A Fantastic Journey Ch. 2

AN: Hello everyone! The story is progressing slowly, but I really want to work on this. It serves as a good break from working on my new tabletop game: Daedalus. That being said, if you ever want to play Tower of Fantasy with me, I'm on the New Era Server, Wanderer name: KibaElunal. Really hope to see you guys there :)

As Shirli and I left the shelter, my thoughts struggled to stay on the task at hand. Who was that woman, and what did she have to do with me? Seeming to sense my distraction, Shirli suddenly gave me a harsh shove that sent me over a cliff.

My eyes went wide as I began to plummet down to my inevitable demise. At least, so I thought, until I landed on something soft and bouncy. My body rose briefly before settling once more on the squishy surface. Looking beneath me, I found that I was sitting on the cap of an enormous sleeping mushroom.

"Are you crazy?!" I shouted up at her. "You could have killed me!"

Taking a running jump, she leapt down beside me, bouncing on the mushroom and giggling happily. "Don't be silly. I knew you'd survive. Besides, it got you out of your funk didn't it?"

"Even still," I protested, rolling to my feet and dusting myself off. "Running from your problems never solves anything."

A look of sorrow came over Shirli as she twiddled her fingers. "Sorry. I just couldn't bear to see you so sad like that. I'd hoped to cheer you up."

With that kindness, I sighed, giving her a soft pat on the shoulder. There wasn't much else I could do, and besides I wasn't nearly old enough to scold her. "Do we have to climb back up there now?" I asked, looking at the cliff.

"Nope! See that rock formation over there?"

Gazing in the direction her finger pointed, I saw an alien sight. A cliff face had a shimmering bronze matrix laid over it like a blanket. I could see the rocks clearly, and yet, they looked different from the surrounding area. "That's weird. It almost looks like a projection of some sort."

"That's because it is," she beamed. "There's supposedly some kind of ancient ruins there, hidden just beyond that hard-light wall. Franz is trying to get rid of the construct so he can study those ruins. He's a member of Hykros. If anyone knows how to fix the Space Rift, it's him."

"Okay. Let's go then."

"Wait." Her hand grabbed my elbow firmly, causing me to stop short. "Let's make this interesting. A race."

"Okay…? What are the stakes?"

Shirli tapped her finger against her lips in thought. "I got it! Whoever wins gets a kiss from the loser."

I raised an eyebrow. "I can only assume then, that means that you want me to kiss you. And if I win, then you get to kiss me anyway. Seems like these odds are stacked in your favor."

Shirli shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. "Well, if you're too scared to be kissed by or to kiss a girl, then I guess there isn't much I can do about that. I didn't realize I'd rescued a chicken."

I rolled my eyes. Her attempts to bait me into this contest were juvenile at best. Still, if she wasn't going to give it up then I didn't have much choice. "Fine. It's not like it'll really mean anything anyway."

"If that's how you want to calm your nerves, fine," she taunted. "Just try not to fall in love with me, okay?" She accented her teasing with a wink. "On my mark. Ready…Set, GO!" Having intentionally botched the count, she rushed ahead of me.

Cheater! I dashed after her, but from behind her, shimmering lights formed on her back and she suddenly manifested a jet pack. With a burst of speed, she glided across the river, leaving me swimming pathetically through the gentle rapids.

When I reached the other side, she stood there, bone-dry, and a twisted grin on her face. "That was dirty," I commented, pressing the auto-dry button on my clothes. "If you had that thing stashed away all this time, you didn't have to cheat with that messed up count."

"I'm hearing a lot of whining from a sore loser. Pay up." Closing her eyes, she leaned forward, lips pursed. Ha! If she thought I was going down that easy, two people could use loopholes.

Moving swiftly to her side, I kissed her cheek and rushed past her towards the projector.

"Hey! No fair!" she cried, chasing after me.

The two of us ran until we were both out of breath, having slid to a stop in front of the projector. There, a man with greasy brown hair stood looking at us perplexed. He wore a dirt-stained brown vest, a sharp karambit strapped to his chest. Many vials of various samples were in his pockets, to the point that they were almost spilling out. "Whoa, what's the hurry, you two?" He looked between us. "Shirli, I recognize, but who's this?"

"We found him…in the North Rings…" she gasped. "We have a problem."

My stamina recovered, I extended my hand. "We're calling me Fox," I offered. "Still not really sure of what my name is."

"Franz," he replied, shaking it. "And I'm sorry to say, I'm not really that kind of doctor. I can't fix amnesia, I'm afraid."

Shirli waved him off. "That's not the problem. The Space Rift is on the fritz, and we need you to come and fix it."

"Okay. I'll do that when I get time after I've finished fixing this projector."

"Actually," Shirli said, "we're in a hurry. Without the Space Rift, we can't get supplies and the mess hall is drained dry of ingredients."

