Posted 6/3/19
The day we left Elpedite:
A soft beeping drifted across the room as I watched one of the scientists glare at his machine. After a few moments, he grimaced, hit a button, and the beeping shut off. I nearly sighed with him. They had been examining this feather for days. I wished they find something so I could go home.
Adrian stood in front of the feather, and I stood a few feet behind him. When the machine shut off, he glanced over his shoulder at the man. I couldn't read anything in his expression, but he must have been frustrated. I'd never seen Adrian struggle to get results. He usually knew exactly what to do to get what he wanted, and how to do it. But that hadn't worked with this feather, and though it had only been a few days, there had been no progress at all.
Replacing the staff and machinery hadn't yielded any new results, and I wasn't sure what else he could do, or what he would do if they couldn't find anything. Maybe he'd lock it away somewhere, and run a few tests on it over the years. If he couldn't use it, then he'd make sure no one else could.
I stared at the feather, thinking it over. Then a sound like thousands of sheets of paper tearing at once roared from behind me. I spun, along with Adrian and every other member of security.
My brother stumbled onto the tile, freezing as his eyes darted around the room. There was something in the air behind him, and at first I thought it was a mirror. But in hung only a foot off the ground, unsuspended. It was oval-shaped, and as tall as me, but instead of reflecting the room, it showed Nathaniel and I's living room. I blinked, and it sealed shut.
And then everyone moved.
Nathaniel's eyes locked on the feather, and he took a step toward it the same moment Adrian stepped toward him. I snatched back Nathaniel's outstretched arm and set myself between him and Adrian, raising my other hand toward Adrian. "Stop!" The security team froze, their guns pointed at Nathaniel and me. They flashed looks at each other and at Adrian.
Adrian pulled his gaze away from Nathaniel. "Lower your weapons." The team did, confusion flashing across their features. "Nathaniel," Adrian said, "how did you get here?" His voice was carefully empty, but I knew inside he was furious. He was too still, too focused on Nathaniel.
Nathaniel glared at Adrian for a second before meeting my gaze. "I know this is sudden, but we can escape, but you have to let go. I just need that." He pointed to the feather.
Adrian shifted in the corner of my vision and I jerked, moving to keep him in my line of sight, keeping myself between him and Nathaniel. Adrian's gun was still in its holster.
"Alice, take him out of here," Adrian said. I nodded. I didn't understand why my brother was here, but I needed to get him as far away from Adrian as I could. Adrian would still be a danger to Nathaniel, but I could control the situation, very slightly, as long as they weren't in direct contact.
"No!" Nathaniel yelled, shoving at my hand wrapped around his wrist. I set my other hand on his shoulder and pushed him a step away from the feather.
"Stop it now," I hissed. I hated forcing Nathaniel to do things. He already had so little freedom, but he wasn't making sense, and we were in a lot of danger. Adrian's patience would run out soon, and even after we left, Adrian was going to want to know how my brother had gotten past several layers of security. Nathaniel looked up at me, something like regret in his eyes, and then he lunged for my holster.
The System activated a counter measure, moving my hands to snap his wrist. I wrenched control back and pulled my hands away as if I'd been burned. Nathaniel must have known e'd cause this, and that I'd have to stop it. Nathaniel's hand wrapped around the gun, just as Adrian drew his.
Adrian raised the gun on Nathaniel.
I turned away from Nathaniel and lunged for Adrian's arm, pushing the gun away from my brother. Adrian torn his arm away, and pain burst across my face as he punched me. I let the force push me back, moving to keep myself between Adrian and where I thought my brother was.
I raised my hands. "Just calm down." I didn't think it would work, but I had to say something.
"Move!" Adrian barked, gun aimed at me. I shook my head and glanced over my shoulder.
I was just in time to see Nathaniel, my gun in one hand and pointed at the floor, grab the feather. "I wish for us to leave this world!"
Light burst from the feather, streaming between his fingers and casting inky shadows across the floor. A whirlwind filled the room, tearing at our clothes and pushing back my brother's hair. He stood against the gale, eye narrowed. The light flared, too bright for me to see Nathaniel, then a wave of force swept out from the feather and slammed into me.
The air was knocked from my lungs when I landed on my back. I rolled onto to my hands and knees, The System forcing my diaphragm back into a proper rhythm. As I blinked the spots from my eyes, I realized I was staring at concrete, spotted with rain. I looked up.
Gray sky hung above me, rain coming down in a light sprinkle. As I stared it increased to a downpour, plastering my hair to my forehead. I was outside. Which made no sense, considering literally a second ago I was deep in the Facility behind the highest level of security. Even if the building had collapsed, I should be buried in concrete. But I was on a sidewalk, next to a road, and beyond the white wooden fence next to me I could see the tilted roofs of houses, with brown shingles.
"What?" I breathed. Then I leapt to my feet, looking around. "Nathaniel!"
The hush of rain answered me. There was no one. Adrian, Nathaniel, and the security team were gone. If the impact of . . . whatever that was had knocked me out, it would make sense I'd wake up somewhere else. But I should be in a hospital. Or a holding cell. Not a street.
