What does it mean when your lymph nodes are swollen behind your ears
There is a leak in my apartment ceiling and I think it's hiding a portal to hell.
2024.06.05 05:19 BadandyTheRed There is a leak in my apartment ceiling and I think it's hiding a portal to hell.
I hear the dripping again. The constant, drip, drip, drip of water. I blink my eyes open and try to focus to make sure I'm not in another nightmare. It sounds like another leak; this one might be the last. The last time I will hear it before the horrible conclusion to this ordeal. The last time hearing that telltale noise, before the true nature of that loathsome portal is revealed and whatever hideous dimension hiding on the other side breaks through completely.
The sound is growing louder, each drop has an exaggerated tone. It sounds like small explosions all trying to collapse the ceiling and engulf me in the dark abyss that I have already once been forced to endure.
I just can’t believe this could really be happening, it just can’t! It swallowed people up, the portal behind that damn leak. I don’t know what to do.
Just a short while ago my only problem would have been the water damage to my belongings. Indeed, such a mundane problem as a leak in the ceiling would just be a minor issue, nothing to fear except the repair bill. Yet I'm afraid it is a bit beyond that now. I shouldn't have waited this long I should have just left. Yet where could I have gone? Maybe I should have paid more attention to who I was talking to and what they were saying. All too late now I suppose.
I have been living in this apartment for close to six months. I had moved into this dingy complex, to a small studio apartment after I lost my job and had to find a part time position at significantly less pay. I tried to stay optimistic but even before the terrible reality of what I was stepping into was clear, I was still on hard times. I could barely afford this decrepit room as it was, and I had no family or friends to speak of that I might be able to move in with so my options were essentially non existent.
Considering the dire situation, I found the cheapest accommodation I could and what I found was my home and hell for the last six months, number 316 at the Greenfield Heights apartment complex. The amenities included paper thin walls to hear all the drug deals gone wrong, domestic violence and constant sirens of emergency vehicles blaring from all sorts of incidents. Topped off with a nice turn-down service of package and mail theft to boot. All of these problems though, feel small compared to the true horror of what the place had in store for me.
No, it wasn't exactly a paradise, but I had to find the cheapest place I could. I was barely making a fraction of what I was before at my old job, and I needed somewhere to get back on my feet. I told myself it was temporary and once I could get a better job I would get out of here.
When I had first arrived to look at the place, I had arranged a simple walk through with the landlord Mr. Jacobs a very unpleasant fellow who always looked perpetually angry and was constantly shouting in the halls and at the few miserable looking staff who worked here. We walked up two flights of stairs passing a wall of profanity laden graffiti tagged along almost the whole length of it leading up to where my future home was to be.
Mr. Jacobs opened the door and the rattling handle nearly fell off in the effort. We stepped inside and the dank room stank like a tomb. The tiny apartment was depressing and when he went to turn on the main light nothing happened. He scoffed and muttered a string of colorful language and grumbled that.
“Someone will bring a new light bulb; I told Rodney to check earlier that lazy piece of shit.”
I didn't want to press the matter since he looked pissed off, so we went in, and he showed me what little there was to see of the tiny apartment. We had to rely on the dim light of the bedroom to see elsewhere, since the main light was out. Despite leading the walk-through, it looked like Mr. Jacobs was distracted, he was looking at the ceiling in the corner of the tiny living room with a concerning grimace on his face.
He stared at it for a while and paused the tour, I found it a little weird. He finally looked back at me as if noticing that I was watching him stare at the ceiling and he shrugged and asserted that.
“You are going to want to get some buckets, when it rains heavily that part of the ceiling leaks. Can't seem to find out how since there's no leak on 416 above but bad luck on this one, I guess, that's the only reason the price is so low.” He shot me a grin that I could only describe as enthusiastically malicious. After the brief walk-through Mr. Jacobs turned around and asked very bluntly.
“You are not a troublemaker, are you?” His eyes narrowed and he looked very threatening suddenly. I assured him of my earnest intent and need for a place to stay, and he softened briefly, at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with him. He regarded me one more time and said.
“Good we don’t need more troublemakers, too many questions, always snooping around. If you have any questions try to figure it out yourself, this isn't the Ritz we don't take care of everything for you. You are going to have to make do as is. Something really bad like a fire then you can call, but for minor shit, best to just figure it out yourself. Rents due on the 1st by the way, no exceptions and no grace period anyone who bums out on their debt gets their asses kicked out next day, fuck tenant laws!”
He shot me another wicked smile and returned downstairs leaving me with the keys and just assuming I had agreed to move in. I was dumbfounded by the combination of his upfront hateful attitude and the subtext of certain things he had mentioned. What in his mind was a troublemaker? And what happened to those who asked too many questions? I couldn't believe I was going to have to live here.
In a better position I would have left immediately but it was either here or homeless. All the other places I had looked were too expensive, so I left and began packing my things. The whole situation was awful, but I had no choice, I moved in the next weekend.
Moving day was as bleak as my mood. It had been raining on and off again all day and seemed to start heavily just in time to when I was moving my boxes, almost as if to spite me. I started taking my stuff upstairs to my new room.
As I was taking the first box up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. I rushed on in nervous tension and as I was approaching my door, I heard a voice call out in a tone that was actually friendly.
“Excuse me, it looks like you dropped something.”
I was surprised to see a woman standing in the hall with a look of friendly concern. As I looked down to see I had indeed dropped something from the broken box I was trying to carry upstairs.
“Hi, I'm Maxine, I am your neighbor in 315.”
I introduced myself and was relieved to have found a friendly face for a change.
“Hey there, I’m Greg, nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and she looked uncomfortable briefly and declined the handshake.
“Sorry, I’m getting over a cold I shouldn't, but it is nice to meet you.” She said with another disarming smile.
I was relieved to see someone who didn't look they were minutes away from killing me or someone else. Though the paranoid part of my brain was begging the question why such a seemingly nice person was stuck here. I considered asking her but figured it would be rude to pry about her situation, she might have been like me and just on hard times. I was embarrassed when I realized I was just standing there after saying hello and stumbled for words, but she spoke first.
“Well, it was nice meeting you Greg, stay safe and try not to let your spirits get down. It’s easy in this place but nothing bad lasts forever.” She smiled and waved goodbye. I looked down to make sure the box was secure and when I looked up to say goodbye she was already gone. I wondered how she was so fast. Nevertheless, I felt slightly more hopeful that things might be okay after all.
Another hour of moving boxes and my knees were on fire but the meager possessions I had were finally stuffed haphazardly into the tiny apartment. I was dead tired, but it was only 4 pm. I figured I had earned a nap though and went into the tiny closet that was supposedly a bedroom. No furniture fit besides my old mattress that took up the entirety of the space.
I laid down and started drifting off, the peaceful sound of rain started to get heavier and then I heard a new sound which woke me from my doze. A tiny dripping sound coming from the main room. I remembered what Mr. Jacobs had said about heavy rain and a leak and I got up quickly to make sure the water was not landing on all my boxes and getting everything wet.
I looked up in the corner of the room and sure enough there was a steady dripping onto one of the boxes below. I poked around and found the dishes box and took out a few pieces of tupperware and a bowl and set one underneath the leak. I thought for a moment about calling Mr. Jacobs but then remembered how he had given up on fixing this leak and realized it would do no good. I turned around to go back to bed when I heard an odd tearing sound like wallpaper being stretched to breaking point. When I turned around there was nothing there. I figured it was just my nerves and I went back to bed.
I slept for about two hours and despite the brief rest I had a vivid nightmare of drowning in a dark lake with no shores on any side. It was horrible, just sinking into a black watery abyss.
I was embarrassed as I woke up with a scream, but relaxed as I realized it was just a dream and no one likely heard or cared that someone in 316 was screaming anyway. I figured the rain and that damn leak had got me thinking about water and my negative mood may have contributed to a nightmare, so I brushed it off and went about trying to organize the chaos of boxes in some logical manner for this small space.
Later that night I had a cup of ramen for dinner and turned in early. I read a bit before bed, almost as if trying to postpone sleep for fear of sinking into that fathomless abyss again when I slept. Eventually I started to get comfortable and thought I may fall asleep when it started again.
Drip, drip, drip.
The leak had resumed, it sounded faster than before, and I thought it was strange that I could hear it so vividly. I got up to see if maybe it had overflowed or something and I was not prepared for what I saw.
The ceiling where the leak was had an odd lambent light near the center, kind of like a black light. It seemed to be pulsing in time with the drops of water. There was an odd type of density in the air too, like it was too heavy and thick. It was maddeningly humid as well despite the cold atmosphere of the room and outside. I was confused and kind of scared by the bizarre display. I just kept thinking to myself it is only temporary, as soon as I can leave I will, I can make it through anything short term.
I took a step further into the living room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. There is no way it could be all the way over here, the bowl on the floor was not even full yet. I suspected a leak might also be over in this spot now, so I looked up and screamed out loud. There was what looked like a face pressing through the ceiling with drops of water seeping from the thing's mouth. I turned to run and tripped on the wet floor and toppled over bashing my head into a wall and almost losing consciousness.
I was trying to stagger to my feet after getting knocked senseless and the memory of the face reminded me of my peril. I got to my feet and looked up in tense expectation. There was nothing there. No leak, no face, no glowing shifting portal. The only evidence of anything was a small wet spot on the ceiling about nine inches across. At that point I thought for sure that depression over my situation was causing me to go crazy and see things. I desperately wished I could be somewhere else just then, but it was late at night, and I needed sleep. I couldn't afford a hotel obviously, so I left my room and went outside to the parking lot to sleep in my car.
Another week went by with poor work hours, barely any food and bad sleep. Though the one bright side was the surprisingly good weather. Days went by and no odd events took place in my apartment. It was a struggle but at least with a little sunshine there was no leak to conjure up such terrible nightmares like what I had experienced before.
I ran into Maxine again on the way to the laundry room and couldn't help but ask if she knew of anything having happened in my room before I moved in, like anyone having seen anything weird or the like. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down, pausing as if not wanting to answer.
“I'm sorry, I don't know much. I had not been here for very long when the last person in 316 had left. I say left but I heard there was an accident of some sort. There was a lot of commotion and I had heard some strange rantings from the man before it happened.”
She took a breath to steady herself after the stress of recounting the story and looked away.
“I was away at work when it actually happened, apparently he had been found dead in the apartment, some say he killed himself, drowning. From what I heard he was a bad man, there are a lot of bad men that live here. The things that have happened that never got reported and the people that got hurt or worse, well.....” She looked away sorrowfully for a moment and resumed.
“Well, you wouldn't want to know. A coward like that would try and kill himself but I think something akin to justice may have caught up to him, something that this place might need more of. When you live with the stain of hate and violence it leaves something behind and perhaps sometimes the world finds a way to wash it away and right the wrongs. Anyway, I don't like to think about it. I have to run I have to get ready for work, sorry I couldn't help more I hope you stay safe and stay dry, you wouldn't want to get swept up too.”
She turned a corner and I saw a fallen cardigan. I bent down to pick it up and it felt wet, like it had been washed already. Not too weird if she just did laundry but her footprints were soaking wet as well. I grabbed the garment and rushed round the corner shouting out.
“Hey Maxine, you dropped this.” But she was gone. The wet footprints randomly stopped as well. How did she stop leaving them if her feet were wet?
A few more months passed with no leaks and only a few nightmares. My luck turned sour again for different reasons though. I suffered a severe back injury at work. Since it occurred while working, I got some workers comp so I wouldn't lose all my income. I did have to take time off of work, so I was forced to stay in my apartment all day and night recouping. To make matters worse it was getting into the season for spring showers and the forecast was heavy rain for the next week.
I was not quite bedridden but walking and bending over was very uncomfortable, I considered taking a drive somewhere, anywhere but here, but I couldn't manage the stairs again today and I knew I at least needed to actually rest for one or two of my days off.
So I was stuck in the apartment, watching the clouds gather and the skies darken. I placed several dishes under the leak spot in anticipation and I swigged some energy drinks and coffee. I would rest but I disliked the idea of sleeping any more than I had to, since I still feared those disturbing dreams in the water.
I tried to distract myself by watching some old DVD’s since I had no streaming services to watch. As I started to relax around late afternoon, I was shocked back into a frenzied paranoia when the storm kicked up in intensity and knocked the power out. I tried not to panic and knew I had some candles or a flashlight or two somewhere. I would have to get up though so I figured I would stay in the bedroom. I used my phone flashlight to find a candle and matches and hurried back to the bedroom just as the leak restarted and the drip, drip, drip was heard filling the bowls left out. I felt silly fleeing the leak like it was dangerous, I didn't know why that dream had affected me so much, but it felt wrong.
I sat in the dark and waited for the power to return but it did not, I fought sleep but even in my paranoid state I started to drift off. I was content that the door was closed at least, and it slightly muffled the sound of that constant dripping.
I awoke to the sounds of running water, the drip was replaced by a torrent that almost sounded like a waterfall. I was too afraid to move, but I had to see if my room was being flooded. I got up painfully and stepped down into ankle high water. Oh God this is bad, I thought immediately as I moved to the door to see what had happened, I heard a singular splashing noise, almost like someone stepping through the water.
My heart froze as I stopped just short of opening the door and focused on the sound. I heard the splashing again; it was definitely footsteps. I didn't know what to do I tried to think who might break in, a robber? Maybe it was about the flooding, maybe it was Mr. Jacobs after all?
I grabbed the candlestick and lit the candle. If I needed to, I might be able to use it as an improvised weapon, if it could be a murder weapon in clue then why not? I cautiously opened the door and there was a backwash of even more water on the other side, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled through the door, struggling in the cold water, I knew it was impossible, but it felt like there was a current running through it, like I was standing in the mouth of a river. I finally stepped past the door and into the living room and almost dropped the candle into the oddly surging waters. The sight before me was both amazing and terrifying. The water was moving, it was flowing into a whirlpool that was at the center of the room but as it neared the center it inverted and seemed to be spiraling out from the ceiling rather than the pooled water on the floor in a sight that blatantly disregarded all laws of gravity.
The spectacle was so amazing I almost forgot the footsteps I had heard and until they resumed. My gawking was broken, and I saw large bursts of water splashing toward me. I heard an ear-splitting cry like the wail of a banshee and suddenly the ceiling where the leak was coming from, and the current epicenter of the vortex started to glow and after a moment it turned deep red and a new horror occurred.
The face I had seen in what I had hoped was a nightmare before was back. The ceiling seemed to shimmer now, almost translucent and I saw the horrible features of a hideous form. White pupil-less eyes stared down at me and a gaping screaming maw began filling with water tinged with red? No, it wasn't water, it was blood. The vortex began spewing blood all across the room and as I turned to flee in horror I was wrenched from my feet by the invisible force in the water and dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of the vortex. My last conscious sight that night was being pulled up into my own ceiling and into the bleeding maw of that avatar of bloody nightmare.
I woke up in the black abyss. The water was still mixed with blood, but there were no creatures. I was somehow buoyant and floated along in the shore less sanguine ocean. I drifted along unable to sink or to fully rise up. After what felt like an hour of drifting, I heard splashing and all of the sudden the sound got louder and louder. I looked around and saw the source of the noise, bodies were falling from the sky into the bloody ocean. First a few, then dozens then hundreds. A literal storm of blood-soaked featureless bodies came crashing into the water. I tried to evade them, but I could not dodge them all and I was buffeted by the limp forms of countless bodies until I was pummeled below the surface of the water. I couldn't breathe and as I tried to surface one of the bodies grasped my wrist and opened its eyes. On its previously featureless face, it now had oddly pulsating white pupils and it burst what appeared to be stitching on its mouth in order to scream under the water.
The sight and shock of that horrible scene woke me and I realized I was laying on my back in my apartment again. The flood water was lapping at my face, and I was breathing in and choking on the water on the floor. I lurched up as soon as I regained control of my body, spitting water and gagging from the quasi drowning I had endured. The water looked normal, no blood from what I saw, but the water itself was not a delusion or some trace of insanity it was there.
It was a bad scene, tons of my things were submerged, and the water damage was extensive. Somehow it had risen to almost two feet high. I had to do something, I didn't expect much from this place, but this was a severe enough situation that the crotchety old bastard Mr. Jacobs was going to have to fix something whether he liked it or not or they would be getting a lawsuit in short order. I figured some lawyers would take easy cases they knew they would win with no retainer needed if they got paid more at the end. So, it would not be a bluff I was dead serious, I almost drowned in my own apartment!
I staggered to the door and managed to open it, draining tons of water out into the hall, but I didn't care, I just needed some fresh air. My back was on fire, but nothing would stop me. I heard a voice calling out to me, it was Maxine.
“Hey are you okay? I saw all the water and hadn't seen you around is there flooding there?”
She asked with an odd look, almost like she knew the answer but didn't want to let on.
“Yes there is, it is pretty bad actually I was just about to call Mr. Jacobs to do something about it.
”Greg....” She paused for a moment then continued.
“You didn't see anything in there did you? In the water? Like something or someone familiar?” I was confused by the specific nature of the question. I was put off and unsure how she knew I might have seen something.
“I am not sure what I saw, why do you ask?” I responded.
“No reason, just be careful it can be dangerous if you do. Don’t worry if it is not where you belong, you won't get pulled in forever. Just be careful though, you don't want to risk it.” A flash of morbid glee was evident on her face for a split second and then it was gone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Pulled in? How do you know about the leak? And if you do what's behind it?” I ask with mounting suspicion evident in my voice.
“You know Greg, in many cultures the path between the world of the living and the dead is separated by only the slightest barrier, often a literal or symbolic body of water. Whether the river Styx, the lake of fire, the waters reflected at the feet of a Torii gate, it is often just potent waters. Like all bodies of water, when they are contained somewhere there can be leaks. Sometimes the water is not the only thing that seeps out.” She stopped speaking for a moment and fixed me with an intent stare that made me feel very strange. I did not know what she was talking about? Was she saying that portal leads to some sort of afterlife? Like heaven or more likely in this case hell?
“Did you just say....” And she cut me off, saying.
“Oh if Mr. Jacobs finally goes over there to fix your ceiling let him know I had a concern I needed to express to him as well, it's been waiting for a long time.” She smiled again in a creepy way that disturbed me.
“Ah yeah sure I guess I can do that.”
“Thanks! See ya later and hope you feel better, those accidents can be rough best not sleep on your side and to drink lots of water, the right kind though.” She winked at me and departed, and I was at a loss for what just happened. How did she know I had gotten hurt I didn't tell her, and what was that thing about the right kind of water?
My anxiety about the situation was increasing and I was disturbed by Maxine’s questions too, maybe she was not so sweet and trustworthy after all. After far too long being ignored and dealing with the first sodden, now moldering cloths boxes and other personal effects Mr. Jacobs finally scheduled a time to drain the last remnants of water and do something more concrete about fixing the leak.
I was waiting patiently for his arrival and there was a loud banging at the door. I greeted Mr. Jacobs and he grunted at me and without looking at me walked past and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. He had an odd air of what almost looked like fear or concern on his face.
After he walked in another larger person in coveralls and holding a toolbox did as well. There was a large tarp or something that seemed odd to bring to this sort of job, it almost looked like a big sort of bag. They were both looking at the hole in the ceiling and Mr. Jacobs turned on a dime and stared me down.
“It’s just been water leaking down, nothing else right?” I thought the question was odd and I hesitated to answer since I was thinking of those vivid nightmares. I think he may have noticed that because his face sank, and he glowered at me looking significantly angrier and more dangerous than before. Before I could answer he shouted at me.
“What did you see?! Did something come out of the hole? Was it a person?” He looked manic and deranged, and I looked at the other man in the coveralls and he stood silent holding a sledgehammer that had appeared in his hand and watching the confrontation unfold.
“I....I don't know I just saw the leak, what is going on what do you think I saw? My neighbor asked me the same thing earlier.” Mr. Jacobs eyes narrowed.
“What neighbor? I haven't had tenants in 315 or 317 in over a year.”
I was confused, maybe I had heard Maxine’s apartment number wrong, but how could she be my neighbor if she was not in one of those. This must be some kind of mix up, I figured.
“My neighbor Maxine she said she lives in 315; I just saw her the other day and she asked if I had seen something as well.” At the mention of the name Mr. Jacobs face turned white.
“You said her name was Maxine!? She said that? You saw her?!” He was screaming at me asking more questions about Maxine like she was on Americas most wanted.
“What does she have to do with this? I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I admitted.
Ignoring my question, Mr. Jacobs began pacing and holding his hand to his head. The man in coveralls spoke for the first time.
“Jack, we have to go, let's find the body while the leak and portal are still here and dispose of the loose end.” I gasped at the admission of both a body and that I was apparently a loose end to some sort of crime.
“I fucking know, alright make it quick, we are going to have to do two so let's go before more people start coming home and we risk someone hearing.”
I fell back against the wall in shock as the large man hefted the sledgehammer and started stomping toward me. I was unarmed and injured; I didn't know what I could do but suddenly the lights went out again.
The door slammed shut and as the three of us stood there in stunned silence a slow drip began to trickle from the ceiling. Each drop splashing off of the low standing pool of water. The large man went to the door and tried to open it but to no avail.
“Jack what is going on?!” The man shouted to Mr. Jacobs.
“I don't know just use the hammer. Kill him and then bust us out of here. Or just give it to me and I will fucking do it.”
They were going to kill me!? I had to think of something quick, so I stammered out.
“Wait! I don't know what is going on you guys, you don't want to kill me I really don't know anything. Let's just get out of here before the water gets much worse, I think something bad is going to happen.”
As if on cue the dripping stopped and a torrent of water was disgorged from the hole in the ceiling, which now held a horribly familiar glow and was pouring a blood red liquid into the apartment. There was a giggle followed by a blood curdling screech and the man in the coveralls with the hammer was wrenched up off his feet and dragged kicking and screaming into the water. Mr. Jacobs and I both watched as his entire head was forced under the water by some unseen force, The man was being drown and as he looked like he might kick up a splash of water landed next to him revealing a brief outline of a female form the eyes were white and it had a horrible smile on its face. Its unnaturally long hand was wrapped fully around the man's throat and was effortlessly throttling him.
Mr. Jacobs saw something or someone he recognized in the violent mist and started sobbing and begging for mercy.
“I didn't mean to, please. It was an accident. I would have been locked up. I couldn't lose everything, I had to.”
I sat in stark terror as the falling water from the ceiling became a storm. The millions of droplets highlighted the attacker, her form was terrible yet oddly mesmerizing. She strolled along towards Mr. Jacobs who was grasping at the door handle and tugging uselessly at it. He reached for the hammer when he was pulled toward the figure by a moving tendril of bloody water.
“Just a little bath Jack that's all it won't hurt......much.” He tried to scream but his head was submerged in the bloody water. I saw the sentient waves of ruinous liquid grasp each of his appendages and tear him limb from limb in a bloody explosion.
I screamed and stumbled away wading through the water into my bedroom and desperately pulled on the window to escape that way. I heard splashing footsteps and a soft pretty tune being sung by an ethereal voice. Then I heard a giant crash and saw a portion of wall collapse along with more of the ceiling and the sight before my eyes almost drove me insane.
There was a vortex of bloody water sucking the maimed bodies of those men into the hellish portal where the leak originated and at the center was the bloody figure smiling at me and waving a hand as I finally got the window to budge and fall out. I stepped outside and tried to descend the fire escape, but the surface was too slippery, and I fell. I screamed and plummeted down and thought I would land on my head and die. Yet as I fell my descent slowed and to my shock and horror, I realized the rainwater was mixing with the water from my apartment flowing out of the window and I was being pulled back up into my room. I tried to scream but I felt water fill my mouth. At some point in the nightmare ride I blacked out again.
That was the last thing I remembered before I found myself here again. As I listen to the leak once more, I wonder if it could have all been a bad dream? The water, the leak, the portal it is all too much it couldn't have been real. I will go into my dingy living room and see the water dripping into the bowl and realize it was all just a terrible dream.
Yet when I sit up, I notice an odd breeze and when my eyes focus in the dark, I see lights in the sky........the sky?
The ceiling is gone! I don't know what is going on here, but I know I have to get out of here now. I hear splashing footsteps again over the ever-present dripping and see in the sky now the light of the monstrous portal opening in the very clouds above!
It is too much I leap from the fire escape again. Somehow in my mad haste I survive descending the fire escape and I sit here now writing this impossible story in my car that I have been living in nearly a week after the fact.
I heard on the news the reports of a structural collapse at my apartment and the landlord being unavailable for questioning, presumed missing along with another man who worked at the apartment as a special contractor. I thought about Mr. Jacobs and the man in the coveralls and shuddered when I remembered them being drawn into that unholy portal in the ceiling.
Apparently, it had not been the only disappearance in the building either. Around a year ago there was a missing person's report for a Maxine Valoroso. I remember how Mr. Jacobs reacted to her name, and it made me wonder what really happened here before I moved in.
I don't know who or what Maxine was, maybe she was the same person in the report, changed somehow. Best I can guess Mr. Jacobs had known something about her disappearance, maybe he had killed her and somehow, she came back for revenge. She mentioned the water washing away people's violent lives and I shuddered when I considered her smile when talking about the last person in 316 and the overdue message she had to send to Mr. Jacobs. I didn't know if she was a ghost, a demon or what. I also don't know the extent of her reach or if she is satisfied with just those men and who knows how many others she had washed away from that room with that dread portal.
I suppose it doesn't matter to me anymore I am never going back there. I gave all my belongings up for lost and the building was condemned anyway after the landlord disappeared and the ceiling collapsed in several sections of the building. I think there are are terrible things they will discover if they ever really investigate the building. Perhaps they will find bodies, perhaps the bodies are all gone, sucked into that watery abyss, that eldritch gate to hell whose opening started with a simple leak.
If something like that can happen I just don't know, I don't know if anyone is safe anymore.
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The sound is growing louder, each drop has an exaggerated tone. It sounds like small explosions all trying to collapse the ceiling and engulf me in the dark abyss that I have already once been forced to endure.
I just can’t believe this could really be happening, it just can’t! It swallowed people up, the portal behind that damn leak. I don’t know what to do.
Just a short while ago my only problem would have been the water damage to my belongings. Indeed, such a mundane problem as a leak in the ceiling would just be a minor issue, nothing to fear except the repair bill. Yet I'm afraid it is a bit beyond that now. I shouldn't have waited this long I should have just left. Yet where could I have gone? Maybe I should have paid more attention to who I was talking to and what they were saying. All too late now I suppose.
I have been living in this apartment for close to six months. I had moved into this dingy complex, to a small studio apartment after I lost my job and had to find a part time position at significantly less pay. I tried to stay optimistic but even before the terrible reality of what I was stepping into was clear, I was still on hard times. I could barely afford this decrepit room as it was, and I had no family or friends to speak of that I might be able to move in with so my options were essentially non existent.
Considering the dire situation, I found the cheapest accommodation I could and what I found was my home and hell for the last six months, number 316 at the Greenfield Heights apartment complex. The amenities included paper thin walls to hear all the drug deals gone wrong, domestic violence and constant sirens of emergency vehicles blaring from all sorts of incidents. Topped off with a nice turn-down service of package and mail theft to boot. All of these problems though, feel small compared to the true horror of what the place had in store for me.
No, it wasn't exactly a paradise, but I had to find the cheapest place I could. I was barely making a fraction of what I was before at my old job, and I needed somewhere to get back on my feet. I told myself it was temporary and once I could get a better job I would get out of here.
When I had first arrived to look at the place, I had arranged a simple walk through with the landlord Mr. Jacobs a very unpleasant fellow who always looked perpetually angry and was constantly shouting in the halls and at the few miserable looking staff who worked here. We walked up two flights of stairs passing a wall of profanity laden graffiti tagged along almost the whole length of it leading up to where my future home was to be.
Mr. Jacobs opened the door and the rattling handle nearly fell off in the effort. We stepped inside and the dank room stank like a tomb. The tiny apartment was depressing and when he went to turn on the main light nothing happened. He scoffed and muttered a string of colorful language and grumbled that.
“Someone will bring a new light bulb; I told Rodney to check earlier that lazy piece of shit.”
I didn't want to press the matter since he looked pissed off, so we went in, and he showed me what little there was to see of the tiny apartment. We had to rely on the dim light of the bedroom to see elsewhere, since the main light was out. Despite leading the walk-through, it looked like Mr. Jacobs was distracted, he was looking at the ceiling in the corner of the tiny living room with a concerning grimace on his face.
He stared at it for a while and paused the tour, I found it a little weird. He finally looked back at me as if noticing that I was watching him stare at the ceiling and he shrugged and asserted that.
“You are going to want to get some buckets, when it rains heavily that part of the ceiling leaks. Can't seem to find out how since there's no leak on 416 above but bad luck on this one, I guess, that's the only reason the price is so low.” He shot me a grin that I could only describe as enthusiastically malicious. After the brief walk-through Mr. Jacobs turned around and asked very bluntly.
“You are not a troublemaker, are you?” His eyes narrowed and he looked very threatening suddenly. I assured him of my earnest intent and need for a place to stay, and he softened briefly, at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with him. He regarded me one more time and said.
“Good we don’t need more troublemakers, too many questions, always snooping around. If you have any questions try to figure it out yourself, this isn't the Ritz we don't take care of everything for you. You are going to have to make do as is. Something really bad like a fire then you can call, but for minor shit, best to just figure it out yourself. Rents due on the 1st by the way, no exceptions and no grace period anyone who bums out on their debt gets their asses kicked out next day, fuck tenant laws!”
He shot me another wicked smile and returned downstairs leaving me with the keys and just assuming I had agreed to move in. I was dumbfounded by the combination of his upfront hateful attitude and the subtext of certain things he had mentioned. What in his mind was a troublemaker? And what happened to those who asked too many questions? I couldn't believe I was going to have to live here.
In a better position I would have left immediately but it was either here or homeless. All the other places I had looked were too expensive, so I left and began packing my things. The whole situation was awful, but I had no choice, I moved in the next weekend.
Moving day was as bleak as my mood. It had been raining on and off again all day and seemed to start heavily just in time to when I was moving my boxes, almost as if to spite me. I started taking my stuff upstairs to my new room.
As I was taking the first box up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. I rushed on in nervous tension and as I was approaching my door, I heard a voice call out in a tone that was actually friendly.
“Excuse me, it looks like you dropped something.”
I was surprised to see a woman standing in the hall with a look of friendly concern. As I looked down to see I had indeed dropped something from the broken box I was trying to carry upstairs.
“Hi, I'm Maxine, I am your neighbor in 315.”
I introduced myself and was relieved to have found a friendly face for a change.
“Hey there, I’m Greg, nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and she looked uncomfortable briefly and declined the handshake.
“Sorry, I’m getting over a cold I shouldn't, but it is nice to meet you.” She said with another disarming smile.
I was relieved to see someone who didn't look they were minutes away from killing me or someone else. Though the paranoid part of my brain was begging the question why such a seemingly nice person was stuck here. I considered asking her but figured it would be rude to pry about her situation, she might have been like me and just on hard times. I was embarrassed when I realized I was just standing there after saying hello and stumbled for words, but she spoke first.
“Well, it was nice meeting you Greg, stay safe and try not to let your spirits get down. It’s easy in this place but nothing bad lasts forever.” She smiled and waved goodbye. I looked down to make sure the box was secure and when I looked up to say goodbye she was already gone. I wondered how she was so fast. Nevertheless, I felt slightly more hopeful that things might be okay after all.
Another hour of moving boxes and my knees were on fire but the meager possessions I had were finally stuffed haphazardly into the tiny apartment. I was dead tired, but it was only 4 pm. I figured I had earned a nap though and went into the tiny closet that was supposedly a bedroom. No furniture fit besides my old mattress that took up the entirety of the space.
I laid down and started drifting off, the peaceful sound of rain started to get heavier and then I heard a new sound which woke me from my doze. A tiny dripping sound coming from the main room. I remembered what Mr. Jacobs had said about heavy rain and a leak and I got up quickly to make sure the water was not landing on all my boxes and getting everything wet.
I looked up in the corner of the room and sure enough there was a steady dripping onto one of the boxes below. I poked around and found the dishes box and took out a few pieces of tupperware and a bowl and set one underneath the leak. I thought for a moment about calling Mr. Jacobs but then remembered how he had given up on fixing this leak and realized it would do no good. I turned around to go back to bed when I heard an odd tearing sound like wallpaper being stretched to breaking point. When I turned around there was nothing there. I figured it was just my nerves and I went back to bed.
I slept for about two hours and despite the brief rest I had a vivid nightmare of drowning in a dark lake with no shores on any side. It was horrible, just sinking into a black watery abyss.
I was embarrassed as I woke up with a scream, but relaxed as I realized it was just a dream and no one likely heard or cared that someone in 316 was screaming anyway. I figured the rain and that damn leak had got me thinking about water and my negative mood may have contributed to a nightmare, so I brushed it off and went about trying to organize the chaos of boxes in some logical manner for this small space.
Later that night I had a cup of ramen for dinner and turned in early. I read a bit before bed, almost as if trying to postpone sleep for fear of sinking into that fathomless abyss again when I slept. Eventually I started to get comfortable and thought I may fall asleep when it started again.
Drip, drip, drip.
The leak had resumed, it sounded faster than before, and I thought it was strange that I could hear it so vividly. I got up to see if maybe it had overflowed or something and I was not prepared for what I saw.
The ceiling where the leak was had an odd lambent light near the center, kind of like a black light. It seemed to be pulsing in time with the drops of water. There was an odd type of density in the air too, like it was too heavy and thick. It was maddeningly humid as well despite the cold atmosphere of the room and outside. I was confused and kind of scared by the bizarre display. I just kept thinking to myself it is only temporary, as soon as I can leave I will, I can make it through anything short term.
I took a step further into the living room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. There is no way it could be all the way over here, the bowl on the floor was not even full yet. I suspected a leak might also be over in this spot now, so I looked up and screamed out loud. There was what looked like a face pressing through the ceiling with drops of water seeping from the thing's mouth. I turned to run and tripped on the wet floor and toppled over bashing my head into a wall and almost losing consciousness.
I was trying to stagger to my feet after getting knocked senseless and the memory of the face reminded me of my peril. I got to my feet and looked up in tense expectation. There was nothing there. No leak, no face, no glowing shifting portal. The only evidence of anything was a small wet spot on the ceiling about nine inches across. At that point I thought for sure that depression over my situation was causing me to go crazy and see things. I desperately wished I could be somewhere else just then, but it was late at night, and I needed sleep. I couldn't afford a hotel obviously, so I left my room and went outside to the parking lot to sleep in my car.
Another week went by with poor work hours, barely any food and bad sleep. Though the one bright side was the surprisingly good weather. Days went by and no odd events took place in my apartment. It was a struggle but at least with a little sunshine there was no leak to conjure up such terrible nightmares like what I had experienced before.
I ran into Maxine again on the way to the laundry room and couldn't help but ask if she knew of anything having happened in my room before I moved in, like anyone having seen anything weird or the like. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down, pausing as if not wanting to answer.
“I'm sorry, I don't know much. I had not been here for very long when the last person in 316 had left. I say left but I heard there was an accident of some sort. There was a lot of commotion and I had heard some strange rantings from the man before it happened.”
She took a breath to steady herself after the stress of recounting the story and looked away.
“I was away at work when it actually happened, apparently he had been found dead in the apartment, some say he killed himself, drowning. From what I heard he was a bad man, there are a lot of bad men that live here. The things that have happened that never got reported and the people that got hurt or worse, well.....” She looked away sorrowfully for a moment and resumed.
“Well, you wouldn't want to know. A coward like that would try and kill himself but I think something akin to justice may have caught up to him, something that this place might need more of. When you live with the stain of hate and violence it leaves something behind and perhaps sometimes the world finds a way to wash it away and right the wrongs. Anyway, I don't like to think about it. I have to run I have to get ready for work, sorry I couldn't help more I hope you stay safe and stay dry, you wouldn't want to get swept up too.”
She turned a corner and I saw a fallen cardigan. I bent down to pick it up and it felt wet, like it had been washed already. Not too weird if she just did laundry but her footprints were soaking wet as well. I grabbed the garment and rushed round the corner shouting out.
“Hey Maxine, you dropped this.” But she was gone. The wet footprints randomly stopped as well. How did she stop leaving them if her feet were wet?
A few more months passed with no leaks and only a few nightmares. My luck turned sour again for different reasons though. I suffered a severe back injury at work. Since it occurred while working, I got some workers comp so I wouldn't lose all my income. I did have to take time off of work, so I was forced to stay in my apartment all day and night recouping. To make matters worse it was getting into the season for spring showers and the forecast was heavy rain for the next week.
I was not quite bedridden but walking and bending over was very uncomfortable, I considered taking a drive somewhere, anywhere but here, but I couldn't manage the stairs again today and I knew I at least needed to actually rest for one or two of my days off.
So I was stuck in the apartment, watching the clouds gather and the skies darken. I placed several dishes under the leak spot in anticipation and I swigged some energy drinks and coffee. I would rest but I disliked the idea of sleeping any more than I had to, since I still feared those disturbing dreams in the water.
I tried to distract myself by watching some old DVD’s since I had no streaming services to watch. As I started to relax around late afternoon, I was shocked back into a frenzied paranoia when the storm kicked up in intensity and knocked the power out. I tried not to panic and knew I had some candles or a flashlight or two somewhere. I would have to get up though so I figured I would stay in the bedroom. I used my phone flashlight to find a candle and matches and hurried back to the bedroom just as the leak restarted and the drip, drip, drip was heard filling the bowls left out. I felt silly fleeing the leak like it was dangerous, I didn't know why that dream had affected me so much, but it felt wrong.
I sat in the dark and waited for the power to return but it did not, I fought sleep but even in my paranoid state I started to drift off. I was content that the door was closed at least, and it slightly muffled the sound of that constant dripping.
I awoke to the sounds of running water, the drip was replaced by a torrent that almost sounded like a waterfall. I was too afraid to move, but I had to see if my room was being flooded. I got up painfully and stepped down into ankle high water. Oh God this is bad, I thought immediately as I moved to the door to see what had happened, I heard a singular splashing noise, almost like someone stepping through the water.
My heart froze as I stopped just short of opening the door and focused on the sound. I heard the splashing again; it was definitely footsteps. I didn't know what to do I tried to think who might break in, a robber? Maybe it was about the flooding, maybe it was Mr. Jacobs after all?
I grabbed the candlestick and lit the candle. If I needed to, I might be able to use it as an improvised weapon, if it could be a murder weapon in clue then why not? I cautiously opened the door and there was a backwash of even more water on the other side, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled through the door, struggling in the cold water, I knew it was impossible, but it felt like there was a current running through it, like I was standing in the mouth of a river. I finally stepped past the door and into the living room and almost dropped the candle into the oddly surging waters. The sight before me was both amazing and terrifying. The water was moving, it was flowing into a whirlpool that was at the center of the room but as it neared the center it inverted and seemed to be spiraling out from the ceiling rather than the pooled water on the floor in a sight that blatantly disregarded all laws of gravity.
The spectacle was so amazing I almost forgot the footsteps I had heard and until they resumed. My gawking was broken, and I saw large bursts of water splashing toward me. I heard an ear-splitting cry like the wail of a banshee and suddenly the ceiling where the leak was coming from, and the current epicenter of the vortex started to glow and after a moment it turned deep red and a new horror occurred.
The face I had seen in what I had hoped was a nightmare before was back. The ceiling seemed to shimmer now, almost translucent and I saw the horrible features of a hideous form. White pupil-less eyes stared down at me and a gaping screaming maw began filling with water tinged with red? No, it wasn't water, it was blood. The vortex began spewing blood all across the room and as I turned to flee in horror I was wrenched from my feet by the invisible force in the water and dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of the vortex. My last conscious sight that night was being pulled up into my own ceiling and into the bleeding maw of that avatar of bloody nightmare.
I woke up in the black abyss. The water was still mixed with blood, but there were no creatures. I was somehow buoyant and floated along in the shore less sanguine ocean. I drifted along unable to sink or to fully rise up. After what felt like an hour of drifting, I heard splashing and all of the sudden the sound got louder and louder. I looked around and saw the source of the noise, bodies were falling from the sky into the bloody ocean. First a few, then dozens then hundreds. A literal storm of blood-soaked featureless bodies came crashing into the water. I tried to evade them, but I could not dodge them all and I was buffeted by the limp forms of countless bodies until I was pummeled below the surface of the water. I couldn't breathe and as I tried to surface one of the bodies grasped my wrist and opened its eyes. On its previously featureless face, it now had oddly pulsating white pupils and it burst what appeared to be stitching on its mouth in order to scream under the water.
The sight and shock of that horrible scene woke me and I realized I was laying on my back in my apartment again. The flood water was lapping at my face, and I was breathing in and choking on the water on the floor. I lurched up as soon as I regained control of my body, spitting water and gagging from the quasi drowning I had endured. The water looked normal, no blood from what I saw, but the water itself was not a delusion or some trace of insanity it was there.
It was a bad scene, tons of my things were submerged, and the water damage was extensive. Somehow it had risen to almost two feet high. I had to do something, I didn't expect much from this place, but this was a severe enough situation that the crotchety old bastard Mr. Jacobs was going to have to fix something whether he liked it or not or they would be getting a lawsuit in short order. I figured some lawyers would take easy cases they knew they would win with no retainer needed if they got paid more at the end. So, it would not be a bluff I was dead serious, I almost drowned in my own apartment!
I staggered to the door and managed to open it, draining tons of water out into the hall, but I didn't care, I just needed some fresh air. My back was on fire, but nothing would stop me. I heard a voice calling out to me, it was Maxine.
“Hey are you okay? I saw all the water and hadn't seen you around is there flooding there?”
She asked with an odd look, almost like she knew the answer but didn't want to let on.
“Yes there is, it is pretty bad actually I was just about to call Mr. Jacobs to do something about it.
”Greg....” She paused for a moment then continued.
“You didn't see anything in there did you? In the water? Like something or someone familiar?” I was confused by the specific nature of the question. I was put off and unsure how she knew I might have seen something.
“I am not sure what I saw, why do you ask?” I responded.
“No reason, just be careful it can be dangerous if you do. Don’t worry if it is not where you belong, you won't get pulled in forever. Just be careful though, you don't want to risk it.” A flash of morbid glee was evident on her face for a split second and then it was gone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Pulled in? How do you know about the leak? And if you do what's behind it?” I ask with mounting suspicion evident in my voice.
“You know Greg, in many cultures the path between the world of the living and the dead is separated by only the slightest barrier, often a literal or symbolic body of water. Whether the river Styx, the lake of fire, the waters reflected at the feet of a Torii gate, it is often just potent waters. Like all bodies of water, when they are contained somewhere there can be leaks. Sometimes the water is not the only thing that seeps out.” She stopped speaking for a moment and fixed me with an intent stare that made me feel very strange. I did not know what she was talking about? Was she saying that portal leads to some sort of afterlife? Like heaven or more likely in this case hell?
“Did you just say....” And she cut me off, saying.
“Oh if Mr. Jacobs finally goes over there to fix your ceiling let him know I had a concern I needed to express to him as well, it's been waiting for a long time.” She smiled again in a creepy way that disturbed me.
“Ah yeah sure I guess I can do that.”
“Thanks! See ya later and hope you feel better, those accidents can be rough best not sleep on your side and to drink lots of water, the right kind though.” She winked at me and departed, and I was at a loss for what just happened. How did she know I had gotten hurt I didn't tell her, and what was that thing about the right kind of water?
My anxiety about the situation was increasing and I was disturbed by Maxine’s questions too, maybe she was not so sweet and trustworthy after all. After far too long being ignored and dealing with the first sodden, now moldering cloths boxes and other personal effects Mr. Jacobs finally scheduled a time to drain the last remnants of water and do something more concrete about fixing the leak.
I was waiting patiently for his arrival and there was a loud banging at the door. I greeted Mr. Jacobs and he grunted at me and without looking at me walked past and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. He had an odd air of what almost looked like fear or concern on his face.
After he walked in another larger person in coveralls and holding a toolbox did as well. There was a large tarp or something that seemed odd to bring to this sort of job, it almost looked like a big sort of bag. They were both looking at the hole in the ceiling and Mr. Jacobs turned on a dime and stared me down.
“It’s just been water leaking down, nothing else right?” I thought the question was odd and I hesitated to answer since I was thinking of those vivid nightmares. I think he may have noticed that because his face sank, and he glowered at me looking significantly angrier and more dangerous than before. Before I could answer he shouted at me.
“What did you see?! Did something come out of the hole? Was it a person?” He looked manic and deranged, and I looked at the other man in the coveralls and he stood silent holding a sledgehammer that had appeared in his hand and watching the confrontation unfold.
“I....I don't know I just saw the leak, what is going on what do you think I saw? My neighbor asked me the same thing earlier.” Mr. Jacobs eyes narrowed.
“What neighbor? I haven't had tenants in 315 or 317 in over a year.”
I was confused, maybe I had heard Maxine’s apartment number wrong, but how could she be my neighbor if she was not in one of those. This must be some kind of mix up, I figured.
“My neighbor Maxine she said she lives in 315; I just saw her the other day and she asked if I had seen something as well.” At the mention of the name Mr. Jacobs face turned white.
“You said her name was Maxine!? She said that? You saw her?!” He was screaming at me asking more questions about Maxine like she was on Americas most wanted.
“What does she have to do with this? I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I admitted.
Ignoring my question, Mr. Jacobs began pacing and holding his hand to his head. The man in coveralls spoke for the first time.
“Jack, we have to go, let's find the body while the leak and portal are still here and dispose of the loose end.” I gasped at the admission of both a body and that I was apparently a loose end to some sort of crime.
“I fucking know, alright make it quick, we are going to have to do two so let's go before more people start coming home and we risk someone hearing.”
I fell back against the wall in shock as the large man hefted the sledgehammer and started stomping toward me. I was unarmed and injured; I didn't know what I could do but suddenly the lights went out again.
The door slammed shut and as the three of us stood there in stunned silence a slow drip began to trickle from the ceiling. Each drop splashing off of the low standing pool of water. The large man went to the door and tried to open it but to no avail.
“Jack what is going on?!” The man shouted to Mr. Jacobs.
“I don't know just use the hammer. Kill him and then bust us out of here. Or just give it to me and I will fucking do it.”
They were going to kill me!? I had to think of something quick, so I stammered out.
“Wait! I don't know what is going on you guys, you don't want to kill me I really don't know anything. Let's just get out of here before the water gets much worse, I think something bad is going to happen.”
As if on cue the dripping stopped and a torrent of water was disgorged from the hole in the ceiling, which now held a horribly familiar glow and was pouring a blood red liquid into the apartment. There was a giggle followed by a blood curdling screech and the man in the coveralls with the hammer was wrenched up off his feet and dragged kicking and screaming into the water. Mr. Jacobs and I both watched as his entire head was forced under the water by some unseen force, The man was being drown and as he looked like he might kick up a splash of water landed next to him revealing a brief outline of a female form the eyes were white and it had a horrible smile on its face. Its unnaturally long hand was wrapped fully around the man's throat and was effortlessly throttling him.
Mr. Jacobs saw something or someone he recognized in the violent mist and started sobbing and begging for mercy.
“I didn't mean to, please. It was an accident. I would have been locked up. I couldn't lose everything, I had to.”
I sat in stark terror as the falling water from the ceiling became a storm. The millions of droplets highlighted the attacker, her form was terrible yet oddly mesmerizing. She strolled along towards Mr. Jacobs who was grasping at the door handle and tugging uselessly at it. He reached for the hammer when he was pulled toward the figure by a moving tendril of bloody water.
“Just a little bath Jack that's all it won't hurt......much.” He tried to scream but his head was submerged in the bloody water. I saw the sentient waves of ruinous liquid grasp each of his appendages and tear him limb from limb in a bloody explosion.
I screamed and stumbled away wading through the water into my bedroom and desperately pulled on the window to escape that way. I heard splashing footsteps and a soft pretty tune being sung by an ethereal voice. Then I heard a giant crash and saw a portion of wall collapse along with more of the ceiling and the sight before my eyes almost drove me insane.
There was a vortex of bloody water sucking the maimed bodies of those men into the hellish portal where the leak originated and at the center was the bloody figure smiling at me and waving a hand as I finally got the window to budge and fall out. I stepped outside and tried to descend the fire escape, but the surface was too slippery, and I fell. I screamed and plummeted down and thought I would land on my head and die. Yet as I fell my descent slowed and to my shock and horror, I realized the rainwater was mixing with the water from my apartment flowing out of the window and I was being pulled back up into my room. I tried to scream but I felt water fill my mouth. At some point in the nightmare ride I blacked out again.
That was the last thing I remembered before I found myself here again. As I listen to the leak once more, I wonder if it could have all been a bad dream? The water, the leak, the portal it is all too much it couldn't have been real. I will go into my dingy living room and see the water dripping into the bowl and realize it was all just a terrible dream.
Yet when I sit up, I notice an odd breeze and when my eyes focus in the dark, I see lights in the sky........the sky?
The ceiling is gone! I don't know what is going on here, but I know I have to get out of here now. I hear splashing footsteps again over the ever-present dripping and see in the sky now the light of the monstrous portal opening in the very clouds above!
It is too much I leap from the fire escape again. Somehow in my mad haste I survive descending the fire escape and I sit here now writing this impossible story in my car that I have been living in nearly a week after the fact.
I heard on the news the reports of a structural collapse at my apartment and the landlord being unavailable for questioning, presumed missing along with another man who worked at the apartment as a special contractor. I thought about Mr. Jacobs and the man in the coveralls and shuddered when I remembered them being drawn into that unholy portal in the ceiling.
Apparently, it had not been the only disappearance in the building either. Around a year ago there was a missing person's report for a Maxine Valoroso. I remember how Mr. Jacobs reacted to her name, and it made me wonder what really happened here before I moved in.
I don't know who or what Maxine was, maybe she was the same person in the report, changed somehow. Best I can guess Mr. Jacobs had known something about her disappearance, maybe he had killed her and somehow, she came back for revenge. She mentioned the water washing away people's violent lives and I shuddered when I considered her smile when talking about the last person in 316 and the overdue message she had to send to Mr. Jacobs. I didn't know if she was a ghost, a demon or what. I also don't know the extent of her reach or if she is satisfied with just those men and who knows how many others she had washed away from that room with that dread portal.
I suppose it doesn't matter to me anymore I am never going back there. I gave all my belongings up for lost and the building was condemned anyway after the landlord disappeared and the ceiling collapsed in several sections of the building. I think there are are terrible things they will discover if they ever really investigate the building. Perhaps they will find bodies, perhaps the bodies are all gone, sucked into that watery abyss, that eldritch gate to hell whose opening started with a simple leak.
If something like that can happen I just don't know, I don't know if anyone is safe anymore.
2024.06.05 04:24 BadandyTheRed There is a leak in my apartment ceiling and I think it is hiding a portal to hell.
I hear the dripping again. The constant, drip, drip, drip of water. I blink my eyes open and try to focus to make sure I am not in another nightmare. It sounds like another leak; this one might be the last. The last time I will hear the leak before the horrible conclusion to this ordeal. The last time hearing that telltale noise, before the true nature of that loathsome portal is revealed and whatever hideous dimension hiding on the other side breaks through completely.
The sound is growing louder, each drop has an exaggerated tone. It sounds like small explosions all trying to collapse that ceiling and engulf me in the dark abyss that I have already once, mistakenly glimpsed at.
No, it just can’t be real, it can’t! It swallowed people up, the portal behind that damn leak. I don’t know what to do so I will lay out the facts and how I got to this point in this account, and you will see what I have experienced, you will see too that it can’t be real, it has to just be a bad trip or some hallucination. I will tell you, it's not like I can just leave I have nowhere else to go, it’s just a leak.
Just a short while ago my only problem would have been the water damage to my belongings. Indeed, such a mundane problem as a leak in the ceiling would just be a minor issue, nothing to fear except the repair bill. Yet I'm afraid it is a bit beyond that now. I shouldn't have waited this long I should have just left. Yet where could I have gone? Maybe I should have paid more attention to who I was talking to and what they were saying. All too late now I suppose.
I have been living in this apartment for close to six months. I had moved into this dingy complex, to a small studio apartment after I lost my job and had to find a part time position at significantly less pay. I tried to stay optimistic but even before the terrible reality of what I was stepping into was clear, I was still on hard times. I could barely afford this decrepit room as it was, and I had no family or friends to speak of that I might be able to move in with so my options were essentially non existent.
Considering the dire situation, I found the cheapest accommodation I could and what I found was my home and hell for the last six months, number 316 at the Greenfield Heights apartment complex. The amenities included paper thin walls to hear all the drug deals gone wrong, domestic violence and constant sirens of emergency vehicles blaring from all sorts of incidents. Topped off with a nice turn-down service of package and mail theft to boot. All of these problems though, feel small compared to the true horror of what the place had in store for me.
No, it wasn't exactly a paradise, but I had to find the cheapest place I could. I was barely making a fraction of what I was before at my old job, and I needed somewhere to get back on my feet. I told myself it was temporary and once I could get a better job I would get out of here.
When I had first arrived to look at the place, I had arranged a simple walk through with the landlord Mr. Jacobs a very unpleasant fellow who always looked perpetually angry and was constantly shouting in the halls and at the few miserable looking staff who worked here. We walked up two flights of stairs passing a wall of profanity laden graffiti tagged along almost the whole length of it leading up to where my future home was to be.
Mr. Jacobs opened the door and the rattling handle nearly fell off in the effort. We stepped inside and the dank room stank like a tomb. The tiny apartment was depressing and when he went to turn on the main light nothing happened. He scoffed and muttered a string of colorful language and grumbled that.
“Someone will bring a new light bulb; I told Rodney to check earlier that lazy piece of shit.”
I didn't want to press the matter since he looked pissed off, so we went in, and he showed me what little there was to see of the tiny apartment. We had to rely on the dim light of the bedroom to see elsewhere, since the main light was out. Despite leading the walk-through, it looked like Mr. Jacobs was distracted, he was looking at the ceiling in the corner of the tiny living room with a concerning grimace on his face.
He stared at it for a while and paused the tour, I found it a little weird. He finally looked back at me as if noticing that I was watching him stare at the ceiling and he shrugged and asserted that.
“You are going to want to get some buckets, when it rains heavily that part of the celling leaks. Can't seem to find out how since there's no leak on 416 above but bad luck on this one, I guess, that's the only reason the price is so low.” He shot me a grin that I could only describe as enthusiastically malicious. After the brief walk-through Mr. Jacobs turned around and asked very bluntly.
“You are not a troublemaker, are you?” His eyes narrowed and he looked very threatening suddenly. I assured him of my earnest intent and need for a place to stay, and he softened briefly, at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with him. He regarded me one more time and said.
“Good we don’t need more troublemakers, too many questions, always snooping around. If you have any questions try to figure it out yourself, this isn't the Ritz we don't take care of everything for you. You are going to have to make do as is. Something really bad like a fire then you can call, but for minor shit, best to just figure it out yourself. Rents due on the 1st by the way, no exceptions and no grace period anyone who bums out on their debt gets their asses kicked out next day, fuck tenant laws!”
He shot me another wicked smile and returned downstairs leaving me with the keys and just assuming I had agreed to move in. I was dumbfounded by the combination of his upfront hateful attitude and the subtext of certain things he had mentioned. What in his mind was a troublemaker? And what happened to those who asked too many questions? I couldn't believe I was going to have to live here.
In a better position I would have left immediately but it was either here or homeless. All the other places I had looked were too expensive, so I left and began packing my things. The whole situation was awful, but I had no choice, I moved in the next weekend.
Moving day was as bleak as my mood. It had been raining on and off again all day and seemed to start heavily just in time to when I was moving my boxes, almost as if to spite me. I started taking my stuff upstairs to my new room.
As I was taking the first box up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. I rushed on in nervous tension and as I was approaching my door, I heard a voice call out in a tone that was actually friendly.
“Excuse me, it looks like you dropped something.”
I was surprised to see a woman standing in the hall with a look of friendly concern. As I looked down to see I had indeed dropped something from the broken box I was trying to carry upstairs.
“Hi, I'm Maxine, I am your neighbor in 315.”
I introduced myself and was relieved to have found a friendly face for a change.
“Hey there, I’m Greg, nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and she looked uncomfortable briefly and declined the handshake.
“Sorry, I’m getting over a cold I shouldn't, but it is nice to meet you.” She said with another disarming smile.
I was relieved to see someone who didn't look they were minutes away from killing me or someone else. Though the paranoid part of my brain was begging the question why such a seemingly nice person was stuck here. I considered asking her but figured it would be rude to pry about her situation, she might have been like me and just on hard times. I was embarrassed when I realized I was just standing there after saying hello and stumbled for words, but she spoke first.
“Well, it was nice meeting you Greg, stay safe and try not to let your spirits get down. It’s easy in this place but nothing bad lasts forever.” She smiled and waved goodbye. I looked down to make sure the box was secure and when I looked up to say goodbye she was already gone. I wondered how she was so fast. Nevertheless, I felt slightly more hopeful that things might be okay after all.
Another hour of moving boxes and my knees were on fire but the meager possessions I had were finally stuffed haphazardly into the tiny apartment. I was dead tired, but it was only 4 pm. I figured I had earned a nap though and went into the tiny closet that was supposedly a bedroom. No furniture fit besides my old mattress that took up the entirety of the space.
I laid down and started drifting off, the peaceful sound of rain started to get heavier and then I heard a new sound which woke me from my doze. A tiny dripping sound coming from the main room. I remembered what Mr. Jacobs had said about heavy rain and a leak and I got up quickly to make sure the water was not landing on all my boxes and getting everything wet.
I looked up in the corner of the room and sure enough there was a steady dripping onto one of the boxes below. I poked around and found the dishes box and took out a few pieces of tupperware and a bowl and set one underneath the leak. I thought for a moment about calling Mr. Jacobs but then remembered how he had given up on fixing this leak and realized it would do no good. I turned around to go back to bed when I heard an odd tearing sound like wallpaper being stretched to breaking point. When I turned around there was nothing there. I figured it was just my nerves and I went back to bed.
I slept for about two hours and despite the brief rest I had a vivid nightmare of drowning in a dark lake with no shores on any side. It was horrible, just sinking into a black watery abyss.
I was embarrassed as I woke up with a scream, but relaxed as I realized it was just a dream and no one likely heard or cared that someone in 316 was screaming anyway. I figured the rain and that damn leak had got me thinking about water and my negative mood may have contributed to a nightmare, so I brushed it off and went about trying to organize the chaos of boxes in some logical manner for this small space.
Later that night I had a cup of ramen for dinner and turned in early. I read a bit before bed, almost as if trying to postpone sleep for fear of sinking into that fathomless abyss again when I slept. Eventually I started to get comfortable and thought I may fall asleep when it started again.
Drip, drip, drip.
The leak had resumed, it sounded faster than before, and I thought it was strange that I could hear it so vividly. I got up to see if maybe it had overflowed or something and I was not prepared for what I saw.
The ceiling where the leak was had an odd lambent light near the center, kind of like a black light. It seemed to be pulsing in time with the drops of water. There was an odd type of density in the air too, like it was too heavy and thick. It was maddeningly humid as well despite the cold atmosphere of the room and outside. I was confused and kind of scared by the bizarre display. I just kept thinking to myself it is only temporary, as soon as I can leave I will, I can make it through anything short term.
I took a step further into the living room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. There is no way it could be all the way over here, the bowl on the floor was not even full yet. I suspected a leak might also be over in this spot now, so I looked up and screamed out loud. There was what looked like a face pressing through the ceiling with drops of water seeping from the thing's mouth. I turned to run and tripped on the wet floor and toppled over bashing my head into a wall and almost losing consciousness.
I was trying to stagger to my feet after getting knocked senseless and the memory of the face reminded me of my peril. I got to my feet and looked up in tense expectation. There was nothing there. No leak, no face, no glowing shifting portal. The only evidence of anything was a small wet spot on the ceiling about nine inches across. At that point I thought for sure that depression over my situation was causing me to go crazy and see things. I desperately wished I could be somewhere else just then, but it was late at night, and I needed sleep. I couldn't afford a hotel obviously, so I left my room and went outside to the parking lot to sleep in my car.
Another week went by with poor work hours, barely any food and bad sleep. Though the one bright side was the surprisingly good weather. Days went by and no odd events took place in my apartment. It was a struggle but at least with a little sunshine there was no leak to conjure up such terrible nightmares like what I had experienced before.
I ran into Maxine again on the way to the laundry room and couldn't help but ask if she knew of anything having happened in my room before I moved in, like anyone having seen anything weird or the like. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down, pausing as if not wanting to answer.
“I'm sorry, I don't know much. I had not been here for very long when the last person in 316 had left. I say left but I heard there was an accident of some sort. There was a lot of commotion and I had heard some strange rantings from the man before it happened.”
She took a breath to steady herself after the stress of recounting the story and looked away.
“I was away at work when it actually happened, apparently he had been found dead in the apartment, some say he killed himself, drowning. From what I heard he was a bad man, there are a lot of bad men that live here. The things that have happened that never got reported and the people that got hurt or worse, well.....” She looked away sorrowfully for a moment and resumed.
“Well, you wouldn't want to know. A coward like that would try and kill himself but I think something akin to justice may have caught up to him, something that this place might need more of. When you live with the stain of hate and violence it leaves something behind and perhaps sometimes the world finds a way to wash it away and right the wrongs. Anyway, I don't like to think about it. I have to run I have to get ready for work, sorry I couldn't help more I hope you stay safe and stay dry, you wouldn't want to get swept up too.”
She turned a corner and I saw a fallen cardigan. I bent down to pick it up and it felt wet, like it had been washed already. Not too weird if she just did laundry but her footprints were soaking wet as well. I grabbed the garment and rushed round the corner shouting out.
“Hey Maxine, you dropped this.” But she was gone. The wet footprints randomly stopped as well. How did she stop leaving them if her feet were wet?
A few more months passed with no leaks and only a few nightmares. My luck turned sour again for different reasons though. I suffered a severe back injury at work. Since it occurred while working, I got some workers comp so I wouldn't lose all my income. I did have to take time off of work, so I was forced to stay in my apartment all day and night recouping. To make matters worse it was getting into the season for spring showers and the forecast was heavy rain for the next week.
I was not quite bedridden but walking and bending over was very uncomfortable, I considered taking a drive somewhere, anywhere but here, but I couldn't manage the stairs again today and I knew I at least needed to actually rest for one or two of my days off.
So I was stuck in the apartment, watching the clouds gather and the skies darken. I placed several dishes under the leak spot in anticipation and I swigged some energy drinks and coffee. I would rest but I disliked the idea of sleeping any more than I had to, since I still feared those disturbing dreams in the water.
I tried to distract myself by watching some old DVD’s since I had no streaming services to watch. As I started to relax around late afternoon, I was shocked back into a frenzied paranoia when the storm kicked up in intensity and knocked the power out. I tried not to panic and knew I had some candles or a flashlight or two somewhere. I would have to get up though so I figured I would stay in the bedroom. I used my phone flashlight to find a candle and matches and hurried back to the bedroom just as the leak restarted and the drip, drip, drip was heard filling the bowls left out. I felt silly fleeing the leak like it was dangerous, I didn't know why that dream had affected me so much, but it felt wrong.
I sat in the dark and waited for the power to return but it did not, I fought sleep but even in my paranoid state I started to drift off. I was content that the door was closed at least, and it slightly muffled the sound of that constant dripping.
I awoke to the sounds of running water, the drip was replaced by a torrent that almost sounded like a waterfall. I was too afraid to move, but I had to see if my room was being flooded. I got up painfully and stepped down into ankle high water. Oh God this is bad, I thought immediately as I moved to the door to see what had happened, I heard a singular splashing noise, almost like someone stepping through the water.
My heart froze as I stopped just short of opening the door and focused on the sound. I heard the splashing again; it was definitely footsteps. I didint know what to do I tried to think who might break in, a robber? Maybe it was about the flooding, maybe it was Mr. Jacobs after all?
I grabbed the candlestick and lit the candle. If I needed to, I might be able to use it as an improvised weapon, if it could be a murder weapon in clue then why not? I cautiously opened the door and there was a backwash of even more water on the other side, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled through the door, struggling in the cold water, I knew it was impossible, but it felt like there was a current running through it, like I was standing in the mouth of a river. I finally stepped past the door and into the living room and almost dropped the candle into the oddly surging waters. The sight before me was both amazing and terrifying. The water was moving, it was flowing into a whirlpool that was at the center of the room but as it neared the center it inverted and seemed to be spiraling out from the celling rather than the pooled water on the floor in a sight that blatantly disregarded all laws of gravity.
The spectacle was so amazing I almost forgot the footsteps I had heard and until they resumed. My gawking was broken, and I saw large bursts of water splashing toward me. I heard an ear-splitting cry like the wail of a banshee and suddenly the ceiling where the leak was coming from, and the current epicenter of the vortex started to glow and after a moment it turned deep red and a new horror occurred.
The face I had seen in what I had hoped was a nightmare before was back. The ceiling seemed to shimmer now, almost translucent and I saw the horrible features of a hideous form. White pupilless eyes stared down at me and a gaping screaming maw began filling with water tinged with red? No, it wasn't water, it was blood. The vortex began spewing blood all across the room and as I turned to flee in horror I was wrenched from my feet by the invisible force in the water and dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of the vortex. My last conscious sight that night was being pulled up into my own ceiling and into the bleeding maw of that avatar of bloody nightmare.
I woke up in the black abyss. The water was still mixed with blood, but there were no creatures. I was somehow buoyant and floated along in the shore less sanguine ocean. I drifted along unable to sink or to fully rise up. After what felt like an hour of drifting, I heard splashing and all of the sudden the sound got louder and louder. I looked around and saw the source of the noise, bodies were falling from the sky into the bloody ocean. First a few, then dozens then hundreds. A literal storm of blood-soaked featureless bodies came crashing into the water. I tried to evade them, but I could not dodge them all and I was buffeted by the limp forms of countless bodies until I was pummeled below the surface of the water. I couldn't breathe and as I tried to surface one of the bodies grasped my wrist and opened its eyes. On its previously featureless face, it now had oddly pulsating white pupils and it burst what appeared to be stitching on its mouth in order to scream under the water.
The sight and shock of that horrible scene woke me and I realized I was laying on my back in my apartment again. The flood water was lapping at my face, and I was breathing in and choking on the water on the floor. I lurched up as soon as I regained control of my body, spitting water and gagging from the quasi drowning I had endured. The water looked normal, no blood from what I saw, but the water itself was not a delusion or some trace of insanity it was there.
It was a bad scene, tons of my things were submerged, and the water damage was extensive. Somehow it had risen to almost two feet high. I had to do something, I didn't expect much from this place, but this was a severe enough situation that the crotchety old bastard Mr. Jacobs was going to have to fix something whether he liked it or not or they would be getting a lawsuit in short order. I figured some lawyers would take easy cases they knew they would win with no retainer needed if they got paid more at the end. So, it would not be a bluff I was dead serious, I almost drowned in my own apartment!
I staggered to the door and managed to open it, draining tons of water out into the hall, but I didn't care, I just needed some fresh air. My back is on fire, but nothing will stop me. I hear a friendly voice calling out to me, it's Maxine.
“Hey are you okay? I saw all the water and hadn't seen you around is there flooding there?”
She asked with an odd look, almost like she knew the answer but didn't want to let on.
“Yes there is, it is pretty bad actually I was just about to call Mr. Jacobs to do something about it.
”Greg....” She paused for a moment then continued.
“You didn't see anything in there did you? In the water? Like something or someone familiar?” I was confused by the specific nature of the question. I was put off and unsure how she knew I might have seen something.
“I am not sure what I saw, why do you ask?” I responded.
“No reason, just be careful it can be dangerous if you do. Don’t worry if it is not where you belong, you won't get pulled in forever. Just be careful though, you don't want to risk it.” A flash of morbid glee was evident on her face for a split second and then it was gone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Pulled in? How do you know about the leak? And if you do what's behind it?” I ask with mounting suspicion in my voice.
“You know Greg, in many cultures the path between the world of the living and the dead is separated by only the slightest barrier, often a literal or symbolic body of water. Whether the river Styx, the lake of fire, the waters reflected at the feet of a Torii gate, it is often just potent waters. Like all bodies of water, when they are contained somewhere there can be leaks. Sometimes the water is not the only thing that seeps out.” She stopped speaking for a moment and fixed me with an intent stare that made me feel very strange. I did not know what she was talking about? Was she saying that portal leads to some sort of afterlife? Like heaven or more likely in this case hell?
“Did you just say....” And she cut me off, saying.
“Oh if Mr. Jacobs finally goes over there to fix your ceiling let him know I had a concern I needed to express to him as well, it's been waiting for a long time.” She smiled again in a creepy way that disturbed me.
“Ah yeah sure I guess I can do that.”
“Thanks! See ya later and hope you feel better, those accidents can be rough best not sleep on your side and to drink lots of water, the right kind though.” She winked at me and departed, and I was at a loss for what just happened. How did she know I had gotten hurt I didn't tell her, and what was that thing about the right kind of water?
My anxiety about the situation was increasing and I was disturbed by Maxine’s questions too, maybe she was not so sweet and trustworthy after all. After far too long being ignored and dealing with the first sodden, now moldering cloths boxes and other personal effects Mr. Jacobs finally scheduled a time to drain the last remnants of water and do something more concrete about fixing the leak.
I was waiting patiently for his arrival and there was a loud banging at the door. I greeted Mr. Jacobs and he grunted at me and without looking at me walked past and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. He had an odd air of what almost looked like fear or concern on his face.
After he walked in another larger person in coveralls and holding a toolbox did as well. There was a large tarp or something that seemed odd to bring to this sort of job, it almost looked like a big sort of bag. They were both looking at the hole in the ceiling and Mr. Jacobs turned on a dime and stared me down.
“It’s just been water leaking down, nothing else right?” I thought the question was odd and I hesitated to answer since I was thinking of those vivid nightmares. I think he may have noticed that because his face sank, and he glowered at me looking significantly angrier and more dangerous than before. Before I could answer he shouted at me.
“What did you see?! Did something come out of the hole? Was it a person?” He looked manic and deranged, and I looked at the other man in the coveralls and he stood silent holding a sledgehammer that had appeared in his hand and watching the confrontation unfold.
“I....I don't know I just saw the leak, what is going on what do you think I saw? My neighbor asked me the same thing earlier.” Mr. Jacobs eyes narrowed.
“What neighbor? I haven't had tenants in 315 or 317 in over a year.”
I was confused, maybe I had heard Maxine’s apartment number wrong, but how could she be my neighbor if she was not in one of those. This must be some kind of mix up, I figured.
“My neighbor Maxine she said she lives in 315; I just saw her the other day and she asked if I had seen something as well.” At the mention of the name Mr. Jacobs face turned white.
“You said her name was Maxine!? She said that? You saw her?!” He was screaming at me asking more questions about Maxine like she was on Americas most wanted.
“What does she have to do with this? I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I admitted.
Ignoring my question, Mr. Jacobs began pacing and holding his hand to his head. The man in coveralls spoke for the first time.
“Jack, we have to go, let's find the body while the leak and portal are still here and dispose of the loose end.” I gasped at the admission of both a body and that I was apparently a loose end to some sort of crime.
“I fucking know, alright make it quick, we are going to have to do two so let's go before more people start coming home and we risk someone hearing.”
I fell back against the wall in shock as the large man hefted the sledgehammer and started stomping toward me. I was unarmed and injured; I didn't know what I could do but suddenly the lights went out again.
The door slammed shut and as the three of us stood there in stunned silence a slow drip began to trickle from the ceiling. Each drop splashing off of the low standing pool of water. The large man went to the door and tried to open it but to no avail.
“Jack what is going on?!” The man shouted to Mr. Jacobs.
“I don't know just use the hammer. Kill him and then bust us out of here. Or just give it to me and I will fucking do it.”
They were going to kill me!? I had to think of something quick, so I stammered out.
“Wait! I don't know what is going on you guys, you don't want to kill me I really don't know anything. Let's just get out of here before the water gets much worse, I think something bad is going to happen.”
As if on cue the dripping stopped and a torrent of water was disgorged from the hole in the ceiling, which now held an eerie lambent glow and was pouring a blood red liquid into the apartment. There was a giggle followed by a blood curdling screech and the man in the coveralls with the hammer was wrenched up off his feet and dragged kicking and screaming into the water. Mr. Jacobs and I both watched as his entire head was forced under the water by some unseen force, The man was being drown and as he looked like he might kick up a splash of water landed next to him revealing a brief outline of a female form the eyes were white and it had a horrible smile on its face. Its long-clawed hand was wrapped fully around the man's throat and was effortlessly throttling him.
Mr. Jacobs started sobbing, begging for mercy.
“I didn't mean to, please. It was an accident. I would have been locked up. I couldn't lose everything, I had to.”
I sat in stark terror as the falling water from the ceiling became a storm. The millions of droplets highlighted the attacker, her form was terrible yet oddly beautiful and she strolled along towards Mr. Jacobs who was grasping at the door handle and tugging uselessly at it. He reached for the hammer when he was pulled toward the figure by a moving tendril of bloody water.
“Just a little bath Jack that's all it won't hurt......much.” He tried to scream but his head was submerged in the bloody water. I saw the sentient waves of ruinous water grasp each of his appendages and tear him limb from limb in a bloody explosion.
I screamed and stumbled away wading through the water into my bedroom and desperately pulled on the window to escape that way. I heard splashing footsteps and a soft pretty tune being sung by an ethereal voice. Then I heard a giant crash and saw a portion of wall collapse along with more of the ceiling and the sight before my eyes almost drove me insane.
There was a vortex of bloody water sucking the maimed bodies of those men into the hellish portal where the leak originated and at the center was the bloody figure smiling at me and waving a hand as I finally got the window to budge and fell out. I stepped outside and tried to descend the fire escape, but the surface was too slippery, and I fell. I screamed and plummeted down and thought I would land on my head and die. Yet as I fell my descent slowed and to my shock and horror, I realized the rainwater was mixing with the water from my apartment flowing out of the window and I was being pulled back up into my room. I tried to scream but I felt water fill my mouth. At some point in the nightmare ride I blacked out again.
That was the last thing I remembered before I found myself here again. As I listen to the leak once more, I wonder if it could have all been a bad dream? The water, the leak, the portal it is all too much it couldn't have been real. I will go into my dingy living room and see the water dripping into the bowl and realize it was all just a terrible dream.
Yet when I sit up, I notice an odd breeze and when my eyes focus in the dark, I see lights in the sky........the sky?
The ceiling is gone! I do not know what is going on here, but I know I have to get out of here now. I hear splashing footsteps again over the ever-present dripping and see in the sky now the light of the monstrous portal opening in the very clouds above!
It is too much I leap from the fire escape again. Somehow in my mad haste I survived descending the fire escape and I sit here now writing this impossible story in my car that I have been living in nearly a week after the fact.
I heard on the news the reports of a structural collapse at my apartment and the landlord being unavailable for questioning, presumed missing along with another man who worked at the apartment as a special contractor. I thought about Mr. Jacobs and the man in the coveralls and shuddered when I remembered them being drawn into that unholy portal in the ceiling.
Apparently, it had not been the only disappearance in the building either. Around a year ago there was a missing person's report for a Maxine Valoroso. I remember how Mr. Jacobs reacted to her name, and it made me wonder what really happened here before I moved in.
I don't know who or what Maxine was, maybe she was the same person in the report, changed somehow. Best I can guess Mr. Jacobs had known something about her disappearance, maybe he had killed her and somehow, she came back for revenge. She mentioned the water washing away people's violent lives and I shuddered when I considered her smile when talking about the last person in 316 and the overdue message she had to send to Mr. Jacobs. I didn't know if she was a ghost, a demon or what. I also don't know the extent of her reach or if she is satisfied with just those men and who knows how many others she had washed away from that room with that dread portal.
I suppose it doesn't matter to me anymore I am never going back there. I gave all my belongings up for lost and the building was condemned anyway after the landlord disappeared and the ceiling collapsed in several sections of the building. I think there are are terrible things they will discover if they ever really investigate the building. Perhaps they will find bodies, perhaps the bodies are all gone, sucked into that watery abyss, that eldritch gate to hell that opened with a simple leak.
If something like that can happen I just don't know, I don't know if anyone is safe anymore.
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The sound is growing louder, each drop has an exaggerated tone. It sounds like small explosions all trying to collapse that ceiling and engulf me in the dark abyss that I have already once, mistakenly glimpsed at.
No, it just can’t be real, it can’t! It swallowed people up, the portal behind that damn leak. I don’t know what to do so I will lay out the facts and how I got to this point in this account, and you will see what I have experienced, you will see too that it can’t be real, it has to just be a bad trip or some hallucination. I will tell you, it's not like I can just leave I have nowhere else to go, it’s just a leak.
Just a short while ago my only problem would have been the water damage to my belongings. Indeed, such a mundane problem as a leak in the ceiling would just be a minor issue, nothing to fear except the repair bill. Yet I'm afraid it is a bit beyond that now. I shouldn't have waited this long I should have just left. Yet where could I have gone? Maybe I should have paid more attention to who I was talking to and what they were saying. All too late now I suppose.
I have been living in this apartment for close to six months. I had moved into this dingy complex, to a small studio apartment after I lost my job and had to find a part time position at significantly less pay. I tried to stay optimistic but even before the terrible reality of what I was stepping into was clear, I was still on hard times. I could barely afford this decrepit room as it was, and I had no family or friends to speak of that I might be able to move in with so my options were essentially non existent.
Considering the dire situation, I found the cheapest accommodation I could and what I found was my home and hell for the last six months, number 316 at the Greenfield Heights apartment complex. The amenities included paper thin walls to hear all the drug deals gone wrong, domestic violence and constant sirens of emergency vehicles blaring from all sorts of incidents. Topped off with a nice turn-down service of package and mail theft to boot. All of these problems though, feel small compared to the true horror of what the place had in store for me.
No, it wasn't exactly a paradise, but I had to find the cheapest place I could. I was barely making a fraction of what I was before at my old job, and I needed somewhere to get back on my feet. I told myself it was temporary and once I could get a better job I would get out of here.
When I had first arrived to look at the place, I had arranged a simple walk through with the landlord Mr. Jacobs a very unpleasant fellow who always looked perpetually angry and was constantly shouting in the halls and at the few miserable looking staff who worked here. We walked up two flights of stairs passing a wall of profanity laden graffiti tagged along almost the whole length of it leading up to where my future home was to be.
Mr. Jacobs opened the door and the rattling handle nearly fell off in the effort. We stepped inside and the dank room stank like a tomb. The tiny apartment was depressing and when he went to turn on the main light nothing happened. He scoffed and muttered a string of colorful language and grumbled that.
“Someone will bring a new light bulb; I told Rodney to check earlier that lazy piece of shit.”
I didn't want to press the matter since he looked pissed off, so we went in, and he showed me what little there was to see of the tiny apartment. We had to rely on the dim light of the bedroom to see elsewhere, since the main light was out. Despite leading the walk-through, it looked like Mr. Jacobs was distracted, he was looking at the ceiling in the corner of the tiny living room with a concerning grimace on his face.
He stared at it for a while and paused the tour, I found it a little weird. He finally looked back at me as if noticing that I was watching him stare at the ceiling and he shrugged and asserted that.
“You are going to want to get some buckets, when it rains heavily that part of the celling leaks. Can't seem to find out how since there's no leak on 416 above but bad luck on this one, I guess, that's the only reason the price is so low.” He shot me a grin that I could only describe as enthusiastically malicious. After the brief walk-through Mr. Jacobs turned around and asked very bluntly.
“You are not a troublemaker, are you?” His eyes narrowed and he looked very threatening suddenly. I assured him of my earnest intent and need for a place to stay, and he softened briefly, at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with him. He regarded me one more time and said.
“Good we don’t need more troublemakers, too many questions, always snooping around. If you have any questions try to figure it out yourself, this isn't the Ritz we don't take care of everything for you. You are going to have to make do as is. Something really bad like a fire then you can call, but for minor shit, best to just figure it out yourself. Rents due on the 1st by the way, no exceptions and no grace period anyone who bums out on their debt gets their asses kicked out next day, fuck tenant laws!”