This seemed to greatly frustrate Franz, but he just rubbed his temples. "Fine. Just stay here and don't touch anything, okay?"

As he left, I greatly doubted that would be the result. Sure enough, it was as if his request egged Shirli on even more. When he was out of sight, she pried off the panel and began to poke around in it. "Are you sure about this?" I questioned.

"Of course!"

I sighed. I should have expected that answer from her. "Figure it out?" I questioned.

"Just about," she beamed. "It looks like it needs a new powercell. At the Omnium Tower up on that cliff over there, there's a service bot that should have an extra one. We're good friends, so he shouldn't have any problems giving it away."

"And I assume we're going to get it?"

"Not we. You."

"Sorry?"

"Well, someone has to watch the dig site for Franz, right? Besides, I'm a lady. I shouldn't be forced to climb so much." Noticing my look of displeasure, she smiled at me and approached me. She plucked a small cat-like badge from her overalls and planted it on my chest. I could feel the omnium radiating from it to form the jetpack on my back. "Better?" she asked. "Now you have no reason to complain, right?"

Oh, I had plenty of reasons to complain, but still I surrendered myself to the whims of this wild girl. As the engines roared to life, they launched me up the cliff face before landing me firmly on the plateau.

Sure enough, there stood the Omnium Tower, a massive structure that hummed with energy. These things were all over the place, but compared to the Tower of Fantasy, they were miniscule.

As I stepped onto the elevator platform, I took another look out over the land around me. Astra was certainly beautiful, but from up here, I could see the ruined hideouts of the thugs and bandits nearby. In another direction, Aberrants shambled around aimlessly. Blemishes on the otherwise pristine sight. I sighed to myself. It was such a shame, but what could I possibly do about it?

When I reached the top, I stepped off to encounter the service bot that stood there, scurrying here and there. The orangish cube waddled towards me curiously. "Astra Server, Scrapper online. How can I be of service, visitor?"

"Erm…Shirli sent me here to get your help."

"Shirli?" it chirped, recognizing the name within its memory banks. "Is Shirli hurt? Now contacting emergency services. Standby."

"No, no! No need for that," I promised. "She's fine. We're trying to fix a projector and we need a power bank. Shirli says she thinks you have an extra here."

Immediately the little robot calmed down. "Yes! I have one. For Shirli, anything. She is a friend. Please, take it. You are a friend of Shirli, which means you are also a friend. Let me do something for my friend. Syncing location data with your personal device."

The Omnium tower boosted out a massive pulse of energy that seemed to wash over every cliff and crevice, and when that pulse returned, I gave a sharp gasp. My mind seemed to reel as the entire topography was loaded into my memory.

I looked at Scrapper in shock as my vision was filled with various amounts of data and information about the area around me. "Upload complete. It's good to meet you, friend!"

"Thanks…" I replied, unsure of what else to say.

Suddenly it began to beep wildly as its display went into a panic. Great. Now what in the world was wrong? "ATTACK! ATTACK!" it screeched. "THE ECO BASE IS UNDER ATTACK!"

Of course. The alert started pinging in my mind as well. The base was nearby, under a glowing blue energy dome. Sure enough, my mind instinctively went to check the security cameras to find some of the local thugs in there kicking around a soccer ball. What the hell?

As they booted it back and forth, a giant metal monstrosity pounced back and forth like a puppy. Despite being shaped and moving like a dog, it was easily the size of a rhino. Definitely not something the diminutive robot could handle on his own. "I'll take care of it," I told him.

"Wait, visitor," it called after me, but I quickly leapt from the tower, spreading the wings of the jetpack and soaring towards the base.

"Fox?" Shirli's voice chirped in my ear.

"Shirli?"

"Oh good, you can hear the radio I put in the jetpack. How's it going? Did Scrapper have a spare pack?"

"Yes, but something has come up. The Ecobase is under attack by some gang members. I'm going to take care of it and I'll be right back."

"What? You can't just-"

"I have to," I told her. "If they bust that place up, all the omnium radiation is going to leak out into Astra. I have to stop them."

"Okay. Just…be careful."

"Always," I promised.

As I landed at the entrance, I drew my sword and marched in. My presence did not go unnoticed. They froze, the ball midair before it landed on the machine's spiked head, causing it to puncture and deflate.

"Get out of here," I ordered them. "Leave and no one has to get hurt."

While I didn't expect that to work, it really didn't hurt to try. Sure enough, they all drew out pipes and wrenches and began advancing on me. The one I was most worried about though was that massive Steelspine. Fighting that thing wasn't going to be easy.

As the first man stepped forward, I turned and slashed my sword quickly, deflecting his blow back and giving me an opening to follow it up with a downward plunge into his chest. His friends would not make the same mistake.

All of them leapt on me at once, and it was all I could do to narrowly avoid their attacks. Their bodies were weak and emaciated from their time in the wilderness, so it wasn't too difficult to overpower them.

