Chapter 1: The Reality of Alterna

"Some dreams are simply not meant to be."

"...Power restored. System check... Ok." Akikta's slumber was disturbed by a sudden voice. He was too disoriented to recognize who spoke. His eyes slowly drifted open as the first thing to greet him was the frozen glass of his pod door. "Authentication... All systems nominal. Releasing cryogenic chamber number 7." the voice announced, which made Akikta wake up faster. The pod door hissed as it opened. Akikta's body felt stiff as a board, which caused him to groan in slight discomfort. He twisted his body and gripped the mask his grandfather gave him tightly before he stepped out to stretch.

Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten he had taken his shoes off before he went into the pod, and he didn't wear any socks. When his feet met the freezing cold ground, Akikta's eyes widened as he began hopping around to find his shoes frantically. "Cold! Cold! Super cold!" Akikta blurted out. He saw his white patterned sneakers in a different corner of the room than where he had originally placed them. He figured one of his friends had moved them before they got into their pods, as it looked like they were just tossed around. With a quick stride, he hopped into his shoes and let out a sigh of relief. The cold was no longer assaulting the underside of his feet. "Thank goodness I didn't have to look for any socks." He said to himself. The room was dimly lit; finding socks here, especially if they were moved, would've been a nightmare while bouncing from foot to foot.

"Commencing biometric scan." Akikta perked up upon hearing that monotonous voice again. It sounded familiar. He couldn't remember why until he heard a faint noise in the background. It sounded like a printer printing away. From that noise alone, he recognized the AI speaking. Akikta was ashamed he had forgotten one of Alterna's grandest creations. "Scan complete. Welcome back, Akikta Akule Miles." The AI said in a tone slightly reminiscent of enthusiasm.

"Hey, Orca!" Akikta responded happily. The Omniscient Recording Computer of Alterna was an AI designed to observe and record everything humanity did. It acted as a sort of digital historical library. The name, however, was a mouthful, so everyone just referred to it as O.R.C.A. With that mystery solved, Akikta stretched, popping a few of his bones in all the right places. Once he was done, he relaxed and focused on the other six pods that were still not opened. Akikta thought his friends must've gotten out already, but that made little sense to him as their doors would've been left open. Because of how dark the room was, he couldn't tell if anyone was in the pods. It didn't help that the insides of their pods didn't light up like Akikta's.

Akikta thought about opening them up himself, but he was afraid that might affect his friends somehow if they were still inside. So he assumed they were still in there, but chose not to wake them up. He turned to the door; it appeared no one had been in and out for a while, convincing him further that his friends were still asleep.

"Guess they didn't decide to come get me personally." Akikta pouted and huffed, slightly disappointed none of his family was there to greet him. The memories of his grandpa and older brother were still fresh in his mind as not a single minute had passed to him. But he didn't feel entirely as exhausted as he thought he would when awakening from a month-long nap. "Hey, Orca, was the launch a success?"

"Yes, it was."

A smile curled onto Akikta's lips as that meant he'd have news on whether the surface was habitable. He looked at the other six pods and decided he'd return later once they were awake. Out of excitement, he turned back to the room door too quickly, which allowed one of his eight black braids to smack him in the face. It startled him a little, as he didn't see it coming. In slight annoyance, he put the braid that hit him over his shoulder. Before stepping out, he adjusted his loose black sweatpants and fixed his short-sleeved t-shirt with the words "Alterna" plastered on the front.

After he felt he looked presentable, Akikta walked to the door but smacked right into it. It didn't open when he had twisted the knob. Confused, Akikta continued to turn the knob and push the door, only to realize something heavy was on the other side. "Really?!" Akikta shouted. Maybe his friends did wake up earlier than him and put something heavy in the doorway to prevent him from leaving easily. That was the most logical explanation Akikta could come up with, but he wouldn't let a mere barricade stop him.