He shot me another wicked smile and returned downstairs leaving me with the keys and just assuming I had agreed to move in. I was dumbfounded by the combination of his upfront hateful attitude and the subtext of certain things he had mentioned. What in his mind was a troublemaker? And what happened to those who asked too many questions? I couldn't believe I was going to have to live here.
In a better position I would have left immediately but it was either here or homeless. All the other places I had looked were too expensive, so I left and began packing my things. The whole situation was awful, but I had no choice, I moved in the next weekend.
Moving day was as bleak as my mood. It had been raining on and off again all day and seemed to start heavily just in time to when I was moving my boxes, almost as if to spite me. I started taking my stuff upstairs to my new room.
As I was taking the first box up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. I rushed on in nervous tension and as I was approaching my door, I heard a voice call out in a tone that was actually friendly.
“Excuse me, it looks like you dropped something.”
I was surprised to see a woman standing in the hall with a look of friendly concern. As I looked down to see I had indeed dropped something from the broken box I was trying to carry upstairs.
“Hi, I'm Maxine, I am your neighbor in 315.”
I introduced myself and was relieved to have found a friendly face for a change.
“Hey there, I’m Greg, nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and she looked uncomfortable briefly and declined the handshake.
“Sorry, I’m getting over a cold I shouldn't, but it is nice to meet you.” She said with another disarming smile.
I was relieved to see someone who didn't look they were minutes away from killing me or someone else. Though the paranoid part of my brain was begging the question why such a seemingly nice person was stuck here. I considered asking her but figured it would be rude to pry about her situation, she might have been like me and just on hard times. I was embarrassed when I realized I was just standing there after saying hello and stumbled for words, but she spoke first.
“Well, it was nice meeting you Greg, stay safe and try not to let your spirits get down. It’s easy in this place but nothing bad lasts forever.” She smiled and waved goodbye. I looked down to make sure the box was secure and when I looked up to say goodbye she was already gone. I wondered how she was so fast. Nevertheless, I felt slightly more hopeful that things might be okay after all.
Another hour of moving boxes and my knees were on fire but the meager possessions I had were finally stuffed haphazardly into the tiny apartment. I was dead tired, but it was only 4 pm. I figured I had earned a nap though and went into the tiny closet that was supposedly a bedroom. No furniture fit besides my old mattress that took up the entirety of the space.
I laid down and started drifting off, the peaceful sound of rain started to get heavier and then I heard a new sound which woke me from my doze. A tiny dripping sound coming from the main room. I remembered what Mr. Jacobs had said about heavy rain and a leak and I got up quickly to make sure the water was not landing on all my boxes and getting everything wet.
I looked up in the corner of the room and sure enough there was a steady dripping onto one of the boxes below. I poked around and found the dishes box and took out a few pieces of tupperware and a bowl and set one underneath the leak. I thought for a moment about calling Mr. Jacobs but then remembered how he had given up on fixing this leak and realized it would do no good. I turned around to go back to bed when I heard an odd tearing sound like wallpaper being stretched to breaking point. When I turned around there was nothing there. I figured it was just my nerves and I went back to bed.
I slept for about two hours and despite the brief rest I had a vivid nightmare of drowning in a dark lake with no shores on any side. It was horrible, just sinking into a black watery abyss.
I was embarrassed as I woke up with a scream, but relaxed as I realized it was just a dream and no one likely heard or cared that someone in 316 was screaming anyway. I figured the rain and that damn leak had got me thinking about water and my negative mood may have contributed to a nightmare, so I brushed it off and went about trying to organize the chaos of boxes in some logical manner for this small space.
Later that night I had a cup of ramen for dinner and turned in early. I read a bit before bed, almost as if trying to postpone sleep for fear of sinking into that fathomless abyss again when I slept. Eventually I started to get comfortable and thought I may fall asleep when it started again.
Drip, drip, drip.
The leak had resumed, it sounded faster than before, and I thought it was strange that I could hear it so vividly. I got up to see if maybe it had overflowed or something and I was not prepared for what I saw.
The ceiling where the leak was had an odd lambent light near the center, kind of like a black light. It seemed to be pulsing in time with the drops of water. There was an odd type of density in the air too, like it was too heavy and thick. It was maddeningly humid as well despite the cold atmosphere of the room and outside. I was confused and kind of scared by the bizarre display. I just kept thinking to myself it is only temporary, as soon as I can leave I will, I can make it through anything short term.
I took a step further into the living room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. There is no way it could be all the way over here, the bowl on the floor was not even full yet. I suspected a leak might also be over in this spot now, so I looked up and screamed out loud. There was what looked like a face pressing through the ceiling with drops of water seeping from the thing's mouth. I turned to run and tripped on the wet floor and toppled over bashing my head into a wall and almost losing consciousness.
I was trying to stagger to my feet after getting knocked senseless and the memory of the face reminded me of my peril. I got to my feet and looked up in tense expectation. There was nothing there. No leak, no face, no glowing shifting portal. The only evidence of anything was a small wet spot on the ceiling about nine inches across. At that point I thought for sure that depression over my situation was causing me to go crazy and see things. I desperately wished I could be somewhere else just then, but it was late at night, and I needed sleep. I couldn't afford a hotel obviously, so I left my room and went outside to the parking lot to sleep in my car.
Another week went by with poor work hours, barely any food and bad sleep. Though the one bright side was the surprisingly good weather. Days went by and no odd events took place in my apartment. It was a struggle but at least with a little sunshine there was no leak to conjure up such terrible nightmares like what I had experienced before.
I ran into Maxine again on the way to the laundry room and couldn't help but ask if she knew of anything having happened in my room before I moved in, like anyone having seen anything weird or the like. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down, pausing as if not wanting to answer.
“I'm sorry, I don't know much. I had not been here for very long when the last person in 316 had left. I say left but I heard there was an accident of some sort. There was a lot of commotion and I had heard some strange rantings from the man before it happened.”
She took a breath to steady herself after the stress of recounting the story and looked away.
“I was away at work when it actually happened, apparently he had been found dead in the apartment, some say he killed himself, drowning. From what I heard he was a bad man, there are a lot of bad men that live here. The things that have happened that never got reported and the people that got hurt or worse, well.....” She looked away sorrowfully for a moment and resumed.
“Well, you wouldn't want to know. A coward like that would try and kill himself but I think something akin to justice may have caught up to him, something that this place might need more of. When you live with the stain of hate and violence it leaves something behind and perhaps sometimes the world finds a way to wash it away and right the wrongs. Anyway, I don't like to think about it. I have to run I have to get ready for work, sorry I couldn't help more I hope you stay safe and stay dry, you wouldn't want to get swept up too.”
She turned a corner and I saw a fallen cardigan. I bent down to pick it up and it felt wet, like it had been washed already. Not too weird if she just did laundry but her footprints were soaking wet as well. I grabbed the garment and rushed round the corner shouting out.
“Hey Maxine, you dropped this.” But she was gone. The wet footprints randomly stopped as well. How did she stop leaving them if her feet were wet?
A few more months passed with no leaks and only a few nightmares. My luck turned sour again for different reasons though. I suffered a severe back injury at work. Since it occurred while working, I got some workers comp so I wouldn't lose all my income. I did have to take time off of work, so I was forced to stay in my apartment all day and night recouping. To make matters worse it was getting into the season for spring showers and the forecast was heavy rain for the next week.
I was not quite bedridden but walking and bending over was very uncomfortable, I considered taking a drive somewhere, anywhere but here, but I couldn't manage the stairs again today and I knew I at least needed to actually rest for one or two of my days off.
So I was stuck in the apartment, watching the clouds gather and the skies darken. I placed several dishes under the leak spot in anticipation and I swigged some energy drinks and coffee. I would rest but I disliked the idea of sleeping any more than I had to, since I still feared those disturbing dreams in the water.
I tried to distract myself by watching some old DVD’s since I had no streaming services to watch. As I started to relax around late afternoon, I was shocked back into a frenzied paranoia when the storm kicked up in intensity and knocked the power out. I tried not to panic and knew I had some candles or a flashlight or two somewhere. I would have to get up though so I figured I would stay in the bedroom. I used my phone flashlight to find a candle and matches and hurried back to the bedroom just as the leak restarted and the drip, drip, drip was heard filling the bowls left out. I felt silly fleeing the leak like it was dangerous, I didn't know why that dream had affected me so much, but it felt wrong.
I sat in the dark and waited for the power to return but it did not, I fought sleep but even in my paranoid state I started to drift off. I was content that the door was closed at least, and it slightly muffled the sound of that constant dripping.
I awoke to the sounds of running water, the drip was replaced by a torrent that almost sounded like a waterfall. I was too afraid to move, but I had to see if my room was being flooded. I got up painfully and stepped down into ankle high water. Oh God this is bad, I thought immediately as I moved to the door to see what had happened, I heard a singular splashing noise, almost like someone stepping through the water.
My heart froze as I stopped just short of opening the door and focused on the sound. I heard the splashing again; it was definitely footsteps. I didint know what to do I tried to think who might break in, a robber? Maybe it was about the flooding, maybe it was Mr. Jacobs after all?
I grabbed the candlestick and lit the candle. If I needed to, I might be able to use it as an improvised weapon, if it could be a murder weapon in clue then why not? I cautiously opened the door and there was a backwash of even more water on the other side, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled through the door, struggling in the cold water, I knew it was impossible, but it felt like there was a current running through it, like I was standing in the mouth of a river. I finally stepped past the door and into the living room and almost dropped the candle into the oddly surging waters. The sight before me was both amazing and terrifying. The water was moving, it was flowing into a whirlpool that was at the center of the room but as it neared the center it inverted and seemed to be spiraling out from the celling rather than the pooled water on the floor in a sight that blatantly disregarded all laws of gravity.
The spectacle was so amazing I almost forgot the footsteps I had heard and until they resumed. My gawking was broken, and I saw large bursts of water splashing toward me. I heard an ear-splitting cry like the wail of a banshee and suddenly the ceiling where the leak was coming from, and the current epicenter of the vortex started to glow and after a moment it turned deep red and a new horror occurred.
The face I had seen in what I had hoped was a nightmare before was back. The ceiling seemed to shimmer now, almost translucent and I saw the horrible features of a hideous form. White pupilless eyes stared down at me and a gaping screaming maw began filling with water tinged with red? No, it wasn't water, it was blood. The vortex began spewing blood all across the room and as I turned to flee in horror I was wrenched from my feet by the invisible force in the water and dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of the vortex. My last conscious sight that night was being pulled up into my own ceiling and into the bleeding maw of that avatar of bloody nightmare.
I woke up in the black abyss. The water was still mixed with blood, but there were no creatures. I was somehow buoyant and floated along in the shore less sanguine ocean. I drifted along unable to sink or to fully rise up. After what felt like an hour of drifting, I heard splashing and all of the sudden the sound got louder and louder. I looked around and saw the source of the noise, bodies were falling from the sky into the bloody ocean. First a few, then dozens then hundreds. A literal storm of blood-soaked featureless bodies came crashing into the water. I tried to evade them, but I could not dodge them all and I was buffeted by the limp forms of countless bodies until I was pummeled below the surface of the water. I couldn't breathe and as I tried to surface one of the bodies grasped my wrist and opened its eyes. On its previously featureless face, it now had oddly pulsating white pupils and it burst what appeared to be stitching on its mouth in order to scream under the water.
The sight and shock of that horrible scene woke me and I realized I was laying on my back in my apartment again. The flood water was lapping at my face, and I was breathing in and choking on the water on the floor. I lurched up as soon as I regained control of my body, spitting water and gagging from the quasi drowning I had endured. The water looked normal, no blood from what I saw, but the water itself was not a delusion or some trace of insanity it was there.
It was a bad scene, tons of my things were submerged, and the water damage was extensive. Somehow it had risen to almost two feet high. I had to do something, I didn't expect much from this place, but this was a severe enough situation that the crotchety old bastard Mr. Jacobs was going to have to fix something whether he liked it or not or they would be getting a lawsuit in short order. I figured some lawyers would take easy cases they knew they would win with no retainer needed if they got paid more at the end. So, it would not be a bluff I was dead serious, I almost drowned in my own apartment!
I staggered to the door and managed to open it, draining tons of water out into the hall, but I didn't care, I just needed some fresh air. My back is on fire, but nothing will stop me. I hear a friendly voice calling out to me, it's Maxine.
“Hey are you okay? I saw all the water and hadn't seen you around is there flooding there?”
She asked with an odd look, almost like she knew the answer but didn't want to let on.
“Yes there is, it is pretty bad actually I was just about to call Mr. Jacobs to do something about it.
”Greg....” She paused for a moment then continued.
“You didn't see anything in there did you? In the water? Like something or someone familiar?” I was confused by the specific nature of the question. I was put off and unsure how she knew I might have seen something.
“I am not sure what I saw, why do you ask?” I responded.
“No reason, just be careful it can be dangerous if you do. Don’t worry if it is not where you belong, you won't get pulled in forever. Just be careful though, you don't want to risk it.” A flash of morbid glee was evident on her face for a split second and then it was gone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Pulled in? How do you know about the leak? And if you do what's behind it?” I ask with mounting suspicion in my voice.
“You know Greg, in many cultures the path between the world of the living and the dead is separated by only the slightest barrier, often a literal or symbolic body of water. Whether the river Styx, the lake of fire, the waters reflected at the feet of a Torii gate, it is often just potent waters. Like all bodies of water, when they are contained somewhere there can be leaks. Sometimes the water is not the only thing that seeps out.” She stopped speaking for a moment and fixed me with an intent stare that made me feel very strange. I did not know what she was talking about? Was she saying that portal leads to some sort of afterlife? Like heaven or more likely in this case hell?
“Did you just say....” And she cut me off, saying.
“Oh if Mr. Jacobs finally goes over there to fix your ceiling let him know I had a concern I needed to express to him as well, it's been waiting for a long time.” She smiled again in a creepy way that disturbed me.
“Ah yeah sure I guess I can do that.”
“Thanks! See ya later and hope you feel better, those accidents can be rough best not sleep on your side and to drink lots of water, the right kind though.” She winked at me and departed, and I was at a loss for what just happened. How did she know I had gotten hurt I didn't tell her, and what was that thing about the right kind of water?
My anxiety about the situation was increasing and I was disturbed by Maxine’s questions too, maybe she was not so sweet and trustworthy after all. After far too long being ignored and dealing with the first sodden, now moldering cloths boxes and other personal effects Mr. Jacobs finally scheduled a time to drain the last remnants of water and do something more concrete about fixing the leak.
I was waiting patiently for his arrival and there was a loud banging at the door. I greeted Mr. Jacobs and he grunted at me and without looking at me walked past and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. He had an odd air of what almost looked like fear or concern on his face.
After he walked in another larger person in coveralls and holding a toolbox did as well. There was a large tarp or something that seemed odd to bring to this sort of job, it almost looked like a big sort of bag. They were both looking at the hole in the ceiling and Mr. Jacobs turned on a dime and stared me down.
“It’s just been water leaking down, nothing else right?” I thought the question was odd and I hesitated to answer since I was thinking of those vivid nightmares. I think he may have noticed that because his face sank, and he glowered at me looking significantly angrier and more dangerous than before. Before I could answer he shouted at me.
“What did you see?! Did something come out of the hole? Was it a person?” He looked manic and deranged, and I looked at the other man in the coveralls and he stood silent holding a sledgehammer that had appeared in his hand and watching the confrontation unfold.
“I....I don't know I just saw the leak, what is going on what do you think I saw? My neighbor asked me the same thing earlier.” Mr. Jacobs eyes narrowed.
“What neighbor? I haven't had tenants in 315 or 317 in over a year.”
I was confused, maybe I had heard Maxine’s apartment number wrong, but how could she be my neighbor if she was not in one of those. This must be some kind of mix up, I figured.
“My neighbor Maxine she said she lives in 315; I just saw her the other day and she asked if I had seen something as well.” At the mention of the name Mr. Jacobs face turned white.
“You said her name was Maxine!? She said that? You saw her?!” He was screaming at me asking more questions about Maxine like she was on Americas most wanted.
“What does she have to do with this? I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I admitted.
Ignoring my question, Mr. Jacobs began pacing and holding his hand to his head. The man in coveralls spoke for the first time.
“Jack, we have to go, let's find the body while the leak and portal are still here and dispose of the loose end.” I gasped at the admission of both a body and that I was apparently a loose end to some sort of crime.
“I fucking know, alright make it quick, we are going to have to do two so let's go before more people start coming home and we risk someone hearing.”
I fell back against the wall in shock as the large man hefted the sledgehammer and started stomping toward me. I was unarmed and injured; I didn't know what I could do but suddenly the lights went out again.
The door slammed shut and as the three of us stood there in stunned silence a slow drip began to trickle from the ceiling. Each drop splashing off of the low standing pool of water. The large man went to the door and tried to open it but to no avail.
“Jack what is going on?!” The man shouted to Mr. Jacobs.
“I don't know just use the hammer. Kill him and then bust us out of here. Or just give it to me and I will fucking do it.”
They were going to kill me!? I had to think of something quick, so I stammered out.
“Wait! I don't know what is going on you guys, you don't want to kill me I really don't know anything. Let's just get out of here before the water gets much worse, I think something bad is going to happen.”
As if on cue the dripping stopped and a torrent of water was disgorged from the hole in the ceiling, which now held an eerie lambent glow and was pouring a blood red liquid into the apartment. There was a giggle followed by a blood curdling screech and the man in the coveralls with the hammer was wrenched up off his feet and dragged kicking and screaming into the water. Mr. Jacobs and I both watched as his entire head was forced under the water by some unseen force, The man was being drown and as he looked like he might kick up a splash of water landed next to him revealing a brief outline of a female form the eyes were white and it had a horrible smile on its face. Its long-clawed hand was wrapped fully around the man's throat and was effortlessly throttling him.
Mr. Jacobs started sobbing, begging for mercy.
“I didn't mean to, please. It was an accident. I would have been locked up. I couldn't lose everything, I had to.”
I sat in stark terror as the falling water from the ceiling became a storm. The millions of droplets highlighted the attacker, her form was terrible yet oddly beautiful and she strolled along towards Mr. Jacobs who was grasping at the door handle and tugging uselessly at it. He reached for the hammer when he was pulled toward the figure by a moving tendril of bloody water.
“Just a little bath Jack that's all it won't hurt......much.” He tried to scream but his head was submerged in the bloody water. I saw the sentient waves of ruinous water grasp each of his appendages and tear him limb from limb in a bloody explosion.
I screamed and stumbled away wading through the water into my bedroom and desperately pulled on the window to escape that way. I heard splashing footsteps and a soft pretty tune being sung by an ethereal voice. Then I heard a giant crash and saw a portion of wall collapse along with more of the ceiling and the sight before my eyes almost drove me insane.
There was a vortex of bloody water sucking the maimed bodies of those men into the hellish portal where the leak originated and at the center was the bloody figure smiling at me and waving a hand as I finally got the window to budge and fell out. I stepped outside and tried to descend the fire escape, but the surface was too slippery, and I fell. I screamed and plummeted down and thought I would land on my head and die. Yet as I fell my descent slowed and to my shock and horror, I realized the rainwater was mixing with the water from my apartment flowing out of the window and I was being pulled back up into my room. I tried to scream but I felt water fill my mouth. At some point in the nightmare ride I blacked out again.
That was the last thing I remembered before I found myself here again. As I listen to the leak once more, I wonder if it could have all been a bad dream? The water, the leak, the portal it is all too much it couldn't have been real. I will go into my dingy living room and see the water dripping into the bowl and realize it was all just a terrible dream.
Yet when I sit up, I notice an odd breeze and when my eyes focus in the dark, I see lights in the sky........the sky?
The ceiling is gone! I do not know what is going on here, but I know I have to get out of here now. I hear splashing footsteps again over the ever-present dripping and see in the sky now the light of the monstrous portal opening in the very clouds above!
It is too much I leap from the fire escape again. Somehow in my mad haste I survived descending the fire escape and I sit here now writing this impossible story in my car that I have been living in nearly a week after the fact.
I heard on the news the reports of a structural collapse at my apartment and the landlord being unavailable for questioning, presumed missing along with another man who worked at the apartment as a special contractor. I thought about Mr. Jacobs and the man in the coveralls and shuddered when I remembered them being drawn into that unholy portal in the ceiling.
Apparently, it had not been the only disappearance in the building either. Around a year ago there was a missing person's report for a Maxine Valoroso. I remember how Mr. Jacobs reacted to her name, and it made me wonder what really happened here before I moved in.
I don't know who or what Maxine was, maybe she was the same person in the report, changed somehow. Best I can guess Mr. Jacobs had known something about her disappearance, maybe he had killed her and somehow, she came back for revenge. She mentioned the water washing away people's violent lives and I shuddered when I considered her smile when talking about the last person in 316 and the overdue message she had to send to Mr. Jacobs. I didn't know if she was a ghost, a demon or what. I also don't know the extent of her reach or if she is satisfied with just those men and who knows how many others she had washed away from that room with that dread portal.
I suppose it doesn't matter to me anymore I am never going back there. I gave all my belongings up for lost and the building was condemned anyway after the landlord disappeared and the ceiling collapsed in several sections of the building. I think there are are terrible things they will discover if they ever really investigate the building. Perhaps they will find bodies, perhaps the bodies are all gone, sucked into that watery abyss, that eldritch gate to hell that opened with a simple leak.
If something like that can happen I just don't know, I don't know if anyone is safe anymore.
2024.06.05 04:13 Ralts_Bloodthorne Nova Wars - Chapter 68
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Way of the Means Field Captain Strechen stood next to the Dra.Falten she had come to think of as 'her charge', one Rifleman Tawtchee. To her left stood the scientist Hrekkel and 'Call me Leeu'. On her right was the Captain and the First Officer, both of the females reaching up to nervously comb at the hair at the back of their heads repeatedly.
While the big ships were ornate, the dropship that Strechen could see on terminal maneuvers, controlled by the ship's docking computer, was lean and mean looking. Greenish-black metal with a hint of blue, black material where windows should be, wings with additional thrusters that folded inward, and a set of four engines in the back.
"Combat craft," Tawtchee said, standing up on his toes to speak softly in Strechen's ear. "See the bay doors on the side? That's for power armor or other infantry dismount as well as door gunners. See the bubbles with the strip cut into them? Those are firing blisters, crew or passengers can push the barrel of their weapon through and still maintain atmosphere. See those outlines? Some of those are compartments holding weaponry so that the craft can maintain its flight and sensor profile."
Strechen just nodded. She'd known it was a combat craft, but Tawtchee had pointed out things she didn't know about.
"Battlescreen projectors, about four times what we have as far as visible emitters. Point defense bubbles, probably lasers with a spinning mirror," Tawtchee said softly. "Capable of in and out of atmosphere as well as deep space work. Be careful, Field Captain, what we see in their shuttlecraft may be a reflection of how dangerous they are as a people," he touched her lower back, almost making her jump from startlement. "These are a people ready for a fight. What they did to those 'Mar-gite' they could easily do to the Empire."
Strechen just nodded slightly. She glanced over and saw that Leeu had her hand on Hrekkel's shoulder, almost as if she was restraining the obviously excited male.
A glance showed the Captain and her recently promoted Executive Officer looked almost sick as the ship thumped into place with the feeling of a great weight nudging the Dra.Falten ship.
The airlock pressurized and the lights went orange to signify that it was safe.
"They did not transmit any atmospheric requirements," the XO said nervously.
Tawtchee looked over at her. "Anything we can survive they can breathe."
The XO started to open her mouth to retort angrily, saw Strechen's expression, and shut her mouth, facing forward with her back and ears going rigid.
The light went red to warn that the inner airlock was going to open and Strechen found herself tensing.
She remembered the Terrors from the Path of the Traveler and the meeting after the nightmare inducing teleportation system. Despite everything, Magnus and his sister Surscee had been polite, almost friendly (if you discount the Sorceresses pants-wetting self-introduction she had performed) when Strechen had watched the video. The one they had met behind the desk had seemed only as malevolent as any other bureaucrat. She knew that whatever was going to come through that door was not going to be like any others.
The airlock door irised open, decontaminate mist shin high flowing out.
There were four of them. Three males and a female, the males arranged two behind the female and one male at the back. They wore no weapons, just a boots, belts, and comfortable looking gray and black camouflage uniforms. They had atmo-tanks at their waists, with masks hanging off of them.
They were also massive.
Strechen knew she shouldn't be shocked. She'd seen that Tawtchee only came up to halfway up Magnus's chest, slightly below Surscee's mammaries.
But the four Terrors in the airlock gave the impression of large, immovable, and powerful beings just standing in the airlock. The males were almost as tall as the airlock, their shoulders wide enough that they could only fit two abreast in a corridor meant for power armor troops to pass easily through.
"May we come in?" the female asked, her Dra.Falten perfect.
"Permission to board granted," the Captain said, stepping forward.
The female gave a closed mouth 'smile' that Strechen had learned was an expression of pleasure, happiness, joy, and, in rare cases, danger.
The male's expressions didn't change from stern blankness, although Strechen could see their eyes looking around the bay.
She took two steps forward and stopped, looking at each person.
Strechen realized that she had grass green eyes, with a faint hint of amber in the depths.
"I am Specialist Grade-Nine Caoimhe," she said. "Representing High Lord Captain High Lord Knight of Aesir O’Byrne, in command of Task Force Niamhchloch, which has been named Task Force Warhammer for your ease of speech."
Strechen noted it sounded like KEE-va and her implant translated it to meaning "kind", although, to be honest, the large Terror looked anything but kind. The words seemed overly complicated and had an odd weight to them.
For a moment, Strechen could swear she could smell hot, freshly spilled blood.
"I am Captain Helt.rika," the Captain said. "I serve the Empress's will."
There was silence.
After a moment she motioned and the three males stepped out. The two behind her moving to her left and right, the one at the back standing in the doorway of the airlock. The males spread their feet shoulder-width apart and then put their hands behind their back in a smooth, crisp movement.
Strechen noted that all three males performed the action at the same time, as if they'd rehearsed it.
"Tradition demands that any joint venture, such as defending someone's homeland from invaders, requires representatives of the other party to be present," the female said, looking around slowly. "In most times, a representative of high rank, even a member of a royal family or highly placed government official, is required."
She paused for a second and when none of the Dra.Falten present spoke, she continued.
"However, the requirements of reality often conflict with tradition, so we of the Sancti Ordo Spiritus Tyr are willing to accept no less than two and no more than twenty representatives of your species aboard the High Lord Captain's flagship," she said.
"The Admiral has agreed to five," the Captain said, feeling a flutter of nervousness.
Those huge males didn't move, didn't even seem to breathe, just stared slightly over the female's head at the ceiling.
But Captain Helt.rika couldn't shake the feeling that they were a split second from ripping apart everything around them, unarmed or not.
The female nodded slowly, her eyes and expression unreadable.
The males just stared.
Captain Helt.rika felt sweat slick down her spine and barely restrained herself from bruxing her teeth nervously.
"As discussed with your Admiral, two ships will be remaining here to intercept and destroy any additional Mar-gite constructs that enter the system," the Terror Caoimhe said. "There will be additional negotiations with the Lord Captains of those ships, but that is not yet any concern of ours."
Helt.rika nodded, starting to reach up to tug on one ear and barely stopping herself.
"Your medical officers transmitted hydration, nutrition, humidity, and atmospheric requirements already. We have verified that our shipboard manufacturing systems can provide a comfortable environment for your species," the female stated. "We are unsure of your habitation requirements in stressful environments, so the High Lord Captain wishes me to assure you that we will make all possible realistic accommodations for your people."
"We understand," Captain Helt.rika said. She turned and pointed at Hrekkel. "Senior Scientist Hrekkel and his guard Imperial Expediter First Class Ee'eerlee'u," she then pointed at Strechen. "Field Captain Strechen and Male-9912743, her guard."
The Captain pointed at the XO.
"And, at the insistence of the Admiral, my Executive Officer Navelu'uee."
"What?" the XO blurted out. She looked at the Captain, then looked down.
The female Terror nodded, her face expressionless.
"The Lord Captain of the ships staying will discuss their requirements with your Admiral," the female said. She turned. "If you will accompany me onto the shuttle, we will move to the warship and get you settled in."
Strechen felt her stomach clench at the idea of being trapped in an enclosed area, even smaller than the receiving bay, with the Terrors.
Tawtchee touched the small of her back and she suddenly felt better.
Hrekkel nearly ran onboard, with Leeu rolling her eyes and bruxing her teeth in amusement as she followed behind. Commander Navelu'uee glared at the Captain, but followed Leeu.
Tawtche waved Strechen on, then followed her as they went down the boarding tube.
The shuttle was obviously highly militarized. Rather than comfortable seats or recliners, there were bench seats with locking restraints.
Strechen closed her eyes and swallowed as one of the male Terrors checked the straps and then the locking restraint.
"In case of an emergency, a shell will descend in front of you and you will be ejected from the craft with a search and rescue beacon. Based on your physiology, you will be able to survive two hundred sixteen hours while within the life pod," the female said, moving to the front.
"Does it come with free beer if we have to eject?" Tawtchee asked the Terror checking his belts.
"No such luck. Sucellus doesn't love us that much," the male Terror said back quietly, flashing a smile.
Once the belts were checked the door slid shut and Strechen could feel the craft vibrate slightly. There was a faint noise of an engine.
"Is that sound normal?" Navelu'uee asked, reaching up to comb at her ears nervously.
"My people do not trust any machine that is silent, we believe it is a bad sign or omen if a machine suddenly becomes silent," the woman, Caoimhe, said.
Strechen suddenly understood why. If the sound stopped, the machine has stopped working, and that meant something had gone terribly wrong.
It made startlingly simple sense.
"If you will pay attention to the video, the instructions you will see will ensure that there are no major problems," Caoimhe said, reaching up and pulling down a thin white sheet of material.
Strechen looked over in time to see one of the males reach up and activate a projector hanging from the roof.
A pleasing pattern appeared on the white material. A pair of crossed swords inside a diamond appeared.
"TERRAN INTERACTION AND YOU!" sounded out, with the words appearing below.
Strechen watched with interest and was surprised that several times Tawtchee burst out laughing.
The word "YES" showed a polite introduction. It was next to "NO!" which showed a Dra.Falten shooting at a Terror with a rocket launcher.
"YES!" eat politely and put away your plate.
"NO!" eating out of the garbage can and throwing food everywhere.
"YES!" sharing a drink with a Terror.
"NO!" drinking from the toilet by sticking their head in it.
"GOOD TERRAN!" showed a Terran talking politely to a Dra.Falten.
"BAD TERRAN!" showed a screaming Dra.Falten being chased by a Terran wearing some kind of mask, with a blocky machine in its hands that had a long blade with rotating teeth, swinging it wildly.
"GOOD TERRAN!" showed the Terran having a drink with a Dra.Falten.
"BAD TERRAN!" showed the Terran ripping off the Dra.Falten's head and drinking the blood.
"YES!" showed a Dra.Falten waiting for the airlock to cycle while wearing a vac-suit.
"NO!" showed the Dra.Falten wearing a party mask, a conical hat with a tassel, and just lower modesty clothing while the airlock cycled, drinking from bottles held in each hand.
Strechen found herself chuckling along with Tawtchee, Leeu, and Hrekkel at some of the cartoon antics.
The Commander sat, her back rigid and her posture offended.
"And remember, cooperation and understanding creates a bond that the enemy cannot break with his guns," was the final part, which showed a Terran and a Dra.Falten beating a five armed creature with sticks while cartoon sparkles and streamers burst from the creature's body.
There was a slight bump feeling, then the sound of machinery winding down.
The Terrans pushed up the locking restraints, undid the harnesses, then helped the Dra.Falten do the same. The female moved over by the door.
"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, both or neither, to the Final Sight of Black Night, flagship of Task Force Warhammer," she said.
She slapped the button and the airlock cycled.
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submitted by Ralts_Bloodthorne to HFY [link] [comments]
Way of the Means Field Captain Strechen stood next to the Dra.Falten she had come to think of as 'her charge', one Rifleman Tawtchee. To her left stood the scientist Hrekkel and 'Call me Leeu'. On her right was the Captain and the First Officer, both of the females reaching up to nervously comb at the hair at the back of their heads repeatedly.
While the big ships were ornate, the dropship that Strechen could see on terminal maneuvers, controlled by the ship's docking computer, was lean and mean looking. Greenish-black metal with a hint of blue, black material where windows should be, wings with additional thrusters that folded inward, and a set of four engines in the back.
"Combat craft," Tawtchee said, standing up on his toes to speak softly in Strechen's ear. "See the bay doors on the side? That's for power armor or other infantry dismount as well as door gunners. See the bubbles with the strip cut into them? Those are firing blisters, crew or passengers can push the barrel of their weapon through and still maintain atmosphere. See those outlines? Some of those are compartments holding weaponry so that the craft can maintain its flight and sensor profile."
Strechen just nodded. She'd known it was a combat craft, but Tawtchee had pointed out things she didn't know about.
"Battlescreen projectors, about four times what we have as far as visible emitters. Point defense bubbles, probably lasers with a spinning mirror," Tawtchee said softly. "Capable of in and out of atmosphere as well as deep space work. Be careful, Field Captain, what we see in their shuttlecraft may be a reflection of how dangerous they are as a people," he touched her lower back, almost making her jump from startlement. "These are a people ready for a fight. What they did to those 'Mar-gite' they could easily do to the Empire."
Strechen just nodded slightly. She glanced over and saw that Leeu had her hand on Hrekkel's shoulder, almost as if she was restraining the obviously excited male.
A glance showed the Captain and her recently promoted Executive Officer looked almost sick as the ship thumped into place with the feeling of a great weight nudging the Dra.Falten ship.
The airlock pressurized and the lights went orange to signify that it was safe.
"They did not transmit any atmospheric requirements," the XO said nervously.
Tawtchee looked over at her. "Anything we can survive they can breathe."
The XO started to open her mouth to retort angrily, saw Strechen's expression, and shut her mouth, facing forward with her back and ears going rigid.
The light went red to warn that the inner airlock was going to open and Strechen found herself tensing.
She remembered the Terrors from the Path of the Traveler and the meeting after the nightmare inducing teleportation system. Despite everything, Magnus and his sister Surscee had been polite, almost friendly (if you discount the Sorceresses pants-wetting self-introduction she had performed) when Strechen had watched the video. The one they had met behind the desk had seemed only as malevolent as any other bureaucrat. She knew that whatever was going to come through that door was not going to be like any others.
The airlock door irised open, decontaminate mist shin high flowing out.
There were four of them. Three males and a female, the males arranged two behind the female and one male at the back. They wore no weapons, just a boots, belts, and comfortable looking gray and black camouflage uniforms. They had atmo-tanks at their waists, with masks hanging off of them.
They were also massive.
Strechen knew she shouldn't be shocked. She'd seen that Tawtchee only came up to halfway up Magnus's chest, slightly below Surscee's mammaries.
But the four Terrors in the airlock gave the impression of large, immovable, and powerful beings just standing in the airlock. The males were almost as tall as the airlock, their shoulders wide enough that they could only fit two abreast in a corridor meant for power armor troops to pass easily through.
"May we come in?" the female asked, her Dra.Falten perfect.
"Permission to board granted," the Captain said, stepping forward.
The female gave a closed mouth 'smile' that Strechen had learned was an expression of pleasure, happiness, joy, and, in rare cases, danger.
The male's expressions didn't change from stern blankness, although Strechen could see their eyes looking around the bay.
She took two steps forward and stopped, looking at each person.
Strechen realized that she had grass green eyes, with a faint hint of amber in the depths.
"I am Specialist Grade-Nine Caoimhe," she said. "Representing High Lord Captain High Lord Knight of Aesir O’Byrne, in command of Task Force Niamhchloch, which has been named Task Force Warhammer for your ease of speech."
Strechen noted it sounded like KEE-va and her implant translated it to meaning "kind", although, to be honest, the large Terror looked anything but kind. The words seemed overly complicated and had an odd weight to them.
For a moment, Strechen could swear she could smell hot, freshly spilled blood.
"I am Captain Helt.rika," the Captain said. "I serve the Empress's will."
There was silence.
After a moment she motioned and the three males stepped out. The two behind her moving to her left and right, the one at the back standing in the doorway of the airlock. The males spread their feet shoulder-width apart and then put their hands behind their back in a smooth, crisp movement.
Strechen noted that all three males performed the action at the same time, as if they'd rehearsed it.
"Tradition demands that any joint venture, such as defending someone's homeland from invaders, requires representatives of the other party to be present," the female said, looking around slowly. "In most times, a representative of high rank, even a member of a royal family or highly placed government official, is required."
She paused for a second and when none of the Dra.Falten present spoke, she continued.
"However, the requirements of reality often conflict with tradition, so we of the Sancti Ordo Spiritus Tyr are willing to accept no less than two and no more than twenty representatives of your species aboard the High Lord Captain's flagship," she said.
"The Admiral has agreed to five," the Captain said, feeling a flutter of nervousness.
Those huge males didn't move, didn't even seem to breathe, just stared slightly over the female's head at the ceiling.
But Captain Helt.rika couldn't shake the feeling that they were a split second from ripping apart everything around them, unarmed or not.
The female nodded slowly, her eyes and expression unreadable.
The males just stared.
Captain Helt.rika felt sweat slick down her spine and barely restrained herself from bruxing her teeth nervously.
"As discussed with your Admiral, two ships will be remaining here to intercept and destroy any additional Mar-gite constructs that enter the system," the Terror Caoimhe said. "There will be additional negotiations with the Lord Captains of those ships, but that is not yet any concern of ours."
Helt.rika nodded, starting to reach up to tug on one ear and barely stopping herself.
"Your medical officers transmitted hydration, nutrition, humidity, and atmospheric requirements already. We have verified that our shipboard manufacturing systems can provide a comfortable environment for your species," the female stated. "We are unsure of your habitation requirements in stressful environments, so the High Lord Captain wishes me to assure you that we will make all possible realistic accommodations for your people."
"We understand," Captain Helt.rika said. She turned and pointed at Hrekkel. "Senior Scientist Hrekkel and his guard Imperial Expediter First Class Ee'eerlee'u," she then pointed at Strechen. "Field Captain Strechen and Male-9912743, her guard."
The Captain pointed at the XO.
"And, at the insistence of the Admiral, my Executive Officer Navelu'uee."
"What?" the XO blurted out. She looked at the Captain, then looked down.
The female Terror nodded, her face expressionless.
"The Lord Captain of the ships staying will discuss their requirements with your Admiral," the female said. She turned. "If you will accompany me onto the shuttle, we will move to the warship and get you settled in."
Strechen felt her stomach clench at the idea of being trapped in an enclosed area, even smaller than the receiving bay, with the Terrors.
Tawtchee touched the small of her back and she suddenly felt better.
Hrekkel nearly ran onboard, with Leeu rolling her eyes and bruxing her teeth in amusement as she followed behind. Commander Navelu'uee glared at the Captain, but followed Leeu.
Tawtche waved Strechen on, then followed her as they went down the boarding tube.
The shuttle was obviously highly militarized. Rather than comfortable seats or recliners, there were bench seats with locking restraints.
Strechen closed her eyes and swallowed as one of the male Terrors checked the straps and then the locking restraint.
"In case of an emergency, a shell will descend in front of you and you will be ejected from the craft with a search and rescue beacon. Based on your physiology, you will be able to survive two hundred sixteen hours while within the life pod," the female said, moving to the front.
"Does it come with free beer if we have to eject?" Tawtchee asked the Terror checking his belts.
"No such luck. Sucellus doesn't love us that much," the male Terror said back quietly, flashing a smile.
Once the belts were checked the door slid shut and Strechen could feel the craft vibrate slightly. There was a faint noise of an engine.
"Is that sound normal?" Navelu'uee asked, reaching up to comb at her ears nervously.
"My people do not trust any machine that is silent, we believe it is a bad sign or omen if a machine suddenly becomes silent," the woman, Caoimhe, said.
Strechen suddenly understood why. If the sound stopped, the machine has stopped working, and that meant something had gone terribly wrong.
It made startlingly simple sense.
"If you will pay attention to the video, the instructions you will see will ensure that there are no major problems," Caoimhe said, reaching up and pulling down a thin white sheet of material.
Strechen looked over in time to see one of the males reach up and activate a projector hanging from the roof.
A pleasing pattern appeared on the white material. A pair of crossed swords inside a diamond appeared.
"TERRAN INTERACTION AND YOU!" sounded out, with the words appearing below.
Strechen watched with interest and was surprised that several times Tawtchee burst out laughing.
The word "YES" showed a polite introduction. It was next to "NO!" which showed a Dra.Falten shooting at a Terror with a rocket launcher.
"YES!" eat politely and put away your plate.
"NO!" eating out of the garbage can and throwing food everywhere.
"YES!" sharing a drink with a Terror.
"NO!" drinking from the toilet by sticking their head in it.
"GOOD TERRAN!" showed a Terran talking politely to a Dra.Falten.
"BAD TERRAN!" showed a screaming Dra.Falten being chased by a Terran wearing some kind of mask, with a blocky machine in its hands that had a long blade with rotating teeth, swinging it wildly.
"GOOD TERRAN!" showed the Terran having a drink with a Dra.Falten.
"BAD TERRAN!" showed the Terran ripping off the Dra.Falten's head and drinking the blood.
"YES!" showed a Dra.Falten waiting for the airlock to cycle while wearing a vac-suit.
"NO!" showed the Dra.Falten wearing a party mask, a conical hat with a tassel, and just lower modesty clothing while the airlock cycled, drinking from bottles held in each hand.
Strechen found herself chuckling along with Tawtchee, Leeu, and Hrekkel at some of the cartoon antics.
The Commander sat, her back rigid and her posture offended.
"And remember, cooperation and understanding creates a bond that the enemy cannot break with his guns," was the final part, which showed a Terran and a Dra.Falten beating a five armed creature with sticks while cartoon sparkles and streamers burst from the creature's body.
There was a slight bump feeling, then the sound of machinery winding down.
The Terrans pushed up the locking restraints, undid the harnesses, then helped the Dra.Falten do the same. The female moved over by the door.
"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, both or neither, to the Final Sight of Black Night, flagship of Task Force Warhammer," she said.
She slapped the button and the airlock cycled.
[First Contact] [Dark Ages] [First] [Prev] [Next] [wiki]
2024.06.05 04:12 Alternative_Try6604 After some thinking...
I decided to share something I did! Rewrote most of the scenes I liked in Rescue Team DX during a playthrough once, as well as made the player(Meowth in my playthrough) and the partner(Pikachu in my playthrough) more lively, instead of just talking like npcs! Many other Pokemon are more fleshed out like Absol and Rayquaza too! Please read!~
(For those who can't click the link, I'll paste the thing here!)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l3GFbnQKp3iIjmF-CrSKIBZkUDetopYsYphanVV6HCE/edit?usp=sharing
{{Meowth}}: ****Where am I…? Am I dreamin’ dis? … I feel… A breeze… I hear a voice…*** Ngh… *Meowth’s eyes open to a small slit* … ***I wondah…***{{Pikachu}}: y… ey… … Hey!
{{Meowth}]: ***Eh? Who’s dat…?***
{{Pikachu}}: Wake up… Come on–wake up!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth groans quietly as he fully opens his eyes, slowly. He almost immediately closed them again though as he’s nearly blinded by the beaming sun* Ungh! Yeesh, dat’s bright! … H-hah?
{{Pikachu}}: *Meowth could see a Pikachu leaning over him; A TALKING Pikachu at that!* Y-you’re finally awake!
{{Meowth}}: ***Guh… Where da hell am I anyways?*** Mreoow, my head’s killin’ me… *Meowth slowly opened both eyes as he blinked a few times. He looks around left to right slowly, seeing that he was in some sort of forested area with bright, lush grass and large trees all around*
{{Pikachu}}: You fell out of the sky all of a sudden and passed out here! Oh Arceus, I was getting worried… *Pikachu smiled widely* I’m glad you’re okay though! At least I think… That was a pretty nasty fall…
{{Meowth}}: ***I guess I ain't imaginin’ anyting! Dat Pikachu IS talkin’!!***
{{Pikachu}}: *He steps closer to Meowth* What’s with the look on your face… You look like you’ve seen a talking Pokemon or something! Hehe~ Who’re you? *He tilts his head with a curious look on his face*
{{Meowth}}: GAAAH!! *Meowth jumps up in a panic, taking a defensive stance* Get da hell away from me, ya talkin’ freak!
{{Pikachu}}: Pi! *Pikachu squealed, stumbling back a bit as he was shocked at the violent reaction from Meowth!* B–but… *He points at Meowth* You’re a Meowth and YOU’RE talking!
{{Meowth}}: In yer dreams, rat! I’m a human trough and trough! Ya can’t fool me! *Meowth turns away, folding his arms as he says that*
{{Pikachu}}: No, really! You look just like a Meowth in every way! From ear to toe! *He had a shocked face*
{{Meowth}}: Wha? *Meowth looks around him, then looks down at his paws, flexing them then looking down at his pheet, wiggling his toes a little. He goes and looks into a nearby pond and gasps, his maw open a bit* MEOOOOOW?! ***It’s true! I HAVE turned into a Meowth! Is dat why I’m talkin’ like dis?!***
{{Pikachu}}: ***Is it that much of a shock…? He’s kind of a weird guy, but I can’t just leave him here!*** Um… Hey, I know! How about I lead you to town~? It’s really close to here actually!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth thinks for a bit then slowly nods* I gots nowhere else ta go, so why not~
{{Narrator}}: *A cry for help rang through the forest as a panicked Butterfree can be seen*
{{Butterfree}}: Help meee! Somebody!! *A Butterfree suddenly comes flying towards Pikachu and Meowth*
{{Meowth}}: Woah! Hey, what’s da panic?? Ya look like ya lost yer kid in a fissure or someting! *Meowth was looking at Butterfree with widened eyes*
{{Butterfree}}: *She looks around, worried, then looks at Meowth again, heart beating quick as fast as her wings are fluttering!* I–I did! My poor little Caterpie got swallowed up by a fissure that opened up under us when we were attacked by angry Pokemon!
{{Meowth}}: Meow?! Yous guys was attacked?! *Meowth looked at Butterfree in surprise*
{{Butterfree}}: Y-yes… I tried to rescue my Caterpie myself, but I was nearly swiped at! Ooh… He’s not old enough to climb out by himself, and I’m worried he’ll be hurt!
{{Meowth}}: Oh boy… Pikachu…?
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu folds his arms, closing his eyes* Hmm… *He grins, opening one eye* We’ll find your kid and bring him back to you~! Right, Meowth?
{{Meowth}}: We will? *Meowth looks at Pikachu puzzled, then after a while, nods, looking at Butterfree and giving her a thumbs up, also giving her a grin* Y-yea! We will! Don’t sweat it, nyahaha~!
{{Pikachu}}: Meowth! Let’s go! *Pikachu, with a determined look on his face, begins to run off, with both his arms behind him*
{{Meowth}}: Right behind ya, squirt! *Meowth takes off after Pikachu in a similar manner; arms behind him!*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *After a while of running, the two Pokemon came to a stop in what seemed like a wooded area covered in foliage with high walls, almost like a maze…*
{{Pikachu}}: This place… Could it be…? *Pikachu looks around slowly, slowly spinning then gasps* It is! It’s a Mystery Dungeon~!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth looks at Pikachu confused* A Mystery Dungeon? What in da world’s dat?
{{Pikachu}}: Well~ *Pikachu puts his arms behind his head* A Mystery Dungeon’s a real strange place… I hear, the layout of one and the items you can find inside one can change every time you enter!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth huffs, folding his arms and looking around* Dat sure doesn’t sound gimmicky as hell…
{{Pikachu}}: Haha~ It shouldn’t be too bad! Now if only we can find the Stairs…
{{Meowth}}: Eh? *Meowth turns to Pikachu, arms still folded*
{{Pikachu}}: The Stairs let us get through places like this, but we have to find ‘em! *He looks at Meowth, nodding* and if push comes to shove, we’ll have to fight other Pokemon too. C’mon!~ *Pikachu begins to run ahead with his arms behind him, his tail flicking from left to right with the pace of his steps*
{{Meowth}}: ***Meow… Dis is gonna be a trip an’ a half, I know it…*** Hold on, wait fah me, squirt!! *Meowth begins to run after Pikachu again, arms behind him*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *After Pikachu and Meowth made their way to the final basement floor of the woods-like dungeon, 4BF, they arrived at a clearing. And in the middle of said clearing, was a scared looking Caterpie*
{{Caterpie}}: *Caterpie sniffles softly, tears in his eyes* W-waaah…! M-mommyyy? *Caterpie looks around worriedly, seeing no signs of his Butterfree mother*
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth run towards Caterpie as Pikachu puts a paw around Caterpie*
{{Pikachu}}: Hey, you’re hurt, are you?! Don’t worry, your mom sent us to come get you out… Hup! *Pikachu gently hoists Caterpie up onto his back*
{{Caterpie}}: Uwa! U-um… Huh…?
{{Pikachu}}: Your mom’s waiting! Hang tight, lil’ bug~ *Pikachu begins to walk towards the stairs again and to the exit*
{{Caterpie}}: O-okay!
{{Meowth}}: ***”Lil’ bug”? Since when did he start talkin’ like me?*** Hopefully she’s okay… *Meowth walked beside Pikachu*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon seeing Pikachu and Meowth exiting Tiny Woods with Caterpie in tow, the once anxious Butterfree breathes a sigh of relief, flying closer to them both*
{{Butterfree}}: My little Caterpie is alright, thank goodness…! *Butterfree slowly takes Caterpie from Pikachu* How can I ever repay you~?
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu shakes his head* No, no, it’s okay! And with the recent quakes and fissures stirring so much trouble… It was the least we could do~! Glad your boy’s safe!
{{Butterfree}}: *Butterfree gives Pikachu a stern look, then smiles* I can’t allow that, please… Take this as a gift~ *She gives Pikachu a small brown sack*
{{Narrator}}: *Curious, Pikachu opens the sack and gasp, as Meowth was even shocked too*{{Pikachu}}: W-wah?! 500 Poke Gold?!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth turns to see Caterpie staring at him with sparkling eyes, then Meowth tilts his head, confused* Nya? … ***Dis lil’ guy’s starin’ at me all adorable like…***
{{Caterpie}}: T-thank you! Both of you!
{{Butterfree}}: Good-bye… Take care, you two! *Butterfree smiles as she flies away with Caterpie*
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth both wave the two Bug-type Pokemon off and Pikachu turns to Meowth*
{{Pikachu}}: Hey, thanks for the help! You’re actually kinda strong for a Meowth~!
{{Meowth}}: Eh? *Meowth turns and smiles slightly at his Electric Rodent friend* Whyy thank ya! You ain’t too shabby yerself, squirt~
{{Pikachu}}: Listen… If you really don’t have anywhere to go, I can show you around the village nearby! Follow me! *Pikachu starts to run past Meowth, stepping on Meowth’s tail by mistake in the process*
{{Meowth}}: Nyeowch! HEY! ***Gah, dat dumb rat…***
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth runs with his arms behind him to catch up with his partner*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu leads Meowth to a large hut just on the edge of Pokemon Square*
{{Pikachu}}: This is the plaaace~! My home! *Pikachu goes to the small wooden mailbox near the hut* Damn… *His ears lower* No mail huh…
{{Meowth}}: Dis place looks comfy, squirt! *Meowth whistled a bit then looks at Pikachu* Were ya expectin’ someting?
{{Pikachu}}: Well, yeah! But um… I’ve been thinking about something earlier… See, there’s been other things than just quakes… Fires, Tsunamis, y-you name it! I dunno what’s goin’ on… I wanna keep others safe! And help them if they need it. Meowth. *Pikachu looks at the ground, down at his pheet, then looks at Meowth* I could really use more of your help! How about it~? Wanna… Wanna form a rescue team with me? *He extends his paw outwards towards Meowth*
{{Meowth}}: ***A rescue team? Wit DIS twoip?! He does seem pretty sweet…*** Alright, I’ll take ya up on that offer! *Meowth closes one eye, smiling toothily as he puts his paw in Pikachu’s paw in a handshake~*
{{Pikachu}}: Piiika… *Happy tears start welling up in his eyes* ALRIIIIIGHT!!~ *Pikachu’s eyes close in a bright smile as he pumps a fist into the air in excitement while he shouts happily*
{{Meowth}}: Heh, yer pretty cute now dat I look at’cha… *Meowth folds his arms*
{{Pikachu}}: Well… We’re a team now… So that means we need a team name! Any ideas~?
{{Meowth}}: Haah… ***Dammit, mouse, why d’ya have ta put me on da spot like dis…*** Uhm… How ‘bout… TundaSwipe!
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu had started to pick up that Meowth seemed to always talk “funny” to him, but he was a bit confused as he tilts his head*
{{Pikachu}}: “Tunda”Swipe? Chuu, pi?
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth’s cheeks heat up as his blushes a bit from embarrassment* Daah… I-I mean…
{{Pikachu}}: Hmm… Are you trying to say… ThunderSwipe~?
{{Meowth}}: Yea… *Meowth looks away*
{{Pikachu}}: Hehehehaha~ *Pikachu giggles and step closer to Meowth, hugging him and looking up at him* It’s okay that you talk different than me! I know what you mean now~ … ThunderSwipe sounds perfect!
{{Meowth}}: M-mreow… *Meowth looks down at Pikachu, giving him a faint smile* Mmm.. Tanks, squirt~ *He puts a paw on Pikachu’s head right between Pikachu’s ears and rubs Pikachu’s head* On second tought… How ‘bout BoltSwipe instead~?
{{Pikachu}}: Oh! That sounds good tooo~! *Pikachu blushes and smiles cutely* Hey, I picked these up in Tiny Woods as well! *He holds out a red scarf and a green scarf* They’re scarves, to signify our newfound rescue team~!
{{Meowth}}: Heh, tank ya, squirt! But… Why is yers green and mine’s red? *Meowth slowly takes the red scarf from Pikachu and slowly puts it on, the tails of the scarf were behind his head like a typical mystery dungeon style scarf!*
{{Pikachu}}: Um… I-I only found one red one… Piika~ *He smiles sheepishly, putting on his green scarf in the same fashion as Meowth* But hey, these look great huh~! Sure… We don’t look like we’re on the same team with the different colored scarves, but… We’re friends now! Starting tomorrow, we’ll do our BEST~!
{{Narrator}}: ## **And thus… Pikachu and Meowth’s journey began… The journey to the Tower in the Sky!**
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *The next morning, Meowth wakes up before Pikachu, to see that he was in fact, still a Meowth as he looks over himself*{{Meowth}}: ***Nya…? I’m still da same as I was yesterday… Haah, guess I’m stuck like dis den.***
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu yawns softly as he starts to wake up* Mmm~! … Piiika. Good-morning, buddy~ *Pikachu looks up at Meowth* How’d ya sleep huh?!
{{Meowth}}: Heh, mornin’ squirt. Hey, I checked the mailbox earliah and it turns out dere was a Rescue Team Starter Set ready for us~! *Meowth grins, pointing to the Toolbox on the desk nearby* Aand~ *He flashes two Rescue Team badges, and tosses one to Pikachu*
{{Pikachu}}: Sweet~! *Pikachu catches the badge and attaches it to his scarf* Today’s the day we officially start doing rescue missions… I’m kinda excited and nervous at the same time! We- *Pikachu stops as he hears flapping, then looks up, seeing a Pelipper flying down to the mailbox, putting an envelope inside it with his beak, then flying off again*
{{Meowth}}: Mail? *Meowth goes and checks the mailbox, taking the envelope and looking at it*
{{Narrator}}: *The envelope was a Rescue Request from a Magnemite. Which read: “BZZT BZZT… Hey! I heard from Caterpie that you saved him yesterday! Um… I’m sort of in a pickle myself and need help! Please come!! BZZT BZZT… – Magnemite”
{{Pikachu}}: OUR FIRST RESCUE, YAAAY~!! *Pikachu was overjoyed as he jumps up and down*
{{Meowth}}: *Sweatdrop* Gee, runt, y’sure are excited… Well, let’s go help ‘em out!
{{Pikachu}}: Yep! Off to Thunderwave Cave!
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth quickly set off together to Thunderwave Cave, where their Magnemite client needed rescuing!*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon arriving at the entrance to Thunderwave Cave, there stood a Teddiura with a worried look*
{{Teddiursa}}: O-oh, yes! You too came! I’m guessing that the letter Magy sent went through… Please, bring him back safely!
{{Meowth}}: On it!
{{Pikachu}}: Leave it to us!
{{Narrator}}: *Both Meowth and Pikachu nod at each other before taking off into the cave. After quite a bit, the two Pokemon emerge from the exit with Magnemite in tow as Teddiursa squeals and hugs Magnemite, nuzzling his cheek against him, giggling and thanking team BoltSwipe and rewarding them*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth was following Pikachu into Pokemon Square as he was being shown around*
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu leads Meowth over to a Persian behind a counter* This is Felicity Bank! Pokemon can store their money they get from completing rescue missions here~
{{Persian}}: Mwrraa~♡ *Persian waves a paw and smiles* I’ll always be here if you ever feel afraid to lose anything~
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu whispers to Meowth* I heard, Persian gives other cat Pokemon like you extra…. “Benefits” Hehee~
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth blushes, seeing Persian wink at him while purring. He knew what those “benefits” were~* I… I’ll take yer word for it…
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu leads Meowth over to a Kangaskhan behind a counter nearby Felicity Bank* This is the Storage~ Kangaskhan can keep any items you don’t wanna lose in her safe here!
{{Kangaskhan}}: I don’t just store things either, honey, if you need ANYTHING at all, please, don’t be scared to come to me~ *Kangaskhan smiles sweetly as her belly was heard gurgling deeply~*
{{Meowth}}: Boy, shee sounds hungry… *Meowth rubs the back of his head as he looks at Pikachu* I’m guessin’ she has a big appetite huh?
{{Pikachu}}: Haha~! Who doesn’t… Over there is the Kecleon Shop where you can buy all sorts of useful items and TMs! *Pikachu points to a purple tent with a Kecleon looking at them both from a distance behind a counter* Just uum… Don’t steal. Trust me, I’ve tried and i-it doesn’t end well…
{{Meowth}}: Luckily, yer friends with a mastah teif doh! *Meowth smiles proudly*
{{Pikachu}}: Whatever you saay, Master Thief~ That’s about all! There’s a dojo here owned by Makuhita, but it isn’t open right now… *Pikachu looks at Meowth*
{{Meowth}}: I have a feelin’ I’ll have a lot more fun in dis world dan I tought…~
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon hearing about the story of the Ninetales Curse from Whiscash, Pikachu appeared dejected while he and Meowth walked back towards their shared hut*
{{Pikachu}}: Meowth…
{{Meowth}}: Mow? *Meowth turns to Pikachu* What’s up, squirt?
{{Pikachu}}: L-let’s call it a day… I’m not feeling good…. *Pikachu leaves with his head down, continuing to walk*
{{Meowth}}: ***What’s up wit him today….? He ain’t normally dis glum!*** H-hey, wait up! *Meowth runs after Pikachu*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Days passed, and when night time came around one day, Pikachu and Meowth were sitting on a hill, looking up at the moon. Pikachu was still rather glum*
{{Pikachu}}: … Chuuu…
{{Meowth}}: Alright, fess up! *Meowth stands over Pikachu*
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu looks up at Meowth* What…?
{{Meowth}}: What’s da hell’s da mattah wit you! Seein’ ya like dis breaks my little cat heart! Where’s da happy-go-lucky Pikachu I was hangin’ wit a few days ago!? Where’s dat determination! Dat spark in yer eye!
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu sighs and looks down again* He’s gone… Probably with that bad human…
{{Narrator}}: *A loud slap sound echoes throughout the air as Meowth had just slapped Pikachu across the face, paw twitching*
{{Meowth}}: “Wit dat bad human” huh? Pikachu… You’re really gonna let that dumb old fish shake yous up DAT MUCH?!?
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu’s ears twitch as he feels something like tears drop into paws and he looks up to see that Meowth was… Crying*
{{Meowth}}: I get it… Y-yer tinkin’ I’M dat bad human…!!
{{Pikachu}}: I… *Pkachu bites his lip* I don’t…
{{Meowth}}: *Saying nothing, Meowth unties his scarf, taking it off and dropping it onto Pikachu’s lap* If dat’s what you tink of me, den… I’m gone.
{{Pikachu}}: YOU’RE NOT!! … *Pikachu pulls Meowth into a hug after shouting* You’re not that bad human, I’m sure of it…
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth pauses for a moment, then closed his eyes, hugging Pikachu in return, rubbing Pikachu’s back as the Electric-type cried*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *The next day, Pikachu and Meowth were walking into Pokemon Square, only to find the usual counters uninhabited!*
{{Meowth}}: Yeesh… Where is everybody? Oh!
{{Pikachu}}: Over there?
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth go closer to where all of the residents were gather*
{{Meowth}}: What’s happinin’ now??
{{Bellsprout}}: The rumors! They were true!
{{Pikachu}}: Rumors?
{{Bellsprout}}: The legend! The Ninetales Legend!
{{Caterpie}}: Pikachu! Meowth! *Caterpie went over to them*
{{Meowth}}: Heh, heya, lil bug~
{{Snubbull}}: Shh shh! Quit yappin’, you! That guy’s telling us the deal.
{{Narrator}}: *Snubbull points to Gengar ahead at which Meowth gasps*
{{Meowth}}: DAT bastard?!
{{Pikachu}}: Ge-Gengar?!
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Gengar was standing in the center of Pokemon Square as everyone was surrounding him, listening to him*
{{Gengar}}: I went up to the Hill of the Ancients in the Great Canyon a few days ago! Dat’s where I saw it! Shocking stuff, I tell ya!
{{Lombre}}: Shocking stuff?
{{Gengar}}: There was this certain Pokemon… Heheh, getting advice from Xatu! That Pokemon… He may look ordinary, but get this! He was… *He paused for dramatic effect* … A HUMAN!!
{{Narrator}}: *Everyone besides Meowth and Pikachu gasp in shock*
{{Bellsprout}}: What?!
{{Snubbull}}: It really did exist… A human turned Pokemon… *He huffs in amazement*
{{Gengar}}: But wait, there’s more! *Gengar smiles devious, even more than he was already* Xatu told the human, that the human was the cause of all of the natural disasters!
{{Lombre}}: He was??
{{Gengar}}: If the world’s balance isn’t restored… The world will be destroyed! Dat’s what the psychic bird said! Kahaahaha!
{{Persian}}: Oh dear…!
{{Pikachu}}: Grr… *He turns to Meowth* That damn ghost… He’s gettin’ everyone riled up!!
{{Gengar}}: Hey, hey! Calm dooown~ There’s something easy we can do!
{{Kangaskhan}}: Like what? *She crosses her arms, curious*
{{Gengar}}: Well, if the world’s imbalance is the cause due to the human… Then if he’s gone, everything should be back to normal! Right~? That human is the rotten bastard who ditched his partner Pokemon, Celebi… So if we get rid of the human, then…
{{Snubbull}}: Let’s do it!
{{Kangaskhan}}: It’s… The only way… *She lowers her head*
{{Gengar}}: *He chuckles darkly, looking at Meowth* Hear that… The human’s gonna be no more~ *He cackles and points at Meowth* ISN’T THAT RIGHT, HUMAN?!
{{Meowth}}: Mowh!! *Meowth steps back* N-now wait a sec! I ain’t–
{{Persian}}: I was beginning to like you too… Shame…
{{Meowth}}: P-Persian…?
{{Caterpie}}: H-how c-could you… *He starts tearing up* I-I thought you were a hero…
{{Butterfree}}: Pity…
{{Meowth}}: H-hey, not you too…!
{{Snubbull}}: You! Bastard of a cat! Is this true?!
{{Pikachu}} Wait, wait!! Meowth isn’t a human! You must be–
{{Kangaskhan}}: *Kangaskhan glares down at Pikachu* Silence. *She looks at Meowth* Cat…
{{Narrator}}: *Backed into a corner, Meowth takes a step back, shuddering, unable to talk, a scared look on his face*
{{Pikachu}}: M-Meowth… ***I’ve never seen him this scared before…***
{{Gengar}}: Hah! What’s the matter, Meowth got’cha tongue~? Ironic, considerin’ you ARE one… Or ARE YOU! Haaahahahaha!!
{{Narrator}}: *The group of Pokemon start to close in on Pikachu and Meowth as the two back away slowly*
{{Pikachu}}: R-run for it!! *Pikachu starts to take off running*
{{Meowth}}: Gaah! *Meowth takes off after Pikachu*
{{Gengar}}: Heh… *He watches Pikachu and Meowth run in fear* Serves them right…
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth had retreated back to their base, panting*{{Pikachu}}: I… I think we lost them… *He turns to Meowth, then growls* You dumbass! You didn’t even TRY to defend yourself! You just stood there like a pussy!! And NOT because you’re a cat Pokemon!
{{Meowth}}: P-Pikachu… I’m… Tired of dis…
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu drops his angry expression, having it replaced with concern*{{Meowth}}: I’m not fit ta be yer partner anymore… I only slow ya down an’ get us inta trouble… Maybe I am dat bad human Gengar was talkin’ about… Maybe I am betta off dead, betta off–
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth was cut off but receiving a hard slap to the face by Pikachu, who was growling at him*
{{Pikachu}}: Don’t… Ever… SAY THAT!! Meowth, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now if it weren't for you! I wouldn’t have a friend! I wouldn’t have a team…
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth stood there in shock, his cheek stained with the red paw print of a Pikachu paw on it. But soon they were approached by Alakazam Charizard and Tyranitar, the gold rank team; ACT*
{{Alakazam}}: Back in Pokemon Square. There was a meeting.
{{Charizard}}: I’m sorry to say, but…
{{Tyranitar}}: We have to get rid of you, by brute force!
{{Meowth}}: Mreeooow… N-not you guys too…
{{Charizard}}: It hurts me to have t’kill a cute lil guy like you, but… I go by Alakazam’s orders!
{{Alakazam}}: No. We will give you by tonight. And you will be gone by tomorrow morning, is that understood?
{{Meowth}}: … I… *Meowth hangs his head* Yea…
{{Tyranitar}}: Run… Against all odds, you have to run! Run…
{{Charizard}}: And survive…
{{Alakazam}}: You must uncover the truth… Do NOT stop running until you do.
{{Meowth}}: N-nya… *He starts to tear up* Charizard… And Alakazam…
{{Narrator}}: *Charizard gives Pikachu a smirk*{{Charizard}}: But if I see ya back here too soon, you’ll just end up being my lunch. Heh! There won’t be mercy next time, not from me, or the others… Now get outta here! Go and clear your name, kitty! *Charizard winks*
{{Meowth}}: … Yea! Tanks… *He gives a slight, weak smile*
{{Narrator}}: During the night time, Pikachu and Meowth got all prepped to and when the early morning, Pikachu and Meowth too one last look at Pokemon Square, and their home, before silently leaving, unsure of what awaited them…
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Traversing the fiery Mt. Blaze, and the sheer cold that was Frosty Forest and Mt. Freeze, Pikachu and Meowth had finally arrived at the very peak of Mt. Freeze, where the fabled Ninetales awaited them, accompanying them, was their new friend, Absol, but…*
{{Meowth}}: F… Finally… I-it’s fr-freezin’…
{{Absol}}: But… Where is she? *Absol looks around confused, but then…* Huh?!
{{Charizard}}: *Cracking his neck a bit and pounding his fists together* Caught yaa~ Heheheeheee…
{{Pikachu}}: Gck… *Pikachu steps back* Ch-Charizard!!
{{Absol}}: Hm! *He quickly gets in front of Pikachu and Meowth to guard them, while glaring at Charizard* Where’s the other two?
{{Charizard}}: The blizzard was too harsh for them, ‘specially T-tar. But why’s that matter? I’m here to put these little runts six feet under! *Charizard stomps forward with a wide smirk on his face*
{{Ninetales}}: There will be no need for such violence… *She slowly steps out into view*
{{Charizard}}: N-Ninetales?!
{{Absol}}: Woah…
{{Meowth}}: It’s… Really her…
{{Ninetales}}: I should have welcomed you three sooner, forgive me.
{{Meowth}}: C-can ya tell us?! Who was da human dat was in da legend!
{{Charizard}}: Is it even REAL?
{{Narrator}}: *Clearly, everyone was shocked at Ninetales appearance… But Ninetales simply looks at them all*
{{Ninetales}}: I care not whether it is considered a legend or true. Though… It did happen. It was decades ago where I tried to lay a curse on a human. However, the human’s partner, a Celebi rushed in. It was selfless enough to take the full brunt of the curse. Instead of aiding, the human chose to flee. It disgusted me. Said human, became a Pokemon themselves as punishment. The human still lives to this very day, as a Pokemon.
{{Absol}}: *He steps up* But… Who IS the human?
{{Ninetales}}: *She slowly looks over at Meowth* No one nearby.
{{Meowth}}: !!
{{Charizard}}: Huh!
{{Pikachu}}: Um… You said… J-just now…
{{Ninetales}}: The Pokemon standing before you–Meowth, is not the human in the legend.
{{Pikachu}}: … W-wha… ***I feel fuzzy… N-no! Relieved…*** Meowth…
{{Meowth}}: U-uh. Squirt? You–
{{Pikachu}}: MEOOOWTH!!!~ *Pikachu suddenly leaps at Meowth and hugs him, nuzzling into him while tearing up and crying tears of joy*
{{Meowth}}: Waaaa-uaah! *He stumbled a bit, but caught Pikachu, smiling gently* I’m here, squirt…! G-gosh, yer heavy..
{{Pikachu}}: I-I knew it all along!~ I just knew you weren’t that bad human in the legend!!
{{Charizard}}: *He smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head* I guess I owe ya an apology then, heh…~ Sorry, then.
{{Ninetales}}: And… The world’s calamities. They are not related to the human whatsoever. The source… Exists elsewhere.
{{Meowth}}: D-dat’s a relief for me I guess… But that ain’t good at all!
{{Charizard}}: You said it…
{{Absol}}: Pikachu, Meowth… I– … I want to continue following you. I have to!
{{Pikachu}}: Sure you can… Buddy~!{{Absol}}: … Mmp– *Absol blushes faintly, but quickly shakes it off*{{Narrator}}: *With the troubling rumor debunked, Pikachu, Meowth, Absol and Charizard all began to leave, slowly, but surely, making their way back to Pokemon Square*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *In Pokemon Square…*
{{Gengar}}: Heh… Look who came running back… What, ya didn’t get buried huh?
{{Meowth}}: You… Rotten… EVERYTHING YA TOLD DEES GUYS WAS A LIE!!
{{Pikachu}}: Piii-ka! Yeah!! Meowth had nothing to do with it, ya ghostly bastard!
{{Absol}}: He was INNOCENT.
{{Gengar}}: Gen–?! *Gengar flinched a bit*
{{Lombre}}: What…? He was?!
{{Shiftry}}: Gengaar, you…
{{Gengar}}: H-hey, hey! They’re lyin’! They don’t know anything!
{{Snubbull}}: … Yeah, show us some proof then!
{{Meowth}}: Uh.. Proof… Um..
{{Gengar}}: Well?? Where’s the evidence, hahaah! C’mon, show us!
{{Absol}}: *Absol steps up, smirking* You called~? Your proof’s right here.
{{Gengar}}: Who the hell– Hey! Get rid of these guys!
{{Bellsprout}}: Not likely… Meowth would launch me into space…
{{Snubbull}}: I don’t wanna be shocked!
{{Caterpie}}: You’re just a big liar!! Meowth was my hero and I always believed in him!
{{Gengar}}: Shoot… *He starts to back away* I’m outta here!!
{{Narrator}}: *Gengar dashes away with an angry mob of the other Pokemon chasing after him*
{{Absol}}: Hah, buh-bye, ghost boy~ *He laughs as he watches Gengar flee, then turns to Meowth and Pikachu* Now… Do you have anymore gummies?
{{Meowth}}: Nyahahahaa, somebody’s hooked! C’mon back ta base with us!
{{Absol}}: … R-right.
{{Narrator}}: *Absol once again blushes, then huffs as he begins to follow behind the two smaller Pokemon. Meowth was glad his name had been cleared and all was well. Or so it seemed…*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon celebrating the defeat of Groudon in Magma Cavern and the rescue of team A.C.T, Meowth and Pikachu were touted as heroes of sorts, being recognized by the higher ranked teams for their bravery! But suddenly, Xatu began to communicate with them all telepathically…*
{{Xatu}}: ***Am I coming in clear?***
{{Meowth}}: Xatu?!
{{Alakazam}}: This is a surprise! Is something the matter?{{Xatu}}: ***I may have terrible news! Something… From the sky…falls a star.***
{{Charizard}}: A star?
{{Raichu}}: I think… I think he means…
{{Xatu}}: ***A meteorite. A large one… One the size of the planet itself!***
{{Persian}}: Nya–?! Y-you have to be joking!
{{Kangaskhan}}: I don’t think he is…
{{Xatu}}: ***The meteor. It’s the cause of the natural disasters recently… If something isn’t done to stop it from hitting earth… This world would be destroyed. The star falls ever-closer…***
{{Charizard}}: Xatu… Can it be stopped?!
{{Xatu}} … ***There is a way. One must seek out the Dragon of Legend himself. Only then, will there be a possibility.***
{{Aipom}}: RAYQUAZA!?
{{Blastoise}}: That’s askin’ for a death wish! No way! No way in hell is anyone doing that!
{{Octillery}}: No rescue team has ever gone up to Sky tower before!
{{Narrator}}: *Various gasps and sounds of disagreement sound throughout Pokemon square*
{{Pikachu}}: Oh no… So this is what Ninetales meant by the world’s balance is upset… We have to stop it, Meowth!!
{{Narrator}}: *Everyone’s attention turned to Meowth and Pikachu*
{{Meowth}}: *He turns to Pikachu* WHA– Squirt, are you NUTS or someting?! Did ya eat a bad gummy?
{{Wigglytuff}}: Meowth is right… Going up to the sky could be suicide…
{{Absol}}: *Absol growls and steps up* If we don’t stop it, WHO WILL?! Listen to me. Do you want to die? Do you want to live your last few days in fear because you bothered not to do anything about the threat of danger?? I sensed that something was coming… And I want to stop it!
{{Tyranitar}}: Absol…?
{{Pikachu}}: Absol…
{{Meowth}}: *He nods and runs in front of everyone* The snow boy’s right! We can’t let dis be da end! Someone’s gotta do sometin’ about dat meteor… And dat someone.. IS US!!
{{Absol}}: Xatu. Tell us how to get to Sky Tower!
{{Xatu}}: ***Alakazam.***{{Alakazam}}: … Yes.
{{Narrator}}: ***Alakazam closes his eyes then starts to focus. A green glow began to emit from him and then, in front of him. A green beam shoots up into the air with smaller swirls of green, the sound of wind blowing rang out as the beam slowly fades, and in front of them, was a light blue emerald!***
{{Pikachu}}: Wooah…
{{Meowth}}: What is dat…?
{{Xatu}}: ***Amplifying our teleporting abilities together, Alakazam and I are able to create the Teleport Gem. This gem allows Pokemon who hold it to be transported to the sky…***{{Pikachu}}: Well then… T-this is it… One final Mystery Dungeon…
{{Raichu}}: Please be careful…!!
{{Kangaskhan}}: You’re our only hope, Meowth… Pikachu…
{{Kecleon}}: You have to stop it… For the sake of the world!
{{Persian}}: Hm~ My little Meowth’s grown to be a hero… I wish you three the best of luck…
{{Everyone}}: GO, TEAM BOLTSWIPE!!
{{Meowth}}: Mrrew… *Meowth wipes away some tears, then nods, looking at Pikachu and Absol*{{Absol}}: You can always depend on me… Buddy~
{{Pikachu}}: We’ll stop that meteor and save this world~!
{{Narrator}}: *With another nod, Meowth, together with Pikachu and Absol, step forward towards the Teleport Gem. And upon touching the gem, green energy starts to swirl around them slowly, then rapidly as winds whip up, blowing their scarves a bit. Light green winds whip around the three and soon disperse as they disappear, along with the Teleport Gem!*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Green energy swirls about then disperse, to reveal the three members of team BoltSwipe at the bottom of Sky Tower, right in front of the entrance. Pikachu looks up in shock*
{{Pikachu}}: Wooah… *He looks around*
{{Narrator}}: *The three of them were on top of a sea of clouds! It was quite a sight*
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu looks up slowly* PIIKA! H-hey, guys, look!
{{Meowth}}: *He slowly looked up* Whew… It's a giant towah of clouds!!
{{Absol}}: It… Oddly looks like a bunch of white and blue cotton candy… *Absol’s belly grumbles softly after that and he blushed*
{{Pikachu}}: *Giggling* Boy, you DO have a sweet tooth~!
{{Meowth}}: First, ya eat all da gummies, now yer tinkin’ about cotton candy… Nyehehe!
{{Absol}}: *Blushing more* I– W-whatever, shut up! This is the final dungeon…
{{Pikachu}}: Yeah… *Pikachu stares into the exit as he nods*
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth takes the lead as he nods, running into the entrance, ready to face their last test…*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon reaching the peak of Sky Tower and a hard fought battle against Rayquaza, the fighting was interrupted by a sudden rumble in the clouds!*
{{Pikachu}}: W-whuaauaah!! *Pikachu almost loses balance* A-any earthquake?! Here?!
{{Meowth}}: N-no, dis is different…
{{Rayquaza}}: These are shockwaves! Tremendous ones at that…
{{Absol}}: We didn’t come here to fight! There’s a meteor on it’s way to earth, and if we don’t destroy it, everything will be gone!!
{{Rayquaza}}: Hmph, how is that MY problem.
{{Meowth}}: If ya don’t do someting, YOUR domain here’s gonna be toast too!
{{Rayquaza}}: … Fine.
{{Narrator}}: *Rayquaza looks up slowly to see the giant meteor, then closes his eyes, inhaling deeply as purple energy starts to form in his maw. Then his eyes snap open as he roars and fires off a majestic purple Hyper Beam at the meteor. It slowly started to crack the meteor but Rayquaza started losing power. Pikachu nods at Meowth and Absol*
{{Pikachu}}: Guys!
{{Meowth & Absol}}: Right!!
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth charges up a powerful Dark Pulse in his paws then fires it off at the meteor as Absol charges and fires a powerful Ice Beam from his maw. Pikachu’s cheeks spark as he fires a Thunderbolt alongside them, with the three beams alongside Rayquaza’s Hyper Beam, much to Rayquaza’s surprise!*
{{Meowth}}: Grrf… C’mon… More…. *Meowth continued to strain himself* I know ya have more powah in ya, Dragon… SO HURRY UP AND USE IT ALREADY!!!!
{{Narrator}}: *Rayquaza’s heart gave off a resounding pulse sound as his eyes shot open*
{{Rayquaza mind}}: ***Why are you holding back? Don’t you care about your home? Don’t you care about them; team BoltSwipe? That Meowth has a point. You have power deep inside you. RELEASE IT.***
{{Narrator}}: *With a reverberating roar, energy swirls around Rayquaza as he mega evolves! He amps up the power of his Hyper Beam which was enough to shatter the meteor entirely as multicolor particles start to rain down onto Sky Tower*
END_OF_DIALOG
{[Narrator}}: *Days passed and life returned to normal in Pokemon Square, everyone was up on the Hill of the Ancients, but then… Meowth started to glow and slowly turn translucent*
{{Pikachu}}: … M-Meowth!! *Pikachu runs over to Meowth* What’s happening!? Are you okay?!
{{Absol}}: You’re glowing!
{{Meowth}}: Meow… *He gives a faint smile* Pikachu…. Everyone… I-I guess my time’s up.
{{Charizard}}: W-wha…
{{Caterpie}}: W-what does that mean!?
