OVER THE SILVER SKY TO THE WORLD OF NEVER : Part 295 - We Made Quite A Good Team.

MORE THAN A QUARTER OF UK MAMMALS FACE EXTINCTION.

Like me you will be shocked and disappointed by this unwelcome news. Like me you will be worried about the effort urgently needed to improve this situation. How are we going to wipe out the other 75%, without having to pave over the entire country? Which would be incredibly expensive. Just think of how much concrete they'd need. Of course we can just keep plodding along in the same old way slowly killing them off. That might take years though. While it's lovely thinking of all those creatures suffering prolonged deaths, it's very time consuming. I haven't got any answers. I'm doing my utmost already to ensure as many animals die as painfully as possible. What worries me most is at my age I might not live long enough to see the extinction of 100% of animals. Then we can all get down to the important task of butchering each other. I've been looking forward to that all my life. Even as a child I loved the idea of a new ice age or thermonuclear Armageddon cleansing the planet. Unfortunately neither happened. My childhood hopes were raised and dashed. I can't wait 12 years for the end of the world from global warming. That's way too long. It's obvious to me that some people out there aren't pulling their weight. They need to do a lot more to finish the world off in my life time.

(The copyright to this image is the property of PA/BBC.)

"He doesn't hate you." Pip paused, Scarlet looked up at her. "I did. I criticized him for being too forgiving towards you and Daisy. I called him stupid for allowing the two of you to manipulate him."
Scarlet picked herself up. Still looking miserable.
"Daisy's my fault to. I made this prison. I should stay here forever. I'm just sorry you'll have to serve time with me."
"How long have you been here anyway?"
"No idea. There's no way to calculate. She, me made this bit. It's always the same time of day. All I know is time has passed in reality. It feels like years that's all I can say... Are you sure he doesn't hate me? You're not just saying that to keep my spirits up? He's got every right to considering what I, her has done to him."
"No. Despite everything he's never really given up on you. The dumbass still keeps hoping."
Scarlet broke into a fragile smile.
"Is that hug still on offer?"
Pip opened her arms. The two of them embracing.
"Is there somewhere we can go, that isn't a dark wood."
"There is. Follow me."
They made their way through the trees, out into bright sunlight. A gentle grassy slope led down to an ancient low stepped pyramidal building. As they walked Scarlet reached out to take her young friends hand. Squeezing it tightly.
"Don't worry I'm not going anywhere without you. The real you."
"She is the real me. The one I made. The irony of my situation has not escaped me as I slowly drift into insanity."
Once they'd reached the structure, Scarlet sat down on the lowest step. Pip joined her.
"Why do you hate him? I know he's bloody annoying, but once you get used to it he's quite likable. The idiot will be doing everything he can to get us out of here. Assuming me entering here hasn't screwed things up."
Her friend grabbed Pip's hand again. Turning to look her in the face.
"I can't leave. Not while she's being me." A sad smile touched her face. "At least he'll be able to get you out though. It's probably for the best. Look after him for me please. He doesn't take failure well. The two of you will be good for each other."
"We made quite a good team in your absence. Even if I do say so myself. Jake has his faults, but he sure turns up when most needed."
"You'll make a good couple." Scarlet gave the young blonde a meaningful gaze.
"What? No. We're not... He's made that clear. Nothing like that will happen."
Pip tried to look away. Her friend placed a palm on her cheek, drawing her back.
"I've fallen in love with the man enough times to know the signs Pip. The harder you try not to, the deeper you fall. Nothing lasts forever. My days are done now." Her face went from sad to serious. Both hands cupped Pip's cheeks. "There's a way you can get out of here now you know." Scarlet's eyes flickered towards the low entrance to the small pyramid. "All you have to do is kill me, in there. That's another irony. I made it to end the other me." You'd be doing me a favor."
The boatswain slipped out of her grasp.
"I couldn't do it. Not to you. Anyway, I'm not in love with him. He's not in love with me either. Jake's made that abundantly clear. he'll get both of us out of here. I know he will."
"Or die in the attempt? You either love him or you're on your way to it. I spent too many lifetimes denying I did. I thought I was using him for my own benefit. Before I could remember our past lives he was merely a way out of shitty situations I ended up in. A path to adventure. A means to an end. Then one day I realized I actually cared. That might be where I went wrong. It was the loving and caring that fucked things up. Why I grew to hate him so much."
That was far more comfortable ground for Pip.
"You don't hate him now though. So why did you?"
After so long alone simply talking to someone felt good. Revealing her deepest secret didn't hold the same fear.
"Do you know what it's like to see the man you love die so many times? The gut wrenching pain. The loss that burns away at your soul. The empty void that life becomes." Pip's expression confirmed what she'd denied. She'd felt that loss only once. "I knew you loved him. Now imagine you're me. He's sacrificed himself for the thousandth time. That's it, he's gone. Another myth to add to the tale of the Wanderer. Left alone to deal with the consequences. Cleaning up his mess time after time after time. Because that's all you can do to fill the emptiness. It was okay for him. He was dead. Me? I had to carry on. Ensure he'd not thrown his life away for nothing. Sure we'd both meet up again. I'd find him or he'd find me. Only for it to happen again and again. I couldn't take it anymore. Let me be a lesson. Don't make the same mistake I did. I thought I was being so smart when I made another me."

Take all the sorrow, all the hate, all the anger. Then add in the growing envy. Keep it stored up somewhere safe. To be revisited and selectively added to who you were. What made you. Tired of being hurt, Scarlet had fashioned a her that could no longer feel the pain. One who didn't care if he died. Fill it up with all the negatives then use it to hide behind. To protect yourself from ever feeling that bad again. She'd become two people. Two personalities she could switch between instantly. One who hated him, the other too afraid to allow herself to fall in love with him. At first she'd used her cover sparingly. As time passed she'd used it more and more. They were seamlessly interchangeable. Or so she thought.

Each incarnation enabled the two personalities to grow further and further apart. The pain lessened. It reached the point where it had almost vanished. Loosing track of who she truly was. Becoming more and more detached. If one grew tired of things the other took over. Though their actions were similar their motives were entirely different. It helped that Daisy, her guide through the early days, had become a dear friend. The Matriarch's casual attitude towards death and tendency to use the Wanderer as she saw fit was adopted wholeheartedly by both Scarlet's. Due to the slow pace, she'd not been aware of what was happening. It might have gone on like that for far longer. The facade maintained for millennia. The Ashenram had happened. It's influence on the true Scarlet had forced her to take a back seat. Unable to cope with the way it manipulated her so easily, she'd hidden herself in the memory palace. Thinking she was preventing it from taking her over.

What actually happened was a secession. Instead of the two being part of the whole they'd become nearly completely separate. The same memories in different people. Contrary to her reasoning the Ashenram's powers leaked into the palace. Assisted by the other Scarlet. Who'd seduced not only Pengelly, but also Daisy into the creatures grasp. Using something the real woman had produced. The locked doorway. A means to enter the memory palace in your physical form. It was a vanity project, one that served several purposes. All of which were ultimately benign. Kept safely locked. Anyone who accidentally blundered in might become lost. Then in a moment of clarity she'd realized the false her might use it for nefarious purposes. Not understanding it already had. The lock was improved to prevent this. Unfortunately only after the others had been drawn in.

The doppelganger hadn't been idle. It to had planned and schemed. Done things Scarlet still couldn't fathom. Played with time, against all the rules. Only escaping being erased from the timeline by the fact there were two of her and the close association with the Wanderer. Time Agents would never mess with the Wanderer. He'd created them. He could destroy them. When the other her had killed Jake and almost hanged Pip, Scarlet knew she had to act. Constructing this temple, the one they were sitting on now. In there, using the knowledge she'd acquired in her travels, the false personality could be ended. Rendered into its constituent parts. One or the other had to go. This place would destroy either.

"If this place can kill you, why do you spend all your time here?" A concerned Pip asked.
"If she won't use the exit I will. I think if I die here it will stop her as well. I'm not sure of that. Or how you'd do it. I suppose it's an act of defiance to. If I'm going out I'm going out on my terms. That's why you need to use this place on me. You'll return to the real world. She'll be rendered powerless. Honestly Pip you'd be doing me a service. I'm barely clinging on to sanity by my fingernails. Plus... You love him. You can deny it all you want. I'd be permanently out of the way. You'd have a clear run at him. It's for the best. Come with me and I'll show you. It's completely painless. I won't feel a thing."
The young boatswain's eyes filled with tears. She brushed them away. Shook herself.
"Alright. I love him. I love you to. Maybe even more. That's why I hated the other you so much. Knowing what I do there's no way I'd set foot in there. I don't want to know what to do. It's never going to happen. I'd rather kill myself. Damn it. I tried so hard to despise you. It's so hard. I know why he adores you so much, because I do to. What I went through trying to loathe you is only a tiny amount of what you went through with the Wanderer. I know that doesn't make sense. That's feelings for ya. He'll get us both out of here. I know it."
Scarlet sighed.
"You can't know that. This is way beyond anything he's encountered before. What makes you think he can rescue me anyway? And don't give me feelings or hopes."
"As a result of what the other you did, Jake gained access to the full Wanderer arsenal. He calls it Wanderer Central. I'm sure he's got everything he needs."
Contrary to her expectations Scarlet did not look pleased.
"Oh God no. There's a reason I made him put up barriers to full access. When he's got the whole kit he's an insufferably, arrogant prick. So sure of himself he makes me sick. He becomes magnetic and charismatic to. Why do you think I was able to persuade all those people to follow him into hell a thousand times over?"