Chapter 9

After a week, I had pretty much worked out Drusera's "modes."

First, there was "mental projection mode." This was a Val exclusive where only I could see or hear her. That was her default mode. Whenever I was outside of camp, this was her normal mode. She'd float along with me while occasionally swooping off to look at anything that caught her eye, but never very far. She'd occasionally comment on things or give me a surprise kiss, but she generally tried to be unobtrusive while I was working. She just loved being with me. By the end of the week, she'd even occasionally make her robes vanish to flash me.

Then, there was "hologram mode" Visually, it was identical to projection mode. The only real difference was everyone could see her. She usually only used this mode around people she trusted, which meant Myala and her consorts, Blok, and me. She didn't mind being seen by others in camp if she was with me, but only showed herself if I asked unless I was with them, where she'd choose to show herself if she wanted.

Last was "Solid Hologram", her pseudo body. Usually, she only used that for me, or when she wanted to be held or touched. She hadn't created a completely organic body, but more like a very realistic doll that could feel everything an organic body could, but it didn't breathe, or eat. And sadly, her flower had no taste despite being more than sensitive enough for her to climax. Her limit for remaining in this form seemed to be around four hours before she needed to revert to intangibility. She occasionally looked on wistfully as I ate, or drank with Blok, but for the most part seemed to be ecstatic whenever we touched or had sex.

And I absolutely loved the crazy way her circuits flared during sex.

Her robes simply vanished when not needed, and she proved to be completely hairless, with the sole exception of her ears, otherwise, it seemed humans and eldan were almost alike in most ways. She'd yet to show her naked form to anyone but me, but was willing to let Myala fondle her occasionally when I was being petted. She didn't seem to mind even if the petting got intense from Myala, but she wasn't quite ready to have all out sex with Myala yet. She'd let Myala molest her to the point of orgasm without complaint, and she seemed to like Myala well enough, and appeared to be fascinated watching us have sex, so I think she just had performance anxiety.

She did mourn a bit about her lack of a sense of taste when I'd offered her my finger wet with Myala's nectar. I had hugged her and told her it was okay, once we freed her real body, she could taste anything she wanted. All we had to do was find out where it was.

On that front, Arwick had put out feelers during the council meeting, and it seemed a few hints that might explain Drusera had been found scattered around Nexus. Most of the world seemed to have been dedicated to a single overriding goal, the so-called Nexus Project.

Myala said there had been a huge uproar at the meeting after she'd told them about Drusera, but she'd quashed the demands that she be handed over by pointing out that she was both intangible and an Aurin citizen. Yaenna had giggled as she told me about the big smirk Myala had given the council when she had announced that.

And I was carrying an I.D. card for "Drusera Moonbreeze." Drusera had seemed so happy when I had explained that Moonbreeze was my last name. I carried it for her since she really couldn't. Her creation ability at present seemed limited to plants, and she couldn't affect anything else other than her robes. My sensor pack readings of her showed she possessed vast amounts of all six of the primal elements, not just primal life. But life seemed to be the one she used most easily. Myala suspected that was because she instinctively integrated with the weave. Given my minimal ability to sense the weave, I wondered why I had been the one she had chosen as her "one"

The one real clue I had so far was a dream I had the first night Drusera had slept with me. After she had faded in exhausted bliss, I had seen that immense golden room again, only this time, it seemed to be from Drusera's perspective. She was looking up at a figure curled up in a fetal position floating in the center of the chamber. Details were hard to make out because of the overwhelming light, but having seen Drusera's nude form, I was positive it was her physical body.

I really wish I had gotten more information, but there was no way to tell where that room was. I couldn't even tell Drusera's real fleshtone. All I could really tell was that it seemed the floor was made of large hexagonal crystals that glowed. That, and a sense of oppression, like the light itself was pressing down on her.

How can a room so full of light seem so filled with darkness?

"SHE CANNOT SAVE YOU… SOON I WILL ESCAPE AND I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING, STARTING WITH HER…"

The voice was sourceless but menacing like the growl of great gears self destructing.

I could feel Drusera's fear and feeling of powerlessness, but also her brightly burning hope that fought against that overwhelming fear.

I woke to find Drusera curled around me shivering. I stroked her back as I held her tightly without a word. Gradually, the shivers stopped, and she burrowed deeper in my arms. I wrapped my tail around her too as I hoped I was comforting her. I wanted to reassure her, tell her it was okay but I was worried about her reaction. Did she know I had seen her in my dream? That she was in the state she was in seemed to indicate the dream was real. Had that voice been Him?

Regardless, it proved that we were linked on a far deeper level than the physical. She had subconsciously responded to my desire for her to manifest physically, and I'd seen her in so many dreams.