{{Meowth}}: I won’t be here much longah
{{Pikachu}}: *Shaking head* Stop… Don’t say stuff like that!~ We’re gonna go on lots and lots of adventures forever! Right~?
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth simply just stands there, the glow and translucency intensifying*
{{Pikachu}}: … R-right? Meowth…?
{{Meowth}}: I was sent here ta fulfill my role I guess~ And It’s been filled! Tanks for everyting…
{{Pikachu}}: Your role? C’mon, stop bein’ silly already ya dummy~
{{Absol}}: Pikachu…
{{Alakazam}}: It really is that time…
{{Meowth}}: Sorry… Squirt…~
{{Pikachu}}: W-why?? Why do you have to leave?! *Pikachu starts to tear up* W-we were supposed to be… F-friends forever…!
{{Meowth}}: Hey… Tink of it dis way! Dere’s always more Meowth you can befriend~
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth’s body began to glow more*{{Meowth}}: Even if I’m not here, we’ll always be pals!
{{Pikachu}}: *Slowly, he goes closer* D– *He could barely talk as he was fighting back tears* D-don’t leave…! I don’t wanna be alone… P-please!!
{{Meowth}}: I’m… *His scarf fell off as his body got more translucent and the glow got bigger as his body sparkled* I’m real lucky I met’cha, squirt… Nya~...
{{Narrator}}: *Others, notably Charizard and Absol were also struggling to fight back tears*{{Pikachu}}: J-just a little longer, please!!! What’ll BoltSwipe be without you!! *Pikachu goes to pick up Meowth’s scarf as tears stream down his face* M-Meowth!!
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth’s body fades into a bright yellow orb as he gave one final smile towards Pikachu*
{{Meowth telepathy}}: ***I really had fun with ya… I’m sorry I have ta leave ya hangin’ like dis… But dere’s notin’ I can do… Everyone… Tank you…~ See ya, squirt~***
{{Narrator}}: *The orb of light starts to slowly rise over the cliff edge as Pikachu followed it running right to the edge of the cliff, watching it rise higher and and higher*
{{Pikachu}}: MEOOOOOOWTH!!!!
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu’s voice echoed through the air as he yells out to Meowth with tears streaming down his face heavily as the yell orb slowly fades. Perhaps in another time, the two will meet again!*
END_OF_DIALOG
2024.06.05 03:41 Fawizzle33 My Recent Experience with a "Balanced" Trainer
I started perusing this sub as my 2-year-old Golden has harbored a few behaviors that R+ never seemed to alterid of. The biggest one was his mouthing - any person he met he would greet them mouth first - not unheard of for Goldens obviously, but his bite inhibition was erratic in these instances. Not breaking the skin, but not the "soft mouths" you typically associate with Labs/Goldens. I hated it, my parents hated it, my friends hated it. Nothing would work - and yes, the methods we trained long-term - redirection (bringing a toy instead -> I can't always carry a toy around, and sometimes he would mouth WITH/DESPITE the toy, or drop it so he could mouth them), time-outs, reverse time-outs, creating a greeting routine (he had to sit and shake their before they could pet him), etc. His "love language" was mouthing, and the behavior is rooted in overarousal - either anxiety, excitement, or both.
I only had experience with R+ methods - that's what they preach in puppy101, that's the method I was taught as a Petsmart trainer, and what was preached as the "best" and "only" method. I know now that the majority of studies "proving" this conducted are skewed (small sample sizes, differing criteria, etc.) but on the flip side, I only thought of prong collars and e-collars as the alternative, when there seems to be a fair and middle ground. My biggest takeaway at this point is: train the dog in front of you.
So I hired a trainer who came highly recommended in my area. Her guarantee was only needing one session to help - I figured this was because she would provide the methods/plans to implement behavior change over a longer period of time instead of working with me on a weekly basis - cost effectiveness I guess. My second biggest mistake was not asking more questions before the session, and as our session went on, I began doubting the efficacy of her methodology and reasoning. Her background was in training police dogs AND she had shadowed under Cesar Milan (when she mentioned this, my guard started to go up).
When she first walked in, she allowed my dog to "make mistakes", that is, jump and mouth and get in her space. Once she got an idea of the behavior I was talking about, she would do 1 of 3 things. 1. Direct "energy" toward him to get him to stop a behaviodo something (as I type this I feel ridiculous, but remember Cesar's show where he would make the "Shhh" sound toward a dog? That.) 2. Use spatial pressure - so essentially use her body to get into his space and essentially intimidate him to sit/lie down/move away. 3. Use tactile pressure - cup her hands and essentially jab his flank in a quick fluid motion. Or use her knee to manipulate him around. She'd use them in that order depending on whether or not he'd respond. No commands, she said those were useless.
Some of the things she told me throughout our session:
"Dogs have a scale from 0 - 10; 0 is sleeping, 10 is balls to the wall, or severe aggression/anxiety. 5 is where dogs will typically teter between making the right or the wrong choice." This I agreed with.
"If you're using food/treats, your dog is already at a 6 and you've "already lost" in terms of his exuberance/controllability, and I'm making the emotional state worse by feeding him treats." I don't agree with this.
"Dogs see command training as play - they're good for fun, but shouldn't be relied upon in real life situations." I know command/trick training is a good bonding activity, but the idea that reliable cues shouldn't be relied upon?
"You need to "claim" my things and people - either with my energy or spatial pressure. So for example, when someone comes through the door, you essentially need to use body language (spatial pressure) to tell him that "this person is mine, not yours" (almost like you'd man-to-man guard in basketball lol)." Then, when my dog chooses to go lie down, the person is allowed to go pet him. "I shouldn't let him into my space without an invite - i.e. me going to him first." I agreed with the idea of him getting attention only when he's lying down and calm, but the first part seemed...out of date.
When she does board and trains with puppies, she doesn't train with food, only attention. She "ignores" them 90% of the time and only gives them attention/praise when they 1) potty outside or 2) recall reliably.
On walks, she doesn't allow her dogs to sniff/pee/poop/change sides/etc. Only walk beside her i.e. a constant heel - no further than the pants seam otherwise they get a correction (a leash pop using a slip). She said all dogs have a "follow" mode they can switch into and that's what I need to tap into with my dog. Releasing to sniff/potty is only at her command and very seldom. Um. What? A follow mode? No sniffing?
When we talked about mat training, her method was "If he gets off 99 times, I'm putting him back on 100". Meaning I decide how long he stays on that mat. But then she told me I could reward him with treats every once in a while to reinforce the lying down/sitting on the mat. Uh. Doesn't that go against what you told me earlier? That if I treat him, he's at a 6? That I've "lost"?
My biggest issue came when she was teaching leash pressure with my dog. My dog understands (95% of the time) that if the leash is taut, I will not move forward until he sits or relieves the tension himself in some way (coming back to my side, turning, etc.) She threw a slip over him in my apartment and to my horror proceeded to essentially drag him around until he complied. She was trying to get the point across "When I make tension on the leash, you need to figure out how to remove it yourself. Example - he was lying maybe 5ft in front of her and she wanted him to come forward toward her and truth be told, he flat-out refused (tried to lay down) until she was putting some extreme pressure to get him to come forward to relieve the pressure himself. Now this is when she said "See? He's just being stubborn and manipulative." While I agree he can be stubborn, the notion that he was actually "shutting down" didn't occur to me until later - when she was using spatial pressure to get him to do something and he frantically dove under my chaitable to try and hide behind/under me to get away from her. He wasn't being stubborn or manipulative - as far as I know, dogs don't have the capacity to be manipulative like that - he was afraid. Edit: He was exhibiting a lot of stress signals before/as she was doing it - whale eye, panting, lip licking.
After our session, I felt incredible disgust and anger - at myself, at her. I didn't know what to believe anymore either - I know the dog training industry is so polarized and also unregulated, so I feel like I'm constantly getting conflicting advice. I tried for one day the method she did for walking (using the figure 8 over his snout and behind his ears), keeping him next to my side only and "popping" him when he would go ahead, but 1) it didn't seem to help and 2) I knew/felt I was suppressing his behavior rather than altering it. This was confirmed as the days after into now, his reactivity increased. I've worked with him since he was an adolescent to be able to pass by dogs about 5-10ft away without interaction - in the days after, he began to bark, attempt to engage, and jump at any dog in a 15ft radius. His "temper tantrums" i.e. when he'd become over threshold on his walk and start to jump, mouth, and zoom on leash - returned - when I had worked for a while to build his threshold and haven't had one of those instances in almost 6 months. It felt like our progress in building his tolerance. has been cut down to zero.
I'm not looking for someone to relieve me of the guilt I feel about letting someone do that to my dog, but I am looking for some clarity, or at least a third-party opinion.
submitted by Fawizzle33 to OpenDogTraining [link] [comments]
I only had experience with R+ methods - that's what they preach in puppy101, that's the method I was taught as a Petsmart trainer, and what was preached as the "best" and "only" method. I know now that the majority of studies "proving" this conducted are skewed (small sample sizes, differing criteria, etc.) but on the flip side, I only thought of prong collars and e-collars as the alternative, when there seems to be a fair and middle ground. My biggest takeaway at this point is: train the dog in front of you.
So I hired a trainer who came highly recommended in my area. Her guarantee was only needing one session to help - I figured this was because she would provide the methods/plans to implement behavior change over a longer period of time instead of working with me on a weekly basis - cost effectiveness I guess. My second biggest mistake was not asking more questions before the session, and as our session went on, I began doubting the efficacy of her methodology and reasoning. Her background was in training police dogs AND she had shadowed under Cesar Milan (when she mentioned this, my guard started to go up).
When she first walked in, she allowed my dog to "make mistakes", that is, jump and mouth and get in her space. Once she got an idea of the behavior I was talking about, she would do 1 of 3 things. 1. Direct "energy" toward him to get him to stop a behaviodo something (as I type this I feel ridiculous, but remember Cesar's show where he would make the "Shhh" sound toward a dog? That.) 2. Use spatial pressure - so essentially use her body to get into his space and essentially intimidate him to sit/lie down/move away. 3. Use tactile pressure - cup her hands and essentially jab his flank in a quick fluid motion. Or use her knee to manipulate him around. She'd use them in that order depending on whether or not he'd respond. No commands, she said those were useless.
Some of the things she told me throughout our session:
"Dogs have a scale from 0 - 10; 0 is sleeping, 10 is balls to the wall, or severe aggression/anxiety. 5 is where dogs will typically teter between making the right or the wrong choice." This I agreed with.
"If you're using food/treats, your dog is already at a 6 and you've "already lost" in terms of his exuberance/controllability, and I'm making the emotional state worse by feeding him treats." I don't agree with this.
"Dogs see command training as play - they're good for fun, but shouldn't be relied upon in real life situations." I know command/trick training is a good bonding activity, but the idea that reliable cues shouldn't be relied upon?
"You need to "claim" my things and people - either with my energy or spatial pressure. So for example, when someone comes through the door, you essentially need to use body language (spatial pressure) to tell him that "this person is mine, not yours" (almost like you'd man-to-man guard in basketball lol)." Then, when my dog chooses to go lie down, the person is allowed to go pet him. "I shouldn't let him into my space without an invite - i.e. me going to him first." I agreed with the idea of him getting attention only when he's lying down and calm, but the first part seemed...out of date.
When she does board and trains with puppies, she doesn't train with food, only attention. She "ignores" them 90% of the time and only gives them attention/praise when they 1) potty outside or 2) recall reliably.
On walks, she doesn't allow her dogs to sniff/pee/poop/change sides/etc. Only walk beside her i.e. a constant heel - no further than the pants seam otherwise they get a correction (a leash pop using a slip). She said all dogs have a "follow" mode they can switch into and that's what I need to tap into with my dog. Releasing to sniff/potty is only at her command and very seldom. Um. What? A follow mode? No sniffing?
When we talked about mat training, her method was "If he gets off 99 times, I'm putting him back on 100". Meaning I decide how long he stays on that mat. But then she told me I could reward him with treats every once in a while to reinforce the lying down/sitting on the mat. Uh. Doesn't that go against what you told me earlier? That if I treat him, he's at a 6? That I've "lost"?
My biggest issue came when she was teaching leash pressure with my dog. My dog understands (95% of the time) that if the leash is taut, I will not move forward until he sits or relieves the tension himself in some way (coming back to my side, turning, etc.) She threw a slip over him in my apartment and to my horror proceeded to essentially drag him around until he complied. She was trying to get the point across "When I make tension on the leash, you need to figure out how to remove it yourself. Example - he was lying maybe 5ft in front of her and she wanted him to come forward toward her and truth be told, he flat-out refused (tried to lay down) until she was putting some extreme pressure to get him to come forward to relieve the pressure himself. Now this is when she said "See? He's just being stubborn and manipulative." While I agree he can be stubborn, the notion that he was actually "shutting down" didn't occur to me until later - when she was using spatial pressure to get him to do something and he frantically dove under my chaitable to try and hide behind/under me to get away from her. He wasn't being stubborn or manipulative - as far as I know, dogs don't have the capacity to be manipulative like that - he was afraid. Edit: He was exhibiting a lot of stress signals before/as she was doing it - whale eye, panting, lip licking.
After our session, I felt incredible disgust and anger - at myself, at her. I didn't know what to believe anymore either - I know the dog training industry is so polarized and also unregulated, so I feel like I'm constantly getting conflicting advice. I tried for one day the method she did for walking (using the figure 8 over his snout and behind his ears), keeping him next to my side only and "popping" him when he would go ahead, but 1) it didn't seem to help and 2) I knew/felt I was suppressing his behavior rather than altering it. This was confirmed as the days after into now, his reactivity increased. I've worked with him since he was an adolescent to be able to pass by dogs about 5-10ft away without interaction - in the days after, he began to bark, attempt to engage, and jump at any dog in a 15ft radius. His "temper tantrums" i.e. when he'd become over threshold on his walk and start to jump, mouth, and zoom on leash - returned - when I had worked for a while to build his threshold and haven't had one of those instances in almost 6 months. It felt like our progress in building his tolerance. has been cut down to zero.
I'm not looking for someone to relieve me of the guilt I feel about letting someone do that to my dog, but I am looking for some clarity, or at least a third-party opinion.
2024.06.05 03:01 Storms_Wrath The Human Artificial Hivemind Part 521: The Fort Court
First Previous Wiki
Paizma stood in front of Edu'frec and Gaia. Both of them had grim looks on their faces. She'd been briefed on what they expected of her but worried over exactly what could go wrong. The age of the object was the first problem. The second was that it had some fourth-dimensional properties, like herself.
That meant it could damage her, which she didn't want to deal with. Damage could mean collapse or death, since she might actually be attacked. Paizma pulled in some of the three dimensional matter in the area from an asteroid a few billion miles away.
The extra material fattened her tail, increasing her reserves. The extra weight didn't show in the form she presented before the two, though. Despite that, Edu'frec's brows rose. It seemed he really could monitor her partially in the fourth dimension, which meant he might be accompanying her along the way.
"So is it doable?" Gaia asked again. The young concept entity looked worried. Paizma supposed that made sense since Gaia had named herself after an old word for Earth. And with the planet threatened, they were worried.
Paizma could see it in the subtle shaking of Gaia's hands and the posture they kept, which wasn't as proud as usual. Paizma wondered where Brey was.
"She's making additional preparations for the Psychic Investment Plan," Edu'frec said.
"What?" both of them asked.
"Paizma was wondering where Brey was."
"I don't like my mind being read."
"I can't read your mind, I just predict it," Edu'frec shrugged.
"Are you really going to be like this?" asked Paizma irritably. She inflated her form, increasing its size and height to exceed that of the android. More matter poured in, which Paizma regulated. She missed John already. But keeping two avatars in this way was taxing on her reserves. Plus, he was sleeping.
"Whatever. I am going to take a short look, that is all for now. Do you have your devices ready?" Paizma asked, shimmering with psychic energy. She mustered the force in the third dimension.
"Yes."
She moved it to the fourth. An invisible and massive body surrounding her curled and lashed out, up, and through reality. The vibrations came with a single android in its wake. He made a small mental connection to her, the only way to talk clearly for him in this space.
Paizma took him down to the approximate location of Earth. In the mindscape, it was a nexus of incredible power in two ways. The first was a mere blip, which was the alien facility they were so concerned about. It was sending out a constant pulse of power, as well as a thinner modulated one.
The second nexus of power was the Source. While it didn't really correspond purely to Earth in the third dimension, higher locations were different. With the fourth coordinate point, the Source sat almost directly below the facility. It opened a great eye.
Psychic power smashed into Paizma, then pulled back. The massive weight of the Source pressed her down and out, without moving at all. The psychic energy swirling around it was so immense she could barely survive it. All from its eye opening to look at her. The power of its gaze would have cooked her flesh, if that was possible in this dimension. Instead, the atoms shifted and moved, growing and shrinking in the fourth dimensional equivalent of temperature changes.
And then the eye closed. The nexus of power that was the Source buried itself deeper and lower, where she could still see it. But the swirling array of psychic energy was mostly drawn downward and inward, along with glimmers of darker things Paizma knew better than to pursue. She checked that Edu'frec had survived.
So far, he had. Paizma disgorged him from her mouth, so they could look at the object in Earth. Paizma shared what she was with him. The image was massive, bloating their connection to a large degree. She could see thousands of processors work on deciphering her sight, and then the connection narrowed again.
Now he understood.
"I won't be able to see anything myself," Edu'frec admitted. "You'll have to share your sight."
"How does it feel?"
"Immense. This would definitely break a weaker and smaller mind than mine. Do you filter it, or is this the natural vision?"
"I can expand it, if you can handle it."
"I certainly can. I'd like to see all I can. Can you show me the view you have of the facility from 'above' please?"
"Yes," Paizma said. She moved him closer and around the top. The facility's walls partially stretched to block her sight, but not entirely. She drifted closer, moving in and around. Slices of Earth's crust and mantle popped up in her vision, along with an increasing whole of the facility. With her higher dimensionality, she didn't just see the inside of the facility. She saw all of it, light or not, exposed or not. She saw everything inside the walls, everything on and around the walls, and every single atom within.
Her connection with Edu'frec swelled to fifty million times its normal size. Programs filed away the data neatly into an almost infinite quantum memory. They noted a small siphon of psychic energy from the facility, which seemingly connected downward somewhere.
Paizma followed it, searching and sniffing out everything she could. Something attacked her, throwing Edu'frec out and away. The connection between them snapped.
She moved back, feeling something dig into her side. She let off a flash of psychic energy, and a thousand more of them appeared. She recognized them, too. Reavers.
She lifted herself back to the third dimension, becoming too small for them to detect properly. Her real body appeared above Earth, thrashing for a moment before she steadied herself. She shrunk back down to her normal size and met up with Edu'frec and Gaia again. The android she'd left was rubbing its head.
"What happened?" Gaia asked.
"This was a military research facility for the Sprilnav faction you seem to be from. I think they might still exist, or their guardians do."
"What would that mean?"
"An extreme danger to all of you, if you poke the facility. But the same if you leave it be, now that it is active."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The Council Director weathered the silence in the virtual meeting, which Phoebe had called upon reestablishing contact with Penny. Penny was wearing battle armor and had a distinctly cold aura about her. Juan had felt a shiver when first witnessing her, and the hivemind, through him, analyzed her appearance.
She looked incredibly angry. Clearly, something had eaten away at her, and she'd gained even more psychic energy in the process. Her skin glimmered with it.
"I'm sorry," Blistanna said, looking at the hologram Phoebe was projecting of Penny. "Can you repeat that? I mean, it almost sounds like you started a war against the Sprilnav in the middle of a Judgment by the same species that determines whether we all live or die. Surely I misheard."
Beside her, a Skira drone turned to gaze at the Guulin with an inscrutable expression. Penny took the question in stride, her firm demeanor not lessening like it usually would when confronted by her allies.
Something's definitely changed, Juan thought.
"You did not," Penny said. "The gangs enslaves billions of innocents, and they killed my friend. So they will be wiped from the planet."
"Perhaps you aren't getting with the program," Izkrala added. The matronly Acuarfar stood in her seat, her wings flapping involuntarily. The Empress was incredibly upset, but keeping it contained. But even she couldn't keep the slightest of a buzz out of her voice. "We actually need to win this Judgment, Penny Balica."
"Elder culture works differently," Penny said. "By declaring an official war, I will be capable of garnering more respect among their people and their elite class. I will show that I can and do act within their rules, artificial or stupid they may seem to all of us. I understand I've been playing it fast and loose beyond the Alliance, but I am not your slave. None of you have any true right to order me around. I am taking steps to help the Alliance in my own way, and that may be counter to your opinions."
"Well then," Dilandekar said. "Her ideas are set. It appears ours are as well. The recourse in this situation is clear. Penny currently has an Alliance citizenship, and is still subject to our laws. While no law exists to incarcerate her, and she hasn't done anything truly worthy of that, there is still the possibility of treason charges. Or, perhaps, stripping her of Alliance citizenship."
"That is a poor idea," Juan said. "I will not stand by and allow that. She is a member of Humanity and a citizen of Luna. Before the Alliance, and after the Alliance, if there is such a thing. While your outrage is shared by me, you must recognize the situation. Penny is what links us to Kashaunta in truth. She is also the one actually going to the Judgment. Given the lawyers and legal analysts that Kashaunta has access to, do you really presume this would harm her so massively in the Judgment? We could call down Kashaunta herself to have this discussion, though I am loath to breach the security status of these meetings to do so. But the presumption that she has no plan is one that I find objectionable."
"Of course you would defend this," President Iontona said. "She is your kind."
"Yes, I would, not only because of that, but because she actually is doing exactly what we want. Getting rid of slavery is a good thing. She has an Elder in her head, too. Do you really think she's entirely out of control, merely because she doesn't wish to be controlled right now by us? To the Sprilnav, she is the weapon, not us. All we can do is look divided and weak to make them want to overlook us. And who knows. If you don't like the way we do things, you can continue your internal discussions on whether this is worth it for you."
Juan stared at the wanderer, his unhappiness clear.
"What are you referring to?" Blistanna asked.
"They plan to cut and run," Izkrala said. "If it looks like we'll lose the Judgment. That's what he's upset about. Granted, I was pissed when I heard of it, because of all the trouble we've gone through to try and help you."
"What trouble have you gone through, Izkrala? You sit on your ass and eat all day. All of us wanderers are looking at death because of your human, even more so than the painful cancer the Sprilnav already cursed us with. She's the one who garnered the anger of Yasihaut. You want to know why we want to run? It's because of their sadism. What's to say that they don't put a cancer gene in all of you, or make ours even more excruciating? I have stood at the side of thousands of hospital beds, watching my people wither away. Each ship is looking at resorting to different things. But for you to sit here and pretend you know the fear we're facing is the height of arrogance, disrespect, and rudeness. I will not stand for this. The Sprilnav are going to roll over us if they choose. Penny is nothing to them, and we are nothing to them. They don't care. They're all evil alien animals, which would gladly feast on all our bones if they happened to taste good. This ludicrous idea of provoking them that the Council Director appears to support is exactly why these conversations are happening in the Wanderer Confederacy."
"Look, I know you all want to argue," Penny said. "But really, we should try to be united on this."
"Oh? How will you help with that, then? Perhaps by abandoning another agreement to help us with our cancer? Maybe making more of them, even? I'm sure you can tell us all what unity looks like. Go ahead. Look me in the eyes, and tell me I'm wrong for wanting what's best for my people."
Penny strode over to him. "You don't know what's best for your people."
"See? She-"
"You presume that because you are the President, that you somehow are more capable of understanding the needs of your species. You are a politician more than a person. Everyone here is. Do not forget what the Sprilnav have done to you, but remember that things are different now. We do have the backing of Kashaunta. That is a boon that few nations have possessed in the past. I have power that they respect, so they respect me in turn, or respect my power. Why complain that I am not here to complete my end of the deal when I am actually fighting for the Alliance? The ideas of freedom and liberty are not things to be tossed aside when convenient. I am not trying to insult you. I am trying to understand why you are so upset with me, when this is according to the plan of a Sprilnav elite of the highest order. Kashaunta needs me for my power, so she would tell me which actions are the most beneficial to my position. The same would apply to your position, which is linked to my identity among the Sprilnav. The Progenitors are a non-issue now."
"Considering that they are the gods of all civilization, they are hardly a non-issue."
Penny smiled. "I beat the absolute tar out of Twilight a while back. So yes, they are a non-issue."
"I think it is time to continue the heart of the discussion," Fyuuleen said. "Penny, you need to actually consult us on these things before you do them. While we can't tell you off like a mother Vuureensleev, we still are the rulers of the Alliance. If you don't respect us, who can you respect?"
"The people who put their money where their mouth is. You're not here, dealing with a dead friend. You're there, dealing with passing laws, catching spies, and signing bills. While yes, that job is important, it isn't nearly as stressful as being surrounded by aliens, and only knowing few of them. I can't make friends here without them being killed. There's a war across the planet right now, and I've freed tens of millions of slaves. The Judgment is in one day, and I've been preparing for that, too. I can't really say that I haven't been doing anything right."
"I understand, Conclave Leader. Recent days have been... difficult for me. Perhaps as a war veteran, you can understand my mindset right now. I know that you all expect to serve as some sort of oversight on me. I am willing to accept that, but your advice needs to be useful. Insulting me over avenging my friend is not the path to reconciliation. Nilnacrawla is telling me to keep your interests in my mind, and I am. But I will listen, not bow. I am not a soldier. I am not a general, or a commander. I am not part of any chain of command. I will ask Elder Kashaunta to establish better contact with you all, and will have Phoebe relay reports of what is going on. I do not plan to begin any major offensives before the Judgment."
"You do not think capturing a city is a major offensive?" Izkrala asked.
"Not compared to capturing hundreds of them," Penny said. "I am the Liberator. That means that I am fighting for everyone."
"But fighting for the Sprilnav is a waste of your time, effort, and talent," Iontona said.
"They are people too," Penny said. "This mentality of us and them is what has destroyed every nation of our kind before us. We need to accept that we need Sprilnav allies to win this war. To turn their strength against them, I must help them too. Kashaunta is a brutal despot, but she is fair in her rule, as much as many of you. She has fought wars of grander scale, which necessitates larger death tolls."
"You are not here to play defense for Kashaunta. You are here because you are threatening our future with your antics."
"I know," Penny said. "But my actions will have a positive impact, not a negative one. We have a plan in place to exploit the traps Yasihaut will seek to set. We have lawyers capable of defending us. I know you do not trust me, not truly. But that is acceptable. I will not let us lose this Judgment."
"And if you do?"
"There are plans in place for that, as well. The nuclear option is not something I will talk about now, and will only discuss if things get far worse."
"Very well, Penny," Fyuuleen said. "Do what you must."
"If you don't, billions of people will die," Iontona added.
Penny nodded again. "That weighs on me every day."
She left the meeting. The rest of them followed. Juan led Blistanna aside before she exited.
"What is it? I have things to do."
"Yes, we all do. But I wish to know what suggestions you have. I can tell that you are upset, and I believe it would be better for me to present your ideas to her."
"It is not anger at her, not really. I am upset that we have to forgo freeing slaves because of the Judgment. I am angry that it might endanger our own freedom and continued survival, because of this situation that has been concocted. Most of all, I am angry because they can just do this again and again. Nothing stops them. The Sprilnav have us at our throats, without having to lift a claw. All with one court case. They can just arbitrarily decide to kill us, and there's nothing we can do."
Blistanna's tentacles shook with anger. Her skin was paled in distress, and she stared at the place Penny had left. "Truth be told, maybe she's doing it right. But the politics of all of this is just nasty. Iontona's a coward, Dilandekar's cold, and Izkrala is too angry over the principle instead of the situation. We can't have more of these sorts of National Exchanges, Juan. If we do, we'll either drive Penny away entirely or rip ourselves apart. Maybe that's what the Sprilnav want. The more we bicker and argue, the worse it all gets. This is exactly how nations crumble."
"So we need to do something about it, then," Juan said.
"What grand idea do you have for this one? I hope it's not bringing Earth into this. They'll really tear it apart."
"No. We need an outward facing front. So what we need to do is push the youth against the leaders that are problematic, or the ideas that are. We showcase this division on the national stage, plug it with Phoebe's propaganda, and those in power will be forced to look like they're working together. The resentment won't last. We can get Kashaunta on board, if possible."
"Bad idea. She only speaks to her own interests."
"Not entirely," Juan said. "Tell me, what do you know about Sprilnav Soul Blades?"
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Penny watched the massive doors of the Fort Court swing open. Hundreds of thousands of guns, lasers, and missiles fixed upon her as she gently walked forward. The facility was mostly bare bones, with high amounts of alloy and stone visible in the upper layers. But at the lower levels, there was a large amount of holograms showing various symbols and golden overlays. It reminded her of the patterns on lace.
The Court was twenty miles tall, larger than a mountain. Even the doors went up for nearly two miles. They swung using unknown means, letting a second layer of sunlight fall upon the hardened floor.
Behind Penny was her own entourage. The Refined Elders, Pundacrawla, Phoebe, Kashaunta, and a few of her retainers were followed by guards, a thick shield, and several Correctors. But not just them. In a gradually widening triangle, tens of thousands of freed slaves also followed.
Penny had explained what she planned to Kashaunta to get this to happen, and the Elder enthusiastically accepted. While they would not be let within a certain radius of the Court, and their camps were widely spaced to prevent hiding anything of interest to the security, it would help to show the support Penny had of the people.
They were already tailgating. Music played from alien boom boxes and even a band Kashaunta had hired. Guides and security drones watched from afar but had already ensured the security threat would be minimal.
There were shields in place to prevent anything serious. In the distance, smoke from the dormant volcano the Court was built atop rolled out of specialized vents. The Sprilnav apparently could control when volcanoes erupted, which wasn't surprising to Penny once she'd learned of it. The Court was gigantic, and there would need to be a lot of stability for it to exist for as long as it had.
Inside, the chamber was circular. The Court was shaped like the Coliseum, complete with some pillar designs that held up the area where the High Judges were sitting. The twenty seats had been prepared ahead of time, and featured holograms below them on the sheer wall that supported them above the columns. The holograms read out various names in both Justicar Standard Script and in English.
Penny could see the High Judges themselves, but her gaze went to the 'empty' stands. The only people inside were either Guides, Correctors, or holograms of spectators. The holograms had a distinct unrealistic orange glow, probably some security apparatus.
Two house-sized tents were in the center, separated by a black and purple painted line. Above the line was a triple layer of shields: one yellow, one purple, and another yellow. The purple shield was so strong that Penny couldn't sense anything on the other side. It also surrounded her half of the Court in a bubble that met the ground in the same painted lines, suggesting that the shield went underground. The mindscape dropped away as soon as Penny crossed the threshold behind the massive doors.
The Court quieted. Millions of eyes, real or not, were all fixed upon Penny's waist. When Penny had passed the purple barrier, the Soul Blade had appeared on her hip. Penny didn't react, continuing to move forward to reach the Defendant's Booth. She could faintly see the Challenger's Booth on the other side through the shield.
Yasihaut had entered the Court first, as was tradition. Clearly, Justicar had decided to limit the contact between them. A sound decision. Penny didn't want to have to see her anymore.
The thick shields became more transparent, revealing Yasihaut's delegation. Elders and various Sprilnav, all wearing conceptual power blocking armor, stood in front of the Challenger's booth. The eerie silence soon ended when an Elder stood. Justicar wore an incredibly elaborate armor set, with designs that looked a lot like lace.
"In the name of Justicar, this Court is brought to order. I am High Judge Justicar. I am one of the 20 presiding High Judges over this case, appointed in this role by my birthright. This is the 4th day of the 18th year of the 803rd Age of Justicar. Let the record reflect that this trial's start time is exactly midday."
Justicar's imperious expression passed over them.
"Now, with that out of the way, I shall introduce the Challenger and Defendant, along with their submitted arguments for this Judgment. In summary, Challenger Elder Yasihaut, 1st Named in the Everlasting, has opened this Judgment claiming that the Defendant and her home nation, the Sol Alliance, should be classified as Class 9 Hostile Alien Threat and Class 7 Hostile Alien Threats, respectively.
The justification she provides for this is that the Sol Alliance hosts two psychic-variant AIs, has shown a willingness and future interest in attacking the Sprilnav people, and the capacity to carry out a destructive attack against Sprilnav civilians. Additionally, she claims that the influence of the Defendant has grown to a state unmanageable by any other party, including both the Elders and the Progenitors due to the backing of Elder Kashaunta. She claims the Defendant is capable of mass-casualty terrorist attacks and has shown continued interest in killing Sprilnav, with no regard for civilian lives lost in the process.
She claims the Defendant's conceptual and psychic power represents an active and severe danger to her life and those of her friends and family, the Defendant is disrupting the current order, and is conspiring with Elder Kashaunta to assassinate her enemies by illegal means. The sentence the Challenger requests as a result of this Judgment is the execution of every current member of the Sol Alliance, as well as the execution of the Defendant immediately upon the conclusion of the case by Conceptual Suffering doses. She cites Judgment 1826 of the 9th day of the 7th year of the 803rd Age, Judgment 662 of the 336th day of the 93rd year..."
As Justicar continued talking, Penny looked at Yasihaut, who smiled smugly back.
The death penalty, Penny thought. How fitting, considering what I will do to her.
"...the 28300th year of the 730th Age. It is important to note that this Trial by Majority will not only determine the guilt or innocence of the Defendant but also the means of the sentence within the realms of law according to the severity of the possible sentence found. It is also important to note that this Judgment will be the final matter between Elder Yasihaut and Penny Balica that will be approved for 30 years. An appeal of this decision will not be allowed, as this trial is of the highest jurisdiction possible, and I am already a High Judge involved in its arbitration. No lower courts or extraplanetary courts may argue this issue again for the same 30 year period, or sanctions will be placed on the offending party with extreme prejudice."
"The Defendant is Penny Balica, a human from the Sol Alliance with the title of Liberator, Champion of Humanity, and... holder of a Pact of Blades with Elder Kashaunta, 1st Named in the Everlasting."
He allowed for the proper amount of time for people to absorb the sentence.
"The Defendant has opened a counter case, suggesting that the Challenger is misrepresenting the Sol Alliance and herself as a threat to the Sprilnav, citing her cooperation with Elder Kashaunta, the Alliance's cooperation with the Van family, and her record of following and upholding treaties with Elders. Furthermore, she has opened a counter case, suggesting that the public statements the Challenger has published fall against the Justicar Defamation Law, notably Sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 20, 46, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 154, 155, 162, 177, 192, 201, and sixty-seven others, and is requesting 2 billion credits and a 30 year censure on public statements from the Challenger and affiliated parties on the Defendant."
"Now that the stakes of this Judgement are laid out, I will instruct the parties in this case on decorum, as neither of them are Justicar natives. The Court expects that the Defendant and the Challenger will hold to the rules of decorum, as will their company. The Court also wishes to avoid unfortunate incidents, so it has hired Progenitors Filnatra and Arneladia to uphold the security of the Court."
"It is also important to note that this Court is backed by the full might of the Elders of Justicar, the Status Quo Party, the Sprilnav Freedom Party, the Justice and Security Party, Elder Lilliana, Elder Napei, Elder Mashae, Elder Aryacrawla, Elder Nulyihaut, Elder Poleia, Elder Crissi, Elder Olei'paushe'ani, Elder Taubelibelibax, Elder Somalia, Elder Aneyti, Elder Wuseniau'palacrawla se Hautni'pelshinomalia, Elder Commu nar Galvi, Elder Commu nar Jelpha, Elder Radia, Elder Hwe'iaspehaut, Elder Maggracrawla, Elder Tishaunt'pali, Elder Kashaunta, and the Progenitors. Its legitimacy is their legitimacy."
Some of those names were downright hilarious. Penny kept her face straight. Justicar said basically the exact same thing Tassidonia had said weeks back.
"I shall instruct the parties of the rules of decorum. High Judges within this room are to be referred to either as 'High Judge' or 'Elder.' No other names or titles apply, with the exception of Progenitor Indrafabar, who is allowed his aforementioned title. No parties may threaten or influence the Challenger or the Defendant and their retinues. Camera drones and other news equipment are to be kept outside the main court chamber the allotted section at all times, unless the express verbal permission of at least 6 High Judges is given to allow a specific instance.
The Challenger and Defendant are to remain on their given sides of the shield, though they may be required to exit their booths upon request. They are not to engage in any actions construed as attacks upon their counterparts under any circumstances. Challenger Yasihaut and Defendant Balica may request breaks to consume food or water within reason.
The booths are equipped with bathrooms compatible with human and Sprilnav physiology, and the Challenger and Defendant are both allowed to declare their retirement to a bathroom and enter it for a period of 1000 pulses, or 1020 human seconds, which is also 17 minutes. Challenger Yasihaut and Defendant Balica are allowed to use Justicar-provided lawyers or may utilize those they have brought here today to assist with their arguments.
These conditions will not be changed by petition from either claimant but only upon the agreement of 16 High Judges and the condition of necessity to the point of impeding the progression of the Judgment.
Devices are to remain within booths unless they are direct admissible evidence in the case. Furthermore, they are to be silenced to prevent any interruptions. Documents to be displayed will be given to the Guides or Correctors standing by both booths. These documents will be shown to the entire Court with translations in both Justicar Standard Script and Post Modern North American English."
Justicar stepped back and moved to his seat. Progenitor Indrafabar stood and moved to the podium.
"Do either of you request additional clarifications on the rules of the Court? If so, indicate it verbally."
His voice was almost hypnotic. Penny resisted the effect. "I wish to know the punishments for violating these terms so both of us have an impetus not to."
Microphones carried her voice to the ears of everyone inside the Court, as if she was right next to their ears, with remarkable quality for such a massive room. Penny wondered if shields were aiding in the sonic feedback.
"This would have been stated in the next section of this proceeding, but I shall say it now for the Court. The punishments will vary based on the severity of the infraction. For this case, under the authority of Justicar, we have decided to fully reinstate Section 4 of the Justicar Common Case Conduct Law. It states the following:
'When any contempt is committed in the immediate view and presence of the Court, the Court may punish it summarily by fine, or imprisonment, or both. If any contempt occurs outside the immediate view and presence of the Court, the Court may levy the same punishments as before after an opportunity for defense has been given. Punishment for Contempt of a Judge, High Judge, or their Court will result in a 1% fine of the violating party's assets, 10-day imprisonment, a rescheduling of the hearing, a published apology to the aggrieved party, an update of their legal record to reflect the fact, and 4 days of community service. If the alleged misconduct has caused an actual loss or injury to any person, the Court shall order the offending party to pay the aggrieved party a sufficient sum to indemnify them, in addition to the other penalties that may be imposed. The payment and acceptance of this sum is an absolute bar to any action by the aggrieved party to recover damages for the loss or injury.'
The full law section is provided below. If either party wishes to read the law, time shall be allotted within reason. Express the decision verbally. When you are finished, you may give the tablet back to your assigned Guide."
"I wish to read the law," Penny said.
"I wish to view the law," Yasihaut said.
Guides carried a tablet to both of them. The display was purplish, and it had a hologram feature available upon selection. Penny took hers, reading the top, and then the next lines one by one. An information note at the top said 'Translation Available,' so she picked it. The English became Justicar Standard Script. The word count changed from 19,283 to 8,740. Justicar Standard Script had been built from the bottom up, so it could express broader concepts in fewer words.
Though her psychic energy enabled her to read incredibly fast, Penny took the time to understand everything that was said. Pundacrawla's tablet beside her showed the same law, though it looked like he'd finished it using his implant. Penny reached the bottom of the list in 10 minutes and handed the tablet back to the Guide.
Five minutes later, Yasihaut finished also.
"Do either of you have additional requests of the Court? If so, express them verbally."
Penny didn't. The more questions she asked, the longer this would take and the less favorable it would look. In a case like this, perception was everything. She didn't even pretend it had to do with fairness under the law.
"Now. The High Judges came to an agreement for this trial. Exactly 197 full laws will be relevant to this trial. We will peruse each relevant section, and each party will confirm their understanding until they move on to the next one. While this level of guidance is not normally necessary, interested parties want to ensure that no breaches occur during this trial."
Indrafabar gave them both a pointed look.
"The reason we are doing this here despite these sections being included in the necessary reading for the trial is for the interest of transparency."
Really, it was Justicar establishing his dominance over them. By making them sit for hours and read in front of millions of people, he was attempting to show that he was above them. Or to convey another message to his backers.
She also suspected Yasihaut's side had influenced this, trying to make Penny look worse by taking longer. It would set her up as the 'slow barbarian alien' in the High Judges' brains, which would unconsciously prejudice them against her a little more.
Unfortunately for them, Nilnacrawla was carrying the definitions for every single unfamiliar legal word in his memories. If each of the laws took her ten minutes, it would require almost 34 hours of reading to finish them all. Whoever took even a few seconds longer would lose respect in the Court, adding more time to the length of the Judgment.
Penny would win even this tiny, petty battle and set the tone for the rest of the Judgment.
submitted by Storms_Wrath to HFY [link] [comments]
Paizma stood in front of Edu'frec and Gaia. Both of them had grim looks on their faces. She'd been briefed on what they expected of her but worried over exactly what could go wrong. The age of the object was the first problem. The second was that it had some fourth-dimensional properties, like herself.
That meant it could damage her, which she didn't want to deal with. Damage could mean collapse or death, since she might actually be attacked. Paizma pulled in some of the three dimensional matter in the area from an asteroid a few billion miles away.
The extra material fattened her tail, increasing her reserves. The extra weight didn't show in the form she presented before the two, though. Despite that, Edu'frec's brows rose. It seemed he really could monitor her partially in the fourth dimension, which meant he might be accompanying her along the way.
"So is it doable?" Gaia asked again. The young concept entity looked worried. Paizma supposed that made sense since Gaia had named herself after an old word for Earth. And with the planet threatened, they were worried.
Paizma could see it in the subtle shaking of Gaia's hands and the posture they kept, which wasn't as proud as usual. Paizma wondered where Brey was.
"She's making additional preparations for the Psychic Investment Plan," Edu'frec said.
"What?" both of them asked.
"Paizma was wondering where Brey was."
"I don't like my mind being read."
"I can't read your mind, I just predict it," Edu'frec shrugged.
"Are you really going to be like this?" asked Paizma irritably. She inflated her form, increasing its size and height to exceed that of the android. More matter poured in, which Paizma regulated. She missed John already. But keeping two avatars in this way was taxing on her reserves. Plus, he was sleeping.
"Whatever. I am going to take a short look, that is all for now. Do you have your devices ready?" Paizma asked, shimmering with psychic energy. She mustered the force in the third dimension.
"Yes."
She moved it to the fourth. An invisible and massive body surrounding her curled and lashed out, up, and through reality. The vibrations came with a single android in its wake. He made a small mental connection to her, the only way to talk clearly for him in this space.
Paizma took him down to the approximate location of Earth. In the mindscape, it was a nexus of incredible power in two ways. The first was a mere blip, which was the alien facility they were so concerned about. It was sending out a constant pulse of power, as well as a thinner modulated one.
The second nexus of power was the Source. While it didn't really correspond purely to Earth in the third dimension, higher locations were different. With the fourth coordinate point, the Source sat almost directly below the facility. It opened a great eye.
Psychic power smashed into Paizma, then pulled back. The massive weight of the Source pressed her down and out, without moving at all. The psychic energy swirling around it was so immense she could barely survive it. All from its eye opening to look at her. The power of its gaze would have cooked her flesh, if that was possible in this dimension. Instead, the atoms shifted and moved, growing and shrinking in the fourth dimensional equivalent of temperature changes.
And then the eye closed. The nexus of power that was the Source buried itself deeper and lower, where she could still see it. But the swirling array of psychic energy was mostly drawn downward and inward, along with glimmers of darker things Paizma knew better than to pursue. She checked that Edu'frec had survived.
So far, he had. Paizma disgorged him from her mouth, so they could look at the object in Earth. Paizma shared what she was with him. The image was massive, bloating their connection to a large degree. She could see thousands of processors work on deciphering her sight, and then the connection narrowed again.
Now he understood.
"I won't be able to see anything myself," Edu'frec admitted. "You'll have to share your sight."
"How does it feel?"
"Immense. This would definitely break a weaker and smaller mind than mine. Do you filter it, or is this the natural vision?"
"I can expand it, if you can handle it."
"I certainly can. I'd like to see all I can. Can you show me the view you have of the facility from 'above' please?"
"Yes," Paizma said. She moved him closer and around the top. The facility's walls partially stretched to block her sight, but not entirely. She drifted closer, moving in and around. Slices of Earth's crust and mantle popped up in her vision, along with an increasing whole of the facility. With her higher dimensionality, she didn't just see the inside of the facility. She saw all of it, light or not, exposed or not. She saw everything inside the walls, everything on and around the walls, and every single atom within.
Her connection with Edu'frec swelled to fifty million times its normal size. Programs filed away the data neatly into an almost infinite quantum memory. They noted a small siphon of psychic energy from the facility, which seemingly connected downward somewhere.
Paizma followed it, searching and sniffing out everything she could. Something attacked her, throwing Edu'frec out and away. The connection between them snapped.
She moved back, feeling something dig into her side. She let off a flash of psychic energy, and a thousand more of them appeared. She recognized them, too. Reavers.
She lifted herself back to the third dimension, becoming too small for them to detect properly. Her real body appeared above Earth, thrashing for a moment before she steadied herself. She shrunk back down to her normal size and met up with Edu'frec and Gaia again. The android she'd left was rubbing its head.
"What happened?" Gaia asked.
"This was a military research facility for the Sprilnav faction you seem to be from. I think they might still exist, or their guardians do."
"What would that mean?"
"An extreme danger to all of you, if you poke the facility. But the same if you leave it be, now that it is active."
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The Council Director weathered the silence in the virtual meeting, which Phoebe had called upon reestablishing contact with Penny. Penny was wearing battle armor and had a distinctly cold aura about her. Juan had felt a shiver when first witnessing her, and the hivemind, through him, analyzed her appearance.
She looked incredibly angry. Clearly, something had eaten away at her, and she'd gained even more psychic energy in the process. Her skin glimmered with it.
"I'm sorry," Blistanna said, looking at the hologram Phoebe was projecting of Penny. "Can you repeat that? I mean, it almost sounds like you started a war against the Sprilnav in the middle of a Judgment by the same species that determines whether we all live or die. Surely I misheard."
Beside her, a Skira drone turned to gaze at the Guulin with an inscrutable expression. Penny took the question in stride, her firm demeanor not lessening like it usually would when confronted by her allies.
Something's definitely changed, Juan thought.
"You did not," Penny said. "The gangs enslaves billions of innocents, and they killed my friend. So they will be wiped from the planet."
"Perhaps you aren't getting with the program," Izkrala added. The matronly Acuarfar stood in her seat, her wings flapping involuntarily. The Empress was incredibly upset, but keeping it contained. But even she couldn't keep the slightest of a buzz out of her voice. "We actually need to win this Judgment, Penny Balica."
"Elder culture works differently," Penny said. "By declaring an official war, I will be capable of garnering more respect among their people and their elite class. I will show that I can and do act within their rules, artificial or stupid they may seem to all of us. I understand I've been playing it fast and loose beyond the Alliance, but I am not your slave. None of you have any true right to order me around. I am taking steps to help the Alliance in my own way, and that may be counter to your opinions."
"Well then," Dilandekar said. "Her ideas are set. It appears ours are as well. The recourse in this situation is clear. Penny currently has an Alliance citizenship, and is still subject to our laws. While no law exists to incarcerate her, and she hasn't done anything truly worthy of that, there is still the possibility of treason charges. Or, perhaps, stripping her of Alliance citizenship."
"That is a poor idea," Juan said. "I will not stand by and allow that. She is a member of Humanity and a citizen of Luna. Before the Alliance, and after the Alliance, if there is such a thing. While your outrage is shared by me, you must recognize the situation. Penny is what links us to Kashaunta in truth. She is also the one actually going to the Judgment. Given the lawyers and legal analysts that Kashaunta has access to, do you really presume this would harm her so massively in the Judgment? We could call down Kashaunta herself to have this discussion, though I am loath to breach the security status of these meetings to do so. But the presumption that she has no plan is one that I find objectionable."
"Of course you would defend this," President Iontona said. "She is your kind."
"Yes, I would, not only because of that, but because she actually is doing exactly what we want. Getting rid of slavery is a good thing. She has an Elder in her head, too. Do you really think she's entirely out of control, merely because she doesn't wish to be controlled right now by us? To the Sprilnav, she is the weapon, not us. All we can do is look divided and weak to make them want to overlook us. And who knows. If you don't like the way we do things, you can continue your internal discussions on whether this is worth it for you."
Juan stared at the wanderer, his unhappiness clear.
"What are you referring to?" Blistanna asked.
"They plan to cut and run," Izkrala said. "If it looks like we'll lose the Judgment. That's what he's upset about. Granted, I was pissed when I heard of it, because of all the trouble we've gone through to try and help you."
"What trouble have you gone through, Izkrala? You sit on your ass and eat all day. All of us wanderers are looking at death because of your human, even more so than the painful cancer the Sprilnav already cursed us with. She's the one who garnered the anger of Yasihaut. You want to know why we want to run? It's because of their sadism. What's to say that they don't put a cancer gene in all of you, or make ours even more excruciating? I have stood at the side of thousands of hospital beds, watching my people wither away. Each ship is looking at resorting to different things. But for you to sit here and pretend you know the fear we're facing is the height of arrogance, disrespect, and rudeness. I will not stand for this. The Sprilnav are going to roll over us if they choose. Penny is nothing to them, and we are nothing to them. They don't care. They're all evil alien animals, which would gladly feast on all our bones if they happened to taste good. This ludicrous idea of provoking them that the Council Director appears to support is exactly why these conversations are happening in the Wanderer Confederacy."
"Look, I know you all want to argue," Penny said. "But really, we should try to be united on this."
"Oh? How will you help with that, then? Perhaps by abandoning another agreement to help us with our cancer? Maybe making more of them, even? I'm sure you can tell us all what unity looks like. Go ahead. Look me in the eyes, and tell me I'm wrong for wanting what's best for my people."
Penny strode over to him. "You don't know what's best for your people."
"See? She-"
"You presume that because you are the President, that you somehow are more capable of understanding the needs of your species. You are a politician more than a person. Everyone here is. Do not forget what the Sprilnav have done to you, but remember that things are different now. We do have the backing of Kashaunta. That is a boon that few nations have possessed in the past. I have power that they respect, so they respect me in turn, or respect my power. Why complain that I am not here to complete my end of the deal when I am actually fighting for the Alliance? The ideas of freedom and liberty are not things to be tossed aside when convenient. I am not trying to insult you. I am trying to understand why you are so upset with me, when this is according to the plan of a Sprilnav elite of the highest order. Kashaunta needs me for my power, so she would tell me which actions are the most beneficial to my position. The same would apply to your position, which is linked to my identity among the Sprilnav. The Progenitors are a non-issue now."
"Considering that they are the gods of all civilization, they are hardly a non-issue."
Penny smiled. "I beat the absolute tar out of Twilight a while back. So yes, they are a non-issue."
"I think it is time to continue the heart of the discussion," Fyuuleen said. "Penny, you need to actually consult us on these things before you do them. While we can't tell you off like a mother Vuureensleev, we still are the rulers of the Alliance. If you don't respect us, who can you respect?"
"The people who put their money where their mouth is. You're not here, dealing with a dead friend. You're there, dealing with passing laws, catching spies, and signing bills. While yes, that job is important, it isn't nearly as stressful as being surrounded by aliens, and only knowing few of them. I can't make friends here without them being killed. There's a war across the planet right now, and I've freed tens of millions of slaves. The Judgment is in one day, and I've been preparing for that, too. I can't really say that I haven't been doing anything right."
"I understand, Conclave Leader. Recent days have been... difficult for me. Perhaps as a war veteran, you can understand my mindset right now. I know that you all expect to serve as some sort of oversight on me. I am willing to accept that, but your advice needs to be useful. Insulting me over avenging my friend is not the path to reconciliation. Nilnacrawla is telling me to keep your interests in my mind, and I am. But I will listen, not bow. I am not a soldier. I am not a general, or a commander. I am not part of any chain of command. I will ask Elder Kashaunta to establish better contact with you all, and will have Phoebe relay reports of what is going on. I do not plan to begin any major offensives before the Judgment."
"You do not think capturing a city is a major offensive?" Izkrala asked.
"Not compared to capturing hundreds of them," Penny said. "I am the Liberator. That means that I am fighting for everyone."
"But fighting for the Sprilnav is a waste of your time, effort, and talent," Iontona said.
"They are people too," Penny said. "This mentality of us and them is what has destroyed every nation of our kind before us. We need to accept that we need Sprilnav allies to win this war. To turn their strength against them, I must help them too. Kashaunta is a brutal despot, but she is fair in her rule, as much as many of you. She has fought wars of grander scale, which necessitates larger death tolls."
"You are not here to play defense for Kashaunta. You are here because you are threatening our future with your antics."
"I know," Penny said. "But my actions will have a positive impact, not a negative one. We have a plan in place to exploit the traps Yasihaut will seek to set. We have lawyers capable of defending us. I know you do not trust me, not truly. But that is acceptable. I will not let us lose this Judgment."
"And if you do?"
"There are plans in place for that, as well. The nuclear option is not something I will talk about now, and will only discuss if things get far worse."
"Very well, Penny," Fyuuleen said. "Do what you must."
"If you don't, billions of people will die," Iontona added.
Penny nodded again. "That weighs on me every day."
She left the meeting. The rest of them followed. Juan led Blistanna aside before she exited.
"What is it? I have things to do."
"Yes, we all do. But I wish to know what suggestions you have. I can tell that you are upset, and I believe it would be better for me to present your ideas to her."
"It is not anger at her, not really. I am upset that we have to forgo freeing slaves because of the Judgment. I am angry that it might endanger our own freedom and continued survival, because of this situation that has been concocted. Most of all, I am angry because they can just do this again and again. Nothing stops them. The Sprilnav have us at our throats, without having to lift a claw. All with one court case. They can just arbitrarily decide to kill us, and there's nothing we can do."
Blistanna's tentacles shook with anger. Her skin was paled in distress, and she stared at the place Penny had left. "Truth be told, maybe she's doing it right. But the politics of all of this is just nasty. Iontona's a coward, Dilandekar's cold, and Izkrala is too angry over the principle instead of the situation. We can't have more of these sorts of National Exchanges, Juan. If we do, we'll either drive Penny away entirely or rip ourselves apart. Maybe that's what the Sprilnav want. The more we bicker and argue, the worse it all gets. This is exactly how nations crumble."
"So we need to do something about it, then," Juan said.
"What grand idea do you have for this one? I hope it's not bringing Earth into this. They'll really tear it apart."
"No. We need an outward facing front. So what we need to do is push the youth against the leaders that are problematic, or the ideas that are. We showcase this division on the national stage, plug it with Phoebe's propaganda, and those in power will be forced to look like they're working together. The resentment won't last. We can get Kashaunta on board, if possible."
"Bad idea. She only speaks to her own interests."
"Not entirely," Juan said. "Tell me, what do you know about Sprilnav Soul Blades?"
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Penny watched the massive doors of the Fort Court swing open. Hundreds of thousands of guns, lasers, and missiles fixed upon her as she gently walked forward. The facility was mostly bare bones, with high amounts of alloy and stone visible in the upper layers. But at the lower levels, there was a large amount of holograms showing various symbols and golden overlays. It reminded her of the patterns on lace.
The Court was twenty miles tall, larger than a mountain. Even the doors went up for nearly two miles. They swung using unknown means, letting a second layer of sunlight fall upon the hardened floor.
Behind Penny was her own entourage. The Refined Elders, Pundacrawla, Phoebe, Kashaunta, and a few of her retainers were followed by guards, a thick shield, and several Correctors. But not just them. In a gradually widening triangle, tens of thousands of freed slaves also followed.
Penny had explained what she planned to Kashaunta to get this to happen, and the Elder enthusiastically accepted. While they would not be let within a certain radius of the Court, and their camps were widely spaced to prevent hiding anything of interest to the security, it would help to show the support Penny had of the people.
They were already tailgating. Music played from alien boom boxes and even a band Kashaunta had hired. Guides and security drones watched from afar but had already ensured the security threat would be minimal.
There were shields in place to prevent anything serious. In the distance, smoke from the dormant volcano the Court was built atop rolled out of specialized vents. The Sprilnav apparently could control when volcanoes erupted, which wasn't surprising to Penny once she'd learned of it. The Court was gigantic, and there would need to be a lot of stability for it to exist for as long as it had.
Inside, the chamber was circular. The Court was shaped like the Coliseum, complete with some pillar designs that held up the area where the High Judges were sitting. The twenty seats had been prepared ahead of time, and featured holograms below them on the sheer wall that supported them above the columns. The holograms read out various names in both Justicar Standard Script and in English.
Penny could see the High Judges themselves, but her gaze went to the 'empty' stands. The only people inside were either Guides, Correctors, or holograms of spectators. The holograms had a distinct unrealistic orange glow, probably some security apparatus.
Two house-sized tents were in the center, separated by a black and purple painted line. Above the line was a triple layer of shields: one yellow, one purple, and another yellow. The purple shield was so strong that Penny couldn't sense anything on the other side. It also surrounded her half of the Court in a bubble that met the ground in the same painted lines, suggesting that the shield went underground. The mindscape dropped away as soon as Penny crossed the threshold behind the massive doors.
The Court quieted. Millions of eyes, real or not, were all fixed upon Penny's waist. When Penny had passed the purple barrier, the Soul Blade had appeared on her hip. Penny didn't react, continuing to move forward to reach the Defendant's Booth. She could faintly see the Challenger's Booth on the other side through the shield.
Yasihaut had entered the Court first, as was tradition. Clearly, Justicar had decided to limit the contact between them. A sound decision. Penny didn't want to have to see her anymore.
The thick shields became more transparent, revealing Yasihaut's delegation. Elders and various Sprilnav, all wearing conceptual power blocking armor, stood in front of the Challenger's booth. The eerie silence soon ended when an Elder stood. Justicar wore an incredibly elaborate armor set, with designs that looked a lot like lace.
"In the name of Justicar, this Court is brought to order. I am High Judge Justicar. I am one of the 20 presiding High Judges over this case, appointed in this role by my birthright. This is the 4th day of the 18th year of the 803rd Age of Justicar. Let the record reflect that this trial's start time is exactly midday."
Justicar's imperious expression passed over them.
"Now, with that out of the way, I shall introduce the Challenger and Defendant, along with their submitted arguments for this Judgment. In summary, Challenger Elder Yasihaut, 1st Named in the Everlasting, has opened this Judgment claiming that the Defendant and her home nation, the Sol Alliance, should be classified as Class 9 Hostile Alien Threat and Class 7 Hostile Alien Threats, respectively.
The justification she provides for this is that the Sol Alliance hosts two psychic-variant AIs, has shown a willingness and future interest in attacking the Sprilnav people, and the capacity to carry out a destructive attack against Sprilnav civilians. Additionally, she claims that the influence of the Defendant has grown to a state unmanageable by any other party, including both the Elders and the Progenitors due to the backing of Elder Kashaunta. She claims the Defendant is capable of mass-casualty terrorist attacks and has shown continued interest in killing Sprilnav, with no regard for civilian lives lost in the process.
She claims the Defendant's conceptual and psychic power represents an active and severe danger to her life and those of her friends and family, the Defendant is disrupting the current order, and is conspiring with Elder Kashaunta to assassinate her enemies by illegal means. The sentence the Challenger requests as a result of this Judgment is the execution of every current member of the Sol Alliance, as well as the execution of the Defendant immediately upon the conclusion of the case by Conceptual Suffering doses. She cites Judgment 1826 of the 9th day of the 7th year of the 803rd Age, Judgment 662 of the 336th day of the 93rd year..."
As Justicar continued talking, Penny looked at Yasihaut, who smiled smugly back.
The death penalty, Penny thought. How fitting, considering what I will do to her.
"...the 28300th year of the 730th Age. It is important to note that this Trial by Majority will not only determine the guilt or innocence of the Defendant but also the means of the sentence within the realms of law according to the severity of the possible sentence found. It is also important to note that this Judgment will be the final matter between Elder Yasihaut and Penny Balica that will be approved for 30 years. An appeal of this decision will not be allowed, as this trial is of the highest jurisdiction possible, and I am already a High Judge involved in its arbitration. No lower courts or extraplanetary courts may argue this issue again for the same 30 year period, or sanctions will be placed on the offending party with extreme prejudice."
"The Defendant is Penny Balica, a human from the Sol Alliance with the title of Liberator, Champion of Humanity, and... holder of a Pact of Blades with Elder Kashaunta, 1st Named in the Everlasting."
He allowed for the proper amount of time for people to absorb the sentence.
"The Defendant has opened a counter case, suggesting that the Challenger is misrepresenting the Sol Alliance and herself as a threat to the Sprilnav, citing her cooperation with Elder Kashaunta, the Alliance's cooperation with the Van family, and her record of following and upholding treaties with Elders. Furthermore, she has opened a counter case, suggesting that the public statements the Challenger has published fall against the Justicar Defamation Law, notably Sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 20, 46, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 154, 155, 162, 177, 192, 201, and sixty-seven others, and is requesting 2 billion credits and a 30 year censure on public statements from the Challenger and affiliated parties on the Defendant."
"Now that the stakes of this Judgement are laid out, I will instruct the parties in this case on decorum, as neither of them are Justicar natives. The Court expects that the Defendant and the Challenger will hold to the rules of decorum, as will their company. The Court also wishes to avoid unfortunate incidents, so it has hired Progenitors Filnatra and Arneladia to uphold the security of the Court."
"It is also important to note that this Court is backed by the full might of the Elders of Justicar, the Status Quo Party, the Sprilnav Freedom Party, the Justice and Security Party, Elder Lilliana, Elder Napei, Elder Mashae, Elder Aryacrawla, Elder Nulyihaut, Elder Poleia, Elder Crissi, Elder Olei'paushe'ani, Elder Taubelibelibax, Elder Somalia, Elder Aneyti, Elder Wuseniau'palacrawla se Hautni'pelshinomalia, Elder Commu nar Galvi, Elder Commu nar Jelpha, Elder Radia, Elder Hwe'iaspehaut, Elder Maggracrawla, Elder Tishaunt'pali, Elder Kashaunta, and the Progenitors. Its legitimacy is their legitimacy."
Some of those names were downright hilarious. Penny kept her face straight. Justicar said basically the exact same thing Tassidonia had said weeks back.
"I shall instruct the parties of the rules of decorum. High Judges within this room are to be referred to either as 'High Judge' or 'Elder.' No other names or titles apply, with the exception of Progenitor Indrafabar, who is allowed his aforementioned title. No parties may threaten or influence the Challenger or the Defendant and their retinues. Camera drones and other news equipment are to be kept outside the main court chamber the allotted section at all times, unless the express verbal permission of at least 6 High Judges is given to allow a specific instance.
The Challenger and Defendant are to remain on their given sides of the shield, though they may be required to exit their booths upon request. They are not to engage in any actions construed as attacks upon their counterparts under any circumstances. Challenger Yasihaut and Defendant Balica may request breaks to consume food or water within reason.
The booths are equipped with bathrooms compatible with human and Sprilnav physiology, and the Challenger and Defendant are both allowed to declare their retirement to a bathroom and enter it for a period of 1000 pulses, or 1020 human seconds, which is also 17 minutes. Challenger Yasihaut and Defendant Balica are allowed to use Justicar-provided lawyers or may utilize those they have brought here today to assist with their arguments.
These conditions will not be changed by petition from either claimant but only upon the agreement of 16 High Judges and the condition of necessity to the point of impeding the progression of the Judgment.
Devices are to remain within booths unless they are direct admissible evidence in the case. Furthermore, they are to be silenced to prevent any interruptions. Documents to be displayed will be given to the Guides or Correctors standing by both booths. These documents will be shown to the entire Court with translations in both Justicar Standard Script and Post Modern North American English."
Justicar stepped back and moved to his seat. Progenitor Indrafabar stood and moved to the podium.
"Do either of you request additional clarifications on the rules of the Court? If so, indicate it verbally."
His voice was almost hypnotic. Penny resisted the effect. "I wish to know the punishments for violating these terms so both of us have an impetus not to."
Microphones carried her voice to the ears of everyone inside the Court, as if she was right next to their ears, with remarkable quality for such a massive room. Penny wondered if shields were aiding in the sonic feedback.
"This would have been stated in the next section of this proceeding, but I shall say it now for the Court. The punishments will vary based on the severity of the infraction. For this case, under the authority of Justicar, we have decided to fully reinstate Section 4 of the Justicar Common Case Conduct Law. It states the following:
'When any contempt is committed in the immediate view and presence of the Court, the Court may punish it summarily by fine, or imprisonment, or both. If any contempt occurs outside the immediate view and presence of the Court, the Court may levy the same punishments as before after an opportunity for defense has been given. Punishment for Contempt of a Judge, High Judge, or their Court will result in a 1% fine of the violating party's assets, 10-day imprisonment, a rescheduling of the hearing, a published apology to the aggrieved party, an update of their legal record to reflect the fact, and 4 days of community service. If the alleged misconduct has caused an actual loss or injury to any person, the Court shall order the offending party to pay the aggrieved party a sufficient sum to indemnify them, in addition to the other penalties that may be imposed. The payment and acceptance of this sum is an absolute bar to any action by the aggrieved party to recover damages for the loss or injury.'
The full law section is provided below. If either party wishes to read the law, time shall be allotted within reason. Express the decision verbally. When you are finished, you may give the tablet back to your assigned Guide."
"I wish to read the law," Penny said.
"I wish to view the law," Yasihaut said.
Guides carried a tablet to both of them. The display was purplish, and it had a hologram feature available upon selection. Penny took hers, reading the top, and then the next lines one by one. An information note at the top said 'Translation Available,' so she picked it. The English became Justicar Standard Script. The word count changed from 19,283 to 8,740. Justicar Standard Script had been built from the bottom up, so it could express broader concepts in fewer words.
Though her psychic energy enabled her to read incredibly fast, Penny took the time to understand everything that was said. Pundacrawla's tablet beside her showed the same law, though it looked like he'd finished it using his implant. Penny reached the bottom of the list in 10 minutes and handed the tablet back to the Guide.
Five minutes later, Yasihaut finished also.
"Do either of you have additional requests of the Court? If so, express them verbally."
Penny didn't. The more questions she asked, the longer this would take and the less favorable it would look. In a case like this, perception was everything. She didn't even pretend it had to do with fairness under the law.
"Now. The High Judges came to an agreement for this trial. Exactly 197 full laws will be relevant to this trial. We will peruse each relevant section, and each party will confirm their understanding until they move on to the next one. While this level of guidance is not normally necessary, interested parties want to ensure that no breaches occur during this trial."
Indrafabar gave them both a pointed look.
"The reason we are doing this here despite these sections being included in the necessary reading for the trial is for the interest of transparency."
Really, it was Justicar establishing his dominance over them. By making them sit for hours and read in front of millions of people, he was attempting to show that he was above them. Or to convey another message to his backers.
She also suspected Yasihaut's side had influenced this, trying to make Penny look worse by taking longer. It would set her up as the 'slow barbarian alien' in the High Judges' brains, which would unconsciously prejudice them against her a little more.
Unfortunately for them, Nilnacrawla was carrying the definitions for every single unfamiliar legal word in his memories. If each of the laws took her ten minutes, it would require almost 34 hours of reading to finish them all. Whoever took even a few seconds longer would lose respect in the Court, adding more time to the length of the Judgment.
Penny would win even this tiny, petty battle and set the tone for the rest of the Judgment.
2024.06.04 23:36 PepperAntique Rebirth. Relearn. Return.
PreviousEDIT: This is chapter 15!!!!
Writer's Note: If you missed the announcement, I am gonna be kinda sporadic compared to normal. Currently in the process of finding a new place to live so things are a bit hectic IRL. In the meantime, enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joey was, to say the least, uncomfortable in Tinetha's rest.
He didn't know what Ekron's goal was with sending them here. He also didn't know how Ekron knew this place, or if he;d ever been here before. But it was very obvious what this place was on the surface.
Tinetha's rest was a whore house.
What might not have been obvious to someone who hadn't played as many RPG's or adventure games as Joey had, or watched as much anime, was that it was also some kind of vampire den. Or, given its surface appearance, a succubus den of some kind.
And while HE was having no issues with... whatever was affecting the patrons in the building, it was OBVIOUS that Nesvee was NOT immune to whatever was happening.
"Oh that looks fuunnnn." She said in a dreamy, half asleep, voice as she looked at a trio of people making out in a booth whose curtains hadn't been pulled all the way shut.
Joey looked at her curiously as he noticed her state for the first time.
Luckily one of the employees approached them before she could get any worse.
"You. You've never been here before." The young (looking) elf said as they rushed over and quickly took Nesvee's hand in his own. She was pulling him toward her with a ravenous look on her face. But the attendant pressed her head back and looked her in the eyes.
"Ummm." Joey stammered as he watched the exchange.
"Give me a moment." The elf said as he nodded with a look of annoyance. His hand reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small piece of wood. He quickly removed a cap from one end, using his elbow to hold Nesvee back as he did, and quickly pressed it into her forehead.
"That's not what I want." She said in a sultry voice that Joey had never heard from her before. Or from anyone for that matter. Not even Miss Veliry.
"Praickiton denorte." The elf said in a deep voice as he continued pressing the stamp to her forehead. It flared with a dull red light, then he pulled it off of her. It left a similarly glowing mark behind, which faded after a few moments.
Then he pulled her ear like Joey's mom had done to James a few times when they'd been kids.
"OW!" She exclaimed. Her hand blurred as a dagger appeared at the elf's throat.
Joey hadn't even known she'd been armed, though he wasn't surprised.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! What did you do to me?" She demanded.
Joey wasn't oblivious to the sudden silence of the room as the UNOCCUPIED people in the room all stopped to watch the commotion.
"Miss Nesvee." Joey said as he placed a hand on her arm.
"What was that?" She asked again as she began looking around for the first time while wiping at her forehead where the stamp had been.
"Miss Nesvee stop." Joey begged. "I think he was helping you."
"I was." The elf said as his hand gripped the blade of the dagger between his thumb and finger, and pressed it back.
Nesvee attempted to resist, but the elf was deceptively strong for his slender build.
Then her dagger began to bend.
"You've never been here before." He repeated. "You should have told one of our greeters that before you came in." He looked over at Joey as he absentmindedly continued repelling and bending the blade while Nesvee grunted. "You're not affected by the auras? Have you been here before? Or does that veil protect you somehow?"
Finally Nesvee relented and tossed the blade aside as she stepped back and a hand axe appeared in its place.
Joey stepped between them with his hands up.
"We were sent by the mage Ekron to seek someone named Garthan." He said to the elf.
The elf looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"As a client?" He asked curiously. "Or as a... CLIENT?"
Joey looked back at Nesvee, who was still fuming. But she just shrugged and shook her head.
He turned back and nodded at the partly open booth that had distracted Nesvee earlier.
"We're not here for.... that." He said firmly.
"And Ekron didn't warn you of what this place is?" The elf wondered. Then he bobbed his head. "Well he hasn't been here since he was a teen. Makes sense it would slip his mind." He gestured at a nearby bar, where a pair of scantily clad Hisstians were serving drinks and food to, almost equally undressed, patrons. "Please make yourself comfortable while I go speak to our manager." Then he nodded at Nesvee. "And put that away before somebody asks you to use it in a way that you're likely not comfortable with."
"What did you do to me?" She demanded again. "What was that thing you pressed to my head?"
"An inoculation." He replied easily as he turned and began to walk away. "The first one's always free. But if you come back after today it's either two gold or you purchase a membership." He held up a small wrist band from the same pocket the stamp had disappeared back into. Joey assumed it was a membership item of some kind.
Then the young man was ascending a nearby set of stairs and disappeared himself.
"Bloody soul suckers." Nesvee said as she hid the axe wherever it had been in her cloak. But she was already heading for the bar.
Joey looked around, still VERY uncomfortable with the setting. He was even more uncomfortable now as her complaint confirmed what his fiction based intuition told him this place was.
He resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears as he hesitantly moved to follow her.
As he set upon one of the stools and looked around at a nearly naked Dwarf drinking with a Aquian nearby.
Even through the heavily enchanted outfit he was wearing, he could sense the flow of magic energy being pulled from the fish-like person into the dwarf as his hand rested on her arm.
They're not drinking blood. He realized as the meaning of Nesvee's complaint suddenly made sense. They're draining magic.
His eyebrows furrowed as he realized that.
He was about to ask Nesvee if that would kill the fish-woman. But her question to the snake-like bartender caused him even more discomfort.
"That aint the dress-code for this place is it?" She asked as she gestured at the man's INCREDIBLY SMALL underwear, which appeared to be the only thing he was wearing unless he had shoes on under the bar.
Joey's eyes went wide as he realized just HOW naked the two of the bartenders were for the first time.
"Personally I don't care if anyone sees all my scars." She continued. "But my companion here has reasons for what he's wearing."
"It's not." The bartender said with a curt smirk. "It just makes the process easier for our patrons. Skin to skin contact and what not." Nesvee nodded as she considered that. "What can I get you?"
"Don't bother Izo!" A booming and raspy voice called out from up above and behind them.
Joey and Nesvee both turned in their seats, and Joey noticed the way her hand snuck back into her cloak again.
That doesn't look like a vampire lord. Joey thought as he beheld the half orc standing at the top of the stairs the elf had gone up. They look more like a metal-head.
"Mister mask-face. Miss knify-knife." The muscular woman said with a look of annoyance. "Please come this way." Then they seemed to remember something. "Oh, and I'm Garthan."
Joey didn't let Nesvee get snarky or mad. Instead he simply stood up and began to move toward the stairs.
Let's just get whatever this is out of the way and go back to the lab.
---------------------
"Oh Ravyn dear." Kestin said as he draped a hand over her shoulders as the two of them walked out into the street. She ignored it, as she always had with the sword-mage. "We must go get some drinks. It's been too long."
Ekron rolled his eyes. Ravyn didn't drink, and Kestin knew it.
"You really won't help?" He asked one last time as his brother stepped up next to him, his armored helm back on his head once more.
"I can't." Vann said sternly.
Ekron turned and looked at his brother fully. But Vann simply kept watching their friends depart.
"I was being honest earlier when I said what I think of him." Ekron said. "I really don't think he's a threat. To the Estland or to any person."
"Then you haven't read any of the reports I have." Vann replied.
Ekron looked at his brother curiously.
Vann looked back, making a point of turning his head so that his helmet looked too.
Finally after several long moments he spoke.
"As you know, Pretravus has been remarkably tight lipped on its affairs." He began. "Especially regarding the fate of the summoned hero and his family." He shrugged, rolling his shoulders a bit as he did. "I don't blame them if I'm honest... Based on what I've read the Hero may well have become one of the most powerful people in the world before he disappeared." He wobbled his hand a bit while his other hand pointed at the magic negating armor on his chest. "At least against most opponents."
"And Mister Choi is NOT the summoned hero." Ekron reminded him.
"Noooo." Vann said sarcastically. "He's the Hero's little brother. Who in only a matter of months became a mage powerful enough to create a magical overload and kill several people in that desert battle they had with Earth's forces. Learn how to run... on the AIR... faster than most griffins can fly. Helped end the calamity in this continents druidic forest, AND helped create the Gates that Petravus has become so notorious for."
At that Ekron's jaw dropped. Joseph hadn't told him THAT.
"Yes." Vann continued. "I do know how that ruined your work." Then he turned toward Ekron fully. "And not only is he supposedly responsible for those Gates. It's rumored that he and the Green Mage were much... MUCH... closer than simple master and student."
Ekron chewed his lip angrily.
He would never deny that the Petravian Arch Mage deserved the praise heaped upon her over the years. Firearms, her assistance with the Vanishing blight, her role in the rush to farm elemental obsidian, the damned Gates. And that was to say nothing of the aide she'd given to the druidic forests across the world since then. She'd already been considered a prodigy amongst magic users BEFORE the summoned Hero's arrival. But now she was practically the only thing any new mages talked about.
He'd already known Joseph was her student. The young man had told him as much. He'd also told Ekron about how he'd left her mentorship, though not why.
Vann spoke before he could.
"So say whatever you will of his character." The armored commander said simply as he stretched a bit. "I'm sure he's a nice enough young man. But where you see an unfortunate young mage in need of help with a strange condition. I see one of the most dangerous assets in our world attempting to return to a family that happens to be instrumental in the growth of our nation's greatest rivals."
Said like that, Ekron couldn't deny his brother's reasoning for NOT helping him.
Hell. He was tempted to stop helping him.
But his emotions regarding Veliry the Green didn't override his logic.
"He was sent down to this world from the Gods." Ekron countered quietly. He still wasn't completely certain that was the case. But it was the only thing his research pointed to. "He may not be an ACTUAL messenger. But he's something close."
Vann nodded.
"You know the accounts of what's happened when people have hindered messengers." Ekron continued. "And if he really is a reincarnation, then at the very least he deserves a chance at this new life."
Vann nodded again.
"That is the very same reason Lord Mattis has not ordered me to take him, OR YOU, into custody." He said.
Vann tapped at his chest-plate again. Then pointed at the ground near his feet.
"But he does NOT... leave this city." He said sternly. "If he attempts to do so. I will be required to stop him."
Ekron knew what he meant by that.
He knew that if Joseph Choi attempted to leave this city, they would kill him if that was what it took to keep him from returning to Petravus.
And for the first time since leaving the convoy, Ekron began to doubt his decision to help and study the young man.
Vann began to stomp away before Ekron could extend the conversation any further.
"So..." Garthan said as she shuffled around her incredibly cluttered desk and flopped down into her chair. "Before we go any further I'm going to need some information."
Joey and Nesvee both shuffled past piles of scrolls and notebooks as they followed the large half orc into the office. She gestured at the chairs casually scattered around the room. Joey sat on an overstuffed sofa, careful to avoid the pile of writing implements in a tray on the other cushion.
"First off." Garthan continued as she opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out something immediately recognizable to Joey. He'd seen them in countless gas stations. And more than a few of James's soldier buddies had used them. "Is that mask necessary for your survival? Or is it just to keep your face hidden?"
"Um... a little of both." Joey said hesitantly. He couldn't resist his curiosity. "What are those?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
Garthan held up the slim brown cylinder she'd pulled out of its packaging and placed in her tusked mouth.
"These?" She asked, amused. "Heh. Well before you ask, they aint part of the services I offer. Too expensive." She held a finger up and a small flame lit the familiar item. "They're from Earth. According to the smuggler I got em from they're Earths version of pipeweed." She held the package up. "Apparently these symbols say Swisher Sweets. Whatever that means. They are sweet though. Guess that part makes sense."
Joey had to resist laughing. They were grape flavored. He wondered how "expensive" they'd been when they'd probably only cost some enterprising service member in Petravus a good five to ten dollars.
"Speaking of services." Nesvee interrupted from atop a crate. "Ekron didn't exactly tell us why we're here. I assume the old bastard didn't want us to get our brains sucked out downstairs. Didn't give us enough gold for that."
"That's fine." Garthan said. "I'm not one of the drainers anyways. Elion tells me YOU," She pointed at Nesvee. "fell for the aura. So yeah... guess Ek didn't warn you about this place. Dumb old ass."
Nesvee didn't blush, but instead looked angry at the reminder.
"Not anyone's fault." Garthan said. "If you don't know what this place is it's not surprising for someone unshielded," This time she pointed at Joey using the hand with the small cigar in it. "to fall for it. It's literally a trait they evolved to catch their prey back in the old times. It's designed to lower your guard."
"So what do you do?" Joey asked, trying to get them back on track. He'd already kind of guessed at how this place worked. Though he still didn't understand WHY it worked. But that was a question for AFTER they'd figured out why Ekron had sent them here.
"Well that's easy." Garthan replied before taking a long drag from the grape scented smoke. "I give people new identities. Hence why I need your names and faces." She exhaled the smoke she'd drawn in and immediately sucked it back in through her nose. "Because I don't do that unless I know who it's for. It's not legal work, and I don't pretend like I won't rat you out if the Cobalt Legion comes sniffing around. I keep logs."