I squinted at the power-lines above the road. Where was I? I couldn't think of a place in the capitol that would use power-lines. Was I in some tiny town in the middle of nowhere? Had I been taken to Yetz, or another country?
I stood in the middle of the sidewalk, trying to figure out what had happened, where I was, what I should do.
Then I heard a sound like a thousand sheets of paper tearing.
Present:
Syaoran and I sprinted down the weaving cobblestone path. Every so often a park visitor would sprint past us, but it seemed most of the visitors had evacuated. Over the park speakers, a woman spoke on loop asking all visitors to make their way to the exits. Ahead loomed the Ferris wheel.
"Kurogane is fighting!" Mokona said, gripping my collar.
I glanced up to see two figures on the Ferris wheel dart around each other, metal flashing between them. I was confident Kurogane could handle Seishirou so long as he didn't have any hidden skills. That being said, Seishirou struck me as the type to hold his trump card until the end.
The path we were on snaked around a few booths and food stalls before ending at a plaza. At the far end of the plaza, past the fountain and gift shops, was the Ferris wheel. The base of it didn't look damaged, we could probably climb up the wheel if we had to. My ears popped as The System alerted me to a change in the air pressure. Outo must be forcing its way into this world still.
In one of the trees lining the path ahead of us the leaves rustled, and a shadowy figure dropped down. A wildcat-like oni growled at us, lowering itself to the ground. Without slowing, I swung up my rifle, used The System to steady my hands, and shot it. We ran past as it dissolved into ashes.
Ahead of us on the path was a small building with a picnis area ringed with cement planters. The planters were about hip height and faced the Ferris wheel.
"Over there," I said, pointing. Syaoran nodded and followed me as I ducked behind them. I rested my rifle on the planters, the barrel resting between the daisies.
I set the sights on the Ferris wheel, using The System to enhance my vision. Seishirou had his back partially to me, a black sword in his hand. But as I watched the sword blade bent and twisted like a snake.
I aimed for his head. The System shifted my aim just a hair. The blue line extending from the barrel of my gun ended at his temple. I pulled the trigger.
Chunks burst from the stone wall next to Seishirou, bouncing off his back. He leapt away, his eyes scanning the area. Kurogane attacked while he was distracted, his sword flashing. Seishirou spun and blocked, his shifting sword curling aroung Kurogane's blade and forcing him back.
"Did you get him?" Syaoran asked.
"No," I said, adjusting my aim. The System modified the predicted line of fire to a cone, bending slightly to the left. My shot would land somewhere within that cone, but with Kurogane up there I couldn't risk the odds. What looked like heat waves rolled through the air, distorting my vision. It was probably the source of the error.
"Is there any way to let Kurogane-san know we're here?" Syaoran asked.
I straightened. "Not yet. If we wave him down, we'd distract him and give away our location to Seishirou." And every shot I missed increased the chances he'd figure out where I was firing from. I wasn't sure if he still had control of the oni, but there was the chance he could send them after us.
"New plan: you're going to run ahead and stay out of sight. Get as close as you can to Seishirou without letting him see you." I knew Seishirou would spot him at some point—there wasn't enough cover to stay hidden—but Syaoran's chances of getting the feather increased the longer he stayed out of sight. "I'm going to keep pushing forward and see how close I need to be to land a shot. That will distract him from you and Kurogane, at least."
"Let's go." We ran out from behind the planters and down the path. I kept glancing from the fight atop the Ferris wheel to the path as we hugged the stall and buildings. Once we'd advanced about two hundred yards, I slowed beside an empty store front. "Keep going. Stay close to buildings and trees. Mokona, go with Syaoran."
Mokona bounced from my shoulder to Syaoran's as he gave me a quick nod and ran ahead. I darted into the gift shop and crouched at one of the windows facing the Ferris wheel. A row of plastic woman with bug wings stared at me before I swept them out of the way with a clatter. The path of my bullet had narrowed, and the heat waves rolling through the air weren't quite as violent.
I followed Seishirou with my sights as he locked swords with Kurogane. They glared at each other for a moment before Kurogane's blade flashed and Seishirou had to leap back. The instant Kurogane was out of my line of fire, I pulled the trigger. Cracks spider-webbed across the window, centered on my bullet hole.
Light flashed off the shards of Seishirou's glasses as the wire frames spun off his face. He flinched, raising a hand to his face. "Dammit," I muttered. Seishirou scanned the plaza, but as soon as he did Kurogane was on him again.
Before I could fire again, a flash of light originating from Seishirou forced me to look away.
When I'd blinked the spots from my eyes, I looked up to see Seishirou cupping one of Sakura's feathers in his hand. A shock wave rolled over the park, centered on the feather. Where it rippled the air, pieces of Outo's sky opened up, like little tears in reality. I threw and arm over my eyes just as the window shattered, one of the shards cutting my chin.
