The silence after Perrin's former self ended the recording was tangible. Perrin wasn't sure what or how he felt about everything that had just been conveyed to him. His thoughts kept looping around the fact that the man had virtually erased himself because he could not deal with the actions that he had taken. Perrin assumed that given the man's emotions on the act, that he had probably been forced to do it. He had personally never had to commit such actions himself, although he had left innocents behind to keep operations from being discovered. Each time had eaten parts of his soul and went directly against his nature to protect and save those being oppressed.

De Oppresso Liber - to Free the Oppressed had always resonated with him in some profound way. Almost like his heartstrings were attached to the meaning behind the words. Unfortunately, the reality of being an operator was far less hero bound than his youthful mind understood after joining the ranks of elites. Perrin didn't discount the work and its impact on the nation he loved and bled for, but freedom ain't free, as they say. His last mission went to hell because he had made a call to uphold that motto despite its being outside mission parameters. He ended up putting three of the best damn people he had ever served in the ground and still didn't save the villagers.

The faces of his friends, no, his family floated through his mind as he considered the deaths again, that the man had on his hands. He thought about the botched mission and the man's actions. He didn't know what his former self had weighed against that many lives and found that they were worth the cost. He honestly had no real idea of what they were fighting against or why. He had no anchor point to even fully comprehend what an entire plane of existence even entailed. It was all just too colossal for him to even wrap his mind around it.

Perrin had been responsible for making the call on life and death situations, but it was in the realms of the heavens by his reckoning at that scale. If he had been in his place, though, he wasn't sure he would have made that decision.

If you have the power to play God and format the drive, then you have the ability to solve it without doing that very thing. No, I'm confident I would have never made that choice. He made it pretty clear that it was our responsibility to protect. I obviously lack all the context that went into making that choice, so I could probably easily eat crow if I understood it all, but even he found ways after the fact. This is just something I'm going to have to chew on for a time. I have no clue what I have been thrust into, but at least I know why I'm here. That will have to do for now. I have a direction, and more answers will be available once I'm out of this place. Mazikeen obviously knows something, and she is from the other side. I'll work on her while we are here and maybe learn what the motivations are for the other side of this conflict.

Okay, focus on what you can do right now, Perrin. Protocol Alpha and locked facilities. What does that even mean? I remember Avaya saying to not leave the safe area until I was ready. Maybe I was supposed to train first or something, maybe achieve this body thing first? I have no clue, and all the information I’ve been given has only raised more questions, but let's ask Zimon first to confirm.

Perrin cleared his throat and called out, "Zimy, are you there?"

The small light burst into existence in front of the desk. "Yes, Master. How may I assist you?"

"Zimy, do you have a body or something? It's kind of creepy talking to a ball of light."

The ball of light shifted into a stately looking butler, black tails uniform and all. He had one arm tucked behind his back and another white-gloved hand at his side. "Is this appearance better master?"

"Yeah, Zimy, that's great. Call me, Perrin. That master shit is already getting on my nerves."

The AI bowed slightly then immediately ignored his request, "As master Perrin wishes."

Perrin groaned but decided that he wouldn't push right now. "So Zimy, what exactly is protocol Alpha?"

"Protocol Alpha locks down all training facilities to include information access until master Perrin has achieved approval from… Dio." The butler's face soured almost imperceptibly at the name and then continued, "Master Perrin will have access to the living amenities, food, and the map room."

Guess that answers that. No training before going in to find Dio.

Perrin looked around and saw nothing but inky blackness surrounding the desk in confusion. He turned his gaze back to Zimon and raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, living amenities are you referring to?"

Zimon snapped his fingers, and the blackness around the desk faded. Perrin was a little taken aback at what he saw had been hidden. It looked like he was in the back of a massive penthouse. The study door was somehow much further away, which Perrin decided to ignore for the moment. The desk he was sitting behind seems to be situated in the single most amazing classical study he had ever seen. He looked left and right, and there were bookcases full of old-looking tombs and nicknacks that he couldn't name.

Taking his gaze further, he saw two spiral staircases that lead up to another level. A grand piano lay off to an area just past the left staircase. The map room door was just past the stairwell on the right with a kitchen that would make any chef drool over just past that. Old vases and ancient-looking weapons that he had no name for set out in display cases all over the room. The whole get-up looked impressive to Perrin and his RV park living. Sure he had seen some swanky places before but not with this much class.

