Story: 'Wordspace, XI'

(Part I , X , XII)

Mystery sat on Cloud and watched the ground roll across underneath as they flew toward home. He sat quietly, staring intently as his brain swirled in place, trying to reason around the implications of a foreign word seeking to throw devastation upon his world. It was a symmetry, almost identical to their journey to the top of the world. Club looked on just as he had on the way out, vigilant and concealing whatever nerves he might have had.

"Armageddon..." A word of undoubted power and one unheard of in the Wordspace for many many years. One of the great Destructives imprisoned in the Zone of Gibberish after almost eradicating all civilization as they knew it. And now, a fresh Armageddon from a whole other world could be loose in the world as they knew it. It was worse that he could ever have thought.

Club broke the silence, most uncharacteristically, again as he had during the outward journey. "It's something bad, isn't it, Boss?"

"Yes, much like the syllables of Air herself falling from the sky. A doom is upon us perhaps, and perhaps not. The Silly Stone was not at all consistent in his ideas."

"Personally, I think the term 'perfectly potty' is the best one, Boss, but I didn't talk to him. You did." Was Club being reproachful? Surely not.

"He made little sense." Mystery rose up, unfolding his letters to the upright position. "Apparently his place is to understand everyone who might visit. Did you see how he was only like us in part? Quite possibly he could only exist in that place without disintegrating completely."

"And the problem is something he told you? Out of all that nonsense?"

"Sorpresa, as we know, was not the only one to come through the Point. The Stone told me the name of this 'tourist' and that is the problem." Mystery paused, before giving in finally, "He said it translated roughly as 'War' or 'Armageddon' or even 'Apocalypse'."

Club was quiet a long time as they watched the Wordspace crawl by beneath them. Cloud rumbled from below, with one of his rare comments, the first since Club and Mystery had reappeared suddenly from the Point that hung between the different worlds. "We dealt with our own Armageddon, we can do so again."

"Yes, but what will we have to do this time?" Mystery wondered out loud. "What this time? And what if we're not in time?"

The main settlement area of the Wordspace came into view ahead of them, and destruction was apparent everywhere. They were too late.

To be continued...