I didn't know why, but she believed in me. Deeply, viscerally, at a level that was beyond logic, beyond words. I was her One.

I would save her. I didn't know how yet, but I could do nothing else. This small innocent goddess needed me.

I had spent my life being wanted, being desired, being craved.

But I had never been Needed.

Eventually I fell asleep still holding her. I don't think she sleeps, but she was still in my arms come morning.

Since then, she had rarely left my side.

Like now, we were out scouting a path up the side of a mountain. Drusera was swirling and diving around me as I was investigating the easiest path to the top to place a Satcom. She seemed to be having fun playing in the air currents while checking on me frequently. As I reached the top, a grand vista spread out before me of vast fields, and far off, a massive floating Eldan artifact that appeared surrounded by a whirlwind that rigidly stayed in one spot. I put up the satcom and went over by the edge to take a break. As I sat there, looking at the massive artifact, Drusera dropped down to snuggle against my side.

"The focus of air." She said softly.

"Looks interesting."

"Dangerous."

"Oh?"

"Osiric lives there."

"Who's he?"

"The Primeval of Air."

"Ahh. So if that's Air, are there others?"

"There are. One for each element."

"What are they for?"

"To create me." She said it so sadly that I just put my arm around her and stopped asking questions.

We sat there for a time just looking out over the scenery, but finally I stood up and stretched. "Whelp about time I start looking for a way- wulp!"

Drusera had taken my hand and now I was floating next to her. She giggled as we swooped off the cliff and she led me on a merry dance through the air to finally land at the mountains base.

She bobbed in front of me with a smile as we held hands. I looked into her glowing eyes and gave her a huge grin. "Thank you for that."

We set off through a field of massive dandelion-like Whimfibers as we headed back home. 0000

The way back led us through Thayd, the exiles Main city on Nexus. Drusera was in personal mode as she didn't like the overwhelming attention she would get from all the non-Aurin in the city, and our guard detail was waiting for our return in the arboreal gardens on the far side of the city to escort us to the new burrow Myala had established in Sylvan Glen.

Which meant I was surprised when a grizzled old human called out to me as I was passing through the FCON outpost at Eastgate.

"Hey you, Miss White Rabbit!"

It had been a while since I had been addressed by my old treeporn name. so I figured it was some fan until I realized I recognized him. Dorian Walker, head of the Pathfinders and discoverer of Nexus.

And technically one of my bosses in the Explorers' Guild.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Walker?"

"You're the contact, aren't you?"

"The contact?"

"For the Genesis Prime."

Drusera drew close, clinging to my shoulder even though only I could see her.

"I'm not familiar with that name, sir."

"Guess Arwick hasn't briefed you yet. It's the eldan's name for your artifact."

I sighed. "She's not an artifact, sir. And she can hear you, so please don't be rude."

"She's here?"

"Yes sir, but she won't show herself with so many people about."

"That's fine, If she can hear me that's plenty good enough. I just wanted to tell her thank you."

"Thank you?"

"Yeah, she really saved my bacon when she showed up and pointed the way to Nexus. Much later and I'd have been a goner."

"I see."

"Yup. She sure startled the hell out of me just popping up on my ship the way she did, but I owe her one. Spent so many years having people call me crazy for believing that this world was real, and she helped me prove it. Do me a favor and tell Myala I'm behind her protecting the girl from the more excessive folk on the council will ya?"

"Certainly sir."

"Yeah, and keep your head down around Victor Lazarin. He's so focused on finding a cure for his people, I got no Idea what he might do. I know he's already asked Lucy to spy on you and got told off."

"I'll be careful."

"Good, good. Now Lucy may be his daughter, but she's got moxy. Told her dad off right proper. Her patients are not research subjects, she told him."

"Glad to hear it." And I was. Lucy often called me dumb bunny, but it was good to know she stuck to her ethics. I'd have to remember to thank her.

"Huh? Well, I'll be. It really is her. Bunny ears are new though."

Drusera had switched to visible mode for just long enough for Dorian to see her over my shoulder before reverting to private mode.

"Yeah, Myala gave em to her to represent her Aurin citizenship."

Dorian chuckled. "How bout that. Well, she looks cute with em."

He looked away as his name was called then turned back to offer me his hand. "I'll not keep ya any longer, miss. Take care now."

I shook his hand and then resumed my trek across the city. We arrived in Sylvan Glade about an hour later. Drusera was happy at being back in an Aurin controlled area and had been floating from flower to flower as we had been escorted back. Drusera and I now had our own home, a cute little bunny house directly opposite Myala's new burrow. Yaenna had strongly insisted that I remain close, even if I wasn't living in the harem with the consorts. As Yaenna was basically Myala's head maid, I'd utterly failed to resist her. Even if I'd technically left the Palace, it seemed the Palace was resisting mightily against my running too far.

