Especially with… each other!"

He beamed, his gaze sweeping across the room. "A demonstration is in order, I believe! A practical, hands-on exploration of Omnid-to-Omnid… interaction! Volunteers, anyone? Anyone at all?" He paused, his gaze lingering expectantly on the silent class. "Come now, don't be shy! This is for science! And extra credit, of course!"

Silence. Students studiously avoided eye contact, pretending to be deeply engrossed in their textbooks or the random patterns on their magisteel desks.

"Oh, come on now," Dr. Greyfield sighed again, a theatrical sound of utter disappointment. "Nobody? Not even for science? Are all of my post-shift Omnid students truly lacking in intellectual curiosity these days?" He peered around the room, his gaze finally landing on me, sitting beside Cinder in the back corner.

I stood up, meeting his eyes. "I am up for it, Doc."

"Ah! Mr. Glock!" Dr. Greyfield beamed, his red eyes igniting with sudden enthusiasm. "Wunderbar! A volunteer! And I do believe that Ms. Nova was your assigned partner before the shift, yes?"

Cinder sent me an annoyed look to which I offered a shrug.

"How… serendipitous!" Dr. Greyfield clapped his hands together. "Mr. Glock, Ms. Nova, please step forward! We shall demonstrate the fascinating interplay of Omnid energies and skills!"

I stood up, pulling Cinder to her feet with me. She grumbled under her breath, but followed.

"Perfect!" Dr. Greyfield beamed, his red eyes practically glowing. He bustled behind his desk, rummaging through drawers filled with vintage scientific equipment and gleaming magitek devices. He emerged holding a sleek, silver shield, hexagonal in shape, with intricate runes etched across its surface.

"Mr. Glock, my dear boy, please take this barrier shield!" He thrust it into my hands. The shield was hefty magisteel and nearly made me lose balance. I readjusted my stance as not to tip over. "This should… equalize the playing field, as it were, since Cinder is of a higher level than you," He winked at me.

He then rolled a large, crystalline device and positioned it in the center of the lab. It resembled an oversized steampunk, ornate projector, with lenses and prisms and glowing tubes, all humming softly.

"And this, my dear students," Dr. Greyfield declared, patting the device with affection, "is our Astralscope! A marvel of Omnid engineering, capable of projecting… well, all sorts of fascinating energies! Today, we shall use it to visualize the… skill interaction… between two Omnids!"

He began fiddling with dials and switches on the Astralscope, the lenses whirring and adjusting themselves. A holographic projection shimmered into existence around the device, encompassing the area where we stood.

"Now then," Dr. Greyfield continued. "Ms. Nova, if you would be so kind… Please demonstrate your… core skill! Your, ahmm, Charmchain magic, if you will!"

"Demonstrate it how?" Cinder asked.

"Use your voice to make Mr. Glock submit to your will, of course," Dr. Greyfield grinned. "Make him surrender and put the shield down."

Cinder nodded curtly. She pulled her guitar from its extradimensional case. Then she began strumming. Her wings unfolded, igniting with a soft, rainbow glow that pulsed in time with the music.

Dr. Greyfield beamed, adjusting the Astralscope controls again. The projection brightened. Suddenly, shimmering, aurora-like lines of light erupted from Cinder's guitar and wings in the holographic projection, stretching outwards, swirling and dancing in the air like living energy.

"Ah!" Dr. Greyfield exclaimed, waving at Cinder. "Observe, class! Ms. Nova's Charmchain magic, visualized in its full glory! Note the… fractal patterns visualized by the Astralscope!"

The holographic auroras pulsed and flowed, their colorful light washing over our corner of the lab, engulfing everything in shimmering, ethereal hues. Then, the lines of light shifted direction, arcing towards me, the holographic representation focusing on my figure, standing behind the barrier shield.

"Bow before my rainbow wings,
Yield to what my power brings,
Your defiance cannot last,
Against the storms that I amass.

Surrender now, lay down your shield,
The feathered serpent will not yield,
My ancient might cannot be swayed,
Until your tribute has been paid!"

Cinder sang.

Brilliant, colorful auroras collided with the shield, and the holographic projection erupted in a dazzling display of color and light. The lines of light seemed to bounce off the shield, swirling and eddying around it, creating concentric explosions of color that pulsed outwards like ripples in water.

"Observe, class! The barrier shield held by Mr. Glock is deflecting Ms. Nova's Charmchain magic! Notice how the energy fields are… dissipating, scattering, unable to penetrate the… protective Ward!" the Instructor pointed out.

"You can feel it, yes, Mr. Glock?" Dr. Greyfield asked me, his red eyes peering at me expectantly. "Your heartbeat joining the music?"

I nodded.

"Keep going Miss Nova!" Dr. Greyfield encouraged. "Push more magic into your words. Penetrate the shield if you can!"

"Through winds and skies, I rule supreme
Your resistance is a fading dream
My coils encircle earth and air
Submit now, if you dare!

From Aztec temples, I descend
Your puny strength is at its end!"

Cinder sang. The shield wobbled in my hands, my brain beginning to melt. Perfect. She was perfect. Lovely. So many colors. I shook my head. No. I wasn't going to give in so easily!

"I am a Goddess through ages past,
Power that was meant to last,
Time grows short, your choice is clear,
Bow down NOW, while mercy's near!

The choice is yours but time grows thin,
Surrender now and you may win,
My mercy - while it still remains,
Before my wrath brings endless rains!"

My knees gave out under me and I fell, the shield slamming into the floor. I gritted my teeth.

"Give up now for meeeee
Bow before your Goddess and be freeee!"

Cinder's voice resonated, intensified, pounding at my psyche across the shield. I swayed with her music, felt my consciousness melting away, giving out, the shield slipping away from my sweaty fingers.

"Fight her, Mr. Glock!" Dr. Greyfield barked my way encouragingly. "Show her what you can do! I believe in you!"