Perrin tried to push out from the desk and was able to move the obstinate chair this time. He stood up and walked around his new place.

"Zimy, this place is mine?" He asked.

"Of course Master Perrin. This is your home away from home. You will always have access to this place as it is keyed to the soul item." Zimon pointed to the medallion that had somehow managed to move to within arms reach of him. He found that odd since he had not taken it out of the slot he had placed it in. Moving further away from the item, it slid off the desk, landed perfectly on its side, and rolled to his foot, falling over.

Perrin stared at the thing with distrust, "What just happened, Zimy?"

"Masters soul is tethered to the item. It will always follow the Master unless it is in his possession."

Perrin decided to ignore the thing and walked around his new, very un-humble abode. The place made him feel strangely at home. He wasn't sure why, though, but he felt safer here than he had anywhere he had been before.

His stomach grumbled, and he remembered that Avaya had stolen his dinner. How long had that been? A few hours ago, maybe. He wasn't sure. Everything to this point had felt like a blur. He was pretty sure that it hadn't been too long, though, according to how hungry he was. He walked over to the kitchen, thinking about what he wanted to eat. A burger sounded pretty amazing to Perrin at the moment.

He opened what he assumed was the refrigerator, and a pound of ground beef was sitting in the middle of the top shelf. Nothing else was inside the fridge. He looked at the marbled ground beef in confusion for a second, then pulled it out. An island was situated in the kitchen space. It had three lights shining over it with chairs tucked in on the other side. The island had open shelves with preparation bowls of all different sizes stacked up together.

Why this place had electric lights and not torches like the other area, crossed his mind as strange.

I guess that place is a video game starting area and this is a home.

He sat the meat down on the island and grabbed a bowl for mixing. Then remembered he needed some seasoning if he could find any. He saw a cabinet with what he figured were salt and pepper shakers on the door, looking around the kitchen. Walking over, he opened the door and found three spice containers and nothing else. Two of the containers were salt and pepper, and the third he wasn't sure about. He grabbed the odd one and dashed a little onto his hand, then gave it a lick. It tasted like one of his favorite steak seasonings that he loved to use on his burgers at home. He found that to be extremely odd. The more the taste rolled through his taste buds, the more he was convinced it was the exact same seasoning. He decided not to question it at the moment and grabbed the spices.

He threw the meat into the mixing bowl and pulled off his jacket. He rolled up his sleeves and added the meat's spices while thinking about what to do next. That's when he noticed that the medallion had somehow managed to appear right beside the mixing bowl while he wasn't looking.

"How the… Okay, Zimy, what the hell? Did you put this thing here?"

The butler appeared behind the chairs in front of Perrin and said, "No, master."

"Then how did it get here?" Perrin wondered aloud.

"Master, the item will follow you no matter where you go," Zimon said with a shrug.

Perrin digested the answer and picked up the creepy stalker item. He would put it to the test but not right now. He put the thing in his pocket and mixed the meat. The act of making and cooking a burger was only distracting him from the problem that awaited Perrin on the other side of the golden door. Coming to a decision, he started making what he guessed was two half pound patties.

He lost himself in the process. Each time he opened a cabinet, he found exactly what he needed and only what he needed. He didn't really want to think about why that was the case, so he added it to the list of garbage he was currently ignoring about his now complete bullshit life. He finished the patties off with a slice of cheddar and watched the cheese melt, lost in thought. Once it was just to his liking, he used a spatula that was hanging by a hook to the left of the gas range to scoop the patties up. He moved the two patties over to a small plate and walked over to the island where he had prepared the buns with lettuce, tomato, and his favorite condiments. Placing the patties on the two bottom buns, he sprinkled a little salt and pepper on the tomatoes. Grabbing the top bun, he closed up the culinary masterpiece.

"Zimy, can you do the screen thingy again so I can talk to our guest?" Perrin called aloud.

"Of course, master."

Let us get our busty silver haired beauty in here for dinner.

The screen popped up, showing Mazikeen in the same pose as before. Silent and serene. Perrin hit the speaker icon on the screen of magic BS.

"Hey, hey, pretty lady."

