Geoffrey Summers stretched out and breathed in the sea breeze, as well as waking up in his apartment. He sat up in bed and went to check his phone as he ran along the beach, enjoying the feeling of the warm sand underfoot. He had already fallen back asleep after messaging Lola… what had he been meaning to do? As he came to a stop on the golden sands and sat down to let his toes drip into the water, he got out of bed properly and remembered: check if Joseph had replied. As it happened, his friend had responded and they began to chat as Geoffrey got dressed and swam in the ocean.

He realised that he had bilocated in his sleep again. Geoffrey’s psychic power was to physically be in two places at once, which grew very confusing very quickly, but he enjoyed it because it meant he could go travelling the world whilst still getting a high school education at the same time. However, he could not control it at all, so it was entirely random when and where he bilocated. Existing in two places at once usually meant that one of the selves would space out a lot more as his attention was divided between the two.

His other self had apparently bilocated to somewhere in the Maldives this morning, which was quite exhilarating to explore. In his real-life home though, he had some games he wanted to play as Saturday morning began properly. As soon as he was dressed, he got his computer switched on and ready to go. His headphones, however, were currently on the other side of the room and the sound was up loud; the game he selected loudly blasted the title screen music before he could mute it. There was a creak of bedsprings, and from another room in the house came the muffled yell: “Geoffrey! If you’re up, make breakfast, would you?”

Geoffrey allowed his head to slam onto the desk and he sighed in annoyance before replying “Yeah, sure. Back soon.”

His mother was a battle-axe, and proudly hailing from Jamaica, she was ecstatic about one thing and one thing only: Geoffrey becoming a successful young individual and making it big in New York, where they were currently living. His father was far more lax about Geoffrey’s future, and preferred experiences over successes. Geoffrey, too, preferred this idea, but he also liked his mother’s verve and the way that she inspired him, so he rarely did anything to directly annoy her.

Like a good son, he stood up and made his way to the door to make breakfast for his mother. His father had already left for work hours ago; working Saturdays was one of the drawbacks of his current job, but it pulled in a decent amount of money for the small family.  Geoffrey stopped halfway to the door and turned to get his phone first, just in case anyone did decide to message him. It wasn’t often that people started conversations with him – usually he had to initiate conversation –  but he never really minded.

He decided that it had been a few days since he had spoken to Zack properly, and a week since they had played video games together, so he sent his friend a quick message as he walked down the stairs.

hey man what you up to GS 

 ZL Nothing much, just watching videos.

 ZL Oh, you know Cass wants to talk to you, right?

yeah I know. I’ll drop her a msg later. GS 

Geoffrey busied himself in the kitchen to make some bacon – an easy and functional breakfast, and practically the only thing he knew how to make. He also finished swimming in the shallows of the island and returned to the beach, dripping wet but happy. He began to walk further around the beach, wondering if he would run into any other holidaymakers… specifically female ones around his age.

 ZL Alright. Had any more visions recently?

 ZL Hello?

The bacon began to sizzle more loudly and Geoffrey came out of his reverie to quickly pull it from the pan in time to keep it from burning. He gritted his teeth in irritation and hastily buttered a few pieces of bread to make bacon sandwiches. Once ready, he walked back upstairs to his mother’s room.

sorry I just spaced out for a sec there GS 

oh I had a vision last night GS 

if by ‘had’ you mean ‘fucked’ GS 

and if by ‘vision’ you mean ‘vision of loveliness’ GS 

 ZL Oh my god, dude, you did not ‘get some’ last night. Who are you trying to kid?

“Thanks, darling.” his mother said as he handed her the plate of bacon sandwiches. “Did you make some for yourself?”

“Uh, no.” Geoffrey replied, putting his phone is his pocket for the time being. “I’m not hungry yet, I’ll probs just have brunch a bit later.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Thanks anyway.” his mother replied with a warm smile. Geoffrey gave his trademark cheeky grin in return and turned to get back to his gaming.

you i thought that was pretty obv GS 

 ZL Wow, you’ve probably never even been kissed, have you?

whoa that’s not true GS 

i remember my first kiss like it was yesterday. GS 

 ZL It probably fucking was.

oh no it was a long while back GS 

there I was with her gently holding her hand GS 

and she leaned forward with her lips slightly parted in that really sexy way     GS 

so I leaned forward too and we kissed right then and there GS 

gently sucking on each other GS 

getting a taste and feeling our darting tongues clashing for dominance GS 

feeling our bodies connect in an illicit yet gentle way GS 

 ZL OH MY GOD.