The Ferris wheel fragmented, but instead of falling, the beams and brickwork hung suspended in the air, slowly floating upwards. Kurogane had kept his footing, but now he was stuck on a piece of debris floating away from Seishirou. Behind Seishirou, Syaoran clambered up the debris, leaping from one island to another. It didn't look like Seishirou knew he was there. If Kurogane and I kept Seishirou's attention, Syaoran could have the feather in just a few seconds.
Seishirou waved an arm, and the oni that had carried him to the Ferris wheel returned. It landed on the remains of the structure and spread a wing to block my view of the fight.
I lowered my rifle, glaring at it. I could shoot the oni, but I doubted I could kill it, and I'd only attract its attention. Shouldering my rifle, I left the gift shop and ran through the center of the plaza. The oni may be blocking my view of Seishirou, but now it blocked his view of me as well.
I stopped at the base of the Ferris wheel, looking up and letting The System scan the tower of debris to find the quickest way to the top. It highlighted three different paths, starting with one on the left and one on the right, with the path on the left splitting in two. I picked the farthest left path, to try to stay out of sight.
Beams and brick were my hand-holds, and as I got higher, I noticed pieces of building that couldn't have come from the Ferris wheel. The bricks making the base had been a dark red, but halfway up I found more gray, stone-like masonry.
One stone broke away as I gripped it. The System adjusted and forced my hand to a new hold as the stone clattered down. I could hardly hear it over the groans and cracks of the destruction around me, so there was no way Seishirou would have heard it.
My climb ended at a small platform and I carefully peeked over the edge. I ducked back behind it an instant later.
A new, gigantic oni had appeared, looming in front of Seishirou. It was humanoid in shape, and stood motionless, its hand outstretched. In its upturned palm stood a woman. She wore a cascading black dress, a knowing smile. She seemed uninterested in the oni carrying her.
Seishirou's eyes were locked on her. "I've heard you can grant immortality. Is your name Subaru?"
"No," the woman said, her expression unchanging.
Seishirou's expression flickered with frustration before returning to an empty smile. "Then do you know of a pair of twin vampires?"
I glanced between them, confused. Immortality wasn't possible in Elpedite, but Seishirou seemed to think it was in this world. And it had something to do with vampires . . . whatever those were. I'd have to ask Fai.
"I don't." The woman leaned against the thumb of the giant creature. "The immortality I grant is within Outo alone. I, the strongest oni, am the final challenge before one can call themselves the strongest. Once a player has bested me, no other poses a threat. In that sense, I grant immortality."
There was a flicker of movement behind Seishirou. Syaoran crept behind a crumbling wall, just feet behind Seishirou. Mokona rode on his shoulder, ears pinned back. It didn't look like he'd been noticed. I pulled myself up another foot and held my breath. Seishirou held the feather away from his body in one hand. If Syaoran was fast, he could snatch it and run.
"Then there no reason for me to linger," Seishirou said.
Syaoran moved. His first step was silent, but his second knocked a stone clattering across the ground. Seishirou turned.
I ripped my handgun from is holster as Seishirou pulled the feather close, raising his sword with his other hand. I aimed and pulled the trigger. Seishirou jerked, a spray of blood flying from his sword arm. I'd hit him just above the elbow.
Syaoran hesitated for just an instant before slamming into the Seishirou, wrapping both hands around the feather and wrenching it away.
"Now!" he yelled.
Seishirou reached for Syaoran as Mokona leapt from his shoulder. I fired again, missing as waves of Mokona's magic rolled through the air, but forcing Seishirou back as he heard the gunshot.
Syaoran's form, curled around the feather, stretched as I felt the familiar tug of Mokona's magic pull us away. Before the world dissolved around us, Seishirou looked up and met my eyes. We stared each other down for a moment, and the world dissolved away.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
A flash of green and brown whipped across my cheek, dashing any sense of space I had, right before the ground slammed into my back.
I sat up, coughing against the sudden change to hot and humid air. Sunlight filtered through a canopy of leaves above me as strange animal calls and bird songs echoed from all around. I peeled a leaf off my cheek, where some kind of sap had sealed it against my skin. Grimacing, I dropped it to the forest floor. As I stood I brushed more leaves from my coat and pants.
As I did so, my hand knocked against my sword. I stared at it, remembering I'd sold it in Outo, so it had never really left me. It had been on my hip the entire time I was asleep. I stared at it, trying to figure out how I felt about it. I decided I'd sell it the next chance I got.
"We did it!" I turned to see Syaoran climbing to his feet. He held Sakura's feather in both hands, relief washing over his expression.
"Are you injured?" I asked. I frowned, realizing I couldn't see or hear anyone else. "Where are the others?"
"I'm okay." Syaoran glanced over his shoulder. "I'm not sure. Maybe we got scattered because Mokona wanted to get us out quickly."
"But they should be here, in this world, right? Could they be in another world?" I pushed back my sparking panic. If Mokona and the others were in another world, we were stuck here, with no obvious way out
Syaoran shook his head. "If Mokona was too far away, we wouldn't understand each other."
"Right," I said, relief washing over me.
"I'm not sure how to find them though." Syaoran said.
"I can handle that." I said, drawing my gun. We seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn't see or hear any sign of civilization around us, so I decided we were safe enough to risk a gun shot. I aimed into the ground, where the bullet would stop harmlessly in the dirt. I fired.