"And you actually get work with that policy?" Nesvee asked in disbelief. She was a mercenary. She knew plenty of people who used false names, and more than a few of them had fake identity paperwork to match. She'd never cared to ask any of them why.
Garthan gestured at all the paperwork around them.
"Admittedly only by the desperate." She replied easily. "But there's lots of them. And the legion looks the other way because I am so easy to work with. Far as they're concerned it's no big deal if someone's running from debtors or jealous lovers. Long as it aint a magical calamity they don't care. And as long as they can rely on me if it DOES become a calamity. Well... makes things easier." She waved her smoking hand at the door. "Besides, they like gettin' the show on the way in."
"So a new set of ID is why Ekron sent us?" Joey asked. It honestly didn't make much sense to him.
"Well. He's never been one to sample the goods downstairs." Garthan said with a look of confusion. "And there isn't a drainer in the world that'll draw from someone soaked full of Godly magic." She said with a wink at Joey.
"You know about that?" He asked, surprised.
"Didn't until you told me Ekron had sent you." She said with a grin. Joey realized that he'd all but confirmed who he was.
He reluctantly pulled off the veiled hood of his cloak, careful to pull his antlers out of their compartments.
"Well damn." Garthan said as she stood up and inspected the antlers with fascination. Joey pulled back when she moved to touch them. "They said you had antlers like a high druid. But those are damned impressive." He could smell the grape smoke as she exhaled. But she also held her hand up in surrender at his discomfort as she sat back down. "Hmm." She grunted as she continued studying the antlers with curiosity. "You always conceal them?" She asked.
He nodded uncertainly.
"When I can." He replied. "They're uncomfortable most of the time."
"Yeah I bet." She took one last, long, drag from the Swisher and stamped out the stub on an empty part of her desk. She seemed to think for a long while.
"Those... drainers." joey asked curiously as he tried to fill the silence. "They drain people's magic."
"Yep." She replied absently.
"And people.... pay them to do it?" He asked. "Why?"
Garthan shrugged. "Take your pick." She said uncertainly, her eyes still not leaving the horns on his head. "Lack of sleep. Idiot mages avoiding magical overuse. People with certain energy ailments...." She waved her hand a bit. "And of course people who are just horny and okay with being drained to get laid."
Joey thought of that for a bit.
"And they wouldn't drain me?" He asked. Now that he knew what they were it seemed like it could be an easy way to fix his current condition.
He couldn't see Nesvee's look of surprise at the question.
"What? Looking for a good time little holy man?" Garthan asked with amusement. "But no. Most of them probably wouldn't even risk touching you without that getup on. Much less draw from you."
"Why not?" Nesvee cut in. Joey looked back at her for a moment. She'd apparently caught on to his train of thought.
"Wouldn't know personally." Garthan said with a shrug. "I'm just a regular old orc who's good at paperwork. Not one of them. I just work here because I like how uncomfortable it makes people. Plus me and the owner go back a ways. Just know that any time holy folk come around the drainers keep their distance."
Joey thought back to the few minutes before they'd come up to the cluttered office. Now that he thought about it the elf that had greeted them had taken a step back when he'd gotten between him and Nesvee. And the bartender had quickly drawn back from him when he'd reached out to look at a small menu slate.
It seemed that even with the suppressing enchantments of the cloak and mask they could sense that he was some kind of threat to them, and he wondered why.
"Ekron woulda known that." Garthan said, knocking him out of his thoughts. "And he specifically sent you looking for me. So... identification paperwork." She pointed at Nesvee. "You need it too? Or just our horny little friend here?" She asked with a wink at his antlers.
There was a knock at the door. Garthan's face looked a touch annoyed at the disturbance.
She was about to reply to whoever was knocking when the door opened, making her look even more annoyed and causing Nesvee's hand to disappear back under her cloak.
A young member of the Folk, who looked like a deer, poked their head in the door. Joey rushed to put his cloak back on, not knowing if this was one of the "Drainers" who might be scared of his divine nature.
"Cana why are you interrupting me during business?" The half orc asked with annoyance.
"Sorry Miss Gar." The young deer apologized. She was staring at Joey's antlers in shock as he struggled to get them concealed again. "But the Commander of the Legion is here. He's specifically requesting a word with your guests."
Joey looked at Garthan in surprise.
"What in the ten hells is he doing here?" She asked, no less confused than he was.
Then they heard the clanking of heavily armored boot steps ascending the stairs outside.
submitted by PepperAntique to GATEhouse [link] [comments]
Writer's Note: If you missed the announcement, I am gonna be kinda sporadic compared to normal. Currently in the process of finding a new place to live so things are a bit hectic IRL. In the meantime, enjoy.
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Joey was, to say the least, uncomfortable in Tinetha's rest.
He didn't know what Ekron's goal was with sending them here. He also didn't know how Ekron knew this place, or if he;d ever been here before. But it was very obvious what this place was on the surface.
Tinetha's rest was a whore house.
What might not have been obvious to someone who hadn't played as many RPG's or adventure games as Joey had, or watched as much anime, was that it was also some kind of vampire den. Or, given its surface appearance, a succubus den of some kind.
And while HE was having no issues with... whatever was affecting the patrons in the building, it was OBVIOUS that Nesvee was NOT immune to whatever was happening.
"Oh that looks fuunnnn." She said in a dreamy, half asleep, voice as she looked at a trio of people making out in a booth whose curtains hadn't been pulled all the way shut.
Joey looked at her curiously as he noticed her state for the first time.
Luckily one of the employees approached them before she could get any worse.
"You. You've never been here before." The young (looking) elf said as they rushed over and quickly took Nesvee's hand in his own. She was pulling him toward her with a ravenous look on her face. But the attendant pressed her head back and looked her in the eyes.
"Ummm." Joey stammered as he watched the exchange.
"Give me a moment." The elf said as he nodded with a look of annoyance. His hand reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small piece of wood. He quickly removed a cap from one end, using his elbow to hold Nesvee back as he did, and quickly pressed it into her forehead.
"That's not what I want." She said in a sultry voice that Joey had never heard from her before. Or from anyone for that matter. Not even Miss Veliry.
"Praickiton denorte." The elf said in a deep voice as he continued pressing the stamp to her forehead. It flared with a dull red light, then he pulled it off of her. It left a similarly glowing mark behind, which faded after a few moments.
Then he pulled her ear like Joey's mom had done to James a few times when they'd been kids.
"OW!" She exclaimed. Her hand blurred as a dagger appeared at the elf's throat.
Joey hadn't even known she'd been armed, though he wasn't surprised.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! What did you do to me?" She demanded.
Joey wasn't oblivious to the sudden silence of the room as the UNOCCUPIED people in the room all stopped to watch the commotion.
"Miss Nesvee." Joey said as he placed a hand on her arm.
"What was that?" She asked again as she began looking around for the first time while wiping at her forehead where the stamp had been.
"Miss Nesvee stop." Joey begged. "I think he was helping you."
"I was." The elf said as his hand gripped the blade of the dagger between his thumb and finger, and pressed it back.
Nesvee attempted to resist, but the elf was deceptively strong for his slender build.
Then her dagger began to bend.
"You've never been here before." He repeated. "You should have told one of our greeters that before you came in." He looked over at Joey as he absentmindedly continued repelling and bending the blade while Nesvee grunted. "You're not affected by the auras? Have you been here before? Or does that veil protect you somehow?"
Finally Nesvee relented and tossed the blade aside as she stepped back and a hand axe appeared in its place.
Joey stepped between them with his hands up.
"We were sent by the mage Ekron to seek someone named Garthan." He said to the elf.
The elf looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"As a client?" He asked curiously. "Or as a... CLIENT?"
Joey looked back at Nesvee, who was still fuming. But she just shrugged and shook her head.
He turned back and nodded at the partly open booth that had distracted Nesvee earlier.
"We're not here for.... that." He said firmly.
"And Ekron didn't warn you of what this place is?" The elf wondered. Then he bobbed his head. "Well he hasn't been here since he was a teen. Makes sense it would slip his mind." He gestured at a nearby bar, where a pair of scantily clad Hisstians were serving drinks and food to, almost equally undressed, patrons. "Please make yourself comfortable while I go speak to our manager." Then he nodded at Nesvee. "And put that away before somebody asks you to use it in a way that you're likely not comfortable with."
"What did you do to me?" She demanded again. "What was that thing you pressed to my head?"
"An inoculation." He replied easily as he turned and began to walk away. "The first one's always free. But if you come back after today it's either two gold or you purchase a membership." He held up a small wrist band from the same pocket the stamp had disappeared back into. Joey assumed it was a membership item of some kind.
Then the young man was ascending a nearby set of stairs and disappeared himself.
"Bloody soul suckers." Nesvee said as she hid the axe wherever it had been in her cloak. But she was already heading for the bar.
Joey looked around, still VERY uncomfortable with the setting. He was even more uncomfortable now as her complaint confirmed what his fiction based intuition told him this place was.
He resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears as he hesitantly moved to follow her.
As he set upon one of the stools and looked around at a nearly naked Dwarf drinking with a Aquian nearby.
Even through the heavily enchanted outfit he was wearing, he could sense the flow of magic energy being pulled from the fish-like person into the dwarf as his hand rested on her arm.
They're not drinking blood. He realized as the meaning of Nesvee's complaint suddenly made sense. They're draining magic.
His eyebrows furrowed as he realized that.
He was about to ask Nesvee if that would kill the fish-woman. But her question to the snake-like bartender caused him even more discomfort.
"That aint the dress-code for this place is it?" She asked as she gestured at the man's INCREDIBLY SMALL underwear, which appeared to be the only thing he was wearing unless he had shoes on under the bar.
Joey's eyes went wide as he realized just HOW naked the two of the bartenders were for the first time.
"Personally I don't care if anyone sees all my scars." She continued. "But my companion here has reasons for what he's wearing."
"It's not." The bartender said with a curt smirk. "It just makes the process easier for our patrons. Skin to skin contact and what not." Nesvee nodded as she considered that. "What can I get you?"
"Don't bother Izo!" A booming and raspy voice called out from up above and behind them.
Joey and Nesvee both turned in their seats, and Joey noticed the way her hand snuck back into her cloak again.
That doesn't look like a vampire lord. Joey thought as he beheld the half orc standing at the top of the stairs the elf had gone up. They look more like a metal-head.
"Mister mask-face. Miss knify-knife." The muscular woman said with a look of annoyance. "Please come this way." Then they seemed to remember something. "Oh, and I'm Garthan."
Joey didn't let Nesvee get snarky or mad. Instead he simply stood up and began to move toward the stairs.
Let's just get whatever this is out of the way and go back to the lab.
---------------------
"Oh Ravyn dear." Kestin said as he draped a hand over her shoulders as the two of them walked out into the street. She ignored it, as she always had with the sword-mage. "We must go get some drinks. It's been too long."
Ekron rolled his eyes. Ravyn didn't drink, and Kestin knew it.
"You really won't help?" He asked one last time as his brother stepped up next to him, his armored helm back on his head once more.
"I can't." Vann said sternly.
Ekron turned and looked at his brother fully. But Vann simply kept watching their friends depart.
"I was being honest earlier when I said what I think of him." Ekron said. "I really don't think he's a threat. To the Estland or to any person."
"Then you haven't read any of the reports I have." Vann replied.
Ekron looked at his brother curiously.
Vann looked back, making a point of turning his head so that his helmet looked too.
Finally after several long moments he spoke.
"As you know, Pretravus has been remarkably tight lipped on its affairs." He began. "Especially regarding the fate of the summoned hero and his family." He shrugged, rolling his shoulders a bit as he did. "I don't blame them if I'm honest... Based on what I've read the Hero may well have become one of the most powerful people in the world before he disappeared." He wobbled his hand a bit while his other hand pointed at the magic negating armor on his chest. "At least against most opponents."
"And Mister Choi is NOT the summoned hero." Ekron reminded him.
"Noooo." Vann said sarcastically. "He's the Hero's little brother. Who in only a matter of months became a mage powerful enough to create a magical overload and kill several people in that desert battle they had with Earth's forces. Learn how to run... on the AIR... faster than most griffins can fly. Helped end the calamity in this continents druidic forest, AND helped create the Gates that Petravus has become so notorious for."
At that Ekron's jaw dropped. Joseph hadn't told him THAT.
"Yes." Vann continued. "I do know how that ruined your work." Then he turned toward Ekron fully. "And not only is he supposedly responsible for those Gates. It's rumored that he and the Green Mage were much... MUCH... closer than simple master and student."
Ekron chewed his lip angrily.
He would never deny that the Petravian Arch Mage deserved the praise heaped upon her over the years. Firearms, her assistance with the Vanishing blight, her role in the rush to farm elemental obsidian, the damned Gates. And that was to say nothing of the aide she'd given to the druidic forests across the world since then. She'd already been considered a prodigy amongst magic users BEFORE the summoned Hero's arrival. But now she was practically the only thing any new mages talked about.
He'd already known Joseph was her student. The young man had told him as much. He'd also told Ekron about how he'd left her mentorship, though not why.
Vann spoke before he could.
"So say whatever you will of his character." The armored commander said simply as he stretched a bit. "I'm sure he's a nice enough young man. But where you see an unfortunate young mage in need of help with a strange condition. I see one of the most dangerous assets in our world attempting to return to a family that happens to be instrumental in the growth of our nation's greatest rivals."
Said like that, Ekron couldn't deny his brother's reasoning for NOT helping him.
Hell. He was tempted to stop helping him.
But his emotions regarding Veliry the Green didn't override his logic.
"He was sent down to this world from the Gods." Ekron countered quietly. He still wasn't completely certain that was the case. But it was the only thing his research pointed to. "He may not be an ACTUAL messenger. But he's something close."
Vann nodded.
"You know the accounts of what's happened when people have hindered messengers." Ekron continued. "And if he really is a reincarnation, then at the very least he deserves a chance at this new life."
Vann nodded again.
"That is the very same reason Lord Mattis has not ordered me to take him, OR YOU, into custody." He said.
Vann tapped at his chest-plate again. Then pointed at the ground near his feet.
"But he does NOT... leave this city." He said sternly. "If he attempts to do so. I will be required to stop him."
Ekron knew what he meant by that.
He knew that if Joseph Choi attempted to leave this city, they would kill him if that was what it took to keep him from returning to Petravus.
And for the first time since leaving the convoy, Ekron began to doubt his decision to help and study the young man.
Vann began to stomp away before Ekron could extend the conversation any further.
Joey and Nesvee both shuffled past piles of scrolls and notebooks as they followed the large half orc into the office. She gestured at the chairs casually scattered around the room. Joey sat on an overstuffed sofa, careful to avoid the pile of writing implements in a tray on the other cushion.
"First off." Garthan continued as she opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out something immediately recognizable to Joey. He'd seen them in countless gas stations. And more than a few of James's soldier buddies had used them. "Is that mask necessary for your survival? Or is it just to keep your face hidden?"
"Um... a little of both." Joey said hesitantly. He couldn't resist his curiosity. "What are those?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
Garthan held up the slim brown cylinder she'd pulled out of its packaging and placed in her tusked mouth.
"These?" She asked, amused. "Heh. Well before you ask, they aint part of the services I offer. Too expensive." She held a finger up and a small flame lit the familiar item. "They're from Earth. According to the smuggler I got em from they're Earths version of pipeweed." She held the package up. "Apparently these symbols say Swisher Sweets. Whatever that means. They are sweet though. Guess that part makes sense."
Joey had to resist laughing. They were grape flavored. He wondered how "expensive" they'd been when they'd probably only cost some enterprising service member in Petravus a good five to ten dollars.
"Speaking of services." Nesvee interrupted from atop a crate. "Ekron didn't exactly tell us why we're here. I assume the old bastard didn't want us to get our brains sucked out downstairs. Didn't give us enough gold for that."
"That's fine." Garthan said. "I'm not one of the drainers anyways. Elion tells me YOU," She pointed at Nesvee. "fell for the aura. So yeah... guess Ek didn't warn you about this place. Dumb old ass."
Nesvee didn't blush, but instead looked angry at the reminder.
"Not anyone's fault." Garthan said. "If you don't know what this place is it's not surprising for someone unshielded," This time she pointed at Joey using the hand with the small cigar in it. "to fall for it. It's literally a trait they evolved to catch their prey back in the old times. It's designed to lower your guard."
"So what do you do?" Joey asked, trying to get them back on track. He'd already kind of guessed at how this place worked. Though he still didn't understand WHY it worked. But that was a question for AFTER they'd figured out why Ekron had sent them here.
"Well that's easy." Garthan replied before taking a long drag from the grape scented smoke. "I give people new identities. Hence why I need your names and faces." She exhaled the smoke she'd drawn in and immediately sucked it back in through her nose. "Because I don't do that unless I know who it's for. It's not legal work, and I don't pretend like I won't rat you out if the Cobalt Legion comes sniffing around. I keep logs."
"And you actually get work with that policy?" Nesvee asked in disbelief. She was a mercenary. She knew plenty of people who used false names, and more than a few of them had fake identity paperwork to match. She'd never cared to ask any of them why.
Garthan gestured at all the paperwork around them.
"Admittedly only by the desperate." She replied easily. "But there's lots of them. And the legion looks the other way because I am so easy to work with. Far as they're concerned it's no big deal if someone's running from debtors or jealous lovers. Long as it aint a magical calamity they don't care. And as long as they can rely on me if it DOES become a calamity. Well... makes things easier." She waved her smoking hand at the door. "Besides, they like gettin' the show on the way in."
"So a new set of ID is why Ekron sent us?" Joey asked. It honestly didn't make much sense to him.
"Well. He's never been one to sample the goods downstairs." Garthan said with a look of confusion. "And there isn't a drainer in the world that'll draw from someone soaked full of Godly magic." She said with a wink at Joey.
"You know about that?" He asked, surprised.
"Didn't until you told me Ekron had sent you." She said with a grin. Joey realized that he'd all but confirmed who he was.
He reluctantly pulled off the veiled hood of his cloak, careful to pull his antlers out of their compartments.
"Well damn." Garthan said as she stood up and inspected the antlers with fascination. Joey pulled back when she moved to touch them. "They said you had antlers like a high druid. But those are damned impressive." He could smell the grape smoke as she exhaled. But she also held her hand up in surrender at his discomfort as she sat back down. "Hmm." She grunted as she continued studying the antlers with curiosity. "You always conceal them?" She asked.
He nodded uncertainly.
"When I can." He replied. "They're uncomfortable most of the time."
"Yeah I bet." She took one last, long, drag from the Swisher and stamped out the stub on an empty part of her desk. She seemed to think for a long while.
"Those... drainers." joey asked curiously as he tried to fill the silence. "They drain people's magic."
"Yep." She replied absently.
"And people.... pay them to do it?" He asked. "Why?"
Garthan shrugged. "Take your pick." She said uncertainly, her eyes still not leaving the horns on his head. "Lack of sleep. Idiot mages avoiding magical overuse. People with certain energy ailments...." She waved her hand a bit. "And of course people who are just horny and okay with being drained to get laid."
Joey thought of that for a bit.
"And they wouldn't drain me?" He asked. Now that he knew what they were it seemed like it could be an easy way to fix his current condition.
He couldn't see Nesvee's look of surprise at the question.
"What? Looking for a good time little holy man?" Garthan asked with amusement. "But no. Most of them probably wouldn't even risk touching you without that getup on. Much less draw from you."
"Why not?" Nesvee cut in. Joey looked back at her for a moment. She'd apparently caught on to his train of thought.
"Wouldn't know personally." Garthan said with a shrug. "I'm just a regular old orc who's good at paperwork. Not one of them. I just work here because I like how uncomfortable it makes people. Plus me and the owner go back a ways. Just know that any time holy folk come around the drainers keep their distance."
Joey thought back to the few minutes before they'd come up to the cluttered office. Now that he thought about it the elf that had greeted them had taken a step back when he'd gotten between him and Nesvee. And the bartender had quickly drawn back from him when he'd reached out to look at a small menu slate.
It seemed that even with the suppressing enchantments of the cloak and mask they could sense that he was some kind of threat to them, and he wondered why.
"Ekron woulda known that." Garthan said, knocking him out of his thoughts. "And he specifically sent you looking for me. So... identification paperwork." She pointed at Nesvee. "You need it too? Or just our horny little friend here?" She asked with a wink at his antlers.
There was a knock at the door. Garthan's face looked a touch annoyed at the disturbance.
She was about to reply to whoever was knocking when the door opened, making her look even more annoyed and causing Nesvee's hand to disappear back under her cloak.
A young member of the Folk, who looked like a deer, poked their head in the door. Joey rushed to put his cloak back on, not knowing if this was one of the "Drainers" who might be scared of his divine nature.
"Cana why are you interrupting me during business?" The half orc asked with annoyance.
"Sorry Miss Gar." The young deer apologized. She was staring at Joey's antlers in shock as he struggled to get them concealed again. "But the Commander of the Legion is here. He's specifically requesting a word with your guests."
Joey looked at Garthan in surprise.
"What in the ten hells is he doing here?" She asked, no less confused than he was.
Then they heard the clanking of heavily armored boot steps ascending the stairs outside.
2024.06.04 23:33 PepperAntique Rebirth. Relearn. Return. -GATEverse- (15/?)
Previous / First
Writer's Note: If you missed it over on GATEhouse I am gonna be kinda sporadic compared to normal. Currently in the process of finding a new place to live so things are a bit hectic IRL. In the meantime, enjoy.
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Joey was, to say the least, uncomfortable in Tinetha's rest.
He didn't know what Ekron's goal was with sending them here. He also didn't know how Ekron knew this place, or if he;d ever been here before. But it was very obvious what this place was on the surface.
Tinetha's rest was a whore house.
What might not have been obvious to someone who hadn't played as many RPG's or adventure games as Joey had, or watched as much anime, was that it was also some kind of vampire den. Or, given its surface appearance, a succubus den of some kind.
And while HE was having no issues with... whatever was affecting the patrons in the building, it was OBVIOUS that Nesvee was NOT immune to whatever was happening.
"Oh that looks fuunnnn." She said in a dreamy, half asleep, voice as she looked at a trio of people making out in a booth whose curtains hadn't been pulled all the way shut.
Joey looked at her curiously as he noticed her state for the first time.
Luckily one of the employees approached them before she could get any worse.
"You. You've never been here before." The young (looking) elf said as they rushed over and quickly took Nesvee's hand in his own. She was pulling him toward her with a ravenous look on her face. But the attendant pressed her head back and looked her in the eyes.
"Ummm." Joey stammered as he watched the exchange.
"Give me a moment." The elf said as he nodded with a look of annoyance. His hand reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small piece of wood. He quickly removed a cap from one end, using his elbow to hold Nesvee back as he did, and quickly pressed it into her forehead.
"That's not what I want." She said in a sultry voice that Joey had never heard from her before. Or from anyone for that matter. Not even Miss Veliry.
"Praickiton denorte." The elf said in a deep voice as he continued pressing the stamp to her forehead. It flared with a dull red light, then he pulled it off of her. It left a similarly glowing mark behind, which faded after a few moments.
Then he pulled her ear like Joey's mom had done to James a few times when they'd been kids.
"OW!" She exclaimed. Her hand blurred as a dagger appeared at the elf's throat.
Joey hadn't even known she'd been armed, though he wasn't surprised.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! What did you do to me?" She demanded.
Joey wasn't oblivious to the sudden silence of the room as the UNOCCUPIED people in the room all stopped to watch the commotion.
"Miss Nesvee." Joey said as he placed a hand on her arm.
"What was that?" She asked again as she began looking around for the first time while wiping at her forehead where the stamp had been.
"Miss Nesvee stop." Joey begged. "I think he was helping you."
"I was." The elf said as his hand gripped the blade of the dagger between his thumb and finger, and pressed it back.
Nesvee attempted to resist, but the elf was deceptively strong for his slender build.
Then her dagger began to bend.
"You've never been here before." He repeated. "You should have told one of our greeters that before you came in." He looked over at Joey as he absentmindedly continued repelling and bending the blade while Nesvee grunted. "You're not affected by the auras? Have you been here before? Or does that veil protect you somehow?"
Finally Nesvee relented and tossed the blade aside as she stepped back and a hand axe appeared in its place.
Joey stepped between them with his hands up.
"We were sent by the mage Ekron to seek someone named Garthan." He said to the elf.
The elf looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"As a client?" He asked curiously. "Or as a... CLIENT?"
Joey looked back at Nesvee, who was still fuming. But she just shrugged and shook her head.
He turned back and nodded at the partly open booth that had distracted Nesvee earlier.
"We're not here for.... that." He said firmly.
"And Ekron didn't warn you of what this place is?" The elf wondered. Then he bobbed his head. "Well he hasn't been here since he was a teen. Makes sense it would slip his mind." He gestured at a nearby bar, where a pair of scantily clad Hisstians were serving drinks and food to, almost equally undressed, patrons. "Please make yourself comfortable while I go speak to our manager." Then he nodded at Nesvee. "And put that away before somebody asks you to use it in a way that you're likely not comfortable with."
"What did you do to me?" She demanded again. "What was that thing you pressed to my head?"
"An inoculation." He replied easily as he turned and began to walk away. "The first one's always free. But if you come back after today it's either two gold or you purchase a membership." He held up a small wrist band from the same pocket the stamp had disappeared back into. Joey assumed it was a membership item of some kind.
Then the young man was ascending a nearby set of stairs and disappeared himself.
"Bloody soul suckers." Nesvee said as she hid the axe wherever it had been in her cloak. But she was already heading for the bar.
Joey looked around, still VERY uncomfortable with the setting. He was even more uncomfortable now as her complaint confirmed what his fiction based intuition told him this place was.
He resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears as he hesitantly moved to follow her.
As he set upon one of the stools and looked around at a nearly naked Dwarf drinking with a Aquian nearby.
Even through the heavily enchanted outfit he was wearing, he could sense the flow of magic energy being pulled from the fish-like person into the dwarf as his hand rested on her arm.
They're not drinking blood. He realized as the meaning of Nesvee's complaint suddenly made sense. They're draining magic.
His eyebrows furrowed as he realized that.
He was about to ask Nesvee if that would kill the fish-woman. But her question to the snake-like bartender caused him even more discomfort.
"That aint the dress-code for this place is it?" She asked as she gestured at the man's INCREDIBLY SMALL underwear, which appeared to be the only thing he was wearing unless he had shoes on under the bar.
Joey's eyes went wide as he realized just HOW naked the two of the bartenders were for the first time.
"Personally I don't care if anyone sees all my scars." She continued. "But my companion here has reasons for what he's wearing."
"It's not." The bartender said with a curt smirk. "It just makes the process easier for our patrons. Skin to skin contact and what not." Nesvee nodded as she considered that. "What can I get you?"
"Don't bother Izo!" A booming and raspy voice called out from up above and behind them.
Joey and Nesvee both turned in their seats, and Joey noticed the way her hand snuck back into her cloak again.
That doesn't look like a vampire lord. Joey thought as he beheld the half orc standing at the top of the stairs the elf had gone up. They look more like a metal-head.
"Mister mask-face. Miss knify-knife." The muscular woman said with a look of annoyance. "Please come this way." Then they seemed to remember something. "Oh, and I'm Garthan."
Joey didn't let Nesvee get snarky or mad. Instead he simply stood up and began to move toward the stairs.
Let's just get whatever this is out of the way and go back to the lab.
---------------------
"Oh Ravyn dear." Kestin said as he draped a hand over her shoulders as the two of them walked out into the street. She ignored it, as she always had with the sword-mage. "We must go get some drinks. It's been too long."
Ekron rolled his eyes. Ravyn didn't drink, and Kestin knew it.
"You really won't help?" He asked one last time as his brother stepped up next to him, his armored helm back on his head once more.
"I can't." Vann said sternly.
Ekron turned and looked at his brother fully. But Vann simply kept watching their friends depart.
"I was being honest earlier when I said what I think of him." Ekron said. "I really don't think he's a threat. To the Estland or to any person."
"Then you haven't read any of the reports I have." Vann replied.
Ekron looked at his brother curiously.
Vann looked back, making a point of turning his head so that his helmet looked too.
Finally after several long moments he spoke.
"As you know, Pretravus has been remarkably tight lipped on its affairs." He began. "Especially regarding the fate of the summoned hero and his family." He shrugged, rolling his shoulders a bit as he did. "I don't blame them if I'm honest... Based on what I've read the Hero may well have become one of the most powerful people in the world before he disappeared." He wobbled his hand a bit while his other hand pointed at the magic negating armor on his chest. "At least against most opponents."
"And Mister Choi is NOT the summoned hero." Ekron reminded him.
"Noooo." Vann said sarcastically. "He's the Hero's little brother. Who in only a matter of months became a mage powerful enough to create a magical overload and kill several people in that desert battle they had with Earth's forces. Learn how to run... on the AIR... faster than most griffins can fly. Helped end the calamity in this continents druidic forest, AND helped create the Gates that Petravus has become so notorious for."
At that Ekron's jaw dropped. Joseph hadn't told him THAT.
"Yes." Vann continued. "I do know how that ruined your work." Then he turned toward Ekron fully. "And not only is he supposedly responsible for those Gates. It's rumored that he and the Green Mage were much... MUCH... closer than simple master and student."
Ekron chewed his lip angrily.
He would never deny that the Petravian Arch Mage deserved the praise heaped upon her over the years. Firearms, her assistance with the Vanishing blight, her role in the rush to farm elemental obsidian, the damned Gates. And that was to say nothing of the aide she'd given to the druidic forests across the world since then. She'd already been considered a prodigy amongst magic users BEFORE the summoned Hero's arrival. But now she was practically the only thing any new mages talked about.
He'd already known Joseph was her student. The young man had told him as much. He'd also told Ekron about how he'd left her mentorship, though not why.
Vann spoke before he could.
"So say whatever you will of his character." The armored commander said simply as he stretched a bit. "I'm sure he's a nice enough young man. But where you see an unfortunate young mage in need of help with a strange condition. I see one of the most dangerous assets in our world attempting to return to a family that happens to be instrumental in the growth of our nation's greatest rivals."
Said like that, Ekron couldn't deny his brother's reasoning for NOT helping him.
Hell. He was tempted to stop helping him.
But his emotions regarding Veliry the Green didn't override his logic.
"He was sent down to this world from the Gods." Ekron countered quietly. He still wasn't completely certain that was the case. But it was the only thing his research pointed to. "He may not be an ACTUAL messenger. But he's something close."
Vann nodded.
"You know the accounts of what's happened when people have hindered messengers." Ekron continued. "And if he really is a reincarnation, then at the very least he deserves a chance at this new life."
Vann nodded again.
"That is the very same reason Lord Mattis has not ordered me to take him, OR YOU, into custody." He said.
Vann tapped at his chest-plate again. Then pointed at the ground near his feet.
"But he does NOT... leave this city." He said sternly. "If he attempts to do so. I will be required to stop him."
Ekron knew what he meant by that.
He knew that if Joseph Choi attempted to leave this city, they would kill him if that was what it took to keep him from returning to Petravus.
And for the first time since leaving the convoy, Ekron began to doubt his decision to help and study the young man.
Vann began to stomp away before Ekron could extend the conversation any further.
"So..." Garthan said as she shuffled around her incredibly cluttered desk and flopped down into her chair. "Before we go any further I'm going to need some information."
Joey and Nesvee both shuffled past piles of scrolls and notebooks as they followed the large half orc into the office. She gestured at the chairs casually scattered around the room. Joey sat on an overstuffed sofa, careful to avoid the pile of writing implements in a tray on the other cushion.
"First off." Garthan continued as she opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out something immediately recognizable to Joey. He'd seen them in countless gas stations. And more than a few of James's soldier buddies had used them. "Is that mask necessary for your survival? Or is it just to keep your face hidden?"
"Um... a little of both." Joey said hesitantly. He couldn't resist his curiosity. "What are those?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
Garthan held up the slim brown cylinder she'd pulled out of its packaging and placed in her tusked mouth.
"These?" She asked, amused. "Heh. Well before you ask, they aint part of the services I offer. Too expensive." She held a finger up and a small flame lit the familiar item. "They're from Earth. According to the smuggler I got em from they're Earths version of pipeweed." She held the package up. "Apparently these symbols say Swisher Sweets. Whatever that means. They are sweet though. Guess that part makes sense."
Joey had to resist laughing. They were grape flavored. He wondered how "expensive" they'd been when they'd probably only cost some enterprising service member in Petravus a good five to ten dollars.
"Speaking of services." Nesvee interrupted from atop a crate. "Ekron didn't exactly tell us why we're here. I assume the old bastard didn't want us to get our brains sucked out downstairs. Didn't give us enough gold for that."
"That's fine." Garthan said. "I'm not one of the drainers anyways. Elion tells me YOU," She pointed at Nesvee. "fell for the aura. So yeah... guess Ek didn't warn you about this place. Dumb old ass."
Nesvee didn't blush, but instead looked angry at the reminder.
"Not anyone's fault." Garthan said. "If you don't know what this place is it's not surprising for someone unshielded," This time she pointed at Joey using the hand with the small cigar in it. "to fall for it. It's literally a trait they evolved to catch their prey back in the old times. It's designed to lower your guard."
"So what do you do?" Joey asked, trying to get them back on track. He'd already kind of guessed at how this place worked. Though he still didn't understand WHY it worked. But that was a question for AFTER they'd figured out why Ekron had sent them here.
"Well that's easy." Garthan replied before taking a long drag from the grape scented smoke. "I give people new identities. Hence why I need your names and faces." She exhaled the smoke she'd drawn in and immediately sucked it back in through her nose. "Because I don't do that unless I know who it's for. It's not legal work, and I don't pretend like I won't rat you out if the Cobalt Legion comes sniffing around. I keep logs."
"And you actually get work with that policy?" Nesvee asked in disbelief. She was a mercenary. She knew plenty of people who used false names, and more than a few of them had fake identity paperwork to match. She'd never cared to ask any of them why.
Garthan gestured at all the paperwork around them.
"Admittedly only by the desperate." She replied easily. "But there's lots of them. And the legion looks the other way because I am so easy to work with. Far as they're concerned it's no big deal if someone's running from debtors or jealous lovers. Long as it aint a magical calamity they don't care. And as long as they can rely on me if it DOES become a calamity. Well... makes things easier." She waved her smoking hand at the door. "Besides, they like gettin' the show on the way in."
"So a new set of ID is why Ekron sent us?" Joey asked. It honestly didn't make much sense to him.
"Well. He's never been one to sample the goods downstairs." Garthan said with a look of confusion. "And there isn't a drainer in the world that'll draw from someone soaked full of Godly magic." She said with a wink at Joey.
"You know about that?" He asked, surprised.
"Didn't until you told me Ekron had sent you." She said with a grin. Joey realized that he'd all but confirmed who he was.
He reluctantly pulled off the veiled hood of his cloak, careful to pull his antlers out of their compartments.
"Well damn." Garthan said as she stood up and inspected the antlers with fascination. Joey pulled back when she moved to touch them. "They said you had antlers like a high druid. But those are damned impressive." He could smell the grape smoke as she exhaled. But she also held her hand up in surrender at his discomfort as she sat back down. "Hmm." She grunted as she continued studying the antlers with curiosity. "You always conceal them?" She asked.
He nodded uncertainly.
"When I can." He replied. "They're uncomfortable most of the time."
"Yeah I bet." She took one last, long, drag from the Swisher and stamped out the stub on an empty part of her desk. She seemed to think for a long while.
"Those... drainers." joey asked curiously as he tried to fill the silence. "They drain people's magic."
"Yep." She replied absently.
"And people.... pay them to do it?" He asked. "Why?"
Garthan shrugged. "Take your pick." She said uncertainly, her eyes still not leaving the horns on his head. "Lack of sleep. Idiot mages avoiding magical overuse. People with certain energy ailments...." She waved her hand a bit. "And of course people who are just horny and okay with being drained to get laid."
Joey thought of that for a bit.
"And they wouldn't drain me?" He asked. Now that he knew what they were it seemed like it could be an easy way to fix his current condition.
He couldn't see Nesvee's look of surprise at the question.
"What? Looking for a good time little holy man?" Garthan asked with amusement. "But no. Most of them probably wouldn't even risk touching you without that getup on. Much less draw from you."
"Why not?" Nesvee cut in. Joey looked back at her for a moment. She'd apparently caught on to his train of thought.
"Wouldn't know personally." Garthan said with a shrug. "I'm just a regular old orc who's good at paperwork. Not one of them. I just work here because I like how uncomfortable it makes people. Plus me and the owner go back a ways. Just know that any time holy folk come around the drainers keep their distance."
Joey thought back to the few minutes before they'd come up to the cluttered office. Now that he thought about it the elf that had greeted them had taken a step back when he'd gotten between him and Nesvee. And the bartender had quickly drawn back from him when he'd reached out to look at a small menu slate.
It seemed that even with the suppressing enchantments of the cloak and mask they could sense that he was some kind of threat to them, and he wondered why.
"Ekron woulda known that." Garthan said, knocking him out of his thoughts. "And he specifically sent you looking for me. So... identification paperwork." She pointed at Nesvee. "You need it too? Or just our horny little friend here?" She asked with a wink at his antlers.
There was a knock at the door. Garthan's face looked a touch annoyed at the disturbance.
She was about to reply to whoever was knocking when the door opened, making her look even more annoyed and causing Nesvee's hand to disappear back under her cloak.
A young member of the Folk, who looked like a deer, poked their head in the door. Joey rushed to put his cloak back on, not knowing if this was one of the "Drainers" who might be scared of his divine nature.
"Cana why are you interrupting me during business?" The half orc asked with annoyance.
"Sorry Miss Gar." The young deer apologized. She was staring at Joey's antlers in shock as he struggled to get them concealed again. "But the Commander of the Legion is here. He's specifically requesting a word with your guests."
Joey looked at Garthan in surprise.
"What in the ten hells is he doing here?" She asked, no less confused than he was.
Then they heard the clanking of heavily armored boot steps ascending the stairs outside.
submitted by PepperAntique to HFY [link] [comments]
Writer's Note: If you missed it over on GATEhouse I am gonna be kinda sporadic compared to normal. Currently in the process of finding a new place to live so things are a bit hectic IRL. In the meantime, enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joey was, to say the least, uncomfortable in Tinetha's rest.
He didn't know what Ekron's goal was with sending them here. He also didn't know how Ekron knew this place, or if he;d ever been here before. But it was very obvious what this place was on the surface.
Tinetha's rest was a whore house.
What might not have been obvious to someone who hadn't played as many RPG's or adventure games as Joey had, or watched as much anime, was that it was also some kind of vampire den. Or, given its surface appearance, a succubus den of some kind.
And while HE was having no issues with... whatever was affecting the patrons in the building, it was OBVIOUS that Nesvee was NOT immune to whatever was happening.
"Oh that looks fuunnnn." She said in a dreamy, half asleep, voice as she looked at a trio of people making out in a booth whose curtains hadn't been pulled all the way shut.
Joey looked at her curiously as he noticed her state for the first time.
Luckily one of the employees approached them before she could get any worse.
"You. You've never been here before." The young (looking) elf said as they rushed over and quickly took Nesvee's hand in his own. She was pulling him toward her with a ravenous look on her face. But the attendant pressed her head back and looked her in the eyes.
"Ummm." Joey stammered as he watched the exchange.
"Give me a moment." The elf said as he nodded with a look of annoyance. His hand reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small piece of wood. He quickly removed a cap from one end, using his elbow to hold Nesvee back as he did, and quickly pressed it into her forehead.
"That's not what I want." She said in a sultry voice that Joey had never heard from her before. Or from anyone for that matter. Not even Miss Veliry.
"Praickiton denorte." The elf said in a deep voice as he continued pressing the stamp to her forehead. It flared with a dull red light, then he pulled it off of her. It left a similarly glowing mark behind, which faded after a few moments.
Then he pulled her ear like Joey's mom had done to James a few times when they'd been kids.
"OW!" She exclaimed. Her hand blurred as a dagger appeared at the elf's throat.
Joey hadn't even known she'd been armed, though he wasn't surprised.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! What did you do to me?" She demanded.
Joey wasn't oblivious to the sudden silence of the room as the UNOCCUPIED people in the room all stopped to watch the commotion.
"Miss Nesvee." Joey said as he placed a hand on her arm.
"What was that?" She asked again as she began looking around for the first time while wiping at her forehead where the stamp had been.
"Miss Nesvee stop." Joey begged. "I think he was helping you."
"I was." The elf said as his hand gripped the blade of the dagger between his thumb and finger, and pressed it back.
Nesvee attempted to resist, but the elf was deceptively strong for his slender build.
Then her dagger began to bend.
"You've never been here before." He repeated. "You should have told one of our greeters that before you came in." He looked over at Joey as he absentmindedly continued repelling and bending the blade while Nesvee grunted. "You're not affected by the auras? Have you been here before? Or does that veil protect you somehow?"
Finally Nesvee relented and tossed the blade aside as she stepped back and a hand axe appeared in its place.
Joey stepped between them with his hands up.
"We were sent by the mage Ekron to seek someone named Garthan." He said to the elf.
The elf looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"As a client?" He asked curiously. "Or as a... CLIENT?"
Joey looked back at Nesvee, who was still fuming. But she just shrugged and shook her head.
He turned back and nodded at the partly open booth that had distracted Nesvee earlier.
"We're not here for.... that." He said firmly.
"And Ekron didn't warn you of what this place is?" The elf wondered. Then he bobbed his head. "Well he hasn't been here since he was a teen. Makes sense it would slip his mind." He gestured at a nearby bar, where a pair of scantily clad Hisstians were serving drinks and food to, almost equally undressed, patrons. "Please make yourself comfortable while I go speak to our manager." Then he nodded at Nesvee. "And put that away before somebody asks you to use it in a way that you're likely not comfortable with."
"What did you do to me?" She demanded again. "What was that thing you pressed to my head?"
"An inoculation." He replied easily as he turned and began to walk away. "The first one's always free. But if you come back after today it's either two gold or you purchase a membership." He held up a small wrist band from the same pocket the stamp had disappeared back into. Joey assumed it was a membership item of some kind.
Then the young man was ascending a nearby set of stairs and disappeared himself.
"Bloody soul suckers." Nesvee said as she hid the axe wherever it had been in her cloak. But she was already heading for the bar.
Joey looked around, still VERY uncomfortable with the setting. He was even more uncomfortable now as her complaint confirmed what his fiction based intuition told him this place was.
He resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears as he hesitantly moved to follow her.
As he set upon one of the stools and looked around at a nearly naked Dwarf drinking with a Aquian nearby.
Even through the heavily enchanted outfit he was wearing, he could sense the flow of magic energy being pulled from the fish-like person into the dwarf as his hand rested on her arm.
They're not drinking blood. He realized as the meaning of Nesvee's complaint suddenly made sense. They're draining magic.
His eyebrows furrowed as he realized that.
He was about to ask Nesvee if that would kill the fish-woman. But her question to the snake-like bartender caused him even more discomfort.
"That aint the dress-code for this place is it?" She asked as she gestured at the man's INCREDIBLY SMALL underwear, which appeared to be the only thing he was wearing unless he had shoes on under the bar.
Joey's eyes went wide as he realized just HOW naked the two of the bartenders were for the first time.
"Personally I don't care if anyone sees all my scars." She continued. "But my companion here has reasons for what he's wearing."
"It's not." The bartender said with a curt smirk. "It just makes the process easier for our patrons. Skin to skin contact and what not." Nesvee nodded as she considered that. "What can I get you?"
"Don't bother Izo!" A booming and raspy voice called out from up above and behind them.
Joey and Nesvee both turned in their seats, and Joey noticed the way her hand snuck back into her cloak again.
That doesn't look like a vampire lord. Joey thought as he beheld the half orc standing at the top of the stairs the elf had gone up. They look more like a metal-head.
"Mister mask-face. Miss knify-knife." The muscular woman said with a look of annoyance. "Please come this way." Then they seemed to remember something. "Oh, and I'm Garthan."
Joey didn't let Nesvee get snarky or mad. Instead he simply stood up and began to move toward the stairs.
Let's just get whatever this is out of the way and go back to the lab.
---------------------
"Oh Ravyn dear." Kestin said as he draped a hand over her shoulders as the two of them walked out into the street. She ignored it, as she always had with the sword-mage. "We must go get some drinks. It's been too long."
Ekron rolled his eyes. Ravyn didn't drink, and Kestin knew it.
"You really won't help?" He asked one last time as his brother stepped up next to him, his armored helm back on his head once more.
"I can't." Vann said sternly.
Ekron turned and looked at his brother fully. But Vann simply kept watching their friends depart.
"I was being honest earlier when I said what I think of him." Ekron said. "I really don't think he's a threat. To the Estland or to any person."
"Then you haven't read any of the reports I have." Vann replied.
Ekron looked at his brother curiously.
Vann looked back, making a point of turning his head so that his helmet looked too.
Finally after several long moments he spoke.
"As you know, Pretravus has been remarkably tight lipped on its affairs." He began. "Especially regarding the fate of the summoned hero and his family." He shrugged, rolling his shoulders a bit as he did. "I don't blame them if I'm honest... Based on what I've read the Hero may well have become one of the most powerful people in the world before he disappeared." He wobbled his hand a bit while his other hand pointed at the magic negating armor on his chest. "At least against most opponents."
"And Mister Choi is NOT the summoned hero." Ekron reminded him.
"Noooo." Vann said sarcastically. "He's the Hero's little brother. Who in only a matter of months became a mage powerful enough to create a magical overload and kill several people in that desert battle they had with Earth's forces. Learn how to run... on the AIR... faster than most griffins can fly. Helped end the calamity in this continents druidic forest, AND helped create the Gates that Petravus has become so notorious for."
At that Ekron's jaw dropped. Joseph hadn't told him THAT.
"Yes." Vann continued. "I do know how that ruined your work." Then he turned toward Ekron fully. "And not only is he supposedly responsible for those Gates. It's rumored that he and the Green Mage were much... MUCH... closer than simple master and student."
Ekron chewed his lip angrily.
He would never deny that the Petravian Arch Mage deserved the praise heaped upon her over the years. Firearms, her assistance with the Vanishing blight, her role in the rush to farm elemental obsidian, the damned Gates. And that was to say nothing of the aide she'd given to the druidic forests across the world since then. She'd already been considered a prodigy amongst magic users BEFORE the summoned Hero's arrival. But now she was practically the only thing any new mages talked about.
He'd already known Joseph was her student. The young man had told him as much. He'd also told Ekron about how he'd left her mentorship, though not why.
Vann spoke before he could.
"So say whatever you will of his character." The armored commander said simply as he stretched a bit. "I'm sure he's a nice enough young man. But where you see an unfortunate young mage in need of help with a strange condition. I see one of the most dangerous assets in our world attempting to return to a family that happens to be instrumental in the growth of our nation's greatest rivals."
Said like that, Ekron couldn't deny his brother's reasoning for NOT helping him.
Hell. He was tempted to stop helping him.
But his emotions regarding Veliry the Green didn't override his logic.
"He was sent down to this world from the Gods." Ekron countered quietly. He still wasn't completely certain that was the case. But it was the only thing his research pointed to. "He may not be an ACTUAL messenger. But he's something close."
Vann nodded.
"You know the accounts of what's happened when people have hindered messengers." Ekron continued. "And if he really is a reincarnation, then at the very least he deserves a chance at this new life."
Vann nodded again.
"That is the very same reason Lord Mattis has not ordered me to take him, OR YOU, into custody." He said.
Vann tapped at his chest-plate again. Then pointed at the ground near his feet.
"But he does NOT... leave this city." He said sternly. "If he attempts to do so. I will be required to stop him."
Ekron knew what he meant by that.
He knew that if Joseph Choi attempted to leave this city, they would kill him if that was what it took to keep him from returning to Petravus.
And for the first time since leaving the convoy, Ekron began to doubt his decision to help and study the young man.
Vann began to stomp away before Ekron could extend the conversation any further.
Joey and Nesvee both shuffled past piles of scrolls and notebooks as they followed the large half orc into the office. She gestured at the chairs casually scattered around the room. Joey sat on an overstuffed sofa, careful to avoid the pile of writing implements in a tray on the other cushion.
"First off." Garthan continued as she opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out something immediately recognizable to Joey. He'd seen them in countless gas stations. And more than a few of James's soldier buddies had used them. "Is that mask necessary for your survival? Or is it just to keep your face hidden?"
"Um... a little of both." Joey said hesitantly. He couldn't resist his curiosity. "What are those?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
Garthan held up the slim brown cylinder she'd pulled out of its packaging and placed in her tusked mouth.
"These?" She asked, amused. "Heh. Well before you ask, they aint part of the services I offer. Too expensive." She held a finger up and a small flame lit the familiar item. "They're from Earth. According to the smuggler I got em from they're Earths version of pipeweed." She held the package up. "Apparently these symbols say Swisher Sweets. Whatever that means. They are sweet though. Guess that part makes sense."
Joey had to resist laughing. They were grape flavored. He wondered how "expensive" they'd been when they'd probably only cost some enterprising service member in Petravus a good five to ten dollars.
"Speaking of services." Nesvee interrupted from atop a crate. "Ekron didn't exactly tell us why we're here. I assume the old bastard didn't want us to get our brains sucked out downstairs. Didn't give us enough gold for that."
"That's fine." Garthan said. "I'm not one of the drainers anyways. Elion tells me YOU," She pointed at Nesvee. "fell for the aura. So yeah... guess Ek didn't warn you about this place. Dumb old ass."
Nesvee didn't blush, but instead looked angry at the reminder.
"Not anyone's fault." Garthan said. "If you don't know what this place is it's not surprising for someone unshielded," This time she pointed at Joey using the hand with the small cigar in it. "to fall for it. It's literally a trait they evolved to catch their prey back in the old times. It's designed to lower your guard."
"So what do you do?" Joey asked, trying to get them back on track. He'd already kind of guessed at how this place worked. Though he still didn't understand WHY it worked. But that was a question for AFTER they'd figured out why Ekron had sent them here.
"Well that's easy." Garthan replied before taking a long drag from the grape scented smoke. "I give people new identities. Hence why I need your names and faces." She exhaled the smoke she'd drawn in and immediately sucked it back in through her nose. "Because I don't do that unless I know who it's for. It's not legal work, and I don't pretend like I won't rat you out if the Cobalt Legion comes sniffing around. I keep logs."
"And you actually get work with that policy?" Nesvee asked in disbelief. She was a mercenary. She knew plenty of people who used false names, and more than a few of them had fake identity paperwork to match. She'd never cared to ask any of them why.
Garthan gestured at all the paperwork around them.
"Admittedly only by the desperate." She replied easily. "But there's lots of them. And the legion looks the other way because I am so easy to work with. Far as they're concerned it's no big deal if someone's running from debtors or jealous lovers. Long as it aint a magical calamity they don't care. And as long as they can rely on me if it DOES become a calamity. Well... makes things easier." She waved her smoking hand at the door. "Besides, they like gettin' the show on the way in."
"So a new set of ID is why Ekron sent us?" Joey asked. It honestly didn't make much sense to him.
"Well. He's never been one to sample the goods downstairs." Garthan said with a look of confusion. "And there isn't a drainer in the world that'll draw from someone soaked full of Godly magic." She said with a wink at Joey.
"You know about that?" He asked, surprised.
"Didn't until you told me Ekron had sent you." She said with a grin. Joey realized that he'd all but confirmed who he was.
He reluctantly pulled off the veiled hood of his cloak, careful to pull his antlers out of their compartments.
"Well damn." Garthan said as she stood up and inspected the antlers with fascination. Joey pulled back when she moved to touch them. "They said you had antlers like a high druid. But those are damned impressive." He could smell the grape smoke as she exhaled. But she also held her hand up in surrender at his discomfort as she sat back down. "Hmm." She grunted as she continued studying the antlers with curiosity. "You always conceal them?" She asked.
He nodded uncertainly.
"When I can." He replied. "They're uncomfortable most of the time."
"Yeah I bet." She took one last, long, drag from the Swisher and stamped out the stub on an empty part of her desk. She seemed to think for a long while.
"Those... drainers." joey asked curiously as he tried to fill the silence. "They drain people's magic."
"Yep." She replied absently.
"And people.... pay them to do it?" He asked. "Why?"
Garthan shrugged. "Take your pick." She said uncertainly, her eyes still not leaving the horns on his head. "Lack of sleep. Idiot mages avoiding magical overuse. People with certain energy ailments...." She waved her hand a bit. "And of course people who are just horny and okay with being drained to get laid."
Joey thought of that for a bit.
"And they wouldn't drain me?" He asked. Now that he knew what they were it seemed like it could be an easy way to fix his current condition.
He couldn't see Nesvee's look of surprise at the question.
"What? Looking for a good time little holy man?" Garthan asked with amusement. "But no. Most of them probably wouldn't even risk touching you without that getup on. Much less draw from you."
"Why not?" Nesvee cut in. Joey looked back at her for a moment. She'd apparently caught on to his train of thought.
"Wouldn't know personally." Garthan said with a shrug. "I'm just a regular old orc who's good at paperwork. Not one of them. I just work here because I like how uncomfortable it makes people. Plus me and the owner go back a ways. Just know that any time holy folk come around the drainers keep their distance."
Joey thought back to the few minutes before they'd come up to the cluttered office. Now that he thought about it the elf that had greeted them had taken a step back when he'd gotten between him and Nesvee. And the bartender had quickly drawn back from him when he'd reached out to look at a small menu slate.
It seemed that even with the suppressing enchantments of the cloak and mask they could sense that he was some kind of threat to them, and he wondered why.
"Ekron woulda known that." Garthan said, knocking him out of his thoughts. "And he specifically sent you looking for me. So... identification paperwork." She pointed at Nesvee. "You need it too? Or just our horny little friend here?" She asked with a wink at his antlers.
There was a knock at the door. Garthan's face looked a touch annoyed at the disturbance.
She was about to reply to whoever was knocking when the door opened, making her look even more annoyed and causing Nesvee's hand to disappear back under her cloak.
A young member of the Folk, who looked like a deer, poked their head in the door. Joey rushed to put his cloak back on, not knowing if this was one of the "Drainers" who might be scared of his divine nature.
"Cana why are you interrupting me during business?" The half orc asked with annoyance.
"Sorry Miss Gar." The young deer apologized. She was staring at Joey's antlers in shock as he struggled to get them concealed again. "But the Commander of the Legion is here. He's specifically requesting a word with your guests."
Joey looked at Garthan in surprise.
"What in the ten hells is he doing here?" She asked, no less confused than he was.
Then they heard the clanking of heavily armored boot steps ascending the stairs outside.
2024.06.04 22:57 The-Unseen-1 How power corrupts society
Part 19: Power corrupts society
.
.
“Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano.
.
“See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power.
Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value.
Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them?
The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in.
The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention.
You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego.
Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'.
Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears.
Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE.
And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you.
I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority.
Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion!
The illusion of there being levels.”
.
.
.
The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle.
.
.
“I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox.
“I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table.
“Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.”
“I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken.
.
.
The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?”
“As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.”
The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?”
“He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker.
.
.
The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.”
“¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?”
.
.
The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins.
The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds.
“This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch.
“Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?”
When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...”
“¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...”
.
.
.
.
“We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey.
“There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications.
Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth.
Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering.
When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration.
Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on.
You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life?
But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless?
Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak?
Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain.
When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others.
Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.”
.
.
“Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox.
“But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.”
.
.
The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma.
Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question.
Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless.
So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is?
When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled.
Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.”
.
The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.”
.
“Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away.
So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.”
.
The Seeker nods silently.
.
.
As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment.
“Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?”
The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.”
The bear is speechless.
The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer:
“Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!”
The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear:
“See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path.
“The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.”
When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack.
The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together.
“This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!”
.
.
.
“I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently.
“Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.”
“Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.”
The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?”
.
.
.
The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger.
'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?'
“Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.”
The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger.
“Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again:
“Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!'
.
.
.
“It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice.
“Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'.
They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer.
You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.”
.
.
As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding.
It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden.
.
.
.
Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention.
“Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger.
“I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.”
“Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.”
The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.”
.
.
“Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment.
.
The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.”
“But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.”
.
.
The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road.
.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
.
.
for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity
Find previous part Here
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/
Find next part Here:
.
.
START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/
.
Checkpoint 4
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/
.
Special Bonus Chapters:
THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/
submitted by The-Unseen-1 to spirituality [link] [comments]
.
.
“Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano.
.
“See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power.
Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value.
Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them?
The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in.
The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention.
You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego.
Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'.
Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears.
Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE.
And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you.
I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority.
Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion!
The illusion of there being levels.”
.
.
.
The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle.
.
.
“I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox.
“I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table.
“Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.”
“I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken.
.
.
The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?”
“As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.”
The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?”
“He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker.
.
.
The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.”
“¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?”
.
.
The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins.
The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds.
“This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch.
“Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?”
When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...”
“¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...”
.
.
.
.
“We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey.
“There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications.
Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth.
Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering.
When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration.
Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on.
You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life?
But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless?
Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak?
Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain.
When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others.
Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.”
.
.
“Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox.
“But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.”
.
.
The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma.
Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question.
Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless.
So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is?
When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled.
Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.”
.
The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.”
.
“Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away.
So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.”
.
The Seeker nods silently.
.
.
As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment.
“Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?”
The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.”
The bear is speechless.
The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer:
“Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!”
The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear:
“See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path.
“The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.”
When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack.
The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together.
“This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!”
.
.
.
“I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently.
“Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.”
“Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.”
The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?”
.
.
.
The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger.
'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?'
“Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.”
The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger.
“Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again:
“Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!'
.
.
.
“It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice.
“Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'.
They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer.
You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.”
.
.
As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding.
It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden.
.
.
.
Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention.
“Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger.
“I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.”
“Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.”
The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.”
.
.
“Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment.
.
The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.”
“But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.”
.
.
The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road.
.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
.
.
for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity
Find previous part Here
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/
Find next part Here:
.
.
START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/
.
Checkpoint 4
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/
.
Special Bonus Chapters:
THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/
2024.06.04 22:56 The-Unseen-1 How Power corrupts society
Part 19: Power corrupts society
.
.
“Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano.
.
“See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power.
Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value.
Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them?
The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in.
The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention.
You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego.
Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'.
Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears.
Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE.
And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you.
I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority.
Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion!
The illusion of there being levels.”
.
.
.
The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle.
.
.
“I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox.
“I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table.
“Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.”
“I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken.
.
.
The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?”
“As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.”
The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?”
“He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker.
.
.
The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.”
“¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?”
.
.
The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins.
The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds.
“This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch.
“Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?”
When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...”
“¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...”
.
.
.
.
“We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey.
“There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications.
Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth.
Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering.
When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration.
Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on.
You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life?
But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless?
Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak?
Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain.
When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others.
Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.”
.
.
“Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox.
“But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.”
.
.
The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma.
Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question.
Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless.
So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is?
When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled.
Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.”
.
The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.”
.
“Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away.
So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.”
.
The Seeker nods silently.
.
.
As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment.
“Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?”
The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.”
The bear is speechless.
The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer:
“Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!”
The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear:
“See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path.
“The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.”
When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack.
The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together.
“This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!”
.
.
.
“I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently.
“Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.”
“Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.”
The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?”
.
.
.
The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger.
'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?'
“Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.”
The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger.
“Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again:
“Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!'
.
.
.
“It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice.
“Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'.
They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer.
You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.”
.
.
As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding.
It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden.
.
.
.
Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention.
“Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger.
“I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.”
“Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.”
The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.”
.
.
“Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment.
.
The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.”
“But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.”
.
.
The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road.
.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
.
.
for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity
Find previous part Here
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/
Find next part Here:
.
.
START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/
.
Checkpoint 4
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/
.
Special Bonus Chapters:
THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/
submitted by The-Unseen-1 to Soulnexus [link] [comments]
.
.
“Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano.
.
“See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power.
Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value.
Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them?
The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in.
The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention.
You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego.
Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'.
Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears.
Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE.
And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you.
I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority.
Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion!
The illusion of there being levels.”
.
.
.
The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle.
.
.
“I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox.
“I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table.
“Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.”
“I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken.
.
.
The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?”
“As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.”
The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?”
“He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker.
.
.
The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.”
“¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?”
.
.
The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins.
The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds.
“This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch.
“Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?”
When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...”
“¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...”
.
.
.
.
“We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey.
“There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications.
Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth.
Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering.
When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration.
Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on.
You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life?
But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless?
Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak?
Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain.
When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others.
Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.”
.
.
“Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox.
“But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.”
.
.
The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma.
Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question.
Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless.
So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is?
When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled.
Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.”
.
The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.”
.
“Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away.
So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.”
.
The Seeker nods silently.
.
.
As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment.
“Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?”
The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.”
The bear is speechless.
The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer:
“Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!”
The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear:
“See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path.
“The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.”
When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack.
The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together.
“This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!”
.
.
.
“I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently.
“Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.”
“Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.”
The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?”
.
.
.
The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger.
'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?'
“Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.”
The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger.
“Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again:
“Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!'
.
.
.
“It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice.
“Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'.
They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer.
You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.”
.
.
As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding.
It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden.
.
.
.
Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention.
“Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger.
“I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.”
“Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.”
The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.”
.
.
“Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment.
.
The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.”
“But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.”
.
.
The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road.
.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
.
.
for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity
Find previous part Here
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/
Find next part Here:
.
.
START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/
.
Checkpoint 4
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/
.
Special Bonus Chapters:
THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/
2024.06.04 22:55 The-Unseen-1 How power corrupts society
Part 19: Power corrupts society
.
.
“Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano.
.
“See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power.
Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value.
Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them?
The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in.
The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention.
You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego.
Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'.
Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears.
Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE.
And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you.
I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority.
Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion!
The illusion of there being levels.”
.
.
.
The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle.
.
.
“I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox.
“I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table.
“Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.”
“I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken.
.
.
The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?”
“As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.”
The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?”
“He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker.
.
.
The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.”
“¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?”
.
.
The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins.
The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds.
“This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch.
“Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?”
When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...”
“¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...”
.
.
.
.
“We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey.
“There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications.
Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth.
Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering.
When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration.
Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on.
You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life?
But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless?
Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak?
Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain.
When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others.
Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.”
.
.
“Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox.
“But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.”
.
.
The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma.
Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question.
Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless.
So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is?
When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled.
Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.”
.
The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.”
.
“Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away.
So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.”
.
The Seeker nods silently.
.
.
As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment.
“Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?”
The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.”
The bear is speechless.
The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer:
“Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!”
The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear:
“See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path.
“The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.”
When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack.
The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together.
“This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!”
.
.
.
“I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently.
“Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.”
“Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.”
The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?”
.
.
.
The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger.
'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?'
“Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.”
The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger.
“Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again:
“Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!'
.
.
.
“It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice.
“Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'.
They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer.
You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.”
.
.
As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding.
It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden.
.
.
.
Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention.
“Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger.
“I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.”
“Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.”
The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.”
.
.
“Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment.
.
The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.”
“But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.”
.
.
The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road.
.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
.
.
for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity
Find previous part Here
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/
Find next part Here:
.
.
START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/
.
Checkpoint 4
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/
.
Special Bonus Chapters:
THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/
submitted by The-Unseen-1 to awakened [link] [comments]
.
.
“Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano.
.
“See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power.
Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value.
Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them?
The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in.
The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention.
You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego.
Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'.
Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears.
Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE.
And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you.
I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority.
Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion!
The illusion of there being levels.”
.
.
.
The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle.
.
.
“I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox.
“I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table.
“Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.”
“I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken.
.
.
The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?”
“As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.”
The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?”
“He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker.
.
.
The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.”
“¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?”
.
.
The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins.
The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds.
“This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch.
“Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?”
When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...”
“¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...”
.
.
.
.
“We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey.
“There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications.
Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth.
Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering.
When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration.
Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on.
You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life?
But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless?
Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak?
Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain.
When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others.
Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.”
.
.
“Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox.
“But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.”
.
.
The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma.
Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question.
Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless.
So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is?
When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled.
Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.”
.
The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.”
.
“Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away.
So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.”
.
The Seeker nods silently.
.
.
As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment.
“Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?”
The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.”
The bear is speechless.
The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer:
“Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!”
The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear:
“See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path.
“The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.”
When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack.
The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together.
“This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!”
.
.
.
“I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently.
“Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.”
“Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.”
The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?”
.
.
.
The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger.
'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?'
“Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.”
The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger.
“Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again:
“Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.”
Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!'
.
.
.
“It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice.
“Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'.
They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer.
You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.”
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.
As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding.
It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden.
.
.
.
Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention.
“Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger.
“I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.”
“Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.”
The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.”
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“Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment.
.
The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.”
“But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.”
.
.
The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road.
.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
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for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity
Find previous part Here
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/
Find next part Here:
.
.
START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/
.
Checkpoint 4
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/
.
Special Bonus Chapters:
THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL
https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/
2024.06.04 22:52 The-Unseen-1 Power corrupts
 | Walking the Path together (Part 19)https://preview.redd.it/ssco7ajjzl4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9ad3bfe500675d5f0a73db236230b400d0f4000Part 19: Power corrupts . . . “Where there is power, there is no love,” speaks the Stranger to the Seeker. The group of animal spirits is listening. They all walk upwards to the summit of the great volcano. . https://preview.redd.it/v06buta60m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52414ecc4ec9607c4be24e2e84a71c59d094600a “See, what power has done to the world. It creates imbalances. Imbalances within society. Imbalances in relationships. Imbalances in oneself. Power separates the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. Power corrupts even the purest of heart. See, how many wars have been caused, just because some Egos hungered for power. Authority is a dangerous thing. It binds our hearts, which long to be free. We have built hierarchies. We have created systems of control. Systems of wealth and value. Now let us ask why. Why have we created such systems? Why do we sustain them? The system has formed organically. Out of the ego, which is corrupted by a hunger for power. It is perfectly adapted not only to sustain the ego, but also to feed the ego. We have created a self-perpetuating cycle for the ego to thrive in. The ego grows, whenever you give it attention. The ego grows, when you talk about yourself. The ego grows, when you think you are special. The ego grows, when you are attached to an identity. The ego grows when others pay you attention. You find personality cults in all religions, cultures and belief systems. Think of social media enabling narcissistic behavior. Think about how celebrities, billionaires and politicians are worshiped. All just to sustain the ego. Now this system neither serves the powerless, nor does it serve the powerful. The powerful hates his mirrors reflection and the powerless hates his life. And yet everyone craves for more 'power' or its material counterpart 'wealth'. Because we can't let go of our need to control. Because we are still too based in our fears. Don't hunt after power. Because it will never give you, what you really want: LOVE. And even if someone offers you power, decline it. Because it will always corrupt you. I don't want to be any persons servant, nor do I want to be any persons authority. Because the very idea of authority is based on an illusion! The illusion of there being levels.” . . . The Stranger suddenly stops, as he realizes, that no one listens. He takes a look behind. https://preview.redd.it/2rl2wce41m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6105322cc8d3f709d1377df39efee5ddfb72ebc The animals all surround a single tree. The Seeker is also in the circle. https://preview.redd.it/lay756cm1m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=003b10a30e5152557a5bf25ba88d53470d319773 . . “I bet five bucks on the squirrel,” says the cat to the fox. https://preview.redd.it/fc0qd5i72m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43802bfc454477809782bdfc03ccc64715adecc2 “I'll also bet on the squirrel,” says the dog to the fox, while slamming a banknote, on the table. https://preview.redd.it/ocqo9znl2m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d71be418a94bb0ab19071341da6b2ee77baa22a5 “Me too,” growls the bear. “Squirrel.” https://preview.redd.it/a4uc8piu2m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12cd75f54981ed054d418810bf0818c026d54a74 “I'll bet on the fish,” says the chicken. https://preview.redd.it/mfuxksh63m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c40f6b48f2aea21274ed00eef2e26dbe95122d8e . . The Stranger whispers into the Seeker's ear: “What did I miss out on?” “As far as I was told, the fish insulted the squirrel. So the squirrel challenged the fish, to a tree climbing contest.” https://preview.redd.it/txu4j73h3m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3bc4ea686b27dbfe4187baa81b429ba04749133 The Stranger raises his eyebrows. “I thought the fish doesn't speak English?” “He doesn't,” confirms the Seeker. . . The squirrel looks at the fish with an angry stare. “So you really think, that you can climb better than me? Huh?! I'll show you what happens, when you insult my mother.” “¿Puedes decirle a esta ardilla loca que deje de gritar?” . . The eagle shrieks. This is the starting signal. The race begins. The squirrel climbs the tree, as fast as possible. With laser-sharp focus she filters out every distraction. Within seconds, she calculates which branch or twig to catch and which to avoid. She climbs the top within 46 seconds. https://preview.redd.it/4p3ogyr44m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a9b732ee4ada906fc48b8adbdc0c664a330ab6b “This must be my new highscore,” she screams in triumph, standing at the very top. With heavy breathing, she looks down. The fish is still on the ground. He hasn't moved an inch. “Impossible,” utters the surprised squirrel in disbelief. “You are already back down again?” . . When she hears the squirrels echo, the bunny looks impressed. “Whoa! When did you climb up?” she asks the fish in a plastic bag with curiosity. “I didn't even see you move...” “¡Tú! Con las orejas largas... ¿Quizás has visto a mi hijo? Es un pez como yo...” https://preview.redd.it/e10cj5t25m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b59060eb7b46d1a8ee62790bfc7e5a845ba5fdb8 . . . . “We live in the illusion of there being levels,” repeats the Stranger. The animals gather together. They continue on their journey. “There are no levels, between humans. We compare ourselves on levels of skill, or levels of talent, levels of confidence, we compare ourselves on academic levels, or even on spiritual levels. However the very idea of 'comparison' is based on a lie. Because what we compare are images. Simplifications. Think about it. Can you really compare yourself with another human being? You are absolutely unique in this universe. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. No one will ever have the same feelings, memories or thoughts as you. You, in your wholeness of your being, are absolutely unique on earth. Comparing two different people, is like comparing a fish to a squirrel. And ranking several people in limited categories, by performance or value, creates only an environment of pressure. Which creates competition. Which creates conflict. Which creates suffering. When you compare yourself to others, it will either give you a feeling of superiority or inferiority. Which in turn only sustains the ego and becomes an attachment. Comparison makes you envious or insecure, which will lower your vibration. Comparing your path to someone else path will never get you very far. Focus on your own path, then will you move on. You see - we compare each other despite this very uniqueness of each one of us. Because we feel the need to be placed high in a ranking, we rank others. Why not just be free? Why not just accept your own journey, instead of comparing it to others? Why not just see the beauty of your own life? But anyway... Why do people long for power? Is it because they feel powerless? Do we seek for strength, because we feel weak? Where does this human need for control have its origins? In our fears. In our attachments. In our pain. When you can't control your ego, your ego longs to control others. Now what happens, when we follow someone elses authority? Firstly we become dependent. We give our power to them. We become unable to walk our own path. We become unable to ask our own questions and find our own truth. But our hearts long to be free. Our joy is lost, when we are bound in chains.” . . “Okay I get that with the authority,” agrees the fox. “But I can't just tell my boss 'Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me'. I don't want to be fired or arrested.” . https://preview.redd.it/b7bj1jxg5m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9aa11ad9e54b8943626ee371abdf85be28e1c034 . The Stranger nods. “Yes of course. You need to pay your bills, you need to follow the laws... But that is not, what I am talking about... Inwardly, can you be free of any authority? That means, that you are neither attached to any person, belief nor dogma. Be ready to question everything, because this is how you free yourself. It might be difficult in some political systems to ask questions openly, but no one can control your thoughts. So inwardly never stop asking questions, until you yourself found a sufficient answer. Even question yourself. There is nothing more dangerous to the ego, than a question. Its about having inner freedom and balance. Like not being bound by any belief, dogma, ideology. But choosing your own ones without attachment. Not allowing any other person to have power over you. When one realizes that we are all just playing roles, then the very idea of authority falls apart anyway. When you see behind the mask, and find your self in every person, comparison becomes meaningless. So we all see, that we have created a lot of chaos due to our use of power in society, relationships and within oneself. How should we then live, when we see how dangerous power is? When we want to live in balance, we need to find a different approach to power. As an individual and as a collective. To remain balanced, we should neither exert power over others, nor should we accept authority over us. We become unbalanced, when we try to control. We become unbalanced, when we are controlled. Instead walk with the flow. Walk with the universal rhythm. If you do so, there is no need for any control, because the universe will always have your back. Have trust. Free your mind. Follow your heart. Synchronize with your higher Self.” . The Seeker shakes their head. “You are a hypocrite! You criticize authority, while playing teacher at the same time.” . https://preview.redd.it/yfnea95v5m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c992aba28807ec2bf5f13a1864f3856517c96f24 “Don't follow the authority of any person. Including me. Since the very first time we met, Seeker, I told you, that I am not your teacher or authority. I am your friend. I am just sharing with you, what I found and then it's up to you, what you do with it. If it serves you - keep it, it's for free. If you don't want it - throw it away. So don't just jump because someone says so. Don't jump because I say so. Only jump, if your heart tells you 'yes'. And if your heart tells you 'no', you are just not yet ready for it.” . The Seeker nods silently. . . As the chicken listens to the conversation between the Stranger and Seeker, he suddenly experiences a Deja Vu. He is frozen for a moment. “Alright,” growls the bear next to him and tears him out of his shock. “So let me just try to figure it out... You are saying that all governments in the world conspire together, just to hide the existence of aliens?” The chicken shakes his head. “NO... All nations are just marionettes of the lizard people.” The bear is speechless. The eagle drops in on the conversation. He can't keep it to himself any longer: “Dude... All of these conspiracy theories that you believe in, are based on multiple false conclusions and presumptions, that can't be proven. And the worst thing is... Your own theories contradict each other... I mean like... you can't believe both in flat earth and Reptiloids... If you really need to believe in that nonsense, then you should at least pick only a single one of these theories and stick to it!” The chicken looks directly at the eagle in shock, then he turns his head back to the bear and whispers nervously into his ear: “See?! I told you so! The bots are already among us!!!” https://preview.redd.it/5659kyok6m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c95189a4a7e629b769423f758e382265938aac18 . . . Meanwhile the scorpion hides himself on the crown of a tree. Waiting until the group crosses his path. “The Seeker needs to end,” speaks the scorpion with bitterness in his voice. “The Seeker is what blocks one from finding the truth, from finding enlightenment. Because the Seeker will always run in circles. Unable to ever find the answer, the Seeker must be sacrificed! Only then, do we reach full attainment.” When the Seeker is just below the tree, the scorpion jumps from the tree with his sting headfirst. Missing the Seeker by centimeters, he lands on the ground and hides in the grass. The Seeker feels a gush of wind around their hair. They don't even realize the attempted attack. The scorpion sits hidden in the grass and rubs both of his scissor claws together. “This round is on you! I'll get you, damned Seeker. Even if it's the last thing, I will ever do!” https://preview.redd.it/ng7rtxnl7m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=390764e09e83447b120dd0528a8961ff77dcbeff . . . “I have attained enlightenment,” shouts the cat. “Ask me anything.” “Where did you find enlightenment?” asks the bunny. The pigeon also listens in on the conversation silently. “Is it your tail?” asks the dog. “It must be your tail. I am sure it's your tail.” “Alright, I will tell y'all exactly how to do it,” purrs the cat. “Firstly, get your self some crystals. Amethysts. Plenty of Amethysts. Then do some Tarot. Meditate for five minutes. Talk to the angles. Do some Yoga and speak some mantras. Repeat daily for the next 20 Years and then you will reach enlightenment.” The bunny writes down her words into a notebook. “What's next again after Tarot?” https://preview.redd.it/eyppxn408m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02e89283463501da48c37df204ce4c418f5f5f43 . . . The goat meanwhile thinks of the next victim to drain energy from. The goat looks at the Mysterious Stranger. 'I'll bet his energy tastes great,' thinks the goat silently, while licking his lips. 'What will work on him? Should I cry of pain? Should I insult him? Should I nag? Should I be annoying?' “Yes,” decides the goat with a smirk. “Being annoying should work.” The goat forces himself through each pair of animals to the very front of the line and walks next to the Stranger. “Baaa!” yells the goat annoyingly. “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.” The goat expects a flow of incoming energy. But nothing happens. The goat tries again: “Baaa. Baaa. Baaa.” Still no transfer of energy. 'Impossible,' thinks the goat to himself. 'Why is it not working?!' . . . “It's because I am not paying you any attention,” speaks the Stranger in a calm voice. https://preview.redd.it/rbf16x899m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f79b580b38c5aa3cb8aeac271488258b58a0701 “Energy vampires absorb other peoples energies, by catching their attention. The more they speak, the more you get tired. The act of listening is a transfer of energy. This is something natural, however energy vampires abuse this power. They steal other peoples energy. By doing this, they also steal their 'luck'. They rarely do it consciously, it happens without them being aware. It is often the manifestation of unresolved childhood trauma. Like not receiving enough attention and finding survival strategies to make up for that feeling of lack. However, absorbing energy is addictive and feeds the Ego. Many vampires have such an inflated ego from all the absorbed energies, that it's very difficult for them to find their way back. However its not impossible. Even for an energy vampire there always is a way. But the journey is longer. You are allowed to walk beside me, Goat. Because I believe in you. Because I believe that there is a path for you as well, a plot-line, a story just for you. But I won't give you my energy. If you were to receive too much of my energy, as you still are now, you won't do any good with it. You'll use it selfishly. That's why I need to ignore you, until you have done appropriate inner work to use my energy responsibly. Then I'll be happy to share it. But until then I won't feed you any more, than this.” . . As the goat listens to the Strangers words, he suddenly feels a wave of energy, flowing over his entire body. A vibration in his spine. A shiver. Something deep within ignites in the goats heart. Like a deeply hidden spark flaring up, like a dormant seed sprouting. A hidden potential unfolding. It doesn't feel like the kind of energy, he usually absorbs. It feels like the full force of the sun, burning all darkness within. For that short moment the goat has a vision of his fleece turning golden. https://preview.redd.it/mvnaonbs9m4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16cad904807848d4c20b593ad4236278b0c7883c . . . Meanwhile someone else grabs the Stranger attention. “Why are you not talking to us directly,” asks the squirrel the Stranger. “I talk to You directly, when I talk to all of you,” grins the Stranger. “I'm talking to you on multiple levels simultaneously.” “Yes,” says the squirrel. “I know that. But I want you to talk to my character.” https://preview.redd.it/nhh61fcaam4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5912204a0132a00ff5d16d119d659bfe77f9fdb The Stranger understands now. “Sorry for not reacting to comments,” apologizes the Stranger with a serious face. “You know... It's just not my style. I hope you can respect that.” . . “Ha! Coward!” screams the goat, believing he found a weak-spot. The Stranger does not react to his comment. . The squirrel accepts. “Okay... I understand.” “But perhaps,” grins the Stranger. “I might respond in my own unique way every now and then.” . . The group suddenly stops. The path ends right in front of them. Right in front of them is a massive rock wall leading to the very top of the volcanic hole. Etched into the wall are stairs. The last part of the northern road. https://preview.redd.it/18ieex58bm4d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8af97bdd77f89ed4923d8db7b658098674d5bd55 . . . TO BE CONTINUED . . for more content visit: We_Are_Humanity Find previous part Here https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1d43fm3/the_tribe_of_humanity/ Find next part Here: . . START JOURNEY HERE: https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/17zwf78/the_seeker_and_the_mysterious_stranger_part_1_of_7/ . Checkpoint 4 https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cbhoml/turning_shit_into_gold/ . Special Bonus Chapters: THE ONE TRUE SEEKER AND THE QUESTION OF FREE WILL https://www.reddit.com/We_Are_Humanity/comments/1cnaanw/special_bonus_chapter_the_one_true_seeker_and_the/ |
2024.06.04 22:19 JulianSkies Consequences Alter - Cataclysm Hunter (A Consequences of Nationalism ficnap)
There are weapons that have no right to exist, in their power. So powerful they are, themselves, a cataclysm in their mere existence. Even their kindest, the arxur were always renown for their hunters. And for this hunter of the sky, there is no more appetizing prey than cataclysm itself. Will this humble fisher earth the title- of Cataclysm Hunter?
