If there is one thing that is mind breaking about turning into a dragon. It is the actual transformation, growth and adapting to the new body. Pride does come with this but never had an issue to keep it in check and only allow it to be a factor in few things. No plants for me from now on which is both good and bad, I didn't grow as big as usual dragons which is good.

Because modern weapons are no joke, but, it isn't my intent to be a danger, although unfortunately that is very difficult to read from a scaly thing like me as average man is about third of my height. My passion has always been learning and a fitting price is set, if the individual who approaches me wishes to learn something, this has to inform me of something new or teach about it.

The solitude never bothered me but, encounter with a human is always interesting. So far, half and half. You know, half running away and half start praying for their lives until hearing my voice and realizing I am an individual capable of human speech, have intelligence and awareness of the world.

Usually those who meet me at my request don't spread the news which is delightful and they will have my thanks, if they have the bearings to search for me. I notice somebody in corner of my eye as I rest on the ground looking at this river area, I do not turn my head too much just enough that I can observe it with one eye.

It is a human, when it got close enough I turn my gaze fully at it 'Human, you may stop trying to approach me without me noticing now' I said gently. No answers, I do suspect that this might have a firearm that could hurt me. After few seconds though of me staring at the location of the human. She stands up and reveals herself.

She doesn't have a firearm with her, so, I just turn to look at the view again. 'What kind of dragon are you?' she asked 'Hmm... An eccentric one' I said 'So, no fire breath or massive hoard of gold and valuables?' she asked sounding little bit surprised 'No, to both. You have no idea how painful it would be to have the former and while shiny things are nice, I am not that type' I said.

'Why are you here then?' she asked and arrived right next to of me then looks at the view. Finding it just as beautiful as I do 'I have appreciation for finer things, such as solitude, beautiful view such as this and stillness of air' I said and look at the lady. In human standards she is pretty but, more in the graceful side than actual beauty.

She sat down on a rock to admire the view 'What do you do then?' she asks breaking the long moment of silence, which is not irritating as having somebody to talk to every now and then is very nice. 'It isn't obvious?' I ask in a slightly snarky tone but, it should be pretty obvious 'Just living your life? I... Got to admit, I was expecting a bit more grandiose answer' she said.

I chuckle 'Quite big bearings you have m' lady' I said and turn to her 'So, what would you like to learn?' I asked. She seemed to almost hiccup from becoming nervous as I turned to her and asked my question 'There is a price in this isn't there?' she asked, smart woman. 'There is, knowledge, for knowledge' I said. She looks at me into my eye.

'You really are a strange one' woman said still surprised of my eccentricity 'Individuality can be quite a strange thing lady' I said 'Well, that is a statement I can not disagree with' she said, I chuckle a bit and she looks a bit annoyed of being outwitted 'So, how about it? Knowledge for knowledge?' I ask.

'I need to ask, what I would like to know and in turn I need to teach you something new?' she asked keeping her emotions in check 'Correct' I said straightly. She thinks for a while 'We can exchange as many times as we desire?' she asked and does sound like she is buying time 'How much are you willing to gamble?' I asked. This made her quite nervous.

'So, it has to be a fair trade' she said realizing the gravity of the situation 'Indeed' I said 'Does the previous questions count?' she asked 'No' I said 'There isn't really any knowledge I wish to learn but, travel home is long' she said. I chuckle 'Ma'am, no, however if you have a rope just tie a knot around my talon and tie yourself tightly, but, for that you must teach me two things I do not yet know' I said.

'Well, it should be easy but, I am nervous' she said and pulled out a phone to start browsing the internet. I chuffed in amused manner.

This kid would probably have a lot of fun with Calvin.

Almost entirely certain that the friction of colliding atmospheres would garuntee that this kind of orbit couldn't be stable...

But now I don't care because I wanna go literal planet-hopping.

That's what they eventually realized. Then Pinky and the Brain moved to the new earth, and the original earth was destroyed by an asteroid.

"Chuckle bucket, why aren't you eating your peas?" Nancy's voice sounded both cheery and concerned as she peered over at my plate.

It's not unusual for my stepmother to sound cheery. I think that's what drove me so crazy. No matter what, her high pitched voice rang like a happy clappy church bell. She was the only person I'd ever met that could sound both cheery and sad, or cheery and mad... and it made me want to rip my ears off.

"Because I'm turning into a freaking dragon, Nancy." I growled, "and dragons. Don't. Eat. Peas."