Just as I managed to pin the three remaining weapons to the ground, a heavy crashing sound drew my attention. I looked up just in time to see the Steelspine looming over me. With a flick of its head, it impaled my shoulder and flung me across the metal floor like a ragdoll.

Blood now poured from my wound as I stood up, only to find my sword was gone from my grip again. Damn it! I drew my knives, preparing for another charge as the thugs advanced once more.

This time, I wouldn't let them slow me down. I didn't want to have to kill them, but it was me or them. I rushed forward in a flurry of electrified steel, avoiding pipes and slashing through their vitals like a precise surgeon.

My onslaught was broken only to dash aside from the Steelspine's charges like a matador. This damned thing was far faster than its size would imply. Worse, my wound was slowing me down more. Was I losing that much blood?

"Friend!" a robotic voice chirped by the entrance. Sure enough, there was Scrapper standing by the entrance. The Steelspine turned its attention from me and began thundering towards him. Shit!

I jumped in the way of the rampaging mecha-beast and with all my strength I possessed slammed back against it in hopes of slowing it down. It was a stupid plan, but I couldn't let this poor thing get destroyed because I wasn't strong enough.

Crushing force and sharp metal slammed hard into my chest as I wrapped my arms around its head. "Stop. Stop. Stop!" I repeated as I was helplessly shoved back. My fingers desperately reached for something; anything. I could feel its horn digging further into my chest. My lung was punctured, my ribs broken. I was dying, but I couldn't just let this thing run rampant!

Finally, my fingers wrapped around hose and wire. With the very last ounce of energy I had, I pulled. Sparks and oil sprayed from its neck as the two of us collapsed together to the ground.

My chest fluttered as I struggled to get breath. It was moving so fast! No air was able to come in, and my energy was fading quickly. My eyes gazed down to see the bloody hole left in my sternum. Oh God. This was how I was going to die.

My vision began to blur and white out. As I stared up at the sun shining down through the energy field, I feared this was the end of me. Scrapper's display hovered over me and began to flow rapidly. I couldn't make out what it was showing, but I heard its voice. "Synchronizing you with the Simulacrum System. Summoning Executor: Cocoritter. A woman manifested out of nowhere, dressed in a blue jacket over an all white padded shirt. Her gaze hovered over mine, with one blue eye and one red. I stared deep into them. She was cute. A weird thought for a dying man, but it was there.

Reaching up, she pulled off her black beanie, revealing shoulder-length brown hair, with one pale blue streak that framed her soft face. If this was what I got to see right before I died, maybe it was worth it. "Establishing Sanctuary," she said, before giving me a gentle smile.

The light from that smile overtook me, flooding my vision completely. I felt myself tumbling through nothingness. Once again, I saw that pink-haired woman from my flashback. She glared at me with cruel eyes, but said nothing. I reached for her, desperate to find anything to grab to stop from this endless tumbling.

And with a heavy thud, I landed back within my own body. I gave a sharp gasp as consciousness rushed into my head, and I sat up swiftly. I looked down to find that the gaping hole in my chest was gone. My pain was little more than a dull throbbing now.

"You're alive!" Scrapper cried out. "This one was not too late!"

"You saved me?" I asked.

"No. A simulacrum saved you. You are now connected to the Hykros Simulacrum Network. It is a collection of various Executors under the employ of Hykros' data, such as their knowledge and personality. It was one such collection of data that saved you."

"That girl…" I murmured. As I went to sit up further, my hand brushed against something hard. Looking at it, I found a new weapon, a staff that glowed with a light blue energy.

"Her name is Cocoritter. The weapon data you now possess is called the Absolute Zero. Do not worry. I will teach you its function. Engaging Simulacrum Data…"

Memories and knowledge flooded my mind. I could see the girl training with the staff to more effectively use it. The love and care that her parents put into the invention, and the way she contributed to it herself for use. She was a genius. Despite that I was watching her from outside, at the same time, I was her. Every movement I felt in my own body, and when I awoke, those movements, those practices, that knowledge…it all stayed trapped in my own mind.

"I know kung-fu…" I muttered, looking down at the staff in my hands.

My thoughts weren't able to dwell on it for long. "Fox! Answer me! Are you okay?!"

Shirli! Crap! How long had I been out? "I'm okay, Shirli! I'm coming back. How long have I been out of access?"

"You don't know?" she asked with concern. "It's been about ten minutes since you last responded. Was it your memories again? Did something else trigger?"

"No," I told her. "But I've got everything we need. I'm on my way back now." Despite that it was only a simulation that had saved my life, I could still feel Cocoritter in the back of my mind. She seemed…happy…that I was okay.

I only hoped that if I were in another pinch she could help me again. I had the sinking feeling that my problems were only just beginning.

To be continued…