"So, let me make sure I understand," Bast said, sitting on a rocky ledge, legs swinging in the air. "After you died, some woman named Tara forced your soul from the Duat and put it in the body of her brother, Colt, who she had killed in order to do so. Then she tried to convince you A.K.—sorry, Amneris—was a bad guy to get you on her side, but she didn't count on you truly turning against her which is why she threw you and A.K.—Amneris—off a cliff. It was then and only then that A.K.—Amneris—found out that you are really Assar because you were trapped on the dreamscape. By this point she had made you immortal, which means you are now forever stuck as Colt. Oh, and both your son and daughter are alive. Sort of. And you have been on a whole bunch of adventures over the last . . ."

"About ten years."

"Over the last ten years," she continued, "despite the fact you were, well, dead for a bit over five thousand of those years. Such adventures include defeating your killer, your mother, a woman from the past, a few minor deities on side adventures, a group of Rebels and a robot—"

"Cyborg."

"—and now you have to stop all of Creation shattering and falling into that Void place, whatever it is, which is currently where your use-to-be-but-still-is-technically-your-wife is. How am I doing so far?"

"Pretty well," Colt said, crouching to look under another ledge.

"Damn," Bast said. "And I thought my adult life was complicated." She tilted her head. "Why did A.K.—Amneris, I will get that—change her name?"

"You would have to talk to her about that." Colt glanced at her over his shoulder. "Are you going to help me look or just sit there?"

"But here is what I do not get," Bast said, potentially ignoring the comment. "Was there no way to return to your old body instead of being stuck in a random guy forever? Do not take that the wrong way, the look suits you, but it is a little confusing. Especially since you now go by his name."

"Bast, we have more important things to worry about right now. Like finding baby griffins and returning them to their mother as an apology for you crash-landing in her nest."

"That was not my fault. Blame the rift thing." She jumped to her feet. "You will never find them like that. Baby animals can be quite clever when they do not wish to be found."

Colt's eye twitched. "I suppose you have a better idea?"

'Definitely. What do griffins eat?"

"Meat, I suppose. Why?"

Bast pulled her staff from the rope securing it on her back. She muttered a basic summoning spell under her breath. The biggest silver fish Colt had ever seen appeared between them. Bast grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind a large boulder. The two peaked out.

A quiet chirping came from the left, under the ledge Bast had been sitting on. A small head poked out, looked around, and chirped over its shoulder. Five griffin chicks cautiously picked their way toward the fish. They took a final look around before digging it, tails wiggling happily as they ate.

Bast squealed quietly. "They're so cute!"

Colt, however, found himself frowning at the scene. How were they going to get five chicks up such a large cliff? No way the creatures would trust them to wait patiently as each was flown up one at a time. Even then, they looked quite heavy. Colt pressed his head to the warm stone and sighed.

Bast placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "We will think of something. And by 'we' I mean 'you'."

"I got that." Colt shot her an annoyed glance. "Why do I always have to come up with the plans? You should come up with one, for once."

"Hey, I summoned the fish. My role here is done. Besides," she said, smile twisting to the side, "I thought you were the smart one." Bast shrugged dramatically. "Then again, you did get yourself killed, leaving your entire kingdom high and dry—"

"Bast, now is not the time—"

"—Which only became more of a problem when a certain alien ran off with your kid and was never seen again, which meant the kingdom had to be handed to your cousin who had no one to guide him and no idea what to do—"

"Bast."

"—So it was quite impressive that nothing entirely bad happened since the main target had run off. Then again, I have no idea what happened after I died so I can only assume," she finished, glaring at Colt with narrow eyes.

Colt rolled his own. Why did the women in his life have such bad timing for lectures, whether he deserved them or not? "We can talk about this later," he said. "Right now, we need to come up with a way to get these five back to the nest." Colt's eyes landed on a fallen tree. "And I think I just had an idea."

* * * * * * * *

Bast and Colt made their way around the feasting chicks, keeping low to keep from scaring them. Colt knocked on the wood, peaking inside the hollow trunk. It looked sturdy enough. He frowned thoughtfully, circling it twice, then pulled a small laser from his belt to cut it cleanly in half. Together, Colt and Bast tied vines from the remains of the tree onto one half of the hollow trunk, Bast enhancing their strength with a tap of her staff.

They rolled the hollow log closer to the chicks who watched them curiously. With a wave of her staff, a line of smaller but still tasty fish lead from the larger one straight into the trunk. The chicks chirped cheerfully, their tails wiggling at the thought of more free food. They abandoned their mostly eaten giant fish and begun following the trail until all five were inside the trunk. Colt used his own power to create a barrier made of rope-like energy across each end so the chicks couldn't escape. They, thankfully, took no notice, too engrossed in their meal.