The gunshot echoed through the trees around us, momentarily silencing the wildlife and sending unseen creatures crashing away through the brush. I waited for a count of five and fired a second shot. Once everything around us had settled, I peeled off my jacket and sat down. Fai, Kurogane, and Sakura all knew what a gunshot sounded like, and they were smart enough to figure out I was the source. I'd fire another shot in about ten minutes if they weren't all here by then.
"I guess the only thing we can do is wait, huh?" Syaoran asked, shuffling.
I nodded. "Moving now would be counter-productive. They'll find us."
With a sigh he sat down cross-legged and after a moment of hesitation, tucked the feather into his pocket. "Thank you for covering me, back with Seishirou-san."
"Don't worry about it." I scratched my cheek. "But next time, stab your enemy or something when you sneak up on them. Makes it harder for them to focus on hurting you."
He rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, his expression tense. "Right."
We sat in silence for a few minutes before Syaoran straightened. "Her Highness said you told Seishirou-san we were in a park, not the tower. Thanks for that, too."
I shrugged. "What was the tower like?"
Syaoran leaned back. "There were lots of oni. Most of them weren't too much of an issue, but one room was the oni."
I grimace. How did that work? And how would you beat it?
"Yeah," Syaoran said, seeing my expression. "We ended up setting it on fire."
"How?" I absently scratched an itch on my cheek.
"There was some kind of flammable liquid covering the floor of the room, and I had a lighter."
I ran a hand down my face. "I'm so glad I know that was a video game now." That detail would have been ridiculous through the lens of reality. But it explained everything weird in Outo, like the strange government, the lack of kids, and how the oni were handled.
Something off to my right rustled through the brush towards us. I stood and faced the sound, tracking it with The System as I drew my gun.
A moment later, Kurogane pushed through the leaves. I holstered my gun. He glanced over Syaoran, and froze when his gaze fell on me.
"Glad you found us," I said. "Have you seen the others?"
He blinked, and for a second I thought I saw relief on his face, before it returned to his usual glare. "You're not dead."
"Oh, right," I said. "Outo wasn't real, and Fai is alive." His glare intensified. I raised a hand to hold off any yelling. "Let me explain." I gave Syaoran and Kurogane a condensed explanation of virtual reality, letting them know Outo hadn't been real, so Fai and I weren't dead.
"So when Seishirou "killed" us, we just woke up in the amusement park." I paused to scratch my cheek again. Maybe I'd gotten a bug bite.
"Was there something keeping you from waking us up?" Syaoran asked.
"Seishirou was controlling the game." I sneezed. Why was my face so itchy? I refocused. "No one could be woken up. And time was different in each world. We'd only been awake for five minutes before the worlds merged."
Kurogane glanced at his sword, and Syaoran and I's weapons. "How come we still have these?"
I shrugged. "Magic?"
Kurogane snorted. "Yeah, all right."
The rustle of leaves caused us to look to the left. Three small figures broke from the treeline as Kurogane, Syaoran and I fell into ready stances. They skidded to a stop, blinking up at us with dark eyes. They stood at about hip height, with fur and ears like rabbits. But they were humanoid, and the one in the center held a giggling Mokona above their head like a ball.
As we stood there blinking at them, they squeaked and scattered, vanishing into the trees. Sakura and Fai came skidding into the clearing.
"They have Mokona!" Sakura said, pointing where they'd gone and panting. "We have to catch them!"
I used The System to track the sound of the creatures running away from us to the east. We all broke into a sprint at the same moment, crashing into the forest. The trees and bushed blurred around us, the twigs snagging at our clothes.
Every once in a while I'd catch a glimpse of white fur, but for the most part we followed the sound of crashing brush and Mokona's laughter. We weren't gaining on them, but we weren't losing them either.
A System alert popped up in my vision, but the blue color told me it was a low priority, so I dismissed it before I lost sight of Mokona's kidnappers. I would recall it later.
The creatures darted into a clearing and we charge in after them. We all stopped. In the center of the clearing was a crackling bonfire, and scattered around the clearing were tens of the creatures. All of them stood frozen, staring at us. The three we'd followed yelped in surprise, realizing we'd followed them.
"Give us back our friend please," Syaoran said, stepping forward and holding out a hand, palm up.
"It talked!" the one holding Mokona squeaked.
"They can talk," I said, blinking at it.
"I can talk!" Mokona cheered.
The other creatures unfroze, all of them babbling at once.
"What are they?"
"They talk!"
"That one looks scary!"
"Why did you lead them here?"
The creature holding Mokona danced in place for a moment, a nervous tilt to their ears, before throwing Mokona back at Syaoran. "Sorry!"
Syaoran caught Mokona in both hands, stumbling back a step. Once he'd steadied himself, he raised Mokona to face level. "Are you okay?"
Mokona nodded. "Mokona had fun!"
"Mind telling us why you took our friend?" Fai asked.
The creatures all looked at each other, then pushed the one who taken Mokona before us. "They can explain," they said as a group before scrambling back a few feet.
