The George Fox Chronicles: The Legend Continues
(Massive spoilers for Dust: An Elysian Tail ahead. Also be warned that this is an alternate ending made specifically for the chapters building up to this one, so it is NOT CANON)
On the ground, weak and crawling through the fire and magma, Dust heard Gaius calling out for him as Cassius. The house George and Cassius were contained in for Dust’s journey was falling apart. The portal was black and white and red, indicating Dust was on his last limbs.
The house kept collapsing around George and Cassius. Gaius’ cries for help made Cassius momentarily stop to observe, George didn’t want Cassius to be hurt by debris and tugged at him to pay attention to him.
Dust and Gaius had one last parting of words. For a brief moment, Dust acknowledged he was Cassius and Gaius regretted the innocence lost to the world. He wanted Dust to cherish the last remaining bits of innocence in the world, and with a push, Gaius fell into the pit and was swallowed by the lava.
Cassius shed a single tear. He knew he had to move on, but seeing Gaius fall into the lava had driven up all the memories of when he still had innocence just joining the army, and how Gaius saw him to be the leading commander in the wave against the Moonbloods. It no longer mattered to him now. Gaius was gone and so was his desire to conquer lands. He wanted peace, and Keira was the last piece of inner peace that he had.
Dust, weak and clinging onto life clung onto a ledge, Fidget came flying to greet Dust and to help him get up. George had no choice but to use “Plan B.”
“Cassius! Look at me! This is the only way we’re getting out alive. Close your eyes.” George said as the house continued to collapse around them.
Cassius closed his eyes, and George laid both hands on Cassius as a glow emanated from his body. Cassius kept his eyes closed as a shrunken down version of him was slipped into one of George’s pockets.
“Why do I have to do this…” George said. Without second thought, George’s height and size grew. Within two seconds, George’s size had already surpassed the barrier of the house they were staying in. Meer moments before the lava was going to swallow Dust, George was now truly in Dust’s perspective. With a loud yell, George had overcome the boundary between soul and body and he needed to act fast.
Fidget turned back. “Dust?” she said.
George once again grew rapidly with Dust’s body. His head poked through the upper crust and he jumped up and climbed out of the magma chamber. He would be at least 50 feet tall standing, but he was lying down on the ground. Ginger was still some distance away. George had jumped just in time so that none of the magma had damaged Dust’s boots.
Both Fidget and Ginger were rushing to the giant man, lying with heavy breath, and relieved that he was alive.
George’s eyes in Dust’s body were initially closed, As Ginger and Fidget approached, he opened his eyes to see them running or flying towards him.
“Whoa! I can’t believe you are so big right now, Dust.” Fidget said excitedly.
“Dust? Can you hear me?” Ginger said.
“I told you I’d be back.” George’s voice said in Dust’s body.
George took a finger and gently tapped the top of Ginger’s head.
 “George.” Ginger welled up in tears, happy to see the man that saved his family was still alive inside Dust, but she was still concerned about Dust’s fate.
Before Ginger was able to speak, Fidget was the first to express her concerns regarding Dust.
“Is this, George? Where’s Dust? What did you do to him?” Fidget exclaimed.
George sighed. The wind from the sigh ruffled both Ginger and Fidget’s fur, but wasn’t enough to put her in danger. “Stand back, Ginger. Allow me to explain myself.” George said.
George shrank Dust’s body to normal size and got up. None of the injuries Dust sustained were apparent at all. George walked over to Ginger, expecting an embracing hug, but she couldn’t accept it.
The Elder ran from the camp to the spot where George had crawled out of the magma chamber. Even he was astonished. He was bearing witness to three souls occupying the same body, all conscious and interacting with the real world.
“Ginger, step back! He still has Cassius’ soul inside him.” The Elder yelled.
George didn’t like how this was going to turn out. He shook his head as if he had a muscle spasm, and Cassius was now in control of Dust’s body. Cassius already found inner peace, and had no intentions of slaying anymore people. Ginger had fear in her eyes, but Cassius still wanted to explain.
“Ginger… I may be Cassius, but I’ve changed. During this journey, I remembered the last piece of innocence I could hold onto. My girlfriend, Keira, in my homeland.” Cassius’ voice in Dust’s body said as he himself was starting to tear up.