Mazikeen's purple gaze slowly opened, and she looked at the screen.

"Hello again, Perrin." She said with a smile that made Perrin reconsider letting the vixen into the study. He wasn't sure if his honor would stay in tacked with this woman around. He then chuckled at that thought.

What honor?

"Okay, Mazikeen, are you going to play nice if I let you in?"

Her answer came instantly again, "Yes, I will play nice."

He pressed the button to mute his side again, "Zimy, how safe am I if I let her in."

Zimon reappeared and said, "Master should not worry. My power is absolute in this space."

"Okay, buddy, I'll depend on you to keep her in line. I'm pretty sure she is quite capable of killing me. Not that I think that is her intentions, as I'm fairly certain what she would do to me if unchecked would be high on my priority list if we met in a bar."

"If the master says so." The butler snarked.

AI with a real personality. I really want to geek out on that fact. If this is technology, then it is so far beyond anything my world has that it really does look like sci-fi fantasy magic.

"Zimy, If you are an artificial intelligence, could I perhaps look at your matrix?" Perrin asked in a cautious but pleading voice.

"The master's brain would most certainly break at his current level of power."

"Well, that doesn't sound pleasant at all, Zimy. I'd rather not like my hamster wheel broken any more than it already is." Perrin said with a chuckle, and an internal sob.

"Excellent master."

Perrin turned back to the sexually charged Mazikeen and hit the icon unmuting, "Okay, well, Zimy open the door for our guest. Mazikeen, please make your way down to the end of the…" The woman disappeared, and a knock at the study door pulled Perrin's gaze away from the floating window.

"I really need to find out how she does that space ninja shit," Perrin muttered as he arranged the two plates on the other side of the island. He wiped his hands off on a towel that appeared out of nowhere and made his way to the door. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever was to come next. Perrin grabbed the beautifully crafted silver handle and swung open the door.

The silver-haired beauty had somehow changed her clothing again in the maybe ten seconds it took him to answer the knock. She now wore an elegant black evening gown with a slit running up to a scandalous very high mid-thigh. Perrin internally seized up as she took her first step into the study. He again expected to see something more, but her clothing somehow managed to keep from showing the "goods." The three-inch black high heels with ankle straps and buckles really blew Perrin's whistle.

He took all of her in and let his imagination run wild, then partitioned that piece off, then kicked it into a storage closet to drool over the very dangerous space ninja in heels. Pulling his mind out of the gutter Perrin put on a warming smile and said, "Welcome, Mazikeen. If you will follow me. I made us dinner. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you while we eat."

********

Mazikeen said nothing as she took her first step through the threshold. She nodded to her loves request to follow him in for a meal. She had noticed the minute changes in him as he had taken in her altered attire and inwardly screamed in glee about the response. She could barely contain herself from just attacking him and having her way right there on the carpet. Mazikeen could smell his arousal, and his masculine scent permeated her senses as she walked in his wake. It was almost too much; she needed to rain herself in before she had a freakout.

I'm alone with my love. Alone with him. We are having dinner together. We might as well be married. This is what ordinary people do, right? Dress nicely and have dinner?

Mazikeen was pretty sure that is what ordinary people did. Well, she actually wasn't. She technically didn't need to eat, but different food always made life more interesting, so she never entirely gave up the habit.

Perrin pulled out a chair to the island where two plates sat. A rather large and enticing cheeseburger was on the plate. She thought it was a cheeseburger but wasn't sure.

She had tried this food before and enjoyed the taste. It was usually found in low entry-level tech worlds. She took a seat, and her love being the gentleman he was eased her up to the island's counter. Her glee soared again, and she had to suppress the urge once more to forgo this farce and take what she wanted. He pulled out his own chair and took a bite out of his burger. She decided to follow suit and did the same.

Perrin polished off half of his burger before he spoke. "Would you like anything to drink, Mazikeen? I'm not sure what we have, though. Zimy, what do we have to drink?"

Mazikeen immediately pushed out her presence, searching the room. She chided herself for not doing it as soon as she walked into the room. The damn man was causing her to lose her edge. An old man in servant attire appeared before her. She could sense absolutely nothing, which was very much contrary to what her eyes were seeing. She did nothing for the time being. Perrin clearly knew what this thing was.