 ZL Nobody who describes their first kiss like that has EVER been kissed.

 ZL What the hell did I just read.

Geoffrey laughed to himself as he read Zack’s responses to his description. Sure, he had never actually been kissed, but he was only 17. That was young, right? Geoffrey certainly hoped so. Retrieving his headphones, he began to play his game, responding to Zack whenever he was killed mid-battle and after each game. Online matches were certainly brutal at the kind of competitive level he played at. It did not help that he was also currently walking along the sunny beach where he could see tourists in the distance. He spotted one such tourist, a girl who looked to be his age, and went over. She was sat on the beach in a skimpy bikini, taking selfies.

“Hey.” he said. Without looking up from her phone, she said “Piss off.”

“British accent, huh?” Geoffrey persisted. “Cute.”

“Piss off.” the girl replied, more fiercely this time, but still without looking up. Geoffrey decided to play a more charming role, and made his voice sound as silky as possible.

“Come on, you sure you don’t want to get to know me?”

“PISS! OFF!” the girl screeched, alerting someone whom Geoffrey could only presume was her father. He was a big, burly man and he came striding over. At the same time, he won a match, stealing one of his teammate’s kills and thus getting the most points for that match. It was always satisfying to end a match like that.

“Oh boy, time to go.” Geoffrey said with a concerned look as the angry man stomped over. As usual, though he could not control when he bilocated, he could stop doing it whenever he liked, and now was a good time to do so. He returned to just one plane of view: sat in front of his computer, with his phone buzzing.

sorry man i kinda got distracted again GS 

 ZL It’s alright. Gave me enough time to recover from that utterly execrable series of messages.

 ZL You do realise this is probably why Lola will never get with you, right?

wait what GS 

does she know GS 

 ZL What? No. I haven’t told her anything, what do you take me for?

 ZL I mean, she’s my best friend, so please don’t try anything… untoward.

 ZL Capiche?

Geoffrey was scanning through his recent messages when he realised that he was supposed to have messaged Cassie. Just as he thought this, she sent a message to him.

 CJ Hello.

oh hey cass i was just going to message you GS 

 CJ I know. I wanted to ask you about… Zack.

yeah i figured it was going to be about him GS 

i did the recon GS 

 CJ And?

---

yeah yeah i get it man GS 

 ZL Good. Anyway, I’m supposed to be finishing this video and then making a group chat.

 ZL I’ll be, I dunno, 10 minutes?

sure thing ill finish chatting to cass and then get on the gc GS 

 ZL Excellent.

Geoffrey continued playing several matches of his game, but after three losses in a row he sighed in annoyance and closed it. Bored, and not bothered enough to get out and do anything of worth, he lolled in his chair, listening to some music and chatting to his friends.

nothing GS 

 CJ That’s a relief. Did you mention me in conversation at all?

no course not GS 

he mentioned you of his own accord though, said you were doing a drawing for him GS 

 CJ I thought my art might be a good way of making a connection between us.

yeah that sounds like a plan GS 

---

yo miz i didnt have a vision today, whats with that GS 

 Mi it doesn’t happen all the time.

 Mi just regularly. you have been having visions in general though, right?

yeah GS 

yesterdays was a building that looked like it had been blown up GS 

 Mi interesting.

Geoffrey let his eyes wander, staring out of the window next to his computer setup. The morning had started off gloomy, but it was becoming brighter. The clouds traced lazy lines along the sky whilst the sun glittered amongst them, searing the ground below. The rumble of trains passing next to his house provided a strangely soothing background to his music, like an extra layer of beats that were irregular, yet seemed to fit in somehow.

He heard the creak of the bed in his mother’s room once again and presumed that she was getting up to tidy the house and watch some television. He considered joining her, but felt too lethargic to do anything more than bask in the sunlight coming in through the window and listen to his music.

 CJ So. Um. Thanks for the help.

no prob cass GS 

i still dont get why we had to go through all of this GS 

 CJ I needed to know, and my visions weren’t telling me anything. I don’t want him to forget me and find someone else.

i mean he might GS 

its not like you were ever his in the first place GS 

 CJ …Yes, I am aware. Let us hope, though, that will change.

heheh ok then GS 

---

 Mi anyway, I’ve been alerted that Zack will soon be getting everyone to converse with me and Raziel, correct?

yeah GS 

 Mi i just wanted to warn you before we have that conversation; you might want a weapon.

a weapon GS 

what the fuck for GS 

 Mi just do it, OK?

if you say so GS 

About fifteen minutes passed when Geoffrey’s phone buzzed again with a slightly different chime than usual; the group chat was active. He grabbed his phone and replied to see what was going on.