The creature stood stiff as it spoke. "Umm. U-uuh. A monster suddenly arrived in the j-jungle and it's super strong. But," it glanced at Mokona and hesitated, "we thought if we give it something yummy, it will leave us alone."
"So you thought you'd feed it the pork-bun?" Kurogane asked.
"Yes," it squeaked.
"Good choice," Mokona exclaimed. "Mokona probably tastes the best."
I sneezed and rubbed my nose to clear the itch. A monster in the jungle would be concerning, if the creatures afraid of it weren't half my height. It was probably just a tiger or something. After oni and kudan, I could handle that.
Syaoran crouched to get eye level with the rabbit. "What's your name?"
"Shorbi."
"Shorbi-san, you said it appeared suddenly?"
"Yes. It just arrived one day."
Syaoran turned to Mokona. "Is there a feather here?" He glanced at his pocket. "Besides this one."
"Yep! Mokona senses a feather." I opened my mouth. "But not Alice-san's brother, sorry."
I nodded. We'd been to several worlds by now, I should be getting used to it. There was no rush, time flowed differently between worlds, so there was no point. I uncurled my fists. There was no point in worrying.
Syaoran turned to the creatures. "We'll help you out."
They were all quiet, then exploded into cheers. Some hugged, some danced, and suddenly baskets of fruit and vegetables appeared out of nowhere. Moments later we were seated in a circle and one of the creatures shoved a bowl of pink mush into my hands.
"What is this?" I asked.
"Mashed zambi fruit."
"Oh." I rubbed my face. I sniffed. Why was my nose getting runny?
"Alice-san," Fai said. "you may not want to eat that. It looks like you're allergic to something here."
"I'm not allergic—" I cut off as I realized I wasn't allergic to anything in my world. I recalled the alert I'd dismissed back to my display. The alert read "Mild allergic reaction to air born material detected" followed by a list of expected symptoms including runny nose, a small rash on my face, and watery eyes. "Oh," I said, setting aside the bowl.
"Your Highness," Syaoran said, "do you want your feather now?" He half pulled the feather from his pocket.
Sakura shook her head. "I'd like to help solve this first."
"So where is this thing?" Kurogane asked.
"North of here," Shorbi said. "You have to follow the river to the waterfall, head toward the dead tree and keep going until you see a small pond." By the end of their directions my eyes were running, and I was rubbing my face every few seconds.
"Let's go get this done," I said.
We all rose and Shorbi jumped. "Wait! You can't all go!"
"Why not?" Sakura asked.
"If you don't come back, we won't have anything to sacrifice to the monster." They said it with the most unabashed expression, the other creatures nodding along behind them.
"Wow," Fai said, "you've thought of everything."
I glared at them. First they take Mokona and now they were casually talking about killing the people who'd offered to help them. And thinking they actually had the power to keep an of us here! Then I recalled all the occasions where Kurogane had thrown a pillow at Mokona, or beat them back from taking his food, or tested the flexibility of their ears. I looked at Fai. "Let's leave Kurogane."
"Hey, brat," he snapped, pointing at my face. "I am not staying here!"
"Not that one!" Shorbi cried, staring up at Kurogane.
"Actually," Fai said, setting a hand on my shoulder, "maybe Alice-san and I should stay here."
"What? Why—" I was cut off but another sneeze. When I wiped the water from my eyes, I was met with Fai's amused expression. "Fine," I snapped.
I looked Sakura over. She still wore her armor from Outo with her revolver on her hip. "Good luck."
She smiled. "Thank you. We'll be back soon."
We waved them off as Fai and I sat down.
"So what can I do to make this," I pointed at my face, "stop?"
Fai laughed. "Sorry, but there's nothing you can do besides get away from whatever's causing it."
"Right," I sighed. I watched as the creatures drifted back to their work. Some gathered firewood, while others disappeared into the jungle with empty sacks. Some stayed by the fire. Shorbi was one of them, and kept an eye in our direction. I wasn't worried though. We could decide to leave at any point. All we'd have to do was stand up and they wouldn't be able to reach us.
But I wasn't quite comfortable enough to take a nap, despite how tired I felt. Going from an attempted murder, to fighting Seishirou, to chasing strange beings through a jungle had left me exhausted. And now I was sick.
"Hey, Fai," I said, "what's a vampire?"
Fai tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"
"Seishirou mentioned that he was searching for some."
Fai tilted his head. "Well, the most famous thing is that they drink blood."
I grimaced. "What? Like a mosquito?"
"Sort of. I've never seen one, and it depends who you ask. The most common idea I know of is a person who lives forever by only drinking human blood. I've heard that they burn in sunlight, or can't enter a home uninvited, but those sorts of things aren't as universal."
"Any idea why he'd be after a specific pair?" The vampire thing was weird, but not weirder than talking rabbits trying to feed Mokona to some unseen monster.
Fai shrugged. "Sorry, no. Maybe something personal?"
"Maybe." I didn't have a better idea. And we'd probably never see him again, which was fine with me. The vampire thing might be a problem, if humans were their food source, but even Fai didn't seem convinced they were real, and if Seishirou was world hopping trying to find them they must be pretty rare. I sneezed.