[Memory Transcription]: Teshav “Fisher One”, Fighter Pilot [Estimated Human Time]: [June 1, 1899]
Watching the sun set slowly, I take in a deep breath… Seeing the stars come to life one by one… After a while I reach up a claw, as if I could grasp them…
“Up early aren’t you?” I look aside to see who’s speaking. Varath’s deep dark green scales remind me that he’s not from around these parts… And how little that matters those days.
“Always… I like looking at the stars”
“Hey, you might just get your chance to see them closer soon” Varath sits beside me, looking up as well “Hear we’re getting an outworlder in our mission today”
The slow setting of the sun continues to reveal more stars by the second, I take a minute to answer “I hope I don’t see them up close too soon… I’d rather be here fighting than running away” then standing up I continue “Are they going to be in the briefing?”
Varath stands up as well, he raises his left arm for a moment and I return a nod, prompting him to pat me on the back “Nope, just us. They’ll join us in the field”
The sun had fully set by the time we’d returned to the base and a refreshing breeze had picked up. Sadly there was no enjoying the breeze, as we made our way directly to the briefing room.
I simultaneously love and hate briefings. The inherent anxiety of being the unsocial type in an enclosed room with a group of people cannot be done away with no matter how much practice you have, but a well-coordinated plan and a well-prepared mission are also things of beauty in their own right. I am, admittedly, one of the few that likes the planning stages.
Varath gets inside with me, the other three members of Fisher Squadron are already here as well as Captain Taroth. “Good, you’ve arrived. We can start, then” the captain, leader of this airbase, was a rather casual officer as long as you were respectful “Fisher Squadron will be on the next patrol rotation, as you already know.”
He picks up a pointer, indicating the map on the wall of the nearby area and a large swathe of ocean “Reviewing: You will take off from here, make your way to Point Kesh, then follow to Var, Kidim, Shure and Roton before heading in the inverse to return.” He points at each different point in space over the ocean in turn.
“Your F-17Ps will be armed with four Aketar air-to-air missiles, two Tonath depth charges and a thousand chaingun rounds. Yes I know it’s not much given the 17P’s capacity carry triple that, but we’re running low on ammunition at the moment. Should you run into anything, focus on priority targets.” He turns the pointer to a different image hanging from the wall, it’s a drawing of what looks like a large cargo plane, but it has too many thrusters and what looks like two sets of wings “Especially the White Kierra, should you run into it.”
Just thinking about the elusive craft makes a shudder run down my spine, the best we had to identify it was orbital images the outworlders had shared with us. We had given that craft the code-name White Kierra, the beast that will lead you into the underworld should you chase it, when we learned its function: A nuclear bomber.
“Fisher Squadron will be receiving AWACS support from an outworlder ship, callsign Starlight, that will be meeting you on Point Kesh. Your 17Ps are fitted with a datalink to make use of their advanced sensors for target acquisition” the captain turns off the pointer and crosses his arms “Any questions?”
The ensuing silence was answer enough “Alright, then. Dismissed, be ready for takeoff in thirty five minutes”
Those minutes did not pass slowly. I had gotten to my craft earlier than the rest of the Fishers and had finished my preflight checks when the rest of them started loading up. Taxiing to the runway was almost mindless with the practice I had, and soon the thrust of takeoff had me pressed against the pilot seat.
The familiar smell of the recycled air of the cockpit helps calm the nerves “Alright, stay in formation and keep your eyes on your radars. We’ll arrive in Kesh in approximately ten minutes, switch to channel twelve on arrival”
The echoes of acknowledgement over the radio hit me and we perform the first leg of the mission in comfortable silence. For me at least. The so-important navigational point over the ocean has nothing of note, it shouldn’t have as it is comprised merely of coordinates with no places of reference- The ocean doesn’t allow such things “This is Starlight, Fisher Squadron do you copy?”
The voice that comes up on the radio when I switch channels is… Bizarre. It is weirdly high-pitched, with a whistling quality to it- The voice lacks the background rumble used for verb tenses, making it sound like each word is spoken in a different one. “This is Fisher One, we have you Starlight”
“Wow, you sound like a squeaky toy” I take in a sharp breath intake at Varath’s stupid words
“Fisher Two, what is wrong with you?!”
What comes from the radio after my outburst is a series of melodic whistles “So my instructor told me. Am I understandable? I can’t quite replicate your drone with my throat”
“Five by five, Starlight. I apologize for Two”
“No matter. I’ll be your eyes today, sending connection codes. Confirm?”
Looking up through the window of the cockpit I try to identify anywhere in the sky where Starlight might be, a fruitless endeavor as I see only white and blue expanse “Confirm. Targeting systems connected”
Moving to Point Var was about as boring as it could be. Flying at limited speed to give time for our sensors, formation so well practiced I barely had to put conscious thought into keeping it. I felt a bit bad for Varath, he was the only social type on Fisher Squadron and the silence must be eating at him…
“Say, Starlight” might as well give him something “That… That weapon they used in Kanstare… Do you have something like it, up there?”
For a few seconds there’s no answer “Really, that’s what you open up with?”
“Sorry. I got curious.”
The strange voice returns an answer “Yes… And no. We don’t really have weapons but… Well, there’s the clearance bombs we use in some places”
“Clearance bombs?” Five calls out in surprise. She’s the youngest of Fisher Squadron and still has a bit of the youthful squeak to her voice.
I have heard that the outworlders had issues with the unsocial types, but Starlight seems to be just like us with how he (He? She? I can’t tell) prefers to ponder every answer “There’s some… Dangerous worlds out there. Can’t afford to land without preparing the ground first. So we use clearance bombs to make a landing zone… Well, we used to, mind. We don’t anymore”
“I can’t… Even imagine what kind of danger it would take to use that kind of thing…” finally Varath finds himself in the conversation “Do you really have things like those old sci-fi stories up there? Planets with giant monsters roaming around? Things full of teeth and claws that hunt men for food? Or like- Life made of stone that does not care what it threads over or- Entire living forests that will kill anything that walks?!”
There’s a fair bit of silence, enough for us to fly past Point Var, before Starlight answers “Things full of teeth and claws that hunt men for food, huhn?” there’s a wild difference in Starlight’s tone that I can’t place “Yeah, yeah it’s those things that we thought we had”
“Thought?” Varath questions
“Forget it, not for me to talk about” Starlight adds with enough finality even their weird tones make it clear.
The silence remains as we reach Point Kidim, and turn towards Shure… I have a strange feeling in my stomach, which I assign to guilt for whatever seemed to have upset Starlight. “Attention Fisher Squadron, I’m picking up five crafts ahead” or maybe it isn’t guilt at all.
I look down at my own radar readings “Negative on ours, Starlight” I reach forward and press a button, changing the radar screen to the shared data view. Five indicators come up in a cross formation… “Appears to be an escort of some sort”
“Roger, initiate approach while I process their readings, it’ll take just a second” I don’t need to call the rest of the squadron for us to start angling towards the new contact “SPEH, that’s a White Kierra! Four Fang-6s escorting a White Kierra!”
I can feel a cold in my veins, I need to force myself to breath- “Acknowledged” I focus my eyes forward, the HUD on my helmet marks the five signals “Fishers, engage the targets. Starlight, how long until threat range?” Finally, I kick up the thrusters to combat burn.
“One hour until threat range” Starlight’s voice is almost mechanical
“Roger. Fishers, neutralize escorts first”
It doesn’t take long until we can see the incoming group. At the center of the formation was that single terrifying ship, the White Kierra. A long, cylindric plane that seems almost medieval compared to its fighter escort, six thrusters in each wing, a pair of wings further in front and another further behind as if it tried to carry a load too large for its size. And around it were four Fang-6s, sleek fighters with many straight lines, four missile pods under each wing and two chainguns at the nose.
With Starlight’s target locking we open up with a salvo of missiles, one each from us. Being caught laying down like that should have made this all a walk in the forest, but the escorts scatter as the White Kierra pulls up and accelerates far more than expected for a craft its size. As the missiles chase each of their targets I pick one of the fighters to go after.
The fighter seems to be gaining on the missile, somehow- Their thrusters are more advanced than ours, at the very least. It takes about two seconds until the missile that had been chasing it simply veers off course and plummets into the ocean, caught by some form of countermeasure I can’t identify. Trying to aim for another shot I can’t get a lock for my missiles, and when I try to align my chaingun over it I see the target marker is… Off. “They have some sort of EW, Starlight can you do something?”
Before I can get an answer a target lock warning blares at me, I can’t see anything approaching me on the radar- Until a missile detaches from the craft I’m chasing. Instead of flying forward it just drops for a moment… We’re already past it but it’s easy enough to guess what it's trying to do. I pull up quickly, forfeiting the chase and start a U-turn…
The missile is gaining on me! So I continue to pull until I arc back down, the gravity helping my acceleration, for a bit of a too bold maneuver. I have to get this right- I can barely keep up with the missile’s speed until I get close to the water. At this point I pull back up again and fire off my flares, confusing the missile just long enough for it to plummet into the water.
“Switch your missiles to command guidance!” comes Starlight’s voice from the radio “They can’t fool my systems!”
After angling myself back up I look at the radar screen, I see the other four Fishers engaged with their targets- Two is being chased by a fighter who seems entirely focused on them. Flipping the switch on the missile’s systems to command guidance I angle back up and begin going after the fighter chasing Varath, it doesn’t take long to get on their tail.
Thankfully I’m trained enough in manual aim that their EW messing with the HUD’s targeting isn’t a problem for my chaingun, but the slippery syasara is fast, dodging left and right keeping Two pinned with a stream of bullets while dodging mine. A second later my systems tell me I managed a target lock on it, so I wait… Wait… I watch as Two baits them up, I angle upwards as I fire the chaingun. Obviously that pilot knows better than to try to keep moving up, that’s when I fire my missile. The bastard is too confident on their EW, they even try deploying countermeasures, but with the missile’s targeting using Starlight’s outworlder systems its accuracy is perfect and they can’t dodge it in the end. One fighter down.
“Fisher Squadron, attention, the White Kierra is leaving engagement range, focus on it!” Our eye in the sky calls out.
“Three, Four, Five! Keep the escorts busy! Two, with me!”
It doesn’t take long to get closer to the White Kierra, with two crafts to take on one bomber it should be easy, as long as the other three can keep the others busy. Might even make the mission faster if they decided to retreat after failure. I move to align behind the White Kierra while Two moves to the side trying to get a different angle.
Getting close enough I open up with the chaingun, trying to save up missiles. The first few hits score on the tail but the large ship is surprisingly nimble, managing to dodge a good deal of the burst. Undeterred, I continue, changing my aim to land shots on their wings. I manage to trace a line of fire across one, not enough to stop it but it causes it to slow down. “One, Two, the escorts are attempting to chase you, be advised” Starlight calls.
“Aketar out!” Verath’s voice calls- That should be the killing blow. But something else happens. A large bay, the size of the craft itself, opens up under the White Kierra and something drops out- My heart stops for a second as I marvel at the sheer size of that missile… We’re almost an hour away from the coast- This thing is massive, absolutely gigantic, no doubt capable of reaching the coast from here.
The blast of Verath’s missile tearing down the White Kierra doesn’t bring any ease as the great missile simply screams past at tremendous speeds “Fuck!” is all I have left to say as I try to chase it down, but I’m losing it too fast! “Activating afterburners!”
Feeding extra fuel into the engines gives me a burst of speed “Shit! Three, get them off my tail!” I hear Varath’s voice, a quick gaze on the radar screen tells me one of the escorts caught up with him, and now the entire rest of the Fisher Squadron is tangled with two very slippery Fang-6s.
I can’t focus on it right now. I keep the massive missile in my sight as I slowly start to gain on it, waiting until the target lock confirmation- I fire my third missile against it. Seconds tick by as the smaller, more agile weapon comes closer… But my assessment on their agility is wrong, out of nowhere the giant weapon of mass destruction just dives, as if it had a pilot of its own, then twists and spirals back up with agility only an unmanned vehicle could have, causing my own missile to harmlessly plummet in the water “Shit”
This isn’t a normal weapon, not by any means. With the afterburners on I am quickly running out of time, but I’m catching up. I open fire with the chaingun but the missile evades again, dodging right and left in spiraling patterns.
“That’s evasion pattern C…” Starlight’s voice is almost a whisper.
I continue to try to land a hit, trying to score a strike against the thrusters, but the damned thing is too slippery and the ammo count on my chaingun has already drifted past the halfway mark. “Shit, shit, shit!”
“Fisher One, stop firing!” what “Follow my instructions! On ‘go’ fire a missile from its left side, then fire your chaingun above and to the right of it. And most importantly, when I pass by don’t flinch”
“What?! What’re you going to do?”
“Something stupid, get ready!” I take in a sharp breath, I doubt I could get ready, what is Starlight even trying to do? Some crazy outworlder magic?
“Five!” I spare a glance at the radar screen, I can see a new indicator far behind me. “Four!” That’s Starlight for certain, but they’re way too far and coming from way too high above “Three!” I look up again… I can see the shore from this distance. “Two!” I make sure I have a target lock “One!” I take in a deep breath “Zero!”
I pull the stick to the side, swerving to the side “AM injector!” I can hear Starlight’s voice
With a click I send the missile sailing forward “Torch online! Dampener capped!” Whatever procedure Starlight is going through is something I can’t even fathom.
That deadly weapon of mass destruction begins another evasive spiral, I pull up and to the right firing my chaingun, but it’s like the missile knows where I’m about to shoot “Railgun discharging!” Starlight’s voice echoes
And then I hear it, you don’t generally hear the sound of an aircraft when flying one, but I couldn’t not hear the monster that flies past me. Absolutely massive in comparison to my own ship, I can barely make out its shape when it flies past way faster than anything else I had ever seen, a trail of radiant flame behind it and a brilliant jade lance of energy in front of it.
It was like an ancient knight charging in with a lance. What madness is this of those outworlders, a melee aircraft?! But whatever madness it was, it was effective! The lance of energy dissipates into mist moments after it cuts through the missile, the shattered pieces falling into the ocean. But Starlight’s ship does not stop, the arcs upwards and heads directly up for a few seconds at tremendous speed, I almost can’t see it anymore…
And then the ship begins to freefall “Starlight? Starlight!” I shout in the radio
It takes multiple seconds of dread before I get an answer. It takes long enough that I can see the falling form of the ship, pieces falling out of it only make the dread stronger “Brahk… I’m here-” and then the ship levels and just… Slows down. While I need to orbit around the position to keep it in my sight it just slowly begins to hover…
“VTOL fighter? You people are full of surprises” I chuckle
“More than you think!” comes back that alien voice “Fisher Squadron, I’m picking up the remaining two ships fleeing”
“Aye, sir!” that was Five’s squeaky voice “But we’re running dry, we’re out of missiles”
“And I’m dangerous on fuel” I sigh “Contacting base, we need a swap”
Switching channels I call up base “Homebase this is Fisher One”
“Fisher One, homebase. Proceed” the operator calls on the other side
“We have engaged with the enemy and stopped a White Kierra, the squadron is low on ammo and fuel, requesting permission to return”
There’s a couple of seconds of wait “Acknowledged, Fisher One. Permission to return, another squadron will take over”
The trip back to base was… Strangely slow. It was like the seconds were taking minutes to pass. There was a little bit of chatter, but we’ve all avoided talking about what had just happened. For a reason, of course, because none of us wanted to consider what might have happened if Starlight hadn’t pulled off that stunt. That nuclear missile would have escaped us, and we didn’t want to consider the consequences. Myself, I focused on my fuel gauge, steadily draining…
Thankfully, there were no more contacts and my fuel never reached red by the time we had returned. I was the first to land, quick to taxi back into the hangar and jump out. I startled two mechanics as I ran out to look out at the squadron returning behind me.
Two’s ship had taken a few dings, but not too many and he landed without a problem. Three’s craft was pristine, as always, few men can dodge like he can. Five landed right after, hard, but I couldn’t blame her for it as the scorch marks and warping on her craft indicated she just barely dodged a missile. When Four landed… He couldn’t brake and eventually his craft skidded into the sandpit at the far end of the strip. From the marks at the bottom of his craft he was lucky the landing gear extended!
But then there was another craft approaching. One I could not identify. It was much wider than any aircraft I had ever seen, and seemed to be designed like a craft that had been split in two by the spine. In the spine of the craft was a massive rectangular structure, from the appearance the only way I could describe it was a cannon, a massive cannon with an ammo size that is unreal.
The entire craft seemed to be built around it. Each side had dual Y-shaped wings, the thrusters on the back were massive by any measure… But I couldn’t spot any weapon other than the spinal gun. As it flew over the strip it maneuvered in the air until it was actually above the parking spot, and started to lower- Six pivoting thrusters under it serving to keep it controlled as it lowered.
In my excitement I can’t help but run over there to- To- Okay, to gawk at the outworlder crazy ship! It did really seem like it was straight out of a sci-fi novel! The crazy lines, the impossible shape… That crazy super engine it used! I felt like a hatchling again just staring at it. The support crew had gathered around it, and yet nobody dared approach.
When I heard a hiss I realized that the ship had not one, but two cockpits, one on each side of the split. Only one of them opened up, however, and I could see a diminutive form in it. A tiny arm raises and waves, and they wait… Until, that is, someone from the support crew wisens up and finds a ladder, which still doesn’t fully reach all the way up to the cockpit. Still, Starlight steps out of the place and looks down at the ladder.
I couldn’t make out anything of them aside from their general bipedal form in the flight suit, and the way their tail kept moving to and fro like an angry beast’s. I saw them try to lower themselves to the first step of the stairs but- I run. I saw it happen before it happened, thankfully, but Starlight does manage to catch their feet on the first step of the ladder, but the impact is too much and it slips. Luckily I manage to catch Starlight before he hits the ground “Oww….”
I look down at the little being in my arms. They’re less than half my size. Even through the suit they feel soft to the touch… I just stay there for a few seconds, staring at their reflective helmet… Something is wrong, Starlight isn’t moving! Acting perhaps rashly I try to find something around their neck and- There, I knew it had to be there! I don’t know what exactly I unclasp but it helps and I can remove their helmet.
The face that looks up at me is… Is like that of a little doll. Soft grey fur, a gentle and featureless rounded face, ears folded back in clear worry, eyes wide open… “Uhn… H-hi Starlight…”
It takes a few more seconds, I can hear the heavy panting of the alien AWACS operator. Slowly, he starts to move and I let him go as he detaches himself from me “S-sorry… Uhn… Fi-fisher One?”
He stands up, slowly, and I follow “Yeah… Teshav” I tap my tail lightly in greeting.
The motion he returns is a bit stuttered, some form of wave with his far more mobile tail “Kadek… Uhn, sorry for freezing a bit there.”
“It was a pretty scary fall. Your ship is big” I say, looking up at it
“Hah… Yeah… Yeah… The BX-1R Cleanser is uhn… Pretty big. Wa-was supposed to be a bomber if you believe it?” He seems to want to look everywhere other than directly at me, so he’s focusing his eyes on his craft… I think. At least his ears are pointing that way.
“A bomber? How does a bomber get turned into an AWACS craft with a crazy energy spear?”
Then his tail twitches in what seems like clear surprise even to me, and he turns slightly towards me “What? Energy spear? Wait-” he returns his focus to his craft, then to me and starts whistling! A long melodic whistle that… I can’t quite place what it is “The plasma railgun! That’s what it is!”
Plasma… Railgun… “That’s- That’s straight out of a sci-fi comic! I didn’t know those things existed! Why haven’t you used those before!”
He whistles a little bit more “They have no range in atmosphere… See, we were planning on getting those Cleansers built to help you guys, even made this prototype but uhn… The engineers had only remembered that plasma weapons are ineffective in atmosphere after the first testbed was built, so… It was repurposed as a sensor craft instead, given the size. Still packs the railgun and transatmospheric capacity, though”
I hadn’t even noticed that we had begun walking back- Well, no, the ground crew had begun herding us back. I could see off the side one of them on the radio with someone and the staff crowding around the new ship. I looked back down at Kadek “It can straight up go to space? Oh, is it using that super engine you used?”
Kadek makes some motion with his tail “Yeah. Fusion torch engine with an antimatter starter, honestly one of the fastest engines we’ve got! Will turn you to paste without inertial dampeners!” the way his tail wags is so gentle! “Sadly, since it’s dangerous to have that starter, I only had two charges, one for entering atmosphere and one for leaving so…”
“Oh, you burned one of them for that… Well!” I stop for a second, raising my voice just a little bit “The base has a bar for the flight officers, and I hear you outworlders are good with that! How about we hang out until then?”
“That sounds great to me!” his voice was becoming more and more familiar as we talked, it didn’t even bother me his difficulty with verb tenses anymore “Maybe I can tell you a few stories about out there. I’ve got a few interesting ones, used to fly on a shipping company before”
“Shipping across the stars?”
“Yep! Maybe when all of this is over I can even show you some places out here”
“Hah…” I chuckle “I’ve always dreamed of seeing them up close. It’d be wonderful to see other worlds. I hope I get the chance one day”
Maybe when this war is over and we’re at peace. And we can join them for real. But not yet. Not while I still have people to keep safe down here.
This has been my ficnapping of u/T00Dense's wonderful Consequences of Nationalism, a goddamn wonderful story with many twists and turns.
Also a mention to u/Timmy_the_Techpriest's Wide Blue Skies, I knew I wanted to write a story involving one of the new nuclear weapons, and I wanted it to showcase the strange tech disparity between wrissan and outworlder forces, as well as showcase some portentious details of who might be the Dominion's mysterious benefactor. So I would up stealing the vibe of Wide Blue Skies for this, which allowed me to have it all.
submitted by JulianSkies to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Watching the sun set slowly, I take in a deep breath… Seeing the stars come to life one by one… After a while I reach up a claw, as if I could grasp them…
“Up early aren’t you?” I look aside to see who’s speaking. Varath’s deep dark green scales remind me that he’s not from around these parts… And how little that matters those days.
“Always… I like looking at the stars”
“Hey, you might just get your chance to see them closer soon” Varath sits beside me, looking up as well “Hear we’re getting an outworlder in our mission today”
The slow setting of the sun continues to reveal more stars by the second, I take a minute to answer “I hope I don’t see them up close too soon… I’d rather be here fighting than running away” then standing up I continue “Are they going to be in the briefing?”
Varath stands up as well, he raises his left arm for a moment and I return a nod, prompting him to pat me on the back “Nope, just us. They’ll join us in the field”
The sun had fully set by the time we’d returned to the base and a refreshing breeze had picked up. Sadly there was no enjoying the breeze, as we made our way directly to the briefing room.
I simultaneously love and hate briefings. The inherent anxiety of being the unsocial type in an enclosed room with a group of people cannot be done away with no matter how much practice you have, but a well-coordinated plan and a well-prepared mission are also things of beauty in their own right. I am, admittedly, one of the few that likes the planning stages.
Varath gets inside with me, the other three members of Fisher Squadron are already here as well as Captain Taroth. “Good, you’ve arrived. We can start, then” the captain, leader of this airbase, was a rather casual officer as long as you were respectful “Fisher Squadron will be on the next patrol rotation, as you already know.”
He picks up a pointer, indicating the map on the wall of the nearby area and a large swathe of ocean “Reviewing: You will take off from here, make your way to Point Kesh, then follow to Var, Kidim, Shure and Roton before heading in the inverse to return.” He points at each different point in space over the ocean in turn.
“Your F-17Ps will be armed with four Aketar air-to-air missiles, two Tonath depth charges and a thousand chaingun rounds. Yes I know it’s not much given the 17P’s capacity carry triple that, but we’re running low on ammunition at the moment. Should you run into anything, focus on priority targets.” He turns the pointer to a different image hanging from the wall, it’s a drawing of what looks like a large cargo plane, but it has too many thrusters and what looks like two sets of wings “Especially the White Kierra, should you run into it.”
Just thinking about the elusive craft makes a shudder run down my spine, the best we had to identify it was orbital images the outworlders had shared with us. We had given that craft the code-name White Kierra, the beast that will lead you into the underworld should you chase it, when we learned its function: A nuclear bomber.
“Fisher Squadron will be receiving AWACS support from an outworlder ship, callsign Starlight, that will be meeting you on Point Kesh. Your 17Ps are fitted with a datalink to make use of their advanced sensors for target acquisition” the captain turns off the pointer and crosses his arms “Any questions?”
The ensuing silence was answer enough “Alright, then. Dismissed, be ready for takeoff in thirty five minutes”
Those minutes did not pass slowly. I had gotten to my craft earlier than the rest of the Fishers and had finished my preflight checks when the rest of them started loading up. Taxiing to the runway was almost mindless with the practice I had, and soon the thrust of takeoff had me pressed against the pilot seat.
The familiar smell of the recycled air of the cockpit helps calm the nerves “Alright, stay in formation and keep your eyes on your radars. We’ll arrive in Kesh in approximately ten minutes, switch to channel twelve on arrival”
The echoes of acknowledgement over the radio hit me and we perform the first leg of the mission in comfortable silence. For me at least. The so-important navigational point over the ocean has nothing of note, it shouldn’t have as it is comprised merely of coordinates with no places of reference- The ocean doesn’t allow such things “This is Starlight, Fisher Squadron do you copy?”
The voice that comes up on the radio when I switch channels is… Bizarre. It is weirdly high-pitched, with a whistling quality to it- The voice lacks the background rumble used for verb tenses, making it sound like each word is spoken in a different one. “This is Fisher One, we have you Starlight”
“Wow, you sound like a squeaky toy” I take in a sharp breath intake at Varath’s stupid words
“Fisher Two, what is wrong with you?!”
What comes from the radio after my outburst is a series of melodic whistles “So my instructor told me. Am I understandable? I can’t quite replicate your drone with my throat”
“Five by five, Starlight. I apologize for Two”
“No matter. I’ll be your eyes today, sending connection codes. Confirm?”
Looking up through the window of the cockpit I try to identify anywhere in the sky where Starlight might be, a fruitless endeavor as I see only white and blue expanse “Confirm. Targeting systems connected”
Moving to Point Var was about as boring as it could be. Flying at limited speed to give time for our sensors, formation so well practiced I barely had to put conscious thought into keeping it. I felt a bit bad for Varath, he was the only social type on Fisher Squadron and the silence must be eating at him…
“Say, Starlight” might as well give him something “That… That weapon they used in Kanstare… Do you have something like it, up there?”
For a few seconds there’s no answer “Really, that’s what you open up with?”
“Sorry. I got curious.”
The strange voice returns an answer “Yes… And no. We don’t really have weapons but… Well, there’s the clearance bombs we use in some places”
“Clearance bombs?” Five calls out in surprise. She’s the youngest of Fisher Squadron and still has a bit of the youthful squeak to her voice.
I have heard that the outworlders had issues with the unsocial types, but Starlight seems to be just like us with how he (He? She? I can’t tell) prefers to ponder every answer “There’s some… Dangerous worlds out there. Can’t afford to land without preparing the ground first. So we use clearance bombs to make a landing zone… Well, we used to, mind. We don’t anymore”
“I can’t… Even imagine what kind of danger it would take to use that kind of thing…” finally Varath finds himself in the conversation “Do you really have things like those old sci-fi stories up there? Planets with giant monsters roaming around? Things full of teeth and claws that hunt men for food? Or like- Life made of stone that does not care what it threads over or- Entire living forests that will kill anything that walks?!”
There’s a fair bit of silence, enough for us to fly past Point Var, before Starlight answers “Things full of teeth and claws that hunt men for food, huhn?” there’s a wild difference in Starlight’s tone that I can’t place “Yeah, yeah it’s those things that we thought we had”
“Thought?” Varath questions
“Forget it, not for me to talk about” Starlight adds with enough finality even their weird tones make it clear.
The silence remains as we reach Point Kidim, and turn towards Shure… I have a strange feeling in my stomach, which I assign to guilt for whatever seemed to have upset Starlight. “Attention Fisher Squadron, I’m picking up five crafts ahead” or maybe it isn’t guilt at all.
I look down at my own radar readings “Negative on ours, Starlight” I reach forward and press a button, changing the radar screen to the shared data view. Five indicators come up in a cross formation… “Appears to be an escort of some sort”
“Roger, initiate approach while I process their readings, it’ll take just a second” I don’t need to call the rest of the squadron for us to start angling towards the new contact “SPEH, that’s a White Kierra! Four Fang-6s escorting a White Kierra!”
I can feel a cold in my veins, I need to force myself to breath- “Acknowledged” I focus my eyes forward, the HUD on my helmet marks the five signals “Fishers, engage the targets. Starlight, how long until threat range?” Finally, I kick up the thrusters to combat burn.
“One hour until threat range” Starlight’s voice is almost mechanical
“Roger. Fishers, neutralize escorts first”
It doesn’t take long until we can see the incoming group. At the center of the formation was that single terrifying ship, the White Kierra. A long, cylindric plane that seems almost medieval compared to its fighter escort, six thrusters in each wing, a pair of wings further in front and another further behind as if it tried to carry a load too large for its size. And around it were four Fang-6s, sleek fighters with many straight lines, four missile pods under each wing and two chainguns at the nose.
With Starlight’s target locking we open up with a salvo of missiles, one each from us. Being caught laying down like that should have made this all a walk in the forest, but the escorts scatter as the White Kierra pulls up and accelerates far more than expected for a craft its size. As the missiles chase each of their targets I pick one of the fighters to go after.
The fighter seems to be gaining on the missile, somehow- Their thrusters are more advanced than ours, at the very least. It takes about two seconds until the missile that had been chasing it simply veers off course and plummets into the ocean, caught by some form of countermeasure I can’t identify. Trying to aim for another shot I can’t get a lock for my missiles, and when I try to align my chaingun over it I see the target marker is… Off. “They have some sort of EW, Starlight can you do something?”
Before I can get an answer a target lock warning blares at me, I can’t see anything approaching me on the radar- Until a missile detaches from the craft I’m chasing. Instead of flying forward it just drops for a moment… We’re already past it but it’s easy enough to guess what it's trying to do. I pull up quickly, forfeiting the chase and start a U-turn…
The missile is gaining on me! So I continue to pull until I arc back down, the gravity helping my acceleration, for a bit of a too bold maneuver. I have to get this right- I can barely keep up with the missile’s speed until I get close to the water. At this point I pull back up again and fire off my flares, confusing the missile just long enough for it to plummet into the water.
“Switch your missiles to command guidance!” comes Starlight’s voice from the radio “They can’t fool my systems!”
After angling myself back up I look at the radar screen, I see the other four Fishers engaged with their targets- Two is being chased by a fighter who seems entirely focused on them. Flipping the switch on the missile’s systems to command guidance I angle back up and begin going after the fighter chasing Varath, it doesn’t take long to get on their tail.
Thankfully I’m trained enough in manual aim that their EW messing with the HUD’s targeting isn’t a problem for my chaingun, but the slippery syasara is fast, dodging left and right keeping Two pinned with a stream of bullets while dodging mine. A second later my systems tell me I managed a target lock on it, so I wait… Wait… I watch as Two baits them up, I angle upwards as I fire the chaingun. Obviously that pilot knows better than to try to keep moving up, that’s when I fire my missile. The bastard is too confident on their EW, they even try deploying countermeasures, but with the missile’s targeting using Starlight’s outworlder systems its accuracy is perfect and they can’t dodge it in the end. One fighter down.
“Fisher Squadron, attention, the White Kierra is leaving engagement range, focus on it!” Our eye in the sky calls out.
“Three, Four, Five! Keep the escorts busy! Two, with me!”
It doesn’t take long to get closer to the White Kierra, with two crafts to take on one bomber it should be easy, as long as the other three can keep the others busy. Might even make the mission faster if they decided to retreat after failure. I move to align behind the White Kierra while Two moves to the side trying to get a different angle.
Getting close enough I open up with the chaingun, trying to save up missiles. The first few hits score on the tail but the large ship is surprisingly nimble, managing to dodge a good deal of the burst. Undeterred, I continue, changing my aim to land shots on their wings. I manage to trace a line of fire across one, not enough to stop it but it causes it to slow down. “One, Two, the escorts are attempting to chase you, be advised” Starlight calls.
“Aketar out!” Verath’s voice calls- That should be the killing blow. But something else happens. A large bay, the size of the craft itself, opens up under the White Kierra and something drops out- My heart stops for a second as I marvel at the sheer size of that missile… We’re almost an hour away from the coast- This thing is massive, absolutely gigantic, no doubt capable of reaching the coast from here.
The blast of Verath’s missile tearing down the White Kierra doesn’t bring any ease as the great missile simply screams past at tremendous speeds “Fuck!” is all I have left to say as I try to chase it down, but I’m losing it too fast! “Activating afterburners!”
Feeding extra fuel into the engines gives me a burst of speed “Shit! Three, get them off my tail!” I hear Varath’s voice, a quick gaze on the radar screen tells me one of the escorts caught up with him, and now the entire rest of the Fisher Squadron is tangled with two very slippery Fang-6s.
I can’t focus on it right now. I keep the massive missile in my sight as I slowly start to gain on it, waiting until the target lock confirmation- I fire my third missile against it. Seconds tick by as the smaller, more agile weapon comes closer… But my assessment on their agility is wrong, out of nowhere the giant weapon of mass destruction just dives, as if it had a pilot of its own, then twists and spirals back up with agility only an unmanned vehicle could have, causing my own missile to harmlessly plummet in the water “Shit”
This isn’t a normal weapon, not by any means. With the afterburners on I am quickly running out of time, but I’m catching up. I open fire with the chaingun but the missile evades again, dodging right and left in spiraling patterns.
“That’s evasion pattern C…” Starlight’s voice is almost a whisper.
I continue to try to land a hit, trying to score a strike against the thrusters, but the damned thing is too slippery and the ammo count on my chaingun has already drifted past the halfway mark. “Shit, shit, shit!”
“Fisher One, stop firing!” what “Follow my instructions! On ‘go’ fire a missile from its left side, then fire your chaingun above and to the right of it. And most importantly, when I pass by don’t flinch”
“What?! What’re you going to do?”
“Something stupid, get ready!” I take in a sharp breath, I doubt I could get ready, what is Starlight even trying to do? Some crazy outworlder magic?
“Five!” I spare a glance at the radar screen, I can see a new indicator far behind me. “Four!” That’s Starlight for certain, but they’re way too far and coming from way too high above “Three!” I look up again… I can see the shore from this distance. “Two!” I make sure I have a target lock “One!” I take in a deep breath “Zero!”
I pull the stick to the side, swerving to the side “AM injector!” I can hear Starlight’s voice
With a click I send the missile sailing forward “Torch online! Dampener capped!” Whatever procedure Starlight is going through is something I can’t even fathom.
That deadly weapon of mass destruction begins another evasive spiral, I pull up and to the right firing my chaingun, but it’s like the missile knows where I’m about to shoot “Railgun discharging!” Starlight’s voice echoes
And then I hear it, you don’t generally hear the sound of an aircraft when flying one, but I couldn’t not hear the monster that flies past me. Absolutely massive in comparison to my own ship, I can barely make out its shape when it flies past way faster than anything else I had ever seen, a trail of radiant flame behind it and a brilliant jade lance of energy in front of it.
It was like an ancient knight charging in with a lance. What madness is this of those outworlders, a melee aircraft?! But whatever madness it was, it was effective! The lance of energy dissipates into mist moments after it cuts through the missile, the shattered pieces falling into the ocean. But Starlight’s ship does not stop, the arcs upwards and heads directly up for a few seconds at tremendous speed, I almost can’t see it anymore…
And then the ship begins to freefall “Starlight? Starlight!” I shout in the radio
It takes multiple seconds of dread before I get an answer. It takes long enough that I can see the falling form of the ship, pieces falling out of it only make the dread stronger “Brahk… I’m here-” and then the ship levels and just… Slows down. While I need to orbit around the position to keep it in my sight it just slowly begins to hover…
“VTOL fighter? You people are full of surprises” I chuckle
“More than you think!” comes back that alien voice “Fisher Squadron, I’m picking up the remaining two ships fleeing”
“Aye, sir!” that was Five’s squeaky voice “But we’re running dry, we’re out of missiles”
“And I’m dangerous on fuel” I sigh “Contacting base, we need a swap”
Switching channels I call up base “Homebase this is Fisher One”
“Fisher One, homebase. Proceed” the operator calls on the other side
“We have engaged with the enemy and stopped a White Kierra, the squadron is low on ammo and fuel, requesting permission to return”
There’s a couple of seconds of wait “Acknowledged, Fisher One. Permission to return, another squadron will take over”
The trip back to base was… Strangely slow. It was like the seconds were taking minutes to pass. There was a little bit of chatter, but we’ve all avoided talking about what had just happened. For a reason, of course, because none of us wanted to consider what might have happened if Starlight hadn’t pulled off that stunt. That nuclear missile would have escaped us, and we didn’t want to consider the consequences. Myself, I focused on my fuel gauge, steadily draining…
Thankfully, there were no more contacts and my fuel never reached red by the time we had returned. I was the first to land, quick to taxi back into the hangar and jump out. I startled two mechanics as I ran out to look out at the squadron returning behind me.
Two’s ship had taken a few dings, but not too many and he landed without a problem. Three’s craft was pristine, as always, few men can dodge like he can. Five landed right after, hard, but I couldn’t blame her for it as the scorch marks and warping on her craft indicated she just barely dodged a missile. When Four landed… He couldn’t brake and eventually his craft skidded into the sandpit at the far end of the strip. From the marks at the bottom of his craft he was lucky the landing gear extended!
But then there was another craft approaching. One I could not identify. It was much wider than any aircraft I had ever seen, and seemed to be designed like a craft that had been split in two by the spine. In the spine of the craft was a massive rectangular structure, from the appearance the only way I could describe it was a cannon, a massive cannon with an ammo size that is unreal.
The entire craft seemed to be built around it. Each side had dual Y-shaped wings, the thrusters on the back were massive by any measure… But I couldn’t spot any weapon other than the spinal gun. As it flew over the strip it maneuvered in the air until it was actually above the parking spot, and started to lower- Six pivoting thrusters under it serving to keep it controlled as it lowered.
In my excitement I can’t help but run over there to- To- Okay, to gawk at the outworlder crazy ship! It did really seem like it was straight out of a sci-fi novel! The crazy lines, the impossible shape… That crazy super engine it used! I felt like a hatchling again just staring at it. The support crew had gathered around it, and yet nobody dared approach.
When I heard a hiss I realized that the ship had not one, but two cockpits, one on each side of the split. Only one of them opened up, however, and I could see a diminutive form in it. A tiny arm raises and waves, and they wait… Until, that is, someone from the support crew wisens up and finds a ladder, which still doesn’t fully reach all the way up to the cockpit. Still, Starlight steps out of the place and looks down at the ladder.
I couldn’t make out anything of them aside from their general bipedal form in the flight suit, and the way their tail kept moving to and fro like an angry beast’s. I saw them try to lower themselves to the first step of the stairs but- I run. I saw it happen before it happened, thankfully, but Starlight does manage to catch their feet on the first step of the ladder, but the impact is too much and it slips. Luckily I manage to catch Starlight before he hits the ground “Oww….”
I look down at the little being in my arms. They’re less than half my size. Even through the suit they feel soft to the touch… I just stay there for a few seconds, staring at their reflective helmet… Something is wrong, Starlight isn’t moving! Acting perhaps rashly I try to find something around their neck and- There, I knew it had to be there! I don’t know what exactly I unclasp but it helps and I can remove their helmet.
The face that looks up at me is… Is like that of a little doll. Soft grey fur, a gentle and featureless rounded face, ears folded back in clear worry, eyes wide open… “Uhn… H-hi Starlight…”
It takes a few more seconds, I can hear the heavy panting of the alien AWACS operator. Slowly, he starts to move and I let him go as he detaches himself from me “S-sorry… Uhn… Fi-fisher One?”
He stands up, slowly, and I follow “Yeah… Teshav” I tap my tail lightly in greeting.
The motion he returns is a bit stuttered, some form of wave with his far more mobile tail “Kadek… Uhn, sorry for freezing a bit there.”
“It was a pretty scary fall. Your ship is big” I say, looking up at it
“Hah… Yeah… Yeah… The BX-1R Cleanser is uhn… Pretty big. Wa-was supposed to be a bomber if you believe it?” He seems to want to look everywhere other than directly at me, so he’s focusing his eyes on his craft… I think. At least his ears are pointing that way.
“A bomber? How does a bomber get turned into an AWACS craft with a crazy energy spear?”
Then his tail twitches in what seems like clear surprise even to me, and he turns slightly towards me “What? Energy spear? Wait-” he returns his focus to his craft, then to me and starts whistling! A long melodic whistle that… I can’t quite place what it is “The plasma railgun! That’s what it is!”
Plasma… Railgun… “That’s- That’s straight out of a sci-fi comic! I didn’t know those things existed! Why haven’t you used those before!”
He whistles a little bit more “They have no range in atmosphere… See, we were planning on getting those Cleansers built to help you guys, even made this prototype but uhn… The engineers had only remembered that plasma weapons are ineffective in atmosphere after the first testbed was built, so… It was repurposed as a sensor craft instead, given the size. Still packs the railgun and transatmospheric capacity, though”
I hadn’t even noticed that we had begun walking back- Well, no, the ground crew had begun herding us back. I could see off the side one of them on the radio with someone and the staff crowding around the new ship. I looked back down at Kadek “It can straight up go to space? Oh, is it using that super engine you used?”
Kadek makes some motion with his tail “Yeah. Fusion torch engine with an antimatter starter, honestly one of the fastest engines we’ve got! Will turn you to paste without inertial dampeners!” the way his tail wags is so gentle! “Sadly, since it’s dangerous to have that starter, I only had two charges, one for entering atmosphere and one for leaving so…”
“Oh, you burned one of them for that… Well!” I stop for a second, raising my voice just a little bit “The base has a bar for the flight officers, and I hear you outworlders are good with that! How about we hang out until then?”
“That sounds great to me!” his voice was becoming more and more familiar as we talked, it didn’t even bother me his difficulty with verb tenses anymore “Maybe I can tell you a few stories about out there. I’ve got a few interesting ones, used to fly on a shipping company before”
“Shipping across the stars?”
“Yep! Maybe when all of this is over I can even show you some places out here”
“Hah…” I chuckle “I’ve always dreamed of seeing them up close. It’d be wonderful to see other worlds. I hope I get the chance one day”
Maybe when this war is over and we’re at peace. And we can join them for real. But not yet. Not while I still have people to keep safe down here.
Also a mention to u/Timmy_the_Techpriest's Wide Blue Skies, I knew I wanted to write a story involving one of the new nuclear weapons, and I wanted it to showcase the strange tech disparity between wrissan and outworlder forces, as well as showcase some portentious details of who might be the Dominion's mysterious benefactor. So I would up stealing the vibe of Wide Blue Skies for this, which allowed me to have it all.
2024.06.04 21:24 FlexFanatic The Ultimate Guide to Men's Fragrances (Let's Not Keep It Funky Please)
Ever wondered how to choose the perfect men's cologne (you don't wanna be funky do you)? This men's cologne guide will help you navigate through scents, notes, and brands to find your signature fragrance. Whether you're new to colognes or looking to expand your collection, understanding the basics can elevate your style. Dive into this guide and discover how to make an impression with the right scent.
The heart or middle notes emerge after the top notes fade. These form the core of the fragrance, lasting several hours. Floral, fruity, and spicy scents are typical heart notes.
Base notes are the final layer. They appear once the heart notes evaporate. Base notes provide depth and longevity to a cologne. Examples include musk, amber, and woody scents.
Tenacity refers to how long a fragrance lasts on the skin. A cologne with high tenacity remains noticeable for many hours.
Applying cologne to pulse points enhances its effect. Pulse points include wrists, neck, and behind ears where blood vessels are close to the skin’s surface.
For formal events, choose something subtle yet impactful. For casual outings, try light and airy options.
Niche fragrances cater to a specific audience looking for unique scents. Brands like Creed and Amouage use high-quality ingredients. These fragrances are more expensive but offer distinct aromas that stand out.
Avoid spraying cologne in crowded spaces. Respect others' space and sensitivities. Some might have allergies or dislike strong scents.
ial events like weddings allow for stronger perfumes. Consider floral or bergamot notes for a lasting impression.
Casual outings call for moderate intensity. Essential oils-based colognes can be a good choice.
Ask about preferences when around friends or family. Not everyone enjoys the same scents.
Test new fragrances before buying. Some oils may cause skin reactions or headaches.
Ready to up your cologne game? Dive into the world of fragrances and find that perfect scent. Stay fresh, stay confident. Share your experiences or any tips you've discovered along the way in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
submitted by FlexFanatic to mensguide [link] [comments]
Key Takeaways
- Understand Fragrance Basics: Learn about the different notes in cologne, such as top, middle, and base notes, to better appreciate the complexity of each scent.
- Choose Your Scent: Select a cologne that matches your personality and lifestyle. Test scents on your skin to see how they react with your body chemistry.
- Know Fragrance Types: Familiarize yourself with various fragrance types like eau de toilette, eau de parfum, and cologne to choose the right concentration for your needs.
- Apply Cologne Correctly: Apply cologne to pulse points like the wrists and neck for a longer-lasting effect. Avoid over-spraying to prevent overwhelming those around you.
- Follow Fragrance Etiquette: Be mindful of the setting and occasion when wearing cologne. Opt for lighter scents in professional settings and save stronger fragrances for evenings or special events.
Understanding Fragrance Basics
Notes Explained
Fragrances consist of three layers: top, heart (or middle), and base notes. Top notes are the initial scents perceived. They last for a few minutes to an hour. Common top notes include citrus and light floral scents.The heart or middle notes emerge after the top notes fade. These form the core of the fragrance, lasting several hours. Floral, fruity, and spicy scents are typical heart notes.
Base notes are the final layer. They appear once the heart notes evaporate. Base notes provide depth and longevity to a cologne. Examples include musk, amber, and woody scents.
Accord and Tenacity
An accord is a blend of multiple fragrance notes creating a unique scent profile. It’s like a chord in music where different notes combine harmoniously.Tenacity refers to how long a fragrance lasts on the skin. A cologne with high tenacity remains noticeable for many hours.
Sillage and Pulse Points
Sillage is the trail left by a fragrance as you move. High sillage means others can smell your cologne from afar.Applying cologne to pulse points enhances its effect. Pulse points include wrists, neck, and behind ears where blood vessels are close to the skin’s surface.
Structure's Importance
Understanding fragrance structure helps in choosing a suitable cologne. Each layer contributes differently:- Top notes create first impressions.
- Heart notes define character.
- Base notes ensure longevity.
Choosing Your Scent
Personal Preference
Choosing a cologne depends on personal preference. Some people like citrus scents. Others prefer floral or woody smells. Think about what you enjoy.Skin Chemistry
Skin chemistry affects how colognes smell on you. A scent may change when it mixes with your skin's oils. Test a fragrance on your wrist before buying it.Seasons and Occasions
Different scents suit different seasons and occasions. Light, fresh scents work well in summer. Heavier, spicy fragrances are better for winter.For formal events, choose something subtle yet impactful. For casual outings, try light and airy options.
Signature Scent
Start with a versatile signature scent. This should be a fragrance that fits any occasion. A good signature scent boosts confidence and leaves a lasting impression.Fragrance Types Explained
Parfum
Parfum has the highest oil concentration, ranging from 20% to 30%. This makes it the most potent and long-lasting. It can last up to 24 hours on the skin. Parfum is suitable for special occasions due to its intensity.Eau De Parfum
Eau De Parfum (EDP) contains 15% to 20% oil concentration. It lasts around 8 to 12 hours. EDP offers a strong scent without being overpowering. It's ideal for evening wear or cooler weather.Eau De Toilette
Eau De Toilette (EDT) has an oil concentration of 5% to 15%. This type lasts about 4 to 6 hours. EDT is lighter and more suitable for daily use. Many men prefer EDT for its balance between longevity and subtlety.Eau De Cologne
Eau De Cologne (EDC) features an oil concentration of only 2% to 4%. It usually lasts up to 2 hours. EDC is refreshing and often used in warmer months. It's perfect for a quick refresh during the day.Eau Fraiché
Eau Fraiché has the lowest oil concentration, typically below 3%. It lasts less than two hours but provides a light, fresh scent. This type is great for casual outings or post-workout freshness.Designer vs Niche Fragrances
Designer fragrances are created by well-known brands like Dior and Chanel. They target a broad audience and often have mass appeal. Ingredients may not be as exclusive, but they are reliable.Niche fragrances cater to a specific audience looking for unique scents. Brands like Creed and Amouage use high-quality ingredients. These fragrances are more expensive but offer distinct aromas that stand out.
Applying Cologne Right
Pulse Points
Apply cologne to pulse points for the best effect. These areas include your neck, wrists, and behind your ears. The warmth from these spots helps diffuse the scent throughout the day.Avoid Over-Application
Using too much cologne can be overwhelming. One or two sprays are usually enough. Over-applying can lead to an unpleasant experience for you and those around you.Reapplication Tips
Reapply cologne if needed, but do so sparingly. A good time to refresh is midday. Carrying a travel-size bottle can make this easier.Storage Advice
Store cologne in a cool, dark place. Keeping it away from direct sunlight preserves its quality. This ensures that your fragrance remains effective over time.Fragrance Etiquette
Dos and Don'ts
Wear cologne sparingly. Too much fragrance can overwhelm others. Apply cologne to pulse points like the wrists and neck.Avoid spraying cologne in crowded spaces. Respect others' space and sensitivities. Some might have allergies or dislike strong scents.
Choosing Intensity
For work, choose light fragrances like eau fraiche or eau de toilette. These are less intense than eau de parfum.ial events like weddings allow for stronger perfumes. Consider floral or bergamot notes for a lasting impression.
Casual outings call for moderate intensity. Essential oils-based colognes can be a good choice.
Allergies and Preferences
Be mindful of fragrance allergies in close environments. Avoid wearing strong perfumes in small, enclosed spaces like elevators.Ask about preferences when around friends or family. Not everyone enjoys the same scents.
Test new fragrances before buying. Some oils may cause skin reactions or headaches.
Closing Thoughts
You've now got the lowdown on everything from understanding fragrance basics to applying cologne like a pro. Armed with this knowledge, you can confidently choose and wear a scent that truly represents you. Remember, your cologne is an extension of your personality. Make it count.Ready to up your cologne game? Dive into the world of fragrances and find that perfect scent. Stay fresh, stay confident. Share your experiences or any tips you've discovered along the way in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the basic fragrance notes?
Fragrance notes are categorized into top, middle, and base notes. Top notes are initial scents; middle notes form the heart of the fragrance; base notes are long-lasting.How do I choose the right cologne for me?
Consider your personality and lifestyle. Test different fragrances on your skin to see how they react with your body chemistry.What are the main types of men's cologne?
The main types include Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum, and Cologne. Each differs in concentration and longevity.How should I apply cologne correctly?
Apply cologne to pulse points like wrists, neck, and behind ears. Avoid rubbing it in to preserve the scent's integrity.What is proper fragrance etiquette?
Use a moderate amount of cologne. Overpowering scents can be off-putting. Reapply only when necessary to maintain subtlety.Can I layer different fragrances?
Yes, but it's best to stick with complementary scents. Layering can create a unique signature scent but avoid clashing aromas.How long does cologne typically last on skin?
Cologne usually lasts between 3-8 hours depending on its concentration and your skin type. Reapply as needed throughout the day.2024.06.04 20:25 BrokenDeity I was Ben Shapiro's wedding DJ
"A job is a job" they say. But I took one in 2008 that blew the logic behind that saying right out of the water. I was hired by Ben Shapiro to be the DJ at his upcoming wedding. I knew he was pretty well off so I expected pretty good pay. Over the phone I asked him what music he was looking for, what his wedding march would be, what he wanted played at the reception afterwards. And he told me to travel light because he had the music selection taken care of. Just bring the speakers and the stereo equipment. That's all.
"Easy enough" I thought to myself. I love it when it only takes me 5 to 10 minutes to load up and just as much time to set up. I arrived at the wedding venue and upon entering I see something that should have set off alarm bells. But I needed that money.
Next to the main archway were two morbidly obese men dressed in nothing but red satin Speedos and juggalo face paint. Both of them are wielding what I can only describe as 24 inch long double dongs. Every time a guest would enter, they would frantically beat each other with the transparent green phallic clubs. Once the guests found their seats, the two men would sit down and make eyes at each other only to repeat the process.
"Hey, I see you made it!" Said a voice from across the room. There stood Mr. Shapiro dressed in a salmon colored tuxedo with a neon green button-up shirt and a cobalt blue business suit tie with a picture of what I can only describe as Jessica rabbit giving birth to a pint of Ben & Jerry's chunky monkey ice cream on Violent J's tummy tum. He smiled at me and I could feel a chill run up my spine.
"I see you brought the equipment! Did you leave your music at home?" He asked expectantly.
I struggled to find the words but eventually speak up: "Y-yes Sir. Every last CD booklet is still sitting in my supply closet. It's just whatever you've got."
He smiles and starts fishing around in his pocket. Pulls out a few paper clips, some old chewing gum, a lambskin condom, and finally he hands me a thumb drive with a picture of Sally acorn blowing Goofy laser etched into it.
"Just pop that in your laptop and when I give you the thumbs up hit play. Don't stop until everything is done. If we go over time, keep playing it. Feel me?"
I just nodded and prepped the equipment.
As the guests started filing in I hear who I guess was the pastor tell the guests to sit down because the ceremony is about to begin. I start looking around the room only to find Mr. Shapiro standing in a doorway adjacent to another room. I figure it's him and his groomsmen. He gives me the thumbs up and I do as he instructed. Press play.
Mr. Shapiro and his groomsmen come into the room and I finally pull my attention away from my equipment and look in that direction. The "priest" was actually a guy in a Chuck E cheese costume wearing a priest collar and a strap-on dildo. He looked happy to see everybody. The archway was made entirely out of chewed gum and barbed wire. Other than Ben, his groomsen were all dressed in neon colored faygo t-shirts and frilly Lolita skirts. For one reason or another his best man was holding what I can only guess was a box of smoked salmon in each hand. Ben pointed in my direction and instructed me to turn up the music.
To call it music would be generous. It was actually what I can only describe as the sound of somebody slowly stirring macaroni and cheese and occasionally coughing. I stared at my speakers in horror and then suddenly everybody stood up in unison. The bride was on her way down the aisle while this abomination blared through my speakers. But, that only held my attention for a second. I finally saw the bride. She was wearing a dress made entirely out of bubble wrap. Through the translucent dress I could see she was also wearing a matching set of fruit Roll-Up edible underwear and Daisy duck crocs.
The awkward ceremony proceeded as any other would have, an exchange of vows, putting on the rings, you may kiss the bride.. yada yada.
After he got done jamming his tongue down this woman's throat he mouths something to her. Years of doing this without protective ear equipment has admittedly damaged my hearing. So I've gotten good at reading lips. "Oh yeah baby, tonight you're going to give me that sandpaper dry ride."
I could only hope nobody else heard what he had to say. But guessing by the looks on a few of the guests faces, they were just as good at reading lips as I was. He then turned his attention back to me. "TRACK 3" he mouthed at me. "Okay." I thought to myself. I mean, this couldn't get any weirder, could it?
I was so so very wrong. And all too familiar robotic voice filled the room and suddenly I realize the actual song playing is "Slim Anus" by ICP. The guests looked horrified, and I decided to break protocol and skip to the next track only to find.. it was the same song.. 347 times over.
About the 30th time the song repeated, I start looking at the guests. Their eyes are glazing over, some of them are crying, children are beating the wedding cake which appeared to be made at entirely out of pureed chicken. People are absolutely losing their shit while Ben stares at them with a smile that says "I'm an absolute fucking gremlin."
I did my best to ignore the song but at the 346th repeat I started snapping myself. I look at the guests and I think to myself "Fuck it. I'll join them." As they screech like rabid gibbons and punch empty air. Some of them were throwing their own feces. At this point, they've absolutely devolved. What I didn't know was that the 347th repeat was coming to an end.
The song stopped and we thought we were free for a moment. I made my way back to my equipment only to realize the next song was starting "tiptoe to my window" as sung by Minnie mouse. I look at my screen, 839 times. Over and over and over again.
I look at this sick bastard and I see that he's opening up wedding presents while the guests aren't looking, somebody gifted him a bowling pin, he promptly dropped his drawers and begins to sit on this thing ever so slowly. I watching horror is it disappears.
Tiptoe to my window is blaring it deafening levels through my speakers and this man.. or at least shapeshifting creature passing itself off as one.. does a little dance to the front of the room in front of all the guests.
He smiles at them and I can see he's drooling a little bit. His eyes are watery. He's biting his lower lip. Getting absolute enjoyment out of this. He drops his drawers once again and proceeds to fart the bowling pin and two live hamsters through a stained glass window.
As he's giving everybody the full goatse, his prolapse gets aimed in my direction, he proceeds to fart a signed check and an 8 lb bag of Chuck E cheese tokens in my direction. They land perfectly on my table.
It's the first time I've ever done a job for free.
I packed up my equipment and left after that and I never looked back, unless you count those times when I wake up screaming at night. Thank you PTSD and night terrors.
TL:DR I'm a DJ that can confirm Ben Shapiro is into some weird shit.
submitted by BrokenDeity to copypasta [link] [comments]
"Easy enough" I thought to myself. I love it when it only takes me 5 to 10 minutes to load up and just as much time to set up. I arrived at the wedding venue and upon entering I see something that should have set off alarm bells. But I needed that money.
Next to the main archway were two morbidly obese men dressed in nothing but red satin Speedos and juggalo face paint. Both of them are wielding what I can only describe as 24 inch long double dongs. Every time a guest would enter, they would frantically beat each other with the transparent green phallic clubs. Once the guests found their seats, the two men would sit down and make eyes at each other only to repeat the process.
"Hey, I see you made it!" Said a voice from across the room. There stood Mr. Shapiro dressed in a salmon colored tuxedo with a neon green button-up shirt and a cobalt blue business suit tie with a picture of what I can only describe as Jessica rabbit giving birth to a pint of Ben & Jerry's chunky monkey ice cream on Violent J's tummy tum. He smiled at me and I could feel a chill run up my spine.
"I see you brought the equipment! Did you leave your music at home?" He asked expectantly.
I struggled to find the words but eventually speak up: "Y-yes Sir. Every last CD booklet is still sitting in my supply closet. It's just whatever you've got."
He smiles and starts fishing around in his pocket. Pulls out a few paper clips, some old chewing gum, a lambskin condom, and finally he hands me a thumb drive with a picture of Sally acorn blowing Goofy laser etched into it.
"Just pop that in your laptop and when I give you the thumbs up hit play. Don't stop until everything is done. If we go over time, keep playing it. Feel me?"
I just nodded and prepped the equipment.
As the guests started filing in I hear who I guess was the pastor tell the guests to sit down because the ceremony is about to begin. I start looking around the room only to find Mr. Shapiro standing in a doorway adjacent to another room. I figure it's him and his groomsmen. He gives me the thumbs up and I do as he instructed. Press play.
Mr. Shapiro and his groomsmen come into the room and I finally pull my attention away from my equipment and look in that direction. The "priest" was actually a guy in a Chuck E cheese costume wearing a priest collar and a strap-on dildo. He looked happy to see everybody. The archway was made entirely out of chewed gum and barbed wire. Other than Ben, his groomsen were all dressed in neon colored faygo t-shirts and frilly Lolita skirts. For one reason or another his best man was holding what I can only guess was a box of smoked salmon in each hand. Ben pointed in my direction and instructed me to turn up the music.
To call it music would be generous. It was actually what I can only describe as the sound of somebody slowly stirring macaroni and cheese and occasionally coughing. I stared at my speakers in horror and then suddenly everybody stood up in unison. The bride was on her way down the aisle while this abomination blared through my speakers. But, that only held my attention for a second. I finally saw the bride. She was wearing a dress made entirely out of bubble wrap. Through the translucent dress I could see she was also wearing a matching set of fruit Roll-Up edible underwear and Daisy duck crocs.
The awkward ceremony proceeded as any other would have, an exchange of vows, putting on the rings, you may kiss the bride.. yada yada.
After he got done jamming his tongue down this woman's throat he mouths something to her. Years of doing this without protective ear equipment has admittedly damaged my hearing. So I've gotten good at reading lips. "Oh yeah baby, tonight you're going to give me that sandpaper dry ride."
I could only hope nobody else heard what he had to say. But guessing by the looks on a few of the guests faces, they were just as good at reading lips as I was. He then turned his attention back to me. "TRACK 3" he mouthed at me. "Okay." I thought to myself. I mean, this couldn't get any weirder, could it?
I was so so very wrong. And all too familiar robotic voice filled the room and suddenly I realize the actual song playing is "Slim Anus" by ICP. The guests looked horrified, and I decided to break protocol and skip to the next track only to find.. it was the same song.. 347 times over.
About the 30th time the song repeated, I start looking at the guests. Their eyes are glazing over, some of them are crying, children are beating the wedding cake which appeared to be made at entirely out of pureed chicken. People are absolutely losing their shit while Ben stares at them with a smile that says "I'm an absolute fucking gremlin."
I did my best to ignore the song but at the 346th repeat I started snapping myself. I look at the guests and I think to myself "Fuck it. I'll join them." As they screech like rabid gibbons and punch empty air. Some of them were throwing their own feces. At this point, they've absolutely devolved. What I didn't know was that the 347th repeat was coming to an end.
The song stopped and we thought we were free for a moment. I made my way back to my equipment only to realize the next song was starting "tiptoe to my window" as sung by Minnie mouse. I look at my screen, 839 times. Over and over and over again.
I look at this sick bastard and I see that he's opening up wedding presents while the guests aren't looking, somebody gifted him a bowling pin, he promptly dropped his drawers and begins to sit on this thing ever so slowly. I watching horror is it disappears.
Tiptoe to my window is blaring it deafening levels through my speakers and this man.. or at least shapeshifting creature passing itself off as one.. does a little dance to the front of the room in front of all the guests.
He smiles at them and I can see he's drooling a little bit. His eyes are watery. He's biting his lower lip. Getting absolute enjoyment out of this. He drops his drawers once again and proceeds to fart the bowling pin and two live hamsters through a stained glass window.
As he's giving everybody the full goatse, his prolapse gets aimed in my direction, he proceeds to fart a signed check and an 8 lb bag of Chuck E cheese tokens in my direction. They land perfectly on my table.
It's the first time I've ever done a job for free.
I packed up my equipment and left after that and I never looked back, unless you count those times when I wake up screaming at night. Thank you PTSD and night terrors.
TL:DR I'm a DJ that can confirm Ben Shapiro is into some weird shit.
2024.06.04 20:15 Trash_Tia Hire A Boyfriend™️
It was like Amazon. For boyfriend's.
According to his bio, Cam was a cat person.
His favorite food was sushi, and he loved horror movies.
His profile was cute. Cam’s photo looked professionally taken. He was a guy in his mid twenties with a slight curl in his lip that teased the start of a smile. Maybe a little on the pretentious side with the Sherlock style trench coat, though his eyes were what pulled me in.
I don't think I had ever seen that shade of blue.
Like staring directly into a perfect, crystalline blue sky.
Not quite natural, but too beautiful to ignore.
Cam was perfect.
Now, I didn't really think this Hire-a-boyfriend thing through.
I found the app through a link my friend Hannah sent me.
After just getting out of a pretty toxic relationship, finding someone to just hang out with was more comforting than dwelling on a relationship I have trouble even remembering. I don't think I can describe loving someone I don't remember. I have zero memories of him, only a vague sense that I was drowning.
That I had to run, to get away from him.
His face inside my mind is more of an outline, a shadow I can't make out. My therapist said it was PTSD, my mind’s way of dealing with trauma. I don't know the details, but I woke up in the emergency room with stitches in the back of my head.
Hanna was straight forward in her text.
She told me Hire-a-Boyfriend pulled her out of depression.
I was sceptical, though the app looked legit.
Like I said, it was Amazon. For boyfriend's.
The interface was cute.
When I signed in through my apple account, the app required a questionnaire after registering.
They asked details such as my likes, hobbies, and who and what I was in the mood for.
The Boyfriend™️ was a bestseller.
I found Cam on the feature page. His reviews were sparkling.
I hired Cam for a wedding! He was amazing! So polite, I wish he was my real bf :( - Lissa.
“Watched a movie with Cam, and he talked all the way through it. Not in a bad way lol, the movie was terrible. This guy was hot. I fully recommend”! - Ryan.
”Hire a bf is amazing lmao, my friends actually thought we were dating. The plastic thing ruins it tho. 😭” - Mina.
Scrolling down, there were even Husbands™️.
Husbands were more expensive, and could be hired for up to three days.
The Boyfriend™️, however, was only available for 2 hours up to a full night.
The app intrigued me.
I thought it was a joke, but could I really hire a pretend boyfriend?
Before I knew what was happening, I was on my second glass of wine, and my credit card was definitely in my hand, squeezed between my fingers.
In the back of my mind, hiring a boyfriend was a whole other level of dystopia.
However, I was still lying to college friends about being taken. Even worse, I blabbed I was fucking engaged at twenty three. This was definitely a me problem. My initial plan was to close down the app and install Tinder.
But my credit card was feeling heavy in my hand, the corner spiking my palm.
Cam was 50 bucks for half a day with him.
50 bucks I would otherwise spend on Uber Eats or over-expensive makeup.
Tapping on Cam, my hands were shaking. I was halfway through the hiring process that was settling on a day, a time, and a location, when a discounted Boyfriend™️ popped up.
Roman.
23.
Leaving soon!!!
Roman had two reviews, which was just a string of heart emojis and another that was hidden. I did see the start of it, but I wouldn't let me tap read more.
Hey! Isn't this… [REVIEW HIDDEN]
The guy’s lack of bio was slightly off-putting. No likes or hobbies, not even a favorite TV show. Roman’s photo stood out, however. Dark hair that was the perfect kind of messy, freckles, and a far-away look, half lidded eyes not even meeting the camera.
He looked like a daydreamer.
It made sense why this guy was on a discount. He didn't smile in one photo, and not even the teasing smirk I was used to with the others. His available photos were him standing awkwardly, arms crossed across his chest, as if he didn't know where to put them.
But, like Cam, this Boyfriend was flawless.
Not a hair out of place, and if it was, that was the style.
Each guy had a color scheme, and his color was chestnut.
His description caught my eye.
Perfect caramel coloured curls and eyes like melted chocolate. Roman is our favorite ‘Fall’ guy! An enemy to a lover in three (yes, three!) dates!
I had to agree. This guy embodied Fall itself, every outfit in deep oranges and browns that reminded me of crisp autumnal mornings. I think they were trying to sell college guy with him holding a book, and looking uncomfortable wearing a pair of glasses. His last photo was a full zoom in, capturing flawless skin and tawny eyes swirling with flecks of red.
Out of all of the guys I had scrolled through, this was the only guy who looked like he had personality.
Cam was cute, yes. But Cam reminded me of a mannequin. He was too perfect.
Roman’s perfection was human enough for him to feel real. Cam was a Ken doll wearing the exact same grin that people knew would sell. Roman was scowling, standing slightly tilted to the left, his hands in his pockets, and then squeezed into fists, before settling over his chest.
I could practically hear the impatient voice behind the camera.
Why are you scowling? Smile! Do you know how to smile?!”
“Eyes on the camera! Look awake! You're supposed to look appealing, why do you look half asleep?!”*
He made me wonder what the BTS behind Hire A Boyfriend was.
Cam was marketed as true love, while Roman was the guy next door who drives you insane, but is also kind of hot.
Were these guys strapped for cash and selling themselves out?
Was this all an act, or were they based on their real personalities?
Either way, I was sold.
Tapping hire, I chose our date to be in the city park at 3PM.
The app asked me if I had any special preferences, and I hesitated.
“Call me a donut.” I typed. If this thing was legit, this poor guy has a script.
I was nervous to meet him. After class in the afternoon, I headed to the park. It was raining, so already the date was going great. The receipt I received in my emails had the exact location, a green bench next to the water fountain.
I was five minutes early, already regretting my spontaneous, wine induced decision making.
Scrolling through my phone with clammy fingers, I was trying to cancel, when the bench wobbled next to me.
Roman.
Dressed in his usual autumnal wear, a levi’s jacket with jeans and a beanie, he looked exactly like his profile, already scowling at the ground, that exact same faraway look in his eyes.
My Boyfriend™️ was purposely distancing himself, sliding further away from me. After getting mildly offended, I remembered his standoff attitude and perma-scowl was his selling point.
The refusal to smile and inability to compliment me.
Enemy to a Lover.
He was acting.
“Hi.” His voice was a low mumble. Still refusing to look at me, he tipped his head back and blinked at the tree looming over us. “It's, um, Jane, right?”
“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “Hi.”
I watched his gaze wander, lingering on a butterfly. He folded his arms, pursing his lips. I had no idea what he was trying to say, before he let out a groan.
“I'm not calling you a fucking donut.”
Ooh, this guy was really getting into the role.
I liked it, playing along.
“It's fine,” I said with a laugh, “It was a stupid request.”
Roman met my eye, his lip curling. He wasn't laughing. “Yeah. It was.”
This guy was a pro.
I thought I'd made a mistake. Especially when my ‘boyfriend’ refused to walk by my side, stalking behind me instead.
He took me to a restaurant and bought me the cheapest option, indulging in the delicacy menu himself, and spent an hour ranting about birds not being real.
I started to realize why this guy was on discount. He was a fucking weirdo.
Still, though, everything about him was endearing.
The way his gaze wandered when I was speaking, like I could physically see his mind jetting off to Saturn.
Roman played with his hair a lot, twirling a single strand around his index. He ate his pasta like a psychopath, using a spoon instead of a fork, and spoke with his mouth full, spaghetti sauce running down his chin.
He (unintentionally) made me laugh out loud multiple times.
When we left the restaurant, Roman surprised me by slipping his hand in mine, entangling our fingers.
His gesture was unexpectedly warm.
When we parted ways, he had the slightest curve of a smile hinting that he was getting a little closer to me.
That’s how Hire a Boyfriend lured you in.
Their guys were like video game characters. I had to pay more to build them.
And that is what I did.
My friend was an artist, and invited me and my ‘boyfriend’ to her exhibition.
I hired Roman for the exhibition, but halfway through the date, he leaned his head on my shoulder, grasping tighter to my hand. He didn't get any less weirder, officially freaking out my friend with the birds aren't real theory. Eve was more amused than scared, immediately asking for his socials.
Roman said he didn't know what a social was, and she laughed harder.
“Your boyfriend is amazing,” Eve told me over drinks, “Isn't he like, literally perfect?”
Yes, he was.
But he wasn't mine.
I started hiring Roman every week, and the more I got to know him, I fell hard.
Every week turned to every day. I was obsessed with unlocking his true character and personality. Each time I hired him, Roman would get less standoffish, his barriers coming down.
He started to lean into me, squeezing my hand, kissing my shoulder.
Cash didn't matter to me, I was barely emotionally conscious when I was entering my card details. Just like the app said, Roman did get closer to me.
Fast forward four months, and I was sitting on a park bench with his head sandwiched in my shoulder, cherry blossoms blooming above us. It felt real.
He felt real.
I can't describe my feelings, because I don't even understand them.
He was the first man I remember truly falling in love with.
When he kissed me, I stopped seeing him as a Boyfriend™️.
Roman was like no other guy I’d ever met. Before him, I couldn't remember having a clear mind. After him, everything made sense. My friends loved him, and I had slowly deluded myself into believing he was real. His true personality was friendly, a little clumsy but in an endearing way, and he made me laugh. The park was our place, and I enjoyed dozing in the sun with his face pressed into my shoulder.
There was just one problem.
Roman was still a Boyfriend™️ which meant he was off limits. The plastic tag sticking out of his right temple assured that. If that wasn't enough, the app sent me hourly reminders, warning me to not get too close. I did understand, it was for the guy’s privacy and safety.
But it's not like Roman wasn't being affectionate himself.
The app said zero touching, including kissing, sexual intercourse. He kissed me multiple times, his head correctly leaning into mine. I still wasn't sure if he was part of his obligation as a Boyfriend, but it was clear this guy was slowly steering away from the rules.
I couldn't resist prodding the tag. “Does this not bother you?”
Roman shrugged, pulling his legs to his chest. “Not really. I like the smell of it.”
“Smell?”
Rowan held out a hand with a small smile, catching cherry blossom on his palm. “Yeah. Doesn't it smell good?”
He was talking about the cherry blossom.
Something about the way he immediately dismissed the tag put a sour taste in my mouth.
“No, the thing sticking out of your head,” I said with a nervous laugh.
Roman blinked, his lips breaking out into a smile. “I'm glad we both like it.”
Maybe he wasn't allowed to acknowledge the tag.
Ignoring my twisting gut, I focused on the sunset instead, blurred reds and oranges streaked across a twilight sky.
It was slowly starting to sink in that Roman was not mine.
“I love you,” he said in a low murmur.
Something warm dampened the sleeve of my shirt.
Was he crying?
For a moment, my words were tangled in my throat.
“I think I love you too.” I said, my cheeks heating up.
“Mm.” he sighed, and I was trying to ignore how wet my sleeve was getting. “I told you I would come back,” he snuggled into my shoulder, and that wetness was dripping down the bare skin of my arm. When he nestled his face in my neck, I smelled it, a tangy, metallic scent tickling the back of my nose.
Blood.
Twisting my head, my right sleeve was drenched with startling red.
My neck felt sticky, blood smearing my shoulder blade.
Roman was bleeding. I thought it was a nosebleed when I glimpsed his nose and lips and chin dripping red, but it was leaking from his ears too, rivulets of blood seeping from him, while the guy himself didn't move, still smiling, his head leaning on my shoulder. When my body remembered how to move, I jerked away with a shriek, but Roman stayed in the same position, his head tilted.
“I came back for you,” a wide smile spread across his lips, blood dribbling down his chin. “And our baby.”
I didn't respond, pulling out my phone to call an ambulance.
“Are you happy I came back?” he whispered. I was transfixed by the blood running down his face. His head jolted suddenly, his smile dampening, before curving into a frown. The man's eyes were suddenly so sad, wandering, like he was searching for something.
Someone.
“I changed my m-mind,” Roman’s head jerked again, drool slipping down his chin. “I w-want to be a dad, Sara.”
Roman’s words jolted something inside me, a shiver slipping down my spine.
I dropped my phone, using my sleeves to stop the bleeding. Grabbing his face, I forced him to look at me. “Hey. Look at me.” The bleeding was letting up a little. But it was his eyes that held me in a trance. I fell in love with beautiful, almost unnatural brown. What I was seeing was green, a smear of lime slowly seeping into that tawny oblivion.
“Roman.” I said, louder. “Who is Sara?”
His expression crumpled, like he was crying, a whole new personality taking over.
But he wasn't looking at me.
Roman was looking right through me.
“I love you,” his voice broke, “But I also love him. I'm not ready for a baby! I'm twenty three! What twenty three year old wants to settle down with a little brat?” His eyes widened, expression softening. “I didn't…I didn't mean that.”
I was talking to a memory.
“I love both of you. And I want to… I want to make a family with both of you,” he shook his head. “But not now, Sara.”
Sara.
There was that name again.
“Sara.” I said. “Can you tell me who that is?”
The man's gaze snapped to me. “Sara,” he whispered. “She's my girl…” his head jerked again, this time violently.
“Girl… friend?”
Roman frowned. “She's my girlfriend,” he mumbled. “I was going to go… back. But I… I couldn't… find her…”
His hands dropped limply to his sides.
“I looked for her. But they… grabbed me.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “They took me… away.”
When his whole body shuddered, eyes rolling back, I couldn't help myself, reaching forward with trembling hands and plucking the piece of plastic from his temple. It was like pulling a tag out of a toy. But it kept going, a long plastic thing feeding directly into his head.
It was like pulling a tag out of a toy.
This thing was a long coil of wire stained red, a metallic plate attached to the end.
Biting back a shriek, I dropped the tag, my fingers slick crimson.
This thing was embedded, fed, directly into this guy’s head.
Like a switch had been pulled, Roman’s arms fell to his sides. “Sara.” he said through a mouthful of red. “She's my… she's m-my…” he trailed off and blinked slowly. His gaze found my hand, where I was gingerly stroking his temple. Roman jumped up suddenly, his eyes frenzied, awake, like a startled animal. “What the fuck?” he shuffled away like I was contagious, diving to unsteady feet.
So, this was Roman.
“Who are you?” he swiped at his bloody chin. “Where's Sara?”
When I couldn't reply, his fingers gingerly stroked at his right temple.
“Fuck.” Roman let out a sharp breath. “You actually got that thing out.”
I was shaking, still holding it between my fingers.
This thing was warm, thrumming, like it was alive.
“And what is it?” I managed to get out. “That thing was inside your head!”
Roman curled his lip, his gaze wandering the park.
“Where's the exit?”
“What?!”
He grabbed me, harshly this time, pulling me to my feet. I was still trying to mentally register the tag feeding into his brain. This guy was not the man I hired, violently pulling me to his side when I could barely stand. His eyes were fierce, hollow, a whole other person taking over him. He was the shadow that had been pushed down, a suppressed memory who was awake.
And pissed.
“We need to get out of here right fucking now,” he said in a hiss. His fingernails stabbing into my skin hurt, but the pain was enough to snap me into fruition.
“That app.” I said. “What is it?”
Roman’s eyes darkened. “It's a factory,” he tightened his grip around my wrist.
“Can you help me find my girlfriend? I'll tell you everything, but we need–”
“Miss Doe, am I correct?”
The sudden voice caught me off guard.
Roman looked confused, his gaze flicking behind me.
Fuck. His lips formed the word and he stumbled back, his hand slipping from mine. Behind us, an outline of a woman slowly bled into the shadows.
“You.” Roman’s lips parted in a silent cry. He shook his head, clawing at his hair. The guy let out a spluttered sob, a thin line of blood escaping his nose.
“You're the bitch who did this to me.”
The outline inclined her head. “I know you have the memory of a goldfish, dear boy, but if I remember correctly, you were recommended to us. I even have your consent if you require proof.”
His eyes were wide. Terrified.
“You make us sign it! We don't have a fucking choice!”
“That's a rule break. Boyfriend's do not swear, unless it part of a joke and has been given full content by our clients.”
The woman appeared, no longer a disembodied voice, basking in the shadow of the setting sun, rich red hair and matching heels. She was my age or a little older. Sculpted in a black suit, this woman was oozing sophistication.
She turned to me with a bright smile.
“Hello Jane! My name is Lily. I'm a customer adviser at Hire a Boyfriend. I am so sorry for the malfunction!”
Tilting her head, Lily’s lips formed a frown.
“As we explained in our terms and conditions, the Boyfriend™️ does not usually act like this unless considered faulty. However, it is expected from a discounted model like Roman. He is scheduled to be refurbished in a week, so we'll happily take him off your hands.”
“No.” Roman whimpered. His gaze flashed to me. “Please… help me.”
His head jolted once again, and he dropped to his knees.
“That is also a rule break,” Lily said. “You never directly tell clients what to do.”
Roman’s body shook, his head jerking left to right.
“Get away from me.”
“You are broken, Roman. Allow me to fix you.”
His eyes filled with tears. “Broken?”
“That's right. Broken.”
“Sara.” Roman swiped blood from his nose. “Is she okay? Is she… s-safe?”
The woman regarded him with a pitiful smile.
“I'm sorry, who?”
Roman blinked. “Sara.” his expression crumpled. “She's my…she's m-m-my–”
Lily stepped towards him, and he shrunk back.
The sound of her heels frightened him, like he was used to them.
Used to her looming over him, a satisfied smile on her face.
“She's your what? Come on, speak up!”
He let out a raw cry, clawing at his hair.
“I don't know! I d-don't know! I…”
“Come quietly, and I will rethink my decision to convert Sara’s child when once of age,” Lily said. “The contract was clear. Section five, clause three. Hire a Boyfriend are automatically entitled to a Boyfriend’s offspring.”
