THE MOMENT
"And, Finally...," Dana Sharp turned to face Ballisea. The tall, pale woman with white horns divided her attention between Dana Sharp and the handsome man she had not let go of since he appeared. He didn't mind one bit and enjoyed every moment with her. "... we come to Blueberry," Dana said. At the mention of his name, Ballisea did give more attention to Dana; though, she was sure to keep her husband's hand in her own.
"What about him?" Ballisea asked. The other gathered guests: Tim, Janet, Billy, and Vanilla all looked on with interest. This was already the tail end of the meeting and each one of them had worked out a deal with Dana Sharp. They were curious about her interest in Blueberry.
Dana Sharp looked out over the time-locked wedding. All the guests were frozen in time. Her gaze lingered over a pair of brown-haired twins talking to a brown-haired man for a moment, then she turned back to Ballisea.
"He wasn't always like that," Dana Said. "Smiling, friendly and supportive...," she shook her head, then focused on Ballisea. "..he used to be colder; a lot more like you."
"I know...," Ballisea nodded with a wistful sigh. "I had such hopes for him this time....," she added.
"There's still hope," Dana reminded her, then she looked around at the rest of the group. "We simply need to agree on a starting point. I suggest some time before the Pineapple Cup."
Tim, Billy, and even Vanilla shook their heads at that suggestion. Vanilla wore a red flowing dress that hinted she was on Dana's side; but, going back that far would give Dana more power than she already had.
"No," Ballisea spoke. "We needn't go that far back. I know when the change started; and, I know how to keep him on the preferred path."
"What do you suggest?" Dana asked.
"I believe with some time to prepare beforehand, revisiting Oren's 18th birthday will steer the multiverse in a direction we can all agree on. We need only make a few minor changes to the timeline."
"SoundCrowd's Senior Prom is a good choice...," Dana nodded. "... there are several threads we can pull at." She glanced around at the others for confirmation. They all agreed with a nod as well.
"Then, if there are no objections...," Dana Sharp pulled a golden node out of mid-air, then held it up in front of them. "...please synchronize your time streams." Billy, Vanilla, and Tim all gathered closer and touched their hands to the node. Janet, the black cat, hovered up and touched a paw to the node as well. Each of the four began to pulse golden light into the node at different frequencies. But, once all four touched it, the timing of the pulses began to change.
Over the course of a few moments, their speed synchronized until all four were pulsing light into the node as one. They flashed in sync four times, then each pulled their hand away.
"Thank you," Ms. Sharp said. "I expect all our fates will be different this time around."
"I know Oren's will be," Ballisea giggled.
"Oren?" Billy asked. "I thought you were going to keep Blueberry on track."
"I am...," Ballisea nodded with a broad smile. "...I'm going to teach him everything I know. And then have him kill my son on his birthday."