I got Pirad to port every healer with a Cube to my Bubble. It’s shrinking, but we got them there and they sang healing on Ry’nao, Adia, and Ryee. Then, they popped back into Alb except for Molly, Suma, Jarfus and Ray. Molly and Suma are upset that they couldn’t do much. All the Cubes are depleted.

  J~oie’s Orange Cube Of Loyalty, which Ryee’s clone with the Redviolet Cube Of Friendship gave him just now, their Cubes don’t do healing. But, they can influence Rentappenen’s Collectives not to fight.

  The Battle Of The Cubes is not so much of a battle, now. Rentappenen has very strong telepathy without the help of his Collectives, but he’s exhausted. All of us are. He’s lost any ability to harm anyone. His troops deserted and went home. His ships got destroyed or stolen. His Collectives are mostly dead or deserted or deciding whether to desert. The more who leave, the more want to leave.

  Worlds are making peace, the thing that Rentappenen doesn’t want!

  And, Ray just appeared on Lisbaar. I’m holding her at the instant it exploded so she can strike. Rentappenen reached for a weapon, but Ray’s red beam vaporized him, then aimed his molecules at Lisbaar’s sun! She waved his clothes into her alt storage and I brought her back.

  She appeared in front of me, hands still clutching empty air as she gasped! “Is he dead, Azure?”

  I felt the Cube come to me. Like it was a comet and hit me in the chest!

  My heartbeats slowed. My yellow dress went flat. As he died, his few followers undid me! It hit the floor. So did Roosevelt, who sobbed. Ray fell and hugged him. “Oh, Roosevelt! I’m so sorry! Were you people married?”

  “No! There wasn’t—time!”

  It broke my heart to see that, but I’m not there.

  Adia’s last self, and Ryee’s last self, they’re injured on that bed. And Ry’nao’s last self before Rentappenen died. But, they’re with me.

  Molly caught me. I felt like I kept falling, through the floor. But, Ry’nao fell beside me, gasping. “Ket, help Azure!” He held me. Held my head against his chest. I got deep green sparklies all over his pristine gray uniform. Sash, DS blue with green border for Earth and the Alliance. His pins are covered. Yuck! I tried to wipe one off, but he grabbed my hand. His is very cold.

  “Ket?”

  “He’s not here! Where is this! I haven’t got anything left! Suma.” She leaned against him, on this white floor.

  She groaned, behind me. “I can’t. Anybody?”

  Jarfus groaned. “Sleep. All of us—”

  A portal left larger Wally against my front. “Sleep? We have to prepare our defense!”

  Ry’nao’s red-violet eyes dragged up to his purple ones. Watched his white top hat slip off and roll away from us. “Defense?”

  “We broke rules. Padrisa. This is their ship.” He sank against me and I couldn’t breathe. Snores.

  Ry’nao tried to pull me out. “Help me! Wally, you are too heavy.”

  He groaned and moved away, just a bit. “Is that enough?”

  “No! She can’t breathe!” He sobbed.

  I took a breath. “I can now,” I panted.

  Ry’nao feebly held my head a bit closer. “Ryee? Adia?”

  A twin-fingered hand slid onto his arm. “Laura!”

  “She is not here. No healers. Suma!” That’s Ni’olmai. He’s holding Suma.

  I realized I wasn’t stopping time. In fact, I didn’t feel the Cube I got from Rentappenen, which was a great shock, like it hit me in the chest. It’s gone, and that’s a worse shock.

  The floor felt like a giant magnet. I couldn’t move a finger without a lot of effort. Nobody lifted their heads.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  While I laid there, I watched people sleeping on Adia’s Ship. There wasn’t a single person not sleeping. How am I seeing this, without my Cube? Apparently my cloned Cube merged with Rentappenen’s. I saw all the Cubes in a white room with a table. It had a clear dome over it. Two men stood there, guarding them. That dome prevented me from mentally touching it. Not that I wanted to, now that the battle’s over.

  On Alb Seer, my parents and two sets of grandparents waved up drinks on a schedule to pour down Pirad who came from Pirad’s Antarctic Lab. He didn’t look good.

  A light green Bisillip ported there. “Who are all of you?”

  They all talked at once. He ported them all to Pas’ Chambers in Oshfah, the Yeff city. Healers took over Pirad’s care and were very glad to see him. They thought he was the Ye~ Pirad.

  My folks were in good shape, but they told them I died. Molly’s 16 year old clone cried with ‘em. Then, she gasped. “Oh, Molly’s on Earth and she said Azure got cloned and she and Roosevelt went to Minaria! Can we bring Minaria here?”