He spent the next few minutes pushing and heaving against the door until he finally got it open enough to where he could shimmy out. Once free, Akikta discovered a piece of the hallway wall blocked the door. It had broken off from the rest of the wall and fell. It sent a wave of uneasiness over Akikta. "What the..." Akikta's concern grew when he saw the state of the hallway. There were many cracks in the walls and floors. Debris from the ceiling had broken off and littered multiple areas. Akikta hesitantly walked by everything, unable to understand why the outside of the cryo-pod room was in worse condition than the room itself.

"Father Axe? Chaska?" He called out for his grandpa and older brother but got no response. He continued to walk through the dark-lit hallways; the lights themselves barely worked as they flickered on and off. Akikta found himself on the balcony he and his grandpa often used to view a good chunk of Alterna, and what he saw disturbed him.

The viewable areas of Alterna were in ruins. Most of the lower levels had flooded with water, and the Spirit Lifter was replaced with a distinct blue rocket. The only thing that was the same to Akikta was the projections of the simulated sky. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he knew something terrible had happened here. "W-what could have caused this?!"

"The Spirit Lifter." O.R.C.A answered in a factual tone. This not only caught Akikta off guard, but confused him greatly.

"What- I thought you said the launch was a success?!"

More noises only a printer could make emitted before O.R.C.A responded. "Apologies, let me rephrase. The second launch, which took place about a month ago, was a success. The first launch, which you are familiar with, ended in total failure." That only confused Akikta even more. O.R.C.A referred to two rocket launches, but Akikta only remembers one launch ever being scheduled. Besides, if such an event happened, Father Axe, his brother, or even his father would've come to get him!

"Orca, stop messing with me!"

"Playing mischievous pranks on others is not something I am programmed to do. I merely record what I observe. And I observed the first launch ending in disaster." Akikta felt a lump form in his throat as his heart dropped. He gripped the blank-white mask even tighter before words left his mouth. Words he regretted asking.

"Orca...if...if what you're saying is true and the s-second launch happened a month ago...how long has it been since the first?" O.R.C.A waited to respond, which frustrated Akikta. Alterna looked to have been in ruins for quite a while. Clearly, more than a month had passed. He wanted- no, he NEEDED to know how much time had passed.

A few beeps filled his ears before O.R.C.A answered. "The first rocket launch occurred approximately twelve thousand and twenty-two years ago."

Akikta's body became shocked with paralysis after O.R.C.A broke the news to him in such a blunt manner.

"No..." His voice cracked as he backed up from the sight of a ruined and flooded Alterna. This had to be a sick joke, or maybe it was a nightmare. "W-we have to wake my friends up! Now!" Akikta demanded, stifling back sniffles as he was on the verge of tears.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." O.R.C.A responded without explanation.

"Why the hell not?!" Akikta choked out, it getting harder to not cry.

"Diagnostics indicate your pod was the only one which functioned properly throughout the twelve thousand and twenty-two years. The rest malfunctioned or ran out of sufficient power at some point in time. The occupants have been deceased for centuries." O.R.C.A explained, causing Akikta to drop the mask his grandfather gave him. This was definitely a nightmare. It had to be. He could believe nothing some AI spouted to him. Especially not something this severe.

Akikta ran through the halls, backtracking his way to the cryogenic pods with tears starting to dot the cracked floors of the hallways. He shimmied through the door and lunged at the closest pod. With all his strength, Akikta pulled and yanked at the door. A desperate attempt to open it proved fruitful as it easily came off.

Akikta pulled it back, about to open his mouth and wake up his sleeping friend. His eyes first noticed the bright red shirt on his friend's torso, a specific red shirt with the symbol of an octopus on the front. He knew who this shirt belonged to, his best friend, whose favorite animal was the octopus. Next, he noticed the skeletal remains wearing the bright red shirt. He knew who this skeleton belonged to, his best friend.

Akikta felt sickened to the core, but he couldn't throw up. His body took a step back, and then he abruptly lost feeling in his legs. He fell backward and smacked his head hard into the cold ground. The impact with the cold floor put Akikta into an unconscious state before he could vomit.