"Oh, sweetie, is this from one of your video games?" Nancy frowned, "and I thought I said no more growling! That's not how we communicate with people in this house." She said, authoritatively. She might as well have wagged one of her fat, pudgy fingers at me.

"No," I said, gritting my teeth, "it's not a game. I found an ancient scroll and I'm turning into a dragon."

"Sure, honey." Nancy sighed, "Have you---"

"It's not HONEY," I cut her off, "it's Shadowmancer now. GET. IT. RIGHT!" My voice was loud now, booming. No doubt part of my transformation.

"Shadowmancer. Did you take your mana beads this morning?" Nancy asked.

I didn't know what the hell 'mana beads' were supposed to be, but I recognized one of my stepmother's tricks when I saw one.

"DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH ME, MORTAL," I bellowed across the dinner table. "FOR I, SHADOWMANCER, AM--"

Just then I heard the door to my dad's truck slam. He had gotten home late. Another late night. Probably not at the bar- it had been years since he'd given up the drink. Whenever he came home late, I'd still always get nervous that he might relapse and stumble into the dining room like he used to do.

This evening, he was running, not stumbling, though. He ran straight into the house to the medicine cabinet and got my pills.

"YOUR MAGIC BEANS CAN NOT SUPRESS THE INEVITABLE, OLD MAN, FOR I AM--"

Dad shoved the pills and a glass of water in my face. "I've had a long day, boy. Please, just..."

He sounded sad. He looked even more sad, and tired.

I took the pills, against my better dragon judgment, and hugged him. About an hour later, I apologized to Nancy.

Perhaps, when my transformation is complete, I will spare her. Only for him, but at least she will live.

I've read this as a moderately hard sci fi novel. One was a desert, one an ocean. The desert had all these weird slightly soft rocks that didn't fit geologically, think glacial boulders. Turned out they were eggs from when the water switched sides every so often

[2/2]...The woman covered her eyes and sobbed, trying and failing to quell herself. Keith turned around and ran out of the hallway and found an empty living room with withdrawn curtains: so that the windows let in a bright white.

"Carlos, what did you do..."

Keith turned around to find that the hallway was replaced by an open doorway into a hospital room. Inside was dark and mirthless, with a single lamp in the corner illuminating the drawn glass window that showcased a stormy parking lot. The hospital room was also empty.

"Carlos, what did you do!"

It came from the window. In the doorway of the living room, a dark silhouette of a uniformed man threw open the door and charge at him with balled fists. Thunder screamed as all the windows started to buckle under intense rain. The man grabbed at Keith's neck.

"Carlos-"

It looked like a black tattoo. It was a lie: so, Keith threw himself at the tattoo and began biting the nostrils of a man who looked a lot like himself. But it occurred to Keith that the mirror hadn't shown his true reflection: it was only a coincidence that they looked alike, because he didn't look like that; naturally.

The black man struggled but managed to produce a knife from his chest and sliced at Keith's face a few times. The tattoo struggled, but Keith eventually choked the consciousness out of it. Using the knife, he mangled the face up until it was indistinguishable.

Breathing hard, the naked man stood up. He had fought with the tattoo next to the open doorway of the front entrance. An array of policemen with pointed pistols brandished him with fiery orange eyes. The sky was a bright cloudy white, like a blank canvas of smoke, and the windows continued to rhythmically thud despite the rain having seemingly stopped.

"Freeze, motherfucker."

Keith looked down at his body. He was in his underwear, the stitches and blemishes were gone, but his entire forearm was drenched in blood, cuts and bitemarks. There was also a layer of blistered red skin over his chest that was coated by a brown aromatic sauce.

"Raise your hands!"

"Hands up and drop the weapon. Hands up!"

Keith briefly heard the word "hands" and understood from the context that he should raise his hands. But then he remembered that there was writing on the palm, so he turned his hand to see if it had changed.

"Hands up!" A cop yelled angrily, growling the words out.

The message was still there on his hands. But it read differently:

"Gracias por hacer un buen acto. Casi listo, mi amor. Levante la mano y gana."

"¿Mi amor?" Keith said perplexed. He raised both hands.

"Drop the knife!"

He dropped the knife and faced his palms to the police. Immediately, gunshots sounded as his bleeding forearm was assaulted by the palm.