"Master may partake in whatever he and the guest desires. Simply state what you would like, and I shall fetch it." The stately man said.

Perrin turned to Mazikeen with a smile and said, "What would you like, Maze? Do you mind if I call you Maze?"

Her mind went to putty as she stared at his warm and affectionate gaze. She fell in love with him all over again. His eyes, their blue, were captivating to her. She also realized that she was staring at him for just a little too long, yet again.

"A wine would be wonderful, Perrin." She turned to the thing that had no presence. "Do you have an Enoc 956 or 3598?" She raised an eyebrow at the thing.

What I desire. Ha, I seriously doubt that you can provide mythical and extinct race vintages.

The thing reached over to a door and pulled out two bottles. He opened another door and gathered two-port wine glasses, and placed them in front of her. The man-thing then walked around to her side and held out the two bottles for her inspection. A shock ran through her when she saw that they were exactly what she had asked for.

But how? These do not exist. I've scanned the data tree. These two…

These absolutely did not exist anymore. She knew she had hunted every connecting plane that the Enoc race had been in contact with before their planet was destroyed in the war. These particular vintages were cultivation masterpieces. They were said to be able to take you to the peak of the mind and soul stage in a single bottle.

She hid her surprise as best she could as the man thing poured a glass of each. Perrin reached for one of the glasses, but the thing called Zimy spoke, "Master should not partake in the guest’s drink. It would most certainly cause Master to spontaneously combust."

The thing was correct. At her loves current level, his soul would burn to ash within moments. Perrin audibly gulped at the statement and jerked his hand back. "I think I'll just have a beer, Zimon. Yes, a non-Perrin combustible beer would be very appreciated, and thanks, Zimy, for the warning."

Mazikeen watched the creature walk over to the same door and pull out a frosted mug of golden liquid. She noticed that there was nothing else inside the space. She was absolutely sure there was nothing inside that space before the thing opened the door.

What kind of power is this? I sense nothing amiss here, but how are things appearing from nowhere. This thing is obviously not a carbon-based life form, as far as I can tell. I'll have to keep observing and gather more data to understand.

Perrin picked up the frosty beverage and took a large drink. He sat it back down on a napkin. A napkin that had just appeared. Mazikeen was lost in the oddity that she didn't hear her love at first.

"Well, Mazikeen, You kinda understand what the deal is. I want to apologize for dragging you in here. It was a split decision with your safety in mind. Now you are stuck in this place with me for who knows how long. Forever if I die according to all the information, I have been given so far. I hope that you will forgive me for placing you in this situation." Her love finished with a pained expression.

She couldn't help it, she started laughing. It was a deep, rich, and full-body laugh. Tears started rolling down her face. Perrin reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder as the laughing continued. His face looking very concerned. She waved her hand at him in a placating manner to let him know that everything was alright. Everything was even better than alright. The fact that he was apologizing for the very situation that she had fantasized about for eons was just downright the most hilarious thing that had happened to her in a very long time.

The astronomical odds of her love, who, having zero recollection of her, picked her body up and jumped into a personal plane. No way in from the outside. She started laughing, even more as she thought about Avaya and Doritha. The tears and laughter just wouldn’t stop coming out of her.

Those bitches probably shit a moon when they saw him jumping in with me. Damn, I would give a considerable amount to see their stupid whore faces. Mazikeen wins in the end, bitchs, muahahaha! Oh, it has been too long since I have felt so much happiness and satisfaction all at once.

Mazikeen slowly calmed her laughing and wiped away her tears of joy. She looked at her love once she felt settled again and smiled. "Perrin, my love, there is no apology needed." She patted him on the leg and said nothing more. She had to be careful with how much she said on that subject for now. Too many questions and she was trying to start anew, not drag up the past. Not that she would stray away from it.

"Well… I'm… glad, I guess?" He looked at her like she was cracked in the head. Mazikeen didn't mind, though.

"Okay, right. So, I've been informed that I need to find Dio and gain his approval before gaining access to the training facilities that are here. Some stuff about power leveling and ascension. Honestly, I don't know shit about fuck, on basically any of this. A few hours ago, I thought I had been privy to some of the biggest national secrets. Things that would cause riots in the street across the world. Now, I find out that my world absolutely is not alone, and other planes of existence are not a scientific theory but actual reality. I don't really want to go into what I discovered about who I am, no, no… who I was." Perrin shuddered at that final statement.