  Pas, the wisest Yeff healer, smiled. “O, it came this morning to Alb. I am happy. In Rainbow, I saw little of Azure, but everyone who met her, loved her. She is too unwell for visits. I hope soon, you may all go to her.” He wiped yellow sparklies off his face.

  I remembered Pas. He cried when he couldn’t heal me, or bring someone who could. But Zheien love everyone, even strangers.

  I have a sister on Minaria. But I can’t touch her mind and let her know I’m alive.

  We’re on a ship, but this one doesn’t click under the floor like most ships. Pier and I went on a lot of them, tracing people down in timelines, changing a bit here and a bit there.

  What will the Padrisa do? Do people that advanced have death penalties? They didn’t kill Rentappenen, just sent him to more and more primitive levels. But, there’s not a more primitive tech level than where we came from!

  Gifts cannot be Taken. What was my Gift before Serenappenen gave me that Cube? I had hallucinations, although maybe they weren’t, because Serenappenen talked in my head and he was real, and Rentappenen talked and I heard him and he was. Maybe I just had telepathy. That might explain a lot.

  Nobody’s thinking, because they are all sleeping, but I can tell that. Maybe that’s telepathy. But is that a Gift? Telepathy’s not limited by distance.

  Some people on Alb are awake.

  And, some people on Eda are awake. King Andy is—on the other side of me? All his people are lying there, sweating. Nobody knows healing for them! They’re a created species and none of them know any healing!

  But Molly went there. Her nowself. She found Dromie’s people and Granny’s family and gave them food. So one of our Pastselves—no one on Alb or on Eda will know we went anyplace. Kia’s Pastself is worried that she’ll have to go to the Padrisa, but we’re on our way, now.

  Molly groaned. “People, we have to do some healing! Adia’s dying, and so is Ry’nao!”

  “I’ll try.” Suma stretched out her hand.

  Jarfus put his flipper out, and so did Wally. I expected to see colored light. Yellow for Imwa healing. White for Adia’s. Maybe red for Ray’s. I saw a very faint white glow as they sang, like normal healers in a dark room.

  On Alb, healers got stronger and able to heal. Here, we slept and woke up tired, and the healers did, too. They tried to heal us, but it didn’t do anything.

  Molly woke up crying! “Why doesn’t it get better! If anyone dies, it’ll be my fault!”

  “No, Honey. It’s not your fault.” Suma sighed.

  “Why do they want to punish us healers? It’s not fair! We didn’t try to hurt anyone!”

  Wally groaned. “I’m afraid that’s my fault, because I followed Rentappenen. Yes, that was stupid, and all of us will pay for it.”

  “Wally, he fooled a lot of people. That’s what bad people do.” Molly grunted as she moved.

  “We helped the good people defeat him. I guess that counts as ‘interference’, but I’m glad we did that.” Suma chuckled. “We just need to think about our win. Thirteen galaxies won because of us. The Padrisa won. They won’t die now. It doesn’t matter what they do to us. The ones left behind are safe, at last!”

  Ry’nao sobbed. “Suma, my dear, there are no guarantees here. The Padrisa may well decide to destroy my Thirteen because Rentappenen contaminated it! Wally, what can we do? You are right, we need to prepare our arguments!”

  Wally harrumphed. “All Councils are the same. They argue. I saw no difference in Councils, and I watched all of them. At least all my people agree on everything. People on Councils try to listen for most of their minds, and none of them agree on anything! How do you stand it, Ry’nao?”

  He gave a weak laugh. “I did not know anything else, but we diplomats are trained to look for the important things. Then we try to bring those clearer for all who entered into a dispute. How can we all see what is important to all peoples involved, and if everyone compromises just a little, maybe all can benefit. There are always points of agreement, if all parties look hard enough.”

  “You are wise, my emperor. How can we divide this work?”

  “Ryee, you need to rest. Wally and I will discuss, and Irdaktin, and all our rulers and Councillors.”

  “Liege, I can ne. We slept eight days, and I am ne rested. Perhaps we are in a field that keeps our energies low, to prevent our escape.”

  Light came up in the room, and another being materialized. Like the fella in black robes, his features glowed and changed constantly, but he wore red robes. “Rules we established are not to be broken! I am Yamotenanten, and I am here to gather your evidence.”

  “You must be careful with them. Your mind is too strong for most of them, except people like me.”

  “Tanirpahadachan, I will not harm any of you. Your species is interesting. But, Ryonne~, we do not do anything to prevent you from moving. Rentappenen injured you, and I do not know healing. I am merely a Council member of Padrisa. You would call us the Council Of The 5th. I am a Wausen. You know healing. Can you teach me?”