Keith screamed as he fell, landing on the wisping sand. A hiss slithered out from his body before a force propelled his limp form against the walls of the entryway like a flung towel. Dark tendrils of reptilian skin, coated with Keith's blood, had erupted from the bone of the brutally fresh orifice. These tendrils had no core body or head, and simply flung line after line into the crowd of policemen: skewering their necks and heads in one swift movement.

They all stood still as Keith's hand wiggled inside of each human's corpse. A pleasant humming sound vibrated from Keith's head. The walls of the house started to fade away, and he was back in the hospital room. But this time, it didn't look so mirthless and dreary; though this time, there was a reflection in the window. And so, you watch yourself on the bed for a long while, taking in details you have forgotten since the beginning of that special day. You didn't seem to blink as you watched yourself in wonder. And you find comfort in that gaze of yours.

"Have you thought of a name yet, dear? I know you said you wanted a girl, so you could name her after Keisha."

"I know, I remember..."

"We've got to name our baby something. The people are waiting on us."

"Hm, how about Keith then?"

"That's a good deal, sweetie. I'm sorry for what happened to her but remember that I'll name the next baby, okay?"

A light clap of thunder sounded from overhead. Keith wriggled his index finger slightly.

"I know honey. I know."

Working on it! :)

"¡Concentramos! ¡Tres, dos, uno...!"

The sand blew from the two's feet as they ran, launching themselves towards the stand of foam frisbees. Blazing fire boomed from torch poles behind them. People in their respective team colors watch from the benches, against gray walls of spray-painted graffiti. They scream and throw their arms as the red and blue members raced for the chance to aim at air.

"¡Cuidado allí, cuidado allí!" a woman boomed.

The man with blue jumped up onto a black net and began to heave himself over the obstacle. At the end was a ring of sticks that moved like a carousel. All he had to do was knock down all the blue sticks with the frisbees before the red team could in order to win.

"Que paso," a voice groaned audibly when the blue missed all his shots. Everyone was shouting for him to pick them up and try again.

...

He yawned and stretched his stiff back. His body was more than stiff but numb all over with a hint of fatigued tearing. His breath jolted after catching himself; regaining his footwork, he continued to wobble. The floor was ice to his tender flesh.

Without opening his eyes since he rolled out of bed, he flicked the light switch of his bathroom on. The light boomed like a winged pest, casting a light blue hue. He yawned and opened his eyes to find himself naked.

The toilet seat was next to the sink, so he reached and aimed for the hole as he pissed. A couple of seconds later, his bleary eyes squinted hard and blinked.

Still swaying, the man slowly brought his arm to his nose and peered at his skin. It was an elaborate tattoo with black letters etched into a bold pattern. It took a moment for him to remember that he could read and grazed his arm with his eyes a fourth time.

YOU HAVE ALZEIMER'S.

YOU LOVE YOUR WIFE.

YOUR NAME IS KEITH.

The tattoo had encompassed the whole forearm, with only a space of untainted skin in the inner arm marking the start and end of the edgy calligraphy.

"Bueno." Keith said, feeling indifferent of the discovery to his body. He shifted his hands and noticed that there was ink on his palm as well. Mildly intrigued, he examined the palm of his tattooed hand.

It wasn't a tattoo, but words hastily scrawled in a style that was hard to appreciate. In marker, it read: "THE TATTOOS ARE A LIE".

"Ohh," Keith noted appreciatively, trying to memorize the English words for future use. He looked down his whole body, expecting to see his tattoos from years of living rashly and making bad artistic decisions: his breath caught.

The tattoos on his stomach were not only faded and grey, but his skin looked older. Also, his body hair was unkempt as if he had forgotten to personally groom himself and stopped decades ago. And there were segments of pink skin that gave rise to rows and rows of stitches, with hints of red tender flesh that had been amateurishly sewn together to make an uneven lump of flesh, scattered all over his core and arms.

His heartbeat and awareness slowly reignited and maintained a seriously fast-paced tempo. He looked down at his dick and saw for the first time the lacerations that roamed the suddenly sensitive surface. He swiftly faced the sink's mirror.

Keith was a tan individual with newly discovered aged lines around his brow. His jaw seemed less defined and saggy, his hair was thinning and frayed with gray, and his eyes looked unrelentingly shocked and crazed. He was a naked old man looking at his naked self.

Three knocks echoed from outside the bathroom, beyond the bedroom. Keith jumped and looked around, heart racing and chest hurting. Thinking, and thinking fast, he wondered how this had happened.

"Hello, honey?" A chillingly enchanting woman's voice called out. "I-I-I've got you some medicinal tea and some soup for you, but my hands are full."

