If you want to read the disclaimers, you won't find them here. If you've stuck around for this long, you've probably got the message drilled into your head already. From now on, discalimers begone!
"…and I had this client right, a cute red-head…you should've seen the look on her face when I saved her!" "Do you remember your favourite food? I've gotta say, I have a weakness for chocolate – dark, milk…" "Those skyscrapers are terrible don't you think? A paint job would do them well!" First he talks about his job, the kind of food he likes, then finally, the scenery? Focusing on walking, I just nodded vaguely, hoping he'd eventually realise what I meant by my continuous silence. He however, persisted, "You know, they were a feat of architecture, bigger than any natural buildings on physical Earth, and because there were no limitations except for the developers' imaginations, well…the skies the limit. Well, not really, but, you get the gist." Despite my annoyance, this piqued my curiosity. I had been told nothing more about this world than that it was a copy of another, and even that I did not know fully about.
"Do you know what Earth…the real one was like?" Fenrir took this as an invitation to come closer – he was almost touching Ophelia.
"Is like, Inori. Well…dangerous, volatile…not fit for life. The seas are black with junk and if you held your finger at arm's length, you wouldn't be able to see it – the smog is that thick. It's much better here, even with all the malware doing things like this to the Internet." The memory of the assault in the building had me unconvinced. If it weren't for some off-the-chain instinct…I shuddered involuntarily and looked away. Fenrir looked at me as if he knew exactly what was going on in my head.
"While Ophelia and I were delivering the letters, I was attacked by skeleton malware and a thing which looked human. I nearly died…t-they're not all as bad are they?" Fenrir burst out laughing, resulting in a sharp reproach from Opehlia and was pulled back in line, firmly next to her.
"A couple of Biters and a Leech?" he was shaking his head in jest, laughter now subsiding, "Biters…you really have lost your memory." His face sobered. "It's going to be worse. Much, much worse…" Ophelia's eyes widened.
"Behind!…there's somethi-! "In mid step he spun Ophelia away from me, keeping her immobile and spoke. "Starting now. Down!" Shocked, I succumbed to gravity and felt the swoosh of something sharp and very dangerous over my head. Turning around, I came face to face with a bug the size and shape of a human, claws where the arms should have been and sharp mandibles for a mouth. Eyes darting, I frantically looked for an escape.
"You can't run Inori, not with that beacon I planted. Transform." Beacon? Ophelia struggled in his arms, reaching for her baton with little success.
"LET ME GO! Fenrir, you, you…!" Standing up, I fumbled for my badge, hoping the mutant insect wouldn't move. Reaching for my pocket, I felt an irregular lump inside, emitting a whining frequency when I examined it closer. The signal. Fenrir must have placed it inside during our accident! Taking both the brooch and the device out, I crushed it under my heel. Maybe it wouldn't attack…hard luck. I backpedalled, avoiding the attacks and in adrenaline, crashed into the building wall behind me, the bug only a few paces behind. In a few seconds, I'd be trapped. The shield wasn't lighting up either. Fenrir looked silently at me.
"Kill or be killed." he called, "I'd really prefer if you chose the former, but…" the world exploded into white and my hearing seemed to do the same, detecting only two things: my head being hit, and a primal wail. My vision returned, only to be greeted by the insect's face, arm in a vice around my neck. My badge had escaped my grasp and seemed to be floating around it, flitting about, emitting light and I became aware of the other insect's claw, ready to stab. Please… Lord? God? Death was the only one who could do anything here and he did not bargain. The chokehold left me with a loud shriek of anger and I fell to the ground. My eyes opened as I sensed a warmth blossom inside my chest. Wait…this…this wasn't pain! Rolling back, I took in what happened. My clothes had changed, perhaps a split second before the stab, and Ophelia had saved me, hitting the attacker hard enough to release me. Scrambling back, I watched in a mixture of awe and horror as she dodged a lethal swipe and countered with her own, stabbing her baton deep into the chink of its neck, and wrenched it out, the sound of a crab's innards being sucked out of its shell following swiftly. I clenched my stomach, trying hard to erase the image. A voice behind me made me jump.
"Well, you transformed. That's a start…I guess." My thoughts evaporated as a white anger enveloped me and the second it left, I heard the same sound as when my head was hit, and saw Fenrir collapse in pain. Ophelia walked up to him and helped him up from the ground.
"I was going hit you again for what you did, but it looks like Inori did that for me, so I don't really feel like it. Now I want answers. Where did you get that thing?" He raised his brow in surprise.
"The tracking device? Simple, just some fake credentials and information in a portable device. They'll go crazy for any kind of data. Especially if it shouts its head off."
"Why did you try to kill Inori?"
Fenrir grinned, amused, "You weren't seriously convinced that I was going to let her die, right? If things actually got serious, I'd have let you help." Opehlia smiled a little.
"So you're saying that you…let me kick you in the nuts?"
"Well, not rea-" The following slap echoed through the city. Fenrir gingerly rubbed his cheek, his grin now looking genuine, but reverted to normal when he resumed. "Going around handing out letters isn't going to help Inori's rate of survival. What's the point of helping her remember the past when she'll be dead in the future?" he paused, waiting for a reaction, and not finding one, continued, "…is that enough?" She closed her eyes, looking ready to explode, but instead deflated.
"Yes." She whispered. I quietly walked up to her, giving my murmured thanks and a quick embrace.
"Then let's go." He smiled, surprisingly genuine and began walking. "Sorry Inori…hope you understand." A sound like a small fighter jet echoed in the distance. I looked at Ophelia, my heart still pounding. She said nothing, simply watching. A streak hurtled towards us at breakneck pace and I closed my eyes as it came within breathing distance…then nothing. Tentatively looking, I saw Fenrir, with an eagle precariously perched on his arm. It was flapping around and squawking as if it wanted to take his head off. He tried stroking its feathers, but it snapped back and continued.
"The delivery bird?" I asked. He ignored me, and having decided the bird would not be calmed down, listened intently to its screeching. His face paled in a matter of seconds.
"You good girl…" he murmured, "go back Rai-Rai, we'll handle this from here." She took off, even faster than she had arrived. Fenrir looked at us. "Malware. And lots of them. We run. Now." The evening closed in.
It's been so long! Sorry, my promise of consistent updating is now null and void... And thanks for reading! Fight scene up next, stay tuned. In a mini slump though, but...I'll regain my mojo.