“I revealed myself to be Kamen Rider Shade when we got back,” answered Kaede once Livia finished.
“So you DID resort to magic one time!” called a voice. It was 70-year-old me!
“I didn’t actually follow through with it!” wailed Kaede.
“You were about to use magic!” argued 70-year-old me.
“This is monumentally bad,” gulped Michael.
“How so?” I asked.
“Caan’s returned, mentally, to his old Dalek ways,” explained Michael. “Hating other lifeforms, that’s bad enough, but he’s now in a form he considers impure. He’s being driven mad by his own flesh. The stink of his ancestral Kaled genes. He hates his own existence and that makes him deadlier than ever.”
“Not exactly something Daleks want to do,” mused Rusty, “hating their flesh.”
“Can you guys give any hint on him?” I asked my future and her children.
“No need to worry about him,” assured 70-year-old me. “He’ll die a few years from now.”
“It’s gonna be a surprise for him,” replied Kaede.
“Caan isn’t exactly someone to underestimate,” muttered Michael.
“Maybe,” I commented, “but enough about that Dalek, let’s talk about Haitao and Joshua! Where are they?”
“Right here, Your Majesty,” called Joshua. “Boy, do we have a story to tell you!”
“I really don’t see why you’re making such a fuss, after she failed you,” I said to Vortech.
“Making a fuss?!” snapped Vortech. “Caan, she’s got intimate knowledge about our operations!”
“She’s not interested in us anymore and she hates the Vortex Riders as much as we do,” I assured Vortech. “We’re fine.”
“Forgive me if I’m skeptic,” replied Vortech.
“Trust the one who looked into the Time Vortex, we’re fine!” I insisted.
“Has anyone found Heather?” asked War.
“She’s building too near Hell’s outskirts,” I whispered.
“I felt it too,” wheezed Pestilence. Famine mumbled a response.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” I whispered sharply. Famine mumbled “Excuse me,” and swallowed whatever she was eating.
“So why aren’t we there?” she said before chowing down again.
“Sonic’s presence concerns me,” I responded, fear creeping into my soft voice. “If he’s the Sonic from THAT universe, it could prove catastrophic if the Vortex Riders find out.”
“You mean…you think Sonic may be the Sonic from the combined universe resulting from Clusters C-Y-8-3-R-T-R-0-N and 5-3-G-4?” War grunted.
“The same,” I replied. “If it is, we may experience the Convergence a lot sooner than we’re ready for.”
“I wish you didn’t say that,” wheezed Pestilence.