Keith observed his forearm again, with the tattoo he doesn't recognize. It, too, seemed old and aged. He paused to read the words again.

YOU HAD AN ACCIDENT

YOUR WIFE LOVES YOU

YOU LOVE TEA AND SOUP

"Ah!" Keith exclaimed, recognizing some of the English words: you, accident, tea, soup... "¡¿Pero que había pasado?! ¡No recuerdo nada lo que pasó desde...!"

His mind drifted back to his dream. Traces of sand wipe at his eroding memory. What was he, and did he win for his team? As he looked down, he found himself back on that arena with a blazing heat caressing the back of his soul. The obstacle course of the week stretched on and on. He ran, in slow motion, reaching for the frisbee stand.

"¿Eso no era cierto...?"

He pulled back his hand to read the marker on his palm: "THEYRE COMING FOR YOU! RUN".

Time sped up as Keith jumped over a bed that had always been there.

"Vamos, vamos," screamed his teammates.

He turned the corner and shouldered himself into the block of blue wood and started to push it past the goal line. Keith screamed as he gave one last hard shove and caused the column of wood to topple onto its side.

Everyone screamed as scalding liquid burned Keith's naked flesh. He opened his eyes to find an aged woman screaming in pain, doused in brown liquids with a tray of silverware pressed sharply into her flabby and loose floral chest. He was on top of this poor woman, pressing her tray and utensils into her boobs; much like a dull rock imprinting a marshmallow in such an irreversible way.

"Ay mierda," he whispered, rolling off her.

She was writhing in agony, belting out a loud panic. The naked man considered briefly of helping her, but hesitantly backed away instead.

[1/2]

Part 3??? We beg of you

Glorious! I would love to see this fleshed out some more, I think you're really onto something

.

Well-written and gripping. Thank you for writing!

Repost. I open it as if it's not locked.

Ooooooooo moar???

I heard a commotion from behind me and I quickly placed some more logs on the fire and took a seat on the couch. I sunk into it and it made me feel more relaxed but my hands were still shaking. Why was I feeling so anxious? It felt like some instinct was trying to tell me something but I couldn't place it.

I felt suddenly small, tiny, and insignificant. My chest tightened as I began to feel like my life had to purpose. Was this an existential crisis? How many mornings have I woken up like this? How many times had my family have to explain to me who I was? What did that note mean and was it even real? I glanced at the fire which had erased all evidence of the note.

Is this a test of some kind? Or a game? I shook my head and sighed deeply. The alternative is that this is all real, I have lost my memory and now I was perhaps losing my mind. Can I even trust myself or my own instincts if I don't even know who I am?

Klara entered the room, dressed now, in a long blue dress with sparkly earrings that she was still fitting to her ear as she walked in.

"How did it go?" she said and then furrowed her brow. "It's so hot outside, why make the fire?"

"I feel oddly cold." I said rubbing my shoulders as if that would help my case. The lie felt strange in my mouth.

"Okay," Klara said, "No problem. I'll open the balcony door though, give you a bit of a breeze." She turned to walk towards the door when a question struck me.

"Klara," I said, "One second."

"What?" Klara said, her brow furrowed as her mouth pulled into a tight line. Her eyes narrowed and she changed from friendly into something else. After a second she composed herself and her expression morphed into a tight smile. "It's okay honey, but my name is Jennifer."

"Oh." I said furrowing my brow. I thought back to the moment she introduced herself and all the things written in the photo album. I could've sworn she said Klara... that I read Klara... yes, she must have said Klara.

I thought back to that moment in the kitchen when she stood before me in her PJ's. The dog was at my feet or on my right... she said: "My name is -"

Now I couldn't even bring that memory to my mind. It was as if it was being erased in real time. The more I tried to focus on it the blurrier it became.

Great, so now I couldn't even trust my own memory from a time as recent as this fucking morning? Or was Klara another clue? It could be another clue if this Klara person could help...

No, this is illogical. I need to learn more about my life before I fall down rabbit holes I'll forget tomorrow. I have such a short window of conscious awareness and I didn't intend to misuse it.

"I'm sorry Jennifer," I said. Jennifer smiled.

"Don't worry about it, truly, it's fine."

Jennifer pulled open the balcony door and a sweet breeze struck me. I took in a deep breath of air, complete with the fragment of spring rain and blooming flowers. This made me remember my question.

"How old am I?"