That reaction at the end was something Mazikeen found peculiar. Her love had been a divine being of unquestioned power. He deserved to be worshipped and actually was on some planes that knew the truth. This fledgling form of himself seemed to think otherwise, though.

A notification popped up in her periphery. She acknowledged the blinking icon in the top left of her vision. She wondered how she could get a message from anyone. She had been disconnected from the ways from what she could tell, but her status and menu had still been there when she called for it while meditating. She looked at the message and froze when she saw who it was from.

Dear Mazikeen Dalodracree Saphoron,

Long time no see there, Maze. I'll keep this short. Speak a single word about the ways, the status screen, the war, or basically anything outside of generalities about the planes, and I will. Ahh, well, you know what I can do to you. He may not remember our past anymore, but I never agreed to forget. We will see each other pretty soon. You being here really screwed him over in so many ways, but I think that it may be a good thing for you both in the long run. You will say nothing about this message. He has no clue that I am watching him. When we meet, you will say nothing. In this place, I am God. Take the capital G very seriously, Mazywayzy, because I would hate for you to accidentally fall into a void of nothingness. But hey, no hard feelings, right. You are getting your shot, and I want you to have it. I'm allowing you to have it. See you real soon, sugar.

-Dio

Mazikeen's world narrowed down to a pinprick. She was pretty sure now how the wine, the beer, and the napkin had just appeared from nowhere.

We are in a fucking shard of creation, and her love had put Dio in charge of it. What the absolute hell was that man thinking. I can't… I just… This isn't a personal plane at all. Welp, I'm dead. Dio is absolutely going to kill me. No, Maze, calm down. You saw what he said in the message. Be silent, don't acknowledge him when they meet. Don't spill secrets, and I will get my shot. Yes, Dio is giving me an attempt to prove myself and let Perrin fall in love with me. No one is stopping me. I just have to be careful, and everything will be fine.

"Mazikeen, are you listening to me," Perrin said with a little hint of hurt in his voice.

She jumped at his statement. For fuck sakes, if it isn't him cooking her brain with his charming face, it is Dio threatening to crush her. Mazikeen shook her head and put on a smile.

"I'm sorry, Perrin. I got lost in my own thoughts there for a sec. What did you say?"

"I asked if you could help alleviate some of the mysteries behind what's going on."

She put on a consoling face and nodded her head in the affirmative, "What is it you would like to know, my love?"

"Well, there is quite a bit I would like to ask you, to be honest, but I guess let's keep it a bit simple tonight. I think it is night time. Fuck who knows or cares. How about you tell me a little about yourself. Where you're from, how we know each other etc.… We were on different sides of the war, according to Avaya. How did that happen?"

Mazikeen thought about Perrin's questions seriously. She needed to keep her answers vague but detailed enough that he wouldn't believe that she was withholding information from him.

"Well, Perrin, you and I grew up on the origin plane, or at least we believe it was the origin. We went to school together. You came from a wealthy background, and I came from… less modest means. I was a genius by all reported accounts when we were children, and so, I was accepted into the same school as the elite immortals' children." She paused and took a bite out of her burger, which she found to be divine. The man could cook, and that was something she could get behind.

She picked up one of the glasses of starlight liquid wine and took a sip. Her Unity pulsed within her. The feeling was so euphoric that she almost fell off the chair. She sat in bliss, letting the waves roll through her soul and mind. She hadn't a clue how the wine was made or what it was really even fully capable of, but something very positive had just happen to her ascension. She would have to think about it later and definitely not drink any more of that around her love. She might lose what little control she currently has.

"Sorry that was amazing. I've never had anything quite so… potent before. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, so there I was, a genius little stick figure poor girl rubbing elbows with elites. I'm sure you can imagine how that went." She looked at Perrin and saw that he had a smile, and nodded.

"You happen to knock a couple of snotty elite heads for me, and we became fast friends. We stayed close all the way through school. We reached Unity together, and graduated early. You know about the levels of ascension? Okay, good. Anyway, I was there when you touched your path. From what I understand, you don't remember this, right?" She paused to let him acknowledge this.