I tugged my rifle strap away from my skin. The inside of the leather strap was shiny with sweat. I sighed and pulled it over my head and set it on the ground next to me. Sweat had glued my bangs to my forehead, so I pushed them back. I watched the rabbit-things work, drumming my fingers against my boot.
"Alice-san, I'm bored. Let's play a game," Fai said.
I blinked at him.
"Come on," he said, "what's a game from your world."
I shrugged. "I only play board games really." I went hiking with Nathaniel, and skating, and on rainy days we sometimes played board games. But I couldn't think of much else.
"Do you know tic-tac-toe?"
I debated saying no, but decided I wouldn't mind passing the time somehow. "Yeah."
Fai shifted to sit across from me and drew a grid in the dirt and marked the middle square with an O. I put an X in the top left box. We went back and forth for a few more turns before I won. I suspected Fai had let me win. We started another round.
After a few rounds, my mind started to drift. I should tell them my name. My real one. There wasn't any reason to go by Alice anymore, and the longer I did the more annoyed I'd get. The logical route would be to tell Fai now, and then others as soon as they returned.
But I didn't want to deal with the questions they'd ask. Like why I had an alias, or why I wanted them to call me something different now. I didn't want to talk about it. And waving away the questions would look strange, maybe even suspicious. But did they have a right to be suspicious? Was I untrustworthy? I didn't want to hurt them. Not just that, I'd started to think of them as friends. But that didn't change the things I'd done and what they made me. Going by my old name would feel like lying.
But going by Alice wasn't true either. Not anymore. Maybe my old name wasn't quite right, but using it might help me grow into it. If I thought of it like that, the name could be a goal, not a lie.
A hand waved in inches from my nose, and I flinched back.
"Ah," Fai said, "so you are awake."
"Why would you think I wasn't?"
"You've been staring at our game for a while now. Have I finally stumped you?"
I looked down to see two of my X's in a row, waiting for the third. I grimaced and put down the final X. "Sorry."
"Something on your mind?"
I stared at the dirt between us. I should just say it. Get it done and move on. But the words just wouldn't come. It was ridiculous. It was just a name. Why did it feel like such a difficult thing?
"No," I said.
Fai watched me for a moment, his smile a bit dimmer. Then it was back in full force as he brushed our game away. "All right. This time I'm winning."
We played a few more rounds in silence before Shorbi walked past us. "Excuse me, Shorbi?" Fai said.
Shorbi turned, ears flicking. "Yes?"
"Did any of you get a good look at the monster?"
Shorbi sat with us. "It doesn't look like anything. It's a big whirlwind." Their ears drooped. "It blew all of our homes away. But we built them is a rush, so that isn't very surprising." Wasn't a whirlwind just bad weather? Maybe it was a magic thing.
"Why did you have to build them so fast?" I asked.
Shorbi sighed. "We'd just arrived here and we needed to build a shelter quickly."
"Are your people nomadic?" Fai asked.
Shorbi shook his head. "We used to live somewhere high in the mountains, with other villages scattered around." They looked up at the pieces of sky visible through the jungle leaves. "But one day, we woke up here. We sent up smoke signals, but no one answered."
They'd come from another place? I looked over Shorbi again. In terms of adaptation, he shouldn't be here. His fur was thick, for cold weather, and his paws were large; not good for waling over noisy forest leaves. Had they traveled worlds?
Fai's smile vanished. "I'm sorry to hear that. Have your people been adapting?"
Shorbi nodded. "The jungle is starting to grow on us, actually. Or it was, until the monster came. But once you friends vanquish it, everything will be fine!"
Fai smiled. "They'll handle it. But when the whirlwind came, did you happen to see a feather caught in it? It belongs to one of our friends. It would have glowed, if that helps."
Shorbi tilted their head. "Like this?" Shorbi drew one of Sakura's feathers from his scarf.
I coughed, my sudden intake of breath too much for my aggravated throat, and stared at the feather. Fai started at it for a moment before bursting into laughter. Shorbi looked back and forth between us, confusion wrinkling his features.
When I'd recovered, I pointed to the feather. "You had that this whole time?"
Shorbi looked at it, then me. "Yes?"
"Where did you find it?" Fai asked.
"It was here when we arrived. I kept it because I thought it looked pretty. You said it belongs to your friend?" When Fai nodded, Shorbi handed it to him. "Then you should give it to her. It feels important."
Fai accepted it with both hands. "Thank you."
I sighed. "This means they're going to take longer searching for a feather that isn't there, huh?"
"Yep," Fai said, pocketing the feather with a grin.
Shorbi looked over his shoulder. "Let's start the celebration then." It was as if they'd announced it to the entire camp. Suddenly, two creatures appeared at Fai's elbows, one handing him a drum, the other a pair of drumsticks. A necklace of flowers looped around my neck. I whirled around, but the culprits were already gone. I pulled the thing off, but I could already feel a sneeze building. I threw it at Shorbi as I wiped my eyes.
