LIGHTNOVELONLINE Loop 256
“Cal, wake up, yos gotta get the fuck out here! BUG WAKE UP STAN!” grogily awoke to the screaming voice, deeply confused for several moments before his memories started to flood into his brain. Even with them, he was still having trouble thinking.
His thoughts were coming, but everything seemed to be pushing through a lake of syrup. Finally, he was able to vocalize something. “What? Twonger? What’s going on,” the words came out, his lips slurred, barely understandable. What was happening to him?
“Dammit, whatever they did to ya last loop must have some lasting effects. You missed an entire loop. Get the portal open to the void house. I’ll get Bug and Stan. We don’t have much time, but I’ll explain as soon as we get through!” Twonger barked out the order.
Cal blinked rapidly, trying his best to clear the fog, but for the most part, he failed. Did Twonger say something about missing a loop? What the hell was going on? Wait, did he hear gunfire outside now?
“JUST STAY BEHIND ME STAN I’VE GOT BUG. HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY HERE ALREADY?!” Cal heard Twonger scream from somewhere in the house. What had Twonger wanted him to do again? He knew it was something important, but the gunfire kept distracting him. As he tried to put the thoughts back together, his door burst open, and Twonger tossed his father on the ground.
“What did you want me to do again?” Cal slurred as his vision started blurring.
“Fuck, it’s too late now. They have their damn ogres on site and someone capable of dulling our senses. I’m betting that’s how they got you last loop. Sorry about this, but we are going to have to try again,” Twonger said as he pulled several small metal objects off his belt and tossed them into the room.
“What are tho…” Cal wasn’t able to get the question off as the room exploded into a fiery blast around.
Loop 257 - Part 1
Cal bolted awake with a sharp, searing pain in his neck at the sight of Twonger standing over him. The moments of the last loop cut through some of the haze he was still feeling. “What the fuck was that Twonger?”
“Stimulant, no time. Get the damn portal open to the void house this time. I’ve gotta get the others. We have maybe a minute or we have to do this again!” Twonger snarled, the anger not even slightly concealed in his voice.
“Okay, I think I can do that this time,” His words still came out slightly slurred, but this time, he was able to find his footing and remember what the alien had said. He just had to focus and get the mana flowing through his channels. That should be easy enough. He had done this millions of times in previous loops. So why wasn’t it working now? Were those gunshots outside again? Wait, didn’t that happen last time? He pushed the thoughts aside and forced his brain to focus. It may still be fuzzy, but he was pretty sure Twonger had to kill them all moments ago, and he didn’t want to repeat that again.
Deep inside himself, Cal heard a voice that sounded so far away. “Come on, Cal, just push a tiny amount. You can do this!” Sleek said in his head. Cal listened, squeezing down as hard as he could on his core, letting the mana flow. His exhaustion felt nearly overwhelming as the gateway opened, and at the same time, his bedroom door was once again kicked in.
“Good job, now get through it!” Twonger yelled. Cal, though, wasn’t able to obey; his legs were giving out. That little bit of channeling had taken everything out of him; the world was going black again, but just before he passed out, he felt Twonger’s shoulder make contact with his chest.
Cal moaned in pain as his awareness started to return. Some people were arguing near him. “You really had to shoulder-check him through the gateway?” Andrew said.
“Considering I didn’t want to bomb the house again, yes, I did. My hands were full with Bug and Stan, and carrying Stan ain’t easy! I got them all here this time, didn’t I? Besides, whatever the Agency idiots did to them really fucked up their brains. I’m surprised that stimulant I had was even enough to get us this far,” Twonger replied.
“Alright, alright, let’s get them into some beds for monitoring,” Andrew conceded.
“No, not yet. Someone explain what the hell is going on,” Cal said, slowly pushing himself to his feet, using the wall as leverage. “Wait, is the gateway sealed? I don’t think I have it in me.”
“Yes, I was able to take care of that much without you, but I will not be able to reopen it without your assistance,” Fulginanis said.
“Good, now explain why Twonger killed me again,” Cal coughed the words out, slumping against the wall.
“You missed an entire loop. We are at war with the Agency. Following the end of the last loop that I assume you clearly remember, the Agency made a move on everyone who started the loop on Earth that they knew about, which was basically everyone except for the animals that the root network is able to retrieve,” Andrew explained.
“Yeah, idiot. Who did you think would have already been attacking your house if it wasn’t me?” Twonger added much less friendly.
“Did you get any of the others?” Cal asked, trying to keep his growing panic out of his voice. The Agency had had him for an entire loop? What about the others? Only Bug and his dad were on the ground nearby.
“Yos were all I had time to grab before they attacked, and Harold’s orders were to start with ya. Letting the Agency control the loops was the biggest thing he wanted to stop,” Twonger explained.
“How did you end up with Harold? Okay, I need a full recap, and yeah, maybe I will lay down in a bed,” Cal said as his panic combined with the still overwhelming exhaustion. He was barely able to stay awake.
“We can do that now. Please come lay down. Twonger, please get these two to their own beds as well. Gus, get the dogs; they might be able to help whatever is going on in their systems,” Andrew said. Cal didn’t have the energy to fully process how everyone listened to Andrew without any arguments.