Roman broke down, his head dropping into his lap.
“I'll go w-with you.” somehow, his eyes were glitching, unnatural blue light igniting around his iris. “I'll g-g-go.”
More blood, this time running thick down his face.
Lily’s lips split into a grin. “I'm sorry Roman, who is Sara again?”
He scrunched up his face, fighting to keep his mind. “I… d-d-don't know.”
I hated myself for turning away, after listening to him sobbing, begging for his unborn child to be safe, his mind torn from him right in front of me. I felt sick to my stomach. Lily was revelling in every second. Was this the reality of Hire a Boyfriend? What about Cam?
Who was behind his original face?
I should have done something. I stepped forward to grasp him and pull him back. When my hands were on his shoulders, the light fizzled from Roman’s eyes, sparks flickering out.
Like a puppet, he flopped to the ground.
In a panic, I tried to pull him to his feet, before I was violently shoved back.
The redhead nodded to me. “I apologise again for the malfunction, Jane,” she told me, scooping him into her arms.
He looked so vulnerable, a fully grown man somehow reduced to a living toy.
Lily bid me goodbye, promising me discount on my next Boyfriend™️.
I thought about that day a lot. I went to the cops with a report, only for them to tell me Hire a Boyfriend did not exist.
Apparently, I had been watching too many movies.
Two months passed by, and Roman never left my mind.
In an attempt to forget about him and delude myself into believing I was suffering a psychotic break, I lost myself in podcasts. Anything I could find, I listened to endless hours, blocking out thoughts drowning me.
Yesterday, I was making my way back home from class when I walked into a dishevelled looking girl with an armful of missing posters. I already knew who she was, and who was on the poster.
I was trying to avoid her, but this girl was following me. I could sense her steps getting closer, her breath on the back of my neck. Grief enveloped her in a sickly green aura, pale cheeks and straw-like hair stuck under her hooded sweatshirt. This time, the girl situated herself in front of me, red rimmed eyes begging me to stop walking.
I did, coming to an abrupt stop, my gaze immediately flicking to a very familiar face on the missing poster.
Unlike Roman, my Boyfriend™️, this man did have flaws.
Crooked teeth flashing a grin and an oddly shaped nose. He was stockier and had the worst fashion sense imaginable, clad in socks and sandles. This time, though, the boy had a different name.
Jun.
The photo was always different, what I guessed was a collection from her Instagram. This one was particularly heart wrenching. Roman’s eyes were bright and happy, no sign of that hollow cavern I found myself lost inside. The two of them were standing in front of a mirror, his arms wrapped around her.
Whatever happened to him after he was taken had stripped Jun away.
The girl shoved the poster in my face.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
JUN LOCKE.
24.
LAST SEEN WEARING A PLAID SHIRT AND JEANS, OUTSIDE CAMPUS.
I didn't look at the face that had been perfected and moulded into the ideal boyfriend.
Into Roman.
I stared at the girl’s bulging pregnant belly instead.
Sara was getting bigger.
“Please,” She whispered, her voice a hoarse cry, one hand cradling her stomach. “Have you seen my boyfriend?”
It was always a no.
Swallowing hard, I shook my head.
Sara didn't even acknowledge my answer. She turned and walked away.
“Wait.” her name tangled in my mouth.
I felt like I was floating, my body moving for me. Stumbling after Sara, I lightly touched her arm and she twisted around, her eyes igniting with hope.
Opening my mouth, I choked on my words.
I have seen your boyfriend.
“Jane Doe! Oh my God, I haven't seen you in… years, is it? How are you doing?”
Sara’s half lidded eyes flicked to a familiar face behind me.
Lily.
This time, the woman strutted in a stylish red dress.
Her smile was too wide, too many teeth.
“Jane, can we talk?” she asked, “Woman to woman.”
Lily nodded at Sara’s belly. “Congratulations!” she winked. “I hope it's a boy!”
I had no choice, letting her pull me away from Sara.
Lily’s grasp on my arm was polite. She dragged me off campus. I thought she was going to throw me into a truck, before the redhead came to a stop.
I tried to pull away, but her grip tightened.
“It is quite painful, you know,” she said casually.
When I frowned at her, the woman prodded at her own temple. “The Neurowire is fed directly into the brain to ensure complete compliance with our Boyfriend's.” her gaze was across the road, and when I followed her eye, my heart almost jumped out of my throat.
Roman.
They had cut his hair. He was a sandy blonde now.
His colour scheme was deep blue, sporting a short sleeved shirt and jeans.
He was laughing, hand in hand with another girl.
“I'm only going to say this once, Jane, because you are a little too curious.”
I watched Roman reach for the girl’s hand. They must have changed his personality. Now he was smiling and playful, the two of them laughing. But there was a shy side to him, his cheeks blossoming red, fingers slipping through her fingers and entangling them.
“There are certain men in our society who are born to be Boyfriend's and Husbands.” Lily spoke up, and I realized she didn't just work for them.
She was Hire a Boyfriend.
“At Hire a Boyfriend, we believe everyone should have a significant other they can be with. Even if it's for an hour or two every day.” she turned to Roman, who was wrapping his arms around the girl, laughing into her hair.
The two of them seemed too close. I had a feeling this wasn't their first date.
Lily followed my gaze, her eyes narrowing. “Do you really think a man like that belongs with someone like Sara? No, sweetie. As you can see, Roman is currently being hired by Lula, our richest client, a socialite who is considering buying him as a full time Husband! Now, she is perfect for him.”
The redhead turned to me, lightly brushing my hair out of my face, the tips of her fingers tiptoeing across my temple. She had a smile I couldn't make sense of. “I have missed you, Jane. If only dear Ben didn't get his own way.”
She tried to touch me again, and I smacked her hand away.
I caught a hint of hurt in her eyes, before she sighed, grasping my chin with manicured nails and forcing me to look directly at her. “Sara is a woman who's boyfriend left her. She does not need any more stress for our baby.”
Dropping her hand, Lily’s tone hardened. “If you do not walk away and forget us, I will happily contract dear Sara into the Hire a Girlfriend program. And trust me, you of all people should know that it will be a very uncomfortable time for her. Would you like to know the conversion process? Well, allow me to explain–”
“Stop.”
My legs were close to giving way.
“I won't say anything.”
The bitch enjoyed my silence, my panicking thoughts trying to understand what she was saying. “Or we could make her a wife! There are a lot of lonely men looking for the perfect wife! Look at her. A young woman in her early twenties. Perfectly healthy and beautiful. And she's pregnant, so that's a bonus! Sara Mcintire is textbook girl next door. Exactly what we look for.”
Shaking my head, I was trembling, sweat trickling down my neck.
Lily's nails dug into my skin. “Am I clear, Jane? Or do you want me to say it again?” her lips grazed my ear, a shiver skittering down my spine, bugs filling my mouth. “Pain is beauty, after all, and we aim to create perfect Boyfriend's. I'll leave the process to your imagination.”
Stepping back, I nodded, swallowing a bout of vomit.
“Good.” she pivoted on her heel. “Keep walking and you will never see me again. Neither will pretty little Sara.”
Her voice followed me home.
“By the way, it was nice to see you again! Say hello to your boyfriend for me, all right?”
I don't have a boyfriend.
When I returned home, I felt like I was stepping inside a different apartment.
Everything seemed just like how I left it but the house was too… clean.
Too empty.
Standing in front of my bedroom mirror, I pulled out my ponytail, my fingers lightly prodding at my temple.
What did she call me again?
Jane Doe.
Maybe I was seeing things, but I'm terrified.
There it was.
How had I never seen it before?
With shaky fingers, I prodded the tiny plastic tag sticking out of me.
When I pulled it out of Roman, he knew who he was.
Who Sara was, and his unborn child.
Am/was I like Roman?
Am I a Hire a Girlfriend?
And if I pull this thing out, who was I before?
Edit: I've found hundreds of blood stained and fresh tags in my bedroom drawer. Who is changing them?
I live alone, but why does my apartment feel so empty?
Please help me. I think I'm going crazy.
submitted by Trash_Tia to TheCrypticCompendium [link] [comments]
According to his bio, Cam was a cat person.
His favorite food was sushi, and he loved horror movies.
His profile was cute. Cam’s photo looked professionally taken. He was a guy in his mid twenties with a slight curl in his lip that teased the start of a smile. Maybe a little on the pretentious side with the Sherlock style trench coat, though his eyes were what pulled me in.
I don't think I had ever seen that shade of blue.
Like staring directly into a perfect, crystalline blue sky.
Not quite natural, but too beautiful to ignore.
Cam was perfect.
Now, I didn't really think this Hire-a-boyfriend thing through.
I found the app through a link my friend Hannah sent me.
After just getting out of a pretty toxic relationship, finding someone to just hang out with was more comforting than dwelling on a relationship I have trouble even remembering. I don't think I can describe loving someone I don't remember. I have zero memories of him, only a vague sense that I was drowning.
That I had to run, to get away from him.
His face inside my mind is more of an outline, a shadow I can't make out. My therapist said it was PTSD, my mind’s way of dealing with trauma. I don't know the details, but I woke up in the emergency room with stitches in the back of my head.
Hanna was straight forward in her text.
She told me Hire-a-Boyfriend pulled her out of depression.
I was sceptical, though the app looked legit.
Like I said, it was Amazon. For boyfriend's.
The interface was cute.
When I signed in through my apple account, the app required a questionnaire after registering.
They asked details such as my likes, hobbies, and who and what I was in the mood for.
The Boyfriend™️ was a bestseller.
I found Cam on the feature page. His reviews were sparkling.
I hired Cam for a wedding! He was amazing! So polite, I wish he was my real bf :( - Lissa.
“Watched a movie with Cam, and he talked all the way through it. Not in a bad way lol, the movie was terrible. This guy was hot. I fully recommend”! - Ryan.
”Hire a bf is amazing lmao, my friends actually thought we were dating. The plastic thing ruins it tho. 😭” - Mina.
Scrolling down, there were even Husbands™️.
Husbands were more expensive, and could be hired for up to three days.
The Boyfriend™️, however, was only available for 2 hours up to a full night.
The app intrigued me.
I thought it was a joke, but could I really hire a pretend boyfriend?
Before I knew what was happening, I was on my second glass of wine, and my credit card was definitely in my hand, squeezed between my fingers.
In the back of my mind, hiring a boyfriend was a whole other level of dystopia.
However, I was still lying to college friends about being taken. Even worse, I blabbed I was fucking engaged at twenty three. This was definitely a me problem. My initial plan was to close down the app and install Tinder.
But my credit card was feeling heavy in my hand, the corner spiking my palm.
Cam was 50 bucks for half a day with him.
50 bucks I would otherwise spend on Uber Eats or over-expensive makeup.
Tapping on Cam, my hands were shaking. I was halfway through the hiring process that was settling on a day, a time, and a location, when a discounted Boyfriend™️ popped up.
Roman.
23.
Leaving soon!!!
Roman had two reviews, which was just a string of heart emojis and another that was hidden. I did see the start of it, but I wouldn't let me tap read more.
Hey! Isn't this… [REVIEW HIDDEN]
The guy’s lack of bio was slightly off-putting. No likes or hobbies, not even a favorite TV show. Roman’s photo stood out, however. Dark hair that was the perfect kind of messy, freckles, and a far-away look, half lidded eyes not even meeting the camera.
He looked like a daydreamer.
It made sense why this guy was on a discount. He didn't smile in one photo, and not even the teasing smirk I was used to with the others. His available photos were him standing awkwardly, arms crossed across his chest, as if he didn't know where to put them.
But, like Cam, this Boyfriend was flawless.
Not a hair out of place, and if it was, that was the style.
Each guy had a color scheme, and his color was chestnut.
His description caught my eye.
Perfect caramel coloured curls and eyes like melted chocolate. Roman is our favorite ‘Fall’ guy! An enemy to a lover in three (yes, three!) dates!
I had to agree. This guy embodied Fall itself, every outfit in deep oranges and browns that reminded me of crisp autumnal mornings. I think they were trying to sell college guy with him holding a book, and looking uncomfortable wearing a pair of glasses. His last photo was a full zoom in, capturing flawless skin and tawny eyes swirling with flecks of red.
Out of all of the guys I had scrolled through, this was the only guy who looked like he had personality.
Cam was cute, yes. But Cam reminded me of a mannequin. He was too perfect.
Roman’s perfection was human enough for him to feel real. Cam was a Ken doll wearing the exact same grin that people knew would sell. Roman was scowling, standing slightly tilted to the left, his hands in his pockets, and then squeezed into fists, before settling over his chest.
I could practically hear the impatient voice behind the camera.
Why are you scowling? Smile! Do you know how to smile?!”
“Eyes on the camera! Look awake! You're supposed to look appealing, why do you look half asleep?!”*
He made me wonder what the BTS behind Hire A Boyfriend was.
Cam was marketed as true love, while Roman was the guy next door who drives you insane, but is also kind of hot.
Were these guys strapped for cash and selling themselves out?
Was this all an act, or were they based on their real personalities?
Either way, I was sold.
Tapping hire, I chose our date to be in the city park at 3PM.
The app asked me if I had any special preferences, and I hesitated.
“Call me a donut.” I typed. If this thing was legit, this poor guy has a script.
I was nervous to meet him. After class in the afternoon, I headed to the park. It was raining, so already the date was going great. The receipt I received in my emails had the exact location, a green bench next to the water fountain.
I was five minutes early, already regretting my spontaneous, wine induced decision making.
Scrolling through my phone with clammy fingers, I was trying to cancel, when the bench wobbled next to me.
Roman.
Dressed in his usual autumnal wear, a levi’s jacket with jeans and a beanie, he looked exactly like his profile, already scowling at the ground, that exact same faraway look in his eyes.
My Boyfriend™️ was purposely distancing himself, sliding further away from me. After getting mildly offended, I remembered his standoff attitude and perma-scowl was his selling point.
The refusal to smile and inability to compliment me.
Enemy to a Lover.
He was acting.
“Hi.” His voice was a low mumble. Still refusing to look at me, he tipped his head back and blinked at the tree looming over us. “It's, um, Jane, right?”
“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “Hi.”
I watched his gaze wander, lingering on a butterfly. He folded his arms, pursing his lips. I had no idea what he was trying to say, before he let out a groan.
“I'm not calling you a fucking donut.”
Ooh, this guy was really getting into the role.
I liked it, playing along.
“It's fine,” I said with a laugh, “It was a stupid request.”
Roman met my eye, his lip curling. He wasn't laughing. “Yeah. It was.”
This guy was a pro.
I thought I'd made a mistake. Especially when my ‘boyfriend’ refused to walk by my side, stalking behind me instead.
He took me to a restaurant and bought me the cheapest option, indulging in the delicacy menu himself, and spent an hour ranting about birds not being real.
I started to realize why this guy was on discount. He was a fucking weirdo.
Still, though, everything about him was endearing.
The way his gaze wandered when I was speaking, like I could physically see his mind jetting off to Saturn.
Roman played with his hair a lot, twirling a single strand around his index. He ate his pasta like a psychopath, using a spoon instead of a fork, and spoke with his mouth full, spaghetti sauce running down his chin.
He (unintentionally) made me laugh out loud multiple times.
When we left the restaurant, Roman surprised me by slipping his hand in mine, entangling our fingers.
His gesture was unexpectedly warm.
When we parted ways, he had the slightest curve of a smile hinting that he was getting a little closer to me.
That’s how Hire a Boyfriend lured you in.
Their guys were like video game characters. I had to pay more to build them.
And that is what I did.
My friend was an artist, and invited me and my ‘boyfriend’ to her exhibition.
I hired Roman for the exhibition, but halfway through the date, he leaned his head on my shoulder, grasping tighter to my hand. He didn't get any less weirder, officially freaking out my friend with the birds aren't real theory. Eve was more amused than scared, immediately asking for his socials.
Roman said he didn't know what a social was, and she laughed harder.
“Your boyfriend is amazing,” Eve told me over drinks, “Isn't he like, literally perfect?”
Yes, he was.
But he wasn't mine.
I started hiring Roman every week, and the more I got to know him, I fell hard.
Every week turned to every day. I was obsessed with unlocking his true character and personality. Each time I hired him, Roman would get less standoffish, his barriers coming down.
He started to lean into me, squeezing my hand, kissing my shoulder.
Cash didn't matter to me, I was barely emotionally conscious when I was entering my card details. Just like the app said, Roman did get closer to me.
Fast forward four months, and I was sitting on a park bench with his head sandwiched in my shoulder, cherry blossoms blooming above us. It felt real.
He felt real.
I can't describe my feelings, because I don't even understand them.
He was the first man I remember truly falling in love with.
When he kissed me, I stopped seeing him as a Boyfriend™️.
Roman was like no other guy I’d ever met. Before him, I couldn't remember having a clear mind. After him, everything made sense. My friends loved him, and I had slowly deluded myself into believing he was real. His true personality was friendly, a little clumsy but in an endearing way, and he made me laugh. The park was our place, and I enjoyed dozing in the sun with his face pressed into my shoulder.
There was just one problem.
Roman was still a Boyfriend™️ which meant he was off limits. The plastic tag sticking out of his right temple assured that. If that wasn't enough, the app sent me hourly reminders, warning me to not get too close. I did understand, it was for the guy’s privacy and safety.
But it's not like Roman wasn't being affectionate himself.
The app said zero touching, including kissing, sexual intercourse. He kissed me multiple times, his head correctly leaning into mine. I still wasn't sure if he was part of his obligation as a Boyfriend, but it was clear this guy was slowly steering away from the rules.
I couldn't resist prodding the tag. “Does this not bother you?”
Roman shrugged, pulling his legs to his chest. “Not really. I like the smell of it.”
“Smell?”
Rowan held out a hand with a small smile, catching cherry blossom on his palm. “Yeah. Doesn't it smell good?”
He was talking about the cherry blossom.
Something about the way he immediately dismissed the tag put a sour taste in my mouth.
“No, the thing sticking out of your head,” I said with a nervous laugh.
Roman blinked, his lips breaking out into a smile. “I'm glad we both like it.”
Maybe he wasn't allowed to acknowledge the tag.
Ignoring my twisting gut, I focused on the sunset instead, blurred reds and oranges streaked across a twilight sky.
It was slowly starting to sink in that Roman was not mine.
“I love you,” he said in a low murmur.
Something warm dampened the sleeve of my shirt.
Was he crying?
For a moment, my words were tangled in my throat.
“I think I love you too.” I said, my cheeks heating up.
“Mm.” he sighed, and I was trying to ignore how wet my sleeve was getting. “I told you I would come back,” he snuggled into my shoulder, and that wetness was dripping down the bare skin of my arm. When he nestled his face in my neck, I smelled it, a tangy, metallic scent tickling the back of my nose.
Blood.
Twisting my head, my right sleeve was drenched with startling red.
My neck felt sticky, blood smearing my shoulder blade.
Roman was bleeding. I thought it was a nosebleed when I glimpsed his nose and lips and chin dripping red, but it was leaking from his ears too, rivulets of blood seeping from him, while the guy himself didn't move, still smiling, his head leaning on my shoulder. When my body remembered how to move, I jerked away with a shriek, but Roman stayed in the same position, his head tilted.
“I came back for you,” a wide smile spread across his lips, blood dribbling down his chin. “And our baby.”
I didn't respond, pulling out my phone to call an ambulance.
“Are you happy I came back?” he whispered. I was transfixed by the blood running down his face. His head jolted suddenly, his smile dampening, before curving into a frown. The man's eyes were suddenly so sad, wandering, like he was searching for something.
Someone.
“I changed my m-mind,” Roman’s head jerked again, drool slipping down his chin. “I w-want to be a dad, Sara.”
Roman’s words jolted something inside me, a shiver slipping down my spine.
I dropped my phone, using my sleeves to stop the bleeding. Grabbing his face, I forced him to look at me. “Hey. Look at me.” The bleeding was letting up a little. But it was his eyes that held me in a trance. I fell in love with beautiful, almost unnatural brown. What I was seeing was green, a smear of lime slowly seeping into that tawny oblivion.
“Roman.” I said, louder. “Who is Sara?”
His expression crumpled, like he was crying, a whole new personality taking over.
But he wasn't looking at me.
Roman was looking right through me.
“I love you,” his voice broke, “But I also love him. I'm not ready for a baby! I'm twenty three! What twenty three year old wants to settle down with a little brat?” His eyes widened, expression softening. “I didn't…I didn't mean that.”
I was talking to a memory.
“I love both of you. And I want to… I want to make a family with both of you,” he shook his head. “But not now, Sara.”
Sara.
There was that name again.
“Sara.” I said. “Can you tell me who that is?”
The man's gaze snapped to me. “Sara,” he whispered. “She's my girl…” his head jerked again, this time violently.
“Girl… friend?”
Roman frowned. “She's my girlfriend,” he mumbled. “I was going to go… back. But I… I couldn't… find her…”
His hands dropped limply to his sides.
“I looked for her. But they… grabbed me.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “They took me… away.”
When his whole body shuddered, eyes rolling back, I couldn't help myself, reaching forward with trembling hands and plucking the piece of plastic from his temple. It was like pulling a tag out of a toy. But it kept going, a long plastic thing feeding directly into his head.
It was like pulling a tag out of a toy.
This thing was a long coil of wire stained red, a metallic plate attached to the end.
Biting back a shriek, I dropped the tag, my fingers slick crimson.
This thing was embedded, fed, directly into this guy’s head.
Like a switch had been pulled, Roman’s arms fell to his sides. “Sara.” he said through a mouthful of red. “She's my… she's m-my…” he trailed off and blinked slowly. His gaze found my hand, where I was gingerly stroking his temple. Roman jumped up suddenly, his eyes frenzied, awake, like a startled animal. “What the fuck?” he shuffled away like I was contagious, diving to unsteady feet.
So, this was Roman.
“Who are you?” he swiped at his bloody chin. “Where's Sara?”
When I couldn't reply, his fingers gingerly stroked at his right temple.
“Fuck.” Roman let out a sharp breath. “You actually got that thing out.”
I was shaking, still holding it between my fingers.
This thing was warm, thrumming, like it was alive.
“And what is it?” I managed to get out. “That thing was inside your head!”
Roman curled his lip, his gaze wandering the park.
“Where's the exit?”
“What?!”
He grabbed me, harshly this time, pulling me to my feet. I was still trying to mentally register the tag feeding into his brain. This guy was not the man I hired, violently pulling me to his side when I could barely stand. His eyes were fierce, hollow, a whole other person taking over him. He was the shadow that had been pushed down, a suppressed memory who was awake.
And pissed.
“We need to get out of here right fucking now,” he said in a hiss. His fingernails stabbing into my skin hurt, but the pain was enough to snap me into fruition.
“That app.” I said. “What is it?”
Roman’s eyes darkened. “It's a factory,” he tightened his grip around my wrist.
“Can you help me find my girlfriend? I'll tell you everything, but we need–”
“Miss Doe, am I correct?”
The sudden voice caught me off guard.
Roman looked confused, his gaze flicking behind me.
Fuck. His lips formed the word and he stumbled back, his hand slipping from mine. Behind us, an outline of a woman slowly bled into the shadows.
“You.” Roman’s lips parted in a silent cry. He shook his head, clawing at his hair. The guy let out a spluttered sob, a thin line of blood escaping his nose.
“You're the bitch who did this to me.”
The outline inclined her head. “I know you have the memory of a goldfish, dear boy, but if I remember correctly, you were recommended to us. I even have your consent if you require proof.”
His eyes were wide. Terrified.
“You make us sign it! We don't have a fucking choice!”
“That's a rule break. Boyfriend's do not swear, unless it part of a joke and has been given full content by our clients.”
The woman appeared, no longer a disembodied voice, basking in the shadow of the setting sun, rich red hair and matching heels. She was my age or a little older. Sculpted in a black suit, this woman was oozing sophistication.
She turned to me with a bright smile.
“Hello Jane! My name is Lily. I'm a customer adviser at Hire a Boyfriend. I am so sorry for the malfunction!”
Tilting her head, Lily’s lips formed a frown.
“As we explained in our terms and conditions, the Boyfriend™️ does not usually act like this unless considered faulty. However, it is expected from a discounted model like Roman. He is scheduled to be refurbished in a week, so we'll happily take him off your hands.”
“No.” Roman whimpered. His gaze flashed to me. “Please… help me.”
His head jolted once again, and he dropped to his knees.
“That is also a rule break,” Lily said. “You never directly tell clients what to do.”
Roman’s body shook, his head jerking left to right.
“Get away from me.”
“You are broken, Roman. Allow me to fix you.”
His eyes filled with tears. “Broken?”
“That's right. Broken.”
“Sara.” Roman swiped blood from his nose. “Is she okay? Is she… s-safe?”
The woman regarded him with a pitiful smile.
“I'm sorry, who?”
Roman blinked. “Sara.” his expression crumpled. “She's my…she's m-m-my–”
Lily stepped towards him, and he shrunk back.
The sound of her heels frightened him, like he was used to them.
Used to her looming over him, a satisfied smile on her face.
“She's your what? Come on, speak up!”
He let out a raw cry, clawing at his hair.
“I don't know! I d-don't know! I…”
“Come quietly, and I will rethink my decision to convert Sara’s child when once of age,” Lily said. “The contract was clear. Section five, clause three. Hire a Boyfriend are automatically entitled to a Boyfriend’s offspring.”
Roman broke down, his head dropping into his lap.
“I'll go w-with you.” somehow, his eyes were glitching, unnatural blue light igniting around his iris. “I'll g-g-go.”
More blood, this time running thick down his face.
Lily’s lips split into a grin. “I'm sorry Roman, who is Sara again?”
He scrunched up his face, fighting to keep his mind. “I… d-d-don't know.”
I hated myself for turning away, after listening to him sobbing, begging for his unborn child to be safe, his mind torn from him right in front of me. I felt sick to my stomach. Lily was revelling in every second. Was this the reality of Hire a Boyfriend? What about Cam?
Who was behind his original face?
I should have done something. I stepped forward to grasp him and pull him back. When my hands were on his shoulders, the light fizzled from Roman’s eyes, sparks flickering out.
Like a puppet, he flopped to the ground.
In a panic, I tried to pull him to his feet, before I was violently shoved back.
The redhead nodded to me. “I apologise again for the malfunction, Jane,” she told me, scooping him into her arms.
He looked so vulnerable, a fully grown man somehow reduced to a living toy.
Lily bid me goodbye, promising me discount on my next Boyfriend™️.
I thought about that day a lot. I went to the cops with a report, only for them to tell me Hire a Boyfriend did not exist.
Apparently, I had been watching too many movies.
Two months passed by, and Roman never left my mind.
In an attempt to forget about him and delude myself into believing I was suffering a psychotic break, I lost myself in podcasts. Anything I could find, I listened to endless hours, blocking out thoughts drowning me.
Yesterday, I was making my way back home from class when I walked into a dishevelled looking girl with an armful of missing posters. I already knew who she was, and who was on the poster.
I was trying to avoid her, but this girl was following me. I could sense her steps getting closer, her breath on the back of my neck. Grief enveloped her in a sickly green aura, pale cheeks and straw-like hair stuck under her hooded sweatshirt. This time, the girl situated herself in front of me, red rimmed eyes begging me to stop walking.
I did, coming to an abrupt stop, my gaze immediately flicking to a very familiar face on the missing poster.
Unlike Roman, my Boyfriend™️, this man did have flaws.
Crooked teeth flashing a grin and an oddly shaped nose. He was stockier and had the worst fashion sense imaginable, clad in socks and sandles. This time, though, the boy had a different name.
Jun.
The photo was always different, what I guessed was a collection from her Instagram. This one was particularly heart wrenching. Roman’s eyes were bright and happy, no sign of that hollow cavern I found myself lost inside. The two of them were standing in front of a mirror, his arms wrapped around her.
Whatever happened to him after he was taken had stripped Jun away.
The girl shoved the poster in my face.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
JUN LOCKE.
24.
LAST SEEN WEARING A PLAID SHIRT AND JEANS, OUTSIDE CAMPUS.
I didn't look at the face that had been perfected and moulded into the ideal boyfriend.
Into Roman.
I stared at the girl’s bulging pregnant belly instead.
Sara was getting bigger.
“Please,” She whispered, her voice a hoarse cry, one hand cradling her stomach. “Have you seen my boyfriend?”
It was always a no.
Swallowing hard, I shook my head.
Sara didn't even acknowledge my answer. She turned and walked away.
“Wait.” her name tangled in my mouth.
I felt like I was floating, my body moving for me. Stumbling after Sara, I lightly touched her arm and she twisted around, her eyes igniting with hope.
Opening my mouth, I choked on my words.
I have seen your boyfriend.
“Jane Doe! Oh my God, I haven't seen you in… years, is it? How are you doing?”
Sara’s half lidded eyes flicked to a familiar face behind me.
Lily.
This time, the woman strutted in a stylish red dress.
Her smile was too wide, too many teeth.
“Jane, can we talk?” she asked, “Woman to woman.”
Lily nodded at Sara’s belly. “Congratulations!” she winked. “I hope it's a boy!”
I had no choice, letting her pull me away from Sara.
Lily’s grasp on my arm was polite. She dragged me off campus. I thought she was going to throw me into a truck, before the redhead came to a stop.
I tried to pull away, but her grip tightened.
“It is quite painful, you know,” she said casually.
When I frowned at her, the woman prodded at her own temple. “The Neurowire is fed directly into the brain to ensure complete compliance with our Boyfriend's.” her gaze was across the road, and when I followed her eye, my heart almost jumped out of my throat.
Roman.
They had cut his hair. He was a sandy blonde now.
His colour scheme was deep blue, sporting a short sleeved shirt and jeans.
He was laughing, hand in hand with another girl.
“I'm only going to say this once, Jane, because you are a little too curious.”
I watched Roman reach for the girl’s hand. They must have changed his personality. Now he was smiling and playful, the two of them laughing. But there was a shy side to him, his cheeks blossoming red, fingers slipping through her fingers and entangling them.
“There are certain men in our society who are born to be Boyfriend's and Husbands.” Lily spoke up, and I realized she didn't just work for them.
She was Hire a Boyfriend.
“At Hire a Boyfriend, we believe everyone should have a significant other they can be with. Even if it's for an hour or two every day.” she turned to Roman, who was wrapping his arms around the girl, laughing into her hair.
The two of them seemed too close. I had a feeling this wasn't their first date.
Lily followed my gaze, her eyes narrowing. “Do you really think a man like that belongs with someone like Sara? No, sweetie. As you can see, Roman is currently being hired by Lula, our richest client, a socialite who is considering buying him as a full time Husband! Now, she is perfect for him.”
The redhead turned to me, lightly brushing my hair out of my face, the tips of her fingers tiptoeing across my temple. She had a smile I couldn't make sense of. “I have missed you, Jane. If only dear Ben didn't get his own way.”
She tried to touch me again, and I smacked her hand away.
I caught a hint of hurt in her eyes, before she sighed, grasping my chin with manicured nails and forcing me to look directly at her. “Sara is a woman who's boyfriend left her. She does not need any more stress for our baby.”
Dropping her hand, Lily’s tone hardened. “If you do not walk away and forget us, I will happily contract dear Sara into the Hire a Girlfriend program. And trust me, you of all people should know that it will be a very uncomfortable time for her. Would you like to know the conversion process? Well, allow me to explain–”
“Stop.”
My legs were close to giving way.
“I won't say anything.”
The bitch enjoyed my silence, my panicking thoughts trying to understand what she was saying. “Or we could make her a wife! There are a lot of lonely men looking for the perfect wife! Look at her. A young woman in her early twenties. Perfectly healthy and beautiful. And she's pregnant, so that's a bonus! Sara Mcintire is textbook girl next door. Exactly what we look for.”
Shaking my head, I was trembling, sweat trickling down my neck.
Lily's nails dug into my skin. “Am I clear, Jane? Or do you want me to say it again?” her lips grazed my ear, a shiver skittering down my spine, bugs filling my mouth. “Pain is beauty, after all, and we aim to create perfect Boyfriend's. I'll leave the process to your imagination.”
Stepping back, I nodded, swallowing a bout of vomit.
“Good.” she pivoted on her heel. “Keep walking and you will never see me again. Neither will pretty little Sara.”
Her voice followed me home.
“By the way, it was nice to see you again! Say hello to your boyfriend for me, all right?”
I don't have a boyfriend.
When I returned home, I felt like I was stepping inside a different apartment.
Everything seemed just like how I left it but the house was too… clean.
Too empty.
Standing in front of my bedroom mirror, I pulled out my ponytail, my fingers lightly prodding at my temple.
What did she call me again?
Jane Doe.
Maybe I was seeing things, but I'm terrified.
There it was.
How had I never seen it before?
With shaky fingers, I prodded the tiny plastic tag sticking out of me.
When I pulled it out of Roman, he knew who he was.
Who Sara was, and his unborn child.
Am/was I like Roman?
Am I a Hire a Girlfriend?
And if I pull this thing out, who was I before?
Edit: I've found hundreds of blood stained and fresh tags in my bedroom drawer. Who is changing them?
I live alone, but why does my apartment feel so empty?
Please help me. I think I'm going crazy.
2024.06.04 20:10 Ok_Ordinary_4990 Cat with probable cancer: try to raise funds or hospice care?
Hi!
TLDR is that we're unable to afford a 2000$ surgery (leg amputation) for a stray cat we recently adopted, and we're concerned that even if we did amputate, he still may not make a full recovery, as the kind of cancer he may have is unclear.
We might be able to try starting a Gofundme and other things to put it together, but even then, there is a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not it can cure him, or if we're going to make him suffer before he passes.
Is it worth it for us to try and raise funds for him or should we prioritize spoiling him rotten until his quality of life declines (in which case we'd euthanize him)?
---- For full story and details, as well as all the bits of medical information we gained and when, please keep reading ----
My partner and I have cared for an outdoor stray for a few years, but for financial and space reasons, we put off bringing him inside. He is an incredibly sweet cat, comfortable with humans and incredibly affectionate and adorable. His face looks perpetually upset, so we named him Grumpy, and we're terribly fond of him
Late April, we noticed him limping on his rear left paw, which prompted us to snag him and bring him to a vet because we thought he had a broken paw. He was eating and drinking well, but lethargic. We also had to shave swaths of matting off of him and he got a little spicy, but seemed otherwise fine, albeit weak. Around May 3rd, after some x-rays, it turns out it was a tumor on his toe, and he was originally given antibiotics in the form of a shot and told to come back in about week if its not better, to have his toe removed. It seemed to go down a touch half way through, but it didn't get better, so we got him checked out by our main vet, as this was initially done by an emergency clinic.
Around May 24th
The pre-surgery evaluation done on him was a general health checkup. We figured out his age, gave him rabies shots (the last vet didn't) learned he probably had worms, and also did a full manual evaluation of his abdomen, listening to his breathing and feeling around to see how he was. The vet told us, though stressed that he couldn't guarantee, that he didn't think it was cancer but an infection, possibly from something being stuck. This vet is awesome by the way and we greatly appreciate him.
We were booked for a neutering, a surgery to lance or possibly amputate the toe if it reached the bone, and a FIV test, based on his background. This was already a bit of a stretch for us in terms of cost, and was about 600 USD if it needed amputation, which it did.
Around May 27th After the initial surgery we were told that he does have FIV, and that they did have to remove the toe from him. Another thing to note was that there was a swollen lymph node found, I'm not sure where, but it was possible it was from him fighting off infection. It was unclear based on circumstances what caused it. We also had the option to get it biopsied and tested at the lab for cancer, which we declined due to the cost (200$). We figured that if it is cancer, we probably couldn't afford treatment, and we didn't want to have him suffer unnecessarily. We were booked for a stich removal a week-ish after and given oral antibiotics (amox) to use to help recovery.
While the FIV was an obstacle because we have non FIV cats (they were kept separate the entire time) we were under the impression he'd make a full recovery. And aside from him being upset with the cone and groggy coming off of anesthesia, he started acting incredibly happy, bright and active. He seems to be doing better than ever before and we assumed that was that he'd be fine.
One thing, which raised concerns was that halfway through, after we removed his bandages, was that his foot was oozing small amounts of blood, and this resulted in kitty litter being stuck in it, despite our best efforts to clean it. A few days before we brought him in to have his stitches removed, we noticed some swelling just above the amputated toe and we thought that it was possibly being reinfected. Again, acting otherwise a lot better
Yesterday, June 3rd
After the stitches got removed the vet told us that the lump looks like the tumor is returning (based on some of the photos we had, shortly after the bandage was removed, it wasn't that the surgery didnt take all of it out), and they strongly suspect it is cancer based on the speed. There is a pronounced lump on his foot that is now more and more clear. They cannot confirm what kind of cancer, whether it originated from elsewhere in the body or not, or how aggressive it is, etc. without a biopsy. But they did tell us that as it continues to grow it will start to necrose. It seems clear that if he is to live for a significant time after, he needs treatment
They did say that its likely if they removed his leg that would probably take out whatever was on his foot completely (again assuming it hasnt spread and its not a tumor from elsewhere). The issue is the cost. We can't afford the 1500-2000$ estimate we were given, and another issue we have is the uncertainty of how treatment will come out. Our best shot would be to start a go fund me, or other forms of fundraising, but as mentioned, we're unsure if its enough and if we should just let him be happy as long as possible.
He is currently doing incredibly well- active, happy, social, a little aggressive with the dog but otherwise seemed like he was going to make a full recovery
Should we try anyway?
We adore this cat, and would love to keep him, but we also don't want him to suffer, especially if we can't cure him. If there is a good chance he can make it with just the amputation then we'd try to fundraise, but if it is more likely than not going to cure him... we again, don't want to make him suffer. I understand no one can make a diagnosis just based on this, but given what we know, does it seem... possible, even, that he can recover with just the leg amputation?
I am NOT an expert or vet, but I did read that cancer that starts primarily in the toe tends to be aggressive, and if it is a tumor metastasized from elsewhere, its usually lung cancer, and kitty chemo is also something we can't afford- hence the concerns. Are they unfounded? The vet never raised concerns about his other organs from the abdominal exam, or found other lumps or anything.
I know no one can know or make a full diagnosis or anything like that, but it seems like if it is cancer, it seems like it may be far more money than JUST the 2k and an unclear treatment effectiveness.
Species: Cat
submitted by Ok_Ordinary_4990 to AskVet [link] [comments]
TLDR is that we're unable to afford a 2000$ surgery (leg amputation) for a stray cat we recently adopted, and we're concerned that even if we did amputate, he still may not make a full recovery, as the kind of cancer he may have is unclear.
We might be able to try starting a Gofundme and other things to put it together, but even then, there is a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not it can cure him, or if we're going to make him suffer before he passes.
Is it worth it for us to try and raise funds for him or should we prioritize spoiling him rotten until his quality of life declines (in which case we'd euthanize him)?
---- For full story and details, as well as all the bits of medical information we gained and when, please keep reading ----
My partner and I have cared for an outdoor stray for a few years, but for financial and space reasons, we put off bringing him inside. He is an incredibly sweet cat, comfortable with humans and incredibly affectionate and adorable. His face looks perpetually upset, so we named him Grumpy, and we're terribly fond of him
Late April, we noticed him limping on his rear left paw, which prompted us to snag him and bring him to a vet because we thought he had a broken paw. He was eating and drinking well, but lethargic. We also had to shave swaths of matting off of him and he got a little spicy, but seemed otherwise fine, albeit weak. Around May 3rd, after some x-rays, it turns out it was a tumor on his toe, and he was originally given antibiotics in the form of a shot and told to come back in about week if its not better, to have his toe removed. It seemed to go down a touch half way through, but it didn't get better, so we got him checked out by our main vet, as this was initially done by an emergency clinic.
Around May 24th
The pre-surgery evaluation done on him was a general health checkup. We figured out his age, gave him rabies shots (the last vet didn't) learned he probably had worms, and also did a full manual evaluation of his abdomen, listening to his breathing and feeling around to see how he was. The vet told us, though stressed that he couldn't guarantee, that he didn't think it was cancer but an infection, possibly from something being stuck. This vet is awesome by the way and we greatly appreciate him.
We were booked for a neutering, a surgery to lance or possibly amputate the toe if it reached the bone, and a FIV test, based on his background. This was already a bit of a stretch for us in terms of cost, and was about 600 USD if it needed amputation, which it did.
Around May 27th After the initial surgery we were told that he does have FIV, and that they did have to remove the toe from him. Another thing to note was that there was a swollen lymph node found, I'm not sure where, but it was possible it was from him fighting off infection. It was unclear based on circumstances what caused it. We also had the option to get it biopsied and tested at the lab for cancer, which we declined due to the cost (200$). We figured that if it is cancer, we probably couldn't afford treatment, and we didn't want to have him suffer unnecessarily. We were booked for a stich removal a week-ish after and given oral antibiotics (amox) to use to help recovery.
While the FIV was an obstacle because we have non FIV cats (they were kept separate the entire time) we were under the impression he'd make a full recovery. And aside from him being upset with the cone and groggy coming off of anesthesia, he started acting incredibly happy, bright and active. He seems to be doing better than ever before and we assumed that was that he'd be fine.
One thing, which raised concerns was that halfway through, after we removed his bandages, was that his foot was oozing small amounts of blood, and this resulted in kitty litter being stuck in it, despite our best efforts to clean it. A few days before we brought him in to have his stitches removed, we noticed some swelling just above the amputated toe and we thought that it was possibly being reinfected. Again, acting otherwise a lot better
Yesterday, June 3rd
After the stitches got removed the vet told us that the lump looks like the tumor is returning (based on some of the photos we had, shortly after the bandage was removed, it wasn't that the surgery didnt take all of it out), and they strongly suspect it is cancer based on the speed. There is a pronounced lump on his foot that is now more and more clear. They cannot confirm what kind of cancer, whether it originated from elsewhere in the body or not, or how aggressive it is, etc. without a biopsy. But they did tell us that as it continues to grow it will start to necrose. It seems clear that if he is to live for a significant time after, he needs treatment
They did say that its likely if they removed his leg that would probably take out whatever was on his foot completely (again assuming it hasnt spread and its not a tumor from elsewhere). The issue is the cost. We can't afford the 1500-2000$ estimate we were given, and another issue we have is the uncertainty of how treatment will come out. Our best shot would be to start a go fund me, or other forms of fundraising, but as mentioned, we're unsure if its enough and if we should just let him be happy as long as possible.
He is currently doing incredibly well- active, happy, social, a little aggressive with the dog but otherwise seemed like he was going to make a full recovery
Should we try anyway?
We adore this cat, and would love to keep him, but we also don't want him to suffer, especially if we can't cure him. If there is a good chance he can make it with just the amputation then we'd try to fundraise, but if it is more likely than not going to cure him... we again, don't want to make him suffer. I understand no one can make a diagnosis just based on this, but given what we know, does it seem... possible, even, that he can recover with just the leg amputation?
I am NOT an expert or vet, but I did read that cancer that starts primarily in the toe tends to be aggressive, and if it is a tumor metastasized from elsewhere, its usually lung cancer, and kitty chemo is also something we can't afford- hence the concerns. Are they unfounded? The vet never raised concerns about his other organs from the abdominal exam, or found other lumps or anything.
I know no one can know or make a full diagnosis or anything like that, but it seems like if it is cancer, it seems like it may be far more money than JUST the 2k and an unclear treatment effectiveness.
Species: Cat
- Age: Barely 5, supposedly
- Sex/Neuter status: Male, recently neutered
- Breed: Stray? Longish hair, smushed face, possibly a
- Body weight: About 9.5 lbs
- Your general location: Northern West Virginia
- Links to test results, vet reports, X-rays etc.
- N/A
2024.06.04 18:01 DTG_Bot Destiny 2 Update 8.0.0.1
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/destiny_2_update_8_0_0_1
submitted by DTG_Bot to LowSodiumDestiny [link] [comments]
Activities
Crucible
- Competitive will now use the Blended “1-1-1" Special Ammo system in place of the Crates system. We will begin rolling this system out to other playlists soon.
- Adjusted spawns on Altar of Flame and Dead Cliffs for Countdown Rush to improve match balance.
- Updated Private Match screens to support expanded options and to improve usability.
- Updated sound effects for rank promotion and defense toasts in Competitive to better convey success or failure.
- Fixed an issue where Relic meter was not correctly progressing in Relic.
- Fixed an issue where Private Match activity modifiers would display inaccurately.
Shadowkeep
- Fixed an issue in the mission Beyond where players would sometimes get stuck without the activity progressing them correctly.
Warlord’s Ruin
- Fixed an issue in Warlord's Ruin where the sound effect that occurs after a player is frozen by the tempest storm did not play correctly.
Crota’s End
- Fixed an issue preventing completion of the All for One challenge and associated Triumph.
The Pantheon
- Fixed an issue where The Pantheon emblems appeared in the General category rather than the Raids category in Collections.
UI/UX
General
- Added a gameplay subtitles option that displays the speaker's name before their dialog.
- This option is off by default. To activate it, navigate to the Options menu and toggle it to on.
- This feature does not affect cinematic subtitles.
- Added Reputation Boost information for ritual activities to the Director.
- Hovering over the Rituals nodes at the top of the Director (Vanguard Ops, Crucible, Gambit) will display when reputation boosts are active.
- Fixed an issue where dungeon tracking stats were not displayed on emblems.
Fireteam Finder
- Improved placement and visuals of the Reselecting Activity button so players have better access to it.
- Fixed an issue where Fireteam Finder lobbies for Crucible Labs weren't allowing the correct max number of players for the activity.
- Fixed an issue where in some Fireteam Finder applications, player status was not displayed properly.
Guardian Ranks/Journey Screen
- Made visual and functional improvements to the Journey screen and Guardian Ranks icons.
- Fixed an issue where the Cherished Guardian Rank objective displayed the incorrect Commendation score requirement.
Quests
- Added Milestones to the quest log.
- Milestones will not count against a player's maximum quest/bounty capacity.
- Tracked quests will be sorted to the top of their categories when the quest log is reloaded next.
- Added an option to set a specific Quest tab as the default.
- The default Quest tab will be the first tab opened when the quest log is loaded.
- Added text to the Quest tooltip to communicate when a Quest is directly launchable from its Quest Details screen.
Gameplay and Investment
Abilities
All Subclasses- All Super abilities now use the same damage-based recharge parameters.
- Previously, energy gained through damage dealt and received was scaled based on the passive recharge rate of the Super, resulting in a broader delta between long-recharge Supers and short-recharge Supers than intended.
- This will, for example, bring the real-world uptime of Ward of Dawn and Well of Radiance closer to the uptime of a Super like Arc Staff or Fists of Havoc.
- Arcstrider
- Arc Staff:
- Heavy palm strike attacks and heavy air slam blind enemies.
- Disorienting Blow:
- Decreased base cooldown time from 100 seconds to 90 seconds.
- Tempest Strike:
- Added additional damage resistance vs. PvE combatants when activated, lingering for a short duration after the attack.
- Arc Staff:
- Striker
- Knockout
- Increased bonus damage granted to powered melee attacks vs. PvE combatants from 25% to 50%.
- Reworked healing behavior:
- No longer unstuns health regeneration on melee defeats. Now instantly grants a chunk of healing that scales with the type of target defeated.
- Player: 30 health points.
- Minor combatant: 50 health points.
- Major combatant: 75 health points.
- Champion+ combatant: 100 health points.
- Touch of Thunder
- Lightning Grenade:
- Now applies Jolt after the first damage event, rather than prior.
- This means that the Jolt won't instantly pop on application, and attackers will need to either wait for the second lightning burst from the grenade or deal additional damage via other means to trigger the Jolt's chain lightning.
- Storm Grenade:
- Increased tracking travel speed when targeting PvE combatants by between 0.5 and 1 meters per second, increasing with the storm’s lifetime.
- Lightning Grenade:
- Thunderclap
- Added additional damage resistance vs. PvE combatants when activated, lingering for a short duration after the attack.
- Increased minimum damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Increased maximum damage vs. PvE combatants by 33%.
- Increased maximum damage vs. enemy players by 14%.
- Knockout
- Stormcaller
- Lightning Surge
- Added additional damage resistance vs. PvE combatants when activated, lingering for a short duration after the attack.
- This is intended to help players survive during the final lightning strike performance until the player returns to first person and can maneuver out of danger
- Ball Lightning
- Increased the final arming shape size by 30%.
- Fixed an issue where the arming shape was offset upward, higher than the maximum damage range of the projectile’s detonation.
- Chain Lightning
- Increased secondary chain projectile’s base damage from 27 to 54.
- Lightning Surge
- Arc Grenades
- Storm Grenade:
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Touch of Thunder variant’s damage is unchanged.
- Skip Grenade:
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 15%.
- Arcbolt Grenade:
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 15%.
- Storm Grenade:
- Arc Fragments
- Spark of Recharge:
- Ability regeneration bonus now persists until the player returns to full shields, rather than deactivating as soon as shields begin to recharge.
- Spark of Beacons:
- Now also triggers on defeating targets with Arc Power ammo weapons while amplified.
- Spark of Frequency:
- Now also grants 15 weapon stability on powered melee hit, in addition to its reload benefit.
- Spark of Recharge:
- Solar General
- Restoration
- Restoration’s full-body visual effects now reduce their intensity while the player's Super is active.
- Cure
- Cure's healing now takes place over 0.1 seconds rather than instantly.
- This change is unlikely to affect Cure's efficacy in a meaningful way but is primarily intended to improve the readability of Cure's heal in the middle of combat in the UI.
- Cure's healing now takes place over 0.1 seconds rather than instantly.
- Restoration
- Gunslinger
- Lightweight Knife
- Now has 2 melee charges by default.
- Increased throw animation speed by 33%.
- Reduced suppression time between throws, so both knives can be thrown very quickly back-to-back.
- The additional melee charge does not stack with Ophidia Spathe, due to the Exotic’s unique energy recharge behavior. We’ll be monitoring this and evaluating how things are playing once things go live.
- Knock 'Em Down
- Reduced internal cooldown on throwing knife refund from 1 second to 0.2 seconds.
- Gunpowder Gamble
- Fixed an issue where Gunpowder Gamble was unable to damage Strand Tangles.
- Golden Gun - Marksman
- Reduced strength of Orbs of Power created on precision hit as follows:
- When hitting non-boss enemies, reduced strength from 0.75x to 0.5x of a normal Super Orb of Power.
- When hitting boss enemies, reduced strength from 0.75x to about 0.4x of a normal Super Orb of Power.
- When hitting boss enemies while Star-Eater Scales is equipped, reduced strength from 0.75x to about 0.35x of a normal Super Orb of Power.
- Reduced strength of Orbs of Power created on precision hit as follows:
- Lightweight Knife
- Sunbreaker
- Consecration
- Consecration’s slam attack can now shatter Stasis crystals.
- Ignitions generated by Consecration now deal 20% additional damage to PvE combatants.
- Fixed an issue where Consecration’s slam attack was sometimes unable to damage floating combatants while they were grounded.
- Fixed an issue where Consecration’s intended PvE damage resistance was not being applied.
- Hammer of Sol
- Increased projectile submunition count when Sol Invictus is not equipped as follows:
- If the projectile detonates within the first 0.7 seconds of its lifetime, it now creates 4 shrapnel submunitions, up from 3.
- If the projectile detonates after the first 0.7 seconds of its lifetime, it now creates 6 shrapnel, up from 5.
- When Sol Invictus is equipped, only 3 shrapnel submunitions are created, regardless of flight time.
- Shrapnel submunitions now deal additional damage when Sol Invictus is not equipped, with the damage increasing after the first 0.7 seconds of the projectile's lifetime.
- Increased projectile submunition count when Sol Invictus is not equipped as follows:
- Consecration
- Dawnblade
- Heat Rises
- Fixed an issue where throwing some grenades while Heat Rises was equipped would produce Void visual effects on the player's hands during the throw.
- Well of Radiance
- Now grants radiant for 8 seconds when players exit the Well of Radiance area.
- Reduced player survivability while standing in the Well of Radiance aura.
- Reduced healing per second from 100 to 50 health points, matching restoration x2.
- Increased heal on cast from 40 to 300 health points.
- Reduced damage resistance vs. non-boss combatants from 40% to 20%.
- Reduced damage resistance vs. boss combatants from 40% to 10%.
- Damage resistance vs. enemy players is unchanged.
- Increased maximum Orbs of Power from defeating targets while in the player's Well of Radiance aura from 4 to 5.
- Solar Grenades
- Swarm Grenade
- Increased tracking shape size from 4 meters to 6 meters.
- Increased linger duration from 7-8 seconds to 10-11 seconds.
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Swarm Grenade
- Heat Rises
- Void General
- Fixed an issue where Volatile could fail to auto-detonate if the target was defeated by the damage event that applied the Volatile effect.
- Nightstalker
- Snare Bomb
- Increased linger duration of smoke after detonation from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Now applies small damage over time to enemies in the smoke, which increases in strength the longer they remain in the smoke.
- Trapper's Ambush
- Increased linger duration of the smoke after detonation from 4.5 seconds to 6 seconds.
- Now applies Snare Bomb’s damage over time to enemies caught in its smoke.
- Fixed an issue where Trapper’s Ambush’s smoke effects could be obstructed by ground geometry.
- Stylish Executioner
- Stylish Executioner’s weaken effect can now be applied by Glaive melee attacks.
- Snare Bomb
- Sentinel
- Shield Throw:
- Increased maximum bounce count from 4 to 5.
- Increased maximum lifetime from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
- Now increases its tracking shape size and strength after each bounce, increasing its ability to consistently find a new target.
- Slightly increased gravity and decreased thrust speed with each bounce.
- Increased damage vs. PvE targets by 20%.
- Ward of Dawn:
- Armor of Light:
- Removed Armor of Light overshield. Ward of Dawn now immediately applies a full Void Overshield to the caster and allies that enter its dome.
- Armor of Light now instead grants additional damage resistance to players inside the Ward of Dawn:30% vs. enemy players and 60% vs. enemy combatants.
- Effective health of players inside the Ward of Dawn dome remains roughly the same as it was before vs. PvE combatants.
- Effective health of players inside the Ward of Dawn is significantly lower than it was before vs.other players in PvP, and cannot be further increased by stacking Bastion Barricades inside the Ward to gain additional Overshield layers.
- No longer provides Weapons of Light by default. This behavior has been moved to the benefits of Helm of Saint-14.
- Allies near the Ward of Dawn dome now have Void Overshield trickled on over time, similar to the volume behind a Bastion barricade.
- This trickle rate is reduced in PvP activities.
- The Ward of Dawn caster can now generate additional Orbs of Power by defeating enemies with melee attacks in or near their Ward of Dawn dome. Up to a maximum of 5.
- Armor of Light:
- Offensive Bulwark
- Can now only extend Void Overshield’s timer to its normal maximum duration, to prevent an issue where players could get into a bad timer state.
- Now regenerates a small portion of the player's active Void Overshield with each melee defeat.
- Shield Throw:
- Voidwalker
- Chaos Accelerant
- Magnetic Grenade
- Increased maximum intensity of physics knockback impulse by 10%.
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Now passively decreases the player's Magnetic Grenade’s cooldown by 10% while Chaos Accelerant is equipped.
- Magnetic Grenade
- Pocket Singularity
- Increased detonation damage vs. PvE combatants by about 50%.
- Nova Bomb
- Cataclysm variant:
- Increased seeker count from 4 to 6.
- Fixed an issue where seekers could impact the environment on creation.
- Vortex variant:
- Increased Vortex linger duration from 7 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Fixed an issue where the linger visual effects were shutting off early.
- Cataclysm variant:
- Void Grenades
- Suppressor Grenade
- Damage radius now matches Suppression radius.
- This does not meaningfully change the damage profile of the grenade but is intended to provide additional feedback to the player when they have successfully Suppressed a target.
- Voidwall Grenade
- Fixed an issue where the central damage volume was offset significantly lower than the left and right volumes.
- Suppressor Grenade
- Void Fragments
- Echo of Instability
- Can now be activated by defeating targets with Forerunner's The Rock grenade.
- No longer displays its HUD buff text unless a Void weapon is readied.
- Echo of Instability
- Chaos Accelerant
- Stasis General
- New Frost Armor keyword:
- You are fortified by layers of durable Stasis matter, reducing incoming damage. Frost Armor damage resistance grows stronger as the player gains additional stacks.
- Reduces damage from PvE combatants by 4.5% per stack and from enemy players by 2% per stack.
- Stasis Shatter
- Increased base PvE shatter damage from 200 to 400.
- Fixed an issue where bosses auto-shattering were being hit by two instances of shatter damage.
- Fixed an issue where players in an active Super would show immune damage flyouts when automatically breaking out of Stasis freeze.
- New Frost Armor keyword:
- Revenant
- Grim Harvest
- Added new behavior:
- While Grim Harvest is equipped, Stasis Shards grant a small amount of health and a stack of Frost Armor.
- Large Stasis Shards from Grim Harvest grant more health and Frost Armor stacks.
- Now has a standardized cooldown when a large number of Shards are created very quickly.
- Added new behavior:
- Winter's Shroud
- Added new behavior:
- Slowing targets briefly increases the player's class ability regeneration rate.
- Bonus is reduced in PvP game modes.
- Now grants PvE damage reduction when activated.
- Touch of Winter
- Coldsnap Grenade:
- No longer chains an additional time while Touch of Winter is equipped.
- Instead, seekers now duplicate when they freeze a target.
- Second and third seeker chains now create a medium and large Stasis crystal respectively, rather than every chain creating a small crystal.
- Glacier Grenade:
- Added an additional Stasis crystal to the ring formation, increasing total count from 6 to 7.
- Glacier Grenade ring now forms over 0.27 seconds, rather than instantly.
- Silence & Squall
- Increased Squall maximum travel speed by 10%.
- Squall storm now slows down when any target is within its area of effect to reduce instances where it could overshoot its target.
- Increased damage and slow tick rate vs. PvE combatants by about 40%, bringing its freeze time from approximately 0.8 seconds to ~0.5 seconds.
- Added new behavior:
- Grim Harvest
- Behemoth
- Tectonic Harvest
- Added new behavior:
- While Tectonic Harvest is equipped, Stasis Shards grant a small amount of health and a stack of Frost Armor.
- Now creates a Stasis Shard when shattering a frozen target in addition to shattering Stasis crystals.
- Now has a standardized cooldown when a large number of Shards are created very quickly.
- Added new behavior:
- Glacial Quake
- Now automatically begins sprinting when the player throttles forward.
- This change should make Shattering the player's Stasis Crystals significantly more intuitive in the heat of combat.
- Increased on-cast Freeze impulse radius vs. PvE combatants from 6 meters to 8 meters.
- Now automatically begins sprinting when the player throttles forward.
- Shiver Strike
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 10%.
- Increased size of melee target search area cone by about 50%.
- Increased maximum lunge tracking angular speed from 7 degrees per second to 21 degrees per second.
- The end result of these changes is that Shiver Strike misses significantly less and is able to bend its lunge trajectory more to find a target within its search area.
- Diamond Lance
- Increased thrown Diamond Lance detonation radius from 3.5 meters to 5 meters.
- Increased Diamond Lance slam detonation radius from 6.75 meters to 8 meters vs. PvE combatants.
- Diamond Lance now shatters Stasis crystals on direct impact.
- Reduced Diamond Lance pickup interaction time from 0.2 seconds to 0.1 seconds, matching Strand Tangles.
- Increased Diamond Lance pickup interaction radius from 0.7 meters to 3 meters, matching Strand Tangles.
- Cryoclasm
- Removed sprint time requirement. Cryoclasm now goes on cooldown for 4 seconds after one extended slide.
- Tectonic Harvest
- Shadebinder
- Glacial Harvest
- Added new behavior:
- While Glacial Harvest is equipped, Stasis Shards grant a small amount of health and a stack of Frost Armor.
- Now has a standardized cooldown when a large number of Shards are created very quickly.
- Added new behavior:
- Iceflare Bolts
- Increased maximum seekers created before going on cooldown from 5 to 7.
- Glacial Harvest
- Stasis Fragments
- Whisper of Rime reworked:
- No longer grants a Stasis Shard Overshield when collecting a Stasis Shard.
- Now increases the maximum duration and stack count of the player's Frost Armor.
- Whisper of Chains reworked:
- No longer grants passive damage resistance when near a Stasis crystal or frozen target.
- Now grants a chance to create a Stasis Shard when defeating a target while the player have one or more stacks of Frost Armor.
- Whisper of Fractures reworked:
- No longer increases melee energy regeneration while surrounded by enemies.
- Now grants a stack of Frost Armor when the player shatters any frozen target with a melee attack.
- Whisper of Torment
- Grenade energy gains are no longer dependent on the player's current health value. Base grenade energy regeneration amount per incoming damage event increased from 5% to 7%.
- While the player has Frost Armor, energy per damage event increases from 7% to 12%.
- Whisper of Chill - New Fragment:
- Stasis weapon final blows have a chance to create a Stasis Shard.
- Whisper of Reversal - New Fragment:
- While the player has Frost Armor, dealing or receiving physical melee (i.e., not projectile melee) damage slows the player's victim or attacker.
- Whisper of Rime reworked:
- Strand General
- Grapple Tangles
- No longer fully refresh their duration when Grappled to.
- Now increase their duration by a maximum of 5 seconds per Grapple, reducing to a maximum of 1 second added after 5 consecutive Grapples to the same Grapple Tangle.
- Grapple Melee
- Can no longer be activated after firing a weapon, similar to sprint-or-slide-activated melee abilities.
- Tangles
- Tangles will now be paired with the text "Pick Up Tangle" instead of only "Pick Up".
- Grapple Tangles
- Threadrunner
- Ensnaring Slam
- Detonation volume vs. enemy players is now a cylinder with a 6.5-meter radius, rather than a sphere with an 8-meter radius.
- This results in fewer instances of victims correctly attempting to counterplay by jumping but being caught by the Ensnaring Slam detonation high up in the air.
- Detonation volume vs. enemy players is now a cylinder with a 6.5-meter radius, rather than a sphere with an 8-meter radius.
- Threaded Specter
- Arming shape vs. PvE combatants now grows more quickly, resulting in more responsive detonations when used in close quarters.
- Threaded Spike
- Reduced damage vs. enemy players from 79 to 70.
- Catching a Threaded Spike no longer breaks invisibility.
- Ensnaring Slam
- Berserker
- Into the Fray
- Reduced melee energy regeneration scalar from 4x to 3x in PvE activities.
- Unchanged in PvP activities.
- Banner of War
- Reduced maximum timer from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Melee, Glaive melee, and Super damage bonus now have diminishing returns with Synthoceps as follows:
- Melee bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.15x.
- Glaive melee bonuses decreased from 1.25x to 1.125x.
- Super bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.2x.
- Melee and Glaive melee damage bonuses now have diminishing returns with Wormgod Caress, too.
- Melee bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.1x, based on stack count.
- Glaive melee bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.05x, based on stack count.
- Frenzied Blade / Bladefury
- Reduced the forward offset for melee lunge target point from 0.4 meters to 0.18 meters.
- This should reduce instances where attempting to lunge to a target while at very close range resulted in the character lunging backwards.
- Reduced the forward offset for melee lunge target point from 0.4 meters to 0.18 meters.
- Into the Fray
- Broodweaver
- Weaver's Call
- Added new behavior:
- Defeating a target with Strand damage now has a chance to generate a perched Threadling, with a higher chance of generation from defeating more powerful targets.
- This damage can be from any source, including other Threadlings.
- Added new behavior:
- Weaver's Call
- Strand Fragments
- Thread of Warding
- Reduced Woven Mail duration on Orb of Power pickup from 10 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Thread of Propagation
- No longer displays its HUD buff text unless a Strand weapon is readied. ###Exotic Armor
- Thread of Warding
- Exotic armor can now be upgraded after it has been fully masterworked, granting an Artifice mod slot.
- This comes at the cost of an Exotic Cipher and 10,000 Glimmer.
- Hunter
- Renewal Grasps
- Replaced generic damage resistance with Frost Armor:
- On entering your Duskfield Grenade volume, you or allies gain a stack of Frost Armor.
- About every 0.9 seconds, an additional stack of Frost Armor is granted, resetting the timer.
- Replaced generic damage resistance with Frost Armor:
- Triton Vice
- Glaive projectile final blows now always trigger a detonation that matches the Glaive's damage type, even when the Glaive does not match the equipped subclass.
- The surrounded effect provided by Triton Vice while wielding a Glaive now lingers on the player for five seconds after no longer being surrounded.
- The Sixth Coyote
- Now creates an Orb of Power from final blows after using a class ability in addition to its previous behavior.
- This is implemented as the Exotic granting a free copy of the Reaper armor mod's effects.
- Now creates an Orb of Power from final blows after using a class ability in addition to its previous behavior.
- Star-Eater Scales
- Increased the Orbs of Power required to grant maximum benefits from 4 to 6.
- Reduced the increased Super energy gained per Orb of Power when the Golden Gun is equipped from 2% down to 0.5%.
- Fixed an issue where the Super damage boost for attacks that occur quickly after initial cast, such as Shadowshot at close range, was not always applied.
- Fixed an issue where a player could maintain the damage bonus after removing Star-Eater Scales.
- Foetracer
- Now grants the bonus damage it inflicts on a target to weapons. The damage type also matches that of the ability used to damage that target, instead of always matching the equipped subclass.
- Assassin's Cowl
- Now requires the player to expend a melee charge (or defeat an enemy via a finisher) to activate.
- Mask of Bakris
- Now requires a Stasis Super to be equipped, instead of a Stasis subclass.
- Re-enabled the "Light Shift" debuff in the HUD when a class ability is not recharging.
- This is a cosmetic-only change to keep the cooldown visible even while not holding a weapon that benefits from its damage boost.
- Fixed an issue where Mask of Bakris applied a Tier 2 damage buff instead of a Tier 4 and failed to display the time remaining on a certain Solar weapon.
- Additionally, the Solar damage buff will now function in the Crucible.
- The Bombardiers
- Now triggers an effect based on the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Celestial Nighthawk
- Fixed an issue where players could swap from Celestial Nighthawk to Knucklehead Radar after activating their Super and be granted the benefits from both Exotics.
- Dragons Shadow
- Now triggers its effects when the player uses Ensnaring Slam or the new Ascension Arc Aspect.
- Liars Handshake
- Counterpunch now does Arc damage instead of Kinetic.
- Renewal Grasps
- Titan
- Helm of Saint-14
- Now causes the wearer's Ward of Dawn to apply the Weapons of Light buff to allies.
- Ursa Furiosa
- Now provides increased movement speed while guarding with the new Unbreakable Void Aspect.
- Also grants Super energy for guarding with Unbreakable that scales based on the amount of incoming damage the shield absorbs.
- Eternal Warrior
- No longer requires an Arc subclass for Arc final blows to grant its escalating Arc weapon damage bonus.
- Armamentarium
- Now creates an Orb of Power from grenade final blows in addition to its previous behavior.
- This is implemented as the Exotic granting a free copy of the Firepower armor mod's effects.
- Now creates an Orb of Power from grenade final blows in addition to its previous behavior.
- Khepri's Horn
- Increased the damage from the Solar blast by 100% in PvE.
- The Solar blast now Scorches each time it hits a target, instead of Scorching only once.
- Khepri's Horn now benefits from Ember of Eruption and Ember of Ashes (+30 Scorch in PvE and +15 Scorch in PvP).
- Synthoceps
- Reduced the amount of time that Bionic Enhancements lingers after no longer being surrounded, from 8 seconds to 5 seconds. This duration is now visible as a timer on the buff.
- Severance Enclosure
- Now requires the player to expend a melee charge (or defeat an enemy via a finisher) to activate.
- Its explosions now require line of sight to damage enemies. We also reduced the knockback intensity of these explosions, which will now launch enemies more consistently vertically.
- Heart of Inmost Light
- Now displays a single, consolidated status effect icon in the HUD to communicate its state, instead of the two to three it used before.
- The functionality of the Exotic is unchanged.
- Now displays a single, consolidated status effect icon in the HUD to communicate its state, instead of the two to three it used before.
- One-Eyed Mask
- Fixed an issue where the negative status effects applied to victims by One-Eyed Mask no longer persist after death.
- Precious Scars
- Now requires a weapon matching the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Hoarfrost-Z
- Now requires a Stasis Super to be equipped, instead of a Stasis subclass.
- Cadmus Ridge Lancecap
- Now requires a Stasis Super to be equipped, instead of a Stasis subclass.
- Lorely Splendor
- Now requires a Solar Super to be equipped, instead of a Solar subclass.
- No Back Up Plans
- Now requires a Void Super to be equipped, instead of a Void subclass.
- Path of Burning Steps
- Now requires a Solar Super to be equipped, instead of a Solar subclass.
- Hallowfire Heart
- Now requires a Solar Super to be equipped, instead of a Solar subclass.
- Helm of Saint-14
- Warlock
- Ballidorse Wrathweavers
- Replaced Stasis Shard Overshield with Frost Armor.
- Activating a Rift grants the player and nearby allies the maximum Frost Armor stacks when Frostpulse is equipped.
- Activating a Winter's Wrath shatter attack grants nearby allies the maximum amount of stacks of Frost Armor. When Winter's Wrath ends, the player gains maximum stacks of Frost Armor.
- Mantle of Battle Harmony
- Now grants Super energy ranging between +1.5% and +4.5%, depending on the target type killed.
- Removed the 2-second cooldown for the perk's activation.
- Now requires a weapon matching the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Secant Filaments
- Updated Secant Filaments to require a Void Super instead of a Void subclass.
- Secant Filaments Empowering Rift will now reset a player's existing Devour buff duration back to 11 seconds when they enter it, in addition to its previous behavior.
- Fixed an issue where Secant Filament's Overload Rift was removing anti-Champion capabilities granted by the artifact.
- Sunbracers
- Reduced the increased Solar Grenade duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Reduced its increased grenade recharge rate to allow a max of 4 grenades while the effect is active, down from 5.
- Fixed an issue where Sunbracers would not remove the "Sunbracers Ready" buff from the player when they throw a grenade.
- Cenotaph Mask
- Multiple players using Cenotaph Mask can no longer trigger its effect using a single enemy target.
- Cenotaph's target lock visual marker is now hidden for the Exotic's wearer and only appears to the wearer’s allies.
- Verity's Brow
- Now requires final blows with a weapon matching the player's grenade damage type, instead of one matching the equipped subclass.
- Felwinter's Helm
- Now requires the player to expend a melee charge (or defeat an enemy via a finisher) to activate.
- Wings of Sacred Dawn
- Updated its description to correctly indicate that its effects are only active with Dawnblade equipped, rather than all Solar Supers.
- Contraverse Hold
- Updated its description to clarify it only works with Void grenades charged with the Chaos Accelerant Aspect.
- Chromatic Fire
- Now triggers an effect based on the player's equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Promethium Spur
- Now works with any equipped Solar Super.
- Sanguine Alchemy
- Now requires a weapon matching the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Vesper of Radius
- The ability for the shockwave to blind now requires an Arc Super to be equipped, instead of an Arc subclass.
- Karnstein Armlets
- Fixed an issue where Karnstein Armlet's visual effects were not functioning correctly.
- Necrotic Grips
- Updated Necrotic Grips description to note that it requires a melee and that it works against both combatants and players. ###Armor Mods
- Ballidorse Wrathweavers
- The Artifice mod socket icon has been updated to make it more distinct.
- Removed the energy cost from raid-specific armor mods.
- Updated all Harmonic armor mods to change their element based on the currently equipped Super, rather than subclass.
- This behavior is also now explained in their descriptions.
- A Strand Resistance mod has been added.
- Additionally, Harmonic Resistance is now compatible with Strand.
- Heavy Ammo Finder and Special Ammo Finder armor mods now persist their progress towards an ammo brick through death.
- Heavy Ammo Finder and Special Ammo Finder armor mods no longer function in Crucible, and opposing-team kills will no longer grant Ammo Finder progress in Gambit.
- Heavy Ammo Finder and Special Ammo Finder armor mods have had their kill requirements increased by 20% for Guardians in a fireteam.
- Solo Guardian requirements are unchanged.
- Fixed an issue where Orb of Power mods would not pick up Orbs when Super energy was full. Mods affected are:
- Recuperation (Leg Armor Mod)
- Better Already (Leg Armor Mod)
- Innervation (Leg Armor Mod)
- Invigoration (Leg Armor Mod)
- Insulation (Leg Armor Mod)
- Absolution (Leg Armor Mod)
- Orbs of Restoration (Leg Armor Mod)
- Powerful Friends (Helmet Armor Mod)
- Fixed an issue where multiple copies of Empowered Finisher could be active at once in rare cases.
- Additionally, corrected an issue where its tooltip did not describe it as having no stacking benefits. ###Other
- Fixed an issue where older Solstice armor did not display the correct glow color when using a Strand or Stasis Super.
Weapons
- Updated Heavy, Adaptive, and Aggressive Burst weapon intrinsic names to match burst count across all weapon archetypes. Functionality is unchanged.
- 2-burst: Heavy Burst
- Includes Sidearms, Hand Cannons, and Pulse Rifles.
- 3-burst: Adaptive Burst
- Includes Sidearms, Linear Fusion Rifles, and Adaptive Pulse Rifles.
- 4-burst: Aggressive Burst
- Includes Pulse Rifles.
- 2-burst: Heavy Burst
- Removed the foundry name from the Veist Rapid-Fire, Häkke Precision, and Omolon Adaptive weapon intrinsics.
Weapon Archetypes
- Exotic Primary Weapons and Trace Rifles
- Reduced damage bonus versus Minors from 40% to 30% (except Fighting Lion).
- Exotic Primary Weapons and Trace Rifles benefit from the below damage buffs versus Minor combatants.
- Increased base PvE damage versus all combatants.
- Pulse Rifles: 20%
- Exceptions: Graviton Lance and Revision Zero's Heavy Burst mode. (These both have an intrinsic PvE damage buff built in.)
- Pellet Shotguns: 10%
- Exceptions: Legend of Acrius, Tractor Cannon, Conditional Finality, and The Fourth Horseman. (These are all already performing as intended.)
- Slug Shotguns: 9%
- Fusion Rifles: 7%
- Exceptions: One Thousand Voices. (This one was just buffed.)
- Sniper Rifles: 7%
- Exceptions: Izanagi's Burden's Honed Edge shots and Cloudstrike's storm. (These are both performing well.)
- Glaive projectiles: 7%
- Linear Fusion Rifles: 5%
- Pulse Rifles: 20%
- Increased damage versus Minors (red bars)—this stacks with the base PvE damage increase.
- Sidearms, Trace Rifles, Scout Rifles, and Bows: 20%
- Auto Rifles and Pulse Rifles: 15%
- For Pulse Rifles, this is in addition to the above buff, and Graviton Lance and Revision Zero's Heavy Burst mode are included.
- I.e. Pulse Rifles will do 1.2 * 1.15 = 38% more damage to red bars.
- Submachine Guns: 10%
- Hand Cannons: 5%
- Increased damage versus Major combatants (orange bars).
- Trace Rifles: 20%
- Increased damage globally, including PvP.
- Machine Guns: 7%
- Swords: 7%
- With these damage increases, the following Spec mods have been retired:
- Boss Spec, Taken Spec, Minor Spec, Major Spec, and Adept Big Ones Spec.
- Scout Rifle
- Updated the hip-fire reticle to better show accuracy and aim-assist state.
- Hand Cannons
- General
- Reduced the screen shake dealt to players by Hand Cannon projectile impacts by 33% (does not affect flinch dealt to Combatants).
- Heavy Burst
- Reduced the base recoil of this sub-family to make them more stable.
- Aggressives
- Improved the stats of two Aggressive Hand Cannons that are returning in The Final Shape to be more competitive with our current offerings.
- Crimil's Dagger (Iron Banner)
- Stability: 23 to 31
- Handling: 23 to 31
- Magazine Size: 8 to 9
- Airborne Effectiveness: 10 to 21
- Something New (Solstice)
- Stability: 27 to 30
- Handling: 24 to 30
- Magazine Size: 8 to 9
- Improved the stats of two Aggressive Hand Cannons that are returning in The Final Shape to be more competitive with our current offerings.
- General
- Sniper Rifles
- Increased minimum reserves from 14 to 17 shots; maximum reserve is unchanged.
- Changed the way flinch works when taking damage from players (this does not affect incoming damage from combatants).
- Increased the screen shake duration by 25%.
- Increased the screen shake intensity by 350%.
- Reduced the camera roll by 25%.
- Linear Fusion Rifles
- Reduced firing animation kick and recoil for Adaptive Linear Fusion Rifles.
- Kinetic damage type weapons
- No longer deal bonus damage to bosses; damage to other combatant tiers is unchanged.
- For example, a kinetic Sniper Rifle and a Stasis Sniper Rifle of the same subfamily will both deal the same damage to a boss.
- No longer deal bonus damage to bosses; damage to other combatant tiers is unchanged.
- Wave Grenade Launchers
- The size of the wave is now affected by the blast radius stat. This will mostly impact the width of the wave, though the length and height will also be scaled.
- The default display stat for the blast radius has been changed from 100 to 50 (where 50 represents the previous baseline—any stat over 50 will result in a larger wave segment than what was possible before).
- Special ammo Wave – Frame Grenade Launchers overperform as add clear weapons in their current state, so we've pulled the length of the wave back a little.
- Reduced the length of the waves from 22 meters to 15 meters (except for Dead Messenger).
- The size of the wave is now affected by the blast radius stat. This will mostly impact the width of the wave, though the length and height will also be scaled.
- Swords
- Updated the Sword reticle to better indicate its charge state. When Sword energy is consumed, the amount of delay the Sword has before it begins to recharge now subtly appears in the reticle.
- Fixed an issue where the Overwhelming Battlesong debuff from some missions would prevent Swords from recharging or losing energy while guarding.
- Fixed an issue where unpowered caster Sword heavy attacks would not reset the Sword's energy recharge delay.
- Fixed an issue where uncharged adaptive Sword heavy attacks cost the same amount of ammo as their charged counterparts. They now cost 1 ammo, same as other uncharged heavy attacks.
- Rocket Sidearms
- Added a slight delay to the detonation to allow perks to activate correctly if they required precision kills. ###Exotics
- Non-precision based add clear-Exotic Primary weapons:
- Reduced splash damage by 10% on the following weapons:
- Sunshot
- Trinity Ghoul
- Polaris Lance
- Graviton Lance
- Reduced splash damage by 10% on the following weapons:
- Rat King
- Swapped the firing animation to the same one used by other auto-fire Sidearms.
- Dead Man's Tale
- Baseline:
- Cranial Spike stacks now grant stability in addition to aim assist stat and range (+2 per stack).
- Increased reload speed benefit of Cranial Spike stacks.
- With catalyst, when hip-firing:
- Slightly reduced accuracy benefits.
- Increased magnetism falloff scale (1.6 to 1.7).
- Increased baseline rate of fire from 130RPM to 140RPM.
- Removed PvE-only damage buff that scaled with stacks of Cranial Spike and added a 15% damage bonus at maximum stacks of Cranial Spike.
- Baseline:
- Colony
- Now spawns additional insectoid robots on final blows. More robots (up to five) spawn from tougher com
2024.06.04 18:01 DTG_Bot Destiny 2 Update 8.0.0.1
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/destiny_2_update_8_0_0_1
submitted by DTG_Bot to DestinyTheGame [link] [comments]
Activities
Crucible
- Competitive will now use the Blended “1-1-1" Special Ammo system in place of the Crates system. We will begin rolling this system out to other playlists soon.
- Adjusted spawns on Altar of Flame and Dead Cliffs for Countdown Rush to improve match balance.
- Updated Private Match screens to support expanded options and to improve usability.
- Updated sound effects for rank promotion and defense toasts in Competitive to better convey success or failure.
- Fixed an issue where Relic meter was not correctly progressing in Relic.
- Fixed an issue where Private Match activity modifiers would display inaccurately.
Shadowkeep
- Fixed an issue in the mission Beyond where players would sometimes get stuck without the activity progressing them correctly.
