Bliss never felt so calm. There were no shadows creeping within. No noise to distract him, yet no silence to disturb him. He felt nothing. Nothing felt better than that.

  The machine on his chest was taking longer than usual to remove the rest of the reality glue. Perhaps his unconscious body was holding on to those last few metabolites. He wasn’t ready to wake up yet.

  My dear anomaly, I admit I truly don’t understand you.

  No way this guy would actually stoop so low. Bliss was not opening his mind for that asshole. Nothing is worse than taking advantage of a man’s long-needed unconsciousness. Not that common decency would do anything to stop a senile God.

  What is the saying? “Cut off your nose to spite your face?” My humans are so creative.

  Nope. The old man would’ve had to try harder than that to raise Bliss from his medical grave. The Old God should’ve known how much his humans liked sleeping in.

  You could have this forever. Just say the word. Let me give you your oblivion.

  Shut up.

  Fuck. That was it. Bliss felt small scraps of his senses returning to him. The first thing he noticed was the soft beeping on his chest. It was small, but enough stimulation to rip his blissful rest away. He wasted precious opportunities like this. Maybe he could work on that in Crux’s mandatory counseling sessions.

  Speaking of which, his CEO’s light blue glow came into view as he opened his eyes. He was standing in front of the bed like he had been waiting for the exact second Bliss woke up. Bliss knew that it was exactly what Crux was doing.

  It looks like you’re a bit busy. I’ll talk to you later.

  One senile God left his mind so another one could enter. Bliss wouldn’t have been shocked if the two nuisances had formed a union for washed-up wannabe deities. Divine desperation was the worst kind of smell.

  “Agent Bliss.”

  Bliss moved his pupils to focus on the man. He didn’t want to talk yet. Crux looked down to clean his glasses as he spoke. A gesture of controlled disappointment that Bliss knew well.

  “Your midnight trip to Placebo’s room caused quite a bit of trouble. I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

  “I’m ecstatic,” he croaked with a smirk. “How nice of you to care about my happiness.”

  Crux stood there silently, head tilting down towards Bliss’s face. Bliss loved that dumbfounded moment of silence he always managed to coax Crux into. He made it so easy. Everyone did.

  “Lunai could’ve died. You both would’ve died if Sir Jelly wasn’t there. We were forced to reveal our only undercover agent in Nula’s fleet because of you.”

  Bliss’s expression softened at Lunai’s name. She survived his stupidity. He felt a strange weight being lifted off of his chest. He wasn’t even thinking about her until now, yet tension still released from his shoulders at the news.

  “Lunai regenerates, right? Is she okay?”

  “Yes, but she lost a lot of plant matter in the fight. She’d be permanently disabled if not for a nearby designer plant.”

  Bliss dragged his arm up and scratched his head. “I have no idea what that means, but good to hear.”

  “Quite. She’s doing so well that she’s already back in the field cleaning up your mess. Entropi is with her.”

  Bliss could hear the snark in Crux’s statement. Of course Entropi took over for him. The woman couldn’t sit still for one damn second.

  Of course she wouldn’t stay here. She’s only concerned with proving how much better she is. How small I am compared to her.

  Bliss couldn’t think of any other reason why he didn’t wake up to her sitting at his bedside. He didn’t think about the times she did stay. All he felt was the gaping feeling of being a cheap replacement for her real son.

  Dr. Crux watched the color fading from Bliss’s eyes as he settled into a familiar emptiness. “You know, I told her she should stay with you.”

  That stung. A low-blow from his dignified CEO. Something that sounded like an attempt at being nice, but was actually a method of pushing Bliss further into his spiral. He blinked once, then turned to lay on his side.

  “What about Argalax? I didn’t see him that night.”

  “Your callousness towards duty seemed to rub off on him. He disappeared that night and we have no idea where he went.”

  Bliss scoffed. “No shit. I didn’t think the guy had it in him.”

  Crux shook his head. “He has a certain history with the siren poachers. I think he went back to them, probably in a misguided attempt to help us. If not, Entropi and Lunai will search for him once Placebo is recovered.”

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  Bliss finally sat up in bed. “Alright, when do I join them?”

  Crux snorted in response. A rare moment of unflattering emotion from the living statue.

  “After what you pulled? You’re not going anywhere for a good while. Not to the field. Not even out of the Rebirth System.” Crux went so far as to re-solidify formerly uploaded paperwork. The stack fell right on Bliss’s chest. “You can manage Entropi’s backlog of reports, nothing more.”

  “You’re grounding me?”

  “It’s clear that Placebo compromised your judgement. Don’t worry, Entropi will find him for you.”

  “I don’t want-“ Bliss cut himself short. He was getting too emotional. Crux couldn’t see that. “Fine. I’ll hang back for now. More time for those mandatory counseling sessions.”

  “I suggest you take advantage of those sessions. You clearly need it.”

  Dr. Crux turned from the bed and left the room. The lecture was finally over, but Bliss didn’t feel any better. Loshket was with Nula and the siren poachers. A huge problem for Bliss if they managed to wring out any reality glue from the man. At the very least, Loshket would probably refuse to give it up willingly.

  “Idiot,” Bliss muttered under his breath. He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Loshket or himself. They deserved each other.

