CRIMSON ROTH

Chapter 13 - Final Test

Crimson sighed. Her father getting angry was never going to get old.

After a few minutes of ranting, Arcturus said, "Cordelia, dear, can you take Pilot of the NYX? I guess one more Hyperspace trip won't hurt." His eyes were gleaming with worry for Otis, having to be so young but to go through all this. "Crimson, and you blonde boy; take care of Otis. Get some food and make yourself comfortable. Don't ask any questions." He pulled a lever as Cordelia sat down on her chair. "This is going to be a bumpy ride."

The space ship blasted off into the vast space sky.

Crimson felt herself tumble down the floor, crashing onto a dresser, because of the great force. An "ow..." escaped from her lips as she struggled to get up. She had to make sure both boys weren't going to fall off their positions like her, as they were both sleeping and there was no reason to wake them up in such turbulent-like situation.

"Honey, had you turned on the gravitational pull?"

"Cordey, they might break a spine. Physics!"

As they fidgeted over controls and button-pressing, Crimson managed to walk up to the Pilot's Cockpit with a strong feeling to hurl in her stomach. "When are we jumping into Hyperspace?" Crimson asked to her parents as she grasped onto the arms of Cordelia's chair for dear life (and dear sanity).

"Soon, Crim-Sunny," Cordelia told her daughter. It was one of Cordelia's nicknames for her daughter in tough times, and Crimson missed it dearly. "Probably in a minute or so, but close enough. We're nearly far away from the bomb's explosion territory. We'll be fine." But her voice wasn't so sure.

Once they were out of the Gregorax planet's territory, Arcturus instantly pulled the switch to let them jump into Hyperspace and back to the Betelgeuse Residence. But there was a teensy-tiny problem; the Hyperspace switch had a malfunction. The wires were in contact, check. The small lights below the buttons were on, check. Everything was fine but...

"The Bioelectric Plant..." Crimson sighed. "I didn't repair it well- I'm not good with them. But maybe if I hold my breath for a long time, it's possible if I can keep the power plant on for a minute or so."

Arcturus raised an eyebrow. "And commit suicide? It is impossible to keep track of all those tinkering and such while holding your breath for such a long period of time." He sighed. "We've lost you once, we couldn't lose you again Crimson."

Crimson placed her hands on her hips. "I can manage. I'm the only one on this ship to know how to deal with Bioelectric malfunctioning- I passed that in College, father." She swallowed her lip before saying, "I have to do this. Better losing my life than yours."

"Crim-Sunny! Don't say things like that," Cordelia reprimanded. "There must be another way, there's got to be another way-"

"Mother, the Doomsday Clock is still ticking-"

"The Doomsday Clock?!" Cordelia gaped.

"-and you still have hope and time. Tell as many as you can to find a raw solution to survive this mess." Crimson opened the door slightly, her hair waving in such pressure like a storm by the sea. "Goodbye mom, dad." She faced the two boys who laid soundlessly asleep. "Goodbye Otis and Jake."

And before she knew it, she hopped out of the door, holding her breath, and shutting it before her. Crimson heard a faint scream from inside, but that was not to be thought about.

The first feeling she felt was pain- not the ones you feel during a stomachache, but like hot knives stabbing you in the gut- and the strong feeling was followed by shivering cold. Ice frosted around her face and hands as Crimson gingerly made her way towards the panel that contained the switches to carve path for the ship to enter Hyperspace. All she had to do was keep two clip-like metal figures from touching each other for a minute.

As Crimson's fingers shook as she pried the panel open, and found the two metal figures chipped together like bread and butter. Crimson pulled out a piece of bubble gum, two coins and a pair of pebbles from the pocket of her bomber jacket and placed all of them between the thin openings between the figures.

Cold crept on her skin.

It whispered, Death, death and death.

A few seconds! Wait! Crimson thought hurriedly, feeling her skin being jabbed by the cold air around her.

Quick, quick, quick! The cold exclaimed, ready to kill their prey.

Okay, wait a second! Crimson cried in her mind, nearly floating off into the skies beyond. I just need to-

Too late.

She gagged out her last breath and felt as if icy winds consumed the insides of her body. And suddenly- nothing. Just nothing. After that swift moment of freezing winter-like feelings... nothing.

And suddenly, Crimson awoke on the stony floor of Time's confinement place. Time peered curiously above her face, before facing Jake and saying, "Oh, the girl is fine. My, my... she's stronger than she looks. And she knows what she's playing with. Just... wow." Time faced the girl, and told her, "I don't have to tell you much about the last step of your journey. You'd probably know by this second."

"No," Crimson and Jake said bluntly and in sync. "We don't."

"I sort of blacked out... like, at the end," Jake recalled. "But I think I heard Crimson say something about sacrificing her life and-" He paused. "That's the reason why you gave us that illusion, Time? Like slaves for slaughter are we? Telling us that one of us has to die while the other gets to live?"

Time sighed. "It's part of the rules of time. You know that in every millisecond, someone in this universe is born and in sync someone dies? Exactly." Time paused to make sure the two were listening. "You see, a Clock that can end the world is powerful enough. Able to wipe out me, races, species, planets; the whole lot. But what's so powerful it can actually kill? Love. It has always been love."

"Sacrifice is another thing. Would you love someone to death? That's an outrageous question, but we all do know that somewhere beneath that bitterness and sourness of everyone's ego lies a heroic act waiting to shine," Time explained to Crimson and Jake. "That's even way more powerful than myself, if I think about it sometimes. There may be a time where races can defy death as they defy me. But love? That is impossible to erase."

"It's your choice, you two, to endure the pain for others or let us all perish because of just one small childish act," Time told them. "There is no such thing as a happy ending. Death is an ending- if you were a villain who died one day, you'd be sad. If you were a hero, everyone would be sad. There's no 'only happiness' in the world- because happiness is just the mirror of the dark suffering we all go through once in a while."

Crimson frowned, half-heartedly wanting to know the next part of the statement. "So, what happens next?" There was a slight bleak tone in her voice, as if she didn't want to be any part of this. She had just faced the fact that she died in a dream- sacrificing herself in front of her closest friends and family.

"You are to climb the rest of the tower and reach the Grand Clock," Time instructed. "There would be a dagger stuck on the tip of the arrow of the longer hand. Take it, and enter the last chamber via a hole opening in Number 6. And finally..."

They trembled harshly for the upcoming answer.

"... one of you must die in the hands of the one you trust."