Warlord’s Ruin
- Fixed an issue in Warlord's Ruin where the sound effect that occurs after a player is frozen by the tempest storm did not play correctly.
Crota’s End
- Fixed an issue preventing completion of the All for One challenge and associated Triumph.
The Pantheon
- Fixed an issue where The Pantheon emblems appeared in the General category rather than the Raids category in Collections.
UI/UX
General
- Added a gameplay subtitles option that displays the speaker's name before their dialog.
- This option is off by default. To activate it, navigate to the Options menu and toggle it to on.
- This feature does not affect cinematic subtitles.
- Added Reputation Boost information for ritual activities to the Director.
- Hovering over the Rituals nodes at the top of the Director (Vanguard Ops, Crucible, Gambit) will display when reputation boosts are active.
- Fixed an issue where dungeon tracking stats were not displayed on emblems.
Fireteam Finder
- Improved placement and visuals of the Reselecting Activity button so players have better access to it.
- Fixed an issue where Fireteam Finder lobbies for Crucible Labs weren't allowing the correct max number of players for the activity.
- Fixed an issue where in some Fireteam Finder applications, player status was not displayed properly.
Guardian Ranks/Journey Screen
- Made visual and functional improvements to the Journey screen and Guardian Ranks icons.
- Fixed an issue where the Cherished Guardian Rank objective displayed the incorrect Commendation score requirement.
Quests
- Added Milestones to the quest log.
- Milestones will not count against a player's maximum quest/bounty capacity.
- Tracked quests will be sorted to the top of their categories when the quest log is reloaded next.
- Added an option to set a specific Quest tab as the default.
- The default Quest tab will be the first tab opened when the quest log is loaded.
- Added text to the Quest tooltip to communicate when a Quest is directly launchable from its Quest Details screen.
Gameplay and Investment
Abilities
All Subclasses- All Super abilities now use the same damage-based recharge parameters.
- Previously, energy gained through damage dealt and received was scaled based on the passive recharge rate of the Super, resulting in a broader delta between long-recharge Supers and short-recharge Supers than intended.
- This will, for example, bring the real-world uptime of Ward of Dawn and Well of Radiance closer to the uptime of a Super like Arc Staff or Fists of Havoc.
- Arcstrider
- Arc Staff:
- Heavy palm strike attacks and heavy air slam blind enemies.
- Disorienting Blow:
- Decreased base cooldown time from 100 seconds to 90 seconds.
- Tempest Strike:
- Added additional damage resistance vs. PvE combatants when activated, lingering for a short duration after the attack.
- Arc Staff:
- Striker
- Knockout
- Increased bonus damage granted to powered melee attacks vs. PvE combatants from 25% to 50%.
- Reworked healing behavior:
- No longer unstuns health regeneration on melee defeats. Now instantly grants a chunk of healing that scales with the type of target defeated.
- Player: 30 health points.
- Minor combatant: 50 health points.
- Major combatant: 75 health points.
- Champion+ combatant: 100 health points.
- Touch of Thunder
- Lightning Grenade:
- Now applies Jolt after the first damage event, rather than prior.
- This means that the Jolt won't instantly pop on application, and attackers will need to either wait for the second lightning burst from the grenade or deal additional damage via other means to trigger the Jolt's chain lightning.
- Storm Grenade:
- Increased tracking travel speed when targeting PvE combatants by between 0.5 and 1 meters per second, increasing with the storm’s lifetime.
- Lightning Grenade:
- Thunderclap
- Added additional damage resistance vs. PvE combatants when activated, lingering for a short duration after the attack.
- Increased minimum damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Increased maximum damage vs. PvE combatants by 33%.
- Increased maximum damage vs. enemy players by 14%.
- Knockout
- Stormcaller
- Lightning Surge
- Added additional damage resistance vs. PvE combatants when activated, lingering for a short duration after the attack.
- This is intended to help players survive during the final lightning strike performance until the player returns to first person and can maneuver out of danger
- Ball Lightning
- Increased the final arming shape size by 30%.
- Fixed an issue where the arming shape was offset upward, higher than the maximum damage range of the projectile’s detonation.
- Chain Lightning
- Increased secondary chain projectile’s base damage from 27 to 54.
- Lightning Surge
- Arc Grenades
- Storm Grenade:
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Touch of Thunder variant’s damage is unchanged.
- Skip Grenade:
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 15%.
- Arcbolt Grenade:
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 15%.
- Storm Grenade:
- Arc Fragments
- Spark of Recharge:
- Ability regeneration bonus now persists until the player returns to full shields, rather than deactivating as soon as shields begin to recharge.
- Spark of Beacons:
- Now also triggers on defeating targets with Arc Power ammo weapons while amplified.
- Spark of Frequency:
- Now also grants 15 weapon stability on powered melee hit, in addition to its reload benefit.
- Spark of Recharge:
- Solar General
- Restoration
- Restoration’s full-body visual effects now reduce their intensity while the player's Super is active.
- Cure
- Cure's healing now takes place over 0.1 seconds rather than instantly.
- This change is unlikely to affect Cure's efficacy in a meaningful way but is primarily intended to improve the readability of Cure's heal in the middle of combat in the UI.
- Cure's healing now takes place over 0.1 seconds rather than instantly.
- Restoration
- Gunslinger
- Lightweight Knife
- Now has 2 melee charges by default.
- Increased throw animation speed by 33%.
- Reduced suppression time between throws, so both knives can be thrown very quickly back-to-back.
- The additional melee charge does not stack with Ophidia Spathe, due to the Exotic’s unique energy recharge behavior. We’ll be monitoring this and evaluating how things are playing once things go live.
- Knock 'Em Down
- Reduced internal cooldown on throwing knife refund from 1 second to 0.2 seconds.
- Gunpowder Gamble
- Fixed an issue where Gunpowder Gamble was unable to damage Strand Tangles.
- Golden Gun - Marksman
- Reduced strength of Orbs of Power created on precision hit as follows:
- When hitting non-boss enemies, reduced strength from 0.75x to 0.5x of a normal Super Orb of Power.
- When hitting boss enemies, reduced strength from 0.75x to about 0.4x of a normal Super Orb of Power.
- When hitting boss enemies while Star-Eater Scales is equipped, reduced strength from 0.75x to about 0.35x of a normal Super Orb of Power.
- Reduced strength of Orbs of Power created on precision hit as follows:
- Lightweight Knife
- Sunbreaker
- Consecration
- Consecration’s slam attack can now shatter Stasis crystals.
- Ignitions generated by Consecration now deal 20% additional damage to PvE combatants.
- Fixed an issue where Consecration’s slam attack was sometimes unable to damage floating combatants while they were grounded.
- Fixed an issue where Consecration’s intended PvE damage resistance was not being applied.
- Hammer of Sol
- Increased projectile submunition count when Sol Invictus is not equipped as follows:
- If the projectile detonates within the first 0.7 seconds of its lifetime, it now creates 4 shrapnel submunitions, up from 3.
- If the projectile detonates after the first 0.7 seconds of its lifetime, it now creates 6 shrapnel, up from 5.
- When Sol Invictus is equipped, only 3 shrapnel submunitions are created, regardless of flight time.
- Shrapnel submunitions now deal additional damage when Sol Invictus is not equipped, with the damage increasing after the first 0.7 seconds of the projectile's lifetime.
- Increased projectile submunition count when Sol Invictus is not equipped as follows:
- Consecration
- Dawnblade
- Heat Rises
- Fixed an issue where throwing some grenades while Heat Rises was equipped would produce Void visual effects on the player's hands during the throw.
- Well of Radiance
- Now grants radiant for 8 seconds when players exit the Well of Radiance area.
- Reduced player survivability while standing in the Well of Radiance aura.
- Reduced healing per second from 100 to 50 health points, matching restoration x2.
- Increased heal on cast from 40 to 300 health points.
- Reduced damage resistance vs. non-boss combatants from 40% to 20%.
- Reduced damage resistance vs. boss combatants from 40% to 10%.
- Damage resistance vs. enemy players is unchanged.
- Increased maximum Orbs of Power from defeating targets while in the player's Well of Radiance aura from 4 to 5.
- Solar Grenades
- Swarm Grenade
- Increased tracking shape size from 4 meters to 6 meters.
- Increased linger duration from 7-8 seconds to 10-11 seconds.
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Swarm Grenade
- Heat Rises
- Void General
- Fixed an issue where Volatile could fail to auto-detonate if the target was defeated by the damage event that applied the Volatile effect.
- Nightstalker
- Snare Bomb
- Increased linger duration of smoke after detonation from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Now applies small damage over time to enemies in the smoke, which increases in strength the longer they remain in the smoke.
- Trapper's Ambush
- Increased linger duration of the smoke after detonation from 4.5 seconds to 6 seconds.
- Now applies Snare Bomb’s damage over time to enemies caught in its smoke.
- Fixed an issue where Trapper’s Ambush’s smoke effects could be obstructed by ground geometry.
- Stylish Executioner
- Stylish Executioner’s weaken effect can now be applied by Glaive melee attacks.
- Snare Bomb
- Sentinel
- Shield Throw:
- Increased maximum bounce count from 4 to 5.
- Increased maximum lifetime from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
- Now increases its tracking shape size and strength after each bounce, increasing its ability to consistently find a new target.
- Slightly increased gravity and decreased thrust speed with each bounce.
- Increased damage vs. PvE targets by 20%.
- Ward of Dawn:
- Armor of Light:
- Removed Armor of Light overshield. Ward of Dawn now immediately applies a full Void Overshield to the caster and allies that enter its dome.
- Armor of Light now instead grants additional damage resistance to players inside the Ward of Dawn:30% vs. enemy players and 60% vs. enemy combatants.
- Effective health of players inside the Ward of Dawn dome remains roughly the same as it was before vs. PvE combatants.
- Effective health of players inside the Ward of Dawn is significantly lower than it was before vs.other players in PvP, and cannot be further increased by stacking Bastion Barricades inside the Ward to gain additional Overshield layers.
- No longer provides Weapons of Light by default. This behavior has been moved to the benefits of Helm of Saint-14.
- Allies near the Ward of Dawn dome now have Void Overshield trickled on over time, similar to the volume behind a Bastion barricade.
- This trickle rate is reduced in PvP activities.
- The Ward of Dawn caster can now generate additional Orbs of Power by defeating enemies with melee attacks in or near their Ward of Dawn dome. Up to a maximum of 5.
- Armor of Light:
- Offensive Bulwark
- Can now only extend Void Overshield’s timer to its normal maximum duration, to prevent an issue where players could get into a bad timer state.
- Now regenerates a small portion of the player's active Void Overshield with each melee defeat.
- Shield Throw:
- Voidwalker
- Chaos Accelerant
- Magnetic Grenade
- Increased maximum intensity of physics knockback impulse by 10%.
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 20%.
- Now passively decreases the player's Magnetic Grenade’s cooldown by 10% while Chaos Accelerant is equipped.
- Magnetic Grenade
- Pocket Singularity
- Increased detonation damage vs. PvE combatants by about 50%.
- Nova Bomb
- Cataclysm variant:
- Increased seeker count from 4 to 6.
- Fixed an issue where seekers could impact the environment on creation.
- Vortex variant:
- Increased Vortex linger duration from 7 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Fixed an issue where the linger visual effects were shutting off early.
- Cataclysm variant:
- Void Grenades
- Suppressor Grenade
- Damage radius now matches Suppression radius.
- This does not meaningfully change the damage profile of the grenade but is intended to provide additional feedback to the player when they have successfully Suppressed a target.
- Voidwall Grenade
- Fixed an issue where the central damage volume was offset significantly lower than the left and right volumes.
- Suppressor Grenade
- Void Fragments
- Echo of Instability
- Can now be activated by defeating targets with Forerunner's The Rock grenade.
- No longer displays its HUD buff text unless a Void weapon is readied.
- Echo of Instability
- Chaos Accelerant
- Stasis General
- New Frost Armor keyword:
- You are fortified by layers of durable Stasis matter, reducing incoming damage. Frost Armor damage resistance grows stronger as the player gains additional stacks.
- Reduces damage from PvE combatants by 4.5% per stack and from enemy players by 2% per stack.
- Stasis Shatter
- Increased base PvE shatter damage from 200 to 400.
- Fixed an issue where bosses auto-shattering were being hit by two instances of shatter damage.
- Fixed an issue where players in an active Super would show immune damage flyouts when automatically breaking out of Stasis freeze.
- New Frost Armor keyword:
- Revenant
- Grim Harvest
- Added new behavior:
- While Grim Harvest is equipped, Stasis Shards grant a small amount of health and a stack of Frost Armor.
- Large Stasis Shards from Grim Harvest grant more health and Frost Armor stacks.
- Now has a standardized cooldown when a large number of Shards are created very quickly.
- Added new behavior:
- Winter's Shroud
- Added new behavior:
- Slowing targets briefly increases the player's class ability regeneration rate.
- Bonus is reduced in PvP game modes.
- Now grants PvE damage reduction when activated.
- Touch of Winter
- Coldsnap Grenade:
- No longer chains an additional time while Touch of Winter is equipped.
- Instead, seekers now duplicate when they freeze a target.
- Second and third seeker chains now create a medium and large Stasis crystal respectively, rather than every chain creating a small crystal.
- Glacier Grenade:
- Added an additional Stasis crystal to the ring formation, increasing total count from 6 to 7.
- Glacier Grenade ring now forms over 0.27 seconds, rather than instantly.
- Silence & Squall
- Increased Squall maximum travel speed by 10%.
- Squall storm now slows down when any target is within its area of effect to reduce instances where it could overshoot its target.
- Increased damage and slow tick rate vs. PvE combatants by about 40%, bringing its freeze time from approximately 0.8 seconds to ~0.5 seconds.
- Added new behavior:
- Grim Harvest
- Behemoth
- Tectonic Harvest
- Added new behavior:
- While Tectonic Harvest is equipped, Stasis Shards grant a small amount of health and a stack of Frost Armor.
- Now creates a Stasis Shard when shattering a frozen target in addition to shattering Stasis crystals.
- Now has a standardized cooldown when a large number of Shards are created very quickly.
- Added new behavior:
- Glacial Quake
- Now automatically begins sprinting when the player throttles forward.
- This change should make Shattering the player's Stasis Crystals significantly more intuitive in the heat of combat.
- Increased on-cast Freeze impulse radius vs. PvE combatants from 6 meters to 8 meters.
- Now automatically begins sprinting when the player throttles forward.
- Shiver Strike
- Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 10%.
- Increased size of melee target search area cone by about 50%.
- Increased maximum lunge tracking angular speed from 7 degrees per second to 21 degrees per second.
- The end result of these changes is that Shiver Strike misses significantly less and is able to bend its lunge trajectory more to find a target within its search area.
- Diamond Lance
- Increased thrown Diamond Lance detonation radius from 3.5 meters to 5 meters.
- Increased Diamond Lance slam detonation radius from 6.75 meters to 8 meters vs. PvE combatants.
- Diamond Lance now shatters Stasis crystals on direct impact.
- Reduced Diamond Lance pickup interaction time from 0.2 seconds to 0.1 seconds, matching Strand Tangles.
- Increased Diamond Lance pickup interaction radius from 0.7 meters to 3 meters, matching Strand Tangles.
- Cryoclasm
- Removed sprint time requirement. Cryoclasm now goes on cooldown for 4 seconds after one extended slide.
- Tectonic Harvest
- Shadebinder
- Glacial Harvest
- Added new behavior:
- While Glacial Harvest is equipped, Stasis Shards grant a small amount of health and a stack of Frost Armor.
- Now has a standardized cooldown when a large number of Shards are created very quickly.
- Added new behavior:
- Iceflare Bolts
- Increased maximum seekers created before going on cooldown from 5 to 7.
- Glacial Harvest
- Stasis Fragments
- Whisper of Rime reworked:
- No longer grants a Stasis Shard Overshield when collecting a Stasis Shard.
- Now increases the maximum duration and stack count of the player's Frost Armor.
- Whisper of Chains reworked:
- No longer grants passive damage resistance when near a Stasis crystal or frozen target.
- Now grants a chance to create a Stasis Shard when defeating a target while the player have one or more stacks of Frost Armor.
- Whisper of Fractures reworked:
- No longer increases melee energy regeneration while surrounded by enemies.
- Now grants a stack of Frost Armor when the player shatters any frozen target with a melee attack.
- Whisper of Torment
- Grenade energy gains are no longer dependent on the player's current health value. Base grenade energy regeneration amount per incoming damage event increased from 5% to 7%.
- While the player has Frost Armor, energy per damage event increases from 7% to 12%.
- Whisper of Chill - New Fragment:
- Stasis weapon final blows have a chance to create a Stasis Shard.
- Whisper of Reversal - New Fragment:
- While the player has Frost Armor, dealing or receiving physical melee (i.e., not projectile melee) damage slows the player's victim or attacker.
- Whisper of Rime reworked:
- Strand General
- Grapple Tangles
- No longer fully refresh their duration when Grappled to.
- Now increase their duration by a maximum of 5 seconds per Grapple, reducing to a maximum of 1 second added after 5 consecutive Grapples to the same Grapple Tangle.
- Grapple Melee
- Can no longer be activated after firing a weapon, similar to sprint-or-slide-activated melee abilities.
- Tangles
- Tangles will now be paired with the text "Pick Up Tangle" instead of only "Pick Up".
- Grapple Tangles
- Threadrunner
- Ensnaring Slam
- Detonation volume vs. enemy players is now a cylinder with a 6.5-meter radius, rather than a sphere with an 8-meter radius.
- This results in fewer instances of victims correctly attempting to counterplay by jumping but being caught by the Ensnaring Slam detonation high up in the air.
- Detonation volume vs. enemy players is now a cylinder with a 6.5-meter radius, rather than a sphere with an 8-meter radius.
- Threaded Specter
- Arming shape vs. PvE combatants now grows more quickly, resulting in more responsive detonations when used in close quarters.
- Threaded Spike
- Reduced damage vs. enemy players from 79 to 70.
- Catching a Threaded Spike no longer breaks invisibility.
- Ensnaring Slam
- Berserker
- Into the Fray
- Reduced melee energy regeneration scalar from 4x to 3x in PvE activities.
- Unchanged in PvP activities.
- Banner of War
- Reduced maximum timer from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Melee, Glaive melee, and Super damage bonus now have diminishing returns with Synthoceps as follows:
- Melee bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.15x.
- Glaive melee bonuses decreased from 1.25x to 1.125x.
- Super bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.2x.
- Melee and Glaive melee damage bonuses now have diminishing returns with Wormgod Caress, too.
- Melee bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.1x, based on stack count.
- Glaive melee bonuses decreased from 1.4x to 1.05x, based on stack count.
- Frenzied Blade / Bladefury
- Reduced the forward offset for melee lunge target point from 0.4 meters to 0.18 meters.
- This should reduce instances where attempting to lunge to a target while at very close range resulted in the character lunging backwards.
- Reduced the forward offset for melee lunge target point from 0.4 meters to 0.18 meters.
- Into the Fray
- Broodweaver
- Weaver's Call
- Added new behavior:
- Defeating a target with Strand damage now has a chance to generate a perched Threadling, with a higher chance of generation from defeating more powerful targets.
- This damage can be from any source, including other Threadlings.
- Added new behavior:
- Weaver's Call
- Strand Fragments
- Thread of Warding
- Reduced Woven Mail duration on Orb of Power pickup from 10 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Thread of Propagation
- No longer displays its HUD buff text unless a Strand weapon is readied. ###Exotic Armor
- Thread of Warding
- Exotic armor can now be upgraded after it has been fully masterworked, granting an Artifice mod slot.
- This comes at the cost of an Exotic Cipher and 10,000 Glimmer.
- Hunter
- Renewal Grasps
- Replaced generic damage resistance with Frost Armor:
- On entering your Duskfield Grenade volume, you or allies gain a stack of Frost Armor.
- About every 0.9 seconds, an additional stack of Frost Armor is granted, resetting the timer.
- Replaced generic damage resistance with Frost Armor:
- Triton Vice
- Glaive projectile final blows now always trigger a detonation that matches the Glaive's damage type, even when the Glaive does not match the equipped subclass.
- The surrounded effect provided by Triton Vice while wielding a Glaive now lingers on the player for five seconds after no longer being surrounded.
- The Sixth Coyote
- Now creates an Orb of Power from final blows after using a class ability in addition to its previous behavior.
- This is implemented as the Exotic granting a free copy of the Reaper armor mod's effects.
- Now creates an Orb of Power from final blows after using a class ability in addition to its previous behavior.
- Star-Eater Scales
- Increased the Orbs of Power required to grant maximum benefits from 4 to 6.
- Reduced the increased Super energy gained per Orb of Power when the Golden Gun is equipped from 2% down to 0.5%.
- Fixed an issue where the Super damage boost for attacks that occur quickly after initial cast, such as Shadowshot at close range, was not always applied.
- Fixed an issue where a player could maintain the damage bonus after removing Star-Eater Scales.
- Foetracer
- Now grants the bonus damage it inflicts on a target to weapons. The damage type also matches that of the ability used to damage that target, instead of always matching the equipped subclass.
- Assassin's Cowl
- Now requires the player to expend a melee charge (or defeat an enemy via a finisher) to activate.
- Mask of Bakris
- Now requires a Stasis Super to be equipped, instead of a Stasis subclass.
- Re-enabled the "Light Shift" debuff in the HUD when a class ability is not recharging.
- This is a cosmetic-only change to keep the cooldown visible even while not holding a weapon that benefits from its damage boost.
- Fixed an issue where Mask of Bakris applied a Tier 2 damage buff instead of a Tier 4 and failed to display the time remaining on a certain Solar weapon.
- Additionally, the Solar damage buff will now function in the Crucible.
- The Bombardiers
- Now triggers an effect based on the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Celestial Nighthawk
- Fixed an issue where players could swap from Celestial Nighthawk to Knucklehead Radar after activating their Super and be granted the benefits from both Exotics.
- Dragons Shadow
- Now triggers its effects when the player uses Ensnaring Slam or the new Ascension Arc Aspect.
- Liars Handshake
- Counterpunch now does Arc damage instead of Kinetic.
- Renewal Grasps
- Titan
- Helm of Saint-14
- Now causes the wearer's Ward of Dawn to apply the Weapons of Light buff to allies.
- Ursa Furiosa
- Now provides increased movement speed while guarding with the new Unbreakable Void Aspect.
- Also grants Super energy for guarding with Unbreakable that scales based on the amount of incoming damage the shield absorbs.
- Eternal Warrior
- No longer requires an Arc subclass for Arc final blows to grant its escalating Arc weapon damage bonus.
- Armamentarium
- Now creates an Orb of Power from grenade final blows in addition to its previous behavior.
- This is implemented as the Exotic granting a free copy of the Firepower armor mod's effects.
- Now creates an Orb of Power from grenade final blows in addition to its previous behavior.
- Khepri's Horn
- Increased the damage from the Solar blast by 100% in PvE.
- The Solar blast now Scorches each time it hits a target, instead of Scorching only once.
- Khepri's Horn now benefits from Ember of Eruption and Ember of Ashes (+30 Scorch in PvE and +15 Scorch in PvP).
- Synthoceps
- Reduced the amount of time that Bionic Enhancements lingers after no longer being surrounded, from 8 seconds to 5 seconds. This duration is now visible as a timer on the buff.
- Severance Enclosure
- Now requires the player to expend a melee charge (or defeat an enemy via a finisher) to activate.
- Its explosions now require line of sight to damage enemies. We also reduced the knockback intensity of these explosions, which will now launch enemies more consistently vertically.
- Heart of Inmost Light
- Now displays a single, consolidated status effect icon in the HUD to communicate its state, instead of the two to three it used before.
- The functionality of the Exotic is unchanged.
- Now displays a single, consolidated status effect icon in the HUD to communicate its state, instead of the two to three it used before.
- One-Eyed Mask
- Fixed an issue where the negative status effects applied to victims by One-Eyed Mask no longer persist after death.
- Precious Scars
- Now requires a weapon matching the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Hoarfrost-Z
- Now requires a Stasis Super to be equipped, instead of a Stasis subclass.
- Cadmus Ridge Lancecap
- Now requires a Stasis Super to be equipped, instead of a Stasis subclass.
- Lorely Splendor
- Now requires a Solar Super to be equipped, instead of a Solar subclass.
- No Back Up Plans
- Now requires a Void Super to be equipped, instead of a Void subclass.
- Path of Burning Steps
- Now requires a Solar Super to be equipped, instead of a Solar subclass.
- Hallowfire Heart
- Now requires a Solar Super to be equipped, instead of a Solar subclass.
- Helm of Saint-14
- Warlock
- Ballidorse Wrathweavers
- Replaced Stasis Shard Overshield with Frost Armor.
- Activating a Rift grants the player and nearby allies the maximum Frost Armor stacks when Frostpulse is equipped.
- Activating a Winter's Wrath shatter attack grants nearby allies the maximum amount of stacks of Frost Armor. When Winter's Wrath ends, the player gains maximum stacks of Frost Armor.
- Mantle of Battle Harmony
- Now grants Super energy ranging between +1.5% and +4.5%, depending on the target type killed.
- Removed the 2-second cooldown for the perk's activation.
- Now requires a weapon matching the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Secant Filaments
- Updated Secant Filaments to require a Void Super instead of a Void subclass.
- Secant Filaments Empowering Rift will now reset a player's existing Devour buff duration back to 11 seconds when they enter it, in addition to its previous behavior.
- Fixed an issue where Secant Filament's Overload Rift was removing anti-Champion capabilities granted by the artifact.
- Sunbracers
- Reduced the increased Solar Grenade duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Reduced its increased grenade recharge rate to allow a max of 4 grenades while the effect is active, down from 5.
- Fixed an issue where Sunbracers would not remove the "Sunbracers Ready" buff from the player when they throw a grenade.
- Cenotaph Mask
- Multiple players using Cenotaph Mask can no longer trigger its effect using a single enemy target.
- Cenotaph's target lock visual marker is now hidden for the Exotic's wearer and only appears to the wearer’s allies.
- Verity's Brow
- Now requires final blows with a weapon matching the player's grenade damage type, instead of one matching the equipped subclass.
- Felwinter's Helm
- Now requires the player to expend a melee charge (or defeat an enemy via a finisher) to activate.
- Wings of Sacred Dawn
- Updated its description to correctly indicate that its effects are only active with Dawnblade equipped, rather than all Solar Supers.
- Contraverse Hold
- Updated its description to clarify it only works with Void grenades charged with the Chaos Accelerant Aspect.
- Chromatic Fire
- Now triggers an effect based on the player's equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Promethium Spur
- Now works with any equipped Solar Super.
- Sanguine Alchemy
- Now requires a weapon matching the equipped Super element, instead of the equipped subclass.
- Vesper of Radius
- The ability for the shockwave to blind now requires an Arc Super to be equipped, instead of an Arc subclass.
- Karnstein Armlets
- Fixed an issue where Karnstein Armlet's visual effects were not functioning correctly.
- Necrotic Grips
- Updated Necrotic Grips description to note that it requires a melee and that it works against both combatants and players. ###Armor Mods
- Ballidorse Wrathweavers
- The Artifice mod socket icon has been updated to make it more distinct.
- Removed the energy cost from raid-specific armor mods.
- Updated all Harmonic armor mods to change their element based on the currently equipped Super, rather than subclass.
- This behavior is also now explained in their descriptions.
- A Strand Resistance mod has been added.
- Additionally, Harmonic Resistance is now compatible with Strand.
- Heavy Ammo Finder and Special Ammo Finder armor mods now persist their progress towards an ammo brick through death.
- Heavy Ammo Finder and Special Ammo Finder armor mods no longer function in Crucible, and opposing-team kills will no longer grant Ammo Finder progress in Gambit.
- Heavy Ammo Finder and Special Ammo Finder armor mods have had their kill requirements increased by 20% for Guardians in a fireteam.
- Solo Guardian requirements are unchanged.
- Fixed an issue where Orb of Power mods would not pick up Orbs when Super energy was full. Mods affected are:
- Recuperation (Leg Armor Mod)
- Better Already (Leg Armor Mod)
- Innervation (Leg Armor Mod)
- Invigoration (Leg Armor Mod)
- Insulation (Leg Armor Mod)
- Absolution (Leg Armor Mod)
- Orbs of Restoration (Leg Armor Mod)
- Powerful Friends (Helmet Armor Mod)
- Fixed an issue where multiple copies of Empowered Finisher could be active at once in rare cases.
- Additionally, corrected an issue where its tooltip did not describe it as having no stacking benefits. ###Other
- Fixed an issue where older Solstice armor did not display the correct glow color when using a Strand or Stasis Super.
Weapons
- Updated Heavy, Adaptive, and Aggressive Burst weapon intrinsic names to match burst count across all weapon archetypes. Functionality is unchanged.
- 2-burst: Heavy Burst
- Includes Sidearms, Hand Cannons, and Pulse Rifles.
- 3-burst: Adaptive Burst
- Includes Sidearms, Linear Fusion Rifles, and Adaptive Pulse Rifles.
- 4-burst: Aggressive Burst
- Includes Pulse Rifles.
- 2-burst: Heavy Burst
- Removed the foundry name from the Veist Rapid-Fire, Häkke Precision, and Omolon Adaptive weapon intrinsics.
Weapon Archetypes
- Exotic Primary Weapons and Trace Rifles
- Reduced damage bonus versus Minors from 40% to 30% (except Fighting Lion).
- Exotic Primary Weapons and Trace Rifles benefit from the below damage buffs versus Minor combatants.
- Increased base PvE damage versus all combatants.
- Pulse Rifles: 20%
- Exceptions: Graviton Lance and Revision Zero's Heavy Burst mode. (These both have an intrinsic PvE damage buff built in.)
- Pellet Shotguns: 10%
- Exceptions: Legend of Acrius, Tractor Cannon, Conditional Finality, and The Fourth Horseman. (These are all already performing as intended.)
- Slug Shotguns: 9%
- Fusion Rifles: 7%
- Exceptions: One Thousand Voices. (This one was just buffed.)
- Sniper Rifles: 7%
- Exceptions: Izanagi's Burden's Honed Edge shots and Cloudstrike's storm. (These are both performing well.)
- Glaive projectiles: 7%
- Linear Fusion Rifles: 5%
- Pulse Rifles: 20%
- Increased damage versus Minors (red bars)—this stacks with the base PvE damage increase.
- Sidearms, Trace Rifles, Scout Rifles, and Bows: 20%
- Auto Rifles and Pulse Rifles: 15%
- For Pulse Rifles, this is in addition to the above buff, and Graviton Lance and Revision Zero's Heavy Burst mode are included.
- I.e. Pulse Rifles will do 1.2 * 1.15 = 38% more damage to red bars.
- Submachine Guns: 10%
- Hand Cannons: 5%
- Increased damage versus Major combatants (orange bars).
- Trace Rifles: 20%
- Increased damage globally, including PvP.
- Machine Guns: 7%
- Swords: 7%
- With these damage increases, the following Spec mods have been retired:
- Boss Spec, Taken Spec, Minor Spec, Major Spec, and Adept Big Ones Spec.
- Scout Rifle
- Updated the hip-fire reticle to better show accuracy and aim-assist state.
- Hand Cannons
- General
- Reduced the screen shake dealt to players by Hand Cannon projectile impacts by 33% (does not affect flinch dealt to Combatants).
- Heavy Burst
- Reduced the base recoil of this sub-family to make them more stable.
- Aggressives
- Improved the stats of two Aggressive Hand Cannons that are returning in The Final Shape to be more competitive with our current offerings.
- Crimil's Dagger (Iron Banner)
- Stability: 23 to 31
- Handling: 23 to 31
- Magazine Size: 8 to 9
- Airborne Effectiveness: 10 to 21
- Something New (Solstice)
- Stability: 27 to 30
- Handling: 24 to 30
- Magazine Size: 8 to 9
- Improved the stats of two Aggressive Hand Cannons that are returning in The Final Shape to be more competitive with our current offerings.
- General
- Sniper Rifles
- Increased minimum reserves from 14 to 17 shots; maximum reserve is unchanged.
- Changed the way flinch works when taking damage from players (this does not affect incoming damage from combatants).
- Increased the screen shake duration by 25%.
- Increased the screen shake intensity by 350%.
- Reduced the camera roll by 25%.
- Linear Fusion Rifles
- Reduced firing animation kick and recoil for Adaptive Linear Fusion Rifles.
- Kinetic damage type weapons
- No longer deal bonus damage to bosses; damage to other combatant tiers is unchanged.
- For example, a kinetic Sniper Rifle and a Stasis Sniper Rifle of the same subfamily will both deal the same damage to a boss.
- No longer deal bonus damage to bosses; damage to other combatant tiers is unchanged.
- Wave Grenade Launchers
- The size of the wave is now affected by the blast radius stat. This will mostly impact the width of the wave, though the length and height will also be scaled.
- The default display stat for the blast radius has been changed from 100 to 50 (where 50 represents the previous baseline—any stat over 50 will result in a larger wave segment than what was possible before).
- Special ammo Wave – Frame Grenade Launchers overperform as add clear weapons in their current state, so we've pulled the length of the wave back a little.
- Reduced the length of the waves from 22 meters to 15 meters (except for Dead Messenger).
- The size of the wave is now affected by the blast radius stat. This will mostly impact the width of the wave, though the length and height will also be scaled.
- Swords
- Updated the Sword reticle to better indicate its charge state. When Sword energy is consumed, the amount of delay the Sword has before it begins to recharge now subtly appears in the reticle.
- Fixed an issue where the Overwhelming Battlesong debuff from some missions would prevent Swords from recharging or losing energy while guarding.
- Fixed an issue where unpowered caster Sword heavy attacks would not reset the Sword's energy recharge delay.
- Fixed an issue where uncharged adaptive Sword heavy attacks cost the same amount of ammo as their charged counterparts. They now cost 1 ammo, same as other uncharged heavy attacks.
- Rocket Sidearms
- Added a slight delay to the detonation to allow perks to activate correctly if they required precision kills. ###Exotics
- Non-precision based add clear-Exotic Primary weapons:
- Reduced splash damage by 10% on the following weapons:
- Sunshot
- Trinity Ghoul
- Polaris Lance
- Graviton Lance
- Reduced splash damage by 10% on the following weapons:
- Rat King
- Swapped the firing animation to the same one used by other auto-fire Sidearms.
- Dead Man's Tale
- Baseline:
- Cranial Spike stacks now grant stability in addition to aim assist stat and range (+2 per stack).
- Increased reload speed benefit of Cranial Spike stacks.
- With catalyst, when hip-firing:
- Slightly reduced accuracy benefits.
- Increased magnetism falloff scale (1.6 to 1.7).
- Increased baseline rate of fire from 130RPM to 140RPM.
- Removed PvE-only damage buff that scaled with stacks of Cranial Spike and added a 15% damage bonus at maximum stacks of Cranial Spike.
- Baseline:
- Colony
- Now spawns additional insectoid robots on final blows. More robots (up to five) spawn from tougher com
2024.06.04 16:52 Theeaglestrikes Since 1998, the people of my Alaskan hometown have been frozen in time. I shouldn’t have returned.
When the edged wind came to our village, it seemed like a typical Alaskan gust. One fitting for late December. Then, as the tall tide of frost lashed against the shore of our home, the sagging branches of the yellow cedar trees stopped bouncing. And I abandoned the idea of the breeze being a breeze at all.
Once others understood that, the time for running had passed.
The unholy wind reached the village’s main road, causing two moving cars to sharply and statically stop. The vehicles were frozen in place, much like the people within those metal graves. Onlookers, enjoying a brisk afternoon in the park, began to scream as loved ones succumbed to that supernatural end. Imprisoned in a capsuled moment of time.
Those first few victims were the lucky ones. They’d been oblivious to the fate which awaited them. True terror was endured by those who beheld the raw power of the wind. Those unfortunate enough to see the end coming.
Regardless, the remaining townsfolk, burdened with the awareness of impending doom, futilely attempted to escape the approaching breeze. Those fleeing residents, far slower than the unnatural frost, were halted in haunting poses as the wind bit into them. Limbs were suspended in mid-air positions. Eyes were left wide and unblinking. Mouths were cursed to forever gape in horror.
“RUN!” Dad screamed, sprinting towards us from a nearby park bench.
My brother, my childhood friend, and I were sitting in a sandbox. Already engrossed in a fantasy world, I wondered whether my imagination had conjured the wind. I thought my mind had transcended to a higher plane. It was my way of processing the trauma.
However, I accepted the reality of the situation when my father shoehorned the three of us into his Volkswagen Golf. The icy jaws of the wind were nearly nipping at the rear of the vehicle as Dad twisted the key in the ignition, but the beat-up car rapidly lurched forwards. My father wrenched us away from the frost, seconds before it consumed us.
“Daddy, where are we going?” I tearfully asked.
“I don’t know, Jillian,” He weakly moaned, manoeuvring around fleeing cars and pedestrians.
“Are we picking up Mummy?” Alan asked.
Dad ignored my brother’s question. I was only eight years old at the time, but I knew that my mother wasn’t coming. I understood the significance of the tears in my father’s eyes.
For twenty-six years, I successfully managed to suppress that memory. Did such a good job, in fact, that I almost believed it had all been a dream. I started to believe that we had simply moved away from our hometown, and Mum had simply chosen to stay. Dad never convinced me otherwise. He never talked about what happened. Neither did my brother.
As for Leon, he moved to an orphanage in Anchorage. We wrote to each other for a couple of years, but his replies became less and less frequent. Eventually, he stopped responding entirely. I used to wonder why my father didn’t adopt my childhood friend, but I suppose that would have forced him to accept what happened. And, like me, he had no intention of doing that.
I thought we would run back to England, having failed to achieve the American Dream. But Dad kept us in Alaska. I assumed that he’d been driven by stubbornness. Or guilt, perhaps. We’d already fled our home. Perhaps fleeing across the pond would’ve been a step too far. Perhaps it would’ve felt like truly abandoning our mother. Whatever his reason for staying, Dad didn’t tell anyone the truth. He never went to the police. He never returned to look for Mum.
“Don’t look back, kids,” I remember him whispering as we fled the frost.
I followed that advice for the next couple of decades, only recalling the event for the briefest moments, from time to time. When Dad bought the first computer for our family in 2000, I Googled the name of our old town. I typed the word before realising I was even doing so. I was still young, of course, but I knew that nothing about our speedy departure had been normal. I wanted answers.
I’d expected to discover that my village had become a ghost town. That would have made sense. Alaska’s unforgiving climate breeds desolate places, born to be abandoned. However, the search results revealed nothing, so I told myself I’d imagined the village. I told myself we'd always lived in Anchorage.
As the years passed, I became comfortable with the notion that none of it had ever been real. Not even my mother. And that was why I did not expect to see a certain person again.
“Happy birthday, Jill.”
My jaw dropped when Leon Taylor appeared on my doorstep.
It might seem strange that I would recognise a man who was a child when I last saw him, but Leon always had distinctive features. I immediately identified the mole on his neck, just below his facial scruff, and those sorrowful eyes, shadowed by his unmistakable overgrown brows.
“Leon?” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”
The man smiled weakly. “Sorry, Jill. I should’ve done this the Millennial way. Y’know. Reconnected through Facebook.”
“No, it’s… I just never thought I’d see you again. Do you want to come inside?” I asked, motioning at the hallway.
Leon nodded, so I made a couple of coffees whilst my old friend seated himself in the living room. A boy who I’d almost forgotten. Almost entirely erased from existence, just like our old town. But I’d always known, just beneath the surface of my shallow memories, that it had all been real. The truth of my childhood was always within reach. As I brought the drinks into the lounge, hands trembling, I tried to dispel the thoughts flooding my mind. Thoughts of that awful day.
“How’s your dad? How’s Alan?” Leon asked, taking the cup of coffee.
I sighed. “Dad’s been unwell for a few years. He hasn’t been taking care of himself, and he’s getting old. As for Alan… Well, Alan’s the way he’s always been. Uptight, and distant, but–”
“– When was the last time you spoke to him?” Leon sharply interjected.
The question caught me off-guard. “Huh?”
“Your brother. When was the last time you spoke to him?” Leon asked.
My face drained. He knows, I thought. How on Earth does he know?
“Three years ago,” I answered.
My old friend nodded. “Did you fall out?”
I scoffed. “That’s an understatement. You remember what he was like when we were kids, don’t you?”
Leon shrugged. “He was two years older than us. We must’ve infuriated him.”
I nodded. “Sure. But I grew up, and he never did. We had a big argument, and we haven't spoken since.”
“Interesting,” He responded.
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re a man of few words these days, Leon.”
The man cleared his throat. “Your brother messaged me a week ago.”
My other eyebrow raised. “What?”
“It was a very strange message.”
“Did you reply?” I asked. “I thought you would’ve preferred to ignore it.”
He lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Jillian. I replied to some of your letters…”
“Then you forgot about me,” I said. “It’s embarrassing that I didn’t get the hint.”
“It wasn’t embarrassing,” Leon sheepishly muttered. “I read all of them. Every last letter.”
“Oh, well, that’s great,” I laughed. “Nice to know that you cared.”
“Jillian, I…” Leon paused, lifting his head. “I was scared.”
“Scared of what?” I asked.
“Remembering that day,” He replied. “It’s why I told your dad I didn’t want to come and live with you.”
“It’s… What?” I asked.
Leon tilted his head. “You didn’t know? Did you really think he’d just dump me in that place? He might’ve changed, but your dad was never cold. Still, I refused. Living with you would’ve reminded me of what happened to my family.”
I didn't reply, so my old friend prodded the beast. “Aren’t we going to talk about–”
“– Why did my brother message you?” I interrupted, avoiding the topic.
Leon twitched his lips uncertainly, as if unwilling to part them.
“He told me that I had to see you…” Leon trailed off.
“Right,” I said. “Why?”
“Your brother said something insane, Jillian,” He said. “He claimed that Arnold Walker visited him in Fairbanks.”
My jaw fell. “I beg your pardon? Arnold Walker? My brother’s school friend?”
Leon nodded.
“He escaped? I didn't know others got out,” I whispered.
My old friend’s face was growing paler. “No, I... Your brother said something that seemed impossible. He said that Arnold did not arrive on his doorstep as a thirty-six-year-old man, but a ten-year-old child.”
My stomach dropped. The natural response would’ve been to discredit such an outlandish story, refuting it with a rational explanation. But Leon’s revelation served to do only one thing. It confirmed what I’d always known.
“A ten-year-old boy made it all the way from our hometown to Fairbanks?” I asked meekly.
Leon frowned. “That’s it? You’re not going to question it? I did. I messaged Alan repeatedly, but he never replied.”
“Not a nice feeling, is it?” I asked, sighing. “How did you want me to react, Leon? You were itching to talk about that day. Well, I’m not skirting around the subject now. Let’s talk about it. Okay? I know all of that horror really happened. I’d just never wanted anyone to confirm it.”
“Me neither,” Leon said. “I was trying to avoid your family for the rest of my life. Your brother ruined that.”
“Yeah. He tends to ruin things,” I replied. “So, that’s it? Alan wanted you to tell me about Arnold Walker?”
Leon shivered. “There’s more, but… Look, I know I should’ve messaged you about all of this first, but I thought about the way Alan avoided my questions. I didn’t want you to do the same. I assumed if I were to show up in person, then–”
“– I wouldn’t be able to run away,” I finished. “I understand, Leon. I just hate that my brother is still too childish to talk to me.”
“Funny. He called you childish too. Listening to you two bicker is nostalgic,” Leon smiled, before quickly adopting a solemn expression. “I’m trying to change the subject, but I need to rip off the band-aid. Alan said that Arnold took him to a car on the front lawn. There was a man in the driver’s seat, barely clinging to life, with a face mangled beyond recognition. Your brother said the man’s skin had been peeled from his face… And he was still, somehow, alive.”
I shuddered, vomit climbing my throat.
“Arnold told your brother that the man was Mr Johnson,” Leon whispered.
“The farmer? The one who ran the local grocery store?” I asked, shivering.
My friend nodded. “Yeah. Alan said he’d aged a little. Well, his hair was greyer than he remembered. The pair must’ve been on the road for hours, and your brother didn’t know how they knew where to find him. He had so many questions for them, but Mr Johnson died before the ambulance arrived. And whilst Alan talked to the paramedics, Arnold ran away. He’s missing.”
“Shit…” I whispered. “I’ll call my brother.”
“You might struggle,” Leon said. “Alan ended the message by saying that he was going back… home.”
I gawped. “No. He wouldn’t be that stupid.”
“Maybe not. You should try to contact him,” Leon said. “He hasn’t replied to my dozens of messages, but he might reply to you. Not sure he even has a signal, out there in the boonies, but you’re right. You should try.”
I spent an hour trying to contact my brother, in various ways, but he did not respond. Alan had vanished. And I knew, like it or not, that I had to return to our village too. I should’ve told Dad. Would've told him, had he not been one bad day away from a heart attack. In spite of the man he’d become, I loved him. I didn’t want to remind him of the place we’d fled.
One person should be spared the horror of remembering, I thought.
Leon and I, two strangers who’d spent formative years together, piled into my Kia, and we drove from Anchorage to a place that I’d long hoped had never really existed.
I was going to be horribly disappointed.
On a nondescript road that burrowed into the Alaskan wilderness, my throat started to twist and constrict. The outer edge of my vision shrank, and my head pulsated with a slowing rhythm as the world slipped away from me. I struggled to breathe as I came to terms with an awful fact.
I recognised that endless road.
“Jillian…” Leon whispered.
“Don’t,” I begged.
I didn’t want to hear it. I wasn’t ready. I’d known all along, of course, that our village existed. Even when extensive research had revealed nothing about the town. When I thought of the way the breeze consumed the town, erasing its residents, it made sense that it would erase the very place itself. After all, even I’d started to doubt its existence, and I’d lived there.
Accepting the unearthly nature of the event wasn’t as tough as you might imagine. If anything, I had fought hard to deny it. I wanted to ignore the existence of a paranormal force, though I had witnessed it with my own eyes. Even if there were some Alaskan breeze powerful enough to instantaneously freeze an entire town, we hadn’t witnessed that. We’d seen something else. We’d seen that glacial wind freeze the town. Not its people, but its tether to time.
After an hour of following the frosted landscape, we saw something familiar on the horizon. Leon’s face mirrored mine as our damned village appeared. A bulge of ruin and decay, growing as we neared it. And when we crossed the threshold into the desolate town, the reality of our quest finally dawned on me.
“Where is everybody?” Leon asked.
It might seem a moronic question to an outsider. Our old village was clearly an abandoned place. No rational person would expect anybody else to be there. Of course, I understood Leon. He had asked the same terrifying question that was circling the drain of my mind, refusing to flush away.
I thought back to that terrible day on which hundreds of people froze in time. Then I thought of Arnold Walker and Mr Johnson. The two residents who’d supposedly shown up at my brother’s door. One of them had looked no older than he’d been in 1998.
“Time resumed,” I finally mumbled.
“Yes, but where did everybody go?” My childhood friend asked.
I didn’t have an answer. Neither did my brother, and that was why he’d come here.
That’s not the real reason, I thought. He was hoping to find… her.
I rolled onto my old street, noting that the trees swayed in the wind and birds flew overhead. Signs that time was flowing. I wondered whether others had fled in the same fashion as Arnold and Mr Johnson. I even allowed my heart to soar a little as I considered that my mother might have freed herself. Might have found Dad in Anchorage. Might be wondering where Alan and I had gone.
However, I knew that not to be the case. Mum had not arrived at my door, and there had been no national news coverage about people emerging from a town that didn’t exist. There had only been an old, half-butchered man and a quiet boy. Both were gone. And I had questions about the nature of their escape from our hometown, given my brother’s ominous message to Leon.
Something was still dreadfully wrong with our village. Twenty-six years had not changed that. The people of the village had not disappeared into the sunset. Whatever had happened to them, I knew it wasn’t good. Possibly worse than what happened to Arnold Walker and Mr Johnson.
I pulled onto the driveway of my childhood home, gently trundling over cracked asphalt. Weeds squirmed through the wounds of the suburb, as nature sought to erase my childhood from existence. There was no need for that, of course. The wind of 1998, and whatever secrets it held, had already done a fine job of wiping my hometown from reality.
“Do you think he’s come here?” Leon asked as I turned off the engine.
“Yes. We both know who he wanted to find,” I said.
My childhood friend nodded, and we both sombrely climbed out of the vehicle.
The village was colder than I remembered. For a mid-afternoon day in late May, it was unseasonably chilly. Alaska, for the most part, is not the arctic hellscape that many people imagine. Not in all parts of the state, anyhow, and certainly not in late spring. The air also felt stale. It carried the stench of evil, and it seemed to be tinged with frost. As if that demonic breeze were still lingering in the air, nearly three decades later.
I knocked on the rotten front door, surprised that it did not break with a slight rap of my hand.
“Alan?” I yelled. “It’s Jillian.”
My brother did not respond, but I wasn’t concerned. If he had been there, and Mum hadn’t, then he wouldn’t have wanted to stay. I wanted to use that as an excuse to turn around and leave. I already assumed that my mother wouldn’t be there, but another part of me knew that my assumption was more of a wish. In a similar way, I had been secretly glad to find nobody in the town. There was only one person I hoped to find in my old village, and that was Alan.
I was terrified by the prospect of finding anything else.
“Jill…” Leon started softly. “Come on. We have to do it.”
“Do we?” I asked. “This was a mistake. We should turn around. We–”
“– I agree,” Leon sharply interjected. “But we have to find your brother. And when we do, we’ll convince him to come back with us. We’ll convince him to leave this place behind too.”
“Why did you come to see me, Leon?” I asked. “You could’ve ignored my brother’s message. You could’ve pretended none of this had ever happened. That’s what you did when you started ignoring my letters, isn’t it?”
“I deeply regretted that for years, Jill,” He said softly. “You were my best friend. You were… more than that. We were just kids, but I loved you. I’ve not made another connection like ours. Not even in my adult life.”
“I know,” I replied. “I loved you too, Leon. That’s why it hurt when you let our bond peter out. If you’d cut me off from the start, I would’ve understood. But it just felt like you’d stopped caring.”
“Never. I just lost the strength to bear that trauma,” He explained. “Every letter was a reminder, and I just… That’s why I came to your door. That’s why I didn’t ignore what your brother said. I didn’t want something to happen to him. You lost your mother. I didn’t want you to lose him too.”
“We all lost things,” I sniffled. “You lost… more than me. I just don’t understand why you’d come back. Why my brother would come back. I don’t even understand why I’ve come back.”
“We never really left this place, did we?” Leon asked. “Not in our minds. Even though it doesn’t exist in the eyes of the outside world, it never left us. Never let go. Arnold Walker and Mr Johnson lured Alan back. And he lured us back.”
“That’s an unsettling way of looking at it,” I timidly replied.
“It’s the only way I’ve been able to look at it,” He said. “Whatever claimed this place, it remembered us, and it made sure we remembered it. Not that it would be easy to forget… For years, I thought I’d lost my mind, but after talking to you and Alan, I’m not so sure. I find it hard to believe that we’d have experienced a shared delusion. No, it all really happened. And the memory replays in my mind every day. I’ll never get rid of it.”
“Dad seemed to do a good job of erasing this place from his mind,” I said.
I knew that wasn’t true, of course. He had never forgotten. That was made apparent by his deterioration. Alan and I had a close relationship with our father before we left that village. Afterwards, he changed. We all changed. Losing Mum had fractured the family, but there was more to it than that. I started to consider that Leon might be right. Perhaps the frost hadn’t ensnared the two of us, but it had certainly bitten us.
“Do you want me to do it?” Leon eventually asked.
I wanted to be courageous enough to open the door, but I wasn’t. I nodded meekly and stepped aside, allowing my childhood friend the nightmarish task of facing whatever lay within my old home. He pushed the door handle down, expecting the house to be unlocked, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Shall we try the back?” I asked.
Leon backed up. I quickly realised what he was planning to do, and I opened my mouth to utter a protest. My hulking friend had charged before I spoke a single word, however, and he hurled his body into the door. It quivered in its frame, but did not give.
“Leon!” I cried. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I don’t suppose you have the key?” He panted, massaging his shoulder.
I held up my hands. “Look, let’s just…”
My friend rushed forwards again, and the result was the same. This time, however, Leon released a groan of pain, clutching his arm a little more tightly.
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” I said. “Let’s take it in turns to kick the door. That'll work better, and it won’t cripple either of us.”
Leon nodded, and the two of us firmly booted the door near the handle. The wood quaked, and it only took a few attacks for the door to splinter around the lock. The frame splayed inwards, and the metal mechanism fell loose.
“Whoops… That worked a little too well,” Leon laughed.
He led the way into my childhood home, which looked, unlike the street outside, the same as I remembered. The same as it had looked on the day I’d left. There were no shoes left by the door. No muddy prints on the carpet. No indication whatsoever that my brother had visited our old home, which I’d gathered when the front door had been locked. But this was not a relief. I knew, in my gut, that Alan would’ve gone there first.
He never made it home.
Leon shivered. “This place feels cold…”
“Frozen,” I corrected. “Frozen in time.”
“Is it safe for us to be here?” He asked. “What if we end up like the others?”
“It’s a bit late to ask that now,” I replied. “The breeze passed long ago. This just seems to be the horror it left behind.”
Leon accepted my suggestion, then he wandered over to the staircase. My friend took one step before halting in place. For a haunting moment, I believed that he had been frozen in time too. I believed that I’d been wrong, and the frost had come for us. But I quickly realised that my friend was still moving. Still twitching. He was frozen by fear, not a supernatural gale.
“There’s someone in the bathroom…” Leon wheezed.
With physical dread in every inch of my body, I joined my friend and looked up. Artificial light spilled beneath the bathroom door onto the dark landing.
“There might not be anyone in there,” I shakily said.
“Jillian, this is an abandoned town. There is no electricity. Your house is still frozen in time, and it froze with the bathroom light left on. Somebody must have been–”
“– Don’t say it,” I pleaded, upper lip trembling.
“Do you want me to lead the way?” He asked.
I didn’t. I wanted to run, but I knew I would never forgive myself for doing so. Leon was right, of course. I hadn’t allowed him to finish his sentence, but it was clear that he was going to mention somebody in particular. Somebody whose face flooded my mind as we ascended the staircase, one tentative step at a time. Somebody whose name started to tickle my lips as Leon grasped the handle to the door.
It wasn’t locked.
“Mum?” I moaned as Leon inched it open.
My ageless mother was inside.
I’m sure I would’ve screamed at whatever we found, but I was not prepared for the state of the statue before me. Mum was standing at the sink, hands cupped below a stream of tap water suspended in time. As I had always feared, the frost caught her. It was horrifying enough to be frozen in time for twenty-six years, whilst the rest of the world continued, but that wasn’t why I screamed. I’d braced myself for that possibility. I’d spent my entire adult life coming to terms with it.
I screamed because I wasn’t prepared to see her face.
Mum was smiling. Not a wholesome smile. It was a taut grin that etched an unnerving crescent shape across her cheeks. There was nothing unnatural about the grin, but it looked painful. And it appeared as if cataracts had taken the entirety of her pupils.
“Mum?” I asked weakly. “Do you hear me?”
There was no reply. I peered around the side of her face, and I immediately regretted it. Though she was frozen in time, she did not look unaware. I felt her sightless eyes boring into my face, and I quickly jumped backwards.
“Let’s go and find your brother,” Leon fearfully said.
As I nodded, backing towards the doorway, I locked my gaze onto my mother’s profile. My heart pounded as I started to close the bathroom door. I was trying to ignore the idea that had wormed into my mind. The possibility that, behind the glassy cataract, a pupil might still exist. Lying dormant. Watching me from a face that no longer seemed to belong to my mother.
After I shut the door, Leon and I took a few moments to control our breathing. With a slight tremble, my friend finally walked over to the light switch and raised a hand, but I caught his wrist.
“What are you doing?” He frowned.
“Leave the light on,” I whispered. “I… don’t like the idea of leaving her in the dark.”
My friend’s expression softened, and he nodded, seeming to understand my explanation. Seeming to empathise. But I was lying. I wasn’t worried about leaving my mother in the dark. I was worried about the thing behind that smiling face.
“Alan didn’t come here,” I said. “Did he really come back?”
“You read the message, Jillian,” Leon replied.
“I know, but…” I sighed. “I know.”
“He might not have come to the house,” My friend suggested.
“This is the first place he would’ve visited,” I said. “If Mum weren’t here, he wouldn’t have returned.”
“Well, let’s look around,” Leon urged. “You never know. We might find something else. Something to help your mother, perhaps.”
“You saw her face,” I whispered. “She looked far past help.”
“Don’t say that, Jillian!” Leon shouted, eyes watering.
You idiot, I thought.
I was so self-centred. So focused on finding my brother and my mother. I hadn’t thought about Leon’s parents. His brother, Carl. People we’d left behind when my father saved us. I remembered Leon sobbing as he begged my father to turn around.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We need to find your family too.”
Leon viciously shook his head. “Only if we find an answer, Jill. Only if we find a way to save them.”
My friend entered my childhood bedroom, and I followed him. I imagine that visiting one’s childhood home is a strange experience for anyone, but strangeness morphs into horror when that home is trapped in a moment of time. I felt physically unwell when I saw the glass of water on the bedside table, fresh as it had been on the day that my dad took us to the park. Life had continued for me, but the town was still trapped in that dreadful, inexplicable day.
“Jillian,” Leon said calmly. “There are people outside.”
He was standing in front of my bedroom window, and when I joined him, eyeing the road below, I saw them. A man and a woman who seemed to be in their mid-forties. The man wore ill-fitting clothes. A chequered shirt two sizes too small, and a pair of torn jeans. The woman, on the other hand, wore a pristine, shapely dress with a floral pattern. She looked oddly familiar, though her eyes were jittery and unfocused. It was the man who’d locked his eyes onto our house.
“I… vaguely recognise her,” Leon said.
I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know her name, but I remember her. She looks a tad older, perhaps. I don’t know the man though.”
“You stay here,” Leon said, reaching inside his coat. “Don’t come out.”
“What are you holding?” I frowned, noting his shiftiness.
“Just…” Leon concealed his hand within the thick, wintry coat. “Are you going to stay in here?”
My eyes grew as I spotted a glint of metal. “You don’t… No, Leon. Please. Don’t tell me you have what I think you have.”
“We had no idea what we were going to find here,” The man protested.
I scoffed. “Leon Taylor? Carrying a gun? The boy who berated me for killing me a spider.”
Before he replied, there came the sound of the front door swinging open. And when we spun our heads back to the bedroom window, we saw that the man and woman were no longer on the street. I realised they were inside.
“Hello?” Called a man from downstairs. “We mean you no harm.”
“I have a weapon,” Leon yelled, slipping the pistol out of a hidden holster.
“Don’t shoot… It’s Bernie Bradley…” The man shouted weakly.
My mouth gaped. Bernie Bradley was in my brother’s school year. I remembered him. And as I recalled the face of the man I’d seen on the street, I didn’t find it hard to believe it had been the face of that same boy, twenty-six years into the future.
“What do you want?” I yelled.
“To help you,” He replied. “Before they come.”
“Who?” Leon asked.
“I’ll tell you if you put that weapon away,” Bernie said.
“I don’t trust you enough for that,” My friend growled.
“Are you Leon Taylor?” The man asked.
“Why?” Leon responded.
“Sydney Manley pushed you off the swing set, and you called her a fat cow,” Bernie said. “She ran home in tears.”
It wasn’t enough. In a place like that, which defied all laws of rationality, it wasn’t enough for Bernie Bradley to know that. But Leon and I needed it to be enough because we were hopelessly alone. Hopelessly afraid. And hopelessly desperate.
My friend re-holstered his weapon, and we walked onto the landing. Bernie and the woman were midway up the stairs. The man’s hands were raised, but the woman barely seemed aware of where they were. Barely seemed aware of herself.
“Leon Taylor and Jillian Maynard. Is that right?” Bernie asked.
“How did you recognise us?” I asked.
“You were the only ones who escaped,” He replied. “The Maynards and Leon Taylor.”
“The only ones?” Leon asked incredulously.
Bernie nodded. “Others tried, but the frost got them.”
“So, why aren’t you…” I started, unable to finish.
“Mind if we sit down before I answer that?” He asked.
I looked at Leon, and my friend begrudgingly nodded. We all headed to the living room and sat down. Once we did, Bernie Bradley told us an incredible story, and the woman beside him simply rocked on the sofa, face painted with a disturbing smile.
Bernie had been a ten-year-old boy, sitting at his bedroom desk, when the chill swept through his room. He told us that he remembered nothing but a black void. He might’ve been there for an eternity, or it might’ve been less than a moment.
When he woke from that dark slumber, still a ten-year-old boy sitting in the desk chair, Bernie looked out of the bedroom window. He was overcome by the horrible feeling that time had been lost, but he didn’t know how much. And when he saw residents frozen in the street, he realised that something awful had happened. Bernie found his own paused parents in the kitchen, and they were completely unresponsive to his pleas.
The lonely, frightened boy ran through the town, calling for help. Nobody answered. After a long day of searching, he returned to his house in tears. For a week, Bernie lived on cans of food from the cupboards. And then he heard shouting from the street.
“Hello? Is anybody there?” A man called.
Bernie ran outside to find Mr Johnson. The farmer had just woken from ‘a darkness’ to find the town full of statues. Bernie told Mr Johnson that he’d been alone for a week, but he had no idea how long he’d been frozen before that. The boy wanted to leave, but the farmer said they had to save as many people as possible. They had a duty to do so. After all, neither the farmer nor the boy knew what might happen to them if they were to run. The frost might return.
Anyway, Mr Johnson took Bernie under his wing. The crops in his field, thankfully, had unfrozen, as had his entire farmhouse. Mr Johnson fed Bernie, and the two of them survived. A week later, they found Elizabeth Coulter, the local headteacher, wandering through the town. Over the course of the following year, a dozen more unfrozen souls were saved and brought back to Mr Johnson’s farm.
But things changed as time passed. The newer thawed souls were unhinged. The longer a person had been trapped in that black stasis, the less human they became. They were still intelligible, but they spoke only of the voice in the void. A voice that they missed in the land of the living. They were irritable, but Mr Johnson cared for them, all the same. Eventually, they fled.
This only worsened as the years went by. After a decade, Bernie’s mother and father unfroze. However, his dad ran, and his mum only remained because she was lost and confused. She would rant and rave about the Speaker. The one that would make everything better. The one that would make them all eternal.
It was during the year of 2018 that things crossed a terrifying line. Mr Johnson had decided that newcomers were not welcome. It was a decision of necessity, not cruelty. The recently unfrozen folk had become more than unintelligible. They had become dangerous.
“Hark! The Speaker calls!” Walter Frankton screamed.
The middle-aged man, who had once been a police officer, was standing outside Mr Johnson’s farmhouse. When the community of sane people emerged, they screeched at the sight of Walter holding a charred body above his head. Nobody identified the burnt corpse, but Mr Johnson wasted no time in drawing his rifle and giving Mr Frankton ten seconds to flee.
Bernie explained that Walter laughed demonically, before disappearing into the night. Over the coming years, bodies were found in the street. Followers of the Speaker would relentlessly pursue Mr Johnson’s community, so the sane folk kept distant from the people of the Speaker. Few of Mr Johnson’s followers understood why they stayed, yet nobody felt able to leave. Something was keeping them there.
A couple of weeks before Leon and I arrived, however, Bernie said that Mr Johnson finally announced his plan to leave. There were murmurs of uncertainty. Everybody wanted to escape, of course, but fear had always stopped them. Still, they trusted Mr Johnson. If anybody had the power to safely lead them away from the place controlling their minds, it had to be the brave farmer. Packing and preparations began.
However, some days later, Bernie Bradley happened to look out of an upstairs window and notice Mr Johnson. The old man was wandering aimlessly onto the driveway, stumbling like a drunken man towards his vehicle. Bernie said there was a small child standing beside the car. The young boy led Mr Johnson to the driver’s door with a smile, and the two of them fled.
Things disintegrated after that. When a Molotov cocktail found its way through a window, the community dispersed. The sane folk fled in different directions, and Bernie was left alone with his mother.
“We’ve been running for days,” Bernie explained. “I keep finding the bodies of people from my community. Charred corpses in the street. I tried to leave this town, but it wouldn’t let me. The farther I drove, the sharper the pang in my heart. I knew I'd die if I were to keep going.”
“How did you find us?” Leon asked.
“I heard you,” Bernie replied. “Hard to miss the sound of an engine in a dead place like this. I had a hunch that it might be you.”
“You must've heard my brother then?” I asked hopefully.
Bernie frowned. “Alan's here? That might explain the raucous a few days ago… I don’t know what I heard. Noise. Lots of it... You won't find him, Jill. You have to run whilst it still lets you. The frost might be gone, but… something lingers.”
“The Speaker?” Leon asked.
Bernie nodded. “I was fortunate enough to never hear it. Or never remember hearing it. I don't know what it said to them. My mother won't tell me.”
Bernie looked at the woman next to him. The one who appeared to be the same age as him, though I realised he was still a decade younger. The horror of our town had aged him beyond his years.
“It will be so glorious…” Bernie’s mother giggled, eyes bearing faint pupils behind mild cataracts.
“You’re lucky that they didn’t see you arrive,” Bernie said. “Otherwise, you’d be dead already. But they’ll come. Sooner or later. And you need to listen to me if you want a safe way out of here. Okay? We need to distract them. Keep them off your backs.”
I shook my head. “I need to find my brother. I know he came to this town. I thought I'd find him in our home, but–”
“– Walter wanted him,” Bernie’s mother hissed.
The woman stopped rocking. Stopped smiling. And her head snapped to face me with such eerie speed that I thought it might entirely disconnect from her neck. Bernie quivered, seemingly just as horrified by his mother’s words as the rest of us.
“Mother…?” He asked.
“Walter wanted him. Walter wanted him. Walter wanted him!” The woman laughed, taunting me.
“What does she mean?” I sobbed. “Does Walter Frankton have my brother?”
Bernie’s face whitened. “If he does, your brother's either been flayed or charred.”
“Christ, Bernie,” Leon replied.
I sniffled. “I won’t leave until I know.”
“He’s already dead,” Bernie bluntly said.
“We don’t know that!” I cried.
I thought the others were sitting in stunned silence because I’d spoken so assertively. However, as I calmed my breathing, and the throbbing sensation in my ears quietened, I heard it too. The sound of laughing voices. Bernie’s mother strained to smile broadly. She looked as pained as my mother, but grateful for the privilege of the discomfort.
“You don't want to see this. We'll head through the back. Do not look at the street...” Bernie hoarsely pleaded as I rose.
But I was already running to the door.
I flung it open and started to run down the path, with Leon and Bernie in tow. Then, my eyes met the mob spilling beyond the end of the street. The crowd easily numbered a hundred people, and each face wore a terrible smile. Eyes glassy, yet all-seeing.
There was a man shuffling from the crowd towards me, like a terrified toddler taking its first steps. I tried to blot his face from my mind. I didn’t want to see it, though it was too late for that. I’d seen everything the moment I faced the crowd. Eventually, I fell to my knees and howled as I embraced the truth.
The shuffling man, who had been flayed alive, was my brother.
Alan reached towards me with an outstretched hand, weakly shouting something, before toppling forwards. He was reduced to a motionless heap on the road.
“Jill!” Leon cried again, rushing to me. “We have to go!”
I continued to wail as the gleeful crowd surged forwards. I resisted Leon, but he easily hauled my limp body to the car and bundled me into the back.
“He needs help...” I blubbered.
“He’s gone, Jill,” Leon whispered.
“What about your family?” I asked.
“They’re all gone...” He sniffled, stepping on the accelerator.
Staring through the rear-view window, I watched the crowd approach my old home. Bernie stood on the front porch, and his mother had her hands on his shoulders. The man did not run. As we pulled off the driveway, it almost seemed as if he, too, finally had a smile on his face. The mob swarmed Bernie, and I heard a brief cry of agony. It may have been ecstatic or fearful. It may have been both.
After we crossed the border, no chill pierced us. We were free to leave. But I know Leon and I belong to that town. I have always suspected that the wind grazed its teeth against my skin when I was a child. It grazed all of us. For, even now, I still feel that link. That urge to return to the salivating mob with a smile on my face.
When I returned home to find that my father was missing, I knew he felt it too.
submitted by Theeaglestrikes to nosleep [link] [comments]
Once others understood that, the time for running had passed.
The unholy wind reached the village’s main road, causing two moving cars to sharply and statically stop. The vehicles were frozen in place, much like the people within those metal graves. Onlookers, enjoying a brisk afternoon in the park, began to scream as loved ones succumbed to that supernatural end. Imprisoned in a capsuled moment of time.
Those first few victims were the lucky ones. They’d been oblivious to the fate which awaited them. True terror was endured by those who beheld the raw power of the wind. Those unfortunate enough to see the end coming.
Regardless, the remaining townsfolk, burdened with the awareness of impending doom, futilely attempted to escape the approaching breeze. Those fleeing residents, far slower than the unnatural frost, were halted in haunting poses as the wind bit into them. Limbs were suspended in mid-air positions. Eyes were left wide and unblinking. Mouths were cursed to forever gape in horror.
“RUN!” Dad screamed, sprinting towards us from a nearby park bench.
My brother, my childhood friend, and I were sitting in a sandbox. Already engrossed in a fantasy world, I wondered whether my imagination had conjured the wind. I thought my mind had transcended to a higher plane. It was my way of processing the trauma.
However, I accepted the reality of the situation when my father shoehorned the three of us into his Volkswagen Golf. The icy jaws of the wind were nearly nipping at the rear of the vehicle as Dad twisted the key in the ignition, but the beat-up car rapidly lurched forwards. My father wrenched us away from the frost, seconds before it consumed us.
“Daddy, where are we going?” I tearfully asked.
“I don’t know, Jillian,” He weakly moaned, manoeuvring around fleeing cars and pedestrians.
“Are we picking up Mummy?” Alan asked.
Dad ignored my brother’s question. I was only eight years old at the time, but I knew that my mother wasn’t coming. I understood the significance of the tears in my father’s eyes.
For twenty-six years, I successfully managed to suppress that memory. Did such a good job, in fact, that I almost believed it had all been a dream. I started to believe that we had simply moved away from our hometown, and Mum had simply chosen to stay. Dad never convinced me otherwise. He never talked about what happened. Neither did my brother.
As for Leon, he moved to an orphanage in Anchorage. We wrote to each other for a couple of years, but his replies became less and less frequent. Eventually, he stopped responding entirely. I used to wonder why my father didn’t adopt my childhood friend, but I suppose that would have forced him to accept what happened. And, like me, he had no intention of doing that.
I thought we would run back to England, having failed to achieve the American Dream. But Dad kept us in Alaska. I assumed that he’d been driven by stubbornness. Or guilt, perhaps. We’d already fled our home. Perhaps fleeing across the pond would’ve been a step too far. Perhaps it would’ve felt like truly abandoning our mother. Whatever his reason for staying, Dad didn’t tell anyone the truth. He never went to the police. He never returned to look for Mum.
“Don’t look back, kids,” I remember him whispering as we fled the frost.
I followed that advice for the next couple of decades, only recalling the event for the briefest moments, from time to time. When Dad bought the first computer for our family in 2000, I Googled the name of our old town. I typed the word before realising I was even doing so. I was still young, of course, but I knew that nothing about our speedy departure had been normal. I wanted answers.
I’d expected to discover that my village had become a ghost town. That would have made sense. Alaska’s unforgiving climate breeds desolate places, born to be abandoned. However, the search results revealed nothing, so I told myself I’d imagined the village. I told myself we'd always lived in Anchorage.
As the years passed, I became comfortable with the notion that none of it had ever been real. Not even my mother. And that was why I did not expect to see a certain person again.
“Happy birthday, Jill.”
My jaw dropped when Leon Taylor appeared on my doorstep.
It might seem strange that I would recognise a man who was a child when I last saw him, but Leon always had distinctive features. I immediately identified the mole on his neck, just below his facial scruff, and those sorrowful eyes, shadowed by his unmistakable overgrown brows.
“Leon?” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”
The man smiled weakly. “Sorry, Jill. I should’ve done this the Millennial way. Y’know. Reconnected through Facebook.”
“No, it’s… I just never thought I’d see you again. Do you want to come inside?” I asked, motioning at the hallway.
Leon nodded, so I made a couple of coffees whilst my old friend seated himself in the living room. A boy who I’d almost forgotten. Almost entirely erased from existence, just like our old town. But I’d always known, just beneath the surface of my shallow memories, that it had all been real. The truth of my childhood was always within reach. As I brought the drinks into the lounge, hands trembling, I tried to dispel the thoughts flooding my mind. Thoughts of that awful day.
“How’s your dad? How’s Alan?” Leon asked, taking the cup of coffee.
I sighed. “Dad’s been unwell for a few years. He hasn’t been taking care of himself, and he’s getting old. As for Alan… Well, Alan’s the way he’s always been. Uptight, and distant, but–”
“– When was the last time you spoke to him?” Leon sharply interjected.
The question caught me off-guard. “Huh?”
“Your brother. When was the last time you spoke to him?” Leon asked.
My face drained. He knows, I thought. How on Earth does he know?
“Three years ago,” I answered.
My old friend nodded. “Did you fall out?”
I scoffed. “That’s an understatement. You remember what he was like when we were kids, don’t you?”
Leon shrugged. “He was two years older than us. We must’ve infuriated him.”
I nodded. “Sure. But I grew up, and he never did. We had a big argument, and we haven't spoken since.”
“Interesting,” He responded.
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re a man of few words these days, Leon.”
The man cleared his throat. “Your brother messaged me a week ago.”
My other eyebrow raised. “What?”
“It was a very strange message.”
“Did you reply?” I asked. “I thought you would’ve preferred to ignore it.”
He lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Jillian. I replied to some of your letters…”
“Then you forgot about me,” I said. “It’s embarrassing that I didn’t get the hint.”
“It wasn’t embarrassing,” Leon sheepishly muttered. “I read all of them. Every last letter.”
“Oh, well, that’s great,” I laughed. “Nice to know that you cared.”
“Jillian, I…” Leon paused, lifting his head. “I was scared.”
“Scared of what?” I asked.
“Remembering that day,” He replied. “It’s why I told your dad I didn’t want to come and live with you.”
“It’s… What?” I asked.
Leon tilted his head. “You didn’t know? Did you really think he’d just dump me in that place? He might’ve changed, but your dad was never cold. Still, I refused. Living with you would’ve reminded me of what happened to my family.”
I didn't reply, so my old friend prodded the beast. “Aren’t we going to talk about–”
“– Why did my brother message you?” I interrupted, avoiding the topic.
Leon twitched his lips uncertainly, as if unwilling to part them.
“He told me that I had to see you…” Leon trailed off.
“Right,” I said. “Why?”
“Your brother said something insane, Jillian,” He said. “He claimed that Arnold Walker visited him in Fairbanks.”
My jaw fell. “I beg your pardon? Arnold Walker? My brother’s school friend?”
Leon nodded.
“He escaped? I didn't know others got out,” I whispered.
My old friend’s face was growing paler. “No, I... Your brother said something that seemed impossible. He said that Arnold did not arrive on his doorstep as a thirty-six-year-old man, but a ten-year-old child.”
My stomach dropped. The natural response would’ve been to discredit such an outlandish story, refuting it with a rational explanation. But Leon’s revelation served to do only one thing. It confirmed what I’d always known.
“A ten-year-old boy made it all the way from our hometown to Fairbanks?” I asked meekly.
Leon frowned. “That’s it? You’re not going to question it? I did. I messaged Alan repeatedly, but he never replied.”
“Not a nice feeling, is it?” I asked, sighing. “How did you want me to react, Leon? You were itching to talk about that day. Well, I’m not skirting around the subject now. Let’s talk about it. Okay? I know all of that horror really happened. I’d just never wanted anyone to confirm it.”
“Me neither,” Leon said. “I was trying to avoid your family for the rest of my life. Your brother ruined that.”
“Yeah. He tends to ruin things,” I replied. “So, that’s it? Alan wanted you to tell me about Arnold Walker?”
Leon shivered. “There’s more, but… Look, I know I should’ve messaged you about all of this first, but I thought about the way Alan avoided my questions. I didn’t want you to do the same. I assumed if I were to show up in person, then–”
“– I wouldn’t be able to run away,” I finished. “I understand, Leon. I just hate that my brother is still too childish to talk to me.”
“Funny. He called you childish too. Listening to you two bicker is nostalgic,” Leon smiled, before quickly adopting a solemn expression. “I’m trying to change the subject, but I need to rip off the band-aid. Alan said that Arnold took him to a car on the front lawn. There was a man in the driver’s seat, barely clinging to life, with a face mangled beyond recognition. Your brother said the man’s skin had been peeled from his face… And he was still, somehow, alive.”
I shuddered, vomit climbing my throat.
“Arnold told your brother that the man was Mr Johnson,” Leon whispered.
“The farmer? The one who ran the local grocery store?” I asked, shivering.
My friend nodded. “Yeah. Alan said he’d aged a little. Well, his hair was greyer than he remembered. The pair must’ve been on the road for hours, and your brother didn’t know how they knew where to find him. He had so many questions for them, but Mr Johnson died before the ambulance arrived. And whilst Alan talked to the paramedics, Arnold ran away. He’s missing.”
“Shit…” I whispered. “I’ll call my brother.”
“You might struggle,” Leon said. “Alan ended the message by saying that he was going back… home.”
I gawped. “No. He wouldn’t be that stupid.”
“Maybe not. You should try to contact him,” Leon said. “He hasn’t replied to my dozens of messages, but he might reply to you. Not sure he even has a signal, out there in the boonies, but you’re right. You should try.”
I spent an hour trying to contact my brother, in various ways, but he did not respond. Alan had vanished. And I knew, like it or not, that I had to return to our village too. I should’ve told Dad. Would've told him, had he not been one bad day away from a heart attack. In spite of the man he’d become, I loved him. I didn’t want to remind him of the place we’d fled.
One person should be spared the horror of remembering, I thought.
Leon and I, two strangers who’d spent formative years together, piled into my Kia, and we drove from Anchorage to a place that I’d long hoped had never really existed.
I was going to be horribly disappointed.
On a nondescript road that burrowed into the Alaskan wilderness, my throat started to twist and constrict. The outer edge of my vision shrank, and my head pulsated with a slowing rhythm as the world slipped away from me. I struggled to breathe as I came to terms with an awful fact.
I recognised that endless road.
“Jillian…” Leon whispered.
“Don’t,” I begged.
I didn’t want to hear it. I wasn’t ready. I’d known all along, of course, that our village existed. Even when extensive research had revealed nothing about the town. When I thought of the way the breeze consumed the town, erasing its residents, it made sense that it would erase the very place itself. After all, even I’d started to doubt its existence, and I’d lived there.
Accepting the unearthly nature of the event wasn’t as tough as you might imagine. If anything, I had fought hard to deny it. I wanted to ignore the existence of a paranormal force, though I had witnessed it with my own eyes. Even if there were some Alaskan breeze powerful enough to instantaneously freeze an entire town, we hadn’t witnessed that. We’d seen something else. We’d seen that glacial wind freeze the town. Not its people, but its tether to time.
After an hour of following the frosted landscape, we saw something familiar on the horizon. Leon’s face mirrored mine as our damned village appeared. A bulge of ruin and decay, growing as we neared it. And when we crossed the threshold into the desolate town, the reality of our quest finally dawned on me.
“Where is everybody?” Leon asked.
It might seem a moronic question to an outsider. Our old village was clearly an abandoned place. No rational person would expect anybody else to be there. Of course, I understood Leon. He had asked the same terrifying question that was circling the drain of my mind, refusing to flush away.
I thought back to that terrible day on which hundreds of people froze in time. Then I thought of Arnold Walker and Mr Johnson. The two residents who’d supposedly shown up at my brother’s door. One of them had looked no older than he’d been in 1998.
“Time resumed,” I finally mumbled.
“Yes, but where did everybody go?” My childhood friend asked.