  The device on his chest stopped beeping softly. He looked down and saw that the moving light stopped. It was replaced by a solid green circle. It released the pressure keeping it in place and fell to the side of the bed. He picked it up and crushed it into metal dust for interrupting his little vacation.

  Should’ve been slower.

  A change of clothes was conveniently set on the char next to him. It wasn’t his normal costume. He wouldn’t be able to wear that for while. This suspension would be a significant nuisance. He’d be alone with his thoughts for a good while, at least until Loshket was recovered.

  His awareness was still trickling back in as he shook off the effects of the coma. He remembered locking Sorebel and Cromble away in his room before visiting Loshket. Immediate panic set in.

  Shit! I didn’t even ask Crux where the cats went. Lunai was also injured that night. Who was taking care of Sorebel?

  If the walls weren’t reinforced with reality glue, Bliss would’ve flown straight through them to get home. He was forced to go the long way and fly through the hospital hallways. Patients watched as he blurred past their rooms, managing a small wave to sate their appetites for a bit of Bliss.

  The front entrance would take too much time. He found a window at the end of the hall and broke straight through. People gawked, but he knew they’d give him the benefit of the doubt. They expected an emergency he had to attend to. It wasn’t that far off.

  WHERE’S MY CAT!?

  He honed in on his balcony from space as if he was a targeted missile. Anyone looking to the sky would see a beautiful shooting star heading straight for Bliss’s neighborhood. His neighbors knew better. This was just another Saturday. Bliss’s unpredictable nature was a draw of the area.

  The balcony did not bend on impact. This happened too many times for the building to not have precautions in place. He moved to go inside and saw a note taped to the balcony window from someone who knew he never used his front door. Two black cats ran up to put their paws on the screen as he read.

  Mtsi,

  I took care of Sorebel while you were out. I also had to take care of Cromble so I put her in your apartment to make things easier. You probably slept for a few more days after I left. I had Linda from my office come here in my place. Let her know when you’re back.

  Lunai is with me now, so please take care of Cromble for her. Don’t worry about Placebo, I’ll find your boyfriend for you, though I know you could do better. He already broke your heart once. Maybe you should talk about that in therapy. I’m glad Crux is making you go. See you soon.

  Chikyu.

  He let out a breath held for far too long. The two cats looked at him with wide eyes as he opened the door. They were fed well, but Chikyu had likely starved them of attention. He made his way to the couch and took a seat, allowing both cats to claw their way onto his lap. He put a hand on Sorebel’s hand, happy to have his one grounding force back.

  “You’re the only thing worth waking up for.”

  Both cats purred against his chest as his fingers went through their hair. Now that the initial adrenaline spike was gone, he had to figure out how to occupy himself while he was grounded from field-work. He didn’t want to go back to Entropi’s office. That would make him feel like a failure.

  I guess Surfrista’s funeral is coming up. I’ll probably go to that…

  If that was all he could think of, he really was fucked. Counseling sessions and an annoying colleague’s funeral wouldn’t get him through a single day. Maybe he’d just ignore Crux’s orders and go backpacking through the galaxy. Then again, even that wouldn’t be enough noise to keep the shadows out.

  Cromble snuck up to his shoulder and started licking his cheek. He turned to the audacious creature with a smile. She gave him a small chirp as she sniffed his nose. Cats always knew just what to say.

  You’re right, Cromble. Maybe I can just sleep for tonight. I’ll figure things out tomorrow.

  He scooped the cats into his arms and settled in bed. The Old God hadn’t returned to his thoughts yet, so he considered himself lucky for the time being. Pain could wait for another day.

  Yes, dear anomaly, pain can wait. But that’s not a solution, is it?

  He looked down. The golden words were making their way up his legs. They sprawled across his torso before infecting his arms and face. His muscles tensed within bed. Both cats noticed the spread and hissed at the strange phenomenon torturing their human.

  I hope you understand that I’m not purposely doing this. This is just how my stories work. Your resistance leads to suffering. It is not limited to your own.

  My life is not a lesson. I don’t care if that means millions will die.

  Blood started leaking from his eyes and mouth. The cats decided that it was time to jump ship. They hurried away from the bed as Bliss was forced up. The words always said the same thing. He outlived his time. He needed to let go.

  This time another voice came through. It was just a whisper, easily missed through the pain and screaming. Bliss never missed anything saying that name.

  Zihatzik is coming back. His son needs to go.

  The words vanished as the name Zihatzik echoed through his mind. Its influence was great enough to send the meddling story book words running. Bliss now understood why the Old God had been so persistent lately.

  Bliss laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Blood splattered out of his mouth as the hoarse cackling continued.

  "Onder shows up just weeks ago, and now dad’s coming back! This is too good. Not even the Old God could come up with something so horrible for me! What’s next, Helena shows up? Do it, I dare you!"

  He didn’t know exactly who he was yelling at. Fate was too weak to control his father. Whatever forces truly guided the universe didn’t care to listen. It didn’t matter. Some mastermind had to be behind this series of unfortunate events. Bliss knew Zihatzik himself was the most likely culprit.

  Divine desperation. A scent he knew well. A scent his father knew well.

  Sunspot by yootie! If you enjoy my alien cast of heroes with unique biological abilities, you'll appreciate Sunspot's roster of radiant heroes. There's even a dragon-girl if you're a fan of Onder!