The Elder accepted Cassius had relinquished his violent past in search for a new future. “So, Cassius, without a leader, are you going to seek the innocence you’ve lost?”
Cassius had to be strong for his people, he couldn’t leave Gaius’ homeland leaderless. At the same time, he wanted peace to come. The parting words of Gaius had sunk in deep into Cassius’ soul. “I want to do better than that. I want peace for everyone in this land, to ensure that this war doesn’t happen again. I’m going back to set things right.” Cassius said.
“I’m afraid that’s quite the task for a single man to do.” The Elder said. “If only Dust’s soul is still inside that body. I’m afraid he’s slipping from consciousness as we speak.”
Another muscle spasm on Dust’s body made George return to consciousness. “Elder… What happened?”
“The only hope is if we separate all three of your souls and one of you has the healing waters of the Lady.” The Elder said. “Despite the circumstances, I believe Dust is not beyond saving.”
The Elder started a wave of his staff to the sky, where a beam of light came down upon Dust. Ginger recognized the beam. It was the same beam that George and Cassius vanished into almost a year ago.
The blinding light lasted for ten seconds, and then three bodies lay down where Dust was: Dust, George, and Cassius.
George got up, and observed Cassius getting to his feet, but Dust remained motionless.
“Dust? No… You will not go out like this!” George exclaimed.
George spit in both hands and rubbed it on Dust’s face. The Elder observed shortly, but then turned back as he knew it was a futile effort.
“Dust! No! We were so close to saving you! Please!” George kept yelling as Dust still didn’t react to the healing powers of George’s saliva.
George, out of pure impulse, then did out of desperation what no one expected him to do. “You’re my hero.” George said, tears flowing from his face.
George took Dust’s head and locked lips, ensuring the healing power of his saliva got through to his entire body. George could hear broken ribs repairing themselves, his heart starting to beat faster and both his feet and hands starting to move. The Elder turned back, and with great astonishment, saw Dust with his eyes closed had locked lips with George’s. Dust was standing now, and he believed he was embracing what he thought was his lover.
Dust opened his eyes to discover George, and then slowly backed away. Unsure what to make of all of this, George was the first to speak his mind.
“I’ve lost so much… I couldn’t afford to lose you. We may not have been able to save everyone, but I sure wasn’t going to let you die.” George said through tears.
“I… Thank you…” Dust said.
George and Dust embraced each other in a hug, George never felt so happy and sad in his entire life. The Elder let George have the moment to themselves.
After George and Dust had calmed enough, the Elder had to press the issue of where Jin had gone. “George. None of us expected you to be a part of this. The only mystery we have left to solve is where Jin has gone. We know you are not Jin, but somehow he was still able to influence Dust through you.” The Elder said.
“That I am uncertain of, elder. All I want is to be reunited with a love that I’ve lost.” George said.
“You sure it’s not Dust? I mean, the passion in that kiss was… indescribable.” Fidget said.
“Fidget…” Dust said to her knowing it was somewhat insensitive. “I completely understand what drove you to save me and… kiss me, but we still need to solve what happened to Jin.”
Ginger was losing hope again, she was sat down on the crusted ground still feeling like she’d lost something. She knew it was Jin, since everyone but him had been saved up to this point.
Ginger angrily stood up to George, Cassius and Dust and confronted them. “You are going to tell me where Jin is right now or I’ll hurl all of you back into the lava pit!”
George kept his honesty through his constant sorrow. “I honestly don’t know, Ginger. I told you when we first met.”
Ginger went to Dust. “Is there any proof you aren’t hiding his soul inside you?” Ginger then pointed to George. ”OR YOU?”
The Elder came to Ginger’s side. “Ginger, from a man that can see through to anything hidden within a soul, Jin is not with us right now.”
Ginger grabbed the elder by his robe and shook it. “Then where is he?!? I need answers! I can’t rest knowing he’s out there possibly fending for himself…” Ginger kneeled down and started crying again.
The Elder looked to George once again. “You’re the one that can set this right. I can see you have the Way of the Flameless Light in a far more advanced state than what we or Gaius could achieve.”