Besides, most of the Aurin locals had gotten so used to seeing Drusera floating around me that they would call out greetings cheerfully to her. Drusera was still shy as could be, but she'd progressed so far in only a little over a week. That Aurin tended to be so welcoming in general as well as their awareness that Drusera had Myala's protection had made things go smoothly. The elders apparently also viewed her as a kind of avatar of the weave itself. Myala herself was the healthiest she'd been since we'd left Arboria. Between that artifact I had found, and being around Drusera, the weight of her crown's connection to the Mother tree back on Arboria wasn't draining her like it had before.

That had relieved a lot of the guilt I felt at still being somewhat of a mooch off Myala. She was still clinging on to me, but I was finally contributing to her wellbeing like a proper consort.

Drusera and I were cuddling when a knock came on the door. Drusera used to get so startled she would poof, but now she just looked towards the door curiously. I hopped up to answer it and invited Arwick inside.

"I heard you were scouting in Galeras today."

"Yup. Me and Drusera climbed the tallest peak there to put up a satcom. The data should be coming in soon."

"Thank you for that, there's several potential trouble spots there we need to monitor."

"Like the Focus of Air?"

"That's one of them."

"Be wary of Osiric." Drusera said softly, surprising us both. She rarely talked to anyone besides Myala and me.

"Humm" Who's he?"

I noticed the blue glow coming from Drusera's cheek and took over. "He's the Primeval of Air. Apparently, the Focus is his home. Drusera also said there's a Focus for each of the six elements."

"Which probably means there's a Primeval for each one too." He bowed to Drusera. "Thank you for telling us, Lady Drusera."

She blushed harder as she nodded.

"She said the Focuses were created to make her,"

"Ah. So, they were part of the Nexus project to create Genesis Prime."

"My name is Drusera." Drusera said softly, looking a little forelorn.

"Ah, My apologies Lady Drusera. Calling you by your project name is indeed rude. You are not merely a Eldan experiment."

I hugged her as she blushed softly at her own daringness. But I was happy that she'd had the courage to assert herself.

Arwick turned to me. "Sorry Val. That was crude of me. We've started finding a few details from various sources as well as the Caretaker. Mostly, just fragments and data entries. We are still trying to build a clear picture,"

"Yeah. It's a little traumatic for her. I don't think she has good memories of the project." Drusera shook her head.

"I shall be circumspect in my discussion of it then. Again, my apologies Lady Drusera."

She nodded. Her glowing eyes solemn.

"Well, if we learn anything else, I will let you know. We're currently getting intel that the

Dominion has encountered a deadly and virulent life form on the Isegrol continent."

Drusera's voice was so soft we nearly missed it. "The Strain…"

Arwick looked at her seriously. "The Strain?"

"They are his….creation."

Arwick heard the tension in her voice and didn't pry any further.

"We've also received a report of sighting a massive tower of pure exanite."

"No! You mustn't go there!"

The terror in her face was intense. Arwick sighed.

"Given your response. I will advise the council that plans to mine it should be cancelled immediately."

"You mustn't break his prison!"

Arwick looked troubled. "That makes this incredibly serious. There is zero chance that the Dominion won't attempt to mine such a massive amount of exanite. I shall have to advise the council of the danger. We will have to make preparation to defend it at all costs."

I nodded. "Breaking that tower might kill us all." I hugged Drusera tight.

"Let me guess. Is pure exanite a glowing white crystal?"

"Yes." The survey says they've never seen such purity or size of the exanite crystals."

"Doesn't matter what it's worth. What's inside destroyed the Eldan. We've got to figure out how to free Drusera from there without freeing him."

"That is impossible." Drusera said in a very small voice.

"I'll find a way."

Drusera trembled in my arms. "T-there is much you do not know." she whispered.

"It doesn't matter, Drusera. I will free you."

I held her tightly as she sobbed. I gave Arwick a look, and he nodded before quietly letting himself out. I held her tight as my tail stroked her back and in about ten minutes, she raised her tear-streaked eyes to mine.

"It is so strange,"

"What is?"

"So long as I am by your side, I cannot hear him. It is strange."

"Why is it strange?"

"He has always been with me. Taunting, threatening, tormenting. Everything I have created he has twisted and warped into his Strain. But when I am with you, he cannot reach me. I can create and he cannot touch it. I do not understand this strange power you possess."

"Just accept it then. I have no explanation. You don't need to understand it to enjoy it."

She nodded and buried her face in my hair as we simply stood there and existed for a while.