I looked up to see the creatures dancing around the bonfire, some of them with drums and maraca-like instruments. Fai gripped my elbow, attempting to pull me up. "Let's dance."
I pulled away. "No thanks." Fai eyed me, and I suspected from his smile he was calculating his chances of getting me to dance. I turned, gripped the branches of the tree behind me, and climbed until I was out of reach. Behind me Fai laughed. "We should have called you Monkey in Outo."
Trying to leave Kurogane behind had been a poor choice. From now on, keeping those two together would be a top priority, to make sure Fai had an outlet for his boredom that wasn't me. I settled myself on a branch, facing the clearing.
Tuning out the sound of the party below me, I let my mind drift. Every so often The System would remind me I was experiencing an allergic reaction, and that I should notify a System specialist.
The children on Adrian's list were known to have no allergies, at least to the standard things like foods, pets, and general medicines. I'd been exposed to more specific medicines and chemicals during The System's installation and in the years after, so maybe this program was written just in case I experienced a reaction during that time. I wasn't sure what would have happened if it had ever gone off in Elpedite. I was an expensive investment, so I didn't think Adrian would have killed me and started over. But the doubt was there. He'd done it before, after all.
The drumbeats of the party below died away, drawing me out of my thoughts. I looked down to see Kurogane, Sakura, and Syaoran walking back into camp, Fai and the rabbit-creatures waving in welcome. I dropped from the tree and went to join them. Their clothes were clean, with the exception of some light smudges of dirt and grass stains. They didn't look like they'd fought a village destroying monster, but their expressions were satisfied, not disappointed. Except for Kurogane. He glared at Shorbi, who hung off his arm along with a few of the other villagers.
"What happened?" I asked.
Sakura beamed. "It wasn't a monster. It was a whirlwind. The power of my feather is keeping it stuck in place. It was just scared."
"How was a whirlwind—you know, whatever." I decided I just wasn't going to understand this one. Whirlwinds weren't living, not even an animal-like, like the oni and kudan had been. But my head was pounding, I could only breathe through my mouth, and I was done. "Fai has the feather, let's go."
"Alice-san, you ruined the surprise," Fai sighed, drawing the feather from his jacket.
Syaoran looked to Sakura. "Are you ready, Your Highness?"
Sakura eyed the feathers, a mix of wariness and excitement on her face. "I am."
Syaoran and Fai held out the feathers and they returned to Sakura in a flash of light. Her expression relaxed into a soft smile, and she fell into Syaoran's arms.
An instant later, the rustle of trees grew to a roar. I looked up to see the branches around us whipping in the wind. Was this the whirlwind? Hadn't they gotten rid of it, or made peace with it or something?
"The whirlwind!" Syaoran shouted, barely audible over the roar. The rabbit-creatures around us panicked. Some ran to their huts, others hugged each other and their children, and some covered their heads and shook. I knelt to minimize my chances of getting blown away. The trees might have given use some shelter, but it was too late to get to them now.
Then the wind slowed to a gentle breeze. Soft pink flowers floated down around us, settling in our hair and on our clothes. They reminded me a little of roses. I knocked them off my hair and jacket and tried not to breathe.
Syaoran smiled at the sky. "Thank you!" Then he turned to the camp. Everyone had calmed down, and some were collecting the flowers. "It's all right everyone, the whirlwind should leave you alone now."
Shorbi, who now had a flower tucked behind their ear, bowed. "Thank you very much."
"It was nothing," Syaoran said, red-faced.
Kurogane snorted. "Yeah, right."
"Mokona, are there any other feathers in this world?" I asked.
Mokona shook their head. "Nope."
"Great. Let's go." I sneezed.
"Aww poor Alice-san," Fai said, ruffling my hair. I ducked away from him and walked to put Kurogane between me and him. Hopefully, that would remind him his preferred target was back.
Mokona giggled before leaping into the air and spreading their wings. Shorbi leapt back from the magic circle that spread beneath us, staring at it in wonder.
"Goodbye," Syaoran said with a wave.
Fai waved too. "Thanks for the party!"
Shorbi raised their hand, watching in stunned amazement as Mokona whisked us away.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
The first thing I noticed as my feet hit the ground was the pavement. I let my hopes rise as I lifted my head to look around. Maybe this world would have electricity. We stood on a rooftop, a cool night wind rushing over us. The roof was empty except for a door and a few air conditioning units. Tall silver sky scrapers glinted in the light of the setting sun. The dots of city lights shone from every building, the streets below, and from streams of flying vehicles that whizzed through the city, occasionally silhouetted against glowing billboards. I jogged to the edge of the roof to get a better view.
This was a city. Based on what I could see of the vehicles and technology, this was the first world that was close to mine in technological advancement. The Hanshin Republic and Outo had been close, with electricity and plumbing, but this world had hovercraft, ad-screens, and likely satellites, though I couldn't see them past the city lights. Like most cities, the air smelled faintly of exhaust and bad milk, but the fact I could smell it and not start sneezing immediately was a relief.
"This world sure is busy," Fai said, stepping up beside me.