Group Chat [Snapple Bottom Jeans] [Zack , Lola , Joseph , Cassie , Geoffrey , Serafina ]

 ZL Hey everyone. Wow, I forgot how dumb the group chat name was. Jesus Christ.

Eventually they decided to speak to the mysterious strangers. Geoffrey still wasn’t sure what to make of Mizar. He seemed like a strange person, as he was clearly familiar with human interaction, but some of the things he said suggested that he was not used to human culture. There was an alien vibe to his messages, and when he began to discuss the end of the universe, Geoffrey had been quite taken aback. He had not been completely unconvinced, but only Cassie’s claim that she had seen them with Raziel and Mizar convinced him fully.

 ZL added  GS to Group Chat [Psychic Double Reacharound] [Zack , Lola , Joseph , Cassie , Geoffrey , Serafina , Raziel , Mizar ]

 ZL Everyone’s here. Raziel, Mizar. Start talking.

 Ra OK, so we told you that the universe is going to be destroyed, and this is true

 Mi in psychic messages, a powerful being was threatening to destroy all we hold dear, and there was nothing we could do about it.

 Ra So, we came up with a plan. In his readings, my friend Vasa discovered that there is a sub-dimension known as the incubator

 Ra Legend has it in the event of the destruction of the universe, the incubator could be opened, and there’s someone or something inside that can stop the destruction

 Ra There is only one problem with this. The Kings of Void and Zion, our Kings, are said to be “inextricably linked to the ultimate purpose of the incubator”

 Ra That said, it is extremely likely that the incubator will only be opened if we defeat them in single combat and demand that they open it

 ZL Where do we come into this?

 Mi we cannot hope to fight the Kings.

 Mi they have immense psychic power, and could kill us instantly, for we are not psychic.

 Ra You six, though, as psychic children, should have an immunity to that specific power. As such, you will be easily able to defeat them

 Mi probably.

 CJ Probably?

 Mi even without that power they’re still ridiculously strong.

 Ra It’ll be a challenge, but we have faith in you

 Ra If you’ve been having these visions, I think it means you’ve been specifically ‘chosen’, by… some kind of nebulous force, I suppose

 ZL OK, but… how are we supposed to defeat them? We’re here. In the universe.

 ZL That is going to be destroyed, quite soon… apparently.

 Mi …uh. that’s a really good point.

 Ra It’s OK, Mizar

 Ra Vasa has us covered there, too. You ever heard of spirit links?

 Mi no?

 ZL No.

 CJ …Yes.

 ZL Wait, you have?

 CJ An object imbued with a great psychic power… correct?

 CJ I seem to remember parts of this conversation.

 SG (I am so confused)

(same) GS 

 Ra Exactly, yes. So, imagine it this way

 Ra You six will have created multiple spirit links in your life.

 Ra It happens at random, with objects around you that get imbued with your power, and we can tap into this power to make portals

 Ra However, this portal, this ‘door’ if you will, must be unlocked on both sides

 Ra We have a simple task for you. The six of you need to find your spirit links and begin charging them with psychic power.

 Ra One will do, as long as you find it in time

oh my god GS 

 ZL …I see. What then?

 Ra Hopefully, you should come through the portal once the link is charged, and you’ll be in either Zion or Void

 Ra Myself and Mizar will greet you and give further instructions

 JC This is one of the most ridiculous conversations I think I’ve ever heard.

 CJ Please trust them. They know what they’re doing.

 Ra Thanks

 Ra The portals on this side will not hold for long

 Ra We can’t have anyone finding out what we’re planning – if they do, they’ll close the portals immediately and the universe will be doomed

 Ra Once we open them, our combined energy can keep them open for about… say, 10 minutes?

 ZL So we have 10 minutes to find our spirit links – which could be literally anything –  from the word go.

 JC oh god.

this is going to go horribly GS 

 Ra Are you all ready? We can wait for a short while if you want

 ZL Guys, what do we think?

 CJ I’m ready. It must be something in my room – that’s where I am all the time.

 LZ Same. Gotta be something in here, right?

 JC …sure. shouldn’t take too long to run home.

 SG Um, OK!!

sure why not what could go wrong GS 

 Ra The portal here is open

 Mi same here.

 Ra You have 10 minutes

 Ra We hope to see you soon