"You are Sixty-Seven years young." Klara, I mean Jennifer, said. "I am three years younger than you. We've known each other since we were thirteen and started dating in our twenties. We went our separate ways for a while, but somehow our lives always intertwined."

"How old is Claudia?"

"She's twenty-five this year," Jennifer said proudly. "She's an amazing young woman."

"Why does she still live here with us?"

Jennifer took a seat across from me and folded her hands on her lap.

"Well," she said, "Claudia is very found of you. When she found out you were sick she took time off work and moved in with us to help out. She's been living here for about two years now."

"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling like a burden. Jennifer reached across and put her hand on mine. Her hand felt cold and clammy. "You have good days and not so good days. It's okay if you're struggling to remember today. Yesterday was a good day. All we can do is try to make the best of every day."

She was right but I was starting to feel scared and claustrophobic, like I was trapped in this life with no possible escape. Doomed to suffocate my family until I withered away into nothing.

"I'm going to get some air," I said, standing up and walking towards the open door.

"Enjoy," Jennifer said, "I will be in the room. I have a meeting. Claudia should be home soon. She'll be here with you while I'm gone."

I nodded and closed the door behind me.

I took a seat in one of the chairs and leaned back. The view was beautiful but like inside it felt a little bit duller than I remember. As if the colors were not as bright as I remembered. But could I really trust anything that had anything to do with my own memory.

I glanced at the little glass table in front of me and saw a book. It was titled "Get out." I picked it up and as I did a note fell out and landed on my foot. I glanced to the glass door but Jennifer wasn't there. I quickly picked up the note and opened it up.

"Klara is the key. Trust no one. Not even Claudia. I mean it, not even Claudia! Your name is Ammon. Reveal this to no one. Await your next instruction. Destroy this note."

-End Part Two

This is super cool.

I've had this idea for years but I'm not really a sci-fi writer so I knew I couldn't do it justice. I'd love to see this go further.

Or maybe not oops... I think I'll incorporate that mistake into the plot. See where I can take that.

Oops! Thanks! Not sure why I did that haha

The binary star system 3-X12GK was a rarity.

And I know what you're thinking;

All binary star systems are a rarity.

That is true. Their eccentric orbits and gravities make binary star systems unlikely to sustain themselves long term, and makes them unsuitable for practically all settlement purposes.

3-X12GK is rare for another reason; far from just being a binary star system, 3-X12GK is an inhabited binary star system.

The two suns of the system orbit each other in a furious dance, and between the two stars there are a variety of planetoids, most devoid of life.

By cosmic coincidence however, two planets of the binary system maintain a human civilization. These planets, designated 3-X12G-Alpha and 3-X12G-Beta are home to two groups of humans who have called the planets home since before the fall.

The two planets each follow a wide orbit, Alpha following the sun Primaris, and Beta following the sun Secundus. Once a century these orbits cross however, and the two worlds experience what is known as the Conjunction.

For a period of a sidereal day, Alpha and Beta orbit within a astronomically miniscule range of each other. As this happens half of each world is plunged into complete eclipse. On this side of the world the effects of gravity is reduced by overlapping gravitational fields, and as the intense magnetospheres of the planets merge, atmospheres, albeit it thin, conjoin.

This event is traditionally the single major point of cultural, economic and diplomatic exchange between the two worlds, both of whom were technologically crippled by the events of the fall, which destroyed their space-faring capability.

The next conjunction is projected to occur in exactly 30 days.

This time, intelligence suggests Alpha is preparing more than just trade. The New Federation Reconnaissance Fleet has detected an upsurge in production of military equipment in Alpharian factories. Atmospheric craft have been prepared and loaded, and armies raised from the civilian populace.

In the coming days, 3-X12GK may once again be home to a unique event.

The first interplanetary war without space flight.

The New Federation has debated warning one or both planets against conflict, but has decided to watch and see, preferring as always to not interfere with the affairs of lesser civilizations.

I don't think I ever saw that episode. That's fantastic. What's the point in taking over the world if there's no one on it to rule?

This is very good, looking forward to part 2

For a second, I wondered if somebody was pranking me, but that didn't seem possible. My wife wasn't the type to play pranks on me and our son was at college the next city over. And then my mind drifted towards the fact that I didn't even remember having a son or what my wife was named. I groaned as I made my way to the bathroom--it was going to be a long day.

Suddenly, my wife poked her head out of the bedroom and asked, "Everything okay, hon?"