Kurogane snorted. "You mean noisy."
One of the glowing billboards changed, catching my eye. On it was a picture of Sakura's feather. Big flowing text surrounded it, but I couldn't read what it said. I pointed to it. "Looks like a feather's here." It was odd to see a picture of it though. Was someone trying to sell it?
Mokona's ears sprang up. "Yep! One's here!"
Syaoran looked from me to the add. He smiled. "That's good. I wish we knew what that sign says though."
"Let's go ask someone," Fai said, turning to the nearest door on the roof.
Syaoran leaned down to get a better hold on Sakura before standing. We approached the door and Fai tried the knob. It was unlocked. Odd.
We descended a set of stairs slowly, as the lights inside were off. I stopped at a door to the first floor. I listened, but didn't hear anything. Cracking the door open, I peered inside. A hallway with white walls and concrete floor lay beyond, only visible in the dark because of The System's sensors. This building must be closed, or under construction. I wasn't sure why else it would be dark and uninhabited in the center of the city.
"Alice-san?" I flinched, turning to see Fai at the bottom of the next flight of stairs, staring up at me expectantly. "Are you coming?" Kurogane and Syaoran must have gone ahead.
"Yeah," I said, shutting the door and descending the steps.
We reached the bottom and met the others without issue, except for a few stumbles in the dark. After wandering down a hallway, we found a door with red characters above it and a symbol of a person running through a doorway.
I set my hand on the door and paused. "After I open this, we should leave the area in case it sets an alarm off. Some are silent."
Kurogane glared at the door. "How's an alarm silent?"
"It sends a message to the nearest police station instead of sounding here."
Kurogane grunted, which I took to mean he understood. I glanced at Syaoran and Fai to make sure they were ready and pushed the door open. A gust of cool air washed over us as we exited.
Street lights beamed down onto the street, illuminating clean sidewalks and street. A few cars rolled down the street, their engines silent. They had huge wheels, and short round cabins. Several people passed us on the sidewalk. Some glanced our way, but most seemed uninterested. Their clothes were bright and clean, some were dresses, skirts, suits, or jumpers. I didn't see anything that reminded me of a uniform.
We picked a direction and started walking to put distance between us and the building we'd accidentally trespassed in. We seemed to be in a business district. Most of the buildings had one or two simple entrances and rows and rows of windows on the upper floors. Some windows had their lights on, and inside people sat in their cubicles at their computers.
When we'd weaved through several blocks, Mokona squeaked, making everyone jump. We turned to look at them, resting on Fai's shoulder. They waved their hands, a huge smile on their face and their ears raised. "Alice-san!"
"Yes?" I asked, trying to control my growing hope. It could be anything. Nathaniel probably wasn't here, and I shouldn't expect him to be.
"Alice-san's brother is here!"
Nathaniel was here. I bit down on the energy rising though me, forcing my voice into an even tone. "Are you sure? This isn't like Jade?"
"No! Mokona learned. This is Alice-san's brother. Nathaniel-kun is in this city. Absolutely!"
My shoulders slumped in relief. I hadn't seen much of this world yet, but it would be a better place for my brother to land than Jade of Koryo. And he was here. I was going to find him.
I'd need to get a map of the city. I'd mark it off into a grid, and spend a day patrolling that area. If Nathaniel was there, The System's facial recognition software would alert me if he entered my vision, even from a distance. I'd bring Mokona with me so if they could somehow sense if he was closer in certain areas I could focus there. Depending on this world's government and information laws, I could make missing person fliers, maybe. I'd need to research the laws of this world, and how much attention that sort of thing would draw.
Starting with childcare centers might help. There must be some sort of system for orphaned children in this world, Nathaniel may have been picked up by one of those. If he had, it would complicate getting him back, but it would mean he was being taken care of.
A hand waved in front of my face. I focused on Fai's smiling face. "I can see you're already planning, and I know you're excited, but I don't think we need to hurry. Maybe we should find a place to stay the night before anything else? I think we're all a bit tired."
I took a deep breath. "Right." I could start right now. Let The System scan for his face and wander. But that would be inefficient, and potentially dangerous without knowing what kind of world we were in. He was here, but even though I wanted to run to him, I needed a sort of base of operations first. Even so, my legs burned with the urge to run.
Fai stepped toward a woman who was walking past. "Excuse me, miss," he said to get her attention. She stopped and looked at him expectantly. "We're new here. Do you know if there is a visitor center we could visit?"
She gave us a suspicious look before pointing over her shoulder. "Go to main street and head towards Piffle Tower. It's the one with the globe on top. The visitor center will be on your left in a few blocks."
"Thank you," Syaoran said as she left.
We started in the direction she'd indicated and I watched the lights of The System dance across the faces of those who passed us, scanning for Nathaniel. Above us, city lights flickered over skyscrapers and hovercraft. Nathaniel was out there somewhere in the mazes of the city. He'd be scared, and wouldn't know the language, and would have been here for an unknown amount of time. But he was here, and I would search until I found him.
AN: Thanks for reading! If you guys have any comments, I'd love to hear them in the reviews. Have a good one!