I didn’t have an answer. Neither did my brother, and that was why he’d come here.
That’s not the real reason, I thought. He was hoping to find… her.
I rolled onto my old street, noting that the trees swayed in the wind and birds flew overhead. Signs that time was flowing. I wondered whether others had fled in the same fashion as Arnold and Mr Johnson. I even allowed my heart to soar a little as I considered that my mother might have freed herself. Might have found Dad in Anchorage. Might be wondering where Alan and I had gone.
However, I knew that not to be the case. Mum had not arrived at my door, and there had been no national news coverage about people emerging from a town that didn’t exist. There had only been an old, half-butchered man and a quiet boy. Both were gone. And I had questions about the nature of their escape from our hometown, given my brother’s ominous message to Leon.
Something was still dreadfully wrong with our village. Twenty-six years had not changed that. The people of the village had not disappeared into the sunset. Whatever had happened to them, I knew it wasn’t good. Possibly worse than what happened to Arnold Walker and Mr Johnson.
I pulled onto the driveway of my childhood home, gently trundling over cracked asphalt. Weeds squirmed through the wounds of the suburb, as nature sought to erase my childhood from existence. There was no need for that, of course. The wind of 1998, and whatever secrets it held, had already done a fine job of wiping my hometown from reality.
“Do you think he’s come here?” Leon asked as I turned off the engine.
“Yes. We both know who he wanted to find,” I said.
My childhood friend nodded, and we both sombrely climbed out of the vehicle.
The village was colder than I remembered. For a mid-afternoon day in late May, it was unseasonably chilly. Alaska, for the most part, is not the arctic hellscape that many people imagine. Not in all parts of the state, anyhow, and certainly not in late spring. The air also felt stale. It carried the stench of evil, and it seemed to be tinged with frost. As if that demonic breeze were still lingering in the air, nearly three decades later.
I knocked on the rotten front door, surprised that it did not break with a slight rap of my hand.
“Alan?” I yelled. “It’s Jillian.”
My brother did not respond, but I wasn’t concerned. If he had been there, and Mum hadn’t, then he wouldn’t have wanted to stay. I wanted to use that as an excuse to turn around and leave. I already assumed that my mother wouldn’t be there, but another part of me knew that my assumption was more of a wish. In a similar way, I had been secretly glad to find nobody in the town. There was only one person I hoped to find in my old village, and that was Alan.
I was terrified by the prospect of finding anything else.
“Jill…” Leon started softly. “Come on. We have to do it.”
“Do we?” I asked. “This was a mistake. We should turn around. We–”
“– I agree,” Leon sharply interjected. “But we have to find your brother. And when we do, we’ll convince him to come back with us. We’ll convince him to leave this place behind too.”
“Why did you come to see me, Leon?” I asked. “You could’ve ignored my brother’s message. You could’ve pretended none of this had ever happened. That’s what you did when you started ignoring my letters, isn’t it?”
“I deeply regretted that for years, Jill,” He said softly. “You were my best friend. You were… more than that. We were just kids, but I loved you. I’ve not made another connection like ours. Not even in my adult life.”
“I know,” I replied. “I loved you too, Leon. That’s why it hurt when you let our bond peter out. If you’d cut me off from the start, I would’ve understood. But it just felt like you’d stopped caring.”
“Never. I just lost the strength to bear that trauma,” He explained. “Every letter was a reminder, and I just… That’s why I came to your door. That’s why I didn’t ignore what your brother said. I didn’t want something to happen to him. You lost your mother. I didn’t want you to lose him too.”
“We all lost things,” I sniffled. “You lost… more than me. I just don’t understand why you’d come back. Why my brother would come back. I don’t even understand why I’ve come back.”
“We never really left this place, did we?” Leon asked. “Not in our minds. Even though it doesn’t exist in the eyes of the outside world, it never left us. Never let go. Arnold Walker and Mr Johnson lured Alan back. And he lured us back.”
“That’s an unsettling way of looking at it,” I timidly replied.
“It’s the only way I’ve been able to look at it,” He said. “Whatever claimed this place, it remembered us, and it made sure we remembered it. Not that it would be easy to forget… For years, I thought I’d lost my mind, but after talking to you and Alan, I’m not so sure. I find it hard to believe that we’d have experienced a shared delusion. No, it all really happened. And the memory replays in my mind every day. I’ll never get rid of it.”
“Dad seemed to do a good job of erasing this place from his mind,” I said.
I knew that wasn’t true, of course. He had never forgotten. That was made apparent by his deterioration. Alan and I had a close relationship with our father before we left that village. Afterwards, he changed. We all changed. Losing Mum had fractured the family, but there was more to it than that. I started to consider that Leon might be right. Perhaps the frost hadn’t ensnared the two of us, but it had certainly bitten us.
“Do you want me to do it?” Leon eventually asked.
I wanted to be courageous enough to open the door, but I wasn’t. I nodded meekly and stepped aside, allowing my childhood friend the nightmarish task of facing whatever lay within my old home. He pushed the door handle down, expecting the house to be unlocked, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Shall we try the back?” I asked.
Leon backed up. I quickly realised what he was planning to do, and I opened my mouth to utter a protest. My hulking friend had charged before I spoke a single word, however, and he hurled his body into the door. It quivered in its frame, but did not give.
“Leon!” I cried. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I don’t suppose you have the key?” He panted, massaging his shoulder.
I held up my hands. “Look, let’s just…”
My friend rushed forwards again, and the result was the same. This time, however, Leon released a groan of pain, clutching his arm a little more tightly.
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” I said. “Let’s take it in turns to kick the door. That'll work better, and it won’t cripple either of us.”
Leon nodded, and the two of us firmly booted the door near the handle. The wood quaked, and it only took a few attacks for the door to splinter around the lock. The frame splayed inwards, and the metal mechanism fell loose.
“Whoops… That worked a little too well,” Leon laughed.
He led the way into my childhood home, which looked, unlike the street outside, the same as I remembered. The same as it had looked on the day I’d left. There were no shoes left by the door. No muddy prints on the carpet. No indication whatsoever that my brother had visited our old home, which I’d gathered when the front door had been locked. But this was not a relief. I knew, in my gut, that Alan would’ve gone there first.
He never made it home.
Leon shivered. “This place feels cold…”
“Frozen,” I corrected. “Frozen in time.”
“Is it safe for us to be here?” He asked. “What if we end up like the others?”
“It’s a bit late to ask that now,” I replied. “The breeze passed long ago. This just seems to be the horror it left behind.”
Leon accepted my suggestion, then he wandered over to the staircase. My friend took one step before halting in place. For a haunting moment, I believed that he had been frozen in time too. I believed that I’d been wrong, and the frost had come for us. But I quickly realised that my friend was still moving. Still twitching. He was frozen by fear, not a supernatural gale.
“There’s someone in the bathroom…” Leon wheezed.
With physical dread in every inch of my body, I joined my friend and looked up. Artificial light spilled beneath the bathroom door onto the dark landing.
“There might not be anyone in there,” I shakily said.
“Jillian, this is an abandoned town. There is no electricity. Your house is still frozen in time, and it froze with the bathroom light left on. Somebody must have been–”
“– Don’t say it,” I pleaded, upper lip trembling.
“Do you want me to lead the way?” He asked.
I didn’t. I wanted to run, but I knew I would never forgive myself for doing so. Leon was right, of course. I hadn’t allowed him to finish his sentence, but it was clear that he was going to mention somebody in particular. Somebody whose face flooded my mind as we ascended the staircase, one tentative step at a time. Somebody whose name started to tickle my lips as Leon grasped the handle to the door.
It wasn’t locked.
“Mum?” I moaned as Leon inched it open.
My ageless mother was inside.
I’m sure I would’ve screamed at whatever we found, but I was not prepared for the state of the statue before me. Mum was standing at the sink, hands cupped below a stream of tap water suspended in time. As I had always feared, the frost caught her. It was horrifying enough to be frozen in time for twenty-six years, whilst the rest of the world continued, but that wasn’t why I screamed. I’d braced myself for that possibility. I’d spent my entire adult life coming to terms with it.
I screamed because I wasn’t prepared to see her face.
Mum was smiling. Not a wholesome smile. It was a taut grin that etched an unnerving crescent shape across her cheeks. There was nothing unnatural about the grin, but it looked painful. And it appeared as if cataracts had taken the entirety of her pupils.
“Mum?” I asked weakly. “Do you hear me?”
There was no reply. I peered around the side of her face, and I immediately regretted it. Though she was frozen in time, she did not look unaware. I felt her sightless eyes boring into my face, and I quickly jumped backwards.
“Let’s go and find your brother,” Leon fearfully said.
As I nodded, backing towards the doorway, I locked my gaze onto my mother’s profile. My heart pounded as I started to close the bathroom door. I was trying to ignore the idea that had wormed into my mind. The possibility that, behind the glassy cataract, a pupil might still exist. Lying dormant. Watching me from a face that no longer seemed to belong to my mother.
After I shut the door, Leon and I took a few moments to control our breathing. With a slight tremble, my friend finally walked over to the light switch and raised a hand, but I caught his wrist.
“What are you doing?” He frowned.
“Leave the light on,” I whispered. “I… don’t like the idea of leaving her in the dark.”
My friend’s expression softened, and he nodded, seeming to understand my explanation. Seeming to empathise. But I was lying. I wasn’t worried about leaving my mother in the dark. I was worried about the thing behind that smiling face.
“Alan didn’t come here,” I said. “Did he really come back?”
“You read the message, Jillian,” Leon replied.
“I know, but…” I sighed. “I know.”
“He might not have come to the house,” My friend suggested.
“This is the first place he would’ve visited,” I said. “If Mum weren’t here, he wouldn’t have returned.”
“Well, let’s look around,” Leon urged. “You never know. We might find something else. Something to help your mother, perhaps.”
“You saw her face,” I whispered. “She looked far past help.”
“Don’t say that, Jillian!” Leon shouted, eyes watering.
You idiot, I thought.
I was so self-centred. So focused on finding my brother and my mother. I hadn’t thought about Leon’s parents. His brother, Carl. People we’d left behind when my father saved us. I remembered Leon sobbing as he begged my father to turn around.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We need to find your family too.”
Leon viciously shook his head. “Only if we find an answer, Jill. Only if we find a way to save them.”
My friend entered my childhood bedroom, and I followed him. I imagine that visiting one’s childhood home is a strange experience for anyone, but strangeness morphs into horror when that home is trapped in a moment of time. I felt physically unwell when I saw the glass of water on the bedside table, fresh as it had been on the day that my dad took us to the park. Life had continued for me, but the town was still trapped in that dreadful, inexplicable day.
“Jillian,” Leon said calmly. “There are people outside.”
He was standing in front of my bedroom window, and when I joined him, eyeing the road below, I saw them. A man and a woman who seemed to be in their mid-forties. The man wore ill-fitting clothes. A chequered shirt two sizes too small, and a pair of torn jeans. The woman, on the other hand, wore a pristine, shapely dress with a floral pattern. She looked oddly familiar, though her eyes were jittery and unfocused. It was the man who’d locked his eyes onto our house.
“I… vaguely recognise her,” Leon said.
I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know her name, but I remember her. She looks a tad older, perhaps. I don’t know the man though.”
“You stay here,” Leon said, reaching inside his coat. “Don’t come out.”
“What are you holding?” I frowned, noting his shiftiness.
“Just…” Leon concealed his hand within the thick, wintry coat. “Are you going to stay in here?”
My eyes grew as I spotted a glint of metal. “You don’t… No, Leon. Please. Don’t tell me you have what I think you have.”
“We had no idea what we were going to find here,” The man protested.
I scoffed. “Leon Taylor? Carrying a gun? The boy who berated me for killing me a spider.”
Before he replied, there came the sound of the front door swinging open. And when we spun our heads back to the bedroom window, we saw that the man and woman were no longer on the street. I realised they were inside.
“Hello?” Called a man from downstairs. “We mean you no harm.”
“I have a weapon,” Leon yelled, slipping the pistol out of a hidden holster.
“Don’t shoot… It’s Bernie Bradley…” The man shouted weakly.
My mouth gaped. Bernie Bradley was in my brother’s school year. I remembered him. And as I recalled the face of the man I’d seen on the street, I didn’t find it hard to believe it had been the face of that same boy, twenty-six years into the future.
“What do you want?” I yelled.
“To help you,” He replied. “Before they come.”
“Who?” Leon asked.
“I’ll tell you if you put that weapon away,” Bernie said.
“I don’t trust you enough for that,” My friend growled.
“Are you Leon Taylor?” The man asked.
“Why?” Leon responded.
“Sydney Manley pushed you off the swing set, and you called her a fat cow,” Bernie said. “She ran home in tears.”
It wasn’t enough. In a place like that, which defied all laws of rationality, it wasn’t enough for Bernie Bradley to know that. But Leon and I needed it to be enough because we were hopelessly alone. Hopelessly afraid. And hopelessly desperate.
My friend re-holstered his weapon, and we walked onto the landing. Bernie and the woman were midway up the stairs. The man’s hands were raised, but the woman barely seemed aware of where they were. Barely seemed aware of herself.
“Leon Taylor and Jillian Maynard. Is that right?” Bernie asked.
“How did you recognise us?” I asked.
“You were the only ones who escaped,” He replied. “The Maynards and Leon Taylor.”
“The only ones?” Leon asked incredulously.
Bernie nodded. “Others tried, but the frost got them.”
“So, why aren’t you…” I started, unable to finish.
“Mind if we sit down before I answer that?” He asked.
I looked at Leon, and my friend begrudgingly nodded. We all headed to the living room and sat down. Once we did, Bernie Bradley told us an incredible story, and the woman beside him simply rocked on the sofa, face painted with a disturbing smile.
Bernie had been a ten-year-old boy, sitting at his bedroom desk, when the chill swept through his room. He told us that he remembered nothing but a black void. He might’ve been there for an eternity, or it might’ve been less than a moment.
When he woke from that dark slumber, still a ten-year-old boy sitting in the desk chair, Bernie looked out of the bedroom window. He was overcome by the horrible feeling that time had been lost, but he didn’t know how much. And when he saw residents frozen in the street, he realised that something awful had happened. Bernie found his own paused parents in the kitchen, and they were completely unresponsive to his pleas.
The lonely, frightened boy ran through the town, calling for help. Nobody answered. After a long day of searching, he returned to his house in tears. For a week, Bernie lived on cans of food from the cupboards. And then he heard shouting from the street.
“Hello? Is anybody there?” A man called.
Bernie ran outside to find Mr Johnson. The farmer had just woken from ‘a darkness’ to find the town full of statues. Bernie told Mr Johnson that he’d been alone for a week, but he had no idea how long he’d been frozen before that. The boy wanted to leave, but the farmer said they had to save as many people as possible. They had a duty to do so. After all, neither the farmer nor the boy knew what might happen to them if they were to run. The frost might return.
Anyway, Mr Johnson took Bernie under his wing. The crops in his field, thankfully, had unfrozen, as had his entire farmhouse. Mr Johnson fed Bernie, and the two of them survived. A week later, they found Elizabeth Coulter, the local headteacher, wandering through the town. Over the course of the following year, a dozen more unfrozen souls were saved and brought back to Mr Johnson’s farm.
But things changed as time passed. The newer thawed souls were unhinged. The longer a person had been trapped in that black stasis, the less human they became. They were still intelligible, but they spoke only of the voice in the void. A voice that they missed in the land of the living. They were irritable, but Mr Johnson cared for them, all the same. Eventually, they fled.
This only worsened as the years went by. After a decade, Bernie’s mother and father unfroze. However, his dad ran, and his mum only remained because she was lost and confused. She would rant and rave about the Speaker. The one that would make everything better. The one that would make them all eternal.
It was during the year of 2018 that things crossed a terrifying line. Mr Johnson had decided that newcomers were not welcome. It was a decision of necessity, not cruelty. The recently unfrozen folk had become more than unintelligible. They had become dangerous.
“Hark! The Speaker calls!” Walter Frankton screamed.
The middle-aged man, who had once been a police officer, was standing outside Mr Johnson’s farmhouse. When the community of sane people emerged, they screeched at the sight of Walter holding a charred body above his head. Nobody identified the burnt corpse, but Mr Johnson wasted no time in drawing his rifle and giving Mr Frankton ten seconds to flee.
Bernie explained that Walter laughed demonically, before disappearing into the night. Over the coming years, bodies were found in the street. Followers of the Speaker would relentlessly pursue Mr Johnson’s community, so the sane folk kept distant from the people of the Speaker. Few of Mr Johnson’s followers understood why they stayed, yet nobody felt able to leave. Something was keeping them there.
A couple of weeks before Leon and I arrived, however, Bernie said that Mr Johnson finally announced his plan to leave. There were murmurs of uncertainty. Everybody wanted to escape, of course, but fear had always stopped them. Still, they trusted Mr Johnson. If anybody had the power to safely lead them away from the place controlling their minds, it had to be the brave farmer. Packing and preparations began.
However, some days later, Bernie Bradley happened to look out of an upstairs window and notice Mr Johnson. The old man was wandering aimlessly onto the driveway, stumbling like a drunken man towards his vehicle. Bernie said there was a small child standing beside the car. The young boy led Mr Johnson to the driver’s door with a smile, and the two of them fled.
Things disintegrated after that. When a Molotov cocktail found its way through a window, the community dispersed. The sane folk fled in different directions, and Bernie was left alone with his mother.
“We’ve been running for days,” Bernie explained. “I keep finding the bodies of people from my community. Charred corpses in the street. I tried to leave this town, but it wouldn’t let me. The farther I drove, the sharper the pang in my heart. I knew I'd die if I were to keep going.”
“How did you find us?” Leon asked.
“I heard you,” Bernie replied. “Hard to miss the sound of an engine in a dead place like this. I had a hunch that it might be you.”
“You must've heard my brother then?” I asked hopefully.
Bernie frowned. “Alan's here? That might explain the raucous a few days ago… I don’t know what I heard. Noise. Lots of it... You won't find him, Jill. You have to run whilst it still lets you. The frost might be gone, but… something lingers.”
“The Speaker?” Leon asked.
Bernie nodded. “I was fortunate enough to never hear it. Or never remember hearing it. I don't know what it said to them. My mother won't tell me.”
Bernie looked at the woman next to him. The one who appeared to be the same age as him, though I realised he was still a decade younger. The horror of our town had aged him beyond his years.
“It will be so glorious…” Bernie’s mother giggled, eyes bearing faint pupils behind mild cataracts.
“You’re lucky that they didn’t see you arrive,” Bernie said. “Otherwise, you’d be dead already. But they’ll come. Sooner or later. And you need to listen to me if you want a safe way out of here. Okay? We need to distract them. Keep them off your backs.”
I shook my head. “I need to find my brother. I know he came to this town. I thought I'd find him in our home, but–”
“– Walter wanted him,” Bernie’s mother hissed.
The woman stopped rocking. Stopped smiling. And her head snapped to face me with such eerie speed that I thought it might entirely disconnect from her neck. Bernie quivered, seemingly just as horrified by his mother’s words as the rest of us.
“Mother…?” He asked.
“Walter wanted him. Walter wanted him. Walter wanted him!” The woman laughed, taunting me.
“What does she mean?” I sobbed. “Does Walter Frankton have my brother?”
Bernie’s face whitened. “If he does, your brother's either been flayed or charred.”
“Christ, Bernie,” Leon replied.
I sniffled. “I won’t leave until I know.”
“He’s already dead,” Bernie bluntly said.
“We don’t know that!” I cried.
I thought the others were sitting in stunned silence because I’d spoken so assertively. However, as I calmed my breathing, and the throbbing sensation in my ears quietened, I heard it too. The sound of laughing voices. Bernie’s mother strained to smile broadly. She looked as pained as my mother, but grateful for the privilege of the discomfort.
“You don't want to see this. We'll head through the back. Do not look at the street...” Bernie hoarsely pleaded as I rose.
But I was already running to the door.
I flung it open and started to run down the path, with Leon and Bernie in tow. Then, my eyes met the mob spilling beyond the end of the street. The crowd easily numbered a hundred people, and each face wore a terrible smile. Eyes glassy, yet all-seeing.
There was a man shuffling from the crowd towards me, like a terrified toddler taking its first steps. I tried to blot his face from my mind. I didn’t want to see it, though it was too late for that. I’d seen everything the moment I faced the crowd. Eventually, I fell to my knees and howled as I embraced the truth.
The shuffling man, who had been flayed alive, was my brother.
Alan reached towards me with an outstretched hand, weakly shouting something, before toppling forwards. He was reduced to a motionless heap on the road.
“Jill!” Leon cried again, rushing to me. “We have to go!”
I continued to wail as the gleeful crowd surged forwards. I resisted Leon, but he easily hauled my limp body to the car and bundled me into the back.
“He needs help...” I blubbered.
“He’s gone, Jill,” Leon whispered.
“What about your family?” I asked.
“They’re all gone...” He sniffled, stepping on the accelerator.
Staring through the rear-view window, I watched the crowd approach my old home. Bernie stood on the front porch, and his mother had her hands on his shoulders. The man did not run. As we pulled off the driveway, it almost seemed as if he, too, finally had a smile on his face. The mob swarmed Bernie, and I heard a brief cry of agony. It may have been ecstatic or fearful. It may have been both.
After we crossed the border, no chill pierced us. We were free to leave. But I know Leon and I belong to that town. I have always suspected that the wind grazed its teeth against my skin when I was a child. It grazed all of us. For, even now, I still feel that link. That urge to return to the salivating mob with a smile on my face.
When I returned home to find that my father was missing, I knew he felt it too.
2024.06.04 11:13 Alternative_Try6604 After some thinking
I decided to share something I did! Rewrote most of the scenes I liked in Rescue Team DX during a playthrough once, as well as made the player(Meowth in my playthrough) and the partner(Pikachu in my playthrough) more lively, instead of just talking like npcs! Many other Pokemon are more fleshed out like Absol and Rayquaza too! Please read!~
(For those who can't click the link, I'll paste the thing here!)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l3GFbnQKp3iIjmF-CrSKIBZkUDetopYsYphanVV6HCE/edit?usp=sharing
{{Meowth}}: ****Where am I…? Am I dreamin’ dis? … I feel… A breeze… I hear a voice…*** Ngh… *Meowth’s eyes open to a small slit* … ***I wondah…***{{Pikachu}}: y… ey… … Hey!
{{Meowth}]: ***Eh? Who’s dat…?***
{{Pikachu}}: Wake up… Come on–wake up!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth groans quietly as he fully opens his eyes, slowly. He almost immediately closed them again though as he’s nearly blinded by the beaming sun* Ungh! Yeesh, dat’s bright! … H-hah?
{{Pikachu}}: *Meowth could see a Pikachu leaning over him; A TALKING Pikachu at that!* Y-you’re finally awake!
{{Meowth}}: ***Guh… Where da hell am I anyways?*** Mreoow, my head’s killin’ me… *Meowth slowly opened both eyes as he blinked a few times. He looks around left to right slowly, seeing that he was in some sort of forested area with bright, lush grass and large trees all around*
{{Pikachu}}: You fell out of the sky all of a sudden and passed out here! Oh Arceus, I was getting worried… *Pikachu smiled widely* I’m glad you’re okay though! At least I think… That was a pretty nasty fall…
{{Meowth}}: ***I guess I ain't imaginin’ anyting! Dat Pikachu IS talkin’!!***
{{Pikachu}}: *He steps closer to Meowth* What’s with the look on your face… You look like you’ve seen a talking Pokemon or something! Hehe~ Who’re you? *He tilts his head with a curious look on his face*
{{Meowth}}: GAAAH!! *Meowth jumps up in a panic, taking a defensive stance* Get da hell away from me, ya talkin’ freak!
{{Pikachu}}: Pi! *Pikachu squealed, stumbling back a bit as he was shocked at the violent reaction from Meowth!* B–but… *He points at Meowth* You’re a Meowth and YOU’RE talking!
{{Meowth}}: In yer dreams, rat! I’m a human trough and trough! Ya can’t fool me! *Meowth turns away, folding his arms as he says that*
{{Pikachu}}: No, really! You look just like a Meowth in every way! From ear to toe! *He had a shocked face*
{{Meowth}}: Wha? *Meowth looks around him, then looks down at his paws, flexing them then looking down at his pheet, wiggling his toes a little. He goes and looks into a nearby pond and gasps, his maw open a bit* MEOOOOOW?! ***It’s true! I HAVE turned into a Meowth! Is dat why I’m talkin’ like dis?!***
{{Pikachu}}: ***Is it that much of a shock…? He’s kind of a weird guy, but I can’t just leave him here!*** Um… Hey, I know! How about I lead you to town~? It’s really close to here actually!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth thinks for a bit then slowly nods* I gots nowhere else ta go, so why not~
{{Narrator}}: *A cry for help rang through the forest as a panicked Butterfree can be seen*
{{Butterfree}}: Help meee! Somebody!! *A Butterfree suddenly comes flying towards Pikachu and Meowth*
{{Meowth}}: Woah! Hey, what’s da panic?? Ya look like ya lost yer kid in a fissure or someting! *Meowth was looking at Butterfree with widened eyes*
{{Butterfree}}: *She looks around, worried, then looks at Meowth again, heart beating quick as fast as her wings are fluttering!* I–I did! My poor little Caterpie got swallowed up by a fissure that opened up under us when we were attacked by angry Pokemon!
{{Meowth}}: Meow?! Yous guys was attacked?! *Meowth looked at Butterfree in surprise*
{{Butterfree}}: Y-yes… I tried to rescue my Caterpie myself, but I was nearly swiped at! Ooh… He’s not old enough to climb out by himself, and I’m worried he’ll be hurt!
{{Meowth}}: Oh boy… Pikachu…?
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu folds his arms, closing his eyes* Hmm… *He grins, opening one eye* We’ll find your kid and bring him back to you~! Right, Meowth?
{{Meowth}}: We will? *Meowth looks at Pikachu puzzled, then after a while, nods, looking at Butterfree and giving her a thumbs up, also giving her a grin* Y-yea! We will! Don’t sweat it, nyahaha~!
{{Pikachu}}: Meowth! Let’s go! *Pikachu, with a determined look on his face, begins to run off, with both his arms behind him*
{{Meowth}}: Right behind ya, squirt! *Meowth takes off after Pikachu in a similar manner; arms behind him!*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *After a while of running, the two Pokemon came to a stop in what seemed like a wooded area covered in foliage with high walls, almost like a maze…*
{{Pikachu}}: This place… Could it be…? *Pikachu looks around slowly, slowly spinning then gasps* It is! It’s a Mystery Dungeon~!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth looks at Pikachu confused* A Mystery Dungeon? What in da world’s dat?
{{Pikachu}}: Well~ *Pikachu puts his arms behind his head* A Mystery Dungeon’s a real strange place… I hear, the layout of one and the items you can find inside one can change every time you enter!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth huffs, folding his arms and looking around* Dat sure doesn’t sound gimmicky as hell…
{{Pikachu}}: Haha~ It shouldn’t be too bad! Now if only we can find the Stairs…
{{Meowth}}: Eh? *Meowth turns to Pikachu, arms still folded*
{{Pikachu}}: The Stairs let us get through places like this, but we have to find ‘em! *He looks at Meowth, nodding* and if push comes to shove, we’ll have to fight other Pokemon too. C’mon!~ *Pikachu begins to run ahead with his arms behind him, his tail flicking from left to right with the pace of his steps*
{{Meowth}}: ***Meow… Dis is gonna be a trip an’ a half, I know it…*** Hold on, wait fah me, squirt!! *Meowth begins to run after Pikachu again, arms behind him*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *After Pikachu and Meowth made their way to the final basement floor of the woods-like dungeon, 4BF, they arrived at a clearing. And in the middle of said clearing, was a scared looking Caterpie*
{{Caterpie}}: *Caterpie sniffles softly, tears in his eyes* W-waaah…! M-mommyyy? *Caterpie looks around worriedly, seeing no signs of his Butterfree mother*
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth run towards Caterpie as Pikachu puts a paw around Caterpie*
{{Pikachu}}: Hey, you’re hurt, are you?! Don’t worry, your mom sent us to come get you out… Hup! *Pikachu gently hoists Caterpie up onto his back*
{{Caterpie}}: Uwa! U-um… Huh…?
{{Pikachu}}: Your mom’s waiting! Hang tight, lil’ bug~ *Pikachu begins to walk towards the stairs again and to the exit*
{{Caterpie}}: O-okay!
{{Meowth}}: ***”Lil’ bug”? Since when did he start talkin’ like me?*** Hopefully she’s okay… *Meowth walked beside Pikachu*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon seeing Pikachu and Meowth exiting Tiny Woods with Caterpie in tow, the once anxious Butterfree breathes a sigh of relief, flying closer to them both*
{{Butterfree}}: My little Caterpie is alright, thank goodness…! *Butterfree slowly takes Caterpie from Pikachu* How can I ever repay you~?
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu shakes his head* No, no, it’s okay! And with the recent quakes and fissures stirring so much trouble… It was the least we could do~! Glad your boy’s safe!
{{Butterfree}}: *Butterfree gives Pikachu a stern look, then smiles* I can’t allow that, please… Take this as a gift~ *She gives Pikachu a small brown sack*
{{Narrator}}: *Curious, Pikachu opens the sack and gasp, as Meowth was even shocked too*{{Pikachu}}: W-wah?! 500 Poke Gold?!
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth turns to see Caterpie staring at him with sparkling eyes, then Meowth tilts his head, confused* Nya? … ***Dis lil’ guy’s starin’ at me all adorable like…***
{{Caterpie}}: T-thank you! Both of you!
{{Butterfree}}: Good-bye… Take care, you two! *Butterfree smiles as she flies away with Caterpie*
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth both wave the two Bug-type Pokemon off and Pikachu turns to Meowth*
{{Pikachu}}: Hey, thanks for the help! You’re actually kinda strong for a Meowth~!
{{Meowth}}: Eh? *Meowth turns and smiles slightly at his Electric Rodent friend* Whyy thank ya! You ain’t too shabby yerself, squirt~
{{Pikachu}}: Listen… If you really don’t have anywhere to go, I can show you around the village nearby! Follow me! *Pikachu starts to run past Meowth, stepping on Meowth’s tail by mistake in the process*
{{Meowth}}: Nyeowch! HEY! ***Gah, dat dumb rat…***
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth runs with his arms behind him to catch up with his partner*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu leads Meowth to a large hut just on the edge of Pokemon Square*
{{Pikachu}}: This is the plaaace~! My home! *Pikachu goes to the small wooden mailbox near the hut* Damn… *His ears lower* No mail huh…
{{Meowth}}: Dis place looks comfy, squirt! *Meowth whistled a bit then looks at Pikachu* Were ya expectin’ someting?
{{Pikachu}}: Well, yeah! But um… I’ve been thinking about something earlier… See, there’s been other things than just quakes… Fires, Tsunamis, y-you name it! I dunno what’s goin’ on… I wanna keep others safe! And help them if they need it. Meowth. *Pikachu looks at the ground, down at his pheet, then looks at Meowth* I could really use more of your help! How about it~? Wanna… Wanna form a rescue team with me? *He extends his paw outwards towards Meowth*
{{Meowth}}: ***A rescue team? Wit DIS twoip?! He does seem pretty sweet…*** Alright, I’ll take ya up on that offer! *Meowth closes one eye, smiling toothily as he puts his paw in Pikachu’s paw in a handshake~*
{{Pikachu}}: Piiika… *Happy tears start welling up in his eyes* ALRIIIIIGHT!!~ *Pikachu’s eyes close in a bright smile as he pumps a fist into the air in excitement while he shouts happily*
{{Meowth}}: Heh, yer pretty cute now dat I look at’cha… *Meowth folds his arms*
{{Pikachu}}: Well… We’re a team now… So that means we need a team name! Any ideas~?
{{Meowth}}: Haah… ***Dammit, mouse, why d’ya have ta put me on da spot like dis…*** Uhm… How ‘bout… TundaSwipe!
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu had started to pick up that Meowth seemed to always talk “funny” to him, but he was a bit confused as he tilts his head*
{{Pikachu}}: “Tunda”Swipe? Chuu, pi?
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth’s cheeks heat up as his blushes a bit from embarrassment* Daah… I-I mean…
{{Pikachu}}: Hmm… Are you trying to say… ThunderSwipe~?
{{Meowth}}: Yea… *Meowth looks away*
{{Pikachu}}: Hehehehaha~ *Pikachu giggles and step closer to Meowth, hugging him and looking up at him* It’s okay that you talk different than me! I know what you mean now~ … ThunderSwipe sounds perfect!
{{Meowth}}: M-mreow… *Meowth looks down at Pikachu, giving him a faint smile* Mmm.. Tanks, squirt~ *He puts a paw on Pikachu’s head right between Pikachu’s ears and rubs Pikachu’s head* On second tought… How ‘bout BoltSwipe instead~?
{{Pikachu}}: Oh! That sounds good tooo~! *Pikachu blushes and smiles cutely* Hey, I picked these up in Tiny Woods as well! *He holds out a red scarf and a green scarf* They’re scarves, to signify our newfound rescue team~!
{{Meowth}}: Heh, tank ya, squirt! But… Why is yers green and mine’s red? *Meowth slowly takes the red scarf from Pikachu and slowly puts it on, the tails of the scarf were behind his head like a typical mystery dungeon style scarf!*
{{Pikachu}}: Um… I-I only found one red one… Piika~ *He smiles sheepishly, putting on his green scarf in the same fashion as Meowth* But hey, these look great huh~! Sure… We don’t look like we’re on the same team with the different colored scarves, but… We’re friends now! Starting tomorrow, we’ll do our BEST~!
{{Narrator}}: ## **And thus… Pikachu and Meowth’s journey began… The journey to the Tower in the Sky!**
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *The next morning, Meowth wakes up before Pikachu, to see that he was in fact, still a Meowth as he looks over himself*{{Meowth}}: ***Nya…? I’m still da same as I was yesterday… Haah, guess I’m stuck like dis den.***
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu yawns softly as he starts to wake up* Mmm~! … Piiika. Good-morning, buddy~ *Pikachu looks up at Meowth* How’d ya sleep huh?!
{{Meowth}}: Heh, mornin’ squirt. Hey, I checked the mailbox earliah and it turns out dere was a Rescue Team Starter Set ready for us~! *Meowth grins, pointing to the Toolbox on the desk nearby* Aand~ *He flashes two Rescue Team badges, and tosses one to Pikachu*
{{Pikachu}}: Sweet~! *Pikachu catches the badge and attaches it to his scarf* Today’s the day we officially start doing rescue missions… I’m kinda excited and nervous at the same time! We- *Pikachu stops as he hears flapping, then looks up, seeing a Pelipper flying down to the mailbox, putting an envelope inside it with his beak, then flying off again*
{{Meowth}}: Mail? *Meowth goes and checks the mailbox, taking the envelope and looking at it*
{{Narrator}}: *The envelope was a Rescue Request from a Magnemite. Which read: “BZZT BZZT… Hey! I heard from Caterpie that you saved him yesterday! Um… I’m sort of in a pickle myself and need help! Please come!! BZZT BZZT… – Magnemite”
{{Pikachu}}: OUR FIRST RESCUE, YAAAY~!! *Pikachu was overjoyed as he jumps up and down*
{{Meowth}}: *Sweatdrop* Gee, runt, y’sure are excited… Well, let’s go help ‘em out!
{{Pikachu}}: Yep! Off to Thunderwave Cave!
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth quickly set off together to Thunderwave Cave, where their Magnemite client needed rescuing!*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon arriving at the entrance to Thunderwave Cave, there stood a Teddiura with a worried look*
{{Teddiursa}}: O-oh, yes! You too came! I’m guessing that the letter Magy sent went through… Please, bring him back safely!
{{Meowth}}: On it!
{{Pikachu}}: Leave it to us!
{{Narrator}}: *Both Meowth and Pikachu nod at each other before taking off into the cave. After quite a bit, the two Pokemon emerge from the exit with Magnemite in tow as Teddiursa squeals and hugs Magnemite, nuzzling his cheek against him, giggling and thanking team BoltSwipe and rewarding them*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth was following Pikachu into Pokemon Square as he was being shown around*
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu leads Meowth over to a Persian behind a counter* This is Felicity Bank! Pokemon can store their money they get from completing rescue missions here~
{{Persian}}: Mwrraa~♡ *Persian waves a paw and smiles* I’ll always be here if you ever feel afraid to lose anything~
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu whispers to Meowth* I heard, Persian gives other cat Pokemon like you extra…. “Benefits” Hehee~
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth blushes, seeing Persian wink at him while purring. He knew what those “benefits” were~* I… I’ll take yer word for it…
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu leads Meowth over to a Kangaskhan behind a counter nearby Felicity Bank* This is the Storage~ Kangaskhan can keep any items you don’t wanna lose in her safe here!
{{Kangaskhan}}: I don’t just store things either, honey, if you need ANYTHING at all, please, don’t be scared to come to me~ *Kangaskhan smiles sweetly as her belly was heard gurgling deeply~*
{{Meowth}}: Boy, shee sounds hungry… *Meowth rubs the back of his head as he looks at Pikachu* I’m guessin’ she has a big appetite huh?
{{Pikachu}}: Haha~! Who doesn’t… Over there is the Kecleon Shop where you can buy all sorts of useful items and TMs! *Pikachu points to a purple tent with a Kecleon looking at them both from a distance behind a counter* Just uum… Don’t steal. Trust me, I’ve tried and i-it doesn’t end well…
{{Meowth}}: Luckily, yer friends with a mastah teif doh! *Meowth smiles proudly*
{{Pikachu}}: Whatever you saay, Master Thief~ That’s about all! There’s a dojo here owned by Makuhita, but it isn’t open right now… *Pikachu looks at Meowth*
{{Meowth}}: I have a feelin’ I’ll have a lot more fun in dis world dan I tought…~
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon hearing about the story of the Ninetales Curse from Whiscash, Pikachu appeared dejected while he and Meowth walked back towards their shared hut*
{{Pikachu}}: Meowth…
{{Meowth}}: Mow? *Meowth turns to Pikachu* What’s up, squirt?
{{Pikachu}}: L-let’s call it a day… I’m not feeling good…. *Pikachu leaves with his head down, continuing to walk*
{{Meowth}}: ***What’s up wit him today….? He ain’t normally dis glum!*** H-hey, wait up! *Meowth runs after Pikachu*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Days passed, and when night time came around one day, Pikachu and Meowth were sitting on a hill, looking up at the moon. Pikachu was still rather glum*
{{Pikachu}}: … Chuuu…
{{Meowth}}: Alright, fess up! *Meowth stands over Pikachu*
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu looks up at Meowth* What…?
{{Meowth}}: What’s da hell’s da mattah wit you! Seein’ ya like dis breaks my little cat heart! Where’s da happy-go-lucky Pikachu I was hangin’ wit a few days ago!? Where’s dat determination! Dat spark in yer eye!
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu sighs and looks down again* He’s gone… Probably with that bad human…
{{Narrator}}: *A loud slap sound echoes throughout the air as Meowth had just slapped Pikachu across the face, paw twitching*
{{Meowth}}: “Wit dat bad human” huh? Pikachu… You’re really gonna let that dumb old fish shake yous up DAT MUCH?!?
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu’s ears twitch as he feels something like tears drop into paws and he looks up to see that Meowth was… Crying*
{{Meowth}}: I get it… Y-yer tinkin’ I’M dat bad human…!!
{{Pikachu}}: I… *Pkachu bites his lip* I don’t…
{{Meowth}}: *Saying nothing, Meowth unties his scarf, taking it off and dropping it onto Pikachu’s lap* If dat’s what you tink of me, den… I’m gone.
{{Pikachu}}: YOU’RE NOT!! … *Pikachu pulls Meowth into a hug after shouting* You’re not that bad human, I’m sure of it…
{{Meowth}}: *Meowth pauses for a moment, then closed his eyes, hugging Pikachu in return, rubbing Pikachu’s back as the Electric-type cried*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *The next day, Pikachu and Meowth were walking into Pokemon Square, only to find the usual counters uninhabited!*
{{Meowth}}: Yeesh… Where is everybody? Oh!
{{Pikachu}}: Over there?
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth go closer to where all of the residents were gather*
{{Meowth}}: What’s happinin’ now??
{{Bellsprout}}: The rumors! They were true!
{{Pikachu}}: Rumors?
{{Bellsprout}}: The legend! The Ninetales Legend!
{{Caterpie}}: Pikachu! Meowth! *Caterpie went over to them*
{{Meowth}}: Heh, heya, lil bug~
{{Snubbull}}: Shh shh! Quit yappin’, you! That guy’s telling us the deal.
{{Narrator}}: *Snubbull points to Gengar ahead at which Meowth gasps*
{{Meowth}}: DAT bastard?!
{{Pikachu}}: Ge-Gengar?!
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Gengar was standing in the center of Pokemon Square as everyone was surrounding him, listening to him*
{{Gengar}}: I went up to the Hill of the Ancients in the Great Canyon a few days ago! Dat’s where I saw it! Shocking stuff, I tell ya!
{{Lombre}}: Shocking stuff?
{{Gengar}}: There was this certain Pokemon… Heheh, getting advice from Xatu! That Pokemon… He may look ordinary, but get this! He was… *He paused for dramatic effect* … A HUMAN!!
{{Narrator}}: *Everyone besides Meowth and Pikachu gasp in shock*
{{Bellsprout}}: What?!
{{Snubbull}}: It really did exist… A human turned Pokemon… *He huffs in amazement*
{{Gengar}}: But wait, there’s more! *Gengar smiles devious, even more than he was already* Xatu told the human, that the human was the cause of all of the natural disasters!
{{Lombre}}: He was??
{{Gengar}}: If the world’s balance isn’t restored… The world will be destroyed! Dat’s what the psychic bird said! Kahaahaha!
{{Persian}}: Oh dear…!
{{Pikachu}}: Grr… *He turns to Meowth* That damn ghost… He’s gettin’ everyone riled up!!
{{Gengar}}: Hey, hey! Calm dooown~ There’s something easy we can do!
{{Kangaskhan}}: Like what? *She crosses her arms, curious*
{{Gengar}}: Well, if the world’s imbalance is the cause due to the human… Then if he’s gone, everything should be back to normal! Right~? That human is the rotten bastard who ditched his partner Pokemon, Celebi… So if we get rid of the human, then…
{{Snubbull}}: Let’s do it!
{{Kangaskhan}}: It’s… The only way… *She lowers her head*
{{Gengar}}: *He chuckles darkly, looking at Meowth* Hear that… The human’s gonna be no more~ *He cackles and points at Meowth* ISN’T THAT RIGHT, HUMAN?!
{{Meowth}}: Mowh!! *Meowth steps back* N-now wait a sec! I ain’t–
{{Persian}}: I was beginning to like you too… Shame…
{{Meowth}}: P-Persian…?
{{Caterpie}}: H-how c-could you… *He starts tearing up* I-I thought you were a hero…
{{Butterfree}}: Pity…
{{Meowth}}: H-hey, not you too…!
{{Snubbull}}: You! Bastard of a cat! Is this true?!
{{Pikachu}} Wait, wait!! Meowth isn’t a human! You must be–
{{Kangaskhan}}: *Kangaskhan glares down at Pikachu* Silence. *She looks at Meowth* Cat…
{{Narrator}}: *Backed into a corner, Meowth takes a step back, shuddering, unable to talk, a scared look on his face*
{{Pikachu}}: M-Meowth… ***I’ve never seen him this scared before…***
{{Gengar}}: Hah! What’s the matter, Meowth got’cha tongue~? Ironic, considerin’ you ARE one… Or ARE YOU! Haaahahahaha!!
{{Narrator}}: *The group of Pokemon start to close in on Pikachu and Meowth as the two back away slowly*
{{Pikachu}}: R-run for it!! *Pikachu starts to take off running*
{{Meowth}}: Gaah! *Meowth takes off after Pikachu*
{{Gengar}}: Heh… *He watches Pikachu and Meowth run in fear* Serves them right…
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu and Meowth had retreated back to their base, panting*{{Pikachu}}: I… I think we lost them… *He turns to Meowth, then growls* You dumbass! You didn’t even TRY to defend yourself! You just stood there like a pussy!! And NOT because you’re a cat Pokemon!
{{Meowth}}: P-Pikachu… I’m… Tired of dis…
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu drops his angry expression, having it replaced with concern*{{Meowth}}: I’m not fit ta be yer partner anymore… I only slow ya down an’ get us inta trouble… Maybe I am dat bad human Gengar was talkin’ about… Maybe I am betta off dead, betta off–
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth was cut off but receiving a hard slap to the face by Pikachu, who was growling at him*
{{Pikachu}}: Don’t… Ever… SAY THAT!! Meowth, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now if it weren't for you! I wouldn’t have a friend! I wouldn’t have a team…
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth stood there in shock, his cheek stained with the red paw print of a Pikachu paw on it. But soon they were approached by Alakazam Charizard and Tyranitar, the gold rank team; ACT*
{{Alakazam}}: Back in Pokemon Square. There was a meeting.
{{Charizard}}: I’m sorry to say, but…
{{Tyranitar}}: We have to get rid of you, by brute force!
{{Meowth}}: Mreeooow… N-not you guys too…
{{Charizard}}: It hurts me to have t’kill a cute lil guy like you, but… I go by Alakazam’s orders!
{{Alakazam}}: No. We will give you by tonight. And you will be gone by tomorrow morning, is that understood?
{{Meowth}}: … I… *Meowth hangs his head* Yea…
{{Tyranitar}}: Run… Against all odds, you have to run! Run…
{{Charizard}}: And survive…
{{Alakazam}}: You must uncover the truth… Do NOT stop running until you do.
{{Meowth}}: N-nya… *He starts to tear up* Charizard… And Alakazam…
{{Narrator}}: *Charizard gives Pikachu a smirk*{{Charizard}}: But if I see ya back here too soon, you’ll just end up being my lunch. Heh! There won’t be mercy next time, not from me, or the others… Now get outta here! Go and clear your name, kitty! *Charizard winks*
{{Meowth}}: … Yea! Tanks… *He gives a slight, weak smile*
{{Narrator}}: During the night time, Pikachu and Meowth got all prepped to and when the early morning, Pikachu and Meowth too one last look at Pokemon Square, and their home, before silently leaving, unsure of what awaited them…
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Traversing the fiery Mt. Blaze, and the sheer cold that was Frosty Forest and Mt. Freeze, Pikachu and Meowth had finally arrived at the very peak of Mt. Freeze, where the fabled Ninetales awaited them, accompanying them, was their new friend, Absol, but…*
{{Meowth}}: F… Finally… I-it’s fr-freezin’…
{{Absol}}: But… Where is she? *Absol looks around confused, but then…* Huh?!
{{Charizard}}: *Cracking his neck a bit and pounding his fists together* Caught yaa~ Heheheeheee…
{{Pikachu}}: Gck… *Pikachu steps back* Ch-Charizard!!
{{Absol}}: Hm! *He quickly gets in front of Pikachu and Meowth to guard them, while glaring at Charizard* Where’s the other two?
{{Charizard}}: The blizzard was too harsh for them, ‘specially T-tar. But why’s that matter? I’m here to put these little runts six feet under! *Charizard stomps forward with a wide smirk on his face*
{{Ninetales}}: There will be no need for such violence… *She slowly steps out into view*
{{Charizard}}: N-Ninetales?!
{{Absol}}: Woah…
{{Meowth}}: It’s… Really her…
{{Ninetales}}: I should have welcomed you three sooner, forgive me.
{{Meowth}}: C-can ya tell us?! Who was da human dat was in da legend!
{{Charizard}}: Is it even REAL?
{{Narrator}}: *Clearly, everyone was shocked at Ninetales appearance… But Ninetales simply looks at them all*
{{Ninetales}}: I care not whether it is considered a legend or true. Though… It did happen. It was decades ago where I tried to lay a curse on a human. However, the human’s partner, a Celebi rushed in. It was selfless enough to take the full brunt of the curse. Instead of aiding, the human chose to flee. It disgusted me. Said human, became a Pokemon themselves as punishment. The human still lives to this very day, as a Pokemon.
{{Absol}}: *He steps up* But… Who IS the human?
{{Ninetales}}: *She slowly looks over at Meowth* No one nearby.
{{Meowth}}: !!
{{Charizard}}: Huh!
{{Pikachu}}: Um… You said… J-just now…
{{Ninetales}}: The Pokemon standing before you–Meowth, is not the human in the legend.
{{Pikachu}}: … W-wha… ***I feel fuzzy… N-no! Relieved…*** Meowth…
{{Meowth}}: U-uh. Squirt? You–
{{Pikachu}}: MEOOOWTH!!!~ *Pikachu suddenly leaps at Meowth and hugs him, nuzzling into him while tearing up and crying tears of joy*
{{Meowth}}: Waaaa-uaah! *He stumbled a bit, but caught Pikachu, smiling gently* I’m here, squirt…! G-gosh, yer heavy..
{{Pikachu}}: I-I knew it all along!~ I just knew you weren’t that bad human in the legend!!
{{Charizard}}: *He smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head* I guess I owe ya an apology then, heh…~ Sorry, then.
{{Ninetales}}: And… The world’s calamities. They are not related to the human whatsoever. The source… Exists elsewhere.
{{Meowth}}: D-dat’s a relief for me I guess… But that ain’t good at all!
{{Charizard}}: You said it…
{{Absol}}: Pikachu, Meowth… I– … I want to continue following you. I have to!
{{Pikachu}}: Sure you can… Buddy~!{{Absol}}: … Mmp– *Absol blushes faintly, but quickly shakes it off*{{Narrator}}: *With the troubling rumor debunked, Pikachu, Meowth, Absol and Charizard all began to leave, slowly, but surely, making their way back to Pokemon Square*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *In Pokemon Square…*
{{Gengar}}: Heh… Look who came running back… What, ya didn’t get buried huh?
{{Meowth}}: You… Rotten… EVERYTHING YA TOLD DEES GUYS WAS A LIE!!
{{Pikachu}}: Piii-ka! Yeah!! Meowth had nothing to do with it, ya ghostly bastard!
{{Absol}}: He was INNOCENT.
{{Gengar}}: Gen–?! *Gengar flinched a bit*
{{Lombre}}: What…? He was?!
{{Shiftry}}: Gengaar, you…
{{Gengar}}: H-hey, hey! They’re lyin’! They don’t know anything!
{{Snubbull}}: … Yeah, show us some proof then!
{{Meowth}}: Uh.. Proof… Um..
{{Gengar}}: Well?? Where’s the evidence, hahaah! C’mon, show us!
{{Absol}}: *Absol steps up, smirking* You called~? Your proof’s right here.
{{Gengar}}: Who the hell– Hey! Get rid of these guys!
{{Bellsprout}}: Not likely… Meowth would launch me into space…
{{Snubbull}}: I don’t wanna be shocked!
{{Caterpie}}: You’re just a big liar!! Meowth was my hero and I always believed in him!
{{Gengar}}: Shoot… *He starts to back away* I’m outta here!!
{{Narrator}}: *Gengar dashes away with an angry mob of the other Pokemon chasing after him*
{{Absol}}: Hah, buh-bye, ghost boy~ *He laughs as he watches Gengar flee, then turns to Meowth and Pikachu* Now… Do you have anymore gummies?
{{Meowth}}: Nyahahahaa, somebody’s hooked! C’mon back ta base with us!
{{Absol}}: … R-right.
{{Narrator}}: *Absol once again blushes, then huffs as he begins to follow behind the two smaller Pokemon. Meowth was glad his name had been cleared and all was well. Or so it seemed…*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon celebrating the defeat of Groudon in Magma Cavern and the rescue of team A.C.T, Meowth and Pikachu were touted as heroes of sorts, being recognized by the higher ranked teams for their bravery! But suddenly, Xatu began to communicate with them all telepathically…*
{{Xatu}}: ***Am I coming in clear?***
{{Meowth}}: Xatu?!
{{Alakazam}}: This is a surprise! Is something the matter?{{Xatu}}: ***I may have terrible news! Something… From the sky…falls a star.***
{{Charizard}}: A star?
{{Raichu}}: I think… I think he means…
{{Xatu}}: ***A meteorite. A large one… One the size of the planet itself!***
{{Persian}}: Nya–?! Y-you have to be joking!
{{Kangaskhan}}: I don’t think he is…
{{Xatu}}: ***The meteor. It’s the cause of the natural disasters recently… If something isn’t done to stop it from hitting earth… This world would be destroyed. The star falls ever-closer…***
{{Charizard}}: Xatu… Can it be stopped?!
{{Xatu}} … ***There is a way. One must seek out the Dragon of Legend himself. Only then, will there be a possibility.***
{{Aipom}}: RAYQUAZA!?
{{Blastoise}}: That’s askin’ for a death wish! No way! No way in hell is anyone doing that!
{{Octillery}}: No rescue team has ever gone up to Sky tower before!
{{Narrator}}: *Various gasps and sounds of disagreement sound throughout Pokemon square*
{{Pikachu}}: Oh no… So this is what Ninetales meant by the world’s balance is upset… We have to stop it, Meowth!!
{{Narrator}}: *Everyone’s attention turned to Meowth and Pikachu*
{{Meowth}}: *He turns to Pikachu* WHA– Squirt, are you NUTS or someting?! Did ya eat a bad gummy?
{{Wigglytuff}}: Meowth is right… Going up to the sky could be suicide…
{{Absol}}: *Absol growls and steps up* If we don’t stop it, WHO WILL?! Listen to me. Do you want to die? Do you want to live your last few days in fear because you bothered not to do anything about the threat of danger?? I sensed that something was coming… And I want to stop it!
{{Tyranitar}}: Absol…?
{{Pikachu}}: Absol…
{{Meowth}}: *He nods and runs in front of everyone* The snow boy’s right! We can’t let dis be da end! Someone’s gotta do sometin’ about dat meteor… And dat someone.. IS US!!
{{Absol}}: Xatu. Tell us how to get to Sky Tower!
{{Xatu}}: ***Alakazam.***{{Alakazam}}: … Yes.
{{Narrator}}: ***Alakazam closes his eyes then starts to focus. A green glow began to emit from him and then, in front of him. A green beam shoots up into the air with smaller swirls of green, the sound of wind blowing rang out as the beam slowly fades, and in front of them, was a light blue emerald!***
{{Pikachu}}: Wooah…
{{Meowth}}: What is dat…?
{{Xatu}}: ***Amplifying our teleporting abilities together, Alakazam and I are able to create the Teleport Gem. This gem allows Pokemon who hold it to be transported to the sky…***{{Pikachu}}: Well then… T-this is it… One final Mystery Dungeon…
{{Raichu}}: Please be careful…!!
{{Kangaskhan}}: You’re our only hope, Meowth… Pikachu…
{{Kecleon}}: You have to stop it… For the sake of the world!
{{Persian}}: Hm~ My little Meowth’s grown to be a hero… I wish you three the best of luck…
{{Everyone}}: GO, TEAM BOLTSWIPE!!
{{Meowth}}: Mrrew… *Meowth wipes away some tears, then nods, looking at Pikachu and Absol*{{Absol}}: You can always depend on me… Buddy~
{{Pikachu}}: We’ll stop that meteor and save this world~!
{{Narrator}}: *With another nod, Meowth, together with Pikachu and Absol, step forward towards the Teleport Gem. And upon touching the gem, green energy starts to swirl around them slowly, then rapidly as winds whip up, blowing their scarves a bit. Light green winds whip around the three and soon disperse as they disappear, along with the Teleport Gem!*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Green energy swirls about then disperse, to reveal the three members of team BoltSwipe at the bottom of Sky Tower, right in front of the entrance. Pikachu looks up in shock*
{{Pikachu}}: Wooah… *He looks around*
{{Narrator}}: *The three of them were on top of a sea of clouds! It was quite a sight*
{{Pikachu}}: *Pikachu looks up slowly* PIIKA! H-hey, guys, look!
{{Meowth}}: *He slowly looked up* Whew… It's a giant towah of clouds!!
{{Absol}}: It… Oddly looks like a bunch of white and blue cotton candy… *Absol’s belly grumbles softly after that and he blushed*
{{Pikachu}}: *Giggling* Boy, you DO have a sweet tooth~!
{{Meowth}}: First, ya eat all da gummies, now yer tinkin’ about cotton candy… Nyehehe!
{{Absol}}: *Blushing more* I– W-whatever, shut up! This is the final dungeon…
{{Pikachu}}: Yeah… *Pikachu stares into the exit as he nods*
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth takes the lead as he nods, running into the entrance, ready to face their last test…*
END_OF_DIALOG
{{Narrator}}: *Upon reaching the peak of Sky Tower and a hard fought battle against Rayquaza, the fighting was interrupted by a sudden rumble in the clouds!*
{{Pikachu}}: W-whuaauaah!! *Pikachu almost loses balance* A-any earthquake?! Here?!
{{Meowth}}: N-no, dis is different…
{{Rayquaza}}: These are shockwaves! Tremendous ones at that…
{{Absol}}: We didn’t come here to fight! There’s a meteor on it’s way to earth, and if we don’t destroy it, everything will be gone!!
{{Rayquaza}}: Hmph, how is that MY problem.
{{Meowth}}: If ya don’t do someting, YOUR domain here’s gonna be toast too!
{{Rayquaza}}: … Fine.
{{Narrator}}: *Rayquaza looks up slowly to see the giant meteor, then closes his eyes, inhaling deeply as purple energy starts to form in his maw. Then his eyes snap open as he roars and fires off a majestic purple Hyper Beam at the meteor. It slowly started to crack the meteor but Rayquaza started losing power. Pikachu nods at Meowth and Absol*
{{Pikachu}}: Guys!
{{Meowth & Absol}}: Right!!
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth charges up a powerful Dark Pulse in his paws then fires it off at the meteor as Absol charges and fires a powerful Ice Beam from his maw. Pikachu’s cheeks spark as he fires a Thunderbolt alongside them, with the three beams alongside Rayquaza’s Hyper Beam, much to Rayquaza’s surprise!*
{{Meowth}}: Grrf… C’mon… More…. *Meowth continued to strain himself* I know ya have more powah in ya, Dragon… SO HURRY UP AND USE IT ALREADY!!!!
{{Narrator}}: *Rayquaza’s heart gave off a resounding pulse sound as his eyes shot open*
{{Rayquaza mind}}: ***Why are you holding back? Don’t you care about your home? Don’t you care about them; team BoltSwipe? That Meowth has a point. You have power deep inside you. RELEASE IT.***
{{Narrator}}: *With a reverberating roar, energy swirls around Rayquaza as he mega evolves! He amps up the power of his Hyper Beam which was enough to shatter the meteor entirely as multicolor particles start to rain down onto Sky Tower*
END_OF_DIALOG
{[Narrator}}: *Days passed and life returned to normal in Pokemon Square, everyone was up on the Hill of the Ancients, but then… Meowth started to glow and slowly turn translucent*
{{Pikachu}}: … M-Meowth!! *Pikachu runs over to Meowth* What’s happening!? Are you okay?!
{{Absol}}: You’re glowing!
{{Meowth}}: Meow… *He gives a faint smile* Pikachu…. Everyone… I-I guess my time’s up.
{{Charizard}}: W-wha…
{{Caterpie}}: W-what does that mean!?
{{Meowth}}: I won’t be here much longah
{{Pikachu}}: *Shaking head* Stop… Don’t say stuff like that!~ We’re gonna go on lots and lots of adventures forever! Right~?
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth simply just stands there, the glow and translucency intensifying*
{{Pikachu}}: … R-right? Meowth…?
{{Meowth}}: I was sent here ta fulfill my role I guess~ And It’s been filled! Tanks for everyting…
{{Pikachu}}: Your role? C’mon, stop bein’ silly already ya dummy~
{{Absol}}: Pikachu…
{{Alakazam}}: It really is that time…
{{Meowth}}: Sorry… Squirt…~
{{Pikachu}}: W-why?? Why do you have to leave?! *Pikachu starts to tear up* W-we were supposed to be… F-friends forever…!
{{Meowth}}: Hey… Tink of it dis way! Dere’s always more Meowth you can befriend~
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth’s body began to glow more*{{Meowth}}: Even if I’m not here, we’ll always be pals!
{{Pikachu}}: *Slowly, he goes closer* D– *He could barely talk as he was fighting back tears* D-don’t leave…! I don’t wanna be alone… P-please!!
{{Meowth}}: I’m… *His scarf fell off as his body got more translucent and the glow got bigger as his body sparkled* I’m real lucky I met’cha, squirt… Nya~...
{{Narrator}}: *Others, notably Charizard and Absol were also struggling to fight back tears*{{Pikachu}}: J-just a little longer, please!!! What’ll BoltSwipe be without you!! *Pikachu goes to pick up Meowth’s scarf as tears stream down his face* M-Meowth!!
{{Narrator}}: *Meowth’s body fades into a bright yellow orb as he gave one final smile towards Pikachu*
{{Meowth telepathy}}: ***I really had fun with ya… I’m sorry I have ta leave ya hangin’ like dis… But dere’s notin’ I can do… Everyone… Tank you…~ See ya, squirt~***
{{Narrator}}: *The orb of light starts to slowly rise over the cliff edge as Pikachu followed it running right to the edge of the cliff, watching it rise higher and and higher*
{{Pikachu}}: MEOOOOOOWTH!!!!
{{Narrator}}: *Pikachu’s voice echoed through the air as he yells out to Meowth with tears streaming down his face heavily as the yell orb slowly fades. Perhaps in another time, the two will meet again!*
END_OF_DIALOG
2024.06.04 06:28 Dream-Weaver345 My girlfriend keeps having vivid dreams about another world
Meeting my girlfriend was one of the scariest experiences of my life. But it was also something that I’ll hold as a core memory. During my freshman year, I had incredibly bad asthma, mostly with extremely stressful situations. Not to mention it was paired with a little healthy dose of anxiety. Granted, I definitely could have had it worse, but it didn’t exactly make my life easy.
I can’t remember why I was anxious that day. Maybe it was because of a test, or maybe because I got self conscious about my outfit or something stupid like that. All I know is that I was having the hardest time breathing, and I couldn’t find that stupid inhaler anywhere. And the more I panicked over the fact that I couldn’t breathe, the harder it became to breathe.
I found myself having a panic attack in the middle of the hallway. Everyone one was yelling and shoving their way through the school, amplifying my emotions tenfold. Everything was blurry, one side of the hall felt like it was in slow motion and the other was felt like it was speeding by. I was so overstimulated, I actually considered if this was what dying felt like. But I was snapped out of my hurricane by a comforting hand tapping my shoulder.
“Hey, I think you dropped this.”
I don’t think o ever saw a girl that gorgeous before in my life. She had wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes, I was mesmerized. Not to mention she seemed an inch or two taller than me. She held that tiny red piece of plastic in her hands, but to me, it might as well have been like looking at gold. What a relief to breathe properly, it was like being brought out from the bottom of the ocean, and I thank God she was there to help me. I had no idea what to say, I was a fourteen year old who had little experience talking to girls, especially ones who were nice to me.
“Thanks, you’re a life saver.”
“No problem, it looked like you needed it. I’m Nicole, but everyone just calls me Nikki.”
I found out she had a few classes with me, and I looked forward to every day I got to see her, not to mention I changed up my style to really get her to notice me. I started to comb my hair more, made a habit to stand up straight, even stole some of my dad’s cologne to make an extra good impression. None of it really worked, not I until actually started being myself and not just what I thought she would like.
It wasn’t until the following year where I hit a growth spurt, and after being friends for a while I somehow gained enough confidence to ask her out. She responded pretty quickly, asking what took me so long.
Fast forward three years, now we’re seniors and the relationship is still going strong. I wanted to say “I love you” from week one but I also didn’t want to sound too needy. Eventually, I said it but completely on accident. She looked at me with the most serious blue eyes and told me how she thought I was cute since the day she picked up my inhaler. I honestly never forgot that day, and it felt so surreal yet that she didn’t either.
These past few weeks have been very weird, though. Things have been fine between us, but she’s been less than her cheery self I first knew. At first, she said she was fine, and I believed her. I didn’t feel it was right to push her to open up about something she wasn’t comfortable with. But as time went on I could see something was bothering her. I eventually got her to crack, and she just mentioned a weird reoccurring dream she’s been having, once or twice every week or so.
Initially I was relieved, a dream couldn’t be that bad. After all, it’s just a bunch of stuff the brain makes up. So naturally, I just tuned it out. What else could I do? But then she kept bringing it up, and it really seemed to be bothering her. One day after school, she stopped at my house just to unwind from the day. She was sitting near my computer desk and I was sitting on my bed playing video games. I’m pretty good at dividing my attention, so this kind of thing never really brought up any problems. I was just getting close to the end of the level when she tried to bring up the dream again, and how she felt it was really freaky. I honestly had no idea how to respond, so I made a joke about how maybe she’s psychic and seeing visions into the future.
“Sam, can you just be serious for once? Can you do that for me? Just for one second, no jokes, no sarcasm, none of that crap. Can you just take me seriously?”
Not wanting to enrage my girlfriend any more, I paused my game and shifted my whole body toward her to show her she had my full attention.
“Ok, ok I’m sorry, really. I’m being a douche about something that’s really bothering you, so let’s talk about it. I’m all ears.”
“Thank you. I didn’t mean to raise my voice, I just…”
I stopped her, and moved a few inches closer.
“Just start from beginning.”
“Ok. Well, I don’t exactly know when it started but I keep coming back to this weird Other World. I start walking and I find myself in this ruined city that seems to stretch on forever. And there are these thick, twisted trees, bare of any leaves just stretching up towards the sky, past the clouds. Oh, and the sky- it’s just a constant red, like crimson. I just walk for what feels like forever.”
“Woah, that does sound pretty freaky. Do you see anyone in these dreams, like anyone you know?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Nobody I know, I don’t think. But there are these dark figures that kind of look human but they’re…off. Like their face is too long, or their body is wide but very bony, or they have a smile that belongs in the uncanny valley. And they…they keep whispering things as I’m walking. I can’t make it out ‘cause they’re all talking at the same time. I don’t of it’s to each other or me, but they’re all definitely watching me. It’s like a million eyes on me with every step. I keep walking until I see this large stone wall in the distance. I can hear it whispering too. Then, I wake up.”
The way she vividly remembers it was very unsettling. Every detail like that, committed to memory can’t be normal. But I can’t jump inside of her head, so I use some sort of reasoning to help ease her. “Maybe it has something to do with stress or expectations, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you ‘don’t know’?”
“I mean it’s a dream, Nic. I’m not an expert analyst. What am I supposed to say?”
“Maybe, ‘It’s ok hon, I know this is scaring you, but we can figure this out together.’ Y’know, something supportive?”
“I’m trying to be supportive, but I can’t help what I can’t understand.”
“Whatever, forget it. I shouldn’t have even said anything.”
“Oh, c’mon. Don’t be like that.”
“It’s not- ugh, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault, and it’s not fair to take it out on you. It’s just this stupid dream keeps happening and it’s really stressing me out and I don’t know why and-“
She stood up from the chair and plopped on to my bed, groaning into my pillow out of frustration. To comfort her, I put my hand on her head and gently stroked her brown hair. I was about to tell her it would be alright and we’d get through this, but I was halted by a buzzing sensation spreading across my bed. Nikki lifted her face, pulling out her phone to tap the screen and put it to her ear.
“Hello? Hey, yeah I’m just with-ok, yes. Yes, I’m on my way now. Ok, see you in a bit, bye.”
She ended the call and looked at me while rolling her eyes.
“That was my mom, she needs me home. I’ll call you later?”
“Yeah, sure. No problem.”
Nikki grabbed her bag and headed downstairs towards the door, giving a friendly wave to my parents. I felt awful for her. Whatever this dream was, it was really messing up her head. And if it’s messing her up, it’s messing me up by default. I try to be an empathetic person, and I think I do a good job, but if something genuinely doesn’t make sense to me, it’s hard to feel that way. Especially if it doesn’t directly affect me. Maybe that’s just me, maybe I’m just crazy. But I do love Nikki, truly I do. So I’m going to figure out what this means, no matter how long it takes. She’s worth it.
I went online and searched every dream analysis web page I could find. No way we can afford a psychiatrist, so this’ll have to do. All these different meanings just don’t add up with Nikki’s life. According to some, her being in another world is apparently supposed to represent losing touch of reality or control, but she’s one of the most focused people I know, always thorough with everything. Not to mention she’s getting a full ride to a college she chose. As for people whispering and watching her, from what I’ve read, that’s supposed to reflect a personal impulsive behavior, or fear of being judged. The thing is, Nikki is one of the most liked people in the whole school, literally. She’s nowhere near popular, but she’s always kind, never talks behind anyone’s back (even if they deserve it), and always brightens up the day. Most of all, she just doesn’t care if someone doesn’t like her. She has no enemies, nobody to even bat an eye against her sweet nature. So why would she have a deep fear of being judged? With no luck, I decided to try searching up the place to see if maybe it’s something she saw in real life, and was just stored in her brain. But nonetheless, it was like it didn’t exist. After about almost two hours, I gave up and knocked out on the edge of my bed.
Around an hour later, I was woken up from my sleep by something that sounded like whispers through my window. Looking out of my window I see the line of street lamps, their lights flickering with an intensity I’ve never seen before. Before I can dismiss it, I see something shaking in the bushes in my backyard. I assume it’s a wild animal, probably a cat or a raccoon, but I’m not one to go investigating that easily so I dismiss it. As soon as I turn my back to try and fall back to sleep, I hear the whisper again. Then it sounds like two. Then three, and then six, ten, maybe twenty. I can’t make out what they’re saying but they’re all…talking at the same time. Just like Nikki’s dream. But it can’t be real, right?
At least that’s what I was thinking until I turned back around to see something fall face first out of the bush. It lay on the ground dormant for a second, until it swerves its head up to reveal bright pink eyes. It then began to drag itself across the lawn and onto the side of the house, grabbing the bottom of the gutter. My room is on the second story so it’s not easy feat, but this figure makes it seem like nothing. It slithers its way up, and I can see its arm stretching towards my window, each of its fingers sharpening into thin but long claws. My window is met with a slow screeching, the claws sliding down the pane. The sound was unbearable, I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I began to back away from the window, I couldn’t take this torture, until my heel meets my bag and it trips me. Sitting up, I try to recover from the collision of the back of head and my carpet, but now everything’s gone quiet. No more voices, and that monstrous creature is nowhere to be seen. I rush to my bathroom to splash the coldest water possible in my face to make sure I wasn’t dreaming myself. Maybe the way Nikki described her dream to me somehow made its way into my subconscious and now I was imagining something similar. I stood at my sink for 20 minutes, trying to “wake myself up”, but I still just felt as awake as ever. I laid back in bed trying to convince myself I just had some weird hallucination from fatigue or something, until I drifted back off to sleep.
The next morning I threw on my flannel and black converse, and got ready to make the walk to school. But as I reached for my bag on the floor, something on the window managed to catch my attention. There it was, clear as day. It was the scratches the creature made on my window, still looking fresh as ever.
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I can’t remember why I was anxious that day. Maybe it was because of a test, or maybe because I got self conscious about my outfit or something stupid like that. All I know is that I was having the hardest time breathing, and I couldn’t find that stupid inhaler anywhere. And the more I panicked over the fact that I couldn’t breathe, the harder it became to breathe.
I found myself having a panic attack in the middle of the hallway. Everyone one was yelling and shoving their way through the school, amplifying my emotions tenfold. Everything was blurry, one side of the hall felt like it was in slow motion and the other was felt like it was speeding by. I was so overstimulated, I actually considered if this was what dying felt like. But I was snapped out of my hurricane by a comforting hand tapping my shoulder.
“Hey, I think you dropped this.”
I don’t think o ever saw a girl that gorgeous before in my life. She had wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes, I was mesmerized. Not to mention she seemed an inch or two taller than me. She held that tiny red piece of plastic in her hands, but to me, it might as well have been like looking at gold. What a relief to breathe properly, it was like being brought out from the bottom of the ocean, and I thank God she was there to help me. I had no idea what to say, I was a fourteen year old who had little experience talking to girls, especially ones who were nice to me.
“Thanks, you’re a life saver.”
“No problem, it looked like you needed it. I’m Nicole, but everyone just calls me Nikki.”
I found out she had a few classes with me, and I looked forward to every day I got to see her, not to mention I changed up my style to really get her to notice me. I started to comb my hair more, made a habit to stand up straight, even stole some of my dad’s cologne to make an extra good impression. None of it really worked, not I until actually started being myself and not just what I thought she would like.
It wasn’t until the following year where I hit a growth spurt, and after being friends for a while I somehow gained enough confidence to ask her out. She responded pretty quickly, asking what took me so long.
Fast forward three years, now we’re seniors and the relationship is still going strong. I wanted to say “I love you” from week one but I also didn’t want to sound too needy. Eventually, I said it but completely on accident. She looked at me with the most serious blue eyes and told me how she thought I was cute since the day she picked up my inhaler. I honestly never forgot that day, and it felt so surreal yet that she didn’t either.
These past few weeks have been very weird, though. Things have been fine between us, but she’s been less than her cheery self I first knew. At first, she said she was fine, and I believed her. I didn’t feel it was right to push her to open up about something she wasn’t comfortable with. But as time went on I could see something was bothering her. I eventually got her to crack, and she just mentioned a weird reoccurring dream she’s been having, once or twice every week or so.
Initially I was relieved, a dream couldn’t be that bad. After all, it’s just a bunch of stuff the brain makes up. So naturally, I just tuned it out. What else could I do? But then she kept bringing it up, and it really seemed to be bothering her. One day after school, she stopped at my house just to unwind from the day. She was sitting near my computer desk and I was sitting on my bed playing video games. I’m pretty good at dividing my attention, so this kind of thing never really brought up any problems. I was just getting close to the end of the level when she tried to bring up the dream again, and how she felt it was really freaky. I honestly had no idea how to respond, so I made a joke about how maybe she’s psychic and seeing visions into the future.
“Sam, can you just be serious for once? Can you do that for me? Just for one second, no jokes, no sarcasm, none of that crap. Can you just take me seriously?”
Not wanting to enrage my girlfriend any more, I paused my game and shifted my whole body toward her to show her she had my full attention.
“Ok, ok I’m sorry, really. I’m being a douche about something that’s really bothering you, so let’s talk about it. I’m all ears.”
“Thank you. I didn’t mean to raise my voice, I just…”
I stopped her, and moved a few inches closer.
“Just start from beginning.”
“Ok. Well, I don’t exactly know when it started but I keep coming back to this weird Other World. I start walking and I find myself in this ruined city that seems to stretch on forever. And there are these thick, twisted trees, bare of any leaves just stretching up towards the sky, past the clouds. Oh, and the sky- it’s just a constant red, like crimson. I just walk for what feels like forever.”
“Woah, that does sound pretty freaky. Do you see anyone in these dreams, like anyone you know?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Nobody I know, I don’t think. But there are these dark figures that kind of look human but they’re…off. Like their face is too long, or their body is wide but very bony, or they have a smile that belongs in the uncanny valley. And they…they keep whispering things as I’m walking. I can’t make it out ‘cause they’re all talking at the same time. I don’t of it’s to each other or me, but they’re all definitely watching me. It’s like a million eyes on me with every step. I keep walking until I see this large stone wall in the distance. I can hear it whispering too. Then, I wake up.”
The way she vividly remembers it was very unsettling. Every detail like that, committed to memory can’t be normal. But I can’t jump inside of her head, so I use some sort of reasoning to help ease her. “Maybe it has something to do with stress or expectations, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you ‘don’t know’?”
“I mean it’s a dream, Nic. I’m not an expert analyst. What am I supposed to say?”
“Maybe, ‘It’s ok hon, I know this is scaring you, but we can figure this out together.’ Y’know, something supportive?”
“I’m trying to be supportive, but I can’t help what I can’t understand.”
“Whatever, forget it. I shouldn’t have even said anything.”
“Oh, c’mon. Don’t be like that.”
“It’s not- ugh, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault, and it’s not fair to take it out on you. It’s just this stupid dream keeps happening and it’s really stressing me out and I don’t know why and-“
She stood up from the chair and plopped on to my bed, groaning into my pillow out of frustration. To comfort her, I put my hand on her head and gently stroked her brown hair. I was about to tell her it would be alright and we’d get through this, but I was halted by a buzzing sensation spreading across my bed. Nikki lifted her face, pulling out her phone to tap the screen and put it to her ear.
“Hello? Hey, yeah I’m just with-ok, yes. Yes, I’m on my way now. Ok, see you in a bit, bye.”
She ended the call and looked at me while rolling her eyes.
“That was my mom, she needs me home. I’ll call you later?”
“Yeah, sure. No problem.”
Nikki grabbed her bag and headed downstairs towards the door, giving a friendly wave to my parents. I felt awful for her. Whatever this dream was, it was really messing up her head. And if it’s messing her up, it’s messing me up by default. I try to be an empathetic person, and I think I do a good job, but if something genuinely doesn’t make sense to me, it’s hard to feel that way. Especially if it doesn’t directly affect me. Maybe that’s just me, maybe I’m just crazy. But I do love Nikki, truly I do. So I’m going to figure out what this means, no matter how long it takes. She’s worth it.
I went online and searched every dream analysis web page I could find. No way we can afford a psychiatrist, so this’ll have to do. All these different meanings just don’t add up with Nikki’s life. According to some, her being in another world is apparently supposed to represent losing touch of reality or control, but she’s one of the most focused people I know, always thorough with everything. Not to mention she’s getting a full ride to a college she chose. As for people whispering and watching her, from what I’ve read, that’s supposed to reflect a personal impulsive behavior, or fear of being judged. The thing is, Nikki is one of the most liked people in the whole school, literally. She’s nowhere near popular, but she’s always kind, never talks behind anyone’s back (even if they deserve it), and always brightens up the day. Most of all, she just doesn’t care if someone doesn’t like her. She has no enemies, nobody to even bat an eye against her sweet nature. So why would she have a deep fear of being judged? With no luck, I decided to try searching up the place to see if maybe it’s something she saw in real life, and was just stored in her brain. But nonetheless, it was like it didn’t exist. After about almost two hours, I gave up and knocked out on the edge of my bed.
Around an hour later, I was woken up from my sleep by something that sounded like whispers through my window. Looking out of my window I see the line of street lamps, their lights flickering with an intensity I’ve never seen before. Before I can dismiss it, I see something shaking in the bushes in my backyard. I assume it’s a wild animal, probably a cat or a raccoon, but I’m not one to go investigating that easily so I dismiss it. As soon as I turn my back to try and fall back to sleep, I hear the whisper again. Then it sounds like two. Then three, and then six, ten, maybe twenty. I can’t make out what they’re saying but they’re all…talking at the same time. Just like Nikki’s dream. But it can’t be real, right?
At least that’s what I was thinking until I turned back around to see something fall face first out of the bush. It lay on the ground dormant for a second, until it swerves its head up to reveal bright pink eyes. It then began to drag itself across the lawn and onto the side of the house, grabbing the bottom of the gutter. My room is on the second story so it’s not easy feat, but this figure makes it seem like nothing. It slithers its way up, and I can see its arm stretching towards my window, each of its fingers sharpening into thin but long claws. My window is met with a slow screeching, the claws sliding down the pane. The sound was unbearable, I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I began to back away from the window, I couldn’t take this torture, until my heel meets my bag and it trips me. Sitting up, I try to recover from the collision of the back of head and my carpet, but now everything’s gone quiet. No more voices, and that monstrous creature is nowhere to be seen. I rush to my bathroom to splash the coldest water possible in my face to make sure I wasn’t dreaming myself. Maybe the way Nikki described her dream to me somehow made its way into my subconscious and now I was imagining something similar. I stood at my sink for 20 minutes, trying to “wake myself up”, but I still just felt as awake as ever. I laid back in bed trying to convince myself I just had some weird hallucination from fatigue or something, until I drifted back off to sleep.
The next morning I threw on my flannel and black converse, and got ready to make the walk to school. But as I reached for my bag on the floor, something on the window managed to catch my attention. There it was, clear as day. It was the scratches the creature made on my window, still looking fresh as ever.