I glanced back and replied, "Yeah, yeah, everything's good, honey. I just had a bit of a kink in my neck."

"Aw, I'm sorry. You want a massage later? Would that help?"

"Thank you, but I'm okay. Oh, and good morning."

"Good morning to you too."

With our chat out of the way, I entered the bathroom and did my business. At the same time, I thought about how I could figure out if everything around me was fake, what question I could ask my wife to prove my life had been fabricated. Once I finished up and started washing my hands, I looked in the mirror and gazed down at my bare chest. It wasn't Bachelor-worthy or anything, but it was definitely proof I'd kept in shape over the years.

It made me want to vomit. Something about it just set off alarm bells in my head, and I didn't know why. I couldn't tell if it was too bare, too empty, too flat, too--wait.

Flat. That was the issue. And the minute I realized that, I remembered who I really was.

Suddenly, a sharp, throbbing pain in my head sent me to the ground. Everything around me seemed to be getting more intense; the glare of the lights, the coldness of the tile, the sound of the pipes. But it wouldn't work this time now that I knew who I was and what I was capable of.

I reached out into the space in front of me and concentrated. The pain seemed to be getting more intense, but pain never stopped me much anyway. Suddenly, I could feel it: glass. With a grin, I wound up and let loose the strongest punch I could muster.

In an instant, I wasn't in a house anymore. I was laying in a puddle of strange green liquid with bits of broken glass mixed in. As I gathered my bearings and looked down at myself, my grin came back with a vengeance. I was wearing a pink and dark blue costume filled out with bodybuilder-grade muscles and, best of all, motherfucking breasts. The bitch was back.

"No no NO!!" I turned to my right to see a woman in a lab coat and gas mask pointing some kind of gun at me. "How did you get out?! That simulation was four months worth of work!!"

I made a show of flexing as I responded, "Look on the bright side, Critical: you've got front row seats to the Koroleva comeback tour!" I held out my hand. A bolt of lightning appeared and transformed into a war hammer. "And audiences everywhere agree: it's a smash hit!"

Critical opened fire on me as I charged. The laser blasts hit my skin to no avail, a feeling I savored after being stuck in a place where I couldn't have that. I went in for a thrust at Critical's midsection, prompting her to summon a forcefield around that area. At the last minute however, I quickly swung the hammer away and into the ground, sending the both of us plummeting to the level below.

I landed on my feet while Critical wasn't quite so lucky, landing on a table hard enough to break it in half. As she tried to get back up, I lifted her off the ground and growled, "Now, let's have a chat about you sticking me in a simulation where you made me think I was still a man."

Critical, unbothered, pressed a button on her wristwatch, at which point the same pain that happened in the simulation came back, only about ten times stronger. As I collapsed to the ground screaming, Critical ripped off her gas mask to reveal the murderously joyful expression on her face. "Get this through your thick, bulletproof head! You are a man and you always will be! And I won't rest until every perverted crossdresser like you and every traitor like that little shit Repertoire is dead or enlightened! I will save the...s-save the...future of--"

Critical looked down to see an arm sticking through her chest before abruptly collapsing in the middle of her speech. As I regained my bearings, I saw a woman with a pale blue costume and full facemask that let her long black hair flow freely. Gwisin--my actual wife. Gwisin took her mask off and happily cried out, "Koro!"

"Spooky!" I immediately pulled Gwisin off the ground and kissed her deeply. Once we broke apart, Gwisin shifted positions so that I was bridal carrying her and nuzzled into me. "I missed you like crazy, hon."

"Mmm, I missed you more."

"Bullshit, you didn't even remember I was your wife until like three minutes ago!"

"Yeah, but it was a really intense three minutes! Quality over quantity, right?"

Gwisin giggled and kissed me on the cheek. "Let's agree to disagree so we can get Critical in a cell quicker and we can start making up for lost time."

"Fine by me." As Gwisin levitated Critical off the ground and I started making my way out of the lair, Gwisin asked, "By the way, how'd you break out of the simulation?"

I smiled. "I realized that there was something important from my life that wasn't there anymore."

"You wanted your tits back, didn't you?"

I shrugged and responded, "Yeah, I wanted my tits back."

Gwisin gave my chest a playful squeeze. "Well, they are fantastic."

"Aren't they?"

Reminds me of that Pinky and the Brain episode where Brain takes over the earth by building a paper mache earth and tricking everybody into moving there in order to get free t-shirts, leaving him and Pinky the sole people living on the original earth.

[removed]