“And fun.”
“Lots of fun.” Sofia pointed out into the distance. “I think we should build something right there. A branch of the Realitants. Not a gaudy castle—something simple. We should use the power of the Thirteenth like it was meant to be used. Before Jane messed it all up.”
“Brilliant idea, maestro.” Paul still had a heavy heart, but he couldn’t deny the excitement he felt for the future.
Sofia took a deep breath and let it out. “So. We’ve made some pretty grand plans. What should we do first?”
Paul found a smile. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
Chapter 71
One Month Later
Lisa sat on her front porch and stared out at the trees as the morning sun broke through in the distance and lit everything up. She wished she felt that way on the inside. She wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but she missed Tick more and more with each passing day. It wasn’t getting any better.
He’d vanished from their lives. Again.
But Atticus Higginbottom—her stinky little brother—had somehow stopped the Void before it could destroy everything. Tick had saved the universe. Again.
Despite her worry, she laughed at the thought. It seemed so absurd and ridiculous, and she knew Tick would laugh, too, if he were there. But it was true. Totally true. Tick was a hero for the ages. At least she had that to hold on to.
The front door banged open, and Kayla came sprinting out onto the porch, her head swiveling left and right as she looked for something. When she finally spotted Lisa, a look of excitement spread across her face.
“Come inside!” the little girl yelled. “Quick!”
Lisa was tempted to be annoyed—she’d just gotten comfortable and wanted some time to be alone outside. She wanted time to think about things. How the world was slowly but surely getting back to some sense of normalcy, how people were rebuilding and laying foundations for an even better future. The Realities were sharing information through the now very-public assistance of the Realitants. The universe would never be the same. Things were changed forever.
But she wasn’t annoyed. She couldn’t be. Kayla was smiling for the first time in a long time.
“Li-sa!” her little sister insisted with a stomp of her foot. “Daddy said come inside right now! Something’s in the fireplace!”
That picked Lisa right up out of her chair. The look in Kayla’s eyes showed that this wasn’t a silly game. The two of them went through the front door and into the living room, where their mom and dad were standing arm in arm, staring at the fireplace. Inside the dark hole within the brick frame were hundreds of orange sparks flashing and snapping, crackling like a fire, though there were no flames.
Lisa stepped up beside her parents and looked at their faces, which were filled with awe. Lorena and Edgar Higginbottom had tried so hard to put on a brave front since Tick had gone missing again, to be strong for Lisa and Kayla. But they hadn’t been able to hide the devastating sadness within them. It was in their eyes. Like death itself.
“What’s going on?” Lisa asked.
“It has something to do with Tick,” her dad replied. “I know that much. It has to.”
Lisa’s mom patted her husband on the arm. “Let’s not get our hopes up, Edgar.” Her face showed she wasn’t following her own advice.
The dancing orange lights suddenly stopped, winking out of existence. Lisa was shocked to see a piece of paper resting on top of the logs—she was certain it hadn’t been there a second ago.
“Grab it,” she whispered to Kayla.
Her little sister ran to the fireplace and picked up the paper, took a look then ran to their mom and handed it to her. Everyone crowded around to see.
It was a letter. Lisa’s mom read it aloud.
Dear Mom. And Dad. And Lisa. And Kayla.
You’re probably wondering right now how this letter was created. Or how it got to you. More importantly, you’re probably wondering where I am and what I’m doing. What I’ve become. There are things in the universe that are beyond our comprehension—I’ve still got a lot to learn myself. Someday I hope to understand it enough to explain it fully.
Something amazing has happened. A combination of so many things. The soulikens of an infinite number of my Alterants somehow bled to me. Filled me up. The power of Karma was involved. So was the unbelievable energy of the Void from the Fourth Dimension. The inventive mind of Reginald Chu and the sheer will of Mistress Jane. It all added together to make this possible—I’ve become an entity, like the Haunce, a force to help watch over the Realities.
But the details and the complexities of it all don’t matter. Not right now.
This is what matters: