Learning to Love Time Loops Without Going Insane

His father’s previous words weren’t just for show as the larger man rushed past Cal, slashing Excalibur a strong, wide arc at the first of the creatures he encountered. It screamed in pain as the sword bit down into its flesh. As a second turned to fire on their attacker, Cal shot a bolt of lightning at it, turning its rage on him.

“CANNONBALL!” Frank screamed as he made a running leap into the center of the hellmoose group, surprising everyone, Cal included. The tree man landed with a loud crunching sound as two of the moose gave way under his massive form. Another one was soon launched into the ceiling when Frank grabbed its leg, spun, and threw it hard at the rocky surface above them.

Several balls of ice formed over the heads of the beasts, each exploding into smaller ice darts as they crashed down onto them. Jen had joined the fight, and apparently, her offensive abilities had grown significantly.

Making the fight stranger, several small mushrooms marched past Cal into the monstrous horde. Albert had given his creations a mouth and legs, and they were all chanting “Dinner time” as they pushed into the hellmoose, biting and ripping them as they moved.

Cal was both impressed and a little horrified at the capybara’s new application of power. The fight quickly wound down as the hellmoose were totally unable to cope with the combination of abilities thrown against them. Every time a mushroom went down, it exploded into smaller piles of fungus that stuck to every creature near it, burning on contact. Frank was in top form as a wrecking ball. Soon, he started smashing moose into moose, their bodies as his weapons. Whenever one of the ice dart shrapnel hit one of the mushrooms, the mushroom would start spewing more ice darts.

By the time the battle was over, Cal wasn’t even sure he had been needed this time. He found the thought oddly reassuring. “Everyone good?” he called out after the last hellmoose died. Several variations on how well they were doing, all competing over each other to be heard, was his answer. “Good, then let’s get going before we attract anything else.”

***

Several more pockets of abyssal beasts had greeted them on their return trip, but the only truly worrying thing had been the lack of Gryalth at the grove. Their assault had ended, and Cal only had one good reason why that may have been. Everything had changed with what the shadow Gryalth had learned. The initial dread he had felt had started to turn into a resolve to see this through despite what may come of it. This meant that as they all sat down for the private, secured meeting his father had wanted, Cal did not find himself at all paralyzed in a panic this time.

Ethel had brought both smashers, Tiffany and Onelder, with her. As soon as Frank spotted her swept her up into a giant hug and started telling her of the fights. “And then Frank leaped into the middle of the arena, and nothing could stand against his might!”

“Yes, son, that is all great but put me down. We will talk about your exploits later. Right now, I imagine we have some very important matters to discuss, considering the Gryalth have entirely withdrawn, and Cal looks ready to hit a wall,” Ethel instructed Frank.

“Yes, if everyone could take their seat. Shit has kind of hit the fan. We need to talk about what comes next and just what the squirrels want to do with their future,” Stan said. The few people still standing complied and found seating around the room.

“Well, now I am concerned. Now you’re mirroring Cal’s expression. What the hell happened?” Ethel asked.

“We secured enough energy for Excalibur to fully bond with me. He believes he is now loop-aware. That’s the good news,” Stan said.

“And the bad?” Ethel interrupted.

“I fought a Gryalth that was much more human-like than usual and a lot stronger. It had a shadow form that was either some sort of projection or just made it able to resist damage, unlike a normal body. No idea which. But the important part here is it apparently has been spying on us and managed to continue to do so. It learned about the connection dad and Excalibur made and the loops themselves. Likely the reason the Gryalth have retreated for now is they are trying to figure out the solution, making themselves loop-aware,” Cal answered.

Ethel’s face drooped. “Well, that is a giant problem. This is what I get for letting you all do this without me. What are we going to do?” She asked with a loud sigh.

“I do not believe it is as big of a problem as it seems. The Gryalth will need access to someone already in the loop to replicate awareness of it. And they will only retain knowledge that they even need this until the end of the current loop. As long as we make it through this one without being captured, the problem should be resolved,” Excalibur answered.

“Okay, so we just end it now?” Ethel questioned.

“No, we can’t do that. With Andy and the others in the Under Library, it’s just not safe yet. So instead, we have to get rid of the interference and get our asses back to Earth to hide out until we can,” Cal answered.

“If you are willing to promise us something, we will assist on what is clearly going to turn into a full assault on the Gryalth base,” Second Smasher said. Several eyes turned to the squirrels.

“We can’t promise you anything without knowing what it is,” Stan said.

“Third and I have discussed it. We have no real interest in being part of your time looping, but we are willing to lead a squirrel assault on the Gryalth above if you promise to return for us in your final loop. Do not leave us enslaved to the monster you found when you first arrived,” Second Smashed asked. His voice bordered on begging.

“Of course, I’d do it with or without the squirrel army help, but having it will make this easier,” Cal said, entirely sincerely. He had started to compile a list of everything he wanted changed when the final loop eventually came, and that had already made the top ten.