George, somewhat confused, wasn’t sure what the Elder was talking about. The Elder pointed to the pocket with his cell phone inside and George showed it off to the elder.
George then wished for what he wanted most. “Elder, if you can bring me back to my love named Carmelita, I will try my best to find Jin throughout all of space, time and dimensions. By making a portal that I could lock coordinates onto with my phone, I can bring Jin back.” George said.
The Elder nodded his head. He was beginning to understand where George originated and he took his staff and was about to wave it again.
Cassius alongside Dust shouted at the elder. “Wait! What will become of my homeland, Elder?”
Dust realized he didn’t have Ahrah to guide him. “And what of Ahrah? Where’s my blade?”
The Elder answered to both. “Cassius, there will be a blade similar to Dust’s Ahrah waiting for you in your home country. You will find it was being kept a secret to you by your love, Keira.”
Ahrah had floated out of the magma moments later. The Elder pointed behind Dust. “Ahrah is safe too. Dust, you and Cassius must now spread the word of peace with the Moonbloods. Cassius’ homeland is sure to have people strongly opposed to a new leader that isn’t a descendant of Gaius.”
“This isn’t supposed to happen, Elder.” Ahrah said. “Dust was supposed to remain dormant for another 200 years.”
“We can’t change the past now, Ahrah. All we can do is hope Dust and Cassius can bring peace to the entire world.” The Elder said.
A final wave of the wand triggered a white portal. The Elder pointed at it “Through here is where you want to go, George. This fixed point in space and time should allow you to go in and come out of this portal at exact moments.” The Elder described.
George was about to head back in, when Ginger saw that George was about to leave. Ginger ran up to George and touched his shoulder. “Find Jin. Please.”
“I will, Ginger.” George gave a parting kiss on the cheek and went through the portal.
For George, the experience walking through the portal was mainly that everything turned completely white, then completely black. He then felt the cool weight of the bedsheet on his body, the mattress pressing against his back. He knew he was home, but he still couldn’t know for sure if Carmelita was in this reality. George invited himself to wake up.
George saw the same bed he was used to seeing before the whole fiasco. Before Anika accidentally slipped her foot into Carmelita’s boots, before the Universal council of Multiverses decided to experiment on him, before he got trapped in Dust’s body… He was back home.
George got up; Carmelita’s old boots that he made a house out of were by his desk. This was a good sign, since Anika took them to her place after they met. George still found her interesting, that a person who was supposed to be Carmelita’s roommate ended up being an unexpected friend. He still wished this were true.
George opened his bedroom door. The house looked the same, but as soon as he heard it, he could unmistakably recognize the voice of Carmelita. She was back. All George wanted to do was to cuddle up to her immediately, but George heard another voice coming from the living room…
George slowly descended the stairs. Carmelita still had no idea he was home, and as soon as George saw the other figure, he stopped cold.
Sitting on the sofa in the living room was Jin. The person he looked in the mirror to see when Ginger was confused about who he was. He looked calm, collected and slightly worried about something. George had to tread lightly, who knows if Carmelita may have abandoned him for Jin.
George shrunk himself down to the size of a mouse, and silently slid down the rail and onto the floor. Carmelita was in her newer knee high boots and Jin had his paws out. Sneaking by the bottom of the sofa, George stuck around in the (pardon the pun) dust covered underside of the sofa. Carmelita was getting to know Jin and about his family.
“Your family… You think they’re in danger?” Carmelita said.
“They’re always in danger. Gaius’ troops were always ready to attack. I appeared on your doorstep the minute a buddy of mine named Fuse came to town.” Jin said.
Carmelita sat down next to Jin. “I remember. One week ago, you came in a blinding flash of light half-an-hour after I returned home. Next thing I knew you were soaking wet from the pouring rain.” she said.
George was starting to piece the puzzle together. He felt like he was trapped in Dust’s body for a week. Jin’s arrival at their house coincides with him putting on his random roommate’s VR goggles.
“You keep talking about your boyfriend George. What was he like?” Jin asked.
George paused and made a motion of accomplishment. He didn’t care he was gathering dust at the bottom of the sofa, because he now knew Carmelita still referred to him as her boyfriend.