Colt handed Bast a leather strap. She used it to tie back her hair as Colt used the wire from his grapple to tie the trunk to their waists. He fired the grappling gun, the hook landing on the edge of the nest. Colt tugged the wire. It held firm. The trunk was pulled off the ground. Colt helped Bast up then ducked under the trunk to secure the wire, before jumping onto it himself. Both held onto the wire. Colt pressed a button on the gun. Slowly but surely, they were lifted up to the nest.

The pair used their weight to keep the trunk even, leaning away from the wall whenever they came close. They didn't want to spook the chicks inside who seemed to remain oblivious to what was happening.

Progress was slow. It took almost twenty minute to reach the nest. This was where things got hard. They had to get the trunk inside the nest. Bast climbed up first as Colt found a foothold beneath the trunk. He pushed up with all his might, grunting at the weight. Bast, using her staff, was able to drag it over the edge and into the nest. It fell inside with a loud crunch!, the chicks yelping.

Bast reached over the edge of the nest, pulling Colt inside. Together, they untangled the wire around themselves and the trunk. Colt removed the barrier keeping the chicks inside. They bounced out, looking around in confusion at their new surroundings. It didn't take long for them to begin squawking loudly.

"We should leave," Bast yelled over the noise, hands over her ears.

Colt nodded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and took to the sky. They landed atop a rocky pillar and watched. The mother griffin came to her children within minutes, clearly relieved at their return. That relief quickly turned into a scolding.

Bast found herself laughing. "Mothers and children are always the same, no matter the species."

Colt couldn't help but agree. The thought brought up something he had wanted to ask earlier. "Did you ever have children?"

"I did," she answered. "Two lovely boys and a beautiful girl who grew up to become part of Pharaoh's inner circle." She smiled. "Might have named one after you."

"I'm honoured," Colt laughed. "Amneris was not as worthy?"

Bast shrugged. "Worthy as ever but still very much alive. Sort of. Assar, Sadiki and Dalila had good lives from what I know. When I return to A'aru, you should come and meet them. And my husband, Zahur, of course. I think you will get along quite well."

"Honestly, I do not know if it is possible. I would love to," he said, "but have no idea if I can."

"Never say never, right?" She smiled at the griffins who were all huddled up together. "I found my family there. It took time but they came to me. I know they would very much like to see you again."

"I guess we will both find out." Colt held out a hand. "Come on. We still need to find you a way back. I have the strangest feeling we will run into another rift very soon."

"Agreed." Bast gave him a curious look as she took his hand. "How do we do that?"

"Pick a direction. Keep flying until we hit something."

"Really, what are the chances of that working?"

"No idea," Colt said, taking to the sky with Bast in his arms. "Shall we find out?"

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Very well!"

The pair made it all of three metres before flying head-first into another rift.

* * * * * * * *

They were still very much in a desert, but it was a different one to before. The sky was dark and full of stars. The sand glowed with faint light, stretching out toward the horizon in every direction. There was no sign of any other landmasses, nor any other people. It was a strange sensation. The air was filled with calmness. It washed over the pair as they landed in the sand.

Colt looked up at the sky, the stars. He recognised none of them. This was yet another place he had never been. He knew he should be worried about that, worried about being unable to find the right way home without knowing where one universe ended and another started, but he couldn't find the energy. His head was groggy with a strange happiness. He wanted to fall flat on his face and take a nice nap—No! Colt shook his head. They had to find a way out of this desert and make their way back to Lyriumia. Or Hetsipara. Or somewhere that would let him get some bearings.

Bast sat in the sand, making small castles with her hands. They looked a lot like the ones she made when they were kids. She had a distance smile on her face, as though nothing in the world could bring her down. Almost as though she we're in a trance.

Colt knelt down. "We have to keep going, Bast."

The magician shook her head. "We can rest for a while. No big deal." She yawned. "It is not like this place is going anywhere." She made to lay down.

Colt grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. "Bast, something is wrong." He shook her shoulders. "Focus. Do not go to sleep."

Bast rubbed her eyes. "But why?"

"Because this is a desert at night," he insisted. "Nothing good ever comes from sleeping out in the open."

"Assarrrr," she whined, "there is nothing wrong with this place. It is lovely and I sense no danger." Bast yawned again, dropping from Colt's grip to curl up in the sand. "It is warm and soft. You can stand watch if it bothers you."

But he couldn't. Colt already felt his eyes drooping. A heaviness was overtaking his body. He wanted to sleep but didn't want to sleep. He knew something was wrong. A place that made someone tired just by being there was never a good thing. He couldn't fall asleep.

Couldn't fall asleep.

Couldn't fall . . .