Perrin nodded his head and said, "Yes, the overview has been explained, and Dio is supposed to explain the rest."

"Good, he will do a better job than me, I'm sure, so please save those questions for him." She internally sighed in relief after he shrugged and nodded again.

Well, that is one thing I do not have to worry about. Now, the hard part. The sad part and the confusion.

"Your path was beautiful, Perrin. I won't talk about it. You have a fresh start. If you find it again, then you won't be disappointed. After you found your path, I also found mine. Something unexpected happened when I touched my path. You became very angry with me after that and I was very young, so I also became angry. It all really spiraled out of control. We patched things up eventually, but it was never really the same." A tear fell down Mazikeen's face as the loss and confusion on why her love had no longer cared for her the way he had use to. The years of hurt tried to well up, but she pushed them down as she turned her face away.

"You must think of me as a silly girl. Crying about things that happened thousands of years ago."

She felt Perrin's hand reach out to her face, and his thumb brushed away the leftover tears. "I don't think it is silly at all. I'm not sure what happened, but it sounds like there was a serious miscommunication. I cannot understand the thousands of years, but I do get that you have been holding this burden for quite some time. I can say with confidence that who I was… no longer exists and those memories that makeup, who he was… they are gone forever." She leaned gently into his soft and warm hand. Closing her eyes and letting the memories fade and absorbing the warmth and affection, her love was gifting her. She never wanted it to end, but he all too soon moved his hand away and handed her a soft linen napkin.

She gathered herself and decided to not say anymore. She asked the man thing for a glass of water as they both finished their meal. Once they finished, Perrin picked up the plates and carried them to the sink. Mazikeen said nothing about the shard and how he could just will the items out of existence if he wanted. He could will her out of existence, most likely depending on how much control Dio was giving him. She shuddered at the thought. How any sane person would give Dio the power over creation, she would never know.

Perrin finished up the dishes and put down the drying towel, which disappeared once he walked away from it, without his noticing to boot. "Well, Maze, I'm sorry that I brought up old things. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to get to know a little about you since we are in this together." He said.

Perrin called out, “Zimy?”

“Yes, Master?"

"I'm feeling pretty tired, and I'm sure that our guest, no wait, Mazikeen is as well. Do we have a place to sleep anywhere?"

"Of course, Master, we have… we have one large king size bed. Your room is just up either stairwell. The bath and everything needed for that is through the door on the right. Spare clothing is in your closet on the left." That little pause wasn’t missed by her.

"Do we not have a spare bedroom in this mansion of a place?"

"No matter. This is not a family home. It is your personal home, and you never bring in people who aren't sleeping in your bed."

Mazikeen distinctly felt a room and entryway disappear as the thing spoke. She wanted to explode out in laughter and exhilaration. She could kiss that wretched little ass whole for this wondrous gift Dio had just given her. She turned to Perrin and smirked.

"It's a king size bed, Perrin. There is plenty of room." Perrin's face turned a dark red, and he adjusted his pants.

"Right you are, Maze uh hmm right you are. Anyway, I think I'm just going to go to bed. I know I should probably shower, but I just can't. I umm… wanted to let you see something before I umm… went to sleep. I think you should see it given your prior history. Hang tight here, and I'll have Zimy show it to you." He finished his statement with a look of pain at the end.

"Zimon, could you please show Mazikeen the video we left to ourselves once I'm in the bedroom."

"Of course, master, please miss, follow me to the study." The butler thing motioned her to the back of the space where a beautiful desk sat.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning, Maze," Perrin said as he started walking up the stairs.

"In the morning, love." She said, and then she followed the butler back to the study.

She sat in the chair behind the desk, and it scooted her in. Everything went black around the desk. A man walked out. One that she would know no matter where she saw him. He spoke for a time. The words refused to sink in, and tears rolled down her face. The man said some more things, then he waved his hand and disappeared.

"Again," she said through her sobs. "Play it again."

She sobbed and grieved for a great man, and not just great because she loved him. No, this man was known throughout all known existence. The Guardian of Life, Defender of the Planes, is truly dead. He had died alone, in secret, and truly broken. The man she fell insanely in love with would never be returning. That is when the real emotional breakdown started for Mazikeen.