“Oh, he’s a really special. Whenever I’m around him, he’s always got a new way of surprising me about where he really was. I would let you meet him, but I think he’s busy in his room for the past week.” Carmelita said.
“And he’s never come down? Not even for a hello?” Jin said.
“I’m not sure. He tends to want privacy regarding projects he’s up to, but it isn’t like him to be doing that for close to a week.” Carmelita said.
George knew now was the right time. He crawled close to Jin’s paws and planned to climb up his legs to greet him. Jin had other plans though.
George was on the floor right next to Jin’s paw. His massive figure in an overcoat was not enough to sway George to see if he could climb up his figure. Jin was about to get up, and unfortunately, George couldn’t react in time and he got stuck under Jin’s paw
The weight of Jin’s paw rested solely on George’s body. As Jin started walking, George was still stuck onto the paw and his body didn’t let go.
“I’m going upstairs to chat with him if you don’t mind.” Jin said.
“Just be careful where you step. He’s got a tendency to hide in unexpected places.” Carmelita said.
The plush carpet masked out the feeling on his foot. Instead, Jin had felt like a piece of paper had been stuck to his foot. Climbing up the stairs, and stopping by the door with the hanger that read “George + Carm 4ever,”he knocked on the door.
“Hello? George? Are you in there?” Jin said. He got no response.
George was still on Jin’s paw, but the way he was squished meant no one saw even the edge of his arms sticking out the sides of the paw. Jin kept exploring the room, with Carmelita’s old boots catching Jin’s attention the most. He was fascinated that a ladder was built inside the boot with what appeared to be fabric floors. Jin knew this was fragile, and left it in George’s bedroom.
George normally would be able to speak to say that he was trapped on Jin’s paw, but the experience of having the plush carpet tickling over his body made it hard for him to speak. He was used to being inside a sock or boot, where he wasn’t exposed to the floor.
Jin returned down the stairs. He still felt that weird feeling on his right paw, but he would only check once he had finished speaking to Carmelita.
“He wasn’t upstairs, but I find it curious he’s able to fashion a house from a boot with such precision.” Jin said.
“That’s his work. I gave him that pair specifically to work on or live in.” Carmelita said.
Jin was suddenly confused. “Wait. Did you just say “live in?” The only way someone could live in a boot was if he was a mouse or really really small. Jin finally took the time to investigate his foot. Sure enough, George was stuck underneath his paw and he had no idea he was there.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” Jin said as he tried to pry George off of his paw.
George was still somewhat speechless. The person he was sought to return to Ginger just unintentionally squished him under his foot. Carmelita finally noticed, but didn’t really throw too much concern.
“Oh, he’s used to being under paws, don’t worry about it.” Carmelita said. George was still glad Carmelita was still playful when it came to describing their relationship.
Jin set George down on a table. Carpet fibers littered his clothes and his body had returned to normal after being slightly pancaked. Jin’s innocence was present as George looked up at his eyes. He could see what Ginger was talking about now, how one look into his eyes made you trust that he was going to bring no harm.
“I really didn’t know you were down there. Are you hurt? Should I find a nurse nearby?” Jin said.
“No, I’m fine. I’ve actually been looking for you, Jin.” George said. He dusted himself off and walked to the edge of the table and sat on it.
Distracted by George’s size, Jin brushed a finger against his body. “I still can’t get over how awfully small you are…” Jin said.
Carmelita came over from the kitchen where she had poured glasses of orange juice for all 3 of them. “You sure took your time coming downstairs… I came back from searching for Cooper a week ago.” She set down 2 of the glasses of orange juice on the table.
Jin was concerned George wasn’t going to be able drink his orange juice. “How are you going to drink that? Do you need any help?”
George had to convince Jin that he wasn’t normally an inch tall. “I don’t. Stand back.” George ran for the other edge of the table, closed his eyes and jumped. He returned to an average person size of 5’ 9’’, and Jin couldn’t get the look of awe and shock off his face.
“That was incredible.” Jin said.
George just took up his glass and started drinking. He then turned to Carmelita and asked her a question. “Carm, how long has Jin been here for?”
“A week. He appeared in a flash of light right in front of the door half an hour after I returned from the station.” Carmelita said. “And where were you anyway? You didn’t come downstairs as usual to greet me that day.”
George was starting to see the pieces start fitting together. He was trapped in Dust for the past week, and this certainly can’t be a coincidence. “I was literally carried away…” He said as he paced around the room.
“By your work? Listen, I know you wanted to work on those boots for quite some time, but doing so for a week? Without even so much as a Hello?” Carmelita said.
George, with no doubt in his mind that Jin’s appearance here was related to him appearing in Zeplich Village, asked Jin about what he remembered. “Jin, what was the last thing you saw before you ended up here?”
“I… I was in my room. I was thinking about how Gaius’ advance was getting closer and how my sister and my parents were all in danger. There was a white flash of light as I finished that thought, and I ended up in front of Carmelita’s door.” Jin said.
“Soaking wet, by the way.” Carmelita added. “If you were out there for more than a minute, you would’ve caught a cold.”
George had nearly all the pieces of the puzzle ready, but one thing still kept him wrapped in mystery… How had he gotten Jin’s memories when he was in a completely different dimension/universe? George asked one more question. “Jin, do you remember your dreams from the past week?”
Jin perked up, he remembered them now. He looked to George, stunned at how none of the things over the past week were mere coincidences. “They were your dreams, George. I get them now. I wondered why she looked like the height of a tall skyscraper, and now I know you can change your size.”
“Where were you sleeping, Jin? Something still doesn’t add up.” George said. He was getting close to explaining the whole story, but he needed that last piece of the puzzle.
“I gave him bedsheets on the couch, and that’s where I thought he slept each night.” Carmelita said.
Jin, feeling slightly guilty, was going to be honest with himself. “No, I slept in your bed, George. I waited till Carmelita was asleep, and then I snuck in to your bed.”
George now had all the pieces. “That’s why I had your memories… An interdimensional link was established.” George sat down and was now ready to tell the entire story from page one.
“Jin, underneath my pillow is a communication pad that allows me to speak in my dreams with my buddy Eggleston in another dimension. Somehow when you were sleeping, this created a link between my mind and yours. I saw your memories of Ginger…” George said.
Jin paused. “Ginger! How is she? Is she okay?”
“That’s what I’m about to tell you, Jin. Ginger’s waiting for you and me to return.” George said.
“Oh no, she must be worried sick about where I’ve been. Can you take me to her now?” Jin said.
“Whoa! Hold up boys! Remember what I discussed with you last month? No wormholes or portals in the living room!” Carmelita shouted. She pointed to the backyard. “Go do your business in the backyard.”
George couldn’t question Carmelita. It was a brief reunion, but he was still happy to know that he was with her again. George and Jin headed for the backyard.
It was a crisp night. The light on the porch was the only illumination for the backyard. George and Jin stepped out to hear the crickets chirping and the distant traffic on the highway.
“Can you get me to her in time?” Jin said.
“I’m travelling to a fixed point in time and space. To her, it would have seemed that I just entered the portal to come here 5 seconds ago.” George said. “Theoretically, I can travel to her anytime I want.”
“Oh… Then… what’s the rush? If we have all the time in the world, I kind of want to get to know you before I go back. It’d be rude to just carry a stranger along.” Jin said.
George, taken aback by Jin’s sudden change of heart, wondered how he could so suddenly change from worrying about his sister to trying to find out more about his own life. He allowed it regardless. “Okay… We’ll spend another hour here and then we’ll head back.”
George and Jin entered the house again, went upstairs and entered George’s bedroom. They sat beside each other on the ledge of the bed, and Jin was the first person to break the silence.
“When you change your size, what goes through your mind to trigger it?” Jin asked.
“Oh that’s so simple, I just think of the size and I become that size.” George said. He stood up and faced Jin. “For instance, if I wish to be as high as your ankles, I can do that.”
George closed his eyes, and shrunk to that exact height in front of Jin’s eyes.
“That must be handy sometimes. It sure must’ve helped you build that house within a house.” Jin pointed to Carmelita’s old boots.
George, who kind of missed his dosage of paw cuddles, was hypnotized by Jin’s paws. Jin saw that the little fox was approaching him, and made certain to remain completely motionless.
George dived in front of Jin’s left paw, hugged it and brushed himself with the fur on the paw. Jin found it cute, and the feeling of George on his paw kind of put him to ease knowing that George was happy. George spent 5 minutes on Jin’s paw before realizing he forgot to ask him about paw cuddles.
“Sorry… It’s been a while. When you miss the affection of someone for so long, it…” George explained.
“I understand. I guess this is what you regularly do with Carmelita, right? I can tell she likes it.” Jin said. “I find it kind of amazing you didn’t suffer any injuries when I accidentally stepped on you. Is that part of you as well?”
“Yeah, natural invulnerability was what I was born with.” George said. “I get around a lot, and it’s helpful in case of accidents like the one I was part of an hour ago.”
“Sorry about that.” Jin said.
“No, it’s all okay. It doesn’t hurt at all. I just feel a tingling sensation.” George said.
Carmelita rushed upstairs and opened George’s door. “They found Cooper. They found Cooper!”
George returned to 5’ 9’’ and ran to Carmelita. “You don’t say? I only just came back after I thought I lost you and…”
“Whoa! What’s wrong George?” Carmelita said.
“I was stuck for an entire week in another universe thinking I had lost you forever. Why must you go away again!?!” George exclaimed.
“I’ve been on call for the past week waiting for his return. We finally have a lead, but I must go to the office to confirm it.” Carmelita put her hand on George’s neck, trying to re-assure him. “Work calls, but I’ll never forget you, my little fox.”
“Promise me you’ll come back this time, Carm. Please.” George was almost about to burst into tears, his emotional turmoil over the past week had not helped his psyche.
Carmelita kissed George on the cheek. “I promise.” she said. With those words, she went downstairs, put on her work boots and left out the door to the detachment.
George was mad at himself and saddened at the same time “Damn! Why didn’t I spend more time with her?”
Jin came to George’s side and rested his shoulder on George. “I’m certain she’ll be back when you return from us finding Ginger.”
George was still motionless. He couldn’t be certain of that, even with a promise. Jin did all he could to console George, and waited for 5 minutes before George turned around and accepted that his current goal was to get Jin home.
“No matter what happens, reuniting your family is what I intend to accomplish. Let’s go.” George said. He opened up the portal in his bedroom, and without any second thought, entered the portal leading supposedly back to the Everdawn Basin and Ginger.
George and Jin emerged on the other side to discover it was dawn, and that they weren’t in the Everdawn Basin. Instead, they were in Aurora Village. George was ready to panic at the situation. He was in the right time, but the wrong place.
“Aurora. Our home away from home. You did it, George.” Jin said.
“No I didn’t! Ginger is on the Everdawn Basin waiting for you. That’s 3 days walk to the north.” George said. “Something threw off my targeting!”
Just then, a green fox with pink hair came over to both of them. Jin knew who this was and immediately said his name.
“Oh no, it’s Reed.” Jin said. “He’s the weird one out in this village, with a severe case of paranoia.”
Looking at his phone, diagnosing what went wrong, George flipped momentarily to the scanner tab on this phone to scan Reed. He then begged to differ with Jin. “No, it looks like he has temporal psychosis. There’s a time machine around here. It’s been programmed wrong. It’s sending subspace noise and extracting “Life force?””
Reed came up to both of them and nervously expressed interest in George’s phone. “That thing! You’re a time traveler too?”
With those words, George knew Reed was behind this somehow. “Alright, Reed. I need to ask where your improperly programmed time machine is. We got thrown off-course because of your thing!”
Reed took out his box. “It’s in the box. Please don’t open the box. The box is the only thing I have left. It’s also very dangerous.”
George took his phone and planted it on top of the box. A huge “debug” button appeared on the phone’s screen and George pushed it. The phone wasn’t able to proceed, showing another error that the battery polarity was wrong for a proper debug.
“Of course… The battery is in backwards causing it to go out of phase with regular space time… BRILLIANT!” George exclaimed. He was furious it was taking so many steps to fix a single software issue.
The phone showed a diagram of the machine with the battery. George took two fingers and re-positioned the battery. The debug button popped up again and George took a thumb and forcefully slammed the button. 
“And now, to fix your psychosis… Reed, shake my hand.” George said.
Reed suddenly was covering his ears. “The voices, they’re all yelling at me!” Reed exclaimed.
“SHAKE MY HAND!” George yelled. Leaving him with no choice, George took Reed’s hand and shook it violently.
Reed suddenly felt calmer, as if all the voices he had been hearing had stopped. “The voices, they’re gone. Thank you, sir. You’ve cured me!” Reed said.
The phone now had a green checkmark indicating the debugging was complete. George opened the box, paused, and did not feel or see anyone experiencing a loss of “life force.”
“Here you go, Reed. Return to wherever you’re from, and just let us get back on track, okay?” George said.
Reed no longer twitched his hands, and he felt a weight had been lifted from his being. “Oh, I cannot thank you enough for fixing this. Thank you, um…”
“George.”
Reed already had his wristband time machine on, and then set a date in the future. He waved to both of them and disappeared in a flash. George returned to his phone to set the correct coordinates for Everdawn Basin.
“So… he was from the future this whole time?” Jin asked.
“Hearing voices is a common case with people that jump back to the past on a thin budget. If your machine isn’t setup properly, you enter temporal psychosis. The only cure is the spark from someone of a different dimension.” George said.
George opened up a new portal and sighed. “Let’s go, I can’t be delayed any longer.”
George and Jin entered the portal, and to George’s relief, Ginger and the elder were on the other side.
“Jin!” Ginger called. Jin and Ginger ran towards each other and embraced a hug.
“Are mom and dad safe?” Jin said.
“Yes. George saved them. He also saved Dust.” Ginger said.
George was still standing by the portal. The Elder was still surprised by the outcome of Dust’s quest.
“Life has given all of us many surprises, but I never expected you. A person that had the ability to save not just Dust, but Jin and the rest of her family.” The elder said. He handed George a photo of Jin and Ginger. “Here, keep this photo as a reminder of the lives you saved.”
“Thank you, elder. This journey has meant a lot to me too.” George said.
Dust had run up to George and the portal. He wanted to properly send him off. “Will we ever see you again, George?” Dust said.
“I’m certain our paths will cross again, Dust.” George said. “Now go with Cassius. You two have a world to save.”
George waved as he entered the portal to go back to Carmelita and all that were present on the plain waved back. George entered the portal and whiteness enveloped his vision.
When the whiteness faded out, George had returned to his bedroom. He still had the photo of Jin and Ginger in his hands. He set it by the side of this table and heard his phone vibrate.
A text message from Carmelita said: “Hope you got Jin safely home. Miss you sweetie… I’ll try to be home by 3AM.”
George entered his reply. “He’s home now.” and sent the message. He immediately followed up with another message that said “I miss you too.”
George took another look at the photo the elder gave him, and his phone vibrated one more time. This time, with a photo of a selfie Carmelita took of her blowing a kiss at him.
George finally knew that she was back. She was the Carmelita he loved so dearly, and he life was about to return to normal again.
TO BE CONTINUED?
Epilogue:
George opened up his computer to research about Anika, Carmelita’s roommate in another reality. He discovered that she had replied to a roommate listing with Carmelita, but declined the offer to live in an apartment complex. He knew not everything could be brought back, and he was okay that this potential friendship didn’t materialize in this reality. It wasn’t a big loss to him, considering he’d been through realities where Carmelita wasn’t his girlfriend. He was still glad that he got her back.
Ginger and Jin returned to Aurora Village to live out a peaceful life. Dust and Cassius continued their journey to Gaius’ homeland, and Cassius was re-united with Keira. The challenge of a new leader for Gaius’ country was now top priority for them, and they knew that it would be tough to make peace with the Moonbloods to former Gaius supporters. Through many stumbles, they were eventually able to make peace with the Moonbloods and co-exist to share their technologies.
(Footnote: If people were wondering why George wasn’t a Fennec during the giant Dust sequence, it’s because he’s still dormant in the canon. He will most likely become awakened in a very near future chapter. If lucky, the George Macro Fennec story will be the next chapter.)